Comments by "Halfdan Ingolfsson" (@Halli50) on "The Rational National" channel.

  1. I'm about to turn 75, I am a retired airline pilot daddy-sitter, taking care of my dad that will turn 97 tomorrow. He has now been in a hospital for 7 days, being treated for fluid retention, low blood count and electrolyte imbalance. Expected to be discharged tomorrow, the hospital bill will be 0 - a big fat zero! We live in one of the Nordic countries, the old man has paid taxes all his life and he has already pre-paid any health care he receives!
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  2. There are many micro-examples of the final cost of reactive measures vs. proactive measures. Here is one: Boeing is now facing the cost of saving some money a few years ago, when management decided to skimp on the design of a feature that was supposed to save themselves and the airlines some re-certification and training costs for the B737 Max. The result: Almost 350 lives so far, a massive hit to Boeing's reputation AND the yet-to-be-determined (but certainly massive) cost of a reactive fix to the problem - pending lawsuits from the families of the victims, the airlines that had to ground their aircraft and the cost of retrofitting already produced aircraft, whatever the retrofit may end up being. Instead of having an runaway-popular product, they now have a gigantic mess on their hands AND a severly tarnished reputation.
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  3. Hearing the terms "John Bolton" and "Human Being" in the same sentence is an indication of the weird times we live in.
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  4. "Why is Trump president - why this, why that?". The answer is very clear to citizens of every truly democratic nation: The US is NOT, repeat NOT a democracy!
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  5. Little Iceland has already tested almost 6% of the entire nation, equivalent to 58,600 tests per million inhabitants (20,930 tests, population 360K). We have followed the South Korean model in that every suspected case from the start (e.g. skier coming home from skiing in North Italy) was tested and quarantined. If negative, a 14-day quarantine was still required, if positive - straight in to isolation, as well all contacts being traced and quarantined also. We are a Republic, just like the US, only our democracy is not nearly as flawed as that of the US. There is full transparency, professionals and scientists do daily press briefings, AND NOT A POLITICIAN IN SIGHT ANYWHERE! That way the entire nation is on board as part of the emergency team. This means we have not yet had to resort to "shelter at home" curfews, only physical distancing and very small crowd sizes (I am loath to call this Social Distancing, technology allows us to retain that to a degree). The statistical models indicate that we will reach the peak in a week (knock on wood...).
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  6. "We're the richest country on the face of the Earth!" seems to be a popular belief in the US, but ARE you really all that rich if a large part of your population cannot feed their children or afford basic health care and are about to be kicked out of their home! You do NOT see these conditions in other western nations, only the US. "We have the richest billionaires on the face of the Earth" is more appropriate when describing the economic status of the US. Meanwhile, the population at large is approaching third-world status. You guys really should revise your definition of the concept "rich country".
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  7. Canadians have their heads properly screwed on - I expect they will eventually enact meaningful regulations to greatly reduce the likelihood of this happening again. New Zealand did this in their own way, Canada will handle this in their own way. Bottom line: There will be no bull-shiting around, after due consideration things WILL be changed, and in a meaningful way.
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  8. The US population has been brainwashed over the last 70 years to believe that social democracy equals Soviet-style communism. They only have to look to Canada and the Nordic countries to see what social democracy amounts to in practice - it is simply a mix of regulated capitalism with good social awareness.
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  9. Living in one of the Nordic countries, I feel REALLY sorry for you US Americans and your broken system. Our systems are by no means perfect, but they are infinitely better than the corrupt rot you are stuck with.
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  10. It is amazing to see how many Americans confuse everything that is NOT free-to-exploit-everybody-capitalism with socialism. North Europe and the Nordic countries are more capitalist than socialist, but US American don't have a clue about things really work there.
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  11. So, the choice US voters have in November is creepy sexual predator Joe Biden or Really-Creepy sexual predator Donald J. Trump. If this kind of slander and digging-up-dirt campaigns have been the norm in the US, it is no wonder mos US citizens cannot be bothered to turn out to vote! Basically, seeing that Bernie has been sidelined, the US is royally and completely fucked. It will cease to be a superpower that anyone heeds or respects by 2025 and be a Mad-Max-type society by 2030, a NRA wet dream...
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  12. I do REALLY dislike when the concept "algorithm" is spun around and made to look a as an evil political viewpoint or policy. The "algorithm" is supposedly to blame, not the people that decide what the algorithm should actually be. The "algorithms" that YouTube and other social media platforms use are, in essence, the processes or rules the owners of YouTube or the other social media platforms have decided to use to control moderation. Blame the people that make these decisions, not the insensible pieces of computer code that are written to fulfill these decisions.
