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Simon

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2 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

You know what's ironic? Trump has been using "unfair dumping" of cheap steel by China as his main public pretext for imposing these tariffs; but steel imports from China are a small fraction of what actually enters the US. The majority of that steel comes from Canada. And we in Canada are bracing for a big hit to our industry if a blanket tariff is imposed.

 

Trump confidants coincidentally shorted steel stocks right before the announcement. 

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I gotta say, I always hated those kind of "compare the presidents" pictures, because they are always so cherry picked. Yes, President Trump gives hugs. I don't like him, and I don't like the trade war he's starting, and I don't like a lot of his other policies. But he does hug and he does make a pass at being comforting.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4846706/Trumps-fly-Texas-meet-Hurricane-Harvey-victims.html

 

As he is fond of saying, "Fake News".

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4 hours ago, Sociotard said:

Yes, President Trump gives hugs.

 

I saw him put his hand on a few shoulders in the linked article, but no hugs. Not that I care. I think he tried to do what a President should in the situation, just a bit differently from the others.

 

I think the faces of the Presidents in these pictures tells more about their level of empathy than their hugs, but again only to the degree that the camera captures a split second of time. Bush looked really moved, for example. Makes me think he has a real human in there somewhere.

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Trump's comment on China's President Xi Jinping and his recent consolidation of power:

 

"He's now president for life. President for life. No, he's great," Trump said. "And look, he was able to do that. I think it's great. Maybe we'll have to give that a shot some day."

 

To reference "Watchmen",

"If that statement starts to chill you after a couple of moments’ consideration, then don’t be alarmed. A feeling of intense and crushing terror at the concept indicates only that you are still sane."

 

I'm sure it will eventually be spun as "just a joke."

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When you're the leader and face of any large, powerful organization, choosing your public words with care should be high on your list of priorities. An obvious inability to recognize that is bound to call your competence into question. And an inability to recognize that fact calls your mental capacity into question.

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11 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

When you're the leader and face of any large, powerful organization, choosing your public words with care should be high on your list of priorities. An obvious inability to recognize that is bound to call your competence into question. And an inability to recognize that fact calls your mental capacity into question.

For his base all those properties are sure signs of the "Establishment", "The Deep State" or whatever term else they have for "the Enemy" (aka any person thinking differently) today.

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On 2.3.2018 at 3:30 PM, Lord Liaden said:

You know what's ironic? Trump has been using "unfair dumping" of cheap steel by China as his main public pretext for imposing these tariffs; but steel imports from China are a small fraction of what actually enters the US. The majority of that steel comes from Canada. And we in Canada are bracing for a big hit to our industry if a blanket tariff is imposed.

"I would not start a trade war. After all, that is how things got Rolling in Star Wars!"
 

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I thought this was a great read:

Trump White House quietly issues report vindicating Obama regulations

TLDR:

White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), just released its annual report on the costs and benefits of federal regulations. It turns out most of them return more benefit than their cost, even if you use the high-ball for cost and the low ball for benefit. These benefits tend to be progressive; they cost the titans of industry, and they give benefits to the poorer classes. Also, the regulations do not kill jobs, but they may move them to new areas or industries.

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18 minutes ago, death tribble said:

Net Neutrality has come up several times. I have seen this on the BBC. So is this a good thing for the USA internet users ?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-43306885

 

I consider it a step in the right direction. One of the interesting things in the US is how "state's rights" is just as politically "both sides of the aisle" as anything else.  Certain places state's rights is code for discrimination, voter suppression, environmental deregulation, etc.  Other places, it means drug legalization, progressive taxes, environmental protections, corporate regulations, etc.

 

In this case, I wonder if the outcome of this is, multiple states all start having their own regulations around this, and it makes it harder for telecoms to do business when everything is so fractured, so the pendulum starts swinging back to a federal net neutrality position.

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You know, nowadays watching American politics from elsewhere in the world feels a lot like watching a boat full of people sinking while you're too far away to help. You feel awful for the people on the boat and wish you could do something; but you're also really glad you're on dry land.

 

That is, until you realize that fuel leaking from the boat is washing up on your shore.

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