Politics & Stuff

[cosmicway 1,299]

3 minutes ago, Vesper said:

yes, yes it is

gods are the oldest, most vile invention of humans/hominids over the past several million years

the first, most ancient and primordial woo

it is all predicated upon the wilful suspension of disbelief, aka magical thinking

and that wilful suspension of disbelief opens the doors for all endeavours that are anti-human by their very nature

human beings are not the misshapen product of gods, gods are the misshapen product of humans

The gods could be vile as you say even if they were amongst us.
This is neither here nor there and how can you answer questions about divinity from your pitiful standpoint ?
My standpojnt is also pitiful even though I ventured a probable looking explanation.
But regarding your opinion about religion openiing the door for "anti-human"endeavours", with what logic would the opposite thing -i.e. no religion- not do the same ?
Without religion things like burglary - pickpocketing become legal activities. So we all become burglars and pickpockets.

[Vesper 28,389]

Two senior Israeli defense officials told The New York Times that more than 80 bombs were dropped to kill Nasrallah. A Times analysis showed that the attack destroyed at least four apartment buildings, and that the damage was most likely caused by 2,000-pound bombs.

[Fulham Broadway 16,710]

39 minutes ago, cosmicway said:

You don't know the truth about this.
Satan and the fallen angels are forbidden from doing supernatural things.
If they try then the angels of god will burn them - they know this and they don't.
But satan operates in other ways.
He takes advantage of the law of uncertainty that governs the universe.
The law of uncertainty is essential for the universe to function - the universe cannot exist without it.
Even if it causes bad things to happen, such as the premature death of some persons, it is essential.
So satan takes advantage of this, conspires and plots to destroy humanity.
Ultimately it does n't work for him but he enjoys temporary successes.
 

Any proof ? 

Not a shred of evidence -otherwise its all a load of bollocks

[Vesper 28,389]

Just now, cosmicway said:

Without religion things like burglary - pickpocketing become legal activities.

that statement is an absolute non sequitur

secular laws are foundationally capable of preventing those things via outlawing them and proscribing sanctions for those who break the law

there is zero need for the injection of any religion into the legal equation

[Vesper 28,389]

6 minutes ago, Fulham Broadway said:

Any proof ? 

Not a shred of evidence -otherwise its all a load of bollocks

 

[cosmicway 1,299]

22 minutes ago, Vesper said:

that statement is an absolute non sequitur

secular laws are foundationally capable of preventing those things via outlawing them and proscribing sanctions for those who break the law

there is zero need for the injection of any religion into the legal equation

This does n't have to do with the supernatural but no, they are not capable.

[Vesper 28,389]

giant chemi death clouds spewing from an industrial chemical plant fire near Atlanta, Georgia

did not have that on my Q3 (last day of Q3 is today btw) bingo card

Edited 17 hours ago by Vesper

[Vesper 28,389]

US ports brace for shut down as dockworkers strike

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3vkdp3rx17o

A dockworkers' strike is set to shut down ports across much of the US indefinitely, threatening significant trade and economic disruption ahead of the presidential election and the busy holiday shopping season.

Tens of thousands of members of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) are preparing to walk out on Tuesday at 14 major ports along the east and gulf coasts, halting container traffic from Maine to Texas.

Barring a last-minute intervention, the action will mark the first shutdown in almost 50 years.

President Joe Biden has the power to suspend the strike for 80 days for further negotiations, but the White House has said he is not planning to act.

What is the strike about?

The two sides are fighting over a six-year master contract that covers about 25,000 port workers employed in container and roll-on/roll-off operations, according to the US Maritime Alliance, known as USMX, which represents shipping firms, port associations and marine terminal operators.

Talks have been stalled for months and the current contract between parties expires on Monday.

Union boss Harold Daggett has called for significant pay increases for his members, while voicing concerns about threats from automation.

USMX has accused the union of refusing to bargain, filing a complaint with labour regulators that asked them to order the union back to the table.

