And don't forget Trump's first response, it's the new hoax of the Democrats! America has tackled the coronavirus! — ssu

Falling for the fake news again? Trump did NOT say the virus is the hoax. He said the politicizing by the Democrats is their new hoax. And he is correct.

Why are many Trump haters so gullible?

As far as your other claims, like I said, I've heard people make both kinds of claims, whether it's you claiming education is "girl-oriented", or claims that it is "boy-oriented" due to its emphasis on mathematics, and a presumably inferiority in that area on the part of girls or women due to testosterone's positive correlation with higher level mathematical and spatial reasoning ability. — IvoryBlackBishop

Actually, you brought up mathematics, not I. And yes, education is increasingly girl-oriented to the detriment of boys. This is about the learning environment, not about the choice of topics. You might want to check out Jonathan Haidt, who has researched this extensively. Also you might want to read the paper that got James Damore fired from Google for addressing exactly the same issue (in regard to work environment at Google, not at schools, but it is the same issue).

Regarding your claims about "incels", I'm curious and wondering?
How does one prove that they or someone else is an "incel" to begin with? How many girls do they have to ask on a date, or attempt to 'seduce' and get rejected by in order for them to qualify as an "incel"? — IvoryBlackBishop

This is not about individual situations, this about society in general. The vast majority of young males are heterosexual and are thus looking for females. With a general 50/50 male/female ration that generally works out.
Now if you have large surplus of males, you inevitably have a number of young males looking for females but unable to find one... thus, incels.

That there any number of indivial situations is a given... I am not talking about that. I was talking about society as whole. So hard to understand?

Because what is the argument that the UK is taking care more of it's borders here? You answer that one.

UK didn't have travel bans or flight suspensions to China. Italy had them! — ssu

I am not defending that the UK is late with restricting flights from CHina, just pointing out the UK is not part of the idiotic Schengen agreement, and not subject to the EUs insane migrant quotas. Look at the Greek border to see what is waiting for Euro0pe. I except the the flights from the UK to be restricted too, fwiw.
Now take your childish TDS to another tread, thanks.

No matter that the UK has more deaths now from the Corona-virus than a larger country like Germany which is partly considered epidemic area btw. And that England’s deputy chief medical officer has predicted “thousands” of cases of coronavirus in Britain during an “epidemic peak”. — ssu

You are just fumbling, trying to use Corona as another excuse for Trump bashing. Typical TDS symptom.

So now to fight the "foreign virus", Trump put a travel ban on Europe, on foreign nationals.

Except the UK.

A Trumpian response. — ssu

No, a very obvious response, since the UK is controlling her borders, unlike the EU. Any other TDS kneejerk comments?

The only issue is that countries that wait too long to use such measures don't benefit if there are already too many people exposed. While I'm not saying that a unmodified military plan would be best when dealing with the corona virus, I'm also not saying that a modified military plan wouldn't be better then what countries like the US are already doing. — dclements

Well, that is well and good but it is a very generic statement, that you could make about any US government and in fact against any government. Hindsight is always 20-20, isnt it.

Governments actively pursue GDP-growth at the expense of general well being (pollution, living space). — Benkei

You do realize that general well being (pollution, living space, etc) is generally linked negatively to GDP, or do you not? I.e. the proverbial shithole countries that our celebreties love to defend but never move to are characterized by low GDP and horrible living conditions and pollution.
Maybe take a closer look at those talking points before repeating them.

To furhter that point can you really claim to have one with out the other. I personally am of the mind that you can not. Ethics and morality are so interwoven and integral to the fabric of society. — LuckilyDefinitive

That depends on the decinition. THe definition I used bases morality on a religion, and ethics simply as a societal standard. So yes, if you do not believe in religion, you can have ethics without morality. But of course if you use a different defintion, you get to a different conclusion.

Trump and GOP mount coordinated campaign to paint Biden as senile — Michael

Do you have to mount a coordinated campaign to do that?`Isn´t it enough to watch some Biden clips?

