With some 90% of ballots counted, far-right libertarian economist Javier Milei had 30.5% of the vote, far higher than predicted, with the main conservative opposition bloc behind on 28% and the ruling Peronist coalition in third place on 27%.
The result is a stinging rebuke to the center-left Peronist coalition and the main Together for Change conservative opposition bloc with inflation at 116% and a cost-of-living crisis leaving four in 10 people in poverty.
The October election will be key for policy affecting Argentina’s huge farm sector, one of the world’s top exporters of soy, corn and beef, the peso currency and bonds, and ongoing talks over a $44 billion debt deal with the International Monetary Fund.
As polls closed in the early evening after voting system glitches caused long lines in capital Buenos Aires, all the talk in campaign hubs was about Milei, a brash outsider who has pledged to shutter the central bank and dollarize the economy.
In the most important leadership race, within the Together for Change coalition, hard-line conservative Patricia Bullrich, a former security minister, beat out moderate Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Larreta, who pledged to get behind her campaign.
Whoever wins in October, or more likely in a November runoff, will have big decisions to make on rebuilding depleted foreign reserves, boosting grains exports, reining in inflation and on how to unwind a thicket of currency controls.
With some 90% of ballots counted, far-right libertarian economist Javier Milei had 30.5% of the vote, far higher than predicted, with the main conservative opposition bloc behind on 28% and the ruling Peronist coalition in third place on 27%.
The result is a stinging rebuke to the center-left Peronist coalition and the main Together for Change conservative opposition bloc with inflation at 116% and a cost-of-living crisis leaving four in 10 people in poverty.
The October election will be key for policy affecting Argentina’s huge farm sector, one of the world’s top exporters of soy, corn and beef, the peso currency and bonds, and ongoing talks over a $44 billion debt deal with the International Monetary Fund.
As polls closed in the early evening after voting system glitches caused long lines in capital Buenos Aires, all the talk in campaign hubs was about Milei, a brash outsider who has pledged to shutter the central bank and dollarize the economy.
In the most important leadership race, within the Together for Change coalition, hard-line conservative Patricia Bullrich, a former security minister, beat out moderate Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Larreta, who pledged to get behind her campaign.
Whoever wins in October, or more likely in a November runoff, will have big decisions to make on rebuilding depleted foreign reserves, boosting grains exports, reining in inflation and on how to unwind a thicket of currency controls.
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Click here to see the summaryNEW YORK, Aug 14 (Reuters) - A new COVID vaccine is due out next month, but health experts and analysts say it is likely to be coolly received even as hospitalizations from “Eris”, a variant of the Omicron form of the coronavirus, rise around the country. Healthcare providers and pharmacies such as CVS Health (CVS.N) will start next month to offer the shot, updated to fight the Omicron version of the virus that has been dominant since last year. They will be fighting declining concern about the virus, as well as fatigue and skepticism about the merits of this vaccine, Kaiser Family Foundation Director of Survey Methodology Ashley Kirzinger said. As with the flu, Pfizer (PFE.N)/BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE), Moderna (MRNA.O) and Novavax (NVAX.O), have created versions of the COVID vaccine to try to match the variant they believe will be circulating this fall. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University and a liaison to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization practices, said it is possible that the ACIP could make a weaker recommendation for younger, healthier people. Dr. David Boulware, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Minnesota, said that according to research he has published, people who are boosted have less severe symptoms for a shorter duration.
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Click here to see the summary"The central bank has all the tools to normalise the situation in the near future and ensure that lending rates are reduced to sustainable levels. On Monday, the bank said it saw no financial stability risks from the rouble’s weakening and gave another hawkish signal that a rate hike is possible soon. The rouble has chartered a turbulent course since Russia invaded Ukraine, slumping to a record low of 120 against the dollar in March last year before recovering to a more than seven-year high a few months later, supported by capital controls and surging export revenues. “The weaker rouble is a damning indictment of Russia’s war on Ukraine,” Timothy Ash, a London-based senior sovereign strategist at BlueBay Asset Management, said in an email. Last week, Russia effectively abandoned its budget rule, with the central bank halting the finance ministry’s FX purchases to try and reduce volatility. “The central bank is not fully in control,” independent Moscow-based economist Ian Melkumov told Reuters, although it has aggressive tools that it is currently reluctant to use.
That's good to hear that even though the vaccine is targeting the last big Omicron variant (XBB.1.5) aka Kraken, that its still effective towards the new Eris variant as its similar enough.
If you take Putin seriously he is saying he backs an interest rate hike. As a point of comparison, in Israel they just had an interest rate hike this year, and when people started struggling with loans and mortgages the auth-right government immediately blamed the central bank’s monetary policy.
