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Well, not having touched this thread in like 2k posts, but Paulson's "Dealing with China" is actually supremely fantastic, and I am generally in agreement with most of his critiques.
This'll give you an idea of what it contains. He does somewhat gloss over discussing political issues and focuses on the economic, business, and, somewhat surprisingly environmental aspects, but his analysis of China's present challenges and political structure, as well as general recommendations (which are, well, general), are spot on. Wholeheartedly recommend it.
On May 18 2015 07:36 Sermokala wrote: Black people being fiercely democrat I don't understand. Being at least open to accepting the other party would give them some power in our democracy as it would force the dems to actually do something to help them instead of just being a get out the vote target.
This is true. Blacks regularly get screwed by Democrats who take them for granted and ignore their needs/concerns.
The problem is the Republicans are completely not trying to be appealing. If one party's saying "fuck you" and one party's saying "meh, if we get around to it," it's hard not to go for the latter. But yes, it contributes to the political marginalization of black Americans that they lack a meaningful choice outside of democratic primaries.
On May 18 2015 07:36 Sermokala wrote: Black people being fiercely democrat I don't understand. Being at least open to accepting the other party would give them some power in our democracy as it would force the dems to actually do something to help them instead of just being a get out the vote target.
This is true. Blacks regularly get screwed by Democrats who take them for granted and ignore their needs/concerns.
The problem is the Republicans are completely not trying to be appealing. If one party's saying "fuck you" and one party's saying "meh, if we get around to it," it's hard not to go for the latter. But yes, it contributes to the political marginalization of black Americans that they lack a meaningful choice outside of democratic primaries.
Just ro circle that around for the last word on the abortion debate o think it would be politially expedient for a republican nominee to follow the Canadian conservatives lead on this issue. "We have no inrerest in persuing abortion legislation". Getting all pro-lifers vote by default AND avoiding election killing soundbites. Canadian currently has no anti-abortion parties.
On May 18 2015 07:36 Sermokala wrote: Black people being fiercely democrat I don't understand. Being at least open to accepting the other party would give them some power in our democracy as it would force the dems to actually do something to help them instead of just being a get out the vote target.
This is true. Blacks regularly get screwed by Democrats who take them for granted and ignore their needs/concerns.
The problem is the Republicans are completely not trying to be appealing. If one party's saying "fuck you" and one party's saying "meh, if we get around to it," it's hard not to go for the latter. But yes, it contributes to the political marginalization of black Americans that they lack a meaningful choice outside of democratic primaries.
Just ro circle that around for the last word on the abortion debate o think it would be politially expedient for a republican nominee to follow the Canadian conservatives lead on this issue. "We have no inrerest in persuing abortion legislation". Getting all pro-lifers vote by default AND avoiding election killing soundbites. Canadian currently has no anti-abortion parties.
Republicans like Rand Paul got the black vote handed to them on a platter with Baltimore, and SC. They screwed the pooch harder than ol' red during my prison break.
Damn Texas is having a rough month. STD outbreak in high school, getting taken over by the federal government of the US, AND a SOA style shootout, just need some locusts and shit will really fly.
On May 18 2015 12:18 darthfoley wrote: Just wanted to say fuck yea, i'm excited for Bernie Sanders. Haters gonna hate
I don't think he'll have a problem with the young vote, he'll have a problem with the older vote that consumes lots of mainstream media and has an involuntary reaction to the word "socialism," and maybe women as a general group too
Praising him here (mostly young males) is like preaching to the choir
On May 18 2015 12:18 darthfoley wrote: Just wanted to say fuck yea, i'm excited for Bernie Sanders. Haters gonna hate
I don't think he'll have a problem with the young vote, he'll have a problem with the older vote that consumes lots of mainstream media and has an involuntary reaction to the word "socialism," and maybe women as a general group too
Praising him here (mostly young males) is like preaching to the choir
Agreed on all counts... I also don't think he can possibly beat Hillary, unfortunately.
Texas police say 192 people are to face organised crime charges after the Waco bike-gang shooting that left nine people dead and 18 others injured. The feud broke out between several gangs at a shopping district in Waco. What started as a fist fight soon descended into a battle with knives, clubs, chains and eventually guns. One witness described the scene as "a war zone", while a Waco policeman called it the most gruesome scene he had encountered in his career. The incident happened shortly after midday on Sunday at the Twin Peaks Sports Bar and Grill in a shopping area called the Central Texas Market Place. Up to five rival gangs got into a fight, apparently over parking space near the restaurant. Diners and staff at the nearby cafe managed to lock themselves in a freezer room for safety and were later escorted off the premises by armed police. "Twenty-five feet away there were families," Waco police sergeant Patrick Swanton said. "This is one of the worst gunfights we've ever had in the city limits. They started shooting at our officers." In addition to announcing the large number of arrests, Waco police department said on Monday they had temporarily closed the Twin Peaks restaurant for at least a week "due to the ongoing danger it presents to our community". The authorities have increased security in the area to prevent further outbreaks of violence, as there are fears some of the gang members might return.
