Trump Claims A Deal With China - It Is Not True

Once again, Trump is tooting his own horn. This time he is claiming to have reached a deal on trade with China. But as with most of his claims, it isn't true.

The two nations have only agreed on a broad outline of a plan to be negotiated. No plan has been approved or signed by either country - and it still could be quite a while before one is approved.

Trump did the same thing with Great Britain. He claimed to have done a deal with Great Britain on trade. But all the two nations did was agree on a broad outline to be negotiated. To this date, no plane has been agreed to or signed by either nation.

Trump has put tariffs on virtually every country in the world. He expected most to come to him on bended knee to agree to a trade plan that benefitted the United States. That has not happened.

Despite what Trump may claim, not a single trade deal has been approved, finalized, and signed with any country - NOT ONE!

Trump's economic policy remains a mess - creating chaos and confusion for businesses. Prices continue to rise, and shortages are on the horizon.

Anyone who thinks Trump is winning his worldwide trade war is living in a dream world.

British Writer Tells Us Why Brits Don't Like Donald Trump

British writer Nate White answered the question "Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?"

A few things spring to mind. Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem. For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace – all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed. So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief. 

Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing – not once, ever. I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility – for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman. But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is – his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty. 

Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers. And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults – he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness. 

There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface. Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront. Well, we don’t. We see it as having no inner world, no soul. And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist. Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that. He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat. He’s more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.

And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully. That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead. There are unspoken rules to this stuff – the Queensberry rules of basic decency – and he breaks them all. He punches downwards – which a gentleman should, would, could never do – and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless – and he kicks them when they are down.

So the fact that a significant minority – perhaps a third – of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think ‘Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:
• Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.
• You don’t need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man. 

This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss. After all, it’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum. God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid. He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart. In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws – he would make a Trump.

And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish: ‘My God… what… have… I… created?' If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set.

American and British Opinions On Health Care Systems

This poll was conducted on July 22 - 25, 2022, among 1,000 U.S. adult citizens in the United States and on July 21 - 22, 2022 among 1,692 Great Britain adults. 

From the YouGov Poll.

Trump Endorses Boris Johnson - It's Not Helping Him

Donald Trump doesn't just want other governments interfering in American elections, but he thinks it is his duty to interfere in the elections of other countries. He considers Boris Johnson to be a good buddy, and is trying to help him stay Prime Minister when the British vote on December 12th.

Last week, Trump spoke on a British radio show and told Brits that the Labour Party would be very bad for them. In a few days, he is going to Great Britain and everyone expects him to speak out for Johnson. Is Trump helping Boris Johnson? Johnson doesn't think so. He's been trying to distance himself from Trump recently.

And the British public doesn't think Trump is helping the Conservatives either. Only 10% say Trump is helping, while 54% say he's not helping (but is hurting).

The chart above reflects the results of a YouGov Poll -- done on November 1st of 3,729 British adults.

The British Government Knows Trump Is Incompetent

The French and German governments have made no secret of their disdain for Donald Trump and his administration. They consider him to be an incompetent boob, who doesn't understand (or care) about international economics or politics, and is someone who can';t be trusted.

The British government has been a little more circumspect. They are already in a lot of trouble with their leaving the European Union, and they can't afford to antagonize the United States right now. But that doesn't mean they can't see the same truth that the French and Germans have seen.

The British know that Trump and his entire administration are incompetent. And they also know that it's not going to get any better -- Trump is not going to grow into the job, as other presidents have done.

An excellent assessment of what the British really think is to be found in this article in The Daily Mail. It worth a read.

Trump Is Attacking Our Allies And Helping Our Enemies

(Cartoon image is by Bob Englehart at cagle.com.)

France, Canada, and Great Britain are the oldest allies the United States had. And following World War II, Germany, Japan, and Italy joined the other three in being reliable and important allies of the United States. These six countries, along with the United States, make up the members of the G-7 economic group, and in the past, their unified goals have helped to stabilize the world economy and help all countries to flourish.

