What has Trump done now?

[facthunter]

We are ALL wrong are we Grumpy? . That whole sorry episode was STAGED. for TV .Trump is a rotten Bully and a complete Piece of $#!t. He's ruining the USA FAST. Nev

[Grumpy Old Nasho]

US Admits Sending $40 Million Weekly to Afghanistan Amid Controversy

 

Conspiracy?

 

https://afghanistanpeacecampaign.org/2024/01/20/us-admits-sending-40-million-weekly-to-afghanistan-amid-controversy/

[octave]

GON can you find other supporting sources? My understanding is this is an allegation by Tim Burchill and Marjorie Taylor Green.  I have no idea who the authors of this website are.  If I post a link I will nearly always post links from other sites across the political spectrum. The article offers no hard evidence.  I would have thought this would be plastered across the media, especially traditionally right wing media organisations.  DOGE has made many claims that have been disproved i.e., gazillions of dollars worth of condoms to Gaza.

 

Sure it could be true, but the evidence at the moment is flimsy.   Certainly an organisation with such a large budget is going to have things that are not right, however, the wholesale cutting off of life-saving food and medical aid to the poorest in the world for billionaires to get a tax cut is repulsive. 

[Grumpy Old Nasho]

1 hour ago, Litespeed said:

Do you really think the defence budget gets spent on roads?

 

Wake up

It's not defense spending, it's aid to keep a war going. I'd prefer the pot holes were filled around here, put the money to better use. Put Australia first rather than warmongering. Fueling wars is against International Law no matter who does it. Trump is quite right in stopping any further aid the Ukraine, or anyone else for that matter. We're not in the stupid age of Johnson and Nixon who killed 56,000 American soldiers, and our putrid govt that killed 500 young blokes in Vietnam only to be soundly beaten and then the govts fell in love with communist Vietnam ... bloody hell, give me a break. It's alright for Albanese, Starmer, and Europe to supply weapons of war, but those slimy cowards are never on the front line. They are inhumane indecent creeps who should be thrown in jail for the death and destruction they're causing. President Trump is the only one who trying to put an end the war, and war in general.

[red750]

If you don't like the way we feel about the orange scourge, no one is forcing you to stay. Don't let the door hit you in the arse on the way out.

[red750]

[rgmwa]

21 minutes ago, Grumpy Old Nasho said:

It's not defense spending, it's aid to keep a war going.

It’s aid to help the Ukrainians defend themselves from being overrun by Putin’s armies. Your solution (and Trump’s) would be to just step aside and let him do it. Nobody wants to keep the war going except Putin, and least of all the Ukrainians. 

[Marty_d]

40 minutes ago, Grumpy Old Nasho said:

It's not defense spending, it's aid to keep a war going. I'd prefer the pot holes were filled around here, put the money to better use. Put Australia first rather than warmongering. Fueling wars is against International Law no matter who does it. Trump is quite right in stopping any further aid the Ukraine, or anyone else for that matter. We're not in the stupid age of Johnson and Nixon who killed 56,000 American soldiers, and our putrid govt that killed 500 young blokes in Vietnam only to be soundly beaten and then the govts fell in love with communist Vietnam ... bloody hell, give me a break. It's alright for Albanese, Starmer, and Europe to supply weapons of war, but those slimy cowards are never on the front line. They are inhumane indecent creeps who should be thrown in jail for the death and destruction they're causing. President Trump is the only one who trying to put an end the war, and war in general.

Albo, Starmer, other European leaders are "slimy cowards", but the pussy-grabbing rapist bribe-paying employee-cheating government wrecking treasonous convicted felon is "President Trump"?

 

Can you not see how you sound? You are saying black is white and trying to convince everyone else of it.

[Grumpy Old Nasho]

Well stand by and watch other people die then, as long as it's not you blokes, that's right isn't it?

 

If Trump was taken out of the equation, Putin would still have field artillery nukes and willing to use them. Then what? Do you believe he won't use them? Just let opposing nations go in with troops to fight the Russians, and see what happens. Alternatively, and again, without Trump, NATO & Co and the US (under someone else), would continue to supply arms to Ukraine, at great long term cost, boosting Zelensky's determination to oust the Russian forces, and destroying more of Ukraine and his people. He'll have to resign, or he may just get sacked by his govt.

