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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#292251: Oct 16th 2019 at 2:07:36 PM

The remnants and the newly released prisoners will perform the classic reversion to insurgency move, and might make bigger power plays if any state in the region sufficently destabilizes again.


A father whose son was killed in the Sandy Hook shoot has been awarded $450,000 in damages from an author who wrote that the attack was a hoax, and that his son did not die/never existed. The book resulted in serious harassment, including death threats.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/oct/16/sandy-hook-father-awarded-450000-after-suing-conspiracy-theorist

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Imca (Veteran)
#292252: Oct 16th 2019 at 2:09:50 PM

Basicly the age old story of the middle east, come in knock things down, start to rebuild, then leave when the job is half done allowing every thing to fall apart agian.

They were almost finished, it was on mop up and containment duty that would have required minimal investment on the US part.

Yet due to this blunder it's right the fuck back to step one.

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from a handcart heading to Hell Since: Mar, 2011 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#292253: Oct 16th 2019 at 2:42:55 PM

Another Giuliani associate has been arrested in connected with Giuliani and the funnelling of foreign money into the US political scene.

It’s especially big because of two things, 1: the guy turned himself and thus may be cooperating, 2: it involved a weed business and thus old statements by Bolton accusing Rudi of dealing drugs might turn out to not have been hyperbole.

"And the Bunny nails it!" ~ Gabrael "If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we." ~ Cyran
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#292255: Oct 16th 2019 at 2:53:37 PM

For context, the headline on that NBC News link reads "'Don't be a tough guy': Trump's extraordinary letter to Erdogan 'Don't be a fool!' the letter reads. The president concluded by saying, 'I will call you later.'"

Edited by sgamer82 on Oct 16th 2019 at 3:54:23 AM

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from a handcart heading to Hell Since: Mar, 2011 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#292256: Oct 16th 2019 at 2:54:13 PM

For people unable to follow the link, a recent letter from Trump to the president of Turkey has leaked, it is exactly what you’d imagine a parody letter to look like, it’s both fawning and an attempt at being tough.

It’s just fucking embarrassing is what it is.

"And the Bunny nails it!" ~ Gabrael "If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we." ~ Cyran
tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#292257: Oct 16th 2019 at 2:54:33 PM

The Census Bureau has been asking for state drivers license details because Trump has ordered them to compile citizenship data.

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
TobiasDrake Queen of Good Things, Honest (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
Queen of Good Things, Honest
#292258: Oct 16th 2019 at 3:07:35 PM

Court ordered Trump not to do a thing, Trump's doing it anyway 'cause there are no actual penalties for telling a court order to blow him. It is Department of Justice policy that the President is literally above the law, so court orders have no actual meaning.

In other news, the sky is blue.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Oct 16th 2019 at 4:10:18 AM

My Tumblr. Currently liveblogging Haruhi Suzumiya and revisiting Danganronpa V3.
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from a handcart heading to Hell Since: Mar, 2011 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#292259: Oct 16th 2019 at 3:19:47 PM

DOJ guidelines don’t say that census bureau workers are above the law, so someone needs to start arresting them stat.

"And the Bunny nails it!" ~ Gabrael "If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we." ~ Cyran
ACW Unofficial Wiki Curator for Complete Monster from Arlington, VA (near Washington, D.C.) Since: Jul, 2009
#292260: Oct 16th 2019 at 3:23:47 PM

Dear Mr. President,

Let’s work out a good deal! You don’t want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don’t want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy—and I will. I've already given you a little sample with respect to Pastor Brunson.

I have worked hard to solve some of your problems. Don't let the world down. You can make a great deal. General Mazloum is willing to negotiate with you, and he is willing to make concessions that they would never have made in the past. I am confidentially enclosing a copy of his letter to me, just received.

History will look upon you favorably if you get this done the right and humane way. It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don't happen. Don't be a tough guy. Don't be a fool!

I will call you later.

Sincerely,

Donald Trump

CM Dates; CM Pending; CM Drafts
TobiasDrake Queen of Good Things, Honest (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
Queen of Good Things, Honest
#292261: Oct 16th 2019 at 3:31:16 PM

We are all stupider for having read that letter.

That's on your head, ACW.

My Tumblr. Currently liveblogging Haruhi Suzumiya and revisiting Danganronpa V3.
danime91 Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#292262: Oct 16th 2019 at 3:33:03 PM

I scrolled right past without reading it and I feel stupider. Trump has somehow created an intelligence black hole.