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  13. This killer kid's life as a normal human being is officially over - as it should be. He will enter the horrible US penal system and any chance of him ever becoming human again will be gone. Another crazed killer created, as if there is not enough of them in the US already. One wonders what his parents think of this irredeemable situation. They must have had multiple opportunities to steer him right if they wanted to, but obviously they either failed or did not even bother. One also has to wonder how many OTHER misguided kids are out there, just waiting to follow Kyle Rittenhouse into oblivion...
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  14. There is an old saying that is about not looking a gift horse in the mouth... As long as the donations are spread around, limited to the individual maximum, he can hardly be classified as a mega-donor. The point is, however, completely valid: The only trustworthy politicians in the future will be those that simply refuse to accept large or corporate donations - and are able to prove it!
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  15. I admit I do not know a lot about the nuances of the US voting system, but I did NOT know that one had to register as a Republican/Democrat/Independent to be even allowed to vote. Is this REALLY the case? What kind of "democracy" is that? In my part of the world (Northern Europe) you are automatically registered to vote when you reach the voting age, AND the main premise is that how you cast your ballot is your business and no-one is allowed to even ask how you voted.
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  16. Bernie has been consistently fighting for decades to implement a Nordic-style mixed economy in the US. 'Muricans may be mostly ignorant about the quality of life in the Nordic countries and North-Europe in general, but young people in the US have twigged on to a good thing. It may take a while, but the US will hopefully get there within one generation.
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  17. The logic of defiling ancient historic artifacts when their beef is with contemporary climate defilers totally escapes me - it just proves that rabid climate activists are no better than rabid climate defilers. As far as I am concerned, this kind of behaviour only serves to damage the climate activist cause.
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  18. There are signs that Biden might end up just as useless as Obama. Mostly noise, no actual content.
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  19. I wonder why every 'Murican political candidate has to "approve this message", especially when they have been a visible and obvious part of it? It is striking how "political messages" in 'Murica seem to mainly focus on denigrating an opponent. I have only seen a rare few that are only positive: Instead of dissing an opponent, the message is simply "This is where I come from, this is what I stand for and aim for, this is what I promise to do if you elect me". Surprisingly, many of those ended up being elected! Is it possible that political honesty might be the new winning formula in 'Murica? If so, knock me over with a feather!
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  20. Say anything bad you want about Russians: They still have an ingrained respect for Babushkas!
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  21. Virtually all US TV shows are short, time-restricted clips, wedged between ads, with no genuine content. The result is no in-depth discussion, only short soundbites that are easily twisted and spun any way you like. This is fodder for the media but of no service to the public.
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  22. I believe he is right. EVERYTHING in the US is turning into an unreal "Reality" Show.
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  23. I think Greta Thunberg described conferences like COP26 perfectly: Bla-bla-bla, and then some more meaningless bla-bla-bla.
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  24. Israel might not be treating the Palestinians quite as badly as the Nazis treated the Jews in their time, but they are certainly going down that road...
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  25. A going-demented man is certainly better than an unbridled narcissist (Trump), but is the US really going to jump from the fire into the frying pan? The fire is certainly not a place to be, but the frying pan is only a narrow degree less painful. Biden might be "better" than Trump, but what a rock-bottom bar to be aiming for.
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  26. The two pudding-eating girls were adorable. Just quietly (but messily) eating pudding, no histrionics or anything - and when asked what they were doing, they innocently stated the obvious: "Eating pudding". Hilarious!
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  27. I wholeheartedly agree with most of what you are saying. But - NBC "should not allow these people on their shows"? Are you really advocating censorship in these matter? I would advocate the other option, i.e. point out any conflicts of interest while the nay-Sayers are being interviewed.
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  28. It finally seems that the apathetic majority of 'Murican voters are waking up to the realization that the HAVE to get off their lazy arses and actually be bothered to VOTE to avoid losing their fragile democracy - or perhaps is just young voters that have figured out that their democracy depends on the "demos" (the voting public) to actually participate. A functioning democracy ideally requires over 80% voter turnout. There is actually hope for 'Murica!
