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A President without precedent: Which record will Biden break in 2024? – politicalbetting.com

SystemSystem Posts: 11,002
edited March 2021 in General
A President without precedent: Which record will Biden break in 2024? – politicalbetting.com

No President in the post-war era has not sought re-election*. No President as old as Joe Biden has ever been elected (by a margin of several years). In 2024 one of these records will be broken, and there’s value in betting on which.

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Comments

  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    A cyber-attack has disrupted live broadcasts on Australia's Channel Nine TV network, prompting concerns about the country's vulnerability to hackers.

    The broadcaster said it was unable to air several shows on Sunday, including Weekend Today.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-56554641
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,614
    Ooh, looks like she’s moved a bit in the last hour or two...
    https://twitter.com/CaptJoo2023/status/1376371469060599808
  • AlistairMAlistairM Posts: 2,004
    Sandpit said:

    Ooh, looks like she’s moved a bit in the last hour or two...
    https://twitter.com/CaptJoo2023/status/1376371469060599808

    Apparently free now.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    Sandpit said:

    Ooh, looks like she’s moved a bit in the last hour or two...
    twitter.com/CaptJoo2023/status/1376371469060599808

    Nvidia 3090 on its way........
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,614
    Looks like they freed the stern, but the bow is still aground on the bank.
    https://twitter.com/CaptJoo2023/status/1376380991460229120

    Here’s what she looked like from underneath, before she moved:
    https://twitter.com/fruys/status/1376087274719485952
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,540
    Sounds like “partially refloated” is the line:

    https://twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak/status/1376401530597871618?s=20
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,164
    Not that I’m betting on this, but I do t see Biden making it to the end of his first term.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,614

    Sounds like “partially refloated” is the line:

    twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak/status/1376401530597871618?s=20

    That’s a polite way of saying “still aground”, even if progress has been made.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,933
    Good morning, everyone.

    Good news on the tanker front.

    F1: I think the biggest surprise for me is how good AlphaTauri are. Didn't show up in the results, but they're going to give McLaren and Ferrari some serious competition. Impressive debut by Tsunoda.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,080
    Small businesses have reported a marked drop in exports to the EU as another company bemoaned the post-Brexit “nightmare” of delivery delays and increased costs.

    The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), a lobby group, said 35 of the 132 exporters it surveyed had temporarily suspended trade with the EU or stopped it permanently. One in 10 of the exporters surveyed said they were also considering giving up trade with EU customers.

    Some smaller business have been badly affected by the overnight change in trade rules on 31 December, with new paperwork and a rush to secure delivery space causing widespread delays and extra costs. UK exports to the EU fell by 41% in January, according to government figures.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,614

    Good morning, everyone.

    Good news on the tanker front.

    F1: I think the biggest surprise for me is how good AlphaTauri are. Didn't show up in the results, but they're going to give McLaren and Ferrari some serious competition. Impressive debut by Tsunoda.

    Your bet on Tsunoda as best rookie this year isn’t in much doubt. Mick Schumacher has an uncompetitive car, and Mazepin is like the worst type of pay-driver from the 1980s.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,933
    Mr. Sandpit, aye. Though, to be technical, it was a tip. While I was convinced of its value, 1.08 doesn't do much for me. If I had a slab of disposable cash it'd be different.

    The Haas already looks awful and it's not being developed. I feel sympathy for Schumacher. Hope he can get a better car quickly, and Mazepin sods off.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,715
    Sandpit said:

    Sounds like “partially refloated” is the line:

    twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak/status/1376401530597871618?s=20

    That’s a polite way of saying “still aground”, even if progress has been made.
    Good morning everyone. Guardian reporting 'multiple sources' say it's refloated, and that the engines have been restarted.
    And I had a phone call yesterday afternoon booking men in for a second vaccination on Friday.
  • Good thread.

    We need to factor in that people are living longer now. 150 years ago the life expectancy in the US was half (40) what it is now (80). Even since Richard Nixon was President, life expectancy has risen another 10 years. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1040079/life-expectancy-united-states-all-time/

    Joe Biden may occasionally sound mentally wayward but at 78 he looks extremely physically fit - fitter than Trump was.

    Or, let's put this another way, would anyone seriously doubt that the Queen at 80 should have stood down on health grounds?

    Biden also has a 69 year old wife who looks very fit. I think it's a factor to include.

    All in all I think Biden will stand again, thus stopping a Democrat internal war.
  • p.s. and Boris, who also has a younger ambitious partner will also run again.
  • moonshinemoonshine Posts: 5,226
    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,715

    Good thread.

    We need to factor in that people are living longer now. 150 years ago the life expectancy in the US was half (40) what it is now (80). Even since Richard Nixon was President, life expectancy has risen another 10 years. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1040079/life-expectancy-united-states-all-time/

    Joe Biden may occasionally sound mentally wayward but at 78 he looks extremely physically fit - fitter than Trump was.

    Or, let's put this another way, would anyone seriously doubt that the Queen at 80 should have stood down on health grounds?

    Biden also has a 69 year old wife who looks very fit. I think it's a factor to include.

    All in all I think Biden will stand again, thus stopping a Democrat internal war.

    That's true, although what the stats show is that, in areas and communities with good health, more people are getting closer to the apparent natural limit of about, or just over, 100.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    Sandpit said:

    Sounds like “partially refloated” is the line:

    twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak/status/1376401530597871618?s=20

    That’s a polite way of saying “still aground”, even if progress has been made.
    Good morning everyone. Guardian reporting 'multiple sources' say it's refloated, and that the engines have been restarted.
    And I had a phone call yesterday afternoon booking men in for a second vaccination on Friday.
    Congrats. Glad it is well within the 12 weeks timeline
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    Sandpit said:

    Sounds like “partially refloated” is the line:

    twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak/status/1376401530597871618?s=20

    That’s a polite way of saying “still aground”, even if progress has been made.
    Good morning everyone. Guardian reporting 'multiple sources' say it's refloated, and that the engines have been restarted.
    And I had a phone call yesterday afternoon booking men in for a second vaccination on Friday.
    Congrats. Glad it is well within the 12 weeks timeline
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,614

    Sandpit said:

    Sounds like “partially refloated” is the line:

    twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak/status/1376401530597871618?s=20

    That’s a polite way of saying “still aground”, even if progress has been made.
    Good morning everyone. Guardian reporting 'multiple sources' say it's refloated, and that the engines have been restarted.
    And I had a phone call yesterday afternoon booking men in for a second vaccination on Friday.
    Guardian as accurate as ever then. She only has one engine, which yes has apparently been restarted, and their whole story seems to be coming from one Tweet.

    The pictures tell a different story. She’s still definitely grounded on the bank at the bow - but with engine running, lots of tugs and a high tide, they might finally get her off the bank tonight. Good luck to them!
    https://twitter.com/CaptJoo2023/status/1376414006924214274
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 61,569
    Biden will absolutely run. Unless ‘fate’ intervenes.
    https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/545178-bidens-plan-for-reelection-freezes-democratic-field

    The reports of his mental decline are, IMO, greatly exaggerated.
    That could change, but I think he’s more likely than not to be in shape to run again.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    Good thread.

    We need to factor in that people are living longer now. 150 years ago the life expectancy in the US was half (40) what it is now (80). Even since Richard Nixon was President, life expectancy has risen another 10 years. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1040079/life-expectancy-united-states-all-time/

    Joe Biden may occasionally sound mentally wayward but at 78 he looks extremely physically fit - fitter than Trump was.

    Or, let's put this another way, would anyone seriously doubt that the Queen at 80 should have stood down on health grounds?

    Biden also has a 69 year old wife who looks very fit. I think it's a factor to include.

    All in all I think Biden will stand again, thus stopping a Democrat internal war.

    That's true, although what the stats show is that, in areas and communities with good health, more people are getting closer to the apparent natural limit of about, or just over, 100.
    Isn’t it 90 (4 score year at 10)
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,080

    Sandpit said:

    Sounds like “partially refloated” is the line:

    twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak/status/1376401530597871618?s=20

    That’s a polite way of saying “still aground”, even if progress has been made.
    Good morning everyone. Guardian reporting 'multiple sources' say it's refloated, and that the engines have been restarted.
    And I had a phone call yesterday afternoon booking men in for a second vaccination on Friday.
    They’re coming by tanker?
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,733

    p.s. and Boris, who also has a younger ambitious partner will also run again.

    Are you saying he will Carrie on?
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,164

    Good thread.

    We need to factor in that people are living longer now. 150 years ago the life expectancy in the US was half (40) what it is now (80). Even since Richard Nixon was President, life expectancy has risen another 10 years. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1040079/life-expectancy-united-states-all-time/

    Joe Biden may occasionally sound mentally wayward but at 78 he looks extremely physically fit - fitter than Trump was.

    Or, let's put this another way, would anyone seriously doubt that the Queen at 80 should have stood down on health grounds?

    Biden also has a 69 year old wife who looks very fit. I think it's a factor to include.

    All in all I think Biden will stand again, thus stopping a Democrat internal war.

    He’ll be 82 come the start of his second term. He’ll turn 86 just before he would leave office.

    I just don’t think it’s credible to have him run again.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,715
    edited March 2021
    IanB2 said:

    Sandpit said:

    Sounds like “partially refloated” is the line:

    twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak/status/1376401530597871618?s=20

    That’s a polite way of saying “still aground”, even if progress has been made.
    Good morning everyone. Guardian reporting 'multiple sources' say it's refloated, and that the engines have been restarted.
    And I had a phone call yesterday afternoon booking men in for a second vaccination on Friday.
    They’re coming by tanker?
    Must have done! Cheered me up after the cricket, though, plus being offered a dental appointment.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,733
    IanB2 said:

    Sandpit said:

    Sounds like “partially refloated” is the line:

    twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak/status/1376401530597871618?s=20

    That’s a polite way of saying “still aground”, even if progress has been made.
    Good morning everyone. Guardian reporting 'multiple sources' say it's refloated, and that the engines have been restarted.
    And I had a phone call yesterday afternoon booking men in for a second vaccination on Friday.
    They’re coming by tanker?
    It’s the only way to avoid the EU’s export restrictions.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,080
    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    It’s only fair that the Americans should go first, its emptier spots having been the aliens’ short break venue of choice for such a long time.
  • LindonLightLindonLight Posts: 96
    edited March 2021

    Sandpit said:

    Sounds like “partially refloated” is the line:

    twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak/status/1376401530597871618?s=20

    That’s a polite way of saying “still aground”, even if progress has been made.
    Good morning everyone. Guardian reporting 'multiple sources' say it's refloated, and that the engines have been restarted.
    And I had a phone call yesterday afternoon booking men in for a second vaccination on Friday.
    Good morning Old King Cole (always makes me think of Peter Gabriel singing his name on Selling England by the Pound!). Excellent news on your vaccination. Did you see yesterday that they 'guaranteed' everyone will have their 2nd jabs and, I believe, the same type as their first?
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,715
    ydoethur said:

    p.s. and Boris, who also has a younger ambitious partner will also run again.

    Are you saying he will Carrie on?
    Unless he's carried on 'outside' again.
  • MalcolmDunnMalcolmDunn Posts: 139
    I very much doubt Biden will complete his first term
  • LindonLightLindonLight Posts: 96
    edited March 2021
    tlg86 said:

    Good thread.

