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International Thread 4


Tywin Manderly

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2 minutes ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

Hoes that chloroquine working out Mr Bolsonaro?

Doesn't matter, there might be 10 million people dying of COVID-19 in Brazil , but Bolsonaro will NEVER, EVER admit he was wrong (and the fact even Trump sorta did and is even saying that Brazil is doing it all wrong shows you how bad the situations it) because at this point he only has the fanatics on his side (and while his approval rating is around 30%, experts say his base of support is really around 15%, the rest being people that just don't care much either way) and he can't admit he made a mistake because that he risks losing even those.

 

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This issue of that flag etc. has been burning for a long time -- and not only in the US, because, these kinds of things, like revisionist history does, like words do, have repercussions beyond the immediate location and time period.

"They lost the Civil War and fled to Brazil. Their descendants refuse to take down the Confederate flag."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/brazil-confederate-flag-civil-war-americana-santa-barbara/2020/07/11/1e8a7c84-bec4-11ea-b4f6-cb39cd8940fb_story.html

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....[CSA flag displayed] On flagpoles and knickknacks. Emblazoned on the dance floor. Clutched by men clad in Confederate battle gray. Decorating the grounds of the cemetery that holds the remains of veterans of the rebel army — the immigrants known here as the confederados.

In a country that has long been more preoccupied with class divisions than racism, the Confederate symbols, stripped of their American context, never registered much notice. But now, as the racial reckoning in the United States following the killing of George Floyd inspires a similar reexamination of values in Brazil, that has begun to change.

 

June 12, 2020 at 6:05 p.m. EDT
"Ireland has its own debate over Confederate flags at sports events"
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/06/12/ireland-is-addressing-its-own-issue-confederate-flags-being-displayed-by-sports-fans/

June 22, 2015 at 3:40 p.m.
"Why do Italian soccer fans and other foreigners fly the Confederate flag?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/06/22/why-do-italian-soccer-fans-and-other-foreigners-fly-the-confederate-flag/

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[....]However, many can't claim ignorance when it comes to the flag's connotations of racism and slavery. In fact, it's likely that for a few Napoli soccer fans – in particular the hardcore "ultras" often at the center of match-day violence – it is just another reason to fly the flag of the Confederacy. Racist and anti-Semitic chants are alarmingly common all across Europe, and fans from clubs such as Spain's Real Madrid and France's Olympique de Marseille have also been spotted flying the flag.[....]


 

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https://balkaninsight.com/2020/07/10/serbian-protests-police-brutality-mapped/

 

Serbian police doing its best to give American police the run for its money. The problem - people use phones and record everything. Bigger problem - politicians lying for things that you can check in 10 seconds. Biggest problem - We had elections and now we have one party system. Not de jure, but certainly de facto.

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On 7/2/2020 at 11:16 AM, DireWolfSpirit said:

They are problematic to me because the only reason they support what they do is in effort to see there "end times" cult beliefs become reality. These proselytizing Christians are very dangerous and they believe a God is whispering in their ear making them irrational and unnacountable because they believe they are pursuing their Gods edicts. This is the same type of behavior and(messianic)  belief system that brought us the Iraq war because W. claimed Gawd told him to bomb Bagdad.

Yes I have a vehement prejudice against this group, they represent an extreme threat to peace. And am glad Israel isn't having there "endtimes" poison on the airwaves.

One might argue that govts feeling free to infringe on freedom of speech, particularly as part of an infringement on freedom of religion, is a greater threat to peace. Given Israel is itself a quasi-theocratic state the suppression of any one religion is only likely to inflame religious tension not quell it.

Prejudice does often cloud one's judgement.

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People shocked and confused at desecration of monument honoring nazis in Ontario

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/17/canada-nazi-monument-vandalism-hate-crime

Evidently Canadian business actively recruited nazis after the war to keep other immigrants from forming labor unions -- which the article neglects to mention. 

https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/war-criminals-ratline-to-canada

Nobody's innocent.

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Something on Modi and the current precarious situation India finds itself in by Arundhati Roy -. The pandemic has been a disaster in India, and a lot of it is the product of the central govt making decisions without thinking through the consequences. Plus, we now have a standoff with China in the north-east.

We lack a proper opposition to the BJP, which makes me think they will comfortably win the next election too - I mean, I can barely convince my mother to not vote for them in the next election because the alternative is Congress.

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^^^^Arundhati is always so enjoyable to hear/read.

From her article in your post-

By the time you read this, he (Modi) will, accompanied by prayers from priests and people across the country, as well as the blessings of India’s supreme court, have laid a silver slab that weighs 40kg as the foundation for the Ram Mandir, a temple that will rise from the ruins of the Babri Masjid, a mosque that was hammered into the dust by Hindu vigilantes led by members of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party in 1992. It’s been a long journey. Let’s call it a Triumph of the Will.

