Trump decries immigrants from 'shithole countries'

[Śakra]

The librul dilemma

who the **** moves from norway to usa?

Uganda be kidding me, Norway anyone would do that

 

[NoOne'sBoy]

Here is the harsh reality...If you have a choice of selective allowance, you would take that choice.

Between Canada and Mexico, Americans would select Canadians. Now let us move to continental Europe. Given what many countries are going thru with their liberal immigration policies, you better believe it that now the citizens are thinking they would rather have people of their own neighborhood -- next door countries -- than from North Africa.

That is the core of what Trump so crudely put it, that if we have the right to select, then we should be selective. Not only that, if we are not selective to countries of origin, then we should be selective about the quality of those allowed to enter. What are the PERCEIVED odds of a Norwegian or a Briton becoming assimilated vs someone from Somalia or Afghanistan ? You can cite statistics all you want, but even you would have the same perception if your country is at stake.

the only advantage they have is being white which whether you like it or not will hide their shortcomings otherwise the difference in between even germany and the UK are like day and night let alone americans who are an ocean away. i know lots of people from the US and Australia here who are clearly not assimilated despite living here for years. they cant speak the language, stay in their own circles, have very little contact outside their bubble etc. but no one brings that up for the value they have over their country of origin. that my friend is the white (or first world) privilege how much i hate to admit that.

i dont think when it comes to good quality immigrants from a developed western country like the UK or a "shithole" like india there is much of a difference.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Trump speaking the truth and so do the Norwegians.

https://www.rt.com/news/415700-trump-norway-twitter-immigrants/

Even Norwegians consider US a sh!thole country

I'm sure they think ALL countries are shitholes ever since they struck oil in the 1960's.
But before then almost 1 million moved to the US (their population today is only 5 million).
After the oil it slowed to a trickle (362 in 2016) and now they are the happiest country in the world.
http://worldhappiness.report/ed/2017/

 

[Bilal9]

Norwegian: No thank you, President Trump
By Martine Aurdal

Updated 11:54 AM ET, Sun January 14, 2018

Although we love to visit America, Mr. Trump, it is highly unlikely that Norwegians are going to flow into the US to live. As a citizen of Norway, I can tell you we're not flattered, but offended by the President's eagerness to have us emigrate.

Martine Aurdal

Even though Trump has denied making the particular comment, members of Congress who attended the meeting say that the reports are true. The offer has left Norwegians offended, not flattered.

President Trump is judging immigrants by where they come from, and it is hard not to see this as a question of ethnicity. Norwegians have had a history of being positively discriminated for our race and have resisted those ideas before -- we will do it again.

We like where we live. In fact, Norway is the happiest country in the world. We are that way because we live in an egalitarian society where we strive to give everyone good and equal opportunities -- regardless of ethnic, gender and social background.

A century ago it was different. About 800,000 Norwegians migrated to the US, including my great-grandfather. We were a poor country, and the migrants were searching for opportunities and fit the phrase on the Statue of Liberty: They were our tired, our poor. America welcomed them, and they found what they were looking for.

Today, Norway is one of the richest countries in the world, and we will not give up on our cradle-to-grave welfare. Our parental leave is a generous year, kindergarten is cheap, and our higher education is free. Health care is also free for every Norwegian citizen. Our society strives to be tolerant. Every political party promotes liberal values,gender-equality and human rights. The plumber´s son goes to school with the CEO´s daughter, and social mobility is high. Hence, our leaders have diverse backgrounds and anyone could meet the NATO secretary general skiing in the woods or our Prime Minister at the supermarket doing her own grocery shopping.



Norwegians aren't likely to move to the US, even if they're welcome.

So instead of trying to import our whiteness, the US President should try letting some of our ideals in.

Also, immigrants have been and are shaping Norway. Our history is formed by migration, from the Vikings traveling the world to the German Hanseaten coming to Bergen, a city on the southwestern coast. Nearly 17% of our population is made up of immigrants or have immigrant parents. This includes Somalis, Eritreans, Iraqis, Syrians, Filipinos, and Pakistanis.

This is not to say that Norway is perfect -- and Trump needs to understand this part too.



Trump's outrageous remark shows his affinity for the worst of America's past
Radical ideologies are rising throughout the Western hemisphere and Norway has not been immune. We have experienced right-wing terrorism with devastating consequences. Neo-Nazis are increasing, and at least 100 Norwegian Muslims have been radicalized andjoined the Islamic state since 2012.

