President Trump & the USA

[Simi]

Media really does have a responsibility to report fairly on Trump. Or else they really are playing into his hands and discrediting the truly awful stuff he does actually say or do.

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/donald-trump-japan-fish-food-box-tokyo-palace-shinzo-abe-bonding-ritual-akasaka-melania-a8039531.html

 

The full video shows Abe doing exactly the same as Trump and pouring the whole box into the pond. (Video seems to have changed now, but the first one only showed Trump turning the box upside down into the water.)

[leicsmac]

In Korea today - and there was me thinking the Yongsan area had enough of a problem with sex pests as it was.

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41896635

 

Interesting comments though - I wonder if someone has told him to calm it down a little considering he's not that well liked on the peninsula and the provocative rhetoric he uses really doesn't help, and most Koreans know and dislike that.

[leicsmac]

And now even Syria and Nicaragua have agreed to the Paris Climate agreement.

 

That leaves only one nation who are bound and determined to not uphold it.

[Webbo]

6 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

And now even Syria and Nicaragua have agreed to the Paris Climate agreement.

 

That leaves only one nation who are bound and determined to not uphold it.

Aren't China and India, who have signed the agreement, building new coal fired power stations every week?

[leicsmac]

12 minutes ago, Webbo said:

Aren't China and India, who have signed the agreement, building new coal fired power stations every week?

From what I can tell, that depends on what source you read.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/18/world/asia/china-coal-power-plants-pollution.html

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/01/climate/china-energy-companies-coal-plants-climate-change.html

 

http://energypost.eu/chinas-continuing-green-shift-in-electric-power-eidence-from-2016/

 

https://instituteforenergyresearch.org/analysis/despite-paris-agreement-china-india-continue-build-coal-plants/

 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/22/coal-power-plants-green-energy-china-india

 

With all that in mind the simple answer is I don't know, but having looked at all of this I would hazard a guess that China and India likely are building more coal plants, but that rate is decreasing while the rate of renewable energy building is increasing in such places. But that's just a guess.

 

In any case, does China and India not doing their bit (which is a debate in itself) really give the US an excuse to point and say "look, they're not interested in the future of the environment so I'm not going to be either?"

[Webbo]

9 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

From what I can tell, that depends on what source you read.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/18/world/asia/china-coal-power-plants-pollution.html

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/01/climate/china-energy-companies-coal-plants-climate-change.html

 

http://energypost.eu/chinas-continuing-green-shift-in-electric-power-eidence-from-2016/

 

https://instituteforenergyresearch.org/analysis/despite-paris-agreement-china-india-continue-build-coal-plants/

 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/22/coal-power-plants-green-energy-china-india

 

With all that in mind the simple answer is I don't know, but having looked at all of this I would hazard a guess that China and India likely are building more coal plants, but that rate is decreasing while the rate of renewable energy building is increasing in such places. But that's just a guess.

 

In any case, does China and India not doing their bit (which is a debate in itself) really give the US an excuse to point and say "look, they're not interested in the future of the environment so I'm not going to be either?"

So the onus on the US in signing the agreement is different to other countries that sign the agreement? Now you can argue whether that's right or wrong but it does affect the thinking behind signing surely?

[leicsmac]

3 minutes ago, Webbo said:

So the onus on the US in signing the agreement is different to other countries that sign the agreement? Now you can argue whether that's right or wrong but it does affect the thinking behind signing surely?

If the US thinks they are being treated unfairly by the terms of the agreement then they can do what they like, including not being part of it.

 

However, the culpability for drastic changes in the future to the environment will then reside with them, as it will also with China and India should they not keep their end of the bargain up by flouting the agreement.

 

These are problems that have the potential to affect everyone, so it would follow that they are also everyones responsibility, yes? The Earth doesn't care in the least about borders or economic issues - it will change and challenge the human race - every single nation and person on it - regardless of such things.

[leicsmac]

Changing the subject a bit...

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41895042

 

Thoughts?

[Guest]

4 hours ago, leicsmac said:

In Korea today - and there was me thinking the Yongsan area had enough of a problem with sex pests as it was.

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41896635

 

Interesting comments though - I wonder if someone has told him to calm it down a little considering he's not that well liked on the peninsula and the provocative rhetoric he uses really doesn't help, and most Koreans know and dislike that.

I suspect the us intelligence that they'd need a ground war to get rid of the nk nukes might have resulted in the about turn.

 

1 hour ago, Webbo said:

Aren't China and India, who have signed the agreement, building new coal fired power stations every week?

China have committed to some huge improvements in the coming years. I can't remember the details but when I first read them it was a really ambitious project to go green.

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

Changing the subject a bit...

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41895042

 

Thoughts?

You read these things and it's just a case of shaking your head, rolling your eyes and carrying on isn't it?

[Guest]

49 minutes ago, Webbo said:

So the onus on the US in signing the agreement is different to other countries that sign the agreement? Now you can argue whether that's right or wrong but it does affect the thinking behind signing surely?

Oh here's a little bit I've found about Chinese green investment

 

The country’s investment in solar, wind and other clean energy technology has soared from $8 billion in 2005 to $103 billion in 2015. China now spends more on developing renewable energy than the US and Europe combined.

[Guest FriendlyRam]

Did anyone see his speech alongside the Japanese PM?

 

"You have a great economy, not as great as ours and id like to keep it that way" something along lines anyway

 

Hes a walking comedy skit

 

[leicsmac]

Possibly interesting show involving looking at some of the alt-right movement on Channel 4 on Thursday:

 

https://twitter.com/Channel4News/status/927843442457276417

[Trav Le Bleu]

Twitter to double the number of characters used in tweets.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41900880

 

This seems the most appropriate place to put this.

[leicsmac]

On 11/3/2017 at 08:57, leicsmac said:

Apparently "cricket fields" are not anglo...at least according to a recent local New Jersey political campaign:

 

 

 

 

As a continuation of this, turns out Mr Shi and Mrs Patel both won their respective elections.

 

Get ready for those cricket fields, Edison, New Jersey. So much better than baseball anyway. 

 

Good night all round for the Dems, really: big gains in Virginia, including winning the governors seat and the author of the "bathroom bill" being defeated after 26 years in his legislature seat...by a trans woman.

[The Doctor]

2 hours ago, leicsmac said:

the author of the "bathroom bill" being defeated after 26 years in his legislature seat...by a trans woman.

that's some great comeuppance. 

[Guest MattP]

13 hours ago, FriendlyRam said:

Did anyone see his speech alongside the Japanese PM?

 

"You have a great economy, not as great as ours and id like to keep it that way" something along lines anyway

 

Hes a walking comedy skit

Get me a link to this I really want to see it

 

His press conferences and TV appearances are amazing, his "I've met Harvey Weinstein and I'm not at all surprised" moment is brilliant, I've watched it ten times.

 

2 hours ago, leicsmac said:

Good night all round for the Dems, really: big gains in Virginia, including winning the governors seat and the author of the "bathroom bill" being defeated after 26 years in his legislature seat...by a trans woman.

That might not be the worst thing in the World for the Republicans, stuff like that will shore up the voting base in traditional states they need to win. Things like would make me tick the (R) box rather than nothing.

[Trav Le Bleu]

3 hours ago, leicsmac said:

As a continuation of this, turns out Mr Shi and Mrs Patel both won their respective elections.

 

Get ready for those cricket fields, Edison, New Jersey. So much better than baseball anyway. 

 

Good night all round for the Dems, really: big gains in Virginia, including winning the governors seat and the author of the "bathroom bill" being defeated after 26 years in his legislature seat...by a trans woman.

Never understood the American love of baseball and dislike of cricket. Baseball, 95% of the time, is swing, miss, swing, miss, swing, miss, walk to first base or the dugout. Incredibly boring. The only time it gets exciting is when they slog it and there rarely, if ever, seems to be any attempt to place their shot into an empty part of the field, it's hit and hope.  They can't catch a ball without wearing a glove that makes their hand three times larger either. Boring and dull.

[Captain...]

3 hours ago, MattP said:

Things like would make me tick the (R) box rather than nothing.

Why would a democratically elected Governer who campaigned primarily on transport and economic issues winning over someone who describes himself as "Virginia's chief homophobe" and was directly or indirectly responsible for personal attacks on his opponents make you vote republican?

 

This Bob Marshall character is a right piece of work, makes JRM look like a tree hugging lefty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Marshall_(Virginia_politician)

 

Quote

 

Marshall was a staffer for the American Life League, an organization which opposes all forms of abortion and birth control. After his election, he continued to work for the organization, including a stint as Executive Director in the mid-1990s ^[5] and now as a research consultant.

 

When asked about abortion in the case of incest, Marshall replied that sometimes incest is voluntary. In response to abortions in the case of rape, Marshall said, "Your origins should not be held against you [referring to the victim's unborn child]. The woman becomes a sin-bearer of the crime, because the right of a child predominates over the embarrassment of the woman."

