Bear Pit: now the sole domicile of politics at LuLa

[Frans Waterlander]

I have no way to verify it one way or the other but it did come up in Congressional testimony, which is why it hit the news. I haven't seen a denial yet, which may or may not mean anything.

What do you think of Musk and his Six rooting around in your private data without proper security clearances? Getting a warm glow from that? Does it bother you that one of them came under security scrutiny in the past because of his online statements and another brags about being a trendy racist.

Btw, did they get finally those Venezuelan gangs out of that apartment building in Arizona? Or was it Colorado.

Are you ok with Putin?

Whataboutism on full display. Instead of following up on the issue of millions a day supposedly flowing in Musk's direction, you bring up other stuff for which, I assume, you don't expect to start any constructive discussion. Oh well, why do I expect more from a forum than some infantile reaction from Andrew?

[digitaldog]

Whataboutism on full display. Instead of following up on the issue of millions a day supposedly flowing in Musk's direction, you bring up other stuff for which, I assume, you don't expect to start any constructive discussion. Oh well, why do I expect more from a forum than some infantile reaction from Andrew?

You assume; bingo!

[Frans Waterlander]

You assume; bingo!

Yep, infantile reaction from Andrew. Never fails.

[Robert Roaldi]

Whataboutism on full display. Instead of following up on the issue of millions a day supposedly flowing in Musk's direction, you bring up other stuff for which, I assume, you don't expect to start any constructive discussion. Oh well, why do I expect more from a forum than some infantile reaction from Andrew?

I am a bit puzzled by this. I don't know why you'd want to pursue a discussion about Musk's 8 million with me. I'm not the 6 o'clock news, I don't have a staff of researchers looking into this. I can't determine how true or not it is. I did google the story an hour ago, got a screenful or two of links and articles or videos about it, but didn't go down the rabbit hole very far because it quickly became pretty incomprehensible and increasingly off topic. So if you were to tell me, for instance, that I happened to get caught up and fooled by some bullshit, I'd be fine with that. I mean, it wouldn't be the first time. All I originally saw was a bit from a Congressional question session and it struck me as bizarre so I had some fun with it. If it's not 8 million, then please give us another more accurate number.

Of all the things I've commented on in the last while, I don't know why you should take issue with this one, unless you're one of those Musk trolls that scour the web looking for anti-Musk offenders. Besides, as usual these days, the issue has been superseded by several others by now and it probably doesn't even make it into top 50 things to be concerned about. For example, RFK Jr was voted in today. That alone relegates Musk's pay packet to the back burner.

As to your other comment about me wanting to start a constructive conversation, well no, that's not always my objective. Why, have you and I ever engaged in one before?

I tend to counter farce with ridicule. For example, I am asked to believe that Canada, Denmark and Panama are enemies of the US now, ALL OF A SUDDEN, while Putin is an ok guy even when he imports North Koreans troops to help him, something that in the past would have been considered an unacceptable escalation. And I am asked to believe that China is regarded as evil by Trumpistan at the same time as Musk builds car and battery plants there. And Apple builds iPhones there. And so on. So there's that. But hey, Trump thinks tariffs work, cool, I'm sure he's thought deeply about it.

If you want to call me to task for not looking into Musk's 8 million accusation more critically (or whatever number you think is more correct), that's fine, but truthfully what I really want to know is whether those foreigners stopped eating people's pet dogs or not?

[digitaldog]

Yep, infantile reaction from Andrew. Never fails.

"If I see you make a fool out of yourself, I owe it to you to point that out to you." - Jackee Mason

[digitaldog]

I am a bit puzzled by this. I don't know why you'd want to pursue a discussion about Musk's 8 million with me.

It's his hobby. I have suggested a hobby like Photography, but that has never happened.

[Rob C]

It's his hobby. I have suggested a hobby like Photography, but that has never happened.

Hmmm… I wonder if he’s ahead of the pack, here.

Sometimes, just sometimes, and depending very much on my psychological state at the time, I come to believe that amateur photography, in the literal sense - and excluding professional, though it too can sometimes amount to the same emotional trap - is very much like golf: a good walk ruined.

On other occasions, photography can feel like a lifeboat. I suppose it’s somewhat like plucking the petals from a daisy: she loves me, she loves me not…

[digitaldog]

Hmmm… I wonder if he’s ahead of the pack, here.

