Obama=Colangelo converstaion from Leiweke hijacking

[e_wheazhy_]

Basically a Puppet.

This Franchise needs a bigger name than Tim Lieweke,who don't take s@!t from MLSE and it's not Canadian,preferred American,bc toronto doesn't need a CEO that is in love with the teams,they need someone who is o pinioned and will bring a winner,but it's pretty hard when u have 2 clowns share holders like Rogers and Bell..when they have One Owner,that's when they become relevant franchise and corporation,as of now they are running this franchise like a video game,always get killed and start over.

Well Barack Obama's 2nd term as president is over soon. Being from Chicago I don't think he'd mind the weather too much

[grindhouse]

Obama is to politics what Colangelo was to the Raptors.

All talk with destructive action.

decades from now when everyone gets over the fact he is black. he will be know as one of the greatest pres the US has ever had.
he has done too much right and people still, nit pic

[grindhouse]

Bin laden
Universal health care
Stabilized the economy



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mike, prague]

Totally off topic but what has he done right?

He has made financial system only more dangerous.
Inequality continues to grow.
He has blown dangerous oxygen in to the racial issues of the US with comments.
His foreign policy has been a disaster.
He has destroyed civil liberties via NSA.
His administration is known as least open and transparent of all time.
ObamaCare is great for anyone sick but for most it has significantly raised costs of health insurance.
He has created standing armies among police forces and federal agencies.


That is just me getting started.

He is a total and utter failure on every level imaginable with the very exception that finally a minority was elected as president.

But but but .... he won a Nobel Peace Prize!!! ... In just his first year!!! Isn't that a clear symbol of how great a president he truly is? What more could you ask for?

He's just a frickin puppet for the American associations ... the world is so corrupt. So so so so corrupt.

[Bendit]

Totally off topic but what has he done right?

He has made financial system only more dangerous.
Inequality continues to grow.
He has blown dangerous oxygen in to the racial issues of the US with comments.
His foreign policy has been a disaster.
He has destroyed civil liberties via NSA.
His administration is known as least open and transparent of all time.
ObamaCare is great for anyone sick but for most it has significantly raised costs of health insurance.
He has created standing armies among police forces and federal agencies.


That is just me getting started.

He is a total and utter failure on every level imaginable with the very exception that finally a minority was elected as president.

Afraid the fissures in political discourse in the US had already started a long time before Obama was elected (lets just say getting nasty in the Clinton era). What you may also be discounting is the system of govt. there is starting to get untenable with the 3 branches. The powers of the presidency are really not as supreme as some think they are. He actually has more sway over foreign policy than on the domestic side and of course financial/taxation matters. And speaking of his "minority status", there have been and continue to be a significant column of racial and birther opposition to his presidency which adds to the handcuffing/getting a quorum of understanding on moving legislation forward....case in point Obamacare/ACA. That was a bastard result to the objective of universal health care. I am afraid I dont know the facts here but am unsure that the average working person has been financially indisposed to the new health system. The upper end/well to do certainly are I would think. On foreign policy: what is so bad about moving back from a policy of using the proverbial American stick at every opportunity rather than opting for more reasoned and diplomatic approach. Did the other way provide much solace?

Obama's largest fault (imo) is he may have been too naive. At the core I believe he is a good person who tries to appeal to the fairness, good judgement and the un-faux patriotism in his countrymen...and keeps getting snookered along the way. Granted, running the USA is definitely not an easy job but he was presented with some pretty serious issues (foreign and domestic incl. one doozy of a recession) day 1 on the job. That may come across as an excuse but it is true.

[rocwell]

YOu've got 1 out of 3.

He was in charge when they finally tracked down Bin Laden.


Universal health care? Couldn't be the furthest thing from it. Rates have gone up for the over whelming majority. Only people benefiting are health insurance and health providers. Healthcare is exempt from Sherman Antitrust Act. Obama is just lining pockets of his donors.


