Politics

[Rocked and Loaded]

I dont bemoan anything.. And I agree that all NATO states need to rearm..that is long over due..but it is happening now.. We recently committed us to spend USD 165 billion more on defence and more is coming. All NATO states in western Europe is doing so..

Your argument that we should have known whats coming with Trump..he is highly unpredicable and you never know whats coming next week..

Furthermore, the handling of Ukraine and the toll circus is beyond me..

The war is now and may even be over before your 165billion is spent.

What has been going on in Europe in the 17 years since Russia invaded parts of Georgia?

 

[cwpayton]

With Rubio, Vance, DeSantis and others, the future leadership of the Republican Party is incredible. The Dems are going to be hard pressed
to field a credible candidate.

ha ha Hilary is still lurking about like a witch that was abandon

 

[Altitude sickness]

It would be pretty crazy if Comey set up and ran a honeypot scheme against the Trump 45 campaign. With what Comey did against Flynn and the Russia Gate conspiracy it wouldn't be a surprise.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1894744576671318454

It’s been leaked that Comey and his minions. As well as other agencies were using intelligence devices on the 2016 Trump campaign and Trumps cohorts. those particular devices are not supposed to be used on US citizens.

As well as more traditional devices known as Triggerfish, hailstrom and stingray devices. And even these commonly used devices are to only be used on known criminals. And only with Warrants.

When discovered they said they only used the devices to track physical location. Not data, emails or phone calls. They lied.

 

[deewayne2003]

Not exactly. However, there are dozens upon dozens of systems on that aircraft that require periodic software and firmware updating. The collaboration systems that make the F-35 so lethal also aren't particularly useful if there is no command and control interface (read AWACS) to enable that integration.

Without the US as an ally, the F-35 doesn't make a lot of sense for anyone.

I’m not doubting you and agree on the updates/planned obsolescence in the event of conflict.

On the other hand I find not having active kill switches odd, and by kill switch I mean not necessarily an actual switch that could be found and circumvented; but rather something in the coding or a back door if you will, to shut the thing down by signal….and it may well be there and rightfully highly classified.

Because even in the civilian world with modern bulldozers the wiring harness has GPS embedded in it.

1. For financing, if you don’t make your equipment payments the salesman can drive out to the job site by GPS location and wait for that particular dozer to be in a safe place and shut it down from his iPad.

2. Equipment theft, One of the last CAT D8T bulldozers with out integrated GPS was stolen off of one of my job sites in downtown Dallas Labor Day weekend 2011….

 

[deewayne2003]

I know we are all experts on tariffs but I think it is also something of a tempest in a tea kettle. Goods tend to get all the attention, but services are in play as well. I again queried Grok which can do research far faster than I can with respect to the Tariff imbalance between the US and EU. Interesting response.

Yes, there is a tariff imbalance between the United States and the European Union, but it’s not as straightforward as it might seem at first glance. The imbalance exists primarily in specific sectors and depends on how you look at the overall trade relationship.

For goods, the EU tends to impose higher tariffs on U.S. exports than the U.S. does on EU exports. For example, the EU applies a 10% tariff on U.S. passenger car imports, while the U.S. charges just 2.5% on EU cars. However, the U.S. counters this with a much higher 25% tariff on pickup trucks from the EU (and most other countries), which protects its domestic truck market. On average, though, the EU’s tariffs on U.S. goods are slightly higher—around 4-6%—compared to the U.S. average of 3-4% on EU goods. This difference has been a point of contention, especially in industries like automotive and agriculture, where the EU also restricts U.S. exports through non-tariff barriers like stringent regulations on things like meat and dairy.

That said, the picture changes when you include services, not just goods. The U.S. enjoys a significant trade surplus with the EU in services—think finance, tech, and intellectual property—while the EU has a surplus in goods. Overall, the trade relationship is more balanced than the goods-only tariff numbers suggest, with the total imbalance hovering around 3% of their trade volume, or roughly $50 billion, depending on the year.

Recent news highlights this tension. In February 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans for 25% tariffs on EU goods, arguing the EU has been “unfair” and pointing to the goods deficit. The EU has pushed back, calling these measures unjustified and threatening retaliation, while also offering to negotiate lower tariffs, like reducing its 10% car tariff to match the U.S. 2.5%. Historically, both sides have kept tariffs low—averaging under 4%—since they’re bound by World Trade Organization rules, but sector-specific differences fuel the perception of imbalance.

So, yes, there’s an imbalance in tariffs for certain goods, but it’s exaggerated when you ignore services and the broader trade context. Both sides have their protectionist quirks—EU car tariffs and U.S. truck tariffs being prime examples—and the real story is more about political leverage than pure economics.

As @Wheels notes, I frankly think VAT, at least with respect to competitive goods (autos for instance), is the real culprit. I think that unfair charging practice sometimes is lost upon Europeans because it is part of the EU economic system, rather than a specific targeted import charge.

Correct tariffs are tricky; often ridiculous and often for protection of domestic industries and Agriculture is a big policy point that brings on equally ridiculous retaliation.

You need look no further than the 25% USA import tariff on trucks/pickups cited in your example.

Chickens are one of the reasons we can’t get a Hilux in the USA….

Don’t get me started on sugar import tariffs and domestic sugar subsidies…..

 

[Brent in Az]

Nearly 1/3 of Musk's DOGE team resigned in protest, stating that they will not be involved in anything that puts the country at risk.
Well....... that's what happens when you hire the man- bun - skinny- jean types

 

[mdwest]

I’m going to guess that for every one that has resigned, there are five more in line hoping to be picked as the replacement…

Musks skinny jean wearing twenty year olds weren’t who resigned.

They were career civil servants that were brought into DOGE from the US Digital Service (an Obama created agency) that were serving in staff positions supporting Elons nerd patrol…

There has been conflict between the Digital Service staffers and the Musk squad from the beginning…

Among the first federal employees purged were 40 US Digital Service staffers (their friends)…that were dismissed in the first round of federal layoffs weeks ago

 

[LivingTheDream]

Nearly 1/3 of Musk's DOGE team resigned in protest, stating that they will not be involved in anything that puts the country at risk.
Well....... that's what happens when you hire the man- bun - skinny- jean types

This is misleading, they were holdover from digital service branch or whatever Obama had put in place.

 

[Wheels]

Nearly 1/3 of Musk's DOGE team resigned in protest, stating that they will not be involved in anything that puts the country at risk.
Well....... that's what happens when you hire the man- bun - skinny- jean types

That is misleading news at best. DOGE was merged into an existing agency, US Digital Services which was created by Obama. Remember the 1B boondoggle with the Obamacare rollout. USDS was rebranded as DOGE. The people that left were holdovers from USDS, not individuals that Musk brought in.

 

[Wheels]

This is misleading, they were holdover from digital service branch or whatever Obama had put in place.

You beat me to it while I was typing.

 

[Brent in Az]

This is misleading, they were holdover from digital service branch or whatever Obama had put in place.

I didn't write the article

One-Third of Musk's DOGE Staff Resign in Protest

Roughly a third of staffers at Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency have resigned in protest, saying that they will not push through demanded changes that put the country at risk.

www.breitbart.com

 

[mdwest]

Correct tariffs are tricky; often ridiculous and often for protection of domestic industries and Agriculture is a big policy point that brings on equally ridiculous retaliation.

You need look no further than the 25% USA import tariff on trucks/pickups cited in your example.

Chickens are one of the reasons we can’t get a Hilux in the USA….

Don’t get me started on sugar import tariffs and domestic sugar subsidies…..

The fat electrician always has an entertaining assessment of history and does a good job weaving a story… I enjoy listening to him…