Phil1111

I think they got just the result they were looking for which is to sow confusion and create infighting and thereby sully our reputation on the international scene. We have half the country trying to ban people because of their religion, that's enough for terrorist recruiters to work with. Russia did get the result they were looking for tactically, and they will continue to sow divisions and chaos unless we in the west (republican, democrat, conservative, centrist and liberal) don't wise up and see the bigger threat. They can inflict deeper wounds to our democracy in the future. I'm most concerned with how deeply Russian linked hacker got into our election computers. The got the full voter rolls in more than half the states and if they wanted could have corrupted them just before the elections. This is a story that isn't getting the attention it deserves! We need to know the full truth how Trump interacted with Russia and all the links, etc. But just as important we need to understand the process and machinery Putin uses tried to influence elections in democratic countries, to be inoculated from it in the future. I personally feel it would be better for this country for trump to lose the next election fair and square to a centrist non-controversial candidate by an informed electorate, rather than have this investigation the result in a divisive impeachment of the president. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/we-would-impeach-trump-at-our-peril/2017/09/25/71c6f4aa-a21f-11e7-ade1-76d061d56efa_story.html?utm_term=.42849fc79e02 If we proceed down an impeachment path while not bother fixing the flaws in our election systems, we are open to more hacking on election night in the future to the point where hacking could cause the result of a divisive campaign to truly be in doubt. This should be ringing alarm bells, but I get the sense that republicans and democrats are so intent in sticking it to each other that they don't see the bigger threat to all of us. Agree. IMO there are elected representatives who recognize the danger. But partisanship, or tribalism takes precedent. For better or worse they are aligning with trump to move legislation ahead. A related story: http://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/363060-missing-big-picture-in-flynn-plea-trump-team-crippled-american-diplomatic

Excellent analysis of how the plan benefits the trump-Kushner commercial real estate aspects of business. https://thinkprogress.org/trumps-tax-plan-is-full-of-goodies-for-wealthy-real-estate-investors-f53a51d271ff/ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/30/business/trump-benefit-tax-cuts.html http://fortune.com/2017/10/02/trump-gop-tax-plan-mortgage-interest-deduction/

I don't know whether or not I think it. On the one hand you are the country with the greatest ability to destroy global civilisation, and AFAIK the one that participates in more international conflicts than any other and projects its military might around the world more than any other. On the other hand there are less stable countries with access to far smaller, but still potentially destructive arsenals. It's tricky. What I do know is that your argument that the US isn't a global threat because the courts make it treat its own citizens fairly is a red herring. It's irrelevant to the rest of mankind. So you're saying Congress can undo anything Trump does, except the one thing he can do that would pose the biggest threat to mankind? And you think that helps your argument? Presumably a threat is: 1. Immediate and present, or 2. Some type of building or future threat. In addition the threat is "the biggest to mankind". -Russia has more nuclear weapons. In addition they are larger by yield(generally 25% larger) and dirtier because they are older designs. http://www.icanw.org/the-facts/nuclear-arsenals/ -Most of the conflicts that the US participated in recently were under UN, NATO and/or co-coalition, partnerships, participation, resolutions or under the agreements with host nations for defense. Perhaps you could name US precipitated conflicts which were either unlawful by international rights of self defense. Or unjust by principal? -I suggest that the recent Libyan conflict is a good example of how the US gets blamed. For helping secure the freedom of a people from tyranny. Most of the EU was asking for US airpower to help get rid of him. Obama was reluctant to get involved. -Its easy to blame the US for conflict. But how many tin pot dictators think twice before expanding economic, resource, military interests. Because of US Political and military power. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2016/04/25/the-u-s-cant-afford-to-end-its-global-leadership-role/ https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR1631.html - Only the US has led against China's island building campaign in the South China Sea. http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/05/10/senators-to-trump-show-resolve-with-beijing-in-south-china-sea/ https://www.csis.org/programs/southeast-asia-program/south-china-sea-high-resolution As I have suggested and stated several times. Other countries operate unhindered under the sole direction of leadership without any checks or balances on either national or international actions. You seem to think that leaders just become unhinged and go to war. Study the history of war. You will learn that dictators, tyrants and those with imperial ambitions. Start by limiting domestic opposition. Controlling the domestic narrative on who is an enemy. President Putin is exactly in that position now. He has invaded Ukraine(by proxy), annexed Crimea, invaded Georgia, threatened the Baltic states and operates with impunity. Only when a leader developes aspirations beyond his borders can they realistically threaten "mankind". Courts and equal but legitimate arms of good governance control these actions. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/04/obamas-worst-mistake-libya/478461/ http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/23/europe/russia-military-adventures-baltics/index.html IMO this discussion lacks sufficient breath of international interests, war and history. I will concede that US leadership finds too many instances where US interests need a military solution.

