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Why shouldn't allies shoulder more of the burden? A subsidy is a subsidy.
Because they won't.
They are happy to let the US pay for military "necessary" for a manufactured threat. People in other countries are not going to stand for their own standard of living declining to fund military adventures.
There's only so far that the leadership can go in a representative democracy with periodic elections, and especially where there are parliamentary systems dependent on coalitions..
Europeans are much more politically involved than Americans. Hundreds of thousands are in the streets of France protest the attempt at labor cram down supposedly need for "competitiveness."
What will happen is that nationalist parties will come to power that shut down the EU. They will tell the US to take a hike while they develop trade relationships with Russia and China that are to their advantage.
The purpose of NATO an NATO expansion is to keep Europe in tow. The US doesn't want a hot war with Russia, or China, believing that regime change is a lot safer and less costly. The military pressure on Russia and China is part of economic warfare.
Through NATO and the Asian pivot, The US manages its vassals and plans eventually to add Russia and China as vassals of the empire, too.
It's entirely possible that Trump understands this and want to put an end to the game of empire. But there are other possibilities, too. Trump is too much of a wild card to know, and that is a negotiator wants to be.
I don't think he's anymore a wild card than any other candidate , past or present. I am, however, concerned about his "we are broke" meme. Yet that meme is no different than anyone desiring to get elected, thus my calculus on him is still in the green relative to the others.
Oh, and Tom, I feel confident he isn't the gunslinger that you and other libs claim he is on the world stage. Simply is incongruous with his rhetoric for the past 2 decades.
OT/-- but Muhammad Ali's death has affected me greatly. He was simply the greatest athlete of the 20th Century, in every way shape and form. America is a much better place because of his political stand. I really did love him. That's weird, I know.
Why should it be weird? It proves you have a heart and a good conscience. The BBC news that's broadcast here in the UK, which is different to its world service, pretty much had no other news other than the death of Ali. There almost literally was no other news. It reminded me of Mandela's death.
I've never cried at the passing of a sportsman. I did for Ali. He really was the greatest. The US will probably come to a standstill on the day of the funeral. I would write "Ali bumaye" but it should be said that George Foreman has been even more gracious and wonderful than he's ever been, and that's saying something. The last of the heavyweight greats is still with us, but there'll never be another Ali. His athleticism and sporting achievements are unparalleled. And that's without talking about his social and political stands or his amazing ability to talk in poetry.
As for Trump, I think you're wrong and Tom's got it about right. It was just a few weeks ago that Trump went into a sharp reverse after he said that the US cannot run out of money because it can print it. Now he says the opposite. This isn't to say he's necessarily a worse candidate than Clinton and people shouldn't vote for him. Let's just be as honest about Trump as we are about Clinton. Hillary is as dangerous as they come because of what we know about her. Trump is dangerous because he'll say two diametrically opposite things before breakfast. Nobody can seemingly figure him out. As I've said before, he's a liberal democrat who has taken on the persona of a nativist demagogue. That's dangerous.
By the way, you've lost half our sporting bet! You said that Trump wouldn't win the GOP nomination, and I said that he would. The next half of the bet is coming up. For you the hypothetical Trump nominee, and for me the predicted Trump nominee. Malmo predicts a Trump victory. I predict a Hillary victory. If I'm right, it's time to stock up on canned goods and guns.
Ali was outrageous as an affront to the Jim Crow laws that told blacks not to be uppitty, not to look a white man in the eye, to not EVER try to be seen by the culture as being better than a white man at anything. It was a form of protest, and it was inspiring. "Look at me, see how great I am," was not narcissism, but the cry of an oppressed minority who was reminded daily that he was inferior, and was sick of it and was going to prove everyone wrong. Trump, on the other hand, has a mental disorder, whines and complains about persecution and injury that is self inflicted, and has never had to prove his worth as a human being to anyone because he was born into privilege, and brags about wealth, materialism, and sexual conquest as if THAT is what defines the worth of a human being.
There couldn't be more of a difference between these two men. Just the fact that Ali never personally hated anyone, or scapegoated anyone, based on their race, religion, ethnicity, or gender, is proof positive of his strength of character, and the lack of character in Trump.
Millennials cannot grasp just how huge Ali was in sports, pop culture and politics. He truly transcended here like no other athlete has or will do again. Athletically he IS the greatest boxer to ever live--apologies to Joe Louis and Jack Johnson. But his political moment in the 60's will forever enshrine him as sport's most important figure--apologies to Jackie Robinson and Jesse Owens.
