Politics... World events

[Gorth]

Old politics thread

Please put stuff related to the 2020 US presidential election in the *other* thread, created specifically for this subject?

 

[Gorth]

From the world of Australia politics. Murdoch may be tolerated the US, but his native country is thoroughly fed up with his constant lies and interfering in politics with deliberate misinformation:

"More than 500,000 Australians have signed the petition to parliament since it launched three weeks ago.

News Corp Australia controls 70% of local newspaper circulation. Mr Murdoch has not commented on the petition."

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-54819803

 

[Bartimaeus]

Vladimir Putin planning on retiring next year?

...Might be total BS, difficult to say. NY Post is a total rag, but interesting timing coinciding with Trump's presidential loss.

Edited November 6, 2020 by Bartimaeus

[Guest]

Does that have anything to do with the thing I read today about a new law making ex-presidents immune to lawsuits in Russia?

[Bartimaeus]

4 minutes ago, Achilles said:

Does that have anything to do with the thing I read today about a new law making ex-presidents immune to lawsuits in Russia?

Uh...maybe? It sure sounds related!

[Zoraptor]

Without that law I doubt that article gets published, even by Murdoch.

Putin is notoriously leak proof, and Murdoch media has had, for example, Kim Jong Un dead or in a coma half a dozen times over the last year or so. Last year Putin was going to be God Emperor for life after changing the constitution.

If they're ever right about something you'll never hear the end of it- but nobody remembers them being wrong because nobody expects them to ever be right anyway. They'll be right about something someday, that's the beauty of making infinite immaterial guesses.

[edit: should also say, Russian Presidents have had immunity since Yeltsin, as that was a prereq for him stepping down]

Edited November 6, 2020 by Zoraptor

[Guard Dog]

8 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

Vladimir Putin planning on retiring next year?

...Might be total BS, difficult to say. NY Post is a total rag, but interesting timing coinciding with Trump's presidential loss.

Heck if I had 1/10th of Putin's money no one would ever see me again! Spasibo rossiya! Eto bylo veselo!

Edited November 6, 2020 by Guard Dog

[Skarpen]

It feels good that the laudmouths that criticized you for a long time finnaly are forced to admit you were right all along. It could only felt better if this came from Merkel

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.france24.com/en/france/20201105-macron-urges-europe-to-strengthen-border-controls-after-terror-attacks

[213374U]

Yes, but it's Macron, so you can bet that it's the result of the surge in popularty of National Rally (while his own is in free fall) rather than a genuine intention of "strengthening" anything other than his own position.

France really is a bit of a mess currently and the outlook isn't good.

[ComradeYellow]

1 minute ago, 213374U said:

France really is a bit of a mess currently and the outlook isn't good.

We have so much in common!  France and the U.S. should make out.

Oh wait, They're already our sex slave so I guess it's moot at this point.

[Elerond]

Macro has advocated tougher immigration policies whole time he has been president

Last year he speak against France taking refugees and passed measures to make immigration to France more difficult seek baring refugees accessing medical care.  Also he brought up immigration to EU multiple times in EU's meetings in seeking to get common immigration policy in EU and looking ways to prevent immigrates coming from Africa. 

2018 his government passed law to decrease asylum processing time to 90 days and doubling time detention time in asylum cases from 45 days to 90 days.

2017 Macron blamed France poor economy on France refugee policy 

and so on.

I am not sure why people think that Macron is some how pro refugee / immigrant or even liberal in American political spectrum sense. He is liberal only when he is compared to Marine Le Pen and co, but there is reason why people in France have protested against Macron from get-go after they wake up from their ecstasy that Le Pen didn't won the election and old parties were given finger.

[Raithe]

For that tangentially world politics related aspect, the pomp and ceremony in the UK: 

 

Service and sacrifice. Dedication and duty. On a Remembrance Sunday like no other, Her Majesty the Queen watched the ceremony from a balcony, standing tall to honour the fallen.

Now aged 94, she is rightly regarded as the embodiment of a wartime generation characterised by stoicism and steadfastness. But their numbers sadly dwindle with each November that passes.

In 2020, Britain is battling a very different, unseen enemy. The long shadow cast by Covid made for a pared-down occasion, and instead of 10,000 veterans proudly representing their regiments there were just 25 at the Cenotaph.

