Off Topic Thread 5.0

Podge_irl

Buer wrote: »

I've lost count of how many times I've been told that his downfall is imminent and he's going to be removed from office. I'm completely ambivalent to it at this stage and I'm baffled as to how people ever though he was going to be removed until the end of his term and, even then, it's certainly not certain that he'll lose the election.

Its not certain, though its thankfully looking pretty good. How 40% of people can go "yeah, doing a bang up job. More of that please" is literally beyond my comprehension.

thomond2006

Podge_irl wrote: »

Its not certain, though its thankfully looking pretty good. How 40% of people can go "yeah, doing a bang up job. More of that please" is literally beyond my comprehension.

They take a look at their bank balance and they like what they see?

"It's the economy, stupid".

Dravokivich

thomond2006 wrote: »

They take a look at their bank balance and they like what they see?

"It's the economy, stupid".

I often wonder who "They" would be? I was under the impression there's been more poverty in the USA since Trump took office.

Dunney848

Buer wrote: »

It's hard not to be somewhat immune to the Trump situation at this point. It's a saturation response where the conversation rarely changes. It's fun and interesting to see his latest gaffe but there are people who are absolutely consumed with discussing him on a daily basis, seeking it out online etc. It's not healthy.

I've lost count of how many times I've been told that his downfall is imminent and he's going to be removed from office. I'm completely ambivalent to it at this stage and I'm baffled as to how people ever though he was going to be removed until the end of his term and, even then, it's certainly not certain that he'll lose the election.

I'm deadly serious when I say I believe Trump could kill someone and he would not be removed from office.

He already has - Qasem Soleimani the Quds leader. I generally don’t mind Trump I think despite his wicked sense of humour he is balanced and has lessened the likelihood of war in the world.

I dread to think what Hillary would have done to Syria if elected to office and the threat of a large scale confrontation with Russia with her in office was eminently more likely.

Murder is a way of life for leaders of countries. The question is whether you have a coordinated media campaign behind you to justify it. One of my favourite quotes is a Mohammad Ghandi one- An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it. Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self sustained.”

Dravokivich

If truth was so resilient, Chinese Whispers wouldn't be such a challenge.

sydthebeat

Dunney848 wrote: »

..... One of my favourite quotes is a Mohammad Ghandi one- An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it. Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self sustained.”

Ghandi didnt have twitter.....

Buer

Podge_irl wrote: »

Its not certain, though its thankfully looking pretty good. How 40% of people can go "yeah, doing a bang up job. More of that please" is literally beyond my comprehension.

Yup. And I don't understand it either. But many will just ignore it and stick to the rinse repeat approach of predicting his removal.

He controls the senate. That's all he needs. He was never going anywhere. Even in advance of the mid-terms, it was clear to see that many of the seats up for grabs were departing Democrats and it would take an incredible result for the Republicans to lose the senate but many people didn't take any note of that. The whole blue wave thing was a touch delusional.

I was surprised he took so long to hint at deferring the election in recent times and I have zero doubt that he has had his team look into whether he can do so.

Buer

sydthebeat wrote: »

Ghandi didnt have twitter.....

He really missed a trick there.

swiwi_

kuang1 wrote: »

I did not have sexual relations with that accent.

Or as the Aussies would say « sixual ».

Buer

Buer wrote: »

It's hard not to be somewhat immune to the Trump situation at this point.

Trump is so absurd at this point there is nothing left to say. It all became less interesting when Senate Republicans confirmed that there would be no accountability for the Presidency. Once the impeachment failed it just became a waiting game but one which unfortunately has been rendered a bit of an ongoing tragedy by the arrival of covid while Trump is still in the White House.

Podge_irl wrote: »

Its not certain, though its thankfully looking pretty good. How 40% of people can go "yeah, doing a bang up job. More of that please" is literally beyond my comprehension.

Biden was pretty direct about it there a few months back. Basically said that around 30% of people are just bad people - similar sentiment to Clinton's 'deplorable's' comment and they're both right to some extent.

Dunney848 wrote: »

He already has - Qasem Soleimani the Quds leader. I generally don’t mind Trump I think despite his wicked sense of humour he is balanced and has lessened the likelihood of war in the world.

He's not even remotely funny and his continued presence as the head of the executive of the worlds largest military is anything but stabilising. He is a huge threat to the world, albeit given he has already been brow beaten by his own military I reckon he is fairly neutered at this stage.

