tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post7071847657310373761..comments2024-03-29T06:35:11.321-04:00Comments on The Elephant Bar: Why has Trump Not Removed all Obama Holdovers?Deuce ☂http://www.blogger.com/profile/13472858446242700869noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-56537125245873471592017-11-15T09:43:54.580-05:002017-11-15T09:43:54.580-05:00Accuracy counts in polling.
In the advertising bu...Accuracy counts in polling.<br /><br />In the advertising business, not so much.<br /><br />In fact, in the advertising business B.S. often is better than accuracy.Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02337923317977922025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-18524048912848305982017-11-15T09:40:09.974-05:002017-11-15T09:40:09.974-05:00Rasmussen calls itself most accurate pollster of 2...<b>Rasmussen calls itself most accurate pollster of 2016 | TheHill<br />thehill.com/media/306721-rasmussen-calls-itself-most-accurate-pollster-of-2016<br /><br />Nov 18, 2016 - "The media created a false narrative about the 2016 presidential campaign, and most polling reinforced it," Rasmussen wrote on its website ...<br />Rasmussen Reports Calls It Right - Rasmussen Reports™<br />www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/...2016/rasmussen_reports_calls_it_right<br /><br />Dec 5, 2016 - 1) Our final poll was the closest among all pollsters who correctly ... about the 2016 presidential campaign, and most polling reinforced it.<br />Our Final 2016 Picks - Rasmussen Reports™<br />www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/political...j.../our_final_2016_picks<br /><br />Nov 19, 2016 - The most accurate poll that surveyed likely voters was the Investor's ... The second most accurate poll according to the report was the national Rasmussen ... many pollsters missing the mark in the 2016 presidential election.</b>Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02337923317977922025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-79728268521851547192017-11-15T09:14:29.094-05:002017-11-15T09:14:29.094-05:00.
Polls
Trump touts a poll that shows more than ....<br /><br /><b>Polls</b><br /><br /><a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-touts-a-poll-that-shows-more-than-half-the-country-disapproves-of-him/ar-BBEXuVd?ocid=spartanntp" rel="nofollow">Trump touts a poll that shows more than half the country disapproves of him</a> <br /><br /><i>Approval rating polls don’t all measure the same thing. Different polls survey different groups. Some poll all American adults. Others survey only registered voters. Some, like Rasmussen, survey only likely voters. Each of those surveys is instructive, but they measure different things.<br /><br /><b>Why? Because the demographics of those groups differ. Likelihood of voting correlates to age and income (if you own your own home, for example, you are more likely to be registered to vote and to know where to vote). Age and income correlate to a greater likelihood of being Republican. So by using a likely-voter pool, you’re using a voter pool that skews more Republican. That’s one big reason Rasmussen polls consistently show Trump doing better than do other polls.<br />Compare Rasmussen’s results to the RealClearPolitics average of all recent polls over time. Republicans like Trump more than non-Republicans, and so Rasmussen’s results are pretty consistently higher than the average.</b></i><br /><br />.Quirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00272168240606512672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-86678697282434021532017-11-15T09:03:35.897-05:002017-11-15T09:03:35.897-05:00.
As to Geller,
Islam in France: France Debates....<br /><br />As to Geller, <br /><br /><i>Islam in France: France Debates Dropping Minimum Legal Age for Sexual Consent to<br />13 </i><br /><br />says it all. She' offers up the perverse view that this clown having charges dropped against him is somehow Islam's fault instead of the a-hole's on the Assize Court who rendered that verdict. She has nothing to back up that claim but like Limbaugh in a previous comment by you she knows her audience and feeds them the garbage they crave.<br /><br />As to the Gellerettes (in this case you),<br /><br /><i>Po' ol' Judge Roy Moore may have just been born in the wrong place and wrong time.</i><br /><br />says it all.<br /><br />You've been making up excuses for this jack-hole since this story came up.<br /><br />.Quirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00272168240606512672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-37687586201059652312017-11-15T08:08:36.438-05:002017-11-15T08:08:36.438-05:00Fox News’s Shepherd Smith debunks his network’s fa...<b><i><br />Fox News’s Shepherd Smith debunks his network’s favorite Hillary Clinton ‘scandal,’ infuriates viewers</i></b><i><br /><br />Fox News anchor Shepherd Smith debunked what his own network has called the Hillary Clinton uranium “scandal,” infuriating Fox viewers, some of whom suggested that he ought go work for CNN or MSNBC.<br /><br />Smith’s critique, which called President Trump’s accusations against Clinton “inaccurate,” was triggered by renewed calls from Republicans on Capitol Hill for a special counsel to investigate Clinton<br /><br />...<br /><br />Trump called it “Watergate, modern-age.” Former White House adviser Sebastian Gorka, speaking on Fox News last month, said it was “equivalent to” the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg spying case of the 1950s, in which the couple was charged with providing U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, noting that “those people got the chair.”