So what do you Brits make of Trump ?

[Stavros]

A few days ago the BBC broadcast a special episode in a series it produced some time ago called The Conspiracy Files which looks at the way in which Donald Trump has used conspiracy theories to boost his political campaign. (Link to programme below)

The programme looks in succession at the 'Birther' controversy which Trump in 2011 used to build support for what has become his tilt at the White House, including the claim that the Department of Health manager who signed the Hawaii birth certificate was subsequently murdered, both easily debunked. It moves on to the claim that Ted Cruz's father was an associate of Lee Harvey Oswald, looks at the claims around the suicide of Vince Foster, Bill Clinton's affairs, and Hillary Clinton's email server.

At the beginning of the programme, a former adviser to Donald Trump, Roger Stone, states, categorically that History is a set of lies, agreed upon. It is worth remembering as the kind of language that enables anything to be true, or false, so that ultimately there is no truth, only opinion, and whoever 'controls' that opinion in the public sphere controls everything else, just as Julian Assange being interviewed by John Pilger on Russia Today (where else?) claims the election is sewn up for Hillary because

“My analysis is that Trump will not be permitted to win......Banks, intelligence, arms companies, foreign money, etc are all united behind Hillary Clinton. And the media as well. Media owners, and the journalists themselves.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/pe...-a7397211.html

Thus Trump can claim the entire election is a conspiracy, that it is being rigged, without the need for evidence because evidence may be true, and the truth is to be discarded. For if Stone is correct, the fact that incidents took place on the 9th of September 2001 cannot be true, ditto the 7th of December 1941 at Pearl Harbour, because whether you believe 9/11 was an inside job or that the British forewarned the Americans of the Japanese plan to bomb the US fleet, the dates on which the events happened really are not lies, we even have real people who are still alive to confirm it, such as you and me.

One is reminded of the Politician's Prayer: Lord, may my words be always sweet and reasonable, for one day I may need to eat them.

The Conspiracy Files is can be seen here-

[flabbybody]

Farage is unofficially part of the transition team. He'll probably have his own guest bedroom at the White House, opposite Putin's.
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefi...at-trump-tower

[Stavros]

Some countries have a 'National Treasure', we appear to have a 'National Asshole'.
This is a man who led UKIP to win most of the UK seats in the European Parliament elections in 2014 sending shivers down the spine of the Tory Party, provoking two Tory MPs to defect to UKIP and Cameron to agree to an EU Referendum after the 2015 Election to steal UKIP's thunder. But in the 2015 election Farage could not get elected to the House of Commons, and claims to be delighted that he will not be standing as a UKIP MEP next time as the UK will not be in the EU -which means losing his annual €96, 240 [$104,482) salary, his €4,243 [$4641] travel allowance, his annual €51,588 [$56,005] office costs and when he leaves his €39,000 [$42,340] 'transition allowance' to help him back into the 'real world'.
Farage believes he is a very important man indeed, a claim undermined by the chronic shambles which is the party he has shaped since 1997 and is characterised by its resignations, its sackings and defections, the vitriolic abuse individuals in UKIP receive from other members, and most recently a punch-up in Brussels worthy of a bottle party rather than a political party. Above all this Farage sails supremely on, totally unwilling to accept that this shambles is anything to do with him, unable to explain how when he resigned the party elected a woman, Dianne James, who gave up after 18 days claiming she had no authority in the party, which I guess is how UKIP works. At a dinner after her election addressed by the Dear Leader, Ms James sat on her own, a forlorn figure.

UKIP was created by Prof. Alan Sked, an academic historian at the London School of Economics in 1993. He was opposed to the UK's membership of the EU but his party at the outset stated
"It is a non-sectarian, non-racist party with no prejudices against foreigners or lawful minorities of any kind. It does not recognise the legitimacy of the European parliament and will send representatives only to the British parliament in Westminster."

Sked goes on to tell how Farage took the party into a different direction, went to the European Parliament, allowed former members of the fascist National Front to become members and party officials, and quotes Farage himself using abusive language- you can read about it in the link below. And just today the leader of the French National Front, Marine le Pen claims you can't put a hair between the politics of her party and UKIP, though unlike the NF I don't think even UKIP has taken money from the Russians...
https://www.theguardian.com/politics...steins-monster

[flabbybody]

Trump has tweeted he'd like his best buddy Farage in Washington as ambassador. That would be one way to get him out of London. And giving the new president what he wants would reap obvious dividends for U.K.

[Stavros]

Trump has tweeted he'd like his best buddy Farage in Washington as ambassador. That would be one way to get him out of London. And giving the new president what he wants would reap obvious dividends for U.K.

