Trump talk: HOW MUCH for that inauguration?

[PerkingFaintly]

We can start whole new threads for less than $26,000,000.

This one only cost 23p I found down the back of the sofa:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3171217-Trump-Talk-or-Lift-every-voice-and-sing?pg=1

Kyle Griffin
@kylegriffin1
Melania Trump has parted ways with adviser Stephanie Winston Wolkoff after news broke about Wolkoff’s firm reaping $26,000,000 in payments to help plan Trump’s inauguration, NYT reports.
www.nytimes.com/2018/02/26/us/politics/melania-trump-inauguration-adviser.html

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday tapped a chemical industry insider to run the Environmental Protection Agency office that oversees emergency response to hazardous spills and cleanups of the nation’s most toxic sites.

www.apnews.com/cf2a6a09bfe3455cb40bc5ed858345ae

It just shows beholden the elected officials are to the NRA that they've potentially wreaked economy damage on their state for the price of 13 tickets.

Delta's statement

Delta CEO says, 'Our values are not for sale,' after Georgia lawmakers drop tax break

www.cnbc.com/2018/03/02/delta-ceo-our-values-are-not-for-sale.html

"While Delta's intent was to remain neutral, some elected officials in Georgia tied our decision to a pending jet fuel tax exemption, threatening to eliminate it unless we reversed course," Bastian said. "Our decision was not made for economic gain and our values are not for sale."

It is extraordinary.

A collection of cautionary tales against hanging your hat on Trump's peg. Alternative title: a good way to cheer yourself up on this frosty morning

Roy Moore pleads for money, saying resources ‘depleted’
apnews.com/50f7dcaf18e24e7b88930c474c5024d9

And

Scaramucci Is on White House ‘Exclusion List’ Blocking Visits
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-02/scaramucci-on-white-house-exclusion-list-blocking-visits

And

Veteran Affairs Secretary David Shulkin ‘Extremely Paranoid’ Ahead of Damning New Investigation, Sources Say

The head of the Department of Veterans Affairs is running out of allies and lifelines after he was criticized for vacationing on the taxpayer’s dime. The worst may be yet to come.

www.thedailybeast.com/veteran-affairs-secretary-david-shulkin-extremely-paranoid-ahead-of-damning-new-investigation-sources-say?ref=home

Lindsey Graham: War with North Korea would be 'worth it' in the long run

thehill.com/homenews/senate/376548-lindsey-graham-war-with-north-korea-would-be-worth-it-in-the-long-run

David Carroll 🦅
@profcarroll
What about all the followers of troll factory Instagram imposter accounts? Facebook won’t say. We’re finally asking about. Would we even know to ask if it wasn’t for @d1gi’s systematic work? Latest by @issielapowsky

[David Carroll is who is suing Cambridge Analytica over what data they hold and has done so in the UK as it can't be done in the US due to our privacy laws]

J0nathan A1bright
@d1gi
The story below is the most important to date in the current election investigation. It's not about Russia—it's about transparency, accountability, & repeatedly failing to tell the whole truth at the highest levels of government and to American citizens.
The future of media, tech, and politics—of democracy and of the republic our elected officials represent—depend on being able to make sense of the past. When important pieces of the puzzle are being hidden, we are lost. Please read this, and take the questions it raises seriously
Tell me how a multibillion-dollar tech company could be so brazen and intoxicated with power and independence that it repeatedly omits information in on-the-record statements & take-home questions from a) the US Senate Select Intelligence and b) the Senate Judiciary committees?

FACEBOOK DOESN'T KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE FOLLOWED RUSSIANS ON INSTAGRAM
www.wired.com/story/facebook-does-not-know-how-many-followers-russian-trolls-had-on-instagram/

New reporting by WAPO indicates the payment to Stephanie Clifford happened 13 days after the deadline, and just 12 days before the election, could be important in the FEC case about influencing the election.

