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

Raptorslash Since: Oct, 2010
#240776: May 2nd 2018 at 12:57:39 PM

It's still not good that Le Pen got as far as she did in the first place.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#240777: May 2nd 2018 at 1:01:19 PM

We live in a political era in which the alt-right (or whatever it prefers to call itself) enjoys a great deal of memetic popularity, even if most people don't literally agree with its political stances. This extends to the media as much as, or even more than, anything else. Any politician, in any state, who runs on that platform is going to enjoy a groundswell of support that makes them look way more mainstream than they should have any right to be.

I hope this is a passing phase, but the problem with this sort of ideology is that it gains enormous strength from its successes. Hungary (Fidesz), Brexit, Trump... these fuel the fire in an exponential fashion. The mainstream is fighting back, but it takes way more effort than the average person is comfortable with.

edited 2nd May '18 1:01:52 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#240778: May 2nd 2018 at 1:54:32 PM

[up] Personally, I think an aggressive anti-propaganda media literacy campaign, would go a long way to combating radicalization and disinformation.

edited 2nd May '18 1:56:45 PM by megaeliz

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#240779: May 2nd 2018 at 1:55:45 PM

[up][up][up][up][up] "more intelligent"...ugh, really? You're going there? You're seriously going to call Americans, including myself, less intelligent?

edited 2nd May '18 1:55:57 PM by M84

Disgusted, but not surprised
DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#240780: May 2nd 2018 at 1:57:57 PM

Its not a passing phase. The forces behind this are well resourced, organized, and have been manufacturing propaganda virtually unopposed since the 1979's.

But we are finally organizing an effective opposition.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#240781: May 2nd 2018 at 1:58:29 PM

I feel like there's some Fry side-eye needed here.

Also, we're talking about the France that incited week long riots by its Muslim minority and almost elected a Trump of its own, right?

It's not the place I would consider the Leftist of Left in the EU.

edited 2nd May '18 1:59:46 PM by CharlesPhipps

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#240782: May 2nd 2018 at 2:01:13 PM

[up]x4 You also have to have a concerted effort at the government level to combat information warfare. The Swedes have been dealing with it for years, here's a quote an officer gave about it:

“Don’t respond to disinformation,” Göranson advises. “There’s no point in entering a communications war with the Russians. However, use every opportunity to prove the opposite of what they’re alleging.” Over a long career as an anti-submarine warfare officer, Jansson has come to the same conclusion. “Lie low, don’t respond to provocations. And ask yourself who benefits from the disinformation they’re spreading.” [1]

Rather than fighting back you have to engage each issue on its merits. The Russians say X event happened? Don't try to argue with them, just publish the information that shows they're wrong. The most recent strike in Syria was a good example of this, compared to the last one the public has a much more realistic view of what happened because the Do D came out with slides and sat photos and third party verification right off the bat, and didn't try to debate any facts.

edited 2nd May '18 2:01:41 PM by archonspeaks

They should have sent a poet.
TheWildWestPyro from Seattle, WA Since: Sep, 2012 Relationship Status: Healthy, deeply-felt respect for this here Shotgun
#240783: May 2nd 2018 at 2:02:20 PM

240695: Jesus Christ, I told you off for this once, and now you're doing it again?

Edit your post please.

Wariolander Since: Nov, 2017
#240784: May 2nd 2018 at 2:06:13 PM

[up][up][up] Compared to the US and UK, though, they are definitely more left than them.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#240785: May 2nd 2018 at 2:08:06 PM

Yes and compared to Germany, they're super-conservative.

And then there's Italy, which is a whole nother planet.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Mio Since: Jan, 2001
#240786: May 2nd 2018 at 2:14:55 PM

[up]I'm not sure about that.

Germany has always seemed to me to be consistently more conservative then France. The only difference is that their fringe voices, particularly right-wing ones have not really had as much room to maneuver (at least for now) as they do in France.

@ironballs16: Well, if they think welfare spending is going to go down we can assure them that it's not going to be from a wellspring of new jobs from this tax bill, or even purchase of new capital.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#240787: May 2nd 2018 at 2:16:10 PM

Economically, Germany is pretty conservative. I can't speak to their social liberalism, but Krugman spent a lot of column space over the past few years arguing that the Ordoliberal doctrine was destroying the Eurozone.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Wariolander Since: Nov, 2017
#240788: May 2nd 2018 at 2:20:04 PM

[up][up][up] Italy and Southern Europe in general have always had garbage politics since the end of the Roman Empire. There's a reason that's the only region of Europe that's had a major war (The Yugoslav Wars) since the end of World War II.

edited 2nd May '18 2:20:48 PM by Wariolander

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#240789: May 2nd 2018 at 2:22:52 PM

Cambridge Analytica has filed for bankruptcy.