 

Trump is virtually out of the negotiations now, and US aid to Ukraine has stopped, so let's see what the rest of the World can do, make or break Ukraine, the latter seems likely.

[rgmwa]

It's pretty clear you think the Ukrainians should just let Putin take over their country and that way nobody would get killed. The problem is the Ukrainians would then lose their independence, their resources and their country, and Putin would simply move onto the next target in his efforts to rebuild the Soviet Union -  and Trump is only too keen to help him do it. 

It's pretty sad that Trump is only interested in defending Ukraine if he can Zelenskyy to apologise for telling the truth and get a deal for his rare earth minerals off the ground (he actually calls them `raw earth minerals' - can't even get that right).

Ukraine only has value to him if his financial investment may be threatened. The idea that he might defend a weaker country against a power hungry dictator as a matter of principle and for the safety of his allies is not a concept that he can get his head around. The sooner the US dumps him, the better. 

 

Edited Tuesday at 12:44 PM by rgmwa

[onetrack]

6 hours ago, Grumpy Old Nasho said:

USAID was donating US$44million per week to the Taliban. Explain why that should continue?

Utter and total BS, you must be Trump's ventriloquist dummy. The Taliban and the Haqqani Network are still designated Terrorist Organisations, and as such are not recognised by the U.S. Govt and sanctioned against receiving any type of U.S. support - civilian, Govt, military, or otherwise.

 

But U.S. individuals and U.S. corporations can apply to send humanitarian aid to Afghans, provided they have not been identified as belonging to the Taliban or the Haqqani.

 

https://ofac.treasury.gov/faqs/928#:~:text=No.,as an SDGT under E.O.

[old man emu]

8 hours ago, rgmwa said:

   Ukraine only has value to him if his financial investment may be threatened.

 

8 hours ago, rgmwa said:

a deal for his rare earth minerals

 

Remember back in the day when the USA would enter into foreign disputes because the side it backed had oil? Now it's all about securing the metals needed to sustain an electric world.

[pmccarthy]

Let me say again... there are no rare earth reserves in Ukraine. Reporting of mineral reserves is internationally governed by the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards. See The International Reporting Template - Crirsco . I have lectured about this in Moscow a couple of decades ago. The Russians in Ukraine had speculative estimates of what might be there but nothing upon which a commercial contact could be arranged.

 

The whole minerals thing is a Trump smoke screen for political agreements that will not stand public scrutiny.

 

 

[old man emu]

People have been comparing Trump's actions to those of Hitler in the way that both have taken over government and turned their countries upside down as if it was something new.

 

Have you heard of the Rum Rebellion in NSW in 1808? The false story is that the military overthrew the appointed governor who was allegedly a tyrant. The truth of the matter is that the military, made rich by their control of trade had brow-beaten earlier Governors until the British Government sent William Bligh to bring order to the colony and reduce the economic power of the military to make things fairer for the free people who were trying to make a living.

 

The leader of the military faction was John Macarthur who used threats and legal action to cower any opposition. After arresting Bligh the rebels set up a legal system that ensured that the rich and powerful could eliminate opposition. Eventually, the nominal commander of the military, Johnson, was brought back to England and court marshaled. Macarthur had resigned his commission, so he could not be court marshaled. However, the evidence adduced in the court marshal was enough to alleged that Macarthur had committed treason. A quirk of the law at the time meant he could not be tried for treason in England, but could if he was in NSW. That's why he stayed away for 9 years. (It was his wife, Elizabeth, who really was the founder of the wool industry through the development of the Merino strain of sheep.)

[Marty_d]

OME! As our resident grammar copper, you should know it's "court martial" not "court marshal".

[facthunter]

Holler for a MARSHAL.  That's an accumulator.  Nev

[old man emu]

3 hours ago, Marty_d said:

OME! As our resident grammar copper, you should know it's "court martial" not "court marshal".

Oops!

 

I did think that "marshal" looked strange. I was in a bit of a rush to write that post and get out to the Men's Shed.

[onetrack]

Re the minerals situation, perhaps pmmcarthy could have clarified the situation further, by defining the various stages of the measuring principles behind the assessment of mineral resources and reserves.

