Donald Trump blasts EU following record $5 billion Google fine

[m4a4]

You do realize the comment you are replying to doesn't contain "pure democracy" anywhere in it. All you are doing is trying to take past posts out of context. Next time make sure you reply to the post you are quoting instead of conflating the argument by replying to one post and talking about another.

How... desperate. We both know what type of democracy you're referencing. And if you're not, then you are even more wrong in your previous argument lol.

I'm just going to assume that if you don't reply in your next post on whether the electoral college is a republic based system or a democratic one that you concede that it is a republic based system and therefore by extension any president winning through that system solely was not elected democratically. After all, in your own words "No one ever said that it was a pure democracy".

HAHAHA, literally the first reply to you was saying that the USA is a democratic republic.
In the very. first. line.
Wow. We're done here if you can't even remember that.
You keep telling reasonable people that the USA doesn't democratically elect their presidents, and see how stupid of looks they give you (rightfully so). Apparently you aren't capable of thorough logic (y)

 

[Evernessince]

How... desperate. We both know what type of democracy you're referencing. And if you're not, then you are even more wrong in your previous argument lol.


HAHAHA, literally the first reply to you was saying that the USA is a democratic republic.
In the very. first. line.
Wow. We're done here if you can't even remember that.
You keep telling people that the USA doesn't democratically elect their presidents, and see how stupid of looks they give you (rightfully so). Apparently you aren't capable of thorough logic (y)

/faceplam

my previous post

"There's is nothing you say that will changes the facts that any president that losses the popular vote but wins the election was not elected democratically. Just because the US incorporates democratic features doesn't suddenly make all the republic features turn democratic."

Clearly I have to spell it out for you. Presidents who win through the popular vote and win the election are democratically elected. Presidents who win through the electoral college but loose the popular vote are not. There are only a handful of presidents who have done the latter. I was pretty specific in that comment and it clearly doesn't apply to all presidents no matter how desperately you want it to.

HAHAHA, literally the first reply to you was saying that the USA is a democratic republic.

Exactly. And the electoral college is the "republic" side of our presidential elections. Unless you are going to tell me that the US is all of a sudden not a democratic republic now.

You admit that the US's system is part republic but on the same token refuse to even comment on the republican part of our presidential elections. It doesn't matter, you failed to comment on point so I assume you concede that point and that you'll continue your stubborn hyperbolic parrot show that's typical of Internet commentators who are wrong but refuse to admit it.

How... desperate. We both know what type of democracy you're referencing. And if you're not, then you are even more wrong in your previous argument lol.

A perfect example of what I was talking about in my last paragraph. No, this is an example of how you take an ordinary statement, pervert it in your own nature, and the spit out a hyperbolized version of it. Just like in the very same comment where you took "a handful of presidents" to mean all presidents. It doesn't get any more opposite then that. That's early onset dementia right there.

 

[EClyde]

Anyone that compares Trump to Hitler has nothing to say

 

[Evernessince]

Anyone that compares Trump to Hitler has nothing to say

It appears the reverse is true in this case.

 

[Darth Shiv]

Instead of picking fights with Canada over trade.

This is who you need to be going after TRUMP the EU and their BS.

lol

 

[Darth Shiv]

You do realize the comment you are replying to doesn't contain "pure democracy" anywhere in it. All you are doing is trying to take past posts out of context. Next time make sure you reply to the post you are quoting instead of conflating the argument by replying to one post and talking about another.

How... desperate. We both know what type of democracy you're referencing. And if you're not, then you are even more wrong in your previous argument lol.

I'm just going to assume that if you don't reply in your next post on whether the electoral college is a republic based system or a democratic one that you concede that it is a republic based system and therefore by extension any president winning through that system solely was not elected democratically. After all, in your own words "No one ever said that it was a pure democracy".

HAHAHA, literally the first reply to you was saying that the USA is a democratic republic.
In the very. first. line.
Wow. We're done here if you can't even remember that.
You keep telling reasonable people that the USA doesn't democratically elect their presidents, and see how stupid of looks they give you (rightfully so). Apparently you aren't capable of thorough logic (y)

The US calling itself a democracy is garbage.

First off, it does not have compulsory voting so the vote isn't representative.

Secondly, there are two major parties who have primaries that a) are heavily rigged b) HUGELY affected by wealth as a factor for success. I.e. you buy opinion and favor which is undemocratic as MONEY buys elections, not policies and this inherently means that you public perception has WAY too much influence on a result. US politics is a circus of corruption.

The primaries are corrupted by undemocratic processes such as the DNC which "defends its right to favor a candidate". That is blatant corruption of democratic elections with the lawyer-speak of law trumps morality.

GOP gerrymandering. There's a term for a practice which is completely farcical corruption of democracy.