Basically, because all of their customers left in disgust.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/us/politics/cambridge-analytica-shut-down.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur

That and their customer info security was shit. Alas, it's probably just a Blackwater situation.

In recent months, executives at Cambridge Analytica and SCL Group, along with the Mercer family, have moved to created a new firm, Emerdata, based in Britain, according to British records. The new company’s directors include Johnson Ko Chun Shun, a Hong Kong financier and business partner of Erik Prince. Mr. Prince founded the private security firm Blackwater, which was renamed Xe Services after Blackwater contractors were convicted of killing Iraqi civilians.

Cambridge and SCL officials privately raised the possibility that Emerdata could be used for a Blackwater-style rebranding of Cambridge Analytica and the SCL Group, according two people with knowledge of the companies, who asked for anonymity to describe confidential conversations. One plan under consideration was to sell off the combined company’s data and intellectual property.

edited 2nd May '18 2:28:53 PM by CharlesPhipps

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#240790: May 2nd 2018 at 2:23:02 PM

Which end of the Roman Empire are we talking about? tongue

archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#240791: May 2nd 2018 at 2:25:34 PM

[up][up][up] If you're counting the Yugoslav Wars then you have to count the dozens of minor wars, insurrections and civil conflicts that happened across Eastern Europe. Southern Europe isn't the only area that's had problems.

They should have sent a poet.
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#240792: May 2nd 2018 at 2:29:55 PM

[up][up][up] at least on paper they did.

All the power players formed a new firm, Emerdata.

And this time it has ties to Erik Prince (of Darkness).

  • The power players behind Cambridge Analytica have set up a new company - and thedaughters of Donald Trump-supporting billionaire Robert Mercer have just joined as directors.
  • Rebekah and Jennifer Mercer joined Emerdata on March 16, but it is shrouded in mystery.
  • Alexander Nix, the suspended CEO of Cambridge Analytica, is also a director, as well as other executives from parent firm SCL Group.
  • Emerdata also lists Johnson Chun Shun Ko, a Chinese executive from Frontier Services Group, the military firm chaired by prominent Trump supporter Erik Prince.

edited 2nd May '18 2:35:07 PM by megaeliz

TheWildWestPyro from Seattle, WA Since: Sep, 2012 Relationship Status: Healthy, deeply-felt respect for this here Shotgun
#240793: May 2nd 2018 at 2:30:29 PM

[up][up][up][up] Erik Prince's presence in my home country is an ugly black stain that should be removed.

edited 2nd May '18 2:30:42 PM by TheWildWestPyro

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#240794: May 2nd 2018 at 2:39:30 PM

Here's the full article about Emerdata, from a while back.

Rebekah and Jennifer Mercer, daughters of hedge fund tycoon Robert Mercer, have just joined the board of a mysterious new company set up by executives at scandal-hit political research firm Cambridge Analytica.

According to public filings at Britain's Companies House, Emerdata was incorporated in August 2017 and the Mercers were appointed to its board on March 16 this year.

Cambridge Analytica's now-suspended chief executive, Alexander Nix, is also listed as a director, as is Julian Wheatland, chairman of Cambridge Analytica parent firm SCL Group.

The filings show Wheatland set up Emerdata along with Cambridge Analytica's chief data officer, Alexander Tayler.

Nix's role in Emerdata is unclear given he has been suspended from Cambridge Analytica. A spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

It isn't clear what Emerdata does, though the company is listed under "data processing, hosting, and related activities." It shares an address in Canary Wharf with Cambridge Analytica's parent, SCL Group.

Emerdata is connected to controversial Trump supporter Erik Prince

Another notable company director is Johnson Chun Shun Ko, the deputy chairman of Frontier Services Group.

Frontier is a private security firm which mostly operates in Africa and is currently chaired by US businessman and prominent Trump supporter Erik Prince. Prince is best known for founding private military group Blackwater US and is the brother of US education secretary Betsy De Vos.

Prince also donated to the Make America Number 1 PAC, a Mercer-funded group that supported Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

Make America Number 1 paid Cambridge Analytica $1.5 million in 2015 and 2016. During undercover filming by Britain's Channel 4 News, CA executives revealed how Make America Number 1 was used to seed online attack ads against Hillary Clinton.

The appointments indicate the strong ties between the Mercer family and Cambridge Analytica.

Robert Mercer is the primary funder for Cambridge Analytica, and was also a major backer of Donald Trump's presidential campaign through the Make America Number 1 PAC.

He's also the major funder behind controversial right-wing news site Breitbart. Breitbart's former executive chairman and former White House advisor, Steve Bannon, once sat on the board of Cambridge Analytica.

