Miscellaneous news items that don't warrant their own thread

[houndawg]

...already happened bro, done been did...and what's done been did can be redid

Uh, no it hasn’t. Otherwise you wouldn’t be opining for your
scheme to happen. But keep waiting for something that ain’t going to happen politically, through the courts, or practically…

Uh, yes it has. Thats why machine guns are in a different category. Thats all that happens, Karen, just move them one category to a different one. Its a great idea - if you see one on the street you'll know that the owner is bonded, insured, and passed a rigorous background check. You know I'm right, we can tell by your reaction. You aren't missing out - if you're militia-aged they have one for you if the State needs you to do any killing for them. Other than that you should be safe with a snub-nose .38 if you can manage to avoid shooting yourself with it.

[BDKJMU]

Uh, no it hasn’t. Otherwise you wouldn’t be opining for your
scheme to happen. But keep waiting for something that ain’t going to happen politically, through the courts, or practically…

Uh, yes it has. Thats why machine guns are in a different category. Thats all that happens, Karen, just move them one category to a different one. Its a great idea - if you see one on the street you'll know that the owner is bonded, insured, and passed a rigorous background check. You know I'm right, we can tell by your reaction. You aren't missing out - if you're militia-aged they have one for you if the State needs you to do any killing for them. Other than that you should be safe with a snub-nose .38 if you can manage to avoid shooting yourself with it.

Blah blah blah wah wah wah your scheme has zero chance of happening, and you keep making yourself look like an idiot to insist it does.

[houndawg]

Uh, yes it has. Thats why machine guns are in a different category. Thats all that happens, Karen, just move them one category to a different one. Its a great idea - if you see one on the street you'll know that the owner is bonded, insured, and passed a rigorous background check. You know I'm right, we can tell by your reaction. You aren't missing out - if you're militia-aged they have one for you if the State needs you to do any killing for them. Other than that you should be safe with a snub-nose .38 if you can manage to avoid shooting yourself with it.

Blah blah blah wah wah wah your scheme has zero chance of happening, and you keep making yourself look like an idiot to insist it does.

.....yessssss.....let the hate explode.....feel the power...........

[UNI88]

[kalm]

[GannonFan]

While certainly not the main source of dysfunction in the House, I wouldn't let the House Dem's off the hook either. They made a deal with McCarthy to avoid a shutdown and extend the government funding, and then were more than happy to join with the extreme crazies in the GOP caucus to oust McCarthy from the speakership. As a result, the House GOP is in further chaos, it's very likely we could see a real government shutdown this next time, because who would be willing to make a deal just so they can be dismissed soon after. The only benefit to helping the GOP along on their way to destructive chaos would be to potentially win more votes in the upcoming '24 election. So once again, politics trumps country, as it often seems to be the case. Manchin, it turns out, isn't too far off the mark with his assessment of where the parties are currently.

[BDKJMU]

While certainly not the main source of dysfunction in the House, I wouldn't let the House Dem's off the hook either. They made a deal with McCarthy to avoid a shutdown and extend the government funding, and then were more than happy to join with the extreme crazies in the GOP caucus to oust McCarthy from the speakership. As a result, the House GOP is in further chaos, it's very likely we could see a real government shutdown this next time, because who would be willing to make a deal just so they can be dismissed soon after. The only benefit to helping the GOP along on their way to destructive chaos would be to potentially win more votes in the upcoming '24 election. So once again, politics trumps country, as it often seems to be the case. Manchin, it turns out, isn't too far off the mark with his assessment of where the parties are currently.

We haven’t seem a real govt shutdown in our lifetimes, and we won’t next month or next year. When in a so called govt shutdown the govt is still spending 80+% of their normal spending like in the last govt so called shutdown, that isn’t a real shutdown.

