Hanaguma

Ah yes. "The walls are closing in". "It's the beginning of the end for Trump". "Another bombshell revelation". I think I have been hearing this tune being played since 2016... As for Biden, at best this episode shows that his mental facilities have been deteriorating for longer than many people suspect, certainly from before he was elected President. Yet somehow he can cling to office, perhaps due to his clever choice of VP- a person so obviously over her head and incompetent that even the most hardened Trumpers would blanch at the thought of her holding the Presidency.

You are engaging in what the Dutch call "ant f...king". Trying to parse out the details in order to prove your point. Let's agree that they are similar in that they involve mis-handling of classified documents. They are dissimilar in scope and reaction. OK? Thy hypocrisy of the current occupant of the White House still stands.

Not at all. The two cases are not the same. But the delicious irony of President Joe tut-tutting over something he also did is cause for great mirth. Also ironic is Joe Biden having a "think tank" at a university. I would like to see evidence that he thinks before accepting it as reality.

I guess poor ol' Joe was just confused again. Even though he was trying to dunk on the Bad Orange Man just a few months ago during an interview. "How that could possibly happen, how one anyone could be that irresponsible," he said in a segment on 60 Minutes. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/president-joe-biden-60-minutes-interview-transcript-2022-09-18/ Well, now he knows.

...which is why I said "vast majority" do not discuss it. If you had a father/uncle/grandfather who served in wartime, did they ever talk about their "kill count" in such crass terms? Mine did not. Also, perhaps the type of service may make a difference. If you are in the infantry, up close and personal, then you can say for sure what you did. Harry was in an attack helicopter, so how can he say for certain how many of the enemy he killed? Sounds like idle boasting at worst. Most actual warriors would say something like, "I did my duty" or "I did what I had to do".

You will start to notice that you know some dead people of your own age finally. As you go through life, at first older people start to die, then people the same age, then finally younger people, then you. Also, 50 is the start of needing a "wake up at 300am pee".

Obviously a while. Thing is, the vast majority of veterans do NOT discuss things like this, especially in public. I did a couple years in the military, my brother is still in, cousin did time too, and we would never think of talking like this. Perhaps, just perhaps within a select group of close war buddies you might discuss the particulars of a certain mission or engagement. But counting scalps? Never.

Not confined to Japan though. This Korean dude married his PILLOW. https://www.theyouth.in/2019/01/30/for-the-first-time-ever-man-falls-in-love-with-a-pillow-gets-married-to-it/#:~:text=He is now living a,anime character on a pillow.

This has been "a thing" in Japan for a while now. Started about 10 years ago when lonely men played video games that revolved around dating and created female characters to woo. It was called "Love Plus"... http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/12/16/japan.virtual.wedding/index.html Hotels in nearby resort areas even catered to "couples" looking for romantic weekends. Two breakfasts in the morning, room for two with a romantic seaside view, etc. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703632304575451414209658940

You mean the same medical examiner who said... The formal finding was that the death was caused by "acute brainstem and cerebellar infarcts due to acute basilar artery thrombosis" and that the manner of death was "natural." Diaz told The Washington Post that the autopsy found no evidence that Sicknick experienced an allergic reaction to chemical irritants. He also said there was no evidence of either external or internal injuries. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/capitol-police-officer-brian-sicknick-died-natural-causes-after-riot-n1264562

Hey, YOU'RE the guy who has to justify the "haters will hate" remark (sorry for the libel, Brian). Care to do so?

Thrombosis does not develop overnight. Atherosclerosis does not develop overnight. Blood clots do not form overnight. You can keep on posting your CNN quote but that does not change the reality. The doctor who actually performed the postmortem examination was quite clear- no internal or external injuries, no allergic reaction to the <deleted> that he was sprayed with, no external causes to make him hesitate to call the death natural. I understand the urge to try and pin more on the Bad Orange Man, but this is a losing effort. The people who attacked Officer Sicknick were charged with assault and jailed. Not with murder or attempted murder. Yes the standard in a civil case is lower, but the ME report is clear. "Natural".

The report said he had acute basilar artery thrombosis. Which is usually caused by hypertension, smoking, diabetes. Not by having a stressful day at work. Clots dont form in a day. It is one of the worst forms of stroke that there is and takes a while to get to the lethal level.

