MicroB

54 minutes ago, FlorC said:

al-Qaeda's head is now accepted as legitimate Syrian leader.

No he isn't.

The leader of Al Qaeda is Colonel Mohamed Salah al-Din al-Halim Zaidan, aka Saif al-Adel, who was last heard of being under house arrest in Iran. He is a former Commando in Sadat's military.

15 hours ago, AndreasHG said:

Tesla, however, is one of the most widely held stocks by retail investors and Elon Musk has an almost cult following.

I assume he will take it from there, and from the "Proud Boys", from the "Oath Keepers" and from other neo-nazis groups like them. Those groups are always in search for a messianic leader to kill and die for and Musk fits the bill perfectly.

That doesn't really align, considering he might be in talks with Anthony Scaramucci, who is decidedly not afiliated with any of those groups.

A policy "wonk" fits with Musk's Technocracy beliefs. The Mooch also comes from very working class roots. Interesting, if it amounts to anything.

15 hours ago, AndreasHG said:

 

I don’t know how Democrats may be voting for Musk. He is seen as a right-wing extremist, which is not surprising given his white South African upbringing, at the time when apartheid went into crisis.

His upbringing was not ideologically conventional. His Grandfather in Canada was a leader in the Technocracy movement, and emigrated to South Africa when it started passing race laws.

Musk's father was active in South African politics, and was a member of the Progressive Federal Party, which was the official opposition in Apartheid South Africa, advocating the abolition of Apartheid. It held liberal political positions. Later, he joined the New Republic Party which was more centrist. While Musk's parents divorced, Musk chose to live with his father. Musk's mother was Canadian born, of American descent. Musk's father is of solidly English descent, and not an Afrikaaner.

So I would not assume Musk was brought up believing in white supremicist principles.

10 hours ago, Sir Dude said:

A little rich coming from the Mexicans, who export thousands of their people to the US yearly only for them to remit their earnings back to Mexico, which keeps it afloat

That seems likely to stop, following the new Agri-Hospitality policy announced in Iowa; Mexicans will be working, but not sending any money home, because they won't be getting any money, but will be getting free (shared) room and board.

11 hours ago, Quentin Zen said:

I'm not sure this is ironic.

 

One group has money, gets the proper visa, spends money legally.

 

The other is undocumented, sneaks in, works off the books, and who knows what.

 

ICE.   

The US policy on illegal immigrants has changed. Following an address by the President, DHS is now looking at processes to allow selected illegal immigrants to work in the agricultural and hospitality trades, based on employer demand. There is no suggestion these workers will be regularised, ie issued visas. Its likely these workers will be escorted from detention centers or other establishments, by ICE agents, to places of work, and then escorted back to ensure they  won't abscond.

Transcript of the presidential remarks in Iowa

https://rollcall.com/factbase/trump/transcript/donald-trump-speech-salute-to-america-des-moines-iowa-july-3-2025/

This bit got him into a bit of hotwater. Turns out he didn't know what the word meant.

Quote

No estate tax, no going to the banks and borrowings from, in some cases, a fine banker, and in some cases, shylocks and bad people. But they took away a lot of, a lot of, uh, family. They destroyed a lot of families. But we did the opposite. So just remember, to me, it's so important. And it was mostly important for places like we're at right now.

This bit is somewhat overlooked

Quote

 

Last month, American-born workers gained 830,000 new jobs, a record. That's American-born. While the illegal aliens lost 340,000, and we don't want bad for them. But, look, we have a country to run and we wanna have them come in and we wanna have them help our farmers. You know, you probably saw, I got myself into a little trouble because I said, "I don't wanna take people away from the farmers." And we're gonna do, uh, something, I think, that's gonna be good, because we want all the criminals out. 

 

Everybody agrees that we're finding the criminals, the murderers, the drug dealers. We're getting them the hell out of here. But the farmers, some of the farmers, many of you sitting right here, I have f- four friends right in the fifth row. But some of the farmers were -- You know, they've had people working for 'em for years, and we're gonna do something. 

