Ok, not football at all, but it matters, eventually.

[hopelesslyoptimistic]

Never going to get agreement on a lot of the topics raised - just seems the thread is a vehicle for one person to argue with others often on things he seemingly had little knowledge or valuable insight into.

[WTF11]

Most French press & media plus European press are focusing on the Musk story too.

With the gist of reporting on the ethics rules for advisory committees being minimal, meaning that Musk will not be required to divest from any of his conflicting investments nor will any limits be imposed on his outside income.

Musk & his businesses depend on federal government contracts & are regulated by numerous federal agencies.

One can easily understand why someone like Musk would want to influence those contract awards those agencies. But allowing Musk to interfere with contract awards or enforcement actions is the definition of a conflict of interest.

These potential conflicts due to Musk & co business interests either involving the government or subject to government regulation are fertile ground for potential waste, abuse & fraud, making the role of truly independent watchdogs, like Inspectors General, all the more critical

With many critics now expecting multiple conflicts ahead with Musk and the Doge panel then Musk is likely to seek further privatisation of Nasa, which will directly benefit his company SpaceX too.

As Musk is likely to seek deregulation of an assortment of federal agencies that provide protection for the public such as the National Highway Safety Administration, the Securities & Exchange Commission & the Environmental Protection Agency, then all of which will further enrich Musks investments in Tesla, Cybersecurity & Cryptocurrency which is the conclusion of most European press & media reporting this week.

If Trump facilitates this kind of interference by Musk & his cronies then the USA will no longer have a government of the people, by the people, for the people & instead will be a government of billionaires, by billionaires, for billionaires, some may say.

Just saying

1000% agreed.

[ozleeds]

BTW, I'm sure that Aussie ships are allowed to travel around the China sea freely and without any hassle. They are such benevolent stewards of any area that they claim is theirs. They'll be just as benevolent with the Panama Canal and the Artic passages.

We love China we even gave them a port up North to make it easier for them when they strike but complain that they are setting up on a near minority little island lol. Never said Australia is anything but a very minority partner and yes maam America. 700 k soldiers here which would be swiped of the map if Indonesia wanted to take over.
I never said its wrong or right on the greenland or panama situation Canada on the other hand I'm sure the French will sit and watch. The problem is threating war at the time war is all over the planet already? Amercia should have never relinquished it's hold on the canal in the first place which has let China interfere not Panama's or the Chinese fault just like the uk left Hong Kong which has destroyed that place.
Look politics is not everyone's cup of tea 90% of people don't want to have anything to do with it as many argument's can come from it and that's a fact. Trying to make America innocent is like making Putin a saint though. I thin trump should go close that border build house's for the homeless and send all available to stop those damn fires rather than what he is doing even though he isn't even in power yet.
Sorry Spaldy I know you want to kill me lol but that is my observation from a far.

[WTF11]

Convenient post. No mention of the 25K people that died (many Americans) along with the $375 milllion (600 billion in todays dollars) that the US spent to build this for the American hemisphere. China is working on taking over the operation of the canal. There is a contract with the US that Panama signed when it was turned over to them for $1. They have abrogated the contract. It's not really complicated. Shut down the canal or restrict it to chinese ships only and you impact all of the worlds economy and security. You keep living in your fantasy land that the chinese will be benevolent operators of this ***** canal to the world. I prefer asserting control so that china does not end up controlling it.

Greenland is a ***** strategic outpost for the Americas. With the russians and chinese creating shipping channels through the artic the world commerce situation is rapidly changing. I"m sure that the Russians and Chinese will be benevolent caretakers on these new shipping routes and will gladly let the US, UK, EU and anyone else that trades outside their country.

You might want to research what the sentiment of the citizens of Greenland or Panama is regarding being controlled by Russians or Chinese is vs the US. Denmark is unable to stand up to the Russians or Chinese.

If the USA is so concerned about Greenland, wouldn't the more statesmanlike behaviiur be to engage with the government of that place aimed at providing adequate protection to the area and it's surroundings (bit like the US air base in the Chagos islands), and thereby strengthening the capability of a fellow member of NATO? But since when was Trump capable of statesman like behaviour? He prefers bully boy tactics. America should be proud of the profile he is creating for what was once a powerful AND benevolent society, not!

