US General Election 2016

{{Great Yes Minister clip comedicaly ripping the role of civil servants in politics and the attitude of elected officials to us the unwashed masses (some of us very unwashed ) }}}

I'm not sure you're making a very good case for the benefits of a professional civil service here, Petty.

{{{Not so much a matter of making a case for it so much as just highlighting it is how civil service works, everywhere. It has to- you cant swap out everyone every time, and in my view would be less healthy to import a bunch of supporters into these roles every government change- thats a fast road to corruption and cover-ups. The benefits of a permanent civil service across Admins outweigh the downsides, and any half decent civil service has a ton of checks and balances in place to ensure political bias does not effect duty and to investigate where it might- as seems to be the case with Comey- there was an investigation on suspicion of political bias- it found insubordination and a flaunting of normal conventions (arguably was not a normal situation though) but no political bias- in short the checks and balances on the US civil service worked. To think that every civil servant will not have their own political views and bias in their personal lives is naivety on a grand scale. Of course they do- the question is do they let it effect the administration of their duties as civil servants- the answer to that has been clearly been found to be no. Trumps continued claim that attacks on him by the DOJ are purely political attacks and a witch hunt holds no water now, the investigation has shown they were not politically motivated.}}

{{{ That's India now joined the EU and China in imposing tarriffs on US goods-

"The new tariffs target products including American almonds, walnuts and apples, as well as some chemical and metal products.
India said its tariff on large American motorcycles, which President Donald Trump has repeatedly spoken out against, will also be hiked.
The Indian government is also leaving the door open for further tariff hikes, it said in its latest notification.
"India reserves the right to adjust the specific products for which [tariffs would apply], and its right to adjust the additional rate of duty imposed on such products," it said.

Going well this so far!!! }}}

{{{ Been following this immigration row in the US- sometimes Trump amazes with how brazen and often his lies are- but more worryingly is how often Americans just seem to swallow it. Watching this row makes me feel like Winston in 1984 being incredulous that after the government announced a rise in choco-rations, then hours later announced a cut as the rise, people bought it and convinced themselves the cut was still a rise.
In this case Trump seems to be partially successfully selling the lie that the law under which he is separating children is a democratic one, this despite the policy of separation only starting last month under Trump's policy of zero-tolerance, now he sells on top of that lie the lie the only way to stop it is to give him his wall funding, when in fact he could stop it anytime he wants to by just saying, 'stop doing it'- no need for any congressional support at all. And on top of all that my understanding is that the 'democrats law he speaks of is not even put on the books by the democrats, or in fact a law! It was signed onto the books by Bush and its not law to separate, that is just a policy choice interpreting the law within its broadest bounds- it doesn't have to happen and in fact it didn't happen up until a month ago, and it doesn't need to happen now if Trump wants it to stop.

So that's two massive lies here- its a democratic law and it needs congress to change it. And its lies which are leading to the sustained inhumane treatment of children by the US government.

Yet his base especially swallow it anyway. I know there has been push back against the notion Trump supporters are all uneducated and ignorant, but honestly I dont see what other sort of person can be buying this bull it is so obviously and blatantly lies- just as his claim parents of dead soldiers from a war that ended in 1953 begged him on the campaign trail to bring back their sons remains, in 2018 when all the parents would be 100+! Just another in a never-ending stream of lies that seem to be eagerly swallowed up by his supporters as truths, despite the fact you can disprove these lies simply with the ability to count or just by having the ability to remember what happened before last month!  }}}

The Trump policy change was to classify immigration violations from civil to criminal acts, hence warranting holding suspects in jail.  Then there's the policy enacted under Bush (but pushed by democrats I believe) that children of criminals be held in the least restrictive environment possible.

So if you go with the Trump policy of lock'em up, you'd still have to figure out what to do with the kids.  If there was no law about it he'd get piled on for keeping them in jail as well.  There's really a no-win situation here.

{{This issue didnt exist as it does now last month- just go back to before he started separating them- its his policy to do so, he does not have to, noone else, Obama or Bush before him did- and neither had this problem. }}

right, it's a consequence of the lock them up policy.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said he was ordering the establishment of a sixth branch of the military to clear the way for American dominance of space.

“It is not enough to merely have an American presence in space. We must have American dominance in space,” Trump said before a meeting of his National Space Council.

“We are going to have the Air Force and we’re going to have the ‘Space Force.’ Separate but equal. It is going to be something. So important,” he said later.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-moon/trump-orders-creation-of-u-s-force-to-dominate-space-idUSKBN1JE249

I'm not sure what purpose a "Space Force" would serve (other than being really cool and at the same time astronomically expensive) but I know that "Separate But Equal" is the name of the old US legal doctrine of racial segregation. Why would any President even use THAT phrase???

