Comments

All the armchair quarterbacks predicting “doom and gloom” even before Trump’s inauguration in Jan. 2017. As a citizen, I could not bring myself to vote for “crooked Hillary,” and am so relieved that she was soundly defeated not by Trump, but by the hard working, conservative, silent majority in most of the states, as the colors on the “electoral map” clearly shows. I’m not a fan of the “Donald” but I believe that he will surround himself with capable people like the VP “Mike Pence” and am hoping that some good will come out of this result.
I have travelled extensively around this once great nation and it breaks my heart to see how it has squandered it’s blessings. It is no longer a level playing field and the establishment, the elites, the 5 percent, control most if not all of the wealth. The number of illegals in the millions, have been allowed to come in by the Democrats, who were seeking easy votes. I came as an foreign student decades ago and took a number and waited my turn and did it the “right way” and was naturalized, respecting the laws and abiding by it.
We hard working folks are tired of the same crap these same old politicians dish out every four years when they need our votes to get them re-elected.
I cannot wait to vote for a woman President, but will do so only IF she is someone with backbone, someone who is ethical and has integrity. Unlike “crooked Hillary” who has lied repeatedly, and taken our votes for granted, has been in cahoots with wall street, as the Wikileak emails clearly shows us. So many who have tampered with evidence as she did, who have been careless about “highly classified” material and information have gone to jail and had to serve time, but she has gotten away with it. Ever since she and her husband “slick willie” left the WH, they have lined their pockets and enriched themselves beyond their wildest dreams. The American people are not fools and know what is going on and that’s why she lost to Obama and now lost out to the “Donald.”
Yes, the “Donald” is a great unknown to most of us here in the states as well as to the rest of the world. And it still remains to be seen if he is able to accomplish anything and fulfill what he promised to do. The USofA does not belong to him, it belongs to the American people and he was elected and will have to decide what he wants his legacy to be, after his term ends. I do firmly believe that it will be a one term presidency.
P.S. Don’t believe all that you have read about the “donald” from the main street media, where most of you might get your information. They were all united together in destroying him every which way they could, and even predicted that “crooked Hillary” would win easily and by a landslide. But they had a “rude awakening” after midnight on election day, when the results came in. He’s not perfect in any way, and neither is anyone of us. We all have our character flaws, weaknesses, and shortcomings, and “skeletons” in the closet.

Agree 100% John Smith.

During the run-up to Gulf War II, I was getting the feeling that the Bush administration was lying so blatantly and so obviously that at some point they were going to take their tongues out of their cheeks, drop the pretense altogether, and just come out with it.

But they didn’t.

They did however come so close to tearing away the veil that it was left hanging by a few threads– the main one, of course, being the willingness of journalists to kowtow to power and “liberal” academics at universities and “think tanks” to keep pumping out the fog of propaganda that links imperialistic militarism to “democracy and freedom” rather than to the rapacious neoliberal capitalism that is its raison d’etre and progenitor.

And wouldn’t you know it? A reality TV star comes to inject a little reality right into the mainstream of global awareness.

As we are beginning to see in Thailand, atavistic rightwing elements are already pointing to the farcical revelation of what US “democracy” consists of by suggesting that the lady defecating on Trump’s image in public and footage of the “radical left” smashing the windows of coffee shops “prove” that Americans don’t accept their version of Thaksin so why should they?

(It seems they have yet to thank New Mandala for providing ideological (idiotic?) support for the Trump=Thaksin equation.)

However, as with so much of what the far right in Thailand proposes as political argument, this is as moronic as the insistence that Thailand’s political conflict over the past decade has been a “succession struggle”. Or that Thaksin represents Thailand’s great hope for the achievement of liberal democracy. Or that the US cares a whit about whether or not that democracy takes root in Thailand.

Feel the Bern 2020!

‘His unabashed admiration for Putin seems to signify a leader disconnected from the idealism that has animated US foreign policy from the time of Wilson. This could well ease tensions with the illiberal regimes in our region, as he appears unlikely to pursue a human rights agenda.’

