Alan Zweibel

Krugman pointed out that the reason for this: this way, Trump gets to arbitrarily impose whatever tariffs he pleases on whatever country he pleases. So he could punish Brazil for prosecuting Bolsonaro or Switzerland because he didn't like the way the Swiss president spoke to him.

I stand miscorrected. My apologies.

Foreign governments don't pay tariffs. Exporters pay tariffs.

Singapore: Laws Chill Free Speech, Assembly End Repressive Prosecutions, Regulations, and Civil Suits The Singapore government’s use of overly broad criminal laws, oppressive regulations, and civil lawsuits severely curtails freedom of speech and assembly, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. “Singapore promotes itself as a modern nation and a good place to do business, but people in a country that calls itself a democracy shouldn’t be afraid to criticize their government or speak out about political issues,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Direct and indirect restrictions on speech and public protest have long stifled debate on matters of public interest in Singapore.” https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/12/13/singapore-laws-chill-free-speech-assembly

Tax avoidance by the superwealthy is an economic issue as well as a political one Data from the Federal Reserve shows that only the richest 1% of households have grown their share of overall U.S. wealth since 1990. Their share hit a record 32% in the third quarter of 2025, equivalent to $54.8 trillion. Gains made by the billionaire class, the very top 0.1% of households and a subset of the 1%, have eclipsed the merely extremely rich. This group’s share of U.S. net wealth has risen nearly 6 percentage points to 14.4% since 1990. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/billionaires-low-taxes-are-becoming-a-problem-for-the-economy/ar-AA1WzNOA?ocid=finance-verthp-feeds

Deflecting much? This topic is about Epstein, not about me.

You really need to be educated. Remember thhe sweetheart deal that Epstein's lawyers negotiated with the feds. Do you know who the federal prosecutor was who was in charge of the negotiations? Alex Acosta. A staunch Republican. So staunch that Donald Trump appointed him to be Secretary of Labor during his first term. "Approval of the NPA: Acosta was the top federal prosecutor who ultimately authorized the agreement. Under this deal, the federal government agreed not to prosecute Epstein for federal sex trafficking charges in exchange for him pleading guilty to two state-level prostitution charges in Florida. Granting Immunity: The agreement granted immunity from all federal criminal charges not only to Epstein but also to four named co-conspirators and any "potential co-conspirators." Circumventing Victims: A central controversy of Acosta’s role was that the deal was kept secret from Epstein’s victims. In 2019, a federal judge ruled that this failure to notify the victims violated the Crime Victims’ Rights Act. Leniency in Sentencing: The deal allowed Epstein to serve only 13 months in a county jail with extensive "work release" privileges, allowing him to spend up to 12 hours a day at his private office." By the way, the deal was negotiated during the Bush administration. Maybe you know differently, but I always thought George W. Bush was a Republican.

Hooray! The top 10% is prospering!

Are you claiming that this is the same person who made the charge against Donald Trump? I can find nothing online that ties the two charges to one person.

Agents apparently spoke with a victim of Jeffrey Epstein who also accused Trump of sexually and violently assaulting her. It is unclear what happened with the investigation, though the government deemed her to be a “credible accuser,” according to independent journalist Roger Sollenberger. A woman with identical biological details sued Epstein’s estate and won a settlement in 2021. https://newrepublic.com/post/206599/evidence-trump-epstein-pam-bondi Here's a link to the official government report that contains this information. It can be found on page 18, first paragraph. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01660622.pdf

ICE says federal agents appear to have lied about confrontation that led to shooting Two federal officers appear to have lied about an incident last month in Minneapolis that ended with one of them shooting a Venezuelan immigrant in the leg, ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons said Friday. The two officers are under investigation by the Justice Department, Lyons said. The announcement comes one day after federal prosecutors dropped the criminal cases against two immigrants in connection with the Jan. 14 episode. Department of Homeland Security leaders, including Secretary Kristi Noem, had previously defended the officers, saying they had fended off an “attempted murder” and that one officer had fired in self-defense. https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/13/ice-minneapolis-shooting-assault-00780839

Once again, you engage in ridiculous hyperbole. Why don't you try coming up with some source that questions this story instead?

