The All Things Political Topic - What's Going On...?

[BruceVC]

3 hours ago, Lexx said:

He was a business man who also held regular parties on his island. A lot of the people on the list could be nothing else but actual temporary visitors without any (morally?) evil intentions. It really doesn't mean that everyone on the list did something. However, if there are people on the list who were flying very regularly, you can probably guess from that.

That said, the horse is beaten so dead by now, nobody would trust any list anyways. Like, how hard is it to just build a fake list? Take off some names, add some names? You can't trust what Trumps people release, or anyone at this point, tbh.

Yes, this entire Epstein scandal and list has become one big confused conspiracy theory with all these different opinions and allegations

I hear people suggesting Epstein is still alive because he was a Mossad agent and Trump\DOJ  wont release the list because he is controlled by Israel and then people suggesting " if there is no client list what is Maxwell doing in jail " 

But as you said, Epstein was a well known socialite and he had hundreds of parties and hundreds of people and celebrities attended these parties through the years but that doesnt mean everyone who knew Epstein or who attended the parties committed a crime 

Epstein and Maxwell were both charged and guilty of sexual exploitation around underage sex and sex trafficking, you dont need a  client list for someone to be charged for these crimes 

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/jeffrey-epstein-charged-manhattan-federal-court-sex-trafficking-minors

" announced that JEFFREY EPSTEIN was arrested Saturday and charged with sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors.  The indictment unsealed today alleges that, between 2002 through 2005, EPSTEIN sexually exploited and abused dozens of underage girls by enticing them to engage in sex acts with him in exchange for money.  Epstein allegedly worked with several employees and associates to ensure that he had a steady supply of minor victims to abuse, and paid several of those victims themselves to recruit other underage girls to engage in similar sex acts for money.  He committed these offenses in locations including New York, New York, and Palm Beach, Florida.  EPSTEIN is expected to be presented in Manhattan federal court this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry B. Pitman.  The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman. " 

But Trump and the likes of Bondi made things worse because they keep flip-flopping on the client list and was there a client list and now they saying "there is no relevant  client list to release " 

No wonder conspiracy theorists are having  a field day 

Bondi initially said there was a client list on 21 February 

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/07/politics/bondi-epstein-files-client-list-suicide-memo

" During a February 21 interview on Fox News, host John Roberts asked whether DOJ would release a “list of Jeffrey Epstein’s clients.”

“Will that really happen?” Roberts asked.

Bondi responded: “It’s sitting on my desk right now to review. That’s been a directive by President Trump. I’m reviewing that.”

In other words, Bondi didn’t commit to releasing such a list, but she affirmatively indicated it existed and that it was in her possession. And the question was specifically about the purported list – not other files related to Epstein. "  

 

I think there is a list of names and Trump\DOJ dont want to release them  because certain people in Trumps inner circle will be implicated just by association and it will be embarrassing, Im not saying they necessarily guilty of sexual crimes 

59 minutes ago, Chairchucker said:

Well yes, Donald Trump almost certainly sexually assaulted children. That's what we're dancing around saying, here, right?

I dont think Trump is a paedophile, I do think he had sex with women at the parties that Epstein arranged

But a paedophile is someone who is attracted to pre-pubescent girls 

Its a very different type of sexual  crime to statutory rape  

 

 

Edited July 15 by BruceVC

[Chairchucker]

3 hours ago, BruceVC said:

I dont think Trump is a paedophile, I do think he had sex with women at the parties that Epstein arranged

But a paedophile is someone who is attracted to pre-pubescent girls 

Its a very different type of sexual  crime to statutory rape  

Thanks for explaining the distinction Bruce that's very valuable information that only you could have provided.

 

And don't worry, I wasn't calling him a paedophile, I was suggesting he sexually assaulted children. It's entirely possible to sexually assault children without being specifically attracted to pre-pubescent children. And we already know that he raped E Jean Carroll, and was accused of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment by at least 25 women going back to the 70s. And we've got audio of him bragging about being able to sexually assault women because he's 'a star'. And two of his acquaintances said they saw him have sex with girls that looked underage. And one of the women who accused him of sexual misconduct was, at the time of the allegation, a Miss Teen USA contestant who says he entered the dressing room. And he is on record as saying that as the owner of the Miss Universe franchise, he often walked into their dressing rooms unannounced. And there was a federal lawsuit alleging he sexually assaulted a 13 year old.