The white American supremacists who gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia, praised the Scandinavian neo-Nazi group Nordic Resistance Movement. It is a small, but increasingly visual group in our society. They promote despicable ideas that we condemn as a society. Our Prime Minister, who met with Trump earlier this week, does not say that there are "some very fine people" among the marching Nazis. She warns that they could rip our society apart.

The key to fighting against such tendencies is integration and equality. Encouraging a society where we judge people as individuals, not for belonging to an ethnic or religious group, is crucial. These are the same ideals that Martin Luther King Jr. promoted, and that Donald Trump, bizarrely enough, praised in his first meeting with the press after the comments on "shithole countries" and Norway.

The UN has condemned the President´s comments as racist, pointing that the reference to Norway makes the context clear. Favoring Norwegian immigrants over to those from another continent cannot be read as anything but judging people by their race. We are proud of our country, but not because we are white. The historical connotations are unpleasant; Norwegians have been praised for our "ethnic purity" before. We resisted Nazi Germany, and the America that we love helped fight those ideas.

So, thanks, but no thanks for the offer, Mr. President.

Martine Aurdal is an op-ed editor and political commentator for the Norwegian daily newspaper Dagbladet. The opinions expressed in this commentary are her own.

http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/13/opinions/norway-says-no-thanks-to-trump-aurdal-opinion/?iid=ob_lockedrail_bottomlist

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

We like where we live. In fact, Norway is the happiest country in the world. We are that way because we live in an egalitarian society where we strive to give everyone good and equal opportunities -- regardless of ethnic, gender and social background.

Well... I think the oil helped more than a little bit.

 

[Bilal9]

Well... I think the oil helped more than a little bit.

Yeah! Plus the population is super low too.

But I like their foreign ventures as they are not relatively exploitative. Telenor had a JV with local company Grameen Telecom and they revolutionized the cellphone sector in Bangladesh.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Yeah! Plus the population is super low too.

But I like their foreign ventures as they are not relatively exploitative. Telenor had a JV with local company Grameen Telecom and they revolutionized the cellphone sector in Bangladesh.

Yes..they are happy because of "egalitarianism"..

http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/19/investing/norway-pension-fund-trillion-dollars/index.html

Norway's giant pension fund is now worth over $1 trillion. Yes, 1 followed by 12 zeros.
The fund's managers announced Tuesday that currency shifts had helped push its value above $1 trillion for the first time.

"The growth in the fund's market value has been stunning," fund chief Yngve Slyngstad said in a statement. "I don't think anyone expected the fund to ever reach $1 trillion when the first transfer of oil revenue was made in May 1996."

For comparison: $1 trillion is roughly the size of Mexico's economy.

Norway is a major oil producer, and it has plowed its energy earnings into the fund in order to fund pensions and other government expenses.

The fund is among the world's biggest investors in stocks, owning $667 billion worth of shares in over 9,000 companies globally. It owns on average 1.3% of all listed companies worldwide.

Its largest holdings are in Apple (AAPL), Nestle (NSRGF), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA), Novartis(NVS), Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOGL), the owner of Google.

The fund also owns large real estate portfolio, including stakes in buildings at the world's most desirable addresses, such as Times Square in New York, Regent Street in London, and Champs Elysees in Paris.

Returns have been impressive.

The fund has generated an annual return of 5.9 % since January 1998, a figure that is reduced to 4% when management costs and inflation are included. In 2016, it clocked a 6.9% return worth 447 billion Norwegian kroner ($57 billion).

This year is shaping to be even more prosperous. The fund made 499 billion kroner ($63 billion) in just the first two quarters of 2017.

The fund's value works out to over $190,000 for each of Norway's 5.2 million citizens.

 

[Bilal9]

Well while their Pension fund is not doing all that shabby - oil revenues going forward may not be contributing all that much. Saudis are looking for alternate revenue sources and more locally in Southern California where I live, unleaded gas has been hovering around $3.00 and under for a long, long while - thanks to American fracking revolution in the Northern states here. In that market - can one depend on oil revenue as a sole driver of the economy? Exactly the reason why they invested into a diverse portfolio as you mention.

Granted - Norway as a country (and its pension fund) may be better managed than Saudi Arabia, but still....