Needless to say Farage was 'flattered' by the proposal even though the last time a US President 'intervened' in the domestic politics of the UK by suggsting leaving the UK was not a good idea, Farage with much indignation told President Obama to 'butt out' or words to that effect. From one point of view Farage is set to lose a substantial sum of money when he ceases to be a member of the European Parliament and he must be thinking ahead in financial terms and the sort of job he needs to maintain his standard of living. On another more political level Farage is desperate to be taken seriously even though he has now failed to be elected to the House of Commons on seven attempts. It sounds like he has decided that to win he should mimic the 'Trump' approach, so that when Trump's proposal was quite rightly dismissed by Her Majesty's Government, Farage's response was to go on the attack and describe Parliament as a 'cesspit' which puts its own interests before those of the British people.
It is actually not so different from those politicians desperate to bathe in the glow of Mandela, or who in 2008 wanted to be touched by the 'Obama magic' in the hope it would revive their own declining careers -a certain Gordon Brown was one who couldn't wait to feel the burn of Obama's fairy dust. And where he is he now?

[Stavros]

Another remarkable week in politics which from this side of the pond makes one wonder what the word 'accountability' means. Some newspapers here -mostly The Guardian and The Independent -have attempted to unravel the timeline with regard to Trump and the Russians, and it does not look good, even if one allows for 'unverifiable' facts.

It is of some interest that it was Republican opponents of Trump -allegedly linked to the Jeb Bush campaign- who initiated the research into Trump and the Russians, in the summer of 2015. They asked Fusion US to look into it, and a year or so later they contacted Christopher Steel, an ex MI6 agent with 20 years of Russian experience. In June 2016 Steele produced a Memo which was sent to the FBI which claimed Trump had agreed with the Russians to change the tone on US-Russian relations, and shortly after that Trump did recognise their 'right' to annex the Crimea, and days later called on the Republican Party to withdraw its pledge to help the government of the Ukraine fight 'rebels' in the east of the country.
On the same day Trump supported Russia's annexation of the Crimea, he publicly invited them to hack Hillary Clinton's emails -indeed, Trump has since conceded that the Russians probably did hack the DNC, a separate issue but an admission of some sort the Russians had targeted the US election with or without his approval.

Throughout the summer the FBI was provided with the increasing volume of information on Trump's links to the Russian government, yet chose instead to focus on Hillary Clinton, climaxing with the declaration by FBI Director Comey that an investigation into her email server was being revived- two days after Rudolph Giuliani had predicted 'We've got a couple of things up our sleeve that should turn things around'.

Trump's reaction, as usual is to attack his critics, dismissing the MI6 agent much respected by people on both sides of the Atlantic working in intelligence as a 'failed spy', refusing to allow CNN to even ask one question at the Press Conference and, in effect, taking the view that he can disregard the press anyway as most of his supporters across the US consider the media to be part of a 'broken America' whom they can simply ignore, much as so far Trump supporters when asked either have not read about the Russian allegations or just don't care.

At some point Trump will be accountable, when and on what issue I don't know. But as was suggested on the BBC-2 Newsnight programme last night, we may be entering a phase in politics when the media is simply ignored by those in power and rendered useless as long as the voters do not react to whatever the press is reporting.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...-a7526901.html

[Stavros]

Anyone who saw the photos of Trump holding hands with Theresa May is allowed to wonder how 'special' the 'Special Relationship' could become, not least because Mrs May is the daughter of a Church of England vicar.

In fact, we are now told Trump does have a serious weakness -he can't handle slopes. It is called bathmophobia...

Following their close encounter of the second kind, they went for lunch. But wait, what is this? A starter of
'baby iceberg wedge’ salad with blue cheese...

a)-that sounds like 2/10ths of a Big Mac
b)- in what civilization does anyone eat blue cheese before the main course?
c)- potato puree we feed 2-5 year olds in the UK
d)- a business lunch should be poached salmon with asparagus, heritage carrots and sliced potato dressed with rosemary and lime.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017...eld-hands-not/

[Stavros]

Donald Trump, button your jacket! Why does Trump present himself, even when he is wearing a coat, with his jacket open? It looks slovenly, or is there a hidden message in the way the eye follows the line of his necktie down to a space a few inches above his crotch? Is that what this is about? Sort of like the cowboy entering the saloon led by his dick?

