Politics

[Tanks]

reading is fundamental..

no one said tariffs are good..

what has been said is the threat of tariffs is working for the moment..

every single country threatened with a tariff at this point has come to the negotiating table immediately and been willing to give something up..

Seems to be working.

Mexico reaches deal with Trump to avert tariffs for at least a month — Los Angeles Times

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that her country has avoided hefty U.S. tariffs — for now — after coming to an agreement with President Trump.

apple.news

 

[deewayne2003]

Rand is actually have been a pretty stable currency for the last 2-3 years and with the exception of our ambassador accusing South Africa selling weapons to Russia about two years ago and doesn't move much.
There's no benefit to South Africans including whites who has a party in the government coalition.
Great way to push them more towards Russia and China.
You'll see the facts and evidence soon if this doesn't get reversed.

Wasn't the SA Krugerrand created specifically to act as a guard/value store against the volatility of the Rand?

Also we are talking about a government that willfully allowed 87 men to starve to death at the bottom of a 2km/1.2mi deep mine shaft by having officers posted at the abandoned mines entrance preventing food/water from going into the mine and people from coming out.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62qqg0zj6yo

 

[Boyd Brooks]

Unfortunately our little potato, shit his diaper when there wasn’t a socialist leader next door. He knew he was out of his league and quit. Rather than calling an election to elect a strong leader, he pauses parliament to find a replacement libiturd for his party. That new WEF puppet won’t have to call an election before next October, unless they fail a vote of non- confidence in the house of commons. Unfortunately Turdeau has done what the Democrats were trying to do, get the new Canadians a vote. Give them everything they want and they will vote for you. I had to wait 19 years to vote as a born and raised Canadian, immigrants should have to wait 19 years for the right to vote in Canada. I understand what Donald wants, it should be what Canada wants, and God willing, will be corrected once we finally get an election.

 

[CJW]

The other pilot had about 2,000 hours and considering average trip is about 2 hours, that is a fair amount of experience.
She was the trainee, and the other pilot was the pilot in command that was evaluating her.
More facts coming soon.

Really? 2000? Are you privy to info the rest of us aren't or did they update info?

"Koziol, the Army aviation adviser, said the instructor pilot had about 1,000 flying hours and the co-pilot, who was undergoing the evaluation, had about 500 hours."

Investigation into deadly midair collision focuses on helicopter flight

What happened inside the Army Black Hawk helicopter in the moments before the fatal crash is key to unraveling the disaster, experts say.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Wheels]

Donalds toll medicine did not work in the past..

McKinley Tariff - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

It actually worked fairly well during Trump's first term. The talking heads said the tariffs on steel/aluminum/etc. would kill the market and cause inflation. Instead exporters devalued their own currencies to make up for most of the difference. By devaluing their own currencies, the exporting countries actually made all products they sent to America cheaper and in most trade scenarios America ended up importing total goods at a lower price with tariffs than before the tariffs.

Doesn't Norway have a 25% VAT on most everything they import. What is the difference between that and a 25% tariff?

 

[Boyd Brooks]

It actually worked fairly well during Trump's first term. The talking heads said the tariffs on steel/aluminum/etc. would kill the market and cause inflation. Instead exporters devalued their own currencies to make up for most of the difference. By devaluing their own currencies, the exporting countries actually made all products they sent to America cheaper and in most trade scenarios America ended up importing total goods at a lower price with tariffs than before the tariffs.

Doesn't Norway have a 25% VAT on most everything they import. What is the difference between that and a 25% tariff?

VAT doesn’t sound offensive like tariff.

 

[gbflyer]

2000 hours is actually A LOT of experience..

I know General Officers that spent 30+ years in the military.. with 20+ of those years in the cockpit.. that retired with 3000 hours..

Ive got a close friend that was a KC135 pilot (long flights, transatlantic all the time, etc..etc.. that got out after 10 years that only had about 1800 hours when he left the USAF..

