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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Oops - your Trump presidency discussion thread
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Crœsos
Shipmate
# 238
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Posted
In an election close enough to decided by about 100,000 votes I don't think it's easy to decide what is and isn't "pivotal".
For example, it seems unlikely that Russia organizing anti-immigrant rallies in places like Twin Falls, Idaho was critical to keeping Idaho in the Republican column. (The last Democratic presidential candidate to win Idaho's electoral votes was Lyndon Johnson.) On the other hand, everyone who "liked" the event could be collated into a list for GOTV micro-targeting, which was probably the main purpose of the exercise in the first place.
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Humani nil a me alienum puto
Posts: 10706 | From: Sardis, Lydia | Registered: May 2001
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Crœsos
Shipmate
# 238
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Posted
In other words, the most probable purpose of these ads is not to convince anyone, but rather to serve as clickbait to populate lists of likely (and in a few cases, unlikely) voters for later outreach.
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Humani nil a me alienum puto
Posts: 10706 | From: Sardis, Lydia | Registered: May 2001
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Stetson
Shipmate
# 9597
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Crœsos:
In other words, the most probable purpose of these ads is not to convince anyone, but rather to serve as clickbait to populate lists of likely (and in a few cases, unlikely) voters for later outreach.
Ah, I see. So that would explain the ostensibly pro-Clinton memes in the batch, ie. finding out who the unlikely voters are.
That makes sense, though it doesn't seem to be the narrative that is catching the public's attention. Most of what I read in comment-sections etc is people assuming that the idea was to sway voters for Trump, which in turn gives rise to the counterpoint that the ads were too ineffecutal to be of much use.
Posts: 6574 | From: back and forth between bible belts | Registered: Jun 2005
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Crœsos
Shipmate
# 238
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
Ah, I see. So that would explain the ostensibly pro-Clinton memes in the batch, ie. finding out who the unlikely voters are.
And identifying that third category, social media users who will click on just about anything. I imagine they were probably filtered out as well.
I imagine there's been less media attention to this interpretation because it necessarily suggests a lot of close collusion with the Republican Party, i.e. the folks who would have to actually run a get-out-the-vote effort based on the lists generated. While it seems like a fairly obvious possibility, give the information currently available to the public it's still highly speculative. I can see why any established media would want to avoid such speculation.
Luckily this is the internet, where we can speculate as much as we like provided we don't libelously claim to have proof that we don't actually have.
[ 02. November 2017, 16:45: Message edited by: Crœsos ]
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Humani nil a me alienum puto
Posts: 10706 | From: Sardis, Lydia | Registered: May 2001
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Hedgehog
Ship's Shortstop
# 14125
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
quote:
Originally posted by Crœsos:
In other words, the most probable purpose of these ads is not to convince anyone, but rather to serve as clickbait to populate lists of likely (and in a few cases, unlikely) voters for later outreach.
Ah, I see. So that would explain the ostensibly pro-Clinton memes in the batch, ie. finding out who the unlikely voters are.
That makes sense, though it doesn't seem to be the narrative that is catching the public's attention. Most of what I read in comment-sections etc is people assuming that the idea was to sway voters for Trump, which in turn gives rise to the counterpoint that the ads were too ineffecutal to be of much use.
My suspicion is that the point of the ads was not so much to tilt the election to one candidate or the other, but to create division. Give fodder for those on the right to hate and loathe Clinton (and, by extension, her supporters) even more, and give fodder for those on the left to hate and loathe Trump (and his supporters) even more.
After all, a hostile foreign country can profit more by the U.S. being in hateful division with itself, regardless of who is in the White House. From that perspective Russia didn't need to "influence the vote" just so long as it could lay the seeds of resentment and anger in the electorate.
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"We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it."--Pope Francis, Laudato Si'
Posts: 2740 | From: Delaware, USA | Registered: Sep 2008
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Stetson
Shipmate
# 9597
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Posted
quote:
My suspicion is that the point of the ads was not so much to tilt the election to one candidate or the other, but to create division. Give fodder for those on the right to hate and loathe Clinton (and, by extension, her supporters) even more, and give fodder for those on the left to hate and loathe Trump (and his supporters) even more.
