thatassemblyguyJanitor of Technical Debt.Registered Userregular
Sounds like Belarus dictatorship is going full Putin/Russia, DW is reporting that the opposition leader, that was calling for a recount/new election based on the large scale perceived fraud from the election there, was abducted in broad daylight?
If only there was a government or coalition of governments that could have rose to the challenge of mediating and negotiating a peaceful transition of power before it escalated. 🤔
Sounds like Belarus dictatorship is going full Putin/Russia, DW is reporting that the opposition leader, that was calling for a recount/new election based on the large scale perceived fraud from the election there, was abducted in broad daylight?
If only there was a government or coalition of governments that could have rose to the challenge of mediating and negotiating a peaceful transition of power before it escalated. 🤔
I mean, Belarus has been an open dictatorship for decades...
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FencingsaxIt is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understandingGNU Terry PratchettRegistered Userregular
Hey everyone, remember when Trump went on and on about how great Kim Jong Un was, and how lovely his letters were and so on?
In an unprecedented public attack by a sitting US president on the leadership of the US military, President Trump has accused US military leaders of seeking to start wars to boost the profits of defense contractors
Ryan Browne@rabrowne75POTUS: “I'm not saying the military’s in love with me, the soldiers are, the top people in the Pentagon probably aren’t because they want to do nothing but fight wars so that all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs & make the planes & make everything else stay happy”
This argument doesn't make sense from a President who has continually wanted more and more money spent on military garbage and whose only problem with wars is that the US isn't looting stuff in them and forcing allies to act more like vassals. Or the times when they have had to try to stop the President from doing shit that made war more likely. Or all the times he has appointed people on the boards of various defense companies to positions like naming a former Raytheon exec to be his defense secretary.
Couscous on
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FencingsaxIt is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understandingGNU Terry PratchettRegistered Userregular
In an unprecedented public attack by a sitting US president on the leadership of the US military, President Trump has accused US military leaders of seeking to start wars to boost the profits of defense contractors
Ryan Browne@rabrowne75POTUS: “I'm not saying the military’s in love with me, the soldiers are, the top people in the Pentagon probably aren’t because they want to do nothing but fight wars so that all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs & make the planes & make everything else stay happy”
This argument doesn't make sense from a President who has continually wanted more and more money spent on military garbage and whose only problem with wars is that the US isn't looting stuff in them and forcing allies to act more like vassals. Or the times when they have had to try to stop the President from doing shit that made war more likely.
Or the times where they couldn't stop that from happening.
In an unprecedented public attack by a sitting US president on the leadership of the US military, President Trump has accused US military leaders of seeking to start wars to boost the profits of defense contractors
Ryan Browne@rabrowne75POTUS: “I'm not saying the military’s in love with me, the soldiers are, the top people in the Pentagon probably aren’t because they want to do nothing but fight wars so that all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs & make the planes & make everything else stay happy”
This argument doesn't make sense from a President who has continually wanted more and more money spent on military garbage and whose only problem with wars is that the US isn't looting stuff in them and forcing allies to act more like vassals. Or the times when they have had to try to stop the President from doing shit that made war more likely. Or all the times he has appointed people on the boards of various defense companies to positions like naming a former Raytheon exec to be his defense secretary.
And when a poll among active duty servicemembers just came out showing he does not have majority support among the enlisted.
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thatassemblyguyJanitor of Technical Debt.Registered Userregular
I wouldn't be shocked if the motivation behind this twitter-attack was related to some sort of pressure for response to Putin/Russia for various reasons.
In an unprecedented public attack by a sitting US president on the leadership of the US military, President Trump has accused US military leaders of seeking to start wars to boost the profits of defense contractors
Ryan Browne@rabrowne75POTUS: “I'm not saying the military’s in love with me, the soldiers are, the top people in the Pentagon probably aren’t because they want to do nothing but fight wars so that all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs & make the planes & make everything else stay happy”
This argument doesn't make sense from a President who has continually wanted more and more money spent on military garbage and whose only problem with wars is that the US isn't looting stuff in them and forcing allies to act more like vassals. Or the times when they have had to try to stop the President from doing shit that made war more likely. Or all the times he has appointed people on the boards of various defense companies to positions like naming a former Raytheon exec to be his defense secretary.
And when a poll among active duty servicemembers just came out showing he does not have majority support among the enlisted.
But he didn't have majority opposition either (49.9%).
This is the fucker that is proud of polls that have him at 50% approval.
While the public and the media do judge him on a massive curve, he also judges himself on that same curve.
Like his pride over Republican approval being in the 90's.
Well, that's likely because he doesn't understand that's self-selecting for supporters, but still. His general pride over being mediocre is just weird, even if he always claims he's the best.
