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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#255701: Sep 26th 2018 at 4:18:38 PM

[up] The only thing I can find is Radio Free Asia, which is literally American propaganda, and no more credible than the Global Times or RT.

LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#255702: Sep 26th 2018 at 4:20:29 PM

Here's one about the ones in Jiangsu

China's having to severely slash the size of it's standing army in order to keep parity with other modern fighting forces but as a result that's a lot of people with no income or food supply so they're dealing with sporadic riots and protests in a number of provinces.

This is what I mean when I say China is on the brink. It's been artificially extending it's life by virtue of throwing it's entire weight of being a command economy around and the odds of it surviving the modernization needed to be competitive as a global power are slim to none.

Pretty much all of it's policies both foreign and domestic are built around preventing it's massive population from having any sort of an uprising and they're at their limits as to how long they can keep that up.

Edited by LeGarcon on Sep 26th 2018 at 7:23:16 AM

Oh really when?
CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#255703: Sep 26th 2018 at 4:24:11 PM

[up] Then why isn't the global investment community significantly more worried? (they're worried about the trade war and the financial crisis in emerging markets) China isn't isolated from the global community behind an iron curtain like the Soviet Union, it's heavily integrated into the global economy, and thus simply wouldn't be capable of hiding the sort of economic malaise you propose.

Edited by CaptainCapsase on Sep 26th 2018 at 7:24:17 AM

LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#255704: Sep 26th 2018 at 4:25:51 PM

Because most of the western world has shifted most of it's cheap manufacturing and investing to the rest of SEA and we've been doing so for many years at this point?

Or do you think American companies are investing in those ghost cities? In fact that's why they're building those things and investing so heavily in useless public works projects. They're losing a lot of the workload that foreign nations used to send to them and they're desperate to keep the population busy.

Edited by LeGarcon on Sep 26th 2018 at 7:29:15 AM

Oh really when?
CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#255705: Sep 26th 2018 at 4:28:28 PM

[up] That's happened to an extent, but an economic meltdown in China would not stay in China, the shocks to commodity markets alone would absolutely tank the global economy. Meanwhile China is also the second largest consumer market in the world, and is poised to pass the US by in that regards some time in the 2030s.

Like, there's being realistic about the fact that fears of China taking over the world are about as stupid as fears of Japan taking over the world, and then there's the kind of magical thinking necessary to think that A. China's economy is a complete fraud and B. When the charade comes to an end the world economy will be unaffected by it.

Edited by CaptainCapsase on Sep 26th 2018 at 7:32:00 AM

LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#255706: Sep 26th 2018 at 4:31:12 PM

I don't know about tank the global economy but it would fucking suck to be sure. I'm not going to argue that.

But it's going to happen unless China is going to be content being just a really big North Korea forever and giving up any hope of maintaining any economic or military parity with the rest of the world.

As a consumer market China is almost completely detached from the rest of the world. Foreign companies can't break into it without abiding by ridiculous rules and regulations from the Chinese government. Because the Chinese government is so obsessed with social control and carefully maintaining foreign influence on the population in order to keep it in check.

It's like people always listing Chinese as one of the most spoken languages but when you check the demographics the vast majority of those speakers are in China's borders.

There's a lot more of a curtain than you think.

Edited by LeGarcon on Sep 26th 2018 at 7:36:33 AM

Oh really when?
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#255707: Sep 26th 2018 at 4:37:26 PM

With regards to NAFTA, it will survive in its original form as long as Congress doesn't let Trump rip it up.

Barring Ottawa absolutely caving, you won't see a NAFTA 2.0 unless Trump and co drop their more ludicrous demands (Chapter 19, supply management, etc).

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#255708: Sep 26th 2018 at 4:38:15 PM

[up][up][up][up][Twitter's] where I, and practically everyone else here, gets most news.
Pretty sure that's not actually the case for "everyone else here". Twitter is one source, but the Twitters often cited are those of news reporters or analysts like the ones megaliz is often quoting.

I personally keep track of my news via the What The Fuck Just Happened Today? news summary site. It frequently offers multiple sources for the stories they cite and summarize them fairly decently (at least nobody here's ever complained about how they're presented).

LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#255709: Sep 26th 2018 at 4:40:05 PM

I love your summaries by the way. It's kinda hard for me to always keep track of all the shit happening at once and I'm super appreciative of the work you put into making those

Oh really when?
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#255710: Sep 26th 2018 at 4:41:03 PM

Don't complement me too much, I'm literally just copy/pasting what they have there and picking one of the links to include. The most I've done lately is use the quoteblock markup for the little side sections and notables, more for the hell of it than anything.

CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#255711: Sep 26th 2018 at 4:41:24 PM

@Garcon China's internal market is highly protected, but the growing middle class in China and the sheer size of its market allows it to get away with far more protectionism than a less populous country could. The US has a similar but smaller advantage as a consequence of its large population and massive consumer market, which has insulated Trump from the worst possible consequences of his idiotic protectionist policies.

Either way, the amount of foreign firms taking a crack at it in China in spite of the huge barriers has also increased substantially over time as a consequence of its huge consumer market.

Edited by CaptainCapsase on Sep 26th 2018 at 7:41:58 AM

LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#255712: Sep 26th 2018 at 4:46:23 PM

I'm not convinced that China will open those restrictions enough to allow foreign investment to help fix the problems with it's economy.

Nor am I convinced that even if they do that the sudden influx of foreign ideas and media will allow China to continue as it current is.

Currently China is sitting on top of a powder keg while freezing to death and sooner than later they're gonna have to seriously think about lighting a match to keep warm.

Oh really when?
kkhohoho (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#255713: Sep 26th 2018 at 4:48:42 PM

And another one. This one was back in the 80's.

That makes five.

Edited by kkhohoho on Sep 26th 2018 at 6:52:44 AM

CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#255714: Sep 26th 2018 at 4:51:28 PM

[up][up] An influx of outside ideas might very well force some greater degree of political liberalization, but I think it's just as likely the end result would be a gigantic Singapore, not a liberal western style democracy.

LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#255715: Sep 26th 2018 at 4:53:33 PM

Between the soldier riots, which will only get worse from here, the ethnic cleansing, and the whole host of other problems China is facing I don't believe they can survive that sort of shakeup.

Given how vital their military is for suppressing food riots and general population unrest I don't think they'd even survive any sort of modernization efforts.

Oh really when?
Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#255716: Sep 26th 2018 at 4:56:03 PM

Le Garcon I think your "Any day now china's going to collapse' is a fantasy you too readily believe in,it's not going to happen,what did China ever do to you deserve a full economic collapse?

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#255717: Sep 26th 2018 at 4:56:35 PM

I think this conversation has solidly drifted into general politics talk. Just saying.

Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Sep 26th 2018 at 7:56:05 AM

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#255718: Sep 26th 2018 at 4:57:31 PM

[up][up][up] Once again, the global investment community is panicking about the trade war and emerging market currencies, not about an imminent political collapse in China, and we already went over how that sort of thing would result in a global economic shitstorm of a similar magnitude to the 2008 recession due to China's role in the global economy.

Edited by CaptainCapsase on Sep 26th 2018 at 7:57:00 AM

LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#255719: Sep 26th 2018 at 4:58:14 PM

What emerging market currencies?

Edited by LeGarcon on Sep 26th 2018 at 8:00:33 AM

Oh really when?
CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#255720: Sep 26th 2018 at 4:59:11 PM

[up] A big one being the Turkish Lira, which went through a major valuation crash in August. Here's an article about in on an investment website.

Edited by CaptainCapsase on Sep 26th 2018 at 7:59:13 AM

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#255721: Sep 26th 2018 at 4:59:20 PM

To drag us back to the specifics of US politics, anyone got any non-partisan sources for the positions held by the candidates in the Georgia gubernatorial race? I have someone I speak to in Georgia who I think would benefit from some accurate expelnatiins for positona held rather than what they see on the news.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#255722: Sep 26th 2018 at 5:08:46 PM

Great article from The NY Times about voter registration efforts in Mississippi.

