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Think Carefully And Calculate Wisely, Don’t Be Like Me

A report from CBC News on Florida. “Jasmin Gosselin has been escaping Quebec’s freezing temperatures for over 20 years, seeking refuge in his Boynton Beach condo, nestled in the Sunshine State. But his comfort doesn’t come at the expense of his convictions. Gosselin has recently decided to sell his condo, citing U.S. President Donald Trump’s attitude toward Canada and the Canadian people as a key reason for his departure. ‘Trump doesn’t respect Canada,’ Gosselin told Daybreak’s Sean Henry. ‘[He] doesn’t respect snowbirds who spend their money during four, five months in Florida. We feed their economy and he doesn’t respect us.’ He and his wife, who turned 70 last year, are finding it increasingly difficult to live in the U.S. ‘My HOA [homeowner association] fees were around $500 [US] a month five years ago. Now, it’s $900 [US] a month this year,’ said the snowbird.”

“Real estate broker Alexandra DuPont is based in Florida’s Broward County, a popular area for Canadians, according to her. She has noticed a growing trend of snowbirds selling their properties. ‘Some people are still buying, but we’re really seeing a huge influx with sellers,’ DuPont told Quebec AM’s Julia Caron. ‘The buyers are quite rare. Everything’s gone up. The insurance, the monthly condo dues, pretty much everything that has to do with condominiums.'”

Local 10 in Florida. “Residents of one condominium complex in Sunrise could soon be forced out of their homes. Several buildings have been deemed unsafe and residents have been left blindsided. Documents show their fees and assessments have gone up by hundreds of dollars over the last several years, but with a tennis court in disrepair, a locked swimming pool and some ceilings lined with plastic, they say they don’t know where their money is going. ‘I actually ended up having a panic attack at work and had to leave work for the rest of the day today,’ resident Bailey Harris said. With the added uncertainty of the notices at their doors, residents worry they’ll be out of pocket and out of a home. ‘I feel like the people in this complex are being duped and a lot of us are about to lose everything that we have,’ Harris said.”

Fox News on California. “After making a shocking prediction that up to 70% of Pacific Palisades residents won’t return to rebuild and live in their homes, former ‘Million Dollar Listing’ real estate agent Josh Altman is explaining exactly why. ‘They’re not going to return because it’s simple math,’ Altman said. ‘I don’t believe they’re going to be able to afford to rebuild with most of the people that are heavily underinsured, with the costs of construction, lumber, steel. We’re talking about a $1,000 [per] foot building in the Palisades and in Malibu. And that’s on top of getting a construction crew to show up to your site when there’s 16,000 structures that have been burned between houses, schools, commercial spaces. It’s a disaster,’ Altman expanded. ‘That’s what I’m saying, I don’t know that they’ll be able to do it with the insurance.'”

The San Francisco Chronicle in California. “The announced departure of the Chronicle from South of Market after more than a century in its iconic building is the latest instance of the stark emptying of the area around Powell Street, once a booming hub. It comes as the immediate neighborhood is at a critical juncture: Downtown’s recovery has been a primary focus for city officials for several years now, yet businesses continue to flee the area. The decision by parent company Hearst to break traditional tethers by shifting the Chronicle and its sister company SFGATE from the 1924 Gothic Revival style building at 901 Mission to a sleek 16-story high-rise tower at 450 Sansome St. in the Financial District was prompted by an effort to finish what Hearst had started before the pandemic: a 400-unit condo tower that would further infuse an incomplete mixed-use campus spanning 4 acres between Fifth, Mission and Howard streets, with life.”

“A massive 640,000-square-foot office tower at 415 Natoma St., the biggest part of the project, is 97% vacant. Convention traffic spillover has also slowed from nearby Moscone Center, while drug usage and quality-of-life issues on long-troubled Sixth Street to the west has gotten ‘significantly worse’ in recent months, according to police. ‘It’s insane to me that here you have a whole building sitting empty,’ said Joshua Manzo, a former bartender at Tempest, while pointing at the 5M office tower at 415 Natoma, which he said replaced a DYI workshop that would bring artists and workers into the bar. ‘Downtown is a little lost. We have empty buildings, and yet we have a housing crisis. To me, that doesn’t make any sense.'”

Yahoo Finance. “Mirroring trends in the single-family home market, insurers are boosting premiums or exiting the business of covering HOAs’ common property entirely, citing rising losses from extreme weather and aging buildings. The steep premium hikes usually end up passed on to individual owners in the form of higher monthly dues. In suburban Minneapolis, insurance broker Eric Skarnes is having increasing trouble finding options for his clients in Minnesota and Colorado. In both states, insurers fear hail damage, which can pummel roofs. Mark Foster sits on the board for an 84-unit complex in Lakeville, Minn. Since 2021, premiums on his HOA’s master insurance policy have quadrupled to $236,000. Despite being spared from several severe hailstorms that have hit the region in recent years, his association was dropped by their insurer when the total value of their insured property surpassed $60 million. ‘We got booted to the secondary market,’ he said. ‘It’s terribly expensive.'”

“In the same timeframe, his HOA’s monthly fees — which cover insurance premiums, reserves, and maintenance — have roughly doubled to nearly $700 a month. In an effort to avoid further pain for owners, many of whom are retired and live on fixed incomes, the board has opted to defer certain projects like road resurfacing and irrigation system upgrades. Wilson Leung, a real estate agent in California’s Bay Area, said the condo market is noticeably slower than single-family sales as prospective buyers balk at fees and higher property insurance costs. Nationwide, condo sales are falling and for-sale inventory is piling up. As of July 2024, condos under contract fell 5.5% compared to a year earlier, according to Redfin, while listings were up more than 27%.”

“The problem is most acute in disaster-prone parts of Florida and Texas, where insurance premiums and HOA fees have been rising particularly fast. In Houston, the median condo sales price fell 6.5% between mid-2023 and mid-2024. Jacksonville, Fla., saw a similar 6.6% decline in that period.”

The Globe and Mail in Canada. “Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim’s announcement Thursday that he plans to halt any construction of ‘net new’ supportive housing in Vancouver has set off dismay and cheering throughout British Columbia. At a Vancouver conference organized by groups of residents, businesses and organizations concerned about deteriorating public disorder, Mr. Sim said this week Vancouver is already carrying too much of the load of supportive housing, with 77 per cent of all that type in the region even though the city only represents 25 per cent of total population.”

“The mayor was particularly critical of the amount of supportive housing in the Downtown Eastside and the efforts of past governments whose policies led to a concentration of service providers, as well as troubled clients, in the neighbourhood. ‘This poverty-industrial complex has not only blocked local businesses from thriving but has also created conditions that degrade the health and well-being of our most vulnerable community members. Meanwhile, it has attracted predatory criminals, further compounding this neighbourhood’s challenges.'”

The Independent Singapore. “While owning a home is often seen as a measure of success, without proper planning, it can quickly become a financial nightmare. A 34-year-old Malaysian man earning RM4,400 (S$1,354) a month recently purchased an apartment worth RM464,000 (S$142,788) and is now tied to an RM3,000 (S$923) monthly housing loan for the next 30 years—a decision he admits he did not think through. This does not include the extra RM300 (S$92) he needs to shell out for monthly maintenance, as reported by The Sun. Sharing his regret in the Facebook group Muflis Bankrupt di Malaysia, he expressed how the decision has weighed him down.”

“‘Now, I feel weighed down with the housing loan. My mistake was not thinking this through when buying the unit. I feel scammed.’ He also advised those dreaming of buying a home to ‘think carefully and calculate wisely,’ adding, ‘Don’t be like me.’ He shared that after working for 11 years without any assets or debts, he wanted to own a property and thought it was the right step to take, especially since he had already paid off his car and education loans. However, he later realised that purchasing the house meant 75 per cent of his salary would go toward paying off his apartment—a stark contrast to when he was renting and living comfortably without debt.”

“While some commenters sympathised with his situation, many agreed his salary couldn’t support a property at that price. ‘Buying a home is not wrong; it’s just that you bought the wrong home,’ one user said, suggesting it would have been a better decision if he had opted for an RM300,000 property (S$92,320), paying just RM1,500 (S$462) monthly.

