With my post on the wind industry we have been talking about alternative energy sources, so when someone
happened to mention water in the comments section that brought to
mind how we have harnessed the power of water through the use of
dams. Of course, that led me to China and the Yangtze River, which
is now home to the largest dam on the planet. While I had heard about its size and the dislocation of people as the result of flooding I hadn't really looked at the project too closely. It gave me an excuse to do a little research on the
building of dams.
This first video is about 46 minutes
long, but it is a comprehensive look at the problems that various
building projects have overcome as the size of the dams has
increased.
It is not just the challenges in building that are an issue . There is also the human and
environmental impacts to be considered. The intent behind the Three Gorges dam was to help control flooding in the region, as well as encourage economic development. But some do not believe that the impact of The Three Gorges dam will be all good.
In the end, when all is said and done,
it is the effect this dam has had, and will have, on those who live
within its sphere that will determine how it is judged by history.
149 comments:
"This first video is about 46 minutes long."
And the other two are 20 minutes apiece. Think that's enough video for a Friday night?
In a brief aside from hydro-electrics…. The eleven remaining nations of the TPP have announced an agreement on the core treaty excluding some elements specifically applicable to the United States (e.g. agriculture, biologicals, medical devices, and other high-tech stuff we'd want to see protected).
And the other two are 20 minutes apiece. Think that's enough video for a Friday night?
lol!
Well, you don't have to watch them all in one night, or even ever. I tried to choose videos that covered different details of dams and the Three Gorges dam in particular. The first one covers how dams are built and how they function, which you all may be familiar with and not want to watch. The other two are more specific to the situation in China. And, of course, there is some overlap of subject matter.
A true American
At Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, the pews are packed with people who mostly do not share a history with the man they've come to hear. They rise when he enters the sanctuary at five minutes past 7 in the evening, and before he utters a single word, they give him a standing ovation.
Last year, two defiant minutes on the stage of the Democratic National Convention turned Khizr Khan into an unwitting celebrity, but he has held onto his humility.
He stands now before this North Carolina audience, slightly hunched in a dark navy suit and striped tie. He bows his head, brings his hands together in a perfect Namaste. The church lights illuminate a small pin on his lapel that says everything: Gold Star father.
Yes, I did buy his book last week.
Strange, right now as I read this article CNN is covering Roy Moore speaking in Alabama. I think the article was more worth my time.
"Yes, I did buy his book last week."
Oddly enough, I am usually saddened when I see him. I guess somewhere inside I think this country let him down.
I managed to sit through your videos, mostly anyway. (Nasty gray weather here today.) The third one was rather dated. I managed to stay in the room with it, although I didn't stay sat.
It's hard to judge the complaints about adverse environmental impacts from this distance. But the coal not burned is good for the rest of us.
It appears that the headlines from Shorthands' overseas trip are mostly gonna be related to his public acceptance of Putin's denials regarding Russian meddling in our last presidential election. I can't see much chance that he's gonna pull out a concession from any of his meetings that'll top that one for relevance here at home.
I am usually saddened when I see him.
I feel sad that he lost his son.
I guess somewhere inside I think this country let him down.
Strangely I don't feel that. I feel more like it has given him a chance to speak. It has given him a chance to show us what America meant to him, reminding us what it has meant to so many immigrants, such as my Great-Grandparents. In standing up for our Constitution he is more American than many who are born here. I feel more uplifted when I see him, because as long as we have people like that here America will endure.
(Nasty gray weather here today.)
Nasty white weather here this morning.
The third one was rather dated.
I threw that one in as kind of a before picture.
You know, when everyone kept saying that Mueller would follow wherever his investigation led I never envisioned some kind of kidnapping plot. That really came out of left field.
"Strangely I don't feel that."
I don't think that's strange. I find my reaction to be the curious one. It's not exactly logical. But, I can't escape it merely by getting a grasp on how illogical the feeling is. Usually that works for me, but there's something about Mr. Khan's sincerity and his loss, or his sincerity in the face of his loss, or whatever; I haven't quite figured it out. I think my reaction odd, but I keep on feeling it when I see him.
"… as long as we have people like that here America will endure."
Just so.
He is also a living rebuke to Trump.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
"I never envisioned some kind of kidnapping plot."
I wasn't expecting that one either. Makes me wonder what else is Mueller pulling up that's still quiet. I'm beginning to wonder if we're prepared for Mueller's final report whenever that comes out.
"It appears that the headlines from Shorthands' overseas
trip are mostly gonna be related to…"
Russia, related to Russia. And, it's not getting any better. Trump just tried to walk back that one about trusting Putin's version of the story, and he probably just made things worse. Now he's saying he trusts American intelligence ‘as currently constituted’, meaning, he trusts he's got his own people on the job. This is not going to go over well among the rank and file. (Likely will get some poor reviews among some elements of the Congress as well, although the Republican majorities will find it acceptable.)
It appears that the consensus of the analysts on Fareed Zakaria's show this morning is that Trump has ceded American leadership to China after this last trip to Asia. Everyone seems to be making deals with everyone else, except the United States.
Apparently Xi's speech about China being the next superpower is being read in some quarters as China being the only superpower, as we see America's decline on the world stage, thanks to Trump.
"It appears that the consensus of the analysts on Fareed Zakaria's
show this morning is that Trump has ceded American leadership to
China…
Also the consensus among analysts not on Fareed Zakaria's show this morning.
"Everyone seems to be making deals with everyone else, except
the United States."
A lot of those leaders have domestic politics that won't allow them to be seen to be making trade concessions to America. They could only make those deals as part of the Asian rim group. Being part of the group gave them cover against domestic political enemies who'd always paint any concession as an abject surrender to the Americans. They will not be making those bi-lateral agreements Trump insists he's going to negotiate. They just won't. Doesn't matter what he offers; they won't do it.
I do believe the surrender of the stage to China can be partially reversed, probably will be partially reversed, as soon as Trump's out of the picture.
But, they will have gained economic ground and exercised influence in the meantime, and not all of that can be taken back. Part of it will probably be irreversible. C’est la vie.
China has been gaining ground for some time, not just because of Trump. I think that was always in the cards. It may well be that a more thoughtful, and one might say intelligent, handling of foreign affairs may deal with China's emerging clout better, however. And, of course, we can't predict any internal stumbling blocks that may lay in China's way.
Two sizable earthquakes today, the first in Iraq, which has killed a number of people in Iran and Iraq, the second in Costa Rica. The one in Iraq may have been shallower, causing more damage. That one was felt in a number of countries.
There were two people stabbed at the Mall of America this evening. But it appears that it was a robbery attempt, and not terror related.
Oh not terror related. What a relief. I’m sure those people stabbed were glad it was only a robbery and not terrrrrror. Makes all the difference in the world. Keep on shopping guise! Nothing to see here.
Aww, well, A, just trying to forestall those who jump to the conclusion that any violent crime is terror related. I'm sure you are right that the victims really didn't care one way or the other the motive.
Btw, A? Have you ever met Z? I think you two would get along quite well.
Lynnette: "Apparently Xi's speech about China being the next superpower is being read in some quarters as China being the only superpower, as we see America's decline on the world stage, thanks to Trump."
You're being a little bit alarmist or maybe even sino-phopic there aren't ya? In any case you're wrong.
Americas "decline" on the world stage might also be seen as a return to a multi-polar world, and that might very well not be a bad thing. And now I'm talking about peaceful agreements and peaceful dealings. You do not need to have your hand in every one of those.
