Russia – The LCR

The Grinch that Stole Christmas – Trump & The GOP

December 28, 2020

by DERONAE SMITH with No Comment Featured Politics

2020… over 300,000 deaths and over 19 million cases of COVID-19. A year has been taken away from millions of Americans because of poor leadership. Trump and the GOP’s bad leadership is not the cause of COVID-19, but there is no doubt that bad leadership (and the lack of good leadership) has been the cause of the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Businesses have shut down, hotels, tourism, and restaurants have lost revenue. A stimulus relief bill was passed by the Democratic House of Representatives… in May 2020, but GOP refused to help American families. Late spring, Congress passed a one-time $1,200 stimulus and never released another stimulus. I’m honestly not sure if the GOP cares about people’s long-term finances, and their mental and physical health as well. Americans (who needed it) quickly went through that $1200. There is no way $1200 would have survived the remaining of the year. You do not need an Economic Class to know that the longer the debt, the bigger the debt, and Americans are hurting.

GOP math seems to believe that if you give people a one-time $1200 or $600 stimulus, despite most American’s living check to check, it’ll be enough to make ends meet. The President ironically put a halt on the relief bill, claiming all of sudden he is for a $2000 stimulus relief payment instead of $600. Meanwhile, millions are unemployed and that number increases by nearly 1 million jobless Americans a month. Americans are still being told to stay indoors and socially distance if or when they leave the house, avoid non-immediate family, and be safe. Some are nervous about becoming homeless, losing their cars, and how they’ll eat every day. But on Christmas Day, South Carolina’s Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was golfing with President Trump. Meanwhile, by the end of the day on Saturday, December 26, 2020, millions were faced with losing their unemployment benefits, and on Dec 31, millions will lose eviction protection and the Government shuts down if not funded.

Over 26 friends of President Trump were pardoned by the President. Many who have pleaded guilty and even murders were pardoned and the GOP is silent. Russia hacked in the government departments and GOP is silent. Trump used Georgia’s Run-Off election for personal financial gain with zero amount going to Georgia Republican candidates… and GOP is silent. In December 2020, the GOP voted to defund the state Police Departments after they campaign just the opposite. We’re constantly seeing that the GOP never has the interest of the everyday American at heart, instead, their personal benefits, which includes the wealthy. GOP has failed the American people in almost every area… healthcare, wages, infrastructure, funding for schools, hospitals, small businesses, homes, immigration, Civil Rights, and more, and as a result, this Holiday Season has probably been more stressful and tense for Americans than ever before. A time of the year usually meant for peace, celebration and cheer, has been literally stolen by the GOP. The Grinch that stole Christmas… that’s the GOP.

Similar Read: Trump and Smokers

Top Iranian General Killed, Immediate Reaction From Army Veteran

January 2, 2020

by Right Army Veteran with No Comment Featured Global Politics

(An attack and murder of General Qassim Suleimani) in Baghdad, Iraq… I suppose if you’re going to do it, those are good conditions.

It’s a precarious place we’re in now. If we knew that the embassy attack was managed from the top, the alternative would have been to let Iran think that it was ok… to assault US soil. But it also forces Iran to either do something or eat it. I’m not sure they’re ready just to eat it, or take that loss, in laymen terms.

This is likely to escalate to open conflict.

I suppose the reason you do it this way is that if we can make the case that these guys managed the embassy assault, Russia will stay out of it.

I think we are fine with fighting Iran inside Iraq and Syria, so long as we aren’t in Iran and Russia doesn’t join. China will also accept our word. They won’t openly support us, but they’ll get it.

And as I think about it, this was about the best circumstance we could’ve asked for… to hit Iran hard without drawing other world powers to their side.

If we aren’t trying to take over or topple Iran, we can fuck them up pretty badly; but this is going to be a big thing now.

And we are going to need Russia and China to stand down – and all the while we are making our case, they’re going to be saying on the surface that it’s a fake case just like the 2nd invasion of Iraq was a fake case.

Overall, it’s probably good for asserting ourselves in the Middle East. Good for asserting ourselves as strong to Putin, and OK with China because we just inked that phase 1 deal last week.

