From a long press conference today: "The government knows what is happening. Look, our military knows where they took off from. If it's a garage, they can go right into that garage. They know where it came from and where it went, and for some reason they don't want to comment, and I think they'd be better off saying what it is our military knows and our our president knows, and for some reason, they want to keep people in suspense. I can't imagine it's the enemy because it was the enemy they'd blast it out. Even if they were late, they'd blast it. Something strange is going on. For some reason they don't want to tell the people, and they should, because the people are really — I mean they happen to be over Bedminster... they're very they're very close to Bedminster. I think maybe I won't spend the weekend in Bedminster. I've decided to cancel my trip."
He's asked, "Have you received an intelligence briefing on the drones?" and, unsurprisingly, he says, "I don't want to comment on that." But I think he has... and that ought to mean that he's not using that information to make the statement he is making. Ought to... but how would that work? He's saying "The government knows what is happening," but he's not tapping the information he's gleaned from the briefing? I'm guessing he might think, yes, I know that from the briefing but I also, independently, know that from using my brain and making inferences.
I've cued up the relevant part of the more than hour-long performance, but you might want to scroll back to the beginning and watch the whole thing. I've watched it all. At one point I said "He's doing a rally." He was covering so many subjects and brimming with proposals and promises. There are many explicit criticisms of the Biden Administration and there's also a big implicit criticism of it: President Biden and candidate Harris didn't give press conferences! I look forward to 4 years of press conferences like the one Trump did today.
ADDED: Maybe something he knows from the briefing is the reason why the government won't tell us what the military knows. In that case, he's dutifully excluding that information and speaking from the point of view of someone who hasn't been briefed and wondering aloud why won't they tell us? He knows, but he speaks as if he didn't know. And that works as political criticism.
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"I can't imagine it's the enemy because it was the enemy they'd blast it out."
Who do you suppose is "the enemy"?
Iran?
It's been publicly announced that the administration gave a classified briefing to Congress. I think he can say that the government knows what's going on simply based on that fact, without receiving a briefing himself.
Never-Trump icon Adam Kinzinger said "They're literally all airplanes."
I previously thought they were mostly airplanes myself, as the average Drone is small and hard to spot unless you already know it's there. A bird? A bug? Dirt on my glasses? Considering this source and his confidence I think there were at least some real drones.
https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/5041735-adam-kinzinger-drone-sightings/
The only correct answer to "have you received an intel briefing on xxx?" is "I can't ever answer a question like that." Keeps you out of trouble, and keeps them from narrowing things down, 20-questions style. He should keep this up, even after he's sworn in and has the ability to declassify stuff in pectore.
JSM
Parents who don't want their daughters raped in the school bathroom and go to board meetings to make their views known?
So, Adam K? does it make it BETTER, or WORSE, that some one is flying HUNDREDS of unlicensed unflighplaned unannounced PLANES?
instead of
HUNDREDS of unlicensed unflighplaned unannounced DRONES?
we don't talk about intel briefings..
we don't talk about why we don't talk about intel briefings because Then, we'd be talking about intel briefings
OMG.... a President that does not just read a script and turn his back on the press... imagine that!
Journal of Economic Entomology
Special Collection: Drones to Improve Insect Pest Management
"The Journal of Economic Entomology is pleased to publish a special collection of papers discussing research and development of unmanned (or uncrewed) aircraft system technology to improve insect pest management."
Journal of Economic Entomology
The first rule of Classified Briefing Club is: You do not talk about Classified Briefing Club.
Even the MSM knows that Trump is the real President, even tho its a month away. He spent over an hour answering questions\not calling on selected robots like biden did.
So far, the Trump effect has been massive, and hes not even President yet. Confidence is contagious.
Unlike 16, Trump is relaxed, in control, and willing to talk to anyone in the press, and to bitch slap them if needed.
Nice to have a real leader back in charge.
"Never-Trump icon Adam Kinzinger said 'They're literally all airplanes.'"
Well, duh... Virtually all drones ARE LITERALLY AIRPLANES, including the quadcopters. Straight wing, swept wing, rotary wing -- they're all wings. There are exceptions. There are drone blimps and drone rigid airships. They're not airplanes, but they're not alien spacecraft, either.
Never-Trump icons should remember, a wise man once said nothing.
So I investigated the claim about a search for nuclear material, and it turns out that we are talking about one or more point sources for medical imaging, which did go missing, but they probably are not useful for much actual mayhem. And the loss is not even required to be reported to the NRC unless they remain missing for over a month.
I watched the whole press conference (performance) also and I found it reassuring to have a leader who is in command of his faculties and also I was encouraged that the press has changed their approach to him. They weren't giving speeches trying to ridicule and belittle Trump. What a complete and welcome change. It's almost like normalcy is a rare event.
"They weren't giving speeches trying to ridicule and belittle Trump."
Even ABC? That's hard to imagine.
I had the same reaction; it was almost startling seeing the media asking appropriate and relevant questions instead of delivering polemics.
It was refreshing.
"I found it reassuring to have a leader who is in command of his faculties "
But…but…but, we were assured by Rich that his faculties were failing. Rich saw it himself during the Trump rallies.
People seem to think these are spy drones. But if you were spying on a military base or other high value target, why fly them at night with bright flashing lights? Wouldn't daytime offer better viewing conditions? Wouldn't you disable the lights to conceal your eye in the sky? Wouldn't you be more careful after news media started widely reporting on your drones?