...and apologies belatedly extended. My mistake. As to Officer Sicknick's untimely death, I was merely restating what the examiner said. Not to mention that the officer's condition was chronic and had been building up over time- thrombosis takes a while to occur. As the ME said when explaining why the death was considered natural; The "natural" classification is used "when a disease alone causes death," the medical examiner's office said in the summary. "If death is hastened by an injury, the manner of death is not considered natural." https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brian-sicknick-capitol-riot-died-natural-causes/

You could say the same about every incident in officer SIcknick's career, not just that day. Being a cop is a rough and stressful job and the stress accumulates over time. The statement that he "died in the line of duty" is wrong and simply doesn't agree with the facts of the situation. The officer had a clot in an artery- obviously his actions on January 6 did not cause the clot to develop instantanously. There was no evidence of either internal or external injuries in his autopsy. As I said, it was sad for a young man to die at his age, but there is no connection to his actins on January 6. Still waiting for your explanation about "haters have to hate".....

The Capitol Police can say what they like, it is a political statement and not medical. It is in their best interests to have his death bound to one particular incident in his career. And what do you mean by "haters will hate"? I wrote that it was sad that he died so young. Where is the hate, other than in your personal paranoid fantasies?

You mean the guy who "died of natural causes" after the riots? Puzzling to see a connection. Sad that he died so young but this report seems fairly conclusive. https://www.npr.org/2021/04/19/988876722/capitol-police-officer-brian-sicknick-died-of-natural-causes-medical-examiner-ru

Really? This website says that only 33% is from renewable sources. Leaves 67% fossil fuel. https://www.edie.net/what-did-the-uks-electricity-generation-mix-look-like-in-2022/#:~:text=Here is the National Grid,Nuclear%3A 15.5% As for the vehicles themselves, the big problem is the battery and what is needed to produce a single battery for a single EV. Today, a typical EV battery contains twenty-five pounds of lithium, sixty pounds of nickel, 44 pounds of manganese, 30 pounds of cobalt, 200 pounds of copper, and 400 pounds of aluminum, steel, and plastic. Inside are over 6,000 individual lithium-ion cells. It should concern you that all those toxic components come from mining. For instance, to manufacture each EV auto battery, you must process 25,000 pounds of brine for the lithium, 30,000 pounds of ore for the cobalt, 5,000 pounds of ore for the nickel, and 25,000 pounds of ore for copper. All told, you dig up 500,000 pounds of the earth’s crust for just one battery. https://issuesinsights.com/2022/06/13/is-it-unethical-to-buy-a-vehicle-powered-by-a-lithium-battery/ I dont disagree that they are "here to stay". But I DO disagree that they have any appreciable effect on the problem of global warming. And also that too many people are pollyannas and do not know the environmental impacts that EVs create. At the moment they are just an expensive form of virtue signalling.

Of the myriad things that Spare has been accused of, being bright is NOT one of them.

.........so no actual answers to very valid questions, then? Just feeble attempts at humour. But in all seriousness, I am not against EVs at all. But they are not the solution (yet). To put it simply, manufactuing an EV is far more damaging to the environment than manufactuing a gas powered car. There are also potential hazards due to the chemicals used. There are also political/social considerations as many of the major components of EVs are produced in countries with abhorrent human rights records. The hope is that, over time, that deficit will be made up and eventually the EV will, on a mile per mile basis, be more environmentally friendly. Again, that depends on how much electricity will be generated by more environmentally friendly means. At present in the US, about 75% of electricity is generated using fossil fuels. Makes it tough for the EV to make up the deficit. If/when the power grid becomes eco-friendly, the case for EVs will be stronger.

Absolutely not. I have never called Trump an "obviously decent man". He isn't. But the topic is Biden and the Democrats, not the former President. You and others don't seem capable of defending Biden's 'character' without reference to Trump. Classic whataboutery.

"If you take the vaccine you won't get sick" "I was appointed to Annapolis in 1965" "I was arrested at Mandels's funeral" "I graduated at the top of my law school class" "Neil Kinnock plagiarized ME" "My son died in Iraq" just off the top of my head.

Exactly! You are making my point for me, thanks.

She is wrong. It is ridiculous for the party to air its dirty laundry in public like this. The Democrats are at least more disciplined. I wasnt a fan of Speaker Pelosi by any means, but she would have had heads rolling on the floor before allowing this to happen.

Nope, on this point you are 100% correct. It is a sh!tshow and an embarrassment.