[Tubby Isaacs]

Not the main point here, but this presumably doesn't help Farage, Braverman, Truss etc.

[Andy McDandy]

They've served their purpose. Even GBNews is teasing Fargle about his great mate who only he can speak to, out of everyone in British politics. Musk is backpedalling on donation promises as well.

Might explain why Tice is making efforts at appearing grown up and a bit distant from him.

[davidjay]

They've served their purpose. Even GBNews is teasing Fargle about his great mate who only he can speak to, out of everyone in British politics. Musk is backpedalling on donation promises as well.

Might explain why Tice is making efforts at appearing grown up and a bit distant from him.

The fash can never go more than a couple of years without splitting. Tice will be leading New Reform into the next election.

[kreuzberger]

Hopefully, that will be from a prison cell in Dubai, where his domestic arrangements with little Miss Plastic-Hair are most certainly Haram.

[Youngian]

Another normal day of government by theatre in Trumpland. If I've understood this correctly:
A flight of illegal immigrants were returned to Columbia. Nothing unusual about that except Trump placed them on military planes to look hard.
Columbia's president put his foot down and refused to accept them as military plane landing without permission was a breach of international protocol.
Trump Tweets a statement that he'd slap 25% tariffs on Columbian coffee so Columbia upped the stakes with threats of 50% tariffs on US imports.
The illegals were then sent on civilian planes so normal service resumed. And Trump got to say 'I won, you lost, loser. Ner ner ner.'

[Crabcakes]

Trump obviously set this up as an easy win, but I think he might have Streisand effected himself - now there are LOADS of social media posts about coffee prices shooting up, and almost as many about how his tariffs will work to shaft US consumers.

If he wanted to make the more uninformed segment of his voter base more aware of how he could not give the slightest shit about whether they’re affected in the wallet by his idiotic policies, I’m not sure he could have picked a more American staple to make people panic about supplies of than coffee.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Another normal day of government by theatre in Trumpland. If I've understood this correctly:
A flight of illegal immigrants were returned to Columbia. Nothing unusual about that except Trump placed them on military planes to look hard.
Columbia's president put his foot down and refused to accept them as military plane landing without permission was a breach of international protocol.
Trump Tweets a statement that he'd slap 25% tariffs on Columbian coffee so Columbia upped the stakes with threats of 50% tariffs on US imports.
The illegals were then sent on civilian planes so normal service resumed. And Trump got to say 'I won, you lost, loser. Ner ner ner.'

I think that's what happened, yes.

He caved.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Ukraine aid seems to be still happening, per Zelensky.

Did I misunderstand before, or are there some sane people just carrying on and hoping he doesn't remember?

[Yug]

Re the Colombian deportee saga.

Of course it's being hailed as a US victory. Trump and his fascist cronies don't want to admit to being defeated the first time they try to flex their muscles.

The Colombian government's objection was not to having those people returned, but to the manner of their return - the unscheduled military flights. The fact that the military planes returned home and the deportees were put on civilian flights shows that, in actual fact, it was Trump who backed down and the Colombians who won that one.

The fact that Trump backed down so quickly gives me some small hope for the future.

[The Weeping Angel]

Here's what President Gustavo Petro had to say in response to Trump.

Translation below.

Trump, I don't really like travelling to the US, it's a bit boring, but I confess that there are some commendable things. I like going to the black neighbourhoods of Washington, where I saw an entire fight in the US capital between blacks and Latinos with barricades, which seemed like nonsense to me, because they should join together.

I confess that I like Walt Whitman and Paul Simon and Noam Chomsky and Miller

I confess that Sacco and Vanzetti, who have my blood, are memorable in the history of the USA and I follow them. They were murdered by labor leaders with the electric chair, the fascists who are within the USA as well as within my country

I don't like your oil, Trump, you're going to wipe out the human species because of greed. Maybe one day, over a glass of whiskey, which I accept, despite my gastritis, we can talk frankly about this, but it's difficult because you consider me an inferior race and I'm not, nor is any Colombian.

