American Politics

**Elvis 2008** · 03-05-25 04:49

Originally Posted by Xpartan [View Original Post]

A wonderful letter, but it's not going impress the man brazenly working for foreign interests; his utterly unscrupulous, carefully picked entourage; and the army of willfully blind and exulted cult followers, ready to cut off their right hands if it pleases their Living God. Let's face it: we're living in a country steadily slipping into fascism, and the silence from the opposition is deafening.

I want to be wrong, but it seems the fuckers are winning.

If winning means that fewer people are dying, Americans are not going to have send boat loads of arms and money to Ukraine, and Europe is not going to be steal the $250 billion of Russian assets parked in European banks, then we are.

Boris Johnson punked the first set of cease fire talks, and Keir Stamer tried to do it a second time. The British scum do not care how many people die. They want and need that money. If the war went on, the European bankers could have went forward with some kind of war crime type crap and stolen that money using some USAID type dispensing system.

When Stamer said the UK was going to put boots on the ground, someone checked the UK military and learned that they have 25 working tanks. The French have like 125, and Russia has 2,000 or so. Do you think these countries would have had so few tanks if they really thought Russia was a threat? The war was always a racket.

The lucrative war on Covid took 3 years to end and now the same goes for Ukraine. I wonder what costly, pointless, and never winnable war is coming next. I nominate the war on fentanyl.

**Elvis 2008** · 03-05-25 04:34

Originally Posted by Tiny12 [View Original Post]

Well, I guess that Mexico and Canada can team up with China now, since they're all kind out of locked out of trading with us. The Europeans will be next.

I feel sorry for Treasury Secretary Bessent and Commerce Secretary Lutnick, having to explain this lunacy.

What the f*** was Trump thinking?

Yeah, the difference between someone who votes Democrat and a Democratic douche is that a douche will support the party no matter how stupid it is. Biden is not demented? No, he is not. Kamala is a drunk? No, she is not.

So instead of falling into the Trump is crazy camp, it is important to see what he really wants when he acts crazy.

And so here it is: https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6369607232112.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick: I want Americans to stop being murdered by opioids and fentanyl.

Yeah, okay, now it is fine to call Trump crazy. This is like blaming the failures of prohibition on Canada and Mexico. Opioids are as easy to make as alcohol and when you ban all items, you make the more potent items in the class the norm. You ban beer and wine and you get more whiskey and vodka. You ban oxycontin and you get heroin and fentanyl.

Last I checked there were a dozen or so overdoses in Portugal. We need to do what they are doing rather than pointing fingers abroad. This was the rare total swing and a miss for Trump. The only good part is that he allegedly is backing off the tariffs.

**Xpartan** · 03-05-25 02:21

Originally Posted by EihTooms [View Original Post]

Former President of Poland Lech Walesa wrote the following letter to Trump.

Your Excellency, Mr. President,

We watched the report of your conversation with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, with fear and distaste. We find it insulting that you expect Ukraine to show respect and gratitude for the material assistance provided by the United States in its fight against russia. Gratitude is owed to the heroic Ukrainian soldiers who shed their blood in defense of the values of the free world. They have been dying on the front lines for more than 11 years in the name of these values and the independence of their homeland, which was attacked by Putin's russia.

We do not understand how the leader of a country that symbolizes the free world cannot recognize this.

A wonderful letter, but it's not going impress the man brazenly working for foreign interests; his utterly unscrupulous, carefully picked entourage; and the army of willfully blind and exulted cult followers, ready to cut off their right hands if it pleases their Living God. Let's face it: we're living in a country steadily slipping into fascism, and the silence from the opposition is deafening.

I want to be wrong, but it seems the fuckers are winning.

**EihTooms** · 03-05-25 01:00

Originally Posted by Tiny12 [View Original Post]

Is President Trump an Idiot? Or does he think we are?

Possibly the answer to the questions is "both. " If these tariffs are so good for American manufacturers and American jobs, maybe someone can tell me why share prices of some companies like Ford Motor are at multi-year lows.

As you probably know, parts and intermediate products used to manufacture an automobile can cross the border multiple times. Apparently a 25% duty will be paid now every time that happens. Anderson Consulting is estimating the cost of pickup will go up by $8000 and an SUV by $9000. Or that's what the talking heads on CNBC are saying. Fruits and vegetables imported from Mexico will go up big time. How are we supposed to grow avocados and watermelon for harvest in March in the good old USA?

