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

[Gorth]

14 hours ago, ComradeYellow said:

https://www.cairn-int.info/article-E_POUV_169_0117--xi-jinping-s-china-marching-toward-a.htm

Yikes.  Looks like war is definitely on the horizon.  I give it 3-4 years before mass mobilization, cos Biden is not equipped to deal with this.

Depends on how things develop on the home front in China. It could be next year, it could be in five years. Depends on how fast Xi needs an external "threat". If none presents itself, he can always assimilate Taiwan (forcefully). Trump set an unfortunate precedent, being willing to sacrifice allies without batting an eyelid. Xi may be expecting more of the same in the White House. In the meantime, China is busy building up its power base and infrastructure for power projection in the Pacific, all the way down to Antarctica. and down through Africa. @BruceVCyou better brush up on your Mandarin too, as Chinese interests are spreading throughout that continent too...

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3086968/china-finds-manufacturing-opportunities-low-wage-africa

And leaving environmental disasters in their wake, like a passing army ant swarm

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210323-the-factories-turning-west-africas-fish-into-powder

 

[rjshae]

[BruceVC]

2 hours ago, Gorth said:

Depends on how things develop on the home front in China. It could be next year, it could be in five years. Depends on how fast Xi needs an external "threat". If none presents itself, he can always assimilate Taiwan (forcefully). Trump set an unfortunate precedent, being willing to sacrifice allies without batting an eyelid. Xi may be expecting more of the same in the White House. In the meantime, China is busy building up its power base and infrastructure for power projection in the Pacific, all the way down to Antarctica. and down through Africa. @BruceVCyou better brush up on your Mandarin too, as Chinese interests are spreading throughout that continent too...

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3086968/china-finds-manufacturing-opportunities-low-wage-africa

And leaving environmental disasters in their wake, like a passing army ant swarm

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210323-the-factories-turning-west-africas-fish-into-powder

 

 

2 hours ago, Gorth said:

Depends on how things develop on the home front in China. It could be next year, it could be in five years. Depends on how fast Xi needs an external "threat". If none presents itself, he can always assimilate Taiwan (forcefully). Trump set an unfortunate precedent, being willing to sacrifice allies without batting an eyelid. Xi may be expecting more of the same in the White House. In the meantime, China is busy building up its power base and infrastructure for power projection in the Pacific, all the way down to Antarctica. and down through Africa. @BruceVCyou better brush up on your Mandarin too, as Chinese interests are spreading throughout that continent too...

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3086968/china-finds-manufacturing-opportunities-low-wage-africa

And leaving environmental disasters in their wake, like a passing army ant swarm

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210323-the-factories-turning-west-africas-fish-into-powder

 

Gorthfuscious you have raised some very important points about the  hegemony of China and I have noticed you have been consistent in your concerns, I need to ask you something but first I cant access the Scmp.com article, its firewalled I think ?

[HoonDing]

China will never be humiliated again

[BruceVC]

9 minutes ago, HoonDing said:

China will never be humiliated again

Hoonding I am sorry to ask but I have no idea if you are supportive of China or not. I am not sure exactly what your ideological views are any on subject because you make some good jokes and you often make me laugh 

Now normally I would be able to tell you what you believe and give examples but you have been able to beat my " CIA Profiling " skills and I am impressed...well done, I dont think you did it through a type of science or real training but its still good work 

Some members have told me you are troll and Hurlshot once suggested your posts are lacking in clarity or maybe he said they were offensive? But I have never found that, I have generally understood all your posts and some are interesting and symbolic. But of course their are several that I dont agree with which is normal for the specific subjects

Also generally you dont respond which I am also fine with but I thought I would  make this post because its good to reach out to gets peoples that could be interesting

 

[Zoraptor]

10 hours ago, Darkpriest said:

Seems there is an ongoing build up of forces near Russian-Ukrainian border. 

Some think, that it's a result of this decree of Ukrainian president (I have no idea what exactly it's written there) 

https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/1172021-37533

This has happened twice a year since 2014. Every time it's evidence of an imminent Russian invasion/ Ukraine taking back Donbass, and every time it's been the equivalent of Putin resigning in January 2021 because he has Parkinson's. ie a rumour that makes the rounds of the press, but when it expires it does so with no press mention. Usually the Russians do some war games where they've always done them, go home in 6 weeks, then come back 6 months later.

(There used to be yearly articles about the Russians building up their military and recruiting 100ks of new troops

...which was the yearly conscription intake, and it never got mentioned when the annual intake got discharged and the size of the army dropped. Haven't seen one of those in a while though)

[ComradeYellow]

2 hours ago, BruceVC said:

Hoonding I am sorry to ask but I have no idea if you are supportive of China or not. I am not sure exactly what your ideological views are any on subject because you make some good jokes and you often make me laugh 

You're not supposed to question satire, you just role with it.

