US Politics

[Fatty Liver]

39 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Insight into Trump. He doesn't even hear himself speak. It's all show. Can't keep his BS straight. 

 

Trump just needs to change "where? where?" to "wot? wot?"

[Rich]

Trump announces a 20% tariff on Canadian softwood lumber exports. 

http://globalnews.ca/news/3401242/donald-trump-announces-20-per-cent-tariff-on-canadian-softwood-lumber-report/

[The Unknown Poster]

11 hours ago, Rich said:

Trump announces a 20% tariff on Canadian softwood lumber exports. 

http://globalnews.ca/news/3401242/donald-trump-announces-20-per-cent-tariff-on-canadian-softwood-lumber-report/

Saw some twitter rumblings about people not going to Vacation in the US in protest.  Not sure if that would ever catch on or if it would matter.  But saw some people saying the Dakota's are hurting due to lack of Canadian tourists.  I can see Canadians staying away due to the low dollar more so than an ideological protest.  But the dollar i probably going to keep sinking.

But hey, Justin wouldn't let Trump pull his arm so he's a national hero and thats all that matters.

[Mark F]

saw some of that ap interview. Something wrong with Trump's thought process.

 

Quote

 

Presented without comment:

 

TRUMP: [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping], we have a, like, a really great relationship. For me to call him a currency manipulator and then say, “By the way, I’d like you to solve the North Korean problem,” doesn’t work. So you have to have a certain flexibility, Number One. Number Two, from the time I took office till now, you know, it’s a very exact thing. It’s not like generalities. Do you want a Coke or anything?

AP: I’m OK, thank you.

 

 

[Mark F]

3 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Saw some twitter rumblings about people not going to Vacation in the US in protest.  Not sure if that would ever catch on or if it would matter.  But saw some people saying the Dakota's are hurting due to lack of Canadian tourists.  I can see Canadians staying away due to the low dollar more so than an ideological protest.  But the dollar i probably going to keep sinking.

But hey, Justin wouldn't let Trump pull his arm so he's a national hero and thats all that matters.

The Americans have been doing this for decades. BC can ship raw logs to the states but not lumber. Mills have closed in BC partly cause of that.

"The Canada–U.S. softwood lumber dispute is one of the largest and most enduring trade disputes between both nations.[1] This conflict was given rise in the early 1980s and its effects are still seen today. British Columbia, the major Canadian exporter of softwood lumber to the United States, was most affected, reporting losses of 9,494 direct and indirect jobs between 2004 and 2009.

Not sure but you also see live hogs shipped to USA from Manitoba, maybe the same kind of thing.

Trump building defences for when the Russian **** hits the fan.

Edited April 25, 2017 by Mark F

[The Unknown Poster]

16 minutes ago, Mark F said:

saw some of that ap interview. Something wrong with Trump's thought process.

 

 

I think the rambling and switching subjects is indicative of a guy in over his head.  He's used to always having an answer.  When talking business or entertainment, he can lean on certain knowledge and buzz words.  But now he's talking subjects he doesnt understand and being asked questions by people who know more than he does.  He's covering it up.  And the fact he's still doing it means he's surrounded by the wrong advisers or not taking their advice.

[Mark F]

48 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

I think the rambling and switching subjects is indicative of a guy in over his head.  He's used to always having an answer.  When talking business or entertainment, he can lean on certain knowledge and buzz words.  But now he's talking subjects he doesnt understand and being asked questions by people who know more than he does.  He's covering it up.  And the fact he's still doing it means he's surrounded by the wrong advisers or not taking their advice.

He said one thing, where he was being honest. Probably a slip up.

He said in business it's important to be heartless.

Anyone expecting anything different now is stupid.

Strong early contender for one of the worst non war world leaders in modern history.

[do or die]

100 days checklist

Maintain front row parking space at the pubic troth, for himself and family.

Create chaos by serial lying, flip flopping and deflecting wildly, on all issues.

Tilt the playing field for elite and corporate interests - removing banking and environmental curbs

Promote anti-immigrant, racist and xenophobic policies .... the wall, "travel bans"

Attempt to massively slash healthcare coverage, for poor, old, sick and disabled people.

Confuse and bewilder traditional allies.

A lump of coal for every stocking.

Making Sean Spicer a somebody.

[Mark F]

delete

Edited April 25, 2017 by Mark F

[SpeedFlex27]

21 hours ago, Rich said:

Trump announces a 20% tariff on Canadian softwood lumber exports. 

http://globalnews.ca/news/3401242/donald-trump-announces-20-per-cent-tariff-on-canadian-softwood-lumber-report/

Don't we have a 292% tariff on milk imported from the US? Sounds like both countries have tariifs that skirt or exclude NAFTA.

