The best part about this royal break up mess is going to be the two of them lecturing everyone on how evil rich people are destroying the planet as they zip back and forth between continents on their private jet every other weekend to attend extravagant royal events and collect their huge pile of free money.

"The documents show that Boeing wanted to do the bare minimum to help airlines train on the new plane, refusing to provide flight training simulators to airlines like Malaysia's Lion Air Group, whose flight would end up crashing in Indonesia.

This was one way to cut costs and cut corners."

"Oh, and also how Boeing had the option to add software that would have fixed the glitch that allegedly caused the fatal crashes and the aerospace company chose not to because of costs."

Way to Go, Boeing. Step over
a ten-dollar-bill to pick up a nickle.

Put Union Employees on your Board of Directors, Boeing.

BEFORE you wither up and Die.
Good luck.

I suggest a better attitude.

@1 -- Can MAGAtism be cured?

Not llikely, not with hatemongers like
FOX and "Clear" Channel shoving
America far, far beyond even the
(so-called) right wing fringe.

@ 1, At least those two Supreme Lie-der love birds didn’t challenge each other to a push-up contest. Jeezus. There’s more excess baggage in that photo than SeaTac at Christmas.

Hey President Moon, you know that neighbor that keeps threatening to blow up both your country and mine? Wish him Happy Birthday for me. A very merry Un birthday to you ♪

Nominate a democrat who can give Trump 2016 voters a reason to vote for him or her and we'll win. Otherwise forget it.

One reason to Vote for a Democratic might be for US to fucking Catch up with The Rest of the Civilized Planet in the Healthcare Dept.

Medicare For ALL.
Or, just Die.

@ 9,

Oh bullshit. That worked so well with Al Gore, John Kerry, and yes, Hillary Clinton. Give the majority a candidate and a platform they believe in, and they’ll turn out in overwhelming numbers. It worked for Obama.

Re: Ping Pong:
Brilliant.

We're looking at all our Problems
thru the wrong gottdamn lens --
the 'Adults' have Failed.
Let's ask The Children.

@11: Barack Obama was an excellent candidate who convinced people to vote for him with his charisma, confidence, and to be honest, his youthful appearance.

Kerry, Gore, and Clinton were terrible candidates who could only offer reasons not to vote for the other guy.

Vast differences.

@11: They didn't do that. Al, John, and Hillary spewed condescension and/or insults in every direction. That's why they lost.

@ 13,

I agree with you on that point; they were uninspiring milquetoasts, and we seem poised to repeat this nightmare with Biden, who Democratic primary voters seem to support under the tragically false assumption that other people will want to vote for him. He’s a gaffe machine with over 40 years of unsavory political baggage and deep ties to Wall Street kleptocrats and the rapacious credit card industry. It’s like throwing an anchor to a drowning man.

@ 14,

Nope. We know for certain now what’s been long suspected: Republican voters vote for white trash supremacy, no matter how obviously corrupt, cruel, incompetent, or destructive he will be. They’ll never vote for a Democratic candidate under any circumstances because of their sheer racist spite.

Clinton and Gore won the popular vote and the latter maybe could have won the election but for a wanton and lawless intervention by the Supreme Court. John Kerry lost the popular vote by about the same margin as Trump against an incumbent under favorable economic conditions.

Isn't the story of the last few presidential elections at least as much about the Electoral College as these ephemera and abstractions people focus on so much?

I guess my point is that anybody who can has the political chops to win the Democratic Nomination can win the election if conditions are such that the Democrat has a crack at winning. People like to talk about Obama as if he's some kind of political genius, but anybody could have beat John McCain in 2008. And no Republican had a hope in hell under the conditions George Bush left behind. Then along comes 2012 and Obama is an incumbent under decent economic conditions - that too is not a hard election to win.

Also, that's why Iran is safe from Trump for the rest of the year - open warfare with Iran would cause a massive spike in oil prices which would harm the US economy and make his re-election much more difficult. Because that stuff matters way more than knowing how to order a philly cheesesteak or whatever nonsense our horrible media decides to fixate on.