But then Donald Trump was elected. He seems to have no respect for our six best allies. They have all tried to reason with Trump, and failing that, they have tried to flatter him in an attempt to maintain their alliance. Trump has snubbed all their efforts. Against their wishes, he has pulled out of the Paris Accords (endangering the climate of the whole world), denigrated NATO (even suggesting the U.S. might pull out), and violated the Iran Agreement and re-instated sections against that country (sanctions that would seriously affect our allies). Now he has gone further. He has placed tariffs on Canada and the European Union, and threatened tariffs against Japan (cars).

Trump seems not to value having allies. He thinks the United States can go it alone in the world -- and threaten all other nations to fallen line with U.S. wishes through our military and economic power. He is wrong, and he's fixing to find that out. The other 6 nations of the G-7 are tired of Trump's behavior and attacks on their economies, and they are ready to fight back. They are ready to impose their own tariffs on U.S. products -- tariffs that will hurt American farmers, industries, and consumers. And they will have the support of their people in this retaliation against Trump (who is very unpopular around the world).

I worry about what is going to happen in the future -- when we need those allies and find they are no longer willing to come to our aid.

But it's worse than just attacking our allies. Trump seems determined to help our enemies. He will be leaving the G-7 summit early to fly to Singapore to meet with North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-Un. Trump is bragging about the meeting like it was some kind of accomplishment. It isn't!

Any past U.S. president (Clinton, Bush, Obama) could have easily had such a meeting. They didn't because they knew it would accomplish nothing except a public relations victory for the North Korean dictator -- making it seem like they were on an equal footing with the United States (one of the world's most powerful nations). Sadly, Trump has given them that PR victory without receiving anything in return.

Trump thinks he can talk Kim Jong-Un into giving up his nuclear weapons, even though he did no preparation before the meeting with North Korea. Trump is a fool, and he's being played by North Korea. They are NOT going to give up their nuclear weapons. Trump has threatened "massive sanctions" if they don't give up those weapons.

He think they only have two choices -- give up the nuclear weapons or starve. That is not true. They have a third option if they get desperate enough -- attack South Korea to get what they need. China and Russia are not going to let that happen. They don't want a war threatening their part of the world, and they will see that North Korea gets just enough to stave off that kind of desperation.

Trump will return from Singapore either empty-handed, or with a really bad deal (that doesn't involve North Korean denuclearization).

North Korea is not the only enemy Trump wants to help. He has done his best to help Russia. Shortly after being sworn in, Trump tried to remove sanctions against Russia, and was stopped by Congress. When Congress passed new sanctions against Russia, Trump refused to impose them. Trump also supported the Russian annexation of the Crimea, and has basically allowed Russia to take control in Syria. Just yesterday, he announced that Russia should be re-admitted to the G-7 (which used to be the G-8 until Russia was kicked out for invading the Ukraine and annexing the Crimea). What has he gotten from Russia for all this help? NOTHING!

Russia is also the nation that benefits from Trump's attacks on our traditional allies. Putin has to be thrilled that the Western nations are no longer a solid bloc.

Why is Trump attacking our allies and helping our enemies? Is it just stupidity and incompetence, or is it something more nefarious? Is it payback for Russia helping him win the 2016 election? Do the Russians have some nasty secret on Trump they are using to control him?

Mission Accomplished? Who Were The Real Winners?

That was Trump's tweet after 105 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired at Syria -- 76 fired at a research facility, 22 fired at a storage facility, and 7 fired at a chemical weapons bunker. The U.S. is claiming it has destroyed Syria's ability to make and use chemical weapons. That's doubtful. While some buildings were destroyed, the Russians and Syrians had several days to prepare for the strike. It looks a lot like the previous missile strike against Syria -- when they were warned it would happen and moved their planes out of the way, and only a few buildings were damaged.

If anything was accomplished, it was only a public relations effort. The U.S., Great Britain, and  France were able to make a statement against the use of chemical weapons. And Donald Trump got to feed his narcissism and pose as a strongman willing to use military power.

There were some winners after the missile strike, but it wasn't the United States, Great Britain, or France. It was Syria, Russia, and Iran. They were winners because the strike did nothing to degrade their military power in Syria.

Syria can continue its war against its own people, which they are winning. Soon, Assad will be able to once again impose his brutal regime on all Syrians.

Russia can continue to aid Assad. They will be rewarded with a client state in the Middle East that is friendly to them -- and a warm water port on the Mediterranean.