On May 18 2015 12:18 darthfoley wrote: Just wanted to say fuck yea, i'm excited for Bernie Sanders. Haters gonna hate
He is 73 years old now. Are you sure it is a wise choice? That is my point of hate.
If you want to look at his age, which is fair game, I would counter by saying that I trust him in choosing an ideologically consistent and qualified running mate. He is definitely older than I would like, but I am going to vote based on policy rather than age.
I'd never thought i'd actually be excited for a presidential cycle, but after Elizabeth Warren made it clear she wasn't interested, I actually can't wait to see Sanders vs. Clinton. I know it's a super long shot, but I take solace in knowing that a young junior senator from Illinois was also a super long shot. Clinton doesn't seem to have learned much from 2007 with her handling of the email "controversy" and the Clinton Foundation controversy; she's taken ~13 press questions since announcing, while Sanders has appeared on any medium that will take him-- including Fox News multiple times. I am hoping that Jumping Joe Biden, or Martin O'Malley, etc. will join the race, because I think they will pull mainly from Clinton supporters rather than Sanders people.
Re "preaching to the choir," lol i'm aware that this site caters to candidates like Rand Paul and Bernie Sanders, but i'm just as adamant with my support of Sanders on Facebook and IRL. Perhaps Sanders will be the Ron Paul of the Democratic party, but through Ron Paul, and to a lesser extent, Rand Paul, the GOP is being pulled further to the Libertarian side of the party; this can be seen through the recent House vote to stop indiscriminate NSA collection of phone data.
Obviously, the biggest hurdle Sanders has is the "socialist" brand, but he's actually very good about sticking to issues that are bi-partisan to explain his brand of "democractic socialism," e.g. student loan debt, healthcare, college cost, income inequality. He's introduced bills (that will obviously fail) to break up the big banks, and to make public college free already. The key is marketing, which Clinton seems to be shitty at. Just take the recent remarks from Bill Clinton: he has to earn $500,000 a speech "to pay the bills." If that doesn't scream out-of-touch with the average American, idk what does.
Texas police say 192 people are to face organised crime charges after the Waco bike-gang shooting that left nine people dead and 18 others injured. The feud broke out between several gangs at a shopping district in Waco. What started as a fist fight soon descended into a battle with knives, clubs, chains and eventually guns. One witness described the scene as "a war zone", while a Waco policeman called it the most gruesome scene he had encountered in his career. The incident happened shortly after midday on Sunday at the Twin Peaks Sports Bar and Grill in a shopping area called the Central Texas Market Place. Up to five rival gangs got into a fight, apparently over parking space near the restaurant. Diners and staff at the nearby cafe managed to lock themselves in a freezer room for safety and were later escorted off the premises by armed police. "Twenty-five feet away there were families," Waco police sergeant Patrick Swanton said. "This is one of the worst gunfights we've ever had in the city limits. They started shooting at our officers." In addition to announcing the large number of arrests, Waco police department said on Monday they had temporarily closed the Twin Peaks restaurant for at least a week "due to the ongoing danger it presents to our community". The authorities have increased security in the area to prevent further outbreaks of violence, as there are fears some of the gang members might return.
Texas police say 192 people are to face organised crime charges after the Waco bike-gang shooting that left nine people dead and 18 others injured. The feud broke out between several gangs at a shopping district in Waco. What started as a fist fight soon descended into a battle with knives, clubs, chains and eventually guns. One witness described the scene as "a war zone", while a Waco policeman called it the most gruesome scene he had encountered in his career. The incident happened shortly after midday on Sunday at the Twin Peaks Sports Bar and Grill in a shopping area called the Central Texas Market Place. Up to five rival gangs got into a fight, apparently over parking space near the restaurant. Diners and staff at the nearby cafe managed to lock themselves in a freezer room for safety and were later escorted off the premises by armed police. "Twenty-five feet away there were families," Waco police sergeant Patrick Swanton said. "This is one of the worst gunfights we've ever had in the city limits. They started shooting at our officers." In addition to announcing the large number of arrests, Waco police department said on Monday they had temporarily closed the Twin Peaks restaurant for at least a week "due to the ongoing danger it presents to our community". The authorities have increased security in the area to prevent further outbreaks of violence, as there are fears some of the gang members might return.