Auth-right governments can never really fail at anything: economic troubles are the fault of the central bank, military troubles – the fault of the military, and so on. The sort of people who back these governments are very thirsty for this kool-aid, Putin is just meeting the high demand with supply.
"The central bank has all the tools to normalise the situation in the near future and ensure that lending rates are reduced to sustainable levels.
On Monday, the bank said it saw no financial stability risks from the rouble’s weakening and gave another hawkish signal that a rate hike is possible soon.
The rouble has chartered a turbulent course since Russia invaded Ukraine, slumping to a record low of 120 against the dollar in March last year before recovering to a more than seven-year high a few months later, supported by capital controls and surging export revenues.
“The weaker rouble is a damning indictment of Russia’s war on Ukraine,” Timothy Ash, a London-based senior sovereign strategist at BlueBay Asset Management, said in an email.
Last week, Russia effectively abandoned its budget rule, with the central bank halting the finance ministry’s FX purchases to try and reduce volatility.
“The central bank is not fully in control,” independent Moscow-based economist Ian Melkumov told Reuters, although it has aggressive tools that it is currently reluctant to use.
This has been one delicious fucking disaster. He doesn’t stand a chance in a general. But he’s still managing to prevent the Rs from rebranding into something sane enough idiots can vote for.
No, he’s really not. He’s in how many court cases at the moment? His Russian funders are busy losing a land war they started. He’s already lost the general once. People had four years of him so he’s a known quantity.
No, that’s fucking stupid. He’s not more dangerous than ever. It’s idiotic to suggest so.
Should we we be cautious? Of course. But the best possible outcome for this election slcycle was a fracturing of the Republican part and that’s what has happened. They’re fucked because after 40 years of Republicanism, they don’t mean or stand for shit other than hate and oppression. Their entire policy back catalogue is bunk. They’ve got nothing and are on the wrong side of everything and everyone, even their voters, know it.
I would suggest the Russians have never had a greater interest in controlling a US president than right now. Given how disastrous a Trump win would be, this is not the time for positivism and certainties. Anything could happen.
That’s not true. He has 2 state indictments plus federal charges. If he were elected he could only pardon the federal charges. In fact he will probably be charged soon in a 3rd state so even more fucked.
He's going to have to work to be elected during the court cases. He's already incredibly unpopular as is, and he'll have constant news dripping out about how big of a traitor he is and how he attempted a self coup. That's not going to help his poll numbers with anyone who wasn't already a MAGAt.
That doesn't matter at all in today's political climate. Tribalism has taken over and they don't care if he's a criminal, Republicans will all vote for him simply because he's the nominee. The ONLY thing that matters is if the Dems can turn out enough of their people to beat him in the general.
That doesn't matter at all in today's political climate. Tribalism has taken over and they don't care if he's a criminal, Republicans will all vote for him simply because he's the nominee.
Wow, that's a really bad take considering that independents are what wins a candidate the election, since as you say, tribalists are going to vote for their tribe.
Independents aren't going to gargle trump's marbles in the face of overwhelming evidence of his incompetence, open fascism, and disdain for the electoral process, and there aren't nearly enough brain dead republicans to carry him in the general alone.
TLDR: Political scientist did a study and wrote a book on independents. Most people who identify as independent actually lean towards one party and actually act MORE partisan than a party member. The "true" independents/undecideds completely withdraw from politics and just don't vote at all.
I like your positivity, I just hope it happens like that as well. I still remember he had almost no chance to win in 2016 and somehow won, he’ll even Trump was surprised he won.
You mean when Trump was an unknown quantity, when he was going up against another unpopular candidate who was attacked constantly for decades and had the FBI release damning evidence but keep the evidence on Donny secret?
2024 is a vastly different race, because none of the above is true, and trump is going to have to try to get elected while he's on trial for stealing documents and trying to start a coup. Plus, the worst they've got on Biden is Hunter, and that's such a nothingburger that they're now mad that they got what they wanted.
Trump was not an unknown quantity. He was elected back then precisely because he is exactly what the fascist republican party wanted then and continues to want now. And because people underestimated his chances.
Ignoring the danger he poses now because “people surely know better” is insane. January 6th and everything that lead to it happened after 4 years of that man’s bungling administration and you want to believe that everything is going to be fine?
Be optimistic if he loses. If he wins, the country is fucked. And until we know which way things go, anyone left leaning should treat this election as if we’re losing because letting our gaurd down has the potential of resulting in a Trump presidency with no brakes.
This has been one delicious fucking disaster. He doesn’t stand a chance in a general.
