Random political thought thread.

[The Cat]

PSA
I place assholes who play games on ignore. And I quietly think they are dumb and easily manipulated which is why they try shit on others. They know the truth. On some level every person in denial does. If nothing else it haunts them in their sleep.

What worries me about all these private prisons, and the assholes who are so eager to pretend theyre not a problem...whats gonna happen when they run out of minorities to put in there, once the machine is powered on, it cant just be turned off at a whim. These are the begininnings of what could be the most dire times in our lives. We stand perched upon the brink of a very long night. I have a feeling community networks are gonna be how people end up surviving the next great depression, but i worry because i know the creeps in power are gonna do whatever they can to sabatage even that social safety net. I figure the next field of battle is going to be waged on information exchange. I think thats why tik tok was such an issue...to them.

I dont like where we are, I dont like where it looks like we could end up going even less. But I think good people will always try to come together in the face of oppression...Whatever happens or doesnt happen, please do take care of yourself. No spirit was ever so much inspired in times of dire need without a good musician close at hand. Music is one of the most noble sciences, and I should greatly miss art of all kinds should the worse insticnts of mankind come to pass unchallenged by those who would have us call them our representatives.

In the end all us freaks have is each other.

 

[Coriolis]

• "Good Germans" vs. Complicity:
  Some historians argue that even those who did not actively participate in violence against Jews could be considered complicit due to their silence and failure to resist the Nazi regime.

As the saying goes, all it takes for evil to flourish is for good people to do nothing. If you do nothing, not even keeping yourself aware of what is going on, you are complicit.

What worries me about all these private prisons, and the assholes who are so eager to pretend theyre not a problem...whats gonna happen when they run out of minorities to put in there, once the machine is powered on, it cant just be turned off at a whim. These are the begininnings of what could be the most dire times in our lives. We stand perched upon the brink of a very long night. I have a feeling community networks are gonna be how people end up surviving the next great depression, but i worry because i know the creeps in power are gonna do whatever they can to sabatage even that social safety net. I figure the next field of battle is going to be waged on information exchange. I think thats why tik tok was such an issue...to them.

I dont like where we are, I dont like where it looks like we could end up going even less. But I think good people will always try to come together in the face of oppression...Whatever happens or doesnt happen, please do take care of yourself. No spirit was ever so much inspired in times of dire need without a good musician close at hand. Music is one of the most noble sciences, and I should greatly miss art of all kinds should the worse insticnts of mankind come to pass unchallenged by those who would have us call them our representatives.

In the end all us freaks have is each other.

 

[Virtual ghost]

Suitcase scandal: Far-right Portugal politician faces luggage-theft charges


When you can't get to the millions in national budget the luggage at local airport will have to do.

 

[Virtual ghost]

Orbán, Le Pen to hold ‘Make Europe Great Again’ rally in Madrid

Let’s kill the Green Deal together, far-right leader urges EU’s conservatives


Judge for yourself.

 

[Red Herring]

So Musk considered it a good idea to do a video call appearance during a German far-right rally two days before the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz* and to tell the German people to stop feeling guilty and be proud to be German.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/...ilt-dangerous-holocaust-memorial-c-rcna189316

That didn't just rise more than a few eyebrows in Germany, the Polish president also wasn't amused and the speaker of Yad Vashem was also less than enthusiastic.

Apropos, here is what the Jewish Claims Conference has found in its latest survey. Looks like a large number of adults in several Western industrial nations lack even the most basic knowledge on this topic:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/...st-knowledge-among-millennials-gen-z-n1240031

Survey finds 'shocking' lack of Holocaust knowledge among millennials and Gen Z​

Sixty-three percent of those surveyed did not know 6 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. Over half of those thought the toll was under 2 million.
A nationwide survey released Wednesday shows a "worrying lack of basic Holocaust knowledge" among adults under 40, including over 1 in 10 respondents who did not recall ever having heard the word "Holocaust" before.

The survey, touted as the first 50-state survey of Holocaust knowledge among millennials and Generation Z, showed that many respondents were unclear about the basic facts of the genocide. Sixty-three percent of those surveyed did not know that 6 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, and over half of those thought the death toll was fewer than 2 million. Over 40,000 concentration camps and ghettos were established during World War II, but nearly half of U.S. respondents could not name a single one.

The results in Europe were also bad.

https://www.claimscon.org/country-survey/

The majority of respondents in each country, except Romania, believe something like the Holocaust (another mass genocide against Jewish people) could happen again today. Concern is highest in the United States, where more than three-quarters (76%) of all adults surveyed believe something like the Holocaust could happen again today, followed by the U.K. at 69%, France at 63%, Austria at 62%, Germany at 61%, Poland at 54%, Hungary at 52%, and Romania at 44%.


Shockingly, some adults surveyed say that they had not heard or weren’t sure if they had heard of the Holocaust (Shoah) prior to taking the survey. This is amplified among young adults ages 18-29 who are the most recent reflection of local education systems; when surveyed, they indicated that they had not heard or weren’t sure if they had heard of the Holocaust (Shoah): France (46%), Romania (15%), Austria (14%) and Germany (12%). Additionally, while Auschwitz-Birkenau is the most well-known camp, nearly half (48%) of Americans surveyed are unable to name a single camp or ghetto established by the Nazis during World War II.


On a more positive note, there is overwhelming support for Holocaust education. Across all countries surveyed, nine-in-10 or more adults believe it is important to continue teaching about the Holocaust, in part, so it does not happen again.

