Donald Trump

[Harry]

4 hours ago, Devil-Dick Willie said:

Like I said, he's done more for peace with Korea and eased tensions with russia more than Obama or Bush ever did. On the strength of that evidence he'd be less likely to spark nuclear war. He's just dumb, not vicious.

The fact he has a starting position of admiration for tough guy autocratic leaders that leads him to want to make friends not enemies at the outset doesn't necessarily bode towards world peace. The ultimate erratic temperament thats plainly there supports him being more inclined to flip from friendship to extreme hostility if he feels wronged by one of these guys than Obama ever would. 

[Devil-Dick Willie]

Obama would send his favourite drone at the drop of a hat mate. It's been almost 2 years now. Not a shot fired in anger yet hyped up leftie twats think the next 2 years are going to be dramatically different.

[The Artful Dodger]

2 hours ago, Devil-Dick Willie said:

Obama would send his favourite drone at the drop of a hat mate. It's been almost 2 years now. Not a shot fired in anger yet hyped up leftie twats think the next 2 years are going to be dramatically different.

He's bombed Syria, which he said he wouldn't do. Trump is no peacemaker and is at the whim of the last person he spoke to, the repercussions of political/economic actions are not always immediately obvious.

[Devil-Dick Willie]

Everyone up to and including Syria, and my mum have bombed Syria. If ever a country needed bombing it was Syria.

[Dr. Gonzo]

One of the first things he did was get Navy Seals killed in Yemen for the Saudis. But hey, he makes liberals upset so he must be a great president!

Also lol “better relations with Russia” - well yeah, Putin’s loaned him so much money he can parade him out in front of the world alongside him and get the US president to parrot Russian talking points. And if he’s not bought out and just parrots Russian talking points because he wants Putin to be his friend, he’s such a dumb cunt. And the North Korea thing was a joke - an agreement was signed that said they would promise to try to move forward working for peace with the US, yet evidence suggests they’re still producing nuclear weapons. And all that it cost for North Korea to commit to fuck all was to have a President meet with North Korea for some good propaganda for him.

He’s a dogshit president. Obama wasn’t great, but Trump is just dogshit. He’s not a mass murderer like Bush, yet, but I wouldn’t rule it out if he gets desperate. He’s already done a lot to shit on norms and values to US democracy, so I don’t think war crimes are beneath him. He’s already covering up for a US resident murdered by Mr. Bone Saw (MBS), I don’t think mass murder is beyond him.

[Harry]

The sad thing is there is no president now that could pull 60% support given how polarised America is... you're always gonna have of half of the country  stewing in their misery. not just a bit put out their guy isn't in the office but believing the sitting president is a war criminal, a kenyan islamic terrorist, a criminal funded by the Saudis under a bogus foundation, a russian puppet... etc.

[The Artful Dodger]

One completey unintentionally good thing about the presidency of trump is that he has openly admitted that Saudi Arabia is allowed to murder with impunity. No more can they use the facade of 'they kill their own people' to meddle and further destroy countries s that they have ulterior motives for attacking, least not with a straight face. 

[Beelzebub]

On 24/11/2018 at 02:50, Devil-Dick Willie said:

Everyone up to and including Syria, and my mum have bombed Syria. If ever a country needed bombing it is Pakistan. 

Corrected that for you. 

[IgnisExcubitor]

7 hours ago, Azeem said:

Corrected that for you. 

Naah, just by making your civilian government stronger than your army, would solve more than half  of your problems and some of ours too. And I say this with the nicest of intentions. 

 

@topic

I don't know if it's posted here, but I found this hilarious. Heads of two states arguing on Twitter. 

 

[Beelzebub]

@IgnisExcubitor Head of states ? How about multi national brands 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CaaC (John)+]

Is This the Beginning of the End for Trump?

By BARRY BERKE, NOAH BOOKBINDER and NORMAN EISEN             18 hrs ago

Editor's note: The opinions in this article are the author's, as published by our content partner, and do not represent the views of MSN or Microsoft.

