• Is AI ruining social medi

    From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to All on Tue Apr 1 08:27:00 2025
    Is AI like ChatGPT, Grok, and Gemini ruining social media? Because it sure feels like it

    Date:
    Mon, 31 Mar 2025 18:00:10 +0000

    Description:
    AI is taking over social media, one sloppy post at a time but the
    consequences go way beyond cringe.

    FULL STORY ======================================================================

    Yesterday morning, I logged into Facebook and saw an image of the Colosseum turned into a water park. On LinkedIn, everyone was busy transforming their headshots into Studio Ghibli characters, courtesy of ChatGPTs latest update. Threads showed me a video reimagining the cast of Severance crawling around Lumon as babies. And X kindly served up a Grok-generated image of Elon Musk
    and Donald Trump in a pose I wish I could unsee.

    Its not just me, right? Social media has become a swirling mess of synthetic content. Weve written about the rise of AI slop before part cringe-inducing art gallery, part uncanny valley fever dream. And sure, the algorithm is feeding me stuff it thinks I care about Severance babies, travel inspo, a healthy dose of Musk mockery. That checks out.

    But I keep thinking: has AI officially ruined social media? And is this just harmless chaos or is it quietly rewiring how we see truth, trust, and
    reality?

    The four horsemen of the AI slopocalypse

    One of the biggest problems with AI content is the sheer volume and its
    coming from all sides. AI evangelists. Your coworkers. Your friends. Your
    gran (who probably doesnt even realize what shes reposting). And brands that absolutely should know better.

    To make sense of the mess, I spoke to Joe Goulcher , a creative director and social media expert. He works with brands on this stuff daily and has a front-row seat to the AI slop flood. According to Joe, AI content tends to
    fall into four distinct strains like a virus, he tells me.

    Functional AI slop

    Crudely, badly made stuff that is basically stock imagery used to fill a hole where an image should be, Goulcher explains. It's bottom of the barrel, and barely any conscious thought has gone into why or what it is. This is the lowest-effort tier. Bland visuals slapped onto posts just to have something there. Placeholder content that somehow became the content.

    Clickbait slop

    Stuff that makes us stop scrolling and think god this is disgusting and bad, but its by design to generate conversation, Goulcher says. This ones the most insidious. Its not trying to be good, its trying to be just bad enough to go viral.

    The look what I made! post

    This is where people use AI to create something that looks like LOTR, Star
    Wars or another behemoth IP because its trained on it, Goulcher tells me.
    They say things like look what I did in ten mins!! this is going to change
    the industry and you should be scared and using it now instead of spending thousands with artists. It usually goes down like a sack of bricks. This is
    the hype-fuelled, tech-bro theatre of generative content. The tone is always breathless, and the results are always underwhelming.

    The genuinely good stuff

    There are actually good AI campaigns, with purpose, permission, and laced
    with incredible VFX, handcrafted where AI couldn't do the job, Goulcher says. Yes, some brands are doing it well, with thought, care, and actual artistry. But its rare. And usually buried under a steaming pile of junk.

    Breaking it down like this might feel bleak like weve gone full epidemiology on the most cursed content but its actually useful. Categorizing the chaos helps explain why AI content feels inescapable, and why it hits so many different shades of dystopian.

    AI for the sake of AI

    Were in an era of AI content being made simply because it can be. People, brands, entire businesses are churning it out. Not necessarily because they have something to say, and not because its better than the alternatives, but because the tools exist, they're easy to use, and the pressure to use them is enormous.

    This speaks to a deeper issue in tech. Just look at Apples recent AI missteps
    . Despite all the hype, AI isnt delivering the magic it was sold on. Its
    being shoved into products not because users need it, but because
    shareholders want to hear AI on earnings calls.

    And right now? Its not revolutionizing much of anything. In fact, in most applications, its starting to look like a very expensive gimmick.

    It reminds me of the early days of torrenting or music streaming a bit of a Wild West, Goulcher explains. Even though brands whacked a logo on them, it didn't make it ethically good in any way. They were just trying to ride the waves of legality and dosh until legislation kicked in far too late.

    Like crypto or NFTs, we see theres innovation, hype, overuse, and then
    fatigue. I think we can apply the same tech hype graph to AI content,
    Goulcher says. There's always something in my gut thats like, this bubble
    will burst. And I still think that will happen. When AI data sets start
    eating themselves, and the innovative wow factor wears off whats left?

