From: slider@atashram.com

Trump wants to retaliate against China over its handling of the
coronavirus outbreak. Exactly how is anyone’s guess.

As President Donald Trump weighs ideas for punishing China over its
handling of the coronavirus outbreak, some inside and outside the White
House want him to respond forcefully.

https://www.vox.com/2020/5/1/21244364/trump-china-coronavirus-debt-retaliate

“In my personal opinion, we should drop the fucking hammer on them. Stop being such pussies,” a senior White House official told me, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to disclose
internal deliberations.

Top Trump allies, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Republican senators, are pushing Trump to castigate China. Sen. Lindsey Graham, for example, has said the US should “make China pay big time.”

The Washington Post reported Thursday that US officials from multiple
agencies were planning to gather that day to discuss crafting some sort of retaliation against China.

“President Trump has fumed to aides and others in recent days about China, blaming the country for withholding information about the virus,” the Post reported.

The Chinese government delayed releasing information about the outbreak of Covid-19 in the city of Wuhan, costing world governments precious time to prepare. It’s ruthlessly exploiting the pandemic to further its own
foreign policy goals. And on Friday, Sky News reported that the Chinese government is refusing to allow investigators with the World Health Organization to participate in China’s inquiries into the virus’s origin.

These actions — as well as Trump’s likely desire to deflect some of the blame from his own administration’s poor response to the coronavirus
crisis in the US — are why the Trump administration is looking to formally rebuke China in some way.

Here’s what’s in the works.

From stripping sovereign immunity to canceling debt

The ideas reportedly under consideration include stripping China of its “sovereign immunity” status under US law — which would allow the US government or private citizens to sue the country — and cancelling some or all of the interest payments on the more than $1 trillion in debt the US
owes to China (the senior White House official I spoke to said they favor
the latter option).

“Punishing China is definitely where the president’s head is at right now,” one senior adviser told the Washington Post on Thursday.

Yet Trump, in public at least, has sounded far more cautious about using
these measures. “You start playing those games and that’s tough,” Trump said at a press conference on Thursday when asked about the idea of
canceling interest payments to China, adding that doing so could undermine
the “sanctity of the [US] dollar.”

This echoes comments made the same day by Trump’s top economic adviser
Larry Kudlow, who called reports the administration was considering
canceling debt payments “absolutely and unequivocally untrue,” adding that “the full faith and credit of US debt obligations is sacrosanct.”

This is why the senior White House official I spoke to said they’re “very doubtful senior advisers will allow” the debt-payment idea to go forward, acknowledging that Congress would likely try to block such a move anyway.

But some Trump advisers and allies are still pushing the president to
retaliate against China in some way.

At the same Thursday press conference, Trump suggested another idea:
imposing billions of dollars in additional tariffs on China.

Why tariffs wouldn’t punish China

To punish China, the US “can do it with tariffs,” Trump said Thursday.

Yet there’s (at least) one big, glaring problem with this idea: Though
Trump has long believed that China pays these tariffs and the money goes
to the US Treasury, that is not at all how tariffs actually work.

Tariffs raise the price of buying Chinese goods for American consumers.
The idea is that by making Chinese products more expensive, American
consumers will stop buying them from China and buy them more cheaply from somewhere else instead. While that would ultimately harm Chinese producers
in the long run, in the short run, it’s American consumers who are stuck paying these tariffs, not China.

With US unemployment claims having reached a staggering 30 million and the country facing an economic downturn unseen since the Great Depression,
making things more expensive for American consumers would be less a
punishment on China and more a self-own.

On top of that, the US has already placed tariffs on nearly every major
Chinese product, so it’s not even clear that the eventual impact on
Chinese manufacturers would be all that meaningful.

Still, it seems some kind of retaliation is coming. Asked Friday about the administration’s China considerations, White House press secretary
Kayleigh McEnany said she wouldn’t get ahead of the president on any announcements, but she reiterated Trump’s “displeasure with China,” adding, “It’s no secret that China mishandled this situation.”

“The China approach is all over the place”

Some sort of grander planning has already begun.

Multiple sources at the State Department told me that Pompeo has almost
every office doing some sort of work involving China. Whether in Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, or elsewhere, Pompeo has staff looking at ways
to counter China’s aims, such as having US allies end certain business contracts with Beijing.

