Lurker > antfair

Nice
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What is this, a fair for ants?

Always a good sign of quality content when you have impact font text at the top and bottom

But, to the video itself: did anyone die?
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The rules are a ***j
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The Steele dossier suggests that one exists
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Imperialism is bad, imo
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Don't get your hopes up for Season 3
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Cities Skylines
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COVxy posted...

Which has exactly what to do with the current conversation?

What is your proposal to "shock" Assad?
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COVxy posted...

antfair posted...

The U.S. should stop trying to grab cookies via military engagement in the Middle East.

Seems like quite the non sequitur.

I'm merely applying your metaphor to a different actor in this drama. You say that Assad will eventually learn, via military strike, not to use chemical weapons on his civilians. I say: the U.S. should already have learned, given the regional chaos it has unleashed in previous military engagements, that its military involvement is not going to improve crises in the middle east.
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COVxy posted...

His "solution" literally isn't a solution, it's simply avoiding trying to solve the problem in the first place.

I am solving a different, larger problem, one that in my estimation is more important to solve than the one you have posed.
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COVxy posted...

If you went to grab a cookie from a cookie jar, and you got shocked, you might try again, no?

But, if you went to grab the cookie again, and you got shocked again, you might be more hesitant?

And then let's say you are persistent enough to try a third time and you got shocked, perhaps you'd stop trying to grab a cookie, no?

The U.S. should stop trying to grab cookies via military engagement in the Middle East. To suggest otherwise, at the current moment, is to suggest that Donald Trump should be in charge of a military effort to reduce bloodshed in a civil and proxy war in Syria. I don't believe that is the best possible route.
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COVxy posted...

You think that at some point Assad will just say "You know what? Gassing my citizens isn't right. I think I'll stop doing that now"?

No, I think he'll probably continue being a human rights disaster, but that this, while tragic, is the best option we have on the table in comparison to the further U.S. military involvement that would be required to stop Assad.
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COVxy posted...

"How do you solve this equation?"
"Don't try to solve it, problem solved."

You are posing a question that is not the question actually being faced by the U.S. You are taking as a given that the U.S. must seek to stop or punish Assad's use of chemical weapons, but this not the case. The U.S.'s responsibility is not to stop Assad no matter the costs. The U.S.'s responsibility, to the extent it has one, is to minimize the human toll in the conflict. The way to do that, in my estimation, is by avoiding military involvement in Syria.
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COVxy posted...

A solution may be a net negative, but if it is the best out of all the solutions it's still the solution you take.

I believe not getting involved militarily would be the best option here.

COVxy posted...

Criticism without proposing alternatives or fixes is useless. It makes you feel good though.

I am proposing an alternative: do not bomb Syria
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What is this, a fair for ants?

Masterful deflection in post #2. This is how it's done, folks
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Anteaterking posted...

I don't want to sound like I'm playing the "Both sides are wrong" card, but I think "Who cares if Syrians are dying when we have problems at home?" is a bad position.

I think that's fair; I don't mean to ape here the "America first" mentality some have. What's going on in Syria is a tragedy, but I don't believe it's one we are equipped to deal with, and certainly not militarily.
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FrankIin posted...

I'm not talking about people in the UK, I'm talking about leftists in the United States.

Who have pretty much without fail denounced this strike
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Trump doesn't have the stones to fire Mueller. But, to this narrative, I'm not convinced that the military action everybody wanted and expected is intended as mere distraction
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fenderbender321 posted...

I like how I have to be punished for Spacey's actions. I want to see more of his acting. Why do I have to suffer for what he did?

um
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I already have most of what I want on vinyl; I'm not gonna buy it over again
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FLUFFYGERM posted...

I literally already answered that. If the government commits to employing people in the healthcare space, it will find that there is less need for healthcare as people get healthier. Which means it'd have to lay off people since there's less revenue / need flowing through those programs.

And your take is that the government is unwilling to make cuts to public employment? That's basically all it's done over the past 10 years.
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FLUFFYGERM posted...

So if any entity would suffer from curing diseases rather than merely treating symptoms, it'd be the public one.

No, it's probably the one that needs to turn a profit in order to survive.

FLUFFYGERM posted...

For governments that only ever know how to get by with more and more funding. And yet a healthier population would need less healthcare, meaning less need for those programs and less revenue for the government.

The logic here is silly: what does it benefit the government whether it takes in and spends $1b or $10b if that money is all being spent anyways?
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https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/11/goldman-asks-is-curing-patients-a-sustainable-business-model.html

Goldman Sachs analysts attempted to address a touchy subject for biotech companies, especially those involved in the pioneering "gene therapy" treatment: cures could be bad for business in the long run.