    We need to factor in that people are living longer now. 150 years ago the life expectancy in the US was half (40) what it is now (80). Even since Richard Nixon was President, life expectancy has risen another 10 years. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1040079/life-expectancy-united-states-all-time/

    Joe Biden may occasionally sound mentally wayward but at 78 he looks extremely physically fit - fitter than Trump was.

    Or, let's put this another way, would anyone seriously doubt that the Queen at 80 should have stood down on health grounds?

    Biden also has a 69 year old wife who looks very fit. I think it's a factor to include.

    All in all I think Biden will stand again, thus stopping a Democrat internal war.

    He’ll be 82 come the start of his second term. He’ll turn 86 just before he would leave office.

    I just don’t think it’s credible to have him run again.
    When the Queen turned 80 you would presumably have said the same of her at 94? Yet she seems in fine fettle, totally in control of her faculties and managed to give a stirring address to the nation last year.

    I think this is all a load of ageist fuss about nothing. Biden seems on good form and going strong.

    Whether he lasts through the whole of his second term though is a slightly different matter. The brilliant move would be to stand again, win and then step aside after two years. The mechanisms for that are less assured in the US than the UK but it's possible.

    Either way at the moment I think this is just punters rummaging around in the bottom of the barrel. I agree with Pip Moss. Biden will stand again. No reason for him not to.
  • moonshinemoonshine Posts: 5,226
    edited March 2021
    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    It’s only fair that the Americans should go first, its emptier spots having been the aliens’ short break venue of choice for such a long time.
    Well it seems to be the oceans not the landmasses with the most military encounters. Whether that’s because there’s more active military assets at sea I don’t know. Either way, it’s going to be quite hard to row back from what’s been said in the last year and particularly the last few weeks. Though I appreciate that 90% of people won’t take any notice until it’s the president himself saying it.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,733

    tlg86 said:

    Good thread.

    We need to factor in that people are living longer now. 150 years ago the life expectancy in the US was half (40) what it is now (80). Even since Richard Nixon was President, life expectancy has risen another 10 years. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1040079/life-expectancy-united-states-all-time/

    Joe Biden may occasionally sound mentally wayward but at 78 he looks extremely physically fit - fitter than Trump was.

    Or, let's put this another way, would anyone seriously doubt that the Queen at 80 should have stood down on health grounds?

    Biden also has a 69 year old wife who looks very fit. I think it's a factor to include.

    All in all I think Biden will stand again, thus stopping a Democrat internal war.

    He’ll be 82 come the start of his second term. He’ll turn 86 just before he would leave office.

    I just don’t think it’s credible to have him run again.
    When the Queen turned 80 you would presumably have said the same of her at 94? Yet she seems in fine fettle, totally in control of her faculties and managed to give a stirring address to the nation last year.

    I think this is all a load of ageist fuss about nothing. Biden seems on good form and going strong.

    Whether he lasts through the whole of his second term though is a slightly different matter. The brilliant move would be to stand again, win and then step aside after two years. The mechanisms for that are less assured in the US than the UK but it's possible.

    Either way at the moment I think this is just punters rummaging around in the bottom of the barrel. I agree with Pip Moss. Biden will stand again. No reason for him not to.
    The Queen is doing far less work now than she was 15 years ago, with William in particular taking up a lot of the slack. These days she seems to do only a few hours ‘work’ a week, and to have stopped travelling abroad. Not surprising given her age.

    It is not credible for the President, who has substantial executive duties and will have to attend a huge number of foreign events, to do that.
  • ydoethur said:

    tlg86 said:

    Good thread.

    We need to factor in that people are living longer now. 150 years ago the life expectancy in the US was half (40) what it is now (80). Even since Richard Nixon was President, life expectancy has risen another 10 years. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1040079/life-expectancy-united-states-all-time/

    Joe Biden may occasionally sound mentally wayward but at 78 he looks extremely physically fit - fitter than Trump was.

    Or, let's put this another way, would anyone seriously doubt that the Queen at 80 should have stood down on health grounds?

    Biden also has a 69 year old wife who looks very fit. I think it's a factor to include.

    All in all I think Biden will stand again, thus stopping a Democrat internal war.

    He’ll be 82 come the start of his second term. He’ll turn 86 just before he would leave office.

    I just don’t think it’s credible to have him run again.
    When the Queen turned 80 you would presumably have said the same of her at 94? Yet she seems in fine fettle, totally in control of her faculties and managed to give a stirring address to the nation last year.

    I think this is all a load of ageist fuss about nothing. Biden seems on good form and going strong.

    Whether he lasts through the whole of his second term though is a slightly different matter. The brilliant move would be to stand again, win and then step aside after two years. The mechanisms for that are less assured in the US than the UK but it's possible.

    Either way at the moment I think this is just punters rummaging around in the bottom of the barrel. I agree with Pip Moss. Biden will stand again. No reason for him not to.
    The Queen is doing far less work now than she was 15 years ago, with William in particular taking up a lot of the slack. These days she seems to do only a few hours ‘work’ a week, and to have stopped travelling abroad. Not surprising given her age.

    It is not credible for the President, who has substantial executive duties and will have to attend a huge number of foreign events, to do that.
    No but at the equivalent age, 82 (at time of Biden's re-election) the Queen was going strong and still travelling. Biden would be 86 at the end of his second term, eight years younger than the Queen is now.

    Well, I guess we shall have to wait and see but I agree with PipMoss and I think betting against Biden standing again for a second term is throwing away money.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,715
    From personal experience, as I approach 83 lots of bits of my body don't seem to work quite as well as Once Upon a Time. Nothing serious, just a general 'not as quickly as once'.
    I think, although others may disagree, that my mind is no worse than it was, but I do find myself taking note of my body and, at least sometimes, thinking a bit more carefully about what I'm doing or saying.

    My hearing isn't as good now, though, nor is my ability to balance. I find myself grabbing support more often. And I really must sell my bicycle. The thought that I might ride it again worries my wife.
  • LindonLightLindonLight Posts: 96
    edited March 2021
    As a general point I think we have been used to hyper-arousal. The covid pandemic has induced in people, including punters, a mindset that is not geared for the humdrum routine. There have been extremely boring aspects to it, like staying at home, but only because the world beyond our front doors has been so very abnormal and pretty manic.

    Because this has become our familiar state of mind, known as hyper-arousal, we seek out and search for Breaking News (Sky News are particularly culpable) even if that is the febrile excitement of whether an oil tanker has shifted a couple of metres.

    Punters need to be careful about this. There's a tendency to think that hyper-arousal is normal so that when we do return to actual forms of normality we are ever expecting the unusual to occur.

    I'd urge people to remember this when betting. It may well be that after all the excitement and horror, ordinary plain bets: bets which for example side with the status quo, will prove the real winners.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,762
    For me this is a bet on health. What are the chances of a 78 year old with an extremely stressful and demanding job being fit enough to go again in 3* years time? I think that they are poor. He's already fallen down airplane steps, he wasn't the clearest speaker to start with and things are going to be seriously tough over the next 3 years as America tries to recover from Covid. I can see that he will commit himself to that task as well as focus on getting some of his beloved infrastructure going and not be "distracted" by the campaign to be re-elected.


    * 3 because that is when he would need to be committed to running again.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,715
    DavidL said:

    For me this is a bet on health. What are the chances of a 78 year old with an extremely stressful and demanding job being fit enough to go again in 3* years time? I think that they are poor. He's already fallen down airplane steps, he wasn't the clearest speaker to start with and things are going to be seriously tough over the next 3 years as America tries to recover from Covid. I can see that he will commit himself to that task as well as focus on getting some of his beloved infrastructure going and not be "distracted" by the campaign to be re-elected.


    * 3 because that is when he would need to be committed to running again.

    I suspect that if I'd started something new and demanding four or five years ago I'd have felt that I'd have to really have to have a serious talk with myself about continuing after two or three years.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,164
    The one thing Biden has going for him is the prospect of Trump as the Republican candidate. In those circumstances then I can see Biden playing the “I defeated him last time” card.

    But should the republicans look like sorting their shit out, then I think Biden looks like a one term president.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,715
    edited March 2021
    tlg86 said:

    The one thing Biden has going for him is the prospect of Trump as the Republican candidate. In those circumstances then I can see Biden playing the “I defeated him last time” card.

    But should the republicans look like sorting their shit out, then I think Biden looks like a one term president.

    Would there be a third party candidate, drawn from dissident Republicans?
  • QuincelQuincel Posts: 3,949
    DavidL said:

    For me this is a bet on health. What are the chances of a 78 year old with an extremely stressful and demanding job being fit enough to go again in 3* years time? I think that they are poor. He's already fallen down airplane steps, he wasn't the clearest speaker to start with and things are going to be seriously tough over the next 3 years as America tries to recover from Covid. I can see that he will commit himself to that task as well as focus on getting some of his beloved infrastructure going and not be "distracted" by the campaign to be re-elected.


    * 3 because that is when he would need to be committed to running again.

    My issue with this logic is that people have been saying it about Biden for ages. He's had a stressful job for decades, and people have said he's too old for a least a decade. At some point he will be, and it might be 2024 is a bridge too far, but I worry a lot of people are hyper-focused on tiny signs of his decline and miss the wider picture that his condition isn't changing much. He's had verbal gaffes for literally decades.

    While his situation may change rapidly at some point the truth is it will take a lot more than this stuff to make him unviable as a candidate. All this was true in 2020, and he ran and won that time.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,080

    IanB2 said:

    Sandpit said:

    Sounds like “partially refloated” is the line:

    twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak/status/1376401530597871618?s=20

    That’s a polite way of saying “still aground”, even if progress has been made.
    Good morning everyone. Guardian reporting 'multiple sources' say it's refloated, and that the engines have been restarted.
    And I had a phone call yesterday afternoon booking men in for a second vaccination on Friday.
    They’re coming by tanker?
    Must have done! Cheered me up after the cricket, though, plus being offered a dental appointment.
    Your teeth are also coming by tanker?

    Those Chinese teeth aren’t the most reliable
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,614
    Quincel said:

    As a general point I think we have been used to hyper-arousal. The covid pandemic has induced in people, including punters, a mindset that is not geared for the humdrum routine. There have been extremely boring aspects to it, like staying at home, but only because the world beyond our front doors has been so very abnormal and pretty manic.

    Because this has become our familiar state of mind, known as hyper-arousal, we seek out and search for Breaking News (Sky News are particularly culpable) even if that is the febrile excitement of whether an oil tanker has shifted a couple of metres.

    Punters need to be careful about this. There's a tendency to think that hyper-arousal is normal so that when we do return to actual forms of normality we are ever expecting the unusual to occur.

    I'd urge people to remember this when betting. It may well be that after all the excitement and horror, ordinary plain bets: bets which for example side with the status quo, will prove the real winners.

    In truth, even pre-pandemic I'd say one of the most reliable edges in political betting was backing the boring option over the exciting one in markets. Not blindly, but as a default it's normally the value bet.
    The “X minister in the news having to walk the plank this week” or “X MP defected winning re-election for a new party” bets are mostly value on the side of the status quo. Even with quite the political turmoil of the past half-decade, there’s still much more stability than change.
  • IanB2 said:

    Small businesses have reported a marked drop in exports to the EU as another company bemoaned the post-Brexit “nightmare” of delivery delays and increased costs.

