General Politics Thread

There is a lot of "punching sideways" among minorities, world wide.

I'm a bit late to the conversation, but just to add that bigotry and prejudice is a feature/bug of human nature that will always exist in some way or form, regardless of ideology. Even if the target of bigotry is not a common one and/or is a socially acceptable target (see the Napoleon quote on my sig).

Edited by Quag15 on Mar 20th 2019 at 4:12:49 PM

Even if we eliminate all traditional prejudices new Acceptable Targets are bound to crop up, like furries, Star Wars fanboys, and so on.

Edited by AlleyOop on Mar 20th 2019 at 1:24:53 PM

Bloomberg: These Are the World’s Happiest (and Most Miserable) Countries

And here's the direct link to the report: World Happiness Report 2019

Finland tops the World Happiness Report two years in a row.

On a side note, the USA dropped a place from last year going from 18th to 19th happiest country.

South Sudan is the least happy country.

Of some personal importance to me is the fact that Taiwan is #25 on that list. Not too shabby I suppose — it's right below France, whatever that's worth. Hong Kong is at #76, and the P Ro C is at #93.

Edited by M84 on Mar 21st 2019 at 4:20:50 PM

Meanwhile, Finland is deeply confused about the news:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxfHYjg6MOU

A BBC vid on why the ICC is hated despite its work.

Everyone wants to use the ICC to settle scores. No one is interested in a fair assessment, because that is harmful to national self-interest. So of course the ones with the most interests globally won't back it.

Always has been the case, always will be the case.

So, I was just thinking; you know populist strongmen? You know how they've been popping up all over the place in recent years? (Or so I've heard, anyway; I know Mongolia recently elected one.)

Has there been a recent example (by recent, I want to say within the last five years or so, ideally post-Trump since the general assumption is he's the catalyst for this trend) of a populist strongman-esque leader being removed from power by any means, democratic or otherwise? I haven't heard of any and I feel it'd be good for a case study in the aftermath of such a figure's removal.

If we're limiting ourselves to leaders who got to power and lost it after Trump's election, I can't really think of any. Granted, that's at least partially because most such leaders haven't had to face a second election yet. If we're counting strongmen in general, just this month has seen old authoritarian leaders forced out in Sudan and Algeria.

I'm kind of inclined to mention the ouster of my native Iceland's prime minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson in early 2016, though. He was forced to resign after being implicated in the Panama Papers, having taken office in 2013. You might not consider him part of the populist strongman wave, but in the three years since his ouster he's very much embraced being part of that general movement.

Ousting. "Ouster" is weird American for "we forgot how to use the -ing suffix".

Edited by Euodiachloris on Apr 11th 2019 at 7:13:13 PM

As long as we’re being technical, ouster is more French than American. Though it’s in common use everywhere at this point, so either are acceptable. Ouster is generally more specific to a political process, ousting or ousted are for general use.

Edited by archonspeaks on Apr 11th 2019 at 11:34:43 AM

To leave; a leaving: to part; a parting: to roast; a roasting: to vote; a vote or voting.

Get my point? British English and the Commonwealth generally don't use "ouster" — it's an ousting, which rhymes with outing.

And, don't talk to us about French. We've been mangling French for our purposes since 1066!

Edited by Euodiachloris on Apr 11th 2019 at 8:00:34 PM

You see ouster and ousted in pretty much equal use in British press these days. It’s a little more versatile than ousting/ousted, especially when referring to past events. I’ll also point out that ouster is a legal term in the UK as well, just like in the US.

But again, a bit silly to blame the US for a French-origin term. Technically it’s “weird French”, not “weird American” since we’re being pedantic here.

Edited by archonspeaks on Apr 11th 2019 at 12:28:58 PM

Which British press? Because various sites post in American English for specifically for the segment of readers who complain that British English isn't English enough for them.

In Britain, it's "ousting". And, we follow the guidelines for verb-nouning we've used for donkeys.

For example: an outing — a trip out or to become exposed. An outer — somebody who exposes, or, as in a sticky-outer belly button, that which sticks out or is exposed.

An ouster (or, should you wish to pseudo-Latin it, an oustor/ oustrix) is somebody who ousts another who was in power, probably in an ousting or coup.

Edited by Euodiachloris on Apr 11th 2019 at 8:58:52 PM

Quite a few of them. It’s much more common when talking about politics, probably due to the legal origins of the term. “Ouster” has the same legal definition in the UK that it does in the US. You can also blame internationalism for that one, bits of the lexicon have been trading both ways. Some UK vocabulary has started to pop up in the US these days, even. I’m still waiting for us to finally switch to metric though.

Funnily enough, it’s almost always Brits getting picky about it. A bit of an complex there, methinks

Teachers teach teachings. Learn yer learnings, learner.

You damned Rooineks and your grammar.

Gimme a break. English isn't my first language, I'm allowed an occasional slip-up.

You know, I'm thinking about how both Neoliberalism and Neoconservativism are basically slurs online. I really can't count how regular Liberal Center-rigth candidates are called Neoliberals or how being willing to intervene in foreign conflicts, even outright genocides, gets you called Neocon.

There anyone left that legit call themselves like that?

Edited by KazuyaProta on Apr 12th 2019 at 4:51:19 AM

Not just that, neoliberal gets thrown at any progressive someone deems "not left enough", even if they advocate for a higher tax rate but stop short of abolishment of private property. I've seen Elizabeth Warren accused of being a neoliberal for crying out loud, because she said she wasn't entirely against capitalism. And while so far it's only been one person, I've even come across an anarcho-syndicalist blogger accusing AOC of neoliberalism for preferring to work within the system and cooperate with Pelosi instead of trying to strike out on her own.

Edited by AlleyOop on Apr 12th 2019 at 7:11:11 AM

Also. Don't forget being called Neo Con for having some harsh policies regarding rival nations. Remember all the paranoia of "Neocon Hillary will send US to a war with Russia?????" during 2016? I do.

Hillary would have been the least likely to get us into a war with Russia. With Trump, he might start one by accident.

That's my point.

I wonder how Granny Hill would handle the Venezuelan Crisis. I really do.

I imagine a lot of "But you didn't nothing in Rwanda Hillary, why you care about Venezuela, oh right, is because you hate black people and the opossition are a white supremacist neoliberal fascist neocon coalition?" from her opossition.

Edited by KazuyaProta on Apr 12th 2019 at 6:46:51 AM

Looking at this, I have never seen "ouster" before now, and I can't see how it would be used to mean something other than "the one ousting someone".

I am wondering if is possibly to create a sort of Pro American Third Worldism. Where the idea is a peaceful cooperation (which in the practique will mean obeying USA) between the US and the Global.South.

I know about American imperialism. But seeing the world, it's impossible to just avoid all dominances. And sadly, USA might be the best bet

Edited by KazuyaProta on May 7th 2019 at 2:23:53 PM