Political Posts

[cubsfan]

3 hours ago, changegonnacome said:

 

Its so obvious whats changed - I'm not sure the guys here get it..........the WSJ article & the bawdy letter is but a tiny snippet of the actual EPSTEIN FILES.......and the problem for Trump is clear.......the files show a deeper, more intimate, more entwined relationship between the two men than has heretofore been known.......I dont think Trump is implicated in any crimes in the files, if he we're the democrats when they held the files would have brought charges......but what I would expect is the Epstein files contain ALOT of communication and interaction in the same genre as the bawdy birthday letter and spanning the Presidents other bawdy greatest hit which is the "grab them by p*ssy" tapes......

 

So the Epstein files IMO contain a tonne of communications like this (emails, texts, birthday cards, notes) between the President and a convicted paedophile that one might classify as highly sexual 'locker room' talk between two guys.......it is a terrible look but I'm convinced nothing illegal is in there by logical deduction..... just alot of tasteless stuff....my other guess is that Donald maintained a friendly, continuing likely bawdy private line of comms with Epstein AFTER his 2003 conviction and even after he'd publicly kicked him out of the Mar E Lago club membership....which again contradicts his public statements on the matter.

 

This is classic PR quandary for the President - the cover-up (not releasing the full files) is more serious than the crime, because no crime has actually been committed...... just an old man, getting caught out in a lie and where his communications with a paedo demonstrate again the true character of POTUS versus the myth. To which I'll add who actually believes the myth anymore anyway.....who doesn't know (even his supporters) that POTUS is no angel.....Trump is spending alot of political capital covering up these files, his political misjudgment is that he somehow has a sterling behavioral reputation to protect....though I will admit the Epstein case 'hits' different for his QAnon base.

 

 

Sounds like the "Walls are closing in again" , another "Bombshell on Trump"

he's definitely finished this time!!!!   Oh boy....

 

Here we go again!

 

Thanks for the laughs

[LC]

What? Our Rapist in Chief goes back on a commitment? Who woulda thunkit.

[changegonnacome]

33 minutes ago, cubsfan said:

 

Sounds like the "Walls are closing in again" , another "Bombshell on Trump"

he's definitely finished this time!!!!   Oh boy....

 

Here we go again!

 

Thanks for the laughs

C’mon now - never said that - I consider it to be non-fatal to his Presidency….when your a confirmed non-angel….not sure MORE Epstein buddy stuff changes anyone’s opinion about you….guess the scare here (for Trump team) is that core MAGA are conspiracy theorists….while I can figure out Donald with 99% certainty never did any paedo stuff….to save his own embarrassment he’s acting like a paedo(which is dumb)….and this is not good politics….big issue for Trump this term is maintaining power/control of the GOP for as long as he can …. he is very soon just by two term limits…destined to be yesterdays man….if core MAGA was to abandon him he might find house and senate republicans kicking back against his various oversteps earlier than one might expect….its THIS….that he most fears….some of it is no doubt his desire to get his agenda done, no doubt some is to keep the POTUS dollar gravy train going for Trump Org as long as is possible…if this Epstein thing gets worse the GOP might accelerate their ‘moving on’ process from the Donald….which prove to be very costly for Don Jnr & Eric business plan

Edited July 19, 2025 by changegonnacome

[cubsfan]

1 hour ago, Sweet said:

There is a third option.  Maybe the report is BS, and Trump feels it is damaging to his reputation.  The media seem to think they can publish what they want - ok - but it better be true.  
 

A few years ago they were saying Trump liked golden showers, Russia collusion, neo-Nazis fine people, and he was Putin’s puppet.  There has to be a line somewhere, and if lawfare keeps the media honest that’s not a bad thing.

 

Uh, yeah, you hit the nail on the head.  The biggest reason to hit them back is slander just like the Russia Hoax, Russian pee tapes, dumb ass Stephanopolous naming him multiple times as a convicted rapist, etc, etc.

 

They will never stop. It's always dishonest media, mixed with occasional outright slander....... 

