China has *Already* Lost the Trade War. Meantime, the U.S. Might Sanction China’s Largest Oil Company

[Ward Smith + 6,615]

17 hours ago, Zhong Lu said:

They're giving the protesters rope to hang themselves.  The strategy is to wait for them to go too far, crash the HK stock market (which the majority of HK people have their retirement funds in) then step in to "restore order."

I've seen it happen before.  

For that matter they're applying a similar "give them rope to hang themselves" strategy in response to Trump's tariffs.  When the recession hits in a year or two, guess who people are going to blame it on? 

The difference is mainland China has no compunction about killing a few thousand of their citizens to make a point. We all saw Tiananmen Square up close if not personal. I've met survivors personally, so don't pretend it's just propaganda tovarisch. 

Look at any chart, historically there's a recession or economic crisis every decade or so. Almost as if the powers that pull the strings allow the minions to accomplish their little victories for awhile before gathering up all the chips, again. That strategy hasn't happened yet, although it was fully baked into the cake. Trump is the reason we aren't in a full blown recession already. The Fed was going to constrict the money supply until Trump threatened to replace the chairman before his term was up. He claimed he was fully independent, then quickly caved. 

Tom is right, the masters of the universe dearly want a major recession and will happily paint Trump as the patsy. Unfortunately, he isn't playing along. I'd assumed they'd assassinate him by now, but besides the Secret Service he has his own bodyguards. After seeing Epstein "suicide" he's wise not to trust those around him. Look closely at my avatar and read what it says there. 

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes

Edited August 18, 2019 by Ward Smith

[Zhong Lu + 845]

There are no powers pulling anything.  There are no masters of the universe.  That's just something paranoid people invent to explain events. Everyone's living their day to day lives, but the cumulative effects of small decisions across billions of individuals leads to events like recessions.  This thought is too much for most people to handle so they start imagining nonsense like "masters of the universe" or what-not.  It's part of a human tendency to anthropomorphize everything.  

Trump has limited effect on the economy.  Even if Trump wasn't the president we'd have a recession soon, anyways.   Even the so-called trade war isn't doing  much harm to the GDP.  And his tax cuts have done little except make the rich richer and increase the debt. Detractors blame him for too much.  Supporters give him credit for too much.  In the end, he's just one dude with a big mouth, a tendency to insult others, and a bad financial track record.  He is definitely NOT the second coming of Christ (or anti-Christ).  

Of course I know the Chinese government kills thousands.  Guess what they're going to do to the protesters soon? As I said I've seen it before.  

Edited August 18, 2019 by Zhong Lu

[wrs + 893]

4 minutes ago, Zhong Lu said:

There are no powers pulling anything.  There are no masters of the universe.  That's just something paranoid people invent to explain events. Everyone's living their day to day lives, but the cumulative effects of small decisions across billions of individuals leads to events like recessions.  This thought is too much for most people to handle so they start imagining nonsense like "masters of the universe" or what-not.  It's part of a human tendency to anthropomorphize everything.  

 

Of course there are powers pulling strings but there are likely more of them and pulling in different directions than the conspiracies would suspect. To deny that the ordinary people have very little power is to ignore the vast concentration of wealth in the hands of a very small percentage of the population.  Wealth is power and it's very concentrated, ergo there are undoubtedly powers pulling levers behind the scenes.

[Zhong Lu + 845]

Ok. Name one.  

Edited August 18, 2019 by Zhong Lu

[wrs + 893]

1 minute ago, Zhong Lu said:

Ok. Name one.  

Harvard Endowment, UT Permanent University Fund, KSA Royalty, British Royalty, Vatican.  There are people in those organizations that control the assets and make decisions with those assets which then affects the lives of thousands and millions of people.  The people who are affected have no control over those decisions and must live with whatever the effects are, positive or negative.

[James Regan + 1,776]

9 minutes ago, wrs said:

Harvard Endowment, UT Permanent University Fund, KSA Royalty, British Royalty, Vatican.  There are people in those organizations that control the assets and make decisions with those assets which then affects the lives of thousands and millions of people.  The people who are affected have no control over those decisions and must live with whatever the effects are, positive or negative.

