The Trump presidency

[Magnus McGinty]

Aha so it is! I misread. 'A combined worth of 2.6 billion' Absolutely knackered so should leave off now. Still a fuckload of money that could be usefully spent elsewhere.

Where did you get that figure from?

 

[teqniq]

Where did you get that figure from?

Here

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Here

$1.59m x 59 doesn't quite make $100m - so nowhere near $2.6bn

 

[teqniq]

$1.59m x 59 doesn't quite make $100m - so nowhere near $2.6bn

No indeed. I said I misread on the previous page.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

I know this isn't an original thought, but .... the more I pay attention, the more I think every government on the planet is a giant scam. Collude together to keep people scared and everyone will let you steal them blind. Just give people the illusion of security and you can do anything. I can see why conspiracy theorists and anarchists can gain ground in the current climate.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

I know this isn't an original thought, but .... the more I pay attention, the more I think every government on the planet is a giant scam. Collude together to keep people scared and everyone will let you steal them blind. Just give people the illusion of security and you can do anything. I can see why conspiracy theorists and anarchists can gain ground in the current climate.

You're right: it's not that new. Back when I was a young hippie, the principal boogeyman was The Trilateral Commission.

Trilateral Commission - Wikipedia

THE TRILATERAL COMMISSION AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

You're right: it's not that new. Back when I was a young hippie, the principal boogeyman was The Trilateral Commission.

Trilateral Commission - Wikipedia

THE TRILATERAL COMMISSION AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER

It was all "New World Order" in my time. Now it's all the "Deep State."

 

[teqniq]

There's still people wittering on about the 'New World order' on FB.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

There's still people wittering on about the 'New World order' on FB.

I thought all those folks had migrated to Agenda 21 by now.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Donald Trump’s surprise decision to launch missile strikes against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s forces in response to Tuesday’s horrific chemical attack represented a reversal from Trump’s noninterventionist campaign message. It’s also the most recent sign of the declining power of his chief strategist Stephen Bannon. Two sources close to Bannon told me the former Breitbart executive chairman argued against the strike — not because of its questionable constitutionality, but on the grounds that it doesn’t advance Trump’s America First doctrine. “Steve doesn’t think we belong there,” one Bannon ally told me. Bannon’s position lost out to those inside the White House, including Jared Kushner, who argued Trump needed to punish the Assad regime.

Trump’s Syria Strike Is Latest Sign of Steve Bannon’s Waning Influence

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/07/world/asia/trump-china-xi.html?_r=0

 

[Dogsauce]

I don't understand why they didn't crater the runways.

At a guess because the corporate behemoth that normally does the runway fixing-up jobs at a premium price for US puppet regimes forgot to pay the appropriate political bribe to have this one smashed.

 

[camouflage]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/07/world/asia/trump-china-xi.html?_r=0

It's like their other hands are behind their backs holding daggers, they're both wearing that kind of smile.

Still, maybe they've decided not to have a fight for now over the South China Sea or something after all.

Kushners like... "that's right ya big idiot... shake that hand, shake that hand.... good boy!"

 

[CRI]

 

[DownwardDog]

A good part of this attack is simply what means were available at short notice for an off-the-cuff strike.

This is key point; with even a modicum of planning and preparation the Shayrat base could have been either completely destroyed or denied with, what we now coyly describe as, "combined effect" weapons. Cluster bombs in old money. This operation has the look of something that was just quick and easy.

Also, where were these lethally effective Russian AD systems we hear so much about?

 

[kebabking]

...Also, where were these lethally effective Russian AD systems we hear so much about?

I hope you're not suggesting that just because just because the Russians still haven't fielded a stealthy aircraft, some 35 years after the Americans put one into service, and just because they still can't produce an aircraft engine that lasts more than a fortnight, or that just because western equipped/trained air forces have cruised past every generation of 'this time, it will work' Russian integrated air defense systems like they were made of playdoh, that the hype surrounding the S-400 system is actually a load of crap?

Shome mishtake, shurely?

