Political Randomness

gilraen · Post by **gilraen** » Tue Dec 20, 2016 1:11 pm

I forgot about that post, I searched for book name and found the Huxley vs. Orwell thread, which is several years old.

This sentence alone, "Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance", made me go re-check the original publishing date.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue Dec 20, 2016 1:14 pm

I think everyone should keep bumping it - as you've pointed out, it's rather frightening how it all seems to be unfolding. And I'd bet most people are familiar with the world of 1984 but I still remember reading Brave New World as a 6th or 7th grader in English class.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Dec 20, 2016 11:33 pm

WaPo

The Law and Justice Party rode to power on a pledge to drain the swamp of Polish politics and roll back the legacy of the previous administration. One year later, its patriotic revolution, the party proclaims, has cleaned house and brought God and country back to Poland.

Opponents, however, see the birth of a neo-Dark Age — one that, as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to move into the White House, is a harbinger of the power of populism to upend a Western society. In merely a year, critics say, the nationalists have transformed Poland into a surreal and insular place — one where state-sponsored conspiracy theories and de facto propaganda distract the public as democracy erodes.

In the land of Law and Justice, anti-intellectualism is king. Polish scientists are aghast at proposed curriculum changes in a new education bill that would downplay evolution theory and climate change and add hours for “patriotic” history lessons. In a Facebook chat, a top equal rights official mused that Polish hotels should not be forced to provide service to black or gay customers. After the official stepped down for unrelated reasons, his successor rejected an international convention to combat violence against women because it appeared to argue against traditional gender roles.

Over the weekend, Warsaw convulsed in street protests amid allegations that the Law and Justice party had illegally forced through a budget bill even as it sought to restrict media access to Parliament.

Cheered on by religious conservatives, the new government has defunded public assistance for in vitro fertilization treatments. To draft new sexual-education classes in schools, it tapped a contraceptives opponent who argues that condom use increases the risk of cancer in women. The government is proffering a law that critics say could soon be used to limit opposition protests.

Of course, their method of populism is to actually give away money:

Trump is promising a tax code rework that could trigger a bonanza of cash rebates for Americans. In Poland, Law and Justice put cash in pockets in other ways, but always while merging social conservatism and nationalism with populist economics. The new government doled out money to families with children. They also slashed Poland’s retirement age — to as young as 60 for women and 65 for men.

Opponents call such actions the “buying” of support, moves that will only drive up Polish debt and masquerade a long-term power grab that could entrench Law and Justice for years.
...
The new government program for families is the Wiechowskis’ life raft; it offers them a monthly cash payout worth nearly $1,000.

“Right now, that’s 100 percent of our income,” Pawel said. “Some people criticize the child benefit and say it’s a government handout. It’s not. It is support for traditional families.”
...
The national broadcaster in Poland would often tilt toward the party in power. But following its victory, Law and Justice launched an unprecedented purge of journalists at the channel, turning it into what opponents describe as a propaganda machine where conspiracy theories flourish. It recently ran a piece on the health risks of child vaccinations.
...
The new government is also skeptical of the Paris climate change agreement to cut carbon emissions and has pulled support for Polish wind and solar farms. At the same time, it is pumping more money into coal.

“Who really knows what is causing global warming?” Pawel said. “And Poland needs the coal industry.”

Maria was always more concerned with the spread of liberal values, which Law and Justice has, she said, rightly nipped in the bud. There is no more talk in Poland, for instance, of offering any legal rights to same-sex couples. Earlier this year, the office of a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender group in Warsaw was badly vandalized. Police never caught the perpetrators.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Wed Dec 21, 2016 1:12 pm

Ted Cruz predicts that democrats "will become obstructionists at a level we've never seen.

Speaking on Monday at a conservative student organization event in Palm Beach, Florida, Sen. Ted Cruz warned that Democrats will become “obstructionists at a level we’ve never seen” under a Donald Trump administration.

In what has to be a giant fit of irony, the Texas lawmaker — who single-handedly shut the government down because Democrats wouldn’t repeal their signature health care law — predicted to Turning Point USA that Democrats will “filibuster absolutely everything they can,” according to Texas Tribune reporter Patrick Svitek.

