US Politics: Losing Appeals

[Kalbear]

21 minutes ago, DMC said:

Good question!  It's certainly not anybody who argued "they'll settle for pennies on the dollar," right?  Because last time I checked doing basic math, $175 million in relation to $454 million is not "pennies on the dollar."  More like a quarter, a dime, and then a few pennies.  And you know what they say - a hundred million here, a hundred million there, and pretty soon you're talking real money.

Anyway, I do agree that this obsession with how much Trump will have to pay is thoroughly beside the point.  I don't give a shit if he lives the rest of his life on a golden toilet flying a diamond airplane as long as he's not president again.

So when I said they would balk and give him more time that was...100% accurate? While also reducing what he needed to put up by 60%?

And this was also somehow less right than the folks predicting over and over how he was going to lose all sorts of stuff right away? Ooookay.

Also, trumps truth social shares are now worth over 6bn, up from 3bn.

[BigFatCoward]

Not getting a lot of news about the bridge collapse in Baltimore, any chance its terror related?

there's a video on the BBC website which makes it look pretty deliberate.

Edited March 26 by BigFatCoward

[The Anti-Targ]

Make Trump a billionaire again.

 

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

6 hours ago, Larry of the Lawn said:

Oh boy!  The last time raw milk came up in US politics we got this sweet thread out of it:

 

A full deacade thread necro?  Really?   

[Relic]

My God this bridge collapse in Baltimore is absolutely horrible. I wonder how much of that total collapse is due to aging infrastructure. 

https://artbabridgereport.org/

"78,800 bridges should be replaced. More than 43,500 bridges are rated in poor condition and classified as “structurally deficient.” Motorists cross these structures 167.5 million times a day. The number of structurally deficient bridges declined by 1,445 compared to 2020."

Edited March 26 by Relic

[Relic]

2 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

Not getting a lot of news about the bridge collapse in Baltimore, any chance its terror related?

there's a video on the BBC website which makes it look pretty deliberate.

No way to know until more info on the cargo ship is released. I sure fucking hope not.

[BigFatCoward]

30 minutes ago, Relic said:

No way to know until more info on the cargo ship is released. I sure fucking hope not.

Something odd definitely happened -

The container ship set off from Baltimore's Seagirt Marine Terminal at around 00:24 local time (04:24 GMT) on 26 March.

Its speed steadily increased and it maintained a straight route south east along the Patapsco River.

Then at 01:25 MarineTraffic data shows that the ship suddenly diverted from its straight course and began to slow down.

Around this time, video shows that all lights on the exterior of the ship suddenly turned off and smoke began emanating from the ship's funnel.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

56 minutes ago, Relic said:

No way to know until more info on the cargo ship is released. I sure fucking hope not.

I’m going to claim skepticism as to it being deliberate.  1:30 AM isn’t the time to try for this if they wanted to cause mass casualties (not that the casualties now are mild).  If they wanted more casualties it would have been attempted at Rush Hour while the bridge was packed.

What happened on that ship that it ran into a pilon?  I’m floored that the bridge was so easy to take down.

Edited March 26 by Ser Scot A Ellison

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Yeah it sounds like human error, not intentional. Frankly I'm surprised instances like this don't happen more often. 

[DMC]

5 hours ago, Kalbear said:

And this was also somehow less right than the folks predicting over and over how he was going to lose all sorts of stuff right away? Ooookay.

Sure, it was certainly less wrong than others, but 38% and a 10 day delay is not nearly "pennies on the dollar" in my understanding of the idiom, especially considering Trump said he'll pay it despite requesting it to be reduced to under $100 million.  Seems weird to take a victory lap.

3 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

Not getting a lot of news about the bridge collapse in Baltimore, any chance its terror related?

there's a video on the BBC website which makes it look pretty deliberate.

As of now, Baltimore police are saying "absolutely no indication" of terrorism.

[maarsen]

10 hours ago, Makk said:

I'm not sure its a scam precisely but it certainly looks like a terrible investment in the long term. I'm assuming the origins and current holders of Digital world funding has been thoroughly investigated for this merger to go ahead, but digital world is a publicly traded company. There seemed to originally be a lot of Chinese investment, I would hope the entire thing isn't a front to channel foreign money in illegally.

Truth social itself, which is the only "asset" involved after the merger as far as I am aware, has really badly performing numbers that don't in anyway come close to justifying the combined $10 billion dollar valuation. But people do seem to want to invest in dumb shit these days, it may be legit.

Twitter with many more subscribers barely made money which is why Musk refused to buy it after looking at the books. Even now after Musk was forced to buy it it has dropped in value by 1/2 at least. Truth Social is a scam.

[Zorral]

The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse is an economic disaster as well as human and other kinds too.  Another knell of death for Baltimore as well.

As far as whether this is an act of terrorism, the FBI is investigating, as they always do this kind of event.

Bloomberg Supply Lines:

https://www.bloomberg.com/economics

Quote

 

.... The Port of Baltimore — the biggest handler of US imports and exports of cars and light trucks — looks to be out of commission indefinitely. The resulting bottleneck could accelerate a shift of goods through West Coast ports. Another crucial question: Which other ports have spare capacity to handle the Ro-Ro vessels that carry automobiles if Baltimore is closed for an extended period.

With the Key Bridge in ruins ahead of the Easter weekend, trucks and passenger vehicles that would normally take Interstate 695 will face long detours and delays along the busy highway corridor that links Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York.

I-695 was an alternate route for hazardous materials and oversized vehicles that are prohibited from going through the more direct drive through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel.

