Understanding the United States of America (USA) - IV

[ramana]

RD, These are dangerous times. HAK advice to DT article should be printed and read. Use a highlighter/marker.

its like 410 AD all over again.

[Suresh S]

First of all trump will do no such thing as prescribed by that neocon Kissinger. Inspite of all the shenanigans modiji got elected and similarly India Has continued to rise and will continue to rise. India, s time has come and no one whether us, China , pakis or anyone else have the power to stop it. It has been ordained by the gods after 822 yrs and it is unstoppable.

[Rudradev]

Very reassuring words, snahata ji, but they would be more reassuring if backed up by reasoning and analysis rather than rhetoric and opinion.

[Bart S]

First of all trump will do no such thing as prescribed by that neocon Kissinger. Inspite of all the shenanigans modiji got elected and similarly India Has continued to rise and will continue to rise. India, s time has come and no one whether us, China , pakis or anyone else have the power to stop it. It has been ordained by the gods after 822 yrs and it is unstoppable.

I hope you are right, but believing in feel good stuff is not a substitute for analyzing the facts on the ground. If would be more credible if you posted a logical rebuttal instead.

[ramana]

First of all trump will do no such thing as prescribed by that neocon Kissinger. Inspite of all the shenanigans modiji got elected and similarly India Has continued to rise and will continue to rise. India, s time has come and no one whether us, China , pakis or anyone else have the power to stop it. It has been ordained by the gods after 822 yrs and it is unstoppable.

HAK has only one trick in his repertoire: China card.
Her plays that again and again.

If you read Paul Kennedy, the Iraq wars have put the US in a mess. And Obama did not help by increasing the debt burden with low employment.

Its time for drawdown and rebuild.

DT was not elected to follow HAK advice.

None of the Establishment even had one good word for DT.
See the angst about Mitt Romney potential appointment.

Listening to HAK will be the next folly.

[Rudradev]

Ramana garu,

HAK is *the* voice of the American Deep State. They see that there is confusion in Trump's transition team and have fired up HAK to get up from the grave and fill that vacuum with the voice of prescribing grand strategy.

Unless someone in Trump's core group has the heft, and the vision to countermand HAK with an alternative program... the Deep State will prevail.

See a related development here. Deep State is already gearing up to offset any potential warming up of US-Russia relations.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/t ... sia-231785

A Russia reset? Maybe not yet

As Moscow talks up a possible Putin-Trump meeting, officials in Congress and the Pentagon are ready to block any attempt to appease the Russian president.
By MICHAEL CROWLEY 11/28/16 05:06 AM EST

After a phone call between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin days after the U.S. election, Russian media buzzed that Putin might host Trump this winter to kick off what the Kremlin described as their joint effort to “normalize ties” between the U.S. and Russia.

The talk of an early state visit remains speculative. But Trump’s avowed desire for better relations with the autocratic Russian president makes it plausible that Trump would pay the first presidential visit to Moscow since a hopeful trip by President Barack Obama in 2009.

But interviews with more than a dozen officials and experts contacted by POLITICO since the election reveal an unyielding bipartisan and institutional opposition to any perceived effort by Trump to appease Putin. Such a gesture would be met with strong resistance from Congress, European allies, career national security officials and possibly even some key Trump officials.

“Trump can’t just unilaterally do it,” said Stephen Cohen, an author and academic who supports improved American relations with Moscow. “We don’t know that there’s going to be a partnership with Russia at all.”

The talk comes at a particularly tense moment, with Putin announcing on Nov. 21 that Russia would move nuclear-capable missiles into its European enclave of Kaliningrad to counter what he called the NATO “threat” to his country.

“The situation is heating up,” Putin said of tensions with NATO in an interview with filmmaker Oliver Stone broadcast on Russian television last week.

Trump has pledged to cool it down. As a candidate, Trump promised to “get along great” with Putin, startling a foreign policy establishment that views the Russian leader as a treacherous enemy. Trump has suggested that the U.S. join forces with Moscow to fight the Islamic State, and mused about ending U.S. sanctions imposed since 2014 to punish Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Trump has also repeatedly expressed admiration for Putin and bragged that the Russian has called him “brilliant” — Putin actually used an adjective closer to “impressive” — leading critics to worry that the New Yorker may be dangerously eager for Putin’s friendship and approval.

