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Da Boss wrote: Have you seen how our leaders in Europe speak to Trump? The only one who even vaguely doesn't tolerate his gak is Merkel, and I 50% believe that is because she knows she can't fake it very well. Politically, we absolutely do cringe and pander to the US's bs.
The key here is that it's so dam EASY to manipulate Trump, why not act nice towards him and reap the benefits?
Quite simply, because it doesn't work. Take the UK as an example. Apart from the people thinking he's a massive bell-end the government has been consistently simpering upto him and kissing his arse, but that won't stop him trying to get us to break up the NHS and sell it off to American health companies, but only after he's forced us to pony up even more money for drugs because the American health system can't compete.
He's not a capitalist, he's a monopolist, and he wants Americans to hold all the monopolies, and feth everyone else.
As a foreign national you can no more manipulate Trump than you can control a drunken bull in a China shop with a balloon on a stick.
Where are you getting this Trump trying to break up the NHS to sell it to American health companies?? o.O
Da Boss wrote: Have you seen how our leaders in Europe speak to Trump? The only one who even vaguely doesn't tolerate his gak is Merkel, and I 50% believe that is because she knows she can't fake it very well. Politically, we absolutely do cringe and pander to the US's bs.
The key here is that it's so dam EASY to manipulate Trump, why not act nice towards him and reap the benefits?
Quite simply, because it doesn't work. Take the UK as an example. Apart from the people thinking he's a massive bell-end the government has been consistently simpering upto him and kissing his arse, but that won't stop him trying to get us to break up the NHS and sell it off to American health companies, but only after he's forced us to pony up even more money for drugs because the American health system can't compete.
He's not a capitalist, he's a monopolist, and he wants Americans to hold all the monopolies, and feth everyone else.
As a foreign national you can no more manipulate Trump than you can control a drunken bull in a China shop with a balloon on a stick.
Where are you getting this Trump trying to break up the NHS to sell it to American health companies?? o.O
It's widely reported in the UK that American Health companies are desperate to sink their teeth into the NHS, and because of our weakness post Brexit and desperation to get a deal with the US it is feared that May will sell off parts to the US to secure that deal. But, as we know Trump is not a reliable business partner, especially to a weakened partner.
If she does sell us down the river on this, the Tories will be unelectable for a generation as public anger would be considerable. Most Brits are appalled at the thought of US style health provision. Frankly we find it repugnant, and would much rather you chaps keep your mitts of what's ours and we won't mess with yours.
He may as well fly over and take a dump on the Union Flag.
"All their ferocity was turned outwards, against enemies of the State, foreigners, traitors, saboteurs, thought-criminals" - Orwell, 1984
PotUS wrote: “Happy Memorial Day! Those who died for our great country would be very happy and proud at how well our country is doing today. Best economy in decades, lowest unemployment numbers for Blacks and Hispanics EVER (& women in 18years), rebuilding our Military and so much more. Nice!”
Stay classy, America!
We were once so close to heaven, St. Peter came out and gave us medals; declaring us "The nicest of the damned".
“Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'”
Kilkrazy wrote: There's no telling what the Trump lout might do once he's got hold of a ludicrous idea and convinced himself it's (a) great and (b) his.
Kilkrazy wrote: There's no telling what the Trump lout might do once he's got hold of a ludicrous idea and convinced himself it's (a) great and (b) his.
Yeah, I wonder if that bit about Poland willing to pay for a military base might give him some ideas on how to make some extra money around the world:
"Nice country you've got here. Would be a shame if something were to happen to it. For $2 billion we could put a base here for you, and keep things from...breaking."
"Through the darkness of future past, the magician longs to see.
One chants out between two worlds: Fire, walk with me." - Twin Peaks
"You listen to me. While I will admit to a certain cynicism, the fact is that I am a naysayer and hatchetman in the fight against violence. I pride myself in taking a punch and I'll gladly take another because I choose to live my life in the company of Gandhi and King. My concerns are global. I reject absolutely revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method... is love. I love you Sheriff Truman." - Twin Peaks
Kilkrazy wrote: There's no telling what the Trump lout might do once he's got hold of a ludicrous idea and convinced himself it's (a) great and (b) his.
