What is your current analysis of ...

[Walker]

Sure. This is why Iran is more likely to listen to their markets. The customer is always right and all that. Natural market forces kicking in. Their customers say, don't disrupt our supply or you may lose the contract. ...

What are you talking about? They pretty much don't have a market due to the US sanctions and its economic sanction threats to those who do buy Iranian oil. What oil it does sell through saction busting is to those who don't care much for the US in the first place so the zero oil exporting aim of the Republicans is a bust on the first place.

After all, Iran isn't Amazon.

No idea what this analogy is suppose to mean?

In the meantime the totalitarian government is old and decrepit, the population is young and eager to enter the world of riches.

How old is the Trumpette again?
You do understand that young clerics are coming up through their system all the time don't you?

For sure the youth want an easing of the religious strictures and would definitely like an end to US sanctions which are causing them great hardship but they are not naive enough to think that even if they complied to US demands that things would get better as they well understand that the US is the Sauds friend in the regional power struggle between those two countries. They also still have a cultural memory of what US supported Iranian rule was like.

Revoluuuution.

You gonna let them down again ike the Kurds, Syrians, Iraqis, et al?

Their customers are those who buy their oil. Not as many as before, but that’s only relevant because it gives the remaining customers more say over their supplier. Not like the salad days. Not a difficult point to grasp, although you’re trying hard not to. I mean, there's intelligent discussion and then there's needless density.

You seem concerned that Iran doesn’t have as many oil customers because of Trump. Well, in the lingo you prefer, Duh.

Sanctions against a state sponsor of terrorism, successful. Well done, Mr. President. Bring those fanatics to heel and keep them from killing folks.

Beats giving them nuclear weapons and billions of dollars to finance their evil ways.

A revolution in Iran has nothing to do with the United States. It's simply a result of the natural forces already named.

In his speech Trump is pushing the responsibility for the ME in the direction of NATO. Good. And they can pay for it.

[commonsense]

I mean come on! Is the American public really that stupid, do their politicians truly believe their own bullshit?

Yes and probably not.

[henry quirk]

"The Yank only acts abroad in what they consider their national interest."

All nations do this, including yours.

#

"About the only war where they had some moral stance was WWI and even then they were late, only really entered due to the u-boats and were scared of Germany getting control in S.America along with the fear that if the allies won they'd carve things up economically against American business interests."

This applies across the board, to every nation, including yours. Simply: if you're not the target, and the target hasn't asked for an assist, then you ought stay home and go about your business. Does any nation restrain itself in that way?

#

"As such they've supported a long host of truly evil dictators around the world and fair enough"

Good guys can't be bought and generally don't need to be. I wonder, overall, what the ratio is between good guys and bad guys?

#

"having to listen to the total bullshit about supporting the ideals of freedom and democracy and getting the bad guys and being the good guys spouted by their leaders and apparently swallowed by a fair percentage of their populace that wears thin on these old ears."

1: Has, in your estimation, the U.S. done any good in the world?

2: You're right to be cynical: America's actions don't always jibe with its ideals. But sometimes they do.

3: On matters such as this, I say the population breaks down into rough, broad, thirds. A third unquestioningly support the gov's rhetoric, a third unquestioningly oppose the gov's rhetoric, a third see it all as politics and work to stay clear of the propaganda efforts. This applies all the time, no matter who sits in the White House or Congress.

4: Give your old ears a break and turn off the chatty box.

#

"Is the American public really that stupid, do their politicians truly believe their own bullshit?"

Roughly two thirds of the public are team players: as I say, roughly a third is gonna always support (their guys) and a third is gonna oppose (the other guys). This support or opposition is all about party (tribe).

[henry quirk]

N. Korea is work in progress: Trump has five years more to strike a balance. .

Iran (the whole of the region, actually) too: a w.i.p.

