USA Politics

[Karl Henning]

I do not deny it, PD!

[71 dB]

Trump's tax records show 'previously unknown bank account' in China, NYT reports

Trump paid $188,561 in taxes in China and $750 in taxes in the U.S.

There's probably a dozen countries where Trump paid more taxes than in the US. 

[drogulus]

     Voters in Two States Report Threatening 'Vote for Trump' Emails

"We are in possession of all your information You are currently registered as a Democrat and we know this because we have gained access into the entire voting infrastructure. You will vote for Trump on Election Day or we will come after you. Change your party affiliation to Republican to let us know you received our message and will comply. We will know which candidate you voted for. I would take this seriously if I were you."

     The source of the email was a server in Estonia.

In the email that The Times reviewed, metadata shows that the original email came from vhost43553f0@avalik.koolibri.ee, an Estonian mail server hosted on ElkData.ee, one of the country's domain hosting services.

     If I got an email like this I would "view raw message" to see what that reveals. I might have seen the ".ee" or just looked up the originating IP address.

[Florestan]

     Voters in Two States Report Threatening 'Vote for Trump' Emails

"We are in possession of all your information You are currently registered as a Democrat and we know this because we have gained access into the entire voting infrastructure. You will vote for Trump on Election Day or we will come after you. Change your party affiliation to Republican to let us know you received our message and will comply. We will know which candidate you voted for. I would take this seriously if I were you."
   

This is extremely similar to the porn blackmail spam. 

A hoax, obviously.

[Herman]

This is extremely similar to the porn blackmail spam. 

A hoax, obviously.

Of course. However imagine you're an older person who is not a regular porn user  and thus unfamiliar with this kind of stuff.

Imagine you're not too smart, and still plan to vote for Biden, because you like him better.

In that case mails like this are pretty scary.

It's all about supressing the D vote.

[drogulus]

Of course. However imagine you're an older person who is not a regular porn user  and thus unfamiliar with this kind of stuff.

Imagine you're not too smart, and still plan to vote for Biden, because you like him better.

In that case mails like this are pretty scary.

It's all about supressing the D vote.

     That's part of it, but if you look at the pattern since 2016 you'll see that the aim is to weaken the US and Europe by means of a strategy I call Helter Skelter. The idea is to destroy trust everywhere in society and render policy cooperation in the alliance system as difficult as possible.

     Trump is a paradigmatic Helter Skelterist. Russia uses him as a weapon against both political parties. I note that the original Manson Family context for Helter Shelter was the instigation of a race war, which is funny because I wasn't focused so much on that aspect back in the days when we were young and innocent.

[Herman]

True, that's how Putin et al do this, and it's much cheaper than upgrading defense and creating a space force etc.

[Karl Henning]

And of course, the "happy to be a jerk" contingent see no problem.

[Florestan]

Imagine you're not too smart, and still plan to vote for Biden

Bothsiderism!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JBS]

The Guiliani children need to sit down with Rudy and explain to him that it's time to give up the car keys.

To those who don't know why I am saying that today...you don't want to know. Just avoid any mention of Borat or Rudy in the news for as long as possible.

[Florestan]

that's how Putin et al do this

Question for you (anyone else invited to answer as well):

In terms of foreign policy, who was/is more hawkish: Putin, Obama or Trump?

(I haste to add that nobody who has been attentively following my political opinions over thirteen years could ever accuse me of being a Putin fan.)

Please, gents, I want an honest answer.

[JBS]

Putin more than Obama more than Trump.

[greg]

Putin more than Obama more than Trump.

That does seem to be their reputation.

[Herman]

The Guiliani children need to sit down with Rudy and explain to him that it's time to give up the car keys.

To those who don't know why I am saying that today...you don't want to know. Just avoid any mention of Borat or Rudy in the news for as long as possible.

I believe the Guiliani children aren't too eager to talk with dad.

[drogulus]

Putin more than Obama more than Trump.

     Sweden is Boosting its Civil Defense Spending (Thanks to Russia)

This week, the Swedish government decided to raise its defense budget by 40 percent over the next five years, and unsurprisingly the hike generated lots of headlines at home and abroad. Equally important, though, is Sweden's decision to invest in civil defense. Indeed, it's an area where other countries could watch and learn.

The military defense proposition, put forward by Sweden's social democratic-green coalition this week, will see active-duty personnel increase by 50 percent. The Army will double in size, the Navy will receive more vessels, and the Air Force will be given better weapons systems. In addition, Sweden's highly selective military service will expand from 4,000 to 8,000 young men and women each year. With some 90,000 Swedes born each year, it means military service will remain decidedly selective, with only the best candidates chosen.

     The Arctic is getting hotter in more ways than one.

[Florestan]

     Sweden is Boosting its Civil Defense Spending (Thanks to Russia)

This week, the Swedish government decided to raise its defense budget by 40 percent over the next five years, and unsurprisingly the hike generated lots of headlines at home and abroad. Equally important, though, is Sweden's decision to invest in civil defense. Indeed, it's an area where other countries could watch and learn.

The military defense proposition, put forward by Sweden's social democratic-green coalition this week, will see active-duty personnel increase by 50 percent. The Army will double in size, the Navy will receive more vessels, and the Air Force will be given better weapons systems. In addition, Sweden's highly selective military service will expand from 4,000 to 8,000 young men and women each year. With some 90,000 Swedes born each year, it means military service will remain decidedly selective, with only the best candidates chosen.

     The Arctic is getting hotter in more ways than one.

This is no answer to my question. Here it is, in case you missed it:

In terms of foreign policy, who was/is more hawkish: Putin, Obama or Trump?

[Karl Henning]

     Sweden is Boosting its Civil Defense Spending (Thanks to Russia)

This week, the Swedish government decided to raise its defense budget by 40 percent over the next five years, and unsurprisingly the hike generated lots of headlines at home and abroad. Equally important, though, is Sweden's decision to invest in civil defense. Indeed, it's an area where other countries could watch and learn.

The military defense proposition, put forward by Sweden's social democratic-green coalition this week, will see active-duty personnel increase by 50 percent. The Army will double in size, the Navy will receive more vessels, and the Air Force will be given better weapons systems. In addition, Sweden's highly selective military service will expand from 4,000 to 8,000 young men and women each year. With some 90,000 Swedes born each year, it means military service will remain decidedly selective, with only the best candidates chosen.

     The Arctic is getting hotter in more ways than one.

Thanks. Interesting, indeed.

[Karl Henning]

Andrei, has Trump seemed to you in even the least degree hawkish?

[Florestan]

Andrei, has Trump seemed to you in even the least degree hawkish?

With respect to foreign policy Trump seemed to me the most paciifist POTUS since Jimmy Carter.

My opinion is that with respect to hawkishness Obama > Putin > Trump.

[Karl Henning]

With respect to foreign policy Trump seemed to me the most paciifist POTUS since Jimmy Carter.

My opinion is that with respect to hawkishness Obama > Putin > Trump.

I agree with Jeffrey, Obama was a turtledove compared to Putin.

Bunker Boy, who doesn't oppose Putin even in the vile matter of the Taliban bounties is toothless rather than pacifist. Pepper-spraying your own citizens for a photo op doesn't pass for military resolve.