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Post by Pete Burrett on Apr 12, 2017 12:08:53 GMT
At least it wasn't Trump eh? Aside from Spicer's oral faux paus and said as quietly as possible, Rex Tillerson has done a nice job so far over Russia, Trump camp ties to Russian and all. Not sure what direction US-Russian relations are going. Putin seems to think they're going backwards, and that the US is confused in its thinking on Assad. Maybe the Trump-Putin love-in is over?
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Post by Gary Baldi on Apr 12, 2017 12:39:39 GMT
At least it wasn't Trump eh? Aside from Spicer's oral faux paus and said as quietly as possible, Rex Tillerson has done a nice job so far over Russia, Trump camp ties to Russian and all. Not sure what direction US-Russian relations are going. Putin seems to think they're going backwards, and that the US is confused in its thinking on Assad. Maybe the Trump-Putin love-in is over? Other than a mutual dislike of Hilary Clinton and Obama, I've never thought that Putin and Trump were particularly on message with each other or that the deep links to Russia that people have been searching hard for were anything out the of the ordinary for political candidates. Unless Putin thought Trump was a fool and has been surprised that he isn't what he thought he was.
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Post by headingtonutd on Apr 13, 2017 8:47:31 GMT
At least it wasn't Trump eh? Aside from Spicer's oral faux paus and said as quietly as possible, Rex Tillerson has done a nice job so far over Russia, Trump camp ties to Russian and all. Not sure what direction US-Russian relations are going. Putin seems to think they're going backwards, and that the US is confused in its thinking on Assad. Maybe the Trump-Putin love-in is over? I did think that this may be one of the rare up sides of having a president who shoots so wildly from the hip. Every now and then he will read a situation and act on it without much care for the political ramifications. The cynic in me though does think that the timing of this, amid an investigation into his links with Russia and their influence over the election, is all a bit too convenient. A stage managed event agreed by both sides? Hard to tell from here but you do have to wonder.
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Post by ZeroTheHero on Apr 13, 2017 9:18:18 GMT
Unless Putin thought Trump was a fool and has been surprised that he isn't what he thought he was. I think Trump is EXACTLY what Putin and everyone else thought he was! An unpredictable, volatile and thin-skinned narcissist with no experience of politics who is used to bullying his way through situations in his business 'career'.
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Post by Boogaloo on Apr 13, 2017 9:23:02 GMT
Do you not think that Kim Jong Un might possibly, perhaps be a danger to world peace? That goes without saying. The guy is a lunatic. But Trump's actions particularly tweets like this are at best childish, and at worst provoking a nuclear attack - not the sort of thing you would expect from a world statesman.
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Post by Gary Baldi on Apr 13, 2017 12:15:07 GMT
Unless Putin thought Trump was a fool and has been surprised that he isn't what he thought he was. I think Trump is EXACTLY what Putin and everyone else thought he was! An unpredictable, volatile and thin-skinned narcissist with no experience of politics who is used to bullying his way through situations in his business 'career'. And thus hardly a type to be far under the Russian thumb as some people seem to want to believe. Trump is a nightmare for certain groups because few positions he takes are fully fixed, and far outside the accepted the political norms. Today he believes in NATO, yesterday it was a steaming pile of turds.
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Post by Pete Burrett on May 11, 2017 15:27:55 GMT
In case anyone missed it, Trump has sacked James Comey, Director of the FBI. Apparently he wasn't up to the job. Or he was digging a little too deep into alleged links between the Trump election team and Moscow. Take your pick.
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Post by ZeroTheHero on May 11, 2017 15:36:44 GMT
Dangerous times.
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Post by haloras on May 11, 2017 15:44:23 GMT
I think Trump is EXACTLY what Putin and everyone else thought he was! An unpredictable, volatile and thin-skinned narcissist with no experience of politics who is used to bullying his way through situations in his business 'career'. And thus hardly a type to be far under the Russian thumb as some people seem to want to believe. Trump is a nightmare for certain groups because few positions he takes are fully fixed, and far outside the accepted the political norms. Today he believes in NATO, yesterday it was a steaming pile of turds. Trump and Putin are getting exactly what they want from each other. A bad guy that they can blame all the ills of their country upon. Belleve me they are delighted with each other.
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Post by gofish2 on May 11, 2017 16:11:15 GMT
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Post by Gary Baldi on May 11, 2017 20:11:16 GMT
This appeared on a friends Facebook feed. Sums up my thoughts on the whole Comey charade Trump should have removed Comey ages ago but the way he did it was cut throat and immediately one for the tin foiler hatters everywhere. Chuck Schumer, bless him, has flip flopped more than Philip Hammond on self employed taxes.
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Post by Pete Burrett on May 11, 2017 20:22:11 GMT
I think the 'foil hatters' might be proved right.
Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe said on Thursday that the Russian enquiry was "a highly significant investigation".
He has vowed not to update the White House on the status of the investigation and to notify the Senate panel of any attempt to interfere with the inquiry.
