Replies to post #315733 on Tornado Alley (PROG)

[ergo sum]

The wing nuts in their constant hatred of government complain about public lands but what happens when the wing nuts buy huge tracks of land?
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/22/us/wilks-brothers-fracking-business.
Who Gets to Own the West?
A new group of billionaires is shaking up the landscape.



n Idaho, the Wilks brothers did more than gate a few roads. They also revoked road-use contracts that propped up the region’s multimillion-dollar snowmobile industry, shut down hunting on their land and told timber companies to pull crews from the area. About 100 people lost their jobs.



No one claimed that those actions were illegal, but they heightened fears that local residents were losing control of the region. A 2017 video of a roadside argument between an armed Wilks guard and a local ATV rider traveled quickly around the state.
Afterward, the Wilks family hired a lobbyist to push for a law that would stiffen penalties for trespass. The bill passed.



Amid the dispute, some residents emailed the Wilks, asking permission to cross their property. They were surprised to receive a response suggesting they first visit a popular right-wing website and share their opinions of its content.
The site, PragerU, features videos supporting the hard-lined conservative views of personalities like Ben Shapiro and Dinesh D’Souza. The portal has been heavily financed by the Wilks.
Mr. Horting, a lifelong conservative, was “insulted,” he said. “I’m not going to give my political views to use your land.”
Soon, the brothers were the subject of articles in The Idaho Statesman. County prosecutors began investigating the road closings and explored litigation.

[PegnVA]

imo the take-away is if a president threatend another country with retaliation if their aggressive behavior continues, he/she damn well better be prepared to follow through - if not, as we see the aggressive behavior continues.
Needless to say, it's wise for a president to keep his/her mouth shut and work through diplomatic channels but again, when a president shoots his/her mouth off and doesn't follow through everyone catches on quickly - witness Trump's empty threats to NK, and to a lesser extent Venezuela.

I am pleased Trump didn't pull the trigger on Iran and instead pulled away from his own rhetoric.
Did Trump learn a lesson that shooting off his mouth is not smart? Absolutely not - he knows it's what the red hats want him to do...and 2020 is right around the corner.

[fuagf]

Why Iran is fighting back against Trump’s maximum pressure campaign

"Well like what do they want more war?"

They want respect. Trump's edicts to other countries not to buy Iran oil is full-on economic warfare.

They don't appreciate being bullied by the guy who unilaterally broke Iran's deal with their international deal.

An expert explains Iran’s recent actions.

By Alex Ward @AlexWardVox [e-mail] Jun 21, 2019, 3:00pm EDT

[...]

Alex Ward

A lot of people are asking why Iran would attack oil tankers or shoot down a US military drone and risk starting a war with the US. Why is Iran pushing back in the way it has been?

Afshon Ostovar

I think above all, Iran needs to change its situation. It sees that it has basically two paths: It can either continue to take sanctions and suffer the consequences or it can capitulate by agreeing to talks and pursuing compromises with the US. The Trump administration, particularly the president, wants the latter.

So if Iran is not willing to take sanctions and suffer, and if it’s not willing to compromise and capitulate, then it needs to do something to change the situation.

Actions like attacking civilian shipping are ways for Iran to claw back some leverage in its relationship with the US. So Iran is no longer passive in this relationship — it’s now an active partner.

Alex Ward

Why would Iran attack shipping, though, which the Trump administration blames Iran for doing?

Afshon Ostovar

That internationalizes the entire situation. Just about every country in the world that matters in the international economy is somehow connected to oil or shipping coming out of the Gulf.

Shipping in the Gulf is something that all the countries in Asia, Africa, and, to a lesser extent, Europe and the Americas all have a stake in. Important countries like Japan, China, South Korea all rely on petroleum products, gas, and oil from the Persian Gulf. So if shipping is threatened, they have to see the US-Iranian spat as something bigger that they need to consider.

And so Iran, I think right away, got what it wanted out of the situation. The US stepped back and President Trump started to speak more about deescalating matters and started to speak more about diplomacy. And there were also calls from European allies, Russia, China, and other countries talking about the need to calm tensions.

I think the challenge for Iran becomes how much more it can achieve through this behavior.

https://www.vox.com/2019/6/21/18700732/iran-drone-attack-trump-maximum-pressure