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Jimmy Carter has died

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Re: Jimmy Carter has died

#701

Post by jounker »

gadders wrote: post #108
acdha wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What’s your reasoning there? The Soviet economy wasn’t especially dependent on the American presidency.

"In later years, however, former Soviet officials cited SDI as a factor in the eventual collapse of their country, for it showed that the Soviet Union was politically unprepared for and economically incapable of competing in a new arms race with the United States, especially one led by someone as unrelenting as Reagan." https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ronald-Reagan/Relations...

It had a lot more to do with changes that were already in progress. The soviet union hadn’t been able to care for its citizens for a while. Most tellingly, life expectancy had been declining. In the late 70s/early 80/ there were elements within the us government strongly arguing, based on this and other data, that the USSR would collapse within a decade, but the cold warriors laughed at them.

Re: Jimmy Carter has died

#703

Post by jounker »

gadders wrote: post #108
acdha wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What’s your reasoning there? The Soviet economy wasn’t especially dependent on the American presidency.

"In later years, however, former Soviet officials cited SDI as a factor in the eventual collapse of their country, for it showed that the Soviet Union was politically unprepared for and economically incapable of competing in a new arms race with the United States, especially one led by someone as unrelenting as Reagan." https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ronald-Reagan/Relations...

It had a lot more to do with changes that were already in progress. The soviet union hadn’t been able to care for its citizens for a while. Most tellingly, life expectancy had been declining. In the late 70s/early 80s there were elements within the us government strongly arguing, based on this and other data, that the USSR would collapse within a decade, but the cold warriors laughed at them.

Re: Jimmy Carter has died

#704

Post by bhouston »

edanm wrote: post #697
bhouston wrote: post #690

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But Israel does have a leader who believes in expanding and it is. Israeli settlements are growing and annexing land. Land is being annexed in Gaza via the General’s plan. More land has been captured in Syria. And it isn’t yet clear if Israel will fully withdraw from Lebanon. It doesn’t matter what size Israel is. It has a super equipped army unlike any other country in the region and its population is growing while…

Everything I wrote is true even if Israel does annex all of Gaza and the West Bank, which is the only territorial claims that some extremist Israelis make. Extremists who unfortunately wield far more influence than they should, given their lack of support among the populace. (And to be clear, I think the entire settlement project is terrible and corrosive to Israel, and should be stopped and rolled back at once.) The…

> I don't think Israel's leader believes in expanding, btw - he only wants one thing, his own political survival. Everything else is secondary.

Netanyahu is a hard case. Here is what Aluf Benn wrote in Haaretz recently:

"Netanyahu wants to be remembered as the one who created Greater Israel, not just as a political schemer accused of corruption who abandoned 100 hostages in Gaza. That's why he'll try to cement Israeli control in northern Gaza. That's why he won't rush to withdraw from the newly occupied territory in the Golan. Under certain circumstances, he might even expand it."

Source: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-12-11/ty-article/.p...

> First, it does matter what size Israel is. If you are claiming that Israel is expansionist, but it makes up literally a tiny blip on the map, then I think that's pretty relevant.

Israel has robust population growth. This is a long-term project. Similar to the settlements in the West Bank that stated 50 years ago and may finally get most of the West Bank annexed to Israel in the next four year.

> Secondly, I don't think the fact that its population is growing is relevant to this discussion? How does that matter? If you're saying that Israel is more succesfull than most of its neighbors, I agree, but not sure why you think it's relevant, or a mark against Israel?

I think I was judgement free. You are inferring that it is mark against Israel I am talking about geopolitical realities.

If Israel's population is growing while both Syria and Lebanon are stagnant or shrinking and they are also failed/fragile states, it will be easy to expand into them and sustain that expansion.

Re: Jimmy Carter has died

#705

Post by bdangubic »

data_maan wrote: post #612
bdangubic wrote: post #414

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it is extremely difficult to make this into an election issue - impossible to explain to “joe voter”

The fundamental issue is that Joe voter is dumb - but you can't tell him that, or he won't vote for you (as Hillary Clinton found out). The million-dollar question is: How to you make Joe voter be less dumb?

Joe Voter is not as dumb as you might think... otherwise just in recent history there would be different election results in 2018 and 2020...

Re: Jimmy Carter has died

#706

Post by aprilthird2021 »

mightyham wrote: post #323
insane_dreamer wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He was the first American president to broker a serious Middle East peace agreement between Israel and a Middle Eastern nation (Egypt) - the Camp David Accord.

What's ironic about this is that Egypt no longer poses a threat to Israel because of these peace agreements and reliance on American foreign aid. If this were not the case, Israel likely would not be a position such that they could pursue military attacks against Gaza and war in Lebanon.

