Trump and his cabinet/buffoonery- Get your bunkers ready!

[mistertim]

2 minutes ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

 I don't really know that it is fair to blame trump for the crisis in North Korea or China.  You can certainly blame him for dealing with those crisis is in the worst way possible but you can't blame helm for causing the crisis in the 1st place.

 

I think there's a difference between the crisis in those situations and the preexisting issues. It isn't fair to blame Trump for the preexisting issues but it is fair to blame him for taking those two turd sandwiches and turning them into 24 hour a day turd buffets and then claiming victory when he inches it back to just a turd 5 course meal. 

[visionary]

Yeah, I think he takes issues, artificially inflates them, makes them worse and causes other issues alongside them, and then sort of solves some of what he caused while greatly inflating his accomplishments and often leaving much of the underlying issues intact.

[Why am I Mr. Pink?]

In some ways .. I give him credit for China.

 

China's intelligence assessment of us from a few years ago is that we are to diplomatic, to slow to react, always choosing compromise/diplomacy over more drastic action of confrontation (South China Sea aside). China's game plan was predicated on us being too polite and too diplomatic (requiring a million meetings btw a million sub committees before things get to House then blah blah blah) and that they knew we would never react to a death by a thousand paper cuts.

 

Now, i think China is scrambling. You have this inconsistent wild card throwing everything upside down. China doesnt know what to do. Their economy has shown weakness. trump has seemingly out-tariffed them.

 

The second China thinks its military is ready and it gets 100% concrete backing from Russia ... China will claim all of South China Sea and defend with force. Either we let them have it or we go to war.

 

I guess Im just glad China cant take advantage of us trying to be the good neighbor who is so slow to react anymore .. at least for 2 more years. Then back to sleeping bear diplomacy where China will quietly keep inching the lines.

[TheGreatBuzz]

I agree on China.  And I'd say something similar on NK.  What exactly has NK done that's worse than what they were doing before?  Yea, Trump had a meeting that most everyone didn't like.  But hell, at least he is trying something different other than sending a strongly worded letter.  I'd bet NK is a little more hesitant now to attack than they were before.  (now please stop making me defend him.  Makes me feel icky inside.)

[mistertim]

So Trump in a tweet today called his "negotiations" with China as a "big leap forward". Does he have any clue the kind of connotation that has when talking about China?

 

4 minutes ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

I agree on China.  And I'd say something similar on NK.  What exactly has NK done that's worse than what they were doing before?  Yea, Trump had a meeting that most everyone didn't like.  Bothell, at least he is trying something different other than sending a strongly worded letter.  I'd bet NK is a little more hesitant now to attack than they were before.  (now please stop making me defend him.  Makes me feel icky inside.)

 

I semi-agree on China. But on NK what Trump did was give legitimacy and propaganda material to an atrocious dictator of a country that has longed for exactly that for half a century. On top of that, we gave up critical joint operations with South Korea and got absolutely zilch in return; the incredibly milquetoast "agreement" that NK signed was so weak that it was probably hard for the NK officials to sign it without busting out laughing. 

 

That was an epic fail.

[TheGreatBuzz]

5 minutes ago, mistertim said:

But on NK what Trump did was give legitimacy and propaganda material to an atrocious dictator of a country that has longed for exactly that for half a century. On top of that, we gave up critical joint operations with South Korea and got absolutely zilch in return; the incredibly milquetoast "agreement" that NK signed was so weak that it was probably hard for the NK officials to sign it without busting out laughing

Legitimacy of KJU to who?  Propaganda to who?  It wasn't like his people were going to rise up without.  Otherwise they would have already done it.  As for those "critical" exercises, I think you over value them.  I've played in them before.  It is basically teaching SK not to get in our way.  Now if you want to talk about propaganda, SK uses them to their people.  Know who else uses the exercises as propaganda? NK.  It is used to show their people how the big bad West is gearing up to attack and that is why they can't spend money on food for their starving citizens. I can't say I love what he is doing but it isn't like the past 50 years of what we have been trying has stopped them from getting a nuke or anything.  I think it was time to try new tactics, even if I don't think his were the best.

[spjunkies]

Eazy E spitting some truths. You can skip to the 9:00 mark if you don't want to watch the entire thing, but I recommend looking at the entire presentation. 

 

 

[visionary]

6 hours ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

Legitimacy of KJU to who?  Propaganda to who?  It wasn't like his people were going to rise up without.  Otherwise they would have already done it.  As for those "critical" exercises, I think you over value them.  I've played in them before.  It is basically teaching SK not to get in our way.  Now if you want to talk about propaganda, SK uses them to their people.  Know who else uses the exercises as propaganda? NK.  It is used to show their people how the big bad West is gearing up to attack and that is why they can't spend money on food for their starving citizens. I can't say I love what he is doing but it isn't like the past 50 years of what we have been trying has stopped them from getting a nuke or anything.  I think it was time to try new tactics, even if I don't think his were the best.

 

The meeting gave China and Russia excuses to back off pressure and sanctions we got them to put on NK and gave NK legitimacy on the world stage (something they have been longing for) as well as put KJU on equal terms with the US president and made us look like fools for proclaiming things that NK clearly has no interest in doing, while they lost nothing.

