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Following a number of CEOs pulling out of President Trump's American Manufacturing Council and Strategic and Policy Forum, President Trump tweeted that the initiatives have been ended:
Rather than putting pressure on the businesspeople of the Manufacturing Council & Strategy & Policy Forum, I am ending both. Thank you all!
The CEOs of Merck, Intel, 3M, and other companies had already left:
3M Co. Chief Executive Officer Inge Thulin stepped down from the White House's manufacturing council, adding to the corporate exodus as the backlash grows to President Donald Trump's ambivalent response to racially-charged violence in Virginia over the weekend.
Thulin joined the White House panel in January "to advocate for policies that align with our values and encourage even stronger investment and job growth -- in order to make the United States stronger, healthier and more prosperous," the CEO said Wednesday in a statement tweeted by 3M. "After careful consideration, I believe the initiative is no longer an effective vehicle for 3M to advance these goals."
Update: The members of the Strategic and Policy Forum reportedly disbanded the group before President Trump's tweet:
The quick sequence began late Wednesday morning when Stephen A. Schwarzman, the chief executive of the Blackstone Group and one of Mr. Trump's closest confidants in the business community, organized a conference call for members of the president's Strategic and Policy Forum. On the call, the chief executives of some of the largest companies in the country debated how to proceed. After a discussion among a dozen prominent C.E.O.s, the decision was made to abandon the group altogether, said people with knowledge of the details of the call.
Also at Bloomberg:
Trump made the announcement on Twitter, less than an hour after one of the groups was said to be planning to inform the White House that it would break up. [...] Trump appeared to be making an effort to get ahead of the news as the councils began to disintegrate. The strategy forum, which is led by Blackstone Group LP's Stephen Schwarzman, planned to inform the White House Wednesday before making the announcement public, according to another person familiar with the matter, who wasn't authorized to discuss the news publicly.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 16 2017, @07:20PM (13 children)
I'd say read between the lines, but I think this is crystal clear. "Investment, job growth, and making the US more prosperous" are clear language that this company, at least, was seeking corporate cronyism. And Trump was not willing to play ball. The stock market has responded by sending stocks higher than they've ever been.
This is turning into quite an entertaining show.
- Corporations built on and sustained by crony capitalism trying to destroy Trump with their media branches.
- Mostly silent investors apparently seeing very positive indicators for the economy
- Extremist forces on both sides of the political spectrum calling to destroy themselves and the government
- Social media echo chambers resulting in extremists on both sides becomes more and more radicalized
- People in the middle looking on increasingly bemused.
- Trump being Trump and throwing napalm monkey wrenches in the middle of everything every 20 minutes.
Wonder what it's going to culminate in. Personally I think we're on a bell curve of insanity, but teetering near the peak.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday August 16 2017, @07:57PM (12 children)
I've been running with the theory for a couple years now that we're watching the shearing forces of an epochal shift. The Fortune 500 CEOs walking away from Trump is another sign that the status quo is being comprehensively decoupled from the Whitehouse and the polity. Wags, wonks, and pundits are running around shrieking at how disastrous Trump is, and how badly he's doing, but then quieter moments in the evening follow when they realize they are all catastrophically more unpopular than he is. Trump's approval rating is, what, in the mid 30's now? Congress is trying to keep its approval rating above single digits. Fortune 500 CEOs and Wall Street Bankers are more unpopular than that. The media is doing relatively well with a 23% approval rating (I think that's the latest rating I saw last week).
What's more, the trajectory they're on, of spiraling to greater heights (depths?) of invective to take Trump down, invites his counter and the net is they are dragging each other down past the point of no return. Who will respect the media, corporations, Congress, the Presidency, or any other part of our current society after this? Leaks, revelations, and recriminations have destroyed the illusion of competence and consent that are the lifeblood of any system.
If you ever had a father or mother who drank, or beat, or gambled, or betrayed the love and respect out of you, and destroyed your family, then you have a roadmap for where this sort of thing leads.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 5, Touché) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday August 16 2017, @09:20PM (11 children)
Wow, that's a lot of words.
Have you considered that maybe people just don't like Nazis? Seems a bit simpler...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 17 2017, @06:06AM (9 children)
It's interesting to see conservatives and liberal swap roles so rapidly, mostly without either side ever realizing it. This [sagepub.com] incendiary but nonetheless likely still reasonable paper was written just 5 years ago. That was back at the time when liberalism still meant what it traditionally has - social cohesion, support of free speech, an appreciation and acceptance of ambiguity (as opposed to breaking the world down into black and white), and ultimately just a more nuanced view of the world. Now we've segregated to 'Stop bad person mean speech! Freeze peach! You no agree me!? You.. you... NAZI!!!'