Yeah, I wonder if that bit about Poland willing to pay for a military base might give him some ideas on how to make some extra money around the world:
"Nice country you've got here. Would be a shame if something were to happen to it. For $2 billion we could put a base here for you, and keep things from...breaking."
In regards to nothing in particular, I have to say politics has not been nearly as entertaining of late. The GOP congress hasn't tried to do anything of particular note and the White House hasn't done much other than denial, brags, and bribes. Blatant corruption is not as entertaining as blatant incompetence.
BaronIveagh wrote: Happened at the same time as the most recent school shooting. Only one of these two things gets the media dick hard.
Also at the same time as the Texas shooting there was another mass shooting in Texas - a man in the midst of a divorce shot his children then himself. Leaving the wife alive and grieving to spite him. It's a kind of shooting that's extremely common but barely covered in the media.
The reasons why are complex. But just look at your post, complexity is not entering the picture. You want your crude fantasy.
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Disciple of Fate wrote: Its quickly becoming a soap opera. The "will they, won't they?" North Korea-US summit saga continues:
My favourite part was when the NYT reported Trump's staff saying the talks were off, only for Trump to declare they were on again the next day. Trump then got very angry at the Times for using a made up, anonymous source, only for it to later come out that the source was just the daily background briefing, where Trump's aide told all media present that the talks were off.
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Ouze wrote: I totally agree. I think this policy of separating the minor children serves no serious, useful purpose other than cruelty.
The best and most satisfying explanation I've yet read for Trump is he embraces a kind of performative cruelty targeted at (mostly) groups that his base love to hate on.
On the greater issue you were addressing, ICE and the freakout its suddenly created, I don't really have much to add. The idea of 1,400 lost kids is silly, so is likening the camps to Nazi Germany, but at the same time the idea of seperating kids from their parents over as minor an infringement as a breach of VISA is abhorrent.
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whembly wrote: In this country... separating parents from their childrens happens all the time... especially when said parents breaks the law and goes to jail.
What you've missed is that courts use discretion in how and when people are imprisoned, with the interests of the kids being an important part of those considerations. Often house detention will be used so the parent is there for the kid. Other times if both parents are convicted one sentence will be delayed until the first parent has served their time, so there is always a parent free to raise the child. Very minor crimes will have suspended sentences because the interest of the state in ensuring the child is raised by its parent is considered more important than full punishment.
What we're seeing now is breaches of immigration being elevated to something as serious as violent crime, which plainly ridiculous.
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thekingofkings wrote: The most important/powerful country on that list happens to be the only one where the confidence rose. Russia is also the only one on the list capable of using both its soft and hard power to further its interests.
You think Russia is more powerful than Japan, Germany, South Korea, France and the UK? Russia is weaker than all those countries by a very large margin. You need to stop confusing the Putin strong man fantasy with actual real world political realities.
Also, you don't know what soft power means.
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thekingofkings wrote: they have been able to pretty much do whatever they want on the world stage and noone has done anything significant about it. They simply took large chunks of the ukraine, shot down an airliner and are calling the shots in syria.
Having to fall back on overt military power because direct neighbours and long time strategic allies is not a sign of strength. It is the last resort because all other methods have failed due to weakness.
Think about it this way, China is expanding its ports across SE Asia and the east coast of Africa, and its doing it with strategic alliances and cold hard cash. In contrast Russia can't keep a military port within spitting distance of its own border, and ends up having to invade Ukraine just to keep it.
And the response to that overt use of force by Russia has been international sanctions which have crippled Russia. Russia responded with sanctions of its own, and I challenge you to find a single person that even noticed Russia put up sanctions. This is largely why Russia has gone on this new strategy of trying to subvert democracy in other countries - Russia is choosing a new form of asymmetric conflict because Russia is so utterly unable to engage in normal economic conflict.
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thekingofkings wrote: other than an insult, how about showing why they are? what do they provide that the US needs them for?
Intel sharing between these countries is enormously valuable. This information sharing isn't so much traded as organic - the NSA is often described as the central hub of a vast intel collective, in which info developed by British or other allied countries moves freely to the US, just as it moves freely from the US to its strategic allies.
Trade with France totals $80 billion per year. Trade with the UK totals $110 billion per year.
