The man is not to be trusted - EVER. Which makes a whole lot of sense, given that he’s a 6-times bankrupt, serial scammer & money launderer, who routinely stiffed contractors on bills due (even driving them to suicide in at least a couple of cases). Plus, he’s undeniably a convicted felon, and he always will be.
And he’s now the Imbecile-in-Chief, playing at being president by sitting at the Resolute Desk, just signing endless random shit with a flourish, while he poses, preens and spews his imbecilic, subliterate stream of consciousness and lies in front of submissive reporters at the Oval Office pressers.
Meanwhile, the Ketamine King who bought 47 the protection against spending the rest of his miserable life in a jail cell, continues to indiscriminately and illegally sledgehammer his way through government departments and agencies (especially prioritising all the agencies investigating him!). Thereby allowing knowledge, apolitical, decades-long expertise and experience to circle the drain.
How could any of that speedily and effectively be replaced? And who the hell would now be attracted to a career in public service, when there’s the risk that their job could very suddenly be terminated every four years?
The only silver lining to any of this is that even the MAGA cult of halfwits and cousin-humpers are gonna start feeling the ‘pain’ too pretty soon. Unless they’re in the demographic you’ve mentioned, Avon, or they happen to be millionaires and billionaires, of course. So, $10 for a dozen eggs? No prob for them.
There's been many presidents who were convicted of law breaking, cheating etc. Do we honestly believe that honesty and integrity rules the people who rule us? Our own politicians are a bunch of lying feckless morons. And I suspect the Kennedy's were rotten to the core, and Marilyn Monroe didn't die of natural causes. If we knew the half of what goes on, we'd live in a state of abject fear. But....if the job gets done that's the price you pay.
All the stink from the screaming lefties regarding negotiations with Putin? Funny how they don't think the same about appeasements and negotiations with Hamas when they're all out flag waving and screaming for 'Peace'.
I hear that, and I largely agree. But at least this time around, some of the corruption and criminality going on is right out there in the open for all to see in the current Musk/47 regime.
The playbook now is to throw out bright shiny things to the base every day, for them to be outraged over. Like summarily and indiscriminately torpedoing entire government departments and upending workers’ livelihoods. Or like the fictitious $59million for sending ‘condoms to Gaza’ (it didn’t happen). Because it’s all SUCH a waste of American taxpayer dollars. It’s a great way to deflect from what’s really going on.
All the while, in the shadows, Musk’s grotesque wealth accumulation steadily increases by a reported $8million - a day. Tesla in deep shit these days? No prob. A $400million defence contract suddenly materialises for the purchase of a fleet of ‘armoured’ Tesla trucks. Again, it’s reported that the biggest government Welfare Queen known to man has enriched himself to the tune of around $30Billion since he bought 47 the White House. Not too shabby a return on his $280million investment.
I’m no screaming liberal, Diggs. Believe it or not, I‘m all for the concept of DOGE, even though I think it’s a naff acronym (I always read/pronounce it as DODGE). Any government waste should be nixed, of course. But it surely shouldn’t be the sole responsibility of one volatile, unstable, ketamine-addled man suddenly giving departments a thumbs-up/down, like a Roman Emperor in the arena.
The latest genius move was to indiscriminately dismiss around 300 experienced professionals who oversee and maintain America’s nuclear weapons. Luckily, some folks grew a spine this time and hollered ‘WHOAH there - not so fast!!’. Followed by frantic calls, to assure those people that they’re not fired. It would serve 47 right if some of those ‘fired’ refuse to return to work, because their expertise could probably earn them big bucks elsewhere.
Again fwiw, I get what you’re saying, Diggs. But, like it or not, what happens in the US can eventually trickle down and affect the rest of the world. So, imo, the rest of the world has the right to be very alarmed by the current batshit clusterfuck going on over there.
