Here comes the tariffs.......

Shutting off all USAID regardless of what it was is one way.......

These abandoned people will now be looking for help and if China picks this up, it will place them in a good position.

I don't trust pretty much anything that comes out of Doge but if some of these found expenditures were true, they definitely should have been ceased right away.....but there were other initiatives that were really helping the world while presenting a positive spin on the "American Brand" which in some cases saved American lives........I've seen this in action first hand.

Once the US withdraws itself......someone will take it's place.....I'm not saying that it will be China, but it could be.....they are actively seeking ways to further expand their influence.......
 
Your information is from Jan 28th and makes sense however, why did the Supreme Court reject the freezing of USAID funds or are these from different projects or pots of money? And this waiver appears to be a temporary resumption of work with no new contracts.......does that mean it could cease and if so would that leave a void for another country such as China to fill?

I only ask as a discussion point because the thought of China filling in the void in the absence of America is a troubling thought.

This is a recent article by Reuters..........


And another by another entity....

 
Your information is from Jan 28th and makes sense however, why did the Supreme Court reject the freezing of USAID funds or are these from different projects or pots of money? And this waiver appears to be a temporary resumption of work with no new contracts.......does that mean it could cease and if so would that leave a void for another country such as China to fill?

I only ask as a discussion point because the thought of China filling in the void in the absence of America is a troubling thought.

This is a recent article by Reuters..........


And another by another entity....

The way I understand it is Musk provides a service to the State Department. The State Department is evaluating which funds should continue post review, under Rubio.


As far as the Reuter's report you posted, I stopped reading after the first bullet point under US funding:

A world food program for South Africa is total BS. I'm an ex South African, spent three weeks there in December. First, they don't need food assistance, second they are best friends with BREXIT and all our adversaries, third they are annexing farm land from farmers and once done, all the livestock dies as no one takes care of the farm and all agricultural productivities cease. In short, they have been in China and Russia's pockets since 1995, why on earth should we be sending them money?

As far as left Judges are involved, they are trying everything to keep the gravy train from running out of track, motivated by Liberals who disagree with each and every action the Conservatives are taking. Not a single Democrat voted for taking biological men out of women's sports. More court cases coming to that extent tells me more than I need to know.
 
The way I understand it is Musk provides a service to the State Department. The State Department is evaluating which funds should continue post review, under Rubio.


As far as the Reuter's report you posted, I stopped reading after the first bullet point under US funding:

A world food program for South Africa is total BS. I'm an ex South African, spent three weeks there in December. First, they don't need food assistance, second they are best friends with BREXIT and all our adversaries, third they are annexing farm land from farmers and once done, all the livestock dies as no one takes care of the farm and all agricultural productivities cease. In short, they have been in China and Russia's pockets since 1995, why on earth should we be sending them money?

As far as left Judges are involved, they are trying everything to keep the gravy train from running out of track, motivated by Liberals who disagree with each and every action the Conservatives are taking. Not a single Democrat voted for taking biological men out of women's sports. More court cases coming to that extent tells me more than I need to know.
I re-read the Reuters article and I too found it kind of misleading...

Just as long as the US maintains it's global place and keeps the Chinese at bay, that is the important piece to all of this....

It would be a nasty world if they climbed to the top....
 
I re-read the Reuters article and I too found it kind of misleading...

Just as long as the US maintains it's global place and keeps the Chinese at bay, that is the important piece to all of this....

It would be a nasty world if they climbed to the top....
As I posted the impact on my business, here is another one, which the consumer will have to pick up.
Look at it this way though, we have standard margins, my business will actually make more money at the consumer's expense. Not fair, I know, but that is life. This stuff will never be made in the US.




Tariff-Related Price
Adjustments Coming Soon

Dear Valued Customer,
We want to update you on recent tariff announcements from the current administration. Due to increased tariffs on goods from China, as well as all steel and aluminum imports, we are providing advance notice of an upcoming price adjustment.
We remain committed to minimizing the impact of the tariffs on you and your customers; therefore, we are implementing a modest 2% price increase on Top Knobs decorative hardware to take effect on April 14, 2025. Updated price lists and further details will be shared in the coming days.

