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Off Topic Thread 5.0

[Deleted User]

Thread continued from here https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057835955&page=250

The usual rules apply. Non-rugby talk here. Consider this a social place, but like a pub, things like religion and politics can be divisive, so don't say things here you wouldn't say to someone's face in the pub. Sober

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Neil3030

Podge_irl wrote: »

Spent a week in northern Italy there earlier this month. The mosquitoes were enough to almost single-handedly ruin the whole trip. Hate the bastards.

Ah the tiger mosquitos of Emilia Romagna. Can't say I'll ever miss those insatiable pests.

Neil3030

sydthebeat wrote: »

as an aside ot the politics....

theres a very interesting event due to take place in Florida in the near future

https://futurism.com/florida-releasing-billion-genetically-modified-mosquitoes?ref=thefuturist

The US EPA have approved a plan to basically release 750 million mutant mosquitoes in order to suffocate the population of mosquitoes in the state. As you can imagine there are many environmentalist movements against this plan, the biggest argument against is more along the lines of the unknown effects on other ecosystems, than any love for the humble mosquito itself.
The mutant bugs are designed so that the females die away at larvae stage, so in the process the population is rapidly diminished.

While this has occurred already as a test in Juazeiro in brazil, the outcomes, while initially successful, has thrown up some unexpected results.. including that the population jumped back up within 18 months and the new population are more resilient to control attempts

The outcome of this will be extremely interesting to follow

Yeah I was at a talk last year by some researchers plotting a similar approach, but where the mutants produce impotent male offspring. Concerns regarding impact on the ecosystem were voiced, but the researchers were adamant that the approach would only be used with invasive mosquito species that were never part of a food web in a given area, and pretty much just moved in and spread disease.

Podge_irl

Spent a week in northern Italy there earlier this month. The mosquitoes were enough to almost single-handedly ruin the whole trip. Hate the bastards.

sydthebeat

as an aside ot the politics....

theres a very interesting event due to take place in Florida in the near future

https://futurism.com/florida-releasing-billion-genetically-modified-mosquitoes?ref=thefuturist

The US EPA have approved a plan to basically release 750 million mutant mosquitoes in order to suffocate the population of mosquitoes in the state. As you can imagine there are many environmentalist movements against this plan, the biggest argument against is more along the lines of the unknown effects on other ecosystems, than any love for the humble mosquito itself.
The mutant bugs are designed so that the females die away at larvae stage, so in the process the population is rapidly diminished.

While this has occurred already as a test in Juazeiro in brazil, the outcomes, while initially successful, has thrown up some unexpected results.. including that the population jumped back up within 18 months and the new population are more resilient to control attempts

The outcome of this will be extremely interesting to follow

[Deleted User]

Former Former wrote: »

Remember when Kellyanne Conway coined the term 'alternative facts' and we all thought it was gas?

Then it turned out to be a policy manifesto for the subsequent four years.

And the ideology and methods have been fully adopted in England also.

Quite a rapid decline of Democratic norms in a very short space of time and it's spreading.

Former Former

Remember when Kellyanne Conway coined the term 'alternative facts' and we all thought it was gas?

Then it turned out to be a policy manifesto for the subsequent four years.

[Deleted User]

awec wrote: »

They aren't on different ends of the spectrum, George Conway is a republican, he's just not a Trump republican. They're just two different flavours of the same thing.

Kellyanne is probably Trump's most competent spokesperson. What she is capable of saying and defending with a straight face is astonishing and she is the best in the business at muddying the waters on an issue and diluting the administrations failures with whataboutery and 'alternative facts' as she coined it.

It's a loss for Trump for sure, and whilst it's being framed as a family issue I think this is just Kellyanne getting off the ship plenty early. When I heard about the resignation I saw some of the daughters tweets and she is definitely gone a bit unhinged, but that isn't a new development either whereas Trump is beginning to look un-electable.

Walking away now from the administration / Lincoln project means that both political operatives can keep their bibs a little bit clean for the next show.

awec

Squidgy Black wrote: »

It's really quite sad. Can't even imagine growing up in a household like that where both parents are in the public eye on completely different ends of the political spectrum and taking jabs at each other.

They aren't on different ends of the spectrum, George Conway is a republican, he's just not a Trump republican. They're just two different flavours of the same thing.

