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Although this thread does not function under the same strict guidelines as the USPMT, it is still a general practice on TL to provide a source with an explanation on why it is relevant and what purpose it adds to the discussion. Failure to do so will result in a mod action. |
On April 23 2019 19:11 Uldridge wrote:
So it seems like not only the US and a few others have been fed up with the classical way of politics.
This can be seen as a global trend now?
Also, what do we call this? Societal suicide? Societal existentialism? It clearly shows that politicians have failed the citizens they supposedly have to help with change and whatever and this might seem like the reaction to it. OR, people have become so disenfranchized with what politics is (especially the administratory body of work) that they can no longer see through the smoke blowing.
Ukrainians couldn't have enough of classical way of politics westerners are used to to be fed up with it. I think whatever is happening in the post-soviet countries (other than the Baltic states) is something entirely different from what happened in the US.
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This is just the churn of politics in the US. We saw frustration and upheaval in the 1920 through the 1930s. We saw violence and race riots through the 1950s through the 1970s. But our generation never experienced those times and the 1980s onward seemed relatively stable. We have recently discovered it is not and are coming to grips with the fact that our parents generation might be a giant group of out of touch idiots. So now everyone is gearing up for a fight about the path forward.
It feels scary and unstable now because we got so used to the stability and that the rules wouldn't change that much. But in comparison to parts of the 20th century, this era is pretty tame so far. But that could change.
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On April 18 2019 14:46 xM(Z wrote:
greeks have been asking for reparations since spring 2015. in theory they have a case and can be heard by the International Court of Justice in The Hague(if/when/after Germany refuses talks on the matter) especially for the forced loan which could be divorced from damages and seen as a banking transaction.
thing is, there will be a legislative election in Greece late this year and pooling shows the Coalition for the Radical Left (Syriza) loosing to the New Democracy(ND), liberal-conservative faction, so it kind of looks like shit politics in action.
Then why Russia and Ukraine could not ask for it? I mean, 25millions deads should cost a lot. (+all the systematic destructions including some masterpieces)
Well, I am obviously for Germany to pay for this, that would be right but there is no mean of pressure.
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USSR said Germany doesn't need to pay more than it already did.
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On April 26 2019 19:55 stilt wrote:Show nested quote +On April 18 2019 14:46 xM(Z wrote:
greeks have been asking for reparations since spring 2015. in theory they have a case and can be heard by the International Court of Justice in The Hague(if/when/after Germany refuses talks on the matter) especially for the forced loan which could be divorced from damages and seen as a banking transaction.
thing is, there will be a legislative election in Greece late this year and pooling shows the Coalition for the Radical Left (Syriza) loosing to the New Democracy(ND), liberal-conservative faction, so it kind of looks like shit politics in action. Then why Russia and Ukraine could not ask for it? I mean, 25millions deads should cost a lot. (+all the systematic destructions including some masterpieces) Well, I am obviously for Germany to pay for this, that would be right but there is no mean of pressure.
And France should pay for Napoleons warcrimes, let alone the stuff that it did in Africa?
Why does Greece not try to sue Turkye for all the shit the Ottomans did?
Bringing up a nearly 80 year old "debt", for the sole reason to score cheap points, is ridiculous and it would be really tragic if anyone would take it seriously..
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On April 26 2019 19:55 stilt wrote:Show nested quote +On April 18 2019 14:46 xM(Z wrote:
greeks have been asking for reparations since spring 2015. in theory they have a case and can be heard by the International Court of Justice in The Hague(if/when/after Germany refuses talks on the matter) especially for the forced loan which could be divorced from damages and seen as a banking transaction.
thing is, there will be a legislative election in Greece late this year and pooling shows the Coalition for the Radical Left (Syriza) loosing to the New Democracy(ND), liberal-conservative faction, so it kind of looks like shit politics in action. Then why Russia and Ukraine could not ask for it? I mean, 25millions deads should cost a lot. (+all the systematic destructions including some masterpieces) Well, I am obviously for Germany to pay for this, that would be right but there is no mean of pressure.
