European Perspective on Trump: Have Americans Lost Their Minds?

by Nomad

And it is very possible they might be correct.

A Most Dangerous Man

Certainly the support for Donald Trump has a lot of people scratching their heads. For some Americans, he is a source of worry, for others a reason to cheer "USA! USA!" Still others have come to the conclusion that he represents a Republican party past its expiration date, incapable of producing a sane vision for America.

But what do Europeans think?

Attempting to capture that European bewilderment and concern a recent BBC article explained:

Here's a sample of the public disapproval. Germany's Der Spiegel has called Trump the most dangerous man in the world. Britain's David Cameron says his plan to ban Muslims is divisive and unhelpful.

The French liberal newspaper Liberation has described him as a nightmare turned reality. JK Rowling tweeted that he's worse than Voldemort. A recent Economist cover has a picture of Trump dressed as Uncle Sam with just one word, "Really?" That pretty much sums up the mood of global elites.

It's not just the elites. Common folk have also made their opinions felt.

A petition to have him banned from the U.K. it gained 500,000 signatures. That was more than enough to force Britain's parliament to consider a debate on the issue.
The members did discuss the petition but eventually concluded such a ban would violate Trump's free speech.
Ironically, the same free speech he uses to stir up Islamophobia. 

According to Newsweek, Trump elegantly confirms European's anti-American attitudes. 

Remember When Reagan Nominated an Anti-Labor Lobbyist of a Neo-Nazi, Pro-KKK Propaganda Machine?

by Nomad

Early in Reagan's first term, the administration suffered a minor setback with one of its nominations. The problem? The nominee's work with an organization that had long been a propaganda machine for the most extreme right wing and dangerous organizations.

Beware The Ides of March

On 30 March 1981, two events in Washington occurred: one  of them stunned the nation. The other event was completely overshadowed the other and is largely forgotten today.

On that rainy afternoon, at about 2:30. President Reagan was leaving a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington. Waving to the small crowd, the president stepped out onto the sidewalk on his way to his limo. Before he got there, an attempt was made on his life. 

Reagan and three others were shot and wounded by demented attacker John Hinckley, Jr.

The FBI said the weapon was a Saturday Night Special that Hinckley purchased last October for about $25 in a pawn shop in Dallas - the city where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.

It was not immediately apparent how seriously Reagan's injuries were.

Only a few days before the assassination attempt, vice president George H. W. Bush received the assignment of running crisis management in case of emergency.
On that day, Bush was out of Washington, in Ft. Worth/Dallas as it turned out. Believing that the president had escaped intact, Bush flew on to make a speech in Austin.

With the vice president on his way back, the Secretary of State  Alexander Haig, in an effort, to calm things down told reporters that he was in control.  

As of now, I am in control here, in the White House, pending the return of the vice president and in close touch with him. If something came up, I would check with him, of course.

As a war hawk, Haig's declaration sent a shiver down the spines of a lot of people. With his long military history in wars like Korea, Vietnam and as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe commanding all U.S. and NATO forces in Europe, his words should have been a comfort.

The world held its breath.

Reagan's hawkish comments about the Soviet Union had some world leaders uneasy and with this attempt on his life, nobody was ready to predict the US reaction.

An Hour Earlier

Less than an hour before the attempt on the president' life, something far less earth-shaking had happened. As was expected, the White House spokesman announced the nominations for many of the second-tier positions in various agencies.

What Ought to be Investigated

by Nomad

Gravitas of a Grifter: Why Trump's Art of the Deal is all about the Art of Butt-Kissing and Betrayal

by Nomad

In a recent deposition, Republican Presidential candidate Trump  allowed us a peek at his true nature. It wasn't pretty and reveals a man very different than his supporters see onstage. 

The Two Faces of Trump

As we have come to know, Republican front-runner Donald Trump likes to portray himself as a politically-incorrect kind of guy who says the first thing to comes to his mind. 
If it is childish, irresponsible or just plain racist, then that's who he really is. He's not been groomed and manicured and cultivated like a hot-house orchid. Trump is Trump, and he doesn't give a damn who likes it and who doesn't.

For that, his supporters love him.

His appeal is based primarily on the premise that he may be rough around the edges but he is, at least, honest. If he goes too far sometimes, it is, if nothing else, a step in the right direction, they'll tell you. 
Sure, he may rub a lot of people the wrong way, his supporters say, but he makes good points and gives a voice for angry people who feel forgotten. Trump may be a joke but he isn't a phony, they'll tell you.
If nothing else, Trump's a breath of fresh air and not part of the political game-playing that has made Washington such a despised place. 

However, the problem for Mr. Trump is that this particular persona is really a new innovative, more based on his reality-TV character. The real story, his actual history is radically different.

Rising and Falling Fortunes: Rothschild Empire Faces Criminal Investigation in US and France

by Nomad

It might be a name long associated with fabulous wealth and enormous political influence, but the Rothschild Empire has been had its share of humiliations of late.

Hard Times for Billionaire Dynasty

As pioneers of international banking (as well as probably the wealthiest family in the history of the world,) the Rothschilds have been the subject of many a conspiracy theory. The exact amount of their family fortune is undisclosed, but by one conservative estimate, the Rothschild family controls assets worth more than $350 billion when each of their personal fortunes is combined.

The Rothschild dynasty is the el supreme of all family dynasties and went thing go bad there are plenty of people to gloat and plenty more to send their condolences. Ah, the way of the world is such like. 

The family business has apparently been hit hard by the worldwide economic slump. That's not all the problems they have been facing. 

In June of last year, Baron David de Rothschild, chairman of the Rothschild Financial Services Group since 2003, was indicted by French police for his role in a fraud case. The independent investment banking organization which offers financial services to governments, corporations, and individuals worldwide. was charged with "falsely advertising an equity release loan scheme, bought into by more than 130 pensioners between 2005 and 2008."

More than 20 British pensioners in Spain took up legal action against Rothschild’s company after losing their dream properties and thousands of euros.

French investigators claimed that Rothschild’s product, the Credit Select Series Mortgage Loan, was sold to retirees as a legal tax haven, specifically as a mean to reduce the apparent value of their homes for inheritance tax mitigation purposes.

The problem is that it wasn't as legal as Rothschild executives had claimed. The French tax agency ruled that such a scheme was a nothing more than fraud and that Rothschild should be held accountable. Said one of the French prosecutors:

“In short, independently of what happened to the investment, Rothschild advertised a loan aimed at reducing inheritance tax, which is a breach of tax law."

The victims who now stand to lose their homes told the courts that they felt confident of the financial packages, having put their faith in the Rothschild name. In its defense, the investment banking company pointed out that its involvement was limited. It had only provided the loan, and "was not involved in the investment side of the deal, which was carried out by financial intermediaries based in Spain, most of whom were British."