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  2. ‘Gosselin has been escaping Quebec’s freezing temperatures for over 20 years, seeking refuge in his Boynton Beach condo, nestled in the Sunshine State. But his comfort doesn’t come at the expense of his convictions. Gosselin has recently decided to sell his condo, citing U.S. President Donald Trump’s attitude toward Canada and the Canadian people as a key reason for his departure. ‘Trump doesn’t respect Canada,’ Gosselin told Daybreak’s Sean Henry. ‘[He] doesn’t respect snowbirds who spend their money during four, five months in Florida. We feed their economy and he doesn’t respect us.’ He and his wife, who turned 70 last year, are finding it increasingly difficult to live in the U.S. ‘My HOA [homeowner association] fees were around $500 [US] a month five years ago. Now, it’s $900 [US] a month this year’

    I think I speak for all USAians Jasmin, in saying don’t let the door hit yer a$$ on the way back to yer frozen sh$thole.

    Reply

      1. Mexico Accepted 4 Deportation Flights This Week, White House Says

        White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the flights set a new record for deportations to Mexico in a single day. “Yesterday, Mexico accepted a record 4 deportation flights in 1 day!” Leavitt wrote in a Jan. 25 post on social media platform X.

        “This comes in addition to unrestricted returns at the land border, the deportation of non-Mexicans, & reinstatement of Remain-in-Mexico. Mexico has also mobilized 30K National Guard.”

        Leavitt’s comments followed some media reporting that Mexico had refused a deportation flight access to its airspace on Friday, though other deportation flights to Guatemala had continued as scheduled.

        The Trump administration subsequently said that the delay was due to an administrative issue, and Mexico’s foreign ministry said in a Jan. 24 statement that the country had a “very great relationship” with the United States and cooperated on immigration issues.

        “When it comes to repatriations, we will always accept the arrival of Mexicans to our territory with open arms,” the ministry said.

        The Trump administration announced earlier in the week that it was re-launching the program known as Remain in Mexico, which required asylum seekers to wait in Mexico until their cases in the United States were resolved.

        “Deportation flights have begun,” Leavitt wrote in another post on X. “President Trump is sending a strong and clear message to the entire world: if you illegally enter the United States of America, you will face severe consequences.”

        The Pentagon is aiming to provide flights for the deportations of more than 5,000 illegal immigrants being held by U.S. authorities in California and Texas in the coming weeks to accommodate the policy shift.

        Among the policies that the administration has broken with is decade-long policy that prohibited federal authorities from arresting illegal immigrants in or near schools, churches, and food banks.

        https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/mexico-accepted-4-deportation-flights-this-week-white-house-says-5798772

        Reply

      1. Yep, that was my exact thought. Even if Trump had lost, he still wouldn’t be able to afford that condo. He just wants a dig at Trump.

        Reply

        1. You two beat me to it. He is a broke A$$ loser who probably had his rate reset in Canada (plus the HOA increase) and now can’t afford the condo in the US and blames Trump.

          Reply

  3. ‘The buyers are quite rare. Everything’s gone up. The insurance, the monthly condo dues, pretty much everything that has to do with condominiums.’”

    Gosh, this sounds like a recipe for an epic wipeout of Yellen Bux condo values.

    Reply

  4. Trust TheScience™

    CNBC — CIA believes Covid-19 likely caused by lab leak (1/25/2025):

    “The CIA has shifted its stance about the origin of the virus that causes Covid-19, NBC News reported on Saturday. The intelligence agency now believes that the coronavirus escaped from a Chinese lab, a shift from its previous stance, in which it did not take a position.

    “CIA assesses with low confidence that a research-related origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is more likely than a natural origin based on the available body of reporting,” a CIA spokesperson said in a statement to NBC News.

    The move comes one day after John Radcliffe, the new director of the CIA, was confirmed. He said on Friday in an interview that he believes U.S. intelligence and science points to the origin of Covid being an accidental release, or “lab leak,” from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a research institution in Wuhan, China, where the outbreak was first observed in late 2019.”

    https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/25/cia-covid-wuhan-lab-leak-trump.html

    Reply

      2. The editors of The Lancet, one of the most respected journals in medicine, did not hide that they hated Trump. They manipulated* and suppressed any positive research on hydroxychloroquine because they didn’t want Trump to get any kind of win on COVID. Later on, the same medical establishment suppressed ivermectin, likely so that they could approve and sell Pfizer’s vaccines. These were not lay people being dumb. They were scientists deliberately betraying science.

        ————-
        *short version: hydroxychloroquine works within 5 days of symptom onset. The researchers deliberatley tested HCQ only on patients in the hospital, long past the 5-day window. They did this so they could say the HCQ didn’t work.

        Reply

        1. It is an undeniable fact that China closed Wuhan to the rest of the country yet kept it’s international airport open, flying tens of thousands of people around the world. So whether the leak was ‘accidental’ or not, this was a purposeful project.

          Reply

          1. And the WHO failed to call-out China after China initially blocked entry to investigators in 2021 and tightly controlled their visit after they were allowed to proceed.

  5. “A 34-year-old Malaysian man earning RM4,400 (S$1,354) a month recently purchased an apartment worth RM464,000 (S$142,788) and is now tied to an RM3,000 (S$923) monthly housing loan for the next 30 years”

    Now that’s “super subprime!”

    Reply

  6. My mistake was not thinking this through when buying the unit. I feel scammed.’

    You weren’t scammed. You were greedy, reckless, & stupid. Fools like you have been parted from their money since time immemorial.

    Reply

    1. In a way, I’m rather sorry that this is happening. The WHO probably does do some good work on global diseases. However, they kowtowed to China regarding COVID. And, IIUC any country in the WHO was going to be forced into following WHO policy, which certainly would have included mandatory mRNA vaccines. Sorry WHO, you overstepped the boundaries of science and kowtowed to lobbying. Now Daddy’s home, and you’re grounded.

      Reply

    1. To be fair, it was the chamber of commerce types who wanted the same thing during the Bush admin.

      But it’s changed. This time, they allowed in far more immigrants than could be employed or assimilated, and they didn’t seem to care whether they were working or not. This was a ploy for VOTES.

      Reply

    1. “The layoffs come as CNN is rearranging its linear TV lineup and building out digital subscription products. The cuts will help CNN lower production costs and consolidate teams, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic changes.”

      What’s wrong with just reporting the news?

      Reply

      1. It’s just podcasting and they failed at it before:

        CNN+ Shutting Down Less Than a Month After Launch

        “This is not a decision about quality,” new CNN CEO Chris Licht told staff, adding that the brand’s programming will become part of a “broader” streaming offering.

        April 21, 2022 8:55am

        Less than a month after it launched, the streaming service CNN+ will wind down operations, as its new corporate owner, Warner Bros. Discovery, rethinks the news giant’s streaming strategy. The service will shut down April 30, after launching on March 29.

        WarnerMedia had spent some $300 million on the launch of CNN+, and planned to spend hundreds of millions more in the coming months and years. Subscribers to CNN+ will receive prorated refunds for their fees.

        https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/cnn-plus-shutting-down-1235133393/

        Reply

  13. Politico — ‘I am terrified’: Workers describe the dark mood inside federal agencies (1/25/2025):

    “President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting the federal workforce have injected a fresh wave of anxiety among employees across the bureaucracy — stoking fears the president is coming for their jobs.

    Just a few days into Trump’s second term, some federal workers are contemplating quitting. Others are preparing to file grievances with their unions or moving communications with each other to secure platforms like Signal. Some, fearing they’ll be caught up in the White House’s purge of diversity programs, are leaving their names off of memos and documents they worry could be labeled as DEI-adjacent.

    At the State Department, the shutdown of those programs was something many saw coming. But some were startled by the directive that they report individual cases of people’s job descriptions being changed to “disguise” the DEI element to a special Office of Personnel Management email address. Some saw it as an order to snitch on colleagues. Others, who prepared for Trump’s return to office, had begun working months ago with outside nonprofits to archive websites they feared would be taken down by the Trump administration — including information on ending gender-based violence around the world.

    “I would love to leave, but I don’t know where I’d go, and I am terrified of not being able to pay rent and not having healthcare,” one State staffer said.

    https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/25/federal-workers-trump-dei-00200588

    Unemployable.

    Reply

    1. It would take a heart of stone to read about these panicked FedGov drones and not laugh. Have fun fending for yourselves in the globalist-plundered economy outside the rarified bubble of Panem on the Potomac, Deep State aficionados.

      Reply

    2. Policy and regulatory work is pretty specific to gov jobs, so of course FedGovs are unemployable. The tech people will be probably do ok, in fact they probably won’t lose their jobs at all.

      Reply

      1. 80% of FedGov employees support a party that wants nothing good for me and mine. They’ve spent the last 40 years trying to systematically disenfranchise white Heritage American males economically and politically, so it bothers me not one bit to see the tables turned on these America-hating bureaucrats.