Many analysts expect that Putin will offer Trump military cooperation against the Islamic State, which has not been a focus of Russian operations in Syria. In return, Putin will seek recognition of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula; an end to economic sanctions; and reduced U.S. military and political engagement in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Earlier this month, Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told The Associated Press that a “slowdown or withdrawal of NATO’s military potential from our borders” could “lead to a kind of detente in Europe.”

But at the moment, talk of such an agreement is more likely to produce outrage on both sides of the Atlantic.

“The military doesn’t believe in that, the State Department doesn’t believe in that, the intelligence community doesn’t believe in that, the Republican Party doesn’t believe in that, and none of our allies believe in that,” said Ivo Daalder, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO under Obama and president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

“It is very difficult to think about Russia as a country where we can make deals without compromising our principles,” said Petr Pavel, a Czech army officer and chairman of NATO’s military committee, who spoke to POLITICO on the sidelines of the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada, which concluded Nov. 20.

The first obstacle to Trump’s outreach could be within his own circle of top advisers. Vice President-elect Mike Pence derided Putin in an October debate as “small and bullying,” and said that recent “provocations by Russia need to be met with American strength.” Trump’s pick for CIA director, Rep. Mike Pompeo, has called the U.S. response to Putin’s aggression in Ukraine “far too weak.”

Trump's choice for national security adviser, Michael Flynn, might also warn his boss about dealing with Putin. Although the retired general infamously sat next to Putin at a December 2015 dinner in Moscow and has said the U.S. and Russia should fight Islamic terrorism together, he was caustic about the Russian in an October interview with POLITICO. "Putin is a totalitarian dictator and a thug who does not have our interests in mind," Flynn said.

Sources said that Trump’s pick for secretary of state would send a strong signal about his intentions. One leading candidate for the post, Mitt Romney, has denounced Putin as a “thug” and in 2012 called Russia “America’s No. 1 geopolitical foe,” and is seen as unlikely to lead a strategic volte-face with Moscow.

If Trump does proceed with a Russian rapprochement, Congress may fight back.

For months, GOP leaders in Congress have slammed President Barack Obama’s allegedly tepid response to Putin’s annexation of Crimea and the Russian leader’s backing for an armed pro-Russian insurgency in Eastern Ukraine that has killed thousands. They would be hard-pressed to defend a more forgiving Trump policy.

At the Republican convention in July, Trump campaign officials had to block proposed GOP platform language calling for arms to Ukraine. Trump has also hinted that he might recognize Crimea as part of Russia. (“You know, the people of Crimea, from what I’ve heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were. And you have to look at that,” he told ABC News in July.)

Congress has very different views on both scores. In March 2015, a House resolution calling on Obama to send arms to Ukraine’s government passed in an overwhelming 348-48 vote. And in September, the House approved another measure ordering the Government Printing Office to “not print any map, document, record, or other paper … portraying or otherwise indicating Crimea as part of the territory of the Russian Federation.”

While Trump could unilaterally end some U.S. sanctions on Russia that were imposed by Obama through executive orders, others would require congressional action. They include sanctions on dozens of Russians implicated for human rights abuses under the 2012 Magnitsky Act, which Putin considers a major thorn in U.S.-Russian relations. Trump is unlikely to find much congressional support for its repeal.

Most top Republicans in Congress take a far more hawkish line toward Putin than Trump does. In September, House Speaker Paul Ryan rebuked Trump’s praise of the Russian, calling Putin “an aggressor that does not share our interests.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he would send arms to Ukraine’s government and expand U.S. missile defense systems in Eastern Europe — moves that would enrage Putin.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) issued a statement shortly after the election warning Trump not to trust Putin. On CNN last month, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) warned Trump against letting Putin’s “flattery” affect his judgment.

And in a statement to POLITICO, House Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) pointedly said he is “ready to work with the Trump administration to check Russian propaganda, see NATO bolstered and act from a position of strength.”

Even many Democrats take a hard line on Putin, making it difficult for Trump to go around his own party. Russia “is the one foreign policy area where [Trump] would most likely face united opposition from Congress,” said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a Senate Foreign Relations Committee member.

Any move by Trump seen as selling out America’s European allies, Coons added, would be “vigorously and persistently opposed by Democrats and Republicans in the Congress who over decades have worked together to resist Russian aggression in Europe and the Middle East.”

Trump’s Russia policy could also encounter stiff resistance from military and intelligence officials.

The U.S. has escalated military and intelligence spending and activity against Moscow in recent months, particularly since Russia began conducting airstrikes in Syria last fall, including against CIA-backed rebels.

