International Events : How I learnt to stop worrying and love the-

[Zorral]

Just now, kissdbyfire said:

That was in Austin

O yes.  TX, you always win.

 

[DMC]

2 hours ago, Zorral said:

Shades of 1967!

The Democratic Convention this year is in Chicago.  So more like shades of 1968!

[Spockydog]

3 hours ago, kissdbyfire said:

And speaking of protests...

 

 

State of the comments.

[The Anti-Targ]

5 hours ago, kissdbyfire said:

And speaking of protests...

 

 

When people put the welfare of those living dying and suffering thousands of km away who they will never meet ahead of their own education, then you actually have a movement that might achieve something.

I think student strikes and protests opposing crimes against humanity and inadequate action on global warming, if prolonged and sustained, can be effective. It does mean there need to be a clear message that resonates with the wider public though.

[kissdbyfire]

2 minutes ago, The Anti-Targ said:

When people put the welfare of those living dying and suffering thousands of km away who they will never meet ahead of their own education, then you actually have a movement that might achieve something.

I think student strikes and protests opposing crimes against humanity and inadequate action on global warming, if prolonged and sustained, can be effective. It does mean there need to be a clear message that resonates with the wider public though.

Not much to say other than I agree.

I find the [over]reaction of law enforcement has been… quite telling actually. 

[kissdbyfire]

Israel’s government officials now actively campaigning for Trump. And it won’t change a thing, it won’t matter in the least. 
 

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-04-24/ty-article/.premium/netanyahu-minister-says-he-would-vote-for-trump-biden-strategy-hurts-israel/0000018f-104e-d70d-a58f-d9ffb9d20000

“Netanyahu Minister Says He Would Vote for Trump: Biden 'Causes Real Damage' to Israel Relations”

 

Quote

Mere hours after the U.S. Senate approved a landmark $14 billion military aid package to Israel, Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli said that he would vote for former President Trump if he could, due to the Biden administration 'not allowing Israel to operate as it would like in Rafah'

https://m.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-798396

Quote

Chikli stated in the interview that Biden's "weak" statements against the antisemitic demonstrations on campuses through the US and the objection to the Rafah operation are influenced by the "squad."

Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli said on Wednesday morning that if he were an American, he would vote for the Republican Party.

“Look at Biden’s strategy in Afghanistan, Ukraine, and the Middle East. He said ‘Don’t’ to Hezbollah and Iran at the beginning of the war, and we saw the result,” Chikli told Kan Bet. “I don’t think that the United States under [Biden’s] leadership radiates power.” His administration “hurts the State of Israel and many other countries.”

Chikli belongs to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party.

 

[Zorral]

So is Putin and Russia openly campaigning for the stinkin' pile.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

1 hour ago, Zorral said:

So is Putin and Russia openly campaigning for the stinkin' pile.

Along with the Likud government in Israel…

Edited April 25 by Ser Scot A Ellison

[kissdbyfire]

1 hour ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

Along with the Likud government in Israel…

Indeed. Which means that Biden is helping Trump's campaign. That's how bonkers things are atm.

Edited April 25 by kissdbyfire

[Maithanet]

I'm not sure that support from Likud will really help Trump much.  I could actually see it helping Biden, since he's already under such criticism to take a harder line on Gaza.  Seeing Netanyahu get all buddy-buddy with Trump might remind some younger voters why they need to get to the polls. 

[DMC]

1 hour ago, Maithanet said:

I'm not sure that support from Likud will really help Trump much.

Yeah Bibi’s net approval in the US make Biden and Trump look like rock stars.

[kissdbyfire]

3 hours ago, Maithanet said:

I'm not sure that support from Likud will really help Trump much.  I could actually see it helping Biden, since he's already under such criticism to take a harder line on Gaza.  Seeing Netanyahu get all buddy-buddy with Trump might remind some younger voters why they need to get to the polls. 

That makes a lot of sense. I was more commenting on the irony and insanity of the situation. 

[The Anti-Targ]

Is the lesson here that the way for protest to be effective is by adding a few death threats?

https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/04/26/drag-queen-reading-group-cancels-nationwide-tour-amid-protests/

Quote

Rainbow Storytime has cancelled its nationwide New Zealand tour scheduled for later this year following repeated protests at its events.

Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki has been organising protests about the group in recent months.

Events in Rotorua and Hastings were called off due to "public safety concerns" last month with death threats sent to performers.

Currently, nearly $26,000 has been raised through a Givelittle page to take a claim of defamation against Destiny Church to court.

How about the police take some action against the people making death threats? Or are death threats only actually a danger when made by progressive groups?

[DireWolfSpirit]

I really have a hard time generating any empathy when listening to complaints about U.S. election interference when no other country has meddled in more elections in the history of World than yours truly Mr Blinken.

Its become a case of what goes around come around. 

"Choose between stability and ‘downward spiral,’ China tells Blinken during Beijing trip"

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/25/world/stability-spiral-china-blinken-intl-hnk

[Zorral]

EXCLUSIVE
An assassination plot on American soil reveals a darker side of Modi’s India

Shared/gift link -- goes behind subscription paywall:

https://wapo.st/3w3RrgT

This is a long, in depth report.

