Could it happen here? (In the USA)

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Well, Trump has just clarified his remarks from the debate. I will accept the results, he says, if I win.

M'kay.

If anyone is wondering what we just avoided, probably, then look no further than The Philippines.

Given the influence that Trump has over his base, he needs to explicitly disavow violence, not encourage it. And this is one of those situations where that little thing called character comes into play.

What I find frightening is watching Trump speak to large groups of people. Not everyone realizes this but mobs behave very different than individuals. Rather than put out the fire he just fans the flames. Very irresponsible.

De Spiegel article this month:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/wor ... 92548.html

As I have said previously, my special interest in American politics began on

22 November 1963

and I have taken a keen interest ever since, you learn a lot in over a half a century. You may not know that the USA is allowed use of NZ territory to operate intelligence bases in New Zealand which is vital to its security. We risk becoming targets too if America were unwise enough to elect Trump, though that danger is possibly passed.

In my many visits to and wide travel in the United States, only in East Texas did I encounter a profoundly isolationist attitude. People in other states were very aware of international relations and the importance of them.

New Zealand blood also colours the soils of Vietnam, Afghanistan and Europe: our histories are very intertwined in many other ways. New Zealanders know far far more about the United States than American's know about New Zealand; our geographical isolation actually encourages interest in world affairs, and minds/hearts/homes (and on occasion bodies too) were opened to large numbers of American serviceman during the second world war and afterwards.

The prospect of wealthy Americans emigrating here in large numbers if Trump was elected has also been a factor in New Zealand interest in the current election. Few would welcome this, as it might inflate property values further, and there is a point beyond which we don't have the current infrastructure to accommodate huge numbers of new arrivals. So we have skin in the game in a number of ways, and these are some.

When I was 12, the whole family unit which I lived with, including grandparents, attended the premiere of the 1959 film "On The Beach". It is very difficult to try to explain the huge effect the film had here; the Cold War was at a peak, there were very real fears of a nuclear holocaust started by one of the Northern Hemisphere countries.

http://cinema-crazed.com/blog/2016/07/0 ... each-1959/
http://thebulletin.org/continuing-relevance-beach8589
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Beach_(novel)

I am sure that was a formative influence too, though perhaps not as much as the astonishing news on the radio that JFK had been assassinated. I did go to Dallas, years later, to look at Dealy Plaza myself, and recall the shock of hearing the news in 1963 as if it was happening now.

As to the De Spiegel piece - I find European views interesting, not least because I lived in two EEC countries for some time, West Germany being one of them. Hope that clarifies the puzzle for you.

^^^i'm well-used to "cold, mouldy and damp." nothing new there.

some names ought not to be spoken aloud in polite company