Also, China will not become an "only Super Power" anytime soon, if ever. The USA still has a VASTLY more capable military, and the USA is basically self-sufficient in almost all areas of necessities.
The USA even has access to the one commodity it's not self-sufficiet in - oil - to a much greater degree than does China.
AND the US rules the seas and will do for quite the foreseeable future. Possibly forever.
Fact is: The US could do a war with China. It would wreck the economy but little else would be fet in the US. The US could still buy oil from Venezuela, Mexico, Canada, Nigeria and there's nothing the chineese could do about that. Plus the USA can feed itself easily.
China however have some domestic oil sources but not nearly enough to run on. And ALL of their external sources could be cut off by the USA either by diplomatical pressure or by a sea embargo.
And while the Chinese have made gains in the tech-business it's actually to a great degree because they were GIVEN (or HANDED) the task of assembling what was actually invented in the west, most of it in the USA.
Also: you overestimate the importance of Trump. The USA is way more resilient when it comes to security matters than any one president. Plus Trump might be a blowhard, but on matters of real importance he'll be made to play ball.
Lynnette: "Btw, A? Have you ever met Z? I think you two would get along quite well."
Who's A?
Americas "decline" on the world stage might also be seen as a return to a multi-polar world, and that might very well not be a bad thing. And now I'm talking about peaceful agreements and peaceful dealings. You do not need to have your hand in every one of those.
There will always be reversion to the mean. I think you are right that there should be an emphasis on peaceful, but there should also be an emphasis on freedom of choice.
I must say, though, that I am rather heartened by your defense of the US standing on the world stage.
Although I am really not interested in a war with anyone at the moment.
Also: you overestimate the importance of Trump.
Well, he seems to. I do feel some concern that the poor policies that he and his minions are enacting within our governmental agencies are going to take a while to fix. But I am somewhat reassured that our states and cities are taking up the baton with regard to climate change, for example.
Who's A?
Anonymous. Did you think I meant someone else?
Something for Trump to come home to here…. It seems that Trump Jr. was keeping up correspondence with Wikileaks during that last presidential campaign. TheAtlantic Timing hints at Trump Jr. keeping Trump Sr. up to date on the correspondence too. TheAtlantic
In what seems to be a pattern these days, Trump Jr. has now admitted to the e-mails that The Atlantic already has published.
I ‛spect we'll be hearing more on this over the course of the next few days.
At no point during the 10-month correspondence does Trump Jr. rebuff WikiLeaks, which had published stolen documents and was already observed to be releasing information that benefited Russian interests.
I think this says it all.
"I think this says it all."
I'd guess that's not near all of it. I'm thinking there's probably more that's not seen the light of day yet.
Lynnette:
"I must say, though, that I am rather heartened by your defense of the US standing on the world stage."
I voice critizism at the USA because it IS the top dog and you should always hit that dog when you don't agree with it. But make no mistake: IF we have to have a unipolar world (which I disagree with) I would still like it to be ruled by the USA rather than Russia or god forbide China.
But a multipolar world is my vision of ideal, so I am not too saddened that ya'll are brought down a peg or two. Ya'll are still on top though.
Lynnette: "Anonymous. Did you think I meant someone else?"
I didn't know who you meant, hence my asking.
Lynnette: "I do feel some concern that the poor policies that he and his minions are enacting within our governmental agencies are going to take a while to fix."
I don't think he's caused you any harm on the international arena just yet. The North Korea blowhary I hope is just his traditional tough talk, and I think it is. The anti-Iran stance might be warranted, I just hope he doesn't take that to any worse than word-slinging.
But I also believe the USA has a "deep state", certainly when it comes to the military, that can act as a check on any whim Trump (or any president) feels like acting on. So I'm not too worried.
Lynnette: "But I am somewhat reassured that our states and cities are taking up the baton with regard to climate change, for example."
It's a global problem but there will need to be local solutions. Regardless if or to what degree one buys into "Climate Change" we could all agree that taking care of our collective environment is important. So, yes, local initiatives on that front are very welcome.
Myself I'm not sold on "Climate Change" just yet but since I believe "Resource Depletion" is the main threat, and the antidote for that is more or less the same as against "Climate Change", I'm prepared to join forces.
Lynnette: "I think you are right that there should be an emphasis on peaceful, but there should also be an emphasis on freedom of choice."
Do you think that swings both ways though? Just curious. Because if a nation decide one way and the USA thinks they made the wrong choice there seems to be a very high risk for one of 'em "colour revolutions" takin' place in the near future.
Marcus: IF we have to have a unipolar world (which I disagree with) I would still like it to be ruled by the USA rather than Russia or god forbide China.
Thank you for that. You understand then my horror if we were to go the way of either of those two countries.
Marcus: I don't think he's caused you any harm on the international arena just yet.
I hope not. But it is really domestically that I am worried about at the moment. He and his Republican controlled Congress are trying to push through legislation and changes that could cause serious problems in the not too distant future. Blowing up the deficit with their tax "reform" isn't exactly healthy economically. Alienating many average Americans out there with the less then robust put down of the KKK types does not help race relations. It appears that their plan for the environment is to do away with many regulations that safe guard our air and water in an effort to appeal to big business and the wealthy. Our health care needs fixing but they only want to talk about things that appeal to only a portion of the population. And Donald Trump is trying to browbeat those who do not fall into line with those plans in a desperate effort to validate his existence.
Marcus: But I also believe the USA has a "deep state", certainly when it comes to the military, that can act as a check on any whim Trump (or any president) feels like acting on. So I'm not too worried.
The "deep state" that you refer to is the many checks and balances that were put in place at our founding to try to lower the risk of a dictatorship or total incompetence by one person. I am pleased to note that so far our judiciary is holding its own. We will see what happens with the border and the efforts to acquire property for Trump's Folly. I wish I could say the same for our legislative branch. At least there are a few good people willing to speak out for the little guy yet.
Marcus: The anti-Iran stance might be warranted, I just hope he doesn't take that to any worse than word-slinging.
Perhaps there is a misunderstanding within my country on people's views on Iran. I suspect that most people within the previous administration had similar views to Trump on the danger posed by Iran. The difference came in how to deal with that country.
Lynnette: I think you are right that there should be an emphasis on peaceful, but there should also be an emphasis on freedom of choice.
Marcus: Do you think that swings both ways though? Just curious. Because if a nation decide one way and the USA thinks they made the wrong choice there seems to be a very high risk for one of 'em "colour revolutions" takin' place in the near future.
First, I was thinking about economic ties with my statement on freedom of choice. I don't feel anyone should feel coerced into establishing ties that may be detrimental to them. This goes for either with us or anyone else.
Second, with regard to your question, I think every country should have the right of choice, unless, and I emphasize unless they are a danger to others. For instance, if Iran were harboring terrorist training camps, then sanctions might be an option to deal with that.
As for inciting revolution as a tool for change, that would depend upon the intentions of the revolutionaries. Overthrowing a dictatorship only to become a dictatorship themselves isn't going to improve anything. Then it is questionable if it is even a revolution, because nothing has changed, just the hats people wear.
"The anti-Iran stance might be warranted…"
His ‘anti-Iran stance’ hasn't been coupled with any policies which would actually hinder Iran. It appears to be mostly rhetoric designed to appeal to his domestic political ‛base’.
The one actual idea he's had for action is to unilaterally abandon the Joint Agreement limiting Iran's nuclear program, and that would end up isolating us rather than the Iranians, who'd just make their purchases elsewhere.
"But I also believe the USA has a 'deep state', certainly when it
comes to the military…. So I'm not too worried."
