Beauty and the Beast!





Has there been a more surreal or uncomfortable visit by a foreign Head of State to Britain ever?

During Queen Elizabeth II's long reign, there have been 112 State Visits and many more of government leaders, yet it is difficult to recall any that has generated greater public protest.

This is extraordinary considering the fact that the list includes some notable tyrants and/or killers and that America is considered to be Britain's 'best friend' and closest ally. 

Could it be we expect more of our friends than our enemies?


Kept waiting....


Zimbio: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=trump+blenheim+images&rlz=1C1ARAB_enGB463GB464&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjR4dGD76DcAhXUcsAKHUywCO8Q7AkIag&biw=1280&bih=891#imgrc=IxIU2vhq_tsweM:



Has there ever been a time when there have been more splits and tensions both domestic and international; more self-doubt and uncertainty?

In many ways Trump is the personification of American dissatisfaction with the liberal left consensus, that has dominated its politics since the Second World War. Just because it is labelled 'liberal' and a 'consensus' does not mean it was principled and pacific, nor that it necessarily represented majority opinion. 

Despite all predictions, Trump's election and continuing core Republican support, reflects a deep dissatisfaction with the Washington elite and its policies. 

As I have predicted, I believe the fraud imposed on the American public by the events of 9/11; compounded by the foreign wars falsely predicated on them; the financial crash of 2008 that uncovered a sty of corruption; and the gradually uncovered criminal murk connected to the Clintons and the Democratic Party, have had a profound corrosive effect on public confidence in its governance and governors. 

The result was Trump, not I believe because he was particularly admired but merely because he was, or pretended to be, not one of THEM. He would do well to remember the fact. In some ways he bears a striking likeness to Il Duce, and we know how he ended up!

"Mirroring."


Evening Standard: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=trump+blenheim+images&rlz=1C1ARAB_enGB463GB464&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjR4dGD76DcAhXUcsAKHUywCO8Q7AkIag&biw=1280&bih=891#imgrc=JPFsU3YgAjY9tM:


Trump is undoubtedly a very rich egotist. He has been a property magnet and deal maker, although the jury is still out over whether he was any good at it. After all as Ian Hislop, the editor of Private Eye has pointed out, he is one of the few people who failed to make a go of a Casino!

Clearly what he is not is a diplomat. Nor is he concerned with 'political correctness' and what Jordon Peterson has criticised as 'compelled speech'. Trump is an unreformed white, anglo-American, christian (I use lower case advisedly) of Scottish lineage, which makes his noisome reception even more ironic.

He obviously 'shoots from the hip' and is seen to be offensive particularly to certain 'fringe' groups. (Can we call women, homosexuals, Mexicans, black people, Muslims and immigrants as 'fringe' without being similarly execrated?) 

For all its chauvinism and arrogance, there are also elements that resonate with the public mood and are not unrelated to the British vote for Brexit. Trump knows this and states it, unlike the political elite that are forced to support and commend social developments that have undeniably changed the make-up and belief system of European culture, whether for good or ill is subject to debate still.

Under arrest or just a grab handle?


https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=trump+blenheim+images&rlz=1C1ARAB_enGB463GB464&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjR4dGD76DcAhXUcsAKHUywCO8Q7AkIag&biw=1280&bih=891#imgrc=vtRohFE1aJfu8M:


There is no doubt European countries, including Britain, are at the receiving end of the huge global issue of mass migration. However political leaders fail to face up to the fact that this has been largely self inflicted. It results in large part from American and European policies pursued by this 'liberal' elite. 

In the history of the world, there have never been more displaced persons or those seeking to travel to the relatively stable and prosperous western countries. Corruption, poverty, violence, drugs, destruction, all lead back to western involvement. 

Trump's response is to build walls and close borders. Europe's is hardly far removed, although with a nod to humanitarianism and integration that has hardly been a great success. With booming birth rates in Africa and little signs of good government, the prospects for improvement are not good.



"The Beast"


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4118498/Trump-s-Cadillac-One-make-public-debut-Inauguration-Day-stocked-weapons-blood.html






"The Beast" is the term applied to the American President's new bomb-proof car. Even in such a stable, largely peaceful country such as Britain, it is a reminder of his considered vulnerability to attack. On the other hand it may just be another way to project power and influence. 

Certainly 'the beast', in what it is difficult to see as other than a not too subtle snub, kept Mrs May and her husband waiting at Blenheim. Good job it wasn't raining but it might as well have been.

