maqroll Posted November 10, 2018 Author Share Posted November 10, 2018 Couldn't be bothered to pay his respects to war dead. And insulted the presidents of the Baltic countries by insinuating that their countries were responsible for starting WW1....(Balkans/Baltics, Tomato/TomAHto) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 what a vile excuse of a man Surely there is somebody less sickening that could promise people jobs? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 11 hours ago, maqroll said: Couldn't be bothered to pay his respects to war dead. It's an interesting one. It must be such a core expectation even of large numbers of his base that he performs the approved rituals for things like this - though probably many of them will be willing to find excuses as they did with the sexual assault cases and other things. It's hard to imagine that the attraction of watching telly in his room and tweeting insults at the Californian fire authority was so great that it outweighed a couple of hours of mild inconvenience to carry out a core function that is clearly important to very many people. (I'm assuming his aides would have explained these expectations that other people have, rather than him realising them). I suspect it's more about the drizzle and the effect it would have on his walnut whip hairspray construction. It would be inappropriate to wear a baseball cap, we've seen that he doesn't know how umbrellas work (and it would be unseemly to use one in light drizzle when there's footage of Obama and Putin standing in the pissing rain with no umbrella at such things). So, best to skip it altogether. Better to appear idle, uncaring and unpatriotic than look ridiculous. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xann Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 He managed to swerve Vietnam despite being drafted, obviously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 Piece in a Swedish paper on "slavery" in the US prison system. They author is one of Sweden's most famous writers and outspokenly left wing so it's not unbiased. But it's a nice take on what Kanye West tried to, but didn't have the intellect to explain. Quote The ban on slavery does not apply to the United States 2.2 million prisoners A quarter of all prison interns in the world are in US prisons, although the United States has only five percent of the world's population. The US captive population is by far the world's largest. Even China, with five times the population, comes a long way. It may in the first place seem incomprehensible. But the explanation is simple. The United States has for a long time let go of the free market forces in prisons and, of course, it has disappeared. In 1972, the United States had 300,000 prisoners, 1990 exceeded the figure one million and today it is up to 2.2 million in prison. It is probably the highest figure in human history. The explosive increase is unrelated to increased crime. It is the market that requires more prisoners because they are used for industrial work. Some prisoners receive salary, between 17 and 50 cents an hour. In some states, like Texas, the prisoners get no pay at all. The capture-industrial complex is one of the fastest growing industrial sectors in the United States, and the largest industries are performing well: IBM, AT & T, Dell, Honeywell, Boeing, Microsoft and an endless number of companies compete for slavery. From a market point of view, slaves are ideal labor. In addition to being virtually free, they have no vibrating trade union. They always come to work on time, they are not sick-wise and they can not work out. In that case, the isolation cell will become available until the work will return. Between 1980 and 1994, American industry made a slave labor force, which amounted to almost $ 400 million a year. Today, profits are up to $ 1.31 billion a year. Slavery is basically forbidden in the United States, one has even fought a civil war to settle the matter. However, in the 13th Amendment of the US Constitution, an exception is stipulated. The prohibition of slavery does not apply to prisoners. Consequently, the market requires more slaves and longer punishment and the market logic adapts to the legislation. So far, 13 states have adopted the rule "Three strokes and you are burned". This means that whoever is in charge of a third crime, any such a bicycle theft, is sentenced to life. It increases the number of prisoners. The liberation rules have been made so messy that it is almost impossible for a conditional release to not go back in. For example, by drinking a beer or missing a rental movie. The market requires relapse and the relapse rate is already over 75 percent within five years. The fact that the overwhelming majority of slaves in the prison-industrial complex are black and latinos are largely due to the fact that the legislation is primarily aimed at them. The one who sticks to crack, rookheroin, is almost always black and risks 10 years in prison. Whoever is caught for cocaine is almost always white middle class and risks 1 year imprisonment. And of course, the market now requires increased privatization. Ten years ago, there were only 5 completely privatized prisons that held 2,000 prisoners. Now there are 100 private prisons with 62 000 prisoners and within 10 years it is expected to rise to 360 000 privatized slaves. Industry belongs to the lobbying groups that are most eager to make politicians legislate about tougher punishment. Hardly any American politician agrees. The market also requires that the more than half, 62 percent, of the country's prisoners who are expected to be in need of mental health care still remain in prison. In mental health, slavery is not allowed. Ironically, the development of today's market-led slave society in the captive US system began for purely idealistic reasons. President Richard M Nixon hated in the early 1970s all white peace activists ("hippies") and all black citizenship fighters. Therefore, he made harder punishments for marijuana ("hippies") and heroin ("Black Panthers"). It was at that time the United States only had 300,000 prisoners. Then the market took over. And today, the United States has over two million mostly black slaves behind grids and barbed wire. And Donald Trump's administration thinks it's far too little. I left my case. Or in pure Swedish: such is capitalism. https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/kolumnister/a/VRJlb4/forbudet-mot-slaveri-galler-inte-usas-22-miljoner-fangar 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 The stuff of nightmares Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villakram Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 2 hours ago, sne said: The stuff of nightmares The Emperor and the Sultan. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 4 hours ago, sne said: Piece in a Swedish paper on "slavery" in the US prison system. They author is one of Sweden's most famous writers and outspokenly left wing so it's not unbiased. But it's a nice take on what Kanye West tried to, but didn't have the intellect to explain. https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/kolumnister/a/VRJlb4/forbudet-mot-slaveri-galler-inte-usas-22-miljoner-fangar 13th on Netflix touches on it too 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted November 11, 2018 Author Share Posted November 11, 2018 The idea of private prisons is abhorrent. That they are thriving here is says all you need to know about "law enforcement". 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 It's been obvious for a while, but it seems official that Rohrabacher lost. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAuthority Posted November 11, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted November 11, 2018 15 minutes ago, maqroll said: The idea of private prisons is abhorrent. That they are thriving here is says all you need to know about "law enforcement". The whole criminal justice system here is set up to make money for municipalities. The District Attorneys, defense prosecutors, judges and politicians are all in on the scam. Unless you are rich enough to buy yourself out of trouble, once the system gets it's claws into you it's nigh on impossible to get out of it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xann Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted November 11, 2018 Author Share Posted November 11, 2018 Sadly his supporters will excuse this latest round of national disgrace. Even his support amongst US Armed Forces will stay intact. Boggles the mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyrusr Posted November 11, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted November 11, 2018 23 hours ago, HanoiVillan said: It looks like the information I read the other day about the Arizona senate race is probably wrong, and that (touch wood) the Democrat is now favoured to win when all the mail-in ballots are counted. What would be exceptionally funny is if the democrats win the 3 remaining senate seats. Whilst it would remain republican, their “great victory” would be to keep the same numbers in the senate and they have lost the house... It still shocks me how incompetent America is at democracy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAuthority Posted November 11, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted November 11, 2018 2 hours ago, cyrusr said: It still shocks me how incompetent America is at democracy... Yes - the democracy is very impure over here but I will raise you the House of Lords (and a Queen.) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyrusr Posted November 12, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted November 12, 2018 7 hours ago, TheAuthority said: Yes - the democracy is very impure over here but I will raise you the House of Lords (and a Queen.) To be fair the queen does bugger all (except take a lot of money). House of Lords whilst is utterly incompetent and useless - at least they can get overruled by the Commons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 11 hours ago, maqroll said: Sadly his supporters will excuse this latest round of national disgrace. Even his support amongst US Armed Forces will stay intact. Boggles the mind. Latest is that he didn't go by car because they didn't want to cause traffic jams in Paris. There are feeble excuses and then there are really feeble excuses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 Back on this Whitaker bloke: Quote Donald Trump’s new attorney general once said that judges should be Christian and proposed blocking non-religious people from judicial appointments. Matthew Whitaker, who was made acting attorney general on Wednesday after Trump fired Jeff Sessions, said judges needed a “biblical view of justice” and questioned the judgment of secular lawyers. Whitaker made the remarks at a conservative forum in April 2014, where he appeared as a candidate for the Republican US Senate nomination in Iowa. Video clips of the event were saved by People For the American Way, a liberal campaign group. The Republican candidates were asked what justification they would use to block the confirmation of federal judges nominated by Barack Obama, who was then US president. Whitaker said he wanted to know about a judge’s judicial philosophy, along with their views on natural law, natural rights and the US founding documents. But he added: “I don’t think that gets us far enough.” “Because natural law is often used from the eye of the beholder, if you will,” Whitaker said. “I’d like to see things like their world view. What informs them? How have they lived their life? Are they people of faith? Do they have a biblical view of justice? Which I think is very important.” The event moderator, conservative blogger Erick Erickson, asked Whitaker whether he required a “Levitical or New Testament” view of justice. Whitaker opted for the New Testament. Whitaker went on: “What I know is that as long as they have that worldview, that they’ll be a good judge. And if they have a secular worldview, that ‘this is all we have here on Earth’, then I’m going to be very concerned about how they judge.” ,,,more on link 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 15 minutes ago, snowychap said: Back on this Whitaker bloke: I honestly didn't think, prior to Trump, that I would see political appointments more terrible or more shameless than Harriet Myers or 'Heckuvajob Brownie' but this guy takes the biscuit. He's the literal equivalent of asking the bloke with the loudest voice in the stands to get down to the dugout and manage the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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