 

But sure, I'm sure one of the worst human beings in the world, who is also on record as saying that the thing he and his daughter had in common was sex, and that she was a hot piece of ass, and that if she weren't his daughter perhaps he'd be dating her, yeah he's the kind of guy that deserves the benefit of the doubt.

 

Especially if you happen to like the taste of fascist boot polish.

[rjshae]

3 hours ago, BruceVC said:

I think there is a list of names and Trump\DOJ dont want to release them  because certain people in Trumps inner circle will be implicated just by association and it will be embarrassing, Im not saying they necessarily guilty of sexual crimes 

It's been consistent Trump behavior to bury news that is bad for him or his party so that nobody hears about it, and thus far it's working. Just look at everything he's doing to conceal climate change. I don't think it necessarily means he's doing it to protect people. He just does it primarily to avoid controversy.

(Don't mistake my opinion for defending him. I just think it's part of a pattern of behavior.)

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

“I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” - Donald Trump

What did he mean by this?

[rjshae]

44 minutes ago, PK htiw klaw eriF said:

“I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” - Donald Trump

What did he mean by this?

Any male who even remotely flatters Trump is a "terrific guy". As for judging youth, I'm not always certain myself whether an older teen is of legal age. It can be hard to tell without ID.

[HoonDing]

I imagine quite a few world leaders, billionaires, celebrities are on that list. It's a nuclear bomb.

Remember what happened to that Maltese journalist.

Edited July 15 by HoonDing

[Hurlshort]

1 hour ago, HoonDing said:

I imagine quite a few world leaders, billionaires, celebrities are on that list. It's a nuclear bomb.

Remember what happened to that Maltese journalist.

It's not though, because there are no longer consequences to actions.

[Malcador]

11 minutes ago, Hurlshort said:

It's not though, because there are no longer consequences to actions.

Might be in other countries.

[Zoraptor]

Eh. 'Might be' is doing some pretty heavy lifting there. Recent history suggests that every country will bury such accusations for as long as possible, deal with them in a minimal manner and do so after being forced into it and- preferably- after the perpetrators are dead or too old to stand trial.

See: Australian warcrimes in Afghanistan. Not directly applicable but recent/ ongoing and still the only person convicted is... the guy who blew the whistle. More applicable; the whole Stolen Generations (stealing Aboriginal babies) issues, not many convictions there for all the abuse and slavery. Similar issues in Canada, and the church related issues in Ireland and elsewhere. NZ's historic abuse in care scandal. Waited until a lot of the victims were dead to hold an inquiry (a cynic might say to cut down on compensation payments), no convictions despite the guy who ran Lake Alice 'hospital' being alive (deliberately waited until he wasn't mentally competent). The whole Jimmy Saville issue in the UK. Systematically covered up by pretty much every establishment entity.

And that's completely off the top of my head.

Having said that, if there were truly no consequences there wouldn't be any reason not to release a list. If you're Trump you probably don't want to give too much impetus to such things though, it's the sort of issue where you can get runaway momentum which won't always be dissipated by toothless no fault public inquiries decades later designed specifically to do nothing while making people feel like something is being done.

[uuuhhii]

always remember

punishment does not reach the elite

though streisand effect on this issue could melt even more conspiracy prone brain than before

causing them to behave more erratic and dangerous than before

[rjshae]

DJT is still trying to oust Jerome Powell, employing Nixon-level trickery:

How Trump could use a building renovation to oust Fed Chair Powell

The worrisome aspect is who he'll set in his place, and what impact that'll have on the nation's economy and inflation. The inflationary aspect of tariffs appear to be just setting in, and at least with Powell there's a shot to keep it somewhat managed. Lowering the rate by three points, as desired by DJT, could significantly boost inflation.

Didn't they just elect DJT because of the persistent inflation under Biden? Here we go again.

[uuuhhii]

 

3 hours ago, rjshae said:

DJT is still trying to oust Jerome Powell, employing Nixon-level trickery:

How Trump could use a building renovation to oust Fed Chair Powell

The worrisome aspect is who he'll set in his place, and what impact that'll have on the nation's economy and inflation. The inflationary aspect of tariffs appear to be just setting in, and at least with Powell there's a shot to keep it somewhat managed. Lowering the rate by three points, as desired by DJT, could significantly boost inflation.