Wow--I was going to comment, but the usual spot on crew, starting with blip @1 & @20, kristofarian @3, @6, @10 & @12, Original Andrew @7, @11, and @18 and German Sausage @17 already nailed it so beautifully. Thanks, agreed and seconded, and bravo to you all. Griz has nothing to add, except that climate change is REAL, deniers. Mother Nature's mad as hell and ain't taking MAGAt and fossil fuel industrial abuse any more. Ask anyone from Australia and island nations sinking into the Pacific.

Will the last person to leave Boeing turn out the lights?

Russia is warganging US power generation facilities and elections, but mostly trying to sow disinformation (like the immigration fear in small communities they have successfully pushed).

The bad news is, China and the Saudis are also attacking our elections, as is Iran now.

Remember: they want you to be confused and not vote. so VOTE.

The one upside is the cost of housing in the Renton area will drop as workers are relocated to other regions in the middle of this month. Given the avalanche of bad news regarding Boeing, we can expect this effect to increase.

The downsides of course are many. The recession many economists predicted would be mild if it had happened in 2019 has been delayed, and will become more severe the longer the market correction is prevented from occurring. Boeing stock is likely to take a heavy hit when the recession comes, and that of course will mean catastrophic layoffs throughout the Seattle area. With housing prices soaring throughout the region, the knock on effects will include a surge in the homeless population and a drain on the resources of the state government at a time when state law prevents them from accessing the rainy day fund to deal with the looming crisis. Ironically, the man most responsible for this blockade of funds is running for Governor, and just yesterday made an ass out of himself at a press conference in Olympia. One does hope that he did not take chair with him when he left.

The short legislative session’s agenda does not include an expansion of revenue sources for the state, such as taxes on capital gains or income. Speaker Jinkins’s trepidation may have been borne out of a desire to head off any electoral consequences this November, however, even worse consequences are likely to arise if the state is unable to manage the surge in applications for unemployment insurance and social services.

How long the market correction will take is anyone’s guess. This is however, not a good time to buy Boeing stock or a new home.

You’re better off rentin’ in Renton.

RE: Homeless

Would it be so difficult or expensive to build a bunch of super durable "apartments" for the homeless to use that have bathroom facilities and privacy so they don't have to all be bunched together in the same room? Built tough and durable and easy to clean, like a prison, but with doors instead of bars, and they're not locked, they can come and go as they please, no qualifications, no restrictions. Hire some city workers to go in and hose them off once per day (the rooms, not the homeless people). Put security cameras in there too, not to spy, but for safety. Let them do whatever they want in there, at least it gives them a place to sleep, off the streets, and a bit of privacy, and free, and they can come and go as they please. And locate these right in the middle of downtown, or wherever the homeless like to be. Not a single gigantic shelter, but lots of little 6-8 room ones scattered around.

Would that truly be too expensive or too problematic? Honestly wondering.

@20: True. And conversely Trump Republicans will vote for Trump who inspires them and not worry what the people who are worried about the world's bleak fate under four more years of Trump.

Tribalism is definitely worrying. But at least they've found comfort, however sanctimonious, in their provinciality.

@27: Biden - a known commodity, not great, but a respite from the chaos and instability.

@19 -- I agree. There is no magic formula for winning a presidential election. I would say the most important category is the economy, followed a person's general attractiveness, followed by their experience (the less the better), followed by their positions. Bill Clinton and Obama both won because the economy collapsed -- not because they were centrists. Reagan -- clearly not a centrist, and considered radical at the time by many Republicans -- won for the same reason. You really have to go back to McGovern to find someone who probably lost because their policies were too far from the mainstream. That was quite some time ago. Since then we've had numerous elections where the eventual winner (e. g. George W. Bush) had policy positions that were clearly less popular than the loser (Gore). As you wrote, the big difference was the electoral college, but my guess is Gore would have won easily if he was just a bit more charismatic.