Its not uncommon for civilian pilots that either fly rotary wing (air ambulance, etc) or small prop aircraft to retire at 2000 hours..


you also have to take the word "trainee" with a grain of salt.. whenever a pilot switches airframes or even models of the same airframe, they have to conduct a certain amount of training to be certified in that new aircraft.. its entirely possible for a pilot with 2000 or more hours of experience to be a "trainee"... an example would be another friend of mine that flew A10's for most of his career.. he transitioned to HH60's as a LT COL with over 2000 hours under his belt.. he then had to go through an extensive training process to fly the HH60 (all while he was the actual commander of the unit he was flying for).. he then retired as an O6 and started flying for FedX... he amassed a ton of hours as the pilot in command of a L1011 (wide body jumbo).. but after almost 10 years with FedX had to transition to the 777 and spent several months as a "trainee" while he got certified on that airframe..

I cannot speak to the military training environment, not having served. I have seen the kind of hours military pilots get, knowing several past and present, and it’s a lot less than they would like.

In the civilian environment, 2000 flight hours is in a danger zone, maybe even more so than the 500 hour pilot. It’s basically a year of doing a 40hr/week job.

Busting altitude by 150’ in an IFR environment will yield a tongue lashing from ATC, even using the NASA ASRS before calling the phone number they issue may be in order. I suspect it’s to a much greater degree around the D.C. airspace.

Terrible accident. Hope we can all learn from it.

 

[Wheels]

Looks like Mexico responded with a commitment of 10,000 troops to the border and a promise to stop drug and illegals from entering America. Mexico just received a 30 day reprieve.

Instead of responding with better border security, Canada responded with Tariffs against America that targeted red state products the most. I feel bad for my Canadian friends but things are about to get much much worse this week. Trump is not a person to push back on. Hopefully Canada gets a change in leadership soon.

 

[Tanks]

Really? 2000? Are you privy to info the rest of us aren't or did they update info?

...

Original reports had said 2K hours. It is an evolving investigation, so even more things probably will change.
BTW, Koziol also called it a low risk flight with lights on either side of the river acting as handrails.

 

[mdwest]

I cannot speak to the military training environment, not having served. I have seen the kind of hours military pilots get, knowing several past and present, and it’s a lot less than they would like.

In the civilian environment, 2000 flight hours is in a danger zone, maybe even more so than the 500 hour pilot. It’s basically a year of doing a 40hr/week job.

Busting altitude by 150’ in an IFR environment will yield a tongue lashing from ATC, even using the NASA ASRS before calling the phone number they issue may be in order. I suspect it’s to a much greater degree around the D.C. airspace.

Terrible accident. Hope we can all learn from it.

I think a lot of it in the military depends on the rank and the airframe in terms of what a "seasoned" pilot looks like..

On the army side of the house where Warrant Officers can stay in the cockpit the majority of their career, vs a commissioned Officer that will have to do multiple tours during their career that take them away from the cockpit as well as have additional duties assigned on top of their flying duties when they are in flying assignments, its expected that the WO's rack up significantly more hours than the O's over a similar period of years..

And then on the USAF side, at least from what Ive been told by the guys that flew for the USAF, the airframe is going to make a huge difference.. for example, most fighter guys whose resumes Ive seen finish their careers with a little more than 2000 hours.. whereas most bomber guys finish out closer to 3000... vs the cargo haulers can finish out well over 5000..

On the civilian side, according to my FedX buddy, it depends a lot on the route and the airframe.. he's a long haul guy that flies out of Anchorage on Asia routes and averages about 75 hours a month I believe.. so maybe 900 hours per year... compared to the .mil guys, those hours are going to add up very quickly.. he's been there I think about 15 years at this point.. so, he spent 25 in the USAF and amassed just under 3000 hours.. but in 15 years at FedX he's picked up 13,500... He'll tell you that his counterparts that fly domestic dont get the same number of hours he does (shorter routes, more downtime between flights, etc).. but that they still rack up hours at a much faster rate than the .mil guys..

 

[Wheels]

USAID getting shut down within two weeks of the inauguration is more than I could have hoped for. World leaders must be feeling a sense of relief that USAID is no longer funding NGO's, academia, media, censorship, fringe opposition, etc in their countries.

Americans will be mad when they find out USAID has funded the NGO's that brought the illegals into the country and that they have funded the NGO's that pushed the censorship industry in America and that they funded the NGO's that pushed Academia into the extreme views they now have. There is a lot more we are about to find out.

USAID isn't the only agency doing this type of stuff but they were definitely the worst. This is why they were the first targeted. America is taking back power from the fourth branch of government.