After all, a hostile foreign country can profit more by the U.S. being in hateful division with itself, regardless of who is in the White House. From that perspective Russia didn't need to "influence the vote" just so long as it could lay the seeds of resentment and anger in the electorate.
I dunno. I've heard that theory before, but if you consider the amount of bile that was present in the US political discourse before, I can't imagine the Russian stuff was THAT much of a substantial injection.
As per Creosos, I can concur that convincing a few more thousand people to hate Clinton(or more likely, manifest their existing hatred of Clinton at the ballot box) could make a difference for the Electoral College in a closely fought swing state. I don't think it would make much of a difference to the overall tone of discussion nationwide.
I mean, take the ad that called for Texas to secede from gay and Muslim America. Out of all the people who liked that ad, do you think there were many who weren't already screaming bigots to begin with?
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I have the power...Lucifer is lord!
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Gramps49
Shipmate
# 16378
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Posted
I have some knowledge of the Twin Falls Idaho situation. I grew up in the area and still have family there. Twin Falls has become a center for refugees (not just Muslim) because Chobani Greek Yogurt is produced there. The owner of Chobani happens to be an immigrant from the Middle East. He has always made it a point to hire refugees if he can. This has caused some resentment among the locals. Some locals joined The Three Percent Movement and have been very vocal in their resistance to refugee resettlement.
A couple of years ago, two Muslim boys in Twin Falls were accused of molesting and raping a white girl in an apartment complex in the community. Since they were both juveniles, the outcome was handled in the juvenile court system. But this really enflamed the Three Percenters in the area.
I can see how the Russians would want to take advantage of the hostilities of the locals. But, as the Daily Beast reported, the "SecureBorders" protest fizzled, only a handful showed up at city hall only to find the hall was closed on Saturday. As I recall the local paper only had a brief paragraph on the event.
Things are still pretty raw in Twin Falls. Just this past weekend someone placed a cross covered with pigs blood on the lawn of the local mosque. Police are investigating. Most mainline Christian clergy in the area are disavowing and denouncing the incident.
Posts: 2193 | From: Pullman WA | Registered: Apr 2011
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
Here's a particularly egregious example which I am pretty sure they'd be happy to pull again: Russians organizing a protest and a counter-protest at the same time and place. Hoping for mayhem, I do not doubt. This is a free click.
You could argue that only the gullibility and natural tendencies of Texans would render them vulnerable to this kind of string-pulling. But to get the groups into a position for murder and rioting really is fomenting trouble.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Hedgehog
Ship's Shortstop
# 14125
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
I've heard that theory before, but if you consider the amount of bile that was present in the US political discourse before, I can't imagine the Russian stuff was THAT much of a substantial injection.
[snip]
I mean, take the ad that called for Texas to secede from gay and Muslim America. Out of all the people who liked that ad, do you think there were many who weren't already screaming bigots to begin with?
But that is just the point. It does not require a substantial injection, it just requires a small effort to keep us at each other's throats. For example, the Texas thing would only appeal to those who were already screaming bigots, but the point was not to create more, but to validate the ones that exist. To convince them that there were more like them out there. And, so validated, they continue being screaming bigots--now feeling like they are part of a larger (albeit imaginary) whole.
The point is to divide: to cause us to sneer at the right-wing bigots or the left-wing socialists (as one's inclinations may choose), to exploit the Echo Chamber effect so that, once having picked a side, we are convinced that we are part of a larger Group-Who-Think-Like-Me. You know, the ones who "really get it" as opposed to those scummy, lying, deceptive, human refuse who don't agree with our prejudices.
I wouldn't be surprised if it was found that Russia influence was found in, oh, Brexit and in Catalan and in any movement that pushes to divide us into smaller and smaller pieces, hating each other's guts. Brenda's example of Russia pushing both the protest and the counter-protest makes perfect sense in that context. Division is the goal.
It follows from this that the most effective weapon to counter such practices is tolerance instead of declaring others intolerable. Maybe what we need, is another Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.