    The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), a lobby group, said 35 of the 132 exporters it surveyed had temporarily suspended trade with the EU or stopped it permanently. One in 10 of the exporters surveyed said they were also considering giving up trade with EU customers.

    Some smaller business have been badly affected by the overnight change in trade rules on 31 December, with new paperwork and a rush to secure delivery space causing widespread delays and extra costs. UK exports to the EU fell by 41% in January, according to government figures.

    There was another report I read over the weekend of a Cheese company who had been vocal enough expressing his frustration on Twitter to get a government minister to ring him. The government said nothing would change to make export to the EU viable again, but had he considered the huge opportunities exporting to places like Canada?

    The Tories - formerly the party of business - don't understand how business works. "Can't just just trade with x" is a stupid question. If trade with x was preferable or more profitable or even viable compared to trade with the EU they would already be doing so. Just because the Tories have torpedoed these company's ability to have an export trade with their biggest market doesn't miraculously remove the massive barriers to trade with the rest of the world.
  • kjhkjh Posts: 10,458
    IanB2 said:

    Small businesses have reported a marked drop in exports to the EU as another company bemoaned the post-Brexit “nightmare” of delivery delays and increased costs.

    The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), a lobby group, said 35 of the 132 exporters it surveyed had temporarily suspended trade with the EU or stopped it permanently. One in 10 of the exporters surveyed said they were also considering giving up trade with EU customers.

    Some smaller business have been badly affected by the overnight change in trade rules on 31 December, with new paperwork and a rush to secure delivery space causing widespread delays and extra costs. UK exports to the EU fell by 41% in January, according to government figures.

    I use an online supplier for certain garden stuff I buy in bigger quanties. They have now cancelled all sales to NI as the paperwork added £50 to all bills. They also can't guarantee deliverers anywhere else due to Brexit delays on imports. Very frustrating. Great supplier as well.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,080
    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    It’s only fair that the Americans should go first, its emptier spots having been the aliens’ short break venue of choice for such a long time.
    Well it seems to be the oceans not the landmasses with the most military encounters. Whether that’s because there’s more active military assets at sea I don’t know. Either way, it’s going to be quite hard to row back from what’s been said in the last year and particularly the last few weeks. Though I appreciate that 90% of people won’t take any notice until it’s the president himself saying it.
    The deadline for publication of the unclassified report required by one of the provisions Trump slipped into the coronavirus bill approaches, and there is increasing media chatter. Whether anything notable will actually be revealed remains to be seen.
  • Sandpit said:

    Good morning, everyone.

    Good news on the tanker front.

    F1: I think the biggest surprise for me is how good AlphaTauri are. Didn't show up in the results, but they're going to give McLaren and Ferrari some serious competition. Impressive debut by Tsunoda.

    Your bet on Tsunoda as best rookie this year isn’t in much doubt. Mick Schumacher has an uncompetitive car, and Mazepin is like the worst type of pay-driver from the 1980s.
    You want to be careful criticising Mazepin just in case you wake up dead in Salisbury one morning. Not that he has dodgy Russian connections which have put the Russian flag all over both the car and his dad's company logo on the car. That's entirely coincidental, right....?
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,762
    Quincel said:

    DavidL said:

    For me this is a bet on health. What are the chances of a 78 year old with an extremely stressful and demanding job being fit enough to go again in 3* years time? I think that they are poor. He's already fallen down airplane steps, he wasn't the clearest speaker to start with and things are going to be seriously tough over the next 3 years as America tries to recover from Covid. I can see that he will commit himself to that task as well as focus on getting some of his beloved infrastructure going and not be "distracted" by the campaign to be re-elected.


    * 3 because that is when he would need to be committed to running again.

    My issue with this logic is that people have been saying it about Biden for ages. He's had a stressful job for decades, and people have said he's too old for a least a decade. At some point he will be, and it might be 2024 is a bridge too far, but I worry a lot of people are hyper-focused on tiny signs of his decline and miss the wider picture that his condition isn't changing much. He's had verbal gaffes for literally decades.

    While his situation may change rapidly at some point the truth is it will take a lot more than this stuff to make him unviable as a candidate. All this was true in 2020, and he ran and won that time.
    Not really. Is being VP of the US a stressful job when your boss is no drama Obama? I mean there have been VPs who have acted more like Chief Operating officers, notably Chaney, but Biden is not 1 of them. And then what did he do for the 4 years of Trump other than run for office? I honestly don't know.

    Its not impossible that he will prove resilient enough to run again and I take the point in your header about the ego of those elected to such office believing that they are the only person who can do it. I just think that there will almost inevitably be some health crisis at some point and that will make those around him, including his ambitious wife, think, enough.

    He's already waited longer than any other President in modern times to have a press conference. It was not a stellar performance. He is effectively being hidden already. One interesting counterfactual is whether the Covid restrictions on his campaign helped him as much as they clearly hindered his opponent. He may have really struggled with a conventional campaign.
  • QuincelQuincel Posts: 3,949
    DavidL said:

    Quincel said:

    DavidL said:

    For me this is a bet on health. What are the chances of a 78 year old with an extremely stressful and demanding job being fit enough to go again in 3* years time? I think that they are poor. He's already fallen down airplane steps, he wasn't the clearest speaker to start with and things are going to be seriously tough over the next 3 years as America tries to recover from Covid. I can see that he will commit himself to that task as well as focus on getting some of his beloved infrastructure going and not be "distracted" by the campaign to be re-elected.


    * 3 because that is when he would need to be committed to running again.

    My issue with this logic is that people have been saying it about Biden for ages. He's had a stressful job for decades, and people have said he's too old for a least a decade. At some point he will be, and it might be 2024 is a bridge too far, but I worry a lot of people are hyper-focused on tiny signs of his decline and miss the wider picture that his condition isn't changing much. He's had verbal gaffes for literally decades.

    While his situation may change rapidly at some point the truth is it will take a lot more than this stuff to make him unviable as a candidate. All this was true in 2020, and he ran and won that time.
    Not really. Is being VP of the US a stressful job when your boss is no drama Obama? I mean there have been VPs who have acted more like Chief Operating officers, notably Chaney, but Biden is not 1 of them. And then what did he do for the 4 years of Trump other than run for office? I honestly don't know.

    Its not impossible that he will prove resilient enough to run again and I take the point in your header about the ego of those elected to such office believing that they are the only person who can do it. I just think that there will almost inevitably be some health crisis at some point and that will make those around him, including his ambitious wife, think, enough.

    He's already waited longer than any other President in modern times to have a press conference. It was not a stellar performance. He is effectively being hidden already. One interesting counterfactual is whether the Covid restrictions on his campaign helped him as much as they clearly hindered his opponent. He may have really struggled with a conventional campaign.
    I think that being a Senator, being VP regardless of President, and running for President are all roles which demand a lot of time and energy to do. You say he's being hidden, but he adopted a less media-facing style as a candidate too and it didn't stop him winning or lead to Democrats viewing him as lacking credibility. Maybe things will be different in 2024, but my guess is he feels capable and others won't stop him.
  • kjh said:

    IanB2 said:

    Small businesses have reported a marked drop in exports to the EU as another company bemoaned the post-Brexit “nightmare” of delivery delays and increased costs.

    The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), a lobby group, said 35 of the 132 exporters it surveyed had temporarily suspended trade with the EU or stopped it permanently. One in 10 of the exporters surveyed said they were also considering giving up trade with EU customers.

    Some smaller business have been badly affected by the overnight change in trade rules on 31 December, with new paperwork and a rush to secure delivery space causing widespread delays and extra costs. UK exports to the EU fell by 41% in January, according to government figures.

    I use an online supplier for certain garden stuff I buy in bigger quanties. They have now cancelled all sales to NI as the paperwork added £50 to all bills. They also can't guarantee deliverers anywhere else due to Brexit delays on imports. Very frustrating. Great supplier as well.
    This is where Philip pops up and says "initial disruption, they'll find a way round the problem". No, they won't. There is little point trying to do business that doesn't make you money, The deadly trinity of higher costs, lengthy and often unpredictable delays, and unreliability risking refunds and reputation make it not economically viable for so many exporters to continue exporting.

    That we are having less difficulties importing is thanks to the government giving up on trying to police the border. It was bloody awful trying to bring samples in at the start of the year, but as soon as they said that all checks were being kicked into the long grass things immediately eased up. The EU have no need to defer because unlike us they were ready for Brexit, hence the one way problems.

    The best case scenario now for the UK is that we actually build customs facilities and train officers and have a functioning computer system so that we can do to the EU what they have done to us (at our request). That this will shag our imports of things we need doesn't batter to the zealots, the forriners have to PAY.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,762

    Sandpit said:

    Good morning, everyone.

    Good news on the tanker front.

    F1: I think the biggest surprise for me is how good AlphaTauri are. Didn't show up in the results, but they're going to give McLaren and Ferrari some serious competition. Impressive debut by Tsunoda.

    Your bet on Tsunoda as best rookie this year isn’t in much doubt. Mick Schumacher has an uncompetitive car, and Mazepin is like the worst type of pay-driver from the 1980s.
    You want to be careful criticising Mazepin just in case you wake up dead in Salisbury one morning. Not that he has dodgy Russian connections which have put the Russian flag all over both the car and his dad's company logo on the car. That's entirely coincidental, right....?
    A couple more driving performances like yesterday and Putin might be wondering if he wants the Russian flag associated with this embarrassment.
  • moonshinemoonshine Posts: 5,226
    edited March 2021
    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    It’s only fair that the Americans should go first, its emptier spots having been the aliens’ short break venue of choice for such a long time.
    Well it seems to be the oceans not the landmasses with the most military encounters. Whether that’s because there’s more active military assets at sea I don’t know. Either way, it’s going to be quite hard to row back from what’s been said in the last year and particularly the last few weeks. Though I appreciate that 90% of people won’t take any notice until it’s the president himself saying it.
    The deadline for publication of the unclassified report required by one of the provisions Trump slipped into the coronavirus bill approaches, and there is increasing media chatter. Whether anything notable will actually be revealed remains to be seen.
    I don’t understand what you mean by “whether anything notable will actually be revealed”.

    The last Director of National Intelligence has just said that not only do they have many more combined video/radar/eye witness incidents akin to USS Nimitz, but satellite imagery as well. Of objects “breaking the sound barrier without causing a sonic boom”. Or Rubio this week: “well we have these things flying over military installations and military exercises. We know they’re not ours, they’re not registered with the FAA and in many cases they’re exhibiting technology the likes of which we’ve never seen before.... it’s very simple. There are things flying over national security assets, we don’t know who they are, we have to find out”.

    I am reminded of last year when Sean was correctly taking the piss out of people for debating pay schemes in care homes or whatever it was, as the coronavirus was quietly doing its thing under the surface.

    I’ve refrained from saying anything about this so far on Mike’s behalf, given how little UK media coverage there has been I can only assume a D Notice is in place. Now both the guardian and Sunday times are printing it, it’s fair game.

