Political Posts

[UK]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-16/biden-again-calls-xi-a-dictator-showing-limits-of-cooperation#xj4y7vzkg

[backtothebeach]

1 hour ago, UK said:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-16/biden-again-calls-xi-a-dictator-showing-limits-of-cooperation#xj4y7vzkg

Lol @ 0:20 mark:

 

[Luke]

On 11/16/2023 at 8:13 PM, backtothebeach said:

Lol @ 0:20 mark:

 

Disaster

[Spekulatius]

10 minutes ago, Luca said:

Disaster

When you watch the meeting videos, it is clear that Biden and Xi dislike each other. Biden also does not give a diplomatic damn about calling a dictator what he is, make of it what you want. I guess the good news is that both side still talk, but there are very clear lines in the sand.

[Castanza]

24 minutes ago, Luca said:

Disaster

Blinken went from Music Diplomacy to being throw in the fire with Israel/Palestine, Ukraine/Russia and now China lmfao....put the man on suicide watch.

[Luke]

20 minutes ago, Castanza said:

Blinken went from Music Diplomacy to being throw in the fire with Israel/Palestine, Ukraine/Russia and now China lmfao....put the man on suicide watch.

Yeah, if he would have had a mute button for biden hed start pressing hard at 0:20 lol!

[Luke]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzvfEDECGCd/?igshid=NGEwZGU0MjU5Mw==

 

Another clip of a tortured blinken and in the meeting haha!

[Spekulatius]

2 hours ago, Castanza said:

Blinken went from Music Diplomacy to being throw in the fire with Israel/Palestine, Ukraine/Russia and now China lmfao....put the man on suicide watch.

Suicide? It’s just a job. Worst case, he just going to resign. He can pick from a dozen better paying job with his experience and connections.

[Castanza]

37 minutes ago, Spekulatius said:

Suicide? It’s just a job. Worst case, he just going to resign. He can pick from a dozen better paying job with his experience and connections.

Sarcasm but it’s a very stressful job that has real consequences to his actions. I don’t think he can just resign and go on with his life as if he quit a job flipping burgers. 

[crs223]

7 hours ago, Spekulatius said:

Biden also does not give a diplomatic damn about calling a dictator what he is.

 

Bring Xi to USA and then insult him to his face.  If this was a calculated strategy designed to strengthen our nation, then I'm okay with it.

 

 

 

[Gamecock-YT]

14 hours ago, Castanza said:

Sarcasm but it’s a very stressful job that has real consequences to his actions. I don’t think he can just resign and go on with his life as if he quit a job flipping burgers. 

 

between the corporate board seats, speaking fees, consulting fees, and thinktank salary he'll be taking in, he'll be making hunter biden money in no time flat. but he's been biden's conduit for a long time so if he resigns you can bet the ship is sinking behind the scenes. 

[Castanza]

4 hours ago, Gamecock-YT said:

 

between the corporate board seats, speaking fees, consulting fees, and thinktank salary he'll be taking in, he'll be making hunter biden money in no time flat. but he's been biden's conduit for a long time so if he resigns you can bet the ship is sinking behind the scenes. 

At least he’s not quite as bad as Hillary who was requiring Foreign Heads of State to make donations to the Clinton Foundation before she would agree to meet with them. 

[Xerxes]

It seems we were misled by Trudeau. There was an actual case of espionage behind the arrest of the two Canadians in China. 
 

I want and demand compensation from Trudeau for creating negative biases in my head that made me avoid going back in China.  
 

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/canada-s-spavor-blames-fellow-prisoner-for-china-arrest-1.2000388.amp.html

[UK]

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-11-16/biden-xi-summit-china-plans-for-world-domination-become-clearer

 

“The ‘laws of the jungle’ of international competition have not changed,” Xi told Chinese military officials in 2014. All that matters, he added a year later, “is whether you have strength and whether you can use that strength. Relying on a silver tongue won’t work.”

 

To paraphrase Musk, Xi has said the actual truht:)

[Spekulatius]

Archive.ph version of above  article from Bloomberg.

https://archive.ph/nU3Tg

 

Clearly, the general tone from the meeting was “cold as ice”.

[formthirteen]

5 hours ago, UK said:

“The ‘laws of the jungle’ of international competition have not changed,” Xi told Chinese military officials in 2014. All that matters, he added a year later, “is whether you have strength and whether you can use that strength. Relying on a silver tongue won’t work.”