        Reply

      2. The tech people

        Do you fail to see any bloating, waste or unnecessary spending in your area? Any at all? Study projects that have little importance in our future?

        Reply

      3. “The tech people will be probably do ok, in fact they probably won’t lose their jobs at all.”

        My personal observation, the gov spends money to train their techies, and those who are bright leave for the private sector that pays 2x to 5x the gov.

        Reply

    3. In my little corner of .gov, there were very few employees who had been hired specifically to do DEI. Instead, existing employees and managers would join some DEI committee as one of their duties, like 5-10% of their time. So we just ditched all the DEI committees and everyone is now back to their regular duties.

      Meanwhile, unions and co-workers are still fretting about in-person work. Several co-workers have applied for remote work, i.e. full-time work at home. In one informal chat with some co-workers and a friendly manager, several employees asked about whether they would still be approved. The manager said yes. The consensus is that the existing labor contracts trump the executive order.

      I got the feeling that they wanted their remote approval to go through so they would be safe from Trump. I broke into the conversation said that no matter what Trump does, Congress is already working on new telework laws. A law would wipe out any union contract instantly — regardless of when the contract was up for renewal — and any remote arrangement could be terminated instantly. they would be hauled into the office quickly. My coworkers were not happy about that reminder but I think they needed fair warning. Don’t get too comfortable with your remote arrangement.

      Reply

    4. “Others, who prepared for Trump’s return to office, had begun working months ago with outside nonprofits to archive websites they feared would be taken down by the Trump administration — including information on ending gender-based violence around the world.”

      Of course they pull this angle. Yes, leftists are real worried about gender-based violence, see also Rotherham.

      Reply

    1. Martha “only a handful of apartment complexes” Radditz finally got the true story out of Homan, I think it was today. Despite whatever narrative the left is trying to craft, Homan is not stopping at deporting the violent criminals. They’re working on that first, but after that they will “widen the aperture” to include all illegal immigrants. We can expect deportations every day of Trump’s presidency.

      Heh, I just saw a snippet of Pritzger (gov of IL) saying that he will help out with deporting the criminal migrants, but for the peaceful illegal immigrants, “we need comprehensive immigration reform.” Heh, that is so 2014, isn’t it. All that comprehensive immigration reform was, was a delay tactic to pause any deportations while Congress pretended to hammer out a deal. Or course the intent was to do nothing and let an invasion to force the American people to bend the knee to amnesty.

      Years ago, Trump tried to make a deal for Dreamers, but they demanded more more more. Well, again, they overstepped. Daddy is home and deporations will continue. If they want to make deals in Congress, go ahead. But Trump isn’t going to wait for it.

      Reply

  20. Westword — Aurora Protesters Brave Cold to Decry Trump Deportation Threats (1/25/2025):

    “The event, which had been postponed from inauguration day because of even colder weather on January 20, filled the amphitheater of Aurora’s Fletcher Plaza. The protest’s main organizer was the Denver branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, a national political advocacy group that held similar actions in other cities this week.

    Protesters held the flags of Palestine and Mexico, alongside signs reading “f*ck Donald Trump” and “put ICE on ice,” referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency that deports immigrants. A handful of the speakers added pro-Palestinian messages. Khaled Hamu, a member of the Denver branch of Students for a Democratic Society, mixed chants of “no more deportations” with calls to “stand with Palestine” and “fight Trump’s agenda.”

    “We’re not going to sit around and do nothing for the next four years. We’re going to continue resisting. We’re going to continue going out into the streets,” said Kat Draken, an organizer with the Denver branch of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, a national political advocacy group. “We’re going to do everything we can to make the U.S. ungovernable.”

    https://www.westword.com/news/aurora-demonstrators-protest-trump-deportation-threats-23221524

    Sounds like an insurrection there, Kat. I hear that about 1,500 beds just became available in a D.C. jail 🤣🤣🤣

    Reply

  23. 60 Midlands lawsuits allege flaws in homebuilder D.R. Horton’s SC houses

    Approximately 60 lawsuits have been filed in Richland, Lexington and Horry counties alleging construction flaws in residential houses built by major national homebuilder D. R. Horton.

    The lawsuits allege various construction flaws relating to roofs, I-joists, flashing, siding, weather resistant barriers and cladding (protective coverings), depending on the house. Some defects allegedly can allow water intrusion, the lawsuits allege.

    They charge D.R. Horton with negligence, breach of warranties and breach of contract, and in some cases, violations of South Carolina’s Unfair Trade Practices Act. In some cases, D.R. Horton sold homes to people knowing there were defects, some lawsuits allege. The plaintiffs seek actual and punitive damages.

    D.R. Horton sold homes to plaintiffs “that required tight construction schedules with insufficient resources and labor to build a top-quality Residence,” says one lawsuit, filed by Sam and Kristina Prest about their Little River home.

    The current lawsuits are not the first against D.R. Horton in South Carolina.

    Last year, D.R. Horton, subcontractors and suppliers reached a $16.1 million settlement in a class action lawsuit alleging construction defects in more than 200 houses in a development in Easley in Pickens County.

    The alleged defects were to foundations, concrete, siding, framing, windows, doors, stone veneer, and brick veneer of houses, according to an order approving the settlement by state Judge R. Scott Sprouse.

    The company’s annual report says lawsuits alleging construction defects are part of D.R. Horton’s business. The company appeared to blame the subcontractors it hires to build houses.

    “We are subject to home warranty and construction defect claims arising in the ordinary course of our home building business. We rely on subcontractors to perform the actual construction of our homes, and in many cases, to select and obtain construction materials,” the annual statement says.

    “Despite our detailed specifications and monitoring of the construction process, our subcontractors occasionally do not meet adequate quality standards in the construction of our homes. When we find these issues, we repair them in accordance with our warranty obligations.”

    “We spend significant resources to repair items in homes we have sold to fulfill the warranties we issued to our home buyers, the annual report said.

    At any given time, the company “is managing several hundred individual claims related to construction defect matters, personal injury claims, employment matters, land development issues, contract disputes and other matters,” the annual report said. Nearly all the claims relate to construction defect matters, the annual report said.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/60-midlands-lawsuits-allege-flaws-in-homebuilder-dr-horton-s-sc-houses/ar-AA1xQ321

    Reply

  24. WHY is my frickin’ X feed stocked with bitter libs posting engagement-farming trash like, “Just think, we could have had $25K for down payment assistance. But no, you wanted the felon. And how come eggs are still $7, it’s been 5 days already!”

    Make it stop!

    Reply

    1. First they came for the illegals, and I did not speak up because illegals had no business being here in the first place.

      Then they came for the DEI indoctrinators, and I did not speak up because as a white male, I oppose institutionalized anti-white male discrimination and elevating the undeserving incompetent and unqualified at the expense of merit.

      Then they booted the mentally ill trans from the military and women’s locker rooms, sports teams, and prisons, and I did not speak up because anyone born with a crank is a dude, end of story.

      Then I realized we’re less than a week into the Trump 2.0 administration, and I realized the #Winning only gets better from here. So when I hear the wails and shrieks of the TDS-afflicted, I feel joy.

      Reply

    2. “how come eggs are still $7, it’s been 5 days already!”

      I know right. I saw some lefty politician say that on tv and I thought to myself you have got to be fuqing kidding me.

      Reply

  25. Mexican consulate in San Bernardino offers advice, support to Mexican residents of Inland Empire

    Mexican citizens living in the Inland Empire: The Mexican government has your back, according to a Mexican government official.

    “The consulate is with them,” said Julio Huerta, deputy consul at the Mexican consulate in San Bernardino. “They are not alone.”

    Consulates are offices of a foreign government that, among other things, provide government services to citizens of their countries, including help with visas and passports.

    “Regarding the decrees that President Donald Trump signed yesterday, I would like to say the following: The people of Mexico can be sure that we will always defend our sovereignty and our independence,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said at a Tuesday morning news conference.

    The Mexican government will take care of the needs of migrants in a “humanitarian” way, she said. The “México te Abraza” program — “Mexico Embraces You,” in English — includes shelters set up at nine Mexican cities along the border with the U.S., including Tijuana and Mexicali. Mexican nationals who are deported from the U.S. will be given temporary housing, medical care, food, access to telephones and receive job placement assistance, according to the Mexican government. Migrants from other countries deported by the U.S. would be sent on to their home countries, Sheinbaum said.

