The Politics Thread

[DRW50]

I remember a few of you saying nothing would ever come of this. I didn't really think it would either (and yes I know this isn't the end and many of these sources - left and right - for political news on Twitter are suspect). 

 

[DramatistDreamer]

From what I remember, Bragg was touted as having "progressive" credentials, whatever that means. I haven't been paying much attention to Bragg tbh, but the last time I read anything about him, from what little I read, it seemed as though he was beginning to waver. It seems he is perfectly willing to leave everything in Tish James' lap. And James can only deal with the civil aspect, not the criminal aspect of this.

I no longer reside in Manhattan but it sounds like residents should at least be demanding some answers of their D.A. perhaps bring some pressure to bear on him.

Edited February 24, 2022 by DramatistDreamer

[victoria foxton]

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 24, 2022 by victoria foxton

[Vee]

When it comes to the 2020s, in the immortal words of Dr. Kimberly Shaw, it's not what it looks like - it's worse:

Putin:

 

Edited February 24, 2022 by Vee

[Khan]

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[Vee]

We're not going to war with Russia. It's just awful, tragic and ugly. But I sure do wish Taibbi, Greenwald and most of the staff of the Intercept were right there on the ground at Kiev Ground Zero.

[Khan]

I hope we don't.  I really do.

[Wendy]

Meanwhile, Dump is flapping his gums on Phucker Snarlson's show, saying this all happened because...the 2020 Election was stolen. I schitt you not.

And the right is cheering for Dump's master.

How I wish treason still entailed firing squads as punishment.

Edited February 24, 2022 by Wendy

[DRW50]

At this point, Putin seems increasingly out of touch with reality, which makes me worry about nukes. 

Most of the media is either a) saying it's the fault of America and NATO b) saying we shouldn't care because we have done the same thing, c) saying Trump would have never let this happen and it's all Biden's weakness d) begging and pleading to send troops into Ukraine because they say that will show how strong America is. 

Sane voices are drowned out, or nowhere to be found. 

This country is so broken beyond repair. 

[DramatistDreamer]

For several years, going on a full two decades it seems, Vladimir Putin had apparently put a great deal of effort into cultivating this image of having a self-possessed persona (to the point of being bloodless and cold, some might say) but his recent actions now make him look unhinged. Perhaps he has gradually been getting to this point since the invasion of Crimea and it went all but unnoticed. For the Ukrainian people, it has to be a dire place in which to exist, at the virtual mercy of the unhinged and powerful "neighbor" intent on usurping your sovereignty with no foreseeable recourse for you to stop this.

[Cat]

VP subscribes to the Dead Cat on the Table theory of media distraction, misdirection and disinformation, and it has suited him immensely to cultivate this opaque, sphinx-like image, the great chess-master, three moves ahead of everybody else. He has basically become a real-life Bond villain (Blofeldimir?). 

I don't know how to answer the riddle that is VP. On one hand, this could be his grand plan since Crimea in 2014 -- laying the groundwork for a wider invasion to reclaim valuable parts of the lost Soviet empire. (And Ukraine is valuable -- bread-basket to Europe, route to the Bosphoros/Mediterranean, etc). 

Or has he lost it, surrounded by only a few sycophants and Xi Jingping? I actually don't know which is worse -- a competent VP or a megalomaniacal one. I am getting really scared and anxious about where this may head. 

I don't blame the Ukrainians or indeed the Poles, or Baltic States, or any other country for wanting to free themselves of the 50-year-long Soviet yoke and running headlong into the arms of the EU and NATO. I visited the Baltic States for work 15 years ago and that was the unmistakable message I got from people there. I despise this false-equivalency of "We're just as bad as Russia; one is as corrupt as the other; we're all bloodthirsty megalomaniacs, the West just hides it under the guise of democracy; VP is such an awesome StRoNg LeAdEr; we in the West are so lame!" I won't accept these self-defeating false narratives. We are NOT like VP in our adherence to some form of human rights, to free and fair elections, and to a free press and mostly free justice system. Ever since 2016, I have become exponentially more aware of how lucky we have had it, and how fragile our democracies are, how complacent we have been.

The Ukraine looks to the West and sees countries like its own, former Soviet satellites, which have regular multi-party elections, some form of economic stability, and self-determination over their own future. It looks north to Belarus (firmly under Putin's control) and sees repression and stagnation in the form of Putin's puppet, Lukashenko. I know which I would choose.

[janea4old]

Video from youtube channel of The Telegraph:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVPTqHZqdz0

 

Edited February 24, 2022 by janea4old

[victoria foxton]

 

  

 

  

[DramatistDreamer]

Oh, I have never doubted that this was his aim, he has never made a secret of his disdain for the decisions made in the wake of Perestroika and Glasnost, as it goes against everything a former KGB/FSB man like Putin and he has always aimed to reverse the policies of Gorbachev.

[DramatistDreamer]

JMO, but I don't think it has to be an either or...both can be true at the same time. He just seems increasingly desperate and willing to look this way if it gets him to achieve his aims that much quicker, whereas in the past, it just seemed as if the image of looking completely self possessed (and blame-free) was just as important as his ability to pour on the aggression. Putin, after all has always  regarded himself as being well above the likes of Kadyrov, who he regards as something of a brute. Well, his behavior is much closer than ever to the Chechen despot these days.

As for Xi Jinping, they are allies of convenience, as Xi would love to do to Hong Kong and Taiwan what Putin is currently doing to Ukraine. Mainland China has been trying coercion, ethnic cleansing (Tibet, Xinjiang, in particular), pressure tactics, veiled threats (Taiwan) and trying to claim uninhabited islands in the South China Sea (Japan, South Korea, Philippines, etc.). Xi is no doubt, waiting to see what happens and if he can do a similar maneuver with regions it considers to be part of it's own territory. China considers Taiwan to be a rebellious breakaway republic that they want to bring to heel. Hong Kong has a Sinophile for a Chief Executive, so they have made far more successful strides there. Tibet, well.

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Suffice it to say, Xi is watching what happens in Ukraine with keen interest. 

Edited February 25, 2022 by DramatistDreamer