A thread on politics- have some balls and post

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In terms of motivations for making things up / reducing Trump's legitimacy there are trillions of dollars at stake and a massive paradigm shift from Wall St to Main St that greatly benefit the current establishment and naturally they are going to fight with whatever tools are at hand to keep their powers and privileges.
Campaign rust-belt rhetoric aside, which of Trump's appointments actually make you think he is going to "drain the swamp"? You don't shake up the economic establishment by electing the Monopoly Man.

As an aside, the current global world economic order is largely the result of laissez-faire economics that lie at the very heart of the GOP platform. If you genuinely think the establishment is under threat with the current Republican controlled House and Senate (let alone Donald ******* Trump) then I really don't know what to say.
 
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Skoob

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Since I am not of the opinion that Trump is a lunatic and am definitely not a fan of globalism or the current outworkings of multiculturalism I tend to look at it from a slightly different perspective. I know how Clinton/MSM/Soros etc tried to pervert the course of democracy (which we will keep as shorthand for representative representation in a federal republic) but I would be interested in how you perceive that Trump did so ...

In terms of motivations for making things up / reducing Trump's legitimacy there are trillions of dollars at stake and a massive paradigm shift from Wall St to Main St that greatly benefit the current establishment and naturally they are going to fight with whatever tools are at hand to keep their powers and privileges.

I still suggest that refusing to show your intelligence to the intelligence oversight committee is a strong red flag to rogue activities - if you had a real case you would be rocking up ... refusing to allow scrutiny reeks of not being able to prove what you have claimed you can prove.
Sorry, I can't argue with anyone that has even the slightest support or empathy for Trump. I know that's probably a pissweak out, but I just can't.
 

Viceregal

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Campaign rust-belt rhetoric aside, which of Trump's appointments actually make you think he is going to "drain the swamp"? You don't shake up the economic establishment by electing the Monopoly Man.

As an aside, the current global world economic order is largely the result of laissez-faire economics that lie at the very heart of the GOP platform. If you genuinely think the establishment is under threat with the current Republican controlled House and Senate (let alone Donald ******* Trump) then I really don't know what to say.
If all of his appointments are business-as-usual why are the ptb freaking out over practically all of them?

And Monopoly is about land and houses and hotels - actual tangible things - and making money from building things and selling things etc - which is a completely different economy from the folks who do nothing but make money, regulations etc - and the folks in (in this case) America have a much better chance when the economy is run with a focus on the secondary economy than the tertiary. Duetche Bank recently announced they expect and much greater growth in GDP under the anticipated Trump economic program then before.

Trump *could* end up to be a useless, self aggrandising, divisive, multiple country destroying, fake like Obama at which point he will get what he deserves but his past and present actions seem to be pointing to someone who has seen the writing on the wall if nothing changes and (probably not literally) taken to heart the old mantra "If not me then who, if not now then when" and how much of the traditional GOP platform survives his pretty much hostile takeover is another matter entirely.

Re the global economy - I would be interested in your opinion of the arguments presented in http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/the-free-trade-fallacy.html
 

SizeMatters

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What does this all even mean? Is it even a bad thing at the end of the day? I know it looks pretty awful how Trump has been manipulated it seems but a closer USA/Russian relationship can't be all that bad right? Even if its more favoured to the Russians...
 
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What does this all even mean? Is it even a bad thing at the end of the day? I know it looks pretty awful how Trump has been manipulated it seems but a closer USA/Russian relationship can't be all that bad right? Even if its more favoured to the Russians...
Even if that relationship is Puppetmaster and Puppet? If I am blackmailing you to do my bidding, is that the sign of a close, mutually beneficial relationship? Whose interests are being served?

As for closer ties between Russia and US being good... I'm not sure people in Ukraine or Baltic States would agree... especially if America disengages somewhat from NATO.
 
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jackess

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If all of his appointments are business-as-usual why are the ptb freaking out over practically all of them?

And Monopoly is about land and houses and hotels - actual tangible things - and making money from building things and selling things etc - which is a completely different economy from the folks who do nothing but make money, regulations etc - and the folks in (in this case) America have a much better chance when the economy is run with a focus on the secondary economy than the tertiary. Duetche Bank recently announced they expect and much greater growth in GDP under the anticipated Trump economic program then before.

Trump *could* end up to be a useless, self aggrandising, divisive, multiple country destroying, fake like Obama at which point he will get what he deserves but his past and present actions seem to be pointing to someone who has seen the writing on the wall if nothing changes and (probably not literally) taken to heart the old mantra "If not me then who, if not now then when" and how much of the traditional GOP platform survives his pretty much hostile takeover is another matter entirely.

