(xcept nowadays it's not a "red" but a "black" or at least "brown" under that bed, while it's the bed-owner who is getting redder and redder by the day)
Am I the only one who's noticed that none of Trump's usual cheerleaders are talking up his supposedly tremendous negotiating skills after this last deal he's cut with China?
I was just listening to a half hour early morning show comes on TV here during the week, called AgDay ("Ag" as in "agriculture"), and I just heard a talking head grumbling about Trump's supposed new deal with China--fella said "we've all heard that they [the Chinese] are going to start allowing U.S. beef many times before; I'll believe it when I see it". Perhaps this has something to do with nobody cheering for this product of Trump's supposedly tremendous negotiating skills.
Am I the only one who's noticed that none of Trump's usual cheerleaders are talking up his supposedly tremendous negotiating skills after this last deal he's cut with China?
The only thing I've heard is the fellow in Wisconsin who was complaining that it will raise beef prices here in the US.
I am thinking that eventually Trump's advisers will start to understand that when you tug at something in one spot something in another spot starts to wiggle.
(xcept nowadays it's not a "red" but a "black" or at least "brown" under that bed, while it's the bed-owner who is getting redder and redder by the day)
Or are you saying that Sweden is following some kind of McCarthyism path?
The Washington Post has just posted (about 20 minutes ago) a news article claiming that Trump revealed highly classified and very sensitive intelligence information to the Russian Ambassador when they met last Friday.
This is gonna make a stink. Teflon Don's not gonna be able to slide this one off.
You beat me to the punch, Lee, I was just going to post that link. They were just talking about it on CNN. They actually interviewed Amy Klobuchar regarding it. Unfortunately it doesn't surprise me that Trump would do that. What surprises me is that people just don't seem to get why Trump is so open and friendly with the Russians. They just need to look at his past business dealings to see the reason. I just don't know if Trump understands how serious the national security aspects are with sharing information with the Russians or if he does know, but just doesn't care. If it is the latter then he is not just unfit to be President, but there is a serious question as to where his true loyalties lie.
One other thing regarding this incident that was pointed out is the reaction of Daesh, since is was in regard to what they are planning. They will either delay their plans or speed them up. If it is the latter then Trump has placed someone, besides our sources, in danger.
What I seem to be seeing is someone who doesn't believe that the Russians are the enemy. He may very well be in the early stages of dementia, but that doesn't explain his affinity for the Russians.
I'm gonna close with mention of the presumption that the Trump administration will start screaming about leaks as soon as it occurs to them that they can get their dedicated Trumpkins to pursue that argument instead of worrying about the information actually leaked.
TrumpTweets: After sending Gen. McMaster, among others, out yesterday to categorically deny the Washington Post story about Trump sharing sensitive intelligence with the Russians during their meeting last week (Wednesday, not Friday, and closed to American press, but open to Russian photographers), Trump took to his Twitter this morning to admit to doing exactly that. Also to bitch ‘bout the leaks again, but back to the admission….
Trump keeps sending his people out to lie for him, and then cutting them off at the knees a few days or a few hours later. It's utterly amazing; and his dedicated Trumpkins love him for lying, or, at least, in spite of the lying; also amazing.
Trump has declared bankruptcy multiple times. He has declared a $916 million loss carry forward. He refuses to release his tax returns. Where is he getting all of his investment money? Banks? Wealthy investors? Little people he suckered out of life savings? Somewhere else?
It is that somewhere else part that concerns me.
The worst part of this is the knowledge that it will not deter the dedicated Trumpkins.
The Republicans in Congress appear to be getting a little twitchy about the need to maintain a united front in defense of the many vagaries of Trump. They're in an unsteady situation. They don't want to be punished by the Trumpkins for failing to protect Trump. They likewise don't want to be punished by the majority for protecting Trump while Trump's busy making a deal for a full confession in return for avoiding jail time and/or financial penalties.
Comey's a good example of the mistakes one can make when dealing with Trump. If Trump had been less impulsive (and less of a wuss), he'd have gone to Comey and told him to turn in his resignation and then Comey could have told Trump about the notes he'd kept of that time when Trump was trying to obstruct justice. And then Trump would have backed down, and Comey'd still have his job, and Trump would still be sliding secrets to the Russians. But, Trump is impulsive and is a wuss, and so Comey got his ass fired, basically, for overestimating Trump.
The Republicans in Congress don't want to get themselves in a Comey situation, have their asses handed to them by their voters while Trump's maybe makin’ a deal for a pardon. But they don't wanna get primaried while the dedicated Trumpkins are still high on Trump either. The problem is that the Trumpkins, when they do finally abandon Trump, will likely do it in a surge that'll catch many politicians unable to switch hats fast enough. (One need only look at how fast Dubya became a widely despised figure among the the Republican ‘base’ that had once claimed him as a champion.) In that vein, I might note that Trump's favorability rating is now generally polling in the high 30s, down from the low 40s, and probably still falling.
Putin has offered to provide Congress with transcripts of Trump's meeting with the Russian Ambassadors, to prove Trump is innocent, as soon as he's cleared the proposed text of the transcripts with Trump. link
Umm, yes, I find there are a couple of things wrong with Putin's offer. First, I don't believe that I would trust anything he produced, and secondly the very fact that he offered just makes Trump look more guilty of something. I mean, seriously, why would Putin care about Trump's standing if there wasn't something in it for him (Putin)?
The Republicans in Congress appear to be getting a little twitchy about the need to maintain a united front in defense of the many vagaries of Trump. They're in an unsteady situation. They don't want to be punished by the Trumpkins for failing to protect Trump. They likewise don't want to be punished by the majority for protecting Trump while Trump's busy making a deal for a full confession in return for avoiding jail time and/or financial penalties.
I wast just reading an article on CNN that pointed out all of the roadblocks to an actual impeachment of Trump. Yet, there are a majority of Americans who support the idea of a special prosecutor.
Former FBI chief Robert Muller has been appointed as Special Counsel (a/k/a Special Prosecutor) for the Trump/Russia investigation. Deputy Director of the Justice Dept., Rod Rosenstein, appointed him (Jeff Sessions had previously announced that the was recusing himself from the investigation, having been a member of the Trump campaign team).
From everything I've read about Robert Mueller I think he is a good choice.
It is certainly with a sense of relief that I heard the news. I was starting to lose faith in our governmental institutions and their staff, believing that their only agenda was to further their own careers, rather than doing what is right for the country.
I expect a twitterstorm to erupt. However, the rest of us can relax a little with the thought that the issue probably is going to receive an impartial investigation now. Trump won't be happy (McConnell and Ryan probably won't be all that happy either, but it does let them off that hook they'd climbed up on, and may be better for them in the long run). But, I find my mind eased quite a bit.
More uglies in the New York Times. It's not directly related to the Trump/Russia connections, but it does cause one to wonder where Trump's loyalties lie.
They were discussing the deafening silence on CNN tonight. The thinking on that is that Trump will, if he hasn't already, lawyer up, which will result in his counsel telling him to zip it.
"The thinking on that is that Trump will, if he hasn't already, lawyer up…"
I don't know about that part, but I read that Trump has withdrawn into the residential section of the White House and is very likely scanning FoxNews and listening to Radio-Right-Wing to find out what his defense is supposed to be. Meantime, the White House hasn't provided any talking points or memos to the RNC or the Republicans in Congress on what they're supposed to say. Everybody's being forced to wing it, and not wanting to do that; most of them are now trying to simply avoid reporters altogether.
But, I don't expect Trump's hide to last for long. Rather, I expect him to erupt in frustration here fairly soon--I think there'll be twitterstorm comin’; lawyered up or not.
One analyst who has actually studied Trump extensively was speculating that at some point Trump may just choose to resign rather than go through a possible impeachment process, declaring that he won in the process. Sounds a bit like Richard Nixon. And I could see Trump doing that if there actually is something to the Russian connection that may lead to criminal charges.
Retired Gen. Michael Flynn will not cooperate with the Senate intelligence committee's subpoena request for documents regarding the former national security adviser's interactions with Russian officials.
"Gen. Flynn's lawyers said he would not honor the subpoena, and that's not a surprise to the committee, but we'll figure out on Gen. Flynn what the next step, if any, is," committee chairman Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican, told reporters Thursday morning.
So, of course, this makes him, or someone else he is covering for, look guilty as hell. As to the next step? Perhaps jail?
The Committee refers the matter to the full Congress to get a ‘Contempt of Congress’ resolution, which they then send to the DoJ to have enforced in the courts; i.e. jail. (The Republicans in the House did once manage to get a contempt resolution passed against Erik Holder, but the DoJ refused to enforce it in the courts.)
I've just managed to get back to that book "Dark Money", about the Koch brothers and their cohorts. I see so many of their fingerprints on the political right of center extremist behavior we are seeing now. You are right, tearing apart government is their basic goal. So it seems we are seeing perhaps the beginning of a political and societal "civil war" for the future of the US. I can see why Putin & Co. are encouraging Trump & friends.
Apparently others have been having similar thoughts to mine.
Investigators on the House intelligence committees have obtained access to valuable data from the Treasury Department, a development that will open their doors to investigate possible connections between President Donald Trump's business empire and Russians, CNN has learned.
Just as a bit of speculation not yet taken or focused upon by the media… I thought I saw a possible hint by Shorthands to a defense that might rest on blaming his Russian connections on his subordinates. Here's the quote:
""There is no collusion between certainly myself and my campaign [and the Russians]. But I can always speak for myself and the Russians, zero."
It's fairly typical rambling for Trump--sentences that actually make no real sense when parsed out, but seem to hint at there being a glimmer back there somewhere trying to formulate itself into an eventual thought. He seems to be toying with the idea of speaking of his own innocence, and letting ‘my campaign’ take the heat for whatever's eventually turned up that might not look quite so innocent as he insists.
This would be a very risky move, trying to blame the subordinates. They might have evidence on him that he doesn't know they kept.
Yes, he does have a confusing way of phrasing. It does appear that he is considering finding a scapegoat. But he may find that loyalty only goes so far, as you say.
Well, the morning news tells us that Sweden has dropped its rape investigation of Julian Assange. It's seven years old and shows no real evidence of ever producing a defendant in Sweden.
The Brits still have a warrant out for his arrest though, for evading service of process on that rape charge.
In an unforseen switch, Peggy Noonan, who qualifies as a Trumpkin when compared to her cohorts at the Wall Street Journal, is suggesting that Trump might be removed from office for incompetence under the 25th Amendment. Some Republicans are becoming worried that Trump will cost them their Congressional majorities, and are looking for ways to get rid of him and get Pence in there. Looks like Peggy Noonan's ready to join the campaign.
(Personally, I still don't want to see Trump removed from office too soon, and I deem it still too soon. The dedicated Trumpkins are entitled to full and complete Trumping.)