[ozleeds]

If the USA is so concerned about Greenland, wouldn't the more statesmanlike behaviiur be to engage with the government of that place aimed at providing adequate protection to the area and it's surroundings (bit like the US air base in the Chagos islands), and thereby strengthening the capability of a fellow member of NATO? But since when was Trump capable of statesman like behaviour? He prefers bully boy tactics. America should be proud of the profile he is creating for what was once a powerful AND benevolent society, not!

Look on the outside it is easy to judge another country and I'm sure Spaldy and other's view things differently we are just small players in a pawn game. I have no doubt Trump has good intensions the border for one but does not have the skill to run things proper. The world has and always been at war no matter what country and will never change till the end of poor little earth which won't be able to take it anymore.
Most Americans i have come across and there has been a few are very nice and decent people and than there would be others. Anyway i try to look at things the World is in a mess and there is no way out of it no matter if some in power had good intensions. This little old man's time is limited I just think of the future and what world we are living the upcoming generations.

[WTF11]

Look on the outside it is easy to judge another country and I'm sure Spaldy and other's view things differently we are just small players in a pawn game. I have no doubt Trump has good intensions the border for one but does not have the skill to run things proper. The world has and always been at war no matter what country and will never change till the end of poor little earth which won't be able to take it anymore.
Most Americans i have come across and there has been a few are very nice and decent people and than there would be others. Anyway i try to look at things the World is in a mess and there is no way out of it no matter if some in power had good intensions. This little old man's time is limited I just think of the future and what world we are living the upcoming generations.

Wouldn't disagree with most of what you say Oz, I'm just sad and disappointed that Trump has been able (for the second time let's not forget), to persuade enough of the nice and decent people you speak of (and I'd agree that the vast majority of Americans I have met and worked with fit that profile), that he and those he surrounds himself with are the ones to recreate the great America they make so much of, and how disasterous it will be for them (and the rest of the world) in the coming weeks and months.

[spaldy]

I know that you loathe Trump. I think the majority of Americans have great unease/distaste for his behavior. As a country we prefer our strongman to be more subtle and tasteful in their dealings. Maybe the same results but want a little more finesse and tact. He is a real estate baron in NYC and you don't get to be that way being nice or tactful. It's offensive to my midwestern way of conducting business.

However, put yourself in his shoes for a moment and think about the hand you have been dealt. Not sure where you even start but you sure don't have the luxury using finesse, tact and charm to protect your countries interests.

The borders wide open and has been for 3+ years. Many countries have dumped their most violent criminals as well as other "less desirable" citizens. They aren't sending the best and brightest. Horrible to say that brusquely but it's the reality. None have been vetted and you have no idea who's here and where they are at. It requires immediate action and you hope that by saying everyone that is illegal is being deported triggers them to some self deport. They are all criminals since they are in the country illegally. You focus on the criminals, terrorists and drug cartel/gang members that are in the country. The local law enforcement often know about these but can't deport them because the feds didn't alllow it. The open border has opened up the drug pipeline and the Chinese are shipping fentanyl into the country in massive quantities. Thousands of Americans are dying of overdoses or addicted. You also have thousands and thousands of people being brought in for the *** trade. Many are children and the abuse that is happening to them would get you jailed for life if you did it to a farm animal.

We are afloat in oil but the current administration won't allow it to be extracted, refined or moved by pipeline. We end up importing billions of dollars of oil from countries that use the money for terrorism. Even countries that get along with the US have enormous trade surpluses that weaken our currency and minimize our control of the oil supply. It's totally illogical.

You have rampant crime and violence in larger urban areas. You have demoralized and understaffed police forces in these cities. You also have judges and prosecutors that worry more about the criminal more than the victim. You have entire areas of big cities that are "no go zones" for anyone that isn't a criminal or protected by the local cartel. The cities are rotting from within and the crime is spreading out to the suburbs and rural areas.

Finally, and probably most importantly. You have public school systems that don't even teach basics like Reading, Arithmetic or how to effectively think or communicate. They are little more than propaganda factories. These are controlled by unions that care more about padding their wallets than actually teaching kids. In many areas you have no school choice and often the poorest city schools have the worst teachers. This is in spite of the fact that these schools get the highest allocation per pupil but their is so much corruption or incompetence that they end up giving the worst education. The US is one of the highest spenders on educational dollars but produces results not much different that third world countries. As a parent you have little or no choice as to where to send you child. You are stuck with whatever some bureacrat assigns your kid. it's all controlled out of DC and they are clueless on the differences between educating rural kids in farm country vs urban city kids. It's one size fits all and it shows. No reason that education should be run out of centralized location. Each state should run their education system.