    According to the Migration Policy Institute, as of 2021, 46% of immigrants in the United States without authorization are from Mexico. Immigrants from El Salvador and Guatemala each made 7% of the unauthorized immigrant population.

    What should Mexican residents in the Inland Empire do?

    On Thursday, the consulate had practical advice for Mexican nationals living in Southern California:

    “What we recommend, in case they have any interaction with any authority is to remain silent,” Medina said. “They have the right to remain silent, to not disclose their immigration status, until they speak with a lawyer. They can say ‘I do not consent to a search, I want to speak to a lawyer, I want to make a call.’ That call can be to a lawyer or it can be to the consulate.”

    Mexican residents also have the right to refuse to sign documents and to demand a translator, he said.

    “The best defense is to know your rights,” Medina said.

    But Mexicans detained by the U.S. law enforcement shouldn’t lie to them or show them fake documents, Huerta cautioned.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/mexican-consulate-in-san-bernardino-offers-advice-support-to-mexican-residents-of-inland-empire/ar-AA1xPm7a

    ‘Migrants from other countries deported by the U.S. would be sent on to their home countries’

    He he…

    Reply

    1. And it’s only just begun.

      A teacher relative tells me that her principal is in full blown panic mode, worried that federal agents will show up at the school.

      I am told that her particular school is about 30% illegals.

      Reply

  26. Fears grip New York’s migrants as Trump’s executive order sparks deportation panic

    These measures, coupled with Trump’s demonisation of migrants as rapists and murderers, have placed a target on the backs of some of America’s most vulnerable people. Federal immigration agents have already started rounding them up in the Denver area.

    The crackdown has sent shockwaves through New York where migrants we spoke to believe it is only a matter of days before armed agents come for them. As Usman, a 45-year-old dad from Senegal, put it: “Every sound, every shadow – it could be them. They’ll take us and we’ll never see our children safe again.”

    For hundreds like him, returning to their homelands means facing the violence and persecution they fled, often with little more than the clothes on their backs. Mamadou, from Guinea, said: “I’ll grab my kids and run. We’ll live on the streets, hide in basements, anything but go back. If we’re deported we’re in fear for our lives.”

    Fear is also palpable among the hundreds living at the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Many say they feel caught between Trump’s policies and a city struggling to cope with the scale of the migrant crisis. Rosa, a 22-year-old from Ecuador, said: “Trump calls us criminals but we are families. We came here for safety, for hope. Why does he hate us so much?”

    It leaves many with nowhere to go while others are shunted around between one place and another. For people like Diego, 24, from Venezuela, the constant relocations have made it impossible to find stability.

    “We’re treated like numbers, not people,” he said. “They move us like cattle and now they want to send us back to hell.” Families who were just beginning to find their footing are now in limbo, uprooted from their shelters, routines and hopes for a better future.

    “We’ve moved three times in six months,” said Mariana, a mother of four from Venezuela. “My kids are scared, confused. How can we build a life when everything is taken from us?” Trump’s rhetoric has added fuel to the fire. His claims that countries are “emptying their prisons and mental institutions” into the US have been widely condemned but resonate with his supporters.

    For migrants, these words are not just insulting but dehumanising. “It’s a disgrace,” said Rosa. “We are not criminals. We are mothers, fathers, children. We want safety, education for our kids, and a chance to work.

    “Why does he see us as less than human?”

    But the fear of deportation is driving some to desperate measures. Many say they will go into hiding until Trump’s term ends in four years. Carlos, a 41-year-old from Guatemala, said: “We’ll hide. We’ll live in basements, avoid everyone. Trump won’t be president for ever. We just have to survive.”

    The scale of their fear is matched only by their resilience. Even as they face the bitter New York winter, hunger, and uncertainty, many remain determined to stay in the US and fight for a better life.

    But with each passing day, the odds grow slimmer. The shelters are closing, the raids are coming, and the hope that once brought them to America is fading fast.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fears-grip-new-yorks-migrants-as-trump-s-executive-order-sparks-deportation-panic/ar-AA1xR1av

    Reply

    1. hese measures, coupled with Trump’s demonisation of migrants

      The media has locked onto the narrative that the invaders have a right to be here, that we need them and are lucky to have them.

      Reply

    3. “Fear is also palpable among the hundreds living at the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan”

      Who is paying for this?

      Your presence in the country (it’s not your f*ing country) is THEFT from taxpayers. GTFO

      Reply

  27. Trump defends ousting at least 15 independent inspectors general in late-night purge

    President Donald Trump on Saturday night defended his removal of a slew of inspectors general Friday night, as lawmakers in both parties raised concerns about the late-night purge and questioned a decision that appeared to violate federal law.

    “It’s a very common thing to do,” Trump claimed to reporters on Air Force One traveling to Florida, in his first comments after a decision that caused alarm among government watchdogs and members of Congress.

    “I don’t know them,” he said, even though many of those he fired were people that he appointed during his first term. “But some people thought that some were unfair or some were not doing their job. It’s a very standard thing to do.”

    The White House removed the independent inspectors general of nearly every Cabinet-level agency in an unprecedented purge that could clear the way for Trump to install loyalists in the crucial role of identifying fraud, waste and abuse in the government.

    The inspectors general were notified late Friday by emails from White House personnel director Sergio Gor that “due to changing priorities” they had been terminated immediately, according to people familiar with the actions, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private messages. The watchdogs at Homeland Security and Justice were the only Cabinet-level inspectors general spared.

    The dismissals appeared to violate federal law, which requires Congress to receive 30 days’ notice of any intent to fire a Senate-confirmed inspector general. The legal uncertainty could create awkward encounters on Monday, when several watchdogs who were told they were fired planned to show up in their offices to work anyway.

    Trump said he intended to install new people in the roles but said they would have some independence.

    “They’re not my people,” he said of those he would install. “I don’t know anybody that would do that. But we’ll put people in there that will be very good.”

    The removals were one of many first-week actions that have shown Trump’s willingness to purge the federal government of dozens of leaders — both career officials and those who are politically appointed — he views as disloyal to his agenda.

    “It’s a widespread massacre,” one of the fired watchdogs said. “Whoever Trump puts in now will be viewed as loyalists, and that undermines the entire system.”

    At least one congressional Republican was unmoved by the decision to remove the officials. Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) told Fox News on Saturday: “Sometimes inspector generals don’t do the job that they are supposed to do. Some of them deserve to be fired.”

    The news of the dismissals left some staff employees in the inspector general community “absolutely shocked,” said a senior executive in one office, who was not authorized to speak on the record.

    “This is totally unprecedented. It’s what we were fearing. There was noise during the transition about him doing this and some statements made during his campaign” by Trump’s aides, the executive said.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-defends-ousting-at-least-15-independent-inspectors-general-in-late-night-purge/ar-AA1xPgky

    Reply

    1. “It’s a widespread massacre,” one of the fired watchdogs said. “Whoever Trump puts in now will be viewed as loyalists, and that undermines the entire system.”

      Democrats adhere to an alien ideology, Marxism, that is fundamentally incompatible with swearing oaths of allegiance to defend & uphold the Constitution of the United States of America. If the last four years have taught us anything, it’s that putting subversives and traitors in positions of trust is a recipe for downfall.

      Reply

  28. It turns out that Akio Toyoda was right

    Once lambasted, Toyota’s chairman’s viewpoint on EVs proved correct.

    Much was made of the fact that Tim Kuniskis cut his retirement to return to Stellantis as the CEO of Ram after Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares’s abrupt departure.

    One of Kuniskis’s initial actions was to delay the launch of the Ram 1500 REV electric vehicle (EV) until the 2026 model year. In its place will come the Ramcharger, with a 92-kwh battery pack coupled with a 3.6-liter V-6 engine acting as a range extender. Orders should open sometime in the first half of this year.

    According to a statement issued by Ram, the decision was driven by “overwhelming consumer interest, maintaining a competitive advantage in the technology, and slowing industry demand for half-ton BEV pickups.”

    And, one could suppose that somewhere in Japan, Akio Toyoda, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Toyota Motor Corporation, shook his head and smiled upon hearing the news. Despite the criticism hurled at him by other automakers, his pronouncements on the future of electrification of automobiles had proven to be correct.

    Toyota has gained ground by prioritizing hybrids over battery electric vehicles, a decision that, in the past, drew widespread derision. To many, it seemed that Toyota, which had popularized gas-electric hybrids with the Prius, was living in the past, having invested and developed the technology over two decades. To them, EVs were a bullet train, and Toyoda was standing on the platform waiting for the next one to arrive.

