@stetson , I can imagine Trump cancelling the World Cup final and because of the negligence of the co-hosts and all the other stuff, awarding the Cup to the Great United States of America.
@stetson , I can imagine Trump cancelling the World Cup final and because of the negligence of the co-hosts and all the other stuff, awarding the Cup to the Great United States of America.
I get the impression many of the fires in Canada are in hard-to-reach northern forests where suppression is extremely difficult. There are many hectors of roadless areas in the north. It is next to impossible to get the necessary equipment to the fires, and it is extremely dangerous with large swaths having no escape routes.
But it is not just Canada. If you look at the published fire maps of the West Coast of the USA, you will swear the whole states of Oregon and Washington are on fire.
Last night. we were advised to keep our windows closed because of smoke from local fires. This morning the smoke is in the moderate range which can cause issues with people with chronic breathing problems.
Joe Biden at his worst was more coherent and rational.
Well, for all his blather, Trump is still reasonably canny about lying and knowing which people to throw under the bus, and that seems more like what an old narcissist who is tired and exhausted would do, so in that sense it's not a full deck, just not quite in the way you suggest.
Joe Biden at his worst was more coherent and rational.
Well, for all his blather, Trump is still reasonably canny about lying and knowing which people to throw under the bus, and that seems more like what an old narcissist who is tired and exhausted would do, so in that sense it's not a full deck, just not quite in the way you suggest.
I'm tempted to say that his current schtick is the same basic one he's been doing since 2016 if not earlier, and hence not any particular indication of mental decline. Some observers claim that his bout with covid in Oct 2020 marked a noticable shift in his behaviour toward the erratic, but I sincerely haven't been paying close enough attention to say for sure.
I'm pretty dubious about most efforts at finding historical antecedents for Trump and MAGA, so this is more about a fictionalized character, but...
...anyone ever see the movie Marie Antoinette, in which the titular character is shown convincing the rest of high society to break protocol by clapping at the opera, thus heralding a new free spirit in the air? Later, during the period of debt and famine, she is again shown clapping at the opera, but this time alone, while pulling in hateful stares from everyone else in the auditorium.
Trump's first-term norm-breaking might be kinda like that first scene, with his second-term like the second scene. Though I'm guessing he still has more active fans in various social strata than Marie had in those of France at the time.
James Taylor, of course a democrat supporter, raised a huge laugh at his concert in Halifax on Thursday when he said : “I never thought I’d ever say this, but I’m really missing Richard Nixon”.
@stetson , I can imagine Trump cancelling the World Cup final and because of the negligence of the co-hosts and all the other stuff, awarding the Cup to the Great United States of America.
Surely in those circumstances England would be declared World Cup winners, by default
James Taylor, of course a democrat supporter, raised a huge laugh at his concert in Halifax on Thursday when he said : “I never thought I’d ever say this, but I’m really missing Richard Nixon”.
I originally just skimmed your post, and was wondering who the heck would say that to what I assumed was a youthful audience in the year 2026. Then I read it again, and okay, yeah.
(Not that I'm complaining. Richard Nixon is definitely within my own frame of reference for American politics as a Gen Xer.)
I'm not sure it's within Trump's power to cancel the World Cup final. Not directly, I don't think. It's not controlled by the federal government.
There are a lot of things not within his power that he has issued orders about. I think it unlikely that he would, say, have the Spanish and Argentine squads rounded up by ICE and deported, but it's hardly more illegal than a lot of stuff he has done.
Well, a few more hours, and we'll know if this is gonna go down as a combination of the 1919 World Series and the 1936 Summer Olympics, OR just a pretty regular World Cup, albeit with a higher than usual infusion of bozoism.
I'm not sure it's within Trump's power to cancel the World Cup final. Not directly, I don't think. It's not controlled by the federal government.
There are a lot of things not within his power that he has issued orders about.
Okay, what's the mechanism he would use to actually stop it? Who does he give the orders to?
ICE seem to be his favoured goons. He could order the teams' visas revoked and have them detained pending deportation or simply escorted to the airport. Would anyone in DHS or State refuse if he gave that order? Would it even be illegal? Certainly there was fuckery with visas for Iranian support staff with no suggestion it was illegal.
I'm not sure it's within Trump's power to cancel the World Cup final. Not directly, I don't think. It's not controlled by the federal government.
There are a lot of things not within his power that he has issued orders about.
Okay, what's the mechanism he would use to actually stop it? Who does he give the orders to?