The only reason we aren't currently in a new war is because the leaders of Syria and Iran have cooler heads in charge. Time for the media and the Democrats to defend the military-industrial complex against Donald Trump, I guess, because the only reason Trump is complaining is that he is not sufficiently grifting from the military at the moment.
The only reason we aren't currently in a new war is because the leaders of Syria and Iran have cooler heads in charge. Time for the media and the Democrats to defend the military-industrial complex against Donald Trump, I guess, because the only reason Trump is complaining is that he is not sufficiently grifting from the military at the moment.
Trump is not bringing up how is totally cool when is his BFFs Bin Salman and Bibi doing it.
That out of the way, like clockwork, here's Dem Rep. Ted Lieu:
Trump loves the military industrial complex. The military industrial complex isn't exactly rooting for Biden as far as a I can tell regardless of how much people liked to delude themselves with stuff like "Donald the dove"
At least, with this, I can't see the nightmare scenario where a clusterfuck of a contested election, that Trump has military backing. This might never have been close to a reasonable possibility, but shit like the military leader who escorted him to the church in the aftermath of clearing the park? Yeah, I had some dark thoughts over that.
He seems to be everything he can to completely undermine any trust and faith the military might have in their commander in chief. Attacking gold star families, those captured or killed in combat, disabled veterans, and now accusing the top brass of all but malfeasance and dereliction of duty?
Is there anyone in the military he HASN'T pissed off?
The only reason we aren't currently in a new war is because the leaders of Syria and Iran have cooler heads in charge. Time for the media and the Democrats to defend the military-industrial complex against Donald Trump, I guess, because the only reason Trump is complaining is that he is not sufficiently grifting from the military at the moment.
He's complaining because the current scandal is him shitting all over military servicepeople, with sources being at least in part people in the military. Plus yet more polling showing him tanking with military personnel. So he's hitting back.
The only reason we aren't currently in a new war is because the leaders of Syria and Iran have cooler heads in charge. Time for the media and the Democrats to defend the military-industrial complex against Donald Trump, I guess, because the only reason Trump is complaining is that he is not sufficiently grifting from the military at the moment.
He's complaining because the current scandal is him shitting all over military servicepeople, with sources being at least in part people in the military. Plus yet more polling showing him tanking with military personnel. So he's hitting back.
Because of course, apologizing or admitting he was wrong is completely inconceivable for him.
I'm reminded of another bit of military wisdom: "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."
At least, with this, I can't see the nightmare scenario where a clusterfuck of a contested election, that Trump has military backing. This might never have been close to a reasonable possibility, but shit like the military leader who escorted him to the church in the aftermath of clearing the park? Yeah, I had some dark thoughts over that.
He seems to be everything he can to completely undermine any trust and faith the military might have in their commander in chief. Attacking gold star families, those captured or killed in combat, disabled veterans, and now accusing the top brass of all but malfeasance and dereliction of duty?
Is there anyone in the military he HASN'T pissed off?
The war criminals he's pardoned are probably happy
You guys think too small. How do you go about removing the apolitical upper echelon of the military?
Realistically? Change military policy that prevents new officers from getting corrupting payoffs, then wait for the old guard to die out and the new ones to age into their place. Basically, starve the system over a matter of a few decades by stealthily making it impossible for them to feed the military-industrial complex.
Any big moves would meet with massive resistance as the officers in question kick and scream about how those bad old liberals are trying to ruin the military. And of course the defense companies would dump hundreds of millions into lobbying against anything that sees them unable to parasite off the American populace.
The only reason we aren't currently in a new war is because the leaders of Syria and Iran have cooler heads in charge. Time for the media and the Democrats to defend the military-industrial complex against Donald Trump, I guess, because the only reason Trump is complaining is that he is not sufficiently grifting from the military at the moment.
Trump is not bringing up how is totally cool when is his BFFs Bin Salman and Bibi doing it.
That out of the way, like clockwork, here's Dem Rep. Ted Lieu:
I wouldn't be shocked if the motivation behind this twitter-attack was related to some sort of pressure for response to Putin/Russia for various reasons.
More likely, this is trump trying to "damage control" the atlantic's article last week about how little respect he has for the dead by slinging mud.
And as others have pointed out, you can't really complain about the MIC when you reversed spending cuts under obama and careened dangerously close to multiple wars (one of which would have been nuclear.)
"The worst person you know just made a great point but it runs counter to their prior actions and they obviously don't believe it they are only saying it to get praise but none of this is surprising because they are, as previously mentioned, the worst" doesn't roll off the tongue as well.
Donald Trump has been nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize following his efforts to broker peace between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Yes, two countries with hilariously corrupt and vile heads of state.
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FencingsaxIt is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understandingGNU Terry PratchettRegistered Userregular
Donald Trump has been nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize following his efforts to broker peace between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Yes, two countries with hilariously corrupt and vile heads of state.
The UAE and Israel did not exactly have open hostilities.