The point isn't to repay it, but to stir the anti EU movement in there. It's natural, germany's debt and war reparations were pardoned, but Germany wouldn't alleviate the debt conditions where Greece found itself after the recession. If you don't think it rationally and instead about how does it feel to the Greeks, you can understand what has been going on about the war reparations.
And to be honest, most of the arguments against greek asking for reparations are not compelling either, which only helps those movements.
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On April 26 2019 19:55 stilt wrote:Show nested quote +On April 18 2019 14:46 xM(Z wrote:
greeks have been asking for reparations since spring 2015. in theory they have a case and can be heard by the International Court of Justice in The Hague(if/when/after Germany refuses talks on the matter) especially for the forced loan which could be divorced from damages and seen as a banking transaction.
thing is, there will be a legislative election in Greece late this year and pooling shows the Coalition for the Radical Left (Syriza) loosing to the New Democracy(ND), liberal-conservative faction, so it kind of looks like shit politics in action. Then why Russia and Ukraine could not ask for it? I mean, 25millions deads should cost a lot. (+all the systematic destructions including some masterpieces) Well, I am obviously for Germany to pay for this, that would be right but there is no mean of pressure. there's to much to say here so i'll superficially say that Russia got to use half of Germany for decades and germans as legal slaves for years(apart from other benefits, yes some monetary).
your comparison is not relevant to the historical realities at that time thou.
there were forced territories ceding, agreed expulsions of people(ethnic), industries destroyed/dismantled, separate payments to Russia by eastern and central EU states, enforced cap on standards of living for germans ... etc, etc, etc.
you can't quantify those yet one can safely assume they were forms of reparations.
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Reparations is a rabbit hole for most every western European country that they don't really want to go down.
If they start with it paying them to fellow EU countries, there is an outcry to be expected by every former colony that got gutted by colonialism. Rightly so I'd say. That's an additional reason why nobody's gonna do it.
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On April 26 2019 23:24 Artisreal wrote:
Reparations is a rabbit hole for most every western European country that they don't really want to go down.
If they start with it paying them to fellow EU countries, there is an outcry to be expected by every former colony that got gutted by colonialism. Rightly so I'd say. That's an additional reason why nobody's gonna do it.
So Germany's okay. They'd only have to pay Namibia, and they came out ahead of the game anyway. Right?
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Few western nations are free from sin when it comes to colonialism. There is a pretty clear line to draw between power military and economic power in the 20th century and how deep the nation was into colonialism.
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Macron spoke yesterday during 1 hour, then answered questions from journalists during 1h30. This was his first press conference at home since his election. He mentioned the yellow vests in the very first phrases, basically said that the movement had degenerated into violence and "radicals" (he mentioned "antisemitism" and "homophobia" to demonize them…) but admitted again that the basic demands of the beginning were just.
As predicted, + Show Spoiler +On April 15 2019 07:18 TheDwf wrote:
Macron will speak tonight. He will make his decisions known after the 3 months pseudo-debate. He wants to open a "second act" of his mandate. The pressure is high on him, this is pretty much his last chance to convince. More announcements should be made in a press conference Wednesday, in which he should answer journalists' questions.
Tonight he will announce tax cuts for sure. On the general philosophy, my bet is on an acceleration of his maintained neoliberal agenda.
