US Election & Presidency

(03-02-2025 07:42 )Charlemagne Wrote:  Trump's been threating to take over the Panama canal because they have a deal with China.

Well it's just breaking that Panama's President has ended just ended the deal immediately following a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Why is it every time I read "Trump" and "China" in the same sentence, I think of this....

A trade war ignited by Trump would be a devastating move for all of us economically.

I expect Panama and Mexico will defend the Panama Canal/Gulf of Mexico to the hilt and probably will be backed up by the rest of South America.

Btw where are we on Greenland atm?

So Trump pulls back from the trade war with both countries placing a 30 day hiatus on the imposing of sanctions, in exchange for Canada announcing a $1.3bn border package & Mexico sending 10k troops to the border.

Interestingly the Canadian border package was initially announced two months ago & Mexico is sending fewer troops to the border than it did in 2019, where it sent nearly 15k

Some left leaning people indulging in their own bias think that Trump saw the Dow plunged and blinked and that Trump is weak

Perhaps what actually happened is that Trump staged a phony trade war as a PR stunt, we know that he understands the power of media and that he likes hiring people from TV (one of his main reasons for picking Hegseth to run the most powerful military in the world was his looks). He's basically running the White House like its The Apprentice, he does this for the attention knowing that the mainstream media that is vying for views because views = $$$ and will cover it at length. In addition he knows that the average American is not paying attention to the minutiae so will miss the parts about him not really getting anything im return and will just takeaway that Trump threatened action & got concessions.

One of the reasons that people voted for Trump is that they see him as a disruptor to a political establishment that has failed them, a lot of them when you listen to reporters, pollsters and people who conduct focus groups actually really don't like Trump, the just hate the establishment system that has failed them more & see him as a necessary evil. Watching the political class whether its left wing or even centre right politicians, media personalities & think tankers lose their shit over Trump breaking with decades of conventional norms then get a result at the end of it is exactly what they want.

Trump won this one

(Yesterday 08:56 )lovebabes56 Wrote:  A trade war ignited by Trump would be a devastating move for all of us economically.

I expect Panama and Mexico will defend the Panama Canal/Gulf of Mexico to the hilt and probably will be backed up by the rest of South America.

Btw where are we on Greenland atm?

The Gulf of Mexico is a weird one, Google just like most US tech companies are tickling his balls, so are apparently planning to change it on their maps, even though it's a shared gulf. Not sure if anyone else will follow suit, Mexico won't and are pissed off at Google, but who knows.

Panama are apparently planning to let China's ''Belt & Road'' thingy expire after being pressured by America, so hopefully they'll be alright.

Two thirds of Greenland's population want to be independent from Denmark apparently, so not sure how that would work by swapping Denmark for a Trump America, not sure if they'd ever have true independence under Trump. I read earlier that Greenland are planning to ban foreign political donations, so it seems they don't want America or anyone else corrupting their election process at least.

Am I right in thnking that the Panama Canal deals with the other half of the worlds' shipping route along with the Suez Canal?
Which leads me to thinking that the real reason why Trump probably wants the Panama Canal is - so he can control shipping routes in that part of the world?

In a press conference in the White House with Netanyahu Trump suggests that Palestinians in Gaza should be resettled permanently outside the territory.

(Yesterday 12:35 )southsidestu Wrote:  So Trump pulls back from the trade war with both countries placing a 30 day hiatus on the imposing of sanctions, in exchange for Canada announcing a $1.3bn border package & Mexico sending 10k troops to the border.

Interestingly the Canadian border package was initially announced two months ago & Mexico is sending fewer troops to the border than it did in 2019, where it sent nearly 15k

Some left leaning people indulging in their own bias think that Trump saw the Dow plunged and blinked and that Trump is weak

Perhaps what actually happened is that Trump staged a phony trade war as a PR stunt, we know that he understands the power of media and that he likes hiring people from TV (one of his main reasons for picking Hegseth to run the most powerful military in the world was his looks). He's basically running the White House like its The Apprentice, he does this for the attention knowing that the mainstream media that is vying for views because views = $$$ and will cover it at length. In addition he knows that the average American is not paying attention to the minutiae so will miss the parts about him not really getting anything im return and will just takeaway that Trump threatened action & got concessions.

One of the reasons that people voted for Trump is that they see him as a disruptor to a political establishment that has failed them, a lot of them when you listen to reporters, pollsters and people who conduct focus groups actually really don't like Trump, the just hate the establishment system that has failed them more & see him as a necessary evil. Watching the political class whether its left wing or even centre right politicians, media personalities & think tankers lose their shit over Trump breaking with decades of conventional norms then get a result at the end of it is exactly what they want.

Trump won this one

It's a sad reality. Politics are entertainment, and no one knows how to "entertain" more than Trump. The reality of how things works is nowhere near as important to people over here as some big strong super hero who will take out "The Man". What a joke.

The media left and right just wants stories to get views. Division sells more than anything else. The Billionaires getting the working class on their side is such a disgrace. Thru fear or some utopian vision of a crumbled government, they resonates with many people. Then what? We trust these guys to build a better future for all of us, or just the ones with deep enough pockets to capitalize?

Should have superimposed Trump's face on that

(Yesterday 23:41 )southsidestu Wrote:  In a press conference in the White House with Netanyahu Trump suggests that Palestinians in Gaza should be resettled permanently outside the territory.

In addition, Trump has said that the US would take over Gaza once the Palestinians are resettled. Some are saying Trump is endorsing ethnic cleansing and that it's a breach of international law, I would say, do you think he cares.

Qatar are seemingly brushing over it and saying that Arab nations have plans to rebuild Gaza while the Palestinians are there. I hope they get to.