As part of a full and complete Trumping… Shorthands is scheduled to deliver an address to Muslim leaders in Saudi Arabia tomorrow that's being billed as a speech ‘on Islam’ written by the noted Islamic scholar and general all-around diplomat, Steve Bannon. What could go wrong?
Lee: "Well, the morning news tells us that Sweden has dropped its rape investigation of Julian Assange. It's seven years old and shows no real evidence of ever producing a defendant in Sweden."
Yeah, after 7 years they finally decided to drop the charge that Assange according to her deviously slipped off his condom while having sex with a woman fan who bragged online about bagging Assange AFTER the alleged rape happened and then got real jealous when he bagged her Assange-fan girlfriend too.
There was NEVER a charge about rape per se. The charge was that Assange, during volontary sex, deviously slipped off the condom. And the charge came after Assange fucked the first slut's slut friend.
This was 100% political. A charge like that wouldn't even have reached the courts in Sweden even if it had been a white male doing it.
Hell, non whites get aquitted for rape here because their "culture is different and they didnt understand no means no".
Pursuing a non rape while calling it a rape because of a difference in opinion on wether a condom should stay on or off for 7 fucking years!?!?!? Really!??!?
This was always political and not at all about any "rape" (which never happened).
BTW, if you do get Trump impeached and Pence takes over for a while, who do you think Putin will put in the White House in 2020?
I mean Putin is all powerful and since he managed to force Trump upon yall then surely he will be the decider in any upcoming election also. Right? If he could get yall to elect Trump then any upcoming Russian stooge will be a breeze for Putin to push upon yall.
After all, the Russians have the very best of hackers and they chose Trump because they have embarrasing video of him being pissed on in a weird sexual game by russian hookers in a hotel in Moscow - CNN said as much. And CNN is never wrong or running with outlandish stories, right?
So, who will be your next Putin choice for Preznit, you gather?
"…charge that Assange…deviously slipped off his condom while having sex with a woman fan…"
That's an increasingly common form of ‘sexual assault’ I hear. (I will call it that for lack of a more widely accepted terminology, which will probably develop one of these days.) The law seems to be having a hard time dealing with just what to call that, but it seems the norm among western legal systems to deal with it as a form of criminal assault of some sort. A somewhat new phenomenon, it seems to have sprung from an imitation of the practice among some angry homosexuals to purposely spread aids to their partners.
Lynnette, on this whole Assange-rape-story. I gotta ask you. If you were raped by a man, would you go on Facebook the day after and invite friends to a crayfish-party bragging that you would bring your rapist along?
Maybe it's just me, and I'm no woman so maybe women think differently, but if I was ever raped I can't see myself inviting my rapist to a crayfish-party, bragging about it in social media and inviting people based on the fame of my rapist, only to see my rapist going off with my friend and THEN decide I was actually raped.
It does seem a bit weird to me. Lynnette, you're a woman, what do you think?
"That's an increasingly common form of ‘sexual assault’ I hear."
Might well be. And I would deem that an assault also, myself. In any case it's a real shitty thing to do and might be a crime. Although it's EXTREMELY difficult to prove - condoms sometimes slip off or break without either party realising it.
The thing here is Anna Ardin who filed the rape charge against Assange did in fact go on Facebook the day AFTER the allaged condom-slip-off-rape braggig about her liasion with the justice warrior Assange and inviting people to the crayfish-party she was bringing him to.
I find it really, really hard to imagine why she would do that if she really thought she just got raped. But tha was the case here. And it cost Assange 7 years.
Assange cost himself seven years; he could have stood and fought the charges if Sweden is as lax in getting convictions as you claim (and, your rape data likewise suggests it's almost impossible to convict a blond white guy of rape in Sweden--23 times more likely to get a conviction on somebody brown if the woman claims she was accosted by a brown skinned guy--whether you're getting the right brown skinned guy most of the time is an open question with me, considering those sorts of numbers, but at least you're getting convictions on a brown skinned skinned guy).
According to the NewYorkTimes, Trump found it appropriate to report back to the Russians on the successful firing of James Comey for pressing the investigation of the possible collusion between them.
No Lee, that's those Morroccans are 23 times more likely to rape not that they rape on equal footing to white men and then get a hard time in the courts. But you know that, you're just being silly, or trying to get a rise out of me - which won't work at least now because I'm fairly sober.
Assange DID cost himself those 7 years. But he did so because he was afraid not of a rape charge in a swedish court but that Sweden would render him over to the USA where he could have faced much more serious charges. Of course you know that too.
And, fact is, Sweden might very well have handed him over. Our government will virtue signal and declare itself a humanitarian superpower and whatnot, but at the end of the day it'll do Washingtons bidding - right or wrong.
No, I remember it clearly. I was having a little trouble believing my translation which made those numbers out to be based on conviction rates, and I asked you and you confirmed that it was conviction rates that we were looking at, and then you got all bent when I pointed out that we Americans were well familiar with disparate conviction rates that could be directly correlated with the skin color of the accused. After a bunch of sputtering and backing and filling you just dropped it for awhile, and have since chosen to remember it differently than it went down.
I'm not aware that Assange is, or was then, facing charges in the United States. Hardly likely that Sweden would render him over to face nonexistent charges.
I'm a bit ashamed too say it but the fact is my own country of Sweden right now might be the most hypocritical nation ever on this earth.
The government seriously thinks we're a "humanitarian superpower", and they don't just say that, they believe it.
We're supposedly the first ever "feminist government" but when even the cucked-out Merkel has dignity enough to go bare headed on a visit to Iran every singe one of our ministers don the hijab on their visit.
We virtue signal about the right to free speach but have the most draconian hate-speach laws except for Germany (and Germany have them for a reason - not a good reason but for a reason).
We harp on and on about the freedom of the press in Eastern Europe, while at the same time the entire system of the state aims at shutting down rightwing media back home.
We support every single war of the USA while blaming the USA for inflaming tensions in the world.
I could go on and on. This country is insane. It's really the inmates ruling the asylum over here.
The WashingtonPost is reporting that there's evidence out there of direct collusion between the Russians and a current ‘Senior White House advisor’, somebody still there at the White House. Names dropped include son-in-law Jared Kushner, as well as Cabinet members Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. The investigation seems to be moving right along, don't it?
Lee: I'm not aware that Assange is, or was then, facing charges in the United States. Hardly likely that Sweden would render him over to face nonexistent charges.
Likely or not, that was what he feared. He says so himself. He obviously didn't stay cooped up in an embassy for the fear of getting a small slap on the wrist in a swedish court. Hell, he would most likey have walked free. There was never a proven crime.
He feared yall, the CIA, the US government, whatever - the masters behind the scenes who wanted to shut him the fuck up - whatever their name might be.
I'm guessing that Assange stayed holed for seven years ‘cause he knew what he was guilty of, and he feared that some others knew it too, and that he'd get charged with his real crimes if nabbed, and he'd not been successful in getting himself to the Russian embassy.
Wait. I just have to ask. Do you REALLY believe there were direct links between the Trump campaign and Russia in order to collude to get Trump elected?
I mean, I understand the Dems are trying to go with guilt-by-assosiation and find any association they can. And I get the media is having a field day with this stuff.
But really. Do you guys think Trump and his team were in cahoots with the Kremlin or what? I mean for real, not just because you wanna piss on Trump which I get, but do you really believe it?
Lee: " ‘cause he knew what he was guilty of, and he feared that some others knew it too, and that he'd get charged with his real crimes if nabbed"
Guilty of what? Changing sluts? Basically that was all he did. He changed one wannabe (leftist) slut who fucked him because he was a social justice warrior for another similar slut. Then the first of 'em got jealous and remembered (or cooked up) a removal of a condom.
The very worst thing he could have been prosecuted for here was removing a condom during otherwise volontary sex. Worst, worst case 6 months in jail or so, but it would probably have got laughed out of court.
No he was indeed afraid of getting sent to the US, and he has said as much.
The evidence isn't compelling beyond a reasonable doubt, not yet. But, he certainly does comport himself in a suspicious manner, and he's certainly not above it as a matter of ethics or patriotism.
I consider it a definite possibility. I do question whether Putin would consider him reliable enough to collude with, but it is possible.
By the way, collusion with the Russians to win the election is not necessarily illegal. (It is illegal to take money from the Russians for the campaign; that would get him indicted right quick; but many forms of collusion would be fully legal.)
We had two egyptian born swedish citizens rendered by CIA flight back to Egypt a short time after 9/11. They were tortured severely and completely broken down, because they had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, for YEARS even though there were no proof beforehand that they had anything to do with Islamic terrorism.
This story got buried in sweden because the "foreign minister" who signed off on the CIA rendition was herself killed by knifesman from the Balkans who hated her for the US bombings there - completely unrelated to any terrorism. But she was a "martyr" and thus her rendering of swedish citizens via CIA to egyptian torture dungeons was not a go for media.
Now, me being a white nationalist, those egyptians shouldn't have been here to begin with. But fact is, we rendered them to the CIA without ANYTHING more than the CIA wanting them. No charge, no trial, no nothing.
So Assange not feeling real safe about turning up at any court right here, well, can't say I blame him.
(Sean Hannity is having himself a major sputtering indignation today, related to today's newspaper revelations; Newt Gingrich is joining in from a remote connection to Newt's current European adventure. I think they're checking out the digs they'll use when Newt's current and third wife is appointed Ambassador to the Vatican--a reward for her being Newt's mistress while his second wife was otherwise occupied with dying from cancer I think it was. The Vatican must be ‘so pleased’ to have her.)
"So Assange not feeling real safe about turning up at any court right here, well, can't say I blame him."
Kinda farfetched to be fronting the story that Assange woulda been turned over to the Egyptians to be tortured. But, I don't have to live in that conspiracy theorist mind you live in.
Far fetched or not, Assange obviously preferred to stay cooped up in an embassy in London rather than facing a court in Sweden where the odds are he would have been acuitted, and if convicted he would have served a few months in a quite decent environment.
He obviously fears not swedish justice but a rendering to the USA. And he has said precisely that. And that IS also what would have happened FYI.
We call it ‘extradition’. I suppose Assange was likely well aware of his own crimes, and I don't doubt that he feared we had the goods on him for those crimes. (I'm not sure we did, although I'd bet they got those chains of evidence complete by now, so the real question he has to confront now is: ‘How does he get from where he is now to where he wants to be’?)
I gotta ask you. If you were raped by a man, would you go on Facebook the day after and invite friends to a crayfish-party bragging that you would bring your rapist along?
Of course not. I also tend to agree with you that Assange was avoiding Washington's clutches. Oh, not because of any fear of rendition, but of our court system. As Lee said in an earlier comment.
It's funny you should stop in today, Marcus, because I ran into someone today who has relatives in Sweden. Her relative is a female police officer. She, the woman in Sweden, has also said the same things you have here. The one difference is that she has said people in Sweden want outside help in dealing with the situation, specifically the US and Donald Trump. Her relative's concern is that what is happening in Sweden will spread to the rest of Europe.
