U.S. Politics

[Keyblade]

33 minutes ago, NurembergVillan said:

Twitter has certainly provided a platform for people to be hostile towards each other in a way that most would never dare in real life.  I can't help but feel it's had some part in the outlook of modern folks, and played a role in the shape of politics right now.

Yep, that always comes to mind when looking at how things got so toxic so quickly. The US has become ridiculously polarized in recent years. Case in point, in a recent poll, 40% of Americans said they think Trump should be impeached, while 47% were happy with his presidency so far. That is ridiculous.

[Awol]

Being reported the US is imposing new targeted sanctions on individuals and companies in Iran following the latest missile tests a few day ago.

To be fair Iran isn't supposed to be doing these tests so Washington is going by the book  with new sanctions, but can't help feeling it's the start of trying to get Iran to walk away from the JCPOA nuclear agreement. 

[Chindie]

Trump and co are fluffing the idea of Iranian conflict, they claimed yesterday that Iran had fired at a US vessel. When it wasn't an Iranian action and it wasn't a US vessel.

Some have tried to spin this as an error.

[villaglint]

On 31 January 2017 at 03:53, TheAuthority said:

Here is an article which contains a transcript of a talk he gave in 2014

Bannon in his own words

Or if you really want to listen

 

Very interesting thank you. 

He has lots of ideas which seem pretty abhorrent to me at least. But on certain points he is saying things I think most lefties would agree with. Probably a lot in that about why Trump/UKIP have done so well much to the surprise of liberal folks. 

[NurembergVillan]

Turns out the attacker in Paris today was from Egypt.  Perhaps Trumpet was right to invoke the Muslim ban after all?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Awol]

The Germans going for a "wind him up and watch him go" approach.

Keep an eye on his twitter feed for the declaration of war.

[snowychap]

Torygraph:

Quote

More than 100,000 visas have been revoked in the wake of the Trump administrations recent travel ban on citizens of seven mainly Muslim countries, according to media reports.

The Washington Post reported the figure, citing a government attorney at a federal court hearing in Virginia. NBC News' Washington affiliate also reported the number from the hearing.

 

[Chindie]

Mentioning the 'Muslim ban', a podcast I listened to earlier mentioned that the order has a caveat that it does not apply to minorities in those countries. Given that they're all Muslim majority...

The same podcast also put forth things about Bannon and his views which aren't shocking but were interesting.

[StefanAVFC]

26 minutes ago, snowychap said:

Torygraph:

 

How many Muslim terrorist attacks since the ban?

There we go.

On an unrelated matter, I wonder if Trump is interesting in purchasing a very special rock...

[snowychap]

15 minutes ago, Chindie said:

Mentioning the 'Muslim ban', a podcast I listened to earlier mentioned that the order has a caveat that it does not apply to minorities in those countries. Given that they're all Muslim majority...

The same podcast also put forth things about Bannon and his views which aren't shocking but were interesting.

There are two mentions about religious minorities:

one when talking about the visa suspension and giving examples of reasons that the Sec of State and Holeand Security Sec. may allow admission on a case by case basis - the other examples specified are people in transit who would thus suffer undue hardship and those covered by pre-existing agreements (e.g. the Aussie deal);

the other is specifically about the Sec of State being directed to make changes to the refugee system, when it resumes, to prioritize claims on the basis of religious persecution (as long as that religion is a minority one in that person's country of nationality).

[TheAuthority]

1 hour ago, Awol said:

The Germans going for a "wind him up and watch him go" approach.

Keep an eye on his twitter feed for the declaration of war.

In the same vein. I wonder if he'll declare war on us in New York?

[villaglint]

2 hours ago, villaglint said:

Very interesting thank you. 

He has lots of ideas which seem pretty abhorrent to me at least. But on certain points he is saying things I think most lefties would agree with. Probably a lot in that about why Trump/UKIP have done so well much to the surprise of liberal folks. 

