The Politics Thread

[Vee]

This took too long for them to begin to get on top of, but it's a start and I'm very glad for it. Meanwhile:

 

The assassination of Shinzo Abe is shocking. I initially thought from vague reports that he'd died of natural causes. I haven't heard of something like that in Japan since Yukio Mishima or the Aum Shinrikyo subway gas attacks.

[DramatistDreamer]

Years ago, I recommended NHK World news and PBS NewHour as viable alternatives to the mainstream news media here in the U.S. NHK has evolved from the late night news programs that I used to watch, on occasion when I would keep some late nights during grad school in the early ‘00s to the extensive coverage they provided during the Indian Ocean tsunami a few years later. By the time of the 3/11 earthquake and tsunami/Fukushima Daiichi tragedy, I was already a daily viewer. Yes their other programming is also very interesting (you could easily find yourself watching Somewhere Street or a special on the famous Tsujiki fish market (which moved to a new location). I actually requested that they get back on the Roku to increase their accessibility. They politely responded that it wasn’t a priority but they would keep it under consideration. To my surprise, a couple years ago, they returned with their own channel on Roku. Of course, now I mainly watch them on tablet and mobile devices.

It is very odd to hear U.S. news media refer to Abe as a right-winger, since right-winger has an entirely different connotation here in the U.S. Anyone confused about what I refer to only need look at video of that infamous handshake between Abe and Trump from years ago and the expression on Abe’s face afterward.

In terms of the Comfort Women issue, a fellow writer/friend of mine who is a Korean woman wrote a piece while we were in Grad school in the early’00s when almost no one outside of the southern Korean Peninsula was talking about this (she educated me on the issue) and yes, the anger is and remains very real.

 

My experience in England, as alarming as it was, apparently is not uncommon, particularly for other Black women in Europe. In England specifically though, I talked to other people, students, artists of South Asian and West Indian and a few African people and even among those who were born and raised in London, the sentiment often was that, even if you were born in England, if you were of color and stood out as not being of English identity, you were treated as a guest in the country, no matter how long you lived there. The big joke was they’d always say “I’m British but…” the but was always a mitigating factor in othering someone’s identity. I suspect, similar to the U.S., people have become more assertive about hyphenated identities.

[DramatistDreamer]

 

A few weeks ago, one of my brothers who works at an international shipping company, told me that the shipping containers that had been held up for several months, were being released and were coming in and it was a constant barrage of deliveries.

Recently, I am reading that inflation could be abating and the concern is that the Fed won’t adapt, opting instead to continue to raise rates, causing an overreaction, which would not be good. 

Also recently read that house sales have been declining, causing the market to cool. 

This morning, I am seeing that there will be a glut of merchandise in stores and that there will be price drops because retailers will need to move merchandise.

Now, the prognostications that gas prices will soon fall, but suspiciously, no prognosis on when drivers will see it reflected at the pump.

Now, seeing the jobs report.

Maybe it’s just the suspicious way my mind works but I have suspected for some months, that many of the price increases have been manipulated and that it is part of a lot of manipulation going on to benefit a relative few, especially seeing the midterm elections are coming up. Hopefully these issues can get sorted for the better soon.

[Vee]

 

[JaneAusten]

I am glad Biden is finally getting out ahead of this.  It should have been sooner but I'll take it. Now he need to KEEP REPEATING IT and I want to see more comments about SCOTUS. Not hits but facts. I took the time to read the dissents, particularly the one by Sotomayor. Very cutting and I am thinking the days of any unity or vision of "We all work for the same goal" is gone or soon will be. And frankly it's needed to happen for a while. 

And one thing I enjoy about reading this board is comments from @DramatistDreamerand @Cat. A lot of Americans really don't know much outside of our bubbles but particularly outside of our country. While I have not lived abroad, I worked abroad for many years in Europe, Japan, South Korea, and parts of South America when I worked for Deloitte. And while ifs not the same as actually living there(working there you are yourself in a protective bubble ), I hope it has given me a wider view of the world in some respects. 

A lot of people tend to compare the American and Japanese work ethic the same. I disagree completely. While their work/life balance MIGHT have similarities to that of the US, the decision making process is far different and there is a lot more of it by consensus versus one key decision maker. I had no real understanding of that until I worked there and understood why certain activities on the project timelines were scaled differently than what I was accustomed to.

Abe's assassination is shocking and I guess we will end up hearing more about how and why. I still have a couple of friends I have made from my time in Japan and I have reached out to them. I'll share if I can what I hear back from them.  

[Cat]

I've watched Somewhere Street! And Kabuki Kool. And myriad shows celebrating Japan's food and landscape. During Covid when I couldn't travel.... NHK World traveled for me.

