Sudden Panic Sparks $200B Bitcoin and Crypto Price Crash
A Russian ship allegedly fired signal ammunition at a German helicopter on a reconnaissance mission in the Baltic Sea, according to the German newspaper the Berliner Zeitung. read more
Donald Trump's hopes for a 100-day legislative bonanza are in peril because of late losses in competitive congressional districts and his own decision to pluck loyalists from the US House for key administration jobs. read more
A final congressional report on COVID-19 released Monday has determined the virus likely emerged from a lab accident in China and that the U.S. government perpetrated "misinformation" by incorrectly calling the lab leak theory a "conspiracy." read more
President Joe Biden's bombshell pardon of his son Hunter, after saying for years he would not grant the younger Biden clemency, has reignited debate over the scope of presidential pardon powers. read more
@#3 ... Nobody is allowed to launder money (i.e. foreign influence) except Donald Trump. ...
BaFin to Deepen Deutsche Bank Money Laundering Investigation (Feb 2019)
www.financemagnates.com
...Deutsche Bank released a statement on Friday saying that BaFin, the German financial regulator, has extended the remit of an independent auditor examining the lender's role in the Danske Bank money laundering scandal.[emphasis mine]
The case stems from an ongoing investigation into the Danish bank's Estonian division.
After a whistle-blower sounded the alarm about the activity of certain customers, most of whom were from Russia and the former Soviet Union, in late 2018, it became apparent that Danske Bank's Tallinn-based operations were doing business with some less than scrupulous individuals.
It is alleged that the bank laundered around $225 billion from 2007 to 2014. If that is the case, it would potentially be the largest instance of money laundering ever uncovered.
Deutsche Bank falls into the mix as it acted as Danske Bank's main correspondent bank. According to the Financial Times, the German bank was responsible for facilitating $180 billion in suspicious transactions....
Deutsche Bank Offices Are Raided In Money Laundering Probe (Nov 2018)
www.npr.org
...In recent years, Deutsche Bank has been in the news not only for its prominence in the Panama Papers, but also for its ties to President Trump, in a tumultuous relationship that goes back some 20 years.[emphasis mine]
Trump and the bank once sued each other after he failed to repay a $300 million loan. And the author and reporter Luke Harding has described a "shuffle of money" between the bank's dealings with figures in Russia and its business with Trump. ...
imo, the discussion point may be...
Low information voters.
Understanding disengaged voters and their role in the 2024 election (July 2024)
today.yougov.com
... Disengaged voters are emerging as a critical and potentially decisive group in the 2024 presidential race. So who are these people? Disengaged voters can be thought of as people who are registered to vote but do not follow politics closely.
Demographically, disengaged voters more often are younger, more often are women, and are less likely to have a college degree than politically engaged voters. ...
Two Gallants - Seems Like Home To Me (2007)
www.youtube.com
Lyrics excerpt ...
...
Baby, let your light shine on me
When I'm lost on the road
You know you could set me free
You could ease my load
Days get so dark
That I can't hardly see
I've been gone so long
It seems like home to me
Well baby, when I was young of age
I took you for my world
The oceans were your eyes
The pastures were your curves
But now I'm all alone
Stranded in the West
Where you sleep tonight
I can only guess
Baby, let your light shine on me
When I'm lost on the road
You know you could set me free
You could ease my load
...
I heard this song back in the day on college radio. I have not heard it anywhere else.
@#2 ... Does he just use a phone list and a dart board? ....
My guess is that he uses the Trump Oath.
cf. Hitler Oath...
Hitler Oath
en.wikipedia.org
... The Hitler Oath (German: Fhrereid or Fhrer Oath)"also referred in English as the Soldier's Oath[1]"refers to the oaths of allegiance sworn by officers and soldiers of the Wehrmacht and civil servants of Nazi Germany between the years 1934 and 1945.
The oath pledged personal loyalty to Adolf Hitler rather than loyalty to the Weimar Constitution of the country. ...
The URL from then...
www.forbes.com
There was a drop from near $100k to around $90.
On that thread I said, "It's just Bitcoin being Bitcoin."
And I provided a link to another example of such a move.
Well, guess what, this evening Bitcoin is back to (actually over) $100,000.
But, taking a step back from the day to day prices, I have to ask, why Bitcoin?
What is propping up that valuation?
My current opinion is that Bitcoin's price has risen due to the inherent anti-establishment aspect of Bitcoin.
imo, Bitcoin is all about decentralized finance. And that is appealing of late.
@#1 ... Only the best people..... ...
Not just the best, but "the best and the brightest."
Donald Trump's past statements about LGBT rights (2017)
abcnews.go.com
... "If a gay person can be a doctor or a lawyer or a teacher or take another position of responsibility, why can't they serve this country in the military?" Trump said.
