Bharat Rakshak

ManishC wrote:Clinton foundation and emails cemented the perception of corruption, and nothing to enthuse the working class voter. Bigger problem for Dems is that they have no bench strength - unless the Red Congress and Orange POTUS totally blows it going forward!

vera_k wrote:On a lighter note, how did they know?

A Chinese monkey and an Indian fish predict Donald Trump will win US Presidential elections

panduranghari wrote:Brar ji,
The only plan to reform Social Security is to Print money.

In 2017, SS will be in net deficit. It would have been this year, but to ensure Hillary victory they raided the disability fund and used money to fund SS. Based on the current level of funding, SS alone will take up all the money raised by government by 2025. No money will be left for running govt, running military or emergency services.

vera_k wrote:On a lighter note, how did they know?

A Chinese monkey and an Indian fish predict Donald Trump will win US Presidential elections

Sicanta wrote:https://twitter.com/BerenabasG/status/7 ... 6977131520

reminds me of jnu students. My way or highway.

Following news of Donald Trump’s shocking victory over Hillary Clinton in Tuesday’s presidential election, anti-Trump protesters are planning to hold a rally against the president-elect outside the Massachusetts State House on Wednesday night.

The Facebook event for the “Boston Against Trump rally” had more than 2,000 confirmed attendees as of 10:45 a.m. Wednesday morning. The event, which is scheduled to start at 7 p.m., was created by the Boston Socialist Students, a self-described “student movement for the 99 percent.”

“Donald Trump is the next President of the United States. We need to immediately start fighting against him,” reads the event’s description. “We need to build a movement to fight racism, sexism, and Islamophobia!”

This gender antagonism does nothing to advance the unfinished business of equality. If anything, the fixation on men behaving badly is a distraction from more fundamental issues, such as changes in the workplace to promote work-life balance. What’s more, male-bashing not only sours many men — and quite a few women — on feminism. It often drives them into Internet subcultures where critiques of feminism mix with hostility toward women.

We are headed into an election with what is likely to be a nearly unprecedented gender gap among voters. To some extent, these numbers reflect policy differences. Yet it is not too far-fetched to see the pro-Donald Trump sentiment as fueled, at least in part, by a backlash against feminism. And while some of this backlash may be of the old-fashioned “put women in their place” variety, there is little doubt that for the younger generation, the perception of feminism as extremist and anti-male plays a role, too.

sanjaykumar wrote: What does this do to Brand America? Hard to push those T-visas when the President is groping pussy; hard to lecture third worlders on inclusivity.

An Army Reserve veteran who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee is a potential nominee to head the Defense Department when Donald Trump becomes president.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., who advised Trump on national security issues during the campaign, is chairman of the armed services subcommittee on strategic forces and a member of the AirLand and seapower panels. He also is a senior member of the Senate Budget Committee.

Sessions served in the Army Reserve from 1973 to 1986, assigned to the 1184th Army Transportation Terminal Unit for part of the time. He attained the rank of captain.

President-elect Trump has not indicated when he might announce his nominees for Cabinet positions, but Sessions was an adviser to the Trump campaign and spokesman on national security issues. Sessions told Defense News in an Oct. 30 interview that Trump “believes that the military has been degraded” and “it needs to be rebuilt.”

In particular, Sessions said Trump would increase Regular Army strength to 540,000 soldiers.

Sessions has been a strong advocate for bigger defense budgets. In a June 2015 debate on the Senate floor, Sessions argued for increasing 2011 defense spending caps, saying the world had changed.

Describing himself as a budget hawk, Sessions said, “We are going to have to spend some more money.”

“In 2011, we did not have the Russian invasion of Crimea. We did not have the continued vicious, violent fight in Syria. We did not have the chaos that is happening in Libya. We did not have the threat to the Iraqi Government's existence, we thought it was on the right path. We did not have the problem in Yemen. So this is just a different world.”

He also argued for slowing down troop cuts, especially for the Regular Army. “Maybe we will have to go to 450,000, but right now we need to slow down that reduction based on the world situation,” he said.

SBajwa wrote:I live in PA and voted for Trump in both BRF and regular elections!! BRF as always is way ahead of the curve!!!

We should abandon arms control treaties that benefit our adversaries without improving our national security. We must fund, develop, and
deploy a multi-layered missile defense system. We must modernize nuclear weapons and their delivery platforms, end the policy of Mutually Assured Destruction, and rebuild relationships with our allies, who understand that as long as the U.S. nuclear arsenal is their shield, they do not need to engage in nuclear proliferation..

