Other countries

[neoplacebo]

I think one of his old standby lies about how America is "respected again" by other countries, which he's trotted out periodically since 2017, is particularly pertinent now. It wasn't true then and is less true now. By a bigly lot.

:thumbup: Maybe it's our sense of the absurd that is "respected again".




It's happened again:

A Russian artist who was critical of Putin is killed near his home in Poland

A 44-year-old Russian artist who has been critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin was shot and killed at close range near his home in the eastern Polish city of Biala Podlaska, prosecutors said Tuesday.

... He painted unflattering portraits of Putin, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and other high-ranking Russian officials. One depicts Putin being cradled in the arms of the Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

On Sunday, he had posted a video on his YouTube channel showing him in Berlin putting a Russian flag in a trash can on June 12, the holiday marking Russia's sovereignty.

Fallen hero.

... Polish authorities arrested a man in 2024 in what they said was a plot to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. That same year, a Russian helicopter pilot who defected was killed in Spain, with Russian operatives as the prime suspects.

Putin's henchmen. :obscene-birdiered:

Yeah, I'm sure that it's true that America is respected again. Just because of trump. What a load of shit. He probably thinks he got a lot of respect the other day when he told all the others at the G7 that "I'm the boss." I guarantee every goddamn one of them laughed their asses off when in private. Maybe trump thinks America gets more respect now than it used to because those G7 folks didn't openly laugh at him like what happened at the UN the first time he slithered into office.

[O Really]

Here's a guy who might be the next British Prime Minister. Why do we never get people like him running in the US?

[Vrede too]

Here's a guy who might be the next British Prime Minister. Why do we never get people like him running in the US?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J3C3VnTJ34

They run, but He identifies politically as a socialist ... They rarely win outside of NYC and VT.

[O Really]

Burnham:

“But it is a chance now, from this result tonight, to build a new politics based on unity and hope, turning away from the path that takes us to a divided, dark politics of the kind we see in the United States,” he said.

[GoCubsGo]

Burnham:

“But it is a chance now, from this result tonight, to build a new politics based on unity and hope, turning away from the path that takes us to a divided, dark politics of the kind we see in the United States,” he said.

Unity and hope?

What's old is new again.

[O Really]

Yeah, almost sounds quaint and antiquated, doesn't it?

I saw an article where the writer was considering who to vote for and decided to vote for whoever didn't say he'd fight for them. They didn't want somebody "fighting" for them - they wanted someone who could work with others to actually get something done. The article was a bit tongue in cheek, but consider the ads you've seen. Almost all of them involve the candidate wanting to fight. Some of them paint not only their colleagues, but the entire governing body (which they're trying to join) as the enemy - or at least their opponent.

[Vrede too]

Yeah, almost sounds quaint and antiquated, doesn't it?

I saw an article where the writer was considering who to vote for and decided to vote for whoever didn't say he'd fight for them. They didn't want somebody "fighting" for them - they wanted someone who could work with others to actually get something done. The article was a bit tongue in cheek, but consider the ads you've seen. Almost all of them involve the candidate wanting to fight. Some of them paint not only their colleagues, but the entire governing body (which they're trying to join) as the enemy - or at least their opponent.

When fighting actually matters . . . or almost did. TIL:


What Happened to Claus von Stauffenberg's Family After WW2?

Assassination is a clumsy and unpredictable tool, but it would be nice to learn that we have patriots like Claus von Stauffenberg.

[O Really]

Under UK law (specifically the Communications Act 2003), paid political advertising on television or radio is strictly banned. Instead, political parties and MPs reach viewers via designated Party Political Broadcasts (PPBs) or viral campaign clips.

The Broadcast Ban: Paid ads from political parties, candidates, or MPs cannot be bought or aired on British TV channels or radio.

Party Political Broadcasts: Broadcasters give free, allocated airtime to registered political parties during election cycles and regular intervals.

Viral MP Videos: Individual MPs occasionally go viral for unconventional, self-produced local campaign videos rather than formal television ads. Example of an "unconventional" and viral campaign video produced by a British Conservative Member of Parliament:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/vi ... aign-video

[GoCubsGo]

Just one more thing we get wrong.

[O Really]

Oh yeah, our lives would definitely be better without paid political ads and a shorter campaign period. Also make it easier to remove office-holders. If we could get rid of them easier, there wouldn't be any need for arbitrary term limits, and they wouldn't have a sense of entitled security for the term of office.

[GoCubsGo]

Oh yeah, our lives would definitely be better without paid political ads and a shorter campaign period. Also make it easier to remove office-holders. If we could get rid of them easier, there wouldn't be any need for arbitrary term limits, and they wouldn't have a sense of entitled security for the term of office.

