Gas Bandit's Political Thread V: The Vampire Likes Bats

The (most) interesting part about the OP is how specific the accusations are in the lawsuit. While libel/slander are things, there's a whole new level when you put those accusations in a court document. It means you probably (though not always) have some good evidence.

Interesting to see how this plays out.
 
http://www.politicususa.com/2016/10...-prison-summons-issued-misconduct-office.html

A judge has found probable cause for a complaint of official misconduct against Gov. Chris Christie related to the George Washington Bridge closure.
The case now goes to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, which will determine if the case will lead to an indictment.
Under New Jersey’s official misconduct law, a public servant can be imprisoned for up to ten years for criminal acts committed in their official capacity. Chris Christie’s Bridgegate behavior is a textbook violation of New Jersey law. Evidence has shown that Christie was involved in the plan to political payback on those who had not endorsed him by closing lanes of the George Washington Bridge during rush hour.
 
http://www.politicususa.com/2016/10...-prison-summons-issued-misconduct-office.html

A judge has found probable cause for a complaint of official misconduct against Gov. Chris Christie related to the George Washington Bridge closure.
The case now goes to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, which will determine if the case will lead to an indictment.
Under New Jersey’s official misconduct law, a public servant can be imprisoned for up to ten years for criminal acts committed in their official capacity. Chris Christie’s Bridgegate behavior is a textbook violation of New Jersey law. Evidence has shown that Christie was involved in the plan to political payback on those who had not endorsed him by closing lanes of the George Washington Bridge during rush hour.
Not even the tiniest bit surprised.

I was having this discussion with someone when it first broke, and they insisted he didn't know. I said that Christie is such a control freak, his staff has to get his permission to take pee breaks (hyperbole). If his staffers had done this without him knowing, they would have been fired, or at a minimum severely punished, not because they broke the law, but they would have had to go over his head to get this done.
 
Russia retooling it's economy away from oil and towards grain exports.

I'm not sure how this could keep the country afloat: ALL of Russia's economic gains since the fall of Communism have been related to oil exploitation and their fields are producing less and less every year. America and many other countries subsidize the shit out grain to keep it's cost low and we're still shipping tons of it abroad in aid and exports because we just don't have a domestic use for it. This doesn't seem like a viable long term solution, unless they believe global warming is going to ruin a lot of international farmland in the next 20 years.

But it does explain why Ukraine was such a target for them; beyond it's fresh water ports, Ukraine was part of the agricultural heartland of the USSR.
 
Russia retooling it's economy away from oil and towards grain exports.

I'm not sure how this could keep the country afloat: ALL of Russia's economic gains since the fall of Communism have been related to oil exploitation and their fields are producing less and less every year. America and many other countries subsidize the shit out grain to keep it's cost low and we're still shipping tons of it abroad in aid and exports because we just don't have a domestic use for it. This doesn't seem like a viable long term solution, unless they believe global warming is going to ruin a lot of international farmland in the next 20 years.

But it does explain why Ukraine was such a target for them; beyond it's fresh water ports, Ukraine was part of the agricultural heartland of the USSR.
Slowly but surely we're seeing the Western world turning away from oil - it'll take another 20 years or so at least, but with global warming on one hand and oil scarcity - and being in control of generally not the nicest countries - on the other, and tech moving forward....Any country whose economy is based only on oil and isn't diversifying is dooming themselves in the medium-long run. Is grain a good plan - I sort of doubt it. But we're still going to need fuel, and, more importantly, complex carbohydrates for a lot of stuff. You can make a car run on solar power or water for all I care, you can't make plastic out of it. You can make plastics and stuff out of plants and fibers. Having a lot of viable areable land may prove useful. Corn diesel was, is and never will be useful, bamboo or corn or whatever the heck Frankenplant some scientist discovers or builds might become a useful/important/necessary resource. Due to global warming, a lot of currently-areable land may disappear or become expensive to irrigate - water being a scarce resource in large parts of the world. Europe defintely isn't going to grow it; Africa and South-America are still trying their best to turn into deserts as fast as possible; the USA has water issues. Just spitballing here.
All economic thoughts aside - being able to feed your own populace is kind of a big deal - most of Europe can't (even agricultural countries like France and Greece because they're over-specialized - you can't live off of wine and olives), and imports may prove problematic soon, too, certainly for a country like Russia.
 

Dave

Staff member
Apparently Trump repeatedly referred to Lil Jon as "Uncle Tom".....
You know, this one I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. Lil Jon was dressed as Uncle Sam and Trump was trying to be funny. Once Lil Jon asked him to stop he did.
 

Necronic

Staff member
It's just so fucking tone deaf though. If he can't understand the cultural implications of a well known African American slur then wtf is he gonna pull at a state dinner with any other nation. Art of The Deal my ripe ass.
 
It's just so fucking tone deaf though. If he can't understand the cultural implications of a well known African American slur then wtf is he gonna pull at a state dinner with any other nation. Art of The Deal my ripe ass.
The guy who actually ghost-wrote The Art of The Deal has gone on the record as saying that Trump is unfit to be President.
 
Actually, I'll just use Tony Schwarz's exact words:

“I put lipstick on a pig,” he said. “I feel a deep sense of remorse that I contributed to presenting Trump in a way that brought him wider attention and made him more appealing than he is.” He went on, “I genuinely believe that if Trump wins and gets the nuclear codes there is an excellent possibility it will lead to the end of civilization.”
If he were writing “The Art of the Deal” today, Schwartz said, it would be a very different book with a very different title. Asked what he would call it, he answered, “The Sociopath.”

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/25/donald-trumps-ghostwriter-tells-all
 
How many countries would keep diplomatic relations to be willing to attend a Trump-hosted state dinner? Besides Russia, I mean?

The GOP prays at the altar of St. Reagan, but their candidate now speaks what was treason then. It makes my brain hurt.
Soviet Canuckistan will. I mean, if President Trump insisted on Trudeau's attendance, he'd probably go. He might also decide the best way to help relations (with everyone in the US but Trump) is to show up Trump by outshining and outclassing him in his own house.
 
How many countries would keep diplomatic relations to be willing to attend a Trump-hosted state dinner? Besides Russia, I mean?

The GOP prays at the altar of St. Reagan, but their candidate now speaks what was treason then. It makes my brain hurt.
Most countries, really. you might have a few doing symbolic things, but the USA could throw an A-bomb and most countries would pinch their nose and keep talking. You might've missed it but the USA's still a bit of an economic power in the world. China and the EU might theoretically be bigger, but not if they didn't trade to the USA, they wouldn't be :p
 
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