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People protesting outside the Pennsylvania state capitol as vote counting continues today. Julio Cortez

US Election: Here are the main points to know on Friday

Counting continues in the key states of Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Nevada.

IT’S HEATING UP. 

After a tense 24 hours, former vice president Joe Biden is within touching distance of the US presidency even as current president Donald Trump claims the election is being stolen from him. 

Without providing any evidence, Trump last night claimed that there had been “historic election interference by big media, big money and big tech” in the 2020 election.

Counting is still ongoing in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada. The president needs to win all four of those states to win a second term, but his path to victory has increasingly narrowed today. 

Biden, meanwhile, has urged calm as the final tallies come in saying that he “no doubt” that he was going to become the 46th president of the United States. 

Here’s a rundown of the key things to know from the results so far:

  • Counting continues in the key states of Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Nevada. 
  • Biden now leads in Pennsylvania by more than 14,000 votes.
  • He also leads in Georgia by more than 1,500 votes. The Georgia Secretary of State has said there will be a recount.
  • Biden is also ahead by more than 39,000 votes in Arizona and over 20,000 in Nevada. 
  • Biden is set to give a speech from his base in Delaware some time later tonight – likely in the early hours in Irish time. 
  • Biden is on 264 electoral college votes – according to projections from the Associated Press that include the state of Arizona and its 11 electoral college votes.
  • Trump made a number of illogical and baseless remarks about how the election was conducted in a press conference at the White House. 
  • Biden has announced he has “no doubt” he is going to win the election. He also called on people to be calm and patient. 
  • Trump said in a statement this evening that he “will never give up fighting” and will “pursue this process through every aspect of the law to guarantee the American people have confidence in our government”. 
  • So why is this taking so long? The pandemic, mainly. 
  • Some Republicans breaking with President Donald Trump’s attempts to falsely declare victory in the election and claim without evidence that Democrats are trying to “steal” it from him.
  • Twitter has suspended an account belonging to former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon after he suggested that Dr Anthony Fauci and FBI Director Christopher Wray should be beheaded. 
  • Election officials in several US states have expressed fears about the safety of their workers amid a stream of threats and gatherings of angry protesters outside their doors.
  • US police have arrested one man in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, over what US media has said was a plan to attack a count centre. 
  • A former astronaut has taken a Senate seat previously held by John McCain. 
  • Meanwhile, Colorado has voted to reintroduce wolves to its western mountains. 
  • Here are the state result projections at the moment.

We’ll be continuing to update our liveblog here with all the latest as it happens throughout the day.

You can also follow us on Twitter @thejournal_ie

Ahead of the vote, The Explainer podcast looked at what Trump’s legacy could be – win or lose. You can listen back to our panel of Larry Donnelly, Seana Davies and Daniel Geary here.

With reporting by Orla Dwyer  

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    Mute David A. Murray
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    Nov 6th 2020, 7:31 AM

    A long consistent decline of America over the next 20 to 30 years was expected. I never dreamed that the situation would get this bad within 5 years. Bannon has been banned by Twitter for a truly horrific Tweet. Weasel Lyndsey Graham has backed Trump’s latest dribblings. It doesn’t have to be this easy for America to implode. Laughing stock of the world. Horror show. Warning to the rest of the world. Take your pick.

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    Mute Gerard Heery
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    Nov 6th 2020, 8:39 AM

    @David A. Murray: I hope they don’t all want to immigrate here after imploding ha

    70
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    Mute Daimhín De Naois
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    Nov 6th 2020, 9:54 AM

    @David A. Murray: we always knew a lot of them were crazy, this is just the light shining on them. Trump gave all those people like him a voice. Now they have it, they dont want to lose it.
    Id imagine its time for the EU to step up, Its either that or China/Russia lead the world-both are bad news for the rest of us. Id suppose there’s gona be some changes within the EU over the coming years

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    Mute Blue Avians
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    Nov 6th 2020, 5:48 PM

    @David A. Murray: America is a very versatile country it’s not going anywhere. Someone has to keep China in check, though Biden won’t he likes their money.

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    Mute Barry
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    Nov 6th 2020, 7:03 PM

    @David A. Murray: I hear Iraq is looking to invade the USA if Biden losses to ensure its citizens get freedom and a democratic government

    25
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    Mute GrumpyAulFella
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    Nov 6th 2020, 8:49 AM

    When this is all over, we’ll look back at Trump’s speech last night and wonder how on earth this guy came so close to securing a second term in office. What were the American people thinking of when casting their votes?

