US Elections 2016

[Gorth]

Gorthie I meant to ask you, how are you enjoying the UK?

 

You staying in the countryside right...whats your routine like, found any good restaurants or places you like to go to

 

You know my family are from the UK so we have strong tries

Not quite out in the country side yet, took the first and best apartment I could get to have a roof over my head. Not that it makes much difference at this time of year. It's as cold and miserable as Scandinavia, so a disproportinal amount of time is spent indoors anyway. I've actually never been to the UK when it hasn't been winter. Looking forward to experience it through spring, summer, fall etc.

 

So besides the inside of offices or whatever is next to the m3, m4, m25, m23, m20 etc. I haven't had much of a chance to experience what the country has to offer yet. I get along quite well with the locals though, wherever I go, whether it be Cornwall, Sussex, Essex, Surrey, Kent or the Greater London area.

 

If you have lived off German food for a year, anything else is considered a delicacy (I've mentioned it before, one of my pet peeves with Germany was the atrocious quality of the "food" products in the supermarkets and grocery stores, specialty stores may be exempt from that generalisation)

[BruceVC]

 

Gorthie I meant to ask you, how are you enjoying the UK?

 

You staying in the countryside right...whats your routine like, found any good restaurants or places you like to go to

 

You know my family are from the UK so we have strong tries

Not quite out in the country side yet, took the first and best apartment I could get to have a roof over my head. Not that it makes much difference at this time of year. It's as cold and miserable as Scandinavia, so a disproportinal amount of time is spent indoors anyway. I've actually never been to the UK when it hasn't been winter. Looking forward to experience it through spring, summer, fall etc.

 

So besides the inside of offices or whatever is next to the m3, m4, m25, m23, m20 etc. I haven't had much of a chance to experience what the country has to offer yet. I get along quite well with the locals though, wherever I go, whether it be Cornwall, Sussex, Essex, Surrey, Kent or the Greater London area.

 

If you have lived off German food for a year, anything else is considered a delicacy (I've mentioned it before, one of my pet peeves with Germany was the atrocious quality of the "food" products in the supermarkets and grocery stores, specialty stores may be exempt from that generalisation)

 

Yeah, summer in the UK is soooooooo nice

 

Great long days and the sun sets late but the winters can get depressing. Are you travelling a lot for work?

[Gorth]

Are you travelling a lot for work?

Over a period of a fortnight, it's roughly a 50/50 split between spending time at the clients place(s) and working from home. I try to visit our head office once a month.

[BruceVC]

 

Are you travelling a lot for work?

Over a period of a fortnight, it's roughly a 50/50 split between spending time at the clients place(s) and working from home. I try to visit our head office once a month.

 

Nice, its like my job. I work on projects so I also travel about 50/50

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

16 attacks on Bernie in 16 hours from Amazon owned Washington Post

 

The same Amazon that used Neo-Nazis to bully Spanish immigrant workers in Germany.

 

Hillary sure gets support from the best of people.

[Raithe]

So what is this thing about?

NY Appeals court rules Trump must stand trial for fraud..

 

....

This presidential election season just got crazier. The First Department (the NY Appeals court covering Manhattan) ruled today that the lawsuit brought by the Attorney General of the State of New York against Trump University and Donald Trump can move forward to trial. The Donald and his lawyers had sought to dismiss the suit because they argued a three year statute of limitations had applied and the conduct alleged occurred more than three years prior to the filing of the suit. Further they argued that the law the AG brought the case under did not allow the AG to bring a fraud action for damages but only allowed the AG to bring an injunction to stop the fraudulent activity.

....

[Valsuelm]

......

 

We cant fix it now, wait till after the election then push for change? Its about activism Vals ....its about not just complaining on a forum. This is why I spend so much time  on radio talk shows discussing politics and events that influence SA

I think you should post links to the audio and transcripts of these radio talk shows.

[BruceVC]

 

......

 

We cant fix it now, wait till after the election then push for change? Its about activism Vals ....its about not just complaining on a forum. This is why I spend so much time  on radio talk shows discussing politics and events that influence SA

I think you should post links to the audio and transcripts of these radio talk shows.

