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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
Okay, the South China Sea is one of the world's largest trading areas, it is rich in oil and natural gas, and is one of the biggest fishing areas in the world. By claiming the South China Sea, China claims control over the trade, fishing, oil, and natural gas within it, which account for a good percentage of the world's trade and 8% of the world's fishing catches. Naturally, all of China's neighbors as well as the U.S. don't agree with this idea.
edited 23rd Jan '17 7:47:24 PM by GameGuruGG
Wizard Needs Food Badly![]()
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Well yeah, when people say "NATO commitment to European defense", that's really talking about the US, and to a much lesser extent the UK and France. The major European nations once had the capability to project power globally, and with a declining United States, they are absolutely going to seek to reclaim that, if not out of some reactionary neo-imperialist ideology than simply out of necessity in the new multi-polar world order.
edited 23rd Jan '17 8:03:41 PM by CaptainCapsase
That's probably why Trump is trying to break up the European Union.
Trump has ordered that the EU stop making plans for an EU army or lose US NATO support.
From my perspective there's a rather bitter sense of irony here. The left is (quite understandably) concerned about the russian intervention in US affairs, the US government has in the past acted in a relatively similar manner in Latin America.
In Brazil at least, during the 60's they funded think tanks to spread lies and propaganda about the democratically elected left-wing president we had at the time and gave the military money and training in torture techniques, all to advance their own interests.
Even with all of that I really don't think the US deserves Trump. His presidency is not going to be good for anyone, unless you're a plutocrat or a white supremacist.
If your guess is correct I speculate that there might be a worst case scenario where Trump and his cabal attempt to interfere in the brazilian elections next year (taking a page out of Russia's book), but I honestly don't know if they care that much.
edited 23rd Jan '17 7:50:24 PM by Draghinazzo
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The Problem with that is that the UK is basically washing it's hands of the EU, and France is also on the verge of Electing Pro-Russian Alt-Righters to lead their country.
Dear lord, how did we go from the 90's "Democracy has Triumphed over Communism!" to today's "Russia is a State we should all look forward to as leading the future"?!
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I can't see Congress, even the Current Republican Congress, approving of cutting funding from NATO or the EU.
Considering the AFD's recent successes, I don't think they count as a small party anymore.
And with Trump's victory in the USA, you can not just say "Oh, the System isn't designed like that", when clearly they have a great chance of winning.
edited 23rd Jan '17 7:52:59 PM by DingoWalley1
Trump reinstates Reagan's ban on funding NGOs that include abortion or family planning services.
I imagine more local ones ought to come next.
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If they get an outright majority, then they won't need a Coalition. And I know you're gonna say "It's Impossible!" ... Nothing is impossible anymore in my eyes when it comes to Western Democracy.
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Which makes the Af D winning much more likely as they are actually liked for their Anti-Immigrant Status, so much so that Merkel has had to start paying lip service to the Anti-Immigration Feelings.
But I'm done derailing this thread into German and European Politics. This is American Politics.
edited 23rd Jan '17 7:59:31 PM by DingoWalley1
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Also that. But people really seem to forget that the US election system isn't really comparable with most other democratic countries' systems. Especially in the fact that most countries don't make the party with fewer votes the new government.
To even be in the Bundestag you need to have at least 5 % of the votes and to form a stable government you would need about 51 % of the Bundestag seats, either directly or by forming a coalition.
So for the AfD to come to power they'd need to either get 51 % of the seats (somehow) or some other party would have need to go full-on bonkers to even think about forming a coalition with them.
edited 23rd Jan '17 8:00:31 PM by DrunkenNordmann
We learn from history that we do not learn from history
Full on bonkers or opportunistic and conniving like most political parties are. Plus there's the danger of opportunists rising within the establishment parties that are more than willing to form a coalition with even the AFD, and the possibility that both the FSB and the CIA will be doing pro-bono opposition research.
edited 23rd Jan '17 8:07:01 PM by CaptainCapsase
As for the Gag-Order, do international NG Os (like International Planned Parenthood Federation) have a going plan for this, like budgeting 60 or so percent less when they expect a republican administration then more when expecting democrats?
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives![]()
The NGO ban is something that's been a tug of war between Democratic and Republican administrations since Reagan.