<br /><br />... <br /><br />Smith’s critique, which called President Trump’s accusations against Clinton “inaccurate,” was triggered by renewed calls from Republicans on Capitol Hill for a special counsel to investigate Clinton.<br /><br />Fox News, along with Trump and his allies, have been suggesting for months a link between donations to the Clinton Foundation and the approval of a deal by the State Department and the Obama administration allowing a Russian company to purchase a Canada-based mining group with operations in the United States.<br /><br />Trump called it “Watergate, modern-age.” Former White House adviser Sebastian Gorka, speaking on Fox News last month, said it was “equivalent to” the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg spying case of the 1950s, in which the couple was charged with providing U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, noting that “those people got the chair.”<br /><br />..<br /><br />... Smith, in his broadcast, made many of the same points as the fact-checkers. “Now, here’s the accusation,” he said.<br /><b><br />Nine people involved in the deal made donations to the Clinton Foundation totaling more than $140 million. In exchange, Secretary of State [Hillary] Clinton approved the sale to the Russians, a quid-pro-quo. The accusation first made by Peter Schweizer, the senior editor-at-large of the website Breitbart in his 2015 book Clinton Cash. The next year, candidate Donald Trump cited the accusation as an example of Clinton corruption.<br /></b><br /><br />He then played a video of Trump’s version of the “scandal” in which he claimed:<br /><b><br />Hillary Clinton’s State Department approved the transfer of 20 percent of America’s uranium holdings to Russia. Well, nine investors in the deal funneled $145 million to the Clinton Foundation.</b><br /><br />Smith called the statement <b>“inaccurate in a number of ways,” </b>noting that “the Clinton State Department had no power to veto or approve that transaction.” Rather, it must be approved by an interagency committee of the government consisting of nine department heads, including the Secretary of State.</i><br /><br />https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/11/15/fox-news-shepherd-smith-debunks-his-networks-hillary-clinton-scandal-story-infuriates-viewers/?utm_term=.28ced7cc2d8f<br /><br />Jack Hawkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00342056653466462640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-24322271992582372972017-11-15T07:58:49.079-05:002017-11-15T07:58:49.079-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Jack Hawkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00342056653466462640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-86104703978037282772017-11-15T07:44:04.577-05:002017-11-15T07:44:04.577-05:00
A coup de etat in Zimbabwe
Mugabe reportedly con...<br />A coup de etat in Zimbabwe<br /><br />Mugabe reportedly confined at his residence.<br /><br />Jack Hawkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00342056653466462640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-65075609153819670422017-11-15T06:58:38.339-05:002017-11-15T06:58:38.339-05:00Clip of the step-son of the latest Judge Moore acc...<b>Clip of the step-son of the latest Judge Moore accuser, Beverly Young Nelson, stating that he doesn't believe her</b><br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyWpDGIUvnw<br /><br />When were Yearbooks put out at Christmas time ?Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02337923317977922025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-91060928748921573002017-11-15T05:59:40.193-05:002017-11-15T05:59:40.193-05:00More lies from Robert "Draft Dodger" Pet...More lies from Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson.<br /><br />One wishes he would stop lying to US.<br /><br />Jack Hawkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00342056653466462640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-4032823903062525062017-11-15T05:37:07.261-05:002017-11-15T05:37:07.261-05:00Venezuela Goes Bust
Another lesson in the price o...<b>Venezuela Goes Bust</b><br /><br /><i>Another lesson in the price of lending to a socialist regime.</i><br /> <br />Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, Nov. 12. PHOTO: MIRAFLORES PALACE/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS<br />By The Editorial Board<br />Nov. 14, 2017 6:48 p.m. ET<br /><br /><i>Milton Friedman once joked that if you put the government in charge of the Sahara Desert in five years there would be a shortage of sand. He could have been talking about Venezuela and its oil wealth. But it is no joke.</i><br /><br />On Monday Caracas missed interest payments due on two government bonds and one bond issued by the state-owned oil monopoly known by its Spanish initials PdVSA. Venezuela owed creditors $280 million, which it couldn’t manage even after a 30-day grace period.<br /><br />Venezuela is broke, which takes some doing. For much of the second half of the 20th century, a gusher of oil exports made dollars abundant in Venezuela and the country imported the finest of everything. There were rough patches in the 1980s and 1990s, but by 2001 Venezuela was the richest country in South America.<br /><br />Then in 2005 the socialist Hugo Chávez declared that the central bank had “excessive reserves.” He mandated that the executive take the excess from the bank without compensation. Today the central bank has at best $1 billion in reserves.