Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Jeff Buchanan]

The Russian Air Force that retains a large number of aircraft in Syria conducted air strikes against rebel forces (Hayat Tahriral-Sham or HTS) holding positions in Aleppo. This is the first air action by the Russians since 2016 when they intervened in an on-going rebellion aimed at unseating Assad. The Iranians also chipped in with ground forces and military equipment in support of Assad.

HTS has a link going way back to Al Qaeda. They are now an armed and renamed group of Islamic jihadists aimed at forcefully spreading fundamentalist Islamic ideology and governance. They are no friends of the western alliance. There is also a lot of infighting reported within HTS with moderates and extremists vying for power. Just another example of Islamists seeking to govern throughout the ME and by so doing made a mess of things and created the instability present today.

I can't even begin to describe the complicated reasons why the Russians support Assad and how a simmering civil war has raged on for more than a decade. At baseline is Russia's sale of arms to the Syrian government. Its a cash cow as Assad pays for those arms with loans that were issued for humanitarian purposes but redirected for military purposes. It is also fundamental to Putin's FP to encourage chaos rather than stability there.

[Jeff Buchanan]

For those who like Donald Trump's immigration and likely foreign policy but fear that his often bizarre and authoritarian character have the potential of damaging America's version of democracy or in the extreme turning US governance into a dictatorship, this is an excellent article: https://www.politico.com/news/magazi...years-00191724

An excerpt:

President-elect Donald Trump’s return to power is unnerving but, as I have argued previously, America will not turn into a dictatorship overnight — or in four years. Even the most determined strongmen face internal hurdles, from the bureaucracy to the media and the courts. It took Erdoğan well over a decade to fully consolidate his power. Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and Poland’s Law and Justice Party needed years to erode democratic norms and fortify their grip on state institutions.

I am not suggesting that the United States is immune to these patterns, but it’s important to remember that its decentralized system of governance — the network of state and local governments — offers enormous resilience.

[Hannibal]

Imagine being so disconnected from reality after the alphabet agency abuses of the past 8 years that you think that Donald Trump represents a threat to democracy. The FBI has spent more effort trying to frame Donald Trump for fake Russia collusion and dishonestly pressuring social media to remove discussions of the Hunter Biden laptop than they spent pursuing Jeffrey Epstein's client list. At least half of the country has forfeited their right to complain about anything that Trump does in this area that is bad.

[lineygoblue]

Its taken a while for Putin and Xi to establish their dictatorships as well.

[Dr. Strangelove]

[Mike]

The economy is in good shape, bud! In about 7 weeks you'll be allowed to admit that again!

Maybe social issues played a major role... Nah.. couldn't have.

[Mike]

Biden had to get the pardon in now before he forgot about it.

[THE_WIZARD_]

heh

[Dr. Strangelove]

The broad sweep of the pardon is what's pretty outrageous. If it had just been for the gun charge, whatever.

But since he's gone this far he should give sweeping pardons for unnamed "crimes" to people all over his administration, just to watch MAGA heads explode. Like Fauci, Wray, Mayorkas...hell, do Hillary too just for shits and giggles

[Dr. Strangelove]

I realize it’s TREASON to criticize any of Mr. Trump’s flawless choices, seeing as he has history’s biggest MANDATE, but is this really the best we can do?

[Hannibal]

The economy is in good shape, bud! In about 7 weeks you'll be allowed to admit that again!

Is it really? I have pointed out a few areas where I think that the official numbers vis-vis inflation are laughable. And if the denominator in an “adjusted for inflation” is too low, then the inflation-adjusted numbers that you are trying to measure are going to be too high.

[Dr. Strangelove]

I don't think the official numbers are laughable or made up. Guess we're at a standstill.

Inflation's almost back to what's considered "normal", the stock market's booming, and unemployment is low. Consumer spending remains vigorous.

[Dr. Strangelove]

[Dr. Strangelove]

Important update for crash regarding a different pardoned criminal.

[THE_WIZARD_]

that might be the most fucking ridiculous pic I've ever seen.