If there’s news or issues from the USA worth discussing today you can do it here.
US discussion – Wednesday
Posted in General, International
Tagged USA
Posted by Pete George on 15th February 2017
https://yournz.org/2017/02/15/us-discussion-wednesday-2/
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Gezza
/ 15th February 2017The DONALD OF THE UNITED STATES Twitter rants so far today:
……
Wonderful meeting with Canadian PM @JustinTrudeau and a group of leading CEO’s & business women from Canada and the United States
……
Congratulations Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin! #ICYMI- watch here:
(link: https://www.facebook.com/DonaldTrump/posts/10158646970740725)
facebook.com/DonaldTrump/po…
……
Congratulations to our new #VASecretary Dr. David Shulkin. Time to take care of Veterans who have fought to protect our country!
……
The real story here is why are there so many illegal leaks coming out of Washington? Will these leaks be happening as I deal on N.Korea etc?
……
There is a current, somewhat disappointing trend of a reduction in ranting. Could this be sign of growing presidentiality? 😳 watch this space … [Ed.]
……
More tweets may be found here: https://mobile.twitter.com/realdonaldtrump
……
Wednesday 15 Feb 2017. 0610 hours
NOEL
/ 15th February 2017From the man who is the first President NOT to have sources identified in his daily briefs.
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Wonder how long before The DOTUS’s Treasury Secretary has to resign. What do you know about this chap Steven Munchkin Al?
Alan Wilkinson
/ 15th February 2017Nothing. Here is something:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-14/mnuchin-g-20-debut-clouded-as-u-s-unspools-world-currency-pact
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Did you watch the embedded video Al? Sounds like a right money-grubbing piece of work.
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Well, well, well ? General Flynn resigns as National Security Advisor, three and a half weeks in. Hat tip Pete Kane.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/13/michael-flynn-resigns-quits-trump-national-security-adviser-russia
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017(Oops – soz, I see from yesterday’s US thread this is oldnews.)
Pete Kane
/ 15th February 2017“Coburn: We’re getting ahead of ourselves on Russia
Tom Coburn, former Republican senator, and Matt Schlapp join Morning Joe to discuss Michael Flynn’s resignation and why individuals are always innocent until proven guilty.”
Are they what!
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Dunno about anybody else but 97% of the time, I usually am.
Pete Kane
/ 15th February 2017I meant getting ahead of themselves re the poor old Bears.
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Soz. I suppose I should probably watch it, maybe after I’ve done the 11am welfare handout down in the stream.
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Good discussion I thought PK. Mika’s a bit annoying but at least she gets nicely told to shut up & let the guest speak. See, Al misses all these sorts of calm, rational exchanges of view with sensible, articulate Republican commenters because he’s too busy looking for polemical articles that fit his fixed ideas to watch videos.
Missy
/ 15th February 2017So, Justin has met Donald.
While Justin exerts dominance in the handshake…
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/13/justin-trudeau-becomes-latest-world-leader-brave-trumps-awkward/
Ivanka seems to be rather taken with the Canadian PM.
http://static.directmatin.fr/sites/default/files/styles/image_880_495/public/000_lo20n.jpg?itok=ze1sB055
Missy
/ 15th February 2017Sorry, not sure how to get the image up. I am a little bit of a dunce on this kind of thing.
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Here you are Missy:
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Uh oh 😳
Conspiratoor
/ 15th February 2017Meanwhile back in the big house the big guy pulled the wraparound and gave the boy a bit of a finger squeeze. I could hear the bones crack from here…
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Blond guy on the right. Left hand. Photoshopped? Fingers look longer than usual. 😳
Conspiratoor
/ 15th February 2017G, I can’t wait till he lays one on wee xi. There’s the start of a shooting war right there!
“Public displays of affection are frowned upon. Do not back slap, hug or put your arm around someone’s shoulder, which will make a Chinese feel uncomfortable, since they do not like to be touched by strangers.”
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017They don’t come much stranger than The Donald either.
Very interesting watching the smooth moves of all three. Pretty clear they’re divvying the place up, or trying to. Dunno whether The Vladimir’s really got something on The Donald apart from whatever else is in The Dossier, but I’m wondering if The Donald & The Vladimir might get into a bit of conspiring against The Jinping.
Interesting times, seeing The Donald has now confirmed recognising the One China remains the US official policy position, but both TV & TJ are keeping the pressure on the US military to cost the US money maintaining their aggressive defensive stance wherever those two are generating pressure points.
Blazer
/ 15th February 2017oh for a Justin Trudeau in NZ ,instead of the detritus of the last 8 years.
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful, don’t say that. The place would be full of Middle Eastern Muslim refugees!
