US Politics Thread 2021-24

[August]

Originally Posted by Dargo

Oops brilliant Elon at work https://www.politico.eu/article/pola...st-nazi-guilt/

Tesla's stock market value has tumbled below $1 trillion. The carmaker's shares seem to be suffering from the image of top executive Elon Musk, who has to watch as sales in Europe fell by almost half last month. While Musk is taking a blunt axe to the US government apparatus, Wall Street is pounding hard on shares of Musk's car brand Tesla. Tesla's share price has fallen so far in recent days that the manufacturer has tumbled out of the trillion-dollar division of the exclusive company of companies with a market value above $1 trillion (€950 billion) such as Apple, Amazon, Meta, Nvidia and JPMorgan.

The last push came when it was revealed that Tesla's sales in Europe had almost halved. The manufacturer sold less than 100 thousand cars in January this year, down 45 per cent from the same month a year earlier. In the European Union, the number of cars sold actually fell by more than 50 per cent. Tesla's market share in the EU shrank almost as sharply, from 1.8 per cent to 1 per cent. On Tuesday, Tesla shares went down 8 per cent, a slight recovery occurred on Wednesday, but not enough to return the car brand to the Olympus of the biggest listed companies.

But analysts also see indications that Tesla is suffering from ‘Musk shaming’, a variation on the trend of flight shaming that causes travellers to forgo air travel when an alternative, more sustainable mode of transport is available. Potential Tesla buyers seem to be turning away because of Musk's questionable interventions in the US government and his flirtations with radical and far-right parties in Europe. A poll by Electriying.com, a website dedicated to electric cars, showed late last month that 60 per cent of potential electric car buyers are refraining from buying a Tesla because of the top executive's image. ‘Tesla has been instrumental in the acceptance of the electric car, but Elon Musk's personal brand seems to be fuelling polarisation,’ said Electrifying director Ginny Buckley.

Chinese EVs are undercutting everyone, not just Tesla. In the Euro market even Audi is slashing their EV projections and talking about closing plants.

As for US sales, the Model Y is the best selling vehicle they have, but many buyers are holding off right now because the Juniper MY redesign is right around the corner. Once the Juniper is widely available, they'll rebound in the US.

but no Tesla is tOtalLy gOiNg dOwN cuz literally hitler.

[Gorpet]

Originally Posted by Catfish

re the reasons Trump should stay in office ..



I even agree with some, just not the unnecessary bullying and grandstanding with what he tries to cover his insecurity and stupidity.
I certainly do not agree with Musk as an "outside editor" who is on drugs, has no experience, does not know what he's doing but glad to evade taxes just like the one who brought him there. But it's your inner-american ride, so enjoy.
I agree with "declaring cartels as terrorist organizations, which means that Military & National Intelligence assets can be used to better effect."
I doubt it was Trump's idea, this was long overdue. But he did it, so ok.

What I am absolutely not ok with is making Russia great again and trample on allies. Trump obviously never read anything from Brzezinski when it comes to international relations and planning. His entourage consists of yes-men that echo him just to remain in office, no real advisors with any backbone left.

Who the hell is, Brzezinski ?

[Buddahaid]

Right now, the US has a welfare program for the ultra-wealthy.

[Gorpet]

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

Right now, the US has a welfare program for the ultra-wealthy.

It all depends, If they find you.Somewhere down in the dirt.

[Skybird]

Trump is loosing it. I think his mental decline is harder and harder to not be noticed. His staff tries to cover it, but it cant.

The man is 78. For most people, its normal to slow at that age, but his decline, the rate of, is worrying. This is not the Trump of 4 and 8 years ago.

4 years to go.

America, you are screwed. And many others with you, too.
Maybe you should stop voting for Mummies.


There is growing risk that he is being abused as a puppet hanging on somebody elses strings. I wonder who that could be...

[Reece]

Yeh!! Poo-tin & Muck is yanking his chains!!

[Skybird]

I think I was more about this funny guy throwing the press conference for him in the oval office recently while Trump tried to not give the impression that he was dozing off.

In four years the parties will make simulacra of Kennedy and Reagan their candidates I assume.

However, I also think that Trump will drop Musk sooner or later, rather sooner I guess. Its a pattern throughout his life.

[Skybird]

The eU owes thanks to Trump. The eU now has, after 20 years of negotiating, signed the Mercosur treaty with South American nations. Assumign that it is a question of time only until resistence from France and some others to ratify it will end, a big economic no tarriffs trading zone with over 718 million people and a GDP of 22 trillion. The US GDP 2023 was 27 trillion, so this Mercosur union is not just a lightweight mini player.

