
EU official used colorful, simplified cue cards in trade meeting with Trump - mpweiher
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/international-taxes/399042-eu-official-used-colorful-simplified-cue-cards-to-explain
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growlist
I guess these cards might also be useful to help see through a drunken haze.

~~~
s9w
Comments (and articles) like this are a-ok, but even the slightest deviation
from the ultra-left bias gets flagged or removed within minutes or hours. All
while self-congratulatingly blasting against right-wing opinion bubbles? Okay
then

~~~
majewsky
I'm on the left side of the political spectrum, and I find it fascinating when
right-wingers spot "ultra-left bias" in forums that I find balanced or right-
leaning.

~~~
alliecat
Yup. It does entertain me, especially as my own experience of HN is center-
right at best.

~~~
mercer
HN can be pretty schizophrenic. It often seems to switch depending on the
topic, and topics where the various 'groups' collide can be very interesting
(or frustrating).

I like that kind of diversity as long as it doesn't lead to flamewars.

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posting2fast
They may be dumb or an asshole or wrong about X, but they're still your
brother/sister. I don't mean Trump, I mean Americans, being a subset of
humanity. At the very least, they're people you're better off working with in
whatever common ground you have, than fighting endless and unwinnable battles
about someone being stupid or ugly as a distraction from how badly things are,
and how muddy and muddled the road forward is... it's really incredibly sad to
see that nation so torn up. Not over nothing, but also not over anything that
warrants _this_ , and the way it's treated. Just like Brexit, I get no joy
from it. It just sucks, and instead of a growing opportunity, it's just used
for more wounds. As if people really want it to get even worse; because
whatever the lips say, that's what the hands are _doing_ says.

How much has been _achieved_ by the eye rolling and talking _about_ "the other
side" (no matter by whom and at what "side") since Trump was elected? What has
been rationally been recognized as a problem, and what steps have been taken
towards solutions? Where have people made an effort to hear others, instead of
their bubble? I'm sure there are people outside the limelight who actually did
do these things, but from what I see being surfaced most of the time, it's
kind of a shit show.

I'm sure it's a scene in a movie or ten, where parents have a real bad fight,
but then realize that screaming at each other is something their kid should
not see, because regardless of who is right, or who wins, or whatever, seeing
them sink so low can do a whole other set of damage. This feels like that
movie for me, for too long now. Be wary of things that are hard or impossible
to come back from.

I'm not one who gives a crap about badges or offices, but even I feel uneasy
how the office of the President of the US is being damaged by this. I say by
this, not just "by Trump". You have to think of the future, too. And by this I
do not mean "no criticism", that is 100% not my point. Adults do have
discussions, and they fight, but being demeaning about it is orthogonal to
that and not good ever, in no context. And also no matter how wrong or dumb or
how much of an asshole someone is. Actually: The more they are, the more you
should "win", and the more important it is for that to be clean and fair, and
for that to allow them a route to "join the win" by actually coming around
from their own volition and voluntary insight.

I'm not American, I never was in America and there has been no president
during my lifetime I _really_ liked. I could not care, but I do. Because "
_any man 's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind_" as John
Donne wrote, and this can't go on. You are better than this, all of you.
Roughly speaking, "you" _invented_ being better at this, ffs. So take care, of
yourself and each other, and as in _actually_ do that. Please.

