Quote from: taxed on July 03, 2017, 11:20:47 AM
We don't necessarily want that.  It's all fun and games when a president can bypass Congress -- until the other party is in power.  For something to be permanent, it needs to be rooted in legislation.  Gridlock is good, and by design.

Absolutely correct. No way any government entity should have ultimate power. It will always be abused.

Quote from: Jman22 on July 03, 2017, 10:52:17 AM
China wants to overtake US as the number 1 influential power.  That's for sure 100%.  It will be up to us to prevent that.  Competition is good for all.  Quite frankly they have a long way to go before they can challenge the US in my opinion.  They still are a developing country and they are shooting themselves in the foot with censorship, poor copyright laws, and pollution.  Chinese are still immigrating to the US because it's the favorable destination.  Top to bottom.  It will be quite some time before that trend is reversed.

No doubt about it, and more than likely won't happen while anyone alive today will see it.
You know the Chinese think in centuries, not days or months like the rest of the world, the Chinese are methodical, planting seeds for the next generation to harvest.

QuoteRegarding the comment that Chinese people despise the one belt one road idea, I have personally seen mostly a positive reception.  My question is - what are we doing to combat the OBOR initiative?  One thing China does well for better or worse is they move really fast if a buck can be made.  They can ignore public opinion, group opinion, international opinion, and just go do it.  There are no state and federal committees  for endless debate. 

After a quick search, perhaps US can launch something similar in the Americas?

http://www.americansecurityproject.org/americas-response-to-one-belt-one-road/

Here's my take. Fore decades the US had a policy of boosting economies through trade, spreading capitalism and our American ideals, but that policy has been abused by an Establishment that abuses its roots and only thinks of is own best interests abroad and screws the US at the drop of a hat.
Like GE, any of the big three automakers, any tech firm born on American soil, these and thousand more just like them, use our nation as a step stool to the rest of the world and will quickly sell us out for a buck if China offers two.
The gop'E is entrenched within this group, and it's all about money, not what's best for America.

What the US needs to do is do what we do best, offer freedom, a chance to prosper and grow under the guidance and protection of the US, as opposed to China using a country for its own best interests and polluting the land while paying slave wages.
This is what some of the Establishment corporate entities have done under the US flag, and it's hurt us around the world, particularly South America

Quote from: taxed on July 03, 2017, 11:20:47 AM
We don't necessarily want that.  It's all fun and games when a president can bypass Congress -- until the other party is in power.  For something to be permanent, it needs to be rooted in legislation. 

Yeah, we did it and called it NAFTA and now Trump is doing his best to undo it. NAFTA was a good idea, but only for corporate America, and now that most of them have been taken over by leftists, NAFTA needs to be destroyed.

QuoteGridlock is good, and by design.

Hell Yes! If they can't be on extended leave, then gridlock is the next best thing, the less the accomplish, the better for the nation.

Quote from: Solar on July 03, 2017, 12:30:17 PM
No doubt about it, and more than likely won't happen while anyone alive today will see it.
You know the Chinese think in centuries, not days or months like the rest of the world, the Chinese are methodical, planting seeds for the next generation to harvest.
Here's my take. Fore decades the US had a policy of boosting economies through trade, spreading capitalism and our American ideals, but that policy has been abused by an Establishment that abuses its roots and only thinks of is own best interests abroad and screws the US at the drop of a hat.
Like GE, any of the big three automakers, any tech firm born on American soil, these and thousand more just like them, use our nation as a step stool to the rest of the world and will quickly sell us out for a buck if China offers two.
The gop'E is entrenched within this group, and it's all about money, not what's best for America.

What the US needs to do is do what we do best, offer freedom, a chance to prosper and grow under the guidance and protection of the US, as opposed to China using a country for its own best interests and polluting the land while paying slave wages.
This is what some of the Establishment corporate entities have done under the US flag, and it's hurt us around the world, particularly South America

What politicians desire to tell us and the rest of the world is not working with all. Don't listen to them, just look at how many folks from around the world are trying to come here. The old saying that people vote with their feet is a sound philosophy.

QuoteNorth Korea has reportedly launched a ballistic missile Tuesday as part of a string of test-firings in recent months, South Korea's military said. The missile was launched from a province near the border with China, according to Yonhap News Agency.http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/07/03/new-north-korea-test-pyongyang-fires-ballistic-missile-south-korea-says.html[

Just breaking news!

They got it off the launch pad???

