Eric Loh

29 minutes ago, jany123 said:

Are there more Chinese bases out there.... or more American bases?

 

The 7 Fleet with a continuous forward presence in the Indo Asia Pacific region and with the largest numbered vessels need those bases. 

56 minutes ago, FMarch said:

When America's Greatest President of the 20th century,  Donald J Trump is elected for his third term... You will Still be Crying about you Polls and other non-sense ... do yourself a favor... go put on your big boy pants then get a life in reality.

He probably be like Lula in the song Copacabana after 2020. Sitting in Trump bar so refined and drink himself half blind. 

26 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I can't believe that there are no better Dems out there. I can only surmise that they have concluded that Trump is unbeatable, and have rightly decided not to go out just to lose the big chair.

Most think Hillary was unbeatable too and didn’t bother to vote. This and other factors like his poor approval ratings, demographic changes and Trump’s fatigue will see him lose 2020. 

22 minutes ago, TheDark said:

Total numbers are still quite low. The key thing is whether the virus transfers from human to human or not. 

 

If it does, yes, then there is a reason for alarm. If not, then it will most likely stay as local problem, depending how many animals and raw meat is been moved outside of the area.

The fact that it is likely to be person to person infection may be the reason as to why the number is relatively low. Unlike SARS which is spread airborne and in items which the particles have deposited. 

7 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Explain Bush the younger then.

Dumb and dumber. 

3 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Are Bernie, Biden, Warren really the best the Dems have to offer? Are there no charismatic politicians with popular policies to be found? Sad days indeed for the US.

You really need smart to be POTUS. 

https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/06/16/donald-trump-is-proving-too-stupid-to-be-president/

1 hour ago, rabas said:

he deal allowed Iran to keep it's Uranium production active, able to switch to bomb grade at the turn of a valve.

Bizarre statement that you can switch to weapon grade at the turn of a valve. The period needed to convert energy grade to bomb grade is call the ‘breakout’ period. It will take 12 months for that breakout conversion. Check it out. 
 

The JCPOA assert strong compliance and surveillance on Iran ability to make nuclear weapons. Should they start to misbehavior, the breakout period will allow the allies time to plan and remove their facilities. 

32 minutes ago, bendejo said:

Something like this happened in Singapore: the son took over for the father, but anyone with eyes could see papa was still holding the reigns.  If you mentioned it you'd probably get whipped.

 

 

You do know that Singapore has election every 4 years and a non Lee was PM for 8 years. No one gets whipped if they want to talk about it unless you have proper case to mention. 

Putin got this idea from Xi. Trump will be doing lots of fantasizing on that possibility. 

22 minutes ago, sucit said:

The endless war philosophy is systemic. Both parties. This is why you see Trump getting approval for more war funds for example. Notice, according to the dems, he is a conspiring Russian asset, yet they give him more money for wars?! 

 

But yeah, there is a candidate or two who do not take money from special interests. 

Are there wars that Trump need to seek Congress approval that I may have missed. 
 

Who are the ‘they’ that have him more money for ‘what’ wars. 

31 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

And my Mom. 60 plus years of frugal penny pinching investing. My sister, my Nephew, my buddy up in NY, one of our operators making $40 an hour on a 4th grade education......they are all sharing the wealth so to speak.

I am pleased that your family members are doing well. I don’t claimed to be a tax expert but can safely said that rise in wage in relation to tax collection is a normal phenomenon (except during a recession ) as the size of economy grows as population grows. I can also tell you that previous 3 Presidents presided over double digit annual increase in individual tax receipts. Also important to note is that while individuals have done better and income tax has risen, the portion of corporate tax contributions has dropped with Trump’s tax cuts. Rich corporations find clever ways to pay little to no tax. I believed this is Trump’s business philosophy too. 

3 minutes ago, mogandave said:

Evil corporations giving profits back to the shareholders. How is this bad? 
 

 

It’s bad when tax cuts simply flattened the corporations bottom line and cash flow rose while dividends only increased by a mere 3%. 
 

It’s bad when the tax cuts were supposed to allow the corporations to trickle down and benefit workers and also invest but didn’t happen. Only make rich companies richer. 

Perhaps Flynn is delaying sentencing so he can spent jail time with Trump post election. They are tight. 

1 hour ago, Caldera said:

How about banning Chinese from traveling during Lunar New Year? A virus couldn't find a better opportunity to spread widely than that!

Already spread to Malaysia. Cases are surfacing. 

6 minutes ago, simple1 said:

I would be interested to see links that show senior Dem representatives have stooped as low as trump in his personal attacks

+ 1 plus I want to see TBL produce evidence of Dem lying as much as Trump or having world leaders laughing at his POTUS. He back the wrong horse but too proud to admit. 

19 hours ago, KhunFred said:

How long before China claims ALL Asian countries???

That’s a silly assumption. Taiwan is different as the One China principle is enshrined in the PRC constitution. Unless the constitution is amended, the Taiwan claim will exist. They consider Taiwan to be a renegade regime. However on a personal note I hope they give up on Taiwan and recognize their sovereignty. Taiwan has progressed far from expectation and the 2-3 generation Taiwanese are fiercely independent and progressive. 

15 hours ago, donnacha said:

There is some validity to that ... but ... the problem is which Democrat do you see beating him?

From the polling I've seen, key demographics - such as soccer moms - are not fond of Trump, they would prefer someone "better", but, when given a choice between, say, Trump and Warren, or Trump and Bernie, they have a good hunch that it will be families like theirs that will end up paying for all their more radical plans.

In that sense, Bloomberg has a good point, a more moderate candidate would be more electable ... but ... the base have been placed in such a spin by "Trump Derangement Syndrome" that they can only really get excited about the more extreme candidates. Look at the effect that shafting Bernie had on Hillary's turnout.

On paper, Biden seems the safest pick, mainly because his association with Obama gives him the black vote, but are voters going to feel more or less confident about his capabilities after several months of campaigning?

You have to bear in mind that Trump is an extraordinarily good campaigner, and genuinely has more energy, more charisma, and, like it or not, a higher operational IQ than any of the Democrats.

 

IMO Sander stand the best chance to beat Trump for 2 reasons. The consistent controversies of Trump has worn off some of his supporters especially the female and youth. Sander is seen as the real deal and he is simply the opposite of non statesman persona and lying Trump. His vice choice will be critical. Buttigieg who is a young intelligent moderate will be a good pick if they can put their differences aside. 
 

IMHO 2 factors may go against Trump’s electability. The economy is teetering precariously towards a huge correction. Consumer debts and over leveraging on credit cards and mortgages are at its tipping point. More than half the population has no to little saving for any mild emergencies. Wall Street looks pretty based on QE fiat money and is piling up and the bubble may burst anytime. Meanwhile the world economy is still in a very bad shape.
 

The other factors that I briefly mentioned is Trump’s fatigue. There will be those who are simply tired of him stirring up endless controversies and corruptions that will sit out this election. On the other hand, it energized the other side to come out to vote which they didn’t in last election because of the Hillary factor. The farmers who were hurt by the trade wars and the evangelicals who starting to feel uncomfortable with his poor morality and ethics will be a wild card.

All said, Trump electability in 2020 is not a sure bet.