he maintained his political course. Translated verbatim of his introduction: « Should we stop everything that was done for two years? I asked myself: did we take the wrong road? I believe the very contrary. I think that ongoing transformations must not be stopped, because they deeply answer what our fellow citizens want. [Those] transformations were not quick enough for some of the people, not enough radical, not enough human. (…) I think very deeply that the orientations of the last two years were fair. Therefore I think that the fundamentals of the two first years must be preserved, pursued, intensified; and see, the first results are here. »
He announced the following measures:
+ Show Spoiler [Macron's measures] +Lower the threshold to trigger a referendum with 185 MPs to 1 million of citizens (down from 10% of the electoral body i.e. 4.7 millions) + Show Spoiler +totally useless, all the Chambers have to do is examine the proposed text, do whatever they want out of it and no referendum is held lol 20% of proportional in législatives + Show Spoiler +changes almost nothing in simulations Allow local petitions + Show Spoiler +Lower the number of MPs by 25-30% Limit mandates over time Lower income tax of households by 5 billions + Show Spoiler +typically yellow vests don't pay it… Creation of a "council of ecological defence" + Show Spoiler +didn't get its exact role, probably useless End of some fiscal exemptions to compensate the lowered taxes People will have to work more during the course of their life (he basically wants people to retire later) Guarantee the payment of alimonies (aimed at isolated mothers) + Show Spoiler +already exists but not enough people know it, and the institution which handles it lacks staff… Limit the number of pupils per class to 24 (for pupils between ~5 and 7 years) "More public servants on the field, less in the administrations" No schools or hospitals will close until the end of the mandate + Show Spoiler +of course, they pretty much never close whole schools or hospitals anyway… Reindex pensions on inflation in 2021 + Show Spoiler +he had deinxed them for 2019 and 2020, so this is a non-measure Annual debate in the Parliament about immigration Suppress some of the grandes écoles which train high public servants Companies can give workers a yearly bonus without taxes and charges up to 1000 euros New act of decentralization (more power to local collectivities) Creation of a citizen's chamber, with 150 people randomly drawn, to work on "concrete solutions" for the ecological transition. In each canton, there will be a place where all public services are regrouped in a single place
During 1h30 of questions, not a single journalist asked him a question about the massive cop violence since the end of November. Some of the questions were deemed very complacent and too centered about how he felt, etc. (almost a psychanalysis session…), which triggered critics within the very profession. Of course the presidency had chosen in advance who got to ask a question…
Polls about how people judged his measures were terrible for Macron.
+ Show Spoiler [Polls' results] +Harris yesterday:
Was Macron convincing? No 63%
Do the measures answer people's expectations? No 68%
Do they answer your expectations? No 65%
Do you think they will stop the yellow vests' movement? No 80%
Elabe today:
Was Macron convincing? No 65%
Will he change his style/method? No 76%
Did Macron match the expectations? No 70%
Will the measures allow to end the crisis? No 78%
Did he answer the yellow vests? No 77%
Will the measures improve the country's situation? No 64%
Globally, some/many of the measures are individually welcomed but the overall effect is considered insufficient or too vague. It does not address the problems raised. Macron and his staff had hyped the announcements as big change, but clearly the "wow!" effect was not there, especially as almost all of the measures had been leaked since the 16th April.
Tomorrow, we'll see if there are more people in the streets for the Act 24.
The 01/05 should be very tense as well, a big black block has been announced ("Paris, capital of the riot") for weeks on the Internet.
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PSOE is very likely to pact with Ciudadanos, not Podemos. I am crossing finger so they don't manage to get enough votes for that... but it seems unlikely.
Until now : (still pending more votes)
Escaño = Seat
PSOE: 126 escaños
PP: 66 escaños
Ciudadanos: 55 escaños
Unidas Podemos: 42 escaños
Vox: 23 escaños
ERC: 15 escaños
Junts per Catalunya: 7 escaños
PNV: 6 escaños
EH Bildu: 4 escaños
Otros: 6 escaños
You require 176 to govern
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On April 29 2019 05:24 Godwrath wrote:
PSOE is very likely to pact with Ciudadanos, not Podemos. I am crossing finger so they don't manage to get enough votes for that... but it seems unlikely.
Didn't Sanchez base his success on going a bit more to the left than what the PSOE used to be? Wouldn't it be political suicide for him to compromise with C's?
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On April 29 2019 06:09 TheDwf wrote:Show nested quote +On April 29 2019 05:24 Godwrath wrote:
PSOE is very likely to pact with Ciudadanos, not Podemos. I am crossing finger so they don't manage to get enough votes for that... but it seems unlikely. Didn't Sanchez base his success on going a bit more to the left than what the PSOE used to be? Wouldn't it be political suicide for him to compromise with C's?
Not really. Yes he campaigned on that, but when asked if he was going to pact with Ciudadanos or not in the debates, he refused to answer repeteadly. If you wonder if that will be political suicide in the future, that depends on how he governs afterwards.