Testifying before the Senate in July 2015, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford — whose term as the president’s top military adviser runs until September — called Russia “the greatest threat to our national security” and said Putin’s behavior was “nothing short of alarming.”

“It’s going to be dark days in the Pentagon” if Trump seeks to dramatically relax the military’s confrontational posture toward Moscow, said Evelyn Farkas, who served as the Defense Department’s top Russia official under Obama.

Pentagon officials, Farkas noted, have spent months “working around the clock to challenge Russia’s subversive activities in Europe and the Middle East. This is going to be a real morale problem.”

U.S. intelligence officials are likewise conditioned for confrontation, having ramped up their covert and cyber operations against Russia at a time when Moscow has harassed and even allegedly drugged U.S. officials overseas. In July, national intelligence director James Clapper said the U.S. is in a “version of war” with Russia in cyberspace. And in October, the U.S. intelligence community concluded that the Kremlin directed the hacking of Democratic Party and Clinton campaign emails to disrupt this month's presidential election.

While legally bound to follow a president’s orders, military and intelligence officials can voice opposition internally and slow-roll policies with which they disagree. When Secretary of State John Kerry struck a limited deal with Moscow for military cooperation against the Islamic State in Syria this fall, for instance, a skeptical Pentagon undermined the short-lived plan through media leaks and bureaucratic intransigence.

Several officials and Russia experts were hopeful that Trump will reassess Putin in light of the classified intelligence briefings he now receives, which detail hostile Russian activities around the globe.

“That’s going to be a sobering moment for him,” said Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Moscow under Obama.

Yet Trump has frequently been presented with public evidence about Putin’s malfeasance, including the U.S. intelligence finding that Russia interfered in the election, and repeatedly dismissed the allegations. That has led some critics to wonder whether Trump might have some undisclosed interest — possibly a financial one — in the Russian leader's good graces.

To be sure, even Russia hawks support talking to Moscow on certain issues, like the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, and say dialogue is crucial to containing tensions between the nuclear-armed states. “We understand that not communicating isn’t an option,” said Pavel.

Experts say Trump and Putin might initially build trust by cooperating in Syria, with Russia increasing strikes against the Islamic State and Trump ending U.S. support for Syrian rebels battling the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, a Putin ally.

But Trump’s final obstacle to a new deal with Russia may be Putin himself. Trump would be the third consecutive U.S. president to reach out to the autocratic Russian leader, who took office in 2000 determined to restore his vision of Russian greatness after the collapse of the Soviet Union and what Putin considers America’s opportunistic expansion of NATO to a weakened Russia’s borders.

Both George W. Bush and Obama extended a hand to Putin early in their presidencies, only to watch him seize foreign territory — in Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014 — and accuse Washington of threatening his country.

“The bad relationship with Russia is not a result of lack of trying,” said one State Department official.

Some argue that Trump could confound critics who fear he’ll roll over for Putin. Dmitri Simes, a former adviser to Richard Nixon who is president of the Center for the National Interest, believes Trump will privately send Putin a message of American resolve so that he can negotiate from a position of strength.

At the same time, Simes said, Trump would likely send “a clear message to Putin that we are not trying to remove him from power, we are not trying to humiliate him and we are not trying to diminish Russia — as long as he understands our red lines.”

Simes called his view informed by his contact with Trump’s campaign when the Center for the National Interest hosted the GOP nominee for an April foreign policy address.

But Simes also warned that a failed effort at comity between Trump and Putin — two proud men who do not suffer insults lightly — could set back relations even further. He recommended private diplomatic talks to avoid “public exchanges which can produce dangerous polemics, and the next thing you know the two leaders start to hate each other.”

Some skeptics about Trump’s ability to shift U.S. policy toward Russia can be found in Putin’s own government.

Trump’s election was met with initial optimism in the Russian capital, where members of the Russian Duma spontaneously applauded the news. But Kremlin officials have expressed wariness about what the incoming president can achieve.

“The U.S establishment has a very negative attitude towards the prospect of cooperation” with Russia, Ilya Rogachev, a Russian foreign ministry official, told the Russian news agency Interfax this month. “Remember how Obama promised, for example, to close the prison at Guantanamo more than 8 years ago?”

“I remember the great expectations of eight years ago, when Barack Obama was elected,” Russian Economic Development Minister Aleksey Ulyukaev told the German newspaper Die Welt earlier this month. “The result turned out completely different".