    And hes asking the question more of us probably should be: How are any of
    these billion-dollar tools actually making our lives better? Because the novelty is wearing off, the ethics (or lack of them) are becoming clearer,
    and the shock value is beginning to wane.

    AI hasnt just broken social media, its broken the truth

    Its not like social media was perfect before this. AI didnt start the rot, things were already slipping. But this latest wave of generative content has pushed it straight into uncanny, derivative, brain-melting chaos.

    And if AI is flooding our feeds with pointless slop, its also doing something more dangerous: weaponizing it. Its easy to laugh at AI-generated celeb
    babies or cringe at a brand ad that crawled out of the uncanny valley. But
    that reaction misses the bigger, scarier picture.

    Because AI can fuel misinformation at scale. For example, across Europe, far-right groups are using AI-generated images to provoke outrage, spread conspiracy theories, and stoke division. And these arent just fringe trolls theyre coordinated campaigns, designed to manipulate public opinion.

    Thats just one example. Election misinformation. Deepfake porn. Fake war footage. Yes, it's the kind of content that has always existed online. Only now, the rules have changed. You dont need skills. You dont need a team. You dont even need a budget. Just a narrative and a willingness to abandon
    reality. And on social media, the rest takes care of itself.

    Thats the real horror story. Not just that were drowning in junk, or that brands think we want AI-generated ads, but that were slipping into a world where whats fake moves faster than whats true. And the algorithm doesnt care
    if its real just that its getting your clicks, your likes, your attention.

    ======================================================================
    Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/artificial-intelligence/is-ai-like-chatgpt -grok-and-gemini-ruining-social-media-because-it-sure-feels-like-it

    $$
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  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/1 to Mike Powell on Fri Apr 4 16:44:04 2025
    Mike Powell wrote to All <=-

    One of the biggest problems with AI content is the sheer volume and
    its coming from all sides. AI evangelists. Your coworkers. Your
    friends. Your gran (who probably doesnt even realize what shes
    reposting). And brands that absolutely should know better.

    Entrepreneurs are sounding alarm bells for social media influencers -
    saying that people will be creating AI-based characters to do branding
    and marketing for products - which will be purchased by our AI agents
    soon enough.

    I'm feeling redundant.



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  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to KURT WEISKE on Sat Apr 5 09:02:00 2025
    Entrepreneurs are sounding alarm bells for social media influencers -
    saying that people will be creating AI-based characters to do branding
    and marketing for products - which will be purchased by our AI agents
    soon enough.

    I have noticed some creators are mentioning that they've been getting a lot
    of marketing offers lately that are not worth the time/money. I wonder if
    they are not already losing the race against AI.

    I'm feeling redundant.

    I am not just yet, but I am sure my time will come. ;)

    Then again, I recently read a rumor that the decision on which places to
    tariff this week was generated by AI, which is how we now have tariffs in
    place on islands that are inhabited by only penguins and seals, or only polar bears, and no people.

    I am sure a person doing a little research could have prevented that. I suspect you would have been up to the task, if asked. See, not so
    redundant after all. ;)

    Mike


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  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/1 to Mike Powell on Sat Apr 5 09:41:13 2025
    Mike Powell wrote to KURT WEISKE <=-

    I have noticed some creators are mentioning that they've been getting a lot of marketing offers lately that are not worth the time/money. I wonder if they are not already losing the race against AI.

    Creators have been low-balled for decades. "Sure, give us one for free
    and maybe we'll pay you for the next one... Imagine what our exposure
    could do for your brand!"

    Then again, I recently read a rumor that the decision on which places
    to tariff this week was generated by AI, which is how we now have
    tariffs in place on islands that are inhabited by only penguins and
    seals, or only polar bears, and no people.

    I don't know if it's a rumor, but someone posted a ChatGPT prompt that
    results in the exact output that Trump held up.



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  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to MIKE POWELL on Mon Apr 7 01:11:00 2025
    Then again, I recently read a rumor that the decision on which places to
    >tariff this week was generated by AI, which is how we now have tariffs in
    >place on islands that are inhabited by only penguins and seals, or only polar
    >bears, and no people.

    I am sure a person doing a little research could have prevented that.