Both France and the UK have close relationships with their widely dispersed former colonies, this often extends to supporting military facilities. While the US blue seas capability is extraordinary, ultimately extended operations need local ports or they become impractical very quickly. Through close relations with the US and France those disperse port facilities are easier accessed.
Both France and the UK have very large economic and political footprints in world affairs. The US age of dominance has been achieved not merely because it has the largest economy and military, but because the US succeeded in bringing together an alliance including all other major nations, including the UK and France.
So there you are, you've got the explanation you asked for.
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thekingofkings wrote: I dont agree, interests change over time and countries that were once useful allies don't always remain that way. I think its time to move on from the old world and start looking more to the rising economies of asia for alliances and trade. We could invest in South America more and Africa. be as incredulous as you want but are you seriously suggesting that Europe has more to offer than Asia?
1) The US does invest in South America and Africa. This level of investment is not in any way impacted by the relationship with any nation in Europe. 2) Close relations with Europe don't impact relations with any Asian nations. Quite the opposite, by maintaining close co-ordination with European powers it allows the US to give a unified front in establishing deals with Asian nations.
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thekingofkings wrote: you mean experts you agree with. Like him or not, Bolton, Pompeo, etc are also experts.
John Bolton is trained in international law, and built his expertise in legal argument working with the UN. Legal issues are the beginning and end of Bolton's understanding of foreign policy. Did anyone but me actually read Bolton's argument for an attack on North Korea. Bolton's entire argument was that such an attack would be a legal action. Bolton didn't even address any notion of how such an attack might align with US interests, or what potential risks it entailed. He didn't even entertain those most basic of strategic concepts. When asked what the US should do, all Bolton can do is give you his personal, legal opinion on what it is legal to do.
Pompeo is also not an expert. He's a completely run of the mill politician. His resume is quite impressive, service in the tank corps, impressive legal education, then a shift in to using Republican connected investment funds (Koch & Bain) to build a small business empire, before switching in to politics. His run at the CIA was notably smooth, quite a feat given Trump's attack on US intelligence services at the time. But notice the complete and utter lack of any experience or education in foreign policy. The only claim to that is Trump appointing him Secretary of State - but Trump also appointed Rick Perry as Energy Secretary, it didn't make Perry an expert on nuclear physics.
Yep. A one way train line carried hundreds of thousands of people to a camp that housed a few thousand. People knew.
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Mario wrote: Not so long ago they had Bush and now with Trump some people long for those times as if he did so much better. No matter how far it swings to the left, after Trump is done with the USA it will swing back again after people have pushed this chapter from their memories. I don't know where on the "competent <-> feth up" scale that one will reside but it feels like the pants on head crazy part of the right wing is here to stay for a while and can't be dislodged that easily.
If I buy one brand of car for 60 years and they deliver quality and value for money every time, then one time I get a lemon, well I'll give them a mulligan. Everybody screws up from time to time. But if a couple of cars later I get another stinker, well this time I'm probably not going to ignore it so easily. At the very least I might start to look in to what's changed in the company, if something has happened that they might no longer be able to produced good cars so reliably.
When GW Bush happened and he had his stupid Iraq war, the international world gave America a mulligan. Now we've got an even bigger lemon than Bush. If nothing else, it's prompted other countries to cast a more cynical eye over US politics, and see what's actually going on inside Republican politics. It is far from certain, but it is becoming possible that foreign policy catastrophe is just what we can expect now when Republicans control the presidency.
Even the possibility that might be somewhat true has enormous implications for world affairs.
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whembly wrote: Da Boss... ya don't have to worry about the US going the fascism route.
Way too many armed citizens here.
Fascism doesn't happen because there aren't enough citizens with guns to stop it. Fascism happens because the citizens with guns want it to happen.
Note I'm not saying the US is becoming fascist, or that gun owners in the US are fascist or anything like that. I'm saying the idea that guns keep democracy safe from fascist takeover is wildly wrong.
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whembly wrote: I ain't rich... just barely able to maintain my Warhammer hobby. And the tax cut gave me an immediate benefit.
The cost of the tax cut is now out to $1.8 trillion.
