# The situation in Binomo **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 28, 2017, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-in-binomo/805447 "2017-12-28T04:03:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-in-binomo/805447/1 "2017-12-28T04:03:56Z")
Nikki Haley was asked about [political meddling by Russia in the island nation of Binomo](https://www.rt.com/news/414086-prank-nikki-haley-russia-place/). She says we’re watching the situation carefully. Do you trust her and the Trump administration to stay on top of this problem? Had you heard about this before now? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-in-binomo/805447/2 "2017-12-28T04:22:22Z")
Where, exactly, is Binomo? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-in-binomo/805447/3 "2017-12-28T04:24:59Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Where, exactly, is Binomo? The article indicates it is located in the South China Sea. In reality it exists only in the mind of Nikki Haley. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-in-binomo/805447/4 "2017-12-28T04:44:21Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Where, exactly, is Binomo? I’ll bet Ms. Haley said the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-in-binomo/805447/5 "2017-12-28T04:45:37Z")
Oh, Nikki, \ you really need to be able to say you don’t know when you don’t know. I know your boss doesn’t know how to do that, but you’re more intelligent than he is, I believe. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-in-binomo/805447/6 "2017-12-28T05:13:55Z")
…RT though? ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-in-binomo/805447/7 "2017-12-28T06:24:53Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Do you trust her and the Trump administration to stay on top of this problem? Well, they ended the war on Christmas–another fictional conflict–didn’t they? ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-in-binomo/805447/8 "2017-12-28T06:41:28Z")
Of course, it’s in the South China Sea. The BIG question is what about the Chinese influence? Of course, it’s a FACT that Binomo was visited in ancient times by the [Chinese Eunuch Admiral Zheng](https://mediadiversified.org/2016/06/01/the-eunuch-admiral-was-zheng-he-the-greatest-sea-explorer-in-history/) He and therefore part of China if anything. Binomians are playing with fire, or at least 1.4 billion pissed off Chinese. Goddamn Russians shoehorning in to steal an election in China’s backyard. This is NOT going to end well. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-in-binomo/805447/9 "2017-12-28T06:51:55Z")
Absolutely my favorite story today. I’m sorry, but I stand by my original assessment of Ms. Haley that she only looks “intelligent” when compared to the rest of Trump’s cabinet. She is far too inexperienced, and much too aligned with the alt-right, for the job she has been given. All the same, I will enjoy spending the day tomorrow greeting friends with, “You know Binomo?” ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-in-binomo/805447/10 "2017-12-28T11:07:10Z")
I’ll bet Binomo has a leppo or two. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-in-binomo/805447/11 "2017-12-28T11:21:21Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > I’ll bet Binomo has a leppo or two. I’m bet their favorite pastime is dominoes. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-in-binomo/805447/12 "2017-12-28T12:28:29Z")
I think that [this](https://binomo.com/en/faq) is the island nation of Binomo’s official FAQ? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-in-binomo/805447/13 "2017-12-28T14:20:15Z")
The problem here isn’t that she didn’t know. There are a lot of tiny island nations that most folks don’t need to care about, and there’s no reason for anyone to know all of them. The problem is that she couldn’t admit that she didn’t know. What she should have said was something like “I’m not familiar with that one specifically, but we have highly-qualified people working on it, and I’m sure that they’ll kick it upstairs if there’s anything about the situation that we need to know”. Because that’s how _all_ successful organizations work, from national or state governments to businesses to the high school yearbook. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-in-binomo/805447/14 "2017-12-28T14:31:50Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The article indicates it is located in the South China Sea. _In the South China Sea, there’s a place called Binomo That’s where you want to go to get away from it all Bodies in the sand, tropical drink melting in your hand We’ll be falling in love to the rhythm of a Russian band Down in Binomo_ ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-in-binomo/805447/15 "2017-12-28T15:18:22Z")
This all assumes that the conversation “reported” in the RT really happened. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-in-binomo/805447/16 "2017-12-28T15:41:24Z")
[Youtube link to prank call](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RgXL7byTF0). Portions were being played on various news media last night. **Chronos** has it right. It isn’t that she didn’t know. It’s that she couldn’t admit she didn’t know. Instead, she attempts to bullshit her way through the call and ends up giving the Russians new ammunition to say that the US will claim Russia interferes in other countries’ elections based on no evidence whatsoever. To that extent, she has (further) damaged US credibility and allows Putin to say to his own people that US claims of election interference are untrue. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-in-binomo/805447/17 "2017-12-28T15:56:49Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Instead, she attempts to bullshit her way through the call and ends up giving the Russians new ammunition to say that the US will claim Russia interferes in other countries’ elections based on no evidence whatsoever. To that extent, she has (further) damaged US credibility and allows Putin to say to his own people that US claims of election interference are untrue. From Donald’s point of view, that’s a feature, not a bug. I think Nikki just made a rookie mistake. She thought it would be a sign of ignorance not to know about the fake country so she tried to bluff her way through it, just as her boss would have done. Hopefully she learned something. At the very least, she no longer answers the phone saying “It’s a beautiful day in South Carolina” as she used to force SC state employees to do. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-in-binomo/805447/18 "2017-12-28T16:34:13Z")
She doesn’t impress me. Being smarter and more knowledgeable than Trump exceeds only a very low bar. She obviously is willing to take orders from Trump which shows a lack of character or judgement. Considering her initial criticism of Trump disappeared when he was elected I’d say it’s both. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-in-binomo/805447/19 "2017-12-29T01:33:50Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > She doesn’t impress me. Being smarter and more knowledgeable than Trump exceeds only a very low bar. She obviously is willing to take orders from Trump which shows a lack of character or judgement. Considering her initial criticism of Trump disappeared when he was elected I’d say it’s both. Probably bad form to accept a position as UN ambassador from somebody and then criticize him, though. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-in-binomo/805447/20 "2017-12-29T01:38:14Z")
The people who voted for President Trump knew that he was vastly unprepared for the job. They thought this was a feature, and hoped it would result in changes in the priorities and approaches he applied to problem solving. They were also assured, however, that he would surround himself with top experts. They believed that he would be advised by the best of the best, and thus would have the information at hand to make good decisions. Instead, I can’t think of a _single_ appointee so far that has any real grasp of the position to which they’ve been assigned. Their only real qualification AFAICT is a willingness to push the status quo more and more in favor of the upper economic strata, and to hopelessly degrade any and all services to those in need. Nikki Haley strikes me as one of the more well-meaning of the bunch. But she’s hopelessly unprepared to lead any UN team, much less to analyze the rats nest of misunderstanding and prejudice she’s been handed and turn it into a viable diplomatic agenda. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-in-binomo/805447.md?page=2)