Before WWII the US didn't give a shit about any other country or what was going on globally as long as it was able to pursue it's uniquely ruthless form wild-west capitalism unhindered.
For completeness, it didn't give much of a shit about any of that for the first third of WW2 either.
Plus, of course, he's sinced paused most of them, so it's clearly not much of an emergency.
Well, Donald Trump says its an emergency, so it's an emergency.
Up until recently I was wondering how it was that he was not bothering with HoR or HoS to get these Executive Orders actioned, but turns out if there's a nation threatening emergency, then the president - one man - can executive order all sorts of stuff to happen.
So it will continue to be an emergency, most likely until the mid terms, when some adults might be able to turn off that tap.
The USA's single point of failure is Donald.
It's sufficiently not that much of an emergency that he can lower them all to 10% before the ink was dry on the initial tariff paperwork.... 🙂
A cross-post from another group I lurk in...
Quote of the decade from the above:
President Trump has made clear that loyalty to the United States must come before personal or partisan agendas, taking decisive action against those who misuse their undeserved influence to deceive the American public.
BWAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Sure Donny, whatever you say.
A few pages ago I jokingly asked of my tattoos would get me barred from the US. Not so funny now, as a fellow Ilson resident is dragged onto the chaos
BBC News - British man's tattoo wrongly linked to Venezuelan gang in US government document
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly22xm8kx1o
Looks like they mean it with the Putin-esque attitude to dissent
Head of US military base in Greenland fired after JD Vance visit
In her email, relayed to military.com, Meyers wrote: “I do not presume to understand current politics, but what I do know is the concerns of the US administration discussed by Vice-president Vance on Friday are not reflective of Pituffik space base.”
The Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on X: “Actions to undermine the chain of command or to subvert President Trump’s agenda will not be tolerated at the Department of Defense.”
To be fair armed forces are not generally noted for being institutions based on democracy, free speech , and a tolerance of dissent. Since the US president is officially the commander in chief this really doesn't come as a huge surprise.
I agree with the suggested sentiment that Trump is no liberal though.
@binners Double win for Vance then, both a killed career of a commander that is not white/male and using her as an example to bring other commanders in line. A great shame as it seems she was trying very hard to make the continued presence of that station easier for Greenland to accept.
It really is a personality cult. Currently "just" character assassination and the destruction of careers that have been years in the making and far more worthy than those in the cult.
Somebody made the point on Channel 4 news last night that this ‘ultra-loyalists only’ approach means that you ultimately replace lots of people who have years of experience and are pretty good at what they do, with a selection of idiots who haven’t got a clue what they’re doing.
Hence the chaos of the last couple of weeks. You’ve got massive decisions being taken by morons who shouldn’t be anywhere near the positions they’re in, as they simply don’t have the capacity. Trump and Vance being the living embodiment of that ethos
Youd think they’d have looked across the Atlantic to see how that worked out for our very own Poundland Trump when he did the same.
That Greenland thing is very worrying. While the military are meant to follow orders etc etc, they also can't follow orders that are illegal. Trumps actions, and in particular his rhetoric, are very close to, if not over, that threshold. There will be a lot of soul searching going on among the commanders across all the US military. I'm not convinced firing someone for disloyalty when they were trying to smooth over the inflammatory and illegal rhetoric coming from Vance and Trump will encourage the others to fall in line.
More practically, is it possible for Denmark/Greenland to tell the US to vacate the base and replace it with a "Rest of NATO" force? Maybe after the Canadian elections, as they would be key players.
Would literally force Teump to piss or get off the pot. High risk, but so is dragging all of his bullshit out for 4 more years.
The thing with the military is odd. The US forces swear an oath to the constitution, specifically stating that they will defend it against all enemies foreign and domestic, and obey the orders of the president (much like the UK, but without the "and even the ginger ones").
The Colonel in Greenland is not proven to have disobeyed orders (as I read it), and the oath that she took would still stand unless she was given orders by the chain of command to specifically not say anything. I do not know this case. I do not have insight. I HAVE had a delightful Belgian Trippel, so I feel I am able to say that I think her removal is not fair. It's probably legal given that Cheeto is her ultimate boss, but it's not fair.
Whatever. If shit like this keep happening and loyalty is the main reason nutcases keep their jobs or get promoted in the military jämförd with, say, competence, then the US is properly, not slightly, _properly_ screwed as a military force. Donny's term will purge all the effective people from the state and it will be left with just the believers and they will be, pretty much without exception, morons.
Ironic that Trump is a draft dodger, and Vance's Marine Core experience was writing press releases
It really is a personality cult
Indeed it is, and it's terrifying
Anyone else get Rolf Harris vibes watching that? What is it with wrong uns and big public art creation?
