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Francisco 2.0

Certifiably Surly
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Posts posted by Francisco 2.0

  1. https://www.axios.com/trump-weighs-tapping-into-emergency-oil-reserve-910441ac-871e-4cd2-adf2-b84e539aefdd.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=organic&utm_content=1100?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=organic&utm_content=1100

     

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    The Trump administration is weighing whether to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in order to moderate gasoline prices ahead of the midterm elections, Bloomberg reported Friday.

    Why it matters: The move would represent a remarkable use of the stockpile for political purposes, given that there's currently no crude oil supply shortage or emergency. And gasoline prices, while higher than in recent years, remain well below levels routinely seen in periods between 2010 and 2014, when they were frequently far in excess of $3 per gallon and at times neared $4.

    Notably:

    Quote

    But it has been tapped in the past to bring down domestic gasoline prices, such as by President Bill Clinton in the 1990s, as well as to fund unrelated domestic legislation," Bloomberg reports.

     

    • Like 1
  2. Just now, AnonymousInternetPoster said:

    It's about as sophisticated as the Nigerian scams.  Podesta is a moron.

    I'll agree with that.  However, there are everyday "morons" in all walks of life and at all intelligence levels who will blindly click on a link despite any/all education efforts not to.  

    • Like 1
  3. https://jalopnik.com/trump-asked-harley-davidson-not-to-move-jobs-overseas-a-1827572927

     

     

    Quote

    A couple weeks ago, Harley-Davidson said that it was moving some productionoverseas thanks to President Trump’s trade war, which made our president mad and led to some angry tweets. After all that, Trump’s Secretary of the Treasury revealed yesterday, he went back to Harley and asked, a bit sadly, could you really not move those jobs overseas.

    This all came out in a hearing yesterday at the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, where Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin testified on a range of issues, eventually making news, intentionally or not, about Harley.

    Quote

    Mnuchin opens his remarks by saying that, in meetings, “[Trump] always talked about tariffs on motorcycles and cutting tariffs on motorcycles,” which is curious, since it is Trump’s own tariffs that prompted the Europe’s motorcycle tariffs.

    Mnuchin then said that his “sense” was that Harley had planned to move the jobs overseas prior to the tariffs being enacted, though he then conceded that he hadn’t spoken to anyone at Harley.

    Waters then goes in for the kill, asking Mnuchin directly if tariffs had anything to do with Harley moving jobs overseas; Mnuchin replied, again, that he doesn’t really know since he hasn’t talked to them. Then there is this exchange:

    Waters: “Have you spoken to the President?”

    Mnuchin: “Yes, I have.”

    Waters: “And what did he say?”

    Mnuchin: “And, again, the President has been a huge advocate of Harley-Davidson, and is very disappointed on Harley-Davidson’s...”

    Waters: “Did he ask them to stay?”

    Mnuchin: “Yes, he did.”

    Waters: “And they turned him down?”

    Mnuchin: “No, he asked them afterwards and I don’t know the status.”

    Waters: “Thank you, I yield back the balance of my time.”

     

    • Like 1
  4. 9 minutes ago, Swam@Texas said:

    For some reason, it's taking more than five minutes for every member of Congress and every American citizen to understand the incredibly simple concept that someone who texted "Fuck Trump" to his mistress and was subsequently removed from the Mueller team for having texted, among other things, "Fuck Trump" to his mistress should not have been representing the people of the United States in an investigation of Donald Trump.

    To make today and last week's behind closed doors testimony about anything other than that -- as members of both parties so embarrassingly did today -- just further demeans a nation that what was once upon a time a shining light on a hill. It wasn't too long ago that there was a legitimate argument that could be made for American Exceptionalism. For the last decade the only concepts American political leaders have embraced have been divisiveness, vitriol and violence. 

    Now, return to your corners and either put on your MAGA hat so you can "innocently" stir up trouble at Whataburger or hide your face with the ANTIFA mask and go chase some obscure Cabinet official out of a restaurant. Because that's what the United States of America has devolved into. And it absolutely fucking sucks to witness it.

    Hey look everyone.  A Johnson voter.  

    • Like 1
  5. Let me guess.   Gold.  

    https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-am-b57223c5-f899-410d-9975-453dd81f313d.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top

    Quote

    President Trump wants to update the paint job on the next version of Air Force One, ditching the iconic robin's-egg blue (which he calls a "Jackie Kennedy color") for a bolder, "more American" look.

    • Trump rarely gets into the weeds of government negotiations. But he sat down in the Oval Office with Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg in February to personally hammer out the $4 billion deal for a pair of replacement 747s for use as Air Force One (the call sign for whatever aircraft the president is on).

