All purpose news and politics thread part VI: This Is Not The Time For Posing

[Tami]

‘Plain old racist’: teen in New Jersey mall fight condemns arrest of Black youth

A New Jersey teen who was involved in a mall fight that went viral has said police were wrong to treat him differently than the other youth in the altercation, who is Black.

“I don’t understand why they arrested him and not me,” he said. “I say, that was just plain old racist. I don’t condone that at all.”

Video posted online last week showed an officer tackling and handcuffing the Black 14-year-old at the Bridgewater Commons Mall. A second officer pushed the 15-year-old on to a couch but did not restrain him.

The older teen told NJ.com his mother was Colombian and his father Pakistani, and that he had mistakenly been identified in media reports as white.

He also described incidents leading to the fight and the altercation itself.

He said he “even offered to get handcuffed, I offered to get detained after [the other boy] was detained, and they turned my offer down. I even asked them why they detained [the other boy] and not me, and they said because [he] was resisting”.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

‘Plain old racist’: teen in New Jersey mall fight condemns arrest of Black youth

But, Qpublicans will continue insisting that racism no longer exists in this country. Yeah, right.

[The Cool Thatguy]

But, Qpublicans will continue insisting that racism no longer exists in this country. Yeah, right.

How can there be? I mean, we elected a black president.

That they fought tooth and nail, when he dared give people healthcare.

How does one single election not wipe away generations of racism?

[Tami]

But, Qpublicans will continue insisting that racism no longer exists in this country. Yeah, right.

What amazes me about this story was the older kid held out his hands and willingly wanted to be handcuffed. That he was fully expecting to get the same treatment as the younger, Black kid. And still, the police, assuming that he was White, shrugged him off as if he wasn't even there. Even that kid said that it was wrong what the police did.

An interesting contrast to Kyle Rittenhouse who flaunted his Whiteness as a get out of jail free card.

[Mister Mets]

They were united as one against Obama, wasting time to repeal the Affordable Care Act. They are united as one for Trump, a known racist who attempted a coup. They are as equivalent as they possibly can be in today's society

Opposing a Democratic president and supporting a Republican president is normal behavior for Republican partisans. To see it as the modern day equivalence of black ministers telling slaves they'll be rewarded in heaven for serving their masters on Earth is absurd.

It may be an indication of how far we've come as a country that someone can make that argument, but it's still wrong, in that there are worse political views in contemporary America, although not among elected officeholders.

On top of that, the GQP are hellbent on rolling back voting rights, making it difficult to borderline impossible for people of color to vote, knowing they'd lean heavily Democrat. And for Qpublicans who don't have jack shit in the way of stated policies to help people who aren't white and rich and have openly indulged white supremacists along with an outright racist president, they can't afford to have minorities screwing things up for the Party of Bigotry.

I don't think the claim that Republicans are making it borderline impossible for people of color to vote is supportable.

This would require single digit voter turnout. What Republican led plans call for that?

Strawman anyone? Show me who said they are exactly the same as the antebellum South. They said today's GOP is racist, constantly using racism and white supremacy as fodder for their members. They also supported and continue to support an openly racist leader. The modern GOP is a Racist organization, full stop. And Scott wants to be a standard banner. How is that not being a traitor to his race?

Initially I thought about writing that it was absurd to call anyone a race traitor, but I didn't want to get stuck in arguments about some absurd situations like Steven from Django Unchained, or a deeply flawed minister from Oscar Micheaux's Within Our Gates.

To call someone a traitor to their race is something that should only be done in extreme circumstances. It should be seen as a bad thing for anyone to make that claim incorretly.

He's willfully "playing dumb." It's like when racists say things like, "I don't see color." Not that I'm calling Mets a racist, but he makes the same kind of disingenuous arguments.

I assure you that I legitimately believe that anyone calling Tim Scott a traitor to his race is mistaken.

[Tendrin]

Looks like the mass shooter in Portland was, unsurprisingly, a radicalized right-wing extremist and Andy Ngo fan with a track record of talking about killing BLM protestors and 'Antifa'.

Big surprise, that revelation.

https://twitter.com/Johnnthelefty/st...26618061213710

I'll wait for additional confirmation, of course, but the Portland Police have been really quiet about it.

[ed2962]

What amazes me about this story was the older kid held out his hands and willingly wanted to be handcuffed. That he was fully expecting to get the same treatment as the younger, Black kid. And still, the police, assuming that he was White, shrugged him off as if he wasn't even there. Even that kid said that it was wrong what the police did.

An interesting contrast to Kyle Rittenhouse who flaunted his Whiteness as a get out of jail free card.

I'm not sure Kyle "flaunted" his whiteness but he realized pretty quick how things were going to work out. Remember, he initially tried to surrender at the scene ( hands up even), but law enforcement drove right by him so he simply went home. After that, he knew what side of the political spectrum he had to lean into a little harder to get things working his way ( legal fees paid for etc.),

[JackDaw]

Surprised there seems so little concern here about Russian/Ukraine situation.

Perhaps a reflection of living in the US: it’s strength shields it’s citizens from many of the worlds potential woes.

It’s worrying…I think the truth is Western Europe is comparatively weak in the face of potential Russian aggression. I’ve thought for decades now that in any conventional war Russian troops could go through Europe very, very quickly…be occupying Paris in a matter of days if they wanted to.