So if you know someone who is stubborn, that's me, period. You can try to carry out a coup with your economic strength and your arrogance, like they did with Allende. But I will die in my law, I resisted torture and I resist you. I don't want slavers next to Colombia, we already had many and we freed ourselves. What I want next to Colombia are lovers of freedom. If you can't accompany me, I'll go elsewhere. Colombia is the heart of the world and you didn't understand that, this is the land of the yellow butterflies, of the beauty of Remedios, but also of the colonels Aureliano Buendía, of which I am one, perhaps the last.

You will kill me, but I will survive in my people, which is before yours, in the Americas. We are peoples of the winds, the mountains, the Caribbean Sea and of freedom.

You don't like our freedom, okay. I don't shake hands with white slavers. I shake hands with the white libertarian heirs of Lincoln and the black and white farm boys of the USA, at whose graves I cried and prayed on a battlefield, which I reached after walking the mountains of Italian Tuscany and after being saved from Covid.

They are the United States and before them I kneel, before no one else.

Overthrow me, President, and the Americas and humanity will respond.

Colombia now stops looking north, looks at the world, our blood comes from the blood of the Caliphate of Cordoba, the civilization of that time, of the Roman Latins of the Mediterranean, the civilization of that time, who founded the republic, democracy in Athens; our blood has the black resistance fighters turned into slaves by you. In Colombia is the first free territory of America, before Washington, of all America, there I take refuge in its African songs.

My land is made up of goldsmiths who worked in the time of the Egyptian pharaohs and of the first artists in the world in Chiribiquete.

You will never rule us. The warrior who rode our lands, shouting freedom, who is called Bolívar, opposes us.

Our people are somewhat fearful, somewhat timid, they are naive and kind, loving, but they will know how to win the Panama Canal, which you took from us with violence. Two hundred heroes from all of Latin America lie in Bocas del Toro, today's Panama, formerly Colombia, which you murdered.

I raise a flag and as Gaitán said, even if it remains alone, it will continue to be raised with the Latin American dignity that is the dignity of America, which your great-grandfather did not know, and mine did, Mr. President, an immigrant in the USA,

Your blockade does not scare me, because Colombia, besides being the country of beauty, is the heart of the world. I know that you love beauty as I do, do not disrespect it and you will give it your sweetness.

FROM TODAY ON, COLOMBIA IS OPEN TO THE ENTIRE WORLD, WITH OPEN ARMS, WE ARE BUILDERS OF FREEDOM, LIFE AND HUMANITY.

I am informed that you impose a 50% tariff on the fruits of our human labor to enter the United States, and I do the same.

Let our people plant corn that was discovered in Colombia and feed the world

[NevTheSweeper]

An amusing take on the Trump-Starmer conversation.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... with-trump

[Abernathy]

That might mot be that far off what really happened.

[Crabcakes]

Here's what President Gustavo Petro had to say in response to Trump….

Slightly off topic, but is that really how long tweets can be now??!? That’s absolutely ridiculous - I’ve read shorter books!

[The Weeping Angel]

[Bones McCoy]

And Don Jr. will be livid if there's an embargo on Colombia's finest expert.

[Youngian]

Here's what President Gustavo Petro had to say in response to Trump….

Slightly off topic, but is that really how long tweets can be now??!? That’s absolutely ridiculous - I’ve read shorter books!

A jpg picture of a long letter

[Youngian]

All politicians experience a popularity dip once they start governing in prose.

[Crabcakes]

Here's what President Gustavo Petro had to say in response to Trump….

Slightly off topic, but is that really how long tweets can be now??!? That’s absolutely ridiculous - I’ve read shorter books!

A jpg picture of a long letter

Ah, that makes sense. I just assumed Musk had made it even more shit.

[Yug]

Left without comment because words have just failed me.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Back up again. Absolute chaos.