[kalm]

While certainly not the main source of dysfunction in the House, I wouldn't let the House Dem's off the hook either. They made a deal with McCarthy to avoid a shutdown and extend the government funding, and then were more than happy to join with the extreme crazies in the GOP caucus to oust McCarthy from the speakership. As a result, the House GOP is in further chaos, it's very likely we could see a real government shutdown this next time, because who would be willing to make a deal just so they can be dismissed soon after. The only benefit to helping the GOP along on their way to destructive chaos would be to potentially win more votes in the upcoming '24 election. So once again, politics trumps country, as it often seems to be the case. Manchin, it turns out, isn't too far off the mark with his assessment of where the parties are currently.

We haven’t seem a real govt shutdown in our lifetimes, and we won’t next month or next year. When in a so called govt shutdown the govt is still spending 80+% of their normal spending like in the last govt so called shutdown, that isn’t a real shutdown.

So that’s a good thing right? It’s even less costly if it never happens, correct?

[SeattleGriz]

When you hear me piss and moan about how we lack professionals in our government, here is a perfect example. And yes, I know it happens with all administrations.

[BDKJMU]

When you hear me piss and moan about how we lack professionals in our government, here is a perfect example. And yes, I know it happens with all administrations.

There’s an echo in here..
https://www.championshipsubdivision.com ... 7#p1437837

[BDKJMU]

Shock election in Holland. Making Holland Great Again!
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/fa ... r-AA1koT3h

[BDKJMU]

Keep Ireland Irish..

Looks like a peaceful protest.

[kalm]

Shock election in Holland. Making Holland Great Again!
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/fa ... r-AA1koT3h

I mean he’s proposed banning the Koran and mosques, praised Putin’s leadership, and he loves gold. What’s not to like?

[SeattleGriz]

[UNI88]

Shock election in Holland. Making Holland Great Again!
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/fa ... r-AA1koT3h

Does this mean that the Netherlands are 7 years away from pushing back and kicking Moms for Fascism off of school boards?

[UNI88]

[UNI88]

Henry Kissinger, War Criminal Beloved by America’s Ruling Class, Finally Dies

The Yale University historian Greg Grandin, author of the biography Kissinger’s Shadow, estimates that Kissinger’s actions from 1969 through 1976, a period of eight brief years when Kissinger made Richard Nixon’s and then Gerald Ford’s foreign policy as national security adviser and secretary of state, meant the end of between three and four million people. That includes “crimes of commission,” he explained, as in Cambodia and Chile, and omission, like greenlighting Indonesia’s bloodshed in East Timor; Pakistan’s bloodshed in Bangladesh; and the inauguration of an American tradition of using and then abandoning the Kurds.

WTF ... way to focus completely on one side of a man's legacy.

[kalm]

Henry Kissinger, War Criminal Beloved by America’s Ruling Class, Finally Dies

The Yale University historian Greg Grandin, author of the biography Kissinger’s Shadow, estimates that Kissinger’s actions from 1969 through 1976, a period of eight brief years when Kissinger made Richard Nixon’s and then Gerald Ford’s foreign policy as national security adviser and secretary of state, meant the end of between three and four million people. That includes “crimes of commission,” he explained, as in Cambodia and Chile, and omission, like greenlighting Indonesia’s bloodshed in East Timor; Pakistan’s bloodshed in Bangladesh; and the inauguration of an American tradition of using and then abandoning the Kurds.

WTF ... way to focus completely on one side of a man's legacy.

[UNI88]

Henry Kissinger, War Criminal Beloved by America’s Ruling Class, Finally Dies

WTF ... way to focus completely on one side of a man's legacy.

Kissinger's legacy is complicated and that article was absolute dog sh!t in detailing the good and the bad. It was about as good as something in the National Enquirer.

[kalm]

Kissinger's legacy is complicated and that article was absolute dog sh!t in detailing the good and the bad. It was about as good as something in the National Enquirer.

Yeah…the Timothy McVeigh comparison was useless.

I haven’t taken a deep dive. I would imagine his legacy to be complicated similar to others in his position or governments like ours with FP. But it seems he was responsible for an awful lot of shitty things.

Have you come across any obits that are more fair?

[UNI88]

Kissinger's legacy is complicated and that article was absolute dog sh!t in detailing the good and the bad. It was about as good as something in the National Enquirer.