    Axios has learned that Trump had one specification for the plane that could cause tension with the Air Force and surprise around the world:

    • Trump wants to change the plane's signature blue-and-white look that goes back 55 years, to a redesign of the presidential aircraft by President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jackie Kennedy in the early 1960s. 
    • We’re told that Trump wants a color scheme that "looks more American" and isn’t a "Jackie Kennedy color." He doesn’t think the current blue (technically "luminous ultramarine") represents the USA.
    • The president's preferred design is believed to include red, white and blue. 

    "He can do it," said a source familiar with the negotiations, when asked about whether Trump can make the change: 

    • But the change could cause friction with the Air Force. We're told some top officers like the current look, which they point out is "known around the world."

    Another upgrade: Trump is quite proud of his personal Boeing 757, which he used as his campaign plane: 

    • We're told he wants the presidential bed aboard Air Force One to be larger and more comfortable — more like the executive livery package on his personal plane than the current, couch-like sleeping configuration aboard Air Force One.
    • Trump may only get to enjoy his dream ride if he's reelected: The new 747s are very unlikely to be in presidential service before Jan. 20, 2021. Two planes still need to be converted from commercial aircraft into flying White Houses.

    When I told presidential historian Michael Beschloss about Trump's plans, he replied: "Why would anyone want to discard an Air Force One design that evokes more than a half-century of American history?"

    • "Every time you see that blue trim and the words 'UNITED STATES OF AMERICA' spelled out in that same typeface as an early version of the Declaration of Independence, it brings back JFK landing in Germany to speak at the Berlin Wall, Richard Nixon flying to China, Ronald Reagan stepping off the plane to see Gorbachev in Iceland and a thousand other scenes of Presidents in our past."
    • "JFK and Jackie Kennedy approved that timeless design (created pro bono by the premier mid-20th century industrial designer Raymond Loewy) to replace an earlier version of Air Force One that had simply said 'MILITARY AIR TRANSPORT SERVICE' and which made conspicuous use of the color orange, which Kennedy rightfully found 'gaudy.'"
    • "It was JFK who chose what Loewy called the 'luminous ultramarine blue' that has appeared on every version of Air Force One (and some other Presidential aircraft) from 1962 on."
    • "Anyone who doubts how strongly Americans feel about the way Air Force One looks should go to the Reagan Library in California and see how many people go there to look at the plane that Ronald Reagan flew on while he was President."

     

  6. 18 hours ago, Vince_McCoy_Williams said:

    Im aware of our state's history. All Im saying is, Texas isnt going to go for a fucking poser like Robert O Rourke . He is your typical smug liberal and the non-idiots see right through his shit. 

    Probably not, but they have went for a poser in Ted Cruz.  What a fucking cuck.  

     

  7. https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-nato-summit-rips-into-germany/

     

    Quote

    U.S. President Donald Trump laced into Germany ahead of a high-stakes NATO leaders’ summit in Brussels, declaring at a breakfast meeting Wednesday morning that Germany is “totally controlled by Russia” and lashing out at the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.

    Trump’s remarks appeared to stun NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who has been working hard to convince Trump that NATO allies are responding to the president’s repeated demands for increased military spending.

    “I think it’s very sad when Germany makes a massive oil and gas deal with Russia, where you’re supposed to be guarding against Russia and Germany goes out and pays billions and billions of dollars a year to Russia,” Trump said in his opening remarks at the breakfast, which were broadcast live on television.

    “So we’re protecting Germany, we’re protecting France, we’re protecting all of these countries. And then numerous of the countries go out and make a pipeline deal with Russia where they’re paying billions of dollars into the coffers of Russia,” Trump continued. “And I think that’s very inappropriate.”

    Quote

    “It should have never been allowed to have happened,” Trump said. “But Germany is totally controlled by Russia. Because they’ll be getting 60 to 70 percent of their energy from Russia and a new pipeline … I think it’s a very bad thing for NATO and I don’t think it should have happened, and I think we have to talk to Germany about it.”

     

  8. Has nothing directly to do with Trump, but since he's the President, he gets to choose the FCC commissioners.    

    Charging $225 to register a complaint with the FCC is all about libtears.   #MAGA!

    https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/10/17556144/fcc-charge-225-review-complaints

    Quote

    On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission will be voting to ensure they won’t have to read your complaints anymore — and Democratic House members are not happy about it.

    Two high-ranking Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letteraddressed to the Commission’s chairman Ajit Pai earlier today to voice their disapproval of a proposed rule that, if approved, would send informal consumer complaints directly through to the company in question. “At a time when consumers are highly dissatisfied with their communications companies, this abrupt change in policy troubles us,” the congressmen wrote. 

