Those numbers are terrible. In reality they are probably much worse when you consider the ridiculously high positive rates in places like the Dakotas.
Sad to say that I think it will be too late by the time Biden takes over. The US is going to be crippled for years by that stage. If you wanted to go out of your way to ruin a country then you'd be acting as Trump and his enablers are.
China is watching on as is likely licking it lips. I would not by shocked if they made a move on Taiwan while the US is falling apart due to the virus.
So is EU. They have been unshackled thanks to Brexit, and are quickly and reasonably efficiently positioning themselves to capture a lot of the power that the US relinquishes. The US and India were both falling behind even before the virus, and now that we are numbers 1 and 2 in number of virus cases, the path for EU and China to be the top two powers is quite clear and ready to be traversed.
I just hope that both grow at similar rates to counterbalance each other. The US got quite cocky when we were the sole superpower. Having two superpowers that aren't complete enemies might work better than either the cold war (US vs USSR) or the lone wolf (US alone).
I meant an invasion of Taiwan.
The CCP have made a pretty big deal of how the unification of Taiwan with the mainland has to happen by the 100th anniversary of the founding of the PRC, by any means necessary. And given how they have stoked the ethno-nationalist rhetoric of late, they can't not carry through.
They had tried to persuade Taiwan that the one country two systems approach would work but after seeing what has gone down in HK and how the CCP reneged on it there, the Taiwanese aren't buying it. Which leaves forceful unification.
To date the Chinese haven't tried it, partially because they didn't have the equipment for it, and partially because they weren't sure exactly what the US would do, given how the US has left it ambiguous. They have build up their forces massively to the stage they could attempt it now. The only obstacle lay with what the US would do, and if the US is falling apart due to the coronavirus, it leaves the CCP with a window to try it, if they are going to do it all.
Which still doesn't answer the question.
Bots (or humans) can be programmed to amplify a message based on the wishes of the ones controlling them; and thus the question remain - and we have seen such things before. It's like people chanting "Stop the Steal" when law-suits are intending to steal the election.
Bots (or humans) can also repeat a message just to get people to engage in their other messages.
- - - Updated - - -
Well, people chanted "Jews shall not replace us" - while Jared Kushner was the overall fixer.
And in Europe I've heard some anti-immigration politicians talking about moving to countries with stringent immigration policies.
Such a move would likely send alarm bells-a-ringing throughout the Asian-pacific nations. I highly doubt that South Korea and Japan would be fond of such a move, let alone the reaction of the world at large, US aside.
And I mean, if such a thing were to happen and the US had to sit it out because of COVID (something I actually kind of doubt would play that majorly into whatever hypothetical geopolitical issue this would cause, especially with a promise of a vaccine and actual competent leadership in the not-too-distant future)... if every other country also sat it out because big brother USA wasn't there to raise a fuss... that's not just on the US, at that point. Every other country would be equally complicit in just letting China do what they want.
If the EU wants to act like it's not currently scrapping with Russia for third place in the effective global power scale totem pole, they might have to be prepared to put up or shut up on geopolitical issues all on their own. Yes, that might include deciding to stand up to China.
Though this conversation appears to be drifting away from Trump.
Last edited by Kaleredar; 2020-11-19 at 07:21 AM.
“Do not lose time on daily trivialities. Do not dwell on petty detail. For all of these things melt away and drift apart within the obscure traffic of time. Live well and live broadly. You are alive and living now. Now is the envy of all of the dead.” ~ Emily3, World of Tomorrow
Words to live by.
A tale in three tweets. Guess who wrote each?
Translation: The recent statement by Chris Krebs was highly accurate, in that there were no improprieties or fraud, confirmed by all credible 2020 Election officials sworn under oath to be truthful. Therefore, he has been terminated for refusing to lie for me, your #LiarInChiefThe recent statement by Chris Krebs on the security of the 2020 Election was highly inaccurate, in that there were massive improprieties and fraud - including dead people voting, Poll Watchers not allowed into polling locations, “glitches” in the voting machines which changed votes from Trump to Biden, late voting, and many more. Therefore, effective immediately, Chris Krebs has been terminated as Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
In defending democracy, do or do not, there is no try. This is the way
The thing about this capacity is that it's not enough to simply have the space and hardware.
Patients in intensive care need just that, intensive care. It's usually not enough to 'plug them in' and check on them once a day. You need personal to monitor them, and that personal needs training, and that isn't something you can get in a 'boot camp'. Hospital staff working the ICU have recieved years of training and education. Properly administering ventilators is actually very tricky.
Last edited by Thepersona; 2020-11-19 at 12:51 PM.
Forgive my english, as i'm not a native speaker
Where did Trumperism come from? It's been on the TV 24/7 for decades.
Today marks the tenth anniversary of the time Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade, on live television, attempted to roast marshmallows over an open fire with their bare hands and a plastic spoons.
Government Affiliated Snark
The still image for that video is strange. Look at the bottom ticker... It has a Fox logo, acting as a divider... than just has “TEA PARTY” followed by a “B” and sports scores? Is that subliminal messaging?
Edit: Mistook the name for the Florida Republican...
Folly and fakery have always been with us... but it has never before been as dangerous as it is now, never in history have we been able to afford it less. - Isaac Asimov
Every damn thing you do in this life, you pay for. - Edith Piaf
The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. - Orwell
No amount of belief makes something a fact. - James Randi
So what odds are we going to get that these Republican states that are under-reporting their Covid deaths are suddenly going to correct their numbers and massively bump up the death tolls on 21 January? Just so they can start attacking Biden for how many Americans he's allowed to die?
When challenging a Kzin, a simple scream of rage is sufficient. You scream and you leap.
Originally Posted by George CarlinOriginally Posted by Douglas Adams