 

When you have a party (Democrats) with ZERO political power (lost Senate, House, Presidency, Supreme Court) - they have absolutely NOTHING to fight with.

 

So... your best option is slander or getting as close to the line as you can without getting sued like dumb ass George Stepanopolous or CBS 60 Minutes - where it costs them lots of money & reputation.

 

Until that changes - remember - "The walls are closing in on Donald Trump"

[Viking]

8 hours ago, TB said:

This is interesting, seems to have harmed the India/Canada relationship. It looks like Canada also has an open border policy. @Parsad @Xerxes @Vikingand other Canada folks interested to hear your thoughts.

 

@TB , I have said before that Justin Trudeau (when he was leader of the Federal Liberal party) will go down as the worst Prime Minister in modern Canadian history. One (of many) good examples was how they broke the Canada's best-in-class immigration system (it has become a mess). Part of the fail also involves international students and foreign workers. And now asylum seekers (as non-Canadians who should be leaving do everything they can to stay). 

 

The good news is steps are being taken to fix the problems. We are probably year two into the fix. It will probably be a 3 to 5-year process to climb back out of the hole. And mistakes will be made. 

 

I am confident Carney will be a much better Prime Minister than Trudeau. How much better? It is much too early to tell.

 

-----------

 

In terms of Canada's issues with India, it needs to be handled through back channels. That appears to be what Carney is doing.

 

Trudeau's preferred way of managing delicate/thorny problems was through public opinion polls/the media. US (Trump's first term). China. Saudi Arabia. India. The Middle East. etc. Needless to say, Trudeau's standing in the world was the highest when he first got elected in 2015 (even Trump liked him then) and then deteriorated every year after (hitting rock bottom in late 2024 when the Liberal's finally found a way to force him out as leader).  

Edited July 19, 2025 by Viking

[John Hjorth]

Foreign Affairs [July 16^th 2025] : The Limits of Putin’s Balancing Act.

 

Subtitle : What the Kremlin Will Sacrifice in Pursuit of Victory in Ukraine.

 

- - - o 0 o - - -

 

The article offers a stab at the present situation in the Russian-Ukrainian, from the perspective of the state of affairs in Russian internal affairs, from an inside Russia perspective, and how things are about to change going forward, because Putin can't both blow and have flour in his month of economic reasons.

 

Europe has long ago called Putins peace talks bluff, this week imposing more sanctions on Russia, and the US is now gradually starting to recognize that Putin has no real intentions to stop the aggressions against Ukraine.

 

To me personally, it's really depressing to think about how it should be possible this war, now in it's fourth year,  should come to an end any time soon. I think it doesen't bode well for anyone directly or indirectly involved.

[73 Reds]

18 hours ago, changegonnacome said:

 

Because Trump knows......as anyone might know......that if the WSJ has gotten access to the Epstein files (which it certainly sounds like they have).......this bawdy letter......is really just part one....in a multi-part release where other embarrassing morsels will be revealed over the coming days and weeks.

 

So you asked why make more of it if you we're in Trump's shoes........its because Trump knows this, as he knew this story was coming out over a week ago....and so has nothing to lose......except to see if large litigation might be enough to scare Murdoch & WSJ in to not releasing the rest of the dirt they have. It won't, cause the Journal has done their work.....read the article.....a journalist didn't write it, a lawyer did.

 

The reality is that the WSJ would not have released Part One of the Epstein files......if they weren't damn sure its real.....and so these legals threats are a laughable internally and they will continue with what they have collected and substantiated....which means Trump dream of scaring them into a pause wont come true....he'll have to be content with the booby prize which is at least this litigation is exactly what somebody who's innocent would do so he gets to carry on the the charade and so those most inclined to believe him i.e. his base might give him the benefit of the doubt.....so the optics are good, even if the chances of stopping Part 2, 3, 4 coming out are zero..... while everybody else who understands how much rigor would've been put into substantiating a high stakes story like this for Journal would realize there's a very very very high probability that it's real.

