Geoff > Status Update

I have trouble believing that all of this is strictly what it is claimed to be. I wonder if any of it is.

Meanwhile, I’ve got dinner resevations to eat with Mike Pence on April 20th... IF I enter for a chance to win with a $1 contibution. How can I resist this opportunity to celebrate all that we have accomplished, including making America great again!?

Zadignose wrote: "Meanwhile, I’ve got dinner resevations to eat with Mike Pence on April 20th... IF I enter for a chance to win with a $1 contibution..."

If it's just the two of you, go disguised as a woman - just to see what he does!

Good idea!

David wrote: "It's so weird to me that Tucker Carlson and Ann Coulter are now against more wars in the Middle East, much more so than a lot of mainstream Democrats. Anyway, bombing Syria is such a horrible idea you've got to take allies where you can find them. ."

When the general public is far more anti-war than the the leftist imperial intelligentsia.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/16...

*liberal imperial intelligenstia.

liberal imperial unintelligentsia*

*shitheads

Manny wrote: "I have trouble believing that all of this is strictly what it is claimed to be. I wonder if any of it is."

He's just shooting from the hips - which is seemingly his modus operandi for everything from bedroom to boardroom to war room...

ah, shit.

Well, that upstaged Comey alright. I was kind of struck by the following sentence:

No nation can succeed in the long run by promoting rogue states, brutal tyrants, and murderous dictators.

I guess there will be several murderous dictators shaking their heads and wondering what they did to offend Donald.

Manny wrote: "Well, that upstaged Comey alright. I was kind of struck by the following sentence:No nation can succeed in the long run by promoting rogue states, brutal tyrants, and murderous dictators.I guess th..."

As Saudi Arabia continues to inflict a biblical plague on Yemen, with US assistance, and Israel gets carte blanche to kill Palestinians. What a joke.

He is always upstaging. I am afraid to look at the news this a.m.

I have a feeling that when Mueller presents his case to Rosenstein that the Republicans will ignore it, if it gets that far. I am such a pessimist this year.

Perhaps this is another diversionary tactic? "If they're distracted by the threat of war, maybe they won't hear what Mueller says."

Yes, Trump is pretty good at the diversionary tactics, and at propaganda techniques in general.

When we were out browsing at the used book stalls this afternoon, we nearly bought a 1934 book by Goebbels describing his part in Hitler's rise to power. The blurb had quotes from British newspapers praising its "brutal honesty".

Of course it's at least partly diversionary (it's one of his main MOs). And it's no coincidence that on Friday morning, Fox and Friends specifically told him that strikes now would push Comey and Cohen from the headlines.

It is terribly convenient for Trump that the Syrian government just at this moment committed an act which has outraged the whole world, Putin issued an uncharacteristically bold threat, and the brave American president stared him down and meted out justice to the richly deserving Assad. But hey, anyone can get lucky.

I have to say I think the real diversion is US partisan politics.

This tweet hasn't aged well...

That was obviously for the purpose of politics. Just grow up; will ya?

The diversion is US partisan politics; endless war in the Middle East the thing worth paying attention to.

Not sure anyone here needs to be convinced of this, but here's the great Patrick Cockburn on why military strikes on Syria are a horrible, horrible idea, that only serve to extend the endless suffering and carnage.


https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/...


The West just needs to man up and negotiate with Assad. Unfortunately, it's the only way. Even more unfortunately, the west doesn't appear interested in doing anything to alleviate Syrian suffering. Rather grotesquely, the whole strategy of the US has been to prolong the civil war into a grinding, interminable stalemate. From the article:

This is the same old discredited policy that the US and its western allies have pursued for the last five years, since they realised that the armed opposition to Assad was dominated by various al-Qaeda clones, such as Isis and al-Nusra, which would replace him if he ever fell from power.

In cooperation with Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, they helped the rebels sufficiently to keep the war going against Assad, but not enough for them to win.

It's a great article, David. I found the following excerpt especially scathing:

"Ending the war is the only way to reduce civilian casualties, and everything else is hypocrisy and pretence. What is really killing people in Syria is the war which western powers stoked year after year with the intention that neither side would win."

He was on the Moderate Rebels podcast about a month ago too and he gave a thorough overview of the Syrian conflict. I was honestly blown away by his depth of knowledge.

Francis wrote: "It's a great article, David. I found the following excerpt especially scathing:

"Ending the war is the only way to reduce civilian casualties, and everything else is hypocrisy and pretence. What i..."

But if the content of that article were true, wouldn't you expect many normal people in the Middle East - like, not just twisted fanatical evil psycho islamofascist members of ISIS/Al Qaeda - to hate the US, France, Britain etc?