Some/any of the pack, no evidence. Ahead of the pack, this dog says no way! 

[Robert Roaldi]

More farce.

The two D-listers, JD Vance and Hegseth, gave Europeans leaders advice on free speech and how to run their countries. Afterwards Vance met with a neo-nazi German political party. I wouldn't hire either of them to run a hot dog stand. The USA is on fire and those clowns are trying to tell other people how to run their countries as if they know anything about it. In a speech, Hegseth said Russia has taken some Ukrainian territory and that can't be changed. Isn't that a little like Chamberlain waiving that piece of paper at reporters?

Trump said that Canada stole the auto industry from the US. Wow, we must be way more powerful up here than we thought. He also keeps calling our prime minister Governor Trudeau. I thought he had stopped using forms of address like "crooked Biden" and similar. They say that senile dementia can be a little like a second childhood, that might explain the idiotic and embarrassing name calling. It has gotten pretty old.

Governor Abbott of Texas warns that he'll unleash the power of the Texas economy on Canada if Canada retaliates against Trump's tariffs. I don't know if Texas trades much with Canada. I can only repeat what I've asked before on these pages and elsewhere. Has there been one coherent explanation why the US is engaging in a tariff war with its allies? What is the point? There were trade agreements in place with dispute mechanisms to resolve conflicts. All he had to do was use them, something which has occurred for decades in the normal course of events. This should not be an arena for drama. It's as though he thinks that trade is some kind of battleground between nations. Geez man, just check out any first year Economics textbook. Sometimes country A buys more stuff from country B, and sometimes B buys more from A, it all depends what's going on in their economies and it changes from time time, always has done. What's the mystery.

I saw one headline 2-3 days ago about DOGE going into IRS offices but I never saw a follow-up so I don't know the status. That should go well.

Canada has a fentanyl czar now and I presume he's hard at work. If RFK Jr starts to tamper with US vaccine availability, drug cartels might start bringing contraband vaccines into the US. I wonder if they'll cut them down before they hit the street. Will Trump demand that Canada hire a vaccine czar? Should we be pro-active and get a cocaine czar, beat Trump to it.

Over time Trump has expressed the point of view that NATO member nations have not ante'd up their fair share of defense spending. That argument is not without some merit. But he makes it sound as if those other countries were taking advantage of the US. The US has over 700 military bases in 110 countries or so, it's a bit hard to believe that the US was bullied into spending all that money against its will. It has to be that it suited the US to do that, that they wanted it that way. The thing is if Europe and Canada and Central and South America start spending larger sums of money on defense, then it will follow that US power in the world will diminish, relatively speaking. Is Trump going to whine about that too? If Trump continues to chum with Putin, will European and other countries want US troops on their territories any more? If the US is no longer a good friend, why would they want US troops living down the block. Does Trump think that far ahead.

[digitaldog]

Just amazing:

Trump administration wants to un-fire nuclear safety workers but can’t figure out how to reach them
The individuals, who work in an agency that oversees the nation's nuclear stockpile, had been fired on Thursday and lost access to their federal government email accounts.

[Robert Roaldi]

Just amazing:

In Michael Lewis's book about the first Trump administration, The Fifth Protocol, he devoted many pages to the Dept of Energy and how it manages the nuclear fuel stockpile. It comprises something like 50% of its mandate so it's not a trivial thing and it's not a boondoggle. It's not as if Trump's officials can claim that they didn't know about it. Aside from the Dept's own documents, they could have read Lewis's book.

There's a huge underground mountain of radioactive material in the north-west somewhere that is slowly making its way to the ground water. The Dept of Energy is in the middle of a complex multi-year project in dealing with it. No one in Trump's first administration knew about it then either. There is no app that Musk's minions can write that will address this problem.

I guess the thinking goes something like "government bad, fire people". It might be critical to find out if that's true before acting. But hey, move fast and break things. It worked for FB, so obviously it will work elsewhere.

It might be that they are all stupid as dirt.

[Robert Roaldi]

I don't watch Bill Maher's show so I didn't see this clip when it first appeared. A friend sent it me, it's about the terrible trade deal between the US and Canada https://www.youtube.com/shorts/PgGhC4-DUSo. It's very short, 2-3 minutes.

