Monzanator

11 minutes ago, heywoodu said:

Like 100% objective journalism ever existed  

Another gigantic myth of this world. So, what else is new?

2 minutes ago, Agger said:

 

CNN does indeed have some bias, but it's way more neutral (and much less editorial) than FOX. 

It's not really the media's job to focus on positive/negative stories. It's their job to report the facts and stay critical. Sure there'll be a lean (pretty much all news outlets have some kind of bias), also in countries with better news outlets than the US, but it's not all.

 

Meanwhile it's also pretty tough to stay positive when Trump goes on a rant pretty much every single time there's a slightly critical question (you know, the kind that journalists are supposed to come up with) while OAN (FOX on crazy drugs) gets praise for bootlicking.

CNN will be criticial of every Republican President there is. Let's don't pretend they started their bias with Trump. Objective journalism has died IMO. Everyone take a side these days and sticks to it which helps to polarize the political landscape. It is what it is. For me both FOX and CNN are equally worthless.

14 minutes ago, heywoodu said:

 

Or Khadaffi. That went well, look at the paradise Libya has become.

Yep, getting rid of Khadaffi or Saddam hasn't solved any problems

CNN won't say a single positive word about Trump, it's the Democrats version of FOX tbh

1 minute ago, dcro said:

 

And that is only logical, because people can't care equally for every part of the world...

I know. I've been saying equality is a myth for years. There will always be rich & poor and they will always be the same. Sub-Saharan Africa was poor 50 years ago and it will be poor in 50 years time too. The coronavirus is such a big news because it hits rich unlike malaria which tends to hit the poor.

Well, California is the wealthiest state in USA. I'm not surprised they can afford more ventilators than anyone else.

1 minute ago, Olympian1010 said:

Cuomo was slow to react. California began taking measures before it was a problem, Nee York waited until it was already too late. I do like the position California has put herself in. If we weren’t the most powerful/influential state, we should be after this. Personally, I’m for letting the idiots struggle (California First ), but it goes against what I believe is the right thing to do, so I’m sure we’ll make the right choice and help. 

Cuomo was all over CNN over a month ago already. I fully expect him to run for President in 2024 The Bernie Sanders craze should be over by then and in steps Cuomo as the COVID hero IMO.

1 minute ago, Olympian1010 said:

Well, we didn’t expect the Contras to trade their guns for drugs 

 

Maybe, I think Costa Rica is somewhat of a unique standout, but who knows.

Satellites during Cold War weren't standouts, they were standard procedure. USA controlled Costa Rica & Panama Canal, tried to control Nicaragua but failed in their effort just like the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba. You win some, you lose some

Of course USA also supported Duvalier in Haiti and that eventually became very problematic as well.

3 minutes ago, Olympian1010 said:

It’s a fair point, and one these powerful countries could really solve if they wanted too. I do think leadership matters to a degree. Look at California, and then the rest of the United States. No, we’re not keeping the virus away, but we’re also not drowning in victims like some other parts of the country. We had a leader who took this seriously from day 1. We tried to prevent the spread originally, but we realized we needed to prepare for an outbreak, and now we have a controlled spread. Newsom has done a great job considering the alternative. 

Andrew Cuomo also took this seriously and he's helpless with New York being hit the hardest. Until the pandemic ends there's no place for pyrrhic victories like a controlled spread. The entire country will be hit hard by this and even if California recovers the best since it has the biggest income in USA there will be many others struggling. Funny enough, I bet Trump will take the eventual economy rise as his own success and CNN & New York Times will freak out again

1 minute ago, Olympian1010 said:

I think not having a military also plays down conflict. Plus, they have rates of education and literacy. They have a peaceful, well educated, economically sound population; that’s a recipe for success. Of course some of that is most likely only possible due to support from countries like the US.

This is just a by-product of the geopolitics of Cold War. Both USA and USSR created satellite countries to spread their influence across the world. Costa Rica, Turkey and Israel are US satellites. Wars in Korea and Vietnam made sure nobody tried to invade the satellites without thinking better off it. Meanwhile Nicaragua was a mess and CIA failed there in miserable fashion with the Contras support

4 minutes ago, Olympian1010 said:

I just learned that Costa Rica has no military while doing my Spanish homework. Instead they spend all that money on education and healthcare. What a novel concept 

 

Worth noting that Costa Rica is a rare example of a successful democracy in Latin America. They might honestly be the longest peaceful nation in the Americas, but I’d have to fact check that.

It sure helps Costa Rica has sided with USA for decades while most Latin America either had military juntas or communists in charge during that span. Costa Rica is what Turkey or Israel are to USA in Middle East. A safety buffer. It further helped that USA (or CIA) controlled the nearby Panama Canal for over 60 years

It's obvious the coronavirus has overwhelmed everyone. It's proven to be too much for both liberal and conservative politicians so I can only laugh at the ideas that if someone else was in charge here or there, things would have looked different. No, it wouldn't.

Malaria claims 1-3 million lives per year but it's viewed as Third World disease so it doesn't impact the global market and all these wealthy countries don't give a damn about it. But 100k coronavirus deaths have broke into the industrial powerhouses in Europe and America and the world freaks out. It's easy to dismiss infants dying in Chad of malaria but COVID has proven rich & powerful people can't buy health either.

