Proboscis

Being fired by Donald Trump, especially for refusing to put American troops onto the streets (when it was completely unnecessary) is likely to improve the prospects of this person and make him famous. I put this in the same category as the billboards in New York over which Ivanka and her husband wanted to sue, even though they told the truth about them. Suddenly, having been read by only a few hundred thousand New Yorkers, the headlines were now read all across America.

I will make a prediction for all you Remainers and Brexiteers and anyone else with a view on the matter. There will be a deal. The reason is simple - Biden.

First of all, Biden has strong Irish heritage and is an avid supporter of the Good Friday Agreement. Any scenario that impugns on that international agreement will never have his support. Second, he would prefer not to have to do parallel agreements with smaller entities - much better to do a deal with the entire EU. If the UK does a trade deal with the EU, they can be included in the overall deal that the USA will do with the EU.

So Boris knows that with Biden he either does a deal with the EU and ultimately gets a deal with the USA or he does not do a deal with the EU and gets no deal with the USA either. Now that would be a recipe for economic disaster for the UK that not even Boris can overlook. Of course there are other countries but they are far away. After Covid has drained the country's resources, the car industry is gone, food prices have gone through the roof and unemployment is hitting 20%, it is hard to generate the high tech export orientated industry to compete with the Asian tiger economies.

The article is rather reticent in its coverage of Trumps wrongdoing. All it covers is the taxes and the over/under-valuation of assets which could be fraudulent along with one sexual assault. I think to date there have been 28 assaults of a sexual nature, from forcible kissing to groping to sex. Perhaps after January the police in the jurisdictions where the assaults took place will take up the cases. There is also the matter of campaign violations, including the payoff to two porn-stars. And that is before you get to the Mueller Report - no it did not exonerate him but it did not put him in front of a grand jury either because you cannot indict a sitting President. Perhaps that should be tried now.

5 hours ago, Salerno said:

 

Strange position to take; "if there is evidence of criminal wrongdoing" and they decide against it would most likely be seen as further proof that the law  doesn't apply to the "rich" and powerful IMO.

Absolutely! And there is an additional reason. If we give Trump a "mulligan" on this one, we are making the Presidency even more attractive to rich criminals! Why not extend the same courtesy to Governors of states? That is how it starts. Either everyone is treated the same or it is not a republic with rule by law.

4 hours ago, Rookiescot said:

Easiest trade deal in history ????

Yeah. Remember being told BEFORE the BREXIT vote that the UK could "take back control" while still remaining within the Single Market or the Custom's Union.

So the deep economic crisis in Syria has absolutely nothing to do with the declaration of war by the government of Syria, led by Assad along with his Russian and Iranian allies that have resulted in uncountable deaths and casualties, millions having to flee the country, utter destruction of vast territories and urban areas?

The easiest route to economic collapse has always been war. The quickest and easiest route to severe economic collapse is civil war. The citizens of many highly successful countries have large balances in foreign bank accounts.

5 hours ago, Brunolem said:

And obviously the good doctor will be the first one to receive a shot, on live TV!

 

Preach by example...

I cannot speak for the USA because the public health system is so chaotic and lacking in transparency there. But in other countries, such as the UK, there are plans regarding distribution of vaccine. Unlike the USA where it is said in excess of 40% are said to be so anti-vaccine that they will not avail of a vaccine, other developed countries with educated people are ready to queue up for a properly tested and vetted vaccine.

As regards your comment, the FIRST PEOPLE IN THE UK TO RECEIVE THE VACCINE WILL BE THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE (NHS) EMPLOYEES. Of course, if you come from the USA you may not have the concept of a NHS but the vast majority of citizens use it and it is paid for by the tax payers. When people get Covid-19, they are treated by the NHS. So, it makes sense to have the doctors and nurses of the NHS to get the vaccine first so that they are protected and will not transmit the virus to patients.

In an organized national public health system, it will take months for the vaccine to be distributed. This will be the largest public health initiative for every country. At best, in the UK it will probably take at least 6 months for the vaccine to be distributed to everyone.

For the USA, the problem will be that the lack of a public health system will make vaccination difficult. If 50% of the population remain unvaccinated, there will be no "herd immunity." THat means that the USA will continue to have covid-19 circulating and evolving, filling up emergency rooms and creating havoc with the economy.

As regards effectiveness of the vaccine, can I point you to the influenza vaccine that is taken by millions every year. The flu jab never guarantees anyone that they won't get the flu but it does reduce the probability of getting the flu by a huge amount and if a vaccinated person gets infected with the flu, the chances are that they will only suffer mild symptoms. If we can get to a similar situation with Covid-19, even if it means getting a jab every season, especially for those who have preconditions or who are over 50 along with the flu jab, the economy can return to normal and we can get on with our lives.