Didn't they just elect DJT because of the persistent inflation under Biden? Here we go again.

 

why wait until 2026

might as well hasten the inevitable great depression 2

[BruceVC]

16 hours ago, uuuhhii said:

 

 

why wait until 2026

might as well hasten the inevitable great depression 2

You really depressing me, whats going to happen first?

 

Nuclear holocaust, re-emergence of the medieval Black Plague or Great Depression v.2?

Or do you think they will all happen simultaneously  

 

 

[uuuhhii]

other than nuclear apocalypse no catastrophe are mutually exclusive

spanish flu are 10 year away from great depression 1

could easily happen closer this time

while more hurricane run through populated area without warning each year

dust bowl happen at the same time as great depression 1 too

Edited Thursday at 03:07 PM by uuuhhii

[Malcador]

 

 

[rjshae]

13 hours ago, uuuhhii said:

other than nuclear apocalypse no catastrophe are mutually exclusive

spanish flu are 10 year away from great depression 1

could easily happen closer this time

while more hurricane run through populated area without warning each year

dust bowl happen at the same time as great depression 1 too

If they were always evenly distributed, they wouldn't be random events. Disasters can cluster together and there's little that can be done about that fact. That's all the more reason to enjoy life while you can. Sh*t happens.

[rjshae]

Well that's what happens.

Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ canceled by CBS, ends May 2026

Quote

 

Thursday’s announcement followed Colbert’s criticism on Monday of a settlement between Trump and Paramount Global, parent company of CBS, over a “60 Minutes” story.

Three top Paramount and CBS executives praised Colbert’s show as “a staple of the nation’s zeitgeist” in a statement that said the cancellation “is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”

Uh-huh. Sure, sure. 

[Malcador]

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/new-us-assessment-finds-american-strikes-destroyed-only-one-three-iran-rcna218761

"One of the three nuclear enrichment sites in Iran struck by the United States last month was mostly destroyed, setting work there back significantly. But the two others were not as badly damaged and may have been degraded only to a point where nuclear enrichment could resume in the next several months if Iran wants it to, according to a recent U.S. assessment of the destruction caused by the military operation, five current and former U.S. officials familiar with the assessment told NBC News."

[rjshae]

House gives final approval to Trump’s $9 billion cut to public broadcasting and foreign aid

Honestly, the country feels diminished now. Public broadcasting, NPR, and others made it feel like I was getting my money's worth out of the taxes. Now the money is just going to line wealthy tax shelters. Booo! 

[Agiel]

Plus ça change...

 

[BruceVC]

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/17/africa/africa-eswatini-trump-us-deportees-intl

There is such a ridiculous and sensationalized story in our local media at the moment 

Basically 5 criminals have been sent from the US to Swaziland to be incarcerated, Trump has done this a few times in other countries like El Salvador 

For those who dont know anything about Swaziland its an absolute Monarchy where the king has 11 wives and lives a lavish lifestyle while most of the country lives in abject poverty 

But its a sovereign country and obviously the US is paying Swaziland to incarcerate these criminals 

The funny part is all the South African drama and comments from some people about this 

"A South African government source told CNN, “There is a feeling that some inside the Trump administration could be using this (the deportation of prisoners to Eswatini) to destabilize South Africa,” given its porous borders and Eswatini’s struggling economy. "

Just to be clear, 15% of our prison population is foreigners so thats about 25k people who are in prison for many of the same crimes and we have millions of people in the country illegally but somehow 5 people are going to escape from Swaziland and ......" destabilize our country " 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Saturday at 05:13 AM by BruceVC

[HoonDing]

Suid Afrika should deport their illegals to third countries, like the US.

[Gorth]

On 7/19/2025 at 7:11 AM, BruceVC said:

Just to be clear, 15% of our prison population is foreigners so thats about 25k people who are in prison for many of the same crimes and we have millions of people in the country illegally but somehow 5 people are going to escape from Swaziland and ......" destabilize our country " 

Hey, I'm sure the Russians said the same thing when the Germans deported Lenin and put him on a train to Russia