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Post by bjd on Jul 9, 2019 18:26:22 GMT
Apologize to Ivanka Trump??!! What on earth for? That is ludicrous. I heard on the news from the FR24 correspondent in London that the UK government was playing it all down and trying to keep calm. They are more interested in finding out who leaked the diplomatic memos and why. Especially since they date from 2017.
The ambassodor was doing his job. I guess Trump wants Farage as ambassador to the US. Maybe Boris will send him over?
Nobody expects anything from Trump, who is such a thin-skinned asshole. But the Brits aren't doing anything to improve things if they apologize for the leak.
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Post by bjd on Jul 9, 2019 18:44:12 GMT
Last paragraph from an article about it in the Guardian: "Sure enough, just after 7.30pm, the US president took time out from watching Tom and Jerry to tweet that May was useless, Darroch was a nonentity, and he wouldn’t have anything to do with either of them again. We were on a war footing unless the UK backed down and appointed an ambassador who knew how to brown-nose properly. Boris, Farage and Oakeshott let out a cheer. Job done for the Brexiters."
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 9, 2019 20:02:29 GMT
I share and double your outrage, Bjd! The apology to First Barbie is mentioned twice in the article I linked in #1412. The conjecture is that the UK feels that it will be needing the US a great deal now that it scuttled itself so badly with Brexit.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 9, 2019 20:15:22 GMT
Perhaps the British have just understood that the Trump dynasty is here to stay and that Ivanka will be president after her dad.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 9, 2019 21:01:45 GMT
Last paragraph from an article about it in the Guardian: "Sure enough, just after 7.30pm, the US president took time out from watching Tom and Jerry to tweet that May was useless, Darroch was a nonentity, and he wouldn’t have anything to do with either of them again. We were on a war footing unless the UK backed down and appointed an ambassador who knew how to brown-nose properly. Boris, Farage and Oakeshott let out a cheer. Job done for the Brexiters." Hahaha!
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 9, 2019 21:05:15 GMT
Bill Clinton released a statement saying he took rides on Epstein’s private jets 4 times, and that is all. Trump is on tape saying he thinks Epstein is a fun guy and like Trump himself likes lovely ladies. He also noted on tape that some were pretty young. Accessory to a crime, maybe? And there’s no statute of limitations on this type of crime, and being tried for state charges and federal charges for the same crime is NOT “double jeopardy” the Supreme Court recently ruled. Oh, and as a flight risk (literally with a fleet of personal jets, as well as several private islands) Epstein may not get out on bail. Someone is in a world of hurt. Perhaps a ride on a private jet is a euphemism for something else...
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Post by lagatta on Jul 14, 2019 20:26:25 GMT
Could well be. And it only gets worse (I'll add that the same applies to Bolsonaro farther south in the Americas, who has made racist statements equal or worse than Trump's). He has told the young, "diverse" and progressive Congresswomen to "go home" to the countries he has already called shitholes: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/14/trump-squad-tlaib-omar-pressley-ocasio-cortez Only one, a refugee from Somalia, was born outside US states or territories. Cripes, OAC is a fellow New Yorker!
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Post by Kimby on Jul 14, 2019 21:29:19 GMT
From this morning’s Newspaper: missoulian.com/opinion/columnists/america-is-transforming-into-an-authoritarian-state/article_3e887f32-925d-59a4-9e54-db6d1c6d2e3a.htmlAmerica is transforming into an authoritarian state LAWRENCE K. PETTIT Lawrence K. Pettit is a University of Montana alumnus. He has taught at Penn State and Montana State, and was the first Montana commissioner of higher education. Later he served as a university system chancellor in Texas, president of a multi-campus university in Illinois, and president of a public university in Pennsylvania. He is retired and lives in Helena. Here’s the text in case the link doesn’t work abroad: Shortly after World War II, scholars undertook massive research designed to understand what led people in Germany to enable and accept Adolph Hitler’s fascist takeover. They developed a profile of what they called “the authoritarian personality,” which has been refined and integrated into research on political attitudes and behavior ever since. Now it makes sense as a framework as I try to answer what has gone wrong with my country. Russia is sabotaging our elections, trying to destroy liberal democracy and break up Western alliances, and reduce the United States to an authoritarian society pursuing an undemocratic purpose in common with them. History suggests that Russia is a people predominantly with authoritarian personalities. They have gone from right-wing rule (the Tsars), to the Stalinist distortion of communism, and back to conservative authoritarianism (Vladimir Putin’s brand of corporate fascism), with only a few years of a doomed attempt at democracy. Thus it makes sense that Russia would be the country that would help install an American president whose psychology renders him the perfect instrument for the destruction of democracy and the abandonment of humane, liberal values. It is not surprising that such a leader would emerge through the Republican Party, as research has shown that party to be the conventional home in the United States