Key Aspects of the WSJ as a Newspaper of Record: Reputation: It is regarded as the definitive, primary source for tracking economic data, financial markets, and corporate news. Scope: While focused on business, it provides comprehensive coverage of national and international affairs, making it a general-interest paper of record as well. Authority: The paper is known for its rigorous reporting, having won 39 Pulitzer Prizes. Audience: It is considered the paper of record for the business elite and professional community. Although its editorial page is known for having a center-right, conservative perspective, its news-gathering functions are regarded as authoritative.

What has dumping got to do with China's technological surge? But if you want to raise irrelevant issues, remember how a year ago right wingers were predicting that China would have to bow down to American demands. That the manufacturing sector would suffer greatly? As for the surge in coal plants. In 2022 there was a severe drought that crippled hydroelectric production. So China decided to build more coal plants. to compensate. These plants have now been completed. Of course, as the price of solar and wind continues to decline, this makes less and less sense. But now China is saddled with them. In 2025 coal powered electricity production actually declined.

Given that it's Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal, your doubts seem questionable. And there is no doubt that a $70 million luxury plane is being touted for dual use. One of the uses being deportation.

If evidence is provided that proves a discrepancy between the facts that are reported and the facts that are not, it is perfectly legitimate to draw an inference of prejudicial reporting.. But prejudice is not an emotion. Specifying what emotion might be behind the prejudice is guesswork and adds nothing useful to the analysis of the content of the article.

Here's an interesting graph. If health service jobs are excluded, jobs were lost for a total of 9 months in 2025 https://paulwaldman.substack.com/p/trump-will-never-stop-dragging-the

Thanks for the corrections. However, Epstein still would have trouble pursuing a libel suit: Unredacted Jeffrey Epstein files reveal sickening revelation about 9-year-old — as GOP lawmaker threatens to expose names https://nypost.com/2026/02/10/us-news/unredacted-jeffrey-epstein-files-reveal-sickening-revelation-about-9-year-old-as-gop-lawmaker-threatens-to-expose-names/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

On the other hand, it is perfectly legitimate to call attention to the ridiculousness of the statements of political figures, or, for that matter, of members of aseannow.com. For instance one member recently contended that it was possibly libelous to call Jeffrey Epstein a pedophile. Jeffrey Epstein is the guy who pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor.

The issue isn't whether or not I have the right. The issue is whether or not such considerations belong in the Political Soapbox. It's supposed to be about political issues, not the emotions of aseannow.com members.

Thanks for demonstrating that you are still making me the subject rather than the issues that belong in the political soapbox. This forum is supposed to be about issues, not the alleged motivations of contributors. How many times have the mods called you on this already?

What does the phrase recover/rebound mean? It seems you're trying to call growth rebound as opposed to calling it...well...growth.

No. By 2023, that number had been exceeded.

If they did, they would have been wrong to From Gemini AI "Approximately 51% of goods imported into the United States are intermediate goods—parts, components, and materials used to produce final goods. Other estimates suggest that when including raw materials, nearly all U.S. imports function as inputs for American production. Key intermediate imports include chemicals, electrical equipment, plastics, and semiconductors." And here's a list of what the US imports by categories. United States Imports By Category Value Year Total $3356.81B 2024 Machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers $531.15B 2024 Electrical, electronic equipment $485.88B 2024 Vehicles other than railway, tramway $391.46B 2024 Mineral fuels, oils, distillation products $251.12B 2024 Pharmaceutical products $212.67B 2024 Optical, photo, technical, medical apparatus $124.83B 2024 Pearls, precious stones, metals, coins $87.20B 2024 Plastics $78.23B 2024 Furniture, lighting signs, prefabricated buildings $72.64B 2024 Organic chemicals $71.06B 2024 Articles of iron or steel $52.65B 2024 Articles of apparel, knit or crocheted $47.37B 2024 Toys, games, sports requisites $43.41B 2024 Articles of apparel, not knit or crocheted $36.33B 2024 Rubbers $36.28B 2024 Aircraft, spacecraft $35.91B 2024 Iron and steel $32.99B 2024 Beverages, spirits and vinegar $32.60B 2024 Footwear, gaiters and the like, $28.39B 2024 Aluminum $28.31B 2024 Edible fruits, nuts, peel of citrus fruit, melons $26.02B 2024 Wood and articles of wood, wood charcoal $24.51B 2024 Miscellaneous chemical products $24.19B 2024 Essential oils, perfumes, cosmetics, toileteries $23.21B 2024 https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports-by-category Maybe a few of these might be primarily purchased by the wealthy, but not a liot

No, you are speaking for them and mind reading motivation.