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Gripweed posted:Where did I say legal? You said USAID, which is a literal legal program. Gripweed posted:They could funnel the money through USAID. That’s just off the top of my head, I’m sure they could figure something out. This is the US government we’re talking about, funneling money to shady groups is one of their big things. If you suggest a legal program then it suggests you mean through legal means. Especially since the entire point was that illegal means would be a much bigger issue if they were caught. But again, doing it through legal means requires Congress overwatch, and someone is going to go screaming about it.
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Jan 21, 2024 18:42
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Kchama posted:You said USAID, which is a literal legal program. No man we’re talking about USAID, they do shady poo poo all the time, they regularly operated as a cover for the CIA. OK this explains the miscommunication, if you think USAID is 100% up and up, and not in fact another mechanism the US government has to do shady poo poo on the downlow.
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Jan 21, 2024 18:55
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Okay I think we're getting trapped in the weeds of the hypothetical of them just wanting to be paid. Ansarallah has been shouting to the heavens for weeks that they are doing this because of the genocide on Palestinians and they are targeting only ships abetting Israel's trade, and now of course the people who have shot at them. They have been extremely clear about what their goals with these attacks are, and at this point I think it borders on farce to claim they're actually going for a secret payout.
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Jan 21, 2024 19:14
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A big flaming stink posted:Okay I think we're getting trapped in the weeds of the hypothetical of them just wanting to be paid. Ansarallah has been shouting to the heavens for weeks that they are doing this because of the genocide on Palestinians and they are targeting only ships abetting Israel's trade, and now of course the people who have shot at them. Many people have repeatedly told you about the fact that the Houthis have been engaging in piracy for many, many years well before the current conflict in Gaza, a fact you have conveniently ignored. Can you please explain why you think that a bunch of pirates are being completely genuine and honest about their motives?
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Jan 21, 2024 19:29
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koolkal posted:Right, Biden just needs to check his list of "Corrupt Government Officials" instead of his list of "Honest Government Officials" Pulling the big lever sticking out of his desk from HONEST to CORRUPT
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Jan 21, 2024 19:35
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Gripweed posted:No man we’re talking about USAID, they do shady poo poo all the time, they regularly operated as a cover for the CIA. OK this explains the miscommunication, if you think USAID is 100% up and up, and not in fact another mechanism the US government has to do shady poo poo on the downlow. It’s not that I think it’s 100% up and up, but the fact that it is actually regulated and Congress knows what it is doing, and therefore if it served Congress, for example Congressional Republicans, to leak what it is doing, then they easily can.
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Jan 21, 2024 19:42
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Gripweed posted:No man we’re talking about USAID, they do shady poo poo all the time, they regularly operated as a cover for the CIA. OK this explains the miscommunication, if you think USAID is 100% up and up, and not in fact another mechanism the US government has to do shady poo poo on the downlow. Perhaps the fact that we know this information about the organization makes funneling illegal money through it to accomplish a very unpopular aim during an election year an incredibly stupid thing to do?
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Jan 21, 2024 19:49
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The US takes the position paying the pirates off encourages more piracy. As the naval superpower and recipient of basically half of all trade agreements the US isn't going to allow a ton of parasitic drag on the world shipping economy.
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Jan 21, 2024 19:57
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:Many people have repeatedly told you about the fact that the Houthis have been engaging in piracy for many, many years well before the current conflict in Gaza, a fact you have conveniently ignored. Can you please explain why you think that a bunch of pirates are being completely genuine and honest about their motives? My impression though is that to a large degree it's because some really want it to be true, that the Houthis are really stand-up guys that are the only ones in the entire world willing to confront big bad Israel [by blowing up unarmed civilian boats]. And not lying murdering assholes just like their buddies in Iran or russia that are also constantly saying a lot of bullshit. If you believe that, then everything falls into place - they're definitely not lying, there are no other motives, trying to sink random cargo ships is actually non-violent and a legit form of resistance against Israel etc.
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Jan 21, 2024 20:00
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It's the same problem as always, where the only powers willing to call the US or Israel out for their brutality and evil are themselves brutal and evil.
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Jan 21, 2024 20:14
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Barrel Cactaur posted:The US takes the position paying the pirates off encourages more piracy. As the naval superpower and recipient of basically half of all trade agreements the US isn't going to allow a ton of parasitic drag on the world shipping economy. However, and this is kind of a weird personal position and clearly not electorally viable or consistent with current US policy, maybe we should allow it? If it gets more expensive to ship stuff between Europe and the Middle East and between Europe and East Asia that is a relative boost to the US which is now a marginally more economical trade partner. That's a win in an odd way. If it forces someone else to do some of the work of protecting global shipping rather in it just being our burden (the Europeans, the gulf Arabs, the Chinese, the Egyptians, whomever of the many parties getting hurt much more than we are) that's a win too.