    Yet, as more EVs come to market, demand among mainstream buyers has waned. The EVs’ relative lack of range and the paucity of charging stations are deal-breakers. Even as the range has improved, buyers remain unconvinced. To make matters worse, they’re pricey.

    But reality has intruded on the wishful thinking of governments and environmentalists. The simple fact is that most Americans aren’t embracing EVs.

    As a result, automakers such as General Motors are becoming more cautious. While GM offers the Chevrolet Blazer and Equinox, as well as the Cadillac Lyriq, executives are slowing the rollout of further EVs. Buick’s first EV was expected to be on sale by now, and plans for other EVs have also been pushed back. GM is not alone, either, as Ford cut production of its Ford F-150 Lightning pickup last year, too.

    And this is why Akio Toyoda is smiling.

    As automakers rushed to design, engineer, and build EVs at a cost of billions of dollars, Toyoda stood alone in toting hybrids as an interim solution, one that would ease buyers’ transition from electrified automobiles. His company had spent billions of dollars over the past two decades perfecting the technology and wasn’t quick to shelve it for something unproven in the marketplace.

    He also realized that most buyers aren’t ready to cast off the automotive technology they know how to deal with for one that they don’t, especially one that comes with a rarified price tag. It’s a huge risk for the second-largest purchase any consumer makes.

    Akio Toyoda understood this, even as others didn’t. What most competitors once saw as crass salesmanship to move technology in which his company had a huge investment has now proven to be sage advice.

    https://www.autoblog.com/news/it-turns-out-that-akio-toyoda-was-right

    Reply

    1. Yet, as more EVs come to market, demand among mainstream buyers has waned.

      The greenies still insist that the EV wave is “unstoppable”, even as pricey unsold EVs languish at dealerships.

      Reply

      1. I said years ago that we should stick to hybrids before I heard of this guy. That was before I bought an old Prius for $3000, drove it for 40,000 miles and the battery started to die. I sold it for $1400 to a mechanic who just wanted to play around with it. The experience was OK. It lacked power on Arizona’s mountains and I don’t think I would buy another one. Partly because Toyota left the older cars out there with no solution to the battery problems. Everybody said, the new ones are a lot better! I thought, that doesn’t do me much good. But I saved a lot on gas for three years.

        Reply

      2. The greenies still insist that the EV wave is “unstoppable”, even as pricey unsold EVs languish at dealerships.
        No one has even address the required electricity issues.
        Solar and wind ain’t gonna cut it for at least a decade. So, how many gas/coal burning power plants will we need and how many square miles of solar panels will be required and how many new copper mines will need to open and………
        No one even addresses this issues so how can they be taken seriously?

        Reply

  29. “Vanguard thinks U.S. bonds will beat stocks with an annualized return of 4.3% to 5.3% over the next 10 years. Even international stocks are seen topping the S&P 500 in the next 10 years, Vanguard says.Dec 23, 2024”

    Don’t buy bonds when interest rates are zero or negative. There was allot of that around a few years ago.

    Reply

  30. Financial advice on social media is growing – and risky

    Amy Ryan was panicking about her savings when she went online for advice. It was April 2020, and the stock market had plunged, draining a nest egg that she had built up over the years.

    Ryan, a 43-year-old sales engineer from Wales, had dumped her portfolio in the crash and was afraid of losing even more. Looking for guidance, she found Kevin Paffrath, a prolific finance influencer who discussed the economy and investing on his Meet Kevin YouTube channel.

    “At the time, I was not really well educated in buying and selling shares,” she said, adding that she felt reassured that Paffrath had about 1 million followers. “I trusted this guy.”

    Ryan had considered herself to be a savvy saver. When the markets began recovering from the COVID-19 crash, she was terrified that she had been rash in selling her portfolio. She paid $532 for Paffrath’s “Stocks and Psychology” course and mirrored his lead in buying shares in companies that he believed were lucrative. She moved her cryptocurrency into BlockFi, a cryptocurrency lender that Paffrath promoted.

    “It was all going very well,” she said. “Until it wasn’t.”

    Over months, she funneled about 32,000 pounds (or about $40,000 now) into shares he had mentioned. She had some gains at first, but then her portfolio started to dip. In 2022, BlockFi filed for bankruptcy, locking up cryptocurrency worth about $10,000 at the time, Ryan said. In all, she lost some 20,000 pounds. She blamed herself for the losses but added that she wished Paffrath had been more transparent about the risks of BlockFi.

    Paffrath is one of many influencers who share investment opinions online, and disclaimers on his YouTube channel note to his subscribers, now at 2 million, that his advice is not personalized. He apologized for promoting BlockFi and said he lost some $433,000 of his own money on the lender. “My true fans understand my ethics and who I am,” he said via text message, but he declined to comment further.

    For everyday investors, “at the extreme end, they can lose everything,” said Sue S. Guan, a law professor at Santa Clara University. “I worry that not a lot is being done to help them figure it out.”

    Amid the advice is a market for fraud. Fake investment opportunities on social media made up nearly $350 million in reported fraud in the first half of 2023 alone, the Federal Trade Commission said.

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has pursued celebrities like Kim Kardashian and firms that hire them for failing to properly disclose compensation. (Kardashian paid $1.26 million in 2022 to settle the case but did not admit wrongdoing.)

    “Making investment decisions based solely on information from finfluencers, social media and celebrities may not be a great idea,” an SEC official wrote in a brief.

    Paffrath of Meet Kevin was named in a class-action lawsuit filed in Florida that accused him and other YouTubers who promoted FTX, the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, of misleading their followers. “People have to put on their big-boy pants and realize that if you make a decision because of something you heard online, that’s your responsibility,” he said in a video responding to the lawsuit.

    In 2023, Paffrath, who is now registered as an investment adviser and still offers courses on his site, reached a settlement with plaintiffs, according to a court filing.

    Many creators who work in or have a background in finance say that they, too, are tired of misinformation.

    “There are folks out there who don’t have any sort of financial history; they just are good at marketing,” said Vivian Tu, who started Your Rich BFF, which shares personal finance tips to more than 2 million followers on TikTok. She still encourages people seeking tailored advice to hire a licensed financial planner.

    The backing of FTX from celebrities and venture capital firms persuaded Sunil Kavuri to put his life savings into the exchange in late 2021. “I didn’t move any money into the account until these guys all promoted it and basically said that it was safe,” said Kavuri, 44, also a former trader.

    When FTX imploded overnight, Kavuri said he lost $2 million. “It was sickening,” he said. He believes that celebrities should not be promoting financial products they do not understand.

    He joined class-action cases against several public figures who endorsed the exchange, including Tom Brady, Gisele Bündchen, Larry David and Shaquille O’Neal. Some defendants named in the suit have since settled the case, while others have argued for it to be dismissed.

    Ryan eventually hired a certified financial planner and took investing courses, many offered free by financial institutions. “I play it very safe now,” she said.

    She has shared her experience more widely to combat the stigma of making financial mistakes, with a warning to others: “Be careful who you’re listening to.”

    https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/article-social-media-extends-its-reach-to-financial-advice/

    Reply

    2. This is why you should ONLY listen to Michael Saylor. Everyone else is a scammer. Only Michael Saylor speaks the truth.

      Reply

  31. Trump takes Nevada victory lap; Democrats lick wounds

    Democrats are trying to figure out how to make a comeback in Nevada after President Trump became the first GOP presidential candidate to win the state since President George W. Bush in 2004.

    Trump is set to take a victory lap this weekend, traveling to the state to celebrate his big win during this first week of his new presidency.

    Democrats nationally are trying to pick up the pieces and figure out what went wrong after Harris lost every swing state to Trump, and the party lost the Senate majority and failed to win back the House.

    Talks on what went wrong in the Silver State are taking place.

    “I’ve said it before that Democrats need to spend more time listening to people and less time preaching to people, and I think that that’s the number one lesson we can come away with,” Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.) told The Hill. “I will say that I think the Trump campaign focused very smartly on people who had never voted before and turned them out,” she added.

    And though Harris lost the presidential race, one Democratic operative who spoke to The Hill credited the former vice president with helping stave off other losses.

    “We lost the big one, for sure, and it sucks, and there’s some tweaking to do, and some lessons learned at the national level about what we need to do next,” the operative said. “But I don’t think that Democrats carte blanche in the state of Nevada need to really tweak their messages all that much, because everybody else won.”