It's like some guy walked up to whembly, and said the two of them should co-sign on a loan for $100, the other guy will keep $90 and whembly will get $10. whembly, smile beaming across his face, runs all the way home shouting 'I got me $10!'
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Tannhauser42 wrote: Yeah, I wonder if that bit about Poland willing to pay for a military base might give him some ideas on how to make some extra money around the world: "Nice country you've got here. Would be a shame if something were to happen to it. For $2 billion we could put a base here for you, and keep things from...breaking."
Trump already did that. Remember when he was fixated on NATO and started talking how the other countries don't pay for it. It seems someone had shown Trump other countries falling short of the 2% commitment, but Trump seemed to treat it as the amount other countries should be paying to the US in tribute or something. And he just would not stop repeating that nonsense.
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NinthMusketeer wrote: In regards to nothing in particular, I have to say politics has not been nearly as entertaining of late. The GOP congress hasn't tried to do anything of particular note and the White House hasn't done much other than denial, brags, and bribes. Blatant corruption is not as entertaining as blatant incompetence.
The Republican congress is laying low until after mid-terms, because literally everything they want to pass would cost them terribly if it was still fresh on the voters minds come elections. People talk about Trump's rising approvals and GOP gains in the generic polls, and keep assigning it to something Trump has done. Truth is, apart from Republicans loyally returning to their tribe before election, most of the gain is because its been a long time since the ACA repeal and tax scam were the focus of politics. Incredibly just giving it 6 or 12 months is enough for many people to just kind of forget the legislation Republicans are committed to.
To an extent the electorate is kind of getting what it deserves. "OMG that's outrageous working people lose healthcare and the deficit explodes just so CEOs can pay less tax we need to protest and oh what was I talking about something about politics but whatever they're all the same I mean there was those emails and yeah I'm definitely voting Green because the major parties are all the same."
This message was edited 15 times. Last update was at 2018/05/29 07:43:01
“We may observe that the government in a civilized country is much more expensive than in a barbarous one; and when we say that one government is more expensive than another, it is the same as if we said that that one country is farther advanced in improvement than another. To say that the government is expensive and the people not oppressed is to say that the people are rich.”
Adam Smith, who must have been some kind of leftie or something.
So Abe briefed Trump on the NK meeting that is back on again (or not depending on what happens in the time I write this). Trump is still intent on winging it and I can't imagine we're going to get a productive meeting. Trump has no idea what he actually wants from NK besides not having nukes. Trump is doing all this flip flopping to get a personal meeting with Kim just to demand something he could have put in a letter. Somehow this is going to be a 'great deal' I feel. Curious how they are going to spin this right after and once either NK or the US simply flakes on any vague promises made. You almost feel bad for Abe having to go through this.
On Poland offering 2 billion, that is peanuts, about .3% of the US defense budget. It sounds like a great deal but when you really think about it, has 0.3% of a yearly budget really held back a base for almost 20 years? The US has already an entire infrastructure set up one country over.
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2018/05/29 08:00:24
Sorry for my spelling. I'm not a native speaker and a dyslexic.
1750 pts Blood Specters
2000 pts Imperial Fists
6000 pts Disciples of Fate
3500 pts Peridia Prime
2500 pts Prophets of Fate
Lizardmen 3000 points Tlaxcoatl Temple-City
Tomb Kings 1500 points Sekhra (RIP)
Disciple of Fate wrote: On Poland offering 2 billion, that is peanuts, about .3% of the US defense budget. It sounds like a great deal but when you really think about it, has 0.3% of a yearly budget really held back a base for almost 20 years? The US has already an entire infrastructure set up one country over.
The first thing to note is Poland isn't offering up $2 billion in cash. It has said it will invest $2 billion in facilities and services to support the base. It will build the roads and buildings etc. I know you point out the US has a base just one country over, and while that's true being one country closer to Russia is a big deal for presenting a strong NATO front against Russia. But that's really just symbolism, as to whether US operations would be advantaged by having a base in Poland I don't know.
The other part is Poland also has a pretty good claim as one of the better members of NATO - they are among a rare few NATO members who reliably meet their 2% obligation.