 

Inferred Mineral Resource:

 

An Inferred Mineral Resource is estimated from limited information, involves longer projections of data, and implies a great deal of uncertainty. These Resources are used for preliminary planning purposes, and usually require considerable exploration and evaluation to define the Resource and turn it into a Mineral Reserve.

 

 

Mineral Reserves:

A Mineral Reserve is the economically mineable part of a Measured or Indicated Mineral Resource demonstrated by at least a Preliminary Feasibility Study. This Study must include adequate information on mining, processing, metallurgical, economic and other relevant factors that demonstrate, at the time of reporting, that economic extraction can be justified.

A Mineral Reserve includes diluting materials and allowances for losses that may occur when the material is mined.

 

Probable Mineral Reserve:

 

A probable mineral reserve is the economically mineable part of an Indicated and, in some circumstances, a Measured Mineral Resource demonstrated by at least a Preliminary Feasibility Study.

This Study must include adequate information on mining, processing, metallurgical, economic, and other relevant factors that demonstrate, at the time of reporting, that economic extraction can be justified.

 

Proven Mineral Reserve:

 

A proven mineral reserve is the economically mineable part of a Measured Mineral Resource demonstrated by at least a Preliminary Feasibility Study. This Study must include adequate information on mining, processing, metallurgical, economic, and other relevant factors that demonstrate, at the time of reporting, that economic extraction is justified.

 

One of the problems with Ukraine is that its mineral resources have never been extensively and accurately studied or proven. They are all "Inferred resources" until they have been drilled and assessed, and then become Proven Mineral Reserves.

 

Billions in profits have been made from pegging ground that has an inferred mineral resource, and then on-selling that ground to mining companies that have a major interest in turning that reserve into an economic resource and an operational mine.

 

Trump would be seeing that potential for massive profits for himself in Ukraine, with no real concern about ensuring America's supply of rare earth minerals.

 

Edited Wednesday at 01:06 AM by onetrack

[old man emu]

Click on the image to make it legible.

[red750]

Democrat kicked out of Trump speech for screaming at the president

 

Democratic Rep. Al Green indignantly challenged Trump about Medicaid, waving his cane at the president, shouting and interrupting the 78-year-old's remarks shortly after they began.

 

Initially, Trump began speaking over Green and did not let off as the Democrat yelled.

'You have no mandate to cut healthcare,' Green said.

 

He was not the only Democrat interrupting, however. A large cohort of over 30 Democrats held signs with phrases like 'false' and 'Musk steals.'

 

Speaker Mike Johnson eventually banged his gavel to restore order after Green's accosting went unabated.

 

Johnson then threatened Green that he would have the security kick him out if the Democrat did not stop his protest.

 

But that did not sway Green, who continued to yell at the president, who at this point had ceased talking.

 

'He has no mandate to cut Medicaid,' Green yelled again.

 

Then, following Johnson's orders, the security came over to the lawmaker and told him to leave.

 

[red750]

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19wf3sZRH2/

[pmccarthy]

OME's map shows mineral deposits, which just means concentrations of minerals. Until they satisfy the categories listed by Onetrack they have little commercial value. And if they date from USSR times, they may not even exist. The usual lead time for deposits like these is five years to drill out then ten years or more to establish a mine. And the success rate for new mines from grass roots projects is something like one in 100.

[rgmwa]

4 minutes ago, pmccarthy said:

OME's map shows mineral deposits, which just means concentrations of minerals. Until they satisfy the categories listed by Onetrack they have little commercial value. And if they date from USSR times, they may not even exist. The usual lead time for deposits like these is five years to drill out then ten years or more to establish a mine. And the success rate for new mines from grass roots projects is something like one in 100.

Whatever you do, don't tell Trump.

[red750]

I watched most of Trumps address. From the point of view of the centre aisle, facing the podium, Dems on the left, Reps on the right. Reps up and down with standing ovations on almost every sentence, Dems sitting stoicly unmoved, except for a few holding aloft paddles with "FALSE" on them. 

 

When discussing the rorting of social security funds, he quoted the most ridiculous stats.  1 person over 500 yo, 132 between 130 and 139, and similar in all age groups., or figures in that range. I didn't write them down.

[pmccarthy]

I deliberately watched more than ten video news items on Trump today, looking for a balanced report. Didn’t find any. They were all one way or the other, like they were reporting quite different events and meetings. No wonder society is polarised.