What has Trump done now?

[old man emu]

2 hours ago, rgmwa said:

I think Albo and Co are smart

I haven't heard much from Dutton on this matter. Do you think that Dutton's mob are the "Co" part of your thought?

[rgmwa]

No. Surprisingly, Dutton has actually called out Trump for saying Ukraine is responsible for the war. I don’t think he would have risked that if he was PM but he has an election coming up so he’s mindful of his more important audience and contrasting himself with Albo’s approach.

[Marty_d]

Yes, Albo is between a rock and a hard place on this.  With an election coming up and 99% of Australia thinking Trump is a true cock-walloper, internally it would probably do him good to be a bit more vocal - but of course he can't risk the adverse effects to the country should the giant orange baby spit the dummy.

[Jerry_Atrick]

There are times when you have to be diplomatic; there are times where you have to stand up for  what is right and work on mitigating the consequences. Ultimatelum it is a personal decision based on personal values. The problem Albo has is that when he reacts, he has to not only take into account his personal values, but judge the personal values os almost 30m people.

 

When Trumpenstien decided to turn the tables on Zelensky, that was when I personally would have been happy for Albo to say enough is enough, pull your head in and get real.. You can be assertive and diplomatic at the same time, but many western leaders came out and affirmed that Trumps view of the events were incorrect.  Of course, others may not agree that is the right thing to do when tarrifs are in the balance. But, we survived China stuffing us about, and thy are a bigger trading partner than the US.

 

Even Nigel Farage called him out explicitly for it. Yes, like Albo, he is the opposition (the coneraties will prbably some third to Reform, here).

 

 

[Jerry_Atrick]

Here's some interesting data on Trump's first 100 days in office: https://on.ft.com/3EPHxmU

 

[Jerry_Atrick]

5 hours ago, old man emu said:

China hasn't helped by having a couple of its naval vessels take a late summer cruise through the south Pacific. But then, do we know how many US submarines are doing similar things?

We know for sure that the US has submarines trawling international waters. As do many other countries.  There is nothing illegal about China parking its boats off our international waters and listening in on us. It's not nice, but Australia (and I would think the US as well) has jamming and/or tracking equipment and they are likely to know what is going on.

 

What the US doesn't do is drop flares from planes in a dangerous what that China has been doing lately. I haven't read this article, but if live fire means what it should, the US doesn't really do that in international waters - at least not that I am aware of, without notice (again, I have not read the article).

 

Chinas has been pissing off Japan and I think the Phillipines as well.

 

It's unlawful expansion into the South China sea (hmmm.. how come people aren't making a big fuss about that) and extension of its soveriegn waters when it had no such claim has to be provocative, especially since they established a pretty decent military base on one of the man made islands.

 

China is getting aggressive. Thankfully Australia is not easy to take.

 

[rgmwa]

13 minutes ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

China is getting aggressive. Thankfully Australia is not easy to take.

 

There are plenty of nice remote beaches where they could land but they’d be marching for a week before they came across someone to conquer. 

[old man emu]

8 hours ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

Thankfully Australia is not easy to take.

No, but it's cheap to buy, as many Nations have done so. Foreign ownership of Australia is not something that is widely announced.

[old man emu]

8 hours ago, rgmwa said:

There are plenty of nice remote beaches where they could land

Long gone are the days when an invasion armada could sneak up to the shores of another country undetected. 

 

That was not so in 1942 when there was the threat of a Japanese invasion. Plans were made to evacuate coastal areas of NSW and have the people and livestock move west across the mountains. I can't remember where I sourced this information from some years ago, but I assure you that I have read it.

 

Here's a link to a newspaper report https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/270574182  and another to a museum collection https://mhnsw.au/stories/general/world-war-ii-1942/

 

Please note that I am NOT referring to the idea of "The Brisbane Line" which was pretty much a furphy. 

[red750]

Looks like the orange pig has scored another victory.

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/zelenskiy-says-lets-do-deal-offering-trump-mineral-partnership-seeking-security-2025-02-07/

 

 

 

 

 

[rgmwa]

Trump just did an interview with Brian Kilmead on Fox News titled “I’ve had it!”. I can’t post a link at the moment, but it’s worth listening to because it shows just how appalling Trump is as a person and as the leader of the free world. It’s pretty sobering.

