MAGAThread XV: Because Another

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Where did I call to abolish ICE exactly?

When those kids did something they would not have done otherwise because of Farmington, then yes, it's entrapment. Doesn't matter how illegal the thing was they did: would they have done something similar if Farmington wasn't there? For many, you could say that no, they would not have.

When the government pulls shit like this, it's very important to be critical of that conduct, and see if it holds up to the highest standard of legality.

source

According to the Washington post article, the students were told on the front end that university did not exist. That makes it illegal by default.

Students knew that the scheme was illegal “and that discretion should be used when discussing the program with others,” prosecutors wrote in their indictment, which was filed Jan. 15 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

The federal indictments name eight people in eight states who allegedly were students at the school and recruited additional students to enroll. All have been arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit visa fraud and harboring aliens for profit. They face a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

It looks like everyone involved knew the school didn't exist or at least acted as tho they'd been there to ensnare this operation. All the feds did was set up the school online.

Again, how illegal something is does not matter for a discussion on entrapment.

[Thuzbekistan]

source

According to the Washington post article, the students were told on the front end that university did not exist. That makes it illegal by default.





It looks like everyone involved knew the school didn't exist or at least acted as tho they'd been there to ensnare this operation. All the feds did was set up the school online.

Again, how illegal something is does not matter for a discussion on entrapment.

Its not entrapment if the feds just set up a fake institution. The private recruiters who KNEW the school was fake and told the students this were the ones pushing and selling the school.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Again, how illegal something is does not matter for a discussion on entrapment.

Its not entrapment if the feds just set up a fake institution. The private recruiters who KNEW the school was fake and told the students this were the ones pushing and selling the school.

Yeah, it can be entrapment if the feds set up a fake institution. Again, the question is: would the students have committed the same acts if Farmington did not exist?

[Thuzbekistan]

Its not entrapment if the feds just set up a fake institution. The private recruiters who KNEW the school was fake and told the students this were the ones pushing and selling the school.

Yeah, it can be entrapment if the feds set up a fake institution. Again, the question is: would the students have committed the same acts if Farmington did not exist?

Yes. Because they approached private recruiters with the intent of paying cash to SAY they were going to a university but actually would not be going. The recruiters were not part of the operation. They were already doing this, just now they had a new location to say these students were going to.

[Zurkerx]

I never claimed that every last one of them is a dedicated combat contractor. Uxupox, on the other hand, claimed that not a single one of them, private mercenary or government soldier, is actually fighting.

I guess we'll let bygones be bygones.

Our endless warfare in Iraq is what created the breeding ground for ISIS.

Partially, but it was our withdrawal plan that contributed as well as the corruption that saturated itself in the Iraqi Government; it didn't help the Iraqu government targeted certain people. Not to mention, the freaking Iraqi military fled and left an abundance of weapons for ISIS to pick up. Our withdrawal plan could have been better and we should have made sure corruption/weak military wouldn't have unfolded.

Indeed. We will, of course, have to wait for diplomacy until after we get the buffoon out of office who would like to nuke Iran for existing.

That'll be the challenge: getting him out but also, negotiating with a regime that isn't too keen on giving up much. Baby steps are going to be needed.

[Valrifell]

Word on the street is that the Donald is planning to ask Congress for another $8.6B for the wall plus $3.6B to repay the Pentagon after he pilfered their coffers with his National Emergency.

So, all in all, back to square one! yaaaay

[Ifreann]

Word on the street is that the Donald is planning to ask Congress for another $8.6B for the wall plus $3.6B to repay the Pentagon after he pilfered their coffers with his National Emergency.

So, all in all, back to square one! yaaaay

Once you pay The Donald Geld, you will never be rid of The Donald.

[Vassenor]

Word on the street is that the Donald is planning to ask Congress for another $8.6B for the wall plus $3.6B to repay the Pentagon after he pilfered their coffers with his National Emergency.

So, all in all, back to square one! yaaaay

But the wall was only supposed to cost the $3.5b he originally asked for. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing but.

[Farnhamia]

Word on the street is that the Donald is planning to ask Congress for another $8.6B for the wall plus $3.6B to repay the Pentagon after he pilfered their coffers with his National Emergency.

So, all in all, back to square one! yaaaay

But the wall was only supposed to cost the $3.5b he originally asked for. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing but.