In your dreams. The Trumpette is a clown who treats your Presidency as though its The Apprentice, has he even managed to form a stable administration yet? That's got to be a first, up for re-election whilst not even managing to form an administration.

In America, politics is a soap opera. Trump is not the first prez to play (melo)dramatic. As for clown status: sure, just like the guy before him was, just like the guy or gal who comes after him in '24 will be. Two thirds of Americans absolutely love (or love to hate) the prez (no matter who it is), that's why they hire archetypes and elevate 'em. Truth be told: two thirds want a King and they do their damn best to install the next best thing.

Question: in your view, has Trump done any good as prez?

[Atla]

They wanted a war with Iran for 20+ years, it's the main goal of the plan. Only a matter of time, and if they can manipulate Trump into starting it, they can make him take the blame too.

[henry quirk]

They wanted a war with Iran for 20+ years, it's the main goal of the plan. Only a matter of time, and if they can manipulate Trump into starting it, they can make him take the blame too.

Who wanted a war with Iran for 20+ years?

[Arising_uk]

Question: in your view, has Trump done any good as prez?

Well, I can't speak about what he may or may not have done for your domestic scene as I'm not American but from the outside I think he's done two good things , or maybe just one as I think Obama also made it clear to some in the NATO alliance that they needed to meet their monetary commitments, the other was challenging the Chinese about IP patents.

[Arising_uk]

1: Has, in your estimation, the U.S. done any good in the world?

Yes.

4: Give your old ears a break and turn off the chatty box.

I tried, I went and found a sparsely populated Philosophy forum but even here the Yank appears with their naive bullshit political morality.

[Arising_uk]

[quote="henry quirk"

Sez you.

Not me, says an old boy I knew who was an absolute American West nut. So much so that he spent his life on it, spent half the year on cattle ranches and rode some of the last old style drives, owned quarter-horses over here and even ran a travelling wild west show. Dressed rhe part all the time and intensively researched the history of the west along with an immense collection of stuff.

[henry quirk]

[quote="henry quirk"

Sez you.

Not me, says an old boy I knew who was an absolute American West nut. So much so that he spent his life on it, spent half the year on cattle ranches and rode some of the last old style drives, owned quarter-horses over here and even ran a travelling wild west show. Dressed rhe part all the time and intensively researched the history of the west along with an immense collection of stuff.

Well, I say Hollywood took what was there and ran with it (elaborated on it, exaggerated it), but Hollywood didn't create it.

[henry quirk]

1: Has, in your estimation, the U.S. done any good in the world?

Yes.

4: Give your old ears a break and turn off the chatty box.

I tried, I went and found a sparsely populated Philosophy forum but even here the Yank appears with their naive bullshit political morality.

We're like herpes.

[henry quirk]

Question: in your view, has Trump done any good as prez?

Well, I can't speak about what he may or may not have done for your domestic scene as I'm not American but from the outside I think he's done two good things , or maybe just one as I think Obama also made it clear to some in the NATO alliance that they needed to meet their monetary commitments, the other was challenging the Chinese about IP patents.

That's a barrel of rotten fish, that. Even if Trump, or whoever, gets it all cleaned up, the smell of it will linger.

[henry quirk]

I ran across this...

https://www.businessinsider.com/actuall ... ap-2013-11

It reminds me of a conversation I had a while back, in-forum, about America not bein' the cohesive thing a lotta non-americans imagine it to be.

[Atla]

They wanted a war with Iran for 20+ years, it's the main goal of the plan. Only a matter of time, and if they can manipulate Trump into starting it, they can make him take the blame too.

Who wanted a war with Iran for 20+ years?

No one, don't you have some caveman business to attend to?

[henry quirk]

They wanted a war with Iran for 20+ years, it's the main goal of the plan. Only a matter of time, and if they can manipulate Trump into starting it, they can make him take the blame too.

Who wanted a war with Iran for 20+ years?

No one, don't you have some caveman business to attend to?

What the heck did I do to justify such a dismissal?