US Election 2020

[TysonRoux]

Trump attack on Biden highlights president's own past dealings with China

Trump Organisation’s far-flung real estate business has involved dealings with Chinese state-owned firms on several occasions

www.theguardian.com

Donald Trump has a share in a New York property development that borrowed tens of millions of dollars from China, it was reported on Friday.


The debt derived from a 30% share the US president owns in a billion-dollar building on the Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan, which was refinanced in 2012 with $211m of the funding coming from the state-owned Bank of China, Politico reported on Friday.


However, the Bank of China said it had sold the loan in the commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) market less than a month after the loan was made, and so Trump was not even indirectly indebted to the bank.


But the Trump Organisation’s far-flung real estate business has involved dealings with Chinese state-owned firms on several occasions, complicating Trump’s emerging election strategy of portraying his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, as being soft on China. In a briefing on Saturday, Trump said that “China will own the United States” if Biden was elected in November.

 

[greg0205]

Trump attack on Biden highlights president's own past dealings with China

Trump Organisation’s far-flung real estate business has involved dealings with Chinese state-owned firms on several occasions

www.theguardian.com

Donald Trump has a share in a New York property development that borrowed tens of millions of dollars from China, it was reported on Friday.


The debt derived from a 30% share the US president owns in a billion-dollar building on the Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan, which was refinanced in 2012 with $211m of the funding coming from the state-owned Bank of China, Politico reported on Friday.


However, the Bank of China said it had sold the loan in the commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) market less than a month after the loan was made, and so Trump was not even indirectly indebted to the bank.


But the Trump Organisation’s far-flung real estate business has involved dealings with Chinese state-owned firms on several occasions, complicating Trump’s emerging election strategy of portraying his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, as being soft on China. In a briefing on Saturday, Trump said that “China will own the United States” if Biden was elected in November.

Trump said that “China will own the United States” if Biden was elected in November.

Wait, wait... here it comes...

Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

 

[daveza]

"Ï don't like you and I'm not going to play with you anymore "

You're Unfollowed! Trump Dumps Piers Morgan On Twitter After Coronavirus Criticism

The "Celebrity Apprentice" alum told Trump, whom he previously described as a "good friend," to “SHUT THE F**K UP" in a recent column.

www.huffpost.com

 

[cerebus]

 

[TysonRoux]

About farking time - it all happened with the Orangutanman's tacit approval.

Brett Crozier: US navy seeks to reinstate captain fired over Covid-19

Pentagon suggests no decision imminent on the navy’s preliminary inquiry into the USS Theodore Roosevelt

www.theguardian.com

The US navy has recommended reinstating the fired captain of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, whose crew hailed him as their hero for risking his job to safeguard their lives from coronavirus, officials have said.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the navy’s leadership made the recommendation to reinstate Brett Crozier to the defence secretary, Mark Esper, on Friday, three weeks after Crozier was relieved of command after the leak of a letter he wrote calling on the navy for stronger measures to protect the crew.


The Pentagon issued a statement acknowledging Esper received the results of the navy’s preliminary inquiry into the Roosevelt incident. But it added that Esper wanted to review a written copy of the completed inquiry.


Suggesting no decision was imminent, the statement said Esper “intends to thoroughly review the report and will meet again with navy leadership to discuss next steps”. The navy said in a statement, “no final decisions have been made”.


The House armed services committee chairman, Adam Smith, a Democrat, called for Crozier’s immediate reinstatement.


“During this time of crisis, Captain Crozier is exactly what our sailors need: a leader who inspires confidence,” he said.

Navy's top admiral recommends reinstating captain fired over COVID-19 warning

Capt. Brett Crozier was relieved of command three weeks ago, but the investigation into his actions was completed last week.

abcnews.go.com

Acting Navy Secretary Under Fire For Speech Calling Fired Captain ‘Stupid’

‘What the f-ck?’ a sailor can be heard yelling in the background of Modly’s speech over the ship’s PA system.

www.defenseone.com

‘What the f-ck?’ a sailor can be heard yelling in the background of Modly’s speech over the ship’s PA system.

 

[Cray]

About farking time - it all happened with the Orangutanman's tacit approval.

Brett Crozier: US navy seeks to reinstate captain fired over Covid-19

Pentagon suggests no decision imminent on the navy’s preliminary inquiry into the USS Theodore Roosevelt

www.theguardian.com

The US navy has recommended reinstating the fired captain of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, whose crew hailed him as their hero for risking his job to safeguard their lives from coronavirus, officials have said.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the navy’s leadership made the recommendation to reinstate Brett Crozier to the defence secretary, Mark Esper, on Friday, three weeks after Crozier was relieved of command after the leak of a letter he wrote calling on the navy for stronger measures to protect the crew.


The Pentagon issued a statement acknowledging Esper received the results of the navy’s preliminary inquiry into the Roosevelt incident. But it added that Esper wanted to review a written copy of the completed inquiry.


