Quote from: kyndo on May 11, 2018, 11:40:08 amQuote from: Mr.DeMartino on May 11, 2018, 10:29:49 amQuote from: gogators! on May 11, 2018, 03:18:04 amNixing the Iran deal has helped save russia's economy, as ever since trumpy threatened to do so, oil prices have shot up. And up.Is this how he's paying putin back?Funny, I thought he was paying back the United States because we're a major oil producer.Oh wait, maybe it was Norway.Or Canada?Or was it Venezuela? Trump's a socialist!Or was it the Saudis?Or the Qataris?Or the Bahrainians?or the Iraqis?Or the Emiratis? Trump loves Muslims!Or was it the Nigerians?Or the Angolans? Trump loves Africans!Or was it the Mexicans?Or the Colombians? Trump loves Latinos!Generally speaking, high oil prices are bad for the US, as it's a net importer of oil, not a net exporter.And isn't Venezuela predominantly Latino as well? I mean, aside from all those ex-Nazis...The point is that high oil prices affect a lot of countries around the world. To say it's being done to help Russia is just ridiculous. One could take any country off that list and say Trump is doing it to benefit them. Some very far-right types who think Trump is a liberal could say that he's doing this to help Venezuela and Mexico. Many of the Gulf States are aiding anti-Assad rebels. They benefit from high-oil prices as well. Venezuela and its socialist government benefits from high oil prices. Heck, higher oil prices mean less consumption- Trump is green!
Quote from: Mr.DeMartino on May 11, 2018, 10:29:49 amQuote from: gogators! on May 11, 2018, 03:18:04 amNixing the Iran deal has helped save russia's economy, as ever since trumpy threatened to do so, oil prices have shot up. And up.Is this how he's paying putin back?Funny, I thought he was paying back the United States because we're a major oil producer.Oh wait, maybe it was Norway.Or Canada?Or was it Venezuela? Trump's a socialist!Or was it the Saudis?Or the Qataris?Or the Bahrainians?or the Iraqis?Or the Emiratis? Trump loves Muslims!Or was it the Nigerians?Or the Angolans? Trump loves Africans!Or was it the Mexicans?Or the Colombians? Trump loves Latinos!Generally speaking, high oil prices are bad for the US, as it's a net importer of oil, not a net exporter.And isn't Venezuela predominantly Latino as well? I mean, aside from all those ex-Nazis...
Quote from: gogators! on May 11, 2018, 03:18:04 amNixing the Iran deal has helped save russia's economy, as ever since trumpy threatened to do so, oil prices have shot up. And up.Is this how he's paying putin back?Funny, I thought he was paying back the United States because we're a major oil producer.Oh wait, maybe it was Norway.Or Canada?Or was it Venezuela? Trump's a socialist!Or was it the Saudis?Or the Qataris?Or the Bahrainians?or the Iraqis?Or the Emiratis? Trump loves Muslims!Or was it the Nigerians?Or the Angolans? Trump loves Africans!Or was it the Mexicans?Or the Colombians? Trump loves Latinos!
Nixing the Iran deal has helped save russia's economy, as ever since trumpy threatened to do so, oil prices have shot up. And up.Is this how he's paying putin back?
Quote from: Chester Jim on May 10, 2018, 07:07:02 amHe would have beat obama . Obama won because Romney and mccain used kids gloves because obama is black. Had it been anyone else hanging out with a racist reverend right and being so obsessed with race are really easy fodder. Trump versus obama so I read Barrys book dreams from my father, all he could do was dream he met the guy one time. . I don't think the average american would have bought trump's birther lies or trump's racism. Obama would have to taken him to the woodshed without ever breaking a sweat.
He would have beat obama . Obama won because Romney and mccain used kids gloves because obama is black. Had it been anyone else hanging out with a racist reverend right and being so obsessed with race are really easy fodder. Trump versus obama so I read Barrys book dreams from my father, all he could do was dream he met the guy one time. .
Was Obama really that great a president? Like really?He pushed executive over-reach to new levels. Drone strike an American citizen with no due process? Check. Negotiate an international "treaty" without legislative approval? Check. 'Kinetic military action' with no approval? Check. (Though of course that one was done by dubya as well)Obamacare was a disaster that is now unraveling. The economy recovered incredibly slowly after the recession, and has been doing much better under Trump. The Middle East degenerated into its current mess while he was on watch.I'm no huge Trump supporter, (I'm not American) but I fail to see how Obama was the amazing president people are making him out to be. He was certainly articulate and presidential. That's about all as far as I can see.