However, some in the State Department believe there’s no real strategy to
the top-down directive. The entire idea is “shortsighted,” said one
staffer tasked with finding ways to push back on China, who spoke on
condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the
press. “The China approach is all over the place.”

Another State Department staffer pushed back against the notion that the department is in search of a more-robust-than-normal stance against China. “It is our standard policy to counter Chinese influence,” they told me.

What’s clear, though, is that the administration is thinking of ways to up the ante against China. When, and what, Trump decides to do is what everyone’s waiting on.

### - oh jesus here we go... first a trade war followed by all-out war?

markets currently tumbling at the prospect, as if they weren't already struggling!

oh well, at least we'll all get nuked at home in our own beds then hah,
plus that's one way to get rid of the virus innit lol; just get rid of
humanity itself altogether and the problem goes away!

oh boy... and here was i thinking i might actually live to the ripe old
age of 70??

sigh, ok, bring-on the apocalypse then, see if i care anymore; humanity is recklessly suicidal and obviously hates itself sooo much it just wants to
be dead!

i give up! :D

(bunch of fuckin' nuts on this planet boss! lol am outta here!)

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: www.darkrealms.ca (1:229/2)

From: allreadydun@gmail.com

slider wrote:
Trump wants to retaliate against China over its handling of the
coronavirus outbreak. Exactly how is anyone’s guess.

As President Donald Trump weighs ideas for punishing China over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, some inside and outside the White House want him to respond forcefully.

https://www.vox.com/2020/5/1/21244364/trump-china-coronavirus-debt-retaliate

“In my personal opinion, we should drop the fucking hammer on them. Stop being such pussies,” a senior White House official told me, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to disclose internal deliberations.

Top Trump allies, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Republican senators, are pushing Trump to castigate China. Sen. Lindsey Graham, for example, has said the US should “make China pay big time.”

The Washington Post reported Thursday that US officials from multiple agencies were planning to gather that day to discuss crafting some sort of retaliation against China.

“President Trump has fumed to aides and others in recent days about China,

blaming the country for withholding information about the virus,” the Post

reported.

The Chinese government delayed releasing information about the outbreak of Covid-19 in the city of Wuhan, costing world governments precious time to prepare. It’s ruthlessly exploiting the pandemic to further its own foreign policy goals. And on Friday, Sky News reported that the Chinese government is refusing to allow investigators with the World Health Organization to participate in China’s inquiries into the virus’s origin.

These actions — as well as Trump’s likely desire to deflect some of the blame from his own administration’s poor response to the coronavirus crisis in the US — are why the Trump administration is looking to formally

rebuke China in some way.

Here’s what’s in the works.

From stripping sovereign immunity to canceling debt

The ideas reportedly under consideration include stripping China of its “sovereign immunity” status under US law — which would allow the US government or private citizens to sue the country — and cancelling some or

all of the interest payments on the more than $1 trillion in debt the US owes to China (the senior White House official I spoke to said they favor the latter option).

we owe these guys one trillion dollars, these are interest payments?
how the fuck did we get so far in debt with these crooks?
Man are they going to hold this over our heads. We're fucked in
this regard. Tough to negotiate when they already have the winning hand.

“Punishing China is definitely where the president’s head is at right now,” one senior adviser told the Washington Post on Thursday.

Let's see how that "art of the deal" crap works now.
great theory on paper but in real life?? good luck comandante.

Yet Trump, in public at least, has sounded far more cautious about using these measures. “You start playing those games and that’s tough,” Trump

said at a press conference on Thursday when asked about the idea of canceling interest payments to China, adding that doing so could undermine the “sanctity of the [US] dollar.”

Yeah that would be the first mistake in a long line of many others.
we need many other countries to go after China.

This echoes comments made the same day by Trump’s top economic adviser Larry Kudlow, who called reports the administration was considering canceling debt payments “absolutely and unequivocally untrue,” adding

that

“the full faith and credit of US debt obligations is sacrosanct.”

Yeah no time to be "men not worth their word". We must remain upright.