 

Xi and Putin are looking for "useful idiots":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Useful_idiot

 

Sadly, Europe is full of them and is already paying the price in Ukraine. Will the US rescue Europe a third time?

Quote

China intends to use AI to bolster its authoritarian system; the US must encourage its development in ways that help democracies retain their global edge. A meeting between Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart would open an additional channel of interaction — but don’t think the People’s Liberation Army will stop behaving dangerously in the Western Pacific, or that it will answer the phone in a crisis if the Pentagon calls.

 

 

”I think AI has the potential to create infinitely stable dictatorships”:

 

Edited November 19, 2023 by formthirteen

[UK]

14 hours ago, Spekulatius said:

Archive.ph version of above  article from Bloomberg.

https://archive.ph/nU3Tg

 

Clearly, the general tone from the meeting was “cold as ice”.

 

https://www.investing.com/news/world-news/taiwans-former-us-envoy-wellknown-in-us-vilified-by-china-named-vp-candidate-3238505

 

It seems that so far really not much has changed and doubtfully will in the foreseeable future. And just because of elections in Taiwan soon and in US later are coming. It will be interesting to see if that fentanyl will even stop flowing, at least for a moment, from China, as was agreed.

 

Edited November 20, 2023 by UK

[UK]

https://www.wsj.com/world/tired-ukrainian-troops-fight-to-hold-back-russian-offensive-they-come-like-zombies-9b4a31a1

 

The attacking Russian infantry are mostly poorly trained, often bunching up and making easy targets, say Ukrainian soldiers fighting here.  “They come like zombies. Some wear headlamps—a happy moment for any machine-gunner,” said Pvt. Bohdan Lysenko, who mans the 25 mm automatic cannon on a U.S.-made Bradley Fighting Vehicle with the 47th Brigade. Drone images show fields littered with the bodies of Russian infantry hit by artillery, including U.S.-supplied cluster munitions. But the Russians keep coming. “They’re not stupid. It’s a strategy,” said Cpl. Mykhailo Kotsyurba, a Bradley commander in the same company as Lysenko. “They look for weak points, then go there. We don’t have enough ammunition, but they have enough people.”

[changegonnacome]

1 hour ago, UK said:

They look for weak points, then go there. We don’t have enough ammunition, but they have enough people.”

Enough people AND the means to produce 80%+ of the war equipment they need….with the remaining 20% supplied by willing and able allies.

 

Ukraine has right on its side….but it lacks people vs. Russia….and is dependent on the kindness of strangers.

 

Russian’s strategy is clearly now just to hunker down and let the Ukrainians burn through young men and burn through the patience and good will of the Western allies…all for a few hundred feet of wasteland . Congress has kindly nodded to the future where the cheques for Ukraine dry up…maybe already have.

 

It should also be noted that for all the Putin war criminal & genocidal maniac talk (which is true)…..Israel in a few short weeks has killed more civilians in Gaza than Putin has in Ukraine in a year and half of war. The difference - Netanyahu is our genocidal maniac…..and the ends justify the means…..when those in ‘other’ countries that aren’t our friends accuse us of self-righteous hypocrisy this is what they mean. 
 

To be clear, my opinion is simple, Putin has committed war crimes & so has Netanyahu in the scale and scope of his retaliatory response….he had a right to strike back….but he has failed the proportionality test. You don’t fight monsters by becoming one yourself….cause then in a way they’ve won and you’ve lost.

 

When I say war crimes of course….i say it with a knowing nod to my earlier posts….to say war crimes in the context of great powers or their allies…is to assume some World State that sits above nation states exists….there really is no such justice system….the UN Security Council members + close allies are immune to the mock justice of the international system.

 

Its a dangerous world out there…..but the US is making a huge strategic mistake getting bogged down in Eastern Europe & the Middle East…the real cost isn’t $$$$$…it’s the loss of focus…..and strategic expense of creating new and greatly improved allies for column China….the China sun is rising in the East….and every minute and dollar spent not addressing this is a ‘win’ with a capital W for Xi.

[cubsfan]

11 minutes ago, changegonnacome said:

Enough people AND the means to produce 80%+ of the war equipment they need….with the remaining 20% supplied by willing and able allies.

 

Ukraine has right on its side….but it lacks people vs. Russia….and is dependent on the kindness of strangers.

 

Russian’s strategy is clearly now just to hunker down and let the Ukrainians burn through young men and burn through the patience and good will of the Western allies…all for a few hundred feet of wasteland . Congress has kindly nodded to the future where the cheques for Ukraine dry up…maybe already have.

