Off Topic #Trump Day One

In the days and weeks following Brexit, I, and no doubt many others, was truly sickened by the stories in the UK media about the reaction of some of our fellow citizens against 'perceived foreigners', Muslims etc - but waking up this morning to find that Americans have well & truly 'trumped' those reactions , I truly despair for humanity.

Social Media appears to be awash with examples as bad as, or even worse than, these few...






When Junior Campbell and Dean Ford wrote these words in their 1969 song, I doubt they envisaged that nothing would have changed nearly half a century later...

The world is
A bad place
A bad place
A terrible place to live

 

And now, to cap off the misery, I find that Leonard Cohen has died.

I guess we really have reached 'the end of love'.

 

There are a lot of bigots out there under the radar. Bigotry is the refuge of the stupid. These elections show there are a lot of stupid people out there. QED?

 

And this may back that up...

 

More reported demonstrations against Trump's appointment as US President.

Have the remoaners all taken a holiday in America?

 

Time to move on I think. Trump is an isolationist and a protectionist (part of a tendency which has been gaining ground in US. politics for some years now) - a return to a pre war way of thinking ? Does this mean that America will become less prominent in World affairs ? More inward looking ? If that is the result then his election will not have been in vain. We have elections coming up next year in France, Germany and the Netherlands, which could change the balance of European politics. For the first time I will be able to vote in one of these I do not know what will happen in France or the NL. but in Germany things could be very difficult. Unfortunately the populist AfD will gain voters - the other side of the coin is that most of these will come from Merkel's CDU. There is no party in Germany which will go into coalition with the AfD (either on national or state level) a CDU/FDP government is no longer a realistic possibility and the large centrist coalition ie. CDU/SPD was only considered because the SPD did not feel the time was right for a coalition with Die Linke. A coalition between the SPD the Greens and Die Linke could have taken power at any time over the last 12 years - maybe the time is now right. So, where everywhere else appears to be lurching into reactionary populist xenophobia, Germany could well go the other way ie. a middle left coalition.

 

She was clearly not neuro-typical and shouldn't be derided by that man for being so. Kind of like how those itv audition shows like to Micky-take those who are not neuro-typical. Stupid is different to this.

 

Trump isn't the real problem. Pence, and his ilk, is the problem.

 

Are the problem!

 

I guess that rather depends on what you view as 'the problem' really. I was referring to the wave of hatred that by all accounts is sweeping America at the moment - although that may or may not be true, I don't know for sure. Those feelings may well have been bubbling under the surface, just as they have done here - but Trump's 'rallying calls' have been the cause of them coming to the surface.

 

This rise in nationalism should not have come as any surprise. The introduction of the Schengen area before securing external borders and Merkel's disastrous 'open door' policy has created many many new problems. It would be ironic if Merkel's foolhardy policy caused more problems for other countries rather than her own. Her arrogance was astounding, she may yet pay at the ballot box.

 

There was no arrogance involved SH. It was a pragmatic answer to an emergency situation, namely, the ugly situation which was developing in Hungary re. refugees. It was obvious that Hungary could not control the situation without blood being spilled, and so Germany and Austria stepped in to try to relieve the situation - there was no alternative. My own municipality of Engelskirchen (pop. just under 20,000) has taken in 400 refugees without problem. The only problem which has arisen is that a large number have come from so called 'safe states', in this case Balkan ones - they are not being processed quickly enough, but the others ie. from Syria, Iraq, Eritrea etc. are welcome. Germans left this country in the past, escaping from war and destruction, and were taken up by other countries - now the same is happening in reverse and anyone in danger of their lives has the right to be here, whatever it may cost.

 

Merkel's ill fated temporary invitation that 'as many that wanted to come could come', seriously affected other neighbouring countries. I remember at the time it enraged other EU leaders, which led to nation border fences being erected.

 

Which was an overreaction by those countries - the actual numbers who have come is insignificant compared to the predictions. Germany has far more resources in terms of eg. accomodation set aside for refugees than has actually been used. It was a humanitarian gesture which was fully in line with the principles of UN. laws regarding refugees - if other countries want to wallow in their xenophobic holes - put up the shutters and say 'nothing to do with us' whilst at the same time sending weapons to these trouble spots in the World then they are free to do that, but not to take any credit for their selfish actions.

 

Mexicans love Trump as much as Watford fans love Luton.

The Peso nosedived - http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=USD&to=MXN&view=1W

This is the best summary I could find in English really - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/09/mexico-donald-trump-election-peso - from Mexico´s perspective...

 

Divide and conquer 101 and it has worked a treat. He's a Bojo: "oh crap I've won and I'm in league with a bunch if people I don't believe in".
Odd isn't it? If there is a wave of hatred I see it more as a wave of fear. The fundies are in power and they will turn the clock back fifty years if they can. We'll have a better idea when he's sworn in and has picked his government. Whatever I think of him, and those and the system that brought him into power, I hope he's a success: more jobs for the people creating wealth from the bottom up, better and affordable healthcare, more wealth to the poorest in their society, less crime, fewer unwanted pregnancies and better sex education, keeping religion out of (especially) the science classrooms, more tolerance to the LGBT community, less gun crime and generally a safer world.
I mean, that's what they voted for, right?

Edited out repeated sentence.

 

Amazing response from California

 

With the growing trend to desperately oppose perfectly fair contests, i.e. UK referendum, US elections, there must be reasons to insist the game at Anfield last week is re-run, dodgy grass, iffy lighting. Any ideas?

 

Just to lighten the mood...

I've no idea who Joe.ie is, but his spoof of the John Lewis Xmas ad is brilliant.

 

Brilliant