of people with authoritarian personalities. It’s not random that Russian money channeled into American politics is not exclusively in support of Donald Trump, but some of his fellow Republicans as well. In the past our military power, coupled with our moral authority based on liberal values, enabled us to build a new international order in alliance with the United States in the interests of peace, democracy and global prosperity. But now we are in a new age technologically and as regards our changing political culture. We are being attacked through sophisticated cyberwarfare, and we have as commander in chief a man who denies science; disdains the tortuous requirements of democracy; assails our traditional allies; loves and admires authoritarian leaders and regards himself as similarly above the law; considers the Constitution a nuisance; seeks to politicize the judiciary and delegitimize opposition; and refuses to admit we are under attack or to expend the resources to do anything about it. And this is where our changed political culture matters, with its grotesque marriage of plutocracy and right-wing populism; and its tolerance of neo-fascism, white supremacy and other ugly movements, now out of the sewers and in the mainstream, and claiming the president of the United States. There are many who make excuses for all of this, and who should know better because they are more educated than the typical Trump supporter. But they tend to be people who find Trump to be useful and profitable, and who place their own financial gain above the public interest. Thus, the normative and institutional foundations of our liberal democracy are being undermined from within and attacked from without. Young people need to understand that this has not been politics as usual during this chaotic Trump interlude. It has been a coordinated effort to transform American democracy into an authoritarian state ruled by a minority. White supremacy, worsening of inequalities in wealth and opportunity, human and planetary exploitation and ruin, and mammoth tax cuts for the very rich are all part of the same package. We are in such a disastrous state as a society that it is not unseemly partisanship, but real patriotism, to pray for a sweeping Democratic victory throughout this great nation in 2020. Without that, I think it is quite clear where we are headed.
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Post by questa on Jul 14, 2019 23:31:44 GMT
Yikes! Nothing that any observer of current affairs did not know, but presented as a clear summary, and enough to scare the living daylights out of us. What was not dwelt on is the complete dearth of statesmen/women around the world. The would-be leaders are enmeshed in corruption and scandal which destroys any good they may have done. Those who are not corrupt show a total ineptitude for leadership, as the UK is finding out.
Countries like mine, Australia, are entangled in a web of treaties with the USA - Trade, Maritime and Defence. What happens in Washington closely affects us. Pettit's observations also apply to other nations. Consider well before you cast your precious votes. People died so you might have this power and responsibility. Cherish it.
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Post by bjd on Jul 15, 2019 5:32:55 GMT
I just read an article in the New York Review's Daily page. It's not just Russia as mentioned in Kimby's article. The article I read is about the rise of the far right in Europe -- funded to a great extent by extremely wealthy Americans with a socially conservative outlook. People like the Koch brothers. These are the money behind the fight against not just abortion but also against contraception, against equality for LGBT and women in general, anti-immigration, about cutting social welfare policies, etc. And their eager pupils in Europe are Salvini, Le Pen, Orban.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 15, 2019 5:56:19 GMT
I read that article, too, Bjd -- it's absolutely sickening. Salvini is vile, as are the others. My feeling is that none of these people truly care one way or another about such issues as abortion, etc. but are all about getting control. They correctly see that the way to that control is manipulating the prejudices and fears of an unreflective public. That playbook has worked before and it's working now.
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Post by questa on Jul 15, 2019 7:27:05 GMT
Meanwhile the 18 to 30 year old civilians, the same age group that called a halt to the Vietnam war, and pressured for nuclear disarmament, are sitting in front of their games screens. They spend hours creating and destroying imaginary countries, heroes and villains. While fighting to the death they have the knowledge that it is all a game.
Could it be that these citizens have become so overwhelmed by the problems of Real Life that they choose to opt out of society altogether, or are they so inured to the corruption and inept politicians that they see no point in attempting to change things for the better.
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Post by bjd on Jul 15, 2019 7:49:41 GMT
I know this is not directly Trump's fault but is a sign of the anti-women mentality in parts of the States: a 28-year old teacher has been sentenced to 20 years in jail, with no possibility of early release, for having sex with a 13-year old student. In Arizona. Compare this to Jeffrey Epstein who had a 13-month slap on the wrist, during which he could spend 12 hours a day outside, for molesting any number of underage girls.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 15, 2019 13:57:29 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 18, 2019 10:41:19 GMT
I'm just wondering when the lynch mobs are going to start running rampant.