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"We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it."--Pope Francis, Laudato Si'
Posts: 2740 | From: Delaware, USA | Registered: Sep 2008
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Crœsos
Shipmate
# 238
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Posted
Hedgehog,
I think there are some fairly obvious problems with the strategy to counter the effect of homophobes (and presumably racists and other bigots) feeling that they have more public support than they actually do by . . . giving them real and actual public support instead of fake Russian internet support. A strategy of "countering" bigotry by making common cause with and giving public approbation to bigots seems unlikely to work.
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Humani nil a me alienum puto
Posts: 10706 | From: Sardis, Lydia | Registered: May 2001
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Hedgehog
Ship's Shortstop
# 14125
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Crœsos:
I think there are some fairly obvious problems with the strategy to counter the effect of homophobes (and presumably racists and other bigots) feeling that they have more public support than they actually do by . . . giving them real and actual public support instead of fake Russian internet support. A strategy of "countering" bigotry by making common cause with and giving public approbation to bigots seems unlikely to work.
I'm not clear where I advocated "real and actual public support" of bigots. Are you interpreting "tolerance" as being the equivalent of "support"? If so, I do not see them as being at all the same thing. I see tolerance as not responding to hate with hate, but also advocating that bigots behave with more tolerance of those that disagree with them as well. But one cannot teach tolerance by being intolerant with others.
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"We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it."--Pope Francis, Laudato Si'
Posts: 2740 | From: Delaware, USA | Registered: Sep 2008
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Barnabas62
Host
# 9110
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by LutheranChik:
Dear Spouse and I had the bizarre experience last year of attending what was marketed as a Farm to Table dinner, conjuring up images of serious foodie hipsters enjoying marrow bones and microbrewed beer and whatnot...but was actually the rich, ūberconservative local country squires and our reptilian State Representative, having a self-congratualatory lovefest. Those are our Trumpkins.
Profound sympathies to both of you. And illuminating re Trump supporters.
Not sure how you coped, BTW.
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Who is it that you seek? How then shall we live? How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
Posts: 21397 | From: Norfolk UK | Registered: Feb 2005
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LutheranChik
Shipmate
# 9826
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Posted
Barnabas: When we arrived, we seemed to be one of the few couples who didn't know anyone else other than the host farmers, whom we know casually just from buying eggd and produce. We sat down next to a seemingly harmless Foxy Grandpa who was fairly friendly, but then the tables started filling up with Stepford wives, dressed much posher than one wkuld expect for a meal in a pole barn, and their taciturn husbands. As we perused the menu, it became clear that much of the farm to table fare actually came via the local supermarket, and that this waa not going to be the culinary experience we had hoped for. To make matters worse, there was no alcohol. Then our Congresscritter and his spouse showed up, and sat at our table, and DS gave me a look that suggested it might be a long, quiet ride home. We managed to make small talk with our table neighbors about antiques and about historical landmarks in the county, and actually made it through dessert before fleeing. " YOU OWE ME," was all DS said.
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Simul iustus et peccator
http://www.lutheranchiklworddiary.blogspot.com
Posts: 6462 | From: rural Michigan, USA | Registered: Jul 2005
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simontoad
Ship's Amphibian
# 18096
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Posted
![[Killing me]](graemlins/killingme.gif)
Perhaps it's only funny from the other side of the planet, but I pictured the politician as the corrupt senator from The Godfather who was a guest at the baptism (?) of one of Michael Corleone's kids. You know, the massive party at the estate.
I'll bet the mafia puts on a better spread than any hipster arriviste.
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Human
Posts: 1571 | From: Romsey, Vic, AU | Registered: May 2014
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Ian Climacus
Liturgical Slattern
# 944
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Posted
Thanks Crœsos, Stetson, Hedgehog, and anyone I've missed, for the information about the memes and their likely purposes: much appreciated.
I must say this made my Friday.
Posts: 7800 | From: On the border | Registered: Jul 2001
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Barnabas62
Host
# 9110
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by LutheranChik:
" YOU OWE ME," was all DS said.
