US Politics Mega-thread - Page 4364

On July 21 2016 07:32 DeepElemBlues wrote:


Drone operations cause far less civilian casualties than either ground combat or traditional airstrikes, which would suggest a more human and personal view of non-US citizens. War itself depersonalizes and dehumanizes so not sure what the point is. It's a rather bizarre world where the most effective method of bombing ever devised so far as limiting collateral damage is portrayed and perceived by many as just as bad if not worse than regular old bombs or missiles sent from a plane, which has always killed far more people who weren't the target.

In any case, the Geneva Conventions places responsibility for civilian casualties in a situation where one side hides among civilians or blatantly uses them as human shields (for example by establishing positions in a residential neighborhood) on that side, not on the other side. The depersonalization and dehumanization is the responsibility of those who control the ground and view civilians as a resource like shells or rifles, to be expended for combat purposes.

On July 21 2016 05:30 IgnE wrote:


Give me an example where intent matters.

I think if we look back at our conversation the effort I put in (take, for example, word count and sentence complexity) is far higher than yours.

On July 21 2016 07:35 IgnE wrote:


Consider if the US carpet bombed Pakistan trying to kill an Afghani terrorist leader and then reevalute everything you wrote because it's totally off base.

The Secret Service is investigating one of Donald Trump's most outspoken supporters, a New Hampshire state representative who said this week that Hillary Clinton should be shot for treason.

“The U.S. Secret Service is aware of this matter and will conduct the appropriate investigation," Nicole Mainor, a spokeswoman for the Secret Service, said about the comments from Al Baldasaro. The investigation was first reported by the Daily Beast.

Baldasaro, a Republican from Londonderry, N.H., is a former Marine who calls himself Trump's "veteran advisor." Trump gave him a key role during a crucial moment in this campaign: In May, when Trump criticized the news media for its coverage of his promise to give $1 million to veterans groups, Baldasaro was given a speaking role and a place in the background when Trump spoke.

This week, as Republicans at the party convention in Cleveland called for Clinton to be jailed, Baldasaro went further.

“Hillary Clinton should be put in the firing line and shot for treason,” Baldasaro said earlier in the week on "The Kuhner Report," a conservative radio show hosted by Jeff Kuhner.

On Wednesday, Baldasaro stood by those comments in an interview with WMUR of Manchester, N.H. He said the death penalty was appropriate for Clinton’s handling of government emails. “As far as I’m concerned, it is treason and the penalty for treason is the firing squad — or maybe it’s the electric chair now,” Baldasaro said.

Baldasaro did not immediately respond to an email sent seeking comment on Wednesday afternoon.

Hope Hicks, a spokeswoman for the Trump campaign, said in a brief statement that "Mr. Trump and the campaign do not agree" that Clinton should be executed for treason. Hicks did not respond to a question asking whether Trump would cut ties with Baldasaro.

On July 21 2016 07:45 zlefin wrote:

but, they're not doing that; and his points are valid and sound. So address them rather than create an irrelevant hypothetical.

On July 21 2016 08:46 FiWiFaKi wrote:
By the way, has there been a poll in this thread to get a rough number of TL democrats/republicans? Curious what the ratio is. 70/30 with majority liberals?