    Ha.. I saw that on the news and was going to mention it. I sort of
    wondered if that had been mentioned on the USA news.. B)
    ---
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  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to MIKE POWELL on Sun Apr 13 01:23:00 2025
    A couple of days ago, the morning news was that there would be no "hitting
    >pause" this time on tariffs and that they were here to stay. The market
    >tumbled. Trump took to social media to tell people it was a "GOOD TIME TO
    >BUY."

    Later in the day, while an official was apparently speaking about the tariffs
    >staying in place, Trump interrupted and shocked the official by saying he
    >was going to pause them (except against China) after all.

    The markets shot up. The next day, Trump was bragging about how he'd made
    >a couple (m/b)illion dollars and how Charles Schwab, who was apparently
    >with him, had made over 2 billion on the stock market the day before.
    >Apparently, a few congresspersons also made a lot of dough buying stock that
    >day.

    Yes, it's like insider trading except it's legal.. (Questionably)

    Here, if a politician has a lot of funds invested, it has to go into
    a blind trust so that they don't know what they are invested in and so
    won't make political decisions based on what will make them a profit.

    Sounds like those "in the know" are not losing money, but everyone else is.

    So... situation normal ?

    I couldn't quickly find current figures for the USA but in that search
    >> what came up was the estimate that, if the tarrifs currently on hold
    >> come through and stay, it will cost the USA over 2 million jobs.

    They are already costing jobs. One IT company has hit pause on a billion
    >dollar investment in jobs in Ohio (M$ or Apple, I think), and another has
    >hit pause on what is at least a multi-million dollar investment in a battery
    >plant in Kentucky.

    They closed another GM plant in Canada yesterday for at least several
    months, although they say that has more to do with poor sales of
    electric cars than Trump's doings.. (for a change..) B)

    ---
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  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to ROB MCCART on Sun Apr 13 08:49:00 2025
    The markets shot up. The next day, Trump was bragging about how he'd made
    >a couple (m/b)illion dollars and how Charles Schwab, who was apparently
    >with him, had made over 2 billion on the stock market the day before.
    >Apparently, a few congresspersons also made a lot of dough buying stock tha
    >day.

    Yes, it's like insider trading except it's legal.. (Questionably)

    Not sure it really is legal, though, in this case. If he helped people
    like Schwab, who isn't in Congress, make a bunch of money, that means that folks outside of the White House knew what was going to happen. Chances
    are Trump told them. Pretty sure that isn't legal. ;)

    Here, if a politician has a lot of funds invested, it has to go into
    a blind trust so that they don't know what they are invested in and so
    won't make political decisions based on what will make them a profit.

    That is what some are pushing for here, or preventing investment entirely.

    Sounds like those "in the know" are not losing money, but everyone else is.

    So... situation normal ?

    I guess so. ;)

    They closed another GM plant in Canada yesterday for at least several
    months, although they say that has more to do with poor sales of
    electric cars than Trump's doings.. (for a change..) B)

    We have actually been getting some intermentent news about US manufacturers closing plants up there. They are closing, or delaying, them here also.

    Mike

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  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to DR. WHAT on Sun Apr 13 09:28:00 2025
    A new story today said that Trump is telling people to buy or sell stocks just before he announces a tariff (or postpones one) so the rich can make money from the bouncing markets.. I'm surprised that by now people haven't just stopped paying attention to his planned financial attacks..

    That smells like just propaganda from the media. Was that CNN or MSDNC?

    It was from a tweet from Trump himself, later followed by a presser in the
    Oval Office where Trump bragged to some NASCAR drivers about his friend
    Charles Schwab recently making a killing in the market.

    I would agree that it is "progaganda," but it isn't coming from the media.


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  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to DR. WHAT on Mon Apr 14 02:04:00 2025
    A new story today said that Trump is telling people to buy or sell
    stocks just before he announces a tariff (or postpones one) so the rich
    can make money from the bouncing markets..

    That smells like just propaganda from the media. Was that CNN or MSDNC?

    That was on our national news but Mike Powel my Sysop on this BBS
    also heard al about it down there.

    Stocks are not short term investments. Anyone panicing and selling shouldn't
    >be playing the stock market.

    Depends who you are.. For years I was a Day Trader with my own funds.
    At times I would buy and sell the same stock as many as 3 times in one
    day as the value fluctuated. If you're good at that you can make
    more money in one day on a stcok than you would just holding it
    for a year. But when people asked what I do for a living I used to
    tell them I was a professional gambler because that's what it is.
    You guess right and make a lot of money, you guess wrong and you lose.