Combine this with HAK's prescription:

Reverse the pivot to Asia. Engage China in the spirit of G2 co-dominium. Cede hegemony over Asia to China, making Beijing a "partner in stability". Use Japan and South Korea as foils to maintain some limited leverage (which also has the effect of preventing renewed Japanese militarization), but forget about expanding the coalition to include Vietnam, India etc.

Meanwhile all maneuvers to renegotiate trade deals with China should be purely cosmetic ("kabuki theater" in Niall Ferguson's words). The geoeconomic status quo between China and the US is to be sustained at all costs.

HAK's advice on Russia is different. Leave some space for Putin to execute a "face-saving" climbdown. Don't push NATO eastwards in an "in-your-face" manner such as Hitlery would have (in the Baltics, Poland etc). Let West/East Ukraine become the new FRD/DDR dividing line between spheres of influence, and tacitly accept the Russian annexation of Crimea. But on the other hand, if Putin does anything contrary to US interests, counter with a veiled threat of aggressive 4GW to be launched within Russia proper to undermine the very political, social, and economic fabric of that country.

This line on Russia is reflected in the Politico article linked above, too. Far from a new era of bonhomie between Washington and Moscow, what they prescribe is a slightly-less confrontational attitude towards Putin, relative to Obama, while carrying a big stick.

Meanwhile Iran, per HAK, is to be isolated as the one-and-only Islamist threat to the US and its interests. HAK, as expected, bats for reconciliation with the Israel-GCC combine.

The Clinton Coalition may have failed to deliver at the polls, but the Deep State will not go away quietly.

[GShankar]

RD (and also others), question - If US and RU can be buddies, don't you think they'll cut cheenis to size?

They'll probably look for smaller partners, aka munnas who will not try to ambush US and RU in the name of pissful rise. No?

[Suresh S]

Just so everyone understands . 1192 prithviraj chauhan, s defeat and Indian independence16th may 2014, 822 yrs.

[Rudradev]

GS, see the Politico article linked above. Trump's personal preferences notwithstanding he will have to overcome a LOT of ingrained, establishment opposition to significantly change US policy towards Russia.

Trump like any president will be facing a lot of battles. Domestic, international, economy-related, strategy-related, in every branch of policy.

Like any president he will have to "give way" on some of those battles while forcing through his agenda on others.

However much he personally may admire Putin and want to have a better relationship with Moscow, is that the battle he will pick amongst all the others that confront him? The Deep State is against it. Will he care enough to take them on for Putin's sake, vs. compromising on this in exchange for his trillion $ domestic infrastructure package (for example?)

I don't think he will.

If he appoints someone like Romney to State Dept it's already a sign that he is prepared to compromise with the establishment Republicans (and their Deep State connections) on foreign policy.

[Rishi Verma]

^^ Kissinger being *the* voice of American Deep State is itself a false premise to build this logic. It's just guess work or a wild CT.

One should define what American deep state is, it's not like 3 baki gernails one with Koran, other with whiskey, third with a nuke button plotting things.

[Rudradev]

Why don't you define it for us, since you seem to be very clear what it is not?

[Suresh S]

It is not a false premise, Kissinger, s opinions still carry a lot of weight but Trump is not going to fill that prescription

[Rudradev]

Most of us here already know what is meant by the American Deep State, and it is summed up nicely in this essay by Michael Lofgren:

http://billmoyers.com/2014/02/21/anatom ... eep-state/

[GShankar]

I did read. However, the reason for my contrarian opinion is this - US (deepstate included) is amenable to a relationship with roos along certain terms. I mean if there is agreement on the terms, then the deal could happen yesterday. The article quoted above paints a complete one sided picture of massa trying in good faith only to be let down by evil putin. That, I don't think is what happened.

Let's say, the famous TV dealmaker can indeed make a deal (with acceptable terms) in real-world with the bear, then deepstate may have to agree inspite of some sour grapes.

If US and RU could be friends, EU is going to be screwed. They can forget about energy independence from the bear. Thus EU's reason to support ISIS is gone.

The problem(s) or rather challenge(s) with china are multi-prong - including trade deficit, jobs, foreign relations and economic competition. Say in global economic competition, there is a closer number two and a distant number 3 with a similar or better market access. US would rather be friends with number 3 and screw number 2 given that they are also going to be friends with erstwhile "cold enemy". This would shut cheeni and all their munnas down.

Interesting times ahead.

[Rudradev]

However, the reason for my contrarian opinion is this - US (deepstate included) is amenable to a relationship with roos along certain terms. I mean if there is agreement on the terms, then the deal could happen yesterday. .

