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The State of Global Politics Today


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37 minutes ago, eclipse said:

My issue with Blizzard was that they also fired the streamers for the same debacle.  Whether the streamers were in on it or not is debatable, but to fire first and ask questions later speaks badly of their position.

I hope Blizzard bows to democratic pressure instead of authoritarian pressure, and undo the ban and firing. What Blizzard did was fucked up, but I think they still have some time to make up for it.

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4 minutes ago, Jotari said:

Newest Sout Park episodes parodies all this. Got the entire show banned in China. Trey and Matt then released an "apology" saying like the NBA they value money more than freedom.

I think the NBA did an okay job of not apologizing to China for the actions of Rocket's GM. While I wish the NBA took an active political stance instead of just distancing themselves from its vocal members, I will give them credit for maintaining defiant neutrality on the subject.

As long as the NBA is not trying to censor its members, I think that is good enough for me for now.

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53 minutes ago, XRay said:

I think the NBA did an okay job of not apologizing to China for the actions of Rocket's GM. While I wish the NBA took an active political stance instead of just distancing themselves from its vocal members, I will give them credit for maintaining defiant neutrality on the subject.

As long as the NBA is not trying to censor its members, I think that is good enough for me for now.

Honestly I don't even know the context, I just found the comment amusing. I don't see why politics should in anyway be involved with basketball (or any sport) at all. Especially when the players aren't even representing their country. The NBA is an American only leave, right? 

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22 minutes ago, Jotari said:

Honestly I don't even know the context, I just found the comment amusing. I don't see why politics should in anyway be involved with basketball (or any sport) at all. Especially when the players aren't even representing their country. The NBA is an American only leave, right? 

The significance is that the Rockets were the team that signed Yao Ming, who was the first Chinese player in the NBA (first Asian, for that matter). This was the start of China's interest in basketball, and I guess they have their own league over there too, with a sort of all-stars game they'll host where they invite the Rockets over. I'm sure someone else can explain all this better than I could, but the point is that people in China pay attention to the Rockets.

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6 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Well that's rather pathetic of Blizzard. I think this is relevant

Afbeeldingsresultaat voor Winnie the pooh blizzard

How fitting. Blizzard is a profit pig.

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On 10/9/2019 at 3:33 PM, XRay said:

I hope Blizzard bows to democratic pressure instead of authoritarian pressure, and undo the ban and firing. What Blizzard did was fucked up, but I think they still have some time to make up for it.

I think they sunk their own ship.  There's a screenshot of a message on Weibo (think China's equivalent of Twitter) from Blizzard, apologizing for the banned guy's antics.  Yeah.

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43 minutes ago, eclipse said:

I think they sunk their own ship.  There's a screenshot of a message on Weibo (think China's equivalent of Twitter) from Blizzard, apologizing for the banned guy's antics.  Yeah.

I hope they will back track, although it probably is not likely at this point. I guess I will not be playing Blizzard games for the foreseeable future.

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4 minutes ago, XRay said:

I hope they will back track, although it probably is not likely at this point. I guess I will not be playing Blizzard games for the foreseeable future.

I don't think they'd be able to, at this point.  They're going to piss off one market no matter what.  The question is whether it's the west or China, and I think Blizzard has already made their choice.

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1 minute ago, eclipse said:

I don't think they'd be able to, at this point.  They're going to piss off one market no matter what.  The question is whether it's the west or China, and I think Blizzard has already made their choice.

The West as a whole is a bigger market I think, so I hope we can hit them where it hurts: their bottom line.

I will give Blizzard about a week or two for a response. If nothing happens, I guess I will just pay my friend to find a new game to play.

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2 hours ago, eclipse said:

I think they sunk their own ship.  There's a screenshot of a message on Weibo (think China's equivalent of Twitter) from Blizzard, apologizing for the banned guy's antics.  Yeah.

That one was a doozy. It didn't just apologize but also said they would also always protect ''the pride and dignity of our country'' 

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5 hours ago, XRay said:

The West as a whole is a bigger market I think, so I hope we can hit them where it hurts: their bottom line.

But there's something that's also much more accepted in China (& Asia) in general than over here: Mobile game & MTX. And we all know Blizzard is going full in on those

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29 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

But there's something that's also much more accepted in China (& Asia) in general than over here: Mobile game & MTX. And we all know Blizzard is going full in on those

Its probably more accurate to say Activision is forcing Blizzard to go full in on those. 

