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Tags !MOD BOX WARNING! , donald trump , Trump administration , Trump controversies

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Old 14th May 2018, 04:30 AM   #201
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Originally Posted by alfaniner View Post
I can't believe it, but I think this is the first time I've said out loud, "WHAT THE ACTUAL ****???!"

Planning to help a failing business in China that provides spyware-laden smartphones (ZTE).
He loves him some China because they can pull the rug out from under the big Singapore reception he's planning to bask in.

Maybe they'll name their next spyware trojan virus after him. Trump Trojan - Not just for boinking porn stars!
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Old 14th May 2018, 05:39 AM   #202
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At Least 28 Palestinians Die in Protests as U.S. Prepares to Open Jerusalem Embassy
May 14, 2018
Right Now: Palestinian officials say at least 28 people have died in the latest round of protests.

• At least 1,000 Palestinian demonstrators were also wounded along the border fence with Gaza, the Health Ministry reported, as the mass protests that began on March 30 and that had already left dozens dead erupted again.

• The relocation of the United States Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv was set for Monday, timed to the 70th anniversary of the formation of Israel — a move that many Israelis have celebrated but that has enraged Palestinians.
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Old 14th May 2018, 05:52 AM   #203
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Originally Posted by zorro99 View Post
At Least 28 Palestinians Die in Protests as U.S. Prepares to Open Jerusalem Embassy...
To be fair, other recent US presidents also called for the move.

But symbolic gestures can certainly have unintended, but depressingly predictable, results.
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Old 14th May 2018, 06:11 AM   #204
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Originally Posted by Fast Eddie B View Post
To be fair, other recent US presidents also called for the move.

But symbolic gestures can certainly have unintended, but depressingly predictable, results.
Just think of it as helpful cleansing of the city of palestinians.
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Old 14th May 2018, 06:13 AM   #205
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Trump just poked a hornets’ next. Hope he is ready for the reaction.
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Old 14th May 2018, 06:19 AM   #206
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Originally Posted by Fast Eddie B View Post
To be fair, other recent US presidents also called for the move.



But symbolic gestures can certainly have unintended, but depressingly predictable, results.


I wait with bated breath for the dolt’s thoughts and prayers.
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Old 14th May 2018, 06:24 AM   #207
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41 dead and close to 2000 injured, and Trump probably won't care one iota. After all, his name got chanted in a fashion, where Roman salute wouldn't have felt out of place.
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Old 14th May 2018, 06:26 AM   #208
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Originally Posted by zorro99 View Post
Trump just poked a hornets’ next. Hope he is ready for the reaction.
What reaction ? From whom ?

As long as the GOP and Israelis are happy to sing his praises and name football teams after him, he doesn't care what people who say mean things about him think - or more specifically, he cares (because he is thin skinned and prone to rage-Tweeting) but it doesn't cause him to rethink his approach (as if there was any think in the first place).
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Old 14th May 2018, 06:48 AM   #209
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Originally Posted by TheSupermeerkat View Post
A canny move by Israel

Quote:
As the city prepared for the ceremony, its top football team, Beitar Jerusalem, announced that it has renamed itself in honour of the “courageous US president. Henceforth the team will be known as Beitar Trump Jerusalem.
They’re playing the Dolt’s ego like a fiddle.


https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...-for-bloodshed
I didn't realise this about the team in question:

Quote:
Placards in Jerusalem praise Mr Trump. The local football club, Beitar, infamous for fans who chant "death to Arabs", has included "Trump" in its name.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-44104599

Sadly, sounds like they're a perfect match for each other
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Old 14th May 2018, 07:30 AM   #210
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Originally Posted by The Don View Post
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-44104599
Sadly, sounds like they're a perfect match for each other
I went to have a look at the team's facebook page and most of the comments are less than flattering with regard to the announcement.
Some of them even think the club will get some money from this.
I gather there's a certain holiness to the name that they feel is being sullied. Of course it's always the discontented who will be moved to say something, so I don't assume that the general feeling among the comments is representative of all the fans.

