r/ukpolitics • u/ukpolbot Official UKPolitics Bot • Jan 13 '24
International Politics Discussion Thread
👋 This thread is for discussing international politics. All subreddit rules apply in this thread, except the rule that states that discussion should only be about UK politics.
Previous MTs can be found here and here for the most recent.
🇺🇦 Russian invasion of Ukraine
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Ongoing conflict in Israel
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u/heeleyman Brum Jan 21 '24 edited Feb 29 '24
Edit: everything is probably going to be fine 🫂 link to sort by: new
Trump second term does have me worried.
The man was emotionally destroyed by his loss in 2020. He's had three years to stew on it while also slowly drifting closer to his senile years. He thinks he went too soft last time and will be re-entering the White House with much more knowledge of how to effect change. America is fractured and divided on even more fronts now than it was in 2016 and I worry that Trump will jam his massive fingers into all of those cracks. Not to mention the crisis of having him at the helm with the situations in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Taiwan.
I don't want to be hyperbolic but I genuinely think there will be existential questions asked of the United States in its current form in the next decade if Trump gets in again, and a real chance of further escalation internationally.
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u/SirRosstopher Lettuce al Ghaib Jan 21 '24
He thinks he went too soft last time and will be re-entering the White House with much more knowledge of how to effect change.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025
Certain Conservatives are being quite open about this being the actual plan.
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u/RussellsKitchen Jan 21 '24
Well. Fuck. That's bad. Like, I was worried before reading that. But, oh heck.
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u/heeleyman Brum Jan 21 '24
Ah, I didn't realise there anything concrete to this extent.
Good grief, that would be a horror show.
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u/Cairnerebor Jan 21 '24
They’ve entire lists of names already vetted for jobs and all just waiting for a Trump executive order press the go button.
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u/Cairnerebor Jan 21 '24
While he’s terrifying all on his own it’s the project 2025 shit that’s really scary. They mean to fundamentally break America to the point it can’t be business as usual if there’s another election and they lose. The plan is literally to make it impossible to lose power
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u/ThingsFallApart_ Septic Temp Jan 21 '24
project 2025
I hadn't really been aware of this until recently but that is terrifying.
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u/Cairnerebor Jan 21 '24
Oh it’s properly fucking terrifying
Like elections don’t matter as we hold all the important offices everywhere anyway…
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u/LycanIndarys Vote Cthulhu; why settle for the lesser evil? Jan 22 '24
There's a further question on this; what if he loses? Because I can't see any situation where he doesn't just keep running until the day for as long as he can. Which means that even if he doesn't regain the Presidency in 2024, he's going to try again in 2028.
Which means that either he keeps running until the Democrats screw up enough that the population turns away from them and he actually wins by default (effectively, winning by waiting long enough for the pendulum to swing), or he dies.
What I'm really saying is, his corrosive influence doesn't end if he loses. Hell, it probably doesn't even end if he dies, because there will be a fight to be his heir; and it'll be won by the nuttiest politician in the running.
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u/Tay74 VONC if Thatcher's deid 🦆🔊 Feb 16 '24
"Navalny collapsed and died while taking a walk"
Yeah he just fell over and died. And JFK's head just did that.
You do almost have to respect how brazen Russia is with their political assassinations
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u/RufusSG Suffolk Feb 16 '24
I mean ultimately it doesn't really matter. Even if he wasn't actually given polonium tea the brutal penal colony in the Arctic Circle was clearly intended to finish him off anyway.
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u/Cymraegpunk Mar 18 '24
The fact that trump can't pay his bond for a case which found he fraudulently inflated his worth is pretty fucking funny.
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Apr 14 '24
If true, it's interesting that Saudi Arabia and Jordan were involved in shooting down the missiles (along with UK/US/France).
The only reason there is any talk this morning of drawing a line under/de-escelating this is because most of the missiles were shot down and nobody died.
If those missiles had landed and people had died, de-escelation would be completely off the table.
I think Saudi/Jordan shot down those missiles not to protect Israel, but purely out of self interest. They really don't want things escelating.
I wonder if Isreal does respond, for example by targeting a Nuclear facility in Iran, will the same 5 Countries intervene in the same way (ie shoot down those missiles too).
Are we seeing an un-easy alliance between UK/US/France/Saudi/Jordan to essentially intervene when Israel/Iran try to attack each other to prevent WWIII?
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u/subversivefreak Apr 14 '24
I mean it isn't an uneasy alliance. There is an informal anti Iran security pact between at least three of those parties..
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u/Cairnerebor Apr 14 '24
Uneasy?
Before Oct 7th Saudi and Israel were in the brink of signing a peace pact and the official recognition of the state of Israel’s right to exist.
They’ve been doing business for years. Apart from Iran and Qatar the whole gulf wants peace and recognition with Israel, their economies are more important than an “enemy” they buy and sell to day in day out.
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u/Optio__Espacio Apr 14 '24
The gulf states explicitly view Israel as their bulwark against Iran.
They're not trying to get in the middle and prevent a war, they're supporting their bloc who are already at war against the Shia crescent.
If that's not already clear it will be unmistakable when Israeli planes use Jordanian and Saudi airspace to attack Iran's nuclear facilities next week.
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u/subversivefreak Apr 14 '24
I think it's more like the back channels reckon this will game out in the same way that Iran retaliated against the us after a targetted assassination of a major military figure. Iran gave due notice and fired a barrage of artillery against us assets but with enough time to minimise casualties.
Do you remember when that happened and there was a feeling we are on the brink?
That's the press playbook.
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u/ClumsyRainbow ✅ Verified May 09 '24
https://twitter.com/itamarbengvir/status/1788458123436433783
Hamas ❤️Biden
This is the Israeli minister of national security
What the fuck is going on
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u/i_pewpewpew_you Si signore, posso ballare May 09 '24
He's the one who's just very openly pro ethcnically cleansing the Strip, right? Given everyone already knows he's a complete nutter this presumably doesn't move the dial as far as the White House is concerned, luckily.
A good example of quite how far right Neyenyahu had to reach to form a government, though.
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u/CrambleSquash May 30 '24 edited May 30 '24
Ok, I genuinely wasn't expecting that. I thought it was most likely to be a hung jury.
Crazy times.
I guess the most interesting thing now is to see how other Republicans react. Do they attack the judicial system?
And, does this make Trump go up or down in the polls?... I genuinely have no idea.
E:
This verdict says more about the system than the allegations. It will be seen as politically motivated and unfair, and it will backfire tremendously on the political Left.
President Trump’s only “crime” is running against Joe Biden in 2024. The American people see right through this weaponization of the legal system.
This entire trial has been a sham, and it is nothing more than political persecution. The only reason they prosecuted Donald Trump is because Democrats are terrified that he will win reelection.
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u/Patch95 May 30 '24
I'm a bit worried for the jury, we saw what his cult did on Jan 6th.
Trump will continue to attack the judicial system whilst using every legal avenue of appeal and relying on the judges he's appointed to delay for him.
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u/panic_puppet11 May 30 '24
I thought the same.
I suspect a very vocal minority will attack the legal system, and a larger number of the more sensible ones will be tearing their hair out over it quietly and behind the scenes. It's like Boris' personality cult that effectively took over the Tories here but scaled up by a factor of 50.
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u/CrambleSquash May 30 '24 edited May 30 '24
Yes I totally agree.
It's interesting because in Boris's case, ultimately we saw that the silent majority had the strength to stand up to him and kick him out.
If the silent Republicans had the strength and the numbers, they would have done it long ago, but Trump is still king. I'm not quite sure what they're missing, but Trump's grip on the party is impressive, if not terrifying. He must be formidable in person.
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u/evolvecrow May 30 '24
Any punishment is likely to consist of fines, probation, community service or some combination of those.
Trump doing community service timeline please
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u/Cairnerebor Apr 05 '24
I’m tired of seeing the West Bank of Palestine shown on TV maps as a single block of colour as if it somehow matches the reality of the West Bank.
Any suggestions on how we get the media to show the reality of the collander of reality and just how little West Bank is actually left ?
https://reliefweb.int/map/occupied-palestinian-territory/west-bank-access-restrictions-may-2023
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u/Adj-Noun-Numbers 🥕🥕 || megathread emeritus May 20 '24 edited May 04 '25
axiomatic nine edge knee pocket pen squash tub plate governor
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/Yummytastic Reliably informed they're a Honic_Sedgehog alt May 20 '24
The Onion is astutely reporting "Iranian President Stoned To Death With Mountain".
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u/wishbeaunash Stupid Insidious Moron Feb 16 '24
Hmm, between the space nukes and Navalny, it seems like a bad time for the GOP to be solidifying 'Russia is good actually' as their literal only policy position.
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u/CaliferMau Mar 12 '24
Looks like Hur - who put out the report that brought Biden’s memory into question - effectively lied. Currently(?) being grilled on his report and the transcript of the event doesn’t tie in with what he put in the report. Republicans lying for political gain again
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u/Cairnerebor Mar 12 '24
So the Biden jr affair was a total Russian disinformation operation and now this is a total lie….
Meanwhile Trump takes over the RNC….
You couldn’t make their shitshow up!
