本帖最后由 Dracula 于 2017-5-9 15:57 编辑
The Kushner Project Touted in China Is in Trouble at Home
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-08/kushner-project-touted-by-sister-in-china-is-in-trouble-at-home
看来Jared Kushner不要说掌管美国的内政外交政策，就是经商的能力都很一般。
Trump Confirms His Autocratic Instincts. And His Ineptitude.
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-05-10/trump-confirms-his-autocratic-instincts-and-his-ineptitude
https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/ivcUdRVz43XM/v0/1000x-1.jpg
What happened to James Comey is not particularly unusual in Washington: When a political scandal explodes at your agency, you are expected to protect the president by risking your own reputation and, possibly, your job. And yet, the particulars of the case make it deeply troubling.
Start with the reason Comey was fired. Coming from the man who basked in chants of “Lock her up!” at his campaign rallies, firing someone for mishandling the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails does no more than provoke helpless laughter, liberally mixed with tears. Politico’s reporting offers a much more plausible explanation: Trump was frustrated by the investigation into his campaign’s Russia connections, and wants it to go away. So he fired the guy at the head of the agency that’s conducting it.
This is not the behavior of an American president; it is the behavior of a tinpot autocrat who thinks that the government exists to serve him, rather than the country. And it’s almost as troubling that Trump seems unaware that he is not a tinpot autocrat; he is the head of a state with a long (if perhaps somewhat checkered) democratic tradition.
This is also the behavior of an ineffective president, since the best way to ensure that this investigation grinds along to its inexorable conclusion is to summarily fire the man in charge of it. Comey’s replacement will not dare to shut it down, for fear of looking like the president’s water-carrier. And if that replacement, incredibly, actually does try to interfere, they are likely to face open revolt from the FBI’s rank-and-file, who are, unsurprisingly, already quite unhappy about what was done to Comey.
Had Trump put more effort into preparing himself for the job of president, he might have learned about an old adage, one dating back to Watergate: “It’s not the crime, it’s the coverup.” The investigation into Russian connections has made for some bad news cycles for the president, but my expectation had been that eventually it would wind up with nothing very damaging -- perhaps tainting a few advisors who could be thrown off the back of the sled to feed the wolves running behind. Now, however, Trump has made sure that the FBI will pursue this thing to the last lead, the press will keep it pinned to the front pages, and a lot of voters will ask themselves why the president was so desperate to suppress it.
If all this weren’t sufficiently troubling, there’s also the way the firing was carried out. Perhaps if he hadn’t been so secretive about intending to fire Comey, Trump’s advisers would have had time to explain that this was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea. According to Politico’s reporting, at least one person did try to explain this: Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer. Trump, “taken aback”, ignored his sound advice. Shortly after the firing was announced, Schumer was in front of reporters doing exactly what any moderately politically savvy person would have predicted: suggesting a cover up and calling for a special prosecutor.
Comey, meanwhile, apparently learned that he’d been sacked from the television, while visiting an FBI office out of town. This flagrant gesture of contempt will ensure that the FBI is really thoroughly enraged as they settle down to investigating the president’s campaign.
In theory, of course, our law enforcement is splendidly unbiased, interested only in the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. In reality, of course, it is run by human beings, who cannot help but have human emotions when they are abused. Which is why we all know the foolishness of making cops gratuitously angry during a traffic stop. And why the president should have known better than to make open war on the FBI -- if not out of respect for America’s civic traditions, then out of simple self-interest.
This is an ugly moment in America’s political history. And yet I suspect it will end up being somewhat soothing for those who fear that Trump will mark the end of American democracy and the beginnings of an authoritarian regime. Not because the president’s actions are benign: like many other commentators this morning, I see this move as betraying exactly the sort of authoritarian instincts, precisely the disrespect for American civic norms, of which his critics accuse him. But rather, because I doubt it’s going to work -- even if the Republican party rolls over, and even if they help him appoint a more pliant successor. There are a lot of sources of political power in the American system, and those civic institutions will fiercely resist any attempt to remake them into hand-crafted tools of Dear Leader’s whims.
I can certainly see futures in which America betrays its heritage and abandons its ideals. But carrying it out would likely require a stealth attack by someone of political genius and strategic cunning, not this ham-handed, thumb-fingered, thoroughly inept assault on an institution that was, until now, probably considerably more Trump-friendly than most of the federal bureaucracy. The brazen violation of our civic norms should worry everyone. But the stunning incompetence of it should give us hope that our worries won’t become reality.
tanis 发表于 2017-4-28 22:57
如果手术之后，北棒万炮起发火海汉城怎么办？
那又如何？ who care？{:196:}
时代杂志挺有意思的一篇文章。篇幅挺长，我就不全文转贴过来了。只摘抄我觉得最有意思的两段。
http://time.com/donald-trump-after-hours/
Nearly a dozen senior aides stand in the Oval Office, crowding behind couches or near door-length windows. This is the way he likes to work, more often than not: in a crowd. He sits behind his desk finishing the tasks of the day, which have included watching new Senate testimony about Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election, by signing orders in red folders with a black Sharpie.