I see the Russians are claiming out of one side of their mouths that they didn't attempt to shoot down the tomahawks, and out of the other that they shot half of them down - either never saw them or were pissed on hydraulic fluid more likely.

 

[CrabbedOne]

This is key point; with even a modicum of planning and preparation the Shayrat base could have been either completely destroyed or denied with, what we now coyly describe as, "combined effect" weapons. Cluster bombs in old money. This operation has the look of something that was just quick and easy.

Also, where were these lethally effective Russian AD systems we hear so much about?

Mattis apparently recommended a whole series of saturation strikes. Trump demurred probably wisely. Lots of praise for MacMasters smoothly running the NSC in the US press. They seem to have had a proper deliberative process. It can be argued this was an overly hasty move not supported by the necessary diplomacy but it's the first sign of Trump's Whitehouse not being entirely dysfunctional.

The base had a Russian presence and the Russians were notified it was going to be hit. They seem to have chosen not to use their AD at all. None of their airframes were damaged. This was a bit more than a shot across the bows as it is claimed (Russian sources differ) it may have wiped out 10% of Assad's airframes a handful of Syrians were killed. It was carefully calibrated. The base seems to have been in operation again within 20 hours.

Assad seems to be moving some of his airframes back from frontline bases to Russian basing in Latakia were the AD is most dense. That I guess would degrade his air's effectiveness but also up the risks with further attacks. The regime's posture is the usual passive aggressive one. Rebel targets are still being bombed steadily and their are reports of chlorine use. Actually the response from the regime and Iran has been far calmer than after the accidental strike on Deir. Assad deliberately tested Trump's limits and got a slap that's how it goes. It's the Russians who are more angry but they've just been making very conciliatory gestures to the probably still livid Israelis about Jerusalem. There's an element of this being their bad as the Russians are all over that airbase and may even be complicit in Assad having Sarin there. Trump should be holding their feet to the fire about that.

I'd just see this as a continuation of Obama's Syria CW policy not a major shift. In fact Trump has flip flopped moved back towards "Assad must go" and dropped his man diplomatic innovation of acknowledging the reality that that is unlikely. Collaboration with the Russian looks like a dead duck but that was a crap idea anyway. Deconfliction may be buggered. We'll see.

 

[CrabbedOne]

On Bloomberg Trump-Xi Summit Accomplishment: Getting to Know One Another

...
In tone and results, the summit was similar to a 2013 meeting between Xi and President Barack Obama in Rancho Mirage, California, that also produced little by way of tangible announcements. But Trump’s inaugural visit with Xi had a little more drama.
...

Apart from announcing at dinner cruise missiles were about to strike an Assad airbase this could have been a meeting with Clinton. None of the foul oder of Trump's NATO bill waving clash with Merkel.

 

[CrabbedOne]

On Bloomberg How Middle-Class America Got Fleeced

...
Writer Alex Pareene, in a recent article in Fusion, colorfully describes how vendors of all sorts cashed in on enthusiasm for conservative politicians:

[The conservative era] was a fantastic deal for…companies selling newly patented drugs designed to treat the various conditions of old age, authors of dubious investing newsletters, sellers of survival seeds, hawkers of poorly written conservative books, and a whole array of similar con artists and ethically compromised corporations and financial institutions.​

But Pareene’s focus on conservative political appeal is much too narrow. The white middle-class that tended to support leaders like Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich and George W. Bush, lost huge percentages of their life’s savings because of excessive fees paid to actively managed mutual funds, financial advisers, stockbrokers, pension fund managers and the like. They also paid 6 percent real estate commissions even as people in most countries paid much less. They rejected the Clintons’ health-care plan in 1993, and ended up paying double what people in other countries pay for comparable treatment. They forked over more and more money in college tuition. They paid higher prices to companies that went on to monopolize markets after spending millions convincing the government to allow their megamergers. The spectacular rise of U.S. wealth inequality shows that trillions of dollars in middle-class assets were shifted up the socio-economic ladder into the hands of a relatively small and fantastically rich upper tier.

Each of these little free-market failures was another slice off of the ham that was the wealth of the American middle class. The people who thought they were going to be the guests of honor at the feast ended up being the main course.