A New Class of Voting Rights Activists Picks Up the Mantle in Mississippi

OXFORD, Miss. — The first time Howard Kirschenbaum registered voters in Mississippi was during the summer of 1964, when he was arrested and thrown in jail. The second time was on Tuesday, after returning to the Southern state more than a half-century later to support a new generation of voting rights activists.

In the quiet of a rainy morning, Mr. Kirschenbaum helped to register students on the campus of the University of Mississippi, and before long, he was in tears. Memories of Freedom Summer 1964, the historic campaign to register African-American voters in Mississippi, came rushing back.

“In that moment, there must have been five or six students, all waiting patiently to fill out the registration form,” said Mr. Kirschenbaum, 73, recalling the summer he spent in Moss Point, Miss., 54 years ago. “I am witnessing this moment. They want to vote. They are able to vote. The connection between then and now was so palpable. This is what we worked for all those years ago.”

Four veteran volunteers of Freedom Summer, now in their 70s and mostly retired, returned to the state this week to join a nonpartisan youth group, Mississippi Votes, for a voter registration campaign called Up 2 Us. Young and old, two full generations apart, gathered at a Jackson church, in nearby neighborhoods, on the balcony of an Oxford bookstore to talk about the perils and stakes of voter activism, then and now.

More than 50 years after Freedom Summer, with voting rights across the nation being whittled away by stricter requirements — requirements challenged in two Mississippi lawsuits as discriminatory — a new generation of youth are taking up the cause to increase voter registration and civic engagement, especially among young citizens and marginalized communities.

“There is a power that transcends our ages,” said Arekia Bennett, 25, executive director of Mississippi Votes, which has 250 volunteers and chapters on nine different college campuses across the state. “We want to dive deep into the veteran stories and learn the lessons of that summer so we can shift the narrative, make our own changes in Mississippi.”

With midterm elections less than two months away and two Senate seats up for grabs, Mississippi Votes is canvassing the state, as the volunteers before them did, hoping to chip away at the hundreds of thousands of unregistered voters. In total, there are about 1,839,449 registered voters in Mississippi, according to the secretary of state. Since August, Mississippi Votes has registered about 2,000.

“This is about creating a culture of civic engagement, not just during the election season. We want people to understand the political landscape and be involved on and off the clock,” said Ms. Bennett, a Jackson State University graduate who wanted to be a physics teacher before turning to civic activism. “We want to engage and empower people so that they see themselves not just as a number but as a viable character in their own lives. This is about self-determination.”

     Similar Challenges, but Changing Methods 

In 1964, more than 700 college students — mostly white, mostly from the North — brought national attention and public fury to a state that audaciously, violently resisted change. They spent 10 weeks that summer registering voters. Their actions helped shape the framework of the civil rights movement and led, in part, to the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

In Mississippi cities and towns, they worked with local black activists, already steeped in the fight, to dismantle the laws and practices that made it almost impossible for African-Americans to vote. Barriers came in the form of poll taxes and literacy tests, along with the looming threat of persecution and violence. Led by the Council of Federated Organizations, a coalition of civil rights groups, the registration drive was as much about social equality and racism as it was about the power of each vote, the most fundamental tool in the democratic process.

The Voting Rights Act prohibited racial discrimination at the ballot box. But in 2013, the Supreme Court sharply reduced a key provision that required select states with a history of discrimination to seek federal approval before making changes in voting rules that could affect minorities.

Some states have also enacted rigorous guidelines that voting-rights advocates say amount to voter suppression. Some polling places have been eliminated, early voting opportunities have been cut back and voters in some states are now required to present photo identification. Before 2006, no state required a photo ID to vote.

In Mississippi, two recent lawsuits filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Mississippi Center for Justice target the state’s collection of so-called disenfranchising crimes. Offenses ranging from nonviolent charges, such as bribery and forgery, to carjacking and murder are used to disqualify voters. Critics argue that this system, said to be rooted in an 1890 law designed to curb black voters, disproportionately affects African-Americans.

A Mississippi Today study showed that about 56,000 Mississippians were banned from voting because of felony charges over a 23-year period starting in 1994. African-Americans represent 36 percent of Mississippi’s total voting-age population, but make up about 61 percent of those who are ineligible to vote.

