224 responses to “Donald Trump Declared Persona Non Grata”

1. 

   de pedantic Dribbler

   January 25, 2018 at 9:11 am

   
   

   Yes David Mr Blogmaster, cheap labour is crucial. But what makes Donald Trump so freaking brilliant (and frightening) is that he has completely adapted the american corporate mantra of profitability/shareholder growth as a populist narrative and hoodwinked masses.

   He speaks out against supposedly one sided trade pacts and loss of US manufacturing and industrial jobs. Yet he (and his family of entrepreneurs) only had their ties and shirts and other consumer ptoducts made outside the US.

   He also operated at the high end of the real estate market as a brand principally.

   The point not lost on those other than the Lawsons of this world is simply a realization that this pied piper is playing a beautiful tune to grow his profits and brilliantly incorporating mass appeal to achieve that result.

   He creates great angst against illegals and jerks the DACA folks around. But of course it’s all political long term calculus. Illegals can’t vote and DACAns if they EVER get that right will likely be just another segment of those 3 mil plus extra popular vote lost in blue states anyhow…

   Politically this man knows how to have an impact…as he has shown so very well.

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2. 

   Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

   January 25, 2018 at 9:12 am

   
   

   When all the wealthy frauds and PERVERTS of London get together and use charities and sick children as an excuse to display their twisted perversions…as reported by the Financial Times, who sent real journalists undercover to the event.

    https://www.ft.com/tour.
   https://www.ft.com/content/075d679e-0033-11e8-9650-9c0ad2d7c5b5
   
   Financial Times 
   

   Sign In
   FT Investigations Sexual misconduct allegations Add to myFT

   Men Only: Inside the charity fundraiser where hostesses are put on show
   FT investigation finds groping and sexual harassment at secretive black-tie dinner
   © Tolga Akmen/FT

   JANUARY 23, 2018 380
   At 10pm last Thursday night, Jonny Gould took to the stage in the ballroom at London’s Dorchester Hotel. “Welcome to the most un-PC event of the year,” he roared.

   Mr Gould — who presented Channel 5’s Major League Baseball show — was there to host a charity auction, the centrepiece of a secretive annual event, the Presidents Club Charity Dinner.

   The gathering’s official purpose is to raise money for worthy causes such as Great Ormond Street Hospital, the world-renowned children’s hospital in London’s Bloomsbury district.

   Auction items included lunch with Boris Johnson, the British foreign secretary, and afternoon tea with Bank of England governor Mark Carney.

   But this is a charity fundraiser like no other.

   Auction lots included a lunch with foreign secretary Boris Johnson and former England cricketer Ian Botham
   It is for men only. A black tie evening, Thursday’s event was attended by 360 figures from British business, politics and finance and the entertainment included 130 specially hired hostesses.

   All of the women were told to wear skimpy black outfits with matching underwear and high heels. At an after-party many hostesses — some of them students earning extra cash — were groped, sexually harassed and propositioned.

   The event has been a mainstay of London’s social calendar for 33 years, yet the activities have remained largely unreported — unusual, perhaps, for a fundraiser of its scale.

   The questions raised about the event have been thrown into sharp relief by the current business climate, when bastions of sexual harassment and the institutionalised objectification of women are being torn down.

   The Financial Times last week sent two people undercover to work as hostesses on the night. Reporters also gained access to the dining hall and surrounding bars.

   Over the course of six hours, many of the hostesses were subjected to groping, lewd comments and repeated requests to join diners in bedrooms elsewhere in the Dorchester.

   Many of the hostesses were subjected to groping, lewd comments and requests to join diners in bedrooms elsewhere in the Dorchester

   Hostesses reported men repeatedly putting hands up their skirts; one said an attendee had exposed his penis to her during the evening.

   WPP, the FTSE 100 advertising conglomerate, sponsored a table at the event as it has in previous years. Martin Sorrell, chief executive, was not present this year — though he has attended in the past.

   Andrew Scott, its chief operating officer for Europe, hosted the table in his absence. Other table sponsors included CMC Markets, the UK-listed spread betting company, and Frogmore, the London-based real estate investment business.