"Is curing patients a sustainable business model?" analysts ask in an April 10 report entitled "The Genome Revolution."

"The potential to deliver 'one shot cures' is one of the most attractive aspects of gene therapy, genetically-engineered cell therapy and gene editing. However, such treatments offer a very different outlook with regard to recurring revenue versus chronic therapies," analyst Salveen Richter wrote in the note to clients Tuesday. "While this proposition carries tremendous value for patients and society, it could represent a challenge for genome medicine developers looking for sustained cash flow."

Richter cited Gilead Sciences' treatments for hepatitis C, which achieved cure rates of more than 90 percent. The company's U.S. sales for these hepatitis C treatments peaked at $12.5 billion in 2015, but have been falling ever since. Goldman estimates the U.S. sales for these treatments will be less than $4 billion this year, according to a table in the report.

"GILD is a case in point, where the success of its hepatitis C franchise has gradually exhausted the available pool of treatable patients," the analyst wrote. "In the case of infectious diseases such as hepatitis C, curing existing patients also decreases the number of carriers able to transmit the virus to new patients, thus the incident pool also declines Where an incident pool remains stable (eg, in cancer) the potential for a cure poses less risk to the sustainability of a franchise."

The analyst didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The report suggested three potential solutions for biotech firms:

"Solution 1: Address large markets: Hemophilia is a $9-10bn WW market (hemophilia A, B), growing at ~6-7% annually."

"Solution 2: Address disorders with high incidence: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) affects the cells (neurons) in the spinal cord, impacting the ability to walk, eat, or breathe."

"Solution 3: Constant innovation and portfolio expansion: There are hundreds of inherited retinal diseases (genetics forms of blindness) Pace of innovation will also play a role as future programs can offset the declining revenue trajectory of prior assets."

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-Bungle- posted...

Cory Booker: "Was the ratio of blacks and whites 1:1 in the bombers? If not, Trump is racist."

That's actually not what Cory Booker said.
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COVxy posted...

Perhaps we should send our thoughts and prayers to the Syrians, taking in only the refuges that are privileged enough to gain access to the US.

I think they would greatly prefer our thoughts and prayers to our missiles. I don't think the U.S. tools to solve the Bashar Al-Assad problem without creating new ones, and, in the absence of any truly good options, we should aim for the least bad.
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Oh I forgot Joe Kennedy in my original post
https://twitter.com/RepJoeKennedy/status/984981971066589184
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https://www.infowars.com/body-language-expert-alex-jones-son-good-example-of-good-relationship/

A body language expert who analyzed a video shot by Alex Jones and his son Rex last week concluded the pair exhibit an exemplary father-son relationship.

Jones and his son last week squelched rumors spread by the mainstream media that Rex had been coached and pushed out into the limelight at the behest of his father, after a video created by Rex challenging anti-gun student David Hogg to a debate went viral.

The expert, Bombards Body Language, comments that Rex is comfortable, confident and at ease beside his father, and assesses he doesnt appear to be forced or coerced.

This is a good relationship. If youre a father this is a good relationship, your daughter should react this way to you, your sons should react this way to you.

Rex joins Alex at one point as he begins to sing John Williams Imperial March from the Star Wars films, indicating to the body language expert they have a great relationship.

That is a daddys boy right there. Hes really happy. It warms my heart. It brings a tear to my eye, seriously. Its just really nice to see. These days so many people are into this whole ridiculousness of what they think parenting is that when you see something like this, its like, Finally, how to be normal.'

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COVxy posted...

But isn't that intrinsically selfish? More or less, you only oppose death when your hands get dirty with it? And even when it's for the purposes of trying to help the situation.

I remain unconvinced that US involvement is the way to reduce deaths here, in the same way that it was unsuited for Iraq and Libya.
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COVxy posted...

Indeed, let chaos ensue elsewhere, it's better if other people's heads are being cut off by OTHER people. If people are being blown up by OTHER people. As long as it's not us.

I don't vote in Syrian elections; I can only sway and influence the actions of my country. Death will probably occur out there in the world, but I'd just as soon see my tax dollars not go towards blowing things up half a world away.
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COVxy posted...

Early in learning, a rat will repeat the same mistake frequently when learning the response contingencies.

As evidenced by our continued insistence on using military force in the middle east despite repeated disaster.
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COVxy posted...

The middle east is a hard subject though, with a lot of factors to consider.

Why is it our subject? What benefit has the US gained from our involvement?

COVxy posted...