The good news for the Democrats is that despite a fairly robust economy, the president has remained extremely unpopular. This last election did not seem to hinge on the economy, nor on the particular issues, but on the personalities of the two individuals. Both were extremely unpopular (unlike, say, Obama versus McCain, where it was the opposite). I know people that agreed with every policy position taken by Hillary Clinton, yet they hated her. Ultimately, I think she lost because people disliked her more than Trump (well, that, and a lot of electoral luck).

In general I would say that trying to predict how people will vote is bound to fail. Most political experts assumed that Trump would not get the Republican nomination. They literally laughed at the idea. Many also assumed that if he did get the nomination, any Democratic candidate would win. Lots of people (including myself) felt that Hillary Clinton was a stronger candidate than Sanders -- that people just weren't ready for someone that far to the left (like McGovern). I think it is quite possible I was wrong, and that Bernie would have won (mainly because so many people disliked Hillary Clinton).

Despite the folly of predicting "electability", I will do so anyway. None of the remaining candidates look particularly good to me. The governors have all dropped out. Castro has dropped out. I will vote for Warren, just because she is the smartest person running and has a compelling story. Her lack of political experience is a strength. I also think that Warren/Castro is a dream ticket (although not as good as the other way around). A strong Latino turnout (in states like Florida) could easily tip the election to the Democrats. Democrats don't need to take Florida -- they can win the election without it. But if a Republican loses Florida, they are toast.

@30: What's your take on Buttigieg?

25,

I offer a slightly different proposal. Let’s build apartments on public land that are owned and operated by the city or state government, with tenants of multiple income levels, and rents set on a sliding scale. Persons who have no income can work for the upkeep and operation of the units in exchange for housing and a food stipend.

Rather than a prison-like environment where the poor are segregated from other social classes, which inevitably turns into a ghetto, I propose mixed income housing administered by a public entity for the public benefit and not for profit. This not only accomplished the goal of providing housing, it gives the unemployed a job, dignity, and a role within society that is productive, useful and meaningful.

Contrary to the FAKE NEWS Slog AM published Wednesday regarding the Ukrainian Airliner that crashed: “However, there are no signs that the plane was shot down.”

"The evidence indicates the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a news conference Thursday. "This may well have been unintentional." https://www.npr.org/2020/01/10/795252134/ukrainian-plane-crash-in-iran-heres-what-the-available-evidence-shows

So… Just to recap: In retaliation for the US killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani Iran has, to date, killed 50 Iranians (and injured more than 200) in a stampede, and killed 176 airline passengers (82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 9 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, 4 Afghans, 3 Germans and 3 Britons), more than 140 of which were Iranian nationals, possibly by accident.

Seems like Iran is solving our Iran problem for us one body-bag at a time.

@32,

I see two complications with that though:

1) Will there be enough people at mid to high income levels who choose to live in such buildings? Even if you offered them at rates substantially lower than what they'd normally take, lots of them simply don't want to live near poor or "lesser" people.

2) Offering food and shelter to people in exchange for doing some light maintenance work won't work for a lot of them. Lots of them simply don't want, or cannot, do any work at all. Nothing. Or what they do is so slow or so poorly done that it's inefficient and ineffective.

I like the idea of mixing everyone together. Of de-segregating. But hell... many will just self segregate themselves right back again. I agree avoiding ghettos is desirable, that's part of why I'd emphasize small buildings with less than 10 housing units each. Put them up right in downtown and other highly desirable locations. The worst it could be then is a micro-ghetto.

What I'm trying to address is the homelessness described in the morning news... the homeless sleeping in post office lobbies. Those homeless are chronic. They likely cannot do any work at all. They likely have drug issues. They just need a place to sleep and to defecate and be mostly alone.

Greetings from Bismarck, ND,
Just read some sad news. Drummer, Neal Peart of the fine Canadian, Rush just passed away at 67 y/o. RIP.

He was one talented percussionist. Coincidentally, we lost Ginger Baker just year. Both were extraordinary.

@32 If the poor are so noble and not afflicted by poor values and bad life choices, surely there would be no problem going full Cabrini Green and let them live together?

