General Politics Three: But what is left/right?

[Hygro]

I got one addressed to my deadname

Never leave the world to engineers

 

[Lexicus]

Wat

Democrats are still less bad than Republicans but the gap seems to be shrinking...maybe not if Biden saying he'll stop shipping weapons to Israel isn't totally full of horsehockey.

 

[Hygro]

Democrats are still less bad than Republicans but the gap seems to be shrinking...maybe not if Biden saying he'll stop shipping weapons to Israel isn't totally full of horsehockey.

the gap hasn’t changed at all just because the Israel situation has proved complex.

 

[Snowygerry]

I was wondering what the difference between "abstain" and gray is. Is gray "did not attend"? But Taiwan isn't a member (nor is Kosovo), so gray should include various different things.

Yes, abstain is still a vote, you align with a bunch of countries that also abstain, not voting is probably the most “neutral” stance.

 

[Lexicus]

the gap hasn’t changed at all just because the Israel situation has proved complex.

There's really nothing complex about it, it's a bunch of war criminals directly facilitating the slaughter of children.

 

[Hygro]

There's really nothing complex about it, it's a bunch of war criminals directly facilitating the slaughter of children.

Think about what you're really saying.

 

[Kyriakos]

Spingfield cops are on the take

CBS reported (in this link) that supposedly protesters pepper-sprayed him, but the story went viral that he was the one trying to pepper-spray and just Homer-Simpson'ed himself.

Protesters arrested after blocking traffic on Manhattan Bridge

A number of pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested Saturday night after blocking traffic on the Manhattan Bridge.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[Cutlass]

A wargame simulated a 2nd Trump presidency. It concluded NATO would collapse.

A wargame followed through on Trump's threat of the US quitting NATO and what would happen next.

www.businessinsider.com

A wargame simulated a 2nd Trump presidency. It concluded NATO would collapse.
Michael Peck
May 12, 2024, 5:00 AM EDT

If Donald Trump wins a second term in the White House in November, NATO may fall apart, a recent wargame found.

As a presidential candidate, Trump has threatened to quit NATO unless European allies contribute more, and should he carry it out Europe may decide to go it alone on defense, the game suggests. "A US policy of frustrating NATO has the potential to cause the alliance to collapse, with the EU as a candidate for eventually replacing NATO's ultimate function — defending Europe from Russia," wrote Finley Grimble, the British defense expert who designed and ran the game.

The US doesn't have to withdraw from NATO to imperil the 75-year-old alliance. Technically, the US is barred from leaving NATO after Congress voted in 2023 to prohibit withdrawal without congressional approval.

But the game showed how Trump — the presumptive Republican presidential nominee who said on the campaign trail that he'd encourage Russia to "do whatever the hell they want" with NATO allies who spend too little on their militaries — could undermine NATO simply by doing as little as possible to support the alliance. "What Donald Trump can do is just really hollow out what NATO does," Grimble told Business Insider. "He doesn't need to leave NATO to ruin it. He can ruin it from within."

Grimble, who has conducted wargames for the British government, conceived of this game after claims by former US National Security Adviser John Bolton that he talked then-President Trump out of withdrawing from NATO in 2018. He designed a tabletop simulation where the players — mostly British specialists in defense, intelligence and foreign policy — assumed the role of leaders of the 32 NATO nations, plus Ukraine and Russia; China was played by the umpires. The US was played by an American who "was trying to enter into the psyche of Trump, which was no easy task," Grimble recalled.

Trump, who faces criminal charges in four separate cases, has been criticized for sowing chaos in American politics. And chaos is exactly what happens in the game when the fictional Trump takes office in January 2025.

The new administration immediately attempts to broker a peace deal — without European help — between Ukraine and Russia. After the mediation fails, Trump slashes aid to Ukraine.

Basically, NATO leaders see Trump as so bad for American national security that he endangers everyone.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

If I recall correctly, war games involving Bolton and his ilk always ended up in global thermonuclear war.

NATO collapsing is a much better outcome than that.

