Hawaiian

8 hours ago, Lacessit said:

IIRC the Roman Emperor Caligula was claimed to have appointed a horse to the post of Consul. He was also noted for extravagant spending on showy pageants.

 

Trump is America's Caligula, it will be interesting to see how many parallels arise.

Your imagination has no limits.  I think you are going to be greatly disappointed.

1 hour ago, Nick Carter icp said:

It seems to have been lifted/ reversed already 

Yes, Nikkei Asia says Yoon has backed down.

1 hour ago, Mentors65 said:

Crazy and dangerous 

Yes, this is going to get ugly.

4 hours ago, Jonathan Swift said:

Use one of those websites yes, also use a credit card which will charge back payments in cases of fraud. All that said, I had AirAsia refuse a refund, priceline gave me a runaround along with false information, in which case I had my bank claw back the money, on top of which I sued priceline for my time and trouble - their corporate office is near my American address in Connecticut. I got $1,000.00 out of priceline

I had one bad experience with Priceline and complained to Capital One who took care of the problem.  They also chewed out Priceline for not being truthful.  Since then I have continued to use Priceline without any hiccups.

1 hour ago, Hawaiian said:

I knew "everyone knows that" would elicit an answer.  Agree, quite a few Americans are able to pass a simple civics quiz.  American History was a favorite subject of mine in high school.  While quite knowledgeable I still have a lot to learn in this ever changing environment.

Meant to say "not able to pass a simple civics quiz."

1 hour ago, xylophone said:

Agree in the main and one nomination which should alarm people is the nomination of Robert F Kennedy  jr, who I believe is an absolute nutter..........read on and be alarmed:- 

 

How Robert F. Kennedy jnr has worked abroad to weaken global public health policy

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/how-robert-f-kennedy-jr-has-worked-abroad-to-weaken-global-public-health-policy/RU2DOOMDJJBQLANDOGIN7RN4OA/

Kennedy is not just a nutter, he's dangerous.

It's quite possible, or maybe just a coincidence, that Trump nominated people like Gaetz, Kennedy and Gabbard to satisfy a certain element of his supporters, knowing they would be shot down.  Now that he has been elected, he really doesn't need their support, so that's probably not the reason.

Anyone out there care to comment?

2 hours ago, Wrwest said:

Yep, President can remove his own appointment, no issue. As to "everyone knows that"? As a retired American educator I can assure you this statement is not factually based.

I knew "everyone knows that" would elicit an answer.  Agree, quite a few Americans are able to pass a simple civics quiz.  American History was a favorite subject of mine in high school.  While quite knowledgeable I still have a lot to learn in this ever changing environment.

8 minutes ago, Hummin said:

The whole point is, Usa is on the top of the list as long they play along with their own allies. At once the majority of the Americans beliefs in Trump my way or the highway, and it will be the standard, all the allies, looking for the back door out of the conflicting mutual deals with Usa. 

 

Remember all the Army bases around the world securing mutual interests world around to secure both resources and security, at once Usa pulls, out, why in hell should we risk our necks for your interests solely? We better find other partners. 

 

I find quite remarkable you guys for one seconds belief Usa gives freebies, just because you guys are so nice

The point I was making is comparing GDP is not necessarily telling the whole story.  Government turmoil in Germany and now France can take their toll on their respective economies.  China is another example with some of the statistics coming out of the country most likely doctored and not very accurate.  This is where our intelligence apparatus is valuable in any analysis or comparison.

14 minutes ago, mdr224 said:

Thailands govt dragging down their country with their dependence on chinese and russian tourism

Very true, unfortunately.

4 minutes ago, Hummin said:

Seriously, you think America hand out benefits, without getting anything back? How in your imaginary world do you think America managed to get the biggest economy in the world, when your own resources is limited? 

 

You guys need to get your facts straight

 

 

Usa is for now nr 8 on GDA pr capita, lets see after 10 years how you guys stands. Interssting list by the whay

https://www.worldometers.info/gdp/gdp-per-capita/

May be #8 on the list, but a much larger and more diverse population than the other seven.

The Chinese government rarely, if ever, cooperates in nailing these con artists.  I think many operate with the blessings of the CCP.

3 hours ago, milesinnz said:

I wonder how make people are aware of credit card "charge backs" ? I have only used it once on an Aliexpress purchase where they sent like xxx size and clearly it was not even M ... contacted my Bank's Visa department - seems most people at the Bank did not even know what I was talking about, then sending me in a few circles - but I got my money back from Visa. I don't see why this would not work with someone like AirAsia ?

Whenever I have had a problem with my Capital One card, charge back is one of the first options they mention.  They also have been very good at notifying me of any suspicious activity on my account.

Plus their foreign currency exchange rate is excellent and no fee involved.

3 hours ago, Hawaiian said:

https://www.aol.com/trump-promises-hell-pay-gaza-190158256.html

Seem as this link does not work.