Remember, it is not about the government shutting down - citizens will stop using restaurants, hotels, planes, transport etc as they learn more about the virus and it affects someone in their orbit, such as a friend, co-worker or relative. And I am not just referring to mortality - plenty more patients get long term morbidities, what has been called "long covid." This is where people cannot work because of symptoms or conditions that last long after the infection is gone.

4 hours ago, donnacha said:

His "defamation" was that he denied raping her or, indeed, ever meeting her.

Bear in mind that the lady who claimed, during the run-up to the 2016 election, that he had molested her on a plane had, according to flight logs, never actually been on any plane at the same time as Trump.

This time, an unsuccessful writer alleges an assault a quarter-century ago. She never mentioned it until last year, by which time he was President, and she had a book to sell.

If it is true that the story is fabricated, it seems pretty clear that he would not have been targeted if he was not president. Remember, he has been in the public eye for 40 years. The real hate for him, and allegations of racism, only arose once it became clear that he was serious about running for president. So, it is not wildly wrong to say that this is a work-related situation.

Trump also noted that "she's not my type". As brutal as statement may be, we do actually know what his type is: Barbie-type models and blonde, big-boobed prostitutes. Essentially, the sexual tastes of a 14-year-old boy.

He also appears to be far from in control of these situations. Most men who sleep with a hooker pay, stumpf, and leave. That is the whole point. Trump, on the other hand, ended up paying Stormy Daniels not only for the sex but, also, a further $130,000 to shut up about it. He appears to have received poor value for money as she has now based a book and an international stand-up tour on that five-minute rut.

 

If it were just one case, I would kinda agree with you. But there are 18 women out there who claim that Donald Trump sexually assaulted them in some way or other. Some are as recent as the 2016 campaign. I cannot think of any politician (or anyone from any other profession) who has this level of accusations and is not looking at time in prison.

15 hours ago, Loiner said:

More Remainer truckers moaning. We don't care because we voted to Leave, not keep the cosy status quo with the fright industry. They had better get all their ducks in a row, rather than constantly moaning about it.

 

If the Remainers Project Fear was to believed, all trade would immediately cease anyway and there will be no movement of any goods in either direction. So which does Chicken Licken really think it will be? 

I wonder what the people who voted Leave after they were told by numerous Brexit talking heads that the UK could leave the EU but be like Norway (stay in a form of the single market) and therefore there would be no effect on jobs or trade. How do you think they feel now, if they work for the car industry or other supply-chain sensitive trade?

Good luck with your project. Probably the only upside you will have is that you will blame all the damage that a no deal Brexit will do on covid-19. The point about trade disruption is that it does not have a view - it just destroys. A bit like the virus. Some time in the future a government will have to clean up this mess once people learn the very hard way that disrupting trade (including imports!) with our largest trading partner is a disaster.

I was once paired with another guy in an amateur tennis doubles competition. He was hopeless and I had not been playing for very long. At one stage we were so far behind and the other side were getting braver by the moment when he came out with the following line - "Hey, we got them on the run." I was thinking about how to commit murder with a tennis racket.

This is what it is like with Trump and the virus - just as it is taking off exponentially, the country is crushing it, apparently.

Don't get me wrong. Biden will make a mediocre president. But remember when we had one of those. Bush senior, perhaps ? Oh what would we do to have one of those again!

58 minutes ago, Paul Henry said:

With the large numbers of Catholics and Christians in the world it is great to see the Vatican moving into the 21st century. With modern science showing the universe is maybe a billion years old this is putting a lot of pressure on all religions. To Skeptic 7 for the record there are well over 1.6 Billion who care, probably a larger number than there are atheists.

Well, not quite. They have moved from the late middle ages into the twentieth century by allowing civil union but not marriage. Civil union does not necessarily allow all the rights of marriage. It is a bit like the catholic church allowing for the control of fertility (through the rhythm method) but the banning of the use of contraceptives, including condoms.

But I suppose we should look on the bright side. The pope is far more liberal than the latest candidate for the USA supreme court.

4 hours ago, scammed said:

both are senile, take it as such and listen to neither

So a guy who has co-authored a paper for the New England Journal of Medicine is senile? Really? Look it up - the paper came out in March of this year.

And while I think that Trump is the worst president ever visited on the USA, he is far from senile. His narcissistic sensibilities and his ability to work the crowd and his instinct for the camera are still perfectly tuned.

Just to check, what criteria do you use to diagnose someone as suffering from senility? I would be willing to bet that you do not have any publications in peer-reviewed medical journals. You are just agist.