[red750]

[facthunter]

Trump is delusional and Ignorant of facts. America's self imposed Dire Crisis. THEY deserve it, but WE (the REST of the World) DON'T. The American MAFIA is NOW in charge. Rackets ,  Absolute Control,  Extortion, Division and Revenge will prevail. Nev

[old man emu]

2 hours ago, red750 said:

Looks like the orange pig has scored another victory. https://www.reuters.com/world/zelenskiy-says-lets-do-deal-offering-trump-mineral-partnership-seeking-security-2025-02-07/

I don't see it as a victory for Trump's deal making ability.  This is written in the referenced article: Ukraine floated the idea of opening its critical minerals to investment by allies last autumn. It would seem that Zelenskiy's government has been trying to work out how to pay for the US materials since before Trump got elected. Although the plan at the early stage might have been a hedge bet incase Trump did win because he was telling the voters that he was going to make other countries pay for US military aid. Trump is simply harvesting in summer the crop planted in winter. 

 

Making recipients of US aid and then making them pay for it after a conflict has been resolved has been US policy since the introduction of the Lend Lease Act during WWII. It took the British many years to repay its debt, and Australia was paying for many years. The US not only got paid for its "aid", but a lot of the repayments were in the form of leases on military facilities. No doubt Germany is still under the debt burden of the Marshall Plan, whether in money terms or real estate.

[red750]

They are starting to learn.

 

[facthunter]

Trump deals when the deck is stacked His way. When he has a Gun at your head, Any  Stand over Merchant  can do that, There's NO skill involved.  ALL GANGSTERS DO IT. nev

[red750]

Another name for Trump - the Tangerine Tyrant.

[facthunter]

Orange U  Tan.  My King Don.. and it goes down fast  from there.  Nev

[nomadpete]

18 hours ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

Thankfully Australia is not easy to take.

I would venture say 'not worthwhile taking by force'.

[facthunter]

Why would THAT be the case? Wishful thinking? Nev

[nomadpete]

Multinationals (US, Chinese, etc) have already got Australian Government  and economy over a barrel. They have no need to take anything by military force. It has allready been done (legally) by stealth. Even if the did, our meagre military could not stand up against such major well equipped forces.

[facthunter]

 The second bit is A SEPARATE ISSUE,  WE and many countries ENCOURAGE Investment, by various agreed  documents, Force adds a NEW dimension of abhorrent and ILLEGAL Behaviour. As the USA IS doing  and Proposing Now.  Making America GRATE Again.   Allies get stuffed. Buy our $#!t and Cop our terms, or else, Nev

Edited February 22 by facthunter

[red750]

[Marty_d]

8 hours ago, red750 said:

They are starting to learn.

 

Maybe John Feal and everyone else who voted for him should have thought of that... BEFORE they voted.

[old man emu]

Hitler created and published his manifesto, Mein Kampf , Volumes 1 & 2 well before his Party got large enough to influence elections. His aims were there for everyone to see. IN the 1932 election, his Party only gained 196 of 584 seats with 33% of the total vote. Voting wasn't compulsory and voter turnout was reduced from prior elections. I think he had the support of the Social Democrat Party, which had 121 seats. The rest of the seats went to special interest groups, although the Communist were next best with 100 seats.

 

Now move to the US 2024 election.

 

Although Trump denied any involvement, Republican leaders produced their manifesto Project 2025 well before the election and publicised it widely. The problem was that Trump's advertising campaign did not reference it, relying on slogans and catchphrases as any successful sales campaign does. The problem that the USA is facing now is simply the result of the voters not reading the fine print of the contract they were entering into.

 

A further problem lies in the way the Constitution deals with the replacement of a serving President. The process has to be initiated either by the Vice-President advising the Senate that the President can't do the job, or the Senate takes similar action. With the Republicans in control of both Houses, such an action is unlikely. Even if Trump was removed, the Constitution directs that the Vice-President takes up the reins. In any case, it's Trump or Vance for the next three years and eleven months.