 

The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children... In the Old Testament, the first born of every being, animal and man, was dedicated to the Lord. There's a special punishment Christians would suggest.^[23]

 

Following Congress' repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in December 2010, Marshall proposed a bill to "ban gays from openly serving in the Virginia National Guard because he is worried about service members catching sexually transmitted diseases from gay troops."^[27] According to the Washington Post, Marshall justified the legislation by saying: "If I needed a blood transfusion and the guy next to me had committed sodomy 14 times in the last month, I'd be worried," and "It's a distraction when I'm on the battlefield and have to concentrate on the enemy 600 yards away and I'm worried about this guy who's got eyes on me."

 

Marshall sponsored the Marshall-Newman Amendment to the state constitution that prohibited same-sex marriage as well as civil unions, domestic partnerships, and "other legal status to which is assigned the rights, benefits, obligations, qualities, or effects of marriage." It also prohibits the recognition of other states' such legal arrangements.

 

Marshall introduced the "Physical Privacy Act" (HB 1612), a bill to restrict bathroom and changing facility use by transgender people in January 2017.^[46] The bill would have restricted the use of restrooms and changing facilities to the individual's sex, which the bill defined as the biological assignation at birth. In addition, the bill would have required public school principals to inform guardians of minors if the minor asked "to be recognized or treated as the opposite sex" within twenty-four hours of the request.^[47] In response, Petula Dvorak, a columnist for The Washington Post, dubbed Marshall "[Virginia's] Minister of Private Parts", pointing to Marshall's history of proposed legislation regulating social, reproductive, and sexual issues.^[48]

 

In the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Marshall proposed legislation that would require teachers or school staff to carry concealed handguns in public schools.^[49]

 

 

This guy wouldn't stop you voting Republican, but an award winning Democrat journalist being elected in his place would make you vote republican?

 

I get you're not a fan of trans issues and all that, and if she had campaigned on her gender and trans issues then maybe you would have a point, but she didn't. Yes it obviously played some part and it is probably responsible for the extra funding her campaign got, and it certainly won her some votes, really if you are comparing the candidates on who would be a better governor, ignoring what's between their legs then it's pretty obvious to me.

[Carl the Llama]

6 hours ago, leicsmac said:

As a continuation of this, turns out Mr Shi and Mrs Patel both won their respective elections.

 

Get ready for those cricket fields, Edison, New Jersey. So much better than baseball anyway. 

 

Good night all round for the Dems, really: big gains in Virginia, including winning the governors seat and the author of the "bathroom bill" being defeated after 26 years in his legislature seat...by a trans woman.

Somehow missed that image when you first posted it.  Can't stop laughing at the cricket fields line  

[leicsmac]

6 hours ago, The Doctor said:

that's some great comeuppance. 

I know. The irony is delicious, isn't it?

 

5 hours ago, MattP said:

That might not be the worst thing in the World for the Republicans, stuff like that will shore up the voting base in traditional states they need to win. Things like would make me tick the (R) box rather than nothing.

 

I would give a more full response to this but Carl has pretty much said what I want to say - Marshall tried to make the election about Roem's identity as much as possible, Roem...didn't. And so she won.

 

I'll only add that even if this kind of fundie losing would shore up the vote amongst people that like him and in states that are traditionally strong, if the turnout is similar down the line to what it was last night then the Repubs are going to lose next time round - low turnout is one of the things they need to win. They simply don't have enough people who think like Marshall does in enough places to win if the turnout is high.

 

To add to that:

 

https://twitter.com/ABCPolitics/status/928078275582349312

[Guest FriendlyRam]

11 hours ago, MattP said:

Get me a link to this I really want to see it

 

His press conferences and TV appearances are amazing, his "I've met Harvey Weinstein and I'm not at all surprised" moment is brilliant, I've watched it ten times.

 

That might not be the worst thing in the World for the Republicans, stuff like that will shore up the voting base in traditional states they need to win. Things like would make me tick the (R) box rather than nothing.

 

Skip to 3:00 

 

Hilarious

 

[leicsmac]

Interviewer: "What would you say to your opponent after a night like tonight? It must feel very vindicating."

 

Roem: "I have nothing but nice things to say about Bob. I would never attack one of my constituents, and Bob is now one of my constituents."

 

Considering Bob Marshall spent pretty much his entire campaign attacking her on account of her identity, this is a great response.

[Buce]

8 hours ago, leicsmac said:

Interviewer: "What would you say to your opponent after a night like tonight? It must feel very vindicating."

 

Roem: "I have nothing but nice things to say about Bob. I would never attack one of my constituents, and Bob is now one of my constituents."

 

Considering Bob Marshall spent pretty much his entire campaign attacking her on account of her identity, this is a great response.

 

Classy.

[leicsmac]

Interesting Asian visit for Trump so far, been a mite more conciliatory than you might expect and he's been positively effusive towards Xi. Kindred spirits?

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-41924228