 

We're working with Kristi and we're gonna do something that, uh -- We're gonna sort of put the farmers in charge. And if somebody of a po- -- if a farmer has been with one of these people that work so hard, they bend over all day, we don't have too many people can do that. But they work very hard and they know 'em very well.

 

And some of the farmers are, literally, just, you know, they cry when they see this happen. If a farmer is willing to vouch for these people, in some way, Kristi, I think we're gonna have to just say, that's gonna be good, right? You know, we're gonna be, we're gonna be good with it, 'cause we don't wanna do it where we take all of the workers off the farms.

 

We want the farms to do great like they're doing right now. So, uh, Kristi Noem has done a fantastic job, and, uh, Tom Homan. And we're working on legislation right now, Susie, right? We're working on legislation right now where farmers -- Look, they know better. They worked with them for years. You had cases that where -- Not here, but just even over the years, where people have worked for a farm, on a farm for 14, 15 years, and they get thrown out pretty viciously.

 

And we can't do it. We gotta work with the farmers. And- and people that have hotels and leisure properties, too, we're gonna work with them and we're gonna work very strong and smart. And we're gonna put you in charge. We're gonna make you responsible. And I think that that's gonna make a lot of people happy.

 

Now, serious radical right people, who I also happen to like a lot, they may not be quite as happy, but they'll understand, won't they? Do you think so? Madam Secretary, look at you with a white hat on. Do you think they'll understand that you're the one that brought this whole situation up? Brooke Rollins brought it up and she said, uh, "So we have a little problem.

 

The farmers are losing a lot of people." And we figured it out and we have some great stuff being written in. Let the farmers be responsible. And then if the farmers don't do a good job, we'll throw them the hell out of the country. We'll let the guys -- We'll let the illegals stay and we'll throw the farmer the hell out.

 

Presumably the US government isn't pursuing a policy to revoke all Green Card and H-visas. They  are ejecting illegal immigrants.

But the President inferred that Iowan famers (and hoteliers) can get to keep their illegal immigrant staff if they can be "vouched" for. How does this work? Do vouched for illegal immigrants get paid? Would they have to work for free? Would they be drawn from detention facilities for work detail? How would they stop an illegal immigrant who has been "vouched for" leaving to go work on some other farm? Hunt them down? And how is this funded?

Part of the speech highlighted beef and ethanol exports to the UK. The UK is of course no obliged to accept produce and goods that does not meet UK standards for methods of production.

During discussions with the British Prime Minister, the President was very keen to emphasize that he basically agreed with that position, but felt its not a problem as under his leadership, the quality of produce would be second to none.

Britain has anti-slavery laws, introduced by Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron (a slight oversight, given that slavery was never actually legal in the UK). I am sure lawyers will be looking, with keen interest, how the DHS will manage the "employment" of selected illegal immigrants.

I expect this policy is not just for Iowa.

MTG, a Net Zero fan?

6 hours ago, Yagoda said:

Anyone manly enough to debate the issues in the OP LOL?

Ok, I will bite. I would of course expect a similar well arguedessay from yourself as to why you believe Dr Markovsky, ie evidence that you have independantly verified his claims and interpretations. If you don't, I will conclude that you are not "manly", and therefore are effeminate (since this is how you view the world).

Markovsky basically attempts to question the legitimacy of Ukraine as a sovereign nation, contending that Ukraine was artificially constructed, largely due to the actions of Lenin, Stalin, Hitler and others, and suggests that its future is uncertain, possibly destined to fragment and be subsumed by its neighbouring powers.

But he overlooks key historical facts and the profound realities of Ukraine’s identity, sovereignty, and resilience. His argument is deeply reductionist, because he brazenly ignores a 1000 years of history  in order to fit his Russophile world view (your academic hero is a 81 year old Professor of Marxism, who contends that America has adopted Bolshevik principles and never defeated Communism, and has frequently defended Putin).

Ukraine’s history can be traced back to the Kievan Rus, which emerged in the 9th century, which laid the foundation for the modern Ukrainian identity. To decry that is to question the legitimacy of the United Kingdom, because Boudica was a long time ago.