 

[52051]

To ambitious people, safety/public health/pension are not the most important conern, it is the opporunities that matters.

For west europeans, if you are not very ambitious and just want an average life, you may want to stick to the Europe nanny state, but if you want to be someone, the US is probably the only place to go.

For Chinese, today's China provide a very good, if not better, alternative to the US, the business enviorment is very friendly, and there are plenty of Venture capitals/hedge funds want to invest start-ups, and China's tax system has almost zero tax rate on investment capitial gain, comparing to ~50% in the US.

The west europe has the worst of all, they get even higher tax rate than the US, and much less captials.

 

[Khan_21]

The fact that US has a GDP per capita of $60K while having a population of 300 million is nothing short of amazing.

 

[mike2000 is back]

the only advantage they have is being white which whether you like it or not will hide their shortcomings otherwise the difference in between even germany and the UK are like day and night let alone americans who are an ocean away. i know lots of people from the US and Australia here who are clearly not assimilated despite living here for years. they cant speak the language, stay in their own circles, have very little contact outside their bubble etc. but no one brings that up for the value they have over their country of origin. that my friend is the white (or first world) privilege how much i hate to admit that.

i dont think when it comes to good quality immigrants from a developed western country like the UK or a "shithole" like india there is much of a difference.

It all boils down to one thing: Wealth and developement.
If a country is wealthy, has high living standards and is developed then its people will automatically be more respected and viewed positively wherever they travel abroad to other countries irrespective of their reasons for travelling. Same can't be said of someone who comes from a poor backward third world country (or 'shithole' as trump puts it. Lol). That's just simple human nature. It's not just a Trump thing to be honest (it's just that Trump is someoe who doesn't care about saying controversial things publicly). we humans are like that naturally.
I'm sure a British, American, Australian Canadian, French, Norwegian citizen who travels to say China, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Cambodia etc will be more respected there by the people than say a black African person from say Congo, Sierra Leone or South Sudan. That's just how the world works.
So no point in hiding from facts, won't change what is on the ground.

The fact that US has a GDP per capita of $60K while having a population of 300 million is nothing short of amazing.

Yes it is indeed. Many people forget that despite its size/population, the U.S has a higher GDP per capital than any country in the world bar small/tiny wealthy countries like Luxembourg, Norway, Switzerland, Ireland, Iceland and Qatar.
The rest have a lower GDP per capital than them including , even Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Japan.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

The fact that US has a GDP per capita of $60K while having a population of 300 million is nothing short of amazing.

It would be much higher if we didn’t offshore manufacturing in the 1970’s due to pollution laws enacted because our air, water, and soil quality was in steep decline. We’ll take the $60K and be happy with the cleaner environment. We have to live here for generations. If somebody else wants to live with all that pollution well good luck to them.

and China's tax system has almost zero tax rate on investment capitial gain, comparing to ~50% in the US.
.

It’s 15% for low income people and 20% for the rest.

http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-are-capital-gains-taxed

 

[Khan_21]

It would be much higher if we didn’t offshore manufacturing in the 1970’s due to pollution laws enacted because our air, water, and soil quality was in steep decline. We’ll take the $60K and be happy with the cleaner environment. We have to live here for generations. If somebody else wants to live with all that pollution well good luck to them.



It’s 15% for low income people and 20% for the rest.

http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-are-capital-gains-taxed

I got a fellowship and annual stipend of $30K for my PHD in Syracuse this fall so I won't be complaining. US has alot of oppurtunities if one is talented and wants to grow.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

I got a fellowship and annual stipend of $30K for my PHD in Syracuse this fall so I won't be complaining. US has alot of oppurtunities if one is talented and wants to grow.

Speaking of horrible pollution you might think Syracuse is a quiet little city in the middle of nowhere but it has a history of smokestacks and water/soil pollution from leather tanneries, lead processing, and other fun stuff. So as you walk around enjoying the scenery you can just imagine what it was like 70 years ago.

 

[Khan_21]

Speaking of horrible pollution you might think Syracuse is a quiet little city in the middle of nowhere but it has a history of smokestacks and water/soil pollution from leather tanneries, lead processing, and other fun stuff. So as you walk around enjoying the scenery you can just imagine what it was like 70 years ago.

Newyork State certainly looks beautiful in pictures. How are the road trips? heard alot of good stuff about the diverse landscapes in Upstate NY.