    It’s the biggest story of human history. And it’s fascinating how few people seem to have noticed it’s happening.
  • kjhkjh Posts: 10,458

    IanB2 said:

    Small businesses have reported a marked drop in exports to the EU as another company bemoaned the post-Brexit “nightmare” of delivery delays and increased costs.

    The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), a lobby group, said 35 of the 132 exporters it surveyed had temporarily suspended trade with the EU or stopped it permanently. One in 10 of the exporters surveyed said they were also considering giving up trade with EU customers.

    Some smaller business have been badly affected by the overnight change in trade rules on 31 December, with new paperwork and a rush to secure delivery space causing widespread delays and extra costs. UK exports to the EU fell by 41% in January, according to government figures.

    There was another report I read over the weekend of a Cheese company who had been vocal enough expressing his frustration on Twitter to get a government minister to ring him. The government said nothing would change to make export to the EU viable again, but had he considered the huge opportunities exporting to places like Canada?

    The Tories - formerly the party of business - don't understand how business works. "Can't just just trade with x" is a stupid question. If trade with x was preferable or more profitable or even viable compared to trade with the EU they would already be doing so. Just because the Tories have torpedoed these company's ability to have an export trade with their biggest market doesn't miraculously remove the massive barriers to trade with the rest of the world.
    Unbelievable. Before I retired my business customers were worldwide, but heavily biased to the EU because location was important. In fact I helped get equivalent businesses set up in USA and Australia. The logic was we wouldn't compete much but mutually assist. We would recommend customers to each other. So that advice would be useless.

    For most of my business life I have been frustrated by councils and governments telling me how I should run my business when they haven't a clue and have never done it.
  • MetatronMetatron Posts: 193
    The current issue of The Critic magazine has a 4 page feature on Tom Cotton and makes a plausible case he will be the Republican Nominee in 2024.Pleasantly suprised to find he was 50/1 to be the Nominee and 130/1 to win the Presidency with Betfair and backed.Be amazed if this article is correct and Biden is the Democratic candidate but if so then would see the Republicans looking for a female candidate to be the nominee.Apart from age & health reasons why Biden might not be the candidate i would see a left wing Democratic female standing against Biden if he did stand again.AOC who will be 35 an obvious candidate to do so.Countries like Finland are electing 30 something females as leaders if they perceive them to be talented enough
  • MattWMattW Posts: 18,080

    From personal experience, as I approach 83 lots of bits of my body don't seem to work quite as well as Once Upon a Time. Nothing serious, just a general 'not as quickly as once'.
    I think, although others may disagree, that my mind is no worse than it was, but I do find myself taking note of my body and, at least sometimes, thinking a bit more carefully about what I'm doing or saying.

    My hearing isn't as good now, though, nor is my ability to balance. I find myself grabbing support more often. And I really must sell my bicycle. The thought that I might ride it again worries my wife.

    I can't remember what it used to be like...

    Get a tricycle, and keep sleeping upstairs. Once you stop being active, it can all go very quickly indeed.

    Happened to mum.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,080
    edited March 2021
    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    It’s only fair that the Americans should go first, its emptier spots having been the aliens’ short break venue of choice for such a long time.
    Well it seems to be the oceans not the landmasses with the most military encounters. Whether that’s because there’s more active military assets at sea I don’t know. Either way, it’s going to be quite hard to row back from what’s been said in the last year and particularly the last few weeks. Though I appreciate that 90% of people won’t take any notice until it’s the president himself saying it.
    The deadline for publication of the unclassified report required by one of the provisions Trump slipped into the coronavirus bill approaches, and there is increasing media chatter. Whether anything notable will actually be revealed remains to be seen.
    I don’t understand what you mean by “whether anything notable will actually be revealed”.

    The last Director of National Intelligence has just said that not only do they have many more combined video/radar/eye witness incidents akin to USS Nimitz, but satellite imagery as well. Of objects “breaking the sound barrier without causing a sonic boom”. Or Rubio this week: “well we have these things flying over military installations and military exercises. We know they’re not ours, they’re not registered with the FAA and in many cases they’re exhibiting technology the likes of which we’ve never seen before.... it’s very simple. There are things flying over national security assets, we don’t know who they are, we have to find out”.

    I am reminded of last year when Sean was correctly taking the piss out of people for debating pay schemes in care homes or whatever it was, as the coronavirus was quietly doing its thing under the surface.

    I’ve refrained from saying anything about this so far on Mike’s behalf, given how little UK media coverage there has been I can only assume a D Notice is in place. Now both the guardian and Sunday times are printing it, it’s fair game.

    It’s the biggest story of human history. And it’s fascinating how few people seem to have noticed it’s happening.
    The media chatter is mostly because of Trump requiring a report on aliens to go to Congress by June. Whether that report is as earth shattering as some hope it might be is another matter.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,762
    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    It’s only fair that the Americans should go first, its emptier spots having been the aliens’ short break venue of choice for such a long time.
    Well it seems to be the oceans not the landmasses with the most military encounters. Whether that’s because there’s more active military assets at sea I don’t know. Either way, it’s going to be quite hard to row back from what’s been said in the last year and particularly the last few weeks. Though I appreciate that 90% of people won’t take any notice until it’s the president himself saying it.
    The deadline for publication of the unclassified report required by one of the provisions Trump slipped into the coronavirus bill approaches, and there is increasing media chatter. Whether anything notable will actually be revealed remains to be seen.
    I don’t understand what you mean by “whether anything notable will actually be revealed”.

    The last Director of National Intelligence has just said that not only do they have many more combined video/radar/eye witness incidents akin to USS Nimitz, but satellite imagery as well. Of objects “breaking the sound barrier without causing a sonic boom”. Or Rubio this week: “well we have these things flying over military installations and military exercises. We know they’re not ours, they’re not registered with the FAA and in many cases they’re exhibiting technology the likes of which we’ve never seen before.... it’s very simple. There are things flying over national security assets, we don’t know who they are, we have to find out”.

    I am reminded of last year when Sean was correctly taking the piss out of people for debating pay schemes in care homes or whatever it was, as the coronavirus was quietly doing its thing under the surface.

    I’ve refrained from saying anything about this so far on Mike’s behalf, given how little UK media coverage there has been I can only assume a D Notice is in place. Now both the guardian and Sunday times are printing it, it’s fair game.

    It’s the biggest story of human history. And it’s fascinating how few people seem to have noticed it’s happening.
    So why are they hiding? If they have the technology to make interstellar travel possible they surely have absolutely nothing to fear from us. Why would they be sneaking about watching the equivalent of some canoeing by tribesmen from their gunship? You'd think, having come all that way, they might want to say hi.

  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,080
    tlg86 said:

    The one thing Biden has going for him is the prospect of Trump as the Republican candidate. In those circumstances then I can see Biden playing the “I defeated him last time” card.

    But should the republicans look like sorting their shit out, then I think Biden looks like a one term president.

    I can't see Trump wanting the hassle, potential expense, and likely second humiliation of running again.

    More likely, he'll want to be the kingmaker pulling the strings and favouring his preferred candidates in the contest. An invidious position for any such people, given how capricious and potentially unhelpful he can be. I'd say the likelihood of Trump's continuing meddling will be a point in the Dems' favour.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 18,080
    Morning all.

    Picking the persistence of extended government powers from yesterday:

    she got a green certificate as a result without which she would not have been able to travel. It was apparently very common and the airline would not even let you fly if you didn't have the certificate.

    Proof of vaccination before being allowed into countries is nothing new.

    Very true, and of course there was much more compulsory isolation etc.

    I am satisfied if there are short sunset clauses and as little extension as possible. I might even be persuadable of an ID card (yes, I know).

    My comment here is about the unlikelihood of powers being withdrawn in the EU. The foundational ethos is "Ever Closer Union", and the establishment mean it.

    I do not see them giving competencies back, but the centre is a dog's' dinner. So either bloat followed by eventual fracture as it turns into an elephant balancing on a toadstool, or necessary and painful reform.

    Which way will it go?
  • moonshinemoonshine Posts: 5,226
    DavidL said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    It’s only fair that the Americans should go first, its emptier spots having been the aliens’ short break venue of choice for such a long time.
    Well it seems to be the oceans not the landmasses with the most military encounters. Whether that’s because there’s more active military assets at sea I don’t know. Either way, it’s going to be quite hard to row back from what’s been said in the last year and particularly the last few weeks. Though I appreciate that 90% of people won’t take any notice until it’s the president himself saying it.
    The deadline for publication of the unclassified report required by one of the provisions Trump slipped into the coronavirus bill approaches, and there is increasing media chatter. Whether anything notable will actually be revealed remains to be seen.
    I don’t understand what you mean by “whether anything notable will actually be revealed”.

    The last Director of National Intelligence has just said that not only do they have many more combined video/radar/eye witness incidents akin to USS Nimitz, but satellite imagery as well. Of objects “breaking the sound barrier without causing a sonic boom”. Or Rubio this week: “well we have these things flying over military installations and military exercises. We know they’re not ours, they’re not registered with the FAA and in many cases they’re exhibiting technology the likes of which we’ve never seen before.... it’s very simple. There are things flying over national security assets, we don’t know who they are, we have to find out”.

    I am reminded of last year when Sean was correctly taking the piss out of people for debating pay schemes in care homes or whatever it was, as the coronavirus was quietly doing its thing under the surface.

    I’ve refrained from saying anything about this so far on Mike’s behalf, given how little UK media coverage there has been I can only assume a D Notice is in place. Now both the guardian and Sunday times are printing it, it’s fair game.

    It’s the biggest story of human history. And it’s fascinating how few people seem to have noticed it’s happening.
    So why are they hiding? If they have the technology to make interstellar travel possible they surely have absolutely nothing to fear from us. Why would they be sneaking about watching the equivalent of some canoeing by tribesmen from their gunship? You'd think, having come all that way, they might want to say hi.

    They’re not hiding are they. If they were hiding we wouldn’t have seen them. Which means either they don’t care. Or they’re deliberately gradually exposing themselves.

    But your question is quite irrelevant to the main point. Some of the most senior figures in the US are going on the record to say there are physics-defying craft interfering with US military assets.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,080
    moonshine said:

    DavidL said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    It’s only fair that the Americans should go first, its emptier spots having been the aliens’ short break venue of choice for such a long time.
    Well it seems to be the oceans not the landmasses with the most military encounters. Whether that’s because there’s more active military assets at sea I don’t know. Either way, it’s going to be quite hard to row back from what’s been said in the last year and particularly the last few weeks. Though I appreciate that 90% of people won’t take any notice until it’s the president himself saying it.
    The deadline for publication of the unclassified report required by one of the provisions Trump slipped into the coronavirus bill approaches, and there is increasing media chatter. Whether anything notable will actually be revealed remains to be seen.
    I don’t understand what you mean by “whether anything notable will actually be revealed”.

    The last Director of National Intelligence has just said that not only do they have many more combined video/radar/eye witness incidents akin to USS Nimitz, but satellite imagery as well. Of objects “breaking the sound barrier without causing a sonic boom”. Or Rubio this week: “well we have these things flying over military installations and military exercises. We know they’re not ours, they’re not registered with the FAA and in many cases they’re exhibiting technology the likes of which we’ve never seen before.... it’s very simple. There are things flying over national security assets, we don’t know who they are, we have to find out”.