Suggesting no decision was imminent, the statement said Esper “intends to thoroughly review the report and will meet again with navy leadership to discuss next steps”. The navy said in a statement, “no final decisions have been made”.


The House armed services committee chairman, Adam Smith, a Democrat, called for Crozier’s immediate reinstatement.


“During this time of crisis, Captain Crozier is exactly what our sailors need: a leader who inspires confidence,” he said.

Navy's top admiral recommends reinstating captain fired over COVID-19 warning

Capt. Brett Crozier was relieved of command three weeks ago, but the investigation into his actions was completed last week.

abcnews.go.com

I wonder if Trump will sabotage this on the low down....Hope he doesn't but it's the sort of slimy thing Captain Bone spurs would do.

 

[TysonRoux]

I wonder if Trump will sabotage this on the low down....

The Orange Cnut only pardons criminals, so yes, he'll more likely scuttle this.

 

[theratman]

The Orange Cnut only pardons criminals, so yes, he'll more likely scuttle this.

Nice play on words

 

[daveza]

 

[krycor]

The Orange Dotard cut this evenings WH briefing short, very short, avoiding the predicted grilling from the media.

It’s gonna come the minute he allows Q&A.. now way out of it.

I wonder how many of trump supporters have shot up disinfectants in their veins.. I mean, you have to listen to your beloved president. Aye.. another blaring obvious sign that trump supporter are a way worse level vs Zuma ones.

 

[TysonRoux]

 

[daveza]

 

[TysonRoux]

LOL, Trumps boi.

Michigan senator apologizes for wearing Confederate flag face mask

Dale Zorn initially defended his actions, saying it was part of ‘our history’, but eventually apologized after widespread outrage

www.theguardian.com

A Republican politician in Michigan has apologized after wearing a face mask that appeared to depict the Confederate flag, an image offensive to many Americans as a symbol of racism and slavery.


Michigan state Senator Dale Zorn wore the mask during a Senate vote at the Michigan state capitol in Lansing on Friday. He initially defended his actions, saying his wife had made the mask and that it depicted the flag of Tennessee or Kentucky.


“I told my wife it probably will raise some eyebrows, but it was not a Confederate flag,” Zorn told Lansing TV station WLNS on Friday.

In fact, displaying the Confederate flag, or other symbols of the slave-owning south during the American civil war, is usually seen as racist.

 

[TysonRoux]

It’s gonna come the minute he allows Q&A.. now way out of it.

I wonder how many of trump supporters have shot up disinfectants in their veins.. I mean, you have to listen to your beloved president. Aye.. another blaring obvious sign that trump supporter are a way worse level vs Zuma ones.

There's talk that the Orange Dotard is calling off the COVID briefings, ........wonder why LOL.

 

[TysonRoux]

LOL , the Orange Dotard knows he'll be roasted.

Trump goes into hiding from the press

It looks like President Trump is going into hiding -- from the press, that is. Facing an avalanche of controversy over his bizarre comments on sunlight and dangerous comments regarding disinfectants, the President held a record short briefing Friday evening (sans Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx), abruptly ending it after 22 minutes of statements without taking any questions from the press.

On CNN, Wolf Blitzer called Trump "chicken" and said he was "probably afraid" of the grilling he was all but certain to face over the "flat lie" he told the day before regarding disinfectants. Later in the night, Anderson Cooper, who argued Trump was guilty of "Soviet"-like spin for pretending his comments were sarcastic during a bill signing, said he "cut and ran" because he knew he'd face hard questions.

CNN and other news organizations, including Axios which broke the news, reported Friday evening that there has been an effort among White House aides to stop holding daily coronavirus briefings. And the schedule released for Saturday shows no briefings scheduled...

 

[TysonRoux]

Can't have opposing views or criticize the Orange Fuhrer.

White House officials are discussing plans to replace HHS Secretary Alex Azar

White House officials are discussing plans to replace Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar following a spate of criticism over the early federal response to the coronavirus, a senior administration official confirmed.

Any move to replace Azar would be contingent on President Donald Trump deciding to move forward. The official stressed that nothing is imminent, but there are discussions underway at the White House about replacing Azar.

The discussions come after Trump appointed Vice President Mike Pence, rather than Azar, as the White House's point man for coronavirus response at a rare presidential news conference. Trump had privately expressed frustration over Azar's lack of communication on key issues as the head of the White House coronavirus task force.

 

[greg0205]

This is Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. It holds 51 762 folk:

This is Newlands in Cape Town. It holds 51 900 folk:

This is Kings Park in Durban. It holds 52 000 folk:

If you know me, you'd know this was coming... This is Anfield in Liverpool. It holds 53 394 folk:

53 928 Americans have died in the last eleven weeks.

Tomorrow we can look at Cape Town Stadium which holds 55 000, and Ellis Park with its 62 567 seats isn't far off.

