Simpsons already did it! To quote Kang in Treehouse of Horror VII, ironically after eliminating Clinton: Ha ha ha, what are you going to do. You have to elect one of us [Kang or Kodos]. Or you can throw your vote away.1. What do you think are his chances against Hillary, which seems to be not very popular even with democrats voters? Given how everyone thought he would never make it to become the republican candidate, might he once again suprise everyone?
So, seeing how people have to elect someone, I think they might as well elect Trump. He is, despite all, the "more american" candidate.One has to be realistic about that. The Saudis are not allies, they are enemies. The Saudis know that and already live by it, and to the USA, anyone not-USA is at best a not-immediate enemy anyway, so there are no big surprises ahead. Trump may be more vocal about it, but it's not like that makes a big difference, the Saudis are not stupid.What are the consequenses? Might he be able to make the US loose their last arabic ally, the Sauds? Is he able to mend the relationship with israel which have worsened under Obama? Or will he make everything worse again?
It may not turn out being such a great time living in the USA if you're Mexican (or any latino) or black, although I believe that the effect will overall be relatively moderate.
First, it's not like the police doesn't already shoot blacks for dubious or non-existent reasons and bludgeons them to death under a democratic administration. So, how much worse can it get, really. Second, and more importantly, the USA urgently need these people. The average fat, lazy American doesn't want to do the work that the starving Mexican will happily do for very little money. Someone has to do the work, though. All propaganda left aside, Trump certainly knows that. You cannot run a country without people who do the work.Most likely. That may however be a good thing (for us, not for the USA). He might overdo it so much that, although the hope is very, very, very small, it's just enough so the last corrupt EU commisioner says -- under massive public pressure -- that and TTIP is off the table for the time being. Which would be the best thing to happen in years. But unluckily, that's probably just a dream.TTIP discussions
The American people will pay, obviously. You don't really think Mexico will pay that wall, do you. That's assuming the wall is built at all (though it is already present in the second Machete movie, prophetic...). Will it cost him the second term? Well, let's see. How many politicans who served a second term have kept their promises? Can you name one?And who will pay for these sometimes outlandish ideas? Will the cost of these projects cost him the second term?
This is a hard to solve issue, and Trump is certainly not going to solve it (but neither will Hillary). There are two very different sides to that same thing. There's the racist thing, and there's the other side.current racial unrest thanks to shootings of blacks by the police, and police officers now getting attacked?
Police shooting people, and police being attacked is a serious problem. I'm all for police shooting people, and I'm certainly for shooting blacks in the same manner as whites. Not because of their skin color, but because they are criminals who are a threat to innocent people. Being black can as little serve as a reason not to be shot (in fear of instrumentalization) as it can be a reason to be shot.
We had such an upsetting event only two days ago in Germany. An selfmade-IS Afghan severely severely injured people (still uncertain if some will die) in a train with knives and an axe, then got off the train and injured another woman in the nearby town. Police shot him.
Now, in a country where things are right, everybody would say: "Well done, officer. You have prevented other innocent people from being hurt or killed, here is your medal". However, in an ultra-left country like Germany, what an elected representative from the Green Party has to say to that is: "But couldn't you shoot more carefully, so to stop but not kill him", and some totally fucked up social worker has her big five minutes on evening TV: "Oh the poor boy, he was only 17, and he was such a nice person".
Well yeah, the fucker is dead now, shot by the police, and he was only 17. How very sad. But he was also a cynical liar, and someone who just knifed and axed half a dozen people, and he was a present and immediate threat to others, let's just not forget these tiny details. Police didn't shoot an innocent poor underage fugitive. They shot a dangerous criminal who demonstrably lied about fleeing from violence and who made a cynical video about his planned murder spree the day before, and who slaughtered innocent people whom he didn't even know. If you're the one swinging the axe, you definitively aren't a victim. If you are old enough to slaughter people, you are old enough for being shot by the police, too.
Besides, it's not like shooting someone is a lot of fun to the police man who has to do it, no matter whom he is shooting. It's most certainly not a rewarding job to shoot at a human (for someone with a normal psyche, anyway), no matter what kind of a rotten person you're shooting at. But it is definitively "right" given the good circumstances, and it deserves praise, not shame.
On the other hand of course, there are plenty of occasions (much more frequent in the USA) where one might argue that police didn't have all that great motives about bludgeoning or shooting someone, and that it was more related to skin color than to anyhting else. But there's probably also cases where a shooting was well justified, and still all that remains is "Boo! Police shoots blacks". It's hard to tell, sometimes you cannot know for sure.
