Lets Get Political

[smjjames]

Just now, Hurlshot said:

Why would they have the kids attend a wedding, you mean? Seems like a pretty typical event for a TV show to have.

I meant the 'marrying their sibling' part, seemed obvious with the quote.

[ShadySands]

16 minutes ago, Malcador said:

Well they wouldn't do that, obviously, just wanted to bash Alabammer.

Roll Tide!

[Gromnir]

8 hours ago, ktchong said:

During the trade negotiation, Trump made many demands that China found objectionable, among them were these three that are absolutely unacceptable:

1. The US require that China changes its promulgated law to reflect the “trade agreement”. It should be pointed out that the last time China did that was during the Era of Humiliation by western powers and Japan before WW2, when China had been defeated in a series of wars. That US’ requirement is obviously non-starter.

2. The US require that should China be found in “violation” of an agreement, which will be solely determined by the US, then the US can reimpose tariff, and China cannot retaliate. Even Kevin Rudd, Australia’s ex PM, said that he would have rejected such request if it were presented to him as PM.

3. The US require China to commit to purchase farm and other merchandise from the US at a fixed amount that cannot be changed even when China’s domestic demands and situations change.

horrible.  just terrible.

'course, the chinese had already agreed to make numerous changes to law and had in fact already passed some such legislation in 2018. substantial edits to China's pre existing agreement to make changes you suggest never happen prompted the newest rounds o' tariffs.

and yeah, give Chinese power to investigate and impose tariffs on US for violation o' the agreement were widely criticized.  oh, wait. ktchong didn't get that far into his reading 'bout the deal? both US and China has power to determine when the other party has failed to meet substance o' the agreement and to impose punishments for such violations.

buying US goods in greater amounts were considered a non-issue until recent tariffs. china were already buying more. were recent tariffs which had US farmers needing tens o' billions o' dollars in support 'cause China abandoned US sources in retaliation for tariffs. 

nevertheless, get the agreement codified in chinese law were gonna be tough, and were a seeming insurmountable hurdle from the outset. chinese wanted codification to come in the form o' regulatory and administrative actions. problem is, the chinese has shown little reluctance in changing regulatory and administrative actions at whim. "dew on a summer rose" ephemeral has been previous minor agreements.  given how chinese has weaponized trade in past decade, is no reason to believe the chinese were serious 'bout adhering to agreement any longer than were clear advantageous to them.

from the start, this whole deal appeared more theatrical than anything. both xi and trump saw opportunities for gain by playing at agreement? china's 11th hour edits pulled back the curtain on their intentions, but trying to determine what motivates trump in this little drama remains elusive. recent difficulties with china has had US companies looking for sources outside china and this trade war will no doubt accelerate such movement away from shanghai and beijing, but such seems far too long-range for trump. 

regardless, as to the enumerated list...

*snort*

HA! Good Fun!

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

6 hours ago, Hurlshot said:

Alabama has been making the news a lot lately.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/05/21/alabamas-pbs-station-refused-air-arthur-same-sex-wedding-episode/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.73a0b5a4725f

I guess alabamans find gay cartoon rats too difficult to explain to their kids, but telling a 12 year old to birth her rapist's child is fine.

[Gromnir]

5 hours ago, ShadySands said:

Roll Tide!

can only imagine the collective statewide stroke which would befall alabama if nick saban, as a matter o' conscience, announced he would cease all coaching activities until the new abortion law were repealed or declared unconstitutional.

HA! Good Fun!

[Guard Dog]

Heard on the SiriusXM POTUS (Politics of the United States) channel this morning that Trump is saying he will not sign any more legislation while investigations are on going. Woo-Hoo! I love when the Potomac rat tribes are trying to f--k each other over. Divided government baby! That is where it's at. I hope and pray we never again see a Congress united under one party, And God knows I ope we never see both Congress AND the Presidency united under one party. That is a nightmare I don't care who you support. 

