David Easdown

"Interaction"

He’s on the way out, but what happens next?

Confused about the endgame? Trump and depraved cabinet are constantly on display. Today Lutnick, but any day it can be Bondi, Patel, Noem, Hegseth, vying for most execrable. Inevitable that they go down. But Vance becomes POTUS, and then Miller and maybe Musk move in from the sidelines, frightening

Nothing to do with social cohesion. Like Trump, seeks and thrives on attention and gets pleasure out of reactions to absurd takes on reality

Forget about remorse, everyone in the Epstein class has gone past some kind of tipping point in their brains, and where most of us have a functioning conscience, they have blank spaces. Society somehow has to find a way to deal with them, like overcoming a life threatening illness

Cartoon from 2021 with Scott Morrison and Barnaby Joyce floating on a coal powered ferry with heading “Scomo’s reef-coloured glasses tours”, with divers beneath exploring a skeletal bleached coral reef with rainbow filtered goggles to give an illusion of colour. Joyce is feeding the oven with coal and Morrison quips “I’m all about the technology driven approach Barnaby”. In the distance are coal laden transport boats spewing smoke.

Vale Jon Kudelka

Yes but he’s like that with everything. He wallows in his false translations of reality, like a pig playing in mud (no aspersions on pigs), and his followers enjoy it, something like suspension in disbelief when watching a show or animation in the nature of a fantasy

Yes, and Trump will go down. Vance is not mentioned at all in the Epstein files and likely to become POTUS, apparently unimpeded

The boos are water off a duck’s back. Vance is in a strong position, likely to become POTUS soon, does not appear in the Epstein files and will have enormous power and leverage over the so-called Epstein class

Invoking the 25th seems inevitable. It’s in the Republicans interests to do it sooner rather than later as they get Vance as POTUS and the cabinet intact. If there’s a string of impeachments first then there’s the possibility of removing part or most of the cabinet as well, which could hobble Vance

Is there any expert commentary on the different outcomes invoking the 25th with or without impeachment? If there is no impeachment then Vance becomes president and the entire cabinet go forward unimpeded. If there is impeachment first then there is the opportunity to remove some of the cabinet

Photo ops like this are nauseating. Thank you for your strong and sustained advocacy

Pair of tawny frogmouths perched amongst foliage near Kissing Point in Putney, Sydney

Pair of tawny frogmouths near Kissing Point, Putney, Sydney, late at night

They look like regular people, but as soon as they open their mouths you realise (heart sinking) that they're body snatchers

Thanks very much, learnt a new expression: “rictus smile”. Wonder how you would characterise Albanese’s smile when shaking hands with Trump

Not sure it’s psychosis. He’s been doing this for years, whether falsely characterizing tariffs, or water flow in California, or crowd sizes. The more ridiculous/absurd, the better, likes rubbing it in. He gets pleasure out of it. Wonder if he thinks about the endgame, which won’t be great for him

Thanks very much, that image and quote makes one ponder subtle differences between noise and chaos, and ameliorates my incessant tinnitus!

Yes like mould on a loaf of bread, tentacles reaching everywhere well beyond the admin. Have to throw the loaf out

There’s a coagulated putrescence (like a fatberg on a scale beyond comprehension) with centre of gravity in the Whitehouse but tentacles extending to his cabinet, Congress, Supreme Court, oligarchs far and wide, including Musk, and the only force of nature that can clear it is The People

Lest we forget MH17

Tawny frogmouth on off-leash sign near Wallumai wind sculpture on banks of Parramatta River in Putney

Different angle to include Wallumai wind sculpture, paying tribute to indigenous heritage (Bennelong’s unmarked grave is a few hundred metres away)

Tawny frogmouth perched on off-leash sign at Bennelong Park, with Parramatta River and Rhodes heliostat in the distance

Tawny frogmouth at Bennelong Park

Only limited number of people in Labour have actively spoken in favour of AUKUS (eg Albanese, Marles, Wong). Continuing to emphasise the obvious, as in this article, the pressure finally might push through and Australia can disentangle itself. Good to emphasise alternatives (France, but also Japan)

Bravo, very well written, and pleased to see someone call out infantile behaviour. With regard to the so-called Board of Peace, that should be repudiated immediately (now that Putin has accepted, if they have trouble finding the right words, it is enough simply to say "Lest we forget MH17").

Excellent commentary, though I have trouble parsing the sentence that claims Trump is the master of the story, which seems to imply some kind of nuance or sophistication. He certainly floods the zone and distracts attention

Connections
Puzzle #961
🟪🟦🟨🟩
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🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟩🟩🟩🟩

Nice to get one of each (when most obvious group of four fails) and that becomes a clue, relying on each entry then to belong to a different group

Fine article by Alan Kohler

Yes it’s shocking and all because Morrison successfully wedged Labour leading up to an election. I thought when Rudd criticized Trump there would be some flow on effect but he turned out to be another whimpering opportunist

It is several steps removed from the tragedies in Minnesota, but the Australian government could take the front foot and call out Trump’s Board of Peace and reject it unequivocally. Carney has taken a front foot and effects have been positive and immediate

It is part of American society, emboldened by Trump and his execrable cabinet. But it is not all of American society. Look at the crowds that are turning out in protest. Look at No Kings. They need our support and encouragement