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Trump's Second Term

If Trump can get Iran to act like a normal country he *deserves* a Nobel Peace Prize.

I don't think Iran wants to use nuclear weapons. But it certainly likes to flaunt its alleged ambitions. Actually Iran confuses me. A lot.

I've never understood the obsession with calling for Israel's destruction. I very much doubt they want to eliminate Israel - it is too convenient as a regional boogeyman. And even that doesn't work very well - I seriously doubt the population as a whole gives a **** about Israel. Nor do I understand the funding of terror groups (which I would like to know more about - everyone states as a given that it happens on a large scale and I'd like to see it laid out by neutral reporting sources.)

Does it give Iran more credibility with Sunnis? Why does it care?

I can't shake the feeling that there is a certain amount of theater happening. And in a way, Donald Trump is well-suited to his role. Iran knows damn well he wants a Nobel and I could see them *helping him get one*. Because it does not actually care about having nukes.

Trump Tower Tehran, baby.

The New Yorker suggested some years ago the Trump family had ties to the Revolutionary Guard. It was an article about a Trump Tower in Azerbaijan that seemed like it might be a front for money laundering.
 
Minoosh said:
If Trump can get Iran to act like a normal country he *deserves* a Nobel Peace Prize.

I don't think Iran wants to use nuclear weapons. But it certainly likes to flaunt its alleged ambitions. Actually Iran confuses me. A lot.

I've never understood the obsession with calling for Israel's destruction. I very much doubt they want to eliminate Israel - it is too convenient as a regional boogeyman. And even that doesn't work very well - I seriously doubt the population as a whole gives a **** about Israel. Nor do I understand the funding of terror groups (which I would like to know more about - everyone states as a given that it happens on a large scale and I'd like to see it laid out by neutral reporting sources.)

Does it give Iran more credibility with Sunnis? Why does it care?

I can't shake the feeling that there is a certain amount of theater happening. And in a way, Donald Trump is well-suited to his role. Iran knows damn well he wants a Nobel and I could see them *helping him get one*. Because it does not actually care about having nukes.

Trump Tower Tehran, baby.

The New Yorker suggested some years ago the Trump family had ties to the Revolutionary Guard. It was an article about a Trump Tower in Azerbaijan that seemed like it might be a front for money laundering.
Click to expand...
Yes, there is theater going on. In Tehran, in Tel Aviv, and in Washington. And probably, the vast majority of Americans and Iranians don't care. Enough do. This is about each's foundational myths. Religion is so intertwined with power and politics. As, Voltaire said, if you can make people believe in absurdities, they'll commit atrocities.

The Ayatollah is a religious figure first. Iran is a theocracy. And for that matter, so is Israel. And our own Christian Nationalist leaders are viewing this through that lens.
 
amyklobuchar
News🚨Last night the Senate Parliamentarian ruled that Republicans can’t decimate nutrition assistance by shifting huge costs to states in the big beautiful betrayal. We’ll keep fighting against this bill which takes away healthcare & food assistance to give tax cuts to the rich.
 
Minoosh said:
If Trump can get Iran to act like a normal country he *deserves* a Nobel Peace Prize.

I don't think Iran wants to use nuclear weapons. But it certainly likes to flaunt its alleged ambitions. Actually Iran confuses me. A lot.
Click to expand...
What's so confusing? Israel has nuclear weapons and by the logic of the Cold War the best way to ensure a potential enemy doesn't use nukes is to have them yourself. Of course the fact that Israel is a nuclear power increasingly under the influence of religious extremists doesn't seem to trouble anyone in Washington, its only if the extremists are Muslims that it becomes an issue.
 
Safe-Keeper said:
Unfortunately they also have an extreme lack of self-awareness.
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I've been spending time on a conservative forum. Many don't want the U.S. involved in another Middle Eastern war. I post sometimes, even though I don't have the required flair. I don't argue, mostly I'm correcting errors of fact. My posts usually get taken down in a few hours.

They are actually split on several issues. Some of them seem ... normal-ish.

On an illegal immigration thread, the first 10 comments were all beefs with legal immigrants. I helpfully pointed that out. They also try to claim E-Verify is the law of the land - to the chagrin of "leftists." No, [you twats] , GOP House members from farm states killed that 2018.

Also, what is with Trump telling ICE to leave restaurants, hotels and farms alone? Now even MAGA realizes Trump is not with them on principle. Just as he is not pro-life on principle. Or small government.

I can't pass the purity test to get a flair (and don't want to), but I sometimes like to mention that my dad testified for Judge Bork. And that Reagan favored amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants.

I was relieved when Tom Tancredo tanked as a presidential candidate in 2008. I thought a wave had passed. Then along came a tsunami. I did not want to believe, as The New Yorker said, that white supremacism was the wind beneath Trump's wings. But it was.
 
Minoosh said:
I've been spending time on a conservative forum. Many don't want the U.S. involved in another Middle Eastern war. I post sometimes, even though I don't have the required flair. I don't argue, mostly I'm correcting errors of fact. My posts usually get taken down in a few hours.

They are actually split on several issues. Some of them seem ... normal-ish.

On an illegal immigration thread, the first 10 comments were all beefs with legal immigrants. I helpfully pointed that out. They also try to claim E-Verify is the law of the land - to the chagrin of "leftists." No, [you twats] , GOP House members from farm states killed that 2018.

Also, what is with Trump telling ICE to leave restaurants, hotels and farms alone? Now even MAGA realizes Trump is not with them on principle. Just as he is not pro-life on principle. Or small government.

I can't pass the purity test to get a flair (and don't want to), but I sometimes like to mention that my dad testified for Judge Bork. And that Reagan favored amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants.