That is easily the funniest thing you've ever written. Famously, Larry Holmes wept when he "defeated" Ali, who by then was a shadow of his former self. Holmes was an awesome fighter, but he wouldn't have lasted more than a few rounds during the golden age of heavyweight boxing. Frazier, Foreman and Ali would have dropped him within a few rounds.
Malmo: "Athletically he IS the greatest boxer to ever live--apologies to Joe Louis and Jack Johnson."
Sugar Ray Robinson has a good claim to being the greatest boxer. Muhammad Ali said so himself. Although, the fact that Ali was stripped of his title during his best years made a tremendous difference to his boxing record. Although out of respect to the great man I will watch the funeral, it's going to be very hard to do. Time to reread Norman Mailer's fantastic book "The Fight". For those who haven't read it, get your hands on it and read the gorgeous prose of another sorely missed great American.
Ali did change his views in later life. You'll even see him advocating segregation and meeting with the KKK. It's understandable why he said and believed such silly stuff. Victims of racism react differently to it. Ali started off as with the whacky and racist Nation of Islam, but in later life became virulently anti-racist, apparently due to his conversion to mainstream Islam. Malcolm X had a similar journey, which profoundly influenced Ali.
A buzzard would have problems mating with a sparrow. Ali came off second best because he had such silly arguments. As ever, he was still funny!
That was then, and then there was a lot of truth to what Ali said.
Actually, I was just talking about this today, remarking that it used to be the self-segregation was practiced. White kids hung out with white, black with black, Asian with Asian, Hispanic with Hispanic.… That has changed remarkably over the past few years where now many if not most groups of younger people are mixed, and so are couples. and so are kids.
Similarly, Jews married Jews or faced a lot of pressure "not to assimilate." Same for other religions and nationalities.
My grandparents' marriage was arranged and each had a veto but it would be wrenching to exercise it. My mother told me that if her mother had not passed away before she was marriageable, she took it for granted that she would be sent back to the "old country" (Vienna) for an arranged marriage.
Things have changed a lot and the pace of change is picking up.
In the courses of a conversation at a real Mexican restaurant, I was also remarking how the relatively recent real Mexican restaurants had largely driven the faux ones out of business. Better food, lower price and more authentic ambiance without even trying. This is within only a couple of years.
I dated black gals in high school and beyond. For some unknown reason they find me attractive :) I even used to hang out and club with Chicago political powerhouse Emil Jones' daughter, Renee. Never heard a peep out of my black buddies either.
If you're ever in Chicago area I highly recommend El Famous. The best fast food Mexican food on the planet. Their green sauce and steak burritos are my favorite foods of all time.
My dad was a huge Sugar Ray Robinson fan. Dad knew tons about boxing too. He and I used to go to the Amphitheater in Chicago and watch NY v Chicago Golden Gloves in the 70's and sit behind Howard Cosell to boot. I even worked one summer with a carpenter named Al McCoy, who fought Joe Louis. He told me the hardest puncher he ever faced was Marciano. He sparred with Jersey Joe Walcott too and said he was second to Marciano in power.
I have literally hundreds of old Ring magazines from my dad. Dad says Ali was by far the greatest boxer ever. And he'd laugh at Matt's Holmes greatest pick, whom Ali labeled the "peanut". BTW, ask Holmes how he fared against Tyson.
Holy shit! You've had one helluva interesting life around boxing, you lucky bugger. I hope you informed Howard Cosell what his wife "told" Ali!
Would you say that the conventional wisdom that Foreman was the hardest puncher in boxing history is wrong? We'll never know for sure who was the greatest boxer ever. Ali's best years were stolen from him by criminals and fools. It doesn't seem conceivable that anyone could have beaten him during those years. In which case, he's the greatest and Sugar Ray Robinson, Ali's hero, comes second. It feels unbearably weird talking about Ali in the past tense. ALI BUMAYE!!!
In the early Sixties I used to frequent clubs in Harlem and the predominantly Black sections of Washington, DC. I was the only white person if alone, or the party was with were the only ones. Never an issue. In fact, I don't recall anyone even noticing that we didn't resemble them in either skin color, dress or demeanor. No problem.
Until the urban riots began.
Then everything changed from where it had been. I recall being in Harlem with a white woman in the late Sixties or early Seventies during the day. We were walking down the street and a young black man stopped up and told us that it was no longer safe to be there. He walked with us to get a subway back to White Country. Sad.
Even in the late Fifties and early Sixties, black people could not travel freely in White Country in DC, and the simply were not served if they tried to eat at a restaurant. I recalled a couple, black man and white woman, being thrown out of a place within sight of the White House. I could go on. It was very racist.