Do you REALLY believe there were direct links between the Trump campaign and Russia in order to collude to get Trump elected?
You sound shocked that anyone might believe that. I wonder why? Do you believe that Trump is so above board that he would't try that? Or do you believe that Putin wouldn't try it?
As to what I believe, I think that there is enough smoke to look for the fire. And it has nothing to do with the fact that I don't care for his policies. Those are not just Trump's policies. They are the goals of many in the far right. Moderation is not their goal and Mike Pence will try to continue with that, I am sure, if Trump were not there.
No, this investigation must be allowed to unfold as it will and hopefully the truth, whatever it is, will be found. Because criminal behavior should not be allowed to stand no matter who is involved.
I do question whether Putin would consider him reliable enough to collude with, but it is possible.
There is the matter of that Syria bombing that Trump ordered. But perhaps it really didn't do enough to upset Putin's apple cart, so could be forgiven.
Just by the by, if Trump really does have some kind of beginning dementia he would probably not be someone that could be trusted to toe the party line, whatever that may be.
"There is the matter of that Syria bombing that Trump ordered."
They didn't make a big deal out of it, but Trump warned Putin before the bombing, long enough before that Putin warned Assad. So, they hit empty plane hangers and a couple of runways and Assad had the runways repaired before 24 hours were up. (The Navy was not allowed to attack any warehouses or storage facilities--the only targets allowed were the empty hangers and the easily repaired runways; empty hangers were an acceptable loss to Assad; he's got very few planes left anyway (that's why his guys are tossing barrel bombs out of choppers) and he can easily house his few remaining planes in the hangers he's got left.)
Thank God at least some of these people are stupid.
It all started with a complaint over littering – and ended with two men arrested and the discovery of an arsenal of guns and bomb-making devices by Minneapolis police. Now, local authorities have flagged the arrests for review by the Department of Homeland Security.
CBS Evening News just said something about a $200 billion Saudi ‘investment’ in American infrastructure. Is Shorthands selling our infrastructure to the Saudi ya ‘spose?
It appears that Shorthands wussed out on using the phrase ‘Radical Islamic Terrorism’ in Saudi Arabia today, in front of his Arab audience, when the time came to use it. This used to be a necessary phrase when Obama was President; one supposedly could not combat Da‘esh without it. (I suspect that Shorthands failure to confront Radical Islamic Terrorism when he had his chance will somehow not receive any mention on FoxNews this Sunday, nor on Radio-Right-Wing in the coming week.)
It appears that Shorthands wussed out on using the phrase ‘Radical Islamic Terrorism’ in Saudi Arabia today, in front of his Arab audience, when the time came to use it.
No, but he did make the remark that we must fight the terrorist's ideology, which came rather close to it, considering that for AQ that is Wahhabiism. I'm really not sure about Daesh who seems to be some kind of hybrid death cult. And since that is kind of an export of KSA that remark would seem to me to be kind of touchy, given the audience.
The other remark that actually had me laughing out loud was when Trump said the US has entered a new era of hope. Seriously? It reminded me of Jeffrey's parallel Arab universe phrase, only in this case it would be parallel Trump universe.
"It supports your argument that the US is hypocritical in some of its actions."
Now I'm confused. I don't recall that we've ever taken a position against arming Saudi Arabia.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ "…he did make the remark that we must fight the terrorist's ideology, which came rather close to it…"
Well, no, that's actually not rather close to it. That's precisely the nuance that was terrible when Obama made that same distinction, but was okay back when Dubya did it and is apparently okay again now that it's Trump that's up on stage.
Rex Tillerson has finally declared it unappreciated that Turkish government thugs beat up American protesters in America last week. He isn't actually considered imposing any consequences for it, not just now anyway, but he's spoken out against that having that sort of thing happening in general, on FoxNews, just today.
I read an article in the Times-of-Israel which suggests that Trump will be greeted in Israel and Palestine with the same fawning and over-the-top praise that met him in Saudi Arabia.
Thing is, he says this is not because the regional leaders respect Trump or even because they think they can work with him--the actual situation is exactly the reverse. They think of him as pretty much an empty suit--all fragile ego and short-term thinking, and they figure he'll respond to flattery maybe, but not much else. They can't trust him to stick with a plan so there's no point in making any plans with him, and he certainly doesn't have any vision for the future they intend to buy into. So, they'll puff him up and hope that maybe, short-term, he'll dispense a goodie or two as a reward for their praise, or, at least, he'll stay away from criticizing them, and then they're gonna pretty much ignore him, and ignore what he wants, as matters of no particular consequence.
(By the way, recent missteps from Trump have made it rather more difficult for Netanyahu to lavish excessive praise on Trump than would have been the case just a few days ago, but he may stick with that plan anyway.)
The dedicated Trumpkins are digging in, but their number is slowly shrinking back to back to his hard floor, below which he will never descend. And, the Resistance is growing. This is bad news for Trump. The congressional Republicans will rapidly cease to fear him if this continues. Hard to say where the tipping point will be, but I'd reckon it at about 33% to 35% support for Trump (general public). That's probably close to his hard floor too.
But Riyadh, despite its seemingly shiny veneer, is in trouble. For the first time in decades the Saudi monarchy can no longer rely on the revenues from oil to maintain its position as the leading Arab state and to buy off any aspirations that the Saudi population might have to play a real role in politics. That's because the days of $100-a-barrel oil are long gone and are unlikely to return anytime soon. And it is this reality that made President Trump's trip to Riyadh and his speech on Sunday so important to the Saudi monarchy.
Now I'm confused. I don't recall that we've ever taken a position against arming Saudi Arabia.
I find that I am somewhat ambivalent. On the surface I don't care for arming those who may have committed human rights abuses or in doing so contribute to a new arms race in the Middle East between KSA and Iran (supported by Russia). However, if this deal will actually help diversify the Saudi economy by providing jobs in other sectors, which may help stabilize the country, it may prevent a more serious implosion in the Middle East, which could be detrimental to other regions of the world, namely Europe. Sometimes working with people gives them more of an incentive to change. In that sense I believe Trump may be on the right track. But it is a fine line to walk. I can understand Marcus' point of view, which is why I made that comment.
Rex Tillerson has finally declared it unappreciated that Turkish government thugs beat up American protesters in America last week. He isn't actually considered imposing any consequences for it, not just now anyway, but he's spoken out against that having that sort of thing happening in general, on FoxNews, just today.
I will grant him points for that, but it doesn't make up for shutting out the US press at his briefing in KSA. I am getting a little tired of that kind of behavior from State and the WH.
The dedicated Trumpkins are digging in, but their number is slowly shrinking back to back to his hard floor, below which he will never descend.
While I don't really agree with the Democrats' behavior when the GOP's healthcare proposals were unveiled (their musical rendition on the floor of the House), I think that if they push it through they will continue to lose Trumpkin supporters. I was reading an article today about dental expenses, which for many are out of sight, leaving them little recourse for treatment. The article was talking about a free dental clinic set up for those who cannot afford dental care. One of the people interviewed mentioned that she had voted for Trump and after hearing about the new GOP healthcare proposals was now questioning her vote. She said it felt like she was living in the third world.
(By the way, recent missteps from Trump have made it rather more difficult for Netanyahu to lavish excessive praise on Trump than would have been the case just a few days ago, but he may stick with that plan anyway.)
I thought the press a little too loquacious as well.
I'm afraid I give him no points at all for that. Too little; too late. He had to be asked about it by FoxNews before anybody heard anything from the Trump administration on this outrage. Besides, I don't believe he actually called the Turks on it at all. I think he just made that up on the spot because Fox asked him about it. And, if he didn't make it up, it's still too little; too late. I don't believe the story about it being ‘to late’ to bring the American press into that appearance before the Saudi press either. I think that was probably arranged by the Saudi at the behest of Tillerson who didn't want to get any questions about the bombshells that've exploded back in D.C. since they've left. The Saudi press could be counted on to avoid that subject if so instructed, and I suspect they were so instructed.
In 2003 Sweden voted No by a decent margin against swapping our currency to the Euro. But now the un-elected bureaucrats that lord over us have decided we must join soon anyway:
So much for "democracy". Also it's the complete opposite of what European economies actually need, which instead would be a break up of the current Euro.
"But now the un-elected bureaucrats that lord over us have decided we must join soon anyway:"
Unless I misunderstand the structure of the E.U., this Commission doesn't have the legal power to implement the proposal you call their ‘decision’. It is, in fact, merely a proposal which would have to be adopted by the E.U. Parliament before anything was ‘decided’.
I'm afraid I give him no points at all for that. Too little; too late. He had to be asked about it by FoxNews before anybody heard anything from the Trump administration on this outrage.
What!? You mean I have to give credit to Fox News???
No, Tillerson provided no evidence that he'd ever raised the issue with the Turks beyond his bare assertion, and they let him get away with that. You may consider them complicit.
(By the way, after Tillerson publicly claimed, on FoxNewsSunday, to have raised the issue with the Turks they called the American ambassador in and made a formal complaint to him about the shabby way their guys had been treated--no explanation of what exactly that means, but that's beside the point…. But, my point is, soon as they heard about this coming up on FoxNews they were on it for real trying to make it out to be our fault somehow. If Tillerson had actually raised the issue with them they'd have been on it earlier.)
I assume those responsible had diplomatic immunity, so there is no recourse for local authorities. Somehow I think we will be seeing more of this kind of slacking off from State and the WH. Business working relationships and those we want something from are paramount, ordinary people not so much.
The Washington Post says that Shorthands asked two top intelligence officials, Admiral Michael Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency, and Dan Coats, the Director of National Intelligence, to make exculpatory statements on his behalf regarding the allegations against him and his campaign of collusion with the Russians during the Presidential elections. Both refused. The White House has refused to comment on these new allegations.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ I read that the death toll in the Manchester bombing is up to twenty-two now. The attacker has not yet been identified in the media, probably the police don't have a name yet.
I saw that about the DNI and NSA. If this is accurate it implies very strongly that Trump has something to hide and that he has no idea about the differences between running a company and running a public office.
It seems that even people at Fox News are fed up with the conspiracy theory bs.
Fox News staffers expressed frustration on Monday that on-air personalities at their network like prime time host Sean Hannity are continuing to peddle a conspiracy theory about the murder of Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich. "I'm disgusted by it," one Fox News employee told CNN.
Stephen Jones, a homeless man who was outside the Manchester Arena when Monday's deadly attack took place, is being hailed as a hero after he helped the wounded as they fled the scene.
"First there was a bang, I thought it was some kind of firework, and then there was a big explosion," he told CNN affiliate ITN. "I just felt the wind force, and then everyone started screaming and running. Me and my mate we got up and we started running. We realized what had happened, we run back, and all the women and children were coming out with blood."
"It seems that even people at Fox News are fed up…"
Well, they'd better get used to it or start looking for other work. FoxNews has passed the tipping point. Their audience now requires the energy and anger associated with the adoption of a reactionary victim identity (much like the reactionary islamists). They must view themselves as set upon and persecuted. And for that they need to constantly tell themselves new tales. The faeire tales have taken them over; they can no longer function in the real world.
Evening news showed a big gathering in Albert Square, or Albert Park or Albert something (Albert Square I believe--probably named after Victoria's Prince), anyway, big gathering to pay their respects to the dead and show up for Da‘esh to see their defiance, apparently highly attended by Manchester's Muslim community, which counts as a good thing.
It sounds like the Manchester bomber was born in the UK. His parents had immigrated from Libya, and are now actually back in their home country.
Evening news showed a big gathering in Albert Square...
Daesh and those who affiliate themselves with the terrorist group just don't seem to understand that an attack of this nature will not break their victims, but will only unite them. It is understood that people who attack innocents are at heart cowards. There will be no heavenly reward for them.
"…just don't seem to understand that an attack of this nature will not break their victims, but will only unite them."
There's considerable evidence that aerial bombing often produces the same reaction among civilians. Eventually it'll break their will, but it's real hard to get to eventually. Meantime they get pissed off and defiant, and they're often never moved off of that position.
Lee: "Meantime they get pissed off and defiant, and they're often never moved off of that position."
Really? Why don't they just settle for changing their Facebook pics and maybe lighting up a public building in the colors of the flag of the bombed country and then march for unity with the people in the country of the air force that bombed them?
I thought that was how it's done.
#PrayForParis - 7 January 2015 #PrayForParis - 13 November 2015 #PrayForSanBernardino - 2 December 2015 #PrayForBrussels - 22 March 2016 #PrayForOrlando - 12 June 2016 #PrayForNice - 14 July 2016 #PrayForGermany #PrayForWurzburg - 18 July 2016 #PrayForMunich - 22 July 2016 #PrayForAnsbach - 24 July 2016 #PrayForReutlingen - 24 July 2016 #PrayForFrance - 26 July 2016 #PrayForOhio - 28 November 2016 #PrayForBerlin - 19 December 2016 #PrayForIstanbul - 1 January 2017 #PrayForLondon - 22 March 2017 #PrayForStPetersburg - 3 April 2017 #PrayForStockholm - 7 April 2017 #PrayForDortmund - 11 April 2017 #PrayForParis - 20 April 2017 #PrayForManchester - 22 May 2017
No, that was my way of disagreeing with the lame-ass response that's been all too common lately where a terror attack is met with some sort of weird love fest and then all is back to normal after a week or so. I think to get "pissed off and defiant" as you suggested those getting air-bombed are prone to get is a way more rational reaction.
I didn't know anything about the ceremony in Manchester, haven't read about it nor seen any footage. But if muslims protest outright islamist terror it can only be a good thing imo and I would certainly never propose any ban on them from doing that.
Celebrating my birthday in Manchester as news of the Manchester Arena bomb broke. The anger is monumental. For what reason will this ever stop? Theresa May says such attacks "will not break us", but her own life is lived in a bullet-proof bubble, and she evidently does not need to identify any young people today in Manchester morgues. Also, "will not break us" means that the tragedy will not break her, or her policies on immigration. The young people of Manchester are already broken - thanks all the same, Theresa. Sadiq Khan says "London is united with Manchester", but he does not condemn Islamic State - who have claimed responsibility for the bomb. The Queen receives absurd praise for her 'strong words' against the attack, yet she does not cancel today's garden party at Buckingham Palace - for which no criticism is allowed in the Britain of free press. Manchester mayor Andy Burnham says the attack is the work of an "extremist". An extreme what? An extreme rabbit? In modern Britain everyone seems petrified to officially say what we all say in private. Politicians tell us they are unafraid, but they are never the victims. How easy to be unafraid when one is protected from the line of fire. The people have no such protections. Morrissey 23 May 2017.
"Manchester mayor Andy Burnham says the attack is the work of an ‘extremist’. An extreme what? An extreme rabbit?"
I recall President Jimmy Carter was once attacked by an extreme rabbit. link Meantime, Shorthands the Incredible Dancing Bear decided to not use the magic phrase ‘Radical Islamic Terrorism’ when he was visiting the heart of Islam, Saudi Arabia. (This has received zero mention on FoxNews and Radio-Right-Wing so far as I can tell.)
We are now told that Shorthands will not decide whether to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accords until he leaves Europe and is safely ensconced in D.C. and Mar-a-Lago once again. I would suspect that this increases the odds that he's intending to withdraw. Turns out he's a wuss bully in practice. Much less stress on him if he gets home first and then withdraws from the climate treaty.
Our Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, had contacts with the Russians during the last Presidential campaign which he did not disclose on the appropriate forms when he applied for a security clearance after being nominated for Attorney General.
The first excuse is that an unnamed FBI agent assisting him in filing out the required forms advised him that he did not have to list those contacts because they were made in his capacity ‘as a Senator’.
I don't know if that excuse will hold up. First thing to ask is what's the name of this FBI agent he's blaming for what he says is an innocent screw-up?
Some but not all. Some people who are not wusses are nevertheless sadistic; they LIKE hurting people, but that personality quirk isn't tied to being a wuss.
Trump, however, is a wuss; he likes to hurt people who can't defend themselves. He doesn't like to risk a confrontation with those who can fight back and stand a chance of inflicting damage to him.
It occurs to me that, as Trump's woes increase and his ‘base’ shrinks back to the truly dedicated Trumpkins (I know a few of those), then Trump's standing will probably improve with the congressional Republican ‘leadership’, meaning, specifically, Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan. They're likely to find a seriously wounded Trump to be much more to their liking, and much more deserving of Republican support, than a popular Trump. A wounded Trump will be more likely to sign whatever they stick in front of him (a tack he's already taken on ObamaCare--‘just gimme something I can sign’ type of approach). A more confident Trump was showing signs of having his own, perhaps non-traditional, ideas about things. A sufficiently wounded Trump will likely be obliged to just sign whatever they send him.
In case anybody here, other than myself, keeps track of such things: What's being billed as the world's most sensitive ‘dark matter detector’ has gone online and completed a 30 day test run, which is being billed as a complete and unmitigated success. link They didn't find any dark matter, but that seems to be largely irrelevant to the declaration of total success for the ‘dark matter detector’.
Hmmm...if this guy gets elected I'll have to seriously wonder about people in Montana.
Greg Gianforte, the Republican candidate in Montana's special congressional election, has been charged with misdemeanor assault after he allegedly body slammed a reporter and broke his glasses on Wednesday night.
In Montana, thumping a reporter is not generally considered a bad thing for a politician to do. (Exceptions made for FoxNews, Breitbart, American Greatness (yes, there is now an online publication called ‘American Greatness’--one can readily imagine its slant) and a few other publications.)
Guess I would think twice about moving to Montana.
But in fairness there were two things that seemed to get this idiot elected. One was that a third of the state voted early (before this incident) and two, Democrats in their infinite wisdom sent Bernie Sanders to campaign for the Democratic candidate. If you are trying to flip a state that has went Republican for the last 20 years or so you don't send in a far left candidate to do it. You send in more of a moderate who might appeal to those who are wavering.
Of course he's not the only one who personifies the ugly American.
While walking with the NATO leaders during his visit to the alliance's headquarters Thursday, President Donald Trump pushed aside Dusko Markovic, the prime minister of Montenegro, as he moved to the front of a group of the leaders.
I wonder if the 3:00 ‘stop him on the way to the shitter and take away his tweeter phone’ job goes to a senior lawyer, or if maybe they expect one of the apprentice lawyers to stop him on the way to the shitter?
Perhaps Lynnette, perhaps. Although so far Budapest doesn't beat Prague for me. Luckily the Checzh politicians are almost just as based as their hungarian partners. So Prague would definetly be a possibility.
Word is that Jared Kushner has ‘no recollection’ of what was said in his several unreported meetings with Russian agents and diplomats last year. (Translation: He's afraid they have transcripts so he's not going to tell them anything about what was said, in case they catch him lying about it. If they don't have transcripts, so much the better, but he ain't gonna risk it.)
With Shorthands' grand tour of Europe and the Middle East winding up, I began looking for the FoxNews friendly articles telling us about how he soothed the ruffled feathers of our allies and increased the distress levels among our adversaries.
150 comments:
There's a Red...
Under every bed...
(xcept nowadays it's not a "red" but a "black" or at least "brown" under that bed, while it's the bed-owner who is getting redder and redder by the day)
Trump's rather more of an orange color than red.
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Essay by Michale Totten in support of Trump's actions to arm the Kurds over Erdoğan's objections.
Am I the only one who's noticed that none of Trump's usual cheerleaders are talking up his supposedly tremendous negotiating skills after this last deal he's cut with China?
I was just listening to a half hour early morning show comes on TV here during the week, called AgDay ("Ag" as in "agriculture"), and I just heard a talking head grumbling about Trump's supposed new deal with China--fella said "we've all heard that they [the Chinese] are going to start allowing U.S. beef many times before; I'll believe it when I see it". Perhaps this has something to do with nobody cheering for this product of Trump's supposedly tremendous negotiating skills.
Trump's rather more of an orange color than red.
LOL!
Am I the only one who's noticed that none of Trump's usual cheerleaders are talking up his supposedly tremendous negotiating skills after this last deal he's cut with China?
The only thing I've heard is the fellow in Wisconsin who was complaining that it will raise beef prices here in the US.
I am thinking that eventually Trump's advisers will start to understand that when you tug at something in one spot something in another spot starts to wiggle.
(xcept nowadays it's not a "red" but a "black" or at least "brown" under that bed, while it's the bed-owner who is getting redder and redder by the day)
Or are you saying that Sweden is following some kind of McCarthyism path?
The Washington Post has just posted (about 20 minutes ago) a news article claiming that Trump revealed highly classified and very sensitive intelligence information to the Russian Ambassador when they met last Friday.
This is gonna make a stink. Teflon Don's not gonna be able to slide this one off.
You beat me to the punch, Lee, I was just going to post that link. They were just talking about it on CNN. They actually interviewed Amy Klobuchar regarding it. Unfortunately it doesn't surprise me that Trump would do that. What surprises me is that people just don't seem to get why Trump is so open and friendly with the Russians. They just need to look at his past business dealings to see the reason. I just don't know if Trump understands how serious the national security aspects are with sharing information with the Russians or if he does know, but just doesn't care. If it is the latter then he is not just unfit to be President, but there is a serious question as to where his true loyalties lie.
One other thing regarding this incident that was pointed out is the reaction of Daesh, since is was in regard to what they are planning. They will either delay their plans or speed them up. If it is the latter then Trump has placed someone, besides our sources, in danger.
I was giving renewed credence to the dementia theory.
What I seem to be seeing is someone who doesn't believe that the Russians are the enemy. He may very well be in the early stages of dementia, but that doesn't explain his affinity for the Russians.
The worst part of this is the knowledge that it will not deter the dedicated Trumpkins.
