"War, huh, good God, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing!" - Trump Thread #157

[Spandauer]

It ain't nothing but a heart-breaker
(War) Friend only to The Undertaker
(Edwin Starr 1970, written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong)

Unless, of course, your name ends in Trump, when it ain't nothing but an opportunity to grift, deflect and destroy.

Previous thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5496818-beware-the-ides-of-march-trump-thread-156

Let them waste their money.

I am reminded of friends who used to deliver leaflets for a local double glazing outfit. They were told not to deliver to rented or council houses as it was a waste of a penny 😀(It was £10 to deliver 1,000 leaflets)

There are still a few beating the drums for him and his war but the more vocal ones are conspicuous by their absence,

That's AB, AB, AB. Perhaps mangopoop hasn't learnt beyond B in the alphabet?
I could help him out; America the crapulous, America the dumbo, America the end-of-times, America the fart-zone..
I do only mean Trump's America. I know lovely Americans and lovely places in the US. I'm just so sad and angry at what he's done, to the US and everywhere else.

I'm late to this thread. I'd totally missed the sad news about Country Joe McDonald.
I Feel like I'm fixing to die is such a totally brilliant anti war song. I stll get the chorus running through my head after all these years.

The title "Fixin' to die" is an old blues staple ..

"I don't mind dying, but I'd hate to see my children cry" or similar. Led Zeppelins "In My Time of Dying" is based on it

Sorry you have lost me. I was talking about the I feel like i'm fixing to die rag as performed by Country Joe and the Fish at Woodstock.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eRl6-bHlz-4

Are you talking about this or something different?

Check out Jessie Welles keeping the protest song culture alive . . . .

www.instagram.com/wellesmusic/

I don't have Instagram so I couldn't use the link.
But I've just had a look at Jessie Welles on YouTube and I'm really glad you pointed me in his direction. I 'd never heard of him. So thanks.

Starmer says no and this is the stance from the rest of NATO.

It’s still early in Washington, Trump rage rant incoming…

Scott Bessent, the American Treasury fella. What a fine chap he is:

"US 'fine' with some ships passing through Strait of Hormuz, Bessent says
The US treasury secretary has said there are no issues "for now" with letting some oil tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz to meet global demand.
However, Scott Bessent stopped short of giving an exact timeline of how long the war would last or when the strait would fully re-open.

Speaking to CNBC News, he said:

"We are seeing more and more of the fuel ships start to go
through. The Iranian ships have been getting out already, and we've let that happen to supply the rest of the world. We've seen Indian ships go out now... [and] we believe some Chinese ships have gone out.
"That should start ramping up before there are any of the
flotillas or protective armadas in the Gulf. So we think that
there will be a natural opening that the Iranians are letting
out. And for now, we're fine with that. We want the world to be well supplied."" (CNN Feed)

How kind of him to let other nations ships sail through other nations waters.

I appreciate Stamer likes playing the grown up,. But his refusal to change his views when the facts change does risk leading him into a corner.

"The UK will be working closely with it's allies, and may (not will) work with the US where appropriate for the UKs interests.

Now fuck off".

He also has nothing to send.

Trump saying Chyna HAS TO send ships to the Gulf, or he will cancel his visit to Chyna.

So he's using the old childhood threat; "If you don't play my way I'll take my visit ball and go straight home!!!!"

Good luck with that jerkwad. I can just hear Xi et all in the PRC laughing their heads off.

Certainly nothing to help the US fight a 2000s style war in 2026.

Anyway, just buy our oil in Euros, and let Iran wave us though.

I doubt if his Catholic conscience extends to the killing of 'brown non-Christian people' although he may have Catholic regret over innocent victims. His only worry and why he's keeping his head down is the 2028 election.

Hmmm, maybe the MAGA boat owners would be interested in "Operation Dynamo II". This time instead of rescuing stranded military personnel, they could 'rescue' oil and cargo ships by escorting them through the SoH. After all, they'll be able to 'show some guts' and prove that the SoH is 'open, safe, and free'.

Trump can award them special limited edition gold medals. Only $999.99 each. Cash only, Trump coin not accepted.

I have to wonder at the US military- did they just have to accept they had to go into war with no defined ‘success’ criteria, no clear method to work towards an acceptable outcome, no idea what the CinC expects or wants - or is this not uncommon and they make their own decisions on what to do/aim towards?

This passage from Tennysons' 'Charge of the Light Brigade' comes to mind:

“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
Someone had blundered.
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

And there you pretty much have it. Military personnel (and not just the US's) simply go where they are sent and do what they are told because that is what they are trained to do.

In the US they are told that they do not have to obey 'unlawful orders'. In the case of your CO telling you to shoot an innocent civilian who poses no danger it's pretty clear that that's an illegal order. But it's a pretty grey area when it comes to things like being sent to 'wage war'. The same grey area that's allowing Scrotus to do what he's doing.

It would take a mass mutiny or mass desertion of 100s of 1000s of personnel, high and low, to possibly change what's going on. Or the Joint Chiefs of Staff to start refusing his commands, but I don't see that happening either.

It was a perfect storm of voter apathy and the Electoral College system that got him elected the first time. It was those and the sudden switch from Joe to Kamala and the resulting fear in certain quarters that she (a woman) 'couldn't do the job'. A lot of voters didn't seem to grasp the fact that neither could Scrotus.

That's true but also a lot of the old white maga men would rather have a failing replica of themselves in office than a successful brown woman.

Ah, Cuba!

I really think his thinking behind Cuba is that pre-Castro it was a playground for wealthy Americans and the Mafia. Fancy hotels, nightlife, etc. His aim with Cuba is to 'make a deal' where he can recreate that. Under the 'Trump brand', of course. And if he can't make that deal, then he'll find a pretext for invasion.

The days of the 'Red Menace' of the '60s is dead and gone so he can't use that. Putey is his butt buddy so he isn't going to want to rile him up by suggesting Russia is a bigly threat, either. And Cuba doesn't have oil as far as I know.

How to say Fuck Right Off in a dozen different languages. It seems there is a common global tongue after all

I'm sure he can find a patron saint of human collateral to intercede for him if he looks down the back of the sofa hard enough.

Hard agree that he’s envisaging taking over Cuba and creating “Trump Resort Varadero” and Trump Tower Havana complete with some sort of offshore tax haven status so he’s only a short speedboat hop from MAL…

The latest press conference is basically 'help me' and gold painted ballrooms.