The guy who ran on a platform "the US sucks" — Benkei

Who ran on a platform of "the US sucks"?

All he needs to do as President is show leadership, hold press conferences in which he spells out the situation, the risks and what needs to be done, pulling the people together in a spirit of cooperation and unity in fighting the threat. It's not difficult. But instead, I just heard him muttering something about flu and how great he is. — Punshhh

I think he is doing it, although probably sometimes his natural tendency to be overly optimistic gets in the way. It sounds like you base your opinion on the selected snippets and opinions that CNN et al feed us. Try get out of the bubble.

It's the downturn, sometimes called "correction". Blame the triggering on whatever you want, it's inevitable because it's how people claim their winnings from the losers. — Metaphysician Undercover

Correct. A correction was overdue, and in that sense corona was a welcome trigger. If the correction had happened without an obvious external trigger,, the fake media would have been all over Trump blaiming for it.
The notion that a stock market can always move up without any overextension and correction is childish.

Isn't it nice in the light of everything you just said that in the US we have spent trillions of dollars on the war on terrorism, but have spent probably less than 1% of that amount preparing then country for the situation we are in now. — dclements

I agree on the stupidity of the "war on terrorism", but likewise I would like to know what exactly the govt should have done to "prepare for a situation like this". And do you want the govt to "prepare" for any imaginable situation? You realize that that list would be unlimited, don´t you?

Isn't it nice in the light of everything you just said that in the US we have spent trillions of dollars on the war on terrorism, but have spent probably less than 1% of that amount preparing then country for the situation we are in now. — dclements

I agree on the stupidity of the "war on terrorism", but likewise I would like to know what exactly the govt should have done to "prepare for a situation like this". And do you want the govt to "prepare" for any imaginable situation? You realize that that list would be unlimited, don´t you?

Optimism is probably the wrong approach too. My point is he's going to have to step up to the plate now. — Punshhh

What does "step up to the plate" mean? What exactly do you want him to do that he has not done? I find this is a very typical situation... the Trump haters bash the guy, but never specify what exactly they want. Fundamentally, the criticism seems to be: orangeman bad, because orangeman bad.

Then we catch and sell the bats and other animals, and periodically get sick with ebola or corona virus and worse. — Bitter Crank

Who is "we"? Count me out please.

Has anyone discussed yet the ethics of these "open markets" in China? — schopenhauer1

The ethics of human and animal suffering do not exist in China. The open markets are only a tiny glimpse of that.

Whoossh, the sound of the stock market this morning. The recession is upon us already. Let's see how bad it is a week from now, or a month. — Punshhh

Stock markets always find a reason to go up and down. But here is the easiest prediction ever: While the "mainstream" media narrative was all along that the booming economy was a belated result of Obamas wonderful policy, the moment the economy goes down, this will change to the Trump economy. Like 1984... lets quickly revise all the textbooks.

This wasn't supposed to happen, Trump was going to secure his place in history as a successful president. But now we have a global crisis greater than the financial crisis of 2008, perhaps as serious as the Second World War. Now as president it is his duty to step up to the plate and show presidential leadership. — Punshhh

Afaik, he is doing his job. What exactly are you bashing him for, except being Trump?

Will he perform, or will he shy away and attempt to downplay the seriousness of the situation, out of fear? — Punshhh

"Downplaying" is a loaded word. The president is supposed to be optimistic; if he was not, you would bash him for spreading panic.

Strong come back. Erudite and all. — Benkei

Simple statement of fact. Annoying, eh?

Nor am I aware of anything really bad about Biden. He's old and maybe a bit slow, but that not comparable to Trump and his creatures. — tim wood

So you are not aware of his massive corruption scandals with e.g. Ukraine and China. Well, they don´t tell you about it at CNN, the NYT and Huffpost, so yes if you are an echo chamber resident your world probably looks like that.

