zenpundit.com

[ by Charles Cameron — media keeps wildly guessing re matters of protocol ]
.

For example..

Trump flashed me a thumbs up as he rode the gold escalator up to his first overseas adventure. pic.twitter.com/PZCmb3JCC4

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) May 20, 2017

According to guidance for Saudi provided to WH press corps: "The thumbs up gesture is considered rude." https://t.co/ybWcrBTCup

— Carol Lee (@carolelee) May 20, 2017

**

Ah, well, no one can say Trump is not sensitive:

Many people are saying it was wonderful that Mrs. Obama refused to wear a scarf in Saudi Arabia, but they were insulted.We have enuf enemies

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2015

Oops:

Melania is not wearing any veil. pic.twitter.com/25QwgPgAHC

— Eddie Du (@Edourdoo) May 20, 2017

And then again:

@akhbar Pffff. Hardly any Western female personality wears a scarf during visit to Saudi Arabia. May, Merkel, Michelle. Such a non-story. @akhbar pic.twitter.com/IghtzMCGO7

— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) May 20, 2017

@AP Michelle Obama, Laura Bush,Hilary Clinton,Angela Merkel,Condi Rice are just a short list of powerful women who DID NOT wear a head scarf!

— Jane (@txgforever) May 20, 2017

**

Oops again:

If this were Obama, conservative headlines would read: @POTUS BOWS TO SAUDI KING!!! #maga #trumptrain #Deplorable pic.twitter.com/VpBU7Cpzr1

— Bryan W. Van Norden (@BryanVanNorden) May 20, 2017

Nope, he was bending to receive a medal around his neck.

So far so good — nobody seems to know what’s what, but ni disasters have been spotted. . The first major test is yet to come. As the Washington Post puts it, Trump campaigned against Muslims, but will preach tolerance in Saudi speech.

That will be quite a trick — but not impossible if his speech writer has been reading Will McCants.

And I suspect Melania is the President’s trump card in all this..

**

Oh, and now this, for good measure:

Not true at all that the thumbs-up is rude in the Middle East. Banning Muslims and saying "Islam hates us" is a different story. https://t.co/USB7PPN6Mh

— DavidKenner (@DavidKenner) May 20, 2017

I’m reminded of roulette..

[ by Charles Cameron — unknown unknowns and the cloud of unknowing ]
.

As so often, there’s little thought given to consequences when thise who deeply dislike and distrust President Trump call for his impeachment.

One consequence of a successful impeachment and conviction would be the ascension of VP Pence to the office of the Presidency — a possibility dramatized for liberals by the discovery of an old interview in which “Vice President Mike Pence once had told The Hill, a political newspaper and website, that he never dines with women alone, nor does he attend functions without his wife if alcohol is being served.” but that can be handled, as this bumper sticker testifies:

What worries me a whole lot more, though, is the predictably dire resuts of liberal enthusiasm to convict blinding those same liberals to the militant support President Trump receives from his core support base:

@JackPosobiec If democrats try to impeach Trump there's going to b an uprising like never before. We need to stand by Trump. We need to vote out dems 2018

— I'm Right ?? (@pete03217) May 18, 2017

@mitchellvii Go ahead and impeach Trump, we will make the revolutionary war look like it was a simple trip to Martha's Vineyard.

— Cali-Conservative (@CaliConsrvative) May 17, 2017

[ by Charles Cameron — first of three relatively minor posts while awaiting Trump’s Saudi speech re Islam ]
.

First off, the Boyd OODA loop — shown in the lower panel below in one of Michael Wilson‘s variant versions from Graeco-Roman Egypt — is an Ouroboros, shown in the upper panel in a version from Toward an Ontology of Integrated Intelligence & Conflict.

**

Then, the loop is getting so tight here, it’s almost a tautology:

“If Donald Trump gets impeached, he will have one person to blame: Donald Trump,” one of those administration officials said.

That’s from The Daily Beast, Trump Officials: ‘He Looks More and More Like a Complete Moron’

One hardy perennial ouroboric comment about President Trump is that he has shot himself in the foot [ eg: 1, 2, 3 ] — even when he thinks abpout shooting someone else on Fifth Avenue:

[ by Charles Cameron — given a choice between Stephen Miller and Will McCants.. ]
.

