What on Earth is going on in the world today? It's gone mad

Kieran

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Anybody have any views on the Big Story shaping up in Europe: the potential for a British departure from the EU?

I'm no fan of the EU, far from it, and it's a bugbear of mine when it's suggested that Britain is flirting with "leaving Europe", as if they were going to slice their territories from the western shores of Europe and somehow float them away on the ocean, leaving Europe and becoming part of Asia, or the Americas, or somewhere. The EU is not Europe.

I hope they leave. I think the EU is a great experiment which has achieved a lot, but has overstepped its mandate...
 

GameSetAndMath

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Kieran said:
Anybody have any views on the Big Story shaping up in Europe: the potential for a British departure from the EU?

I'm no fan of the EU, far from it, and it's a bugbear of mine when it's suggested that Britain is flirting with "leaving Europe", as if they were going to slice their territories from the western shores of Europe and somehow float them away on the ocean, leaving Europe and becoming part of Asia, or the Americas, or somewhere. The EU is not Europe.

I hope they leave. I think the EU is a great experiment which has achieved a lot, but has overstepped its mandate...

Sorry, we are too busy to be being bothered by silly things like that when we can instead talk about Trump thinking not disavowing KKK endorsement will help him win the primaries. :cover
 

Kieran

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GameSetAndMath said:
Kieran said:
Anybody have any views on the Big Story shaping up in Europe: the potential for a British departure from the EU?

I'm no fan of the EU, far from it, and it's a bugbear of mine when it's suggested that Britain is flirting with "leaving Europe", as if they were going to slice their territories from the western shores of Europe and somehow float them away on the ocean, leaving Europe and becoming part of Asia, or the Americas, or somewhere. The EU is not Europe.

I hope they leave. I think the EU is a great experiment which has achieved a lot, but has overstepped its mandate...

Sorry, we are too busy to be being bothered by silly things like that when we can instead talk about Trump thinking not disavowing KKK endorsement will help him win the primaries. :cover

Well, that's true. US politics has always been way more glamorous and lurid than European politics. You have Super Tuesday today. Tammy Wynette running for the Democrats, still standing by Bill, who didn't rape anybody, didn't sexually assault anybody, isn't a racist, did NOT inhale, and did not have sexual relations with that woman. And that's all without having to get into his shady dealings. And hers. And Benghazi. And the emails conspiracy. And all the rest of it.

I've seen feminists cry out in defence of Tammy: leave her alone! It's great that a woman is doing so well!

As if this matters. And as if Tammy's a feminist.

She's up against a bloke called Sanders, of whom the best most Europeans can say is, we prefer your brother:

960.jpg


On the other team, you have the political Raonic's and Grigors, alongside Trump, who - please, somebody help me here - has to be a Trojan horse candidate! Surely this ex-Democrat has been let loudly loose among the Republicans to destroy them? Leaving aside the KKK fiasco, which should be enough to have him hauled out of the primaries on a handcart, there's all the other stuff. Is there any topic that he's not angry about, pulling faces and wanting to punch somebody about? I mean, seriously, can anybody imagine this bloke in the White House? He would put satirists out of business...

:popcorn
 

Murat Baslamisli

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The people that support Trump will support him no matter what. It is like a religion. If Trump was caught molesting a 5 year old, they would blame the child. I am totally scared of the guy and his supporters. Started as a joke but now it is scary.
 

Kieran

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1972Murat said:
The people that support Trump will support him no matter what. It is like a religion. If Trump was caught molesting a 5 year old, they would blame the child. I am totally scared of the guy and his supporters. Started as a joke but now it is scary.

But that's party politics, isn't it? If the Clintons were Republicans, then Democrats would be up in arms about all the shady deals, rape allegations etc. Likewise, with all of them. We have the same in Europe. Party politics. You dance with the one what brung ye. However I agree about Trump. Looked at from over here, we're thinking he's got to be a joke candidate, Ali G on a political podium. Even though a lot of what he says resonates, his manner and the rest of what he says rings alarm bells. But while I agree about Trump, the guy might go all the way. It's not a strong year for candidates, from what I can understand of it. American campaigns are so convoluted and rigid that maybe the best people don't put themselves forward because they feel the scrutiny just isn't worth it?
 

