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tang

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Oct 21, 2015
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Is this mean all other race cause domestic terrorism only against their own race?

Or it doesn’t count as race-based for other race if they cause domestic terrorism toward race different from themselves?
 

Freeloading Rusty

Here comes Rover, sniffin’ at your ass
Jan 11, 2016
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'He has gone mad': Danish politicians mock Trump's suggestion that U.S. could buy Greenland
Greenland has been forced, bizarrely, to confirm that it is not for sale, after U.S. President Donald Trump pushed top aides to investigate a possible purchase.

“We are open for business, but we’re not for sale,” Greenland’s foreign minister Ane Lone Bagger told Reuters.

The presidential request — about which two people with direct knowledge of the directive told the Washington Post — has bewildered aides. Some continue to believe it isn’t serious, but Trump has mentioned it for weeks. The two people with knowledge of the presidential demand spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to reveal such White House planning.

Greenland is a self-governing country that is part of the kingdom of Denmark, and Trump is scheduled to visit Denmark in two weeks. Like their Greenland counterparts, Danish politicians made a mockery of Trump’s reported idea.

“It has to be an April Fool’s joke. Totally out of season,” former prime minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Twitter.

“If he is truly contemplating this, then this is final proof, that he has gone mad,” foreign affairs spokesman for the Danish People’s Party, Soren Espersen, told broadcaster DR.

“The thought of Denmark selling 50,000 citizens to the United States is completely ridiculous,” he said.

“I am sure a majority in Greenland believes it is better to have a relation to Denmark than the United States, in the long term,” Aaja Chemnitz Larsen, Danish MP from Greenland’s second-largest party Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA), told Reuters.

“My immediate thought is ‘No, thank you’,” she said.

“Oh dear lord. As someone who loves Greenland, has been there nine times to every corner and loves the people, this is a complete and total catastrophe,” former U.S. ambassador to Denmark, Rufus Gifford, said in on Twitter.

As with many of Trump’s internal musings, aides are waiting for more direction before they decide how seriously they should look into it.

Among the things that have been discussed is whether it is even legal, what the process would be for acquiring an island that has its own government and population, and where the money to purchase a giant landmass would originate.

Trump’s interest in acquiring Greenland was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

MAGA is an anagram of Make Greenland American Already

— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahNRO) August 15, 2019
According to the Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook, Greenland is 2.2 million square kilometres, with 1.7 million of that covered in ice. It has considerable natural resources, such as coal and uranium, but only 0.6 percent of the land is used for agriculture. It has around 58,000 residents, making it one of the world’s smallest countries by population.

Trump has touted his career as a real estate developer during the 2016 presidential campaign and made clear that he has retained an eye for real estate opportunities during his tenure in the White House. For example, he has said that North Korea could build famous hotels and resorts along its oceanfront properties, even though many foreigners are afraid to visit the country out of fear for their lives.


Ilulissat, an icefjord which is on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites, is seen in western Greenland, Denmark July 15, 2015. Ritzau Scanpix/Linda Kastrup via REUTERS
Typically, Congress must appropriate money before the White House can use it, but Trump has shown a willingness to get around those restrictions.

It was unclear why Trump might want the United States to buy Greenland, though his administration has identified the Arctic as an area of growing importance to U.S. national security interests.

“This is America’s moment to stand up as an Arctic nation,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in May during a speech in Finland. “The region has become an arena of global power and competition.”

With melting ice making the region more accessible, the United States has been firm in trying to counter moves by Russia and China in the Arctic. China declared itself a “near-Arctic nation” last year and has defended its desire for a “Polar Silk Road” in which Chinese goods would be delivered by sea from Asia to Europe.

China recently sought to bankroll the construction of three airports in Greenland, drawing concern from then-defence secretary Jim Mattis and prompting the Pentagon to make the case to Denmark that it should fund the facilities itself rather than rely on Beijing.

“Countries should be wary of piling on monumental debt, particularly ‘loan to own’ projects, that undermines their freedom of political action and sovereign choices,” a Pentagon official, Johnny Michael, said previously. “Beijing’s lack of transparency in its polar research, expeditionary activities and approach to natural resource development is also of concern.”

Trump’s desire to buy Greenland wouldn’t be the first time an American president broached the idea.