It's getting harder and harder to give this guy the benefit of the doubt...

{{Either there is a lot more going on up in space that we know about in general or else this is just pie in the sky stuff- as to the choice of phrase- it beggars belief.  }}}

“Crime in Germany is way up. Big mistake made all over Europe in allowing millions of people in who have so strongly and violently changed their culture!"- President Trump



The latest official crime figures we have from Germany show that 5.76 million crimes were reported in 2017. As a percentage of the population, this means crime is now at its lowest level for 30 years.
Crime by foreigners specifically is also down significantly – and even more sharply. The figure of crimes by non-German nationals fell by 23 per cent since last year, from 950,000 to just over 700,000.- The Independent


{{ He just can't stop lying!! }}}

Well we've had the long quoted statistic here that illegal immigrants commit more violent crimes that citizens.

Problem with that statistic is, immigration is classified as a federal crime, so they end up in federal prisons. Most federal prisons are stocked with tax evasionists, money launderers....a much lower percentage of violent crime than you see in local and state facilities.

It takes a lot more work to gather nationwide statistics from local facilities, which is why the federal statistics are what you hear about. However, when some researchers went through the legwork to collect a wide cross section of statistics from local, state, and federal facilities, they found the following:

1. illegal and legal immigrants are equally likely to commit violent crime
2. immigrant rates of violent crime are 1/3 that of home grown citizens.

So the fulmination about immigrants bringing in violent crime is itself a vile crime.

President Donald Trump on Monday said his administration will pursue a new round of tariffs on Chinese goods...Trump directed the U.S. Trade Representative to identify $200 billion worth of Chinese goods that would be hit with a 10% tariff, according to a statement from the White House. Trump said the new tariffs will go into effect “if China refuses to change its practices, and also if it insists on going forward with the new tariffs that it has recently announced.”....The U.S. will prepare tariffs on another $200 billion in Chinese products, doubling the total amount, if China chooses to respond by raising its own tariffs again.'- Fox


{{{ Dont see this going well- he going to do the same to Canada, Mexico, and the EU next when their tariffs come into effect? }}}

#FreeAssange

{{So just to sum up where America is at- you have started a trade war with almost every major industrial nation, you are taking children from their parents and locking them in detention centres, and your President has picked fights with and named called almost all America's allies whilst simultaneously heaping praise on a mass murdering dictator, and you've withdrawn from working and cooperating with the international community- no climate deal, no Iran deal and now withdrawing from a major aspect of the UN.

I suspect this goes on much longer it will not be long before the rest of the world considers switching buying international goods in dollars to another currency such as the Euro- this would of course instantly screw the US economy over. But I can see it coming- after-all if America sticks two fingers up to the international community and abuses its leaders in twitter tirades, its only a matter of time before the international community does the same back and just cuts America out the loop.
Then there are all the other ways the US need the international community- the biggest being sharing of security information - if I was PM in the UK right now I would not be advising my government to share anything with Trumps. He cant keep his word, US agreements are no longer worth the paper they are written on and his government is currently committing human rights abuses, so why would anyone enter into any sort of deal with America any more? }}}

If you don't want to be separated from your family don't break the law.

{{There is many a tyrant used 'don't break the law you wont end up in a detention centre' as an excuse to act immorally, without empathy and cruelly. And its always done for the same reason- to shore up support among the leaders core following. Even Trump's fellow Republicans are having a hard time stomaching this. Though Trump probably has the secondary, and probably even worse, motive here of using the kids as bargaining chips to get funding for his crazy wall idea into legislation.
Today the Prime Minster of the UK, once your staunchest ally and with whom the US for decades had a 'special relationship' said it was 'deeply disturbing. This is wrong.' Your allies think your countries actions are 'deeply disturbing'. You think that is a good thing? Especially at a time when he is also insulting or lying about his allies (Canada insulted, Germany lied about), ripping up the US international obligations (Paris Accord, TPP, UN Council of Human Rights, Iran Nuclear Deal) to which it had signed up, and starting trade wars with allies and foe alike (every country in the EU, China, Mexico and Canada).
Right now the world is seeing pictures of children in cages in detention centres, separated from their families by force and hearing their cries and wails, the world is used to seeing this sort of unpleasant thing on its news. But not from the once 'Land of the Free.' Immortalised globally in many minds by that enduring symbol of hope the Statue of Liberty and its globally famous statement 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.' Where now is the America that once symbolised? Where is your shining city on the hill now?
The British really are in comparison to other nations understated. When our PM calls our once closest global ally (and someone she needs on-side for a post-Brexit trade deal) 'deeply disturbing' and that its actions are outright 'wrong', that should be ringing alarm bells in every patriotic American and getting them to look again at what their country is doing in their name, how it is being perceived and to consider where it might lead to. }}}

http://dailycaller.com/2018/06/19/photos-obama-immigration-detention-facilities/

DONT COME INTO THE COUNTRY ILLEGALLY YOU WONT BE SEPARATED FROM YOUR FAMILY. DONT HAVE TIME OR PATIENCE TO WRITE WALL OF TEXT RESPONSES TO YOU PETTY.