That's an incomplete sentence. Since most countries [sic] courts tend to limit their jurisdiction to their citizens and/or unlawful conduct committed within their borders... what? How does that stop those countries being a threat to mankind as a whole? The dangerous actions of governments to their own citizens. not to everyone else's citizens. Bringing up the courts is a red herring. What court has ever stopped the US from going to war? What court is going to stop Trump if he gets into a nuclear pissing match with Kim? (Ok, he might be impeached for obstruction of justice before that happens, but that would be a coincidence.) If you think the US and trump are the biggest threat to mankind. Why don't you just come out and say it. Then support that proposition with specific examples. While trump could start a war to distract from his problems. Congress could cut funding immediately. Russia, China, Iran and N. Korea don't have a court system for which a party could make a claim against the political leadership and be successful. In addition none have the checks of other levels of equal governance. To limit a decision made by one political leader to enact war without the endorsement of other, free thinking, elected officials. Courts limit actions of no other country and no political party. That are mentioned in this thread with one exception. The US. Congress limits the actions of a president through a free vote. No other country(mentioned in this thread) has this equality of power. None of the other countries discussed in this thread has a constitution that is not flexible depending on the will of its leaders. If you and gowlerk think trump is the biggest threat to mankind. Just come out and say it. Support your position Vis-à-vis the other countries discussed. trump will be gone in 3-1/4 years. Or less. Putin, Kim, the Chinese communist ruling politburo will remain. No action by trump with the sole exception of a nuclear war could not be undone by congress, shortly. Or by a different administration when he leaves office. That would include his environmental deregulation. Together with any other of his actions. With regards to China, Russia, N. Korea. Their regimes would likely just carry on. The title of this thread is once again "What country is the biggest threat to mankind?" Is the threat immediate? The world stock markets and bond markets certainly don't think so. Is the threat, war on the Korean peninsula? Is that the threat to mankind? Certainly the UN doesn't seem too worked up about it. South Korea doesn't seem too concerned. trump is nothing less than fly poop on a window which seems to distract some here. From the view of what lies through the window. Its called a distraction.

A person should not confuse an individual who uses bluster, false bravado and bellicose statements designed to intimidate. With real aggression. Mr. Kim knows, as did his father before him, that the survival of his regime is all that matters. That the US provides a easy scapegoat for the failures and demands of the regime. Even though the US would destroy Kim, his regime and N. Korea in a nuclear war. That the US would all but destroy N. Korea in a conventional war. The cost in lives of South Koreans would be in the 100's of thousands. The cost to the US financially would be enormous, stunning. Perhaps several trillion dollars. The back and forth between Kim and trump. Are merely two ego's each acting out a respective role for largely domestic audiences. A threat to mankind is a regime that is not subject to the restrictions and oversight that democracies provide. That independent courts and a free press provides. Together with a imperialist motivation. Russia is a mild threat. Putin just wants the US to still be a bogyman for domestic purpose. As long as the kleptocracy can continue and no one touches his offshore billions. Why upset the ox cart. He has mild imperial ideologies.

Irrelevant to the 95% of mankind that doesn't live within the US, because the US judiciary has no influence at all over what the US gov't chooses to do to them. You do know that the title and subject of this thread is "What country is the biggest threat to mankind? " and the poll lists only four specific countries by name? Since most countries courts tend to limit their jurisdiction to their citizens and/or unlawful conduct committed within their borders. Independent courts with respects of individual rights tend to limit the dangerous actions of governments. Or leaders with dangerous international ideologies. You seem to be throwing red herrings in my direction.

EVERY member of the US Supreme Court is there on account of political affiliation. Ditto for most state supreme courts, and all judges in places where judges are elected. The AG is a political appointee, as are all the US Attorneys in the various states. Thats true. BUT the US judiciary has to a large extent ruled based upon the constitution. With possible religious exceptions from time to time. All countries have politics as a threat to equality, fairness and justice. Within the court process. Records of rulings counter to government actions, police actions and the actions of large special interest groups. In favor of the unrepresented, the weak and the vulnerable. Is the best indications of fairness within a justice system.

