A Political Thread

[j'nuh]

Correct.
He played by the rules and pandered to the crowd that counted and he got the critical electoral college votes. Thats how you win.
No amount of squabbling after the fact will change that.

I agree with this. If the presidency was about winning the popular vote, then the race would have been different. We can't really assume that Clinton would have won the popular vote under these circumstances. (That being said, if the electoral system regularly throws up scenarios where the winning candidate doesn't align with the popular vote, it does demonstrate a weakness in the system.)

They pointed at Trump for being sexist, which I'm confident he is, however, when you're husband has been shagging young interns in the white house, and you stood by him and accepted it, you don't have a lot of defence. Then there was the array of women in the audience Trump had brought along to show how many women Bill and Hilary had paid off over the years for his sexual harassment antics.

I'm struggling to understand why standing by a cheating partner is wrong, let alone equivalent to boasting about sexual abuse.

Settling a legal case with money is fairly common practice and not wrong in itself. If Bill sexually assaulted women, then obviously that is wrong, but I struggle to see why Hilary should be blamed for that.

Now come on thats unfair, you're giving them a brain to wash in the first place...
All joking aside, Trump put himself as representing the disaffected masses, the only option in the election that 'looked' like he stands against the establishment. This wasn't an outright vote for Trump, it was more a vote of the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

I agree that that's the image he went for. I find it outstanding that anyone could be taken in by it though. One of the richest men in the world who surrounds himself by the elites on a daily basis is not the everyday man.

The difference between the two was that Trump offered changed. It is superficial, self-serving change that offers absolutely nothing economically to disaffected people, but it is change nonetheless. Hilary represented conservatism, an odd position for someone representing leftists in the country.

 

[The Jones Boy]

I suggest you do some research,

The USSR was Russian. The Ukraine speaks Russian just like Belarus. Their own dialects are only marginally different from the mother tongue.
The Crimean speaks Russian and it has changed hands many times over the millennia RR. I'm not defending Russian aggression at all.
Look at the situation. What did you think was going to happen?
Do you really think Putin was going to give up his warm water port in the Black sea?
It was the Russians who have been using it for the last century.
Especially to the Ukraine who owe Russia a small fortune in unpaid gas bills and when the Ukraine are openly courting NATO and the European Union. Small wonder Putin wants to secure the area as carefully as he can when the Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter is buying bigger stakes in Burisma holdings...
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/02/bidens-son-continues-to-buy-gas-assets.html

Your attempts to defend Russian aggression is just like, as someone else said, Hitler's arguments for his early annexations.

The Czechs in the Sudetenland never spoke German, they were Czech.
In the Crimea they all speak Russian because they ARE Russian. The religion is Russian orthodox. That is why not a single shot was fired. There was no rebellion.

Tump didn't "crush" Hillary, do you even know how the system works?

He belted her 6 ways from Sunday.
He beat her so bad she is now a spent force in American politics.
She is history.
Not even lazarus could come back from a beating that bad.
The pollsters had Trump miles behind Clinton and he smashed her RR.
Get over it.
The loudmouth with the freaky hair do is the new Pres, and no amount of smokescreen nonsense about the Russians hacking will alter that.

Also the largest Republican majority since 1920?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...n-congress-since-1929/?utm_term=.34eccafe86b0

http://www.wsj.com/articles/house-republicans-achieve-largest-majority-in-decades-1415208289

Do your homework son, the Republicans have not had this much power across the board since the 1920's.
Hilary Clinton was floored, smashed, wiped out and dragged into the sewer until she couldn't get any lower.
The shock of such a beating saw her hide for days after the result.
The Republicans are in control and can do whatever they like.
Trump is the least of our worries, look at the Hawks with whom he is surrounding himself.

You have a strange definition of "right". Barely anything he said was factually true, he lied through his teeth.

I am sure he has and that he will again... but He (Trump) was absolutely right regarding the two issues I raised. It is beyond contestation.
She failed utterly in the middle east and she accumulated $230 million dollars from corporations that were hoping to continue to use her leverage in the govt.

To claim Trump somehow isn't corrupt is laughable.

You need to learn to read, I never said anything about corruption in connection with Trump. He may well be corrupt.
Hilary is definitely corrupt.
Any politician who takes millions of dollars from lobbying groups, like the Clintons have, are completely morally corrupt.
Legal or not it is morally corrupt and they cannot ever be unbiased when they have taken money for favour.

- - - Updated - - -

I suggest you do some research,

The USSR was Russian. The Ukraine speaks Russian just like Belarus. Their own dialects are only marginally different from the mother tongue.
The Crimean has changed hands many times RR. I'm not defending Russian aggression at all. What did you think was going to happen?
Do you really think Putin was going to give up his warm water port in the Black sea especially to Ukraine who owe Russia a small fortune in unpaid gas bills and when the Ukraine are openly courting NATO and the European Union. Small wonder when the Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter is buying bigger stakes in Burisma holdings...
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/02/bidens-son-continues-to-buy-gas-assets.html

Your attempts to defend Russian aggression is just like, as someone else said, Hitler's arguments for his early annexations.

The Czechs in the Sudetenland never spoke German, in Crimea they all speak Russian because they ARE Russian. The religion is Russian orthodox. That is why not a single shot was fired. There was no rebellion.

Also the largest Republican majority since 1920?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...n-congress-since-1929/?utm_term=.34eccafe86b0

http://www.wsj.com/articles/house-republicans-achieve-largest-majority-in-decades-1415208289

Read the material. The Republicans have not had this much power across the board since the 1920's.
Hilary Clinton was floored, smashed, wiped out and dragged into the sewer until she couldn't get any lower.
The shock of such a beating saw her hide for days after the result.
The Republicans are in their strongest position of control since 1929 (and we all know what came next...) and can do whatever they like.
Trump is the least of our worries, look at the Hawks with whom he is surrounding himself.