In short, it is completely laughable that the US claims any moral authority to democracy. It's just a marketing gimmick not anywhere close to reality.

 

[Evernessince]

The US calling itself a democracy is garbage.

First off, it does not have compulsory voting so the vote isn't representative.

Secondly, there are two major parties who have primaries that a) are heavily rigged b) HUGELY affected by wealth as a factor for success. I.e. you buy opinion and favor which is undemocratic as MONEY buys elections, not policies and this inherently means that you public perception has WAY too much influence on a result. US politics is a circus of corruption.

The primaries are corrupted by undemocratic processes such as the DNC which "defends its right to favor a candidate". That is blatant corruption of democratic elections with the lawyer-speak of law trumps morality.

GOP gerrymandering. There's a term for a practice which is completely farcical corruption of democracy.

In short, it is completely laughable that the US claims any moral authority to democracy. It's just a marketing gimmick not anywhere close to reality.

I agree. Many of those systems were put in place as restrictions on Democracy because the founding fathers thought the American people were too uneducated at the time to vote the right people into office. Unfortunately those stopgaps to democracy are now being used to circumvent what democratic parts of the system there are. When you make a system in which a democratic vote can be subverted by a minority you introduce the possibility for smaller more radical factions to take power.

Gerrymandering just made issues worse. You essentially pick your voters.

What the DNC did was show that any candidate is ultimately going to be given a chance if the elite of that party agree. That's not democracy. It's a corpocracy ruled by politicians who are controlled by special interests.

 

[misor]

...Tell me, how is he right and how is he defending Americans?.

please tell me which part did I say Trump is defending Americans. I said Trump is defending American companies from excessive fines. My mind is swirling by the amount of fines EU had slapped on Google and Microsoft.

 

[tipstir]

EU just wants 5M from Google they have more that in revenue. Why do we all care what that. Google turned out to be a free search engine. It controls so much today it grown into huge giant already. Trump is all about $$$$ and so is Tech industry.

 

[m4a4]

/faceplam

The US calling itself a democracy is garbage.
First off, it does not have compulsory voting so the vote isn't representative.
Secondly, there are two major parties who have primaries that a) are heavily rigged b) HUGELY affected by wealth as a factor for success. I.e. you buy opinion and favor which is undemocratic as MONEY buys elections, not policies and this inherently means that you public perception has WAY too much influence on a result. US politics is a circus of corruption.
The primaries are corrupted by undemocratic processes such as the DNC which "defends its right to favor a candidate". That is blatant corruption of democratic elections with the lawyer-speak of law trumps morality.
GOP gerrymandering. There's a term for a practice which is completely farcical corruption of democracy.
In short, it is completely laughable that the US claims any moral authority to democracy. It's just a marketing gimmick not anywhere close to reality.

...Do you people just forget how to read? You literally just replied to my comment where I said they're a democratic republic. They have a democratic process, it's not a pure democracy.
How is this so hard to comprehend? Seriously, do some googling and use some logic: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=is+the+usa+a+democracy
I could care less how you feel about the USA's democratic republic. That doesn't change the facts.

 

[Kibaruk]

You can write all the bad stuff you want about Trump. Just shows you have closed and small minds

Wow, I never thought I would read something like this.

 

[Darth Shiv]

please tell me which part did I say Trump is defending Americans. I said Trump is defending American companies from excessive fines. My mind is swirling by the amount of fines EU had slapped on Google and Microsoft.

Well there are two parts to the fine to my mind - how much they have made in the EU from controlling the market "in an anti-competitive manner" and then the punitive damages if proven from "deliberately" doing so.

The EU is not owned by corporations like much of US politics is so of course the US is going to be heavily pro-company and EU is a lot more pro-people and anti-market manipulation. They can complain all they like but if US companies want to do business in the EU, they have to abide by EU rules and regulations. They have the right to not sell their products there.

 

[wiyosaya]

You can write all the bad stuff you want about Trump. Just shows you have closed and small minds

LOL

Anyone that compares Trump to Hitler has nothing to say

History will decide this.

Why isn't 45 passing tax laws that reward companies for keeping jobs and production in the US?

So instead of passing such tax laws, he levies tariffs on other countries for running their economies in the manner they see fit, then blames the other countries because business conditions in the US are unfavorable for keeping jobs / production in the US when US tax laws favor overseas production / jobs?

Tell me, how does that make sense?

Or is my reasoning circular rather than that of 45?

Of all posters on this site, IMO and despite your political leanings, I would expect you to understand this issue.

Sure, some external problems are created by others, however, in this instance, the US is at least partly responsible for creating these conditions. This approach is going nowhere except around and around in circles, and at the moment, is only escalating tensions.

As I see it, the US needs to swallow its own pill first, then after correcting its own internal problems and if the external problems still exist, then take action.