PhysicalStamina so i made a new avatar from Who's askin'? Since: Apr, 2012 Relationship Status: It's so nice to be turned on again
so i made a new avatar
#292263: Oct 16th 2019 at 3:34:05 PM

...I have questions.

To pity someone is to tell them "I feel bad about being better than you."
CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#292264: Oct 16th 2019 at 3:37:14 PM

Who the fuck is Pastor Brunson and why would Tayyip Erdogan know him?

Edit: Okay, never mind.

Still reads like a five year old wrote it.

Edited by CrimsonZephyr on Oct 16th 2019 at 6:39:12 AM

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#292265: Oct 16th 2019 at 4:00:39 PM

My occipital and parietal cortices (rather helpful in lexical processing) just sent my retinas a message: "Really?! No, seriously: that's for real?!"

I think my temporal cortices settled on a general air of resigned disgust and embarrassment.

My frontal lobes just want the total processing time spent on that alleged diplomatic communique back.

ACW Unofficial Wiki Curator for Complete Monster from Arlington, VA (near Washington, D.C.) Since: Jul, 2009
Imca (Veteran)
#292267: Oct 16th 2019 at 4:21:36 PM

What the fuck happened to reality

Steven (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#292268: Oct 16th 2019 at 4:32:47 PM

This is reality. A new reality where tragedy and comedy write themselves.

Remember, these idiots drive, fuck, and vote. Not always in that order.
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#292270: Oct 16th 2019 at 4:45:20 PM

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/10/16/day-1000/

    Day 1000: Meltdown. 

1/ The White House is conducting its own investigation into why a rough transcript of Trump's July 25 call with Ukrainian President Zelensky was placed into a secret server for secure storage. Trump's advisers and White House lawyers began the fact-finding review to find out why deputy White House counsel, John Eisenberg, placed the rough transcript of the call in a computer system typically reserved for the country's most closely guarded secrets. Eisenberg has said he limited access to the transcript over concerns about leaks. It is unclear who asked for or initiated the review, though acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney has encouraged it and his aids are helping with it. Some officials fear the review is intended to assign blame for the impeachment inquiry. (New York Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/15/us/politics/white-house-review-ukraine.html

2/ Mick Mulvaney put Gordon Sondland, Kurt Volker, and Energy Secretary Rick Perry in charge of managing the U.S.-Ukraine relationship instead of diplomats at the National Security Council and the State Department. The State Department's Ukraine expert, George Kent, testified during a closed-door hearing before the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Oversight committees that Mulvaney was responsible for stripping control of the country's relationship with Ukraine from those who had the most expertise. Kent also told lawmakers that he had been told by a supervisor to lie low after he raised complaints about Rudy Giuliani's efforts to undermine U.S. foreign policy in Ukraine. Current and former officials said Mulvaney met frequently with Sondland and that details of their discussions were kept from then-National Security Adviser John Bolton and other officials who were raising internal concerns about the hidden Ukraine agenda. Mulvaney was also the one who, at Trump's direction, placed a hold on nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine leading up to Trump's July 25 phone call to pressure Zelensky to pursue Giuliani’s agenda against the Bidens. (Washington Post / CNN)

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/15/politics/george-kent-rudy-giuliani-ukraine-house-testimony/index.html

A former top White House foreign policy adviser told House impeachment investigators that she viewed Sondland as a national security risk because he was so unprepared for his job. Fiona Hill did not accuse Sondland of acting maliciously or intentionally putting the country at risk, but described him as and Trump donor-turned-ambassador. (New York Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/16/us/politics/gordon-sondland-intelligence-risk.html

Michael Mc Kinley, who resigned as a senior adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, testified that he quit because career diplomats had been sidelined on Ukraine. During his closed-door deposition to the House Intelligence Committee, Mc Kinley testified about how experts had been sidelined as Trump pursued his own agenda on Ukraine. Mc Kinley also testified that he repeatedly asked Pompeo for a show of support for the Marie Yovanovitch after she was abruptly removed from her post following a monthslong push by Trump to get rid of her on the basis of "unfounded and false claims by people with clearly questionable motives." Pompeo was silent. (New York Times / CNN)

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/16/politics/michael-mckinley-deposition-pompeo-marie-yovanovitch/index.html

House Democrats requested that Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor appear for a deposition in the investigation into Trump's alleged misconduct involving Ukraine. (NBC News)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry/house-democrats-summon-u-s-ambassador-ukraine-deposition-n1067536