But…of course…it’s profoundly more difficult to hold and control territory than just steam roller through it. Better the vast majority of the time to get what you want by trade, negotiations, and trickery.

[Mormel]

^This and the 'What should we borrow from other countries?' thread are also indicative of a shift in the CBR forum's poster body. Even 10 years ago, it was a fair bit more international, with regular posters from every continent.

[Tami]

Surprised there seems so little concern here about Russian/Ukraine situation.

Perhaps a reflection of living in the US: it’s strength shields it’s citizens from many of the worlds potential woes.

It’s worrying…I think the truth is Western Europe is comparatively weak in the face of potential Russian aggression. I’ve thought for decades now that in any conventional war Russian troops could go through Europe very, very quickly…be occupying Paris in a matter of days if they wanted to.

But…of course…it’s profoundly more difficult to hold and control territory than just steam roller through it. Better the vast majority of the time to get what you want by trade, negotiations, and trickery.

I'm concerned, maybe I should have posted something but things are still in a state of flux.

[AnakinFlair]

Surprised there seems so little concern here about Russian/Ukraine situation.

Perhaps a reflection of living in the US: it’s strength shields it’s citizens from many of the worlds potential woes.

It’s worrying…I think the truth is Western Europe is comparatively weak in the face of potential Russian aggression. I’ve thought for decades now that in any conventional war Russian troops could go through Europe very, very quickly…be occupying Paris in a matter of days if they wanted to.

But…of course…it’s profoundly more difficult to hold and control territory than just steam roller through it. Better the vast majority of the time to get what you want by trade, negotiations, and trickery.

When the dictatorial country decides to annex lands that speak their language, and are compiling lists of citizens of the country they are about to invade to kill and put into 'camps', I worry.

I just wish Putin would skip to the end of the bunker scene and save the world a lot of trouble.

[Tendrin]

https://www.wpri.com/news/politics/m...6-docs-reveal/

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — A Rhode Islander recently released from prison has been identified as the previously unidentified congressional candidate who received hacked information from Russian operatives during the 2016 campaign.

Documents newly posted to the Federal Election Commission website show Republican H. Russell Taub acknowledged sending a Twitter message to the account “Guccifer 2.0” seeking assistance in his unsuccessful bid to unseat Democratic Congressman David Cicilline that year.

Robert S. Mueller, the special counsel who investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election, identified Guccifer 2.0 as a handle used by Russian operatives associated with the GRU, a Russian spy agency, to distribute hacked material on prominent Democrats. Mueller’s team later revealed in an indictment that an unnamed candidate for Congress had sought assistance from Guccifer, but did not identify the individual as Taub.

Taub, 33, previously pleaded guilty in 2019 to charges that he misused more than $1 million in political donations. He was sentenced to three years in prison and was released last month, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website.

Well, huh. How about that.

Hey, WBE. I think this guy probably ought to be a late entry to your queue :P

[Gray Lensman]

Surprised there seems so little concern here about Russian/Ukraine situation.

Perhaps a reflection of living in the US: it’s strength shields it’s citizens from many of the worlds potential woes.

It’s worrying…I think the truth is Western Europe is comparatively weak in the face of potential Russian aggression. I’ve thought for decades now that in any conventional war Russian troops could go through Europe very, very quickly…be occupying Paris in a matter of days if they wanted to.

But…of course…it’s profoundly more difficult to hold and control territory than just steam roller through it. Better the vast majority of the time to get what you want by trade, negotiations, and trickery.

There's plenty of concern, but that's not something I can work through on a message board. Mostly worried doomscrolling and talking with people I know on my end.

I wonder if this will push either Sweden or Finland into NATO - the more aggressive Russia gets the more worried places their neighbors get, and with good reason.

[Tendrin]

There's plenty of concern, but that's not something I can work through on a message board. Mostly worried doomscrolling and talking with people I know on my end.

I wonder if this will push either Sweden or Finland into NATO - the more aggressive Russia gets the more worried places their neighbors get, and with good reason.

The president of Finland has already said the Finnish people would reevaluate their relationship with NATO if Russia invades Ukraine, so yeah.

It should be no surprise to anyone that countries previously under Russian dominance don't really want any part of its return.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/0...putin-00010391

That delicate balance, however, might be tipped if Russia were to invade Ukraine, which President Joe Biden and others throughout the West have painted as an imminent threat. While Niinistö emphasized his country wasn’t planning on a dramatic change in its relationship with Russia, he suggested Russia’s actions are making Finnish people rethink joining NATO.

If you're curious, look at the wiki page for 'Finlandization'.

[JackDaw]

I'm concerned, maybe I should have posted something but things are still in a state of flux.

Yes..in a way..it’s odd..in that it’s profoundly troubling, but really could we have a useful discussion about it here? Because I guess we all have the same take on it: Putin is a charismatic mad man hell bent on expansion. (Some of us might dispute the charismatic.) No one here likely to put a contrary view, to try to tease out if there is any logic or justification in the Russian actions.

See it’s escalated today. In some ways better now than earlier… most of winter is over, so the EU response won’t be quite as muted because of the German dependence on Russian gas. (Well all of Europe and UK really…because if Germany is forced to seek supplies elsewhere, it creates problems that ripple through rest of Europe and UK.)