Belgium

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madhatter
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Re: Belgium

Post by madhatter »

XtremeJibber2001 wrote:Pretty crazy. Just got back a few weeks ago. I remember stopping to help someone with directions outside the Maelbeek station. f*** em all.
watching your transition over the last 5-7 years has been uplifting...

On a long enough time line, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero...

might as well do what you can to stay ahead of the curve... :like :like
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junior
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Re: Belgium

Post by junior »

madhatter wrote:
XtremeJibber2001 wrote:Pretty crazy. Just got back a few weeks ago. I remember stopping to help someone with directions outside the Maelbeek station. f*** em all.
watching your transition over the last 5-7 years has been uplifting...

On a long enough time line, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero...

might as well do what you can to stay ahead of the curve... :like :like
:like :like :like
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brownman
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Re: Belgium

Post by brownman »

Sadly, today again illustrates how ill-prepared Belgium is against a decades-long proliferation of radical enclaves.
So happy that my remaining family and friends there, one of which works out of that airport, are safe and sound. :like
Ironically, much of my family connection in Bruxxelles has been involved for many years with the Up with People program. :cry:

Europe is a powder keg and the Donald is advocating defunding NATO. Yeah ... further erosion of coalitions ... that's the ticket. :?

Paix !
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madhatter
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Re: Belgium

Post by madhatter »

brownman wrote:Sadly, today again illustrates how ill-prepared Belgium is against a decades-long proliferation of radical enclaves.
So happy that my remaining family and friends there, one of which works out of that airport, are safe and sound. :like
Ironically, much of my family connection in Bruxxelles has been involved for many years with the Up with People program. :cry:

Europe is a powder keg and the Donald is advocating defunding NATO. Yeah ... further erosion of coalitions ... that's the ticket. :?

Paix !
that's not exactly what he said...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/pos ... gton-post/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

the gist of his gripe was that other countries don't put up the blood and treasure the way the US does... both figuratively and literally ....

in reality the actual NATO "expenses" are pretty much evenly split according to atleast one study, but if you read the wapo article you'll see he isn't exactly advocating for defunding it...
He questioned the United States’ continued involvement in NATO and, on the subject of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, said America’s allies are "not doing anything."

"Ukraine is a country that affects us far less than it affects other countries in NATO, and yet we’re doing all of the lifting," Trump said. "They’re not doing anything. And I say: 'Why is it that Germany’s not dealing with NATO on Ukraine? Why is it that other countries that are in the vicinity of Ukraine, why aren’t they dealing? Why are we always the one that’s leading, potentially the third world war with Russia.' "
Trump said that U.S. involvement in NATO may need to be significantly diminished in the coming years ,*breaking with nearly seven decades of consensus in Washington. "We certainly can’t afford to do this anymore," Trump said, adding later, "NATO is costing us a fortune, and yes, we’re protecting Europe with NATO, but we’re spending a lot of money."
later...
Trump sounded a similar note in discussing the U.S. presence in the Pacific. He questioned the value of massive military investments in Asia and wondered aloud whether the United States still was capable of being an effective peacekeeping force there.

“South Korea is very rich, great industrial country, and yet we’re not reimbursed fairly for what we do," Trump said. "We’re constantly sending our ships, sending our planes, doing our war games — we’re reimbursed a fraction of what this is all costing."

regardless of whether one likes trump or not, he's not entirely wrong in his assertions...

*that's about the closet thing I saw that could be construed as defunding....and he did say "may"...

at the end of the day we can probably all agree there needs to be a conversation and some new/modified definition of " alliance" agreed to...

I'm ok w that...
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brownman
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Re: Belgium

Post by brownman »

Thanks, I saw and heard what he said.
It's all very good theatre.
He throws little tantalizers to the wind every day to see what comes of it.

Heck, some people have advocated our withdrawal from the United Nations as well.
I'm no big fan of the UN or of NATO, but both do serve a useful purpose in a civilized world.

As fragile as the Euro Union is, our backing of NATO is quite important.
Fracturing a coalition doesn't much contribute to crushing the jihadists.

:Toast
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Re: Belgium

Post by freeski »

Obama said something to the effect that all races have to join together to defeat ISIS. What does race have to do with forming a coalition? The US wouldn't need a coalition to flatten and burn to the ground the area ISIS has in Iraq and Syria. We could destroy it in a couple of weeks. The problem is many civilians would die and Trump's right we should have other countries pay their fair share. If ISIS does carry out a large scale attack in the US I'd hope Obama would try to wipe them out with all the conventional weapons we have including ground troops. What would have happened if we had gone in right after the Paris attacks with NATO? Would the 34 killed and over 200 wounded be better off today? An attack on any NATO member is supposed to be an attack on the US, but Obama doesn't look at that way. :|
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madhatter
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Re: Belgium

Post by madhatter »

brownman wrote:Thanks, I saw and heard what he said.
It's all very good theatre.
He throws little tantalizers to the wind every day to see what comes of it.