Barksdale said
Feb 15 4:43 PM, 2025
Red Okktober wrote:
If I were a Republican, ideally I'd keep Trump for a year or so to make the neccesary changes, then have him replaced by someone more 'Trump lite' to continue them. Obviously that won't happen unless he resigns or croaks. But waiting for the next US election before he goes (at the earliest) might be too much time to put up with his heavy handiness.
As you say, unless he resigns or kicks the bucket, that won't happen. That's because it isn't the Republican party any longer. It's the MAGA party and MAGA and Trump are synonymous. It's like what would have happened over here if Momentum and totally captured the Labour Party and Corbyn had gone on to win a General Election.
Trump will split American society in two and the strongest will survive. Maybe that's what they want and that's what they need. I wouldn't want to live through it though.
Maddog said
Feb 15 5:45 PM, 2025
Digger wrote:
Vam wrote:
Barksdale wrote:
Maddog wrote:
There are millions that hate him. They will march and scream..
Meanwhile the first legitimate polls have been released.
He's going to need that high goodwill in the bank to get him through when the economic pain bites.
He's flooding the fileld (a Steve Bannon tactic I think) to keep his support strong as it gives the illusion of progress, even though he may not be achieving much. He made a big song and dance about mass deportations to begin with, but now? Not so much. He has pivoted towards "arrests" now rather than deportation because the reality is a mass deportation programme was always going to be very difficult to achieve, and I suspect he knew that.
The man is not to be trusted.
The man is not to be trusted - EVER. Which makes a whole lot of sense, given that he’s a 6-times bankrupt, serial scammer & money launderer, who routinely stiffed contractors on bills due (even driving them to suicide in at least a couple of cases). Plus, he’s undeniably a convicted felon, and he always will be.
And he’s now the Imbecile-in-Chief, playing at being president by sitting at the Resolute Desk, just signing endless random shit with a flourish, while he poses, preens and spews his imbecilic, subliterate stream of consciousness and lies in front of submissive reporters at the Oval Office pressers.
Meanwhile, the Ketamine King who bought 47 the protection against spending the rest of his miserable life in a jail cell, continues to indiscriminately and illegally sledgehammer his way through government departments and agencies (especially prioritising all the agencies investigating him!). Thereby allowing knowledge, apolitical, decades-long expertise and experience to circle the drain.
How could any of that speedily and effectively be replaced? And who the hell would now be attracted to a career in public service, when there’s the risk that their job could very suddenly be terminated every four years?
The only silver lining to any of this is that even the MAGA cult of halfwits and cousin-humpers are gonna start feeling the ‘pain’ too pretty soon. Unless they’re in the demographic you’ve mentioned, Avon, or they happen to be millionaires and billionaires, of course. So, $10 for a dozen eggs? No prob for them.
There's been many presidents who were convicted of law breaking, cheating etc. Do we honestly believe that honesty and integrity rules the people who rule us? Our own politicians are a bunch of lying feckless morons. And I suspect the Kennedy's were rotten to the core, and Marilyn Monroe didn't die of natural causes. If we knew the half of what goes on, we'd live in a state of abject fear. But....if the job gets done that's the price you pay.
All the stink from the screaming lefties regarding negotiations with Putin? Funny how they don't think the same about appeasements and negotiations with Hamas when they're all out flag waving and screaming for 'Peace'.
The anti war left shrinks into the shadows when it comes to Ukraine.
I'd love nothing more than a Russian defeat.. That doesn't seem to in the cards unless other players get in the game..
So, absent that, maybe it's time to let Vlad keep a part of Ukraine and mourn the loss of all those people who died for basically nothing..
Because everyone's sugar daddy (the US), is getting out of that game..
Red Okktober said
Feb 15 8:58 PM, 2025
Barksdale wrote:
Red Okktober wrote:
If I were a Republican, ideally I'd keep Trump for a year or so to make the neccesary changes, then have him replaced by someone more 'Trump lite' to continue them. Obviously that won't happen unless he resigns or croaks. But waiting for the next US election before he goes (at the earliest) might be too much time to put up with his heavy handiness.