Historically, countries blaming others for their problems has never worked and was expressed in the extreme by Nazi Germany. 45, whether he is aware of it or not, is stoking hatred and isolationism in a manner that tells me that he is a lost child, and if he does not mind his direction moving forward, he will tread a path that has proven historically to be untenable.

...Tell me, how is he right and how is he defending Americans?.

please tell me which part did I say Trump is defending Americans. I said Trump is defending American companies from excessive fines. My mind is swirling by the amount of fines EU had slapped on Google and Microsoft.

The amount of the fine is a drop in the bucket compared to their cash on hand - https://www.investors.com/news/tech...-lead-cash-field-but-apple-dominates-overall/ The link is a bit dated, but I doubt cash on hand has decreased.

Unfortunately, fines in this range are the only thing that will make companies like these do anything. Lesser amounts are like a slap on the hand with a wet noodle. gagme is appealing the fine in the EU. We'll see how far that gets.

 

[captaincranky]

I really don't know where I stand on the whole EU fine thing. But I idk why Trump hates our allies and loves Russia.

Here's the thing, if the Eu were going to put that five billion into subsidizing NATO, neither Trump nor anyone else would have said anything.

But they won't, they'll just put in it their own pockets, and let the US keep picking up the majority of the tab for global defense.

So, the EU's humongous fine, is really just a hidden tax, in order to keep the EU's courts in coffee, donuts, and stenographers.

Any fine these douches hand down, won't even rise to the level of a "class action settlement", which would at least givem, "victims", a shiny EU dollar each.

 

[treetops]

Here's the thing, if the Eu were going to put that five billion into subsidizing NATO, neither Trump nor anyone else would have said anything.

But they won't, they'll just put in it their own pockets, and let the US keep picking up the majority of the tab for global defense.

So, the EU's humongous fine, is really just a hidden tax, in order to keep the EU's courts in coffee, donuts, and stenographers.

Any fine these douches hand down, won't even rise to the level of a "class action settlement", which would at least givem, "victims", a shiny EU dollar each.

Here is another thing, we have the largest military in the world, that grants us leverage. Of course we pay the most, they already pledged to pay more a few years ago and they have kept their 2% increase pledge. Trump claims that is all his doing for his recent behavior.... Our military is like a python on the globe, we protect countries, we intimidate countries and we secretly or publicly invade and tailor politics to our advantage in certain countries. We have special forces working with rebellions in countries, but that does not come to the news until it's no longer a "secret" years later. We overthrow dictators and we put them into place whatever best serves our needs. When our allies ask themselves, why do we let America do whatever it wants? Part of that answer is because we spend the most.

It ties into the other aspect of why we give countries money for no reason, oh there is a reason.

 

[captaincranky]

Here is another thing, we have the largest military in the world, that grants us leverage. Of course we pay the most, they already pledged to pay more a few years ago and they have kept their 2% increase pledge. Trump claims that is all his doing for his recent behavior.... Our military is like a python on the globe, we protect countries, we intimidate countries and we secretly or publicly invade and tailor politics to our advantage in certain countries. We have special forces working with rebellions in countries, but that does not come to the news until it's no longer a "secret" years later. We overthrow dictators and we put them into place whatever best serves our needs. When our allies ask themselves, why do we let America do whatever it wants? Part of that answer is because we spend the most.

It ties into the other aspect of why we give countries money for no reason, oh there is a reason.

It sounds like you think the best alternative would be to send you out to reason with them.

I don't know about your idea of math, but 2% more of an already shorted patment doesn't amount to all that much.

Feell free to show me the numbers, instead of your take on US politics you don't agree with.

 

[cartera]

Here's the thing, if the Eu were going to put that five billion into subsidizing NATO, neither Trump nor anyone else would have said anything.

But they won't, they'll just put in it their own pockets, and let the US keep picking up the majority of the tab for global defense.

So, the EU's humongous fine, is really just a hidden tax, in order to keep the EU's courts in coffee, donuts, and stenographers.

Any fine these douches hand down, won't even rise to the level of a "class action settlement", which would at least givem, "victims", a shiny EU dollar each.

Here is another thing, the European Union is not part of Nato.

 

[captaincranky]

Here is another thing, the European Union is not part of Nato.

The EU consists almost entire;y pf our allegrd NATO allies. So yeah, tacitly the EU is NATO.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_states_of_NATO

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_state_of_the_European_Union

 

[Bubbajim]

Here is another thing, the European Union is not part of Nato.

The EU consists almost entire;y pf our allegrd NATO allies. So yeah, tacitly the EU is NATO.

"The US contains all the former Confederate states, therefore the US is tacitly the Confederacy".

No, wait, that logic doesn't work in either case.