Nelly Smickers
/ 15th February 2017*BREAKING*
Last night, *Hugh Hefner’s* son Cooper, tweeted Wayne with the news “that Playboy will once again be featuring *fully naked women*, starting with the March issue” 😛
No doubt even *DOTUS* will be ecstatic with this news…..here he is photographed in *2005*, flanked by centerfold Vicky Silvstedt, and his then girlfriend *Melania Knauss* (now FLOTUS), attending *Playboy’s 50th Anniversary* celebration….
Kitty Catkin
/ 15th February 2017The Smickers family still hasn’t caught on to the fact that being on someone’s list of followers doesn’t mean that that person knows them and sends them messages.
Blazer
/ 15th February 2017try a ..snickers then Kitty.
Kitty Catkin
/ 15th February 2017As a snicker is another word for a snigger, I would guess that there are a few people having these at the Smickers family’s expense.
If you mean a Snickers bar, which is a proper-if damned odd- name, then no thank you-sickly sweet things, I dislike them heartily.
patupaiarehe
/ 15th February 2017You’re mean when you’re hungry, Kitty… 😀
Kitty Catkin
/ 15th February 2017I would never be hungry enough to eat such a sickly sweet thing as a Snickers.Once was enough.
But I am glad to think that I ate all the Toblerones that my old man gave me, starting when he used to bring one home from the Channel Ferry if he crossed alone, and never said that I didn’t like them. Eating Snickers would have been a real sacrifice, I loathe them and Mars bars.
patupaiarehe
/ 15th February 2017Each to their own, I guess. I’ll take a pie over a chocolate bar any day 🙂
Alan Wilkinson
/ 15th February 2017Trump will need to fire a few people lower down the ranks to plug the leaks from the government. Obviously there are a lot of political opponents holed up there.
Joe Bloggs
/ 15th February 2017Trumpy:(note to self) must eliminate all independent thought from my administration. Surround myself with sycophants. So sad!
Yeah, that’ll work. No need for any transparency or whistleblowers in a dictatorship is there?
dave1924
/ 15th February 2017God thats a worn out meme already….. if they actual put something solid and legitimate out there it would be ok Bloggsy…
But they don’t its just whiteanting and trying to destabilise a legitimately Government. Something US intelligence agencies are pretty effective at.
Don’t whine when the next Allende gets kneecapped – because your applauding the exact same thing right now…
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Obviously there are a few opponents who probably weren’t initially opponents. 😕
Alan Wilkinson
/ 15th February 2017Not obvious at all.
Anonymous Coward
/ 15th February 2017Everyone loves Trump in Al-town, and those that don’t are ‘Loony’, you should know that by now Gezza.
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Well, naturally, Al. They’d have to keep their heads down wouldn’t they. 😐
Alan Wilkinson
/ 15th February 2017Doesn’t make them obvious.
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Exactly. 👍
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017(I just won that one, btw. I’ll keep it quiet.)
Alan Wilkinson
/ 15th February 2017Load of crap from you, Gezza. Look at my links in the Flynn thread. The enemies within are long-standing.
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017No, no – this was about my exploiting the dual meaning of obvious & getting you to post it again, not realising I was just messing with your head.
About your main point, I dunno, I’ll have a read & get back to you. 👍
Alan Wilkinson
/ 15th February 2017I know. That’s why I turned the bazooka onto you.
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Sure, sure, but you have say that now, eh. I’ll let you have the last word if you want to – because otherwise you’ll go on forever trying to say you won, but I’m quite happy to let patu be the judge on this one. Good track record there.
Alan Wilkinson
/ 15th February 2017Facts trump words, G.
patupaiarehe
/ 15th February 2017Lets just call it a draw. You both think you are right, & I know who I think has won, but I’m reserving my judgement for now.
Joe Bloggs
/ 15th February 2017Flynn’s firing (his second in 3 years for managerial incompetence) raises more questions that it answers:
What did Trumpy know about Flynn’s compromising calls in December with the Russian ambassador? In those conversations, Flynn allegedly told the Russian to disregard the Obama administration’s imposition of new sanctions, because Trump would lift them once he assumed office.
Is it credible that Flynn had those conversations with the Russian ambassador and not told Trump about them?
Was Trump really flying blind when he praised Putin for not reacting to those sanctions?
Who else in the White House knew about Flynn’s conversations?
With Flynn gone, who will be national security adviser? Will the role still matter? Will the CIA, which considered Flynn a security risk all along, be placated?
What did Bannon and Tillerson know and when did they know it? And what have been their dealings with Russia?
Trumpy has said that he has no loans from Russia or Russians. Really?
Why did trumpy say that Flynn’s scandal is less important than “the real story” about who leaked information about him to the press?