<br /><br />Falling oil prices are partly to blame, but the main problem is that chavismo has strangled entrepreneurship. Faced with expropriation, hyperinflation, price controls and rampant corruption, human and monetary capital has fled Venezuela.<br /><br />As of Tuesday evening, the Investment Swaps and Derivatives Association still had not declared Venezuela in default. That matters because this will trigger the insurance obligations inherent in the credit default swaps. But S&P Global Ratings declared the country in default Monday. On Tuesday morning the Luxembourg Stock Exchange issued a suspension notice for the bonds with missed payments.<br /><br />President Nicolás Maduro has formed a commission to restructure up to $150 billion of the debt and put Vice President Tareck El Aissami —who is under U.S. sanctions for drug trafficking—in charge.....<br /><br />https://www.wsj.com/articles/venezuela-goes-bust-1510703305Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02337923317977922025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-9551368318880221372017-11-15T05:31:36.436-05:002017-11-15T05:31:36.436-05:00Lock Hillary Up
Strassel: Fusion GPS 'Steele ...Lock Hillary Up<br /><br /><b>Strassel: Fusion GPS 'Steele Dossier' A Political Dirty Trick For The Ages</b><br />Posted By Tim Hains <br />On Date November 14, 2017<br /><br /><br /><i>'Wall Street Journal' columnist Kimberley Strassel makes the case to Fox News Channel's Tucker Carlson that the Steele dossier, which was funded by the DNC and Clinton campaign to smear President Trump, is one of history's most outrageous political tricks.</i> <br /><br />"We do a disservice when we even refer to it as a 'Dossier,'" she explained. "That gives it too much mystique. This is an oppo research document of lower quality than even oppo research documents."<br /><br />"All campaigns do this, but usually you dig up a driving under the influence conviction, or you didn't pay your taxes one year, you plant it in the press to make the candidate look bad. This is a document based on unnamed, anonymous Russian sources, apparently. They're never been proven, a lot of them have been disproven," Strassel continued. "But here's where they have been particularly clever: They didn't give it to the press, they sent it to the FBI and then they briefed the press, and then the press was able to claim that this was intelligence that the FBI possessed, which gave it some air of credibility."<br /><br />Host Tucker Carlson asks: "So, this bundle of opposition research changed American political history -- and not in the ways that it normally would. You're saying that this really is responsible for this chain reaction that has paralyzed Washington ever since?"<br /><br />"Look at what happened!" Strassel said. "The Democrats like to say this document wasn't even used during the election: Not true. We know that [Former MI-6 Russia desk leader] Christopher Steele, who put this document together has testified in court documents that he briefed the press in September [2016]. Yahoo News came out with a huge story saying the FBI was in possession of 'intelligence' showing potential collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government -- the headlines were dominated by this. And the question that we still have yet to know: We know the FBI relied on this in some regard but did this document actually inspire the FBI to end up wiretapping a political campaign? Which is no small deal, by the way."<br /><br />"The FBI has been playing hardball about letting House investigators see their file," Strassel explained. "Supposedly they've agreed to let them in, started to make some things available to House investigators, but all of this should be -- The thing that some people don't understand, is that when you're dealing with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA), it is not like you put in a request and they say no, it is a back and forth discussion."<br /><br />"Somewhere in the FBI is a big file that explains exactly what the FBI was putting forward to the court as justification to go ahead with the tapping of Carter Page or Paul Manafort."<br /><br />"The House is having more and more trouble with its enforcement authority [over the FBI], and... the Justice Department said sorry, we're not complying with your subpoena for a while. They now appear to be putting some things out, but from what I understand, not everything they need to be putting out," Strassel said. "Here's the funny thing: Every time they have an excuse for not giving it, they say it is because of special counsel Mueller. Well, if special counsel Mueller is doing this entirely because the FBI misused a dossier, all the more reason for House investigators to be looking into how this started."<br /><br />https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2017/11/14/strassel_fusion_gps_steele_dossier_a_political_dirty_trick_for_the_ages.htmlCharltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02337923317977922025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-37095990839255255382017-11-15T04:23:13.782-05:002017-11-15T04:23:13.782-05:00I'm for putting a Special Prosecutor on Hillar...I'm for putting a Special Prosecutor on Hillary's fat arse.<br /><br />I read somewhere she was behind the 'Rooskie Dossier' business.<br /><br />Clinton campaign, DNC paid for research that led to Russia dossier ...<br />https://www.washingtonpost.com/...russia-dossier/.../226fabf0-b8e4-11e7-a908-a347075...