The Saudi speech:

Trump will deliver Stephen Miller's speech on Islam at the Saudi 'Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology!' https://t.co/DLJ3yb1srh

— Shibley Telhami (@ShibleyTelhami) May 18, 2017

Trump speech on Islam in Saudi Arabia will be written by far-right anti-Muslim aide Stephen Miller https://t.co/p8I6yHWpOm by @MaxBlumenthal

— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) May 18, 2017

"Tossing pronouncements on religion into that tinderbox could be a very bad idea."https://t.co/CxE21BLeri

— The Grey Man (@IntelOperator) May 17, 2017

My friendly advice for the poor speechwriter tasked with crafting Trump's upcoming speech on Islam https://t.co/6HemebAZ8i

— Will McCants (@will_mccants) May 18, 2017

**

The NATO speech:

MORE NEWS: NATO-Skeptic Stephen Miller Is Writing Trump’s NATO Speech https://t.co/YN8XOa2pBR via @John_Hudson

— Hayes Brown (@HayesBrown) May 18, 2017

**

The Israel speech:

So Stephen Miller is writing Trump's Saudi Speech, his Israel speech, AND his NATO speech. Should be…fine. https://t.co/wLK1FpoNZv

— Hayes Brown (@HayesBrown) May 18, 2017

Israel, where Trump wanted to land his helicopter atop Masada..

Trump couldn't land his helicopter on Israel's ancient fortress—so he canceled his visit, refusing to take cable car https://t.co/51lw5z8nPr pic.twitter.com/CIGUB9Bwx9

— Newsweek (@Newsweek) May 18, 2017

Unlike former presidents who have made the trip, such as George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, Trump declined to land the helicopter at a base of the historic site and then take the cable car up, preferring to cancel the visit altogether.

It's fuckin Masada. Even IDF doesn't land choppers on the top. ihttps://t.co/MBzPQEUDq7

— manu saadia ? (@trekonomics) May 18, 2017

And the Western Wall is in the West Bank?

All in all, one might wish there were a Will McCants to proffer speechwriting advice — or, hey, write speeches — for Saudi, Israel, NATO, the vatican, onwards…

**

Coda:

Trump to Give Speech on Islam While in Saudi Arabia https://t.co/PNryD8yDbe

— Blogs of War (@BlogsofWar) May 17, 2017

Maybe he'll give a speech on Christianity while in Vatican State? https://t.co/19OkvGgrBC

— hipbonegamer (@hipbonegamer) May 17, 2017

[ by Charles Cameron — sunni / salafi hope, shia fear, when the us weighs saudi oil against iranian nukes — what say the sufis? ]
.

Context one:

First stop on Trump’s first official trip overseas signals Saudi Arabia’s importance https://t.co/kIfCiVesxh

— Blogs of War (@BlogsofWar) May 18, 2017

**

Context two:

Iraqi Christians visit Imam Hussain shrine in Kerbala & pray at one of the oldest churches in the world. https://t.co/NMG5UcmadB #Iraq pic.twitter.com/jvOm6GCSNT

— ICID (@IraqiCouncil) May 18, 2017

Beautiful. It's this wonderful coexistence, diversity and tolerance that Saudi Arabia, ISIS and Al-Qaeda fear. They all want to erase this. https://t.co/evPJqPJMcq

— Hayder al-Khoei (@Hayder_alKhoei) May 18, 2017

**

Having said that, returning to the Saudi visit:

Hayder al-Khoei is less than enthused:

This is the aim of Donald Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia – and it isn't good for Shia communities https://t.co/n3EJlJCVXU

— Hayder al-Khoei (@Hayder_alKhoei) May 18, 2017

Fisk: The aim is simple: to prepare the Sunni Muslims of the Middle East for war against the Shia Muslims. With help from Israel. #pt

— Hayder al-Khoei (@Hayder_alKhoei) May 18, 2017

The fact that most of the Middle East’s “terrorism” – Isis and al-Qaeda – have their fountainhead in Saudi, must and will be ignored. #pt

— Hayder al-Khoei (@Hayder_alKhoei) May 18, 2017

Fisk: The fact that Isis – Trump’s mortal enemy – is a creature of the same Salafist cult as Saudi Arabia, is neither here nor there. #pt

— Hayder al-Khoei (@Hayder_alKhoei) May 18, 2017