The All Things Political Thread (One thread to rule them all and in the darkness bind them)

[rjshae]

20 minutes ago, Raithe said:

"If the votes didn't matter, would they be trying so hard to steal them?"

Yes, the amount of just pure voter suppression going on around the US right now is just a sad indictment of our supposed "democratic" political system.

[Amentep]

5 minutes ago, rjshae said:

Yes, the amount of just pure voter suppression going on around the US right now is just a sad indictment of our supposed "democratic" political system.

There's an ad now by one of these stupid semi-anonymous PACs telling us we should be thanking our benevolent overlords elected officials for 'saving the integrity of the vote'.

But, the Gov, Lt Gov and Secretary of State said there was no voter fraud.  So why are we changing laws to "prevent the rampant voter fraud"?  Well apparently its not because there *was* voter fraud, but because people *feel* there was fraud, so the laws need to be changed so that these people with the *feels* can return to confidence in the election process.  Despite the fact that the only reason the *feel* there was fraud was that people lied to them and told them there was voter fraud.  Which the Gove, Lt. Gov and Secretary of State said there wasn't.

Its quite possibly the dumbest political theater I've seen.  Its a solution searching for a problem, as one pundit here put it.

[BruceVC]

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-riot-hugging-and-kissing_n_605d4982c5b67593e057266d

I know posting Trumps outrageous comments  are outdated and hackneyed but this one I couldnt resist

So according to Trump the rioters on 6 January were actually " hugging and kissing cops " 

To quote from the link above 

" It was zero threat, right from the start... Some of them went in, and they are hugging and kissing the police and the guards... a lot of the people were waved in, and then they walked in and they walked out"

Hugging and kissing the police in an event that  people died, its hard to think this was the former US president 

 

[Malcador]

If they ignore Trump enough, wonder what bat**** things he'll say.

[rjshae]

3 hours ago, Malcador said:

If they ignore Trump enough, wonder what bat**** things he'll say.

In the end his behavior fits the definition of the slang term "gaslighting"; that is almost his entire body of work.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting

If you haven't bought into it, he does come across as completely bat****.

Edited March 26, 2021 by rjshae
Grammar

[Maedhros]

8 hours ago, Darkpriest said:

Yes, however, I wonder how resilient that fund is, especially, when there is a political pressure to its investment strategy. 

It's quite resilient, but also reliant on the world economy of course. It has 1,4% of all stocks and shares in the world. It's so diversified it's hard to see if political pressure against investing in a sector/certain companies should matter much. Throughout the years they've exluded companies they deem to be unethical, hasn't seemed to have done much harm.

[Darkpriest]

So who do you think will yield faster, apparel companies such as H&M, Nike, Addidas in their "virtue signaling" or China? 

Seems H&M vanished from all location/map services in China and there is an incentivised movement in China to boycott the brands. 

 

[Zoraptor]

6 hours ago, Darkpriest said:

Not sure how credible this source is, but my guess would be, that it is quite low. I'd filter carefully through the spin in this piece, and try to limit it to verification of cited incidents. 

https://southfront.org/the-u-s-continues-to-smuggle-oil/

Southfront is very biased towards Russia. They've done some pretty good documentary type film reporting, but it certainly isn't disinterested reporting.

There's no doubt that the US is stealing oil though, and it's very likely to classify as big P Pillage (ie a war crime). The only argument is whether it's the Kurds/ SDF controlling it. Which it also fairly clearly isn't because, ironically, a lot of it is being sold to the same Turkish militias that have been ethnically cleansing Kurds in Turkish occupied Syria. A bunch of makeshift refineries were definitely blown up last week by Russia at Sarmada and Al Qah. There isn't any oil production in those areas and you can be fairly sure that it isn't the PYD selling it to their enemies to finance attacks on themselves and the Turkish occupation. Likely Erdogan's son was still taking a cut as he had when he was trading oil with ISIS, and the oil trade is a way to curry favour with/ pressure Erdogan himself.

 

[Darkpriest]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-rights-idUSKBN2BI2OL

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-xinjiang-retail-idUSKBN2BI1DI

 

Links to topic I've mentioned earlier. 

Edited March 26, 2021 by Darkpriest

[Azdeus]

2 hours ago, Darkpriest said:

So who do you think will yield faster, apparel companies such as H&M, Nike, Addidas in their "virtue signaling" or China? 

Seems H&M vanished from all location/map services in China and there is an incentivised movement in China to boycott the brands. 

 

I think that within a year they all will have contracts for some nice Uigur-cotton.

I don't remember where I read it, but HM has as many stores in China as they have in the US, I just can't think they will just abandon that market. Not going to happen.

