johnnybangkok

Like you supported Biden? Give us a break.

Absolutely none of that has happened other than in your own, indoctrinated mind.

More false equivalence. 'Health, education and homelessness in the US worse than ever' is not the responsibility of these philanthropists but at least they are trying to do something. And as usual of the MAGA brigade you are quick to jump to name calling but if looking after vulnerable people is 'lefty' then I'll wear that title with pride.

If you bothered to read the article I linked you would see that Warren Buffett donations focuses on health and poverty alleviation. Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates have a lifetime giving of $42.5 billion, with a giving focus on health and poverty alleviation. Michael Bloomberg has a lifetime of giving to causes focusing on climate change, health and education. Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan focus on science and education. Steve and Connie Ballmer support children in poverty, and Phil and Penny Knight support Black residents of Portland with funds going to education services. Jeff Bezos and his fiance, Lauren Sánchez focus on the environment and education. So yeah, plenty of focus on 'improving education in the US' and as for your false equivalence of 'What helps people more, a job or welfare?' (which wasn't even being discussed) the answer is obviously jobs but welfare is also required if you want to call yourself a civilised society and look after your more vulnerable citizens. You obviously are of the 'f**k everyone else as long as I'm alright Jack' camp but thankfully most people are not.

Thanks for taking the time with this. These ant-vaxers won't listen though. It's all hearsay and pseudo science with them, relying on very tenuos 'results' and 'facts' from obscure individuals with absolutely no qualifications in the matter. But these 'experts' do serve an important purpose for them by amplifying the echo chambers they so enthusiastically inhabit. As mentioned by other posters, not worth the debate though as there's absolutley nothing you could say to them that'll change their view.

As usual, you miss the point. The list was the Top 10 of US biggest philanthropists (I only highlighted 8 ) of which Musk didn't get a mention. The list was in reply to a poster who queried what Musk could do with his money. I merely suggested the same as other billionaires do i.e. use it for some good.

Firstly its 'Kool-Aid' - but more importantly, you are more than welcome to refute any of the facts and figures I posted with your own dissenting facts and figures but knowing how facts are like holy water to a vampire for you MAGA's, I'll not hold my breath.

Ever heard of a chap called Bill Gates? Through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation he has donated vast amounts of his own personal wealth for many worthy causes including the eradication of malaria. He's had no problem knowing 'what to do' with his vast wealth as have many of these billionaires:- Warren Buffett - $56.7 billion. George Soros - $21 billion Michael Bloomberg - $17.4 billion MacKenzie Scott - $16.58 billion Jim and Marilyn Simons - $6.03 billion. Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan - $4.5 billion Jeff Bezos - $3.33 billion https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/billionaires-who-give-away-most-money-forbes Musk on the other hand waxes lyrical about donations and because of bad press due to his lack of charitable donations eventually set up The Musk Foundation in 2021. Musk donated approximately $5.7 billion worth of Tesla shares to the foundation. However, new tax filings show that the Musk Foundation fell $421 million short of the amount it was required to give away in 2023 and has yet to reveal whether it's made up the shortfall in 2024 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/us/politics/musk-foundation-taxes-donations.html. So yeah, there are plenty of things he could do to help humanity with his vast wealth, he just choses egotistical space travel, buying social media platforms and using his 'voice' to interfere in everyone's politics with a VERY right wing agenda.

So let's get this straight. You post a highly contentious topic of 'why is the dem party so toxic' and get your usual fan boys to jump in with their usual partisan nonsense but when someone rightly points out the hypocracy of what you are saying (in a calm and non-confrontational manner) you immediately resort to type calling them 'losers' and 'extreme left'. I would suggest it's YOU that's the extremist here - unable to put together any coherant argument other than what you hear from Fox News which is roughly 'we won, you lost, what a loser!' like a 12 year old kid. You exemplify identity politics in everything you post but fail to see your own indoctrination. And don't get me started on your inability to put together a proper paragraph or understand the 'Paste as plain text instead' button at the bottom of the box.

God here we go again. No one is 'mutilating children'. The age for a sex change in the US (much like most of the western world) is 18. That is NOT a child. That is an adult. You know this (I've certainly pointed it out to you before) but you refuse to listen to facts, prefering sensationalist nonsense to try and score points. And whilst we are on the subject, the Dems also wanted to 'stop illegal immigrants at the border' but just couldn't handle the sheer volume. But perhaps you would like to comment on the FACT the Dems deported more illegal uimmigrants than even Trump. 'US immigration authorities last year deported the largest number of undocumented immigrants in nearly a decade, surpassing the record of Donald Trump's first term in office. More than 271,000 immigrants were deported from the US over the last fiscal year, according to a report released by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency on Thursday. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c36e41dx425o

Can I request Silent Night then? Literally.