Adding "trump" to any business name is a risky proposition. If the name is actually officially adopted, i'll be surprised, and if it does, i'll be even more surprised if it remains for very long. Ugh. Shame.
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Old 14th May 2018, 07:39 AM   #211
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Originally Posted by TheSupermeerkat View Post
A canny move by Israel

[blockquote] As the city prepared for the ceremony, its top football team, Beitar Jerusalem, announced that it has renamed itself in honour of the “courageous US president. Henceforth the team will be known as Beitar Trump Jerusalem. [/blockquote]

They’re playing the Dolt’s ego like a fiddle.


https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...-for-bloodshed
BJ is an explicitly racist football team. This isn't a "canny move," this is a group of Very Fine People saluting their leader.
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Old 14th May 2018, 08:28 AM   #212
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Originally Posted by Squeegee Beckenheim View Post
Why do they have TVs at the FDA in the first place? Do they have a waiting room? I suppose it could be in the break room.
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Old 14th May 2018, 08:35 AM   #213
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Originally Posted by ponderingturtle View Post
But that is peanuts to the cost of marketing said drugs. That is where the real high expenses are after all.
No, it's not.

But they do make R&D costs back fairly quickly on new drugs.

Sometimes they benefit from research done by grants to non-profits, usually universities.

Sometimes R&D money goes to failed products so that needs to be considered as well.

Much too much R&D money is spent making copycat drugs to take a share of a known market. The new drug is often not better, but the advertising sells the 'not better' drug.


There are many problems with drug companies.
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Old 14th May 2018, 08:58 AM   #214
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Originally Posted by Skeptic Ginger View Post
No, it's not.
The marketing budget is twice the R&D budget for the companies. So for the company as a whole yes that certainly might be overstating it slightly but they spend roughly twice as much on marketing as on developing.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.cae2b9780239

So it comes down to can you call a department with half the expense peanuts in comparison or not?
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Old 14th May 2018, 09:16 AM   #215
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It's being reported that Trump is saying privately that he needs better "TV lawyers" to defend him on television and thereby end the "Witch Hunt"

The most noteworthy thing there, for me, is that this story has 22 sources. There's a lot of leaking coming from this administration. As a news report said yesterday - we learn more about 1 week in this administration than we did about 1 year of George W. Bush's.
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Old 14th May 2018, 09:24 AM   #216
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Originally Posted by Squeegee Beckenheim View Post
It's being reported that Trump is saying privately that he needs better "TV lawyers" to defend him on television and thereby end the "Witch Hunt"

The most noteworthy thing there, for me, is that this story has 22 sources. There's a lot of leaking coming from this administration. As a news report said yesterday - we learn more about 1 week in this administration than we did about 1 year of George W. Bush's.
That illustrates multiple problems that Trump has:

- The fact that he's surrounded himself with incompetents that he seems to think he needs a TV lawyer

- The fact that he's willing to 'dump on' his current team for not being up to the task. (Way to build morale there!)

- The fact that he is so out of touch with reality that he thinks the current investigations hinge on what happens with public opinion.
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Old 14th May 2018, 09:25 AM   #217
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https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/sta...32620722114560

Quote:
In one government agency after another, New Yorker encountered a pattern: on controversial issues, the Trump admin is often not writing down potentially damaging information.

Emails and records don’t exist, reports are created without any work product.
Article linked in tweet.
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Old 14th May 2018, 09:29 AM   #218
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Originally Posted by Segnosaur View Post
- The fact that he is so out of touch with reality that he thinks the current investigations hinge on what happens with public opinion.
That isn't exactly wrong though. He is going to be president unless he loses his support among republicans or republicans in the senate vote to convict him despite the wishes of their base.

