From the New York Times newsletter this morning:
• Quotation of the day
“A country that can’t be trusted with a bone saw shouldn’t be trusted with nuclear weapons.”
— Representative Brad Sherman, Democrat of California and a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on whether Saudi Arabia should be allowed to make its own nuclear fuel.
Makes sense to me. But hey, I’m neither a billionaire nor a head of state. What do I know? To paraphrase a certain former US president: “Well, when a head of state does it, that means that it is not illegal.” That seems to be the thinking of our current president, particularly when the foreign head of state is a billionaire.
Brings to mind that old Broadway lyric, “We belong to a mutual admiration society.”
Only a complete ending of our dependence on fossil fuels would make a dent in the power and wealth of this nation—and that would require that alternate sources of energy could satisfy the world’s needs. So, no, it isn’t likely to happen.
I don’t begrudge the Saudis their money, but I do condemn Trump’s eagerness to defend the prince and his role in a heinous crime. If Saudi Arabia were a poor country, or the prince a poor man, Trump wouldn’t give them the time of day.
We are not dependent on Saudi oil. We can do without theirs, so that’s an option. The wealth of the lucky few is beyond imagination (and so is their arrogance)
It’s a sticky situation: we deal with China (extreme political and social and animal abuses), Japan (who bombed usand marched men to their deaths), Germany….we could go on forever. We make and made deals with devils.That’s the way international business and state business works.
I makes your skin crawl when thinking about it.
It happened in Turkey – Turkey must deal with the horror – it’s not on our soil or in our legal system. (Although it is horrible. Have to wonder though if he was not a journalist and one who worked with US media, would the outrage be so loud and long.) Please, Turkey, this “team of known assassins” were there for only a day trip – and with all that luggage on exit through customs without questioning? Seriously Turkey was surprised?
The guy was a fool to go there. He suspected yet went anyway. He knew who they were – should have met in open neutral ground with police escort.
Once again, do we accept diversity and respect the rights of other countries to deal with their citizens according to their customs? Do people he not realize things like that happen everyday in Saudi? If you visit you are warned because brutality without explanation or excuse or guilt is real there.
It is a horrible incident – and not getting resolved in any good fashion
It would have been better if Trump had said nothing…can someone sew his lips shut (and the media knows it) and put glue in his twitter keyboard?
Yes, we are very close to energy independence. A little more development of wind and solar power and it would be a done deal.
I’m just angry that Trump, once again, stands apart from the other leaders of the free world and refuses to censure the prince. He seems perfectly willing to defend and embrace anyone who is rich enough and powerful enough to earn his admiration, with no concern whatsoever for ethics or morals.
Oil is a world market. Wind and solar are at this point as destructive to the environment as beneficial – a start but much tweaking of those must be done (even the Audubon Society is warning that). Newer versions of equipment are better, but there must be strong clauses in installation contract to have the old machines/equipment taken down so as not to be left as blight and to mandate newer more efficient, and more environmentally friendly versions replace them ASAP. These windmills and solar farms are not without issues…especially to those living near – even grazing animals. So yes, it is better but we must not rest here with as it is.
He should have stayed silent.
It is their country and their culture, and their citizen. Respecting Diversity and their culture. We/other countries have no place telling others how to do things…those who live in glass houses should stay quiet. But each country(Turkey) has the right to investigate/ use their own laws to bring an accounting for something that happened within their borders.
Silence can speak volumes- although the press may not realize it – Trump certainly doesn’t.
Sadly with international business ruling the world, deals are made with devils constantly. We serfs just get dragged along
The rest of the world really isn’t free anymore…we are getting less and less so.
(But Insight is on Mars. A restart)
I’m not suggesting we tell other countries how to do things. But I don’t think it’s out of line for us to condemn cold blooded murder ordered by a foreign leader. Silence, after all, is acquiescence. If we don’t condemn it, it will be assumed we accept it. That’s not what America is about — although apparently it’s okay with Donald Trump.
As for energy self-sufficiency and the environment, I think our money is better spent improving wind and solar energy (yes, much improvent is still needed), not in trying to revive the coal industry.
You are right. People leaping towards electric, must understand how that electricity is created. Coal – and what that all means.
How about silence with shunning and turning backs to them?
The sad thing is that what happened in Turkey is what happens in Middle East/Saudi every day…so they do not understand what the fuss is about. Life, customs, and government is very different – there and in China, too.
It’s dangerous that we have so many naive people here who do not travel and see how things work – what is acceptable – in so many other places. We can say, “That’s now how we see it or how we think thing should be handled” but getting them to understand or change is probably impossible. People need to understand what we are dealing with in other countries. (Ukraine and Russia – now another powder keg getting ready to explode – more than one will be hurt there )
That’s one of Trump’s biggest problems — not understanding how things work outside his own little realm. Nor does he appoint advisors who know what’s going on, unless they agree with him. If they disagree, he doesn’t listen to them. Or worse, he fires them. We need real, experienced, worldly wise statesmen.
ditto to that
Not much going to happen but entertainment for the next 2 years.
I hope that’s the worst that happens …
Some unsettling world events out there (besides the caravans) like China/Google’s “Dragonfly”, Venezuela’s collapse (now there’s a humanitarian crisis – as well as S. Africa’s abuses). The world is positioned for a huge world wide cultural battle as well as an economic one. Maybe weather disasters can keep a lid on human idiocy
I don’t look much beyond our borders anymore. Things are so grim right here at home and don’t look much better elsewhere. I hate to be an ostrich with my head in the sand, but I sleep better if I don’t watch the news.
Actually it’s less grim elsewhere? HAHAHA
Tired of getting cross-eyed staring about here.
Where’s Gilda R., Lilly T. and Charlie Brown when we need them? (and boy do we need them…and that’s the true 🙂 )
And George Carlin. Don’t forget Carlin. My all-time favorite. (Well, maybe not. I love Colbert and Stewart too.)