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U-S-A! The American Politics Thread. (Read 500097 times)

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#650 Re: Trump
December 20, 2017, 08:47:07 pm
I read “Collusion” by Luke Harding over the weekend - Harding is the Guardian journo who ran their Russia desk in the 00’s and then investigated and covered the Litvineko murder.  If you’re interested in the whole Russia/Trump affair then I  highly reccomend it.  If the whole affair is as presented in the book then it’s way, way bigger than Watergate.

It’s all a bit overwhelming and gobsmacking to read as one tale - Trump is really just a “useful idiot” in reverse - and a much larger story of greed, coercion, Nationalism and all sorts of skullduggery. 

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#651 Re: Trump
December 20, 2017, 09:01:05 pm
I read “Collusion” by Luke Harding over the weekend - Harding is the Guardian journo who ran their Russia desk in the 00’s and then investigated and covered the Litvineko murder.  If you’re interested in the whole Russia/Trump affair then I  highly reccomend it.  If the whole affair is as presented in the book then it’s way, way bigger than Watergate.

It’s all a bit overwhelming and gobsmacking to read as one tale - Trump is really just a “useful idiot” in reverse - and a much larger story of greed, coercion, Nationalism and all sorts of skullduggery.

Personally, I fear the “useful idiot” scenario.
And strongly suspect it. I think the whole “forbidden language” attack on the CDC and other science bodies, along with the Tax bill and co-opting of the Judiciary is so damn frightening.
Yet, the Baboon’s twitter rants swallow the headlines. He’s so bloody awful, things that should be bringing the people onto the streets (at the very least entire campuses of irate students) are pale by comparison. Silent but deadly.
Several of us have quipped about Gilead emerging into reality, but some of this is genuinely a long way down that road. I thought it was playful hyperbole, on my part, just exaggeration to lampoon and deride. Now it’s starting to feel embarrassingly accurate.


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#653 Re: Trump
January 03, 2018, 09:03:29 am
Pffft! That was sooo last week!
We’re on to bigger twatishness now.

When even the BBC headline includes a Face Palm emoji, you know we’re all doomed:


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#654 Re: Trump
January 03, 2018, 10:34:15 am
At first, I really thought it was a parody site as I don't use Twitter anymore and didn't realise the letter count had gone up - I'd not seen the Beeb's response.
How to improve your international standing in one easy tweet.

Between him and the flat earthers, the US is on a roll.


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#655 Re: Trump
January 03, 2018, 02:14:21 pm
This, though, might the most significant nugget of todays news barage. The worm (in this case, obese, mutant Naked Mole Rat, with Scabies) turns:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/03/donald-trump-russia-steve-bannon-michael-wolff?CMP=fb_gu

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#656 Re: Trump
January 03, 2018, 05:54:42 pm
Here's a jaw dropping excerpt from the Fire and Fury book that the Bannon quotes are from - it's out next week.

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/01/michael-wolff-fire-and-fury-book-donald-trump.html?utm_campaign=nym&utm_source=tw&utm_medium=s1

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#657 Re: Trump
January 03, 2018, 06:38:58 pm
Trumps just that Bannon has lost his mind - apparently...

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#658 Re: Trump
January 03, 2018, 08:21:59 pm
Trumps just that Bannon has lost his mind - apparently...

Just got the full text of that release:


Edit
Bloody hell. The news wires have gone nuts since I sat down for coffee an hour ago. My inbox is full of this report from every news service I subscribe to (many).
Most of the commentary leans towards this being an enormous error on Trump’s part, as his relationship with Bannon was well documented and corroborated.
« Last Edit: January 03, 2018, 08:33:16 pm by Oldmanmatt »

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#659 Re: Trump
January 05, 2018, 08:34:06 am
The Failing NYT has reached peak “Fuck this shit” as of yesterday.
Not holding back:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/opinion/fire-fury-wolff-trump-book.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur

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#660 Re: Trump
January 05, 2018, 09:42:28 am
One thing they're not failing at is getting their point across in a smooth and brutal manner. That's a headline that pulls no punches.

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#661 Re: Trump
January 05, 2018, 10:46:51 am
We've been in Europe since Boxing Day and frankly its been a relief not to have it all quite so in our faces all the time (though inevitably people do want to talk about it, mainly to ask what the hell the country was thinking!). Anyway, so obviously some internecine war has broken out between Trump and Bannon. More chaos is the only likely outcome (the only possible silver lining is that through the split some of the "Always Trump" base will decide to follow Bannon - hopefully into the wilderness).

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#662 Re: Trump
January 05, 2018, 06:05:44 pm
I just downloaded the book onto my Kindle...  I expect it to be very entertaining, but, given the authors admission that some of it is fantasy or falsehoods coming from the mouths of those in the orbit, I wonder whether ultimately it might undermine other verifiable truths in the long run.  I'll report back tomorrow morning.

The Luke Harding (see book thread) Collusion by comparison is meticulously researched and probably tells us more that we didn't know or suspect.

Looks like you also dodged a bullet with the weather as well as the depressing news coverage Andy - it's proper grim and cold. 

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#663 Re: Trump
January 06, 2018, 01:00:43 am
Looks like you also dodged a bullet with the weather as well as the depressing news coverage Andy - it's proper grim and cold.

Yes, we totally swerved the snowmaggedonmegasnowbombcyclon. Actually I like the snow and would quite like to have experienced but everything we're hearing suggests its actually bloody miserable. Now ensconced in Holiday Inn Luton Airport after Christine and Marina had a truly horrible experience at border control: like they seriously did not want to "foreigners" to enter the country. Welcome to the world of Trump, Brexit, and petty nationalisms.