Squidgy Black

thomond2006 wrote: »

No this is a legitimate family issue. Her husband George who is part the Republican anti-Trump group Lincoln Project is stepping back as well. Their teenage daughter has been posting some concerning videos about her relationship with her parents and wanting to gain emancipation. It's not a healthily functioning household.

It's really quite sad. Can't even imagine growing up in a household like that where both parents are in the public eye on completely different ends of the political spectrum and taking jabs at each other.

FACECUTTR

stephen_n wrote: »

Am re-reading 1984 at the moment, not sure it can be classed as fiction anymore.

I'm reading it myself at the moment too.

thomond2006

Bazzo wrote: »

I see that Kellyane Conway has resigned her position. A slight whiff of rats fleeing the sinking ship maybe (hopefully)?

No this is a legitimate family issue. Her husband George who is part the Republican anti-Trump group Lincoln Project is stepping back as well. Their teenage daughter has been posting some concerning videos about her relationship with her parents and wanting to gain emancipation. It's not a healthily functioning household.

Bazzo

I see that Kellyane Conway has resigned her position. A slight whiff of rats fleeing the sinking ship maybe (hopefully)?

OldRio

Whataboutery and deflection.

Ah bollox to politics. 'Do as I say. Not as I do.'

Dave_The_Sheep

Podge_irl wrote: »

Basically, its nothing like Ireland and the comparisons are not helpful.

Whilst we don't have a Brexit scenario to compare to and the principle of people in positions of leadership breaking rules that they impose on the rest of the population is the same, I suppose at least they (in Ireland) have paid some price and didn't just brazen it out.

So yeah, fair point, well made.

Podge_irl

Without delving into Irish politics too much - Cummings is an unelected bureaucrat of the type that Brexiteers claim to despise, who is seemingly running the entire country's policies in basically everything who then flouted them completely and claimed he did nothing wrong while staying in his post and then continuing on in his efforts to dismantle previously functioning areas of the state while the entire elected cabinet seem to prostrate themselves before him because the PM they idiotically chose has delegated all authority to the man.

Basically, its nothing like Ireland and the comparisons are not helpful.

Dave_The_Sheep

Deleted User wrote: »

Hogan is more of an issue for the EU Commission to deal with, but given his profile internationally he's given easy ammunition to his detractors.

Otherwise we've had a ministerial resignation and 6 senators have had the whip removed which means their political careers are over. Thousands have taken the piss during lockdown and not paid anything like that kind of price - the integrity of covid messaging should be fine albeit this hasn't helped.

There wasn't a drop in adherence after Bobby Story's funeral so I don't expect there to be one after this, but it's good to see we still have accountability in politics all the same.

Indeed, and as Hogan is one of those people I'd rather have on our side in the upcoming Brexit negotiations, it's a good thing he won't be forced out from here.

Thousands of people did take the piss, but those people are not in positions of national leadership. It doesn't matter really what they do in terms of the government message on Covid. Personally I'm not going to change much of what I'm doing, but the messaging has not been great (it's been awful, between Martin and Donnelly in interviews/press conferences) in the last few weeks, this absolutely doesn't help. It's not quite Cummings, but it's not a million miles away - particuarly because (as you say) we've had resignations as a result. And yes, it's good to see there is some accountability - but this will have an effect on adherence. How big remains to be seen.

[Deleted User]

Dave_The_Sheep wrote: »

Going to be hard to convince people to adhere to follow-up restrictions in Kildare if it turns out Hogan flew from Belgium, went and lived in Kildare for week or so, then swanned off up to Galway for a golf gala, regardless of what he claims he was told by the hotelliers.

Hogan is more of an issue for the EU Commission to deal with, but given his profile internationally he's given easy ammunition to his detractors.

Otherwise we've had a ministerial resignation and 6 senators have had the whip removed which means their political careers are over. Thousands have taken the piss during lockdown and not paid anything like that kind of price - the integrity of covid messaging should be fine albeit this hasn't helped.

There wasn't a drop in adherence after Bobby Story's funeral so I don't expect there to be one after this, but it's good to see we still have accountability in politics all the same.