Not exactly, they also overthrew the last (and only) democratically elected leader of the country to maintain this peace since the majority of the people don't want it

Re: Jimmy Carter has died

#707

Post by JadeNB »

master_crab wrote: post #223
JadeNB wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For these reasons, Jimmy Carter is my third-favorite president of the 20th century, behind my favorite, Calvin Coolidge, and my second-favorite, Dwight Eisenhower. Aside from Amity Shlaes, who seems to have worked backwards from her desired conclusion, I've never heard an argument put forward for Coolidge as among the great presidents. What do you particularly admire?

Not to put Coolidge on a pedestal but I’m not sure I understand the vitriol historians have towards the man. Most of the hate is pointed at claiming he “set the stage for the Depression” but that’s a pretty bold assertion. The Depression was a global affair, larger than one president’s actions, and most of his policies were fairly conventional for his day. He had left office over 6 months before the depression began…

I don't know enough about Coolidge to have my opinion be worth much here, and of course it's always fair to argue whether any win or loss during or after a president's term should be attributed to them, their predecessors, or (in the last case) their successors, but there's a lot of ground between "not really responsible for the Depression" and "the greatest president!" I would have been less surprised by the first claim, but it seemed like linguae was making the second.

Re: Jimmy Carter has died

#708

Post by bdangubic »

kortilla wrote: post #678
boroboro4 wrote: post #385

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not sure which immediate healthcare you’re talking about. Where I live in the US earliest available specialist I was seeking (nothing too special) was months away. We do have highest spending for healthcare among peers, having healthcare universal wouldn’t necessary mean long wait times.

>Where I live in the US earliest available specialist I was seeking (nothing too special) was months away. How far were you willing to travel? In my local smaller city a skin cancer specialist was also unavailable for several weeks but I was able to take a two hour trip to the Mayo Clinic and got in there 2 days later with a referral. In the UK it’s controlled at a a national level and you can’t travel two hours with…

How far were you willing to travel? In my local smaller city a skin cancer specialist was also unavailable for several weeks but I was able to take a two hour trip to the Mayo Clinic and got in there 2 days later with a referral. In the UK it’s controlled at a a national level and you can’t travel two hours with an overnight stay to fix it like you can in the US.

if we are talking about traveling 2 hours to get care UK people can hit the airplane and head on over to Serbia/Romania/... and get whatever care they want for 1/20th of the price (plus a little R&R time...)

I have yet to see a system where that’s true. A friend got pneumonia in Canada and had to wait 14 hours in the ER before being diagnosed and given antibiotics.

you are taking one example of one friend. I have both friends as well as family in Canada who basically say all the time that it is absolute BS what American's get fed via media what it is like to have universal healthcare in Canada.

This is similar to how everyone thinks that VA healthcare system is "broken" in the United States - same thing - have both friends and family who served in the Armed Forces that swear by VA and have never had a single issue getting care/medicine/...

The lobby for current health care system is stroooooong and is working hard to make you believe that a different system (where they are cut out completely) will just be very very bad for ya...

Re: Jimmy Carter has died

#709

Post by bdangubic »

kortilla wrote: post #679
bdangubic wrote: post #395

Earlier quoted context omitted.

while your experience might be tolerable that in no way reflects the realities for people at large. I have several close friends that are SWEs with high 6-figure salaries and “great” insurance that went through health scares that can tell you absolute horror stories (Dr. says this is gravery serious matter, you neee this test, call to schedule (in October) no availability till March in 100 mile radius - we live in th…

>while your experience might be tolerable that in no way reflects the realities for people at large. Not sure what you mean by “at large” but it certainly reflects the reality for the majority of people. That’s why it fails to garner political support to disrupt.

Not sure what you mean by “at large” but it certainly reflects the reality for the majority of people. That’s why it fails to garner political support to disrupt.

This is 100% not why it "fails to garner political support to disrupt." there are things in the US (e.g. universal background checks on gun purchases) that are supported by majority of the population that will never happen. the reason there is no political support is that political support in the USA is bought by the very people that benefit from the current system which is entirely broken to the core - through and through. people that are making money from the current broken system have made you believe all kinds of things - it is understandable as we are talking about very powerful people :)

Re: Jimmy Carter has died

#710

Post by aprilthird2021 »

settrans wrote: post #495
bhouston wrote: post #485

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is an ideology that is gaining popularity in Israel though. I am regurgitating what Israel's own Finance minister is saying. "In an interview for the documentary, In Israel: Ministers of Chaos, produced by European public service channel, Arte, [Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich claimed that Israel would expand “little by little” and eventually encompass all Palestinian territories as well as Jordan, Leb…

I have little desire to defend Smotrich (nor would Israelis, as his extremist party is currently polling at ~3% support), but even he wouldn't dare claim support for something as far-flung as the alleged "Greater Israel" ideology. On the contrary, after Smotrich was merely perceived to lend support for expansionism, having spoken at a conference behind a graphic reminiscent of the Irgun's emblem depicting the entire…

> at no point in history has initiated a war to expand its borders (or for any other purpose)

Israel started the Six Day War claiming that the closing of straits was a grounds for war, this justifying their first strike, but they have had Gaza under siege and blockade for years, and don't consider it a grounds for war when they do it to others. Just one small point

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