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Looks like it's going to be Hilary v Trump, two different types of polarising figures hunting the biggest political and military job in the world.

What's America saying about it all? These are the two people are voting for...
 

GameSetAndMath

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Kieran said:
Looks like it's going to be Hilary v Trump, two different types of polarising figures hunting the biggest political and military job in the world.

What's America saying about it all? These are the two people are voting for...

The official Immigration website of Canada crashed last night as too many people were trying to learn the procedures and download forms (this is not a joke).

I would not be surprised Canada starts considering building a 10 foot wall across the border.
 

Kieran

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GameSetAndMath said:
Kieran said:
Looks like it's going to be Hilary v Trump, two different types of polarising figures hunting the biggest political and military job in the world.

What's America saying about it all? These are the two people are voting for...

The official Immigration website of Canada crashed last night as too many people were trying to learn the procedures and download forms (this is not a joke).

I would not be surprised Canada starts considering building a 10 foot wall across the border.

And we say over this side of the pond, "Yanks don't get irony", but that would be a vivid example they couldn't help but get. The question I asked above, "that maybe the best people don't put themselves forward because they feel the scrutiny just isn't worth it?" Does this hold water for anyone? I mean, a bright and brilliant economic whizz could earn more in a week than the Prez earns in a year, without all the blather and intrusiveness. I know that in Europe we're going through a similar dearth of talent and it could be because the best just don't need the hassle...
 

nehmeth

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I'm not a Trump supporter. And if he molested a five year old, that would be a game changer. A friend of mine, Democrat, college professor, Princeton educated - is a Trump fan. He sent this to me today, and I think it explains a lot of why he has Republicans and Democrats voting for him. Again, I am not advocating, just conveying "why" there is this populist wave behind him.

====================
Dear Representative,

From the time I was able to vote I voted Republican. I am 80 years old, and have a great deal of respect and influence with hundreds of senior ball players who also network with thousands of others around the country.

I received your questionnaire and request for money and strongly agree with every question, as I have since Obama was elected. Unfortunately the one question that was missing is “What have the Republicans done for the American people?” We gave you a majority in the House and Senate, yet you never listened to us. Now you want our money.

You should be more concerned about our votes, not our money. You are the establishment, which means all you want is to save your jobs and line your pockets… Well guess what? “It’s not going to happen” You shake in your boots when I tell you we’re giving our support to TRUMP and he hasn’t asked for a dime.

You might think we are fools because you feel Trump is on a self destruction course, but you need to look beyond Washington and listen to the masses. Nobody has achieved what he has, especially in the liberal state of New York.

You clearly don’t understand why the Trump movement is so strong, so I’d like to share with you an analogy to help explain the Trump phenomenon. By the way, it’s not just the Republicans who feel ignored and disrespected, there are plenty of Democrats and Independents who also feel let down by the Washington elite. You seem to have forgotten about “We The People” and who hired you to represent us.

So here it is, the best analogy I could come up with. Here is the reason so many Americans have boarded the Trump Train, and why you’re pleas to come back to the party who deserted us, is falling on deaf ears:

You’ve been on vacation for two weeks, you come home, and your basement is infested with raccoons. Hundreds of rabid, messy, mean raccoons have overtaken your basement. You want them gone immediately…You call the city and four different exterminators, but nobody could handle the job. There is this one guy however, who guarantees you he will get rid of them, so you hire him. You don’t care if the guy smells, you don’t care if the guy swears, you don’t care how many times he’s been married, you don’t care if he was friends with liberals, you don’t care if he has plumber’s crack…you simply want those raccoons gone! You want your problem fixed! He’s the guy. He’s the best. Period. Here’s why we want Trump: Yes he’s a bit of an ass, yes he’s an egomaniac, but we don’t care. The country is a mess because politicians have become too self-serving. The Republican Party is two-faced & gutless. Illegal aliens have been allowed to invade our nation. We want it all fixed! We don’t care that Trump is crude, we don’t care that he insults people, we don’t care that he had been friendly with Hillary, we don’t care that he has changed positions, we don’t care that he’s been married three times, we don’t care that he fights with Megan Kelly and Rosie O’Donnell, we don’t care that he doesn’t know the name of some Muslim terrorist.
This country is weak, bankrupt, our enemies are making fun of us, we are being invaded by illegal aliens and bringing tens of thousands of Muslim refugees to America, while leaving Christians behind to be persecuted. We are becoming a nation of victims where every Tom, Ricardo and Hasid is part of a special group with special rights, to the point where we don’t even recognize the country we were born and raised in; “AND WE JUST WANT IT FIXED” and Trump is the only guy who seems to understand what the people want.

