[QuickTidal]

Maark Abbott, on 12 July 2022 - 11:11 AM, said:

Malankazooie, on 08 July 2022 - 05:09 AM, said:

Bloody hell, former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe shot while giving a speech. Seems as if there is derangement everywhere. I know he had to step down due to gastrointestinal health issues a few years ago. Didn't know a lot about him. He certaitly didn't seem controversial or anything.

I have heard from some folk inside Japan that he had some disturbing views tied into the 'have sex for Shinzo' memes you may see about, including and not limited to right wing nationalism. I can't say further on that point and would defer to people with better than second hand knowledge from tankies, though. Certainly no way to go, though.

The bolded bit is FAR more common than you'd think in Japan. Most of the Yakuza are RW nationalists for example. There's a reason why non-Japanese people are still viewed as Gai-jin, nationalism is VERY prevalent. The fact that a former PM like Abe held these views is not surprising to me. This guy was PM for what? Like 4 terms at the head of a "liberal" party...while holding decidedly ultranationalistic and RW views.

But yeah, Abe often engaged in Historical Negationism about the events of WWII and their old "conquering/subjugating" ways towards its neighbours like Korea, basically pretending like it was not bad and in some cases that things simply didn't happen or were lies, despite being documented. FFS he tried to help a group who wanted textbooks reformed to reflect the covering up of Japanese war crimes and used to outright deny the Nanjing Massacre...an even that is seen like the Holocaust in Japan. There's tonnes about him rejecting the Sexual slavery of women in China and Korea during WWII...all of which he only every apologized for after he was repeatedly held to account and busted...

This guy should not be lauded by anyone. He was a status quo PM for Japan who basically tried his level best to erode a lot of International good will, and while he may have failed in a lot of areas, his attempts make him a shitty human. Somehow he is the longest serving PM in Japanese history, but I feel like that has far more to do with his cabinet than the man himself, but perhaps it has more to do with the Japanese people's complacency for the things he stood for that we find abhorrent.

[Maark Abbott]

QuickTidal, on 12 July 2022 - 01:25 PM, said:

Maark Abbott, on 12 July 2022 - 11:11 AM, said:

Malankazooie, on 08 July 2022 - 05:09 AM, said:

Bloody hell, former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe shot while giving a speech. Seems as if there is derangement everywhere. I know he had to step down due to gastrointestinal health issues a few years ago. Didn't know a lot about him. He certaitly didn't seem controversial or anything.

I have heard from some folk inside Japan that he had some disturbing views tied into the 'have sex for Shinzo' memes you may see about, including and not limited to right wing nationalism. I can't say further on that point and would defer to people with better than second hand knowledge from tankies, though. Certainly no way to go, though.

The bolded bit is FAR more common than you'd think in Japan. Most of the Yakuza are RW nationalists for example. There's a reason why non-Japanese people are still viewed as Gai-jin, nationalism is VERY prevalent. The fact that a former PM like Abe held these views is not surprising to me. This guy was PM for what? Like 4 terms at the head of a "liberal" party...while holding decidedly ultranationalistic and RW views.

But yeah, Abe often engaged in Historical Negationism about the events of WWII and their old "conquering/subjugating" ways towards its neighbours like Korea, basically pretending like it was not bad and in some cases that things simply didn't happen or were lies, despite being documented. FFS he tried to help a group who wanted textbooks reformed to reflect the covering up of Japanese war crimes and used to outright deny the Nanjing Massacre...an even that is seen like the Holocaust in Japan. There's tonnes about him rejecting the Sexual slavery of women in China and Korea during WWII...all of which he only every apologized for after he was repeatedly held to account and busted...

This guy should not be lauded by anyone. He was a status quo PM for Japan who basically tried his level best to erode a lot of International good will, and while he may have failed in a lot of areas, his attempts make him a shitty human. Somehow he is the longest serving PM in Japanese history, but I feel like that has far more to do with his cabinet than the man himself, but perhaps it has more to do with the Japanese people's complacency for the things he stood for that we find abhorrent.

I've seen some videos of 'gaijin syndrome' on a train (i.e. no one sitting near you because you're obviously a foreigner). I suppose given the massive right-wing nationalist resurgence in the world at large I shouldn't be surprised overall that he was up to some bad shit like revisionism.

