I suggest a 50 kg bag of rice and a big bag of charcoal so that well water or ditch water can be consumed with some modicum of safety. I would expect power, water, and internet to go down in most cities. Cell phone too perhaps. I would also expect most of the local security in gated communities to disappear. Maybe they'll show up again to guide the first enterprising looters to the most promising houses. Hopefully in the gated communities enough people have enough firearms to form their own effective security details.
But shutting down of electricity, water and/or internet is far I could imagine but yeah much better if prepared. I live in a gated subdivision where there is tight security from people entering, considering they have families to go home and to stay with, for sure the gate will leave wide open at least for few days. Anyways, instead of TP, people here hoard alcohol instead. Like city storm sewer systems, gated subdivisions work in two ways, 1) to prevent the influx of negative factors when conditions are normal, within a normal range 2) to accelerate the influx of negative factors when conditions are outside that normal range |
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Careful with orthomolecular. It's touted as a 'peer reviewed science journal' but it's really just a pseudo science/conspiracy site used to push all those dietary supplements you see on fake news sites. The Author (Andrew Saul) is absolutely a fraud..... I second this, or to put it in the vernacular, Orthomolecular is absolutely bullshit. |
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WHY hoard toilet paper? It's from Canada. I can't imagine there would be actual shortages of trucks bringing it into the US.
On the other hand, there are a great many things from China that may be in short supply.
Bringing what? There are already shortages in some stores in Canada. Wait when schools are closed and people will be asked to 'work' from home. Canadians will be buying everything. There will be nothing to ship when factories close in Canada and farms are under quarantine in Mexico. Fuck, I never thought I would have to live through this 'end of the world' scenario. We need a vaccine or this thing will go south fast. I do not think the foresting industries in Canada will shut down. They can operate with all people staying a few meters apart, and driving cars and trucks to the worksites. Same with farming. |
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Boy, I didn't realize that toilet paper is such a coveted item. Tried to order some this weekend with my grocery store delivery, no dice. Waited to get some today, store shelf empty. Called one store, nope. Called another store, got lucky. However, I only bought one package of 12. The clerk asked me if I wanted more. I hope that I didn't make a crucial error. Although, I am sure cloth rags and frequent showers will work. Or is running water going to be in short supply soon, too? How long, exactly, are people expecting to be holed up? We only have like 33 presumptive cases in the state that I am in at the moment, and I live in a rather large state.(area wise)
There will be about 10K cases in the US in a week or so. 100K in a month, 1M in 3 months, unless the US government steps in and shows some backbone, close the borders, suspend schools, people gatherings, airports, public transportation and pour money into the development of coronavirus vaccines. I would buy a year's supply if I were you. You live close to water sources or have a hand pump, don't you? WHY hoard toilet paper? It's from Canada. I can't imagine there would be actual shortages of trucks bringing it into the US. On the other hand, there are a great many things from China that may be in short supply. |
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Summary of an informative article made by Ars Technica: Don’t Panic: The comprehensive Ars Technica guide to the coronavirus.... Remember that these symptoms take days to manifest, by the time you notice, you'd have to remember where you have been in the past week, where did you sneezed or coughed etc. Ideally people should avoid crowds and preferably going out until this quiets down. That is indeed a good reference. For what it worth I believe we're really looking at a lightning fast 21st century response to a epidemic, and doing pretty good. Except, apparently in Iran and a few other places. |
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doing so just to "cash-in."