You have a strange definition of "right". Barely anything he said was factually true, he lied through his teeth.

I am sure he has lied and that he will again... but He (Trump) was absolutely right regarding the two issues I raised. It is beyond contestation.
She failed utterly in the middle east and she accumulated $230 million dollars from corporations that were hoping to continue to use her leverage in the govt.
Trump is more inclined to bluster a dangerous outcome, and then when he acts he doesn't go nearly as far as he led people to believe.

To claim Trump somehow isn't corrupt is laughable.

You need to learn to read before you write, I never said anything about corruption in connection with Trump. He may well be corrupt.
Hilary is definitely corrupt.
Any politician who takes millions of dollars from lobbying groups, like the Clintons have, are completely morally corrupt.
Legal or not it is morally corrupt and they cannot ever be unbiased when they have taken money for favour.

The Clintons didn't get wealthy from their salaries just like Obama hasn't.

Obama has been something of a disappointment as the US President. Yeah sure he has had a really tough time in Congress because he hasn't had the numbers but his policy in the middle east to happily foment war and watch it happen has led to a humanitarian disaster in Syria, and left Libya in utter chaos.
He has been outplayed by Putin at every turn and this last piece of Machiavellian autarky at the 11th hour of his reign, expelling 50 odd Russian embassy staff, has left a tacky stain on his conduct as President.
It has been deftly fielded by Putin who is too smart for Obama. Instead of reacting knee jerk style as Brezhnev and co. no doubtedly would have done in the past, he opened the Kremlin to welcome the American embassy staff for the festivities.
Clever play.
Obama was trying to poke the bear, but more than that he is trying to make life difficult for Trump. He is trying to make Trump look like he was in cahoots with Putin.
There is every likelihood that Trump will reinstate the embassy officials when he comes into power. This may bring a little consternation among the lesser intellects in the Republican party like Rubio and McCain but Trump understands it's better to do business with an energy giant like Russia than shut them out with sanctions.
Russia are not the dangerous super power they once were.
Above all else, Trump is a businessman and he has some very smart players on his team who want to trade.
Its the right approach.
Putin has long been trying to make Russia a viable trading partner but the US wouldn't listen, mostly for historical reasons.
Trump isn't going to be an ally with Russia, but he will come to the table to see what trade benefits he can get out of a situation for his own country. He will have a dialogue.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

The USSR was Russian. The Ukraine speaks Russian just like Belarus. Their own dialects are only marginally different from the mother tongue.
The Crimean speaks Russian and it has changed hands many times over the millennia RR. I'm not defending Russian aggression at all.
Look at the situation. What did you think was going to happen?
Do you really think Putin was going to give up his warm water port in the Black sea?
It was the Russians who have been using it for the last century.
Especially to the Ukraine who owe Russia a small fortune in unpaid gas bills and when the Ukraine are openly courting NATO and the European Union. Small wonder Putin wants to secure the area as carefully as he can when the Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter is buying bigger stakes in Burisma holdings...
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/02/bidens-son-continues-to-buy-gas-assets.html

The USSR was majority Russian but to say it was Russian is as wrong as saying the UK is English and using the fact everyone speaks English as proof. However the main point was to counter your attempt to make out Crimea was given to Ukraine by the west, it wasn't, it was given by the USSR which is a distinct entity to Russia. Your grasp of history and geography is severely lacking. When the USSR broke up, Crimea was accepted as being part of Ukraine by the Russian state. So you now think it's fine for one state to invade another when they change their mind? You are also forgetting that the entire crisis in Ukraine began when Russia meddled in their political process. The president was elected on a pro-EU platform and Ukrainians wanted to join the EU, Russia didn't want that and so they sabotaged the process. Out of the blue and without consulting anyone except Russians, the Ukrainian president suddenly decreed that Ukraine would not go forward with EU talks and would instead look to join the Russian bloc. You know, that bloc that is Putin's attempt to fulfill his ambition to rebuild the sphere of influence of the USSR? People were annoyed and the president refused to back down, which started the protests and he got overthrown. The violence started when the Russians decided they didn't like that. What happened? Violent uprising in Eastern Ukraine supported by Russian troops and equipment, suddenly lots of unmarked soldiers appear in Crimea demanding it be "returned" to Russia. Russia denied they were Russian troops only to admit they were after they annexed it. Even now Russia is still carrying out operations in Eastern Ukraine and yet here you are supporting the Russian dismantling of an uncooperative neighbour, just like they did with Georgia. What next? Will it take Russian troops marching into Finland or the Baltic states or will you sit back and find excuses then too?

The Czechs in the Sudetenland never spoke German, they were Czech.
In the Crimea they all speak Russian because they ARE Russian. The religion is Russian orthodox. That is why not a single shot was fired. There was no rebellion.

Incorrect, many of them did speak German, the same with the anschluss in Austria. You are right though, there was not rebellion, there was an annexation by foreign forces. None of the soldiers in Crimea were Crimean, they were Russian. None of the polling booths were set up or manned by Crimeans, they were Russian. None of the soldiers standing around these booths looking at what people chose were Crimean, they were Russian. The soldiers that forced the Ukrainian garrison to surrender weren't Crimean, they were Russian. None of the forces involved in the annexation of Crimea were from Crimea, they were from the Russian military base.