Aside from the gridlock for regional traffic that the bridge closure will cause, several prominent companies have distribution warehouses or other facilities in an industrial park on the north end of the bridge. They include Amazon.com, FedEx, Under Armour, Home Depot, BMW and Volkswagen Group of America, according to Google Earth.

Maersk said none of its crew and personnel were on the vessel. Shares of the Danish carrier fell as much as 5% in Copenhagen.

“We are horrified by what has happened in Baltimore, and our thoughts are with all of those affected,” the company said in an emailed statement.

Almost two years ago, an Evergreen container vessel got stuck in the Chesapeake Bay near Baltimore, and it took salvage crews weeks to free it. 

Ship collisions that do major structural damage to bridges are relatively rare. Though the cause will take months to determine, the Dali incident recalls a tragedy in Tampa, Florida, in 1980 when a freighter dealing with fog and strong wind struck the Sunshine Skyway, reportedly killing 35 people who fell in their vehicles from the bridge deck into the water.

 

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/francis-scott-key-bridge-baltimore-collapse-container-ship/

 

[Zorral]

11 hours ago, Makk said:

I'm assuming the origins and current holders of Digital world funding has been thoroughly investigated for this merger to go ahead, but digital world is a publicly traded company.

Why in the world would you assume that?

In a world in which a kid sits for three + years w/o a trial in Rikers for marijuana possession because his parents can't come up with a $3000 bond?

~~~~~~~~~~~~

As for whether or not violent and other toxic media affects our behaviors, please recall our discussion of young men and Alan Tate, for starters.

Not to mention our rantings about the effect of Limbaugh, etc. on the political and mental landscape of the nation, after years and years and years of them hatin' on the government, women, science, education, LGBTQ+, immigrants, etc. etc. etc.

Why would this kind of toxic media consumption have effects, as we ourselves say, while 'entertainment only' does not?  We all know, for instance, the game chat rooms are nurseries of hatred and crazy about women.  Recall the TikTok boys who are harassing girls to commit horrific acts and kill themselves? One of the reasons parents are begging for regulation of such media -- as if this will change anything in a world in which that's all there is, in which people swim 24/7.

 

Edited March 26 by Zorral

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

1 hour ago, maarsen said:

Twitter with many more subscribers barely made money which is why Musk refused to buy it after looking at the books. Even now after Musk was forced to buy it it has dropped in value by 1/2 at least. Truth Social is a scam.

The interwebs say it's lost more than 70% of its value based on what Musk paid with little signs of it reversing course. Doesn't help that investors and advertisers want to increasingly cut ties. It's an all-time dumb business move and that's before you look at how its impacted his brand in general. I suspect Truth Social's value will crater as well. 

[DMC]

14 minutes ago, Zorral said:

The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse is an economic disaster as well as human and other kinds too.  Another knell of death for Baltimore as well.

I think The Wire had an affect on this widespread perception, but Baltimore generally gets a bad rap.  Yes, it has one of the highest crime rates in the country, but its economy is also one of the fastest growing in the country - and there's plenty of awesome areas to visit throughout the city.  I always love going to Baltimore, and will continue to.

[Zorral]

36 minutes ago, DMC said:

Baltimore generally gets a bad rap

Yes. Houses are being sold for something like one dollar to anyone who wants to buy them, among other things.

I personally love Baltimore in many ways, but ....

~~~~~~~~~

Again the connection between all kinds of violences and toxic mental attitudes is indeed fueled by all the various sorts of media, whether they are called entertainment or not -- and recall, with the fascists, whenever they are called on their violent language and proposals, it's -- "A joke!  Can't ya take a joke! He didn't meant it.  Fox News is meant as entertainment!"

How disinformation fuels violence — and makes our politics worse
New books by Barbara McQuade and Sasha Issenberg explore what’s at stake in the struggle against disinformation

These authors have been targeted for violence by all sorts of online boyz.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2024/03/26/disinformation-books-mcquade-issenberg/

Quote

.... Too often, the link between disinformation and violence is discounted, as if it is possible to disentangle the online and the offline, where the internet is a realm rife with deceit but the “real world” is where actual destruction happens. In “Attack from Within,” a textbook-style overview of disinformation throughout history and in modern America, McQuade recognizes that the distinction between the two realms is illusory: We all inhabit a single reality, one in which disinformation and violence are part of the same authoritarian playbook. Laying out examples from Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, to the presidencies of Andrew Jackson and Daniel Ortega, McQuade writes that “when people become inured to the cruelty of violence, they are more likely to accept it as the cost of attaining the type of society they seek.” Political violence, she argues, “not only eliminates some opponents, it also silences others,” leaving disinformation unchecked. ....

 

Edited March 26 by Zorral

[DMC]

3 minutes ago, Zorral said:

Houses are being sold for something like one dollar to anyone who wants to buy them

This type of shit is happening throughout the US and often is due to local governments' housing initiatives.

[karaddin]

2 hours ago, Mr. Chatywin et al. said:

Yeah it sounds like human error, not intentional. Frankly I'm surprised instances like this don't happen more often. 

From what I've been reading just now it's not even human error, a power failure causing loss of steering control at exactly the wrong time - 1min earlier or later and it would have been fine. Whether there was cut corners on maintenance leading to the power failure will take longer of course.

The only upside is the middle of the night leading to few people being on the bridge.

[Zorral]

8 minutes ago, DMC said:

This type of shit is happening throughout the US and often is due to local governments' housing initiatives.

Which statement, as you know my dear, means jack shyte in terms of the living conditions. 

[Zorral]

1 minute ago, karaddin said:

From what I've been reading just now it's not even human error, a power failure causing loss of steering control at exactly the wrong tim

The owner, registered, it seems, in Norway? has been cited for three previous maintenance-safety events.