<br />Oct 24, 2017 - Clinton campaign, DNC paid for research that led to Russia dossier ... The Washington Post's Adam Entous looks at the role that Hillary Clinton's .... to force Fusion GPS to identify the Democrat or group behind Steele's work, ...<br />The infamous Trump/Russia dossier was funded in part by Hillary - Vox<br />https://www.vox.com/2017/10/24/16539676/trump-dossier-funded-hillary-clinton<br /><br />Oct 24, 2017 - The infamous Trump/Russia dossier was funded in part by Hillary ... to the question of just who paid for the research behind the dossier.<br />Clinton: There Is A Difference Between Paying For Trump Dossier And ...<br />https://www.realclearpolitics.com/.../clinton_there_is_a_difference_between_paying_f...<br />Nov 2, 2017 - Now, people say, 'Hillary, is there a difference between your team paying for ... dossier and Trump's ties to Russia. pic.twitter.com/dxJoAPTj8D.<br /><br />Russia probe: Are Trump Tower meeting and Trump dossier ...<br />https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/.../russia...dossier.../825346001/<br /><br />Nov 3, 2017 - WASHINGTON — Recent revelations that money from Hillary ... helped pay for a dossier alleging ties between Donald Trump and Russia have ...<br />Clinton, Trump and the Russia dossier: What you need to know | TheHill<br />thehill.com/.../357581-clinton-trump-and-the-russia-dossier-what-you-need-to-know<br /><br />Oct 28, 2017 - The revelation that Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic ... on the veracity and motivation behind the dossier's creation and suggested ...<br />Hillary Clinton Defends Funding Trump-Russia Dossier: 'Of Course' It's ...<br />https://www.thedailybeast.com/hillary-clinton-defends-funding-trump-russia-dossier-o...<br /><br />Nov 1, 2017 - The 2016 presidential candidate pushed back hard on the right-wing talking point that she's guilty of the 'real collusion' on 'The Daily Show.'<br />Clinton Campaign and Democratic Party Helped Pay for Russia Trump ...<br />https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/24/us/politics/clinton-dnc-russia-dossier.html<br /><br />Oct 24, 2017 - A lawyer for Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee funded ... and Democratic Party Helped Pay for Russia Trump Dossier.<br />Clinton campaign, DNC helped fund Trump dossier research, report ...<br />www.cnn.com/2017/10/24/politics/fusion-gps-clinton-campaign/index.html<br /><br />Oct 25, 2017 - The law firm for the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National ... dossier of allegations about the now-President and Russia.<br />Trump-Russia dossier 'funded by Hillary Clinton's presidential ...<br />www.independent.co.uk › News › World › Americas › US politics<br /><br />Oct 25, 2017 - Trump-Russia dossier 'funded by Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and .... Officials behind the now discredited "Dossier" plead the Fifth.Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02337923317977922025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-8212167456150951632017-11-15T04:10:18.795-05:002017-11-15T04:10:18.795-05:00Quirk, you may have missed this -
One Aussie'...Quirk, you may have missed this -<br /><br /><i>One Aussie's Point Of View</i><br /><br />One of the hazards of your speed reading habit is you only comprehend about 10% of what you have 'read'.<br /><br />We here have all observed you doing this again, and again.Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02337923317977922025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-22887850252886872122017-11-15T04:07:03.138-05:002017-11-15T04:07:03.138-05:00You are back, War Criminal, Dead Beat Dad, Jew hat...You are back, <b>War Criminal, Dead Beat Dad, Jew hater, and Professional Liar.</b><br /><br />Go suck a tail pipe.<br /><br />Most here would be pleased, or at least certainly relieved.<br /><br />At the very least, stay quietly in your mom's basement.Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02337923317977922025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-14355115719079920742017-11-15T04:03:35.412-05:002017-11-15T04:03:35.412-05:00Oops, that's the same article Sam posted.Oops, that's the same article Sam posted.Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02337923317977922025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-78695040946910884772017-11-15T04:02:38.845-05:002017-11-15T04:02:38.845-05:00China urged to stop using electroshock therapy to ...<b>China urged to stop using electroshock therapy to 'convert' gays....DRUDGE</b><br /><br />https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/11/14/have-you-considered-your-parents-happiness/conversion-therapy-against-lgbt-people<br /><br />Flying over the cuckoo's nest.Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02337923317977922025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-9441053664111293752017-11-15T03:51:54.057-05:002017-11-15T03:51:54.057-05:00When a whole spectrum of political opinion from Ch...When a whole spectrum of political opinion from Chuckie Schumer to John McCain to yours truly considers the Kurds worth helping maybe you should reconsider your knee jerk reactions.<br /><br />I worry your jerking knees might sometime jerk up into your jaw and knock you unconscious, conk konk.<br /><br />Always looking out for you....Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02337923317977922025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-37937524674962095452017-11-15T03:44:40.241-05:002017-11-15T03:44:40.241-05:00What's bullshit about that article ?