Quote from: Mr.DeMartino on May 11, 2018, 11:45:39 amQuote from: kyndo on May 11, 2018, 11:40:08 amQuote from: Mr.DeMartino on May 11, 2018, 10:29:49 amQuote from: gogators! on May 11, 2018, 03:18:04 amNixing the Iran deal has helped save russia's economy, as ever since trumpy threatened to do so, oil prices have shot up. And up.Is this how he's paying putin back?Funny, I thought he was paying back the United States because we're a major oil producer.Oh wait, maybe it was Norway.Or Canada?Or was it Venezuela? Trump's a socialist!Or was it the Saudis?Or the Qataris?Or the Bahrainians?or the Iraqis?Or the Emiratis? Trump loves Muslims!Or was it the Nigerians?Or the Angolans? Trump loves Africans!Or was it the Mexicans?Or the Colombians? Trump loves Latinos!Generally speaking, high oil prices are bad for the US, as it's a net importer of oil, not a net exporter.And isn't Venezuela predominantly Latino as well? I mean, aside from all those ex-Nazis...The point is that high oil prices affect a lot of countries around the world. To say it's being done to help Russia is just ridiculous. One could take any country off that list and say Trump is doing it to benefit them. Some very far-right types who think Trump is a liberal could say that he's doing this to help Venezuela and Mexico. Many of the Gulf States are aiding anti-Assad rebels. They benefit from high-oil prices as well. Venezuela and its socialist government benefits from high oil prices. Heck, higher oil prices mean less consumption- Trump is green!Trump and his coterie have strong ties to Russia so it's not ridiculous. Helps his buddy welfare billionaire buddy icahn as well.Venezuela is barely producing any oil, which is why their country is a shambles,with people literally starving.But life is a "blast" for misinformed trumpites such as yourself, that whole ignorance is bliss thing, I guess.
Quote from: MoneyMike on May 11, 2018, 12:34:56 pmWas Obama really that great a president? Like really?He pushed executive over-reach to new levels. Drone strike an American citizen with no due process? Check. Negotiate an international "treaty" without legislative approval? Check. 'Kinetic military action' with no approval? Check. (Though of course that one was done by dubya as well)Obamacare was a disaster that is now unraveling. The economy recovered incredibly slowly after the recession, and has been doing much better under Trump. The Middle East degenerated into its current mess while he was on watch.I'm no huge Trump supporter, (I'm not American) but I fail to see how Obama was the amazing president people are making him out to be. He was certainly articulate and presidential. That's about all as far as I can see.At least you admit it.Obamacare was not a catastrophe.As someone living in the US and getting insurance through the ACA, I give it high marks. The economy is not doing "much better" under trump. This is continued growth from Obama's presidency and the recovery was slowed by republicans who limited the size of Obama's stimulus package, the same folks who just voted for a huge budget and deficits to give the rich tax breaks and because the president was one of theirs.Obama had to use executive orders because the repugnican congress blocked all of his initiatives, mostly just to oppose him, not because they felt it was in the nation's best interests.I don't see many saying Obama was a great president, but he was certainly a good one. Or are you just another hyperbole hustler like SR/DM?BTW, if you're going to opine on US politics, you might think of becoming better informed.
Quote from: Mr.DeMartino on Yesterday at 01:40:32 Trump is a liar and a con man.
Quote from Mr.DeMartino on June 14, 2019 at 02:28:07 Donald Trump is a lying sack of shit
If you're a racist who loves guns and hates government health care why are you still living in South Korea? Must be awful being surrounded by non-whites who want to help treat your diseases and don't want to shoot you. No wonder you guys are so angry all the time.
Donald Trump is prepared to impose sanctions on European companies that do business in Iran following his withdrawal of the US from the international nuclear deal, his administration reiterated on Sunday.Trumps most senior foreign policy aides signalled that the US would continue pressuring allies to follow Washington in backing out of the pact, which gave Tehran relief from sanctions in exchange for halting its nuclear programme.John Bolton, Trumps national security adviser, predicted that the Europeans will see that its in their interests to come along with us rather than continue with the 2015 deal, under which major European corporations have signed billions of dollars of contracts in Iran.Asked on CNNs State of the Union whether that meant the Trump administration would impose sanctions against those firms, Bolton said: Its possible. It depends on the conduct of other governments.