Why do they need to be around people with money? What needs to run off on them from the higher classes to aid them?

34,

Your basic premises are incorrect, in that you misunderstand the nature of mental illness and poverty. Your error is of the chicken and egg variety; you presume, incorrectly, that it is mental illness that creates poverty. The reverse is true.

The basis of the “housing first” model is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. All humans are animals, and as animals, we have basic physical needs we must satisfy before we can consider anything else. If, for example, you are deprived of water or oxygen, anyone asking your opinions of Joseph Brodsky will probably find your responses incoherent. Your brain cannot function properly if it is deprived of the basic things it needs to function properly. And that would be true whether you were at baseline perfectly sane or stark raving mad since birth, it would be true whether you were prior to dehydration or asphyxiation a MENSA candidate or a moron.

The same is true, although less immediately, if you are deprived of nutritious food or sleep. Take the sanest man you know, keep him awake for a week and he will be by the end of that week a fucking lunatic. And if you take any superhuman genius and deprive him of proper nutrition for an extended period, you will find it very difficult to get a cogent argument out of them.

Your body has to maintain serum potassium levels between 3.5 and 5 mmol/L of blood, sodium levels between 135-145 mmol/L. If the former is thrown out of that range, your heart will cease to function properly; if the latter is thrown out of range, your nervous system, including your brain, will become defective. And it doesn’t matter how special you think you are, what church you go to, what political party you vote for, whether you have a college degree or never attended a day of school in your life. The beautiful thing about forces of nature is, nature is completely impartial. We are all equals when it comes to the basic needs of our organs.

Now, to get adequate sleep, you need shelter. Sleeping outside for a day or two might seem akin to camping, but try it for a month and you’ll find things less like Boy Scouts and more like a horror film. To get adequate nutrition, you need some place to store and cook healthy foods, you need to know how to prepare it, what foods to eat and what foods to avoid. And you have to maintain that diet consistently for the long term.

Homelessness means being woken up constantly. The cops will wake you to arrest you or tell you to move on. Other people will try to rob you in your sleep, beat you up or harass you. It means exposure to the elements, not being able to store healthy food in a refrigerator. It means no shower or bathtub or toilet to maintain good hygiene. It means no clean clothing to avoid trenchfoot or skin diseases with, or washing machine to clean those clothes in. Homelessness will make you crazy.

So do the things people use to survive homelessness. Meth keeps you awake and makes you immune to pain, which is great if you have to fend off attackers with your fists and don’t have a save place to sleep in. It’ll drive you crazy in the long term, but if you die in the short term, the long term isn’t important.

Now, all of this is probably lost on you. I doubt you’ve read this far, or have any interest at all in hearing about why people lose their sanity. Judging by your description of homeless people, you’ve got it so deeply entrenched in your mind that some people are just subhuman, you might as well have had the part of your brain that governs empathy surgically removed. Why else would you have suggested putting your fellow humans into a zoo like environment such as the one described in your earlier post? I have no expectation of converting you to socialism, as your premises are antithetical to the premise socialism is based upon. I post this reply merely to answer your question, not to convince you of its veracity. Socialism’s basic premise is this: all human life is of equal value. You are no greater or lesser than anyone else. There are no superior or inferior people. And human life is the only thing that has any value at all. Everything else is bullshit.

And by that I mean, money is bullshit. Status is bullshit. Intellectual arguments are bullshit. Religion is bullshit. Economics is bullshit. Every illusion you create to convince yourself or other people that you are better or worse is complete bullshit.

What is true is nature. Nature dictates that you must maintain between 2 and 2.6 mmol/L of calcium to keep your heart beating in a way that perfumes blood to your extremities. Nature demands that your blood not exceed the bounds of a pH between 7.35 and 7.45 for the longer term. Nature insists you achieve adequate rest, proper shelter, security from harm, and nutrition such that your electrolytes remain in balance. And nature is a very unforgiving bitch. Unlike the Christian god who can be implored to forgive, nature doesn’t give a fuck about your prayers. You cannot lobby nature the way you can a politician. You live by her rules, or that bitch will slap your punk ass down.