    I am reminded of last year when Sean was correctly taking the piss out of people for debating pay schemes in care homes or whatever it was, as the coronavirus was quietly doing its thing under the surface.

    I’ve refrained from saying anything about this so far on Mike’s behalf, given how little UK media coverage there has been I can only assume a D Notice is in place. Now both the guardian and Sunday times are printing it, it’s fair game.

    It’s the biggest story of human history. And it’s fascinating how few people seem to have noticed it’s happening.
    So why are they hiding? If they have the technology to make interstellar travel possible they surely have absolutely nothing to fear from us. Why would they be sneaking about watching the equivalent of some canoeing by tribesmen from their gunship? You'd think, having come all that way, they might want to say hi.

    They’re not hiding are they. If they were hiding we wouldn’t have seen them. Which means either they don’t care. Or they’re deliberately gradually exposing themselves.

    But your question is quite irrelevant to the main point. Some of the most senior figures in the US are going on the record to say there are physics-defying craft interfering with US military assets.
    Stock markets looking like a sell for May this year, then? As if the virus and the possible Taiwan confrontation weren't concerns enough.
  • moonshinemoonshine Posts: 5,226
    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    It’s only fair that the Americans should go first, its emptier spots having been the aliens’ short break venue of choice for such a long time.
    Well it seems to be the oceans not the landmasses with the most military encounters. Whether that’s because there’s more active military assets at sea I don’t know. Either way, it’s going to be quite hard to row back from what’s been said in the last year and particularly the last few weeks. Though I appreciate that 90% of people won’t take any notice until it’s the president himself saying it.
    The deadline for publication of the unclassified report required by one of the provisions Trump slipped into the coronavirus bill approaches, and there is increasing media chatter. Whether anything notable will actually be revealed remains to be seen.
    I don’t understand what you mean by “whether anything notable will actually be revealed”.

    The last Director of National Intelligence has just said that not only do they have many more combined video/radar/eye witness incidents akin to USS Nimitz, but satellite imagery as well. Of objects “breaking the sound barrier without causing a sonic boom”. Or Rubio this week: “well we have these things flying over military installations and military exercises. We know they’re not ours, they’re not registered with the FAA and in many cases they’re exhibiting technology the likes of which we’ve never seen before.... it’s very simple. There are things flying over national security assets, we don’t know who they are, we have to find out”.

    I am reminded of last year when Sean was correctly taking the piss out of people for debating pay schemes in care homes or whatever it was, as the coronavirus was quietly doing its thing under the surface.

    I’ve refrained from saying anything about this so far on Mike’s behalf, given how little UK media coverage there has been I can only assume a D Notice is in place. Now both the guardian and Sunday times are printing it, it’s fair game.

    It’s the biggest story of human history. And it’s fascinating how few people seem to have noticed it’s happening.
    The media chatter is mostly because of Trump requiring a report on aliens to go to Congress by June. Whether that report is as earth shattering as some hope it might be is another matter.
    This was a bipartisan congressional initiative from the Senate Intelligence Committee. And now Trump’s last DNI has said they were preparing for disclosure but couldn’t declassify the material in time before the election.
  • moonshinemoonshine Posts: 5,226
    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    DavidL said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    It’s only fair that the Americans should go first, its emptier spots having been the aliens’ short break venue of choice for such a long time.
    Well it seems to be the oceans not the landmasses with the most military encounters. Whether that’s because there’s more active military assets at sea I don’t know. Either way, it’s going to be quite hard to row back from what’s been said in the last year and particularly the last few weeks. Though I appreciate that 90% of people won’t take any notice until it’s the president himself saying it.
    The deadline for publication of the unclassified report required by one of the provisions Trump slipped into the coronavirus bill approaches, and there is increasing media chatter. Whether anything notable will actually be revealed remains to be seen.
    I don’t understand what you mean by “whether anything notable will actually be revealed”.

    The last Director of National Intelligence has just said that not only do they have many more combined video/radar/eye witness incidents akin to USS Nimitz, but satellite imagery as well. Of objects “breaking the sound barrier without causing a sonic boom”. Or Rubio this week: “well we have these things flying over military installations and military exercises. We know they’re not ours, they’re not registered with the FAA and in many cases they’re exhibiting technology the likes of which we’ve never seen before.... it’s very simple. There are things flying over national security assets, we don’t know who they are, we have to find out”.

    I am reminded of last year when Sean was correctly taking the piss out of people for debating pay schemes in care homes or whatever it was, as the coronavirus was quietly doing its thing under the surface.

    I’ve refrained from saying anything about this so far on Mike’s behalf, given how little UK media coverage there has been I can only assume a D Notice is in place. Now both the guardian and Sunday times are printing it, it’s fair game.

    It’s the biggest story of human history. And it’s fascinating how few people seem to have noticed it’s happening.
    So why are they hiding? If they have the technology to make interstellar travel possible they surely have absolutely nothing to fear from us. Why would they be sneaking about watching the equivalent of some canoeing by tribesmen from their gunship? You'd think, having come all that way, they might want to say hi.

    They’re not hiding are they. If they were hiding we wouldn’t have seen them. Which means either they don’t care. Or they’re deliberately gradually exposing themselves.

    But your question is quite irrelevant to the main point. Some of the most senior figures in the US are going on the record to say there are physics-defying craft interfering with US military assets.
    Stock markets looking like a sell for May this year, then? As if the virus and the possible Taiwan confrontation weren't concerns enough.
    I’ve been discussing the implications for global markets with a few people. Who bloody knows is the consensus. I suppose Treasuries a buy. But unless we get the big Hollywood speech from Biden, I don’t think this will register with most people as they don’t want to hear it.
  • GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 20,812
    MattW said:

    Morning all.

    Picking the persistence of extended government powers from yesterday:

    she got a green certificate as a result without which she would not have been able to travel. It was apparently very common and the airline would not even let you fly if you didn't have the certificate.

    Proof of vaccination before being allowed into countries is nothing new.

    Very true, and of course there was much more compulsory isolation etc.

    I am satisfied if there are short sunset clauses and as little extension as possible. I might even be persuadable of an ID card (yes, I know).

    My comment here is about the unlikelihood of powers being withdrawn in the EU. The foundational ethos is "Ever Closer Union", and the establishment mean it.

    I do not see them giving competencies back, but the centre is a dog's' dinner. So either bloat followed by eventual fracture as it turns into an elephant balancing on a toadstool, or necessary and painful reform.

    Which way will it go?
    But we are probably decades from either eventuality.
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    I think if Biden said "we are not alone in the universe" then that would be proof of dementia, not aliens.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,080
    DavidL said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    It’s only fair that the Americans should go first, its emptier spots having been the aliens’ short break venue of choice for such a long time.
    Well it seems to be the oceans not the landmasses with the most military encounters. Whether that’s because there’s more active military assets at sea I don’t know. Either way, it’s going to be quite hard to row back from what’s been said in the last year and particularly the last few weeks. Though I appreciate that 90% of people won’t take any notice until it’s the president himself saying it.
    The deadline for publication of the unclassified report required by one of the provisions Trump slipped into the coronavirus bill approaches, and there is increasing media chatter. Whether anything notable will actually be revealed remains to be seen.
    I don’t understand what you mean by “whether anything notable will actually be revealed”.

    The last Director of National Intelligence has just said that not only do they have many more combined video/radar/eye witness incidents akin to USS Nimitz, but satellite imagery as well. Of objects “breaking the sound barrier without causing a sonic boom”. Or Rubio this week: “well we have these things flying over military installations and military exercises. We know they’re not ours, they’re not registered with the FAA and in many cases they’re exhibiting technology the likes of which we’ve never seen before.... it’s very simple. There are things flying over national security assets, we don’t know who they are, we have to find out”.

    I am reminded of last year when Sean was correctly taking the piss out of people for debating pay schemes in care homes or whatever it was, as the coronavirus was quietly doing its thing under the surface.

    I’ve refrained from saying anything about this so far on Mike’s behalf, given how little UK media coverage there has been I can only assume a D Notice is in place. Now both the guardian and Sunday times are printing it, it’s fair game.

    It’s the biggest story of human history. And it’s fascinating how few people seem to have noticed it’s happening.
    So why are they hiding? If they have the technology to make interstellar travel possible they surely have absolutely nothing to fear from us. Why would they be sneaking about watching the equivalent of some canoeing by tribesmen from their gunship? You'd think, having come all that way, they might want to say hi.

    Social distancing!
  • moonshinemoonshine Posts: 5,226

    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    I think if Biden said "we are not alone in the universe" then that would be proof of dementia, not aliens.
    You are saying that because you have not been paying attention and/or you can’t confront the enormity of what’s being said by increasingly senior figures.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 20,451
    DavidL said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    It’s only fair that the Americans should go first, its emptier spots having been the aliens’ short break venue of choice for such a long time.
    Well it seems to be the oceans not the landmasses with the most military encounters. Whether that’s because there’s more active military assets at sea I don’t know. Either way, it’s going to be quite hard to row back from what’s been said in the last year and particularly the last few weeks. Though I appreciate that 90% of people won’t take any notice until it’s the president himself saying it.
    The deadline for publication of the unclassified report required by one of the provisions Trump slipped into the coronavirus bill approaches, and there is increasing media chatter. Whether anything notable will actually be revealed remains to be seen.
    I don’t understand what you mean by “whether anything notable will actually be revealed”.

    The last Director of National Intelligence has just said that not only do they have many more combined video/radar/eye witness incidents akin to USS Nimitz, but satellite imagery as well. Of objects “breaking the sound barrier without causing a sonic boom”. Or Rubio this week: “well we have these things flying over military installations and military exercises. We know they’re not ours, they’re not registered with the FAA and in many cases they’re exhibiting technology the likes of which we’ve never seen before.... it’s very simple. There are things flying over national security assets, we don’t know who they are, we have to find out”.

    I am reminded of last year when Sean was correctly taking the piss out of people for debating pay schemes in care homes or whatever it was, as the coronavirus was quietly doing its thing under the surface.

    I’ve refrained from saying anything about this so far on Mike’s behalf, given how little UK media coverage there has been I can only assume a D Notice is in place. Now both the guardian and Sunday times are printing it, it’s fair game.

    It’s the biggest story of human history. And it’s fascinating how few people seem to have noticed it’s happening.
    So why are they hiding? If they have the technology to make interstellar travel possible they surely have absolutely nothing to fear from us. Why would they be sneaking about watching the equivalent of some canoeing by tribesmen from their gunship? You'd think, having come all that way, they might want to say hi.

    The Prime Directive. General Order 1: "No starship may interfere with the normal development of any alien life or society."

    On topic surely the better bet is election winner than democratic nominee. Hard to see which Republicans beat him, whereas several Democratic candidates including Harris could get beat.
  • QuincelQuincel Posts: 3,949
    DavidL said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    It’s only fair that the Americans should go first, its emptier spots having been the aliens’ short break venue of choice for such a long time.
    Well it seems to be the oceans not the landmasses with the most military encounters. Whether that’s because there’s more active military assets at sea I don’t know. Either way, it’s going to be quite hard to row back from what’s been said in the last year and particularly the last few weeks. Though I appreciate that 90% of people won’t take any notice until it’s the president himself saying it.
    The deadline for publication of the unclassified report required by one of the provisions Trump slipped into the coronavirus bill approaches, and there is increasing media chatter. Whether anything notable will actually be revealed remains to be seen.
    I don’t understand what you mean by “whether anything notable will actually be revealed”.