I don't know if he's doing it just to cash in but he certainly doesn't mind billing taxpayers double or triple the going rate. I can't think of any good reason to do so other than... you know... being corrupt AF. But you're right, it's pointless to argue. I don't think I can convince you nor do I really need to. It's not uncommon for the likes of a POTUS to rent an entire floor (or more) of a hotel for security reasons, but at the moment we should be getting bargain rates. Given the coronavirus scare, right now the Rio in Vegas is $21. Not every night of the week, but a lot of times. So why can't we get a big discount on those Air Force One flights, too? |
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... Maybe you are African Black. Maybe you enjoy a form of paganism where people dance around fires, shaking rattles, and singing to the spirits of demons. Other people in your community don't like this. If you like it, move to Africa. Keep the border up so that good, clean, UK (or whatever) living doesn't reach you.  Africa is a frikking continent, it is not monolithic. As a first cut, one should distinguish between Northern Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. Ladyb almost deserves merit for the dumbest post yet, indeed stretching the limits of a brain with a internal computing capability of a 1 bit register, requiring an infinite length of time to process from a 1 to a 0. |
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Given that 2020 is toast, and that I'm rooting for Ivanka 2024...
It'll be interesting to see who the 2024 Republican nominee will be now that Trump has changed the party. Pence literally believes that he has been chosen by God to be president someday, so he'll eventually go for it, though he's a Mitt Romney Republican, not a Trump Republican. It's unclear if he could win the nomination or the general even if he had Trump's endorsement. I would expect Trump to favor endorsing a family member over Pence, if any of them actually want it. The Trump children are more likable than Pence, and could more easily claim to be continuations on Trump's legacy, though with different "flavors": Ivanka would be a more Dem-leaning candidate, Eric Trump and Jared Kushner are more stable, and Trump Jr. is even more extreme. And of course we'll probably have people like Rand Paul and Ted Cruz running again. 2024 could be seriously interesting, if the Dems generated internally a candidate with some charisma and halfway rational policies. And I suspect they will do that. I really think the American history of family dynasties in politics is puke worthy, but Ivanka with a non-Barbie, more mature dress and hair style would be a serious candidate. As is typical with the VP, his being in the background, we don't really know Pence. Of course it doesn't matter what I think, me being another half crazy radical of sorts, but I'd put both Cruz and Rand Paul on the Supreme Court. For the POTUS, we need more of an innovative than a managerial approach. |
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What in your opinion are the advantages Biden has over Sanders (or Sanders has over Biden) ? No way the Democratic Party will let Bernie be the nomination. It was no coincidence that when Sanders started to pull away from the pack the more moderates drop out and endorse Biden. Full disclosure. I am a Republican. But I think the Democratic Party did Bernie dirty last go around. I will have to say that I respect Bernie in that he has had the same message for over 40 years. He does not change his message based on his audience or who he is talking to. Biden is more relatable to the average Joe. Pun intended. To be fair, in other places and times, the Marxist dialectic has been exactly what related to the average Joe. Soviet Russia late 19th century to early 20th century. As an example. |
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If Bernie isn't elected then it's Trump again, 100% sure.
I think Bernie has far less of a chance than does Biden / Hillary / Michelle / Bloomberg / etc... His appeal was based on him being for labor and borders and wasn't into identity politics. He's backtracked completely on immigration. He's backtracked on the Second Amendment (goodbye Michigan and Pennsylvania) And he's accepted identity politics as opposed to sticking with the traditional socialist dichotomy of workers and capital. We know he will lose the suburbs so if he doesn't make HUGE inroads in capturing labor then fuggedaboutit. By abandoning his position on borders / immigration to capture the woke left he's lost his appeal with labor Dems. Now add to the fact that this isn't 2016 when you didn't know for sure what Trump would do. What has Trump done? He's gone hard into the border. The left has blasted him for this and he's kept to his guns. You think labor is going to switch back to Bernie after this? Fuk no. Bernie is toast. But I'm rooting for him to break up the Democrat party. I've long thought that it would be the Republican party that would break up first but now it looks as if it may be the Dems. So GOOO BERNIEEEE!!! The only rational solution to the Democrat candidate problem is to tie them all down, and take body parts from each, creating a Frankenstein monster with Bernie arms, Hillary toes, Bloomberg and Hillary dual heads. This way everyone will be happy. Oh and it needs remote controls so the fat old white guys in the back room can manipulate it. |
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We will have a fresh round of bailouts as Coronavirus hits the economy. Expect airlines to be first in the queue (although the UK government have allowed Flybe to collapse due to previous issues). It's yet more privatisation of profit and socialisation of debt and risk.