The U.S. military had a presence on Greenland during World War II as a means to protect the continent if Germany ever tried to attack. After the war, the Truman administration offered Denmark $100 million to buy Greenland, according to the academic tome “Exploring Greenland: Cold War Science and Technology on Ice.”

Since then, the Danish people have been wary of the United States’ continued use of Greenland. The land was critical territory during the Cold War because of its location halfway between the United States and northern Europe and its proximity to the former Soviet Union. The Pentagon built its northern-most military installation, Thule Air Base, on Greenland in 1951, as a means for missile defense.

“Exploring Greenland,” co-written by academics from Denmark and the United States, says that the U.S. military’s “extensive activities in northern Greenland” were seen by Danish citizens and some politicians as “a violation of their national sovereignty.”

Some on Thursday responded to the news with incredulity; others, with support.

“This idea isn’t as crazy as the headline makes it seem,” Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., said in a tweet. “This a smart geopolitical move. The United States has a compelling strategic interest in Greenland, and this should absolutely be on the table.”

Most, however, responded with mockery.

Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., shared a news story about Trump’s idea and mused: “A Great place for his ‘presidential’ library.”

And Jonah Goldberg, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, tweeted that MAGA — the acronym for Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan – is “an anagram of Make Greenland American Already.”

— The Washington Post’s Felicia Sonmez contributed to this report

— With files from Reuters
 

Freeloading Rusty

Here comes Rover, sniffin’ at your ass
Jan 11, 2016
26,916
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A new report offers fresh evidence that Trump's trade-war tariffs are hurting the US — even though he says they're not
A new report offers fresh evidence that Trump's trade-war tariffs are hurting the US — even though he says they're not | Markets Insider
  • President Trump has long said that China is far more affected by the tariffs he's imposed than the US.
  • Industry watchers have voiced disagreement, saying US consumers and companies are taking large hits as well.
  • An August study from the New York Federal Reserve showed that tariffs and trade policies are seen pushing up prices and reducing profits for manufacturing and service businesses in the tri-state area.
President Donald Trump said Friday that "the longer the trade war goes on, the weaker China gets and the stronger we get."

But a new report published Friday from the New York Federal Reserve shows that may not be the case for businesses in New York, northern New Jersey, and southwestern Connecticut.

In the supplemental questions to the Empire State Manufacturing and Business Leaders Survey, more manufacturers and business leaders said that tariffs and trade-war policy have pushed up prices and reduced profits compared to 12 months ago.

"The data illustrate a considerably more widespread effect of higher input costs among service firms than in last year's survey," the NY Fed wrote in the report. This is an issue because it can weigh on profits, be passed along to the consumer, or both.

President Trump has long said that China is paying the price for the increased tariffs, and that they're not hurting US consumers, workers, companies. But economists and analysts disagree.

US consumers are paying more for products either imported from China or made with parts imported from there. Meanwhile, companies have said they would have to raise prices, and that downward pressure on earnings could lead to serious declines in stock prices. Some corporations are also hiring less amid escalating trade tensions, hurting US workers.


According to the survey, 79% of manufacturers and 60% of service firms said that recent increases in tariffs have raised input costs at least slightly. An additional 14% of manufacturers and 12% of service firms said that the increases were substantial. All numbers represented a marked increase from the August 2018 survey.

Going forward, the survey showed that businesses expect to pay higher prices for goods they purchase and expect that prices on goods they sell will also go up. Manufacturers and service firms expect that tariffs and trade policies will continue to have a negative impact of just under 40% for both 2019 and 2020.

Further, data Friday showed that while US consumer confidence is generally healthy, it is also showing signs of deteriorating. That was according to the University of Michigan's consumer-sentiment index, which posted a larger drop than expected, falling to its second-lowest level of Trump's presidency.

The underlying reason why is the elephant in the room Trump and his administration are reluctant to acknowledge: a possible economic recession.

