From: bill.sloman@ieee.org   
      
   On 1/01/2026 1:34 am, albert@spenarnc.xs4all.nl wrote:   
   > In article <10imefd$2ohp5$5@dont-email.me>,   
   > Bill Sloman   wrote:   
   >> The book was published in 2009, well before Trump had developed his   
   >> political ambitions.   
   >>   
   >> Everything he has actually done since he got into politics has increased   
   >> American income inequality. The people who voted for him  thought -   
   >> correctly - that the country wasn't doing enough for them - and made the   
   >> mistake of believing that he was going to change things in way that   
   >> would make their lives better. Trump will say anything that will get him   
   >> the deal he wants, and he's good at putting together plausible lies.   
   >>   
   >> His career as businessman fell apart because his deals didn't deliver   
   >> what he promised. His first term as president wasn't the disaster that   
   >> it might have been because he was surrounded by people who more or less   
   >> knew what they were doing. He's got a much more subservient staff this   
   >> time around, and does seem to be doing a lot more damage.   
   >>   
   >> He has backed off from some of his more hare-brained tariffs so it isn't   
   >> clear how much damage he will end up doing, but he does seem to be   
   >> intent on wrecking the American economy, and the side effects on the   
   >> world economy are going to be nasty.   
   >   
   > The intent of the Ukrain war is to destroy the EU (mission accomplished)   
   > and Russia (not so much).   
      
   The EU doesn't exactly look destroyed to me. It's taken over from the US   
   in funding the Ukraine's defense effort - Trump didn't see the point.   
   Russia can't afford the war, and the effort to prosecute it is gutting   
   Russia - Russia is a big country so it is taking a while for the cracks   
   to emerge.   
      
   > Maybe Trump is a blessing in disguise. He sped up an alternative world   
   > order around BRICS, that promises to work better than the USA hegemony.   
   > Lately even India saw its GDP rising. IMF is on the retreat.   
      
   Any blessings he may be delivering are remarkably well concealed. He   
   looks very much like an ignorant spoilt brat, who is breaking his toys   
   in a fit of spite, even though they aren't his toys to break.   
      
   > The Chinese promote development, instead of civil wars.   
   > It looks that is more profitable in the longer run.   
      
   It's called colonial exploitation. The west did it for about a hundred   
   years. Exposing poor countries to a lot of capital does tend to raise   
   living standards, which eventually limits the amount of exploitation you   
   can get away with. China hasn't been at it for long enough to have had   
   it's nose rubbed in that paradox.   
      
   > A good example is Indonesia. Formerly they exported 8 billion US$   
   > if nickel ore. Now they export 24 billion US$ nickel fabricates.   
      
   That's a single statistic. One of my nieces works for Oxfam there - her   
   husband is an Indonesian artist from one of the more obscure ethnic   
   groups. There's a lot more going on than just industrial development.   
      
   --   
   Bill Sloman Sydney   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)