It appears that Putin’s little green men are acting up in his other pet project.
#Donbas: battle alert has been called in #Donetsk, all leave pass canceled. Order from top. via @Eire_QC #Ukraine #Russia https://t.co/WJJfEogNt7
— Marko Enqvist (@menqvist70) August 12, 2017
Battle alert combined with Russian heavy equipment trains in the past week or so = all hell might be breaking loose in #Ukraine@20committee https://t.co/UiHI3InUbE
— Petri Mäkelä (@pmakela1) August 12, 2017
It is going to be a long night in Charlottesville – things will get worse after dark. But it is also looking to be a long night in Ukraine.
trollhattan
Did Vlad’s invoice just arrive at Trump Tower?
Brachiator
What the hell? Why now? Is Putin reacting to something in particular?
Gelfling 545
@Brachiator: Probably figures we’re too busy with Nazis in our streets to notice.
JPL
In Charlottesville a state police helicopter crashed and two died.
trollhattan
@Gelfling 545:
Trump can barely count his balls so with at least three distractions at present how can he possibly deal with #4? Maybe Melania can serve those divorce papers, weekend’s young.
Baud
@JPL: For all we know, Putin planned it.
Mnemosyne
A possibly instructive anecdote:
When I was getting my MFA, one of my professors was a pretty cool guy named Steve Duncan who was the writer/creator of a show called “Tour of Duty” that was based on his Vietnam experiences.
He also directed a few episodes of the show, but he found it a little weird that, when he directed, all he ever seemed to do was answer people’s questions. So, one day, just for fun, he decided to stop answering the questions.
That’s right — when the director stopped answering questions, the whole operation ground to a halt because no one else could take any action.
That’s the situation we now find ourselves in. Trump either can’t or won’t do the work necessary to be president, and our ability to react to events is slowly grinding to a halt. And there hasn’t even been a fucking emergency yet! All of this bullshit has been self-inflicted!
Note to self: go re-check earthquake kit, and maybe supplement it a bit more. FEMA will not be coming.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Gelfling 545: to say nothing of North Korea, Venezuela, an increasingly alienated Europe, a “surge” in Afghanistan, saber-rattling at Iran…
also, will Vlad drop the news of another meeting or some more emails in the next week or so?
hueyplong
So Trump will get a second chance to condemn hate on all sides. But he won’t do it this time. He can’t even manage a “both sides” when Putin is involved.
bluehill
@Brachiator: If I were the head of any foreign country with objectives that the U.S. had traditionally been opposed to, I would be moving ahead now. The U.S. gov is unorganized, understaffed and lacks leadership. Its traditional allies are probably going to be more hesitant to reflexively back the U.S. Talk about leading from behind.
debbie
@trollhattan:
I think Trump is starting to see the writing on the wall. I thought his reaction to the Manafort warrant was very subdued.
SiubhanDuinne
@JPL:
Oh no.
debbie
@hueyplong:
“What, you think we’re so great?”
raven
@Mnemosyne: It was actually based on his brother’s experiences, not his. Maybe that’s why he got tired of answering questions.
Minor point, there is no such thing as the “First Infantry Airborne Rangers”.
Schlemazel
@Brachiator:
Yeah, he is reacting to a weak POTUS and a weakened West.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@bluehill:
So basically, Republican governance.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Running the country like a business! A corrupt one with shady financing, multiple bankruptcies and no visible product
Omnes Omnibus
@raven:
My guess is that he was trying to say that his brother was airborne and ranger qualified and that he served in the Big Red One.
Adam L Silverman
And the loop closes:
dmsilev
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: From now on, whenever someone says we should ‘run the country like a business’, the proper response is ‘like Trump?’ in the most sarcastic tone of voice available.
Mnemosyne
@raven:
True, he was a Navy guy during Vietnam, not Army. I think he had other vets on his writing staff as well.
He had some really funny stories about how the Navy guys would taunt the Marines on their ships. You’d like him.
Adam L Silverman
@raven: @Omnes Omnibus: Did they activate the 1st Brigade/509th Airborne Infantry for Vietnam? Could’ve been them and he got his units garbled.
raven
@Omnes Omnibus: yup, might have been after the realignment
Omnes Omnibus
@Adam L Silverman: Jesus Fucking Christ.
MattF
It’s a smart move. Vlad is telling Congress, “You wanna do something about it?” He knows that legislatiive bodies aren’t able to deal with executive actions, and that Trump isn’t going to do anything. Congress tried to limit Trump’s actions toward Russia, but that sort of thing is not their job, and Vlad knows it.
raven
@Mnemosyne: Yea, I like that interview.
Karen
I like Hillary’s response
http://bipartisanreport.com/2017/08/12/hillary-clinton-responds-to-trump-charlottesville-like-a-bad-ass-boss-lady-tweets/
Hal
This is perfect…on both sides
raven
@Adam L Silverman: No mention of the Nam in their lineage.
Mnemosyne
@raven:
I still struggle to put his biggest writing mantra into practice:
Ass plus chair equals screenplay!
Timurid
Breaking news ticker on cnn.com now says “at least 3 dead in Charlottesville violence.”
I’m not sure why the number went up. Is it the helicopter, and if so, does that mean it had help crashing?