Iran, who once stood alone in that area of the world, will have a friend now (and likely another in Iraq, since they are also helping their with troops on the ground).

And there is one more winner -- an American corporation (Raytheon). They will now get to replace those 105 cruise missiles at a cost of about $1.87 million each.

Trump Is Wrong In Dissing British Health Care System

A few days ago, Trump tweeted about the British health care system -- saying it was broke and not working. As usual, he was lying (and trying to defend his own failure to improve the American system).

The truth is that while the United States still has millions of people without health insurance (which means they are unable to access basic preventative medicine). This lack is killing at least 17,000 Americans every year. On the other hand, the British health care system provides access to decent health care for ALL of it's citizens.

Trump's tweet also infers that the British system is more expensive than the American system. That isn't just a lie -- it's an outrageous lie! The truth is that the British pay far less in providing for all of their citizens than the U.S. pays in providing for only part of it's citizens -- both per capita and as a percentage of GDP (see charts below). Suffice it to say, even conservative Brits would not change their system for the inefficient and expensive American system.

These charts are from the BBC.com:

It's Reported That Trump Is Postponing His Trip To Britain

The narcissistic Donald Trump was reveling in the thought that he could ride in the ornate royal coach to visit Queen Elizabeth while being cheered by enthusiastic crowds of Brits. Now it looks like that may not happen at all.

After Trump was elected, his right-wing counterpart in Great Britain (Prime Minister Theresa May) invited him to visit. The visit was expected to happen some time this summer. It was delayed until at least October when May called a snap election. Now it looks like it may not happen at all.

A source close to the Prime Minister, who claims to have heard the conversation, says Trump has told the British Prime Minister that he is delaying his trip to her country -- indefinitely. Why is this happening? It has finally dawned on Trump that he is not well-liked in Great Britain, and he doesn't want the media reporting on huge crowds in that country demonstrating against him.

He is right about that. The British don't like him, and there would undoubtably be large anti-Trump demonstrations if he went there. The image above is an example -- where one group is trying to organize Brits to "moon" the president if he comes.

The source said Trump wants to delay the visit until the anti-Trump sentiment in Britain dies down. If that's true, he will probably have a long wait.

Both the British and American governments are saying the report is not true, and the visit will happen, but neither has reported any date for a trip -- which suggests that the trip has indeed been delayed.

British Prime Minister Pulls A Trump-Like Blunder

(This image of British Prime Minister Theresa May is from BBC News.)

A few weeks ago, the Conservative Prime Minister of Great Britain (Theresa May) had a slim majority in Parliament. There were 330 Conservative members of the 650 member Parliament -- slightly more than the 326 members needed to have a ruling majority.

But May looked at the polls that showed the Conservatives about 16 points ahead of the Labour Party, and thought she could expand her majority -- making it easier to rule and get her agenda passed. So she called for an election.

Unfortunately for her, she ran a poor campaign while the Labour Party leader (Jeremy Corbyn) ran a good campaign -- and that 16 point lead shrank to almost nothing.

The election was held on Thursday, and the results were not good for Prime Minister May. Instead of increasing her majority in Parliament, she lost that majority. While the Conservatives finished in first, they no longer had a majority -- falling short by about 8 members. She will have to join with another party -- probably the Irish Democratic Unionists who have 10 members. Still though, it will be a very slim majority -- and it will be much more difficult for the Conservatives to rule.

Calling for a "snap" election turned out to be a colossal blunder. The real question now is whether May will survive as Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister. I expect if she is not replaced immediately, it will only be a few months before it happened. After all, the Conservatives are shocked and embarrassed at the election results, and May is the person they will blame for that.

The expect results of the major parties are below (with the numbers in parentheses representing the members of Parliament each party had before the election):

Conservative..........318 (330)

Labour..........261 (229)

Scottish National..........35 (54)

Liberal Democrat..........13 (9)

Democratic Unionist..........10 (8)

Plaid Cymru..........3 (3)

Sinn Fein..........7 (4)

Green..........1 (1)

Trump Administration Actually Apologizes (Or Did They?)

Last Thursday, White House Press Secretary tried again to defend Trump's outrageous claim that President Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower. He told the press:

"Three intelligence sources have informed Fox News that President Obama went outside the chain of command . . .didn't use the NSA, he didn't use the CIA, he didn't use the FBI, and he didn't use the Department of Justice. He used GCHQ. What is that? It's the initials for the British Intelligence Spying Agency."

