Sure, he loves to troll the left and does a pretty good job of it.I like that Trump is President, but let me be the first to admit that he is a narcissist and a troll (hence my many tongue in cheek posts [God Emperor etc]).
Perhaps the Pope one was a bit ill advised, but I see that his motive is absolutely clear and that is to drive the left absolutely bananas, and it's working.
You think Trump is off the charts? Have a look at how the left is behaving in the US, completely unhinged and psychopathic... to the extreme and to the point where the vast majority of people, even most moderate Democrats cannot countenance how they are behaving. Their approval ratings at absolute historic lows.
It seems to me that this is very intentional. Will it work in the long term especially with mid terms not very far away?
Dunno about that and we shall see, but even Bill Maher is distancing himself from the bizzare TDS clown show.
Yeah I wouldn't do it, but not sure devout Catholics, or even other devout Christians are necessarily right wing.Sure, he loves to troll the left and does a pretty good job of it.
But if this Pope image is trolling, why couldn't he see that Catholics would be offended? The more devout Catholics, who would be most offended, are more likely to be right leaning.
To me, it just seems a bit more crazy than in the past.
Indeed Ferret .. Yes declaring he would like to be Pope and posting a picture of himself from the White House in full mufti seems a little...strange ?
But honestly mate have you been checking out how trump has behaved ever since he has been in office or trying to get back in ? On a scale of 1-10 The Pope pic is probably a solid 8.
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Today Donald Trump, The President of the United States, said he doesn't know if he needs to uphold the US Constitution. "I;m not a lawyer " he says.
Today Donald Trump also said he won't rule out using military force to take control of Greenland a NATO allie, WTF ?
He is also very serious about wanting to annex Canada to the US.
Trump says he doesn’t know if he needs to uphold constitutional due process
President also says he sees himself as leaving office at the end of his current term and not seeking a third onewww.theguardian.com Trump says he ‘doesn’t rule out’ using military force to control Greenland
President has repeatedly expressed idea of expansion into autonomous territory within fellow Nato member Denmarkwww.theguardian.com
What an image: The United States as Trump’s department store. It’s a store where he sets the prices, where neither Congress nor companies nor markets nor other countries have any say. It’s all him.You have to understand . . . I’ve made all the deals. . . . The deal is a deal that I choose. View it differently: We are a department store, and we set the price. I meet with the companies, and then I set a fair price, what I consider to be a fair price, and they can pay it, or they don’t have to pay it. They don’t have to do business with the United States, but I set a tariff on countries. . . . So I will set a price.
That is an interesting issue, when you consider that the U.S has a debt of $130k per person and Australia has a debt of $30k per head, maybe we should take over the heavy lifting in Mozambique?"Musk has drawn the ire of a former richest man in the world: Bill Gates. The co-founder of Microsoft turned philanthropist told the Financial Times that “the picture of the world's richest man killing the world's poorest children is not a pretty one.” Gates pointed to Musk’s cuts to USAID, which reduced grants to a hospital in Mozambique that was preventing women from transmitting HIV to their babies. “I'd love for him to go in and meet the children that have now been infected with HIV because he cut that money,” Gates said of Musk."
That is an interesting issue, when you consider that the U.S has a debt of $130k per person and Australia has a debt of $30k per head, maybe we should take over the heavy lifting in Mozambique?
The U.S has a poverty and homeless problem, yet there you have one of the richest men in the World, criticising the richest man in the world for trying to reduce the tax burden on U.S workers.
Ironic, everyone's an expert at spending other people's money, maybe the U.S should have a referendum on where and how much the taxpayers want of their taxes to be sent overseas as aid?
Rather than the 5th richest man in the World telling the richest man in the World where to spend taxpayers money, let's be honest does someone really need to have $169B
How much personal money does Bill Gates have?
# 5 Bill Gates $168B.
In 2024, a record-high 771,480 people experienced homelessness in the U.S. This represents a significant increase from previous years, with the homeless population rising by 18% from 2023 to 2024, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The issue is complex, with poverty and lack of affordable housing cited as major drivers, as well as historical factors like gentrification and deinstitutionalization.
Overseas aid:
- Record Highs:
The number of homeless people in the U.S. reached a record high in 2024, surpassing previous peaks.
- Increased Homelessness:
Homelessness has increased in recent years, with the number of people experiencing it rising by 32% from 2022 to 2024.
- High Shelter Occupancy:
In January 2024, 64% of homeless Americans were living in shelters.
- Unsheltered Increase:
The number of unsheltered homeless people also increased significantly, reaching a record high of 256,610 in 2023.
Key Takeaways
- Only three OECD countries met the foreign aid target: 0.15% of their national income in 2022.
- They are: Luxembourg, Sweden, and Norway.
- The U.S. is the largest single-donor by dollar amount
ODA-to-GNI ratioAustralia's ODA as a proportion of Gross National Income (GNI)—the official measure of development assistance—is expected to remain at the 2021–22 level of 0.20%. This continues to place Australia well below the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) country average of 0.32%.
Which is exactly what we have been saying on here, that if the U.S doesn't tackle the trade imbalance now, the West is destined to become third world.Just had a mate come back from China (cannot remember the city he went to for business) went to a smaller industrial city and said we have no idea how advanced China is he was blown away by how fast it had all changed plus the sky was blue.
