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Passiflora
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Post Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2017 9:25 am |
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Joined: Tue May 21, 2002 12:00 am Posts: 12407
Location: The things, they hurt
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Don't worry, he'll be pissing off Japan and South Korea soon enough. I wonder if foreign leaders will just learn to ignore everything Trump says and deal with the grown-ups in the State Department. Assuming State bothers to buffer Trump's whims after whoever the chosen head gets confirmed, that is.
Side note: Hong Kong's pro-democrats have been putting out feelers to the Trump administration to see whether they might have an ally in him, the assumption being that anybody opposed to Beijing might support its freedom-seeking dissidents. Obama/Clinton were pretty useless in that regard because their foreign policy was strictly pragmatic. They saw no need to go needling China on principle. But I don't think our democrats quite grasp the nature of the Trump-Bannon presidency. They're just poop-mongering mercantilists who find China a convenient source of red meat for the base. They don't give a crap about human rights.
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arcosh
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Post Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2017 10:49 am |
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Joined: Sun May 26, 2002 12:00 am Posts: 2266
Location: Vienna, Austria, EU
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It could also be that some politican try to provoke a Trum reaction to them or their country, to apeal to anti-american voters. They will loose little support from pro-american voters, if they keep their statements reasonably non hostile, because after all it's Trump, and they still can sell their actions as standing up against the big bully, to the anti-american crowd.
On what level are the Hong Kong democrats, who try to get connected with Trump and are they a coherent group, that can change it's direction in lockstep? If they are, they could tell Beijing "See we can annoy you, by setting Trump off in your direction, but if you give in to theese demands, we will stop doing that. Natrually we don't say so in public, to make it easier for you to give in to the demands without loosing face.".
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Passiflora
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Post Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2017 12:36 pm |
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Joined: Tue May 21, 2002 12:00 am Posts: 12407
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I don't think there is anything the Hong Kong democrats could possibly do to annoy Trump in China's direction. Trump doesn't care about them or if they live or die. They possess no leverage. China will not let its foreign policy towards America be dictated by the antics of a few irritating clowns down south and such a suggestion would probably be met by riotous laughter.
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CCC
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Post Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2017 4:06 pm |
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Joined: Wed May 15, 2002 12:00 am Posts: 11381
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Trump may not care about them, but can he differentiate them from the mainland? I mean, if they tell Trump that his moustache smells like parmesan, is he likely to respond by taxing all imports from Beijing or in some other way taking vengeance against the mainland Chinese government?
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weremensh
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Post Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2017 6:55 pm |
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Moderator of DOOM! |
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Joined: Thu May 30, 2002 12:00 am Posts: 15853
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His people are already threatening to use force to throw the Chinese out of the islands they're stealing out in the South China Sea, and can be counted on to try to use tariffs against the PRC any day now simply because the morons in his base would think it sounds good. Hong Kong can simply sit back and wait; they don't need to provoke American stupidity to get it.
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kitoba
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Post Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2017 9:28 pm |
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Joined: Mon Sep 23, 2002 12:00 am Posts: 2699
Website: http://kitoba.com
Location: Televising the revolution
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So, Trump's closest advisor lists his influences as including --you can't make this stuff up --Dick Chaney, Darth Vader and Satan. ( cite). This is the guy the evangelicals turned out to support?
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weremensh
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Post Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2017 9:50 pm |
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Moderator of DOOM! |
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Passiflora
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Post Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 1:21 am |
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Joined: Tue May 21, 2002 12:00 am Posts: 12407
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Weremensh wrote: His people are already threatening to use force to throw the Chinese out of the islands they're stealing out in the South China Sea, and can be counted on to try to use tariffs against the PRC any day now simply because the morons in his base would think it sounds good. Hong Kong can simply sit back and wait; they don't need to provoke American stupidity to get it. None of those things, however, would be good for Hong Kong. Our democrats don't just want America to oppose Beijing generally, they want America to intercede specifically on Hong Kong's behalf. To say "Back Off Hong Kong Or We'll Pull All Our Companies Out", or something. Fat bloody chance. kitoba wrote: So, Trump's closest advisor lists his influences as including --you can't make this stuff up --Dick Chaney, Darth Vader and Satan. (cite). He's a gorram fascist. He hates everything about liberal democracy except perhaps the elections. Thanks, evangelical one issue voters. At least the Supreme Court will stay conservative, amirite? Hope you guys are happy. I have, however, figured out how to get Trump to fire Bannon. We have to somehow get Sean Hannity to call Trump Bannon's puppet. A few on-air references to "President Bannon" should do it. Who's for spiking Hannity's coffee? Anyone know a good hypnotist?
