[Hindsite]

Just curious, did My Friend have to do that between Jan 20 2009 and Jan 20 2017?

I don't understand your question. And who is your friend that you are talking about?

[Patrickov]

I don't understand your question. And who is your friend that you are talking about?

In my posts, "My Friend" (sometimes with adjective or adjective clause if necessary) is always a friendly substitute of the second-person pronoun. Therefore, My Friend should be able to work out who I am referring to.

Edit: I might rephrase the question : Did My Friend "shit in hand baskets" during Obama's tenure as President of the United States?

[Hindsite]

In my posts, "My Friend" (sometimes with adjective or adjective clause if necessary) is always a friendly substitute of the second-person pronoun. Therefore, My Friend should be able to work out who I am referring to.

Edit: I might rephrase the question : Did My Friend "shit in hand baskets" during Obama's tenure as President of the United States?

Let me first point out that I have never met you and that you are not my friend and I am not your friend. Here in the USA there is an old saying that "everything is going to hell in a hand basket" when everything seems to be going wrong. So my statement was just a play on that old saying and does not mean it to be completely accurate. It is probably similar to your use of "My Friend" when talking to me or some other person that may not really be your friend. But to go back to the point of your question, it did get pretty bad during Obama's tenure.

[Godstud]

@Patrickov Apologies. Americans with poor education don't understand the use of grammar such as you demonstrated. It's a politeness they simply cannot fathom, my friend. They are much more comfortable using names like "Sport", "Kid", or "Boy", which are decidedly rude and obnoxious.

[Patrickov]

@Patrickov Apologies. Americans with poor education don't understand the use of grammar such as you demonstrated. It's a politeness they simply cannot fathom, my friend. They are much more comfortable using names like "Sport", "Kid", or "Boy", which are decidedly rude and obnoxious.

No worries. From their response I am confident that they are sufficiently knowledgeable. I will also adjust if necessary.

[Drlee]

@Patrickov

I would be very much interested, if you feel comfortable sharing it, how people in Hong Kong view Trump's china policy and more specifically how you believe he ought to react to the situation in Hong Kong.

[Patrickov]

@Patrickov

I would be very much interested, if you feel comfortable sharing it, how people in Hong Kong view Trump's china policy and more specifically how you believe he ought to react to the situation in Hong Kong.

Incidentally I have answered this question in post #15057547.

As for others, I don't know, but I know someone believing Trump is acting in accordance to American or even World interests, but it does not mean the person believes Trump does that on his own conscience or intelligence.

[jimjam]

The killing of Suleimani is an official declaration of war.
It is the most consequential American decision in the Middle East since 2003.
And much like 2003, we have another Republican president dragging us into a full-blown conflict, without a clear goal, no timeline, and no exit strategy.

The US cannot forever play the ruler of the world, killing and bombing whoever and whenever it pleases. The blowback, when it comes, will be devastating. And the US will only have itself to blame.

[Drlee]

I fear we will pay a huge price for this escapade. Some more cynical people might think that a war would be a nice distraction from impeachment.

No need to worry about the War Powers Act which does not give the administration the authority to do political assassination. Or maybe this is not an assassination because this guy was planning attacks on Americans. I wonder how one knows.

[Godstud]

So much for Trump not being a war-monger!

[Drlee]

Very true.

This is a huge deal and Iran is going to extract a huge price. It is one thing to go after a more or less stateless terrorist like Bin Laden. It is implicit that folks like him and the ISIS leader are far game. It is quite another to go after the second most powerful person in Iran and a legitimate member of their government. Soleimani, though a died in the wool bad actor, is not a rogue. This was absolutely no different than going after the Iranian president. Overt political assassination has never been the US position.

Attacking a member of the Iranian government (several of their soldiers actually) is probably an act of war. I don't know what Iran will do but I would not want to be on a ship in the region right now.

I understand that Lindsey Graham said that he had been "notified" but none of the congressional leadership has. This is unconstitutional.

Here is what Pelosi ought to do.

She ought to have a vote to rescind the impeachment articles pending a new investigation into allegations that the president precipitated an unconstitutional war.