    212
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    Mute David Corrigan
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    Nov 6th 2020, 10:22 AM

    @GrumpyAulFella: If he runs in 2024 he will romp home if Biden gets things wrong in the White House. I can’t believe how close it is this time round so Trump definitely has plenty of backing to run again in 4 years.

    60
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    Mute GrumpyAulFella
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    Nov 6th 2020, 10:48 AM

    @David Corrigan: mad and all as the Republican party is, you would hope that once this Jack is back in the box that they don’t turn the handle again. They have 4 years to come up with a mentally stable candidate, who isn’t going to jeopardise world peace, is not going to ostracise minority groups in the US yet will still appeal to the majority of those crazies who vote Republican.

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    Mute David Corrigan
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    Nov 6th 2020, 10:56 AM

    @GrumpyAulFella: It’s very possible that they will run him again seen as he did so well in the polls this time round. 4 years without one of their own in the White House might be too much for them to overlook Trump. It will be interesting. What Trump has started now will only get bigger and bigger in the US over the next four years. The tap is now open.

    21
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    Mute Al Fresco
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    Nov 6th 2020, 1:32 PM

    @GrumpyAulFella: it’s frightening to think that so many people would give a vote to this man. Hopefully the Republican Party will have nothing more to do with him after seeing the horror show he turned the last four years into. He said if he loses he will leave the country but that’s probably another lie.

    39
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    Mute Michael Wall
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    Nov 6th 2020, 3:40 PM

    @GrumpyAulFella: I might have missed it, but when did Trump “jeopardise world peace”?

    20
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    Mute Patrick Hudi Irwin
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    Nov 6th 2020, 6:06 PM

    @GrumpyAulFella: what were the irish people thinking with the 3 stooges that’s in power.

    7
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    Mute Chris Linehan
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    Nov 6th 2020, 7:41 PM

    @Patrick Hudi Irwin: To be fair, those three are not what the people voted for, just what they got stuck with. While they did manage to get a relatively high amount of votes, those three are just a tricycle without wheels. The HAD to come together for even a hope of making it work. And they still can’t even drive the damn thing.

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    Mute Dangling Damo
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    Nov 6th 2020, 7:52 PM

    @GrumpyAulFella: consider the voting patterns of this state over the years. We vote blindly based on party politics and personalities who promise us the stars then we elect them with only narrow self intrest at heart so minimal difference between us and the average us voter except their choices have global significance

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    Mute CarlitosWay
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    Nov 7th 2020, 4:48 AM

    @David Corrigan: it depends of what will be uncover once Trump leaves the White House. All the secrets will come out and maybe the GOP will distance themselves from him

    1
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    Mute Connor Saváge
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    Nov 6th 2020, 7:30 AM

    I really want to sigh with relief, but I’m almost afraid to …

    138
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    Mute D H
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    Nov 6th 2020, 7:47 AM

    Both the Republican party and the Deemocrats have a responsibility to rebuild faith in American democracy once the dust settles and the madman placated. The Republicans really need to seperate themselves from Trumps tantrum. They cannot afford to allow Trump and his i d i o t sons to continue to incite their supporters to violence over their perceived injustice from thr results of this election. If there is improprieties in the vote count, then produce the evidence before continually throwing out baseless accusations on social media. The Don is beginning to sound like a candidate for a psychiatric ward and not for re-election

    130
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    Mute Peter McGlynn
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    Nov 6th 2020, 12:35 PM

    @D H: the knob way to restore faith is to start by jailing Bush and Cheney. If you flout the law you should be in prison. Death penalty for murder in states but they get away with killing 100s of thousands on a lie.

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    Mute Will
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    Nov 6th 2020, 12:46 PM

    @D H: they have both played a massive part in destroying America in the last 30 or more years. Fake wars, corporate interests etc. It’s a two party dictatorship so Trump or Biden it won’t make any difference. The only positive out of it will be that we won’t hear much from Donald when the dust settles.

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    Mute Blue Avians
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    Nov 6th 2020, 5:52 PM

    @Will: Obama was no saint either, all part of the same corporate machine

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    Mute Tricia G
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    Nov 6th 2020, 10:04 AM

    Anyone still think Trump will accept the result?

    It’s pretty clear at this stage that Biden is going to win.

    He’ll take Arizona, GA (only a difference of 1,900 votes right now) and probably take PA too.

