We stand at a tipping point: do we fire up the popcorn maker or start digging a fallout shelter in the garden? (Trump cont)

[boatyardblues]

Old thread here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3207431-When-a-nation-s-children-marched-and-their-President-ignored-them-Trump-cont

I’m all out of inspiration for the rest of this opening post. Send the St Bernard with the brandy please.

Ouch

twitter.com/ryanstruyk/status/988053018464669696

Missed this

3 Russian oligarchs sue Christopher Steele
edition.cnn.com/2018/04/20/politics/oligarchs-lawsuit-christopher-steele/index.html

Three Russian oligarchs who've previously sued over the publication of the Trump-Russia dossier have opened a new lawsuit in DC's local court against British agent-turned-researcher Christopher Steele and his company Orbis Business Intelligence Limited.

The claim, filed more than a year after the publication of the dossier that Steele wrote, alleges that its contents defamed Russian billionaires Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven and German Khan. None of the parties in the lawsuit are based in DC, meaning it may not be able to move forward in that court. Together, the three Russian men own stakes in Alfa Bank, the Russian bank that the dossier said assisted Russian operatives and Russian President Vladimir Putin in attempts to influence the 2016 presidential election and other allegedly criminal acts. Alfa Bank denies this.

Those Hannity connections are something.

Hannity is no brighter than Don Jr (who claimed Russian adoptions was fine to talk to to Putin's cut outs about, in a meeting that they did not disclose to the US government - despite adoptions being part of sanctions)

That's exACTly what I was thinking. "Chill guys, I wasn't talking to them about anything naughty, just adoption / real estate."

Duh.

Still, nothing actually illegal in shown up in Hannity's property empire, so far.

Though profiting from foreclosures, and simultaneously profiting from whining about foreclosures, is pretty distasteful.

shareblue.com/billionaire-koch-brothers-pollution-trump-administration/

In case anyone thought money laundering through real estate was just a US problem, this is going to be tonight's BBC Panorama:

Paradise Papers: Ukraine crime gang hid proceeds in luxury London flats
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43823962

Former Presidents, former First Ladies, and current FL showing their happiness for DJT's absence:

www.theguardian.com/us-news/shortcuts/2018/apr/23/why-are-the-bushes-clintons-obamas-and-melania-smiling-so-broadly-at-a-funeral

Sarah Sanders: Dems have to decide if they love the US more than they hate Trump

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said early Monday that Democrats must decide if they love the United States more than they hate President Trump as they mull CIA Director Mike Pompeo's nomination to lead the State Department.
thehill.com/homenews/administration/384384-sanders-dems-have-to-decide-if-they-love-the-us-more-than-they-hate

McMaster and Commander

Can a national-security adviser retain his integrity if the President has none?

McMaster realized that, during briefings, Trump “wasn’t absorbing a fucking thing he said,” a friend reported.
www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/04/30/mcmaster-and-commander

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/23/hillary-clinton-trump-attack-criticism-pen-event-comments

'Hillary Clinton has excoriated Donald Trump, telling an audience in New York press rights and free speech are “under open assault” under an administration she compared to an authoritarian regime that threatened “the end of freedom”.

“We are living through an all-out war on truth, facts and reason,” Clinton said at the PEN America World Voices Festival in Manhattan on Sunday.'

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/23/gina-haspels-cia-appointment-will-delight-torturers-trump

Thanks for all the links everyone. I'm agog at the Hannity possible money laundering/dirty money along with the bonkers tweets that 45 has been doing...

Oh Lordy, we'll need a new thread title soon...

Just popped on after reading the link to the Guardian article about Melania looking so happy at a funeral - when I was young and dreamed of marrying a rich man (I wasn't that fussy who exactly ) my mother said to me "if you marry for money you earn every penny".

If only Melania's mother had given her such sage advice.

reason.com/volokh/2018/04/23/dont-let-trumps-travel-ban-become-a-road

'If the Supreme Court rules that campaign statements cannot be considered, that would create a very dangerous precedent. Politicians could openly advocate discriminatory policies during campaign, then rely on more careful and euphemistic phrasing after they take office. On the campaign trail, they can openly say they want to target blacks, Muslim, atheists, Evangelical Christians, or some other minority group. Afterward, they can adopt a policy targeting some seemingly neutral characteristic that closely correlates with membership in the group in question. And, after taking office, they can stick to carefully scripted official justifications for their actions that elide the true purposes.'

edition.cnn.com/2018/04/23/politics/donald-trump-cell-phone/

That photo in the Guardian is smashing. They all look so smiley, especially Melania. I bet Trump was furious when he saw it. 👍🎉👏

I think she knows what she's doing.

I don’t want to jinx things, but its quite cheering to have reached p37 without needing to retreat to the shelter with my rice pudding. On the down side, I still haven’t had cause to crack open the popcorn but I’ll take the ‘no nukes’ option over popcorn any day.

I agree, lion.

Doh.

thehill.com/homenews/administration/384461-flight-records-show-trump-spent-night-in-russia-contradicting-what-he

Oh.

www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/04/fox-news-sean-hannity-michael-cohen-murdoch

'The revelation that Trump’s lawyer offered legal advice to Fox News’s biggest name was shocking, even to Fox loyalists. “This is bad,” one Fox staffer said. “It violates every rule of journalism.”'

Much depends on Murdoch. If Hannity starts making noises that he's 'bigger than Fox', then I suspect he'll be on a very sticky wicket. Remember that Murdoch is a Free Trade advocate as well.

Honestly, I don’t know what to make of Sarah Sanders. Americans need to decide if they love America more than they hate Trump? How ridiculous is that? Should a populace even have to decide on such a thing? Sanders here is admitting Trump is an awful choice.