International Politics Thread - Disease and Disaster

[Raist]

Anyone care about Australian politics?

No.

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Does it involve spiders?

[close]

[Brehvolution]

Is it coincidental how the clusterfuck of politics in the UK, USA, and Australia all have one thing in common?

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Large Murdoch media presence

[close]

[kingv]

The UK is going to crash out of the EU with no plan... but I look forward to the endless interviews with working class British men where they say shit like “We made it through the 100 years war and it ended up all right. So We just gotta hang tough until the jobs come back and Bobs your uncle!” And then talk about how they don’t regret their Brexit vote even though they’ve been out of work for 2 months.

[Nintex]

https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1111325424066404352

lmao

[Brehvolution]

Not so funny now the link is dead. 

[Nintex]

Bojo has told MP's that May's deal is dead anyway.

DUP won't vote with the government. So even if ALL the tories vote 'for' (which they won't), it won't be passed.

[Raist]

Is it coincidental how the clusterfuck of politics in the UK, USA, and Australia all have one thing in common?

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Large Murdoch media presence

[close]

Or you know, speaking english.

[shosta]

I just read up on Common Market 2.0.

- Join EFTA
- Adopt all of the EU's regulations without having any say in them
- Still have to pay around 66% of what they were paying to the EU
- Still require freedom of movement
- POSSIBLY get the freedom of movement clause exempted for the UK which would be justified because...

"I want to sacrifice my right to vote in the EU so that we can gamble on thin odds that we'll be able to shut our borders down to Turks in the future"

[Potato]

Is it coincidental how the clusterfuck of politics in the UK, USA, and Australia all have one thing in common?

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Large Murdoch media presence

[close]

Or you know, speaking english.

Or you know, significant adoption of social media.

[Rufus]

I blame FPTP for the US' and UK's issues.

Dunno what's going on with you Aussies though.

[Raist]

They use instant run-off, AFAIK.

[Mandark]

I blame FPTP for the US' and UK's issues.

Dunno what's going on with you Aussies though.

I think it was dcharlie who said, apropos of one of Mel Gibson's outbursts that got him temporarily cancelled, "What's the fuss about? This makes Gibson the least racist Australian I know."

[Raist]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/banksy-art-brexit-devolved-parliament-bristol-chimps-monkeys-a8844556.html

[Potato]

I blame FPTP for the US' and UK's issues.

Dunno what's going on with you Aussies though.

My personal take is that social media has allowed a proliferation of fringe parties to gain traction.

Our two traditional parties have always been quite close to the centre, but these minor parties have forced them to move further left and right to stop votes leaking off to the crazies.

Leaves the sane and silent majority with difficult choices to make and means that both major parties are left trying to appease the vocal minority and the silent majority gets shafted.


A common thing recently had been a number of hung parliaments, both state and federal, with minor parties holding the balance of power.

[Dickie Dee]

I blame FPTP for the US' and UK's issues.

Dunno what's going on with you Aussies though.

My personal take is that social media has allowed a proliferation of fringe parties to gain traction.

Our two traditional parties have always been quite close to the centre, but these minor parties have forced them to move further left and right to stop votes leaking off to the crazies.

Leaves the sane and silent majority with difficult choices to make and means that both major parties are left trying to appease the vocal minority and the silent majority gets shafted.


A common thing recently had been a number of hung parliaments, both state and federal, with minor parties holding the balance of power.

The crazies have been running the GOP since before "weblogs"were even a thing, let alone social media.

[curly]

US and Australia it's settler colonialist societies being settler colonialist societies

UK...hangover from the imperial glory days? The English sucking ass like usual?

[shosta]

they haven't realized they're a rump state yet

[Dickie Dee]

US and Australia it's settler colonialist societies being settler colonialist societies

UK...hangover from the imperial glory days? The English sucking ass like usual?

Canada tho - one big diff is that there is no Murdoch media presence there

Can't say much about the dynamics of NZ or say Ireland

[curly]

Things are looking grim in Australia:

https://twitter.com/9NewsGoldCoast/status/1110444869544116224

[Occam]

Brunei (Islamic autocracy) makes gay sex and adultery punishable by death by stoning, starting next week.
What a modern and open minded country.