Texas police say 192 people are to face organised crime charges after the Waco bike-gang shooting that left nine people dead and 18 others injured. The feud broke out between several gangs at a shopping district in Waco. What started as a fist fight soon descended into a battle with knives, clubs, chains and eventually guns. One witness described the scene as "a war zone", while a Waco policeman called it the most gruesome scene he had encountered in his career. The incident happened shortly after midday on Sunday at the Twin Peaks Sports Bar and Grill in a shopping area called the Central Texas Market Place. Up to five rival gangs got into a fight, apparently over parking space near the restaurant. Diners and staff at the nearby cafe managed to lock themselves in a freezer room for safety and were later escorted off the premises by armed police. "Twenty-five feet away there were families," Waco police sergeant Patrick Swanton said. "This is one of the worst gunfights we've ever had in the city limits. They started shooting at our officers." In addition to announcing the large number of arrests, Waco police department said on Monday they had temporarily closed the Twin Peaks restaurant for at least a week "due to the ongoing danger it presents to our community". The authorities have increased security in the area to prevent further outbreaks of violence, as there are fears some of the gang members might return.
Crazy, I always had the impression that biker gangs were more show than substance. Most of them look over 60 that ride choppers.
Well the one at your local pub or whatever probably is just for show or just actually a club. But biker gangs in the south and southern California are real as shit. Contrary to what breaking bad may have made people believe, the vast majority of the meth/cocaine/heroin industry throughout the southwest is run by primarily white and Latino biker gangs with street gangs handling distribution. The Latino community has it's own chain from supply to retail. White's buy from *wink and a nudge* approved cartels and sell to other whites or rivals (to other Latino distributors). Black people don't generally even touch the drugs until they have passed from Latino to white biker to approved emissary (sometimes straight from Latino producer to white middleman) to black gangs hands.
Biker gangs are a key link in the chain that moves illicit drugs from Mexico and sells them in the US. Since the meth explosion in rural America bikers often try to source from local producers but as those sources are less reliable and often have inferior product they continue to work with Latin American producers.
Side note about some of the gangs involved in the Texas massacre: Some of the divisions go WAAAYYYY back. To when Latino Vietnam vets were excluded from Hell's Angles. (Also why a lot of these guys are old) This is the beginning/middle of something not the end in Texas and will likely spill over into nearby states.
BTW I'm not intending to make it a race issue, just anyone familiar with the drug trade knows race is a huge issue.
On May 18 2015 12:18 darthfoley wrote: Just wanted to say fuck yea, i'm excited for Bernie Sanders. Haters gonna hate
He is 73 years old now. Are you sure it is a wise choice? That is my point of hate.
If you want to look at his age, which is fair game, I would counter by saying that I trust him in choosing an ideologically consistent and qualified running mate. He is definitely older than I would like, but I am going to vote based on policy rather than age.
That is fair. That is how you should vote since even if he is forced to step down in the middle of his term it will shift the political landscape in a direction you find favourable. That is also how small parties in Europe survive and then die, they resonate with the voters and the larger parties take over their standpoints.
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) issued a report Monday morning detailing decades of failed trade enforcement by American presidents including Barack Obama, the latest salvo in an ongoing public feud between Warren and Obama over the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Obama is currently negotiating the major trade pact with 11 other nations. While the text of the TPP agreement remains classified information, it is strongly supported by Republican leaders in Congress and corporate lobbying groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The deal is opposed by most congressional Democrats, along with labor unions, environmental groups and advocates of Internet freedom.
Obama has repeatedly insisted the TPP will include robust labor protections, and has dismissed Warren's criticisms as "dishonest," "bunk" and "misinformation." On Monday, Warren fired back, showing that Obama simply has not effectively enforced existing labor standards in prior trade pacts. According to the report, a host of abuses, from child labor to the outright murder of union organizers, have continued under Obama's watch with minimal pushback from the administration.
"The United States does not enforce the labor protections in its trade agreements," the report reads, citing analyses from the Government Accountability Office, the State Department and the Department of Labor.
Of the 20 countries the U.S. currently has trade agreements with, 11 have documented reliance on child labor, forced labor or other human rights abuses related to labor, according to the report. The violations are not confined to exploitation. Since Obama finalized a labor action plan with the government of Colombia in 2011, 105 union activists have been murdered. Obama called the Colombian deal "a win-win for workers" at the time.