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Post by Gary Baldi on May 11, 2017 20:32:20 GMT
I think the 'foil hatters' might be proved right. Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe said on Thursday that the Russian enquiry was "a highly significant investigation". He has vowed not to update the White House on the status of the investigation and to notify the Senate panel of any attempt to interfere with the inquiry. In the hearings that took place this week where Paula Yates stole Ted Cruz's lunch money and gave him an atomic wedgie on live TV (before Comey got taken out), it was stated by someone official that there was no evidence of Russian collusion. The whole situation is mess. Will anyone trust the truth if something comes out?
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Post by Pete Burrett on May 11, 2017 20:35:41 GMT
I think the 'foil hatters' might be proved right. Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe said on Thursday that the Russian enquiry was "a highly significant investigation". He has vowed not to update the White House on the status of the investigation and to notify the Senate panel of any attempt to interfere with the inquiry. In the hearings that took place this week where Paula Yates stole Ted Cruz's lunch money and gave him an atomic wedgie on live TV (before Comey got taken out), it was stated by someone official that there was no evidence of Russian collusion. The whole situation is mess. Will anyone trust the truth if something comes out? Probably not. And that's the shame of it. US politics is now a circus. Nothing surprises us, we believe nothing, we trust none of them to be truthful.
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Post by Gary Baldi on May 11, 2017 20:57:19 GMT
In the hearings that took place this week where Paula Yates stole Ted Cruz's lunch money and gave him an atomic wedgie on live TV (before Comey got taken out), it was stated by someone official that there was no evidence of Russian collusion. The whole situation is mess. Will anyone trust the truth if something comes out? Probably not. And that's the shame of it. US politics is now a circus. Nothing surprises us, we believe nothing, we trust none of them to be truthful. It is. I have no doubt that, as normal for potential candidates, someone in the Trump camp spoke to Russia. It's being made to seem Nixonian in terms of conspiracy. If something did happen, the politicians in the US action has completely discredited their own work. Idiots
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Post by flean on Jun 1, 2017 20:33:46 GMT
There's always one...
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Post by Pete Burrett on Jun 1, 2017 20:39:10 GMT
President Donald Trump has announced that the US is withdrawing from the 2015 Paris climate agreement. He said moves to negotiate a new "fair" deal that would not disadvantage US businesses and workers would begin.
Presumably a new deal that allows US industry to pollute at will and produce more unnecessary fossil fuels, while insisting that Third World countries adhere to stringent rules.
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Post by headingtonutd on Jun 1, 2017 22:57:34 GMT
President Donald Trump has announced that the US is withdrawing from the 2015 Paris climate agreement.He said moves to negotiate a new "fair" deal that would not disadvantage US businesses and workers would begin.Presumably a new deal that allows US industry to pollute at will and produce more unnecessary fossil fuels, while insisting that Third World countries adhere to stringent rules. I don't know about that Pete, I'm sure the coal and gas lobbyists are penning a very fair and amicable deal for Trump to hand back to the rest of the world.
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Post by Marked Ox on Jun 2, 2017 7:44:19 GMT
President Donald Trump has announced that the US is withdrawing from the 2015 Paris climate agreement.He said moves to negotiate a new "fair" deal that would not disadvantage US businesses and workers would begin.Presumably a new deal that allows US industry to pollute at will and produce more unnecessary fossil fuels, while insisting that Third World countries adhere to stringent rules. Meanwhile China and the rest of the world develop and move forward in clean/cleaner energy production technology.
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Post by Pete Burrett on Jun 2, 2017 8:33:00 GMT
On Thursday, the Koch brothers and their allies in big oil must have been turning cartwheels of glee over their rigs. Americans for Prosperity, which is funded by the influential libertarian brothers Charles G and David H Koch, was one of the leaders of a coalition that urged exiting from the treaty. The groups also included ones bankrolled by the Mercer family, patrons of Steven Bannon, the White House aide who held the president’s hands to the fire to keep his base-pleasing promise to trash the Paris accord.
While the Kochs were initially cool to Trump as a candidate, his decision on the Paris accord will surely help cement their support and financial largess for years to come and in 2020, if Donald Trump survives and seeks re-election. This is precisely the kind of corrupt pay to play politics that Trump pledged to end by draining the swamp.
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Post by essexyellows on Jun 2, 2017 8:39:56 GMT
On Thursday, the Koch brothers and their allies in big oil must have been turning cartwheels of glee over their rigs. Americans for Prosperity, which is funded by the influential libertarian brothers Charles G and David H Koch, was one of the leaders of a coalition that urged exiting from the treaty. The groups also included ones bankrolled by the Mercer family, patrons of Steven Bannon, the White House aide who held the president’s hands to the fire to keep his base-pleasing promise to trash the Paris accord.
While the Kochs were initially cool to Trump as a candidate, his decision on the Paris accord will surely help cement their support and financial largess for years to come and in 2020, if Donald Trump survives and seeks re-election. This is precisely the kind of corrupt pay to play politics that Trump pledged to end by draining the swamp.
Alternative view..... he did exactly what he said he would do during his campaign. Some will say that is refreshing others will start/suggest a conspiracy. In every decision at every level there are some winners and some losers, you can`t please all the people all the time.