 

Timing is curious....wouldn't surprise me if the source isn't the lady who collected the letters for Jeffrey's birthday - she just happens to have an appeal at the Supreme court that Trump & Bondi's DOJ have urged the court to ignore - https://abcnews.go.com/US/doj-urges-supreme-court-turn-epstein-accomplice-ghislaine/story?id=123752067 - she has remained remarkably quiet & restrained over the years....but now might be waking up & giving heartburn to all the people who have reason to have heart burn....... as her dreams of freedom disappear. 

 

If the WSJ knows the letter is legit it has nothing to fear from litigation.  If Trump knows the letter is legit he wouldn't be suing.  If history is any guide, those of us looking at this objectively can guess the outcome.

Edited July 20, 2025 by 73 Reds
spelling

[cubsfan]

5 hours ago, John Hjorth said:

Foreign Affairs [July 16^th 2025] : The Limits of Putin’s Balancing Act.

 

Subtitle : What the Kremlin Will Sacrifice in Pursuit of Victory in Ukraine.

 

- - - o 0 o - - -

 

The article offers a stab at the present situation in the Russian-Ukrainian, from the perspective of the state of affairs in Russian internal affairs, from an inside Russia perspective, and how things are about to change going forward, because Putin can't both blow and have flour in his month of economic reasons.

 

Europe has long ago called Putins peace talks bluff, this week imposing more sanctions on Russia, and the US is now gradually starting to recognize that Putin has no real intentions to stop the aggressions against Ukraine.

 

To me personally, it's really depressing to think about how it should be possible this war, now in it's fourth year,  should come to an end any time soon. I think it doesen't bode well for anyone directly or indirectly involved.

 

Putin needs real progress to agree to a ceasefire. In 4 years, he's only maybe 100 miles beyond what he had in 2014. With huge Russian losses and very little gains to show for it - his enemies at home have to be seriously pissed. And now of course, with weapon shipments from Europe via the USA - the clock is ticking. 

 

Furthermore - the result of Putin's war is the dramatic strengthening of the NATO alliance (thank you President Trump) with the 5% commitment goal and certainly with the unexpected addition of Sweden and Finland (2 of the best arms manufacturers around).

 

Putin is in a very difficult spot - if he agrees to ceasefire, he faces the wrath at home for an expensive(lives & money) expedition that yielded nothing. If he doesn't agree - now it gets worse for him economically and militarily.

 

Keep the faith @John Hjorth

[dwy000]

2 hours ago, 73 Reds said:

If the WSJ knows the letter is legit it has nothing to fear from litigation.  If Trump knows the letter is legit he wouldn't be suing.  If history is any guide, those of us looking at this objectively can guess the outcome.

Hes suing entirely to try and save face.  Not suing is admitting its real.  Now let's see if he actually takes the lawsuit into discovery or if its just TACO (note that he filed to act as his own lawyer in the suit).

 

The easiest way to show all of the Epstein stuff is fake news is to release it all.  Exactly as he promised to do. 

[Spekulatius]

Moder war’s take s long time to play out. The current situation is a stalemate with very small land gains for Russian at a tremendous cost. Putin will only negotiate we realized that he can’t win or he starts to lose.

Trump weapon shipment stop didn’t really help here, so maybe resuming might help a little. I am not sure why Trump waits anther 50 days to do something as it clearly wasting time.

 

Europe has a chance here to developed weapon tech in a practical setting with Ukraine as a laboratory to counter a land invasion. I think the goal needs to be to give the Ukraine air superiority , the. They can hammer the Russian frontlines and counter the glide bombs while deploying thermostat en Masse.

Also give them long range weapon in sufficient quantity to destroy  Russian infrastructure , energy/power generation  and logistics (also works with air superiority).

 

No modern war since WW1 (may even include WW1) has been won without air superiority.

[John Hjorth]

5 hours ago, John Hjorth said:

Foreign Affairs [July 16^th 2025] : The Limits of Putin’s Balancing Act.

 

Subtitle : What the Kremlin Will Sacrifice in Pursuit of Victory in Ukraine.

