Xela Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 4 hours ago, Straggler said: In 2017 I was very strict about meteors striking the earth. Good news - last year there was not even a single report of a fatal meteor strike anywhere GLOBALLY! You are welcome. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted January 3, 2018 Author Share Posted January 3, 2018 Can you believe this shit? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAuthority Posted January 3, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted January 3, 2018 11 minutes ago, maqroll said: Can you believe this shit? He's back in 2018 with a bang (after golfing for about the last 12 days straight.) Came out with some beauts today and this one took the biscuit. Back in the real world there is this op-ed today from the founders of Fusion GPS who've done thorough investigation into Trump's business dealings and were the firm behind the "Steele Dossier." They have been testifying behind closed doors to congress and are asking that their transcripts be released. I'm pasting the whole article incase anyone is trapped behind a paywall - apologies for the length but it is worth a read. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/02/opinion/republicans-investigation-fusion-gps.html Quote A generation ago, Republicans sought to protect President Richard Nixon by urging the Senate Watergate committee to look at supposed wrongdoing by Democrats in previous elections. The committee chairman, Sam Ervin, a Democrat, said that would be “as foolish as the man who went bear hunting and stopped to chase rabbits.” Today, amid a growing criminal inquiry into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, congressional Republicans are again chasing rabbits. We know because we’re their favorite quarry. In the year since the publication of the so-called Steele dossier — the collection of intelligence reports we commissioned about Donald Trump’s ties to Russia — the president has repeatedly attacked us on Twitter. His allies in Congress have dug through our bank records and sought to tarnish our firm to punish us for highlighting his links to Russia. Conservative news outlets and even our former employer, The Wall Street Journal, have spun a succession of mendacious conspiracy theories about our motives and backers. We are happy to correct the record. In fact, we already have. Three congressional committees have heard over 21 hours of testimony from our firm, Fusion GPS. In those sessions, we toppled the far right’s conspiracy theories and explained how The Washington Free Beaconand the Clinton campaign — the Republican and Democratic funders of our Trump research — separately came to hire us in the first place. We walked investigators through our yearlong effort to decipher Mr. Trump’s complex business past, of which the Steele dossier is but one chapter. And we handed over our relevant bank records — while drawing the line at a fishing expedition for the records of companies we work for that have nothing to do with the Trump case. Continue reading the main story Republicans have refused to release full transcripts of our firm’s testimony, even as they selectively leak details to media outlets on the far right. It’s time to share what our company told investigators. We don’t believe the Steele dossier was the trigger for the F.B.I.’s investigation into Russian meddling. As we told the Senate Judiciary Committee in August, our sources said the dossier was taken so seriously because it corroborated reports the bureau had received from other sources, including one inside the Trump camp. The intelligence committees have known for months that credible allegations of collusion between the Trump camp and Russia were pouring in from independent sources during the campaign. Yet lawmakers in the thrall of the president continue to wage a cynical campaign to portray us as the unwitting victims of Kremlin disinformation. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Sign Up for the Opinion Today Newsletter Every weekday, get thought-provoking commentary from Op-Ed columnists, the Times editorial board and contributing writers from around the world. Sign Up You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. SEE SAMPLE PRIVACY POLICY OPT OUT OR CONTACT US ANYTIME We suggested investigators look into the bank records of Deutsche Bank and others that were funding Mr. Trump’s businesses. Congress appears uninterested in that tip: Reportedly, ours are the only bank records the House Intelligence Committee has subpoenaed. We told Congress that from Manhattan to Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., and from Toronto to Panama, we found widespread evidence that Mr. Trump and his organization had worked with a wide array of dubious Russians in arrangements that often raised questions about money laundering. Likewise, those deals don’t seem to interest Congress. We explained how, from our past journalistic work in Europe, we were deeply familiar with the political operative Paul Manafort’s coziness with Moscow and his financial ties to Russian oligarchs close to Vladimir Putin. Finally, we debunked the biggest canard being pushed by the president’s men — the notion that we somehow knew of the June 9, 2016, meeting in Trump Tower between some Russians and the Trump brain trust. We first learned of that meeting from news reports last year — and the committees know it. They also know that these Russians were unaware of the former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele’s work for us and were not sources for his reports. Yes, we hired Mr. Steele, a highly respected Russia expert. But we did so without informing him whom we were working for and gave him no specific marching orders beyond this basic question: Why did Mr. Trump repeatedly seek to do deals in a notoriously corrupt police state that most serious investors shun? What came back shocked us. Mr. Steele’s sources in Russia (who were not paid) reported on an extensive — and now confirmed — effort by the Kremlin to help elect Mr. Trump president. Mr. Steele saw this as a crime in progress and decided he needed to report it to the F.B.I. We did not discuss that decision with our clients, or anyone else. Instead, we deferred to Mr. Steele, a trusted friend and intelligence professional with a long history of working with law enforcement. We did not speak to the F.B.I. and haven’t since. After the election, Mr. Steele decided to share his intelligence with Senator John McCain via an emissary. We helped him do that. The goal was to alert the United States national security community to an attack on our country by a hostile foreign power. We did not, however, share the dossier with BuzzFeed, which to our dismay published it last January. We’re extremely proud of our work to highlight Mr. Trump’s Russia ties. To have done so is our right under the First Amendment. It is time to stop chasing rabbits. The public still has much to learn about a man with the most troubling business past of any United States president. Congress should release transcripts of our firm’s testimony, so that the American people can learn the truth about our work and most important, what happened to our democracy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted January 3, 2018 Author Share Posted January 3, 2018 Blumenthal (D-CT), who chairs the Senate investigation says to expect more indictments and convictions in "Early January". Maybe Trump's Twitter tantrum is because he knows what's around the bend. Let's hope Mueller is about to nail Kushner and Don Jr. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ingram85 Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 This demented idiot needs to be dealt with now. Professionally, medically, legally or fatally. He is too much of a risk to the future of this planet to let carry on like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhatAboutTheFinish Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 1 hour ago, maqroll said: Can you believe this shit? In his defence, hasn't he just tweeted what has effectively been the official US foreign policy for the last 60 years? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 1 hour ago, WhatAboutTheFinish said: In his defence, hasn't he just tweeted what has effectively been the official US foreign policy for the last 60 years? I don't think that covers it. There has been a campaign, sustained now for a couple of months, to start referring more explicitly to the possibility of military action against North Korea. Most of this has come from National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster, but Trump appears to be 'threat escalating' as well. That's a real change, and one worth talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted January 3, 2018 Author Share Posted January 3, 2018 2 hours ago, WhatAboutTheFinish said: In his defence, hasn't he just tweeted what has effectively been the official US foreign policy for the last 60 years? I suppose, but that's not really the point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post snowychap Posted January 3, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted January 3, 2018 3 hours ago, maqroll said: Can you believe this shit? To be fair, it only looks bigger because of the size of the hands next to it. 4 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StefanAVFC Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 Something big is a brewing He always has big tantrums before big news is about to drop 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straggler Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 4 hours ago, maqroll said: Can you believe this shit? I can believe anything of Trump, what I'm struggling to deal with is that none of these utterly mental, infantile utterances are enough to get him kicked out of office. The Republican Party that is propping this treacherous fool up will be remembered as one of the most corrupt, self serving monstrosities of a government in US history. They won't care about it though. Not caring is what they excel at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PieFacE Posted January 3, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted January 3, 2018 hahahahaha... Still baffles me how this guy is in this position. World is a strange place. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted January 3, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted January 3, 2018 13 minutes ago, PieFacE said: hahahahaha... Still baffles me how this guy is in this position. World is a strange place. I remember when we had Alex McLeish at Villa. After the initial utter disbelief that we appointed him, I fell into the reality of accepting he'd been appointed. Then every now and then I'd see him in the dugout and snap out of it. I'd be like "**** hell, he is ACTUALLY our manager. We ACTUALLY appointed him. What were we thinking?!?!" That's a bit like I am with Trump. I forget how mental it is that he's president. Then he'll do stuff like that tweet and I'll suddenly remember. How the **** is that man the President of the USA?! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NurembergVillan Posted January 3, 2018 Moderator Share Posted January 3, 2018 23 minutes ago, StefanAVFC said: Something big is a brewing He always has big tantrums before big news is about to drop He's clearly suffering from a painful bout of constipation. All that fast food is bunging him up and he's sat on the khazi with his phone all angry about his tummy ache and his piles. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 (edited) 44 minutes ago, Straggler said: I can believe anything of Trump, what I'm struggling to deal with is that none of these utterly mental, infantile utterances are enough to get him kicked out of office. The Republican Party that is propping this treacherous fool up will be remembered as one of the most corrupt, self serving monstrosities of a government in US history. They won't care about it though. Not caring is what they excel at. There's no mechanism to remove democratically elected leaders for 'saying something stupid', except another election. Nor should there be. EDIT: Actually I think the 25th amendment might technically be an argument against what I've said there, but there's absolutely no reason to assume that we're anywhere near the point where that comes into play. Edited January 3, 2018 by HanoiVillan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straggler Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 (edited) 11 minutes ago, HanoiVillan said: There's no mechanism to remove democratically elected leaders for 'saying something stupid', except another election. Nor should there be. But for the utterly mental there is. It's called the 25th amendment. Imo he is mentally unfit. This tweet is a symptom. GW Bush said plenty of stupid stuff and that whilst daft was not a 25th amendment issue. Trump is a special case all of his own as he genuinely seems to have no idea what he is doing. I see you beat me to the 25th amendment thing in the edit. I also don't think we are near it, as it again requires Republicans to activate it, however I personally think it would be entirely appropriate to use it. I'd prefer it to be Mueller taking him down, but he needs to go before he does something the whole world will regret. Edited January 3, 2018 by Straggler quoted post was edited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StefanAVFC Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 19 minutes ago, Straggler said: as it again requires Republicans to activate it, Or a D controlled house/senate after the midterms... If Alabama can flip blue, I don't see how the D's can't flip the required seats to control both. The senate was supposed to be the difficult one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brumerican Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, snowychap said: To be fair, it only looks bigger because of the size of the hands next to it. Well played. Edited January 3, 2018 by Brumerican DP.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straggler Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 3 minutes ago, StefanAVFC said: Or a D controlled house/senate after the midterms... If Alabama can flip blue, I don't see how the D's can't flip the required seats to control both. The senate was supposed to be the difficult one. It would take one hell of a swing, I think it takes a two thirds majority to make the 25th stick (I could be wrong on that bit). It also requires Democrats with some steel in the spine to get elected and they are not that brave as a party imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 I think there is far more scrutiny now than ever before. The crooks and incompetents of history were shielded to an extent by not having access to twitter and their enemies not having access to google. I'm not sure Trump has actually 'done' anything much yet. Certainly nothing on a scale of the con of Lyndon Johnson's 'great society' ideology versus practise. Let's get the poor and the blacks an equal say in things. Actually, scrap that, let's send the poor and the blacks to die in Vietnam and bugger up the economy and people's relationship with the state for generations to come. Trump is awful. But he's nowhere near being in a category of his own yet. There's just more access to more hype (on both sides) these days. Actual policies actually carried out? Not seeing much yet (tax and health pending). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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