U.S. Politics

[villa4europe]

when you read his rationalisation of that it just gets worse

he visited the island after the storm, there were 6-18 deaths at that stage, he then left, how can anyone who died after that possibly have died because of the storm? the storm had gone

the months with no electric and water dont count

 

[Czechlad]

No water, no electricity, roads were closed and destroyed, and no way of getting to people in more remote areas. FEMA said it was almost an impossible task to get around the island because of all the damage, so people who need insulin, and other basic medicines couldn't get them. Once their town ran out, they died. That is a direct cause of the hurricane, but nope it's a f***ing democratic ploy to make trump look bad. Goddamn idiot. 

[Davkaus]

Quote

 

when you read his rationalisation of that it just gets worse

he visited the island after the storm, there were 6-18 deaths at that stage, he then left, how can anyone who died after that possibly have died because of the storm? the storm had gone

 

 

The tragic irony is that he's essentially arguing that the hurricane didn't kill them, his administration's shit response to it did. A president can't stop a hurricane, but they can damn well aid the recovery.

Damned by his own words, but too stupid to see it.

Edited September 13, 2018 by Davkaus

[LakotaDakota]

I know most will not like the source but watching these idiots crying & hugging each other because Trump won the election is quite terrifying given how integrated google is into everyones life.

Guess Trump was right, they don't like him:

 

A video recorded by Google shortly after the 2016 presidential election reveals an atmosphere of panic and dismay amongst the tech giant’s leadership, coupled with a determination to thwart both the Trump agenda and the broader populist movement emerging around the globe.

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2018/09/12/leaked-video-google-leaderships-dismayed-reaction-to-trump-election/

Key moments from the video can be found at the following timestamps:

• (00:00:00 – 00:01:12) Google co-founder Sergey Brin states that the weekly meeting is “probably not the most joyous we’ve had” and that “most people here are pretty upset and pretty sad.”
• (00:00:24) Brin contrasts the disappointment of Trump’s election with his excitement at the legalization of cannabis in California, triggering laughs and applause from the audience of Google employees.
• (00:01:12) Returning to seriousness, Brin says he is “deeply offen[ded]” by the election of Trump, and that the election “conflicts with many of [Google’s] values.”
• (00:09:10) Trying to explain the motivations of Trump supporters, Senior VP for Global Affairs, Kent Walker concludes: “fear, not just in the United States, but around the world is fueling concerns, xenophobia, hatred, and a desire for answers that may or may not be there.”
• (00:09:35) Walker goes on to describe the Trump phenomenon as a sign of “tribalism that’s self-destructive [in] the long-term.”
• (00:09:55) Striking an optimistic tone, Walker assures Google employees that despite the election, “history is on our side” and that the “moral arc of history bends towards progress.”
• (00:10:45) Walker approvingly quotes former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s comparison between “the world of the wall” with its “isolation and defensiveness” and the “world of the square, the piazza, the marketplace, where people come together into a community and enrich each other’s lives.”
• (00:13:10) CFO Ruth Porat appears to break down in tears when discussing the election result.
• (00:15:20) Porat promises that Google will “use the great strength and resources and reach we have to continue to advance really important values.”
• (00:16:50) Stating “we all need a hug,” she then instructs the audience of Google employees to hug the person closest to them.
• (00:20:24) Eileen Naughton, VP of People Operations, promises that Google’s policy team in DC is “all over” the immigration issue and that the company will “keep a close watch on it.”
• (00:21:26) Naughton jokes about Google employees asking, ‘Can I move to Canada?’ after the election. She goes on to seriously discuss the options available to Google employees who wish to leave the country.
• (00:23:12) Naughton does acknowledge “diversity of opinion and political persuasion” and notes that she has heard from conservative Google employees who say they “haven’t felt entirely comfortable revealing who [they] are.” and urged “tolerance.” (Several months later, the company would fire James Damore allegedly for disagreeing with progressive narratives.)
• (00:27:00) Responding to a question about “filter bubbles,” Sundar Pichai promises to work towards “correcting” Google’s role in them
• (00:27:30) Sergey Brin praises an audience member’s suggestion of increasing matched Google employee donations to progressive groups.
• (00:34:40) Brin compares Trump voters to “extremists,” arguing for a correlation between the economic background of Trump supporters and the kinds of voters who back extremist movements. Brin says that “voting is not a rational act” and that not all of Trump’s support can be attributed to “income disparity.” He suggests that Trump voters might have been motivated by boredom rather than legitimate concerns.
• (00:49:10) An employee asks if Google is willing to “invest in grassroots, hyper-local efforts to bring tools and services and understanding of Google products and knowledge” so that people can “make informed decisions that are best for themselves.” Pichai’s response: Google will ensure its “educational products” reach “segments of the population [they] are not [currently] fully reaching.”
• (00:54:33) An employee asks what Google is going to do about “misinformation” and “fake news” shared by “low-information voters.” Pichai responds by stating that “investments in machine learning and AI” are a “big opportunity” to fix the problem.
• (00:56:12) Responding to an audience member, Walker says Google must ensure the rise of populism doesn’t turn into “a world war or something catastrophic … and instead is a blip, a hiccup.”
• (00:58:22) Brin compares Trump voters to supporters of fascism and communism, linking the former movement to “boredom,” which Brin previously linked to Trump voters. “It sort of sneaks up sometimes, really bad things” says Brin.
• (01:01:15) A Google employee states: “speaking to white men, there’s an opportunity for you right now to understand your privilege” and urges employees to “go through the bias-busting training, read about privilege, read about the real history of oppression in our country.” He urges employees to “discuss the issues you are passionate about during Thanksgiving dinner and don’t back down and laugh it off when you hear the voice of oppression speak through metaphors.” Every executive on stage – the CEO, CFO, two VPs and the two Co-founders – applaud the employee.
• (01:01:57) An audience member asks if the executives see “anything positive from this election result.” The audience of Google employees, and the executives on stage, burst into laughter. “Boy, that’s a really tough one right now” says Brin.

[villakram]

It's Puerto Rico. 

Trump is only carrying on a long tradition of US occupation and exploitation of that island.

[El Zen]

2 hours ago, villakram said:

It's Puerto Rico. 

Trump is only carrying on a long tradition of US occupation and exploitation of that island.

No «only» about it. He’s turning tragic deaths into a conspiracy theory. Appearances matter, and not only is it obvious that Trump doesn’t care about Puerto Ricans, he’s straight out telling them to go f*** themselves while he’s using their tragedy to further divide the country. 

You’re right, US-Puerto Rican history is nothing to be proud of, but once again Trump manages to turn it up to eleven. 

[StefanAVFC]

2 hours ago, villakram said:

It's Puerto Rico. 

Trump is only carrying on a long tradition of US occupation and exploitation of that island.

Your continued normalisation of Trump's behaviour is disturbing.

[StefanAVFC]

It's super logically inconsistent too.

Bicks saying the election wasn't free and fair is a 'conspiracy theory' but Trump tweeting Democrats made up the death toll in Puerto Rico is 'only carrying on a long tradition of US exploitation'.

Edited September 13, 2018 by StefanAVFC

[peterms]

17 hours ago, TheAuthority said:

 

[peterms]

I was intrigued by this story.

Quote

North Carolina didn't like science on sea levels … so passed a law against it

In 2012, the state whose low-lying coast lies in the path of Hurricane Florence reacted to a prediction of catastrophically rising seas by banning policies based on such forecasts

I wonder if they will carry out a review of the effectiveness of this approach?

[LakotaDakota]

10 minutes ago, peterms said:

 

[villa4europe]

10 minutes ago, peterms said:

I was intrigued by this story.

I wonder if they will carry out a review of the effectiveness of this approach?

depends if the thoughts and prayers fail

not suggesting its trump pro or con but the thought of them moving 2 million people in preparation for this is pretty spectacular, double the population of brum

[TheAuthority]

1 hour ago, peterms said:

I was intrigued by this story.

I wonder if they will carry out a review of the effectiveness of this approach?

Most people who are staying are staying to "defend their homes."

It's their Americun rite - shooting hurricanes with thur guuuuunnns.

[villakram]

4 hours ago, StefanAVFC said:

Your continued normalisation of Trump's behaviour is disturbing.

You can interpret it that way if it makes you feel better. He simply is the US presidency without any of the decorum etc., that one typically expected from a politician. This has happened before from time to time (e.g., Albright or Bush ad nauseam), but it's typically been short enough that we've all been able to go along with our lives and then feel good because we donated to the poor children in Africa or some such. It's much less comfortable when it's jammed in our faces, hence, the wide-scale awakening. That Trump and the greatest wealth transfer in history has been required to engender this... well, that speaks volumes.

I've had my eyes wide open to how things really work in the world, long before it became popular to do so on facebook. Interpreting everything as pro-Trump, is far too simplistic.

