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Then there's THIS that happened today, which we didn't really talk about because of the DC assassination attempt.
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Breaking: Robert Mueller is investigating Trump for obstruction. Investigating does not mean building case or indicting...but still
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Jeff, I agree that a no-tolerance approach is impossible. People who take a bribe or a favor to tip the scales in a procurement process -- that's unfortunate but petty stuff. People who break the law in the service of a policy goal they genuinely believe in -- well, at least they weren't corrupt just to line their own pockets. Things step up from there.Originally posted by Jeff Buchanan View Post
Overall, it comes and goes. You can't stop all of it. But I think you have to stop the fundamental threats it presents, and, every so often, you need a big purge. I don't have to tell you where we are in the cycle. That's obvious.
Dick Cheney made $39.5bn from the Iraq War, which ended the lives of 4424 servicemen and women. Trump's many little hustles will never add up to that master class in corruption, but he's openly flaunting the laws. That may not be as purely evil as what Cheney did, but it is more corrosive to the political system.
You could boil the whole thing down to the idea of electing good people, with the knowledge that some of them are going to arrive and be corrupted, and some won't, but that's better than electing people who arrive already corrupt, and with a plan to start doing their thing on arrival. When the good ones arrive, one of the problems now is that there's a bust of Cheney in the Capitol Building. Every public servant that comes through there and looks at that bust now has the opportunity to ponder just how much you can get away with these days. That bust should be removed. If you venerate people who should be punished you are just inviting the wrong types of people to seek office.Comment
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Geezer, since you asked, the Brexit story doesn't make sense. Author says the UK should look to the US instead of to Europe. He doesn't take the time to prove that it has to be an either/or. It is not, and the clearest Brexit outcome thus far shows why. That outcome is that the UK will lose financial-services jobs by the tens of thousands as a result of leaving the EU. Much else is left to be negotiated, but the loss of passporting rights for financial-services products is a done deal.
The latest number I've seen is 30k jobs. Goldman Sachs is moving 4,000 people are moving out, and JP 1,000 or so. I don't know that I've seen specific figures for the rest of the US financial industry based in London, but clearly US bankers have proven the guy wrong. In cutting itself from the side the author thinks they should , what the UK has really done is made itself a less attractive destination to the side the author thinks they should court.
Next should we could discuss the relative widsom of shipping UK cars to the EU on a zero-tariff regime, or negotiating an FTA with Donald Trump so they can shipping them much further...Last edited by hack; June 14, 2017, 06:34 PM.Comment
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Let's also note this line in the WP which I think is key
Investigators have also been looking for any evidence of possible financial crimes among Trump associates, officials said.
Mueller's probe is broader than election stuff, it would seemComment
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It sounds like Mueller didn't consult Da Geezer.Originally posted by Dr. Strangelove View PostComment
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The financial stuff has been the rumored stuff with teeth, the financial institutions were already served with subpoenas a few weeks back.Comment
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He sent Carter Page to Russia to discuss the GOP platform on Ukraine the week before the convention. Collusion is in. You don't need it to impeach, but it's there. For Mueller, it maybe be there by a factor of 10 or 20 at this point, given the information he has access to.Originally posted by Ghengis Jon View Post
That said, I'm with you on the idea that he probably doesn't get impeached. Unless Mueller drives it. Congress won't be out ahead on it.
I do think the focus on impeaching Trump is misguided. 15 Nixon-era folks were indicted. I think that's the comparative here. This is Watergate+treason. More heads have to roll. Pence, Sessions, Nunes, Flynn, Kushner, Ivanka, Page, Manafort, Ryan, McConnell. Those are some names for a start. They all need to do prison time, and some of them for the rest of their lives.Comment
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HORSESHIT!"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that it is sometimes hard to verify their authenticity." -Abraham LincolnComment
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Welcome back, AA. You now join Wizard as the lone voices of sanity on this thread.Dan Patrick: What was your reaction to [Urban Meyer being hired]?
Brady Hoke: You know.....not....good.Comment
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Hack. Regarding the Brexit article.