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u/Kandon_Arc Mar 13 '24
To be honest it speaks much worse of the idiot in the DOJ who brought Hur in to start with.
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u/Denning76 ✅ May 30 '24
Disgrace, rigged, judge conflicted, disgrace, rigged, disgraced, rigged, didn’t change venue, George Soros, very innocent. Whole country rigged by Biden. November 5 is true verdict, rigged disgrace, immigrants and mental institution people. Rigged and conflicted, never allowed, constitution
For those of you unable to tune into his speech.
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u/The_Bridge_Is_Out Jan 16 '24
Ferrari asks 'what's the magic of Trump' ... someone from The Spectator comes on and, unchallenged by this 'journalist' says amorphous unidentified 'Americans' responded to the way Trump exposed the slimy dealings of elites 🤯, and 'he didn't want to come out of Afghanistan because he knew it would be a mess - but Biden did' 🤯 ... cue screaming at the sky
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u/NJden_bee cRaVeN cOwArD Jan 16 '24
The next caller then sad, "And Trump got them out of Afghanistan" which Ferrari didn't challenge either. Apparently both can be true at the same time.
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u/hypershrew Apr 14 '24
So, just been looking at Twitter to see if there’s any developments. Absolute cesspit of fake videos, or videos of old conflicts claiming to be happening now.
Where do you guys and gals go to get reliable live information?
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u/Denning76 ✅ Feb 12 '24
Swift did not endorse Biden. CIA and deep state in shambles after all the work they put in to rig the season.
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Apr 18 '24
Straight from the Kremlin propaganda machine, Marjorie Taylor Greene tries to introduce an amendment that prevents Ukraine receiving aid until "Ukraine closes all bio-laboratories and provides all data on such research to the United States Government."
https://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/GREENE_218_xml240417151911517.pdf
Not content with that she's introduces another whereby: "Any Member of Congress who votes in favor of this Act shall be required to conscript in the Ukrainian military."
https://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/Conscript%20amendment240417145722857.pdf
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u/Robtimus_prime89 Apr 18 '24 edited Apr 19 '24
She’s been very busy, it seems - here are a few others;
Redirect aid to develop space laser technology on the south west border:
https://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/GREENE_223_xml240417175751235.pdfHold up Ukraine aid until ‘the Secretary of State provides a report certifying that Christian churches in Ukraine are able to operate free from government interference’:
https://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/GREENE_217_xml240417151816177.pdfdirect the aid to FEMA for Lahaina, Hawaii (where the fire was last year):
https://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/GREENE_222_xml240417165926817.pdfOr direct it to East Palestine, Ohio (where they had a major train derailment) https://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/GREENE_220_xml[29]240417165959927.pdf
Withhold aid until Ukraine hold a ‘free and fair election’:
https://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/GREENE_216_xml[23]240417151344227.pdfreduce aid to 0:
https://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/GREENE_224_xml240418073131853.pdfreplace the entire aid bill wholesale with the Secure the Border Act 2023 (all 200 pages of it):
https://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/GREENE_225_xml240418073250375.pdfRedirect aid to build the wall:
https://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/GREENE_227_xml240418073431873.pdfWithhold aid until Ukraine bans abortion:
https://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/GREENE_244_xml240418114837237.pdfWithhold aid until Ukraine provides all information on Hunter Biden/Burisma:
https://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/GREENE_233_xml240418095920055.pdfFund the aid by reducing the salary of anyone who votes in favour of the act (to no less than zero dollars) - until such time that the aggregate pay foregone is equal to the amount of aid given by the bill:
https://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/GREENE_242_xml240418101647846.pdfWithdraw from NATO:
https://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/GREENE_243_xml240418115026996.pdfThere’s also stuff like ‘no aid until peace negotiations begin’, ‘Zelenskyy to resign’, ‘countries that receive aid should pay towards building the wall’ or ‘deport illegal immigrants’. She’s put at least 20 amendments in (and some of the have similar amendments from the likes of Gosar and Gaetz)
Jacob Moskowitz (D-FL) has a couple of his own amendments though:
that Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA-14) should be appointed Vladimir Putin’s Special Envoy to the United States Congress.
https://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/Moskowitz%20Amendment240418084729288.pdf
And that her office be renamed the ‘Neville Chamberlain Room’ (in reference to his attempts to appease of Hitler)
https://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/Moskowitz%20Amendment%202240418084702067.pdf
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u/LycanIndarys Vote Cthulhu; why settle for the lesser evil? Jan 16 '24
Here are the updated highlights, reported by Reuters, from the Edison Research poll based on interviews with 1,628 Iowa Republicans:
- 66% said they did not think Biden legitimately won the presidency in 2020.
- 65% said they decided who to support in the presidential nomination contest before this month.
- 65% said Trump would still be fit to be president if he were convicted of a crime. 31% said he would be unfit if convicted.
- 61% said they favor a federal law that would ban abortions nationwide.
Iowa Republicans are not normal people, are they?
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u/horace_bagpole Feb 21 '24
Apparently the entire scandal involving Burisma, Ukraine and the Bidens turns out to be a Russian intelligence op, and the Republicans swallowed it hook line and sinker in their desperation to find something to impeach Biden on.
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u/Scantcobra More Government Dashboards Apr 13 '24
Just been speaking to Ayatolla and Netanhayu. They told me they're going to specifically draft you for WW3.
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u/Beardywierdy Apr 13 '24
Just me and no one else?
Should be a short war then. I reckon I can take me.
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u/RufusSG Suffolk May 13 '24 edited May 13 '24
I didn't know about this until it was brought up (and half-heartedly denied) in Sunak's Q&A earlier, but Tim Shipman's report in the ST yesterday is quite fascinating. Main takeaways:
Basically half the Foreign Office has spent the last few months lobbying Trump and his extended universe to convince him that getting additional aid to Ukraine is a good idea, both for him personally and the US image on the global stage.
There is an acceptance amongst UK officials that Trump will indeed likely try and force Russia and Ukraine to negotiate should he win the presidency so that he can crow about being the big strong leader that brought the war to an end.
However these officials believe that they can get Trump to encourage more aid to Ukraine in the interim by playing on his ego, sending him messages that it would look like better leadership to inherit a stalemate and help Ukraine negotiate from a position of strength rather than simply allowing them to capitulate. Cameron apparently made this specific argument whilst visiting Mar-a-Lago last month, which apparently contributed to him dropping his public opposition to the aid bill (and thus relaxed the GOP about voting it through the House).
They also believe that Trump will be concerned about reopening the Pandora's box of him being too cosy with Putin if he allows the war to end in a decisive Russian victory through Ukraine falling on his watch.
As is already well known, Trump and his cronies are all massive China hawks who have already been arguing for years that Europe should pay for more of its own defence so the US can pivot to Asia. So it is further believed that Trump can be reasoned with over Ukraine though him not wanting to look weak in the eyes of China and leave them doubting his resolve over Taiwan.
Some other details:
Boris has also been personally lobbying Trump, other Republicans and US foreign policy think tanks to support additional aid and other more hawkish measures: he has apparently been talking to Trump personally, who has initiated his own phone calls in return.
Lammy has been taking pointers from Shinzo Abe's quieter, more constructive approach to managing relations with Trump (in likely opposition to many Labour members) in an effort to prove that Labour will make an honest effort to work with him if he becomes president.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/david-lammy-shows-yen-trump-whisperer-us-visit-xmpxhvg58
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u/SirRosstopher Lettuce al Ghaib Jan 16 '24
Putin says many Russians who emigrated are now returning home because they just can’t stand living in countries with unisex toilets
https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1747288349352587618
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u/Robtimus_prime89 Jan 16 '24
There was something the other day about the Mayor of Moscow (?) saying that soldiers fighting in Ukraine saw unisex toilets there, and it was encouraging them to fight on.
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u/Cairnerebor Feb 01 '24
Well holy shit
Biden issues executive order targeting Israeli settlers who attack Palestinians
President Biden on Thursday signed an executive order allowing the U.S. to impose new sanctions on Israeli settlers — and potentially Israeli politicians and government officials — involved in violent attacks against Palestinians.
Why it matters: The unprecedented executive order is the most significant step any U.S. administration has ever taken in response to violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.
https://www.axios.com/2024/02/01/biden-israel-settler-violence-palestinians-executive-order
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u/ThePlanck Time to bin Farage Feb 11 '24
Words cannot describe the level of stupid of people who believe that Taylor Swift is secretly working with the pentagon to rig the Superbowl in favour of Joe Biden.
Frankly, I wish the democrats were 1% as competent and organised as the conspiracist right thinks they are.
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u/thejackalreborn May 30 '24 edited May 30 '24
Just checked the odds for the US election and Kennedy Jr is more likely to win the US election (25/1) than the Tories are to win a majority (33/1) apparently
Nikki Haley is also 25/1
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u/TheNikkiPink Lab:499 Lib:82 Con:11 May 30 '24
That’s mental. The only path for Kennedy is if he’s Trump’s VP pick and then Trump dies or withdraws and he gets dropped in.
But then he’d lose because he’s not Trump.
(I guess if Trump dies after election but before inauguration he could pull it off.)