Stabilized economy? If you call a participation rate in workforce equal to that of the late 1970's progress, sure, ok. Then there is the issue of what Obama care has done to the average work week and employment opportunities for people seeking full time work. Then you have the TooBigToFail banks bigger today than they ever were. I'll stop here. Nothing is fixed just kicked a little farther down the road.



Sorry Jclaw

You'd be perfect fit for U.S. Congress role, Matt.

[Bendit]

Not using a stick? No they just fund weapons to rebels in areas of conflict hoping to put in place a government that responds to their every whim. Unfortunately ISIS is just one glaring example of what happens when the 'rebels' get the weapons. Obama funded the ISIS through Syria.


US foreign policy has been to dominate and control foreign nations to serve US interests - usually energy related. When governments don't follow suit, they are undermined and overthrown. Unfortunately we see what ends up happening with civil war today in Libya, Syria, Iraq, and Ukraine. Libya and Iraq are all about oil and Ukraine and Syria is all about pipelines - nothing more.

Could you elaborate on the bold? Obama recently got slammed by Hillary Clinton and for awhile now by McCain for not helping the opposition in Syria (to Assad). He was being very careful precisely because he did not want a group like ISIS to get hold of sophisticated weaponry. Damned if you do and dont it would seem. btw, ISIS got most of their arms from the Iraqi army when they ran off on initial contact (by guys in Toyotas). And of course there are some other rich funders in the region that no one is doing anything about (probably the Saudis and others).

I fully agree re the second para content. This economic/military industrial cabal which really runs the US is just to big for any one president. It has to be a succession of along with Congress...but the campaign finance and lobbying laws wont allow it.

Well at least Obama plays a good game of bball.

[mcHAPPY]

Obama=Colangelo converstaion from Leiweke hijacking

Well Barack Obama's 2nd term as president is over soon. Being from Chicago I don't think he'd mind the weather too much

Obama is to politics what Colangelo was to the Raptors.

All talk with destructive action.

decades from now when everyone gets over the fact he is black. he will be know as one of the greatest pres the US has ever had.
he has done too much right and people still, nit pic

Totally off topic but what has he done right?

He has made financial system only more dangerous.
Inequality continues to grow.
He has blown dangerous oxygen in to the racial issues of the US with comments.
His foreign policy has been a disaster.
He has destroyed civil liberties via NSA.
His administration is known as least open and transparent of all time.
ObamaCare is great for anyone sick but for most it has significantly raised costs of health insurance.
He has created standing armies among police forces and federal agencies.


That is just me getting started.

He is a total and utter failure on every level imaginable with the very exception that finally a minority was elected as president.

Bin laden
Universal health care
Stabilized the economy



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

YOu've got 1 out of 3.

He was in charge when they finally tracked down Bin Laden.


Universal health care? Couldn't be the furthest thing from it. Rates have gone up for the over whelming majority. Only people benefiting are health insurance and health providers. Healthcare is exempt from Sherman Antitrust Act. Obama is just lining pockets of his donors.


Stabilized economy? If you call a participation rate in workforce equal to that of the late 1970's progress, sure, ok. Then there is the issue of what Obama care has done to the average work week and employment opportunities for people seeking full time work. Then you have the TooBigToFail banks bigger today than they ever were. I'll stop here. Nothing is fixed just kicked a little farther down the road.



Sorry Jclaw

Afraid the fissures in political discourse in the US had already started a long time before Obama was elected (lets just say getting nasty in the Clinton era). What you may also be discounting is the system of govt. there is starting to get untenable with the 3 branches. The powers of the presidency are really not as supreme as some think they are. He actually has more sway over foreign policy than on the domestic side and of course financial/taxation matters. And speaking of his "minority status", there have been and continue to be a significant column of racial and birther opposition to his presidency which adds to the handcuffing/getting a quorum of understanding on moving legislation forward....case in point Obamacare/ACA. That was a bastard result to the objective of universal health care. I am afraid I dont know the facts here but am unsure that the average working person has been financially indisposed to the new health system. The upper end/well to do certainly are I would think. On foreign policy: what is so bad about moving back from a policy of using the proverbial American stick at every opportunity rather than opting for more reasoned and diplomatic approach. Did the other way provide much solace?