That was just another lie. And it was even a worse lie than Trump's original lie -- because it accused the British government, America's closest ally, of spying on the president-elect of the United States. It was a lie that could easily have damaged relations between the United States and Great Britain -- and the British were quick to deny it had ever happened.

The Trump administration is not viewed very favorably in Great Britain anyway. A large poll showed that a majority of the British public did not want Trump to visit their country, and the British parliament voted to ask the prime minister to rescind her invitation for Trump to visit. The Trump administration couldn't afford to further damage relations with Great Britain. That means an apology was in order.

But Trump, because of his serious narcissistic disorder, is incapable of apologizing for anything -- not for an outrageous lie nor an egregious mistake. He is quick to demand apologies from others, but absolutely refuses to apologize for his own errors.

A real president would have immediately picked up the phone and called the British prime minister, and issued a personal apology. That would have been the appropriate and ethical thing to do. But our narcissist-in-chief could not bring himself to do that -- not even to smooth over relations with our closest ally.

So, he sent two of his White House flunkies to do what he would not do -- apologize. General McMaster apologized to Sir Mark Lyall Grant, the prime minister's national security advisor. Sean Spicer apologized to Sir Kim Darroch, Britain's ambassador to the United States. The two flunkies also promised British officials that it would not happen again. Considering Trump's loose mouth, complete disregard for truth, and his chaotic administration, I doubt that's a promise that can be kept.

This is probably as close to an apology we'll ever hear from our liar-in-chief. Enjoy it, because it is unlikely to ever happen again.

NOTE -- It looks like I may have spoken too soon. Spicer is now saying he just "explained" the situation to Ambassador Darroch, but did not apologize -- and Trump is saying they did nothing to apologize for. He's wrong, of course.

I'm so ashamed that Trump is in the White House. To my British friends -- Your country is definitely owed an apology, but don't hold your breath.

British Parliament Will Not Ask Trump To Speak

(Photo of Parliament applauding the decision not to invite Trump is from The Daily Mail.)

When she visited this country shortly after Donald Trump was sworn in, British Prime Minister Theresa May extended an invitation to Trump for a state visit to Great Britain, and Trump accepted. The visit will take place later this year (even though millions of Brits signed a petition asking the government to withdraw the invitation).

Normally, when a U.S. President visits Great Britain, they are invited to address the Parliament. It is considered an honor -- both for Parliament to hear the president speak and for the president to be invited to address Parliament. But that is an honor that Donald Trump will NOT get.

About 163 members of Parliament had signed a motion opposing allowing Trump to speak to the Parliament, and this week the House of Commons Speaker (John Bercow) answered a point of order by saying the following:

What I will say is this: an address by a foreign leader to both Houses of Parliament is not an automatic right, it is an earned honour.


Before the imposition of the migrant ban, I would myself have been strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall.

After the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall.


We value our relationship with the United States; if a state visit takes place that is way beyond and above the pay grade of the Speaker.


However, as far as this place is concerned I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons.


Bercow does have the authority to deny Trump the invitation to speak to Parliament as one of three "key holders" to the building in which Parliament meets.  And he cannot be overruled by the Prime Minister.

This is a serious blow to the oversized ego of Donald Trump. Maybe it will help him realize that he cannot ride roughshod over this country or the world.

Heroes (And Ambassadors Of Good Will To The World)

 (Spencer Stone)

(Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, Chris Norman)

The pictures above are from NBC News. They show the newest heroes in France (and much of the rest of the world, including the United States) -- Airman First Class Spencer Stone, college senior Anthony Sadler, Oregon National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos, and British citizen Chris Norman. These four men prevented a massacre on a French train by a terrorist carrying an AK-47, a handgun, and a boxcutter.

Upon seeing the gunman, these four men showed extraordinary courage. Stone was the first to rush the gunman, quickly followed by Sadler, Skarlatos, and Norman. They took him down and tied him up with a necktie, and then held him down until French authorities could take him away. Stone was injured by being cut with the boxcutter.

