The State of Global Politics Today

[DragonFlames]

The saddest part about today's politics is that everything begins and ends with money. If it's not profitable to them, they won't care. And this includes both the right and left sides of the spectrum.

Disgusting. 

On 10/13/2019 at 3:28 AM, Johann said:

obligatory:

That's the truth right there.

And before I forget: Liberate Hongkong. F*** the Chinese government.

[Shrimperor]

''The market will regulate it''
 

Regulation pending on stuff that will destroy us all. Status: Pending

Any moment now

We can't start just yet

Gotta use all the coal first

Some slave like labour, too!

Our values can give us alot of money if we ingnore them 😄

Edited October 15, 2019 by Shrimperor

[Jotari]

I've recently become convinced that Nuclear power is the obvious magical solution to solve all the global warming problems and the only reason is hasn't seen much larger implementation is because of money, and not, as one might assume, misplaced public fear.

[Shoblongoo]

I really wish this letter were a parody. It is not:



(Erdogan reportedly crumbled it up, threw it in the trash, and had some rather colorful things to say about Trump upon receipt. Then immediately gave the order to proceed with the invasion of Syria)  

Edited October 17, 2019 by Shoblongoo

[Etrurian emperor]

50 minutes ago, Shoblongoo said:

I really wish this letter were a parody. It is not:



(Erdogan reportedly crumbled it up, threw it in the trash, and had some rather colorful things to say about Trump upon receipt. Then immediately gave the order to proceed with the invasion of Syria)  

Sometimes even the joke that is Trump manages to actually be funny. Its amazing that such a letter like this exists. 

[Diffuse]

"Don't be a tough guy. Don't be a fool!"

Trump is the last person who should be saying stuff this. And Erdoğan is one of the last people who would actually listen.

Edited October 17, 2019 by Diffuse

[XRay]

"I will call you later." for some reason sounds kind of funny to me.

The whole thing reads like a text, but it is formated as a formal snail mail, and then it ends with a phone call appointment.

[Jotari]

14 hours ago, Shoblongoo said:

I really wish this letter were a parody. It is not:



(Erdogan reportedly crumbled it up, threw it in the trash, and had some rather colorful things to say about Trump upon receipt. Then immediately gave the order to proceed with the invasion of Syria)  

Man, I kind of want to create a villain who speaks of significant world events and makes threats in such a childish, informal way of speaking. Not that Trump is the villain in this case. I'm completely with him on it.

[XRay]

4 hours ago, Jotari said:

Not that Trump is the villain in this case. 

He might not have attacked and killed the Kurds directly, but he has most certainly left them behind like a backstabbing craven and coward. If that idiot did not withdraw and betray the Kurds, Turkey would not have had the chance to assault the Kurds in Syria in the first place.

[Shrimperor]

7 hours ago, Jotari said:

Not that Trump is the villain in this case.

if you don't think Trump is a villain in this case (or in almost any case), then you're a villain like him. 
Might be too black & white for some, but there's no grey here. Orange Cheeto's actions directly lead to the death & suffering of alot of people, civilians included.

Edited October 18, 2019 by Shrimperor

[Jingle Jangle]

Geez, two senators and several Congressmen writing a letter to Blizzard. Video games are serious business.

[Jotari]

12 hours ago, Shrimperor said:

if you don't think Trump is a villain in this case (or in almost any case), then you're a villain like him. 
Might be too black & white for some, but there's no grey here. Orange Cheeto's actions directly lead to the death & suffering of alot of people, civilians included.

Calm down there buddy. Such ana extremest view of the world will only lead to problems.

[Interdimensional Observer]

26 minutes ago, Jotari said:

Calm down there buddy. Such ana extremest view of the world will only lead to problems.

Do you miss the point though? Trump wrote the letter to defuse a situation, you're right in that, literally on paper, it sounds nice.

BUT! The terrible situation was entirely preventable, and came about solely because of Trump's old grumpy man isolationism. Had he not done that, the US presence and Turkey's fears of accidentally harming a significant quantity of US troops, would have absolutely deterred Turkey from attacking the Kurds. What other reasons could there be that Turkey didn't attack sooner?

