Man: I came here for a good argument.
Mr. Vibrating: No you didn't; no, you came here for an argument.
Man: An argument isn't just contradiction.
Mr. Vibrating: It can be.
Man: No it can't. An argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a proposition.
Mr. Vibrating: No it isn't.
Man: Yes it is! It's not just contradiction.
Mr. Vibrating: Look, if I argue with you, I must take up a contrary position.
Man: Yes, but that's not just saying 'No it isn't.'
Mr. Vibrating: Yes it is!
Man: No it isn't!
Man: Argument is an intellectual process. Contradiction is just the automatic gainsaying of any statement the other person makes.
(short pause)

Mr. Vibrating: No it isn't.

"Everything is air-droppable at least once."

"When the going gets tough, the tough call for close air support."

You can file it where-ever you like but that doesn't mean it's untrue.

There is a dispute in the USA over whether a sitting POTUS can be indicted for crimes committed prior to taking office. If those crimes only become known after they have assumed power I don't personally see how they could, in all conscience, be ignored. Even if they were that doesn't stop impeachment, which is a political act and not a legal one.

I quite agree that minor indiscretions, poor judgements or other inconsequential matters can be postponed until after the term has ended but anything major ought not to be, especially if the country's security is thought to be compromised.

For the avoidance of doubt any comments in response to a previous post are directed to its ideas and not at any, or all, posters personally.

You will have heard the report today from the US security people contradicting Trump on 3 counts.

1. ISIS in Syria is defeated. Err, no it's not. Withdrawal more a matter of saving money and isolationism.

2. North Korea - everything in the garden is rosy. Err, no it's not. This is all about legacy building.

3. Iran is a nuclear threat. Err, no it's not. It is light years away from nuclear capability. It isn't difficult to work out why the US really give Iran a daily kick-in. They are state sponsors of terrorism - but only Hezbollah... they in turn threaten Israel... and this upsets the US Christian right who ALL vote.

Q: is reporting this bias?

So do you agree with this committee all of the time or only when it agrees with your views?

1. Isn't it obvious that ISIS won't be allowed to succeed in Syria by now? Haven't Russia made that very clear to you?

The only concerns the US should have is in loyalty to the Kurds in the north.....Trump apparently has now recognised this....but this was a conflict that the UK parliament ceded to Russia....so frankly what we think about US troop movements is moot.

2. Who cares.....What Trump does with North Korea can't be any worse than the contempt they treated Obama with.....As did Russia and as did China.

3. Iran will do whatever it can get away with.....It poses a significant threat to the west in the sponsoring of terrorism and threatens Israel at every available opportunity....with Syria being a major one.

I wouldn't criticise the question, 'why should we give a damn about Israel?' And to an extent I would agree.....However Israel is the only real democracy and non Islamic country in the region but even more importantly than that the US heavily back it....So not strengthening Iran means they are less likely to pose a threat to Israel and thus a wider war.

The idea that Iran wouldn't wish to become a nuclear state as about as sensible as predictions I heard a few years back about North Korea being many years from the bomb.

If Gaddafi and Hussain had pursued the bomb they would probably still be in power now......These states known that the nuclear bomb is the gun in the room that keeps the rats away.

Edited by Stirlingsays (30 Jan 2019 1.08pm)

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)

I think I've dealt with some of the points you make in my response to Penge, but the point I highlight needs clarifying. Jordan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Bangladesh - all technically Muslim countries (albeit with significant "other" minorities) but who are valued trading partners and offer no threat whatever to western democratic life.

I get relatively free democracy, but why is it important to you that Israel is not Muslim?

I'm talking about the middle east and western interests centred around the Israeli conflict...not really east Asian countries mixed in with others....but you did give me Jordan which is middle eastern.

Jordan is 95% Islamic [Link]

Ever wondered why that percentage is so high? That nineties percentage is common in most middle eastern countries.

Anyway you mentioned one of the main problems....democracy. That does not do well within an Islamic state.

Along with many other problems high percentage Islamic countries have widespread and often systemic persecution of non Islamic religions...With Jews not being able to even fly over some countries.

You gave me several non middle eastern countries....

Malaysia isn't middle eastern but it is 61.3% Islamic (which wasn't the case in the past) and as expected where Islam is the majority other religions suffer persecution.
[Link]

From the link:

'Conversely, the state banishes and sanctions non-Muslim proselytism, but encourages conversions to Islam and remunerates them in order to facilitate the reduction of the non-Muslim population within the nation. Among the new rights provided to converts, if they have a descent, they have the right to convert their children by force to Islam, without having to consider the approval of his spouse'

I could go on and focus upon, Singapore Indonesia and Bangladesh but my point was centred upon the middle east.

As for your question...'why is it important to you that Israel is not Muslim?'.....it's an interesting one.

On some levels it isn't....on others it is.....If we went down that route it's a whole different discussion....Do you want to talk about that or Syria?

Edited by Stirlingsays (30 Jan 2019 2.01pm)

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)