The Trump administration is telling us that we're imposing tariffs on Canada to stem the flow of fentanyl and illegals. Bull shit. Do they really believe we're that stupid?

The US probably sends more drugs and illegals to Canada than they send to us. And how about the new 10% tariff on imported oil? Republicans fought tooth and nail to keep the Keystone XL pipeline on track, to ship oil from Canada to the USA, so we'd have more energy security and more jobs. And now Trump has given the Canucks a bigger incentive to ship their oil to China than Biden did when he jerked Keystone. This is no way to treat your 51st state!

Well, I guess that Mexico and Canada can team up with China now, since they're all kind out of locked out of trading with us. The Europeans will be next.

I feel sorry for Treasury Secretary Bessent and Commerce Secretary Lutnick, having to explain this lunacy.

What the f*** was Trump thinking?

The stock market was always Trump's go-to measure for how well he was doing his job and how well the economy was doing. It took the steep stock market decline of March 11,2020 due to so many dead American bodies stacking up inside and outside of the morgues to grab Trump's attention to his Trump's Pandemic enough for him to briefly pause his constant lying about it being a "Democratic Party Hoax, we have this under control, it is disappearing, it will go away without a vaccine", mocking the known mitigating measures and so on to finally declare it a National Emergency on March 13,2020.

So it will be interesting to see if he mentions the stock market at all this time around in his "weave" before Congress or whatever incoherent blather comes out of his pie-hole in about an hour from this writing. If he mentions it at all it will probably be to inexplicably blame the losses to date on Joe Biden after rushing out there to take credit for the post-election relief rally before it became clear stock market investors just aren't into him and his chaotic incompetence or is it his determined anti-Americanism all that much.

To recap as of this writing and as Trump is about to "weave" his way beyond all coherent verbal communication to Congress and the American people:

As measured by the S&P 500 Index, the USA Stock Market is down 0. 8% since his election and down 3. 65% since his inauguration.

**Elvis 2008** · 03-04-25 22:42

Originally Posted by Tiny12 [View Original Post]

Possibly the answer to the questions is "both. " If these tariffs are so good for American manufacturers and American jobs, maybe someone can tell me why share prices of some companies like Ford Motor are at multi-year lows.

The Trump administration is telling us that we're imposing tariffs on Canada to stem the flow of fentanyl and illegals. Bull shit. Do they really believe we're that stupid?

What the f*** was Trump thinking?

I can tell you what Trump is thinking. I am not sure what tangible goals he is looking for with regards to the tariffs. With Canada, the three big things are oil, defense spending, and the border. Excluding oil and gas, the USA has a trade surplus with Canada. Given the USA can produce the oil and gas instead of getting it from Canada, I think Trump wants that production to be domestic and not from Canada, and apparently, we have the reserves to make that happen.

On defense, Canada is not spending shit on defense, and they are relying on us to pay for their defense. Trump wants us to pay a lot less for defense and for Europe and Canada to pay a helluva lot more. On this, he is totally right. Outside of Poland and Turkey, all the countries in NATO have had pathetic defense budgets. What is so bad about this is with Ukraine, the contributions of our so called NATO allies were pathetic.

On the border issue, and this is with both Canada and Mexico, I am wondering how many Chinese goods are being shipped in, and the made in China sticker is taken off and a made in Canada or made in Mexico is attached. He wants something done on that.

With Fentanyl, I think Trump has his head up his ass. He is following the DEA, prohibition style plan to lower supplies not getting that anyone can produce opioids just like anyone can produce alcohol. So Mexico is going to have to do some symbolic clean up on that, but Trump is not going to get fewer deaths until the USA embraces a Portugal style drug policy.

The border issue is better. I am not sure what more he wants there. My understanding is there is more LE on the border now, but here are the issues with Mexico:

Now in 2024, Mexico sent 78% of ALL their exports to the United States. That's an astounding 37% of Mexico's GDP. US manufacturing is in trouble as companies move offshore to avoid taxation, high wages, and asinine green legislation. John Deere, an American branded company, announced it will move manufacturing from Illinois to Ramos, Mexico. This is part of a growing trend of companies simply finding it difficult to turn a profit in the US.

