[RD] Trump in Charge: The MAGA Presidency

US fires Greenland military base chief for 'undermining' Vance​

The head of the US military base in Greenland has been fired after she reportedly sent an email distancing herself from Vice-President JD Vance's criticism of Denmark.

The US military's Space Operations Command said Col Susannah Meyers had been removed from her role at Pituffik Space Base due to a "loss of confidence in her ability to lead".

Last month, Vance said Denmark had "not done a good job" for Greenlanders and had not spent enough on security while visiting the Danish territory.

The alleged email, released by a military news site, told staff Vance's comments were "not reflective" of the base. A Pentagon spokesman cited the article, saying "undermining" US leadership was not tolerated.

Following Vance's trip, on 31 March, Col Meyers is reported to have written: "I do not presume to understand current politics, but what I do know is the concerns of the US administration discussed by Vice-President Vance on Friday are not reflective of Pituffik Space Base."

Military.com - which published the email - said the contents had been confirmed as accurate to them by the US Space Force.

Appearing to confirm this was the reason for her firing, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell linked to the Military.com article in a post on X, writing: "Actions [that] undermine the chain of command or to subvert President [Donald] Trump's agenda will not be tolerated at the Department of Defense."

The Space Force's statement announcing Col Meyers' removal on Thursday said that Col Shawn Lee was replacing her.

It added: "Commanders are expected to adhere to the highest standards of conduct, especially as it relates to remaining nonpartisan in the performance of their duties."

Col Meyers had assumed command of the Arctic station in July last year. Col Lee was previously a squadron commander at the Clear Space Force Station in Alaska.

During his whirlwind trip, Vance had also reiterated Trump's desire to annex Greenland for security reasons.

Since the US delegation's visit, both Greenland and Denmark have shown a united front, opposing a US annexation of the autonomous Danish territory.

Earlier this month, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's official visit saw her stand side-by-side with her Greenlandic counterpart Jens-Frederik Nielsen and his predecessor, Mute Egede.

Speaking to reporters, Frederiksen directly addressed Trump, telling him: "You can't annex other countries."

She added that Denmark was fortifying its military presence in the Arctic, and offered closer collaboration with the US in defending the region.

The US has long maintained a security interest in Greenland as a strategically important territory. It has had a military presence on the island since occupying it following the occupation of Denmark by Nazi Germany during World War Two.

"If Russia were to send missiles towards the US, the shortest route for nuclear weapons would be via the North Pole and Greenland," Marc Jacobsen, an associate professor at the Royal Danish Defence College, previously told the BBC.

"That's why the Pituffik Space Base is immensely important in defending the US."

Greenland, the world's largest island, has been under Danish control for around 300 years.

Polls show that the vast majority of Greenlanders want to gain independence from Denmark - but do not wish to become part of the US.

Greenland has had the right to call an independence referendum since 2009, though in recent years some political parties have begun pushing harder for one to take place.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/creq99l218do
 
SemiLazyGamer said:
SCOTUS Unanimously tells Trump to bring Abredo Garcia home from El Salvador.

https://bsky.app/profile/stevenmazie.bsky.social%2Fpost%2F3lmil4hv3z22w
Click to expand...
Not "bring"... but "facilitate", which is not the same thing.

If you're tasked to "facilitate" getting beer to the party, you can satisfy that in a number of ways, for example, by placing an order with the store yourself, or asking someone else to do it, or handing someone some cash and asking them to handle it, etc... if they end up not coming through, you can shrug your shoulders and say "Meh, I tried"... but if your friend says "bring" beer to the party... you better not show up to the party without the damn beer, or you're going to be stopped at the door and sent back out to the packy to get beer.

So when you (the royal you) then ask the rhetorical question of what "facilitate" means... therein lies the problem... it doesn't mean anything specifically.
EnglishEdward said:
Begging your pardon but the way I read it the summary differs from the extract.

I.e. Release from the El Salvador gaol is not the same as a return to the USA.
Click to expand...
Nor is "facilitate" release, the same as "secure" or "obtain" release. The Order only vaguely tells the government to take some undefined step to request his release. Its a pretty lame Order.
Lexicus said:
While this is good as far as it goes, I am not optimistic that it will actually lead to the return of Abredo Garcia. The government will claim they are incapable of doing it, and I think SCOTUS is likely to let them get away with that - or at least, the technicalities and details will be litigated for years to come.
Click to expand...
This is indeed possible. The SCOTUS made it worse by noting the need for Judicial deference to the POTUS in matters of foreign affairs. This Order may as well say "Look, do what you can with El Salvador, to see about getting him out, or whatever... now go see the lower Court for further instructions... but remind the lower Court, that as POTUS, they're not the boss of you when it comes to foreign affairs."
 
Sommerswerd said:
Not "bring"... but "facilitate", which is not the same thing.