I'm gonna close with mention of the presumption that the Trump administration will start screaming about leaks as soon as it occurs to them that they can get their dedicated Trumpkins to pursue that argument instead of worrying about the information actually leaked.
TrumpTweets: After sending Gen. McMaster, among others, out yesterday to categorically deny the Washington Post story about Trump sharing sensitive intelligence with the Russians during their meeting last week (Wednesday, not Friday, and closed to American press, but open to Russian photographers), Trump took to his Twitter this morning to admit to doing exactly that. Also to bitch ‘bout the leaks again, but back to the admission….
Trump keeps sending his people out to lie for him, and then cutting them off at the knees a few days or a few hours later. It's utterly amazing; and his dedicated Trumpkins love him for lying, or, at least, in spite of the lying; also amazing.
Trump's $916 million loss carry forward
Trump has declared bankruptcy multiple times. He has declared a $916 million loss carry forward. He refuses to release his tax returns. Where is he getting all of his investment money? Banks? Wealthy investors? Little people he suckered out of life savings? Somewhere else?
It is that somewhere else part that concerns me.
The worst part of this is the knowledge that it will not deter the dedicated Trumpkins.
Indeed. They know not what they do.
Trump keeps sending his people out to lie for him, and then cutting them off at the knees a few days or a few hours later.
That's where that possible early stage dementia thought fits in.
The Republicans in Congress appear to be getting a little twitchy about the need to maintain a united front in defense of the many vagaries of Trump. They're in an unsteady situation. They don't want to be punished by the Trumpkins for failing to protect Trump. They likewise don't want to be punished by the majority for protecting Trump while Trump's busy making a deal for a full confession in return for avoiding jail time and/or financial penalties.
Comey's a good example of the mistakes one can make when dealing with Trump. If Trump had been less impulsive (and less of a wuss), he'd have gone to Comey and told him to turn in his resignation and then Comey could have told Trump about the notes he'd kept of that time when Trump was trying to obstruct justice. And then Trump would have backed down, and Comey'd still have his job, and Trump would still be sliding secrets to the Russians. But, Trump is impulsive and is a wuss, and so Comey got his ass fired, basically, for overestimating Trump.
The Republicans in Congress don't want to get themselves in a Comey situation, have their asses handed to them by their voters while Trump's maybe makin’ a deal for a pardon. But they don't wanna get primaried while the dedicated Trumpkins are still high on Trump either. The problem is that the Trumpkins, when they do finally abandon Trump, will likely do it in a surge that'll catch many politicians unable to switch hats fast enough. (One need only look at how fast Dubya became a widely despised figure among the the Republican ‘base’ that had once claimed him as a champion.) In that vein, I might note that Trump's favorability rating is now generally polling in the high 30s, down from the low 40s, and probably still falling.
Putin has offered to provide Congress with transcripts of Trump's meeting with the Russian Ambassadors, to prove Trump is innocent, as soon as he's cleared the proposed text of the transcripts with Trump. link
Umm, yes, I find there are a couple of things wrong with Putin's offer. First,
I don't believe that I would trust anything he produced, and secondly the very fact that he offered just makes Trump look more guilty of something. I mean, seriously, why would Putin care about Trump's standing if there wasn't something in it for him (Putin)?
The Republicans in Congress appear to be getting a little twitchy about the need to maintain a united front in defense of the many vagaries of Trump. They're in an unsteady situation. They don't want to be punished by the Trumpkins for failing to protect Trump. They likewise don't want to be punished by the majority for protecting Trump while Trump's busy making a deal for a full confession in return for avoiding jail time and/or financial penalties.
I wast just reading an article on CNN that pointed out all of the roadblocks to an actual impeachment of Trump. Yet, there are a majority of Americans who support the idea of a special prosecutor.
Former FBI chief Robert Muller has been appointed as Special Counsel (a/k/a Special Prosecutor) for the Trump/Russia investigation. Deputy Director of the Justice Dept., Rod Rosenstein, appointed him (Jeff Sessions had previously announced that the was recusing himself from the investigation, having been a member of the Trump campaign team).
Mueller, with an e…
From everything I've read about Robert Mueller I think he is a good choice.
It is certainly with a sense of relief that I heard the news. I was starting to lose faith in our governmental institutions and their staff, believing that their only agenda was to further their own careers, rather than doing what is right for the country.
I expect a twitterstorm to erupt. However, the rest of us can relax a little with the thought that the issue probably is going to receive an impartial investigation now. Trump won't be happy (McConnell and Ryan probably won't be all that happy either, but it does let them off that hook they'd climbed up on, and may be better for them in the long run). But, I find my mind eased quite a bit.
More uglies in the New York Times. It's not directly related to the Trump/Russia connections, but it does cause one to wonder where Trump's loyalties lie.
I expect a twitterstorm to erupt.
They were discussing the deafening silence on CNN tonight. The thinking on that is that Trump will, if he hasn't already, lawyer up, which will result in his counsel telling him to zip it.
"The thinking on that is that Trump will, if he hasn't already, lawyer up…"
I don't know about that part, but I read that Trump has withdrawn into the residential section of the White House and is very likely scanning FoxNews and listening to Radio-Right-Wing to find out what his defense is supposed to be. Meantime, the White House hasn't provided any talking points or memos to the RNC or the Republicans in Congress on what they're supposed to say. Everybody's being forced to wing it, and not wanting to do that; most of them are now trying to simply avoid reporters altogether.
But, I don't expect Trump's hide to last for long. Rather, I expect him to erupt in frustration here fairly soon--I think there'll be twitterstorm comin’; lawyered up or not.
One analyst who has actually studied Trump extensively was speculating that at some point Trump may just choose to resign rather than go through a possible impeachment process, declaring that he won in the process. Sounds a bit like Richard Nixon. And I could see Trump doing that if there actually is something to the Russian connection that may lead to criminal charges.
I'd hate to have to predict Trump.
Michael Flynn won't honor subpoena for Russian documents
Retired Gen. Michael Flynn will not cooperate with the Senate intelligence committee's subpoena request for documents regarding the former national security adviser's interactions with Russian officials.
"Gen. Flynn's lawyers said he would not honor the subpoena, and that's not a surprise to the committee, but we'll figure out on Gen. Flynn what the next step, if any, is," committee chairman Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican, told reporters Thursday morning.
So, of course, this makes him, or someone else he is covering for, look guilty as hell. As to the next step? Perhaps jail?
"As to the next step?"
The Committee refers the matter to the full Congress to get a ‘Contempt of Congress’ resolution, which they then send to the DoJ to have enforced in the courts; i.e. jail. (The Republicans in the House did once manage to get a contempt resolution passed against Erik Holder, but the DoJ refused to enforce it in the courts.)
I've just managed to get back to that book "Dark Money", about the Koch brothers and their cohorts. I see so many of their fingerprints on the political right of center extremist behavior we are seeing now. You are right, tearing apart government is their basic goal. So it seems we are seeing perhaps the beginning of a political and societal "civil war" for the future of the US. I can see why Putin & Co. are encouraging Trump & friends.
"I can see why Putin & Co. are encouraging Trump & friends."
Kinda spooky when ya come to see how they're working for the same end, ain't it?
Yes.
Apparently others have been having similar thoughts to mine.
Investigators on the House intelligence committees have obtained access to valuable data from the Treasury Department, a development that will open their doors to investigate possible connections between President Donald Trump's business empire and Russians, CNN has learned.
I'm betting we come to know what's in his tax returns before this is all over.
Just as a bit of speculation not yet taken or focused upon by the media… I thought I saw a possible hint by Shorthands to a defense that might rest on blaming his Russian connections on his subordinates. Here's the quote:
""There is no collusion between certainly myself and my campaign
[and the Russians]. But I can always speak for myself and the
Russians, zero."
It's fairly typical rambling for Trump--sentences that actually make no real sense when parsed out, but seem to hint at there being a glimmer back there somewhere trying to formulate itself into an eventual thought. He seems to be toying with the idea of speaking of his own innocence, and letting ‘my campaign’ take the heat for whatever's eventually turned up that might not look quite so innocent as he insists.
This would be a very risky move, trying to blame the subordinates. They might have evidence on him that he doesn't know they kept.
Yes, he does have a confusing way of phrasing. It does appear that he is considering finding a scapegoat. But he may find that loyalty only goes so far, as you say.
Or, I may be over-reading a Trump ramble. But, I saw the possibility and thought I'd mention it.
Well, the morning news tells us that Sweden has dropped its rape investigation of Julian Assange. It's seven years old and shows no real evidence of ever producing a defendant in Sweden.
The Brits still have a warrant out for his arrest though, for evading service of process on that rape charge.
In an unforseen switch, Peggy Noonan, who qualifies as a Trumpkin when compared to her cohorts at the Wall Street Journal, is suggesting that Trump might be removed from office for incompetence under the 25th Amendment.
Some Republicans are becoming worried that Trump will cost them their Congressional majorities, and are looking for ways to get rid of him and get Pence in there. Looks like Peggy Noonan's ready to join the campaign.
(Personally, I still don't want to see Trump removed from office too soon, and I deem it still too soon. The dedicated Trumpkins are entitled to full and complete Trumping.)
As part of a full and complete Trumping… Shorthands is scheduled to deliver an address to Muslim leaders in Saudi Arabia tomorrow that's being billed as a speech ‘on Islam’ written by the noted Islamic scholar and general all-around diplomat, Steve Bannon. What could go wrong?
Lee: "Well, the morning news tells us that Sweden has dropped its rape investigation of Julian Assange. It's seven years old and shows no real evidence of ever producing a defendant in Sweden."
Yeah, after 7 years they finally decided to drop the charge that Assange according to her deviously slipped off his condom while having sex with a woman fan who bragged online about bagging Assange AFTER the alleged rape happened and then got real jealous when he bagged her Assange-fan girlfriend too.
There was NEVER a charge about rape per se. The charge was that Assange, during volontary sex, deviously slipped off the condom. And the charge came after Assange fucked the first slut's slut friend.
This was 100% political. A charge like that wouldn't even have reached the courts in Sweden even if it had been a white male doing it.
Hell, non whites get aquitted for rape here because their "culture is different and they didnt understand no means no".
Pursuing a non rape while calling it a rape because of a difference in opinion on wether a condom should stay on or off for 7 fucking years!?!?!? Really!??!?
This was always political and not at all about any "rape" (which never happened).
BTW, if you do get Trump impeached and Pence takes over for a while, who do you think Putin will put in the White House in 2020?
I mean Putin is all powerful and since he managed to force Trump upon yall then surely he will be the decider in any upcoming election also. Right? If he could get yall to elect Trump then any upcoming Russian stooge will be a breeze for Putin to push upon yall.
After all, the Russians have the very best of hackers and they chose Trump because they have embarrasing video of him being pissed on in a weird sexual game by russian hookers in a hotel in Moscow - CNN said as much. And CNN is never wrong or running with outlandish stories, right?