Atlas Homewares will also be subject to a tariff-related price adjustment; however, we are postponing that change to align with our mid-year new collection launch and catalog updates. More information on these adjustments will be provided as the date approaches.

Thank you for your continued partnership with Top Knobs as we navigate these changes together.
Best Regards,
Greg Gottlieb, CEO
 
As I posted the impact on my business, here is another one, which the consumer will have to pick up.
Look at it this way though, we have standard margins, the business will actually make more money at the consumer's expense. Not fair, I know, but that is life. This stuff will never be made in the US.




Tariff-Related Price
Adjustments Coming Soon

Dear Valued Customer,
We want to update you on recent tariff announcements from the current administration. Due to increased tariffs on goods from China, as well as all steel and aluminum imports, we are providing advance notice of an upcoming price adjustment.
We remain committed to minimizing the impact of the tariffs on you and your customers; therefore, we are implementing a modest 2% price increase on Top Knobs decorative hardware to take effect on April 14, 2025. Updated price lists and further details will be shared in the coming days.

Atlas Homewares will also be subject to a tariff-related price adjustment; however, we are postponing that change to align with our mid-year new collection launch and catalog updates. More information on these adjustments will be provided as the date approaches.

Thank you for your continued partnership with Top Knobs as we navigate these changes together.
Best Regards,
Greg Gottlieb, CEO
I agree..........trade in commerce has been going on ever since the dawn of civilization and it sure isn't going to change anytime soon tariffs or not....

I personally think our government is overreacting to this and reciprocating tariffs won't do anything to effect change.

If every economist alive says that tariffs are a bad idea and yet they were still implemented, there is no way to fight them.

Our government created this issue by putting all of our eggs in one basket....we needed to be diversifying our trading partners long ago...

We have gotten too comfortable and complacent trading with America, this is a great eye-opener for us....
 
I agree..........trade in commerce has been going on ever since the dawn of civilization and it sure isn't going to change anytime soon tariffs or not....

I personally think our government is overreacting to this and reciprocating tariffs won't do anything to effect change.

If every economist alive says that tariffs are a bad idea and yet they were still implemented, there is no way to fight them.

Our government created this issue by putting all of our eggs in one basket....we needed to be diversifying our trading partners long ago...
We have a major Canadian supplier for stuff we use a whole lot from. They have two locations in North Carolina though and the US business is done from these locations. So, I think the only tariffs they will pay are for products they import, same as any US based organization.
 
We have a major Canadian supplier for stuff we use a whole lot from. They have two locations in North Carolina though and the US business is done from these locations. So, I think the only tariffs they will pay are for products they import, same as any US based organization.
Our economies are so intertwined that I believe this will be the case in many instances.....

The auto industry and metal industries might (probably will) suffer though.........and from what I've read, even if these companies started building factories to produce what Mexico and Canada currently do, it would take years and years to get them up and running even if they had the skilled labor to do it........and then there's the raw materials they would need......(which come from Canada).

I too harken back to the days of Michigan in it's glory as the "Auto City" I've watched countless documentaries about it........those days were really something.......but sadly will probably never be able to be recreated.....

Canadians are angry and hurt.......probably because of how close we thought we were to Americans.......we look at these tariffs as a slap in the face.
 
Our economies are so intertwined that I believe this will be the case in many instances.....

The auto industry and metal industries might (probably will) suffer though.........and from what I've read, even if these companies started building factories to produce what Mexico and Canada currently do, it would take years and years to get them up and running even if they had the skilled labor to do it........and then there's the raw materials they would need......(which come from Canada).

I too harken back to the days of Michigan in it's glory as the "Auto City" I've watched countless documentaries about it........those days were really something.......but sadly will probably never be able to be recreated.....

Canadians are angry and hurt.......probably because of how close we thought we were to Americans.......we look at these tariffs as a slap in the face.
Really hard to understand why this will not lead to higher inflation.

Example, I pay more for supplies but keep my profit margins the same. Means I make more money and the consumer pays for it. If I make more money, I can pay my employees more. If they get more money they spend more. INFLATION.

Interesting times.
 