On Friday, federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the special counsel, Robert Mueller, delivered a potentially devastating one-two punch against President Trump. Coming late in the day, they made for bracing end-of-the-week reading.

Calling on the court to impose a sentence of substantial imprisonment against Michael Cohen, the president’s former personal attorney, prosecutors in the Southern District of New York stated that Mr Trump, the Trump Organization and the campaign were all directly involved in an illegal scheme to silence two women who claimed they had affairs with Mr Trump. Prosecutors wrote that payments made by Mr Cohen and other actions were taken “with the intent to influence the 2016 presidential election” and pursued “in coordination with and at the direction of Individual 1” — that is, Mr Trump.

The Trump Organization’s reimbursements to Mr Cohen for payments were fraudulently disguised as legal fees — and, according to the memo, were approved by senior executives at the organization. The New York prosecutors also disclosed that they are investigating additional unspecified matters involving Mr Cohen and, presumably, the Trump Organization. In light of these disclosures, the likelihood that the company and the Trump campaign face charges is now high.

Although President Trump may avoid a similar fate because the Justice Department is unlikely to indict a sitting president, he could be named as an unindicted co-conspirator, as was President Richard Nixon, or charged if he leaves office before the statute of limitations runs out (most likely in 2022).

In crediting Mr Cohen with providing “substantial and significant efforts” to assist the investigation, Mr Mueller’s separate sentencing memo details new evidence of collusion with Russia, including a previously unreported phone conversation in November 2015 between Mr Cohen and an unnamed Russian who claimed to be a “trusted person” in Moscow. The Russian explained to Mr Cohen how the Russian government could provide the Trump campaign with “political synergy” and “synergy on a government level,” and offered to set up a meeting between Mr Trump, then a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, and President Vladimir Putin of Russia.

This newly disclosed conversation directly speaks to the question of collusion — the outreach was explicitly political and was focused on how each side would gain from a potential partnership.

Mr Mueller also notes that Mr Cohen provided his team with additional information relevant to the “core” of the special counsel investigation.

The special counsel focuses on Mr Cohen’s contacts with people connected to the White House in 2017 and 2018, possibly further implicating the president and others in his orbit in a conspiracy to obstruct justice or to suborn perjury. Mr Mueller specifically mentions that Mr Cohen provided invaluable insight into the “preparing and circulating” of his testimony to Congress — and if others, including the president, knew about the false testimony or encouraged it in any way, they would be at substantial legal risk.

Mr Trump’s legal woes do not end there. The special counsel also advanced the president’s potential exposure under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for activities relating to a potential Trump Tower Moscow. Mr Mueller noted that the Moscow project was a lucrative business opportunity that actively sought Russian government approval and that the unnamed Russian told Mr Cohen that there was “no bigger warranty in any project than the consent” of Mr Putin.

If recent reports that Mr Cohen floated the idea of giving Mr Putin a $50 million luxury apartment in a future Trump Tower Moscow prove true, both the president and his company could face substantial jeopardy.

In a second blow to the president, on Friday prosecutors also disclosed a list of false statements that Paul Manafort, his former campaign chairman, allegedly made to federal investigators in breach of the cooperation agreement he entered into following his conviction for financial fraud and subsequent guilty plea to criminal conspiracy.

Some of the lies that the special counsel spells out in the redacted memorandum appear to implicate the president and those close to him in possible collusion and obstruction crimes. Notably, Mr Manafort is accused of lying to the special counsel regarding his contacts with the Trump administration.

We don’t know the content of those contacts, but considering public statements about potential pardons, it is not hard to imagine they could implicate the president and others in a conspiracy to obstruct justice or witness tampering if, for example, they suggested a potential pardon if Mr Manafort protected the president.

Contrary to the president’s claim that all of this “totally clears” him, the danger to Mr Trump, his business and his campaign has compounded significantly. For all these reasons, the president is unlikely to have a restful, tweet-free weekend — or a calm 2019, for that matter.

