4 ms·

When such godfather-like extortion becomes part of the federal government, that country soon becomes untouchable for business.

londons_explore 6y ago
Being untouchable for external businesses is a big problem if you are a small country - you miss out on goods and services that your population needs. For a big country, it isn't so bad - most people's needs can be fulfilled mostly with local services.
- disgu 6y ago
  If you don't want to export anything, sure.
gowld 6y ago
Isn't the the point? To make the US untouchable for Chinese Communist Party controlled businesses.
- Spooky23 6y ago
  No. The point is bread and circus and doing a solid for pal Zuckerberg. TikTok is pretty mild as a propaganda/influence delivery mechanism when you have fully operating mills like RT and OAN operating the US with impunity. If someone cared about "Chinese Communist Party controlled businesses", action would be taken to address the craven and obvious money laundering of commercial real estate. That's a far more subtle and dangerous threat, as people who control valuable real estate have more leverage to influence government on all levels.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
gruez 6y ago
So just like China right? Trade policies is one of the few places where eye-for-an-eye retaliation makes sense.
- nine_zeros 6y ago
  Yes just like China whose apps are getting banned all around the world. US has more to lose though if Amazon, FB start getting banned because of extortion laws.
  - gruez 6y ago
    >US has more to lose though if Amazon, FB start getting banned because of extortion laws. That's probably not going to be an issue unless US starts banning apps for no apparent reason (eg. forcing spotify to sell their American operations). For now the administration (regardless of their actual motives) can plausibly say that it was done in retaliation, which makes it look more acceptable to third parties.
    - nine_zeros 6y ago
      Banning might be fair. But extortion? Come on. That is mafia level. If you owned a coffee chain across the country and some counties police took extortion money to "protect" your assets or forced you to "sell" your operations to local goons, would any other business observing this ever open more businesses in those mafioso counties?
      - gruez 6y ago
        Clearly they would if there's money to be made, as we've seen in China.
- greatpatton 6y ago
  Main reason most US company are not operating in China, is not because they are banned, but because they don't want to comply with the China rules regarding total surveillance. Apple has no problem to operate in China and providing its services there. However I have to say that I totally support the position of all the companies that refuse to operate in China because they don't want to comply with these rules.
mschuster91 6y ago
The thing is, the whole world knows what Trump and the GOP are. From a German perspective, until the 'rona hit it was like watching a clown show on TV - you'd laugh your butt off but know that by a certain time the show ends and sanity resumes again. Basically everyone is waiting for November. If Trump goes off, stuff will normalize again, and if the GOP gets flattened long-term confidence will rise. The really interesting scenario is Trump either winning outright, delaying the vote or refusing to leave office. At that point it's game over for the US on a global stage.
- nine_zeros 6y ago
  > Basically everyone is waiting for November. If Trump goes off, stuff will normalize again, and if the GOP gets flattened long-term confidence will rise. The really interesting scenario is Trump either winning outright, delaying the vote or refusing to leave office. At that point it's game over for the US on a global stage. This is my biggest concern. I'm not sure this country can ever be a leader in anything with 4 more years of this low IQ leadership. All the corruption news that we used to hear about third world countries are all prefixed with US now.

londons_explore 6y ago

Being untouchable for external businesses is a big problem if you are a small country - you miss out on goods and services that your population needs. For a big country, it isn't so bad - most people's needs can be fulfilled mostly with local services.

disgu 6y ago
If you don't want to export anything, sure.

gowld 6y ago

Isn't the the point? To make the US untouchable for Chinese Communist Party controlled businesses.

Spooky23 6y ago
No. The point is bread and circus and doing a solid for pal Zuckerberg. TikTok is pretty mild as a propaganda/influence delivery mechanism when you have fully operating mills like RT and OAN operating the US with impunity. If someone cared about "Chinese Communist Party controlled businesses", action would be taken to address the craven and obvious money laundering of commercial real estate. That's a far more subtle and dangerous threat, as people who control valuable real estate have more leverage to influence government on all levels.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

gruez 6y ago

So just like China right? Trade policies is one of the few places where eye-for-an-eye retaliation makes sense.

nine_zeros 6y ago
Yes just like China whose apps are getting banned all around the world. US has more to lose though if Amazon, FB start getting banned because of extortion laws.
- gruez 6y ago
  >US has more to lose though if Amazon, FB start getting banned because of extortion laws. That's probably not going to be an issue unless US starts banning apps for no apparent reason (eg. forcing spotify to sell their American operations). For now the administration (regardless of their actual motives) can plausibly say that it was done in retaliation, which makes it look more acceptable to third parties.
  - nine_zeros 6y ago
    Banning might be fair. But extortion? Come on. That is mafia level. If you owned a coffee chain across the country and some counties police took extortion money to "protect" your assets or forced you to "sell" your operations to local goons, would any other business observing this ever open more businesses in those mafioso counties?
    - gruez 6y ago
      Clearly they would if there's money to be made, as we've seen in China.
greatpatton 6y ago
Main reason most US company are not operating in China, is not because they are banned, but because they don't want to comply with the China rules regarding total surveillance. Apple has no problem to operate in China and providing its services there. However I have to say that I totally support the position of all the companies that refuse to operate in China because they don't want to comply with these rules.

mschuster91 6y ago

The thing is, the whole world knows what Trump and the GOP are. From a German perspective, until the 'rona hit it was like watching a clown show on TV - you'd laugh your butt off but know that by a certain time the show ends and sanity resumes again. Basically everyone is waiting for November. If Trump goes off, stuff will normalize again, and if the GOP gets flattened long-term confidence will rise. The really interesting scenario is Trump either winning outright, delaying the vote or refusing to leave office. At that point it's game over for the US on a global stage.

nine_zeros 6y ago
> Basically everyone is waiting for November. If Trump goes off, stuff will normalize again, and if the GOP gets flattened long-term confidence will rise. The really interesting scenario is Trump either winning outright, delaying the vote or refusing to leave office. At that point it's game over for the US on a global stage. This is my biggest concern. I'm not sure this country can ever be a leader in anything with 4 more years of this low IQ leadership. All the corruption news that we used to hear about third world countries are all prefixed with US now.