Parsad Posted January 19 Posted January 19 5 hours ago, SharperDingaan said: Re Greenland, Orange Boy is intentionally winding Europe up, setting the game, and doing very well at it. So ... change the game, get in his face, and wind him up. He can't afford retaliatory tariffs; he loses the midterms, he's gone .. so call the bluff .... and give him a shove. Engage the bazooka, deploy forces to Greenland on training exercises, use Trumps language and slap immediate additional tariffs on US goods/services to pay for that Greenland defence . Intentionally reduce US bond holdings, physically pull bullion out of the US, suck the oxygen out of the room. Unemployment and recession just in time for the midterms ... Hard ass actions behind the barn, the more ruthless the better. Ultimately, Greenlander's will decide what's best for them; however there's nothing wrong with greatly increasing the negative carry on the deal, should Greenlanders choose to become another US territory or state . Leaders come and go, but ya gotta stand up for yourself. There are lots of shrinks and docs/dentists around to mend bruised egos and repair broken bones and teeth. SD +1! Cheers!
cubsfan Posted January 19 Posted January 19 18 minutes ago, UK said: https://archive.is/JiwaM Losing Maduro is an embarrassment China won’t forget Outmanoeuvred by the US and let down by Russia, many in Beijing are starting to reconsider its alliances The best thing for China would be to get rid of President Xi.
Parsad Posted January 19 Posted January 19 6 hours ago, 73 Reds said: Your comment gets a pass today on MLK day. Don't you mean Trump MLK Day? He's done more for black people than anyone in history! Cheers!
Parsad Posted January 19 Posted January 19 4 minutes ago, cubsfan said: The best thing for China would be to get rid of President Xi. You're giving advice to China! They just had the largest trade surplus in history...even with Trump's tariffs. Everyone is racing to do deals with China because of Trump's bullying tactics and threats. Their economy grew at over 5% last year...in spite of Trump's disregard for trade deals with them. Yeah, you keep giving China advice and ignore the shitstorm Trump has unleashed on the U.S.! Cheers!
cubsfan Posted January 19 Posted January 19 5 minutes ago, Parsad said: You're giving advice to China! They just had the largest trade surplus in history...even with Trump's tariffs. Everyone is racing to do deals with China because of Trump's bullying tactics and threats. Their economy grew at over 5% last year...in spite of Trump's disregard for trade deals with them. Yeah, you keep giving China advice and ignore the shitstorm Trump has unleashed on the U.S.! Cheers! That's ok - he got his ass kicked out of Panama Canal & Venezuela - he'll have to learn the hard way on Greenland & Columbia too.. Let him cozy up to Iran to get his oil.
John Hjorth Posted January 19 Posted January 19 (edited) 25 minutes ago, Parsad said: You're giving advice to China! They just had the largest trade surplus in history...even with Trump's tariffs. Everyone is racing to do deals with China because of Trump's bullying tactics and threats. Their economy grew at over 5% last year...in spite of Trump's disregard for trade deals with them. Yeah, you keep giving China advice and ignore the shitstorm Trump has unleashed on the U.S.! Cheers! Up yours with Economic data! - This is the CofB&F Politics topic, -facts and data naturally do not matter one whit here! - Such stuff is totally irrelevant! - At least that must be evident for everone! [<- ] Edited January 19 by John Hjorth
Spooky Posted January 19 Posted January 19 Some more interesting facts from the FT: for all its military and economic strength, the US has one key weakness: it relies on others to pay its bills via large external deficits. Europe, on the other hand, is America’s largest lender: European countries own $8 trillion of US bonds and equities, almost twice as much as the rest of the world combined. European Nato countries own $2.8tn of US Treasuries alone, and with Canada it rises to $3.3tn. That’s more even than China’s official holdings, whose trove of Treasuries has long been considered a potent potential geopolitical weapon.
Parsad Posted January 19 Posted January 19 29 minutes ago, Spooky said: Some more interesting facts from the FT: for all its military and economic strength, the US has one key weakness: it relies on others to pay its bills via large external deficits. Europe, on the other hand, is America’s largest lender: European countries own $8 trillion of US bonds and equities, almost twice as much as the rest of the world combined. European Nato countries own $2.8tn of US Treasuries alone, and with Canada it rises to $3.3tn. That’s more even than China’s official holdings, whose trove of Treasuries has long been considered a potent potential geopolitical weapon. Pretty sure Powell won't be lowering rates if there is a big sale of USD treasuries! If these economies use the bazooka, it could create a spike in interest rates, a deep recession, stock market correction and probably significant continued weakness in real estate. But hey, Trump always wins...even if the business goes bankrupt! Cheers!