Runaway inflation has finally struck! Thank, Obama!

[Duhon]

Word on the street is that the Donald is planning to ask Congress for another $8.6B for the wall plus $3.6B to repay the Pentagon after he pilfered their coffers with his National Emergency.

So, all in all, back to square one! yaaaay

But the wall was only supposed to cost the $3.5b he originally asked for. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing but.

But the Don must. Kleptocracy. Like salmon, like tiny tiny hands.

[Bombadil]

Thing is back during the elections various experts had costed the wall at some $15-20B so we all knew it would be far more expensive than claimed.. I wonder if, in 50 years, historians will look back on this administration as a period of mass lunacy in the US or the start of something truly depressing in politics.

[Western Vale Confederacy]

Thing is back during the elections various experts had costed the wall at some $15-20B so we all knew it would be far more expensive than claimed.. I wonder if, in 50 years, historians will look back on this administration as a period of mass lunacy in the US or the start of something truly depressing in politics.

I think they’ll be busier studying the ensuing civil war, yeah.

[Zurkerx]

Thing is back during the elections various experts had costed the wall at some $15-20B so we all knew it would be far more expensive than claimed.. I wonder if, in 50 years, historians will look back on this administration as a period of mass lunacy in the US or the start of something truly depressing in politics.

I think they’ll be busier studying the ensuing civil war, yeah.

Or wonder how his supporters still rile over the Fake News, despite said news being right. Cult one may say?

[Tarsonis]

I think they’ll be busier studying the ensuing civil war, yeah.

Or wonder how his supporters still rile over the Fake News, despite said news being right. Cult one may say?

Smart thing would do is pivot, downplay the cost of the wall as next to nothing out of the annual budget

[Bombadil]

Or wonder how his supporters still rile over the Fake News, despite said news being right. Cult one may say?

Smart thing would do is pivot, downplay the cost of the wall as next to nothing out of the annual budget

Nah he needs to set a precedent for Canada.. winter is coming..

More than four in 10 Americans would support building a wall across the Canadian border.

That's according to a Bloomberg poll released on Thursday that shows 41 percent of Americans would favour a "brick and mortar" wall along the Canadian border.

[Maineiacs]

Smart thing would do is pivot, downplay the cost of the wall as next to nothing out of the annual budget

Nah he needs to set a precedent for Canada.. winter is coming..

More than four in 10 Americans would support building a wall across the Canadian border.

That's according to a Bloomberg poll released on Thursday that shows 41 percent of Americans would favour a "brick and mortar" wall along the Canadian border.

It would serve 'em right, damn snowbacks.

[Ifreann]

Or wonder how his supporters still rile over the Fake News, despite said news being right. Cult one may say?

Smart thing would do is pivot, downplay the cost of the wall as next to nothing out of the annual budget

But he needs Wall things to be happening to get re-elected. So he needs to beg for massive amounts of money.

[Western Vale Confederacy]

Smart thing would do is pivot, downplay the cost of the wall as next to nothing out of the annual budget

Nah he needs to set a precedent for Canada.. winter is coming..

More than four in 10 Americans would support building a wall across the Canadian border.

That's according to a Bloomberg poll released on Thursday that shows 41 percent of Americans would favour a "brick and mortar" wall along the Canadian border.

At this point, you might as well.

[Dogmeat]

Smart thing would do is pivot, downplay the cost of the wall as next to nothing out of the annual budget

Nah he needs to set a precedent for Canada.. winter is coming..

More than four in 10 Americans would support building a wall across the Canadian border.

That's according to a Bloomberg poll released on Thursday that shows 41 percent of Americans would favour a "brick and mortar" wall along the Canadian border.

I support a brick wall across all of America's borders. Make America into a brick house.

She's mighty-mighty, just lettin' it all hang out.

[Valrifell]

Nah he needs to set a precedent for Canada.. winter is coming..

More than four in 10 Americans would support building a wall across the Canadian border.

That's according to a Bloomberg poll released on Thursday that shows 41 percent of Americans would favour a "brick and mortar" wall along the Canadian border.

I support a brick wall across all of America's borders. Make America into a brick house.

She's mighty-mighty, just lettin' it all hang out.

Every state gets a wall, it's only fair.

