What Do You Think Today?

[Kizza]

Yes yes... Pete, The Germans are throwing Boris under the bus on the Russian front. Nice to see they are dropping international law references, and presumptions of innocence before guilt as you were pointing to earlier,

It is Friday! I think some IPA experimenting may happen this evening. I must remember to check the % of alcohol!

A nod to a nice weekend to all. May the Rabbitohs prevail.

[peter]

Ahhhh.......!

A nice glass of IPA. As Dickens said, like magic in a bottle - it isn't ecstasy, but it's comfort!

[Skyweir]

Ahhh I like a nice Indian pale ale ... methinks we will make great drinking buddies

[Avatar]

Even tho I got a speeding fine. $489.00............. 8 kms over the limit. 4:30am on a highway.

Sheesh, that's stiff.

Here you have to be doing 10kms over the limit before you even trigger them, and even that's a relatively nominal fine. (The equivalent of AUD 27 at today's rate.

It scales pretty rapidly after that of course, and if you're doing more than 40 over it's immediate arrest.

--A

[Skyweir]

Hey arent you supposed to be on hols

[Avatar]

Back now. Meh. Anyway, hols was lazing around at home playing computer games.

--A

[peter]

Tell me this is bullshit (I mean it!)

I've just got this nasty little scenario building; you've got Trump promoting this hawk to the position of national advisor or something, who is pushing for a military intervention in North Korea which would piss the Chinese - who are already pissed over US trade sanctions and the Spratley Island situation (which they view as America sticking it's nose into their area). You got the USA and France and the UK shouting the odds about gas attacks in Syria and making threats against Russia over the Skripal affair; the nuclear deal with Iran is under threat and they with Russia are coming under fire for their support of the Assad regime.

Seems to me that a major fault line is at risk of developing; Russia, China, Iran, Syria, North Korea on the one side; The USA, UK, Japan, France and other EU countries, Israel on the other.

I began my life in the shadow of a world war recently ended - I have no wish to end it under the cloud of another in the brewing. It's time for some serious diplomacy in inernational relations and to stop all of this ramping up of aggressive rhetoric or these fucks might just achieve the impossible and plunge the world into the abyss once more.

[Avatar]

In general I don't expect it really. I mean sure, everything is possible, but I think the brink is clearer to players than ever before, and rhetoric is just that.

--A

[Skyweir]

Tell me this is bullshit (I mean it!)

I've just got this nasty little scenario building; you've got Trump promoting this hawk to the position of national advisor or something, who is pushing for a military intervention in North Korea which would piss the Chinese - who are already pissed over US trade sanctions and the Spratley Island situation (which they view as America sticking it's nose into their area). You got the USA and France and the UK shouting the odds about gas attacks in Syria and making threats against Russia over the Skripal affair; the nuclear deal with Iran is under threat and they with Russia are coming under fire for their support of the Assad regime.

Seems to me that a major fault line is at risk of developing; Russia, China, Iran, Syria, North Korea on the one side; The USA, UK, Japan, France and other EU countries, Israel on the other.

I began my life in the shadow of a world war recently ended - I have no wish to end it under the cloud of another in the brewing. It's time for some serious diplomacy in inernational relations and to stop all of this ramping up of aggressive rhetoric or these fucks might just achieve the impossible and plunge the world into the abyss once more.

I no longer believe world leaders operate within the ... rational or reasonableness spectrum ... ... so even though my gut says not likely .. my brain says hmm but look at the players. Trump, KJU.. and fucking Putin ..

Yes the new US National Security Advisor is a joke ... the world is not improving.. this growing tendency for right wing governments.. Chinas being a dick about the Spratly Islands .. the US continues to fly over the area ... Syria is a kegger.. and could also get out of hand very quickly.

And its good you posted this here ..

[peter]

One possible reason I heard mooted as to why Barack Obama did not act when his so called 'red line' was overstepped in the last Syrian chemical atrocity, was that there was at least a significant possibility that one or other of the various competing forces lined up against Assad had in fact staged the attack, with the express intention of drawing the US into the fight that would without their aid, be a very difficult one to win.

One hopes given the very high stakes involved, that Trump and May have considered that, in the light of a new US administration, this tactic might seem [again?] have been seen to be worth a shot. If [and I'm told that this morning trump has tweeted "Missiles are coming!"] we are going to get physical in this conflict we'd better be damn sure that what we think is this case is the case.

[Vraith]

that Trump and May have considered

this conflict we'd better be damn sure that what we think is this case is the case.

oh, peter, peter, optimist eater....

Do you think there is even the SLIGHTEST chance that either Trump or May [and/or probably others...but others seem mildly more likely] gives a flying fuck what the is is? They only care what it LOOKS like...and not even that, they only care what it looks like at certain influence/leverage points.

