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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   17068 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of November 2, 2026

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Or have things meaningfully gotten more brazen over the past year or two?

The Trump shitcoin and the Qatari plane are new, and the two examples I've heard cited most.

The drug trafficker pardons were also supposedly linked to some payout, I think? Haven't really paid that much attention though.

That's fair enough. The Qatari plane was pretty staggering.

Honestly, Qatari money and influence in the US seems to be far more blatant and extensive than what people accuse Israel/AIPAC of doing.

The Qatar plane is such a nothingburger I'm almost surprised the fake news managed to screech about it for so long. It's just a token gift and Trump won't even profit from it personally at all, as it was given to the government. A used up 747 is worth almost nothing to a state level actor, even a 2-bit middle eastern dictatorship.

Bloomberg reported that its market value was likely lower, about US$100–125 million.

Bloomberg reported that its market value was likely lower, about US$100–125 million.

I haven't checked Craigslist for used 747s- is that really how much they usually sell for? I've been feeling like trading up from my MiG-15 for something with a little more horsepower- I'm a little hesitant to go with the Learjet 60 lately because I'm expecting to use this year-round rather than just in the summer and I hear they have trouble with ice.

Though I will point out 'received a small loan gift of a hundred million dollars' isn't exactly selling the anti-corruption angle; politicians routinely get hauled in for stupid personal expenses far less than that all the time. Which is the root of why I'm willing to reflexively believe it's a nothingburger, but I don't have an irrational dislike of the guy so I actually can do that.

Honestly, should have immediately re-donated it for conversion to firefighting use (in the kind of livery I'd expect Trump to have). A 747 painted like that would be hilarious.

It was donated to the US government not to Trump personally. That's like what, 5 minutes of government spending?

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