Jack Point

Living in Neverland, hanging around with the Lost Boys.

[Jack Point @jackpoint627]

@UmeshMoramudali @Brad_Setser Swaps are just a window dressing exercise, they have no value beyond trying to increase confidence by showing a higher figure.

[Jack Point @jackpoint627]

@dinidu It’s the normal force of bureaucracy and government. Keep finding new avenues to expand. Once they get in use it restrict something to extract something.

[Jack Point @jackpoint627]

@lbolbr an important question

[The Examiner @ExaminerLK]

The investigation doesn’t provide any clarity on what happened to the German payment — around $4.6 million — and whether it was lost as well.

https://t.co/0e6PY5wBuA

[Jack Point @jackpoint627]

@h_liyan @rukmankan Also ask what regulations govern the safe of food by supermarkets?

[Harriet Williamson @harriepw]

The halftime show’s message of love with Chris Martin bopping in the background while the US is bombing Iran and locking up little kids in ICE detention is peak yank BS sorry

[Kenneth Roth @KenRoth]

How does Marco Rubio look at himself in the mirror?
1. He invokes international law just after he tries to destroy the International Criminal Court.
2. He objects to Iran's gratuitous violence in the Strait of Hormuz after Trump gratuitously invaded Venezuela, bombed Iran, and threatened Canada and Greenland.
3. He says the U.N. should help as Trump defunds many key parts of the U.N.
His real plea: Trump made a mess of things with his war of choice against Iran. Will someone PLEASE help him extract himself from this disaster. https://t.co/VQy5kbIE6x

[Jack Point @jackpoint627]

@h_liyan @rukmankan Can higher costs be passed on? When consumers incomes have been hit by taxes and inflation there is limited opportunity to accommodate higher costs.

[Rohan Samarajiva @samarajiva]

Government's NGO Bill: "According to section 15(2)(b), it is their duty to “align with the policies of the Government.” Are these policies only those that have been formally approved by Cabinet? Leaving aside the problem of finding these documents, this is better than leaving it to the CA to decide after the fact what policies the NGOs failed to align with. Does the term “policies” include legislation?

Does “align” mean absolute fealty? Periodically policies and laws are amended or replaced. Will advocacy for changes to existing policies be interpreted as failure to align? Is lobbying for changes in policies or laws reserved for profit-driven firms and unincorporated entities formed by less than five citizens and foreigners (s. 2(1)(g)), and individuals?"

https://t.co/xEFqRg6jul

[Jack Point @jackpoint627]

@onlyskypace @mavihevesss 260-x = 150+x solve x=55

[Books Behind Borders @MHTruthUltra]

I don’t know who needs to hear this but if the government has the power to freeze your personal financial accounts simply because you express a political opinion that they do not like, then you are neither free nor living in a democracy.

[Rohan Samarajiva @samarajiva]

Shanakiyan warns against sweeping Police powers in anti‑Money Laundering Bills

"“If this Bill is enacted in its present form, these powers could be used in ways that seriously affect ordinary citizens. Assets could be frozen for extended periods based solely on police suspicion, without prior judicial approval. The people of the North and East continue to live under the pressures of heavy policing and militarisation. Decisions made solely on the basis of police suspicion could have serious consequences for our communities,”"

https://t.co/lgqRRc52ZN

[Mohamad Safa @mhdksafa]

Netanyahu said that an Iranian nuclear strike on Israel would be like ���10,000 tons of TNT falling on a country the size of New Jersey (22,610 km2).”

Israel has dropped 223,000+ tonnes of explosives on Gaza (365 km2) - the equivalent of 22 nukes on 1.6% the size of New Jersey.

[Rohan Samarajiva @samarajiva]

"The main reason for lower per-vehicle profits is automobile tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Tariffs pulled down Toyota's consolidated operating profit by 1.38 trillion yen in the year ended March. Volkswagen and General Motors also saw tariff costs put pressure on their profits.

In the all-important North American market, automakers are finding it difficult to reflect tariff costs in prices. Inflation has made U.S. consumers more sensitive to price increases, leading companies to absorb these costs themselves."

https://t.co/IhDsG8QdKY via @NikkeiAsia

[Nacho Montes de Oca @nachomdeo]

Durante el Mundial de 1934, realizado en Italia, Benito Mussolini intervino personalmente en la elección de los árbitros que dirigían los partidos de la selección italiana. Según las crónicas de la época, el dictador cenaba formalmente con ellos la noche anterior a los encuentros para dejar en claro qué se esperaba de su actuación.
En el partido de cuartos de final contra España, el árbitro belga Louis Baert permitió un juego salvaje por parte de los italianos, especialmente contra las principales figuras españolas. El arquero Ricardo Zamora terminó con las costillas rotas. En el desempate posterior, el árbitro René Mercet anuló dos goles legítimos a España; su actuación fue tan cuestionada que la propia Federación Suiza terminó suspendiéndolo de por vida.
En la semifinal contra Austria, el árbitro Ivan Eklind convalidó un gol italiano en una jugada en la que varios futbolistas empujaron al arquero austríaco hacia adentro de la red. Minutos después, el mismo árbitro interceptó con la cabeza un pase que podía derivar en un contraataque claro de Austria. Tras ese partido, Mussolini designó nuevamente a Eklind para dirigir la final contra Checoslovaquia.
La jugada más polémica de la final ocurrió cuando Luis Monti derribó al delantero checo Oldřich Nejedlý dentro del área italiana. La falta parecía un penal evidente, pero Eklind la ignoró y dejó seguir el juego. Antes del silbato inicial, el árbitro se ubicó frente al palco presidencial y realizó el saludo fascista dirigido a Benito Mussolini.
Italia ganó el partido por 4 a 2.
No sé por qué se me vino a la memoria esta serie de datos sobre un tema que no es el mío, como es el caso de los deportes.

