Trump and Tariffs. And more Trump. And Life and Stuff.

Responds to Facebook chats.

I DON'T know why (after Donald Trump's first 4 years) many still don't know how he rolls. The real object of the "tariff trickery" is China. Mexico and Canada (NAFTA/USMCA pals) are no-brainers, although per Claudia Sheinbaum, the migrant deal is a chess move (it was a different move with Mr Obrador then). Canada's issue is internal (who will replace Justin Trudeau). 

       In 2016-2020, Trump's China tariff was lower (than what Barack Obama had) which led to a trade pact in 2020. Joe Biden didn't follow through and stayed low as China moved pieces per "green industry" export market (read EVs). 

       Both Biden and Trump invested big on tech. We need silicons etc. which China (and BRICS) has plenty of. Now Mr Trump raises the China tariff as he moves to a second trade pact. But China responded but not much yet the CCP clearly sends a subtle message. So let's see. 

       Washington tariff has always been up/down after China joined the WTO in 2001 due to the obvious. 

MEDIA plays the Trump storyline as click baits. Donald Trump is entertainment. The more he is hated by the Left, the more it's "fun" to them. And social media isn't about discussion of policies and stuff. It's a partisanship "mud fight." Tariff play is a trade move, which has to be modified, especially since China rolls the dice that isn't traditional Western commerce. 

       Meanwhile, since the Chinese government or CCP is top-down and their major industries are state-owned, they can simply issue economic modifications which usually "surprises" the West. They can because they have ample raw/pertinent materials and the largest labor force + they already scattered investments all over the world. 

       But the U.S. has stronger political clout (refer to why T shudders foreign aid, another chess move). The U.S. needs to be smarter. I am not saying Trump is smarter but he is a businessman, not a military strategist or traditional politician. He adjusts his playbook like a chess player, but we don't know if this will work. (And China isn't dumb either.) 

🏛🗽🏛

Life and Stuff. 

MY mindset is still lodged in the 1970s-1990s though or my writing demeanor is old-school. Without this platform or internet, I am still writing or publishing a newspaper as I did. Life is easier. (I only do FB and streaming TV, not other platforms.) But this life is now about my kids and grandkids. I am just a ghost enjoying what is here till I expire.

NEVER been sick (except occasional pollen allergies) since 2000. Not even fever. So I don't do maintenance drugs. No debts and my kids are now professional adults, who are relatively fine.

       That is why I said I am a ghost simply watching the world till I expire. I am unbelievably well. But I'm bored. At least until the start of gardening and yard work in spring.

WHEN I said my mind is in the `70s, it's mainly how I compare rage (or my rage vs dictatorship back home) and the hate these days. Then, the rage inspired me in a creative though radical way; these days, the hate pulls deep, implosion. So different. 

       And I am not really heaping blame on Left or Right per se. Howard Zinn predicted this divide (powered by hate, spread by the one-click internet) a few years before he died in 2010. Last protest movement that I embedded myself as a journalist was the Occupy movement in 2010, which didn't make sense to me; the last protest with a pro-active sense to me was the 1999 Battle of Seattle, which I covered.

       The times have changed a lot. the 1960s to 1990s was easier to navigate; 2000 to 2020s is so complex yet still shallow to me. ☮️☮️☮️

FAVORITES and INFLUENCES.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

FAVORITES. The sea. I emanated from an archipelago or a country with 7,641 islands. Surrounded by waters. Although I am not into swimming, water sports, or long travels by ship, I love the sea. (Though I worked with fisherfolk as an organizer for NGOs.) The sight of the sea offers me peace and quiet. The mountain that is adjacent to the ocean: The ideal existence. Summer trips to the sea in the province, on school breaks, punctuated my younger years. 🏝🌅🏝

INFLUENCES. William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616). English playwright and poet. Widely regarded as the most influential writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. His plays have been translated into every major language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Mr Shakespeare’s body of masterpieces continues to be studied and reinterpreted. No writer, I believe, denies the influence of Shakespeare in their work. ✍️📚✍️

FAVORITES. Spaghetti Western. Films produced in Italy mostly; mid-1960s. Sergio Leone! His films "demythologized” the conventions of traditional U.S. Westerns. My favorite Sergio Leone movies: “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” starring Clint Eastwood, and “Once Upon a Time in the West.” Others: “Django” by Sergio Corbucci, and those hilarious Bud Spencer and Terence Hill films. Yes! Music by the great Ennio Morricone. 🐴🤠🐴

INFLUENCES. Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind.” He wrote the song when he was 21 years old. The song was included on his 1963 album “The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan.” A protest song that poses a series of rhetorical questions about peace, war, and freedom. The refrain "The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind" has been described as "impenetrably ambiguous: either the answer is so obvious it is right in your face, or the answer is as intangible as the wind.” 📚🍎🎼

FAVORITES. Scrapbooking. A method of preserving and arranging personal and family history in the form of a book, box, or card. Typical memorabilia include photographs, printed media, and artwork. Scrapbook albums are often decorated and frequently contain extensive journal entries or written descriptions. When we were young, I was the voluntary organizer of the family albums. Always have patience and diligence to spend hours in a weekend for scrapbooking. ✂️📘✒️