OK and then within minutes I read that Trump is cutting a lot of Dodd-Frank because he has friends with nice business who cant borrow.

Not sure how that chimes with the article above but maybe an example that Bannon is not the puppet master people paint him as and Trump is his own man.

Edited February 3, 2017 by villaglint

[snowychap]

37 minutes ago, TheAuthority said:

I wonder if he'll declare war on us in New York?

Ooh, you're on the list. Don't you worry about that.

[Awol]

54 minutes ago, villaglint said:

OK and then within minutes I read that Trump is cutting a lot of Dodd-Frank because he has friends with nice business who cant borrow.

Not sure how that chimes with the article above but maybe an example that Bannon is not the puppet master people paint him as and Trump is his own man.

Yep, I find the idea that Trump is a puppet pretty ludicrous. Bombastic, bullying and ruthless for sure, but also his own man with far too much ego to be doing the bidding of others.

[Chindie]

13 minutes ago, Awol said:

Yep, I find the idea that Trump is a puppet pretty ludicrous. Bombastic, bullying and ruthless for sure, but also his own man with far too much ego to be doing the bidding of others.

I'm conflicted on this.

The hope initially was literally he was a puppet. The election was an ego massage and he'd surround himself with established name and faces in the chair and he'd be the salesman for others ideas. And to extent I think that is the case - I don't think Donald Trump actually could explain anything about Dodds-Frank and it's basically a Republican gimme to bin it. It strikes me as something he's been fed as a bad idea from evil Obama that people will like and he's signing it off.

The problem then, though, is he didn't surround himself with that many established names. It's Bannon and co. I think the ideas they have are being fed to Trump and they are influencing him, but he agrees with the more broad strokes. I think he agrees with the travel ban for instance(and I think it's no coincidence his businesses are unaffected - 'Trump Inc' knew about this legislation before anyone else did imo) but Bannon and co did the detail. Trump is fully onboard with a travel ban, but exactly what that means and how it operates and the aims behind it are others thoughts. He'll agree with fronting up to Iran and flexing the muscles because are Iran are bad and America is good, but Bannon is giving the depth and calling the strategy for the bigger game.

Perhaps it's less puppet and more involved enthusiastic salesman. He's committed to the surface and agrees with the depth Bannon tells him. And to some extent I'd guess he's being fed what to sell, chosen to tie up with his viewpoints or explained to him what it will achieve.

[snowychap]

31 minutes ago, Awol said:

Yep, I find the idea that Trump is a puppet pretty ludicrous. Bombastic, bullying and ruthless for sure, but also his own man with far too much ego to be doing the bidding of others.

I'm not sure anyone has accused him of being cognisant.

[NurembergVillan]

If we're looking for positives, there are two phenomenal examples of magazine cover art on this page.  Small mercies.

[maqroll]

25 minutes ago, NurembergVillan said:

If we're looking for positives, there are two phenomenal examples of magazine cover art on this page.  Small mercies.

Agreed, I came on here to post the New Yorker one.

[villaglint]

54 minutes ago, Chindie said:

I'm conflicted on this.

The hope initially was literally he was a puppet. The election was an ego massage and he'd surround himself with established name and faces in the chair and he'd be the salesman for others ideas. And to extent I think that is the case - I don't think Donald Trump actually could explain anything about Dodds-Frank and it's basically a Republican gimme to bin it. It strikes me as something he's been fed as a bad idea from evil Obama that people will like and he's signing it off.

The problem then, though, is he didn't surround himself with that many established names. It's Bannon and co. I think the ideas they have are being fed to Trump and they are influencing him, but he agrees with the more broad strokes. I think he agrees with the travel ban for instance(and I think it's no coincidence his businesses are unaffected - 'Trump Inc' knew about this legislation before anyone else did imo) but Bannon and co did the detail. Trump is fully onboard with a travel ban, but exactly what that means and how it operates and the aims behind it are others thoughts. He'll agree with fronting up to Iran and flexing the muscles because are Iran are bad and America is good, but Bannon is giving the depth and calling the strategy for the bigger game.