When he held the job, Barack Obama tended to treat the Oval Office like a sanctum sanctorum, accessible only for a small circle of advisers to break its silence on a tightly regulated schedule. For Trump, the room functions as something like a royal court or meeting hall, with open doors that senior aides and distinguished visitors flock through when he is in the building.
The waiters know well Trump’s personal preferences. As he settles down, they bring him a Diet Coke, while the rest of us are served water, with the Vice President sitting at one end of the table. With the salad course, Trump is served what appears to be Thousand Island dressing instead of the creamy vinaigrette for his guests. When the chicken arrives, he is the only one given an extra dish of sauce. At the dessert course, he gets two scoops of vanilla ice cream with his chocolate cream pie, instead of the single scoop for everyone else. The tastes of Pence are also tended to. Instead of the pie, he gets a fruit plate.
本帖最后由 Dracula 于 2017-5-11 22:59 编辑
这是上个星期Economist对Trump的采访，主要内容是关于Trump的经济政策。读来挺有意思。twitter上大家议论的最多的是据Trump说，Priming the pump（指财政政策刺激）这个说法是2天前，Trump自己发明的。
(据Merriam-Webster Dictionary，priming the pump这个词是19世纪初最早出现的，用来比喻财政政策刺激他们能找到最早的例子是1933年。不过Trump可能掌握的是更高层次的真理)。
关于Trump和习近平见面的那段可能大家更感兴趣，我摘抄一下。
http://www.economist.com/Trumptranscript
Some people think this is a negotiating tactic—that you say very dramatic things but actually you would settle for some very small changes. Is that right?
No, it’s not, really not a negotiation. It’s really not. No, will I settle for less than I go in with? Yes, I mean who wouldn’t? Nobody, you know, I always use the word flexibility, I have flexibility. relationship with China is long. Of course by China standards, it’s very short , you know when I’m with , because he’s great, when I’m with him, he’s a great guy. He was telling me, you know they go back 8,000 years, we have 1776 is like modern history. They consider 1776 like yesterday and they, you know, go back a long time. They talk about the different wars, it was very interesting. We got along great. So I told them, I said, “We have a problem and we’re going to solve that problem.” But he wants to help us solve that problem.
Now then you never know what’s going to happen. But they said to me that on the currency manipulation, “Donald Trump has failed to call China a currency manipulator”. Now I have to understand something. I’m dealing with a man, I think I like him a lot. I think he likes me a lot. We were supposed to meet for ten minutes and they go to 40-person meetings, OK, in Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach. And the ten minutes turned out to be three hours, alone, the two of us. The next day it was supposed to be ten minutes and then we go to our 40-person meeting. That, too, he was, no…because you guys were waiting for a long time. That ten minute meeting turned out to be three hours. Dinner turned out to be three hours. I mean, he’s a great guy.
Now, with that in mind, he’s representing China and he wants what’s best for China. But so far, you know, he’s been, he’s been very good. But, so they talk about why haven’t you called him a currency manipulator? Now think of this. I say, “Jinping. Please help us, let’s make a deal. Help us with North Korea, and by the way we’re announcing tomorrow that you’re a currency manipulator, OK?” They never say that, you know the fake media, they never put them together, they always say, he didn’t call him a currency , number one. Number two, they’re actually not a currency . You know, since I’ve been talking about currency manipulation with respect to them and other countries, they stopped.
Mr Mnuchin: Right, as soon as the president got elected they went the other way.
Dracula 发表于 2017-5-11 08:40
这是上个星期Economist对Trump的采访，主要内容是关于Trump的经济政策。读来挺有意思。twitter上大家议论的 ...
这个特朗普很啰嗦啊，老年啰嗦？两句话就说得清楚的事情，啰嗦了半天，难怪10分钟变成3小时。
晨枫 发表于 2017-5-11 07:23
这个特朗普很啰嗦啊，老年啰嗦？两句话就说得清楚的事情，啰嗦了半天，难怪10分钟变成3小时。 ...
我觉得他是Attention Deficit Disorder{:191:}
晨枫 发表于 2017-5-11 23:23
这个特朗普很啰嗦啊，老年啰嗦？两句话就说得清楚的事情，啰嗦了半天，难怪10分钟变成3小时。 ...