[VomKriege]

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/03/kamel-daoud-algerias-post-colonial-era-is-over/585958/

[Cerveza mas fina]

Quelle surprise 3rd vote fail

[Kunai With Chain]

The gap is narrowing, give it another try Theresa!

[Kunai With Chain]

https://twitter.com/tnewtondunn/status/1111657158519730178

Oh wait, she is actually doing it. It's like a turd that just won't flush.

[kingv]

Did the EU actually agree to the customs union?

[Mandark]

I don't think that would be a snag.

IIRC Corbyn's alternate plan included a customs union, and Tusk nice things about it.

[Nintex]

Another vote ends in defeat for May.
Now the BBC has to update their Brexit outcome chart again.


https://twitter.com/rhodri/status/1111346365274177537

https://twitter.com/rhodri/status/1111254719777914881

[Raist]

Did the EU actually agree to the customs union?

Irrelevant for now - there can't be any discussions on what the future UK-EU relationship will look like until the details of how they'll exit in the first place are settled.

In other words, the whole "indicative vote" business from this week and next is a waste of time currently.

[Raist]

I guess Rees-Mogg and BoJo are starting to pee their pants a little, cause they voted for the WA this time around

[Nintex]

My prediction

- House wants to delay Brexit further
- EU won't budge
- Theresa May resigns to force EU to delay
- Boris takes over as Tory Leader and PM
- Macron / Merkel meet with Boris, agree to delay until after an election is held
- General Election
- Boris beats Corbyn
- House votes "NO" on Brexit withdrawal agreement

[Raist]

My prediction

- House wants to delay Brexit further
- EU won't budge
- Theresa May resigns to force EU to delay
- Boris takes over as Tory Leader and PM
- Macron / Merkel meet with Boris, agree to delay until after an election is held
- General Election
- Boris beats Corbyn
- House votes "NO" on Brexit withdrawal agreement

The EU won't delay anything unless the UK requests a long extension and holds MEP elections. Your prediction makes no sense dude.

[Nintex]

My prediction

- House wants to delay Brexit further
- EU won't budge
- Theresa May resigns to force EU to delay
- Boris takes over as Tory Leader and PM
- Macron / Merkel meet with Boris, agree to delay until after an election is held
- General Election
- Boris beats Corbyn
- House votes "NO" on Brexit withdrawal agreement

The EU won't delay anything unless the UK requests a long extension and holds MEP elections. Your prediction makes no sense dude.

12th of April is the deadline for Brexit. It can be extended but then all 27 EU countries have to agree.
The EU is already done planning the no deal Brexit and they said that there would be no way for the UK to revoke article 50 on their own (although the EU courts didn't agree on that).
If they want to stick with the EU they will need to re-do the entire membership process as far as Brussels is concerned. Which has certainly gotten more difficult after the Euro crisis.

[shosta]

Ok, today I'm Super Mad about this revisionism from the NYT today.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/29/world/americas/red-cross-venezuela-aid.html

The lies are left as an exercise for the reader.

[wsippel]

My prediction

- House wants to delay Brexit further
- EU won't budge
- Theresa May resigns to force EU to delay
- Boris takes over as Tory Leader and PM
- Macron / Merkel meet with Boris, agree to delay until after an election is held
- General Election
- Boris beats Corbyn
- House votes "NO" on Brexit withdrawal agreement

Let's be totally honest here: Pretty much no politician wants Brexit to happen. Cameron started the shitshow because he was sick and tired of people/ the press constantly bitching about the EU, so he thought a referendum would be some golden bullet to make critics shut up once and for all. It backfired in spectacular and completely unexpected fashion. May doesn't want to leave the EU either, but simply ignoring the referendum looks super fucking bad and will make a ton of people mad. Many Brits still don't get it and still want out, and they're not going to be happy if their government just announces to ignore "the will of the people" and stay. So she has to (pretend to) go through with it, and work out a deal. But it's a farce - the house can't vote for whatever deal she manages to negotiate, or no deal at all, because either decision would still be voting for Brexit, and they know that would be suicide. They know it, May knows it, Brussels know it - everybody knows it. They are between a rock and a hard place. There'll be riots no matter what they do, they'll lose a ton of trust in their government in the UK either way, leaving the EU would fuck the UK over harder than most people could imagine, staying now means they'll be Brussels' bitch for decades. It doesn't even matter what they do anymore, the damage is done. A new referendum or new elections are not really going to help much, no matter the outcome.