I would guess had we not inked and announced the deal with China, this attack wouldn’t have happened.

I understand there are a lot of troops at Fort Drum and Fort Bragg that were given mobilization orders this morning. I don’t know the number, but based on the people getting called it would be between 10,000 and 40,000. That’s a shit ton of people given that we are currently under 5,000 troops in Iraq.

Syria Will Be Part of Trump’s Legacy – But History’s Judgement Is Still Unclear

October 9, 2019

by Right Army Veteran with 2 Comments Featured Global Politics

The president’s pullout of Syria is essentially an effort to force an end not only to our engagement in the area, but also to the basic credibility of the neoconservative worldview- as well as efforts in the future to shape global democracy and influence world order. There are plenty of Republicans who see this approach as heresy, and there are plenty of Democrats and media outlets who relish the blood-on-blood infighting to come (and who will strangely express their outrage at a decision they would have lauded once merely because the opposite of the administration’s policy is their policy), but the reality is much more nuanced.

On the surface, the president’s motivation is driven by polling. Our commander in chief is a populist at his core- not an idealist. Most Americans (many in both parties) don’t favor extending the war in Syria. This is quite simply because we aren’t able to do what it takes to win. Assad’s forces are backed by Russia; there’s no way to build real stability in the region without a heavier hand than we are willing to take or through regime change, and there seems to be no way to force regime change short of open war with Russia. Further, as China increasingly begins to flex in the pacific and begins to highlight our “meddling in the affairs of others” -including Syria- as China launches their own massive campaign for development, seeking access to the natural resources of sub-Saharan Africa, the president is mindful that it’s from China where we face the greatest long term security threat, and it’s China who benefits most from our distraction to a protracted entanglement with Syria and Russia. Further, while the timing of Iran was the president’s doing, it’s also clear that they are a much greater threat to global security in the near term. Our security interest in Syria is that someone accountable to the UN controls and regulates the area- whether it be Turkey or the US, either will make certain that it isn’t ISIS. We really can only do so much.

But that’s only part of the story. Turkey’s interest in Syria isn’t focused first on restoring peace to Syrians. The Kurdish forces we have used since the beginning of the war in Iraq have fought with us because they are a people without a land. Spread throughout Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria, this proud, ethnic population descended of Saladin is at odds with each of those nations as they seek to restore some autonomy. They have been capable allies because they have more than 1,000 years of history fighting for their own survival. Walking away from them when we are done will be a public betrayal that the Chinese and Russians will hold up as the true nature of “American Imperialism.” They will say that Americans come with high ideals, but leave when it’s no longer convenient. To Bush-era neoconservatives, it’s unthinkable; to Trump and his “America First” agenda, it’s a way to cross the bridge back from nation-building and burn it behind him.

In the long term, this may be the better move. The people of Vietnam, the people of Iraq, and increasingly the people of Afghanistan have come to realize that Americans come and Americans go. If we fool no one, and if we do really lack the resolve (and quite possibly the ability) to build regimes and promote democracy in the aftermath of conflict, then it is possible that the sooner we go the better. This may also help us usher in a day when America accepts that it is no longer the sole global hegemon and must share global military and economic influence with both China and Russia once again. If pulling back now gives them space we would have needed to cede eventually through direct conflict, it may increase stability in the long term also.

But in the short term, it’s a lot of bad taste. To those who can’t bear to see America as anything but a beacon of light that can dictate the ways of the world, it looks like a retreat. To those focused first on human rights, it’s a turnover of power to another heavy-handed imperial force that will bring another wave of increased violence before it can hope to bring local stability. While the president’s motivation may be no deeper than extending a political olive branch to a growing, centrist plurality of the American public focused on their own economy, anxious to make a trade deal in China and not willing to subsidize stability of the Kurdish population (so long as there’s someone on the ground containing ISIS), if America is a truly is a shrinking power, in 50 years this may be seen as a thoughtful and pragmatic preservation of resources.

