22 minutes ago, xylophone said:

But what has he ACTUALLY achieved............

Countries are making promises to Trump, while leaving the difficult to achieve detail for later…..

 Trade negotiations have for years focused on the rules of the road for commerce between nations.

Under United States President Donald Trump, the deal-making has been more direct, especially when it comes to energy.

 

Well, the list is astonishingly long, and making peace between Thailand and Cambodia is also on there, as acknowledged by the prime minister of Thailand recently, but indeed, I would see this re-design of global trade as by far the greatest achievement.

 

Trump came into power with a much clearer idea about the economy than anybody anticipated, including his supporters. He wanted to devalue the dollar and the tariffs were  much derided by his opponents, however, it looks as if he has achieved a global redesign of trade relationships. This is really an achievement on a global scale.

 

You an say "it's only an initial agreement and details will emerge later",  To some extent that's true, but it's also true, that the EU just made committments in the orrder of billions to buy American, invest in America and accepted trade tariffs that will hurt EU companies and benefit US companies. 

 

There's no denying the billions that the US will be making, and indeed is making, as we speak, thanks to Trump's tariffs.. And it looks like he may succeed in devaluing the dollar, with the consent of other countries, and to still retain the US Dollar as the reserve currency. Quite an achievement.

1 minute ago, SLOWHAND225 said:

America has AWLAYS subsidized crops, cattle since at least the 40's.  So I have no idea what Trump or Obama have to do with it. You might at least learn the basics of what your talking about.

Every country provides subsidies to farmers.

 

Paying farmers to leave fields fallow, or to compensate them for lost markets  - different story.

 

Nice try at a deflection, though.

38 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

There's evidence saying staying mentally active does slow the progression.

 

Don't worry, IMO you could lose 90% of of your brain cells, and still be ahead of some posters on ASEAN.

 

🤣....deserving of a proper sized emoji

22 minutes ago, AndreasHG said:

I have to admit I would have never expected to agree with the title of this oped but I do find Trump second term much better than his first one.

 

Let's start from the first win, something I largely anticipated: I knew he was set to sink the US dollar and be instrumental to the appreciation of the euro (and many other currencies with it). He did it in his first term, and I was so sure he would repeat himself that I sold all of my US denominated assets and converted them into Swiss Franc and Euro, resulting in a 13% gain, after factoring in the loss of 2% recorded in the last two days.
And it's only the beginning. It's just a matter of time he will prevail upon Powel and force the FED rates down, causing a further depreciation of the USD and of all the currencies loosely or tightly peg to it, like many currencies in Asia. Thank you Mr. Trump!

 

Second win, and it's a big thing for me. He is strangling Putin and the Russian economy with him. He imposed Europe to stop purchasing energy from Russia, it's traditional supplier of cheap gas and diesel.

As European I am ashamed that my European Union kept on purchasing these commodities from Russia.

I understand the pressure Orban, the AfD, Salvini, and all the parties of the extreme right and left put on the EU Commission to keep the gas and diesel taps open. 

But Trump, despite Musk and Vance openly sympathizing with these right wing, pro-Russian leaders, stood his ground and ensured justice was made. The EU wil never buy energy from Russia again. 

But he is going much further than this. By imposing secondary sanctions on India and China, for Putin it is going to be game over. And I rejoice in anticipation of a Putin free world: Thank you Mr. Trump!

 

Third win, and it's another big thing for me: he pushed Europe to arm herself and stand on her feet again, as it used to do before our former colony raised to its current superpower status and became Europe's sugar daddy. I will never thank Trump enough for forcing the Europeans to behave as grown-up men and women again, after 50 years of shame. Thank you Mr. Trump!

 

Fourth win, and it's another big thing for me: by introducing new taxes (i.e. tariffs) and depreciating the US dollar he has made a big contribution to reduce global warming, much bigger than the millions of leftist right-thinking, organic veggie-burgers eaters would have ever done in their entire lives. A Swiss citizen consumes approximately 2.5 toe, which translates to roughly 29,000 kWh of electricity per year, while an American citizen in average consumes 7.76 tonnes of oil equivalent (toe) of energy per year, or about 89.97 MWh. It's shameful!