It's...What's bullshit about that article ?<br /><br />It's in the nature of a report on a case in France and on a social/political debate taking place in France because of it, and cases like it.Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02337923317977922025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-78087882198102924762017-11-15T03:40:16.320-05:002017-11-15T03:40:16.320-05:00Now, now, now....all I've really said is we ou...Now, now, now....all I've really said is we ought to help the Kurds, and perhaps send some pacification troops to Detroit.<br /><br />I have no idea how to handle N. Korea.<br /><br />The Aussie is making a reasoned argument, rather than an emotional one, in case you didn't notice.<br /><br />Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02337923317977922025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-85574217060089148492017-11-15T02:21:27.180-05:002017-11-15T02:21:27.180-05:00.
More bullshit from Geller and the Gellerettes.....<br /><br /><br />More bullshit from Geller and the Gellerettes.<br /><br /><br />.Quirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00272168240606512672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-67762013132027091212017-11-15T02:19:08.246-05:002017-11-15T02:19:08.246-05:00.
I love it, an Australian advising the US to att....<br /><br />I love it, an Australian advising the US to attack NK. This guy sounds a lot like Bob, always coming up with places around the world we can send our troops to be killed.<br /><br />.<br />Quirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00272168240606512672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-4794496764929040962017-11-15T02:12:09.499-05:002017-11-15T02:12:09.499-05:00.
Rush: Roy Moore was a Democrat when he was alle....<br /><br /><i>Rush: Roy Moore was a Democrat when he was allegedly chasing teenaged girls, you know</i><br /><br /><br />That tells you all you need to know about Rush. I doubt he's an idiot but he surely is a fool. Even he can't be stupid enough to believe what he implies, yet he says it anyway. He knows the dittoheads and other morons that listen to him are just stupid enough to believe it. It's the first law of the snake oil salesman, know you audience.<br /><br />.Quirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00272168240606512672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-84634882721573389482017-11-15T02:10:28.892-05:002017-11-15T02:10:28.892-05:00Po' ol' Judge Roy Moore may have just been...Po' ol' Judge Roy Moore may have just been born in the wrong place and wrong time.<br /><br /><b>Islam in France: France Debates Dropping Minimum Legal Age for Sexual Consent to<br />13</b> <br /><br />https://pamelageller.com/2017/11/france-sexual-consent-13.html/<br /><br />13 ?<br /><br />When the muzzies finally get their full way the age will be 9.Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02337923317977922025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-85502192498232234212017-11-15T00:43:59.459-05:002017-11-15T00:43:59.459-05:00South Korea has a right to argue its position in W...South Korea has a right to argue its position in Washington, and the Trump administration is obligated to give a proper hearing and mitigate risks to its ally wherever feasible. In the final analysis, however, there is no moral obligation on the part of a U.S. president to heed South Korea’s protests should the White House apprehend an unacceptable threat to the United States.<br /><br />North Korea’s regime<br /><br />The nature of the North Korean regime cannot be ignored. Taking preventive military options ‘off the table’ equals de facto acceptance of the state-orchestrated mass atrocities perpetrated by the regime against its own people, in perpetuity.<br /><br />As with the Soviet Union, tolerance of a regime that can inflict unacceptable harm with nuclear weapons may be a reality. It is not unethical to prioritize national survival over combating foreign human rights abuses. Nevertheless, it is unethical to knowingly allow that end state to arise. Once North Korea possesses several hundred nuclear-tipped ICBMs it will be impossible for the U.S. to intervene without committing national suicide. This circumstance is not just limited to internal atrocities within North Korea but also constrains America from protecting allies against large-scale conventional attack.<br /><br />The scale of North Korea’s human rights abuses was articulated by President Trump during his recent speech in Seoul. His remarks were drawn right out of the United Nations investigation into North Korea’s human rights abuses. This 2013 UN Report found that “systemic, widespread and gross human rights violations have been and are being committed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.”