 

[Altitude sickness]

USAID getting shut down within two weeks of the inauguration is more than I could have hoped for. World leaders must be feeling a sense of relief that USAID is no longer funding NGO's, academia, media, censorship, fringe opposition, etc in their countries.

Americans will be mad when they find out USAID has funded the NGO's that brought the illegals into the country and that they have funded the NGO's that pushed the censorship industry in America and that they funded the NGO's that pushed Academia into the extreme views they now have. There is a lot more we are about to find out.

USAID isn't the only agency doing this type of stuff but they were definitely the worst. This is why they were the first targeted. America is taking back power from the fourth branch of government.

Good riddance to USAID

USAID did not only spend billions of our dollars strong arming countries into programs that went against their religious values. It’s been going on for decades

USAID is nothing but a front for Dirty Deeds Not Done Cheap. They conduct some of the most covert operations done by any government agency. Aid is the front.

They won’t even tell Trump everything they are doing all over the world.

Those programs need oversight . And there has been ZERO oversight for decades.

 

[deewayne2003]

USAID getting shut down within two weeks of the inauguration is more than I could have hoped for. World leaders must be feeling a sense of relief that USAID is no longer funding NGO's, academia, media, censorship, fringe opposition, etc in their countries.

Americans will be mad when they find out USAID has funded the NGO's that brought the illegals into the country and that they have funded the NGO's that pushed the censorship industry in America and that they funded the NGO's that pushed Academia into the extreme views they now have. There is a lot more we are about to find out.

USAID isn't the only agency doing this type of stuff but they were definitely the worst. This is why they were the first targeted. America is taking back power from the fourth branch of government.

Yes sir they did fund NGOs' that facilitated illegal immigration....

Like the HIAS(Hebrew Immigration Aid Society) - Which set up the support camps on the south end of the Darien gap to help migrants from all over the world have the support they need to make it to the border.

No wonder the HIAS was so happy to have Joe Biden name one of their BOARD MEMBERS - Alejandro Mayorkas to the head of DHS in 2020!

https://hias.org/statements/hias-congratulates-board-member-alejandro-mayorkas-dhs-nomination/

HIAS

We need to talk about this The Darién Gap, a stretch of jungle that connects Colombia to Panama, is considered one of the most dangerous migration routes in the world. In 2022, almost 250,000...

www.facebook.com

https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/darien-gap-migration-crossroads

 

[mdwest]

New Jersey governor houses migrant at his house, tells feds 'good luck' trying to get her

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is hinting that he is housing an illegal immigrant at his home, telling the feds "good luck" trying to get her.

www.foxnews.com

Tom Holman said he'd arrest the Mayor of Denver if he violated the law or inhibited Fed LEO's from enforcing the law as it relates to deportation of migrants..

Looks like its time for him to take a quick flight to New Jersey, serve a search warrant, and potentially arrest the Gov of NJ.. Otherwise his prior statements are meaningless..

 

[WAB]

Yep...

Trump Tariffs Live Updates: Mexico Says It Reached Deal to Delay Tariffs

President Claudia Sheinbaum said her country struck a deal to put the tariffs on hold for a month, but levies on Canada and China were still set to take effect on Tuesday. U.S. shares fell at the opening bell, following drops in Asian and European markets, amid fears of a trade war.

www.nytimes.com

Canada will be very close behind..

77% of all Canadian goods sold abroad are sold in the US... a tariff will DESTROY their economy as they don't have other buyers lined up to purchase those goods.. while there would be limited impact to the US economy (there are plenty of global suppliers for much of what we buy from Canada)..

Trueadu and the Canadian parliament have very little option unless they expect to start doing significantly more trade with China and think the Chinese will be better trading partners (the Chinese have proven over and over again they are great at selling you their stuff, but not so great at buying your stuff unless its raw materials they need for making their stuff that they are ultimately going to sell back to you.. )..

