"So this is where Trump’s foreigner-hating America has ended up: speaking the language of Jesus in public is now equated to terrorism."
JC, please spread the blame a little further. Trump has said many offensive things as electioneering politicians are wont to do. However, I think that the military actions of the Bushes, Clinton and Obama in the Middle East, endlessly propagandized by the main stream media, are much more to blame for the anti-Muslim feelings we now see in the US and other countries. Trump has only talked ... the others have acted with deadly force. Hundreds of thousands killed, millions displaced and an immensely dangerous flood of refugees unleashed at Europe. I suspect that most people would rather be on the receiving end of a verbal attack than be targeted for a drone strike with a Hellfire missile.
"To put this in perspective, Russian leaders ardently believe that they are the victims of a U.S.-led drive by NATO to encircle their country and diminish its international influence." Now why would they believe such obvious rubbish? I am sure that given the total absence of any physical evidence, i.e. movement of weapons, construction of military bases on their borders, media demonization of Putin, endless war games etc., you would have to agree that they are just being paranoid. As my 20 year old grandson would say .. "Yeah right".
The very fact that he is not supported by any of the traditional "Establishments" .. Media, Wall Street, Republican Party, Corporate America, MIC, Health Care, etc., is for me the the most persuasive reason for voting for Trump. Corruption is rampant throughout all of these Establishments. As the two parties have cycled through the White House, the situation has not only gotten worse but more blatant … too big to fail … too rich to prosecute … too elite to go to jail etc. etc. Let’s take a chance. We have so little to loose. Let’s exchange the current package of known corruption and risk the dire consequences of a Trump presidency (as predicted by the people who stand to lose the most). At least the man would prefer to do business than start a war. What do we really expect from HRC?
"Personally, I find the idea that President Obama plotted a coup against the Turkish government implausible (Joe Biden frankly calls the notion “bonkers.”) But that I find it implausible does not stop the AKP elite from believing in it. (I’m also not sure that Gulenist sleeper cells in the officer corps were the only or main element in the plot)."
You make this statement, yet in the next paragraph you list many facts that support this idea. Not logical.
Is it really "a naked power grab" for a sovereign government to try to take back one of its cities? Or perhaps you have decided that the regime must be changed?
Trump will not be the gentleman that Bernie was. Clinton offers many areas for hard attacks, not the least of which are the Wall Street speech transcripts. Trump will hammer her on that without letup. Though he would probably agree with everything she said to the Banksters, he will nail her for being two-faced. It will come down to her trust deficit. In the best of all possible worlds, Trump will get "brokered" out at the Republican convention, thereby allowing both he and Bernie to run as independents. That would give us some real choices in a four-way race without the "Nader" problem.
So security personnel of a foreign country assault American reporters and others on American soil and all we get is a bunch of whining. Where are the heroic police when we need them?
"Losing 50 people in a terrorist blast in an airport has a greater impact than losing 50 people in an ordinary train wreck. The terrorist message is that 1) we can hurt you anywhere 2) we would hurt you this way every single day if we could and we’re working on that."
The low oil price must hurt Russians who are importing goods. However, it also encourages the growth of Russian domestic industry which is a good thing for their economic security and which will ultimately help their exports. Remember also that they use rubles to pay for their oil production. The fact that the ruble has devalued so much means that their profits in rubles have not decreased to the extent that dollar profits have gone down in the US fracking fields. It's not all doom and gloom for the Russians
"Despite valiant efforts, President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have failed to force Netanyahu to budge".
I suppose these valiant efforts include handing over several billions of dollars to Netanyahu every year. These funds are supposedly for the defence of Israel. Unfortunately, they are fungible.
"entirely halting gasoline smuggling from 30,000 feet is impossible". But it is not impossible to destroy the production facilities and in that way stop the smuggling. There has been a noticeable reticence on the part of the US to attack oil infrastructure. The recent decline in the price of oil might change that. It would certainly benefit the Russians who have lost a lot of oil revenue recently.
"Had MPs been aware of these assessments on 18 March 2003, they might not have given a green light to military action." This statement is more than a little disingenuous. Anyone with a brain would expect an increase in domestic terrorism to result from the bombing of friends and relatives and others of their faith. Do they now expect the bombing of Syria to produce different results?