Think about the so-called 'alt left' is doing today. You must follow their belief system or you are a nazi or, at best, a nazi sympathizer. And they are actively justifying physical violence against this group. The most ironic thing is that people don't really consider why the Nazis were racist. It was a tool for unification. Much like the 'alt left' today is breaking the world into progressive vs nazis, the Nazis broke the world down into Germans vs non-Germans. And they gradually came to justify violence against non-Germans. The reason Jews in particular was targeted is literally exactly the same reason that the alt left targets 'white males' today. You needed a group who had a disproportionate number of people in power and wealth. That group can be used to unite those that aren't doing so well, which is the state of the masses then as always, against as a common enemy. The fact the majority of Jews were just average people trying to get by then, like now, was of course not considered. They were used as a bogeyman more than giving a rational consideration to the issues of society.
Sorry, I understand I'm using lots of words too. Using more than 140 characters must mean bad think is involved. Let us go back to simple think. What could ever go wrong?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 17 2017, @08:40AM (1 child)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 17 2017, @03:07PM
A couple of things here. First yes, "they" obviously have. Some of the biggest that come to mind (all within the last couple of years) are:
- 2017 Congressional baseball game mass shooting [wikipedia.org] Alt-left extremist attempts to murder arbitrary politicians after verifying they are republicans. The only reason there weren't mass casualties is because he was extremely incompetent with his firearms.
- 2016 BLM march mass shooting [wikipedia.org] Alt-left extremist this time has weapons training. Murders 5, injures 11.
- 2015 'mass' shooting of two reporters [wikipedia.org] Alt-left extremist murders 2 reporters, while filming the event.
Why did I put "they" in quotes? These events, and the numerous others like them, are ultimately not terribly relevant. One off violence happens and it's deplorable, but it's one-off. Nobody told those people to go murder republicans, police, or perceived racists. It's something they did on their own. Similarly in the car thing - there's no group as part of their platform actively encouraging people to intentionally run over people they disagree with. However, using violence and intimidation against perceived opponents is something that is becoming a standard part of the alt-left. When I was learning about the recent disruptj20 controversy I saw a chilling quote [wikipedia.org] from an organizer with the site:
It's easy to glaze over things like that since Trump is an idiot, but actually think about what that's actually saying. They are actively calling for the complete rejection of the peace. That means violence. And that is something that groups like this are saying on the record. Imagine a leader of the KKK said, 'The idea is we want to undermine this idea of leaving peacefully with blacks. We need to undermine this peace.' And if the person saying that was in a position where he could expect people that actually act on these words, that is something that would likely be an arrestable offense. Free speech does not allow for calls to illegal behavior. And the platform of Antifa is little more than a call to illegal behavior.
I don't really have a horse in this game. I imagine like most people, I'd be happiest if both extremes simply vanished from the face of this planet tomorrow. But the thing that concerns me most is when one group begins advocating for violence as a part of their platform. It's cliche, but violence really never is the answer. If you need to defend yourself then do so by all means and hold absolutely nothing back. But when you're the one throwing the first punch, you are the reason for the violence. Remember, nearly all evils throughout history have been committed in the name of some greater good or purpose.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Thursday August 17 2017, @09:59AM (6 children)
Let me get this straight... you are telling me that the guys marching through Charlotteville the other day, with their swastikas and seig heils, you're saying that these people aren't Nazis... They are just poor, misunderstood victims of an "alt-left[1]" conspiracy.
You guys are really getting desperate if that's the best you can come up with.
[1] Note that the "alt-left" is a term entirely invented by the right[2], used to try to create a moral equivalence between the vile, indefensible attitudes of white supremacists and their enemies on the left. There is no such thing, it's another phantom bogeyman like "SJWs". Wherever you see someone talking about the "alt-left", you can be pretty sure the author is just regurgitating Breitbart propaganda.
[2] "Alt-right" on the other hand, is a term invented by and embraced by the people it describes.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 17 2017, @03:36PM (5 children)
Please read what I wrote and then read your post. This is an ironically perfect example of what I am talking about. "You guys..." Typical. I have been and remain extremely liberal in votes, ideology, and by any measurement whatsoever. Yet in a very short period of time as I am quick to call out violence and intolerance I am now the enemy. Am I just full on nazi, or just a nazi sympathizer? You've lost any sort of grasp of ambiguity. I can disapprove of the alt-left and the alt-right simultaneously..? I can be a liberal yet vehemently call out any and all calls for violence, intimidation, or refusing others to speak? Even if they're bad people? Yes, the answer is yes.