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif) Yes, had a few of those moments. Often, they took the sting out.
It is an odd feature of Trump's support base that it includes both arrivistes and those (e.g.in the Rust Belt) who have lost out. You can't help but think that if they were at the same dining table, they'd end up shaking one another warmly by the throat. But I suppose the losers-out wouldn't get invited.
My guess is that many of the Rust Belt supporters will melt away when faced with the reality of Trump's non-delivery of anything much for them. It will feed their disillusionment. Whether it will also feed a Democratic revival in the House remains to be seen.
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Who is it that you seek? How then shall we live? How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
Posts: 21397 | From: Norfolk UK | Registered: Feb 2005
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Stetson
Shipmate
# 9597
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by chris stiles:
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
I dunno. I've heard that theory before, but if you consider the amount of bile that was present in the US political discourse before, I can't imagine the Russian stuff was THAT much of a substantial injection.
Which is part of the reason why I think a scenario like the following is not unlikely:
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/11/2/16588964/america-epistemic-crisis
It's just Iran-Contra turned up to 11.
That reminds me of this flase-flag from the 2008 Republican primaries.
Thing is, though, NAMBLA supposedly parading at an anti-racist rally, like Romney supposedly preaching the more heterodox elements of Mormonism in the Bible Belt, are things that, if taken at face value, would create a lot of controversy and confrontation, detrmimental to their respective targets. Because they are just so freakish and out-there for most people(the NAMBLA stuff moreso, but God's multiple wives would also be a deal-breaker for a lot of fundamentalists).
I'm not quite sure I see the same degree of outrage being generated by, for example, the fairly generic pro-Black Lives Matter meme that the Russians were posting on Facebook. Even opponents of BLM know that it's an existing group, and aren't likely to become more offended by what they see in the ad. The only way I could see it working is if the ads furthered the perceived linkage between BLM and the Clinton campaign, but(from what I recall), they don't do that.
And what on earth would someone be trying to stoke up with the gay-themed Bernie Sanders colouring book? I guess if it were put up during the primaries, it might help Sanders get a few more votes from the glbqt demographic(where he was weak), thus undermining Clinton.
Or just tar the whole Democratic party as a bunch of sodomite-loving perverts? Odd that they would choose Sanders as the conduit for that, since he was the less prominent face of the party.
Posts: 6574 | From: back and forth between bible belts | Registered: Jun 2005
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chris stiles
Shipmate
# 12641
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
And what on earth would someone be trying to stoke up with the gay-themed Bernie Sanders colouring book? I guess if it were put up during the primaries, it might help Sanders get a few more votes from the glbqt demographic(where he was weak), thus undermining Clinton.
The point isn't one of the individual stories - but the fact that large numbers of people believe such stories, and that there is a partisan set of media institutions that thrive on pushing such views. As the article says:
"Say he pardons everyone. People will argue on cable TV about whether he should have. One side will say up, the other will say down. Trump may have done this, but what about when Obama did that? What about Hillary’s emails? Whatabout this, whatabout that, whatabout whatabout whatabout?
There is no longer any settling such arguments. The only way to settle any argument is for both sides to be committed, at least to some degree, to shared standards of evidence and accuracy, and to place a measure of shared trust in institutions meant to vouchsafe evidence and accuracy.
The subject of climate change offers a crystalline example here. If climate science does its thing, checks and rechecks its work, and then the Republican Party simply refuses to accept it ... what then?"
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
Russian social-media posts exort Americans to violence. The old 'let's you and him fight' ploy.
What is frightening about Lyin' Don's steady denial of Russian interference is that he then has a perfect reason to do nothing to prevent more. Next Tuesday is election day in some US states. It is 367 days to the 2018 elections. Since nothing is going to be done to prevent Russian meddling, it's going to get very bad in the next year.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Stetson
Shipmate
# 9597
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Posted
Chris Stiles wrote:
quote:
The point isn't one of the individual stories - but the fact that large numbers of people believe such stories, and that there is a partisan set of media institutions that thrive on pushing such views.
Well, just for the record, the Bernie Sanders colouring book wasn't a story, it was just a page from...a Bernie Sanders colouring book.