Apparently Cruz, whose stunt was described by a Senate aide as “a toddler’s version of legislating,” is now worried that the minority party will resort to what was essentially the only page of the Republican Party playbook from 2010 to now. Since 2010 GOPers have filibustered hundreds of bills passed by the House of Representatives explicitly because they wanted to make Obama “a one-term president.”

There are no words.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Wed Dec 21, 2016 1:13 pm

I'm actually kind of surprised that Ted Cruz could deliver a speech with his head so far up his own ass.

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Wed Dec 21, 2016 2:38 pm

Skinypupy wrote:Ted Cruz predicts that democrats "will become obstructionists at a level we've never seen.

We can only hope. Then they can scream loudly about how ineffective the Republican leadership is.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 9:13 am

Quality pondering from one of the worst people in our country.

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 3:58 pm

Looks like Carl Paladino is back in the news and is busy raising the bar for overt racism:
http://artvoice.com/2016/12/23/want-201 ... F2BIy0rJjG

Artvoice: What would you most like to happen in 2017?
Paladino: Obama catches mad cow disease after being caught having relations with a Herford. He dies before his trial and is buried in a cow pasture next to Valerie Jarret, who died weeks prior, after being convicted of sedition and treason, when a Jihady [sic] cell mate mistook her for being a nice person and decapitated her.
Artvoice: What would you most like to see go in 2017?
Paladino: Michelle Obama. I’d like her to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 4:10 pm

I read through his Wiki page. He's a piece of work.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 4:59 pm

Sepiche wrote:Looks like Carl Paladino is back in the news and is busy raising the bar for overt racism:
http://artvoice.com/2016/12/23/want-201 ... F2BIy0rJjG
Artvoice: What would you most like to happen in 2017?
Paladino: Obama catches mad cow disease after being caught having relations with a Herford. He dies before his trial and is buried in a cow pasture next to Valerie Jarret, who died weeks prior, after being convicted of sedition and treason, when a Jihady [sic] cell mate mistook her for being a nice person and decapitated her.
Artvoice: What would you most like to see go in 2017?
Paladino: Michelle Obama. I’d like her to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla.

Whatever gets you a spotlight, I guess.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sat Dec 24, 2016 12:40 am

Kraken wrote:
Sepiche wrote:Looks like Carl Paladino is back in the news and is busy raising the bar for overt racism:
http://artvoice.com/2016/12/23/want-201 ... F2BIy0rJjG
Artvoice: What would you most like to happen in 2017?
Paladino: Obama catches mad cow disease after being caught having relations with a Herford. He dies before his trial and is buried in a cow pasture next to Valerie Jarret, who died weeks prior, after being convicted of sedition and treason, when a Jihady [sic] cell mate mistook her for being a nice person and decapitated her.
Artvoice: What would you most like to see go in 2017?
Paladino: Michelle Obama. I’d like her to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla.
Whatever gets you a spotlight, I guess.

It was just a joke™. #MAGA

The 70-year-old businessman later said his remarks were "about a little deprecating humour which America lost for a long time".

And he added: "Merry Christmas and tough luck if you don't like my answer."

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Sat Dec 24, 2016 9:00 am

Kraken wrote:
Sepiche wrote:Looks like Carl Paladino is back in the news and is busy raising the bar for overt racism:
http://artvoice.com/2016/12/23/want-201 ... F2BIy0rJjG
Artvoice: What would you most like to happen in 2017?
Paladino: Obama catches mad cow disease after being caught having relations with a Herford. He dies before his trial and is buried in a cow pasture next to Valerie Jarret, who died weeks prior, after being convicted of sedition and treason, when a Jihady [sic] cell mate mistook her for being a nice person and decapitated her.
Artvoice: What would you most like to see go in 2017?
Paladino: Michelle Obama. I’d like her to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla.
Whatever gets you a spotlight, I guess.

Or an ambassadorship.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Sat Dec 24, 2016 2:43 pm

I love the narrative that the comments are anything but racist - <I'm just suggesting a woman who was born in America who just happens to be black should be shipped off to Africa - nothing to do with race!!>

What we probably learned this year is that crude, racist remarks are equivocated away routinely now. We are on the long slide to the bottom and many don't give a damn. Sad!

