Raider of the lost Ark

This is fake, right? If not, I hope they kick him out of the country. Or the Queen may cancel the meeting? It's hilarious that all other members of the Royal Family had prior commitments. Yeah Right. The younger ones despise him with passion and would not honor him with their presence. They most definitely did not forget how he treated Obama. Anyway, on CNN they had an editor of the Spectator (I suppose that's a right wing or at least conservative publication?) who had the nerve to call the demonstrators "rude" because some had signs calling Trump a racist and a fascist. It starts getting annoying. In the name of freedom of speech they say the most offensive and divisive things, yet other people making use of their freedom of speech and freedom of assembly are "rude". Democracy truly is on life support.

And yet he is only generating a fraction of the revenues generated by the top acts in the 80s and 90s. The glory days of the recording industry are truly over.

Is anyone else confused about the mini submarines by Elon Musk? I can't help to think this is for PR purposes only. How are those supposed to be helpful in this particular situation? I guess they did not watch the news? They are showing models of the caves and the way they have to take through the tunnels all the time. Much of this is extremely narrow, they basically have to climb through holes. Not everything is under water. There is just no way they could use those submarines in there.

Is there any Brexit campaigner still around? It seems like they all jumped ship. I really hope there is a point in time they will be called out for their irresponsible behaviour.

^^^ LOL. Gotta love these patriotic idiots. Driving a Japanese car? Really? Hypocrisy much?

When will he be in Great Britain? Can't wait to see the crowds demonstrating against this idiot. It's gonna be fun and uplifting to see people make a stand. But I guess in his warped mind he will claim people are just there to cheer to him. He really is the Pippi Longstocking of politics. And not only because of the red hair.