Edited September 13, 2018 by villakram

[villakram]

4 hours ago, StefanAVFC said:

It's super logically inconsistent too.

Bicks saying the election wasn't free and fair is a 'conspiracy theory' but Trump tweeting Democrats made up the death toll in Puerto Rico is 'only carrying on a long tradition of US exploitation'.

Jeez.

These are different topics.

I did not condone in any way what Trump said, merely adding to the conversation the small detail of the US long history shitting on PR. Of course, that's means I'm pro-Trump... 

Regarding the bickster comment. I interpreted that from the Russians under the bed angle that has been pushed for so long, though collusion has skulked off into a dark corner somehow these days. To even attempt to score an argumentative point by saying that I was unaware of the nonsense that is freedom and democracy, shinning light etc., is willfully ignorant of my history posting on here. I actually didn't interpret his comment as an attack, but simply making the point for emphasis, which was pretty appropriate at that point in the conversation. 

It's kinda funny, because so much of the post election crying was related to those pesky Russians subverting this supposed precious democracy 

Anyway... carry-on.

[il_serpente]

But you didn't merely add to the conversation the small detail of a long history of the US shitting on Puerto Rico, did you?  You discounted everyone else's outrage about Trump's statements because others have done bad things to them previously.   Not to mention that no previous president has:

• publicly told them that a natural disaster that devastated their island's infrastructure wasn't a "real" disaster;
• turned Puerto Rico's problems into a frivolous photo op for themselves;
• bragged that a federal relief effort that allowed power to remain out for half the island for months while allowing the situation vanish from the radar was a success;
• disputed official accounts of a death toll or other damage to the island as being a lie perpetrated by  political opponents to make them look bad.

This wasn't the US shitting on Puerto Rico.  This was one individual dumping the contents of an entire outhouse on them without the support of the American people or even the bulk of the ruling class that generally make up "the US" when discussing actions of the state such as this.

[A'Villan]

11 minutes ago, il_serpente said:

But you didn't merely add to the conversation the small detail of a long history of the US shitting on Puerto Rico, did you?  You discounted everyone else's outrage about Trump's statements because others have done bad things to them previously.   Not to mention that no previous president has:

• publicly told them that a natural disaster that devastated their island's infrastructure wasn't a "real" disaster;
• turned Puerto Rico's problems into a frivolous photo op for themselves;
• bragged that a federal relief effort that allowed power to remain out for half the island for months while allowing the situation vanish from the radar was a success;
• disputed official accounts of a death toll or other damage to the island as being a lie perpetrated by  political opponents to make them look bad.

This wasn't the US shitting on Puerto Rico.  This was one individual dumping the contents of an entire outhouse on them without the support of the American people or even the bulk of the ruling class that generally make up "the US" when discussing actions of the state such as this.

Not sure @villakram was out to discount anyone else, I read it simply to suggest that we've 'been here before'.

The things you mention never happening before are because we are discussing a new set of events, just like those before and those yet to come they will be unique in some way.

I think the point was merely this wouldn't be the first slap in the face from America. Just that Trump is perhaps less underhanded or subtle in speech than his predecessors.

[VILLAMARV]

Sadly, after New Orleans, It's hard not to judge American responses to natural disasters in number of people shot by government contractors.

[VILLAMARV]

Possibly one for the things you often wonder thread but I often wonder what @villakram said or did once that makes this thread jump on his words.

8 hours ago, villakram said:

You can interpret it that way if it makes you feel better. He simply is the US presidency without any of the decorum etc., that one typically expected from a politician. This has happened before from time to time (e.g., Albright or Bush ad nauseam), but it's typically been short enough that we've all been able to go along with our lives and then feel good because we donated to the poor children in Africa or some such. It's much less comfortable when it's jammed in our faces, hence, the wide-scale awakening. That Trump and the greatest wealth transfer in history has been required to engender this... well, that speaks volumes.

I've had my eyes wide open to how things really work in the world, long before it became popular to do so on facebook. Interpreting everything as pro-Trump, is far too simplistic.

So nearly got a like there, I'll admit it's the starting sentence on the last line that stopped me clicking the button. Your overconfidence sounds a bit crusade-y. But I totally agree with the rest.

 

[VILLAMARV]

13 hours ago, StefanAVFC said:

Your continued normalisation of Trump's behaviour is disturbing.

Genuinely haven't seen or picked up on this at all.