Malcolm X, Ali and others were into Black Pride, recognizing the difference among people while emphasizing that the inferiority that Whites impose on Blacks is bullshit. The same happened with Native Americans, with Native Pride, and LGTB Pride. The issue was and is respect instead of discrimination and disrespect.
I experienced this when I was in clubs in Harlem and DC. It's not really a racial thing but a cultural one. They were talented and funny, and I was stiff and couldn't dance anything like that, even older people who were pretty much shuffling. Nobody ever looked down on me for it, or mentioned it. It was just obvious I was the inferior one in that cultural scene. We all knew it was not about race but culture. I was acknowledging this by being there. They appreciated that. Sometimes I went along with another white guy who was pretty good at it though, and they loved it, even though he was nowhere near as good at it as they were. I suppose I could have learned eventually. But that was not to be when the wall went up, especially after the MLK assassination.
"Malcolm X, Ali and others were into Black Pride, recognizing the difference among people while emphasizing that the inferiority that Whites impose on Blacks is bullshit. The same happened with Native Americans, with Native Pride, and LGTB Pride. The issue was and is respect instead of discrimination and disrespect."
Exactly. The Chicano movement filled this role as well for Mexicans. Black Nationalism was a way of asserting one's culture against the destruction and marginalization by white culture. It wasn't anti-white as much as it was anti-white supremacy and domination. They felt they could never achieve in the white man's world, so they sought to create a space away from them completely.
Of course, Elijah Muhammed, founder of the Nation of Islam, was a con man, as both Malcolm and Ali found out. He was eventually replaced by Louis Farrakhan, another con artist, who is a Trump supporter because he interprets him as anti-Jewish.
Certainly has been an interesting election so far.
29 comments:
He'll say anything to get that job.
Say the wrong thing in the job and there is a lone gunman lurking around every corner.
Why shouldn't allies shoulder more of the burden? A subsidy is a subsidy.
Why shouldn't allies shoulder more of the burden? A subsidy is a subsidy.
Because they won't.
They are happy to let the US pay for military "necessary" for a manufactured threat. People in other countries are not going to stand for their own standard of living declining to fund military adventures.
There's only so far that the leadership can go in a representative democracy with periodic elections, and especially where there are parliamentary systems dependent on coalitions..
Europeans are much more politically involved than Americans. Hundreds of thousands are in the streets of France protest the attempt at labor cram down supposedly need for "competitiveness."
What will happen is that nationalist parties will come to power that shut down the EU. They will tell the US to take a hike while they develop trade relationships with Russia and China that are to their advantage.
Because they won't.
Perhaps Trump is okay with that outcome.
I mean, if Europe doesn't want to pay for NATO, then let it wither. It's not crucial to the defense of the US 'homeland'.
The EU is doing an excellent job of withering itself.
The purpose of NATO an NATO expansion is to keep Europe in tow. The US doesn't want a hot war with Russia, or China, believing that regime change is a lot safer and less costly. The military pressure on Russia and China is part of economic warfare.
Through NATO and the Asian pivot, The US manages its vassals and plans eventually to add Russia and China as vassals of the empire, too.
It's entirely possible that Trump understands this and want to put an end to the game of empire. But there are other possibilities, too. Trump is too much of a wild card to know, and that is a negotiator wants to be.
I don't think he's anymore a wild card than any other candidate , past or present. I am, however, concerned about his "we are broke" meme. Yet that meme is no different than anyone desiring to get elected, thus my calculus on him is still in the green relative to the others.
Oh, and Tom, I feel confident he isn't the gunslinger that you and other libs claim he is on the world stage. Simply is incongruous with his rhetoric for the past 2 decades.
OT/-- but Muhammad Ali's death has affected me greatly. He was simply the greatest athlete of the 20th Century, in every way shape and form. America is a much better place because of his political stand. I really did love him. That's weird, I know.
RIP :(
Malmo,
Why should it be weird? It proves you have a heart and a good conscience. The BBC news that's broadcast here in the UK, which is different to its world service, pretty much had no other news other than the death of Ali. There almost literally was no other news. It reminded me of Mandela's death.
I've never cried at the passing of a sportsman. I did for Ali. He really was the greatest. The US will probably come to a standstill on the day of the funeral. I would write "Ali bumaye" but it should be said that George Foreman has been even more gracious and wonderful than he's ever been, and that's saying something. The last of the heavyweight greats is still with us, but there'll never be another Ali. His athleticism and sporting achievements are unparalleled. And that's without talking about his social and political stands or his amazing ability to talk in poetry.