The men are now heroes in France (and elsewhere), and are justifiably being treated like the heroes that they are. French crowds are applauding them everywhere they go, and they have been invited to meet the French president and other high government officials. They also received a call from President Obama praising them for their heroism.

The Bush administration damaged the reputation of the United States in other countries, including France, and President Obama has only been able to partially fix that damage. Personally, I think these three Americans have probably done more to rehabilitate America's image abroad than all of the U.S. politicians combined.

NOTE -- It should be mentioned that a French citizen was the first to notice the gunman, and try to stop him. The gunman fought him off, and was able to wound at least one passenger before the three Americans and one Brit were able to subdue him. That means this story actually has five heroes (but I was unable to find a picture of the French hero).

Next Week's British Election Looks Very Close

Great Britain is holding national elections next week, and right now it looks like that election will be very close. The latest YouGov-UK Poll has the Conservative Party winning 272 seats and the Labor Party winning 276 seats. That leaves both major parties without a majority of 325 in the parliament, which means they will have to get support from other parties to form a government (which requires a majority).

The current government is ruled by a coalition of Conservatives (302) and Liberal Democrats (56), but if the current projection holds up, that won't work again. With 272 Conservatives and only 24 Liberal Democrats, they would only have 296 seats -- well short of the majority needed to form a government. Those who voted for the Liberal Democrats in the last election seem to still be angry with their leadership for joining the Conservatives (with whom they have nothing in common), and are set to punish them in this election (cutting their seats by more than half). That's no surprise, and I don't see the Liberal Democrats making that mistake again any time soon.

The biggest party gain is for the Scottish National Party -- going from only 6 seats to about 52 seats. Scotland has in the past, been pretty solid Labor Party territory -- so it wouldn't be unreasonable to think they might help Labor to form a government. Those two parties together would have 328 seats. If they were joined by the Liberal Democrats and the Greens (which seems likely to me), that would boost the total to 353 seats.

As with any election, anything could happen and election day could bring a surprise, but right now it looks like the new prime minister after next week will be Ed Miliband of the Labor Party.

There's No Limit To United States Spying

The newest information to come to light out of the files released by Edward Snowden is that the United States was spying on our German friends -- including listening in on the phone line of German Chancellor Angela Merkel (pictured above). Merkel is mad as hell about it, and didn't believe President Obama when he called her to deny it.

This should not surprise anyone. We already knew the U.S. had spied on the French, and some are already saying we have done it to the British also. And a new newspaper report from The Guardian says the Italians are now accusing the U.S. of spying on them too. It would not surprise me at all if all of these reports are true. The United States has been spying on everyone -- both friend and foe. After all, if a government will spy on its own citizens (and we know that happened, and is probably still happening), what would stop them from doing it to everyone else?

The reason this was done is because of a flaw shared by all governments (of every kind), and that is that any government will do whatever it has the capability to do (and simple ethics and morality will not prevent that -- nor will the fact that it may not even make sense). And the American government has the awesome capability to spy on the entire world (or at least anyone in the world they want to spy on), so they do it -- and it does not make any difference which party is in the White House.

But why spy on our friends, instead of just our enemies? Simply because we have the capability to do it, but don't have the will-power to rein in that power. Now we will probably have to pay a price for that ridiculous spying on our friends. German officials are already questioning whether they want to enter into an economic trade agreement with the U.S. because of the spying. This will undoubtably affect our relationship with many nations in many ways.

The Patriot Act and our seemingly endless capabilities to eavesdrop of anyone anywhere should not be taken to have given our government an unlimited license to spy. The government should not be spying on its own citizens, and it should not be spying on friendly nations (because the negative effects will far outweigh any imagined benefit).

One of the most reasonable comments I have heard so far come from Senator Bernie Sanders, in a letter he wrote to President Obama about the spying. Bernie said:

“The strained relations with our allies as a result of wholesale NSA eavesdropping have impacted our ability to work with these countries in combating terrorism and advancing common economic goals. Clearly, in the complex and difficult world we now find ourselves, it is imperative that we try to improve our relations with friendly countries, not exacerbate them.”

“I hope you will work with me and other members of Congress in support of legislation that ends the current reckless activities of the NSA, and to develop policies which protect civil liberties and privacy rights while keeping our nation safe.”