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Sat Dec 24, 2016 3:08 pm

Paladino? That's Italian, right? So what's a mobster doing trying to get his name in the papers? You'd think he'd wanna stay out of the limelight. Feds might start looking into his "waste management" business.

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Sun Dec 25, 2016 8:59 pm

Fake News Causes Pakistan to Threaten Israel With Nuclear War

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Mon Dec 26, 2016 10:54 pm

The Rip mentality goes wide. Don't like the facts? Just call it fake news.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Dec 26, 2016 11:29 pm

We need a new plague.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Mon Dec 26, 2016 11:57 pm

Isgrimnur wrote:We need a new plague.

Is this what it's come to?

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Tue Dec 27, 2016 11:40 am

How can a person be racist if there is one one race on the planet?

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Dec 27, 2016 11:47 am

dbt1949 wrote:How can a person be racist if there is one one race on the planet?

Because the term ethnicist doesn't roll off the tongue the same way.

Diffen

Race refers to a person's physical characteristics, such as bone structure and skin, hair, or eye color. Ethnicity, however, refers to cultural factors, including nationality, regional culture, ancestry, and language.

An example of race is brown, white, or black skin (all from various parts of the world), while an example of ethnicity is German or Spanish ancestry (regardless of race) or Han Chinese. Your race is determined by how you look while your ethnicity is determined based on the social and cultural groups you belong to. You can have more than one ethnicities but you are said to have one race, even if it's "mixed race".

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Tue Dec 27, 2016 11:48 am

dbt1949 wrote:How can a person be racist if there is one one race on the planet?

Wow, you don't even consider non-human creatures to be races?

That's humanist.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Dec 27, 2016 11:55 am

No, he's a human supremacist.

Moliere · Post by **Moliere** » Tue Dec 27, 2016 1:36 pm

Principal [in Taiwan] resigns over Nazi outrage

Hsinchu Kuang Fu High School principal Cheng Hsiao-ming yesterday resigned over the outrage caused by a cosplay event at the school on Friday, when some students wore Nazi uniforms and carried swastika banners.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Wed Dec 28, 2016 11:57 am

If nothing else, Duterte is good for the economy. Well, for some segments of the economy.

Orly Fernandez, 64, operational manager at Eusebio Funeral Services in Navotas city. Fernandez lives in the funeral parlor.

"Before maybe we pick up one body per day, now we get around two or three bodies a day."

Sandro Gabriel Jr, 34, grave digger at Pasay Public Cemetery.

"A lot of people who have been shot have been buried here. More than 40 people have recently been buried here," he said.

"...I am not saying Duterte should keep killing people. But for us, we will keep working as long as there is work."

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed Dec 28, 2016 12:23 pm

Bah, he stole that idea from Rahm Emmanuel's inner city jobs program.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Wed Dec 28, 2016 12:32 pm

Obama beats Trump where it will sting: He’s the most admired man in America

Since Gallup began asking Americans the people they admired the most, there's been a consistent pattern: Whoever was president or president-elect was almost always the man the country admired the most. The most admired woman? Usually someone who had been married to a president.

Only five times has the most admired man in the country not been a president — past, current or elected. And in 2016, the trend continued, with President Obama retaining the title he's held since 2008.

For each of the past 15 years, the most admired woman has been a very particular former first lady: Hillary Clinton. Clinton has been named America's most admired woman 21 times, the most of any winner of the title. It's often been a squeaker, such as when she narrowly edged out Sarah Palin in 2009. But in 2016, as in years past, no woman has been identified as the most admired more than Clinton.

Maybe the Trumps will do better in 2017, when they no longer have any obvious competitors.

Captain Caveman · Post by **Captain Caveman** » Wed Dec 28, 2016 12:43 pm

From my naive liberal perspective, it's really hard to see what one would admire about Trump. He mocks the handicap, brags about his wang on a debate stage, frequently sexually assaults women, etc., etc.

Maybe one can argue it's admirable that he managed to get elected despite his obvious shitiness as a human being?