Heck, some people have advocated our withdrawal from the United Nations as well.
I'm no big fan of the UN or of NATO, but both do serve a useful purpose in a civilized world.unfortunately neither do much w/o the US picking up the tab and supplying the muscle...THAT is what needs to change... if the EU et al needs NATO to survive then perhaps they need to take their own commitment to it a bit further and a bit more seriously as well...

As fragile as the Euro Union is, our backing of NATO is quite important.
Fracturing a coalition doesn't much contribute to crushing the jihadists. not sure that is trumps intention or goal here...

:Toast
sorry dude, 11th commandment stuff...
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XtremeJibber2001
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Re: Belgium

Post by XtremeJibber2001 »

freeski wrote:Obama said something to the effect that all races have to join together to defeat ISIS. What does race have to do with forming a coalition? The US wouldn't need a coalition to flatten and burn to the ground the area ISIS has in Iraq and Syria. We could destroy it in a couple of weeks. The problem is many civilians would die and Trump's right we should have other countries pay their fair share. If ISIS does carry out a large scale attack in the US I'd hope Obama would try to wipe them out with all the conventional weapons we have including ground troops. What would have happened if we had gone in right after the Paris attacks with NATO? Would the 34 killed and over 200 wounded be better off today? An attack on any NATO member is supposed to be an attack on the US, but Obama doesn't look at that way. :|
Something I struggle with is putting the full capital of the USA (military and financial) to fight an enemy responsible for killing less humans in their history than we see within our borders in 1-year as a result of violence. Why are we so willing to spend trillions to fight an enemy with little means to do us material harm, but so unwilling to spend that capital to fight our enemies within our own borders? I won't advocate for a hands off approach, but I think the USA capital being allocated to the fight should be commensurate with the risk and then reassessed and increased/decreased based on the going concern.

We have trouble approving funding the care for our first responders as a result of 9/11, but no issue talking about troop deployments costing millions as the result of ~34 people killed (that's an average month in Philadelphia).

Our priorities need to be reassessed.
madhatter
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Re: Belgium

Post by madhatter »

XtremeJibber2001 wrote:
freeski wrote:Obama said something to the effect that all races have to join together to defeat ISIS. What does race have to do with forming a coalition? The US wouldn't need a coalition to flatten and burn to the ground the area ISIS has in Iraq and Syria. We could destroy it in a couple of weeks. The problem is many civilians would die and Trump's right we should have other countries pay their fair share. If ISIS does carry out a large scale attack in the US I'd hope Obama would try to wipe them out with all the conventional weapons we have including ground troops. What would have happened if we had gone in right after the Paris attacks with NATO? Would the 34 killed and over 200 wounded be better off today? An attack on any NATO member is supposed to be an attack on the US, but Obama doesn't look at that way. :|
Something I struggle with is putting the full capital of the USA (military and financial) to fight an enemy responsible for killing less humans in their history than we see within our borders in 1-year as a result of violence. Why are we so willing to spend trillions to fight an enemy with little means to do us material harm, but so unwilling to spend that capital to fight our enemies within our own borders? I won't advocate for a hands off approach, but I think the USA capital being allocated to the fight should be commensurate with the risk and then reassessed and increased/decreased based on the going concern.

We have trouble approving funding the care for our first responders as a result of 9/11, but no issue talking about troop deployments costing millions as the result of ~34 people killed (that's an average month in Philadelphia). that sounds like a problem for philly, not the fed gov whose major function is and s/b national security...

Our priorities need to be reassessed.
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XtremeJibber2001
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Re: Belgium

Post by XtremeJibber2001 »

XtremeJibber2001 wrote:We have trouble approving funding the care for our first responders as a result of 9/11, but no issue talking about troop deployments costing millions as the result of ~34 people killed (that's an average month in Philadelphia).
madhatter wrote: that sounds like a problem for philly, not the fed gov whose major function is and s/b national security...
Maybe so, but the US FY budget outlays tell a different story on the Fed's major function.
madhatter
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Re: Belgium

Post by madhatter »

XtremeJibber2001 wrote:
XtremeJibber2001 wrote:We have trouble approving funding the care for our first responders as a result of 9/11, but no issue talking about troop deployments costing millions as the result of ~34 people killed (that's an average month in Philadelphia).
madhatter wrote: that sounds like a problem for philly, not the fed gov whose major function is and s/b national security...
Maybe so, but the US FY budget outlays tell a different story on the Fed's major function.
best way to reduce those outlays is to clearly define the role and scope of the federal govt and remain within those boundaries...of course both parties are reluctant to actually do that...far too much sand in the vaseline at this point to even think about cleaning it up though...sad, so sad...
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Atomic1
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Re: Belgium

Post by Atomic1 »

Winston Churchill once said, “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’re tried everything else.”