What do you think those terms would be?

The reason I am skeptical of this is that the deep state includes many entities that have a lot invested in confrontation (rather than cooperation) with Russia. For example,
*Financial entities with connections to the EU and UK power centers that would prefer to get their energy from GCC rather than Russia. *Defense/aerospace contractors whose entire gravy train for the last 25 years (a quarter century after the Cold War ended) is developing assets specifically to fight a Russia-style military opponent.
*Other financial entities with connections to the GCC nations themselves.
*Academics, bureaucrats, lobbyists whose entire careers have been predicated on the assumption of a hostile US-Russian relationship and all the dynamics ensuing from that.
*etc.

In short, the will of the deep state is largely driven by the massive inertia of policymaking under multiple presidential administrations. That inertia shapes the profit motive for the different groups that make up the deep state; and in turn, to keep the money rolling in, the deep state contributes to sustaining the policymaking inertia and preventing any radical departures from it.

Think about how inertia in the deep state worked during the post 9/11 period. The military and bureaucracy (SD, DOD) had such longstanding connections to Pakistan that they immediately enlisted Pakistan as a MuNNA to fight the Taliban and al-Qaeda... and not only that, but as evidence accumulated year after year that Pakistan was screw1ng the US in cahoots with Islamists, that Islamabad was directly responsible for the deaths of US soldiers, etc. they simply chose to ignore it and/or claim "no alternative".

Because of inertia, the financial and military aid to Islamabad simply kept flowing, and no alternative options were even seriously considered for prosecuting the war on terror. Good money was simply hurled down the drain after bad, year upon year.

If such was the power of policy inertia regarding a nonentity like Pakistan, how much greater would the deep state's policy inertia be with respect to Russia?

The question right now is: what will Trump do to offer these deep state entities a sweeter deal than what they could expect from a situation of continued US-Russia hostility? That is more germane than what Trump and Putin could do to work out a deal (I agree there is a lot of room for cooperation there IF vested interests are taken out of the picture, but that's not likely to be the case).

[ssundar]

Everything u didn't want to know about Abdul Artan
Third year in Logistics Management. Transferred from Columbus State U. in August. I guess one semester was enough.

Everything people said is wrong about Trump and isn't!!!

* Exited Somalia as a refugee, one supposes, and reached the land of milk and honey for Peacefuls - Land of the Pure.
* Got a Green Card under refugee or diversity lottery, one supposes, and reached the land of the brave.
* Achieved the privilege of the few privileged - instead of driving cabs in Minneapolis, got to study in college.
* Got to go from one college to a better university with credit transfer - another privilege of the US educational system.

How does one go from enjoying just about every privilege the US sends his way to hating the US?

[Rudradev]

Regarding the American Deep State: Strongly recommend that any who are interested watch this.

https://player.vimeo.com/video/87243281

[Cain Marko]

Damn HAK has had a hand in every POTUS administration since forever. I can see his sympathies still lie with the Han.....the more things change, the more they remain the same. I think he will find DT a pretty painfully independent minded character

[ramana]

RD, I read the Politico article. It assumes Trump is a babe in the woods. And most of the stal warts in Congress owe their seats to him. Besides the experts are mostly old has-beens we have seen since the early 80s gracing PBS TV shows.
Problem is they have not come to grips with what is the true situation wrt US.

Still prescribing stuff like Cold War just ended and US is at top of the heap.

I re-read HAK prescriptions.
What do you think is the objective for all those steps?

He teaches Grand Strategy at Yale but he doesn't put it in paper.

He outlines steps that US has to take wrt China and Russia
But to what avail?

Lets spend our time on that.

-----
DT is giving Mitt Romney a chance to bring the Republicans together. (Niki Haley etc., same theme)
He needs to increase his likeness coefficient.
He didn't offer such a deal to McCain or other stal warts.

[ramana]

Combine this with HAK's prescription:


China:

Carrots:

1)Reverse the pivot to Asia. 2) Engage China in the spirit of G2 co-dominium. 3) Cede hegemony over Asia to China, making Beijing a "partner in stability". 4) Use Japan and South Korea as foils to maintain some limited leverage (which also has the effect of preventing renewed Japanese militarization), but 5) forget about expanding the coalition to include Vietnam, India etc.

6) Meanwhile all maneuvers to renegotiate trade deals with China should be purely cosmetic ("kabuki theater" in Niall Ferguson's words). The geo-economic status quo between China and the US is to be sustained at all costs.