 

As for Hong Kong, I can only offer my powerless sympathies. And recall Chopin's masterpiece:

Spoiler

Etude Op. 10, No. 12. "Revolution/the Revolutionary Etude"

Written as an uprising in Warsaw against Russian control of Chopin's native Poland was being decisively crushed.

 

The dire fragility of political protest, perfectly encapsulated in the piano.

I'm just surprised things haven't already reached a 1956 Hungary conclusion- albeit without the momentary and failed change in leadership. But, the memory Tiananmen Square I guess is playing a role in keeping the Chinese government from pushing too hard and too fast.

[Jotari]

1 hour ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Do you miss the point though? Trump wrote the letter to defuse a situation, you're right in that, literally on paper, it sounds nice.

BUT! The terrible situation was entirely preventable, and came about solely because of Trump's old grumpy man isolationism. Had he not done that, the US presence and Turkey's fears of accidentally harming a significant quantity of US troops, would have absolutely deterred Turkey from attacking the Kurds. What other reasons could there be that Turkey didn't attack sooner?

 

As for Hong Kong, I can only offer my powerless sympathies. And recall Chopin's masterpiece:

  Reveal hidden contents

Etude Op. 10, No. 12. "Revolution/the Revolutionary Etude"

Written as an uprising in Warsaw against Russian control of Chopin's native Poland was being decisively crushed.

 

The dire fragility of political protest, perfectly encapsulated in the piano.

I'm just surprised things haven't already reached a 1956 Hungary conclusion- albeit without the momentary and failed change in leadership. But, the memory Tiananmen Square I guess is playing a role in keeping the Chinese government from pushing too hard and too fast.

We can discuss this, because I have opinions on the matter and I like talking about such things, but I'm not going to do so against a perspective where I am personally viewed as a villain for my beliefs before I have even fully expressed them.

[Shrimperor]

3 hours ago, Jotari said:

Calm down there buddy. Such ana extremest view of the world will only lead to problems.

What extremist view?

If not wanting people to die because some idiot is an extremist view, then i am an extremist.

 

If you absolutely think it's ok for people to die because of some idiot, i urge you to rethink your life. And i am being nice here.

[DragonFlames]

On 10/15/2019 at 1:34 PM, Shrimperor said:

''The market will regulate it''

Biggest lie ever told.
Right next to "Niemand hat die Absicht, eine Mauer zu bauen!" (No one has the intention of building a wall) *proceeds to build said wall the very next day*, and "We will get rid of Hartz 4" (they didn't) and of course the classic "we won't raise sales tax to 19%" (right before raising it to 19%).

... I knew there is a reason I don't trust anything politicians say.

[eclipse]

3 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

As for Hong Kong, I can only offer my powerless sympathies. And recall Chopin's masterpiece:

  Hide contents

Etude Op. 10, No. 12. "Revolution/the Revolutionary Etude"

Written as an uprising in Warsaw against Russian control of Chopin's native Poland was being decisively crushed.

 

The dire fragility of political protest, perfectly encapsulated in the piano.

 

Next time I play DDR, I'll throw this song in somewhere, chart difficulty be damned.

28 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

What extremist view?

If not wanting people to die because some idiot is an extremist view, then i am an extremist.

 

If you absolutely think it's ok for people to die because of some idiot, i urge you to rethink your life. And i am being nice here.

. . .are you willing to let him explain himself before jumping to this conclusion?  I, for one, am curious as to how he formed his opinion.

[Elephantus]

3 hours ago, DragonFlames said:

Biggest lie ever told.
Right next to "Niemand hat die Absicht, eine Mauer zu bauen!" (No one has the intention of building a wall) *proceeds to build said wall the very next day*, and "We will get rid of Hartz 4" (they didn't) and of course the classic "we won't raise sales tax to 19%" (right before raising it to 19%).

... I knew there is a reason I don't trust anything politicians say.

You can add "we will do something against climate change" to that pile of lies German politicians like to tell.

[Jotari]

Alright, I'll divulge my perspective in the matter. But first I just want to say that in the context of this letter, which I was referring to, Trump is not the villain. You might consider him a villain in the larger context, but Erdogan here is the villain. The one activity embarking on genocide is worse than the one not stopping it (and in the letter Trump is trying to stop it, just not with as much conviction as some people want).

