[0762]

Trump now "on the brink" of being the 3rd US President to be impeached today, the charges being "abuse of power" and "attempting to block Congress". I think the evidence against him is solid enough and the President has vehemently tried to block this info and process with some of his rhetorical comments bordering on manic paranoia. We all know it won't be formally concluded in a rightful guilty verdict because he still has Republican Party support in the Senate although it appears that some Republicans are fed up with him too!! I'd love to see this con man finally removed but damaging him beyond repair would be good enough although it "opens up" this future election line of the ever preaching populist - I am the offended party, therefore vote for me because they are "out to get me". I'd retort that THEY ARE OUT TO GET YOU FOR GOOD REASON AND NOT JUST BECAUSE THEY DON'T LIKE YOU!!!

[0762]

As expected, PRESIDENT TRUMP IMPEACHED but the HoR Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, not presenting the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate YET. She seeks objectivity and the testimony of Trump insiders like John Boulton and Mulvaney who, if they testify truthfully, will "bring him down"!! However, I just watched and listened to one huge political gaffe by Trump at a rally when he crassly attacked Rep Debbie Dingell with reference to her late husband condemning her to hell!!!!??? This guy is a lunatic and it was noticeable that many of his supporters looked aghast at such an awful statement against a grieving widow!! HE HAS CROSSED A RED LINE AND THAT COULD WELL SIGNAL THE START OF HIS DEMISE!!!!

[hibeejim21]

Trump impeached - his last act likely to be removing foodstamps from some of America's poorest people .

A fascist fuckwit hopefully about to get his just desserts

[St Charles Owl]

I have such mixed feelings about this impeachment. For sure it is deserved, the evidence is there and the cover up from the White House is obvious as well. But, this truly has invigorated his supporters as we run into an election year!! They are more than ever adamant that he is their guy no matter what he does, they will turn out in their millions at the election and they will be pouring a ton of money into his coffers to fight in those swing states. I understand the need for the Dems to do this, but I fear it may backfire on them when it comes to the election in November, especially as there is such a small chance of him actually being removed from office due to McConnell and the Republicans in the Senate being in total cahoots with him, and those that aren't will not have the moral fortitude to go against that!!!

It will forever be on his record that he was impeached, but once he is found not guilty in the senate he will use this everyday to keep his base energized and it might just be what he needed to carry him to a second term.

[0762]

Strangely he has meekly acknowledged the fact that he has been branded with that stigma of being an impeached President and can never remove that "stain" from his already tattered reputation. As you say, he deserves it but sadly American justice doesn't seem to apply its full force to remove him as it should due to a tribal political system of protectionism - sad to see this failing because it is wrong and doesn't show up American politics "in a good light" esp with this lunatic still being allowed to run amok - there is a limit and I'm sure there must be millions n millions of Americans getting really tired of this man!!

[St Charles Owl]

Strangely he has meekly acknowledged the fact that he has been branded with that stigma of being an impeached President and can never remove that "stain" from his already tattered reputation. As you say, he deserves it but sadly American justice doesn't seem to apply its full force to remove him as it should due to a tribal political system of protectionism - sad to see this failing because it is wrong and doesn't show up American politics "in a good light" esp with this lunatic still being allowed to run amok - there is a limit and I'm sure there must be millions n millions of Americans getting really tired of this man!!

Lets also though not forget that Bill Clinton was impeached but also due to partisan politics and voting in the Senate he also was acquitted and not removed from office, same as we will likely see with Trump but with a switch of the party roles.

With regards to American's being pissed off, you are correct!! 66m Yanks voted against him, 3m more than voted for him but the electoral college system as it is worked for him. That will still be the same system next year and the challenge for Dems is to first not destroy each other during the primary's and secondly they have to get the voters out in much bigger numbers in the swing states because I will guarantee his supporters will be out voting. The young vote in particular over here is notorious for not bothering to vote and there are 4 years worth of usually left leaning 18-21 year olds who will be voting for the first time. They need to vote in larger numbers compared to the usual 35% turnout in that age group because this will absolutely benefit the Dems more than the Republicans.