If there is any good to come out of this mess, it is that maybe now these nations we consider friends will hesitate to back any future military invasions the U.S. wants to engage in on nations that pose no security risk to us (but are invaded just because we don't like their government, or their form of government). And maybe their hesitation will cause our own leaders to have second thoughts.

Little Support For An Attack On Syria

(The image above is from the Facebook page of The American Progressive.)

It is certainly no secret that the Obama administration is preparing to launch a military attack on Syria. They have spent days now trying to justify such an attack, even going so far as to claim that the security of the United States is at stake. The American people are not buying that argument, and several polls have shown that most Americans are against launching an attack on Syria -- even if the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against the rebels.

Now it looks like international support for such an act is dwindling. There will be no United Nations resolution authorizing such an attack, since both Russia and China have made it clear that they would block any such resolution. Instead, the Obama administration had hoped to have the support of NATO (or at least most of the strongest NATO nations) and participation by NATO in an attack. Unfortunately for the administration, it looks like that probably won't happen.

The German government says it has not been asked, and is not considering, any military action against Syria. And the British Parliament voted to deny their Prime Minister the right to engage the British military in an attack on Syria. In fact, there is only one NATO nation that is willing to help the U.S. attack Syria, and that is France (which is trying to save face after recognizing the rebels as the official government of Syria).

Even most of the nations in the Middle East are against the attack. Iran, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq have all come out against such an attack. The only nations there that might support the United States in an attack are Turkey (early supporters of the rebel uprising) and Saudi Arabia (which has been providing money and arms to the rebels). Israel has hinted they would like to see an attack, but they could not participate (since that would cause more problems in the region as a whole).

So it boils down to the United States, France, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia against everyone else -- including a majority of the American public. An attack on Syria at this time is just a bad idea. Hopefully, the Obama administration will come to its senses before deciding to make this reckless attack a reality.

Ding Dong, The Witch Is Dead

Last Monday, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher died at the age of 87. Since then the right-wing in this country has hailed her as a hero, and a large part of the American media has climbed on board. But Americans didn't have to live under Thatcher's regime. Many Brits have a very different opinion of Thatcher -- and her austere, divisive, and hard-hearted policies. In fact, it could be argued that Thatcher very nearly destroyed the Conservative Party in Great Britain by turning most of the public there against the party and its policies.

The bad feelings toward Thatcher in Great Britain is clearly illustrated in an unusual place in that country -- the chart listing for the top songs. Within 48 hours of Thatchers death, the 1939 song from the Wizard of Oz, Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead, had been downloaded so many times that it was number 10 on the chart. Now the song has reached number one on the charts. Obviously, there are still a lot of bad feelings toward Thatcher.

This is not just a revival of a 74 year old song. This is a political statement by a whole lot of the people of Great Britain. And it is justified.

London Gaffes Hurt Romney

One of the big questions for many about Willard Mitt Romney (aka Wall Street Willie) was whether he would be good in foreign affairs (an area where President Obama has excelled, and scored highly in poll after poll). The trip Mitt is making to three foreign countries was supposed to answer those doubts -- and to insure he would look good, three countries were chosen where it would be easy for him to do well (Great Britain, Israel, and Poland).

Great Britain was first, and should have been the easiest of all -- since they have a conservative government and there is no language problem. But it turned out to be a disaster, with Romney making gaffe after gaffe -- until he finally turned the British press, the British public, and the conservative government against him. This has to call into question Romney's competence. If Romney can't even get along with our most reliable friend, how is he going to be able to deal with other countries (whose relationship with the United States is much more complicated, or even downright unfriendly)?

In the end, Romney couldn't get out of Great Britain fast enough, especially after Michelle Obama showed up and instantly won the hearts of the British public -- which just magnified Romney's gaffes. His campaign now has to hope that he performs better in Israel and Poland, and can salvage a little of his pride. But he has been hurt politically, even if he does well in those two countries. Looking like a buffoon is never a good way to get votes.

The website called The Week believes Romney has hurt himself in five ways with his visit to Great Britain. Here is their list of those five ways:

1. Romney is giving Obama ammunition to highlight his lack of foreign experience
The purpose of Romney's "first diplomatic outing" was to show that he could handle himself on the world stage, say Nicholas Watt, Hélène Mulholland, and Owen Gibson in Britain's Guardian. By insulting his hosts on the eve of the Olympics, Romney "handed Barack Obama a potential gift." And Democrats wasted no time exploiting it, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid saying that it's embarrassing for the U.S. "to have somebody that's nominated by one of the principal parties to go over and insult everybody."


