The Trump Presidency Ocho :: It Can't Go On. A.K.A. We All Gotta Duck / When The Shit Hits the Fan

Please let them be real velociraptors. They have been cloned, right? Jurassic Park was a documentary, wasn't it?

 

If so, they'll want more than Big Macs

 

Yeah. The problem with that is most birds the size of turkeys aren't as intimidating as in the movies. ********ing Canadians.

 

Were the Bluejays invited after they won the 1993 World Series? Frankly, I'd be surprised if the Raptors were invited. I don't recall any Canadian NHL team going to the White House after they won the Stanley Cup.

 

'93 Habs, with (St.) Patrick Roy in net. Thanks Mario Tremblay's idiocy for them not winning more. All skaters, no thugs.

 

Coming up on 30 years. The Montreal Canadiens won it in 1993. Not only that, since 1990, only 7 Canadian teams have even made the finals. It’s been so long that if you mention it to a Canadian, their only response is to point out that Canadians make up a majority of the Cup winners.

 

Last time a Canadian team played in the final was the most recent game seven before this one. The Bruins won in Vancouver

Canuck fan response is forever remembered for its grace and decorum.

 

As a Hokie, I know turkeys are mean. I also know they can be trained.



They're nowhere near as smart or intimidating as what was in the movies.

This scene isn't the same with turkeys.

 

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/security-threat

We are stepping up cyberattacks against Russia. But the intel community isn’t briefing Trump because they deem him a security risk.

Drones!

 

I think we both know what is going to happen here.

First, I'll say this is untrue. China's efforts to expand its sphere of influence are limited to building a few islands in the Pacific and Russia can barely fund an insurgency in the Donbass.

Then you'll rebut with a few cherry-picked examples - say, Saudi Arabia killing a US-based journalist.

Then I'll respond by saying that's not at all what multipolarity looks like, we are at the fable in every negotiation, every ceasefire, every insurgency has a DC lobbying firm.

Then I'm liable to get testy with you. I'll probably ask you what degree in international relations or political science you have. I'll probably also ask if you've ever read any history books.

So how about we just agree to disagree and keep the thread a hell of a lot shorter.

 

That's probably because every strong man around the world knows that you will prop them up as long as they pinky swear to serve your interests.

Gotta use all that otherwise useless military power somewhere.

 

Always funny to listen to Brummie argue with himself and there is never a winner in the debate.

 

Seriously. It’s behind a paywall for a reason.

 

What's not allowed? To post articles behind a paywall? Then why did the Mod write, paywall or not?

Asking for a friend.

 

No one reads the links anyway. I can't recall how many Washington Post articles (one of the boards "acceptable sources") that I've linked and no one once complained about the pay wall. Either the tribe is very well read, or more likely they don't read stuff that might challenge their point of view.

 

You can’t copy something in it’s entirety and post to BS if it’s behind a paywall.

Because it’s stealing.

 

Yikes ... What a poor take to think that the frozen conflict in Donbass is somehow linked to funding. Several years ago the Russian backed rebels had Mariupol surrounded. The reason the siege wasn't approved had nothing to do with funding. If it was a funding issue, Kiev would be Russian by now. The assessment was purely political. Bottom line is that the deeper the Russian forces went into Ukraine, the lower the level of civilian support there was on the ground. The assessment was that there was no way to take Mariupol without a prolonged siege that killed thousands of Russian speaking civilians. That's something that even Putin didn't have enough political capital to attempt. OK ... Putin takes Mariupol. But on the flip side he loses a significant amount of public support around the Slavic world, including dissent inside his own Mother Russia party.

Ukraine is a perfect case study of how limited America is in policing effectively around the world. I mean we're talking about the first land annexation in Europe since WWII. The CIA gets involved there with the pretext that we're going to weaken Russian interests. In the end the exact opposite happens and Russia gobbles up something like 10-20% of Ukraine's land mass.

You can systematically go through the list (Syria, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt ... ) and see similar patterns. We enter the geopolitical game, trigger a chain of events that goes beyond our control, and in the end we end up with at best a mixed bag of results ... at worst we achieve the exact opposite of our initial objective.

I've never posited that a strong US hasn't contributed to the relative post WWII peace. Humans have had these toys that could end civilization for 75 years and somehow we're still here. Sure, on a macro level, a strong US could be partially credited for that. My argument is that these micro geopolitical games we play in Syria, Libya or wherever else are not essential to preserve this American strength and to preserve the global equilibrium. In fact I could sit here and make countless arguments on how these geopolitical games actually weaken us. First we drive more undecided countries to go under the more stable umbrella of other superpowers. Second we bankrupt our country with multi trillion dollar price tags for these adventures. And finally we lose public support on the global street. And that doesn't even touch the human consideration on whether we're actually saving human lives. Did we save human life in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria etc ...? There's no way to know for sure since we can't simulate what would have happened in the non interventionist scenarios. When you look at the body count the US leaves behind it when it gets into these conflicts, I would say the argument is at best inconclusive.

 

I get that, but why did the Mod write "paywall or not"? Are we not allowed to post anything in its entirety, no matter the length, and whether it's behind a a paywall or not?

I don't think it's stealing or plagiarizing if it's not behind a paywall and we identify the source.

 

I would contend that the fact that we have nuclear weapons may be the reason we're still here. Nukes are the ultimate peace weapon (submarine-based nukes are the ultimate, ultimate peace weapon), at least for the countries that have them. North Korea and Iran don't want nukes so they can use them. They want nukes so they will no longer face scenarios in which they would have to use them.

Eisenhower understood this better than anyone, which is why he didn't see the need for a large defense buildup, because he knew we could protect our interests (even Taiwan) with our nuclear arsenal. Later presidents forgot what Eisenhower had proved would work in the nuclear age.

 

I get the rules to a certain extend. Having said that though, since i am a paid member of TPM, I don't think it is inappropriate to share this with a limited circle of people. I have copied and send it by email as well to a couple of friends.

 

Unfortunately, that's not your decision to make as it concerns BigSoccer.