[martin48]

Here’s fashion designer Vivek Nagrani take Trump’s dress sense


As I observed the inauguration of President Trump and the subsequent news coverage of his new administration, I noticed I was no longer listening to the words coming out of his mouth. Instead I was fixated on his sense of fashion and the manner in which he wears clothing.
Society, driven by millennials, has become far more casual and laid back in terms of social graces and etiquette. This is acceptable in everyday life. But we are discussing the U.S. Presidency.
Decorum, a respect for the office and those who came before should be expected. The President sets the tone for the country and how the world views the United States and Americans. Sure, it is judgmental, but it is a fact of life that rules apply to dressing—and these rules create a dress “code.”
To many, this may appear to be superficial, but allow me to translate what President Trump’s style sense, or lack thereof, says to me.
First, the most obvious, the length of his necktie. According to traditional rules of dress, the tie should not extend past the middle of the belt buckle. For the modern man, the tie should sit slightly above the belt buckle. Like everything else, the rules do not apply to President Trump.
However, what this tells me is that he has no understanding of the basic rules of dress, which contradicts his commentary about “class” and “luxury.” Men who actually understand class, understand that a flapping tie dangling at the crotch is reserved for men who never learned how to tie a tie.
Could it be that President Trump wants to draw the eyes of the ladies to his crotch and away from his midsection? You know, so he can let them know he wants to grab some p****?
The most rational reason for the long tie is to create an optical illusion of a more balanced looking body. The 1980s power suits that President Trump dons are created to give his rather circular torso a more “V” shape.
His tailor is to be congratulated for attempting the impossible. The heavily padded and wide shoulders in the jacket and the free-flowing half waist are intentional so as to balance his small shoulders with his large mid-section.
The longer tie should make his torso look longer. If you don’t believe me, take a look at his golfing pictures and you can see for yourself.
Ironically, President Trump was reportedly offended by his Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s ill-fitting suit worn at his first press conference. This is comical because Trump himself wears distastefully ill-fitting suits. Unfortunately, most American men tend to wear suits that do not really fit properly.
For many it is the idea that comfort “trumps” style, but it doesn’t have to. It is not President Trump’s suit that speaks to me, but rather his lack of understanding of how to actually wear a suit. From what he has told us, he is the son of a rich man, highly educated and sets the bar when it comes to class and sophistication.
But from what I am seeing, it appears that he has a disdain for wearing a suit, almost as though he has to wear it solely to project a false image of power and class. He often claims his apartment is the pinnacle of elegance.
Again, we have a contradiction. Men who understand etiquette, know when you are standing, your jacket is always buttoned. (When wearing a three button jacket, the middle button is always buttoned while standing. With a two button jacket, the top button is always buttoned while standing. These basic rules of dress may not mean much at first, but they are in place for a reason.)
This long-standing rule of buttoning your jacket when standing is a telltale sign that a man pays attention to details. It is also a sign of respect when you meet someone or walk into a room.
A buttoned jacket reflects a more formal posture and signals that you understand the art of dressing. An open jacket tells me you are assuming our meeting is causal and unimportant. When a man buttons his jacket, it naturally makes his suit fit better which makes for a kinder impression when meeting others or entering a room. It exudes an elegant presence and implies an understanding of style.
When he walked into the White House, President Trump’s jacket was wide open and his tie was flapping away. This was a clear sign that either he has no respect for the people greeting him or for the House he was about to occupy.
Or, perhaps he has no sartorial clue, much like his understanding of the world at large.
So how exactly should Trump be dressing? To begin with, he needs to change his entire wardrobe. Then he needs to have a tailor work on the fit of his suit and shorten the front of his jackets to compensate for his slouching posture.
He could have his trousers re-fitted to give him a cleaner, balanced appearance and update his choice of ties by offering a slimmer, shorter and less shiny option. Next he could get a real hair cut.
And finally, Trump could be taught how to actually wear clothes.

[martin48]

Apparently, Trump doesn't like slopes! May be fake news - so sad

Anyone who saw the photos of Trump holding hands with Theresa May is allowed to wonder how 'special' the 'Special Relationship' could become, not least because Mrs May is the daughter of a Church of England vicar.

In fact, we are now told Trump does have a serious weakness -he can't handle slopes. It is called bathmophobia...

Following their close encounter of the second kind, they went for lunch. But wait, what is this? A starter of
'baby iceberg wedge’ salad with blue cheese...

a)-that sounds like 2/10ths of a Big Mac
b)- in what civilization does anyone eat blue cheese before the main course?
c)- potato puree we feed 2-5 year olds in the UK
d)- a business lunch should be poached salmon with asparagus, heritage carrots and sliced potato dressed with rosemary and lime.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017...eld-hands-not/