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  29.  @markromine5103 , thank you for this explanation - if I understand you correctly, you only have to register party affiliations for the primaries, not the general elections? If so, this makes more sense and at least there is SOME method to the madness. Of course the Republicans would vote systematically in Democrat primaries to screw them up, AND vice versa. The only thing you can depend on in politics is that there will be plenty of underhanded and sneaky people taking part. In my country, you automatically become a registered voter when you reach voting age, BUT each party requires you to be (or at least pretend to be) a party member before allowing you to vote in their primaries. The good news for us is that political parties cannot influence a voter's ability to vote in general elections. There will always be some attempts at gerrymandering wherever you are, but voter suppression does not exist. Even prisoners can vote, regardless of their crimes.
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  30. Sacha Baron Cohen is doing his bit to expose the crap hiding under the surface of extreme right-wingers. His method is frequently daring and often obnoxious, but what he is doing is holding up a mirror to those people, enticing them to go further than they would normally - exposing the true depravity hidden under the surface. If they don't like what they see, they should not blame the mirror. They should take a long, hard look at the filth just exposed and decide if THIS is really what they want to be.
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  31. Oh, the irony... In Fox interviews, Pence more than implies that Biden claimed the "I declassified them" spiel. That was what Trump tried, not Biden. The only sensible reply by any ex-high-official to questions about potential misdeeds they may have committed while in office should be "Not intentionally, I really hope not but I plead the fifth, just in case". Their relationship with Law and Order seems murky, at best.
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  32. Face it: Nancy Pelosi might have been a superb wheeler/dealer ine her prime, but the Trump debacle has exposed her for what she is: A frantically hand-waving Corporate Democrat great-grandmother that is well beyond her "best before" date. Who is likely to step in? Who knows - there are a number of candidates ready to take on the job that are guaranteed to do it better. Who is the most promising? AOC comes to mind, but she's not the only one, and the whole issue is moot if Trump and his handlers manage to steal the upcoming elections: The US will be finished, kaput, done for if that happens. Watching the incredibly quick demise of the US experiment from outside the US is really, REALLY deperssing! We are seriously facing the possibility of the rest of the world having to conffront a genuinely Fascist US America!
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  33. Apparently Joe Fricking Manchin is pissing into the face of a gale is his own constituency. The end result: He will be drenched in his own urine!
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  34. It would be typical Trump, to bring back public executions of the most grisly sort, e.g. by Guillotine. If that ever happens, I bet the last one on TV will be his own! There is one horrifying aspect to this madness: In today's lunatic 'Murica, Trump is quite likely to manage to win and revive medieval execution practices! Even more horrifying: DeSantis might win, and he will be orders of magnitude worse than Trump!
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  35. Please allow Toddler Trump to blunder heedlessly into the quicksand his tariff plans actually are. Tariffs will hurt workers in Canada, but Canada is a civilized nation that takes care of it's citizens - the pain will be mitigated and shared by the entire nation for the short period this madness will last. The same cannot be said for the poor 'Murican consumers that were idiotic enough to vote for Mad Toddler Trump! Everything Trump slaps tariffs on will will bring in tax revenue that Trump will selfishly hoard, but the final bill will be paid by the everyday 'Murican consumer. Energy from Canada will hike gas prices, auto parts from Mexico will hike car prices, and this is just the beginning of a vicious circle. Toddler Trump is performing an economic Hara-Kiri in plain sight. How about we non-'Muricans just sit back and watch the fireworks play out?
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  36. The New Green Deal may not be the entire final solution but, at least, IT IS A START!
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  37.  @arkinyte13 , not many people will shed any tears, given the vengeful nature of the US population - but do not forget that 17 years ago this killer was just an infant, without sin or any intent of becoming a killer, but somewhere along the way he was steered wrong. I am only nominally a Christian and while I find the whole religion bit to be nonsense, there are parts of the philosophy that make great sense (even if fervent Christians seem to ignore THAT). One of them is to at least LOOK for redemption, to see if something can be salvage of a damaged soul. The Norwegian prison system is based on that nowadays, and they are not entirely unsuccessful.
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  38.  @arkinyte13 , agreed - but I still hesitate about your blind, vengeful judicial system. As far a I know, to even LOOK at why an individual broke the law and how serious it is (REALLY serious in this case) and then to consider if the individual is worth salvaging seems to be an outlandish option in the US. Still, doing so would probably cut your prison population by 2/3 in no time and return a lot of "criminals" to society as repentant and useful, tax-paying citizens. But - this is your country, it is yours to do with as you will, only do NOT expect the rest of the world to approve of much of the nonsense going on in 'Murica...