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Wed Dec 28, 2016 12:58 pm

I share your view. But I have disliked that raging egomaniac since his early days of being Spy magazine's favorite target. It utterly amazes me that so many people are so angry about <insert any of about 6 different subjects that have been mostly fabricated by Trump> that they'd vote for someone who continually lies to them, has the temperament of a 6 year old, fervently demands that he be loved by everyone around him (and angrily responds when someone won't kiss his ass), has frequently displayed a lack of knowledge when it comes to even the most rudimentary tenants of American politics (and seems almost proud of his ignorance), admires leaders that everyone else understands to be dictators in everything but name, and can't spell "unprecedented".

But hey, he's not a liberal!

...well, not right now, that is. Tomorrow is another day.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Wed Dec 28, 2016 1:14 pm

And yet 15% of Americans polled named Trump as their most admired man.

22% name Barack Obama as most admired man; 15% name Donald Trump

Hillary Clinton is the most admired woman

9th time Obama has won; 21st time for Clinton

The thing that caught me off guard is that Hillary Clinton has polled as Americans' most admired woman (in the world, not just in America) for 21 years as of 2016. That either somewhat flies in the face of the "she's so unpopular" narrative, or Americans just don't much admire women in general.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Wed Dec 28, 2016 1:18 pm

(Ras)Putin.
Now it makes more sense.

Captain Caveman · Post by **Captain Caveman** » Wed Dec 28, 2016 1:23 pm

Max Peck wrote:And yet 15% of Americans polled named Trump as their most admired man.
22% name Barack Obama as most admired man; 15% name Donald Trump

Hillary Clinton is the most admired woman

9th time Obama has won; 21st time for Clinton
The thing that caught me off guard is that Hillary Clinton has polled as Americans' most admired woman (in the world, not just in America) for 21 years as of 2016. That either somewhat flies in the face of the "she's so unpopular" narrative, or Americans just don't much admire women in general.

Yeah, it'd be interesting to see where people would rank if they didn't separate the lists by gender.

Which leads me to a totally off topic pet peeve: why are there separate categories for men in women in areas where gender isn't a factor? Like having separate best actor and best actress Oscar categories... women can't compete with men in acting?

I get it for sports, but acting?

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Wed Dec 28, 2016 1:28 pm

Captain Caveman wrote:From my naive liberal perspective, it's really hard to see what one would admire about Trump. He mocks the handicap, brags about his wang on a debate stage, frequently sexually assaults women, etc., etc.

Maybe one can argue it's admirable that he managed to get elected despite his obvious shitiness as a human being?

Everyone should mock the handicap. It ruined what was otherwise a great Scottish game.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Wed Dec 28, 2016 5:18 pm

What the fuck is wrong with people, specifically the powerbrokers?

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/27/nyreg ... v=top-news

Asked what he wanted to see “go away in 2017,” Mr. Paladino answered, Michelle Obama, “I’d like her to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla.”

He also wrote that he hoped President Obama would die of mad cow disease. His comments were published with those of three dozen other survey respondents.

In his statement on Tuesday, Mr. Paladino apologized to the “minority community,” and said he received the survey at an emotional moment, after listening to Mr. Obama speak about the humanitarian disaster in Aleppo, Syria, which “resulted from his failed and cowardly foreign policy.”

Mr. Paladino added: “I did not mean to send those answers to Artvoice. Not that it makes any difference because what I wrote was inappropriate under any circumstance. I filled out the survey to send to a couple friends and forwarded it to them not realizing that I didn’t hit ‘forward’ I hit ‘reply.' All men make mistakes.”

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Wed Dec 28, 2016 5:37 pm

LordMortis wrote:What the fuck is wrong with people, specifically the powerbrokers?

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/27/nyreg ... v=top-news

Mr. Paladino added: “I did not mean to send those answers to Artvoice. Not that it makes any difference because what I wrote was inappropriate under any circumstance. I filled out the survey to send to a couple friends and forwarded it to them not realizing that I didn’t hit ‘forward’ I hit ‘reply.' All men make mistakes.”