    Too many rich, powerful people are losing money

    Which was part of the plan. Those rich are usually Elitists who do nothing.

    I don't think Trumps plan was to eliminate rich people..

    I couldn't quickly find current figures for the USA but in that search
    what came up was the estimate that, if the tarrifs currently on hold
    come through and stay, it will cost the USA over 2 million jobs.

    Propaganda again.

    Estimates from numerous sources, but of course the worst case estimates
    are the ones that make the news. That all remains to be seen but I
    have a feeling things are not going to go anything like Trump hopes
    and expects them to. He won't be in power for enough years to pull
    you out of a borderline recession as he tries to take on the world.

    There's already been a car plant in Canada and one in Mexico and
    one in the USA that have shut down 'temporarily' while they try to
    sort out how to survive the automotive tariffs.

    Well, Canada can do what many other countries have done: negotiate and get th
    >tariffs dropped.

    Right.. he's offered us 2 ways out of it. To either move all our
    car plants to the USA, and lose 125,000 direct jobs and many times
    that support jobs, or join the USA as the 51st state..

    Maybe if you guys elected a useful PM, like Pierre (sorry, can't spell his la
    >name) things will get better.

    I'm not sure why Pierre Poilierve would be of much use. Mostly he is
    more like Trump than the others. They say he will turn Canada into
    the USA in all but name, cutting services, cutting health care and
    making the gov't smaller and almost impossible to deal with if you
    have a problem and cut taxes for the rich..

    That said, Mark Carney is a banker and will cause problems of his
    own. He is still ahead for the past 4 or 5 weeks, but only by
    about 5% now. I've said in the past that what would be best is
    for a Minority Gov't to be elected. Without the power to do much
    unless another party backs them up, that tends to mitigate the
    amount of damage they can do..

    That said, Carney's small 5% lead is like the Polular vote, and
    a lot of huge areas virtually always vote liberal so the number
    of districts the Liberals will win are very likely to be a lot
    better than just 5% higher.. But I never believe the predictions
    until after the votes are in.. B)

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  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to ROB MCCART on Mon Apr 14 09:53:00 2025
    A new story today said that Trump is telling people to buy or sell
    stocks just before he announces a tariff (or postpones one) so the rich can make money from the bouncing markets..

    That smells like just propaganda from the media. Was that CNN or MSDNC?

    That was on our national news but Mike Powel my Sysop on this BBS
    also heard al about it down there.

    I didn't just hear it on the news, I saw the President's tweet about it. ;)

    Too many rich, powerful people are losing money

    Which was part of the plan. Those rich are usually Elitists who do
    othing

    I don't think Trumps plan was to eliminate rich people..

    The "Elite" logic doesn't completely track. There are "Elite" people who
    don't like Trump, donate to Democrats, etc., but there are also "Elite"
    folks who are in Trump's circle... Elon Musk and Charles Schwab are two
    good examples.

    So when someone mentions "Elitists" I have to wonder if they are paying attention.

    I couldn't quickly find current figures for the USA but in that search what came up was the estimate that, if the tarrifs currently on hold
    come through and stay, it will cost the USA over 2 million jobs.

    Propaganda again.

    Estimates from numerous sources, but of course the worst case estimates
    are the ones that make the news. That all remains to be seen but I
    have a feeling things are not going to go anything like Trump hopes
    and expects them to. He won't be in power for enough years to pull
    you out of a borderline recession as he tries to take on the world.

    It is already costing us some jobs, or at least delaying them. A tech
    giant... M$ or Google... has put a multi-billion dollar investment in Ohio
    on hold due to the tariffs, which is costing Ohio potential jobs. Another company has put a battery plant in Kentucky on hold for the same reason.
    It was supposed to bring a bunch of jobs.

    The Kentucky plant was already started so I think it will eventually be completed, but the Ohio investment was something new.

    Well, Canada can do what many other countries have done: negotiate and get th
    >tariffs dropped.

    Right.. he's offered us 2 ways out of it. To either move all our
    car plants to the USA, and lose 125,000 direct jobs and many times
    that support jobs, or join the USA as the 51st state..

    Two pretty crappy alternatives. ;)


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  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to ROB MCCART on Wed Apr 9 10:21:00 2025
    Then again, I recently read a rumor that the decision on which places to
    >tariff this week was generated by AI, which is how we now have tariffs in
    >place on islands that are inhabited by only penguins and seals, or only polar
    >bears, and no people.