[BruceVC]

9 hours ago, Zoraptor said:

Southfront is very biased towards Russia. They've done some pretty good documentary type film reporting, but it certainly isn't disinterested reporting.

There's no doubt that the US is stealing oil though, and it's very likely to classify as big P Pillage (ie a war crime). The only argument is whether it's the Kurds/ SDF controlling it. Which it also fairly clearly isn't because, ironically, a lot of it is being sold to the same Turkish militias that have been ethnically cleansing Kurds in Turkish occupied Syria. A bunch of makeshift refineries were definitely blown up last week by Russia at Sarmada and Al Qah. There isn't any oil production in those areas and you can be fairly sure that it isn't the PYD selling it to their enemies to finance attacks on themselves and the Turkish occupation. Likely Erdogan's son was still taking a cut as he had when he was trading oil with ISIS, and the oil trade is a way to curry favour with/ pressure Erdogan himself.

 

So just to be clear, when you say the " the US is stealing oil " do you mean the US government or specific oil US companies ?

I am glad you can confirm this because this is an important story that we should discuss. Can you also provide the links that corroborate this?

[BruceVC]

https://www.heritage.org/civil-society/commentary/how-leftists-critical-race-theory-poisons-our-discussion-racism

Guys I read this article and found it very interesting and appropriate IMO on certain points raised

I would like other peoples opinions. Please ignore the fact its from the Heritage Foundation if that is a problem for you. Just focus on what the author says and if you disagree or agree with the content and message 

For example I dont agree with the framing of these debates as " leftists vs right"  but I also tend to do that because its just easier to explain collectively the 2 sides even if its more nuanced and complex than that 

 

[Zoraptor]

Quote

 

So just to be clear, when you say the " the US is stealing oil " do you mean the US government or specific oil US companies ?

I am glad you can confirm this because this is an important story that we should discuss. Can you also provide the links that corroborate this?

 

Of course I can. I'll do so after you provide links showing Serbia is in the EU.

 

Does anyone really need a citation for Trump saying

he was going to take the oil? The specific company involved is Delta Crescent Energy LLC, a company with an... odd set of directors and founders including ex US special forces and diplomats, a mix that would scream clandestine front company, if the terms 'scream' and 'clandestine front' weren't mutually exclusive. It was also established a whole month before they started negotiating the contract and, strangely, since the deal was signed lots of unrefined Syrian oil has been turning up in Turkish occupied areas despite them being the Kurds' enemies.

Edited March 27, 2021 by Zoraptor

[Darkpriest]

@BruceVC

Something for you to read. 

A bit long and with an anti-Biden spin, but still should give you something to think about, in relation to what I mentioned earlier about geo-pol

https://www.goldmoney.com/research/goldmoney-insights/biden-s-last-throw-of-geopolitical-dice

Edited March 27, 2021 by Darkpriest

[BruceVC]

1 hour ago, Zoraptor said:

Of course I can. I'll do so after you provide links showing Serbia is in the EU.

  Reveal hidden contents

Does anyone really need a citation for Trump saying

he was going to take the oil? The specific company involved is Delta Crescent Energy LLC, a company with an... odd set of directors and founders including ex US special forces and diplomats, a mix that would scream clandestine front company, if the terms 'scream' and 'clandestine front' weren't mutually exclusive. It was also established a whole month before they started negotiating the contract and, strangely, since the deal was signed lots of unrefined Syrian oil has been turning up in Turkish occupied areas despite them being the Kurds' enemies.

Okay just so you dont keep brining this up to the end of days. I was wrong to think Serbia is part of EU, thank you for correcting me. 

But Zora  I need to share  something with  you that is initially going to upset  and confuse you, I am not perfect. I do make mistakes and even I am not always right. That is why I rely on you and others to inform me when I am occasionally mistaken 

I will read your link and comment later, I am just busy gaming at the moment and preparing my breakfast

[Darkpriest]

I wonder if this idea will latch on. 

It would be intersting to see how central banks would deal with it. 

https://www.ft.com/content/c8959502-7dae-43b1-b993-3bf85fb4325a

Housing prices are becoming ridiculous in relation to average income, so are some other assets. 

@Zoraptor - i wonder how is the local NZ press on this and consensus among regular bread eaters. 

 

 

[Zoraptor]

Most of the NZ Press relies on housing adverts for their revenue. The 'free' suburban newspapers' page spaces are maybe 60% house sale adverts and the paid press maybe 30%, more than all other advertising combined, and by a decent amount too. That and the fact that they're bought mostly by house owning boomers largely* informs their editorial lines, which are that property speculation is great, it's the free market at work and nothing can possibly go wrong. The only real exceptions are press aimed at younger audiences, or who don't rely on adverts.

Every once in a while you get an opinion piece sneaking through like the one pointing out that to keep up with house price inflation last year you'd have needed a job paying $78 /hour, and be paying no tax on it. That's maybe one in six articles though, and a similar number are "here's how a 22 year old owns their house already", spoiler, it's always through years of hard toil working to, uh, be born to rich parents.

*biggest newspaper's editorial actually supported the recent changes, iirc, which was a major surprise. Most of the actual articles in the paper about it were a contradictory mess of "mum and dad investors unfairly targeted, how will they survive having to pay tax?" and "no worries, investors can just avoid everything with this one simple trick!".

[Darkpriest]

This is actually scary, to divide people by color and not their wealth status... 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oakland-500-month-basic-income-residents/

 

[Raithe]

Well maybe not strictly political per se but at a tangent..

 

 

[Darkpriest]

24 minutes ago, Raithe said:

Well maybe not strictly political per se but at a tangent..

 

 

Inflation is a bitch.

 

You may thank Gov and FED for free money coming in large batches from 2008.

 

If you will cap the prices by a gov mandate, producers might just not produce something. However, what could work, is looking at capping marigin % and having some refund programme for those with lowest income levels.

Alternatively, lower the demand by reducing the number of fat people. Stop promoting fatness as a beauty standard.... 

 

Edited March 29, 2021 by Darkpriest

[BruceVC]

11 minutes ago, Darkpriest said:

Inflation is a bitch.

 

You may thank Gov and FED for free money coming in large batches from 2008.

 

If you will cap the prices by a gov mandate, producers might just not produce something. However, what could work, is looking at capping marigin % and having some refund programme for those with lowest income levels.

Alternatively, lower the demand by reducing the number of fat people. Stop promoting fatness as a beauty standard.... 

 

You make me laugh sometimes Dark, " stop promoting fatness as a beauty  standard "   

I agree but thats just my opinion but we must keep supporting artists who promote hip-hop like Cardi B because that is definitely beauty 

 

 

[Elerond]

1 hour ago, Darkpriest said:

Inflation is a bitch.

 

You may thank Gov and FED for free money coming in large batches from 2008.

 

If you will cap the prices by a gov mandate, producers might just not produce something. However, what could work, is looking at capping marigin % and having some refund programme for those with lowest income levels.

Alternatively, lower the demand by reducing the number of fat people. Stop promoting fatness as a beauty standard.... 

 

It isn't inflation in case of insulin. It is unregulated market of product which has no alternatives, which means that people who need it have two choices, pay what drug companies ask or die. 

It is just pure robbery supported by US federal government, considering that insulin is 100 old drug that was never patented, but still only couple companies have right to sell it in US and there is no regulations for how much those couple companies can ask for dose which cost them less than one dollar to make.

Edited March 29, 2021 by Elerond

[Darkpriest]

5 minutes ago, Elerond said:

It isn't inflation in case of insulin. It is unregulated market of product which has no alternatives, which means that people who need it have two choices, pay what drug companies ask or die. 

It is just pure robbery supported by US federal government, considering that insulin is 100 old drug that was never parented, but still only couple companies have right to sell it in US and there is no regulations for how much those couple companies can ask for dose which cost them less than one dollar to make.

The more people demand it, the more valuable it gets. 

 

Hence, reduce the demand. It will also work miracles on the general healthcare costs, if less people will be fat slobs. 

[majestic]

14 minutes ago, Elerond said:

It is just pure robbery supported by US federal government, considering that insulin is 100 old drug that was never parented, but still only couple companies have right to sell it in US and there is no regulations for how much those couple companies can ask for dose which cost them less than one dollar to make.

You'd think these free market apologists would use this as the prime case to support their argument, the insulin prices in the US are insane because of a funny combination of both lacking and overboarding government interference/regulation. The type of price fixing between companies is quite clearly illegal but no case is made, and on the other hand this situation only exists because of the US' ridiculous patent law creating an insulin oligopoly.

But no, it's fat people jacking up the demand and free government money, lol.

I wonder if they'd go whine after some heavy handed regulation of the food industry would lower the amount of overweight people by making them more aware of just what they're stuffing in their faces every day, like copious amounts of corn syrup, and reduce the amount of unhealthy reprocessed sewage on the market.

No, wait, that's SJW talk. Bootstraps and self-restraint. That's it. Sorry.

Edited March 29, 2021 by majestic

[Elerond]

5 minutes ago, Darkpriest said:

The more people demand it, the more valuable it gets. 

 

Hence, reduce the demand. It will also work miracles on the general healthcare costs, if less people will be fat slobs. 

Dropping demand will just increase its price, because drug companies like to have steady income and they don't care if people bankrupt because they need to pay thousands of dollars for one dollar medicine because they don't have any alternatives if they want to live