The Trump presidency

[camouflage]

Stop foreign aid and cede the floor to china

Yeah, last thing we want is for China to be running around developing economic and diplomatic relations with people, trading and talking and what-not.

 

[2hats]

Turns out the folks whooping and applauding him during his ramblings speech at the CIA the other day were people he brought with him as part of his entourage.

 

[hot air baboon]

....yeah its basically the positive image you project abroad from your media, consumer products, culture etc & tends to go in the direction of rich countries to poor countries....although I suppose you could argue e.g. Tibet has "soft-power" by projecting an image of spiritual holiness & mystic inscrutability in the form of the Dalai Lama & thereby attracting Hollywood types in contra-distinction to the rather harder variety employed by the Chinese state

 

[Crispy]

This will severely impact a massive range of projects. No American aid money to any organisation whose range of activities include informing women about their choices, even if that is a tiny part of what they do and even if the us money was never put towards that part of their budgets.

The "international abortion funding" policy has been revoked by republican presidents and reinstated by democrat presidents ever since it was first written.

 

[bimble]

The "international abortion funding" policy has been revoked by republican presidents and reinstated by democrat presidents ever since it was first written.

Sent from my F5321 using Tapatalk

Yep. I didn't know this was just businesses as usual, every time the red team wins .

 

[Pickman's model]

been thinking about that concept of 'soft power' recently and beyond 'buying/building next mans infrastructure' I was stumped to think of what else counts as soft power- other than 'sphere of influence' stuff. Any thoughts?

It's also reputation - the US had a fucking top reputation, they've fucked it all now. Stop giving foreign aid and see jihadis and similar reap the harvest.

 

[Lord Camomile]

Legitimate (4-year old) tweet from the current White House Press Secretary



It's a fucking house of children

 

[Pickman's model]

Yeah, last thing we want is for China to be running around developing economic and diplomatic relations with people, trading and talking and what-not.

doesn't matter what *we* want, just thought the US might have some thoughts about it.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Yep. I didn't know this was just businesses as usual, every time the red team wins .

Rolling Stone piece here on the prospects for abortion rights in the US under Trump. Article states pretty confidently that Roe vs. Wade is safe, even if a couple of Supreme Court judges pop their clogs, but the damage that can and almost certainly will be done will be of the kind that Bush Jnr indulged in - defunding of govt programmes and the expansion of absurd conditions and hoops to be jumped through. There will be abortion for the rich, no problem, but in many parts of the country only for the rich.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Legitimate (4-year old) tweet from the current White House Press Secretary



It's a fucking house of children

I'm not an expert on twitter, but if they've just unfollowed him, they won't read that will they?

 

[Lord Camomile]

I'm not an expert on twitter, but if they've just unfollowed him, they won't read that will they?

You can still see people's tweets even if you don't follow them, they just don't appear on your main feed. You can have entire lists of people you don't actually follow!

 

[2hats]

 

[CRI]

This will severely impact a massive range of projects. No American aid money to any organisation whose range of activities include informing women about their choices, even if that is a tiny part of what they do and even if the us money was never put towards that part of their budgets.

Absolutely. It doesn't matter whether the funding for information on abortion comes from another country, or a charity, or anywhere. No money from the US. Women and children will die because of this. They'll die in the US, too of course, but Republicans don't give a shit.

 

[CRI]

Turns out the folks whooping and applauding him during his ramblings speech at the CIA the other day were people he brought with him as part of his entourage.

Yes - you could tell from the clip showing the backs of people in the audience that they weren't applauding. He was speaking in front of a memorial to fallen members of the intelligence service - a place not given to applause.

He had his own entourage there to clap at is first "press conference" after winning as well - the one with the empty folders "showing" he'd divested his business interests, and the one where he didn't take any questions, that one.

Ah bless, but even though he showed disrespect for the CIA, he blew a kiss to FBI Director James Comey. Credit where credit is due I suppose. How sweet.

 

[CRI]

Rolling Stone piece here on the prospects for abortion rights in the US under Trump. Article states pretty confidently that Roe vs. Wade is safe, even if a couple of Supreme Court judges pop their clogs, but the damage that can and almost certainly will be done will be of the kind that Bush Jnr indulged in - defunding of govt programmes and the expansion of absurd conditions and hoops to be jumped through. There will be abortion for the rich, no problem, but in many parts of the country only for the rich.

I'm not so confident. The GOP has been pushing hard to eliminate legal abortion by any means necessary. Killing Roe v Wade once and for all would be their wet dream.

 

[J Ed]

Yes - you could tell from the clip showing the backs of people in the audience that they weren't applauding. He was speaking in front of a memorial to fallen members of the intelligence service - a place not given to applause.

He had his own entourage there to clap at is first "press conference" after winning as well - the one with the empty folders "showing" he'd divested his business interests, and the one where he didn't take any questions, that one.

Ah bless, but even though he showed disrespect for the CIA, he blew a kiss to FBI Director James Comey. Credit where credit is due I suppose. How sweet.

Fascinating posts here which juxtapose reverence for CIA, the intelligence service which backed Apartheid, which alternates with lamentations about historical racism. A really curious accident of history that we have arrived at a point where more than one person is doing this.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

I'm not so confident. The GOP has been pushing hard to eliminate legal abortion by any means necessary. Killing Roe v Wade once and for all would be their wet dream.

I dunno. There is an argument that the existence of RvW and the unlikely prospect of its changing allows politicians like Trump to flaunt their 'pro-life' (fuck I hate that term) credentials in the confidence that they will never be in a position to do much about it or be held accountable for the harm that a ban would cause.