If you're tasked to "facilitate" getting beer to the party, you can satisfy that in a number of ways, for example, by placing an order with the store, asking someone else to do it, handing someone some cash and asking them to handle it, etc... if they end up not coming through, you can shrug your shoulders and say "Meh, I tried"... but if your friend says "bring" beer to the party... you better not show up to the party without the damn beer, or you're going to be stopped at the door and sent back out to the packy to get beer.

So when you (the royal you) then ask the rhetorical question of what "facilitate" means... therein lies the problem... it doesn't mean anything specifically.

Nor is "facilitate" release, the same as "secure" or "obtain" release. The Order only vaguely tells the government to take some undefined step to request his release. Its a pretty lame Order.

This is indeed possible. The SCOTUS made it worse by noting the need for Judicial deference to the POTUS in matters of foreign affairs. This Order may as well say "Look, do what you can with El Salvador, to see about getting him out, or whatever... now go see the lower Court for further instructions... but remind the lower Court, that as POTUS, they're not the boss of you when it comes to foreign affairs."
Click to expand...

Exactly right, and my guess is Alito and Thomas signed onto this order knowing all of this full well. This is essentially a fig leaf that Republicans can point to when people say the Court's conservatives are also Trump's henchmen. "Oh but they ruled 9-0 against him"...the devil is in the details, as always...
 
Social Security Administration will only be using Twitter for major communication from now on.


Immigrants who came into the country as per Biden's larol program have been listed as dead by Social Security.

www.cbsnews.com

Trump administration invalidates Social Security numbers of immigrants, pushing them to "self deport"

The move by the Social Security Administration essentially cancels an immigrant's Social Security number and classifies them as dead.
www.cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com
 
Broken_Erika said:
The alleged email, released by a military news site, told staff Vance's comments were "not reflective" of the base. A Pentagon spokesman cited the article, saying "undermining" US leadership was not tolerated.
Click to expand...

When you are as thin-skinned and conceited as Trump and Vance, the professionals undermining the amateurs will not be tolerated. It's embarrassing.
 
The United States remains a democracy with many capable and thorough people (I'd say a majority). Fortunately, it's not Russia yet, although Trump will try to change that as much as he can.
 
ok, upon review of the fact that the straw that broke Trump's back was the fact that the 10y-Tbills went up in rates instead of down like they normally would during a stock bust seen ten days or so.... now some of this is due to hedge funds acting as a shadow back for big institutional investors like pensions and unions, state retirements and so on.... but the reality is that when the fire was starting to heat the pan people fled from the dollar. Both Japan and China raised unwinding their long-term bond positions over the next few years....So? you ask? who cares? Well if I'm reading my MMT right the US just very subtly might have passed the moment in which they can continue printing dollars with abandon, and thus will no longer be the world's reserve currency for much longer, so I think we are in for a very bumpy ride the next time things go badly economically and that is likely to be soon (I reserve the right to be wrong, as always in regard to the voodoo of mystification that capitalism is...but this seems clear enough, no matter the real cause...


thoughts?
 
Actually, Canada was the ring leader. The started the slow bleed on Treasuries with other countries onboarding and then they let Trump now it was going to get worse instead of better unless he started caving
 
JollyRoger said:
Actually, Canada was the ring leader. The started the slow bleed on Treasuries with other countries onboarding and then they let Trump now it was going to get worse instead of better unless he started caving
Click to expand...
Well I think Cnada is horsehockey too, but thats a plus one for them from my PoV
 
Horses and hockey are both important Canadian symbols indeed. It's good you acknowledge their importance.
 
Estebonrober said:
ok, upon review of the fact that the straw that broke Trump's back was the fact that the 10y-Tbills went up in rates instead of down like they normally would during a stock bust seen ten days or so.... now some of this is due to hedge funds acting as a shadow back for big institutional investors like pensions and unions, state retirements and so on.... but the reality is that when the fire was starting to heat the pan people fled from the dollar. Both Japan and China raised unwinding their long-term bond positions over the next few years....So? you ask? who cares? Well if I'm reading my MMT right the US just very subtly might have passed the moment in which they can continue printing dollars with abandon, and thus will no longer be the world's reserve currency for much longer, so I think we are in for a very bumpy ride the next time things go badly economically and that is likely to be soon (I reserve the right to be wrong, as always in regard to the voodoo of mystification that capitalism is...but this seems clear enough, no matter the real cause...


thoughts?
Click to expand...

Not quite accurate. It is honestly astonishing how many bad takes there are about MMT, if you google "MMT bond markets" the first six or so hits are articles that, in the subtitle or first paragraph, claim that MMT means that there are no repercussions to unlimited deficit spending which is just not true, but anyway...what happened with the bond markets is not really evidence that the government can be insolvent in its own currency, nor does it really bear on the claim that the bond market is not necessary for the US to spend.
 