[Pascal Laurent @Pascal_Laurent_]

🇺🇸 🇧🇪 AUJOURD'HUI NOUS ALLONS PARLER DES DROITS DE DOUANE POUR LA BELGIQUE.
• Si la Belgique obtient un corner +25%.
• Si la Belgique obtient un coup franc à proximité de la surface de réparation +35%.
• Si la Belgique obtient un penalty +80%.
• Si la Belgique marque un but +150%.
• Si la Belgique gagne le match elle sera ajoutée à la liste noire.

[𝕊𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕻𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤 @SprinterPress]

- Actually, I don't think it was a defeat. Four goals? What four goals? No, Gianni, it's more like a draw. Or even our minimal victory, if... we could somehow remove those four goals. Think about it, Gianni, what could we do here? And if I were to invade Belgium? Then we'd definitely be declared the winners, right? To be honest, I'm not sure if they even have an army at all.

[Javier Maza @MazaComm]

1) Le sacan tarjeta roja al mejor jugador de la selección USA.
2) La Casa Blanca llama a la FIFA.
3) La FIFA retira la tarjeta roja y el jugador queda habilitado para el partido con Bélgica.
4) Trump saca un “tuit” agradeciendo a la FIFA por “hacer justicia”.
Gracias Trump y gracias FIFA por arruinar el principio de igualdad de competencia del Mundial de fútbol.

[Harsha de Silva @HarshadeSilvaMP]

Vehicles stuck at the port for years. Owners suffering. Treasury collecting zero revenue.

At last week's #COPF session, I heard the case of a retired Govt servant who used his pension to import a vehicle, still stuck at the port, deteriorating.

We have written to the Secretary to the Treasury: resolve this within three weeks. A fair penalty or demurrage settlement. Let people take their vehicles home.

Nobody benefits from this except the lawyers.

[Ori Goldberg @ori_goldberg]

I've been having conversations with several smart people over the past two days about the Israeli public's response to the life of the Palestinians in Gaza and in the West Bank. As far as the Israeli smart cookies are concerned, there is absolutely nothing with regard to this "situation". They are bored with the historical / legal / moral implications of the story.
"Yes, it is the Palestinians' fault. They shouldn't have started a war they are not prepared to lose. Everyone knows that they just want to kill us anyway. We, they and us, would be better off if they weren't here. That is all common knowledge. But how long can you keep repeating these things? This is war. We will keep fighting forever. That is what the PM said and we believe him. Can we move on now? Can we remember it is summer vacation and get on with the business of living? Could you be less of a stick in the mud and let us do just that?"

The smart ones who are not Israeli cannot but ask again and again and again, "now that the Israeli public knows what is happening, now that it is a broad consensus that more than 70000 were killed, is the Israeli public capable of acknowledging its actions? Is anyone in Israel capable of a discussion about what happened and is continuing to happen? Can Israelis, gearing up for a general action, consider or imagine a future that is not perpetual war?"

It is almost impossible to explain, or it may be the easiest thing in the world to explain, but the general answer to all the questions from outside Israel is "no". Israelis know everything, but they don't care and they have no plans for caring. At best or at worst they are talking about delaying "discussion" about these "affairs" to a later date, after the only issue on their agenda is resolved - replacing Binyamin Netanyahu as PM.

There is nothing there. Many Israelis celebrate the death of Palestinians. Many, many more simply don't care and will carry out any and all orders given to them by those in charge. Jewish Israel, as a society, doesn't care. I think any attempts to divine the origin of this sentiment and guiding spirit is superfluous at best. I don't think it matters. What matters (to humanity at large, btw) is recognizing the depravity and the criminality of this condition. I don't know if you can imagine "nothing". It is worse than bigotry at its most murderous. It is a rejection of the most basic human urge, to live.

Ben Gvir and Smotrich, for example, don't share this nothingness. They are full to the brim with malevolent glee. The self-styled "liberals" are where this cult of oblivion begins. All Israelis want is for things "to go back to normal". They support a perpetual war because otherwise they will be "destroyed" (remember: nothing or everything are the only options). They want Netanyahu replaced because he is mad, but also because his perpetual war was not successful enough. . Someone will take care of the "security" while Israel's finest will spend years in the reserves, continuing to kill and bomb. Those who are not will hold Summer Wine festivals and talk about flight prices and real estate opportunities. That is all there is to it.

Nothing. The killing can continue unabated. So can the ethnic cleansing. Nothing will stop them. Once again, this is not a request for pity or for lenience. If anything, it is the other way around. Don't look for extenuating circumstances. Don't look for anything. there is nothing there.