Analyzing the Transition of Power After The U.S. Election and Beyond Into Future Global Politics

1141517192043

Comments

  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    Yes. And I thought of Blazing Saddles. ;)
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,804
    Yes. And I thought of Blazing Saddles. ;)
    Ha ha, I thought of 48hrs.
    =))

  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    conscioussociopol329_04.jpg
  • I tell you when there was a real victory for democracy. When Spain went from Franco's pure dictatorship to a full democracy led by prime minister Suarez in the late 70's. That's democracy:
    imagen-sin-titulo.jpg
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,804
    That was history.
  • chrisisall wrote: »
    That was history.

    True. But nowadays people think we are governed in Western Europe and the USA by 'dictatorships' and 'socialists'. Well, to those people I say: Indeed, learn your history. Especially now.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Representative democracy isn t self-rule.
  • Representative democracy isn t self-rule.

    There you make one of the best comments in recent weeks :-). And you are right. Very right. And you understand it. There IS a difference between a representative democracy in which the people choose elected officials for a term of four years and entrust them the leadership over a city, province, state or nation.....and the so called 'direct democracy' (or what I call 'lunatic democracy') that is being hollowed out by angrily organized referendums.

    Here in Europe I see that the representative democracy is being attacked from every corner. From angry populists 'demanding' referendums every month (look at the referendums in The Netherlands, Italy and UK, marketed under false populist pretenses) to the disgusting trend of conspiracy blogs and fake news, from lunatic hackers like Assange who are way too narcissist to understand what representative democracy is all about to real shrewed dictators like Putin, Erdogan and Xi-Jinping who prefer to see the West slowly being turned into autocracies. And yet.....lots of people think we're heading into the right direction with this so called rise of 'direct democracy'. I am talking about the people who voted for Brexit and Trump.

    Our western representative demoracies are being threatened by people who don't actually give a shit about representative democracies, but do think the (ab)use of democratic instruments are perfect to achieve their future unsung goals: Become as undemocratic and autocratic as their bigger, smarter counterparts....Erdogan, Putin and Xi-Jinping.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,804
    Richard Nixon felt his actions were above the law.
    Ronald Reagan was fairly clueless.
    GW was immature.
    All of them meant well, but when you combine all of their faults with an "I don't really give a f**k" attitude, you get a person like Trump.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited December 2016 Posts: 12,480
    It is that attitude plus that he is driven so strongly, predominantly, by his ego. I can enjoy a rogue attitude, a person who can shrug off and say they don't give a _____.
    But in actuality, that is not Trump as far as the presidency and himself goes. He means well only for himself, and would like to seem as though he is helping Americans. But so far his actions and what info we have on his policies, his administrative picks (chosen to tear those departments apart) show otherwise.

    Does he deeply care about our Constitution, about our Bill of Rights, about working in positive ways with other countries for our benefit and for the world? No. He doesn't, you are right there. And that is a core difference between him and any other presidential major party candidate we have ever had; let alone an actual president-elect.

    Trump has shown that he does not care to study, to get intel briefings, to read up on foreign policy situations.

    Trump cares about how he is perceived and adored; and building his personal wealth and empire, very much. He has a very thin skin. His tweets, his continuing speeches at those rallies (!!! which are themselves such a red flag as to what he is), having Ivanka and his son-in-law be part of his administration and already take part in meetings with foreign heads of state and dignitaries - all that and more show that Trump is driven by his own interests, above all else. So we have a true narcissist who loves power, who holds grudges and makes lists of enemies, and who applauds authoritarian dictators and tyrants. Every move he has made has been built along authoritarian lines, and not hiding it at all since November.

    Trump is far more dangerous than Nixon. We can only hope that our CIA and military are smart enough to protect our country in spite of him, in spite of Gen. Flynn, Bannon (let's not forget him, a very disturbing right wing white supremist who wants to tear our system down; he has said that) ... and others.