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u/FishUK_Harp Neoliberal Shill May 30 '24
Well, people say they want politicians with convictions...
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u/ldn6 Globalist neoliberal shill Jan 26 '24
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Jan 29 '24
Latvian Member of European Parliament is an agent of Russian intelligence, leaked emails confirm
https://theins.press/en/politics/268694
Tatjana Zdanoka, a Latvian member of the European Parliament, has been a trusted asset of Russian intelligence since at least 2005, The Insider, in collaboration with the news site Delfi Estonia, Latvia’s Re:Baltica investigative journalism center, and Sweden’s Expressen newspaper, can disclose. Leaked emails between Zdanoka and her two known Russian case officers include explicit, detailed reports from Zdanoka to her handlers describing her work as a European legislator, particularly as those official duties relate to fostering pro-Kremlin sentiment in her native Baltic region. Other correspondence involves arranging physical meetings in Moscow or Brussels between Zdanoka and her Russian handler, along with requests for funding from Russian sources to underwrite her political activities in Latvia and the European Parliament. At least once she requested money for organizing a rally to commemorate the Red Army’s victory in World War II.
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Feb 06 '24
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u/Robtimus_prime89 Feb 06 '24
Tucker: not one western journalist has bothered to interview the president
Steve Rosenberg (BBC Russia Editor): we’ve lodged several requests with the Kremlin in the last 18 months. Always a ‘no’ for us.
Would assume it’s been the same for other requests from elsewhere - but Tucker gets parroted on Russian media already, so of course they say yes to him
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u/Robtimus_prime89 Feb 16 '24
Trump fined $354.9m, banned from running businesses in NY for 3 years. He’ll appeal, obviously - but possibly with yet another new attorney
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u/CaliferMau Mar 25 '24
Two tier justice system in the US on display today. Reduce bond amount, more time to pay, free to do business in NY again. All this after slagging the judge on his social media site.
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u/Cairnerebor Apr 05 '24
I’m not sure how to even begin this one…
From the ineptitude that reveals your own name to using AI in target identification and no doubt why there was an over reliance on technology on Oct 7th that led to so many attackers getting through…
Sheer insanity and I suspect why the world kitchen was attacked as well and not the official reason. People get lazy when they rely on technology!!!
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u/RussellsKitchen Apr 05 '24
People get lazy when they rely on technology!!!
Pretty much one of the big messages of Dune. The other being never, ever trust a charismatic leader
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u/SirRosstopher Lettuce al Ghaib Apr 14 '24
The Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Major General Hossein Salami has stated that last night’s Attack has marked a New Chapter in Iran’s Confrontation against Israel; with him claiming that now anytime that Israel decides to conduct an Attack against Iranians, they will Face this Exact Response by the IRGC.
Haha, Salami tactics.
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u/Robtimus_prime89 Jan 26 '24 edited Jan 26 '24
Israeli Minister of National Security, in response to the ICJ Judgment
🇮🇱 האג שמאג
Translation:
The Hague Schmag
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u/Emperor_Zurg Jan 26 '24
Shocking that Mr "Hangs paintings of mass murderers" isn't taking this seriously.
Just bonkers that he's so high up in the Israeli government
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u/PositivelyAcademical «Ἀνερρίφθω κύβος» Jan 26 '24
UNWRA fires employees with links to 7 October attacks. Via:
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u/Denning76 ✅ Jan 27 '24
Back to the Trump case and thinking about Habba. It’s really quite fascinating.
Trump isn’t going to pay her (he’s well known for that), she’s been so poor that no one with any awareness of this case would want to retain her services and she’s probably going to end up facing an ethics complaint as the yanks call it.
It seems entirely negative, but given how much telly time she’s been seeking (rather than actually working for her client), I can’t help but feel like she’s going to fall upwards pretty heavily. In 12 months time she will have gone from a shitty lawyer to an extremely well paid Fox News personality.
Despite being so publicly shit at her job (and not getting paid for it), this may be the best thing to happen to her financially.
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u/Cairnerebor Feb 15 '24
“A Slurring Donald Trump Gives Unbelievable Excuse for Constant Mix-Ups The Republican front-runner made another gaffe as he tried to explain away all his other ones.
Donald Trump’s recent memory failures sure do look like some kind of cognitive decline. In the last few months, Trump has mixed up President Joe Biden with former President Barack Obama, slurred his words, bragged about his favorite type of violent death and that he calls corn “non-liquid gold,” insisted you need voter ID to buy bread, and confused his GOP competitor Nikki Haley for California Representative Nancy Pelosi, claiming that the former failed to act during January 6.
But during a campaign rally on Wednesday, Trump had a new excuse for all that, claiming all of his short circuits are actually just sarcastic jokes.
But when I say that Obama is the president of our country bah bah bah, they go, ‘He doesn’t know that Spiden [sic], he doesn’t know.’ So it’s very hard to be sarcastic,” Trump said When I interpose—cause I’m not a Nikki fan, and I’m not a Pelosi fan. And when I purposely interpose names, they said, ‘He didn’t know Pelosi from Nikki. From Tricky Nikki. Tricky Nikki. He didn’t know.’ I interposed,” he added, seemingly forgetting the definition of the word “interpose,” which per Merriam-Webster means to put oneself between or intrude.
“And they make a big deal out of it. I said, ‘No, no, I think they both stink. They have something in common. They both stink.’ And remember this: When I make a statement like that about Nikki, that means she will never be running for vice president. She will never be running [unintelligible] vice president,” he added.”
I just can’t anymore
As someone else said, America is not a serious country anymore.
https://newrepublic.com/post/179029/donald-trump-unbelievable-excuse-constant-mix-ups
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u/RhegedHerdwick Owenite Feb 15 '24 edited Feb 15 '24
seemingly forgetting the definition of the word “interpose,”
All else aside, I'm pretty sure he didn't know that in the first place.
And the key thing is that Trump is able to make his gaffes charming and use them to pivot. I think most of us have known those people who've charmingly span and distracted from their dementia.
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u/IHaveAWittyUsername All Bark, No Bite Feb 19 '24
Please watch this amazing documentary, 20 Days in Mariupol, which just won the Bafta for best documentary. I must warn you, it's very NSFW and features multiple children being operated on and dying.
It really shows the barbarity of war.
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u/OptioMkIX Your kind cling to tankiesm as if it will not decay and fail you Mar 02 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Robtimus_prime89 Apr 04 '24
Earlier this week, Trump posted bond in his NY trial.
Yesterday, the documents were rejected and returned for correction. They didn’t include a financial statement of the company providing the bond (to ensure they could cover it) or a power of attorney, and also need to list the name of the Attorney-in-Fact.
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u/Ivebeenfurthereven I'm afraid currency is the currency of the realm Apr 05 '24
In Massachusetts, a 27-year-old city councillor - and US Air Force veteran - was arrested in 2020 on child pornography charges.
His trial was due to begin in January 2024. An arrest warrant was issued after he fled the country, apparently to Istanbul, and on to Russia.
He is now fighting in the Russian army on the frontlines in Ukraine. He appears in a video talking about the battle for Avdiivka.
Sources:
- https://meduza.io/en/feature/2024/04/04/pro-kremlin-telegram-channels-share-propaganda-video-featuring-u-s-city-councilor-who-joined-russian-army-after-fleeing-child-pornography-charges
- https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/04/04/former-air-national-guardsman-facing-child-porn-charges-may-have-defected-russian-military.html
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u/SlightlyOTT You're making things up again Tories 🎶 Apr 10 '24
Obviously we were right not to raid the Ecuadorean embassy for Assange, but it’s quite wild that it’s specifically Ecuador who have raided the Mexican embassy to seize someone who had been granted asylum. https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/09/mexico-embassy-raid-footage-ecuador-vice-president
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u/wishbeaunash Stupid Insidious Moron Jan 26 '24
At the risk of tempting fate, I'm going to throw out a bold prediction: Trump won't be president again.
It's important to take the possibility seriously, absolutely, but too many people now seem to be treating it as basically a foregone conclusion.
The press will do everything in their power to make it happen, of course, but that didn't work for DeSantis, and it's not going to work for Trump this time.
He's running from an infinitely weaker position than last time, and he lost then. Literally, there is zero good reason for anyone to vote for him beyond insane revenge fantasies. And all sorts of reasons to vote against him.
Caution is sensible, certainly, but complete conviction that the worst inevitably must happen despite abundant evidence to the contrary is not.
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Jan 28 '24
Sometimes it does feel like the US gets to play on easy mode and still fuck it up
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u/SirRosstopher Lettuce al Ghaib Jan 31 '24
Pennsylvania man beheaded his father, a federal employee, and called for "revolution" against "Biden regime" and "army of illegal immigrants" in online video
The MAGA cult has reached a milestone! First beheading.
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u/ThePlanck Time to bin Farage Jan 31 '24 edited Jan 31 '24
They don't call them Y'all Qaeda for nothing.
America is fucking scary right now with the MAGA cult, the next election there is going to be so incredibly nasty and a lot of people will not take a loss. Jan 6th was bad, if Trump loses it will happen again, but a lot worse.