Under the previous contract, starting wages ranged from $20 to $39 per hour, depending on a worker's experience. Workers also receive other benefits, such as bonuses connected to container trade.

Mr Daggett has indicated the union wants to see per-hour pay increase by five dollars per year over the life of the six-year deal, which he estimated amounted to about 10% per year.

The ILA said workers are owed after shipping firm profits soared during the Covid pandemic, while inflation hit salaries. It has warned to expect a wider strike of its members, including those not directly involved in this dispute, though the exact numbers are unclear.

The union has said it represents more than 85,000 people; it claimed about 47,000 active members in its annual report to the Labor Department.

What items will be affected by the strike?

Time-sensitive imports, such as food, are likely to be among the goods first impacted.

The ports involved handle about 14% of agricultural exports shipped by sea and more than half of imports, including a significant share of trade in bananas and chocolate, according to the Farm Bureau.

Other sectors exposed to disruption include tin, tobacco and nicotine, Oxford Economics said. Clothing and footwear firms, and European carmakers, which route many of their shipments through the Port of Baltimore, will also take a hit.

Imports in the US surged over the summer, as many businesses took steps to rush shipments ahead of the strike.

"I don't think we will see immediate, significant economic impacts...but over the course of weeks, if the strike lasts that long, we can begin to see prices rise and for there to be some shortages in goods," said Seth Harris, a professor at Northeastern University and a former White House adviser on labour issues.

What will the economic impact be?

More than a third of exports and imports could be affected by the strike, hitting US economic growth to the tune of at least $4.5bn each week of the strike, according to Grace Zemmer, an associate US economist at Oxford Economics, though others have estimated the economic hit could be higher.

She said more than 100,000 people could find themselves temporarily out of work as the impact of the stoppage spreads.

"This is really a trigger event, one that will see dominoes fall over the coming months," said Peter Sand, chief analyst at ocean freight analytics firm Xeneta, warning that the stand-off also has the potential push up wider shipping costs.

That would hit consumers and businesses which tend to rely on so-called "just-in-time" supply chains for goods, he added.

How could this affect the US election?

The stand-off injects uncertainty into the US economy at a delicate time.

The economy has been slower and the unemployment rate is ticking higher as the US election approaches in six weeks.

The strike risks putting President Biden in a tricky spot.

US presidents can intervene in labour disputes that threaten national security or safety by imposing an 80-day cooling-off period, forcing workers back on the job while negotiations continue.

In 2002, Republican President George W Bush intervened to open ports after 11 days of a strike action by dockworkers on the west coast.

The US Chamber of Commerce business group has called on President Biden to take action.

"Americans experienced the pain of delays and shortages of goods during the pandemic-era supply chain backlogs in 2021. It would be unconscionable to allow a contract dispute to inflict such a shock to our economy," said Suzanne P. Clark, president and chief executive of the business group.

The ILA's Mr Daggett endorsed Democrat Biden in 2020, but has been critical of the president more recently, citing pressure on west coast dockworkers to reach a deal a year ago. He met with Donald Trump in July.

Although any strike chaos is likely to hurt Democrats, the cost of alienating allies in the labour movement just weeks before the election would be greater, said William Brucher, a professor of labor studies and employment relations at Rutgers University.

But public support of strikes could be tested by the dispute, which has been championed by Mr Daggett, who was acquitted of having links to organised crime in a 2004 case by federal prosecutors. A related civil suit remains unresolved.

Films such as the 1954 classic On the Waterfront once defined the dockworkers union's image, but Prof Brucher said he thought that historical memory had largely faded and many people shared the dockworkers' concerns about cost-of living and automation.

"As much as it could sway public opinion against the ILA, a strike by ILA members is their decision and I don't think they will be swayed by public opinion in any meaningful way," he said.