    The last Director of National Intelligence has just said that not only do they have many more combined video/radar/eye witness incidents akin to USS Nimitz, but satellite imagery as well. Of objects “breaking the sound barrier without causing a sonic boom”. Or Rubio this week: “well we have these things flying over military installations and military exercises. We know they’re not ours, they’re not registered with the FAA and in many cases they’re exhibiting technology the likes of which we’ve never seen before.... it’s very simple. There are things flying over national security assets, we don’t know who they are, we have to find out”.

    I am reminded of last year when Sean was correctly taking the piss out of people for debating pay schemes in care homes or whatever it was, as the coronavirus was quietly doing its thing under the surface.

    I’ve refrained from saying anything about this so far on Mike’s behalf, given how little UK media coverage there has been I can only assume a D Notice is in place. Now both the guardian and Sunday times are printing it, it’s fair game.

    It’s the biggest story of human history. And it’s fascinating how few people seem to have noticed it’s happening.
    So why are they hiding? If they have the technology to make interstellar travel possible they surely have absolutely nothing to fear from us. Why would they be sneaking about watching the equivalent of some canoeing by tribesmen from their gunship? You'd think, having come all that way, they might want to say hi.

    Are you familiar with the Prime Directive? I can recommend many hundreds of episodes of some documentaries on the subject.
  • moonshinemoonshine Posts: 5,226

    DavidL said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    It’s only fair that the Americans should go first, its emptier spots having been the aliens’ short break venue of choice for such a long time.
    Well it seems to be the oceans not the landmasses with the most military encounters. Whether that’s because there’s more active military assets at sea I don’t know. Either way, it’s going to be quite hard to row back from what’s been said in the last year and particularly the last few weeks. Though I appreciate that 90% of people won’t take any notice until it’s the president himself saying it.
    The deadline for publication of the unclassified report required by one of the provisions Trump slipped into the coronavirus bill approaches, and there is increasing media chatter. Whether anything notable will actually be revealed remains to be seen.
    I don’t understand what you mean by “whether anything notable will actually be revealed”.

    The last Director of National Intelligence has just said that not only do they have many more combined video/radar/eye witness incidents akin to USS Nimitz, but satellite imagery as well. Of objects “breaking the sound barrier without causing a sonic boom”. Or Rubio this week: “well we have these things flying over military installations and military exercises. We know they’re not ours, they’re not registered with the FAA and in many cases they’re exhibiting technology the likes of which we’ve never seen before.... it’s very simple. There are things flying over national security assets, we don’t know who they are, we have to find out”.

    I am reminded of last year when Sean was correctly taking the piss out of people for debating pay schemes in care homes or whatever it was, as the coronavirus was quietly doing its thing under the surface.

    I’ve refrained from saying anything about this so far on Mike’s behalf, given how little UK media coverage there has been I can only assume a D Notice is in place. Now both the guardian and Sunday times are printing it, it’s fair game.

    It’s the biggest story of human history. And it’s fascinating how few people seem to have noticed it’s happening.
    So why are they hiding? If they have the technology to make interstellar travel possible they surely have absolutely nothing to fear from us. Why would they be sneaking about watching the equivalent of some canoeing by tribesmen from their gunship? You'd think, having come all that way, they might want to say hi.

    The Prime Directive. General Order 1: "No starship may interfere with the normal development of any alien life or society."

    On topic surely the better bet is election winner than democratic nominee. Hard to see which Republicans beat him, whereas several Democratic candidates including Harris could get beat.
    It amuses me that you think this story will have no bearing on who the next president will be.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,715
    IanB2 said:

    IanB2 said:

    Sandpit said:

    Sounds like “partially refloated” is the line:

    twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak/status/1376401530597871618?s=20

    That’s a polite way of saying “still aground”, even if progress has been made.
    Good morning everyone. Guardian reporting 'multiple sources' say it's refloated, and that the engines have been restarted.
    And I had a phone call yesterday afternoon booking men in for a second vaccination on Friday.
    They’re coming by tanker?
    Must have done! Cheered me up after the cricket, though, plus being offered a dental appointment.
    Your teeth are also coming by tanker?

    Those Chinese teeth aren’t the most reliable
    I really appreciate the attention some of you pay to me.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,715
    MattW said:

    From personal experience, as I approach 83 lots of bits of my body don't seem to work quite as well as Once Upon a Time. Nothing serious, just a general 'not as quickly as once'.
    I think, although others may disagree, that my mind is no worse than it was, but I do find myself taking note of my body and, at least sometimes, thinking a bit more carefully about what I'm doing or saying.

    My hearing isn't as good now, though, nor is my ability to balance. I find myself grabbing support more often. And I really must sell my bicycle. The thought that I might ride it again worries my wife.

    I can't remember what it used to be like...

    Get a tricycle, and keep sleeping upstairs. Once you stop being active, it can all go very quickly indeed.

    Happened to mum.
    Very true. Been thinking about a tricycle as well.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 38,849
    People don't walk away from positions of great power and so I have little doubt that Biden intends to run again so long as his health holds up. IMO it won't, but this is nothing more than a hunch and a rather unwelcome one too, so let's not pursue.

    The bet I like the most for WH24 is laying Donald Trump. America has been there, done that. It was emotional for everyone. It was crazy in every sense of the word. It's not the sort of thing you do twice.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,715
    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    DavidL said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    It’s only fair that the Americans should go first, its emptier spots having been the aliens’ short break venue of choice for such a long time.
    Well it seems to be the oceans not the landmasses with the most military encounters. Whether that’s because there’s more active military assets at sea I don’t know. Either way, it’s going to be quite hard to row back from what’s been said in the last year and particularly the last few weeks. Though I appreciate that 90% of people won’t take any notice until it’s the president himself saying it.
    The deadline for publication of the unclassified report required by one of the provisions Trump slipped into the coronavirus bill approaches, and there is increasing media chatter. Whether anything notable will actually be revealed remains to be seen.
    I don’t understand what you mean by “whether anything notable will actually be revealed”.

    The last Director of National Intelligence has just said that not only do they have many more combined video/radar/eye witness incidents akin to USS Nimitz, but satellite imagery as well. Of objects “breaking the sound barrier without causing a sonic boom”. Or Rubio this week: “well we have these things flying over military installations and military exercises. We know they’re not ours, they’re not registered with the FAA and in many cases they’re exhibiting technology the likes of which we’ve never seen before.... it’s very simple. There are things flying over national security assets, we don’t know who they are, we have to find out”.

    I am reminded of last year when Sean was correctly taking the piss out of people for debating pay schemes in care homes or whatever it was, as the coronavirus was quietly doing its thing under the surface.

    I’ve refrained from saying anything about this so far on Mike’s behalf, given how little UK media coverage there has been I can only assume a D Notice is in place. Now both the guardian and Sunday times are printing it, it’s fair game.

    It’s the biggest story of human history. And it’s fascinating how few people seem to have noticed it’s happening.
    So why are they hiding? If they have the technology to make interstellar travel possible they surely have absolutely nothing to fear from us. Why would they be sneaking about watching the equivalent of some canoeing by tribesmen from their gunship? You'd think, having come all that way, they might want to say hi.

    They’re not hiding are they. If they were hiding we wouldn’t have seen them. Which means either they don’t care. Or they’re deliberately gradually exposing themselves.

    But your question is quite irrelevant to the main point. Some of the most senior figures in the US are going on the record to say there are physics-defying craft interfering with US military assets.
    Stock markets looking like a sell for May this year, then? As if the virus and the possible Taiwan confrontation weren't concerns enough.
    Sell in May and go away?
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 20,451
    moonshine said:

    DavidL said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    It’s only fair that the Americans should go first, its emptier spots having been the aliens’ short break venue of choice for such a long time.
    Well it seems to be the oceans not the landmasses with the most military encounters. Whether that’s because there’s more active military assets at sea I don’t know. Either way, it’s going to be quite hard to row back from what’s been said in the last year and particularly the last few weeks. Though I appreciate that 90% of people won’t take any notice until it’s the president himself saying it.
    The deadline for publication of the unclassified report required by one of the provisions Trump slipped into the coronavirus bill approaches, and there is increasing media chatter. Whether anything notable will actually be revealed remains to be seen.
    I don’t understand what you mean by “whether anything notable will actually be revealed”.

    The last Director of National Intelligence has just said that not only do they have many more combined video/radar/eye witness incidents akin to USS Nimitz, but satellite imagery as well. Of objects “breaking the sound barrier without causing a sonic boom”. Or Rubio this week: “well we have these things flying over military installations and military exercises. We know they’re not ours, they’re not registered with the FAA and in many cases they’re exhibiting technology the likes of which we’ve never seen before.... it’s very simple. There are things flying over national security assets, we don’t know who they are, we have to find out”.

    I am reminded of last year when Sean was correctly taking the piss out of people for debating pay schemes in care homes or whatever it was, as the coronavirus was quietly doing its thing under the surface.

    I’ve refrained from saying anything about this so far on Mike’s behalf, given how little UK media coverage there has been I can only assume a D Notice is in place. Now both the guardian and Sunday times are printing it, it’s fair game.

    It’s the biggest story of human history. And it’s fascinating how few people seem to have noticed it’s happening.
    So why are they hiding? If they have the technology to make interstellar travel possible they surely have absolutely nothing to fear from us. Why would they be sneaking about watching the equivalent of some canoeing by tribesmen from their gunship? You'd think, having come all that way, they might want to say hi.

    The Prime Directive. General Order 1: "No starship may interfere with the normal development of any alien life or society."

    On topic surely the better bet is election winner than democratic nominee. Hard to see which Republicans beat him, whereas several Democratic candidates including Harris could get beat.
    It amuses me that you think this story will have no bearing on who the next president will be.
    It has a bearing, believers will flock to the Republicans and that will put off the majority who will vote Democrat. Anyway aliens are ineligible to run for President, whether illegal aliens or intergalactic ones.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 20,451

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    DavidL said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    It’s only fair that the Americans should go first, its emptier spots having been the aliens’ short break venue of choice for such a long time.
    Well it seems to be the oceans not the landmasses with the most military encounters. Whether that’s because there’s more active military assets at sea I don’t know. Either way, it’s going to be quite hard to row back from what’s been said in the last year and particularly the last few weeks. Though I appreciate that 90% of people won’t take any notice until it’s the president himself saying it.
    The deadline for publication of the unclassified report required by one of the provisions Trump slipped into the coronavirus bill approaches, and there is increasing media chatter. Whether anything notable will actually be revealed remains to be seen.
    I don’t understand what you mean by “whether anything notable will actually be revealed”.

    The last Director of National Intelligence has just said that not only do they have many more combined video/radar/eye witness incidents akin to USS Nimitz, but satellite imagery as well. Of objects “breaking the sound barrier without causing a sonic boom”. Or Rubio this week: “well we have these things flying over military installations and military exercises. We know they’re not ours, they’re not registered with the FAA and in many cases they’re exhibiting technology the likes of which we’ve never seen before.... it’s very simple. There are things flying over national security assets, we don’t know who they are, we have to find out”.