    But Trump couldn’t even bring himself to say the word “lose” when talking about how the GA result was going from him “Likewise in Georgia, I won by a lot, a lot, with a lead of over getting close to 300,000 votes on Election Night in Georgia. And by the way, got whittled down and now it’s getting to be to a point where I’ll go from winning by a lot to perhaps being even down a little bit.”

    He is incapable of conceding to a defeat. He has made that VERY clear.

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    Mute Tricia G
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    Nov 6th 2020, 10:07 AM

    Sorry, I meant Biden ahead by 900 in GA. Trump will probably take NC but that’s about it.

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    Mute Mick Hyland
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    Nov 6th 2020, 3:54 PM

    @Tricia G: Biden’s people said today that they’d have no problem going into the White House and removing trespassers

    27
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    Mute NotaWarder
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    Nov 6th 2020, 7:54 AM

    So are we to believe that there can’t possibly be interference in the election/ballot?

    40
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    Mute Gerard Heery
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    Nov 6th 2020, 8:44 AM

    @NotaWarder: so much for electronic voting, weren’t our lot some wasters for buying machines that could be rigged ,imagine if Trump had them !

    24
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    Mute NotaWarder
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    Nov 6th 2020, 9:22 AM

    @Gerard Heery: is it Russians again this time?

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    Mute Tricia G
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    Nov 6th 2020, 10:48 AM

    @NotaWarder: Do you have proof or are you just “asking questions”? You know, not to stir anything, just in case, like.

    Because there are actually international independent observers and they believe it’s been a fair election.

    https://www.politico.eu/article/international-observers-rebuke-trump-over-fraud-claims/

    But please, keep “asking questions” like we all can’t see it’s a tactic to cast doubt on a legitimate result.

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    Mute NotaWarder
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    Nov 6th 2020, 12:01 PM

    @Tricia G: I don’t need proof because it is of no consequence to me who wins.

    I just find it striking that four years ago fraud and interference had apparently occurred yet this time it’s a literal impossibility.

    18
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    Mute Pablo
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    Nov 6th 2020, 12:33 PM

    @NotaWarder: Quote 1 person who has said it’s a literal impossibility to interfere with the voting process. Surely your not that dumb that you cant tell the difference between a possibility and an actual action.

    20
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    Mute NotaWarder
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    Nov 6th 2020, 12:40 PM

    @Pablo: How dumb I may or may not be is inconsequential. I’m simply voicing observations.
    How is it possible in one instance and not in another?

    11
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    Mute EillieEs
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    Nov 6th 2020, 2:22 PM

    @NotaWarder: apples and oranges. The Russian investigation investigated the Trump campaign colluding with a foreign power to sabotage Clinton in favour of Trump and spread social discord. Trump is claiming, without providing any evidence, that ballots were illegally cast and counting should stop, but only in the states where he’s losing to Biden!

    27
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    Mute Margaret Smith
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    Nov 6th 2020, 9:46 PM

    @NotaWarder: I don’t think anyone is assuming that there is never voter fraud, but Trump is just shouting FRAUD even though he has no grounds for these allegations! Show us the proof and we will take it further! He knows there is nothing untoward going on, he’s just trying to convince his followers that he won, even though he didn’t!!!!

    9
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    Mute Stiofán Ó Cearnaigh
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    Nov 6th 2020, 9:15 AM

    I guarantee he is right! Has to be proving it though!

    21
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    Mute Tricia G
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    Nov 6th 2020, 10:17 AM

    @Stiofán Ó Cearnaigh: Oh well then if you guarantee it. then it must be true……

    Sheesh……..

    76
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    Mute Pablo
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    Nov 6th 2020, 12:39 PM

    @Stiofán Ó Cearnaigh: So you believe him without any proof?? I’ve got a toll road I’m looking to sell, steady guaranteed income, going cheap.

    43
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    Mute Joe ryan
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    Nov 6th 2020, 6:03 PM

    Who would have believed it, 70 million votes, more than any president in us history, even Obama couldn’t get that, goes to show, no one turns up for your rallies but they don’t let you down on election day, truly amazing

    17
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    Mute eoin o fainin
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    Nov 6th 2020, 10:21 AM

    Does anyone know the air velocity of an unladen swallow?

    19
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    Mute Mick Hyland
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    Nov 6th 2020, 11:08 AM

    @eoin o fainin: African or European?

    30
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    Mute eoin o fainin
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    Nov 6th 2020, 11:53 AM

    @Mick Hyland: european

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    Mute NotaWarder
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    Nov 6th 2020, 12:30 PM

    @Mick Hyland: African swallows are non-migratory.

