The All Things Political Topic - Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities

[Darkpriest]

This is too funny...

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraines-leader-invites-biden-visit-soon-2022-02-13/

Of course US admin will decline. They spun so much panic for domestic use, that they need to stick to it, even if this will make them look more foolish and even less credible (cry wolf situation) 

 

I'm sure Germans will broker some agreement this week as Scholz is flying to UA and RU, to show that US is crazy in the escaltion language (plus a diplomatic payback for a vassal like treatment by Biden during the last meeting) . 

 

[BruceVC]

5 hours ago, Elerond said:

 

Taliban is also bit on thin ice when complaining about US seizing those funds considering how much foreign assets Taliban seized when they took over the Afghanistan 

Yes but Elerond you know how this works, when it comes to criticizing the US and Western countries  suddenly the appalling  human rights  and historical deeds of autocratic states dont matter

Because people  like Zora and Dark are suddenly " concerned " with how the Taliban are being treated and suddenly  " we care about the people of Afghanistan "

Yet you wont find a single post from them in the last 10 years where they have ever cared about the reality of Afghanistan....until now when they raise this because its a good opportunity to malign the West

Its nothing unusual for this type of anti-Western sentiment, its very normal so no need to take it seriously 
 

[Malcador]

 

Probably for the best.

[BruceVC]

26 minutes ago, Malcador said:

 

Probably for the best.

I tend to agree but I want to make sure we all on the same page going forward

Does this mean you will support countries threatening to invade other countries if they dont agree to certain  demands from the invading country?

I am fine with that if you are because as you know I support regime change in certain cases but normally my view on those types of geopolitical events gets heavily criticized. So it will make a nice change to get  you behind me in certain examples?

[pmp10]

9 hours ago, rjshae said:

You mean this was all just Putin's plan to make Ukrainians pay more for airplane tickets? Ah. 

Damaging Ukrainian economy by making business there uninsurable might just be good enough. 
All that is necessary is to drag this out. 

[BruceVC]

https://fullview.co.za/top-stories/item/16576-huawei-sued-for-allegedly-violating-sa-employment-equity-rules

Our Labor department is suing Huawei SA for being in violation  of our labor laws and basically having 90% Chinese foreign nationals working for the SA based branch where they suppose to have 60 % South Africans at least 

The only thing that surprises me about this lawsuit is the fact that anyone is surprised that any Chinese company would have type of hiring practice 

[Chairchucker]

AUSTRALIAN THINGS

 

This isn't new but it hasn't really been mentioned in the thread as far as I've seen so I'm gonna post about it.

 

One of Australia's most decorated soldiers, Ben Roberts-Smith, (one of like 6 men ever to receive the Victoria Cross: Aussie Edition that I'm too lazy to look up the actual name of but it's something like that) recently decided to take a bunch of news vendors to court for running stories that said he did some war crimes and some domestic violence.

 

And it turns out that maybe this is a bit of an own goal, in that because he's taking them to court they now have to try to prove the defence of truth, and a whole host of witnesses have come forward to  say that actually, they totally saw him do a war crime, or saw a woman with a black eye say she probs wasn't gonna go back to him because she didn't feel like falling down the stairs again.

 

So anyway, evidence does seem to suggest that he's a war criminal, which adds to our long and storied history of making heroes of war criminals.

[BruceVC]

37 minutes ago, Chairchucker said:

AUSTRALIAN THINGS

 

This isn't new but it hasn't really been mentioned in the thread as far as I've seen so I'm gonna post about it.

 

One of Australia's most decorated soldiers, Ben Roberts-Smith, (one of like 6 men ever to receive the Victoria Cross: Aussie Edition that I'm too lazy to look up the actual name of but it's something like that) recently decided to take a bunch of news vendors to court for running stories that said he did some war crimes and some domestic violence.

 

And it turns out that maybe this is a bit of an own goal, in that because he's taking them to court they now have to try to prove the defence of truth, and a whole host of witnesses have come forward to  say that actually, they totally saw him do a war crime, or saw a woman with a black eye say she probs wasn't gonna go back to him because she didn't feel like falling down the stairs again.