 

http://www.702.co.za/

 

http://www.powerfm.co.za/

 

There are podcasts you can download of specific guests but they dont record the political debates, but you can listen live as they have streaming. I'll be phoning 702 in about 40 minutes to discuss an inordinate fine one of corporations is receiving in Nigeria. So you can hear me live, my name is Bruce from Randburg

 

Here is the live streaming address, I'll make it easy for you

 

http://www.702.co.za/listen-live

Edited March 8, 2016 by BruceVC

[Drowsy Emperor]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/aei-world-forum-donald-trump_us_56ddbd38e4b0ffe6f8ea125d?2oz85mi

 

 

Billionaires, tech CEOs and top members of the Republican establishment flew to a private island resort off the coast of Georgia this weekend for the American Enterprise Institute's annual World Forum, according to sources familiar with the secretive gathering.

 

The main topic at the closed-to-the-press confab? How to stop Republican front-runner Donald Trump.

 

Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google co-founder Larry Page, Napster creator and Facebook investor Sean Parker, and Tesla Motors and SpaceX honcho Elon Musk all attended. So did Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), political guru Karl Rove, House Speaker Paul Ryan, GOP Sens. Tom Cotton (Ark.), Cory Gardner (Colo.), Tim Scott (S.C.), Rob Portman (Ohio) and Ben Sasse (Neb.), who recently made news by saying he "cannot support Donald Trump." 

 

Along with Ryan, the House was represented by Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Fred Upton (Mich.), Rep. Kevin Brady (Texas) and almost-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), sources said, along with leadership figure Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.), Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-Ga.), Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (Texas) and Diane Black (Tenn.).

 

It's like all those conspiracy movies, but it is actually happening.

 

I think it just comes down to influence. A lot of rich people are used to having the political class in the US in their pockets so they cannot be too fond of a candidate that is not (too) dependent on them.

[Rostere]

Wow, this is crazier than even I expected.
 
Time to take a look at who Rubio would have planned as foreign policy advisors. Almost nobody who is not originally from the GWB administration.
 
Elliott Abrams - Iran-Contra veteran, former PNAC member, deputy national security adviser under GWB.
 
Keith Alexander - Responsible for the Abu Ghraib during the torture scandals, subsequently named director of NSA where is is famous for lying to the American public about the extent of surveillance.
 
Michael Chertoff - Secretary of Homeland Security under GWB, co-author of the PATRIOT act.
 
Eliot Cohen - PNAC co-founder. Infamous for calling for war against Iran and Iraq before 9/11.
 
Norm Coleman - Republican ex-Senator, since 2009 a pro-Israel lobbyist for the RJC.
 
Paula Dobriansky - Bush-era Undersecretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs.
 
Eric Edelman - Former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy under GWB.
 
Aaron Friedberg - Deputy assistant for national-security affairs and director of policy planning under GWB.
 
Kim Holmes - Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs under GWB.
 
Robert Joseph - Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security under GWB.
 
Jon Kyl - Republican ex-Senator. Appears to have no foreign policy experience in particular.
 
John Lehman - Former PNAC signatory. 9/11 commission member.
 
Michael Mukasey - Attorney General under GWB. Known for advocating the use of torture and calling terrorism an act of war rather than a crime.
 
Andrew Natsios - Administrator of the USAID program under GWB.
 
Dan Senor - Chief Spokesperson for the Coalition Provisional Authority under GWB, after that a pro-Israel lobbyist.
 
Kristen Silverberg - Former Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations under GWB, after that a pro-Israel lobbyist.
 
Jim Talent - Republican ex-Senator. Appears to have no foreign policy experience in particular.
 
Dov Zakheim - PNAC co-author and subject of repeated scandals. This poor guy is at the center of every 9/11 conspiracy theory under the sun, in part because he was CEO of a company selling remote flight control equipment until 2001, but also because he served as Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) where he lost track of trillions of dollars of transactions (hardly helped by all the accountants who died in the Pentagon attack on 9/11). If you look up "dodgy" in a lexicon, there is a picture of this guy.
 