It is far from clear that NATO collapsing would be bad for American national security at all, just bad for the profits of the military industrial complex.

 

[Snowygerry]

"A US policy of frustrating NATO has the potential to cause the alliance to collapse, with the EU as a candidate for eventually replacing NATO's ultimate function — defending Europe from Russia," wrote Finley Grimble, the British defense expert who designed and ran the game.”

That’s an unexpected outcome for a wargame ran by mostly British officers.

But not necessarily a bad thing imho.

I doubt many here will like that though

The new administration immediately attempts to broker a peace deal — without European help — between Ukraine and Russia. After the mediation fails, Trump slashes aid to Ukraine.

Why does it fall ? Is that part of the scenario, or a result of the game ?

 

[Gori the Grey]

It is far from clear that NATO collapsing would be bad for American national security at all, just bad for the profits of the military industrial complex.

The business of America is business.

 

[Kyriakos]

North Macedonia nationalists return to power

The victory of the right-wing VMRO-DPMNE party could complicate North Macedonia’s aim to join the EU and may affect relations with neighbors Bulgaria and Greece.

www.politico.eu

The new president was elected with the slogan that they will simply call themselves Macedonia.
It's not yet clear if, consequently, the agreement will be cancelled, and former Fyrom will become former former Fyrom=Fyrom.
The deal has been largely not implemented, even by the previous party.

 

[Lexicus]

Think about what you're really saying.

What is it you think I'm really saying?

 

[Hygro]

That you’re so upset the United States hasn’t stopped another country from doing what it wants to a third country you think the proper penance is that the USA gets taken over by the people who will make it worse for the third country and none of the million other considerations ever mattered.

 

[Gorbles]

I am once again, sorely missing the laugh react. Talk about a logical leap.

 

[Broken_Erika]

Kristi Noem: Trump VP hopeful outlawed in six Native American reservations​

Two Native American tribes in South Dakota have barred its governor, Kristi Noem, from their land as she doubles down on derogatory commentary against tribal leaders and reservation life.
The latest bans add to existing exclusions from four other reservations this year. Ms Noem is now banned from nearly one-fifth of state territory.
It comes after the Republican cut short a disastrous national media book tour.
Ms Noem was once a frontrunner to be Donald Trump's running mate this year.
Less than three months ago, she topped a poll of candidates to run as vice-president for the November election. However, a crop of recent controversies, including a story of how she shot a pet dog, have drawn bipartisan criticism.
The Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate and Yankton Sioux tribes on Friday passed separate resolutions to prohibit Ms Noem from setting foot in their territory.
The duo joined the Cheyenne River Sioux, Oglala Sioux, Rosebud Sioux and Standing Rock Sioux tribes in making the state's chief executive an outlaw on their lands. It means six of South Dakota's nine Native tribes are now refusing her entry.
As governor, Ms Noem, 52, cracked down on Native-led protests against the Keystone XL pipeline, ignored tribal objections to a 2020 fireworks display at Mount Rushmore and clashed with tribal leaders after they set up coronavirus checkpoints to control visits to their reservations.
Ms Noem recently alleged Native children "don't have any hope" because of absentee parents and suggested without evidence that tribal leaders were "personally benefitting" from drug cartel operators.
"Governor Kristi Noem's wild and irresponsible attempt to connect tribal leaders and parents with Mexican drug cartels is a sad reflection of her fear-based politics that do nothing to bring people together to solve problems," Janet Alkire, chairwoman of the Standing Rock Sioux, wrote in a lengthy five-page rebuke in March.

The BBC has contacted the governor's office for comment.

It is the latest embarrassment for the former rising star of the Republican party.
In her new book, No Going Back, Ms Noem recounts how she shot dead her 14-month-old dog, Cricket, for bad behaviour. She also killed a goat she said smelled and was mean.
The governor said the shootings were examples of her willingness to do things that were "difficult, messy and ugly".