Obama's largest fault (imo) is he may have been too naive. At the core I believe he is a good person who tries to appeal to the fairness, good judgement and the un-faux patriotism in his countrymen...and keeps getting snookered along the way. Granted, running the USA is definitely not an easy job but he was presented with some pretty serious issues (foreign and domestic incl. one doozy of a recession) day 1 on the job. That may come across as an excuse but it is true.

Based on a Manhattan Institute analysis of the HHS numbers, Obamacare will increase underlying insurance rates for younger men by an average of 97 to 99 percent, and for younger women by an average of 55 to 62 percent. Worst off is North Carolina, which will see individual-market rates triple for women, and quadruple for men.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapoth...-62-for-women/

Not using a stick? No they just fund weapons to rebels in areas of conflict hoping to put in place a government that responds to their every whim. Unfortunately ISIS is just one glaring example of what happens when the 'rebels' get the weapons. Obama funded the ISIS through Syria.


US foreign policy has been to dominate and control foreign nations to serve US interests - usually energy related. When governments don't follow suit, they are undermined and overthrown. Unfortunately we see what ends up happening with civil war today in Libya, Syria, Iraq, and Ukraine. Libya and Iraq are all about oil and Ukraine and Syria is all about pipelines - nothing more.

You'd be perfect fit for U.S. Congress role, Matt.

I don't think so. ANd this is not democrat versus republican. Those stupid arguments are brought up to deflect from the real issues. Just like Ferguson is boiled down to a race issue, bullshit. Ferguson is about corruption, abuse of power, and civil liberties regardless of skin colour.

But I am angry about the state of the world today and fearful for the future of my children.

It is going to take a few years for the masses to catch on but the world is a very dangerous and corrupt place today. Democracy is under attack and civil liberties are at risk.

I'm sorry if I sound like I'm typing with a tinfoil hat on my head but that is how I feel.

Now back to basketball......

That Obama/BC analogy strikes a nerve with me because I supported both very much at one point. We all wake up, just our clocks are set to different times.

Could you elaborate on the bold? Obama recently got slammed by Hillary Clinton and for awhile now by McCain for not helping the opposition in Syria (to Assad). He was being very careful precisely because he did not want a group like ISIS to get hold of sophisticated weaponry. Damned if you do and dont it would seem. btw, ISIS got most of their arms from the Iraqi army when they ran off on initial contact (by guys in Toyotas). And of course there are some other rich funders in the region that no one is doing anything about (probably the Saudis and others).

I fully agree re the second para content. This economic/military industrial cabal which really runs the US is just to big for any one president. It has to be a succession of along with Congress...but the campaign finance and lobbying laws wont allow it.

Well at least Obama plays a good game of bball.

Hilary is slamming Obama because the tide is turning on him. She is distancing herself from him. In reality she is as corrupt and despicable as him. What was Libya about? The US were running arms to rebels there as well.

http://www.businessinsider.com/russi...in-mali-2013-1

As for ISIS, they were funded through Syrian rebels.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...9290FI20130310
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/22/wo...nted=all&_r=1&
http://washingtonexaminer.com/obama-...rticle/2535885


This is the US foreign policy I speak of: fund rebels to overthrow governments only to watch countries crumble in to chaos. When it comes to foreign policy it is not just Obama. Every president has done this since..... well, the last nearly 70 years. Why I have particular disdain is because of the "Hope and Change" bullshit and the hypocrisy of Obama winning a Nobel Peace Prize.