You call him an idiot. How many non-idiots do you know who have made a billion dollars? I would not underestimate the man. He is just as likely to haul the rest of the Republican candidates over the coals as anyone the Democrats can field. He might even have a few hard questions for Hillary. Personally I would not vote for the man, but there is a certain appeal for a candidate who is not beholden to any backers. I would not be surprised to see him move up in the polls.
It is not about fighting effectively. It is all about moving stockpiles of munitions off the shelves so that more can be procured. It is always about money ...
Having crushed Saddam and disarmed the Sunnis, now we are pushing to re-arm them so that they can fight ISIL? What a great idea. While we are at it, why not send some good weapons to Iran to help them join the battle? Will we never learn?
I watched the Maher show and (as a non-practicing Christian) I was disgusted with his remarks. For the most part, I have enjoyed his work, but such blatant bigotry coming from someone who portrays himself as a progressive, was disappointing. He needs to listen to his own remarks with a critical and objective mindset. I think that he too would be disgusted with his own rhetoric.
Why should it end? It has been an extremely successful process for generating profits for the military-industrial complex. You cannot profit from the manufacture of military hardware if you do not use it up. The US government, a customer with bottomless pockets, seems quite willing to create the scenarios needed to allow this process to continue and thrive.
What about it JC. How come you never talk about the American "Regime".
Please cite some reliable references.
"So this is where Trump’s foreigner-hating America has ended up: speaking the language of Jesus in public is now equated to terrorism."
JC, please spread the blame a little further. Trump has said many offensive things as electioneering politicians are wont to do. However, I think that the military actions of the Bushes, Clinton and Obama in the Middle East, endlessly propagandized by the main stream media, are much more to blame for the anti-Muslim feelings we now see in the US and other countries. Trump has only talked ... the others have acted with deadly force. Hundreds of thousands killed, millions displaced and an immensely dangerous flood of refugees unleashed at Europe. I suspect that most people would rather be on the receiving end of a verbal attack than be targeted for a drone strike with a Hellfire missile.
"To put this in perspective, Russian leaders ardently believe that they are the victims of a U.S.-led drive by NATO to encircle their country and diminish its international influence." Now why would they believe such obvious rubbish? I am sure that given the total absence of any physical evidence, i.e. movement of weapons, construction of military bases on their borders, media demonization of Putin, endless war games etc., you would have to agree that they are just being paranoid. As my 20 year old grandson would say .. "Yeah right".
The very fact that he is not supported by any of the traditional "Establishments" .. Media, Wall Street, Republican Party, Corporate America, MIC, Health Care, etc., is for me the the most persuasive reason for voting for Trump. Corruption is rampant throughout all of these Establishments. As the two parties have cycled through the White House, the situation has not only gotten worse but more blatant … too big to fail … too rich to prosecute … too elite to go to jail etc. etc. Let’s take a chance. We have so little to loose. Let’s exchange the current package of known corruption and risk the dire consequences of a Trump presidency (as predicted by the people who stand to lose the most). At least the man would prefer to do business than start a war. What do we really expect from HRC?
"I am NOT white." Now that's a switch.
If you think Mosul is in bad shape now, wait until Uncle Sam gets finished this time.
"Personally, I find the idea that President Obama plotted a coup against the Turkish government implausible (Joe Biden frankly calls the notion “bonkers.”) But that I find it implausible does not stop the AKP elite from believing in it. (I’m also not sure that Gulenist sleeper cells in the officer corps were the only or main element in the plot)."
You make this statement, yet in the next paragraph you list many facts that support this idea. Not logical.
Is it really "a naked power grab" for a sovereign government to try to take back one of its cities? Or perhaps you have decided that the regime must be changed?
Trump will not be the gentleman that Bernie was. Clinton offers many areas for hard attacks, not the least of which are the Wall Street speech transcripts. Trump will hammer her on that without letup. Though he would probably agree with everything she said to the Banksters, he will nail her for being two-faced. It will come down to her trust deficit. In the best of all possible worlds, Trump will get "brokered" out at the Republican convention, thereby allowing both he and Bernie to run as independents. That would give us some real choices in a four-way race without the "Nader" problem.
