USA Forum

[Pat494]

Very, true, this. But both their parties seem, somehow, never quite to manage to present their best available candidates to the electorate?

Worrying if these are their best candidates. But no worse than some past ones I suppose.

A lot of politicians from the past were perhaps not much good at anything other than arguing. Much depends I think on their individual personalities. Some are convinced of their own opinions and don't care about the support while others are trying to get elected by pandering to the opinions of the majority.

Will the US electorate really care much what foreigners like/dislike ?

 

[alexaherself]

Worrying if these are their best candidates. But no worse than some past ones I suppose.

Yes, that's true.

Of course (a) the same can perhaps be said of many other countries, too, and (b) it's all too easy to criticise from thousands of miles away and a (slightly) different culture, but my impression is that their presidential electoral system perhaps doesn't serve their citizens as well as those of some other countries, anyway.

Will the US electorate really care much what foreigners like/dislike ?

I doubt it very much indeed. I suspect that as a nation they're perhaps less concerned about "how their President plays" overseas than many countries are. I don't even know whether that's really a "criticism", or just an "observation", but I also wonder whether - if America wants to be "the world's policeman" to some extent, it ought to matter.

 

[Pat494]

The fourth Republican debate was supposed to be all about Trump v Carson, Bush v Rubio, and everyone v Hillary.

But in a surprising twist, the stand-out performer on the night according to the audience on Twitter wasn't even a candidate.

Step forward Gerard Baker, aka "the British guy", "the guy with no hair" or least flatteringly of all "Humpty Dumpty".

Here's how the Fox Business moderator, editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal, became both the hero and the villain of the pantomime.

Some observers enjoyed his smooth delivery:


T
But others quickly grew suspicious of his provenance:


So, who is Gerard Baker?
◾Oxford-educated economist and now editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal
◾Joined the Journal in 2009 and took charge in 2013
◾First Briton to moderate a US presidential debate.


The irony that immigration was a hot topic was not lost:

 

[alexaherself]

I decided not to watch any of these debates (I'm a little concerned that pelting the screen with rotting tomatoes may eventually damage it), even though the potential entertainment value of seeing The Donald in action does carry some appeal, admittedly. :cheesy:

But somehow I'm not astonished that an Oxford-educated economist who edits the Wall Street Journal should talk more sense than many of the candidates: over here, after all, Andrew Neil (Glasgow-educated economist and former editor of The Sunday Times) typically talks more sense on The Daily Politics than any of his studio guests. 😉

 

[hhiusa]

Trump says he will start a deportation force if he is elected.

 

[postman]

Trump says he will start a deportation force if he is elected.

“The Philippines must be half empty - you’re all here running the NHS.”
- Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh

'"Well, you'll never fly in it, you're too fat to be an astronaut.". Philip was speaking to a 13-year-old boy whose dream it was to travel into space.
- Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh

"If you stay here much longer you'll all be slitty-eyed."
- Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh



You can take the Prince out of Greece but you cant take the Greece (Greek?) out of the Prince.
He's just another Greek getting a subsidy from the Brits. 😆

 

[Pat494]

It is strange to me that these political budding hopefuls never seem to answer or even ask the relevant questions.
Like:-
1.Let's have an international get together to cut down on nuclear weapons. Having finally reached the point where everything on this planet can be destroyed by just one man at the top surely it is important to reduce the nuclear arsenal by say 10% a year.
2. Really get some more momentum going on pollution.
3. The effort to reduce climate change is an uphill battle.
4. And while they are at it, fill in some of the damned pot holes.

Money well spent rather than on a military machine that will bring about it's excuse for existing.

 

[hhiusa]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4cX1xqtxo8

 

[Pat494]

The family of Ahmed Mohamed, a 14-year-old arrested in Texas for bringing a homemade clock that was mistaken for a bomb to school, has demanded millions in damages and an apology.

He has since emigrated to Qatar. Lawyers of the family of 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed have filed suit for $15 million (14.1 million euros) against his former school and the Texas city of Irving which arrested him in an apparent misunderstanding over a homemade clock which authorities mistook for a bomb.

In letters to the city of Irving and the Irving Independent School District, lawyers said the ninth grader was wrongfully arrested, illegally detained and questioned without his parents present.

The family is asking for $10 million from the city and $5 million from the school district or they will file civil lawsuits within 60 days, the letter said.

"Ahmed clearly was singled out because of his race, national origin and religion," attorney Kelly Hollingsworth wrote. The teenage son of Somali immigrants became an overnight sensation in September after his sister tweeted a photo of the aspiring inventor standing in handcuffs while wearing a t-shirt with the US space agency NASA's logo.

The case became a hot button issue over alleged Islamophobia among public officials. His lawyers accuse the school, police department and city officials of violating his civil rights by wrongfully accusing and detaining him and then decided to "trash" him when the media got wind of the story.

