Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[froot loops]

Gross

[Whitley]

Michigan AG Bill Schuette files a lawsuit to stop the MI recount.

Michigan voters rejected Stein's candidacy by massive margins but her refusal to accept that state-verified result poses an expensive and risky threat to hard-working taxpayers and abuses the intent of Michigan law," Schuette said. "We have asked the court to end the recount which Stein is pursuing in violation of Michigan laws that protect the integrity of our elections. It is inexcusable for Stein to put Michigan voters at risk of paying millions and potentially losing their voice in the Electoral College in the process." (from the CNN.com article)

---Okay, first off Stein and Clinton campaigns are paying for the recount which is her right. Electoral College does not meet until 12/19, so the State of Michigan can count the overwhelming majority of the ballots in one night but cannot count all of them in three weeks?

[froot loops]

Moronic Trump calls Taiwan

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/12/02/us/politics/trump-speaks-with-taiwans-leader-a-possible-affront-to-china.html

China has already called the White House. This clown had the nerve to say Obama didn't know what he was doing last night.

[CGVT]

We are fucked

[SeattleLionsFan]

Why not? He already fucked up the Pakistan India relationship

[AlabamAlum]

She supposedly called him. He had to tweet about it, though.

[SeattleLionsFan]

It kinda doesn't matter who called who. We broke diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979. Which was the last time a president spoke with the leader of Taiwan.

[AlabamAlum]

I absolutely think it does matter who inititated the convo and made the call - especially to the Chinese.

And as much as I dislike Trump, taking a congratulatory call from her is not as big of a deal to the Chinese as us selling $2 billion in arms to Taiwan last year despite the Chinese government's strongly worded demands that we do not.

[froot loops]

Taipei is claiming Trump initiating the call and it doesn't matter who called first in Beijing.

[hack]

Agree with Froot. Stupid or not, diplomacy is a world in which protocols are paramount. Even if China chalks it up to a rookie mistake by a president who wasn't trying to influence policy but merely to get a Trump Tower built in Taipei. My wild guess is that it's more likely to blow over more than it is to have a lasting impact, but it's not like there's a ton of precedents to go on hereso I don't really know. Presidents-elect just don't do that.

[AlabamAlum]

The reports were at first that he called, and now they are he didn't call, but his team arranged the call.

I think it does matter to Beijing who called. The Chinese have always been protocol centric and accepting a call is seen differently than initiation. And from the above, it's obvious that Taipei knows it's important who called whom or it wouldn't be a point of discussion with them. As an aside, it made the back page when Trump called her months ago, but he wasn't PEOTUS.

Now, will Trump honor "One China"? Who the hell knows.

[hack]

Sure. Seems to me a difference between bad or very bad.

[SeattleLionsFan]

The more chilling aspect, is whether anyone actually believes for a second that PEOTUS meant to cause an international incident or if he just did it on accident.

[AlabamAlum]

And if it happens again it will definitely be viewed by the Chinese as another sleight. The Chinese are still bristling from the sale of weapons to Taiwan last year despite their loud objections and the US's assurance that we would defend Japan over an attack on the Senkaku Islands a couple of years before that not to mention the fact that we challenge China's claimed ownership of virtually the entirity of the South China Sea.

Chino-US relations will take a deft hand and, well, uh, we have Trump. Roll Tide?

[froot loops]

Trump probably isn't aware there is a dispute between China and Taiwan.