President Elect's 'top team'

[Jacob]

No - but you clearly misunderstand what democracy means:

The word democracy comes from the Greek words "demos", meaning people, and "kratos" meaning power; so democracy can be thought of as "power of the people": a way of governing which depends on the will of the people.

I accept that others entitled to vote clearly thought otherwise and thus accept the outcome - however much I may disagree.

Instead of direct "plebiscite" we now have "representative democracy" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representative_democracy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athenian_democracy
A plebiscite might work for a small community as in ancient Greece, but not for us, or we would be being asked to vote on lots of things, several times a day, for ever more.
Plebiscite wasn't that democratic in Greece either - the franchise excluded the majority of the population, slaves, women, etc.
Google "are MPs delegates or representatives?"
In any case the brexit vote was really an opinion poll rather than a final decision and didn't commit Parliament to anything.
Unfortunately it was badly worded, not clear, and being managed by some utterly second rate and/or unscrupulous politicians; Cameron, Johnson, etc. supported by an utterly dishonest and unscrupulous media campaign, with dubious backers.
Brexit was an extreme example of how democracy can fail to act in the interests of the people.

 

[AJB Temple]

I'm quite cynical about the Ukraine war now. It's not our fight and nor is it America's. Putin wants to rebuild the USSR and the US was ok with that before and will be again. The media has got into a puff about missiles but all that is really happening is the US (and the UK for that matter) is getting rid of all of its old obsolete munitions in Ukraine, and replacing them with latest generation gear that Ukraine certainly wont get. Kyiv to Kremlin as the missile flies is around 480 miles. The old tech missiles from what is available on line can do 180 ish miles not very accurately by modern standards. Delivering cluster bomblets against military targets like airfields, the BBC describes them as "useful". Bunging a few old missiles at Russia is not enough to trigger a nuclear response, but gives Putin all the excuse he needs to destroy Ukranian infrastructure again just as the cold sets in. There will be no winners, but the general population will certainly lose.

 

[ey_tony]

I don't have Tony on ignore, but I am avoiding responding; I really don't think any of this is doing him any good.

I don't know about harming me but it's certainly making my belly ache with so much laughter so perhaps you're correct in this case, it might be harming me as I suppose there's only so much one can take.
Laughter is said to be good for you so it's just a pity that there wasn't some way of doctors prescribing a week of access for depressed patients to this forum.
They would be cheered up immensely by some of the weird comments or they would see that there are others worse than them in the world...either way it would make them feel better about themselves.

 

[Spectric]

I'm quite cynical about the Ukraine war now. It's not our fight and nor is it America's.

The reason why we end up with issues with countries like China and India, simply because we think that planet earth should only have western idiology and cannot accept others and live in peace.

 

[ey_tony]

As if Biden wasn't a big enough knucklehead on the world stage, he's now authorised the use of anti-personnel mines which further escalates an already tense and dangerous situation.
I suppose really he's only doing the bidding of the dangerous warmongering Democrat's as I'm not sure he could find his way home without his carers let alone make decisions like that.
....and then they lambast Trump! You just couldn't make it up!

 

[Blackswanwood]

The reason why we end up with issues with countries like China and India, simply because we think that planet earth should only have western idiology and cannot accept others and live in peace.

Do you mean like the peace Putin brought to Ukraine 1001 days ago?

 

[martin45]

ey_tony said:

“As if Biden wasn't a big enough knucklehead on the world stage, he's now authorised the use of anti-personnel mines which further escalates an already tense and dangerous situation. “

So Biden has to give permission for Ukraine to use US supplied ATACMS missiles with a war head of between 383lbs and 1,300 lbs on military targets but he supplies at least 14,000 MK84 2,000lbs bombs which Israel has rained down on men, women and children in tented villages, hospitals, clinics and schools with absolutely no conditions.

What an utterly despicable, cynical, immoral individual Biden is!

 

[AJB Temple]

The reason why we end up with issues with countries like China and India, simply because we think that planet earth should only have western idiology and cannot accept others and live in peace.

I agree. Other cultures, including Russia, are quite different and we should not assume they see things the same way. Years ago this was brought home to me when I had to spend quite a lot of time in South America investigating a tax credit fraud for a British based multi national company. They had a bunch of anti corruption and accounting rules that were dreamed up in London. However, in Argentina they just ignored this as their culture for doing business was radically different. They could not operate without being realistic about their local market.
I think a similar problem afflicts reporting of Ukraine. We have a very western minded media who are not plugged into what is really happening in Russia or the russian cultural attitudes. It inevitably makes reporting one sided and biased.

 

[AJB Temple]

ey_tony said:

“As if Biden wasn't a big enough knucklehead on the world stage, he's now authorised the use of anti-personnel mines which further escalates an already tense and dangerous situation. “

So Biden has to give permission for Ukraine to use US supplied ATACMS missiles with a war head of between 383lbs and 1,300 lbs on military targets but he supplies at least 14,000 MK84 2,000lbs bombs which Israel has rained down on men, women and children in tented villages, hospitals, clinics and schools with absolutely no conditions.

What an utterly despicable, cynical, immoral individual Biden is!

I doubt it is Biden. He can't even find his way off a stage without a guide. By any sensible view the man is not mentally capable.

 

[Spectric]

What an utterly despicable, cynical, immoral individual Biden is!

But he is mentality incompetant due to illness so does he know what he is signing, maybe it is people working in the whitehouse who know that he will just sign something. Yes if he was compos mentis then he would be exactly what you say but at the end of the day his government have been complicit in genocide.

ATACMS missiles with a war head of between 383lbs and 1,300 lbs on military targets

But what if Russia uses tactical battlefield weapons that have a warhead of more than 50 kilo tons !

 

[ey_tony]

I doubt it is Biden. He can't even find his way off a stage without a guide. By any sensible view the man is not mentally capable.

Clearly Biden doesn't have the mental capacity to make such a decision but the Democrats in league with the warmongers have used Biden to further their cause as they know that Trump won't support arms spending on wars which are not of the USA's making.

The USA unlike the 164 signatories has not signed the treaty on the use of anti-personnel mines so have authorised the use of them in Ukraine. It will be interesting to see if there is widespread condemnation of such an act.
If mines are now to be used what will Russia's response likely to be? I can't help but feel sorry for the fighters on both sides and the sooner there is a ceasefire and negotiated settlement the better and safer for all.