The massed bands were reduced to one and spectators were barred. Instead, members of the royal family bore witness. At the centre stood the Queen, a symbol of continuity and fortitude who puts our blowhard politicians to shame.

Days earlier, Her Majesty had paid a private visit to the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey. Dressed in black and wearing a mask, as required inside places of worship, she arrived without fanfare.

Head bowed but uncowed, she paid her respects to those brave men and women who fought for our freedom in conflicts across the globe, just as she has done for decades.

There is comfort to be had from ritual, no matter how testing the socially-distanced circumstances. In the near-deserted nave the Queen cut a solitary figure, but paradoxically she made us feel less alone.

Bombastic world leaders come and – as we have seen in the US – go. Our elected representatives argue and bicker over pandemic policies that change with alarming speed. Repeated U-turns have seen this Government run in circles.

Throughout it all, the Queen has remained a dignified, unifying beacon of hope. When she spoke to us in April and gave us the assurance that "we will meet again", her quiet conviction was balm to the nation's soul.

[Darkpriest]

On one hand I'm happy with news around COVID vaccine, on the other hand, this might lead to ugly politics using the vaccine as a trump card in the geopol. 

 

Anyway, markets went bonkers wild with these algo triggers

[Zoraptor]

Azerbaijani MoD says they have ('accidentally') shot down a Russian helicopter in Armenian airspace. Of course, they shouldn't be doing anything at all in Armenian airspace and risk triggering two different defence treaties by doing so. Indeed, it will be difficult for Russia not to do anything given 2 personnel died even though they want(ed) Armenian PM Pashinyan gone before committing to any major support.

[Gorth]

19 hours ago, Zoraptor said:

Azerbaijani MoD says they have ('accidentally') shot down a Russian helicopter in Armenian airspace. Of course, they shouldn't be doing anything at all in Armenian airspace and risk triggering two different defence treaties by doing so. Indeed, it will be difficult for Russia not to do anything given 2 personnel died even though they want(ed) Armenian PM Pashinyan gone before committing to any major support.

Apparently that incident pissed off Putin. They (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia) have suddenly become the best friends ever and Armenia and Azerbaijan signed not only a new truce, but a peace deal with terms and conditions decided by (a fed up) Putin.

"The peace deal, which was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia's prime minister, took effect on Tuesday from 01:00 local time (21:00 GMT Monday).

Under the deal, Azerbaijan will hold on to areas of Nagorno-Karabakh that it has taken during the conflict. Armenia has also agreed to withdraw from several other adjacent areas over the next few weeks."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54882564

 

[Zoraptor]

That must have been in the works for a while though, as the Russians had to deliver and had been delivering 1500 extra troops and a lot of extra equipment and which has been rolled out to the 'borders' within hours. Almost certainly the Azeris were given an ultimatum a few days ago- hence their helter skelter spare no casualties attack on Shushi- and shooting down that helicopter made no practical difference*. The irony is that the agreement is, essentially, the one that was on the table from the Minsk group before the conflict re-ignited and which both sides rejected. Quite possibly one of the most pointless wars of all time.

Armenia lost when they installed Pashinyan as a 'pro western' leader. Completely no grip on the reality that the only thing stopping them getting attacked was Russia and that whatever else they had to keep Russia sweet. The Armenians probably had even less grip on reality than the Kurds have, since NATO already has Turkey as a member so they could never get in there (even disregarding the territorial dispute that is disqualifying) and the only other regional power available is Iran whose embrace would obviously alienate the US worse than Russia would.

*except, maybe, a lot of people seemed to think that Turkey was definitely going to get peacekeepers in too and actually stated they did when the agreement was announced, but they actually didn't. Which was a bit of a slap in the face for Erdogan.

Edited November 10, 2020 by Zoraptor

[Malcador]

Putin deserves a Peace Prize.

[Bartimaeus]

1 hour ago, Malcador said:

Putin deserves a Peace Prize.

You forgot to switch accounts, HoonDing, .

[Raithe]

CNN - Hong Kong Lawmakers unseated

The entirety of Hong Kong's elected pro-democracy opposition announced its resignation Wednesday in protest over the expulsion of four lawmakers. The dramatic move comes after Beijing passed a resolution giving local authorities broad new powers to quash dissent, likely signaling the end of political opposition in the city.