Interesting...

https://www.wakingtimes.com/2013/01/23/who-really-controls-the-world/

Edited August 18, 2019 by James Regan

[Dmitry Bedin + 25]

The topic - lol too inteligent ant too american lmao

[Dmitry Bedin + 25]

Americans writers here like Tom, guys what you are on? Its bad for ya stop taking it! Ask your doctor or call 800..lmao

[footeab@yahoo.com + 2,192]

On 8/16/2019 at 6:26 AM, Jan van Eck said:

Well, I do not. Yes, he has made great strides when dealing with North Korea, and in dealing with China, and you have to give him credit for that. Those are great accomplishments.  Actually, I cannot think of another person in America who could have pulled it off, or who had the guts to do it.

But being an American President has a unique responsibility.  And that is to be and to project being a moral voice. And here Trump fails miserably.  In my view beating up on migrants, putting people into detention jails and putting their infants and children into these dog cages, is not what we are about in America.  Americans are above all a voice for morality on the world stage.  When the monsters oppress, Americans are the people who raise up their voices, and in some cases their swords, to stand for decency.  When the President loses the pedestal of Decency, he collapses that moral voice.  And Trump did not have that pedestal, even in his personal life, to start with. 

I am disgusted with his treatment of the migrants.  Now you can argue "Policy" as to immigration and Emigration all day long, but let's remember, the USA is the world's Moral Leader and is what stands between decency and the Dark Side of the Force.  And when it comes to morality and decency, Mr. Trump has gone over to that Dark Side.  So, for me, no, it is not "good enough." 

 

So: You #1 Lied about the migrants, swallowing the leftists lies and

#2 yup Trump is a moral sexual philandering whore

So, 50% Pinocchio rating. 

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

53 minutes ago, Dmitry Bedin said:

Americans writers here like Tom, guys what you are on? Its bad for ya stop taking it! Ask your doctor or call 800..lmao

Heh heh, my opinions are stated very openly.  While I do not expect others to agree with my opinions, neither will I apologize for them.

Yes, as I state repeatedly, my views tend to be pretty far away from the mainstream bread & circuses pablum.  If one chooses to blindly accept whatever one is told to think by the mainstream media and one chooses not to use one's brain for any kind of critical thinking, that is a personal choice, and one is free to do so.

There is indeed a great awakening underway in the U.S. and around the world; Epstein's death was an eye opener for even the normiest of normies.

Waiting now for a no-deal Brexit to happen and then a resultant far better trade deal between US and UK, leaving EU out in the cold as they go full Quixotian, tilting at the windmills of Climate Armageddon.  After Brexit, EU may find that the Siren Song of globalism and squashing nation states is a Socialist Paradise just like Venezuala - which is Socialism Done Correctly.  The unelected, globalist bureaucrats in Brussels are in for a shock soon enough.

[Zhong Lu + 845]

3 hours ago, wrs said:

Harvard Endowment, UT Permanent University Fund, KSA Royalty, British Royalty, Vatican.  There are people in those organizations that control the assets and make decisions with those assets which then affects the lives of thousands and millions of people.  The people who are affected have no control over those decisions and must live with whatever the effects are, positive or negative.

The Vatican? LOL.  Also, these aren't people.  

In the meantime, did you know that I was abducted by aliens when i was 13? When they dropped me off they poured beer on  me so no one else would believe me.  

Edited August 19, 2019 by Zhong Lu

[Zhong Lu + 845]

Also, for those who claim Trump is a philandering whore: well, so was Bill Clinton.  

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

Heh heh, this amused me, Trump is trolling China again.

A break today from The Conservative Treehouse, for a much more mainstream article by The Business Insider.  Excerpt below, full article in the link:

 

The White House quietly appointed a new China director who could rattle Beijing and make a US-China trade deal even less likely

• The White House has quietly appointed Elnigar Iltebir, a Uighur-American scholar, to direct the National Security Council’s China policy.
• Iltebir’s appointment is significant because she is a member of the Uighur ethnic group, the marginalized, mostly-Muslim community mostly based in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang.
• Uighurs in China are subject to intense oppression and surveillance, and authorities there are believed to have detained up to 1.5 million of them in prison-like camps.
• While her policies on China are as yet unknown, Iltebir’s appointment is likely to cause further friction between Washington and Beijing, which could scupper a potential trade deal.