So, who will be your next Putin choice for Preznit, you gather?
"…charge that Assange…deviously slipped off his condom while
having sex with a woman fan…"
That's an increasingly common form of ‘sexual assault’ I hear. (I will call it that for lack of a more widely accepted terminology, which will probably develop one of these days.) The law seems to be having a hard time dealing with just what to call that, but it seems the norm among western legal systems to deal with it as a form of criminal assault of some sort. A somewhat new phenomenon, it seems to have sprung from an imitation of the practice among some angry homosexuals to purposely spread aids to their partners.
"…if you do get Trump impeached…"
I'm not near ready to have Trump impeached. Indicted maybe, but not impeached; not yet anyway.
Lynnette, on this whole Assange-rape-story. I gotta ask you. If you were raped by a man, would you go on Facebook the day after and invite friends to a crayfish-party bragging that you would bring your rapist along?
Maybe it's just me, and I'm no woman so maybe women think differently, but if I was ever raped I can't see myself inviting my rapist to a crayfish-party, bragging about it in social media and inviting people based on the fame of my rapist, only to see my rapist going off with my friend and THEN decide I was actually raped.
It does seem a bit weird to me. Lynnette, you're a woman, what do you think?
Lee:
"That's an increasingly common form of ‘sexual assault’ I hear."
Might well be. And I would deem that an assault also, myself. In any case it's a real shitty thing to do and might be a crime. Although it's EXTREMELY difficult to prove - condoms sometimes slip off or break without either party realising it.
The thing here is Anna Ardin who filed the rape charge against Assange did in fact go on Facebook the day AFTER the allaged condom-slip-off-rape braggig about her liasion with the justice warrior Assange and inviting people to the crayfish-party she was bringing him to.
I find it really, really hard to imagine why she would do that if she really thought she just got raped. But tha was the case here. And it cost Assange 7 years.
Assange cost himself seven years; he could have stood and fought the charges if Sweden is as lax in getting convictions as you claim (and, your rape data likewise suggests it's almost impossible to convict a blond white guy of rape in Sweden--23 times more likely to get a conviction on somebody brown if the woman claims she was accosted by a brown skinned guy--whether you're getting the right brown skinned guy most of the time is an open question with me, considering those sorts of numbers, but at least you're getting convictions on a brown skinned skinned guy).
According to the NewYorkTimes, Trump found it appropriate to report back to the Russians on the successful firing of James Comey for pressing the investigation of the possible collusion between them.
He does tend to make himself look suspicious.
No Lee, that's those Morroccans are 23 times more likely to rape not that they rape on equal footing to white men and then get a hard time in the courts. But you know that, you're just being silly, or trying to get a rise out of me - which won't work at least now because I'm fairly sober.
Assange DID cost himself those 7 years. But he did so because he was afraid not of a rape charge in a swedish court but that Sweden would render him over to the USA where he could have faced much more serious charges. Of course you know that too.
And, fact is, Sweden might very well have handed him over. Our government will virtue signal and declare itself a humanitarian superpower and whatnot, but at the end of the day it'll do Washingtons bidding - right or wrong.
No, I remember it clearly. I was having a little trouble believing my translation which made those numbers out to be based on conviction rates, and I asked you and you confirmed that it was conviction rates that we were looking at, and then you got all bent when I pointed out that we Americans were well familiar with disparate conviction rates that could be directly correlated with the skin color of the accused. After a bunch of sputtering and backing and filling you just dropped it for awhile, and have since chosen to remember it differently than it went down.
I'm not aware that Assange is, or was then, facing charges in the United States. Hardly likely that Sweden would render him over to face nonexistent charges.
I'm a bit ashamed too say it but the fact is my own country of Sweden right now might be the most hypocritical nation ever on this earth.
The government seriously thinks we're a "humanitarian superpower", and they don't just say that, they believe it.
We're supposedly the first ever "feminist government" but when even the cucked-out Merkel has dignity enough to go bare headed on a visit to Iran every singe one of our ministers don the hijab on their visit.
We virtue signal about the right to free speach but have the most draconian hate-speach laws except for Germany (and Germany have them for a reason - not a good reason but for a reason).
We harp on and on about the freedom of the press in Eastern Europe, while at the same time the entire system of the state aims at shutting down rightwing media back home.
We support every single war of the USA while blaming the USA for inflaming tensions in the world.
I could go on and on. This country is insane. It's really the inmates ruling the asylum over here.
The WashingtonPost is reporting that there's evidence out there of direct collusion between the Russians and a current ‘Senior White House advisor’, somebody still there at the White House. Names dropped include son-in-law Jared Kushner, as well as Cabinet members Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
The investigation seems to be moving right along, don't it?
Lee: I'm not aware that Assange is, or was then, facing charges in the United States. Hardly likely that Sweden would render him over to face nonexistent charges.
Likely or not, that was what he feared. He says so himself. He obviously didn't stay cooped up in an embassy for the fear of getting a small slap on the wrist in a swedish court. Hell, he would most likey have walked free. There was never a proven crime.
He feared yall, the CIA, the US government, whatever - the masters behind the scenes who wanted to shut him the fuck up - whatever their name might be.
(I'm bettin’ on either Sessions or Kushner; Tillerson came on-board too late.)
I'm guessing that Assange stayed holed for seven years ‘cause he knew what he was guilty of, and he feared that some others knew it too, and that he'd get charged with his real crimes if nabbed, and he'd not been successful in getting himself to the Russian embassy.
Wait. I just have to ask. Do you REALLY believe there were direct links between the Trump campaign and Russia in order to collude to get Trump elected?
I mean, I understand the Dems are trying to go with guilt-by-assosiation and find any association they can. And I get the media is having a field day with this stuff.
But really. Do you guys think Trump and his team were in cahoots with the Kremlin or what? I mean for real, not just because you wanna piss on Trump which I get, but do you really believe it?
Lee: " ‘cause he knew what he was guilty of, and he feared that some others knew it too, and that he'd get charged with his real crimes if nabbed"
Guilty of what? Changing sluts? Basically that was all he did. He changed one wannabe (leftist) slut who fucked him because he was a social justice warrior for another similar slut. Then the first of 'em got jealous and remembered (or cooked up) a removal of a condom.
The very worst thing he could have been prosecuted for here was removing a condom during otherwise volontary sex. Worst, worst case 6 months in jail or so, but it would probably have got laughed out of court.
No he was indeed afraid of getting sent to the US, and he has said as much.
The evidence isn't compelling beyond a reasonable doubt, not yet. But, he certainly does comport himself in a suspicious manner, and he's certainly not above it as a matter of ethics or patriotism.
I consider it a definite possibility. I do question whether Putin would consider him reliable enough to collude with, but it is possible.
By the way, collusion with the Russians to win the election is not necessarily illegal. (It is illegal to take money from the Russians for the campaign; that would get him indicted right quick; but many forms of collusion would be fully legal.)
We had two egyptian born swedish citizens rendered by CIA flight back to Egypt a short time after 9/11. They were tortured severely and completely broken down, because they had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, for YEARS even though there were no proof beforehand that they had anything to do with Islamic terrorism.
This story got buried in sweden because the "foreign minister" who signed off on the CIA rendition was herself killed by knifesman from the Balkans who hated her for the US bombings there - completely unrelated to any terrorism. But she was a "martyr" and thus her rendering of swedish citizens via CIA to egyptian torture dungeons was not a go for media.
Now, me being a white nationalist, those egyptians shouldn't have been here to begin with. But fact is, we rendered them to the CIA without ANYTHING more than the CIA wanting them. No charge, no trial, no nothing.
So Assange not feeling real safe about turning up at any court right here, well, can't say I blame him.
(Sean Hannity is having himself a major sputtering indignation today, related to today's newspaper revelations; Newt Gingrich is joining in from a remote connection to Newt's current European adventure. I think they're checking out the digs they'll use when Newt's current and third wife is appointed Ambassador to the Vatican--a reward for her being Newt's mistress while his second wife was otherwise occupied with dying from cancer I think it was. The Vatican must be ‘so pleased’ to have her.)
"So Assange not feeling real safe about turning up at any court right here,
well, can't say I blame him."
Kinda farfetched to be fronting the story that Assange woulda been turned over to the Egyptians to be tortured. But, I don't have to live in that conspiracy theorist mind you live in.
Far fetched or not, Assange obviously preferred to stay cooped up in an embassy in London rather than facing a court in Sweden where the odds are he would have been acuitted, and if convicted he would have served a few months in a quite decent environment.
He obviously fears not swedish justice but a rendering to the USA. And he has said precisely that. And that IS also what would have happened FYI.
We call it ‘extradition’. I suppose Assange was likely well aware of his own crimes, and I don't doubt that he feared we had the goods on him for those crimes. (I'm not sure we did, although I'd bet they got those chains of evidence complete by now, so the real question he has to confront now is: ‘How does he get from where he is now to where he wants to be’?)
Nine days overseas.
Quaere then: Did they let Trump take his tweeter phone with him?
I gotta ask you. If you were raped by a man, would you go on Facebook the day after and invite friends to a crayfish-party bragging that you would bring your rapist along?
Of course not. I also tend to agree with you that Assange was avoiding Washington's clutches. Oh, not because of any fear of rendition, but of our court system. As Lee said in an earlier comment.
It's funny you should stop in today, Marcus, because I ran into someone today who has relatives in Sweden. Her relative is a female police officer. She, the woman in Sweden, has also said the same things you have here. The one difference is that she has said people in Sweden want outside help in dealing with the situation, specifically the US and Donald Trump. Her relative's concern is that what is happening in Sweden will spread to the rest of Europe.
Hmmm...I'm watching a 20/20 Special on digital addiction. Interesting and rather sad.
Do you REALLY believe there were direct links between the Trump campaign and Russia in order to collude to get Trump elected?
You sound shocked that anyone might believe that. I wonder why? Do you believe that Trump is so above board that he would't try that? Or do you believe that Putin wouldn't try it?
As to what I believe, I think that there is enough smoke to look for the fire. And it has nothing to do with the fact that I don't care for his policies. Those are not just Trump's policies. They are the goals of many in the far right. Moderation is not their goal and Mike Pence will try to continue with that, I am sure, if Trump were not there.
No, this investigation must be allowed to unfold as it will and hopefully the truth, whatever it is, will be found. Because criminal behavior should not be allowed to stand no matter who is involved.
I do question whether Putin would consider him reliable enough to collude with, but it is possible.
There is the matter of that Syria bombing that Trump ordered. But perhaps it really didn't do enough to upset Putin's apple cart, so could be forgiven.
Just by the by, if Trump really does have some kind of beginning dementia he would probably not be someone that could be trusted to toe the party line, whatever that may be.
(I'm bettin’ on either Sessions or Kushner; Tillerson came on-board too late.)
My bet is Kushner.
Huh! They're doing a wilderness intervention for the digitally addicted subjects in this program. Totally unplugged.