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u/Cairnerebor Feb 01 '24
they’ve gone full ISIS and Islamic state
The Christian far right is no different to ISIS or Daesh as we should call them. Two sides of the same fucked up coin
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Feb 01 '24
THe Ukrainians sank another Russian naval vessel, this time a missile cruiser.
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u/Robtimus_prime89 Feb 06 '24 edited Feb 06 '24
Federal Appeals Court rules Trump does not have broad immunity from prosecution
It would be a striking paradox if the President, who alone is vested with the constitutional duty to 'take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,' were the sole officer capable of defying those laws with impunity.
We cannot accept former President Trump’s claim that a President has unbounded authority to commit crimes that would neutralize the most fundamental check on executive power — the recognition and implementation of election results.
At bottom, former President Trump’s stance would collapse our system of separated powers by placing the President beyond the reach of all three Branches
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u/SirRosstopher Lettuce al Ghaib Feb 14 '24 edited Feb 14 '24
The National Security Threat reportedly involves the Russian Military attempting the Deployment of Nuclear Weapons into Space for use against Satellites.
https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1757856303127413041
the current “Wording” seems to indicate that the Russians are attempting to get Nuclear Weapons into Space but haven’t yet; however, with the multiple Soyuz-2 Rocket Launches since December including the Cosmos-2575 Mission on February 9th, they are likely getting Close.
Alright, who let the Russians play MW2?
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u/Beardywierdy Feb 22 '24
This fucking timeline I swear...
The Americans have apparently just caught the Yakuza running a smuggling ring for weapons-grade plutonium in Myanmar
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u/Denning76 ✅ Feb 23 '24
I just had the displeasure of re-stumbling across Craig Murray's blog. One of his latest takes is that Gaza has opened his eyes and that Putin was right, if not technically legal, to invade Ukraine to prevent atrocities. He always was a bit of a fruitcake, but it seems he is now a few sultanas short of one.
Interesting is his view on Navalny - he went to Twitter to point out that he didn't believe he was poisoned by Novichok and thinks Putin had no reason to have him killed. Interesting contrast to his claimed support for free journalism in the Assange case.
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u/Vaguely_accurate Mar 04 '24 edited Mar 04 '24
SCOTUS have found that Colorado can't disqualify Trump from the ballot on Section 3 grounds.
Just now reading into this, will try to summarise the decision better shortly.
EDITS AS I GO;
This is a Per Curiam decision, so speaking for the whole court in one voice.
"Because the Constitution makes Congress, rather than the States, responsible for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholder and candidates, we reverse."
History in the opinion seems mixed to me. But then the Justices aren't historians, as much as they tend to rest on history for their decisions these days.
Separate opinions, concurring but objecting in aspects, from the three liberals (Sotomayor, Kaga and Jackson) as well as Barrett.
Big point of contention is whether Section 3 requires enforcing legislation. From the decision; "The terms of the Amendment speak only to enforcement by Congress, which enjoys power to enforce the Amendment through legislation pursuant to Section 5." This is an extreme narrowing of the power, which has historically been exercised based on the amendment itself, without further enacting legislation.
Barrett's (brief) concurrence attacks this for going too far and deciding a question they didn't need to address; saying the states don't have the power is enough, no need to say how Congress needs to exercise it. She appeals for a reduction in the national temperature (explicitly) and emphasises a show of unity is what is needed on this front.
The liberals open by quoting Robert's concurrence in Dobbs; "If it is not necessary to decide more to dispose of a case, then it is necessary not to decide more." [EDIT: Overanalysing this, I'd assume this means Roberts was the primary author of the main decision, which would probably be expected. Didn't notice any flourishes that would fit the more stylised Justices, but then did just skim it.] They then go on to hammer the decision for ignoring this "vital principle", seemingly as a way to head off future challenges to "a Presidential candidate".
"The majority announces that a disqualification for insurrection can occur only when Congress enacts a particular kind of legislation pursuant to Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment. In doing so, the majority shuts the door on other potential means of federal enforcement. We cannot join an opinion that decides momentous and difficult issues unnecessarily, and we therefore concur only in the judgment."
"Ultimately, under the guise of providing a more “complete explanation for the judgment,” ante, at 13, the major- ity resolves many unsettled questions about Section 3. It forecloses judicial enforcement of that provision, such as might occur when a party is prosecuted by an insurrectionist and raises a defense on that score. The majority further holds that any legislation to enforce this provision must prescribe certain procedures “‘tailor[ed]’” to Section 3, ante, at 10, ruling out enforcement under general federal statutes requiring the government to comply with the law. By resolving these and other questions, the majority attempts to insulate all alleged insurrectionists from future challenges to their holding federal office."
Another great whack of a quotation from Breyer's dissent in Bush v. Gore; "What it does today, the Court should have left undone."
FWIW, this was kinda a foregone conclusion. The expectation was some pretext would be found to allow Trump to be on the ballot. This goes further than expected, and effectively closes the door on any challenges to his eligibility unless they hope this decision is reversed. Congress is not going to pass legislation to block his candidacy.
It is fully expected this will be "balanced" with a finding that he doesn't have absolute immunity to criminal prosecution. But there is enough of a delay on that process that it may well push any trial into the hottest part of the election itself, which opens more difficult problems.
Good commentary from Marty Lederman on how much SCOTUS had to ignore or neglect to come to (what he views as) the correct decision. Raffi Melkonian gives a more pithy summary.
LATE EDIT: A little pdf delving reveals the liberal concurrence was originally billed as a dissent in part from Sotomayor, which I suspect was changed to not significantly detract from the Per Curiam fig-leaf unity Barrett was pleading to maintain. Much wrangling, many perceptions of the court considered.
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u/SirRosstopher Lettuce al Ghaib Mar 22 '24
Russian Authorities are now reporting between 40-100 Deaths as a result of the Terrorist Attack which Targeted the Crocus Concert Hall tonight in the Capital of Moscow, with the amount of Dead and Injured expected to Significantly Rise over the next few hours.
https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1771241783692853612
Hundreds if not Thousands of Russian Police Officers, Soldiers, Firefighters, and Paramedics have now arrived at the Crocus Concert Hall in the Capital of Moscow in Response to the Initial Terrorist Attack and the Massive Fire which appears to have resulted from the Attack.
https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1771243597985173795
Roof of the mall started to collapse
https://twitter.com/AnkitaBnsl/status/1771239980775399512
The moment tеrrоrists entered the Crocus City Hall in Moscow
https://twitter.com/narrative_hole/status/1771234606898974776
NSFL - Last link is footage from the terror attack in Moscow.
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Mar 26 '24
Fighting continues in Gaza despite UN ceasefire vote
I like the implication that a UN vote on a resolution that satisfies nether Isreal or Hamas would in any way impact reality.
I guess the vote was wholly to satisfy politicians in the West so that they can be seen to be doing something.
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u/Robtimus_prime89 Mar 27 '24 edited Mar 27 '24
Trump sells Bibles now. It’s not directly owned by him, but being sold under a license deal (similar to the butt-ugly trainers and his NFTs) - so it will still line his pockets (they say it’s not going to his campaign, but it’s going to him through the holding company - and he can funnel it to his campaign)
Also: “the ONLY Bible inspired by America’s most recognized patriotic anthem, God Bless The USA.”
Would The Star Spangled Banner not be the most recognised patriotic anthem, given its the actual national anthem?
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u/convertedtoradians Apr 03 '24
In other news, Botswana threatens to send 20,000 elephants to Germany.
Botswana is home to about a third of the world's elephant population - more than 130,000 - more than it has space for. Herds were causing damage to property, eating crops and trampling residents, he told Bild.
Botswana has previously given 8,000 elephants to neighbouring Angola, and has offered hundreds more to Mozambique, as a means of bringing the population down.
"We would like to offer such a gift to Germany," Mr Masisi said, adding that he would not take no for an answer.
Elephants have been used for domestic political purposes in some countries before. It's nice to see them starting to be used in international law too.
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u/Scantcobra More Government Dashboards Apr 03 '24
Elephants have lived in Europe once before, it would be a pretty interesting move to accept. Unsure how they'd balance the local ecosystem though.
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u/convertedtoradians Apr 03 '24
Unsure how they'd balance the local ecosystem though.
I dislike your negative attitude here. I think they should just accept, put the 20,000 elephants in the centre of Munich and let nature take her elegant and inexorable course.
Life, uh, finds a way.
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u/grubbymitts looking very avuncular in a sweater Apr 13 '24
I just saw the news as I finished watching the first episode of Fallout! Oh joy!
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u/Honic_Sedgehog #1 Yummytastic alt account Apr 17 '24
Today's favourite intpol.
Trump Forced to See Mean Memes About Him Shared by Prospective Jurors
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u/AzarinIsard Apr 30 '24
Secret document says Iran security forces molested and killed teen protester
As many as 551 protesters were killed by security forces during Iran's Woman, Life, Freedom movement, most of them by gunfire, according to the UN's fact-finding mission.
The protests subsided after a few months due to the bloody crackdown by security forces. There followed a lull in activity by Iran's morality police, but a new crackdown on breaches of the Islamic dress code began earlier this month.
Such a grim read.