    If the consumer isn’t happy with the outcome of the informal complaint, their only other option would be filing a formal complaint and paying the $225 to do so. The fee for a formal complaint isn’t new, but under these rules, it’s the only option to get your opinion to the FCC’s staff. The Commission’s docket called this move an attempt at streamlining and consolidating “the procedural rules governing formal complaints.” But the procedure has the potential to shut out the voices of consumers when it comes to telecommunications-involved issues.

     

     

  9. http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-anegla-merkel-1-trillion-1014437

    Quote

    President Donald Trump reportedly greeted German Chancellor Angela Merkel with a massive bill when she visited him soon after he entered the White House.

    “Angela, you owe me $1 trillion,” Trump said, referring to the gulf between what Germany agreed to contribute to its defense under a NATO arrangement and what it actually spent over the previous 14 years, an official briefed on the meeting told The Wall Street Journal in a story published Sunday.

    Trump’s brash remark to Merkel more than a year ago showcases his insistence that U.S. allies pay more for their defense—a stance he has maintained ahead of the NATO summit later this week.

     

    Quote

    Since his initial meeting with Merkel, the relationship between the two leaders has become only more tense.  

    When Merkel visited the White House in April, Trump said, “Angela, you need to stop buying gas from Putin,” referring to a Russia-Germany natural gas pipeline, according to an official at the meeting.

    Merkel responded that she wanted to broaden natural gas purchases and said she would try to convince members of the European Union to include this in trade talks.

     

     

  10. https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/07/09/world/europe/donald-trump-nato-summit-russia-putin.html

     

    Quote

    Mr. Trump’s advisers are hoping to avoid a blowup akin to the one the president provoked at the Group of 7 summit meeting in Quebec last month, and have pointed Mr. Trump to evidence that NATO allies have responded to his aggressive pressure by increasing their own military spending.

    But in private conversations, the president has been dismissive of the military alliance and the European Union, suggesting both entities exist to take advantage of the United States and strip it of capital.

    On Monday, Mr. Trump tweeted that the United States was “spending far more on NATO than any other country.” He said the situation “is not fair, nor is it acceptable,” and said that it “benefits Europe far more than it does the U.S.”

     

    Quote

    He also said he had suggested to Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany that the tens of thousands of United States troops that are stationed in her country might not be worth the expenditure — an opinion he has shared privately with advisers at the White House, according to one person familiar with the discussions.

    Mr. Trump has dismissed concerns about Mr. Putin as overblown.

    He has mocked skeptics who note that the Russian president is a former top official in the K.G.B., the feared intelligence service, by saying, “He’s fine.” Mr. Trump also brushed off concerns that he would be manipulated into offering Mr. Putin concessions, saying he was “totally prepared” for the meeting, which includes a one-on-one session.

     

     

    Quote

    During a phone call with Mr. Putin in March, when the president was urged by aides not to congratulate the Russian president on his electoral victory, Mr. Trump did just that. He told Mr. Putin that Russia and the United States should get along better. And he commiserated with Mr. Putin over Trump administration officials whom the Russian president said had tried to prevent the call from happening, according to a person with direct knowledge of the conversation.

    “Those are stupid people; you shouldn’t listen to them,” Mr. Trump told Mr. Putin, the person said.

     

     

  11. 3 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

    So it turns out I still can't see imgur files like 3 months after this issue was discovered.  Is there a decoder ring or are we still discouraged from posting busted-ass images?

    Here; a non Imgur link for everyone (and for this page):

    DhnyvF4W0AEoLRt.jpg

    Bad_teammate had it first.

    • Like 3
    • Haha 2
  12. 1 hour ago, zork said:

    It wasn't used.  It was new, not refurbished.

    Who the fuck cares?  He used government employees on government time to help him procure a mattress, among other things.

    I'm assuming you are good with that, given your defense.

     

     

  13. 1 hour ago, Hank Kingsley said:

     

     

    Capitalism!   Team R!  #MAGA!  Blackmail!

    Quote

    Based on decades of research, the resolution says that mother’s milk is healthiest for children and countries should strive to limit the inaccurate or misleading marketing of breast milk substitutes.

    Then the United States delegation, embracing the interests of infant formula manufacturers, upended the deliberations.

    American officials sought to water down the resolution by removing language that called on governments to “protect, promote and support breast-feeding” and another passage that called on policymakers to restrict the promotion of food products that many experts say can have deleterious effects on young children.

    When that failed, they turned to threats, according to diplomats and government officials who took part in the discussions. Ecuador, which had planned to introduce the measure, was the first to find itself in the cross hairs.

    The Americans were blunt: If Ecuador refused to drop the resolution, Washington would unleash punishing trade measures and withdraw crucial military aid. The Ecuadorean government quickly acquiesced.

    But if the Russians want this to go forward.....

     

    Quote

    In the end, the Americans’ efforts were mostly unsuccessful. It was the Russians who ultimately stepped in to introduce the measure — and the Americans did not threaten them.

     

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