This is why the senior White House official I spoke to said they’re “very

doubtful senior advisers will allow” the debt-payment idea to go forward, acknowledging that Congress would likely try to block such a move anyway.

Oh yeah because they are men and women of such high integrity aren't they?

But some Trump advisers and allies are still pushing the president to retaliate against China in some way.

Just be friends with Taiwan, that's sure to piss them off forever.
People with any sense left China along time ago and moved to Taiwan.

At the same Thursday press conference, Trump suggested another idea: imposing billions of dollars in additional tariffs on China.

maybe they will just stop selling shit to us.

Why tariffs wouldn’t punish China

To punish China, the US “can do it with tariffs,” Trump said Thursday.

Let's make them eat American fast food for a few years, that should
turn them around a little. Let's give away all their rice to India.

Yet there’s (at least) one big, glaring problem with this idea: Though Trump has long believed that China pays these tariffs and the money goes
to the US Treasury, that is not at all how tariffs actually work.

Tariffs raise the price of buying Chinese goods for American consumers.
The idea is that by making Chinese products more expensive, American consumers will stop buying them from China and buy them more cheaply from somewhere else instead. While that would ultimately harm Chinese producers in the long run, in the short run, it’s American consumers who are stuck paying these tariffs, not China.

Maybe it's a big time for a change? Go back to buying from Japan.

With US unemployment claims having reached a staggering 30 million and the country facing an economic downturn unseen since the Great Depression, making things more expensive for American consumers would be less a punishment on China and more a self-own.

Right now China can kiss their tourism department good-bye for a long time.

On top of that, the US has already placed tariffs on nearly every major Chinese product, so it’s not even clear that the eventual impact on

Chinese manufacturers would be all that meaningful.

Their tits are in the wringer now, keep the washing machine on. lol!

Still, it seems some kind of retaliation is coming. Asked Friday about the administration’s China considerations, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said she wouldn’t get ahead of the president on any announcements, but she reiterated Trump’s “displeasure with China,” adding, “It’s no secret that China mishandled this situation.”

No kidding Perry Mason, how can you tell ?

“The China approach is all over the place”

Some sort of grander planning has already begun.

Multiple sources at the State Department told me that Pompeo has almost every office doing some sort of work involving China. Whether in Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, or elsewhere, Pompeo has staff looking at ways to counter China’s aims, such as having US allies end certain business contracts with Beijing.

Sounds good. Nothing personal China, but you all can go fuck yourselfs.

However, some in the State Department believe there’s no real strategy to the top-down directive. The entire idea is “shortsighted,” said one staffer tasked with finding ways to push back on China, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press. “The China approach is all over the place.”

Another State Department staffer pushed back against the notion that the department is in search of a more-robust-than-normal stance against China. “It is our standard policy to counter Chinese influence,” they told me.

What’s clear, though, is that the administration is thinking of ways to up

the ante against China. When, and what, Trump decides to do is what everyone’s waiting on.

Would that just be a pile of shit for the new incoming president IF
Trumpy gets voted out? How would YOU like to inherit dem apples?

### - oh jesus here we go... first a trade war followed by all-out war?

A trade war? Dude we are 1 trillion in the hole already.
How about a good old fashion blow the shit out of one
another and last man standing gets to walk away?

markets currently tumbling at the prospect, as if they weren't already struggling!

Yep it got spooked today to the tune of what 600 points or so?

oh well, at least we'll all get nuked at home in our own beds then hah, plus that's one way to get rid of the virus innit lol; just get rid of humanity itself altogether and the problem goes away!

aha ha ha, taking out the mosquitos by bringing the wall down. ha ha

oh boy... and here was i thinking i might actually live to the ripe old
age of 70??

Place your bets mr. luckyman. luckyrat will already be gone.

sigh, ok, bring-on the apocalypse then, see if i care anymore; humanity is recklessly suicidal and obviously hates itself sooo much it just wants to be dead!

i give up! :D

(bunch of fuckin' nuts on this planet boss! lol am outta here!)

it's the shitty ego that brings on all this destruction.
"gotta be the best", "gotta be number 1", sad but true.
i don't know maybe (in light of all this shit) death is not
that bad afterall. Do you feel lucky punk? not this week.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: www.darkrealms.ca (1:229/2)