But this is only part of the answer. Much of middle-class Americans’ prosperity wasn’t stolen -- it was never there to begin with. Hidden fees and overpriced services took away real wealth, but unrealistic expectations created fantasies of future wealth whose evaporation is probably an even bigger source of disappointment.
...

Well this is the bulk of Trump's base 50th-89th%ters say. Often Reagan Democrats awed by tales of trickle down economics and Laver curves, the virtues of systemically risky deregulation. Folk who bought into the guiding hand of the market only have their pockets dipped in various cons of which a gouging healthcare system is a big one. Often came out badly out of real estate speculation. Pensions eroded by fund managers take a juicy slice for doing little more than market tracking. They've worked dam hard then get within spitting distance of retirement and they realise they really aren't nearly as well off as they expected indeed many are still looking at their debt problems. They're mad as Hell and they aren't going to take it anymore. Then a sprayed orange "wealth creator" in a blond hairpiece comes along blaming China and Mexicans while offering much the same sexy snake oil. What could go wrong?

 

[teqniq]

Jeez. If you're wondering what this has to do with Trump, have a look at the second link in his tweet.

 

[J Ed]

Jeez. If you're wondering what this has to do with Trump, have a look at the second link in his tweet.

Weird medium article, lots of examples of misuse of the gerund, makes it seem like someone typing as if they speak a Slavic language as their first language.

 

[teqniq]

Yup pretty weird, I would agree. But it seems to be a message from the shadowbrokers who I cannot claim to have ever heard of before.

 

[teqniq]

More explanation in this tweet

 

[phillm]

 

[MrSpikey]

I thought all those folks had migrated to Agenda 21 by now.

There are many agencies involved..

 

[camouflage]

Weird medium article, lots of examples of misuse of the gerund, makes it seem like someone typing as if they speak a Slavic language as their first language.

Reminded me of Jar Jar Binks.

 

[teqniq]

There 's a more detailed explanation of the story in the New York times from last year which Snowden also links to, including speculation that the 'accent' which it appears must have been used before is a false lead just to add more obfuscation.

 

[CrabbedOne]

In Politico Flynn favorite McFarland to leave NSC

K.T. McFarland, the television pundit turned deputy national security adviser in the Trump White House, is leaving her post, according to a senior National Security Council official.

She will become the ambassador to Singapore, the official said, though it is unclear when she officially will depart to take the new post.
...

McMasters doing some Spring cleaning.

 

[CrabbedOne]

In Politico Trump’s foreign policy shake-up that wasn’t

...
If he does not have a fully formed worldview, Trump does appear to be moved, at moments, by photographs. Trump appeared shaken by the images of children murdered by chemical weapons in Syria. Twice, he mentioned the tragic images of “beautiful babies ... cruelly murdered.”

It was reminiscent of his reaction in 2015 to the image of the lifeless body of Aylan Kurdi, a 3-year-old Syrian boy, that washed up on the beach. After seeing the picture, Trump temporarily flipped his position on accepting Syrian refugees in the United States, calling it “an unbelievable humanitarian situation.” But he eventually toggled back to his original stance, vowing to "suspend the Syrian refugee program."

That is what concerns foreign policy experts. They worry that a president with no ideological core will continue to flip-flop on his positions, particularly when it comes to global economic policy.

The effect of Trump’s personal style, and his proclamations on Twitter, also cannot be dismissed. Experts cited Trump’s policy on Russia and his embrace of false information as ongoing causes for concern.

And no matter how many seasoned generals cram into the War Room with Trump, the president, at the end of the day, sets the tone from the top.

“The personality of the commander in chief will always impose itself on the administration,” said Wright. “There is still systematic risk there with Trump.”

Across a range of policy areas Trump does look like he's becoming a captive of The Blob just as "Hopey Changey" Obama did but he is a creature of whims.

 

[bimble]

Someone said the other day: Imagine the reaction if it was a woman making decisions based on emotional reaction to pictures of beautiful babies she'd seen on tv.