We’re sick of politicians. We’re sick of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. We just want this thing fixed. Trump may not be a saint, but he isn’t beholden to lobbyist money and he doesn’t have political correctness restraining him. All we know is that he has been very successful, he’s an excellent negotiator, he has built a lot of things, and he’s also not a politician. He’s definitely not a cowardly politician. When he says he’ll fix it, we believe him because he is too much of an egotist to be proven wrong or looked at and called a liar.

Oh yeah…I forgot…we don’t care if the guy has bad hair either.

We just want those raccoons gone.

Out of your house.

NOW!
 

nehmeth

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GameSetAndMath said:
The official Immigration website of Canada crashed last night as too many people were trying to learn the procedures and download forms (this is not a joke).

Um, no.


https://news.vice.com/article/no-canadas-immigration-website-isnt-being-bogged-down-by-americans-fleeing-trump
 

Kieran

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That's a powerful letter there, Nehmeth, and of course it shows that people who can make money easier elsewhere than all the hassle in Washington, well Trump is one of those and he's facing the brickbats. He's a loose cannon and he has no suave diplomats badge but he's definitely appealing to people, or else they wouldn't vote for him.

What would he be like as a president? Would he have the savvy and stickability and sense to be able to do it? or would his election spell disaster and lead to a crisis?
 

Murat Baslamisli

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There are bunch of problems with the above letter but let's say we take all of it as correct. There is still one major question: What has trump showed you so far that he can do any of the above things except talk? Has he answered one question yet without repeating himself a million times? The racoon guys has a history of fixing racoon problems, what kind of history does Trump have, except getting started in life with pop's millions and bankrupting bunch of companies?

Trump is only talk...nothing else. Some like that, but he has no substance to back his talk. People ask him how he is going to make Mexico pay for his wall, he says they will pay, they will pay, we have a trade deficit. A trade deficit does not mean Mexico has a bunch of money in their hands for this, plus even if they did, they would be idiots to pay for a wall, and that;s why their president told Trump to eff off.

Trump is not only incompetent, he is dangerous, like Hitler dangerous. You read a little bit of history and the similarities are amazingly clear. Nobody cares about his tone, his politically incorrect speeches (That is actually the only plus he has in my book). But he is dividing the whole country. People are looking at their Muslim neighbors differently now even though they have lived next to each other for decades and their kids share the same schools. People are being hassled.
He said that US needs to kill the families of the terrorists. That is against every treaty US has ever signed!

Anyways, like I said, people just want to believe he is the man for the job , based on his talk. Those people will vote for him no matter what. I am very scared though.

Don't get me wrong, Hillary or Sanders bot are horrible choices too. I am glad I don't have a vote.
 

GameSetAndMath

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nehmeth said:
GameSetAndMath said:
The official Immigration website of Canada crashed last night as too many people were trying to learn the procedures and download forms (this is not a joke).

Um, no.


https://news.vice.com/article/no-canadas-immigration-website-isnt-being-bogged-down-by-americans-fleeing-trump

May be so. But, your article supports the underlying idea by mentioning google searches peaking about how to move to Canada.
 

Kieran

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1972Murat said:
Don't get me wrong, Hillary or Sanders bot are horrible choices too. I am glad I don't have a vote.

Along with Trump, this is true. How Hilary Clinton is still standing is a mystery that's best only explained by the words "party politics". Perhaps some feminists are deluded and vote for her too.

But then what's going to happen? Mitt Romney went attack-dog on his old benefactor yesterday in a desperate attempt to derail Trump. The thing about Trump which I get from the letter is that his rhetoric is hitting home. It may not be coherent or practical, but he's hitting the mark with people who are sick of the same old secret handshakes, the juggernaut lobbies, the slick meaningless phrases, all the empty broken promises. People are tired of that. For me, the ultimate empty-suit rhetoric came from the current prez, who's absolutely no MLK at the mike, regardless of whether people have forgotten what actually exhilarating and meaningful public speaking is like.

