Musk also has got access to loads of data by getting into confidentiali computer systems
The tariffs are the magician's right hand. You're so busy watching it you don't see what the left hand is doing.
The closing of USAID is sly and pernicious. It'll save a few billion, while leaving foreigners in the crap. Win/win.
China will fill that gap greedily, increasing their influence and power around the world without effort.
As the US retreats into itself like a tortoise, China is about to move it's empire all the way into Africa without a tank moving.
Even more than it has already done I am afraid. It has huge hospital ships that cruise up and down the eastern coast of Africa giving free surgery and will install (and run) a telecoms infrastructure for your country for a bargain price if you want it to.
Isolation doesn't work on the global stage and I suspect we are about to see 'why' unfolding in front of us.
Trump has repeatedly made it clear that he intends to use tariffs to influence the policies of foreign governments.
He's also repeatedly asserted that he'll use tariffs to raise cash to, ultimately, get rid of income tax. If he backtracks on tariffs as soon as he gets concessions then that plan is never going to work.. so I'm going to also go with:
The tariffs are the magician’s right hand. You’re so busy watching it you don’t see what the left hand is doing.
what does he want, and why?
Trump sees the world as power blocs; The US, EU, China and Russia. I think he's 'strategy' is to unify the Americas under US control, over Canada and Central America and including Greenland (metals) and raise the drawbridge to prevent economic influence from the other blocs. What everyone else does is thereafter none of his concern.
I have no qualifications whatsoever. Born of a pretty crappy childhood, living with depression and having to get my own house and a job, any job at sixteen. Don’t tar us all with the same brush please. Not being educated doesn’t mean stupid, gullible or unable to reason. Not the thread for it but I do find it irksome when this gets rolled out.
There’s a definite STW echo chamber that everyone here has gone to university and it’s the best thing ever, I had such great experiences (like people in jobs at 18 / 19 weren’t drinking and shagging as well?) blah, blah
theres a cohort who go away and theres a cohort that stays behind (or is left behind) and thats the line that most closely tracks the Brexit devision.
All it really is – is a difference of how people feel about others and incomers.
That's very interesting and makes more sense than a simple "education to X standard". My eyes were opened at 18 when I dropped out of a very white middle class poly and went to work in an office with people from a variety of backgrounds.
My lad went to Cambridge and some of his mates are thick as shit outside their niche intetest.
Sometimes street savvy can outsmart smartz when it comes to spotting a con artist/grifter 🙂
All it really is – is a difference of how people feel about others and incomers
it’s an interesting point, I also suppose we have to add in how tribalistic people can be as well(football/politics/conspiracy theories) as people also seem to be happy to join a club and roll with it.
I'm more worried about what the Fuhrer Elon and the Musk Youth are doing to the data and functions of the state, than the whining of the orange buffoon.
Musk has obviously got his hooks in deep, and the spaceX/NASA relationship is hugely significant, and TikTok obviously got a reprieve….. but whats Bezos getting? I wonder if it’s anything that helps see-off the threat to his business of Temu etc?
Bezos? Space stuff - his knob-shaped tourist rockets all seem a bit risible and Spacex are making more headlines but Blue Origin are competing for various government space projects - heavy lift rockets, space stations, landers and so on
The concessions from Mexico and Colombia
What concessions did Colombia make? I didn't think that they had made any.
I agree that much of what Trump generally says, on a whole range of issues, lacks any serious intent and is designed more to frighten and bully others and impress his supporters, but the stock markets definitely took his threats/announcements of tariffs very seriously. Although it has to said that to date the EU don't seem to have.
As is generally the case with Trump observe what he says but don't take it too seriously, instead wait and see what he actually does.
Did you miss the successful launch of Blue Origins New Glen?
What concessions did Colombia make? I didn’t think that they had made any.
The only concession made was by trump. The extradition flights he was championing were something that routinely happens anyway. Both the US and Colombian governments have been chartering flights regularly.
He just wanted the flights to look crueler - Colombia stood up to him, he threatened tariffs, then backed down on them, and flights continued as they always had.
He sold that as a victory
Meanwhile just the talk of tariffs brought out the price gougers and coffee prices went up for US buyers but with non of that extra cost going funding the government the way a tariff would have done
Winning!
Did you miss the successful launch of Blue Origins New Glen?
Rockets only make the headlines when they blow up and make pretty lights
The Musk thing (technoBros taking over the government) and the Canada thing, the Greenland thing, and the Panama thing all thread back to the "technate of America" espoused by his maternal grandfather
Some links below... But the map is the scary end game those folks had back then....
https://digital.library.cornell.edu/catalog/ss:34227574
Would the map above involve the people below the US moving out? If not then the very people trump is trying to keep out would become us citizens.
His mate Netanyahu can give him some pointers on genocide and ethnic cleansing to solve that problem.
I'm becoming more and more convinced that Trump approaches geopolitics with the same level of sophistication that I play Civilisation.
This made me chuckle. Though I do think the rest of the world need to be loudly pointing out that doing what they were doing/going to do already is not a win for the Dear Orange Leader's bullying tactics. His hardcore fanbase won't listen, but worth undermining him when we can.
My lad went to Cambridge and some of his mates are thick as shit outside their niche intetest
Inverse relationship between intelligence and common sense.
China will fill that gap greedily, increasing their influence and power around the world without effort.
this is what Trump with his “transactional “ stance doesn’t get. He wants to see a direct return for his $, rather than something that is not tangible and ignores the law of unintended consequences.
instead wait and see what he actually does.