Barry Berke is co-chairman of the litigation department at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, where he is a partner specializing in white-collar criminal defense. Noah Bookbinder is executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and a former federal corruption prosecutor. Norman Eisen is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, chairman of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and author of “The Last Palace: Europe’s Turbulent Century in Five Lives and One Legendary House.”

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/president-trump/is-this-the-beginning-of-the-end-for-trump/ar-BBQEGLp?ocid=chromentp

[Guest]

The CEO of Google has been asked to explain why a picture of Donald trump comes up when people Google idiot 

[Dr. Gonzo]

Apparently Mueller is now not only investigating the Russia links, but as he can investigate evidence of any crime he picks up he's now investigating the foreign influence on the administration from 3 Middle Eastern countries: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Israel.

This is bound to piss off a lot of people.

[Tommy]

1 hour ago, Gunnersauraus said:

The CEO of Google has been asked to explain why a picture of Donald trump comes up when people Google idiot 

 And all the news reports about it even increased it. Just type idiot in google image search

[God is Haaland]

1 hour ago, Tommy said:

 And all the news reports about it even increased it. Just type idiot in google image search

Streisand effect at its best. Glorious!

[CaaC (John)+]

 

[Dr. Gonzo]

On 14/12/2018 at 12:20, CaaC - John said:

 

I don’t think Cohen deserves an ounce of sympathy. He’s been legal advisor to Trump for decades, which means it’s highly likely he’s advised Trump to break the law repeatedly. I don’t disagree with him that he was doing illegal things at the direction of the millionaire bankrolling him. But typically speaking when you ask a lawyer to break the law for you, they’re supposed to talk you out of it and give you the best advice to help you through legal issues legally. They’re not supposed to blindly take orders and act as a fixer for a man who likens himself to a mob boss.

And it’s not that Cohen is only facing justice for Trump’s crimes. They’re his crimes too, he broke the law. Just because he broke the law at someone else’s direction, doesn’t mean he didn’t break the law.

[Cicero]

Trump must of had him at gun point I'd imagine 

[Dr. Gonzo]

Mattis out now.

[Harry]

 Interesting letter. A semi respectful Fuck You.

Mattis was maybe the only one in the administration i actually liked. 

[Dr. Gonzo]

3 hours ago, Harry said:

 Interesting letter. A semi respectful Fuck You.

Mattis was maybe the only one in the administration i actually liked. 

It makes me think he’s the one who wrote the famous NYT OpEd anonymously as a member of the administration speaking out against the administration. Similar language, similar tone.

Anyways, he’s the last member of the administration that didn’t appear brazenly corrupt and was loyal to his country rather than his party and his boss.

I wouldn’t be particularly fussed about the US pulling out of Syria; but it does embolden Russia, Turkey, and the Saudis/UAE with their own unique interests in the battle of Wahhabism v the world. I feel bad for the Kurds though, they’re going to get slaughtered. You could make a good case for Iran and Israel also seeing a chance to push for their own interests there trying to fill that power vacuum.

[Tommy]

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/12/24/donald-trump-tells-child-its-marginal-still-believe-santa-clause/2410738002/

[CaaC (John)+]

25 minutes ago, Tommy said:

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/12/24/donald-trump-tells-child-its-marginal-still-believe-santa-clause/2410738002/

Seen that what an arsehole, I know children nowadays are a lot more sussed up about Father Christmas but it's nice to just let them think it's true at a young age. 

[CaaC (John)+]

The Inevitability of Impeachment

By ELIZABETH DREW        8 hrs ago

Editor’s note: The opinions in this article are the author’s, as published by our content partner, and do not necessarily represent the views of MSN or Microsoft.

An impeachment process against President Trump now seems inescapable. Unless the president resigns, the pressure by the public on the Democratic leaders to begin an impeachment process next year will only increase. Too many people think in terms of stasis: How things are is how they will remain. They don’t take into account that opinion moves with events.