I don't know which obsequious asshole did this, but I assume Kushner.
The US president's name has been put forward by Norwegian politician Christian Tybring-Gjedde, according to Fox News.
"For his merit, I think he has done more trying to create peace between nations than most other Peace Prize nominees," Mr Tybring-Gjedde, a four-term member of parliament, told the channel.
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reVerseAttack and Dethrone GodRegistered Userregular
edited September 2020
For context, he's a right-wing libertarian/nationalist, and also nominated Trump for his dealings with North Korea.
I would love for them to actually outline what he has achieved with North Korea
Well for a time they increased Kim Jong Un's importance in the world, made his rule more secure, tried to humanize him, and made the region more unstable.
Oh and he joked about whoring out his press secretary to him, to her face. Telling her she should go "take one for the team", and that even if her kids and husband missed her she'd be a great hero to her country.
Donald Trump has been nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize following his efforts to broker peace between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Yes, two countries with hilariously corrupt and vile heads of state.
The UAE and Israel did not exactly have open hostilities.
I don't know which obsequious asshole did this, but I assume Kushner.
It was actually Kushner so if anyone deserves a peace prize for this, it’s him.
I know an Israeli guy who is pretty liberal who is actually very happy about this, so it’s not nothing for people who live there. Who knows if it lasts.
Overall, Trump's plan seems to be let Israel and India be the big sheriffs of the Middle East, so everybody else has to buckle up or deal with Iran on their own. Notice how every move that he does on that corner of the world (like the previous Afghanistan peace deal, that later was revealed to be giving up the job of keeping the taliban in check to the Indian Army) favors either of those countries.
Donald Trump has been nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize following his efforts to broker peace between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Yes, two countries with hilariously corrupt and vile heads of state.
The UAE and Israel did not exactly have open hostilities.
I don't know which obsequious asshole did this, but I assume Kushner.
It was actually Kushner so if anyone deserves a peace prize for this, it’s him.
I know an Israeli guy who is pretty liberal who is actually very happy about this, so it’s not nothing for people who live there. Who knows if it lasts.
This assumes there was anything brokered here. As far as I've read this is basically formalizing an already existing relationship.
Also, given how trump has done so fucking much to destablize america's sphere of influence with his petty shortsightedness (which included fucking over the Kurds over and above the protests of his generals) the idea that he should get a peace prize for his efforts is frankly appalling.
Also, given how trump has done so fucking much to destablize america's sphere of influence with his petty shortsightedness (which included fucking over the Kurds over and above the protests of his generals) the idea that he should get a peace prize for his efforts is frankly appalling.
-- Trump has come under fire in recent days for reportedly making disparaging remarks about US military personnel and veterans. Woodward's book includes an anecdote where an aide to Mattis heard Trump say in a meeting, "my f---ing generals are a bunch of pussies" because they cared more about alliances than trade deals. Mattis asked the aide to document the comment in an email to him. And Trump himself criticized military officials to Woodward over their view that alliances with NATO and South Korea are the best bargain the US makes. "I wouldn't say they were stupid, because I would never say that about our military people," Trump said. "But if they said that, they -- whoever said that was stupid. It's a horrible bargain ... they make so much money. Costs us $10 billion. We're suckers."
-- Woodward reports that Trump's national security team expressed concerns the US may have come close to nuclear war with North Korea amid provocations in 2017. "We never knew whether it was real," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is quoted as saying, "or whether it was a bluff." But it was so serious that Mattis slept in his clothes to be ready in case there was a North Korean launch and repeatedly went to the Washington National Cathedral to pray.
-- Trump boasted to Woodward about a new secret weapons system. "I have built a nuclear — a weapons system that nobody's ever had in this country before," Trump said. Woodward says other sources confirmed the information, without providing further details, but expressed surprise that Trump disclosed it.
-- Woodward obtained the 27 "love letters" Trump exchanged with Kim Jong Un, 25 of which have not been reported publicly. The letters, filled with flowery language, provide a fascinating window into their relationship. Kim flatters Trump by repeatedly calling him "Your Excellency," and writes in one letter that meeting again would be "reminiscent of a scene from a fantasy film." In another, Kim writes that the "deep and special friendship between us will work as a magical force." CNN has obtained the transcripts of two of the letters.
-- Trump's son-in-law and senior White House adviser Jared Kushner also weighs in with some unusual literary insights about his father-in-law. Kushner is quoted as saying that four texts are key to understanding Trump, including "Alice in Wonderland." Kushner paraphrased the Cheshire Cat: "If you don't know where you're going, any path will get you there."
-- Woodward pressed Trump on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's role in the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Once again, Trump dismissed the US intelligence assessment and defends bin Salman: "He says very strongly that he didn't do it."