这是在prime the pump这个问题上，Trump和Economist记者的交换。
But beyond that it’s OK if the tax plan increases the deficit?
It is OK, because it won’t increase it for long. You may have two years where you’ll…you understand the expression “prime the pump”?
Yes.
We have to prime the pump.
It’s very Keynesian.
We’re the highest-taxed nation in the world. Have you heard that expression before, for this particular type of an event?
Priming the pump?
Yeah, have you heard it?
Yes.
Have you heard that expression used before? Because I haven’t heard it. I mean, I just…I came up with it a couple of days ago and I thought it was good. It’s what you have to do.
Trump觉得自己发明的prime the pump这个词非常好听，迫不及待的要向记者显示一下。
Dracula 发表于 2017-5-11 22:42
这是在prime the pump这个问题上，Trump和Economist记者的交换。
But beyond that it’s OK if the tax...
他应该发明Trumping the pump{:187:}
Dracula 发表于 2017-5-11 22:40
这是上个星期Economist对Trump的采访，主要内容是关于Trump的经济政策。读来挺有意思。twitter上大家议论的 ...
我把川总谈习总这段放到网易最近猛推的号称专业八级水平的有道翻译官里，结果如下，没有改动一个字，只是根据原文把段落分得清楚一点。
看完这个翻译和原文，我的感觉是：要不然有道翻译官真的有八级（:lol），要不然就是川总的英语实在是平易近人，海湖庄园里俩人聊天可能真不用翻译。
有些人认为这是一种谈判策略——你说的很有戏剧性，但实际上你会接受一些非常小的变化。是这样吗?
不，这不是谈判。这真的不是。不，我能满足于比我更少的钱吗?是的，我是说谁不会呢?没有人，你知道，我总是用弹性这个词，我有灵活性。(去备案。我们与中国的关系很长。当然，以中国的标准来看，这是非常短暂的(笑)，你知道当我和习近平在一起的时候，因为他很棒，当我和他在一起时，他是一个很好的人。他告诉我，你知道，他们可以追溯到八千年前，我们有1776年就像现代史。他们把1776年看作是昨天，他们，你知道，要追溯到很久以前。他们谈论不同的战争，非常有趣。我们相处很好。我告诉他们，我说:“我们有个问题，我们要解决这个问题。”但他想帮助我们解决这个问题。
现在你永远不知道会发生什么。但他们对我说，在汇率操纵方面，“唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)没有把中国称为汇率操纵国”。现在我必须了解一些东西。我和一个男人打交道，我觉得我很喜欢他。我觉得他很喜欢我。我们应该见面十分钟，然后他们去参加40人的会议，好吧，在玛拉-拉古，棕榈滩。十分钟变成了三个小时，一个人，我们两个。第二天应该是10分钟，然后我们去参加40人的会议。,他不…因为你们正在等待很长时间。那十分钟的会议结果是三个小时。晚餐结果是三个小时。我是说，他是个很棒的人。
现在，考虑到这一点，他代表中国，他希望对中国最好。但到目前为止，你知道，他一直都很好。但是，他们说为什么你不把他叫做货币操纵者?现在想想这个。我说,“习近平。请帮助我们，我们做个交易吧。帮助我们和朝鲜，顺便说一下我们明天宣布你是货币操纵国，好吗?“他们从来不说，你知道虚假的媒体，他们从不把他们放在一起，他们总是说，他不叫他货币(操纵国)，第一。”第二，他们实际上不是货币[操纵国]。你知道，因为我一直在谈论汇率操纵对他们和其他国家的影响，他们停止了。
Mnuchin先生:是的，总统一当选，他们就走了另一条路。
石工 发表于 2017-5-13 02:30
我把川总谈习总这段放到网易最近猛推的号称专业八级水平的有道翻译官里，结果如下，没有改动一个字，只是 ...
Trump的词汇量确实挺低。不论是他在rally上鼓动他的支持者的演讲，还是接受采访，使用的词汇都很简单。他用的词汇基本上都来自外国人学英语需要掌握的最基本的那2000个单词。几乎从来看不到他使用GRE水平的那种文绉绉的词。他的句子的语法结构也都很简单。有人分析过，认为他的词汇和语法复杂程度基本上就是小学5，6年纪的水平（大选时其他竞争者的复杂程度能到初二初三的水平，太复杂高深了会让不少选民产生反感）。好多教育程度低的白人支持他的热情特别高，这应该也是一个因素，让他们觉得他特别平易近人，说的都是他们的话。
At a Besieged White House, Tempers Flare and Confusion Swirls
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/16/us/white-house-staff.html?_r=3
The disclosure that President Trump divulged classified intelligence to two high-ranking Russian officials was a new blow to an already dispirited and besieged White House staff still recovering from the uproar and recriminations from the president’s firing of James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director.
