Trump 2018: Resistance is Never Futile

[lionheart]

To pick up on the Star Trek motif.

Russia investigation:

Cheri Jacobus
@CheriJacobus
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, American citizens, were executed in 1953 for sharing secrets with the Russians.
Glenn Carle, 25 year CIA veteran: "My assessment is that Trump is actually working directly for the Russians."

www.newsweek.com/trump-putin-man-white-house-russia-investigation-scandal-moscow-kremlin-755321

And

Thread on texts that lead to firings

Pwn ██ ██ ███; Error 404(b)(1): 702 auth not found‏
@pwnallthethings
Finally bothered to actually go through the Strzok - Page text messages (to cross-reference with dates). But an observation: they are ... not remotely as sold by the media.

twitter.com/pwnallthethings/status/947883109323812865

And

Justin Hendrix
@justinhendrix
Bio Of Professor At The Center Of The Trump-Russia Probe Has Disappeared From University's Website: A source at Link Campus in Rome told BuzzFeed News that Joseph Mifsud hasn't been seen at the university in many weeks.

www.buzzfeed.com/albertonardelli/bio-of-professor-at-the-center-of-the-trump-russia-probe?utm_term=.dmbWalKxV

And

Kyle Griffin
@kylegriffin1
Romanian hackers took over two-thirds of Washington D.C.'s outdoor surveillance cameras just before Trump's inauguration, according to a newly unsealed federal criminal complaint.

www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/romanian-hackers-took-over-dc-surveillance-cameras-just-before-presidential-inauguration-federal-prosecutors-say/2017/12/28/7a15f894-e749-11e7-833f-155031558ff4_story.html

And

A really worthwhile thread from Kendzior about why the GOP are enabling Trump and why they might be afraid to call him out:

twitter.com/sarahkendzior/status/947857507812339713

As is always said on this thread (and the Westministenders one) - follow the money

Kenneth Weinstein‏
@KenWeinstein
As protesters in Iran chant "we live like paupers as they live like princes," USG should release details on the billions in stolen assets held personally by regime & IRGC officials & Supreme Leader.

Garry Kasparov‏Verified account
@Kasparov63
Bingo. We've been calling for this for Putin's mafia for years. But since all their looted money is invested/hidden in the free world, it's potentially embarrassing to many companies, individuals & politicians. Exactly as planned.

The Kremlin, via the oligarchs who all owe obedience to Putin, doesn't just invest in London IPOs & Miami real estate & American tech companies. It invests in people to create ties that would cause trouble if exposed. Complicity to create immunity.

This is why "follow the money" is everything in combating nearly every modern dictatorship. Crime drives the politics. Target the individuals & families, expose the accounts, freeze the funds. Stop helping them hide their plunder.

thehill.com/homenews/house/366974-dem-trump-most-despicable-human-being-to-serve-as-president

I've been away from the threads for a while - got distracted by trans insanity and Christmas. I've not been following the news much either

Is there anyone willing to give me a quick update?

All I've really seen is he's been insulting Pakistan on Twitter and he's got a medical coming up

What's coming.

www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-congress-newyear-20180101-story.html

And on Trump's other agenda.

'His dream was always to be the most famous person in America, and beyond. By winning the Presidency he became the most famous person in the world, the center of every debate and discussion.'

www.nydailynews.com/opinion/donald-trump-ate-nation-article-1.3726506

3 months later.

www.nbcnews.com/storyline/puerto-rico-crisis/anger-grows-hope-fades-puerto-rico-s-ground-zero-remains-n833421?cid=sm_npd_ms_tw_ma

Where did you get up to cat? Have you watched November's omnibus or did that need recapping too?

I got up to just before Christmas, so really just a recap of the last week or two if anyone's feeling kindly and inclined to bring me up to speed :)

Surely he must be impeached soon!

If it's last week's recap you're looking for, you can't go wrong with Amy Siskind's weekly update, though it isn't brief:

m.facebook.com/amy.siskind/posts/10214840882280739

I'd say highlights include:

• Lots more violent imagery aimed at the press (Trump retweeting a picture of himself with the bloodied CNN logo on the sole of his shoe, David Clarke tweeting a picture of CNN being beaten up with a caption about making them taste their own blood)
• Russia probe now looking at whether RNC coordinated with Russian trolls on FB to target swing states. Devin Nunes donor discovered to be the original paymaster behind the Steele dossier. Also in the news this week is the fact that the Dossier isn't what instigated the FBI investigation into Trump but Papadopulous getting shitfaced in London with an Australian ambassador and blurting out that he had access to HRC's emails and the Aussies subsequently letting the FBI know.
• North Korea rhetoric still going strong with KJU kicking off the new year by boasting about the red button he has at his desk which detonates missiles. Russia has been caught supplying N Korea with oil, which is against sanctions.
• Trump is still a twat who continues to do many twatty things.

That would be my "on a postcard" summary, but I'm sure someone will be able to fill in any important gaps I've missed!

Justice department = deep state

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account
@realDonaldTrump
Crooked Hillary Clinton’s top aid, Huma Abedin, has been accused of disregarding basic security protocols. She put Classified Passwords into the hands of foreign agents. Remember sailors pictures on submarine? Jail! Deep State Justice Dept must finally act? Also on Comey & others

Thanks Pain - appreciated

It was too much to hope I'd come on and you'd all go 'Haven't you heard? He's been sent down for 40 years' :) I imagine I might have noticed that on the news...

The update is great, thank you

I'll carve out some time for the last couple of lists this afternoon

His tweets today suggest that perhaps he’s feeling cornered, so perhaps we’ll find out why at a later date and it’ll be another brick to build the wall around him. Though gop participation is required, unless we get to the end of the year and voter suppression/gerrymandering is overcome to flip the house and senate.

Also this

Americans Running Russian Fund Scrutinized for Trump Links

amp.thedailybeast.com/americans-running-sanctioned-russian-fund-scrutinized-for-trump-links?__twitter_impression=true

A thread with a bit of background on this:

mobile.twitter.com/i/status/935580887068033024

Matt O'Brien
@ObsoleteDogma
Kushner reportedly telling foreign officials he doesn't care about old alliances because he's "a businessman" isn't much of a euphemism for corruption www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/01/02/donald-trump-foreign-policy-analysis-dangerous-216202

SOmeone else’s takeaway from the piece:

Robert Draper
@DraperRobert
Trump on the global stage--key takeaways from stellar @sbg1 piece:

1. McMaster is far weaker than his nat sec advisor predecessors
2. bombast & flattery-proneness drive Trump decision-making
3. everyone looking for all this to change should give up

"Since taking office I have been very strict on Commercial Aviation. Good news - it was just reported that there were Zero deaths in 2017, the best and safest year on record!"

I never knew there were so many depths to megalomania and insanity.

Foreign governments are finding ways to do favors for Trump’s business

amp.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article192131674.html?__twitter_impression=true

An excerpt

In Indonesia, a local government plans to build a road to shorten the drive between the main airport on the island of Bali and the new high-end Trump resort and golf course.

In Panama, the country’s federal government intervened to ensure a sewer system around a 70-story Trump skyscraper shaped like a sail in Panama City would be completed.

And in other countries, governments have donated public land, approved permits and eased environmental regulations for Trump-branded developments, creating a slew of potential conflicts as foreign leaders make investments that can be seen as gifts or attempts to gain access to the American president through his sprawling business empire.

The White House dismisses these concerns, as does the Trump Organization’s attorney. But when foreign governments that provide gifts to the Trump Organization, even those that benefit other businesses, it puts President Donald Trump in possible violation of the U.S. Constitution’s emoluments clause that states officials may not accept gifts from foreign governments and that no benefit should be derived by holding office.

Wonder what he'll make of this then? Credit where credit's due

Coal mining deaths nearly double from 2016 to 2017

Coal mining deaths skyrocket in 2017

thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/367034-coal-mining-deaths-skyrocket-in-2017?__twitter_impression=true

Zero deaths in the US, and commercial passenger jets.
www.reuters.com/article/us-aviation-safety/2017-safest-year-on-record-for-commercial-passenger-air-travel-groups-idUSKBN1EQ17L

In the world, aviation deaths were 399.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation_accidents_and_incidents

Oh gosh, I didn't realise how absurd his claim was

Paul Farhi
@farhip

Commercial airline deaths in the U.S. by year:

2010: 0
2011: 0
2012: 0.
2013: 0.
2014: 0.
2015: 0.
2016: 0.
2017: 0.
www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/danielreed/2016/12/28/in-the-last-7-years-you-were-more-likely-to-be-run-over-by-a-car-than-to-die-in-an-airline-crash/amp/

"In fact, you were more likely – far more likely, statistically speaking – these days to be walking down the the street and get run over by a car than you are to die in a plane crash."

And waaaaaay more likely to be shot.

That man is out of his freshly planted tree.

Stats on gun violence might be ............interesting.

For a man who never loses at golf, he is certainly not winning.

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-irish-golf-course-lost-23-million-in-2016/2018/01/02/b410a14c-ef5b-11e7-b390-a36dc3fa2842_story.html?utm_term=.eebd2bb7b4b8

Ari Berman
@AriBerman
How Trump admin planning to rig 2020 Census:

1. Appoint GOP gerrymandering expert to run it

1. Massively suppress immigrant participation

1. Deny representation to Dems & minorities

www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/01/trumps-pick-to-run-2020-census-has-defended-racial-gerrymandering-and-voter-suppression-laws/

Sarah Kendzior
@sarahkendzior
Manipulation of the census is common in authoritarian regimes. It's a way to shape policy around invented facts and eliminate accountability. Repercussions will last beyond Trump's rule.

I post this because.......

Dollar slides

You all may be interested in this other CNN piece

What women in Kentucky Appalachia really want