Conversation with a Navajo chap:
"So this area isn't technically a reservation. It's a land grant; which means the Navajo have it on a lease from the federal government and we can have self-government within it. The lease was signed after the 1868 treaty, and it was a 150 year lease."
("So what happens when it runs out?")
"Oh, the federal government will just renew it. I mean, it's not like they want to start hostilies with the Navajo again."
(Awkward pause)
"Although we don't know which way Trump would go on that."
(Really amazingly awkward pause)
You missed the best guy:
Papadopoulos, a 2009 graduate of DePaul University, directs an international energy center at the London Center of International Law Practice. He previously advised the presidential campaign of Ben Carson and worked as a research fellow at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington. According to his LinkedIn profile, he has had meetings with the president of Cyprus and the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates. He obtained a masters's degree from the University of London in 2010.
A biography on Carson's website says Papadopoulos "designed the first ever project in Washington, D.C. think-tank history on U.S., Greece, Cyprus and Israel relations at a symposium entitled 'Power Shifts in the Eastern Mediterranean: The Emerging Strategic Relationship of Israel, Greece and Cyprus.' "
On his LinkedIn page, Papadopolous lists among his awards and honors that he was U.S. Representative at the 2012 Geneva International Model United Nations.
Holy crap, I think I might have interviewed that guy when he applied for a job. His CV definitely sounds familiar. (He was not the one with the obscenely decorated campervan.)
Let it be the same guy. I totally did miss the model UN bit.
Joke's on me when he becomes Secretary of Defense.
Trump should run on switching the name back to "War".
2
Don't run that guy down! I was in the Model Maryland Legislature back in the day. The Senate, no less! The seats were really comfy.
Hey, how about that Hillary speech to AIPAC? Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran!
I used to be slightly acquainted with the first guy's brother, and thought I remembered the family being the subject of frequent Emerson comments, but all I can find right now is this one (aptly describing them as "barbaric").
8: Remember how everyone was absolutely convinced, from about 2004 onwards, that there were going to be US air strikes on Iran? Either Bush was going to do it out of sheer bloodthirst, or Obama was going to get suckered into a war on Iran by the devious Zionist puppet masters or whoever?
And yet, in 2004, the US didn't attack Iran. In 2005, the US didn't attack Iran. In 2006, the US didn't attack Iran. In 2007, the US didn't attack Iran. In 2008, the US didn't attack Iran. In 2009, the US didn't attack Iran. In 2010, there was another panic on this very blog, and I said "This is me sticking my neck out: there will be no US attack on Iran this year, or next year, or the year after, for that matter." And there wasn't. Nor was there one in 2013 or 2014 or 2015.
But, yeah, Natilo, Hillary Clinton's gonna do it, for sure.
I was in the Model Maryland Legislature back in the day.
YMCAYIG?
You might carry a yeast infection gene?
Young Male Christians Always Yearn In Goedelic.
1: You should put him in touch with my Trump-supporting Navajo friend.
I was sent to the CA version of fake state govt back in the day, sponsored by the women's auxiliary of the VFW. All I remember from the event itself was a clog dancing entry during talent night (Fresno). But the dinner with the sponsors was more interesting. The aux and main ¿post? held a joint dinner. They each sent 3-4 students from various local high schools. We each had to speak about what it all meant to us. And it rapidly became apparent the aux and vfw where rabidly competitive re quality of "their" respective students. The guy from my school and I went last and it seemed to me the race was essentially neck and neck going into the final stretch. He went first and we got the full on juvenile diabetes Mormon family song and dance I'd heard from the dude for years. When he sat down the opposition was smug smug smug. BUT! I expertly deployed my profoundly deaf roommate AND the girl down the hall who'd lost like 3 siblings in a tule fog car crash a couple years before, plus lashings of general civic earnestness. Worked a treat, my side carried the day handily.
15 is unrepresentative to the point of making Buttercup look like some sort of exemplary swing state voter. What on earth is the attraction? Is he hoping to leverage the "immigrants out" thing to a rather wider scope than Trump intends?
20: No idea; it's very weird. When he posts about Trump winning it's always about how he's sticking it to the GOP establishment, which, okay, but the weirdest part is that he's a Republican Hill staffer himself. It's like, dude, you yourself embody everything Trump is running against.