[visionary]

 

[Sacks 'n' Stuff]

10 hours ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

I'd bet NK is a little more hesitant now to attack than they were before.

I'd say it's a push at 0% chance in hell that they were going to since it would mean the instant obliteration of their population.

 

But the point that the author was trying to make is that Trump farted out a threat of nuclear war during a photoshoot at Mara Lago then ran with it, went over there and did nothing, then declared that he had single-handedly ended the threat when noone else could and that he should get the Nobel Peace Prize. In reality, absolutely nothing changed. NK was doing the same thing that they'd always done when he drummed up an imaginary nuclear war and they're still doing the same thing now. Never once in his imaginary story did one goddamn thing get worse or better.

[visionary]

 

 

 

[Bozo the kKklown]

 

 

[Dan T.]

So the venerable DC independent bookstore Politics and Prose hosted an author's talk Monday night featuring... wait for it.... Stormy Daniels.

 

Sally Quinn(!) moderated the well-attended talk with Daniels, who has a memoir out, and it was not your typical author presentation.

 

 

Read Emily Heil's entertaining account of the event in the Post:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2018/12/04/stormy-daniels-dishes-trump-book-talk-with-sally-quinn/?utm_term=.77785f1bbaed

 

Among the news/highlights:

 

- Of her encounter with you-know-who, she says' "He was doing his best Burt Reynolds impression. But with socks."

- Looking back on her stripping career, she says that after breast augmentation surgery she "went from singles to twenties."

- She named her new assets "Thunder and Lightning."

 

- On a more sobering note, Daniels reveals that she was raped as a 9-year old.

 

Other interesting stuff in the link above.

 

 

 

 

 

[Chew]

1 minute ago, Dan T. said:

Sally Quinn(!) moderated the well-attended talk with Daniels, who has a memoir out, and it was not your typical author presentation.

 

  "So what are we talking here, Stormy -- enoki mushrooms? crimini mushrooms?"  #creamofmushroomdonny

[Bozo the kKklown]

 

[Renegade7]

17 hours ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

I agree on China.  And I'd say something similar on NK.  What exactly has NK done that's worse than what they were doing before?  Yea, Trump had a meeting that most everyone didn't like.  But hell, at least he is trying something different other than sending a strongly worded letter.  I'd bet NK is a little more hesitant now to attack than they were before.  (now please stop making me defend him.  Makes me feel icky inside.)

 

"Its not moving."

"Then pick up the box and shake it."

 

Rest of the world is waiting him out, if all we get out of playing chicken with China is a recession, does anyone really win?

[Busch1724]

16 hours ago, spjunkies said:

Eazy E spitting some truths. You can skip to the 9:00 mark if you don't want to watch the entire thing, but I recommend looking at the entire presentation. 

 

 

 

Worth watching...especially the ending. I learned something. 

 

However Eric is right and would be wise to educate others on the matter. 

[Chachie]

1 hour ago, Dan T. said:

So the venerable DC independent bookstore Politics and Prose hosted an author's talk Monday night featuring... wait for it.... Stormy Daniels.

 

 

 

 

 

I pass by that place every weeknight on my way home from work. I unwittingly stayed home sick yesterday.  😐

[techboy]

1 hour ago, Busch1724 said:

 

Worth watching...especially the ending. I learned something. 

 

 

If what you learned is that Abraham Lincoln was a professional wrestler, it's not true.

 

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/is-lincoln-in-wrestling-hall-of-fame/

 

 

 

[visionary]

 

[mistertim]

An actual false flag eh? 

 

Somewhere Alex Jones just popped a 2 inch woodie. 

[Llevron]

1 minute ago, mistertim said:

An actual false flag eh? 

 

Somewhere Alex Jones just popped a 2 inch woodie. 

 

Feel like that generous but whatever

[TheGreatBuzz]

2 hours ago, Renegade7 said:

 

"Its not moving."

"Then pick up the box and shake it."

 

Rest of the world is waiting him out, if all we get out of playing chicken with China is a recession, does anyone really win?

Waiting out KJU or China?

 

Either one, I would argue the waiting it out strategy hasn't worked.  But this may not be the best thread to dive to deeply into that debate.

[Renegade7]

3 minutes ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

Waiting out KJU or China?

 

Either one, I would argue the waiting it out strategy hasn't worked.  But this may not be the best thread to dive to deeply into that debate.

 

Fair.  My point is that our policy needed be somewhere between what Trump has done (playing reckless hardball) and hoping for the best.  Trump's execution has been laughably embarrasing, so I can't exactly co-sign to it being better then what were doing. We've walked out with ni change in NK and trade war with out largest trading partner, not exactly a net positive, imo. 

 

Think whole world has a two year countdown clock going right now, even our enemies are kinda like "ya, this was fun while it lasted"

[visionary]

46 minutes ago, mistertim said:

An actual false flag eh? 

The Syrian regime has some history with that, so it isn't exactly surprising.  They used to have recurring witnesses (which became something of an in joke) show up in interviews after bombings and they and Russia usually come up with some pretty implausible blame shifting on cw attacks.  Russia has done similar in other instances as well.