The Ukrainian people have long inhabited the lands that make up today’s Ukraine, with a distinct language, culture, and identity that predates both Soviet and Nazi interventions. The idea that Ukraine’s sovereignty is merely the result of 20th-century political machinations disregards this long history of Ukrainian statehood, language, and culture.

Your Marxist hero's critique hinges heavily on the Soviet legacy, particularly the role of Lenin and Stalin in the formation of the Ukrainian SSR. Ukraine's post-Soviet independence was not a mere continuation of Soviet designs. Many Ukrainians have long resisted Soviet domination, particularly during the Holodomor, a man-made famine orchestrated by Stalin that killed millions of Ukrainians, and during the mass purges that targeted Ukrainian intellectuals and nationalists.

Ukraine's aspirations for independence existed long before the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Ukrainian People's Republic is evidence enough of  early effort toward independence in the moden era, even if that movement was ultimately crushed by your Hero's Bolshevik forces. The persistent desire for sovereignty persisted throughout the Soviet era, culminating in the 1991 independence referendum, where over 90% of Ukrainians voted in favor of independence, a clear rejection of Soviet rule. Your own country rejected British Rule; are you saying the United States of America is not a legitimate country? Are you now suggesting the Republic of Ireland has no legitimacy? Taiwan has no legitmacy? Israel has no legitimacy. I hadn't taken you as someone who was anti-Jewish. Well well.

Markovsky’s inclusion of Hitler in the formation of Ukraine’s national identity is both misleading and problematic. The Ukrainian Insurgent Army fought against both Nazi and Soviet forces in a quest for Ukrainian independence. The idea that Ukraine owes its existence to Nazi Germany ignores the fact that the Ukrainian people, like many others in Eastern Europe, were victims of Nazi imperialism.

Further, after the war, the Soviet Union effectively reasserted its control over Ukraine, quashing any attempts at full autonomy. To suggest that Ukraine’s modern identity owes anything to the Nazis is not only historically inaccurate but offensive to the millions of Ukrainians who suffered under Nazi occupation and later under Soviet rule.

One of the key flaws in the effing Commie's argument is the suggestion that Ukraine’s sovereignty is fragile and destined to fragment into neighboring countries. Your Bolshevik Best Friend overlooks the 2014 EuroMaiden and the subsequent Revolution of Dignity. 

These protests were not orchestrated by foreign powers but were a direct expression of the will of the Ukrainian people to forge their own path. Commies try and say otherwise. When did you stop being a Commie?

Moreover, Ukraine has faced unprecedented challenges in recent years, particularly with Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its ongoing military aggression in eastern Ukraine. Yet, despite the ongoing conflict, Ukraine has not only preserved its sovereignty but has also strengthened its identity as a nation. Far from fragmenting, Ukraine has exhibited remarkable unity and a strong sense of national identity. Thus this Markovsky tosser is a loser.

Markovsky’s claim that Ukraine will eventually fragment and be absorbed by neighboring countries neglects the powerful dynamics of national identity and the geopolitical landscape. The people of Ukraine have decisively rejected Russian attempts at subjugation, and the country’s strong desire for integration into the broader European community, not to fragment or regress into a subordinate state.

Your Commie loving hero's aarticle offers a narrow and historically inaccurate interpretation of Ukraine’s formation and future. Ukraine is not merely a creation of 20th-century authoritarian regimes; it is a nation with deep historical roots and a strong, resilient identity.

So, go ahead. Why do you think a Commie is correct? Why are you reading Commie articles? Who is sending you obscure commie articles? When did you stop believing in Bolshevism?

I predict you are a melt.

On 7/3/2025 at 10:00 AM, RuamRudy said:

 

So, as usual, you have nothing to offer except the appearance of a thoroughly unpleasant person. What a sad way to live your life. 

He's playing a sly game, putting on a false front. Its become fairly obvious.

On 7/2/2025 at 10:18 AM, DD86 said:

What about the cruelties of the Ukranians? Western media are not allowed to discuss this.

I condemn torture from all parties, it's mostly out of hatred. If you want someone to tell secret information, there are more 'humane' ways to do it.

I've no doubt some Allied troops perhaps took shameful actions during WW2, but I shed not a tear for the Nazi pigs.