He belted her 6 ways from Sunday.
He beat her so bad she is now a spent force in American politics.
She is history.
Not even lazarus could come back from a beating that bad.
The pollsters had Trump miles behind Clinton and he smashed her RR.
Get over it.
The loudmouth with the freaky hair do is the new Pres, and no amount of smokescreen nonsense about the Russians hacking will alter that.

No he didn't, which part of "Hillary won the popular vote" do you fail to understand? Trump didn't win because he did anything amazing, he didn't win because he got people to support him, he won because of how the system is set up and how Hillary was smeared for months. How many democracies do you know where one of the slogans is "lock her up"? There is a large segment of the American population that is full of hatred and Trump is likewise full of hatred to they gravitated towards him. As I said, he could have **** on a stage and this segment of the population would still have supported him. As I told you, it is possible to win every state by 1 vote and secure 100% of the seats available, that would not be a thrashing as in terms of popularity it would be 50-50, it is a system failing by producing a selection of representatives that is not representative. To lose by 2% or 3 million votes in a 2 party race and yet to win is not right and certainly cannot be called a thrashing.

I am sure he has and that he will again... but He (Trump) was absolutely right regarding the two issues I raised. It is beyond contestation.
She failed utterly in the middle east and she accumulated $230 million dollars from corporations that were hoping to continue to use her leverage in the govt.

Name me a politician who has succeeded in the middle East. To say Clinton failed where all before have also failed isn't the most astute observation ever made. Just what exactly is she supposed to have done? Those are sovereign nations, they do their own thing. You can use diplomacy but if they don't want to know, you are stuck. You seriously think the US should have charged in with the military? Remind me how that worked out for Bush? In fact it's because of his reckless use of the military that the environment for ISIS was created in the first place, among other things. She accumulated $230 million from activities outside government, just as everyone in government does. Unless you have anything to show any of these actions were illegal, you don't have a case. Trump on the other hand has accumulated wealth on the back of actions that are bordering on illegal and is actually being investigated for his charity and breach of sanctions. You really want to make out he has the high ground here?

You need to learn to read before you write, I never said anything about corruption in connection with Trump. He may well be corrupt.
Hilary is definitely corrupt.
Any politician who takes millions of dollars from lobbying groups, like the Clintons have, are completely morally corrupt.
Legal or not it is morally corrupt and they cannot ever be unbiased when they have taken money for favour.

Trump has filled his cabinet with lobbyists, he was a lobbyist, he has taken money from his charity to fund his own actions, he has profited from bankrupting his companies and has now given the guy who helped him do it a position with diplomatic immunity. Trump talked about draining the swamp and yet he has the most corrupt, lobby friendly and expertise-lacking cabinet in recent US history. The guy in charge of energy is a guy who wanted to dismantle the department because it promoted renewable over oil from his state. The guy in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency has the track record for most court cases against the EPA. In fact he is in one right now. You know what he's going to do when he takes over the EPA? Get the EPA to withdraw from his lawsuit against them. The guy in charge of foreign policy is the one who opposed sanctions on Russian because it affected his oil business interests in the country. The woman in charge of education has a history of dismissing state education but is in favour of the state funding private faith schools among other things. As I said earlier, one of the ambassadors is the guy who helped him make money from bankrupting his companies. Remind me again how you are worried about the influence of lobbyists with Clinton? Oh and Trump's pick for attorney general failed to become a district judge because of a history of racist remarks and actions. The whole "those who support Trump aren't racist" argument isn't being helped when he is appointing a known racist to one of the top judicial positions. Seriously when are people going to see this farce for what it is?

Obama has been something of a disappointment as the US President. Yeah sure he has had a really tough time in Congress because he hasn't had the numbers but his policy in the middle east to happily foment war and watch it happen has led to a humanitarian disaster in Syria, and left Libya in utter chaos.

So if he goes to war, he's a warmonger and if he doesn't and instead uses diplomacy he's a weak failure. A no win situation. To call him a warmonger after what Bush did though is astonishing. He is the only president to have NOT started or escalated a full blown war whilst in office in recent years.

He has been outplayed by Putin at every turn and this last piece of Machiavellian autarky at the 11th hour of his reign, expelling 50 odd Russian embassy staff, has left a tacky stain on his conduct as President.
It has been deftly fielded by Putin who is too smart for Obama. Instead of reacting knee jerk style as Brezhnev and co. no doubtedly would have done in the past, he opened the Kremlin to welcome the American embassy staff for the festivities.

Which is why Russia is finding itself more isolated than ever before with even the likes of Turkey beginning to have frosty relations whilst under Obama the image of the US around the world rose dramatically. Unless you mean Putin beat him by invading countries and getting away with it? You are proof that people by into the "macho" cult surrounding the likes of Putin and Trump and then just excuse their actions because of it. How is Russia better positioned now than before Obama took office? The EU as a whole has turned on Russia, Ukraine is now staunchly opposed whereas before they were amicable, Turkey is angry with Russia, Georgia detests them, Eastern European countries have moved towards NATO and the EU, missile defences have been set up in Europe, oil prices have plummeted, sanctions are hitting Russian people and all Putin can do is strut around believing he is remaking the USSR. Putin has been outplayed but there is one person Putin will beat at every turn, Trump. He already has Trump wrapped round is little finger and will manipulate him like a puppeteer. Everyone can see how Putin strokes Trump's ego to make Trump side with him, except Trump. Trump is too stupid and narcissistic to notice he is a fool and so he will be fooled, repeatedly.

There is every likelihood that Trump will reinstate the embassy officials when he comes into power. This may bring a little consternation among the lesser intellects in the Republican party like Rubio and McCain but Trump understands it's better to do business with an energy giant like Russia than shut them out with sanctions.