Whether or not there’s already enough evidence to impeach Mr Trump — I think there is — we will learn what the special counsel, Robert Mueller, has found, even if his investigation is cut short. A significant number of Republican candidates didn’t want to run with Mr Trump in the midterms, and the results of those elections didn’t exactly strengthen his standing within his party. His political status, weak for some time, is now hurtling downhill.

The midterms were followed by new revelations in criminal investigations of once-close advisers as well as new scandals involving Mr Trump himself. The odor of personal corruption on the president’s part — perhaps affecting his foreign policy — grew stronger. Then the events of the past several days — the president’s precipitous decision to pull American troops out of Syria, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis’s abrupt resignation, the swoon in the stock market, the pointless shutdown of parts of the government — instilled a new sense of alarm among many Republicans.

The word “impeachment” has been thrown around with abandon. The frivolous impeachment of President Bill Clinton helped to define it as a form of political revenge. But it is far more important and serious than that: It has a critical role in the functioning of our democracy.

Impeachment was the founders’ method of holding a president accountable between elections. Determined to avoid setting up a king in all but name, they put the decision about whether a president should be allowed to continue to serve in the hands of the representatives of the people who elected him.

The founders understood that overturning the results of a presidential election must be approached with care and that they needed to prevent the use of that power as a partisan exercise or by a faction. So they wrote into the Constitution provisions to make it extremely difficult for Congress to remove a president from office, including that after an impeachment vote in the House, the Senate would hold a trial, with a two-thirds vote needed for conviction.

Lost in all the discussion about possible lawbreaking by Mr Trump is the fact that impeachment wasn’t intended only for crimes. For example, in 1974 the House Judiciary Committee charged Richard Nixon with, among other things, abusing power by using the I.R.S. against his political enemies. The committee also held the president accountable for misdeeds by his aides and for failing to honor the oath of office’s pledge that a president must “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”

The current presidential crisis seems to have only two possible outcomes. If Mr Trump sees criminal charges coming at him and members of his family, he may feel trapped. This would leave him the choice of resigning or trying to fight congressional removal. But the latter is highly risky.

I don’t share the conventional view that if Mr Trump is impeached by the House, the Republican-dominated Senate would never muster the necessary 67 votes to convict him. Stasis would decree that would be the case, but the current situation, already shifting, will have been left far behind by the time the senators face that question. Republicans who were once Mr Trump’s firm allies have already openly criticized some of his recent actions, including his support of Saudi Arabia despite the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and his decision on Syria. They also openly deplored Mr Mattis’s departure.

It always seemed to me that Mr Trump’s turbulent presidency was unsustainable and that key Republicans would eventually decide that he had become too great a burden to the party or too great a danger to the country. That time may have arrived. In the end, the Republicans will opt for their own political survival. Almost from the outset, some Senate Republicans have speculated on how long his presidency would last. Some surely noticed that his base didn’t prevail in the midterms.

But it may well not come to a vote in the Senate. Facing an assortment of unpalatable possibilities, including being indicted after he leaves office, Mr Trump will be looking for a way out. It’s to be recalled that Mr Nixon resigned without having been impeached or convicted. The House was clearly going to approve articles of impeachment against him, and he’d been warned by senior Republicans that his support in the Senate had collapsed. Mr Trump could well exhibit a similar instinct for self-preservation. But like Mr Nixon, Mr Trump will want future legal protection.

Mr Nixon was pardoned by President Gerald Ford, and despite suspicions, no evidence has ever surfaced that the fix was in. While Mr Trump’s case is more complex than Mr Nixon’s, the evident dangers of keeping an out-of-control president in office might well impel politicians in both parties, not without controversy, to want to make a deal to get him out of there.

Elizabeth Drew, a political journalist who for many years covered Washington for The New Yorker, is the author of “Washington Journal: Reporting Watergate and Richard Nixon’s Downfall.”

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/the-inevitability-of-impeachment/ar-BBRwkTm?ocid=chromentp

[Honey Honey]

Happy New Year.

Donald Trump averaged 15 inaccuracies or mistruths per day in 2018. 

Why bother even interviewing him?