tonyh29 Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 4 minutes ago, Chindie said: It's actually starting to look like there more Western exposure than initially noted. France Australia and the UK are amongst the nations looking into it, and David Cameron's late father is in the files. Cameron's fathers Panama tax scheme was known about in 2012 so it's not even a new revelation Wonder if Messi will cope stick though ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted April 4, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted April 4, 2016 (edited) 14 minutes ago, tonyh29 said: Cameron's fathers Panama tax scheme was known about in 2012 so it's not even a new revelation Wonder if Messi will cope stick though ? Yeah I hadn't done much reading on it, in fairness, but you are right. I can only assume either more details have emerged on it making it look dodgier (if that's possible - the fund appears to have been exceptionally clear about is intentions as a tax dodge) or nobody paid any attention to it in 2012, but now it's involved in something obviously shady it's sexier news. Iceland's PM didn't handle things very well when mildly pressed on this... Edited April 4, 2016 by Chindie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted April 4, 2016 Moderator Share Posted April 4, 2016 The ICIJ · The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists - who broke this story are owned and funded by USaid - a US government branch which funds the battle against poverty and the maintenance of democracy. The list they've put up of the people they've exposed is almost comic - it's a list of people that the US doesn't like, wants to keep in check or can use to put pressure on governments it's not keen on. They're telling us it's bigger than previous leaks. "It's massive", they're telling us it's exposing "the elite" because we're y'now, against them, but it's exposing exactly who it wants to in a German newspaper that was established by the US Military and through an agency that's funded by the US government using the records of a law company founded by a CIA employee. This isn't a leak, it's an operation. That's not to say that the people involved haven't committed fraud, haven't evaded taxes or aren't thoroughly unpleasant; but they're handpicked. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 28 minutes ago, Mantis said: It's looking increasingly unlikely that Trump will have the required delegates for the convention and in that scenario neither Cruz or Kasich have much of a chance of becoming the nominee either - it'll likely be somebody from the outside. His odds have moved in but Paul Ryan is still a good bet right now. It does seem that the tide has swung a little and that Trump is now favoured to come up short on the delegate count. It's hard for him to get the required number without comfortably winning Wisconsin tomorrow, and he seems to be quite a way behind with momentum going the 'wrong' way. I don't know what they're going to do at the convention, and it seems to me that most statements you see in the media about it are just guesses - I saw some comment or other from Reince Priebus, the party chairman or equivalent, that they haven't even written all the rules on delegate allocations after the first round of voting at this point, so it's all up in the air. Stopping Trump looks fairly possible at this point, but even if they achieve it he'll still have won a clear plurality of delegates, and if they insert someone else they'll be pissing on the circa 35% of the party who have currently voted for him. That's guaranteed to get ugly, and I personally think Paul Ryan will stay out of it - he certainly should do anyway. He's the clear national party leader, and I would think he realises he's better off running against Clinton in 2020, trying to get a 4th Democratic term, than running against Clinton and more than a third of his own party in 2016. Still, never underestimate the arrogance of politicians, so we'll see. Trying to predict this race has been very challenging thus far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 14 minutes ago, Chindie said: Yeah I hadn't done much reading on it, in fairness, but you are right. I can only assume either more details have emerged on it making it look dodgier (if that's possible - the fund appears to have been exceptionally clear about is intentions as a tax dodge) or nobody paid any attention to it in 2012, but now it's involved in something obviously shady it's sexier news. Iceland's PM didn't handle things very well when mildly pressed on this... Was he PM when they decided to put the Icelandic bankers in Jail ? Obviously not in the same league but would be interesting to see if Iceland takes a dim view Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted April 4, 2016 Moderator Share Posted April 4, 2016 Just now, tonyh29 said: Was he PM when they decided to put the Icelandic bankers in Jail ? Obviously not in the same league but would be interesting to see if Iceland takes a dim view I would imagine he is and I'd be very surprised if that's not how he made the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 2 minutes ago, HanoiVillan said: It does seem that the tide has swung a little and that Trump is now favoured to come up short on the delegate count. I told you this on the 16th March Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted April 4, 2016 Author Share Posted April 4, 2016 Virtually guaranteed to happen: Angry Trump supporters outside the convention Anti-GOP protesters outside the convention Black Lives Matter members outside the convention White supremacists outside the convention Police armed to the teeth outside the convention Add some July summer heat into the mix, and go USA! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 (edited) 20 minutes ago, tonyh29 said: I told you this on the 16th March Yes, you did. EDIT: Sorry, that comes off as more than a touch ungracious. 'Yes, you did, and it currently looks as if you were right and I was wrong'. Edited April 4, 2016 by HanoiVillan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 10 minutes ago, HanoiVillan said: Yes, you did. EDIT: Sorry, that comes off as more than a touch ungracious. 'Yes, you did, and it currently looks as if you were right and I was wrong'. I only wanted to win the Internet sob sniff Tbf he may still have held on as you said in your reply back then , it's his recent comments that seem to have finally done for him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 44 minutes ago, tonyh29 said: I only wanted to win the Internet sob sniff Tbf he may still have held on as you said in your reply back then , it's his recent comments that seem to have finally done for him To be honest, he still might make it. If I've learned one thing, it's that this Republican primary season has really been impossible to call. Every time one outcome starts to look particularly likely, up pops something to swing things round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villakram Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 (edited) 2 hours ago, OutByEaster? said: The ICIJ · The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists - who broke this story are owned and funded by USaid - a US government branch which funds the battle against poverty and the maintenance of democracy. The list they've put up of the people they've exposed is almost comic - it's a list of people that the US doesn't like, wants to keep in check or can use to put pressure on governments it's not keen on. They're telling us it's bigger than previous leaks. "It's massive", they're telling us it's exposing "the elite" because we're y'now, against them, but it's exposing exactly who it wants to in a German newspaper that was established by the US Military and through an agency that's funded by the US government using the records of a law company founded by a CIA employee. This isn't a leak, it's an operation. That's not to say that the people involved haven't committed fraud, haven't evaded taxes or aren't thoroughly unpleasant; but they're handpicked. Yup, what does it say when they are this transparent ;( USAID spread plenty of democracy around Ukraine and Afgan... the largest sources/controllers of tax evasion are all western countries. I found it so funny to see the Guardian running huge headlines about Putin over the weekend when this broke... propagandistic hit piece 101. Edited April 4, 2016 by villakram Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted April 5, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted April 5, 2016 (edited) Iceland's PM has gone. That escalated quickly. The Americans have succeeded in taking down a despot! Edited April 5, 2016 by Chindie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 1 hour ago, Chindie said: Iceland's PM has gone. That escalated quickly. The Americans have succeeded in taking down a despot! How do you reckon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted April 5, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted April 5, 2016 9 minutes ago, maqroll said: How do you reckon? I'm not being entirely serious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 Just now, Chindie said: I'm not being entirely serious. I thought probably wasn't, but it reads as plausibly serious 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post maqroll Posted April 6, 2016 Author Popular Post Share Posted April 6, 2016 Sanders wins Wisconsin meaning we have a Democratic Socialist one state away and one election away from being president of the United States. All eyes are now on New York, (where Bernie grew up and from where Hillary was a senator.) If Sanders can pull this off in NY, it will be an earthquake in American politics. **** come on, Bernie! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted April 6, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted April 6, 2016 I love Bernie Sanders, he gives me hope for America. But I've decided I don't want him to win. The poor bastard would be assassinated in his first month in office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted April 6, 2016 Moderator Share Posted April 6, 2016 7 hours ago, maqroll said: we have a Democratic Socialist one state away and one election away from being president of the United States That's not what the media are reporting over here. They are saying that Clinton is miles ahead and unlikely to be caught, and that all the super-delegates will vote for her. I hope the media is wrong. Bernie Saunders seems the only one of all of the candidates on either side that is not mad bad and dangerous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted April 6, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted April 6, 2016 Bernie won't win. He won't give up and he might get reasonably close, but Hilary will win the nomination. She was going to win it before this charade started and that will come to pass. It's a shame because I think, like most outside voices I'd expect, he adjusts to be the least evil of the lot of them, but he's not electable in the US. He's also had an absolute disaster in the run up to New York with an interview that makes him look like he doesn't have a clue about some reasonably fundamental issues he would face as president. On the plus side, Trump appears to have finally proven less than Teflon. Unfortunately all of his opponents are awful as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts