Credo

To make it simple for you, when there is a declared Public Health Emergency, the government has the right and obligation to take action to mitigate the disease. That's not guidance, that's regulations that have the same force and effect as law. It's not a multiple choice situation where you get to pick and choose.

Tell that to the thousands of people who received blood transfusions. Both are infectious diseases. Both were treated as a public health crisis, yet one carried a significant loss of freedom and serious penalties. But, as usual, you miss the point. Governments the world over have laws to protect the population at large from infectious diseases. Check and see what happens if you walk around with an active case of tuberculosis. Then check and see what happens if you refuse treatment for syphilis.

It appears that the truth really triggers you. So here's a little info on how things work. In almost every country, the government has certain powers to protect the people during a public health emergency, such as a pandemic. The extent of those laws vary greatly, but they do exist. If YOU wish to be a functioning member of society, then you abide by those rules or else either you go live in a 'trailer in the middle of nowhere' or you face other consequences. Very, very few, if any countries, force people to get vaccinated. You are welcome to find other employment if you have an employer who mandates it. Apparently, you are not worth catching a disease over. It's interesting that the same people that demand 'their rights' with regard to COVID, had no problem in participating in supporting laws that prevented people who tested HIV + from employment, from housing, from traveling and they could be jailed if they failed to disclose their condition to people with whom they had close contact. It took special laws to give them basic human rights. But, no outrage, from the right. Once the situation moves from pandemic to endemic and the spread of the virus is under control, many of the precautions either requested or mandated will disappear, and at that point, people who are at higher risk from the virus will have to take precautions. I assume you do know that those people have been advised to take precautions and I can assure you they aren't the ones walking around with no mask on.

Well here we have a racist apologist who starts out by using an offensive term for biracial people. It's a well known racist tactic to question the authenticity of someone's race. In this case, it's not even someone who relevant to the thread. Apparently, racial purity is the marker in determining worthiness. At a minimum, it is a tactic used to discredit people.

From what I read a while back, the soldiers in the convoy were selling fuel from the trucks and using it to buy vodka. The Ukrainians could probably get them to surrender for the promise of free vodka. If the Russians do surrender, those prisoners should be held in strategic buildings and civilian shelters. Make sure the names of prisoners are circulated on social media so if they die, their families will know they were killed by a bomb from Mother Russia.

So, it's wrong to nominate a female? A black? Wow, and you wonder why some conservatives get a bad name. The idea of a black woman being nominated is simply an idea whose time has come. And listening to this particular lady, it's pretty clear she is a reasonable, level-headed person. I didn't see her start crying or screaming she liked beer, so that's a good start. Now if we compare her record to Barrett, this one has been an active prosecutor and defense attorney. She's also been a judge. Barrett, on the other hand, has never tried a case. According to the Bar Association: As of Jan. 1, 2020, there were 1,328,692 active lawyers in the U.S., up roughly 10% in the past decade. However, primary drivers of growth continue to be white men and, to a lesser extent, white women. These groups remain overrepresented in the legal profession compared to their presence in the overall U.S. population, according to the ABA National Lawyer Population Survey. Currently, 86% of lawyers are non-Hispanic white people. In comparison, roughly 60% of U.S. residents are non-Hispanic white people. https://www.2civility.org/aba-profile-of-the-legal-profession-diversity-and-well-being/

Conservatives were not the victims. Conservatives are the bullies, the aggressors. You are 'branded' because those brands are true.

As I am sure you know, oil is an internationally priced product, so it's the international market that ultimately controls the price of oil. When it comes to refined products, then the price starts falling on the individual companies to determine price. I suspect some oil companies are making a lot of money, since the price has somewhat stabilized and is lower that it's highs, but gas/diesel prices are stubbornly high. Not all refineries can refine all types of oil, or more specifically, they can't easily switch around, as a result, some refineries are stuck with a particular grade of oil. There is also varying amounts of sulphur in different grades of oil. The US also imports and re-exports oil. Crude is sometimes brought in from countries, refined and re-exported.

You got that about as wrong as you get things. Fauci does and always wielded a great deal of power and influence. He is a brilliant and experienced person. He was hated and vilified all the way back to the AIDS epidemic. He did not falter then and he isn't faltering now. Unlike many, he keeps his eye on the ball.

As posted above, Trump had signaled that he would withdraw from NATO. Without the US power in NATO, Europe would most likely not be able to formulate a strong, consistent, decisive plan either economically or militarily in support of Ukraine. Trump also signaled he would withdraw from the South Korean alliance which probably settled Kim down. It was clear when the money and military assistance was withheld from Ukraine that Trump was firmly NOT on the side of Ukraine. So, two of the worst dictators around were given a pass and all they had to do was wait and they would pretty much have free rein to do whatever they wanted. The despots would have no reason to doubt that he would withdraw from both NATO and the S.K agreement, he had already pulled out of the Paris Accord, The Transpacific Trade Agreement, the Iran Nuclear Deal, the UN Human Rights Council, etc., etc. Whether you agree with withdrawing from any or all is secondary to how such decisive action signaled to both Putin and Kim that he would carry through with withdrawing and that would pave the road for whatever action they decided to take. And don't forget, he wanted Russia included in the G-7.