If the alt-left wanted to have peaceful rallies in support of passing laws allowing the police to arrest people who say offensive things then I'd be completely in support of the alt left being able to have such a rally. I would disagree, absolutely and completely, with their position but it is their right to express their views. And similarly, I disagree completely with the alt-right but I fully support their right to express absurd views. The thing I oppose, however, is when groups begin to start organizing rallies that are not about expressing themselves but about trying to inimidate and indeed provoke violent confrontations against people they disagree with. That is where you go from expressing yourself to trending towards fascism.
Quick question for you. Let's imagine two scenarios:
- Scenario One: You go to the middle of an alt-right rally and yelled at the top of your lungs that you think all races and people are equal, that Trump is a horrrible awful president, and that we should massively increase immigration to destroy the patriarchy.
- Scenario Two: You go to the middle of an alt-left rally and yell at the top of your lungs that you think white people have been behind nearly all successful civilizations, that Trump is an amazing president and inspiring man, and that we need to really crack down on illegal immigration and illegal immigrants to help strengthen the working class.
What do you think the reactions would be in both scenarios?
(Score: 2) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Thursday August 17 2017, @04:42PM (4 children)
You used the term "alt left several ties in your post, kindly it for me. It's a term that's only just appeared in the last few days or weeks, and it seems to be used exclusively to suggest equivalence between the hate, intolerance and violence of the far right, and... well.. anyone the right disagrees with.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 17 2017, @05:37PM (3 children)
There are several typos in your post. I assume you are asking me to define alt-left. And sure, I think there are several points but the most fundamental identifier is what I was getting at above: A willingness to support or engage in efforts to intimidate, marginalize, and/or preemptively cause harm to others because of their political views.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 17 2017, @05:41PM
To clarify, that is a 'rectangle' vs 'square' definition. I would say that all alt-left individuals fall within that definition, but not all individuals that fit that criteria are alt-left. I'm reluctant to try to create a 'square' definition without getting verbose, but I do think it probably reasonably sums it up if you add the criteria that they are left leaning. You'd need to get into more specific views to make it comprehensive, but I think it's a workable off the cuff definition.
(Score: 2) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Friday August 18 2017, @08:54AM (1 child)
Okaaaaay. So according to your definition, the Charlotteville killer is alt-left, because he was clearly willing to cause harm for his political views. Want to narrow your definition a little?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 18 2017, @02:08PM
Quoting what I posted just above you, hours ago:
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday August 18 2017, @03:14PM
Honestly, that's a glib reply to a point I wasn't making at all.
The point I was actually making was that Trump, the media, Congress, corporations, and all the other pillars of the society we have known have formed into a circular firing squad and are blasting away. In the process they're not just taking each other further and further down, but they're destroying the very idea of leadership in America. Who can step in and lead the country when they have all annihilated each other?
What's more, given America's role in the world at this time that process is having, and will have, global repercussions. What follows after the world's most prominent and powerful democracy has self-destructed in this way? Do we move to the rival totalitarian blocs of Orwell's 1984? Do we return to feudalism? Corporatocracy?
To me, none of those are good options because none of them will promote and safeguard virtue and the common good. Further, the democracy we have had can no longer continue as it is because crony capitalism has strangled the dreams of the citizenry for self-betterment in the cradle, and has totally undermined every mechanism for redress that was carefully built into the system 250 years ago.
I don't know what the exact shape of a better system would be, but I do know that this current behavior that has obsessed the Powers That Be will lead to ruin for all, at least in the short- to medium term.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 1) by Revek on Wednesday August 16 2017, @08:53PM
'I fired you!'
This page was generated by a Swarm of Roaming Elephants
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 16 2017, @09:40PM (7 children)
This is being discussed at Slashdot [slashdot.org], too.
I've been reading Slashdot for a very long time, and the discussion there for this topic is some of the lowest quality discussion I've ever seen at that site.
There are only about 300 comments as of now, but over 125 occurrences of the word "nazi".
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 16 2017, @10:10PM (4 children)
Well seeing as we are in the middle of a nazi resurgence here in the US I don't see that as very surprising. Very very few people want to be seen as nazi sympathizers, and apparently the best the White House staffers can do is keep Trump from actively supporting them. They can't even get him to condemn these nazis, THINK about that!!