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Jan 21, 2024 20:30
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Ron's done. https://x.com/OmarJimenez/status/1749160130686357657?s=20
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Jan 21, 2024 21:04
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A big flaming stink posted:Ansarallah has been shouting to the heavens for weeks that they are doing this because of the genocide on Palestinians and they are targeting only ships abetting Israel's trade, and now of course the people who have shot at them. Again how many ZIM vessels have been targeted or hit? What vessel trades primarily call Israel? (Med and Atlantic) It’s about Saudi not Israeli. The Iranians are using the Houthi to punish the Saudis. They Saudis were going to normalize with Israel and that’s what started the whole thing anyway. The China - European routes are secondary, sort of like a bonus gently caress you .
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Jan 21, 2024 21:24
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This motherfucker put his entire political career into this race and was out before Super Tuesday. lmao.
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Jan 21, 2024 21:35
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Gripweed posted:If the Houthis are simply pirates with not real political motivation for their attacks, surely we could simply buy them off? We fired like 80 million dollars worth of missiles at them and that didn't work, maybe we could just give them 80 million dollars. That kinda money goes a long way in Yemen. Of course there's political motivations for their attacks, which is different from saying that the Houthis are attacking because they care about the Palestinians or genocide or whatever. They are putting on a performance for Iran as well as doing their bidding, as they are seeking funding for their own civil war. This gets them media attention as well as a certain subset of the Western population aligning themselves with them because they think that they have a shared cause. This results in people breathlessly repeating the line about Palestine on the Houthis' say so. This all works out for the Houthis as they become the best army for Iran to back, and the Houthis can go on starving and genociding the other Yemenis with fresh funding.
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Jan 21, 2024 21:37
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Alrighty just one down to go. I can't wait for "America has never been racist" Haley have to have to fall in line behind the guy that put a cigar out on her by mocking her real first name.
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Jan 21, 2024 21:38
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yeah. good gently caress him. Hopefully trump maitains a grudge and keeps ratfucking him so the Florida GOP decides loving over RON is good since RON chased all the money away in a failed bid. haley will probably Bail out around next week IF she fucks up NH, if she doesnt, she stays in til end of SC.
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Jan 21, 2024 21:42
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Toaster Beef posted:This motherfucker put his entire political career into this race and was out before Super Tuesday. lmao. And nothing of importance was lost.
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Jan 21, 2024 21:42
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He endorsed Trump, ahahahahahahaha.quote:He then touted his support for Trump: “While, I’ve had disagreements with Donald Trump, such as on the Coronavirus pandemic and his elevation of Anthony Fauci, Trump is superior to the current incumbent Joe Biden. That is clear.”
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Jan 21, 2024 22:09
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The GOP is absolutely cooked Their leader is a con-artist fraud and none of the other politicians can meaningfully attack him because he has enthralled the voter base and maintains blackmail on all the politicians
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Jan 21, 2024 22:11
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Since we all know it's going to be Biden vs Trump redux, I was looking into presidential rematches and in the entire 20th century there were only two- 1900- McKinley, 1956- Eisenhower. Unless one reaches all the way to the 19th century it doesn't bode well for the repeat challenger. Not that anyone feels great about the Trump nom but I'm still fine if he lives another 40 years with arcane lich energy and permanently owns the Republican nomination every 4 years just to invariably lose again.
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Jan 21, 2024 22:11
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Civilized Fishbot posted:He endorsed Trump, ahahahahahahaha. "we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear" So we endorse Trump. Got it, makes perfect sense.
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Jan 21, 2024 22:11
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Hope all those horrible policies and almost derailing the Disney gravy train were worth it, Florida legislature
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Jan 21, 2024 22:14
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Dapper_Swindler posted:yeah. good gently caress him. Hopefully trump maitains a grudge and keeps ratfucking him so the Florida GOP decides loving over RON is good since RON chased all the money away in a failed bid. Nah, she's the last (wo)man standing. Even if she's losing staying in makes her the heir presumptive if Trump ends up in prison or has a stroke before the primary is over, and in that very unlikely but >0% chance she takes the primary would be the overwhelming favorite going into the general election.
