The Trump Administration: A Clusterfuck in the Making

[Sage_Rat]

@Rick_Kitchen

Individual 1 just threatened to commit a war crime.
“targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!”
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1213593975732527112

Attacking culturally relevant sites is a violation of the Geneva Convention.

Torture is more against the Geneva convention and that’s also a thing he’s big on. Not to mention pardoning a war criminal.

It’s hard to know if all the people leaving the Pentagon did so because they were aware of a pending attack against Iran and opposed it or because they were unwilling to be part of an immoral army. (The latter is more likely, ftr.)

[Miller]

[Moderating]
Cal, your quote from that Daily Kos article was a bit long to be fair use, so I edited it back a bit.
[/Moderating]

[jayjay]

@Sage_Rat

Given that his whole thing is that we should be pulling out of the Middle East, Russia, and elsewhere, not getting involved or wasting money abroad, then “scoring a victory”, should be an equivalent statement to “kicked the ball into his own team’s goal” by any sane standard.

Good lord…there’s a (very, very, very slim) non-zero probability that Trump is our Leto II, giving us our Golden Path good and hard.

[Johnny_L.A]

We have an impeached president sitting in the Situation Room, ordering international assassinations without Congressional approval.

[KarlGauss]

@Johnny_L.A

We have an impeached president sitting in the Situation Room, ordering international assassinations without Congressional approval.

You left out a word and a letter.

We have an impaired impeached president shitting in the Situation Room, ordering international assassinations without Congressional approval

[Ludovic]

@Kobal2

Is he saying the US needs to vote in Immortals from now on ? IDGI, I thought he and Persians were beefing ?

His obstinate longevity finally makes sense now: Trump is Stupid Highlander.

[Defensive_Indifference]

Just a question that doesn’t deserve its own thread: How many nuclear blasts would be required to result in just enough nuclear winter to offset global warming?

Things might just work themselves out.

[elucidator]

Would eliminate the primary cause of the problem.

[Defensive_Indifference]

@elucidator

Would eliminate the primary cause of the problem.

It’s worth a try!

[Morgyn]

Even a small nuclear war (if you could consider any nuclear war small) could have effects for over a decade. I suggest we bypass this as a solution.

[naita]

@Defensive_Indifference

Just a question that doesn’t deserve its own thread: How many nuclear blasts would be required to result in just enough nuclear winter to offset global warming?

Things might just work themselves out.

The problem with that, and with most geoengineering, is that, like with global warming itself, the effects are not evenly distributed, and it’s not given that it’s the same uneven distribution as that for global warming, so the result might be a stop to the rise in global temperature, but through regions that haven’t noticed global warming much getting colder.

[TonySinclair]

@Mike_Mabes

One of the on-screen banners on Lou Dobbs’ show said “TRUMP SECURES ANOTHER MIDDLE EAST VICTORY.”

He said that Trump has “set a standard” for presidents “that most mortals won’t be able to meet. He out-works them, he out-thinks, he is remarkably resourceful, he’s bright, his judgment is second to none.”

We are now in “Kim Jong-un wins the Olympics” territory.

Seriously, what causes fawning like this from people who aren’t appointed by Trump? I can understand people putting up with his bullshit because they so badly want tax cuts or deregulation or abortions banned or whatever, and I can understand people who wouldn’t be considered for a normal administration kissing his ass to keep their jobs.

But Dobbs is 75, has pretty much everything he’s going to get out of life, and his job doesn’t depend on Trump. And even if it did, he could support Trump without sounding like a Moonie. So what explains his abject worship?

[asahi]

Posting an excerpt or two from The Atlantic, George Conway’s twitter feed is going off on Trump’s ‘love’ for the written word:

George Conway

“Gary Cohn [said] in an email: ‘It’s worse than you can imagine … Trump won’t read anything—not one-page memos, not the brief policy papers, nothing. He gets up halfway through meetings with world leaders because he is bored.’”

[Defensive_Indifference]

@Morgyn

Even a small nuclear war (if you could consider any nuclear war small) could have effects for over a decade. I suggest we bypass this as a solution.

@naita

The problem with that, and with most geoengineering, is that, like with global warming itself, the effects are not evenly distributed, and it’s not given that it’s the same uneven distribution as that for global warming, so the result might be a stop to the rise in global temperature, but through regions that haven’t noticed global warming much getting colder.

In case it wasn’t obvious, I wasn’t seriously suggesting fighting climate change with nuclear winter. It was just an attempt at gallows humor. And, yes, I know the risk of actual nuclear war is tiny.

[Ike_Witt]

@TonySinclair

So what explains his abject worship?

Especially since he used to be a reasonable person.

[ThelmaLou]

@Defensive_Indifference

In case it wasn’t obvious, I wasn’t seriously suggesting fighting climate change with nuclear winter. It was just an attempt at gallows humor. And, yes, I know the risk of actual nuclear war is tiny.

Needed emojis:

1. Gallows humor
2. Sarcasm
3. Irony

[Fear_Itself]

US citizens of Iranian heritage are being detained at the border as they attempt to re-enter the country.

https://www.cair.com/breaking_cair_wa_assisting_iranian_americans_detained_u_s_border

[JKellyMap]

@Fear_Itself

US citizens of Iranian heritage are being detained at the border as they attempt to re-enter the country.

https://www.cair.com/breaking_cair_wa_assisting_iranian_americans_detained_u_s_border

Crap. Thanks for posting this.

[jshore]

@Rick_Kitchen

Individual 1 just threatened to commit a war crime.
“targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!”
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1213593975732527112

Attacking culturally relevant sites is a violation of the Geneva Convention.

And, he just doubled-down on the war crime: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/05/us/politics/trump-iran-cultural-sites.html

“They’re allowed to kill our people. They’re allowed to torture and maim our people. They’re allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people,” the president said. “And we’re not allowed to touch their cultural site? It doesn’t work that way.”

Apparently, Individual 1 believes that your allowed to commit war crimes if you decide (rightly or wrongly) that what the other side is doing is a war crime. I am sure that would be a very successful defense in a war crimes tribunal. :smack:

[KarlGauss]

@jshore

And, he just doubled-down on the war crime: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/05/us/politics/trump-iran-cultural-sites.html

Apparently, Individual 1 believes that your allowed to commit war crimes if you decide (rightly or wrongly) that what the other side is doing is a war crime. I am sure that would be a very successful defense in a war crimes tribunal. :smack:

From here:

“ISIS targets cultural sites. The Taliban destroys cultural sites. The United States of America should not join this list,” tweeted Michael McFaul, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Russia under the Obama administration.”