…But there is nothing normal about the way Donald Trump has publicly scorned his secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, for holding out the possibility of talks with North Korea over its missile and nuclear programmes. Writing on Twitter, Mr Trump declared that he had told Mr Tillerson that he was “wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man [North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un]…Save your energy Rex, we’ll do what has to be done.”
MORE: Rex Tillerson’s agonies
Trump threatened to ‘totally destroy’ North Korea. The U.S. has done that before,in the 1950s as well as Vietnam in the 1960/70s
Increasingly, his presidency is defined by blatant lies, an empathy deficit and a frightful lack of ability to navigate through dire international crises. Each has been on display.
In the lies department, none quite measured up to his accusation that former President Obama wiretapped Trump Tower. All but cloddish sycophants like Sean Hannity knew this was preposterous. On Friday evening (when else?) the Justice Department acknowledged in a court filing that there are no records “related to wiretaps as described by the March 4, 2017 tweets.” Presumably, some taxpayer money and government personnel were diverted to track this down, which in and of itself is reprehensible.
In this case, Trump’s actions are unforgivable. Trump’s crude effort to throw the country and investigators off the trail in the Russia scandal (like his lie about tapes of conversations with James B. Comey) is indicative of a man for whom facts are fungible and no lie is too ridiculous to deploy to protect himself. He’s bluffed and blustered his way through decades of real-estate dealings where he was virtually never held to account. Now, lies upon lies (more than 1,000 in seven months) have piled up, rendering his utterances automatically suspect, at least for the more than 60 percent of voters who keep telling pollsters he is not honest. His lies now entail adverse political consequences and legal peril, both of which increase by the day.
Then we are reminded that Trump does not think and act like normal humans. He grins and mugs his way through a do-over visit to Texas to visit victims of Harvey. Soon things take a bizarre self-congratulatory tone. “It’s been very nice. It’s been a wonderful thing. As tough as this was, it’s been a wonderful thing,” Trump said. “I think even for the country to watch and for the world to watch. It’s been beautiful.” The word he was looking for, perhaps, is “heart-breaking.”
In the midst of a tragedy — in which the media behaved in exemplary fashion — he finds it necessary to denigrate reporters. (“Think of it, almost 11,000 people by going into winds that the media would not go into,” Trump said. “They will not go into those winds, unless it’s a really good story.”) The language of empathy is foreign to him. His unhinged narcissism deprives him of the ability to convey warmth or genuine emotion. (He is either furious or gleeful, the former when he feels victimized and the latter when he feels vindicated.) He remains the most tone-deaf modern president.
And most worrisome, we see in his reaction to North Korea’s possible hydrogen bomb test his inability to maintain for more than one scripted remark a serious, sober tone that inspires confidence among our allies. The Post reports:
In a pair of tweets issued Sunday morning, Trump wrote: “North Korea has conducted a major Nuclear Test. … North Korea is a rogue nation which has become a great threat and embarrassment to China, which is trying to help but with little success.”
Trump also delivered an admonishment of sorts to South Korea, saying that “appeasement with North Korea will not work” and suggesting that more severe steps must be taken to influence Kim’s regime.
In addition to threatening to pull out of a trade deal with South Korea (now of all times?), Trump seems unable to show solidarity with friends or avoid feeding the cycle of warnings and threats. His over-the-top public rhetoric does not intimidate Kim Jong Un; it appears to provoke him. Making empty, vague threats only diminishes America’s credibility and leads our allies to fret as to whether he’s so unstable and undisciplined that it will lead to a confrontation that does not stop with angry words.
One is left, still, agog at Trump’s dishonesty, narcissism and inability to project the calmness and discipline we expect from a president. Those who thought he’d grow in office or who perpetually think he’s “pivoting” or “becoming presidential” have engaged in dangerous delusion. One wonders how long we can muddle on with a president this unsuitable without provoking a constitutional or international calamity.
Source: Something is seriously off about this president – The Washington Post
Remedial Massage, Hard Deep Tissue or Gentle Massage, Pain-Free Cupping, Foot De-Tox, Acupuncture etc, but no sex. Just a Family Business giving THE Best Massages
PLEASE Call Jade to make a Booking; 15min, 30min 60min etc
Shop 9328 3402: SMS 0481 368 025
204 Lake St, Corner Brisbane St, [Northbridge] Perth WA 6000
Get the Sore Bits Working Again
Web Site: jadechinese.net
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FamilyMassageWA
Facebook: http://ift.tt/2mf2n2tge
Murphy, who played his 300th game earlier this season, said he has lived his “childhood dream”.
Murphy opened his press conference in typical, irreverent style, saying he was there with the “shocking revelation that a 35-year-old wanker is not playing next year”.
He had a long list of thank-yous, from medicos to Paul Kelly, to Ben Hudson’s beard…
Source: Western Bulldogs’ Bob Murphy announces AFL retirement
The Sun newspaper, the biggest-selling newspaper in Britain, made the outrageous claim in an online article titled Bad World.
Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi and WA Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan rubbished Perth’s inclusion yesterday, saying it was not based on fact.
The Sun claims WA suffers from “widespread crystal meth use”. It describes Perth’s meth scourge as a “dark secret” lurking far from the country’s famous tourist hotspots.
“Perth is the capital of Western Australia, the State with the worst crystal meth problem in the country,” the article says. “Crystal meth abuse Down Under has turned rural areas in Western Australia into what have been dubbed ‘Ice Towns’.
“Perth sees its hospitals filled with addicts who commit crimes to fund their habit.”