    I am sure a person doing a little research could have prevented that.

    Ha.. I saw that on the news and was going to mention it. I sort of
    wondered if that had been mentioned on the USA news.. B)

    That one I am not sure if it made "the news" or not, but people are aware
    of it. One thing that did make the news is a story involving one of the administration's financial advisors, Peter Navarro. He became "an expert"
    by writing books. In those books, Peter is fond of using one "expert"
    source in particular.

    Turns out the source does not exist. Their name is an anagram of Peter's.

    So the administration is using the expert opinions of a non-existent,
    made-up person because Trump's son-in-law found one of Navarro's books on Amazon and recommended it to his father-in-law.


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  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to MIKE POWELL on Fri Apr 11 01:48:00 2025
    One thing that did make the news is a story involving one of the
    >administration's financial advisors, Peter Navarro. He became "an expert"
    >by writing books. In those books, Peter is fond of using one "expert"
    >source in particular.

    Turns out the source does not exist. Their name is an anagram of Peter's.

    So the administration is using the expert opinions of a non-existent,
    >made-up person because Trump's son-in-law found one of Navarro's books on
    >Amazon and recommended it to his father-in-law.

    The blind leading the blind?

    A new story today said that Trump is telling people to buy or sell stocks
    just before he announces a tariff (or postpones one) so the rich can make
    money from the bouncing markets.. I'm surprised that by now people haven't
    just stopped paying attention to his planned financial attacks..

    But I think it's going to calm down or come to an end before too long.
    Too many rich, powerful people are losing money and Canada has already
    lost over 33,000 jobs just in the steel plants.

    I couldn't quickly find current figures for the USA but in that search
    what came up was the estimate that, if the tarrifs currently on hold
    come through and stay, it will cost the USA over 2 million jobs.

    There's already been a car plant in Canada and one in Mexico and
    one in the USA that have shut down 'temporarily' while they try to
    sort out how to survive the automotive tariffs.

    ---
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  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to ROB MCCART on Fri Apr 11 09:51:00 2025
    Turns out the source does not exist. Their name is an anagram of Peter's.

    So the administration is using the expert opinions of a non-existent,
    >made-up person because Trump's son-in-law found one of Navarro's books on
    >Amazon and recommended it to his father-in-law.

    The blind leading the blind?

    Exactly.

    A new story today said that Trump is telling people to buy or sell stocks just before he announces a tariff (or postpones one) so the rich can make money from the bouncing markets.. I'm surprised that by now people haven't just stopped paying attention to his planned financial attacks..

    Off and on for several days now, an administration spokesperson or official will announce one thing in the morning (before or when the markets open)
    only to announce something contradictory late in the day but before the
    markets close.

    A couple of days ago, the morning news was that there would be no "hitting pause" this time on tariffs and that they were here to stay. The market tumbled. Trump took to social media to tell people it was a "GOOD TIME TO BUY."

    Later in the day, while an official was apparently speaking about the tariffs staying in place, Trump interrupted and shocked the official by saying he
    was going to pause them (except against China) after all.

    The markets shot up. The next day, Trump was bragging about how he'd made
    a couple (m/b)illion dollars and how Charles Schwab, who was apparently
    with him, had made over 2 billion on the stock market the day before. Apparently, a few congresspersons also made a lot of dough buying stock that day.

    It is stock market manipulation, plain and simple, and also sounds a whole
    lot like insider trading for anyone who was in-the-know about the flip-flop.

    But I think it's going to calm down or come to an end before too long.
    Too many rich, powerful people are losing money and Canada has already
    lost over 33,000 jobs just in the steel plants.

    Sounds like those "in the know" are not losing money, but everyone else is.

    I couldn't quickly find current figures for the USA but in that search
    what came up was the estimate that, if the tarrifs currently on hold
    come through and stay, it will cost the USA over 2 million jobs.

    They are already costing jobs. One IT company has hit pause on a billion dollar investment in jobs in Ohio (M$ or Apple, I think), and another has
    hit pause on what is at least a multi-million dollar investment in a battery plant in Kentucky.

    I think the battery plant will eventually be finished, but I am not so sure about the Ohio tech jobs.

    There's already been a car plant in Canada and one in Mexico and
    one in the USA that have shut down 'temporarily' while they try to
    sort out how to survive the automotive tariffs.

    I think this is about lining their own pockets and to hell with everyone
    else.