That allows the issue to rumble on in a way that it just doesn't somewhere like the UK, where abortion rights are not framed as constitutional rights, but I guess the US is very different from the UK in this regard given the strength of the loon-Christian lobby.

 

[Lord Camomile]

Fascinating posts here which juxtapose reverence for CIA, the intelligence service which backed Apartheid, which alternates with lamentations about historical racism. A really curious accident of history that we have arrived at a point where more than one person is doing this.

While there's certainly some curious bedfellows and double standards flying around (as there always has been), my interpretation was that CRI was simply observing that it's a memorial, and generally whoever is within its vicinity usually treats it with reverence.

Except the current POTUS, apparently.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

While there's certainly some curious bedfellows and double standards flying around (as there always has been), my interpretation was simply that CRI was simply observing that it's a memorial, and generally whoever is within its vicinity usually treats it with reverence.

Except the current POTUS, apparently.

That was my reading of it as well.

 

[J Ed]

While there's certainly some curious bedfellows and double standards flying around (as there always has been), my interpretation was that CRI was simply observing that it's a memorial, and generally whoever is within its vicinity usually treats it with reverence.

Except the current POTUS, apparently.

Obv you haven't read many CRI posts.

 

[Lord Camomile]

Obv you haven't read many CRI posts.

I've read pretty much all the ones on the Bandwithz thread

 

[CRI]

I dunno. There is an argument that the existence of RvW and the unlikely prospect of its changing allows politicians like Trump to flaunt their 'pro-life' (fuck I hate that term) credentials in the confidence that they will never be in a position to do much about it or be held accountable for the harm that a ban would cause.

That allows the issue to rumble on in a way that it just doesn't somewhere like the UK, where abortion rights are not framed as constitutional rights, but I guess the US is very different from the UK in this regard given the strength of the loon-Christian lobby.

You may be right. But, with the restrictions on access, not to mention possibly needing to drive a day or more to reach the nearest provider, abortion is as good as banned in some parts of the US.

The GOP have never cared about the negative impact of restricting access to abortion or contraception. They would see it as "self-inflicted" since if you don't want an unplanned pregnancy, simply don't have sex, or get raped.

The US is different from most of the UK. Don't forget, the Abortion Act 1967 doesn't extend to Northern Ireland. Banning abortion is one of the few things you'll get most of the political parties there to agree on, sadly.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

You may be right. But, with the restrictions on access, not to mention possibly needing to drive a day or more to reach the nearest provider, abortion is as good as banned in some parts of the US.

The GOP have never cared about the negative impact of restricting access to abortion or contraception. They would see it as "self-inflicted" since if you don't want an unplanned pregnancy, simply don't have sex, or get raped.

The US is different from most of the UK. Don't forget, the Abortion Act 1967 doesn't extend to Northern Ireland. Banning abortion is one of the few things you'll get most of the political parties there to agree on, sadly.

Yep good point re NI.

 

[CRI]

While there's certainly some curious bedfellows and double standards flying around (as there always has been), my interpretation was that CRI was simply observing that it's a memorial, and generally whoever is within its vicinity usually treats it with reverence.

Except the current POTUS, apparently.

Yes, this. It would be like giving a similar speech and getting stooges to applaud and whoop in front of the Cenotaph or similar. Just not considered a done thing, even generally for folk who aren't fans of the military. Definitely not something expected from the Head of State.

 

[Lord Camomile]

Yes, this. It would be like giving a similar speech and getting stooges to applaud and whoop in front of the Cenotaph or similar. Just not considered a done thing, even generally for folk who aren't fans of the military. Definitely not something expected from the Head of State.

It really is odd how tone-deaf they seem to be, even with things that you think would be within 'their camp', so to speak.

But then, I guess we have to keep remembering that lots of people voted for him precisely because he does things his own way and not the 'proper' (i.e. 'establishment') way.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

It really is odd how tone-deaf they seem to be, even with things that you think would be within 'their camp', so to speak.

But then, I guess we have to keep remembering that lots of people voted for him precisely because he does things his own way and not the 'proper' (i.e. 'establishment') way.

This is the man who mocked John McCain for getting captured in Vietnam, remember. (How the fuck did he survive that, btw?!!!) Disrespecting some memorial is pretty small beer really.

 

[CRI]

It really is odd how tone-deaf they seem to be, even with things that you think would be within 'their camp', so to speak.

But then, I guess we have to keep remembering that lots of people voted for him precisely because he does things his own way and not the 'proper' (i.e. 'establishment') way.

I've risked fracturing my jaw, the number of times it's hit the desk from things Trump has said and done, and gets a pass for from his party, the mainstream media and seemingly, ordinary Americans.

After the CIA speech, where he boasted about how many times he'd appeared on the cover of Time, lied that the rain stopped just as he made his inauguration speech (and thanked the God he doesn't believe in for that,) and hinted war with Iraq was in the offing, he tweeted that it was "a win."

As if it could be any worse, his "counsellor" (the antithesis of Deanna Troi, I might add) Kellyanne Conway all but said he's ready to set up his own Stasi. Oh fantastic.

Appearing on ABC’s This Week on Sunday, senior Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said it was time for the president “to put in his own security intelligence community” and added: “We really would prefer the intelligence community that’s going out the door to be much more respectful toward the president and his vision in moving forward.”

 

[Lord Camomile]

This is the man who mocked John McCain for getting captured in Vietnam, remember. (How the fuck did he survive that, btw?!!!) Disrespecting some memorial is pretty small beer really.

Chrst, yeah, I had forgotten about that...

He's like Teflon-coated napalm

 

[CRI]

This, at the National Cathedral, was brilliant though!

 

[camouflage]

The "international abortion funding" policy has been revoked by republican presidents and reinstated by democrat presidents ever since it was first written.

political goofball.