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as a dissenting opinion, i'd rather see these companies not get involved at all. i fucking hate when companies release commercials claiming to be on the moral side of history in order to sell a product (pepsi is the most recent egregious example, followed by gilette). fuck the nba, fuck blizzard, fuck nestle, etc. the nba has been injecting itself into china for decades, what tf yall expect them to do? the chinese people don't necessarily agree with the protests in hong kong. the reasons why are irrelevant. the point is, the nba choosing a side is bad for business, especially if that side is hong kong.

you want to see businesses act morally? force them to by supporting legislation that does just that. how many of us wear shoes, for example, likely made in sweatshops? i'm not gonna point the finger at the nba when i'm part of the problem. especially when there's nothing i, or the nba, can do about china's political policy. the proper thing to do is to shut up about it--and if that doesn't work, "the views of (person) X do not reflect the views of (company) Y."

that being said, if companies want to use their leverage to fight for democracy, i am indeed all for that. i just don't think it's companies, specifically, that should be blamed when they don't. it's all of us...

Edited by Phoenix Wright
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well yeah, corporations 'values' have been questionable going all the way back to when american companies did business with hitler and beyond

when corporations co-opt progressive language it personally makes me ill. it's that type of thing that causes people to incorrectly think corporations are left-leaning for some reason, as if Silicon Valley would show support for left-wing ideas outside of the fact that they don't hate gay people, because those are potential customers too.

it is more convenient for people to boycott a company than evaluate and sacrifice things in your life you use daily that are exploited from poorer conditions.

Edited by Tryhard
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26 minutes ago, Phoenix Wright said:

what tf yall expect them to do?

they can do whatever they want in China (like changing parts of a product especially for that market). But don't go and promote chinese values or w/e worldwide and start censoring/banning people.
I don't want to live in a chinese dominated world tyvm, and China has been flexing muscled worldwide lately.

29 minutes ago, Phoenix Wright said:

how many of us wear shoes, for example, likely made in sweatshops? i'm not gonna point the finger at the nba when i'm part of the problem.

 

2 minutes ago, Tryhard said:

it is more convenient for people to boycott a company more than evaluate and sacrifice things in your life you use daily that are exploited from poorer conditions.

One big Problem: Everything, including stuff we need in our daily lives, has china involved in some way. Boycott will basically mean living like in the 1950s.

It's like with Climate Poltics: People won't change without a political will to change.

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Just now, Shrimperor said:

One big Problem: Everything, including stuff we need in our daily lives, has china involved in some way. Boycott will basically mean living like in the 1950s.

It's like with Climate Poltics: People won't change without a political will to change.

Not false, it's just an observation. 

You would first of all need to get rid of your electronic devices including computer because it is likely to have parts manufactured in China to begin with.

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1 hour ago, Phoenix Wright said:

as a dissenting opinion, i'd rather see these companies not get involved at all. i fucking hate when companies release commercials claiming to be on the moral side of history in order to sell a product (pepsi is the most recent egregious example, followed by gilette). fuck the nba, fuck blizzard, fuck nestle, etc. the nba has been injecting itself into china for decades, what tf yall expect them to do? the chinese people don't necessarily agree with the protests in hong kong. the reasons why are irrelevant. the point is, the nba choosing a side is bad for business, especially if that side is hong kong.

1 hour ago, Tryhard said:

when corporations co-opt progressive language it personally makes me ill. it's that type of thing that causes people to incorrectly think corporations are left-leaning for some reason, as if Silicon Valley would show support for left-wing ideas outside of the fact that they don't hate gay people, because those are potential customers too.

Corporate social responsibility is part of marketing. Companies that do not do it is losing out on money.

1 hour ago, Phoenix Wright said:

 you want to see businesses act morally? force them to by supporting legislation that does just that. how many of us wear shoes, for example, likely made in sweatshops? i'm not gonna point the finger at the nba when i'm part of the problem. especially when there's nothing i, or the nba, can do about china's political policy. the proper thing to do is to shut up about it--and if that doesn't work, "the views of (person) X do not reflect the views of (company) Y."

I am a tiny minority, but I have boycotted Chinese brands and products whenever practical before the trade war even happened. I cannot avoid all Chinese products, but I can reduce what I buy from them.

I think I have always voted for tax increases and tighter environmental regulation on my state ballot.

I have pressured my friends to buy responsibly and vote.

I have done what I can economically, politically, and socially. I want companies to start doing their part.

48 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

One big Problem: Everything, including stuff we need in our daily lives, has china involved in some way. Boycott will basically mean living like in the 1950s.