Too bad that he's already on the record as saying that it was his answer and tough luck if you don't like it.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Wed Dec 28, 2016 5:50 pm

It is just evidence we are living at a very dangerous inflection point in human and American history. Norms, civility, and basic adherence to widely known facts are being cast aside as people quest for individual power. I fear it is only going to get much worse and hope it doesn't.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Wed Dec 28, 2016 7:07 pm

Max Peck wrote:
LordMortis wrote:What the fuck is wrong with people, specifically the powerbrokers?

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/27/nyreg ... v=top-news

Mr. Paladino added: “I did not mean to send those answers to Artvoice. Not that it makes any difference because what I wrote was inappropriate under any circumstance. I filled out the survey to send to a couple friends and forwarded it to them not realizing that I didn’t hit ‘forward’ I hit ‘reply.' All men make mistakes.”
Too bad that he's already on the record as saying that it was his answer and tough luck if you don't like it.

That's weak even for a non-apology. "It's my private opinion, I didn't mean to share it" is even worse than just owning it.

Moliere · Post by **Moliere** » Thu Dec 29, 2016 12:04 pm

In Canada it's offensive to women to legalize pepper spray so they can better defend themselves against attacks.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Dec 29, 2016 12:09 pm

Canada never banned asbestos:

Unlike more than 50 countries around the world, Canada has never banned asbestos, and was a large exporter until the last mine closed in 2011. Despite a Liberal pledge to ban it, the mineral continues to enter the country in imports, such as pipes and brake pads. Medical experts say the number of deaths from asbestos-related diseases will continue to grow, because of the long latency periods and the impact of continued exposure.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Dec 30, 2016 10:38 am

...Texas

A federal judge is ordering the state to disclose the number of heat-related deaths that have occurred since 1990 in Texas prisons, where less than a third have air conditioning in all housing areas.

U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison at a hearing Wednesday in Houston gave the state 30 days to comply, but not before questioning why its lawyers had not provided the information sooner, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The order comes as part of a federal civil rights lawsuit filed in 2013 that contends at least 13 inmates being held by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice have died of heat-related deaths since 2007, including 11 in 2011 when a heat wave brought some of the hottest temperatures on record.
...
The lawsuit argues more than 1,400 prison inmates, most of them elderly and disabled, are suffering “cruel and unusual punishment” by enduring extreme summer heat without air-conditioning.

“The well-being of staff and offenders is a top priority for the agency and we remain committed to making sure that both are safe during the extreme heat,” according to a statement by prison spokesman Jason Clark.

There are 109 state prison facilities in Texas, with 30 that are air-conditioned in all housing areas. Clark said all prison units now have at least some areas that are air-conditioned.

But Austin lawyer Jeff Edwards, representing prisoners on whose behalf the lawsuit was filed, said conditions in the prisons have “turned fraud into a death sentence, drunk driving into a death sentence.”

If the number of people escaping from prison were as high as the number of people suffering heat-related deaths, Edwards said, “heads would roll and things would change.”

I'm sure being in uniform and PPE inside those places is a joy. I wonder why the Texas Correctional Employees Union hasn't made it an issue before.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sat Dec 31, 2016 9:06 pm

Meet the New Year. Same as the Old Year.

At least 35 people have lost their lives in an attack on a nightclub in Istanbul, the city's governor has said.

Among the dead is one police officer, Vasip Sahin stated, adding that it was a terror attack.

At least another 40 were injured in the attack which took place in the Reina nightclub, in the Ortakoy area, at about 01:30 local time (23:30 GMT).

One attacker was involved, the governor said, while CNN Turk reported he was dressed in a Santa Claus costume.

"A terrorist with a long-range weapon ... brutally and savagely carried out this incident by firing bullets on innocent people who were there solely to celebrate the New Year and have fun," Mr Sahin told reporters at the scene of the upmarket Reina nightclub, which sits on the banks of Bosphorus in the city's European side.

There were reportedly as many as 700 people in the nightclub at the time of the attack, some of whom are believed to have jumped into the river to escape.

Dogan news agency reported that some witnesses claimed the attackers were "speaking Arabic" while Turkish television channel NTV said special force police officers were searching the nightclub.

Istanbul was already on high alert with some 17,000 police officers on duty in the city, following a string of terror attacks in recent months.

Many were carried out by so-called Islamic State (IS) or Kurdish rebels.