Dave_The_Sheep

Going to be hard to convince people to adhere to follow-up restrictions in Kildare if it turns out Hogan flew from Belgium, went and lived in Kildare for week or so, then swanned off up to Galway for a golf gala, regardless of what he claims he was told by the hotelliers.

Podge_irl

stephen_n wrote: »

Am re-reading 1984 at the moment, not sure it can be classed as fiction anymore.

Of all the things in that book, the "we have always been at war with Eastasia" bit was one I thought would actually not be able to come to pass with the advent of things like the internet and mass spread of info.

Turns out it is the one aspect that is most successful and happening right in front of our faces. You don't need to lie delicately, you just need to convince people to believe you and disbelieve others no matter what.

stephen_n

OldRio wrote: »

I think I'll bunker down for the day and read 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell.

Am re-reading 1984 at the moment, not sure it can be classed as fiction anymore.

Podge_irl

Deleted User wrote: »

US Agencies have weird jurisdictional overlaps. I remember the start of the "In the Line of Fire" movie you had secret service agents breaking up a counterfeiting gang as that fell within their remit.

SS is part of the Dept of the Treasury, which is obviously in and of itself a bit weird. Great movie though.

What Trump benefits from is just sheer fatigue at this point. Something outrageous happens with such great frequency that it is surprisingly easy to become numb to the scale of each individual event.

[Deleted User]

Neil3030 wrote: »

Steve Bannon, Trump's former strategist, arrested on federal fraud charges regarding a private fundraising campaign he helped initiate, which promised to allocate all donations toward building a border wall between the US and Mexico. Needless to say, very little wall got built and the feds further allege that hundreds of thousands were syphoned off by Bannon and the other organizers. Estimated sentence of 7 to 9 years if he loses at trial, but a Presidential pardon would be possible, given its a federal swoop.

Weirdest part of the story - he was arrested by US Postal Service agents, on a boat owned by a Chinese billionaire....

Wrap your head around that one.....

US Agencies have weird jurisdictional overlaps. I remember the start of the "In the Line of Fire" movie you had secret service agents breaking up a counterfeiting gang as that fell within their remit.

The Bannon arrest should be a terrible news story for the administration, fraud and profiteering in relation to donations for a wall that Mexico was supposed to pay for, it's a horrendous look but it's unlikely to register with Trump supporters.

Definitely an odd coincidence though given the amount the US postal service has been in the news. Quite amazing to have a candidate openly admit to want to restrict voters but at least there was push back from both parties.

Still a long way to November.

I wonder will we have our own election this year. Without drifting too far into Irish politics I.... Mod edit: Don't drift. At all. Thanks.

Stheno

Jeez ye are a miserable lot this morning

thomond2006

In the Eir queue for an hour. No answer.

Squidgy Black

Woke up to no electricity, great start to the day.

OldRio

I think I'll bunker down for the day and read 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell.

Bazzo

Synode wrote: »

It's unbelievable how such an incompetent company can survive. You'd have to imagine most of their customers are older people who've just never bothered changing supplier

I have had equally bad if not worse experiences with BT who are a massive company with no shortage of competition. Literally tens of hours on hold often ending in either being cut off or a customer service agent hanging up on me. Wasting multiple days of annual leave being told I'd need to be home for an engineer who subsequently didn't show up and then not getting the issue fixed because I wasn't there at a later date when they decided to arrive but told me I wouldn't need to be in. Being charged for 6 weeks (yes WEEKS) where I had no internet or TV.

Neil3030

[Deleted User] wrote: »

How is a Presidential pardon even a thing

It makes sense that a "crime against America" might be reappraised in a different time or context (e.g. Susan B. Anthony).

But yeah, it's pretty much otherwise a handy perk for getting your mates / family off the hook.

[Deleted User]

How is a Presidential pardon even a thing

Neil3030

Steve Bannon, Trump's former strategist, arrested on federal fraud charges regarding a private fundraising campaign he helped initiate, which promised to allocate all donations toward building a border wall between the US and Mexico. Needless to say, very little wall got built and the feds further allege that hundreds of thousands were syphoned off by Bannon and the other organizers. Estimated sentence of 7 to 9 years if he loses at trial, but a Presidential pardon would be possible, given its a federal swoop.

Weirdest part of the story - he was arrested by US Postal Service agents, on a boat owned by a Chinese billionaire....

Wrap your head around that one.....