Bob gets chatting to some idiot in the bar. Said idiot espouses his own, personal view on a matter. Said idiot now represents all Thai males. You really need to change the record.

Agreed. Was just suggesting one that I know personally about but whatever it is, the poster needs to seek professional help.

You may be suffering from intrusive thoughts which is a psychological condition that produces unwanted thought, image, or ideas, making the thinker feel uncomfortable. These thoughts pop into the brain on their own, and they're not something a person is trying to think about. I know you mentioned not wanting to see someone about this but I highly recommend you do. A close friend of mine suffered from this to the point he took his own life. Now I’m not saying for one moment you have this or the outcome will be as nearly horrific but you really should go and get checked out from a qualified individual rather than the armchair doctors (including myself) on AN.

As people of your ilk are prone to do, you are conflating 'theory' - "a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained' to scientific theory - "an explanation of an aspect of the natural world and universe that can be repeatedly tested and corroborated in accordance with the scientific method, using accepted protocols of observation, measurement, and evaluation of results.' If you think gravity is just a theory try jumping off a building. If you think that the earth is just a theory then just ask a pilot or an astronaut or even my 6 year old kid who seems to know more than you do.

So what would you have prefered, the police waiting until he actually killed some people first? Their job is to prevent crime, which is exactly what they did.

Be better

First I would prefer absolutely no outside donations to any political parties ever, so we agree on that. I cannot comment on the 'tax dodging Cayman islands hedge fund' but it seems to be a very good example of why both foreign individuals AND foreign corporations should be banned if it turns out to be true. But the reason why Musk and his ilk shouldn't be allowed is obviously because if you let one do it then others will follow; Saudi Sheiks (although they influence in other ways), religous extremists, other billionaires currying favour to their own ends - you would end up like America where essentially the government is bought and paid for by self interest groups such us Musk, the NRA, oil companies and many, many similar corporations. Their staggering wealth buys influence often at the detriment of ordinary people and that's plain wrong and shouldn't ever be allowed in the UK. Unions are quite a different thing altogether but I also don't think they should be allowed to donate but firstly they are at least British (a big point) and they represent working class British citizens so their self-interest is the interest of their membership. No-one should be allowed to pay political parties and neither should they be able to give gifts or expensive overseas trips but this has been tabled before and didn't succeed so I'm not going to hold my breath. Money should not play a part in policy but whilst there are glaring loop-holes such as the one this article highlights, then this looks likely to continue.

Who wants to bet that Musk will be out before he's even 'in'? Knowing Trumps hatred of anyone who gets more publicity than him, Musk would do well to keep his trap shut!

And you are just the worse winners ever! Talk about gloating.

No they can't. As mentioned numerous times, the minimum age in most countries for a sex change is 18 when most people are considered adults. You are conflating a sex change with taking puberty blockers - two very different things.

Great post and yes, as I've repeatedly said, this complicated issue should be viewed as a medical situation rather than political but that seems to be the world we now live in - people forced to be something they are not because some politicians want to score some points. All those shouting for kids not to be given puberty blockers (and they have to get them BEFORE puberty sets in hence why it's done so young) forget the many major psychological issues it creates and the ensuing problems thereafter. The good news though is theres been many coming out to say there hasn't been a significent rise in suicides because of the ban (https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/clinical-areas/mental-health-pain-and-addiction/expert-discredits-claims-of-link-between-puberty-blockers-ban-and-suicide/) so at least that's something.

I'm not entirely sure I agree with your assertions here. Puberty blockers were introduced in the early 90's so have been used with very little controversy for over 30 years. It's only been the recent politicalisation of it mostly by right wing politicians in an every increasing attemp to insert even more identity politicis into the public discourse that's it's now become a 'thing'. The 'hardcore supporters of trans rights' you mention have only had to become more 'hardcore' to combat this extremism. You've seen it before with the Suffragettes and the Civil Rights Movement and more recently MeToo and BLM - people are forced into becoming 'hardcore' when their rights are being eroded and the trans movement is certainly under assault right now.

More identity politics........how very mature of you.