It will be fascinating to observe the outcome of the new Trump administration, and I genuinely hope it won’t bring us the kind of “interesting times” referenced in the old (supposedly) Chinese curse. While I anticipate a mix of both positive and negative developments, it’s essential to remember that there’s no objective way to compare this administration’s impact to the alternate reality in which Harris was elected. Opinions will naturally differ: one person might argue that Harris would have steered the world in a better direction, while another could assert that Trump’s approach was preferable. In the end, both viewpoints are subjective and speculative, with each side needing to acknowledge that neither can claim a definitive answer.
On Sun, 10 Nov 2024 at 01:25, Marcus Daniels <mar...@snoutfarm.com> wrote: > He validated and exacerbated feeling of frustration. That’s why he was > elected. > > His appeal is anti-intellectual, so it didn’t matter that Harris handily > beat him in the debate. > > > > *From: *Friam <friam-boun...@redfish.com> on behalf of Jochen Fromm < > j...@cas-group.net> > *Date: *Saturday, November 9, 2024 at 3:11 PM > *To: *The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group < > friam@redfish.com> > *Subject: *Re: [FRIAM] How democracies die > > What good things did Mr. Trump actually achieve for the US? I don't see > any. He mismanaged a pandemic and encouraged people to use bleach against > it. He withdrew from the Paris climate agreement, ignoring the most > important crisis we face globally. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict did not > become better by Trump's decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem. It > intensified the conflict. What success in the Middle East are you talking > about? > > > > He certainly achieved good things for himself and his core family. He > became richer, directly and indirectly. He spent a lot of time at his own > ressorts and golf clubs and made money from the federal government by this, > because his company billed the US government millions for it - including > overpriced bills for Secret Service agents who stayed at his properties > while protecting him. > > > > The irony is that the people who try to make a country great again always > destroy it. For a land of the free what could be worse than a demagogue who > takes away that freedom and destroys freedom of speech? We know an > authoritarian > system means the oppression of opponents. His vision of a Trumpistan is > such a system without "enemies within" and without freedom of speech. > > > > -J. > > > > > > -------- Original message -------- > > From: Pieter Steenekamp <piet...@randcontrols.co.za> > > Date: 11/9/24 5:07 PM (GMT+01:00) > > To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <friam@redfish.com> > > > Subject: Re: [FRIAM] How democracies die > > > > I think many of you dislike Trump so much that it’s hard to see he might > actually do some good for the US and the world. Let me share my thinking. > > I see Trump a bit like King Leopold II of Belgium. King Leopold did > horrible things in the Congo, but he did a lot of good for his own country. > Back then, people in Belgium didn’t know the terrible stuff happening in > Africa because news travelled differently. > > Now, don’t get me wrong—Trump’s a flawed person, and I think we can agree > on that. But, in his first term, he actually achieved some good things for > the US and globally. For example, his administration was successful in the > Middle East. If you’re interested in a deeper look, Lex Fridman’s interview > with Jared Kushner offers some insights ( > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co_MeKSnyAo). It's fair to say that > Biden’s administration didn’t build on Trump’s progress there - in fact > they messed up seriously. > > If we keep an open mind, it’s possible to see that Biden’s approach in > Ukraine will stretch out the war and cost US taxpayers more over many years > and the citizens of Ukraine will be the big losers. Given Trump’s previous > success in the Middle East, it’s not crazy to think he could find a faster > way to help end the war in Ukraine without a mess, like what happened with > Biden’s exit from Afghanistan. > > Sure, Trump’s not a saint. But he’s not looking to go down as a failure > either—he wants to be remembered as a winner. > > > > On Sat, 9 Nov 2024 at 16:43, Marcus Daniels <mar...