Trump is reported as resenting Mrs May's 'headmistress' manner and advice. On the basis of the saying that 'there is never a better time to kick a man (or women) than when they are down', Trump helpfully commented that he liked and got on very well with the recently resigned Foreign Secretary Johnson, and that he would make a very good Prime Minister.

Of course Boris Johnson and David Davis the Brexit Secretary, both resigned over Mrs. May's Brexit White Paper, and Trump added that his advice to Mrs May had been rejected. She has just revealed in an interview that his advice was to, "Sue the EU"! 

Yet again although simplistic and of dubious use, it might nevertheless flag up a deep discontent within the country, that after fifty years of being one of the biggest financial contributors, both in terms of payments and balance of trade, it will be necessary to pay a further 50 billion just to leave on agreed terms? 

Some might think that is little short of extortion.

He also helpfully added that Mrs May's plan for a 'soft' Brexit, effectively ruled out a special bi-lateral trade deal with the United States, our biggest trading country. In military terms this would be regarded as an 'Exocet' I believe, and is yet another reason why the White Paper is unlikely to succeed.

Despite all this, Mrs May put on what might be considered a very good act of hospitality and friendship. She entertained him in front of 150 transatlantic businessmen, in a venue redolent of past co-operation, and Mr Trump apparently enjoyed sitting in Winston Churchill's chair, in the ancestral home in which he had been born.

Mrs May in her speech paid homage to the wartime relationship between Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and the two countries, as a model for the future. Whether the analogy remains vibrant is questionable.

Much has changed in the ensuing 70 or 80 years, with Britain no longer being at the head of a great Empire with global military might. It may still have a degree of influence and be able to 'punch above its weight' but this visit emphasised the disparity rather than mitigating it.

In the circumstances her claim had a rather hollow ring. Was this the pleadings of a spurned mistress in distress? 

"Time and again," she said, "the common threats that hold us together - our shared history, our shared values, our shared language and culture - conspire to inspire mutual respect, and to make the United States and the United Kingdom, not just the closest of allies but the dearest of friends."

The "threats" she had in mind were "Daesh terrorists and Russian aggression" for which her term "conspire to inspire" might seem particularly appropriate, as both are fraught with the suspicion of fraud and counterfeit.

At least having abandoned 'the beast', Trump and his wife arrived on time to meet the Queen for 'tea', before flying off to his private golf course. The Duke of Edinburgh (who has resigned from official duties) Prince Charles, Prince William and other members of the Royal family, were all notable by their absence, leaving the diminutive Monarch to meet the two important visitors alone. Trump appeared ill at ease, confused and unfamiliar with Royal etiquette and protocol, as he inspected the Guard of Honour. As usual the Queen appeared un-phased and gracious.

Whilst a good natured festive atmosphere pervaded the anti-Trump demonstration in Trafalgar Square, complete with a blow up diapered look-a-like flying over-head, Trump was kept well away from the public and entertained with marching soldiers in full regalia, that just emphasised the theatrical and bizarre nature of it all.

In constitutional terms, was this all representative of the spoilt child that had grown into the overbearing oafish teenager, lording it over the ailing parent? Is Trump the manifestation of covert American control of Britain or actually its biggest hope of rescue from it? The Deep State coalition that has developed behind the scenes, of which his remark that his meeting with Putin might be the easiest of them all, might indicate an effort to untie the gordian knot behind much of what is seen as the terrorist threat. To what extent have terrorist events, alleged to have been from Russian and Muslim sources, actually come from an opposite direction?

Perhaps Trump's visit and predicament, yet another political miscalculation by Mrs May, may well be remembered as the final nail in her political coffin, as the Brexit policy flounders in intrigue and confusion. Even Mr Rees-Mogg claims to have lost faith in her apparently.


A smoke plume rising following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on July 14, 2018AFP The Israeli military struck more than 40 Hamas targets throughout the Strip over the past 24 hours

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/gaza-rocket-israeli-army-renews-strikes-on-hamas-targets-after-overnight-flare-up-1.6270173



For all his faults, if Trump manages to reduce tensions with Russia and North Korea, his other faults might be worth putting up with. If nothing else the protests prove how shallow and hypocritical are our moral sensitivities. 

It may be remembered that only few turned out to protest Netanyahu's visit - studiously ignored by the media. He is the instigator of yet more bombing in Gaza, even whilst America and Europe were distracted by Trump's tour. This is a familiar Israeli tactic.  

Clearly British public sensitivities are outraged far more by outrageous speech and opinion, than they are by aggressive military action and a calculated policy of repression and death directed against the Palestinian population. No doubt the governments of Britain and Israel are, disgracefully, rather pleased this is so. END.