    I am reminded of last year when Sean was correctly taking the piss out of people for debating pay schemes in care homes or whatever it was, as the coronavirus was quietly doing its thing under the surface.

    I’ve refrained from saying anything about this so far on Mike’s behalf, given how little UK media coverage there has been I can only assume a D Notice is in place. Now both the guardian and Sunday times are printing it, it’s fair game.

    It’s the biggest story of human history. And it’s fascinating how few people seem to have noticed it’s happening.
    So why are they hiding? If they have the technology to make interstellar travel possible they surely have absolutely nothing to fear from us. Why would they be sneaking about watching the equivalent of some canoeing by tribesmen from their gunship? You'd think, having come all that way, they might want to say hi.

    They’re not hiding are they. If they were hiding we wouldn’t have seen them. Which means either they don’t care. Or they’re deliberately gradually exposing themselves.

    But your question is quite irrelevant to the main point. Some of the most senior figures in the US are going on the record to say there are physics-defying craft interfering with US military assets.
    Stock markets looking like a sell for May this year, then? As if the virus and the possible Taiwan confrontation weren't concerns enough.
    Sell in May and go away?
    In a world of QE and most assets in bubbles, sell into what?

    The stock market may be inflated beyond "normal reality" but for a sustained crash doesn't something have to be better value? Not sure what that is, unless it is simply cash and a guaranteed loss each year, and that doesn't sound like something todays generations will accept.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,715

    moonshine said:

    DavidL said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    It’s only fair that the Americans should go first, its emptier spots having been the aliens’ short break venue of choice for such a long time.
    Well it seems to be the oceans not the landmasses with the most military encounters. Whether that’s because there’s more active military assets at sea I don’t know. Either way, it’s going to be quite hard to row back from what’s been said in the last year and particularly the last few weeks. Though I appreciate that 90% of people won’t take any notice until it’s the president himself saying it.
    The deadline for publication of the unclassified report required by one of the provisions Trump slipped into the coronavirus bill approaches, and there is increasing media chatter. Whether anything notable will actually be revealed remains to be seen.
    I don’t understand what you mean by “whether anything notable will actually be revealed”.

    The last Director of National Intelligence has just said that not only do they have many more combined video/radar/eye witness incidents akin to USS Nimitz, but satellite imagery as well. Of objects “breaking the sound barrier without causing a sonic boom”. Or Rubio this week: “well we have these things flying over military installations and military exercises. We know they’re not ours, they’re not registered with the FAA and in many cases they’re exhibiting technology the likes of which we’ve never seen before.... it’s very simple. There are things flying over national security assets, we don’t know who they are, we have to find out”.

    I am reminded of last year when Sean was correctly taking the piss out of people for debating pay schemes in care homes or whatever it was, as the coronavirus was quietly doing its thing under the surface.

    I’ve refrained from saying anything about this so far on Mike’s behalf, given how little UK media coverage there has been I can only assume a D Notice is in place. Now both the guardian and Sunday times are printing it, it’s fair game.

    It’s the biggest story of human history. And it’s fascinating how few people seem to have noticed it’s happening.
    So why are they hiding? If they have the technology to make interstellar travel possible they surely have absolutely nothing to fear from us. Why would they be sneaking about watching the equivalent of some canoeing by tribesmen from their gunship? You'd think, having come all that way, they might want to say hi.

    The Prime Directive. General Order 1: "No starship may interfere with the normal development of any alien life or society."

    On topic surely the better bet is election winner than democratic nominee. Hard to see which Republicans beat him, whereas several Democratic candidates including Harris could get beat.
    It amuses me that you think this story will have no bearing on who the next president will be.
    It has a bearing, believers will flock to the Republicans and that will put off the majority who will vote Democrat. Anyway aliens are ineligible to run for President, whether illegal aliens or intergalactic ones.
    How come Trump, then?
  • NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,263
    I agree with Pip. Even at MP level it's unusual to retire voluntarily, for many of the reasons that Pip cites. To be US President and give it up if you don't have to? Of course not.
  • QuincelQuincel Posts: 3,949

    moonshine said:

    DavidL said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    It’s only fair that the Americans should go first, its emptier spots having been the aliens’ short break venue of choice for such a long time.
    Well it seems to be the oceans not the landmasses with the most military encounters. Whether that’s because there’s more active military assets at sea I don’t know. Either way, it’s going to be quite hard to row back from what’s been said in the last year and particularly the last few weeks. Though I appreciate that 90% of people won’t take any notice until it’s the president himself saying it.
    The deadline for publication of the unclassified report required by one of the provisions Trump slipped into the coronavirus bill approaches, and there is increasing media chatter. Whether anything notable will actually be revealed remains to be seen.
    I don’t understand what you mean by “whether anything notable will actually be revealed”.

    The last Director of National Intelligence has just said that not only do they have many more combined video/radar/eye witness incidents akin to USS Nimitz, but satellite imagery as well. Of objects “breaking the sound barrier without causing a sonic boom”. Or Rubio this week: “well we have these things flying over military installations and military exercises. We know they’re not ours, they’re not registered with the FAA and in many cases they’re exhibiting technology the likes of which we’ve never seen before.... it’s very simple. There are things flying over national security assets, we don’t know who they are, we have to find out”.

    I am reminded of last year when Sean was correctly taking the piss out of people for debating pay schemes in care homes or whatever it was, as the coronavirus was quietly doing its thing under the surface.

    I’ve refrained from saying anything about this so far on Mike’s behalf, given how little UK media coverage there has been I can only assume a D Notice is in place. Now both the guardian and Sunday times are printing it, it’s fair game.

    It’s the biggest story of human history. And it’s fascinating how few people seem to have noticed it’s happening.
    So why are they hiding? If they have the technology to make interstellar travel possible they surely have absolutely nothing to fear from us. Why would they be sneaking about watching the equivalent of some canoeing by tribesmen from their gunship? You'd think, having come all that way, they might want to say hi.

    The Prime Directive. General Order 1: "No starship may interfere with the normal development of any alien life or society."

    On topic surely the better bet is election winner than democratic nominee. Hard to see which Republicans beat him, whereas several Democratic candidates including Harris could get beat.
    It amuses me that you think this story will have no bearing on who the next president will be.
    It has a bearing, believers will flock to the Republicans and that will put off the majority who will vote Democrat. Anyway aliens are ineligible to run for President, whether illegal aliens or intergalactic ones.
    We need to consider which well-known politicians may turn out to secretly be...non-natural citizens.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 20,451
    kinabalu said:

    People don't walk away from positions of great power and so I have little doubt that Biden intends to run again so long as his health holds up. IMO it won't, but this is nothing more than a hunch and a rather unwelcome one too, so let's not pursue.

    The bet I like the most for WH24 is laying Donald Trump. America has been there, done that. It was emotional for everyone. It was crazy in every sense of the word. It's not the sort of thing you do twice.

    Hope you have switched to laying election winner only and come out of republican nominee? For disclosure I am red on him election winner, green the nominee.
  • moonshinemoonshine Posts: 5,226
    edited March 2021

    moonshine said:

    DavidL said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    It’s only fair that the Americans should go first, its emptier spots having been the aliens’ short break venue of choice for such a long time.
    Well it seems to be the oceans not the landmasses with the most military encounters. Whether that’s because there’s more active military assets at sea I don’t know. Either way, it’s going to be quite hard to row back from what’s been said in the last year and particularly the last few weeks. Though I appreciate that 90% of people won’t take any notice until it’s the president himself saying it.
    The deadline for publication of the unclassified report required by one of the provisions Trump slipped into the coronavirus bill approaches, and there is increasing media chatter. Whether anything notable will actually be revealed remains to be seen.
    I don’t understand what you mean by “whether anything notable will actually be revealed”.

    The last Director of National Intelligence has just said that not only do they have many more combined video/radar/eye witness incidents akin to USS Nimitz, but satellite imagery as well. Of objects “breaking the sound barrier without causing a sonic boom”. Or Rubio this week: “well we have these things flying over military installations and military exercises. We know they’re not ours, they’re not registered with the FAA and in many cases they’re exhibiting technology the likes of which we’ve never seen before.... it’s very simple. There are things flying over national security assets, we don’t know who they are, we have to find out”.

    I am reminded of last year when Sean was correctly taking the piss out of people for debating pay schemes in care homes or whatever it was, as the coronavirus was quietly doing its thing under the surface.

    I’ve refrained from saying anything about this so far on Mike’s behalf, given how little UK media coverage there has been I can only assume a D Notice is in place. Now both the guardian and Sunday times are printing it, it’s fair game.

    It’s the biggest story of human history. And it’s fascinating how few people seem to have noticed it’s happening.
    So why are they hiding? If they have the technology to make interstellar travel possible they surely have absolutely nothing to fear from us. Why would they be sneaking about watching the equivalent of some canoeing by tribesmen from their gunship? You'd think, having come all that way, they might want to say hi.

    The Prime Directive. General Order 1: "No starship may interfere with the normal development of any alien life or society."

    On topic surely the better bet is election winner than democratic nominee. Hard to see which Republicans beat him, whereas several Democratic candidates including Harris could get beat.
    It amuses me that you think this story will have no bearing on who the next president will be.
    It has a bearing, believers will flock to the Republicans and that will put off the majority who will vote Democrat. Anyway aliens are ineligible to run for President, whether illegal aliens or intergalactic ones.
    This is being pushed as much by the Democrats as the Republicans. Harry Reid has gone much much further than the Republicans have.

    What did LadyG call it? Normalcy bias.

    The current chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and the last Director of National Intelligence have in the last week told you in unambiguous terms: that US military assets are being interfered with by craft showing technology not only far beyond that of the US capability but beyond their comprehension.

    They have not proffered an explanation but you can draw your own.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,164
    Aliens?

    I'm reminded of that bit in I'm Alan Partridge when he says: "We discuss issues. Europe, conspiracy theories, what happens if you just eat crisps."
  • moonshinemoonshine Posts: 5,226
    Quincel said:

    moonshine said:

    DavidL said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    It’s only fair that the Americans should go first, its emptier spots having been the aliens’ short break venue of choice for such a long time.
    Well it seems to be the oceans not the landmasses with the most military encounters. Whether that’s because there’s more active military assets at sea I don’t know. Either way, it’s going to be quite hard to row back from what’s been said in the last year and particularly the last few weeks. Though I appreciate that 90% of people won’t take any notice until it’s the president himself saying it.
    The deadline for publication of the unclassified report required by one of the provisions Trump slipped into the coronavirus bill approaches, and there is increasing media chatter. Whether anything notable will actually be revealed remains to be seen.
    I don’t understand what you mean by “whether anything notable will actually be revealed”.

    The last Director of National Intelligence has just said that not only do they have many more combined video/radar/eye witness incidents akin to USS Nimitz, but satellite imagery as well. Of objects “breaking the sound barrier without causing a sonic boom”. Or Rubio this week: “well we have these things flying over military installations and military exercises. We know they’re not ours, they’re not registered with the FAA and in many cases they’re exhibiting technology the likes of which we’ve never seen before.... it’s very simple. There are things flying over national security assets, we don’t know who they are, we have to find out”.