The White House has known about Flynn’s scandal for a month (it was told by Sally Yates who was subsequently fired by Trumpy), so why didn’t it act sooner?
The White House released a strongly worded statement saying Yates had “betrayed” the administration. Will it do the same about Flynn?
Now that Flynn isn’t covered by executive privilege, what else will come out about the present administrations dealings with Russia?
paul scott
/ 15th February 2017The leaks are likely delliberate, who cares, gets things done quicker, America great again . .
Anonymous Coward
/ 15th February 2017They’re even leaking stuff to Moby now…
http://boingboing.net/2017/02/13/moby-says-he-has-secret-intell.html
Joe Bloggs
/ 15th February 2017and another question:
Is Flynn a sacrificial lamb or the first domino to fall over Trumpy’s Russia-linked scandals?
Paul Manafort and Carter Page were the first cracks… then there were the
indications of collusion over trumpy’s election campaign and the operation, run by Putin himself according to intelligence agencies, to steer the election in Trump’s favour…. then there was the Steele dossier with its allegations of Russian leverage over trumpy… now this… plus Putin’s uncharacteristic lack of response to Obama’s sanctions…
All leads me to suspect that there is much, much more to come out yet on trumpy-Russia ties… if only the GOP had the integrity to order a comprehensive investigation – but that’s unlikley to happen of course because the GOP is the Washington swamp that trumpy pledged to drain.
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017You’re on fire again today Joe. Keep up the good work. 👍🕶
Joe Bloggs
/ 15th February 2017While the role of Russia in the US elections goes uninvestigated, and while key jobs in the administration remain unfilled, trumpy has ordered an internal investigation into the WH leakers! Poor prioritising. So sad. Loser.
Let there be no mistake: government by chaos is not a recipe for success.
Alan Wilkinson
/ 15th February 2017Before his post in the administration, Flynn was in charge of military intelligence in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was appointed to the highest levels within military intelligence, including as director of intelligence for the U.S. Central Command. After that, he was director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).
President Barack Obama fired him as DIA director in 2014 after Flynn delivered testimony before Congress that was at odds with Obama’s contention that radical Islamic terrorism, including ISIS, was not a major threat. Since then, Obama administration officials have openly held low regard for him.
Since Trump and Flynn entered the White House, anonymous sources have given select reporters information about telephone intercepts conducted by the National Security Agency (NSA).
The classified information secretly given to reporters purportedly showed that Flynn discussed sanctions on Dec. 29, when 35 Russian diplomats were being expelled that same day by the outgoing Obama administration.
Other intelligence leaks have revealed Trump’s private discussions with heads of state soon after he became president-elect.
In a Feb. 9 story, The Washington Post cited unnamed “current and former U.S. officials” who accused Flynn of violating the law in a Dec. 29 telephone conversation with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislvak.
Flynn called the leaks of classified information against government officials “unprecedented,” and predicted those would be the focus of future congressional investigations.
“Members of Congress are very concerned because these are leaks from classified systems. The House and Senate are looking into those things, as they should,” he told TheDCNF.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2017/02/14/exclusive-defiant-flynn-insists-he-crossed-no-lines-leakers-must-be-prosecuted/
Joe Bloggs
/ 15th February 2017Sally Yates warned the White House in January about Flynn and his violation of the Logan Act
Both former CIA director John Brennan and James Clapper, the former Director of National Intelligence agreed with her evaluation that Flynn was a prime target for Russian blackmail.
As for Flynn’s previous firing under Obama, Business Insider observes:
ps. Daily Caller: an online publication with conservative leanings, known for its reporting on watered-down facts and its hype over substance
http://www.politifact.com/personalities/daily-caller/
Alan Wilkinson
/ 15th February 2017The opposition to Flynn was political. Still is.
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Er … sounds more to me like it might be personal?
Alan Wilkinson
/ 15th February 2017He was dismissed after giving evidence that contradicted Obama’s politics.
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Not this time.
Alan Wilkinson
/ 15th February 2017This time he was sand-bagged by his enemies from last time.
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Can you post me a link to where they’ve identified the source of the leak Al, & where it shows that they weren’t a disaffected Republican voter?
Alan Wilkinson
/ 15th February 2017Multiple leaks and leakers, G. Probably organised from within and not far from the top. You can believe anything you want to of course but you can’t make anyone else believe it.
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017So, no link? Just your opinion – not yet a fact?
Alan Wilkinson
/ 15th February 2017Not just my opinion as the links I’ve provided make explicit. Where is your source supporting your assertion that it might be a turncoat Republican? Or do we have to wait while you write one?
Alan Wilkinson
/ 15th February 2017Not might be – probably is.