These really should simple common sense issues that everyone should agree upon are unacceptable. However that is very far from the truth in the USA right now. It's going to take a strong willed person unafraid of what others think of him to solve these basic problems.

[WTF11]

I know that you loathe Trump. I think the majority of Americans have great unease/distaste for his behavior. As a country we prefer our strongman to be more subtle and tasteful in their dealings. Maybe the same results but want a little more finesse and tact. He is a real estate baron in NYC and you don't get to be that way being nice or tactful. It's offensive to my midwestern way of conducting business.

However, put yourself in his shoes for a moment and think about the hand you have been dealt. Not sure where you even start but you sure don't have the luxury using finesse, tact and charm to protect your countries interests.

The borders wide open and has been for 3+ years. Many countries have dumped their most violent criminals as well as other "less desirable" citizens. They aren't sending the best and brightest. Horrible to say that brusquely but it's the reality. None have been vetted and you have no idea who's here and where they are at. It requires immediate action and you hope that by saying everyone that is illegal is being deported triggers them to some self deport. They are all criminals since they are in the country illegally. You focus on the criminals, terrorists and drug cartel/gang members that are in the country. The local law enforcement often know about these but can't deport them because the feds didn't alllow it. The open border has opened up the drug pipeline and the Chinese are shipping fentanyl into the country in massive quantities. Thousands of Americans are dying of overdoses or addicted. You also have thousands and thousands of people being brought in for the *** trade. Many are children and the abuse that is happening to them would get you jailed for life if you did it to a farm animal.

We are afloat in oil but the current administration won't allow it to be extracted, refined or moved by pipeline. We end up importing billions of dollars of oil from countries that use the money for terrorism. Even countries that get along with the US have enormous trade surpluses that weaken our currency and minimize our control of the oil supply. It's totally illogical.

You have rampant crime and violence in larger urban areas. You have demoralized and understaffed police forces in these cities. You also have judges and prosecutors that worry more about the criminal more than the victim. You have entire areas of big cities that are "no go zones" for anyone that isn't a criminal or protected by the local cartel. The cities are rotting from within and the crime is spreading out to the suburbs and rural areas.

Finally, and probably most importantly. You have public school systems that don't even teach basics like Reading, Arithmetic or how to effectively think or communicate. They are little more than propaganda factories. These are controlled by unions that care more about padding their wallets than actually teaching kids. In many areas you have no school choice and often the poorest city schools have the worst teachers. This is in spite of the fact that these schools get the highest allocation per pupil but their is so much corruption or incompetence that they end up giving the worst education. The US is one of the highest spenders on educational dollars but produces results not much different that third world countries. As a parent you have little or no choice as to where to send you child. You are stuck with whatever some bureacrat assigns your kid. it's all controlled out of DC and they are clueless on the differences between educating rural kids in farm country vs urban city kids. It's one size fits all and it shows. No reason that education should be run out of centralized location. Each state should run their education system.


These really should simple common sense issues that everyone should agree upon are unacceptable. However that is very far from the truth in the USA right now. It's going to take a strong willed person unafraid of what others think of him to solve these basic problems.

And ALL of that relates to issues within and along your own borders. Deal with those before you start threatening military action in order to take the territory of another NATO member. Doing so is just rank stupidity of the first order and he shows his true bullying colours accordingly.

All this and the self-serving sh1te from Musk and Trump hasn't even been inaugurated yet, god help us all once he is.

[alfinyalcabo]

Never going to get agreement on a lot of the topics raised - just seems the thread is a vehicle for one person to argue with others often on things he seemingly had little knowledge or valuable insight into.

Who do you mean H ? 🤔

[joellufcprice]

Nothing funnier than watching people go to bat for two billionaires who are doing something for their own financial gain and interests.


But yea, sure, yer man Musk and Trump really got your back lads, keep at it

For what its worth, they're all liars and fake in politics, it just amusing how these two people have managed to get so many people to believe their drivel.