Politics Thread!

[KlaxonCow]

Also, Trump's stated reasoning is bollocks.

As he said that China was getting the 125% tariff for disrespecting him and world trade and shit, because they bit back with a retaliatory tariff.

While all the other nations of the world are getting a 90 day "pause" at only 10% (which, by the way, is not a pause, it's just a reduced rate) because they were good little boys and girls in not retaliating.

Except they absolutely did retaliate, you lying shit-face.

The EU had just moments before Trump's U-turn agreed a 25% retaliatory tariff, which were due to come into force on the 12th (https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025 ... ry-tariffs). Note that a 25% tariff is actually higher than Trump's 20% tariff against them.

Canada was also hitting back with a 25% retaliatory tariff on cars, due to come into effect at pretty much the exact point when Trump chickened out. Oh, and Canada's tariffs remain because "51st state" or some shit.

There was a whole load of retaliatory tariffs being lined up. Approved and ready to go in the next few days.

And of course China fucking responded, you're hitting them with a 104% tariff. Which is insane. Indeed, China has been rather nice that its retaliatory tariffs have always been more measured and less than what the US was imposing on them.

And, bottom line, if a country imposes tariffs on you, then you've essentially got to impose similar tariffs back or you grant that country an unfair trade advantage. Everyone would have eventually responded. All of them. They have to, because that's how the economics works. As well as the united political message of "fuck off" to deter any rational minded actor from continuing to pursue this self-bankrupting madness.

It's bollocks. He's lying. Either he got scared - and all his allies pushed him to drop it in the face of stock markets collapsing in all directions - or, as I say, this is just a simple-minded "protection racket".

"That's a nice country you got there. It would be a shame if anything were to happen to it."

Businesses and the rest of the planet has to work out a "plan B" and keep going with it. Hold it in reserve for 90 days to wait and see, if you want.

But keep it in the back pocket, because the orange shit-for-brains is so likely to do what he did with Canada and Mexico. Threaten tariffs, revoke them at the last second with a "one month reprieve" and then threaten them all over again, trying to bully your demands out of them with threats.

The American dollar cannot be the reserve currency anymore. It's not reliable and stable enough, when arse-face is in charge. We do need better self-defence in Europe and more self-sufficiency and interdependence away from America in the rest of the world. We can't trust them anymore, so it's time to make other arrangements.


Oh, and making the stock markets crash, then announcing you're reversing the policy that made them crash, so they all recover?

Trump and his friends all need to be investigated for insider trading. Did they "buy low" and are now "selling high"? A cheap "get rich quick" scheme, at the expense of the world's stability?

[tufty]

"THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT"

[F-ZeroOne]

I very nearly posted yesterday wondering why China hasn't started banning Hollywood movies in retaliation.

Guess what they're thinking of doing as of today?

Nothing sums up the current state of the world than this line from a review of the new series of "Black Mirror":

" 'Black Mirror' is now a delightful escape from reality. ".

Brooker isn't a nihilist, hes simply been happy to a standard that was ahead of its time!

[PFVA]

Oh, and making the stock markets crash, then announcing you're reversing the policy that made them crash, so they all recover?

Trump and his friends all need to be investigated for insider trading. Did they "buy low" and are now "selling high"? A cheap "get rich quick" scheme, at the expense of the world's stability?

According to ABC news I just saw, 2 senators, Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz. are asking for an investigation into that.

[PFVA]

And just me here thinking about something also related.

Yesterday TV news were telling us about items we should expect prices to rise because they are imported from the US. Among them, almonds and oranges.
Almonds and oranges ????
We grew lots of those. They have been replacing them with avocados and other tropical fruit that is drying up and even desertifying the south of the country and we are importing the almonds and the oranges from the U.S.A. This makes absolute no sense.
And if we are importing oranges why don't we import them fm Brazil?

[tufty]

And if we are importing oranges why don't we import them fm Brazil?

Because the EU has a trade agreement with the US. Well, "had".

As to why almonds and oranges? The US produces 80% of the worlds almonds, from producers mostly in California. In parts of California that voted overwhelmingly for mango Mussolini. For oranges, it's different. The EU import fuck all oranges from the US, most of the imports to the EU are from Egypt and South Africa - the US doesn't even appear as a footnote. But US oranges come from Florida and the same parts of California as the almonds. Trump voting areas.

It's tightly targetted, and a highly political decision.

[tufty]

SCOTUS ruled 9-0 that Trump's administration must facilitate the return of Kilmar Armando Albrego Garcia, the man sent to El Salvador by administrative error. That's a pretty solid statement.

Mind you, there's a few ways the Trump admin might try to weasel around it. I expect them to do all of them.

[Harlequin]

SCOTUS ruled 9-0 that Trump's administration must facilitate the return of Kilmar Armando Albrego Garcia, the man sent to El Salvador by administrative error. That's a pretty solid statement.

Mind you, there's a few ways the Trump admin might try to weasel around it. I expect them to do all of them.

The Supreme Court obviously consists entirely of Woke Radical Left Activist judges, including those corrupted after their appointment by the Sunbed King himself, and must be replaced immediately in an emergency measure to protect democracy and Truth.

[tufty]

The Supreme Court obviously consists entirely of Woke Radical Left Activist judges, including those corrupted after their appointment by the Sunbed King himself, and must be replaced immediately in an emergency measure to protect democracy and Truth.

Hadn't thought of that one. The ones I thought of initially, in no particular order...

- Just don't do it, whilst saying you're trying to.
- Refuse to do it - what are the supreme court gonna do?
- Say you have no authority to ask El Salvador to send him back
- Say you don't know where he is, El Salvador have lost him.
- Say you're going to facilitate his return, you have a meeting planned for before end Q4 '26
- Say he's dead, bring back an urn of ashes
- Have El Salvador send the wrong man back. Several times. If you want to add insult to injury, make sure some of them are women.
- Have El Salvador make sure he /is/ dead, bring back an urn of ashes
- Bring him back alive, but make sure he's in no state to give any interviews.
- Round up his family and lawyers, and render them to El Salvador. Family reunion, everyone wins!

All of these are depressingly plausible.

[PFVA]

Our turn.
Six of our universities had some kind of US funded programs eliminated after their Embassy send a strange questionnaire of 32 questions that was not well received.
It included questions about involvement with groups that promote mass immigration, policies about gender change, climate change prevention, if they have contacts with communist and socialist parties, They also want to know if they have programs fm Russia, China, Iran and even the United Stations.
The universities refused to answer telling them this is a democratic country, etc, etc.
The aid consisted of 20 thousand a year to promote a Program called American corner that promoted American culture and I get the feeling the universities are not specially worried about loosing it. And yes, at least China has a similar thing in some universities promoting their culture and languages. Several other countries do.

[zip accident]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/creq99l218do

US fires Greenland military base chief for 'undermining' Vance

[KlaxonCow]

From that article:

Last month, Vance said Denmark had "not done a good job" for Greenlanders and had not spent enough on security while visiting the Danish territory.

The irony. As the only people that Greenlanders need any security from is Trump's administration.

[F-ZeroOne]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20xn626y81o

Certain electronic items, including smartphones and "computers" will now be exempted from tariffs. Its almost like no-one knows what they're actually doing!

[SuperMappy]

The irony. As the only people that Greenlanders need any security from is Trump's administration.

No more Vikings then? Well I suppose you could call the current administration "The Vikings" holding a big sign that reads "We're here to help"

[KlaxonCow]

The irony. As the only people that Greenlanders need any security from is Trump's administration.

No more Vikings then?

Well, no. Because they are the Vikings. Or, well, descendants thereof.