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Is this the thread for congratulating Aleksandr Lukashenko on securing another term as Belarusian President? Many didn’t think he could pull it off due to rumours of there being widespread popular opposition but the results are flooding in and it looks like an absolute landslide for the grand old man!
 

The joyous denizens of Minsk and many other cities have taken to the streets to celebrate and it looks like festivities could go on for many more weeks!

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Belarus https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53748748 

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After a third night of protests in Belarus, the interior ministry says police fired back with live bullets when they came under attack in the south-western city of Brest.

And this is rich from Pompeo https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-12/u-s-will-try-to-deliver-democracy-to-belarus-pompeo-says

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Pompeo urged that non-violent protesters in Belarus be protected and unharmed and said the U.S. would continue to communicate with the people there.

 

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Here's a bit of good news: Israel and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to normalize relations:

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Israel and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to normalise relations, US President Donald Trump has announced.

A joint statement by Mr Trump, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Al Nahyan said they hoped the "historic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East".

As a result, they added, Israel would suspend its controversial plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

...

In the coming weeks delegations from Israel and the UAE will meet to sign bilateral deals regarding investment, tourism, direct flights, security, telecommunications, technology, energy, healthcare, culture, the environment, the establishment of reciprocal embassies, and other areas of mutual benefit.

 

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It is good news. The UAE now joins Egypt and Jordan as the only Arab nations to have normalized relations. The more diplomatic relations these parties can create, the less chance there is of conflict.

The Middle East needs more stories like this.

https://news.yahoo.com/israel-normalise-relations-uae-historic-150225110.html

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6 hours ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

It is good news. The UAE now joins Egypt and Jordan as the only Arab nations to have normalized relations. The more diplomatic relations these parties can create, the less chance there is of conflict.

I must be pretty damn cynical because my first thoughts on reading this were that Israel getting closer to Sunni countries (like the UAE or Saudi Arabia) means that the chances of a serious conflict with Shia Iran (or forces backed by Iran) are growing, and growing fast.
I am not sure what's going on exactly, but for some reason I am highly skeptical that this is actually good news.

Also, one should bear in mind that recognition works both ways. Israel normalising relations with a country that has a terrible record when it comes to human rights is not that great a sign when it comes to the future of Israeli policies.

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59 minutes ago, Rippounet said:

I must be pretty damn cynical because my first thoughts on reading this were that Israel getting closer to Sunni countries (like the UAE or Saudi Arabia) means that the chances of a serious conflict with Shia Iran (or forces backed by Iran) are growing, and growing fast.
I am not sure what's going on exactly, but for some reason I am highly skeptical that this is actually good news.

Also, one should bear in mind that recognition works both ways. Israel normalising relations with a country that has a terrible record when it comes to human rights is not that great a sign when it comes to the future of Israeli policies.

Just to add more cynicism wasn't Jared Kushner looking for massive loans to prop up his real estate ventures and wasn't the UAE one of his lenders? 

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1 hour ago, Rippounet said:

I must be pretty damn cynical because my first thoughts on reading this were that Israel getting closer to Sunni countries (like the UAE or Saudi Arabia) means that the chances of a serious conflict with Shia Iran (or forces backed by Iran) are growing, and growing fast.
I am not sure what's going on exactly, but for some reason I am highly skeptical that this is actually good news.

 

Yeah, the articles I saw indicated this is at least partly driven by mutual opposition to Iran. Also, Palestine has withdrawn its ambassador to the UAE in response.

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3 hours ago, Rippounet said:

I must be pretty damn cynical because my first thoughts on reading this were that Israel getting closer to Sunni countries (like the UAE or Saudi Arabia) means that the chances of a serious conflict with Shia Iran (or forces backed by Iran) are growing, and growing fast.
I am not sure what's going on exactly, but for some reason I am highly skeptical that this is actually good news.

I think this is too pessimistic. Having diplomatic relations with the UAE does very little for Israel in the event of conflict with Iran -- the UAE couldn't help them much even if they wanted to and they almost certainly wouldn't help even to the limit that they could. This is much more about somehow dropping that ill-advised West Bank annexation scheme without losing face and also about economics.

3 hours ago, Rippounet said:

Also, one should bear in mind that recognition works both ways. Israel normalising relations with a country that has a terrible record when it comes to human rights is not that great a sign when it comes to the future of Israeli policies.

I can't agree with you here. Most of Israel's neighbors have lousy (or worse) human rights records, but this does not stop from the US and Europe from having diplomatic relations with them. In fact, our countries go considerably further than that and supply the UAE with arms. Normalization of relations does not imply an endorsement of the other side's system of government. It simply removes a lot of annoying limitations such as the lack of direct air travel (particularly annoying here because the Dubai airport is massive and serves as the hub for the entire Middle East).

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