[[[tangent...my brain went parallel on different shit while writing that...I REALLY want to come up with a word for female dickheads. The first thought was cuntskulls....anatomically parallel and maybe tonally a match. But there's the problem that "dickhead" means "thinking with your cock"---and MOST of the guys accused of that are, way too fucking often, PROUD of that. It's an insult...but somehow STILL implies something positive.
IN THEORY saying a woman was "thinking with her pussy" SHOULD have a similar dual nature/dichotomy...but it doesn't feel that way. Deep linguistic sexism.
BUT---now I'm wishing some noticed folk---like Bee, Wolf, Poehler, others---popped in here...cuz I bet they could make a huge fun flip them over and smash them on their heads deal from cuntskull and thinking with their pussies.

[peter]

Think I'll do my 'Brer Fox' impersonation on that one V, and "lie low and say nuffin' "

But on the first, not being rhetorical or insensitive on a human level (in respect of the suffering), why do we (in terms of our political/international actions) care about what is going on in Syria? Twenty unarmed protesters were gunned down in Gazza the other day, there are countless other equally obnoxious regimens comparable to Assad's that we treat with as a matter of expediency when it suits........but Assad has to go!

Would I be overstretching the mark to think that there is a connection to our ongoing campaign against Russia (Russia fucks with our elections, Russia is planning to hack/fuck our essential services, Russia poisons people on our streets and now Russia props up abominable dictatorships in the middle east and facilitates chemical attacks on children). Are we that afraid that Putin is actually going to succeed in his attempt to "Make Russia Great Again"? Does this have anything to do with the fact that if Assad falls, Russia looses it's only warm water port from which it's navy has access to open ocean (Tartus, which is leased from Syria with Assad's support), thus severely limiting it's ability to be anything other than a 'regional power's (Obama's words)?

[Avatar]

I think he is succeeding at it. In fact, he may already have succeeded.

--A

[Skyweir]

Nah .. I dont believe that. Putin yes in his SOU speech blowed smoke up everyones asses with the big missile statements. And yes they MAY have that capability .. it is odd though that if they do .. that we wouldnt have intelligence on this but maybe we do.

Putin still has real problems with providing essential services, for his people. Russia isnt great now. Its not going to be GREAT for the next decade. Putin is also delusional .. and that makes him unpredictable.

V
Yes there should be a dickhead equivalent. But really people dont interpret that term literally anymore and it is pretty much used as a gender neutral insult ... . So Im a dick .. and a dickhead some times .. but yes I take your point, insults are not particularly egalitarian.


Im also not sure women do think with their vaginas, the way men are accused of thinking with their penises.

And I do not believe that even May would fall into that category. She is clinging to her role .. and will as it seems employ all means necessary. Plus they have their own score to settle with Russia.

When it comes to Trump, I believe he is innately narcissistic .. so yeah believe he is posturing. In fact he does A LOT of it.

[Kizza]

The Irish breakfast tea is good today..
So old Duck lips with the wonky ankles is beating his chest. He is a sycophant so it is to be understood. Putin and Assad, Jerusalem and the Saudis, North Korea and the Taiwanese. . . .
I have enjoyed some of the Commonwealth games. A touch of class from athletes in sports that are not super commercially driven.....
Interesting that a number of the athletes have "skipped" their Olympic village and disappeared into Australia...... They must have heard about the Rabbitohs?.... or our tea?

[Skyweir]

[Skyweir]

mmm.. re Trump I dont think hes a yes man .. but his narcissism etc makes him easily influenced and unpredictable.. hes a lot like Putin and KJU .. in many ways.

[peter]

Eighty years ago the Daily Mail seriously damaged the Labour vote in the forthcoming general election by publishing a fake document citing a connection between the party, the communist movement and the Russian Government said to control it. This was done at the behest of an establishment elite terrified that an elected socialist government would introduce policies in favour of the common people and damaging to it's own vested interest in the system as it stood.

Thank goodness we have moved on from this kind of manipulatory media abuse!

[Kizza]

Thank goodness we have moved on from this kind of manipulatory media abuse!

HA
Yes the times have changed. Back then there were editors, as a conduit to the press, now with Twitter you can be a dropkick, high on a petulant fever and no yes man can save you! Progress!

[Skyweir]

Some kind of progress I dunno .. but twitter especially is very hard to censor.. but its our shared new age reality ... isnt it .. Trump issues government policy initiatives through Twitter .. its uncanny.. In my later years I worked in various gov policy roles, from LEO to national security .. and the policy process is strictly regulated requiring .. heres a laugh .. stakeholder consultation .. after identifying all likely affected parties, inviting submissions from stakeholders on an initiative, workshopping etc etc .. not a process that occurred overnight or by any one individual..

I know most government agencies got on the digital bandwagon .. streamlining websites, making them interactive, intuitive so theyd be user friendly ... but how things are handled by Trump is way out there, left field crazy .. imho anyway. Its so far from our norm anyway.