International Politics / Current Events Thread

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

31 minutes ago, avatar! said:

Exclusive: Russian media's reach in U.S. limited after invasion, DHS document says

https://www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-russian-medias-reach-in-us-limited-after-invasion-dhs-document-says-212208772.html

Russian disinformation experts told Yahoo News the assessment tracks with what they’ve seen in recent months but strongly cautioned against downplaying or underestimating Russia’s capabilities.

A former senior government official involved in aspects of the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 elections put it more bluntly. “They don’t need China; they don’t need state media,” said the former official, who also requested anonymity. “They just need social media and Tucker Carlson."

Ain't that the sad truth.

Don’t forget about the super low IQ/Trump supporters/ republicans that believe all that garbage that gets turned out. Without the bottom feeders, none of that stuff would make a difference. 
 

It’s only gonna get worse now that that insufferable douche bag Elon musk bought Twitter

[Dr. Morbis | 2,088]

8 minutes ago, MrWunderful said:

Don’t forget about the super low IQ/Trump supporters/ republicans that believe all that garbage that gets turned out. Without the bottom feeders, none of that stuff would make a difference.

So all Republicans are stupid and all Democrats are smart?!?  Wow, I didn't even know that!  I find your country to be absolutely fascinating...

[Californication | 1,477]

1 hour ago, Dr. Morbis said:

So all Republicans are stupid and all Democrats are smart?!?  Wow, I didn't even know that!  I find your country to be absolutely fascinating...

Correct me if I am wrong, but aren't you the guy that compared black people to dogs and later said Canada doesn't have racism?

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

1 hour ago, Dr. Morbis said:

So all Republicans are stupid and all Democrats are smart?!?  Wow, I didn't even know that!  I find your country to be absolutely fascinating...

where did I say democrats were smart?

 

 

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

12 minutes ago, Californication said:

Correct me if I am wrong, but aren't you the guy that compared black people to dogs and later said Canada doesn't have racism?

No that was code monkey

[Californication | 1,477]

23 minutes ago, MrWunderful said:

No that was code monkey

@Dr.Morbis - my mistake.

[Dr. Morbis | 2,088]

5 hours ago, Californication said:

@Dr.Morbis - my mistake.

No worries, but be more careful throwing around accusations like that in the future; that one was pretty bad...

5 hours ago, MrWunderful said:

where did I say democrats were smart?

Well if they're not smart either, then were did all the smart people go???

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

4 hours ago, Dr. Morbis said:

No worries, but be more careful throwing around accusations like that in the future; that one was pretty bad...

Well if they're not smart either, then were did all the smart people go???

Not sure. But not watching Tucker Carlson

[avatar! | 1,808]

https://theconversation.com/do-smart-people-tend-to-be-more-liberal-yes-but-it-doesnt-mean-all-conservatives-are-stupid-57713

On the available evidence, the presence of people subscribing to economic liberalism within the ostensibly conservative parties in the US, UK and Australia makes it very unlikely that a substantial correlation – either positive or negative – will be found between political conservatism and intelligence.

Members of the left-wing political parties in these countries are not immune from social conservatism either. So, our politicians have no right to call members of the other party “stupid”.

Edited April 30, 2022 by avatar!

[avatar! | 1,808]

hehe

[avatar! | 1,808]

 

[avatar! | 1,808]

Global arms industry getting shakeup by war in Ukraine – and China and US look like winners from Russia’s stumbles

https://theconversation.com/global-arms-industry-getting-shakeup-by-war-in-ukraine-and-china-and-us-look-like-winners-from-russias-stumbles-182213

1. Russia will be the biggest loser

2. Russia’s loss is China’s gain

3. American arms makers will also be big winners

4. More countries will become arms makers

[avatar! | 1,808]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/putin-preparing-starve-much-developing-051547728.html

The historian said he believed Putin's "hunger plan" had three main objectives. First, to cut off Ukraine's exports in an attempt to destroy its statehood. Second, to create instability in Europe by producing refugees from areas that rely on Ukraine's food, like North Africa and the Middle East.