Yeah…the Timothy McVeigh comparison was useless.

I haven’t taken a deep dive. I would imagine his legacy to be complicated similar to others in his position or governments like ours with FP. But it seems he was responsible for an awful lot of shitty things.

Have you come across any obits that are more fair?

Henry Kissinger, diplomat who helped to reshape the world, dies at 100

“Kissinger personified human complexity — his characteristics ranging from brilliance and wit to sensitivity, melancholy, abrasiveness and savagery,” Stanley Karnow wrote in “Vietnam: A History.” “As he adapted to Nixon’s court, with its arcane and unsavory intrigues, he was able to acquire a talent for duplicity.”

One of the ironies is that many of the people calling Kissinger a war criminal venerate/defend war criminals like Stalin, Mao, Che or Chavez.

[GannonFan]

Yeah…the Timothy McVeigh comparison was useless.

I haven’t taken a deep dive. I would imagine his legacy to be complicated similar to others in his position or governments like ours with FP. But it seems he was responsible for an awful lot of shitty things.

Have you come across any obits that are more fair?

Henry Kissinger, diplomat who helped to reshape the world, dies at 100

“Kissinger personified human complexity — his characteristics ranging from brilliance and wit to sensitivity, melancholy, abrasiveness and savagery,” Stanley Karnow wrote in “Vietnam: A History.” “As he adapted to Nixon’s court, with its arcane and unsavory intrigues, he was able to acquire a talent for duplicity.”

One of the ironies is that many of the people calling Kissinger a war criminal venerate/defend other war criminals like Stalin, Mao, Che or Chavez.

Indeed. Kissinger, and his legacy, are complicated. That in and of itself is difficult for politics of today to understand as we seem to only like simplistic, glossed-over political statements that work well in meme format. I generally dismiss any political commentary that includes comparisons to Hitler and declaring people to be burning in hell. Those tend not to be intellectually thought about enough.

You can see the issue with Kissinger and how he's viewed today just based on who doesn't like him - Reagan Republicans didn't like him because they thought arms control treaties with the Soviet Union was going soft on communism. Jimmy Carter Democrats (and Biden was this then) didn't like him because he worked with Nixon - no other reason needed. Bill Clinton Democrats, including Hillary, did like him because he was obviously extremely intellectual and a bit of a realist. However, since the Progressive Left has become the mainstream left today, being associated with Hillary Clinton is not a good thing and hence the current left didn't like him. And the current right is dominated by the Trump MAGA's and just knowing that Kissinger was part of opening up China just makes him persona non grata as well. So basically, there's a lot of hate from both the right and the left. And none of this even gets into the fact that Kissinger was Jewish and how his working at the highest levels of government and power play into those vile tropes of antisemitism that unfortunately plague both the left and the right.

Kissinger's legacy is complicated, like I said. You have to question the wanton bombing and loss of life in Cambodia that happened under his watch. He and Nixon didn't start the Vietnam quagmire, but they probably could've done better. As for turning a blind eye to the atrocities carried out by strongmen that the US either supported or didn't oppose, you need to look at each and every case and determine 1) if we could've really done anything different to deter those events and 2) also make a determination that if the Marxist-forces in those countries we were indirectly opposing would have been even worse. The Cold War was not a simple time, and even with our benefit of hindsight I'm not sure there were always better options. But it is interesting that other folks in administrations that came before and after the one Kissinger worked in aren't subject to the same wishes for eternal damnation in a hell they may or may not believe in. Again, don't discount the antisemitism angle to this.

[kalm]

Henry Kissinger, diplomat who helped to reshape the world, dies at 100



One of the ironies is that many of the people calling Kissinger a war criminal venerate/defend other war criminals like Stalin, Mao, Che or Chavez.

Indeed. Kissinger, and his legacy, are complicated. That in and of itself is difficult for politics of today to understand as we seem to only like simplistic, glossed-over political statements that work well in meme format. I generally dismiss any political commentary that includes comparisons to Hitler and declaring people to be burning in hell. Those tend not to be intellectually thought about enough.

