International News Thread

[The Anti-Targ]

The Faux News take down of Denmark gets beaten up on the interwebs.

But does the beat up really matter or make a difference in the pubic and political discourse? The Faux News audience will never get exposed to the various rebuttals that are on platforms like Youtube. So the misinformation fed to the target audience will serve it's purpose of solidifying in those people's minds the abject evil of things like public health care and free (tax payer funded) education.

Faux News won't be subject to any significant consequences by any regulatory agency or in the courts.

The people who know better will shake their heads and lament at how such lying propaganda can be presented as objective fact, but be unable to influence the understanding of anyone who is being brainwashed by Faux News.

Unless news agencies have to face the consequences of their lying in a way that is far more well publicized to their audience, and in a way that hits them in the profits, these propaganda machines will keep on churning out falsehoods to keep their audiences in a lather. 

But can Denmark be bothered doing anything about it? If the main consequence is fewer right-wing zealots going to Denmark to spread their BS ideology I guess Denmark might think this take down should be regarded as a net benefit to Denmark.

And who else is going to properly call Fox on its BS, rather than just making "XXX destroys Fox News..." videos on Youtube?

[mormont]

On 8/17/2018 at 3:17 AM, The Anti-Targ said:

Interesting consequence of gender neutral bathrooms. People with penises are used to peeing in full view of people, so shutting a door to pee is a foreign concept.

Not to any civilised person, it isn't.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Because we can all use a laugh once in a while:

Quote

CNN) — Watching "Jaws" as a kid might have left you with a lifetime fear of swimming with sharks, but who knew swimming with dolphins could be dangerous?

 

The pretty coastal village of Landévennec in Finistère, in France's northwestern Brittany region, has been terrorized by a sexually aroused dolphin getting too close to swimmers.

 

The dolphins antics got so bad that the local mayor, Roger Lars, banned bathing on the Brittany beach, issuing a new bylaw. Now local swimmers are prevented from getting closer than 40 meters to the dolphin.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/dolphin-bathing-ban/index.html

I guess what they say about the French is true, even for their dolphins.

[Corvinus85]

Looks like a new war has erupted between the English and the French (at least between scallop fishermen)

https://news.sky.com/story/may-calls-for-amicable-solution-to-scallops-row-after-french-fishermens-attack-11485120 

[The Anti-Targ]

https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/world/south-africa-withdraws-white-farmland-redistribution-bill/

Quote

South Africa has withdrawn its white farmland redistribution bill - six days after Donald Trump warned he was closely studying the situation.

The ruling African National Congress (ANC) said the bill passed by parliament in 2016 enabling the state to make compulsory purchases of land to redress racial disparities in land ownership needed further consideration.

It comes after Trump criticised the country's land reform plans in a tweet that touched on the overwhelmingly white ownership of farmland in South Africa - one of the most sensitive issues in the country's post-apartheid history.

...

Claims of 'genocide' against white South Africans, however, have been picked up by some white nationalists in the U.S., and leaders of a right-wing South African group traveled to the U.S. in May to lobby officials about the alleged targeting of white farmers.

So the thing I don't understand is why there are white nationalists anywhere in Africa. I thought the whole white nationalism thing was that we should have segregated ethno-states. Seems logical that to do this most efficiently you send all the white people where most of the white people are (Europe, Russia, North America*, Australia*), and you send all the dark-skinned people where most of the dark people are (Africa, Asia).

The only whites left in Africa should be the ones who want to live in harmony with people of different races.

If there was ever justification for ethnic cleansing it would be to ethnically cleanse white people out of South Africa, with some provision for some of them to be able to stay if they aren't racist arsehats. Put them on a sturdy boat and point it towards Perth.

 

 

 

*Though I'm not sure how one works out what to do with the natives here.

 

[Errant Bard]

7 hours ago, Corvinus said:

Looks like a new war has erupted between the English and the French (at least between scallop fishermen)

https://news.sky.com/story/may-calls-for-amicable-solution-to-scallops-row-after-french-fishermens-attack-11485120 

Nothing actually new, fighting over fishing rights figured in the brexit reasons:  https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/mar/23/britains-fishing-fleet-and-brexit-promises-key-questions-answered     . And for a brief history:   https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/scallop-wars-britain-france-fishing-rights-english-channel-history-a8512871.html.

[Altherion]

The head of the Donetsk People's Republic has been killed by an explosion at a cafe (which also killed several other people). Rather predictably, everyone against the Ukrainian government has accused the latter while said government claims it had nothing to with this. There will almost certainly be retaliation in kind.

 

[kairparavel]

https://slate.com/business/2018/09/brazils-national-museum-fire-chars-the-countrys-future-along-with-its-past.html

Brazil's national museum basically burned to the ground overnight, taking 20 million items and 200 years of research with it.

[Which Tyler]

3 hours ago, kairparavel said:

https://slate.com/business/2018/09/brazils-national-museum-fire-chars-the-countrys-future-along-with-its-past.html

Brazil's national museum basically burned to the ground overnight, taking 20 million items and 200 years of research with it.

Fuck!

[Zorral]

4 hours ago, kairparavel said:

https://slate.com/business/2018/09/brazils-national-museum-fire-chars-the-countrys-future-along-with-its-past.html

Brazil's national museum basically burned to the ground overnight, taking 20 million items and 200 years of research with it.

I've hardly been able to allow myself to think about this tragedy.  This is a catastrophe.  So much history just -- erased.  200 HUNDRED YEARS OF RESEARCH, just wiped out, work that is not replaceable. It's not too much to say that this destabilizes the very history of Brasil. Which, of course, the fascist fight relentlessly to do, everywhere.

Also, WTF??????? Burned to the ground?  What was it?  Did one of those criminal corporate enterprises want the ground the museum was built on?  That is not out of the question either.

 

[Derfel Cadarn]

15 hours ago, Zorral said:

I've hardly been able to allow myself to think about this tragedy.  This is a catastrophe.  So much history just -- erased.  200 HUNDRED YEARS OF RESEARCH, just wiped out, work that is not replaceable. It's not too much to say that this destabilizes the very history of Brasil. Which, of course, the fascist fight relentlessly to do, everywhere.

Also, WTF??????? Burned to the ground?  What was it?  Did one of those criminal corporate enterprises want the ground the museum was built on?  That is not out of the question either.

 

Apparently there have been warnings for years that the electrics were a fire hazzard and that this was a very real possibility

[Regular John Umber]

On 8/30/2018 at 12:04 AM, The Anti-Targ said:

https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/world/south-africa-withdraws-white-farmland-redistribution-bill/

So the thing I don't understand is why there are white nationalists anywhere in Africa. I thought the whole white nationalism thing was that we should have segregated ethno-states. Seems logical that to do this most efficiently you send all the white people where most of the white people are (Europe, Russia, North America*, Australia*), and you send all the dark-skinned people where most of the dark people are (Africa, Asia).

The only whites left in Africa should be the ones who want to live in harmony with people of different races.

If there was ever justification for ethnic cleansing it would be to ethnically cleanse white people out of South Africa, with some provision for some of them to be able to stay if they aren't racist arsehats. Put them on a sturdy boat and point it towards Perth.

 

 

 

*Though I'm not sure how one works out what to do with the natives here.

 

 

That's the weird unique thing about South Africa - thanks to apartheid, white people hung on to political power through oppression (on the level of evil genius) for decades longer than anywhere else. It was so effective that it still lingers, 20 years later. White people are still  in power, it's just economic instead of political. A lot of concessions were made to ensure a peaceful end to apartheid.

 

 Now that there are feelers being put out to more aggressively level the playing fields, those that are clinging to their power are causing the above issues - touring the world crying 'genocide'.

 

 It's not off the table yet - they need to do this; the issue will be navigating the political minefield that come with it.

[The Anti-Targ]

There have been street protests here about the farm confiscations in South Africa, in support of the white farmers. Quite a few White South Africans escaped here after apartheid ended, so I guess we'll naturally get the white perspective in much of the public narrative.

[Altherion]

Does anyone remember (or better yet, have a link to) our debates regarding the confiscation of land from white farmers in Zimbabwe? I think this was 3-4 iterations of this board ago (either EZBoard or the one before that).

[Rippounet]

Speaking of South Africa, there was this controversy not long ago:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/south-africa-nike-racism-adam-catzavelos-apology-statement-a8506751.html

Nike has it rough these days.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Isn't Cape Town also going through a massive water shortage?

 

Anyways, India's Supreme Court has ruled that gay sex is no longer illegal.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Kuwaiti fish store was shut down because they were gluing googly eyes onto their fish.

[Corvinus85]

The referendum that took place in Romania over the weekend to re-define the definition of marriage written in the constitution as being just between a man and a woman has failed miserably. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45779107

It didn't fail because a majority voted against it, it failed because not enough people voted. A minimum of 30% of the voting population is required to make the results of a referendum valid, and only 20.4% showed up... over the course of 2 days, not 1. The government extended it by one day, which was also a move to get this referendum passed. But the opposition's campaign was geared towards making people aware that this referendum is one big BS move by the government to distract people from the bigger issues plaguing the country. 

[Ser Reptitious]

8 hours ago, Corvinus said:

The referendum that took place in Romania over the weekend to re-define the definition of marriage written in the constitution as being just between a man and a woman has failed miserably. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45779107

It didn't fail because a majority voted against it, it failed because not enough people voted. A minimum of 30% of the voting population is required to make the results of a referendum valid, and only 20.4% showed up... over the course of 2 days, not 1. The government extended it by one day, which was also a move to get this referendum passed. But the opposition's campaign was geared towards making people aware that this referendum is one big BS move by the government to distract people from the bigger issues plaguing the country. 

Yup, I love how that blew up in the government's and the Orthodox church's faces. I think the latter in particular vastly overestimated its hold over the people and both of them vastly overestimated Romanian's supposed hatred of LGBT+ people. Sadly that doesn't mean that most people are supportive of gay marriage, but I think this shows that homophobia is not nearly as deeply rooted as these demagogues had hoped, which is a positive sign for the future, imho. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Has anyone been paying attention to what's been going on in Brazil over the last few years? Multiple impeachment, so much corruption and people in jail, and now it looks like they're about to elect a new president who urns for the days of a military dictatorship.

This podcast on the subject is worth a listen (it's like 35 minutes long):

https://the1a.org/shows/2018-10-04/campaigning-from-a-hospital-bed-a-far-right-politician-pulls-ahead-in-brazil