Lastly, he said Putin wanted to use mass starvation as a "backdrop for a propaganda contest."

"When the food riots begin, and as starvation spreads, Russian propaganda will blame Ukraine, and call for Russia's territorial gains in Ukraine to be recognized, and for all sanctions to be lifted," Snyder said.

Edited June 12, 2022 by avatar!

[avatar! | 1,808]

Germany Seeks Russian Pipeline Part Released in Gas De-Escalation

https://news.bloombergtax.com/international-trade/germany-sees-russian-pipeline-part-released-in-gas-de-escalation

Germany expects Canada to release a key Russian pipeline part caught up in sanctions, a move that both Berlin and Moscow have said could ease the squeeze on gas flows to Europe...Germany -- which has had to rip up decades of Russian-dependent energy policy since the war -- is now bracing for Moscow to squeeze flows further, and even for the prospect of Nord Stream never to come back online again after maintenance.

I'm not going to mince words - I can't stand Trump. That said, I will give credit where credit is due... and Germany like much of Europe was just being stupid and playing into Putin's hands.

 

[avatar! | 1,808]

Gamescom: The Ukrainian video game makers who kept working in a war zone

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-62672569

Like many colleagues in the video game industry, Iryna Bilous and Nika Avayan recently arrived at the world's largest gaming conference, Gamescom in Germany, to show off their latest title to fans. But for these two Ukrainians, the road to the trade fair has been anything but a normal journey.

Edited August 26, 2022 by avatar!

[avatar! | 1,808]

China's chief UK diplomat in Manchester involved in assault of Hong Kong protester at consulate

https://nextshark.com/chinese-consul-general-in-assault-of-protester/

This is exactly how the Chinese government views the West and freedom - something that can be bullied into submission.

FUCK CHINA

When people ask me why I go out of my way and would rather pay triple the price or more for something not made in China, well, the above is one big reason

[avatar! | 1,808]

 

[avatar! | 1,808]

Great news!

https://apnews.com/article/politics-israel-genocide-bahrain-donald-trump-c48c44096bcd78c3b714547625ac6a69

“Holocaust education is an imperative for humanity and too many countries, for too long, continue to downplay the Shoah for political reasons,” Lipstadt wrote, using a Hebrew word for the Holocaust. “I commend the UAE for this step and expect others to follow suit soon.”

[avatar! | 1,808]

Putin: I Could Never Have Foreseen 2022’s ‘Unexpected’ Crises That I Created

https://www.thedailybeast.com/vladimir-putin-i-could-never-have-foreseen-2022s-unexpected-crises-that-i-created

At a meeting with officials on economic issues Tuesday, the Russian leader stated the obvious and admitted that 2022 had been a “difficult” year for the country. But in the same breath he suggested the country’s woes had somehow been impossible to foresee.

“2022 was a very challenging year for us and we managed to get through some of the risks that arose largely unexpectedly,” he said...

Fast forward one year—and tens of thousands of dead Ukrainians (and Russians) later—and more than 40 percent of foreign companies operating in Russia have left or vowed to do so. Russia’s GDP has also fallen by 2.5 percent, and hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens have fled the country.

That didn’t stop Putin from giving himself and his government a pat on the back, however. “We worked very honorably,” he said Tuesday.

I'm rereading Animal Farm, and WOW... not much has changed.

[avatar! | 1,808]

China's surprising intelligence operations take focus following 'watershed' spy flight

https://www.yahoo.com/news/chinas-surprising-intelligence-operations-focus-070043368.html

"What was interesting about this whole incident over the past week has been it is a wakeup call for your average American about how aggressive and extensive China's espionage activities are in this country," Matt McInnis, Senior Fellow for the Institute for the Study of War’s China program, told Fox News Digital.

"There is no more aggressive espionage activity going on probably in the world than what China has been conducting in the last few decades."