John Hjorth Posted January 19 Posted January 19 (edited) 3 hours ago, Spekulatius said: There have been legit press releases before that were not posted on the WH website. Just saying. Reuters is typically reliable. 4 hours ago, Spekulatius said: It’s not a letter, it was a text message from Trump that was released by the Norwegian government due to information disclosures laws. ... Eric @cwericb, Reuters [January 19th 2026] : The exchange of messages between Norway's prime minister and President Trump - - - o 0 o - - - POTUS him self messed up, soiled his own pants and trousers, It wasen't even Jonas Gahr Støre pulling POTUS' trousers and underwear down, making him moon. So much for 5 years experience in the job, but still unexperienced [apprentice?] ? - And what does that fact tell us? Edited January 19 by John Hjorth
whiskybravo Posted January 19 Posted January 19 46 minutes ago, Spooky said: Some more interesting facts from the FT: for all its military and economic strength, the US has one key weakness: it relies on others to pay its bills via large external deficits. Europe, on the other hand, is America’s largest lender: European countries own $8 trillion of US bonds and equities, almost twice as much as the rest of the world combined. European Nato countries own $2.8tn of US Treasuries alone, and with Canada it rises to $3.3tn. That’s more even than China’s official holdings, whose trove of Treasuries has long been considered a potent potential geopolitical weapon. Here’s an interesting fact: The 27 members of the EU consume 38 exajoules of hydrocarbons per year and produce only 5 exajoules. As Doomberg says that’s probably going to matter a lot soon.
cwericb Posted January 19 Posted January 19 6 minutes ago, John Hjorth said: Eric @cwericb, Reuters [January 19th 2026] : The exchange of messages between Norway's prime minister and President Trump - - - o 0 o - - - POTUS him self messed up, soiled his own pants and trousers, It wasen't even Jonas Gahr Støre pulling POTUS' trousers and underwear down, making him moon. So much for 5 years experience in the job, but still unexperienced [apprentice?] ? Yup, absolutely disgraceful for the leader of a country. You can't buy class. AND - where is the outrage from his supporters? I used to read on these pages the outrage from the right about the US getting involved in foreign country's affairs. NOW we have a president having a hissy fit because he didn't get a peace prize so he is threatening the invasion of another country! That is the height of lunacy and where is the outrage from the right. As I said, you can't buy class.
cubsfan Posted January 19 Posted January 19 17 minutes ago, John Hjorth said: Eric @cwericb, Reuters [January 19th 2026] : The exchange of messages between Norway's prime minister and President Trump - - - o 0 o - - - POTUS him self messed up, soiled his own pants and trousers, It wasen't even Jonas Gahr Støre pulling POTUS' trousers and underwear down, making him moon. So much for 5 years experience in the job, but still unexperienced [apprentice?] ? Thanks for posting John. That is a frickin' hilarious exchange. You can tell POTUS has about as much respect for Norway and Denmark as he does for Venezuela! Gosh I love Trump.
cubsfan Posted January 19 Posted January 19 3 minutes ago, cwericb said: Yup, absolutely disgraceful for the leader of a country. You can't buy class. AND - where is the outrage from his supporters? I used to read on these pages the outrage from the right about the US getting involved in foreign country's affairs. NOW we have a president having a hissy fit because he didn't get a peace prize so he is threatening the invasion of another country! That is the height of lunacy and where is the outrage from the right. As I said, you can't buy class. Hahaha - as far as Norway is concerned - the Nobel Prize is certainly for sale! Just as Barack Obama!
cwericb Posted January 19 Posted January 19 Just now, cubsfan said: Hahaha - as far as Norway is concerned - the Nobel Prize is certainly for sale! Just as Barack Obama! Y'all must be just so proud....
John Hjorth Posted January 19 Posted January 19 (edited) 12 minutes ago, whiskybravo said: Here’s an interesting fact: The 27 members of the EU consume 38 exajoules of hydrocarbons per year and produce only 5 exajoules. As Doomberg says that’s probably going to matter a lot soon. @whiskybravo, How much of this of EU imbalance is because of energy imports from UK [North Sea] and Norway? [I just bought Equinor exactly today, actually!] [CofB&F link] Source for the imbalance, please. Edited January 19 by John Hjorth
changegonnacome Posted January 19 Posted January 19 22 minutes ago, Spooky said: European Nato countries own $2.8tn of US Treasuries alone, and with Canada it rises to $3.3tn. That’s more even than China’s official holdings All this is true......but the brutal fact of the matter is the US remains the global reserve currency holder...treasuries and dollars permeate ever inch of the global financial system.......you might not want to hold $2.8trn dollars of treasuries.....but the question quickly becomes "ok you want to dump treasuries - what exactly are you going to hold instead of $2.8trn of treasures? The answer is there is no answer......you have to hold treasuries whether you like it or not cause thats just the way the world is.....$$ TINA.
73 Reds Posted January 19 Posted January 19 1 hour ago, Parsad said: Don't you mean Trump MLK Day? He's done more for black people than anyone in history! Cheers! We all understand your disdain for Trump. But what you don't get is that there are a multitude of issues that have been building in the US - some for decades - and the only way to address them was to elect a disrupter like Trump. No P/C, no days off, no appeasement, no "we'll put if off till tomorrow". How refreshing it is to see things in this Country actually being accomplished, or even attempted to get accomplished. No shortage of ideas and some may work.