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  39. A sleek move by the Iranians: The legality of remotely killing a high-ranking foreign national in a third country is quite obviously not kosher, any way you spin it. There is no way the bumbling Trump administration will be able to bluster their way out of this on the international arena. Will Trump be handed over to the Iranians? Definitely not, but propaganda-wise this is a win-win situation for Iran and a lose-lose situation for the Trump administration.
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  40. What is the definition of "being woke" in the minds of Repugnicans? To most people it means something like "alert to racial prejudice and discrimination", to others it means "open-minded" and the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as "aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues". To every sane person, this is a GOOD thing to be but to not to the crazy Republicans. In Oxford it can mean past tense of "wake" - in this context hopefully the wake over the rotting corpse of the US Republican party a few years hence.
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  41. The cheek of the woman (if she is one)! She confuses the will of the ultra-right Repugnican "base" with the will of "The American People"! The "American people" includes everyone living on the American Continents, i.e. North America, Central America and South America. From Canada in the north, through to Cape Horn, the southernmost part of Chile! Call yourselves "Unated-Statians" and be done with it!
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  42. Consistency is NOT what 'Muricans expect from their politicians, even when it hits them over the head like a sledgehammer - Bernie has actually been the ONLY consistent 'Murican politician for decades, but the average 'Murican voter has a severe handicap: Unable to recognize the genuine thing that is in plain sight and, even in the case of vague recognition, electing the loud-voice-liar-that-intends-to-screw-you-over instead of a someone that has been preaching AND practicing genuine for-the-people politics for decades. People as stupid as 'Muricans appear to be really DESERVE the crappy politicians they have elected to ruin their lives. Sympathy? None deserved, none given.
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  43. I really liked the "Why do people go on Jon Stewart's show" quip! This especially applies to idiotic right-wingers that should know better, idiots like Nathan Dahm that can be assured to be reamed a new anal hole by Jon. Every other developed nation is aghast over the fact that in 'Murica, a citizen has to jump through many and difficult hoops to be ALLOWED to vote (such as REGISTERING!), while Republicans are trying to ensure that purchasing an assault weapon and loads of ammunition is unregulated! EVERY other developed and civilized (and even the most uncivilized) nation has a reversed situation! Voting is a RIGHT, automatically established when reaching the appropriate age, while owning a firearm of any sort is heavily regulated - you need to jump through many hoops, checks and training to own even a single-shot shotgun (high-capacity assault weapons are outright BANNED, what normal society needs them?), while voting is automatic and easy, even if you are in prison. I keep wondering at what point 'Murica started going off the rails like this. Are you a nation of retards? Sorry, stupid question! You have thoroughly proved that you are a nation of undisciplined an uneducated lackwits.
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  44.  @michaela26015  No third parties involved.
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  45. Too many US cops end up becoming brutal executioner with ridiculously little provocation to exonerate all the other cops. Many cops pretend they are "good cops" but while they tolerate murderous bastards like this as their fellow officers, they are complicit to their eyebrows, the end result being that THERE ARE NO GOOD COPS! Just the knowledge these two murderous monsters dressed in police uniforms are likely to get off scot-free makes ones blood boil!
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  46. The lesson for US Americans: Do NOT put your life on the line in the "service" of your country. Whether it is to save lives following a disaster brought on by constant US meddling in the Middle East OR all the wars being fought by the US in the most unlikely places. You will be ignored and neglected when you you come out of it, broken, sick and injured. At best, you will have earned the thoughts and prayers of the scum that sent you there. Nothing more to be had from that quarter. And - please note - only in very rare cases the sons and daughters of the rich will be doing the dirty work!
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  47. Never underestimate the ability of Corporate Cheaters (Repugnicans or Democrazies) to spin and twist reality. The good news is that there are a lot of US voters that are starting to think! Young voters are not buying the traditional bullshit anymore and even if community-friendly politics do not manage to win this round, in 4 years more old, conservative idiots will be DEAD and more young, better-informed voters will be active. The US will eventually be able to enter the ranks of nations that care more about it's ordinary citizens than it's corporations and billionaires.
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  48. I agree that criticism of the current Israeli government's treatment of Palestinians is NOT criticism of Jews and their religion, i.e. NOT antisemitism.
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  49. Meghan McCain is NOT her father, and will probably never reach that level, at least not given her current attitudes.
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  50. I want to amend that comment: Give her another 40 years and perhaps some personal hardship (not necessarily tragic), she is bound to mature in the process, just like her father did.
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