[Brandon Blue&Gold]

12 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Saw some twitter rumblings about people not going to Vacation in the US in protest.  Not sure if that would ever catch on or if it would matter.  But saw some people saying the Dakota's are hurting due to lack of Canadian tourists.  I can see Canadians staying away due to the low dollar more so than an ideological protest.  But the dollar i probably going to keep sinking.

But hey, Justin wouldn't let Trump pull his arm so he's a national hero and thats all that matters.

To be fair, what would you have him do right now in this particular situation?  This is Trump's usual "shock and awe" tactic for opening negotiations and it's a good distraction for him since he hasn't exactly been winning lately.  Go after the big mean Canadians!  Not taking the bait but operating behind the scenes to begin with seems like a good strategy for Trudeau so far.  Don't feed the troll.  This will be our 10(?) battle with the U.S over softwood lumber so it's nothing new.  It will hurt us like it always does but maybe it's about time we got on with it in regards to NAFTA.  Tired of Trump's asinine threats hanging over our heads as I'm sure the Mexicans are as well.  Start talks. 

[The Unknown Poster]

Wait. What ban. 

 

[Jacquie]

1 hour ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Wait. What ban. 

 

The Ninth Circuit was the one that blocked the first travel ban and now a judge from that Circuit has blocked Trump's threat to not provide funding for sanctuary cities.

[Jacquie]

13 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Don't we have a 292% tariff on milk imported from the US? Sounds like both countries have tariifs that skirt or exclude NAFTA.

Dairy is not covered by NAFTA. And the issue is with diafiltered milk, not all dairy. 

This article from iPolitics does a good job explaining things:

Quote

Canada’s dairy industry is officially on U.S. President Donald Trump’s radar.

After months of speculation – and much anxiety – the American president has vowed to defend the interests of Wisconsin dairy farmers against Canada’s “unfair” dairy industry. Canada says the American arguments are unfounded and overproduction, both within the United States and globally, is to blame. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has gone as far as to insist the system ‘works’ and isn’t going anywhere.

But what does it all mean? Let’s try and break it down, while answering some common questions.

What is supply management? 

Supply management is a farming system used in Canada for dairy, poultry and eggs where production, prices and imports are regulated. Farmers purchase quota allotments that determine how much product they are allowed to produce and sell. The system was brought in during the 1960s as a means of protecting farmers from large price swings that were forcing producers out of business.

Agriculture is one of a handful of shared federal-provincial responsibilities. As such, each province has marketing boards that oversee the various supply managed sectors and keep tabs on supply and demand levels. The boards determine the price producers are paid for their products depending on end use. They do not dictate the retail price for supply managed products.

National organizations – like the Canadian Dairy Commission – help coordinate federal and provincial policy discussions with the various boards and stakeholders. The Dairy Commission also sets annual reference prices that are then used by the provinces to determine the price of industrial milk or ‘raw milk’ in each province. The Commission is also responsible for issuing special import permits when required.

What is diafiltered or ultrafiltered milk? 

Diafiltered milk, or ultrafiltered milk as the Americans call it, is milk that has been finely filtered through a membrane in order to target its protein content. It has a similar consistency to coconut milk and typically has a very high protein content (greater than 40 per cent). When raw milk is processed for butterfat (necessary for making butter) it is separated into two parts: butterfat and what’s called ‘non-fat solids,’ commonly referred to as milk ingredients. Diafiltered milk is non-fat solids that have been processed one step further.

An American invention, diafiltered milk is used primarily by dairy processors in Canada to make cheese because it produces higher yields while making less waste (in this case skim milk). Skim milk, due to oversupply, is often dumped or used on farms as animal feed or dried down to powder form. Its oversupply has been a longstanding issue that the dairy industry has been grappling with for years.

Major diafiltered milk production plants have been built in recent years along the Canada-U.S. border in states like New York and Wisconsin to service Canadian demand. Because of an ongoing oversupply of milk – and its ingredients – within the United States, the American dairy industry has been exporting the product in liquid form to Canadian processors. The Canadian Border Services Agency considers it to be a protein ingredient and therefore it is not subject to Canada’s high dairy tariffs.

Further, because the product was invented post-NAFTA, Canadian officials have been told that they are not allowed to subject American diafiltered milk imports to what’s known as a tariff rate quota (TRQ) – that cap the amount of product allowed in. That’s meant the American dairy industry has had complete and unfettered access to the Canadian market place for diafiltered milk for several years. (Diafiltered milk is not used by American dairy processors.)