   A seating plan for last week’s event seen by the FT listed those due to attend as including well-known British business figures such as Philip Green of Arcadia Group, Dragons’ Den star Peter Jones, and Ocado boss Tim Steiner.

   Financiers on the seating plan included Henry Gabay, founder of hedge fund Duet Group, and Makram Azar, the head of Barclays’ investment bank’s Middle East business. From the world of politics were Nadhim Zahawi, newly appointed undersecretary of state for children and families, and Jonathan Mendelsohn, a Labour peer and party fundraiser. It is not clear whether those listed all turned up on the night.

   The comedian David Walliams was the host for the evening. Previous attendees have included Michael Sherwood, a former vice-chairman of Goldman Sachs, and Poju Zabludowicz, a Finnish real estate billionaire and Conservative party donor.

   Current and past supporters provide a roll call of British wealth and business influence: patrons include high-end developer Nick Candy; former Formula 1 magnate Bernie Ecclestone; and TV presenter Vernon Kay. CMC Markets founder Peter Cruddas is also a regular attendee.

   The event has a laudable fundraising aim with prestigious prizes offered for auction. During the three decades The Presidents Club has been running, it has raised more than £20m for charity. Thursday’s event alone raised more than £2m.

   The winner of Lot 7 can host a night at Soho’s Windmill Club for up to 100 guests and 50 exotic dancers. The prize includes the first lapdance free, a glass of champagne and a smoked salmon bagel © FT montage; Dreamstime

   The organisation’s charitable trust has two joint chairmen: Bruce Ritchie, a Mayfair property developer who founded Residential Land, and David Meller, from the luxury good specialist Meller Group, who also sits on the board of the Department for Education and the Mayor’s Fund for London.

   But the auction offers a hint of the evening’s seedier side. Lots included a night at Soho’s Windmill strip club and a course of plastic surgery with the invitation to: “Add spice to your wife.”

   The accompanying brochure included a full-page warning that no attendees or staff should be sexually harassed. The glossy auction catalogue distributed to attendees during the evening included multiple images of Marilyn Monroe dressed in revealing, tight dresses.

   The nature of the occasion was hinted at when the hostesses were hired. The task of finding women for the dinner is entrusted to Caroline Dandridge, founder of Artista, an agency specialising in hosts and hostesses for what it claims to be some of the “UK’s most prestigious occasions”.

   It’s a Marmite job. Some girls love it, and for other girls it’s the worst job of their life and they will never do it again

   Caroline Dandridge, founder of Artista agency
   At their initial interviews, women were warned by Ms Dandridge that the men in attendance might be “annoying” or try to get the hostesses “pissed”. One hostess was advised to lie to her boyfriend about the fact it was a male-only event. “Tell him it’s a charity dinner,” she was told.

   “It’s a Marmite job. Some girls love it, and for other girls it’s the worst job of their life and they will never do it again . . . You just have to put up with the annoying men and if you can do that it’s fine,” Ms Dandridge told the hostess.

   Two days before the event, Ms Dandridge told prospective hostesses by email that their phones would be “safely locked away” for the evening and that boyfriends and girlfriends were not welcome at the venue.

   The uniform requirements also became more detailed: all hostesses should bring “BLACK sexy shoes”, black underwear, and do their hair and make-up as they would to go to a “smart sexy place”. Dresses and belts would be supplied on the day.

   For those who met the three specific selection criteria (“tall, thin and pretty”) a job paying £150, plus £25 for a taxi home, began at 4pm.

   The backgrounds of the dozen or more hostesses met by reporters were varied: many were students, hoping to launch careers as lawyers or marketing executives; others juggled part-time jobs as actresses, dancers or models and did occasional hostessing work to make ends meet.

   Upon arrival at the Dorchester, the first task given to the hostesses was to sign a five-page non-disclosure agreement about the event. Hostesses were not given a chance to read its contents, or take a copy with them after signing.

   At first, hostesses were assembled in the Dorchester’s Orchard Room, where a team of hair and make-up artists prepped women for the evening ahead. During the pre-event preparations, some of the women new to hostess work sought advice from those with more experience. The feedback was mixed.