 

- - - o 0 o - - -

 

The article offers a stab at the present situation in the Russian-Ukrainian, from the perspective of the state of affairs in Russian internal affairs, from an inside Russia perspective, and how things are about to change going forward, because Putin can't both blow and have flour in his month of economic reasons.

 

Europe has long ago called Putins peace talks bluff, this week imposing more sanctions on Russia, and the US is now gradually starting to recognize that Putin has no real intentions to stop the aggressions against Ukraine.

 

To me personally, it's really depressing to think about how it should be possible this war, now in it's fourth year,  should come to an end any time soon. I think it doesen't bode well for anyone directly or indirectly involved.

 

4 minutes ago, Spekulatius said:

Moder war’s take s long time to play out. The current situation is a stalemate with very small land gains for Russian at a tremendous cost. Putin will only negotiate we realized that he can’t win or he starts to lose.

 

Trump weapon shipment stop didn’t really help here, so maybe resuming might help a little. I am not sure why Trump waits anther 50 days to do something as it clearly wasting time.

 

Europe has a chance here to developed weapon tech in a practical setting with Ukraine as a laboratory to counter a land invasion. I think the goal needs to be to give the Ukraine air superiority , the. They can hammer the Russian frontlines and counter the glide bombs while deploying thermostat en Masse.

 

Also give them long range weapon in sufficient quantity to destroy  Russian infrastructure , energy/power generation  and logistics (also works with air superiority).

 

No modern war since WW1 (may even include WW1) has been won without air superiority.

 

[cubsfan]

9 minutes ago, Spekulatius said:

Moder war’s take s long time to play out. The current situation is a stalemate with very small land gains for Russian at a tremendous cost. Putin will only negotiate we realized that he can’t win or he starts to lose.

Trump weapon shipment stop didn’t really help here, so maybe resuming might help a little. I am not sure why Trump waits anther 50 days to do something as it clearly wasting time.

 

Europe has a chance here to developed weapon tech in a practical setting with Ukraine as a laboratory to counter a land invasion. I think the goal needs to be to give the Ukraine air superiority , the. They can hammer the Russian frontlines and counter the glide bombs while deploying thermostat en Masse.

Also give them long range weapon in sufficient quantity to destroy  Russian infrastructure , energy/power generation  and logistics (also works with air superiority).

 

No modern war since WW1 (may even include WW1) has been won without air superiority.

 

All these things have been known, while Europe has sat by and watched and yapped at how they would send troops. The Danes, French, Swedes, etc have great Air Forces - still they sit by and talk, talk, talk while Ukraine fights.

[changegonnacome]

3 hours ago, 73 Reds said:

If the WSJ knows the letter is legit it has nothing to fear from litigation

 

Which is exactly why they published the story...they have nothing to fear...the WSJ went around the houses on this, it is, at the end of the day a very damaging story about the occupant of the White House who is both hugely powerful and deeply litigious......the WSJ and Murdoch aren't in the financial suicide business.......the source, the sourcing, their due diligence on the letter itself have been done to the highest of standards and documented and you just know this to be the case......the WSJ & Rupert Murdoch knew they had hundreds of millions if not billions of defamation litigation liability exposure riding on the efficacy of their reporting here.......if you think they just 'made this up' you have inverse TDS.

 

Edited July 20, 2025 by changegonnacome

[John Hjorth]

12 minutes ago, cubsfan said:

All these things have been known, while Europe has sat by and watched and yapped at how they would send troops. The Danes, French, Swedes, etc have great Air Forces - still they sit by and talk, talk, talk while Ukraine fights.

 

Mike [ @cubsfan ],

 

Several European countries simply aren't able to do that, withhout weakening own defence capacity and -ability, here including Denmark.

[cubsfan]

27 minutes ago, John Hjorth said:

 

Mike [ @cubsfan ],

 

Several European countries simply aren't able to do that, withhout weakening own defence capacity and -ability, here including Denmark.

 

Collectively Europe can easily do it, but refuse too. They prefer the USA do it for them with their continued jawboning of Trump.