Canadian dairy farmers have repeatedly demanded Ottawa crack down on these imports by enforcing Canadian cheese standards that require cheese be made with a certain amount of milk. Farmers, particularly those in Quebec, have argued the American product is displacing Canadian milk sales and are putting their operations at risk. Discussions on the matter are ongoing, however, no changes to the import rules around the product have been made as of yet.

At the moment, Canadian processors are not equipped to make diafiltered milk – although iPolitics has been told some companies are in the process of making investments to do so.

Why are the Americans – and Donald Trump – mad at Canada?

Thanks to butter’s popular comeback, there is currently a very heavy demand for butterfat in Canada, which means a surplus of ‘non-fat solids’. To deal with the surplus, the Canadian dairy industry created a new milk class in March – called Class 7 – to price milk ingredients like protein concentrates, skim milk and whole milk powder.

The new class, which was backdated so that it took effect Feb. 1,  is one part of a National Ingredient Strategy currently being negotiated between Canada’s dairy farmers and its dairy processors. Talks on the pending strategy have been ongoing since July. It should be noted that Ontario actually brought in the new milk class in the spring of 2016 – a move that later prompted the rest of the industry to move ahead with the new national class as authorized by the Canadian Dairy Commission.

The Americans, Australians and New Zealanders insist the new pricing class has effectively pushed them out of the Canadian dairy market. They want the new pricing regulations challenged at the World Trade Organization. The U.S. industry has embarked on a fierce letter writing and lobbying campaign in recent months, both at the state and federal level, to urge their representatives to retaliate. As of yet, there has been no formal notification from the Americans as to whether they plan to take the matter to the WTO.

Canada’s dairy industry has repeatedly insisted the strategy meets Canada’s WTO trade obligations.

Meanwhile, one major American producer, Grasslands Dairy Products Inc., recently cancelled milk contracts with some 75 Wisconsin producers starting May 1. The processor has said that decision was made because of the new Canadian regulations. Canadian dairy and government officials vehemently dispute those claims and blame the farmers’ current financial strife on a weakening global dairy market and overproduction within the United States.

So, is there overproduction?

In simple terms, yes. The world dairy market is currently oversupplied with milk thanks to overproduction and declining consumer demand because of the rising popularity of beverages like almond milk and soy milk. Russian sanctions against Western agricultural imports – including dairy goods from Europe – and fluctuating demand from China have also affected the global dairy marketplace.

Dairy farmers around the world are struggling. Australia, for instance, recently approved a $450 million bailout package for its dairy industry, while the European Union offered its dairy farmers €500 million in additional support last July. In the United States, agriculture secretary nominee Sonny Perdue, who grew up on a dairy farm, was recently peppered with questions during his confirmation hearing about how government could help ease the hardship of the country’s dairy industry, which is facing historically low prices.

The American agricultural industry is heavily subsidized. In WTO filings, the U.S. reported in 2012 that it had paid out $3.84 billion in direct payments to producers. Further, the U.S. has several dairy price support programs in place for its dairy industry that have paid out millions in support for the sector.

American dairy farmers are also growing increasingly worried about whether they will continue to have access to the Mexican dairy market now that U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. Mexico is the Americans’ biggest export market for dairy. About 15 percent of dairy production in the United States is exported, the National Milk Producers Federation says – with one-third of that going to Mexico in the form of milk powder, cheese and whey protein. Those exports are valued at about US$1.2 billion.

To put that in context, that’s nearly double the value of dairy goods shipped north to Canada, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Canada is the United States’s second largest export market.

Does the United States export dairy products to Canada? 

Yes. In fact, the United States is Canada’s largest exporter of dairy goods. Recent American and Canadian data show it has been on the uptick the past five years. Federal data show that in 2015, the United States exported $474,770,480 (149,312,542 kg) in dairy goods to Canada – a 54 per cent increase from the $306,783,020 (99,974,456 kg) worth of goods shipped north in 2012.

The United States also currently has a dairy trade surplus with Canada to the tune of some $400 million.

So, how does NAFTA fit into all this? 

Canada and the United States have been sparring over dairy and poultry access for decades. Agriculture has a tradition of being one of the most sensitive areas to deal with in a trade negotiation and has a reputation for being a highly protected sector globally.

The Americans have made it very clear they want to secure more access to Canada’s dairy and poultry markets when NAFTA is renegotiated. So far Ottawa has pledged to defend the sector in any negotiation. However, recent concessions could make those negotiations challenging – and the Americans know it.

Under the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union, European cheesemakers were granted permission to export 17,700 tonnes of cheese to the Canadian market – representing about four per cent of Canada’s cheese products. CETA is expected to take effect later this year. How the new cheese quota will be allocated is still being sorted out by Canadian officials.

Then there’s the Trans Pacific Partnership. Under that deal, Canada had conceded 3.25 per cent of its annual dairy production to foreign markets (the Americans had been hoping for 10 per cent access.) Trump formally withdrew the United States from the TPP trade deal earlier this year, but it’s expected the Americans will try to recoup those market gains in a NAFTA renegotiation.

https://ipolitics.ca/2017/04/22/dairy-101-the-canada-u-s-milk-spat-explained/

[Fatty Liver]

12 hours ago, Brandon Blue&Gold said:

To be fair, what would you have him do right now in this particular situation?  This is Trump's usual "shock and awe" tactic for opening negotiations and it's a good distraction for him since he hasn't exactly been winning lately.  Go after the big mean Canadians!  Not taking the bait but operating behind the scenes to begin with seems like a good strategy for Trudeau so far.  Don't feed the troll.  This will be our 10(?) battle with the U.S over softwood lumber so it's nothing new.  It will hurt us like it always does but maybe it's about time we got on with it in regards to NAFTA.  Tired of Trump's asinine threats hanging over our heads as I'm sure the Mexicans are as well.  Start talks. 

"The unofficial policy inside the federal government is not to react to everything Trump says. Leave that to the media. The prudent approach is to react to what Trump does."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trump-trudeau-softwood-lumber-response-1.4085315

[The Unknown Poster]

1 hour ago, Jacquie said:

The Ninth Circuit was the one that blocked the first travel ban and now a judge from that Circuit has blocked Trump's threat to not provide funding for sanctuary cities.

Sorry, yes I meant "what ban" as a question to Trump and his pals who went out of their way to say it was not a ban. 

[The Unknown Poster]

The White House invited the entire Senate to hear a briefing on North Korea.  Sounds like a build up to military action...

[Atomic]

34 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

The White House invited the entire Senate to hear a briefing on North Korea.  Sounds like a build up to military action...

Good.  I don't know what we're waiting for.  For NK to drop a bomb on someone?  **** that.  The only way to get peace is with a gun.

[Mark F]

edit

Edited April 26, 2017 by Mark F

[Mark F]

Quote

 

Burrowed into hard granite mountain faces and protected behind blast doors, 15,000 North Korean cannons and rocket launchers are aimed at the glass skyscrapers, traffic-choked highways and blocks of apartment buildings 35 miles away in Seoul ― and the U.S. military bases beyond.

In a matter of minutes, these heavy, low-tech weapons could begin the destruction of the South Korean capital with blizzards of glass shards, collapsed buildings and massive casualties that would decimate this vibrant U.S. ally and send shock waves through the global economy.

Unlike the undefended Syrian airfield struck by U.S. tomahawk missiles or the Afghan caves destroyed this month by the largest non-nuclear bomb ever used by the U.S. military, U.S. air attacks can’t quickly or easily destroy North Korean guns.

 

Not that Trump cares about South Korea, or even understands this. I doubt that he does.

By his own admission He didn't know what Nato was 6 months ago.

Edited April 26, 2017 by Mark F

[Atomic]

16 minutes ago, Mark F said:

edit

Jumped the shark, YA I SAW IT!!!

[johnzo]

43 minutes ago, Atomic said:

Good.  I don't know what we're waiting for.  For NK to drop a bomb on someone?  **** that.  The only way to get peace is with a gun.

Why didn't the USA win a decisive victory last time they intervened in Korea? And how will this time be different?

[The Unknown Poster]

13 minutes ago, johnzo said:

Why didn't the USA win a decisive victory last time they intervened in Korea? And how will this time be different?

Im suppose Trump could attack NK without consideration to modern views of war where you try to limit causalities.  He could decimate the country and its people.  But whatever they do, they have to eliminate NK's ability to do anything.  And they have to eliminate that first.  Its not that NK will deal a counter blow to the US but as Mark quotes above, they will decimate South Korea.  Is that acceptable?

And if you decimate North Korea, what does China do?

And if they can detonate a nuke and are crazy enough to do it, is that also an acceptable end result?

[Fatty Liver]

31 minutes ago, johnzo said:

Why didn't the USA win a decisive victory last time they intervened in Korea? And how will this time be different?

The answer is "China"....and it wouldn't be any different this time around.

[Atomic]

32 minutes ago, johnzo said:

Why didn't the USA win a decisive victory last time they intervened in Korea? And how will this time be different?

They were on their way to victory until China intervened.  Of course no one wanted war with China.  Now, China is beginning to distance themselves from NK.  And would China ever actually go to war with the Americans on behalf of NK?  Maybe... but it seems a lot more unlikely now than it did in the 1950s.

Now let me ask you, what would have happened had the United States not intervened?