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  • From Dr. What@1:142/999 to Rob Mccart on Sat Apr 12 14:56:12 2025
    Rob Mccart wrote to MIKE POWELL <=-

    A new story today said that Trump is telling people to buy or sell
    stocks just before he announces a tariff (or postpones one) so the rich can make money from the bouncing markets.. I'm surprised that by now people haven't just stopped paying attention to his planned financial attacks..

    That smells like just propaganda from the media. Was that CNN or MSDNC?

    But I think it's going to calm down or come to an end before too long.

    Stocks are not short term investments. Anyone panicing and selling shouldn't be playing the stock market.

    Too many rich, powerful people are losing money

    Which was part of the plan. Those rich are usually Elitists who do nothing.

    I couldn't quickly find current figures for the USA but in that search what came up was the estimate that, if the tarrifs currently on hold
    come through and stay, it will cost the USA over 2 million jobs.

    Propaganda again.

    There's already been a car plant in Canada and one in Mexico and
    one in the USA that have shut down 'temporarily' while they try to
    sort out how to survive the automotive tariffs.

    Well, Canada can do what many other countries have done: negotiate and get the tariffs dropped.

    Maybe if you guys elected a useful PM, like Pierre (sorry, can't spell his last name) things will get better.


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  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/1 to Dr. What on Sat Apr 12 14:20:08 2025
    Re: Re: Is AI ruining social
    By: Dr. What to Rob Mccart on Sat Apr 12 2025 02:56 pm

    A new story today said that Trump is telling people to buy or sell stocks
    just before he announces a tariff (or postpones one) so the rich can make
    money from the bouncing markets.. I'm surprised that by now people haven'
    just stopped paying attention to his planned financial attacks..

    That smells like just propaganda from the media. Was that CNN or MSDNC?

    HE TWEETED IT.
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  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to MIKE POWELL on Tue Apr 15 01:11:00 2025
    Yes, it's like insider trading except it's legal.. (Questionably)

    Not sure it really is legal, though, in this case. If he helped people
    >like Schwab, who isn't in Congress, make a bunch of money, that means that
    >folks outside of the White House knew what was going to happen. Chances
    >are Trump told them. Pretty sure that isn't legal. ;)

    I suppose in that case his plans on world tariffs are not like knowing
    what a single company is going to do, but people should know by now
    how much the markets move every time he makes a change. It's the same
    affect but the scope makes it a lot harder for normal people to make
    any use of it, but very wealthy people certainly could..

    I wonder at times if he is a twit or he thinks everyone else is
    and that he can trick/manipulate them saying by ridiculous things.

    He said yesterday that his tariff policies are working wonderfully
    and used as proof that last week the US Markets had their biggest
    one day gain in many years.. Somehow he forgot to take into account
    that that huge gain was only because the market was partially
    recovering from the biggest losses in ages, and are still lower
    than before he took office.

    We have actually been getting some intermentent news about US manufacturers
    >closing plants up there. They are closing, or delaying, them here also.

    There's going to be a lot of pain before you see much gain I think.

    And I know we have companies here that sell 90% of their products
    to the USA so they are possibly going to close completely, unable
    to pick up enough buyers in other countries for their products.
    And duty free store sales are way down and many small businesses
    near the border that have relied of tourist dollars on both sides
    of the border are in serious trouble.

    Then there are companies like Apple who lost $638 Billion in
    market capital in 3 days after Trump started in on China.
    Those are products that a lot of Americans want to buy and
    they won't appreciate paying more than double the cost for them.

    ---
    * SLMR Rob * A pedestrian hit me and went under my car
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  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to ROB MCCART on Tue Apr 15 09:51:00 2025
    Not sure it really is legal, though, in this case. If he helped people
    >like Schwab, who isn't in Congress, make a bunch of money, that means that
    >folks outside of the White House knew what was going to happen. Chances
    >are Trump told them. Pretty sure that isn't legal. ;)

    I suppose in that case his plans on world tariffs are not like knowing
    what a single company is going to do, but people should know by now
    how much the markets move every time he makes a change. It's the same
    affect but the scope makes it a lot harder for normal people to make
    any use of it, but very wealthy people certainly could..

    This is part of the reason that the ability to tariff was not supposed to
    be in the hands of one person and their changing whims. That ability belongs to Congress but they decided to give "emergency powers" to Trump to allow him to determine tariffs on his own. That is a move they should be held accountable for.

