US Elections (& Politics) :)
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Oceanslider
Known around here
You're posting good jokes now? This is a milestone
Parley
Known around here
Trump sees the EU for the bully it is: Macron wants to pretend like Europe is treated unjustly
There has always been a touch of the actor about Emmanuel Macron, and the President of France was at his theatrical best at Davos on Tuesday. Sporting a pair of aviator sunglasses to conceal a broken blood vessel in his eye, Macron played the part of a man unjustly treated.
Not just him, but all of Europe. “We do prefer respect to bullies,” concluded Macron in his address to the World Economic Forum. “We do prefer science to plotism, and we do prefer rule of law to brutality. You are welcome in Europe and you are more than welcome to France.”
Macron didn’t mention Donald Trump by name but the audience understood that he was the big bad bully the French President had in mind.
It’s a role that Macron has himself played in the past, as well as some of his predecessors in the Elysee Palace. In 2008, for example, Ireland voted against the EU treaty, which was designed to overhaul the bloc’s institutions. The then-president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, declared that “the Irish will have to vote again.”
As the Guardian remarked at that time, "What part of Ireland's 'No' does the EU not understand?".
So the Irish were forced to vote again and fortunately -- For the EU, at least -- they voted the correct way the second time around.
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.com ...
There has always been a touch of the actor about Emmanuel Macron, and the President of France was at his theatrical best at Davos on Tuesday. Sporting a pair of aviator sunglasses to conceal a broken blood vessel in his eye, Macron played the part of a man unjustly treated.
Not just him, but all of Europe. “We do prefer respect to bullies,” concluded Macron in his address to the World Economic Forum. “We do prefer science to plotism, and we do prefer rule of law to brutality. You are welcome in Europe and you are more than welcome to France.”
Macron didn’t mention Donald Trump by name but the audience understood that he was the big bad bully the French President had in mind.
It’s a role that Macron has himself played in the past, as well as some of his predecessors in the Elysee Palace. In 2008, for example, Ireland voted against the EU treaty, which was designed to overhaul the bloc’s institutions. The then-president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, declared that “the Irish will have to vote again.”
As the Guardian remarked at that time, "What part of Ireland's 'No' does the EU not understand?".
So the Irish were forced to vote again and fortunately -- For the EU, at least -- they voted the correct way the second time around.
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.com ...
Parley
Known around here
American Mind
Bribery “Diplomacy” Is Over
ending truckloads of money with abandon is over.
Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has attempted to hold Pax Americana together with a simple, deeply flawed strategy: pay everyone off and hope they behave. Allies, adversaries, neutrals—it didn’t matter. Subsidies, aid, trade asymmetries, security guarantees, sanctions waivers, and diplomatic indulgences were handed out on the assumption that gratitude would follow. It didn’t—entitlement did.
Bribery diplomacy rests on a childlike premise: if you keep paying, people will stay in line. In reality, when money flows freely and consequences never arrive, it stops being leverage and becomes reverse tribute. Nations don’t become loyal. They become resentful, arrogant, and defiant. And the moment you threaten to turn off the spigot, the outrage begins. “How dare you?” “You’re betraying us.” “You’re imperialist.” “You’re fascist.” The language is predictable because the psychology is.
Europe is the archetype. After World War II, the United States rebuilt the continent and underwrote its security. That made sense at the time. What didn’t make sense was continuing to subsidize Europe indefinitely while tolerating trade imbalances, defense freeloading, and open hostility toward American interests. When Trump demanded NATO countries pay their share, it was treated as the end of the “world order.” When he demanded reciprocal trade instead of one-way free trade, elites panicked. The system wasn’t collapsing; the subsidy was.
What changed wasn’t American behavior; it was American clarity. The current administration made explicit what had long been implicit: access to American markets, protection, and capital requires alignment. Some countries understood this immediately. Middle Eastern, Eastern European, and East Asian nations recalibrated. Traditional allies, by contrast, were offended. They mistook indulgence for permanence and reacted by publicly rebuking “America First” while privately relying on it.