I don’t disagree with the premise that trade imbalances need to be corrected. In the case of Canada, I haven’t heard a clear explanation of what we are after, and I certainly don’t agree with the approach being taken. Canada/US trade is highly complex. I’ll give two examples that are significant to the US on a national level:

Our most complex fuels refinery is in Pine Bend, MN. It is designed specifically to process heavy Canadian crude supplied by a pipeline originating in Hardisty, Alberta. This refinery is not configured to effectively process lighter US Crude oil. Cripple this refinery and you will feel the effects wherever you live in the US. Canada has for years evaluated an over the mountain route to allow waterborne export of their crude to non US destinations. We do not want this to happen!

Our big automakers run operations on both sides of the border. Raw material, components, and assembled vehicles move back and forth in a complex dance. Throw a bomb into the middle of this and you negatively impact multiple industries of national importance.

Again, I’m not saying we should not push for a better balance of trade with Canada. However, let’s act like adults and proceed with caution. Somehow we seem to be forgetting that they have been one of our greatest allies.

 

[mdwest]

I dont think the tariff threat on Canada is actually about trade at all..

He wants the border sealed.. and Trudeau went public last week with a bunch of nonsense about how the Canadian border is not porous, etc..etc.. (blithered on about how they have some program that's already showing great results (the program was just approved in December and hasn't been implemented yet). etc etc).. He made statements about how the fentanyl and migrant issue arent issues with the Canadian border (when in fact fentanyl and migrants are entering the US from Canada.. not in the same numbers as the MX border.. but they are indeed coming in from the north as well)...

If Trudeau comes back and says "I'll put 10,000 mounties and Canadian mil along the border.. and I'll increase the punishment for migrants and drug dealers caught anywhere near the border.... and I think the threat of tariffs go away...

No one cares about a Canadian 250% tariff on US eggs.. or a 250% tariff on US butter.. our egg and butter producers are doing just fine without exporting their products in large quantities to Canada..

What I think Trump cares about is the border..

 

[Wheels]

I don’t disagree with the premise that trade imbalances need to be corrected. In the case of Canada, I haven’t heard a clear explanation of what we are after, and I certainly don’t agree with the approach being taken. Canada/US trade is highly complex. I’ll give two examples that are significant to the US on a national level:

Our most complex fuels refinery is in Pine Bend, MN. It is designed specifically to process heavy Canadian crude supplied by a pipeline originating in Hardisty, Alberta. This refinery is not configured to effectively process lighter US Crude oil. Cripple this refinery and you will feel the effects wherever you live in the US. Canada has for years evaluated an over the mountain route to allow waterborne export of their crude to non US destinations. We do not want this to happen!

Our big automakers run operations on both sides of the border. Raw material, components, and assembled vehicles move back and forth in a complex dance. Throw a bomb into the middle of this and you negatively impact multiple industries of national importance.

Again, I’m not saying we should not push for a better balance of trade with Canada. However, let’s act like adults and proceed with caution. Somehow we seem to be forgetting that they have been one of our greatest allies.

Agree with you regarding that the messaging to the American public seems unclear regarding the tariffs to Canada, Mexico and China.

Also agree with @mdwest that it is all about the border and drugs. Think it was Holman who said more illegals on the terrorist watch list have entered America through Canada than the southern border.

It seems it was clear to Shienbaum. She committed 10,000 troops and arrested a cartel leader earlier today. She received a 30 day moratorium.

It seems it was clear to Poilievre who said today that Canada needs to send troops to the border.

The individual who doesn't seem to get it or chooses to disregard it is Trudeau.

 

[wesheltonj]

I think when you look at the percentage of known terrorists entering the USA, most enter from Canada - 86%.

• In 2022, 380 terror suspects were stopped at a U.S. land border crossing, and 82% of them came from Canada.
  
  
• In 2023, 564 terror suspects were stopped at a U.S. land border crossing, and 86% of them came from Canada.
  

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

The individual who doesn't seem to get it or chooses to disregard it is Trudeau.

He's got nothing to lose by poking Trump in the eye prior to leaving.

 

[Wheels]

Chart shows US money for Ukraine through fiscal year end 2024..

USAID got 39B. It will be interesting to see how much of this was given to NGO's who laundered the money back to DC in it's various forms. This also helps in understanding Zelensky's statements yesterday. It also helps explain why the peace agreements between Ukraine and Russia which included at least 16 drafts and redrafts suddenly stopped in April/May of 2022 after the Boris Johnson trip to Kiev.

There may be a decent chance the UK and the EU have their own form of USAID.