No he doesn't, he does it because Putin is stroking his ego. You think Trump think's it's better to do business? Then explain why his attitude to the biggest business partner of the USA (China) has been entirely confrontational? You realise this requires you to understand Trump actually has **** all business and diplomatic sense right? There literally is no big game with Trump, there is no hidden genius, there is a man who is being kind to Putin because Putin has stroked his ego and he is too ****ing idiotic to notice it.

Russia are not the dangerous super power they once were.

Right, remind me how the annexation of Crimea, parts of Georgia, the current crisis in Eastern Ukraine, the nuclear posturing against Poland, the threat of force against Turkey and the actions in Syria haven't happened. SERIOUSLY!? I mean how the hell can you even think of typing that!? Yeah they are not the USSR but Putin is trying his hardest to bring it back!

Above all else, Trump is a businessman and he has some very smart players on his team who want to trade.

He has yes men and people who cover up his incompetence.

Its the right approach.
Putin has long been trying to make Russia a viable trading partner but the US wouldn't listen, mostly for historical reasons.
Trump isn't going to be an ally with Russia, but he will come to the table to see what trade benefits he can get out of a situation for his own country. He will have a dialogue.

It's the wrong approach, it seems you have already forgotten but one of the first things Obama tried in office was to reset relations with Russia. Remember that great big symbolic red reset button they pressed? Remember the numerous talks on mutual nuclear disarmament? Nah of course you don't, that goes against your narrative. It was Russia who sabotaged the whole processes by walking their military into 2 neighbouring states and seizing their land, it was Russian that turned off the taps to most of Europe, it was Russia that twisted the arm of the Ukrainian regime to prevent it getting closer to Europe, it is Russia who positioned mobile nuclear launchers in their enclave in Poland, it is Russia who have been sending bombers to brush along the edges of the airspace of NATO members, it is Russia who sent a submarine to claim the entire Arctic circle, it was Russia who said they wanted to recreate the sphere of influence they had with the USSR, it was Russia who warned there would be consequences for any former USSR states who moved towards NATO or the EU, it was Russia who was involved in hacking during the German elections, it was Russia who carried out a Polonium assassination in the UK, it is Russia who have the system set up to Putin is a dictator with no accountability and I guarantee that once Trump is in power and he begins dismantling the US presence in NATO, Russia will finish the job in Eastern Ukraine. They might even decide to annex the enclave in western Ukraine, hell why not then annex all of Ukraine between these points too? Now what's happened? The guy you say will fix relations with Russia is proposing another nuclear arms race and the Russians are doing the same! Honestly do you ever look at what the **** you are saying!?

 

[The Jones Boy]

Are you on Hilary's pay roll as an apologist?
Your rhetoric sure comes across that way.

The Crimean has been Russian for over 200 years.
The Black fleet was parked there.
What makes you think Putin was about to give that up to the west via the Ukraine.

Really?

Obama never tried to push a reset button with Russia over anything more meaningful than trying to take the gas and oil rich areas of the eastern Ukraine border, read the Biden material. Those are the areas that Putin is making sure stay in Russian hands and the people there do not want to be part of the Ukraine. The refugees are fleeing into Russia. Not to the west.
If you want to make friends you don't send Hilary Clinton to do your negotiation.
That didn't work out well for Gaddafi or Syria where she facilitated weapons to the 'moderate Muslim freedom fighters' (terrorists) who were shipped through Lebanon into Syria straight after the nonsense in Libya.
Even the American people don't want her why would any foreign nation want her.

Russia.
It is not the super power it used to be.
It has one active aircraft carrier, The Admiral Kut-his-nuts-off (Kuznetsov) which lumbered passed the UK a few months back and has been used to fly sorties into Syria against ISIL, ISIS whatever you want to call the terrorists who are selling Turkey cheap oil from captured oil fields in return for arms and food.
"Since the inauguration of Admiral Kuznetsov it has been plagued by years of technical problems. The vessel's steam turbines and turbo-pressurised boilers have been reported to be so unreliable that the carrier is accompanied by a large ocean-going tug whenever it deploys, in case it breaks down. Other problems include flaws in the water piping system, which causes it to freeze during winter. To prevent pipes bursting, the water is turned off to most of the cabins and half the latrines do not work."


America has 10 Nimitz class Super carriers on active duty.
You work it out.


There is no popular vote.
There is only seats in parliament and electoral college votes.
Nothing else matters.
Can't you grasp that?
Thats why the President is going to be Trump, not Hilary Clinton.
Its lovely to see the back of that morally corrupt old hack and her corrupt dynasty.
Is there anything better coming in?
Unlikely but America got the president they wanted, thats why he is being inaugurated shortly.

As for having no respect for Hilary for standing by her man when he shags interns at the White House... yeah I could respect her if he did it ONCE, but he has had to pay out several times for pushing himself onto women and they showed up in force at the debate. He's a serial extra marital shagger and she put up with it only because it kept her in power. I have no respect for her motives. Neither do Bill's victims.
She is a power hungry career politician who will sell her vote to the highest bidder just to stay in the race.
She shafted Bernie Sanders and the best place for her is the garbage bin, where her career is now.
Good riddance to the Clintons. (and the Bush dynasty too)

Obama built up the biggest US fleet presence in the Pacific since the second world war. Clearly he saw China as a bigger threat than he was prepared to let on.
China are a far greater threat to the USA than Russia on a variety of levels.
Through trade, economically, their cyber abilities are well beyond the Russians, they are forming trading blocks with India and Iran to outmanoeuvre the USA.
They hold a massive amount of American debt.
They are developing the Quantum radar system that can see Stealth bombers and fighters.
Of course China are the major concern but gutless Obama wouldn't front them up.