Really hard to understand why this will not lead to higher inflation.

Example, I pay more for supplies but keep my profit margins the same. Means I make more money and the consumer pays for it. If I make more money, I can pay my employees more. If they get more money they spend more. INFLATION.

Interesting times.
What a lot of people (American, Canadian and Mexican) don't understand is we had a good deal made by Trump in NAMSA which he himself touted as the best deal he has ever made....

Now it turned into the worst deal made and he basically spat on the imbecile that made it....(himself).

He did what he said and shut off the southern border so that should have curbed any drugs from entering....

Canada spent over a billion clams to better control our border although most of our problems come from the US and not the other way around and any fentanyl recovered was a very, very percentage.......all of the illegal guns coming to Canada are from the US and they have been used for all of our gun related crimes........and our government (as crappy as they currently are) recognized that a strong border is for keeping things from coming in from the outside not the other way around....

Technically if Trump had a problem with the northern border and drugs coming into the US, he should have reenforced it, not Canada.......Mexico didn't reenforce their border by themselves.

We went out of our way to put more patrols and spend money to primarily keep things out of the US as a good gesture to Trump and yet we still got punished for these efforts.......it makes zero sense to anyone......
 
Canada spent over a billion clams to better control our border although most of our problems come from the US and not the other way around
Exactly. Of all disagreeable developments, the tariff on goods from Canada makes zero sense. It is classic Trump puffing his chest out simply because he can.
 
The way I understand it is Musk provides a service to the State Department. The State Department is evaluating which funds should continue post review, under Rubio.


As far as the Reuter's report you posted, I stopped reading after the first bullet point under US funding:

A world food program for South Africa is total BS. I'm an ex South African, spent three weeks there in December. First, they don't need food assistance, second they are best friends with BREXIT and all our adversaries, third they are annexing farm land from farmers and once done, all the livestock dies as no one takes care of the farm and all agricultural productivities cease. In short, they have been in China and Russia's pockets since 1995, why on earth should we be sending them money?

As far as left Judges are involved, they are trying everything to keep the gravy train from running out of track, motivated by Liberals who disagree with each and every action the Conservatives are taking. Not a single Democrat voted for taking biological men out of women's sports. More court cases coming to that extent tells me more than I need to know.
Hi. But the US need to teach the worlds kids about gay Muppets
 
Whew........went to a few stores this morning running errands and minding my own business but listening to plain folk around me who are actually hating Trump right now is staggering.......and our area if it was in the US would be a red area.....no liberals (or very few) here......

He certainly made zero friends here with these stupid tariffs......

I can only imagine what it is like going to stores in the US right now as I'm sure people are pissed off at him there as well.

Not good, I never thought I'd see this sort of anger against a sitting president in my lifetime.....
 
Not good, I never thought I'd see this sort of anger against a sitting president in my lifetime.....
Not good at all. I just got my reverence for the office of President questioned for the first time in 68 years, for questioning Trump's actions.
When I was 6 years old I saw an American flag door mat at a the entrance of a small store on Hollywood Blvd; picked it up and carried it inside to the person behind the counter. I told him people shouldn't be walking on this. I still remember the man smiling and telling me I was right, it was a bad idea. Even the way the word Patriot is used has changed. This is a sad time indeed.
 
Not good at all. I just got my reverence for the office of President questioned for the first time in 68 years, for questioning Trump's actions.
When I was 6 years old I saw an American flag door mat at a the entrance of a small store on Hollywood Blvd; picked it up and carried it inside to the person behind the counter. I told him people shouldn't be walking on this. I still remember the man smiling and telling me I was right, it was a bad idea. Even the way the word Patriot is used has changed. This is a sad time indeed.
We are entering a unique period in history of which will be written by many differing scholars........as we are living it and seeing what is going on in our own eyes, we will be able to distinguish between fiction and non-fiction.....

One thing that this new American administration will accomplish that few others have will be to generate a huge rise in patriotism of other nations who in the past relied too heavily on the US as an ally.......These countries (mine included) are finding out quickly that the US is a neighbor, not a friend and we have to learn to stand on our own two feet....

