[Tubby Isaacs]

I didn't realize how much of our natural gas comes from the US. 18%. Quite the irony that some people BTL on the Guardian who think restricting the Winter Fuel Allowance was a death sentence on cold pensioners are the loudest calling us to stick it to Trump.

[Killer Whale]

And with Germany currently turning the Winter-Summer spread upside down, it could be the upping of production in the US that stops everyone from freezing next January.

[Bones McCoy]

I've finally see and heard RFK in a video.

You'll struggle to convince me he's not Anne Widdecombe with a buzzcut and a spray tan.

[kreuzberger]

Fuck me, it's only Wednesday. There are at least two and a half days left in this working week.

And then there's the week after. And the week after that. And, and, and...

[Abernathy]

My theory :

Trump’s fucking bonkers announcement about ethnically cleansing Gaza and turning it into a fucking golf course is of course, outrageous, totally impractical, and illegal to boot.

Now, I know we are obliged to take the shite that emerges from the Mango Mussolini’s gob seriously, because he is president again, but in fact the purpose of his announcement on this is not a serious proposition - it could never be done, for myriad reasons. It is completely detached from reality.

In fact the true purpose of this idiocy is to serve as a distraction/cover for what he is really doing at home, or to be precise the much more serious shit that he is having Elon Musk do for him.

There is likely to be more in this mode .

[The Weeping Angel]

Not really. Trump doesn't play 4-d chess, he does things on impulse or because they seem to be a good idea to him.

[Bones McCoy]

My theory :

Trump’s fucking bonkers announcement about ethnically cleansing Gaza and turning it into a fucking golf course is of course, outrageous, totally impractical, and illegal to boot.

Now, I know we are obliged to take the shite that emerges from the Mango Mussolini’s gob seriously, because he is president again, but in fact the purpose of his announcement on this is not a serious proposition - it could never be done, for myriad reasons. It is completely detached from reality.

In fact the true purpose of this idiocy is to serve as a distraction/cover for what he is really doing at home, or to be precise the much more serious shit that he is having Elon Musk do for him.

There is likely to be more in this mode .

This one, like all good distractions, has some roots in truth.
And like much Trump stuff there are insiders with cash in the game.

Number one: Son in law, Jared Kushner - apparently a property developer.
Has engaged with various interests to plan the rebuilding of Gaza.
A rebuild that omits Gazans.

Number two, and rather shadowy and a bit conspiracyey.
Several reports have emerged of wildcat estate agents working around New Jersey, Brooklyn and Baltimors.
They're selling plots of property in Gaza, on the quiet.


The latter sounds a bit odd, since they don't own that land (yet).
But it pays off if daddy Trump goes full Sudetenland in Gaza.

There's also precedent for businesses selling plots of land that they don't own.

• Remember those companies selling bits of the moon - a touching gift for a loved one.
• Remember that company who advertised on almost every Youtibe channel, who'd sel you a square foot of Scottish forest, and a certificate allowing Americans to put "Lord" on their business cards.
• Or, for real, Dutch businesses selling plots of land that haven't been reclaimed yet.

But flogging somebody else's house seems a step too far.

[Watchman]

Not really. Trump doesn't play 4-d chess, he does things on impulse or because they seem to be a good idea to him.

Some stuff may be on impulse, but that’s because he’s mentally unstable. Do you honestly think he’s allowed to say things that haven’t been planted, the people in the background in the US make Tufton Street look like the Beano

[Crabcakes]

Trump is very much president in name only - the real stuff is going on behind the scenes and under cover of his explosive diarrhoea approach to policy.

I still think his wild unpredictability coupled with honking incompetence could mercifully derail many awful things. And of course the mad people are the loyal ones whereas the self-interested ones like Musk only feign loyalty for their own benefit. At some point, something is going to give somewhere.

[Bones McCoy]

Trump is very much president in name only - the real stuff is going on behind the scenes and under cover of his explosive diarrhoea approach to policy.

I still think his wild unpredictability coupled with honking incompetence could mercifully derail many awful things. And of course the mad people are the loyal ones whereas the self-interested ones like Musk only feign loyalty for their own benefit. At some point, something is going to give somewhere.

I wonder when the press are going to learn.

At present, Trump makes a statement and the press charge about like class P3 playing bulldog after a skinful of Sunny-D.
Don't they get it.
Flood the zone, exhaust serious punters in week long rebuttals.
Repeat three times daily.

How long until we get: "Trump said X, how long until see see action. Based on previous releases, next decade, or never".

The same for his new best buddy "Musk promises dramatic government savings, let's see whether this goes the way of self driving cars and Mars colonies".