Anyways, it was a year ago this link was written. It foreshadowed the conflict in Ukraine:
http://armstrongeconomics.com/2013/0...gas-this-time/


We have to get past this 1980's WWF style good versus evil, Russia versus USA, Christianity vs. Islam, etc. etc. Everyone is attempting to act in their own best interests which go against the best interests of someone else. The US/EU is acting to remove Russian stranglehold on European energy market while Russia is acting to keep its economic dominance on the energy markets. When you hear fighting for human rights: bullshit. Emotional arguments are thrown out to cloud the real issues, much like we have seen in Ferguson with race when the real issue is the militarization of police forces creating standing armies and the squashing of civil liberties that are supposed to be present in democracy.

[rocwell]

"As for ISIS, they were funded through Syrian rebels. "

France just paid them $125m ransom.

[Bendit]

The armstrong link seems like a pretty plausible set of reasons. I was not aware of the pipeline link by the Saudis (US interests)...thought the Ukraine situation was a real politik play to maintain Russian dominance over a territory that is bred into their consciousness for over multiple centuries now. Also the US provoked Russia after the fall of the USSR by sticking their missiles and early warning systems in Poland and Czech. The gas theory/pipeline is pretty good though especially since the US is also flush with gas now.

Re Obama, there have been events occurring (like NSA, CIA eavesdropping on the Senate) that I prefer to believe he was unaware/not told about. Could be plausible deniability...but I still think like the torture deal he would have tried to correct it if he knew. You seem to think otherwise obviously. I prefer to believe he has been co-opted on the domestic front in more ways than one...but thats me...I just dont believe he is the cowboy type.

As you probably know most if not all of these current troubles began with the fall of the Ottoman empire and the carving up of the middle east by the Brits and French victors of WW1.

[mcHAPPY]

The armstrong link seems like a pretty plausible set of reasons. I was not aware of the pipeline link by the Saudis (US interests)...thought the Ukraine situation was a real politik play to maintain Russian dominance over a territory that is bred into their consciousness for over multiple centuries now. Also the US provoked Russia after the fall of the USSR by sticking their missiles and early warning systems in Poland and Czech. The gas theory/pipeline is pretty good though especially since the US is also flush with gas now.

Re Obama, there have been events occurring (like NSA, CIA eavesdropping on the Senate) that I prefer to believe he was unaware/not told about. Could be plausible deniability...but I still think like the torture deal he would have tried to correct it if he knew. You seem to think otherwise obviously. I prefer to believe he has been co-opted on the domestic front in more ways than one...but thats me...I just dont believe he is the cowboy type.

As you probably know most if not all of these current troubles began with the fall of the Ottoman empire and the carving up of the middle east by the Brits and French victors of WW1.

I believe Obama is just as dirty and corrupt, if not more, than Putin and all the other leaders.... including Harper.


What pisses me off about Canada is there was a time when we were a moral backbone of the world. Today we just bow down to whatever the US is proclaiming. Sadly this has to do with the Arctic and the inevitable sovereignty disputes that will continue to arise in the coming years. The US is the military might backing Canada's claims because the US knows most of the energy to be found within the Arctic will wind up there anyways.

[mcHAPPY]

http://www.salon.com/2014/08/24/corn...ne_presidency/

Perfect timing to come across this.

So that’s my first question, it’s a lot of ground to cover but how do you feel things have worked out since then, both with the economy and with this president? That was a huge turning point, that moment in 2008, and my own feeling is that we didn’t turn.

No, the thing is he posed as a progressive and turned out to be counterfeit. We ended up with a Wall Street presidency, a drone presidency, a national security presidency. The torturers go free. The Wall Street executives go free. The war crimes in the Middle East, especially now in Gaza, the war criminals go free. And yet, you know, he acted as if he was both a progressive and as if he was concerned about the issues of serious injustice and inequality and it turned out that he’s just another neoliberal centrist with a smile and with a nice rhetorical flair. And that’s a very sad moment in the history of the nation because we are—we’re an empire in decline. Our culture is in increasing decay. Our school systems are in deep trouble. Our political system is dysfunctional. Our leaders are more and more bought off with legalized bribery and normalized corruption in Congress and too much of our civil life. You would think that we needed somebody—a Lincoln-like figure who could revive some democratic spirit and democratic possibility.