*Today, January 27th, is the official annual day of commemoration of the victims of nationalsocialism here in Germany. This year it is also the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

 

[The Cat]

 

[The Cat]

This is what the first stages of damnation look like.​

 

[The Cat]

Given all they do with the door open, closed doors is fucking terrifying.​

 

[The Cat]

​

Philip Low, long-time friend and peer of Elon Musk, posts open letter calling him out for what he is. (Link to archived version in comments.)
byu/GravelySilly inFuckthealtright

 

[Red Herring]

You seem to be playing semantics with the term. If everything is related to identity, then sure, I guess both the left and right play identity politics.

I don't think of religion as identity politics because many races and genders are Christians. It's a big tent. For some mysterious reason, the right seem more inclined to be involved with religious politics I will admit. I despise any religion in politics.

Same comment on class. All races and genders can be wealthy.

Racial Identity politics are what we are talking about. I suppose I could agree both the left and the right are overly caught up in this area. The left definitely seems most obsessed with it though.

In any event, politically, I am mostly interested in economic issues, government service issues, and law and order issues (not just crime, but fair elections, unbiased judiciary, border control, separation of church and state, etc. ) as I feel these are key topics for a stable and prosperous society. Identity politics contribute little in my mind, and are primarily driven by emotional outrage by one group or the other. These issues should all have low priority in the political realm IMO.

By that logic being LGBT+ is not an identity because people of all races and genders can happen to be LGBT+. You predefine identity as meaning race or gender and then exclude other concepts because they do not align with, well, race or gender. It's circular logic, I'm afraid.

That being said, I agree that the term has been overused a lot and broadened quite a bit. There are communities forming around all sorts of things that are considered part of people's identity - some more essential than others.

Evangelicalism clearly seems to be an identity to me.

 

[Coriolis]

By that logic being LGBT+ is not an identity because people of all races and genders can happen to be LGBT+. You predefine identity as meaning race or gender and then exclude other concepts because they do not align with, well, race or gender. It's circular logic, I'm afraid.

That being said, I agree that the term has been overused a lot and broadened quite a bit. There are communities forming around all sorts of things that are considered part of people's identity - some more essential than others.

Evangelicalism clearly seems to be an identity to me.

The idea of intersectionality captures some of this. This means that each person has many facets to their identity, all of which will combine both in how they see themselves and how others see and treat them. Some identities give you a "bonus": being white, straight, or male. Others can give you a "penalty", like being black, female, or gay. These can be context-dependent. Being female may be a plus if you want to be a kindergarten teacher. Being black may hurt you more in some settings than others.

What underlies all of the concern is when our treatment of someone is based on factors that are irrelevant to the situation or interaction. We often say "discrimination is bad", but it really isn't. If you are hiring a chef for your restaurant, you will discriminate against people with no cooking experience. You might even exclude those with the wrong experience: say, cooking Italian food when you are opening a Korean restaurant. What you shouldn't do is exclude someone because they are black, gay, female, use a hearing aid, grew up in a rough area, play in a punk band for fun, etc. None of this is related to their job skills. Similarly if you are renting, you care about someone's income, credit score, and track record as a tenant, not the previously listed factors, or their actual occupation.

Too many people allow themselves to be turned off or even triggered by terminology. The bottom line is: treat people based on the factors that are actually relevant.

 

[The Cat]

 

[The Cat]

​

 

[Virtual ghost]

Europe’s leaders plot to stop Trump from taking Greenland

85 percent of Greenlanders don’t want Trump takeover, new poll says

France floated sending troops to Greenland, foreign minister says



This is going to be a "show".

 

[Virtual ghost]

German Green chief warns conservatives not to strike migration deal with far right

And now we are globally coming to the point I was mentioning years ago.
The mass immigration story will push things so far to the right that it is truly questionable if it will be possible to return back to "normal". This is simply so profound topic that it can truly smash through pretty much all barriers of politics. What means that the only thing this is going to achieve is putting various hard right figures into the driver's seat. Even in the most multicultural states of the west this is happening and therefore in less multicultural ones this is the topic that doesn't carry any votes. What means that this is the suicide of the liberal left when you draw the bottom line. To be honest I am pretty sure that mass immigration isn't worth losing all other liberal policies.


You are free to hate me for this post but the timeline is proving me right step by step.

 

[The Cat]

 

[The Cat]

 

[The Cat]

 

[Virtual ghost]

I really don't get it.
How on Earth do you fix your country and make it great again if you screw the workers ? The workers and their families are the largest consumer base in the country. Therefore once you mess up that there is no way you are going to have genuinely good economy.

 

[The Cat]

I really don't get it.
How on Earth do you fix your country and make it great again if you screw the workers ? The workers and their families are the largest consumer base in the country. Therefore once you mess up that there is no way you are going to have genuinely good economy.

If I didnt know any better I would think this was their ill advised attempt at a great reset, the first steps along the path to feudalism two electric boogaloo. But as far as it goes, I figure the cruelty is going to be the point. These guys are trying to turn back the clock over a hundred years in the span of one. This whole thing is madness. As far as I can tell they're trying to destroy the country. If what were happening now was happening in a marvel movie everyone would recognize hydra for what it was, the same kind of stuff happens in real life and hardly anybody can see or dont want to see the forest for the trees.

They ignore the pattern because they cannot face the reality of what it means, but they will sooner or later.
Its like the middle of Caberet. We are so cooked.