Impeachment? A Lot of Questions and Very Few Answers

September 25, 2019

by Edward Davis II with No Comment Featured Global Politics

They say that timing is everything and you should not rush into anything that could have a lasting impact. Well on Monday, after much consulting with colleagues and other invested parties, Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi decided to call the question of impeachment for President Donald J. Trump. Some question her timing, did she wait too long? What was she waiting on in the first place? Why now and what is the game plan moving forward?

If you go back in time to when he was elected in 2016, there were already hints that he had worked with the Russians through family ties and others to get information on his opponent, Senator Hilary Clinton, that would help him become what we know now as our 45th President. After the Mueller investigation concluded with such lackluster results, the world still wanted to know how is this guy still in office. It was not until an insider with knowledge of Trump’s phone call with the President of Ukraine tipped off authorities did members of the Democratic Party get the smoking gun they needed to enact and solidify Trump’s fate to be impeached. A phone call where Trump tried to strong-arm information on one of his political rivals, former Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden and him doing business in Ukraine. Trump’s response was that of a person who felt he did nothing wrong. “Yes, I did talk to the President of Ukraine. It was a perfect call,” said Trump on his talk with the Ukrainian President.

Trump admitting to talking to the President of Ukraine and asking him to investigate Hunter Biden’s business dealings to use that against Vice President Joe Biden is a violation of his duties as the President of the United States of America, no matter how you slice it. Trump used his office for political gain just like the former Governor from Illinois, Rob Blagojevich did in 2009, when he tried to sell the vacated Senate seat of President Barack Obama when he was elected to the office. Blagojevich has served 7 years of his 14-year sentence.

So now what?

Well, members of the majority controlled Democratic House have to vote unanimously to impeach him and then the process begins. Looking at how many people have come out in support of impeachment from Congress, Democrats like Al Green of Texas, John Lewis of Maryland and freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, you would think they are ready to take the vote and move it on to the Senate, which is controlled by the Republican Party… the same Republican Party whose majority leader is Mitch McConnell and who some have called a puppet of Donald Trump.

One can only wonder how long this is going to take? Will it impact the election season which is already underway? Will the base that Trump has handled so well continue to support him, or will they slowly drift away? What about Vice President Joe Biden? Will he take a stand for Hunter who was wrongly singled out by Trump… who, of course, is looking for one of his usual distractions from a number of recent bad dealings, such as tariffs, guns and mass shootings, his alienation of all of our allies and lastly, his friend and supporter Putin from Russia.

Looks like we’ll have to wait and see.

Trump Pulls Troops… Kurds Turn to Assad?

December 28, 2018

by The Conservative Liberal with One Comment Featured Global

As a result of Trump deciding to pull troops out of Syria, the Kurds have decided to turn to President Bashar Hafez al-Assad and the Syrian government for protection, which only complicates an already complex situation. The Kurds, who were backed by the US, are now relying on Assad for help, which is less than ideal for the US and our allies.

Similar Read: Trump’s December, A Week To Remember

What could all this possibly mean in the near future…

1. Turkey moves on the Kurds in Syria (meaning they also attack their Kurds), which brings Kurdistan to fight with Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syrian Kurds, and possibly Azerbaijan and Armenia in an extreme case.

2. Syria backs up the Kurds, which means Russia also backs the Kurds.

2a. Syria, in turn, supports a free Kurdistan in order to garner further support, which would ultimately disrupt Turkey, Iraq, and Iran from holding on to their Kurdish population.

2b. Russia still wants a piece of Turkey for shooting down that fighter jet a while back. If confirmed Russia intervention on behalf of Kurds, does Turkey try to activate NATO, which by treaty pulls the US in?

3. Syria, with Russian support, gives the Kurds a new ally and, in turn, means we potentially lose a foothold in the region as we’ve burned the Kurdish population too many times.

Questions From Helsinki

July 24, 2018

by Right Army Veteran with No Comment Featured Politics

President Trump’s enormous misstep in Helsinki, heaping praise onto Putin was a strange misstep that casts doubt on what had seemed like a brilliant few months of politicking. While the President has been repeatedly vilified in the news, his string of accomplishments had been growing, and it seemed in many cases that he was almost goading many of his opponents into vilifying him while positive results continued to stack up.