That’s exactly what everyone was saying at the time.

That’s right. That’s true. It was like, “We finally got somebody who can help us turn the corner.” And he posed as if he was a kind of Lincoln.

Yeah. That’s what everyone was saying.

And we ended up with a brown-faced Clinton. Another opportunist. Another neoliberal opportunist. It’s like, “Oh, no, don’t tell me that!” I tell you this, because I got hit hard years ago, but everywhere I go now, it’s “Brother West, I see what you were saying. Brother West, you were right. Your language was harsh and it was difficult to take, but you turned out to be absolutely right.” And, of course with Ferguson, you get it reconfirmed even among the people within his own circle now, you see. It’s a sad thing. It’s like you’re looking for John Coltrane and you get Kenny G in brown skin.

FWIW, this is a black man being interviewed. Comments about people being against Obama because he is black is an insult to the discussion and only clouds the issues. Sure there are racists and bigots but we were at a point where if you questioned Obama you were labelled a racist and bigot. We are now starting to see the fallout and will continue for the next 2 years.

[Bendit]

http://www.salon.com/2014/08/24/corn...ne_presidency/

Perfect timing to come across this.



FWIW, this is a black man being interviewed. Comments about people being against Obama because he is black is an insult to the discussion and only clouds the issues. Sure there are racists and bigots but we were at a point where if you questioned Obama you were labelled a racist and bigot. We are now starting to see the fallout and will continue for the next 2 years.

I have seen Cornell West being interviewed and like his viewpoints in general. I too am disappointed that Obama did not fulfill the promises thought of at his election. But while there is truth in that piece it is also unduly harsh because he seems to make those comments in a vacuum ....as if there were no mitigating circumstances surrounding Obama's presidency, the absolute abject disappointment of the right at his election so much so that the leader of the senate McConnell made the statement (I paraphrase)...that his/Republican single objective in the senate/legislatively was to ensure that BO would fail and not be elected again. Well, that didnt happen in 2012 but the legislative objection just continued culminating currently with John Boehner and his congressmen suing the president....the cowards wont really use the term impeachment which is what it really is and would like. The main reason apparently is BO was using his executive privileges to create/change laws rather than congress. But congress isnt really working is it? Logically then, most of the failures noted in the interview should not be BO's fault since much if not all of it really requires congressional acquiescence. Catch22...but they aren't interested in helping out or veto stuff like educational funding, the legalized bribery is really campaign finance reform which is a congressional responsibility, the supreme court is also politicized so a majority of conservatives/republicans have kiboshed a few progressive initiatives, the gerrymandering of districts so republicans get elected in perpetuity and affect the balance in congress somewhat "artificially".

I think I mentioned in a previous post that I thought BO's worst personal failure was he was too naive...making promises when the odds were he wasnt. But that's a politician. Regarding his personal corruption, there isnt a whiff of anything he might even be remotely be guilty of. As far as I know his single possession of value is the home he has owned in Chicago and the books he has written. Even on the matter of race relations he tends to bend over backwards to maintain the facade that he is president of all of the people. And I havent even mentioned the birther bs with many politicians who know better will not even raise a voice/pen to support him.

Yes the banking honcho criminals and torture enablers in high security should be in prison but do we really know the opposition and possible "blackmail" (not personal but to the system) he faced? I think too big to fail is real, big banks have their secrets too as do the CIA etc. Messing with institutions like those even if it's the President is not easy and sometimes impossible especially when technically the US is still at war.

Gotta stop here!! Cornell West should have mentioned some of these realities rather than just surface exposing his disappointments which very very many share. But there are circumstances. Who did he think he would rather have address his progressive concerns...BO or someone on the other side who have been known not to be predisposed to that thinking and derives his income mainly from off shore banking accounts and investments and who is was convinced that 47% of the electorate did not matter to him (Mitt's recorded dinner speech).