 

[captaincranky]

"The US contains all the former Confederate states, therefore the US is tacitly the Confederacy".

No, wait, that logic doesn't work in either case.

Try not to make yourself appear intelligent by drawing bizarre and intentionally abstract conclusions.

The EU was started with the premise, of producing a common currency for its member states. Ergo, you could travel between France and Germany, and not worry about changing you currency from Francs to Deutschmarks. The "Euro" was intended to simply be a "one size fits all", monetary unit.

If we take your cutsie pie little conclusion and reword it, we'd have to say, because the states of the confederacy were once at war with the union, they are not really part of the United States as a whole.

So, if the EU, has its own funds and disposes on them above and apart from the member states it represents, then it's little more than a money laundering facility, and would be subject to US RICO statutes, were it based in the US.-.

 

[cartera]

Try not to make yourself appear intelligent by drawing bizarre and intentionally abstract conclusions.

The EU was started with the premise, of producing a common currency for its member states. Ergo, you could travel between France and Germany, and not worry about changing you currency from Francs to Deutschmarks. The "Euro" was intended to simply be a "one size fits all", monetary unit.

If we take your cutsie pie little conclusion and reword it, we'd have to say, because the states of the confederacy were once at war with the union, they are not really part of the United States as a whole.

So, if the EU, has its own funds and disposes on them above and apart from the member states it represents, then it's little more than a money laundering facility, and would be subject to US RICO statutes, were it based in the US.-.

When drowning in your own cr@p: the Wookie defence.

 

[Bubbajim]

Try not to make yourself appear intelligent by drawing bizarre and intentionally abstract conclusions.
-snip - etc.

Come on now Cranky, your replies are normally better than that. Conflating NATO, the EU and (now, apparently) the Eurozone as all the same entity is just wrong. My "cutsie pie" example was also wrong, as I stated it was! No need to try and tell me that when I'd already said it. The point was that your conflation was wrong too - geddit?

 

[Kibaruk]

Here's the thing, if the Eu were going to put that five billion into subsidizing NATO, neither Trump nor anyone else would have said anything.

But they won't, they'll just put in it their own pockets, and let the US keep picking up the majority of the tab for global defense.

So, the EU's humongous fine, is really just a hidden tax, in order to keep the EU's courts in coffee, donuts, and stenographers.

Any fine these douches hand down, won't even rise to the level of a "class action settlement", which would at least givem, "victims", a shiny EU dollar each.

Let's just blame it on the Europeans, they are the reason why Google has to pay fines, because Europeans are old fashion, has nothing to do with Google itself or the common practices of US companies. Heck, it almost sounds as if Trump needs to fine them in order to be a hero of sorts, for making the US great again...

 

[captaincranky]

Come on now Cranky, your replies are normally better than that. Conflating NATO, the EU and (now, apparently) the Eurozone as all the same entity is just wrong. My "cutsie pie" example was also wrong, as I stated it was! No need to try and tell me that when I'd already said it. The point was that your conflation was wrong too - geddit?

The EU as an entity is comprised of NATO nations, and I published both lists, that of the EU, and that of EU members.

As it stands, the "European Union", isn't the governing body of Europe. And arguably, as a court system, it operates to the benefit of those member nations.

What you keep forgetting, is that I was of sentient age, when the EU was formed. And like I said, one of the cornerstones was that of forming a uniform currency, for convenience of its (mostly) European members.

Thus, if it isn't overtly distributing the proceeds of its income between those member nations, it's working "off the books", "laundering money", if you prefer.

Tropical fish grow to the size of the tank they're in, and bureaucracies are much more aggressive at appropriating resources. Hell, they'l grow forever, or until a revolution comes along to get rid of them

Trumps point, and doubtless you'll disagree with it is, if you're going to levy all these fines on American businesses, then pay your defense bills, which they don't.

Now, for all you millennials in the audience, this isn't a new issue. Europe has been sandbagging their monetary duties to NATO for decades. Trump is just our first president which brought up the issue forcefully.

And as for @treetops tirade about the US having the largest military in the world, we're also trillions of dollars in debt, and we shouldn't feel obligated to lend it to everyone who comes knocking at our door asking to borrow it.

 

[captaincranky]

Let's just blame it on the Europeans, they are the reason why Google has to pay fines, because Europeans are old fashion, has nothing to do with Google itself or the common practices of US companies. Heck, it almost sounds as if Trump needs to fine them in order to be a hero of sorts, for making the US great again...

Oh no, Google is the devil incarnate. Still Trump can't ask Google to pay the EU's share of NATO.

My comments are based solely on the financial backdrop of the EU not supporting NATO, when with one hand they're pocketing billions of (ostensibly ?), American dollars, and the other they're keeping in their pockets... Maybe that doesn't jibe with the article, but it is the way of the world.