A weaker US dollar plus additional taxes means that the average American consumers becomes poorer and is forced to bring its consumption down to more sustainable levels. Thank you Mr. Trump, future generations will remember you and your bravery!

 

Fifth win, something I am delighted of:  he is putting a serious brake on immigration. There was once a United States of America characterized by a deeply north European culture and dominated by a WASP elite (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant). This was before a massive injection of immigrants, especially Latin immigrants, turned the country i a sort of ugly copy of the banana republics south of the Panama Canal. Vulgar, loud, violent, ostentatious, corrupt to the bones, greedy, which knows no duties but only rights, where everyone aspires to become a rentier and no one wants to commit to working honestly, disrespectful of the law, the privacy and the property, armed to the teeth and ready to use force to impose the law of the strongest.

America resembling everyday more Colombia rather than Friesland, North Holland, Cornwall, Jutland, or Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire, with the latter being the homeland of most of the Pilgrim Fathers. 

Mr. Trump has put a stop to all this. America will go back to its cultural roots. And it's a win for America, and it's a win for the free world, for the rule of law, for the personal freedom of each one of us. That's the fifth reason I say thank you Mr. Trump.

 

Notwithstanding the above I also recognize he has some shortfalls, and some serious ones. Especially his habit of diverging from the truth. However, let's be honest, who hasn't any shortfall?

"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone". I won't be that one.

 

 

And all in 6 months. It is very impressive.

23 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

 

Well, the list is astonishingly long, and making peace between Thailand and Cambodia is also on there, as acknowledged by the prime minister of Thailand recently, but indeed, I would see this re-design of global trade as by far the greatest achievement.

 

Trump came into power with a much clearer idea about the economy than anybody anticipated, including his supporters. He wanted to devalue the dollar and the tariffs were  much derided by his opponents, however, it looks as if he has achieved a global redesign of trade relationships. This is really an achievement on a global scale.

 

You an say "it's only an initial agreement and details will emerge later",  To some extent that's true, but it's also true, that the EU just made committments in the orrder of billions to buy American, invest in America and accepted trade tariffs that will hurt EU companies and benefit US companies. 

 

There's no denying the billions that the US will be making, and indeed is making, as we speak, thanks to Trump's tariffs.. And it looks like he may succeed in devaluing the dollar, with the consent of other countries, and to still retain the US Dollar as the reserve currency. Quite an achievement.

The anti capitalist /Socialist hate that word Billions,it triggers them when it applies to the Conservative side .

 

Well said sir.

18 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Every country provides subsidies to farmers.

 

Paying farmers to leave fields fallow, or to compensate them for lost markets  - different story.

 

Nice try at a deflection, though.

We're not talking about other countries. So again, whats that have to do with it ? Thats right, nothing.

The USDA has paid farmers to not grow crops since the 60's at least but you knew that too.
right ?

Wheres the deflection ? I'll wait.  Thats a typical response from a non American trying to talk about things they know nothing about.

 

1 hour ago, FritsSikkink said:

"Avocados from Mexico are now $9.00 for 6, when they used t be $5.50.  Blackberries from Ecuador are now $9.99 a box, used to be $6.99…"

Read again, they are more expensive.

Thought he was saying now avocadoes $9 for 6 but had been 1 for $5.50  - we get prices like that in Australia sometimes. Point taken though. 

1 hour ago, AndreasHG said:

Let's start from the first win, something I largely anticipated: I knew he was set to sink the US dollar and be instrumental to the appreciation of the euro (and many other currencies with it). He did it in his first term, and I was so sure he would repeat himself that I sold all of my US denominated assets and converted them into Swiss Franc and Euro, resulting in a 13% gain, after factoring in the loss of 2% recorded in the last two days.
And it's only the beginning. It's just a matter of time he will prevail upon Powel and force the FED rates down, causing a further depreciation of the USD and of all the currencies loosely or tightly peg to it, like many currencies in Asia. Thank you Mr. Trump!

 You have a very narrow view of currency fluctuations. 

 

Let's take a look at the USDX chart, from 2010 to the current date:

 

Take note that the USD is at its average strength of the last 14 years, and much higher than the 5 years from 2010 to 2014.

 

Take note that the USD is currently at the same strength it was in late September last year, near the end of Biden's tenure.