This is an example of Soviet Whataboutry, invented duringn the Cold War. The Russians and their apologists keep it up, seeking some sort of moral equivalence for their shameful actions. I see in this thread the usual suspects from Putin's unpaid  Thai forum army have shown up, keen to defend the boss, but in an underhand manner, claiming not to be a "Putin Fan".

3 minutes ago, jimmybcool said:

 

I don't think he really has time to make it significant in the near term midterm elections but the 2028 Presidential elections he might be ramped up to impact.  

 

 

Depends who he puts up as candidate. Musk cannot run. There are some current politicians mentioned, including those who voted against the Big Bastard Bill but also loonies such as MTG and Laura Loomer. If Musk is true to his word, which implies a socially liberal, fiscally conservative (which is the middle ground of most countries; careful with your money, but live and let live for the lives of others), these loons won't feature. That the Mooch has expressed interest; the guy is very intelligent, and his discussions with Rory Stewart (another middle grounder Tory) and Alastair Campbell, are illuminating and enjoyable. Of course, he might be another Wall Street grifter, albeit a self-made one. Trump could croak any day. 

The usual mantra is that third parties never stand a chance in the Winner Takes All American system. But remember, the Republican Party itself was a third party, formed as an anti-slavery party, which took advantage of divisions within the Whigs. Within 6 years of being founded, the Republican Party had a President. The 1856 election was a 3 way, with the Whigs replaced by the Know Nothings.

Probably need a rethink on the party name. The last time The American Party contested an election:

On 7/4/2025 at 10:58 AM, riclag said:

He created thousands of federal law enforcement jobs! The bill creates a formidable law enforcement agency ,ICE.

The dems call it the Gestapo! 

 

"We got over 600,000 illegal aliens with criminal histories walking the streets of this country. We got less than 5,000 deportation officers," Tom Homan, Trump's border czar, said Thursday at the White House.

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/congress-set-hand-trump-billions-recruit-ice-agents-rcna214990

With a larger budget that the defence spend of Italy. Its a bigger budget than the Israeli defense budget, which includes about 50-100 nuclear weapons. Two and half times bigger than the Iranian budget, and they get to build nukes from that budget.

With the current $4 billion a year, ICE has a headcount of 20,000, of which 7,711 are in Enforcement and Removal Operations directorate; these are the sloppy looking goons who can't afford clean tidy clothes and a shave. The $41 billion increase gets 10,000 more goons. But where is the ICE airforce and navy?

Its essentially the funding of a paramilitary force that is not answerable to the DoD, but instead is under the direct command of the President. Putin took the same approach, when he formed the Rosgvardiya. However, what we see now is that the Rosgvardiya and other Presidential troops has lead to a degradation in the quality of the Russian Army.

5 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

    This isn't about anyone being cancelled , this is about  what the BBC allows to be shown on their TV programmes .

As opposed to what Channel 4 shows.

5 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Bob Vylan regularly  refers to White people as "Gammons" 

Just imagine if a White person referred to Blacks as the chocolates 

Taiwanese people refer to Hong Kong Chinese as Bananas.

I assume you object to the term Redneck, and regularly send written complaints to the authorities when you see the term in use.

Similarly you are on the phone regularly about the use of Karen.

You are literally 7 years too late regarding the debate about the perjorative use of the word Gammon, which first emerged as an insult early in the 17th Century.

#gammonparadox

Quote

Ruddy-faced free speech champion: "PC has gone too far. We just can't speak our mind any more"

Snowflake millennial: "Calm down, gammon, you'll do yourself a mischief"

Ruddy-faced free speech champion: "That is a racist SLUR and I am disgusted!

Nicholas Nickleby

The insult describes a state of mind, not a race. For instance Kanye West would meet the definition of a Gammon.

Similarly, being called a pillock isn't a sexist insult. If I call you a numpty, I am not implying you are cuckolded husband.

In truth some people looking to be offended by the term "Gammon" are only doing so, to legitimise their foul racist language. Ironically this subgroup of Gammons have transmogrified into Snowflakes.

Putin apologists out in force, usual names defending mass murder. Back in the day, they'd be called Quislings. Quisling and Joyce were dealt with.

