All purpose news and politics thread part v: The quickening

[Mister Mets]

American investment in China, just like anywhere else, was only ever meant to enrich a small circle of local elites while keeping the rest of the population poor enough to continue supplying cheap labor in perpetuity. The Chinese taking advantage of this to build up a relatively advanced economy that now competes with the US on many levels was never supposed to happen, and is regarded by Americans of every political stripe as the greatest strategic miscalculation of recent times.

Behind all the rosy talk about cooperation and connectivity, globalization in practice largely came down to Western powers extracting raw materials and cheap labor from poor countries, while turning around and selling them finished goods at massively inflated prices. Somehow, all of these geniuses in charge of economic and foreign policy never thought that third worlders could be anything more than docile worker bees, or that they would find ways to exploit this game to their own advantage eventually.

On top of this, our cynical invocation of "liberal democratic values" to topple regimes and sow chaos throughout the third world has led many people to basically throw out the baby with the bathwater and categorically reject any Western influences entirely. For example, there were no doubt plenty of people living in Russia who genuinely believed that implementing American capitalism and democracy would really improve their lives, but after seeing the disastrous decade that followed the collapse of the USSR, they couldn't run fast enough back into the arms of an authoritarian despot.

It really doesn't matter why American investment occurs in order for it have the positive outcome of contributing to the lifting of large portions out of extreme poverty, which is one of the most important stories of the last fifty years.

There's room for improvement, but it's massively important that there has been a major decline in extreme poverty.

[Tami]

Trump loses appeal of New York tax returns case

[jetengine]

Its interesting because I suspect the reason America grates on most other nations isn't so much the horrible things they do or their power (which most nations expect they'd probably do the same if they had the same means) its the consistent bleating about how America is a just, noble and fair country who are definitly the good guys. And you believe it.

[PwrdOn]

It really doesn't matter why American investment occurs in order for it have the positive outcome of contributing to the lifting of large portions out of extreme poverty, which is one of the most important stories of the last fifty years.

There's room for improvement, but it's massively important that there has been a major decline in extreme poverty.

That same overseas investment is also responsible for the the hollowing out of American industry and the sorry state of the working class. The point is not that Americans are somehow more evil than everyone else, it's just that when we exploit other countries we benefit, and when we bring benefits to foreign countries, even inadvertently, we end up getting screwed over. I don't hate my country, I just wish there was a version of it that could co-exist peacefully and prosperously with the rest of the world, and that just doesn't seem possible right now unless you're willing to put on some pretty heavy blinders.

[Mister Mets]

The New York Times has done some swing state polling, comparing Trump to Biden, Sanders and Warren in the states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, Pennsylvania, Arizona and North Carolina, looking at both registered and likely voters.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/04/u...gtype=Homepage

Biden leads in most states.
Sanders does pretty well in Michigan, but doesn't swing the other states.
Warren's not doing too well. Curiously, she does worse among Hispanic and African-American voters than Clinton did in 2016.

[AnakinFlair]

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/...58055397969920

Am I reading what I am reading?
He openly admits it! Where are we?
Please tell me this is not a dream! I just found that while searching for his tweet about witholding federal aid to California against the fires. He's testing the waters. I've done it but it's alright is his new defense.

So, 'If the President does it, it's not illegal' is his argument? Really?

Anyone tell him about Nixon yet?

[jetengine]

So, 'If the President does it, it's not illegal' is his argument? Really?

Anyone tell him about Nixon yet?

Thats literally a line from Frost/Nixon

[Mister Mets]

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/...58055397969920

Am I reading what I am reading?
He openly admits it! Where are we?
Please tell me this is not a dream! I just found that while searching for his tweet about witholding federal aid to California against the fires. He's testing the waters. I've done it but it's alright is his new defense.

His argument seems to be that there was no quid pro quo, and if there had been a quid pro quo, there still wouldn't be anything wrong with it.

[babyblob]

Kinda like Oj saying I didnt murder those two people, but If I did here is how it would have went.

[Malvolio]

https://www.salon.com/2019/11/04/pre...real-pollster/

He's sounding increasingly desperate.

[Gray Lensman]

Hell, comic book versions of businessmen are more believable.

And have higher morals, at least publically. Lex Luthor divested from his business empire.

[Mister Mets]

Kinda like Oj saying I didnt murder those two people, but If I did here is how it would have went.

Now we know the structure of his presidential memoir.

[Tami]

Twitter won’t autoban neo-Nazis because the filters may ban GOP politicians April 26, 2019

[Theleviathan]

Thoughts?

My first reaction....Bernie has an edge in Michigan but not Biden? That....really makes me want to dig into why that would be.

[Celgress]

Thoughts?

My first reaction....Bernie has an edge in Michigan but not Biden? That....really makes me want to dig into why that would be.

The Auto Industry would be my first guess. Current and former auto workers feel disillusioned by the decline of the industry and favor anyone who claims she or he can make their lives "better".