Lindsey Graham joked earlier that he would have a "all-Jewish cabinet" because of all the pro-Israel funding. Turns out that joke - which was decried as anti-Semitic - wasn't actually so far from the truth at all, seeing how Rubio's foreign policy advisors are 56% Jewish, which is quite an achievement. There's some serious reverse anti-Semitism going on in the US when you get so absurdly disproportionate appointments. I wonder what people would say if 56% of Obama's foreign policy advisors were Muslims.

[Meshugger]

Wow, this is crazier than even I expected.

 

Time to take a look at who Rubio would have planned as foreign policy advisors. Almost nobody who is not originally from the GWB administration.

 

Elliott Abrams - Iran-Contra veteran, former PNAC member, deputy national security adviser under GWB.

 

Keith Alexander - Responsible for the Abu Ghraib during the torture scandals, subsequently named director of NSA where is is famous for lying to the American public about the extent of surveillance.

 

Michael Chertoff - Secretary of Homeland Security under GWB, co-author of the PATRIOT act.

 

Eliot Cohen - PNAC co-founder. Infamous for calling for war against Iran and Iraq before 9/11.

 

Norm Coleman - Republican ex-Senator, since 2009 a pro-Israel lobbyist for the RJC.

 

Paula Dobriansky - Bush-era Undersecretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs.

 

Eric Edelman - Former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy under GWB.

 

Aaron Friedberg - Deputy assistant for national-security affairs and director of policy planning under GWB.

 

Kim Holmes - Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs under GWB.

 

Robert Joseph - Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security under GWB.

 

Jon Kyl - Republican ex-Senator. Appears to have no foreign policy experience in particular.

 

John Lehman - Former PNAC signatory. 9/11 commission member.

 

Michael Mukasey - Attorney General under GWB. Known for advocating the use of torture and calling terrorism an act of war rather than a crime.

 

Andrew Natsios - Administrator of the USAID program under GWB.

 

Dan Senor - Chief Spokesperson for the Coalition Provisional Authority under GWB, after that a pro-Israel lobbyist.

 

Kristen Silverberg - Former Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations under GWB, after that a pro-Israel lobbyist.

 

Jim Talent - Republican ex-Senator. Appears to have no foreign policy experience in particular.

 

Dov Zakheim - PNAC co-author and subject of repeated scandals. This poor guy is at the center of every 9/11 conspiracy theory under the sun, in part because he was CEO of a company selling remote flight control equipment until 2001, but also because he served as Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) where he lost track of trillions of dollars of transactions (hardly helped by all the accountants who died in the Pentagon attack on 9/11). If you look up "dodgy" in a lexicon, there is a picture of this guy.

 

Lindsey Graham joked earlier that he would have a "all-Jewish cabinet" because of all the pro-Israel funding. Turns out that joke - which was decried as anti-Semitic - wasn't actually so far from the truth at all, seeing how Rubio's foreign policy advisors are 56% Jewish, which is quite an achievement. There's some serious reverse anti-Semitism going on in the US when you get so absurdly disproportionate appointments. I wonder what people would say if 56% of Obama's foreign policy advisors were Muslims.

 

Sweet Jesus, a nefarious blend of neo-cons, zionists and interests tied to the military-indutrial complex. It's like a parody made by /pol/.

[Meshugger]

Primary night again fellas, what are the chances of Sanders winning tonight?

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Primary night again fellas, what are the chances of Sanders winning tonight?

Polling suggests Michigan is favored to Hillary, but the lead has dropped and I expect the debate helped him out. I wouldn't bet on Sanders winning, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did or if it is very close.

[ShadySands]

I'm sure Mississippi will be another bloodbath 

 

 

 

Current standings

Hillary Clinton 673

Bernie Sanders 477

 

Donald Trump 384

Ted Cruz 300

Marco Rubio 151  

John Kasich 37

Edited March 8, 2016 by ShadySands

[Elerond]

 

Not directly related to presidential election, but it seems that GOP establishment wants to ensure that democrats win senate

 

 (Tammy Duckworth is combat veteran who lost both her legs in combat and above tweet is part of NRSC's campaign to support for republican senator Mark Kirk [not so surprisingly tweet was deleted minutes after posting it but too late to prevent any damage that it will do]) 

[Hurlshort]

Geez, I would hope that was a hacker, that's pretty terrible.