  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited December 2016 Posts: 12,480
    Look at what Trump just tweeted. Just look. As if the earlier "There's a new sheriff in town" wasn't immature and inappropriate enough. !!


    I will copy it here, in case (as often enough happens) he deletes it. He said:
    "We should tell China that we don't want the drone they stole back.- let them keep it!"


    And confirmed it was written to Trump in the car on the way back to Mar-a-Lago.


    And a reminder to electors:

    This is his foreign policy, people. His tweets. Provoke. Deflect from other issues by saying something outrageous. However, even if looked at as his usual deflection, smoke & mirrors, to cover up worse things he is doing ... even so, how is tweeting juvenile, taunting shit like this in any way helpful foreign policy? It is not.

    I think his core loyal supporters are fine with this, like it even. They don't take him literally. It is all just misdirection. I think they give him far too much credit for thinking things out. And they sure don't care how juvenile this looks - he has been like this all along.

    Yes, comments on twitter are noting he is trying to make us us to forget about the Russian interference. Actually, there are other things, too; plenty, he'd like us to move on and not focus on.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited December 2016 Posts: 12,480
    Among other pressing concerns, there is this: Trump team just made a deal with Sinclair broadcasting. They have not liked the media commentators' input (I suppose except Fox news). So the deal is that Sinclair will broadcast what Trump wants, without commentary on it. Just promoting, sending it out to the masses - almost like with loudspeakers in every neighborhood (except this is just tv I guess), making sure Trump's ... what's the word? propa... (something)... is given out undiluted and not commented upon. Does that remind you of anything?
  • edited December 2016 Posts: 11,119
    Obamaaaaa. Let's danceee on some good musical choices from da man :-P:
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited December 2016 Posts: 12,480
    Thanks, @Gustav. What a breath of fresh air, pure oxygen, and class.
    Good music, too. :)
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    Interesting, and not very long, article on the rise of authoritarians globally.
    http://qz.com/643497/we-are-witnessing-the-rise-of-global-authoritarianism-on-a-chilling-scale/
    In part says:

    The World War II generation faced down crises of this magnitude and came up with a loose consensus to prevent future catastrophes: structures to uphold and promulgate the umbrella concept of human rights domestically and internationally including laws, courts, and treaties; structures to manage Great Power politics and the general welfare; and the ever-growing democratization of sovereignty.

    Of course, each of these solutions had its shortcomings, and the postwar order had plenty of failings. But they nonetheless gave people hope and inspired a sense of safety. Unfortunately, decades of negligence and aggressive disdain have weakened this infrastructure to the point that the United Nations and its systems are now looked upon as, at best, inept and ineffective, and at worst wholly corrupt.

    All of this has left people fearful that their better days are behind them. They feel a distinct loss of sovereignty—of nation, of community, and of self. This fear has perhaps been most acute amongst the historically powerful and largely middle class communities in each region.
    ***
    Enter the populists who promise to make things right through brutal efficiency and an iron fist. Their bellicosity is reassuring, the brave knights able to shield and parry any attack while also able to take the fight to the enemy, both within and without.

    It is this last point that is most chilling. The problems outlined here are systemic, global, and amorphous. They are solvable, but not easily, and not immediately. It is much easier to find someone to blame, which is why we are seeing the return to acceptability of xenophobia and jingoism. Trump on Muslims and Hispanics. Putin on Ukrainians. Erdoğan on Kurds. And the list goes on. The slope from here to scapegoating all dissenters as “enemies of the state” is proving frighteningly slippery.

  • Posts: 7,653
    Scapegoating scares the bejesus out of me.

    I did read some stuff about pogroms a few years back and the ideas people can adapt to in order to not look into the mirror but pointing fingers is sickening. And seemingly smart people are open for really stupid ideas, as they will realise in hindsight or rationalise that as well.

    People are capable of blind hatred if it suits their mood or education.