[Malankazooie]

What's going on in Sri Lanka? It looks like chaos, but out of it there have been some smiles. The scenes of the protesters overtaking the presidential mansion and using the workout gym and diving into the swimming pool were pure gold.

[Tsundoku]

Couldn't think of a better thread to place this, sorry.

https://www.news.com...9b7f753b5277259

Mexican journalist Fredid Roman killed hours after story about 43 students who vanished

"Twelve journalists have been killed in Mexico so far this year, according to the government, while the NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) lists nine. Some media outlets have put the figure at 15 or 16.

With about 150 journalists murdered since 2000, according to RSF, Mexico is considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world for the press.

Most of those murders remain unpunished."

----------------------------------

Did not know it was this bad.

[Aptorian]

With the stories you hear about Mexico, I'm surprised it's only 150 in a 22 year period.

The way Mexico is covered I always think about it like a cocaine dusted Mordor, with drug gangs in toyotas roaming a mad max like hell scape.

And then you hear stories about Americans going on vacations to the place.

[Primateus]

It seems that Mikhail Gorbachev has died.

[Malankazooie]

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'One would think that someone canvassing for Greenpeace in Toronto would be warmly received. Canada has a long history of conservationism. On the contrary, many homeowners were hostile. They yelled at the stumpers to get off their property. One person hit Son Hing’s colleague in the head with a can of soup. [...]

[...] the magnitude of global warming seemed to make fundraising harder, not easier. “The threat is so huge, [...] if you’re not changing your life and advocating for all systems to change to address it, then it’s like you’re a complete idiot.” Rather than think of themselves as stupid or insensitive, people resolved the dissonance by minimizing the problem or choosing not to think about it.

[...] System justification is the idea that people tend to defend not only their individual actions but also the social, economic, and political systems to which they belong—even if these systems work to their detriment.

This is the opposite of what economists and political scientists normally argue happens. Consider how people react to income inequality. The leading rational-choice model holds that as income inequality increases, more voters will support redistributive tax policies and vote accordingly. Son Hing’s research suggests that the opposite is true. As inequality rises, people become less accurate in their estimates of how much inequality exists. More important, they adjust their perception of what they think is fair. [...] This sets in motion a vicious cycle. The more inequality exists, the more likely people are to believe that society operates meritocratically.

People tend to fall prey to the “just-world hypothesis,” a bias toward believing that the world operates fairly. “It’s hard to have no sense of control,” [...] “and to believe that the odds are stacked against you.” So when something bad happens to someone, we tend to search for explanations about why they deserved their fate.'

Stop Donating to Your Elite University

[Tsundoku]

China’s Xi secures historic third term in office
Xi Jinping has secured a historic third term in power, cementing his position as China’s most influential leader since founder Mao Zedong.

https://www.news.com...4131a8aaf9c231d

-------------------------------

Bets on when they move on Taiwan?

[Macros]

Bolsanaro out Lula in, he's still got a very right wing government to wrestle with but nice to see a country swinging left,

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Macros, on 31 October 2022 - 06:51 AM, said:

Bolsanaro out Lula in, he's still got a very right wing government to wrestle with but nice to see a country swinging left,

And not just one country: 'extending a string of leftist victories across Latin America that were fueled by a wave of anti-incumbent backlash. Six of the region's seven largest countries have now elected leftist leaders since 2018.'

Brazil Ejects Bolsonaro and Brings Back Former Leftist Leader Lula

OTOH Bolsonaro is refusing to concede, despite having officially lost the election:

'The Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) declared Lula the next president [...] 77-year-old Lula's inauguration is scheduled for Jan. 1.

Bolsonaro last year openly discussed refusing to accept the results of the vote, making baseless claims that Brazil's electronic voting system was vulnerable to fraud.'

Lula wins Brazilian election, but Bolsonaro does not concede

'Last year, Mr. Bolsonaro told his supporters there were only three outcomes to the election: He wins, he is killed or he is arrested. He then added, "Tell the bastards I'll never be arrested.'

Will Bolsonaro Dispute the Results of Brazil's Presidential Election?

... and if he's no longer president, Bolsonaro will risk criminal prosecution. Like Julius Caesar---or Donald Trump....

From Caesar to Trump: Immunity is a hard thing to give up

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 31 October 2022 - 10:45 AM

[worry]

In that light...

[worry]

To be determined...

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

worry, on 31 October 2022 - 11:03 AM, said:

In that light...

