Geopolitics in the 2020s.

[ClydeTon]

Quote

“All will be forgiven,” said a U.S. diplomat, if the no-confidence vote against Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan succeeds.

Sounds almost exactly like what the Nazis would say to a puppet state who's leader got a bit ballsy... Provided they didn't just shoot him.

[Wee-Bey]

 

[Joey Jo Jo Junior Shabadoo]

Los Lobos have many more members than I seem to remember. Less tuneful too.

[Granny Danger]

2 hours ago, Joey Jo Jo Junior Shabadoo said:

Los Lobos have many more members than I seem to remember. Less tuneful too.

One of there songs is “Ooh! My head.”

Edited August 10, 2023 by Granny Danger

[Wee-Bey]

Thought this boy was just a bit libertarian. Turns out he's a mad Ancapper.

Calling for a complete and utter shut down of something called 'South America' until we discover what the f**k is going on.

[Miguel Sanchez]

That might be the first time I've seen someone over the age of 14 seriously advocate ancap politics.

[Granny Danger]

1 hour ago, Miguel Sanchez said:

That might be the first time I've seen someone over the age of 14 seriously advocate ancap politics.

Knew a few back in the day, almost exclusively middle class who probably went on to vote Tory.

[Guest]

Azerbaijan's blockade of the Armenians in Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh continues. Food, medicine, fuel, electricity and the rest have been either cut off or reduced to a drip. Azerbaijan say they'll only lift the blockade if the Armenians renounce their sovereignty over their indigenous land. If the Armenians refuse, the blockade will continue and they'll eventually be ethnically cleansed. If the Armenians accede to Azerbaijan's demand then assimilation and cultural genocide will take place.

Something extremely annoying about American racists' recent adoption of the term "white genocide" is that this was already a term in use, an important one used to describe the assimilation and cultural genocide of Armenians (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_genocide_(Armenians)).

[TxRover]

1 hour ago, FreedomFarter said:

Something extremely annoying about American racists' recent adoption of the term "white genocide"…

If that’s your most annoying thing about American racists, you’re not paying attention.

[Suspect Device]

Suella Braverman is looking on with interest at Saudi methods of dealing with a refugee crisis.

 

Saudi guards kill, abuse refugees at border with Yemen: HRW | Refugees News | Al Jazeera

 

[Melanius Mullarkey]

4 minutes ago, Suspect Device said:

Suella Braverman is looking on with interest at Saudi methods of dealing with a refugee crisis.

 

Saudi guards kill, abuse refugees at border with Yemen: HRW | Refugees News | Al Jazeera

 

Probably looking on with disgust tbf.

She thinks they're being too soft.

[oneteaminglasgow]

31 minutes ago, Suspect Device said:

Suella Braverman is looking on with interest at Saudi methods of dealing with a refugee crisis.

 

Saudi guards kill, abuse refugees at border with Yemen: HRW | Refugees News | Al Jazeera

 

Aye, but Newcastle are in the champions league this season so it’s impossible to say if this is bad or not. 

[Guest]

Ecuadorians voted in a referendum not to allow any more drilling by the state oil company in the Amazon. A very different attitude to many in the rich world who demand every last drop of oil be extracted from national territory.

https://apnews.com/article/amazon-ecuador-oil-drilling-referendum-yasuni-5c72a325755976c47a3ec138bdab8537

 

 

[Marten]

There could be major change at the Dutch General Election on 22nd November (after the coalition collapsed last month). Pieter Omtzigt, who rebelled against his own party CDA (Christian Democrats) after exposing corruption in Dutch politics and questioning actions of the main parties (inluding his own), got kicked out of CDA and continued as an independent MP. He has since been arguing for political reforms that are imo badly needed. On Saturday he announced he'll run in the election with his own party. He has been very popular for some time and immediately took the lead in the polls, his party is now expected to become the largest party. He won't become PM himself as he stated he is not interested in that, he is building a team around him and will announce his party's PM candidate in the near future.

 

https://www.dutchnews.nl/2023/08/pieter-omtzigt-what-does-he-stand-for-politically/

Edited August 22, 2023 by Marten

[Wee-Bey]

17 minutes ago, Marten said:

There could be major change at the Dutch General Election on 22nd November (after the coalition collapsed last month). Pieter Omtzigt, who rebelled against his own party CDA (Christian Democrats) after exposing corruption in Dutch politics and questioning actions of the main parties (inluding his own), got kicked out of CDA and continued as an independent MP. He has since been arguing for political reforms that are imo badly needed. On Saturday he announced he'll run in the election with his own party. He has been very popular for some time and immediately took the lead in the polls, his party is now expected to become the larges party. He won't become PM himself as he stated he is not interested in that, he is building a team around him and will announce his party's PM candidate in the near future.