But yes todays Chinese rhetoric does sound similar to Germany and Italy's rhetoric in the 1930's.

...

And perhaps Russia as well, as they seem to be not reversing their reactionary rhetoric at the least.  China is Germany, Russia is Italy.

[BruceVC]

1 hour ago, ComradeYellow said:

You're not supposed to question satire, you just role with it.

But yes todays Chinese rhetoric does sound similar to Germany and Italy's rhetoric in the 1930's.

...

And perhaps Russia as well, as they seem to be not reversing their reactionary rhetoric at the least.  China is Germany, Russia is Italy.

Yeah, I have heard that about satire but for me its better to comment if appropriate 

Your assessment of countries is confusing, what so you think China is doing with its overreach on the Australian water borders. China is  normally only concerned with its own territories  ?

 

[Elerond]

4 hours ago, Zoraptor said:

This has happened twice a year since 2014. Every time it's evidence of an imminent Russian invasion/ Ukraine taking back Donbass, and every time it's been the equivalent of Putin resigning in January 2021 because he has Parkinson's. ie a rumour that makes the rounds of the press, but when it expires it does so with no press mention. Usually the Russians do some war games where they've always done them, go home in 6 weeks, then come back 6 months later.

(There used to be yearly articles about the Russians building up their military and recruiting 100ks of new troops

...which was the yearly conscription intake, and it never got mentioned when the annual intake got discharged and the size of the army dropped. Haven't seen one of those in a while though)

Russia has habit to test their neighbors state of readiness periodically. By organizing their war games close to borders, intentionally intentionally violating air and sea areas. Publishing some politicians hubris how Russia should take back its old territories. And they also like to build up military bases close to borders and claim that they aren't there even though you can see it from the border.

Above things are what Russia constantly does to Finland, so now that Ukraine isn't anymore Russia's close ally they also get to enjoy such hilarities addition to all the unrest caused by Russia's intelligence operations.

[Zoraptor]

Funny, China would say the exact same things about the US. As would DPRK, indeed the US and ROK hold annual, and literal, simulated invasions of the North, and somehow that isn't aggressive but purely defensive and DPRK getting upset and thinking they're cover for an actual invasion is propaganda beyond belief. Not to mention the old joke about how Iran/ Syria/ Russia/ whoever aggressively and without provocation site their countries near US bases.

Russia has held war games in the same area every year, for decades, and every year they get reported as a military build up and precursor to the imminent invasion of Ukraine.

2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015

It's not more or less aggressive than anyone else holding war games close to a border, or NATO holding them in Poland or the Baltics or whatever.

 

[Gorth]

8 hours ago, BruceVC said:

 

Gorthfuscious you have raised some very important points about the  hegemony of China and I have noticed you have been consistent in your concerns, I need to ask you something but first I cant access the Scmp.com article, its firewalled I think ?

Maybe it's a geo location check? Works fine in Australia. Would you have access to vpn or proxy servers?

[Guard Dog]

Details are coming out on the miserable POS that rammed a Capital Police officer with his car and charged others with a knife of all things. Turns out he was no political activist. Just a garden variety nutcase that believed everything he read online. It would be sad except he killed a man who was just doing his job. So to hell with him.

[ComradeYellow]

On 4/2/2021 at 12:52 PM, rjshae said:

Funny, but inflation is certainly a concern, despite the economic bump that comes with renewed consumer spending.

This could come back to bite us in a couple years or so.

But what do I care!  We do kinda need economic reform in the U.S., something that's better than the dumb partisan extremes of overspending and underspending.

[rjshae]

On 4/2/2021 at 6:49 PM, Zoraptor said:

Russia has held war games in the same area every year, for decades, and every year they get reported as a military build up and precursor to the imminent invasion of Ukraine.

2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015

It's not more or less aggressive than anyone else holding war games close to a border, or NATO holding them in Poland or the Baltics or whatever.

The difference being that Russia has actually invaded their neighbor in the recent past and grabbed a massive chunk of territory. Regardless of whether that's right or wrong, it does tend to make folks keep their itchy hands near their guns.

[Guard Dog]

Aiming big, Biden is looking to restore faith in government

Hyperbole and forum debate chatter aside, I do not like and I do not trust government. That is to say I do not trust the PEOPLE who make up government.  I don't doubt many of them mean well. I do not doubt Joe Biden is a mostly honorable man ( I also think he figures a little clean graft now and again was his due as a Senator) and I'm sure he wants to do "good". The problem is despite all his experience and education he has no idea what is "good" in all situations for a complex country like the US. Some things are easy. Maximizing employment = good. Consistent tax policy = good. GDP increacing = good. Now, how to do that? That is the problem. Biden for example graduacted from college in 1968. His first job was cherking at a law firm, then worked as a public defender for a few months. He ran for office in 1970 and spent every day for the rest of his life in Public office or seeking it.  He has never worked in a business. Never struggled to meet payroll. Never struggled to pay bills. He has no idea what is "good" for people who are in economic trouble. And no idea hos to achieve it if he did. What is "good" for a worker in Califonia might ruin a worker in South Dakota. Controlling the levers of Federal power is an oppotunity to do terrible and lasting harm all while trying to do "good" with little understanding. 