In another passage, later removed, Ms Noem claimed she had been to the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea and "stared down Kim Jong Un". No public record of either action exists.
She also claimed she had been "slated to meet with French president Emmanuel Macron" during a visit to Paris but nixed their sit-down over alleged "pro-Hamas" comments he made in the press.
A French government official said there was no record of a scheduled meeting or even an invitation.
Ms Noem has hit back at what she calls left-wing "spin", but her attempts at damage control have failed across the political spectrum. Several interviews have since been cancelled.
Last week, Mr Trump acknowledged Ms Noem has had "a rough couple of days" but said he liked her "a lot" and noted she "has been supportive of me from the beginning".

According to US media, however, Trump insiders say she has "killed her chances" of being his vice-president.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-69004304

 

[Hygro]

I am once again, sorely missing the laugh react. Talk about a logical leap.

Gorbles the nonreader strikes again.

 

[Lexicus]

That you’re so upset the United States hasn’t stopped another country from doing what it wants to a third country you think the proper penance is that the USA gets taken over by the people who will make it worse for the third country and none of the million other considerations ever mattered.

I phrased it the way I did on purpose. Many of the war criminals in the current administration do deserve a short drop and a sudden stop. The US as a whole does not deserve Trump.

There is no other consideration that really approaches US participation in the industrialized murder of thousands of people in terms of importance or urgency. That said, it is certainly true that Trump does nothing to improve the situation and probably makes it worse.

 

[Hygro]

I phrased it the way I did on purpose. Many of the war criminals in the current administration do deserve a short drop and a sudden stop. The US as a whole does not deserve Trump.

There is no other consideration that really approaches US participation in the industrialized murder of thousands of people in terms of importance or urgency. That said, it is certainly true that Trump does nothing to improve the situation and probably makes it worse.

So I have this problem with the Russian invasion apologists that claim the reason that Russia invaded is the USA did/didn’t/etc. It’s a different group but it relates to a problem I have with people being white saviors. It is a chauvinism that assumes they have all the agency and responsibility and all other parties’ actions are purely consequent.

The USA should pressure Israel to stop. Israel is the oppressor. We are powerful and we should use our power. We should also support Israel for being the closest thing to liberal and progressive democracy out there, and Hamas is an offensive gangster regime that would make MAGA proud. But we should pressure Israel to stop.

But we don’t control them. Our weapon sales are for gear they aren’t even particularly using for this, but weapons for a different conflict and different geopolitical concern entirely.

Their prime minister will pursue this invasion for his personal benefit with the support of a whole lot of crazies who want this, and they don’t care what we want. They aren’t scared of divestment. Since when have radical right wingers ever actually minded economic contraction let alone world opinion?

And they have agency. And to pretend instead it’s all down to the United States is some white savior stuff.

We should absolutely pressure the moderately and leftwing of Israel to replace their own government, they would respond to sanctions. But there’s no guarantee. And there’s a lot of other things to consider.

Our power in this is a small percentage of the total. We aren’t the drivers, we aren’t even the enablers this time, even if we were all cheering them on while selling them the weapons to fight Hezbollah and Iran. They’re doing it, and it’s not always about us.

 

[Samson]

But we don’t control them. Our weapon sales are for gear they aren’t even particularly using for this, but weapons for a different conflict and different geopolitical concern entirely.

What is this in reference to? That is not my understanding.

U.S. signs off on more bombs, warplanes for Israel March 29, 2024

The Biden administration in recent days quietly authorized the transfer of billions of dollars in bombs and fighter jets to Israel despite Washington’s concerns about an anticipated military offensive in southern Gaza that could threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians.

The new arms packages include more than 1,800 MK84 2,000-pound bombs and 500 MK82 500-pound bombs, according to Pentagon and State Department officials familiar with the matter. The 2,000-pound bombs have been linked to previous mass-casualty events throughout Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

U.S. weapons may have been used in ways "inconsistent" with international law in Gaza, U.S. assessment says May 10, 2024

"Nevertheless, given Israel's significant reliance on U.S.-made defense articles, it is reasonable to assess that defense articles…have been used by Israeli security forces since October 7 in instances inconsistent with its [international humanitarian law] obligations or with established best practices for mitigating civilian harm," the report adds.