   A number of the hostesses seemed excited about the evening ahead. It was a fun night, they said, especially as — unlike most hostessing assignments — you could drink on the job.

   One experienced hostess acknowledged that a portion of the men were likely to be “arseholes”, but said others were “hilarious”. “It really depends on the luck of the draw,” she added.

   Others were more apprehensive. One woman who had last worked at the event five years ago sighed to herself: “I can’t believe I’m here again.”

   Towards 7pm, during a staff buffet dinner, Ms Dandridge entered wearing a smart black suit and gave a briefing; she said if any of the men became “too annoying”, the hostesses should contact her.

   Hostess uniforms were distributed — short tight black dresses, black high heels and a thick black belt resembling a corset. Once dressed, the hostesses were offered a glass of white wine during the final countdown to their entrance into the ballroom.

   As the 8pm start time approached, all of the hostesses were told to form two lines in height order, tallest women first, ready to parade across the stage as music began to boom across the venue: “Power”, by British girl band Little Mix.

   Entering in twos from opposite sides on to a stage positioned at the front of the ballroom, hostesses presented themselves to the men before walking towards their allocated tables alongside dinner guests. This continued until all 130 women were spread across the room.

   With the dinner properly under way, the hostess brief was simple: keep this mix of British and foreign businessmen, the odd lord, politicians, oligarchs, property tycoons, film producers, financiers, and chief executives happy — and fetch drinks when required.

   My time undercover at a men-only event
   Play video
   A number of men stood with the hostesses while waiting for smoked salmon starters to arrive. Others remained seated and yet insisted on holding the hands of their hostesses.

   It was unclear why men, seated at their tables with hostesses standing close by, felt the need to hold the hands of the women, but numerous hostesses discussed instances of it through the night. For some, this was a prelude to pulling the women into their laps. Meanwhile champagne, whisky and vodka were served.

   On stage, entertainers came and went. It was soon after a troupe of burlesque dancers — dressed like furry-hatted Coldstream Guards, but with star-shaped stickers hiding nipples — that one 19-year-old hostess, recounted a conversation with a guest nearing his seventies: who had asked her, directly, whether she was a prostitute. She was not. “I’ve never done this before, and I’m never doing it again,” she said later. “It’s f***ing scary.”

   According to the accounts of multiple women working that night, groping and similar abuse was seen across many of the tables in the room.

   Another woman, 28, with experience of hostess work, observing the braying men around her said this was significantly different to previous black tie jobs. At other events, men occasionally would try to flirt with her, she said, but she had never felt uncomfortable or, indeed, frightened.

   She reported being repeatedly fondled on her bottom, hips, stomach and legs. One guest lunged at her to kiss her. Another invited her upstairs to his room.

   Meanwhile, Artista had an enforcement team, made up of suited women and men, who would tour the ballroom, prodding less active hostesses to interact with dinner guests.

   Outside the women’s toilets a monitoring system was in place: women who spent too long were called out and led back to the ballroom. A security guard at the door was on hand, keeping time.

   At 10pm, the main money-raising portion of the evening got under way: the charity auction, where the lots on offer ranged from a supercharged Land Rover to the right to name a character in Mr Walliams’ next children’s book.

   An image from inside the Dorchester during the Presidents Club event captured by hidden camera

   Richard Caring, who made his fortune in the retail sourcing business before scooping up a long list of London’s most fashionable restaurants, including The Ivy and Scott’s, rounded off the money-raising portion of the evening with a successful £400,000 bid to place his name on a new High Dependency Unit at the Evelina London children’s hospital for sick children.

   It was a moment of respite for the women, most of whom had been allowed to return to the Orchard Room. Some were excited to have been offered jobs by men in the room. Others had been offered large tips, which they had been obliged to decline. One woman struggled to re-apply her eyeliner. “I’m so drunk,” she said apologetically, blaming tequila shots at her table.

   The women filed back into the ballroom at 11pm for the final hour of the main event, which would be followed by an “after-party” elsewhere in the hotel.

   Most hostesses had been told they would be required to stay until 2am. One was told that this final leg of the evening offered a chance to drink what she wanted and seek out those men she found “most attractive”.