Quote from: supsalemgr on July 03, 2017, 12:46:06 PM
What politicians desire to tell us and the rest of the world is not working with all. Don't listen to them, just look at how many folks from around the world are trying to come here. The old saying that people vote with their feet is a sound philosophy.

Exactly.

There are many reason folks want to come here to America.  One big reason in my opinion is the top quality of our university programs.  It attracts the best from all over the world and often they decide to stay here.  Our secondary and primary schools needs improvements for sure, but as long as we remain on top with our post secondary system, we will remain globally competitive. 

Quote from: Jman22 on July 04, 2017, 06:10:40 PM
Exactly.

There are many reason folks want to come here to America.  One big reason in my opinion is the top quality of our university programs.  It attracts the best from all over the world and often they decide to stay here.  Our secondary and primary schools needs improvements for sure, but as long as we remain on top with our post secondary system, we will remain globally competitive.

Our attraction has little to do with schools, rather the simple fact that anyone can come here and thrive as an entrepreneur, that is and will always be the reason as long as we remain a Free Republic.
Europe has great higher education too, but people would still rather come here.

Quote from: Solar on July 04, 2017, 06:30:21 PM
Our attraction has little to do with schools, rather the simple fact that anyone can come here and thrive as an entrepreneur, that is and will always be the reason as long as we remain a Free Republic.
Europe has great higher education too, but people would still rather come here.

So true. Freedom trumps all other reasons to come to America.

Quote from: Jman22 on July 03, 2017, 10:52:17 AM
China wants to overtake US as the number 1 influential power.  That's for sure 100%.  It will be up to us to prevent that.  Competition is good for all.  Quite frankly they have a long way to go before they can challenge the US in my opinion.  They still are a developing country and they are shooting themselves in the foot with censorship, poor copyright laws, and pollution.  Chinese are still immigrating to the US because it's the favorable destination.  Top to bottom.  It will be quite some time before that trend is reversed.

China ALREADY IS the world's leading manufacturer!
China exceeds the USA by about 30%.
China has been the world's leading buyer of machine tools for 10 years.
China has been the world's leading manufacturer of machine tools for 5 years.
China's GDP is still growing at 8-10% per year,
while the USA's GDP has been growing at less than 2% per year.
If current trends continue, in another 10 or 20 years
China will COMPLETELY DOMINATE the world economy!
And, as we saw with the example of the USA for the last century,
economic power is the foundation for all other power.

http://conservativepoliticalforum.com/financial/china-is-the-world's-leading-manufacturer/

Quote from: je_freedom on July 05, 2017, 11:14:49 AM
I doubt that it would work on the "Dear Leader."
He seems to be motivated not much by greed,
but more by a sadistic lust for power.

Nobody controls Kim Jong Un.
When he orders someone to be executed by artillery at point blank range,
his servants carry out the order,
terrified that they might be accused of
carrying out the order with insufficient fanaticism.
(Which is also the case with political correctness in today's U.S. military,
but that's another subject.)

"Communist ideologue" implies ideology, which implies thought,
which is not tolerated in North Korea.
The little dictator (just like his father and grandfather)
is not an ideologue, like Stalin or Mao.
He is much more like Jim Jones.
The regime in North Korea is not a government, it's a cult!

Wrong!!!
But you got the cult part pretty close, in a sense. And his existence is solely at the pleasure of his Chinese handlers, they decide if he lives or dies and as long as he plays the 'good puppet' he is awarded with an extended life.. iIt really is that simple.
You give the little fat fuck waaaay to much credit as an individual, he is not, he is a puppet, he is not a free thinker, he is told what to say and do by a group directly connected to the Chinese Communist party.
He exists at their will and he knows it, given the lifestyle of a king, as long as he follows the program.
The grandfather set up the Uncommie party, molded after communism, under a new moniker called Juche ideology, the founder worked directly with the Chinese communists and existed at their pleasure. NK exists for one single reason, to allow China a face saving position when they tell Kim to jump, they can say "Hey, NK is a sovereign state, we have no control over what they do, while allowing China a buffer between them and the West.
Like his son who followed, nothing changed with the exception of a stepped up game of cross border skirmishes, to the nut that plays Emporer today knows his place better than those before him.

Look at any pic, and you'll see the same guy standing with him in every picture, like that of evil embodied, he is the voice of the communists that keep the Kim's alive and in power.
None of this is a secret, I learned about in in 72 when stationed there. They told us the truth so we had a better understanding of the enemy we might face one day soon...