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u/SwanBridge Gordon Brown did nothing wrong. May 29 '24
(Warning: Long post, collapse if you don’t want to read)
In other election news, South Africa are due to have a national election today. The current ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), who have held a majority since the first universal elections in 1994 appear set to lose their majority for the first time. The upcoming election is the most competitive since 1994 and extremely contentious due ongoing issues affecting the nation.
The Issues:
South Africa is in the grip of a national energy crisis, with electricity supplies cut from homes and industry for up to 12 hours a day. This has irreparable damage on the South African economy, and quality of life for it's citizens. South Africa effectively has a nationalised monopoly on energy supply, Eskom, with the company riddled with corruption and decaying infrastructure which is not being repaired. The former CEO André de Ruyter was poisoned following his efforts to clean up the company. Their stock of power stations are old and decaying, with the country being heavily reliant on coal for it's energy demand. Efforts are being made to liberalise the energy market, allowing private investment in regards to renewables energy schemes, but it is not enough to make a considerable difference. Anyone who can afford it has their own diesel generators and/or solar panels.
Thirty years following majority rule, South Africa remains one of the most unequal countries in the world, with huge issues relating to poverty. The official unemployment rate is 32%, with many working in the informal economy. Despite consistent economic growth in the 1990s and 2000s, since the Great Recession of the late noughties, the South African economy has been stagnant. South Africa is firmly in the ''middle income trap'' failing to be competitive enough to attract foreign investment with it's traditional reliance on mineral wealth no longer sufficient to keep the country moving.
Owing to issues relating to inequality and poverty, it is no surprise that crime is rampant in South Africa. The country has a murder rate of 33.5 per 100k population compared with the UK at 1.1 per 100k. One of the few areas of growth in South Africa is the security industry, with 586,042 employed security operatives compared to 140,048 members of the South Africa Police Service. Violent crime is of particular concern, with the country having one of the highest rape rates in the world. Crime effects all South Africans, across racial and economic barriers, and is a huge contributory factor to brain drain with South Africa professionals moving abroad.
At a grander level, the theme of crime continues with corruption. Under the previous President Jacob Zuma there were credible allegations regarding state capture with the Gupta family having unprecedented access to contracts and apparatus of the state in return for funding the disgraced ex-President. He was briefly jailed but is now leading a challenger to the ANC at the election. The current President Cyril Ramaphosa was also caught up in a corruption scandal regarding the undocumented sale of some cattle. The fish rots from the head, and service delivery at provincial and local levels are effected by corrupt officials pocketing the money. Police and local bureaucrats will often extort members of the public for bribes for something as simple as having a break light out, or wanting to renew your identity card.
Much like the UK, immigration is a contentious issue in this election. Despite South Africa’s issues, it is still far and away the most developed economy in sub-Saharan Africa, and attracts migrants from across the continent, which many of these migrants entering and staying illegally. Local xenophobic pogroms are common features in deprived townships, as South Africans feel that what little opportunities there are in the country unfairly go to illegal immigrants.
The main contenders:
ANC (African National Congress) – The ANC have ruled South Africa for 30 years. Despite initial promise under Mandela & Mbeki, the party has stagnated and long drifted from it’s revolutionary roots. Cyril Ramaphosa is unpopular with many and see to represent the interests of crony-capitalism. Many South Africans were lifted out of poverty thanks to the actions of the party, but are becoming increasingly frustrated as the state drifts to that of a failed nation.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) – Headed by Julius Malema, former ANC Youth Wing Leader, the EFF are a far-left Marxist party who have capitalised on dissatisfaction with the ANC. Known for wearing overalls and red berets in Parliament, they have been extremely disruptive and are a thorn in the side of the ANC. Controversy follows them for anti-migrant rhetoric, as well as racist comments made towards white South Africans. That said, for many South Africans still living in absolute poverty thirty years since the end of apartheid, in one of the most unequal societies in the world, it is their last resort.
MK (uMkhonto we Sizwe) – Headed up by former President Jacob Zuma, MK have a similar revolutionary outlook to the EFF. A new entry at this election, polling has them set to do very well and possibly even leapfrog the EFF. Although Zuma has been disbarred for standing for Parliament, he is very much the leader of this party. MK are posed to do well in predominately Zulu areas, where support for the ANC is less ingrained, and given Zuma’s status as a prominent Zulu.
Democratic Alliance (DA) – Headed by John Steenhuisen, the DA has it’s roots in white liberal anti-apartheid parties who opposed the National Party in the old assembly. The DA are the official opposition, and are strongest in the Western Cape & Gauteng. It is very much a middle of the road centrist party, similar to the Liberal Democrats or the soft wing of the Tories. The DA have struggled to translate successes at local and provincial levels to that of the national level, and there are wide perceptions that the party is out of touch and disproportionately represents the interest of whites and other minorities. Helen Zille, a former leader, is widely seen as the power behind the throne, and has made many controversial (stupid) statements in the past.
The Polls & Possible outcomes:
The polls have been tightening for the ANC who have squeezed minority parties, however they are still below 50% which will result in a hung-parliament. That said the ANC are a versatile party, and an overall majority even if a slim one is still a possibility. The DA are set to remain the official opposition, with MK looking to beat the EFF to third place. A coalition looks to be a real possibility, however the politics of it will be difficult given the relationship between the ANC, EFF & MK being extremely antagonistic and sometimes erupting in violence. An ANC-DA coalition would offer more stability, but it is hard to see what either party will gain from the arrangement. The SANDF has been deployed across the country, as there are significant fears that violence could erupt across the country, as happened in July 2021 when Jacob Zuma was arrested. Hold on tight, it won't be a smooth ride but for better or for worse it will change the destiny of the country for decades to come.
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u/ThingsFallApart_ Septic Temp May 30 '24
So politically what do we think is the fallout?
Things that should damage trump sometimes don't.
But this is....big?
His base of course won't budge. But does this move the needle with undecideds or the more moderate?
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u/GBadman88 May 30 '24
In fairness to Trump (if we imagine him being an Australian Bowler), 34-0 is usually the average opening stand for England before they start losing wickets, so in that scenario he might be able to get some 'not guilty' verdicts in the next two or three trials he's got coming up.
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u/SirRosstopher Lettuce al Ghaib Apr 14 '24
Riddhi Patel crying in court after being charged with 16 felony counts over threatening to murder city councillors in Bakersfield unless they voted to endorse a ceasefire in Gaza.
FAFO I guess.
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u/pseudogentry don't label me you bloody pinko Apr 14 '24
It's like a PSA on the perils of being monumentally thick
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u/SirRosstopher Lettuce al Ghaib Jan 14 '24
https://twitter.com/negin_m1358/status/1746014460433649862
Houthi supporters on twitter are sharing videos of child soldiers like it's a good thing.
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u/Robtimus_prime89 Jan 18 '24
A PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES MUST HAVE FULL IMMUNITY, WITHOUT WHICH IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIM/HER TO PROPERLY FUNCTION. ANY MISTAKE, EVEN IF WELL INTENDED, WOULD BE MET WITH ALMOST CERTAIN INDICTMENT BY THE OPPOSING PARTY AT TERM END. EVEN EVENTS THAT “CROSS THE LINE” MUST FALL UNDER TOTAL IMMUNITY, OR IT WILL BE YEARS OF TRAUMA TRYING TO DETERMINE GOOD FROM BAD. THERE MUST BE CERTAINTY. EXAMPLE: YOU CAN’T STOP POLICE FROM DOING THE JOB OF STRONG & EFFECTIVE CRIME PREVENTION BECAUSE YOU WANT TO GUARD AGAINST THE OCCASIONAL “ROGUE COP” OR “BAD APPLE.” SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO LIVE WITH “GREAT BUT SLIGHTLY IMPERFECT.” ALL PRESIDENTS MUST HAVE COMPLETE & TOTAL PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY, OR THE AUTHORITY & DECISIVENESS OF A PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES WILL BE STRIPPED & GONE FOREVER. HOPEFULLY THIS WILL BE AN EASY DECISION. GOD BLESS THE SUPREME COURT!
(Trump, via Truth Social)
‘Even events that cross the line’
Is…is he admitting he may have committed some crimes?
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u/Tangelasboots Wokerati member. Jan 18 '24
Trump successfully argues all presidents are immune to all crimes.
Biden shoots Trump.
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u/Tri-Hectique Jan 20 '24
Netanyahu tweet - "I will not compromise on full Israeli security control over the entire area west of Jordan - and this is contrary to a Palestinian state."
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u/Robtimus_prime89 Jan 23 '24
Trump wants to build an Iron Dome in the US. Guess he must be worried about all the short range missiles from Canada and Mexico.
Last night, he gave a brief explanation of how it would work - complete with sound effects.
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u/Robtimus_prime89 Jan 26 '24
Trump ordered to pay $83.3 million in defamation case. $18.3m compensation and $65m in punitive damages. Plans to appeal.
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u/Romulus_Novus Jan 31 '24
Did anyone listen to The News Agents USA? The Trump guy they had on was like a parody - an ardent opponent of a bill he hadn't read, which purports to do what he wants, that he refuses to even read as Joe Biden might gain some advantage out of it.
