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But what did Trump do to get the weapons flowing? He created a loan system. They're sitting on 10 to $12 trillion of critical minerals in- in Ukraine. They could be the richest country in all of Europe. I don't want to give that money and those assets to Putin to share with China. If we help Ukraine now, they can become the best business partner we ever dreamed of, that 10 to $12 trillion of critical mineral assets could be used by Ukraine and the West, not given to Putin and China. This is a very big deal how Ukraine ends. Let's help them win a war we can't afford to lose. Let's find a solution to this war. But they're sitting on a gold mine. To give Putin 10 or $12 trillion for critical minerals that he will share with China is ridiculous.

Consumers Pay Tariffs
Posted Nov 21, 2024 By Martin Armstrong |

Donald Trump believes tariffs could offset taxes, but tariffs will be a tax in itself to the American consumer. Trump is proposing to raise taxes from 60% to 100% on Chinese goods. He would also like to implement a universal tariff from 10% to 20% on all international imports. Ultimately, the consumer will end up paying the bill to offset these increase.

“If we get tariffs, we will pass those tariff costs back to the consumer,” AutoZone CEO Philip Daniele said, adding that the company will protect itself by raising prices before the tariffs take effect. Countless companies have come out to say that they will absolutely pass on the added cost to their consumers. It is not as simple as moving manufacturing out of China or to America.

“If we look back historically when tariffs were enacted seven years ago, it did result in higher prices for customers,” Walmart CFO John David Rainey said. “We’re concerned that significantly increased tariffs could lead to increased costs for our customers at a time when they are still feeling the remnants of inflation.”

Imposing high tariffs can disrupt global supply chains and negatively impact international trade relationships. I disagree with the mercantilism approach that focuses on maximizing exports while minimizing the need for imports through tariffs and other barriers. Not only is US manufacturing not set up for this model at this time, but it is also absolutely counterproductive to global trade. Not to mention that China’s middle class is set to outpace America’s. They have a far larger population and America may no longer be the primary country that other nations line up to sell to.

Tariffs never promote peace. Rome lasted over 1,000 years because it had FREE TRADE. Rome was not corrupt everyone benefitted. As long as the PEOPLE are trading back and forth, they provide check and balance against government to create peace.

NATO and Ukraine to hold emergency talks after Russia's attack with new missile
NOVEMBER 23, 20241:44 AM ET
By The Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine — NATO and Ukraine will hold emergency talks Tuesday after Russia attacked a central city with an experimental, hypersonic ballistic missile that escalated the nearly 33-month-old war.

The conflict is "entering a decisive phase," Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday, and "taking on very dramatic dimensions."

Ukraine's parliament canceled a session as security was tightened following Thursday's Russian strike on a military facility in the city of Dnipro.

In a stark warning to the West, President Vladimir Putin said in a nationally televised speech that the attack with the intermediate-range Oreshnik missile was in retaliation for Kyiv's use of U.S. and British longer-range missiles capable of striking deeper into Russian territory.

Putin said Western air defense systems would be powerless to stop the new missile.

Ukrainian military officials said the missile that hit Dnipro had reached a speed of Mach 11 and carried six nonnuclear warheads each releasing six submunitions.

Speaking Friday to military and weapons industries officials, Putin said Russia is launching production of the Oreshnik.

"No one in the world has such weapons," he said with a thin smile. "Sooner or later other leading countries will also get them. We are aware that they are under development."

But he added, "We have this system now. And this is important."

Testing the missile will continue, "including in combat, depending on the situation and the character of security threats created for Russia," Putin said, noting there is "a stockpile of such systems ready for use."

Putin said that while it isn't an intercontinental missile, it's so powerful that the use of several of them fitted with conventional warheads in one attack could be as devastating as a strike with strategic — or nuclear — weapons.

Gen. Sergei Karakayev, head of Russia's Strategic Missile Forces, said the Oreshnik could reach targets across Europe and be fitted with nuclear or conventional warheads, echoing Putin's claim that even with conventional warheads, "the massive use of the weapon would be comparable in effect to the use of nuclear weapons."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov kept up Russia's bellicose tone on Friday, blaming "the reckless decisions and actions of Western countries" in supplying weapons to Ukraine to strike Russia.