[ComradeYellow]

6 hours ago, Guard Dog said:

Aiming big, Biden is looking to restore faith in government

“There’s a lot of autocrats in the world who think the reason why they’re going to win is democracies can’t reach consensus any longer; autocracies do,” Biden said Wednesday when

he announced his infrastructure plan in Pittsburgh. “That’s what competition between America and China and the rest of the world is all about. It’s a basic question: Can democracies still deliver for their people? Can they get a majority?” Biden continued. “I believe we can. I believe we must.”

Does his infrastructure plan include a federal jobs program??  If so, sign me up!  I can't see how a federal jobs program could hurt an workers anywhere in any state.

Also, I'm starting to believe we're past "competition" with China at this point, WW3 seems the likely outcome.

I always thought China had an economy sort of like Europe but just with a single party authoritarian government.

Upon further analysis, looks like I was way off!  The Chinese government has far more in common with the American far right, which is strange considering the anti-China babble they constantly spew.

[Guard Dog]

The political spectrum is a horseshoe not a straight line. The extremes on the left and on the right have more in common with each other than either does with the middle. 

[rjshae]

6 hours ago, Guard Dog said:

The political spectrum is a horseshoe not a straight line. The extremes on the left and on the right have more in common with each other than either does with the middle. 

Part of that boils down to the enforcement measures you need to apply to implement your policies. The more out of the mainstream you go, the more resistant people become. At the extremes, tight state control becomes inevitable and the policy nuances are drowned out by the harsh measures.

[Guard Dog]

Please. Just go away.

[Hurlshort]

1 hour ago, Guard Dog said:

Please. Just go away.

Yeah, my wife attends a gym called F45, and no apparently all of her gym swag makes her a Trumper.

[Gorth]

Anyone wants to buy a government? The Australian Liberal Party (the governing party) is always for sale...

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-55851074

"It started with Zac Efron. Then Mark Wahlberg flew over, Matt Damon jetted in, and dozens of other celebrities followed - all to set up temporary homes in Australia.

More recently, Julia Roberts touched down. She's due to film a movie here with George Clooney later this year, one rather aptly titled Ticket to Paradise.

Because amid the pandemic, it does appear that half of Hollywood has fled to Australia, viewing it as a Covid-free idyll.

Life is good in a country that's largely eliminated the virus - people are freely enjoying beaches, bars, and nightclubs.

Most of the famous arrivals are here to work. Australia's government has lured over productions like the next Thor film with tax breaks."

...

"They're calling it Aussiewood," one local entertainment reporter told the BBC.

...

Just one problem...

"But not everyone is pleased. One year on since Australia shut its borders, there are still at least 40,000 Australians stranded overseas. "

 

So yeah, unless you have a few tens of millions on your bank account, don't bother. Even if you're an Australian citizen

"The government says it's organised more than 100 repatriation flights, including 20 this year.

But with tens of thousands of Australians still unable to get home, anger over the lack of government support has grown."

[Guard Dog]

Does anyone else wish we could keep sports out of politics and politics out of sports? Can we not have just this one thing that does not get infected with the political cancer? Can we have just one thing that we all agree is good?

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

5 minutes ago, Guard Dog said:

Does anyone else wish we could keep sports out of politics and politics out of sports? Can we not have just this one thing that does not get infected with the political cancer? Can we have just one thing that we all agree is good?

If I'm going to wish for the impossible, I'm going a lot bigger than athletes or commentators or franchise owners not expressing political opinions.

[Gfted1]

Here you go:

MLB moving All-Star Game from Georgia after state passes new restrictive voting laws.

exas Gov. Greg Abbott declines to throw Rangers first pitch, citing MLB's stance against Georgia voting law.

[Elerond]

41 minutes ago, Guard Dog said:

Does anyone else wish we could keep sports out of politics and politics out of sports? Can we not have just this one thing that does not get infected with the political cancer? Can we have just one thing that we all agree is good?

I think that is quite impossible considering how sports make majority of budget of many universities and smaller towns. So politics are inherently build in many sports because so many non-sports people's income depends on it. And when you include in fair play, acceptance, tolerance and being example to others which are big part of sports mythos which by themselves already force politics in the sports, especially when those principals aren't necessary among current politicians.