But how far are they willing to go if Brazil's military supports Bolsonaro?

Hopefully there's a viable plan in place to assassinate Bolsonaro (and hopefully that would be enough to prevent a civil war...). Might be waiting until he feels relatively certain he's secure against assassination to announce he's remaining in power.

OTOH sending the US military (as part of an international coalition) in a just war could have a 'rally around the flag effect' boosting Biden's popularity and reminding US voters that US democracy is at risk as well, possibly helping Democrats in the midterms. But an increase in spending to pay for it may also be perceived by voters as unnecessarily exacerbating inflation.... (And the Trumpists will probably think Bolsonaro is the hero, and embrace his baseless claims of voter fraud. Could motivate them towards further violence, stochastic terrorism....)

[Tsundoku]

You may be suprised how much most militaries value stability and indeed fairness. As long as they are taken care of, of course.

Most just want to draw their pay and have very boring days. Only the crazies want real action rather than just the fantasy.
And aside from nations brought up under thousands of years of conformist autocracy (coughChinacough), most militaries really don't want to shoot their own people.

[Gorefest]

Azath Vitr (D, on 31 October 2022 - 11:37 AM, said:

Hopefully there's a viable plan in place to assassinate Bolsonaro

I do at times boggle where your mind goes and how serious your comments are. No offense meant, but this is rather out there conspiracy chatter. I guess part of it as well is that I often find it hard to figure out what is your own opinion and what is a quotation that you are copying across.

This post has been edited by Gorefest: 31 October 2022 - 12:28 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Gorefest, on 31 October 2022 - 12:27 PM, said:

Azath Vitr (D, on 31 October 2022 - 11:37 AM, said:

Hopefully there's a viable plan in place to assassinate Bolsonaro

I do at times boggle where your mind goes and how serious your comments are. No offense meant, but this is rather out there conspiracy chatter. I guess part of it as well is that I often find it hard to figure out what is your own opinion and what is a quotation that you are copying across.

'US intelligence [...] succeeded in deposing or killing a string of leaders, but was forced to cut back after a Senate investigation in the 1970s'

Cut back... not stop:

'the US never totally abandoned the strategy, simply changing the terminology from assassination to targeted killings, from aerial bombing of presidents to drone attacks on alleged terrorist leaders.'

The CIA has a long history of helping to kill leaders around the world | The Guardian

The US military has recently become particularly adept at targeted drone killings---openly assassinating terrorist leaders without injuring those around them:

'long-time al-Qaeda boss Ayman al-Zawahiri walked out onto the balcony of a downtown Kabul compound - reportedly a favourite post-prayer activity of the veteran Egyptian jihadist.

[...] two missiles slammed into the balcony, killing the 71-year-old but leaving his wife and daughter unscathed inside. All the damage from the strike appears to be centred on the balcony.

How was it possible to strike so precisely? In the past the US has faced criticism for strikes and targeting errors that have killed civilians.

But in this case, here's how the type of missile, and a close study of Zawahiri's habits, made it happen - and why more strikes could follow.'

Ayman al-Zawahiri: How US strike could kill al-Qaeda leader - but not his family - BBC News

My considered (but provisional) opinion is that yes, if the alternative is most likely going to be war, Bolsonaro should probably be assassinated---if that seems likely to prevent the war (not at all certain, since Bolsonaroismo extends beyond him and includes many politicians who did win in the last election---many of whom, like Bolsonaro, have a military background). I would vote in favor of it. (Among other things...)

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 31 October 2022 - 01:18 PM

[Gorefest]

So, should the UK assassinate Trump as well?

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Gorefest, on 31 October 2022 - 01:44 PM, said:

So, should the UK assassinate Trump as well?

Pretty please?

Seriously though, if Trump had refused to leave office and come closer to initiating a civil war, then yes, he should have been assassinated, if intelligence experts decided that's the best course of action. For better or worse it didn't come to that.

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 31 October 2022 - 01:48 PM

[Cause]

I just learnt that Denmark will go and play soccer at the World Cup in an all black uniform to protest Qatars humans right record.

I find this more silly than if they did nothing. They are still going to play, the games will have fans in the stadium and watching at home. Money will be made.

This feels less like a protest and more like the thing you do to assuage your guilt. Either you think what your protesting is a serious matter for concern or you don’t. I’m not even sure if this counts as a half measure.