"'Don't ask, don't tell' has clearly failed. Gay people serve effectively in the military in a number of European countries. There is no reason why they can't serve in the United States," he added.
When it came to his administration, he said he would want "the best and the brightest." ...
@#5 ... ... Unions are too often run by underhanded politicized management "elites" too busy scheming instead of managing for workers and for making America stronger. ...
Nah.
imo, this was a person, unfortunately a leader, who had not a clue.
Trump pledges to block US Steel sale (January 2024)
www.politico.com
... Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would block U.S. Steel's planned sale to a Japanese company, the first time the GOP presidential candidate has weighed in on the controversial acquisition announced late last year.
"I would block it instantaneously. Absolutely," Trump said after a meeting with the president of the Teamsters labor union, which represents workers in the transportation industry. "We saved the steel industry. Now, U.S. Steel is being bought by Japan. So terrible." ...
From the cited article...
... I think Tesla is increasingly beholden to China," Ramaswamy said in May 2023 when discussing the carmaker's decision to build a battery plant in Shanghai. ...
Well yeah.
Tesla now has over 400 tier-1 suppliers in China (November 2024)
cnevpost.com
... Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has more than 400 local tier-1 suppliers signed up in China, with more than 60 of them entering its global supply chain system, local media outlet Shanghai Securities News reported today.
Currently, more than 95 percent of the components for Tesla's Shanghai factory are provided by local supplies, the article said, repeating figures previously mentioned by Tesla.
Tesla's Shanghai factory, which began construction on January 7, 2019, and went into operation at the end of 2019, is the first wholly foreign-owned auto manufacturing project in China. ...
Tesla Shanghai plant exports 1 million made-in-China vehicles in less than 4 years (September 2024)
www.globaltimes.cn
... US electric vehicle maker Tesla announced on Saturday that it has shipped its 1 millionth made-in-China vehicle from its Shanghai plant. Experts say the milestone reflects China's strong and complete industrial supply chains. ...
But I'm sure this reliance upon China for Tesla will not affect Mr Musk's DOGE decisions in any way.
And if you believe that, there's is this bridge I'd like to sell you ....
@#83 ... decided the virus could be useful for eliminating densely populated regions. Specifically cities which tended to have more democrat and independent voters. ...
Trump's Disregard for Blue States Is at the Heart of His Shoddy COVID Response
nymag.com
... As the pandemic swept through largely Democratic-voting states like New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey this spring, the early response from the Trump administration was defined by a catastrophic mix of ambivalence and incompetence.
"Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment -- try getting it yourselves," President Trump said on a March 16 conference call with the nation's governors, abdicating federal responsibility and sparking a bidding war among the states for limited hospital supplies. At least one auction was sent into further chaos when the federal government outbid states on the contracts.
But the Trump administration's disregard for the massive loss of life was not equal: According to a Washington Post report from March 28, hard-hit, Democratic-leaning states like Massachusetts received only 17 percent of the protective gear requested from the national stockpile, while GOP-led Florida promptly received supplies it needed, despite a controlled outbreak at the time. ...
What about the Log Cabin Republicans? How might they feel?
Did Pres-elect Trump nominate Mr Thiel to a slot in his admin, Mr Thie who apparently funded VP-elect Vance to power?
Maybe because...
'I Am Proud To Be Gay,' Tech Investor Peter Thiel Tells GOP Convention (2016)
www.npr.org
... In an apparent first, a Republican convention speaker on Thursday took the stage during the final, most high-profile night, just minutes before the nominee himself, and uttered these words: "I am proud to be gay." ...
@#71 ... In other countries it was two meters, which is more like 6 66 feet. ...
6 feet x 0.3048 feet/meter = 6.56167979
Deprecation of the United States (U.S.) Survey Foot
www.federalregister.gov
...
Summary ...
This notice announces the final decision to deprecate use of the "U.S. survey foot" on December 31, 2022. Beginning on January 1, 2023, the U.S. survey foot should not be used and will be superseded by the "international foot" definition (i.e., 1 foot = 0.3048 meter exactly) in all applications. ...
OK, going with 1 foot = 0.3048 meter exactly, let's have some math fun...
Looking at the inverse, 1 meter = 3.280839895... feet.
So then, 2 meters would be around 6.56167979 feet.
Ya got issues with basic unit conversions?
... Similarly, application using SPCS2022 in feet will automatically get coordinates in the only foot defined after 2022 (i.e., 1 foot = 0.304 8 meter exactly). ...
So, your alias seems to have issues with basic math?
@#11 ... What exactly happens if this deal is blocked? ...
Chaos?
To be clear, I am not at all in favor of outsourcing our infrastructure to other countries.
But this thing with US Steel seems to be trying to put a band-aid on the symptom, and not trying to resolve the (unstated) problem.
So, what is the problem that needs to be resolved to keep US Steel as an an American company?