Your friend's dissertation must have been a fascinating, if heartbreaking, read. These women were also shamed by their own governments to stay silent (until it suited that government to take up their cause) and were denied acknowledgement of the trauma they suffered. 

People are asserting their hyphenated selves more and more. It was already starting before Covid (and Trump n Boris likely played a part in that) but Covid and the BLM protests triggered something where people felt they didn't want to subdue entire identities of themselves anymore.

As an economic analyst, I'd be interested in hearing more of this. These global supply chain bottlenecks started as economies slowly climbed out of Covid; in October, Putin started putting the squeeze on gas supplies as a taster of what was to come after February 24, 2022. His blockade of Ukrainian ports hasn't helped. And of course Shanghai's wholesale lockdown for almost 3 months. Nevertheless, it did make me wonder why the globe was unable to dig itself out of some of these supply chain issues which have entered a second straight year. Had global trade really collapsed? Are these bottlenecks really structural and entrenched? And who stands to benefit from putting the break on our economies? Because the rush to tighten monetary policy has become a domino effect -- and now everyone is suddenly talking about the risk of a recession in 2023.

Wow, you really have encountered the world in your work! It would be interesting to hear your Japanese friends' view on Abe. Though right now they must be in total shock and disbelief. 

Edited July 8, 2022 by Cat

[Cat]

Just saw the news about Biden’s executive orders. This is great news.!

My question is whether these orders can override total bans in place on the state level, or the threat to track against her will and prosecute women who travel out of state for safe, legal abortions.

Edited July 8, 2022 by Cat

[Vee]

It is good news. What will matter is what this EO will materially do beyond the general statement of its intent. That's what I'm waiting to hear on, like you.

Per news this morning, the administration has been hesitant to declare a public health emergency re: abortion for a variety of reasons, some of which involve COVID funding that I believe would have to be re-appropriated for it. That's a very valid concern; the political concerns, or fears of a legal battle, are IMO not. There are going to be legal battles over abortion now in every dark or not so dark corner of this country whether the White House likes it or not. We might as well lean into it. Pressure did help in getting this EO out of the realm of idle musing inside some months-long committee (a running habit with the WH, especially since December) and it can do the same with further measures. For now, I will wait to see what the EO actually entails.

[DRW50]

And of course so many on social media are already saying this isn't enough and it's too late...and bringing up their student loans. Sometimes I wonder if this is a reason they end up delaying some of these responses, because they know it's going to get drowned out no matter what.

[DramatistDreamer]

It would be very interesting to hear the thoughts of your friends and former colleagues in future when they’ve had the chance to process this all and after they have been able to collect themselves but now they are plunged into this tragedy, my condolences go out to them right now.

Hi @Cat, my friend’s piece was very poignant, it was a theatrical piece, as we were in a multidisciplinary graduate writing program for the dramatic arts. I was fortunate to been in a very diverse program (which changed years down the road for a number of years unfortunately) and I learned a lot from a number of my colleagues who drew from many theatrical and film traditions worldwide.

but I digress. It is good to see the Biden administration take action, but they have been engaging with the public on this issue, the media has been paying almost no attention to this. VP Harris was speaking on this issue and others at talks at the Essence Fest a couple weekends ago. Stacey Abrams was also in attendance. Harris and Biden have likely been having some in depth discussions about the matter.

[Vee]

An EO isn't going to be enough, but not for the reasons the Bernie or Bust crowd thinks. It can be a good beginning, and it has to be followed through on with the measures (the courts, the filibuster) they'll have to campaign on and then execute if they can maintain a majority. Otherwise nothing else done means anything because it will all get undone by that corrupt court. That's the truth that meets in the middle between two extremes, for me at least.

The above is unfair IMO, as I don't believe the Dems have had a majority willing to codify for decades (until maybe now).

 

Edited July 9, 2022 by Vee

[DramatistDreamer]

ICYMI, this is an ongoing situation in Sri Lanka for quite some time and the volatility level has ratcheted up that much  higher. Hunger will do that to people.

[Vee]

 

[DRW50]

Sadly once again any focus on public opinion or activism has been drowned out by dead end leftists making everything about some Biden spox saying they aren't his main priority. 

[Vee]

It was a pretty lousy and ill-timed statement, by a departing official who is skilled at catalyzing Biden to action and should've known better. I can get behind roasting the dead-end left all day long for so many past sins, but the fury from the larger base over this issue isn't all the product of fringe hippies or magical thinkers. It isn't just Splinter News or Bernie or Bust folks pissed about how the WH has handled this up til very recently, it's normal, decent, levelheaded people and the Bedingfield quote should've known better by now, weeks (and months) in. I believe the White House wants to do the right thing; I also think they botched this early on and it's not improper to say that.

Edited July 10, 2022 by Vee