The idea of the President actually finally doing something about Chicago is interesting. I'm not sure sending a bunch of National Guard in to crack heads is going to do anything but cause a civil war mind you.
The idea of the President actually finally doing something about Chicago is interesting. I'm not sure sending a bunch of National Guard in to crack heads is going to do anything but cause a civil war mind you.
I reckon if he does say 20 apparently mad things, at least 5 of them will end up being brilliant solutions via the law of unintended consequences.
Yeah but the ultimate question is always are the other 15 worth the trains running on time?
They can always be put right by President Baldwin in the next term.
Govenor James Corden will have something to say on the matter as well.
I actually legit saw something about Mark Zuckerberg running for President. They have fucking lost the plot.
It stems from him saying that he's planning on visiting every state and journalists doing their 1+1 = 3 stuff.
Seeing as Mert only understands politics via the means of memes these days, I thought this was good considering his tone yesterday.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C27i2VoUUAEjHCz.jpg:large
Donald is actually moving faster than I expected. Almost Machiavellian.
But I guess that would be based on him actually having a strategy here instead of just watching TV and reacting to whatever tickles him.Quote:
Therefore, when a prince decides to seize a state, he must determine how much injury to inflict. He needs to strike all at once and then refrain from further atrocities. In this way, his subjects will eventually forget the violence and cruelty. Gradually, resentment will fade, and the people will come to appreciate the resulting benefits of the prince’s rule. Most important, a prince should be consistent in the way he treats his subjects.
A lot of the stuff so far have been things that are perfectly fine in a democracy when you've been elected, but the gag-orders on certain branches + lifting the ban on CIA blacksites is some top-tier Erdogan/Berlusconi/Harper-fuckery.
Isn't The Prince just a rather sycophantic job application that has become somewhat overblown historically? Same probably goes for Sun Tzu, but I suppose that has added eastern mystique and some of it is quite interesting (not that Niccolo isn't).
My take-away from the one course I took on political history is that it is contextually relevant in the development of political philosophy in Europe at the time. He was one of the first to explore why certain states succeed and others don't, and doing so from a rational and methodical standpoint. The most profound insight for the time was the notion that popular morality isn't always what's best for the state and for its ruler(s). De-coupling the motivations of the state and the people running it was completely new.
Reading The Prince wasn't my favourite part of the course though, it has to be said... At least it was better than Plato.
All of those books are over-blown, except On War, which is still under-blown.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38749884
I'm still undecided as to whether having a load of absolute retards take over control of the US is going to prove good or bad for our interests. Quite possibly good, if I'm being honest.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimmy Floyd
They're really obsessed with this whole cuckolding thing aren't they?Quote:
Mr Malloch added that any attempt by the EU to block Britain beginning negotiations with the US would be "absurd" and like a husband "trying to stop his wife having an affair".
Ya It's pretty weird if I'm honest.
Almost as weird as banning certain agencies from releasing scientifically proven information to the public for their own consumption. What the fuck was that about?
Speaking the "Euro failing" I don't know if anyone has touched on this yet but the next big thing to watch for is the French election.
I suspect Trump + co. will do everything they can to get Le Pen elected, which they think will be the next step into eliminating the European Union in general.
I don't know how realistic any of that is cause I'm an uneducated asshole but just thought I'd mention anyways.
I only follow French politics on a surface-level, but the main narratives at this point are pretty much:
* Fillon being the conservative front-runner, but recently some scandal regarding his wife has surfaced which could be disastrous for him.
* The left can't decide who to rally behind. Valls for the Socialists, Mélenchon, or Macron. The latter has had a positive trend recently and reminds me a lot of Trudeau in Canada. One thing holding him back is that he was part of Valls cabinet, which wasn't the most... popular...
* Everyone keeps saying Le Pen doesn't have a chance since no candidate will get 50% in the first round, and all signs point to her getting destroyed in a second round regardless of whether it's against Fillon or one of the leftists. We all know how well polling has worked recently though...
I think a week or two is needed to see what the fallout is on Fillon, and then it's just a matter of waiting until after the first round to see what the actual alternatives will be.
Valls got shafted in the Socialist primary.
35 vs 31 isn't really "shafted" though, and the (little) I've read still think Valls will take it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pepe
Edit: It's close:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French...Second_round_2
Third place declared for Hamon, although I am not sure how much of a difference that makes. They are both cunts, mind.
Macron actually polls really well in the second round:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinio...ound_of_voting
Huh.
Macron, Fillon, Valls, the state of that shit. :sick:
Le Pen winning would be a shock, which in the current climate means you can bet your house on it.Quote:
Originally Posted by bruhnaldo
It'll be Le Pen v conservative (Fillion seems most likely) and the socialists will have to suck it up just like they did when they returned M. Chirac and his many mistresses, their grocery bills and all the rest to the Elysee.