It is quite obvious what those diabolical Chi coms are up to. The biggest joke in Asia was a North Korean Missile launch, the boys in Las Vegas had a running bet as to how far off the launch pad the next one would get before it exploded. The bet with the greatest odds was a missile that could actually clear NORK air space before blowing up. Never happen GI....BUT all of a sudden they got this last one to not only clear but have a trajectory that could strike Alaska....how'd that happen? Well seems Beijing saw fit to give the NORKS those mobile Chinese launchers. Now they still probably can't attach a nuke to it, but they have proved they can strike.

So now the dance begins, China gets the west (and primarily Japan) to focus on NORK and of course will intercede on the west's behalf in exchange for ....what? What do the Chicoms want from us...or Japan...better trade deals? Better price for our raw materials? Or no more talk of tariffs from Trump? 

"Nobody controls Kim Jong Un."

I wasn't thinking of China. 
I was thinking more in terms of his own staff controlling him,
rather like the military leaders of Imperial Japan largely controlled the Emperor.

Quote from: Solar on July 06, 2017, 05:26:18 AM
... his existence is solely at the pleasure of his Chinese handlers, they decide if he lives or dies and as long as he plays the 'good puppet' he is awarded with an extended life.. It really is that simple.
You give the little fat fuck waaaay to much credit as an individual, he is not, he is a puppet, he is not a free thinker, he is told what to say and do by a group directly connected to the Chinese Communist party.
He exists at their will and he knows it, given the lifestyle of a king, as long as he follows the program.
The grandfather set up the Uncommie party, molded after communism, under a new moniker called Juche ideology, the founder worked directly with the Chinese communists and existed at their pleasure. NK exists for one single reason, to allow China a face saving position when they tell Kim to jump, they can say "Hey, NK is a sovereign state, we have no control over what they do, while allowing China a buffer between them and the West.

I doubt that China controls Fathead in detail,
but I'm sure they set boundaries for him.
"Do our dirty work for us, and you can torture anyone you want."

Quote
Look at any pic, and you'll see the same guy standing with him in every picture, like that of evil embodied, he is the voice of the communists that keep the Kim's alive and in power.
None of this is a secret, I learned about in in 72 when stationed there. They told us the truth so we had a better understanding of the enemy we might face one day soon...

Kind of like Emperor Palpatine standing behind Darth Vader...

"Two always there are."
-- Yoda

Quote from: je_freedom on July 06, 2017, 06:33:42 PM
"Nobody controls Kim Jong Un."

I wasn't thinking of China. 
I was thinking more in terms of his own staff controlling him,
rather like the military leaders of Imperial Japan largely controlled the Emperor.

I doubt that China controls Fathead in detail,
but I'm sure they set boundaries for him.
"Do our dirty work for us, and you can torture anyone you want."

Kind of like Emperor Palpatine standing behind Darth Vader...

"Two always there are."
-- Yoda

True, I doubt anyone beyond that one lone Colonel has his ear, but that lone Colonel at Kim's side, serves at the behest of China, I believe he alone is the direct link between the two, though there are others under the Colonel, they are to have absolutely no contact with Kim, only the lone Colonel is allowed contact.



In other news, here's why China can't be trusted in a treaty.

When The U.K. ceded control over Hong Kong, a formal agreement, a binding treaty was signed by both parties.

"It is not at all binding for the central government's management of Hong Kong. The U.K. has no sovereignty, no power to rule, and no power to supervise Hong Kong after the handover," Lu said.

The joint declaration promised that Hong Kong would retain its traditional freedoms and way of life for "at least 50 years."

But as Xi visited Hong Kong to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the handover on Saturday, pro-independence and pro-democracy activists were prevented from demonstrating at key locations in the city.

http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/treaty-06302017132139.html

Hey Taxed! What were we just discussing the other day about Trump using force?

Nikki Haley delivered a powerful statement today at the UN on N. Korea's recent ICBM missile launch provocation, saying that while the US seeks a peaceful solution to the problem of an escalating and threatening N. Korea, the actions by the regime are "quickly closing off the possibility of a diplomatic solution."

She continued to point out how the United States would use all of its resources to defend itself and its allies, including its "considerable military forces". But she's clear that the US doesn't want to go in this direction, but will "if we must".

Video at link.
http://therightscoop.com/watch-nikki-haley-delivers-powerful-statement-on-n-korea-says-us-will-use-military-if-we-must/