Usa Thread

[Steve]

You could argue. that not all the members of the USA. are as deluded as the members of the Catholic Church.

[Coss]

On Russia-Kushner Backchannel, Trump's H.R. McMaster And John Kelly Show Lack Of Judgment

 

Kushner's backchannel proposal reportedly surprised Ambassador Kislyak. But Kelly said such backchannel communication “doesn’t bother me†and “is a good thing.†McMaster said he was “not concerned.â€

These statements show loyalty to the boss’ son-in-law, rather than loyalty to the American people. That is a profound failure in judgment.

 

National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly publicly supported Jared Kushner over the past two days in relation to Kushner’s reported pretransition backchannel discussions with a Russian Ambassador, and another meeting with a Russian banker close to Putin.

 

Trump son-in-law and foreign policy adviser Kushner allegedly proposed to use Russian diplomatic facilities for communications with Russia, ostensibly to ensure secrecy. Kushner made his unusual proposal to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, in a meeting attended by former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn at Trump Tower on December 1 or 2.

 

Kushner's backchannel proposal reportedly surprised Ambassador Kislyak. But Kelly said such backchannel communication “doesn’t bother me†and “is a good thing.†McMaster said he was “not concerned.†These statements show loyalty to the boss’ son-in-law, rather than loyalty to the American people. That is a profound failure in judgment.

 

 

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, White House Senior Advisor and son-in-law to the President Jared Kushner and Press Secretary Sean Spicer attend a news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump in the East Room of the White House, May 18, 2017 in Washington, DC. Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

 

While Kelly and McMaster are unconcerned, the public, and a multitude of U.S. investigators, are increasingly attentive. The FBI now considers the Kushner-Kislyak discussions, and another discussion Kushner had with a Russian banker to whom Putin reportedly assigns sensitive financial transactions, to be of investigative interest.

 

Given that by definition a backchannel is outside the regular routes of government-to-government communication, it could be intended for illegal communications. Were those communications meant to be legal, why not hold them on secure channels from the State Department, with its full support, rather than from a Russian diplomatic outpost?

 

Kushner and the Trump team have in general shown a fatal disregard for decades of relevant intelligence and analysis from the State Department and intelligence agencies in Washington, and in this case it shows.

 

The U.S. Government, with the entirety of its institutional knowledge, is supposed to be the single point of political contact with outside governments, and while it is common for high-level advisors of incoming presidential teams to converse with foreign leaders and high level officials, Kushner should not be communicating secretly with Russian officials before the transition except through established government channels.

 

There is absolutely no excuse for Kushner to have such secret conversations with a Putin crony of a sanctioned Russian bank. That will be very hard to explain to the FBI.

 

It was ludicrous from the start for Trump to put his real-estate investor son-in-law in charge of foreign policy. He is in way over his head. One senior intelligence official told the Washington Post that Kushner’s proposal to communicate secretly from a Russian diplomatic outpost was either “extremely naive or absolutely crazy.â€

 

That McMaster and Kelly have now defended or deflected criticism of the pretransition backchannel communications to Russia puts their judgment into question. Indeed, McMaster is publicly losing political allies for doing so.

 

As author Thomas Ricks said with respect to McMasters, don’t confuse “protecting the President with protecting the country.†That Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense “Mad Dog†Mattis have not made such statements, is to their credit. They are generally making the right moves in Washington, and abroad.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/anderscorr/2017/05/28/on-russia-kushner-backchannel-trumps-h-r-mcmaster-and-john-kelly-show-lack-of-judgment/#1cf701194dc4

[Coss]

The only reason for the purported, proposed, 'back channel' to the Russians, I can see, is if Trump/Kushner felt that the American channels and by inference the American security establishment, were un-trustworthy and to be avoided.

 

Hang on a minute, who are Trump/Kushner working for?

[bust]

Being involved with Twump also Shows Lack Of Judgment

[Coss]

Mean While in NZ, something interesting happened

 

Rocket Lab, a Silicon Valley-funded space launch company, on Thursday launched the maiden flight of its battery-powered, 3D printed rocket from New Zealand's remote Mahia Peninsula.

 

"Made it to space. Team delighted," Rocket Lab said on its official Twitter account.

 

The successful launch of a low cost, 3D-printed rocket is an important step in the commercial race to bring down financial and logistical barriers to space while also making New Zealand an unlikely space hub.

 

http://gadgets.ndtv....-may-25-1704125

 

Space, NZ, well well well...

 

 

[Coss]

How a single sentence from Angela Merkel showed what Trump means to the world.

 

"The times when we could completely rely on others are, to an extent, over," Merkel said at a beer hall(!)

 

---

 

On Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel uttered a single sentence that speaks to how fundamentally President Donald Trump has reshaped -- and will continue to reshape -- the world, and America's place in it.

 

"The times when we could completely rely on others are, to an extent, over," Merkel said at a beer hall(!) rally to support her campaign.

 

While Merkel made no mention of Trump specifically, she made clear that her realization had come "in the last few days" -- a time period which overlapped with a G7 meeting in which Trump blasted America's traditional European allies over NATO obligations and made clear that he was more than willing to go it alone on climate change and trade.

 

What Trump's words -- and Merkel's reaction -- reveal is something that sharp foreign policy minds have known since the start of Trump's campaign: His true potential for drastic change exists in the foreign policy sphere.

 

more at http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/29/politics/merkel-trump-europe/

[Coss]

It may seem like I'm a bit obsessed with this Trump fella, my only excuse is he's very entertaining.

 

And now this from his paid liar -

 

Spicer Insists Trump Has ‘Unbelievable’ Relationship With Merkel After Trip

 

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Tuesday said that President Donald Trump developed a “fairly unbelievable†relationship with German Chancellor Angela Merkel last week during the European leg of his first trip abroad as President.

 

“I think the relationship that the President has had with Merkel he would describe as fairly unbelievable,†Spicer said at the daily press briefing when asked about Merkel. “They get along very well. He has a lot of respect for her. They continue to grow the bond that they had during their talks in the G7.â€

 

http://talkingpoints...le-relationship

[Coss]

[Coss]

Are these Nordic Prime Ministers mocking Trump in this photo?

 

 

Five Nordic Prime Ministers appeared to be taking a dig at US President Donald Trump in this photograph, shared on an official Norwegian government website.

 

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11866548

[Coss]

President Donald Trump's PR chief, Mike Dubke, quits amid major shake-up

 

Just three months after being hired to revamp Donald Trump's problematic public profile, his public relations director - Mike Dubke - has quit.

 

Mr Dubke is a high-profile and experienced Republican party strategist. His departure comes amid a "reshuffle" of the White House communications unit - including proposals to conduct fewer open and on-camera press briefings.

 

It comes as new reports suggest that Russian officials were "bragging" about gaining leverage with Donald Trump's inner circle during his election campaign.

 

Mr Trump, of course, took to Twitter to denounce "fake news" around the subject while also taking a swipe at Germany over the US' trade deficit with the European country.

 

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11866532