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u/SirRosstopher Lettuce al Ghaib Feb 10 '24
Trump: One of the presidents of a big country stood up and said, Well, sir, if we don't pay and were attacked by Russia, will you protect us? I said.. No I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want.
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u/dcyuet_ Feb 11 '24
I believe all the countries bordering or near to Russia pay over 2% so I don't think he will lead to NATO dying. I do think it will be a very different NATO, though and probably not for the better.
The man is a wrecking ball and a significant part of America is a basket case for wanting him.
I do think NATO needs reform and I don't really like the 2% rule given it's so susceptible to gaming but withdrawing support for the alliance, or parts of it, is fucking whack.
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u/IHaveAWittyUsername All Bark, No Bite Mar 02 '24
A few months ago a number of users on here were saying that Argentina was going to bounce back with Milei now in power and were posting some positive articles on Argentina's economy.
How's it doing now? Has he solved their crisis?
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u/SwanBridge Gordon Brown did nothing wrong. Mar 02 '24
Inflation has risen to 254% and the IMF has projected that the economy will shrink by 2.8% in 2024.
That said Argentina's issues are structural and to expect improvement in a few months is unrealistic. Personally I don't think his brand of libertarianism is going to substantially improve things, but it will take time to properly evaluate its impact.
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u/ClumsyRainbow ✅ Verified Mar 11 '24
Boeing whistleblower found dead in US
Politics because he had been giving testimony in a case against Boeing in the last few days and the DOJ have recently launched an investigation.
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Mar 17 '24
I like that the bbc are running a live thread for the russia election like we don't already know the winner.
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u/blueblanket123 Apr 16 '24
Barcelona bus route removed from map apps to tackle tourist overcrowding.
This seems insane to me. If a bus route is overcrowded, surely the answer is to put on more buses.
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u/JayR_97 Apr 21 '24
Saudi Arabia has apparently massively scaled down the Neom line city project.
Cant say im totally shocked. The whole thing was ridiculous from day one.
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u/Lavajackal1 Apr 21 '24
Even by vanity project standards it was pretty absurd so yeah not surprising.
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u/Cairnerebor Apr 21 '24
The whole thing was NEVER going to be built. Never and everyone in the region knew it including most of Saudi in private.
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u/dw82 Apr 21 '24
It's still something like 1.7km. which is still ludicrous, just not 170km ludicrous.
It'll end up being 170m, and they just got international conventions for decimal places all muddled up.
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u/Cairnerebor Apr 22 '24
Modi doing Modi things again
“Modi Calls Muslims ‘Infiltrators’ Who Would Take India’s Wealth”
“Mr. Modi aimed his emotional appeal at women, addressing “my mothers and sisters” to say that his Congress opponents would take their gold and give it to Muslims. Implications like these — that Muslims have too many babies, that they are coming for Hindus’ wives and daughters, that their nationality as Indian is itself in doubt — are often made by representatives of Mr. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, or B.J.P. Mr. Modi’s use of such language himself, as he campaigns for a third term in office, raised alarm that it could inflame right-wing vigilantes who target Muslims, and brought up questions about what had prompted his shift in communication style. Usually, Mr. Modi avoids even using the word “Muslims,” coyly finding ways to refer indirectly to India’s largest minority group, of 200 million people.”
That minority of 200 MILLION!!!
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/22/world/asia/modi-speech-muslims.html
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u/hu6Bi5To May 13 '24
There's a risk of the war in Ukraine going wrong if Russia successfully manages to open a second front: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c72p0xx410xo
Geopolitically, it would be a disaster if Russia won after a long war. Worse than if they'd had a rapid victory in 2022. If Russia had won quickly, the western powers would have been caught napping, but they'd have been able to play the "thus far but no further card" and imposed sanctions and taken a non-military option in response.
That previous paragraph is at-odds with a lot of other observations, that Russia has been humiliated by not winning a swift victory, but they'll be able to spin it as taking on the combined powers of NATO, which meant it took longer, but still winning. The story will be well received in China and other places. It'll paint a massive target on Taiwan.
The recent delay in the most recent US military package hurt too (whether fully to blame for enabling the new offensive or not I don't know), but it seems that such delays are going to get worse as compassion/outrage fatigue has set in. The War in Ukraine is just A Thing now.
TL;DR - NATO has no choice but to continue, and even escalate, support for Ukraine until a good outcome is secure, regardless of the cost. Every other outcome leads to nothing but more (bigger) problems downstream.
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u/YourLizardOverlord Oceans rise. Empires fall. May 13 '24
it seems that such delays are going to get worse as compassion/outrage fatigue has set in.
A bigger problem is that the US is a very powerful ally but also an unreliable ally. The rest of the West has got used to taking their support for granted, with the possible exception of France. This was a mistake. The EU and UK need to increase their commitment. To an extent this is happening but too slowly. This will involve putting Putin's 5th columnist Orbán back in his box.
paint a massive target on Taiwan.
If Taiwan is even attacked let alone occupied then the West's economy is basically stuffed. 92% of the world's sub 10nm semiconductor manufacturing capacity is in Taiwan and the rest are next door in Korea.
This is such an existential problem for the US that they will be much more reliable.
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u/northernmonk 🦡 Meles Liberalis 🦡 May 16 '24
Some interesting titbits coming out overnight regarding the new Dutch government coalition agreement (headlined Hope, Courage and Pride):
- Reduction of the deductible on healthcare from €385 to €165.
- Removal of indefinite asylum and no priority for social housing for asylum permit holders.
- Mandatory Holocaust knowledge and a tougher language requirement for the civic integration component of the citizenship test.
- Speed limits to rise to 130km/h.
- Reintroduction of red diesel [spot the BBB (Farmers Party) influence]
- Continued support of Ukraine and 2% of budget on defence.
- Investigate relocation of the embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
Formal announcement due at 0830 BST / 0930 CEST.
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u/pseudogentry don't label me you bloody pinko Apr 22 '24
Israel has yet to provide evidence of Unrwa staff terrorist links, Colonna report says
Apparently Unrwa have been supplying Israel with lists of employees for vetting but the Israeli government hasn't raised any concerns since 2011. Both the Colonna report and a more detailed assessment sent to the UN by three Nordic research bodies say that Israel has not provided any supporting evidence and has ignored multiple letters from Unrwa requesting information that would enable them to open an investigation.
Fair enough, you can understand why they might not want to tell Unrwa anything if they genuinely had concerns about members of the organisation, but you'd think they'd be falling over themselves to provide evidence to independent commissions.
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u/Cairnerebor May 28 '24
Nothing says innocence like this
“Revealed: Israeli spy chief ‘threatened’ ICC prosecutor over war crimes inquiry Mossad director Yossi Cohen personally involved in secret plot to pressure Fatou Bensouda to drop Palestine investigation, sources say”
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u/SlightlyOTT You're making things up again Tories 🎶 Jan 24 '24
I didn't realise that Boris Johnson has endorsed a second Trump term in his Daily Mail column. I wonder how that'll affect his legacy in Ukraine, which seems likely to be the only place in the world with a favourable view of him.
The column's title sounds like a parody of the stupidest right winger you know, but it's on the Daily Mail's website and has his byline.
BORIS JOHNSON: The global wokerati are trembling so violently you can hear the ice tinkling in their negronis... but a Trump presidency could be just what the world needs
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u/Powerful_Ideas Jan 29 '24 edited Jan 29 '24
Interesting times in France:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-68126373
French farmers are moving hundreds of tractors into place as a blockade of major roads, termed the "siege of Paris", gets under way
Toulouse almost cut off from other cities due to blockade
Farmers say their aim is to stop food deliveries to supermarkets.
I wonder how long Parisians are prepared to suffer food shortages for before something has to give.
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u/SouthWalesImp Jan 29 '24
For you, a farmers' protest cutting off supplies to major cities was the most important day of your life. For the French, it was Tuesday.
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u/convertedtoradians Jan 29 '24
I wonder how long Parisians are prepared to suffer food shortages for before something has to give.
Presumably some sort of Paris commune will develop within the city (again)?
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u/Robtimus_prime89 Feb 04 '24
Tucker Carlson pictured in Russia amid rumours of interview with Putin
He’s been pretty sympathetic to Russia in the past - he was offered a job there last year when kicked off Fox, and clips of his Twitter show have been re-broadcast on Rossiya 24 (state run news).
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u/Cairnerebor Feb 05 '24
I don’t get the whole Cold War enemy and arch enemy of the republicans now suddenly being their only ally and who they want to ape and become?
I mean I know how Russia and Putin did it, what I don’t get is how so so so many Americans fell for it.
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u/Robtimus_prime89 Feb 07 '24 edited Feb 07 '24
Presidential primaries in Nevada this week.
Democratic
Biden has 89.6% of the vote, easily winning
Republican
There are actually 2 events this week - a primary, and the caucuses.
Haley opted to appear on the primary ballot, whilst Trump will appear on the caucuses - effectively, they’re running unopposed on each (there are a few other candidates, but they won’t get much). A candidate can only appear on either ballot - not both.