Lets see what Trump does.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Are you on Hilary's pay roll as an apologist?
Your rhetoric sure comes across that way.

I'm stating the facts here, you are the one who is supporting Trump with no reason and excusing the actions of Putin.

The Crimean has been Russian for over 200 years.
The Black fleet was parked there.
What makes you think Putin was about to give that up to the west via the Ukraine.

So you are saying it's ok for one nation to invade it's neighbour because they aren't doing as they want them to? Crimea WAS Russian but then the USSR (of which Russia was the dominant nation but not the sole nation) designated the Crimea was Ukrainian. The Russian part of the USSR agreed to this and the independent Russian state after the collapse of the USSR agreed to that territorial boundary. If Ukraine wants to move towards the West that does NOT give Putin the right to invade, although you are showing the typical Trump mental of might makes right.

Obama never tried to push a reset button with Russia over anything more meaningful than trying to take the gas and oil rich areas of the eastern Ukraine border, read the Biden material. Those are the areas that Putin is making sure stay in Russian hands and the people there do not want to be part of the Ukraine. The refugees are fleeing into Russia. Not to the west.
If you want to make friends you don't send Hilary Clinton to do your negotiation.
That didn't work out well for Gaddafi or Syria where she facilitated weapons to the 'moderate Muslim freedom fighters' (terrorists) who were shipped through Lebanon into Syria straight after the nonsense in Libya.
Even the American people don't want her why would any foreign nation want her.

Stay in Russian hands? They aren't Russian! They are Ukrainian! Russia has absolutely no right to the resources in another country. Yes Obama did press a reset but thanks for agreeing that it was Russia who sabotaged the process by trying to strongarm their neighbours. Clinton has far more support internationally than Trump does. It may escape the notice of Trump supporters but worldwide opinion of him is that he is the worse of the 2 by a clear distance. The american people DID want her, how many times must I tell you that more people voted for Clinton than Trump? How can you claim someone is more popular when they got less votes from a highly charged support base? For the billionth time, the setup of the system got Trump in, NOT being able to get more votes than Hillary. As a whole more Americans chose Hillary than Trump, 3 million more in fact.

Russia.
It is not the super power it used to be.
It has one active aircraft carrier, The Admiral Kut-his-nuts-off (Kuznetsov) which lumbered passed the UK a few months back and has been used to fly sorties into Syria against ISIL, ISIS whatever you want to call the terrorists who are selling Turkey cheap oil from captured oil fields in return for arms and food.
"Since the inauguration of Admiral Kuznetsov it has been plagued by years of technical problems. The vessel's steam turbines and turbo-pressurised boilers have been reported to be so unreliable that the carrier is accompanied by a large ocean-going tug whenever it deploys, in case it breaks down. Other problems include flaws in the water piping system, which causes it to freeze during winter. To prevent pipes bursting, the water is turned off to most of the cabins and half the latrines do not work."

Why does the state of a Russian aircraft carrier matter when it is using it's military to bully and annex it's land based neighbours? It may not be much compared to the west but it is still significantly more powerful than the countries surrounding it and Putin has learned to give up trying to face down the west, he goes for those who don't have the protection of NATO or any western political body. Had Ukraine joined the EU, it would have become off limits to Russia, that is why he messed about in their country.

America has 10 Nimitz class Super carriers on active duty.
You work it out.

What forces do Ukraine, Georgia, Finlands and the Baltic states have? Russia isn't invading the USA, it's invading land based neighbours. Even with the military falling to pieces, it is still superior to any country around it.

There is no popular vote.
There is only seats in parliament and electoral college votes.
Nothing else matters.
Can't you grasp that?
Thats why the President is going to be Trump, not Hilary Clinton.
Its lovely to see the back of that morally corrupt old hack and her corrupt dynasty.
Is there anything better coming in?
Unlikely but America got the president they wanted, thats why he is being inaugurated shortly.

No, there isn't a popular vote, but when you are making out a candidate is popular you look at the popular vote, not the electoral college. For all your claims of Trump's popularity and Hillary being hated, more people still voted for Hillary than Trump. The USA clearly didn't get the president they wanted any more than the SNP are giving an accurate representation of what Scotland wants in Westminster. If you go by their MPs, 95% of Scotland wants independence. What was the reality? A minority chose independence. The fault you conveniently ignore is you switch between claims of popularity to claims of what matters when it suits you. I have not argued against what matters, I've argued against your claim more people wanted Trump, they didn't! More people voted against Trump than for him which, be definition means you cannot say more people wanted him. The fact that the system is set up in such a way that he could get the presidency despite losing the popular vote is a different matter. However it's worth noting that the last 2 republican presidencies have won the presidency whilst losing the popular vote. You think the system can withstand that happening a 3rd time? Things are going to change in the future.

As for having no respect for Hilary for standing by her man when he shags interns at the White House... yeah I could respect her if he did it ONCE, but he has had to pay out several times for pushing himself onto women and they showed up in force at the debate. He's a serial extra marital shagger and she put up with it only because it kept her in power. I have no respect for her motives. Neither do Bill's victims.
She is a power hungry career politician who will sell her vote to the highest bidder just to stay in the race.
She shafted Bernie Sanders and the best place for her is the garbage bin, where her career is now.
Good riddance to the Clintons. (and the Bush dynasty too)

Standing by your husband and being the person who forces yourself on women are 2 completely different things. You want to attack Hillary for the actions of her husband yet have no interest in attacking Trump for doing those things himself?