I've mentioned him before in one of these threads that I can't find now, specifically in reference to a post he made while vacationing in Colombia about how Trump was going to "make (Latin) America great again." What?
Yes, Maryland Can Assemble Youths In Groups.
I think Hillary can make Latin America great again -- with more death squads!
The YIG folx were around downtown MPLS a couple of months ago -- I just thought they were funny 'cause the minders were all wearing yellow vests that said "YIG" on them, like a bunch of overly serious Lovecraft con goers.
24 raises the question of how close Trump is to going full-on International Jewish Conspiracy. Hillary's already getting a lot of flak from the left about her youthful interning for Barry Goldwater, her praise of Kissinger and her speeches to Goldman Sachs. (Interestingly, not so much for making speeches to the definitely Gentile JP Morgan and Citigroup.)
If Trump said the quiet bits loud on this issue, he might pick up quite a few votes on the left from the sort of person who thinks all Jews are just Israeli fifth columnists.
Yes, after all, what's a few more dead Palestinian kids here and there -- "who remembers the Armenians" and all that.
29: it might be relevant to think back to what happened with regard to the Middle East the last time there was a Clinton in the White House. Handshakes on the White House lawn? Peace between Israel and Jordan? Generally speaking, more progress towards peace than in the two decades before or since? Is there any reason to think that Hillary was grinding her teeth the whole time Bill was putting that together?
Whether you regard 1993-4 as good news depends on whether you're looking for a general, fair and lasting peace agreement in the region or a final solution to the Israel question, I suppose.
Jordan was great, but Steph Curry might be better.
32- I don't actually doubt HRC's good will on this matter. The state of play is much more difficult than it was in the 90s though. The Israelis are no longer interested in a 2 state solution, and really there isn't enough Palestinian land left to make a state.
The last time I checked the number of people who fit the category "the sort of person [on the left] who thinks all Jews are just Israeli fifth columnists" sits somewhere between "that guy I talked to at a Lyndon LaRouche convention" and "completely invented by people who are unhappy about the number of people on the left who both disapprove of apartheid systems and refuse to pretend that Israel isn't one of those".
34: yes, no argument there. If Rabin had just worn his damn body armour like they told him to, the world would be a far happier place. Typical SF. "Oh, I don't need Kevlar, I can deflect bullets with the sheer force of my awesome."
Wait, Rabin wasn't SF. I'm confusing him with Ehud Barak. I retract the second half of 36.
The Israelis are no longer interested in a 2 state solution, and really there isn't enough Palestinian land left to make a state.
And the fuckers at AIPAC are a big part of the reason for that, but she's still happy to go kiss their asses.
we have to be united in fighting back against BDS
So, someone who's threatening to bring the full power of the US security apparat down on a peaceful international dissent movement is going to suddenly roll out of bed on her first day as President and make Israel sign some new Oslo accords? (Which they would violate before the ink was dry, but that's a story for another time.)
37: Yes, remember: ajay hates anyone who's Arab or Muslim, or anyone who speaks up for them. One hair on an Israeli head is worth more to him than the lives of a million Palestinian children.
So your theory is that all the time Bill was negotiating the first Oslo Accords, Hillary was furious with him for betraying Israel? Or do you think the Zionist Octopus got to her some time after 2000?
But tell you what, Natilo: I'll stop telling the truth about what you think, if you stop telling lies about what I think. Deal?
Natilo is trolling badly, but as someone who is neither USian, Israeli nor Iranian, and who is generally well disposed to all three, I would point out:
i. The United States needs to be dragged into further land conflict in western Asia like it needs an extra leg. Clinton is as capable politically of so dragging it as any of the remaining Republicans.
ii. The present government of Israel is bad for everybody, including Israelis. The President of the United States would do everyone a favour by not being sycophantic towards it, as indeed Obama is not, but Clinton, alas, promises to be.
iii. There is no good outcome for Iranians in the short term, but the least bad option is to prolong the political dominance of the more reform oriented factions of the elite who are currently in office. For the POTUS to aggressively renegotiate the agreements made by Obama, with which those factions are associated would weaken them, perhaps fatally, and would be a very bad outcome for everybody. It seems perfectly possible that Clinton, without actually going to war, would pursue this extremely damaging course.
tl;dr: Clinton may or may not be an acceptable domestic president, but on foreign affairs everything she says suggests that she would be a fucking nightmare who could easily roll back the diplomatic situation by 15 years
Terrorist attacks in Belgium.