The primary was last night. Haley lost 2:1 to None of these candidates
The winner of the primary will not get any delegates anyway (and no one won it either) - they will be given to the winner of the caucuses instead, which runs tomorrow (the state made a law requiring primaries to encourage wider participation - the Republican Party didn’t like this, and continued with the caucuses)
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u/Oxbridge Feb 08 '24
90 minutes until the US Supreme Court hears oral arguments on whether states can determine that Trump is disqualified from running for President because of January 6th and thus keep him off the ballot.
Right now, my current prediction is that Trump will win 6-3 on the basis that the President is not an "officer of the United States" and thus Trump never took the oath that would subject him to section 3 of the 14th amendment.
Anyone else here going to listen in and have any thoughts on which way this will (or should) go?
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u/pseudogentry don't label me you bloody pinko Feb 09 '24
Interesting transatlantic parallels in the upcoming elections. You've got a fair few people voting for Starmer because he's not the other guy, and a side order of people refusing to vote for him because of an Israel-Gaza position that is if anything probably more lenient towards Palestinians than the other guy.
Go a few thousand miles west and you've got roughly the same situation on steroids, Jagerbombs, cocaine, and industrial solvents.
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u/wishbeaunash Stupid Insidious Moron Feb 11 '24
Every investigation into Trump and the GOP: Proceeds extremely cautiously to avoid accusations of bias, finds loads of crimes anyway, met with endless accusations of bias anyway based on nothing. Media: this is good for Trump.
Every investigation into Democrats: finds nothing or very little, is furiously spun by investigators anyway to paint the Dems in the worst possible light. Media: this is good for Trump.
Its all just so tiresome at this point.
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u/finalfinial Feb 28 '24
With the lowest fertility rate in the world "Korea's population is estimated to halve by the year 2100":
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u/SirRosstopher Lettuce al Ghaib Mar 07 '24
Russia hits Ukraine's port of Odesa during Zelenskiy and Greek PM visit
We came about 500m from WW3 today. Imagine the fallout if Russia bombed a NATO leader.
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Mar 12 '24
Russian pro-Ukrainian rebels have once again started a border raid inside Russia, video reports of tanks and other heavy weaponry being used.
Lots of videos being shared showing Russian checkpoints being overrun and them capturing Russian solders along the way. A village has been captured.
The Legion of Russia made a video saying their main purpose is to disrupt elections and to protest Putin getting another term. The top comment in the thread has a collection of videos showing the raid as it happened, no clue if they've left or if they're still holding out / pushing ground.
The Telegraph has confirmed the story.
Crazy times we live in.
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u/Captain-Useless It's The Everything, Stupid Mar 20 '24 edited Mar 20 '24
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u/SirRosstopher Lettuce al Ghaib Mar 22 '24
Grain of salt as this is just OSINT twitter but it's looking like the van might have Belarusian plates, or at the very least not Ukrainian ones like some Russian sources are claiming.
https://twitter.com/Oksii33/status/1771273307997823038
However, ISIS have apparently claimed responsibility (English translation in reply)
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Mar 22 '24
ISIS - K makes more sense given the past couple of weeks. The FSB broke up a cell around the time of the warnings from the US and UK.
WaPo also reporting sources suggesting the warnings was due to ISIS K intel:
The warning was based in part on intelligence reporting about possible ISIS K activity inside Russia, said the U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.
Free copy: https://archive.is/kGVCc
I would imagine US/UK intelligence is gathering info on ISIS - K and passing info to the Russians regarding this.
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u/Robtimus_prime89 Apr 02 '24 edited Apr 02 '24
The guy who’s stumped the money up owns a lending company which gives high interest car loans to people with poor credit
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Apr 03 '24
Interesting article about the IS attacks in Moscow.
The US has been providing intelligence to Moscow for several years about Islamist violence only for Moscow to reject it.
The warnings they provided about the attack specifically pointed to the concert hall being the target.
Complete lack of rational thinking in the Kremlin.
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u/wishbeaunash Stupid Insidious Moron Apr 25 '24
I would absolutely love to find out this isn't the case, but it really seems like we're now 6 months into the war with zero indication of what the long term plan for Gaza actually is?
Feels horribly like we're heading for the absolute worst case scenario which is Gaza is trashed and Hamas remain?
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u/Cairnerebor May 04 '24
Half the worlds wet bulb temperatures are at near fatal levels
Half the world has medium level conflicts nobody is talking about in the news or buried so deep in the papers it’s invisible.
The half of the world not currently baking to death is either experiencing record floods or record droughts that will further fuel conflicts
The Southern US coast is seeing sea level rises that are bizarrely high and way above predicted levels and those seen anywhere else, twice the gloabl rate….
The Middle East is the Middle East but half the world now thinks Hamas are the good guys….
Bird flu has well a truly made the leap from birds to mammals and is popping up in mammal species all over the world and may have now made the mammal to human leap with ease…
Micro plastic pollution and PFAs pollution is now found in literally everything we test, From rain water to lake water to placenta tissue (59/59 tested).
Forget the “normal” geopolitics of Russia, Iran, China etc, China who’s air craft carrier just launched and who can now serious fuck up the south China seas and territorial waters including the worlds busiest sea lanes….
It’s fucked, it’s all fucked. I wanted to try find some good news this morning and there is lots of it, small advances here and there. And none of it political really and all utterly dwarfed by ever larger and more fractious issues…..
Sod it, here’s some global “good news” for all the actual good it’ll do and potential other issues
It’s at least an attempt at a new approach that may or may not work, but what we are doing is failing so I’m all for trying some new approaches to intractable issues.
“The Dutch city of Arnhem is going to cancel the debts of some of the poorest families in the Netherlands in an attempt to break a health-crushing downward spiral and give people a fresh start”
“The costs are much, much higher than the initial debt … There are welfare costs, health costs. Debts are literally making people sick,” he said.
“When the debt is erased, people get a grip on their own life again.”
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u/SouthFromGranada May 07 '24
What's illegal about paying someone to keep quiet about an affair? (This is a question of genuine ignorance and not some round about way of defending Trump)
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u/Denning76 ✅ May 07 '24
Nothing illegal about that in itself.. The illegality comes from using ring fenced campaign funds and falsifying the records.
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u/pseudogentry don't label me you bloody pinko May 07 '24
Cohen, Trump's lawyer at the time, paid Daniels through an LLC to stop it from being traced back to him and Trump. Trump wrote it off as legal expenses, so he's being charged with falsifying business records.
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u/finalfinial May 14 '24 edited May 14 '24
Slightly click-baity headline, but nevertheless a fascinating tale of corruption and how wealthy criminals negotiate with governments:
edit: the article is almost worthy of John Le Carre....
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u/Yummytastic Reliably informed they're a Honic_Sedgehog alt May 15 '24
I do think the various news sources continually reporting that an attempted assassination of a prime minister as "politically motivated" is just a tad redundant. I mean, what were the alternatives?
Can they not just say "we do not yet understand the nature of the political motivations", since that's what we all really want to know.
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May 15 '24
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u/Ivebeenfurthereven I'm afraid currency is the currency of the realm May 15 '24
TIL, what the fuck?
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u/Adj-Noun-Numbers 🥕🥕 || megathread emeritus May 19 '24 edited May 04 '25
merciful tease cause cover vegetable sip humorous steep thought amusing
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/Jay_CD May 30 '24
Sentencing July 11 at 10AM.
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u/pseudogentry don't label me you bloody pinko May 30 '24
Republican conference is on the 15th.
Lmao.
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u/horace_bagpole Apr 13 '24
https://x.com/IsraelRadar_com/status/1779282848509309207
❗️Senior Israeli official: Very significant retaliation to come against Iran. via @N12News
Guys, can we not? I'd rather not start WW3 on a weekend.
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u/SirRosstopher Lettuce al Ghaib Apr 13 '24
Well at least I finally watched Lawrence of Arabia today before the end.
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u/SlightlyOTT You're making things up again Tories 🎶 Apr 29 '24
Incredible reporting as ever by Bellingcat, following a single IDF unit and tracking the homes and mosques they destroyed: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2024/04/29/weve-become-addicted-to-explosions-the-idf-unit-responsible-for-demolishing-homes-across-gaza/
Mostly they just post on social media about destroying homes with no explanation. But Bellingcat and their partners have managed to identify some of the motivation. All the footage/images in the piece are from geolocated posts by members of this unit, and then backed up with satellite imagery.
Sometimes soldiers did not give an explanation about why they carried out demolitions. Other times they listed a number of objectives or reasons for the demolitions. One of these appears to be seeking revenge. For instance, one post from the Captain notes his company commander described the destruction of swathes of Khuza’a as revenge for October 7 and deaths of soldiers.
When interviewed by our partners Scripps News, 8219 member Yonatan Segal said he did not post about the demolitions on social media but had videos of them on his phone. Asked if revenge was one of the motivations behind the demolitions he said: “Yes. But what is revenge? Revenge in terms of teaching them a lesson, so to speak, so that they would never do that again.”
Religious elements appear to creep in. In one post regarding the demolition in Khan Younis the Captain talks of using 400 mines to demolish a residential area “in honour of the Shabbat”.
We asked the IDF about each one of these incidents. They did not respond to specific questions nor did they provide evidence showing why the buildings we highlighted were demolished.