As you say, unless he resigns or kicks the bucket, that won't happen. That's because it isn't the Republican party any longer. It's the MAGA party and MAGA and Trump are synonymous. It's like what would have happened over here if Momentum and totally captured the Labour Party and Corbyn had gone on to win a General Election.
Trump will split American society in two and the strongest will survive. Maybe that's what they want and that's what they need. I wouldn't want to live through it though.
Hello Avon,
American society's already split in two. The Republians are the strongest at the moment due to the weakness of the opposition, rather than their own strengths. The likes of Biden and Harris won't wash any more with most Americans, and the Dems are in desperate need of a change of personnel and a change of direction.
It's all cyclical though and we are probably getting towards the end cycle of an extreme Trump V useless woke Democrats. Trump will eventually go and the Dems will find better candidates - we probably won't recognise US politics in 10 years from now.
Btw - Did you ever go on that mushroom trip or start microdosing? Did it work out or are you posting from a teepee in the Welsh Mountains?
Digger said
Feb 15 11:19 PM, 2025
Maddog wrote:
Digger wrote:
There's been many presidents who were convicted of law breaking, cheating etc. Do we honestly believe that honesty and integrity rules the people who rule us? Our own politicians are a bunch of lying feckless morons. And I suspect the Kennedy's were rotten to the core, and Marilyn Monroe didn't die of natural causes. If we knew the half of what goes on, we'd live in a state of abject fear. But....if the job gets done that's the price you pay.
All the stink from the screaming lefties regarding negotiations with Putin? Funny how they don't think the same about appeasements and negotiations with Hamas when they're all out flag waving and screaming for 'Peace'.
The anti war left shrinks into the shadows when it comes to Ukraine.
I'd love nothing more than a Russian defeat.. That doesn't seem to in the cards unless other players get in the game..
So, absent that, maybe it's time to let Vlad keep a part of Ukraine and mourn the loss of all those people who died for basically nothing..
Because everyone's sugar daddy (the US), is getting out of that game..
That's it, isn't it? All those lives gone, wasted, blown away. At what point does someone say, enough! We had to appease and form peace with the IRA after decades of slaughter. It might not have gone down well but did it have to be done? I think it did.
Barksdale said
Feb 16 1:38 PM, 2025
Red Okktober wrote:
Hello Avon,
American society's already split in two. The Republians are the strongest at the moment due to the weakness of the opposition, rather than their own strengths. The likes of Biden and Harris won't wash any more with most Americans, and the Dems are in desperate need of a change of personnel and a change of direction.
It's all cyclical though and we are probably getting towards the end cycle of an extreme Trump V useless woke Democrats. Trump will eventually go and the Dems will find better candidates - we probably won't recognise US politics in 10 years from now.
Btw - Did you ever go on that mushroom trip or start microdosing? Did it work out or are you posting from a teepee in the Welsh Mountains?
Hey Red, good to be chatting with you again.
Ordinarily, I would agree with you and hope we are reaching the end of a cyclical crazy cycle and we will see the return of more stable conditions. I don't think that is going to happen and politics is going to get even more extreme. I say this because I am pessimistic about the economic indicatiors and think we are approaching a similar situation to the 2008 crash. The British public won't willing go through austerity again (the US may be different as Musk / Trump have only just started this) and given the level of debt we have and wanting to keep inflation down, quantative easing won't be as effective. I think we are in for a decade of living standards being through the floor for most people, except the wealthy and some parts of the middle class who have significant amounts of equity in property / share portfolios etc.
(I ditched the idea of doing an Ayahuasca trip as you can't get medical insurance for it and didn't fancy getting sick abroad with no cover. I did start micro-dosing and really had a good experience with it. Don't do it any more as it turns out the best thing for me as a less stressful job, and getting back to good diet and exercise. Who knew?)
