ecugringo

Moving forward what will be interesting to watch. 1. NATO: Will the alliance hold strong or will there be more of a EU focus on cooperation? Difficult to predict with Brexit and other Euro nations only being half in. 2. Russia: Will Putin test NATO/EU on Ukraine, Baltics, Poland? Will Putin fill in a gap that the US leaves? The former Soviet block nations were Trump fans. Will they turn on Biden? 3. China: How hard do they push in the Pacific and Taiwan? I think they have a small window to seize as much power as possible given their population structure. 4. Islamic Fundamentalism: There is a very strong push to move away from Oil. Saudi Arabia is trying to diversify their economy but if Oil is no longer the global commodity it is today, what happens to the Gulf states? The younger generation will have a bleak future if they can't bet on oil. With the Taliban supported by China holding strong, will many youths look to AFG to be radicalized again? They can spin their misfortunes on the West for their lost desire for oil.

Any truth to the 100+ service dogs that were abandoned?

IDK....the Dems picked Harris solely because she was a woman and minority. She was a terrible candidate in the primaries but they wanted to push that agenda. Biden was picked because he was the only moderate they could pull votes away from Trump. I think Haley needs to be part of hte GOP future. They need to figure out how to appeal to younger voters. I honestly dont know much on Desantis but I can't think of many other figures at the moment that could win at the moment. Crenshaw eventually but I dont think he's there yet.

No the argument is mute. A dilemma for a MD to choose between a vaxed or un-vaxed patient? If that is a true scenario the vax has failed. We are being told that 99% of all patients are un-vaxed. Israel is hte most vaxed population on earth but pushing a booster now? The US is about 50-60% vaxed now not factoring in hte under age 12 group. So a huge chunk of hte population has the needle. Therefore the pool of ppl to be infected should be pretty small at this point. Considering 60% would show no symptoms, 28% would be mild and 12% would need hospitalization. This is why some ppl are questioning the shot in the first place.

If I had to guess it'll be Desantis/Haley. However, the Covid situation in FL may wreck Desantis at least the media is trying to paint that picture.

Getting my morning news feeds I came across this. Everyone probably knows a baby was born on one of the flights out of Kabul by now. The family has now named the baby after the callsign of the jet. Best wishes "Reach"! https://www.yahoo.com/news/afghan-family-names-baby-girl-112933925.html

https://www.wsj.com/articles/afghanistan-kabul-airport-explosion-11629976397 4 Marines Killed in the explosion.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/one-third-americans-were-infected-150000744.html 30% of US had covid by Dec 2020?

Has anyone even asked how long the booster lasts?

From what I recall the volume of cases was always to be the same, just hte timing spread out over time. Either way, most sold the notion that 2 weeks to flatten the curve and Covid will start to wane. Here we are 18 months later and we are in the 3rd wave. The last 2 were higher than the 1st. Unfortunately what nobody will really admit is that Covid is not going away and we are to deal with it. It would be good to also broadcast that personnel health is your own responsibility and instead of hiding out eating cheetos, the US should focus on losing weight and being a healthier society. My 4 yr old loves Wall-E, its on every other day. Its sad that it is becoming our reality.

Looking closely....looks photoshopped.

Of all these videos of the chaos at the airport, I dont blame them for desperately trying to flee for their lives. However, I dont think I see any women or kids in these images. I hope I am wrong and they made it out but the pure optics are they were left behind for the Taliban which is terrible. For those that are in their late 30's-mid 40's many of us joined to fight after 9/11. Early on we all knew it was a shit show with no real plan but we all wanted to take the fight to them. Now 20 years later, the Taliban is back, possibly stronger with Chinese support. Looking back I think many would have made different life decisions.

Thats not true. The vast majority of people with covid either dont know they ever had it or have mild symptoms. Some people get flu like symptoms that kick their ass for a few days, but the # of people hospitalized vs + cases does not support your statement.

Oh and I dont think we can just stamp this out. Look at Australia, Israel and China. Israel is having breakthrough cases, still not clear as to what that means but they are looking for a booster. Australia is about as locked down as you can get but still cases pop up. Read China is testing all 11mm ppl in Wuhan again after its found again?