 

It hit near the current rate about 5 times during Biden's tenure, and there were no "the sky is falling - the USD is toast" threads.

 

Well done playing the market for a gain, but the USD is still rock solid and doing what it always does, historically. It has always been a volatile currency.

 

 

1 hour ago, FritsSikkink said:

"Avocados from Mexico are now $9.00 for 6, when they used t be $5.50.  Blackberries from Ecuador are now $9.99 a box, used to be $6.99…"

Read again, they are more expensive.

 

Wow....isn't that fantastic...think of the profit the traders must now be making, prices almost doubled......oh wait?

10 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

The guy is unhinged but he doesn't give in to the Woke, he wants best for his people. 

I'd like him to say the same to Australia, their stupid immigration policy. 

 

20 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

 You have a very narrow view of currency fluctuations. 

 

Let's take a look at the USDX chart, from 2010 to the current date:

 

Take note that the USD is at its average strength of the last 14 years, and much higher than the 5 years from 2010 to 2014.

 

Take note that the USD is currently at the same strength it was in late September last year, near the end of Biden's tenure.

 

It hit near the current rate about 5 times during Biden's tenure, and there were no "the sky is falling - the USD is toast" threads.

 

Well done playing the market for a gain, but the USD is still rock solid and doing what it always does, historically. It has always been a volatile currency.

 

 

 

LOL. And who cares about what happend 15 years ago. I was not living in Thailand then, I was not spending my hard-earned money in Thai Bahts, and the President of the US was Barack Obama.

Yes, things perhaps were better, hamburger and cola costed $2 and 25 cents. But it's very sad. Old men always remember the good old times but forget where they parked their car this morning, with their poor dog locked inside.

Nobody deserves this ugly destiny. Not even you, my poor MAGA friend.

 

On 7/30/2025 at 3:20 PM, Jingthing said:

Yeah all those many millions that are going to lose their health care now certainly "wished" for that. In maga cult INSANE world they did. 

Insanity was having Joe Biden as the President.

1 hour ago, JensenZ said:

 You have a very narrow view of currency fluctuations. 

 

Let's take a look at the USDX chart, from 2010 to the current date:

 

Take note that the USD is at its average strength of the last 14 years, and much higher than the 5 years from 2010 to 2014.

 

Take note that the USD is currently at the same strength it was in late September last year, near the end of Biden's tenure.

 

It hit near the current rate about 5 times during Biden's tenure, and there were no "the sky is falling - the USD is toast" threads.

 

Well done playing the market for a gain, but the USD is still rock solid and doing what it always does, historically. It has always been a volatile currency.

 

 

 

Data without intelligence is just numbers, and I've decided to help you for free. Let's put some intelligence behind the numbers to get actionable data, starting from the day the euro was launched (January 4, 1999).

The chart below shows how many dollars a euro buys. As you can see, the general rule is this: Republican presidents make the euro appreciate and the dollar sink (blue arrows), while Democratic presidents do the opposite (red arrows).

Invest your money wherever you want, but if you think Trump could be good for the dollar, you have an IQ problem.

 

1 minute ago, AndreasHG said:

 

Data without intelligence is just numbers, and I've decided to help you for free. Let's put some intelligence behind the numbers to get actionable data, starting from the day the euro was launched (January 4, 1999).

The chart below shows how many dollars a euro buys. As you can see, the general rule is this: Republican presidents make the euro appreciate and the dollar sink (blue arrows), while Democratic presidents do the opposite (red arrows).

Invest your money wherever you want, but if you think Trump could be good for the dollar, you have an IQ problem.

 

 

Given that Trump has repeatedly and publicly stated that his aim is to devalue the Dollar the data is rather pointless.

2 hours ago, Cameroni said:

 

Given that Trump has repeatedly and publicly stated that his aim is to devalue the Dollar the data is rather pointless.

