BC TRUMP

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Zachary Fryer-Biggs
@ZachFB 5 years, 8 months ago 482 views

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So I was traveling with Mattis in 2017 when Trump made his infamous “fire and fury” comments amid escalation with North Korea over its nuclear program, and obviously talk of a preemptive strike. (Thread)

Mattis looked exhausted and was desperately avoiding engaging in discussion about what Trump had said. He kept insisting that he would “leave the rhetoric up to the President” but you could see that he was trying to hold back a hell of a lot of thoughts.

Staff told me at the time that he wasn’t getting a lot of sleep (he never really did anyway) but that despite his constant insistence that he kept other people up at night, he was having a difficult time sorting a way out of the situation.

Later that year, on another trip with Mattis this time to Asia, I asked him about what he thought of nuclear madman theory. It was my way of trying to get him to engage on what we were seeing from Trump, since he is a student of history, without making him utter Trump’s name.

For those unfamiliar, nuclear madman theory predates Nixon, but he’s closely associated with it as he was working with aids to suggest to the North Vietnamese that he might just be crazy enough to nuke them, and that they should therefore negotiate a settlement.

I wrote a piece (inaccessible but it’s behind the Jane’s paywall) about whether Trump might be messing about with similar theories shortly after he took office in 2017. Yes I know, assuming that level of thought about foreign policy from him looks really stupid in retrospect.

I can’t report on what Mattis said in our chat, but it clearly was something he had struggled with, as he was grappling with how to contain Trump’s bellicose talk and his seeming ignorance of decades of nuclear policy. I wrote a bit about that here https://t.co/OCmnXcBAJp

Mattis spoke publicly about his desire to make U.S. military policy more unpredictable to enemies, but he also emphasized America’s role as a reliable, steadying force on security issues. I’ve been thinking a lot about the worry I saw on Mattis’ face back then.

If anyone knew what Trump was capable of, it was him. And in a standoff that was escalating a man known for being steady in combat looked disturbed by what he knew.

More from Trump

$Remi_1111FR \U0001f438 \U0001f64c \U0001f54a$

Remi_1111FR 🐸 🙌 🕊...
@film_instant

17 / TRUMP / RED LINE / FRANCE / 21

THREAD

Trump owned France back in 2017 and never stopped since.

Q is using France as a mirror for the show.

USA Revolution 1776

[+13]

FRANCE Revolution 1989

ENJOY THE SHOW 2021 PATRIOTS

#OldestAllies 🇫🇷🇺🇸

Tom Nichols
@RadioFreeTom

Reading this piece from last summer by @normative, I realize that there is a parallel here between Qanon's "Storm" and the Cold War cults that sprang up at various times, but especially in the 70s and the 80s. Bear with me.

"The Storm" is a moment, like nuclear war, after which everything is different, even if there's bloodshed. It's purgative, restorative, resets all the social relationships, ends all traditional and normal social structures. It's shaking society like a huge Etch-A-Sketch.
/2

Why is this so attractive to so many broken people? Precisely because it *is* a reset. It's awful, but it's an awfulness that sets everything - including all social differences - back to zero. The high and mighty are smited, and the Common Folk live by their superior wits. /3

The Cold War pulp literature is what one scholar calls "Radioactive Rambos," men freed to be Warrior-Kings of the Wasteland, with all rules about sex and society out the window in the name of a greater good: America, Civilization, Killing

The sexual element of Cold War survival cultism was omnipresent. (Dr. Strangelove and "breeding prodigiously" in the mines, etc.)
But the other undertone is status. And how the low rise up and rule after the pinheads blow all that shit up.
/5

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David Bier
@David_J_Bier

Long thread: Because I couldn’t find anything comprehensive, I’m just going to post everything I’ve seen in the news/Twitter about Trump’s activities related to the Jan 6th insurrection. I think the timing & context of his actions/inactions will matter a lot for a senate trial.