[Guard Dog]

In a move that is surprising no one Theresa May is stepping down. This Brexit thing is a hot mess. Joining the EU is like buying a timeshare. You don't know how much it's going to cost, you don't know when it's going to end, you have no clear ability to get out of it, if you do try to leave is pisses off everyone else in the ownership pool.  Nuts to these kinds of entanglements. 

[213374U]

The upside is that discount Donald Trump is apparently a top contender to succeed May.

 

Politics really is the gift that keeps on giving.

[Guard Dog]

Why settle for the knock off version. If the Brits would like we can let them have the real thing at a very reasonable price. Say, a half a pint of Bass, a plate of day old scones (one bite taken out) and a hat that may or may not have belonged to Winston Churchill. 

So... what do you say Great Britain? Do we have a deal?

[Hurlshort]

We will throw in Pence for an actual pence.

[BruceVC]

5 hours ago, Guard Dog said:

In a move that is surprising no one Theresa May is stepping down. This Brexit thing is a hot mess. Joining the EU is like buying a timeshare. You don't know how much it's going to cost, you don't know when it's going to end, you have no clear ability to get out of it, if you do try to leave is pisses off everyone else in the ownership pool.  Nuts to these kinds of entanglements. 

But the EU is the worlds most successful economic union of separate countries, it provides real and immense trade benefits. It is only criticized  by those who feel  certain rights or culture  have been lost ..but they haven't as its a trade-off  

So people bemoan, for example, the " loss of sovereignty " , What exactly is sovereignty ? If you look at other failed unions like the Arab League or the AU its the opposite problem, these unions have failed exactly because the rules and regulations like institutions of the EU are not enforced for the benefit of citizens. In the AU you have countries who are dictatorships and claim they dont follow the manifesto of the AU because of " sovereignty " ..its just an excuse for self-enrichment, corruption and  a way to not adhere to governance or accountability.

And this failure to follow the rules of theses union, which are based on the laws of prosperous and successful Democracies, does not work. The evidence and direction of mass immigration  and high levels of true inequality and poverty is patently obvious in these failed  institutions 

You cannot have both, either you follow the perceived strict regulations of unions like the EU and benefit economically or you have unions that exist in name only and dont provide a better quality of life for the people who live in these countries. If the EU dissolves the populist groups and euro-skeptics will achieve a Pyrrhic victory and live to regret there misplaced ambitions of " Independence and sovereignty  " 

 

 

 

[smjjames]

It's also the only one with the level of government organization that it has, isn't it? That'd be a major difference since the others don't operate on the same level and are more of a trade bloc than a political and legislative entity.

Still, it's not without issues and the political system has plenty of flaws and a long way to go with reform.

[BruceVC]

5 minutes ago, smjjames said:

It's also the only one with the level of government organization that it has, isn't it? That'd be a major difference since the others don't operate on the same level and are more of a trade bloc than a political and legislative entity.

Still, it's not without issues and the political system has plenty of flaws and a long way to go with reform.

Yes I agree but you need those same institutions to exist in places like the AU to successfully implement the regulations of the union and achieve success

Its similar to the Federal government in the USA, it has several important national institutions and laws  that have jurisdiction over some  state laws, without  that the USA would have failed and broken into separate or aligned countries but it wouldnt exsit in the form its in now which is a success despite some  challengers. You must pay tax throughout the USA and adhere to the Constitution to ensure economic and political stability  and consistency   for example

Unfortunately I wish the AU was a trade block but most countries exports  in the AU go outside the AU, this is another example of its failure. The average exports and imports of most African countries go outside the AU because there are no enforced and appealing trade laws that encourage continental trade, check the link for South Africa as an example and SA is considered a good example of a country that trades within the continent 

http://www.worldstopexports.com/south-africas-top-10-exports/

[Zoraptor]

4 hours ago, 213374U said:

The upside is that discount Donald Trump is apparently a top contender to succeed May.

 

Politics really is the gift that keeps on giving.

To be fair to Boris, I've done exactly the same thing.

OTOH, I've never managed this, though I guess I still have time.