Malmo,
As for Trump, I think you're wrong and Tom's got it about right. It was just a few weeks ago that Trump went into a sharp reverse after he said that the US cannot run out of money because it can print it. Now he says the opposite. This isn't to say he's necessarily a worse candidate than Clinton and people shouldn't vote for him. Let's just be as honest about Trump as we are about Clinton. Hillary is as dangerous as they come because of what we know about her. Trump is dangerous because he'll say two diametrically opposite things before breakfast. Nobody can seemingly figure him out. As I've said before, he's a liberal democrat who has taken on the persona of a nativist demagogue. That's dangerous.
By the way, you've lost half our sporting bet! You said that Trump wouldn't win the GOP nomination, and I said that he would. The next half of the bet is coming up. For you the hypothetical Trump nominee, and for me the predicted Trump nominee. Malmo predicts a Trump victory. I predict a Hillary victory. If I'm right, it's time to stock up on canned goods and guns.
How could you like Ali and not Trump? They are like the same people....
Ali vs Trump in the ring, with Trump promoting it!
Forget, the Rumble or the Thrilla. This would have been the....can't think of anything that rhymes with Vegas.
Please explain yourself, Matt.
"Rope a dope!" ?
That's something Trump would come up with...
Ali had a big mouth too...
Children with 4 wives...
Huge promoter.... Etc
Ali was outrageous as an affront to the Jim Crow laws that told blacks not to be uppitty, not to look a white man in the eye, to not EVER try to be seen by the culture as being better than a white man at anything. It was a form of protest, and it was inspiring. "Look at me, see how great I am," was not narcissism, but the cry of an oppressed minority who was reminded daily that he was inferior, and was sick of it and was going to prove everyone wrong. Trump, on the other hand, has a mental disorder, whines and complains about persecution and injury that is self inflicted, and has never had to prove his worth as a human being to anyone because he was born into privilege, and brags about wealth, materialism, and sexual conquest as if THAT is what defines the worth of a human being.
There couldn't be more of a difference between these two men. Just the fact that Ali never personally hated anyone, or scapegoated anyone, based on their race, religion, ethnicity, or gender, is proof positive of his strength of character, and the lack of character in Trump.
How could you like Ali and not Trump? They are like the same people..
Ali was a conscientious objector, Trump a draft dodger.
Ali stood on principle. Trump doesn't know what the work means.
Millennials cannot grasp just how huge Ali was in sports, pop culture and politics. He truly transcended here like no other athlete has or will do again. Athletically he IS the greatest boxer to ever live--apologies to Joe Louis and Jack Johnson. But his political moment in the 60's will forever enshrine him as sport's most important figure--apologies to Jackie Robinson and Jesse Owens.
Larry Holmes was a better heavyweight...
Dave yes now I see.... Ali's whole boxing schtick was just part of a big "conspiracy!" against Jim Crow laws...
Tom,
Ali gonna rock your world here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8ME0RJaAXY
Matt: "Larry Holmes was a better heavyweight..."
That is easily the funniest thing you've ever written. Famously, Larry Holmes wept when he "defeated" Ali, who by then was a shadow of his former self. Holmes was an awesome fighter, but he wouldn't have lasted more than a few rounds during the golden age of heavyweight boxing. Frazier, Foreman and Ali would have dropped him within a few rounds.
Malmo: "Athletically he IS the greatest boxer to ever live--apologies to Joe Louis and Jack Johnson."
Sugar Ray Robinson has a good claim to being the greatest boxer. Muhammad Ali said so himself. Although, the fact that Ali was stripped of his title during his best years made a tremendous difference to his boxing record. Although out of respect to the great man I will watch the funeral, it's going to be very hard to do. Time to reread Norman Mailer's fantastic book "The Fight". For those who haven't read it, get your hands on it and read the gorgeous prose of another sorely missed great American.
Malmo,
Ali did change his views in later life. You'll even see him advocating segregation and meeting with the KKK. It's understandable why he said and believed such silly stuff. Victims of racism react differently to it. Ali started off as with the whacky and racist Nation of Islam, but in later life became virulently anti-racist, apparently due to his conversion to mainstream Islam. Malcolm X had a similar journey, which profoundly influenced Ali.
A buzzard would have problems mating with a sparrow. Ali came off second best because he had such silly arguments. As ever, he was still funny!
Ali gonna rock your world here
That was then, and then there was a lot of truth to what Ali said.
Actually, I was just talking about this today, remarking that it used to be the self-segregation was practiced. White kids hung out with white, black with black, Asian with Asian, Hispanic with Hispanic.… That has changed remarkably over the past few years where now many if not most groups of younger people are mixed, and so are couples. and so are kids.
Similarly, Jews married Jews or faced a lot of pressure "not to assimilate." Same for other religions and nationalities.