Yup dollar buys less + everything will be 15% more expensive…..humm and some dullards think that’s winning……ah well ya can’t fix stupid.oh and wait there’s more he’s having a snit with Brazil who we have a trade surplus with …..he’s going to make your coffee 50% more expensive!!winning ehh??even a trump cultist should be lucid enough during their morning coffee to get that I hope!……thats not even getting into the chaos,disruptions of peoples lives the ill will created by this (administration) 

16 minutes ago, Tug said:

Yup dollar buys less + everything will be 15% more expensive…..humm and some dullards think that’s winning……ah well ya can’t fix stupid.oh and wait there’s more he’s having a snit with Brazil who we have a trade surplus with …..he’s going to make your coffee 50% more expensive!!winning ehh??even a trump cultist should be lucid enough during their morning coffee to get that I hope!……thats not even getting into the chaos,disruptions of peoples lives the ill will created by this (administration) 

 

it's not that simple, actually, even if the Dollar buys less, you forget to consider that actually US products for export become cheaper, so US products will sell more abroad, US companies make more money, US employees get more pay. 

 

So it's really necesssary to look at the big picture, whilst the Dollar buys less, foreign markets buy more American products, so more profits for US companies, so more employment, and better wages.

 

And btw, Brazilian coffee is terrible, one should buy Sumatran Mandailing or Ethiopian or Yauco from Puerto Rico anyway.

 

Disruption, yes, but America will be the better for it.

5 hours ago, AndreasHG said:

The second Trump administr.

 

 

 

Fourth win, and it's another big thing for me: by introducing new taxes (i.e. tariffs) and depreciating the US dollar he has made a big contribution to reduce global warming, much bigger than the millions of leftist right-thinking, organic veggie-burgers eaters would have ever done in their entire lives. A Swiss citizen consumes approximately 2.5 toe, which translates to roughly 29,000 kWh of electricity per year, while an American citizen in average consumes 7.76 tonnes of oil equivalent (toe) of energy per year, or about 89.97 MWh. It's shameful!

A weaker US dollar plus additional taxes means that the average American consumers becomes poorer and is forced to bring its consumption down to more sustainable levels. Thank you Mr. Trump, future generations will remember you and your bravery!

 

 

 

 

The second Trump administration has cut funding of climate research and environmental protection. The first appointed an oil industry executive as its Secretary of the Environment.

 

It has rolled back Obama-era targets.

 

It has prioritized domestic production of oil, and is mandating coal-fired generators due to be retired to stay in operation.

 

It has junked tailpipe emission standards.

 

It has frozen approvals for all renewable projects on public lands.

 

Switzerland's electricity is 60% renewables. America is less than 25%.

 

You should put a sarcasm alert on your posts, some might take them seriously.

 

 

 

 

Winning. 

• Illegal immigration (R+24)

• Immigration (R+17)

• The economy (R+12)

• Inflation and rising prices (R+10)

• Foreign policy (R+8)

• Tariffs (R+7)

• The Russia-Ukraine war (R+5

21 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

 

it's not that simple, actually, even if the Dollar buys less, you forget to consider that actually US products for export become cheaper, so US products will sell more abroad, US companies make more money, US employees get more pay. 

 

So it's really necesssary to look at the big picture, whilst the Dollar buys less, foreign markets buy more American products, so more profits for US companies, so more employment, and better wages.

 

And btw, Brazilian coffee is terrible, one should buy Sumatran Mandailing or Ethiopian or Yauco from Puerto Rico anyway.

 

Disruption, yes, but America will be the better for it.

Your post assumes the rest of the world wants American goods and services.

 

China does not want American corn. Canada has taken American bourbon off its shelves. Australians will probably be giving American beef the stinkeye.

 

While it is true a weaker currency favors exports, it's a Red Queen's race. Travel becomes more expensive, there is capital flight, and interest rates on government bonds increase.

 

The US government now has to pay more interest on government debt, than it does for defense spending. Which is more than the next 10 countries' budgets combined.

 

You think that's sustainable?

21 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

You should put a sarcasm alert on your posts, some might take them seriously.

 

Thanks! I will keep this in mind. 😊

17 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Your post assumes the rest of the world wants American goods and services.

 

The world does want American goods and services. US law firms and investment banks are in high demand with any mergers or high profile corporate matters in Europe, and the US has exported 3.23 TRILLION USD worth of goods in 2024.  That sounds like a lot of exported goods the world has bought from America.

 

The USA is after all in second place, for exported goods, behind China ,and ahead of Germany, Japan and South Korea.