Foreign affairs experts say Trump gave up much — including by postponing and then scaling back the U.S. joint military exercises with South Korea that had long angered North Korea, as well as by granting Kim the international stature and legitimacy the North Korean regime has long craved.
Trump told Woodward he evaluates Kim and his nuclear arsenal like a real estate target: “It’s really like, you know, somebody that’s in love with a house and they just can’t sell it.”
Trump was taken with Kim’s flattery, Woodward writes, telling the author pridefully that Kim had addressed him as “Excellency.” Trump remarked that he was awestruck meeting Kim for the first time in 2018 in Singapore, thinking to himself, “Holy shit,” and finding Kim to be “far beyond smart.” Trump also boasted to Woodward that Kim “tells me everything,” including a graphic account of Kim having his uncle killed.
Trump reflected on his relationships with authoritarian leaders generally, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “It’s funny, the relationships I have, the tougher and meaner they are, the better I get along with them,” he told Woodward. “You know? Explain that to me someday, okay?”
Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, is quoted by Woodward as saying, “The most dangerous people around the president are overconfident idiots,” which Woodward interprets as a reference to Mattis, Tillerson and former National Economic Council director Gary Cohn.
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If only there was a government or coalition of governments that could have rose to the challenge of mediating and negotiating a peaceful transition of power before it escalated. 🤔
I mean, Belarus has been an open dictatorship for decades...
Don't worry, he was just being sarcastic!
Or the times where they couldn't stop that from happening.
And when a poll among active duty servicemembers just came out showing he does not have majority support among the enlisted.
But he didn't have majority opposition either (49.9%).
This is the fucker that is proud of polls that have him at 50% approval.
While the public and the media do judge him on a massive curve, he also judges himself on that same curve.
Like his pride over Republican approval being in the 90's.
Well, that's likely because he doesn't understand that's self-selecting for supporters, but still. His general pride over being mediocre is just weird, even if he always claims he's the best.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Trump is not bringing up how is totally cool when is his BFFs Bin Salman and Bibi doing it.
That out of the way, like clockwork, here's Dem Rep. Ted Lieu:
He seems to be everything he can to completely undermine any trust and faith the military might have in their commander in chief. Attacking gold star families, those captured or killed in combat, disabled veterans, and now accusing the top brass of all but malfeasance and dereliction of duty?
Is there anyone in the military he HASN'T pissed off?
He's complaining because the current scandal is him shitting all over military servicepeople, with sources being at least in part people in the military. Plus yet more polling showing him tanking with military personnel. So he's hitting back.
Because of course, apologizing or admitting he was wrong is completely inconceivable for him.
I'm reminded of another bit of military wisdom: "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."
The war criminals he's pardoned are probably happy
Realistically? Change military policy that prevents new officers from getting corrupting payoffs, then wait for the old guard to die out and the new ones to age into their place. Basically, starve the system over a matter of a few decades by stealthily making it impossible for them to feed the military-industrial complex.
Any big moves would meet with massive resistance as the officers in question kick and scream about how those bad old liberals are trying to ruin the military. And of course the defense companies would dump hundreds of millions into lobbying against anything that sees them unable to parasite off the American populace.
Boy that whole “I’d never attack people in the military” defense is working out swell.
More likely, this is trump trying to "damage control" the atlantic's article last week about how little respect he has for the dead by slinging mud.
And as others have pointed out, you can't really complain about the MIC when you reversed spending cuts under obama and careened dangerously close to multiple wars (one of which would have been nuclear.)
Yes, two countries with hilariously corrupt and vile heads of state.
The UAE and Israel did not exactly have open hostilities.
I don't know which obsequious asshole did this, but I assume Kushner.
Well for a time they increased Kim Jong Un's importance in the world, made his rule more secure, tried to humanize him, and made the region more unstable.
Oh and he joked about whoring out his press secretary to him, to her face. Telling her she should go "take one for the team", and that even if her kids and husband missed her she'd be a great hero to her country.
Granted, it is not a positive achievement...
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It was actually Kushner so if anyone deserves a peace prize for this, it’s him.
I know an Israeli guy who is pretty liberal who is actually very happy about this, so it’s not nothing for people who live there. Who knows if it lasts.
This assumes there was anything brokered here. As far as I've read this is basically formalizing an already existing relationship.
He only wants one because Obama got one.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/09/politics/bob-woodward-rage-book-trump-coronavirus/index.html Really does not feel me with confidence.
Edit:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bob-woodward-rage-book-trump/2020/09/09/0368fe3c-efd2-11ea-b4bc-3a2098fc73d4_story.html JESUS FUCKING CHRIST
Battlenet ID: MildC#11186 - If I'm in the game, send me an invite at anytime and I'll play.
Please tell me there are recordings of Kushner saying "The most dangerous people around the president are overconfident idiots"
I think it's "2020," which, admittedly, a number and not a word.