"What is more likely to happen is the pressure of a strike will likely force the employers back to the table with a much more substantial offer."

end

 

How a massive port worker strike could scramble the 2024 race

A lengthy work stoppage could drive up prices and delay imports of automobiles, bananas and even Christmas decorations.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/27/port-strike-harris-biden-trump-election-00181319

Ports along the East and Gulf coasts are on the verge of a dockworkers strike that could damage the U.S. economy just a month before the election — creating a political quandary for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Intervening to stop the strike — as Biden did two years ago to prevent rail workers from walking off the job — could sour labor voters on Harris, who is trying to shore up support from blue-collar workers who could decide the election in critical swing states. But allowing a lengthy work stoppage could unleash pain on consumers, driving up prices and delaying imports of automobiles, bananas and even Christmas decorations.

A strike could begin as soon as Tuesday if the International Longshoremen’s Association doesn’t reach a deal with the alliance of companies that operate at more than a dozen major ports along the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast. The two sides are nowhere near an agreement.

The president of the 132-year-old union, erstwhile Biden ally Harold Daggett, said he’s willing to push the economy past its breaking point if the United States Maritime Alliance doesn’t agree to substantial wage hikes and safeguards against the automation of union jobs.

The White House has said that Biden will not use his executive powers to halt any ILA strike.

“My advice is to stay out of it,” said Marty Walsh, the former Boston mayor and Labor Secretary who helped lead the Biden administration’s response to the 2022 freight rail labor dispute. “You don’t have to get involved until both sides ask. Encourage both sides to stay in conversation.”

Other Democrats made their angst plain.

“We gotta find a deal,” said Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat whose state is home to one of the largest ports on the East Coast. “I’m not gonna give ‘em advice about how to do it, but it would be a bad thing for Virginia and for the country to have a strike.”

White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson said Biden is encouraging “all parties to come to the bargaining table.” Senior officials from the White House, Labor Department and Transportation Departmetn are delivering that message to the union and USMX members “directly on being at the table and negotiating in good faith fairly and quickly,” she added.

For Harris, the labor dispute will force her to square pro-union stances with the business-friendly economic agenda she’s unveiled since taking over the Democratic presidential race. The vice president has been endorsed by most major private sector unions but has faced resistance among some rank-and-file members, as well as the Teamsters’ national leadership.

Former President Donald Trump, meanwhile, would have a chance to exploit whatever economic havoc a strike creates, furthering his message that the Biden-era has saddled consumers with high prices and supply-chain misery. Democrats could try to use Trump’s track record on labor policy — along with his recent comments to Elon Musk about firing striking workers — to blunt his attempts to curry favor with working class voters.

The Harris and Trump campaigns declined to comment.

The actual economic pain that could be inflicted by an ILA strike is difficult to calculate and would depend on its length.

The affected ports span from New York to Houston and manage more than half of the country’s port capacity, according to the Mitre Corporation. The cargo includes weekly volumes of agricultural imports and exports that are worth around $1.4 billion, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Analysts from JPMorgan have estimated the costs of strike-related closures could climb as high as $5 billion per day, while the shipping container marketplace Container xChange has pegged the daily economic toll at around $1 billion. Maersk has already announced disruption surcharges for cargo that’s moving in and out of terminals on the East and Gulf coasts.

The degree to which those costs are passed along to consumers will depend not only on shipping delay costs, but also the existing inventories at retailers, said Seth Harris, a former acting labor secretary under former President Barack Obama who went on to advise the Biden White House on economic policy. In a recent research note, JPMorgan Chase analysts said that companies have been pulling forward shipments ahead of the potential disruption and diverting cargo to West Coast ports that wouldn’t be impacted by the strike.

Seth Harris said he didn’t expect prices to climb quickly “unless there is price gouging, and that could very well serve the Vice President’s interests, because that is a central part of her” economic messaging, he told POLITICO.

Still, the economic disruptions caused by a protracted strike would invariably raise difficult questions about how Harris and Trump would respond in similar circumstances.

While Harris has long had the support of labor groups — she helmed a White House task force on organizing and walked a picket line with Nevada autoworkers in 2019 — her presidential campaign has sought to bolster appeal among working class voters in the Rust Belt, where the race is likely to be decided. She is opposed to Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U.S. Steel, held campaign events at Midwest union halls and recently told the Economic Club of Pittsburgh that she has “always been and always will be a strong supporter of workers and unions.”