How long before we wake up as a Country and put the good of civilization before our own dreams. Whether it's liberal or Conservative ideology we desire it will all be moot as a civilization unless we address what is taking place around the world and take series action and stop making believe it can't happen here . Tough times call for tough actions and tough leaders which as of right now we have none .
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Re: Belgium

Post by Bubba »

These 5 Facts Explain Why Europe Is Ground Zero for Terrorism

http://time.com/4268579/brussels-attack ... tter-brief" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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madhatter
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Re: Belgium

Post by madhatter »

Bubba wrote:These 5 Facts Explain Why Europe Is Ground Zero for Terrorism

http://time.com/4268579/brussels-attack ... tter-brief" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
ooh ooh ooh we need that here.... :roll:
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madhatter
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Re: Belgium

Post by madhatter »

Islamic State Unveils Next Attack: "What Awaits You Will Be Tougher And More Bitter"

Image

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-2 ... ore-bitter" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Earlier today, Belgian prosecutors held a press conference at which officials detailed the latest developments in the search for the third suspect seen in CCTV footage shot just before two suicide bombers detonated suitcases in front of a Starbucks in Brussels airport on Tuesday.

The man police are frantically searching for is almost certainly bomb maker Najim Laachraoui, who has emerged as a key figure in the Belgium cell once commanded by Paris ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud. Laachraoui was identified on Friday after police captured Salah Abdeslam in Molenbeek following a firefight. Authorities are understandably concerned about the fact that an explosives expert is on the loose in Brussels where he presumably has contacts to still more members of the sleeper cell (which isn't so "sleepy" anymore).

The thinking now is that ISIS cells have been given a certain amount of autonomy from central command in Raqqa and Mosul because, well, because there's really no telling if there even is a central command at this juncture. One gets the impression that al-Hayat Media Center just kind of waits to see what happens and then if there's a "successful" attack (Allahu akbar), then the propaganda arm simply claims it after the fact.

That dynamic in many ways makes the group more unpredictable, as semi-autonomous cells do not need al-Baghdadi's approval before carrying out attacks.

With all of that in mind, we present the full statment from ISIS regarding the attacks on Brussels and a reading of the proclamation in French (the .mp3 is of course from al-Bayan, the caliphate's radio network).

As you'll see (and hear if you speak French) below, ISIS has now promised a larger attack on Belgium. In the context of what we said above, consider that in reality it's probably not a more spectacular attack that Belgians should fear, but rather a series of "small" attacks like what unfolded Tuesday, perpetrated by a collection of individuals who do not need to appeal to a central authority and thus are free to hit soft targets spontaneously.
Trump "Agrees 100%" With Cruz's Muslim Patrols; Wonders Why He Didn't Think Of It First

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-2 ... k-it-first" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

it was Ted Cruz who made the most controversial comments in the wake of the attacks on Brussels. Here’s what the Texas senator said:

“We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized.”
When asked what neighborhoods he meant, Cruz dug himself a rather large hole. “I'm talking about any area where there is a higher incidence of radical Islamic terrorism,” he said. CNN asked Cruz if he could give any examples of neighborhoods in America where radical Islamic terrorism is a problem. He dodged the question.

He also couldn’t say exactly how many followers of Islam need to be in an area before it’s classified as a “Muslim neighborhood.”

"We know what is happening with these isolated Muslim neighborhoods in Europe,” his campaign would later say, in an e-mail. “If we want to prevent it from happening here, it is going to require an empowered, visible law enforcement presence that will both identify problem spots and partner with non-radical Americans who want to protect their homes.”

Right, Ted.

In short, Cruz discovered what happens when someone who isn't Trump tries to go full-Trump. Whereas Trump's bombastic rhetoric emboldens raucous crowds of screaming fans and drives his poll numbers through the ceiling, Cruz was simply dismissed with a string of terse responses from political opponents and advocacy groups.

"[He's] a religious zealot," The Council on American-Islamic Relations said.

"Ted Cruz is a disgrace," the DNC said, flatly.

Later, CNN asked Donald Trump if he supported Cruz's proposed Muslim patrols. “I would support that 100 percent,” the frontrunner said. “Yes, I would. I think that’s a good idea," he added, noting that police are completely capable of cracking down if given the authority.

"We have to be a lot tougher,” Trump concluded. “Right now they’re looking at us as weak, soft, stupid people.” Which is ironic, because that's exactly how Trump looks at Cruz.

huge gap between what needs to be done and what is being/will be done...
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