 

It should also be noted that for all the Putin war criminal & genocidal maniac talk (which is true)…..Israel in a few short weeks has killed more civilians in Gaza than Putin has in Ukraine in a year and half of war. The difference - Netanyahu is our genocidal maniac…..and the ends justify the means…..when those in ‘other’ countries that aren’t our friends accuse us of self-righteous hypocrisy this is what they mean. 
 

To be clear, my opinion is simple, Putin has committed war crimes & so has Netanyahu in the scale and scope of his retaliatory response….he had a right to strike back….but he has failed the proportionality test. You don’t fight monsters by becoming one yourself….cause then in a way they’ve won and you’ve lost.

 

When I say war crimes of course….i say it with a knowing nod to my earlier posts….to say war crimes in the context of great powers or their allies…is to assume some World State that sits above nation states exists….there really is no such justice system….the UN Security Council members + close allies are immune to the mock justice of the international system.

 

Its a dangerous world out there…..but the US is making a huge strategic mistake getting bogged down in Eastern Europe & the Middle East…the real cost isn’t $$$$$…it’s the loss of focus…..and strategic expense of creating new and greatly improved allies for column China….the China sun is rising in the East….and every minute and dollar spent not addressing this is a ‘win’ with a capital W for Xi.

Interesting comment: last I remember. Hamas attacked Israel and took hostages. Israel then declared war on Hamas. They declared war, meaning the strongest is determined to win. Is it a war crime to give civilians ample time to evacuate the battlefield your enemy holds?

 

Why should Israel fight with there hands tied behind their back?

 

The objective of war is to win and destroy your enemy regardless of scale or proportion.

 

[Xerxes]

What if you were both wrong and right at the same time. Can you hold two different points of views at the same time ?
 

I think we best leave the discussion on current ME conflict outside this forum. It is very polarizing, and doesn’t bring the best in people. (Not in me anyways). 
 

 

[changegonnacome]

41 minutes ago, cubsfan said:

Why should Israel fight with there hands tied behind their back?

 

41 minutes ago, cubsfan said:

The objective of war is to win and destroy your enemy regardless of scale or proportion.

 

Proportionality is a well accepted principle in matters of self-defense…it’s why it’s not acceptable to kill a man for bumping into you on the street even when he meant to do it….on this idea I can assure you we are on firm footing.

History has taught us that it’s near impossible to teach peace to the conquered. Short of wiping the Palestinian people from Gaza completely in an act of ethnic cleansing…..you don’t ‘win’ against gorilla warfare…..you have brief pyrrhic victories….until the next wave of nationalistic terrorism, that you seeded with your last supposed victory, reconstitutes itself. Israel has a right to safety but it is not without limits.

 

Hamas in Gaza poses in the short term now almost zero threat to Israeli lives & sovereignty now that Israel’s vast military & intelligence apparatus is focused on the threat. Let’s be clear here….toe to toe….Hamas poses limited threat to the survival of Israel….in fact continue on with this level of proportionality and you risk pulling in unseemly neighbors to the fight such that the question of Israel’s survival as state re-appears when truly resourced state level actors step into the fray. 
 

Israel IMO, over the long pull, is making itself less safe not more safe via its current strategy. That is my view as someone deeply interested in the survival of Israel over time. 
 

Like I said you don’t beat monsters by becoming a monster. Retribution against an asymmetric threat relative to your strength is a sugar high with a terrible hangover…..the US escapades after 9/11 taught us that. This is not the might of Nazi Germany vs. the Allies…..it’s monsters who had to fly in on god damn powered powergliders for gods sake…. the lufftwaffe this is not. If winning justifies all ends….Israel could win the ‘war’ tonight. 

 

And finally it’s not clear to me how these actions with their lack of proportionality are making the state of Israel more safe over time….you destroy an apartment building with one Hamas terriosit and kill 100 civilians…whatever your personal moral view is around who killed those civilians (I’m sympathetic to the view that Hamas really killed those 100 people not Israel)….but what I can assure you is that 1000 people of that family tree that remain….10% of them will blame Israel….well congratulation's you just created 100 Hamas fighters for the next Intifada in 10-15yrs time. This is not how you optimize for the long run safety of the Jewish state for which I am an ardent supporter. I’ve many friends in Israel and this is not a minority view within the State of Israel itself….put simply that the Netanyahu coalition is not acting in the long term interest of Israel.