No. Don't do that.
Look at what's happening while he's waving his arms and raving. Slightly out of sight but it'll be the real action plan.
I doubt he knows anything about it.
Musk also has got access to loads of data by getting into confidentiali computer systems
As pointed out in the Rolling Stone article, and in a bit more detail in this Wired article; if I was in America, and I had any inkling that this was going on, it wouldn’t be so much “be afraid, be very afraid”, as be absolutely, shitting myself terrified!
Inverse relationship between intelligence and common sense.
Leaving aside the problems of defining it and going for the vaguely "streetwise" variant. This is generally the sort of thing sprouted by graduates of the "university of life" and "school of hard knocks". To put it mildly its an oversimplification to the point of stupidity.
There are plenty of highly intelligent people who have sod all common sense but likewise plenty of morons who dont have it either.
I was thinking last night, Anonymous have been quiet for an awfully long time. I imagine/ hope they're currently working on targeting the Trump administration
month in response to Mexico committing 10,000 members of the national guard to tackling the problem doesn’t really sound like backing down. It sounds like he might have a degree of success.
Im not so sure. There is a big difference between moving 10,000 troops to the border and them then actually dong anything that moves the dial.
Are we going to see Amazon UK, Starbucks UK etc. finally get hit with the same taxes as UK based companies operating within our shores, ultimately meaning more expensive prices for us consumers, in response to Senile Orange One imposing fresh tariffs on the UK?
No they wont Starbucks is still able to say that every coffee bean they use goes via Switzerland for tax purposes. They might use it as cover to put up prices though
The tariffs are the magician’s right hand. You’re so busy watching it you don’t see what the left hand is doing.
That implies that Trump knows the trick he is trying to achieve. In reality he's creating the noise and distraction while his 'assistants' (Musk etc) are doing the real dirty work. Trump pulls this off well because either he doesn't know what is going on behind the scenes or, more likely, yes had it told to him what they will do under cover but has no understanding of it so can bluster his way along without it affecting him. He's a basic puppet that's being used to play everyone, including himself, and just needs the odd nudge to keep him in the right direction. He thinks he's clever as he gets to bask in the 'glory' of these little 'wins' and those around him telling him how good a job he's doing.
It's all a lot more scary the more you look at it!
I was thinking last night, Anonymous have been quiet for an awfully long time. I
In much the same way as satire is dead - how do a group of hackers take a wreaking ball to a government that is a wreaking ball? Vandalising government websites, deleting data and doxxing government officials? - thats pretty much what the adminstration is doing
ernielynch
Full MemberWhat concessions did Colombia make? I didn’t think that they had made any.
The concession was Colombia providing their own planes to repatriate people rather than the US. Which is a small thing, but <if> it continues will cost them a few million quid over trump's presidency. Enough to give Trump a win and for people who think a million dollars is a lot for a government to maintain their erections.
TBH the whole thing was so performative on the US's side that we just can't guess what they'd have actually been doing in a year anyway, I think it's most likely that that'd have done a handful of the "military flights and chains" stunts until people lost interest and then just reverted to normal anyway.
The concession was Colombia providing their own planes to repatriate people rather than the US.
Was it though......do we know for a fact that the US had requested that the Colombian government provide transportation for the repatriation of their citizens and they had refused to?
Personally I haven't seen any evidence that this had been the case. I get the impression that it is usually the country which does the deportation that generally organises the transport, although I am happy to be corrected.
There was already a standing arrangement for repatriation and both the US and Colombian governments were in the habit of chartering planes to do it.
how do a group of hackers take a wreaking ball to a government that is a wreaking ball?
by turning the valve back on 😉
how do a group of hackers take a wreaking ball to a government that is a wreaking ball?
Ah well that's Gaza solved at least.
In a mildly amused "let's see what Trump's gone and done now" kind of way I just skimmed the news headlines before going to bed.
...A few minutes later and I actually feel a bit sick. I don't have words any more.
Oh and unrelated but then there's this little titbit. Remind me not to read the news before bed. Someone wake me up if the world catches fire?
Edit - Of course this is absolutely nothing to do with the Suez Canal being right next door, I'm sure.
month in response to Mexico committing 10,000 members of the national guard to tackling the problem doesn’t really sound like backing down. It sounds like he might have a degree of success.
Mexico had already promised those troops during the Biden administration. Trump has backed down and using that as a way of saving face. Same with the "concessions" made by Canada - they were already agreed with the Biden administration. It will make zero difference to the quantity of drugs available in the U.S.
Anyway, Mexico's yesterday's news. Today is Gaza day.
Trump Unveils Bonkers Plan to ‘Take Over’ Gaza With U.S. Troops
In a mildly amused “let’s see what Trump’s gone and done now” kind of way I just skimmed the news headlines
My first action this morning - holy **** he's going all out before someone gets him certified! He seems to have just proposed ethnic cleansing to take over a foreign land essentially for a commercial enterprise, but handily located for Suez.
But that little tidbit about Google potentially mixing AI and weapons is much more serious.
Christ on a bike, it's a maga box ticking exercise.
- Occupy the holy land
- Clear out the natives
- Build, baby build (casinos optional)
- Control access to Suez
It's full clown land from Trump.
And still quietly in the background Muskolini is tearing up more of the government and getting his hands on more and more information.
Holy mackerel
US Palestinian Trump voters the latest demographic to FAFO just how sensible hat was