All of which gives a pretty sound case for this base, but honestly none of that matters. The US elected a corrupt man child to the presidency. So whether this happens will come down to whether Poland flatters Trump enough or offers to build Trump Warsaw. All the talk about what the deal is and whether it will do anything is kind of meaningless during the Trump age.
As to the NK issue - I think what is most telling is that we haven't even reached the part where these kinds of talks fall apart and it's already a high drama production. That doesn't mean that a deal won't happen but at this point we haven't even started on the hard stuff yet. Normally by the time heads of state meet the general boundaries of the negotiation have been established, and more often than not an agreement in principal has been reached, and it is now just about the final details. Here we don't even know what the goals of each side are.
Is NK willing to give up its nukes? It's hard to believe they'd give up the weapons that just got them a sit down with a US president, but if they're not on the table why are they even bothering to go through with the meeting? All the prestige could have been won just by rejecting Trump's agreement to meet. Are they just trying to sound out Trump, see if he's actually willing to invade?
And on the flip side, what is the US position here? Are the US willing to entertain any deal where NK keeps some of its weapons?
“We may observe that the government in a civilized country is much more expensive than in a barbarous one; and when we say that one government is more expensive than another, it is the same as if we said that that one country is farther advanced in improvement than another. To say that the government is expensive and the people not oppressed is to say that the people are rich.”
Adam Smith, who must have been some kind of leftie or something.
I get the impression that what's left of the State Department have some ideas about what they want to do, but Trump is only interested making himself look like a big-shot international statesman and he's just dicking around because he thinks that will work for him. Which it will because he will spin it anyway.
Frankly, in the age of the Trump lout it looks like the USA won't be able to get to a coherent agreement because Trump, and if they did make a deal NK would probably renege because that's what they always do. And if NK didn't renege, the US would probably renege like they did over Iran.
But none of it matters anyway because Trump will just lie about it and move swiftly to the next bit of international feth-wittery, the world will look in horror and disbelief and Trump will go to a rally and see lots of MAGA hats thrown in the air and he will feel GOOD.
Disciple of Fate wrote: On Poland offering 2 billion, that is peanuts, about .3% of the US defense budget. It sounds like a great deal but when you really think about it, has 0.3% of a yearly budget really held back a base for almost 20 years? The US has already an entire infrastructure set up one country over.
The first thing to note is Poland isn't offering up $2 billion in cash. It has said it will invest $2 billion in facilities and services to support the base. It will build the roads and buildings etc. I know you point out the US has a base just one country over, and while that's true being one country closer to Russia is a big deal for presenting a strong NATO front against Russia. But that's really just symbolism, as to whether US operations would be advantaged by having a base in Poland I don't know.
The other part is Poland also has a pretty good claim as one of the better members of NATO - they are among a rare few NATO members who reliably meet their 2% obligation.
All of which gives a pretty sound case for this base, but honestly none of that matters. The US elected a corrupt man child to the presidency. So whether this happens will come down to whether Poland flatters Trump enough or offers to build Trump Warsaw. All the talk about what the deal is and whether it will do anything is kind of meaningless during the Trump age.
As to the NK issue - I think what is most telling is that we haven't even reached the part where these kinds of talks fall apart and it's already a high drama production. That doesn't mean that a deal won't happen but at this point we haven't even started on the hard stuff yet. Normally by the time heads of state meet the general boundaries of the negotiation have been established, and more often than not an agreement in principal has been reached, and it is now just about the final details. Here we don't even know what the goals of each side are.
Is NK willing to give up its nukes? It's hard to believe they'd give up the weapons that just got them a sit down with a US president, but if they're not on the table why are they even bothering to go through with the meeting? All the prestige could have been won just by rejecting Trump's agreement to meet. Are they just trying to sound out Trump, see if he's actually willing to invade?
And on the flip side, what is the US position here? Are the US willing to entertain any deal where NK keeps some of its weapons?
Yes it isn't cash of course, but facilities. But that is just the beginning, operating costs might not be worth it in the long run and there might not be a sound strategic reasoning beyond symbolism. From a realistic point of view it is questionable to what extent an extra base in Poland would benefit NATO.
The 2% norm is true, but its hard to argue military strategy from a budget percentage point of view in another country. And its again symbolism, the difference between 1.8 or 2% might be minimal at best. Not exactly something the US might want to make decades long commitments over.