   The after-party was held in a smaller room off the main lobby at the Dorchester, packed tight with guests and women.

   According to the 28-year-old hostess, while men danced and drank with a set of women on one side of the room, a line of younger women were left seated on a banquette at the back of the room, seemingly dazed. “They looked shocked and frightened, exhausted by what had happened,” she said.

   Meanwhile, in the centre of the room, Jimmy Lahoud, 67, a Lebanese businessman and restaurateur, danced enthusiastically with three young women wearing bright red dresses.

   By midnight, one society figure who the FT has not yet been able to contact was confronting at least one hostess directly.

   The brochure for the Presidents Club dinner warned the male guests against ‘harassment and unwanted conduct’ © FT
   “You look far too sober,” he told her. Filling her glass with champagne, he grabbed her by the waist, pulled her in against his stomach and declared: “I want you to down that glass, rip off your knickers and dance on that table.”

   In a statement the Dorchester said it had a zero-tolerance policy regarding harassment of guests or employees. “We are unaware of any allegations and should we be contacted we will work with the relevant authorities as necessary,” it said.

   The Presidents Club said: “The Presidents Club recently hosted its annual dinner, raising several million pounds for disadvantaged children. The organisers are appalled by the allegations of bad behaviour at the event asserted by the Financial Times reporters. Such behaviour is totally unacceptable. The allegations will be investigated fully and promptly and appropriate action taken.”

   Ms Dandridge of Artista stated: “This is a really important charity fundraising event that has been running for 33 years and raises huge amounts of money for disadvantaged and underprivileged children’s charities. There is a code of conduct that we follow, I am not aware of any reports of sexual harassment and with the calibre of guest, I would be astonished.”

   None of the trustees of the charity provided a comment for publication.

   Harvey Goldsmith, a former trustee, said he was “gobsmacked” by the accounts of sexual harassment taking place at the event. “I’m totally shocked to be quite frank,” he said.

   The BoE said: “The Bank of England did not approve any prize for auction on the occasion described nor would it have for that organisation under its guidelines for charitable giving.”

   Mr Walliams declined to comment. Mr Caring said he “was not aware of any of the alleged incidents”.

   Barry Townsley, a well-known stockbroker and lifetime president of The Presidents Club who helped to set up the charity, said he had not attended the dinner for a decade. He added that it was previously “very nice and civilised” and a “mild-mannered charity”. “What goes on now is not my business,” he said.

   This article has been revised to make clear that the Jonny Gould referred to is not the radio and TV presenter who has worked at (among others) Smooth Radio, talkRADIO, and Sky News. We apologise for the distress caused.”

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3. 

   Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

   January 25, 2018 at 9:16 am

   
   

   The US lost 40,000 jobs because they lost the top spot as a tourist destination, not one thing brilliant about that…lol

   Lawson..you must be crying.

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4. 

   Well Well @ Cut and Paste @ Your Service

   January 25, 2018 at 12:21 pm

   
   

   Lawson…look, hopefully they will ALL walk out..lol, lol, hahaha

   ‘S–thole’ remarks hang over Davos as African leaders still angry
   BY CHRISTOPHER BRENNAN
   NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Updated: Thursday, January 25, 2018, 7:46 AM

   President Trump has left the relative comfort of Washington, and now faces world leaders still angry over him calling their countries “s–tholes.”

   The commander-in-chief arrived in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, where he has pledged to preach his “America First” message to the global elite.

   But some leaders refuse to let an insult from a previous news cycle, where Trump said that he did not want immigrants from “s–thole” countries in Africa, slide.

   “The continent is deeply shocked by the message of hatred and the desire to marginalize Africa,” Moussa Faki, a Chad native who heads the African Union Commission, said Thursday.

   He said that the continent “has yet to finish digesting” the remarks, and cannot remain silent about them.

   His remarks will hang over the meeting, though it is unclear how strongly they will be addressed.

   The President is expected to meet with Faki’s colleague Paul Kagame, the President of the African Union and Rwanda, on Thursday at Davos.