God I fucking hate terrorists. I hate them so much that I can't put it into words. Why can't they just fucking drop dead in the street, and not add to the burdens of the world?
11
Not the YMCA; it was via a high school course I was taking. Maybe the Y was there in the background, because what we did sounds almost identical to what the linked Wikipedia article says. We passed a strict gun control measure, among other things.
Obama to AIPAC in 2008: "the bigoted divestment that has sought to punish Israeli scientists and academics"
45 is right, and especially 45.ii. Clinton is saying "Hey I won't be like Obama I've got your back here" in almost explicit terms a couple times in that speech. Also the level of 'the US and Israel are basically the same!' is pretty nauseous given how little there is to justify that that doesn't amount to "you're a bunch of white people colonizing somewhere!".
I did almost/sort of laugh at when she praises Israel for being founded on the value of pluralism though. I don't see how even strong supporters of Israel could manage to keep a straight face if they had to try to justify that one.
a final solution
Don't say the quiet parts out loud, ajay.
But seriously, ajay, don't conflate Israel, zionism, and Jews. I know AIPAC does it, but you shouldn't.
Oh wait, I see: you're flat-out calling Nat an antisemite. Carry on.
As a diversion, the Onion has this wonderful anti-Ted Cruz attack ad: http://www.theonion.com/video/brutal-anti-cruz-attack-ad-just-30-seconds-candida-52562
Could have been designed by Witt?
Clinton may or may not be an acceptable domestic president, but on foreign affairs everything she says suggests that she would be a fucking nightmare who could easily roll back the diplomatic situation by 15 years
Wait. Wouldn't that be a pretty huge improvement?
54: IIRC 15 years ago it was all about the US and China arguing over that crashed military aircraft.
If she can uninvade Iraq, that would be a really big improvement. Just as only Nixon could go to China...
I think China forced it to land. But still, not bad at all, comparatively.
Speaking of Responsible and Erudite, NMM to Rob Ford.
Somebody is fucking with the Wikipedia page for him.
One of Schmitz's siblings is Mary Kay Letourneau, the ex-schoolteacher who received seven years in prison for child rape after starting a relationship with a 13-year-old student.
That is a deeply weird coincidence.
So 31 dead in Belgium, and it gets no comment at all? Is this thing on? Bueller?
It was...bad?
It's hard to know what there is to say about it that's interesting.
Killing Belgians is wrong, man. Sometimes it just needs to be said.
You have to wait at least a few hours before people start going on and on in internet forums about how a tragedy confirms all of their pre-existing beliefs. Give it time.
Anyway, will it elect Le Pen in France? How much mileage will Trump get out of it. Given that ISIS is claiming credit, how much more likely is it that NATO troops are going to Iraq? There seems as much to say about it as anything.
Who the fuck knows. But it would be irresponsible not to speculate.
65: Not true. I personally now see that I was wrong about everything, and I'm outraged by Chappaquidick.
I agree with your statement about hating terrorists.
We passed a strict gun control measure, among other things.
When my friends did it, they passed the official rules for calling "shotgun."
I really love Brussels (go ahead and laugh, but if you measure cities, as I do, by their natural history museum and their beer then it's really hard to beat Brussels). I try to get their often and I stay in what I think is a mostly Islamic neighborhood. So this one hits a bit close to home for me.
Rob Ford's Wikipedia page no longer says he was descended from Chris Farley or that he died of an imploded hemorrhoid.
My thoughts are with the people of Belgium. I'll change my facebook avatar to a picture of some frites. Happy now?
Anyway, will it elect Le Pen in France?
Probably.
How much mileage will Trump get out of it.
Not as much as you'd think at first.
Given that ISIS is claiming credit, how much more likely is it that NATO troops are going to Iraq?
Not much. Franco-Belgian unilateral action, possibly.
There seems as much to say about it as anything.
I think that's it, except for grieving for the poor fuckers killed, mutilated, widowed, orphaned, left to cope with long term PTSD. And I can't do that stuff on line. Sorry.
But wait, the frites picture might offend the Rob Ford mourners. Facebook is so complicated.
