Scrutable

TopBadger wrote: Wed Aug 13, 2025 5:22 pm

Martin Y wrote: Wed Aug 13, 2025 5:04 pm The fact that there is anyone in America who is okay with this is profoundly alarming to me.

America is such a big place... that something bad happens in some other state is just so distant for the folks that live in the other 49 states. From my trips to the US and talking to locals I've been left with the impression that the general population of most states don't care too much about what is going on in neighboring states... much like many folks in the UK probably wouldn't be too bothered about a b.llsh.t troop emergency deployment in, say, Italy.

Sadly there are plenty of folks (everywhere) of the opinion that if it's not directly impacting them, then it's not important.

Or people in the UK caring about Orban in Hungary.

While I take your point, I'm not sure about the example. I remember people getting quite vexed about a b.llsh.t troop deployment when it was in Iraq.

Martin Y wrote: Sun Aug 17, 2025 5:57 pm While I take your point, I'm not sure about the example. I remember people getting quite vexed about a b.llsh.t troop deployment when it was in Iraq.

Those were UK troops.

dyqik wrote: Tue Aug 19, 2025 12:06 pm

Martin Y wrote: Sun Aug 17, 2025 5:57 pm While I take your point, I'm not sure about the example. I remember people getting quite vexed about a b.llsh.t troop deployment when it was in Iraq.

Those were UK troops.

Yes, UK troops. Now I'm confused because the comparison example you gave was UK troops being sent to Italy.

Anyway I don't want to bicker; I'm quite in agreement with you that much of America doesn't much care, or is hardly aware, or quite likes to hear that the Libs are getting pwned, but I'm really concerned if the only people who don't like this are the pwned Libs. The Trump regime is massively overreaching, using an emergency power when there is no emergency, because they think they can get away with it. If enough people think the leopard won't eat their face, they probably will get away with it. And the next outrage and the next and then before you know it the republic is dead and hail Caesar.

Martin Y wrote: Tue Aug 19, 2025 2:25 pm

dyqik wrote: Tue Aug 19, 2025 12:06 pm

Martin Y wrote: Sun Aug 17, 2025 5:57 pm While I take your point, I'm not sure about the example. I remember people getting quite vexed about a b.llsh.t troop deployment when it was in Iraq.

Those were UK troops.

Yes, UK troops. Now I'm confused because the comparison example you gave was UK troops being sent to Italy.

That's not an example that I gave. It's also not the example given by top badger, who did not mention UK troops.

What's happening in the US is West Virginia, Ohio and Louisiana troops being deployed to DC. Most of the US does not live in those states.

dyqik wrote: Tue Aug 19, 2025 5:26 pm That's not an example that I gave.

Okay, now I see what my confusion was. When you said "much like many folks in the UK probably wouldn't be too bothered about a b.llsh.t troop emergency deployment in, say, Italy." I thought you meant UK troops on deployment in Italy, but you meant Italian troops. Right?
Not that it's important, I just misconstrued what you meant.

Martin Y wrote: Wed Aug 20, 2025 12:47 pm

dyqik wrote: Tue Aug 19, 2025 5:26 pm That's not an example that I gave.

Okay, now I see what my confusion was. When you said "much like many folks in the UK probably wouldn't be too bothered about a b.llsh.t troop emergency deployment in, say, Italy." I thought you meant UK troops on deployment in Italy, but you meant Italian troops. Right?
Not that it's important, I just misconstrued what you meant.

I didn't say that at all. TopBadger did.

dyqik wrote: Wed Aug 20, 2025 12:49 pm I didn't say that at all. TopBadger did.

Apologies again. I could have sworn I left my brain around here somewhere.

An appeal court has excused Trump his $500m fine for fraudulently lying to people he borrowed money from. The fine was levied by the New York court, and was a $380m fine plus interest for not paying it immediately.

He is still guilty of fraud. And other sanctions, like being banned as a company director for 3 years, still apply. The appeal court found the large fine a manifestly excessive punishment for the nature of the offence. In effect, they reduced the fine to zero, while noting that there were other proportionate punishments that still applied.

IvanV wrote: Fri Aug 22, 2025 11:11 am An appeal court has excused Trump his $500m fine for fraudulently lying to people he borrowed money from. The fine was levied by the New York court, and was a $380m fine plus interest for not paying it immediately.

He is still guilty of fraud. And other sanctions, like being banned as a company director for 3 years, still apply. The appeal court found the large fine a manifestly excessive punishment for the nature of the offence. In effect, they reduced the fine to zero, while noting that there were other proportionate punishments that still applied.

There's a gap between disproportionate and nothing.

Perhaps I misunderstood. I thought the appeal decision was only that the original fine was excessive, which wasn't a big surprise. Did they really decide the fine should be zero?

I have so much to learn about how the law works in the US.

So fraud is still an offence but the fine is nil. And attacking the police isn't an offence at all unless it's aggravated by a sandwich.

It seems Kennedy's actions go in here as well.

Kennedy has sacked the recently confirmed head of the CDC, because she was resisting firing staff and Kennedy's unscientific health policies.

A number of other staff have also left the CDC including Daniel Jernigan, the vaccine safety chief.

Jernigan, whose department oversaw the vaccine safety group, said that he was “asked to revise and to review and change studies” about vaccine safety data by Kennedy’s aides, Lyn Redwood and David Geier, anti-vaccine activists who promote a debunked link with autism.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... arez-trump

Rumours all over Bluesky and Twitter that Trump’s dead, but nothing anywhere else. Anyone know what they’re based on?

Tristan wrote: Sat Aug 30, 2025 8:21 am Rumours all over Bluesky and Twitter that Trump’s dead, but nothing anywhere else. Anyone know what they’re based on?

viewtopic.php?t=4510

shpalman wrote: Sat Aug 30, 2025 8:39 am

Tristan wrote: Sat Aug 30, 2025 8:21 am Rumours all over Bluesky and Twitter that Trump’s dead, but nothing anywhere else. Anyone know what they’re based on?

viewtopic.php?t=4510

Wishful thinking?