I watched every World Cup live since 1990 and quite frankly 2010 and 2014 in particular were the worst since 1990 indeed. I think the Brazilian heat & humidity had a lot to do with that. 1994 & 1998 were the two best ones followed by 2006, 2002 & 2018. Then 2010, 2014 and poor 1990 that was too tactical and had the ugliest World Cup final I can remember. Argentina in particular looked old & tired and even Maradona couldn't save them. I really liked the German uniforms from that era with the extra black, gold & red stripes. The vintage white & black that followed from Euro 1996 are kinda bland tbh.

Plenty of group games are largely forgotten over the years, Spain played a lot of these forgotten classics:

How was Luis Arconada their best keeper in the 80s is still beyond me. One major blunder vs NI in 1982 here but of course he is more remembered from his howler vs France at 1984 Euros.

I love how over the top the ref were in the 80s while bradishing a yellow or red card. Mal Donaghy was sent off here, probably one of the silliest RC ever, but Maradona had even more stupid one vs Brazil IIRC later that tournament.

South Korea played their best WC football in 1994, this was their best showing when they went out in group stage. If only they beaten Bolivia!

Miguel Nadal was sent off in 26th minute, he was a Barcelona player back then, me as a Barca fan remember that well.

Spain bombed out in 1998 group stage, Nigeria and Paraguay qualified from the group, I believe Paraguay beat Nigeria in the final match, a draw would have send Spain through IIRC. Another Spain GK howler, this time from the otherwise very reliable Zubizarreta.

1 minute ago, heywoodu said:

 

If they did, they might have had some serious safety issues trying to get out...we think the Qatar World Cup is an atrocity, but often forget that there was already a World Cup final played a couple hundred meters from where people were being tortured and killed.

 

Rob Rensenbrink, who passed away in January, had that trophy basically in his hands in the dying seconds  

I know, Netherlands dominated the 2nd half like crazy and they were without Cruyff which is even more amazing.

Probably the biggest heartbreak in Dutch football history?

2 minutes ago, thepharoah said:

 

do u mean Italy vs. Germany in Semis or Italy vs. France in the final ? 

Italy vs Germany SF

9 minutes ago, heywoodu said:

 

Yeah that 1986 quarter-final was an awesome World Cup Final indeed  

Since 1986 Argentina and Netherlands have been playing the most enjoyable football on the global stage for me. The 1978 WC final is a somewhat forgotten gem, Netherlands should have really won that game, pretty much like Portugal should have won the 1984 Euro SF vs France.

I haven't watched many pre-1974 WC games in full tbh so I have a vague memory of them in most cases. Northern Ireland at 1982 had some fine games, Norman Whiteside remains the biggest What If case in modern football tbh. Spain vs NI group stage game is like totally forgotten though Gerry Armstrong was a long-time commentator for EuroSport later on.

Off the top of my head:

1986 Argentina vs England QF

1986 Argentina vs West Germany Final

1994 Romania vs Argentina Round of 16

1994 Brazil vs Netherlands QF

2006 Italy vs Germany Final

Zbigniew Waskiewicz is back as the Head of Polish Biathlon Union. He was the boss from 2006-2014 before.

The outgoing boss Dagmara Gerasimuk has been named as IBU Development Director in December so it was obvious she will leave her PZB post.

Synnoeve Solemdal (biathlon) has retired at the age of 30.

Quite frankly her career never recovered from the mononucleosis she picked up in March 2014.

Zhang Guowei (high jump) has retired at the age of 28. He didn't do anything since winning silver medal at 2015 World Champs save for a 6th place at the World Indoors in 2016. He bombed out in qualifying at Rio Games and 2017 WChamps.

Just now, heywoodu said:

Seeing all those pictures from everywhere, I'm damn glad there is no talk at all about military going on the streets here. That's the point where one would seriously wonder if things aren't going too far.

Does Netherlands even have an Army?   Haven't heard much about it since the Balkan War in 1995

5 minutes ago, dcro said:

 

And yet, there is still no second wave in China (for what their numbers are worth) or South Korea.

You can't compare a social discipline in Far East & China to Europe or USA though

2 minutes ago, hckosice said:

 

yeah, well, you must understand one thing, easter is the major holiday in the country and especially easter monday morning...well, dude, trust me, I know my country and it´s something that can easily and perfectly fuck up in just a couple of hours everything the country did so far...trust me, this is the best thing we could do and the majority of the population (according the discussions and comments) are very satsfied by this.

You can't expect a guy from California to understand what's going on in places like Slovakia or Poland

7 minutes ago, Olympian1010 said:

This seems a bit too much to me. The exceptions are good, but the enforcement of these codes by the military worries me. There’s a point where protection from infection goes too far, I think Slovakia continues to play with that threshold...

It happens in Italy too. Whenever a public curfew is announced military always is the one enforcing it. That's basically standard procedure in a state of emergency worldwide.

7 minutes ago, Olympian1010 said:

No, the need for more ventilators is not open to debate. They are necessary to the medical treatment of those infected, even if they aren’t a cure. 
 

Doctors and other medical workers also need proper protection equipment. I feel like that shouldn’t be a debatable position either.

 

So far, the US government hasn’t aided hospitals in obtaining either. 

Nobody has them enough. Nobody. The world hasn't seen a pandemic like that in 100 years so what do you expect? The anti-vaccination morons lobbied to the point most infectious diseases are though to be gone and never existed. Measles or rubella were ignored over the last 30-40 years and you expect the world to be ready for a previously unknown virus like COVID? I bet there was more money spend worldwide on breast implants or lip fillers than ventillators so I'm not surprised there is shortage in supply.