The average hourly salary for unskilled labor is $4. 55 per hour in Mexico compared to $17.42 in the US. The cost of living is simply drastically less in Mexico than in the US or Canada. Mexico has a robust, educated workforce, with more students graduating with engineering degrees than in America. There is also a strong apprenticeship aspect to trade labor in Mexico, with multiple generations of men honing their skills from a young age.

China Conquers Mexico's Automotive Market, and the US Is Worried. Led by the automaker BYD, China has established itself as the main car supplier in Mexico. The US worries China could use Mexico as a "back door" to sidestep tariffs and gain footing in the US market. A Tesla competitor, BYD markets its Dolphin Mini model in Mexico for about 398,800 pesosabout $21,300 dollarsa little more than half the price of the cheapest Tesla model. According to official figures, 20 percent of light vehicles sold in 2023 in Mexico were imported from China, representing 273,592 units and a 50 percent increase compared to 2022.

End of link.

With Canada, you put tariffs on oil and in so doing make it more attractive for the USA to produce its own oil. That involves short term pain and is doable. With Mexico, I think the issues are more on our end than theirs. Why are we graduating so many lawyers and so few engineers?

Another issue is Mexicans have a different more European attitude towards governments. One time I was told I could not buy alcohol in Mexico due to it being an election day. The US border agents told me do not worry you will find someone to sell it, and I did. I also learned that ALL the businesses paid the cartels protection money. That sounds bad but the cartels really do protect the businesses and the police apparently are so fucking corrupt, as many mongers will tell you are, they are more likely to steal than criminals.

The bottom line is that I am sure Trump has things he wants from the Mexican government. I am just not sure that they have the power to deliver. With Mexico, Trump is probably going to get a few little things and declare victory. I do not see what the Mexican government can do that would soothe Trump. Graduate fewer engineers? Taxes on Chinese cars? Having a minimum wage of $17 an hour? No more good drug cartels? Good luck with that.

**Elvis 2008** · 03-04-25 21:33

Originally Posted by EihTooms [View Original Post]

Former President of Poland Lech Walesa wrote the following letter to Trump.

Your Excellency, Mr. President,

We watched the report of your conversation with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, with fear and distaste. We find it insulting that you expect Ukraine to show respect and gratitude for the material assistance provided by the United States in its fight against russia. Gratitude is owed to the heroic Ukrainian soldiers who shed their blood in defense of the values of the free world. They have been dying on the front lines for more than 11 years in the name of these values and the independence of their homeland, which was attacked by Putin's russia.

We do not understand how the leader of a country that symbolizes the free world cannot recognize this.

Yeah, well, there is quite a divergence between what Polish leaders say and how ordinary Poles feel, https://theconversation.com/why-many...-warsaw-240562.

During my recent visit, I was sometimes asked why the BBC and other influential western media never probed behind the slick public face of Volodymyr Zelensky's team to report on the real conditions and opinions of ordinary Ukrainians. Instead, Russians are demonised and Ukrainians hailed for their "European values" and their sacrifices on behalf of the west.

Coverage in Polish state media conveys a similar message but I found many citizens have become sceptical. There is pity for conscripts, sorrow for the loss of young lives on both sides and fear for where all this dehumanising violence is leading. But few of the people I spoke with believed that Russians are the only party violating the Geneva Conventions.

Often, the conversation turned to Boris Johnson. I was asked to explain why the then prime minister advised Zelensky in April 2022 that Ukraine should continue the fighting. Did Johnson, as has often been rumoured, sabotage proposals for a negotiated peace carefully drawn up in Istanbul shortly before his visit? Did he not care at all about the hundreds of thousands who would suffer and die if this war continued?

I did not have answers to any of these questions.

And then there was the Russian reaction, https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/dona...-house-7821096.

After US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodomyr Zelensky's stunning clash at the White House, support arrived for the American leader all the way from the Kremlin in Russia. Russian officials and state media reacted with satisfaction after the heated exchange ended with Zelensky abruptly leaving and cutting his visit short.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova remarked that Trump had shown "restraint" by not physically assaulting Zelensky during the exchange.