I think a wealth tax (as proposed by Thomas Piketty) might be the answer. Modern capitalist democracies are set up in such a way that inequality is a feature, not a bug. Once we hit the situation where the rate of return on capital exceeds the rate of economic growth, then existing wealth become more relevant than actual earned income.
The money derived from that tax can go back to people in any form, perhaps as you suggest as an income tax rebate - but a wealth tax is a solid mechanism for governments to acquire the funds to then give out.
Where in the world did you come up with that screwball economic ratio? |
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I'm really not kidding about what I said. The absolutely least appealing to young people, physically, voice patterns, appearance, gestures... least appealing personal imaginable would be in my opinion, Sanders.
Democrats thrive by pushing the "pretty boy." Kennedy, Obama, etc etc. That would mean most Democrats are superficial and prejudiced wouldn't it? I've just told them how to win (and how to not win === Sanders). Given that 2020 is toast, and that I'm rooting for Ivanka 2024... |
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I don't know. I wouldn't consider John Kerry, Walter Mondale nor Jimmy Carter "pretty boys" at all. They did all lose, although Jimmy won the 1st time against the Nixon pardoning klutz Gerald Ford. Carter was president long before I had any interest in politics, but I remember my dad (who was pretty conservative) being somewhat supportive of him. I think he appealed to wide range of people due to his humble peanut farming roots and all. Then there was the Gerald Ford factor... At least Carter had some hair, so he was definitely prettier. What about that dude who invented the internets? He sure was prettier than Dubbaya, at least by my uninitiated perspective. Well, criticize it all you want, you know I'm right. The Demos need that nice image projected, there can be zero content or complete falseness behind it. It can be a man, a woman, doesn't matter. Got to have the glitzy flashy smiley face for the media to ra-ra encourage. Anyone could have won against Ford, he was NOT elected. Carter was a good pick, an unknown, make him into whoever you need him to be. And don't forget Bill Clinton. Sometimes, I swear it's as if a person is given a "last hurrah", a symbolic shot at the POTUS that everyone knows will be lost. A Tribute to their long history of public service (and no doubt corrupt in the right directions). Mondale, Dole, Kerry, Jeb Bush. Delete Jeb Bush, Trump winning was a total surprise. Summarizing... Biden's not intended to win. He's intended to reflect the Demo party people. |
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Bernie Sandbag is doing his job, just like he did in 2016. Suck up as many populist votes as possible then deferring to the establishment candidate.
It's a thankless, dirty job. I couldn't think of a better guy suited to it. At least in 2020, the excuse was that Bernie lost because the DNC was rigging it against him from the inside. They were feeding the debate questions to Clinton before hand, they were literally giving Clinton money from the DNC fundraising effort (for down the ballot races), and so on and so forth. The deck truly was stacked against him. That wasn't fair in the least. But now they're stealing the primary from Bernie. They're literally doing it in democratic fashion. Biden will most likely LEGITIMATETLY end up with more delegates and more popular votes then Bernie. People may argue that some of this came from backdoor deals and stuff, but while backdoor deals may be unethical -- nothing about them makes this process undemocratic. I don't think Bernies job is to just be a token fighter. I think he truly wants to win. He just can't get the young people to vote, tough thing to do. There's one very good reason Bernie Sanders just can't get the young people to vote. It's Bernie Sanders. And that's just the young people. What the recent shakeout in the Demo clown car shows, to anyone who has eyes to see it, is that Democratic voters, Democratic establishment players, and companies that donate largely prefer a middle of the line candidate, even if it be one as blemished as Biden. The radical minority did not take over the Democratic Party. I felt like Bernie Sanders was also the best shot among the Democratic Party at increasing voter turnout among the young people. But at the end of the day, it's not an easy thing. I think some analysts were saying that Bernie would need to increase voter turnout among young people (at the primary process) by 11 percent. For comparison, Obama increased African American/Black voter turnout by 5 percent and that was deemed a VERY LARGE WIN. But yes, the radical minority did not take over the party. We'll see where that radical minority goes though, as they're not going to be very happy now. I'm really not kidding about what I said. The absolutely least appealing to young people, physically, voice patterns, appearance, gestures... least appealing personal imaginable would be in my opinion, Sanders. Democrats thrive by pushing the "pretty boy." Kennedy, Obama, etc etc. |
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Any one can create this Union in day dreaming because in reality its not going to happen in next few centuries as most of countries in your list have personal issues and very serious conflicts.