I knew Bolton was a deluded imbecile who thinks too highly of his meagre political aptitude, but jeez. They never learn. This just pushes Europe into the arms of China. They don't understand us at all if they think that this is going to produce the desired results.But hey, this is exactly the kind of thing you would do if your boss was actually Putin. Weaken the USA by whatever means necessary.
Quote from: Epistemology on May 14, 2018, 07:55:31 amI knew Bolton was a deluded imbecile who thinks too highly of his meagre political aptitude, but jeez. They never learn. This just pushes Europe into the arms of China. They don't understand us at all if they think that this is going to produce the desired results.But hey, this is exactly the kind of thing you would do if your boss was actually Putin. Weaken the USA by whatever means necessary.Doesn't sanctioning Iran actually harm Putin as Iran and Russia have been working together to bolster Assad? Or is this just another example of selective memory and confirmation bias when it comes to Trump and Russia? As for the USA weakening, our economy is booming, North Korea is trending well, ISIS is on the run, and optimism is at it's highest level since the early days of the Bush administration. Meanwhile Europe is a circus. Also, this is a tentative prediction, but I think Iran and the U.S. are going to sign a new and better deal. The Ayatollah already tweeted out a picture of him reading 'Fire and Fury', which is a good sign- we may get a Trump-Kim style war of words and barbs before we get to the point of detente and Iran opening up. And there was that message from Iran that warned they'd release the names of all the EU/US officials that were bribed in order to sign the deal. As Never-Trumper David Brooks has noted: Trump might actually be better at dealing with dictators than the people with higher IQs. Trump knows and has lived in the area of cutthroat business and dealt with shady people (pretty much any big construction project in NYC involves the mafia in some form or another- construction, teamsters, materials, as well as various celebrities like Don King and Busey). Meanwhile the wine & cheese crowd can only imagine and feel comfortable with "banquet diplomacy" and everyone saying nice things in the halls of Europe or Canada.Regardless, how are the "Trump is Hitler" and "Trump will ruin the economy" and "Trump will start a nuclear war at 3AM" predictions turning out? I mean, why should anyone listen to you guys when you've been consistently wrong the past 2 years?
Only if you are dumb enough to believe that Europe will kow tow to a declining USA led by an orange buffoon that's being royally played by a morbidly obese hobbit with a terrible haircut. This kind of stupidity on stilts pushes allies away from the USA, because no European leader worth their salt is going to listen to such a ridiculous ultimatum from a bat **** insane US administration.Europe and the USA pulling apart = Russia wins. The rest of the world is playing 3D chess while you lot are led by a group of people playing tiddlywinks.
of course, it's quite amusing to watch Steelrails be triggered so easily by just mentioning Trump and Russia in the same post. A sore spot, maybe?
You mean the BS Russia-collusion narrative?
It's hard to imagine that he has "nothing to do with Russia" and if it's true that he has "NO DEALS", it certainly wasn't through a lack of trying."There is absolutely no collusion. I didn't make a phone call to Russia, I have nothing to do with Russia, and everybody knows it."Donald Trump has said or tweeted words to this effect hundreds of times in the past 18 months.Just before he was inaugurated as president he resorted to all-caps: Russia If You're ListeningDonald Trump: A Russian love affairDonald Trump has always claimed he has "nothing to do with Russia" but is that true? What if Trump was caught in a Russian web, long before he even considered a career in politics?Skip backPlayPauseSkip forwardMedia player: "Space" to play, "M" to mute, "left" and "right" to seek.About Subscribe on iTunes RSS"Russia has never tried to use leverage over me. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!"But, as USA Today noted at the time, this is not exactly true.One of the biggest things to come to light during the course of the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 US presidential election is that he has an uncommonly large number of connections with Russia, going right back to the 1980s.And that's not just the connections through his associates.We now know that several members of his inner circle have had clandestine meetings and communications with Russians, and while Mr Trump acknowledges that this is the case, he still denies that he personally has anything to do with Russia.Dreams of a Trump Tower in MoscowDonald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump Russia has never tried to use leverage over me. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA - NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!10:01 PM - Jan 11, 201782.4K54.5K people are talking about thisTwitter Ads info and privacyThe connections began in 1986 when Mr Trump had an idea while sitting next to the Soviet ambassador at a lunch event.Mr Trump decided he was going to find a way to build a Trump-branded property in Moscow, the capital of the Soviet Union.For Mr Trump, a man for whom publicity is everything, the prospect of stamping his name on a building in the notoriously secretive and isolated Russian capital was incredibly attractive.In The Art Of The Deal, Mr Trump writes that he wanted to build a luxury hotel right across the road from the Kremlin, the home of the Russian president.By this time the Soviet Union had been aware of Mr Trump for a decade. Man wearing suit and red and blue tie poses for a portraitPHOTO: The connections began in 1986 when Donald Trump decided he was going to find a way to build a Trump-branded property in Moscow. (Reuters: Lucas Jackson)In 1977 he had married Ivana, a 28-year-old model from Czechoslovakia, which was under the influence of the Soviet Union at the time. Czech spies kept tabs on the happy couple in Manhattan.When he arrived in Moscow in 1987 at the invitation of the ambassador, not only did they know who he was, but Czech files suggest they already knew he was interested in politics.Mr Trump loved the visit. He stayed in Lenin's suite at the National Hotel, (which was almost certainly bugged) and toured the city, visiting a half dozen potential sites for his development.He couldn't close the deal immediately though, and in the following few years during the collapse of the Soviet Union, it wasn't easy to get anything built in Moscow.By the time the brand new Russian Federation was stable enough for Mr Trump to have another crack at investing, his own finances were in trouble.The mid-1990s were a struggle for Mr Trump, with a string of corporate bankruptcies meaning he couldn't find lenders. Donald Trump points while wearing a suit on after disembarking from a plane.PHOTO: The mid-1990s were a struggle for Mr Trump, with a string of corporate bankruptcies meaning he couldn't find lenders. (Reuters: Kevin Lamarque)Wall Street washed their hands of him, but thankfully the brand new real estate division at Deutsche Bank came to his rescue.They financed him through the early 2000s, which led to him making another few half-hearted attempts at building something in Moscow.By the late 2000s, Mr Trump's business changed.Instead of being a construction company, the Trump Organisation became more of a marketing company.They made big bucks licensing Mr Trump's name to be used on buildings around the world.This is why you see Trump-branded properties in unusual places like Panama City, Rio, Kolkata, Manila, Mumbai, Punta del Este and Baku. Developers pay Mr Trump to give their building legitimacy. Donald Trump with three of his childrenPHOTO: The Trump Organisation became more of a marketing company, making big bucks licensing Donald Trump's name to be used on buildings around the world. (Reuters: Gary Cameron)But while Mr Trump had found a way of leveraging his international fame for financial gain, he hadn't given up on Trump Tower Moscow.As late as 2016 30 years after the original idea Mr Trump was apparently still working on making Trump Tower in Moscow a reality.It was only when he announced his candidacy for President did the dream seem to truly die.Will Putin become 'my new best friend?'By 2013, Mr Trump realised that the best way to get something built in Moscow was to become friends with Vladimir Putin.Mr Putin, as the most powerful man in Russia, controls the country's oligarchs, and no big business deal can be done without his approval. Russian President Vladimir Putin smiles as he speaks into US President Donald Trump's ear.PHOTO: US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin talk before a session of the APEC summit in Danang. (Reuters: Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin)So in an effort to charm Mr Putin, Mr Trump cooked up a scheme with an Azerbaijani oligarch close to Mr Putin named Aras Agaralov.Ms Agaralov would help Mr Trump put on the Miss Universe Pageant in Moscow in exchange for Mr Trump promoting the music career of Mr Agaralov's son Emin.Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump Do you think Putin will be going to The Miss Universe Pageant in November in Moscow - if so, will he become my new best friend?12:47 PM - Jun 19, 201356.8K77.1K people are talking about thisTwitter Ads info and privacyAhead of the pageant, Mr Trump tweeted: "Do you think Putin will be going to The Miss Universe Pageant in November in Moscow if so, will he become my new best friend?"Mr Trump was in Moscow for two nights, but he was so busy he barely slept. He had dinners to attend, he had calls to make to try and lure Mr Putin to the pageant, and of course he had to wrangle the contestants.This is also the weekend that the notorious "pee pee tape" story is based on.Former British spy Christopher Steele said in his dossier on Mr Trump that one of his sources told him that the Russian spy agencies had recorded the future president and a number of sex workers engaging in interesting activities in his hotel room. Donald Trump stands alongside Miss Universe 2013 Gabriela Isler and businessman Aras Agalarov.PHOTO: In an effort to charm Mr Putin, Mr Trump cooked up a scheme with an Azerbaijani oligarch close to Mr Putin named Aras Agaralov. (Reuters: Maxim Shemetov)There's a lot of question marks around whether this event happened.Mr Steele himself says he thinks there's only about a 50 per cent chance that the story is true, and a recent book by David Korn and Michael Isikoff says Mr Trump barely spent any time in his hotel room during his Moscow trip, and that it's possible that it's a misunderstanding.'NO DEALS?'So how much money has Mr Trump made from his Russian interests? It's a matter of debate.His son Donald Trump Jr said in the past that they make a disproportionate amount of their income from Russia, although he never specified how.But even if they don't make money, it's not hard to imagine that over 30 years of trying to get a deal done in Moscow, Donald Trump might have got tangled up in some sort of web.It's hard to imagine that he has "nothing to do with Russia" and if it's true that he has "NO DEALS", it certainly wasn't through a lack of trying.