Anyone else get Rolf Harris vibes watching that? What is it with wrong uns and big public art creation?
What happens?, (I don’t do anything meta)
America is not in Truss budget territory yer, but if they do end up going into recession, it'll be very interesting to see who Trump blames, im guessing Powell and the Fed will be his first target.
The GOP is completely craven and will never get rid of him the way Truss was defenestrated by her party, but where are here his victories?
Russia is running rings around him, China isnt backing down and is making stronger ties with the rest of the west, Doge is going all in on austerity, Israel has resumed its war and the real reason he was elected -the price of eggs, is going up with everything else.
What do his fans make of this, are they still claiming its his art of the deal? does anyone listen to meathead rogan?
She paints donald looking at a crucifix, one can only hope it's meant for him
Well its almost Easter so I am willing to be swayed to the side of his cult.
Lets stick him up on it and if he rises after three days we can all declare him the messiah.
It really is a personality cult
Indeed it is, and it's terrifying
Anyone else get Rolf Harris vibes watching that? What is it with wrong uns and big public art creation?
She has an interesting name......Vanessa Horabuena
Or Vanessa Goodtime for non-Latinos.
Not exactly what you would expect a devout Christian lady to be called. Although to be fair she has clearly ignored the First Commandment about not worshiping false gods, and she has made an atheist the subject of her idolatry, so probably not the best example of a Christian.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/11/mahmoud-khalil-deportation-ruling-immigration
I found this quite remarkable:
Khalil’s “current or expected beliefs"
So you can be lawfully deported from the United States not simply for your beliefs but also for your "expected" beliefs.
Donald Trump has only been US president for less than 3 months so he has clearly not been able to change judicial system in that short time therefore this court ruling simply reflects the existing pre-Trump judicial system.
All that Trump's presidency has done is to draw attention to how very deeply flawed the American model is, and on so many levels.
Netanyahu's genocidal and criminal premiership has forced millions of people throughout the world to re-evaluate how they see Israel and now Trump is doing exactly the same with respect to the United States.
Ironically it has taking two self-serving narcissists who claim to care about their countries to help destroy their respective countries's global reputations.
Can we rewind the timeline in this current simulation a few months and tell that shooter to aim slightly to the left?, then again would it make any difference?
I read an interesting article suggesting that Trump's 90 day pause on tariffs was forced by a quiet threat from Canada. A few months ago, when it was becoming clear what Trump would do, Mark Carney started buying up US Treasury bonds, and persuaded "the EU" and Japan to do the same. Releasing those bonds onto the market would drop the price of the bonds, increasing the interest rate, with serious effects for US businesses and mortgage holders.
Canada may be illustrating the benefit of a leader who actually understands global finance.
Short term rises and falls in the stock markets are one thing, but a longer-term loss in confidence in your economy as an investment safe haven is something else.
Can we rewind the timeline in this current simulation a few months and tell that shooter to aim slightly to the left?, then again would it make any difference?
It deals with the immediate personality cult surrounding Trump, but not with the undercurrent of grievance and Christofascism that gave rise to him. It's even possible that the Republicans would still have taken the election by whipping up fervour in the wake of the assassination, and there are plenty of worse reptiles in the party who would have fully embraced the policies we are seeing.
Even if Kamala had won, chances are she wouldn't have both houses of Congress, and 2028 would have been a shitshow.
Mark Carney started buying up US Treasury bonds, and persuaded "the EU" and Japan to do the same
that is very funny
Trump however is petty enough to take it personally and launch a vendetta against Carney.... which will only make America look like more of a basket case and discourage companies from investing there.
A few months ago, when it was becoming clear what Trump would do, Mark Carney started buying up US Treasury bonds, and persuaded "the EU" and Japan to do the same.
Did he have time to do this? He only became PM on 14th March
Maybe it's a story that won't do him any harm in the snap election that he almost immediately called
Donald Trump is well on his way to making America great again as he authorises the building of the most beautiful fighter jet ever :
Trump said the F-47 would be “something the likes of which nobody has seen before” and the “the most advanced, most capable, most lethal aircraft ever built”.
But wait, the US defence industry currently gets ALL its rare earths which are vital for the construction of the F-47 from China
Well that's a bugger....... won't China help make to make America great again?!?
But wait, the US defence industry currently gets ALL its rare earths which are vital for the construction of the F-47 from China
Hence the threatening of Greenland and extortion of Ukraine over their mineral reserves. Turns out that Zelensky may hold some of the cards after all.
Meanwhile China steadily increases its influence in African countries with rare earths.
the most advanced, most capable, most lethal aircraft ever built
To be fair, Boeing has got an excellent track record developing lethal aircraft.