 

So it's ludicrous to insinuate that the world does not want American products, just because Canadians have some hang ups, or Ozzies prefer their beef (which is pretty good after all). I suspect Canadians and Australians will continue to buy Iphones, Dell computers, and many other US products though.

 

Your precis of Niall Ferguson's recent critique of the US spending more on debt than defense, is not applicable. He's comparing apples with oranges, past empires with empires like the US, which is richer than God and militarily far more potent than any nation in the history of the world. The US could destroy the whole planet in seconds. So, no, I don't think servicing the debt will be a problem of dramatic proportions. Yes, it will be a strain, but if the US fails to pay the whole system of world finance will collapse most likely anyway, and there is no evidence that the US will not be able to continue to service the debt.

 

Also you forget that the US could easily impose a tax to raise revenue to service the debt. However, with Trump's incredibly profitable policies, that most likely will not be required. Let's hope his successors will make it rain like he did.

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Cameroni said:

 

it's not that simple, actually, even if the Dollar buys less, you forget to consider that actually US products for export become cheaper, so US products will sell more abroad, US companies make more money, US employees get more pay. 

 

So it's really necesssary to look at the big picture, whilst the Dollar buys less, foreign markets buy more American products, so more profits for US companies, so more employment, and better wages.

 

And btw, Brazilian coffee is terrible, one should buy Sumatran Mandailing or Ethiopian or Yauco from Puerto Rico anyway.

 

Disruption, yes, but America will be the better for it.

You can put all the lipstick on that pig you like as a regular American consumer/ builder my money has (so far) lost 12% of its value and we now seem to have an extra 15% sales tax shoved down out throats BY DECREE not by congress……I personally don’t see that as winning I call it more like extortion under color of authority.i also disagree that America will be the better for it….the shivving of our allies in the guts on this and other issues the disruption of peoples lives and lively hoods is creating deep rancor and a smoldering anger abroad and at home for that matter.so nope I disagree.

2 hours ago, TedG said:

Winning. 

• Illegal immigration (R+24)

• Immigration (R+17)

• The economy (R+12)

• Inflation and rising prices (R+10)

• Foreign policy (R+8)

• Tariffs (R+7)

• The Russia-Ukraine war (R+5

 I'll back up your beautiful receipts and Trump it with  The  Golden Age has just begun Speech!

 

 

2 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Australians will probably be giving American beef the stinkeye.

What, all 20 million of them?! Oh no it's a disaster🤣

3 hours ago, Lacessit said:

The second Trump administration has cut funding of climate research and environmental protection. The first appointed an oil industry executive as its Secretary of the Environment.

 

It has rolled back Obama-era targets.

 

It has prioritized domestic production of oil, and is mandating coal-fired generators due to be retired to stay in operation.

 

It has junked tailpipe emission standards.

 

It has frozen approvals for all renewable projects on public lands.

 

Switzerland's electricity is 60% renewables. America is less than 25%.

 

You should put a sarcasm alert on your posts, some might take them seriously.

 

 

 

 

Mr Pessimistic,  America is booming!

 

 

20 hours ago, ThreeCardMonte said:

Research Expedited Removal (ER).

 

 

As invited I researched this. Thanks for tthe link, I hadnt heard of this Democratic President's positive action to address the problem.

I did notice two quite important qualifiers for a person to be removed this way.

1. make no claim to lawful permanent resident status, and
2. do not seek asylum or express a fear of persecution.

It seems a failure to make a claim to stay is part of the due process with this legislation. The process is to check a claim hasn't been made.

It's just a positive, legal  attempt to cut through the crap that can be used to delay removal.

2 hours ago, Old Croc said:

As invited I researched this. Thanks for tthe link, I hadnt heard of this Democratic President's positive action to address the problem.

I did notice two quite important qualifiers for a person to be removed this way.

1. make no claim to lawful permanent resident status, and
2. do not seek asylum or express a fear of persecution.

It seems a failure to make a claim to stay is part of the due process with this legislation. The process is to check a claim hasn't been made.

It's just a positive, legal  attempt to cut through the crap that can be used to delay removal.

If I understood you correctly, yes asylum is used often in a fraudulent manner.