Please try this:   https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-promises-hell-to-pay-middle-east-hostages-not-released-takes-office

15 hours ago, Wrwest said:

Sorry, I missed it. You reminded folks that the current FBI Director was named by Trump for the ten year term? Again I do not want to speculate on what might happen. Instead I would direct interested folks to listen to Kash himself stating that on day one he would shut the FBI Headquarters down and open it the next day as a museum dedicated to the deep state. Ah yes, and send those 700 bureaucrats out to arrest the bad guys. I'm thinking it reflects his knowledge of what the FBI does. But, hey ... have at it. My source was stated and ... well, there are those who deal in more than sound bites and more involved communication. Deal with me as a retired Professor of History or feel free to but me on ignore.

Just because Wray's appointment was for ten years doesn't mean he can't be removed before that.  Since the position is part of the executive branch the president can remove him for whatever reason.  Everyone knows that.

https://www.aol.com/trump-promises-hell-pay-gaza-190158256.html

The first half of 2024 had Japan and Tokyo as number one with Bangkok replacing Tokyo towards the end of the year.  I like both countries, but Thailand is more affordable plus we have relatives and many long-time friends. 

I have traveled extensively in Japan when the yen was 270 to the dollar.

Today the dollar buys much less.

I am not a fan of big cities and never travel to Bangkok, instead visiting friends in Chonburi, Petchaburi and Mae Khlong.

3 hours ago, theblether said:

Gentlemen. I've been quiet. Let me point out a couple of things here. First, I was assured by certain people on this forum that Joe would never pardon Hunter. As usual, I was correct. 

 

Now let me expand. What you are about to read is mind blowing. 

 

1. Hunter Biden has now lost his 5th Amenment right to silence.The implications to the Biden family are severe. 

 

2. The 11 year blanket pardon includes the period where credible claims of "10% for the big guy" corruption were made. In effect, Joe Biden has interfered with any future criminal investigation, effectively pardoning himself. 

 

3. That is an impeachment offense. Do not be shocked if the House moves to impeach Joe next month. 

 

4. There is an electoral reason why. I see many Democrats enraged by this pardon. It has completely undermined their "convicted felon" attack line against Trump. Joe has destroyed Democrat justice credibility. 

 

Do not be shocked if certain enemies from the Democrat side of the House join in a bipartisan impeachment. The rage is off the scale. And the Biden family is now finished as an electoral force. They are disposable. 

 

5. The Democrats are now also enraged that Biden has opened the door for J6 pardons. He has cut them off below the knee with one of the few decent attack lines next year. A staggering act of political sabotage by the Lying King. 

 

6. There is nothing to prevent a Special Counsel to be appointed to investigate Hunter - and he has lost the 5th Amendment. While convictions are effectively off the table, a SC can torture the Democrats with corruption revelations all the way through the next four years - horrendous prospect for the Dems who run on justice and "threat to Democracy" issues. 

 

7. All Kash Patel etc have to do is produce one smoking gun of interference from the FBI or DOJ and the Dems will be in serious trouble. And do not forget - The Durham investigation is still on file. 

 

People don't realize how poisonous this pardon will be to the Dems for years to come. 

 

I was once accused here of knowing nothing about US politics. I know this - this pardon is going down into the same pantheon of political filth as "I never had sexual relations with that woman." 

 

Horrendous. 

 

 

Interesting observations.  A lot of possible scenarios in what you posted.

27 minutes ago, 0ffshore360 said:

So continue to harp on what has been instead of look to what is coming if you so choose.

Do note that I have not denied previous admin. I point to what Trump is to inherit.

Amidst his desired mayhem will his admin cope with the greater reality?

Good luck with that dream.

Once Trump gets back into the saddle again, he will waste no time in fixing some of mess he inherits.  There are things he cannot do unilaterally and will need the help of Congress.

Have you noticed that China has been very quiet lately?  Xi knows  quite well that Trump can inflict a lot of damage to China's already shaky economy.

Tackling the Ukraine/Russia issue is what many, including myself, are concerned about.  The Middle East is another area that needs careful attention.  Iran needs to be neutered, but how to accomplish that is tricky.

While difficult, I believe Tom Homan will get a handle of the border situation and stem the flow of illegals coming into the country.  The threat of punishing tariffs will push Mexico to the table.

Yes, I know tariffs are a double edged sword and Trump will resort to them only if nothing else works.

Time will tell.

8 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Why would Mexico pay for any wall, complete or incomplete?

 

People building things want progress payments. They don't complete a project and then require the entire lump sum, how would they pay their workforce?

 

You don't seem to know much about how construction works.

As a general contractor for 38 years I know exactly how progress payments work.  Since there was no contract, Mexico was not obligated to pay. 

A few years back my neighbor fenced in his pasture to contain his cattle.  He asked me to pay half of the cost for the part that separated our properties.  I said no.  End of story.