Trump does not want to hear tape of 'vicious' Khashoggi murder

[freebyrd]

 

 

A lawyer, why?? If he's the most powerful man in the world, he needs to man up and listen to the tape - President Harry Truman - THE BUCK STOPS HERE.

 

No matter how much someone describes it to him, NOTHING beats first hand knowledge.

Edited November 19, 2018 by freebyrd

[Brunolem]

9 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

Let me expand on my previous reply.

Do you have any notion of what percent of the world's economy is represented by the petroleum and gas sector?

"Since the 2017 estimates for worldwide gross domestic product range between $75 trillion and $87.5 trillion, the oil and gas drilling sector currently makes up something between 2% and 3% of the global economy."

https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/030915/what-percentage-global-economy-comprised-oil-gas-drilling-sector.asp

You've got it exactly backwards.
 

Global GDP and the petrodollar are two different things.

 

The petrodollar is what allows the US to buy whatever it needs from abroad with money it prints at will.

 

The petrodoallar enables the US to run a 500 billion dollar trade deficit.

 

The petrodollar enables the US to run a 1 trillion dollar budget deficit.

 

Because countries like China or Saudi Arabia recycle their piles of dollars in the US treasury market!

 

If they start using euros or yens, who is gonna buy all this worthless US paper?

Edited November 19, 2018 by Brunolem

[spidermike007]

First of all, Trump prefers to stay uninformed. That is his M.O. Second, he is fully compromised, all the time. He has never said no to a lobbyist, or a Russian gangster. Why say no to a Saudi gangster? Third, by deliberately staying uninformed, and listening to only that which he chooses to listen to, he is able to more easily justify fully compromised positions. 

 

Lastly, he is coward. I do not think he would be able to handle listening to the tape. It would be too much for his delicate psyche. 

[bristolboy]

8 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

Global GDP and the petrodollar are two different things.

 

The petrodollar is what allows the US to buy whatever it needs from abroad with money it prints at will.

 

The petrodoallar enables the US to run a 500 billion dollar trade deficit.

 

The petrodollar enables the US to run a 1 trillion dollar budget deficit.

 

Because countries like China or Saudi Arabia recycle their piles of dollars in the US treasury market!

 

If they start using euros or yens, who is gonna buy all this worthless US paper?

Maybe in your mind calling the US dollar the petrodollar is some kind of proof?

I got news for you, it's not. 

 

And your nation that the valuation of the us dollar depends on the petroleum trade is nonsense. It's incumbent upon you to show how such a small part of the world economy underpins the US dollar.

The reason that oil trades in dollars is because it's the currency of  the world's biggest single economy and the world economy has faith in it.

[freebyrd]

1 hour ago, Cryingdick said:

 

He isn't a lawyer. He just needs an expert to listen and give him a brief.

A lawyer, why?? If he's the most powerful man in the world, he needs to man up and listen to the tape - President Harry Truman - THE BUCK STOPS HERE.

 

No matter how much someone describes it to him, NOTHING beats first hand knowledge.

Edited just now by freebyrd

[bristolboy]

1 minute ago, freebyrd said:

A lawyer, why?? If he's the most powerful man in the world, he needs to man up and listen to the tape - President Harry Truman - THE BUCK STOPS HERE.

 

No matter how much someone describes it to him, NOTHING beats first hand knowledge.

Edited just now by freebyrd

How do we even know that he hasn't listened to the tape? Because he says so?

[natway09]

"We may never find out who ordered the killing"

Never a truer word was spoken

[bristolboy]

2 minutes ago, natway09 said:

"We may never find out who ordered the killing"

Never a truer word was spoken

Oh please. Given the way things work in Saudi Arabia, and who was involved in the operation, the answer is clear enough.

[Cryingdick]

30 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

Oh please. Given the way things work in Saudi Arabia, and who was involved in the operation, the answer is clear enough.

I think you might need to adjust your sarcasm meter. I couldn't construe the comment any other way. 

[bristolboy]

3 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

I think you might need to adjust your sarcasm meter. I couldn't construe the comment any other way. 

Now that I've reviewed Natway's other activity, I agree that I misconstrued his comment. But given the extraordinary gullibility of so many Trump supporters, I think my mistake was understandable. Especially given that Natway's comment more or less mirrors ones made by Trump himself.