Obama built up the biggest US fleet presence in the Pacific since the second world war. Clearly he saw China as a bigger threat than he was prepared to let on.
China are a far greater threat to the USA than Russia on a variety of levels.
Through trade, economically, their cyber abilities are well beyond the Russians, they are forming trading blocks with India and Iran to outmanoeuvre the USA.
They hold a massive amount of American debt.
They are developing the Quantum radar system that can see Stealth bombers and fighters.
Of course China are the major concern but gutless Obama wouldn't front them up.

Yeah China is a threat, but so is Russia. You conveniently ignore the list of all the things Russia has actually done. How many neighbours do they need to intimidate or outright invade before you stop defending them? As for China, Trump isn't going to do anything. He attacked Obama for shifting the focus to Asia and now he has come out and said he is going to withdraw US forces from Europe, but that hypocrisy escaped you too no doubt. Trump has said he has no interest in having US forces protecting the world. He wants to wage an economic war with China but the primary reason he is going for China is it's part of his xenophobic narrative, who are the easiest countries to blame for job losses? Mexico and China. Mexico for flooding the country with illegal immigrants and China for taking the manufacturing jobs away from the USA, easy targets for the braying mob. Also well done for highlighting your hypocrisy again, last comment you said Obama was a warmonger and now you call him gutless, the right wing knows no bounds when it comes to a ****ing inability to examine their own points for any sort of consistency! So what's Obama supposed to do? Bomb Chinese stuff in the South China seas? Wage an economic war with them?

 

[The Jones Boy]

I'm stating the facts here...

... priceless.

...you are the one who is supporting Trump with no reason and excusing the actions of Putin.

I'm not supporting Trump. If I had a vote in the Yank elections I wouldn't have cast it.
However you claim you are 'stating facts', that Trump is an incompetent businessman.
Yet he has a portfolio worth between $3.5 billion and $10 billion dollars.
You don't get to be a multi billionaire unless you have a strong element known as business acumen.
You are sounding like a Hilary apologist again.
Say many things about Trump truthfully but when the guy is a 'multi billionaire' in the business world and you label him as 'incompetent' you can't hope to have anyone think of you as anything more than a fool.
You can be a multi-millionaire by accident.
You don't get to be a multi-billionaire by accident.

Putin did charge into the Crimea before the Ukraine or its western allies had a chance to secure it for themselves.
What did you expect him to do?
The Black fleet was sitting in there.
Are you so politically naive to think that Putin would give up a warm water port and a fleet and a territory on his southern doorstep?
Are you mad?
That was never going to be allowed to happen.
Was a shot fired?
No.
No rebellion just a re-branding of the region that is Russian anyway.
The people of the Crimean peninsula are happy, they are not suffering the ravages of war, famine, purges or drone attacks ;-).

You think the system can withstand that happening a 3rd time? Things are going to change in the future.

That would be a good thing in that it would make it more democratic, whether it happens is a another matter. The conservative quotient of America is not fond of change.

Standing by your husband and being the person who forces yourself on women are 2 completely different things. You want to attack Hillary for the actions of her husband yet have no interest in attacking Trump for doing those things himself?

Oh come on. Bill Clinton is a serial shagger and he does it off the company pier. He gets away with it because the Clinton foundation shells out to cover him from legal action.
No self respecting woman would put up with that.
Hilary endures it because for her life is about her career. She is a career politician and a morally corrupt one at that. She needed Bill on her ticket to rise up the ladder so for all his infidelities she saw his victims paid off and kept herself blinkered from his depredations on other women around her.
She is as good as an accomplice and definitely an enabler.
Bill's victims will hate her forever.

Trump is a male chauvinist sexist. He doesn't lie about it, he embraces it.
Women like him.
He's arrogant, confident and rich.
He's a winner.
He has won in business and he won the US Presidential election.
I'm not fond of him but he is entertaining.

Perhaps he was referring to you Rage in his New Year tweet...
"Happy New Year to all, including to my many enemies and those who have fought me and lost so badly they just don't know what to do. Love! "

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

I'm not supporting Trump. If I had a vote in the Yank elections I wouldn't have cast it.
However you claim you are 'stating facts', that Trump is an incompetent businessman.
Yet he has a portfolio worth between $3.5 billion and $10 billion dollars.
You don't get to be a multi billionaire unless you have a strong element known as business acumen.
You are sounding like a Hilary apologist again.
Say many things about Trump truthfully but when the guy is a 'multi billionaire' in the business world and you label him as 'incompetent' you can't hope to have anyone think of you as anything more than a fool.
You can be a multi-millionaire by accident.
You don't get to be a multi-billionaire by accident.

Right, you're not supporting Trump, you just agree with everything he says and does... You clearly missed the part that if Trump had invested his inheritance in the 100 leading shares at the time and spent the rest of his life to the modern day fingering himself, he'd have a greater net worth than he currently has. So you think a great businessman is one who makes less money than someone who does nothing for years? Yes he did become a multi-billionaire by accident, the accident being his birth. His forays into business have generally been failures. He has a trail of bankruptcies behind him. What is sad it you look at someones wealth as a measure of their competence.

Putin did charge into the Crimea before the Ukraine or its western allies had a chance to secure it for themselves.
What did you expect him to do?
The Black fleet was sitting in there.
Are you so politically naive to think that Putin would give up a warm water port and a fleet and a territory on his southern doorstep?
Are you mad?
That was never going to be allowed to happen.
Was a shot fired?
No.
No rebellion just a re-branding of the region that is Russian anyway.
The people of the Crimean peninsula are happy, they are not suffering the ravages of war, famine, purges or drone attacks ;-).