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Post by Pete Burrett on Jun 2, 2017 8:44:19 GMT
On Thursday, the Koch brothers and their allies in big oil must have been turning cartwheels of glee over their rigs. Americans for Prosperity, which is funded by the influential libertarian brothers Charles G and David H Koch, was one of the leaders of a coalition that urged exiting from the treaty. The groups also included ones bankrolled by the Mercer family, patrons of Steven Bannon, the White House aide who held the president’s hands to the fire to keep his base-pleasing promise to trash the Paris accord.
While the Kochs were initially cool to Trump as a candidate, his decision on the Paris accord will surely help cement their support and financial largess for years to come and in 2020, if Donald Trump survives and seeks re-election. This is precisely the kind of corrupt pay to play politics that Trump pledged to end by draining the swamp.
Alternative view..... he did exactly what he said he would do during his campaign. Some will say that is refreshing others will start/suggest a conspiracy. In every decision at every level there are some winners and some losers, you can`t please all the people all the time. True enough. He had no conscience when he was setting his pre-election stall out, he still has no conscience now he's in office. Consistent.
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Post by ZeroTheHero on Jun 2, 2017 8:54:09 GMT
Alternative view..... he did exactly what he said he would do during his campaign. That's not an alternative view - it's fact. But the fact that he was ignorant, bullheaded and lead by vested interests before he was elected does not make it any better that he is exactly the same now he is president.
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Post by concretebob on Jun 2, 2017 10:19:28 GMT
A bit of perspective -
The other two countries to not sign Syria and Nicaragua had their reasons. Syria is currently in middle of a civil war and Nicaragua said the agreement was not strict enough for them!
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Post by Pete Burrett on Jun 2, 2017 10:27:29 GMT
A bit of perspective - The other two countries to not sign Syria and Nicaragua had their reasons. Syria is currently in middle of a civil war and Nicaragua said the agreement was not strict enough for them! Interesting! So Mr Trump is in a very select group. America versus the world, just as he wants it. There will indeed be winners and losers, but no prizes for guessing who the winners will be, economically if not environmentally (or morally).
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Post by Gary Baldi on Jun 2, 2017 12:18:54 GMT
I didn't realise that the Accord was purely voluntary, so if the US were in or out, it wasn't binding and their was zero punishment for not hitting the targets. Almost a funny thing to follow.
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Post by Marked Ox on Jun 2, 2017 12:28:43 GMT
I didn't realise that the Accord was purely voluntary, so if the US were in or out, it wasn't binding and their was zero punishment for not hitting the targets. Almost a funny thing to follow. It may be voluntary but it was a public commitment to combat climate change.
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Post by Gary Baldi on Jun 2, 2017 12:36:26 GMT
I didn't realise that the Accord was purely voluntary, so if the US were in or out, it wasn't binding and their was zero punishment for not hitting the targets. Almost a funny thing to follow. It may be voluntary but it was a public commitment to combat climate change. I am not disagreeing, but the way in which it has been sold is it's this binding agreement we must follow. I had (naively) assumed it was more powerful than it was. Effectively China and India can sack it off like the US did and nothing will happen. In some respects, it's not worth the paper it is written on.
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Post by Pete Burrett on Jun 2, 2017 12:36:39 GMT
I didn't realise that the Accord was purely voluntary, so if the US were in or out, it wasn't binding and their was zero punishment for not hitting the targets. Almost a funny thing to follow. Well yes, but that doesn't make the aims of the Paris Summit any less worthwhile. It would be nice to think that the leader of the biggest economy in the world (and, arguably, of the free world) gave a toss about the planet. It would be nice to think he appreciates the moral leadership he should be giving in defence of our environment. Instead, he's looking at it purely in economic terms, and his reasoning even on these terms is self-serving. He doesn't like the accord because it might damage American industry, and might also damage the political and monetary support he gets from some sectors of that industry. Climate change is, apparently, a fallacy invented by the Chinese and others who seek to undermine the USA. You really 'couldn't make it up', yet that's exactly what Trump's been doing for months now.
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Post by Gary Baldi on Jun 2, 2017 12:45:32 GMT
I didn't realise that the Accord was purely voluntary, so if the US were in or out, it wasn't binding and their was zero punishment for not hitting the targets. Almost a funny thing to follow. Well yes, but that doesn't make the aims of the Paris Summit any less worthwhile. It would be nice to think that the leader of the biggest economy in the world (and, arguably, of the free world) gave a toss about the planet. It would be nice to think he appreciates the moral leadership he should be giving in defence of our environment. Instead, he's looking at it purely in economic terms, and his reasoning even on these terms is self-serving. He doesn't like the accord because it might damage American industry, and might also damage the political and monetary support he gets from some sectors of that industry. Climate change is, apparently, a fallacy invented by the Chinese and others who seek to undermine the USA. You really 'couldn't make it up', yet that's exactly what Trump's been doing for months now. Not disagreeing, but I was surprised it was just an aspirational bit of paper, rather than a binding agreement. The more I think about it, the more pointless it is if the leader of country doesn't want to follow it can tear it up and walk away. Ultimately, he did what he said he would. Disappointing, but no one should be as surprised as they are.
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