You can see the issue with Kissinger and how he's viewed today just based on who doesn't like him - Reagan Republicans didn't like him because they thought arms control treaties with the Soviet Union was going soft on communism. Jimmy Carter Democrats (and Biden was this then) didn't like him because he worked with Nixon - no other reason needed. Bill Clinton Democrats, including Hillary, did like him because he was obviously extremely intellectual and a bit of a realist. However, since the Progressive Left has become the mainstream left today, being associated with Hillary Clinton is not a good thing and hence the current left didn't like him. And the current right is dominated by the Trump MAGA's and just knowing that Kissinger was part of opening up China just makes him persona non grata as well. So basically, there's a lot of hate from both the right and the left. And none of this even gets into the fact that Kissinger was Jewish and how his working at the highest levels of government and power play into those vile tropes of antisemitism that unfortunately plague both the left and the right.

Kissinger's legacy is complicated, like I said. You have to question the wanton bombing and loss of life in Cambodia that happened under his watch. He and Nixon didn't start the Vietnam quagmire, but they probably could've done better. As for turning a blind eye to the atrocities carried out by strongmen that the US either supported or didn't oppose, you need to look at each and every case and determine 1) if we could've really done anything different to deter those events and 2) also make a determination that if the Marxist-forces in those countries we were indirectly opposing would have been even worse. The Cold War was not a simple time, and even with our benefit of hindsight I'm not sure there were always better options. But it is interesting that other folks in administrations that came before and after the one Kissinger worked in aren't subject to the same wishes for eternal damnation in a hell they may or may not believe in. Again, don't discount the antisemitism angle to this.

I agree with this from a political standpoint. It’s the establishment’s narrative…what we’ve all been trained to believe. I’m guilty as well.

Sometimes it’s better to listen to the poets, the artists, or in this case, the chefs to see it through the eyes of stripped down truth telling.

“Once you’ve been to Cambodia, you’ll never stop wanting to beat Henry Kissinger to death with your bare hands. You will never again be able to open a newspaper and read about that treacherous, prevaricating, murderous scumbag sitting down for a nice chat with Charlie Rose or attending some black-tie affair for a new glossy magazine without choking. Witness what Henry did in Cambodia – the fruits of his genius for statesmanship – and you will never understand why he’s not sitting in the dock at The Hague next to Milošević.”

Anthony Bourdain

(Similar can be said regarding Kissinger, the CIA, and Milton Friedman’s interference in Chile. This all makes me want to watch the Killing Fields)

[houndawg]

Henry Kissinger, diplomat who helped to reshape the world, dies at 100



One of the ironies is that many of the people calling Kissinger a war criminal venerate/defend other war criminals like Stalin, Mao, Che or Chavez.

Indeed. Kissinger, and his legacy, are complicated. That in and of itself is difficult for politics of today to understand as we seem to only like simplistic, glossed-over political statements that work well in meme format. I generally dismiss any political commentary that includes comparisons to Hitler and declaring people to be burning in hell. Those tend not to be intellectually thought about enough.

You can see the issue with Kissinger and how he's viewed today just based on who doesn't like him - Reagan Republicans didn't like him because they thought arms control treaties with the Soviet Union was going soft on communism. Jimmy Carter Democrats (and Biden was this then) didn't like him because he worked with Nixon - no other reason needed. Bill Clinton Democrats, including Hillary, did like him because he was obviously extremely intellectual and a bit of a realist. However, since the Progressive Left has become the mainstream left today, being associated with Hillary Clinton is not a good thing and hence the current left didn't like him. And the current right is dominated by the Trump MAGA's and just knowing that Kissinger was part of opening up China just makes him persona non grata as well. So basically, there's a lot of hate from both the right and the left. And none of this even gets into the fact that Kissinger was Jewish and how his working at the highest levels of government and power play into those vile tropes of antisemitism that unfortunately plague both the left and the right.

