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

[4saken1]

It's in the CNN article.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/29/us/no...00%20residents.



It is notable that wherever you got the story didn't cover this detail.

He posted the same story. Scott was the only one who caught this, apparently. This is a good example of how everybody is guilty of a little confirmation bias from time to time.

[Mister Mets]

Didn't that heavily feature Cancun Cruz?

It is notable that whenever Mets posts in this thread, the GOP can always count more on Cruz being around for what actually matters and for more years.

What does my posting indicate?

He posted the same story. Scott was the only one who caught this, apparently. This is a good example of how everybody is guilty of a little confirmation bias from time to time. Being that CNN is the supposed benchmark for 'liberal' bias, aren't you shocked that they included this in their story?

They did seem to bury it, which is evident in how people have become familiar with the story but not with that important facet. Someone on this board thought the fact that the previous town manager was white supremacist propaganda. If people are that confident and mistaken, the story was communicated poorly.

The headline leaves the impression it's about race. "An entire North Carolina police department resigned after a Black woman town manager was hired." And it's not until the middle of the second section of the article that they explain that the previous town manager was black.

[Catlady in training]

Russia does have a pretty good track history of lying, and trying to explain away war crimes by going, "No. It was you." They're the geopolitical equivalent of Peter Griffin farting in an elevator.

I saw a perceptive comment the other day regarding russia being recognized as a terrorist state: The only difference between russia and islamic terrorists is that islamic terrorists take credit for their actions.

Let's get something straight. Simply being Jewish does not preclude one from being a Nazi. Stephen Miller is Jewish, but many of us called him a Nazi when he was one of Trump's top advisors. That said, even if there are a few Nazis in the Ukraine government, that doesn't justify Russia's invasion. I mean, we have a few white supremacists in our government and they should definitely be rooted out, but having a foreign nation invade as the way to do it? I don't think so.

It's true that Ukraine had a far-right nationalistic element in their military, but they have been already curbing it and their presence in politics has been minimal. If russia really wanted to battle neonacizm, they could look into many other European countries that have far bigger far-right groups. But instead, they help finance those groups and they in turn help spread russian propaganda.
Or they could look at themselves, since russia has a huge far-right movement themselves, which operates with quiet support of the government.

The whole talk about denazification is just domestic propaganda for simple people, since they are still riding on the story that USSR single handedly defeateted Nazi Germany.

Thing is, Putin doesn’t care. What does it matter to him if the Russian economy sinks, that doesn’t affect him directly, and he’ll let the country go down the toilet before he calls off his invasion of Ukraine.

I think the hope was that the oligarchs would turn on him once their lives become less comfortable. And that he will have troubles financing the war. There were estimations about how much does the war cost russia and I think some were as high as 1 billion USD per day.

[Gray Lensman]

I saw a perceptive comment the other day regarding russia being recognized as a terrorist state: The only difference between russia and islamic terrorists is that islamic terrorists take credit for their actions.



It's true that Ukraine had a far-right nationalistic element in their military, but they have been already curbing it and their presence in politics has been minimal. If russia really wanted to battle neonacizm, they could look into many other European countries that have far bigger far-right groups. But instead, they help finance those groups and they in turn help spread russian propaganda.
Or they could look at themselves, since russia has a huge far-right movement themselves, which operates with quiet support of the government.

The whole talk about denazification is just domestic propaganda for simple people, since they are still riding on the story that USSR single handedly defeateted Nazi Germany.




I think the hope was that the oligarchs would turn on him once their lives become less comfortable. And that he will have troubles financing the war. There were estimations about how much does the war cost russia and I think some were as high as 1 billion USD per day.

I read some interesting tidbits about the PoWs being killed. The camp was well known, and only 15 km from the front, well within range of conventional artillery. So not something a HIMARS is likely to be firing anywhere nearby, much less at. Second, the warheads on the missiles the Ukrainians have been given don't ignite stuff unless it hits something incredibly volatile, so the burned bodies are evidence of it being something else. And lastly, those missiles slam in at near hypersonic speeds (partly to ensure the guidance systems are destroyed beyond any attempt to learn anything from them even on a dud), so the tin roof wouldn't have set it off, there would have been a crater inside -- which there doesn't seem to be.

This looks more and more like Russia murdered PoWs and attempted to blame the new weapon they are having problems countering.

[JB]

The problem with postponing the trip now is that it would be blatantly apparent that they did so to appease China, which would make US look weak. And I don't think the US wants to be seen backing down from a beligerant country now, especially with what's been going on with Russia.

China should have put quiet pressure on the US through diplomatic means. Likewise, it was probably a bad idea to announce this trip to Taiwan in the first place on our part. I'm really not sure what Pelosi is thinking with this.


They don't care. They're getting so many voter suppression bills passed in the states, they think their jobs are secure no matter what they do.

While I completely agree that the US should never back down because of China's rhetoric (especially with Russia saying yesterday that they stand in solidarity with said rhetoric), I figured a postponement would be a sign of unity after Biden said it wasn't a good idea. It looks like a disconnect between Pelosi and Biden/the military at the moment. But I'll trust that she knows what she's doing.

[Tami]

Putin, Nukes and Keeping the West Strong for Ukraine

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has raised a whole bunch of important questions, including “What the hell was Putin thinking?”

But among others are: 1) Would Russian President Vladimir Putin actually use a nuclear weapon? and 2) Why has the North Atlantic Treaty Organization been so unified in backing Ukraine?