Days before the election, Stormy Daniels threatened to cancel deal to keep alleged affair with Trump secret
www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/days-before-the-election-stormy-daniels-threatened-to-cancel-deal-to-keep-alleged-affair-with-trump-secret/2018/03/02/770a446a-1d9b-11e8-8a2c-1a6665f59e95_story.html?tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.8cd811a339e3

Whoops, forgot one for the "burnt by working for trump" post

www.buzzfeed.com/tariniparti/as-trump-spirals-many-of-his-staffers-are-looking-to-exit?utm_term=.przla9VYN&bftwnews#.kibRzgEGP

Many mid- and low-level staffers are anxious to leave and are actively looking for jobs elsewhere, sources close to the White House say. Those staffers saw the surprising resignation of Trump loyalist and communications director Hope Hicks on Wednesday as a sort of tipping point.

A former White House official said he's spoken with more aides inside the White House who are trying to leave the administration, but not necessarily getting the kinds of high-paying offers in the corporate world as former aides usually do.

The Panama saga rages on

Trump’s Panama hotel debacle goes from bad to worse
Lawmakers demand answers about money laundering allegations at Trump's Panama hotel.

thinkprogress.org/jump-back-whats-that-sound-6c72cdbc03e3/

Trump-allied America First Policies spends big on polling. Here are 24 of their internal reports

• CNBC has compiled a large set of internal polls from pro-Trump nonprofit group America First Policies.
• The group initially claimed to CNBC that it tries to make its polling information available on its website whenever possible.
• But after CNBC's story ran, the group removed all but three of the 14 reports that had previously been hidden in plain sight. Many documents are still available online, however.

www.cnbc.com/2018/03/02/trump-ally-america-first-policies-key-research-polls-reports.html?__source=sharebar|twitter&par=sharebar

The Loneliest Man in Washington Just Got Lonelier

Even Richard Nixon had Bebe Rebozo.
And by the end, he was still pacing the halls, talking to the paintings.
Donald Trump is close to having no one.
twitter.com/johnwdean/status/969828177106288640?s=21

Reading articles about Hope Hicks and her "immense personal jeopardy"

NEW: Hope Hicks has racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars of legal fees, @GabrielSherman reports. “She’s in immense personal jeopardy,” one Republican says. “This is a sign the Mueller investigation is a lot more serious than anyone of us thought.”
twitter.com/vanityfair/status/969644895655915520?s=21

And this sums up my reaction perfectly:

Are we supposed to feel sorry for her? Hicks knowingly and willing lied and covered for the corrupt @POTUS and his corrupt administration. Looks like she participated in the obstruction too. Stop treating her like a Disney Princess. #HurryUpMueller #TrumpRussia
Voice of Reason @Montgomery_bjm

New Survey Shows Young People Are Staying Liberal and Conservatives Are Dying Off

For obvious reasons, the broadly liberal demographic trends in American politics have received much less attention since the 2016 election. Yet the fact remains that America is politically sorted by generations in a way it never has before. The oldest voters are the most conservative, white, and Republican, and the youngest voters the most liberal, racially diverse, and Democratic. There is absolutely no sign the dynamic is abating during the Trump years. If anything, it is accelerating.

The most recent Pew Research Survey has more detail about the generational divide. It shows that the old saw that young people would naturally grow more conservative as they age, or that their Democratic loyalties were an idiosyncratic response to Barack Obama’s unique personal appeal, has not held. Younger voters have distinctly more liberal views than older voters:
‪New Survey: Young Staying Liberal, Conservatives Dying Off nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/03/new-survey-young-staying-liberal-conservatives-dying-off.html?utm_source=tw&utm_medium=s3&utm_campaign=sharebutton-t via @intelligencer‬

The oldest voters are the most conservative, white, and Republican, and the youngest voters the most liberal, racially diverse, and Democratic.

Not sure that's good news. Aren't younger voters always more liberal than the older generation and become more conservative as they grow older?

We've had a centre right former PM here in Portugal that started off as left of the communist party.

You may know of him as former President of the European Commission and now Goldman-Sacks non executive chairman.

I have been thinking about Manafort and I am coming to the conclusion that it might be very unlikely that he flips. Even though there is all this added pressure on him from all these other people cooperating now, I think he would rather face jail than risking the wrath of the murky oliogarchs he has been spending time with. His own daughter said he was personally responsible for the deaths of others, and even if that isn't true, he must know how the mob operates.