    I wonder at times if he is a twit or he thinks everyone else is
    and that he can trick/manipulate them saying by ridiculous things.

    Six of one and half dozen of the other, I think.

    He said yesterday that his tariff policies are working wonderfully
    and used as proof that last week the US Markets had their biggest
    one day gain in many years.. Somehow he forgot to take into account
    that that huge gain was only because the market was partially
    recovering from the biggest losses in ages, and are still lower
    than before he took office.

    As long as he and his pals are making money, that is all they are concerned with.

    We have actually been getting some intermentent news about US
    anufacturers
    >closing plants up there. They are closing, or delaying, them here also.

    There's going to be a lot of pain before you see much gain I think.

    Indeed.

    I honestly believe that this is a "revenge tour" on US citizens for not
    voting him into office in 2020. At some point, if he ever believed the election was stolen, I suspect he realized it was not.


    * SLMR 2.1a * Does anybody here remember Vera Lynn?
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  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to MIKE POWELL on Thu Apr 17 01:26:00 2025
    That smells like just propaganda from the media.

    That was on our national news but Mike Powel my Sysop on this BBS
    >> also heard al about it down there.

    I didn't just hear it on the news, I saw the President's tweet about it. ;)

    Oops, Sorry.. I don't follow tweets unless they get repeated on the news.. B)

    I have a feeling things are not going to go anything like Trump hopes
    >> and expects them to. He won't be in power for enough years to pull
    >> you out of a borderline recession as he tries to take on the world.

    It is already costing us some jobs, or at least delaying them. A tech
    >giant... M$ or Google... has put a multi-billion dollar investment in Ohio
    >on hold due to the tariffs, which is costing Ohio potential jobs. Another
    >company has put a battery plant in Kentucky on hold for the same reason.
    >It was supposed to bring a bunch of jobs.

    Yes, we are seeing the same things here. It's bad enough we lost over
    30,000 jobs in one industry last month but now we keep hearing about
    business expansions or new ones planning to move here that are being
    cancelled, or at least postponed..

    Right.. he's offered us 2 ways out of it. To either move all our
    >> car plants to the USA, and lose 125,000 direct jobs and many times
    >> that support jobs, or join the USA as the 51st state..

    Two pretty crappy alternatives. ;)

    I'm not sure you, as an American, should call joining you 'crappy'.. B)

    ---
    * SLMR Rob * The best way to accelerate a Mac is at 9.8 m/s
    * Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)
  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to MIKE POWELL on Thu Apr 17 01:48:00 2025
    This is part of the reason that the ability to tariff was not supposed to
    >be in the hands of one person and their changing whims. That ability belongs
    >to Congress but they decided to give "emergency powers" to Trump to allow him
    >to determine tariffs on his own. That is a move they should be held
    >accountable for.

    Well, if not earlier it may turn into an emergency soon.. B)

    I honestly believe that this is a "revenge tour" on US citizens for not
    >voting him into office in 2020. At some point, if he ever believed the
    >election was stolen, I suspect he realized it was not.

    Sore loser.. B)

    ---
    * SLMR Rob * You save fallen women? Could you save one for me ???
    * Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)
  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to ROB MCCART on Thu Apr 17 08:14:00 2025
    Two pretty crappy alternatives. ;)

    I'm not sure you, as an American, should call joining you 'crappy'.. B)

    I would imagine that, for a successful sovereign country, it wouldn't be a great thing. ;)


    * SLMR 2.1a * Float on a river, forever and ever, Emily...Emily...
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  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to MIKE POWELL on Sun Apr 20 01:31:00 2025
    Two pretty crappy alternatives. ;)

    I'm not sure you, as an American, should call joining you 'crappy'.. B)

    I would imagine that, for a successful sovereign country, it wouldn't be a
    >great thing. ;)

    Not according to Greenland anyways.. B)

    No, I think a lot of the world thinks Canada and the USA are pretty similar
    but there are a lot of fundamental differences between us. Not so much
    that we can't be good friends and neighbours (usually) but there are differences that both of our people would not want to change over to
    given the opportunity. Most Canadians I know who moved there for, say,
    a higher paying job and the promise of lower taxes didn't stay very long.

    But of course some do move, in both directions, and stay..
    You can never speak for everyone..

    ---
    * SLMR Rob * Yes... I'll have the Gerbil sandwich - no mustard
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