It depends on the size, but in the long run that 2 billion might be a small investment to the amount of money the US would spend maintaining and operating it. Its a flashy number with a much bigger price tag attached, larger bases run in the hundreds of millions a year. But that is hard to know when the size is not clear. A smart deal would be to try and share costs like the US does with Korea or Japan, instead if just putting the buildings down. But yeah, no point at looking at this rationally with Trump in charge I guess.
Yes, its amazing how much drama Trump can insert in just keeping to an appointment for a talk he wanted to have in the first place. The amount of times he has publically gone back and forth is seriously amateurish. It clearly shows a man that makes his decisions based on which leg he used to get out of bed in the morning. And that's just being flakey to the build up to the talks. Any serious attempt at talks (which I doubt NK is interested in given the Trump demands of bending over) would have been undermined at this point.
Kim might want to present the US with a fait accompli regarding the nukes. Try to moderate its stance towards South Korea and the region in exchange for concessions. Questionable, NK knows a deal with Trump is likely worthless. At the same time the US has already publically shown its cards and these talks seem pretty pointless unless NK wants to give up its nukes. Trump does it for his ego and possibly because he actually believes he can convince Kim in person. I honestly can't believe that anyone rational expects the US to get anything serious out of these talks if the US has only one sided demands, but so far I haven't really heard the few rational people in the admin giving any indication of what the idea is.
Pretty crazy, a US President is going to meet the 'Supreme Leader' of North Korea and 2 weeks beforehand they still don't seem to know what they are going to do. This is what people do in highschool when they have to give a presentation, not a top level meeting in one of the most volatile regions in the world
Its been 1.5 years and its still hard to believe that this is reality.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2018/05/29 09:48:45
Sorry for my spelling. I'm not a native speaker and a dyslexic.
1750 pts Blood Specters
2000 pts Imperial Fists
6000 pts Disciples of Fate
3500 pts Peridia Prime
2500 pts Prophets of Fate
Lizardmen 3000 points Tlaxcoatl Temple-City
Tomb Kings 1500 points Sekhra (RIP)
tneva82 wrote: It's pretty weird when NK leader appears as more rational and professional than US president...
Honestly I think that's all this is about in the end. PRNK is milking this situation for everything they can, figuring that embarrassing the US internationally helps them in the long run which it probably does in a few subtle ways.
LordofHats wrote: PRNK is milking this situation for everything they can, figuring that embarrassing the US internationally helps them in the long run which it probably does in a few subtle ways.
Not to mention the massive propaganda win they get if the US President actually meets Kim. North Korea is finally so important and powerful that their arch-nemesis has to negotiate directly with them! We're big players on the international scene!
LordofHats wrote: PRNK is milking this situation for everything they can, figuring that embarrassing the US internationally helps them in the long run which it probably does in a few subtle ways.
Not to mention the massive propaganda win they get if the US President actually meets Kim. North Korea is finally so important and powerful that their arch-nemesis has to negotiate directly with them! We're big players on the international scene!
Aside from the PR, my read on the NK situation is that it’s all about stalling; I think that they believe that the Trump administration is unstable and unpredictable enough to actually start a conflict, which, despite all of their posturing, the North Koreans’ know would be massively damaging to their own country. So offer an olive branch, blow up a now useless test facility, make some vague, unverifiable, commitments at this conference and keep spinning it along. Even if one side or other (or both) reneges on whatever deal comes out of this summer, it’s not going to happen immediately and wouldn’t immediately be followed by military action, it would take time for both. They’ve already got through 1.5 years, only 2.5 to go.
Zed wrote: *All statements reflect my opinion at this moment. if some sort of pretty new model gets released (or if I change my mind at random) I reserve the right to jump on any bandwagon at will.
whembly wrote: Da Boss... ya don't have to worry about the US going the fascism route.
Way too many armed citizens here.
Fascism doesn't happen because there aren't enough citizens with guns to stop it. Fascism happens because the citizens with guns want it to happen.
Note I'm not saying the US is becoming fascist, or that gun owners in the US are fascist or anything like that. I'm saying the idea that guns keep democracy safe from fascist takeover is wildly wrong.