Trump's team once appointed Cambridge Analytica to run its digital campaign - something the firm boasted about in secret recordings taken by Channel 4.

According to Politico, the Trump camp is now trying to distance itself from the company following revelations that it misused millions of Facebook users' information, plus incriminating undercover recordings which show the executives boasting of their ability to manipulate elections and even blackmail political opponents.

Nix was suspended from his role late on Tuesday after the recordings aired on Channel 4.

edited 2nd May '18 2:40:06 PM by megaeliz

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#240795: May 2nd 2018 at 2:43:03 PM

Some @PresVillain fun:

AT SOME POINT I WILL HAVE NO CHOICE—! #PresidentSupervillain https://t.co/3LfKTc4fs6

A few not yet mentioned stories from the WTF Just Happened Today Twitter:

Iowa lawmakers passed the nation's most restrictive abortion legislation

https://t.co/a76uxlIzcI

Planned Parenthood and two other reproductive rights groups are suing the Trump administration to block a "radical shift" in the federal Title X program

https://t.co/KwfhuIMokZ

A former contestant on "The Apprentice" is suing Trump for defamation after he called her a liar for accusing him of sexual assault

https://t.co/salb1klgiG

Trump has asked a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit accusing him of violating the Constitution's Emoluments Clause

https://t.co/aP5aVIhPBW

A group of House of Representatives formally nominated Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize

https://t.co/N04tLusk0V

edited 2nd May '18 4:16:06 PM by sgamer82

tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#240796: May 2nd 2018 at 4:16:13 PM

Puerto Rico National Guard weather reconnaissance plan crashes in Chantam County, Georgia; five dead, four missing.

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
Raptorslash Since: Oct, 2010
#240797: May 2nd 2018 at 4:54:58 PM

I hope that Trump doesn't get that Nobel. He did nothing to earn it.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#240798: May 2nd 2018 at 4:56:26 PM

The Nobel Peace prize has lost a lot of its prestige with Kissenger and Obama.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#240799: May 2nd 2018 at 4:57:33 PM

Wisconsin GOP Senate candidate questions 'cognitive thought process' of veterans who are Democrats. [1]

(CNN) Wisconsin GOP Senate candidate Kevin Nicholson said in a radio interview on Wednesday that he questions the "cognitive thought process" of veterans who vote Democratic, arguing that their military service contradicts their political views.

Asked by host Steve Scaffidi on the local station WTMJ about Republican primary opponent Leah Vukmir's suggestion that her record as a Republican state senator should mean more to conservative voters than his military experience, Nicholson argued that to serve in the military is fundamentally conservative.

"And just because some people that don't call themselves conservatives and don't always act conservative do something conservative — like, let's talk about John Kerry — and signed up to serve this country, that doesn't mean that that's not a conservative thing to fundamentally protect and defend the Constitution," Nicholson said. "Because I'll tell you, the Democrat party has wholesale rejected the Constitution and the values that it was founded upon. So I'll tell you what: Those veterans that are out there in the Democrat party, I question their cognitive thought process because the bottom line is, they're signing up to defend the Constitution that their party is continually dragging through the mud."

Nicholson went on to tout "my time as a husband, my time as a father," as well as the endorsements of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Utah Sen. Mike Lee as further conservative credentials.

Nicholson's military service has been a focal point of his campaign to be the GOP nominee to unseat Democratic incumbent Tammy Baldwin in November, as has his journey from being a member of the Democratic Party as a younger man to becoming a Republican. Nicholson was president of the College Democrats of America and spoke at the 2000 Democratic National Convention. He later joined the Marines and told Politico in September 2017 that his deployment to Iraq in 2007 was key to changing his political views, saying he was "livid" with Democrats for calling the war a failure.

Nicholson campaign spokesman Brandon Moody elaborated on the candidate's remarks in an email to CNN's K File.

"Kevin made clear that all members of the military - regardless of their political party - sign up to defend and protect the Constitution and its principles," he said. "But Kevin also believes that the Democrat Party has become unmoored from the Constitution and has lost its way. Kevin left the Democrat Party years ago and became a conservative, in part, because liberal Democrats and the policies they promote have shown overt disrespect to our veterans."

CNN's K File reported in February that both Nicholson's mother and father donated the legal maximum to Baldwin's primary campaign in December.

here's an example of what he tweets

The Democrat party has long lied to vets -a big part of the reason I’m a conservative. @tammybaldwin and liberal front group @votevets continue to support the failed #irandeal that sent cash on cargo planes to finance Iranian IE Ds that killed Americans. #Send In The Marine #wisen

Here's the Twitter of Tammy Baldwin, who he's running against

Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#240800: May 2nd 2018 at 4:59:20 PM

I hope he pays for that.

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang

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