3/ The Federal investigation into Giuliani's business dealings with two men indicted last week on campaign finance charges in Ukraine includes a counterintelligence probe, suggesting that FBI and criminal prosecutors in Manhattan are looking at a broader set of issues. The counterintelligence probe relates to whether a foreign influence operation was trying to take advantage of Giuliani's business ties in Ukraine and with wealthy foreigners to make inroads with the White House. New York attorney Kenneth Mc Callion said he was approached by federal investigators earlier this year about Giuliani's connections to Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, the two men indicted last week on campaign finance violation charges. Mc Callion said he was approached this spring about Giuliani's business dealings again by FBI counterintelligence agents. (USA Today / CNN)

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/10/15/trump-lawyer-rudy-giuliani-ukraine-business-investigation/3986079002/

A Giuliani business associated was arrested and charged with participating in a scheme to use foreign money to build political support for a recreational marijuana business. David Correia is the fourth defendant arrested in a campaign finance case involving Giuliani. The business relationship between Giuliani and Correia, Lev Parnas, and Igor Fruman is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation being conducted by federal authorities in New York. (ABC News / New York 4 / Washington Post)

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/4th-defendant-federal-case-involving-rudy-giuliani-clients/story?id=66319648

A grand jury issued a subpoena seeking documents from former Rep. Pete Sessions about his dealings with Giuliani. The subpoena seeks documents related to Giuliani's business dealings with Ukraine, his involvement in efforts to remove the U.S. ambassador in Kiev, and any interactions between Sessions, Giuliani and the four Giuliani associates who were indicted last week on campaign finance and conspiracy accounts. (Wall Street Journal / Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/former-rep-pete-sessions-subpoenaed-by-grand-jury-investigating-giuliani-and-associates/2019/10/15/c7fb9204-ef98-11e9-8693-f487e46784aa_story.html

Giuliani privately urged Trump in 2017 to extradite a Turkish cleric living in exile in the U.S., a top priority of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Before he would go on to become Trump's personal attorney, Giuliani repeatedly told Trump that the U.S. should eject Fethullah Gulen from the country. Gulen is a permanent U.S. resident who lives in Pennsylvania, and Turkey has demanded that the U.S. turn him over to Turkey to face charges of plotting a 2016 coup attempt against Erdogan. Gulen denies any involvement in the coup attempt. (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/giuliani-pressed-trump-to-eject-muslim-cleric-from-us-a-top-priority-of-turkish-president-former-officials-say/2019/10/15/bf43d1ec-ef68-11e9-b648-76bcf86eb67e_story.html

4/ The House voted to condemn Trump's withdrawal of American forces from northern Syria. The nonbinding resolution passed 354 to 60 – shortly before a bipartisan group of congressional leaders were scheduled to meet with Trump to discuss the incursion, and hours before Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were to travel to Turkey to call for a cease-fire. Trump, meanwhile, attempted to distance himself from the ongoing conflict "between Turkey and Syria" and his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from the region, saying that Turkey and the Kurds are fighting "over land that has nothing to do with us." (New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / CNN)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-overwhelmingly-votes-bipartisan-condemnation-trump-withdrawal-u-s-troops-n1067586

Democratic leaders walked out of a White House meeting with Trump after he had a "meltdown" and called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "third-grade politician." The White House called the meeting to discuss Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, which came shortly after House Democrats and Republicans voted to oppose his action and urge the administration to contain the fallout from Turkey's incursion into Syria. (NBC News / Wall Street Journal / New York Times)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/democrats-angrily-walk-out-white-house-meeting-after-trump-meltdown-n1067716

Trump sent a letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week urging him to make a deal with the Kurds, saying: "Don't be a tough guy. Don't be a fool!" Trump also warned Erdogan not to "let the world down" by invading northern Syria. The letter was sent on October 9th – three days after the two had spoken by phone and the same day the Turkish incursion into Syria began. (CNN / Vox / CNBC / New York Times / NBC News)

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/16/trump-letter-warned-turkeys-erdogan-against-syria-offensive.html

Turkey dismissed a U.S. call for an immediate ceasefire in northeast Syria. (Wall Street Journal)

https://www.wsj.com/articles/turkey-rejects-u-s-call-for-immediate-cease-fire-in-syria-11571219662

5/ Trump vetoed a bill that would have ended his national emergency declaration at the southern U.S. border. The veto, which was expected, sends the bill back to Congress, where it is unlikely to meet the two-thirds majority needed to override Trump's veto. Trump vetoed a nearly identical version of the bill seven months ago. (New York Times / Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-congress-emergency-idUSKBN1WV06P

