Trump's black unemployment numbers, ISIS data

[JosephDredd]

1. As we all know, Trump supporters have turned their boasts to the black unemployment numbers. This is because his claims about the economy were wrong (it did better under several other presidents at the same point in their terms) and, even though Trump and his supporters tried hard, his job numbers couldn't be bragged about (2017 had the lowest job-growth in seven years because America is almost at full unemployment).

So lets look at his black unemployment numbers:

https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS...lse&output_type=column&years_option=all_years

Black unemployment sat at 7.9% when Trump took office last year, then dropped as low as 6.8, which continued the downward trend of the last seven years, but is now back up to 7.8%.

Is it a brief blip and the downward trend will continue?

Is this the point where the effects of Obama's policies are wearing off and Trump's are taking over?

Are liberals so furious at Trump that they're making black people quit their jobs to make him look bad?

Discuss.





2. Another talking point is that Trump has almost wiped out ISIS because he turned the military lose to blast the fuck out of Middle Eastern civilians and, in Afghanistan, drop the biggest non-nuclear bomb in history. ISIS now controls more territory than ever.

http://www.newsweek.com/us-losing-so-badly-afghanistan-trump-administration-hid-figures-796466

The U.S. and allied local security forces have failed to secure most of Afghanistan, according to a recent investigation that came shortly after the Pentagon refused to release unclassified data on the conflict for the first time ever.

Despite waging nearly 17 consecutive years of war and spending up to $1 trillion, the U.S.-led attempt to defeat the Taliban has left the insurgents openly active in up to 70 percent of Afghanistan, according to a BBC study published Tuesday. The report also found that a rival ultraconservative Sunni Muslim organization, the Islamic State militant group (ISIS), controlled more territory than ever, further complicating the beleaguered effort to stabilize the country.

What a federal watchdog chief found particularly “troubling” and a “worrying development,” however, was that none of this information could be included in its mandatory quarterly report on the war. John Sopko, head of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), said he was instructed by the Department of Defense (DOD) “not to release to the public data on the number of districts, and the population living in them, controlled or influenced by the Afghan government or by the insurgents, or contested by both.”

A letter preceding SIGAR’s report added, “SIGAR was informed this quarter that DOD has determined that although the most recent numbers are unclassified, they are not releasable to the public.”

SIGAR said it is the first time the watchdog was blocked from releasing this information, on which it has reported since January 2016, and it was the first time ever “that SIGAR has been specifically instructed not to release information marked ‘unclassified’ to the American taxpayer” since it was created by Congress in 2008 to monitor the already extensive U.S. role in the conflict. SIGAR was deeply critical of the Pentagon and said the public should be especially concerned because trends had historically painted the picture of an increasingly unsuccessful and costly war effort.

The next day, the Pentagon released the statistics, and Navy Captain Thomas Gresback, a spokesman for coalition troops in Afghanistan, told Newsweek in an email, “A human error in labeling occurred” and “It was NOT the intent...to withhold or classify information which was available in prior reports.”

Gresback denied that the figures were censored and said the U.S.-led coalition was in control of 56 percent of the country, the lowest number reported to date. The BBC study Tuesday placed that number even lower, at 30 percent, less than a third of Afghanistan. Gresback said insurgents controlled a record-breaking 14 percent, while the BBC study estimated 4 percent, claiming the vast majority of the country was still disputed.

Both evaluations were released after a week of heightened violence in Afghanistan that saw both the Taliban and ISIS claim attacks that killed a collective of at least 138 people, mostly civilians.

Here's a bit more about Trump's failing plan in Afghanistan and the order to suppress information:

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/p...ibans-progress-in-afghanistan/article/2177139

NEW SECRECY SURROUNDS WAR: The latest report from the Pentagon’s independent watchdog is sharply critical of the military’s increasing secrecy about key metrics for measuring success in the 16-year-old Afghanistan war. The latest report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction decries the “instruction” from DoD to withhold unclassified data that was previously public, such as how many districts the Taliban controls in Afghanistan and the fighting effectiveness and casualty rates of the Afghan military.