I think you mean ‘ideology’ rather than ‘idealism’. ‘Human rights agenda’…are we talking about the same country? American power is deeply cynical, not idealistic, and it completely disregards human rights.
Trump actually reveals the true face of global capitalism; a scam run by a cabal of crooks. The hand-wringing and whingeing of liberal types about Trump and Brexit shows that they are either utterly disconnected from reality or else they actually prefer falsehood. While they argue over transgender bathrooms, wars rage across the globe and the world’s poor are being crushed underfoot.

Really must laugh, loudly too, that anyone could believe Ben Carson might pose as the US Secretary of Health. The man is a jerk, but indeed, he may be selected. Coz he does have an M.D. degree and he is dark of skin, thus satisfying two needs for the Trumpster (aka The Dumpster).

Afraid New World? Afraid of themselves perhaps?

“….Will Trump be interested in second- and third- order impacts of US economic policies, or will screwing the other guy be his overriding aim? ….”

No one else is looking out for our interests and it’s about time we stick to our knitting and and allow many parts of the world to sort things out (and bankroll) their own issues. Interventionism has played out horribly in the Middle East and elsewhere and it’s time to put the GB policies and false promises of hope and change by BO to rest. Their policies and promises failed miserably and caused grave suffering to many. Time to be done with that sort of constant intervention and allowing our so called allies to have a free ride.
I believe Chris Beale has made some good points above. Trump is assembling a good team and the best managers hire and keep the best people for the job at hand. Get over the bitterness of a hard fought election and give him a chance to work.

VichaiN – I’m more optimistic. Looks like Trump’s team will be talented. Newt Gingrich as Secretary of State is positive, given his decades of experience, ability to get things done – and take the American public with him. Rudy Guiliani as Attorney-General – well he cleaned up New York when everyone else had failed. Good if he can ditto the entire country. Chris Christie as Commerce Secretary – he was a great centrist New Jersey Governor, good for business, jobs and growth – until stupidly closing that bridge. Ben Carson – eminently qualified as Secretary of Health. Reagan’s era of small government and big defence SEEMS over – but Trump’s reverting to a version of the non-interventionist Nixon Doctrine, is something I applaud. At last, at last.

Thanks for that Andrew. Could you cite a source for that sighting of the CP with Suthida ?

Some Chinese Indonesians who remember the 1998 killings may fear the protests against Ahok could repeat history, but they are quite separate issues. The economy and national politics are not in turmoil – the threat is from thugs who came to the 4 November protest determined on a punchup.
Memories of the moves against Soeharto starting when he was out of the country are also offered as reasons Jokowi cancelled his Oz trip. Again the situation is completely different. The second president was a much feared and hated corrupt dictator who had lost his authority – the seventh has approval ratings in the high 60s.
The tragedy is that the cancellation has emboldened the FPI; if a few hoons carrying firecrackers can pull the President off a plane, what’s not possible?
Read Sidney Jones for stern comments about timid leaders: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/why-indonesian-extremists-are-gaining-ground
and John McBeth who reckons Jokowi made the right call: http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/jokowis-coming-struggle-religious-extremism-indonesia/

If Ahok doesn’t get charged there will be more protests. Likewise if he gets charged and acquitted – most unlikely with the current state of the law.
Baswedan looks set to be the next governor and he’ll probably do the job well, though he may be seen as Prabowo’s puppet. He’s run a university and a ministry; it would be distressing if he wins not by the quality of his policies but by Ahok being demonised by fanatics.
Security warnings about exercising extreme care also apply to the scuttlebutt swirling through WhatsApp and Twitter. The loonies manufacturing conspiracies to bolster the Trump campaign are amateurs in the Internet’s dark arts compared with Indonesia’s keyboard crooks who add prophecies, curses and black magic to the mix. Never accept a dull fact when there’s an entertaining rumour available.

I did not miss the point and as an example your continued reference to me as “Herr” Cohen indicates that you are synaptically-challenged. Your further commentary validates it.