Now regarding the large context at hand, I'm guessing most people's perspective is "The Kurds have been fighting with us for years, we shouldn't abandon them." To which I have no problem. It's a valid opinion, noble and loyal. However my perspective is different. It's the same reason I would have been against the Vietnam war if I was alive at the time, and that's why in the world are US troops in a region on the opposite side of the planet in the first place? I don't at all like the "Team America: World Police" aspect to US foreign policy at all. The west have been meddeling in Africa and the Middle East for far too long. I think a certain measure of Not out problem, let them sort their own shit is required. Instead of inflicting our morals (and by our I mean the west as a whole) using direct physical force. And I feel for the Kurds, I do, as a citizen of a nation that had to bitterly fight for freedom and to this day lacks full control of our country, but I think a different approach is needed. Economics is what actually took down the Soviet Union and ended apartide in South Africa, and I honestly think it can work, or at the very least it's worth a try. We've been circling the drain on these issues and getting nowhere. The Kurds in particular have been fighting this war for over a century and nothing has changed. Marshall force is not working.

I also think it's a world issue and not just the US. Everyone needs to step up and monitor this. The US solely taking control of all conflict in the world is bad for everyone, but we, Europe in particular, are going to be happy to keep on doing it so long as we're not directly threatened. There needs to be a clear and active policy for the emergence of new countries, unlike the free for all we have now where you need to depend on violence to gain defacto control of you nation and even then you're independence will be ignored if it's against the the interests of the USA/China/Russia. Basically, the USA has no business being there in the first place, if the larger world is to try and influence the situation its best done via soft power and it's best done using a coalition like the UN rather than one country independently taking the responsibility upon themselves leaving everyone else to ignore it. I've lost about half this post in the writing and my enter key doesn't work for some reason, but I think that one sentence as my opinion up.

[Life]

Excuse me but I'm old enough to remember that it was a precursor to being part of the American left-wing to be against ALL military intervention in the Middle East.

Why are people now arguing FOR military intervention in the Middle East? Is it because it's Trump doing it rather than someone else? Because that's what it seems like.

[Shrimperor]

4 hours ago, Elephantus said:

You can add "we will do something against climate change" to that pile of lies German politicians like to tell.

''copyrightreform will not lead to upload filters'' another one to the list

3 hours ago, Jotari said:

I think a certain measure of Not out problem, let them sort their own shit is required.

If you caused this shit in the first place, you should atleast make it's a bit stable before leaving it a war infested hell zone.
 

3 hours ago, Jotari said:

The one activity embarking on genocide is worse than the one not stopping it

Trump actively allowed the genocide to happen by taking US troops out. The one who allowed the genocide to happen in the first place is no better than the one who made it.

3 hours ago, Life said:

Excuse me but I'm old enough to remember that it was a precursor to being part of the American left-wing to be against ALL military intervention in the Middle East.

Execuse me, but:

1. i am not American

2. Context matters.

Maybe if America didn't distabilize the Area in the first place you wouldn't be getting shit for not deploying troops.

 

Also, from the point of view of a non-american, American policies pretty much go from extreme right (GOP) to centre-right (Dem). There's barely a left wing to speak off.

[Tryhard]

4 hours ago, Life said:

Excuse me but I'm old enough to remember that it was a precursor to being part of the American left-wing to be against ALL military intervention in the Middle East.

Why are people now arguing FOR military intervention in the Middle East? Is it because it's Trump doing it rather than someone else? Because that's what it seems like.

The simplest way to describe this would be that the people you see in the media and the mainstream Democrats generally do not advocate for left-wing causes. The media especially promoted the idea of the war on terror, Iraq, Afghanistan and all of the interventions by Obama. They are not anti-war or anti-intervention, they are anti-Trump like you said. I would also not consider them left-wing because they rarely advocate for policies such as universal healthcare or tax-funded higher education, etc. In fact if you look at the media representation of these ideas, it is usually derogatory or negative.

I'm not opposed to the use of military force in order to prevent genocides. However, this has not been the usage of military force for the west in generally any conflict.

Like I said, I don't believe the US should be in Syria to begin with, but I don't really see the problem with left-wing voices showing their concern for the wellbeing of the Kurds considering the Turkish government's past and the genocide of the Armenians.