   Beyond Kagame, Trump is also expected to meet with British Prime Minister Theresa May and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his first day at the tony ski resort town where celebrities and business leaders have gathered for the World Economic Forum.

   Swiss group planning ‘non-welcome committee’ for Trump

   Trump is also slated to make a speech to the forum on Friday. `

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5. 

   Sargeant

   January 25, 2018 at 4:37 pm

   
   

   Someone somewhere has a sense of humour, The Trumps asked the Guggenheim to lend them a Van Gogn to decorate their personal living quarters. The museum said no but it suggested an alternative piece of art that was available- a gold 18 carat fully functioning toilet.

   https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/the-white-house-wanted-a-van-gogh-the-guggenheim-offered-a-used-solid-gold-toilet/2018/01/25/38d574fc-0154-11e8-bb03-722769454f82_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_trumptoilet-3pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.f4be2777a4bd

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6. 

   Hants

   January 25, 2018 at 4:51 pm

   
   

   @ Sargeant, Trump getting a break on Canadian TV.

   PC leader Patrick Brown getting the licks for alleged bad behavior and has resigned.

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7. 

   lawson

   January 25, 2018 at 5:17 pm

   
   

   thats seem to be the problem ….brown wanting the licks
   hopefully somebody will defeat that hideous dyke

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8. 

   NorthernObserver

   January 25, 2018 at 5:27 pm

   
   

   given how Brown’s aides have scattered, and so fast, this must have been the worst kept secret in Queen’s Park. What are the odds that former Federal leadership candidate, Leitch, after retiring from Federal politics a few days ago, jumps into the Provincial race?
   They cannot afford a male candidate, if ‘allegations’ is all it takes to get them to step down?
   And going to court is useless, Ghomeshi won in court, but is still guilty is the public court of ‘female opinion’.

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9. 

   Sargeant

   January 25, 2018 at 5:46 pm

   
   

   “Lawson”, you must be hurting today, on the Federal/Provincial PC scene in the last week few days it has been Kellie Leitch, Jamie Baillie in NS and the latest hope in Ontario Patrick Brown.

   Kathleen Wynne is going to establish a Ministry of Loneliness to help the PC’s through the long winter, meanwhile I recommend two Gordon Lightfoot songs, “Songs for a Winter’s Night” and “The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”.

   @Northern
   I don’t think Leitch will play well in the 416 or 905 areas, remember “barbaric cultural values”? I hear Lisa Raitt is on the short list but it will be the female MP from Ottawa

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10. 

    Hal Austin

    January 25, 2018 at 5:48 pm

    
    

    lawson January 25, 2018 at 5:17 PM #

    Are you piping in the haggis this evening?

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11. 

    NorthernObserver

    January 25, 2018 at 6:08 pm

    
    

    @Sarge
    I was just ‘stirrin de pot’.
    it will be the female ‘from somewhere’.

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12. 

    NorthernObserver

    January 25, 2018 at 6:32 pm

    
    

    your choice Sarge…..””I believe women who come forward on national news because it has to be one of the most courageous things a woman can do, and I support them,” Nepean–Carleton MPP Lisa MacLeod told CBC Thursday morning.”

    The male party members will throw her under a bus….lol. She says “Brown is guilty….I believe women”. Is Ghomeshi guilty….does it matter?

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13. 

    NorthernObserver

    January 25, 2018 at 6:36 pm

    
    

    Falling like dominoes
    “Sport Minister Kent Hehr resigns from Trudeau cabinet amid sexual misconduct allegations”

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14. 

    Hal Austin

    January 25, 2018 at 6:55 pm

    
    

    NorthernObserver January 25, 2018 at 6:36 PM #

    “Sport Minister Kent Hehr resigns from Trudeau cabinet amid sexual misconduct allegations”

    What has this to do with Barbados?

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15. 

    de pedantic Dribbler

    January 25, 2018 at 7:31 pm

    
    

    @Hal, are you really serious at 6:55 PM!

    You certainly can’t be that myopic, inward thinking and/or estupido.🙃

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16. 

    de pedantic Dribbler

    January 25, 2018 at 8:02 pm

    
    

    @Sergeant, it is one thing to be rude from the WH. Absolutely different dynamic to be rude TO the WH.