[Cryingdick]

8 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

Now that I've reviewed Natway's other activity, I agree that I misconstrued his comment. But given the extraordinary gullibility of so many Trump supporters, I think my mistake was understandable. Especially given that Natway's comment more or less mirrors ones made by Trump himself.

 

Way to get a cheap shot in to excuse your inability to see what was completely and painfully obvious. 

[bristolboy]

1 minute ago, Cryingdick said:

 

Way to get a cheap shot in to excuse your inability to see what was completely and painfully obvious. 

Because there aren't lots of posters here who uncritically back Trump? Here's a post from someone who believes Trump really knows what the score is. 

"Trumps knows what went on. Nobody in the USA thinks anything otherwise. It is pretty much accepted that he is taking this position because he believes that doing business with the Saudis is still good for America."

I wonder what the basis for this assertion is? Because he's skeptical of despots? As in the case of Putin?

[neeray]

3 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

Because there aren't lots of posters here who uncritically back Trump? Here's a post from someone who believes Trump really knows what the score is. 

"Trumps knows what went on. Nobody in the USA thinks anything otherwise. It is pretty much accepted that he is taking this position because he believes that doing business with the Saudis is still good for America."

I wonder what the basis for this assertion is? Because he's skeptical of despots? As in the case of Putin?

Perhaps there are financial dealings with Saudi Arabia that best not be exposed.

(I doubt that they also have "golden shower" videos)

[Cryingdick]

10 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

Because there aren't lots of posters here who uncritically back Trump? Here's a post from someone who believes Trump really knows what the score is. 

"Trumps knows what went on. Nobody in the USA thinks anything otherwise. It is pretty much accepted that he is taking this position because he believes that doing business with the Saudis is still good for America."

I wonder what the basis for this assertion is? Because he's skeptical of despots? As in the case of Putin?

let's get back to the scheduled programming shall we? 

[bristolboy]

2 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

let's get back to the scheduled programming shall we? 

You're the one who claimed that Trump knows full well the reality of the situation. I'm just pointing out the dubiousness of that assertion.

[Berkshire]

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

First of all, Trump prefers to stay uninformed. That is his M.O. Second, he is fully compromised, all the time. He has never said no to a lobbyist, or a Russian gangster. Why say no to a Saudi gangster? Third, by deliberately staying uninformed, and listening to only that which he chooses to listen to, he is able to more easily justify fully compromised positions. 

 

Lastly, he is coward. I do not think he would be able to handle listening to the tape. It would be too much for his delicate psyche. 

Agree that Trump is totally compromised, particularly with the Russians and Saudis.  I've often wondered when the Chinese were going to work some under-the-table deal with Trump.  Then you'll see him softening his stance against the Chinese real quick.  But the Chinese may be a bit too savvy.  They know Trump's days are numbered. 

[spidermike007]

2 minutes ago, Berkshire said:

Agree that Trump is totally compromised, particularly with the Russians and Saudis.  I've often wondered when the Chinese were going to work some under-the-table deal with Trump.  Then you'll see him softening his stance against the Chinese real quick.  But the Chinese may be a bit too savvy.  They know Trump's days are numbered. 

 

26 long months to be exact. At that time he will retire to a crumbled empire, and utter humiliation.

[freebyrd]

1 hour ago, bristolboy said:

How do we even know that he hasn't listened to the tape? Because he says so?

Is that inane comment really the best you can do?

[bristolboy]

6 minutes ago, freebyrd said:

Is that inane comment really the best you can do?

Because Trump is basically an honest person? It seems to me that inanity would constitute taking Trump's word for anything disculpatory.

Edited November 19, 2018 by bristolboy

[freebyrd]

2 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

Because Trump is basically an honest person? It seems to me that inanity would constitute taking Trump's word for anything disculpatory.

Swallowed a dictionary at lunchtime? ????.

[evadgib]

Trump hasn't the character to have not listened to that tape.

[bristolboy]

Just now, freebyrd said:

Swallowed a dictionary at lunchtime? ????.

That would be as nothing compared to the volume of Trump's falsehoods that you so willingly swallow.

[freebyrd]

5 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

That would be as nothing compared to the volume of Trump's falsehoods that you so willingly swallow.

Huh?, you have things ???? mister. I've never believed a single word he has uttered. I suggest you do some homework, re-read this thread and the comments. I am as anti-Trump as they come. They really must do things differently in Bristol....

[Cryingdick]

1 minute ago, freebyrd said:

Huh?, you have things ???? mister. I've never believed a single word he has uttered. I suggest you do some homework, re-read this thread and the comments. I am as anti-Trump as they come. They really must do things differently in Bristol....