DONT HAVE TIME OR PATIENCE TO WRITE WALL OF TEXT RESPONSES TO YOU PETTY.- Bungo

{{Thats not my fault. As to your post- love stuff with titles like 'the pictures the media wont show you - I saw them-on CNN! (Does that make them fake news?).
The difference is in scale, implementation and the lack of facilities, staff, or manning of legal asylum seeking crossing points or consideration of effect. This whole thing was considered before, by Bush, his closest advisors warned him against doing what Trump is because it would look terrible in Americans and the world eyes- Obama kept pretty much to the same policy as his predecessors with some additions. Trump changed the policy on how the law was implemented leading to a predictable (and therefore deliberate) huge increase in family separations. }}

Trump just ended the separation policy. He can listen.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/homeland-security-drafts-plan-end-family-separation-151501530.html

Go Melania!

Pettytyrant101 wrote:{{There is many a tyrant used 'don't break the law you wont end up in a detention centre' as an excuse to act immorally, without empathy and cruelly. And its always done for the same reason- to shore up support among the leaders core following. Even Trump's fellow Republicans are having a hard time stomaching this. Though Trump probably has the secondary, and probably even worse, motive here of using the kids as bargaining chips to get funding for his crazy wall idea into legislation.
Today the Prime Minster of the UK, once your staunchest ally and with whom the US for decades had a 'special relationship' said it was 'deeply disturbing. This is wrong.' Your allies think your countries actions are 'deeply disturbing'. You think that is a good thing? Especially at a time when he is also insulting or lying about his allies (Canada insulted, Germany lied about), ripping up the US international obligations (Paris Accord, TPP, UN Council of Human Rights, Iran Nuclear Deal) to which it had signed up, and starting trade wars with allies and foe alike (every country in the EU, China, Mexico and Canada).
Right now the world is seeing pictures of children in cages in detention centres, separated from their families by force and hearing their cries and wails, the world is used to seeing this sort of unpleasant thing on its news. But not from the once 'Land of the Free.' Immortalised globally in many minds by that enduring symbol of hope the Statue of Liberty and its globally famous statement 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.' Where now is the America that once symbolised? Where is your shining city on the hill now?
The British really are in comparison to other nations understated. When our PM calls our once closest global ally (and someone she needs on-side for a post-Brexit trade deal) 'deeply disturbing' and that its actions are outright 'wrong', that should be ringing alarm bells in every patriotic American and getting them to look again at what their country is doing in their name, how it is being perceived and to consider where it might lead to. }}}

She might have said, 'its wrong, but she is still inviting him to have tea with the Queen, and May has tea with Erdogan and the Saudis, and the Israelis. When it suits her they are best buddies. We do not have the moral highground, 400 plus people have been murdered in NHS hospital. the police did fuck all for 20 years. They murdered 78 people in a tower block, and the DWP murder disabled people every day. we haven't a leg to stand on considering we also intern migrants, theres a camp outside Woodstock in Oxford.

{{Agreed about the Trump visit- should now be cancelled with no hesitation. The deaths you refer to ended in 2000 so for once cant pin that one on her. And whilst our DWP make life hell for many they also still provide a far greater safety net than the social security in the US, and we have immigration centres but we dont have a policy of separating families and certainly nothing on this scale.


Now Trump has found a third choice (the one everyone has being saying he had the power to do all along!) and reversed course it rather exposes the lies he's been telling about it-why this happened and who can fix it and what options there were-

'those are the only two options: totally open borders or criminal prosecution for law-breaking.'

'you can't do it through executive order.'

'congress alone can fix it'  - Trump before today

Today he finds a third way he had failed to spot despite it being constantly pointed out to him, and is doing it by executive order not congress. }}

He thought being nasty to immigrants was good for drumming up support among his base. He was right about that, his base still supported him. But enough mainstream Republicans were against it he realized he couldn't get by on his base alone. Up until now he'd gain support from nearly all Republicans because they were afraid of losing the Trump voters. They finally found their spine.