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Thread: Diplomacy and Politics.....

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  1. #1

    Default Diplomacy and Politics.....

    Are they separate principles, or parts of a whole?

    I ask that because negotiations with Iran forced the question....along with the possibility of a Grexit.
    Last edited by GGT; 07-16-2015 at 03:16 AM.

  2. #2
    Considering that diplomacy is conducted by politicians...
    Last edited by Loki; 07-16-2015 at 04:00 AM.
    Hope is the denial of reality

  3. #3
    Exactly. So how can we decide if Diplomacy is being used for our national best interests instead of political party interests? After all, the latest nuclear demands on Iran are being called the worst decisions ever, in the history of all international agreements....

  4. #4
    How can we tell whether anything politicians do is for our national interest instead of party interests? And who determines what exactly the national interest is?
    Hope is the denial of reality

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Loki View Post
    ... And who determines what exactly the national interest is?
    Me. The national interest is prosperity.
    Faith is Hope (see Loki's sig for details)
    If hindsight is 20-20, why is it so often ignored?

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Loki View Post
    How can we tell whether anything politicians do is for our national interest instead of party interests? And who determines what exactly the national interest is?
    I was going to say 'the voters' decide, even though Party politics (and tons of campaign money) limits voters' choices .....and then Donald Trump became 'popular' to many Republicans.

  7. #7
    Prosperity for whom?
    Hope is the denial of reality

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Loki View Post
    Prosperity for whom?
    Everyone with enough money to influence the vote.
    Faith is Hope (see Loki's sig for details)
    If hindsight is 20-20, why is it so often ignored?

  9. #9
    http://www.politifact.com/florida/st...mps-2005-wedd/ About a decade after being popular to many Clintons.
    Hope is the denial of reality

  10. #10
    Trump not only donated to Clinton campaigns.....he supported a single-payer health care system!

    Has the US political landscape become SO confused that a guy like Trump can be considered Presidential material? His politics don't please the RNC, and his style is certainly NOT diplomatic.

    Maybe the polls are wrong, but are treated as legitimate "news" in the era of social media, and it becomes a vicious cycle?

  11. #11
    Trump is an attention whore. He is a joke and the faster he gets off the national stage the better.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Lewkowski View Post
    Trump is an attention whore. He is a joke and the faster he gets off the national stage the better.
    He's a Republican, and wants to run for the Presidency on the Republican ticket. How is that any worse than Sarah Palin being a hand-picked VP to John McCain's run for office?

  13. #13
    On another note, Obama is the first US President to visit the African continent in an official capacity post-apartheid. All things considered, that's a a bold statement for Diplomacy and Politics......

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by GGT View Post
    On another note, Obama is the first US President to visit the African continent in an official capacity post-apartheid. All things considered, that's a a bold statement for Diplomacy and Politics......
    Not really. And are you equating South Africa to all of Africa?

  15. #15
    Senior Member Flixy's Avatar
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    The first to visit the entire continent since apartheid? That's just plain wrong. Dubya visited Egypt, Senegal, Botswana, South Africa, Uganda, Nigeria, Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, Liberia. Clinton visited Ghana, Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa, Botswana, Senegal, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Egypt. And Bush senior visited Somalia post apartheid.
    Keep on keepin' the beat alive!

  16. #16
    Apartheid ended in 1994, so I don't think Bush Sr. could have visited Africa post-apartheid in an official capacity.
    Hope is the denial of reality

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Loki View Post
    Apartheid ended in 1994, so I don't think Bush Sr. could have visited Africa post-apartheid in an official capacity.
    That was when the first elections with universal suffrage were held. The end of apartheid was implemented in '91 however.
    Last night as I lay in bed, looking up at the stars, I thought, “Where the hell is my ceiling?"

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by LittleFuzzy View Post
    That was when the first elections with universal suffrage were held. The end of apartheid was implemented in '91 however.
    Non-whites still couldn't vote until 1993 and didn't vote until 1994.
    Hope is the denial of reality

  19. #19
    Senior Member Flixy's Avatar
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    I counted from 1991 because of wikifest saying the apartheid laws were abandoned then, mea culpa. He visited in his last winter as president.

    Either way, the other ones show that the claim is.. Actually somewhat bizarre, what would make you think that? Not to mention linking visits to the entire continent to racist laws in one country is a bit weird.
    Keep on keepin' the beat alive!

  20. #20
    Sorry GGT, not Africa, just those particular countries
    "One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."

  21. #21
    Correction noted Getting back to diplomacy + politics....any comments about the Trump effect? It's getting pretty nasty as Republican candidates vie for media attention, and a top-ten spot on the poll-driven debate stage.

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