I'm glad to hear it honestly; if he wanted to be viable in 2020, he needed to change his image substantially, otherwise you'd have the same demoralization issues that were there with Clinton, and possibly gaining back the black voters who stayed home this cycle probably wouldn't be enough to overcome Trump's incumbent advantage, and thus far there's been no real movement in that direction. I strongly suspect the 2020 nominee will be somebody who comes out of nowhere like Obama did in 2008, and which Sanders tried to imitate in 2016.
edited 23rd Jan '17 8:12:58 PM by CaptainCapsase
Obama didn't come out of nowhere, he was the keynote speaker at the convention in 2004. So going by that we've got Warner (2008), Warren (2016) and Castro (2012).
edited 23rd Jan '17 8:19:11 PM by Silasw
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran![]()
Sure, but he was a unknown before which is what Cap is saying.
Also, what you think trump is going to mean to the republican party? a this point is clearly a turning point, is safe to said the republican become Trump fan dumb right now, is something they will never shake off.
who they will fare in the future?.
edited 23rd Jan '17 8:23:03 PM by unknowing
"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"And now for the Internet...Tech industries in the Coming Years
with this preview:
Mr Bezos also owns the Washington Post, the newspaper that perhaps did more than any other to take on Mr Trump's campaign.
The newspaper was the first to publish the infamous video of Mr Trump making disparaging remarks about women and bragging about sexual assault.
Mr Trump considers Amazon to be a company that is avoiding tax and is anti-competitive.
In his own words:
"Amazon is getting away with murder tax-wise. [Bezos is] using the Washington Post for power so that the politicians in Washington don't tax Amazon like they should be taxed." (Sean Hannity Show, Fox News, May 2016)
In various tweets, Mr Trump also suggested that Mr Bezos was using the Washington Post, which like many newspapers loses money, as a way of reducing Amazon's tax bill. However, the Washington Post isn't part of Amazon - it's a company Mr Bezos owns privately, so such a move would not be possible.
That said, Amazon is part of a technology collective that goes to great lengths to pay as little tax as possible, prompting law changes in several parts of the world.
Ironically, using big losses as a way to avoid paying taxes is precisely what Mr Trump has done for much of his professional life, a move he said made him "smart".
...Amazon's stock dropped on Wednesday in anticipation for what might be on the horizon. While other tech stocks also went down, none were quite as pronounced as Amazon.
edited 23rd Jan '17 8:36:44 PM by CenturyEye
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives![]()
Yes and no, Trump is everything the republican was inside: racist, sexist, narcisist an always about money, sure but is also something they cant control, the republican just lost all the deniability, whatever damage he does to the country it would blow whatever change they have right now.
In short, is like the KK Klan now, before they were a terryfing group of white supremacy, now they look like D&D game that go wrong somehow.
edited 23rd Jan '17 8:37:15 PM by unknowing
"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"An inside look at Trump's first days in the White House.
Some of the things here:
1. Trump was enraged by the demonstrations against him and pics of how empty his inauguration crowd was
2. Against advice, he sent Sean Spicer to rebuke the media on a charged way for this
3. Trump wanted a woman to be his Press Secretary like Conway or Monica Crowley as Sean Spicer isn't telegenic enough.
4. Trump felt Spicer wasn't forceful enough and was bothered that he had to read from a print statement at times.
5. Trump feels demoralized that the public's perception of his presidency doesn't match his own sense of accomplishment.
6. Lots of in-fighting within the administration still.
7. Trump was suspicious of Priebus and Spicer at first because he believed they were more loyal to their party than the nominee.
8. Trump was pleased with Spicer's better performance on Monday.
9. Some of Trump's most loyal aides are alarmed at Kushner's efforts to elbow aside anyone he considers a threat to his consigliere role.
10. Kushner is the one who argued against giving Conway a White House role.
11. Trump was perturbed that the media chose to focus on Conway's two words "alternative facts".
12. Conway is Trump's most recognizable aide and as a result has been receiving death threats and has a secret service detail.
13. Some Trump insiders suggest that there is tension between Conway and Priebus as well.
14. Trump adores Conway.
15, The Trump administration's power center lies in what they call the Big Four "Steve Bannon, Jared Kushner, Reince Priebus and Kellyanne Conway".

edited 23rd Jan '17 7:43:45 PM by Bat178