Red Okktober said
Feb 16 5:23 PM, 2025
Barksdale wrote:
Hey Red, good to be chatting with you again.
Ordinarily, I would agree with you and hope we are reaching the end of a cyclical crazy cycle and we will see the return of more stable conditions. I don't think that is going to happen and politics is going to get even more extreme. I say this because I am pessimistic about the economic indicatiors and think we are approaching a similar situation to the 2008 crash. The British public won't willing go through austerity again (the US may be different as Musk / Trump have only just started this) and given the level of debt we have and wanting to keep inflation down, quantative easing won't be as effective. I think we are in for a decade of living standards being through the floor for most people, except the wealthy and some parts of the middle class who have significant amounts of equity in property / share portfolios etc.
(I ditched the idea of doing an Ayahuasca trip as you can't get medical insurance for it and didn't fancy getting sick abroad with no cover. I did start micro-dosing and really had a good experience with it. Don't do it any more as it turns out the best thing for me as a less stressful job, and getting back to good diet and exercise. Who knew?)
I agree that the state of the nation, in both financial and social stabilty terms, affects the politics of the day, and vice versa. So if your financial predictions are correct, then it will probably lead to a more extreme form of politics to counter it. A lot also depends on the indivuals invloved. A dictator type would be bad news. Someone more mainstream and popular (ish) with the electorate would be a better option in troubled times.
I wouldn't call Trump a dictator - I think America needs him right now, and that this is his time. Short term only though.
Starmer is more of a dictator, albeit a weak piss poor one, and seems completely out of his depth. I dread to think what damage he will inflict on the country during his time in number 10. If he lasts the full term, the country is almost certain to be worse off on several fronts than when he came in. I like Kemi, but the Tories are damaged goods at the moment and need to up their game. It wouldn't surprise me if Reform followed on from Starmer.
Maddog said
Feb 16 5:48 PM, 2025
Digger wrote:
Maddog wrote:
Digger wrote:
There's been many presidents who were convicted of law breaking, cheating etc. Do we honestly believe that honesty and integrity rules the people who rule us? Our own politicians are a bunch of lying feckless morons. And I suspect the Kennedy's were rotten to the core, and Marilyn Monroe didn't die of natural causes. If we knew the half of what goes on, we'd live in a state of abject fear. But....if the job gets done that's the price you pay.
All the stink from the screaming lefties regarding negotiations with Putin? Funny how they don't think the same about appeasements and negotiations with Hamas when they're all out flag waving and screaming for 'Peace'.
The anti war left shrinks into the shadows when it comes to Ukraine.
I'd love nothing more than a Russian defeat.. That doesn't seem to in the cards unless other players get in the game..
So, absent that, maybe it's time to let Vlad keep a part of Ukraine and mourn the loss of all those people who died for basically nothing..
Because everyone's sugar daddy (the US), is getting out of that game..
That's it, isn't it? All those lives gone, wasted, blown away. At what point does someone say, enough! We had to appease and form peace with the IRA after decades of slaughter. It might not have gone down well but did it have to be done? I think it did.
Agreed.
And you making peace with the IRA wasn't because your back was up against the wall. You were just tired of the stupidity. Unlike you, Ukraine can't continue the war without outside help.
Now, If the Europeans wanted to push out Vlad, they could..
However, they have proven they just want to assist us while we do the serious lifting. So the Ukraine is facing losing the whole thing if we pull out.
Maddog said
Feb 16 6:21 PM, 2025
"Speaking in Germany today, Zelensky proposed a new plan to achieve safety for Ukraine going forwards.
He said: "Many leaders have talked about Europe and that needs its own military, an army of Europe and I believe the time has come.
"The Armed Forces of Europe must be created."
^He's probably correct. But good luck getting Europeans to fund it properly..
