Jump to content

Recommended Posts

It's like that Nick Cohen article where he describes how the real danger is those who believe what he says no matter what, and decry anything which disagrees with their point of view as 'fake news', 'lies' or simply irrelevant.


America is drawing itself some very dangerous lines in the sand.

Trump is an illusion, or better a mirage floating on the desert in view. It is the Republican majority we need to be scared of. They (not he) have God on their side. And it is they, I fear, that will do the legislating.


Trump is an innocent: that is the secret of his success (as Dostoevsky noted so penetratingly). He actually believes everything as he slides from one moment to another (no matter the idiocy as each inconsistent belief is as good as the next, and can thus be as truly felt).

Otta Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> People like this would have voted Trump, and will

> be applauding everything he's doing. There are

> quite a few of them in parts of America. Scary

> place (in parts).

>

> http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p049v0dm


But people like this have always existed. What Trump did was convince working class America that he was their saviour. And unless the Democrats start pulling their finger out to win them back, we will be in serious danger of a second term for Trump.

This is very true. It's all in the mid-terms. If the Dem's do well, Trump is finished; the GOP will have a quiet word with him.


If they fail, and the Republicans still hold the House and Senate, they'll keep him for another term. They don't have any qualms about pulling the rug out from under Trump is they think he's threatening their future chances. But nor do they mind tolerating him so long as they get what they want.


He's keeping the seat warm for Pence, one way or another. The GOP see him as an anomaly, a lesson to be learned for the future.

  • 4 weeks later...

With Russia backing them I think it was a foolish move. Any losses can be made good by Russia, and the idea that Assad is deploying nerve gas without the tacit support of Putin is laughable; Putin is plainly ok with it.


It's a direct challenge to Russia in the region, and shows that the Defence Secretary and National Security Advisor have been able to advance their viewpoint to the detriment (obviously) of Bannon et al. In other words the alt-right party is over and 'normal service' has resumed.


I don't think poking Russia with a stick is a good idea, but then it's the first use of chemical weapons since Trump took office and he plainly thinks he needs to respond. I think this was too much.

I don't have a problem with the act of bombing the airfields per se. My concern is the escalation of force in the face of such trenchant Russian support for Assad. Turkey and Russia patched it up pretty quick when they shot at each other; I'm not convinced the same would happen if US forces got it wrong and killed Russian servicemen. To say nothing of the fact that it rackets up tension regardless.


I don't think nothing should've been done, I think air strikes etc should've been done a long time ago and Russia ha its feet firmly under the table in Damascus now.

I think at that time there wasn't as much support in the country for more foreign adventures. Plus some were starting to ask who or what would fill the vacuum if Assad left. Certainly Lybia and Eygpt were not seem as resounding successes. Tory MP's had their reservations too.


If we were going to hit Assad it should've been at the start, hard. That time has passed and with it our ability to influence the future of Syria. I have no trouble pulverising those responsible for what happened, I just don't think in the grand scheme it will help.

In purely game-theoretic terms (please read this literally) Trump is acting with some acuity. He has become unpredictable. Putin and Xi will have taken note. See endless poker simulations where programmes win against their stupid (even though world-ranked) human 'interpreters' by defying interpretation.


I believe this is current orthodoxy in game-theory terms.


(PS, probably N Korea (though certainly neither Russia nor China) is too stupid to realise - we might fear this, really quite a lot).

JoeLeg Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I think at that time there wasn't as much support

> in the country for more foreign adventures. Plus

> some were starting to ask who or what would fill

> the vacuum if Assad left. Certainly Lybia and

> Eygpt were not seem as resounding successes. Tory

> MP's had their reservations too.

>

> If we were going to hit Assad it should've been at

> the start, hard. That time has passed and with it

> our ability to influence the future of Syria. I

> have no trouble pulverising those responsible for

> what happened, I just don't think in the grand

> scheme it will help.


Sense as ever Joe. Nobody who saw the pictures of the gassed children could avoid the natural desire to take revenge on the perpetrators. However, this has been going on for years and nothing's been done - Trump's justification for a complete reversal of his avowed policy of non involvement seemed to be that he'd seen pictures of "beautiful babies" being killed. If the President of the USA is going to risk conflict with Russia on the basis that something he's seen on TV has upset him we're in for a bumpy ride. It looks decisive and strong - only a cynic (me) could wonder if he's decided it's time for a distraction from the absolute dog's breakfast of a presidency he's managed so far - but it's no basis for a coherent foreign policy.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • If anyone is going to the meetings above, you may wish to raise the issue of the impact of the lights, noise & activity on the local bat population. Gala commissioned a survey on bat activity, which stated that activity had been identified, with several species detected, and that action must be taken to minimise any disturbance to these legally protected species. One of the recommendations was "to limit artificial lighting and reduce noise levels starting at least 20 minutes before sunset throughout the event period"  I asked the Events Team three months ago whether this recommendation had been implemented. I finally got an answer yesterday - "This recommendation was not achievable due to the nature of the event... it was concluded that not implementing this recommendation would have little impact"  So there you have it. Commission a survey (box ticked) and then don't adhere to the findings because it's "not achievable", thereby wilfully and knowingly negatively affecting the foraging & commuting habits of a legally protected wildlife species. This is on top of the useless bird survey, which only takes into account activity within the walls of the site, not the surrounding area which is full of trees with nesting birds which are undoubtedly disturbed by a month of noise, lights & activity.
    • Really good service. Good bread. And very accommodating when we had to outwit our clever resident fox. 
    • ...and so, 4 years on from the "dramatic planning meeting" that approved the "meganursery", how has it all worked out in reality? The building looks nice from the outside - but I don't know anything more. Did either of the nursery businesses on EDG fail because there was no demand for nursery places in East Dulwich? Did Carmageddon on East Dulwich Grove get worse? Were pre-COVID work patterns abandoned forever (lol)? Were some of the concerns expressed in opposition to the planning application a teensy bit overblown...? https://southwarknews.co.uk/area/southwark/mega-nursery-approved-amid-dramatic-planning-meeting/
    • If I don’t feed the birds, they’ve actually come and perched on the fence and stared directly at me through the window. The squirrels do that too.   
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...