What a coward he is. When he was still at the meeting, he told the press how great the relationship with all the other allies is. A 10! And as soon as he fled the meeting to meet with a dictator he is voicing what he really thinks? The U.S. (the beacon of democracy, allegedly) has sunken so low with its current administration. Everyone should have realized by now that Trump does not want to be president, he wants to be an autocratic ruler that is not limited or controlled by other governing parts in a democracy such as courts and parliaments. There is a reason why he seems to get along quite well or at least has a strange admiration for dictatorships, from North Korea to Russia, from Saudi Arabia to Israel (at least when it comes to Netanyahu) and China. When he talks about good relationships he expects other countries to bow down before the U.S. We have reached a point were people in the U.S. really need to step in. He is alienating the U.S. and is doing huge damage how the rest of the first world and developing countries see the U.S. We have reached a point where there is hardly any trust left, at some point there'll be no allies left. America alone it is. And what about all his lies about trade? Did he take a course at Trump University in macro economics? Other countries are robbing the U.S.? What a nonsense. The truth is that no one forced U.S. consumers or U.S. companies to buy products from outside the U.S. They just do. For various reasons. a) they are cheaper than U.S. products b) the U.S. does not even produce certain goods anymore, because they can be produced cheaper outside of the U.S. or the U.S. are no longer able to produce certain goods (machines and materials) anymore because they do not have the knowledge/skills and technologies and c) quality. Instead of adressing the real issues why the U.S. do have this huge trade deficit (which is actually not that big with certain countries if you add investments to the equation, but of course that doesn't fit the narrative) Trump is blaming others. The truth is, the U.S. problems are home made. a) It was the U.S. economy that decided at some point that producing certain goods in China, India or Mexico is he logical thing to do because those goods can be produced much cheaper there, compared to the U.S.(lower wages, less regulation regarding workers rights, health, safety issues). b) The financial strategy of U.S. corporations and investment funds is the quick buck. Every Dollar invested must create a nice profit immediately for owners and share holders. Putting money away for development and research to improve your products and keep them competitive in the future. In result certain materials and goods need to be bought overseas. Which was no issue until now. But with the tariffs? The very reason why U.S. companies that are supposed to be protected by Trumps measures are protesting is because they rely on high finished aluminium and steel from other countries because the technologies needed, simply do not exist in the U.S. If this steel or aluminium were needed for one of Trumps ugly buldings, he would sing a different tune. Oh, I forgot the Trump hotel in Vegas was build with Chinese steel as far as I remember. c) Quality. U.S. products are not really known to be of best quality. Not to talk about chlorine-washed chicken and food that contains genetically altered ingredients. The U.S. have not understood that there is a market outside of the U.S. that has different needs and different expectations. The U.S. were spoilt for two decades after 1945 and exporting goods to a war ridden Europe to re-build its countries. That made the U.S. the economic powerhouse it used to be. But at some point in the late 60s, early 70s with Europe having full functioning societies and economies again, European companies and consumers became independent and decided they want different, they want better. At this point the U.S. failed because they had this huge domestic market, that along created nice profits. Why care about foreign markets? You can see the results for quite some time already. European and Asian consumers are not interested in American cars (I use this example because Trump is riding it like a dead horse). They don't like the technical features and most above all the design. After all, a car is an emotional investment. 25% tariffs on American cars in Europe? Thinking this is the reason why no one buys them, just shows the ignorance. Just as believing that slapping a tariff of 25% on foreign cars in the U.S. will make U.S. consumers stay away from let's say German cars. What a joke. First of all, except for Audi all big German Brands do have production facilities in the U.S. BMW in Spartanburg is even exporting from there. Oh, the irony, a bad bad German car company that has basically created tens of thousands jobs in the area. High paid jobs. Secondly, does he really believe people with money will stop buying those expensive cars because they cost 15% more? Ridiculous. Again, cars are an emotional thing and at some price point a status symbol. And if "being part" means driving a BMW, Mercedes, Audi or Porsche, people will continue to buy them. Especially when U.S. car makers are unable to come up with cars that are equal in many ways. And about the tariffs? Oh yes, they are so unfair. Well, someone may explain to him how it works and most above all that the U.S. agreed to those tariffs back in the day. Of course, Trump is a simple minded person. When he sees that European cars in the U.S. only have 10% slapped on them while U.S. cars in Europe have 25% slapped on them, it appears unfair. The truth is that this works vice versa with many other products. When those tariffs were negotiated, they were negotiated on an overall equation. A little give and take, but as we all know now, this has not really to do with the percentage at all. We know now that all of our Canadian, Japanese, European products are security threads to U.S. consumers. Again, what a joke. Sorry for my long post.

Here is an opportunity for airlines to make more money: sell kids free flights. People are more than willing to pay a premium. Just like they are willing to pay more money for kids free hotels and resorts.

What an idiot. He has no idea about universal healthcare. If there is one thing, the overwhelming majority of citizens (rich and poor) in basically every developed country would never question it's universal healthcare, which is much more cost efficient than whatever is going on in the U.S.. If anyone ever tried to get rid of universal healthcare in Europe, Canada or Australia, there would be a revolutions. Almost funny that Trump believes that taxes need to be raised to finance this stuff. In Germany, where it's not tax based, the public healthcare insurance companies are sitting on billions and billions of Euros in savings, despite all of the refugees Germany has allowed to come in. All of it because those insurers are technically not allowed to make profits. Is the system perfect? Certainly not. Yes, sometimes you have to wait a few weeks for special examinations. But an emergency has always priority. That people die while waiting for an operation is a complete lie and only used to discredit universal healthcare.

It was so funny to watch how the Dow started to plummet the moment he started giving his "speech" in Ohio. I could say something about the people sitting behind him but I'm a decent person. And I would never make fun of People whose parents are obviously brother and sister. It's not their fault. Well, a better haircut may improve the appearance. Anyway. Not so funny was to watch how the Dow lost and gained around 500 points in a matter of minutes. Why? Because there were no human beings that created that up and down. Computer programs, algorithms that traded billions of shares in minutes without any control or real oversight. Now that is scary! And it clearly shows that the stock market has hardly anything to do with the real economy. It has become all a big game. Speculation of the worst kind. Basically placing bets (puts and calls) left and right. It's only a matter of time when governments will have to save banks. Every politician will cry foul. But will they actually do something? I doubt that.