"There is the matter of that Syria bombing that Trump ordered."
They didn't make a big deal out of it, but Trump warned Putin before the bombing, long enough before that Putin warned Assad. So, they hit empty plane hangers and a couple of runways and Assad had the runways repaired before 24 hours were up. (The Navy was not allowed to attack any warehouses or storage facilities--the only targets allowed were the empty hangers and the easily repaired runways; empty hangers were an acceptable loss to Assad; he's got very few planes left anyway (that's why his guys are tossing barrel bombs out of choppers) and he can easily house his few remaining planes in the hangers he's got left.)
I kinda suspected Kushner too. Sessions is a bit of a risk for Trump.
They didn't make a big deal out of it, but Trump warned Putin before the bombing, long enough before that Putin warned Assad.
A set up to make Trump look good at home and to serve as a distraction from his domestic problems.
I kinda suspected Kushner too. Sessions is a bit of a risk for Trump.
Some things are kept in the family.
Trump just signed a large arms deal with the Saudis (probably facilitated by Kushner).
Marcus will be thrilled I am sure.
Thank God at least some of these people are stupid.
It all started with a complaint over littering – and ended with two men arrested and the discovery of an arsenal of guns and bomb-making devices by Minneapolis police. Now, local authorities have flagged the arrests for review by the Department of Homeland Security.
I'm a little dubious about the wisdom of letting the one guy out of jail on a disorderly conduct charge.
"…(probably facilitated by Kushner)."
Selling weapons to the Saudi is kinda like falling off a log. Anybody can do it.
CBS Evening News just said something about a $200 billion Saudi ‘investment’ in American infrastructure. Is Shorthands selling our infrastructure to the Saudi ya ‘spose?
I'm gonna havta look into that.
I'm a little dubious about the wisdom of letting the one guy out of jail on a disorderly conduct charge.
I didn't say that we were always the brightest bulbs in the pack either. *sigh*
Is Shorthands selling our infrastructure to the Saudi ya ‘spose?
Sounds like a deal for one of his friends.
It appears that Shorthands wussed out on using the phrase ‘Radical Islamic Terrorism’ in Saudi Arabia today, in front of his Arab audience, when the time came to use it. This used to be a necessary phrase when Obama was President; one supposedly could not combat Da‘esh without it. (I suspect that Shorthands failure to confront Radical Islamic Terrorism when he had his chance will somehow not receive any mention on FoxNews this Sunday, nor on Radio-Right-Wing in the coming week.)
Lynette:
"Trump just signed a large arms deal with the Saudis (probably facilitated by Kushner). Marcus will be thrilled I am sure."
Why do you think I would be thrilled by that? Really? In 8 or more years of posts have you EVER seen me advocate that the USA should arm Saudi more?
That fuckig deal basically goes agiainst everything I believe in.
Why do you think I would be thrilled by that?
It supports your argument that the US is hypocritical in some of its actions.
It appears that Shorthands wussed out on using the phrase ‘Radical Islamic Terrorism’ in Saudi Arabia today, in front of his Arab audience, when the time came to use it.
No, but he did make the remark that we must fight the terrorist's ideology, which came rather close to it, considering that for AQ that is Wahhabiism. I'm really not sure about Daesh who seems to be some kind of hybrid death cult. And since that is kind of an export of KSA that remark would seem to me to be kind of touchy, given the audience.
The other remark that actually had me laughing out loud was when Trump said the US has entered a new era of hope. Seriously? It reminded me of Jeffrey's parallel Arab universe phrase, only in this case it would be parallel Trump universe.
"It supports your argument that the US is hypocritical in some of its
actions."
Now I'm confused. I don't recall that we've ever taken a position against arming Saudi Arabia.
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"…he did make the remark that we must fight the terrorist's
ideology, which came rather close to it…"
Well, no, that's actually not rather close to it. That's precisely the nuance that was terrible when Obama made that same distinction, but was okay back when Dubya did it and is apparently okay again now that it's Trump that's up on stage.
Rex Tillerson has finally declared it unappreciated that Turkish government thugs beat up American protesters in America last week. He isn't actually considered imposing any consequences for it, not just now anyway, but he's spoken out against that having that sort of thing happening in general, on FoxNews, just today.
I read an article in the Times-of-Israel which suggests that Trump will be greeted in Israel and Palestine with the same fawning and over-the-top praise that met him in Saudi Arabia.
Thing is, he says this is not because the regional leaders respect Trump or even because they think they can work with him--the actual situation is exactly the reverse. They think of him as pretty much an empty suit--all fragile ego and short-term thinking, and they figure he'll respond to flattery maybe, but not much else. They can't trust him to stick with a plan so there's no point in making any plans with him, and he certainly doesn't have any vision for the future they intend to buy into. So, they'll puff him up and hope that maybe, short-term, he'll dispense a goodie or two as a reward for their praise, or, at least, he'll stay away from criticizing them, and then they're gonna pretty much ignore him, and ignore what he wants, as matters of no particular consequence.
(By the way, recent missteps from Trump have made it rather more difficult for Netanyahu to lavish excessive praise on Trump than would have been the case just a few days ago, but he may stick with that plan anyway.)
The dedicated Trumpkins are digging in, but their number is slowly shrinking back to back to his hard floor, below which he will never descend. And, the Resistance is growing. This is bad news for Trump. The congressional Republicans will rapidly cease to fear him if this continues. Hard to say where the tipping point will be, but I'd reckon it at about 33% to 35% support for Trump (general public). That's probably close to his hard floor too.
Ironically the massive arms deal with Saudi Arabia may actually be of some value in pushing KSA towards a more moderate future.
Why the Saudis rolled out the red carpet
But Riyadh, despite its seemingly shiny veneer, is in trouble. For the first time in decades the Saudi monarchy can no longer rely on the revenues from oil to maintain its position as the leading Arab state and to buy off any aspirations that the Saudi population might have to play a real role in politics.
That's because the days of $100-a-barrel oil are long gone and are unlikely to return anytime soon. And it is this reality that made President Trump's trip to Riyadh and his speech on Sunday so important to the Saudi monarchy.
Now I'm confused. I don't recall that we've ever taken a position against arming Saudi Arabia.
I find that I am somewhat ambivalent. On the surface I don't care for arming those who may have committed human rights abuses or in doing so contribute to a new arms race in the Middle East between KSA and Iran (supported by Russia). However, if this deal will actually help diversify the Saudi economy by providing jobs in other sectors, which may help stabilize the country, it may prevent a more serious implosion in the Middle East, which could be detrimental to other regions of the world, namely Europe. Sometimes working with people gives them more of an incentive to change. In that sense I believe Trump may be on the right track. But it is a fine line to walk. I can understand Marcus' point of view, which is why I made that comment.
Rex Tillerson has finally declared it unappreciated that Turkish government thugs beat up American protesters in America last week. He isn't actually considered imposing any consequences for it, not just now anyway, but he's spoken out against that having that sort of thing happening in general, on FoxNews, just today.
I will grant him points for that, but it doesn't make up for shutting out the US press at his briefing in KSA. I am getting a little tired of that kind of behavior from State and the WH.
The dedicated Trumpkins are digging in, but their number is slowly shrinking back to back to his hard floor, below which he will never descend.
While I don't really agree with the Democrats' behavior when the GOP's healthcare proposals were unveiled (their musical rendition on the floor of the House), I think that if they push it through they will continue to lose Trumpkin supporters. I was reading an article today about dental expenses, which for many are out of sight, leaving them little recourse for treatment. The article was talking about a free dental clinic set up for those who cannot afford dental care. One of the people interviewed mentioned that she had voted for Trump and after hearing about the new GOP healthcare proposals was now questioning her vote. She said it felt like she was living in the third world.
(By the way, recent missteps from Trump have made it rather more difficult for Netanyahu to lavish excessive praise on Trump than would have been the case just a few days ago, but he may stick with that plan anyway.)
I thought the press a little too loquacious as well.
"I will grant him points for that…"
I'm afraid I give him no points at all for that. Too little; too late. He had to be asked about it by FoxNews before anybody heard anything from the Trump administration on this outrage. Besides, I don't believe he actually called the Turks on it at all. I think he just made that up on the spot because Fox asked him about it. And, if he didn't make it up, it's still too little; too late.
I don't believe the story about it being ‘to late’ to bring the American press into that appearance before the Saudi press either. I think that was probably arranged by the Saudi at the behest of Tillerson who didn't want to get any questions about the bombshells that've exploded back in D.C. since they've left. The Saudi press could be counted on to avoid that subject if so instructed, and I suspect they were so instructed.
In 2003 Sweden voted No by a decent margin against swapping our currency to the Euro. But now the un-elected bureaucrats that lord over us have decided we must join soon anyway:
http://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/eurokrise/eu-kommission-fordert-mehr-geld-fuer-den-eurozone-15026944.html
So much for "democracy". Also it's the complete opposite of what European economies actually need, which instead would be a break up of the current Euro.
"But now the un-elected bureaucrats that lord over us have decided
we must join soon anyway:"
Unless I misunderstand the structure of the E.U., this Commission doesn't have the legal power to implement the proposal you call their ‘decision’. It is, in fact, merely a proposal which would have to be adopted by the E.U. Parliament before anything was ‘decided’.
I'm afraid I give him no points at all for that. Too little; too late. He had to be asked about it by FoxNews before anybody heard anything from the Trump administration on this outrage.
What!? You mean I have to give credit to Fox News???
No, Tillerson provided no evidence that he'd ever raised the issue with the Turks beyond his bare assertion, and they let him get away with that. You may consider them complicit.
(By the way, after Tillerson publicly claimed, on FoxNewsSunday, to have raised the issue with the Turks they called the American ambassador in and made a formal complaint to him about the shabby way their guys had been treated--no explanation of what exactly that means, but that's beside the point…. But, my point is, soon as they heard about this coming up on FoxNews they were on it for real trying to make it out to be our fault somehow. If Tillerson had actually raised the issue with them they'd have been on it earlier.)
I assume those responsible had diplomatic immunity, so there is no recourse for local authorities. Somehow I think we will be seeing more of this kind of slacking off from State and the WH. Business working relationships and those we want something from are paramount, ordinary people not so much.
"I assume…"
Yep.
The Washington Post says that Shorthands asked two top intelligence officials, Admiral Michael Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency, and Dan Coats, the Director of National Intelligence, to make exculpatory statements on his behalf regarding the allegations against him and his campaign of collusion with the Russians during the Presidential elections. Both refused.
The White House has refused to comment on these new allegations.
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I read that the death toll in the Manchester bombing is up to twenty-two now. The attacker has not yet been identified in the media, probably the police don't have a name yet.
I saw that about the DNI and NSA. If this is accurate it implies very strongly that Trump has something to hide and that he has no idea about the differences between running a company and running a public office.
It looks like Daesh is claiming responsibility for the Manchester bombing. Why do I fear this kind of thing will be the new normal?
