US President Donald Trump says he is in the early stages of considering whether to lift sanctions on Russia, as British Prime Minister Theresa May cautioned that such a move would be premature.

His caution on the Russian sanctions came in response to a question at a joint news conference at the White House with May, the first foreign leader to visit the president since his inauguration.

It comes on the back of Russia’s intervention in the Syrian civil war and US intelligence agencies finding that Moscow meddled in the US election campaign.

“As far as the sanctions, (it is) very early to be talking about that,” Trump said, insisting he wanted to follow through on his campaign pledge to pursue better relations with Russia.

read more:

http://thenewdaily.com.au/news/world/2017/01/28/president-donald-trump-m...

As I have said before, while getting blue in the face, it's time for Europe to PLAY ITS OWN GAME. Bugger the US and bugger the UK. Yes I know, most of the elected mob in Brussels are in the pockets of the USA... They only survive by saying yes to the Potomac renters... Time to rethink the whole thing without crcking the pot.

Before arriving in the US for her meeting with Trump, his first official engagement with any foreign leader, May was reportedly under pressure at home. This was made all the more acute when Trump fired up a storm with Mexico and Arab countries by imposing controversial immigration restrictions and made comments favoring outlawed torture methods. She was accused of “groveling.”

It seemed like prudish May, the daughter of an English vicar who has been likened to a staid headmistress, was careening for a public relations disaster with the brash billionaire reality TV star turned president.

On her way to Washington DC, she even hinted at bracing for an odd-couple challenge, by telling reporters, “sometimes opposites attract.”

Curiously, when the two leaders gave a press conference in the East Wing of the White House, it seemed that the “headmistress” had indeed put the unruly Trump on his best behavior. American media remarked with astonishment how “subdued” the president was. He was personable, polite, kept to the script, and managed to not insult anyone. Trump, the tetchy big-mouth, had been tamed, it seemed.

Importantly for May, she can claim mission accomplished. She came to Washington for two main reasons: a commitment from Trump on bilateral trade between the US and Britain and to get the American president to give his full-throated support for the NATO military alliance. She can say she got both

read more:

https://www.rt.com/op-edge/375404-trump-may-nato-russia/

Meanwhile the Europeans are fed on the good news of the "English Egemony" trying to screw them up...:

https://francais.rt.com/opinions/33128-may-chez-trump-obsession-noyade-c...

In his urgent new book, T. J. Coles uncovers the forces seeking to uncouple Britain from the European Union. Allied to an expanding core of free-market fanatics in the Conservative party is a powerful group of globalists and financial traders. Their political ideology is neoliberalism―a worldwide agenda that seeks to deregulate markets and maximize profits for global elites at the expense of working people. The effect is a growing gap internationally between rich and poor.

Digging deep into the funding campaign, The Great Brexit Swindle documents the potent, self-serving interests behind Brexit. In the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, mega-rich hedge-fund managers and billionaire CEOs are keen to be rid of Brussels and its “red tape” regulation. Their anti-European political allies, meanwhile, are preparing to corner markets in Asia and South America, while expanding Britain’s military capacity as a backup to economic penetration. 

Brexit was sold to the public as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to regain sovereignty, control immigration, and increase the nation’s wealth. But, despite the manifold promises of Brexiteers, Coles demonstrates that economic globalization will lead to growing job insecurity and greater immigration once British workers are put into direct competition with the huge, poor populations of countries such as Brazil, China, Mexico, and India. Increasing “free market” trade worldwide leaves Britain open to low-quality products, such as hormone-treated American beef and genetically modified foods, while the planned new trade agreements would only accelerate the privatization of public services. Although Coles is not an advocate for the EU, he argues that the Brexit agenda is designed to serve only the interests of the wealthy and increasingly powerful 0.1 percent of the population.

read more:

https://www.amazon.com/Great-Brexit-Swindle-Mega-rich-Conspired/dp/19055...

BREXIT OR NO BREXIT, THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD  (and the UK) are stuffed everywhere they turn to...

This aim of a dialogue could not be achieved through the cruel and duplicitous Sarkozy, who only advised Russia to remove its countersanctions against Western foodstuffs "in a gesture of goodwill." (Many a previous gesture of this kind from Russia did not deter NATO's expansion to Russia's borders or any other hostile moves from the US and the EU.) But Russia suddenly found a lot of sympathy among the less elitist French politicians, who represented the pragmatic interests of French business, and not the imperial designs of "spreading democracy" around the globe.

In April 2016, the French parliament, the National Assembly, recommended the lifting of sanctions against Russia.

And now Francois Fillon, an unexpected winner of the primaries in the French rightist party The Republicans, is voicing similar ideas about EU-Russian relations in general. To an unbiased observer, these truths are simple enough to be coming out of the mouth of babes, but for the mainstream media they are dangerous heresies.

"Has the West always been a reliable partner for Russia?" Fillon asked himself rhetorically during a recent interview to Le Monde daily. "Didn't we deceive Russia on Libya, on Kosovo, on the economic partnership with the EU?"

Despite his previous characterizations of Russia as a "dangerous" country, Fillon obviously went beyond the limits of the European mainstream on Russia when he called NATO's invitation for Georgia and Ukraine to join NATO in future "irresponsible."

"Why did we need to deploy anti-missile defense right near the Russian border? We made a lot of mistakes," Fillon said in that same interview.

read more

https://sputniknews.com/columnists/201701261050031251-france-says-no-to-russophobia/?

Anyone playing chess here? Yes I know the game is speeding up, pieces are taken and it's likely to be a drawn game...

Britain’s young people are now more right-wing and authoritarian in their political outlook than the previous generation, undermining the prevailing view that younger people tend to be more progressive in attitude.

Research using British Social Attitudes Survey data taken from 1985-2012, found greater appetite among young people for right-wing policy-making on issues including wealth redistribution, welfare and crime.

The study, by academics at the University of Sheffield and the University of Southampton, discovered a shift further to the right with each of the last three successive generations.

read more:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/thatchers-children-blairs...

Former US President Barack Obama thought his country’s “special relationship” with Britain was a joke and would slip Falklands references into press conferences to mock the UK, one of his ex-aides Jeremy Shapiro has claimed.

Shapiro said Donald Trump would not be any kinder to Britain, saying the new President is “playing” with Prime Minister Theresa May to get a better trade deal. He said Trump is“willing to exploit” the UK.

Speaking to a crowd at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, Shapiro said the special relationship is far more important to Britain than to the US. He said it is “unrequited” and cruelly mocked when the cameras were turned off.

“From my perspective it was very important for us to mention the special relationship in every press conference that we had when the UK were here.

“But really we laughed about it behind the scenes. Typically, I would try and slip in a reference to the Malvinas or something to spoil it.”

‘Malvinas’ is the word used by Argentinian politicians to refer to the Falklands, particularly when they are trying to claim the islands belong to Argentina.

Shapiro, a foreign policy expert who advised Obama and the former US Secretary of State John Kerry, said the relationship between Britain and the US is “the kind of relationship we would have with other countries.”

read more:

https://www.rt.com/uk/406216-obama-mock-joke-relationship/

Could this "news" be a ruse by the US empire to tempt Europe into preventing Brexit...? The Yanks need the UK to stay in Europe to muck up Europe... By denigrating the UK/US "special relationship" in the eye of the Europeans, this could make the EU feel sorry for the POMS... Nice try... See toon at top...

see also:

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/864474/Special-relationship-joke-USA...