“This development is troubling for a number of reasons, not least of which is that this is the first time SIGAR has been specifically instructed not to release information marked ‘unclassified’ to the American taxpayer,” wrote Special Inspector General John Sopko, in the preface to the report released this morning. “Aside from that, the number of districts controlled or influenced by the Afghan government had been one of the last remaining publicly available indicators for members of Congress — many of whose staff do not have access to the classified annexes to SIGAR reports — and for the American public of how the 16-yearlong U.S. effort to secure Afghanistan is faring,” Sopko said.

SIGAR has been releasing data about district-control data since January 2016, but the Pentagon, under the direction of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, has told it to stop releasing information that could be of use to the enemy. “I think the enemy knows which districts it controls,” Sopko told NPR in an interview this morning.

It also represents a further clampdown of information after an October report said SIGAR could no longer publish information on Afghanistan’s military forces.

“In a significant development this quarter, U.S. Forces-Afghanistan classified or otherwise restricted information SIGAR has until now publicly reported,” the October report stated. “These include important measures of [Afghan National Defense and Security Forces] performance such as casualties, personnel strength, attrition, capability assessments, and operational readiness of equipment.”

NO TALKS WITH TALIBAN: The new order for secrecy comes as a series of deadly attacks has rocked Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul, raising doubts about the linchpin of President Trump’s strategy, namely inflicting painful military defeats on the Taliban in order to motivate them to negotiate for peace. Trump, who reluctantly approved the plan to stiffen the resolve of Afghan forces with frontline combat advisers and overhead close-air support, yesterday lashed out at the Taliban, ruling out any negotiations while hundreds of innocent Afghans are slaughtered.

Bonus: another talking point of the right is that it's wise for Trump to be Putin's little orange bitch (sanctions, anyone?) because Russia is a useful ally in settling turmoil in Syria.

Well, this just happened:

http://www.newsweek.com/russia-syria-peace-talk-chaos-sochi-795350

Russia’s Attempt to Broker Syria Peace Ends in Disaster as Delegates in Sochi Taunt Kremlin Spokesman

Russian-sponsored peace talks for Syria in the Black Sea resort of Sochi descended into chaos Tuesday when angry attendees taunted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, delegates argued over who would run the event and a group of opposition leaders refused to leave an airport after landing.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov launched the event with a statement from Russian President Vladimir Putin that claimed the time was right for Syria to turn “a tragic page” of history. But some delegates responded by standing up and angrily accusing Russia of killing civilians with its airstrikes. Other delegates responded by shouting out support for Russian efforts in Syria, where Moscow has helped prop up the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Meanwhile, members of an armed opposition group refused to leave the airport at Sochi until Syrian government flags were removed from the event. The issue was never resolved, and the head of the delegation said the group would boycott the event because of the flag and because of Russia’s killing of Syrian civilians.

Russia has been accused by human rights groups of killing thousands of civilians with airstrikes since it first got involved in the Syrian civil war two years ago.

A plenary session was reportedly suspended due to squabbling over who would preside over the event.

Dubbed the Syrian Congress of National Dialogue, the event was meant to begin negotiations for the drafting of a new Syrian constitution. But many key players, including the main leadership of the Syrian opposition, boycotted the event. The U.S., Britain and France all opted not to attend because they said Syria’s government refused to engage properly. Delegations representing Turkey and Iran attended the conference.

Western countries support a separate U.N.-backed peace process for Syria that has also failed to produce results.

As always, more information at the links.

 

[Jack V Savage]

Just to help people visualize it, here's a graph of black unemployment since 2009:

Obviously no one really thinks that Trump has anything at all to do with it being where it currently is. Dude has made a career out of taking credit for stuff he had nothing to do with.

 

[KungFuJones]

so much winning

 

[EGarrett]

I thought you were saying all the black people went to work for ISIS.

 

[palerider500]

Liberals are mad because Black Unemployment is now at it's LOWEST in american history under Trump's presidency.

The man who is a supposed "racist" has gotten blacks and other low income individuals wage increases and BONUSES.

This is what liberals hate and why they can never be trusted.

 

[palerider500]

Just to help people visualize it, here's a graph of black unemployment since 2009:

Obviously no one really thinks that Trump has anything at all to do with it being where it currently is. Dude has made a career out of taking credit for stuff he had nothing to do with.