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-takes-nevada-victory-lap-democrats-lick-wounds/ar-AA1xRchP

    Reply

    1. Democrats nationally are trying to pick up the pieces and figure out what went wrong after Harris lost every swing state to Trump

      I suggest they double down next election. Demand open borders. open women’s bathrooms and lockers, war with Russia and China, ban ICE cars, inflation, etc. And all their candidates be DEI losers

      Reply

      1. The Democrat-Bolsheviks are tyrannical control freaks wholly beholden to their globalist puppetmasters. The sad fates of Peanut the Squirrel & Fred the Raccoon are emblematic of where these commies were taking the country.

        Reply

  33. 3 things I learned at Davos 2025 on the future of finance.

    https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/01/the-economy-at-davos-2025-3-key-takeaways-887229f794/

    This article is part of:
    World Economic Forum Annual Meeting

    Investors and businesses have an optimistic outlook for the US while pessimism hangs over Europe’s lagging productivity, innovation and competitiveness.

    US banks are capitalizing on strong profits and regulatory adjustments, with billions being freed up for lending, mergers and acquisitions or buybacks.

    Amid more tariffs, policymakers are rethinking how to frame their portfolios and placing much of tech, rare earths and the energy transition under this umbrella.

    Rarely have I found the Davos attendees so split in their investment outlooks.

    American investors and business leaders were giddy over a possible “Golden Age,” though most were bracing for what promised to be a rollercoaster ride. Meanwhile, Europeans were moping about their economies, red tape and lack of innovation. And the Chinese delegation was the smallest in years.

    Conversations revolved around the big challenges investors and corporates are trying to solve right now, from pivots in US policy to the languishing state of Europe and China, artificial intelligence market concentration, the risks of tariffs, what pessimism or optimism had already been priced in or where private markets might head next.

    Sitting across 40 private meetings and panels, I better understood the mindset of businesses, investors and policymakers. Here are three of my takeaways.

    1. The US vibe shift goes global but will Europe pick up on it?
    US exceptionalism has been a driving force in markets for years. The dominant theme at Davos was whether the new administration would amplify this and diverge even more from Europe and Asia.

    Meanwhile, US corporates are realigning their priorities fast. Their confidence means they are adding new initiatives whilst they “war room” what the administration’s first moves could mean for them.

    However, the realignment also exposes weaknesses in large European markets. The largest European economies appear trapped in a prolonged economic malaise, outpaced by the US in productivity and technological innovation while losing ground to China in manufacturing competitiveness.

    The bloc’s economic heavyweights, Germany and France – and in different respects, the UK – grapple with stagnation and mounting debt pressures. That said, much pessimism is already priced into Europe and much optimism in the US.

    Every businessperson or investor I met believed that Europe needed a wake-up call on its approach to regulation, preventing it from tapping into private funding sources.

    Consider Trump’s announcement this week of Stargate, a massive investment in data centres; as I pointed out in my recent Financial Times op-ed, Europe “straight-jacketed insurers from playing a larger role in financing the real economy via private credit or through buying senior tranches of securitizations.

    “US data centre securitisations have totalled $35bn since 2018, according to JPMorgan Chase, while the EU has yet to see its first such transaction.”

    So, will Europe roll back regulations? Businesses and investors seemed unconvinced, as the crisis isn’t big enough. That said, Davos can often be a trailing consensus.

    In a conversation with Dan Murphy on CNBC, I shared an example from Nicolai Tangen, CEO of Norwegian sovereign wealth fund NBIM, when debating the biggest successes of the last five years – which in the United States is perhaps Space-X chopsticks landing or the launch of ChatGPT.

    In Europe, Tangen argued it was the rebuilding of Notre Dame, “Because they were allowed to disregard almost all regulations and rules. It is unbelievable what Europe can achieve if they are allowed to.”

    Perhaps US exceptionalism and the new administration will pressure Europe to pivot. But Davos folk fret European policymakers remain out of step with what Sir Niall Ferguson calls the “new global vibe shift.”

    2. Banks return as private credit pivots

    US banks are back – three of them had pop-up shops on the high street – the most I recall since before the financial crisis.

    They are emboldened by a strong 2024 – the second-best profit year ever for the top six US banks – and thrilled that new global banking regulations (the Basel III endgame) may be reframed as “capital neutral,” with no net increase in capital requirements.

    Morgan Stanley Research estimates this could free up $86 billion in surplus capital for lending, mergers and acquisitions, or buybacks.

    Whether emboldened banks will be better able to fend off private credit was a hot topic this year. Traditional private credit markets are becoming more crowded and are likely to become increasingly picked over by banks as they put more capital to work in large loans for acquisitions.

    Some leading private credit players are, therefore, striking out for greener pastures. They are pivoting to become less dependent on mid-market lending and acquisition finance and to become financiers of the huge capital expenditures needed for data centres, energy transition and other hard assets.

    One hot debate at Davos was the growing partnerships between insurers and private credit. Such insurance capital is transforming the type of projects private credit can back.

    For example, insurers prioritize steady 7-9% returns that align well with the needs of long-duration infrastructure financing. In some ways, this represents a return to an older financing model.

    After the Second World War, large insurers financed and even owned transformative infrastructure projects and utilities.

    I also observed a profound shift from my conversations about how banks are thinking of working with private credit.

    As I wrote last year, “What we are seeing is the re-tranching of the banking system where banks parcel the riskiest slice to private credit, providing less risky lending themselves. Private credit could be the Ozempic to help banks on yet another diet.”

    The dieting has now started in earnest.

    “
    The question for policymakers at Davos is not whether to try to respond to the US vibe shift but how and for investors and corporates to place their bets accordingly.

    ”
    3. Navigate tariffs via a national security umbrella

    Policymakers worldwide are rethinking how they manage the economy. “Modern mercantilism” emphasizes national security, self-reliance and strategic sectors – a painful paradigm shift for many.

    Tariffs, the most visible example of this shift and a major topic at Davos, are part of a broader strategy to curb trade deficits, bolster domestic industries and safeguard national champions.

    Investors and corporates remain uncertain about how to navigate these changes. Many investors are pricing in “surgical tariffs” over broad-based ones, betting that US inflation concerns will limit sweeping measures, though policymakers and business leaders were less optimistic.

    Some investors I met are reshaping portfolios around “national security.” This increasingly includes data centres (given tech’s priority), elements of the energy transition, rare earths (China processes 90% globally), reshoring industrial capacity and defence investments.

    While US policymakers may look to “escalate to de-escalate,” keeping supply chains largely global, risks of some breakage and realignment remain real. Expect to hear more about national security-focused portfolios as tariffs and mercantile policies take centre stage.

    The rest and the next

    As always, at Davos, there were many other topics of discussion. AI was ubiquitous, with CEOs predicting 10-20% productivity gains.

    The Ukrainian conflict and whether Russia’s funds should be confiscated for Ukraine’s reconstruction were also hotly debated. While consensus has shifted significantly over the past year, many European policymakers remain in denial about the scale of defence spending likely required.

    Otto von Bismarck once said, “If revolution there is to be, let us rather undertake it than undergo it.”

    The question for policymakers at Davos is not whether to try to respond to the US vibe shift but how and for investors and corporates to place their bets accordingly.

    Reply

  34. [This Trump guy doesn’t mess around …]

    Trump Calls for Retaliatory Measures on Colombia After It Refuses Deportation Flights
    ‘These measures are just the beginning,’ Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

    https://archive.ph/6KuRf

    After Colombia turned away two military flights deporting illegal immigrants from the United States, President Donald Trump said on Jan. 26 that he is working to impose retaliatory measures against the nation.

    Trump suggested that Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s actions threaten U.S. national security, and he is directing his administration to impose emergency 25 percent tariffs on all imports from Colombia, which will rise to 50 percent in seven days.
    Trump is imposing a travel ban and visa revocations on the nation’s government officials and allies and will enact emergency Treasury, banking, and financial sanctions while ramping up border inspections on Colombian nationals.

    “These measures are just the beginning,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “We will not allow the Colombian government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into the United States!”
    The deportation flights are one of many actions the president has taken to enforce laws against illegal immigration since assuming office on Monday.

    Mexico accepted the first four deportation flights of illegal immigrants from the United States this week. The flights set a new record for deportations to the nation in a single day, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

    Reply

    1. TRANSLATION OF STATEMENT FROM PRESIDENT OF COLOMBIA.

      https://x.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1883630789725937943

      Trump, I don’t really like travelling to the US, it’s a bit boring, but I confess that there are some commendable things. I like going to the black neighborhoods of Washington, where I saw an entire fight in the US capital between blacks and Latinos with barricades, which seemed like nonsense to me, because they should join together.

