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30th April 2017, 06:15 AM | #1 |
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Donald Trump invites Rodrigo Duterte to Washington
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...-to-washington
Quote:
Quote:
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30th April 2017, 07:54 AM | #2 |
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When The Hair hits rock bottom, he goes and gets a pick axe.
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30th April 2017, 08:12 AM | #3 |
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30th April 2017, 08:53 AM | #4 |
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Trump sure has a thing for dictators.
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30th April 2017, 08:54 AM | #5 |
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Priebus gave an okay defense if you squint. The idea being that North Korea as an issue supercedes any other issue in the Pacific.
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30th April 2017, 09:53 AM | #6 |
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BS. What does Trump need from Duterte that justifies "the White House statement on Trump's phone call Saturday with Duterte praised the Filipino government for 'fighting very hard to rid its country of drugs.'" Duterte called Trump after the election and flattered him, and like Xi's rolling him at Mar-a-Lago, flattering Trump "supercedes any other issue in the Pacific." That should be expected when a president has a pathological need for flattery.
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30th April 2017, 10:02 AM | #7 |
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30th April 2017, 10:12 AM | #8 |
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30th April 2017, 10:14 AM | #9 |
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The US does need some degree of friendliness with the Philippines because of our naval presence there. It's a rather important strategic position for the US in the south Pacific and Asia. US/Philippines relations were getting cool, with remarks being made by Obama and Duterte. As unpleasant as the notion is, the US does actually need to maintain some form of good relationship there.
Not that I'd ever pick Trump, of all people, to be a person charged with maintaining a delicate relationship. |
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You added nothing to that conversation, Barbara. |
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30th April 2017, 10:16 AM | #10 |
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Your question is meaningless. He doesn't need anything from duterte. The whole point of Priebus's remarks is to simply provide enough cover to turn the debate to more favorable ground. How convincing the argument is itself doesn't matter, as that isn't the objective.
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30th April 2017, 10:19 AM | #11 |
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Just like his congratulations to Erdogan, this seems to be more aimed at the home front than international politics: the message for Congress and the media is: look, in other countries, people do what their leader tells them ! Why can't everyone in the US be more like that?
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30th April 2017, 10:21 AM | #12 |
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Perhaps Trump is looking for some advice on how to fight the War on Drugs.
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30th April 2017, 10:24 AM | #13 |
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30th April 2017, 10:40 AM | #14 |
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"There's vastly more truth to be found in rocks than in holy books. Rocks are far superior, in fact, because you can DEMONSTRATE the truth found in rocks. Plus, they're pretty. Holy books are just heavy." - Dinwar "Let your ears hear this beautiful song that's hiding underneath the sound," Ed Kowalczyk. |
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30th April 2017, 10:48 AM | #15 |
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30th April 2017, 10:50 AM | #16 |
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Maybe Trump wants advice on becoming a dictator.
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30th April 2017, 10:50 AM | #17 |
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30th April 2017, 10:52 AM | #18 |
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30th April 2017, 10:53 AM | #19 |
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30th April 2017, 10:54 AM | #20 |
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30th April 2017, 11:27 AM | #21 |
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Cum catapultae proscribeantur tum soli proscripti catapultas habeant. |
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30th April 2017, 11:51 AM | #22 |
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30th April 2017, 12:01 PM | #23 |
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The combination of Duterte being invited by Trump and David Clarke possibly being appointed to Homeland Security is rather frightening. Some of his "Oath Keeper" buddies would just love to be on the death squads.
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30th April 2017, 01:30 PM | #24 |
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You added nothing to that conversation, Barbara. |
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30th April 2017, 01:38 PM | #25 |
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30th April 2017, 01:45 PM | #26 |
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30th April 2017, 01:52 PM | #27 |
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30th April 2017, 08:11 PM | #28 |
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30th April 2017, 08:24 PM | #29 |
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The One did it in job lots (but only if they shared his ethnicity).
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed...06-column.html Trump actually extended an invitation to a Mexican |
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30th April 2017, 09:14 PM | #30 |
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It could also be a clue for the right, but you won't get it. Trump didn't facilitate any of this. He's reacting to it. His and his minions' instinctive approach was to threaten China in the South China Sea. They then shut up and backed off. He took his first call from the Taiwanese(separatist) president. Backed off of that, too. Where are the sanctions on Chinese steel? Solar panels? Wallboard? In his interview on CBS he actually claimed that China used to be a currency manipulator but that when he, Donald J. Trump brought it up in the campaign, they stopped! Yeah, like NATO used to be worthless but now isn't because he got them to change.
