whiskybravo

This is true. I brought it up only to show how surprised Italian Italians are when they hear Trump is popular with a majority of Italian Americans. OP jumped on that like a cat on a laser pointer.

You mean like your gut feeling that every 3rd of 4th mayor NYC goes extreme. Then your cited examples were not only not extreme they served consecutively.

Agreed. Is it really so unreasonable for Russians to govern the Russian speaking portion of the Donbas.

Although, detailed national exit-poll data for Italian Americans is limited, pre election voter surveys showed a 12% margin for Trump https://www.ia-policycenter.org/public-opinion-survey-italian-american-voters Post election mapping analysis of NYC vote by neighborhood. For instance see Staten Island. https://calandrainstitute.org/data-snapshot-7-december-2024/ Or less scientifically, listen to the bellhop at Camp Creek Inn transplanted from Brooklyn: “He got the guinea vote.” Or go out to eat at Harvest on Fort Pond in Montauk. Chat with the folks there.

We are here in Italy and had dinner with friends and their son an officer in the army. He said that his colleagues understand what Trump is doing by pushing them to step up. On the other hand, they are apprehensive about any diminished US backing. He said they don’t feel comfortable relying on other countries and that France is the worst. They and others we have told were shocked when we mentioned that Trump carried the Italian American vote by a significant margin. Shocked! I guess their media doesn’t want them knowing that.

Dizzying?

I get what you are saying. How did we get here. How do we proceed. I think some of the smart guys in the present administration are thinking about just that. I’m always surprised when things work out in a way that I didn’t expect.

How many photos have we all thrown away because the camera got us at the wrong moment, not at all conveying the feeling. Silly

Yikes, I have to think you know that’s a massive exaggeration.

What I posted was objective and accurate. Now you bring up the leftist DeBlasio. Under his watch, living conditions deteriorated. He would serve as appetizer to Mamdani’s main course, a real serving of shit.

Median wealth of bottom 50% in U.S. is $10-15k. Global median adult $8000. I’ll admit could be even better. With better life decisions (and I understand life can come at you hard) any given individual here has, much better opportunities than median global dude.

OP brought up the comparison. I found nothing close to any large equity stakes. Didn’t say I agreed with chip deal. Did you not see I was responding to another post. Where my crazy pills?!

45 100% takeovers! Stay on point

Grasping at straws. State visit requires red carpet, its absence a deliberate slight. Putin is still on the plane, so no one on knees before him. Sooo, standard protocol.

Thank you for having introduced calm logic into the discussion. Sanjeev’s posts I enjoy for their humorous bite.

This post is nonsense. Ed Koch was a centrist, a fiscally conservative budget hawk. Dinkins was a mainstream liberal Democrat, but not a radical. His political style was moderate, conciliatory, and coalition-driven. We are approaching new, dangerous ground.

Between 1981-2 Mitterrand tookover 100% of 45 major companies. No mention of percentage of Intel the government might take, whole thing speculative. Defense took a 15% position in MP Materials. No equity stake in US Steel, just veto power over certain strategic decisions. US gets a 15% revenue share in AI chips Nvidia and AMD sell to China, no equity stake. These American companies still run their businesses, MUCH smarter approach by Trump. Trump >>> Mitterrand

The young progressives who are his largest supporters are in town for a few years adventure. They don’t think about what the city might look like down the road. They haven’t, for the most part, put the work in to see where things go when capitalism is throttled. Pushing close to 10% of the population is muslim, for whom he obviously has appeal. Throw in old leftists like a guy i know who proudly claims that he was a red diaper baby and there you are. Most of my friends and acquaintances, especially Jews, are against him. The answer to your last question is varying forms of stupidity or in the case of muslims that oldest of political formulas tribal loyalty. Not going to happen, but I wish the two democrats who either didn’t seek or didn’t win the nomination would drop out. I am going to vote Republican. If you have a chance listen to Curtis Sliwa’s interview on New York 1 with Errol Lewis. He’s no joke.

There are less moneyed people coming in looking to move here. Friends who have been real estate agents for decades definitely see this. Who would choose to move here de novo on the cusp of I Madman? I know plenty who moved to their second homes in Connecticut or the Hamptons during Covid and who I now only see when they’re in town do see their doctor. These are people who were avid theater goers. Ones who enjoyed all the best things NYC offered. Now they’re out trimming their gardens.

It is getting better. Where I live it’s clean and the park is full or European tourists ambling about. I did recently see some dudes shooting up on my street. But hey it’s NYC after all. Now if Mamdani (I Madman) wins lookout below. George Will said that he hopes he wins saying we as a society need to be reminded every so often of the failure of socialism. Looks like I may have to take one for the team.

Arrests are down. Directions from on high. Crime statistics are based on arrests. But yeah, I feel fewer menacing moments then in 2001-2. Regulations restricting new development is all the fuel needed for rents to remain high. All the Mamdani supporters here for their New York adventure think the world starts with them. Fourty years ago when I came to NewYork, I lived with three other guys in order to afford rent, though it was a cool railroad apartment. Sigh, fond memories of being poor.

An ostrich putting his head in the sand to avoid danger turns out to be a myth. What you’re practicing is echo chamber behavior. “Overall, echo chamber behavior creates an insulated environment that can distort reality by amplifying confirmation and minimizing dissent, making it difficult to engage with diverse or opposing views constructively.” You’re not alone of course. It is part of the rigid polarization that divides the country.

I’ve looked out that window! We had a wonderful experience there. The staff took good care of us. Enjoy

I first heard about them from Alexander Steinberg. Rather than any current market conditions, I was looking for a shareholder friendly, smaller company, with a long runway for growth, at a reasonable price. They have had strong underwriting in Nordic countries which they have successfully repeated after entering the British market. Britain now makes up 2/3’s of gross written premiums. January 1st, they entered France. So they are seeing significant growth, while maintaining strong underwriting mostly in high 80’s/ low 90’s. They manage their investment portfolio, including a concentrated equity portfolio with a value approach. So to answer your question, I invested with the hope of taking a long ride in an insurance company with “Buffett like” qualities.

Employment Costs: US employers face additional employment costs (25-40% above base salary) compared to Italian employers (approximately 35-45% above base salary due to INPS contributions and mandatory benefits), but these costs are structured differently. US spending is focused on private healthcare, rather than Italy’s Servizio Sanitario Nazionale, and offers limited statutory benefits compared to Italy’s comprehensive social welfare system https://www.footholdamerica.com/blog/expanding-to-the-usa-from-italy-complete-guide/ I’m here in Italy. Don’t forget the beloved tredicesimo!