Iran is the most damning case study. Under George W. Bush, billions flowed into Iraq and were then directly funneled to Tehran without consequence. Under Obama, the United States openly paid the regime and wrapped capitulation in the language of diplomacy via the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and rebuked the election of the democratically elected ally Allawi in favor of Iranian stooge Maliki (so much for promoting democracy). Iran expanded its terror network accordingly. Under Trump, the architect of Iran’s global terror strategy, Soleimani, was killed, and Iran did nothing of consequence because they couldn’t. Later, U.S. backing enabled Israel and Saudi Arabia to dismantle Iranian proxies, from Hamas to the Houthis, and take the fight directly to Tehran. Once confronted with real force, the “regional power” revealed itself as brittle.
Venezuela followed the same pattern. For decades, administrations denounced Chávez and Maduro while allowing them to align with China, Russia, and Iran, turning a once-rich country into a failed, hostile state in America’s backyard. Diplomacy dragged on without building real regional allies or applying real pressure, only talk and worthless denunciations. Trump ended the illusion in under two hours by capturing, arresting, and indicting Maduro on narco-terror charges. No ground invasion. Just consequences, and Russian and Chinese defense measures left exposed as totally inadequate against the U.S.’s ability to enact justice.
The result is uncomfortable for those who prefer fairy tales. The United States doesn’t need to be the “nice guy” to be effective. Paying the junkie with more crack doesn’t cure the addiction. It deepens it. Power unexercised becomes doubted. Power exercised becomes deterrence.
The Washington establishment will insist that this approach is reckless, unsustainable, and destabilizing. They said the same about confronting the USSR, withdrawing from the Iran deal, and moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. They were wrong then. They’re wrong now. The real risk isn’t that America acts; it’s that America stops paying people who dislike us. Bribery never buys loyalty. It buys temporary compliance but long-term resentment. Trump didn’t end diplomacy. He ended the lie that money without consequence counts as diplomacy at all.
Comment:
Bribery “Diplomacy” Is Over
And economic sanctions and tariffs have effectively taken its place. Thanks DJT.
Oceanslider
Known around here
Parley
Known around here
Trump tariffs live updates: Trump calls off tariffs on Europe over Greenland after reaching deal 'framework'
In an abrupt about-face on Wednesday, President Trump said he was calling off planned tariffs on European nations over his pursuit of Greenland. Trump cited the "framework of a future deal" reached with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
"This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations. Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
My comment: The art of the deal. We shall see how this all works out.
In an abrupt about-face on Wednesday, President Trump said he was calling off planned tariffs on European nations over his pursuit of Greenland. Trump cited the "framework of a future deal" reached with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
"This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations. Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
My comment: The art of the deal. We shall see how this all works out.
Parley
Known around here
Trump Announces Greenland Deal in Works, Pauses Tariffs
Truth Social ^ | 1/21/2026 | Donald Trump
Posted on 1/21/2026, 12:04:07 PM by ETCM
Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region. This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations. Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st. Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland. Further information will be made available as discussions progress. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and various others, as needed, will be responsible for the negotiations — They will report directly to me. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
DONALD J. TRUMP PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Truth Social ^ | 1/21/2026 | Donald Trump
Posted on 1/21/2026, 12:04:07 PM by ETCM
Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region. This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations. Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st. Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland. Further information will be made available as discussions progress. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and various others, as needed, will be responsible for the negotiations — They will report directly to me. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
DONALD J. TRUMP PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Sybertiger
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Oh no, what is our resident Panican going to panic over next!....the $2,000 Trump check he needs so bad?
p.s. I keed, I keed.
Sybertiger
Known around here
What we are gonna hear from the MSN is that leaders of Europe conceded nothing and it's business as usual but that Trump tucked his tail and ran. You can bank on it.
Sybertiger
Known around here
He TACO’d again
And there it is. You fell for it again.
Sybertiger
Known around here
Some estimate 600,000 deportations and another 1.9 million "self-deportations" in 2025. Who knows? Not massive at all after just one year? How hard could it be to relocate 57,000 Greenlanders. LOL
I didn’t fall for anything. It’s quite clear to the world what happened