Perhaps it's less puppet and more involved enthusiastic salesman. He's committed to the surface and agrees with the depth Bannon tells him. And to some extent I'd guess he's being fed what to sell, chosen to tie up with his viewpoints or explained to him what it will achieve.

@Chindie Not being confrontational but did you read the article Authority posted which was a Bannon transcript? Difficult to see how the views he gives there square with financial deregulation. Obviously this is just one day of the Trump campaign and who knows where we'll be next week let alone in four years

[Villaphan04]

Did any of you hear about this?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/02/03/former-norwegian-prime-minister-detained-at-dulles-airport-for-an-hour-he-visited-iran-in-2014/?utm_term=.789c342cc052

Quote

As Kjell Magne Bondevik was preparing for his visit to the United States for this week’s National Prayer Breakfast, he had reason to believe the trip would be seamless. After all, he is the former prime minister of Norway — a U.S. ally in NATO — and has traveled to and from the U.S. on numerous occasions.

His office contacted the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, and was told his passport and a separate electronic travel authorization would be enough for entry into the country.

But after flying into Dulles International Airport on Tuesday afternoon, he was detained and questioned for about an hour, all because of a passport stamp. His passport — which clearly stated he is the former prime minister of Norway — indicated he had taken a 2014 trip to Iran, where Bondevik said he had attended a human rights conference.

“I was surprised, and I was provoked,” he told WJLA ABC7. “What will the reputation of the U.S. be if this happens not only to me, but also to other international leaders?”

Bondevik contacted the Norwegian Embassy in Washington after he was detained, he said. A spokesman said the embassy was “happy that things were sorted out.”

He was placed in a room with travelers from the Middle East and Africa who also faced extra scrutiny, and had to wait for about 40 minutes before being questioned for about 20 minutes, he said. Officials asked him why he had been in Iran and why he was coming to the U.S., he told Norway’s TV2, according to English-language news outlet the Local.

“There should be no reason to fear a former prime minister who has been on official visits to the country several times before,” Bondevik said. “It appears that when the name of a certain country shows up, all of the antennas go up. This will create totally unnecessary suspicion.”

Bondevik said his detention was prompted not by President Trump’s recent executive order, but by a policy instated under President Barack Obama, which calls for extra restrictions on some citizens from 38 countries — including Norway — that fall under the United States’ Visa Waiver Program. Under the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015, nationals from these 38 countries who have traveled to or been present in Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen on or after March 1, 2011, are not permitted to travel under the Visa Waiver Program.

These travelers can still apply for a visa using the regular appointment process at a U.S. embassy or consulate. The act also clarifies that limited exceptions exist for travel for diplomatic or military purposes in the service of one of these 38 countries.

Still, Bondevik was shocked, he said, particularly because this was not his first visit to the U.S. since his trip to Iran in 2014. A spokesman with U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the agency is prohibited by privacy laws from discussing specifics of any individual’s admissibility review, ABC7 reported.

“I understand the fear of terror, but one should not treat entire ethnic groups in such a way,” he said, the Local reported. “I must admit that I fear the future. There has been a lot of progress over the last ten years, but this gives great cause for concern, in line with the authoritarian leaders we see controlling other major countries.”

Bondevik, an ordained Lutheran minister, served as the Christian Democratic Party prime minister of Norway from 1997 to 2000 and from 2001 to 2005, making him Norway’s longest serving non-Socialist prime minister since World War II.

While serving his first term in office, the pressure of managing the coalition led Bondevick to fall into depression, and caused him to take a break from his duties for a few weeks in 1998. He became the first head of state to publicly leave office for mental health reasons.

Currently, Bondevik serves as the president of the Oslo Centre for Peace and Human Rights, an organization that “aims at strengthening its efforts to promote responsible leadership, in order [to] prevent conflicts and strengthen democratic practice in fragile democracies.”