"The Russian side has clearly demonstrated its capabilities, and the contours of further retaliatory actions in the event that our concerns were not taken into account have also been quite clearly outlined," he said.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, widely seen as having the warmest relations with the Kremlin in the European Union, echoed Moscow's talking points, suggesting the use of U.S.-supplied weapons in Ukraine likely requires direct American involvement.

"These are rockets that are fired and then guided to a target via an electronic system, which requires the world's most advanced technology and satellite communications capability," Orbán said on state radio. "There is a strong assumption … that these missiles cannot be guided without the assistance of American personnel."

Orbán cautioned against underestimating Russia's responses, emphasizing that the country's recent modifications to its nuclear deployment doctrine should not be dismissed as a "bluff." "It's not a trick… there will be consequences," he said.

Putin isn't bluffing', Serbia's president warns
Story by Sabrina Penty

Serbia's president has issued a stark warning regarding the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, claiming that Vladimir Putin is 'not bluffing' about the potential use of nuclear missiles.

According to Serbian publication Novosti, President Aleksander Vucic, one of Putin's allies who claims to know the Russian leader 'very well', told journalists: 'Don't think that someone somewhere is bluffing, unfortunately, nobody is bluffing and, unfortunately, we are walking into mild disaster'.

Vucic's ominous comment comes after Ukraine carried out its first strike on Russian territory with a US-supplied long-range missile on Tuesday - just days after the Biden administration gave Kyiv the green light despite fears it could escalate the conflict beyond control.

Meanwhile, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday that there is a real risk of a global conflict breaking out after Russia fired a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile at a Ukrainian city.

Higgenbotham wrote: Sat Nov 23, 2024 1:24 pm

But what did Trump do to get the weapons flowing? He created a loan system. They're sitting on 10 to $12 trillion of critical minerals in- in Ukraine. They could be the richest country in all of Europe. I don't want to give that money and those assets to Putin to share with China. If we help Ukraine now, they can become the best business partner we ever dreamed of, that 10 to $12 trillion of critical mineral assets could be used by Ukraine and the West, not given to Putin and China. This is a very big deal how Ukraine ends. Let's help them win a war we can't afford to lose. Let's find a solution to this war. But they're sitting on a gold mine. To give Putin 10 or $12 trillion for critical minerals that he will share with China is ridiculous.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lindsey-gr ... 6-09-2024/

Higgenbotham wrote: Fri Nov 22, 2024 7:52 pm So my prediction is that Donald Trump and those he surrounds himself with now have maximal ability to cross lines that should not be crossed and they will do it in grand style. In fact, they are already talking with great gusto about which lines they will cross and to what great extent. Then we can watch the disasters unfold. It should probably be added, though previously implied, that the disasters that would have unfolded under a Harris presidency would have likely been more serious. However, the Trump disasters will be more serious than the disasters of any presidency from Bush 2 through Biden.

Higgenbotham wrote: Sun Mar 12, 2023 11:49 pm This is still my all time favorite quote from this forum.

mannfm11 wrote: Sat Apr 11, 2009 3:00 am In any case, his philosophy [Ben Bernanke's] is that if something is bankrupt, you might as well see how bankrupt you can get it before it collapses.

Trump too.

Higgenbotham wrote: Fri Nov 22, 2024 7:52 pm So my prediction is that Donald Trump and those he surrounds himself with now have maximal ability to cross lines that should not be crossed and they will do it in grand style. In fact, they are already talking with great gusto about which lines they will cross and to what great extent. Then we can watch the disasters unfold. It should probably be added, though previously implied, that the disasters that would have unfolded under a Harris presidency would have likely been more serious. However, the Trump disasters will be more serious than the disasters of any presidency from Bush 2 through Biden.

Higgenbotham wrote: Sun Mar 12, 2023 11:49 pm This is still my all time favorite quote from this forum.

mannfm11 wrote: Sat Apr 11, 2009 3:00 am In any case, his philosophy [Ben Bernanke's] is that if something is bankrupt, you might as well see how bankrupt you can get it before it collapses.

Trump too.