[Guard Dog]

 

[Elerond]

I would say that americans don't seem to understand how socialism works. Biggest illusion in socialism is that it would take money from those who have it and give it to those who don't.

[Guard Dog]

I would say that americans don't seem to understand how socialism works. Biggest illusion in socialism is that it would take money from those who have it and give it to those who don't.

No we know how it works. We just like to laugh at stuff.

[Drowsy Emperor]

The thing that's most bizarre about the sad remnants of socialism (because that's the most generous term that can be given to the socialists of Europe, since they abandoned just about everything that the ideology stood for) is that they're tied to the whole self-loathing lunacy of multiculturalism, political correctness, gay-rights, feminism and every other agenda under the sun  - all of which all have nothing to do with socialism's historical goals.

 

On the other hand, all the conservative, "nationalist" parties are married to rabid "exploit everything" capitalism and soul crushing neoliberalism. 

 

Long story short, if you're a normal person there's no way you can recognize yourself in either of them.

 

Why can't we have a self respecting marriage of national conservativism and economic socialism? Why can't we have nice things? Why?

[Elerond]

 

I would say that americans don't seem to understand how socialism works. Biggest illusion in socialism is that it would take money from those who have it and give it to those who don't.

No we know how it works. We just like to laugh at stuff.

 

 

From your media I would say that even your "socialist" president candidate don't seem to understand how it works. Or more accurately americans have their own idea of socialism that they fear or want. For socialism manifestations that you can find from other countries, people's understanding seem to be very academic, meaning that they have grasp of principalities and theory how things should work, but actual understanding how those existing socialistic economies work is thing that seems to elude most of the people seem that speak about subject. Although I must say that most of the people that live under socialistic economies have hard time to understand how their economies work. Of course nobody can fault people not understanding how those economies work as they quite cleverly hide and obtuse their systems that keep them running.

 

But anyway I don't think this thread is best place to actually go in detail how for example Nordic socialistic economy systems work and why some of our politician are just idiots (this is quite important part actually when we speak economic systems in specific countries like for example Finland).  

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

I would say that americans don't seem to understand how socialism works. Biggest illusion in socialism is that it would take money from those who have it and give it to those who don't.

I would say that socialists can't really agree on what socialism is, with anarchists and marxists and social democrats and every other snowflake getting into arguments over pretty much everything.

 

But I'd agree with you.

[Bartimaeus]

Looks like Sanders will be crushed in Mississippi (no surprise there), but he takes an early (small) lead in Michigan so far. We'll see how that pans out...

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Bernie and Trump almost debated but Trump backed out

 

God damn it Trump.

[Drowsy Emperor]

 

I would say that americans don't seem to understand how socialism works. Biggest illusion in socialism is that it would take money from those who have it and give it to those who don't.

I would say that socialists can't really agree on what socialism is, with anarchists and marxists and social democrats and every other snowflake getting into arguments over pretty much everything.

 

But I'd agree with you.

 

 

There is 200 years of history there, during which the world changed several times over. It is hardly surprising that the idea itself didn't remain static and that it was appropriated by so many diverse groups.

 

If there is one common denominator its the desire for equality. Something that EU countries can generally point out is lacking in the US.

 

Which is why everyone laughs in the EU when US politicians are accused of being "socialist", because their alleged socialism is so mild as to be nonexistent. Things like Obamacare and what Bernie Sanders is campaigning for now are considered a basic necessity of a modern state in Europe - not something subject to political debate.

 

Funny thing is, if the US could tax its upper classes to the same degree that some EU countries do it would dramatically raise the quality of life for the lower and middle classes in a generation in all relevant parameters (medical security, education etc. etc.). 

Edited March 9, 2016 by Drowsy Emperor