The White House has quietly appointed an American member of the Muslim Uighur ethnic group to manage its China policy at the National Security Council – a move that will likely rile Beijing and jeopardize the US-China trade relationship.

Elnigar Iltebir started working as the National Security Council’s (NSC) China director three weeks ago, Uighur activist Rushan Abbas told Business Insider.

Abbas is the executive director of the Campaign for Uyghurs advocacy group and former high school student of Iltebir’s father, Abdulhekim Baqi Iltebir, a late Uighur intellectual who lived in the US. (Uyghur is an alternate spelling.)

 

The appointment was first reported by Foreign Policy, which cited unnamed current and former US officials. The NSC declined to comment on its personnel.

 

 

The LinkedIn page of Elnigar Iltebir, a Uighur-American scholar appointed to be China director for the National Security Council.

 

Elnigar Iltebir/LinkedIn

As China director, Iltebir will be responsible for leading NSC policy on China. According to Foreign Policy, this means “helping to manage China policy … including issues related to trade, military, and human rights.”

The NSC declined to comment on its internal structure.

...

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

4 hours ago, Tom Kirkman said:

Waiting now for a no-deal Brexit to happen and then a resultant far better trade deal between US and UK, leaving EU out in the cold as they go full Quixotian, tilting at the windmills of Climate Armageddon.  After Brexit, EU may find that the Siren Song of globalism and squashing nation states is a Socialist Paradise just like Venezuala - which is Socialism Done Correctly.  The unelected, globalist bureaucrats in Brussels are in for a shock soon enough.

Further to my musings this morning about a hard Brexit, I just read this from the gov.uk website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/brexit-secretary-signs-order-to-scrap-1972-brussels-act-ending-all-eu-law-in-the-uk

Brexit Secretary signs order to scrap 1972 Brussels Act - ending all EU law in the UK

The Government has signed into law legislation to repeal the Act of Parliament which set in stone Britain’s EU (EEC) membership in 1972.

Published 18 August 2019

From:

Department for Exiting the European Union

 

The 1972 Act is the vehicle that sees regulations flow into UK law directly from the EU’s lawmaking bodies in Brussels.

The announcement of the Act’s repeal marks a historic step in returning lawmaking powers from Brussels to the UK. We are taking back control of our laws, as the public voted for in 2016.

The repeal of the European Communities Act 1972 will take effect when Britain formally leaves the EU on October 31.

Speaking after signing the legislation that will crystallise in law the upcoming repeal of the ECA, the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU Steve Barclay said:

This is a clear signal to the people of this country that there is no turning back - we are leaving the EU as promised on October 31, whatever the circumstances - delivering on the instructions given to us in 2016.

The votes of 17.4 million people deciding to leave the EU is the greatest democratic mandate ever given to any UK Government. Politicians cannot choose which public votes they wish to respect. Parliament has already voted to leave on 31 October. The signing of this legislation ensures that the EU Withdrawal Act will repeal the European Communities Act 1972 on exit day.

The ECA saw countless EU regulations flowing directly into UK law for decades, and any government serious about leaving on October 31 should show their commitment to repealing it.

That is what we are doing by setting in motion that repeal. This is a landmark moment in taking back control of our laws from Brussels.

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

6 hours ago, Tom Kirkman said:

Heh heh, this amused me, Trump is trolling China again.

 

Why is this good? Seriously.

Side note, what investments do you hold if you don't mind me asking? You almost seem to like trumps tweet and tariff recession.

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

25 minutes ago, Enthalpic said:

Why is this good? Seriously.

Side note, what investments do you hold if you don't mind me asking? You almost seem to like trumps tweet and tariff recession.

By this time, after my endless comments about the Trump vs Xi trade war, I am kind of at a loss to further explain my views.  

Seems I really do have an uphill battle trying to counter the generally accepted media talking points, which I tend to view as deliberate disinformation.

[footeab@yahoo.com + 2,192]

1 hour ago, Enthalpic said:

Why is this good? Seriously.

