Donald Trump

ayjaycee

Tangled Metal wrote:

Trump doesn't carry a large stick on two counts. First he pays someone to do that and second I doubt he has a big stick anyway.

And thirdly, he would be too weak to carry it for long even if he did have one.

I also read a little while ago that the Russian ambassador to the EU has apparently claimed that it was Syrian Civil Defence (aka White Helmets) that staged the attack in order to film it and then blame Assad etc. Reminds me that the b'stards also blamed Porton Down for the failed Skripal hit. Putin and Trump, I really can't work out who is the bigger kunt.

bendertherobot

Ryan is off

robert88

We now have Trump who wants Syria to distract attention from his own problems. The danger is compounded because the UK has a government that would also welcome charismatic role on the world stage for similar reasons altho' maybe holding hands with Trump might prove a bridge too far.

FishFish

I think also there is the legal aspect which previous governments got lost in.

There have been human rights abuses but that does not allow external military intervention by a state to punish or stop them. You could use the argument of Humanitarian Intervention which was used to protect the Albanians last century but that would require the Security Council to authorise it - which it has not nor will not with Russia having a veto. No-one intervened in Ireland when Britain caused Human Rights abuses in Castlereigh - because there was no legal basis.

The convention on Chemical weapons does not include measure for military intervention.

The only legal recourse would be criminal law in Syria and that will not happen.

There is no legal basis to intervene in Syria.

This is why Britain is not intervening. But whilst not intervening has a basis in law, it is morally disgusting.

robert88

What intervention? Do you mean we should join the armed opposition to President Assad by sending in our military forces?

Or seek a political resolution and armistice?

The Syrian conflict is a remnant of the so-called 'Arab Spring' uprisings in various Middle Eastern countries against oppression. Whilst there was Western military intervention in Libya for example, it did not involve 'boots on the ground' and the country is a political basket-case.

Recently Theresa May hailed the victory of Egypt's el-Sisi in Presidential elections that were if anything more dubious than that of Putin. A thoroughly repressive and brutal government that our government apparently supports whilst criticising that of Assad. Do morals really come into the equation?

FishFish

Robert88 wrote:

Do morals really come into the equation?

Yes they do.

Pross

I despair if the future of democracy is going to descend into playground style verbals over Twitter. I would say I feel more concerned about global stability than I have at any point in my lifetime (which includes understanding what was going on to some degree through most of the 80s Cold War). We now have so called leaders who will risk peace by ill-advised sound bites in Tweets that appear to get issued with no discussion amongst even his own appointees.

dinyull

bendertherobot wrote:

Ryan is off

Interesting to see if this changes his handling of Trump. He doesn't need to keep him happy anymore.

rick_chasey

Dinyull wrote:

bendertherobot wrote:

Ryan is off

Interesting to see if this changes his handling of Trump. He doesn't need to keep him happy anymore.

Ryan is a politician who build his entire career around very detailed analysis of how awful government deficits were and crucifying democrat politicians on their laissez faire attitude towards it.

When his party then got into power he waves through the biggest non-war time deficit increase in US history.

He was never going to be needed to be kept happy if he was willing to do that.

In the end he was just another politician who used big scary rhetoric on political issues to get into power to pass cuts that instead enriched People Like Him.

bianchimoon

Dinyull wrote:

bendertherobot wrote:

Ryan is off

Interesting to see if this changes his handling of Trump. He doesn't need to keep him happy anymore.

He's one of the most two faced politicians in the US, won't go down well in history. A big factor i reckon is he can see what is coming in the mid term elections and being the first rat off the GOP ship.

dinyull

bianchimoon wrote:

Dinyull wrote:

bendertherobot wrote:

Ryan is off

Interesting to see if this changes his handling of Trump. He doesn't need to keep him happy anymore.

He's one of the most two faced politicians in the US, won't go down well in history. A big factor i reckon is he can see what is coming in the mid term elections and being the first rat off the GOP ship.

Now has the opportunity to change that, even if it's just slightly.