[kers]

Poetin is o so happy with Trump.
He does what Poetin wanted but was not able to: bring chaos in the democracies of the USA and Europe.
the Ukraine has now become a business deal : give us 50% of the rare earth or we hand you over to Russia.
Europe is supposed to deliver peace troops but is not allowed to be part of the peace negotiations between Russia, the US and the Ukraine.
As if this war happens on American soil.

[Robert Roaldi]

If you want to cheer yourself up, this 30 min video by Patrick Boyle on the folly of some large megaprojects should do the trick, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-65bHmC9HY4.

I sort of knew about some of these but never really paid much attention as I assumed they were just on-paper fantasies, thought experiments to stimulate conversation or hype. It turns out that real money has been spent on them, which boggles my mind. For example, I had not realized that the hyperloop had been around so long and that real work had been done on it.

[Robert Roaldi]

Poetin is o so happy with Trump.
He does what Poetin wanted but was not able to: bring chaos in the democracies of the USA and Europe.
the Ukraine has now become a business deal : give us 50% of the rare earth or we hand you over to Russia.
Europe is supposed to deliver peace troops but is not allowed to be part of the peace negotiations between Russia, the US and the Ukraine.
As if this war happens on American soil.

It's all too bizarre for words. Does Trump want Ukrainian minerals forever, for 2 years or for as long as it takes to push Putin back across the border? Then what. Anyway, what's the big deal, this isn't the middle ages, if he wants their minerals, or more accurately if some US companies want some of those minerals, all they have to do is buy them on the open market like they've always done. Just call up your sales rep and place an order.

But looking at the bigger picture, why would anyone enter into any agreement with Trump, he violates them at the drop of a hat. He unilaterally cancelled the N.A. free trade agreement in his first term and negotiated something very similar to replace it. Why? Recently he declared that replacement agreement to be the worst agreement ever and is blaming Canada for it but it was Trump who wanted it! I get it that he's in the bullshit business but shouldn't he try to be a bit consistent.

If Ukraine did sign an agreement with him, would he follow through? How could anyone be sure.

[digitaldog]

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana

[marvpelkey]

As much as some in this forum have tried and continue to try, I think it is folly to try and understand, from a rational perspective, why Trump does what he does.

He reminds me of a directionless billiard ball that is randomly bouncing off other balls and banks. Absolutely no-one can understand his mind and rationale for doing most things (and, frankly, I am not even sure he can).

Having said that, I think he is predictably consistent in a few areas - if he can personally benefit from an action - when he is out for revenge - and when he is pissed at someone and starts name calling.

[Robert Roaldi]

As much as some in this forum have tried and continue to try, I think it is folly to try and understand, from a rational perspective, why Trump does what he does.

He reminds me of a directionless billiard ball that is randomly bouncing off other balls and banks. Absolutely no-one can understand his mind and rationale for doing most things (and, frankly, I am not even sure he can).

Having said that, I think he is predictably consistent in a few areas - if he can personally benefit from an action - when he is out for revenge - and when he is pissed at someone and starts name calling.

I can't disagree with any of that but watching Rome burn is one hell of a spectacle.  I like George Carlin's take https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtDNgJbx-54.

[kers]

As much as some in this forum have tried and continue to try, I think it is folly to try and understand, from a rational perspective, why Trump does what he does.

He reminds me of a directionless billiard ball that is randomly bouncing off other balls and banks. Absolutely no-one can understand his mind and rationale for doing most things (and, frankly, I am not even sure he can).

Having said that, I think he is predictably consistent in a few areas - if he can personally benefit from an action - when he is out for revenge - and when he is pissed at someone and starts name calling.

at least billiard balls follow the rules of physics.

[Rob C]

Not exactly on topic, but today I went to change my existing (very old) contract with the electricity company.

There were about five different types available, the brief descriptions made each look ideal, but it was impossible to suss out which would have been the most suitable. I believe that even an educated, native Spanish speaker would have been left as devoid of actual information as was I.

So yeah, this truly is the post-truth age. It took me a while to realise just how all-pervasive this has become: I had fondly imagined it to be confined to the world of politicians, but I was mistaken.