RuamRudy

Of course, it's someone else's fault that this clown shoe doesn't know what he's doing!

REPORTER: You would agree it's never acceptable to assault police officers? TRUMP: Sure REPORTER: Among those you pardoned is a guy who used a stun gun on a police officer. Why does he deserve a pardon? TRUMP: Well, I don't know

You need to brush up on your history - it's lacking.

Day 1 and this clown is back in charge of the US. Oh come back Biden.

Indeed - his was less guarded previously but now he has realised that his message needs to be tailored to suit the people he wants to convince. Well done, sucker,

What a complex individual he is - he claims that he likes jewish people and considers himself to be 'Jewish by association', whatever the hell that is supposed to be, yet he believes that "Jewish communties have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them." It's true - there's nowt as queer as folk.

Well his tweet does suggest that he believes that "Jewish communties have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them." That is not really the thing you say about your friends.

Does musk like Jews now?

What's truly shameful are all the appeasers on here, making excuses for him.

"Fail"? Did you intend to log onto Facebook? This is from your own link, did you even read it? The Roman salute is a gesture in which the right arm is fully extended, facing forward, with palm down and fingers touching. In some versions, the arm is raised upward at an angle; in others, it is held out parallel to the ground. In contemporary times, the former is commonly considered a symbol of fascism. (highlighting in bold is mine).

Why does it seem made up? You are clearly unsure about it's provenance yet you are bold enough to call it "straight up propaganda lies". So do you know or not?

If he said 'free Palestine' you would brand him an anti semite before he has stepped off the podium, but he gives not one but two nazi salutes and you rush to his defence. Some things are beyond parody.

I am happy to reassure anyone who may be worried about the rise of the hard right in England that Scots still see through this snake oil salesman.

Your posts invariably remind me of this quote by George Santayana, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." This glorious red victory you long for will not be the end. It will be the end of the beginning.

From reading your posts, it would seem that you aren't sorry at all that Ukraine is experiencing losses. Why you cheer on the aggressor is beyond me, but if massacres of civilians, the use of chemical weapons, torture and rape of civilians are things you admire, I can see why you might be so fulsome in your support for Putin. Although things in the east are maybe not quite so dire as you suggest. I imagine the people of Kursk are more than happy to finally be away from the clutches of the evil empire.

Especially the Russian prediction that they were pushing at an open door, and that Kyiv would fall within three days!

I am not so sure about your suggestion that Mandelson's abilities would make him a bad choice. I recall that he was considered to be very adept at subterfuge and machinations. Maybe Trump is a bit less subtle than Mandy, but I wouldn't write off the latter's chances if he actually gets the post.

When I think of major US exports, wheat isn't the first thing that springs to mind. My point is that Russia doesn't add any value to these products. The value is added by the importing country. Regardless of the commodity, the value is created in its transformation from raw goods to consumer product. Russia produces no value added goods which are in demand in the rest of the world.

So raw, unprocessed products and chicken sh!t then. Nothing with value added - the part where the real profits are realised. Reuters has reported that the Central Bank denies the claim. If I still had a Russian bank account, I am not sure if that denial would make me more or less comfortable. https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/russian-central-bank-dismisses-retail-deposit-freeze-rumours-2025-01-13/

Other than raw, unprocessed natural resources, what value added products does Russia export to the world? The reality is that the Russian economy is in free fall and their banks and teetering on the edge. Only yesterday the Duma was battling with the central bank to prevent the latter from confiscating bank balances above $13,300, but apparently the Duma lost. Already Russians are limited in the withdrawals they can make. Now if they have over 1.4 million roubles in their account it's now frozen and out of their reach. Russia is on its knees and sinking - the sooner the better.

Why does it seem to you to be a good outcome?

It is on the very fringes of the EU; the EU itself is being threatened and EU countries' infrastructure being sabotaged. Russian agents have been murdering dissidents across Europe - and also killing citizens of the countries they have been operating in - all with impunity. It is not an abstract affair on the other side of the world - it is happening on our doorstep and in our front yard.

The levels of sophistication certainly vary according to the country, but it would be very naïve to suggest that corruption doesn't thrive in the western facing world. From the awarding of blatantly unfair covid contract to friends and donors, to the awarding of gongs and baubles to friends and supporters, the UK is no less corrupt than any other country - it is just that we go about it in a different way.

Corruption permeates every country and every society. When I lived and worked in Russia, it was almost admired - those with the skill to manoeuvre themselves into a position they could exploit were generally seen as the clever ones who should be respected and even emulated. In the mid 2000's in the city I lived in, there were a total of 3 Hummers to be seen on the roads. One belonged to an Armenian guy who owned a string of legit businesses but also controlled all the fresh flowers for sale in the city - I know it sounds like a joke, but Russians love buying flowers and the market there is huge; he got a cut of all flower sales from all retailers. The other 2 Hummers - one was owned by the head of the tax collection service in the city, and the second was owned by his wife. The fact that these people flaunted their wealth so extravagantly led to no repercussions - everyone knew who they were and how they got rich; what we see as corruption, Russians see as business. Corruption in Ukraine is nothing to be extolled, but it should be no reason to attempt to overthrow democracy, especially when the ones doing the overthrowing as as bad or even worse.

Up there with Russia. Why should they have to? Sovereignty to an independent country is not Putin's or Russia's to give.