12/12: The earlier DC protest over the electoral college vote during clearly inspired Jan 6th. On Dec 12th, he tweeted: “Wow! Thousands of people forming in Washington (D.C.) for Stop the Steal. Didn’t know about this, but I’ll be seeing them! #MAGA.”

Jumping in for @DCist/@wamu885 this evening. The scene rn coming up 17th Street from BLM Plaza. pic.twitter.com/Fn9aukjEPW
— Matt Blitz (@WhyBlitz) December 12, 2020

12/19: Trump announces the Jan. 6th event by tweeting, “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!” Immediately, insurrectionists begin to discuss the “Wild Protest.” Just 2 days later, this UK political analyst predicts the violence

On January 6, armed Trumpist militias will be rallying in DC, at Trump's orders. It's highly likely that they'll try to storm the Capitol after it certifies Joe Biden's win. I don't think this has sunk in yet.
— Arieh Kovler (@ariehkovler) December 21, 2020

12/26-27: Trump announces his participation on Twitter. On Dec. 29, the FBI sends out a nationwide bulletin warning legislatures about attacks https://t.co/Lgl4yk5aO1

1/1: Trump tweets the time of his protest. Then he retweets “The calvary is coming” on Jan. 6!” Sounds like a war? About this time, the FBI begins visiting right wing extremists to tell them not to go--does the FBI tell the president? https://t.co/3OxnB2AHdr

Aaron Rupar
@atrupar

The Thursday installment of Trump's #ImpeachmentTrial begins with a Baked Alaska clip

Rep. Diana DeGette is using quotes like this to try and establish that rioters were taking orders from Trump

"We were invited here! ... We were invited by the president of the United States"

Pasquale "Pat" Scopell...
@ThyConsigliori

24 January 20210 #MAGAanalysisisMini

"In the month leading up to the riot, Mr. Trump was devising his own plan: He and a Justice Department official plotted to oust the acting attorney general to try to advance baseless election claims, interviews showed...

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The BATTLE OF PAVAN KHIND (13 July 1660)

300 MARATHAS against 10000+ ADIL SHAHI TROOPS

A Sparta style last man stand at a mountain pass which ensured Shivaji Maharaj's safety.

Valour, loyalty and sacrifice!

Baji Prabhu Deshpande was one of the most able lieutenants of Shivaji. He sacrificed his life defending Shivaji in a heroic last stand known as the "Battle of Pavan Khind" in which his force was hugely outnumbered.(1)

In this battle he became a martyr, but managed to halt the enemy forces for several hours, which secured Shivaji’s safety and victory on another front. Without this heroic last stand Shivaji’s glorious career may have been cut short.(2)

Baji Prabhu was senior to Shivaji. In the beginning he opposed Shivaji being from a rival Maratha clan, but realised that Shivaji stood for national resurgence. Henceforth he became a friend and loyal supporter of Shivaji.(3)

In 1660, Shivaji was trapped in the fort of Panhala, under siege and vastly outnumbered by an Adilshahi army led by general Siddhi Jauhar.(4)

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Crowdfund the money to buy the audio rights + a voice actor

foone
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but I rebooted it and heard a KTHUNK and a really loud spin-up noise and holy shit, the hard drive works!

and it still has files on it. the newest date is January 1994.

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dan spaceman
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ugh i wanted to do a thread about the wars in Star Wars and how the two outlying wars (the clone wars in the prequels and the cold war/civil war in the sequels) are really weird but i don't feel like it any more.

my first argument is that the Clone Wars were a really complex morally gray moment in Star Wars canon in like, 5 different directions and I'd kind of like to know why Lucas did that.

especially with the direct line that's drawn in the OT with the allegory of WW2 and Vietnam with the rebels being the Vietnamese and the Empire being America. That...doesn't exist in the Clone Wars.

for starters: it's weird it's called the Clone Wars. I get why, because that's what Kenobi calls it in STAR WARS, but the clones are a small facet in the larger story of the war.

the clones basically only exist as a macguffin in AOTC that is...extremely confusing ultimately. Because if you accept that Sidious has this grand master plan to use this war to destabilize the Republic and form an Empire...it's way too complex.