Wonder if anyone has done a study correlation of the billions of dollars spent vs. the actual votes turned or influenced.

Talk about a crappy ROI, heck Putin turned a national election for less than 300 million.

[O Really]

We could say everybody has to have a vote turned in, and if they don't do it themselves, a vote will be randomly generated for them. Bet we'd get better results most of the time.

[supesalemgr2]

We could say everybody has to have a vote turned in, and if they don't do it themselves, a vote will be randomly generated for them. Bet we'd get better results most of the time.

I realize that is a tongue in cheek comment. However, it is a scary thought.

[Vrede too]

We could say everybody has to have a vote turned in, and if they don't do it themselves, a vote will be randomly generated for them. Bet we'd get better results most of the time.

O Really for POTUS!

Drone strike on a market in disputed African region of Abyei kills at least 153
A drone strike on a fuel depot at a market in South Sudan's disputed Abyei region has killed at least 153 people, an official said

A drone strike on a market in Abyei, a border region disputed by Sudan and South Sudan, hit a nearby fuel depot, killing at least 153 people and igniting a fire that was still burning Tuesday, a local official said.

Yohanna Akol Ngor, the Abyei administration’s caretaker information minister, blamed Sudan ’s military for Monday's attack on Amiet Market, north of Abyei town.

“We have recorded 153 deaths,” Akol told The Associated Press by phone Tuesday. He said the death toll continued to rise as the fire burned....

x 153+

[Vrede too]

First Hungary's RW Orban, then Lula, now:

Aleksandar Vucic defeated in Serbia election as student protest movement claims historic win
The snap elections came following nearly two years of student-driven demonstrations against perceived corruption and creeping authoritarianism

Serbia’s long-standing strongman leader, Aleksandar Vucic, admitted defeat on Sunday following an election against a broad, student-led opposition movement that had demonstrated against his government for two years.

This represents a major political transformation in the Balkan nation, where Vucic held near-total authority for 14 years. Endorsed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Vucic had condemned the student protesters, framing their campaign as a foreign plot to remove him.

Crowds quickly gathered in the capital, Belgrade, and across other Serbian cities to celebrate the outcome.

Belgrade resident Dragana Kovacevic delighted in seeing that "everyone greets with smiles." She stated: "we are all too happy, finally we are becoming one normal and free country."

Maja Stetic said she feels “fantastic.” Vucic's ouster, she said, "means liberation for me, means a new future for us and our children.”

Cheering emoji

... Serbia's 6.4 million voters were electing lawmakers to the 250-member Parliament. In conceding the election, Vucic said his party projects that his opponents, the youth-backed Students’ List, will take between 135 and 140 seats while his SNS party will have around 105.

“It is now clear that we have lost and the Students’ List has won,” Vucic told supporters at his party's election night event, though he blamed Serbia's independent media as well as alleged interference by unnamed European countries and an ”American deep state" for the loss.

Crybaby emoji. ”American"?

Belgrade erupts in celebration

Vucic said that his SNS party won around 1.7 million votes compared to the Students’ List, which he said took around 2.2 million.

Radomir Saicic, a Students’ List candidate, said “tonight is not just about results.”

“It is about people who believed and continued to fight,” he said. “This is a victory over fear …it is nobody’s trophy, it is a citizens victory. But victory carries responsibility.”


Supporters of the Students' List gather at the National assembly building


A drone view shows students from Novi Sad walking along a road through the fields on their way to Belgrade near the town of Indjija, Serbia.

applause emoji

Student movement campaigned on rebuilding democracy

... The students have used youthful energy to attract voters who are disillusioned with local politicians. Vilified by pro-government media, they cycled and walked through the country to reach voters in rural areas — Vucic’s traditional strongholds.

The student victory echoed the recent electoral defeat of a Vucic ally in Hungary, where youth participation helped oust the autocratic Viktor Orbán after 16 years and bring in a new pro-European government. It was likely to resonate beyond Serbia as countries across Europe have faced angry youth and student protests....

First Congress, Europe, Israel and South America, then the world!

[Whack9]

Looks like Bolsanaro, the opposition candidate in the recent Brazilian election, fled to the United States. He now claims he's the rightful president of Brazil.

Lmao it used to be that all of the criminals and dirtbags would flee to Russia or some other backwater to escape justice. Now they flee to the US.

[GoCubsGo]

Looks like Bolsanaro, the opposition candidate in the recent Brazilian election, fled to the United States. He now claims he's the rightful president of Brazil.

Lmao it used to be that all of the criminals and dirtbags would flee to Russia or some other backwater to escape justice. Now they flee to the US.

Does he have a suite at Mar-a-Lago?