There is no easy solution, so let's stop pretending like doing nothing is the cure-all.

We have tried bombing. We have invading and occupying. We have tried arming moderate rebels (in more than one country!) We have tried drone strikes. We have tried decapitation strikes to remove a leader from power.

Perhaps we should try not blowing people up, for a change. First, do no harm.
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COVxy posted...

Hmm, military strikes on military targets vs directed attacks on civilians.

Didn't we do military strikes on military targets last year?

COVxy posted...

Seems to me that if every time you do something, you get your infrastructure destroyed with no option of response, you might reduce the frequency in which you do that something.

Every time the US military does something in the middle east it seems to result in chaos. Perhaps we should reduce that frequency.
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Bill Maher is an asshole
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COVxy posted...

Sure, but it doesn't solve the problem.

Can you solve the problem without worsening the situation? if you switch this train to a different track, are there more people lying, tied down to that track?
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COVxy posted...

But like, it's an entire country. Surely you don't think we can airlift the entire population of Syria to the US.

We can take more than 11
https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2018/04/12/602022877/the-u-s-has-welcomed-only-11-syrian-refugees-this-year
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TheMikh posted...

I'm glad both sides of the aisle take opposition to this in some way or another (aside from the Neocons and Neoliberals) but they really did look the other way when Clinton and Obama did it.

This is not opposition, though I understand your confusion.
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COVxy posted...

antfair posted...

There are some issues that the U.S. cannot solve with its military

So propose an alternative action.

Start taking in more refugees rather than creating them.
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What is this, a fair for ants?

COVxy posted...

Because 'don't do that' is not an alternative plan.

It is, given that "doing that" is largely what has caused the problem. There are some issues that the U.S. cannot solve with its military. I'm not particularly religious, but I'm reminded of the Serenity Prayer:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
and the Wisdom to know the difference.

This is something we cannot change, at least not for the better, through military action.

COVxy posted...

an easy one to hold since it is so popular.

Every major media outlet, the President of the United States, the majority of his party, and a great deal of the opposition holds your viewpoint on this matter.
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I don't get why you feel "we shouldn't launch missiles to strike Damascus" is not stating anything.
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You shouldn't ask questions you don't want answers to
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COVxy posted...

antfair posted...

I'm not looking to defend Trump's actions. I just wish the #Resistance was as steadfast and firm in opposing war

Idk, I agree that the less war the better. But like, what do you propose?

What alternative do you think would have been better with dealing with the Syria situation?

It's easy to oppose these types of decisions if you aren't responsible for them or coming up with alternative actions.

I would propose not missile striking Damascus.
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The Great Muta 22 posted...

"But the liberals!"

I'm not looking to defend Trump's actions. I just wish the #Resistance was as steadfast and firm in opposing war as they are when it comes to the firing of Rod Rosenstein.
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JustMonika posted...

Didn't a lot of them support strikes when Obama was president?

Probably! My guess is they were more open in their support then, rather than couching it in procedural concerns
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Chuck Schumer: this is fine, as long as it doesn't go beyond this
https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/984984790431563783
Nancy Pelosi: Trump needs authorization before doing the war I support, also Russia
https://twitter.com/NancyPelosi/status/984973059055636481
Cory Booker: I'm concerned because we haven't debated and authorized this
https://twitter.com/SenBooker/status/984978154736496642
Elizabeth Warren: I'm totally fine with "holding Assad accountable," just let Congress say so
https://twitter.com/SenWarren/status/984979695509934081
Tim Kaine: This is illegal. Mind you, I'm pretty fine with it happening in Syria, but what if North Korea is next?
https://twitter.com/NPRnie/status/984971578885668864
Justin Trudeau: This is good and I support it
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/984988183799611392

A lot of process complaints, but very little in terms of substantive opposition to strikes. For the record, Bernie Sanders' statement is much the same way
https://twitter.com/iskandrah/status/984992207160659968
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What is this, a fair for ants?

I remember renting one Spyro game (I think for the Gamecube?) and not figuring out how to leave the first area or whatever
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Oh man entering this topic on the last page was a bad decision.
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What is this, a fair for ants?

Given that we spend significantly more than we bring in, I'm not convinced tax revenues (which the current administration slashed, you might recall) are what's fueling our push for war.
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Meanwhile, the Democrats
https://twitter.com/jeremyherb/status/984984292865511424
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FrankIin posted...

But now that he has two socialist Lite countries doing it with him, leftists can't possibly criticize him without also criticizing their own political allies.

Noted socialist allies, Emannuel Macron and Theresa May
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