Shenanigans.

https://www.theconcis.com/p/the-call-the-cover-up-and-the-colby?utm_medium=email&hide_intro_popup=true

On 6/30/2025 at 11:38 AM, bannork said:

Illegal dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles seized by police as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour should be sent to Ukraine, an MP has suggested.

 

David Taylor, the Labour MP for Hemel Hempstead, said the vehicles could potentially be used on the front line to deliver supplies to troops and evacuate wounded soldiers.

 

The Government has promised to make it easier to confiscate off-road vehicles that are being driven illegally and can make life more difficult for local residents who are terrorised by low-level criminality.

 

Send UK’s seized illegal dirt bikes to Ukraine to help beat Russia, MP urges

 

An excellent idea!

Waste of time and resources idea. Most are probably utterly useless for used by a military; the Ukrainians operate a sophisticated first world military.

These seized motorbikes come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, condition, all over the UK. So the government will have to put in place a logistics operation to collect these motorbikes, and shift them all to, probably, MOD Bicester. The RLC technicians will need to check all this crap; most will be utter junk. Over in Abbeywood, the MOD will need to form a delivery team, likely made up of contractors with a couple of middle ranking officers seconded for the duration. Each Contractor will run to about £1000 a day. The remaining Temu/Alibaba bikes will need to containerised up, so pull some RLC lads to do the container racking. Then its shipped to Lviv or whereever. I'd probably pencil in an annual budget of £10m a year for this.

At the Ukrainian end, they need to find some 1-legged squaddies to take on the challenge of receiving these Chinese knock offs from the Brits, of uncertain type and condition. The Ukraine military will have its own version of UK DefStan, and will have acceptance criteria and processes for any systems entering military service. They will need to establish a support capability; no point asking the Brit RLC for some training, as this is just random lawnmover motorbikes / E-bike pulled off the street which some bloke called Dazza reckons is alright. If they don't, what happens if they are deployed, and break down. No spare parts, no knowhow.

When Ukraine scoured Autotrader for all those 15-20 year old Rangers, Hiluxes, Defenders, Disco 2s, P38 Rangies, Outlanders, Shoguns etc early on, that was for very specific reasons. It was an urgent operational requirement, to pressgang vehicles into service. Ukraine has the money to purchase Ford and Toyota's entire stock of brand new vehicles, but these are too complex. These 20 year old vehicles had excellent spares support through the existing Ukrainian motor factors, civvie mechanics could quite happily work on them.

I'd rather the UK just hand Ukraine £10m to buy what they need off the E of Bay.

On 7/1/2025 at 11:52 PM, Jim Blue said:

I thought the general trend was for white SA to emigrate to the US  due to persecution ?

 

They are accorded refugee status, with limited recourse to public funds and work. If or once the conditions in South Africa change, the program will be canceled, and those with refugee status will have that canceled and be asked to settle their affairs, and return home.

6 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

A subject only US nationals might care about. The man has no personality and has a flawed character. Marco Rubio has a better chance than Vance.

No chance if he is denaturalized.

On 7/2/2025 at 3:34 AM, bubblegum said:

Wow a prison. Being proud of a prison. Poor, poor people of the US

Bets when someone over night will put up a crafty sticker to alter the official signage being erected.

Its becoming clear from recent social media there is a section of conservative  social media influencers who wants the illegal immigration debate to move from "illegal imigrants" to any and all native Spanish speakers. First Laura Loomer called for essentially genocide to be conducted against the Hispanic population (she is allegedly the Presidents former mistress, but there is debate what influence she has, or if she is expressing private beliefs held within the Cabinet). Now this;

So a twitter account doesn't want to hear Spanish spoken again, and his answer/wish is for all Spanish speakers to be deported.   Curtis Yarvin, aka Menicius Moldbug, is the founder of the Dark Enlightenment movement, and cited as a key infliuencer of Peter Thiel and JD Vance, and has previously championed a techno-monarchy system  to replace US constitutional democracy, as well as ruminating on the reintroduction of slavery. His response to this poster is to suggest another social group should be put to work in the fields. We know who he means, and he doesn't mean ruddy faced good ol' boys.