Canadian products are being sought out and American products are being rejected by our consumers, sales of Canadian flags have soared, vacations and trips scheduled to the US have been cancelled in favor of other countries and our own domestic regions....

And this sentiment is being echoed across all the US allied countries.......

In this, the Trump administration has done a very good thing........

But in the end.......it will all balance out and we will all kiss and make up......
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A quick and perhaps boring story......my cousin fought in Vietnam with the Wolfhounds out of Hawaii......he was here visiting one summer and we went to a flea market where in the corner was a beautiful American flag draped over a table......I went over and firstly gave the person a scolding for treating a flag (any flag) like this and bought it for my cousin to fly at his house in Kalamazoo. My cousin folded it properly together and I placed it in a box I also bought at the flea market....

On the way out, my cousin and I watched a vendor scramble over to get a Canadian flag off his table and asked me how he should be presenting it so I told him and he did it right.....people died for that flag and each other......they didn't die for a president.....or prime minister......

My cousin passed away from complications from Agent Orange and his niece asked me if I wanted the flag back.....I said no, but you have to promise me to fly it every July 1st, Memorial Day and on my cousin's birthday...........
 
Trump delays tariffs on Mexico but holds fast on Canada because Trudeau refuses to kiss his butt. Thinking about Jellyrug’s chess analogy, aggressive tactics require different game plans in response. Trudeau would do well to lower the heat a bit and wait; Trump will follow suit. Child psychology, if you will.
 
Trump delays tariffs on Mexico but holds fast on Canada because Trudeau refuses to kiss his butt. Thinking about Jellyrug’s chess analogy, aggressive tactics require different game plans in response. Trudeau would do well to lower the heat a bit and wait; Trump will follow suit. Child psychology, if you will.
Do you play chess? No politics, the real thing, moving pieces around a board until you have your opponent in checkmate?
 
Do you play chess? No politics, the real thing, moving pieces around a board until you have your opponent in checkmate?
I used to play a lot. My father was excellent, studying Paul Morphy, Bobby Fischer, Garry Kasparov etc. I was pretty good, it just started to take too much of my time. I still play occasionally against bots on chess.com. There's a good YouTube channel that analyses games, Morphy and Kasparov were really something.
 
Do you play chess? No politics, the real thing, moving pieces around a board until you have your opponent in checkmate?
I used to play a lot. My father was excellent, studying Paul Morphy, Bobby Fischer, Garry Kasparov etc. I was pretty good, it just started to take too much of my time. I still play occasionally against bots on chess.com. There's a good YouTube channel that analyses games, Morphy and Kasparov were really something.
I used to play a lot of chess.....it was a good pass time on long intercontinental flights....generally whatever aircrew was assigned to fly us would do it often enough that they knew to have a couple chess sets on board knowing we didn't have the personal space to carry a set with us.

I taught both my sons but my younger son really took off with it and is one of the better chess players I know......he has taught his sons.....his 4 yr old is actually quite good as he has a calculating mind.....his daycare workers are astounded at how verbally articulate he is.....

Years and years ago we visited a large mansion estate and there was a life sized chess board there where the pieces were on glider wheels......a person couldn't honestly play it but it was a pretty cool novelty.....
 
I used to play a lot of chess.....it was a good pass time on long intercontinental flights....generally whatever aircrew was assigned to fly us would do it often enough that they knew to have a couple chess sets on board knowing we didn't have the personal space to carry a set with us.

I taught both my sons but my younger son really took off with it and is one of the better chess players I know......he has taught his sons.....his 4 yr old is actually quite good as he has a calculating mind.....his daycare workers are astounded at how verbally articulate he is.....

Years and years ago we visited a large mansion estate and there was a life sized chess board there where the pieces were on glider wheels......a person couldn't honestly play it but it was a pretty cool novelty.....
I use to play a lot way back, but like anything if we don’t use it we lose it.
I still play occasionally, however knowing I am out of practice, depending who I play, I find it a bit stressful. I seem to lack strategy and focus only on defense.
If I play the computer at level 2, most times I can mate it within 10 minutes. Beyond that it is tough.

Picture is a chess set, table and all the pieces handmade by myself.

IMG_0167.webp
 
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