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arcosh
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Post Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2017 9:10 am |
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Joined: Sun May 26, 2002 12:00 am Posts: 2266
Location: Vienna, Austria, EU
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Sure Trump will not take a principled stance in favour of Hong Kong. But what i guess Hong Kong democrats could do, if they have some sort of a line to Trump, would be to call him from time to time, and tell "See what China has done now to hinder your plans. But we know something you could do, that would really annoy them!".
And in europe you have on the left a "americans are nuts, we always told you so" camp, a more moderate, traditionally transatlantic camp, that is very much anti Trump (the "Spiegel", thats cover has been linked would be there i guess) and the far right, that mostly was anti-american, but that likes Trump and now has to reorient itself too.
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Passiflora
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Post Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2017 1:03 am |
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Joined: Tue May 21, 2002 12:00 am Posts: 12407
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arcosh wrote: if they have some sort of a line to Trump, would be to call him from time to time, and tell "See what China has done now to hinder your plans. But we know something you could do, that would really annoy them!". Well there's nothing to stop them from trying it, but there's also nothing they could tell Trump that the State Department and CIA wouldn't already know. They have no inside information on Beijing's activities, nor on what American actions would really get under Beijing's leaders' skins. They know about as much as you or I. If Trump wants to annoy Beijing, he'll do it for his own reasons, and he won't care if it's good or bad for Hong Kong. (A trade war, for example, would screw us. Trade is our thing.) I don't think our democrats really understand the finer distinctions of intra-party foreign policy disagreements in the US. They know that Republicans tend towards a Tough On China stance, but they don't quite grasp the difference between the adventurist, democracy-promoting "America, FREEDOM YEAH!!!" neoconservative wing and the "Screw foreigners!" isolationist wing that Trump has latched on to.
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weremensh
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Post Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2017 9:04 pm |
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It seems Melania is suing for defamation of character. Someone accused her of being a prostitute, which she contends is actionable (despite her being a public figure) because it interferes with her once in a lifetime chance to cash in on the presidency.
I am reminded that the Guillotine family is alive, well, and living under new names.
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Passiflora
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Post Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 10:31 pm |
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Joined: Tue May 21, 2002 12:00 am Posts: 12407
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She's suing the Daily Mail. I can't say I have much sympathy for the Daily Mail, because come on, but the sight of a lawsuit-happy Trump suing people over being denied the alleged ability to make millions of dollars off their political position is both hilarious and appalling.
Anyway, it's been interesting to see Republican pundits sputtering over Trump's assertion that the US is morally no better than Russia. Interesting that they were indifferent to Trump sucking up to Putin, but implying that America's just as evil as Putin was their line in the sand.
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Steavie
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Post Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2017 7:22 am |
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Joined: Fri Apr 13, 2007 2:54 am Posts: 5115
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I just wanted to point out that Trump didn't alienate Australia. Our current PM is a spineless waste of space. He is in no way not going to bend over backwards to maintain friendly relations with the US.
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Passiflora
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Post Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2017 2:16 pm |
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Joined: Tue May 21, 2002 12:00 am Posts: 12407
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I didn't think it was likely that Australia would be miffed for more than couple of days. It's not like you guys really have the option of ditching a major geopolitical alliance over some dumb crap Trump says.
The poop storms just keep coming. White House spokespeople advertising Trump's daughter's merchandise. Deportations of random Mexicans ramping up. Trump reassuring law enforcement officials that they can keep doing civil forfeiture.(1) Trump insulting the judiciary for making government lawyers justify his immigration executive order with actual reasons instead of "because I said so". Both Grand Ignoramus Betty DeVos and Too Racist for the 1980s Jeff Sessions getting confirmed. There's going to be 4 years of this. Gods help us.
And to top it all off, the ex-Russian spy who helped leak the Trump Hooker Pee dossier has been found dead.
(1) For those not sure what this is - police in the US can seize property suspected of being involved in a crime, sell it, and keep the proceeds. They can do this even if no persons are actually charged or convicted of any crime. They can just decide your stuff looks dodgy and help themselves to it, and if you're not able to spend loads of time and money suing to get it back, tough.
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CCC
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Post Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2017 3:49 am |
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Joined: Wed May 15, 2002 12:00 am Posts: 11381
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Well, he's now getting satirised by Madam and Eve (they're mainly print, their web interface is frankly horrible, and do a lot of local political satire, but not all that much global...) There's been a couple of others, but I thought Trumpasaurus Wrecks was pretty funny.
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