Despite these trade violations, none of these countries has faced significant consequences from the United States government.
On May 18 2015 12:18 darthfoley wrote: Just wanted to say fuck yea, i'm excited for Bernie Sanders. Haters gonna hate
He is 73 years old now. Are you sure it is a wise choice? That is my point of hate.
If you want to look at his age, which is fair game, I would counter by saying that I trust him in choosing an ideologically consistent and qualified running mate. He is definitely older than I would like, but I am going to vote based on policy rather than age.
That is fair. That is how you should vote since even if he is forced to step down in the middle of his term it will shift the political landscape in a direction you find favourable. That is also how small parties in Europe survive and then die, they resonate with the voters and the larger parties take over their standpoints.
Although that wouldn't be my preferred conclusion, I'd find that preferable to a reinforced centrist position in a lot of areas. The irony is Bernie's biggest complaint from the left is his position on guns which was funny to watch him talk about. It's was like holy shit that's what reasonable people on the issue sound like (although he's still left of me on guns).
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) issued a report Monday morning detailing decades of failed trade enforcement by American presidents including Barack Obama, the latest salvo in an ongoing public feud between Warren and Obama over the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Obama is currently negotiating the major trade pact with 11 other nations. While the text of the TPP agreement remains classified information, it is strongly supported by Republican leaders in Congress and corporate lobbying groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The deal is opposed by most congressional Democrats, along with labor unions, environmental groups and advocates of Internet freedom.
Obama has repeatedly insisted the TPP will include robust labor protections, and has dismissed Warren's criticisms as "dishonest," "bunk" and "misinformation." On Monday, Warren fired back, showing that Obama simply has not effectively enforced existing labor standards in prior trade pacts. According to the report, a host of abuses, from child labor to the outright murder of union organizers, have continued under Obama's watch with minimal pushback from the administration.
"The United States does not enforce the labor protections in its trade agreements," the report reads, citing analyses from the Government Accountability Office, the State Department and the Department of Labor.
Of the 20 countries the U.S. currently has trade agreements with, 11 have documented reliance on child labor, forced labor or other human rights abuses related to labor, according to the report. The violations are not confined to exploitation. Since Obama finalized a labor action plan with the government of Colombia in 2011, 105 union activists have been murdered. Obama called the Colombian deal "a win-win for workers" at the time.
Despite these trade violations, none of these countries has faced significant consequences from the United States government.
Does this seem like Obama just running the crap out of Republicans to anyone else?
They score negative points against themselves by agreeing with Obama, Obama looks more reasonable siding with Republicans, Democrats are able to feign having a spine, and they can claim victory against Republicans whatever happens with the deal. Either by killing it, or by claiming any pro-American alterations or focuses are a result of their resistance on such motivations.
I'm probably missing something one can see from a more right leaning perspective?
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) issued a report Monday morning detailing decades of failed trade enforcement by American presidents including Barack Obama, the latest salvo in an ongoing public feud between Warren and Obama over the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Obama is currently negotiating the major trade pact with 11 other nations. While the text of the TPP agreement remains classified information, it is strongly supported by Republican leaders in Congress and corporate lobbying groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The deal is opposed by most congressional Democrats, along with labor unions, environmental groups and advocates of Internet freedom.
Obama has repeatedly insisted the TPP will include robust labor protections, and has dismissed Warren's criticisms as "dishonest," "bunk" and "misinformation." On Monday, Warren fired back, showing that Obama simply has not effectively enforced existing labor standards in prior trade pacts. According to the report, a host of abuses, from child labor to the outright murder of union organizers, have continued under Obama's watch with minimal pushback from the administration.
"The United States does not enforce the labor protections in its trade agreements," the report reads, citing analyses from the Government Accountability Office, the State Department and the Department of Labor.
Of the 20 countries the U.S. currently has trade agreements with, 11 have documented reliance on child labor, forced labor or other human rights abuses related to labor, according to the report. The violations are not confined to exploitation. Since Obama finalized a labor action plan with the government of Colombia in 2011, 105 union activists have been murdered. Obama called the Colombian deal "a win-win for workers" at the time.
Despite these trade violations, none of these countries has faced significant consequences from the United States government.
So is she using this position contrast to set up for a presidential run?
I'm also interested in seeing whatever the hell this trade agreement is. It's strongly supported by this political party and these corporate groups and special interests but the common man hasn't seen it!