BruceVC Posted 19 hours ago Author Posted 19 hours ago I thought some humour would be appreciated in this thread, you guys must find the sentiment hilarious "Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss” John Milton "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” - George Bernard Shaw "What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela
Elerond Posted 18 hours ago Posted 18 hours ago 1 hour ago, BruceVC said: I thought some humour would be appreciated in this thread, you guys must find the sentiment hilarious Considering that as democracy demands that majority of people support the decision, then less than half of 66% that does not include over 3,2 million citizen of country isn't a democratic way to elect leader. But in this case democracy has never existed. 2
BruceVC Posted 16 hours ago Author Posted 16 hours ago (edited) 1 hour ago, Elerond said: Considering that as democracy demands that majority of people support the decision, then less than half of 66% that does not include over 3,2 million citizen of country isn't a democratic way to elect leader. But in this case democracy has never existed. https://www.cfr.org/article/2024-election-numbers " More than 155 million Americans voted in 2024: 156,302,318 to be exact. That’s the second largest total voter turnout in U.S. history in absolute terms. It is also just the second time that more than 140 million people voted in a presidential election. In relative terms, voter turnout nationally in 2024 was 63.9 percent. That is below the 66.6 percent voter turnout recorded in 2020, which was the highest voter turnout rate in a U.S. presidential election since 1900. " Trump won the popular vote and 7 swing states and this applies to registered voters but if you not a registered voter you cant vote and that applied to 89 million Americans who are known as voter-eligible https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2024-11-15/how-many-people-didnt-vote-in-the-2024-election " And while votes are still being counted, preliminary election data shows about 155 million ballots were cast. This would mean an estimated 89 million Americans, or about 36% of the country’s voting-eligible population, did not vote in the 2024 general election." But out of the registered voters Trump won, I fail to understand how anyone can say he didnt win through the Democratic process of voting? If someone doesnt want to register to vote then they obviously wont be included in this data but that doesn't change how he won the election in a Democratic way? Edited 16 hours ago by BruceVC "Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss” John Milton "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” - George Bernard Shaw "What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela
Malcador Posted 16 hours ago Posted 16 hours ago 2 hours ago, BruceVC said: There is endless criticism about US imperialism and its " insidious " control of UN and other institutions Its exaggerated and selective but its consistent from those detractors of the US So this is a good opportunity for other countries to take up the slack when the US pulls back its funding Why cant BRICS countries supplement the WHO? They want to create a new world order and help the global south Its not like China or India cant afford it? Trumps policies could be the perfect time to see real global change around this type of support for the likes of WHO We shouldnt rely just on the US for this type of funding ? Sort of an irrelevant retort, why shouldn't the US support the WHO? Because now you buy into Russian talking points? Why is BRICS your immediate go to when the rest of the West contributes less, I think Gates contributed more than France and others. Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra
Elerond Posted 16 hours ago Posted 16 hours ago 12 minutes ago, BruceVC said: https://www.cfr.org/article/2024-election-numbers " More than 155 million Americans voted in 2024: 156,302,318 to be exact. That’s the second largest total voter turnout in U.S. history in absolute terms. It is also just the second time that more than 140 million people voted in a presidential election. In relative terms, voter turnout nationally in 2024 was 63.9 percent. That is below the 66.6 percent voter turnout recorded in 2020, which was the highest voter turnout rate in a U.S. presidential election since 1900. " Trump won the popular vote and 7 swing states and this applies to registered voters but if you not a registered voter you cant vote and that applied to 89 million Americans who are known as voter-eligible https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2024-11-15/how-many-people-didnt-vote-in-the-2024-election " And while votes are still being counted, preliminary election data shows about 155 million ballots were cast. This would mean an estimated 89 million Americans, or about 36% of the country’s voting-eligible population, did not vote in the 2024 general election." But out of the registered voters Trump won, I fail to understand how anyone can say he didnt win through the Democratic process of voting? If someone doesnt want to register to vote then they obviously wont be included in this data but that doesn't change how he won the election in a Democratic way? US presidential election is not democratic by design. It was designed to protect state rights. Every state has their own rules for voting (like who are eligible to vote, how to register to vote, where you can vote, how you can vote, when you can vote, when your vote is eligible) and how state electors are elected. US citizens living in US territories like Puerto Rico don't get to choose any electors, because only states have electors. Some states have more electors per capita than other states. Most states give all their electors to person that got most votes, which has lead to situation where many states can be said to belong to republicans or democrats before they even have picked their candidates. There is no federal system that gives people right to vote for their president, there is no federal laws that says that states can't override result of the state vote. We can call it democratic system, but we can also call Russian elections democratic, but that don't change reality how those systems are designed to give people in power to go around will of the general population 1