Parsad Posted January 19 Posted January 19 25 minutes ago, cubsfan said: Hahaha - as far as Norway is concerned - the Nobel Prize is certainly for sale! Just as Barack Obama! Obama wouldn't even hesitate to turn down someone else's Nobel Prize simply to ingratiate himself/herself to him. Cheat at golf, cheat at life...that's Trump's motto! Cheers!
Parsad Posted January 19 Posted January 19 10 minutes ago, 73 Reds said: We all understand your disdain for Trump. But what you don't get is that there are a multitude of issues that have been building in the US - some for decades - and the only way to address them was to elect a disrupter like Trump. No P/C, no days off, no appeasement, no "we'll put if off till tomorrow". How refreshing it is to see things in this Country actually being accomplished, or even attempted to get accomplished. No shortage of ideas and some may work. Other than the border, your idea of getting things done clearly differs with reality! Cheers!
73 Reds Posted January 19 Posted January 19 1 minute ago, Parsad said: Obama wouldn't even hesitate to turn down someone else's Nobel Prize simply to ingratiate himself/herself to him. Cheat at golf, cheat at life...that's Trump's motto! Cheers! LOL, could care less about the Nobel prize and the fact that Obama won it pretty much nails its value as -0-.
73 Reds Posted January 19 Posted January 19 Just now, Parsad said: Other than the border, your idea of getting things done clearly differs with reality! Cheers! Immigration, US Taxes, Israel, Wokeness, Meritocracy, the Military just to name a few. I realize these mean little or nothing to you.
Parsad Posted January 19 Posted January 19 2 minutes ago, 73 Reds said: Immigration, US Taxes, Israel, Wokeness, Meritocracy, the Military just to name a few. I realize these mean little or nothing to you. Is Immigration fixed? Doesn't look like it. Just completely shut down. US taxes fixed? Phhhhhtttt! Israel fixed? Or do you mean Gaza destroyed. Wokeness isn't gone...stupid word to begin with. Progressive attitudes have only become more acceptable under Trump's alienation of more than half the country and 80% of the world! Meritocracy has always existed in the U.S. You just didn't like the fact that there was some rebalancing of generational inequities. Did the pendulum swing too far...probably...but it was the right thing to do at the time. Just like enforcing civil rights...which don't seem to exist in the U.S. today. The military was never at risk in the U.S. It's always been one of the main engines and remains one of the main engines. You just have the least qualified people running it now and the lack of discipline is creating a chaotic world. Keep up the good work! Cheers!
whiskybravo Posted January 19 Posted January 19 22 minutes ago, John Hjorth said: @whiskybravo, How much of this of EU imbalance is because of energy imports from UK [North Sea] and Norway? [I just bought Equinor exactly today, actually!] [CofB&F link] Source for the imbalance, please. Hello @John Hjorth This comes from Doomberg’s analysis of the BP/Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy. Doomberg’s figures are based on aggregating data from the Statistical Review. https://www.energyinst.org/exploring-energy/statistical-review From Eurostat: From Norway and UK alone oil imports ~20%. Non Norway/UK ~80%. For natural gas Norway/UK ~40% and non Norway/Uk 60%. So of the 38-5=33 exajoules hydrocarbon deficit the majority (~65-75%) is imported from other sources. They have chosen to become energy vassals. The ironic thing is that probably a lot of the foregone industrial production has probably been produced with coal in China. Perhaps it would have been cleaner to keep production in Europe.
73 Reds Posted January 19 Posted January 19 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Parsad said: Is Immigration fixed? Doesn't look like it. Just completely shut down. US taxes fixed? Phhhhhtttt! Israel fixed? Or do you mean Gaza destroyed. Wokeness isn't gone...stupid word to begin with. Progressive attitudes have only become more acceptable under Trump's alienation of more than half the country and 80% of the world! Meritocracy has always existed in the U.S. You just didn't like the fact that there was some rebalancing of generational inequities. Did the pendulum swing too far...probably...but it was the right thing to do at the time. Just like enforcing civil rights...which don't seem to exist in the U.S. today. The military was never at risk in the U.S. It's always been one of the main engines and remains one of the main engines. You just have the least qualified people running it now and the lack of discipline is creating a chaotic world. Keep up the good work! Cheers! Immigration "Fixed"? What does that even mean? You close the border, remove illegals and then Congress needs to act. That's the way our system works. Meritocracy doesn't require rebalancing; if anything it needs reverse balancing. The Military by all measures was quickly deteriorating in both morale and numbers. But keep trying and making excuses why you don't like Trump. Perhaps more name-calling too. Edited January 19 by 73 Reds word
cubsfan Posted January 19 Posted January 19 17 minutes ago, 73 Reds said: LOL, could care less about the Nobel prize and the fact that Obama won it pretty much nails its value as -0-. Ha - Like the Oscars, the Nobel Prize is available to the highest bidder. Next year look for Norway and Denmark to award it to themselves for their valiant defense of Ukraine.
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