 

So anyway, evidence does seem to suggest that he's a war criminal, which adds to our long and storied history of making heroes of war criminals.

Interesting story. I am very reluctant to  ever accuse someone of war crimes, especially in a theater of war, unless I know the facts  and context of what that person did 

What military intervention was he involved in and what is he accused of doing?

Also in future when you make interesting posts like this please use a  link so those of us who want to follow the story  can do our own assessment 

 

Edited February 14, 2022 by BruceVC

[Chairchucker]

Here's one of the most recent articles.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-14/ben-roberts-smith-ex-wife-gives-evidence-at-defamation-trial/100827084

 

There's a few. The people testifying that they saw him commit war crimes are other soldiers who were in Iraq or Afghanistan with him. The woman claiming that she spoke to someone who appears to have been abused by him is his ex-wife who discovered that he was cheating on her with the woman he is accused to have abused.

[BruceVC]

16 minutes ago, Chairchucker said:

Here's one of the most recent articles.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-14/ben-roberts-smith-ex-wife-gives-evidence-at-defamation-trial/100827084

 

There's a few. The people testifying that they saw him commit war crimes are other soldiers who were in Iraq or Afghanistan with him. The woman claiming that she spoke to someone who appears to have been abused by him is his ex-wife who discovered that he was cheating on her with the woman he is accused to have abused.

Thanks, these types of stories fascinate me so I will go through this in detail after work today

And I know you know that their is a difference between someone who is a guilty of spousal abuse, which is a  cowardly criminal act,  and a war criminal. He could be both but I just like to separate the two because they not the same type of criminality 

For example someone could be guilty of war crimes but treats his family very well 

[rjshae]

10 hours ago, Malcador said:

 

Probably for the best.

At least until the Ukraine becomes a nuclear power again...

[Malcador]

Zelensky seemed to refute those comments, anyway. 

 

[Zoraptor]

So does the ambassador who made them for that matter. The ambassador to the UK making them was always a bit of an odd option (compared to, say, Germany), if they were intended as a positional change and not just made off the cuff.

Kind of amusing seeing the number of Brits and Americans online who think that anything less than complete and unequivocal support for their assertions and inflexibility from Zelensky and other Ukrainians is treachery though. Apparently wanting to actually see the supposed plan that the US has for tomorrow's invasion is a completely unreasonable request, given that the Ukrainians are the ones who would actually have to fight said invasion. You'd think that would be more useful than some expired Javelins. Only really two options from that, either the plan doesn't exist or they don't actually want to help Ukraine fight it; and neither of those options is very complimentary.

 

[Darkpriest]

I hope effin cbs burns to the ground... 

Wtf is that panic mode?! 

Russians moving to firing positions? 

And not showing any footage or proof of it? 

Just as Ukraine was on path of calming things down with saying that nothing extra unusual is going on? 

Democrats knownthere is nothing really going on, and Pelosi even starte showing what this is about by saying in todays interview this

"" "" "" "" "

Well, I think we have to be prepared for it. And that is what the president is — yes, I do believe that he is prepared for an invasion. I also understand why the President of Ukraine wants to keep people calm and that he wants his economy not to suffer. But, on the other hand, if we were not threatening the sanctions and the rest, it would guarantee that Putin would invade. Let’s hope that diplomacy works.

"" "" "" "" "

They know there was never an intention by Putin to invade UA full scale, and this whole circus is meant to find a topic, where dems could announce some truimph for Biden before midterms, and show that they can do something... 

They want to have some big thing coverage, that would detract from grilling them over worsening economy, high inflation and cratering consumer confidence, plus dropping rate of on time rent payments when the rent prices go up... 

Their domestic driven agenda can actually spark some real crisis... and its sad to see Ukraine being used as a tool, as their economy gets hit hard with all that fearmongering... 

 

Edited February 14, 2022 by Darkpriest

[Darkpriest]

What the actual F?! 

What is this? Kindergarden?! 

 

[rjshae]

Third option: not showing your hand to a potential foe.

[Darkpriest]

1 minute ago, rjshae said:

Third option: not showing your hand to a potential foe.

What hand? You're joking, right? 

What kind of realistic scenario you have in mind? 

Alex Jones level of conspiracy about false flag provocations? 

[Chairchucker]

5 hours ago, BruceVC said:

And I know you know that their is a difference between someone who is a guilty of spousal abuse, which is a  cowardly criminal act,  and a war criminal. He could be both but I just like to separate the two because they not the same type of criminality 

For example someone could be guilty of war crimes but treats his family very well 

I mean sure, they're two different crimes, but it's not a huge stretch that someone who is criminally violent in one area of their life could be so in another.

[Zoraptor]

51 minutes ago, rjshae said:

Third option: not showing your hand to a potential foe.

There's one problem with that- it's fundamentally incompatible with what they've already done. The whole point is that they've already made the existence of the intelligence public, so the hand is shown. It's the card equivalent of going for a lay down misère and then saying that maybe the player is bluffing instead of trying to lose. Once the cards are down it can't be a bluff because... that's the point of putting the cards down; once the intelligence is revealed you've already shown its existence.

If the aim is to protect the intelligence then they shouldn't have revealed it in the first place.

[Malcador]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/coutts-protest-blockade-arrests-rcmp-monday-1.6351112

Cops showing good restraint so far, watching people run up to cops and scream in their face in Windsor  Remembering the Toronto cops breaking  up a homeless camp and they were full on beating people down for similar, heh.

And now Federal government is invoking the Emergencies Act - https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/E-4.5/page-1.html#h-213808 although it seems will just be to allow the RCMP to step in as, at least in Ottawa, the local cops seem impotent and the provincial ones are not much help either.

 

[Gfted1]

Release a herd of moose!

[Malcador]

5 minutes ago, Gfted1 said:

Release a herd of moose!

He's not deploying the military. 

Edited February 14, 2022 by Malcador

[Gorth]

7 hours ago, BruceVC said:

Thanks, these types of stories fascinate me so I will go through this in detail after work today

And I know you know that their is a difference between someone who is a guilty of spousal abuse, which is a  cowardly criminal act,  and a war criminal. He could be both but I just like to separate the two because they not the same type of criminality 

For example someone could be guilty of war crimes but treats his family very well 

Part of the problem with gathering proof of war crimes is, Scott Morrison and his government sic’ed the federal police on the news outlets and seized pretty much all of it (what was available at the time) because it was too damaging for the government (didn’t fit their narrative of good vs evil)

 

edit: not sure if good link, sucks doing on a phone while in bed 

https://amp.abc.net.au/article/11309810

 

[Zoraptor]

The Australian Federal Police Raids- on three media organisations.

What sparked them.

IGADF Report ('Brereton Report') on Australian SAS conduct in Afghanistan- pdf, and long.

2021 update.

And for balance, the report on the allegations of war crimes by the New Zealand SAS ('Operation Burnham'; TLDR definitely killed civilians, probably didn't meet the criteria for a war crime though the systematic lying about it was a very bad look. The guy who wrote the exposé on that has definitely been the target of SIS spooks before and since, too).

That should give Bruce some light reading for the next few days.

[Gromnir]

Trump Organization's accounting firm says 10 years of financial statements are unreliable

"Monday, Mazars said it would no longer act as Trump's accountant, citing a "non-waivable conflict of interest.""

*chuckle*

translation: we got caught in lies regarding those ten years of financial statements, so we are now cooperating fully with the da, because they do send accountants to prison over this kind of... misunderstanding. so sorry, but we can't simultaneously represent trump and be a cooperating witness for the da.

HA! Good Fun!

ps this exact why these investigations take so long as law enforcement ponderously works its way through the corporate food chain in an effort to see who will break faith with their fellow nogoodniks (alleged). trump tried to insulate himself by keeping as much of trump org activities in the family, but he nevertheless needed complicit lawyers, accountants and a handful of other individuals.