192
   

monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

 
 
Lash
 
  0  
Sun 15 Dec, 2019 06:22 am
That was quick.

America, dividing up Britain
(donate to The Intercept while they can and will still report facts.
pretty soon, the truth tellers will be frozen out of business and you’ll never know what’s happening)

https://theintercept.com/2019/12/09/brexit-american-trade-deal-boris-johnson/

Excerpt:

BORIS JOHNSON’S election on December 12 hinges on the British prime minister’s promise to leave the European Union. Johnson has remade the Conservative Party, pushing out longtime party members wary of a firm break from the EU, to cast the election as a chance to build a parliamentary majority focused on finalizing Brexit.

The original Brexit referendum that passed in June 2016 pitted populists against the establishment, with banks funneling huge amounts of money to oppose the referendum, which was cast as a measure to return taxes and power to local British citizens, while restoring the sovereignty of the U.K.’s borders against what was cast as unfair trade and uncontrolled migration.

But the politics of the deal have shifted over time, with hard-liners gaining power within Tory leadership and demanding a radical break from the EU. Corporate lobbyists now see an opportunity to use Johnson’s proposed swift exit from the EU as a way to forge bilateral trade deals, including one between the U.S. and the U.K, that would outsource local authority to rules set by an array of international business interests. A wide range of industries are primed to take advantage of the deal to evade EU consumer safeguards and drug pricing rules. Representatives from American pork to Silicon Valley and everything in between are trying to influence the negotiations.

Departing the EU could mean that British consumers would no longer be protected by broad EU-wide regulations on chemicals, food, and cosmetics, among other products. Several international corporate groups have pushed to ensure that in the event of Brexit, such safeguards are abandoned in exchange for a regulatory standard that conforms to the norms of the U.S.

Consultants working directly on the Brexit deal in London and in Washington, D.C., have asked to limit the ability of British regulators to set the price for pharmaceutical drugs, lift safety restrictions on pesticides and agricultural products, and constrain the ability for the U.K. to enact its own data privacy laws.

0 Replies
 
blatham
 
  1  
Sun 15 Dec, 2019 07:37 am
@georgeob1,
It isn't as if any of us hasn't blundered into some dire embarrassment. I worry about it with every sentence I write and for good historical reasons. My cranium, i suspect, is slightly dis-formed from all the times I've whacked myself on the forehead. Though I do confess this was a delightful example of the thing.

I swear I'll tell no one about it.
0 Replies
 
Brand X
 
  1  
Sun 15 Dec, 2019 08:11 am
Michael Tracey

Verified account

@mtracey
9h9 hours ago
More
This last week teaches us that temporarily freezing and then unfreezing future military aid to one of our many far-flung client states is huge national emergency but the government systematically lying about every aspect of the longest war in US history is a forgettable non-issue
0 Replies
 
blatham
 
  1  
Sun 15 Dec, 2019 08:26 am
Quote:
U.S. Military to Probe 'White Power' Signs Flashed at Army-Navy Game That Trump Attended
U.S. Coast Guard leaders last year reprimanded an officer who used a similar hand sign during a television broadcast
Haaretz

Let's not be naive. In this context and culture, "A-OK" is not likely to be the message conveyed. As the piece notes, the image below is of Brenton Tarrant, white supremacist who murdered 50 as mosques in New Zealand

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D11Tv4DX0AAM9TY?format=jpg&name=small
blatham
 
  1  
Sun 15 Dec, 2019 08:31 am
Also from Haaretz
Quote:
Israeli Hate Crimes Against Palestinians Were Fewer, but More Brazen in 2019
Data by the Israeli defense establishment shows less incidents in the West Bank compared to last year, but an increase in severity and scope of violence
hightor
 
  2  
Sun 15 Dec, 2019 08:39 am
@Builder,
Quote:
Not as embarrassing as their undying belief that this impeachment guff will achieve anything positive for the dems.

I really doubt that the Democrats believe that this process is doing anything positive for them.

Most — but not all — legal scholars believe that the evidence clearly shows the president engaging in behavior which would quickly be labeled as "unconstitutional" in different circumstances, say were Hillary Clinton president. Congress can't just sit by and watch Trump defy the Constitution and, given his truculence there's no chance of any walk back on his part. So what alternative is there to the impeachment process? His supporters have circled the wagons and dug in so the constitutional provision is pretty much all that can be done to check presidential overreach, now and in the future.
Brand X
 
  1  
Sun 15 Dec, 2019 08:45 am
The major media has already pivoted to 'it's a historic event' and Trump will 'have an asterisk by his name'.
0 Replies
 
blatham
 
  1  
Sun 15 Dec, 2019 08:53 am
Quote:
Hallmark Channel pulls ads for wedding-planning site over image of gay ceremony

Under pressure from a conservative advocacy group, The Hallmark Channel has pulled ads for a wedding-planning website that featured two brides kissing at the altar
Boston Globe

The religious conservative campaign to denigrate same-sex marriage as functionally evil is only one aspect of an increasingly influential force in American society. Leonard Leo (a very radical Catholic) is a key player here and I'll write more about that later. But aside from the distinctly and undeniably theocratic aspects of this campaign, it is just ******* insane.