 

lol He does have a hard time reading between the lines. 

[Thakkar]

1 hour ago, bristolboy said:

Now that I've reviewed Natway's other activity, I agree that I misconstrued his comment. But given the extraordinary gullibility of so many Trump supporters, I think my mistake was understandable. Especially given that Natway's comment more or less mirrors ones made by Trump himself.

 

I don’t think the word “gullibility” quite captures what’s really happening. 

Many liberals, often myself included, make the mistake of elevating the importance of facts and data and logic. To be sure, facts are important, but *not paramount.*

FEELINGS are paramount—to the point of accepting self harm, as long as some feelings or prejudices are validated/soothed/fed, etc.

 

The following is a great explanation, not only as it pertains to the brexit debate, but also Trump and So many Right Wingers’ obsession with “owning the libs” and left winger’s glee at being right (when they turn out to be right) about the harm they’d said Trump would do.

 

Do watch till the end; it’s only 5 mins.

 

 

[Brunolem]

2 hours ago, bristolboy said:

Maybe in your mind calling the US dollar the petrodollar is some kind of proof?

I got news for you, it's not. 

 

And your nation that the valuation of the us dollar depends on the petroleum trade is nonsense. It's incumbent upon you to show how such a small part of the world economy underpins the US dollar.

The reason that oil trades in dollars is because it's the currency of  the world's biggest single economy and the world economy has faith in it.

Let me show then...and sorry for the technicalities.

 

First, the world economy is not made only from trade, a huge part of it results from purely internal transactions: the US produces goods and services, included in its GDP, which are consumed by Americans and thus not part of international transactions...ditto for Japan, China, Germany and every other country.

 

Thus, comparing global GDP with global international transactions is like comparing apples with oranges...

 

The petrodollar is the name given to the dollars that are held by oil exporters.

 

There is also a eurodollar = dollars held by European countries.

 

A distinction has been made with the "regular" dollar because of the huge amounts involved, and because these dollars move around independently of the US economy.

 

For example, when Germany wants to buy oil to Saudi Arabia, it needs to pay in dollars, not in euros.

 

Because oil is such a big and crucial part of international trade, the use of dollars has been extended to multiple other transactions, even if they don't involve the US.

 

The price of many commodities other than oil is expressed in dollars.

 

If Germany buys gold to South Africa, it is going to pay in dollars, not in euros.

 

Now, if Saudi Arabia and the OPEC were to accept payments in currencies other than the dollar, sooner or later most exporters of other commodities would follow suit.

 

From then on, countries wouldn't need dollars anymore, or at least not as much as before, since they could use their own currency for most of their international transactions.

 

The basic law of supply and demand would immediately come into play: with much less demand for the dollar, its value would go down, and so would the value of assets denominated in dollars.

 

For the Americans, the cost of imports would go up significantly, thus creating inflation and a loss of purchasing power.

 

What matters for the value of the dollar is not only the trust of the people, but also their need for it.

 

When the need for something is dramatically reduced, so is its value...

 

 

[Cryingdick]

This bit on investopedia backs up what Brunolem says pretty well.

 

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex/072915/how-petrodollars-affect-us-dollar.asp

 

The Bottom Line

After the 1970s, the world switched from a gold standard and petrodollars emerged. These extra-circulated dollars have helped elevate the U.S. dollar to the world reserve currency. The petrodollar system also facilitates petrodollar recycling, which creates liquidity and demand for assets in the financial markets. 

Read more: How Petrodollars Affect The U.S. Dollar | Investopedia https://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex/072915/how-petrodollars-affect-us-dollar.asp#ixzz5XHaRHcDY 
Follow us: Investopedia on Facebook

[Nyezhov]

I dont want to listen to the tape myself so I dont blame him.

[Brunolem]

5 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

 

I would like a source for that figure. 

Here is a source...

Also note that the price is not the most important, what matters is the EROI, and when it comes to that, both Canadian tar/oil and US shale/oil are totally uncompetitive...waste of money, waste of energy, waste of environment...

 

https://srsroccoreport.com/tar-sands-operations-go-from-bad-to-worse-now-losing-billions-a-month/

 

[Thakkar]

24 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

I dont want to listen to the tape myself so I dont blame him.

I can commiserate. I wouldn’t like to listen to that tape ether. And also like Trump, I too would rather play golf than be president.