Then you're not worried enough.
1962
The military was unified and certain, they wanted to invade, or at a minimum bomb the shit out of, Cuba. President Kennedy had to restrain them. He was right; they were wrong. (Boy were they wrong; across the board wrong!) But, the important thing is they were unified against his position and yet he carried the day. It'd very likely be the same with Trump.
Are we all waiting breathless and eager for Shorthands' ‘major statement’ on trade tomorrow?
Lee:
"1962: The military was unified and certain, they wanted to invade, or at a minimum bomb the shit out of, Cuba. President Kennedy had to restrain them. He was right; they were wrong. (Boy were they wrong; across the board wrong!) But, the important thing is they were unified against his position and yet he carried the day. It'd very likely be the same with Trump."
So first of all you're saying the threat to aggressive and reckless military action comes from yall's military, not the Preznit.
And then you say Trump is likely to rein them in just as Kennedy did.
In all honestly I can't see how that would make Trump a threat.
"So first of all you're saying the…"
You seem to have missed the point entirely. I see no reason to try it again, may well be over your head.
Are we all waiting breathless and eager for Shorthands' ‘major statement’ on trade tomorrow?
I try to avoid listening to him if at all possible.
Yeah, well… His ‘major statement’ seems to have crapped out for the day. Now it's been set back to a time and date to be announced (if ever announced).
It still seems a little early for this.
House Democrats introduced articles of impeachment Wednesday against President Donald Trump, though they acknowledged their efforts have no chance of success while Republicans control both houses of Congress.
Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, introduced five articles of impeachment that include obstruction of justice for Trump's decision to fire former FBI Director James Comey, two emoluments clause violations, undermining the independence of the federal judiciary and undermining the freedom of the press.
I think I would have waited until after Mueller is done with his investigation. You never know what he might turn up under those rocks he's flipping.
"It still seems a little early for this."
Yep; posturing for their more radical voters back home. Trump's still holding around a 38% approval rating (RCP average) No point in trying to impeach him until he drops under 35% and holds there for awhile. (Probably should look for 33% or lower, but 35% is outside possible.)
House Republicans are set to bring their preliminary legislation on tax relief for rich folks to the House floor tomorrow. They think they got the votes for this one already locked down. I suspect they know how to count votes. But, they've left themselves another work day, just in case. (They're not scheduled to fly home for the holidays until Saturday.)
They've convinced themselves that delivering on tax relief for rich folks is the answer to their current political problems. I'm dubious of that notion, but I have somewhat more confidence in their ability to convince themselves of it.
Building on their successful ejection of the Kurds from Kirkuk, Iran is now showing interest in retaking the Sinjar area of Iraq (which recently became known as the home of the Yazidi Kurds who were subjected to highly publicized indignities by Da‘esh). Currently the Kurds and the Turks are battling it out for control there, but Iran is looking to eject the Turks and subjugate the Kurds and clear their path to the Mediterranean Sea. AlMonitor
They've convinced themselves that delivering on tax relief for rich folks is the answer to their current political problems
The Senate version also includes a repeal of the ACA individual healthcare mandate. They're going for a twofer.
Meanwhile, some GOP governors are worried about the midterm elections, thinking the Republicans aren't going to fare so well.
So, I wonder who will be right?
Currently the Kurds and the Turks are battling it out for control there, but Iran is looking to eject the Turks and subjugate the Kurds and clear their path to the Mediterranean Sea.
Ahhh, the plot thickens. I will have to read that when I get a minute. It does seem as if everything is falling apart just about everywhere.
"So, I wonder who will be right?"
Could be they're both right, to some extent.
Republican House members are worried mostly about being primaried from the right in districts drawn to maximize the power of right-wing minorities. The House members thus generally perceive a primary challenge from the right to be their greatest challenge.
The governors have to worry about politics statewide and are not able to gerrymander their state borders to create a political subdivision more amenable to right-wing politics.
I read that Minnesota Senator Al Franken has been accused of kissing a woman without her consent and of groping her while she slept.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has put together lists of documents produced by witnessess in their Russian Collusion Investigation and figured out that Jared Kushner received and forwarded documents regarding meetings between Team Trump and the Russians which he's neglected to provide in response to their request for documents. Politico.Com
That doesn't look good.
Gotta figure that Mueller's investigation has already figured this one out.
I read that Minnesota Senator Al Franken has been accused of kissing a woman without her consent and of groping her while she slept.
I read that too, and saw the picture, which looks even worse.
Just as I was actually starting to warm up to the guy, even buying his book. *sigh* He's making the excuse that he doesn't remember the kissing bit, which if true, makes him look even worse in my book. That seems to imply that it was just another normal day for him.
...Jared Kushner received and forwarded documents regarding meetings between Team Trump and the Russians which he's neglected to provide in response to their request for documents.
He really is an oily little guy.
"…and saw the picture, which looks even worse."
I thought instead that the picture let him off the hook a little bit. One doesn't ‘grope’ a woman through a flak jacket. And, if you look closely at his right hand, you can see the full shadows of his fingers on the flak jacket under his fingers. He's not actually touching her (or the flak jacket) with his right hand (no such clear evidence of what's what with the left hand, but I assume it's the same). So, it was a juvenile joke photo, not an actual groping of the woman. (She insists she was actually groped--forgot to notice the shadows showing no actual touching; makes me wonder what we'll hear about her other allegations after an investigation, which McConnell has said should be done--Franken has agreed to the investigation, by the way.)
"He's making the excuse that he doesn't remember the kissing bit…"
No, he said he remembers it differently than she's telling it.
I don't know if any groping actually occurred from that photo. It was only an instant in time. You're right, though, it is rather hard to grope someone through a flak jacket. And if she really was asleep as she said, how would she really know?
But both things, the kissing and the photo, are school boy behavior reflecting immaturity. Yes, I know, he was an adult at the time, but I'm not too impressed with the maturity level of some guys out there.
I also believe that people make mistakes and should be allowed to atone for them. It really depends upon the severity of the behavior as to what that atonement should entail.
For instance, rape or sexual assault of a minor, should be punished with jail time. That is far more serious than a kiss or a touch. If Franken has spent his life, and his career, actually standing up for women's rights, then that would be part of his atonement, in my book.
I would really be interested in who is actually on the Congressional Creep list kept by women on the hill. If Franken isn't on it, then that says something. If any of those who condemn him are then that says something too.
No, he said he remembers it differently than she's telling it.
Yes, well, this does seem to have cropped up at on opportune time for some. That can't be ignored, either.
Seven of Franken's women staffers have come up to speak for him, saying he was always respectful with them.
"I don't know if any groping actually occurred from that photo."
A good photo analyst (yes, there are such things; the military uses them extensively), a good photo analyst will tell you that no groping actually occurred with his right hand at the instant in time this particular photo was taken (shadow evidence is not visible regarding the left hand). What may have occurred either before or after that particular instant in time, she doesn't know, as she was asleep and doesn't have but this one photo to consult.
"Yes, well, this does seem to have cropped up at on opportune
time for some."
Seems to be an opportune time for her. She's a ‘news anchor’ at a local talk radio show nowadays. (That means she's a news reader, reads the copy they hand her into the mic and out over the air.) She conveniently remembered her ten years of anger the day after the news broke that the Congress has been keeping a slush fund for payment of harassment claims and has paid out around $15 million in recent years. (She probably doesn't know they won't pay on this one because Franken wasn't in Congress at time for which she makes her complaint.)
These things very seldom, if ever, happen in isolation. If Franken is given to groping women or assaulting women, it'll not have happened just this once. I'm waiting to see if other women come out of the woodwork to accuse him; #MeToo type of thing. If none show after a decent wait, I'm willing to guess she's seriously overstated her claim on the kiss too. If more show, well, his career is on the rocks.
"But both things, the kissing and the photo, are
school boy behavior reflecting immaturity."
I don't have anything to tell you about ‘the kissing’. I don't trust her story, and I haven't heard his story.
The photo is boorish, juvenile, offensive; she has every right to feel offended. She doesn't have a right to blow it up into something worse than it is. It's plenty bad enough; he's apologized already.
NBC Nightly News is telling tonight that Trump Ocean Club (Panama City, Panama) was ‘marketed as part of a real estate portfolio where corrupt people could park their money’ (also launder money). Richard Engel claims that Trump is still pocketing income from that particular Trump Tower. Supposedly more coming tonight on MSNBC, but I don't get cable, so I'll have to wait for the reviews to come out tomorrow.
Trump ally, sometimes Trump advisor, Roger Stone, has posted tweets indicated that he had prior knowledge that the allegations against Al Franken were going to go public. CBSNews It appears he knew several hours in advance that Ms. Tweeden was going to go public with her claims of Franken abuse.
Stone has in the past demonstrated prior knowledge of the contents and timing of Wikileaks revelations against Hillary Clinton.
I believe I mentioned before that Ms. Tweeden is currently employed with an AM talk radio station in California.
He's in he leftist coloum on politics = Nothing happenened - she was just a doumb slut to say so.
The same with a right wing politgician = GENOCIDDE.
Can you see the discepancy?
"Can you see the discepancy?"
Indeed I can. Judge Roy Moore has been accused of incidents of sexual abuse much worse than any allegations that have been leveled at Al Franken. Judge Roy Moore is a right wing politgician [sic]. However, he has not been accused of GENOCIDDE [sic].
There is a major discrepancy between your post and the actual facts; therein lies the discrepancy we can all see.
Russia has vetoed a UN resolution continuing for another year the work of the UN chemical weapons inspectors in Syria. CBSNews
Seriously, Putin has nothing on this guy.
In just over the past year, Braxton Winston has gone from a prominent protester to a popular politician.
Last September, Winston was the center of a dramatic photo from Charlotte, North Carolina, showing him shirtless and with his fist raised, facing a line of police wearing riot gear and holding batons.
I mean, there's popular, and then there's popular.
NBC Nightly News is telling tonight that Trump Ocean Club (Panama City, Panama) was ‘marketed as part of a real estate portfolio where corrupt people could park their money’ (also launder money). Richard Engel claims that Trump is still pocketing income from that particular Trump Tower.
Something other inquiring minds might be interested in.
Supposedly more coming tonight on MSNBC,...
Ahh, I'm too late to catch that. I will have to do some googling tomorrow.
Russia has vetoed a UN resolution continuing for another year the work of the UN chemical weapons inspectors in Syria.
No surprise there. Someone might actually find some uncomfortable information.
Despite Marcus' vote of confidence it appears that the US reputation has taken a hit with the advent of Trump.
America's brand has taken a major hit in the age of Trump.
At least that's according to a survey that ranks the world's best nation brands.
The United States lands with an overall No. 6 ranking in the Anholt-GfK Nation Brands Index, which measures 50 nations in multiple categories, including governance, exports, culture, people, tourism and immigration/investment. The United States was the overall No. 1 in 2016, but Germany took the top spot this year.
"America's brand has taken a major hit in the age of Trump."
I read about another analysis the other day that said America's overall favorable/unfavorable ratio had degraded by 50 percentage points from Obama's days to currently under Trump.
Correct that entry just above ( Nov 18, 12:35:00 am) ↑↑. It was confidence specifically in Trump that was down by the high 40% range, compared to confidence in Obama. Overall favorability for the United States had dropped by 15%.
Op-Ed in the NewYorkTimes should make Marcus feel better. The author insists that Al Franken must resign from the Senate.
For much of that article she actually made the point that he should stay. It is those who are totally unrepentant, and have done nothing in their lives since their offense to try to make up for the past, who should go. Or never be there to begin with, such as Roy Moore, all protestations of his "Stepford Wife" aside.
I also have to say that the hypocrisy of Donald Trump is immense.
Minneapolis Star Tribune, local paper, is wishy-washy on the subject of Al Franken.
I learn from this that Franken had to publicly apologize, back in 2008 when he first ran for the Senate, for his pre-politics professional ‘humor’ being sometimes sophomoric and crude. Well, the offense for which he's currently indicted was pre-politics. If he was forgiven back then, can they revoke the forgiveness now? The editorial board does not take up this question, but they're not exactly taking a stand in this editorial anyway. (Which means they could have probably have served their audience better to not editorialize at all.)
So far no other women seem to have stepped forward to accuse Franken of similar offenses while in office. This does not cause me to give more credence to Ms. Tweeden's description of events surrounding ‘the kiss’, not in light of her having overstated her case on the ‘groping’ part of the story. Does make me more inclined to wait and see what the ethics investigation might disclose before deciding anything.
I didn't vote for Franken originally. I did later, though, after he seemed to prove that he was more substance than the raunchy humor implied.
I have read some of the people who feel Franken should resign and get the feeling that some would just like to make an example of him. He has kind of made himself an easy target by his showing remorse. I think they would better serve women in general by going after the more extreme cases, no matter how hard they may be to topple. It's not going to do much good by just nibbling around the edges of the problem.
"…I get the feeling that some would just like to make
an example of him."
I thought most of the ‘Franken must resign’ contingent were fairly obvious on that, some of them quite explicit, stating it out in the clear. That's exactly what they have in mind.
Miami Herald, Puerto Ricans are moving to Florida by the hundreds of thousands. Trump won Florida last time by 113,000 votes. There's already more than 113,000 Puerto Ricans moved to Florida since the hurricane. They're gonna vote against Trump next time around.
I gotta wonder if they actually pass that tax reform bill, either the House or Senate version, if there won't be others who will vote against Trump and its supporters in Congress who may be up for re-election.
I'm starting to wonder if there is anything good that can or will come from the Republican controlled government this time around. So far I have liked pretty much nothing they have proposed.
An Argentine sub has gone missing with 44 people on board. My thoughts are with those missing and their families. That is a horrible situation.
It looks like there was an effort to make contact with various Argentine bases by the sub today. Those tries only lasted a few seconds at a time.
"I gotta wonder if they actually pass that tax reform bill…"
IF they actually pass that tax cut it'll probably hurt the Republicans' chances at re-election, across the board, by 2020 if not by 2018. Maybe by 2018, but they're hoping not quite that soon. But, their immediate problem is playing to their base. First thing is they gotta get past the primaries before they worry about the general election. For that, many of the House Republicans need the tax cut to pass.
Thing is, that sort of thinking gets them a bill that'll pass the House. The Senate is whole ‛nother problem.
So, it's Saturday night. And that being the case I feel a little levity is in order. I know, this is kind of tacky at times, but given the subject matter that is not a surprise. It is also rolling on the floor funny, unless, of course, you are a Trump supporter.
John Oliver on the Trump Presidency
I don't have cable, but I did get the impression that he only gave it 23 minutes on account of it was the last show of the season (and not because he could only come up with 23 minutes).
"I gotta wonder if they actually pass that tax reform bill…"
I've been trying to come up with a succinct way of explaining the Republicans' frenzy to pass a tax cut. How does one phrase things to catch and to cover the strong currents which come together to compel tax cuts for the rich as their prime imperative?
Finally it occurred to me, Lindsey Graham had already said it for me.
"If we don’t [pass tax cuts] that’s probably the end of the Republican
Party as we know it."
And that's why they're all fired up to pass tax cuts that're mostly unpopular with the general population (52% against vs 25% in favor, at last count).
But, that begs the question of why would the failure to pass tax cuts spell the end of Senator Graham's Republican party?
Well, that's fairly easy to explain. The Republican ‘base’, those voters who show up loyally for Republican primaries and for off-year elections, and the Republican donor class are agreed on only that one remaining thing; they agree on tax cuts. That's all that's holding the remnants of the Republican Party together these days.
The ‘base’ agrees with tax cuts for a variety of reasons, most often because they've always been told by Republican friendly media that tax cuts are a good thing. Mostly they don't exactly agree on why (any of them could pull up one or more of the various reasons Republican friendly media routinely trot out, but there's no one reason that gets a strong consensus among the 'base’ voters as the reason to support tax cuts). Still, they almost all support tax cuts, if only because they've always been told that Democrats support tax increases, and they're against whatever Democrats are in favor of. They can agree on that much.
The donor class want tax cuts for the rich because the Republican donor class are the rich.
If the Republican voting ‘base’ will no longer support that last remaining common goal then there's no reason for the donor class to continue to pitch in the money. Without the donor class, the ongoing disintegration of the Republican Party will accelerate. They probably won't make it through 2020 without a full scale schism; may not make it through 2018.
And that's why the Republican politicians currently in Congress are desperate to pass the tax cuts.
GERMANY per Politico.EU: Talks about forming a coalition government among the three major party winners in the last election have broken down. Looks like there may have to be new elections called even before a government is formed, in the hopes of getting a different mix of politicians.
And that's why the Republican politicians currently in Congress are desperate to pass the tax cuts.
There was a fellow on Fareed Zakaria's show this morning who is among the wealthier segment of our population. He didn't start out that way. He worked his way to that position. He is concerned that there are actually two economies in America today, one for the wealthy and one for the not so wealthy.
The top 3 richest people in America have wealth equal to the bottom 50% of Americans.
I suspect that his concern is justified. I also suspect that the end of the Republican Party as we know it may very well happen if they do pass that tax reform bill. But that might be the least of the richest American's worries.
I don't have cable,...
I don't watch the show. I just happened upon that when I was looking at YouTube. I have to say that some of what he had to say about Trump's manipulation of events, and message, was spot on. Just as you start to write Trump off as an idiot you realize that his behavior is classic authoritarian manipulation.
...but I did get the impression that he only gave it 23 minutes on account of it was the last show of the season (and not because he could only come up with 23 minutes).
Have to keep some back for next season? Although there is always fresh material with Trump. Just today he was tweeting that he should have left the 3 basketball players in jail because the father of one wasn't grateful enough.
"… it may very well happen if they do pass that tax reform bill."
They've give up on tax reform. This is a fairly straight ahead tax cut for the rich that they're pushing now. But, that wasn't your point so…
Yeah, it'll definitely hurt the Republican Party if they do pass this. But, it'll hurt marginal candidates first, folks from swing districts, of which there's fewer and fewer these days. Most of the current Republican Congressmen (say 90% or better) will survive their primaries and return to Congress (albeit probably in the minority instead of the majority next round; by 2020 if not by 2018). Tough for the losers, but that's the way things go.
And, if they pass the current tax cut bill, they very well may put off the full-on schism for a little while longer (the donors will stay stuck a little while longer). During which time they'll cast around for a solution to their problem. But, I think the end is the same; just delayed a cycle or two. The ‘base’ voters are already, albeit slowly, beginning to notice that the tax cuts for the rich thing is not actually in their best interest after all. And support for it is soft, even though they still make the claim to support for it, it's already seriously soft.
This is an artificial coalition they're holding together; it's pretty much doomed no matter how hard they try to string it along.
"…Have to keep some back for next season?"
Nah, just had other things they also wanted to cover in the finale.
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I've been reading that they're not sure about those ‘signals’ from the lost Argentine submarine. Might have just been stray static, not signals from the sub at all.
Let me rephrase that to make it clearer. If they manage to pass the tax cuts…
"Almost all of the current Republican Congressmen will survive
their primaries and most (say 90% or better) will be returned
to Congress in the general election."
If they don't pass the tax cuts more of them stand a good chance of getting primaried, and they're more vulnerable there than they are in the general elections.
[Marcus]: "He's in the leftist column on politics = Nothing happened - she was just a dumb slut to say so."
Yep. The double-standards are simply breathtaking. The resident troll has declared that no breasts were groped on the basis of where the shadows are in a still photo. The lady in question, who claims Franken harassed her relentlessly, then mashed his face onto hers and "agressively stuck his tongue down her mouth", is classed as unreliable and potentially aiming to defraud -- a roundabout slut-shaming of her.
And Franken gets a pass because his transgressions were "pre-politics" ( -- they weren't). The fact of the matter is this fuckin' slimeball gets a pass because his politics are of the right hue. Left wing rags are already printing soft focus pieces in which the important thing is that the complainant "had decided to go public in order to encourage other women to speak up without fear. That matters. Whether Franken resigns does not." What a pile of horseshit -- can any even imagine the same sort of lame excuses being trotted out for Trump. And Trump's lamentable act was to be overheard boasting about groping, not being photographed in the act of doing it.
Lynnette puts it down to "school boy behavior reflecting immaturity". He was frickin' fifty-six! It seems like the acceptable cutoff point for boyish behaviour is at least forty years later for a Democrat than for a Republican. Franken gets a further pass for "actually standing up for women's rights". Yeah, and the person who helped draft legislation that would aid in rape prosecutions wants Franken's name off the bill. She's a 22-year-old victim of a brutal rape who spent a year trying to get justice. I bet she thinks Franken's "school boy behavior" was hilarious, don't you?
Yuch!!!
"The resident troll has declared that no breasts were groped on the
basis of where the shadows are in a still photo."
No. I never made such a claim. Rather, I said the photo in question does not show her breasts being groped. The right hand isn't touching her body armor. The exact position of the left hand is indeterminable.
You may wish to remember that I identified your ‘antifa in Charlottesville’ photograph as a fake at first glance (not taken in Charlottesville and not taken on the day in question), before you too easily dismiss my ability to discern such things from the shadows in a photograph.
"…these nice folks at Charlottesville…"
Petes @ Mon Aug 14, 05:11:00 am (earlier thread)
Whether Franken groped her breasts at some instant in time other than that shown in the photo is unknown.
Yet she claims to have discovered the groping not from having been groped, but rather from viewing the photograph. So, yes, I consider her testimony in the matter to be unreliable.
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"And Franken gets a pass because his transgressions were 'pre-
politics' ( -- they weren't)."
1) Nobody gave Franken a pass.
"The photo is boorish, juvenile, offensive; she has every right to
feel offended."
Lee C. @ Fri Nov 17, 12:22:00 pm ↑↑, supra
2) The photo was taken in 2006. Franken never stood for any political office prior to announcing his candidacy for the office of Senator from Minnesota in February of 2007.
(I'll leave it to Lynnette to defend herself, or to ignore your trolling, as she chooses.)
Last weekend, Veterans' Day weekend, saw a serious drop off in NFL players kneeling or otherwise engaging in unacceptable behavior (declared unacceptable to Trump by Trump). Last weekend Trump was out of the country (in addition to it being Veterans' Day weekend). This weekend he's back.
This weekend the numbers have jumped back up to the normal couple dozen or so.
In a move to bolster his flagging chances of affecting that dynamic, Trump has singled out one specific player, Marshawn Lynch of the Raiders, for a Trumptweet on the subject.
In what amounts to a dumbass move, Trump made a specific demand that the NFL suspend Lynch when he does the same thing again next week. (They play at home again next week.)
Of course, they will not suspend him; they can't; they declined to adopt such a rule at their last owners' meeting.
Got another accuser against Al Franken.
"I'm waiting to see if other women come out of the woodwork to
accuse him…"
Lee C. @ Fri Nov 17, 12:15:00 pm ↑↑, supra
One woman, singular, is not necessarily ‘other women’, plural. And the photograph she submitted doesn't seem to indicate she's gettin’ her ass grabbed (no look of surprise nor shock, just a big wide grin). But, it may very well be enough to cause Franken some real political grief when coupled with the previous allegation.
Lynnette: "Despite Marcus' vote of confidence it appears that the US reputation has taken a hit with the advent of Trump."
I didn't say that. I'm sure America has taken a great hit, and much of it due to your own media which is more or less replicated in at least the western world. But that'd be more in the eyes of the media and public - fluff.
I did say I don't think nation states are as worried 'bout Trump as the histoniric media is. There are checks and balances in the USA for one. And even for Trump there's (I think and I think most analysts would agree) a huge difference between firing off a nasty tweet and firing off cruise missiles.
IMO I still think Hillary would have been more dangerous, as she would have been more likely to risk WW3 to take down Assad in Syria.
What the US would gain from takin' out Assad maybe ya'll can tell me, because I sure as hell don't know.
Lee: "I read about another analysis the other day that said America's overall favorable/unfavorable ratio had degraded by 50 percentage points from Obama's days to currently under Trump."
Obama did that well indeed. Talkin' 'bout shuttin' Guantanamo, but not doing it. Talkin' bout the national debt, then blowin' it up to never ever seen levels. Talknin' bout peace then doin' more drone strikes than ever in history.
Yeah, he did the talkin' good. And with a supportive media he came off as good too. Even got a Nobel Peace Price (which might be the definitive death of that award).
He sure did talk, did Obama. He was good at that, if at little else.
BTW: You would not have had Trump today if not for Obama. So that goes on his legacy too.
Pete: "Yep. The double-standards are simply breathtaking. The resident troll has declared that no breasts were groped on the basis of where the shadows are in a still photo. The lady in question, who claims Franken harassed her relentlessly, then mashed his face onto hers and "agressively stuck his tongue down her mouth", is classed as unreliable and potentially aiming to defraud -- a roundabout slut-shaming of her."
Also, much of what the Judge is accused off is basically non-events.
OK there's a woman who CLAIMS he fondeled her when she was 14 about 40 years ago. He says he didn't. That's the ONLY thing he really has to answer to. And AFAIK that's a she said he said episode, that strangely came out right about now. I call hoax on that one, but who knows?
The rest: that he was in his early thirties and hitting on late-teen girls and sometimes kissing them off after a night out? That's maybe a bit weird today but certainy not at all weird 40 years ago in Alabama. Not illegal in any way, since the AOC was and is 16 there. Plus in those days a 30 YO man trying for a say 17 YO girl for marriage was not an uncommon thing.
This sleazy Senator who comes up with forced scenatios to stick his toung into the mouth of an unwilling young woman, then takes photos of him grabbing her when she's passed out - that's WAY, WAY worse.
#JudgeDidNoWrong
"Not illegal in any way, since the AOC was and is 16 there."
Moore is also accused of trying to strong arm a 16 year old into performing a compelled act of sodomy (blow job). Sodomy was illegal in Alabama at the time even if consensual (long as you're being strict on the legalities of things). Forced sodomy was akin to rape.
"You would not have had Trump today if not for Obama."
I'm not sure that the white backlash against having a black guy in the White House is Obama's fault. Doesn't mean it wasn't real, but I don't see it as part of Obama's ‘legacy’.
Pete: "And Trump's lamentable act was to be overheard boasting about groping, not being photographed in the act of doing it."
No he SAID that rich and powerful men could just "grab 'em by the pussy" with regards to women. He never said he DID grope anyone (and I kinda think we'd known by now if he did).
Also: He was RIGHT when he said that. Up until this very year with the #metoo he would have been right. Now there might come a change.
But c'mon, we all know that certain high status men, Rock Stars in particular, have had women all over the world lettin' 'em grab 'em by the pussy and more. Ever hear of the term "groupie"? There were rock groupies, tennis groupies, Formula-1 groupies, even lame ass golf groupies.
So Trump was 100% correct in the time he made that statment. And all he did was make a statment, as far as we know.
And, as of yet, in spite of your assertions to the contrary, no one has yet accused Judge Roy Moore of GENOCIDDE. You were way wrong on that one.
"He never said he DID grope anyone (and I kinda think
we'd known by now if he did)."
Way too easy. I'm gonna leave that one for Lynnette, or maybe even Petes.
Lee: "Moore is also accused of trying to strong arm a 16 year old into performing a compelled act of sodomy (blow job). Sodomy was illegal in Alabama at the time even if consensual (long as you're being strict on the legalities of things). Forced sodomy was akin to rape."
I had not heard 'bout that. Source?
Also I actually had to Google if "sodomy" was relevant to blow jobs as I thought it only meant buggery, but it seems technically BJ:s are also that.
When are you going to learn? Google is your friend. Try it, type in "Alabama sodomy", without the quote marks. This will be the first thing to come up.
Lee: "And, as of yet, in spite of your assertions to the contrary, no one has yet accused Judge Roy Moore of GENOCIDDE. You were way wrong on that one."
You do not do irony well, do you.
Still after several posts you feel a need to point out an obvious spelling error (genodide VS. genocidde) that any more normal person would have just put down to me happening to strike the 'd' key twice instead of once. But not Lee. He can't just let that pass. Which make's me think our Lee is slightly autistic. You're an AUTHIST Lee? That'd explain a lot.
Pete, Lee might just be an authist, wouldn't that explain a lot?
That was supposed to be ‘irony’? I'd have to say that you do not do irony well.
"Still after several posts you feel a need to point out an
obvious spelling error…"
All in caps; you forget about how you invoked the caps.
Lee: "I'm not sure that the white backlash against having a black guy in the White House is Obama's fault."
Why did your president come out and say Trayvon Martin cold have been his son? When did he ever do that for white murder victims?
And why did the entire MSM portray the shooter as "white" when he was in fact hispanic.
YOU as well as I know that a plurality of shooters are black men. Most often they kill other black men. But even in inter-racial violence a white man is more likely to be shot by a black than vice versa.
Yet you have a President who chooses ONE of thousands of shootings just because it's a black teen who was gunned down. And the blame is placed on white folks even though it was a hispanic did the shooting.
Are you for fuckin real here?
I am AUTHISTIC so when someone spells YOUR instead of YOU'R I'm gonna go on a rapmage about that and damned be any discussion we had! - Lee
"When did he ever do that for white murder victims?"
Are you for real?
‘Zimmerman’ is not an Hispanic name. And I don't think Obama could have pulled off a claim that an obviously white kid, with no negroid features at all, was his kid.
Pete, you see what Lee's tryin' here don't you?
He knows that Judeg Moore is a based conservative who's "fault" is trying to seduce late teenagers when he was in his thirties about fourty years ago. Basically making hin just about a NORMAL MAN back then.
And they somehow equate this with a sleazeball who forces his tounge down a gilr's mouth and then when she sleeps takes lewd photos of him and her.
You have one normal man and one freakish molestor. And Lee C siding with the molestor. Because media tells him to.
I hope you see that Pete. (I have little hope for Lynnette, but Pete I still see you as a sane person, even if our policics are not the same.)
This would be just too much fun, except for the lack of sufficient challenge. I'm gonna havta leave you for Petes and Lynnette.
Lee: "‘Zimmerman’ is not an Hispanic name. And I don't think Obama could have pulled off a claim that an obviously white kid, with no negroid features at all, was his kid."
You obviously don't know of the case at all. Is this a white kid to you?
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36273488
Of course he was Black. That was the only reason the case got traction, you dolt.
Also you can look at Zimmerman in them pics and see whether he's "white" or "Hispanic". I say the latter.
Here is Zimmerman when he's not on trial for murder, just chillin’ out and lookin’ somewhat whiter.
"But even in inter-racial violence a white man is more likely
to be shot by a black than vice versa."
That's actually not true. I looked it up. Blacks are killed (not just shot, but killed, which I think was your point) at a rate of 4.4 blacks killed by whites per million black people (.00044% chance of cross-racial killing). White folks are killed at a rate of 1.8 white persons killed by blacks per one million white people (.00018% chance of cross-racial killing). link Blacks are roughly two and a half times more likely to be killed by whites than vice-versa.
"…he was tweeting that he should have left the 3 basketball
players in jail because the father of one wasn't grateful enough."
Maybe he could send ‘em back; ya reckon?
That was me, I just had to correct a typo.
Just a quick comment, I'll have to read the comments later. There are more then I thought there would be.
Anyway, it seems that another woman has come out with another incident of Al Franken groping. This was in 2010 at the MN State Fair, after he became a senator. Apparently he grabbed the buttocks of a woman he was being photographed with. If true, very creepy. I say if true, because there is one thing that bugs me about this, and that is that she posted the photo of her and Franken that was taken while this was supposedly happening. In the photo they both are smiling and looking quite normal. For me there is a certain eeewww factor there. If that had happened to me I wouldn't post the photo.
Sooo we'll see. I still think there is a difference between a dirty old man and a pedophile. There is that thing called let the punishment fit the crime. Or put another way, if Franken should resign then certainly Moore should never be seated as a Senator.
Technically a pedophile goes after pre-teen kids. Hittin’ on teenagers is child molesting, but not pedophilia.
This is an artificial coalition they're holding together; it's pretty much doomed no matter how hard they try to string it along.
With each increasingly poor policy decision I don't think it can come soon enough.
Petes: Lynnette puts it down to "school boy behavior reflecting immaturity". He was frickin' fifty-six!
Age doesn't necessarily denote maturity.
Petes: It seems like the acceptable cutoff point for boyish behaviour is at least forty years later for a Democrat than for a Republican.
Which Republican are we talking about?
Petes: Yeah, and the person who helped draft legislation that would aid in rape prosecutions wants Franken's name off the bill. She's a 22-year-old victim of a brutal rape who spent a year trying to get justice.
That is her right. I respect that. But there is a big difference between being raped and being groped. To not acknowledge that is to belittle the very serious crime of rape.
"With each increasingly poor policy decision…"
A political party which is trying to placate both the hyper-Zionist super donor, Sheldon Adelson, and neo-Nazi marchers/voters in Charlottesville isn't worried about policy. They're strictly into ugly politics and raw power.
Lee: "Technically a pedophile goes after pre-teen kids. Hittin’ on teenagers is child molesting, but not pedophilia."
There's a world of difference betweeen a 13 YO and a 19 YO. I say a 19 YO is fair game regardless of how old the man is as long as it's consensual. Like Hugh Hefner style. Dirty and weird perhaps, depending on how big an age gap there is, but not a crime.
And certainly not child molestation.
"There's a world of difference betweeen a 13 YO and a 19 YO."
Doesn't matter what you say. Hitting on a 13 year old is still technically (legally) defined as child molestation and not as pedophilia.
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Another odd thing I've noticed about the allegations of sexual abuse directed towards Senator Al Franken: Usually serial abuser types are found to have used their positions to abuse co-workers, especially ones who're dependent on their favor. (Judge Roy Moore is an exception to this, but he had a fetish was teenagers, high-school age chicks, and he was known to the management of the local retail mall for trolling there for high-school age girls.)
None of Al Franken's co-workers have come forward to accuse him of improprieties (yet). That is unusual for these types of offenses. Co-workers are usually the first and the primary victims.
Lee: "Hitting on a 13 year old is still technically (legally) defined as child molestation and not as pedophilia."
I think it's called hebefilia or something when it's aimed at young post puberty teens.
Fears arising in Congress that the Trump administration will try to game the 2020 census to further pad the Republicans' gerrymandering efforts and prolong Republican structural advantages in elections. Politico.Com (Petes has it wrong, winning democratic elections are not what these people have in mind.)
Michelle Goldberg, who previously editorialized in the NewYorkTimes that Franken should resign (Lee C. @ Sat Nov 18, 09:20:00 am, ↑↑), has changed her mind and thinks that Franken should stay. Marcus will not be pleased.
Lee: "That's actually not true. I looked it up. Blacks are killed (not just shot, but killed, which I think was your point) at a rate of 4.4 blacks killed by whites per million black people (.00044% chance of cross-racial killing). White folks are killed at a rate of 1.8 white persons killed by blacks per one million white people (.00018% chance of cross-racial killing). link Blacks are roughly two and a half times more likely to be killed by whites than vice-versa."
That's absolute bullshit and you should know that, and I think you DO know that.
Lokkie here:
Race and homicide in America
https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-09-29/race-and-homicide-in-america-by-the-numbers
"The statistics show that the 500 killings of white people attributed to blacks last year were the most since black perpetrators were determined to be responsible for the homicides of 504 white people nationwide in 2008.
[...]
The 229 black lives taken by white killers last year, however, marked an even larger leap from 2014, jumping more than 22 percent from the 187 black victims killed by whites that year, which was the second-lowest total since 2001."
So, blacks who are what 13% or so kill 500 whites and whites who are still about 65% kill 230 blacks.
Let's do math. Since Lee cannot math hisself:
(500*65)/(230*13) = roundabout 11. Whites are ELEVEN times more likely to get murdered by blacks than vice versa.
The link you posted does math in opposite. It says that in actual numbers of homicides:
Whites killed by blacks: 14.8%
Blacks killed by whites: 7.6%
You can clearly see here that of actual homicides there's a greater number of whites killed by blacks than vice versa. In actual numbers.
Then your article tries (probably knowingly (and fails)) to make that into the reverse.
Instead of multiplying those 14.8 with 65 and multiplying those 7.6 with 13 they do it the other way round.
Incidentally:
(14.8*65)/(7.6*13) = 9.8 (not so far from the 11 figure from MY source)
How you can be so stupid as to read a news outlet where they themselves say that a minority causes a majority of anything in numbers and think that that doesn't mean they are more likely to commit that act than the majority is beyond me.
That article used "FALSE MATH", and you Lee, seing as you cannot math, fell for it.
Fact: Blacks in the USA are 10-11 times more likely to murder a white than vice versa. And is this really news to any of y'all? I don't think so.
Lee: "Michelle Goldberg, who previously editorialized in the NewYorkTimes that Franken should resign (Lee C. @ Sat Nov 18, 09:20:00 am, ↑↑), has changed her mind and thinks that Franken should stay. Marcus will not be pleased."
