Thursday, June 8, 2017

73. 6/8/17


White House statement:

"We grieve and pray for the innocent victims of the terrorist attacks in Iran, and for the Iranian people, who are going through such challenging times. We underscore that states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote."

"The Trump administration is divided about how to deal with Iran, and two White House reviews of Iran policy have been grinding ahead for weeks. (One focuses on the future of the Iran nuclear deal, the other on the overall future of America's dealings with the Islamic republic.)"

In the meantime -- understanding nothing -- he just improvises.



In my opinion, this article contains two Comey statements, which, if found to be true, will find Donald J. Trump facing obstruction of justice charges, at the very minimum.

The first is from the January 27th dinner.

"Trump asked whether Mr. Comey wanted to keep his job, an unexpected question because F.B.I. directors have 10-year terms ... my instincts told me that ... the dinner was, at least in part, an effort to have me ask for my job and create some sort of patronage relationship. That concerned me greatly."

And a few weeks later, Trump kept him after school -- all by himself -- to say:

"[Flynn] is a good guy and has been through a lot ... I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go."

Impeachable offense.




An instructive primer on how to interpret the sounds which come out of Hannity's mouth.


"Fossils discovered in Morocco are the oldest known remains of Homo sapiens, scientists reported on Wednesday, a finding that rewrites the story of mankind's origins and suggests that our species evolved in multiple locations across the African continent."


"Their brows were heavy, their chins small, their faces flat and wide. But all in all, they were not so different from people today."

What a fabulous find!


"It will create opportunities for groups like ISIS, or for Kataib Hezbollah on the other side of the aisle, to do things at the behest of their sponsors, adding chaos to a region that is already volatile."


So, to connect just a few geopolitical dots here:
  1. Trump gladhands the Saudis;
  2. ISIS attacks England, then Iran;
  3. Just about everybody gangs up on poor little Qatar;
  4. Iran blames Saudi Arabia and Trump;
  5. Trump blathers about Iran while team desperately tries to figure out what to do (see above)...

This much is obvious.

What is less certain is how America's role as a leader in environmental issues is diminished to not only her political detriment -- but also her economic future.



Read the first four paragraphs. I give you the first sentence of the fifth:

"There is no sign that Mr. Trump has actually thought any of this through."




James Clapper is no left-wing kook. Here's what he has to say:

"Watergate pales really, in my view, compared to what we're confronting now ... I am very concerned about the assault on our institutions coming from both an external source -- read Russia -- and an internal source -- the president himself."

Kristof also relates an ugly situation having to do with Eric Trump and some questionable fundraising ...

"Skimming money meant for kids with cancer? This is cartoonlike."


TIME MACHINE
June 8, 1953
64 years ago


"United Nations and Communist armistice delegations signed today a general agreement for an exchange of prisoners after a cease-fire in Korea. The Allied spokesman who made the announcement said only 'administrative matters' now stood in the path of a truce."

However, no peace treaty was ever signed and thus -- the Korean War never officially ended. So now we have this scary guy with the haircut:


Page 28 NEW COIN

"If and when New York finally gets its subway tokens there may occur one of those seemingly trifling but actually broad and deep-seated changes in our everyday life."

I remember the first two.

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82. 6/17/17

Off to paradise.   See you in July! TIME MACHINE June 17, 1899 118 years ago Page 1 DREYFUS DUELS FOUGHT AT BREST "As...