There are real, 100% nazis in the US, but that doesn't seem to bother an entire political specturm.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 17 2017, @01:41AM (3 children)
That's because victors rewrite the history of war. [imgur.com] Turns out, being a Nazi isn't evil. Swiss adopted National Socialism and called it the Swiss System. They're technically "Nazis" - National Socialists. However, due to propaganda you lose your mind when someone starts advocating that all peoples deserve a right to exist and a homeland that advocates in their interests, i.e., Nazism. Yep, that's a "nazi" for you. Boo! So scary! Did you know Syria has a Social Nationalist party which is basically the same as Hitler's Nazis? Yep, they use profits from the state's oil Surplus to fund newlyweds, pay for college abroad if you want to learn, subsidize starting a family if you want kids, and even give you some $$$ for a car if you want to work. I can hear it now: "Those disgusting animals! We must destroy them with war!" (please ignore that they're not in debt to the IMF and they also border Israel)
Truth be told, you don't know what Nazis believe because you've never talked to a real National Socialist. Be honest, all you've ever seen are media portrayals (often full of propaganda) -- or the FBI infiltrated and misguidedly hateful "Neo-Nazi Skinhead" / agent provocateurs. Hint: Real Nazis don't wave German flags at their American rally. Instead they'd be promoting symbols of their own national heritage, such as monuments. Hitler would have condemned the hateful neo-nazi skinheads, BTW. Celebrating racial and cultural differences isn't hate.
Why do you hate Nazis? Are you sure they're guilty of the crimes they're accused of? Have you even tried to determine if these are Crimes for which no evidence exists? [youtube.com] Did you know the 3rd Reich had Muslims, Jews, Blacks, Asians and Arabs fighting for them? [imgur.com] Hitler congratulated the Ottoman Empire for its cultural unity. Ah, but that doesn't fit the post-war "Genocidal Nazi" propaganda nor the P.C. agenda. If Germany hadn't been last to form a nation state, and wasn't seen as an economic threat WWII wouldn't have happened. All wars are started on false pretense and are truly economic in nature. [youtube.com] That's something Nazis want to end, and one method of bringing peace is to outlaw usury, like the Christians and original Founders of America once did. Another method would be to promote specialization and trade to make disparate nations more dependent on each other's products. It's hard to go to war with those you depend on. Interestingly, the EU and Globalists have adopted these tenants of Nazism but applied them without the cultural preservation in order to exploit both 1st and 3rd world nations. Nazis would rather fix Mexico and war torn regions so that people don't have to flee their homelands in the first place. Oh, but that's far more "hateful" than opening the borders and ensuring those who migrate flee leave their nations leaving them poorer and ensuring a never ending supply of economic migrants. Yep, Nazis fight the devastation and suffering that modern politicians exploit for votes. Which is evil again?
Nazis don't want to eradicate any other race. HeIl, the Reich wanted to help establish a Jewish state in Madagascar. [wikipedia.org] Do some research and if you're not an intellectually dishonest you'll see why national socialism and identitarianism are on the rise: It's because people are waking up to the reality that their culture and people are being systematically extinguished. Just look at Europe's manufactured "migrant crisis". Deliberate demographic replacement, even by migration policy, is classified by NATO and the UN as Genocide, by the way.
Saying that "Whites have a right to exist" and "White lives matter too" is labeled "nazism" now, but that's only part of the cultural promotion and economic system called National Socialism. A system which allowed Germany to go from destitute and depraved to innovative and prosperous in just 3 short years. Time magazine featured Hitler twice, praising him for "The German Miracle". Elites saw it as a threat to their banking system... Hitler believed in a world with healthy Darwinian competition between different cultures and races, each unique and beautiful and better at some things than others. Trade between which would maximize human specialization and leveraging of innate racial potentials. There was no one "super-man" in National Socialism, all races would attempt to attain their own maximal achievement.
Forget everything else you know about Nazism. If this post was all you had heard of it, would it be worthy of hateful derision? Or would it sound like something some sane people might actually adopt to further their interests? At least the alt-right national socialists aren't hateful like BLM and LaRaza (literally, "the race"). Did Obama have to condemn BLM or its militant Nation of Islam adherents who proclaim that all white devils must be eradicated? Did you even listen to the other side of the story on Charlottesville? [youtube.com] Of course not, most people are just bigots -- unwilling to even entertain that alt-right has any valid concerns. And this will be the downfall of all who underestimate them. The best way to mobilize a people is to have the establishment ignoring the aggrieved. The true driving force behind the Striesand Effect -- BTW. You're about to be over run by "meme magicians" (read: those well versed in social engineering and psycho politics.) Keep dismissing them. You're not even ready. Wake up, Trump is president. Kek!
