The Politics Thread

[Juliajms]

The Netherlands is stepping up to help fund abortion in developing countries. This is what we need, other countries to step in and take over where the US is now falling down on the job.

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/25/politics/netherlands-trump-global-gag-rule/

[DramatistDreamer]

 

 

Oh, it's already happening, at least on the trade and enviromental policy side. China already announced that it plans to step into the void and lead. The Chinese government will relish any chance to 'show up' the U.S., especially since the U.S. is now headed by a president they consider to be "ignorant".

Edited January 26, 2017 by DramatistDreamer

[JaneAusten]

I have been following Gary Kasparov on twitter who would know a lot about authoritarianism. A lot of the lies and partial pullbacks from them are tactics and make people start questioning what they actually heard. It is something else that puts a blemish on the media. So I'm not convince that a lot of this is not by design like the leaking of the document that talked about bringing back torture, pulling back from it by denying they were the source. It got people all riled up, although Trump did say it in that TV Interview

 

I'm now questioning whether than alleged twitter whistleblower account was also not a setup.

 

See what I mean when you read this. This is the man behind it all IMO.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump’s-chief-strategist-says-news-media-should-‘keep-its-mouth-shut’/ar-AAmhL9O?li=AA5a8k&ocid=spartanntp

[DRW50]

 

Given the political situation in the Netherlands I mostly wonder how long until they are where we are. 

 

Weren't they the ones who said Russia was hacking Vermont to get to Bernie Sanders?

 

I can believe there's something going on at State, but I don't trust them.

 

In the case of trade, the US' poor handling of the matter in the last few decades is one of the reasons we got Trump in the first place. I wouldn't mind another country "filling the void" on that if it meant better policies than vague talk about "globalization" that mostly benefits fat cat bosses. Sadly that isn't what this will be - Trump is driving people away and bringing nothing in. 

[dragonflies]

 

[Juliajms]

Ha! Yeah, I know about that, but I'm not talking about countries that have more disturbing human rights records than we are about to have. I'm talking about countries stepping up to lead the free world and rendering aid to developing nations.

 

 

 

[DRW50]

The problem with the Parks Service is rather than tweeting from the start about environmental facts, someone decided to be cute and retweet something about a crowd size. That isn't brave keyboard warriors speaking out against truth. It was a break away from what they should be doing and it gave their critics ammo. Cartoons are nice but they can't help basic tactics. And that's something that most who oppose Trump seem to lack. 

[dragonflies]

 

[DramatistDreamer]

 

That will take some time and may be more complex than you think, especially considering how many European countries, in particular, threaten to take a right-ward turn.

 

The Netherlands is largely considered one of the "good guys" now but in reality, they have a very muddled history that links with slavery and apartheid with repercussions, particularly in Southern Africa, that persist to this day.

It's not always easy to discern who are the "good guys" and who are tainted.

 

I agree that China has an awful human rights record and it's fairly obvious they have an agenda for wanting to lead on environmental and trade issues, still a country with a billion plus people will have an impact that will be difficult to dismiss.

Edited January 26, 2017 by DramatistDreamer

[Khan]

 

I think the former president of Mexico just got Black on everybody.

 

I'd trust the ladies who attend Mama Khan's church over CNN.

 

Forgot to add:

 

The hastag, of course, is the best part.  It's such a me thing to do.

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[DramatistDreamer]

Anyway you slice it, U.S. taxpayers are paying for that wall!

 

20% tax on imports from Mexico?! Many avocados (CA cannot produce enough on their own to meet demand, especially after having years of drought), limes are imported from Mexico.

People who like tequila, agave syrup, etc even some appliances...are going to end up paying the price and it looks to be a steep one!

Edited January 26, 2017 by DramatistDreamer

[Khan]

 

Don't worry, Kimberlin Brown's got this.

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[dragonflies]

Which means people will stop buying these goods imported from Mexico and then no money for that #fuckingwall

[Juliajms]

Sure, but I'm not going to judge countries on their past. If we do that it's going to be mighty hard to find anyone with anything approaching clean hands and there is nothing anyone can do to change the past.  I'm a lot more worried about who is violating human rights right now because that can be changed. I'm not suggesting anyone dismiss China. They were going to have a huge impact on world affairs no matter who was elected in the US this year. Trump is just giving them an even bigger opening.

[DramatistDreamer]

 

Agreed!