Not everything. In America, the vast majority of food is from the country with a fraction of vegetables and fruits from Latin America. While China still dominates the clothing industry, you can always find clothing made in other countries. Most of our chemical products are made domestically or within NAFTA. Non luxury cars are mostly from NAFTA. Wood for construction are from NAFTA, although a lot of fixtures like sinks, countertops, ceiling fans, etc. are from China. While not every tool we need can be made in America or Europe, there are a lot of basic tools that are, although they do demand a small premium.

It is very hard to find toys not made in China nor Vietnam, and the same goes for appliances and furniture. Even LEGO moved some manufacturing to China recently.

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10 hours ago, Phoenix Wright said:

as a dissenting opinion, i'd rather see these companies not get involved at all. i fucking hate when companies release commercials claiming to be on the moral side of history in order to sell a product (pepsi is the most recent egregious example, followed by gilette). fuck the nba, fuck blizzard, fuck nestle, etc. the nba has been injecting itself into china for decades, what tf yall expect them to do? the chinese people don't necessarily agree with the protests in hong kong. the reasons why are irrelevant. the point is, the nba choosing a side is bad for business, especially if that side is hong kong.

you want to see businesses act morally? force them to by supporting legislation that does just that. how many of us wear shoes, for example, likely made in sweatshops? i'm not gonna point the finger at the nba when i'm part of the problem. especially when there's nothing i, or the nba, can do about china's political policy. the proper thing to do is to shut up about it--and if that doesn't work, "the views of (person) X do not reflect the views of (company) Y."

that being said, if companies want to use their leverage to fight for democracy, i am indeed all for that. i just don't think it's companies, specifically, that should be blamed when they don't. it's all of us...

Amen completely. Except for that last part which kind of leans towards "Being involved with politics is good if it's my politics."

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15 hours ago, Phoenix Wright said:

as a dissenting opinion, i'd rather see these companies not get involved at all. i fucking hate when companies release commercials claiming to be on the moral side of history in order to sell a product (pepsi is the most recent egregious example, followed by gilette). fuck the nba, fuck blizzard, fuck nestle, etc. the nba has been injecting itself into china for decades, what tf yall expect them to do? the chinese people don't necessarily agree with the protests in hong kong. the reasons why are irrelevant. the point is, the nba choosing a side is bad for business, especially if that side is hong kong.

you want to see businesses act morally? force them to by supporting legislation that does just that. how many of us wear shoes, for example, likely made in sweatshops? i'm not gonna point the finger at the nba when i'm part of the problem. especially when there's nothing i, or the nba, can do about china's political policy. the proper thing to do is to shut up about it--and if that doesn't work, "the views of (person) X do not reflect the views of (company) Y."

that being said, if companies want to use their leverage to fight for democracy, i am indeed all for that. i just don't think it's companies, specifically, that should be blamed when they don't. it's all of us...

I may not be able to fully get rid of things imported/made in China ('cause I really do need that phone of mine), but I can boycott Blizzard as a start.  Not that I was overly involved with them in the first place.

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On 10/11/2019 at 9:55 AM, Shrimperor said:

One big Problem: Everything, including stuff we need in our daily lives, has china involved in some way. Boycott will basically mean living like in the 1950s.

It's like with Climate Poltics: People won't change without a political will to change.

obligatory:

af8.jpg

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On 10/10/2019 at 11:37 AM, Etrurian emperor said:

 I think this is relevant

Afbeeldingsresultaat voor Winnie the pooh blizzard

Amazing, and a little bit of backstory here so that people can fully appreciate what they're looking at:

Image result for winnie the pooh xi jinping

^^^
The entire Winnie the Pooh franchise was banned in China as "anti-government speech," after this image appeared on a website critical of Xi Jinping during the Obama years. 

Winnie the Pooh imagery has since become a symbol of free speech repression in China, and the extremes of just how far the government will go to prevent its people from hearing are saying anything negative about the CCP.

With Pooh Bear himself being code for Xi Jinping.

See also:

   Image result for trey stone matt parker china apology

Edited by Shoblongoo
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3 hours ago, Shoblongoo said:

Amazing, and a little bit of backstory here so that people can fully appreciate what they're looking at:

Image result for winnie the pooh xi jinping

^^^
The entire Winnie the Pooh franchise was banned in China as "anti-government speech," after this image appeared on a website critical of Xi Jinping during the Obama years. 

Winnie the Pooh imagery has since become a symbol of free speech repression in China, and the extremes of just how far the government will go to prevent its people from hearing are saying anything negative about the CCP.

With Pooh Bear himself being code for Xi Jinping.

See also:

   Image result for trey stone matt parker china apology

I really wonder how the author of Winnie the Pooh would feel about this if he knew his character would be used in such a way ninety years after he wrote it.

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