The only positive thing about this corrupt Biden guy is that because of age and senility, it will be a one-term presidency.

This is the Coronavirus thread.
Trump should do the right thing, not worry about his image, or the election. — Punshhh

I agree this is the Corona virus thread. So take your antitrump cackling to the TDS thread, where it belongs.

You don't have TDS? Then why go off like a rocket every time I make fun of Trump? — Benkei

I do not have TDS, you do. Hope you get well sometime.

I don't care who you caught it from; just quarantine yourself until the symptoms subside. — unenlightened

I have neither TDS than Corona. No idea if I can avoid Corona, but as long as I have a functioning brain, I sure as hell can avoid TDS.

So will Trump do the right thing and bring all his troops in Asia home, before they get infected?
You know very well that he cant do something that drastic in the political situation he is in. At least he is taking steps in the right direction, by drawing down in Syria and preparing a withdrawal from Afghanistan. And the swamp is bashing him for that already!
Come one, as much as you hate the guy, you have to acknowledge that that is vastly better than warmonger Clintons policy.
— Punshhh

Or will he bottle out and start denying the seriousness of the situation? — Punshhh

Which situation? The ME or Corona? His natural reflex is to to be optimistic. And he gets bashed for that. But the "mainstream media" would bash him even more if is sounded alarmist. Damned if he does, damned if he does not.

Please make sure your politicians have corona virus before you bring them to this thread. — unenlightened

I did not start it. "Benkei" did! Blame TDS... it seems every bit as infectious as Corona.

Oh, those emails, scary stuff. — Punshhh

You mean the 30,000 e-mail from her unsecured toilet server that were all about yoga classes and babysitting? Have you seen them? I thought publishing it is a crime, no?

So Trump's Middle East policy has lead to a good place? — Punshhh

I do not see how the ME will ever be a "good place".
However, Trump has not started any new wars, he has stopped the idiotic nation building interventions, and he is gradually withdrawing. All the exact opposite of what "we came, we saw, he died, cackle cackle cackle" Hillary Clintons possible. So, yes, 100% better.

Again, wow people seriously can think that the person who destroyed Libya, supported the Jihadis in Syria, and de facto threatened WW3 in the debate is preferrable to Trump is, mind-boggling.

Or bad luck. For having Trump as president I suppose. — Benkei

I never cease to be amazed that there are people out there who seriously think the corrupt warmongering hag that was the alternative at the time would have been a better choice. Mind-boggling.

Then again, parrotting the corrupt "mainstream" media does not involve much thinking.

If Sanders doesn't get the nomina+tion (if Biden is shoe-horned in), then Trump will win a second term. — VagabondSpectre

That much is obvious, isnt it? The swamp clearly does not want Sanders.

Scott Adams predicts the swamp candiate combination will be: Biden+Harris. Scott Adams has a good record of predicting these things, I would bet on him.

Anyway, US elections are always entertaining. I keep the popcorn ready to watch the fury of the Bernie fans when he gets shut down...

The period in Medina was met by constant harassment by the same people who had oppressed them for their entire time in Mecca, and most of the controversial verses in the Quran were specifically referring to dealing with said oppressors. There is no contradiction — YusufPonders

Well, maybe "contradiction" is the wrong word. I was referring to the essential difference in the Mecca and Medina verses. The Mecca verses speak of tolerance towards non-muslims, the Media verses demand brutal oppression. Yes, if you consider the context, you do get a sort of consistent message, namely: when the islamic population is small and weak, behave nicely towards the others. Once the islamic population becomes strong and dominant, oppress the others.

What I was pointing out is that this is a political roadmap, and not a divine principle (which of course would not change depending on context).

Who's actually promoting unlimited 3rd world immigration now? Where are your "globalist leaders" preaching that anymore, I just ask. Things can change in 5-6 years, you know. — ssu

Have you been living under a rock? Are you unaware of the ongoing mass migration, and the latest wave unleased by Erdogan just a few days ago? Greece has a nationalist government, so for now they are trying to hold the line. But Merkels and Macarons open invitation still stands. You probably did not notice that these globalist activists have also signed the "UN Compact for Migration" which fundamentally gives the whole 3rd world the unlimited right to migrate to the Western democracies.