Sticks:

None

{Trump has different view of China and that is how he got elected to power. Trump thinks its the geo-economic power that has to be changed for US prosperity. And his engagement of Japan and South Korea is really to contain North Korea.}

HAK's advice on Russia is different.

Carrots:
1) Leave some space for Putin to execute a "face-saving" climb down. 2) Don't push NATO eastwards in an "in-your-face" manner such as Hitler would have (in the Baltics, Poland etc). 3) Let West/East Ukraine become the new FRG/DDR dividing line between spheres of influence, and 4) tacitly accept the Russian annexation of Crimea.

Stick:
But on the other hand, 6)if Putin does anything contrary to US interests, counter with a veiled threat of aggressive 4GW to be launched within Russia proper to undermine the very political, social, and economic fabric of that country.

This line on Russia is reflected in the Politico article linked above, too. Far from a new era of bonhomie between Washington and Moscow, what they prescribe is a slightly-less confrontational attitude towards Putin, relative to Obama, while carrying a big stick.

Middle East:


Carrots:

None

Sticks:

Meanwhile Iran, per HAK, 1) 1) is to be isolated as the one-and-only Islamist threat to the US and its interests. HAK, as expected, 2) bats for reconciliation with the Israel-GCC combine.

The Clinton Coalition may have failed to deliver at the polls, but the Deep State will not go away quietly.

Interesting break down of the HAK proposals.

See lack of sticks wrt China and lack of carrots wrt Iran.

Now all this will do what?

HAK is still fooling around with Metternich and his century of peace in Europe.

[UlanBatori]

* Got to go from one college to a better university with credit transfer - another privilege of the US educational system.
How does one go from enjoying just about every privilege the US sends his way to hating the US?

All except final exams over for the semester. Perhaps looking at a 0.0 GPA would do it. I wonder if the critically injured victim is a prof. Some of us refrain from crossing the road if there are any vehicles within speed-of-light range, around this time of the semester.

Pls read his article done in August as soon as he joined OSU: main sentiment is the gripe that he hasn't found where he should bray 5 times/din.

[Atmavik]

How does one go from enjoying just about every privilege the US sends his way to hating the US?

this theme keeps repeating itself. it must be in the very nature of pisfulls.

[Yagnasri]

My gut feeling as i posted many times here is that DT will win. Ok. Last post here on elections.

I started a new thread on international elections here. Let us take the discussions forward. French are going to get their own new president from right in May 2017 it seems.

I wonder what Obomber will say about the attacker. Some version of misguided youth angered by DT, worried the future travel restrictions under DT, and the hate atmosphere created by GOP is the reason things I am sure.

[Singha]

Mccain is not really a stalwart just a insane war hawk. No point in dt accomodating him. Rest are reasonable bets if they want to play ball with dt.

[Yagnasri]

http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/kamala-h ... ly-1631357

Earlier also someone here said that this lady is a great one. Some lib/left mode with wall street/Hollywood money or something else?

[Mort Walker]

Has anyone heard from AmberG? I hope and pray he wasn't caught up in this mess at OSU*.

*Ohio State not Oklahoma State where another crazy rammed her car through a bunch of homecoming aggies.

[ssundar]

http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/kamala-h ... ly-1631357

Earlier also someone here said that this lady is a great one. Some lib/left mode with wall street/Hollywood money or something else?

Hee Hee! Seems like we will have a Tamil POTUS before we have a Tamil PMOGOI .

Fairly liberal but a no-nonsense law enforcer her entire career, based on public domain info.

[ssundar]

The Facebook page believed to belong to him included the grievances about attacks on Muslims, according to two federal law enforcement officials, including events in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. Shortly before the attack, he wrote: "Seeing my fellow Muslims being tortured, raped and killed in Burma led to a boiling point," according to federal law enforcement officials.

Anyone remember that news flashed a few years ago all over SM? Under the garb of "Burma", Pissfuls were spreading photos of deadbodies from some Chinese floods. It was proven adequately in some blogs. Yet, even some moderate Pissful friends of mine were sharing these over and over again. Now we've got what would have been a 15-year-old at that time who got radicalized to death by that pure propaganda garbage.

Abdul Razak Ali Artan

[Austin]

Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump 2h2 hours ago

.@CNN is so embarrassed by their total (100%) support of Hillary Clinton, and yet her loss in a landslide, that they don't know what to do.