But her campaign has also courted major donors in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street who’ve been hostile to Biden administration regulators who’ve used their authority to extend workplace protections. If the ILA strikes, it could compel her to clarify the “real, specific ties” she has to pro-labor efforts, personnel and policies, said Alí Bustamante, the director of the worker power and economic security program at the Roosevelt Institute, a progressive think tank.

An ILA strike could accelerate the timeline for when she has to “make a lot of these critical choices that are going to provide a lot of signal to the labor community,” he said.

Trump allies expect the former president to leverage the work stoppage to extend his outreach to union voters. Notably, Daggett — who endorsed Biden in 2020 — earlier this summer said that he had a “productive” 90-minute meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in late 2023 and that he enjoys a “long relationship” with the former president.

An ILA strike “will give voters, particularly union voters, yet another reason to want a historically successful dealmaker back in the White House,” said Jonathan Berry, a former top Labor Department official under Trump who is now managing partner at the law firm Boyden Gray.

Of course, Trump’s track record on organized labor issues is a target-rich environment for Democrats looking to elevate Harris’ standing with unionized workers. While his protectionist trade and manufacturing policies have helped him chip away at the Democratic Party’s hold on blue collar workers, his first term agenda limited the ability of workers to organize.

The ILA strike could arrive a little more than six weeks after he discussed firing striking workers in a wide-ranging interview with Musk, who the former president says could have a role in his next administration.

Public opinion of unions is as high as it has been since the mid-1960s, according to Gallup. If Trump signals that Biden and Harris should intervene in an ILA strike to preserve supply chains, it could weaken whatever grip he has on conservative union voters.

“Trump ran the most vehemently anti-union administration that we’ve seen,” said Steve Rosenthal, a strategist and former political director for the AFL-CIO. “The contrast is clear.”

 

 

 

[Vesper 28,389]

Israel launches ground operation in southern Lebanon, Israeli military says

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/09/30/israel-lebanon-hezbollah-hamas-war-news-gaza/

The Israeli military said it had launched “limited, localized and targeted raids” against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon overnight Monday. The invasion is being supported by the Israeli air force and artillery, the Israel Defense Forces said.

Earlier in the day, Israel told Washington that its planned ground operation would be smaller than its last war against Hezbollah in 2006 and would focus on clearing out militant infrastructure along the border to remove the threat to Israeli border communities, a U.S. official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private talks between the two governments.

Israel’s military said about 10 projectiles crossed into northern Israel from Lebanon, with some intercepted and others falling into open areas. In a separate incident, the Israel Defense Forces said an unmanned aerial vehicle was intercepted by air defenses over the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of central Israel. The attacks come as Israeli troops enter southern Lebanon.

Key updates

 

Israel’s military says its troops have crossed into southern Lebanon

 

Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said that 95 people had been killed in Israeli strikes Monday. It...

 

Satellite imagery shows Israeli military build-up on border

 

 

Edited 10 hours ago by Vesper

[Vesper 28,389]

Donald Trump, Unhinged Sociopath, Says Police Should Violently Assault Americans for “One Rough Hour” to Stop Shoplifting

“The word will get out and it will end immediately.”

 

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/donald-trump-police-should-violently-assault-americans-for-one-hour

 

One of the most absurd lies promulgated by MAGA Republicans is the idea that Donald Trump does not regularly endorse violence. They did it during his time in office, they did it after January 6, and they did it, most recently, following two attempts on his life—while claiming it was actually Democratic rhetoric that led to two men allegedly trying to assassinate him. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth, and the latest example tearing their claims to shreds would be Trump’s call over the weekend for the police to violently assault Americans en masse in order to stop crime.

Speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania, the ex-president said the key to preventing crimes like shoplifting is state-sanctioned police beatings, which he lamented the “left” does not allow. “You see these guys walking out with air conditioners, with refrigerators on their back. The craziest thing,” Trump said. “And the police aren’t allowed to do their job. They’re told, if you do anything, you’re gonna lose your pension…. They’re not allowed to do it because the liberal left won’t let ’em do it. The liberal left wants to destroy them, and they want to destroy our country.” Then he unveiled his big idea: “If you had one really violent day…one rough hour, and I mean real rough, the word will get out and it will end immediately.”

 

During his remarks, Trump also falsely claimed one can steal up to $950 worth of goods with no consequences in California, which appeared to be both a reference to Proposition 47—which downgraded some theft offenses to misdemeanors from felonies—and an attempt to tie the law to then California attorney general Kamala Harris. But as Politico notes, while Harris was in office when the ballot initiative was approved, “she remained neutral on the matter.” Meanwhile, “the dollar threshold Trump referenced actually became law four years earlier, signed by then governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican.”

Following Trump’s remarks in Pennsylvania, a spokesperson for his campaign absurdly claimed he was “clearly just floating [police beatings] in jest,” adding: “President Trump has always been the law and order President and he continues to reiterate the importance of enforcing existing laws. Otherwise, it’s all-out anarchy, which is what Kamala Harris has created in some of these communities across America, especially during her time as attorney general when she emboldened criminals.”

Trump, of course, is the only person currently running for president who is a convicted felon. Meanwhile, the notion that he is all about “law and order” is fully laughable given that (1) he has called for defunding the DOJ and FBI and (2) prosecutors say January 6 was “the largest single-day, mass assault of law enforcement officers in our nation’s history.” As for the idea that he was totally just joking about that “one really violent day,” well, that is not exactly believable given his long history of calling for violence, a rap sheet that includes:

• Endorsing assaulting reporters
• Telling police officers to knock suspects’ heads against the sides of their squad cars
• Musing about “Second Amendment people” preventing the appointment of liberal judges
• Telling supporters, of a man who’d been ejected from one of his rallies, “I’d like to punch him in the face”
• Telling a crowd at one of his rallies, “If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously, okay. Just knock the hell—I promise you I will pay for the legal fees, I promise”
• Whipping his supporters into a violent frenzy with months of lies concerning the 2020 election, which led to a violent attack on the Capitol that left numerous people dead, and which he tried to justify by saying: “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!”
• Defending his supporters’ decision to chant, “hang Mike Pence”
• Calling for alleged shoplifters to be “shot” as they leave the store

So yeah, maybe believe him when he says these things.

Edited 10 hours ago by Vesper

[Vesper 28,389]

Trump Spreads Baseless Conspiracy Theory That Democrats Are Withholding Hurricane Aid in “Republican Areas” of North Carolina

He also claimed “Biden and Harris…have left Americans to drown in North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and elsewhere in the South.”

 

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/trump-spreads-baseless-conspiracy-theory-north-carolina-hurricane

 

Donald Trump, who’s never heard a baseless, unhinged conspiracy theory he didn’t proceed to amplify, claimed Monday that he’s gotten word that Democratic officials are purposely withholding aid from “Republican areas” of North Carolina ravaged by Hurricane Helene, a claim that does not appear to have any basis in fact and wildly politicizes a natural disaster that has killed at least 100 people.

On Truth Social, the ex-president wrote to his followers that he was “heading to Valdosta, Georgia, in order to pay my respects and bring lots of relief material, including fuel, equipment, water, and other things, to the State.” Then he threw this in: “I was also going to stop into North Carolina, which has really been hit hard. I have a lot of supplies ready for them, but access and communication is now restricted, and we want to make sure that Local Emergency Management is able to focus on helping the people most affected, and not being concerned with me. I’ll be there shortly, but don’t like the reports that I’m getting about the Federal Government, and the Democrat Governor of the State, going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas. MAGA!”

Later, he outrageously claimed, “Biden and Harris…have left Americans to drown in North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and elsewhere in the South.”