The article rates Perth alongside 10 other cities including Raqqa in Syria — which has been under the occupation of Islamic State since 2013.
It also includes Kiev in Ukraine where war has erupted, Mogadishu in Somalia which has been torn apart by decades of war and al-Qaida backed militant attacks, and San Pedro Sula in Honduras, where the murder rate is 173.6 per 100,000 people — the highest in the world.
“The world is a dangerous place and trouble can spring up, even in countries normally thought of as ‘safe’,” The Sun says.
Source: Perth rated among most dangerous cities | Perth Now
A flight attendant had to break a wine bottle over the head of a man who lunged for an exit door and fought with other passengers during a Delta Air Lines flight from Seattle to Beijing.
The passenger, Joseph Hudek, 23, from Florida, appeared in US District Court, after he was arrested on Thursday night after causing the disturbance that forced the plane to return to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, authorities say…
Source: Flight attendant breaks wine bottle over head of passenger lunging for exit
Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi , a businessman once worth billions and renowned for his lavish lifestyle, has died at the age of 82, his family said.
Hailed for his “elegance, strength and dignity” by loved ones, the tycoon, the uncle of Dodi Fayed, was said to have been undergoing treatment for Parkinson’s Disease.
He died in London on Tuesday, according to a family statement.
“It is with deep sadness that the Khashoggi family must announce that our beloved father Adnan Khashoggi, aged 82, died peacefully today in London while being treated for Parkinson’s Disease,” the family said.
“He lived his last days surrounded by his devoted family, children and grandchildren, with the same elegance, strength and dignity…
As the White House braces for former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony Thursday, sources tell ABC News the relationship between President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions has become so tense that Sessions at one point recently even suggested he could resign.
The friction between the two men stems from the attorney general’s abrupt decision in March to recuse himself from anything related to the Russia investigation — a decision the president only learned about minutes before Sessions announced it publicly. Multiple sources say the recusal is one of the top disappointments of his presidency so far and one the president has remained fixated on.
Trump’s anger over the recusal has not diminished with time. Two sources close to the president say he has lashed out repeatedly at the attorney general in private meetings, blaming the recusal for the expansion of the Russia investigation, now overseen by Special Counsel and former FBI Director Robert Mueller.
But sources say the frustration runs both ways, prompting the resignation offer from Sessions.
Students at Careers Australia’s Perth CBD campus said they received no warning the company was in trouble, and no notification the campus would close.
Several students arrived at the Perth campus on Wellington Street this afternoon to prepare for exams, only to find the doors locked and a notice from administrators PPB Advisory.
The future of more than 15,000 students’ futures are up in the air, after Careers Australia closed 14 campuses around the country.
MORE HERE: Careers Australia collapse stuns Perth students – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
HE’S the little-known Brit, still living at home with his mum and dad – who has won the heart of Taylor Swift.
Upcoming actor Joe Alwyn found himself thrust into the limelight as the unlikely other half of the US pop superstar, after The Sun revealed the pair have been secretly dating for months.
The 26-year-old Londoner was picked by Taylor’s tight-knit circle of friends as perfect boyfriend material, because of his “British charm”, family values and low-key lifestyle.
Taylor, 27, certainly has a thing for Brits, and was clearly not put off by her previous disastrous romances with Scottish DJ Calvin Harris and English actor Tom Hiddleston.
Somewhat ironically, Rolling Stone magazine have already labelled Joe “the next Tom Hiddleston”, while movie insiders are tipping his career to be even bigger than that of The Night Manager star.
His first major Hollywood role was the lead in last year’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk — in which he pulled off a convincing American accent — and he has a major part in the current box office film The Sense Of An Ending.
Close friends insist it’s no surprise that Joe attracted the attentions of Taylor, with one declaring him “a quintessential panty-dropper”.
One pal said: “Joe’s totally down to earth and normal, and he’s from a nice family, but he just seems to have a knack for landing on his feet.
“He’s literally got everything but he’s quiet and unassuming, which seems to be what Taylor’s friends like so much about him.”
Film-maker and actor Jordan Bunton-Williams, who attended the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama at the same time as Joe, added: “He’s very charismatic, he’s what I refer to as a quintessential panty-dropper — your classic Prince Charming.
“Women want to throw themselves at him. All the girls in our year fancied him. It’s the way he holds himself.
“He caught the eye of certain people in our class until they realised he was so married to his work.
“Everyone liked him as he was very outgoing and would talk to anyone, he was always interested in other people.
“He’s very hardworking, disciplined, down to earth, very diligent and very gregarious. A very nice spirit to be around.
“The whole class formed a real bond, I texted him well done after his last film and he replied to say thanks.”
READ MORE HERE: Meet Joe Alwyn, the rising Brit who starred as an Iraq war hero picked by Taylor Swift’s squad as pop superstar’s ‘perfect match’
An immigrant broke into a house and brutally raped a woman two years after he beat a deportation order.
New Zealand-born Carl Stafford, 42, had his Australian visa cancelled in 2013 because he had a ‘substantial criminal record’ and had been sentenced to more than 12 months in jail.
He was then allowed to stay in Australia after an Administrative Appeals Tribunal senior member was satisfied the visa should not have been cancelled and Stafford pledged ‘I will not let you down’.
But in 2015, Stafford broke into a house in St Kilda, south Melbourne, and raped a woman over a 45-minute period before she managed to break-free, the Herald Sun reported…
Source: Carl Stafford raped woman after deportation overturned | Daily Mail Online