 

https://www.dutchnews.nl/2023/08/pieter-omtzigt-what-does-he-stand-for-politically/

Sounds almost like centrist populism.

You going to vote for him Marten ?

[Marten]

43 minutes ago, Ziggy Sobotka said:

Sounds almost like centrist populism.

You going to vote for him Marten ?

I haven't made my mind up just yet, but I wouldn't rule it out. It depends on a few things, I don't agree with him on everything (but then again, I can say the same about all others), so I'll wait for his manifesto to see if the things I disagree with are not too difficult for me to hold my nose and vote to get the reforms I believe are needed. Also, it depends on the others that will join his party, most specifically who the candidate for PM will be.

But the first impression is that a vote for him is at least an option I'll seriously look at.

Edit: worth adding that while some international media labelled him as "conservative", he is only slightly socially conservative for Dutch standards, meaning that for UK standards he is already not really conservative but basically moderately progressive and for US conservative standards he'd probably already be some crazy liberal heretic.

Edited August 22, 2023 by Marten

[O'Kelly Isley III]

7 hours ago, Marten said:

I haven't made my mind up just yet, but I wouldn't rule it out. It depends on a few things, I don't agree with him on everything (but then again, I can say the same about all others), so I'll wait for his manifesto to see if the things I disagree with are not too difficult for me to hold my nose and vote to get the reforms I believe are needed. Also, it depends on the others that will join his party, most specifically who the candidate for PM will be.

But the first impression is that a vote for him is at least an option I'll seriously look at.

Edit: worth adding that while some international media labelled him as "conservative", he is only slightly socially conservative for Dutch standards, meaning that for UK standards he is already not really conservative but basically moderately progressive and for US conservative standards he'd probably already be some crazy liberal heretic.

Is he willing to stand in the UK in about a year's time ?  Asking for 67 million friends.

[SlipperyP]

Thailand has a new PM. 

Not voted by the people, that would be ridiculous.

Pheu Thai Party (red shirts). That have won every election for decades has their top guy as PM after a few dirty deals with the Democracy Party (Conservative/Royalist) their great rivals & the military Parties. 

These are the parties that they have blood in streets fighting each other for years, now all pals so the new guys can't get in.

They have gone against every voter that voted for them for power.  They will be fucked at the next election....

Time for a new constitution, as that last election  nearly went to the people.  We can't be having that. People have money to protect.

 

 

 

 

 

[Salt n Vinegar]

1 hour ago, SlipperyP said:

Thailand has a new PM. 

Not voted by the people, that would be ridiculous.

Pheu Thai Party (red shirts). That have won every election for decades has their top guy as PM after a few dirty deals with the Democracy Party (Conservative/Royalist) their great rivals & the military Parties. 

These are the parties that they have blood in streets fighting each other for years, now all pals so the new guys can't get in.

They have gone against every voter that voted for them for power.  They will be fucked at the next election....

Time for a new constitution, as that last election  nearly went to the people.  We can't be having that. People have money to protect.

 

 

 

 

 

Ah... I hear references to this thing which many countries appear to think to be a good idea, something called a "constitution".  I wonder if we should get one?

[Guest]

 

 

(https://archive.ph/xfxST).

Rather than the fiction The Times have come up with there, this BBC video reports the current reality in Serbia - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XGftzw_Grc&ab_channel=BBCWorldService. It shows pro-Russia Serb ultranationalists raging against Vucic due to his crackdowns on them. It also shows Vucic on Serbian television warning against Wagner influence in Belgrade. 

Serbia has supplied weapons to Ukraine, according to US intelligence: https://www.reuters.com/world/leaked-us-intel-document-claims-serbia-agreed-arm-ukraine-2023-04-12/

Then yesterday:

 

 

There was one good bit in that Times editorial, though. Defending Alicia Kearns should now be foreign policy.

Quote

Mr Vucic has made crude threats against a British Conservative MP, Alicia Kearns, who chairs the Commons foreign affairs select committee and has voiced legitimate concerns about Mr Vucic’s obstructionist policies.

Rishi Sunak’s government should defend Ms Kearns, who is respected across parties, rather than acquiesce in the bluster of Belgrade