ICE seem to be his favoured goons. He could order the teams' visas revoked and have them detained pending deportation or simply escorted to the airport. Would anyone in DHS or State refuse if he gave that order? Would it even be illegal? Certainly there was fuckery with visas for Iranian support staff with no suggestion it was illegal.
Are they now going to storm the field and herd all the players into police vans?
I'm not sure it's within Trump's power to cancel the World Cup final. Not directly, I don't think. It's not controlled by the federal government.
There are a lot of things not within his power that he has issued orders about.
Okay, what's the mechanism he would use to actually stop it? Who does he give the orders to?
ICE seem to be his favoured goons. He could order the teams' visas revoked and have them detained pending deportation or simply escorted to the airport. Would anyone in DHS or State refuse if he gave that order? Would it even be illegal? Certainly there was fuckery with visas for Iranian support staff with no suggestion it was illegal.
Given that the suggestion was that Trump would postpone or cancel the match because of the wildfire smoke, claiming negligence on the part of a co-host, I’m not sure how visas come into it.
I'm not sure it's within Trump's power to cancel the World Cup final. Not directly, I don't think. It's not controlled by the federal government.
There are a lot of things not within his power that he has issued orders about.
Okay, what's the mechanism he would use to actually stop it? Who does he give the orders to?
ICE seem to be his favoured goons. He could order the teams' visas revoked and have them detained pending deportation or simply escorted to the airport. Would anyone in DHS or State refuse if he gave that order? Would it even be illegal? Certainly there was fuckery with visas for Iranian support staff with no suggestion it was illegal.
Given that the suggestion was that Trump would postpone or cancel the match because of the wildfire smoke, claiming negligence on the part of a co-host, I’m not sure how visas come into it.
I was suggesting a mechanism to effect the cancellation, as Ruth requested.
Okay. Sure. It would totally go against his own interests, but sure.
Apparently Infantino garnered the larger round of boos at the trophy ceremony. I'm pretty sure Trump is happy about that, and his handlers are likely glad that his image in the eyes of both the domestic and global corporate sector is now something closer to "at least presentable in public".
Interesting, isn't it, that when three civilians are killed in a week by ICE terrorists, trump is pleased that they are doing their job to help cleanse the USA, but when three American soldiers are killed in Iran it's the signal to restart his war and drop hundreds of millions of dollars worth of bombs with no regard for Iranian civilians.
We know he has taken cognitive tests. It is not something the Brits expect of their leaders. They certainly wouldn’t brag about it if they had to take one. Do all Presidents have to take one as matter course? I suspect not but don’t know.
We know he has taken cognitive tests. It is not something the Brits expect of their leaders. They certainly wouldn’t brag about it if they had to take one. Do all Presidents have to take one as matter course? I suspect not but don’t know.
This reminds me of a Terry Pratchett character who had to carry a certificate to prove he was human.
You don't need to test a person's cognitive ability if it is self-evident.
We know he has taken cognitive tests. It is not something the Brits expect of their leaders. They certainly wouldn’t brag about it if they had to take one. Do all Presidents have to take one as matter course? I suspect not but don’t know.
This reminds me of a Terry Pratchett character who had to carry a certificate to prove he was human.
You don't need to test a person's cognitive ability if it is self-evident.
Reminds me of the Labour MP elected in the great landslide of 1945 who had recently been discharged from a psychiatric hospital following war related trauma, who could prove, via his hospital discharge papers that he was the only member of the House of Commons who was certified sane. I think his name was Louis Comins.
We know he has taken cognitive tests. It is not something the Brits expect of their leaders. They certainly wouldn’t brag about it if they had to take one. Do all Presidents have to take one as matter course? I suspect not but don’t know.
There's a lot we never heard of before Trump. A US President demanding personal allegiance, rather than allegiance to the nation/people/Constitution ... has that happened before? A President making policy announcements which affect markets, and those who manage his investments conveniently making decisions ahead of those announcements to rake in millions ... that may have happened before, but has it ever been so obvious? A President who gives top international roles, negotiating peace deals for example, to his children when they have no obvious experience, that seems a new level of nepotism.
I heard a while ago, maybe a year or so ago that one of the tests that Trump boasted of passing with flying colors was likely a dementia test judging by the questions he quoted.
The doctor in question said this was notable because Trump had referred to taking the same test 6 months before, and you don't take dementia tests every 6 months to find out whether there is dementia. You do it to measure how fast it's progressing.