 

Regardless, it's all coming to a head in the next year. 

[John Hjorth]

22 minutes ago, cubsfan said:

Collectively Europe can easily do it, but refuse too. They prefer the USA do it for them with their continued jawboning of Trump.

 

Regardless, it's all coming to a head in the next year. 

 

Mike [ @cubsfan ],

 

The way the Russian-Ukrainian war is fought by now is evolving at warp speed technologically. It's not any longer about manned air planes to achieve and maintain air supremacy :

 

Center for Strategic & International Studies [May 28^th 2025] : The Russia-Ukraine Drone War: Innovation on the Frontlines and Beyond

 

 

 

 

Edited July 20, 2025 by John Hjorth

[LC]

Disabled US veteran arrested by ICE, held for 3 days in inhumane conditions, no lawyer etc.... same old gestapo story:

 

Quote

https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/19/us/california-immigration-raid-george-retes

 

Left injured and burned from pepper spray and tear gas, Retes was detained for three days without explanation, he said. His wife, who couldn’t reach him during his detention, was scrambling to find out where her husband had been taken.
...

He got out of his car and walked up to the agents to let them know he’s an American citizen who’s just trying to get to work.

“I didn’t think it was gonna be a problem for me to go to work … as long as I identified myself and let them know what I was trying to do,” he said.
...

Agents continued yelling, banged on his window and pulled on his door trying to get it open, he said. The uniformed federal agents eventually threw what appeared to be tear gas into the crowd of protesters, which blurred Retes’ vision and made him choke.

“I’m trying to leave. I’m trying to get out of here,” Retes said he told the agents in between gasping breaths.

...

At that moment, one agent shattered his driver’s side window, and another sprayed pepper spray in his face, Retes said, recalling feeling a piece of glass from the window cut his leg. Then, they dragged him out of the car and threw him on the ground, pinning him down, he said.

“I had one agent kneeling on my back and another one kneeling on my neck,” said Retes, who noted he had neck and back injuries from his four-year Army service.

 

 

The real question: does MAGA hate brown people more than they pretend to love US vets? 

 

Edited July 20, 2025 by LC

[changegonnacome]

1 hour ago, Spekulatius said:

I am not sure why Trump waits anther 50 days to do something as it clearly wasting time.

 

The sad reality I'm afraid is there is not much left to do....which makes his 50 day ultimatum all the more puzzling......I can't think of a single thing that could be done by the US and EU (in the realms of political & military reality) in 50 Days time that is going to change the trajectory of the war in Ukraine in a meaningful way.

 

Putin has been clear on his settlement terms. I guess they represent such complete capitulation by the West that nobody can countenance agreeing to such a deal. Putin has cleverly manipulated Trump such that Trump's cards have been turned firmly over for all to see - it reveals - zero fundamental commitment ideologically or morally to trying to 'win' the war in Ukraine that would give Putin a moment's pause but to continue to edge towards the final destination here.

 

Let me be clear though....even if Trump we're committed to winning......there is no way to win the war IMO in a way that exists in political reality. Nobody in the West is sending their young men to die on the Eastern front of Ukraine and the US is not going to engage directly in a bilateral war with a nuclear power. Ukraine needs more fighting age men and more artillery.....the former remains off the cards....and on the latter we are coming up severely short.

 

Russia will win (has won) an ugly victory.....and controls the four oblasts in the East.....if not official annexation, de facto annexation has already occured.......and so you've got a frozen conflict.......Ukraine will be a rump state constantly under the cloud of further Russian aggression and so foreign direct investment and rebuilding capital will be reluctant to enter....NATO membership will remain off the cards given the risks to Article Five...and the Ukrainian state will be in a quasi bankrupt state reliant on welfare payments from the European Union and the USA to continue to function.

 

Russia's strategic aim for the last two decades has been for a neutralized & neutered Ukraine, a puppet regime in Kyiv would have been ideal (this was the dream of the March 2022 invasion)......but a rump state teetering on the edge of collapse will suffice.