And this ability was all a gift from the West. Completely misguided diplomacy with China, and allowing just about all manufacturing to be moved to China because it was "cheaper" (not really, just made execs more money) led to the situation we're in now. Slowly, the West is waking up. As a consumer, we can also do our part by doing everything we can to NOT purchase anything made in China. I know, sometimes it's impossible, but I honestly see more and more products made in the USA or in other countries such as Vietnam. Example - I was looking for some wireless headphones. The "best" I could find were not only expensive, but made in China. I opted for some "cheaper" ones made by Sony, and made in Vietnam, and they are just as good if not better than the more expensive ones from China (I tried them all out).

 

[avatar! | 1,808]

US has replaced Russia as Europe’s top crude oil supplier

https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/28/energy/eu-us-oil-imports-overtake-russia/index.html

The United States is now the biggest supplier of crude oil to the European Union. In December, 18% of the bloc’s crude imports came from America, EU data office Eurostat said Tuesday. That is a big turnaround. Russia was until recently the bloc’s top supplier of crude, accounting for as much as 31% of total imports until the end of January 2022, according to Eurostat. The US, meanwhile, came a distant second, with a maximum 13% share.

Russia has found new buyers for its oil keen to snap up barrels at a steep discount — Moscow’s Urals crude is currently trading at $54 a barrel, compared with $78 a barrel for Brent crude, the global benchmark. India and China, in particular, have ramped up oil imports from Russia since the invasion of Ukraine.

If Putin wasn't a soulless piece of murderous shite, I could almost imagine he was a fifth columnist working for the benefit of the USA

[avatar! | 1,808]

So, I guess the courts in Scotland are as flocked up as they are here in the States!

Outrage as rapist of 13-year-old girl avoids jail after SNP justice reforms

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/03/rape-scotland-community-service-sentence-snp/

A man who raped a 13-year-old schoolgirl has avoided jail following the introduction of SNP-backed justice reforms. Sean Hogg, 21, was on Monday given just 270 hours of community service for attacking the child on various occasions between March and June 2018 at Dalkeith Country Park in Midlothian.

The judge in the case, Lord Lake, said that had Hogg been aged 25 or over when the offence was committed he would have been jailed for between four and five years. However, new sentencing guidelines introduced last year state that offenders aged up to 24 should be dealt with more leniently by the Scottish courts, with prison sentences only to be given out as a last resort.

The Scottish Tories, who opposed the introduction of the new sentencing regime, claimed the ruling was a “total insult” to the girl raped by Hogg and that the interests of sexual predators were being prioritised over their victims.

Can't say I really know anything about Scottish politics, but I do know a grave injustice when I see it, and this is insane... someone explain to me how we all came to be living in a time when rapists just walk away and serve ZERO jail time! I think he should be castrated.

[avatar! | 1,808]

 

[avatar! | 1,808]

 

[avatar! | 1,808]

Russians 'threatened US base with destruction' in Syria

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/06/23/us-russia-syria-civil-war-bashar-al-assad/

The US and Russia came close to engaging in a direct military confrontation in Syria after the Russians threatened an American special forces base at the height of the civil war, it can be revealed. US commanders threatened to respond with military force after the Russians ordered American special forces to leave their base “or face destruction”.

Gen Townsend was adamant that the US forces should not capitulate to any form of Russian intimidation. “The Russians never got away with provocative action against the US while we were operating in Syria,” he said. “We always stood up to them when they came too close or tried to pressure us.”

US forces were involved in direct military action against the Russians in February 2018 when a contingent of mercenaries fighting with the Wagner Group attacked an outpost run by Syrian opposition forces and US special forces at the Syrian border city of Deir al-Zour. Between 200 and 300 Wagner mercenaries were reported to have been killed in the clash.

“Putin thought Assad was a complete idiot,” recalled a former Arab intelligence chief who met regularly with the Russian leader. “Often when they met, Putin would simply ignore him and just talk to his own officials.”

“The Russian military learned all the wrong lessons from its intervention in Syria,” said a senior British officer who served in the US-led coalition. “They assumed they could resort to the same tactics they used in Syria to achieve their goals in Ukraine. This led them to completely misjudge the Ukrainians’ ability to defend their country.”