INFLUENCES. Greek Mythology. The body of myths as told by the ancient Greeks. The ancient Greek religion's view of the origin and nature of the world; the lives and activities of deities, heroes, and mythological creatures; and the origins and significance of the ancient Greeks' cult and ritual practices. Modern scholars study the myths to shed light on the religious and political institutions of ancient Greece, and to better understand the nature of myth-making itself. 🧙‍♀️🧝‍♀️🧙‍♂️

FAVORITES. Fish dishes. Choice of meal? Fish. All kinds of fish. With the head or fillet. The only food that I order at a Mexican restaurant is Mojarra Frita or fried tilapia. However a fish is cooked or prepared, that’s fine with me. Poached. Steamed. Grilled or barbecued. Baked. Braised. Fried. Microwaved. Air-fried. Sushi. Ceviche or “kinilaw.” My most favorite was “steamed lapu-lapu” (grouper) that my mom used to serve me, since I was the only heavy fish-eater in the family. 🐟🦈🐠

INFLUENCES. “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” is an allegorical fable written by Richard Bach. It is about a seagull who is trying to learn about flying, personal reflection, freedom, and self-realization. It was first published in book form in 1970 with little advertising or expectations; by the end of 1972, over a million copies were in print, the book having reached the #1 spot on bestseller lists mostly through word of mouth recommendations. A high school influence. 📚🍎🎼

FAVORITES. Haunted houses. Always been fascinated by “haunted houses.” As a little boy, I wasn’t scared of the dark or ghosts. “Paranormal spirits” won’t hurt us. Bad people do. I had many trips to visit haunted houses in the Philippines and in America. An old Hispanic house owned by a kin in Pangasinan province was a favorite. My aunt told me guerrillas in WW2 died in the basement. And “kapre” or giant man-horses lingered around on full-moon nights. Fun! 🧛‍♂️🏚🧟‍♀️

INFLUENCES. Woodstock, a rock music festival at Max Yasgur's farm in the town of Bethel, New York from 15 to 18 August 1969. It might be the most famous rock concert and festival ever held. For many, it showed the counterculture of the 1960s and the "hippie era.” Many of the most famous musicians at the time showed up during the rainy weekend, as can be seen in a 1970 movie, Woodstock. The festival was a major influence of my Traveling Bonfires. 🎸🎼☮️

[Photos: Pinterest. BeFunky.)

DeepSeek. Algorithms Trump. Oscars.

Responses to Facebook Friends’ Posts. 

DeepSeek and A.I. and U.S. and China and Stuff. 

LET’S put it this way: Some 30+ percent of U.S. imports come from China. Some 8,619 U.S. companies (including the biggies) are active in China. Why? Because we are buying nonstop, so they are selling or U.S. corporations continuously buy and manufacture products there to sell here for higher profits, less overhead. Etc etcetera. 

       Meanwhile, as the TikTok brouhaha was high, owner ByteDance created Lemon8, now they've tossed us Rednote. And after President Trump upped the mojo on A.I. projects (as in $100 billion in federal investments) the Chinese came up with DeepSeek. 

       Thought: The competition is economic, not military. That's why China has the global trade leverage. Yet in economics, it's all business. In the military, it's war.

THAT”S the way of the (superpower) world. A combination of global narcissism and business profit. We can only hope for less damage, yet the damage is more truth than fact. A.I. can be used in so many ways but I see more bad than good. At least, Mr Trump is more dovish per se than hawkish (like Mr Biden). But it doesn't mean the geopolitical fight is gone. Always there will be a "who is #1" competition. 

       Yet imagine, if China is "fighting" militarily over economics? Then that'd be the end of us. At least the U.S. and China are dealing with business with each other. Or talking. 🦿🤖🦾

The algorithm leads to Trump/Vance?

WHY so much fuss about wherever the (Facebook) algorithm brings us? Or seems to lead us? This is the internet. 95 percent of what I get on my email inbox are business ads. 90 percent of what I read on my Homepage are hate posts or hate memes. whether those are Left, Right or whatever angle Trump is tackled (mostly negative yarn or hate pitch). 

       So I just post as is to please me. Ignore the rest. I am a writer who loves to read what I write. So I just enjoy my structured postings. Dog and cat videos are a bonus. Life is good. Ceasefire in Gaza finally happened. My kids are fine and my dinner of “sinigang na baboy” + leftover steak from last night is ready. And I am set to face TV right now. 📱📲🥹

This year's Oscar awards drama.

Ah Hollywood drama! 

Anyway, I was offended somehow by that "Everything Everywhere All at Once" movie that won a lot of awards in 2023 Oscar. But it's just 1 movie. So many movies to watch! But true, gone were those days when a movie was a movie. Exemplary and awful. Delineations were clear. These days, “culture war” distracts from the entertainment value of movie watching. 

       Anyways. I got a few whoa?!? moments in the last Golden Globes. In the TV category, Cristin Milioti ("The Penguin") was obviously a lot better than all nominees in the category (I saw them all in their movies). But it was Jodie Foster (“True Detective: Night Country”) who won. Because Colin Farrell won already for “The Penguin,” I guess? 

       Everybody be happy? Give awards as well to Koreans, Japanese, or Mexicans? Meanwhile, Jessica Gunning (“Baby Reindeer”) won over Allison Janney (“The Diplomat”). Obvious? "Shogun" was kickass as a series per se but the acting wasn't so award-worthy. But what about Cosmo Jarvis? I digress. 🎥📽🥲