Quote

 

.... But even as the Indian leader was basking in U.S. adulation on June 22, an officer in India’s intelligence service was relaying final instructions to a hired hit team to kill one of Modi’s most vocal critics in the United States.

The assassination is a “priority now,” wrote Vikram Yadav, an officer in India’s spy agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, or RAW, according to current and former U.S. and Indian security officials.

Yadav forwarded details about the target, Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, including his New York address, according to the officials and a U.S. indictment. As soon as the would-be assassins could confirm that Pannun, a U.S. citizen, was home, “it will be a go ahead from us.”

Yadav’s identity and affiliation, which have not previously been reported, provide the most explicit evidence to date that the assassination plan — ultimately thwarted by U.S. authorities — was directed from within the Indian spy service. Higher-ranking RAW officials have also been implicated, according to current and former Western security officials, as part of a sprawling investigation by the CIA, FBI and other agencies that has mapped potential links to Modi’s inner circle. ....

 

Concluding paragraphs:

Quote

 

.... Almost a year after he was feted at the White House, the Indian prime minister is poised to clinch a third term in national elections that began this month. At a recent campaign rally in Rajasthan state, Modi told thousands of cheering supporters, “Today, even India’s enemies know: This is Modi, this is the New India.”

“This New India,” he added, “comes into your home to kill you.”

Cate Brown, Souad Mekhennet and Aaron Schaffer in Washington, Karishma Mehrotra in New Delhi and Ladka Bauerova in Prague contributed to this report.

 

There is a breakout section, which might be called a Sidebar, but the WaPo captions as a 'carousel' -- 
 

Quote

 

Repression’s Long Arm

India’s assassination plots in the United States and Canada are part of an expanding wave of aggression against dissident groups seeking protection in other countries. Their home governments are increasingly willing to disregard the sovereignty of those nations and send agents across borders to subdue political enemies.

The Washington Post is investigating a global surge in these campaigns of cross-border repression, as well as the global forces leading India and other nations to employ tactics normally associated with the world’s most repressive governments. For this story, Post reporters conducted dozens of interviews with officials, experts and targeted individuals in New Delhi, Washington, Ottawa, London, Prague and Berlin.

Amid shifting geopolitical forces, the United States and other Western governments have struggled to stem this tide of repression. India has faced few consequences for its use of violence and intimidation against dissident groups, in part because the United States and its allies want closer ties with India in a new era of competition with China.

Cross-border repression takes various forms including violence, harassment and surveillance. India, which eclipsed China last year as the world’s most-populous country, is part of an expanding roster of dozens of nations now employing such tactics. As a result, sanctuary for dissident groups is shrinking on nearly every continent.

 

 

[IheartIheartTesla]

Don't know why Modi is getting so desperate (in the Indian elections going on now). Most opinion polls place the ruling NDA alliance comfortably at 350 seats or maybe more (out of 543). His most recent speech was also the most incendiary, but those in the US used to Trump's dog whistles and straight up whistles will find much in common with what Modi said. 

[Jace, Extat]

So it's been over a week since Israel hit back at Iran with no response as of yet. Looks like Iran realized they don't want this problem to come home full-time.

Escalate to deescalate wins again. At least for as long as Israel maintains technological supremacy. 

[Kalbear]

5 minutes ago, Jace, Extat said:

So it's been over a week since Israel hit back at Iran with no response as of yet. Looks like Iran realized they don't want this problem to come home full-time.

Escalate to deescalate wins again. At least for as long as Israel maintains technological supremacy. 

I don't see how this follows at all unless you're saying that Iran did the escalation to deescalate. Israel didn't have an escalation of their response compared to Iran's whatsoever. Heck, it was barely clear that they did damage, and the damage they did do was very deniable by Iran. 

What a bizarre take. 

[maarsen]

2 hours ago, Zorral said:

EXCLUSIVE
An assassination plot on American soil reveals a darker side of Modi’s India

Shared/gift link -- goes behind subscription paywall:

https://wapo.st/3w3RrgT

This is a long, in depth report.

Concluding paragraphs:

There is a breakout section, which might be called a Sidebar, but the WaPo captions as a 'carousel' -- 
 

 

This came out in Canada a while back when a Sikh community leader was killed in Vancouver. We had issues in the last election with Chinese government interference but killing people is even worse.

[Jace, Extat]

7 minutes ago, Kalbear said:

I don't see how this follows at all unless you're saying that Iran did the escalation to deescalate. Israel didn't have an escalation of their response compared to Iran's whatsoever. Heck, it was barely clear that they did damage, and the damage they did do was very deniable by Iran. 

What a bizarre take. 

So it's like this:

Israel escalated by attacking Iranian targets in Syria, damaging Iran rather than their disposable proxies. 

Then Iran escalated by launching 330 airborne weapons at Israeli soil. 

Israel escalated again by striking Iranian air-defence systems. Proving that, unlike Iran, they have the capacity to inflict damage wherever and whenever they please, without five-hour delays between firing the shot and it hitting its target- that is an escalation of capacity to deal damage.