[Cannot think of a name]

I support a brick wall across all of America's borders. Make America into a brick house.

She's mighty-mighty, just lettin' it all hang out.

Every state gets a wall, it's only fair.

Just try and get your fruit in...

[Duvniask]

I support a brick wall across all of America's borders. Make America into a brick house.

She's mighty-mighty, just lettin' it all hang out.

Every state gets a wall, it's only fair.

For a moment there, I thought you said every state gets the wall, and I was a little astonished at the prospect of reaching peak tankie.

[Valrifell]

Every state gets a wall, it's only fair.

For a moment there, I thought you said every state gets the wall, and I was a little astonished at the prospect of reaching peak tankie.

N-never go full tankie. Not since... the last time

[Confederate States of German America]

Back when I had my OEP account I used to regularly post Trade War updates so I'm returning to form in this regard.

China’s GDP growth could be half of reported number, says US economist at prominent Chinese university

If China’s bad debts were written down, its economic growth rate would be half the recorded number, a US economist at a prominent Chinese university has warned.

In a speech in Shanghai this week, Michael Pettis, professor of finance at Peking University, warned that China’s debt is closely linked to the government’s perceived overstatement of its gross domestic product (GDP).

The government is accused of perpetuating the existence of “zombie companies”, by granting loss-making companies loans. Banks in turn treat these companies as creditworthy, whereas in reality they should be written off as bad debt, Pettis said.

“If you believe there is bad debt that has not been sufficiently written down, you must believe that China’s GDP is overstated, relative to what it would be in any other country. That must be true,” Pettis said.

“If we are able to calculate GDP correctly, it would probably be half of the recorded number.”
Pettis is not alone seeing troubles with China’s official growth number.

In December, Xiang Songzuo, an outspoken professor from the Renmin University of China, who previously served as chief economist for Agricultural Bank of China, cited unidentified internal reports as saying that said China’s GDP growth for 2018 could be 1.67 per cent or even negative, a far cry from the official figures.
Furthermore, a group of four economists published a paper this week arguing that China might have overstated its annual growth rate by 2 percentage points on average from 2008 to 2016.

China’s official statistics agency said the country’s economic growth rate was 6.6 per cent in 2018.

The Chinese government said it would try to achieve an economic growth rate between 6.0 to 6.5 per cent in 2019, a moderate slowdown from previous years, but nevertheless a much faster rate compared with other major economies.

Pettis is a renowned expert on China’s economy. For decades, he has been commenting on financial affairs in China and was among the early observers of the imbalances in the Chinese economy.

He said in his speech on Wednesday that China’s growth will significantly decelerate as the country’s debt level rises.

While China’s central bank vice-governor Chen Yulu said this week that China‘s ratio of total debt to GDP, fell by 1.5 percentage points in 2018, many worry that the country’s debt level could rise again.

Beijing has been encouraging an expansion in bank credit in a bid to help boost growth and stave off a slowdown in the global economy and the effects of the US-China trade war.

Pettis, meanwhile, said the likelihood of a debt crisis in China is low, but that the government’s ability to constantly restructure its debts through the economy may be harmful in the long run for the economy.

“Not having a crisis is good for political and social reasons, but economically it could be much worse than having a crisis,” he said.

Pettis said Japan’s refusal to clean up its debt in the 1990s has contributed to its “lost decades”, the periods of long term low growth and deflation ever since.
“The more debt China has, the longer this adjustment period of very low growth during which period debt has grown out of system will be. That is the problem of an excessive amount of debt,” he said.

To avoid a calamitous collapse in growth while reducing debt, China should transfer 2 to 3 per cent of GDP from the state sector to households, in the form of consumer spend, Pettis said.

“If you could pass the wealth from local government to give it to ordinary Chinese people at that [preferential] rate, Chinese consumption will take off like a rocket,” Pettis said, adding that it would be “politically tough” to do that.

“In short, China’s local governments and state enterprises have to give away wealth to households. This would be the biggest wealth transfer in history. And it’s quite tough to do,” he added.

Of note, although not exactly related: China's GDP Growth Pace Was Inflated for Nine Years, Study Finds

[The Black Forrest]

Every state gets a wall, it's only fair.

Just try and get your fruit in...

If it keeps fruit cake out, I am good with it!