Don't get me wrong here, But I LIKE Donald Trump.

[willedoo]

Sounds like a possible Gulf of Tonkin repeat. But more likely just a lot of hot air.

 

 

[pmccarthy]

War will come in 2021 when China chooses to retake Taiwan on the centenary of the founding of the Communist party. They are making preparations now with airstrips and island bases.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

I fear you may be right, PM. The signs are looking ominous. China's economy is overdue for a crash and the President For Life will do anything to distract his people from the hardship that will bring. Meanwhile, as with Hitler, Trump is too arrogant to understand the problems of fighting wars on two (or more) fronts.

 

Like Roosevelt did with Japan, he has pushed Iran into a corner that almost guarantees war. He has stoked numerous spotfires around the world while sumultaneously insulting the very allies America normally relies on to help it out.

 

Putin couldn't be happier.

 

 

[Marty_d]

Putin couldn't be happier.

...but no one will be able to tell.

 

 

[Litespeed]

Vlad the Impaler will be very pleased indeed.

 

His Manhattan candidate is paying off big time.

 

 

[willedoo]

If 911 happened now & the US blamed somewhere like Vietnam, would they invade on the false pretence (WMD) like they did in Iraq and all the consequences leading to the IS caliphate? China is right next door & even though historically China & Vietnam have not been the best mates there is no way the US would even consider it. China is too strong and Trump has lost most of his mates.

Totally agree, kgwilson. China doesn't like people getting too close. They nipped the yanks in the bud in Korea in the 50's and would do it again in a heartbeat. These days the U.S. tends to only go to war where they can minimise hurt and embarrasment, and even then they seem to botch it up.

 

For the same reason, they're unlikely to have a go at Iran. It's the world's no.14 ranked military power, 2 places above Israel. And they have a very powerful friend to the north who would most likely offer support. In all out war, Iran could block all Gulf shipping quite easily and stop one third of the world's oil from moving. Traditionally, U.S. power has been projected with carrier battle groups but with new hypersonic ship killing weapons being developed, carriers will soon be irrelevant. It will eventually become harder for the Americans to push their way around.

 

 

[Yenn]

Going on past results the USA would not have a chance in Hell of defeating Iran, even with Israels help.

 

 

[willedoo]

I guess in theory, on paper, they would eventually wear the Iranians down. In reality, the U.S. would probably lose the will after a certain amount of pain. Hezbollah would also keep Israel distracted in the event of an attack on Iran. Doesn't seem much sense bashing a country up if you can't occupy it, and in Iran's case, that would be hard to do.

 

An interesting article by Daniel Welsh in the Iranian Press TV news; he says Trump's not too happy with the crazies he hired:

 

PressTV-US drunk on power heading for trouble in Iran: Writer

 

 

[Methusala]

It could be that the US find themselves wedged by their own belligerent actions and the insistence of the zealot Netanyahoo (emboldened through his recent victory in the polls). A war of this nature, involving the bulk of the world's oil shipments and the proximity to mother Russia has undeniable potential to escalate to nuclear catastrophe. US foreign policy has become the province of certifiable cases in the form of John Bolton and Mike Pompeo.

 

 

[willedoo]

The Trumpet has pardoned his mate Conrad Black. Last year, Black wrote the book, “Donald J. Trump: A President Like No Other.” In it, he describes Trump as “a good deal more ethical and honest than many other businessmen and corporate directors I have known.”

 

 

[Marty_d]

Let me guess, the Donald didn't get the irony?

 

 

[facthunter]

Like he's better than some of the worst.? That's coming from a hell of a low base. Capitalism is now the new slavery and replaces having colonies to plunder. FULL employment is not what Tories and RWNJs want. You then get competition for workers services and Wages RISE. That's the LAST thing Capitalists want. Only behaving for the short term GOOD of the most BAD won't produce anything but wars and rebellions, suppression and loss of individual rights to Justice, free speech and anything else. A "winner takes all" is not very close to the Kid with his lemonade stand on the corner image we were being fed with. Today the FDA ( A tool of the drug companies) would close down the Lemonade stand and make them sell Coca cola or statins. Nev

 

 

[old man emu]

Can you believe that it is the custom in the USA not to charge a President with a criminal offence while still in Office? It has been a mainstay of English Law since 1215 (Magna Carta) that the king is subject to the Law. The Parliament lopped off the head of the No 1 Charley for treason against the subjects of the Crown.