We will see more of this talk being put in the open, and normalized. And there are people on this forum deeply sympathetic with this position, and will likely cite a lack of these sort of policies is why they have to live in a Cambodian brothel.

15 hours ago, howlee101 said:

TLDR

I can't help it if your mummy's drinking caused you to develop ADHD coupled with OCD (you felt compelled to reply to a post you didn't read).

On 7/1/2025 at 1:15 PM, candide said:

The only way is to unite and create a global market including those two entities, plus others such as Japan. This is obviously not what the current US administration is aiming at.

No, there is another way, based on innovation and IP. Additive manufacturing ("3D Printing") creates some interesting possibilities about where the value in a company lies.

Europe and the US have a 200 year old industrial legacy. What that means is we have a hell of a lot of under utilised industrial infrastructure, mostly smaller factories and workshops. Perfect for microfactories, which are the oppositie to Henry Ford's now outdated approach to manufacture.

Sure, the Chinese could build some huge factory, churning out lots and lots of virtually identical cars, which might or might not suite different drivers. A microfactory built around additive manufacturing, is at much smaller scale, producing models more in line with what you want, potentially at the city level. A conventional car factory, in order to switch to a new model, has to close down, retool up, and retrain the workforce. There is an enourmous supply chain to chase down, even for a styling change.

Microfactory, no issue. The workforce is minimal, and constant; their role is to not make things, but monitor function. To update a model, you send a new set of instructions to the printer.  Got a factory in a foreign clime that you need to pull out from? Send the code to brick the printers, write them off. No one is going to be able to use the printers again, and they can't even try and copy what was made there before.

To compete you play to your strengths, not your weaknesses. If we have any faith in our societies being superior to authoritarian societes, its throught freedom that encourages creative thinking, reduced prejudice that ensures we are not blind to those who are the most capable and our innate consumerism; we do know what the customer wants, because we are there listening to them.

The supply chain for microfactories will be completely radical.

https://knaufautomotive.com/microfactories-how-will-new-technologies-shape-the-automotive-industry/

https://www.home.sandvik/en/stories/articles/2019/11/microfactory-driving-local-motors/

29 minutes ago, howlee101 said:

Maybe it will happen once all the illegals are shipped out...or leave voluntarily.

More likely due to bureaucratic snafu, due to Federal manning shortages, because of all the layoffs. The US government has also started a process of "denaturalization" which creates the possibility of a practically endless pipeline of illegal immigrants, which could be quite a useful thing to do during the electoral seasons. Once a person is stripped of US citizenship, they are automatically in breach of the Law. The government would be fairly free to shift the goalposts of who could be denaturalised. For instance, there are many Americans, who might be 2nd generation born Americans, who are automatically entitled to a second citizenship. So, if they are stripped of citizenship, it would be straightforward to argue that the state is not rendering them stateless, because they already have another nationality. eg Irish. Well known individuals who could be entitled to Irish citizenship include  Mel Gibson, Martin Sheen, Mariah Carey, Mike Pence, Harrison Ford, Chuck Norris.

Other countries that base citizenship on jus sanguinis include Portugal, Poland, Italy, Germany, Hungary. Once you know these countries, and if the government takes that apprach, you could use that fact to rat out neighbors you don't like, get them carted off to some camp for processing, or whatever happens there, which might give you a chance to claim their property by occupation (possession).

On 7/2/2025 at 6:49 AM, Yellowtail said:

Or his skanky daughter maybe. I heard his mother was a prostitute as well. 

Ah, the semi literate scrubber from the Highlands, who said, in 2016, she started life in America as a dirt-poor under age servant escaping the even worse poverty of her native land, within 4 years of arrving in the US, worked as a Nanny, but got sacked, then worked as a domestic servant, but found the money for a return trip home in 1934. Immigration records show she described herself to British immigration as a "nurse". A year later, she went back to the US, now calling herself a "domestic servant" on the passenger manifest. By 1936, the unemployed domestic servant with the unintelligable accent had married her future husband, after meeting him at some sort of "party" where young up and coming entrepreneurs would get to meet poor immigrant girls.