    8
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    Mute James O Connor
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    Nov 6th 2020, 1:18 PM

    @eoin o fainin: is he carrying a coconut? Makes a difference.

    9
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    Mute Mick Hyland
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    Nov 6th 2020, 3:56 PM

    @NotaWarder: Well that sorts it then because the European swallows wouldn’t be able to carry the coconuts.

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    Mute Mick Hyland
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    Nov 6th 2020, 3:59 PM

    @James O Connor: how could an unladen swallow be carrying a coconut? Keep up

    5
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    Mute Declan Edward
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    Nov 6th 2020, 5:25 PM

    @eoin o fainin: a tad above 38kph

    2
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    Mute andrew
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    Nov 6th 2020, 2:57 PM

    More Wolves for Colorado yeah.

    16
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    Mute Brendan
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    Nov 6th 2020, 7:22 PM

    Hopefully people realize and accept what Trump and Bannon etc really are – fascists. Openly trying to subvert democratic elections and openly calling for people to be murdered. This is the end result in voting for populists.

    23
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    Mute Blue Avians
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    Nov 6th 2020, 5:54 PM

    The same people who spent the last 4 years falsely saying Russians rigged our elections are now saying there’s no way an election could be rigged by illegal ballots and voter fraud. Project Veritas is interesting. (Truth not Trump supporter).

    17
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    Mute Mark Campbell
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    Nov 6th 2020, 8:28 AM

    I’m impressed that The Journal can predict the news. A 9.00 am timeline on this story, which I am reading at 8.30 am. Fake news?

    10
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    Mute Mark Campbell
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    Nov 6th 2020, 8:31 AM

    @Mark Campbell: sorry, my mistake, I misread it.

    20
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    Mute johnny onion eye
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    Nov 6th 2020, 7:02 PM

    @Mark Campbell: One thing I’d love never to hear again is “Fake news”. Every time I hear it I can see that Orange puckered a$$ mouth of his

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    Mute Nick Caffrey
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    Nov 7th 2020, 9:04 AM

    @Mark Campbell: Too quick to condemn. Makes you look like a Trumpet.

    1
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    Mute Modern Irish Dad
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    Nov 6th 2020, 9:12 AM

    Vanguard S&P 500 holding at just over 50 this morning 1% down on previous highs.

    7
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    Mute Stephen Glassett
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    Nov 6th 2020, 11:35 PM

    It’s the same headline/ main points since yesterday!!! F#@k sake!!! The people want new news!

    6
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    Mute PF
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    Nov 6th 2020, 10:06 PM

    Nero is defeated..rejoice

    3
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    Mute John Brendan Mullen
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    Nov 6th 2020, 7:47 PM

    Yawn yawn. About as interesting as watching paint dry. Is it of any concern or consequence which privileged geriatric white guy gets the job.?

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    Mute Mick Hyland
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    Nov 6th 2020, 8:46 PM

    @John Brendan Mullen: Ask the Chinese

    6
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    Mute John Brendan Mullen
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    Nov 6th 2020, 10:10 PM

    @Mick Hyland: I’d like to ask the Palestinians, Iranians, N Koreans, Iraqis, Afghans, Cubans, Venezuelans, I’m sure there’s plenty more suffering from USA occupation or sanctions that I have failed to name. Does it really matter to these people which rich boy bombs, invades, blockades etc them. ? I very much doubt it

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    Mute Mick Hyland
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    Nov 6th 2020, 11:07 PM

    @John Brendan Mullen: I think that you are thinking as I thought before Trump: that an American president had to convince Congress before doing almost anything, that they made all the decisions. Trump has shown that that is not the case, that the president can do whatever the President wants and that Congress will just sit there and do sweet fa about it. So it now matters what a president believes in. He doesn’t have to convince anyone, he can just issue executive orders galore. Who knew it would be so easy?

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    Mute John Brendan Mullen
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    Nov 6th 2020, 11:19 PM

    @Mick Hyland: ahh, I get your point. In that case, I suppose it is important to all the above mentioned peoples. In that case, does that mean that all the Democrats huffing and puffing about linking a possible trade deal with Britain to upholding the GFA is just that. We all know that no USA administration will ever risk their special relationship with GB.

    1
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    Mute David A. Murray
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    Nov 7th 2020, 12:33 AM

    @Mick Hyland: Except how many executive orders can be legally enforced? And I mean by any president. You should check up on that. An executive order does not mean that it can be legally enacted, or that it can be just directly applied (if it is legally appropriate). It’s not that simple.

    1
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