"It looks like Daesh is claiming responsibility for the Manchester
bombing."
They don't seem to know the bomber's name either.
The bomber had ID on him, so police had a name immediately last night. Salman Abedi -- a 22 year old Mancunian of Libyan parentage.
Hey, Petes! Nice to see you're still around.
It seems that even people at Fox News are fed up with the conspiracy theory bs.
Fox News staffers expressed frustration on Monday that on-air personalities at their network like prime time host Sean Hannity are continuing to peddle a conspiracy theory about the murder of Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich.
"I'm disgusted by it," one Fox News employee told CNN.
Sometimes heroes are found in unusual circumstances.
Stephen Jones, a homeless man who was outside the Manchester Arena when Monday's deadly attack took place, is being hailed as a hero after he helped the wounded as they fled the scene.
"First there was a bang, I thought it was some kind of firework, and then there was a big explosion," he told CNN affiliate ITN.
"I just felt the wind force, and then everyone started screaming and running. Me and my mate we got up and we started running. We realized what had happened, we run back, and all the women and children were coming out with blood."
"It seems that even people at Fox News are fed up…"
Well, they'd better get used to it or start looking for other work. FoxNews has passed the tipping point. Their audience now requires the energy and anger associated with the adoption of a reactionary victim identity (much like the reactionary islamists). They must view themselves as set upon and persecuted. And for that they need to constantly tell themselves new tales. The faeire tales have taken them over; they can no longer function in the real world.
Evening news showed a big gathering in Albert Square, or Albert Park or Albert something (Albert Square I believe--probably named after Victoria's Prince), anyway, big gathering to pay their respects to the dead and show up for Da‘esh to see their defiance, apparently highly attended by Manchester's Muslim community, which counts as a good thing.
There is a Frontline PBS Special on tonight at 9:00, Bannon's War. It might be interesting, and depressing, all at once.
It sounds like the Manchester bomber was born in the UK. His parents had immigrated from Libya, and are now actually back in their home country.
Evening news showed a big gathering in Albert Square...
Daesh and those who affiliate themselves with the terrorist group just don't seem to understand that an attack of this nature will not break their victims, but will only unite them. It is understood that people who attack innocents are at heart cowards. There will be no heavenly reward for them.
"…Bannon's War"
Yeah, I'd seen that and thought about mentioning it, but the high probability for ‘depressing’ caused me to let it slide without a mention.
"…just don't seem to understand that an attack of this nature will
not break their victims, but will only unite them."
There's considerable evidence that aerial bombing often produces the same reaction among civilians. Eventually it'll break their will, but it's real hard to get to eventually. Meantime they get pissed off and defiant, and they're often never moved off of that position.
Lee: "Meantime they get pissed off and defiant, and they're often never moved off of that position."
Really? Why don't they just settle for changing their Facebook pics and maybe lighting up a public building in the colors of the flag of the bombed country and then march for unity with the people in the country of the air force that bombed them?
I thought that was how it's done.
#PrayForParis - 7 January 2015
#PrayForParis - 13 November 2015
#PrayForSanBernardino - 2 December 2015
#PrayForBrussels - 22 March 2016
#PrayForOrlando - 12 June 2016
#PrayForNice - 14 July 2016
#PrayForGermany
#PrayForWurzburg - 18 July 2016
#PrayForMunich - 22 July 2016
#PrayForAnsbach - 24 July 2016
#PrayForReutlingen - 24 July 2016
#PrayForFrance - 26 July 2016
#PrayForOhio - 28 November 2016
#PrayForBerlin - 19 December 2016
#PrayForIstanbul - 1 January 2017
#PrayForLondon - 22 March 2017
#PrayForStPetersburg - 3 April 2017
#PrayForStockholm - 7 April 2017
#PrayForDortmund - 11 April 2017
#PrayForParis - 20 April 2017
#PrayForManchester - 22 May 2017
I take it this ↑↑ is your way of complaining that the non-jihidi British Muslims were allowed to attend the memorial ceremony in Manchester?
No, that was my way of disagreeing with the lame-ass response that's been all too common lately where a terror attack is met with some sort of weird love fest and then all is back to normal after a week or so. I think to get "pissed off and defiant" as you suggested those getting air-bombed are prone to get is a way more rational reaction.
I didn't know anything about the ceremony in Manchester, haven't read about it nor seen any footage. But if muslims protest outright islamist terror it can only be a good thing imo and I would certainly never propose any ban on them from doing that.
Morrissey Official
Celebrating my birthday in Manchester as news of the Manchester Arena bomb broke. The anger is monumental.
For what reason will this ever stop?
Theresa May says such attacks "will not break us", but her own life is lived in a bullet-proof bubble, and she evidently does not need to identify any young people today in Manchester morgues. Also, "will not break us" means that the tragedy will not break her, or her policies on immigration. The young people of Manchester are already broken - thanks all the same, Theresa. Sadiq Khan says "London is united with Manchester", but he does not condemn Islamic State - who have claimed responsibility for the bomb. The Queen receives absurd praise for her 'strong words' against the attack, yet she does not cancel today's garden party at Buckingham Palace - for which no criticism is allowed in the Britain of free press. Manchester mayor Andy Burnham says the attack is the work of an "extremist". An extreme what? An extreme rabbit?
In modern Britain everyone seems petrified to officially say what we all say in private. Politicians tell us they are unafraid, but they are never the victims. How easy to be unafraid when one is protected from the line of fire. The people have no such protections.
Morrissey
23 May 2017.
https://www.facebook.com/Morrissey/?fref=nf
"Manchester mayor Andy Burnham says the attack is the work of an
‘extremist’. An extreme what? An extreme rabbit?"
I recall President Jimmy Carter was once attacked by an extreme rabbit. link Meantime, Shorthands the Incredible Dancing Bear decided to not use the magic phrase ‘Radical Islamic Terrorism’ when he was visiting the heart of Islam, Saudi Arabia. (This has received zero mention on FoxNews and Radio-Right-Wing so far as I can tell.)
A hefty pricetag:
http://www.nationaleconomicseditorial.com/2017/05/23/immigration-costs-denmark/
for cultural "enrichment".
Never mind though, because tolerance. And kebab.
We are now told that Shorthands will not decide whether to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accords until he leaves Europe and is safely ensconced in D.C. and Mar-a-Lago once again.
I would suspect that this increases the odds that he's intending to withdraw. Turns out he's a wuss bully in practice. Much less stress on him if he gets home first and then withdraws from the climate treaty.
Our Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, had contacts with the Russians during the last Presidential campaign which he did not disclose on the appropriate forms when he applied for a security clearance after being nominated for Attorney General.
The first excuse is that an unnamed FBI agent assisting him in filing out the required forms advised him that he did not have to list those contacts because they were made in his capacity ‘as a Senator’.
I don't know if that excuse will hold up. First thing to ask is what's the name of this FBI agent he's blaming for what he says is an innocent screw-up?
Bullies usually are wusses at heart.
Some but not all. Some people who are not wusses are nevertheless sadistic; they LIKE hurting people, but that personality quirk isn't tied to being a wuss.
Trump, however, is a wuss; he likes to hurt people who can't defend themselves. He doesn't like to risk a confrontation with those who can fight back and stand a chance of inflicting damage to him.
Nate Silver at 538 tells us that Shorthands' base is eroding. (‘Bout time.)
It occurs to me that, as Trump's woes increase and his ‘base’ shrinks back to the truly dedicated Trumpkins (I know a few of those), then Trump's standing will probably improve with the congressional Republican ‘leadership’, meaning, specifically, Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan. They're likely to find a seriously wounded Trump to be much more to their liking, and much more deserving of Republican support, than a popular Trump.
A wounded Trump will be more likely to sign whatever they stick in front of him (a tack he's already taken on ObamaCare--‘just gimme something I can sign’ type of approach). A more confident Trump was showing signs of having his own, perhaps non-traditional, ideas about things. A sufficiently wounded Trump will likely be obliged to just sign whatever they send him.
In case anybody here, other than myself, keeps track of such things: What's being billed as the world's most sensitive ‘dark matter detector’ has gone online and completed a 30 day test run, which is being billed as a complete and unmitigated success. link
They didn't find any dark matter, but that seems to be largely irrelevant to the declaration of total success for the ‘dark matter detector’.
Hmmm...if this guy gets elected I'll have to seriously wonder about people in Montana.
Greg Gianforte, the Republican candidate in Montana's special congressional election, has been charged with misdemeanor assault after he allegedly body slammed a reporter and broke his glasses on Wednesday night.
Will read the links later...
In Montana, thumping a reporter is not generally considered a bad thing for a politician to do. (Exceptions made for FoxNews, Breitbart, American Greatness (yes, there is now an online publication called ‘American Greatness’--one can readily imagine its slant) and a few other publications.)
Guess I would think twice about moving to Montana.
But in fairness there were two things that seemed to get this idiot elected. One was that a third of the state voted early (before this incident) and two, Democrats in their infinite wisdom sent Bernie Sanders to campaign for the Democratic candidate. If you are trying to flip a state that has went Republican for the last 20 years or so you don't send in a far left candidate to do it. You send in more of a moderate who might appeal to those who are wavering.
Of course he's not the only one who personifies the ugly American.
While walking with the NATO leaders during his visit to the alliance's headquarters Thursday, President Donald Trump pushed aside Dusko Markovic, the prime minister of Montenegro, as he moved to the front of a group of the leaders.
I mean, seriously?
"I mean, seriously?"
Blindsided him; waited and made his move when Markovic looked the other way; the equivalent of a sucker punch. Wuss bully.
In Budapest now. Home of the greatest politician of our time, Orban. Nice place. Very clean. Very european. Having a great time..
Checking out new digs for the future, Marcus?
Soooo it does appear that some people are really concerned with Trumps loose fingers.
The White House is considering vetting President Trump's tweets with lawyers, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
Bwahahahaha! Gooood luck!
I wonder if the 3:00 ‘stop him on the way to the shitter and take away his tweeter phone’ job goes to a senior lawyer, or if maybe they expect one of the apprentice lawyers to stop him on the way to the shitter?
Perhaps Lynnette, perhaps. Although so far Budapest doesn't beat Prague for me. Luckily the Checzh politicians are almost just as based as their hungarian partners. So Prague would definetly be a possibility.
Word is that Jared Kushner has ‘no recollection’ of what was said in his several unreported meetings with Russian agents and diplomats last year. (Translation: He's afraid they have transcripts so he's not going to tell them anything about what was said, in case they catch him lying about it. If they don't have transcripts, so much the better, but he ain't gonna risk it.)
With Shorthands' grand tour of Europe and the Middle East winding up, I began looking for the FoxNews friendly articles telling us about how he soothed the ruffled feathers of our allies and increased the distress levels among our adversaries.
I'm not finding them, or even it.
Not surprising. He has that effect on people.
Surprising part is that they're not even trying to make up the necessary faerie tales on his behalf.
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