I know I'm wrong to assume politicians have morals.

The way it's going, even if the dems take control of the house/senate in the mid terms they're gonna let him do what he wants as well.

pblakeney

I am currently wondering if tonight will be decisive.
Thursday nights were when it usually kicked off IIRC. (But probably I don't).

kingstongraham

It's infrastructure week this week.

pinno

I just wonder how much support Trump has in the senate. If there is any chance of impeachment given the Mueller investigation findings, the amount of popular support will mean nothing.

kingstongraham

Pinno wrote:

I just wonder how much support Trump has in the senate. If there is any chance of impeachment given the Mueller investigation findings, the amount of popular support will mean nothing.

I don't really understand what impeachment achieves if there isn't a majority to actually remove him from office. Unless there's two thirds of the senate willing to vote for him to be removed, he's not going anywhere. Obviously that could come to pass, but not yet.

sungod

bianchimoon wrote:

Dinyull wrote:

bendertherobot wrote:

Ryan is off

Interesting to see if this changes his handling of Trump. He doesn't need to keep him happy anymore.

He's one of the most two faced politicians in the US, won't go down well in history. A big factor i reckon is he can see what is coming in the mid term elections and being the first rat off the GOP ship.

stepping down now keeps the likely upcoming splatter off him, plenty of others to carry the can for any failure, then he's free to position for a run in 2020

Pross

Am I imagining it or did it used to be, even in the recent past, almost frowned upon to publicly criticise the President in public with only a few satirical comedians ever seeming to do so? Yet now we have a President that is openly ridiculed by many and criticised as unfit for office by the former head of the FBI.

cougie

Nixon must have been ripped apart ?

I think Obama was treated with respect because he was a statesman and I'm struggling to think of any gaffes ?

Trump is not presidential and you'd be embarrassed for him to be your local councillor let alone your commander in chief.

He brings it on himself. He's a pathetic excuse for a human.

kingstongraham

OK. Whoever wrote the Hannity storyline is officially a genius.

I'm hooked all over again - want to know what he was doing consulting with this "lawyer".

tangled_metal

Third client.

First client (Trump) without having knowledge of it had a mistress paid off by Cohen.

Second client (some Republican chair of the finance committee or similar) had a mistress he inseminated and produced a child with paid off apparently.

Third client (Hannity) has had unknown services performed for him with our without his knowledge. There is going to be more about this one. Can't you just feel that you're on the edge of a good story with this? Let's see how Fox news reports on one of their own.

Let's just say you were betting on what a dodgy attorney of high fliers in the right wing of American politics, who had a history of paying people off for his clients, had done for a newly revealed, prominent client. What would you put your money on? Prossie preggers? Been done (sorry mistress not Prossie). Could be a repeat but I'd put that one at very high odds.

There could be something simple and honest like a parking ticket violation being torn up. Or perhaps he's just advised on a new contract. You know we're all thinking it's something seedy but it could be perfectly acceptable.

Can just say that's all hypothetical because as Hannity said, he's not been invoiced so he never officially received Cohen legal services. But he admitted it in a court proceedings after being compelled to by a judge right? So he wouldn't lie to the court right?

bianchimoon

Tangled Metal wrote:

There could be something simple and honest like a parking ticket violation being torn up. Or perhaps he's just advised on a new contract. You know we're all thinking it's something seedy but it could be perfectly acceptable

yes, but we know it's something sordid and seedy don't we, hopefully find out soon then the test will be will Murdoch stand by him. If Fox sack him, will Trump tell people to stop watching Fox saying Hanity has been unfairly treated. It just keeps one giving. On a separate not I see Trump has put a stop on the further sanctions to the Russians that the US announced at the UN over the weekend.

kingstongraham

This doesn't even really touch the headlines any more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ffany.html

Pross

Bestest diplomat ever, his hard attitude and Tweets have turned North Korea around.

I suspect that will change when they meet face to face after which expect a full scale nuclear war.

pblakeney

"Donald Trump ranked worst president in US history by nearly 200 political scientists
The president ranks even below Richard Nixon".