[0762]

I watched part of the 6th Dem nominations debate hosted by Politburo and it was refreshing listening to the various candidates sharing the same sentiments re the poisonous rhetoric of Trump and the damage he has done to America's image and America's global reputation while favouring his wealthy pals. Again, Bernie Sanders "stood out like a beacon" with comments like "America's wealth and healthy well-being emanates from the bottom and not from the top where the wealthy elite dominate and that wealth never spreads or gets close to the bottom of the pile". However, I'm not sure whether the centre ground of the American populace can be captivated by him although, as usual, he talks a lotta sense. The younger candidate, Mr Yang, is clearly wealthy but no wowwww factor for me and no charisma when compared to the likes of Justin Trudeau. Mayor Buttiegieg is another young candidate who talks a lotta sense but no wowwww factor. He made a point that every other candidate is a millionaire and I must admit that it seems to be a pre-requisite in electoral campaigns and the common fear always is that the wealthy support their wealthy pals unless certain candidates are highly principled re the objective direction that they wanna take eg Bernie Sanders. Sen Klobuchar was interesting with lotsa pragmatic comments that stung into Trump and his administration and she had a certain passion and empathy in her presentation Joe Biden had the shortest "talk time" (15 mins) but what he said was "to the point" and articulate esp when referring to Trump and his failed policies and promises. I must say I'm unsure re any of these candidates and one can only hope that they are eventually "whittled down" to a pair of decent Dems who can captivate lotsa Americans in the population who wanna be impressed by someone other than Trump. lets face it: they have enough "ammunition" to "fire" at Trump and need to be "squeaky clean". At the mo, Jo Biden looks like a possibility mainly because he can push on against Trump as an "offended and innocent party" but IMO there is an age issue although that factor never affected Trump's previous presidential campaign.

[0762]

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/fo...spartandhp

Words absolutely "fail me" after reading this latest US incursion/assassination by Trump and his RW cohorts!! However, one must comment and condemn accordingly!! The cynic in me says that,"This is the sort stuff that wins votes eh" (PLUS please note the recent discovery of a huge oil field, potentially billions of barrels, in N Iran!!!!!) and IMO that is what this is really all about. I watched previous bbc interviews of Gen Suleiman who led part of the Kurd/Iranian alliance army that took on ISIS in N Syria and N Iraq. He came over as a decent human being and who knows whether this is the usual US bullshit or not but this ill thought out act of aggression just adds more "fuel" to the cultures of impunity that prevails throughout global politics. You may ask what do you mean re the cultures of impunity? Well look no further than the Kashoggi verdict in a Saudi law court - a verdict that is the antithesis of justice and the epitome of a culture of impunity. The killing in Malta of a journalist, Caruana Galizia, and subsequent cover up is another example of a state killing with impunity!!! Moving directly on to Trump, his enthusiastic promotion of impunity reached its peak last month after he granted pardons to two army officers, one convicted of war crimes, the other accused of them and reversed the demotion of a navy SEAL who was convicted of posing with the corpse of an enemy combatant. What does it tell us about such impunity when Trump went on to host a disgraced former navy SEAL, Eddie Gallagher, at his luxury Florida residence in Mar-a-Lago? This guest was a man who, based on the testimony of members of his own unit, was charged with stabbing an unarmed teenage prisoner, posing for a photo with his corpse and shooting random Iraqi civilians incl an old man and young girl - a psychopathic killer who should rightly be imprisoned for his crimes!!!! Closer to home, a good example of impunity was Johnson's attempt to suspend parliament for 5 weeks -this idea that people can do whatever they want without having to face the consequences for their actions is on the rise globally at the highest levels of office. And always the core issue remains the same: DOES THE LAW APPLY TO EVERYONE??????????? When individuals violate criminal laws, we expect them to be held responsible irrespective of the circumstances or their influence and standing - THE PUBLIC HAS A RIGHT TO BOTH INDIVIDUAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY!!!!
As we now enter a new year, doubtless it will bring with it yet more abuses perpetrated by those operating within these cultures of impunity. But the time is long overdue in redoubling our efforts to challenge this pernicious practise of protecting the powerful!! If not, we all stand to lose - a sobering thought indeed!!

[WBA-Josh]

Looks like Trump has been watching seasons 4 and 5 of House of Cards over Christmas.

Heading into a tough re-election campaign with a scandal hanging over your head? Create more tension in the Middle East and if a war happens, your poll numbers will go up.

[0762]

At the beginning of this OP and subsequent initial debate, a comment was made asking the question, "Who will this loon ball and his RW cohorts eventually gonna attack"? The answer to that question may well be forthcoming! I hope not and pray that Iran will play "cute politics" in the face of what I'd call an "act of war" by the usual bunch of US shit heids who we have observed for long enough and arrived at the correct conclusion a long time ago!! I'm just listening to Trump receiving huge praise from his biggest backer in the ME region - none other than that Israeli RW scumbag, Netanyahu - one scumbag praising another one and there is no doubt that the State of Israel IMO is and has always been the "centre point" of tension in the Middle East with the USA, as usual, heavily influenced AGAIN by Israeli protagonists!! There are lotsa books written on this very subject and the historical and current loss to human life has been massive and will continue to be a bigger human catastrophe (in numbers of deaths) than the Holocaust!! How ironic!!