What's in the News 3.0

[SINless]

But 'grown-up chickie nuggies' wouldn't have sold well.

Depends on where you are selling I guess. 

Might not work so well in the red states, but i can see grown up chicken nuggie becoming a hit in certain circles

[Beorning]

OK, looking at recent news, I need to ask:

Who the heck Trump think he is???

He's basically threatening to take Panama Canal and Greenland by force. So, he threatens force against a fellow NATO member! What gives? What kind of head of state behaves like that???

He also claims that he's going to tariff Canada until Canada agrees to be annexed by the US. Huh???

Seriously? Can you imagine the furor in Europe if, say, Polish Prime Minister suddenly started publishing maps showing Slovakia as a part of Poland???

Hmmm. Chicago has a large Polish-American population. Maybe we'll take it? We could use an overseas territory like that. And the people of Chicago will, quite probably, have a better quality of life as a part of Poland... So, maybe it's time to send diplomats to Chicago and start a movement there to secede from the US?

Come on! The free world really needs Chicago as a part of Poland! It's so obvious. Something needs to be done about it!

*fumes*

[ShadowFox89]

To be fair Beorning, Chicago had a very massive Polish population. I think a Polish annexation of the city is entirely overdue.

[Oniya]

Come on! The free world really needs Chicago as a part of Poland! It's so obvious. Something needs to be done about it!

Jakoś to będzie, as my great-grandmother used to say.

...but seriously - the lunacy that he's spouting now, even before Inauguration, scares me even on a practical level.  Tariffs are paid by the importing country, with the goal of encouraging companies to source things domestically (since they wouldn't be subject to the tariffs).  Two things that he's ignoring (assuming that he's even aware of that fact) are 1) the fact that some products use resources that the US doesn't have, and 2) the fact that any increase in cost to a company is going to land right on the American consumer.

Most of the stuff that comes through my store's loading dock comes from other countries.  (I'm mildly annoyed that Patagonia clothing is not made in Patagonia, but that's how it goes.)  Those companies will raise their prices to cover tariffs, and they aren't going to raise wages to match the prices that they've increased.

And apparently Trudeau has resigned over this?

[Al Terego]

And apparently Trudeau has resigned over this?

What?

Trudeau resigned because he finally realized that he's considered to be a shitty PM, both by his party members and by the electorate.  Christia Freeland's resignation was probably the trigger.

[Oniya]

That makes more sense.  All I've been seeing in my news feed is tariffs, Greenland, Panama, and then suddenly 'annexing Canada (connected with tariffs)' and 'Trudeau resigns'.

[Al Terego]

Damn, cannot edit...

Trudeau resigned because he finally realized that he's considered to be a shitty PM, both by his party members and by the electorate.  Christia Freeland's resignation was probably the trigger.

In short, nothing to do with Trump, everything to do with this.

[Beorning]

Even half a year from the end of his second presidential term, Andrzej Duda insists on... well, being Duda:

https://notesfrompoland.com/2025/01/09/polish-president-asks-government-to-guarantee-netanyahu-wont-be-arrested-on-auschwitz-visit/

Great idea! Netanyahu is wanted by the ICC, whose authority Poland recognizes... but noooo, let's allow Bibi to avoid arrest due "exceptional circumstances"!

*facepalms*

[Missy]

So trump is dumb, really really dumb, so dumb it's impressive.

Really the whole annexations thing is probably one of two things; a) trump being his general assclown self exuding mental diarrhea from the most convenient orifice -or- 2) a sensational distraction from something else he is doing or is about to do or not do or changed his mind on or something else.

Now again I've already stated that I believe trump is stupid, impressively so, most impressively so, most exceedingly impressively so, most exceedingly impressively so to the max, most exceedingly impressively so to the max even.

There's no way a sensational distraction is some part of some grander master plan (or rather grander concepts-of-a-master-plan), trump simply does not have grand plans. So likely it's a very recent localized thing, an impulse or reaction to something else that will change just as quickly as it arrived at some point later.

trump has no character or integrity however, so whether it's because he actually believes he is somehow capable of accomplishing these things and that they are somehow good ideas -or- that he is just using that to change the subject from something else like tarrifs or the economy or some other promise he's made is unknown and one would need to pay much closer attention to the other things happening to know what they *could* be.

I mean you do have to remember on some subjects trump has gone from "those peopel who say that bridge is broken are wrong, the bridge is fine!" to "there is no bridge, but it's fine, the bus has wings" to "well it's actually really hard to put wings on a bus folks", so yeah it's plausible it's his new tactic of a distraction, if a ridiculously ill conceived one. (and honestly trump is the sort of person who might in character try to suggest locomotion by utilizing one's head as a pogo stick, so it's not so ludicrous to suppose he would conceive this as his idea of a distraction)

That said I don't think he has the wherewithall or follow through to make this happen, more importantly he's been fairly unpopular with the military in the past, without that changing they may potentially just do what they've done in the past, call it a vague order and ask for clarification (which is likely to never arrive).

Well hopefully anyway, sorry folks we get such a joke in office here, America's majorly fucked up.

[Oniya]

That said I don't think he has the wherewithall or follow through to make this happen, more importantly he's been fairly unpopular with the military in the past, without that changing they may potentially just do what they've done in the past, call it a vague order and ask for clarification (which is likely to never arrive).

A few of my younger male coworkers were vocal Trump supporters leading up to the election.  They've been more discreet afterwards, but I remember who was making what comments.  I pretty much always walk to work, and people boggle at this. (Mr. Oniya has offered a ride, but unless it's actively terrible instead of 'just fucking cold', I leave him to his schedule.)  So, the next time one of these MAGA-bros complains about the cold, I'm just going to say 'It's colder in Greenland.  Good thing I'm too old for conscription.'

[Callie Del Noire]

A few of my younger male coworkers were vocal Trump supporters leading up to the election.  They've been more discreet afterwards, but I remember who was making what comments.  I pretty much always walk to work, and people boggle at this. (Mr. Oniya has offered a ride, but unless it's actively terrible instead of 'just fucking cold', I leave him to his schedule.)  So, the next time one of these MAGA-bros complains about the cold, I'm just going to say 'It's colder in Greenland.  Good thing I'm too old for conscription.'

And my reenlistment code is not open for reenlisting

[Oniya]

Well, as Missy said, Trump doesn't exactly have the charisma to motivate a voluntary and official invasion of Greenland.  Panama, maybe - but only if David Lee Roth doesn't sue him for unlicensed usage.  Even then, it's not going to be anyone who has read a history book or paid attention in Civics class. 

I could see some of these young bucks tripping over themselves to go to a sub-tropical destination, but none of them have the discipline for following orders in unpleasant conditions.  I'm not even sure that boot camp could pound that into them.

[Callie Del Noire]

Well given he’s kicking out 15,000+ trans soldiers that’s a lot of veterans going off the rosters.

[SINless]

Well, I always knew there was a reason for their hard stance on abortion. 

The more children born in poverty, the bigger the recruitment pool for the infantry.

[Callie Del Noire]

Well, I always knew there was a reason for their hard stance on abortion.

The more children born in poverty, the bigger the recruitment pool for the infantry.

Plus they get to keep more cash & cheap labour.

[ShadowFox89]

More kids for the mines.

[CriminalMindsFan]

More arrest for trying to commit a crime in evacuation zone in the LA region. I really think criminals and those looking to take from people have gone about as low as they can go without digging a hole in the ground.