Re the global economy - I would be interested in your opinion of the arguments presented in http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/the-free-trade-fallacy.html
A short term bump in GDP won't outweigh the long term damage Trump and the Republicans will do.
 

SizeMatters

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Even if that relationship is Puppetmaster and Puppet? If I am blackmailing you to do my bidding, is that the sign of a close, mutually beneficial relationship? Whose interests are being served?

As for closer ties between Russia and US being good... I'm not sure people in Ukraine or Baltic States would agree... especially if America disengages somewhat from NATO.
Yeah I know it doesn't look good and would be detrimental to capitalist USA you would think but they are a sinking ship. It was just a thought. I have no doubt USA has been manipulating and infiltrating Soviet Union/Russia (and numerous other countries) for decades but no one blinks twice over it. Let's not forget that USA has arguably been more detrimental to global stability than what Russia has been and will continue to be. Hasn't the USA already broken NATO treaties a few times already? NATO doesn't seem like its working these days and follows the same path as the UN does where only $$$ matter.

I wonder what Russia could have gotten out of this... I'm all for Russian/USA mutually beneficial relationship but not one that is as one sided as you said.
 

SizeMatters

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as a side note I find it kinda sad that the USA president is more important for Australias own economic and social bearing than our own prime minister or head of state (ugh). It's understandable though considering the pull and power the USA has on world politics but I always found it amusing.
 

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Some news agencies equivocating a little now. The "Cohen in Prague" thing looks like an error (it was a different Michael Cohen) but the report itself flagged that particular claim as sketchy.

Remains to be seen about the rest of the report.
 
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Chezzalenko Reborn

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All the attention on Trump and his alleged actions is fair enough. I'm surprised (at least I haven't) heard any concern about Trump's Secretary of State and his closeness to Russia. Stop me if I'm wrong, but isn't Rex a Order of Friendship recipient from Putin himself?
 
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All the attention on Trump and his alleged actions is fair enough. I'm surprised (at least I haven't) heard any concern about Trump's Secretary of State and his closeness to Russia. Stop me if I'm wrong, but isn't Rex a Order of Friendship recipient from Putin himself?
Haven't heard any concern about Tillerson? Wut? It's everywhere!
 
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r/theDonald claiming 4chan engineered the intelligence seems like the oldest trick in the book to help your idol save face.

An increase in GDP and growth has so little to do with fixing societal problems if you are lowering the tax base and cutting essential services to the most vulnerable. It's just continued neoliberalism with a side of nationalistic populism at best and heading to full blown fascism at worst. When your economic system relies on keeping unemployment at between 5-6.5% for maximum growth and essentially keeping the job market locked off to a certain number of people while simultaneously vilifying them for being lazy we need a better system but that system is what we have had for almost 50 years now. Trump will experiment with protectionism again but I have a feeling he will scrap it in no time as he just feathers his own nest and those of his friends. Hopefully he won't do too much damage that isn't reversible in 4 years and the remaining justices in the SCOTUS stay alive and capable until someone more progressive is in.

Even as a raging lefty I'm starting to think it's time for my ilk to stop pushing identity politics so much and just treat it like a fait acompli to bring the attention back to workers and the economically disadvantaged.
 

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Even as a raging lefty I'm starting to think it's time for my ilk to stop pushing identity politics so much and just treat it like a fait acompli to bring the attention back to workers and the economically disadvantaged.
I have been coming to this conclusion myself. There is enough of an old school Marxist in me to acknowledge that we have won some impressive cultural victories but lost ground in many other significant areas. Those cultural victories were won, in part, on an empowered and large middle class and a fat and reasonably happy working class. Well those two things are disappearring in the face of neoliberal politics and some effort needs to be made to redress this.

However, it needs to be addressed at an international level. This is the legacy of colonialism, post-empire and neoliberalism. Marxism's international focus does seem to be a useful philosophical basis to start from, but a lot of thought needs to go into it. (Also I am no political philosopher, merely a history enthusiast but a life without a basis in some form of philosophy is a life unexamined - my personal take is likely to be some form of neoMarxism intertwined with stoicism.
 

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I'm not sure it works if you allude to the fact that you're living in Nazi Germany when you've just been elected the next president of that particular country.
Actually I'm pretty sure it works even better in this specific case.
 
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I'm not sure it works if you allude to the fact that you're living in Nazi Germany when you've just been elected the next president of that particular country.
And then the next day you start blacklisting particular media outlets because they have displeased you.
 

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Have always said there is a reason we live at the bottom of the planet.......one day, when the top half have annihilated each other, we down under, will be safe and rule the world!
 
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