Not surprisingly, Trump did not provide any evidence for any of these reports, which the New Republic notes “don’t seem to have any factual basis,” and that “Much of North Carolina votes Republican, so it would be near impossible for any relief efforts to occur that would neglect conservatives.” Additionally, the state’s Democratic governor has deployed the National Guard and Joe Biden pledged “every available resource, as fast as possible, to your communities, to rescue, recover, and to begin rebuilding.” Last week, the president declared an emergency in North Carolina and, per the White House, “ordered Federal assistance to supplement State, tribal, and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Hurricane Helene beginning on September 25, 2024, and continuing.”

Trump was tied with Kamala Harris in North Carolina, according to a CNN poll conducted earlier this month, so it’s not at all surprising that he would use a horrific natural disaster to try and score political points. Also not surprising: that he hasn’t mentioned that, during his time in office, he trashed local officials in blue states hit by hurricanes and wildfires, and, according to a former official, wanted to cut off federal aid from California because state residents didn’t support him.

Aside from…everything else…Trump apparently doesn’t know when hurricane season is

 

It’s a concept of a plan

 

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Edited 10 hours ago by Vesper

[Fulham Broadway 16,710]

Israel has no end game no strategy -just attack and kill people in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and now Syria.just to keep Netanyahu in power

Like a fat kid in the playground that has been  given coshes, zombie knives and hammers to attack the other children, while its encouraging parents (the US) have said 'Attack the other kids son, if they fight back, we'll step in, and give you more weapons.'

[Vesper 28,389]

Russia to raise defence budget by 25% to highest level on record

Draft documents say defence and security will make up 40% of government spending as Putin continues war against Ukraine

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/30/russias-defence-spending-to-rise-by-25-next-year-the-highest-since-the-cold-war

Russia is to increase its spending on defence by 25% to its highest on record, as Vladimir Putin vows to continue his war efforts in Ukraine and further escalate his standoff with the west.

The latest planned increase in spending will take Russia’s defence budget to a record 13.5tn rubles (£109bn) in 2025, according to draft budget documents published on Monday on the parliament’s website. That is about 3tn rubles more than was set aside for defence this year, which was the previous record.

Taken together, spending on defence and security will account for about 40% of Russia’s total government spending – or 41.5tn rubles in 2025.

The 2025 budget suggests Putin has embraced what economists have dubbed “military Keynesianism”, marked by a significant rise in military spending, which has fuelled the war in Ukraine, spurred a consumer spending boom and driven up inflation.

“This increase is confirmation the economy has switched to a war footing, and, even if the war in Ukraine ends soon, channeling money to the army and a bloated defence sector will remain a top priority,” the Bell, a leading Russian outlet specialising on the economy, wrote in its newsletter.

“It’s clear that spending on the military and security will exceed combined expenditure on education, healthcare, social policy and the national economy,” it added.

According to the draft budget, social spending is expected to decrease by 16% from 7.7tn rubles this year to 6.5tn rubles next year.

The massive Russian investment in the military has worried European war planners, who have said Nato underestimated Russia’s ability to sustain a long-term war. Meanwhile, Ukraine is facing uncertainty over the level of future support from its closest allies.

This has increased confidence in Moscow, where on Monday Putin boasted that “all goals set” in what Russia calls its special military operation “will be achieved”.

Putin’s speeches over the last year have been marked by growing confidence as Russian troops make creeping gains in eastern Ukraine.

Recently, he has taken a hardline stance, demanding Ukraine’s unconditional surrender and calling for the “denazification of Ukraine, its demilitarization, and neutral status”.

Analysts believe the long-term economic outlook for Russia is far gloomier than it was before the invasion.

The Kremlin’s pivot toward China and other markets, sanctions-busting and other workarounds cannot make up for direct access to western markets or technology.

Russia’s military spending boom has sent inflation surging at home, forcing the central bank to raise borrowing costs, while the country struggles with acute labour shortages as Moscow pumps fiscal and physical resources into the military.