Black unemployment is at it's lowest it's ever been. That is a FACT.

Denying reality does not change it.

 

[snakedafunky]

I thought you were saying all the black people went to work for ISIS.

ISIS probably offers better healthcare.

 

[Gregolian]

Gotta wonder if some of the low unemployment numbers is because of people no longer qualifying for benefits.

 

[MeatheadMike]

Trump is quite a Texas sharpshooter

 

[Gunny]

I’ve maintained through the Obama administration and into Trump’s that in this post-recession era, unemployment is not the meaningful statistics that we should be relying on. Labor force participation rate is what matters and I’m honestly not sure what the trend has been for black Americans.

 

[Seano]

Yes, more unemployed blacks! That will teach you Trumplings!

Just to help people visualize it, here's a graph of black unemployment since 2009:

Obviously no one really thinks that Trump has anything at all to do with it being where it currently is. Dude has made a career out of taking credit for stuff he had nothing to do with.

Damn, look at that spike right after Obama got elected. 2013 was when they realized Barack wasn't really going to buy them new cars.

 

[nac386]

Yes, more unemployed blacks! That will teach you Trumplings!

Damn, look at that spike right after Obama got elected. 2013 was when they realized Barack wasn't really going to buy them new cars.

You believe black people thought Obama was going to buy them cars?

 

[Seano]

You believe black people thought Obama was going to buy them cars?

Yeah, a lot of people thought they were going to cash in. There were other videos like this too-



thats the reaction of a person who thinks they won the lottery, not someone who just learned who was elected president.

 

[JosephDredd]

Liberals are mad because Black Unemployment is now at it's LOWEST in american history under Trump's presidency.

The man who is a supposed "racist" has gotten blacks and other low income individuals wage increases and BONUSES.

This is what liberals hate and why they can never be trusted.

Black unemployment is at it's lowest it's ever been. That is a FACT.

Denying reality does not change it.

What percentage is black unemployment right now?

 

[nac386]

Yeah, a lot of people thought they were going to cash in. There were other videos like this too-

Is that video how you have developed your opinion of black people?

And do you really believe that what that woman said translates to her believing Obama was buying her a car?

 

[Steve-French]

I thought all Trump supporters were racist and want to oppress POC. Why would they be happy about Black unemployment rates being low.

 

[Bargey]

Liberals are mad because Black Unemployment is now at it's LOWEST in american history under Trump's presidency.

The man who is a supposed "racist" has gotten blacks and other low income individuals wage increases and BONUSES.

This is what liberals hate and why they can never be trusted.

It’s not so simple as just wanting black employment numbers to be worse under Trump in order to purely discredit Trump though. Ever since LBJ and probably even before, liberals and the Democrat party in particular have had a vested interest in seeing zero progress in the black community.

Their biggest fear is widespread economic and political independence among the African-American community. The fact that Trump is president just makes the agenda that much more attractive though.

One of the main reasons I started to go from solid left to solid right in my political views was I started to realise how much contempt the left had of minorities and blacks in particular.

 

[Seano]

Is that video how you have developed your opinion of black people?

And do you really believe that what that woman said translates to her believing Obama was buying her a car?

Its part of how I developed my opinion of who elected Obama in this country.

And yeah, I do believe black people were brainwashed into believing Obama represented a a windfall for themselves. Absolutely. Thats what the left does.

thats the flipside of the victim culture in this country- the fake hero.

 

[nac386]

Its part of how I developed my opinion of who elected Obama in this country.

And yeah, I do believe black people were brainwashed into believing Obama represented a a windfall for themselves. Absolutely. Thats what the left does.

thats the flipside of the victim culture in this country- the fake hero.

What you have done here is no different than some Leftist who posts a video of dumb rednecks praising Trump as their savior, and saying that white people played the victim right up until their fake hero Trump showed up.

 

[hillelslovak87]

Black unemployment is at it's lowest it's ever been. That is a FACT.

Denying reality does not change it.

Claiming you are responsible for actions that were taken years before you entered office, and you have done nothing pertinent to the issue, is bullshit. You know it, but I get it, you guys wanna justify the little orange dick in your mouths.