[Boiler]

"Permanent modern digital records"

I'd love to know what makes it 'permanent', because I've had hard drives and flash memory fail on me - and as for optical media... yet just before Christmas I transferred a 56 year old audio tape to CDs for a friend. Nothing wrong with the tape, just the machine (an old Ferguson open reel machine) it was recorded on was faulty but I fixed that.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Musk has apparently posted something about free trade. Yeah, I mean, who could have guessed Trump might be entirely reliable on that score?

In other news, seems like the people sent to El Salvador mostly haven't been convicted of anything at all, and the minority who have been are almost entirely non-violent offences. Funny terrorists.

[Youngian]

Parting shots from Musk as he’s being canned by Trump? Because no one likes him.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Luckily, Republicans never exaggerate economic challenges under Democrat presidents, eh? Also, shades of David Davis. Brexit- won't be Mad Max.

[Tubby Isaacs]

.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Some of these 10 are different periods in the same crisis. So coming 11th is almost flattering to Trump. If you adjust for that, he's in 6th place. Only the Wall Street Crash (1929), 1987 Crash, Great Depression, 2008 Financial Crisis and Nazi invasion of France to beat.

It's like watching a batsman make an enormous score and go past other massive scores. Just as he might pass John Edrich and Graham Gooch, Trump has already passed Covid and the Russian default.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Seems like a brief rally when it was claimed (source not clear) that Hassett thought Trump was going to pause the tariffs for 90 days.

That seems to have stopped now, because it wasn't true.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Possible explanation. Bloke who sounds like he could be related to Mike Bloomberg said it.

[Boiler]

Parting shots from Musk as he’s being canned by Trump? Because no one likes him.

Is it because he eats worms? (obscure musical reference there)

'sfunny, I remember that a very similar first half of that speech was made in the dystopian Terry Nation series Survivors, in which the lead character remarked that probably very few people remained alive on Earth who could make, I think, the component parts of a candle. Hopefully @The Weeping Angel will be along to correct me if I'm wrong.

[Youngian]

If Starmer's soul searching on how to respond to Trump's tariff is, a tough call, the EU is in a far more complex position with different competing demands from member states.
They have the muscle to match Trump and its the only language he responds to but you deepen your own economic problems as well

[Tubby Isaacs]

If you thought he was pulling numbers out of his arse before...

[Spoonman]

If you thought he was pulling numbers out of his arse before...

I read a report a couple of weeks back that Walmart were asking the Chinese manufacturers of their various tat to absorb the tariff costs and not having to foot it themselves. The Chinese politely told them to get stuffed - for once regarding Walmart the shoe was on the other foot.

[satnav]

It is interesting that the first world leader to go to the White House to beg for lower tariffs will be Netanyahu. I wonder if the tariff was set at 17% so that Netanyahu can meet up with Trump and blow smoke up his arse which would then lead Trump to cut the tariff to 10%. In which case both sides will be able to claim some kind of victory and then other leaders will then start to fly over to America to beg for similar deals.

[Tubby Isaacs]

They asked the manufacturers to pay the tariffs that were just put on them? Maybe Walmart could pay the sales tax on what it sells?

[Tubby Isaacs]

I'm guessing stuff like this happens quite a lot and is sorted out by the equivalent of an HEO making a phone call. I wouldn't bet against South Sudan having made a phone call and been ignored. Now apparently it means you kick out everybody from that country.

[Andy McDandy]

So, people who have left South Sudan (possibly because of opposition to the government there) are being sent back because that government won't do what the US says.

That's like taking Jewish refugees in 1939 and sending them back to Germany to punish the Nazis.

[Abernathy]

Can anybody explain where Trump is getting this utter bollocks that the economy of the USA has been “raped and pillaged” and treated “very very badly” by other countries that have somehow stolen the USA’s wealth ? That seems to be the biggest part of his rationale (if I might dignify the farce with that term) for his import tariffs strategy.

Is anybody in the US swallowing this guff ?

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Is anybody in the US swallowing this guff ?

Yes. I've read their comments on Facebook and Twitterx.

[Rosvanian]

Can anybody explain where Trump is getting this utter bollocks that the economy of the USA has been “raped and pillaged” and treated “very very badly” by other countries that have somehow stolen the USA’s wealth ? That seems to be the biggest part of his rationale (if I might dignify the farce with that term) for his import tariffs strategy.

Is anybody in the US swallowing this guff ?

Given that the entire Maga world view is built on resentment, victimhood and self pity, the answer to your question is surely a resounding 'yes'.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Can anybody explain where Trump is getting this utter bollocks that the economy of the USA has been “raped and pillaged” and treated “very very badly” by other countries that have somehow stolen the USA’s wealth ? That seems to be the biggest part of his rationale (if I might dignify the farce with that term) for his import tariffs strategy.

Is anybody in the US swallowing this guff ?

He thinks a trade deficit is the same thing as being ripped off. Or at least it is If it's in goods- services are never mentioned where the US has a very large surplus.

It's no more complicated than that.