    That type of sense of humor could get a person terminated.

    Well at minimum the Guggenheim will get loads of free marketing for next few days.. might even get some donations and more sales at their auctions….

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17. 

    Sargeant

    January 25, 2018 at 8:20 pm

    
    

    @Northern
    Lisa McLeod will be next PC leader in Ontario

    Hehr was on thin ice for some time, he belittled some disabled folks and he is disabled himself.

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18. 

    Sargeant

    January 25, 2018 at 8:29 pm

    
    

    @DPD
    What does Robbie Burns have to with Barbados? 😊

    The “Golden Throne” is a piece of art and was on display at the museum, the museum just substituted one piece of art for another. This was right down Trump’s alley have you ever seen photos of the Louis XVI chairs he has in his penthouse?

    https://timeline.com/donald-trump-gilded-chair-c93510cc8f40

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19. 

    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    January 26, 2018 at 12:46 pm

    
    

    Lawson…Justin the Alpha male, snubbed the coward and sissy trump in Davos..lol

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20. 

    555dubstreet

    January 26, 2018 at 7:25 pm

    
    

    It is time to Africanise all y’all

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21. 

    lawson

    January 26, 2018 at 8:01 pm

    
    

    Hal I was out drinking last night but not many fellow scots where I was at.
    Sargeant I have to laugh because everyone I was out with to a man said they could never run for politics…too many female skeletons in the closet…that can come out of nowhere and derail a person whether it is true or not ..Just look at poor Bill Cosby. LOL
    WW your boyfriend is such an idiot cant wait the only reason someone hasnt come out against him is …nobody wants to admit to it

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22. 

    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    January 27, 2018 at 5:24 pm

    
    

    Lawson….ya just jealous that he got a nice tush, they are always comparing it on FB with the ass in the WH…..lol

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23. 

    ra1

    February 8, 2018 at 1:40 am

    
    

    Make America white Again
    ‎
    President Trump reportedly referred to Haiti and countries in Africa as “shithole countries” and called for more immigrants from places like Norway at an Oval Office meeting with lawmakers.
    Donald Trump wants to make America white again. He wants all the defective genes from Caucasians in Norway & other European Countries. Read the studies below.

    CNN -Sperm counts of men in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand are plunging, according to a new analysis published Tuesday.

    Among these men there has been a 52% decline in sperm concentration and a 59% decline in total sperm count over a nearly 40-year period ending in 2011….
    No significant declines were seen in sperm counts of men living in South America, Asia and Africa.

    Higher cancer risk for those with blue eyes

    People with blue, green or grey eyes and fair skin are at greater risk of eye cancer, according to new research. The increased risk is linked to pigmentation genes that dictate eye colour.

    How a ‘red hair’ gene raises skin cancer risk
    Red-headed people make up between 1 to 2 percent of the world’s population, but the rates are higher among people descended from Northern European stock.People who have a gene known to cause red hair also have a much higher-than-usual risk of skin cancer.
    The gene appears to raise the risk of cancer-causing mutations, even when they don’t go into the sun.

    Skin Cancer Skyrockets in Norway

    Number of Norwegians who were diagnosed with skin cancer has increased by 27 percent in the period of 2007-2011 compared with 2002-2006, according to the new figures from Kreftregisteret.

    GLOBOCAN 2012 v1.1, Cancer Incidence and Mortality Worldwide: IARC CancerBase No. 11

    The highest cancer rate for men and women together was found in Denmark with 338 people per 100,000 being diagnosed in 2012.The age-standardised rate was at least 300 per 100,000 for nine countries (Denmark, France, Australia, Belgium, Norway, US, Ireland, South Korea and the Netherlands).The countries in the top ten come from Europe, Oceania, Northern America and Asia.

    N.B No shit hole countries in Africa made the top ten on this list.

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24. Roni Elkind

    March 31, 2018 at 10:05 pm

    
    

    Donald Trump Declared Persona Non Grata | Barbados Underground

    […]If you are promoting and advertising and marketing health and wellness, why would you be recruiting a 21-yr-old school student?[…]

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