US President Barack Obama lent his support by inviting Ahmed to the White House in what was seen as a pointed rebuke to school and police officials amidst accusations of Islamophobia.

The school district said in a statement its lawyers were reviewing the letter. City officials were not immediately available for comment. The boy's family moved to Qatar in October after the teen accepted an offer from the Qatar Foundation to study as part of its Young Innovators Program.jar/jm (AFP, Reuters)

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It could only happen in " potty " America. He will probably win the case ! Instead of being told not to be such a silly boy - $50 for clock repairs.
😆

 

[Pat494]

Never in the whole of human history has one country wasted so much money and gained so little. ( A pity they don't give their allies some )

 

[hhiusa]

What's that? [cricket noise] Europe is totally unsafe. 👎 The US is recommending Americans postpone their travel plans to Europe. 😛

 

[postman]

I'd say I would have a higher chance of being shot by the police in the USA than becoming a victim of terror in Europe. (Much less, as I'm not Black).

2014
4 people killed in Europe.
1108 killed just by police in the USA.

2015
130 people killed in Europe.
547 people killed just by police up to June 29th in USA (estimated to be 1100 by the end of the year).

Sources.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_in_the_European_Union

http://killedbypolice.net/

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/01/us-police-killings-this-year-black-americans

Maybe think a bit more before you try to make a cheap point at the expence of dead people @hhiusa

 

[Pat494]

It puts tourists off the USA if suddenly you have a multi million $ lawsuit for stepping on someone's shoes etc. by mistake. Sort of mugged by their legal system plus clock boys.

The sort of " danger out there perception " is so prevalent these days that many choose to work/stay at home.

 

[alexaherself]

The US is recommending Americans postpone their travel plans to Europe.

I don't believe you.

I'm willing to be wrong about it, if you can produce an official source like the State Department, but I'm certainly not holding my breath, because it would be a huge news story, if it were true, and I've heard no such thing. Even American officialdom isn't that stupid.

 

[postman]

I don't believe you.

I'm willing to be wrong about it, if you can produce an official source like the State Department, but I'm certainly not holding my breath, because it would be a huge news story, if it were true, and I've heard no such thing. Even American officialdom isn't that stupid.

It hasnt made it to the US Gov official travel website!

"U.S. Passports & International Travel passports.state.gov - Information for U.S. citizens traveling and living abroad."

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings.html

Maybe it was in the "National Enquirer". :whistling

 

[Forexmospherian]

I think we all know hhiusa is a "wind up merchant" and now instead of just picking on the "Brits" he's basically trying it on all Europeans and even the rest of the World.

Its worth pointing out that 95/96% of the the world's population are not "American ".

I have always liked visiting the US - but its a shame it not got so many advantages we have in the UK - one of them being the NHS to help look after our both physically & mentally unwell. Mental health problems are massive in the US - lets hope they can get them back under control

 

[alexaherself]

I think we all know hhiusa is a "wind up merchant" and now instead of just picking on the "Brits" he's basically trying it on all Europeans and even the rest of the World.

What concerns me - albeit only vicariously - is my suspicion that at the times he habitually posts such "remarkable" assertions, he may actually believe them to be true! 😱

 

[hhiusa]

I don't believe you.

I'm willing to be wrong about it, if you can produce an official source like the State Department, but I'm certainly not holding my breath, because it would be a huge news story, if it were true, and I've heard no such thing. Even American officialdom isn't that stupid.

The EU basically allows for free travel across country borders with limited scrutiny. If France and Belgium are extremely dangerous right now, it is extremely easy for people to infect other countries and cause mayhem. France will reinstate border controls, which is interesting to me because it implies that they didn't use them before.

France demands tighter border controls in EU free travel area

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/worldwide-caution.html#Europe

U.S. issues global travel alert as manhunt continues for Paris attackers

State Department issues worldwide travel alert

US Embassy tells Americans in Brussels to stay home

 

[Pat494]

You get fuzzy headed Liberals relaxing border controls thinking all is sweetness and then the Paris massacre happens. Shows how out of touch the elite are. Funny how they are shutting the gates after the event. The jihadis must be having a good laugh ! Brussells locked down for a week. ? No doubt they will lie low for a bit to organise the next one.

The New York mafia has declared war on them too, I see.

 

[alexaherself]

The EU basically allows for free travel across country borders with limited scrutiny.

This is incorrect. What you describe pertains not to the EU but to the countries of the Schengen area (signatory-countries of the Schengen Treaty); that excludes some EU countries as well as including some non-EU countries.

France will reinstate border controls, which is interesting to me because it implies that they didn't use them before.

People who live in countries with few land-borders with other countries often have very little realistic conception of this issue.