This mindset is what let him win in 2016. I don’t know about you, but I generally try not to make the same mistake twice. Yes, he has numerous indictments against him, some federal, some state. However, there is no constitutional or legal precedent preventing a felon from becoming president.
This is important to repeat:
There is no constitutional or legal precedent preventing a felon from becoming president.
No, it doesn’t matter if the indictments are federal or state. There is nothing disqualifing a felon from holding office. Furthermore, neither the states nor federal government can add a disqualifing condition without a constitutional amendment. I highly doubt a constitutional amendment will be written in those regards either, because I imagine there are many politicians at the state and local level who’d instantly lose their positions.
No its not. In 2016 the Democratic party thought they could win without progressives or leftists and they said fuckem’ along with the upper midwest. Democrats tried courting the center in 2016 and it failed.
… Yeah. Underestimating him and believing him to not be a threat is what lead him to win the election. The Democrats underestimated him and didn’t do their due diligence in reaching out to everyone and encouraging people to actually vote. That’s what I was trying to say.
If convincted he’s ineligible under the 14th amendment, which is technically binding without further actions. Of course he will still be allowed to run and it will be up to SCOTUs Imo they are not as sympathetic toward trump as most people here would believe.
This is above my pay grade, but I think it is ultimately up to SCOTUS to decide, in the sense that the constitution can disqualify you from something even if you weren’t charged with the relevant laws. In other words, even if insurrection wasn’t a crime, and even if trump was not charged with any crime, I think SCOTUS still get to decide what is an insurrection and what isn’t. I am just speculating I am not a lawyer.
While that is true, I think you’re putting too much faith in the system. It requires a lot of people to put the US before their own safety (because almost guaranteed, any state that leaves trump off the ballot will have nutjobs trying to take potshots at government officials). Additionally, if he isn’t elected, there will likely be another riot, especially if he was left off the ballot; and if he is elected and then forcefully removed from office, there will likely be an even bigger, bloodier one. I’m not totally convinced that the government won’t take the easy path, and, if he’s elected, make a big huff and fuss about it while avoiding anything tangible because they’re too afraid of trumpites.
It is too bad no one talks about the obvious. Americans want the jobs. The foreign jobs pay for the same quality of life. In the USA the same quality of life cost is inflated so much by corrupt mismanagement that it makes Americans uncompetitive. Housing and food should be a tenth of what they are. The USA has no shortage of land, just a massive lack of zoning management and reform. The US is one of the largest food exporters in the world. High costs here are a ridiculous corruption and mismanagement. The nonsense coming out of the Right is an attempt to prevent reasonable legislative reform. It is about controlling the conversation in a dos attack. This is the only way the criminal billionaires can keep their criminal legal loopholes open. The USA has 1/10th of the laws and protections of any western country.
It makes sense, really. He is the most popular candidate amongst conservatives because he most accurately reflects their personalities. He is the perfect representative of conservatism. Vile, grotesque and pure evil.
Criminal traitor over party, party over country. It’s the MAGA way. Lost the popular vote twice, impeached twice, lost every court case trying to overturn the 2020 election, indicted three or four times so far? I can’t remember at this point. But he’s still their guy. Yes, it’s a cult.
The list goes on and on and on. Don’t forget all the creepy stuff like openly fantasizing atnout his daughter, or the fact that he is a convicted rapist, admitted to sexual assault and etc. A draft dodger making fun of vets, grown man wearing makeup and diapers making fun of other people physical issues. What a waste of carbon.
Cowards vote from fear. It’s their way. And trump has ensured their fear is not only sustained, but heightened. Remember the Mexican wall? That was a joke compared to the fear he has struck within his idiot base.
MOSCOW, Aug 13 (Reuters) - A Russian warship on Sunday fired warning shots at a cargo ship in the southwestern Black Sea as it made its way northwards, the first time Russia has fired on merchant shipping beyond Ukraine since exiting a landmark UN-brokered grain deal last month.
“After the inspection group completed its work on board, the Sukru Okan continued on its way to the port of Izmail,” the defence ministry said.
A Turkish defence ministry official said he had heard an incident had taken place involving a ship heading for Romania, and that Ankara was looking into it.
Firing on a merchant vessel will ratchet up already acute concerns among shipowners, insurers and commodity traders about the potential dangers of getting ensnared in the Black Sea - the main route that both Ukraine and Russia use to get their agricultural produce to market.
Since Russia left the Black Sea grain deal, both Moscow and Kyiv have issued warnings and carried out attacks that have sent jitters through global commodity, oil and shipping markets.
Russia dismisses that interpretation and says the West failed to implement a parallel agreement easing rules for its own food and fertiliser exports.
reuters.com
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