I assume that the provocative nature of the countries listed is inspired to provoke debate. Only the US has a functioning justice system which is virtually free of political interference. Only the US has a constitution with actual checks and balances on its leaders. Which todays events clearly illustrate. I would have put Iran on the list because it actively uses proxies to engage in war and terror. China has none of the aforementioned checks on the powers of its leadership. But acts more or less responsibly. Thats just my opinion, but there is: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/08/01/u-s-power-and-influence-increasingly-seen-as-threat-in-other-countries/ Carry on.

That question is nonsensical. It is not what corporations are for. Employees are valuable resources, and expensive to recruit and retain, but the goal is to spend as little as needed on them. That is one of the ways capitalism works. Sure. I don't fault the corporate execs for those decisions. They are going to do what they can to help their businesses. It is far, far more illustrative of the idiocy of both the Republican party and the "middle class" voters who put them into place. The Rs along with Trump and his minions keep touting how much better off those "ordinary people" will be because the businesses will spend so much of this money from the tax cuts on their employees. Gary Cohn was apparently taken aback at how few were actually planning on doing that. Kinda funny how the President's Economic Advisor knows so little about, you know, how businesses and the economy actually function. Never confuse acting with ignorance. They all know. Corporations have a duty to follow all law and to deliver profits to shareholders. The US federal reserve has pumped 4.4 trillion into the US economy since 2008. i.e. in the last decade. The EU central bank has pumped 2.4 trillion into the European union economy the last five years, more or less. They are both starting to unwind these programs. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GFDEGDQ188S Meanwhile world government debt has gone from 60 to 94% since the last US recession. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/GC.DOD.TOTL.GD.ZS?view=chart https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/24/fed-sets-process-to-unravel-4-point-5-trillion-balance-sheet.html So if anyone believes the trump-republican tax plan is going to do anything. More than the .2-.4% US GDP stimulus to growth, that the was referenced in the Chicago study that I posted previously. They should read the stories again.

Marjoe Gortner: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjoe_Gortner He was raised by an evangelist family and became an ordained minister at the age of four. Then at the age of 27 he invited a film crew to travel with him and showed them exactly how the evangelical business really worked. The result: "Marjoe"(1972): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068924/ You could say he burned that bridge behind him in a hell of a bonfire. It is a must-see. Have ordered a copy through Amazon. Can't wait to watch it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVLmKO26Emg

I'll start by saying I know many Christians with the highest values. They seem befuddled by the whole concept of telling a lie. A holiday to them is going off to a little dips**t country to help build schools ,install power and dig wells,etc. They give stunning amounts of money to charity. Then there is Roy Moore, Donald trump and the many: "Televangelists Need Private Jets Because ‘Demons’ Fly Commercial http://www.patheos.com/blogs/progressivesecularhumanist/2016/01/televangelists-need-private-jets-because-demons-fly-commercial/#y52JmQmbRCir89xl.99 Roy Moore; Jimmy Kimmel is ready to take on U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore http://money.cnn.com/2017/12/01/media/jimmy-kimmel-roy-moore/index.html Evangelicals were with Trump in 2016, and will be in 2020 http://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/362724-evangelicals-were-with-trump-in-2016-and-will-be-in-2020

gerrymandering has nothing to do with the electoral college. If states opted to allocate Electors on a district basis, then it would be possible, but Trump won because he captured several states by very close margins. Voter suppression efforts in battleground states may have contributed, but gerry'd districts just helps keep the GOP's hold on Congress. Correct thats a congressional/house effort to thwart democracy. http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/03/politics/redistricting-supreme-court-gerrymandered/index.html https://www.vox.com/cards/gerrymandering-explained/what-are-the-most-gerrymandered-house-delegations

Trickle down might work if the rich spent their money. Since they hide it offshore, no one benefits. Fixed it for you.

This story represents the analysis of over 100 economists regarding the trump-republican tax bill. The best summary of the net effect is: The nonpartisan Penn Wharton Budget Model team at the University of Pennsylvania’s graduate business school earlier this month predicted that national-debt increases of between $1.4 trillion and $1.6 trillion by 2027 under the Senate Republicans’ Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will not be offset by modest GDP increases of between 0.3 percent and 0.8 percent compared to what we’d see without the tax changes. A similar projection by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center in Washington estimated additional GDP growth at 0.3 percent in 2027. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/zorn/ct-perspec-zorn-booth-experts-tax-reform-1129-20171128-story.html I somewhat discount the Wharton one a bit, because thats the diploma mill that issued one in trumps name.

Donald Trump Tax Plan Would Be A Bonanza For NFL Owners Trump’s campaign promises included eliminating the estate tax. The tax only hit 2 out of 1,000 estates last year, but sports team owners are all candidates to face the tax and no league has more at risk than the NFL. The average NFL franchise is worth $2.5 billion thanks to national media deals worth more than $7 billion a year. Valuations range from the Buffalo Bills ($1.6 billion) to the Dallas Cowboys ($4.8 billion), who rank as the most valuable sports franchise in the world. Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones, 75, is worth $5.6 billion and his estate would face a federal tax bill up to 40% of his worth—after deductions and a hefty lifetime exemption—under the current "death" tax structure. Half of NFL teams are owned by people who are at least 70 years old, including nine of the 12 most valuable franchises (all worth more than $2.5 billion). Eighteen NFL owners cracked the FORBES 400 this year where the net worth cutoff was $2 billion. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2017/10/30/while-trump-attacks-nfl-league-owners-would-be-huge-beneficiaries-of-his-tax-plan/#186c35d066ed

Co-authored only six years ago by a lawyer/judge. Who is nominated by trump and confirmed by republicans to be ....wait...wait... US ATTORNEY GENERAL.

Correlation reaching 100%. U.S. Image Suffers as Publics Around World Question Trump’s Leadership http://www.pewglobal.org/2017/06/26/u-s-image-suffers-as-publics-around-world-question-trumps-leadership/ U.S. Falls in U.S. News Best Countries Rankings More than 70 percent of survey respondents lost respect for U.S. leadership as a result of the toxic nature of the U.S. election, according to a poll conducted for the 2017 U.S. News Best Countries Rankings. That sentiment, combined with global distaste for Donald Trump, played a role in the U.S. falling from the No. 4 Best Country to No. 7. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2017-02-27/us-falls-in-us-news-best-countries-rankings Tax-cut proponents ignore that there’s no free lunch Republicans’ tax reform proposals, but also because the resolution itself contains bad news for many Americans. If you have a high income and are wealthy, you stand to win a lot, if you are poor or have modest income, you stand to lose a lot, and if you are old, you should be afraid, very afraid, of what comes next. https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/tax-cut-proponents-ignore-that-theres-no-free-lunch/ The US has been downgraded https://qz.com/894362/america-has-been-downgraded-to-a-flawed-democracy-but-not-because-of-trump-economist-intelligence-unit-says/ The US has lost its status as a “full democracy” and is now what the research group calls a “flawed democracy,”

It seems to me like the lessons we are not teaching well are: 1) Respect yourself. Know yourself, know your limits and tell others when they are exceeding them. 2) Treat others with the same respect that you want them to treat you with. See -- you make my points so much more succinctly than I do! Thanks Bill.

Well good thing. Because trump voters are dying like Fox news, dying like weeds after a hard frost, dying like... ‘Deaths of Despair’ Are Surging Among the White Working Class Mortality and morbidity, which measure chances of death or illness within an age group, began climbing in the late 1990s for less-educated whites between 45 and 54. That came as progress against heart disease and cancer slowed and drug overdoses, suicide and alcoholism -- so-called “deaths of despair” -- became pervasive. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-23/white-working-class-death-rate-to-be-elevated-for-a-generation White and Dying in America The mortality rate among under-educated whites in America is rising, which explains why so many voted for Trump. https://www.usnews.com/news/at-the-edge/articles/2017-03-27/whites-without-a-college-degree-are-dying-in-america-thats-why-they-voted-for-donald-trump

Trump Bump Grows Into Subscription Surge -- and Not Just for the New York Times https://www.thestreet.com/story/14024114/1/trump-bump-grows-into-subscription-surge.html Fox News Just Dropped to 3rd Place in Primetime for the First Time in Years http://fortune.com/2017/05/23/fox-news-ratings-down/ Old, high school educated, white men just can't keep Fox afloat.

Room rates across President Donald Trump’s global hotel empire have nosedived by as much as 63 percent since he moved into the White House while the billionaire continues to deal with allegations of conflicts of interest since taking office. Twelve of Trump’s 13 titular hotels experienced a decline in room rates when comparing prices from January 2017 to January 2018, according to the Telegraph, which cited travel currency service FairFX. Prior to his inauguration, a two-night stay at Trump Las Vegas cost $844, but now goes for $314, the biggest fall for one of the president’s properties. http://www.newsweek.com/trump-hotel-prices-drop-organization-717189 Vs US average: So far, 2017 has been welcoming for the U.S. hotel industry with moderate demand growth supporting increases in both occupancy and average daily rate (ADR). Resultantly, revenue per available room (RevPAR) witnessed a rise of 3.4% and 2.7%, respectively, in the first two quarters. http://www.nasdaq.com/article/us-hotel-industry-outlook-november-2017-cm869149 US consumers are increasingly avoiding the trump brand even in the face of slashed rates. Meanwhile worldwide, trump is viewed as the worst president in decades: The sharp decline in how much global publics trust the U.S. president on the world stage is especially pronounced among some of America’s closest allies in Europe and Asia, as well as neighboring Mexico and Canada. Across the 37 nations polled, Trump gets higher marks than Obama in only two countries: Russia and Israel. http://www.pewglobal.org/2017/06/26/u-s-image-suffers-as-publics-around-world-question-trumps-leadership/ Meanwhile the value of the trump brand has tanked: Trump Organization Value Plummets by 90 Percent: The Dangers of Branding The problem with intangible property value is that it can drop as quickly as it can rise. A new report shows that the Trump Organization has seen a massive drop in revenue, worth only 10 percent of what is was back in 2010. One lesson: Don't be satisfied with the value of a brand, as what is here today can be gone tomorrow. There have been signs that Trump's main business, a privately owned corporation, was facing troubles. Not only has his time in office shown bad management skills, but there were already suggestions that Trump's real estate business had taken a big hit after his political success. His company has been clobbered over his personal politics because it leans so heavily on his personal brand. https://www.inc.com/erik-sherman/trump-organization-value-plummets-by-90-dangers-of-branding.html While his condo values fall through the floor during a rising real estate market: Condo prices at Trump Tower are plummeting to their lowest value since the Great Recession Trump Tower's condos are dropping more rapidly than other properties in Midtown Manhattan. Excluding new developments, the average price per square foot in the area has seen a slight uptick of 0.3% since 2015. http://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-trump-tower-condo-prices-dropping-2017-11 Trump brands near rock bottom in customer perception survey http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-brands-survey-bottom-perception-donald-ivanka-ranking-list-a8034046.html

The headline: President Trump is set to sign the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, which contains an amendment that allows U.S. citizens to acquire military surplus 1911 pistols. The fake news: According to the International Business Times, it currently costs the U.S. military approximately $2 a day to store one pistol, and there are an estimated 100,000 1911s that are being stored. So that is a $200,000 expenditure the military can erase and replace with a profit, or at least of a recoup of costs, by selling the firearms. The source: http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/11/24/trump-permit-citizens-buy-military-surplus-1911-pistols/ I tried to find the original source of the report "$2 a day to store one pistol". but if you believe that. I have some oceanfront land on the shores of Prudhoe Bay, with swaying palm trees. To sell to you.

The NYT, CNN and WP have been named enemies of the president by publishing endless stories. By providing media coverage of the many leaks of lies and wrongdoing of trump. Named so by Breitbart and as such, the Sturmabteilung of the trump presidency. The brownshirts. They provide the misinformation, the counter accusations, the lies, that protect the president. They used the FSB/President Putin playbook to bring about the concepts of fake news, distraction, etc. to label and target facts. With lies. All for political purpose.

Israel and Saudi Arabia: What's shaping the covert 'alliance' http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42094105

You could be correct and that could be the entirety of the reason why: "Brown wrote in his pardon that Coley has been a model inmate for 38 years, avoided gangs and violence, and dedicated himself to religion. "The grace with which Mr. Coley has endured this lengthy and unjust incarceration is extraordinary," Brown wrote." But don't let it go to your head as a clock is right twice a day.