And nature’s rule is, deal with the physical survival needs first. You can worry about aesthetics later. Housing is such a need. Provide the same housing that everyone else gets, and those homeless will have the same ability everyone else has to maintain their sanity. We are all equals.

Our "Iran Problem" is their very existence, U_gotta_bee?

Perhaps one of your Heroes -- that nut/yahoo dude, or trumpfy can just Nuke 'em for you.

Will you then be Glad they did?
They're still (almost) all Brown, you know.

The Iranians are white, Kris.

@37,

I read your entire response. Not sure how to respond back but here goes...

I don't just think the homeless are subhuman. I think EVERYONE is subhuman. I think ALL humans are a blight on this planet and I hope we all die soon. Humanity is the worst thing that ever happened to this planet. It'd be nice if this planet were rid of us, but probably what will happen is humans will spread like the disease we are.

My suggestion was a trivial "real-world" suggestion to a "real-world" crowd. i.e., "what could we do if anyone actually gave a shit?" Of course, no one with power gives a shit, so my suggestion is just random and pointless musing. What, oh what, could we do??? In truth, it doesn't matter. Nothing I say, nothing you say, matters. The homeless will be shit on forever. So will people who are caring. They'll be shit on. Because humans are worthless garbage and a species where the strong bullies beat the caring every time. They revel in it, even. Just read comments from this very thread. Worthless shit humans shitting on other worthless shit humans.

I gave up... gave up in reality... a long time ago. Humans are worthless and not worth fighting for or working for. But I pass my time the same way others do, wasting time on bread and circuses like this.

Anyway, yes I read your post. I feel bad about the homeless, I truly do. But we're all fucked and we're all worthless garbage anyway so it doesn't really matter.

Well, by definition, humans are not subhuman, since that would imply they are beneath themselves.

As for the nature of reality, I’m not sure how more divorced from reality your line of reasoning could possibly become. I gave you an argument based in sound medical science, and the best you can come up with is not to disprove my premises or invalidate the structure of the argument I made out of them, but to rant incoherently about your personal likes and dislikes.

Your likes and dislikes don’t fucking matter. Here, try this experiment. I want yo7 to really really dislike gravity for a moment here. Just hate the shit out of gravity. Does that make gravity disappear? Did that cause you to float toward the heavens? No? That’s because reality isn’t based in your stupid feelings.

This isn’t about feeling bad about the homeless. I don’t want you to feel anything. What I want is for you to pick up a peer reviewed medical journal and base your positions on medical science, not some stupid sentimentality. Housing first works because it addresses the basic human needs at the base of Maslow’s Hierarchy. Unlike your bullshit theory, it doesn’t expect a starving man to prove his worth by issuing a dissertation on anything until those basic needs are first addressed.

Nihilism is bullshit, too. Pick up a copy of JAMA, and put down your copy of Derrida. Public policy should be evidence based, it should be grounded in what we know about the human body and it’s requirements. If you don’t know anything about medicine yet, it’s not too late to learn.

Well, that's not u_gotta_bee's problem, W.

@42,

lol holy shit did that fly over your head... ok dude, forget it you win. I give up. you win. do whatever you want about the homeless. i'll just do what I've always done. Nothing. Hint in case you don't get it: that's what everyone does. Your logic and science and intelligence and peer-reviewed journals mean bullshit. So do mine. sad truth is that it seems I get it and you don't? Is that true? you don't matter dude. neither do it. sorry but thanks for playing! Do you get that? Or do you think you matter? sorry.

But you're not going to listen to anything I write because you're better than me. So go sniff your farts and feel superior. The world will just keep doing its worst once you're dead. same here. kthxbye!!!

“money is bullshit. Status is bullshit. Intellectual arguments are bullshit. Religion is bullshit. Economics is bullshit. Every illusion you create to convince yourself or other people that you are better or worse is complete bullshit.”

I hope you wrote that while wearing a beret and puffing on Gauloise at Les Deux Magots.