And Mercosur will stay once Trump has left. So will the redirrected inestments that once went form Europe to the US, and now go form Europe to Latin America.

Just recently the free trade treat between Mexico and the EU was renwed and modenrized, worth 82 bn .

Trump now has annoucned customs duties for the Eu will be raised to 25%. The EU does not blink but announced that it will immediately react with targetted retaliation custom duties, bigger in volumes than four years ago.

Alienate your former partners and make them your angry opponents instead, and they will turn away and find other partners. At your cost. And again, Trump sooner or later is hstory. Former partners will not automatically return then.

As a carnivore I hope for a lowering of prices for Argentine beef. Europeans become - due to ideolgical-political circumstances - too dumb to raise cattle themselves cost-efficiently anymore, regulation tries to ruin the meat industry and turn peopel into begans and insectoid dirt-eaters, prices become insane, and availability drops. I hope Mercosur changes that. The huge and diverse meat supply on display at the huge Cosco markets that Dr. Berry or Steak and Butter Gal occasionally show in their video podcasts is something we can only dream of in Germany.

[MaDef]

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

Right now, the US has a welfare program for the ultra-wealthy.

Right now, the U.S. has a welfare program for every reprobate on the planet and the Funds are distributed by USAID.

Fixed your statement for you.

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

Right now, the US has a welfare program for the ultra-wealthy.

Do tell. What are these welfare programs for the ultra wealthy? Being they are ultra wealthy why should the be paying more taxes?

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by Skybird

Trump is loosing it. I think his mental decline is harder and harder to not be noticed. His staff tries to cover it, but it cant.

The man is 78. For most people, its normal to slow at that age, but his decline, the rate of, is worrying. This is not the Trump of 4 and 8 years ago.

4 years to go.

America, you are screwed. And many others with you, too.
Maybe you should stop voting for Mummies.


There is growing risk that he is being abused as a puppet hanging on somebody elses strings. I wonder who that could be...

Sigh...do you think Harris would not be a puppet?

[Reece]

Originally Posted by Skybird

The eU owes thanks to Trump. The eU now has, after 20 years of negotiating, signed the Mercosur treaty with South American nations. Assumign that it is a question of time only until resistence from France and some others to ratify it will end, a big economic no tarriffs trading zone with over 718 million people and a GDP of 22 trillion. The US GDP 2023 was 27 trillion, so this Mercosur union is not just a lightweight mini player.

And Mercosur will stay once Trump has left. So will the redirrected inestments that once went form Europe to the US, and now go form Europe to Latin America.

Just recently the free trade treat between Mexico and the EU was renwed and modenrized, worth 82 bn .

Trump now has announced customs duties for the Eu will be raised to 25%. The EU does not blink but announced that it will immediately react with targeted retaliation custom duties, bigger in volumes than four years ago.

Alienate your former partners and make them your angry opponents instead, and they will turn away and find other partners. At your cost. And again, Trump sooner or later is history. Former partners will not automatically return then.

As a carnivore I hope for a lowering of prices for Argentine beef. Europeans become - due to ideological-political circumstances - too dumb to raise cattle themselves cost-efficiently anymore, regulation tries to ruin the meat industry and turn people into vegans and insectoid dirt-eaters, prices become insane, and availability drops. I hope Mercosur changes that. The huge and diverse meat supply on display at the huge Cosco markets that Dr. Berry or Steak and Butter Gal occasionally show in their video podcasts is something we can only dream of in Germany.

Good news Skybird!!

[Ostfriese]

Originally Posted by MaDef

Right now, the U.S. has a welfare program for every reprobate on the planet and the Funds are distributed by USAID.

Fixed your statement for you.

Right now, the US has/had a welfare program for its own farmers and the the Funds were distributed by USAID.

Fixed that for you, and I'll even include a source (Chattanooga Times Free Press, but it's originally a USA Today article):

https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/...armers-hit-by/

Whoopsie.

Like with the Ukraine aids - most of which was money that never went to Ukraine but was instead used to by American stuff, subsiding American jobs and hard American work.

Whoopsie.

At the same time the real waste continues:



That's $200 million tax payers' money wasted.
Simply revoking the Starship HLS contract (which has abysmally failed to achieve even its first milestone, let alone being anywhere close to being on schedule) would likely have saved the American taxpayers more than all the cuts DOGE has actually achieved (if you take out all the mistakes they made, like counting $8 million a s §8 billion).

Well done

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

Sigh...do you think Harris would not be a puppet?

I think whatever you can say about Harris, she certainly does not reveal signs of age-related mental decline. She already was handicapped before.

[Reece]

Der. . . do you think?