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Old 02-15-2017, 07:41 AM   #1
Teach
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"The Scorpion and The Frog"

A scorpion asks a frog to carry it across a river. The frog hesitates, afraid of being stung, but the scorpion argues that if it did so, they would both perish. Considering this, the frog agrees to ferry the scorpion across the river. But midway across the river the scorpion does indeed sting the frog, dooming them both. As they’re sliding beneath the water, the frog asks the scorpion, “Why did you sting me? You promised you wouldn’t!” The scorpion replies, “Hey, I’m a scorpion. It’s part of my nature to sting you.” The moral of the story is obvious: What is fundamentally vicious (pause) will not change.

Well, I view Vladimir Putin, the current president of the Russian Federation, to be “the scorpion” (I’m not necessarily implying that the United States or President Trump is “the frog”). I believe that any leader or any country that is “hoodwinked” by Putin becomes “the frog”.

Here’s a man who’ll stop at nothing to get rid of his rivals, including murder. Under Putin’s leadership, Russia has annexed the Crimea, has fomented a crisis in Ukraine, and has acted in a manner that has been contrary to American efforts in the Syrian Civil War.

That is why: I can’t understand why the current Trump administration would seek accommodation with a regime that seeks only to sow the seeds of unrest. In my view, that is the Putin game-plan: To destroy the United States from within. I, furthermore, believe that Putin has his sights set directly on Eastern Europe.

Only recently, we learned that Gen. Michael Flynn (he recently resigned as NSA head) had conversations with the Russian ambassador to Washington, Sergey Kislyak. In fact, these conversations took place even before POTUS was sworn in. It has been documented that Flynn made several calls in one day to the Russian ambassador. Initially, we were told that Flynn was discussing “logistical matters”. Now, it would appear that the matter of U.S. sanctions (President Obama instituted these sanctions just before leaving office) were also discussed. Was Flynn free-lancing, or was he acting in accordance with instructions?

Further, there is now talk of congressional hearings and investigations to get to the bottom of this. To - as some are saying - “to put this behind us.”

Meanwhile, as a result of all of this, the Trump administration is being tested. The North Koreans successfully launched an intermediate range missile even as Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, and POTUS were meeting at POTUS’s Mar-a-Lago resort. More recently, the Russians have buzzed a U.S. destroyer in the Black Sea, have deployed a spy ship in international waters east of Delaware, and have violated an arms control treaty by launching an intermediate-range cruise missile.

Yes, the fable of “The scorpion and the frog,” when taken in the context of existing circumstances, is a most appropriate analogy. It’s a message that I hope the Trump administration will heed. To do otherwise could have unfortunate consequences.
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Old 02-15-2017, 08:37 AM   #2
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From 1968, the Scorpion story put to song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULx9k2QkL94
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Last edited by barahona44; 02-15-2017 at 08:39 AM.
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Old 02-15-2017, 08:50 AM   #3
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While Putin and the Russians are obviously a threat to the U.S. in some ways, they're not nearly as dangerous as the Chinese, or our own government for that matter. The crisis in the Ukraine was a helped along with plenty of support from the Obama administration - trying to install a U.S. friendly regime.

What you're seeing today from a U.S. foreign policy standpoint is a desperate attempt to maintain the status quo in terms of balance of power. It's a losing game, as the U.S. empire is in steep decline, and you can bet things will only get worse - much worse - in the future. The U.S. is no longer "bargaining" from a position of overwhelming power, and the rest of the countries in the world are going to be more than eager to kick us in the backside at the earliest opportunity.

While Putin can't be trusted, the U.S. government hardly has a stellar record in that department either. I find Putin to be much more predictable than say the Communist leaders of the 1980s - he'll do what's in Russia's best interest - "Russia First". Replacing the crime lords that took over when the cold war ended with a more efficient national government has made Putin wildly - and I mean wildly - popular with Russians. It's odd - as a person who was stationed at a SAC base in the 1980s - how my view of the Russians has completely reversed in the last 35 years. They are still a threat, but no longer the bad guys compared to our own Federal government.

Historically, eastern Europe was viewed as a buffer zone for Russian security, but I'm not sure that's still the case. The Flynn affair should be examined more from the viewpoint of internal U.S. government power plays, and less from the interaction with the Russians - who are already denying the media reports. North Korea is just noise - they're still a puppet of the Chinese.