My grandparents' marriage was arranged and each had a veto but it would be wrenching to exercise it. My mother told me that if her mother had not passed away before she was marriageable, she took it for granted that she would be sent back to the "old country" (Vienna) for an arranged marriage.
Things have changed a lot and the pace of change is picking up.
In the courses of a conversation at a real Mexican restaurant, I was also remarking how the relatively recent real Mexican restaurants had largely driven the faux ones out of business. Better food, lower price and more authentic ambiance without even trying. This is within only a couple of years.
Tom,
Ali was wrong, but I get where he's coming from.
I dated black gals in high school and beyond. For some unknown reason they find me attractive :) I even used to hang out and club with Chicago political powerhouse Emil Jones' daughter, Renee. Never heard a peep out of my black buddies either.
If you're ever in Chicago area I highly recommend El Famous. The best fast food Mexican food on the planet. Their green sauce and steak burritos are my favorite foods of all time.
John,
My dad was a huge Sugar Ray Robinson fan. Dad knew tons about boxing too. He and I used to go to the Amphitheater in Chicago and watch NY v Chicago Golden Gloves in the 70's and sit behind Howard Cosell to boot. I even worked one summer with a carpenter named Al McCoy, who fought Joe Louis. He told me the hardest puncher he ever faced was Marciano. He sparred with Jersey Joe Walcott too and said he was second to Marciano in power.
I have literally hundreds of old Ring magazines from my dad. Dad says Ali was by far the greatest boxer ever. And he'd laugh at Matt's Holmes greatest pick, whom Ali labeled the "peanut". BTW, ask Holmes how he fared against Tyson.
Malmo,
Holy shit! You've had one helluva interesting life around boxing, you lucky bugger. I hope you informed Howard Cosell what his wife "told" Ali!
Would you say that the conventional wisdom that Foreman was the hardest puncher in boxing history is wrong? We'll never know for sure who was the greatest boxer ever. Ali's best years were stolen from him by criminals and fools. It doesn't seem conceivable that anyone could have beaten him during those years. In which case, he's the greatest and Sugar Ray Robinson, Ali's hero, comes second. It feels unbearably weird talking about Ali in the past tense. ALI BUMAYE!!!
@ Malmo's Ghost
In the early Sixties I used to frequent clubs in Harlem and the predominantly Black sections of Washington, DC. I was the only white person if alone, or the party was with were the only ones. Never an issue. In fact, I don't recall anyone even noticing that we didn't resemble them in either skin color, dress or demeanor. No problem.
Until the urban riots began.
Then everything changed from where it had been. I recall being in Harlem with a white woman in the late Sixties or early Seventies during the day. We were walking down the street and a young black man stopped up and told us that it was no longer safe to be there. He walked with us to get a subway back to White Country. Sad.
Even in the late Fifties and early Sixties, black people could not travel freely in White Country in DC, and the simply were not served if they tried to eat at a restaurant. I recalled a couple, black man and white woman, being thrown out of a place within sight of the White House. I could go on. It was very racist.
Malcolm X, Ali and others were into Black Pride, recognizing the difference among people while emphasizing that the inferiority that Whites impose on Blacks is bullshit. The same happened with Native Americans, with Native Pride, and LGTB Pride. The issue was and is respect instead of discrimination and disrespect.
I experienced this when I was in clubs in Harlem and DC. It's not really a racial thing but a cultural one. They were talented and funny, and I was stiff and couldn't dance anything like that, even older people who were pretty much shuffling. Nobody ever looked down on me for it, or mentioned it. It was just obvious I was the inferior one in that cultural scene. We all knew it was not about race but culture. I was acknowledging this by being there. They appreciated that. Sometimes I went along with another white guy who was pretty good at it though, and they loved it, even though he was nowhere near as good at it as they were. I suppose I could have learned eventually. But that was not to be when the wall went up, especially after the MLK assassination.
"Malcolm X, Ali and others were into Black Pride, recognizing the difference among people while emphasizing that the inferiority that Whites impose on Blacks is bullshit. The same happened with Native Americans, with Native Pride, and LGTB Pride. The issue was and is respect instead of discrimination and disrespect."
Exactly. The Chicano movement filled this role as well for Mexicans. Black Nationalism was a way of asserting one's culture against the destruction and marginalization by white culture. It wasn't anti-white as much as it was anti-white supremacy and domination. They felt they could never achieve in the white man's world, so they sought to create a space away from them completely.
Of course, Elijah Muhammed, founder of the Nation of Islam, was a con man, as both Malcolm and Ali found out. He was eventually replaced by Louis Farrakhan, another con artist, who is a Trump supporter because he interprets him as anti-Jewish.
Certainly has been an interesting election so far.
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