stevenl

17 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

The US maybe China’s largest single trading country but China trades more with ASEAN than with the US. No expert, and I don’t mean guys like you on a forum, thinks that the US is going to win this trade war. As it is, Trump has already blinked thrice, the last time, exempting 40% of goods traded (smartphones, computers etc) with China.

 

It’s rather sad that guys like you are so blinded to the realities due to your anti-China stance. Whatever has China done to you to make you hate it so much, I wonder. You are like that Gordon character that Fox trots out regularly, who has been predicting the economic collapse of China since over a decade. He will be right one day of course, same as I will be, predicting the end of humanity on earth, in about 4 billion years time.

I don't think it's an anti China stance for many. It's a pro trump stance, who does the right thing all the time. Threatening tariffs is good, cancelling tariff threats is good, implementing tariffs is good, cancelling tariffs is good, implementing tariffs is good, changing tariffs is good. 

1 hour ago, Social Media said:

UPDATE:

 

Kilmar Abrego Garcia and MS-13 allegations

https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/hZrcN5sPTaaru4FQc53q2Q--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyMDA7aD02NzI-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/thedailybeast.com/933b6f09a04335393b2b5db982f87d84

 

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an immigrant from El Salvador, is at the center of a heated debate following accusations by the White House linking him to the notorious MS-13 gang. While the government has declared that Abrego Garcia will "never live" in the United States again, the man himself has denied any affiliation with the gang and has not been convicted of any crime. Despite the public and political uproar, many questions about his alleged ties to MS-13 remain unanswered.

 

According to court documents, Abrego Garcia entered the U.S. illegally in 2012. His first brush with law enforcement occurred in March 2019 when he and three others were detained in a Home Depot parking lot in Hyattsville, Maryland. Officers claimed the group was loitering and identified Abrego Garcia and two others as MS-13 members.

 

 

The basis for this identification came from a “Gang Field Interview Sheet,” which noted that Abrego Garcia was wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and a hoodie featuring presidents with rolls of money covering their eyes, ears, and mouths. Police wrote that such attire was “indicative of the Hispanic gang culture,” asserting that the Bulls logo specifically suggested membership in MS-13.

 

Steven Dudley, a journalist and expert on MS-13, offered a more cautious interpretation. While acknowledging that the Chicago Bulls logo had, at times, been adopted as a symbol by the gang, he stressed that this doesn’t prove membership. “Any assertions about gang affiliation would need to be corroborated with testimony, criminal history, and other corroborating evidence,” Dudley explained.

 

Police also claimed that a “proven and reliable source” had informed them that Abrego Garcia was part of MS-13’s “westerns clique,” holding the rank of “chequeo.” However, Dudley clarified that “chequeo” is not an actual rank, but a term used for recruits who have not yet been initiated.

 

Nevertheless, the judge presiding over Abrego Garcia’s 2019 case found enough evidence—based on the confidential source—to conclude that he was affiliated with the gang, a finding later upheld by another judge. This resulted in his being denied bail. During this time, he filed for asylum to avoid deportation to El Salvador, claiming his family had been targeted by Barrio-18, a rival gang.

 

In October 2019, he was granted a "withholding of removal" order—an immigration status that stopped his deportation due to the likelihood of harm if returned to El Salvador. His legal team stated that this was based on a “well-founded” fear of persecution, citing previous threats and extortion attempts by Barrio-18.

 

Since then, Abrego Garcia has remained in the U.S. under this protective status, attending all required check-ins with immigration authorities without any reported issues.

 

Separate allegations have also surfaced. In 2021, his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, filed a protective order alleging domestic abuse. However, she later stated that she chose not to pursue legal action and that they worked through the matter privately, including attending counseling.

 

Most recently, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt accused Abrego Garcia of being involved in human trafficking. This claim appeared to stem from a report by the conservative news outlet The Tennessee Star, which stated that he was stopped by a Tennessee highway patrol officer in December 2022 while transporting seven passengers. The report, citing unnamed sources, said the FBI was contacted, but Abrego Garcia and the passengers were later released. The BBC has not independently verified this report and has reached out to authorities for comment.

 

Based on a report by BBC Verify  2025-04-18

 

 

Finally facts.

44 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

The USA is not the center of the universe, and has no say in what a sovereign country does within its borders, no matter what the loony left thinks.

Then what is the loony right talking about annexing Canada and Greenland?

1 hour ago, NedR69 said:

Why do you ask?

Very reasonable question from Bill. Could it be your source is the IDF?

1 hour ago, impulse said:

The people (Pelosi, et al) responsible for Capitol security declined

She was not responsible for capitol security. A maga lie.

3 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Of course I read it.  How can they acknowledge vulnerabilities and still keep a straight face when they insist it's safe?  They must be lefties.

 

Same as your banking app. Online banking has vulnerabilities but it's safe.

20 hours ago, Kinok Farang said:

Looks good on paper but try telling that to the thousands of old farts that live here.I just re-newd my visa and the stipulation was that you had to have Bkk bank online banking.It was a fiasco as loads of old boys didn't even have a smartphone.

There will be plenty of people around at the airport to help the old farts.

