US Election & Presidency

(18-02-2018 15:25 )terence Wrote:  american democracy is a shining beacon in the world, unlike russia's. so to fuck with it and destabilise it is a huge deal, not just to russia, but to any dictatorial state in the world.

Not just that, but whoever is in the whitehouse dictates foreign policy, and THAT is of great importance to russia.
Even Hillary winning after a 'dirty' campaign and with republicans controlling senate and congress would potentially be a decent result, and lead to her foreign policy wings being clipped.


On the guns issue, saw this on twitter yesterday, can't vouch for it's accuracy, but seems plausible :

Number of school shootings since 2000 :

ENGLAND: 0
GREECE: 1
NETHERLANDS: 1
SPAIN: 1
INDIA: 1
ARGENTINA: 1
RUSSIA: 1
CHINA: 3
MEXICO: 4
AUSTRALIA: 5
CANADA: 5
GERMANY: 5
SOUTH AFRICA: 5
USA: 212

(18-02-2018 15:25 )terence Wrote:  

(18-02-2018 15:08 )Doddle Wrote:  It still makes no sense to me, but then...

The Russians were smart enough to do all this hacking, and yet also stupid enough to be caught?
And what for? At best, they destabilise the US for a bit, and at worst, they provoke a World War. Would it really have been worth it?

american democracy is a shining beacon in the world, unlike russia's. so to fuck with it and destabilise it is a huge deal, not just to russia, but to any dictatorial state in the world.

I agree ... I think Russian meddling in American politics (and probably the UK's too) has less to do with their actual interest in America than it does with their domestic concerns.

Russia is an authoritarian state and Putin is a classic autocrat. Everything that the ruling class does is in the interest of self-preservation and self-enrichment. The status quo has to be maintained at all costs, because autocrats don't get voted out, they get overthrown.

Sowing discord in America and the EU is not about trying to manipulate those countries' policies. That would be nice, I'm sure, and they probably have policy objectives that they want to promote (e.g. removal of sanctions). But hacked facebook accounts and twitter feeds are a bit of a blunt instrument for that.

More likely, IMHO, they just want to create enough mayhem and chaos to undermine the perceived legitimacy of western democracies and their media. It is all just meant to keep uppity Russians with idealistic, liberal leanings in their place. The underlying message: the grass is no greener in America or Europe; you can't believe a word of what comes out of CNN; and that 'shining beacon' is a bullshit system of government. So get back in your box and be thankful for what you've got.

(18-02-2018 15:08 )Doddle Wrote:  The Russians were smart enough to do all this hacking, and yet also stupid enough to be caught?

Why do the Russians have to be stupid?
Maybe they got caught because the US intelligence services also have some smart people.

If you can watch this through without getting a lump in your throat, you're either dead..... or your name is Trump.

Donald Trump recommends a ban on bump stock gun modifications Which turns semi automatic rifles into sub machineguns.

Is he reacting to the protests from the youth of America or is he just fobbing them off

Also the White House has announced age restrictions for buying AR-15 rifles are being looked at.The current age limit for buying an AR-15 is 18, but it is 21 to buy a handgun.

He’s trying to buy them off. That legislation was proposed after the Las Vegas shooting and after pressure was even agreed by the NRA however no action was taken to make it law. It still allows guns to be in the hands of lunatics. I see yesterday it was suggested that every school should have 7/8 teachers/staff who are armed and prepared to shoot any armed intruder. FFS that would mean killers wouldn’t even have to take their own guns as they’d just have to overpower an armed teacher!

(21-02-2018 09:31 )Charlemagne Wrote:  Donald Trump recommends a ban on bump stock gun modifications Which turns semi automatic rifles into sub machineguns.

Is he reacting to the protests from the youth of America or is he just fobbing them off

Also the White House has announced age restrictions for buying AR-15 rifles are being looked at.The current age limit for buying an AR-15 is 18, but it is 21 to buy a handgun.

and 21 to buy a beer

(21-02-2018 09:42 )SecretAgent Wrote:  I see yesterday it was suggested that every school should have 7/8 teachers/staff who are armed and prepared to shoot any armed intruder. FFS that would mean killers wouldn’t even have to take their own guns as they’d just have to overpower an armed teacher!

Or somebody panics and shoots some poor kid carrying a pool cue.

I think American society is actually regressing under Trump.
Why don't they just go the whole hog and replace the courts with Thunderdomes...