Thursday, April 13, 2017

Donald Trump in his own words: Zdenek Makar





Afghanistan bomb: Trump finds the keys to the family gun cabinet
"As no less an authority on politics than Shakespeare pointed out, ‘there is a (cold river) tide in the affairs of men’, and some men – and women – are clearly taking his advice and taking it in the flood. The list of chancers and aspiring authoritarians grows longer by the day. The fact that the likes of Putin and Erdogan appear to have prospered and cemented their authority by trampling individual rights and liberties is only likely to encourage others…" (ANAYLSIS: What it is to be popular? via John Menadue's Pearls and Irritations)

This is the Trump narrative that's going to get us all killed

"President Trump’s new office, led by his son-in-law, aimed at reforming the federal government held its first formal meeting with business leaders." GovExec: Trump Cabinet Members Hear from Corporate Leaders on How to Reform Government
 

Trump’s Idea of Running Government Like a Business is Bad for Citizens

  Russia-Baiting Pushed Trump To Attack Syria — And Increases The Risk Of Nuclear Annihilation Norman Solomon 


“The following is a partial transcript of President Trump’s interview with The New York Times’s Maggie Haberman and Glenn Thrush. It has been lightly edited for content and clarity, and omits several off-the-record comments and asides.At least six White House aides were sitting in: Gary D. Cohn, President Trump’s lead economic adviser and a former president of Goldman Sachs; Reed Cordish, an assistant to the president; Sean Spicer, the press secretary; Hope Hicks, a long-serving Trump aide; and eventually Vice President Mike Pence and the chief of staff, Reince Priebus.”

 ProPublica: “Update, April 4, 2017: In an interview with ProPublica, Trump Organization attorney Alan Garten confirmed that President Trump can withdraw profits and underlying assets from his trust at any time. He also said the president has been able to withdraw money since Trump took office on Jan. 20. That language was not included in a Jan. 26 summary of the trust — what’s known as a trust certification — but was included in a Feb. 10 version of the document. Asked about the change, Garten said the Trump Organization prepares different versions of the summaries to “highlight different things for different people.” The full details of the trust are in what’s known as a trust agreement, which Garten said the Trump Organization will not release. He referred further questions about release of the trust agreement to the law firm of Morgan Lewis, which did not respond to a ProPublica request for comment. We have updated the story’s headline to reflect Garten’s comments…”

Donald Trump in his own words FT. “An edited transcript of the Financial Times interview with the US president ,” not pay-walled and Trump on Merkel, Twitter and Republican infighting — FT interview FT. Coverage, pay-walled. Nice get
Trump has slammed courts, intelligence agencies, but voters trust them more than him McClatchy. Bob K: :but how about with those who voted for him?”



Uber’s Seattle woes: union battle could see company leave another major city Guardian (Bob K). Don’t let the door hit you on your way out. The article makes clear that drivers really do not like Uber.



Uber drivers ‘tricked into signing away their rights’ The Times. Subhead: “Gig economy workers’ contracts are gibberish, say MPs”


“Following a presidential campaign season characterized by regular conflicts between Donald Trump and the news media and the continuation of these tensions since President Trump took office, nearly all Americans have taken notice, and large majorities feel these tensions are causing problems. According to a new Pew Research Center survey, 94% of Americans say they have heard about the current state of the relationship between the Trump administration and the news media. And what they’ve seen does not reassure them: Large majorities feel the relationship is unhealthy and that the ongoing tensions are impeding Americans’ access to important political news….”
It’s possible — but difficult — to build wealth while earning the minimum wage Business Insider. “For a single parent or for someone supporting an ill family member, circumstances are considerably more difficult.” And we live in a society that seems optimized to create ill family members and prevent or destroy marriages.” So good luck doesn’t figure at all!
Top Obama Adviser Sought Names of Trump Associates in Intel Bloomberg. Lambert: “Read last para, very dry.”


The Real Russiagate: Obama’s Stasi State Michael Hudson and Paul Craig Roberts

Blackwater founder held secret Seychelles meeting to establish Trump-Putin back channel Washington Post. Note the Post has to concede that there’s no evidence Prince was authorized by anyone on Team Trump. Looks like an entrepreneurial/influence currying effort to me.

Chicken Shop murder: Man cleared of bike lock killing BBC. More detail on the killing here. Vlade:

This is already causing political waves in CZ, where most of the comments on the news sites are along the lines “so we see, a different justice for EU immigrants and for the UK bullies” + a strong wish to get the UK “punished”. This comes from population which up till now was rather positively skewed towards the UK. So unless a VERY good explanation would be coming from the UK shortly (which I doubt), UK just made an enemy from a former friend. Given that the Visegrad 4 (CZ, Slovakia, Poland + Hungary) now with UK out of the EU have blocking minority, and that Poles and Slovaks are already upset with the UK, this doesn’t bode well for any Brexit deal.
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