What government aims for massively growing population I'd ask? The last example was Ceausescu's Romania, and not only did that policy fail, but that dictatorship has long past gone. — ssu

EU governments are, as are the US democrats. By promoting unlimited 3rd world immigration, as also promoted by the UN. (See also UN "Compact for Migration" as signed our clueless globalist l eaders.
Just to point out the obvious.

Holy MacKarel, you are a genius!! Not only can you tell that .001 goes 20 times into .02, but you can also tell that .001 <> .02.

I admire you for your superior math skills. Do you have a Ph.D. in math, perchance, from some better university? — god must be atheist

Very funny. So you disagree that Corona has a higher mortality rate than the seasonal flue?

Firstly, the simple and historically quite proven fact is that with growing prosperity fertility rates plunge. In the poorest countries having a lot of children is the basic (hopeful) guarantee that at least somebody is going to take care of you when you are old and cannot work, hence you don't have to become a beggar. Not so in more prosperous countries. Hence high fertility rates show actually how poor the countries are. — ssu

It is not clear which is the cause and which is the effect though. Also, there is no consistent correlation... Birthrate in Israel is 3.1 and in Saudi 2.6, both of which is well above replacement level. And these are wealthy countries.

Secondly, it's not just the manufacturers, it's the governments themselves. Decrease in the population is not only a genuine cause for low economic growth, but also it makes a huge problem for the present welfare system. — ssu

True. However, I still call this shallow thinking. And you can see the disastrous result of e.g. the EU policy of importing masses of third world migrants straight into the European welfare systems, where, instead of solving the pension problem, they increase it.

A bit off the topic, but I'll try to answer. The answer is no.

Firstly, the simple and historically quite proven fact is that with growing prosperity fertility rates plunge. In the poorest countries having a lot of children is the basic (hopeful) guarantee that at least somebody is going to take care of you when you are old and cannot work, hence you don't have to become a beggar. Not so in more prosperous countries. Hence high fertility rates show actually how poor the countries are.

Secondly, it's not just the manufacturers, it's the governments themselves. Decrease in the population is not only a genuine cause for low economic growth, but also it makes a huge problem for the present welfare system. — ssu

I know all of this, and I know economists and politicians fall into this shallow line of thinking.
Basing economic growth on an ever growing population is a fools game. Yes, more consumers mean bigger markets, but they also mean more need for jobs, more demand for government services, more load on the environment, more pollution, more imports, more ressource consumption, more, more more. Just how many more millions do you want to add to the 120 that already occupy the relatively small area of Japan? How much more population does Hong Kong need?

On the other side, how about the economic success of high-birthrate places like the Congo, Haiti? Continue the list as you wish.

Yes, the population imbalance created by a shrinking population is a problem. But what governments should aim at is a stable population (birthrate about 2) and not an massively growing population.

Clearer?

Like population growth is the basic and natural reason for economic growth? — ssu

Only if seen from the very narrow viewpoint of manufacturers looking for a growing market. Not for the country as a whole. Otherwise, please explain why the places with the highest population growth are typically proverbial sh1tholes, while the population the most developed countries is shrinking.

Like TDS? — Monitor

TDS is not name-calling. If you think the Trump Derangement Syndrome is not a real psychological phonemenon, you are probably caught in it.

However, our politicians want to change that by massively importing high-fertility populations from the 3rd world, in order to reverse that trend. — Nobeernolife
Are you sure that is the motive? — Monitor

There can be other motives of course (think cheap labour big capital, cultural disembedding etc etc), but replacement population is obvious and often directly mentioned.
I.e. see on the UN page: https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/ageing/replacement-migration.asp

Not exactly a secret.