Perhaps party politics has failed and all it's spitting out now are tired faces from long dead dynasties who feel their entitlement outweighs the good of the country - and the world. And I say this as an Irish person who is well aware of the responsibilities America has, whether it likes to accept them or not. Obama has reneged on the international stage and left Putin to drive the narrative. Now buddy, there's a Hitler comparison, if we want to go there. There's an old school scooper-up of other peoples property, a bully and a tyrant whose neighbours live in fear of him, and who's now grandstanding and showboating in the ME, with disastrous consequences. The next US president has to reverse that almost immediately, but can it be done by any of these candidates?
 

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GameSetAndMath said:
nehmeth said:
GameSetAndMath said:
The official Immigration website of Canada crashed last night as too many people were trying to learn the procedures and download forms (this is not a joke).

Um, no.


https://news.vice.com/article/no-canadas-immigration-website-isnt-being-bogged-down-by-americans-fleeing-trump

May be so. But, your article supports the underlying idea by mentioning google searches peaking about how to move to Canada.

Yeah, but the Google searches were mostly based in Mexico. With the "wall" coming they need another place to move. :snicker
 

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1972Murat said:
There are bunch of problems with the above letter but let's say we take all of it as correct.

Murat, you must have missed my opening comments. The letter was to explain a common feeling within the middle class - Republican and Democrat. It has nothing to do with whether Trump is the right guy or if the general sentiment is correct, just that it's there. The people haven't been heard by the establishment, so when some guy steps up and says he's hearing them, well that opens the door for someone like - the Donald.
 

Murat Baslamisli

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nehmeth said:
1972Murat said:
There are bunch of problems with the above letter but let's say we take all of it as correct.

Murat, you must have missed my opening comments. The letter was to explain a common feeling within the middle class - Republican and Democrat. It has nothing to do with whether Trump is the right guy or if the general sentiment is correct, just that it's there. The people haven't been heard by the establishment, so when some guy steps up and says he's hearing them, well that opens the door for someone like - the Donald.

Nehmeth, I totally get the feeling of frustration. I am frustrated too, for years, not being able to find someone to vote for. My issue is why is that sentiment leading to a guy like Trump? His only qualification is that he does not talk like a politician. There is no guarantee he can do any of the things he is talking about and in that sense he is a typical politician, but people still believe him. There is no standard for him. Anyone else says the things Donald says, he is kicked out of the country! He has zero substance.
So , as much as I agree with the sentiment, I don't know why it leads to a divisive, racist , misogynistic phony. Talking straight should not be the only standard to vote for a president.
 

nehmeth

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1972Murat said:
nehmeth said:
1972Murat said:
There are bunch of problems with the above letter but let's say we take all of it as correct.

Murat, you must have missed my opening comments. The letter was to explain a common feeling within the middle class - Republican and Democrat. It has nothing to do with whether Trump is the right guy or if the general sentiment is correct, just that it's there. The people haven't been heard by the establishment, so when some guy steps up and says he's hearing them, well that opens the door for someone like - the Donald.

Nehmeth, I totally get the feeling of frustration. I am frustrated too, for years, not being able to find someone to vote for. My issue is why is that sentiment leading to a guy like Trump? His only qualification is that he does not talk like a politician. There is no guarantee he can do any of the things he is talking about and in that sense he is a typical politician, but people still believe him. There is no standard for him. Anyone else says the things Donald says, he is kicked out of the country! He has zero substance.
So , as much as I agree with the sentiment, I don't know why it leads to a divisive, racist , misogynistic phony. Talking straight should not be the only standard to vote for a president.

I would guess they have watched him on TV (The Apprentice), followed (in the news/media) his successes and failures over three decades, stayed in his hotels, gone to his resorts. Maybe in some way they feel as though they know him?? Maybe too, in these days of celebrity, it's not your qualifications as much as recognition. It is disconcerting, believe me.

By the way, my condolences on the election of Trudeau. :cover