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On April 29 2019 06:20 Godwrath wrote:Show nested quote +On April 29 2019 06:09 TheDwf wrote:On April 29 2019 05:24 Godwrath wrote:
PSOE is very likely to pact with Ciudadanos, not Podemos. I am crossing finger so they don't manage to get enough votes for that... but it seems unlikely. Didn't Sanchez base his success on going a bit more to the left than what the PSOE used to be? Wouldn't it be political suicide for him to compromise with C's? Not really. Yes he campaigned on that, but when asked if he was going to pact with Ciudadanos or not in the debates, he refused to answer repeteadly. If you wonder if that will be political suicide in the future, that depends on how he governs afterwards.
I read that Sanchez didn't totally close the door (even if the militants shouted slogans against an alliance with C's), but Rivera was hostile?
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On April 29 2019 07:31 TheDwf wrote:Show nested quote +On April 29 2019 06:20 Godwrath wrote:On April 29 2019 06:09 TheDwf wrote:On April 29 2019 05:24 Godwrath wrote:
PSOE is very likely to pact with Ciudadanos, not Podemos. I am crossing finger so they don't manage to get enough votes for that... but it seems unlikely. Didn't Sanchez base his success on going a bit more to the left than what the PSOE used to be? Wouldn't it be political suicide for him to compromise with C's? Not really. Yes he campaigned on that, but when asked if he was going to pact with Ciudadanos or not in the debates, he refused to answer repeteadly. If you wonder if that will be political suicide in the future, that depends on how he governs afterwards. I read that Sanchez didn't totally close the door (even if the militants shouted slogans against an alliance with C's), but Rivera was hostile?
It was the same past elections, and afterwards Citizens was their first choice. Anyways we will have to wait and see.
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On April 29 2019 08:27 Godwrath wrote:Show nested quote +On April 29 2019 07:31 TheDwf wrote:On April 29 2019 06:20 Godwrath wrote:On April 29 2019 06:09 TheDwf wrote:On April 29 2019 05:24 Godwrath wrote:
PSOE is very likely to pact with Ciudadanos, not Podemos. I am crossing finger so they don't manage to get enough votes for that... but it seems unlikely. Didn't Sanchez base his success on going a bit more to the left than what the PSOE used to be? Wouldn't it be political suicide for him to compromise with C's? Not really. Yes he campaigned on that, but when asked if he was going to pact with Ciudadanos or not in the debates, he refused to answer repeteadly. If you wonder if that will be political suicide in the future, that depends on how he governs afterwards. I read that Sanchez didn't totally close the door (even if the militants shouted slogans against an alliance with C's), but Rivera was hostile? It was the same past elections, and afterwards Citizens was their first choice. Anyways we will have to wait and see.
I quite like the idea of PSOE creating a minority government. Yeah, it's rather unstable and they already got burned with this, which is the whole reason we had elections. But let's face it, Rivera isn't going to govern without some massive concessions, and I'd rather have a less powerful government, but one that can "agilely" find support from Podemos (and ERC/PNV) or from Ciudadanos, depending on the policy. Whether they can at least get Podemos and/or Ciudadanos to instate that government is the first challenge, though.
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What's going on over in Germany? Suddenly all your newspapers are superinterested in the far-right scandals of the Austrian FPÖ? Suddenly "Bild", "FAZ", "SZ" are making a big fuzz out of Naziesque caricatures, calling migrants "rats with canalisation background" and live TV calls for "consequences" against journalists that ask the far-right the wrong questions. It has been daily business over here for 30 years, stop being so fake about it.
It's a farce, cool down Germany. FPÖ and ÖVP are leading a fake election campaign that is displayed as a "duel" between their candidates, although the FPÖ is going to take 3rd behind social-democrats (who are pretty much cut out by the news at this point). Nothing to see here. We know that conservative chancellor Kurz is leaking information to Bild and thus trying to interfere against the FPÖ in favor of the ÖVP.
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EPT
![[image loading]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D5QrR11XsAAllpF.jpg)
![[image loading]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D5QneXQW4AEEYis.jpg)