[ValueArb]

Quote

To be clear, my opinion is simple, Putin has committed war crimes & so has Netanyahu in the scale and scope of his retaliatory response….he had a right to strike back….but he has failed the proportionality test. 

 

Reminds me of when Israel had perfect intel on a meeting of the top leaders of Hamas in a house a few years ago. They debated over and over how large a bomb to use, but there were a handful of kids playing on the street in front of the house so they ended up choosing a small bomb. It just rattled the Hamas staff, and now how many kids are dead?

[changegonnacome]

9 minutes ago, Xerxes said:

What if you were both wrong and right at the same time. Can you hold two different points of views at the same time ?

I do indeed hold some of @cubsfan views in my head….I can see both sides….

 

11 minutes ago, Xerxes said:

I think we best leave the discussion on current ME conflict outside this forum. It is very polarizing, and doesn’t bring the best in people. (Not in me anyways). 

Your right - it seems anything, more or less, can be discussed….but this is one issue where all nuance, minutia and complexity gets lost.

 

Ill take your wise advice @Xerxes

[cubsfan]

3 minutes ago, changegonnacome said:

 

Proportionality is a well accepted principle in matters of self-defense…it’s why it’s not acceptable to kill a man for bumping into you on the street even when he meant to do it….on this idea I can assure you we are on firm footing.

History has taught us that it’s near impossible to teach peace to the conquered. Short of wiping the Palestinian people from Gaza completely in an act of ethnic cleansing…..you don’t ‘win’ against gorilla warfare…..you have brief pyrrhic victories….until the next wave of nationalistic terrorism, that you seeded with your last supposed victory, reconstitutes itself. Israel has a right to safety but it is not without limits.

 

Hamas in Gaza poses in the short term now almost zero threat to Israeli lives & sovereignty now that Israel’s vast military & intelligence apparatus is focused on the threat. Let’s be clear here….toe to toe….Hamas poses limited threat to the survival of Israel….in fact continue on with this level of proportionality and you risk pulling in unseemly neighbors to the fight such that the question of Israel’s survival as state re-appears when truly resourced state level actors step into the fray. 
 

Israel IMO, over the long pull, is making itself less safe not more safe via its current strategy. That is my view as someone deeply interested in the survival of Israel over time. 
 

Like I said you don’t beat monsters by becoming a monster. Retribution against an asymmetric threat relative to your strength is a sugar high with a terrible hangover…..the US escapades after 9/11 taught us that. This is not the might of Nazi Germany vs. the Allies…..it’s monsters who had to fly in on god damn powered powergliders for gods sake…. the lufftwaffe this is not. If winning justifies all ends….Israel could win the ‘war’ tonight. 

 

And finally it’s not clear to me how these actions with their lack of proportionality are making the state of Israel more safe over time….you destroy an apartment building with one Hamas terriosit and kill 100 civilians…whatever your personal moral view is around who killed those civilians (I’m sympathetic to the view that Hamas really killed those 100 people not Israel)….but what I can assure you is that 1000 people of that family tree that remain….10% of them will blame Israel….well congratulation's you just created 100 Hamas fighters for the next Intifada in 10-15yrs time. This is not how you optimize for the long run safety of the Jewish state for which I am an ardent supporter. I’ve many friends in Israel and this is not a minority view within the State of Israel itself….put simply that the Netanyahu coalition is not acting in the long term interest of Israel.

Yeah, I totally disagree.

 

War is war. It is not a “test” or limited to proportionality. War is a last final step when diplomacy fails. War is a test of who is the strongest. We all know it’s Israel- even the Palestinians know it. That makes them fools for testing the resolve of Israel. It’s like the bully that bothers you countless times in school , until you decide to flatten him for good.

 

The bully had it coming, and was a fool for testing you, not understanding that you would be capable of an act of violence to set you straight.

 

”Proportionally” is an idiotic concept in war - because war settles the issue of who is strongest once and for all. The determination to use that strength was SERIOUSLY misjudged by the fools in Hamas - and unfortunately their people are paying the price.

 

Now it will be the decision of the Palestinian people as to whether they allow Hamas to run their affairs after it’s over.  If they do - they are indeed fools.

 

Proportionality has no place in this discussion of the final option of war.

 

Its now a simple decision: give up hostages, give up Hamas - and you will get peace.

 

Your choice: unconditional surrender.