They bought and expended a lot of munitions. Mission accomplished. The MIC is smiling.
Manslaughter? Plain case of murder most foul.
Notice how the current enemies of the US establishment are immediately highlighted. Our oligarchs would never be involved in such shady dealings. Duh!
So security personnel of a foreign country assault American reporters and others on American soil and all we get is a bunch of whining. Where are the heroic police when we need them?
"Losing 50 people in a terrorist blast in an airport has a greater impact than losing 50 people in an ordinary train wreck. The terrorist message is that 1) we can hurt you anywhere 2) we would hurt you this way every single day if we could and we’re working on that."
Are we not then just a nation of cowards?
The UK, a proud supporter of US wars to spread "democracy". They have become a joke. BDS, BDS, BDS!
The low oil price must hurt Russians who are importing goods. However, it also encourages the growth of Russian domestic industry which is a good thing for their economic security and which will ultimately help their exports. Remember also that they use rubles to pay for their oil production. The fact that the ruble has devalued so much means that their profits in rubles have not decreased to the extent that dollar profits have gone down in the US fracking fields. It's not all doom and gloom for the Russians
"Despite valiant efforts, President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have failed to force Netanyahu to budge".
I suppose these valiant efforts include handing over several billions of dollars to Netanyahu every year. These funds are supposedly for the defence of Israel. Unfortunately, they are fungible.
Why go to the Hague? One or two prosecutions by the US Justice Dept would get their attention. There were clear violations of US law.
It is so depressing that we still have to ask that question.
With all the money that they spend and all the surveillance, why can't Homeland Security stop these damned terrorist attacks?
That was not the point of my comment. Notwithstanding, it does affect the price ... in the least.
"entirely halting gasoline smuggling from 30,000 feet is impossible". But it is not impossible to destroy the production facilities and in that way stop the smuggling. There has been a noticeable reticence on the part of the US to attack oil infrastructure. The recent decline in the price of oil might change that. It would certainly benefit the Russians who have lost a lot of oil revenue recently.
"Had MPs been aware of these assessments on 18 March 2003, they might not have given a green light to military action." This statement is more than a little disingenuous. Anyone with a brain would expect an increase in domestic terrorism to result from the bombing of friends and relatives and others of their faith. Do they now expect the bombing of Syria to produce different results?
"pretty boy Justin Trudeau"??? Hardly biased at all.
I think you nailed it.
Much ado about nothing. I doubt that Putin is particularly concerned by these word games.
Hillary is the designated hitter. Bernie (supposedly) is the water boy.
You call him an idiot. How many non-idiots do you know who have made a billion dollars? I would not underestimate the man. He is just as likely to haul the rest of the Republican candidates over the coals as anyone the Democrats can field. He might even have a few hard questions for Hillary. Personally I would not vote for the man, but there is a certain appeal for a candidate who is not beholden to any backers. I would not be surprised to see him move up in the polls.
With China at her side, Russia is hardly isolated.
It is not about fighting effectively. It is all about moving stockpiles of munitions off the shelves so that more can be procured. It is always about money ...
Why bother to comment?
Having crushed Saddam and disarmed the Sunnis, now we are pushing to re-arm them so that they can fight ISIL? What a great idea. While we are at it, why not send some good weapons to Iran to help them join the battle? Will we never learn?
I watched the Maher show and (as a non-practicing Christian) I was disgusted with his remarks. For the most part, I have enjoyed his work, but such blatant bigotry coming from someone who portrays himself as a progressive, was disappointing. He needs to listen to his own remarks with a critical and objective mindset. I think that he too would be disgusted with his own rhetoric.
Why should it end? It has been an extremely successful process for generating profits for the military-industrial complex. You cannot profit from the manufacture of military hardware if you do not use it up. The US government, a customer with bottomless pockets, seems quite willing to create the scenarios needed to allow this process to continue and thrive.
And if it was your mother or child who just happened to be part of the collateral damage, I am sure you would be very understanding.