If they're really old farts living here and still traveling, this won't be the only issue they'll encounter.

Great offer, 4 beer cans for 198 baht. I'll extend the offer, anyone wanting to buy 4 cans is welcome.

19 hours ago, impulse said:

 

When even CNN called them "vulnerable" before the 2024 election, you gotta know they're dodgy.

 

Georgia won’t update vulnerable Dominion software until after 2024 election

 

Georgia won’t update vulnerable Dominion software until after 2024 election | CNN Politics

 

Did you read your link?

"Georgia election officials have been aware of existing vulnerabilities in the state’s voting software for more than two years but continue to insist the system is safe...".

15 hours ago, impulse said:

Trump admin 'thumbs its nose' at Supreme Court

You mean like Biden thumbed his nose when the Supreme Court told him he can't forgive student loan debt? 

 

Show me a president that hasn't pushed back against the courts.   If it wasn't Trump doing it, it would be fine...

 

Then tell me how Trump's going to take a citizen of El Salvador out of that country when President Bukele politely declined Bondi's offer to send a plane to pick him up.  Okay, I fudged a little with the "politely" thing.  He was pretty hilarious about it.

 

Thanks for confirming the trump administration is thumping it's nose st the supreme court.

30 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

 

ok I see what you mean but this is not an immovable part of the countries history or anything. If you polled Americans what would they think? I bet a strong majority would disagree with citizenship for children of illegal aliens. Imagine being so brainwashed you think a  person who broke the law should be rewarded but many are.

 

These laws are never complete by nature and people mistakes. Do you really think the average American in 1965 or the government would agree to idea of the children of illegal aliens receiving citizenship? It was always sold to the population the numbers would be small and not change the ethnic composition of the country yet we are today with those white Americans on track to be a minority in their children's lifetimes.

 

Clearly something has gone seriously wrong here and Americans have been deceived and taken advantage of.

Should be easy then to overturn it with a new amendment.

7 hours ago, lordgrinz said:

The guy is not a US citizen, we can't force a foreign country to return one of their own citizens to the US, that's just nuts.

7 hours ago, blaze master said:

We have reached peak trump. 

3 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

 

The president of El Salvador also said it wouldn't be right for him to smuggle a terrorist into the USA. lol If you are some wannabe gangbanger with tattoos maybe it is time to leave?

3 hours ago, hotsun said:

I love nayyib bukele and wish he were american

All nothing to do with the administration refusing to adhere to a SC ruling.

The court also ruled AP should be admitted to the press conferences again, also there the administration refuses to adhere to the ruling.

45 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I'm not quite sure why you think America should police the world.

NZ has a government, why don't they stop it?

 

Obviously it's sad that anyone is being killed anywhere.

But that's the way that part of the world operates, but it's not my business, and I can't stop it either.

The other way round. US should stop policing the world, which they're doing here by using their veto.

1 hour ago, Evil Penevil said:

Since U.S. born CITIZENS CANNOT BE DEPORTED under any circumstances

'Can not' and 'are not allowed to be ' are not the same.

1 hour ago, Stiddle Mump said:

I'd rather The Don than some demented twit telling everyone that guys with dicks can be women.

Why the obsession with maga for lgbtq?

11 minutes ago, TedG said:

Where did I say posters. 

Without a link that's the only way your post should be read.

The first link makes the same claim as you do, i disagree with the opinion.

12 minutes ago, TedG said:

How so?  We have many people from Europe who feel the US needs to continue to defend Europe at a considerable cost to the US taxpayers.    They also think the US soldiers should be willing to die for Europe for a third time.  

Do they? Which posts show "We have many people from Europe who feel the US needs to continue to defend Europe at a considerable cost to the US taxpayers."

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

If you have alternative figures, please post them.

From the link by placeholder, 2023 numbers. These numbers are more in line with my thinking, albeit i'd have guessed a lower production cost.

"The iPhone 15 Pro, depending on storage size, costs between $999 and $1499."

"The cost of making an iPhone 15 Pro, Apple's latest iPhone, is $558. Components to make a phone include the screen, the phone casing, the camera, the battery, software, chips, and more. Apple charges a sizable markup on its phones."

56 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

If you have alternative figures, please post them.

No, your numbers just seem unlikely. Hence my question.

40 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Images

... in the last 3 months Liberals have surged past Conservatives in the polls, and the reversal is due in large part to Canadians’ sudden revulsion over Trump’s relentless economic and rhetorical attacks on their nation. Now, Poilievre finds himself sprinting away from any association with the MAGA movement and his legion of American conservative fans. But while he has tried to define policy differences between himself and Trump ahead of the April 28 election, he has held fast to his confrontational anti-elite media style

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/04/12/pierre-poilievre-trump-canada-prime-minister-00286947

He has no choice. Neither do the staunch conservatives who will vote for him anyway. I think it'll be closer than polling indicates atm.

1 hour ago, impulse said:

 

I'm not so sure.  I recall having to enter my Thai phone number to access a lot of the "free wifi".  In any case, it's pretty convoluted for the average noob tourist.

 

 

I am sure. Free WiFi.