Luckily enough, I was able to talk with someone who could give insight into all of them: Rose Gottemoeller. She has served first as under secretary of state for arms control and international security under President Barack Obama, then as deputy secretary general of NATO from 2016 to 2019. I spoke with Gottemoeller, now a lecturer at Stanford University and a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, at the Aspen Security Forum, an annual foreign-policy bacchanal held in the Colorado resort town. Here is a lightly edited transcript of our conversation.

Tobin Harshaw: I mostly want to talk NATO and nukes. But first, you and I sat through an interview with the Chinese ambassador, Qin Gang. Among other things, he said there was a plot to make Hong Kong the 51st American state, and that putting the Uyghurs of Western China into camps was about “saving people’s lives.”

Rose Gottemoeller: Terrorism prevention, he said

TH: He tried to shame us by quoting Abraham Lincoln’s “House Divided” speech. Do the Chinese believe this stuff? And if so, how do you deal with a rival that lives in an alternate reality?

RG: We’ve had a lot of experience dealing with propaganda. Certainly the Nazis, and then the Soviet Union for 70 years. You try to carve out an area where you can come up with some sensible and mutually useful initiatives on the foundation of reality. That often means a sharp contradiction on their part, because they’re contradicting what they’ve said in other spaces and other places. But, eventually, I hope we’ll be able to deal with the Chinese despite this other crazy stuff.

[Jack Dracula]

Apropos:
Xi and Biden exchange warnings on Taiwan
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-62340814

China isn't going to shoot down US fighter jets over something like Pelosi's visit. They're only making threats because it's basically expected of them at this point by their allies in the region. They have too much invested in US businesses, banking, and real estate plus they hold a significant amount of our debt from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It isn't worth the financial sacrifice to go to war with us over something like this.




Not related to that:
For those of you wondering if Trump will really run for a second term, it seems he's already making plans to hit the ground running and assume control.

https://www.axios.com/2022/07/22/tru...aign=editorial

Evidently, the plan immediately after taking office is to replace potentially troublesome people at various levels of government with loyalists who will do as they're told.

Former President Trump’s top allies are preparing to radically reshape the federal government if he is re-elected, purging potentially thousands of civil servants and filling career posts with loyalists to him and his "America First” ideology, people involved in the discussions tell Axios.

The impact could go well beyond typical conservative targets such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Internal Revenue Service. Trump allies are working on plans that would potentially strip layers at the Justice Department — including the FBI, and reaching into national security, intelligence, the State Department and the Pentagon, sources close to the former president say.

During his presidency, Trump often complained about what he called “the deep state.”

The heart of the plan is derived from an executive order known as “Schedule F,” developed and refined in secret over most of the second half of Trump’s term and launched 13 days before the 2020 election.

I guess I come off like a conspiracy kook sometimes, but history tells us that these sorts of situations almost never end well.
What worries me is that people don't invest time, energy, and money to this degree for only four more years in office. He's clearly learned from his previous mistakes and is taking steps to eliminate them in his next term.

[shooshoomanjoe]

Biden is going to continue a bit of trump's wall in AZ. I really hope the dems have a better option in 2024.

[JB]

Prayers for a speedy recovery, again.

President Joe Biden tests positive for Covid-19 again
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/30/polit...ive/index.html

[Scott Taylor]

Do you have a source or this some white nationalist propaganda you read somewhere.

My answer depends on if the poster who posted the original article is a white nationalist or not.

[worstblogever]

Well, some audio has been uncovered by the Washington Post in a Danish filmmaker's documentary following the Trump campaign from Waaaaaay Back in 2019...

It's Roger Stone fretting that he's going to be found guilty and go to prison for his crimes uncovered during the Mueller investigation, and disgraced Congressman Matt Gaetz assuring him he'd hit up Trump to pardon him so he'd never serve a day in jail.

Which happened. There doesn't seem to be much to indicate either think he's innocent of the crimes he's accused of, either.

[babyblob]

Indiana has passed their Anti Abortion bill.

it bans abortion from the time of conception. It does have a clause for rape an incest but the victims would have to fill out a notarized form not just stating they are a victim but what happened and who did it.

Also no clause for a woman's health. So if the woman's life is at risk too bad. Still cant get it. It would also punish those who travel to another state that does not have these standards.

[Catlady in training]

Indiana has passed their Anti Abortion bill.

it bans abortion from the time of conception. It does have a clause for rape an incest but the victims would have to fill out a notarized form not just stating they are a victim but what happened and who did it.

Also no clause for a woman's health. So if the woman's life is at risk too bad. Still cant get it. It would also punish those who travel to another state that does not have these standards.

I don't understand this part. How are they going to do that? Travelling to another state is legal as far as I know and getting healthcare in said state that is legal there should also be legal, right? So, where is the breaking of law?

[babyblob]

I don't understand this part. How are they going to do that? Travelling to another state is legal as far as I know and getting healthcare in said state that is legal there should also be legal, right? So, where is the breaking of law?

I am not sure at all. Or how they would know if a woman did do this. But a few states either have that or want to put it in their abortion laws. I know Kentucky did this and it is being challenged in court. So I figure this one will as well.

[Mister Mets]

My answer depends on if the poster who posted the original article is a white nationalist or not.

Technically the claim was that the article on CNN was white nationalist propaganda, with the insinuation that it's suspicious that you're familiar with it.