2. Romney made allies mad at him
"There is a fantastic, hilarious, thigh-slapping irony" in the fact that Romney's trip was supposed to reaffirm America's traditional friendship with stalwart allies, says Andrew Sullivan at The Daily Beast, and it has "turned into a riotously public demonstration of the complete opposite." Instead of a "meeting of conservative minds between Cameron and Romney," the two traded insults. Romney, promising to return a bust of Winston Churchill to the Oval Office, wanted to show he'd be a better friend to Britain than Obama is. Instead, he wound up getting London'sconservative mayor, Boris Johnson, "sneering at 'a guy called Mitt Romney' at an Olympics rally," says Allahpundit at Hot Air. "Good lord."  


3. The blunders call attention to anti-British things Romney said in the past
This isn't the first time that Romney has "said some not-so-flattering things about the Sceptered Isle," says Joshua Keating at Foreign Policy. In his book, No Apology, Romney wrote that "England [sic] is just a small island. Its roads and houses are small. With few exceptions, it doesn't make things that people in the rest of the world want to buy."  


4. This blunts GOP complaints that Obama apologizes too much abroad
Conservatives love to slam Obama for what they call his "constant apologizing" to world leaders, says Ed Kilgore at Washington Monthly. Well, in the first 24 hours of a supposedly low-profile goodwill tour, Romney has spent a disproportionate amount of time doing damage control. Who's the apologizer-in-chief, now?


5. Romney's overseas debut looks terrible compared to Obama's '08 tour
Every foreign trip is "fraught with danger" for a prospective president, says Jonathan Capehart at The Washington Post. The world of diplomacy is booby-trapped, and one ill-chosen word can leave you "diminished on the world stage," as Romney is learning. Obama faced the same danger in 2008 when, as a first-term senator aiming for the White House, he managed "perfect pitch" when speaking to the press and foreign leaders in the war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq, and in Jordan, Israel, France, Britain, and Germany, where he made "an astounding speech before 200,000 in Berlin." So far, Romney is falling well short, but he "still has visits to Israel and Poland to get it right."

This Is Diplomacy ?

I can't believe there are still people considering voting for this man. He goes to Europe to enhance his foreign policy credibility, and it takes him less than half a week to piss off most people in Great Britain -- even the conservatives. He's a walking disaster -- and that's just how he would be as president.

French & Greeks Vote Against Austerity

Europe has been led down the wrong road by the conservatives they put in power. These conservative leaders (especially Merkel in Germany, Sarkozy in France, and Cameron of the United Kingdom) did what the Republicans are trying to do in the United States -- they initiated a program of "austerity" for the European Union. They severely cut government services for most Europeans and cut taxes for the richest Europeans.

The result has been a disaster. Instead of bringing Europe out of recession, the austerity measures actually threw many European countries deeper into recession (like Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, the United Kingdom). But the people seem to have had enough of the austerity madness.

This last weekend, the French voters booted out Nicolas Sarkozy, one of the architects of European austerity, and replaced him with socialist Francois Hollande (pictured above). Mr. Hollande had campaigned against austerity. In Greece, the voters also booted the supporters of austerity out of power. They replaced the two ruling parties, who supported austerity, with a majority of parties opposed to austerity -- which will undoubtably result in a new anti-austerity government in Greece.

The right-wing government in the Netherlands was also recently booted out, and I doubt that Cameron in the United Kingdom can survive past his first term. Europe is turning against the insane policies of the conservatives. The 600 pound gorilla of the European Union, Germany, is still demanding that the austerity proposals agreed to must be followed and say they will refuse to renegotiate the terms, but they may soon have no choice. In fact, recent state elections in Germany show that Merkel's right-wing party may be in trouble in their next federal elections.

Europe is changing directions. They are starting to realize that austerity doesn't end recessions -- it just makes them worse. I hope that voters in the United States will wake up and come to the same realization, before the Republicans are able to push through more of their austerity measures -- measures that will further trash our own economy.