6/ The Trump administration has hired a lobbyist for every 14 political appointments made. The 281 lobbyists working in the administration is four times more than the Obama administration had six years into office. And former lobbyists serving Trump are often involved in regulating the industries they worked for. (Pro Publica)

https://www.propublica.org/article/we-found-a-staggering-281-lobbyists-whove-worked-in-the-trump-administration

7/ Trump's businesses reported some expenses, profits, and occupancy figures for two Manhattan buildings to make them appear more profitable to the lender — and less profitable to the tax authorities. (Pro Publica)

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-inc-podcast-never-before-seen-trump-tax-documents-show-major-inconsistencies

poll/ 52% of Americans say Trump should be impeached and removed from office, while 46% say he should not be. (Gallup)

https://news.gallup.com/poll/267491/congress-approval-support-impeaching-trump.aspx

Edited by sgamer82 on Oct 16th 2019 at 5:45:30 AM

Ultimatum Disasturbator from Second Star to the left (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
Disasturbator
#292271: Oct 16th 2019 at 4:52:07 PM

Trump has 'meltdown' during Syria meeting and has 'no plan' to deal with Isis

As someone on Reddit pointed out the meat of the article is this

"Ms Pelosi also announced the White House had cancelled a classified briefing scheduled for tomorrow with House members about the latest developments in Syria.

"She said scrapping the meeting prevents Congress from learning about “the dangerous situation” caused by Mr Trump’s withdrawal of troops in the region. "

So basically the situation is of their own making and they don't want congress to see just how bad it is

Oh and the letter,it isn't worth getting distracted by,just another example of Trump inability

New theme music also a box
Imca (Veteran)
#292272: Oct 16th 2019 at 4:57:53 PM

So let me get this correct.

He did a favor for his dictator budy, didnt think about the ramifications at all, and is now trying to bury the mess?

This seems like buisness as usual, some part if me was thinking he might be trying to distract from impeachment but....

Wyldchyld (Old as dirt)
#292273: Oct 16th 2019 at 5:31:59 PM

A couple of hours ago, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer came out of a meeting with Trump, where she informed the press "What we just witnessed on the part of the President was a meltdown".

Half an hour ago, Trump tweeted "Nancy Pelosi needs help fast! There is either something wrong with her “upstairs,” or she just plain doesn’t like our great Country. She had a total meltdown in the White House today. It was very sad to watch. Pray for her, she is a very sick person!"

Good to know politics has matured to the "Am not! You are!" stage.

If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
Parable State of Mind from California (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Holding out for a hero
State of Mind
#292274: Oct 16th 2019 at 6:06:56 PM

Schumer said Trump was not engaged in a dialogue, but "a nasty diatribe, not focused on the facts, particularly the fact of how to curtail ISIS that aims to hurt the United States in our homeland."

Two Democratic sources tell NPR that the president started the meeting with a lengthy monologue bragging about his letter to Erdogan.

What is it with him and letters?

According to two Democratic sources, Schumer read Trump a quote from former Defense Secretary James Mattis — who resigned last December after Trump first threatened to pull out of Syria — from the weekend predicting that "ISIS will resurge" and "come back" if Trump continues with his current military strategy.

Trump then cut Schumer off and called Mattis "the world's most overrated general," the sources say.

"You know why? He wasn't tough enough. I captured ISIS. Mattis said it would take two years. I captured them in one month," the president continued in berating his former defense secretary.

Says the guy who picked Mattis because he thought his nickname sounded cool.

Sources also say Trump told lawmakers that "fewer than 100" ISIS prisoners have escaped and that they were the "least dangerous ones," but Defense Secretary Mark Esper told Schumer that he didn't know if they were, in fact, the least dangerous.

I can only assume this is when Pelosi nope'd out of there and is why she said Trump, "was not relating to reality."

"What a century this week has been." - Seung Min Kim
TechPriest90 Servant of the Omnissiah from Collegia Titanica, Mars, Sol System Since: Sep, 2015 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Servant of the Omnissiah
#292275: Oct 16th 2019 at 7:16:06 PM

That letter though....

Hell, you put that in a movie, and people will scream "BULLSHIT!" so hard they'll have to be dragged out of the theater, still screaming like maniacs.

Except that it's real. Which, somehow, makes it even funnier.

RE: Pelosi's statement of Trump's Meltdown

That lady has just declared herself a Class-S Understatement Issuance Machine.

I hold the secrets of the machine.

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