The real action is, and will continue to be, in the Middle East. As the American Empire declines, expect the free-for-all for control of world's declining petroleum reserves to heat up. Some say "it's the economy, stupid", which translates to "it's about oil, stupid...."
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Old 02-15-2017, 10:39 AM   #4
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Let me guess. It's another episode of Teach's Twisted Tales of Trump, torturing some old story to prove that the sky is falling. Imagine the suffering of the students that had to sit through this kind of stuff every day.
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Old 02-15-2017, 11:15 AM   #5
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Clocker -

I like your alliteration.
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Old 02-15-2017, 11:15 AM   #6
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Clocker -

I like your alliteration.
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Old 02-15-2017, 11:15 AM   #7
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Clocker -

I like your alliteration.
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Old 02-15-2017, 11:15 AM   #8
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Clocker -

I like your alliteration.
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Old 02-15-2017, 11:20 AM   #9
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An Austrian army, awfully arrayed, Boldly by battery besieged Belgrade.

Alaric Alexander Watts
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Old 02-15-2017, 12:50 PM   #10
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An iteration of alliteration noted.

No matter what anyone thinks of Putin, to deal with Russia, a nation has to communicate with him. Fact.

Love him or hate him, he's their boss.
Love him or hate him, Trump is America's boss.
I suspect that someday Teach will tell us a story on how to catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, and somehow it will be twisted against whatever Trump is doing.
By the way, Congress Lady Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat, determined that the Syrians that Obama was arming were actually Al Qaeda and ISIS terrorists.
So who was doing the most damage in Russia, Putin or Obama?
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Old 02-15-2017, 01:38 PM   #11
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So another E-Sob fable. Teach you think the Russians tossed those cruise missiles together in less then 23 days... No they've been working on them since 2012 or so. What did Gumby do about it... other then be flexible. And seeing as Iran is Lil' Kim's sugar daddy. Bet Obama funded his brothers assination and the missile Kim fired with those Billions sent to Iran... and let's not forget the lifted sanctions so they could sell oil... more cash to fund terrorist whoopy.

As for the spy ships not a new development in the past 23 days... they have them... we have them.

Russia is a friendanemy... just as we are to them.... could we improve that standing... maybe... but it takes communicating between Leaders to make it happen.
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Old 02-15-2017, 03:05 PM   #12
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I have heard that before, are you a plagiarist Teach?
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Old 02-15-2017, 03:29 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Teach
A scorpion asks a frog to carry it across a river. The frog hesitates, afraid of being stung, but the scorpion argues that if it did so, they would both perish. Considering this, the frog agrees to ferry the scorpion across the river. But midway across the river the scorpion does indeed sting the frog, dooming them both. As they’re sliding beneath the water, the frog asks the scorpion, “Why did you sting me? You promised you wouldn’t!” The scorpion replies, “Hey, I’m a scorpion. It’s part of my nature to sting you.” The moral of the story is obvious: What is fundamentally vicious (pause) will not change.

Well, I view Vladimir Putin, the current president of the Russian Federation, to be “the scorpion” (I’m not necessarily implying that the United States or President Trump is “the frog”). I believe that any leader or any country that is “hoodwinked” by Putin becomes “the frog”.

Here’s a man who’ll stop at nothing to get rid of his rivals, including murder. Under Putin’s leadership, Russia has annexed the Crimea, has fomented a crisis in Ukraine, and has acted in a manner that has been contrary to American efforts in the Syrian Civil War.

That is why: I can’t understand why the current Trump administration would seek accommodation with a regime that seeks only to sow the seeds of unrest. In my view, that is the Putin game-plan: To destroy the United States from within. I, furthermore, believe that Putin has his sights set directly on Eastern Europe.

Only recently, we learned that Gen. Michael Flynn (he recently resigned as NSA head) had conversations with the Russian ambassador to Washington, Sergey Kislyak. In fact, these conversations took place even before POTUS was sworn in. It has been documented that Flynn made several calls in one day to the Russian ambassador. Initially, we were told that Flynn was discussing “logistical matters”. Now, it would appear that the matter of U.S. sanctions (President Obama instituted these sanctions just before leaving office) were also discussed. Was Flynn free-lancing, or was he acting in accordance with instructions?

Further, there is now talk of congressional hearings and investigations to get to the bottom of this. To - as some are saying - “to put this behind us.”

Meanwhile, as a result of all of this, the Trump administration is being tested. The North Koreans successfully launched an intermediate range missile even as Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, and POTUS were meeting at POTUS’s Mar-a-Lago resort. More recently, the Russians have buzzed a U.S. destroyer in the Black Sea, have deployed a spy ship in international waters east of Delaware, and have violated an arms control treaty by launching an intermediate-range cruise missile.

Yes, the fable of “The scorpion and the frog,” when taken in the context of existing circumstances, is a most appropriate analogy. It’s a message that I hope the Trump administration will heed. To do otherwise could have unfortunate consequences.
And your brand of foreign policy with Russia would be:

1. Appeasement?
2. Return to the Cold War?
3. Just push the button and get the Hot War over with?
4. Normalization of Relations?
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