80% to 90% of vehicles were EV. Any petrol cars were Porches, Maserati's etc.
He said Trump has NFI if he thinks he can push China around recons they are way way ahead have invested in tech beyond his imagination city was clean no homeless etc people were genuinely happy ..... did have lots of camera's
It's hard. You want political stability, a project like this may help but if it doesn't then it's a mess.Which is exactly what we have been saying on here, that if the U.S doesn't tackle the trade imbalance now, the West is destined to become third world.
That is precisely what Scott Bessent is talking about and why the tariffs have been put in place.
Mozambique is a typical example of what Bessent describes as mission creep by the World Bank and the IMF, the country is a mess and is in political turmoil, where it has plenty of natural resources, but they don't get developed because they are constantly at war with each other.
Then they survive on foreign aid, which no doubt is funnelled into who knows where.
The economy needs to be grown, so that it can sustain itself, but with the political turmoil nothing gets done from what I've read.
But that is actually what the IMF and World Banks role is, to get these countries to stabilise and develop and what Bessent says needs resetting to get the World Bank and IMF, back to its core function.
2019
Mozambique LNG - Project to build world-class LNG facility
Mozambique LNG Project began with the discovery of natural gas off the north coast of Mozambique in 2010, leading to a FID in 2019www.mozambiquelng.co.mz Mozambique LNG - Project to build world-class LNG facility
Now:
TotalEnergies' Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project, one of three under development in Mozambique, has been suspended since 2021 due to the terrorist attacks in Cabo Delgado, which led the oil company to invoke 'force majeure' and withdraw all personnel from the construction site.19 Mar 2025
From Scott Bessent:
The IMF must refocus its lending on addressing balance of payments problems. And its lending should be temporary.
When done responsibly, IMF lending is at the very core of its contribution to the global economy: when markets fail, the IMF steps in and makes resources available. In exchange, countries implement economic reforms to resolve their balance of payments issues and support economic growth. The reforms undertaken during these programs are some of the IMF’s most important contributions to a strong, sustainable, and balanced global economy.
But not every country is so deserving. The IMF must hold countries accountable for implementing economic reforms. And sometimes, the IMF needs to say No. The organization has no obligation to lend to countries that fail to implement reforms. Economic stability and growth should be the markers of the IMF’s success—not how much money the institution lends out.
Like the IMF, the World Bank must be made fit for purpose again.
The World Bank Group helps developing countries grow their economies, reduce poverty, increase private investment, support private-sector job creation, and reduce dependence on foreign aid. It offers transparent and affordable long-term financing for countries to invest in their own development priorities.
The Bank, along with the Fund, provides extensive technical support to promote debt sustainability among low-income countries, which empowers those countries to stand up to coercive and opaque lending terms from creditors.
These core functions of the World Bank complement the Trump Administration’s efforts to foster safer, stronger, and more prosperous economies in the United States and the world.
But the Bank, like the IMF, has strayed in certain respects from its initial mission.
The Bank should no longer expect blank checks for vapid, buzzword-centric marketing accompanied by half-hearted commitments to reform. As the Bank returns to its core mission, it must use its resources as efficiently and effectively as possible. And it must do so in ways that demonstrate tangible value for all member countries.
He showed he can push the UK around but they are in a bad spot. I saw they said they were easy on them and whoever does the deal next is more likely to get a better deal. Let's see what happens. Europe is probably whom they are trying to crack.Just had a mate come back from China (cannot remember the city he went to for business) went to a smaller industrial city and said we have no idea how advanced China is he was blown away by how fast it had all changed plus the sky was blue.
80% to 90% of vehicles were EV. Any petrol cars were Porches, Maserati's etc.
He said Trump has NFI if he thinks he can push China around recons they are way way ahead have invested in tech beyond his imagination city was clean no homeless etc people were genuinely happy ..... did have lots of camera's
If it doesn't work, China will become the reserve currency and they will dictate what the West pays for their gear and because they will be the sole supplier the ACCC wont be able to help. LolIt's hard. You want political stability, a project like this may help but if it doesn't then it's a mess.
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To be fair. In Australia we just saw the worst Conservatives effort ever.
Donald Trump Actually Quite Good At Uniting A Nation When It’s Not His Own
In an ironic twist, U.S. President Donald Trump has emerged as one of the most effective unifying forces in modern politics – provided it’s not his own country.
Following recent progressive wins in both Canada and Australia, analysts have noted a curious pattern – the mere mention of Trump’s name is enough to send voters running toward the nearest left-wing candidate.
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I don't think he is going about it the right way. Wholesale Protectionism, to me is not a long term successful policy. Used to be considered left-wing.If it doesn't work, China will become the reserve currency and they will dictate what the West pays for their gear and because they will be the sole supplier the ACCC wont be able to help. Lol
The problem is, the U.S has no other leverage, other than the fact that it purchases the most Chinese gear by a long way.I don't think he is going about it the right way. Wholesale Protectionism, to me is not a long term successful policy. Used to be considered left-wing.
Hopefully it does work, at least partially.
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