To be fair, Boeing has got an excellent track record developing lethal aircraft.
i see what you did there!
the most advanced, most capable, most lethal aircraft ever built
Haven’t we learnt over the last few years that the most lethal aircraft ever built is a basic drone that you could build 50 thousand of for the price of some willy-waving fighter jet and will cause utter carnage?
Haven’t we learnt over the last few years that the most lethal aircraft ever built is a basic drone that you could build 50 thousand of for the price of some willy-waving fighter jet and will cause utter carnage?
That may well be the case but I suspect even the more simplistic drones have some essential non US ingredients.
True! There was a Chinese economist on channel 4 news last night pointing out that China has the existing capacity to manufacture absolutely any product known to man, within its own country. It doesn’t have to import anything other than raw materials, which it’s spent decades quietly buying up at source.
You'd have to be pretty bloody stupid to pick a fight with them
Oh…
So he’s now exempting smart phones and tech from tariffs.
I’m never one to post on political threads but when you see comments from news outlets, suggesting it was his plan all along to bring them in then pause them, it just beggars belief that the wider damage to the economy was just not contemplated. There must be tens of millions of people nervously watching their investments slumping.
BBC:
Trump exempts smartphones and computers from new tariffs
that’ll show china. Got them right where he wants them, I bet!
but when you see comments from news outlets, suggesting it was his plan all along to bring them in then pause them, it just beggars belief that the wider damage to the economy was just not contemplated.
Any suggestion that these subsequent climbdowns and u-turns were part of some grand masterplan is just laughable. Its just a case of reality trumping ideology, as it always does.
Its almost as if it was all done on a whim without a second thought to the consequences, by a bunch of economically illiterate morons who are clearly supremey ill-qualified to be taking such decisions?
But that couldn't be the case, could it?
The truly amazing thing is that after this utterly humiliating and incompetent debacle, Trumps grip on the Republican party is stronger than ever and absolutely unbelievably, his approval ratings have actually gone up!
The dumb-**** Americans deserve everything they get. Not that this country, post-Brexit, is in any position to criticise anyone for self-defeating ecocnomic idiocy.
BBC:
Trump exempts smartphones and computers from new tariffs
that’ll show china. Got them right where he wants them, I bet!
If I was Xi I’d reciprocate and impose a 500% export tariff on Apple. It would demonstrate that’s it’s a two way street when it comes to leverage as clearly Trump is worried about the tech sector.
but when you see comments from news outlets, suggesting it was his plan all along to bring them in then pause them, it just beggars belief that the wider damage to the economy was just not contemplated.
Any suggestion that these subsequent climbdowns and u-turns were part of some grand masterplan is just laughable. Its just a case of reality trumping ideology, as it always does.
Its almost as if it was all done on a whim without a second thought to the consequences, by a bunch of economically illiterate morons who are clearly supremey ill-qualified to be taking such decisions?
Oh they thought it though just fine, as always...follow the money...
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/insider-trading-accusations-trump-tariffs-b2731764.html
Its almost as if it was all done on a whim without a second thought to the consequences, by a bunch of economically illiterate morons who are clearly supremey ill-qualified to be taking such decisions?
But that couldn't be the case, could it?
Apparently not. The latest suggestion is that it was all part of cunning plan so that Trump and his backers could fill their boots.
I am not sure if I am supposed to see Trump as a complete imbecile or some sort of genius.
The F47 doesn't seem to have a name.
We have the F35 Lightning. In the interest of maintaining a theme, how about the F47 Stormy?
Any naming suggestions either for the F47 or a new bomber (one must be due)
I think it should be the F-47 Maga
Edit : Or to stick with the theme, F-47 Windbreaker.
In honour of a US president named after a commotion in one's pants.
The F-47 Grifter, as an hommage to the 80's bike, honest 😆
The truly amazing thing is that after this utterly humiliating and incompetent debacle, Trumps grip on the Republican party is stronger than ever and absolutely unbelievably, his approval ratings have actually gone up!
I'm not so sure, there's quite a lot of footage of Republican representatives reporting the impact of the tariffs on businesses in the areas that they represent, and none of it is positive. There's a lot of public willy waving going on to try and gloss over the damage that the tariffs policy are having on genuine business owners, and they can't keep hiding it for too much longer.
his approval ratings have actually gone up!
They haven't, they have consistently gone down since his inauguration, and now they are lower than Biden's approval ratings during this point in his presidency.
trumps approval rating is going down but its still only about -8 having dropped from +1 after the election
it will take a genuine inflation bomb to shake his supporters
https://www.economist.com/interactive/trump-approval-tracker
Blimey, the graph in that link shows the steep decline in support for Trump since his inauguration