Not wanting to join an argument. I'm stuck in the middle on this. 1. Its becoming more clear that the virus escaped from a lab. 2. 2-3 months into this there already is a vaccine ready for testing? 3. This tech for the vaccine has been around for 20+ years but this is the first go at it with a vaccine 4. If the tech has been around so long why dont they use MRNA for the Flu? They can develop a covid shot but not malaria? or other viruses? 5. teh covid stats are of 100 ppl, 60 won't know they have it, 28 mild symptoms, 12 hospitalized, 1 might die. Now we have breakthrough cases....is hte vaccine even working? 6. there was a mom in her early 30's now paralyzed after the shot and I guess a few others. Most likely would have been fine having covid. Not worth it to them. 7. Now the Lamda variant in S. America escapes hte vaccine. 8. the media has made this a cash cow selling death. More ppl are dying of murder than covid in major cities now. All that being said one can easily justify being hesitant vs the vaccine. Im glad its available and if i were older id be on it.

There's also a lot of women reporting menstral cycle changes as part of a side effect. It's not being discussed very much. Still unknown what the long term side effects of these changes are with relation to fertility. I read somewhere that if 100 ppl get covid, 60 will have no clue they ever had it. 28 will have flu like symptoms, 12 will be hospitalized and 1 of the 12 will die. However the 12 could be determined by pre existing conditions, age and general health. With the increase in cases, and the media scaring everyone again, the key factor is hospitalizations. Obviously you can still get or carry covid now with a vaccine. Is the spike really due to ppl not vaxed? or is this showing the vaccine may not be as protective as thought?

Good friend of mine was an elite level gymnast. Was on the Canadian national team, missed the olympics due to injury. Asked his opinion. Gymnists get something called the "twisties" you completely lose focus, forget your routine. He said a lot of injuries happen from this. Either way, she's regarded as the greatest ever, this will tarnish her reputation a bit by not being to handle the pressure.

Just had a call with our Canadian office. Canada is shutting down again. Read an article last night how Russia was trying to take advantage of the situation in the EU and push the Sputnik vaccine. Not sure how true this is but interesting. Also have a buddy in Malaysia that handles the Asia-Pac region for my company. No vaccines yet, unknown when it will happen.

We had a colleague come to the US from our Netherlands office last week. They are where we were last May. You can get takeout but bars, restaurants, shopping closed. There is a curfew in place at night. He said he can't even meet at a soccer field to kick a ball around with friends. Must be under 25 to do that. Parks are closed. THere are protest over these lockdowns in every country, we just dont see it covered in the news. He said if it goes into the summer with warmer months mass rioting will take place. People dont trust the vaccine there so a lot of resistance against it. All seems pretty sad.

Is it odd to anyone else that the most infectious virus ever really only affects the old and sick, kids are mostly unaffected also gets a vaccine created within like 3 or 4 months? Meanwhile many other viruses still have no vaccine?

Had a beer with my neighbor who has a Tesla yesterday. He sold his 2015sh BMW 4 series coup for it. His thoughts.....Tesla is stupid fast, but does not compare to the handling of the 4 series. His wife thinks the interior is cheap vs the Bmer and doesn't ride as well. Hes super techy so he thinks its cool.

My bet would be 2 months removed from the Holidays, winter months, people are staying inside their own homes? I can't see the vaccine having this much of an effect so early. Or the virus is running its natural course and running out of viable targets and dying off?

Still not sure why it's news that Cruz went to Mexico? Who cares? What was he going to do to make TX warmer and get power back? This is no different than Trump/Obama golfing all the time. I can do my job from the links so long as I have reception. Its just the optics.

Kids are getting fat due to the school activities shutting down. Maybe not in TX but school sports idled while club sports were F it.

I thought the Nikoli truck looked pretty sick vs the Tesla, but that turned bad for GMC. I have a F150 and love it. Has a 36 gallon tank I can go 600+ miles on it, the truck is pretty quick for a truck and has a ton of room for kids and dogs. Its hard not to have a truck after owning one.