[Yagnasri]

http://www.ndtv.com/blog/the-rise-of-ka ... ge-1625798

KH's sister works in Ford Foundation. She worked for HC also. So clear inside of Dem establishment. The only record she has is as the prosecutor. I am not sure just one such experience will make her qualified for President position.The quickness with which her name popped up (A senator for the first time elections with no legislative experience or administrative experience at present) The alone is alarming.

One more thing this report says (UndiTv report so we can not say how far it is true) is that she identify herself as African American. So Desi people may have to hold their lungi dance.

[ssundar]

http://www.ndtv.com/blog/the-rise-of-ka ... ge-1625798

KH's sister works in Ford Foundation. She worked for HC also. So clear inside of Dem establishment. The only record she has is as the prosecutor. I am not sure just one such experience will make her qualified for President position.The quickness with which her name popped up (A senator for the first time elections with no legislative experience or administrative experience at present) The alone is alarming.

One more thing this report says (UndiTv report so we can not say how far it is true) is that she identify herself as African American. So Desi people may have to hold their lungi dance.

Yes, finding this article on UndiTV alone tells you a lot more than all of the above. Wiki says parents divorced very early on, girls grew up with mom yet lived in Berkeley immersed in an African American culture.

[Yagnasri]

I think the UndiTv also borrowed wiki material. Great journo work by undiTv as usual.

The question is which way Dem goes from here. The social issues rubbish way may not be the right way to win the elections but with all the press and others thinking of those issues only the Dems will go that side only. If they win, then US economy may go to more and more red.

[Yagnasri]

Umma Warrior:

"I can't take it any more. America! Stop interfering with other countries, especially the Muslim Ummah. We are not weak. We are not weak, remember that," the post quoted by ABC television said, using a term referring to the global community of Muslims"

http://www.oneindia.com/international/o ... 75914.html

Waiting to hear from Obomber.

[Manish_Sharma]

its like 410 AD all over again.

What is 410 AD Ramana ji?

[kittoo]

Everything u didn't want to know about Abdul Artan
Third year in Logistics Management. Transferred from Columbus State U. in August. I guess one semester was enough.

Everything people said is wrong about Trump and isn't!!!

* Exited Somalia as a refugee, one supposes, and reached the land of milk and honey for Peacefuls - Land of the Pure.
* Got a Green Card under refugee or diversity lottery, one supposes, and reached the land of the brave.
* Achieved the privilege of the few privileged - instead of driving cabs in Minneapolis, got to study in college.
* Got to go from one college to a better university with credit transfer - another privilege of the US educational system.

How does one go from enjoying just about every privilege the US sends his way to hating the US?

I dont think Islamists ever cared about whats right, morality, fairness, being thankful or any such thing. All they care about is Islam and killing in its name.

[devesh]

1. PRC-Rus have a long border and PRC's ethnic incursions into Rus will be a source of friction. The Russian State will never be free from the lurking suspicion of PRC's designs on the Far East. Even a half-wit Russian leader would not be fool enough to underestimate that threat.

2. US-Rus have friction on: backing Iran, allowing Assad+Shia forces free hand under Russian air cover, Russian annexation of Crimea, and Russian backing of secessionist demands in E. Ukraine. The contentions in Europe are easier to ignore - basically a cold detente where Russia's sphere of influence in Ukraine and defacto control of Crimea is recognized. The situation in ME is more difficult to model. Obama's legacy in ME is of total failure. On every count, he screwed up American power in ME and is bequeathing a legacy to his successor who now has to contend with one Great Power which is setting the rules and another strong regional power which is facilitating the new rules. The Sultan in Turkey has further complicated potential American alliance opportunity with Kurds. If Trump concedes Russia its sphere in Syria, that will consolidate a Turkey-Israel-GCC alliance.

For the Israel-GCC faction, ISIS is a great opportunity to remove the Assadist State and Iranian proxies in Syria and Iraq. For Israel, they might prefer a long conflict of attrition between Sunnis and Shias. Whether it's acknowledged or not, this is the direction this war is headed. Putin will not expand the theater of Russian intervention in Syria. He will stick to steady retaking of Western Syria and be very cautious about going further. The Iranian proxies and Iraqi Shia militias will have to go likewise steadily cleanse ISIS presence. Trump, ironically, might decide to stop all bombing which favors Shias, and focus purely on helping the Kurds hold onto their advances. IOW - this turns into a shia-sunni fight to the death. This is the only option to reach an understanding with Russia and Israel. Edogan and GCC will do their best to destabilize this entente. So there are no guarantees.