Quote from: Epistemology on May 14, 2018, 09:50:46 amOnly if you are dumb enough to believe that Europe will kow tow to a declining USA led by an orange buffoon that's being royally played by a morbidly obese hobbit with a terrible haircut. This kind of stupidity on stilts pushes allies away from the USA, because no European leader worth their salt is going to listen to such a ridiculous ultimatum from a bat **** insane US administration.Europe and the USA pulling apart = Russia wins. The rest of the world is playing 3D chess while you lot are led by a group of people playing tiddlywinks.Europe isn't going anywhere, get a clue. Do you think 70 years of relationships is going to go down the drain because of a moderate shift in policy under Trump? Didn't you lot predict doom and gloom when we moved our embassy? How did that turn out? Oh wait, Arab leaders in the Gulf States are cozying up to Israel. Again, if you're wrong so often, why should we listen to you?Quote from: Epistemology on May 14, 2018, 09:55:52 amof course, it's quite amusing to watch Steelrails be triggered so easily by just mentioning Trump and Russia in the same post. A sore spot, maybe?You mean the BS Russia-collusion narrative? Have fun with that.
Quote from: Mr.DeMartino on May 14, 2018, 09:41:27 amAs for the USA weakening, our economy is booming, North Korea is trending well, ISIS is on the run, and optimism is at it's highest level since the early days of the Bush administration. Meanwhile Europe is a circus. More Fox Koolaid. Where is your usual bit about no-go areas in Europe? How the fook do you measure optimism? It's the US, you cock up trying to make a strike in bowling and you still high-five each other. How does that work?QuoteAlso, this is a tentative prediction, but I think Iran and the U.S. are going to sign a new and better deal. The Ayatollah already tweeted out a picture of him reading 'Fire and Fury', which is a good sign- we may get a Trump-Kim style war of words and barbs before we get to the point of detente and Iran opening up. The Middle East is way more complicated than NK. I'm sure the Right Honourable Ayatollah was wanting to have a good laugh at the dingus in Washington who talks on tape about 'grabbing poosies' and then later...QuoteNo, it wasn't me. I've been told by people who understand this stuff about how easy it is to alter these things and put in voices and completely different people.Then thinking to himself, 'can I this guy do anything honestly?'QuoteAnd there was that message from Iran that warned they'd release the names of all the EU/US officials that were bribed in order to sign the deal. This is big. Really big. Almost as big as the Nunes memo. Almost as big as... Benghazi! Bigly!QuoteRegardless, how are the "Trump is Hitler" and "Trump will ruin the economy" and "Trump will start a nuclear war at 3AM" predictions turning out? I mean, why should anyone listen to you guys when you've been consistently wrong the past 2 years?Stop trotting out this toss line and then bolding it. This is always your last line. Your 'Hitler' line is starting to sound more like a projection...
As for the USA weakening, our economy is booming, North Korea is trending well, ISIS is on the run, and optimism is at it's highest level since the early days of the Bush administration. Meanwhile Europe is a circus.
Also, this is a tentative prediction, but I think Iran and the U.S. are going to sign a new and better deal. The Ayatollah already tweeted out a picture of him reading 'Fire and Fury', which is a good sign- we may get a Trump-Kim style war of words and barbs before we get to the point of detente and Iran opening up.
No, it wasn't me. I've been told by people who understand this stuff about how easy it is to alter these things and put in voices and completely different people.
And there was that message from Iran that warned they'd release the names of all the EU/US officials that were bribed in order to sign the deal.
Regardless, how are the "Trump is Hitler" and "Trump will ruin the economy" and "Trump will start a nuclear war at 3AM" predictions turning out? I mean, why should anyone listen to you guys when you've been consistently wrong the past 2 years?