[Leofric]

I can't believe Boris Johnson has opened his gob and publicly sided with Trump about the trial.
Pity both Trump and Johnson can't just disappear (I don't mean in a Russian way ).

[AzCal Retred]

@ 149, 150: You pretty much summed it up! 

[GlennF]

Neither religion nor politics are things you can discuss logically.

Religion - because it is based entirely on belief and if the facts of the matter disagree with your interpretation of your preferred sacred texts it is the facts that must go
Politics - because it is based entirely on ideology - the facts of the matter, whilst no doubt really interesting, are simply irrelevant

[Aitrus]

This Trump saga seems to me like what I think Americans call a clusterfuck .

Both sides are so screwed up that I'm considering opening a boutique store that specializes in selling monkeys, footballs, soup, sandwiches, goats, and rope.

[AzCal Retred]

We need those Cheney/Kinzinger and Austin/Abrams tickets. Get some sanity back in the game.

[AzCal Retred]

South China Sea: survey shows 73% of Filipinos support military action against Beijing
Analysts said it was the first time military action was favoured over diplomacy as a potential solution to the territorial dispute
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3266065/south-china-sea-survey-shows-73-filipinos-support-military-action-against-beijing

Vietnam expanding landfill work in South China Sea, report says
The country is expected to engage in a record number of island-building operations in waters Beijing also claims
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3265972/vietnam-expanding-landfill-work-south-china-sea-report-says

The question I have is if "Island Building" is SOP, why can't we add 30 feet or so to existing Polynesian islands that are threatened by sea level rise? Wouldn't it be a good PR move for Beijing to use their dredging tech to add some altitude to these islands? It'd sure be better than relocating everyone.
Pacific Island nations stand to lose much more than land as seas rise
The Rising Nations Initiative seeks to secure a permanent existence for threatened island countries, protecting their sovereignty and culture.
https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2023/10/pacific-island-nations-stand-to-lose-much-more-than-land-as-seas-rise/
As seas rise, some small low-lying Pacific islands are disappearing, inch by inch, into the ocean.
Experts warn that countries such as Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands could become uninhabitable this century.
Kamal Amakrane of the U.N. Global Center for Climate Mobility says the threat to these nations goes beyond land loss.
“It’s their statehood and sovereignty being challenged,” he says. “It’s their heritage and culture being challenged.”
Amakrane leads the Rising Nations Initiative, which aims to protect the sovereignty of island countries threatened by sea level rise. He says the world must guarantee these nations a permanent existence, even as their homeland disappears underwater.
For example, he says it will be important to preserve countries’ legal rights to the same ocean resources.
Government services could be digitized to decrease reliance on physical buildings, so citizens could access them from anywhere.
And he says steps must be taken to build a record and repository of their culture and heritage, “in order to be sure that it’s something that continues to be cherished, continues to be shared, and continues to be celebrated.”
He says there’s no time to waste to protect and preserve these vulnerable nations in a warming world.

[GlennF]

These are 100s of islands with populations numbering in the tens of thousands  or less (which is why on an international scale no-one cares much, particularly the conservative side).

The cost of raising and replanting and rebuilding an entire island high enough to survive king tides and the occasional tropical cyclone, or doing a Netherlands sea wall style thing, if even practical, would be in the hundreds of billions per  island.  it would be cheaper to buy every islander a villa in West Palm beach.

[AzCal Retred]

Some islands are low-lying enough you'd have to do all of it. Many have high ground, you'd just need the shore built up. You already have a good base to start with. Rock can be obtained offshore at depth. Nobody wants more immigrants. Polynesia alone has 750,000 people. WPB Villas run $300K to $500K or a lot more. Costs for Polynesia alone would likely exceed $5,000 Billion ($5T). The island building could be spread over time. Polynesians seem to double their population every 40 years. Likely Florida would object to an immediate 4% growth in immigrants. Better to keep them where they are. An "empty" Polynesia would certainly invite more trouble...

Some good footage of the tech involved.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g_cgetxSns

[Racer57]

Better to keep them where they are. An "empty" Polynesia would certainly invite more trouble...

Islands can't afford to take on any illegal leaches due to the fact they may tip over. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cesSRfXqS1Q

[AzCal Retred]

Good argument for minimum aptitude testing for Congress. Maybe we'd keep out folks that think injecting bleach cures covid, jewish space lasers are a threat and that after +60 court cases to the contrary still think the election was stolen. I'm all for pre-screening the mentally unfit from office, sounds like you are too. Finally we agree on something!

[GlennF]

Generally if you live in a liberal state, you gain certain rights as a citizen including, theoretically at least, some degree  of say over government through voting and access to your local member or congressman, law and order through a police force, access to a lot of government provided infrastructure like roads, bridges, parks etc and basically a right to be a member of society.  With that comes responsibilities like paying your share of taxes, accepting the results of fair elections even if they do not go your preferred way and obeying laws even if you disagree,

There are restrictions on who counts as a citizen in a liberal state. You are not a citizen if you are still a minor, if you are in jail, you are an illegal immigrant or if you are mentally ill to the point of being committed to an institution to name just a few examples.

The modern day pseudo-anarchist trend for people declare themselves "sovereign citizens" and hence NOT a citizen of their country, has dubious legal status.  It also seems driven in most cases by self interest and the desire to take all the benefits of a modern society whilst declaring laws, taxes and other obligations normal people incur as part of being a functioning member of a society do not apply to them, they can do as they please.  Of course in doing so they rely on other people obeying the same laws they reject and not burning their house down, kidnapping their daughters and throwing them off a bridge.

[Richard230]

Good argument for minimum aptitude testing for Congress. Maybe we'd keep out folks that think injecting bleach cures covid, jewish space lasers are a threat and that after +60 court cases to the contrary still think the election was stolen. I'm all for pre-screening the mentally unfit from office, sounds like you are too. Finally we agree on something!

And people who think that Jesus is currently running for president.   

[Racer57]

I'm all for pre-screening the mentally unfit from office, sounds like you are too. Finally we agree on something!

Your right. We do agree on something.
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-68851622

[AzCal Retred]

We certainly do Ollie. Now get busy on your Cheney/Kinzinger 2024 signs, you'll need 'em. That ankle monitor will be a major setback for the Dear Leader. There had best be a Plan B that doesn't involve more crazy.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/ej-montini/2024/06/10/trump-shark-las-vegas-story/74048688007/

[AzCal Retred]

https://www.google.com/search?q=china+determines+us+submarine+speed&rlz=1CANQDY_enUS1047&oq=china+determines+us+submarine+speed&aqs=chrome..69i57j33i160l4j33i671.17520j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#ip=1

Chinese researchers have studied how submarines can create disturbances in the water, which may be detectable. For example, they found that submarines that are 328 feet long and over 10 meters in diameter can cause ripples on the ocean's surface if they travel faster than 20 knots at a depth of 100 meters. The researchers also found that electromagnetic emissions from cavitation bubbles can create a signal in the ELF range, which can travel long distances and reach the ionosphere. This signal could be used to help choose electromagnetic communication frequencies for high-speed submarines.
The US is known for having some of the most difficult submarines to detect because they use acoustic and vibration reduction systems to blend in with ocean noises. However, China and the US have both built networks of hydro-acoustic sensors that use sonar technology to detect submarines near their coasts and military locations. The effectiveness of this technology depends on how much noise the submarines make underwater.