    I am reminded of last year when Sean was correctly taking the piss out of people for debating pay schemes in care homes or whatever it was, as the coronavirus was quietly doing its thing under the surface.

    I’ve refrained from saying anything about this so far on Mike’s behalf, given how little UK media coverage there has been I can only assume a D Notice is in place. Now both the guardian and Sunday times are printing it, it’s fair game.

    It’s the biggest story of human history. And it’s fascinating how few people seem to have noticed it’s happening.
    So why are they hiding? If they have the technology to make interstellar travel possible they surely have absolutely nothing to fear from us. Why would they be sneaking about watching the equivalent of some canoeing by tribesmen from their gunship? You'd think, having come all that way, they might want to say hi.

    The Prime Directive. General Order 1: "No starship may interfere with the normal development of any alien life or society."

    On topic surely the better bet is election winner than democratic nominee. Hard to see which Republicans beat him, whereas several Democratic candidates including Harris could get beat.
    It amuses me that you think this story will have no bearing on who the next president will be.
    It has a bearing, believers will flock to the Republicans and that will put off the majority who will vote Democrat. Anyway aliens are ineligible to run for President, whether illegal aliens or intergalactic ones.
    We need to consider which well-known politicians may turn out to secretly be...non-natural citizens.
    This sort of comment of course has always been seen in jest. But the truth is, the formal knowledge (rather than the belief) that these things are flying around us will raise many uncomfortable questions.
  • NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,263
    moonshine said:



    They’re not hiding are they. If they were hiding we wouldn’t have seen them. Which means either they don’t care. Or they’re deliberately gradually exposing themselves.

    But your question is quite irrelevant to the main point. Some of the most senior figures in the US are going on the record to say there are physics-defying craft interfering with US military assets.

    You seem aptly-named...
  • Good thread.

    We need to factor in that people are living longer now. 150 years ago the life expectancy in the US was half (40) what it is now (80). Even since Richard Nixon was President, life expectancy has risen another 10 years. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1040079/life-expectancy-united-states-all-time/

    Joe Biden may occasionally sound mentally wayward but at 78 he looks extremely physically fit - fitter than Trump was.

    Or, let's put this another way, would anyone seriously doubt that the Queen at 80 should have stood down on health grounds?

    Biden also has a 69 year old wife who looks very fit. I think it's a factor to include.

    All in all I think Biden will stand again, thus stopping a Democrat internal war.

    Life expectancy in the past was heavily skewed by the appalling infant mortality rates.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 20,451
    moonshine said:

    moonshine said:

    DavidL said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    It’s only fair that the Americans should go first, its emptier spots having been the aliens’ short break venue of choice for such a long time.
    Well it seems to be the oceans not the landmasses with the most military encounters. Whether that’s because there’s more active military assets at sea I don’t know. Either way, it’s going to be quite hard to row back from what’s been said in the last year and particularly the last few weeks. Though I appreciate that 90% of people won’t take any notice until it’s the president himself saying it.
    The deadline for publication of the unclassified report required by one of the provisions Trump slipped into the coronavirus bill approaches, and there is increasing media chatter. Whether anything notable will actually be revealed remains to be seen.
    I don’t understand what you mean by “whether anything notable will actually be revealed”.

    The last Director of National Intelligence has just said that not only do they have many more combined video/radar/eye witness incidents akin to USS Nimitz, but satellite imagery as well. Of objects “breaking the sound barrier without causing a sonic boom”. Or Rubio this week: “well we have these things flying over military installations and military exercises. We know they’re not ours, they’re not registered with the FAA and in many cases they’re exhibiting technology the likes of which we’ve never seen before.... it’s very simple. There are things flying over national security assets, we don’t know who they are, we have to find out”.

    I am reminded of last year when Sean was correctly taking the piss out of people for debating pay schemes in care homes or whatever it was, as the coronavirus was quietly doing its thing under the surface.

    I’ve refrained from saying anything about this so far on Mike’s behalf, given how little UK media coverage there has been I can only assume a D Notice is in place. Now both the guardian and Sunday times are printing it, it’s fair game.

    It’s the biggest story of human history. And it’s fascinating how few people seem to have noticed it’s happening.
    So why are they hiding? If they have the technology to make interstellar travel possible they surely have absolutely nothing to fear from us. Why would they be sneaking about watching the equivalent of some canoeing by tribesmen from their gunship? You'd think, having come all that way, they might want to say hi.

    The Prime Directive. General Order 1: "No starship may interfere with the normal development of any alien life or society."

    On topic surely the better bet is election winner than democratic nominee. Hard to see which Republicans beat him, whereas several Democratic candidates including Harris could get beat.
    It amuses me that you think this story will have no bearing on who the next president will be.
    It has a bearing, believers will flock to the Republicans and that will put off the majority who will vote Democrat. Anyway aliens are ineligible to run for President, whether illegal aliens or intergalactic ones.
    This is being pushed as much by the Democrats as the Republicans. Harry Reid has gone much much further than the Republicans have.

    What did LadyG call it? Normalcy bias.

    The current chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and the last Director of National Intelligence have in the last week told you in unambiguous terms: that US military assets are being interfered with by craft showing technology not only far beyond that of the US capability but beyond their comprehension.

    They have not proffered an explanation but you can draw your own.
    How about its North Korean secret tech? Any country that has a leader who can score 18 holes in one in his only round of golf must be supremely talented.
  • GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 20,812
    edited March 2021
    Rubio is agnostic on aliens.

    "I don't know if there are aliens. I don't know if they visited here. I'm not, you know, when you talk about that stuff, everyone gets, you know, stigmatized about it," Rubio told TMZ. "My thing is very simple, we don't know what that stuff is that's flying over the top of our installations. Let's find out."

    If there are aliens, surely they can avoid detection by US Military?
  • QuincelQuincel Posts: 3,949
    moonshine said:

    Quincel said:

    moonshine said:

    DavidL said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    IanB2 said:

    moonshine said:

    Looks increasingly like the thing Biden will be known for in history is being the “we are not alone in the universe” president. When this many senior political officials are queuing up on TV to only barely stop short of saying it, it can’t be long before the President decides he may as well go the whole hog and etch his place in history.

    Once you’ve done that, you’d really need to have an extreme personal circumstance to walk away. I therefore think he’ll run. How the world will look and feel after everyone’s absorbed this info who knows.

    It’s only fair that the Americans should go first, its emptier spots having been the aliens’ short break venue of choice for such a long time.
    Well it seems to be the oceans not the landmasses with the most military encounters. Whether that’s because there’s more active military assets at sea I don’t know. Either way, it’s going to be quite hard to row back from what’s been said in the last year and particularly the last few weeks. Though I appreciate that 90% of people won’t take any notice until it’s the president himself saying it.
    The deadline for publication of the unclassified report required by one of the provisions Trump slipped into the coronavirus bill approaches, and there is increasing media chatter. Whether anything notable will actually be revealed remains to be seen.
    I don’t understand what you mean by “whether anything notable will actually be revealed”.

    The last Director of National Intelligence has just said that not only do they have many more combined video/radar/eye witness incidents akin to USS Nimitz, but satellite imagery as well. Of objects “breaking the sound barrier without causing a sonic boom”. Or Rubio this week: “well we have these things flying over military installations and military exercises. We know they’re not ours, they’re not registered with the FAA and in many cases they’re exhibiting technology the likes of which we’ve never seen before.... it’s very simple. There are things flying over national security assets, we don’t know who they are, we have to find out”.

    I am reminded of last year when Sean was correctly taking the piss out of people for debating pay schemes in care homes or whatever it was, as the coronavirus was quietly doing its thing under the surface.

    I’ve refrained from saying anything about this so far on Mike’s behalf, given how little UK media coverage there has been I can only assume a D Notice is in place. Now both the guardian and Sunday times are printing it, it’s fair game.

    It’s the biggest story of human history. And it’s fascinating how few people seem to have noticed it’s happening.
    So why are they hiding? If they have the technology to make interstellar travel possible they surely have absolutely nothing to fear from us. Why would they be sneaking about watching the equivalent of some canoeing by tribesmen from their gunship? You'd think, having come all that way, they might want to say hi.

    The Prime Directive. General Order 1: "No starship may interfere with the normal development of any alien life or society."

    On topic surely the better bet is election winner than democratic nominee. Hard to see which Republicans beat him, whereas several Democratic candidates including Harris could get beat.
    It amuses me that you think this story will have no bearing on who the next president will be.
    It has a bearing, believers will flock to the Republicans and that will put off the majority who will vote Democrat. Anyway aliens are ineligible to run for President, whether illegal aliens or intergalactic ones.
    We need to consider which well-known politicians may turn out to secretly be...non-natural citizens.
    This sort of comment of course has always been seen in jest. But the truth is, the formal knowledge (rather than the belief) that these things are flying around us will raise many uncomfortable questions.
    This is true, and you might be proven right. But normalcy when it comes to alien existence has survived decades of UFO theorists insisting that the truth will soon be revealed, so I'm hedging my bets on that side.
  • moonshinemoonshine Posts: 5,226

    moonshine said:



    They’re not hiding are they. If they were hiding we wouldn’t have seen them. Which means either they don’t care. Or they’re deliberately gradually exposing themselves.

    But your question is quite irrelevant to the main point. Some of the most senior figures in the US are going on the record to say there are physics-defying craft interfering with US military assets.

    You seem aptly-named...
    Go and watch what is being said in America on national TV by very senior government figures. The US public is being softened up. In the UK there’s almost zero media coverage of these quite startling and unsettling revelations, I can only assume due to a D Notice. What it does mean is people like your good self are going to be even more shocked if the Americans make full disclosure because you’re not seeing it coming.
  • GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 20,812
    Perhaps the UK never surrendered de facto control over the US, and those identified flying objects are ours.

    I wonder if Prince Andrew has his own.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 20,451
    moonshine said:

    moonshine said:



    They’re not hiding are they. If they were hiding we wouldn’t have seen them. Which means either they don’t care. Or they’re deliberately gradually exposing themselves.

    But your question is quite irrelevant to the main point. Some of the most senior figures in the US are going on the record to say there are physics-defying craft interfering with US military assets.

    You seem aptly-named...
    Go and watch what is being said in America on national TV by very senior government figures. The US public is being softened up. In the UK there’s almost zero media coverage of these quite startling and unsettling revelations, I can only assume due to a D Notice. What it does mean is people like your good self are going to be even more shocked if the Americans make full disclosure because you’re not seeing it coming.
    We have had four years of very senior government figures saying incredibly stupid things.

    Likely scenarios:

    There are aliens and they have not found us.
    There are aliens and they have found us but do not get involved as we are irrelevant to them.
    There are no aliens.

    Unlikely scenarios:

    There are aliens and they have kept quiet up to now, but will suddenly cause mass interference with the planet in the next 4 years.
  • GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 20,812

    Well I have to admit that when I opened PB this morning I didn't expect to be reading about a cross between V and Star Trek.

    Not even as if it is a slow news day.

    Must be a Thursday. I never could get the hang of Thursdays

    V gave me nightmares when I was kid.

    I wouldn’t trust Priti Patel not to snaffle a hamster, to be honest.
This discussion has been closed.