Tax reform has produced the lowest unemployment in the history of unemployment tracking. His general style of creating chaos merely to create a trading chit has proved largely effective as a bargaining chip, while serving to simultaneously rally his base. The trade war with China may yet yield results, and the short-term negative economic effects are largely offsetting (and probably keeping inflation in check while the market absorbs the cash influx of reduced tax burdens). While they continue to look (unsuccessfully) for opportunities to create chaos and flexibility, North Korea is moving faster and harder than they ever have toward denuclearization having already dismantled several sites.

The political fallout from child separation was neutralized (and perhaps made a political win) when he capitulated, causing Democrats to move the goalposts from “stop separations” to “abolish ICE” – leading to the massive primary upset of Joe Crowley by an incredibly talented (but incredibly socialist) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, which distracted the party and dragged them horribly out of the mainstream. His press secretary’s (Sarah Sanders) ejection from a DC area restaurant prompted calls for harassment of his entire administration – shaking America’s confidence in one of the few reprieves they had to offer the American people – an end to all the unsettling chaos of our current political discourse.

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Ugly Politics And Beautiful Game

July 22, 2018

by Center Left College Student with One Comment Featured Gen Z

Now that the World Cup is over, it’s a good a time to unpack all that happened. Not the actual play (although there were some absolutely gripping games), but the often darker political undercurrents that undergird the world’s biggest sporting event. From West Germany playing East Germany at the height of the Cold War to Nike being unable to provide the Iranian national team with cleats, the World Cup has never truly been divorced from the political realities of its time. At the World Cup, the beautiful game has never been just a game, and this is truer now then it has ever been.

This World Cup saw a plethora of shocking upsets with heavy favorites losing to newcomers and underdogs. This is an apt metaphor for what we’ve seen happen in global politics, with what was once thought to be a deeply cemented world order slowly crumbling. The United States failing to qualify is a fitting allegory for America’s abdication of its global leadership position. And fitting, the specter of Russia looms just as large considering their position as host nation and their global ambitions on the international political stage.

Even while soccer’s powerhouse teams failed to perform, the effects of globalization could be seen in the style of play. While a nation’s playing style was once considered distinctive to each team, the majority of teams now adopt a much more technical style normally associated with European teams and inspired by European club football. Most countries’ star players play in one of the major European leagues, and if they don’t then they are influenced by the style of play broadcasted to millions around the world throughout the year. While nationalist leaders often decry the perceived threat of global homogenization no one dares do so when it comes to soccer. Just like in the global economy, it’s either adapt or die.

The effects of globalization could also be seen in the makeup of the teams vying for sports’ most sought-after championship. The final four teams all came from Europe, but a look at the names on the roster told a different story. Half of the Belgian and English teams had roots in Africa or the Caribbean. The Championship winning French team is made up primarily of players of an African background with a significant amount of Muslim players. This is in sharp contrast to the right-wing hyper-nationalism and racial identity politics that have begun to sweep across Europe.

There are many lessons that can be learned from this fact. France, plagued by xenophobia and Islamophobia, embraced their African and Muslim stars in a way that was both heartening and cautionary. The success of the French national team truly showed that immigrants can not only become members of society but that they can make significant contributions and make their country better. On the other hand, immigrants don’t only matter when they succeed but their worth should come as an intrinsic part of their humanity.

Karim Benzema, the great Algerian-French player, once said, “If I score I’m French, but if I don’t I’m Arab.”

No matter how much we might wish that our sports be an escape from the realities of the real world the fact is politics permeates everything in the world around us. This is especially true when nations face off against each other in the world cup. The prolific sports writer Simon Kuper once wrote that when two teams take the field in the World Cup their nations’ histories take the field alongside them. At times this may mean that the beautiful game is besmirched by the ugliness of political competition. Then again, there are few things more emotionally charged than sports, so perhaps it’s fitting that politics is fought out on the pitch as well.