“The methods have become more sophisticated, but the broader issues are still in play,” said Jim Kates, one of the Freedom veterans who, along with others, returned to Mississippi to assist Ms. Bennett and the other young organizers.

’’’A Lesson of Fear and Hope’’’

Part of what made Freedom Summer, first called the Mississippi Summer Project, so successful was that it exposed the horrors blacks faced trying to assert basic citizenship. Those experiences were exported to the masses in stark news dispatches. The volunteers, recruited by the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and Congress of Racial Equality activists, trained at an Ohio college, then traveled some 800 miles south by bus or car.

At great personal risk, hundreds of black families hosted the volunteers in their homes. In turn, the volunteers met at black churches, to distribute registration information, helped to fill out forms and escorted them to the courthouses.

The veterans remembered a summer wrapped in fear but also hope. The volunteers were harassed by both the police and white residents. They were arrested and jailed. Beaten. Firebombed. And they were murdered. In the first week of the project, three activists — Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner and James Chaney — were abducted and shot just outside Philadelphia, Miss. Their corpses, brutalized and buried, were discovered two months later.

“You never really felt safe. And you never knew if some kind of harassment was going to turn into something more,” said Benjamin Graham, 73, who left the University of California, Berkeley, to spend that summer in Mississippi.

Mr. Graham, who later became a doctor specializing in internal medicine, still remembers with chilling clarity lying in bed one summer night in the house of a Batesville family. It was his first night back in Mississippi after a quick return trip to California. Suddenly, around 2 a.m. his chest began to tighten. His breath had shortened and he was wheezing.

“I started feeling really bad and I honestly believed I had been poisoned by the KKK,” said Mr. Graham, then 19. “It turns out I had asthma, but that just gives you a sense of the kind of stress we were under.”

     Building Trust in Different Communities 

On Saturday, after an afternoon of training at a church, then canvassing in Jackson neighborhoods, the group — veterans and students from Jackson State University and Tougaloo College — locked arms, forming an intergenerational circle. Then they sang “We Shall Overcome.”

The veterans later drove about 160 miles north to Oxford. They met with more Mississippi Vote student volunteers, from the University of Mississippi, and dined at a soul food diner on the town square. There they chatted about the joy of Southern cuisine and the dearth of rural hospitals and identity politics, but always, always returned to the summer of 1964.

John Strand talked about knocking on doors and trying to convince African-Americans to come to local churches for evening meetings where they could learn more about voter registration. Mr. Graham shared what he believed was one of their biggest responsibilities: bringing a certain understanding and sensitivity into the homes of black voters.

“We were asking people to do something big. There were huge risks for blacks to register to vote at the time. One way they were intimidated was by the practice of putting their names in the local newspaper if they registered to vote,” he said. “That could cost them their jobs. Or more.”

Mr. Graham paused and his words seemed to hang in the air. John Chappell, 21, one of the student Mississippi Vote organizers, turned to Graham and asked: How did you get people to trust you?

“You had to be willing to listen. I think they trusted us, but they didn’t trust that things were going to be okay. And we didn’t say they would,” Graham said. “We knew the risks and we had to be honest about that.”

Edited by megaeliz on Sep 26th 2018 at 8:13:43 AM

Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#255723: Sep 26th 2018 at 5:12:33 PM

Link to actual source and quote only the most reverent parts,offor a summary in your own words,and don't post the entire thing,that's stealing

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
Mario1995 The Dishonorable from Atlanta Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
The Dishonorable
#255724: Sep 26th 2018 at 5:15:03 PM

[up][up][up]Will this help?

Edited by Mario1995 on Sep 26th 2018 at 8:14:46 AM

"The devil's got all the good gear. What's God got? The Inspiral Carpets and nuns. Fuck that." - Liam Gallagher
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#255725: Sep 26th 2018 at 5:16:20 PM

Quick note: the conservative female judge is Amy Coney BARRETT, not Bennett. It was a page or two ago but that’s still an egregious error because multiple people got it wrong.


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