Nope... fascism happens when citizens are powerless to do anything about it. The ability to revolt would always be a trump card (heh) in case a Mussolini-wannabe get any bright ideas.
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whembly wrote: I ain't rich... just barely able to maintain my Warhammer hobby. And the tax cut gave me an immediate benefit.
The cost of the tax cut is now out to $1.8 trillion.
It's like some guy walked up to whembly, and said the two of them should co-sign on a loan for $100, the other guy will keep $90 and whembly will get $10. whembly, smile beaming across his face, runs all the way home shouting 'I got me $10!'
Hey look everyone... seb is making gak up.
If anything it's my kids and grandkinds paying the bill.
Nope... fascism happens when citizens are powerless to do anything about it. The ability to revolt would always be a trump card (heh) in case a Mussolini-wannabe get any bright ideas.
JFC. . . did you sleep through every year of school history???? Literally every course that discusses how the Fascists in Germany and Italy came into power, and they all generally say the exact fething opposite of what you just did.
Nope... fascism happens when citizens are powerless to do anything about it. The ability to revolt would always be a trump card (heh) in case a Mussolini-wannabe get any bright ideas.
JFC. . . did you sleep through every year of school history???? Literally every course that discusses how the Fascists in Germany and Italy came into power, and they all generally say the exact fething opposite of what you just did.
They were voted into power homie.... and they restricted gun ownership.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Meanwhile, Rosanne calls someone a Monkey and goes on a Trump-style twitter rant and gets her show cancelled.
I’m sure Trump will have an opinion about that soon.
She's also a fan of recently incarcerated British racist gobshite Tommy "The Gammon" Robinson too. It's funny how more right wing you become as you get older.
"All their ferocity was turned outwards, against enemies of the State, foreigners, traitors, saboteurs, thought-criminals" - Orwell, 1984
She is also one of those <<<Soros behind everything>>> fethwits. Feth her and her fethnuttery.
Her show was great back in the day though.
We were once so close to heaven, St. Peter came out and gave us medals; declaring us "The nicest of the damned".
“Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'”
Spinner wrote: Holy crap, we're back to 'the Nazis banned guns'? Already? I thought we'd just talked about this.
No. Just arguing that the rise of facism is aided in part by gun regulations... I mean, if you don't think there's a link, why did Germany pass the 1938 Regulations Against Jews' Possession of Weapons?
Spinner wrote: Holy crap, we're back to 'the Nazis banned guns'? Already? I thought we'd just talked about this.
No. Just arguing that the rise of facism is aided in part by gun regulations... I mean, if you don't think there's a link, why did Germany pass the 1938 Regulations Against Jews' Possession of Weapons?
Because Germany wanted to strip all rights from Jews?
Posted again because some people don't pay attention:
Basically, it didn't matter one jot whether or not the jews had guns, there was never any instance where they could use them to any effect.
Even when they did get guns and tried to use them (Warsaw Ghetto uprising, for example), they still all died.
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The Laws of Thermodynamics:
1) You cannot win. 2) You cannot break even. 3) You cannot stop playing the game.
Colonel Flagg wrote:You think you're real smart. But you're not smart; you're dumb. Very dumb. But you've met your match in me.
Enjoy your Twitter culture and blog education. I tried to honestly engage despite the childish replies and constant repetition of the same gak over and over again after it gets explained over and over again.
d-usa wrote: “Bro”, “homie”, “buddy”, I’m done with that crap.
Enjoy your Twitter culture and blog education. I tried to honestly engage despite the childish replies and constant repetition of the same gak over and over again after it gets explained over and over again.
Good riddance.
...and your flippant "Go read a book" is any better?
Basically, it didn't matter one jot whether or not the jews had guns, there was never any instance where they could use them to any effect.
Even when they did get guns and tried to use them (Warsaw Ghetto uprising, for example), they still all died.
We've had this argument before... and yeah, it wouldn't change the result.
But, an armed populace *does* factor in whether or not one side wishes to conquer another side...and that's my point.
The USA has over 300 million private guns (that we know of). You don't think so Mussolini-wanna be would factor in that calculus whether or not he'd be successful?
...and furthermore, what's this US "on the road" to facism bs?
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