      I confess that I like Walt Whitman and Paul Simon and Noam Chomsky and Miller.

      I confess that Sacco and Vanzetti, who have my blood, are memorable in the history of the USA and I follow them. They were murdered by labor leaders with the electric chair, the fascists who are within the USA as well as within my country.

      I don’t like your oil, Trump, you’re going to wipe out the human species because of greed. Maybe one day, over a glass of whiskey, which I accept, despite my gastritis, we can talk frankly about this, but it’s difficult because you consider me an inferior race and I’m not, nor is any Colombian.

      So if you know someone who is stubborn, that’s me, period. You can try to carry out a coup with your economic strength and your arrogance, like they did with Allende. But I will die in my law, I resisted torture and I resist you. I don’t want slavers next to Colombia, we already had many and we freed ourselves. What I want next to Colombia are lovers of freedom. If you can’t accompany me, I’ll go elsewhere. Colombia is the heart of the world and you didn’t understand that, this is the land of the yellow butterflies, of the beauty of Remedios, but also of the colonels Aureliano Buendía, of which I am one, perhaps the last.

      You will kill me, but I will survive in my people, which is before yours, in the Americas. We are peoples of the winds, the mountains, the Caribbean Sea and of freedom.

      You don’t like our freedom, okay. I don’t shake hands with white slavers. I shake hands with the white libertarian heirs of Lincoln and the black and white farm boys of the USA, at whose graves I cried and prayed on a battlefield, which I reached after walking the mountains of Italian Tuscany and after being saved from Covid.

      They are the United States and before them I kneel, before no one else.

      Overthrow me, President, and the Americas and humanity will respond.

      Colombia now stops looking north, looks at the world, our blood comes from the blood of the Caliphate of Cordoba, the civilization of that time, of the Roman Latins of the Mediterranean, the civilization of that time, who founded the republic, democracy in Athens; our blood has the black resistance fighters turned into slaves by you. In Colombia is the first free territory of America, before Washington, of all America, there I take refuge in its African songs.

      My land is made up of goldsmiths who worked in the time of the Egyptian pharaohs and of the first artists in the world in Chiribiquete.

      You will never rule us. The warrior who rode our lands, shouting freedom, who is called Bolívar, opposes us.

      Our people are somewhat fearful, somewhat timid, they are naive and kind, loving, but they will know how to win the Panama Canal, which you took from us with violence. Two hundred heroes from all of Latin America lie in Bocas del Toro, today’s Panama, formerly Colombia, which you murdered.

      I raise a flag and as Gaitán said, even if it remains alone, it will continue to be raised with the Latin American dignity that is the dignity of America, which your great-grandfather did not know, and mine did, Mr. President, an immigrant in the USA.

      Your blockade does not scare me, because Colombia, besides being the country of beauty, is the heart of the world.

      I know that you love beauty as I do, do not disrespect it and you will give it your sweetness.

      FROM TODAY ON, COLOMBIA IS OPEN TO THE ENTIRE WORLD, WITH OPEN ARMS, WE ARE BUILDERS OF FREEDOM, LIFE AND HUMANITY.

      I am informed that you impose a 50% tariff on the fruits of our human labor to enter the United States, and I do the same.

      Reply

      1. [Wow! That was quick.]

        [Lesson learned: Do not mess with The Donald …]

        Colombian leader quickly caves after Trump threats, offers presidential plane for deportation flights
        Gustavo Petro initially refused to accept deportation flights.

        https://www.foxnews.com/politics/colombian-leader-quickly-caves-after-trump-threats-offers-presidential-plane-deportation-flights

        Colombian President Gustavo Petro offered his presidential plane to repatriate migrants coming back from the U.S. on Sunday in response to stern warnings made by President Donald Trump.

        The move came after Trump hit the South American country with retaliatory measures in response to Petro’s refusal to accept deportation flights. A former member of the M-19, which was a Marxist guerrilla terrorist group that killed hundreds, Petro caved in to Trump’s demands with remarkable speed.

        In a statement translated from Spanish, the Colombian government said the plane will help facilitate a “dignified return.”

        “The Government of Colombia, under the direction of President Gustavo Petro, has arranged the presidential plane to facilitate the dignified return of the compatriots who were going to arrive in the country today in the morning, coming from deportation flights,” the translated statement read.

        “This measure responds to the Government’s commitment to guarantee decent conditions.”

        This weekend, American officials sent two flights of Colombian illegal aliens as part of Trump’s ongoing deportation program. Petro rejected the flights, writing that the U.S. cannot “treat Colombian migrants as criminals.”

        “I deny the entry of American planes carrying Colombian migrants into our territory,” Petro said. “The United States must establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants before we receive them.”

        In response, Trump unleashed a slew of punishments, including ordering a 25% tariff on all goods coming into the U.S. from Colombia.

        “I was just informed that two repatriation flights from the United States, with a large number of Illegal Criminals, were not allowed to land in Colombia,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “This order was given by Colombia’s Socialist President Gustavo Petro, who is already very unpopular amongst his people.”

        “Petro’s denial of these flights has jeopardized the National Security and Public Safety of the United States, so I have directed my Administration to immediately take the following urgent and decisive retaliatory measures.”

        The tariff would rise to 50% after one week, Trump said. The president also ordered a travel ban and visa revocations for all Colombian government officials, plus “allies and supporters.”

        “These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States!” Trump warned.

        Later on Sunday, Petro issued a similar threat to Trump, claiming that he ordered his foreign trade minister “to raise tariffs on imports from the U.S. by 25%.”

        “The ministry should help direct our exports to the whole world other than the US,” the translated post read. “Our exports should be expanded.”

        Reply

        1. ‘Colombian leader quickly caves after Trump threats, offers presidential plane for deportation flights’

          Thanks Gustavo, but we’re not using planes where you can roll down the windows and you’ve got chickens running around. We’re using the big military deals where they sit on the side and no coffee service.

          Reply

      2. We are peoples of the winds, the mountains, the Caribbean Sea and of freedom.

        Blow on back to where you came from, then.

        Reply

  35. Joe Biden’s Deputies Smuggled Many Indian Migrants into U.S. Jobs

    Neil Munro
    26 Jan 2025

    President Joe Biden’s ambassador to India approved more than two million visitor visas for Indians in 2023 and 2024 — so allowing a huge wave of job-seeking Indians to take off-the-books, untaxed, illegal jobs in the United States.

    But President Donald Trump’s Secretary of State is now directing officials at the Department of State to reverse the various policies that help illegal migration into the United States.

    “This department will no longer undertake any activities that facilitate or encourage it,” Secretary Marco Rubio said in a memo to the top officials in the department. The task is “the most consequential issue of our time,” Rubio wrote, according to a January 21 report in RealClear Politics.com.

    Ambassador Gil Garcetti exposed the scale of the Indian labor export in a self-congratulatory speech to an Indian audience in New Delhi on January 13.

    “Since becoming Ambassador, we’ve increased our visas by more than 60 percent, eliminated wait times for all visa types, except for first-time visitor visas,” Garcetti said. He continued: “For a second year in a row, we issued more than one million nonimmigrant visas, including a record number of visitor visas … more than five million Indians currently hold a [multi-year, multi-use] United States visa.”

    https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2025/01/26/bidens-deputies-smuggled-huge-numbers-of-indian-workers-into-the-u-s/

    Reply

  36. 2 videos here well worth watching.

    Bombshell Report: Trump Admin Already Finds Approximately 75,000 Missing Migrant Children In First Week

    by Jamie White
    January 26th, 2025 12:32 PM

    The Trump administration has already located about 75-80,000 of the approximately 300,000 migrant children who’ve gone missing since illegally crossing the U.S. southern border under Joe Biden’s term, according to reports.

    Fox News host Harris Faulkner on Saturday expressed her shock over reports from border patrol sources that the Trump administration has quickly been able to find and identify about 25% of the missing migrant children only four days after taking office.

    “That number has already started to come down from the 300,00. So they’ve found about 75 to 80,000 of those kids already,” Faulkner said.

    Faulkner then shredded former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for neglecting his duties under Joe Biden, noting he told Congress he didn’t know where the 300,000+ missing children were.

    “What in the world was the Biden administration doing? What was Secretary of Homeland Mayorkas doing when he said to the committees on Capitol Hill, ‘We don’t know where those kids are, we’ll look into it’?” she said.