71: Was in Brussels in June - stayed in a hotel a block from the metro station.
I am also very fond of the city and opposed to terrorism.
I mean, 74.last gets is absolutely right.
73: A picture of the piss boy statue, surely.
The attack in Brussels hits home for me - it was aimed at exactly the kind of traveler I was two weeks ago to the day: same airport, arriving at 8 am, and traveling on a metro at 9 through that station. Freaky. Could've killed me, unlikely as that is.
Anyway, will it elect Le Pen in France?
Probably not. Attacking *Paris* didn't get her the kind of numbers she needs to actually win, rather than fail gloriously against whichever other major candidate gets to the runoff.
I have a friend who was on an 8:05am flight out of that airport. If the bomb went off at 8, do you think the plane was allowed to take off?
Wait, Rabin wasn't SF
I don't even think he was Irish.
if you measure cities, as I do, by their natural history museum and their beer
That's an amazingly good metric. So what US cities would top your list?
This Brussels attack is just awful. Am I correct in reading the airport attack as happening just outside the security gates, as many have feared would one day happen? Ugh.
Years ago the detestable Anne Applebaum wrote an article on how Brussels no longer felt like Europe. I imagine she's masturbating furiously to the news.
WTF did she even mean by that? Does she have a rare form of synesthesia in which continental landmasses have unique textures? Does Belgium now feel like South America?
I'm shocked by the implication in 63 that were not supposed to comment unless it's to say something interesting. This place no longer feels like a blog.
Her complaint was that Brussels was overrun by Muslims. She saw two doner kebab shops, which convinced her it was just like Cairo.
85 -- Goethe wrote about how young America was superior to old Europe because America was free of basalt (nb - not accurate). Maybe Appelbaum noticed a lack of basalt in Brussels.
Wrong, Walt Someguy. Noticing an absence of basalt doesn't mean you hate Muslims.
unless it's to say something interesting
Goethe hated basalt? Really? That's not just an autocorrect fail?
America, du hast es besser
Als unser Kontinente, der alte,
Hast keine verfallene Schloessen
Und keine Basalte.
I wondered about that. It turns out there was a major 18th C controversy about geology - one side thought rocks were all sedimentary, the other igneous, both were wrong - which as very often at the time was also a theological dispute with the use of other means (the sedimentary types usually thought God was present and intervening in daily life, the igneous-ers thought He created the universe and then left it to crack on).
Goethe was evidently sick of the whole thing and apparently convinced that nobody cared in the USA.
the next stanza:
Dich stört nicht im Innern,
Zu lebendiger Zeit,
Unnützes Erinnern
Und vergeblicher Streit
***LOON TRIPLE POST***
Those last two lines could be the motto of the Internet.
I wondered about that. It turns out there was a major 18th C controversy about geology - one side thought rocks were all sedimentary, the other igneous, both were wrong - which as very often at the time was also a theological dispute with the use of other means (the sedimentary types usually thought God was present and intervening in daily life, the igneous-ers thought He created the universe and then left it to crack on).
Gould wrote a book on this, though I don't remember Goethe coming up.
When we were in Brussels we went to a really cool museum of musical instruments. And of course the beer was lovely.
Cleveland has a very nice natural history museum for a city our size. The local craft brewery is kinda boring, though.
I bet you don't have as many dinosaurs, even if you do have Michael Jackson's old glove.
Yggles has up an explainer everything about Belgium, EU, Brussels and terrorism, Walloons and Flemish, mentions In Bruges which is a good movie but not the Dardennes. Ignorant liberal boor.
The Same Bosses Jacobin, subbed "Fighting corporate trade deals requires uniting with immigrants and foreign workers -- not scapegoating them."
Thinking about the Dardennes, I have read a book on them, made me remember that they really don't much explore the immigrant experience in Europe, only The Promise and Lorna's Silence, although they do concentrate to an extent on the subaltern and marginalized, the globalized and those damaged by globalization, cosmopolitans of the other class. Their power is drawn from the concrete material specificity of the subject matter.
Looking at Fatih Akin, maybe Clair Denis, need more movies about EU subaltern experience, too many French are about UMC.
Thought has crossed my mind about the sites of this and other recent terror attacks, from a class perspective. Not a lot of airports in the Dardennes movies, not a lot of suits.
Too callous, too soon.