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Jan 21, 2024 22:14
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Gripweed posted:If the Houthis are simply pirates with not real political motivation for their attacks, surely we could simply buy them off? We fired like 80 million dollars worth of missiles at them and that didn't work, maybe we could just give them 80 million dollars. That kinda money goes a long way in Yemen. Because the Houthis are wildly unpopular not only among their immediate neighbors but also among pretty much the entire Western world? Because part of the reason the Houthis need money is that they've been periodically targeted by international sanctions and asset freezes that the US has no intention of undermining? Because the international community extremely does not want to set the precedent that threatening the Suez is easy money? It doesn't take long to come up with a whole host of reasons why the US government might not want to send large amounts of money to an Iran-linked Islamist militia engaging in piracy and terrorism against unarmed civilian shipping on one of the most important trade routes in the world. Biden already took plenty of heat when he removed their official US terrorist designation and lifted some of the sanctions, and that doesn't exactly seem to be paying off! The US government doesn't spend a quarter trillion a year on the largest navy in the world because it's scared to get into fights with pirates.
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Jan 21, 2024 22:16
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It's also worth noting that paying money to pirates has consequences outside of incentives. Criminal groups can become local pseudo-military if you arm/pay them enough, which can lead to additional consequences down the line. In fact a large portion of US interference in the Middle East has been outfitting paramilitary organisations (usually fanatical anti communist ones) and then going to war with those very same factions decades later. It's not as simple as 'fight' or 'diplomacy'. Diplomacy requires either an incentive or a threat. I'm not saying the US is taking the best stance here. This 'gently caress around and find out' policy the US has been using for 50 years isn't really working out. But it's just... not simple.
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Jan 21, 2024 22:24
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Ron's only play is to try to knife Rick Scott now. The GOP hates Scott for how he raided the RNC but it'll all depend on if Trump wants it to happen. Way to be a forever piece of poo poo, Ron.
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Jan 21, 2024 22:59
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Laughing my goddamn balls off at Ron making the worst possible move at every step and dropping out after one (1) primary, in which he won precisely zero of ninety-nine counties.
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Jan 21, 2024 23:10
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gently caress off ron
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Jan 21, 2024 23:43
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Wow guys we're really going to have to go back to the drawing board. Let's start with the slogan: make America Florida.any ideas? "Maybe next time let's pick one that doesn't sound like the punchline to an SNL skit?"
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Jan 21, 2024 23:52
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Make America Lorida 
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Jan 21, 2024 23:57
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FizFashizzle posted:Ron's only play is to try to knife Rick Scott now. The GOP hates Scott for how he raided the RNC but it'll all depend on if Trump wants it to happen.
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Jan 22, 2024 00:07
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"I'm the next best thing to Trump so if you can't vote for him you may as well vote for me!" "But we CAN vote for him. His name is right there on the ballot." "...gently caress."
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Jan 22, 2024 00:08
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Scags McDouglas posted:Since we all know it's going to be Biden vs Trump redux, I was looking into presidential rematches and in the entire 20th century there were only two- 1900- McKinley, 1956- Eisenhower. Everyone in this thread seems pretty confident that Trump couldn't win a general election. Just wanted to remind people how well that confidence worked in 2016. I don't want to spend the evening of November 5 panicking and crying myself to sleep again because I wasn't prepared for the possibility. Not asking people to take it as a foregone conclusion that the guy would win, since it isn't, but it is possible.
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Jan 22, 2024 00:09
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We also have 2020, with the exact same matchup, and which may be a better model
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Jan 22, 2024 00:16
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Ron's Gone Wrong.
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Jan 22, 2024 00:20
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Lol at meatball Ron, what a low energy loser. Now just for the Mouse to wipe the floor with his rear end.haveblue posted:We also have 2020, with the exact same matchup, and which may be a better model I know there are a lot of reasons Trump shouldn't win but in a sane world he'd also be polling at like 0% and not basically even. We're really counting on you guys not loving this up (again).
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Jan 22, 2024 00:22
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haveblue posted:We also have 2020, with the exact same matchup, and which may be a better model In November of 2020, Biden had a positive net approval rating and had lead Trump in the head-to-head polling average for the entirety of the campaign. He's now got a negative net approval rating, people like him less than Trump, and he's been consistently polling behind all of the GOP candidates.
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Jan 22, 2024 00:22
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B B posted:In November of 2020, Biden had a positive net approval rating and had lead Trump in the head-to-head polling average for the entirety of the campaign. He's now got a negative net approval rating, people like him less than Trump, and he's been consistently polling behind all of the GOP candidates. Interesting, what did the November 2024 polls say? (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Jan 22, 2024 00:23
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It's ironic how CSPAM has better political discussion than D&D has (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Jan 22, 2024 00:25
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