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#664 Re: Trump
January 06, 2018, 10:33:11 am
I just downloaded the book onto my Kindle...  I expect it to be very entertaining, but, given the authors admission that some of it is fantasy or falsehoods coming from the mouths of those in the orbit, I wonder whether ultimately it might undermine other verifiable truths in the long run.

The underlying theme of the book seems to be the incompetence and untrustworthiness of the the administration and as such the fact that he admits that some of his sources (from within the administration) may have lied underlines the theme rather than undermines it. The cease and desist letter may turn out to be another shot to the presidential  foot - if it is not backed up by actual legal action it will be seen as a tacit admission of truth. Conversely, starting legal action is extremely risky as it would mean making accusations of untruth on oath when it is reported that Wolff has taken copious notes and recordings.

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#665 Re: Trump
January 06, 2018, 11:25:44 am
Looks like you also dodged a bullet with the weather as well as the depressing news coverage Andy - it's proper grim and cold.
Now ensconced in Holiday Inn Luton Airport after Christine and Marina had a truly horrible experience at border control: like they seriously did not want to "foreigners" to enter the country. Welcome to the world of Trump, Brexit, and petty nationalisms.

Or, welcome to the world of border control situation normal. I can personally vouch for the miserableness of treatment dished out by Canadian border control and US border control in the period 2005 - 2008 when I lived there. Being made, as you say, to feel like you're the last person they want to allow into 'their' country. Long before the existence of either of the coat-hooks on which you hang your grievance.
« Last Edit: January 06, 2018, 11:37:21 am by petejh »

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#666 Re: Trump
January 06, 2018, 01:27:11 pm
Luckily, I do not have to stand for this kind of nonsense at borders anymore, less I leave the Schengen zone.

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#667 Re: Trump
January 06, 2018, 09:30:27 pm
Fredo.


Ahah, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, snrk...

God, but this would be hilarious if it wasn’t for his big red button  (quite big apparently).

http://theatln.tc/2Ef9JLB

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#668 Re: Trump
January 06, 2018, 10:15:37 pm
What’s the Fredo line - seen it on twitter and don’t understand

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#669 Re: Trump
January 06, 2018, 10:19:30 pm
Fredo Corleone.

The Godfather’s incompetent son and the essence of Dunning-Kruger.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredo_Corleone

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#670 Re: Trump
January 06, 2018, 10:32:31 pm
Fredo Corleone.

The Godfather’s incompetent son and the essence of Dunning-Kruger.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredo_Corleone

Badabing. Thanks Matt

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#671 Re: Trump
January 08, 2018, 07:15:58 pm
Looks like you also dodged a bullet with the weather as well as the depressing news coverage Andy - it's proper grim and cold.
Now ensconced in Holiday Inn Luton Airport after Christine and Marina had a truly horrible experience at border control: like they seriously did not want to "foreigners" to enter the country. Welcome to the world of Trump, Brexit, and petty nationalisms.

Or, welcome to the world of border control situation normal. I can personally vouch for the miserableness of treatment dished out by Canadian border control and US border control in the period 2005 - 2008 when I lived there. Being made, as you say, to feel like you're the last person they want to allow into 'their' country. Long before the existence of either of the coat-hooks on which you hang your grievance.

OK, so my post was a little hyperbolic but it was meant to be taken more rhetorically than literally. Of course I don't think one case of hostile treatment at Border Control is necessarily a direct result of either Trump or Brexit (though in the US many police and other law enforcement officers, such as ICE, are emboldened by an atmosphere they perceive as condoning greater aggression and suspicion). So I was taking one event as symbolic of a bigger change. And that change is not a hypothetical but is arriving in the US now. The administration is in many ways avowedly, actively, and deliberately more hostile to many different groups of visitors and legal, non-citizen residents. UKBers arriving in the US for road trips in 2018 might not notice from how they're treated at the border but it is definitely happening. I should imagine a similar shift would be a distinct possibility after Brexit (especially a hard Brexit). And trust me, Trump is much more than a convenient coat hook on which to hang some grievance.

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#672 Re: Trump
January 14, 2018, 05:49:04 pm
He's had a good week. In no particular order, and making no comment, he has:

 - Contradicted his own administration's policy on immigration (meeting on Tues)
 - Contradicted his own administration's policy on FISA (surveillance bill) (Twitter)
 - Attacked first amendment by floating idea of libel reform (doesn't like people being able to say nasty things about him).
   (Twitter),
 - This is the norm, but multiple attacks on the free press (mostly Twitter)
 - Attacked the judiciary (Twitter)
 - Wrongly accused a serving FBI agent of treason (Twitter)
 - Boasted about sale of F-52 fighters to Norway. The only place the F-52 exists is in Call of Duty (Twitter)
 - Offended a whole continent, most of Central America/the Caribbean, and almost every recent immigrant to the US with the
   "shithole" comment (meeting Thurs)
 - And today, has likely killed a promising bipartisan immigration deal by declaring it is likely dead. This is probably just in a fit
   of rage at the "shithole" blowback (as it were). (Twitter)
 - The last also makes a government shutdown from next Friday a real possibility.
 - Nearly forgot, has totally ignored the fact that Hawaii spent 30 minutes yesterday believing that missiles were heading
   their way. He doesn't like Hawaii. They vote Democrat and Obama was born there (except he was born in Kenya, of   
   course)

I am now entitled to vote at the state level and am looking forward to the 2018 midterms.
« Last Edit: January 14, 2018, 05:55:50 pm by andy popp »

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#673 Re: Trump
February 02, 2018, 08:21:22 pm
No time to write properly right at the moment, but we are now close to an all out assault on democratic norms and institutions.

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#674 Re: Trump
February 02, 2018, 08:43:19 pm
No time to write properly right at the moment, but we are now close to an all out assault on democratic norms and institutions.

You say that as if it isn't the norm in the US, if not the UK also at present. What's new?

 

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