Lacessit

Newton's Third Law of Physics states every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The same law applies to geopolitics. Trump puts tariffs on China, it responds by freezing imports of American farm produce, and embargoing the export of strategic critical elements. Well done Trump, just put your farmers to the sword, and crippled your defense industry. Canada has a positive trade balance with the USA. It also supplies 50% of America's oil and gas. If it decides to sell those raw materials to China and India instead, the US is up the proverbial creek in a barbed wire canoe without a paddle. A real man does not dodge the draft by faking bone spurs, disrespect fallen soldiers, sexually assault women, or cheat the contractors he employs for cents on the dollars he owes. If that's what you think makes a real man, you are as big a moral imbecile as he is.

A flat tax of 1.5 - 2% on revenue would probably fix every nation's budget. Multinationals, corporations and billionaires can hide profits in a plethora of ways, they get a free ride compared to the average wage earner. Example: Transurban in Australia had a net profit of $46 million. It paid $136,000 in corporate tax. Its revenue was $4.6 billion. At a 2% tax rate, it would have paid $92 million. Revenue can't be hidden, fudged, or shuffled off to a low tax environment. One thing for sure, I would have been delighted to be paying only 2% tax in my peak earning years.

You may need to temper your expectations of any coffee chain that cares more about its bottom line than its customers. Personally, I search out and try small non-chain coffee shops which look like they know what they are doing. If what I get is good coffee, reasonable in price and quantity, they have a repeat customer. Starbucks, Amazon, Black Canyon etc. - I don't bother anymore.

The Thai demographic is shrinking. It would collapse if Thais took to the skies.

Tell someone who gives a FF for your opinion.

I did preface my post with IMO. Didn't your education stretch to understanding what acronyms and abbreviations are?

Nobody is going to think you are a <deleted> if you wear a Nike or Adidas hat.

They are made in both countries, what part of the statement don't you understand?

So you can tell the difference between a person wearing a MAGA hat made in California, and a person wearing a MAGA copy made in China? It's a hole you dug yourself, perhaps you'll get all the way there.

Want to bet the knockoffs made in China are more expensive than the official version? Your post is inaccurate, MAGA hats/caps are made in both places. The AP article itself says that. Where are Trump gold sneakers and Trump bibles produced?

The irony of wearing a hat made in China is lost on them.

Internet in Australia is 2-3 times slower than in Thailand, and 3-4 times as expensive. In the capital cities and suburbs. Where I used to camp, I got ABC broadcasts at 6 pm. The nearest landline phone was 20 km away, at a homestead. The lousy internet in Australia is courtesy of a conservative government, who thought they could save money by relying on an ageing copper network. It's cost more instead.

How about emu burgers, and corned kangaroo?

Agree, that's another indicator.

Wearing a suit designed to look like a wall only proves the guy is as thick as one of the bricks in it. Who is he trying to look like, Tom Selleck?

Most of the larger towns in the region boast a Chinese restaurant. Before calcivirus, when I ordered a chicken chow mein, it was short odds I was getting rabbit instead. But you're right, it's no country for old men.

They probably were not before I posted.

By making things that people want cheaper and better? The ship has already sailed as far as electric cars are concerned.

I doubt I would want to wear anything that proclaims I am less intelligent than average.

Plenty of places in Australia that are not under a flight path. As Henry Blake/MacLean Stevenson, said, I'm staring into a big empty. The only contrail visible in outback New South Wales is a Hercules ferrying supplies from Sydney to Pine Gap, a secretive US base.

IMO there were two turning points in the campaign. The first was when Harris filleted Trump in the last presidential debate. Billionaires realized their tax free ride was at serious risk. The second was the assassination attempt on Trump, backed up by a second incident. Be that as it may, perhaps you can point me to any predictions I made regarding the election outcome. OTOH, most economists agree tariffs and deporting the cheapest labor is going to be inflationary. That's not a prediction, it's Economics 101.

You are not whining about posters who call out Trump and the MAGA cult for what they are? Enjoy the honeymoon. While inflation in the US is still 2.9%.

The implication was there, denial is not a river in Egypt. As for yes man groups, guess what Trump has surrounded himself with?

So do I. The implication I am gay only serves to establish your homophobic credentials. Should I add bigotry and racism?

My GF showed me a photo of herself when she was in her twenties, with her very young daughter. She was quite porky. She is not all that disciplined in what she eats, but is very dedicated in her exercise regimes. Gets stressed if she hits 43 kg. What percentage of women are obese because they have mental or physical issues, and what percentage are fat because they have no self-control? Call me shallow if you want, I prefer slim feminine women.