Hey Offroad, what do you think of LePen
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TReK
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 3,306
Likes: 165
From: CT
I'll say this much about Macron, he may be punching above his weight class with little in the way of real political support, but I like what I've seen and heard from him so far.
I am also fascinated by polls that show May's lead shrinking in the lead up to June 8th. I've read a few articles with statements from police in London who say that had there not been the cutbacks, they would have been able to respond better to the most recent attacks. I don't follow UK news that closely so I'm really unable to say whether this is a genuine issue or not. I can't believe that Corbyn is being equated to Bernie Sanders among millennials in the UK.
What do you think about Trump's failure to mention Article 5 in his speech to the rest of the NATO members. I just read this morning that McMasters, Mattis and Tillerson were caught unaware by the speech to NATO. They had worked with Trump to make sure that the message was one of unity. The actual speech that Trump delivered was not the one they had worked on! Trump chose instead to take the other members to task over their contributions even though the majority were either in compliance or moving towards compliance with the agreement reached a couple of years back.
This gets back to my original statement about Macron. At least he and Merkel are showing real international leadership. Trump has barely left the stage when Merkel was entertaining Modi the Prime Minister of the world's largest democracy.
Last week wasn't a good one for anyone who understands the need for the US to be the lead player in the world. I'm watching a shirking/shrinking of power in the last couple of months I would have thought was unimaginable. I could go on for pages about the withdrawal from the Paris Accord and how we're rushing to embrace old, dying technologies like coal (do people even understand that the only real growth for coal right now is in metalurgical coal for steel production thanks to issues with Australia's supply problems and not because power plants in the US are abandoning natural gas????).
I also cannot believe the clumsiness of Trumps tweets in the last couple of days.
Our crotchety 70 year old nut job uncle, the one we only had to deal with at Thanksgiving Dinner, has taken control of the wheels of power and he's driving the country at high speed, straight off a cliff.
I shudder to think what Trump will do the next time a terrorist, homegrown or not, inflicts similar damage in the US.
It's not a good time to be an American.
I am also fascinated by polls that show May's lead shrinking in the lead up to June 8th. I've read a few articles with statements from police in London who say that had there not been the cutbacks, they would have been able to respond better to the most recent attacks. I don't follow UK news that closely so I'm really unable to say whether this is a genuine issue or not. I can't believe that Corbyn is being equated to Bernie Sanders among millennials in the UK.
What do you think about Trump's failure to mention Article 5 in his speech to the rest of the NATO members. I just read this morning that McMasters, Mattis and Tillerson were caught unaware by the speech to NATO. They had worked with Trump to make sure that the message was one of unity. The actual speech that Trump delivered was not the one they had worked on! Trump chose instead to take the other members to task over their contributions even though the majority were either in compliance or moving towards compliance with the agreement reached a couple of years back.
This gets back to my original statement about Macron. At least he and Merkel are showing real international leadership. Trump has barely left the stage when Merkel was entertaining Modi the Prime Minister of the world's largest democracy.
Last week wasn't a good one for anyone who understands the need for the US to be the lead player in the world. I'm watching a shirking/shrinking of power in the last couple of months I would have thought was unimaginable. I could go on for pages about the withdrawal from the Paris Accord and how we're rushing to embrace old, dying technologies like coal (do people even understand that the only real growth for coal right now is in metalurgical coal for steel production thanks to issues with Australia's supply problems and not because power plants in the US are abandoning natural gas????).
I also cannot believe the clumsiness of Trumps tweets in the last couple of days.
Our crotchety 70 year old nut job uncle, the one we only had to deal with at Thanksgiving Dinner, has taken control of the wheels of power and he's driving the country at high speed, straight off a cliff.
I shudder to think what Trump will do the next time a terrorist, homegrown or not, inflicts similar damage in the US.
It's not a good time to be an American.
Baja
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 5,845
Likes: 368
From: Near Bordeaux, France
Hi Paul
Sadly I honestly believe that many these days are far softer and less educated than the older generations were. Politics is a childlike 'game' where the rank and file are the losers and the politicians move onto greater heights whether competent or not and can switch allegiances/parties overnight. The whole world to me (and you it appears) seems childlike, like an amateurs or beginners chess game, from social media remarks (of which I don't participate in any form) to mass public outpourings of grief following disasters but proliferated by the general media as news. Even the polls seem rigged to divert the rank and file from one party to another by saying he or she is 'narrowing' the gap knowing it will animate the losers supporters to vote. As for Trump, his remarks are, eerrr, priceless, I believe the Republicans are now even muttering about impeachment. IMO the US people will be well rid of him and his family and hopefully then import a suitable person as a leader and not a game show host or second rate actor. Irrespective of his politics, colour or creed, I had respect for Obama as a figurehead but I am very disappointed with this current Tweeting idiot and his entourage.
As for terrorism, IMO there is only one reason ISIS is hitting Europe and the US, their increasing failures and losses in the middle east and other western involvement. I believe social freedoms, politics, way of life etc, etc is a convenient blind and poor excuse for the politicians to minimise the complex reasons for the terrorists actions and to gain political status themselves. I have yet to find an honest competent politician without total self interest in mind be it power or financial.
