Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[froot loops]

What are the people supposed to wake up to? Almost every one of these shooters leaves some crumbs in retrospect should be have been flagged.

[Dr. Strangelove]

[Jeff Buchanan]

Long article but it has a good deal of meat in it with regard to US-China Trade talks. Additional Tariffs loom on 12/15.......

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3041391/trade-war-deal-unlikely-week-us-distracted-usmca-new-tariffs

[Dr. Strangelove]

[Ghengis Jon]

IP theft and forced transfer of technology are the two primary problems with China trade. To relegate those as second tier issues to soybeans is yet another demonstration that President Kwame is unfit for office.


In other news, Putin sends more orders to Trump.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKBN1YD2FM

[froot loops]

The point of getting tough with China is to look like you are getting tough with China, the actual outcomes don't matter for Trump. He's going to fight for the US and save jobs! The fact that he can be bought off makes any negotiation worse.

[Jeff Buchanan]

DSL, Froot. Get tough with China on trade has been an ongoing policy for at least three administrations but nothing ever came of it so, nothing will probably come of the Trump administrations's efforts either. But I'd have to qualify that. The WTO has been neutered to a certain extent by the way the administration has stonewalled judge appointments. I read something last week about it's collapse as a useful organization .... there was another part of the article that identified what would come next - as the notion of an international body to resolve trade issues between nations originated decades ago and is needed. But the existing WTO structure handed down rulings that no one would abide to and had a huge back-log of trade complaints that had not yet been addressed.

The other thing the current administration has managed to do is to soften the Chinese position on what the US, among others, perceives as intellectual property theft and uncompensated technology transfer. The Chinese see it as the cost of entry into their markets. I have only read that trade deputies on both sides have made progress in addressing this but I don't know what that means.

What remains unresolved and is likely to remain so are the structural issues involving subsidization of Chines industries. Giving those up is a non-starter for the centrally planning Chicoms. I don't know if anything is even on the table from that side to compensate for that. I would think there could be some mechanisms ......

....... but I generally agree that this Phase One BS, with demands for the Chinese to buy X amount of agricultural products in exchange for tariff reductions (elimination is what I think the Chinese want) is pure showmanship on Trump's part and his base will lap that up ...... understanding none of it. CNBC's Cramer wrote a piece last week saying that Trump could flat out walk away from the trade negotiations and should if some concessions on the big items from China are not forthcoming. His base would cheer his toughness with China ...... even though he has no idea what he is doing on the trade front. Dunno, that's a tough one for Trump because if he does that, there's no guarantee the Chinese will cave. One thing is for certain, the markets will dive on the news of a collapse in trade talks. Not sure Trump wants that to happen. It's more likely that an announcement will be made that more tariffs have again been delayed because progress is being made. I'd sure as fuck like to know what that progress actually is.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Well here you go...all witnesses in the Senate will require a majority vote...and Senate Republicans do not have enough votes to call the ludicrous witnesses Trump is demanding...and might not call any witnesses at all

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/end-this-republicans-poised-to-call-no-witnesses-during-trump-impeachment-trial-in-senate

[lineygoblue]

What Graham suggests may be the best way to handle it. No minds are going to be changed in a trial. Most all of the Senate is on record as to how they are going to vote, and Chief Justice Roberts hasn't even banged the gavel yet. Just end it and move on. The voters are going to have the last say in November anyway.

[Ghengis Jon]

When Hitler was gone, the US de-Nazified Germany. When Sadaam was gone, the US de-Baathified Iraq. When Trump is gone, will we de-Trumpify America? Or will simple cult deprogramming be sufficient?

[CGVT]

What Graham suggests may be the best way to handle it. No minds are going to be changed in a trial. Most all of the Senate is on record as to how they are going to vote, and Chief Justice Roberts hasn't even banged the gavel yet. Just end it and move on. The voters are going to have the last say in November anyway.

Yes. We would hate for the Senate to hear witnesses and make a decision based on facts. Why waste everyone's time? They can just find out how to think by watching FOX News, the same as you and the rest of the Trumpsters.

[iam416]

About as vague as you can get with the impeachment charges. Will be interesting to see if the Ds can turn polling in battleground states with the Senate hearing. Maybe that'll turn around this week's polling that PDJT beating everyone in Iowa AND Arizona.

[Dr. Strangelove]

About as vague as you can get with the impeachment charges. Will be interesting to see if the Ds can turn polling in battleground states with the Senate hearing. Maybe that'll turn around this week's polling that PDJT beating everyone in Iowa AND Arizona.

The Emerson Iowa poll is legit. I'm skeptical about those state polls that were put out by "Firehouse Strategies". Never even heard of them before. And they showed all Dems, including Biden, losing to Trump handily in Michigan & PA. So yeah, very skeptical.

[iam416]

I'm not relying on that. There are other polls in battleground states re impeachment. As far as Arizona goes, it's an OH-Insights poll. Not great, but not partisan hackery either.

[iam416]

There's also an Emerson poll for NH that has PDJT beating some Ds and losing to others, but it's extremely close. Or a Marquette poll with PDJT beating everyone in Wisconsin.

All caveats included for all of these polls -- but, still, it's extremely hard to conclude that impeachment is doing the Ds any favors. And I sort of find that dynamic fascinating.