Shutdowns, military pullouts, and resignations: it’s Christmas and Trump thread 89

[TheClaws]

It’s chaos in Trump’s world, more so than usual, with #TrumpResign trending in Twitter after a number of key debacles: the pull-out of US troops from Syria, the resignation of General Jim Mattis, and the shutdown of the government over Christmas due to bipartisan disagreement over wall funding. (Those are just 3 issues.) The next few weeks will be rocky.

Previous thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3442038-But-When-the-president-does-it-that-means-it-is-not-illegal-Trump-thread-LXXXVIII

Ho Ho Ho!

TrumpVersusSanta

Happy Holiday.

Keeping the magic of Christmas alive:

Donald Trump, answering phone call from 7-year-old on Christmas Eve: "Are you still a believer in Santa? Because at seven it's marginal, right?"
mobile.twitter.com/thedailybeast/status/1077375011600678912

Those poor kids thinking they are calling norad and getting him on the line! Love the grinch on command asking the seven year old if he believes in Santa!

I know the kids would have been screened but I’m imagining him getting DS on the line!

One of those times when you are supposed to lie and he can't manage it.

I think he probably really does believe in Santa.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

It's a musical Christmas message from...

......Melania, wife of "President" Trump and the most bullied person in the world.

PS - aren't those Matrix sun glasses at the end? What are they trying to say?

I guess she is ‘the most bullied’ (verified, how?) because she is married to the biggest bully on the planet.

Merry Christmas one and all!

And remember, be best. [santa]

Best-ish.

justice

'Sexist radio host ordered to let feminists speak without interruption.'

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/25/2018-the-year-of-the-autocrat

thank you for explanation across and excellent Lab pic merde!

I still worry about the White House domestic staff, they must be having such a horrible time looking after him and dreadful Melania.

Happy Christmas one and all, let's hope 2019 brings good news.

Merry Merry and Happy Happy to one and all!!!

I am vowing that today will be a Scrotus-free day. Too much joy to celebrate to allow that old toad to interfere. But JEEZ, that Santa debacle. I. have. no. words.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Day. Lay down the load and let down your hair. Much love to all and thanks for the support on these threads.

Merry Christmas Across.

Meanwhile, a second immigrant child dies in custody.

read.bi/2QMAAsS

Yes, sorry cozie President Business, and it must therefore be Mar a Lego.

A quiz for you.

I can't believe I failed one question.

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/dec/26/donald-trump-quiz-of-2018

Oh dear.

You got…
12/12
I suggest you cancel the papers, hide your phone and switch off the radio. You are following this man too closely. Even Donald Trump doesn’t remember everything Donald Trump says.

Yes, Lweji, I saw that about another child dying.

To be fair, it's not clear her death was caused by the detention policy or actions of the border force, rather than by the rigours of the journey or something else.

Unlike the child sexual abuse that IIRC has been alleged regarding children detained, separated from their families and shipped around.

New: The daughters of a podiatrist in Queens say their father, who rented office space from Fred Trump, helped Donald Trump avoid the draft by saying he had bone spurs. They told the Times that it was done as a favor for Fred Trump.

www.nytimes.com/2018/12/26/us/politics/trump-vietnam-draft-exemption.html

ICE dumps hundreds of migrants with nowhere to go at a bus station on eve of Christmas without warning shelters

Lawmakers and immigrant rights groups scramble after ICE releases hundreds of migrants without alerting local shelters.

www.texastribune.org/2018/12/24/ice-migrants-release-christmas-eve-el-paso/

Business Ukraine mag
@BizUkraineMag
THREAD: The Kremlin continues to repeat predictions of a forthcoming Ukrainian “provocation”. Many observers in Kyiv and elsewhere fear this may be part of Russian efforts to justify an escalation in Putin’s Ukraine War.

www.rferl.org/a/russia-repeats-claim-that-ukraine-is-preparing-a-provocation-/29674117.html

In addition to the Kremlin’s frequent recent references to an allegedly imminent Ukrainian provocation, there are a number of other factors fueling fears of a coming Russian escalation.

Russia has significantly reinforced its military forces around Ukraine in recent weeks, including large concentrations of tanks on the border with eastern Ukraine and fighter jets in Crimea

Russia’s position in Ukraine is desperate enough for the Kremlin to consider drastic options:

• Recent creation of an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a huge blow to Russian imperial ambitions

• Moscow has no realistic prospects of success in Ukraine’s 2019 elections

And

Olga Lautman
@olgaNYC1211
Russia's Foreign Ministry has said "it is quite possible" that Ukraine "might switch to full-scale combat actions within the next few days."

This is very serious and Russia has been in full preparations for over a month for an attack on Ukraine. Anyone??

The signs are all there! The military movements are all documented! The intel is there! Why is the West not doing a thing?

mobile.twitter.com/olgaNYC1211/status/1077278206334590976

Anna Ahronheim
@AAhronheim
#BREAKING: Initial reports of alleged #Israeli strike against targets near the #Syrian capital of #Damascus. Syrian media reporting that regime air defense intercepted "hostile targets"

Leah McElrath
@leahmcelrath
This report confirms sequence noted above in thread:

Israel targeted sites near Damascus.
⬇️
Syria responded with missile defense missile fire.
⬇️
Israel responded to Syrian missile defense missiles with their own missile defense missiles.

Etc.

Syria Says Israel Struck in Damascus; 'Unlikely Hezbollah Members Targeted'

www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/syria/syria-says-missiles-intercepted-near-damascus-1.6783667

Leah McElrath
@leahmcelrath
Important additional context:

Corruption allegations and threats of imprisonment against Bibi provide cause for him to be manipulating election timing and possibly Israeli national security circumstances

www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-how-trump-accidentally-exposed-netanyahu-s-bluff-on-the-timing-of-israel-s-election-1.6781489

And further context:

The Hollywood Connection Between Trump’s Treasury Pick and Billionaire at Center of Netanyahu Scandal
Steven Mnuchin is the business partner of James Packer, whose gifts to the Netanyahu family are being probed by the Israel Police.

www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-between-trumps-treasury-pick-and-billionaire-at-center-of-netanyahu-scandal-1.5468112

Even Donald Trump doesn’t remember everything Donald Trump says.

He won't remember what he said himself.

Children can die for all sorts of reasons. But the main point is that there isn't (wasn't) any sort of medical support, as it seems that they have now decided to implement it, according to recent news.

www.cnbc.com/2018/12/24/president-trump-has-unsettled-wall-street-and-washington.html