I am not sure his taking bribes would be something that they would care enough about to think he should be removed. I am not at all sure what possibly could be.
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Old 14th May 2018, 09:41 AM   #219
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Originally Posted by Arcade22 View Post
It is however perfectly consistent with Trumps self-pitying overdog victim complex: everyone takes advantage of America all the time! They take our jobs! Not anymore! Now other countries will pay our bills!
”They’re laughing at us.”
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Old 14th May 2018, 09:50 AM   #220
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Originally Posted by ponderingturtle View Post
Quote:
- The fact that he is so out of touch with reality that he thinks the current investigations hinge on what happens with public opinion.
That isn't exactly wrong though. He is going to be president unless he loses his support among republicans or republicans in the senate vote to convict him despite the wishes of their base.
Yeah but the current crop of republicans (both in congress and among the electorate) are happy enough with his racism and bigotry that they seem willing to overlook any and all examples of criminal behavior.
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Old 14th May 2018, 09:52 AM   #221
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Originally Posted by Segnosaur View Post
That illustrates multiple problems that Trump has:

- The fact that he's surrounded himself with incompetents that he seems to think he needs a TV lawyer

- The fact that he's willing to 'dump on' his current team for not being up to the task. (Way to build morale there!)

- The fact that he is so out of touch with reality that he thinks the current investigations hinge on what happens with public opinion.
He may not be so far in the wrong with that last one. Even if the Mueller investigation comes up with absolutely bulletproof evidence, if the GOP are happy that public opinion is on their side they won't attempt to impeach and any attempts to go through the courts will be hampered by GOP appointees.
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Old 14th May 2018, 10:11 AM   #222
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Originally Posted by ponderingturtle View Post
The marketing budget is twice the R&D budget for the companies. So for the company as a whole yes that certainly might be overstating it slightly but they spend roughly twice as much on marketing as on developing.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.cae2b9780239

So it comes down to can you call a department with half the expense peanuts in comparison or not?
My bad then. Things have gotten worse than ever.
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Old 14th May 2018, 10:18 AM   #223
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Originally Posted by Skeptic Ginger View Post
My bad then. Things have gotten worse than ever.
Yea if R&D costs exceeded marketing costs it would be a better argument to justify the prices but as marketing dwarfs R&D I find price arguments based on R&D costs to be less than totally honest.
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Old 14th May 2018, 10:24 AM   #224
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T has gone from calling out China as a currency manipulator and patent infringer to now assisting a Chinese company sanctioned for espionage.

But the GOP are fine with it.
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Old 14th May 2018, 10:37 AM   #225
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Originally Posted by Squeegee Beckenheim View Post
It's being reported that Trump is saying privately that he needs better "TV lawyers" to defend him on television and thereby end the "Witch Hunt"

The most noteworthy thing there, for me, is that this story has 22 sources. There's a lot of leaking coming from this administration. As a news report said yesterday - we learn more about 1 week in this administration than we did about 1 year of George W. Bush's.
I am beginning to think that for Trump, TV is the only reality.
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Old 14th May 2018, 10:38 AM   #226
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Originally Posted by Regnad Kcin View Post
”They’re laughing at us.”
That is certainly true since Trump took office.
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Old 14th May 2018, 11:04 AM   #227
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Originally Posted by Squeegee Beckenheim View Post
Originally Posted by TheSupermeerkat View Post
A canny move by Israel

[blockquote] As the city prepared for the ceremony, its top football team, Beitar Jerusalem, announced that it has renamed itself in honour of the “courageous US president. Henceforth the team will be known as Beitar Trump Jerusalem. [/blockquote]

They’re playing the Dolt’s ego like a fiddle.


https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...-for-bloodshed

It's getting harder all the time to tell the difference between an Onion satire piece and a real news article.
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Old 14th May 2018, 11:05 AM   #228
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Originally Posted by Squeegee Beckenheim View Post
The article in question: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2...the-deep-state

And good grief it makes for some depressing reading.
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Old 14th May 2018, 11:17 AM   #229
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South Africa has withdrawn its ambassador to Israel.