Omnes Omnibus
@Adam L Silverman: IIRC the only standard airborne units in VN were the 101st and the 173d Airborne Brigade.
@raven: I think we have our answer. Realignment and an ex-navy guy talking about army nomenclature.
Mnemosyne
@raven:
Also, I was saying in one of the morning threads that you should watch Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr. if you haven’t yet. It has a lot of the cool camera tricks of Man With A Movie Camera, but with a funny story.
They had to use surveying equipment for the scene where Buster is jumping between locations to make him line up in the frame just right, but it’s still astounding to watch today.
Adam L Silverman
@Omnes Omnibus: What I want to know is why Jared was at the rally last night? I thought he was going to meet with the Saudis about the Israelis and Palestinians. Which is kind of like meeting with Japanese about the Tibetans and the Chinese if you think about it…
eemom
@Timurid:
Uh, multiple people were hit by that car?
Adam L Silverman
I feel safer already. Could these idiots put more useless crap on their kit?
Timurid
@eemom:
Car attack casualty figures had been steady at 1 dead, 19 wounded for a while. Of course two of the wounded might have since died.
The “at least 3 dead” quote apparently came from the VA Governor.
Adam L Silverman
@raven: It was worth a shot.
Another Scott
@Brachiator: Vlad wants a big victory to distract all the voters from the crappy economy at home. The next presidential election (first round) is March 18, 2018. He doesn’t have a whole lot of time…
Donnie being tied up helps him, of course, but he probably would have started this regardless.
Just my $0.02. I have no inside knowledge.
Cheers,
Scott.
debbie
@eemom:
There was also a heliocopter crash.
Adam L Silverman
@Timurid: The two were the officers in the police helicopter.
bluehill
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Actually, it reflects the leadership of someone who declared bankruptcy multiple times and sits in the most powerful position in the world but is, thankfully, too lazy, addled or stupid to take advantage of it. I never expected Trump to be very effective, but I thought his handlers would be able to control him while aggressively implementing their agenda. Fortunately, he’s valued loyalty over ability and appointed some equally inept people, which seems like it’s really hampered their ability to pass any meaningful legislation. Unfortunately, some of those people are involved with foreign policy …
debbie
@Adam L Silverman:
At least that first guy isn’t wearing his sunglasses backwards.
Elizabelle
From the Charlottesville Daily Progress:
Checking for news of the heli crash now.
Elizabelle
From the Charlottesville Daily Progress:
Checking further now …
lamh36
@JPL: So wait, the mofo tweeted about the officers who died in the helicopter crash, but NOT the 32 year old woman killed by the supremacist?
Mike in NC
Congress is in recess and Trump’s on another taxpayer-funded golf adventure. Middle of August is a perfect time for mischief by Putin.
lamh36
Elizabelle
This is all that’s in the Charlottesville paper; story still developing.
lamh36
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Jim, Foolish Literalist
trollhattan
The Governor has no room for the president’s squishiness.
Elizabelle
@lamh36: It’s not right, but the deaths of two troopers will resound much more than the death of a “random” woman at the rally.
This will hit some of those “White Lives Matter” types where they live.
I am very concerned at the excessive pro-military and pro-police stuff I see on the Book of Faces. Not saying they don’t deserve respect, but this seems to be authoritarians getting their freak on. They can’t throw up enough pictures of soldiers (one variety is women soldiers, as in, the only women who should have a voice) and police. And it’s a misuse of our public servants.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
JPL
@lamh36: He didn’t mention those injured and still in the hospital. Five are in critical condition.
MisterForkbeard
@Elizabelle: Oh, I don’t know. “Young pretty white woman killed by crazy nationalist idiots that voted for Trump, who refuses to condemn them.” is certainly something that could get some ratings.
lamh36
@Elizabelle: Sure, but I think we both know that is NOT why Trump co has yet to send condolences to the family of the young woman who was DIRECTLY as a result from the hands of a likely white nationalist…
lamh36
So when asked what was meant by “many sides” WH says “there was violence between protesters and counterprotesters”
https://twitter.com/HallieJackson/status/896469910116847616
Lizzy L
@Elizabelle:
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
G. Orwell, Animal Farm
Omnes Omnibus
@lamh36:
No shit, White House spox, a fucking fascist drove a car into a peaceful crown.
Baud
@trollhattan: Good.
lamh36
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Elizabelle
WaPost. Its front page headline is three dead in wake of Cville protests. I don’t see much reporting on the heli crash, though.
This is one of the first “external” events to show Trump as wholly inadequate to his job, and of poor character. You can read between the lines in the Post reporting.
I think the “many sides” remark is going to harm Trump.
ETA: I know that Trump’s been acting like something out of a Van Damme movie re North Korea, but this one is domestic, and Americans have died. Two of them state troopers.
lamh36
Wanted to say thanks for the post Adam and I’m sorry for my OT comments, just this Charlottesville situation is really affecting me…smh…since the “Tiki torches” march last night…
MisterForkbeard
All these people seem… dare I say it, Deplorable? Huh. If only somebody mentioned this during the campaign, just like the Trump Nuclear War thing and the Russian thing.. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
debbie
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Bullshit. They are not scared. They just won’t want to lose their votes.
Adam L Silverman
@lamh36: No worries.