[Guard Dog]

Folks, I think Alabama has become schizophrenic. Just days after essentially banning abortion they did something good: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/445388-alabama-votes-to-end-marriage-licenses?fbclid=IwAR0ZaTBhi_HXyxmXXsbMiHIFEO6BxUGUdKLmqR_0DApisUD87oBTeI0sB8c

Alabama has ended the requirement for marriage licenses. Any couple who wants to be married needs only to file an affidavit with the court or county office. This was apparently done because licenses for gay couples were being held up intentionally. Ironically, if every state had just done this from the get-go Obgerfell never even needed to be a thing. It rubs me the wrong way that consenting adults need to supplicate themselves before the goddamned government and beg their permission to get married (in the form of a license).  So, kudos to Alabama on that. But don't gloat, you're only one for two this week.

[Guard Dog]

19 hours ago, Hurlshot said:

We will throw in Pence for an actual pence.

Well, it's been 24 Hours Hurl and no takers. Our asking price might be too steep. So, hey Brit's forget the scones. We'll take just the hat and half glass of beer and you can have Pence for free. Call it a sweetener. 

[smjjames]

2 hours ago, Guard Dog said:

Folks, I think Alabama has become schizophrenic. Just days after essentially banning abortion they did something good: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/445388-alabama-votes-to-end-marriage-licenses?fbclid=IwAR0ZaTBhi_HXyxmXXsbMiHIFEO6BxUGUdKLmqR_0DApisUD87oBTeI0sB8c

Alabama has ended the requirement for marriage licenses. Any couple who wants to be married needs only to file an affidavit with the court or county office. This was apparently done because licenses for gay couples were being held up intentionally. Ironically, if every state had just done this from the get-go Obgerfell never even needed to be a thing. It rubs me the wrong way that consenting adults need to supplicate themselves before the goddamned government and beg their permission to get married (in the form of a license).  So, kudos to Alabama on that. But don't gloat, you're only one for two this week.

Don't they still have to supplicate before the church? But I suppose you're not against that... are you? (just lightly messing with you here because logic, heh).

It is pretty ironic though because Alabama.

[HoonDing]

Johnson makes Trump look like Marcus Aurelius.

[smjjames]

Isn't Marcus Aurelius the one who killed Cleopatra? Might not actually be accurate, but anyway..... nvm, I checked wiki and it was someone else, Augustus, though he was known as Octavian at the time.

Edited May 25, 2019 by smjjames

[Guard Dog]

38 minutes ago, smjjames said:

Don't they still have to supplicate before the church? But I suppose you're not against that... are you? (just lightly messing with you here because logic, heh).

It is pretty ironic though because Alabama.

I am not against it because a church is a voluntary association. You can come and go as you please. If the church tells you "thou shalt not do this"  you can go right ahead and do it anyway. The government on the other hand has guns, cops, an utter lack of forbearance and a rather twisted view of what it's role in your life ought to be. 

[Guard Dog]

22 minutes ago, smjjames said:

Isn't Marcus Aurelius the one who killed Cleopatra? Might not actually be accurate, but anyway..... nvm, I checked wiki and it was someone else, Augustus, though he was known as Octavian at the time.

Actually she did that herself. Hard to say if Octavian would have executed her or not. But whatever he did she wasn't going to like it. 

[injurai]

Marcus Aurelius is someone I'd like to have a beer with. Then another. Every Saturday for lunch.

[ktchong]

Alt-right incel Proud Boy got cucked trying to rip an antifa sign

Liberul gave encouragement and tried to help

Found out the moron's name is Luke James Mahler because he was in the news.  Now his shame is complete and forever.

Edited May 25, 2019 by ktchong

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

That may be hilarious but it was a year ago.

[Zoraptor]

5 hours ago, injurai said:

Marcus Aurelius is someone I'd like to have a beer with. Then another. Every Saturday for lunch.

If I had a beer with him I'd be hitting him up about why Commodus ended up his successor and why he was so awful. Aurelius may be an interesting bloke but his son was so bad* he got a portable toilet named after him.

*probably, like Caligula, wasn't as bad as made out.

Edited May 25, 2019 by Zoraptor