Dunney848 wrote: »

I dread to think what Hillary would have done

At her absolute worst, she would have been an infinitely superior president to Trump. America is going to be paying for Trump for decades.

Buer wrote: »

Yup. And I don't understand it either. But many will just ignore it and stick to the rinse repeat approach of predicting his removal.

He controls the senate. That's all he needs. He was never going anywhere. Even in advance of the mid-terms, it was clear to see that many of the seats up for grabs were departing Democrats and it would take an incredible result for the Republicans to lose the senate but many people didn't take any note of that. The whole blue wave thing was a touch delusional.

I was surprised he took so long to hint at deferring the election in recent times and I have zero doubt that he has had his team look into whether he can do so.

The mid terms were comparatively a blood bath given previous years. Democrats regularly perform poorly in between Presidential elections but they had a net gain of 40 seats in Congress. The last time they made gains like that was in the 70's and they stood to potentially lose seats based on the districts available.

Picking up a senate seat in Alabama was a pretty big coup considering it was solid Republican for 20 years and has one of the longest sitting Republican senators in America meaning only one seat is really ever up for grabs.

The electoral risk was high for the Democrats in 2018, but it's not great for Republican's in 2020 and the party's overall popularity is pretty bleak at the moment.

I do think we'll see widespread vote suppression in November which is quite alarming in and of itself, but without electoral reform I think America will produce a worse administration than this one in the near future and that's much more alarming to me.

Dunney848

At her absolute worst Hillary would have rendered Syria a terrorist infested wasteland. It would have been Iraq times 100. Trump pulled back and the “Arab spring” was no more despite the west’s best efforts to overturn these countries.

And come on get a sense of humour Trump is funny. His crowd pleasing can only by extreme left conspiracy theorists be deemed extreme nationalism. He is a protectionist but not extreme nationalist despite his gaffs and calculated stirring up of the far right base.

He is a very smart manipulator but not dangerous. The people who call him dangerous need to look at his interventions vs the 2 previous presidents before him who have much more war and blood on their hands. Fact

jacothelad

Dunney848 wrote: »

He already has - Qasem Soleimani the Quds leader. I generally don’t mind Trump I think despite his wicked sense of humour he is balanced and has lessened the likelihood of war in the world.

I dread to think what Hillary would have done to Syria if elected to office and the threat of a large scale confrontation with Russia with her in office was eminently more likely.

Murder is a way of life for leaders of countries. The question is whether you have a coordinated media campaign behind you to justify it. One of my favourite quotes is a Mohammad Ghandi one- An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it. Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self sustained.”

Really? He probably wouldn't have cared overmuch but I'm pretty certain Mahatma Ghandi of course was born a Hindu but his interpretation of Hinduism was his own. While keeping firm roots in ancient Hinduism, he welcomed contact with other religions, especially the Christian doctrines.

jacothelad

Dunney848 wrote: »

At her absolute worst Hillary would have rendered Syria a terrorist infested wasteland. It would have been Iraq times 100. Trump pulled back and the “Arab spring” was no more despite the west’s best efforts to overturn these countries.

And come on get a sense of humour Trump is funny. His crowd pleasing can only by extreme left conspiracy theorists be deemed extreme nationalism. He is a protectionist but not extreme nationalist despite his gaffs and calculated stirring up of the far right base.

He is a very smart manipulator but not dangerous. The people who call him dangerous need to look at his interventions vs the 2 previous presidents before him who have much more war and blood on their hands. Fact

In the name of sanity, do you also believe in the Tooth Fairy?

OldRio

Mad as a box of frogs

swiwi_

So.....I’m thinking dubinusa is back....

kuang1

swiwi_ wrote: »

So.....I’m thinking dubinusa is back....

No don't think so... Unless he's learned what a paragraph is in the interim.

thomond2006

The photos of Beirut are just devastating. The port area of one of the oldest cities in the world has disappeared.

kuang1

thomond2006 wrote: »

The photos of Beirut are just devastating. The port area of one of the oldest cities in the world has disappeared.

Yeah 4,000 injured?! That explosion must have shaken the earth for dozens of miles around.

irishbucsfan

kuang1 wrote: »

Yeah 4,000 injured?! That explosion must have shaken the earth for dozens of miles around.