Evie said:
Horses and hockey are both important Canadian symbols indeed. It's good you acknowledge their importance.
Click to expand...
I'm just saying, you guys do not really seem to be governing yourselves either, its all looks like money dictates everything, and humans really have no part until the contradictions are so bad that capital has to shift around a bit to keep the sheeple docile.

Alas those pipelines our guys have been working on and all the related industries are going to be in a world of horsehockey when the native stochastic terrorism starts to escalate down here. Even I'm down to celebrate their detonation at this point, I can only imagine how the population will feel after the next 2 trill tax cut and spending freeze on the US population...

Again, my nation is kaput, so I don't even concern myself with much of it, I just found our slipping over the MMT line another indicator in my instrument panel. of flashing lights.

Lexicus said:
Not quite accurate. It is honestly astonishing how many bad takes there are about MMT, if you google "MMT bond markets" the first six or so hits are articles that, in the subtitle or first paragraph, claim that MMT means that there are no repercussions to unlimited deficit spending which is just not true, but anyway...what happened with the bond markets is not really evidence that the government can be insolvent in its own currency, nor does it really bear on the claim that the bond market is not necessary for the US to spend.
Click to expand...
Yea, ok well help me out here, because it seems to me that bond markets are the most obvious sing of when the ability to borrow (or in the case of Tbills literally printing money) has hit a natural limit. and thus, continuing to flex that particular muscle becomes impossible... which as far as I can tell is the only economic muscle, we've really used my entire lifetime. The lack of pain tolerance of our wealthy has already doomed us I think

edit" what markers would the theory look to for signs uf that confidence in a currency has failed.
 
Estebonrober said:
Yea, ok well help me out here, because it seems to me that bond markets are the most obvious sing of when the ability to borrow (or in the case of Tbills literally printing money) has hit a natural limit. and thus, continuing to flex that particular muscle becomes impossible... which as far as I can tell is the only economic muscle, we've really used my entire lifetime. The lack of pain tolerance of our wealthy has already doomed us I think
Click to expand...

Your confusion comes from believing that the US is borrowing money in any meaningful sense. If you follow the process in technical detail, what happens when the US deficit spends is that the magic money computers recently discovered by the geniuses at DOGE credit private accounts, and then the reserves generated by that process are used to purchase bonds.
 
Lexicus said:
Your confusion comes from believing that the US is borrowing money in any meaningful sense. If you follow the process in technical detail, what happens when the US deficit spends is that the magic money computers recently discovered by the geniuses at DOGE credit private accounts, and then the reserves generated by that process are used to purchase bonds.
Click to expand...
Art of the Deal? or Markets are not the real economy?
 
At some point the Fed can just buy unlimited US Treasuries.

Quantitative Easing to provide liquidity of course.

Never to monetize the debt. :shifty:
 
Kaitzilla said:
At some point the Fed can just buy unlimited US Treasuries.

Quantitative Easing to provide liquidity of course.

Never to monetize the debt. :shifty:
Click to expand...
Except at some point you can only use it internally, we are not there yet, but the US may actually be on that path. We have been behaving really badly for my entire life as it turns out, and then our leaders are shocked when they throw a fit and find no one is willing to listen anymore... the most pathetic fall of an empire yet lol we need names for this fall imo, how bout the "twitter collapse"?
 
Estebonrober said:
Art of the Deal? or Markets are not the real economy?
Click to expand...
All money is created at some point of creation. The government creates money at the point of federal spending. All "borrowing" is selling a savings account for a nearly equal amount as the new money printed, after the fact, at the rate people/funds are willing to give up their new cash for new savings. If people don't want the bonds, the fed can buy them, and mechanistically we don't need to sell bonds in the first place. And it seems the desire to save cash is so high right now that new federal spending is of course accepted by "the market" as that is literally cash. They can sell the bonds at really high rates if the market demands it, there's no solvency risk as the money to pay the interest is created at the point of paying the interest, created by the interest payer.

But yes it's all indicative that people are freaking out, from funds to individuals to productive industry, which is terrible for growth (via planned private expenditures) and requires a government solution. And guess who is running the henhouse.
 
Hygro said:
All money is created at some point of creation. The government creates money at the point of federal spending. All "borrowing" is selling a savings account for a nearly equal amount as the new money printed, after the fact, at the rate people/funds are willing to give up their new cash for new savings. If people don't want the bonds, the fed can buy them, and mechanistically we don't need to sell bonds in the first place. And it seems the desire to save cash is so high right now that new federal spending is of course accepted by "the market" as that is literally cash. They can sell the bonds at really high rates if the market demands it, there's no solvency risk as the money to pay the interest is created at the point of paying the interest, created by the interest payer.

But yes it's all indicative that people are freaking out, from funds to individuals to productive industry, which is terrible for growth (via planned private expenditures) and requires a government solution. And guess who is running the henhouse.
Click to expand...
so yea the idea that it is all just ledger stuff does not change the reality that when no one is willing to take the US dollar our way of life as we know it is kaput. It might provide a lot of opportunities for change tho... eventually.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom