Politics and Current Affairs

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I wonder who’ll be next week’s Prime Minister?

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This is a good article by Anne Applebaum on the “obscurantism” of the right wing. I read it and it is something that I am also susceptible too, these narratives.

 

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/02/trump-populist-conspiracism-autocracy-rfk-jr/681088/?gift=hVZeG3M9DnxL4CekrWGK39h5wzR–PdEbMVMB5FR5Xs&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

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Uncle Retrospective, Sean Robinson, Todd

Arjan Dirkse wrote:

I’m watching a podcast where they talk about the right wing push and they’re making the interesint g point that the church in Europe is to some extent a moderating factor. They mentioned Germany especially where a bishop was “less Christian” than the CDU which wanted crucifixes in classrooms.

I think it was only parts of the CDU that wanted the cruficixes, but yeah, the churches are rather more moderate. They also told off Merz for working with the AfD in trying to push through measures against immigrants.

(And another conservative politician – the same one who recently pushed for crucifixes in Bavarian official buildings, actually – told them they should stick to “Christian issues” like protecting unborn life, the ignorant stupid fuck.)

That’s good that they’re speaking out against AfD. AfD looks worse than maybe all the other popular right wing parties, except the one in Bulgaria maybe   which is also fucking nuts.

 

I’ve been listening to this podcast the last few days. It’s Dutch but a very good one, they have sort of a Christian angle but pretty liberal, left wing. One of the people who is on the podcast is a historian named Beatrice de Graaf who’s very good. If you’re on bluesky you can look her up, she has very interesting things to say. (And posts in English)

 

edit: mistake, I see most of her posts are in Dutch

Talking about Canada, Gulf of America, Greenland, more tariffs, displacing people to renovate Gaza. International politics is not a reality entertainment show.

In that link about the last time US bureaucracy was purged, it took decades to undo the damage. If the Dem administration ever takes back the government, a lot of work to undo the damage. I look at history for patterns and I plan to read more about this businessman Berlusconi who started his own party in Italy and became prime minister in the 90s and how it all turned out.

The more the public realizes that they aren’t any better off but worse, what will happen? How is it all going to end?

Al-x wrote:

In that link about the last time US bureaucracy was purged, it took decades to undo the damage. If the Dem administration ever takes back the government, a lot of work to undo the damage.

The way DOGE is currently illegally burning through government institutions is pretty much an ongoing coup. At this point, it really does not seem sure that the US will remain a democracy at all.

Time for the liberal states to start discussing secession, I suppose.

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Andrew, Martin Smith, Todd

If the liberal states secede and most of the military stays in the hands of the federal government, that’s it for the world order basically. Most of Europe will be overrun by Russia.

 

Jesus Christ, almost every political figure in Europe is a massive idiot.

Political idiots are not just a European thing.

Arjan, why not take a break from the internet and go to a museum or art gallery? Give your brain something beautiful to think about for a change that isn’t on a screen.

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Al-x, Todd

I’m not that upset by politics atm, I mean everything sucks, but I don’t care very much anymore. What will happen, will happen.

Jesus fucking fuck.

There was another attack. A young Afghan guy drove his car into a union demonstration. Nobody killed, thank God, but many people severely hurt.

Right in the final phase of the election campaigns, another push for the extremist right. I’m about ready to just give up.

It sucks that AfD has so much support, but I think it’s very unlikely they’ll end up in government.

Right now, probably not. But the conservatives’ candidate for chancellor has just tried to push through anti-migration legislation through parliament and he explicitly tried to do it with the AfD’s votes.

There’s a very real chance chance that there won’t be a government coalition with a majority after the next election, so Merz could form a minority government and rely on the AfD to supply the missing votes.

It’s not a very likely scenario, but at this point, it’s quite possible. CDU and SPD might not have a majority on their own (provided the SPD would even work with Merz’s CDU, which would be absolutely self-destructive), the CDU has ruled out a coalition with the Green Party, and the FDP is probably not going to make it into parliament (because we’ve got this 5 percent hurdle thing).

For fuck’s sake

 

https://www.commondreams.org/news/democrats-progressive-groups

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Todd

Christian wrote:

Right now, probably not. But the conservatives’ candidate for chancellor has just tried to push through anti-migration legislation through parliament and he explicitly tried to do it with the AfD’s votes.

There’s a very real chance chance that there won’t be a government coalition with a majority after the next election, so Merz could form a minority government and rely on the AfD to supply the missing votes.

It’s not a very likely scenario, but at this point, it’s quite possible. CDU and SPD might not have a majority on their own (provided the SPD would even work with Merz’s CDU, which would be absolutely self-destructive), the CDU has ruled out a coalition with the Green Party, and the FDP is probably not going to make it into parliament (because we’ve got this 5 percent hurdle thing).

Throw out all your politicians and resurrect Adenauer. ;)

 

It sucks that these terror attacks lead to these gains for the worst parties. I mean I think you have to be able to point out when a certain group of people has a problem, wether that is muslims, white people, black people, whoever. But you can’t allow that to grow into hate for all of those people.

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Christian

[Andy Farmer]

I think the problematic part is the whole notion of identifying problems with “certain groups of people”

• This reply was modified 1 week, 1 day ago by Andy Farmer.

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Todd, lorcan_nagle

Well, I have zero problems with policies that actually would increase security – like increasing funding for social workers, making sure that convicted felons are actually incarcerated or supervised in a different manner. Not to mention, when it comes to refugees and asylum seekers, increasing funding for proper housing as well as language courses and social integration measures, as well as making it easier for them to be allowed to get a job.

Trying to reduce immigration itself drastically, on the other hand, is neither realistic nor even desireable (because as a society, we need about 500.000 immigrants a year to fill up the people retiring from work every year – we are an aging society). But it is pretty much the only measure the right wing is pushing.

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Arjan Dirkse

I follow a Dutch scholar of Turkish descent, with the impossible name Uğur Ümit Üngör, who talked about how almost half of Syrian refugees here were tortured in prison in Syria. He said, well of course these people have problems fitting in within society, they’re kinda fucked up from what they went through. Some of them will do bad things and some of them will need extensive treatment, and mental healthcare at the moment is not equiped for that.

 

These are things we have to be clear eyed about I think. If we don’t, politicians like the AfD who think every foreigner is a demon will run away with the issue.

lorcan_nagle wrote:

For fuck’s sake

 

https://www.commondreams.org/news/democrats-progressive-groups

Why shoot yourself in the foot when you can aim for the head?

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lorcan_nagle

Arjan Dirkse wrote:

I follow a Dutch scholar of Turkish descent, with the impossible name Uğur Ümit Üngör, who talked about how almost half of Syrian refugees here were tortured in prison in Syria. He said, well of course these people have problems fitting in within society, they’re kinda fucked up from what they went through. Some of them will do bad things and some of them will need extensive treatment, and mental healthcare at the moment is not equiped for that.

 

These are things we have to be clear eyed about I think. If we don’t, politicians like the AfD who think every foreigner is a demon will run away with the issue.

Yeah, sure, when it comes to people fleeing from persecution or war zones, some of them will be massively traumatised and providing mental health resources will also decrease the risk of someone snapping.

Well, we’re probably going to be dead or refugees soon, with the way Russia is going. I actually agree with Trump in ignoring Zelensky and the EU shit-for-brains politicians, and their discordant, hysteric whining. Problem is Trump is an idiot too.

Germany:

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/50-battle-ready-germany-misses-military-targets-despite-scholzs-overhaul-2025-02-13/

 

50 % battle ready…fucking incredible how inept Scholz is.

More fallout: One of the first day executive order signings defunded this subsidy in Alabama. A lot of MAGA supporters there got letters from their utility companies that their bills will now go up 100/month.

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Todd

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Todd

Accused Sex Trafficker and Rapist Andrew Tate Finds Ally in Trump

Of course he does.

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Uncle Retrospective, lorcan_nagle, Todd

Rapist finds ally in Rapist.

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Todd, JRCarter

Firing nuclear safety workers:

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/team-trump-struggles-rehire-fired-nuclear-safety-workers-rcna192447

With the blitzkrieg executive signings, the gutting/defundings, pink slips and severance offers, he wants to come across as trimming excess from government, making it all “efficient” streamlined etc. Some voters are going for it but then, the voters never saw how interconnected things are. Some ended up voting for their own neighborhood resources gutted, their own jobs in jeopardy as (to their surprise) the DEI applied to them too, utility bills went up, prices in general, and their own foreclosures. And it is not even a month yet.

As for Musk, his companies were being investigated by federal agencies, and now Musk controls the the agencies.

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Todd

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JRCarter, Todd

[Arjan Dirkse]

edit: That was perhaps a bit too strident. Let’s just say I wouldn’t be sad if something very bad happened to the Tate brothers.

• This reply was modified 3 days, 19 hours ago by Arjan Dirkse.

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Dave, Todd, lorcan_nagle

Tusk might the the only European leader at the moment who isn’t insane.

 

https://www.politico.eu/article/poland-donald-tusk-throws-down-gauntlet-to-eu-leaders-ukraine-defense-spending/