I'll take your word for the financial sector, but I suspect the jobs that the US-based moneycenter banks have eliminated would have been eliminated, Brexit or no. But that isn't the point of the article
But the article was about "economic governance". The author's point is that several countries, the US, Canada, and Australia for example, do very well in the area of trade governing themselves. The North American trade zone, particularly the US and Canada, is a more rapidly growing area than Europe. That is because it is more free. Why would Britain want to tie itself to France or Spain for goodness sake? Heh, perhaps the third time is the charm for Germany as they coerce other European nations to stay in an economic bloc that really benefits only Germany.
The author could as well have said that if Britain was going to tie its future to either the US or Germany, that the US makes more sense. But he was careful to point out that the EU doesn't take even half of Britain's exports, and that more Brit citizens work in the US than in the entire EU.
I happen to think Trump should try to form a trading block of the nations that take the English Common Law as the foundation of their legal system. Canada, US, Australia, Britain, Ireland, India. Might be a good thing.
Could you find me any article that says Cheney made $ 39.5 Billion from the Iraq war, or from his service as VP? I don't care about the source. I'd just like to see what you guys hate so much about Cheney.Last edited by Da Geezer; June 14, 2017, 10:54 PM.Comment
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Aussie PM Malcolm Turnbull mocks Trump to a room full of journalists. Enjoy!
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OK but that doesn't make any sense. You need to do some basic googline on all those issues. It's not hard to know that those jobs aren't being eliminated -- you don't have to be left to your own speculation. Many of them will go to Frankfurt. Some to Dublin, perhaps.Originally posted by Da Geezer View Post
I think if you and the author want to make the case that the UK should align itself to one place or another, you'd have to prove that this is a valid and necessary choice to have to make. This example suggests that this is not a choice they should make. It shows that connectivity on both ends boosts the UK's economic fortunes.
I also don't understand ``the EU doesn't even take half of UK exports" as an argument. 44% of trade goes to the EU. That's 10% of the world's population taking almost half of your goods and services. That's a pretty good outcome. You'd say they should ditch that on expectations of cutting a good trade deal with the guy who said NAFTA was the worst trade deal in history?Comment
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Geezer, on KBR (formerly Halliburton) and dick Cheeney's war profiteering.
Mission to CFB's National Championship accomplished. But the shine on the NC Trophy is embarrassingly wearing off. It's M B-Ball ..... or hockey or volley ball or name your college sport favorite time ...... until next year.Comment
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Originally posted by Da Geezer View Post
He meant Haliburton and subsidiaries. Cheney has a huge chunk of Haliburton stock from compensation as CEO and also personal investment. He put his portfolio in a blind trust when elected. Nevertheless, he made millions from all of Haliburton's no-bid contracts during the Persian Gulf wars. Hmmm. Wonder how Haliburton got picked.
Hate Cheney? He's not worth the emotion. His personality and direction is very darwinistic, the ends always justify the means. I have no tolerance for people without a shred of compassion, but that's simply my personal beef. History is littered with his misdeeds. Just to name one, how about conspiracy with Rummy and Wolfy to cherry pick dubious intel to instigate a politically motivated war that cost America the lives of thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis? Might ask Colin Powell how, in hindsight, did he appreciate all the guidance in prepping for a speech at the UN? Not to mention his lack of decision making skills. Two things gave rise to ISIS: the removal of Sadam and the purge of the Ba'athists from the army. Saddam kept sectarian violence to a minimum in his sphere of influence through the threat of extreme reprisal. Removing him green lighted the festering tensions he had successfully kept at bay, giving birth to many Islamist groups and militias. Ba'ath Party membership was essential in Iraq, much like communist party membership was necessary in the old Soviet Union. To bar those with Ba'athist membership from the army put hundreds of thousands out of work in a war ravaged nation with no way to feed their families, swelling the ranks of oganizations that would actually pay them. Dick Cheney, by all accounts was a prime mover in these two decisions. We're paying a bloody price today and for the foreseeable future because of that asshat. The nicest thing I can say about Cheney is that he is evil incarnate, the devil's pawn.“Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.” - Groucho MarxComment
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