The Trump Presidency 13: The (James) Baker's Dozen

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And Cadet Bonespurs latest move in pissing off long time allies: Demand they pay cost + 50% of having US troops stationed in their countries.

“Wealthy, wealthy countries that we’re protecting are all under notice,” Trump said in a speech at the Pentagon on Jan. 17. “We cannot be the fools for others.”

Officials caution that the idea is one of many under consideration as the U.S. presses allies to pay more, and it may be toned down. Yet even at this early stage, it has sent shock waves through the departments of Defense and State, where officials fear it will be an especially large affront to stalwart U.S. allies in Asia and Europe already questioning the depth of Trump’s commitment to them.

Victor Cha, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said the administration was sending a deliberate message by demanding “Cost Plus 50” from South Korea first, even though that effort fell short.
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...k-huge-premium-from-allies-hosting-u-s-troops

Ignoring of course, that those troops are mostly there to project and protect US interests in the regions.

NEWS: Trump repeatedly called for demanding S Korea fully pay for US troops there—plus extra 50%—but his negotiators ignored him.

During recent talks on 28k troops there, he overruled negotiators. He sent note to Bolton: “WE WANT COST PLUS 50.”
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https://twitter.com/JenniferJJacobs/status/1103994648584994816
 
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Bill Shine's suddenly resigned without stated reason. Another one trying to get out while the gettin's good?

In something a bit more Orwellian, looks like Border Agents may have been targeting certain people quite improperly.

Following the release of the report, House Democratic leaders are pressing Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan for explanations.

“The appearance that CBP is targeting journalists, lawyers, and advocates, and particularly those who work on immigration matters or report on border and immigration issues, raises questions about possible misuse of CBP’s border search authority and requires oversight to ensure the protection of Americans’ legal and constitutional rights,” said Reps. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and Kathleen Rice of New York. The Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General is already probing the database. The government claims the database was created to help investigate alleged incidents at the border, but the people targeted are crying ********. Reported San Diego’s NBC affiliate, “Of the journalists on the list NBC 7 spoke with, only one said he was even at [a border] incident in November.”
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KDLarsen said:
And Cadet Bonespurs latest move in pissing off long time allies: Demand they pay cost + 50% of having US troops stationed in their countries.
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"That's a nice country you have there. It would be a shame if something happened to it because you fell behind in your payments."
 
The nightmare that is president Trump.
“The tools the President is using are nothing short of chilling,” said Douglas Rivlin of immigrant advocacy group America’s Voice, “from watch lists of activists and journalists to double-speak and deception that would make George Orwell blush.” Link
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Skeptic Ginger said:
Me too.

Apparently there are a number of editions from camouflage to different branches.

I'm guessing it's like pink and blue intended to sell more of something people already have. Mom or Auntie Bell can buy one for the soldier about to ship out. Or maybe put it in that care package with the cookies.
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Yep, I new a guy in Iraq who kept one in his chest pocket of his ACUs. It stopped a bullet from going into his heart. Really a shame about all the other bullets though.
 
A Florida Massage Parlor Owner Has Been Selling Chinese Execs Access to Trump at Mar-a-Lago

The latest Trump political donor to draw controversy is Li Yang, a 45-year-old Florida entrepreneur from China who founded a chain of spas and massage parlors that included the one where New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft was recently busted for soliciting prostitution. She made the news this week when the Miami Herald reported that last month she had attended a Super Bowl viewing party at Donald Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club and had snapped a selfie with the president during the event. Though Yang no longer owns the spa Kraft allegedly visited, the newspaper noted that other massage parlors her family runs have “gained a reputation for offering sexual services.” (She told the newspaper she has never violated the law.) Beyond this sordid tale, there is another angle to the strange story of Yang: She runs an investment business that has offered to sell Chinese clients access to Trump and his family. And a website for the business—which includes numerous photos of Yang and her purported clients hobnobbing at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private club in Palm Beach—suggests she had some success in doing so.

Yang, who goes by Cindy, and her husband, Zubin Gong, started GY US Investments LLC in 2017. The company describes itself on its website, which is mostly in Chinese, as an “international business consulting firm that provides public relations services to assist businesses in America to establish and expand their brand image in the modern Chinese marketplace.” But the firm notes that its services also address clients looking to make high-level connections in the United States. On a page displaying a photo of Mar-a-Lago, Yang’s company says its “activities for clients” have included providing them “the opportunity to interact with the president, the [American] Minister of Commerce and other political figures.” The company boasts it has “arranged taking photos with the President” and suggests it can set up a “White House and Capitol Hill Dinner.” (The same day the Herald story about Yang broke, the website stopped functioning.)

The short bio of Yang on the website, identifying her as the founder and CEO of GY US Investments, shows her in a photo with Trump bearing his signature. It says she has been “settled in the United States for more than 20 years” and is a member of the “Presidential Fundraising Committee.” According to the Herald, Yang is a registered Republican, and since 2017 she and her relatives have donated more than $42,000 to a Trump political action committee and more than $16,000 to Trump’s campaign. Her Facebook page, which was taken offline on Friday, was loaded with photos of her posing with GOP notables: Donald Trump Jr., Rep. Matt Gaetz or Florida, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, among others.
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Segnosaur said:
Thirdly, his claim that they are "taking in Billions"... he doesn't seem to understand (or care) that its the American consumer who is paying the tariffs (i.e. they're the ones that they are collecting the billions from.)
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I think I've figured this part out: It's an idiotic off-shoot of the whole "run the government like a business" notion. People always told him that running a casino was practically a "license to print money", but he lost money doing that, right?

Well, now, he thinks he's found an actual license to print money. With the stroke of a pen, he's generating huge amounts of income, which he of course thinks belongs to him. And as far as he's concerned, income is success, period. He simply can't see the downsides of this plan, being completely blinded by the billions of dollars flowing into "his" coffers. From an ignorant businessman's perspective, he's found nirvana. Income without effort, income without limit.
 
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