In Berlin they are working on a project that is called "House of One". Constructing will start around 2019. It is a church/synagogue/mosque. From my point of view, peace will only come to the area if they do something similar with Jerusalem. All parties involved need to give up their entitlement to Jerusalem that is the very reason for two thousand years of wars. It is no ones capital or everyones capital. Period. From my perspective, Jerusalem should be a place free of state politics for once and all, let it be the holy place it is for Jews, Muslims, Christans that come to this place peacefully. Let it be the symbol that it was meant to be in the very first place but was destroyed over and over and over again by peoples own interests and entitlements. A capital has nothing to do with religion. Especially in 2017. A captial has to do with administrating and organizing a country. It is as easy as that. Maybe this is the sacrifice and ultimate conclusion. Israel should move its governing bodies to Tel Aviv and Palestine should have its government in Ramallah or Bethlehem.

But this move is going to bring peace to the region. ... He is such an idiot.

And here you hit the nail on the head. It is also the sole reason why Trump stopped TTIP, claiming it was bad for the U.S.. An explanation that probably left everyone in Europe stunned considering the EU people were much more critical of the agreement in the first place, out of fear that the stricter European rules and laws meant to protect the people were undermined by the U.S. side. It appears the negative results of the agreement, that would have only worked in favor of the U.S. and its corporations, were still not favorable enough to go on with the negotiations. I'm also convinced we will hardly ever get to know the true scale of this agreement. There was a reason why those negotiations were done so secretly that even members of the National Parliaments were unable to attain information about the content. Remember that the papers were leaked and made public when the secrecy became highly suspicious and resistance in Europe grew how this was handled. And people want to know who has an interest? Follow the money!!!! But here the problem starts. My impression is that most governments are not really interested in solving issues as it may reveal how much outside influence on politics really exist and how vulnerable democracy is. Did someone ever find out who made a lot of money a few years ago when Moody's out of the blue downgraded Frances rating? Those rating companies are doing some shady business. There are supposed to control things but who actually controls them?

As a Berliner I hardly feel that there is any division left. It's all very mixed by now. At least in all the city centre districts of Berlin. Also you have so much influx nationally and internationally. A little bit politically, the West is a little bit more conservative whereas the East is a little more socialist. Overall Berlin is and has always been a proletarian city with the social democrats running the city (one of the reasons Hitler hated Berlin). Anyway. Are there places you hardly go? Sure. But this has more to do with the fact that Berlin is such a huge city and it is sometimes quite time consuming to get from A to B despite the fact that Berlin has a great public transport system. You create your life around the place where you live and as in any other metropolis you don't really need to leave this area/district/borough except for work maybe. Let's compare that to NYC. How often do people living in the Bronx go to Queens or Brooklyn?