    “No, dude, you obviously had a better way to find them and you didn’t do your job!” she exclaimed. “I can’t believe they impeached him and didn’t remove him.”

    In a separate interview with CBS in December 2024, Mayorkas told host Margaret Brennan that the DHS bears no responsibility for the disappearance of hundreds of thousands of migrant children at the border.

    “The incoming border czar, Tom Homan, says these children are being exploited and trafficked. Is that true?” Brennan asked Mayorkas.

    “Margaret, we certainly have received reports of children being trafficked, even those as to whom we know where they are,” Mayorkas admitted.

    https://www.infowars.com/posts/bombshell-report-trump-admin-already-found-approximately-75000-missing-migrant-children-just-one-week-in-office

    Reply

    1. Couldn’t have been that difficult.

      Just raid the basements of the big money DNC fundraisers and donors, that’s where the kidz were all locked up.

      Ain’t no party like a Diddy party, right?

      Reply

    1. Prediction: Stock Market Returns Will Achieve a Level Not Witnessed in 20 Years Under President Donald Trump
      By Sean Williams – Jan 25, 2025 at 5:06AM

      Key Points

      – Wall Street’s bull market rally kicked into a higher gear following Trump’s November victory.

      – High stock valuations could lead to dubious history being made during President Trump’s second term.

      – The nonlinearity of the investing cycle overwhelmingly favors (and rewards) patient investors.
      …
      President Trump can oversee historic stock market returns — but not in the way you might be thinking
      During President Barack Obama’s eight years in office, as well as the combined eight years of President Trump’s and Joe Biden’s tenure in the White House, the stock market delivered decisively positive returns. Based on the catalysts listed above, Wall Street is expecting more gains when Trump leaves office in January 2029.

      However, there’s a big reason to believe President Trump may oversee the first decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite since George W. Bush’s second term, which ended in January 2009. In other words, we would witness the first negative stock market returns for a presidential term in 20 years.

      To be abundantly clear (note the italics, because this is an important point), the potential for stocks to head lower over the next four years has nothing specific to do with President Trump’s policy proposals. In fact, the catalyst that could send stocks notably lower awaited whichever candidate won the 2024 election.

      The biggest concern for Wall Street during Trump’s presidency is that the stock market is historically pricey — and there’s simply no quick fix for extended valuations.
      …
      https://www.fool.com/investing/2025/01/25/prediction-stock-market-returns-donald-trump/

      Reply

      1. “…and there’s simply no quick fix for extended valuations.”

        Yep…bubbles do keep inflating until they pop. Lather, rinse, repeat…

        Reply

    1. The tyrants who railroaded the J6 protestors and the prison officials who subjected them to inhuman treatment in the gulag better be looking over their shoulders now that the 1,500 people whose lives they ruined are back on the street.

      Reply

  39. “Incredibly, just hours before the fatal wreck, the Urbana Police Department (UPD) posted a “Get Prepared” notice advising illegal aliens how to handle expected immigration raids launched by the Trump administration.”

    Illegal Alien Arrested for Killing Two Young Women in DUI Hit-and-Run in Illinois Sanctuary City

    by Dan Lyman
    January 26th, 2025 11:35 AM

    An illegal alien was caught fleeing to Mexico following a hit-and-run drunk driving collision that claimed the lives of two young women in a sanctuary city in the sanctuary state of Illinois last week.

    The horrifying tragedy unfolded just before 2 a.m. on Jan. 19 in Urbana, a city in Champaign County.

    A Honda Civic carrying five people was sitting at a red light when it was rear-ended by a Mitsubishi SUV, the News-Gazette reports.

    The driver of the Mitsubishi was observed fleeing the scene on foot.

    A passenger identified as 20-year-old Katherine J. Abraham was pronounced dead at the scene while Chloe Polzin, 21, succumbed to her injuries the next day.

    The suspect remained on the loose for days before U.S. Marshals tracked him down on Wednesday in Milford, TX, and pulled him off a bus bound for Matamoros, Mexico.

    U.S. Marshals originally identified the suspect as Juan Jahaziel Saenz-Suarez, a 27-year-old Mexican citizen who was previously deported.

    However, authorities later learned the suspect had produced falsified paperwork and that he was actually a 29-year-old Guatemalan national named Julio Cucul Bol.

    Bol, who was illegally residing in Urbana, is facing a slew of charges, including leaving the scene of a personal injury crash resulting in death (two counts), aggravated driving under the influence resulting in death, and reckless homicide (two counts).

    https://www.infowars.com/posts/illegal-alien-arrested-for-killing-two-young-women-in-dui-hit-and-run-in-illinois-sanctuary-city

    Reply

    1. “They’re not sending their best”

      They’re really not. And to the people in the Aurora article quoted above, this is who you are defending.

      This is what you want all of America to become.

      Reply

  40. Trump Fires ‘Virtually Worthless’ Inspectors General, Liz Warren Freaks Out Over ‘Purge’.

    https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-fires-virtually-worthless-inspectors-general-liz-warren-freaks-out-over-purge

    President Donald Trump fired at least a dozen ‘independent’ watchdogs known as inspectors general, who oversee government agencies – prompting immediate shrieking from the usual suspects who insist that the move is illegal.

    [Here is a rather humorous snip taken from the article …]

    “The ousters are likely to be one of Trump’s first major court battles since taking office – with at least one of the fired inspectors general, Cardell Richardson Sr. of the State Department – telling staff he’ll ignore Trump and show up to work on Monday, arguing that the firings are illegal, Politico reports, citing an anonymous source.”

    [Another snip …]

    “Existing IGs are virtually worthless. They may bring a few minor things to light but accomplish next to nothing. The whole system needs to be revamped ‼️ They are toothless and protect the institution instead of the citizens.”

    [Elizabeth Warren responds …]

    “It’s a purge of independent watchdogs in the middle of the night.
    Inspectors general are charged with rooting out government waste, fraud, abuse, and preventing misconduct.
    President Trump is dismantling checks on his power and paving the way for widespread corruption.”

    [Stay tuned.]

    Reply

    1. These “independent watchdogs” cravenly went along with coercively forcing employees to take unsafe, ineffective “vaccines.” For that alone they belong in prison, although firing is the next best thing.

      Reply

  41. ‘I actually ended up having a panic attack at work and had to leave work for the rest of the day today’ …With the added uncertainty of the notices at their doors, residents worry they’ll be out of pocket and out of a home. ‘I feel like the people in this complex are being duped and a lot of us are about to lose everything that we have’

    It’s still way cheaper than renting Bailey.

    Reply

      1. ‘I actually ended up having a panic attack at work and had to leave work for the rest of the day today’
        Come on Bailey, “ya just gotta roll with it.”

        Reply

  42. ‘It’s a disaster,’ Altman expanded. ‘That’s what I’m saying, I don’t know that they’ll be able to do it with the insurance’

    The lending was sound at the time Josh.

    Reply

  43. ‘Downtown is a little lost. We have empty buildings, and yet we have a housing crisis. To me, that doesn’t make any sense’

    There’s no shortage Joshua, never has been, never will be.

    Reply

  46. ‘I Don’t Get Why It’s Our Problem’: Rick Scott Decries Mexico Letting Migrants Through Their County

    Forbes Breaking News

    25 minutes ago minutes ago

    During a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing last week, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) spoke about Mexico allowing migrants to travel through their country to reach the border with the United States.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CsB0GGwqTg

    5:49.

    Reply

  48. Finance·Federal Reserve
    Despite Trump’s demand that the Fed cut rates, Wall Street increasingly sees the exact opposite happening
    BY Jason Ma
    January 26, 2025 at 10:16 AM PST
    Jerome Powell at the DealBook Summit in New York on Dec. 4.
    Yuki Iwamura—Bloomberg via Getty Images

    President Donald Trump has already made clear that he wants the Federal Reserve to cut rates immediately, but Wall Street doesn’t see that happening any time soon. In fact, more analysts are warning that rate hikes are likely.
    …
    “We don’t believe the Fed will cut rates in 2025 — we don’t even believe the Fed is done,” wrote Thanos Papasavvas, founder and chief investment officer at ABP Invest, in a Financial Times op-ed on Tuesday. “Instead, we expect the resilient US economy and Trump’s polices to push inflationary expectations higher and force Fed chair Jay Powell to increase rates from September onwards.”
    …
    https://fortune.com/2025/01/26/fed-rate-cuts-outlook-trump-demand-jerome-powell-hike-fomc-meeting/

    Reply

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