O/T:- Trump Presidency 2.0 [hic sunt dracones]

[BigFatPie]

Interesting article here;

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/unite...arianism-trump

on how the Trump administration may govern as an example of *competitive authoritarianism *

[Med Pie]

'Professional civil servants often play a critical role in resisting government efforts to weaponize state agencies.'

As they did in the UK when blocking, government policy they didn't agree with, that's when you can actually get them to attend the office. Civil servants, the clue is in the name, they are supposed to 'serve', we don't elect them and they are not there to block and stymie on our behalf (their own behalf actually), that's not their job.

At least the last government in the UK, didn't block, local elections.

[Med Pie]

Now here's a surprise - not

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crlky380wd7o

[SmiffyPie]

Strangely quiet about Trump and his Ukraine statement. Is it he just can't help himself or control his obvious need for attention or is he doing his mate Vlad a favour? To remove US backing concerning territory and NATO from the negotiation table before anyone had even sat down is an absolute slap in the face for Ukraine.

[i961pie]

Strangely quiet about Trump and his Ukraine statement. Is it he just can't help himself or control his obvious need for attention or is he doing his mate Vlad a favour? To remove US backing concerning territory and NATO from the negotiation table before anyone had even sat down is an absolute slap in the face for Ukraine.

You can imagine the conversation, Let’s do a deal Vladimir you can have all the land you have captured and we will block them joining NATO and I will have Greenland, Panama, Canada and Gaza. By the way pop in and have a round of golf at my estate any time.

[Med Pie]

Strangely quiet about Trump and his Ukraine statement. Is it he just can't help himself or control his obvious need for attention or is he doing his mate Vlad a favour? To remove US backing concerning territory and NATO from the negotiation table before anyone had even sat down is an absolute slap in the face for Ukraine.

Not so much Vlad, it's his own voters he's wooing, plenty of Americans don't understand that most of what is being sent to Ukraine is out of date and would have been destroyed / replaced anyway.

[Old_pie]

You can imagine the conversation, Let?s do a deal Vladimir you can have all the land you have captured and we will block them joining NATO and I will have Greenland, Panama, Canada and Gaza. By the way pop in and have a round of golf at my estate any time.

Someone needs to pass a law banning US Presidents, or anyone named Trump, from owning a golf course in Gt Britain. That might focus his mind on important things, though just as likely that he'll add Scotland to the aforementioned list of countries he's got his eyes on.

[Mapperleypie]

You can imagine the conversation, Let’s do a deal Vladimir you can have all the land you have captured and we will block them joining NATO and I will have Greenland, Panama, Canada and Gaza. By the way pop in and have a round of golf at my estate any time.

It's difficult to not draw the conclusion that Putin has some kompromat on Trump from his business dealings in Moscow hotels. Trumps appeasement of Putin over both of his terms in office is quite frankly weird for a sitting US president.

The fact that he thinks it wrong that Russia have been kicked out the G7 is telling. Ukraine are simply collateral. A sorry state of affairs.

[Jampie]

His love of Putin was just about the only thing Trump showed consistency on during his first term, although even there he wasn't able to stay on message 100% of the time. I wouldn't be surprised by Kompromat, but equally wouldn't be surprised if it was just about money. He's been bailed out of bankruptcy more than once by shady overseas money.

As to what he says about Ukraine... I've stopped paying attention to anything he says. He lies so much it's a waste of energy. I do care what he does and will be very pleasantly surprised if he doesn't make a massive mess of the Ukraine situation and manage to embolden every dictator out there to invade their neighbours.

[The Dug Out]

One of the reasons Putin made a "Special Operation" on the Ukraine is that it was obvious to him that the EU and most of europe was being run by clowns that were more interested in importing muslims, appeasing every weirdo that thought he was a woman & visa versa,not one european leader with any backbone in the shop (except Poland & Hungary) who are spot on, just full of lefty liberal clap trap. Sleepy Joe, across the pond was the worst POTUS in history and it will take DT a good while to undo all lefty wishy washy stupidity that he and his "Democratic" clowns intoduced. There's always "here's an interesting article," when you read it all it says is lefty/liberal nonsense.