"I think Zelensky's biggest lie of all his lies was his assertion in the White House that the Kyiv regime in 2022 was alone, without support," Zakharova wrote on Telegram.

She further said, "How Trump and Vance held back from hitting that scumbag is a miracle of restraint," adding that Zelensky was "biting the hand that feeds him. ".

End of link. Quite frankly, the UK, the home of the Steele Dossier and horrific censorship laws, can go fuck itself. This once great power is down to 25 working tanks, and the UK's pathetic strategy of divide and conquer is obvious to those of with two working eyes, Loony Tooms. IMO the UK is on the side of death and deceit and is no longer worthy of being an ally.

**Tiny 12** · 03-04-25 20:02

Possibly the answer to the questions is "both. " If these tariffs are so good for American manufacturers and American jobs, maybe someone can tell me why share prices of some companies like Ford Motor are at multi-year lows.

As you probably know, parts and intermediate products used to manufacture an automobile can cross the border multiple times. Apparently a 25% duty will be paid now every time that happens. Anderson Consulting is estimating the cost of pickup will go up by $8000 and an SUV by $9000. Or that's what the talking heads on CNBC are saying. Fruits and vegetables imported from Mexico will go up big time. How are we supposed to grow avocados and watermelon for harvest in March in the good old USA?

The Trump administration is telling us that we're imposing tariffs on Canada to stem the flow of fentanyl and illegals. Bull shit. Do they really believe we're that stupid?

The US probably sends more drugs and illegals to Canada than they send to us. And how about the new 10% tariff on imported oil? Republicans fought tooth and nail to keep the Keystone XL pipeline on track, to ship oil from Canada to the USA, so we'd have more energy security and more jobs. And now Trump has given the Canucks a bigger incentive to ship their oil to China than Biden did when he jerked Keystone. This is no way to treat your 51st state!

Well, I guess that Mexico and Canada can team up with China now, since they're all kind out of locked out of trading with us. The Europeans will be next.

I feel sorry for Treasury Secretary Bessent and Commerce Secretary Lutnick, having to explain this lunacy.

What the f*** was Trump thinking?

**Sirioja** · 03-04-25 19:22

Diesel is back in Europe when people prefer than EV, Tesla having sales divided by 2 on this year in Europe, because of Musk behavior. I will stick to E85 powering my exceptionnal engine with R8 cup admission, but I remember my great diesel with 655000 kms engine. EV guaranty are with limited kilometers.

**MarquisdeSade1** · 03-04-25 18:47

Enjoy MAGA payback for robbing our nation of Our Lord and Savior by rigging 2020.

And allowing Scumbag Joe to flood our nation with 20 million more illegal aliens.

Paybacks are a MOTHERFUCKER.

I am your warrior, I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution. I am your retribution. I will totally obliterate the deep state.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/o...residency.html

GOD IS GREAT!!

**Sirioja** · 03-04-25 16:07

Originally Posted by AxelHeyst [View Original Post]

How about this hybrid: 1200 hp and check out the powertrain on this baby. Don't scoff boys. It is all about innovation. This is how the free market works. The Ferrari F80 is already sold out, proving there is demand for hybrids. You just have to make cars that people want to own and not force crap on them with regulations and mandates.

I would like to play versus on German autobahns, to see how many kilometers running close to 300 km / h. Shame for what was Ferrari = V12 with making hard, noise.

**MarquisdeSade1** · 03-04-25 06:31

MAGA couldn't ask for a more inept opponent lolololol.

A YUGE thanks to all the losers that voted for Harris.

This video captures your essence quite well.

https://www.nationalreview.com/corne...ew-york-times/

**Elvis 2008** · 03-04-25 05:31

Originally Posted by Spidy [View Original Post]

Well said...but none of this, comes as a surprise to me!

Project 2025, as was foretold by us Dems, over and over again, to the American people (and to ISGers), is alive and well!

Next stop...for the American Fuhrer and MAGA, ..."The Hunger Games"??

Speaking of deadbeat presidents and crypto, I was very surprised nobody had reported on the other one in Argentina, who's embroiled in the $LIBRA scandal. I mean that story came out like about two weeks ago...and crickets here at ISG?

