The All Things Political Topic - new edition

[Malcador]

6 hours ago, Lexx said:

So is America gonna default on their dept or nah? Would be nice to know if a global economics crisis is incoming soon or if we still have some years.

Probably same as last time, 2013 ?, deal made close to the wire.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

13 hours ago, Gorth said:

I'm genuinely curious, is it as bad as it seems from the outside?

No, it's worse.

13 hours ago, Gorth said:

Edit: I.e. is it a problem or just a few shrill voices making enough noise that international media uses it for click bait and site hits

Both. It's not popular generally and is mostly driven locally by handfuls of activists and groups with ties to various dark money slush funds, media figures, and fascist gangs (like Proud Boys, Oathkeepers, etc). But despite being generally unpopular they wield outsized influence since appeasing these people is necessary to get ahead in one of the two major political parties, or these people are now in positions of power within said party. And it's going to get worse given how they feed into each other, constantly one-upping into banning more books and mandating more restrictions.

11 hours ago, Hurlshort said:

There are always outlier states. Florida and Texas seem like crazy places to me, but they say the same thing about California. 

In Texas we have just (or will) abolished the elections official in Harris county (Houston) because Republican donors blew millions and couldn't flip the county, we have a ridiculously corrupt attorney general whose wife will vote on whether to impeach him or not, and Greg Abbott is trying to pardon a murderer (and a pedophile who tried to groom teenagers) because Tucker Carlson told him to. That's not even touching the boilerplate anti-lgbt stuff, anti-abortion, crt panic, anti-worker, and crimewave that have swept through much of the republican states which are also ****ing insane and terrible.

Florida is of course crazy and corrupt in many of the same ways as Texas, but what I find funniest is how they changed the law specifically to allow Rhonda Sanctimonious to run for president and stay on as governor. Dude isn't even a year into what he was elected to do and is already trying to jump ship. And of course it's all for naught because if Trump doesn't finish him off, Disney will.

Has California done anything like that? I haven't seen it. The worst things I can think about California is that yalls rent is too damn high and the worst people from California come to Texas and make my rent too damn high.

Edited May 26, 2023 by PK htiw klaw eriF

[uuuhhii]

14 hours ago, Gorth said:

I'm genuinely curious, is it as bad as it seems from the outside?

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20230525-how-book-banning-escalated-in-the-us

It's very hard not to draw parallels to another time and another place. You guys who live there would know better (I hope), so is it just DeSantis working on spreading his vision of a new American "Paradise" to a federal level, or is it just a small group of very vocal regressive forces in the country, stirring up things

 

Edit: I.e. is it a problem or just a few shrill voices making enough noise that international media uses it for click bait and site hits

one big flrodia man joke to most people paying some level of attention for many years now

[Gromnir]

16 hours ago, Gorth said:

It's very hard not to draw parallels to another time and another place.

how 'bout germany o' 2023?

anybody recall why there ain't no kids in the original fallout game? just as were the case in 1997 and 1998, is laws in germany which prohibit depictions o' sexual acts or violence involving kids. more than a few o' the books which parents is trying to ban in desantis' florida would never have been published in germany.  and 'course books which involve holocaust denial or show nazis get a different standard than does other books.

child pr0n is illegal in the US, but not in the way many understand the term. as children is inherent victimized in the creation o' child pr0n, and minors cannot genuine consent to be actors, models or whatever, there is a specific exception for kid pr0n. 'course if is no living child involved in the creation o' the pr0n, then is no triggering o' child pr0n exception.

much o' what is happening in florida and texas is already de rigeur in europe where schools do not necessarily "ban" books, but they do not purchase or display controversial works. and again, more than a couple o' the books routine at issue in the US wouldn't be published in most euro countries. as such, florida and texas is actual sliding towards european norms. 

'course the new war on wokeness from the right is, well, new... or  maybe old. trying to ban books about rosa parks or roberto clemente? if the daughters of the confederacy is made uncomfortable by a book, then is possible to ban? crt?

the thing is...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/05/23/lgbtq-book-ban-challengers/

"The majority of the 1,000-plus book challenges analyzed by The Post were filed by just 11 people.