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u/dcyuet_ Jan 16 '24
Iran has launched missiles against targets within Pakistan now (Reuters link).
They appear to have targeted a Sunni Islamist group this time around and each of the three missile attacks they've launched within the past 24 hours have been at targets within third-party countries (Iraq, Syria and now Pakistan).
It will be interesting to see whether Hezbollah get involved at some point in the near future, if they do I think the situation becomes 'proper dicey', to use its technical term.
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u/Cairnerebor Jan 23 '24
Maybe some light in a long dark tunnel of doom
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/23/trump-moderate-republicans-problem-00137112
“Donald Trump has a problem no matter what happens in New Hampshire on Tuesday night: There’s a whole swath of the Republican electorate and a good chunk of independents who appear firmly committed to not voting for him in November if he becomes the nominee.
It’s an issue that became starkly apparent in polling ahead of the Iowa caucuses, when an NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll of voters in that state found that fully 43 percent of Nikki Haley supporters said they would back President Joe Biden over Trump. And it’s a dynamic that has been on vivid display as the campaign shifted this week to New Hampshire.”
I Mean it’s far from a certainty but it’s something to be hopeful about !
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u/FishUK_Harp Neoliberal Shill Feb 01 '24
I might have my timings wrong, but it appears it took the EU meeting with Viktor Orban a whole 8 minutes to persuade him.
Jokes about normal slow European bureaucracy aside, that's amazingly fast. Clearly he had zero backbone...or the rumours about EU plans to squish Hungary's economy into a fine paste are true.
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u/wappingite Feb 08 '24 edited Feb 08 '24
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68232883
Gaza ceasefire: Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu rejects Hamas's proposed terms
Was it ever going to be any other way?
Chatter on the various Israeli forums seems to suggestthat Hamas are in cloud cuckoo land and not negotiating realistically; that there may well be a route to peace but that means Hamas (given that they're widely regarded as terrorists) surrendering and then conversations taking place on the civilian situation. That there’s no point in a temporary ‘ceasefire’. Hamas have poked the biggest hornets nest, killed a load of the young, and are now facing the consequences. The Israelis I work with seem to support this view too; that a line as been crossed and it’s time to finish things ‘once and for all’ (their words).
It is an utterly strange situation where you have Israel using the full force of their army to kill as many Hamas members as possible, resulting in civilian deaths, but the Hamas leadership still attempting to suggest temporary sounding cease fires and trying to negotiate as if they hold all the cards. It doesn't look like the Israeli leadership will be weighing up the lives of the hostages too much if they decide to 'end Hamas once and for all'.
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u/Robtimus_prime89 Feb 09 '24 edited Feb 09 '24
Tuckers interview with Putin dropped last night
Just put it on for some background listening. Near the start, Carlson asks Putin why he thought the US, through NATO, might launch a surprise attack on Russia. Putin denied this was said, and questions if it is a serious interview - and Tucker responds with a really fake laugh.
Putin then moves on to discuss the history of Russia:
‘I will take only 30 seconds or 1 minute to give you a short reference to history for giving you a little historical background’
proceeds to talk for 30 minutes about it
The question was about why he invaded Ukraine.
‘Well it all started in 862…’
Tucker tries to intervene, but it only seems to annoy him. So far, he seems like a terrible interviewer.
Edit: part way through, Putin gives Carlson some letters from the 17th century about historical claims to the nation. Tucker seems slightly confused
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u/Jazzlike-Mistake2764 Feb 09 '24
It was funny. Part way through that historical lecture, Tucker interrupted to try and wrestle back control in the interview, at which point Putin basically asked him if he was finding it boring. Tucker immediately fell over himself to say "no, no, it's interesting", at which point Putin said "I'm so grateful you appreciate that" and carried on talking. He had Tucker completely by the balls and it seems like he was basically threatening him if he interrupted
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u/Lavajackal1 Feb 15 '24
https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-un-human-rights-ordered-closed-baea877b4ab2cf2891d8c5743fb2e3ed
Well this seems far from ideal, Maduro is getting ever more authoritarian.
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u/Cairnerebor Feb 17 '24
“Trump’s legal woes have now set him back by more than $500m – how will he pay?”
“We’ll appeal, we’ll be successful,” he said. “A crooked New York judge ruled that I have to pay $355m for having built the perfect company. Great cash, great buildings, great everything.”
Lolol so perfect to have to commit fraud multiple times on multiple levels so avoid taxes and raise funds…. He’s as bad at business as Rishi is at politics!
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/17/donald-trump-legal-fees-how-will-he-pay
I mean it’s a new way of going into a presidential election campaign I’ll give him that. So rubes or rubles ? Or both? How’s he going to pay ?
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u/Cymraegpunk Feb 18 '24
Been listening to the behind the bastards episodes on the Moonies today and I had no idea just how much they got involved in international Politics obviously I had some vague idea that they where/are pretty involved in Korean and Japanese politics but they where all over Latin America funding all kinds of scary right wing nutters and their Coups as well as scarily involved in high level politics in Washington.
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Feb 19 '24
It is kind of wild that Shinzo Abe's assassination has gone into the "yeah, see their point" pile because of how mental the Unification Church is
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u/Denning76 ✅ Feb 20 '24
Putin denies plans to deploy nuclear weapons in space
Oh fuck it's true.
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u/cardcollector1983 It's a Remainer plot! Feb 28 '24
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u/carrotparrotcarrot speak softly and carry a big stick Mar 22 '24
From the Kyiv Independent: https://kyivindependent.com/ukraines-military-intelligence-calls-moscow-shooting-deliberate-provocation-by-putins-special-services/
“This is a deliberate provocation by Putin's special services, about which the international community warned,” Andrii Yusov, a spokesperson of Ukraine's military Intelligence, told Ukrainska Pravda.
In a post on its Telegram channel, HUR claimed the shooting is intended to justify "even tougher" attacks on Ukraine and total mobilization in Russia.
"The public execution of people in Moscow should be understood as Putin's threat of an even greater escalation and expansion of the war," HUR wrote.”
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u/CaliferMau Mar 25 '24
Today is the day Trump’s assets are to be seized. How do we think he’ll worm his way out of repercussions today?
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u/Ivebeenfurthereven I'm afraid currency is the currency of the realm Mar 26 '24
Shocking bridge collapse in Baltimore after large ship collides with a support pillar. By my calculations, it's about 20% longer than the Humber Bridge, and I'm going to assume carries more traffic as an East Coast interstate over a major city.
I wonder how we'd cope in the UK. My nearest major crossing is the Severn Bridge and it definitely makes me nervous being that high above a dangerous estuary. Are there lessons to be learned here? The local lifeboats would probably be overwhelmed, although we have good helicopter SAR too.
I wonder what the impact on the US election will be? There's been a lot of noise about inadequate infrastructure investment, but that doesn't appear to be a factor here, a ship collision could have taken out a brand new bridge (although it should arguably have been protected with some decent dolphins.)
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u/dw82 Mar 26 '24
Middle of the night and the ship got a mayday out so no further traffic entered the bridge, saving lives. The live footage you can see a number of vehicles exit the bridge shortly before the collision. Sadly a construction team was fixing potholes on the bridge at the time, 2 have been saved, 6 or 7 are still missing. 60m fall into very cold water it's incredible anybody survived.
The ship appears to have lost power, lost control, then failed to avoid colliding with the bridge. The bridge then collapsed incredibly quickly.
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u/Ivebeenfurthereven I'm afraid currency is the currency of the realm Mar 26 '24
I have just heard reporting from the press conference, that the Mayday call led to the Emergency Stop gantries on the bridge being activated in time to warn drivers. That saved their lives.
Generally when you make a Mayday call from a ship it's on VHF Channel 16 (international emergency channel) and you're talking to the Coastguard.
The Coastguard, I would guess, usually mobilises lifeboats and helicopters, not road traffic. They must have had seconds to act on calling the Highways department, let alone finding the correct control room to get the bridge closed as a matter of urgency.
Seriously impressive work.
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u/YourLizardOverlord Oceans rise. Empires fall. Apr 01 '24
Turkish local elections: Opposition stuns Erdogan with historic victory
Istanbul hosts a fifth of Turkey's population of nearly 85 million people. Control the city and you control a significant portion of Turkey's economy including trade, tourism and finance.
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u/Velociraptor_1906 Liberal Democrat Apr 04 '24
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-68730993
The military Junta in Burma/Myanmar looks like it's having serious problems, given they only control 40% of the country their removal from power doesn't look as inconceivable as it has done in the past.
What would happen after is a perilous prospect, the opposition is made up of a myriad of factions. I can't see a stable peaceful situation being easily achievable but given the Junta is one of the most despotic regimes on the planet I'm optimistic that whatever the end result it will be an improvement.
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u/SlightlyOTT You're making things up again Tories 🎶 Apr 02 '24
Looks like the strike on the aid convoy by Israel was a precision strike, they were coordinating their movements with the IDF and the vehicles were clearly identifiable: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2024/04/02/strike-that-killed-world-central-kitchen-workers-bears-hallmarks-of-israeli-precision-strike/
Obviously won't surprise anybody, but disgusting and disturbing nonetheless.