This whole thing is alltogether extremely convoluted, and something that will always lead to controversy. Getting it right is near impossible. No doubt Trump will be unable to do that, no surprises ahead.Well, I consider the new Adolf Hitler in the east who just successfully orchestrated a Reichstag-fire last week the much more serious threat than a crazy American business man with crackpot ideas. Am I the only person in the world worrying that history is repeating itself exactly, to the letter?So really, I am asking myself if we need another politician that might turn out to be a wolf in a sheeps clothing.
1. Yeah, it really is choosing between the lesser of two evils. I fear most people do not really inform themselves what is the lesser evil, the will again vote on whims and half truths. Not that it would be easy to find out the lesser evil before they had the stage to work their evil (as presidents or the US of A).
2. Well no, don't think that is accurate. The Saudis and americans work quite well together. Some influential Saudis finance terror, SOME businesses and people in the US profit. These influential Saudis profit from that because they have big stakes in US weapons manufacturers and stuff.
Then there is the thing with the Iran, which for whatever reason is more evil in the eyes of US officials than other regimes in the region. The Iran is seeing itself as the leader of the Shi'ites, while the Saudis are kind of the leader nation among the sunnites. With the "religious" conflict between these two religious groups being the main fuel of conflict in the region, and the US still painting the Iran as being the root of all evil and trying to keep the Iran down at all costs (see the whole sh*t going down in iraqu for the last few decades as for "at all costs"), the Saudis will stay a very close, and very good ally, even though they are quite fickle and not as united as they say.
Of course, with the situation in Syria, and the IS being kind of "a sunnite thing", things will only get more complicated. More and more possibilities for the US to F*ck it up once again in this region.
But I have to say, at least they are doing SOMETHING. Just as Russia is. Both might not be there to help someone other than their own best interests... but its still better than the EU and their lazy, corrupt politicians doing nothing.
But I went off on a tangent... let me get back ontopic.
3. Personally, I think the EU and europe in general has to learn to stand on their own legs. The US is not a trustworthy ally anymore. Hasn't been for a long time. Neither are Russia, or Turquey. Nor is China, or any other big player.
But Turquey is just at the EUs doorstep. The EU has to deal with them, somehow. Russia is on the same continent, and europe is even more dependent on them than on the US. China at least was quite predictable in the last few years - you do business with them? Welcome to the party, friend. Just leave a tip in the hat over there (lets hope the chinese government is not overdoing it in the conflict with japan and the other neighbouring countries).
TTIP is just another thing where europe has to make a statement. You want to do business in europe? You better follow our rules. You are pissed that there are too many rules because of to many countries involved? Well, lets see if the chinese are more ready to follow the rules around here.
4. Of course the US citizen will have to pay the bill. Going to be interesting if its again mostly the middle classes who pay, while the higher ups involved in the bad political decisions can legally avoid paying taxes thanks to lax tax laws (yes I know US taxes are high, for some people. But seemingly not all of them). But this is again a completly different topic.
Question is, will there even be an uproar among people if Trump rudders back on its promises? Given that the people that didn't vot for him would most probably be happy about that, and many will have only voted for him to avoid Hillary, he might get BETTER chances to serve a second term by doing nothing.
5. Hey, I am all for self defense and stuff. Problem in the US is many of those shootings were NOT self defense. Often caught on camera (how you can do stupid stuff like that and expect to get away with it, officer or not, at a time and age where there is a camera on every street corner is a mystery to me).
I don't think ANYONE can deny there is something wrong in the US. Might not just be the police, but the society in the US as a whole (though the police in ANY country attracts sometimes dubious characters, and the guys who should filter them are not as proper as they should be often. As they say, Power corrupts... and as a police officer, you have A LOT of power ready to be abused)...
I think the US is becoming more and more polarized. As such, people feel empowered to voice their more extreme opinions, and get away with it. Among them the racists that exists in any country of this planet.
On the other extreme, the lefties and their tree hugging mentality of "lets be nice to each other and no one gets hurt"... this is the reason why the EU is in the middle of this fugitive crisis, and still has no boots on the ground in Syria. I think this should have consequences for many EU politicians, AND country leaders that influenced the EU (you know who I mean).
As for Trump, if anything, he has the ability to make it worse. He seems to be pretty much hated in many black communities by now thanks to his thinly veiled racism, and in a climate where some more extreme people already have started to attack the police, imagine what damage some well (or rather not so well) placed racist tirades of his as US president could do....
6. Yeah, here too its time the EU and other european countries make a clear statement. If Erdogan wants to turn east to Russia, or China, or starts to dabble in the Syrian conflict, let him. If he wants to get burned by dealing with bigger sharks, or is going to get caught up in a conflict which will have no winner in the end, that is his own business.
Don't get caught up in a dictators self interests or you are gonna regret it. Cut ties, and re negotiate terms of trade and travel.
Just as with russia, of course Turquey is still an important part of the eurasian continent and you cannot ignore them. You don't need them as best friends to do business with them though.