Noam Chomsky is, for example, left-wing and an outspoken anti-interventionist who would still consider the protection of the Kurds to be a net benefit.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/12/syria-kurds/578956/

If this was being done for anti-war efforts on the part of Trump, he would have evacuated all troops from Syria instead of just from the northern region that Turkey is interested in.

Edited October 19, 2019 by Tryhard

[DragonFlames]

6 hours ago, Elephantus said:

You can add "we will do something against climate change" to that pile of lies German politicians like to tell.

 

2 hours ago, Shrimperor said:

''copyrightreform will not lead to upload filters'' another one to the list

Is it a wonder people are so sick and tired of this crap they don't even go to vote anymore? Or that people doubt their every word and see only lies and deceit in each and every single one of them?
I'd say the answer is a big, fat no.

Speaking of, I think this is exactly the reason why people are radicalizing themselves these days: they feel abandoned by their government because they don't hold to a single promise they made and make politics that actively goes against the common folk. The way I see it, radical groups are always a direct result of a failed government/politics. Think Weimar Republic for a historic precedent to what's going on today.

[Dr. Tarrasque]

5 hours ago, Life said:

Excuse me but I'm old enough to remember that it was a precursor to being part of the American left-wing to be against ALL military intervention in the Middle East.

Why are people now arguing FOR military intervention in the Middle East? Is it because it's Trump doing it rather than someone else? Because that's what it seems like.

 

In cases where Trump has talked about withdrawing troops from Syria, he actually has received some credit from the left-wing that has opposed those wars while the right-wing, including his "good friend" Lindsey Graham immediately lashed out at him. The problem always came with how handles important decisions like this: It's done on a fucking whim with the assumption people will just do as he says and he doesn't have to own it because others will take the fall (as described by his old "fixer", Michael Cohen). Staff members, generals, people whose job it is to advise him on matters of national security are often (if not always) caught off guard by decisions like this.

And no, news media in the US isn't as simple as 

CNN, CBS, MSNBC = Left-wing media

Fox News = Right-wing media

The ones listed as "Left-wing" here aren't actually left-wing. For the most part they will report things accurately but they have a bias FOR the status quo and that status quo is essentially to keep things as they are for the rich and reject Trump because he's an idiot that says the quiet parts out loud, a fraud who isn't as rich as he claims to be and is bad for business and yes, they're also super salty about him winning the 2016 election and believe it's entirely because of Russian interference. Also reject Bernie.

Fox News is straight up right-wing media with the factual reporting having programs during the day as well as their fallback plan for when the Trump train crashes so they can say "We do factual reporting" while their most popular personalities being "opinion" programming consisting of a Trump cock-sucking conspiracy nut (Sean Hannity), a white nationalist cocktease (Tucker Carlson) and the crazy bitch trying too hard to be extreme but always walks it back when demanded to by the network (Laura Ingraham). The non-opinion pundits will criticize Trump when he's engaging in extreme or criminal behavior despite the fact that they're in a network with the directive to be Pro-Trump.

Anyway, for this particular case, it boils down to what Tryhard said here:

Quote

If this was being done for anti-war efforts on the part of Trump, he would have evacuated all troops from Syria instead of just from the northern region that Turkey is interested in.

Trump has business interests in Turkey. Hillary literally warned the country about this back in 2016.

What the man is accomplishing right now with this fiasco is just validating those who want to see him dead, myself included.

Edited October 19, 2019 by Dr. Tarrasque

[Etrurian emperor]

On 10/18/2019 at 7:10 AM, Jotari said:

Man, I kind of want to create a villain who speaks of significant world events and makes threats in such a childish, informal way of speaking. Not that Trump is the villain in this case. I'm completely with him on it.

Eeeh I'd say he's pretty much the villain in this tale. Erdogan might be more malicious but Trump knows Erdogan wishes to purge the people that fought ISIS for him and his response was to just cheerfully let it happen because he decided to be incompetent that day. Then later to downplay his bumbling he starts demonizing his victims as worse than ISIS which incidentally is also how Erdogan justifies his wish to purge them. 

If Erdogan wants to do harm and Trump lets him do it purely because he can't be bothered to stop it then he's just as culpable. Even worse if a certain tower in Turkey turns out to be Trumps motive for this.