Earlier this week the Iranian leader taunted Trump and said "there is nothing he can do" about the embassy storming. Well guess again dude. You just got your bluff called in spades. And now you have to tread very lightly. If you provoke Trump you will find yourself in a hot war that you cannot win and he cannot lose. Yet you have to act. So what is the calculus?

I will not put this in capital letters but let me say, I do not believe this was a smart move, a legal move or even a justifiable move. Full stop.

Having said that. I would not want to be in Supreme Leader's shoes right now. His economy is in a shambles. But mostly his problem is that he can't figure out what Trump will do. He can't be sure that he won't evoke a protracted hot war with the US. And though such a war would be very costly to the US and unlikely to lead to regime change, It would be far worse for Iran.

My guess is that he will execute a proxy strike against a US ship somewhere.

War with Iran....Body count? Thousands of US and its allies' casualties. Iranian casualties? 200K or so...

Trump is in the stronger position here for certain.

[jimjam]

Actor Robert De Niro told MSNBC host, Joy Reid, Donald Trump is “not even a good gangster.” Saturday morning, the actor added that Trump “wouldn’t last long” in the “real gangster world.”

And in a stinging repudiation of the president, the actor says he lacks “sympathy or empathy for anything or anybody.”

[Hindsite]

The killing of Suleimani is an official declaration of war.
It is the most consequential American decision in the Middle East since 2003.
And much like 2003, we have another Republican president dragging us into a full-blown conflict, without a clear goal, no timeline, and no exit strategy.

The US cannot forever play the ruler of the world, killing and bombing whoever and whenever it pleases. The blowback, when it comes, will be devastating. And the US will only have itself to blame.

The killing of Suleimani is not official declaration of war, but instead, it is the elimination of a terrorist leader to prevent war and prevent more attacks aimed at killing Americans.

Actor Robert De Niro told MSNBC host, Joy Reid, Donald Trump is “not even a good gangster.” Saturday morning, the actor added that Trump “wouldn’t last long” in the “real gangster world.”

And in a stinging repudiation of the president, the actor says he lacks “sympathy or empathy for anything or anybody.”

Now we know Robert De Niro is a liar.

[jimjam]

Now we know Robert De Niro is a liar.

President Trump has made 15,413 false or misleading claims over 1,055 days.....

FAKE NEWS! FAKE NEWS! FAKE NEWS! He only made 15,411 false or misleading claims

[Stormsmith]

The killing of Suleimani is not official declaration of war, but instead, it is the elimination of a terrorist leader to prevent war and prevent more attacks aimed at killing Americans.

How hard is it to ask yourself "what will it look like in the morning?" Do you imagine this will be met with cheering? Or is another possibility that your soldiers will be shot. So what's wrong with calculating the odds, and figuring out a response and an exit strategy? BTW, you are aware, are you not, that China (sometImes in concert with Pakistan) is aiding Iran viz. nuclear weaponry. Obviously not an option for tomorrow, but it is a good idea to read, ask experts and have a plan, n'est pas?

[jimjam]

“Of course the people don’t want war. But after all, it’s the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it’s always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it’s a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger.”

— Hermann Goering at the Nuremberg trials

[Donna]

Actor Robert De Niro told MSNBC host, Joy Reid, Donald Trump is “not even a good gangster.” Saturday morning, the actor added that Trump “wouldn’t last long” in the “real gangster world.”

And in a stinging repudiation of the president, the actor says he lacks “sympathy or empathy for anything or anybody.”

As if De Niro knows anything about being a real gangster

[Hindsite]

President Trump has made 15,413 false or misleading claims over 1,055 days.....

They are only considered false or misleading by the Trump haters that refuse to try to understand him. Trump said that the United States has identified 52 sites in Iran as targets that could be struck should U.S. military sites be attacked or Americans harmed. You liberal Trump haters probably believe that is a false or misleading statement too.

[Drlee]

Why would a liberal hate Trump? He spends money like a drunken sailor.

[Godstud]

@Drlee that said, why would a Republican?