While everyone will agree that this was a very exciting and emotional moment in history and I still get goosebumps watching what happened back in the day because I can personally relate to the events. I'm old enough to remember what happened in the weeks before the Fall of the Wall and in the months until the German re-unification. Let me just say that a lot of re-writing history has taken place ever since. Well, much of it already started right after the peaceful revolution. There are a lot of false assumptions that are historically incorrect. Especially when history is told by foreigners. I remember watching a documentary when Ronald Reagan died and historians spoke about his legacy. There were quite a few that claimed it was Reagans speech at Brandenburg Gate where he said "Mr Gorbachev, ... tear down this wall" that was responsible for the fall of the wall. This is just as wrong as claiming it was David Hasselhoff singing "looking for freedom" (okay, he was drunk when he made that claim). First of all, the former USSR had nothing to do with the Berlin Wall, the wall was not build by the Soviets and it was not secured by the Soviet army. Believe me, many people in the former GDR found those words highly disrespectful and despite the fact that many people were critical of the political situation there was some kind of patriotism as well and if there comes an American president that basically considers your country a Soviet colony, that didn't go over well. Another thing a lot of people do not remember is that the peaceful revolution happened because people wanted to rebuild the political system of the former GDR. This is what those Monday demonstrations in Leipzig and later all over the country were about. It all culminated in that huge demonstration on the 4th of November 1989 at Berlin Alexanderplatz with approx. 1 million people. No one was there to talk about a German re-unification. Then the unthinkable happened on the 09th when Schabowsky made that "mistake" declaring that the new travel regulations would go into effect immediately. The thing is, those regulations were put together so quickly, he had no real idea what he was talking about considering those regulations were meant to deal with the expected emigration of hundreds of thousands of GDR citizens. It was the staff member who wrote that legislation who put a paragraph about normal travels into that thing. It is highly questionable that those in power wanted to address that particular issue at that point of time. Everyone was really excited for a few weeks, all the political changes and everyone really seemed to be interested and involved in the process. It really was a feeling that people can achieve change. And while there were different political ideas about how the GDR should be reformed, it was done in a very respectful way. And then it happened what always happens. Money talks. And the whole movement was basically hi-jacked by the FRG parties, first and foremost the CDU under Helmut Kohl. They went to Dresden, the only place in the GDR, people were not able receive any western television channels because of its geographical location. It was called "valley of the clueless" for that very reason. People in Berlin or in other places knew from those TV channels that not everything in the West is golden. That there are social problems, unemployment, poverty. People in Dresden got the same information from the proganda news in the East. Although it was the truth, people in Dresden considered it a lie. Does all of that sound familiar and very recent? Now add the financial situation of the GDR, which was basically broke. Of course, the re-unification was the easiest way to go. The term "re-unification" is kinda questionable because it was basically an annexion or to be correct in legal terms the GDR "declared accession to the FRG". While there were negotiations, those were never really negotiations between equal partners. This is basically the reason why many East Germans back then felt highly disrespected. Still feel. Many felt that their achievements were declared null and void and their life was worthless. Very unfair considering the economical situation in the Soviet occupied sector after the war. West Germany had the Marshall plan. East Germany had to deal with the fact that almost everything was destroyed and everything that was not destroyed was send to the USSR. Factories, rail roads etc. Everything had to be rebuild out of nothing. You can add a certain lack of interest from the West Germans for their brothers and sisters in the East. They are statistics that show that even today, much more East Germans have visited the former Western part of Germany than West Germans have visited the former Eastern part. Furthermore, there were quite a few things the GDR was arguably more progressive than the FRG. Especially when it comes to social issues and education. Of course those were ignored completely. It was very much a winner mentality from the western side. The thing is, for many East Germans the personal living conditions after the re-unification became worse. Many lost their jobs because the companies they worked at had to close because they were not competitive enough (or too competitive, yes that happened too, there were some innovative companies and they were pushed out of the market by their west german competition, huge companies). This whole chapter how the assets of the GDR were liquidated by the Treuhand is the true scandal. Panama Papers? Paradise Papers? You find it scandalous what was revealed? You wont believe the things that went down at the Treuhand. Assets worth billions, especially in the banking and real estate sector were sold ridiculously low amounts. And all of this legally. There was even a law or something that granted the staff members an exemption from liability. Legalized corruption if you will. The Treuhand actually had two jobs. They were supposed to sell the assets and they were supposed to create possibilities for Western companies to settle down in the former GDR, built factories, produce stuff. In return they would receive a lot of subsidies. Of course, many companies were more interested in those subsidies than anything else. And other companies were not interested at all. For them the former GDR was just another market where they could get rid of their over-production. So many things went wrong back then, many ugly things happened. Don't look at me wrong, for those people who had a job after the re-unification, it was certainly better than before because you were able to enjoy all the possibilities. Consuming and most of all travelling around the world. But those who were left behind, without a job, unable to travel etc, they were the losers and see many things differently. What are all those freedoms worth if you can't afford them?