As for Macron and Merkel, IMO these people will become the cornerstone of Europe and as you rightly say, Macron so far has impressed me being it's his newness in politics per se.
Although I have my reservations about the climate change reasons I believe that something needs to be done to restrict the uses and depletion of fossil fuels.
Sadly I honestly believe that many these days are far softer and less educated than the older generations were. Politics is a childlike 'game' where the rank and file are the losers and the politicians move onto greater heights whether competent or not and can switch allegiances/parties overnight. The whole world to me (and you it appears) seems childlike, like an amateurs or beginners chess game, from social media remarks (of which I don't participate in any form) to mass public outpourings of grief following disasters but proliferated by the general media as news. Even the polls seem rigged to divert the rank and file from one party to another by saying he or she is 'narrowing' the gap knowing it will animate the losers supporters to vote. As for Trump, his remarks are, eerrr, priceless, I believe the Republicans are now even muttering about impeachment. IMO the US people will be well rid of him and his family and hopefully then import a suitable person as a leader and not a game show host or second rate actor. Irrespective of his politics, colour or creed, I had respect for Obama as a figurehead but I am very disappointed with this current Tweeting idiot and his entourage.
As for terrorism, IMO there is only one reason ISIS is hitting Europe and the US, their increasing failures and losses in the middle east and other western involvement. I believe social freedoms, politics, way of life etc, etc is a convenient blind and poor excuse for the politicians to minimise the complex reasons for the terrorists actions and to gain political status themselves. I have yet to find an honest competent politician without total self interest in mind be it power or financial.
As for Macron and Merkel, IMO these people will become the cornerstone of Europe and as you rightly say, Macron so far has impressed me being it's his newness in politics per se.
Although I have my reservations about the climate change reasons I believe that something needs to be done to restrict the uses and depletion of fossil fuels.
Thread Starter
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TReK
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 3,306
Likes: 165
From: CT
Baja
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 5,845
Likes: 368
From: Near Bordeaux, France
What do you reckon on the James Comey affair and testimony to the SIC, it appears like dynamite so far although none of us will be party to the 'in camera' session.
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TReK
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 3,306
Likes: 165
From: CT
Just go to The Intercept website https://theintercept.com/ and scroll down to the story with the headline "Top Secret NSA Report Details Russian Hacking Efforts Days Before 2016 Election."
https://theintercept.com/2017/06/05/...2016-election/
It's the story that was leaked by Reality Winner at the beginning of the week. It's safe to say that this particular incident where Russian operatives hacked into VR Systems using spear phishing techniques was a success. The corruption of credentials posed the potential for voter suppression. Really, what it seemed like to me was that the Russians were merely experimenting to see how far they could go within a local voting district. What's particularly scary about this is what it means for future elections. Surely Russian isn't going to stop now. We have national elections in 2018 and 2020. Still, we have a sizeable portion of the US population who thing Russian hacking is nothing more than fake news. It's really sad, where we're at as a country these days. No one believes anything.
The same could be said after yesterday's election in the UK. The division is total. The populace of the UK can't agree on anything anymore than we in the US can agree. The only thing I'm encouraged by is the fact the May didn't improve her majority and she may, in fact, be on the way out. She was never up to the task. But, what then? I know I've seen Boris' name floated but OMG, no. Do you really want that as a nation?
Comey? I couldn't have been more pleased with his testimony. Of course, the press has split as you would have expected it would. On the right, Comey's a leaker, no one to be taken seriously. On the left, he illustrated deliberate obstruction of justice.
What I'm most sad about is that we'll never get to the issue of making our elections safer from hackers and fake news generated on sites like Facebook and Twitter. I shudder to think what 2020 will mean for the US. Do I look at Labor's success in this election and dare to hope? I just don't know anymore.
https://theintercept.com/2017/06/05/...2016-election/
It's the story that was leaked by Reality Winner at the beginning of the week. It's safe to say that this particular incident where Russian operatives hacked into VR Systems using spear phishing techniques was a success. The corruption of credentials posed the potential for voter suppression. Really, what it seemed like to me was that the Russians were merely experimenting to see how far they could go within a local voting district. What's particularly scary about this is what it means for future elections. Surely Russian isn't going to stop now. We have national elections in 2018 and 2020. Still, we have a sizeable portion of the US population who thing Russian hacking is nothing more than fake news. It's really sad, where we're at as a country these days. No one believes anything.
The same could be said after yesterday's election in the UK. The division is total. The populace of the UK can't agree on anything anymore than we in the US can agree. The only thing I'm encouraged by is the fact the May didn't improve her majority and she may, in fact, be on the way out. She was never up to the task. But, what then? I know I've seen Boris' name floated but OMG, no. Do you really want that as a nation?
Comey? I couldn't have been more pleased with his testimony. Of course, the press has split as you would have expected it would. On the right, Comey's a leaker, no one to be taken seriously. On the left, he illustrated deliberate obstruction of justice.
What I'm most sad about is that we'll never get to the issue of making our elections safer from hackers and fake news generated on sites like Facebook and Twitter. I shudder to think what 2020 will mean for the US. Do I look at Labor's success in this election and dare to hope? I just don't know anymore.
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