Maybe they'll get Sarko back.
:face:/:drool:
Fillon is in as the conservative candidate. Some of our remain whingers are talking up Melenchon (think he's like a Lib Dem) coming through the middle. Socialists will be 4th, maybe even 5th if the left wing nutbar beats them.
I don't think Marine will win, the French are contrary at the best of times and the run-off system favours a massive vote against her.
Does it even matter who runs France?
'Sarko' is already out. Melenchon is the only option.
On the one hand, 'Sarko' was the biggest waste of time ever. On the other, he was only ever in it for its own sake (lol), and he married Carla Bruni, so he probably considers himself a massive success.
Until Mediapart puts him in prison. :drool:
My money would be on Sarkozy in a Sarkozy - Osborne fight. I'd like to see that happen.
I meant Macron when I said Melenchon, who must be some other saddo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmanuel_Macron
Top lad.Quote:
Macron married Brigitte Trogneux, 24 years older than him and his former French teacher in high school
:nod:Quote:
Based on his experiences in South America, Mélenchon favors "The Citizens' Revolution" (révolution citoyenne), drawing additionally on ideas stemming from the French Revolution and the Paris Commune, and a new strategy that respects the democratic process while seeking to win elections in order to change the constitution. This "citizens' revolution" should lead to a reversal of the current division of wealth held by capital, represented by shareholders, and the working class (understood in the broad sense of anyone who actually works to earn money directly). Additional goals include a new constitution that will initiate a 6th French Republic in which the president will have less power and Parliament more, increase wages, a public bank created by nationalizing the private banks, democratization through the establishment of new rights for employees allowing them to develop cooperatives, the nationalization of large corporations, environmental planning, an exit from NATO, an end to the war in Afghanistan, and peace in the Middle East through the creation of a Palestinian state. Jean‑Luc Mélenchon also insists on the importance of "popular involvement" through public referendums on any essential subject.
'So you're going to fuck everything up and then eat the zoo?'
'I don't see the two as being mutually exclusive.'
He's also against the EU.
They all say that until they shit themselves and let it bum them.
I thought THE LEFT was supposed to love it.
The hard left has always been against it. It's the coffee drinkers and bum doctors who like it.
They make all the right noises about being against it, but, when cock comes to arse, any European socialist (including the modern British ones) worth a wank is always going to choose technocrats over The People.
Not Bernie.
I liked him getting all the credit for that Asian trade agreement getting binned. Oh, he signed the order, did he? I thought it was PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP.
Does Mr. President still think China was part of the TPP?
You just worry about The Wall, lad.
Already saving for it. Nice of The Donald to give us a cash advance on it.
Good. The Donald is pro-British, and seems inclined to proactively help Brexit. The EU, given the Donald seems to hate them, can't really afford to alienate us given our contribution to security, the independent nuclear deterrent, our permanent seat on the UN Security Council (as if you could trust the French), and we might be the only European country in NATO with any sort of solid relationship with the Americans.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimmy Floyd
Assuming he doesn't start World War III, it's pretty excellent timing for POST BREXIT BRITAIN.
I mean... I'd rather you spent that money on something else.Quote:
President Donald Trump has promised a "major investigation into voter fraud", after making claims about millions of illegal ballots.
Richard Spencer turned up to yet another protest and got punched in the face yet again :D
If his existence for the next four years is just getting punched in the face, I'll take nuclear war.
edit: This ABC transcript is nuts
He really does think it's the 1930s.Quote:
PRESIDENT TRUMP: It can't be a great city. Excuse me. It can't be a great city if people are shot walking down the street for a loaf of bread. Can't be a great city.
So long as it's someone who maintains the self-entitlement in Europe enough to think that the EU is build around and for them - it does, in the sense that it'll maintain the EU. It'll also maintain what's wrong with the EU - basically French bureaucracy - and increase discontent with it, across it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lewis
So yeah I guess it doesn't matter.
Can someone explain the huge deal that seems to be crime in Chicago?
From all I gather they are not even in the top 5 most violent cities in the US, if even top 10 (seems a bit hard to find consistent stats though).
What's wrong with the EU is that its structure is fundamentally flawed and it's run by entrenched ideologues who refuse to acknowledge this.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mazuuurk
A Fillon win would do well. He has Thatcheresque policies that the French economy probably needs, he's ambivalent towards the EU, and he's sympathetic to 'Holy Russia'. It would bode well enough for us.
Even when we leave, the EU requires some serious rebalancing away from Germany. Fillon might actually be willing to argue the point.
It's rather underappreciated how utterly dreadful Hollande has been. It should basically disqualify the socialists from office henceforward.