Barksdale said
Feb 17 6:32 PM, 2025
Red Okktober wrote:
I like Kemi, but the Tories are damaged goods at the moment and need to up their game. It wouldn't surprise me if Reform followed on from Starmer.
My expectation is we will see either a Reform / Conservative coalition government of a Reform government. Our next Prime Minister may well be Nigel Farage.
Reform I think will see a further decline in the living standards of the working and middle class. If 2008 punched us in the face, and Brexit brought us to our knees then Reform will lay us flat out on the ground. They will probably blame immigrants or lefty lawyers but really it is because they have very little interest from what I can see in ensuring wealth starts flowing back from the super rich to the working / middle class who will spend it in the or local communities and promote organic regeneration from the ground up.
Oh well, we don't always get what we want and what we have is a "winner takes all" economy.
Maddog said
Feb 20 5:33 PM, 2025
Armin Papperger, the CEO of Rheinmetall, says Europe only has itself to blame for this crisis after a majority of its NATO member countries consistently fell short of the targeted 2% of GDP spending on defense.
Europe has benefitted from its security alliance with the U.S., which has routinely spent more than 3% of its GDP on defense and acted as an implicit guarantor of European security. The country has far and away provided the most financial aid to Ukraine, sending a total of €114 billion ($119 billion), compared to Germany in second, which has sent $17.3 billion to date.
This dynamic has long been to the chagrin of newly elected president Donald Trump, who in his first stint in the Oval Office repeatedly criticized European NATO members’ failure to pay their dues, and has stepped up his efforts to decouple the U.S. from the continent in his second term.
He's not wrong. The Brits, Poles and a couple other countries are the only ones that consistently meet their NATO obligations. You lose your seat when you do that.
-- Edited by jackb on Friday 21st of February 2025 11:27:43 PM
-- Edited by jackb on Friday 21st of February 2025 11:28:48 PM
Red Okktober said
Feb 22 11:10 AM, 2025
Trump has sacked his most senior military officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff CQ Brown, along with 2 other senior officers. All 3 had been appointed by Biden.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had previously said that Gen Brown should be fired because of his "woke" focus on diversity, equity and inclusion programmes in the military.
I love the statement Hegseth put out:
"Under President Trump, we are putting in place new leadership that will focus our military on its core mission of deterring, fighting and winning wars."
Trump has sacked his most senior military officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff CQ Brown, along with 2 other senior officers. All 3 had been appointed by Biden.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had previously said that Gen Brown should be fired because of his "woke" focus on diversity, equity and inclusion programmes in the military.
I love the statement Hegseth put out:
"Under President Trump, we are putting in place new leadership that will focus our military on its core mission of deterring, fighting and winning wars."
It exists for one reason. To inflicted the maximum amount of death and destruction when called upon. Anything that compromises that mission shouldn't be permitted.
Red Okktober said
Feb 24 1:23 PM, 2025
Maddog wrote:
Our military had become a social program.
It exists for one reason. To inflicted the maximum amount of death and destruction when called upon. Anything that compromises that mission shouldn't be permitted.
As with any job, it should always be given to the person who is best suited to it. It shouldn't matter if the military is made up entirely of hetero white men or entirely of black trans men - whoever has the most ability should get the job.
There are only so many positions available, and the flip side of being inclusive and appointing someone from a diverse background, is that someone who isn't from that background is being excluded.
Ability to do the job should be the only thing that counts, especially in the military, fire service, paramedics etc.
Anonymous said
Feb 28 8:22 AM, 2025
Red Okktober said
Feb 28 10:33 AM, 2025
Starmer's meeting seems to have gone reasonably well. Offering the state visit to butter him up seems to have done the trick - a bit transparent, but it worked!
I'm wondering if the blimp will go up again, although I suspect the government will want everyone on their best behaviour this time around as it's now oficially 'suck up to Donald' time.
Trump said Starmer had a beautiful accent LoL.