<br /><br />North Korean security forces are overseeing widespread discrimination, arbitrary detention, torture, execution and prison camps, abductions, and crimes against humanity. According to the UN Report these crimes include, but are not limited to:<br /><br />extermination, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions and other sexual violence, persecution on political, religious, racial and gender grounds, the forcible transfer of populations, the enforced disappearance of persons and the inhumane act of knowingly causing prolonged starvation.<br /><br />North Korea’s current leader is an exemplar of sadist depravity, including towards members of his own family. Kim Jong-un publicly purged then executed his uncle, before assassinating his half-brother with VX nerve agent at a busy international airport.<br /><br />As a staunch foreign policy realist, I view humanitarian intervention success stories as sketchy at best and therefore advocate the narrowest possible interpretation of the so-called ‘Responsibility to Protect’ doctrine. Nevertheless, it is not possible to argue that preventive war against North Korea is immoral without at the same time accepting that the regime’s human rights abuses do not justify conflict either. It is unquestionably the case that if the peninsula were forcibly united under Seoul, these state-orchestrated atrocities would immediately cease.<br /><br />On one level, war is always immoral. It involves industrialized murder perpetrated by an organized force against fellow human beings. Another Korean war would be horrendously violent, with American forces having to destroy a numerous and motivated enemy. However, the specific ethical arguments made against a military strike fail in critical respects. In sum, a U.S. military strike aimed at neutralizing the threat of a nuclear-tipped ICBM is ethically justified in addition to being strategically correct.<br /><br /><b>Crispin Rovere is a member of the Australian Labor Party and previous convenor of the ACT ALP International Affairs Policy Committee.</b><br /><br />https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2017/11/14/north_korea_the_ethics_of_a_us_military_strike_112628.htmlCharltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02337923317977922025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-61674774970893165762017-11-15T00:43:37.153-05:002017-11-15T00:43:37.153-05:00Overruling allies
Another argument made is that c...Overruling allies<br /><br />Another argument made is that conducting a military strike on North Korea without the permission of regional allies would be unethical, especially given the catastrophic impact another Korean war could have on nations like South Korea.<br /><br />South Korea is a major stakeholder, one that rejects a U.S. military strike on North Korea. Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans could perish in a new Korean war, and the burden of incorporating a collapsed North Korea into a unified peninsula falls primarily on Seoul.<br /><br />The question is whether these interests confer a moral veto against an American military strike.<br /><br />The answer is no. All military alliances confer two risks on each party – abandonment, and entrapment. Abandonment means that, despite pledges, an ally fails to fulfill their obligations for support in the event of a military attack. Entrapment means being dragged into a conflict contrary to one’s interests owing to the actions or circumstances of an ally. These risks always exist together, although emphasis is usually on the one at a given time.<br /><br />For decades it has been South Korea’s fear of abandonment that governed the alliance dynamic. This is why tens of thousands of U.S. troops were stationed along the DMZ despite no operational rationale underpinning their deployment. The purpose was to ensure that, should North Korea attack, U.S. soldiers would be among the first to die thereby acting as a ‘tripwire’ for America’s commitment to the fight. Meanwhile, America has consistently spent more on defense as a percentage of GDP compared to their frontline ally. In short, the costs of the alliance have been borne by the larger party – South Korea has reaped the benefits.<br /><br />The United States has selflessly underwritten South Korea’s independence without North Korea posing a direct threat to its own territory. While North Korea was unable to threaten vital American interests, it was reasonable for South Korea to have a decisive injunction against preventive military action given it was the only one at risk. <br /><br />This situation is now changed. With North Korea developing the ability to strike the U.S. with a nuclear weapon, one consequence is that South Korea is now at risk of alliance entrapment. After having sought and received assurances for its own security over decades, South Korea cannot now assert a veto over how the United States chooses to defend its own territory and populace. Entrapment was always a risk in the ROK-America alliance; a risk historically borne by the United States and in fact realized in the first Korean War.<br /><br />Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02337923317977922025noreply@blogger.com