Kissinger's legacy is complicated, like I said. You have to question the wanton bombing and loss of life in Cambodia that happened under his watch. He and Nixon didn't start the Vietnam quagmire, but they probably could've done better. As for turning a blind eye to the atrocities carried out by strongmen that the US either supported or didn't oppose, you need to look at each and every case and determine 1) if we could've really done anything different to deter those events and 2) also make a determination that if the Marxist-forces in those countries we were indirectly opposing would have been even worse. The Cold War was not a simple time, and even with our benefit of hindsight I'm not sure there were always better options. But it is interesting that other folks in administrations that came before and after the one Kissinger worked in aren't subject to the same wishes for eternal damnation in a hell they may or may not believe in. Again, don't discount the antisemitism angle to this.

....compare that with today's Mollycoddle Republicans kissing Putin's ass in the middle of Main St. and taking the vapors over how badly his war on Ukraine civilians is being misunderstood as an invasion when actually the Russians are just there to help their Ukrainian brothers.

[UNI88]

Indeed. Kissinger, and his legacy, are complicated. That in and of itself is difficult for politics of today to understand as we seem to only like simplistic, glossed-over political statements that work well in meme format. I generally dismiss any political commentary that includes comparisons to Hitler and declaring people to be burning in hell. Those tend not to be intellectually thought about enough.

You can see the issue with Kissinger and how he's viewed today just based on who doesn't like him - Reagan Republicans didn't like him because they thought arms control treaties with the Soviet Union was going soft on communism. Jimmy Carter Democrats (and Biden was this then) didn't like him because he worked with Nixon - no other reason needed. Bill Clinton Democrats, including Hillary, did like him because he was obviously extremely intellectual and a bit of a realist. However, since the Progressive Left has become the mainstream left today, being associated with Hillary Clinton is not a good thing and hence the current left didn't like him. And the current right is dominated by the Trump MAGA's and just knowing that Kissinger was part of opening up China just makes him persona non grata as well. So basically, there's a lot of hate from both the right and the left. And none of this even gets into the fact that Kissinger was Jewish and how his working at the highest levels of government and power play into those vile tropes of antisemitism that unfortunately plague both the left and the right.

Kissinger's legacy is complicated, like I said. You have to question the wanton bombing and loss of life in Cambodia that happened under his watch. He and Nixon didn't start the Vietnam quagmire, but they probably could've done better. As for turning a blind eye to the atrocities carried out by strongmen that the US either supported or didn't oppose, you need to look at each and every case and determine 1) if we could've really done anything different to deter those events and 2) also make a determination that if the Marxist-forces in those countries we were indirectly opposing would have been even worse. The Cold War was not a simple time, and even with our benefit of hindsight I'm not sure there were always better options. But it is interesting that other folks in administrations that came before and after the one Kissinger worked in aren't subject to the same wishes for eternal damnation in a hell they may or may not believe in. Again, don't discount the antisemitism angle to this.

I agree with this from a political standpoint. It’s the establishment’s narrative…what we’ve all been trained to believe. I’m guilty as well.

Sometimes it’s better to listen to the poets, the artists, or in this case, the chefs to see it through the eyes of stripped down truth telling.

“Once you’ve been to Cambodia, you’ll never stop wanting to beat Henry Kissinger to death with your bare hands. You will never again be able to open a newspaper and read about that treacherous, prevaricating, murderous scumbag sitting down for a nice chat with Charlie Rose or attending some black-tie affair for a new glossy magazine without choking. Witness what Henry did in Cambodia – the fruits of his genius for statesmanship – and you will never understand why he’s not sitting in the dock at The Hague next to Milošević.”

Anthony Bourdain

(Similar can be said regarding Kissinger, the CIA, and Milton Friedman’s interference in Chile. This all makes me want to watch the Killing Fields)

Kissinger was ruthless in trying to protect American interests and he didn't mind sacrificing non-Americans to do it.

Back to Ganny's point/question about what if the Marxist-forces in those countries we were indirectly opposing would have been even worse. Why did the US bomb Cambodia? What happened after the bombing stopped? Were more people killed by the bombing or by the regime that followed?

A lot of what Kissinger advocated for was despicable but I don't think you can look at it in a vacuum.