Senate The US Politics discussion

US Department of Defense have said they'll hold a military parade in November, but no tanks - worried it will damage the local infrastructure. November 11th on Veterans Day.

 

One surprise for me. I really thought the markets would react much more negatively to Trump's talk of a trade war. He's been talking for decades about the US getting shafted by bad trade agreements and the idea that the US would be triumphant in a trade war.

I think he's still spoiling for a trade war, and it's clear that his advisers can't control him, so I see it as a real possibility, but I guess Wall Street thinks his advisers can prevent him, that Trump really won't do what he's been claiming for decades what he would want to do, or that a trade war really wouldn't be that bad after all (which I find hard to believe). Maybe the markets are just caught up in another wave of irrational exuberance.

 

The potential trade war was priced in. Political decisions, which impact markets, are usually predicted about 6 months in advance.

Most top hedge funds have political advisers.

 

Also to add.

Financial institutions spend a ridiculous amount of money on private polling; every potential policy, before it becomes official, is tested against individuals and businesses by polling companies for Wall Street. Annoyingly, we never see the data there samples are ****ing huge, so it is a better reflection than the public polls we see.

North Korea and midterm elections will be the main focus now.

 

It's stories like these that reassure me that Robots are still far off from taking all our jobs.

 

See? It wasn't Russians

Putin says so.

"Maybe," Putin said, "they are not even Russians but Ukrainians, Tatars or Jews, but with Russian citizenship, which should also be checked; maybe they have dual citizenship or a green card; maybe the US paid them for this.

 

As I said before, Putin is a genius. The US media are doing propaganda for him.

 

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon on Saturday told a crowd of far-right French politicians to let people label them as "racist," and to consider it "a badge of honor."

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/steve-ban...ear-badge-190903180--abc-news-topstories.html

 

This isn't really news. The Front National are racist and happily acknowledge it; only get upset if you call them fascists or neo-Nazi. France society is very conservative and, even among the youth, racial based jokes are still socially acceptable.

Even France's former Prime Minister, Manuel Valls (who is a socialist btw), said there was too many black players in the French football team. After the urban riots in 2005, in poor African migrant areas of Paris, former President Sarkozy (who was then Interior Minister) told residents he was going to "get rid of the filth" - when asked how the government was going to tackle African migrants.

So yeah, might shock America, but the French won't care about Bannon's remarks.

 

Trump responds to the EU.



If the UK is given an exemption (UK provides steel for the US military), Brexit talks will become very, very interesting.

 

Wow, that really would be disruptive.

What do you put the chances at?

 

50%

UK is trying to get exemptions for British companies, but there hints the US will give us a pass - even if it breaches EU rules.

 

Trump will give the UK a pass just to piss off Angela Merkel. He’s wound tighter than a rusty watch.

 

oh hey all 3 networks carrying trump. thanks for the free advertising right.

oh and i read he just attacked CNN, and says many steel mills already reopening because of his tariffs

 

Trump would have never gotten in if the Owners didn't approve.

 

And Elizabeth Warren IS....

...not running for President in 2020.

 

Sounds rather hopeful.

 

Please. The US State Department is a shriveled husk of its former self, there isn't even an American ambassador to South Korea to help support this endeavor on that front, and... it's Donald J. Trump. This is not a good recipe for successful diplomacy. Rather, I suspect this is a more apt description: "It’s like Richard Nixon going to China, but if Nixon were a moron."

Guess what happens when Trump's "braggadocious" nature predictably takes over and the talks fail to get North Korea to immediately shut down their nuclear weapons program? I can all but guarantee you that our war hawks are rearing to use this as a chance to say "Look, we tried diplomacy, it's a failure LIKE ALWAYS blah blah blah Neville Chamberlain blah blah blah, let's go bomb the **** out of them! ".

Though maybe the other alternative is that North Korea wows Trump with a huge display of military might, the kind Trump has been salivating over domestically, and Trump returns singing the praises of the Juche idea. Somehow, that seems like simultaneously the best and worst outcome, combined.

 

with the variety of crazy trump said on stage last night i just found out what he said about chuck todd.

 

How 'bout the death penalty for drug dealers? The Justice Department is now doing a feasibility study on this. Next they'll be executing doctors for prescribing opioids.

Oh, and Jeff Sessions called out the federal judiciary for blocking Trump's agenda. Good times.

 

Gee and here I thought Trump and the Philippines President didn't get along.
Oh, never mind:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...s-great-relationship-with-philippines-duterte

Instead of the Purge we will have a State sanctioned Judgement Night.

 

Biden, meanwhile, is looking at announcing early, with a VP candidate lined up and pitching a one term "reset" presidency. Would not be surprised if he tried to get someone like Kamala Harris as his VP. Would be first Woman VP and sets her up for the Presidency IF he's successful. Which is also why I think Harris would turn him down- massive risk for her. But someone like her in either Congress or a Governor (young, well liked, relatively new to the national stage, fiercely intelligent) might take it. I do think Joe is looking better in terms of who can best appeal to the voters Hillary failed to get. How a Joe v Bernie primary goes though is anyone's guess.

 

Almost-octogenarian versus almost-octogenarian!