U.S. Leadership in the Asian Pacific

We are a Pacific nation with economic, military, and cultural ties to all the countries of the oceanic rim and treaty alliances with Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines, and Thailand. With them, we look toward the establishment of human rights for the people of North Korea. We urge the government of China to recognize the inevitability of change in the Kim family’s slave state and, for everyone’s safety against nuclear disaster, to hasten positive change on the Korean peninsula. The United States will continue to demand the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program with full accounting of its proliferation activities. We also pledge to counter any threats from the North Korean regime.
We salute the people of Taiwan, with whom we share the values of democracy, human rights, a free market economy, and the rule of law. Our rela- tions will continue to be based upon the provisions of the Taiwan Relations Act, and we affirm the Six Assurances given to Taiwan in 1982 by President Reagan. We oppose any unilateral steps by either side to alter the status quo in the Taiwan Straits on the principle that all issues regarding the island’s fu- ture must be resolved peacefully, through dialogue, and be agreeable to the people of Taiwan. If China were to violate those principles, the United States, in accord with the Taiwan Relations Act, will help Taiwan defend itself. We praise efforts by the new government in Taipei to continue constructive re- lations across the Taiwan Strait and call on China to reciprocate. As a loyal friend of America, Taiwan has merited our strong support, including free trade agreement status, the timely sale of defensive arms including technology to build diesel submarines, and full participation in the World Health Organiza- tion, International Civil Aviation Organization, and other multilateral institutions.

China’s behavior has negated the optimistic language of our last platform concerning our future relations with China. The liberalizing policies of recent decades have been abruptly reversed, dissent brutally crushed, religious persecution heightened, the internet crippled, a barbaric population control two-child policy of forced abortions and forced sterilizations continued, and the cult of Mao revived.

Critics of the regime have been kidnapped by its agents in foreign countries. To distract the populace from its increasing economic problems and, more importantly, to expand its military might, the government asserts a preposterous claim to the entire South China Sea and continues to dredge ports and create landing fields in contested waters where none have existed before, ever nearer to U.S. territories and our allies, while building a navy far out of proportion to defensive purposes. The complacency of the Obama regime has emboldened the Chinese government and military to issue threats of intimidation throughout the South China Sea, not to mention parading their new missile, “the Guam Killer,” down the main streets of Beijing, a direct shot at Guam as America’s first line of defense. Meanwhile, cultural genocide continues in Tibet and Xinjiang, the promised autonomy of Hong Kong is eroded, the currency is manipulated, our technology is stolen, and intellectual property and copyrights are mocked in an economy based on piracy. In business terms, this is not competition; it is a hostile takeover. For any American company to abet those offenses, especially governmental censorship and tracking of dissenters, is a disgrace.

The return to Maoism by China’s current rulers is not reason to disengage with the Chinese people or their institutions. We welcome students, tourists, and investors, who can see for themselves our vibrant American democracy and how real democracy works. We caution, however, against academic or cultural operations under the control of the Chinese government and call upon American colleges to dissociate themselves from this increasing threat to academic freedom and honest research.

Most of the nations of Southeast Asia have set aside crippling ideologies and sought material progress in free enterprise and democracy. We congratulate the people of Burma on their emergence from authoritarian rule and urge their respect for the rights of their country’s minority populations. Our improved relations with Vietnam — including arms sales — must advance efforts to obtain an accounting for, and repatriation of the remains of, Americans who gave their lives in the cause of Vietnamese freedom. We cannot overlook the continued repression of fundamental rights and religious freedom, as well as retribution against ethnic minorities and others who assisted U.S. forces during the conflict there.
India is our geopolitical ally and a strategic trading partner. The dynamism of its people and the endurance of their democratic institutions are earning their country a position of leadership not only in Asia but throughout the world. We encourage the Indian government to permit expanded foreign investment and trade, the key to rising living standards for those left out of their country’s energetic economy. For all of India’s religious communities, we urge protection against violence and discrimination. Republicans note with pride the contributions to our country that are made by our fellow citizens of Indian ancestry.
Conflicts in the Middle East have created special political and military challenges for the people of Pakistan. Our working relationship is a necessary, though sometimes difficult, benefit to both, and we look toward the strengthening of historic ties that have frayed under the weight of international conflict. This process cannot progress as long as any citizen of Pakistan can be punished for helping the War on Terror. Pakistanis, Afghans, and Americans have a common interest in ridding the region of the Taliban and securing Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. That goal has been undermined by the current Administration’s feckless treatment of troop commitments and blatant disregard of advice from commanders on the ground, particularly with regard to Afghanistan. A Republican president will work with all regional leaders to restore mutual trust while insisting upon progress against corruption and the narcotic trade that fuels insurgency.

Renewing the European Alliance

With bipartisan support, President Truman forged the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as an alliance of the western democracies. Its continued effectiveness is vital, especially in light of recent military challenges in Eastern Europe. With the American people spending on defense, per capita, four times the amount spent by Euro- peans, we demand, as we have in the past, that our fellow members of NATO fulfill their commitments and meet their need for greater investment in their armed forces.

Our historic ties to the peoples of Europe have been based on shared culture and values, com- mon interests and goals. Their endurance can- not be taken for granted, especially in light of the continent’s economic problems and demographic changes. We recognize with regret the increasing trend among many of our allies to move away from rights and liberties that Americans hold dear, espe- cially freedom of speech. It would be a tragic irony if the nations of Europe which withstood Soviet repression were to now impose a form of it upon themselves.