So you're seriously going to sit there and say it's perfectly ok for Putin to waltz into any country he fancies if the regime won't follow his commands? Are you ****ing serious? That's like the USA invading some Japanese islands now because Japan has decided they don't want US bases there. Were shots fired? Er what do you think the entire conflict in Eastern Ukraine is? A giant nerf gun fight? Shots very much have been fired from Russian meddling, infact a civil war is under way because of Russia. The region was not Russia, it was Ukrainian. The fact you condone Putin seizing whatever land he desires and militarily bullying his neighbours shows what a sick and twisted view you have.

Oh come on. Bill Clinton is a serial shagger and he does it off the company pier. He gets away with it because the Clinton foundation shells out to cover him from legal action.
No self respecting woman would put up with that.
Hilary endures it because for her life is about her career. She is a career politician and a morally corrupt one at that. She needed Bill on her ticket to rise up the ladder so for all his infidelities she saw his victims paid off and kept herself blinkered from his depredations on other women around her.
She is as good as an accomplice and definitely an enabler.
Bill's victims will hate her forever

.

Once again blaming Hillary for the actions of her husband is idiotic. You cannot impeach a president for having their spouse cheat on them, the president themselves cheating and lying is deemed grounds for impeachment.

Trump is a male chauvinist sexist. He doesn't lie about it, he embraces it.
Women like him.
He's arrogant, confident and rich.
He's a winner.
He has won in business and he won the US Presidential election.
I'm not fond of him but he is entertaining.

Oh right, it's fine to be an arsehole if you embrace it, well that is just great isn't it? This is about leading the most powerful country on the planet and you want to put it in the hands of a delusional, narcissistic, arrogant, stupid tosspot but it's all fine because he isn't politically correct. This isn't a ****ing TV show, this isn't supposed to be entertainment! This is people's livelihoods being put at risk for **** sake. It's idiotic attitudes like that that allow this **** to happen. Seriously, your attitude is sickening. You really should go **** yourself. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you!? You are ok for events that result in people suffering and even dying because you get so sick entertainment out of it!?

 

[The Jones Boy]

Right, you're not supporting Trump, you just agree with everything he says and does...

Some of what he says is worthwhile listening too... have you witnessed the appalling state of many American cities? Their infrastructure is rotting around itself. He has pledged to resolve this issue and make America great again. Whether he does or not is a matter of debate but it is both a massive undertaking and a a policy that appeals to the people. They need their infrastructure restored.

As for the wall, I'm not convinced about that nonsense at all.
It will make money in the economy for a small section like the companies supplying the materials and the companies doing the works but it sends a message of defeat (Empires that build physical walls around themselves invariably get invaded) and apartheid (like Israel), I'm not comfortable about that.
The wall is more of a symbolic action for the voters and to help him get to a second term.
He can turn around in 4 years time and say "Hey I said I would build it, now it's built, I do what I say you can trust the Trumpster yada yada yada..."

You clearly missed the part that if Trump had invested his inheritance in the 100 leading shares at the time and spent the rest of his life to the modern day fingering himself, he'd have a greater net worth than he currently has.

'If' is no guarantee, it's a hopeful aspect in hindsight. It's worthless. It might have, it might not, you are postulating possibilities after that fact that may never have come to pass...

Yes he did become a multi-billionaire by accident, the accident being his birth. His forays into business have generally been failures. He has a trail of bankruptcies behind him.

So does Warren Buffet, so do many incredibly wealthy people. Bankruptcy is a tool that allows the super wealthy to shed their debt and move on. I don't agree with it but thats what they do.
Multi-billionaires are not made by accident.

What is sad it you look at someones wealth as a measure of their competence.

So the guy is a multi billionaire, in a free market world that worships money, who has successfully become the president of the USA, and you think he's a failure? He has a beautiful wife and family who are also successful.
What more does he need to do by the rules of our materialistic and shallow society to show success?

You've lost the plot mate.

So you're seriously going to sit there and say it's perfectly ok for Putin to waltz into any country he fancies

No I didn't say that.
The Crimean was Russian and he rebadged it as such from the rebadging that took place under Krushchev.
No rebellion and the people have a stronger currency and more stability.
They have the same leader.
That have the same fleet in the harbour at Sevastopol.
The people are happy, Why are you crying for them?
Do you have shares in Burisma Holdings with Hunter Biden?

...if the regime won't follow his commands? Are you ****ing serious? That's like the USA invading some Japanese islands now because Japan has decided they don't want US bases there. Were shots fired? Er what do you think the entire conflict in Eastern Ukraine is? A giant nerf gun fight? Shots very much have been fired from Russian meddling, infact a civil war is under way because of Russia.

If it's a civil war then the region is Russian. ;-)
They all speak the same language.
They are all eastern orthodox.

Once again blaming Hillary for the actions of her husband is idiotic.

She paid those damaged women off to keep her career on track. She doesn't care about what happens to other women as long as she is on course for more power.
Women don't like Hilary. She is completely hypocritical. She will say and do anything to keep herself in power, unashamedly.
Hilary was unelectable, that is why she lost to Trump.
Now she has nothing.
She gambled her morality, her honesty, her femininity, her integrity even her humanity and threw them all away when Trump slam dunked the winning point and so the stain of the Clinton financial drain was banished from the White House.
Forever.
Amen.

Oh right, it's fine to be an arsehole if you embrace it, well that is just great isn't it? This is about leading the most powerful country on the planet and you want to put it in the hands of a delusional, narcissistic, arrogant, stupid tosspot but it's all fine because he isn't politically correct.

It worked for Bill Clinton.
It worked for Mattress Jack, (JFK) "Happy Birthday Mr President..."
There is a history of it here...