The majority of Mexicans don’t qualify for asylum.  Whether they are picked up by the Border Patrol between the Ports of Entry or at the Ports of Entry voluntarily applying for asylum or attempting to avoid inspection at the Port of Entry,

 

Certain Nationalities can apply for asylum at the Port of Entry’s.  As I recall years ago when Cubans would apply for entry and ask for asylum they were guaranteed to be referred to an asylum officer to adjudicate their case.

 

Illegal aliens who illegally entered (sneaked in) (no status) and are apprehended can be removed by ER (Expedited Removal).  They DO NOT have to be deported by an IJ (Immigration Judge).

 

Aliens who have status such as a LPR (lawful permanent resident) (green card) must be deported (not removed) by a IJ if they are guilty of offenses that can warrant deportation via a 240 hearing.  
 

People often confuse “removal” with “deportation”.  Only an IJ can deport.

 

Immigration Officers (now CBP) and Border Patrol can REMOVE..

 

Despite what some think USC can’t be deported.

14 hours ago, Tug said:

You can put all the lipstick on that pig you like as a regular American consumer/ builder my money has (so far) lost 12% of its value and we now seem to have an extra 15% sales tax shoved down out throats BY DECREE not by congress……I personally don’t see that as winning I call it more like extortion under color of authority.i also disagree that America will be the better for it….the shivving of our allies in the guts on this and other issues the disruption of peoples lives and lively hoods is creating deep rancor and a smoldering anger abroad and at home for that matter.so nope I disagree.

 

That's quite wrong. You're looking at it from a narrow personal perspective. However, president Trump has to look at it from an American perspective, what is best for the country. It is simply a fact that devaluing the dollar will be beneficial for the US economy in the long term, as it will help make US companies competitive again abroad. This will increase the strength of US manufacturing and tech companies who export abroad, make US companies more profitable and increase wages in those industries.

 

The tariffs are not "shoved down your throat", if you do not wish to buy a product subject to a tariff, you can buy a US made alternative. The choice is yours.

 

You are looking at the allies' well being, that's not really the main concern of president Trump, his concern is first and foremost US ccompanies, for whom a cheaper Dollar will be highly beneficial.

Trumps got it going magnificently, unrivaled by any measure! President Trumps MAGA policy strategies bring short term immediate impact and problem resolution along with a focus on long term growth and economic resilience unseen in previous administrations especially Biden’s diseconomy, social and security and foreign policy failures. Well done, and no real surprise despite the interference the bumbling democrats are deploying to prevent Trump policy success. He's one tough hombre, a class act and  impossible to compete with, obviously.

 

 

 

 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/04/100-days-of-investment-5-trillion-in-new-investment-fuels-americas-future/?category=9&v=accessibility

7 hours ago, ThreeCardMonte said:

If I understood you correctly, yes asylum is used often in a fraudulent manner.

The majority of Mexicans don’t qualify for asylum.  Whether they are picked up by the Border Patrol between the Ports of Entry or at the Ports of Entry voluntarily applying for asylum or attempting to avoid inspection at the Port of Entry,

 

Certain Nationalities can apply for asylum at the Port of Entry’s.  As I recall years ago when Cubans would apply for entry and ask for asylum they were guaranteed to be referred to an asylum officer to adjudicate their case.

 

Illegal aliens who illegally entered (sneaked in) (no status) and are apprehended can be removed by ER (Expedited Removal).  They DO NOT have to be deported by an IJ (Immigration Judge).

 

Aliens who have status such as a LPR (lawful permanent resident) (green card) must be deported (not removed) by a IJ if they are guilty of offenses that can warrant deportation via a 240 hearing.  
 

People often confuse “removal” with “deportation”.  Only an IJ can deport.

 

Immigration Officers (now CBP) and Border Patrol can REMOVE..

 

Despite what some think USC can’t be deported.

In my experience working with "thousands" of refugee claiments I personally believe most were fraudulent, but their claims still needed to be heard  to comply with the Convention. I've seen claiments from Ireland, Britain, Germany and the US.  They still had to be considered by a delegated person. 

 

In Australia most illegal non-citizens are removed, Deportation with a formal document is rare,  usually just criminals who were on PR.  I spent a time running a Criminal Deportations branch. A Minister, fed up with all the avenues of appeal, later decided to expel these people using character legislation, On forums like this posters generally believe all removals are deportations. Easier to not correct.