The resolution, passed by China's highest legislative body, allows Hong Kong's executive to expel elected lawmakers directly without having to go through the courts, cementing Beijing's control over the semi-autonomous territory.

Under the new ruling, lawmakers who are deemed to promote or support Hong Kong independence, or who refuse to acknowledge Beijing's sovereignty will "immediately lose their qualifications," the resolution said.

It also applies to elected lawmakers who "seek foreign forces to intervene in the affairs of Hong Kong, or who have endangered national security" and who "fail to uphold the Basic Law" -- the city's mini constitution -- as well as those who are deemed "not loyal to the legal requirements and conditions" of the territory.

The four legislators, Alvin Yeung, Dennis Kwok, Kwok Ka-ki and Kenneth Leung, were immediately disqualified from the city's Legislative Council following the ruling, the Hong Kong government said. The four were previously barred from running in now postponed legislative elections earlier this year.

The ruling means that Beijing has effectively closed off one of the few remaining avenues open to Hong Kong residents to voice political dissent, following the imposition of a sweeping national security law in June criminalizing subversion.

[Gorth]

Looks like Europeans are getting a better deal on the first batches of the potential new Covid vaccine by Pfizer (US) and BioNTech (Germany)

 

"The European Union has struck a deal to initially pay less for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate than the United States, an EU official told Reuters News Agency as the bloc announced on Wednesday it had secured an agreement for up to 300 million doses.

The experimental drug, developed in conjunction with Germany’s BioNTech, is the frontrunner in a global race to produce a vaccine, with interim data released on Monday showing it was more than 90 percent effective at protecting people from COVID-19 in a large-scale clinical trial."

 

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/11/11/coronavirus-europe-to-pay-less-than-us-for-pfizer-vaccine

 

@BruceVCany idea what deals the UK (and SA) would have struck with the two companies?

[Lexx]

 I didn't read up on it, but isn't the price difference because germany subsidized the development of the vaccine?

Edited November 12, 2020 by Lexx

[Gorth]

1 hour ago, Lexx said:

 I didn't read up on it, but isn't the price difference because germany subsidized the development of the vaccine?

Not sure about that. I do seem to remember something about the US government not wanting to subsidize it, although I don't remember the circumstances. Australia got dibs on 10m doses of the first production run too apparently:

https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2020/11/coronavirus-covid-19-information-about-the-pfizer-biontech-vaccine-for-covid-19.pdf

[Zoraptor]

 The research grant was the reason, from the 1st AJE article: "The bloc will pay less than $19.50 per jab, a senior EU official involved in talks with vaccine makers told Reuters, adding that partly reflected the financial support given by the EU and Germany for the drug’s development."

Nearly 40 bucks per person (since 2 doses required) is hardly cheap though, especially when one of the potential competitors is $2.50 per dose.

 

[BruceVC]

2 hours ago, Gorth said:

Looks like Europeans are getting a better deal on the first batches of the potential new Covid vaccine by Pfizer (US) and BioNTech (Germany)

 

"The European Union has struck a deal to initially pay less for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate than the United States, an EU official told Reuters News Agency as the bloc announced on Wednesday it had secured an agreement for up to 300 million doses.

The experimental drug, developed in conjunction with Germany’s BioNTech, is the frontrunner in a global race to produce a vaccine, with interim data released on Monday showing it was more than 90 percent effective at protecting people from COVID-19 in a large-scale clinical trial."

 

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/11/11/coronavirus-europe-to-pay-less-than-us-for-pfizer-vaccine

 

@BruceVCany idea what deals the UK (and SA) would have struck with the two companies?

https://sacoronavirus.co.za/2020/10/30/covid-19-vaccine-inside-south-africas-oxford-trial/

I was just confirming what this means. We aligned to a different vaccine and different pharmaceutical company but we dont have to use anyone vaccine  specifically....we will have to factor in cost and efficacy into our vaccine decision 

We also dont have the faculties in our healthcare to keep the Pfizer  vaccine at -70 so I dont think SA should worry about this first vaccine. So to answer your question I have  no idea what companies they referring to ?

 

 

[Sarex]

On 11/10/2020 at 10:57 PM, Bartimaeus said:

You forgot to switch accounts, HoonDing, .

I mean if Obama got a Peace Prize...