"Each of these people brought 10 or more challenges against books in their school district; one man filed 92 challenges. Together, these serial filers constituted 6 percent of all book challengers — but were responsible for 60 percent of all filings."

also,

is all kinda reasons to be disturbed by the chart, but much o' the content the clowns in florida, texas, indiana, idaho and a a number o' other states is stuff routine proscribed by enlightened euros.

unfortunate, much o' the new war on wokeness is very familiar and even commonplace. as @Hurlshotobserves, US book banning is not new and the vast majority o' the books current being proscribed is the same kinda books which has been at issue for many decades, which isn't an excuse btw. fact that local US religious leaders and school districts has been trying to ban huckleberry finn since it were first published is not reassuring and so not ok. even so, has been a long time since the book banning thing in the US was other than a local issue; governors and front runner Presidential candidates for a major party running on a platform endorsing book banning is kinda 19th century and way outside the personal experience o' just about anybody living. even so, the current issue is maybe not quite as described or portrayed by the media.

HOWEVER, particular given how the gop has made the war on wokeism a core platform issue, and how easily a significant % o' the population were stoopified by the CRT nonsense, prophesying dystopian book burning nightmares is looking less hyperbolic and unreasonable by the day. yeah, maybe the current reality in virtual all the US ain't worse than what is routine in germany, but the fact you got a significant % o' people in the US cheering the war on wokeism is disturbing.

HA! Good Fun!

Edited May 26, 2023 by Gromnir

[Malcador]

https://www.state.gov/joint-statement-on-violence-in-the-north-of-kosovo/

More Balkan stuff I guess

Edited May 26, 2023 by Malcador

[Gromnir]

speaking o' the continuing stoopid which is the war on wokeism,

https://www.newsweek.com/lauren-boebert-north-face-boycott-pride-drag-queen-1802788

*eye roll*

am not a regular north face customer, but am admitting 'cause o' the story we checked out the north face site and their pride collection. am not the sort who would purchase just to make a statement, though we do boycott sellers who embrace policies which offend our sensibilities. however, after a quick looksee, am considering the Hydrenaline Jacket 2000—27'' Length | The North Face. $100 for a groovy windbreaker with a hood? definite maybe.

HA! Good Fun!

Edited May 27, 2023 by Gromnir

[Hurlshort]

North Face gear is great and it lasts forever. 

[HoonDing]

Kissinger 100 years old today

In case you were wondering if there really is a God

[Sarex]

23 hours ago, Malcador said:

https://www.state.gov/joint-statement-on-violence-in-the-north-of-kosovo/

More Balkan stuff I guess

Coincided with a rally that the leading party organized, so a lot of people from kosovo went to join. Could be that the Albanians took it as an opportunity.

The strange thing for me is that this is getting press in the west, let alone negative press. That is a big shift.

[Sarex]

KFOR tried dispersing the protesting Serbs. Some wounded on both side and it seems KFOR retreated.

[Chilloutman]

here is some socia-cultural 'study' which I find pretty decent on eastern europe if anyone is interested

 

 

[Malcador]

https://www.dw.com/en/kosovo-nato-led-troops-injured-as-serbs-protest-new-mayors/a-65764001

Hopefully doesn't get too out of hand.

[Sarex]

What that article does not mention is that the protestors were sitting with their hands up when the KFOR started to disperse them with tear gas and stun grenades. I was under the impression that KFOR was supposed to prevent conflict and not start it, especially when the news outlets are condemning the Albanians for their actions. Go figure...