[Nintex]

The UK has been slowly falling apart for decades and what saved it was the 'City' or in other words, the tax haven in London propped up by both parties.
Brexit is an effective distraction from the 'real' problems I think. Which are not that different from the problems the heartland in the US and South Europe face.


In other news, Trump might be in power longer than the 'President for life' after all 

https://twitter.com/L0gg0l/status/1111743992738336768

[Kunai With Chain]

Oh wow he is limping, what's the estimated TOD for that? 6 month at best, right?

[kingv]

My prediction

- House wants to delay Brexit further
- EU won't budge
- Theresa May resigns to force EU to delay
- Boris takes over as Tory Leader and PM
- Macron / Merkel meet with Boris, agree to delay until after an election is held
- General Election
- Boris beats Corbyn
- House votes "NO" on Brexit withdrawal agreement

Let's be totally honest here: Pretty much no politician wants Brexit to happen. Cameron started the shitshow because he was sick and tired of people/ the press constantly bitching about the EU, so he thought a referendum would be some golden bullet to make critics shut up once and for all. It backfired in spectacular and completely unexpected fashion. May doesn't want to leave the EU either, but simply ignoring the referendum looks super fucking bad and will make a ton of people mad. Many Brits still don't get it and still want out, and they're not going to be happy if their government just announces to ignore "the will of the people" and stay. So she has to (pretend to) go through with it, and work out a deal. But it's a farce - the house can't vote for whatever deal she manages to negotiate, or no deal at all, because either decision would still be voting for Brexit, and they know that would be suicide. They know it, May knows it, Brussels know it - everybody knows it. They are between a rock and a hard place. There'll be riots no matter what they do, they'll lose a ton of trust in their government in the UK either way, leaving the EU would fuck the UK over harder than most people could imagine, staying now means they'll be Brussels' bitch for decades. It doesn't even matter what they do anymore, the damage is done. A new referendum or new elections are not really going to help much, no matter the outcome.

The situation reminds me a lot of the TARP votes in the US.

Yeah, you have to eat a shit sandwich, but if the choice is between “ruin the economy for a generation” and “have a bit of a tough election” the choice is obvious.

They very obviously need to come back to Brussels with their hat in their hand. Crashing out will be a disaster. That much is 100% obvious. Purposely causing a recession will not save their electoral chances.

[Raist]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46064836


A good highlight of the work going on in the major EU countries. Quite the sharp contrast with the UK's ongoing shitshow

[Nintex]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46064836


A good highlight of the work going on in the major EU countries. Quite the sharp contrast with the UK's ongoing shitshow

Not to mention all the big businesses and jobs moving from the UK to The Netherlands.

how we took over the EU

"You know, what you should do Dave? Reform the EU with me."


"You know what you should do Marine? Form an anti-EU block with me."


"Solidarity amongst nations? What are you talking about Janis? Just close your hospitals, schools and sell your islands."


"Just tell the US the Russians hacked them and we have the evidence"


"Just have our NATO ambassador tell everyone Putin wants to reform the USSR"


"Don't worry Trump, I'll help you negotiate with NATO"


"Just hold my hand Jean-Claude"


"No worries May, we will give you an extension"


"Time to blow this joint Mark"

[close]

#TAKEBACKCONTROL
#BORISFORLEADER

Do eeeet 

[Tripon]

https://twitter.com/piersmorgan/status/1111938276531884033

Watch out, Piers Morgan on the case.

[Raist]

[Nintex]

People actively acting against their own interest to prove a point that benefits absololutely no one is the quintessential essence of Brexit.

[Raist]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47756122

Theresa May and her cabinet are looking for ways to bring her EU withdrawal agreement back to the Commons for a fourth attempt at winning MPs' backing.

The PM said the UK would need "an alternative way forward" after her plan was defeated by 58 votes on Friday.

MPs from all parties will test support for other options during a second round of "indicative votes" on Monday.

However, Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis said the government did not support any of those options.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn refused to say whether his party would offer an option to remain in the EU during these votes, but said the obvious choice was "a good economic relationship with Europe".

[shosta]

If corbyn's secretly been waiting for the right moment to seize the national spotlight and lead the charge to cancel brexit, after everything else has been tried, now is really the time.

[Nintex]

If corbyn's secretly been waiting for the right moment to seize the national spotlight and lead the charge to cancel brexit complain about jam packed trains, after everything else has been tried, now is really not the time.

And that is exactly what Jeremy Corbyn will do.

[Nintex]

https://edition-m.cnn.com/2019/03/29/asia/churchill-bengal-famine-intl-scli-gbr/

what a piece of shit.

Meanwhile on Alt-Earth
"Japanese India celebrates 76th anniversary of victory over English occupiers and honors last remaining German veteran of Operation Sea Lion"

People now look back saying: "Just look at how bad Roosevelt and Churchill were! War Criminals!" can you imagine what the outcome would've been had they not made those life and death decisions and sacrifices?
Germany sunk many of those food transports which were literally the lifeline of the UK. Without the Brits the lack of artic convoy's would've denied the Russians the vehicles, materials and food they needed and the UK would've been occupied denying the allies of the staging ground needed to launch D-Day.

"Booh, they fed their armies!" . What do you think the Germans did? Distribute it evenly among the Reich?

Churchill did what he had to do to keep the allies in the fight for another day. Had he not it would've ended in Axis victory in WWII or the US would've nuked much more than just 2 Japanese cities.
Talking about Japan an India occupied by Imperial Japan would've been much like occupied China. The death rate would've been far higher.

[shosta]

"Booh, they fed their armies!" . What do you think the Germans did? Distribute it evenly among the Reich?

we should look to the nazis for our moral baseline

[Nintex]

I just think it's pretty dumb to in hindsight judge people that are long dead and prevented the world for turning into an eternal fascist hell hole for their actions.
But I guess we need to defecate on one of the biggest heroes of all time to feel morally superior.

 

[Mandark]

For a dude who's always whining that the EU is too far removed from the people it governs and burdens them with rules that aren't in their best interest, you're sure defensive about a literal imperialist power starving millions of its conquered subjects to death.

[curly]

I just think it's pretty dumb to in hindsight judge people that are long dead and prevented the world for turning into an eternal fascist hell hole for their actions.

  But we aren't talking about the soviets, we're talking about Churchill?

[shosta]

No one is faultless or above scrutiny and the death toll in Bangladesh isn't justifiable at all. Great Britain could have imported more goods from the US.

[kingv]

They probably tried to send some spotted dick down to India, and they were like “nah, we’re good, king”

[Raist]

Chruchill, a hero?

[Nintex]

https://twitter.com/BBCBreaking/status/1112400581728047111
Yasssss 

At a Soviet-era circus theatre just days before Ukraine's presidential election, the frontrunner in the race held his audience rapt with a mix of boob jokes and vaguely patriotic songs. 

The era of dankness continues. 

[Tripon]

https://twitter.com/SimonOstrovsky/status/1112410619477716994



She's back.

[Nintex]

And still corrupt af 

According to the Tymoshenko team’s exit polls she got 20.9 and Poroshenko got 17.5.

https://twitter.com/olliecarroll/status/1112405497498533890

LMAO cry moar

https://twitter.com/KyivPost/status/1112415836126486530
Tymoshenko told Zelensky she would support him in exchange for the PM slot.
He didn't take the offer. 

[shosta]

So... why don't they just leave Northern Ireland in the single market? That's what the EU offered. No hard border and the rest of May's deal gives brexiters everything they want. Northern Ireland voted Remain anyway.

[Kunai With Chain]

DUP is against it. For reasons.

[Raist]

So... why don't they just leave Northern Ireland in the single market? That's what the EU offered. No hard border and the rest of May's deal gives brexiters everything they want. Northern Ireland voted Remain anyway.

Because something something UNITED kingdom something something reunification of Ireland.

[Tripon]

DUP is against it. For reasons.

The minute you let North Ireland leave, Scotland is going to force a 2nd referendum on Scottish Independence. The United Kingdom sans North Ireland and Scotland doesn't sound as nice.