Side note, what investments do you hold if you don't mind me asking? You almost seem to like trumps tweet and tariff recession.

A tweet recession.... hrmmm 😃 ... I do not think so....  As for the tariffs

Suggest watching something other than the paid propaganda CBC trash for Ottawa big wig interests 

[Rasmus Jorgensen + 1,169]

As I was reading through all this China bashing it occured to me that behind all the conspiracy is actually marxist theory : concentration of wealth; direct and in-direct control; Potential for violent revolution etc. 

kind of makes me chuckle... 

[entertenter + 24]

On 8/16/2019 at 1:19 PM, Tom Kirkman said:

For your consideration:

U.S. Consumer Spending Beats Expectations – Shoppers Reject Phony Media Recession Fears

If you needed any empirical evidence to prove the doomsday proclamations by the financial pundits are false claims, just look at the July consumer spending results. July spending more than doubled expectations.

Every single economic downturn is preceded by spending spree. But reason for every single downturn is always different.
I remember that right before another downturn, there were economists, bankers and politics who told that there will be no more downturns! It took only 6 months...  

[Rasmus Jorgensen + 1,169]

 

On 8/16/2019 at 5:27 PM, John Foote said:

China has needed dealing with for some time.

I am no Trump fan. But I actually think that he deserves credit for bringing China in on the Agenda. I am not sure either that the tariffs will have the intended effect, but even in Europe there's a change in rhetoric about China. 

 

[James Regan + 1,776]

17 minutes ago, Rasmus Jorgensen said:

 

I am no Trump fan. But I actually think that he deserves credit for bringing China in on the Agenda. I am not sure either that the tariffs will have the intended effect, but even in Europe there's a change in rhetoric about China. 

 

I think China is not top of the agenda with Europe at this point, Brexit and October “leave do or die” is causing mayhem. The UK currently seeming to back track on the Grace 1 to the dismay of Trump is causing discord between the USA and U.K.

The UK cannot be perceived as working politically to the benefit of Iran, this is unacceptable.

Things seem to be hotting up in Europe caused by outside issues outside their control, by default IMO Europe is at a crossroad, where they need to define a position and not flip flop, are we supporting the USA or not?

Edited August 19, 2019 by James Regan

[Rasmus Jorgensen + 1,169]

1 minute ago, James Regan said:

I think China is not top of the agenda with Europe at this point, Brexit and October “leave do or die” is causing mayhem. .

I agree. 

My only point was that the is an increasing opinion in favor levelling the field with China. Not as confrontational as Trump, but still. 

UK and Europe will get past brexit and although a hard brexit seems the most likely way at this point atleast that will bring clarity (and a scapegoat for economic slowdown). 

[James Regan + 1,776]

7 minutes ago, Rasmus Jorgensen said:

I agree. 

My only point was that the is an increasing opinion in favor levelling the field with China. Not as confrontational as Trump, but still. 

UK and Europe will get past brexit and although a hard brexit seems the most likely way at this point atleast that will bring clarity (and a scapegoat for economic slowdown). 

Please see my edit , I was in mid edit when you posted.

Im concerned about the UK, I’m pro Brexit but there’s a lot going on skirting Brexit which is not the focus at this point, so we are being conceived as non team players. UK is in survival mode at this point, like hypothermia we are concentrated on our core temp and have neglected our extremities.

Edited August 19, 2019 by James Regan

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

22 minutes ago, Rasmus Jorgensen said:

I am no Trump fan. But I actually think that he deserves credit for bringing China in on the Agenda. I am not sure either that the tariffs will have the intended effect, but even in Europe there's a change in rhetoric about China. 

3 minute YouTube video:

Tracing Trump's Aggressive Tariff Strategy Back to the 1980s | "Trump's Trade War" | FRONTLINE

 

Related background info:

Donald Trump interview 1980 (Rona Barrett) [Reelin' In The Years Archives]

[DanilKa + 443]

Contrasting view: 

https://realinvestmentadvice.com/the-trade-war-is-over-trump-just-doesnt-realize-it-yet/

(I don’t know who is gonna win or whether “war” is real)