Supposedly it was felt in Cyprus

Neil3030

Something to consider about America:

Much less people tie up their wealth in property than in Ireland. Both in terms of primary residence (where you either rent or move around the country and eventually find something affordable to buy) and in terms of buying rental properties (they tend to be owned and managed more and more by large companies or REITs).

Consequentially, you have a much stronger tradition of individuals investing in the stock market. I'd even go as far as to say anyone working in a middle class industry who doesn't hold some index funds in a retirement account is considered unusual.

So in short, anyone you know in Ireland who relies on a rental property for retirement, that person in America probably relies on income from the stock market.

And despite the evidence really going the other way for as long as I can remember, the Republicans are seen as the party that are good for the stock market.

So when you ask yourself "how on earth could people vote for Trump in 2020", ask yourself also, "how many people in Ireland vote for Fianna Fail in 2011, if the crash had been more of a wobble."

molloyjh

Quite how anyone can claim that Hilary would have been worse than Trump is beyond me. For all her flaws, she is an experienced, accomplished and competent politician with the capability to understand numerous complex subjects. Trump, as was plainly evidenced in that interview, can't even repeat a simple position he was briefed on by experts with pictures aiding him. The guy simply hasn't got the first clue about anything he is talking about. Any successes in American politics are almost certainly in spite of him, not because of him. And I have no clue how that isnt blindingly obvious to anyone paying even the slightest bit of attention.

swiwi_

molloyjh wrote: »

Quite how anyone can claim that Hilary would have been worse than Trump is beyond me. For all her flaws, she is an experienced, accomplished and competent politician with the capability to understand numerous complex subjects. Trump, as was plainly evidenced in that interview, can't even repeat a simple position he was briefed on by experts with pictures aiding him. The guy simply hasn't got the first clue about anything he is talking about. Any successes in American politics are almost certainly in spite of him, not because of him. And I have no clue how that isnt blindingly obvious to anyone paying even the slightest bit of attention.

That's a good, no really great post. Amazing. Beautiful. A lot pf people are saying that's the best post ever. Believe me, because you know, I must tell you, I'm a believer in such posts.

bilston

Things looking a bit more ominous North and South of the border today. Over 100 new cases island wide. I still think we are better at track and trace and are probably picking up cases that wouldn't have been confirmed even a few weeks ago. But it is worrying that R is said to be 1.8 in RoI and 1.3 in NI.

Zzippy

They highlighted 3 neighbouring counties today. Why not have a regional lockdown for that area? Close pubs/restaurants and non-essential businesses for 2 weeka. 2 years for the Biffos obviously.

swiwi_

Says it all really

Dravokivich

Zzippy wrote: »

They highlighted 3 neighbouring counties today. Why not have a regional lockdown for that area? Close pubs/restaurants and non-essential businesses for 2 weeka. 2 years for the Biffos obviously.

They seem to know where most of that came from, going by the article I read, a lot of it was 1 person, infecting a number of people they knew. Its a behavioral issue we're contending with. Regional restrictions there will just be perceived as an attack on a rural area and won't address the issue that needs to be clearly pointed to.

To be honest, I don't think regional is really the way to do it. They attempted doing it on a community level which would be more effective but not enough people bought into it. A significantly high number of people kept looking for ways to get out of that.

The concerning thing really, is that meat packing place that tested all it's staff over the last few days, to find there was an incredibly high number that were asymptomatic, out of 243 staff, they only had 3 people showing symptoms.

DGRulz

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/7b237-special-advice-for-those-living-in-kildare-laois-and-offaly-thursday-6-august-2020/

Over the past 14 days, 226 cases of COVID-19 have arisen in Kildare, Laois and Offaly. These represent 48 per cent, or nearly half of all cases detected in Ireland during that time. More cases have arisen today and will be reflected in tomorrow’s data

Dave_The_Sheep

DGRulz wrote: »

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/7b237-special-advice-for-those-living-in-kildare-laois-and-offaly-thursday-6-august-2020/

I blame Naas.

In general.

Lease was up in April. Landlord fobbed me off for a new lease until today. Rent increase freeze ended last week. How convenient.

Dravokivich

Deleted User wrote: »

Lease was up in April. Landlord fobbed me off for a new lease until today. Rent freeze ended last week. How convenient.

Surely if you've rolled into a new period, with no change in the terms or conditions, that should be considered the start of the lease, not now? They need to notify in advance, prior to any change in charges too. They can't just drop it on you.