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017I’m just peer-reviewing your result. It doesn’t stack up owing to the lack of the fact required to falsify it.
Alan Wilkinson
/ 15th February 2017No you weren’t: https://yournz.org/2017/02/15/us-discussion-wednesday-2/#comment-164247
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Yes I am. Just my way of introducing you to an alternative possibility you don’t seem to have given any consideration at all. Sit down please Alan & get on with your work.
Joe Bloggs
/ 15th February 2017A wonderful description of Bannon and the court of the Sun King:
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Nelly Smickers
/ 15th February 2017I wonder if all this might be starting to actually get to poor ol’ DOTUS ❓
Joe Bloggs
/ 15th February 2017So…what else is happening in the alternative reality of US politics?
Oooh, looky here, whether we choose to believe it or not:
I said some time back that trumpy was playing with fire when he dissed the US intelligence community.
Alan Wilkinson
/ 15th February 2017And I said he’ll need to show some of the fire-lighters the exit door.
Kitty Catkin
/ 15th February 2017Trump has ditched the badly fitting off the rack (?) suits that he probably wore to make the plebs think that he was like them (an old dodge, of course) in favour of the sort that one would expect a person with his income to have.
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Link?
Blazer
/ 15th February 2017sounds like her personal observation..Gezza…are you up to your old tricks…link?…who?…when?…why/…smarten up…son.
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Sorry dad. 🙁
You’re here early. Was dinner an easy find in the Macca’s trash bin tonite? 😳
Blazer
/ 15th February 2017is that called…scraping..the barrel?
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Perhaps you should just try & focus a bit on the topics, dad? At least until dave you say dave turns up for your usual exchange of pleasantries? 😳
Blazer
/ 15th February 2017take your own advice…btw..I’m not partial to ..duck…but can’t resist…turkey..always have the gun…ready.
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Plenty of buckshot too, I see. 18 pellets in that last blast alone.
Kitty Catkin
/ 15th February 2017I don’t need one-just look. I don’t know that the others were off the rack, but they looked it, and what he wears now doesn’t.
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Tbh, I doubt that The Donald would wear anything off the rack Kitty. Probably not the sort of rack he’s usually interested in anyway.
dave1924
/ 15th February 2017by way of an inform – ciao nice talking to you Gezza, Al. I done with YNZ….. enjoy
Blazer
/ 15th February 2017Dave,I say Dave ..no need to announce your departure…just go..quietly into the darkness…no bugles,no drums,….no regrets,and …no one …cares.
patupaiarehe
/ 15th February 2017Really Blazer? Really? No need to do a ‘victory dance’ in public, just do it quietly in the darkness.
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Czech Exit. Done with some class. Good man dave. 👍
Anonymous Coward
/ 15th February 2017They all come back.
Blazer
/ 15th February 2017yes Patu,really,we have really,really great people here at YNZ,tremendous people,wonderful posters,,we don’t need,losers,Daves ..a loser,……
Blazer
/ 15th February 2017..to…Brylcreem.
patupaiarehe
/ 15th February 2017We have all sorts here Blazer, some of whom might consider you (or I) a ‘loser’.
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Frankly anybody who swiches their hair oil product from their brand to another is a loser to Brylcream.
Blazer
/ 15th February 2017quitters are always…losers…
Anonymous Coward
/ 15th February 2017And only users lose drugs
patupaiarehe
/ 15th February 2017And long distance pissing competitions are best had in primary school toilets… 😀
Kitty Catkin
/ 15th February 2017ha ha. But really, he dresses much better now, so it could well be that he didn’t want to look too rich and too much of a contrast to the plebs who supported him. To anyone with an eye for the cut of good clothes, it’s obvious.
Gezza
/ 15th February 2017Maybe he’s just changed his tailor, or lost weight or something Kitty. He’s always positively trumpeted his wealth & success, look at Trump Tower & the chopper, & being seen in all the ab fab restaurants & glitzy black tie & white tie events. Handing out expensive Executive Order-signing marker pens to his serfs, oafs & erks. If anything, it seems to have been a drawcard for the sodbuster & unemployed steelworker vote. He’s probably convinced them they too can one day have their own Reality TV show if they let him drain the swamp.
Kitty Catkin
/ 16th February 2017He had remarks made about his awful suits, it wasn’t just me. Now he looks much better. Yes, I know that he’s always been a blowhard about his money, which he says is double or treble what it actually is. But turning up looking as if his suits didn’t cost a fortune may well have been calculated to make him look like one of the blokes rather than someone whose suit cost more than an ordinary worker’s annual income.
Kitty Catkin
/ 16th February 2017When he was trying to appeal to Mr and Mrs Worker, I mean.