@Alan Cresswell New to the USA, but common in other places at other times. It’s classic authoritarianism. No wonder he is obsessed by North Korea.
I will again read into the record that Trump's outreach to North Korea was endorsed whole-heartedly at the time by the centre-left government of the ROK, and a possible fourth meeting was endorsed by their ideological successors last year.
As far as Trump's motivations go, his admiration for strongmen might indeed shape his view of Kim Jong Un, but I also think he has a burning desire to be remembered for great things(combined with an exaggerated idea of how easy it is to accomplish such things), and ending the Korean War once and for all would certainly fit the bill.
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Well, I guess we'll know by tomorrow.
But it is not just Canada. If you look at the published fire maps of the West Coast of the USA, you will swear the whole states of Oregon and Washington are on fire.
Last night. we were advised to keep our windows closed because of smoke from local fires. This morning the smoke is in the moderate range which can cause issues with people with chronic breathing problems.
Well, for all his blather, Trump is still reasonably canny about lying and knowing which people to throw under the bus, and that seems more like what an old narcissist who is tired and exhausted would do, so in that sense it's not a full deck, just not quite in the way you suggest.
I'm tempted to say that his current schtick is the same basic one he's been doing since 2016 if not earlier, and hence not any particular indication of mental decline. Some observers claim that his bout with covid in Oct 2020 marked a noticable shift in his behaviour toward the erratic, but I sincerely haven't been paying close enough attention to say for sure.
...anyone ever see the movie Marie Antoinette, in which the titular character is shown convincing the rest of high society to break protocol by clapping at the opera, thus heralding a new free spirit in the air? Later, during the period of debt and famine, she is again shown clapping at the opera, but this time alone, while pulling in hateful stares from everyone else in the auditorium.
Trump's first-term norm-breaking might be kinda like that first scene, with his second-term like the second scene. Though I'm guessing he still has more active fans in various social strata than Marie had in those of France at the time.
Surely in those circumstances England would be declared World Cup winners, by default
I originally just skimmed your post, and was wondering who the heck would say that to what I assumed was a youthful audience in the year 2026. Then I read it again, and okay, yeah.
(Not that I'm complaining. Richard Nixon is definitely within my own frame of reference for American politics as a Gen Xer.)
There are a lot of things not within his power that he has issued orders about. I think it unlikely that he would, say, have the Spanish and Argentine squads rounded up by ICE and deported, but it's hardly more illegal than a lot of stuff he has done.
Okay, what's the mechanism he would use to actually stop it? Who does he give the orders to?
ICE seem to be his favoured goons. He could order the teams' visas revoked and have them detained pending deportation or simply escorted to the airport. Would anyone in DHS or State refuse if he gave that order? Would it even be illegal? Certainly there was fuckery with visas for Iranian support staff with no suggestion it was illegal.
Are they now going to storm the field and herd all the players into police vans?
I was suggesting a mechanism to effect the cancellation, as Ruth requested.
Apparently Infantino garnered the larger round of boos at the trophy ceremony. I'm pretty sure Trump is happy about that, and his handlers are likely glad that his image in the eyes of both the domestic and global corporate sector is now something closer to "at least presentable in public".
Low IQ is a disability - the Iraq war is being fought and lost due to foolishness, not disability.
Remember Trump has claimed he is smarter than his generals, and he has passed cognitive tests with flying colors.
This reminds me of a Terry Pratchett character who had to carry a certificate to prove he was human.
You don't need to test a person's cognitive ability if it is self-evident.
Reminds me of the Labour MP elected in the great landslide of 1945 who had recently been discharged from a psychiatric hospital following war related trauma, who could prove, via his hospital discharge papers that he was the only member of the House of Commons who was certified sane. I think his name was Louis Comins.
The doctor in question said this was notable because Trump had referred to taking the same test 6 months before, and you don't take dementia tests every 6 months to find out whether there is dementia. You do it to measure how fast it's progressing.
I will again read into the record that Trump's outreach to North Korea was endorsed whole-heartedly at the time by the centre-left government of the ROK, and a possible fourth meeting was endorsed by their ideological successors last year.
As far as Trump's motivations go, his admiration for strongmen might indeed shape his view of Kim Jong Un, but I also think he has a burning desire to be remembered for great things(combined with an exaggerated idea of how easy it is to accomplish such things), and ending the Korean War once and for all would certainly fit the bill.