Unfortunately ordinary people failed to do any research before drawing conclusions, so they've allowed the double standard to get so obvious that many people are realizing it's actually OK to be a Nazi; They're going to call anyone "Nazi" anyway if you don't agree that whites should be eradicated. Besides, Hitler wasn't really the ridiculous cartoon caricature of evil portrayed in post war black-propaganda, such as by the GCHQ's war guilt information program, which Japan is still especially heavily influenced by. [youtube.com] You reap what you sew, unfortunately it's your own ignorance which you sew and thus you will ignore this lengthy post, as I've designed it to be ignored by the uninterested and easily offended. Unable to view the reality of the Nazi resurgence, you will be quite unprepared at every turn. To the readers that made it this far: Consider this a crash course. The alt-right isn't hateful, whites have a right to exist. However, you have been warned: We will not go quietly into the night.
(Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Thursday August 17 2017, @03:50AM
You didn't just torture logic, you waterboarded it while stretching it on the rack during an evisceration.
Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 17 2017, @05:34AM
Hahaha jesus christ autism is a blessing in disguise.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Thursday August 17 2017, @10:14AM
Never was this site more in need of a "-1 batshit crazy" mod.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Wednesday August 16 2017, @11:22PM
Yeah it's kinda bad, but "nazi" or at least "white supremacist" would seem to be on topic (the topic being loosely related to tech because of the CEOs on the councils).
Only one occurrence of "feminazi"!
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 17 2017, @12:36AM
::slowly waves hand::
These are not the shillbots you are looking for.
::waves again::
Get off my Astroturf.
(Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Wednesday August 16 2017, @09:43PM (2 children)
Eric Bolling on @FoxNews said something very smart. He said "How many innocent people have to die before we realize that words do matter? Crazy people act on the crazy things they hear from politicians and celebrities. Think before you utter those blind, hateful words next time, liberals, because there are crazy people out there taking your metaphors literally." https://t.co/nKWid37odD [t.co] He said that after the horrible attack in Alexandria on MY BIRTHDAY. And I called on all Americans to be aware of the hatred the liberals (and Dems) spew and the violence they do. To be aware, and to resist it. In Charlottesville, some tried to resist. Some brave Americans tried to protect the statue of the great General Robert E. Lee. To protect our history from alt-left vandalism. And in my remarks, I said there were many sides to what happened in Charlottesville. But I didn't express my support for the statue protectors. Who stood up to protect General Lee when the alt-left came charging at them. Charging with semblance of guilt. Violently attacking. And what's happened since concerns me a lot, a lot. We've had vandalism in Durham, in Baltimore, in many, many places. I've seen the video and it's very disturbing. Alt-left vandals are tearing down our beautiful statues. Like the Taliban tore down the Buddha statues in Bamiyan. Like ISIS tore down the statues in Palmyra, in Mosul and in many, many places. I said some things that were harst, things I regret, about our white supremacists, our neo-Nazis and the KKK. What they're doing is very important, very necessary. To preserve our history, our collective memory. Of the time when America was great. I have the utmost respect for that. 🇺🇸
(Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Wednesday August 16 2017, @09:47PM
Charging with NO semblance of guilt.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 17 2017, @01:43AM
I thought you didn't loke losers like Lee. He surrendered to Grant.
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Thursday August 17 2017, @12:24AM (2 children)
After 5-6 of them said "fuck you trump", they had a conference call and decided to all quit. Trump tried to get ahead of the news by dissolving the council.
/ was on the fence about Trump
// didn't vote for him
/// supporting Nazis put me firmly in the "fuck you asshole" camp.
//// he will never get my support back.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 17 2017, @02:17AM (1 child)
So, you just believe the MSM who claims those protesting the statue's removal were nazis? You are aware that trump denounced the violence from extremists on both the alt-right and alt-left?
Did you swear not to vote for dems when they refused to denounce BLM, even as one of their own shot up cops in Dallas?
What about when BLM blocked a road, delaying an ambulance causing the death of a 4 year old girl?
It's interesting to see your bias. The left who's support, even financially, for antifa and BLM who violently throw bricks and swing bike locks into people's heads aren't worthy of a "fuck you" and perpetual loss of support. But failing to go along with the MSM and label a largely peaceful protest as "Nazis" is somehow worthy of perpetual "fuck you"s.
I hope you some day recognize your hypocrisy. However, I'm not holding my breath. The left thrive on cognitive dissonance. Communists even had a word for their way of life, "Inversion of reality", indeed.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 17 2017, @04:28PM
I wish you could understand how transparent and stupid the moral equivalence game looks. Trump is a vile human being who is racist and supports the KKK. His dad was in the KKK and Trump was investigated and it was discovered he discriminated against renting to black people.
Your last paragraph is shockingly out of touch and obviously projecting your own issues on to your "enemies". I wonder if deep down in your subconscious the truth just sits there, eating away at your soul.