@snoutfarm.com> wrote: > > Trump’s reads the room. If he feels his people would tolerate Russia > using chemical weapons at a massive scale in Ukraine, then he’d be fine > with that. Remember he was fine separating immigrant children from their > parents. This property may well cause some deals to be made because they > are afraid of the consequences. That’s not a skill in negotiation, that’s > just the kind of terror that an organized crime boss might elicit. > > > > The U.S. doesn’t have a boundless number of Tomahawk missiles to give > Ukraine, even if we authorized firing into Russia. They run a couple > million U.S. dollars each. We aren’t even keeping up with Russia’s > artillery manufacturing. Putin knows all this. For better or worse, > Biden doesn’t want a war. > > > > *From: *Friam <friam-boun...@redfish.com> on behalf of Pieter Steenekamp < > piet...@randcontrols.co.za> > *Date: *Friday, November 8, 2024 at 11:49 PM > *To: *The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group < > friam@redfish.com> > *Subject: *Re: [FRIAM] How democracies die > > Trump's the kind of guy you should take seriously, not literally. When he > says something big like, “I’ll end the war in Ukraine on day one,” he means > he's dead set on making peace happen there. Anyone with half a brain knows > he can’t actually snap his fingers and stop the war on his first day. > That’s up to Russia and Ukraine to figure out, after all. But does Trump > have a unique knack for pushing people toward a deal? Oh, you bet he does. > > In fact, William Spaniel, a professor over at the University of > Pittsburgh, mentioned in a podcast > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKH-QeRJBU8 that Putin seems to believe > Trump will lay down a deal that both sides can live with. (And yeah, > Spaniel seems to know his stuff.) > > So, here’s my hunch on what Trump might say to Ukraine and Russia, in my > own words: “Alright, fellas, here’s the deal. Ukraine, let’s be real—Russia > needs to keep a little slice of land to save face. It might sting, but if > you don’t settle, Russia’s going to drag this war out and make it miserable > for everyone. And Russia, let’s stop the drama now. You can keep a few > bits, but if you keep pushing, we’re going to load up Ukraine with so many > weapons it’ll make your head spin. Then, you’re gonna lose big time, and > Ukraine will take back everything. But hey, it’s up to you, sweethearts!” > > > > On Fri, 8 Nov 2024 at 07:04, steve smith <sasm...@swcp.com> wrote: > > > > Marcuswrote: > > Seems like a lot of people will try to leave Africa because of climate > change. I suppose they’ll end up in Europe, creating yet more folks like > Trump to rile people up about it. > > Until the AMOC turns over and plunges Northern Europe into the kind of > winter cold Maine-Nova Scotia currently "enjoy"? > > there was some B post-apocalypse movie starring a polar vortex which ended > with all of Canada/US lined up at the MX border asking to be let in to > avoid turning into popsicles... of course, the style of the movie had the > sweet long-suffering people in the land of Manana politely inviting all the > Karen's and Matt Gaetz's into their (now overwhelmed? country)... > > > > .- .-.. .-.. / ..-. --- --- - . .-. ... / .- .-. . / .-- .-. --- -. --. / > ... --- -- . / .- .-. . / ..- ... . ..-. ..- .-.. > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Fridays 9a-12p Friday St. Johns Cafe / Thursdays 9a-12p Zoom > https://bit.ly/virtualfriam > to (un)subscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ > archives: 5/2017 thru present > https://redfish.com/pipermail/friam_redfish.com/ > 1/2003 thru 6/2021 http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/ > > .- .-.. .-.. / ..-. --- --- - . .-. ... / .- .-. . / .-- .-. --- -. --. / > ... --- -- . / .- .-. . / ..- ... . ..-. ..- .-.. > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Fridays 9a-12p Friday St. Johns Cafe / Thursdays 9a-12p Zoom > https://bit.ly/virtualfriam > to (un)subscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ > archives: 5/2017 thru present > https://redfish.com/pipermail/friam_redfish.com/ > 1/2003 thru 6/2021 http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/ > > .- .-.. .-.. / ..-. --- --- - . .-. ... / .- .-. . / .-- .-. --- -. --. / > ... --- -- . / .- .-. . / ..- ... . ..-. ..- .-.. > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Fridays 9a-12p Friday St. Johns Cafe / Thursdays 9a-12p Zoom > https://bit.ly/virtualfriam > to (un)subscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ > archives: 5/2017 thru present > https://redfish.com/pipermail/friam_redfish.com/ > 1/2003 thru 6/2021 http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/ >
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