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Post by bjd on Jul 18, 2019 11:26:33 GMT
Each time something like this happens, I think "how much lower can he go?" and then he does something else awful. In principle, this is the president of all Americans until the next election. He is not supposed to be campaigning for himself.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 18, 2019 13:02:09 GMT
I confess that I'm afraid that his hateful comments will embolden neo-Nazis, KKKs and other "white nationalists" to commit hate crimes.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 18, 2019 14:27:01 GMT
I think that he is making the Ku Klux Klan mainstream. As much as we complain about Marine Le Pen in France, she is totally milquetoast compared to what Trump is doing.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 18, 2019 14:44:44 GMT
And I suspect there is a contingent more than willing to listen. Sad.
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Post by mich64 on Jul 18, 2019 16:12:30 GMT
Each time something like this happens, I think "how much lower can he go?" and then he does something else awful I felt the same way bjd. It amazes me how easily his supporters accept whatever he says or does no matter how repulsive.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 18, 2019 17:00:39 GMT
I confess that I'm afraid that his hateful comments will embolden neo-Nazis, KKKs and other "white nationalists" to commit hate crimes. That is already happening and has been happening. Various news outlets have been tracking it over the past few years, & there is a correlation. Trump was what he is well before he ran for president, it was well telegraphed during the campaign and has been glaringly obvious ever since. He's playing to a constituency which is being willfully uncritical and accepting of his gobbledygook "logic". Here is his slippery non-rejection of David Duke: www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2016/02/28/trump-won-t-denounce-kkk-support. And here he is not exactly backtracking from his tacit non-denunciation of the white nationalists after Charlottesville: www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/04/25/meet-trump-charlottesville-truthers/Yesterday online I saw a picture of a red cap like the maga cap. The slogan on it read "my other hat is a hood". Yep.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 18, 2019 20:36:08 GMT
I keep thinking of Ilan - and Marielle Franco in Brazil. Many Brazilians are convinced that Bolsonaro's son was behind her murder.
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Post by questa on Jul 19, 2019 0:12:43 GMT
I confess that I'm afraid that his hateful comments will embolden neo-Nazis, KKKs and other "white nationalists" to commit hate crimes. They have been here all the time...hiding under the rocks and creeping into the schools and like communities and spreading their filth. Now they have a leader (!) who has given them the OK to show their true colours. There have been too many incidences of injustices in the Courts and laws being applied to favour these creeps for it to be coincidental. It seems like the era of lynchings is not far away again.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 19, 2019 4:45:34 GMT
I read that Melania and Ivanka were unhappy about the chanting. I wonder if they might have some 'send-her-back' blood coursing through their veins.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 19, 2019 10:36:22 GMT
It's not the same as racism towards Black or Brown people, but there has long been an undercurrent of prejudice against Eastern Europeans. (Yes, I know that Slovenia is in Central Europe; I've been to what are now Slovenia and Croatia when studying in Northeastern Italy) - but the prejudice lumps them in with people farther East.
Yes, the sewer has always been there, but it takes a Great Leader to get the rats in a row.
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Post by questa on Jul 19, 2019 13:51:46 GMT
Yes, the sewer has always been there, but it takes a Great Leader to get the rats in a row. Bravo!
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 19, 2019 18:21:53 GMT
This "discussion" is so disgraceful that it brings tears to my eyes.
Has anybody else noticed that Trump has absolutely no facial expressions?
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Post by lagatta on Jul 19, 2019 21:01:51 GMT
No facial expressions, no empathy, no understanding of ongoing international conflicts. It goes on. Several years ago, I interpreted at a Nobel Women's Conference on ending sexual violence in conflict situation (which includes wars but also "non-State-actors" whether religious fanatics or drug cartels...) It was fascinating but extremely painful. Nadia Murad shares the 2018 Nobel with Denis Mukwege, a Congolese surgeon who has devoted his life not only to denouncing these crimes but also repairing their victims (mostly women and girls, but there are also male victims). Nobel Peace Prize 2018 Courageously combating war crimes and seeking justice for victims
Both laureates have made a crucial contribution to focusing attention on, and combating, war crimes. Denis Mukwege is the helper who has devoted his life to defending these victims. Nadia Murad is the witness who tells of the abuses perpetrated against herself and others. Each of them in their own way has helped to give greater visibility to war-time sexual violence, so that the perpetrators can be held accountable for their actions.In both these conflicts and many others, the victims of sexual violence include babies and very small children.
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Post by mich64 on Jul 20, 2019 2:40:13 GMT
I thought it was just me when I watched it earlier today. I felt like when he asked her why she won the Nobel prize that he still did not understand why. Also, I do not think he has any intention of helping in any way and probably spent the rest of the day wondering how she received a Nobel prize when HE has not.
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Post by bjd on Jul 20, 2019 5:34:16 GMT
I thought it was just me when I watched it earlier today. I felt like when he asked her why she won the Nobel prize that he still did not understand why. Also, I do not think he has any intention of helping in any way and probably spent the rest of the day wondering how she received a Nobel prize when HE has not. My thoughts exactly, Mich.
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