Without Manafort's testimony, it's slightly harder for Mueller but Trump and co have been so open about their corruption and collusion that I hope he has enough to go on to build a watertight case.

There's been a case recently (this week) of journalists in Slovakia been murdered, thought to be because they were investigating money laundering. Bullets were arranged around their bodies as a warning to deter others from investigating.

This after Daphne Caruana Galizia was also killed in Malta for investigating tax evasion. She's also now being posthumously sued by the Maltese government for libel. I think if I were Manafort, I would risk prison than being on the outside constantly watching over my shoulder.

Slovakian journalist investigating claims of tax fraud linked to ruling party shot dead
amp.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/26/slovakian-journalist-investigating-claims-of-tax-linked-to-ruling-party-shot-dead?__twitter_impression=true

Last report from slain Slovak journalist alleges government-mafia links
www.axios.com/slain-slovak-journalists-1519843653-353956df-0d74-45d9-a42c-736bbee33c23.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=organic

Andrew Stroehlein
Verified account
@astroehlein
Feb 27
Fire today at the regional tax office in Košice, Slovakia. Is there a connection to the murder of investigative journalist #JanKuciak, or is it just coincidence?
twitter.com/astroehlein/status/968504514385936384

Ten years after launch of blog, murdered Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia faces posthumous barrage of libel lawsuits
rsf.org/en/news/ten-years-after-launch-blog-murdered-maltese-journalist-daphne-caruana-galizia-faces-posthumous

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/jared-has-faded-inside-the-28-days-of-tumult-that-left-kushner-badly-diminished/2018/03/02/62acb9ce-1ca8-11e8-9de1-147dd2df3829_story.html?utm_term=.6c4dd5167ffe

I am deeply dismayed by the killings of the journalists.

It's awful on many levels that I don't have the energy to articulate.

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-trade-war-steel-imf-warning-economy-tariffs-aluminium-a8237941.html

Ed Krassenstein 💎
‏

@EdKrassen
Follow Follow @EdKrassen
More
JUST IN: Reps. Ted Lieu & Kathleen Rice have formally asked
FBI Director Wray to investigate the $130k payment to Stormy Daniels and a $150k payment the Natnl. Enquirer made to Karen McDougal.

They believe that these payments could be considered felonies, breaking campaign laws!

I agree Pain - Manafort has probably had a "postcard from Siberia" so won't want to upset his pen pals.

The deaths of the journalists is depressing beyond words. I saw a report somewhere (here?) a couple of days ago about the 2 Pussy Riot women disappearing without warning. Not sure what's happened to them - I need to follow it up.

Found an update;

Pussy Riot says members are okay after claim that they were 'detained' by Russian security
thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/376214-pussy-riot-says-members-are-okay-after-claim-that-they-were

Oh thank goodness. I don't think I'd even heard of their latest detention, among the many.

I’m not saying this is in any way comparable in terms of scale or awfulness but if we’re talking about the freedom of press, here in the uk, the part two of the levenson inquiry has just been deemed not worthy of enough public interest or expenditure to go ahead, despite the fact that the judge in the first one stated that the second part must start without delay.

And who benefits? The press, who are in cahoots with the government (and whos owners would love to see a hard Brexit come to pass so the Eu tax evasion laws don’t apply here). It sounds so implausibly like a far fetched conspiracy theory but it is what is happening and I find it really frightening. And as I say, that’s without the threat of murder and violence so how journalists in countries with even less freedom operate must require immense amounts of extraordinary courage

TBH I think Manafort is a good candidate for the Witness Protection Program. American prisons (especially the 'private' ones) are rife with corruption and gang activity. The gangs are interconnected and it's easier to order a 'hit' on an inmate than one would expect. Unless they slap him in solitary he's probably no safer in prison than he would be on a dark street corner in Moscow.

He'd be better off with a new face, a new name, and a job as a school janitor in Bum Fuck Egypt, South Dakota.