The justification is a conception of Natural Law which holds that same sex interactions are at direct variance with the "natural order", which is established by God (guess which and who's God). That premise is in itself demonstrably false. Same sex pairings have been part of human history forever and are also found throughout the animal kingdom. There is nothing empirical or scientifically sound in the premise. Heterosexual unions are, obviously, more common and surely always will be. But that is the only "truth" available to the bigots pushing the campaign and it is not in any way compelling as justification for holding same sex unions as evil or morally wrong or as somehow dangerous to a culture's or species' continuation.
blatham
 
  1  
Sun 15 Dec, 2019 09:09 am
@hightor,
Quote:
His supporters have circled the wagons and dug in so the constitutional provision is pretty much all that can be done to check presidential overreach, now and in the future.
Exactly.

Now we face the admitted collaboration between McConnell and the WH legal team. This, in itself, is further evidence of the depths of corruption surrounding the WH and the GOP. I'm not sure what options there are for Dems at this point (lots of notions floating about) but this part of the story also has to be told.

Edit: And I suppose I ought to point out that what Trump and McConnell and allies are playing at here (aside from protecting Trump) is another example of what Arendt describes as "power propaganda" - the demonstration of greater or overwhelming power to violate any norms or laws and to thus develop a posture/sense of submission in the power players' "enemies".
coldjoint
 
  0  
Sun 15 Dec, 2019 09:57 am
@blatham,
Quote:
"power propaganda" - the demonstration of greater or overwhelming power to violate any norms or laws and to thus develop a posture/sense of submission in the power players' "enemies".

That is the House Democrats, corrupt intelligence people and the MSM you are describing. Your projection only works for you and those dumb enough to think you actually know what you are talking about.
0 Replies
 
farmerman
 
  1  
Sun 15 Dec, 2019 10:43 am
@blatham,
The way that this impeachment trial will work is that , unlike a criminal court, the decision makers have already stated that they are advocates for Trump.
The guy I pity is Justice Roberts, he cannot afford to be(or giving an appearance of being) an advocate but Trump will , like the ignoramus he is, will demand of him, an obligation. In my mind, Plump will be obstructing jutice through the trial proceedings.
coldjoint
 
  1  
Sun 15 Dec, 2019 11:02 am
@farmerman,
Quote:
the decision makers have already stated that they are advocates for Trump.

You mean the majority of the Senate. Suck it up. That is how it works.
farmerman
 
  1  
Sun 15 Dec, 2019 11:16 am
@coldjoint,
actually its NOT the way its supposed to work. I suppose that, ever since Clinton's impeachment fiasco, the Dems have not learnt a thing about tribal politics and how parties put the good of thir party ahead of whats best for the nation.

Remember, a finding of "not guilty" is merely a cry of insufficiency. Even OJ was found "not guilty" and we all know he did it.

Walter Hinteler
 
  2  
Sun 15 Dec, 2019 11:24 am
@izzythepush,
izzythepush wrote:
Laura Kuenssberg is the head of politics at the supposedly impartial BBC. She's long been a supporter of the Tories, her annual salary is over a quarter million.
No 10 pulled ministers from Saturday’s edition of the Today programme and sources said it intended to "withdraw engagement" from the show in future ... over the BBC's supposed anti-Tory bias.
coldjoint
 
  0  
Sun 15 Dec, 2019 11:25 am
@farmerman,
Quote:
" and we all know he did it.

Like we all know the FBI ignored every rule and legality to spy on Trump? That intelligence agencies conspired with them and almost all of them lied to Congress? The MSM spin is not working. the polls show that.


0 Replies
 
izzythepush
 
  1  
Sun 15 Dec, 2019 11:49 am
@Walter Hinteler,
That's the same trick the Far righters use on this conservative forum.

The lack of engagement has nothing to do with supposed 'anti-tory' bias and everything to do with avoiding scrutiny.

Johnson cannot deliver what he promised in the time frame he set out. Not only that he doesn't have the inclination to employ extra nuses or put any extra money into the NHS.

Johnson's one nation speech promising to heal was the biggest load of bollocks I'd ever heard and reminded me of Thatcher's initial speech where she quoted Francis of Assisi, before going on to destroy communities, industries and generations.