core countries turkey, iran, iraq, syria, saudi arabia, uae, kuwait, oman, potentially also: pakistan, afghanistan, north afrika
These Muslim countries cannot be on same forum because they don't like each other.
jes and muslims don't like each other, and as long as they stay that way they are for foreigners bad slaves, and bad money earning cattle for capitalist nations. and thats bad. Just curious, why did you leave Israel out? Jordon? Egypt? |
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Bernie Sandbag is doing his job, just like he did in 2016. Suck up as many populist votes as possible then deferring to the establishment candidate.
It's a thankless, dirty job. I couldn't think of a better guy suited to it. At least in 2020, the excuse was that Bernie lost because the DNC was rigging it against him from the inside. They were feeding the debate questions to Clinton before hand, they were literally giving Clinton money from the DNC fundraising effort (for down the ballot races), and so on and so forth. The deck truly was stacked against him. That wasn't fair in the least. But now they're stealing the primary from Bernie. They're literally doing it in democratic fashion. Biden will most likely LEGITIMATETLY end up with more delegates and more popular votes then Bernie. People may argue that some of this came from backdoor deals and stuff, but while backdoor deals may be unethical -- nothing about them makes this process undemocratic. I don't think Bernies job is to just be a token fighter. I think he truly wants to win. He just can't get the young people to vote, tough thing to do. There's one very good reason Bernie Sanders just can't get the young people to vote. It's Bernie Sanders. And that's just the young people. What the recent shakeout in the Demo clown car shows, to anyone who has eyes to see it, is that Democratic voters, Democratic establishment players, and companies that donate largely prefer a middle of the line candidate, even if it be one as blemished as Biden. The radical minority did not take over the Democratic Party. |
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You aren't actually responding to what I said, you are just repeating what you think the solution is.
You asked "What gives you the impression that this will change when "the government" (taxpayer) is footing the bill, and there is no one with a motive to resist these kind of wild expenditure abuses? " We're the only country in the world with a Healthcare system based on private insurance. There are lots of countries that spend half as much to insure everyone. I'm not denying that it's possible we try it and fail miserably due to corruption or incompetence. But we gotta do something... I think you had your chance at that with Obamacare. We need to move on. Also, it makes zero sense for the same party to be arguing for open borders and expensive free healthcare for all. Can't things even make sense? |
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There used be a time when there were very few differences between Democrats and Republicans, and most of those differences were limited to social liberties. Both parties were in favor of supporting the middle class
This I think is the crux of the problem, and it's not limited to the US, it's a global phenomenon. What happened was that the Berlin Wall fell, and with it communism. Then socialism, the more moderate and acceptable face of the political left, was tainted by association. The left moved ever rightwards in an attempt to remain electable during and in the aftermath of the 'greed is good' Reagan/Thatcher years. So the two main parties, once espousing ideologically very distinct philosophies, became more and more similar to one another. They both sought the same sort of voter. The left abandoned its traditional core support of the poor working class. After all, it didn't matter if they moved to the right: so long as they remained the left-most party, then the poor working class would still vote for them, right?.... No, the left did not move right after the Regan years. The left has moved massively further left. |
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Bernie Sandbag is doing his job, just like he did in 2016. Suck up as many populist votes as possible then deferring to the establishment candidate.
It's a thankless, dirty job. I couldn't think of a better guy suited to it. |
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