These are not spy drones. They're personally owned drones. And their operators are purposely flying them at night with the flashing lights because they want you to see them. They're having fun causing so much hysteria.
Larry Hogan literally saw the constellation Orion, which has been well established and claimed he saw drones. Republican New Jersey congressman Jeff Van Drew suggested the flights were taking off from an “Iranian drone mother ship” in the Atlantic.
50 years ago, Walter Cronkite would have told us there were rational explanations for the observed phenomena, and everyone would have moved on to the next pressing issue.
Today, thanks to social media, everyone is an expert.
So is it true that these drones/airplanes are flying into restricted airspace? Back when I worked in one of those facilities (I separated in 1971) we were told that an unauthorized aircraft entering that restricted airspace would be shot down. Have the rules changed that much?
Kak: "50 years ago, Walter Cronkite would have told us there were rational explanations"
50 years ago, drones didn't exist.
But assuming arguendo that they developed that early and no one thought to use the same technology to develop smartphones, the story would probably not have made it past small local papers. If it somehow made it onto the CBS teletype, Walter probably would have tossed it into the circular file.
The same place he tossed any evidence contradicting his jumped-to conclusion that we were losing in Vietnam.
Everyone is an expert? Maybe not, but nowadays, everyone is a participant in the discussion.
Isn't that democracy?
JSM
There really are only two possible answers to the question whether the government knows what's going on with the drones:
a. The government knows all about the drones, and they are lying to the public;
b. The government has no idea what these things are (but wants us all to know that everything is OK). Time to panic.
You don't have to be a rocket scientist, or even a weatherman, to figure this one out.
Softbank is investing $100 billion in the USA! Wow.
More to the point, either (a) the govt knows and is lying, or (b) the govt does not know and is lying when they say everything is ok. Either way they are lying.
Rahm Emanuel said "never let a crisis go to waste." "Crisis" here is, people are having fun spoofing with their drones. "Not letting it go to waste" is, government people really want to pass the pending legislation that increases their powers and decreases ours. We're being played.
A significant quote, at least IMHO: For some reason they don't want to tell the people, and they should, because the people are really — I mean they happen to be over Bedminster... they're very they're very close to Bedminster. I think maybe I won't spend the weekend in Bedminster. I've decided to cancel my trip."
Wait- he's received the briefing. And he cancelled his trip to Bedminster...
Did no one else pick up on this?
If you read this news article from over a year ago it seems to be announcing in advance what is happening today:
https://www.wric.com/business/press-releases/ein-presswire/637355936/nartp-signs-cooperative-research-and-development-agreement-with-ustranscom-usaf-air-mobility-command-and-acea/
At 1:22 he says, "I met William. Very impressed with William. I think William is terrific."
My question, if I was a reporter, might be a little rude, "Who the fuck is William?"
(I think it's Prince William, but he didn't say "prince," so that was funny).
@Big Mike: The enforceability of flight rules can be difficult or impossible. In a dense urban place such as the NYC metro area, there are many restricted corridors and zones, so you need radar/GPS to be sure where the flying object actually is. Flying can be fully 100% legal up to an invisible wall or specific altitude, so any last-second violation is thereby unenforceable.
Responding to airspace violations was an issue with the 9/11 planes, as there was uncertainty about the pilots' intentions and targets until the last minute or last second. For example, the downtown DC airport (DCA aka Reagan National) runway is only a mile from the Pentagon (a 9/11 target), and DCA requires commercial jets to follow the curvy Potomac river to minimize the noise impact on the cities nearby.
Actually shooting down a plane is another story, for the local law enforcement / military need to get their own planes in the air, identify the target, and then receive permission to shoot. All in a few minutes. This is likely why DC has a huge and permanent 15 mile "no drone zone" over the entire urban region.
In 2015 an activist landed a gyrocopter on the lawn of the US Capitol to protest government corruption: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Hughes_(activist)
DC has 0 to 15 mile and 15 to 30 mile drone restriction rings centered on the DCA airport. The 15 to 30 mile ring allows small private drones. It may be possible to get permission to fly in the inner ring too, as there are many airports and military bases inside that ring: https://www.faa.gov/uas/resources/community_engagement/no_drone_zone/dc
https://droneflyzone.com/
Is it legal for him to talk about it until he’s been sworn in?
It seems clear that Trump is pissed about the lack of communication on this issue from the administration. Walter Kirn is convinced that the whole 'drones are looking for a dirty bomb / missing nuke' rumor mongering is a last-gasp Democrat / Progressive media cooperative psy-op to drive people away from attending the Inauguration. The purpose is solely to generate fear.
Really, you are looking forward to Trump rambling on and spewing bullshit that has absolutely no basis in fact?
No it isn't. How many times are the Scott Walkers and Siant Croixs of the world have to be fooled by the next Foxconn scam. Softbank doesn't even have $100 billion to spend, and even if it does, it sure as shit isn't going create 100,000 jobs. The whole point of AI is to eliminate jobs, not create them.
And Trump is probably not getting briefings concerning classified materials, and he no one to blame but himself for that. He has refused to sign the ethics agreement that would allow him to sit in on such briefings. I guess he would rather see a parade of stooges paying him off by contributing to his "inauguration" slush fund and kissing his ass.
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