Roll out that sort of coverage for a few weeks.
Then you can start calling it all Snake Oil.

[Andy McDandy]

The 'legacy media' seem to prioritise access over everything else. And to a point, I get that. If you can't get into the corridors of power, you can't accurately report on what's going on there. If people won't speak to you, you're left with guesswork or getting people to speak to you off the record. You'll miss out on the footage you need to back up your stories. You end up as Jonathan Pie without the jokes.

The problem here - and we've seen it in the UK under the late unlamented Tory tenure - is that the access becomes the be-all and end-all. Just parrot what we say, or we'll cut off your access, de-fund you, and set our goons on you. Plus, if you annoy them, they'll be quick to threaten libel.

Obviously, journalism is a job and everyone has to pay their bills, but it seems that any sense of analysis or speaking truth to power has vanished stateside.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I think there's a fair bit of good truth to power stuff. The US left independent media (Slate, Mother Jones) is way better than the Novara or The Canary. Lots of people who know more about US media than I do are suggesting funding them instead of the national big boys. But I wonder if it's that simple. There are some very important things that only the big boys can do. The Sunday Times named David Hunt as a gangster, and went to court to defend a libel action. Lots of the Sunday Times might be bollocks, but smaller outlets hadn't gone there because of lack of money and (no doubt) physical fear. Say what you like about Murdoch, but he can afford decent security.

The big US papers do have lots of good investigative writers- can they all move to independents and still do that work? Would be nice to think so, but I'm not sure.

[Crabcakes]

There was an article a few weeks back about how secretly (and not so secretly) delighted many legacy press types were about Trump being back, solely because he’s an egomaniac and he wants their attention all the time so always invites them in, is always holding press conferences, and of course is always shitting the bed and giving them copy.

It’s as stupid as it is short sighted. They sanewashed him as he helps them out. And they’ll be the first to to complain when someone more brutal decides maybe there shouldn’t be a free press anymore, or anyone writing even mildly critical stories could do with a thoroughly physical reminder to stay on message.

[Bones McCoy]

The 'legacy media' seem to prioritise access over everything else. And to a point, I get that. If you can't get into the corridors of power, you can't accurately report on what's going on there. If people won't speak to you, you're left with guesswork or getting people to speak to you off the record. You'll miss out on the footage you need to back up your stories. You end up as Jonathan Pie without the jokes.

The problem here - and we've seen it in the UK under the late unlamented Tory tenure - is that the access becomes the be-all and end-all. Just parrot what we say, or we'll cut off your access, de-fund you, and set our goons on you. Plus, if you annoy them, they'll be quick to threaten libel.

Obviously, journalism is a job and everyone has to pay their bills, but it seems that any sense of analysis or speaking truth to power has vanished stateside.

At risk of going all Mark Twain:
* Without access you can't accurately report the news.
* With access you certainly won't accurately report the news.

[The Weeping Angel]

There was an article a few weeks back about how secretly (and not so secretly) delighted many legacy press types were about Trump being back, solely because he’s an egomaniac and he wants their attention all the time so always invites them in, is always holding press conferences, and of course is always shitting the bed and giving them copy.

It’s as stupid as it is short sighted. They sanewashed him as he helps them out. And they’ll be the first to to complain when someone more brutal decides maybe there shouldn’t be a free press anymore, or anyone writing even mildly critical stories could do with a thoroughly physical reminder to stay on message.

Oh they are delighted see this from Politico

[RedSparrows]

ACTION is GOOD because uh uh

Uh

ACTION IS GOOD

[davidjay]

If I was an American media outlet I'd be a bit wary of criticising him as well. You never know what he'll do.

[Crabcakes]

Trump has energy in the same way plutonium does - it’s absurdly dangerous, a lot of idiots think they can harness it but it may well end up killing them and others, it taints whatever it comes into contact with, and it’s a side effect of relentless decay.

[Yug]

Leader of rogue state acts as expected

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has vowed to continue its judicial work after US President Donald Trump signed an order to impose sanctions on its staff.

The ICC said it "stands firmly" by its personnel and would continue to provide "justice and hope", adding the order seeks to harm its "independent and impartial" work...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2p19l24g2o.amp

Plus a handy admission of guilt

Trump's order accuses it of "illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel".

There's no better way to draw attention to criminal wrongdoing than by loudly trying to discredit and de-legitimise the organisation set up to investigate such wrongdoing.

[Bones McCoy]

ACTION is GOOD because uh uh

Uh

ACTION IS GOOD

A long way of saying "Move fast, break stuff"