    Man is one scary creature.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    Yes, @SaintMark. I want people to really be aware, more critical, just more aware as so much is happening now. And who knows what will happen right after the inauguration? It seems too much to process, but we have to stay on top of everything.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,804
    I'm in distraction mode here...
    pr4eG2O.jpg?1
    Yes, thanks, I know. 8-|
    Every Bot's a critic....

    Well, here it is, the eve before we see if there are enough real patriots/heroes in the Electoral College to save us from this disaster. I'm crossing my fingers so hard that I'm losing circulation-!
    [-O<
  • Posts: 1,469
    Among other pressing concerns, there is this: Trump team just made a deal with Sinclair broadcasting.
    Thanks for the heads-up. Given this news, it could be a good investment or a good short-term trade. Even though the stock SBGI (about $33 U.S.) has been rising lately, it isn't overbought, seems fairly valued, has a dividend, and has some short interest so could get squeezed a bit.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,804
    Thrasos wrote: »
    Among other pressing concerns, there is this: Trump team just made a deal with Sinclair broadcasting.
    Thanks for the heads-up. Given this news, it could be a good investment or a good short-term trade. Even though the stock SBGI (about $33 U.S.) has been rising lately, it isn't overbought, seems fairly valued, has a dividend, and has some short interest so could get squeezed a bit.

    The defense industry is always a good investment. :-\"
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited December 2016 Posts: 12,480
    Sorry not to have any good news to report here. But I think we should be aware that Richard Spencer, aggressive white supremist, has been allowed back on twitter and is already campaigning against Jews in Montana.




    Twitter has been under constant criticism for allowing hate. There is no excuse for him being reinstated. But we need to note it. Part of the normalization of far right white supremists. This is not a joke.

    Here is simply one of his tweets I just found. I am not perusing his twitter feed for the more blatantly racist, obnoxious, hateful things. People are reporting his tweets and I am about to block him. But have a look at this. In case you never gave him any thought or felt that he had no plans for his future career path. And the comments from others are always ... interesting.

  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited December 2016 Posts: 12,480
    A brief summation of some of the conflicts Trump is ignoring (read thru the tweets; won't take long). 29 statements, which are brief sentences (before the comments kick in), just click on where it says "show more" to open them all.


  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    So Putin hates Ukrainians?
  • Posts: 7,653
    So Putin hates Ukrainians?

    Putin hates anybody who threatens his great mother Russia.

  • edited December 2016 Posts: 11,119
    http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/19/europe/turkey-russian-ambassador-shot/index.html?adkey=bn

    Russian ambassador for Turkey shot by pro-Syrian Turk in Ankara :-(. OMG, let the poor man live please. The assassinator was shouting stuff like "Do not forget us! Allahoe Akbar!". Could this be a member of Islamic State or perhaps Kurdish Freedom Hawks?

    In any case.....this....is really really bad news :-(.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    edited December 2016 Posts: 17,804

    It offers hope, at least.

    Here's another thing... watch for movies like "V For Vendetta" & "The Handmaid's Tale" to start mysteriously disappearing from stores & online streaming line-ups. Books will probably be safe, however, as Trump doesn't read.
  • QuantumOrganizationQuantumOrganization We have people everywhere
    Posts: 1,187
    chrisisall wrote: »
    Richard Nixon felt his actions were above the law.
    Ronald Reagan was fairly clueless.
    GW was immature.
    All of them meant well, but when you combine all of their faults with an "I don't really give a f**k" attitude, you get a person like Trump.
    What about Herbert Walker and Jerry Ford?

  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,804
    chrisisall wrote: »
    Richard Nixon felt his actions were above the law.
    Ronald Reagan was fairly clueless.
    GW was immature.
    All of them meant well, but when you combine all of their faults with an "I don't really give a f**k" attitude, you get a person like Trump.
    What about Herbert Walker and Jerry Ford?
    What about them?
  • Take a close look at the photo provided above…it appears that Peter Sellers is still alive and well…the man with the shades, moustache and Persel sunglasses…or…is it just Number 1?
This discussion has been closed.