3. US-PRC: despite the loud proclamations, my gut feeling is that these 2 really don't have any major issues to fight over. In a way, PRC's shenanigans in SCS keep the "little guys" scared and begging US for hardware and alliance protection. PRC's actions in SCS not only inflate American power and pretensions of "peacemaker", but gives US real leverage over smaller countries which are threatened by PRC. It's a damn racket.

In conclusion, the issues of contention between Russia and US are complex precisely b/c there are several actors in the ME all of whom have a vested interested in preventing a US-Russia entente. The real challenge for Trump will be a potential escalation by the Turkey-GCC axis. Israel will not escalate at this point. They have more to gain by remaining a useful ally to Trump at this point - especially after 8 yrs of Obama's hostility.

[Bheeshma]

Well anyone can see a very long and bloody drawn out shia sunni war in middle east is good for the entire planet. US and Rus will not go to war over middle east and china doesn't have the capability beyond a few dozen advisers safe in damascus. Have been hearing about the chinese carrier which apparently has been sailing for the last six months towards syria.

[TSJones]

its like 410 AD all over again.

What is 410 AD Ramana ji?

a consolidation of India under the Guptas.

thus sayeth wiki.....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gupta_Empire

The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire, founded by Sri Gupta, which existed at its zenith from approximately 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the Indian subcontinent.[1] The peace and prosperity created under the leadership of the Guptas enabled the pursuit of scientific and artistic endeavours.[2][unreliable source?] This period is called the Golden Age of India[3] and was marked by extensive inventions and discoveries in science, technology, engineering, art, dialectic, literature, logic, mathematics, astronomy, religion, and philosophy that crystallized the elements of what is generally known as Hindu culture.[4][unreliable source?] Chandragupta I, Samudragupta, and Chandragupta II were the most notable rulers of the Gupta dynasty.

The 4th century CE Sanskrit poet Kalidasa credits the Guptas with having conquered about twenty one kingdoms, both in and outside India, including the kingdoms of Parasikas, the Hunas, the Kambojas, tribes located in the west and east Oxus valleys, the Kinnaras, Kiratas etc.[5][non-primary source needed]


The high points of this cultural creativity are magnificent architecture, sculptures and paintings.[6] The Gupta period produced scholars such as Kalidasa, Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Vishnu Sharma and Vatsyayana who made great advancements in many academic fields.[7][unreliable source?][8] Science and political administration reached new heights during the Gupta era.[9][unreliable source?] Strong trade ties also made the region an important cultural center and set the region up as a base that would influence nearby kingdoms and regions in Burma, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia.[10][unreliable source?] The earliest available Indian epics are also thought to have been committed to written texts around this period.
The empire gradually declined because of many factors such as substantial loss of territory and imperial authority caused by their own erstwhile feudatories and the invasion by the Huna peoples (Ephthalite Huns) from Central Asia.[11][12] After the collapse of the Gupta Empire in the 6th century, India was again ruled by numerous regional kingdoms. A minor line of the Gupta clan continued to rule Magadha after the disintegration of the empire. These Guptas were ultimately ousted by Vardhana ruler Harsha, who established his empire in the first half of the 7th century.[citation needed]

I love wiki. I am a regular financial contributer.

[UlanBatori]

This is the trouble with depending on Wikipedia for serious research as these yindoo nationalist fundamentalists such as TSJi do all the time. There WAS "western civilization" too at the time, u know...

ROMAN HISTORY TIMELINE - West Chester University's
courses.wcupa.edu/jones/his101/web/t-roman.htm
ROMAN HISTORY TIMELINE. This list begins with the founding of the village of Rome around 753 BCE and continues to the fall of Constantinople in 1453 CE. It is particularly detailed for the period from 58 BCE to 31 BCE (Julius Caesar to Caesar Augustus) and for 376 CE to 480 CE (the "fall" of the Western Roman Empire).

In 476 C.E. Romulus, the last of the Roman emperors in the west, was overthrown by the Germanic leader Odoacer, who became the first Barbarian to rule in Rome. The order that the Roman Empire had brought to western Europe for 1000 years was no more. The Fall of the Roman Empire [ushistory.org]
http://www.ushistory.org/civ/6f.asp

Dang! One learns something new every din. I thought the term "While Rome burned Nero Fiddled" referred to the Bavarians (mispronounced as Barbarians) burning it. Turns out that it was a fire that started in the night ~ 64 YE during some Fraternity party.

[Austin]

HENRY KISSINGER on DT