 

[greg0205]

“Really Want to Flood NY and NJ”: Internal Documents Reveal Team Trump’s Chloroquine Master Plan

On the afternoon of Saturday, April 4, President Trump stood at the White House podium and escalated his marketing blitz on behalf of hydroxychloroquine, hyping the old malaria drug’s alleged promise in treating COVID-19, as well as his administration’s success in acquiring huge amounts of it.

“We have millions and millions of doses of it—29 million to be exact,” he said, as the official tally of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. topped 260,000 and governors across the country pleaded for federal support to acquire tests, ventilators, and protective gear for health care workers. “We’re just hearing really positive stories, and we’re continuing to collect the data.” That evening, according to emails obtained by Vanity Fair, Trump’s political appointees would ramp up the pressure on career health officials to make good on the president’s extravagant promises, despite clear warnings from federal clinicians about the risks and unproven benefits of chloroquine-based treatments for COVID-19.

Vanity Fair has assembled this account based on documents and interviews provided by multiple federal officials with knowledge of internal Trump administration proceedings.

The president had been touting hydroxychloroquine for weeks, sparking worldwide shortages of the drug and prompting negotiations with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to lift export restrictions on its active ingredients. But on March 24, the federal government’s top interagency working group of clinicians and scientists privately threw cold water on his claims, according to a federal official with knowledge of the working group’s deliberations. In an internal consensus statement, a medical countermeasures group within Health and Human Services recommended that chloroquine-based COVID-19 treatments should be studied only in controlled, hospital-based clinical trials, as their safety and efficacy was “not supported by data from reliable clinical trials or from non-human primates” and carried “potential risks.” The medicines—which are used to treat malaria as well as autoimmune conditions such as lupus—can have serious side effects, including heart arrhythmias.

And yet, just hours after that April 4 press conference, White House officials pushed ahead with a massive behind-the-scenes pressure campaign on the government’s top health officials to deliver huge amounts of chloroquine drugs to just about anyone who wanted them, according to documents reviewed by Vanity Fair. That night, Brett Giroir, the assistant secretary for health in the Department of Health and Human Services, sent an email with the subject line “Hydroxychloroquine” to a group including FEMA administrator Pete Gaynor,HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response Robert Kadlec, and Navy Rear Admiral John Polowczyk, who leads a supply-chain task force at FEMA.

The email read:

WH call. Really want to flood Ny and NJ with treatment courses. Hospitals have it. Sick out patients don’t. And can’t get. So go through distribution channels as we discussed. If we have 29 million perhaps send a few million ASAP? WH wants follow up in AM. We can get a lot more of this. Right Bob? Millions per week?

The rest is in the link.

 

[TysonRoux]

LOL, this is a good laugh which hopefully both sides can enjoy.

'SNL' returns with Brad Pitt as Dr. Anthony Fauci

Dr. Anthony Fauci jokingly said that if any actor was going to portray him on "Saturday Night Live," he'd want Brad Pitt.

On Saturday night, Fauci got his wish.

In a surprise appearance, Pitt played Fauci at the opening of Saturday's "SNL," which was produced remotely because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"First, I'd like to thank all the older women in America who have sent me supportive, inspiring and sometimes graphic e-mails," Pitt as Fauci said.

Pitt's Fauci then explained that there's been a lot of misinformation out there about the coronavirus, and that "yes, the President has taken some liberties with our guidelines."
He then said he'd like to explain what President Trump was "trying to say."
"And remember, let's all keep an open mind," Pitt's Fauci said.
The sketch then proceeded to show clips of Trump talking about the outbreak. The first had Trump saying that the country would have a vaccine "relatively soon."
"Relatively soon is an interesting phrase. Relative to the entire history of earth? Sure, the vaccine is going to come real fast," Pitt's Fauci said. "But if you were going to tell a friend, 'I'll be over relatively soon' and then showed up a year and a half later, well, your friend may be relatively pissed off."

The next clip showed Trump saying that the virus would disappear like a miracle.

"A miracle would be great! Who doesn't love miracles? But miracles shouldn't be Plan A," Pitt's Fauci said. "Even (Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger) tried to land at the airport first."

He then said that unless he's fired he will be there to put out the facts to anyone who's listening.
"When I hear things like the virus can be cured if everyone takes the Tide Pod Challenge, I'll be there to say, 'please don't," Pitt's Fauci added.

After that, Pitt removed his wig and glasses and had a serious message for those watching at home.
"And to the real Dr. Fauci, thank you for your calm and your clarity in this unnerving time," Pitt said. "And thank you to the medical workers, first responders and their families for being on the front line."
Pitt then took a beat and kicked off the remote episode of "SNL."
"And now, live, kinda, from all across America, it's Saturday night," Pitt said.

 

[konfab]

Shut it down, shut it down.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1254255771774119936