 

If Donny and Boris got convicted of the crimes alleged against them, could adjoining cells be arranged?

 

 

[willedoo]

It's one more thing to bear in mind in relation to the republic vs constitutional monarchy debate in this country. In my opinion, the U.S. republic model is not a good example to follow. It's got a lot of flaws.

 

 

[facthunter]

The decision is whether to have an "elected" body representing you or some other form of government with unelected people having certain input(s) and powers all the way through to an absolute dictator Someone you cannot get rid of. . America's problems cannot just be put down to them being a Republic. The question to ask over there is IS the USA now or was it ever, a genuine democracy, and is that important to them and by association the rest of the world. Corrupted Capitalist or Corrupted Socialist systems don't prove either works or doesn't work. Capitalism needs checks and balances and gets altered for the benefit and protection of some sectors. Anti trust laws and anti monopoly rules are generally considered to be needed. Human rights also need to be spelled out. We here have no Human rights defined. Our current system has a lot of flaws too, and we don't realise to what extent we are exposed to risk. of abuse.

 

If you have a head of the Parliament "the People's House" does the PM act as the leader of the Nation or does some other elected person have that privilege.? I would suggest you would want to be pretty clear on this before you do anything. Also how they are elected and just what role they play in the big scheme of things.. That is tied up with what residual Power their position gives them , not the ribbon cutting ceremonial duties etc they often do.. Nev

 

 

[old man emu]

If you were to look deeply into how our lives are governed in our current system, I think you would find we are like a chicken ranch. The few Roosters spend all day putting on displays of grandeur and crowing about things while the hens and chickens, which make up the majority, get stuck into doing what they were destined to do.

 

 

[Marty_d]

If you were to look deeply into how our lives are governed in our current system, I think you would find we are like a chicken ranch. The few Roosters spend all day putting on displays of grandeur and crowing about things while the hens and chickens, which make up the majority, get stuck into doing what they were destined to do.

I wouldn't like to be a hen if our rooster was in charge. Randy bugger spends a good proportion of the day on the job.

 

 

[red750]

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[facthunter]

If Donny and Boris were near each other in Jail they could well be dyeing to meet each other.. Nev

 

 

[kgwilson]

The Economist Intelligence Unit report for 2018 found that the USA did not meet the conditions of being a democracy. According to their index there are only 20 full democracies in the world with Australia & NZ the only democracies in the entire Asia Pacific region. The list of the 20 democracies was dominated by European countries with Norway at No1. The USA was down at 25, 5th best FLAWED Democracy. Here is the full list Which is the world's most democratic country?

 

 

[Yenn]

Funny but I would rather live in some of the less democratic countries than some of the more democratic.

 

 

[octave]

Interestingly most democratic country list correlates quite well with this list World Happiness Report - Wikipedia

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Funny but I would rather live in some of the less democratic countries than some of the more democratic.

Which ones, Yenn? I guess a benevolent dictatorship might be a reasonably good places to live- if you are the type of person they favour and don't rock the boat. I guess it depends on how much individual freedom you'd trade for comfort and stability.

 

One former contributor to this forum might be a prime example, but I'd rather not put him on the spot, given his host country probably monitors this discussion and has a track record of "disappearing" anyone who challenges its excesses.

 

 

[Yenn]

Malta and the UK are not on my wish list. I would prefer, France Argentina, Singapore, Fiji and Morocco.

 

Fiji for example is considered un democratic I suppose because they had problems with the Indian and Fijian residents. They gave voting rights to the Indians, who eventually outnumbered the Fijians. Much the same as Australia who gave voting rights to everyone except the original residents.

 

 

[willedoo]

Flag Day got a little bit weird this year.

 

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Reminds me of those little fox terriers that try to hump your leg.