Well, that’s one way to read this headline:
A lone battle: Why is Pedro Sánchez the only European leader to take on Trump?
So, there’s that.
Well, that’s one way to read this headline:
A lone battle: Why is Pedro Sánchez the only European leader to take on Trump?
So, there’s that.
“…a US president whose trademark negotiating style is an erratic mix of bullying, humiliation and self-aggrandisement“
And it works!
Agreed. I wonder if “Art of the deal” emphasises that it’s perfectly acceptable to take one step back as long as it’s preceded by two forward.
Yep. I was trying to explain this to a friend. She’s a teacher, so a bit thick. “Oh he’s a bully !” Yes but he’s winning and gets what he wants from a deal.
See all that Greenland fuss. Also lets the other side believe that they got a good deal too.
Although an avid advocate for the last 45 years of turning Iran to glass, I have to admit that I am not really sure what Trumps endgame is.
I’m not sure he needs one, because whatever eventually happens won’t be what might have been planned.
Trump’s not a neocon. He’s not a nation-builder. He’s lanced a boil. It’s now down to the body corporate to heal itself.
And he will have neutralised two troublesome client-states of China – Venezuela and Iran – which is pretty good going. That China hardly lifted a diplomatic finger to protect them is a lesson that won’t be lost on other anti-American state(let)s. Xi is humiliated.
Iran and the nuclear bomb is an odd one. Technically they could have built one in a matter of weeks at any many points over the years. They have all the bits they need and getting sufficient highly enriched uranium for a couple of bombs wouldn’t take long with a finishing cascade. It’s not the route to get the maximum number of bombs but you can get a couple quickly at the expense of less bombs and more time needed for others. Having lost most of their nuclear scientists is a blow but it’s not unreasonable to expect step by step instructions were produced that lower level scientists and technicians could follow.
The Iranian clerics have always maintained that they wouldn’t produce a bomb for religious reasons. This may even be true: religion is a funny thing full of odd beliefs. Unfortunately religious beliefs can change as simply as god whispering in the ear of the leader. A perfect example of this is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) which being built on the concept of “continuous revelation,” which allows for significant shifts in doctrine and policy over time.
Best to lance the boil in Iran. Also keep nuclear materials away from the Mormons for good measure.
“Religious reasons” means Your God Says No, and he’s the boss. If they wouldn’t produce a bomb for religious reasons, why spend the time and resources to get to the point of making one? These fuckers are full of shit.
The whole point is that they knew they needed them and threaten they could. But without actually putting one together it becomes an anti-deterrent.
I really don’t understand Islam, but I thought Iran was Shi’ite (no sniggering at the back, there), and that they are more likely to accept changes, because the successors of M’hamid can have new revelations. But I could well have got that arse about tit.
Shi’a has religious leaders (Ayatollahs) who can pronounce new doctrine, but Sunni is more like primitive Methodists, where every local preacher is his own boss – most of them pretty ‘fundamentalist’, because that’s what their congregations want.
Islam is pretty unreformable, because all adherents must believe that the Koran is the literal word of God as dictated to Mohammed by the angel Gabriel, and arguing otherwise is very bad for your health.
Christians believe in continuous revelation:
In John 14:26, Jesus said, “…the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and will bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
Ah yes, but surely the point of the Ayatollahs and their like minded contemporaries like the Taliban is that they are fundamentalists.
As far as they are concerned, the QuRan is the Instruction Manual and the Hadith are the explanatory appendices.
It is much like the sects around the Reformation, who tried to conform to the Gospels Acts and Letters in much the same way. *
Although I doubt very much that there is instruction in any scripture that states “Nuke not thy neighbour, not thy brethren nor the beasts in the field, lest the fury of the Lord be upon thee.”
Iranian scientists probably had enough for a low yield or dirty device, but they needed sufficient good quality weapons to take out Israel and act as a deterrent to its neighbours and the USA .
*Unlike Jews, Islam and Christianity do not have prophets, who channel the divine word to the people, but rather scholars who interpret Holy writings, which become part of this continuous revelation.
TTK’s “Let me be absolutely clear about this” shtick is about as much use to Trump as a chocolate teapot.
At least the Spanish nutter has the balls to actually say what he believes in.
Do nutters need balls to say what they believe in? After all, they are nutters…
He’s more popular than Kit-E-Kat, then.
Because he probably either works for ISIS or some Shia equivalent directly or depends for the survival of his government on numerous people who do or ‘useful idiots’ who are marinaded in ‘anti-colonalist’ brainwashing and who believe ‘Islamophobia’ is real.
Does that answer your question?
Nearly.
Spanner and Sanchez are Chinese assets, which is why they oppose their masters’ supply of oil being cut off.
Spanner has the added problem of being in the thrall of Asian Muslims who will abandon the Labour Party if he does not behave.
Sanchez seems to have African Muslims as his headache.
The latter. This mess: https://www.senado.es/web/composicionorganizacion/gruposparlamentarios/PartidosPoliticos/index.html?lang=en
Looks like a political Tower of Babel!
Sanchez remains in power thanks the support of some of the smaller parties. In exchange for him catering to their demands. The dog is being vigorously wagged by its tail.
Because Pedro is stupid. A Wansee Economic Forum stooge.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/03/spanish-politician-sets-internet-fire-this-epic-message/