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 18721.html

Moontrane

Matthewfalle wrote:

Moontrane wrote:

bianchimoon wrote:

Moontrane wrote:

bianchimoon wrote:

The default position of trump, the NRA and the gun lobby is guns are NOT dangerous, it’s the mental health of the people who use them that is the problem. Yet last year trump cut 18% from the budget of the department responsible for background checks on people buying guns. Of course nothing will ever change in the US it’s a frightened society and events like 14 feb, make it imperative that a vocal minority have weapons to protect themselves. The best the US can eve hope for is a ban on automatic weapons that were designed for war, not protection or hunting.

Automatic weapons are rarely used in mass shootings. I can't recall the last time one was used. Weapons designed for war - the fully automatic, machine-gun types - are used by military and some portions of law enforcement such as SWAT.

Phew, American kids eh, such a bunch of drama queens, worrying about whether those pesky shooters have bump stocked their rifles or have a nifty finger action.

Who has used "your" bump stock to shoot drama-queen American students?

I could ask a neighborhood kid to fashion me a bump stock, having him use just a shoestring. Do you understand that bump stocks are like mechanical pencils? Ban them and only law-abiding citizens comply.

Sorry - are you saying that the students are drama queens - i.e. Making a mountain out of a molehill, being over dramatic, worrying about things that don't really need worrying about?

Some from the from the Florida high school are. School shootings are incredibly rare.

Moontrane

orraloon wrote:

I think Moontrane is an USAnian so remember not to do irony, keep it literal, simple words best.

What is an USAnian?

cooldad

Moontrane wrote:

Matthewfalle wrote:

Moontrane wrote:

bianchimoon wrote:

Moontrane wrote:

bianchimoon wrote:

The default position of trump, the NRA and the gun lobby is guns are NOT dangerous, it’s the mental health of the people who use them that is the problem. Yet last year trump cut 18% from the budget of the department responsible for background checks on people buying guns. Of course nothing will ever change in the US it’s a frightened society and events like 14 feb, make it imperative that a vocal minority have weapons to protect themselves. The best the US can eve hope for is a ban on automatic weapons that were designed for war, not protection or hunting.

Automatic weapons are rarely used in mass shootings. I can't recall the last time one was used. Weapons designed for war - the fully automatic, machine-gun types - are used by military and some portions of law enforcement such as SWAT.

Phew, American kids eh, such a bunch of drama queens, worrying about whether those pesky shooters have bump stocked their rifles or have a nifty finger action.

Who has used "your" bump stock to shoot drama-queen American students?

I could ask a neighborhood kid to fashion me a bump stock, having him use just a shoestring. Do you understand that bump stocks are like mechanical pencils? Ban them and only law-abiding citizens comply.

Sorry - are you saying that the students are drama queens - i.e. Making a mountain out of a molehill, being over dramatic, worrying about things that don't really need worrying about?

Some from the from the Florida high school are. School shootings are incredibly rare.

Yeah because having your friends mowed down by a psycho is just one of those things. Nothing to see here, move along.

Perhaps they see a bigger picture....

Moontrane

Rick Chasey wrote:

Dinyull wrote:

bendertherobot wrote:

Ryan is off

Interesting to see if this changes his handling of Trump. He doesn't need to keep him happy anymore.

Ryan is a politician who build his entire career around very detailed analysis of how awful government deficits were and crucifying democrat politicians on their laissez faire attitude towards it.

When his party then got into power he waves through the biggest non-war time deficit increase in US history.

He was never going to be needed to be kept happy if he was willing to do that.

In the end he was just another politician who used big scary rhetoric on political issues to get into power to pass cuts that instead enriched People Like Him.

I agree with your first paragraph.

How do you defend your next?

bendertherobot

Trump for Nobel Peace prize anyone?

pblakeney

bendertherobot wrote:

Trump for Nobel Peace prize anyone?

Lil Kim played the bigger part.