WTF should I care wether one sleazy boobgrabber or another gets got? He'll just be replaced with another one. I didn't even know 'bout Franken until days ago.
"Lokkie here:"
Your problem Marcus, the problem with your math, is that you're starting with dead people and working out your odds from there. One cannot kill dead people. Therefore, one cannot calculate the odds regarding who's most likely to be killing said dead people. (It's that same problem you had once before, e.g. "Who are these flowers, who are not now and never were either bumblebees nor honeybees? How does that work?" Lee C. @ Fri Oct 13, 12:19:00 pm For some reason Petes actually fell for your crap last time, but it still don't work. Hint here: There are no flowers among our dead people There are only dead honeybees and bumblebees.)
"[Y]ou're starting with dead people", and even then, only considering some of the dead white people. You're not even calculating from the total number of dead white people.
None of Al Franken's co-workers have come forward to accuse him of improprieties (yet). That is unusual for these types of offenses. Co-workers are usually the first and the primary victims.
Instead many have come out in support of Franken.
"…many have come out in support of Franken."
Yeah, I saw that; later in the day some 36 female co-workers from his days on Saturday Night Live signed off in defense of Franken.
Oh, and Trump has decided today to toss a lifeline to Judge Roy Moore. Trump now says Moore has denied predatory behavior towards teenagers and that's good ‘nuff for Trump. (Likewise, Putin has denied meddling in our elections and that's also good ‘nuff for Trump.)
Might be that'll be enough for Judge Moore to pull out the election now. We shall soon see.
Note for Marcus (and Petes in case he decides to weigh back in):
You need to update your defense of Judge Roy Moore. The official defense is that it never happened; they're all lyin’ bitchs. Judge Moore don't need none of this ‛it's okay ‘cause…’ stuff--never happened; they're all lyin’ bitches; remember to keep the defenses straight.
Lee: ""[Y]ou're starting with dead people", and even then, only considering some of the dead white people. You're not even calculating from the total number of dead white people."
That was indeed a weak-ass response to my very clear math. Why would the total number of deaths, like heart attacks, natural death by age and such, even play a part? We were talking murders here, not dead diabetics.
Blacks kill 500 whites and whites kill 230 blacks, in one year (could be different for different years but we can assume the trend is about the same, give or take 10% or so)
That does lead us to blacks killing whites about 10-11 times more often than vice versa. And seeing the ratio of inprisonment in the USA where close to 1/3 of black men goes to jail in their lifetime you shouldn't be THAT surprised, should you?
Still you come on here spewing complete nonsense like:
"Blacks are roughly two and a half times more likely to be killed by whites than vice-versa."
Any sane person, just observing your society, without any numeral facts, would see that that was impossible.
Then I give you the numbers. I crunch em for you (since you cannot math) and hand you the hard truth. And your responce is to try to muddy the waters and deny reality. For what?
You DO realise that finding solutions to a problem starts with seeing that there is a problem to begin with?
PeteS, feel free to weigh in here. When it comes to math and science in general I see you as thee most proficient in this small circle we've got goin' here.
You're a deluded liberal in many cases but you DO know math. When the numbers are there I would think you're the most qualified person here to crunch them.
Lee: "You need to update your defense of Judge Roy Moore. The official defense is that it never happened; they're all lyin’ bitchs. Judge Moore don't need none of this ‛it's okay ‘cause…’ stuff--never happened; they're all lyin’ bitches; remember to keep the defenses straight."
You confuse us (me and in this instance Pete) with being like you.
YOU go on NYT or WAPO or whatever source you deem as the "truth" and find a "storyline" and then stick with it. Defend it sometimes rightly so but sometimes in spite of all available evidence.
Me, I look at various sources, weigh them, and then make up my own mind. I am not adhereing to any "official" line whatsoever.
As for Moore, maybe there's stuff out there I haven't read. But all I have read is accusations that are un-proven. And as I said earlier some of the stuff about him hittin' on an 18 YO when he was 30 isn't even a thing.
Of course in Alabama 40 years ago a 30 YO man would be looking for a late teen or early 20´s virgin. That was completely normal back then, and really isn't any crime today either.
You think a 30 YO in Alabama 40 years ago would like to settle for a 30 YO
"enligthened" woman who'd been on the cock-carousell for a decade? Not ONE decent man would, in those times. You know that.
Then there is that story 'bout the 14 YO. IF that is true it's of course damning to the extent he should be taken down and shamed, but I see little evidence. And after 40 years there prolly can be no hard evidence.
So we're just gonna throw a man under the bus cause some woman says he did something 40 years ago with no proof? I don't buy that.
Also I am amused when seeing all the empty bleachers in NFL matches that the media desperatly tries to cover up. I just hope this whole "kneeling" debacle will go on until the next sale of season tickets, and it seems like it will. Oh what a financial bloodbath the NFL is in for...
"That was completely normal back then…"
In Ryad or Kabul or Islamabad maybe, not in Harris county, Alabama.
"I crunch em for you (since you cannot math) and hand you the
hard truth."
Crunch these numbers then.
The overall American population in 2015 was approximately 310,000,000. 65% of that is 201,500,000. 500 dead white people killed by blacks divided by 201,500,000 white people available for killing = .0000025
13% of 310,000,000 is 40,300,000
230 dead black people divided by 40,300,000 black people available for killing = .0000057
.0000057 > .0000025
Blacks just over twice as likely (2.3 times as likely) to be killed by whites as vice-versa. (The source I cited said it comes out to around 2.44 times as likely. They obviously used slightly different input statistics than your prefered source, but even so….)
"Also I am amused when seeing all the empty bleachers in NFL…"
NFL attendance was down from the beginning of the season, before Colin Kaepernick began his protests and long before Shorthands weighed in on the issue. Attendance had actually picked up (both in stadium and TV viewership) during the next eight weeks, after Shorthands began to get pissy on the NFL and the players. (I haven't checked how that's worked out in the last month, but it picked up every week until week eight; that was the last time I checked. The NFL owners know this; they pay attention to those things. You apparently do not.)
"…before Colin Kaepernick began his protests…"
Scratch that, should read ‘before Colin Kaepernick's protests spread among the other players…’
(Judge Roy Moore lived and worked in Otewah County, Alabama, not Harris County. Still, ain't normal in Otewah County for 30 year old men to hunt for teenage virgins to ‘date’.)
Trouble in paradise?
The owner of the struggling Trump SoHo building in New York City reached a deal to end its contract with the Trump Organization early.
Trump SoHo is a condominium hotel in a posh downtown Manhattan neighborhood. Although it brandishes the Trump name, it's owned by CIM Group, a California-based real estate investment firm.
Under their contract, CIM Group pays the Trump Organization licensing and management fees. In return, the Trump Organization handles the building's day-to-day operations and, of course, lends the establishment Trump's name.
Two more women have come forward to accuse Al Franken of touching them inappropriately. One also said he invited her to visit a bathroom with him. These women have chosen to remain anonymous, and Franken has denied ever inviting anyone to join him in a bathroom.
A recent Minnesota poll says that 22% of voters think Franken should stay, 33% think he should resign, and 36% think we should wait to see the results of an ethics investigation. I fall within that last category.
It seems that Charlie Rose has been fired after a number of women have accused him of inappropriate sexual conduct. Apparently there was no question of guilt there. If I remember right Z did an interview with him way back when.
It seems my plans for Thanksgiving have fallen through, so I will be having a quiet day enjoying the Vikings/Lions game. Probably a good time to do a new post. I'll have to give it some thought.
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