"Given the indiscriminate and gravity of the latest Israeli attack, the South African government has taken a decision to recall Ambassador Sisa Ngombane with immediate effect until further notice."
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Old 14th May 2018, 12:03 PM   #230
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The Embassy opening has turned into a total fiasco.
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Old 14th May 2018, 12:04 PM   #231
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Originally Posted by dudalb View Post
The Embassy opening has turned into a total fiasco.
If only we could be nicer to the Palestinians?
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Old 14th May 2018, 12:12 PM   #232
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Originally Posted by dudalb View Post
The Embassy opening has turned into a total fiasco.
In what way? Trump was saluted to the point that only a roman salute was missing when the audience began chanting his name, and once again a load of Rule10 tosh was unloaded uncritically in the news.

I cackled at the video message he sent, where he mentioned extending a hand of friendship to the Palestinians. All they've seen from Trump so far, is a big, fat middlefinger.

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Old 14th May 2018, 12:22 PM   #233
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Originally Posted by Squeegee Beckenheim View Post

The article itself is a very good read. Much more than just the records-keeping quote, although that is important.

In-depth analysis of what the Trump administration is doing to dismantle our government.
Trump vs. the “Deep State”
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Old 14th May 2018, 12:22 PM   #234
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Originally Posted by KDLarsen View Post
In what way? Trump was saluted to the point that only a roman salute was missing when the audience began chanting his name, and once again a load of Rule10 tosh was unloaded uncritically in the news.

I cackled at the video message he sent, where he mentioned extending a hand of friendship to the Palestinians. All they've seen from Trump so far, is a big, fat middlefinger.

I don't think the intercutting of the riots and the deaths with the ceremonies is going to help Trump much outside The Faithful'

Trump also gave the finger to just about everybody who is not a Fundy Evangelical with this choise of the pastor to say the benediction....
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Old 14th May 2018, 12:33 PM   #235
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Originally Posted by KDLarsen View Post
In what way? Trump was saluted to the point that only a roman salute was missing when the audience began chanting his name, and once again a load of Rule10 tosh was unloaded uncritically in the news.

I cackled at the video message he sent, where he mentioned extending a hand of friendship to the Palestinians. All they've seen from Trump so far, is a big, fat middlefinger.
Its kinda like the Democrats. He says He wants to work with them but is absolutely not interested in compromise.
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Old 14th May 2018, 12:37 PM   #236
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On the ZTE thing

Quote:
Donald Trump has ordered the US commerce department to assist a Chinese telecoms group that the agency nearly put out of business a month ago, following a personal request from China’s president.

The U-turn on ZTE Corp, announced by Mr Trump on Twitter, came despite a commerce department decision in April banning the manufacturer from sourcing vital components from US companies because of findings it had illegally sold equipment to Iran and North Korea.

Obviously the new sanctions on Iran aren't going to apply to China.

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Old 14th May 2018, 12:56 PM   #237
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Originally Posted by dudalb View Post
I am beginning to think that for Trump, TV is the only reality.
He is not a President. He just plays one on TV.
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Old 14th May 2018, 01:00 PM   #238
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Originally Posted by dudalb View Post
I don't think the intercutting of the riots and the deaths with the ceremonies is going to help Trump much outside The Faithful'
Well of course, there has been far to little violence there, needs to be a lot to bring about the apocalypse after all. Good to see an american president with proper priorities at last.
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Old 14th May 2018, 01:07 PM   #239
Andy_Ross
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Well, we now know why Trump is trying to save ZTE.

It seems China will be Contributing $500 Million to a Trump-Linked hotel Project in Indonesia.

Who would have guessed?
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Old 14th May 2018, 01:19 PM   #240
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Originally Posted by Captain_Swoop View Post
Well, we now know why Trump is trying to save ZTE.

It seems China will be Contributing $500 Million to a Trump-Linked hotel Project in Indonesia.

Who would have guessed?
It might be a lot simpler - Trump just being obsequious to the last person he's spoken with. My guess in this case is President Xi.
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