It's not looking good for Britain.
hightor
 
  1  
Sun 15 Dec, 2019 11:55 am
@izzythepush,

Boris Johnson threatens BBC with two-pronged attack


No 10 boycotts Today programme and considers decriminalising non-payment of licence fee

Quote:
Downing Street is threatening the future of the BBC by insisting it is seriously considering decriminalising non-payment of the licence fee, while boycotting Radio 4’s Today programme over the broadcaster’s supposed anti-Tory bias.

No 10 pulled ministers from Saturday’s edition of the Today programme and sources said it intended to “withdraw engagement” from the show in future.

The row is seen as an ominous sign of Boris Johnson’s willingness to bypass independent scrutiny and follows criticism of the BBC’s election coverage from both left and right.

No 10 pointed to Andrew Neil’s on-air monologue in which he lambasted Johnson for his refusal to be interviewed, and the BBC’s “extensive coverage” of a four-year-old boy with suspected pneumonia forced to sleep on a hospital floor – as supposed evidence of anti-Tory, pro-remain bias at the corporation.

Meanwhile, Labour backers have raised concerns about the BBC’s coverage, from the editing out of laughter aimed at Johnson in a news bulletin to leading reporters uncritically repeating Conservative sources, and the prime minister escaping scrutiny after dodging the one-on-one interview with Neil.

The BBC has firmly rejected such criticism. In an email on Friday, the director general, Tony Hall, wrote: “In a frenetic campaign where we’ve produced hundreds of hours of output, of course we’ve made the odd mistake and we’ve held up our hands to them. Editors are making tough calls every minute of the day. But I don’t accept the view of those critics who jump on a handful of examples to suggest we’re somehow biased one way or the other.”

During the election campaign, Johnson threatened to take the BBC’s licence fee away as he called into question its status as a publicly funded broadcaster. The prime minister suggested the licence fee, which is guaranteed to continue until at least 2027, was a general tax that could no longer be justified when other media organisations had found other ways of funding themselves.

Any changes to the BBC’s funding model would require parliament to pass fresh legislation. Abolition would be hard, but a bigger risk for the BBC is the negotiations with the government over the cost of the licence fee between 2022 and 2027.

Even more worrying for the public broadcaster are comments by the justice secretary, Robert Buckland, that the Tories are seriously looking at decriminalisation of failure to pay the TV licence, which could be set out in the next Queen’s speech and would undermine the BBC’s funding model.

A No 10 source confirmed that the licence fee was “in the firing line”, following reports in the Mail on Sunday that its future settlement was under discussion.

A BBC spokesperson said decriminalisation would lead to £200m less to spend on programmes.

“The government has already commissioned a QC to take an in-depth look at this matter and he found that ‘the current system of criminal deterrence and prosecution should be maintained’ and that it is fair and value for money to licence fee payers,” they said. “Decriminalisation could also mean we have at least £200m less to spend on programmes and services our audiences love.”

Johnson’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings is known to be a strong critic of the BBC, its funding model and its output. He is particularly dismissive of the Today programme, which he argues operates in a metropolitan bubble out of touch with the rest of the country.

Downing Street has also attacked Channel 4’s election coverage after it replaced Johnson with an ice sculpture when he refused to take part in a leaders’ debate on the climate crisis.

During the election the Tories confirmed that the party would review Channel 4’s public service broadcasting obligations if Johnson was returned to Downing Street. Under the proposal it will “look at whether its remit should be better focused so it is serving the public in the best way possible”.

However, there will be voices within the Tory party who are uneasy about an all-out war with the media, particularly the BBC – both because it remains one of the most trusted institutions in the country and because of its daily influence on the news agenda.

guardian
coldjoint
 
  0  
Sun 15 Dec, 2019 11:58 am
@izzythepush,
Quote:
It's not looking good for Britain.

If that is your opinion, then I would say things must be getting better for Britain.
0 Replies
 
coldjoint
 
  1  
Sun 15 Dec, 2019 12:02 pm
@hightor,
Quote:
Today programme over the broadcaster’s supposed anti-Tory bias.

The MSM in Britain is just as corrupt as ours and are not interested in what the citizen wants as demonstrated in the recent landslide. They will carry on like Corbyn won the election and people will be turning them off. Just like the MSM is largely ignored here when it comes to politics.
0 Replies
 
Walter Hinteler
 
  2  
Sun 15 Dec, 2019 12:08 pm
@hightor,
Quote:
https://i.imgur.com/w78aFGGl.jpg
[...]
The aftermath has seen Jeremy Corbyn partly blame the still-powerful Sun and Daily Mail for his defeat, despite the plummeting print circulations of national newspapers. At the same time the Conservatives have turned their fire on the media and are threatening to decriminalise the licence fee – potentially severely undermining the BBC – and look at other ways of changing the way the UK media operates.
... ... ...
0 Replies
 
 

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