US Politics

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Suv666 said:
Yes the cases have gone down drastically but I can assure you that isn't because of masks.
They might be enforcing it in cities like Delhi or Mumbai but where I live hardly anyone wears a mask.
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Even in Mumbai, 100pct discipline is rare. BUT people step out with one. Wear if you demand they do and are generally 70-75pct compliant in crowded places.

For me, all this talk about better immunity etc is nonsense. So you either believe that it magically disappeared, or lack of extreme cold weather made it less pervasive (no evidence of it) or just that some compliance to the mask law actually helped. I tend to think it's the latter. America is allowing 20k people to the Superbowl
 

Suv666

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Interval said:
Even in Mumbai, 100pct discipline is rare. BUT people step out with one. Wear if you demand they do and are generally 70-75pct compliant in crowded places.

For me, all this talk about better immunity etc is nonsense. So you either believe that it magically disappeared, or lack of extreme cold weather made it less pervasive (no evidence of it) or just that some compliance to the mask law actually helped. I tend to think it's the latter. America is allowing 20k people to the Superbowl
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Yeah even in Delhi they are quite strict about masks. You get fined even if you're driving alone with the windows up. But in small towns and cities its the wild west.

No clue what the actual reason is but I find it hard to believe its masks. Went to the old part of the city, it was packed and literally no one had a mask on. People were looking at me weird for wearing one. Everywhere I go its the same parks, malls, restaurants, cafes non existent social distancing and no masks. Even cops dont wear masks now.

I don't think its that outlandish thinking we have achieved some level of herd immunity or maybe due to the poor living conditions Indians have more robust immune system. Those theories are more plausible than masks imho.
 

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Suv666 said:
Yeah even in Delhi they are quite strict about masks. You get fined even if you're driving alone with the windows up. But in small towns and cities its the wild west.

No clue what the actual reason is but I find it hard to believe its masks. Went to the old part of the city, it was packed and literally no one had a mask on. People were looking at me weird for wearing one. Everywhere I go its the same parks, malls, restaurants, cafes non existent social distancing and no masks. Even cops dont wear masks now.

I don't think its that outlandish thinking we have achieved some level of herd immunity or maybe due to the poor living conditions Indians have more robust immune system. Those theories are more plausible than masks imho.
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Also ICMR claiming that one in every five adult had Covid by mid December

https://m.timesofindia.com/india/1-...dec-says-icmr-survey/articleshow/80696917.cms
 

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WI_Red said:
For the same reason it would not be a great idea to locate the US Embassy to the Republic of Ireland in Belfast.
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That doesn't really help. Why should the average American dealing with Covid, shit wages, mass shootings, police brutality and the like give a shit?
 

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Grinner said:
That doesn't really help. Why should the average American dealing with Covid, shit wages, mass shootings, police brutality and the like give a shit?
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People should care because the world beyond America still exists and there are still consequences to poor and racist foreign policy decisions.

People won't care because American's in general are extremely insular and know next to nothing about the outside world other than what Fox or CNN feeds them.

In this case the reasons for the original move:
- It hurts the Palestinian cause - Racism/Islamophobia
- It helps Netanyahu - Right wing extremism
- Evangelicals think it is a pretext to the rapture - crazy religion shit

ticked all the Trump boxes. Perpetuating it is just as bad.
 

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WI_Red said:
People should care because the world beyond America still exists and there are still consequences to poor and racist foreign policy decisions.

People won't care because American's in general are extremely insular and know next to nothing about the outside world other than what Fox or CNN feeds them.

In this case the reasons for the original move:
- It hurts the Palestinian cause - Racism/Islamophobia
- It helps Netanyahu - Right wing extremism
- Evangelicals think it is a pretext to the rapture - crazy religion shit

ticked all the Trump boxes. Perpetuating it is just as bad.
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Well that explains the vote then.

Bigger fish to fry and suchlike....
 

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Grinner said:
why do I need to give a shit where the US embassy is located?
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Normal people uninterested in policy probably shouldn't care. People who actually work in public or foreign policy probably should, since it affects how states interact with one another.
 

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Raoul said:
Normal people uninterested in policy probably shouldn't care. People who actually work in public or foreign policy probably should, since it affects how states interact with one another.
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How much would it cost to move the embassy back? Is it worth it?
 

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Grinner said:
How much would it cost to move the embassy back? Is it worth it?
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Probably less than they are paying in extra security to protect the new one in Jerusalem.

And yes it is worth moving back. Almost every other country has the political knowledge, and basic decency, to know that having an Embassy in Jerusalem is a very bad political idea (unless you are making a deliberate statement, which Trump/Pompeo were).
 

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WI_Red said:
Probably less than they are paying in extra security to protect the new one in Jerusalem.

And yes it is worth moving back. Almost every other country has the political knowledge, and basic decency, to know that having an Embassy in Jerusalem is a very bad political idea (unless you are making a deliberate statement, which Trump/Pompeo were).
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So how do you explain the vote then?
 

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The only reason the embassy is in Jerusalem is to appease evangelicals who, for some stupid reason, want the apocalypse to come sooner rather than later.
 

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Grinner said:
So how do you explain the vote then?
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Because for reasons the US media, and therefore population in general, believe that anything that is done that is contrary to the interests of the NATION of Israel is anti-Semitic.
 

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WI_Red said:
Because for reasons the US media, and therefore population in general, believe that anything that is done that is contrary to the interests of the NATION of Israel is anti-Semitic.
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Similar to the issue with the labour party in the UK, most people didn't really care. It's just a stick to beat their political opponents with.
 

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Grinner said:
How much would it cost to move the embassy back? Is it worth it?
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Personally, it would be more conspicuous and politically harmful to move it back at this point, especially since Biden is brand new on the job and probably doesn't want to immediately get into a political squabble about something far away when he's got far more important COVID and economic related things to worry about at home.
 

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Grinner said:
Well that explains the vote then.

Bigger fish to fry and suchlike....
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Eh? 97 senators bothered to turn up and vote yay when, by your logic, there’s other things they could be focusing on.
 

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Raoul said:
Personally, it would be more conspicuous and politically harmful to move it back at this point, especially since Biden is brand new on the job and probably doesn't want to immediately get into a political squabble about something far away when he's got far more important COVID and economic related things to worry about at home.
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That's what I thought. It's a needless confrontation when there is already plenty that they are going to fight about in the coming months. Moving it back doesn't gain much but thoughtful nodding from the chattering classes.
 

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DavidDeSchmikes said:
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That was really interesting. Fascinating the restraint anti-Trump supporters were able to show to not get into skirmishes with Proud Boys etc that would have played into Trump's hands. Incredible discipline.

Feels like there's a pretty good book/movie in this story.
 
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