The man's a moron. He didn't ameliorate his stance on China Trade. He was defeated. He was faced with the fact that he lost and he had no where to turn. China's been ratcheting up the pressure on North Korea on their own. Trump's riding on their coattails. What the media did not cover is that over the weekend Trump also phoned the presidents of other ASEAN countries. He knows they're all in the China orbit, now. Game over. Any thought of using Singapore, Taiwan and the Philippines as points of a triangle to re-establish American hegemony in Southeast Asia and to counter the Chinese presence in the South China Sea can now be dismissed. Hell, he name-drops his Xi connection to get people over here to listen to him. "Hello, it's the White House calling. Can we speak to Prime Minister Lee?..... Yes, I'll hold." >>>>> "Uh, did you tell him it's President Donald J. Trump, leader of the free world, on the phone?" >>>>> "I see. Did you mention that we're good buddies with Xi Jinping?" China's learned from western history. It's called dollar diplomacy. Their financial tentacles are blocked in the west (Russia and India), so they've spread southwards. The ASEAN bloc just rolled over for them. Myanmar, Laos, Viet Nam, Cambodia and the Philippines are all looking at major infrastructure investments from China. Thailand's one of the few countries in the world that has diplomatic relations with North Korea and we're opening a Chinese arms factory, here. |
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Ha! Foolmewunz has just been added to the list of people who aren't complete idiots. Hokulele It's not that liberals have become less tolerant. It's that conservatives have become more intolerable. |
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30th April 2017, 09:21 PM | #31 |
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30th April 2017, 09:41 PM | #32 |
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1st May 2017, 07:20 AM | #33 |
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1st May 2017, 07:25 AM | #34 |
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Actually, we have now learned more about why Trump is cosying up to the dictator of the Philippines.
There is a new Trump Tower opening there. Oh, and btw, an unpaid White House staffer is part of the marketing campaign. https://twitter.com/peterbrack/statu...37157279965184 (Hint: It's Ivanka on the billboard) |
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Gunter Haas, the 'leading British expert,' was a graphologist who advised couples, based on their handwriting characteristics, if they were compatible for marriage. I would submit that couples idiotic enough to do this are probably quite suitable for each other. It's nice when stupid people find love. - Ludovic Kennedy |
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1st May 2017, 09:30 AM | #35 |
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Now Duterte is saying he might be too busy to come to the White House. The Chinese state-run press mocked Trump relentlessly after Xi rolled him at Mar-a-Lago, and now it's Duterte's turn. Seems like the only ones buying Trump's "strongman" schtick are his cult at home.
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1st May 2017, 09:35 AM | #36 |
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Sufficiently advanced Woo is indistinguishable from Parody "There shall be no *poofing* in science" Paul C. Anagnostopoulos Force ***** on reasons back" Ben Franklin |
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1st May 2017, 09:37 AM | #37 |
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You added nothing to that conversation, Barbara. |
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1st May 2017, 09:38 AM | #38 |
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Sufficiently advanced Woo is indistinguishable from Parody "There shall be no *poofing* in science" Paul C. Anagnostopoulos Force ***** on reasons back" Ben Franklin |
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1st May 2017, 09:49 AM | #39 |
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Actually, I've come to realize something about Trump. His "admiration" for other rulers is not about how they actually govern, but how they came to power. For example, I just saw a comment of Trump's praising Kim Jong-un for how young he came to power (28 or so). Kim Jong-un must be great because he was ruler at such a young age!
Similarly, Trump thinks he's great because he won. Why aren't the press all impressed with him? That's why he constantly talks about the election. He doesn't understand that getting elected is the first step in being President, and that no one is going to judge you as President on the fact you were elected. They are going to look at what you do as President, not how you got there. |
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Gunter Haas, the 'leading British expert,' was a graphologist who advised couples, based on their handwriting characteristics, if they were compatible for marriage. I would submit that couples idiotic enough to do this are probably quite suitable for each other. It's nice when stupid people find love. - Ludovic Kennedy |
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1st May 2017, 09:54 AM | #40 |
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