I noticed Lammy was sitting there - I couldn't see his feet though, so am not sure if he was wearing proper shoes or trainers like when he met Biden.
Syl said
Feb 28 7:27 PM, 2025
Trump...the peacemaker. If anyone is going to start WW3....he's your man.
Watching the way he and his sidekick (who has never been near the Ukraine) bully Zelenskyy today, then have a hissy fit because Zelenskyy managed to say a few sentences, talking more sense in them than Trump managed all day...I can see this war escalating far further and wider than it has been.
Maddog said
Feb 28 7:48 PM, 2025
Syl wrote:
Trump...the peacemaker. If anyone is going to start WW3....he's your man.
Watching the way he and his sidekick (who has never been near the Ukraine) bully Zelenskyy today, then have a hissy fit because Zelenskyy managed to say a few sentences, talking more sense in them than Trump managed all day...I can see this war escalating far further and wider than it has been.
What did Zelensky say that made sense for peace or for the US?
The man is not to be trusted - EVER. Which makes a whole lot of sense, given that he’s a 6-times bankrupt, serial scammer & money launderer, who routinely stiffed contractors on bills due (even driving them to suicide in at least a couple of cases). Plus, he’s undeniably a convicted felon, and he always will be.
And he’s now the Imbecile-in-Chief, playing at being president by sitting at the Resolute Desk, just signing endless random shit with a flourish, while he poses, preens and spews his imbecilic, subliterate stream of consciousness and lies in front of submissive reporters at the Oval Office pressers.
Meanwhile, the Ketamine King who bought 47 the protection against spending the rest of his miserable life in a jail cell, continues to indiscriminately and illegally sledgehammer his way through government departments and agencies (especially prioritising all the agencies investigating him!). Thereby allowing knowledge, apolitical, decades-long expertise and experience to circle the drain.
How could any of that speedily and effectively be replaced? And who the hell would now be attracted to a career in public service, when there’s the risk that their job could very suddenly be terminated every four years?
The only silver lining to any of this is that even the MAGA cult of halfwits and cousin-humpers are gonna start feeling the ‘pain’ too pretty soon. Unless they’re in the demographic you’ve mentioned, Avon, or they happen to be millionaires and billionaires, of course. So, $10 for a dozen eggs? No prob for them.
There's been many presidents who were convicted of law breaking, cheating etc. Do we honestly believe that honesty and integrity rules the people who rule us? Our own politicians are a bunch of lying feckless morons. And I suspect the Kennedy's were rotten to the core, and Marilyn Monroe didn't die of natural causes. If we knew the half of what goes on, we'd live in a state of abject fear. But....if the job gets done that's the price you pay.
All the stink from the screaming lefties regarding negotiations with Putin? Funny how they don't think the same about appeasements and negotiations with Hamas when they're all out flag waving and screaming for 'Peace'.
I hear that, and I largely agree. But at least this time around, some of the corruption and criminality going on is right out there in the open for all to see in the current Musk/47 regime.
The playbook now is to throw out bright shiny things to the base every day, for them to be outraged over. Like summarily and indiscriminately torpedoing entire government departments and upending workers’ livelihoods. Or like the fictitious $59million for sending ‘condoms to Gaza’ (it didn’t happen). Because it’s all SUCH a waste of American taxpayer dollars. It’s a great way to deflect from what’s really going on.
All the while, in the shadows, Musk’s grotesque wealth accumulation steadily increases by a reported $8million - a day. Tesla in deep shit these days? No prob. A $400million defence contract suddenly materialises for the purchase of a fleet of ‘armoured’ Tesla trucks. Again, it’s reported that the biggest government Welfare Queen known to man has enriched himself to the tune of around $30Billion since he bought 47 the White House. Not too shabby a return on his $280million investment.