We honor our special relationship with the people of the United Kingdom and are grateful for their staunch support in the fight against terrorism. We respect their decision concerning their nation’s relationship to the European Union and pledge that, however much other international relationships may change, those who were first to our side in our hour of loss will always rank first in our policies and our esteem.

We thank the several nations of Europe that have contributed to a united effort in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. Their support and sacrifice in the fight against Islamic terrorism will not be forgotten. We applaud the ongoing reconciliation in Northern Ireland and hope that its success might be replicated in Cyprus. We urge greater coordination in economic and security affairs between the United States and the republics of Eastern Europe. We urge that Poland be granted visa waiver status and we support placement of NATO troops in Poland.

For the people of Russia, we affirm our respect and our determination to maintain a friendship beyond the reach of those who wish to divide us. We have common imperatives: Ending terrorism, combating nuclear proliferation, promoting trade, and more. We also have a common problem: The continuing erosion of personal liberty and fundamental rights under the current officials in the Kremlin. Repressive at home and reckless abroad, their policies imperil the nations which regained their self-determination upon the collapse of the Soviet Union. We will meet the return of Russian belligerence with the same resolve that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. We will not accept any territorial change in Eastern Europe imposedby force, in Ukraine, Georgia, or elsewhere, and will use all appropriate constitutional measures to bring to justice the practitioners of aggression and assassination.
We urge greater attention in U.S. diplomacy, trade, and strategic planning, to the nations of Eurasia, formerly parts of the Soviet Empire. Caught between their two authoritarian neighbors, their path toward democratic institutions has been uncertain. We urge our government and our allies to work toward the integration of the Central Asian republics into the global economy through foreign investment, which can bring with it market and political reforms and a firmer establishment of the rule of law. Those developments will not only improve the living conditions throughout that vast area but are likely to reduce the lure of the radical ideologies that already threaten the region.

On Iran

We consider the Administration’s deal with Iran, to lift international sanctions and make hundreds of billions of dollars available to the Mullahs, a personal agreement between the President and his negotiating partners and non-binding on the next president. Without a two-thirds endorsement by the Senate, it does not have treaty status. Because of it, the de- fiant and emboldened regime in Tehran continues to sponsor terrorism across the region, develop a nuclear weapon, test-fire ballistic missiles inscribed with “Death to Israel,” and abuse the basic human rights of its citizens. A Republican president will not be bound by it. We must retain all options in dealing with a situation that gravely threatens our security, our interests, and the survival of our friends.

On Assad

The dictator of Syria, Bashar Assad, has murdered hundreds of thousands of his own people and created millions of refugees, and an American president has been unable to rally the world against him. Understandably, our allies fear for their future in a region far more dangerous than it was eight years ago.
A Republican administration will restore our nation’s credibility. We must stand up for our friends, challenge our foes, and destroy ISIS. Hezbollah, controlling over 100,000 missiles in Lebanon, must be isolated and Lebanon’s independence restored.

We will support the transition to a post-Assad Syrian government that is representative of its people, protects the rights of all minorities and religions, respects the territorial integrity of its neighbors, and contributes to peace and stability in the region.

brar_w wrote: Describing himself as a budget hawk, Sessions said, “We are going to have to spend some more money.”

“In 2011, we did not have the Russian invasion of Crimea. We did not have the continued vicious, violent fight in Syria. We did not have the chaos that is happening in Libya. We did not have the threat to the Iraqi Government's existence, we thought it was on the right path. We did not have the problem in Yemen. So this is just a different world.”

He also argued for slowing down troop cuts, especially for the Regular Army. “Maybe we will have to go to 450,000, but right now we need to slow down that reduction based on the world situation,” he said.

Skanda wrote: This article is interesting because off-late if you turn on the TV commentary on Trump, all you heard was how racist, mysogynist, sexist Trump really is. The entire case against Trump was just that.

huh...how does that square with the isolationists and the 'let them pay their share' arguments..

GOPPlatform wrote:
The U.S. defense budget has suffered a 25 percent cut in real dollars in the five years since sequestration. We support lifting the budget cap for defense and reject the efforts of Democrats to hold the military’s budget hostage for their domestic agenda. Congress and the Administration should work together to approve military spending at the level necessary to defend our country.

Gus wrote:electoral system ensures that the winning candidate has a broad based support from more states.

if it was only popular vote, then candidates would be polarized more in trying to extract all votes out of some states...and this would pit states against states..a civil war like situation.

trump won not only with 'red states'...he did flip some blue leaning states and that is credit to him and gives his presidency a legitimacy that he will not have if he squeezed some more votes out of deep south and got the popular vote method to presidency.

Atmavik wrote:

Skanda wrote:Feminists treat men badly. It’s bad for feminism.

nachiket wrote:Meanwhile some flabbergasted folks are calling for California to exit the US.

Californians are calling for a 'Calexit'

LokeshC wrote: Trump did the opposite. He complained of rigging BEFORE he played the game. We on BRF complained of EVM rigging before NaMo was elected.