Based on Slate's intro, it would seem that it was from an actual, pro-Sanders colouring book.
Though it's not clear to me if the gay theme was part of the original book, or an overlay by the spammer. In any case, we're obviously supposed to be connecting Sanders with gays.
(And yes, the English phrasing in the post screams non-native speaker.)
Posts: 6574 | From: back and forth between bible belts | Registered: Jun 2005
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simontoad
Ship's Amphibian
# 18096
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Posted
The Pickwick Papers are talking about a link between the Commerce Secretary and a company he has an interest in trading with embargoed Russians. The link is a teaser for a show tonight on the telly. I'm sure there are similar reports about to air around the world, as its all part of a massive data dump from a tax haven company.
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Human
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Ian Climacus
Liturgical Slattern
# 944
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Posted
Thoughts on the paradise papers?
quote:
Fresh evidence of links between the highest levels of Donald Trump’s administration and associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin have been revealed in a massive leak of documents from firms and corporate registries specialising in tax minimisation and financial secrecy.
I still believe nothing will touch the Orange-Skinned Groping Sexist Menace until the next election [save something illegal], but it does give me hope that news of his and his people's dealings may have some impact on his voters. Though I heard a stat that 98% of those who voted for him were still happy with their choice. So I suppose I may as well give up now.
Posts: 7800 | From: On the border | Registered: Jul 2001
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
Well, we can at least live in hope that the Russians' activities will bring down The Great Trumpolino - though the collateral damage to what was once a great country (the US of A, I mean) will be tremendous.
IJ
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
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Martin60
Shipmate
# 368
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Posted
I'd rather hope for something that can actually happen. Like a fully transparent Democrat leadership process in 6 years time, that successfully woos the working class.
[ 06. November 2017, 14:46: Message edited by: Martin60 ]
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Love wins
Posts: 17586 | From: Never Dobunni after all. Corieltauvi after all. Just moved to the capital. | Registered: Jun 2001
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ian Climacus:
Feeding koi takes too long.
Abe dropped first.
Doesn't this arsewipe do enough actual stupid, irresponsible things for people to complain about?
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
Pity someone doesn't dump President Arsewipe (and what an insult that is to innocent arses) into a pond full of fish.
Piranhas, preferably.
Hungry ones....
![[Devil]](graemlins/devil.gif)
IJ
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
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Pigwidgeon
Ship's Owl
# 10192
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Bishops Finger:
Pity someone doesn't dump President Arsewipe (and what an insult that is to innocent arses) into a pond full of fish.
Piranhas, preferably.
Hungry ones....
IJ
You want to poison poor, innocent piranhas?
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"...that is generally a matter for Pigwidgeon, several other consenting adults, a bottle of cheap Gin and the odd giraffe."
~Tortuf
Posts: 9835 | From: Hogwarts | Registered: Aug 2005
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
Oh dear.
![[Hot and Hormonal]](icon_redface.gif)
I hadn't thought of that. Sorry, fishy guys...
IJ
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
But spare a thought for this poor, innocent little beagle, who app-ears to have been invaded by the Great Gropo (or an avatar of his)...
IJ
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
Clearly, the Secret Service has been at work.
Let's try again.
IJ
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
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Wesley J
Silly Shipmate
# 6075
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Bishops Finger:
Clearly, the Secret Service has been at work.
[...]
Nah. You did put 'http//' in front of the addy, which - if anything - only works if is's 'http://'. Just colon-ic irritation then, no waterboarding.
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Be it as it may: Wesley J will stay. --- Euthanasia, that sounds good. An alpine neutral neighbourhood. Then back to Britain, all dressed in wood. Things were gonna get worse. (John Cooper Clarke)
Posts: 7354 | From: The Isles of Silly | Registered: May 2004
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
Oops, so I did.
I blame the malevolent influence of The Chief Arsewipe...
![[Disappointed]](graemlins/disappointed.gif)
IJ
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
This is from the Post, but the headline tells all. The vaunted GOP tax reform bill is finely adjusted to benefit real estate tycoons. Even if we cannot see his tax returns, we can deduce what Crooked Don's finances are like. Good to know, eh? That Ivanka and Jared will not go hungry, or want for that fourth yacht.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Gramps49
Shipmate
# 16378
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Posted
Ian
Hey, I was born on June 14!
Posts: 2193 | From: Pullman WA | Registered: Apr 2011
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Ian Climacus
Liturgical Slattern
# 944
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Posted
Celebrate Gramps49! Get your own T Bear.
Then fill it with voodoo needles.
quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:
quote:
Originally posted by Ian Climacus:
Feeding koi takes too long.
Abe dropped first.
Doesn't this arsewipe do enough actual stupid, irresponsible things for people to complain about?
Sorry. Did not mean to spread fake news.
Posts: 7800 | From: On the border | Registered: Jul 2001
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
T also spoke publicly about how tough the US is on anyone who challenges it, and how unpleasant the results can be.
In Japan.
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
But surely Japan is only a little group of island-things in a great big ocean-thing, inhabited by small, foreign-looking people.
It doesn't matter what he says, as long as they realise that America Is Great Again!
IJ
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
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simontoad
Ship's Amphibian
# 18096
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Posted
I think I now understand that Trump is a total dick. I'm getting bored with his act and I want a statesman again. ![[Waterworks]](graemlins/bawling.gif)
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Human
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
I remember 'No Drama' Obama. I could do with a big slice of no drama about now.
And I'm sure you remember the days (but a year ago) when nobody knew who the secretary of commerce was. I still don't. She or he was a totally normal human being who did a job well. Or secretary of education -- mothers do not raise their children up to be secretary of education; you can't name Obama's and neither can I. We could let competent people quietly do their jobs, and relax. The internet was full of kitten pictures!
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Stercus Tauri
Shipmate
# 16668
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Bishops Finger:
But surely Japan is only a little group of island-things in a great big ocean-thing, inhabited by small, foreign-looking people.
It doesn't matter what he says, as long as they realise that America Is Great Again!
IJ
And they really need to get over that Hiroshima business. They should understand that it was just a diplomatic approach to get their attention; it wasn't about weapons.
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Thay haif said. Quhat say thay, Lat thame say (George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal)
Posts: 905 | From: On the traditional lands of the Six Nations. | Registered: Sep 2011
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
Indeed, and, in any case, Great America now has lots of much biglier bombs!
IJ
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
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Pigwidgeon
Ship's Owl
# 10192
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Stercus Tauri:
quote:
Originally posted by Bishops Finger:
But surely Japan is only a little group of island-things in a great big ocean-thing, inhabited by small, foreign-looking people.
It doesn't matter what he says, as long as they realise that America Is Great Again!
IJ
And they really need to get over that Hiroshima business. They should understand that it was just a diplomatic approach to get their attention; it wasn't about weapons.
And the War in the Pacific was caused by the lack of ability to compromise...
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"...that is generally a matter for Pigwidgeon, several other consenting adults, a bottle of cheap Gin and the odd giraffe."
~Tortuf
Posts: 9835 | From: Hogwarts | Registered: Aug 2005
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by simontoad:
I think I now understand that Trump is a total dick. I'm getting bored with his act and I want a statesman again.
It took you this long to figure that out?
But, then, you are ahead of a massive number of Americans, so...
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
Oy vey, no way *this* could go wrong...
S. Korea has invited a former "comfort woman" to a banquet honoring Trump. (In WWII, Japan abducted many Korean schoolgirls and women as sex slaves for the Japanese military.)
Skimming through articles, it looks like the SK/Japan agreement to put the whole thing to rest hasn't worked, and SK is using this opportunity to signal that.
However...why in the world would they put that woman around another abuser? Who may not even know or understand what happened, and is likely to say something crude and offensive???
I don't think the banquet's happened yet. If I find a balanced, mainstreamish article, I'll post a link.
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
Thank the Lord. They're calling the state of Virginia for the Democrats, bigly. Also New Jersey -- two Democratic governors. Lyin' Don is going to hate this.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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