BruceVC Posted 16 hours ago Author Posted 16 hours ago (edited) 30 minutes ago, Malcador said: Sort of an irrelevant retort, why shouldn't the US support the WHO? Because now you buy into Russian talking points? Why is BRICS your immediate go to when the rest of the West contributes less, I think Gates contributed more than France and others. The point is if the US pulls funding from the likes of the WHO there is no reason many other wealthy countries cant full the gap And BRICS is the obvious choice because it has second wealthiest country in the world and it claims to stand for the Global South and a new world order that is not as influenced by the West\USA And that objective can only be realized by action and not the standard rhetoric and platitudes This is a perfect opportunity for BRICS to demonstrate its commitment to it own objectives Edited 15 hours ago by BruceVC "Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss” John Milton "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” - George Bernard Shaw "What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela
Elerond Posted 15 hours ago Posted 15 hours ago (edited) 41 minutes ago, Malcador said: Sort of an irrelevant retort, why shouldn't the US support the WHO? Because now you buy into Russian talking points? Why is BRICS your immediate go to when the rest of the West contributes less, I think Gates contributed more than France and others. https://open.who.int/2024-25/contributors/contributor Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation contributes about same amount as USA and is second largest contributor. Interesting tidbit is that based on voluntary contribute percentages, Somalia (0.38%) contributes more than China (0.32%), South Africa (0%), Russia (0.17%) and Brazil (0%) combined. WHO's budget is bit over 6.5 billion dollars, so quite big sunk of the countries would be able to handle it alone without massive problems. Edited 15 hours ago by Elerond 1
Malcador Posted 15 hours ago Posted 15 hours ago (edited) 7 minutes ago, BruceVC said: The point is if the US pulls funding from the likes of the WHO there is no reason many other wealthy countries cant full the gap And BRICS is the obvious choice because it has second wealthiest country in the world and it claims to stand for the Global South and a new world order that is not as influenced by the West\USA And that objective can only be realized by action and not the standard rhetoric and platitudes This is a perfect opportunity for BRICS to demonstrate its commitment to it own objectives You think the US shouldn't fund the WHO? Americans really don't grasp the idea of soft power sometimes. Edited 15 hours ago by Malcador 1 Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra
BruceVC Posted 15 hours ago Author Posted 15 hours ago 23 minutes ago, Malcador said: Sort of an irrelevant retort, why shouldn't the US support the WHO? Because now you buy into Russian talking points? Why is BRICS your immediate go to when the rest of the West contributes less, I think Gates contributed more than France and others. The point is if the US pulls funding from the likes of the WHO there is no reason many other wealthy countries cant full the gap And BRICS is the obvious choice because it has second wealthiest country in the world and it claims to stand for the Global South and a new world order that is not as influenced by the West\USA And that objective can only be realized by action and the not the standard rhetoric and platitudes This is a perfect opportunity for BRICS to demonstrate its commitment to it own objectives "Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss” John Milton "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” - George Bernard Shaw "What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela
BruceVC Posted 15 hours ago Author Posted 15 hours ago Just now, Malcador said: You think the US shouldn't fund the WHO? I dont think the US decision should become the "issue " it has become and it has become an issue because this specific executive order has been mentioned several times in our media The WHO can get this funding from other countries and as @Elerond mentioned BRICS are hardly providing any funding and they can definitely full the gap if the WHO matters. I didnt realize BRICS members contributed so little You say you believe in a true multi-polar world, this is how you do it "Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss” John Milton "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” - George Bernard Shaw "What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela
Malcador Posted 15 hours ago Posted 15 hours ago (edited) 8 minutes ago, BruceVC said: The point is if the US pulls funding from the likes of the WHO there is no reason many other wealthy countries cant full the gap And BRICS is the obvious choice because it has second wealthiest country in the world and it claims to stand for the Global South and a new world order that is not as influenced by the West\USA And that objective can only be realized by action and the not the standard rhetoric and platitudes This is a perfect opportunity for BRICS to demonstrate its commitment to it own objectives China is the obvious choice, not BRICS. But Europe is there as well. Isn't a huge ask though. The arguments for the US leaving seem like tedious politics, well that and people thinking the WHO supercedes the CDC. But I forget your slant in this. Edited 15 hours ago by Malcador Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra
Malcador Posted 15 hours ago Posted 15 hours ago 3 minutes ago, BruceVC said: I dont think the US decision should become the "issue " it has become and it has become an issue because this specific executive order has been mentioned several times in our media What's hard about understanding why it's an issue, the US retreating from an international organization is a statement and will have an impact. Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra
BruceVC Posted 15 hours ago Author Posted 15 hours ago 1 minute ago, Malcador said: China is the obvious choice, not BRICS. But Europe is there as well. Isn't a huge ask though. The arguments for the US leaving seem like tedious politics, well that and people thinking the WHO supercedes the CDC. But I forget your slant in this. But why cant BRICS do it? Why cant they make a decision together to fund the US shortfall Again if BRICS believes in a multi-polar world this is one way of demonstrating that belief I dont understand why think BRICS cant do this, China will be the main contributor but other BRICS members can contribute "Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss” John Milton "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” - George Bernard Shaw "What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela
BruceVC Posted 15 hours ago Author Posted 15 hours ago 1 minute ago, Malcador said: What's hard about understanding why it's an issue, the US retreating from an international organization is a statement and will have an impact. Okay we going around in circles now, it wont be a problem if other countries full the funding shortfall It wont be an issue at all "Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss” John Milton "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” - George Bernard Shaw "What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela
Malcador Posted 15 hours ago Posted 15 hours ago 1 minute ago, BruceVC said: But why cant BRICS do it? Why cant they make a decision together to fund the US shortfall Again if BRICS believes in a multi-polar world this is one way of demonstrating that belief I dont understand why think BRICS cant do this, China will be the main contributor but other BRICS members can contribute And again, are you supporting the withdrawal? It being a good idea is wholly independent of whether or not BRICS that you're hyper fixated on steps up or not Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra
Malcador Posted 15 hours ago Posted 15 hours ago 6 minutes ago, BruceVC said: Okay we going around in circles now, it wont be a problem if other countries full the funding shortfall It wont be an issue at all It killing the WHO or not isn't the only consequence. The US was funding them for so long for a reason. Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra
BruceVC Posted 15 hours ago Author Posted 15 hours ago Just now, Malcador said: It killing the WHO or not isn't the only consequence. The US was funding them for so long for a reason. 5 minutes ago, Malcador said: And again, are you supporting the withdrawal? It being a good idea is wholly independent of whether or not BRICS that you're hyper fixated on steps up or not No I dont support the withdraw because I believe in the WHO as an important UN institution that provides healthcare services to third world and impoverished countries So if you look at @Elerond link the US provides 14.5% of funding so if you remove that it will impact the overall services the WHO provides which I dont want But that can easily be mitigated by other wealthy countries in the world This shouldnt become a problem when the likes of China are basically contributing nothing And thats where BRICS comes in because its a bloc that can easily full the US shortfall "Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss” John Milton "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” - George Bernard Shaw "What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela
Sarex Posted 15 hours ago Posted 15 hours ago https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-01-20/biden-issues-pardons-to-protect-milley-fauci-others-from-trump-retaliation-statement-says He forgot to pardon the dog... "because they filled mommy with enough mythic power to become a demi-god" - KP
Malcador Posted 15 hours ago Posted 15 hours ago 3 minutes ago, Sarex said: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-01-20/biden-issues-pardons-to-protect-milley-fauci-others-from-trump-retaliation-statement-says He forgot to pardon the dog... Considering Trump and his pardons now and before, this shouldn't be an issue for anyone. Biden should have pardoned Luigi 1 Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra
Sarex Posted 15 hours ago Posted 15 hours ago 7 minutes ago, Malcador said: Considering Trump and his pardons now and before, this shouldn't be an issue for anyone. Biden should have pardoned Luigi It wasn't my intention to compare them, I just find it funny that he pardoned his whole family. The joke was he forgot to pardon the family dog. They are both just as ridiculous and the fact is telling how much corruption there is on both sides. I also have to share this gem 1 "because they filled mommy with enough mythic power to become a demi-god" - KP
Malcador Posted 15 hours ago Posted 15 hours ago No comparing them is fine. Just shows how shot through the US system is getting Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra
uuuhhii Posted 14 hours ago Posted 14 hours ago the disingenuous assertion are worthless it is obvious why usa are now hostile to who they want to allow megacorp to poison people if it means more profit it is not complicated 1
BruceVC Posted 14 hours ago Author Posted 14 hours ago 1 minute ago, uuuhhii said: the disingenuous assertion are worthless it is obvious why usa are now hostile to who they want to allow megacorp to poison people if it means more profit it is not complicated You making very serious allegations, have you taken this to your local media? Dont sit on this information, you have a civic responsibility as a global citizen to let people know why the US has stopped funding the WHO !!!! Trump needs to educate himself on which countries are part of BRICS "Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss” John Milton "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” - George Bernard Shaw "What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela
Pidesco Posted 13 hours ago Posted 13 hours ago 6 hours ago, BruceVC said: I thought some humour would be appreciated in this thread, you guys must find the sentiment hilarious Fortunately democracies have never ever fallen after electing a putative strongman, so it's fine. 1 "My hovercraft is full of eels!" - Hungarian tourist I am Dan Quayle of the Romans. I want to tattoo a map of the Netherlands on my nether lands. Heja Sverige!! Everyone should cuffawkle more. The wrench is your friend.
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