I’m no screaming liberal, Diggs. Believe it or not, I‘m all for the concept of DOGE, even though I think it’s a naff acronym (I always read/pronounce it as DODGE). Any government waste should be nixed, of course. But it surely shouldn’t be the sole responsibility of one volatile, unstable, ketamine-addled man suddenly giving departments a thumbs-up/down, like a Roman Emperor in the arena.
The latest genius move was to indiscriminately dismiss around 300 experienced professionals who oversee and maintain America’s nuclear weapons. Luckily, some folks grew a spine this time and hollered ‘WHOAH there - not so fast!!’. Followed by frantic calls, to assure those people that they’re not fired. It would serve 47 right if some of those ‘fired’ refuse to return to work, because their expertise could probably earn them big bucks elsewhere.
Again fwiw, I get what you’re saying, Diggs. But, like it or not, what happens in the US can eventually trickle down and affect the rest of the world. So, imo, the rest of the world has the right to be very alarmed by the current batshit clusterfuck going on over there.
As you say, unless he resigns or kicks the bucket, that won't happen. That's because it isn't the Republican party any longer. It's the MAGA party and MAGA and Trump are synonymous. It's like what would have happened over here if Momentum and totally captured the Labour Party and Corbyn had gone on to win a General Election.
Trump will split American society in two and the strongest will survive. Maybe that's what they want and that's what they need. I wouldn't want to live through it though.
The anti war left shrinks into the shadows when it comes to Ukraine.
I'd love nothing more than a Russian defeat.. That doesn't seem to in the cards unless other players get in the game..
So, absent that, maybe it's time to let Vlad keep a part of Ukraine and mourn the loss of all those people who died for basically nothing..
Because everyone's sugar daddy (the US), is getting out of that game..
Hello Avon,
American society's already split in two. The Republians are the strongest at the moment due to the weakness of the opposition, rather than their own strengths. The likes of Biden and Harris won't wash any more with most Americans, and the Dems are in desperate need of a change of personnel and a change of direction.
It's all cyclical though and we are probably getting towards the end cycle of an extreme Trump V useless woke Democrats. Trump will eventually go and the Dems will find better candidates - we probably won't recognise US politics in 10 years from now.
Btw - Did you ever go on that mushroom trip or start microdosing? Did it work out or are you posting from a teepee in the Welsh Mountains?
That's it, isn't it? All those lives gone, wasted, blown away. At what point does someone say, enough! We had to appease and form peace with the IRA after decades of slaughter. It might not have gone down well but did it have to be done? I think it did.
Hey Red, good to be chatting with you again.
Ordinarily, I would agree with you and hope we are reaching the end of a cyclical crazy cycle and we will see the return of more stable conditions. I don't think that is going to happen and politics is going to get even more extreme. I say this because I am pessimistic about the economic indicatiors and think we are approaching a similar situation to the 2008 crash. The British public won't willing go through austerity again (the US may be different as Musk / Trump have only just started this) and given the level of debt we have and wanting to keep inflation down, quantative easing won't be as effective. I think we are in for a decade of living standards being through the floor for most people, except the wealthy and some parts of the middle class who have significant amounts of equity in property / share portfolios etc.
(I ditched the idea of doing an Ayahuasca trip as you can't get medical insurance for it and didn't fancy getting sick abroad with no cover. I did start micro-dosing and really had a good experience with it. Don't do it any more as it turns out the best thing for me as a less stressful job, and getting back to good diet and exercise. Who knew?)
I agree that the state of the nation, in both financial and social stabilty terms, affects the politics of the day, and vice versa. So if your financial predictions are correct, then it will probably lead to a more extreme form of politics to counter it. A lot also depends on the indivuals invloved. A dictator type would be bad news. Someone more mainstream and popular (ish) with the electorate would be a better option in troubled times.
I wouldn't call Trump a dictator - I think America needs him right now, and that this is his time. Short term only though.