"Consumers concluded, following the Fed's lead, that they may need to reduce spending in anticipation of a potential recession," Richard Curtin, the chief economist of the Michigan survey, said in a statement.
Supplemental Survey Report
https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialib...ss_leaders/2019/2019_08supplemental.pdf?la=en
 

Never_Rolled

First 10,000
Dec 17, 2018
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A new report offers fresh evidence that Trump's trade-war tariffs are hurting the US — even though he says they're not
A new report offers fresh evidence that Trump's trade-war tariffs are hurting the US — even though he says they're not | Markets Insider
  • President Trump has long said that China is far more affected by the tariffs he's imposed than the US.
  • Industry watchers have voiced disagreement, saying US consumers and companies are taking large hits as well.
  • An August study from the New York Federal Reserve showed that tariffs and trade policies are seen pushing up prices and reducing profits for manufacturing and service businesses in the tri-state area.


Supplemental Survey Report
https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialib...ss_leaders/2019/2019_08supplemental.pdf?la=en
.333 today doing better.
 

Freeloading Rusty

Here comes Rover, sniffin’ at your ass
Jan 11, 2016
26,916
26,743

View: https://twitter.com/seanhannity/status/1161100636995407872


Trump's large union crowd at Shell was given the option of not showing up — and not getting paid
The choice for thousands of union workers at Royal Dutch Shell’s petrochemical plant in Beaver County was clear Tuesday: Either stand in a giant hall waiting for President Donald Trump to speak or take the day off with no pay.

“Your attendance is not mandatory,” said the rules that one contractor relayed to employees, summarizing points from a memo that Shell sent to union leaders a day ahead of the visit to the $6 billion construction site. But only those who showed up at 7 a.m., scanned their ID cards, and prepared to stand for hours — through lunch but without lunch — would be paid.

“NO SCAN, NO PAY,” a supervisor for that contractor wrote.

That company and scores of other contractors on site and their labor employees all have their own contracts with Shell. Several said the contracts stipulate that to get paid, workers must be onsite.

Those who decided not to come to the site for the event would have an excused but non-paid absence, the company said, and would not qualify for overtime pay on Friday.

Shell spokesman Ray Fisher explained that the workers onsite have a 56-hour workweek, with 16 hours of overtime built in. That means those workers who attended Mr. Trump’s speech and showed up for work Friday, meeting the overtime threshold, were being paid at a rate of time and a half, while those who didn’t go to hear the president were being paid the regular rate, despite the fact that both groups did not do work on the site Tuesday.

“This is just what Shell wanted to do and we went along with it,” said Ken Broadbent, business manager for Steamfitters local 449.

The local has 2,400 workers on the site and Mr. Broadbent said he would not “bad rap about it one way or another.”

“We’re glad to have the jobs. We’re glad to have the project built,” he said. “The president is the president whether we like him or dislike him. We respect him for the title.”

Mr. Broadbent said anyone who did not want to show up to work that day was free to do so. “This is America,” he said.



Anya Litvak
Shell cracker is a harbinger of things to come, drawing in President Trump and protesters

One union leader reached Friday who asked not to be named because he did not want to make trouble for his workers said one day of work might amount to about $700 in pay, benefits and a per diem payment that out-of-town workers receive.

Mr. Fisher said Friday that “this was treated as a paid training day with a guest speaker who happened to be the president.”

He said workers engaged in “safety training and other activities” in the morning.

“It’s not uncommon for us to shut down the site for quarterly visits from VIPs — popular sports figures like Rocky Bleier and Franco Harris have visited the site to engage with workers and to share inspirational messages. Shell/Penske NASCAR driver Joey Logano was another guest at the site,” Mr. Fisher said.

Several union leaders said they were not consulted about the arrangement before it was sent out.

The contractor's talking points, preparing his workers for the event read:

“No yelling, shouting, protesting or anything viewed as resistance will be tolerated at the event. An underlying theme of the event is to promote good will from the unions. Your building trades leaders and jobs stewards have agreed to this.”

Mr. Trump received a generally warm and at times cheerful welcome at Shell, where he praised natural gas extraction in Appalachia and talked about his political grievances and name-called some opponents.

Shell will process natural gas into plastic pellets when the plant is operational.

The president also called out union leadership, which Shell had requested to be in attendance.

“I’m going to speak to some of your union leaders to say, ‘I hope you’re going to support Trump.’ OK?” he said. “And if they don’t, vote them the hell out of office because they’re not doing their job.”

More than a dozen unions work at the Shell site, the largest construction project in the s
tate.