Sorry for it being so jumbled, not sorry for ranting... I adamantly believe in
the importance of this thing I don't know how to put well.

~~~
plaidfuji
Hacker News is a welcome respite from traditional American news sources whose
sole purpose today is wall-to-wall Trump coverage. Leave it to HN commenters
to find a long-term thoughtful and productive point of view when a Trump story
finally does make it up through the ranks.

I know when you say "brother/sister" you're talking in the abstract, but the
problem is that intra-familial political divides are increasingly uncommon,
I.e. Trump voters are unlikely to even be my third cousin. A recent precinct-
by-precinct 2016 election map published by the NYT showed that it's likely I'd
have to drive up to 30 miles to find a precinct that swung the other way, so
they're not my neighbor either. Major protests, which remain one of the more
productive tools of political communication because they require actual human
effort, happen in large cities and end up preaching to the choir, effectively.
The "Other Side" receives news of the worst elements of these protests in
coverage designed to make them angry, /because that's what news coverage today
is designed to do/. People read the news to get mad about something. They
click on the story that's likely to have the juiciest arguments. And it's not
the media's fault - yes they choose what to publish, but they have to maximize
profits and therefore clicks.

I think what people don't get, or keep forgetting or whatever, is that Trump
won because of the Midwest. Yes, he carried a bunch of traditional red states
that were going to vote for him anyway. But he won because he convinced swaths
of workers in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania that he would fight harder
to keep their jobs around than his opponent. And he's basically stuck to that
promise, whether or not what he's doing will actually help them in the long
term, or if he even understands the basic tenets of global trade (as this
article seems to insinuate he doesn't).

These are the people who are being alienated by Democrats' efforts to unseat
Trump at any cost, instead of pushing their own solution to the changing
economic environment. What they'll likely say in 2020 is "so he's racist and
sexist- but I still have a better chance with him than you."

As much as I'm nervous about the country being run by somebody who appears to
be incompetent, ego-driven and lacking long-term strategy, I'm more nervous
about what the left's candidate will be in 2024. In other words, if Trump is
the response to 8 years of Obama, what will the response to 8 years of Trump
look like?

Not sure where this is going so I'm gonna stop.

~~~
candiodari
> I know when you say "brother/sister" you're talking in the abstract, but the
> problem is that intra-familial political divides are increasingly uncommon,
> I.e. Trump voters are unlikely to even be my third cousin. A recent
> precinct-by-precinct 2016 election map published by the NYT showed that it's
> likely I'd have to drive up to 30 miles to find a precinct that swung the
> other way, so they're not my neighbor either.

In the vast majority of districts, even in California, Trump scored ~32% on
average. That means, minimum he scored ~13% (ie. 1 in 8 voters), average 32%,
and up to 80%.

The above statement is bullshit. In your immediate environment, at the very
least 13% of people voted for Trump, and very likely more. The odds that you
don't know, have as a neighbor, or are family to one of them, seem very remote
indeed.

That anyone in California (who would like to remain there) lies about their
political preference ... seems a much, MUCH more likely explanation.

So, the real situation (again, with overwhelming likelihood), is

1) If you take the 8 houses around yours, one voted for Trump, absolute
minimum. More likely 3 (in California, which would be the minimum). Out of
your family, 1 in 8 voted for Trump, minimum (given that it will be skewed to
the older ones, lets say, one of your parents, two of your grandparents seems
a good guess).

2) These people clearly feel that you would react unreasonably if you found
out, and that's why you don't know. Given how you describe Trump voters, I can
certainly see why they feel this way.

But of course, I get that it's very comforting for you to think like this,
even if it's extremely unlikely to be true. By the way, wasn't the whole point
of Democrat values that people can have whatever political views they want,
and you should support them regardless ?

------
docdeek
I know this is meant to feed into the whole ‘Trump is an idiot’ meme but is it
really that unusual? My CEO doesn’t have the time to read a half dozen 100
page reports - he wants a two-page memo; he doesn’t want a 200 slide deck, he
wants me to report the essentials on a couple of slides. Key points,
summaries, icons, top-line and bottom-line numbers - seems pretty normal for
briefing someone with a lot on their plate.

~~~
smadge
I feel like my expectations for a president have been unrealistically set by
the TV show the West Wing where president Bartlett is often staying up until
3am reading hundreds of pages of policy reports, not getting into Twitter
fueds and refusing to read anything handed to him.

~~~
growlist
Reagan took a pretty relaxed approach by all accounts.