I was relieved when Tom Tancredo tanked as a presidential candidate in 2008. I thought a wave had passed. Then along came a tsunami. I did not want to believe, as The New Yorker said, that white supremacism was the wind beneath Trump's wings. But it was.
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Xenophobia/racism/tribalism has been a part of US politics for at least a 150 years. It has been an essential element of politics worldwide for probably 5 thousand years. I find it amusing that my white ancestors were once heavily discriminated against. (I'm Irish)
 
Tero said:
And on the domestic side, we no longer have nuclear safety.
apnews.com

Trump fires Democratic commissioner of independent agency that oversees nuclear safety

President Donald Trump has fired a Democratic commissioner for the federal agency that oversees nuclear safety as he continues to assert more control over independent regulatory agencies.
apnews.com apnews.com
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Trump doesn't have the time to dig this deep into the weeds. That's all Stephen Miller and the Vought implementing their plan.
 
Garrison said:
What's so confusing? Israel has nuclear weapons and by the logic of the Cold War the best way to ensure a potential enemy doesn't use nukes is to have them yourself. Of course the fact that Israel is a nuclear power increasingly under the influence of religious extremists doesn't seem to trouble anyone in Washington, its only if the extremists are Muslims that it becomes an issue.
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And the whole point of the doomsday machine is lost if you keep it a secret. ...

If not for Israel, Iran would have to create a new boogyman, for domestic reasons. They KNOW this, they're just addicted to trolling the US.

It seems to me that when I was a kid, the headlines generally spoke of the "Arab-Israeli" conflict. I didn't hear it framed as Muslim vs. Jew, or Muslim vs. the West, until later. The first kind of conflict is territorial; in theory, such conflicts can be resolved. When reframed as an ideological dispute, it becomes unresolvable; and in a way, this suits hard-liners on both (or all) sides to a T.

I'm just guessing, but I think Iran supports Hamas largely to signal (false) solidarity with the Sunni Arab world. Without Israel, there would likely be an uptick in sectarian violence.

Khamenei and Trump deserve each other. They're both trolls. Israel, however, is not trolling. Poor Trump. How is he going to get his Nobel prize if he has to bomb Iran? For all my visceral disgust with Trump, I kind of like that he is not especially hawkish. I liked GWB on immigration but invading Iraq was ... just about the most boneheaded thing he could have done.
 
acbytesla said:
Xenophobia/racism/tribalism has been a part of US politics for at least a 150 years. It has been an essential element of politics worldwide for probably 5 thousand years. I find it amusing that my white ancestors were once heavily discriminated against. (I'm Irish)
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I heard a kid once say the Irish had been treated just as badly as, or worse than, anybody else. Though I didn't quite agree - you couldn't outright buy an Irish person, to my knowledge - the more I learned, the more I saw his point.

The weird thing about Homo sapiens - that tribal instinct is absolutely baked in, but so, apparently, is cooperation.
 
a_unique_person said:
Trump doesn't have the time to dig this deep into the weeds. That's all Stephen Miller and the Vought implementing their plan.
Click to expand...
I think AP kind of buried the lede - Hanson was a Trump appointee! Who the hell is against nuclear safety?
 
Now what? No plumes?
www.threads.com

StockMarket.News (@thestockmarket.news) on Threads

Trump: “We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations...
www.threads.com www.threads.com
 
GlennB said:
This doesn't appear to be a parody and it isn't April 1st ...

www.theguardian.com

Pakistan to nominate Donald Trump for Nobel peace prize

Islamabad says US president helped resolve India conflict but critic says ‘Israel’s sugar daddy in Gaza’ not candidate for any prize
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
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He's been nominated multiple times already. It's relatively easy to do so, you just need to be a serving member of a national parliament or head of state (there are other groups who can nominate, but it's 1:00 am here).
 
Minoosh said:
And the whole point of the doomsday machine is lost if you keep it a secret. ...

If not for Israel, Iran would have to create a new boogyman, for domestic reasons. They KNOW this, they're just addicted to trolling the US.

It seems to me that when I was a kid, the headlines generally spoke of the "Arab-Israeli" conflict. I didn't hear it framed as Muslim vs. Jew, or Muslim vs. the West, until later. The first kind of conflict is territorial; in theory, such conflicts can be resolved. When reframed as an ideological dispute, it becomes unresolvable; and in a way, this suits hard-liners on both (or all) sides to a T.

I'm just guessing, but I think Iran supports Hamas largely to signal (false) solidarity with the Sunni Arab world. Without Israel, there would likely be an uptick in sectarian violence.

Khamenei and Trump deserve each other. They're both trolls. Israel, however, is not trolling. Poor Trump. How is he going to get his Nobel prize if he has to bomb Iran? For all my visceral disgust with Trump, I kind of like that he is not especially hawkish. I liked GWB on immigration but invading Iraq was ... just about the most boneheaded thing he could have done.
Click to expand...
This stuff has always made me wonder. Is the politician doing something because they have a deeply held belief? Or is he doing it because it serves his personal political aspirationsl?

Trump is almost certainly right in that he is never going to win the Nobel Peace Prize. And if Obama had not been awarded the Nobel, Trump probably wouldn't care about it.
 
Tero said:
Now what? No plumes?
www.threads.com

StockMarket.News (@thestockmarket.news) on Threads

Trump: “We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations...
www.threads.com www.threads.com
Click to expand...
Live BBC feed:

www.bbc.com

Iran says US attacks will get 'response', as Trump claims 'we took bomb out of their hands'

The US hit three nuclear sites in Iran overnight - but it remains unclear whether the strikes did destroy all of Iran's nuclear capabilities.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com

I wouldn't want to be an American in Iran right now.
 
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