I'm pretty sure that's meant as a rhetorical question, but then again, I'm pretty bad at picking up on irony over the internet!

Francis, your irony detector has not let you down. Trust your intuition.

Francis wrote: "It's a great article, David. I found the following excerpt especially scathing:

"Ending the war is the only way to reduce civilian casualties, and everything else is hypocrisy and pretence. What i..."

I'd never heard of that podcast. I'l have to look into it. For me, Cockburn has been the single most helpful author for understanding the politics of Syria and the Middle East.

Manny wrote; "But if the content of that article were true, wouldn't you expect many normal people in the Middle East - like, not just twisted fanatical evil psycho islamofascist members of ISIS/Al Qaeda - to hate the US, France, Britain etc?"

All 100 of them already do. So what?

At the risk of kicking a hornet's nest, does anyone have an opinion they'd like to share on the chief executive's abrupt military withdrawal from northeast Syria?

Here's my man Patrick Cockburn (not so much a condemnation as a nuanced take; at other times he's said that a continued American presence ensures that war in Syria will never end - the longer foreign powers stay involved the less likely that peace will ever come)

https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/12/...

David wrote: "At the risk of kicking a hornet's nest, does anyone have an opinion they'd like to share on the chief executive's abrupt military withdrawal from northeast Syria?

Here's my man Patrick Cockburn (n..."

Sorry, I know that this thread was supposed to have died a more or less peaceful death quite a while ago, but I daresay there may be a partial exception when the topic is Syria.

Well everyone, here we are. Nearly 4 years have passed. The tinned beans in my bomb shelter are nearly exhausted, Geoff.

Last night I watched the First Lady pin the Medal of Freedom on RUSH FUCKING LIMBAUGH. Today, I watched the "greatest deliberative body in the world" acquit my country on the charge of Democracy (of which we have ever been innocent, but never more so than now, perhaps).

So: checking in.

but Bernard's winning, it's all good.

David wrote: "but Bernard's winning, it's all good."

I heard the Iowa caucus was pretty smooth sailing?

bit of a rat infestation, but it's all good.

الى نصر

onward to victory - this presidency also indirectly inspired me to learn the Arabic alphabet

David wrote: "it's all good"

As ever, you are more sanguine than I am.

David wrote: "onward to victory - this presidency also indirectly inspired me to learn the Arabic alphabet"

Just think of what you could accomplish with another 4 years of this madness?!

ATJG wrote: Just think of what you could accomplish with another 4 years of this madness?!"

Be translating Finnegans Wake into Pashto by the time this is over.

What about boat-building? Don't worry about picking up a new language; worry about survival skills.

carol. wrote: "What about boat-building? Don't worry about picking up a new language; worry about survival skills."

Make friends with a Mormon since they have that awesome 2-year stash pantry. That’s my plan because I’m too lazy to learn actual survival skills. Although I recall while watching Bird Box with my family we had some highly useful and exhaustive debates about who would do what and which of us would make it the longest.

Christopher wrote: "Tonight I lost an expensive ring in the snow and thought, "there are people having a worse experience than I am having in the world right now."

Some people can't afford trivial things like expens..."

Alternative ending to Uncut Gems.

David wrote: "Uncut Gems"

This is uncircumcised porn, no?

ATJG wrote: "This is uncircumcised porn, no?"

Ha! Honestly hadn't thought of that.

Anyway, I'm not sure we have the consent of the other 12,000 people here to revive this thread, but I will say that I think now is a good time to stamp out that rat-faced little shit-head before he gets the chance to stage another coup... Abu dejaj needs to be ruined.

David wrote: "that rat-faced little shit-head"

I told myself anybody can unfollow this thread at any time so....

Tell me more of this shithead rat and your opinion of him.

Oh, it's not really worth getting into here, but please visit

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ads...

David wrote: "Oh, it's not really worth getting into here, but please visit

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ads......"

Already a monthly contributor, sir. My gems are uncut.

Bless you... glued to the twitter; it's now looking like Bernie may have won in every sense (not just the popular vote)... doom to the bourgeoisie in general, and the Democratic Party elites in particular.

David wrote: "Bless you... glued to the twitter; it's now looking like Bernie may have won in every sense (not just the popular vote)... doom to the bourgeoisie in general, and the Democratic Party elites in par..."

Gets even better; 538 predicting Bernie will win all 50 states: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/...

As an outsider (I'm from the UK) and with the experience of our recent election I'd expect He Who Shall Not Be Named to be re-elected if he were up against Mr Sanders. Democrats need someone with broad appeal I'm afraid to stand any chance.
As it stands I reckon the impeachment will backfire badly on the Democrats and you'll be doomed to 4 more years