Since I know very little about the subject of crypto, I was leaving it up to experts like yourself to report on the story and weigh in, on what it all, could possibly mean?

My limited understanding like 2-weeks ago: Like 5 people held 75% of the value and cashed out as soon as the value spiked from nothing to $5. Now president is accused of "rug pulling" and corruption.

Yet another right-wing president who hasn't quite figured out how "greed" works and how NOT to incentivize "greedy" ponzi schemes in right-wing political regime?

Argentina's $4.6 Billion Crypto Scandal; Largest-Ever Crypto Theft
https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital...-crypto-theft/

What say you, crypto experts?

PS: And to all you wingers, where's the love now, for Argentine President Javier Milei? Not to worry though, doesn't President Musk, have enough crypto, to bailout his Argentinian bro-president like, 4x over? (...kkkk!)

Is your name Spidy from Spiderman? That was my favorite comic going up. I think I am going to start calling you Spidy the Amazing Binary man because literally everything you post is right wing / MAGA / Republican bad and Dems good. You have no balance. You and Loony "there is no government waste" Tooms must have been separated at birth.

https://www.politifact.com/factcheck...rd-he-still-f/

This fact checking was a hoot. "Breaking: Biden administration quietly DROPS all charges against Sam Bankman-Fried," read a June 20 Instagram post. "The crypto founder who stole $4 billion and gave half of it to Democrat candidates is now free as a bird. ".

Did SBF steal money? Yep. Did he give it to Dems? You betcha. Is he in jail? Nope, and the fact check is, and this is hilarious, well, they are going to put him in jail. Yeah, SBF is not in jail now.

I actually considered litigating a matter with stocks. I had to listen to blowhard CEOs say that they had a fiduciary duty to shareholders which is the strongest duty there is, but that duty is more like a doody in terms of shit. If you are a shareholder of say Coca Cola and one day the board at Coca Cola says "Yeah, we are not making Cola anymore. We are going to focus on umbrellas", you would think this is a pretty straight forward case of breach of duty and could sue.

It does not work like that. SCOTUS has watered down the fiduciary duty such that the only thing you can sue for is corruption and not incompetence. Unless the Board of Directors at Coke decided to sell umbrellas to make themselves money, you are shit out of luck when it comes to a lawsuit. Your case will be dismissed. I think this is pure BS but it is what it is.

In fact, it is so hard to sue the only way one can do it is with an insider. That is why there is so much money thrown at CEO types via the golden parachute / NDA.

President Javier Milei does not have any duty at all. In fact, I would argue that those hurt by buying this LIBRA crypto could best voice their displeasure by voting against him. And let's not forget that some pocketed profits in the crypto as it went up.

And you are not going to get any sympathy from me for buying a fad crypto. There have been so many scams in this space you would have to be a fool to buy almost all crypto outside of Bitcoin. This was the equivalent of Milei at the craps table saying, "I know the dice are coming up 7 and that is good for Argentina ", and the dice came up 6.

And a rug pull is not a ponzi scheme. It is saying you are going to build something, get a bunch of investors to give you money, and then take off with the money after having done little to nothing, and it has happened so much in the crypto community, they even have named the scam.

Thing is crypto is outside the main stream with investing. They are not subject to many of the other laws like other types of investment. Mark Cuban, back when he was not a loon, exposed the entire stock market as a Ponzi scheme which pissed off the big boys, and the SEC went after him versus the banks costing tax payers hundreds of billions and Bernie Madoff. I have been very unimpressed with government regulation in the financial world. The laws originally written were among the best laws ever written but the big banks and judges have shredded them down to the point that the big boys can do almost whatever they want.

I actually prefer the crypto world where a fool and his money are soon parted, and there is no illusion of government safety. I do not think the SEC is worth a hoot.

**Spidy** · 03-04-25 05:18

Originally Posted by Tiny 12 [View Original Post]

Oil and gas extraction income is not subject to GILTI, no matter what the level of tangible assets is. QBAI is irrelevant for oil and gas. I don't believe oil and gas E&P is subject to Subpart F either, unless it's a royalty. It shouldn't be anyway. I don't remember why I thought the headlines were ridiculous.

Okay...it seems I need to revisit my understanding of GILTI, but one last question for you.