 

I'm not sure whats to be done here by Donald, its a terrible quandary......the best he can hope for is that there is no dramatic moment of collapse of the Ukrainian forces on his watch which would be his Biden-Afghanistan moment.....so there is bold self interest in supplying the Ukranian's enough to ensure that doesn't occur......hard to see how the Ukranian's keep going here for another three and half years such that this 'moment' lands on the next President's watch.

[lnofeisone]

3 hours ago, dwy000 said:

Hes suing entirely to try and save face.  Not suing is admitting its real.  Now let's see if he actually takes the lawsuit into discovery or if its just TACO (note that he filed to act as his own lawyer in the suit).

 

The easiest way to show all of the Epstein stuff is fake news is to release it all.  Exactly as he promised to do. 

I see it the same way. Not suing is admitting it is real. Suing gives his base something to hold on to and say "courts were not in his favor", "the judge is corrupt", whatever, even if the letter is 100% legitimate. 

[cubsfan]

2 hours ago, John Hjorth said:

 

Mike [ @cubsfan ],

 

The way the Russian-Ukrainian war is fought by now is evolving at warp speed technologically. It's not any longer about manned air planes to achieve and maintain air supremacy :

 

Center for Strategic & International Studies [May 28^th 2025] : The Russia-Ukraine Drone War: Innovation on the Frontlines and Beyond

 

 

 

 

 

You are making excuses for Europe disasterous leadership. The problem goes far beyond drones.

 

Europe has tremendous airpower and some of the finest artillery manufacturers in the world (Finland, Germany, Sweden, France) - plus 500M citizens. Europe just lacks the will to fight.

 

Spek just said that only airpower can advance/win this war. So essentially, Europe pissed their money away on social programs, climate change idiocy, eliminating fossil fuels,  importing millions of immigrants--- all the while ignoring their defense requirements while jawboning the USA to provide the defense against Russia aggression.

 

Europe needs new leadership that actually knows what they are doing.

 

 

[changegonnacome]

6 hours ago, 73 Reds said:

If Trump knows the letter is legit he wouldn't be suing.

 

Somebody is lying.......guess it comes down to whether its the company with hundreds of millions at stake.....or the man who lies about things big and small.

 

 

[whiskybravo]

1 hour ago, LC said:

same old gestapo story:

 

 

 

 

 

Gestapo:

Arbitrary arrests

Torture

Extrajudicial killings

Running networks of informants and surveillance

Key role in the Holocaust

 

ICE:

Deportation of undocumented immigrants

Investigating immigration fraud

Enforcing laws related to customs and international trade

 

 

 

 

 

 

[whiskybravo]

On Sunday, Retes said, guards came to his cell and told him he was going to be released. 

“An officer walked me downstairs,” he recalled. “I signed a paper to get my stuff back. That was it. They let me go.”
 

Very gestapo like.

Edited July 20, 2025 by whiskybravo

[cubsfan]

2 hours ago, LC said:

The real question: does MAGA hate brown people more than they pretend to love US vets? 

 

MAGA hates brown people???     LOL

 

Black men and Hispanics voted for Trump in record numbers on Nov 7th.

Hispanics in border counties overwhelmingly voted for Trump precisely because their communities were being destroyed.

 

https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/06/donald-trump-near-sweep-texas-border-counties/

 

Turns out - Black men & Hispanics hate crime in their communities brought on to them by Biden's disastrous open borders.

[whiskybravo]

5 minutes ago, cubsfan said:

 

MAGA hates brown people???     LOL

 

Black men and Hispanics voted for Trump in record numbers on Nov 7th.

Hispanics in border counties overwhelmingly voted for Trump precisely because their communities were being destroyed.

 

https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/06/donald-trump-near-sweep-texas-border-counties/

 

Turns out - Black men & Hispanics hate crime in their communities brought on to them by Biden's disastrous open borders.

All the legal immigrants working in my building are Trumpsters and gasp they have brown, and wait for it, even black skin. 

Edited July 20, 2025 by whiskybravo