It sounds like a particularly crappy place to work if people would rather be sick.

And those tests are not reported to a gov't agency, so they don't show up as a case. I know a school that tests teachers. If they are positive, they are sent home to isolate.

Wrong. The majority of people get sick and that is why they get tested.

I don't know if there is an easy way out of this for either the West or for Russia. Putin is in a corner. He attacked a country and the citizens are mobilized. They are fighting for their homes, families and their livelihood. Putin is going to have one-heck-of-a-time controlling the country. If this continues to escalate, nuclear weapons are a definite possibility. First, there will be biological or chemical weapons.

And just who were the victims of his crime? It doesn't seem that anyone was hurt except a lot of people's feelings. Did he physically harm anyone? No. Did he damage any property? No. The Court ruled and the judge has sentenced him. The case is closed, IMO. Stop trying to mileage out of it. It's a done deal.

Rest assured, the demographic of Aseannow is NOT the group that is going to be asymptomatic. Stats don't lie.

I find it interesting how so many of the Covid denying, anti-vaxxer, cabal always seem to get it and manage to find it to be nothing. I also often wonder why people who barely believe it's a disease, would get tested? I tend to question the validity of their reports. I know a rather large number of people, fully vaccinated who got sick. None of them described it as being so mild. And, interestingly, none of them had an easy recovery. They had lingering effects for weeks at a minimum.

Another Russian, or more correctly, Putin apologist. What makes you think Ukraine 'must be' a link between the East and the West? What Ukraine wants is up to Ukraine, not Russia, not Europe and not the US. NATO is not 'expanding' into Ukraine. It is up to Ukraine to decide to join NATO and even then, there are conditions that Ukraine must meet. No countries membership is assured. I have no idea where you got your 81% of all wars being started by the US since 1950. I notice you don't have a link but that is fine, since discussing US history is completely off-topic. But just to be clear, there have been 5 times that the US has declared war, the last was in 1942. As far as your condemnation of Biden and wishing Trump were in power, I don't know that this situation would have been prevented. Trump had indicated that he would remove the US from NATO as well as the South Korea alliance. There is little doubt that both Putin and Little Kim knew this. All they had to do was wait for Trump's re-election. But he didn't get re-elected and that left Putin with little alternative but to try to take Ukraine. If the US was not a part of NATO, would they have the muscle to stand up to Russia over Ukraine (or much of anything)? If they tried, would we be in an all out war? Ukraine was virtually no threat to Russia, yet they have been invaded. At least 1 1/2 million Ukrainians have become refugees, untold numbers killed and nuclear power plants at risk because Putin has simply decided to expand his realm. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-nato-south-korea-book-b1883457.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/02/28/trumps-effort-rewrite-history-his-support-nato-ukraine/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/04/bolton-says-trump-might-have-pulled-us-out-nato-if-he-had-been-reelected/

More nonsense. These have virtually nothing to do with the situation in Ukraine. Try this: https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-trilateral-process-the-united-states-ukraine-russia-and-nuclear-weapons/

You really need to try harder. Any treaty, just like any contract, is negotiated. What was 'discussed' has nothing to do with what is agreed to. Russia never withdrew from the treaty. They simply broke it.

I don't lend money to people. I give them a lot, but I NEVER expect to see it again. People who are in dire straits generally don't have the ability or wherewithal to pay off debt. Depending on my own situation, if they are good people, I will give them some money. Surprisingly, I had a friend and his girlfriend who had a very premature baby and ran into considerable medical expenses to keep the child alive -- He was born a day before what is generally considered to be the age of viability. I lent them a rather large sum. I moved and they moved, with their baby who did make it. I then lost contact and about 5 years later, out of the blue and through mutual acquaintances, I get a call from them wanting to know the exact amount I gave them (it was over a period of a couple of months, so not a lump sum amount). I told them and the next day it was deposited in my account. They both had a good education and careers possibilities for them were good.

Well, I wonder if western gov'ts can confiscate some of those mansions, luxury apartments and yachts and put the stranded tourists in them for the time being. Personally, I'd take the yacht!

Thailand has always treaded carefully on conflicts that they are not directly involved in. It's been their modus operandi since the days all their neighbors were colonized and they were at risk. It's worked for them. I suspect a lot of smaller countries are nervous as to how this plays out. Regardless of what they may think, if this situation gets bigger, they don't want to be on the wrong side.

I've heard a few rumblings that Putin may be suffering from either physical or mental problems. He certainly seems to be acting in an irrational manner.

I highly doubt the west has special forces in Ukraine. Special Forces are usually engaged in a very specific mission, things like extracting a person, eliminating someone, destroying a specific target, etc.. They usually aren't just roaming around helping fight a war. At any rate, I'll await the many, many Special Forces retirees gracing the bar stools to give us more insight. I suspect there are plenty of spies, informants and others passing on information.