So is it your assertion, that O&G companies have no intangible assets? Because if they do (which I think they do) have intangible assets (no matter how small or seemingly inconsequential), wouldn't they need GILTI to be calculated?

And that calc use some variation of the following, when I do a search?: GILTI = Net CFC Tested Income (10% x QBAI - Interest Expense)

That's it, I'm done! It seems YOU and GILTI, have done me in....well at least for now!

PS: My apologies to all the other ISGers, for taking up the forum bandwidth these last few days! I'll try to keep things to a minimum for the next little while.

Thx for your patience and understanding!

**Spidy** · 03-04-25 05:07

Originally Posted by Tiny 12 [View Original Post]

If the playing field were leveled among all industries, the total tax burden on oil and gas relative to other businesses would be less than it is now. On the other hand, a lot of green energy projects wouldn't be viable. The combination of tax benefits and outright government subsidies exceeds their profit. Here's a list of some, kindly provided by ChatGPT.

Well that figures! Chat freakin' GPT!

Well...it looks like I've brought, a "Google Search knife" to an "AI ChatGPT gunfight!" Woe is me? (...kkkk!)

Well, despite the very nice long, MarquisdeSade1 (MDS1) style "Cut-n-paste" subsidies list from ChatGPT, allow me to tell ChatGPT, the same thing I'd be telling you, as I did in the last post.

At least my subsides and tax cuts, come without emitting CO2 emissions and greenhouse gases! or plumes of "clean burning methane gas" from outta space!

PS: And while your at it, ask ChatGPT, if natural gas is a "clean burning gas", I'd love to hear the answer.

**EihTooms** · 03-04-25 04:21

Former President of Poland Lech Walesa wrote the following letter to Trump.

Your Excellency, Mr. President,

We watched the report of your conversation with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, with fear and distaste. We find it insulting that you expect Ukraine to show respect and gratitude for the material assistance provided by the United States in its fight against russia. Gratitude is owed to the heroic Ukrainian soldiers who shed their blood in defense of the values of the free world. They have been dying on the front lines for more than 11 years in the name of these values and the independence of their homeland, which was attacked by Putin's russia.

We do not understand how the leader of a country that symbolizes the free world cannot recognize this.

Our alarm was also heightened by the atmosphere in the Oval Office during this conversation, which reminded us of the interrogations we endured at the hands of the Security Services and the debates in Communist courts. Prosecutors and judges, acting on behalf of the all-powerful communist political police, would explain to us that they held all the power while we held none. They demanded that we cease our activities, arguing that thousands of innocent people suffered because of us. They stripped us of our freedoms and civil rights because we refused to cooperate with the government or express gratitude for our oppression. We are shocked that President Volodymyr Zelensky was treated in the same manner.

The history of the 20th century shows that whenever the United States sought to distance itself from democratic values and its European allies, it ultimately became a threat to itself. President Woodrow Wilson understood this when he decided in 1917 that the United States must join World War I. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt understood this when, after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, he resolved that the war to defend America must be fought not only in the Pacific but also in Europe, in alliance with the nations under attack by the Third Reich.

We remember that without President Ronald Reagan and America's financial commitment, the collapse of the Soviet empire would not have been possible. President Reagan recognized that millions of enslaved people suffered in Soviet russia and the countries it had subjugated, including thousands of political prisoners who paid for their defense of democratic values with their freedom. His greatness lay, among other things, in his unwavering decision to call the USSR an "Empire of Evil" and to fight it decisively. We won, and today, the statue of President Ronald Reagan stands in Warsaw, facing the USA Embassy.

Mr. President, material aidmilitary and financialcan never be equated with the blood shed in the name of Ukraine's independence and the freedom of Europe and the entire free world. Human life is priceless; its value cannot be measured in money. Gratitude is due to those who sacrifice their blood and their freedom. This is self-evident to us, the people of Solidarity, former political prisoners of the communist regime under Soviet russia.

We call on the United States to uphold the guarantees made alongside Great Britain in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which established a direct obligation to defend Ukraine's territorial integrity in exchange for its relinquishment of nuclear weapons. These guarantees are unconditionalthere is no mention of treating such assistance as an economic transaction.

Signed,

Lech Wał281;sa, former political prisoner, President of Poland.