Starmer is more of a dictator, albeit a weak piss poor one, and seems completely out of his depth. I dread to think what damage he will inflict on the country during his time in number 10. If he lasts the full term, the country is almost certain to be worse off on several fronts than when he came in. I like Kemi, but the Tories are damaged goods at the moment and need to up their game. It wouldn't surprise me if Reform followed on from Starmer.
Agreed.
And you making peace with the IRA wasn't because your back was up against the wall. You were just tired of the stupidity. Unlike you, Ukraine can't continue the war without outside help.
Now, If the Europeans wanted to push out Vlad, they could..
However, they have proven they just want to assist us while we do the serious lifting. So the Ukraine is facing losing the whole thing if we pull out.
He said: "Many leaders have talked about Europe and that needs its own military, an army of Europe and I believe the time has come.
"The Armed Forces of Europe must be created."
^He's probably correct. But good luck getting Europeans to fund it properly..
My expectation is we will see either a Reform / Conservative coalition government of a Reform government. Our next Prime Minister may well be Nigel Farage.
Reform I think will see a further decline in the living standards of the working and middle class. If 2008 punched us in the face, and Brexit brought us to our knees then Reform will lay us flat out on the ground. They will probably blame immigrants or lefty lawyers but really it is because they have very little interest from what I can see in ensuring wealth starts flowing back from the super rich to the working / middle class who will spend it in the or local communities and promote organic regeneration from the ground up.
Oh well, we don't always get what we want and what we have is a "winner takes all" economy.
Europe has benefitted from its security alliance with the U.S., which has routinely spent more than 3% of its GDP on defense and acted as an implicit guarantor of European security. The country has far and away provided the most financial aid to Ukraine, sending a total of €114 billion ($119 billion), compared to Germany in second, which has sent $17.3 billion to date.
This dynamic has long been to the chagrin of newly elected president Donald Trump, who in his first stint in the Oval Office repeatedly criticized European NATO members’ failure to pay their dues, and has stepped up his efforts to decouple the U.S. from the continent in his second term.
fortune.com/europe/2025/02/18/kids-table-german-defense-boss-rheinmetall-europe-has-itself-blame-cut-out-ukraine-talks/
He's not wrong. The Brits, Poles and a couple other countries are the only ones that consistently meet their NATO obligations. You lose your seat when you do that.
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-- Edited by jackb on Friday 21st of February 2025 11:27:43 PM
-- Edited by jackb on Friday 21st of February 2025 11:28:48 PM
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had previously said that Gen Brown should be fired because of his "woke" focus on diversity, equity and inclusion programmes in the military.
I love the statement Hegseth put out:
"Under President Trump, we are putting in place new leadership that will focus our military on its core mission of deterring, fighting and winning wars."
Makes sense to me.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyr2xvn4dpo
Our military had become a social program.
It exists for one reason. To inflicted the maximum amount of death and destruction when called upon. Anything that compromises that mission shouldn't be permitted.
As with any job, it should always be given to the person who is best suited to it. It shouldn't matter if the military is made up entirely of hetero white men or entirely of black trans men - whoever has the most ability should get the job.
There are only so many positions available, and the flip side of being inclusive and appointing someone from a diverse background, is that someone who isn't from that background is being excluded.
Ability to do the job should be the only thing that counts, especially in the military, fire service, paramedics etc.
I'm wondering if the blimp will go up again, although I suspect the government will want everyone on their best behaviour this time around as it's now oficially 'suck up to Donald' time.
Trump said Starmer had a beautiful accent LoL.
I noticed Lammy was sitting there - I couldn't see his feet though, so am not sure if he was wearing proper shoes or trainers like when he met Biden.
Trump...the peacemaker.
If anyone is going to start WW3....he's your man.
Watching the way he and his sidekick (who has never been near the Ukraine) bully Zelenskyy today, then have a hissy fit because Zelenskyy managed to say a few sentences, talking more sense in them than Trump managed all day...I can see this war escalating far further and wider than it has been.
What did Zelensky say that made sense for peace or for the US?