This isn't a ****ing TV show, this isn't supposed to be entertainment!

Perhaps not but funnily enough thats exactly what it is.
This is the cult of personality fired by the deep frustration of middle America that they are being left behind (aka the Brexit vote.)
Trump is all about, well, Trump.

This is people's livelihoods being put at risk for **** sake.

Just like Obama put them at risk for the last 8 years?
Why do you think you have this backlash against the democrats?
How do you think we got here?
The people are dissatisfied with the status quo. Obama out, Hilary out.

It's idiotic attitudes like that that allow this **** to happen. Seriously, your attitude is sickening. You really should go **** yourself.

You have lost the plot young man. Behave yourself.

Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you!? You are ok for events that result in people suffering and even dying because you get so sick entertainment out of it!?

We all get to share in the entertainment Rage. None of us have a choice. What do you propose to do about it? How are you going to change it?
It's too late. He has won and now we endure what comes next.
Sit back and enjoy the show, pass the popcorn...

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

So someone who happily endorses a dictator invading other countries and doesn't give a damn about people's well being if they get entertainment out of it. I'm done with you.

 

[j'nuh]

Multi-billionaires are not made by accident.

I find it odd the reverence people have for billionaires. They are largely made by nepotism and exploitation. Donald's dad was a multi-millionaire, and Donald was given the presidency of his dad's organisation before he turned 30.

 

[Gavin]

And in Northern Ireland it gets better with the person in charge claiming people want her out because she is a woman...

Na love it is because they believe you are responsible / should take responsibility for the taxpayers having to pay £490m when the Renewable Heating Incentive went over budget...

 

[pagliaccio_euforico]

I find it odd the reverence people have for billionaires. They are largely made by nepotism and exploitation. Donald's dad was a multi-millionaire, and Donald was given the presidency of his dad's organisation before he turned 30.

if trump would have taken the money his dad lent to him and put it in an index fund he would be wealthier than he is now... by that measure he is actually pretty ****ty with money

 

[The Jones Boy]

So someone who happily endorses a dictator invading other countries and doesn't give a damn about people's well being if they get entertainment out of it. I'm done with you.

When you can write without perpetually trying to pigeon hole your counterpoint into a design of your making
, then perhaps we can have a discussion.

I havent endorsed anyone, not Trump, not Putin, and definitely not Hilary.
You have no choice, Trump is coming to town, there is nothing we can do about it.
Sit back and enjoy the shenanigans.
If you carry on like you are making false assumptions and getting stressed about it all you will achieve is high blood pressure.
Trump has shown his hand already. He is all about maximum bluster, to scare, then when he moves, it's too a much more conservative position than previously thought by the scare mongers and the media.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Jamie Oliver closing 6 of his restaurants and blaming Brexit.

Not the fact that they are pretty crappy restaurants in a competitive market.

I'm not a fan of Brexit but I'm getting tired of everyone using it as an excuse for failure of any kind. Some are very valid but a lot are pretty stupid.

 

[Gavin]

Boots in Canterbury have increased their price for the meal deal from £3.29 to £3.39 -

Bloody Brexit

 

[Which Tyler]

My utilities bill for December was significantly higher than it was back in June - I blame Brexit!

 

[The Jones Boy]

Brexit is a major player in some industries.
Those which require the use of cheap foreign labour in particular.
The property market has been affected.
There's no getting away from it. Here in London several of my clients, including British passport holders, are making sure they have an EU passport through another EU country so they can maintain business links to their income stream from Europe that will be able to circumvent any increase in tax that may incur from a Brexit.

There are 2 key factors here; how restrictive will the Brexit policy be? when will it kick in?

If the Euro side play hard ball and Britain is determined to come out then the free flow of European economic migrants will be stopped entering the UK and so a tax tariff is highly likely to be placed on British imports to the EU. That would have a hard knock against many industries here.

What does that mean for the EU passport holders left here who don't have a British passport?
Jamie Oliver and many many others may also be feeling the effect of skilled foreign workers, who have been here a long time and made a chunk of money to build their own home back in their own country off the back of the strong pound against their weak domestic currency (not so much the Euro) and now they worry their time is up soon, so they are leaving before they are made to leave by potentially 'non optimal' Brexit circumstances and they are taking their skills with them.
Some of them are leaving because of the racial attacks they have suffered since the Brexit vote.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...ncrease-police-figures-official-a7358866.html

Racial violence has been on the up since the Brexit vote. People are scared and its an unpleasant vibe.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/21050...nd-after-racist-bust-up-on-underground-train/

Either way, there is a skilled labour market that is starting to relocate into Europe and it's taking it's skills with them.
Short to medium term this is not a great outcome for economy. It takes time to train new staff for the positions etc... if there are any who want to work in that kind of employment.

This will have a profound negative effect on some types of business that might otherwise flourish.
The fruit and vegetable producing businesses of Britain are inundated with foreign workers.
If they all left in the Brexit, those businesses are claiming they would collapse.
Some of them probably would do just that.
Others are looking at how they can modernise to cut the human labour element out of the equation which means those jobs will disappear.

 

[ncurd]

The only thing effecting business' currently is the weak pound everything else is nonsense. But it has contributed to rising fuel prices it's also having impact in other areas in rising COGS but we shall see.

Anyone blaming foreign labor at the moment is lying.

 

[The Jones Boy]

Do you have any statistics to back that up?

Or is that what your local black cab driver ranted at you?

 

[ncurd]

Nope because no one has statistics on how much the vote has effected migration yet.

https://www.migrationwatchuk.org/statistics-net-migration-statistics

My bet is the vote has had little difference. If anything it may have increased further as people try to get in before it is more restrictive.