Mr. Trump’s appetite for chaos, coupled with his disregard for the self-protective conventions of the presidency, have left his staff confused and squabbling. And his own mood, according to two advisers who spoke on the condition of anonymity, has become sour and dark, turning against most of his aides — even his son-in-law, Jared Kushner — and describing them in a fury as “incompetent,” according to one of those advisers.
Even before the latest bombshell dropped, reports swirled in the White House that the president was about to embark on a major shake-up, probably starting with the dismissal or reassignment of Sean Spicer, the press secretary.
Mr. Trump’s rattled staff kept close tabs on a meeting early Monday in which the president summoned Mr. Spicer; the deputy press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders; and the communications director, Michael Dubke, to lecture them on the need “to get on the same page,” according to a person briefed on the meeting. Even as Mr. Trump reassured advisers like Mr. Spicer that their jobs were safe at the morning meeting, he told other advisers he knew he needed to make big changes but did not know which direction to go in, or who to select.
Later, reporters could hear senior aides shouting from behind closed doors as they discussed a defense after Washington Post reporters informed them of an article they were writing that first reported the news about the president’s divulging of intelligence.
As they struggled to limit the fallout on Monday, Mr. Spicer and other Trump aides decided to send Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, the national security adviser, to serve as a surrogate.
They realized that selecting such a high official would in some ways validate the story, but they wanted to establish a credible witness account exonerating the president from wrongdoing — before the barrage of Twitter posts they knew would be coming from Mr. Trump on Tuesday morning.
The White House counsel’s office worked with the Army general on framing language, producing a clipped sound bite: “The story that came out tonight as reported is false.”
As he was working on his statement, General McMaster — a former combat commander who appeared uncomfortable in a civilian suit and black-framed glasses — nearly ran into reporters staking out Mr. Spicer’s office.
“This is the last place in the world I wanted to be,” he said, perhaps in jest.
As the general approached microphones on the blacktop in front of the West Wing, one of his deputies responsible for coping with the fallout, Dina Powell, could be seen peering behind the reporter pack to see how her boss’s statement was being received.
On Capitol Hill, there were signs that Republicans, who mostly held the line after Mr. Comey’s ouster, were growing alarmed by and impatient with Mr. Trump’s White House operation.
“There need to be serious changes at the White House, immediately,” said Senator Patrick J. Toomey, a Pennsylvania Republican who wants Mr. Trump to appoint a Democrat to head the F.B.I. The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, called on Mr. Trump to operate with “less drama” on Tuesday.
In his comments to reporters on Monday, Senator Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican close to some in the White House, was explicit about the situation.
“They are in a downward spiral right now,” he said, “and have got to figure out a way to come to grips with all that’s happening.”
A dozen of Mr. Trump’s aides and associates, while echoing Mr. Trump’s defiance, privately agreed with Mr. Corker’s view. They spoke candidly, in a way they were unwilling to do just weeks ago, about the damage that was being done to the administration’s standing and the fatigue that was setting in after months of having to defend the president’s missteps, Twitter posts and unpredictable actions.
The latest crisis comes at the worst possible time for Mr. Trump’s team. His national security and foreign policy staffs have been spending much of their time planning for his coming eight-day trip to the Middle East and Europe — his first major overseas trip as president, and an opportunity, they thought, to reset the narrative of his presidency after the lingering controversy of Mr. Comey’s sudden dismissal last week.
There is a growing sense that Mr. Trump seems unwilling or unable to do the things necessary to keep himself out of trouble, and that the presidency has done little to tame a shoot-from-the-hip-into-his-own-foot style that characterized his campaign.
There is a fear among some of Mr. Trump’s senior advisers about leaving him alone in meetings with foreign leaders out of concern he might speak out of turn. General McMaster, in particular, has tried to insert caveats or gentle corrections into conversations when he believes the president is straying off topic or onto boggy diplomatic ground.
This has, at times, chafed the president, according to two officials with knowledge of the situation. Mr. Trump, who still openly laments having to dismiss his first national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, has groused that General McMaster talks too much in meetings, and the president has referred to him as “a pain,” according to one of the officials.
In private, three administration officials conceded that they could not publicly articulate their most compelling — and honest — defense of the president: that Mr. Trump, a hasty and indifferent reader of printed briefing materials, simply did not possess the interest or knowledge of the granular details of intelligence gathering to leak specific sources and methods of intelligence gathering that would do harm to United States allies.