[xzar_monty]

On 5/26/2023 at 5:48 PM, PK htiw klaw eriF said:

In Texas we have just (or will) abolished the elections official in Harris county (Houston) because Republican donors blew millions and couldn't flip the county, we have a ridiculously corrupt attorney general whose wife will vote on whether to impeach him or not, and Greg Abbott is trying to pardon a murderer (and a pedophile who tried to groom teenagers) because Tucker Carlson told him to. That's not even touching the boilerplate anti-lgbt stuff, anti-abortion, crt panic, anti-worker, and crimewave that have swept through much of the republican states which are also ****ing insane and terrible.

Are you familiar with the Frank Zappa song Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk? It starts off as a song about TV evangelists and stuff, but later on, when it starts discussing Republicans etc., it seems like an astonishingly accurate prediction of what's going to happen in the US. I think it's extremely sad that Zappa appeared to be completely right about so much of this.

 

 

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

7 hours ago, Sarex said:

What that article does not mention is that the protestors were sitting with their hands up when the KFOR started to disperse them with tear gas and stun grenades. I was under the impression that KFOR was supposed to prevent conflict and not start it, especially when the news outlets are condemning the Albanians for their actions. Go figure...

In general when an article says "law enforcement clashed with protestors", you can safely assume that law enforcement initiated and escalated most of the "clashing".

4 hours ago, xzar_monty said:

Are you familiar with the Frank Zappa song Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk?

No. I looked at the lyrics and it seems to be what TV preachers and Republican politicians have been like for decades.

[Malcador]

8 hours ago, Sarex said:

What that article does not mention is that the protestors were sitting with their hands up when the KFOR started to disperse them with tear gas and stun grenades. I was under the impression that KFOR was supposed to prevent conflict and not start it, especially when the news outlets are condemning the Albanians for their actions. Go figure...

Well KFOR is meant to guard against the Evil Serbs, or something.  Nothing is ever simple in the Balkans.

[Elerond]

12 hours ago, Sarex said:

What that article does not mention is that the protestors were sitting with their hands up when the KFOR started to disperse them with tear gas and stun grenades. I was under the impression that KFOR was supposed to prevent conflict and not start it, especially when the news outlets are condemning the Albanians for their actions. Go figure...

It is currently Hungarian forces turn 

Who have practiced civil and de-escalating tactics past 8 years on Hungarian borders

from which this article gives an example

https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/on-the-hungarian-border-no-refugee-escapes-violence/

and Hungarians are supported by Italians who also have practiced how to be human towards people when they have handled refugees coming from Africa with boats.

Somehow these troops don't start to use different tactics when their command moves from their government to international organization where there is even less oversight.

[Sarex]

So the US is punishing Kosovo by excluding it from some military exercise. Again this is a really strange situation when you get condemnation from the US against the Albanians for the first time ever, I think, and on the other KFOR getting engaged against protestor also for the first time ever.

@Elerond If this is just a lack of oversight and coordination on the part of the local KFOR, I guess they learned their lesson.

[Malcador]

NATO sending more troops in - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65759214

 

[HoonDing]

Good on the Serbians taking their country back. Long overdue.

[Malcador]

On 5/27/2023 at 5:53 PM, Sarex said:

The strange thing for me is that this is getting press in the west

Sort of barely mentioned here, but was funny on the short radio segment today, basically was "Serbs are pro-Russia as someone saw a Z spraypainted somewhere". 

[Gfted1]

What if the "Z" is really an "N" on its side and theyre actually Nazis? 

[Malcador]

18 minutes ago, Gfted1 said:

What if the "Z" is really an "N" on its side and theyre actually Nazis? 

 

[Sarex]

40 minutes ago, Gfted1 said:

What if the "Z" is really an "N" on its side and theyre actually Nazis? 

  

52 minutes ago, Malcador said:

Sort of barely mentioned here, but was funny on the short radio segment today, basically was "Serbs are pro-Russia as someone saw a Z spraypainted somewhere". 

Trust me, there were a lot worse incidents with no coverage, let alone negative coverage towards the Albanians.

Edited May 31, 2023 by Sarex

[Malcador]

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/kosovo-leader-snubs-us-call-to-back-down-in-standoff-with-serbs-1.1927127

Serbia needs ATACMS.