International Politics Thread

[indigohex3]

In retrospective, it was sad to see Fydenberg to go as I think he had respect from both sides of the aisle. The best moment was seeing the "next Prime Minister" Craig Kelly get a trip to Cuba, courtesy of the ukulele-playing robot. Note that that was the first time I saw the ukulele-playing robot because when I got home from work, I watched it on ABC News. But great political satire none the less (I will always remember Scotty from Marketing playing the ukulele).

 

[Archaic]

Sadly, it appears the potato may have saved his seat, so he'll probably end up the opposition leader now. On the plus side, that'll pretty much make them entirely unelectable next time.

 

[There Is No Arceus]

opposition leaders never get elected in Aus?

 

[NMLewis]

No, it's just that particular MP is very unpopular nationally.

 

[Archaic]

He's also basically the heir apparent the the Liberal Party's most far right faction. Basically, the part of the party which caused the rest of the electorate to chuck them in the bin. To win government, they'd need to win the cities back, and they can't do that under Dutton.

 

[Volphied]

This is a landslide, but not one for Labor. Indeed, this doesn't feel like a Labor victory over the Liberal/National coalition at all. Rather, it feels like a landslide victory for 3rd party and independent candidates who wanted strong and immediate action on climate change.

Hopefully now Queensland can shake it's reputation as Australia's Florida. 10 years ago, I would've never thought that Queensland would elect more Green representatives than all other states combined. Greenslander!

I just wanted to say, that I was on this forum, almost a decade ago, watching the Liberals defeat Labour by promising to repeal the carbon tax. How ironic that they would eventually be thrown out of government precisely due to their denialism and inaction on climate change. It truly feels that there was a seismic change in how the public perceives the ongoing climate crisis.

 

[indigohex3]

I found a very good tweet from Twitter in regards to Clive Palmer NOT GETTING A SINGLE SEAT (in fact losing the next Prime Minister in Craig Kelly) despite spending $60 million on the election. Should've gone to IKEA.

https://twitter.com/marquelawyers/status/1528574430275768322?s=20&t=Az4XVWRANU_hs813l24H_Q

 

[Volphied]

Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych has a friendly message to all the little Neville Chamberlains out there in the West:

 

[Volphied]

Kremlin Cronies Say Putin Is Ready to Go Full Kim Jong Un

Putin’s puppets have dropped all pretense that Russia is a law-abiding nation, threatening to unleash chaos and emulate the unhinged nuclear threats of North Korea.

www.thedailybeast.com

Russian President Vladimir Putin paid tribute to Tsar Peter the Great on the 350th anniversary of his birth on Thursday, claiming that modern Russia is once again on a historic quest “to return and fortify” its lost lands. Erasing any doubt about the true motivation of his invasion of neighboring Ukraine, Putin told an audience of technology students in Moscow that the lot of re-conquering Russia’s former territories fell to their generation. They blithely smiled throughout the speech, without a hint of a reaction to the imperial ambitions of their leader which have abruptly re-shaped their future.

The speed with which the talking heads swung behind Putin’s latest narrative shattered the thin veneer of supposed independence on Russian state television, laying bare the fact that the Kremlin’s propagandists on top rated shows are not there to share their own opinions. The same pundits who meekly asserted for months that the “special military operation” was never about occupying any of the Ukrainian territories have changed their tune in the blink of an eye. Brushing aside the unconvincing legend of the mythical Nazis in charge of Ukraine’s government, as well as complaints about “NATO enlargement,” state TV experts embraced the idea of shamelessly taking another nation’s land—just because they want to.

The idea of growth through territorial expansion has been repeatedly reiterated by prominent figures, such as State Duma Deputy Defense Committee Chairman Vladimir Shamanov, former Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Airborne Troops. In a recent interview, Shamanov agreed with the statement that “war is the calling card of the Russian people” and asserted: “Our nation was built through territorial enlargement.”

During his show, Solovyov introduced a clip of the late Vladimir Zhirinovsky, former member of the State Duma, notorious for his odious, bellicose statements. In the clip, Zhirinovsky insisted that the Baltics and Ukraine would be occupied and controlled by Russia. The host referred to the politician as a “political prophet” and noted that “everyone should have listened” to his predictions.

Bitterly complaining about the sanctions—and his seized Italian mansions on the shores of Lake Como—Solovyov suggested: “Since we’re going to be enlarging, if we need—for example—auto parts, let’s enlarge towards the places where those factories are located. I’m also still peeved about Lake Como. Let’s enlarge in that direction.”

 

[indigohex3]

Tragedy has struck here in Victoria with a member of the United Australia Party winning the sixth Senate spot up for grabs with Ralph Babet being the only success enjoyed by the UAP in the elections, and already out with conspiracy theories, claiming that free speech is being targeted by international institutions like the World Economic Forum (without any evidence), when Clive Palmer was targeting any free speech that criticised him and his party. Well, it will be a long six years for Victoria with a Trumpist politician like Babet in the Senate, and as a Victorian, I should stress that I practiced my freedom and didn't vote for him (and I believe a lot of my fellow Victorians didn't vote for him).

Final Senate count delivers seat to Palmer

Labor will need to rely on the United Australia Party, Jacqui Lambie, One Nation or David Pocock alongside the Greens to pass legislation in the Senate.

thenewdaily.com.au

Meet Ralph Babet: conspiracy theorist, anti-lockdown advocate and Victoria's UAP senator

Babet has been quick to wipe clean his social media history, which displayed right-wing views and conspiracy theories.

www.crikey.com.au

NOTE: The Crikey article may be behind a paywall.

 

[Volphied]

Statement by President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö on 28 June 2022 - Presidentti

Office of the President of the Republic of Finland Press release 41/2022 28 June 2022 Today in Madrid, before the beginning of the NATO Summit, we had a thorough meeting...

www.presidentti.fi

Today in Madrid, before the beginning of the NATO Summit, we had a thorough meeting with President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister of Sweden Magdalena Andersson, facilitated by Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg.

As a result of that meeting, our foreign ministers signed a trilateral memorandum which confirms that Türkiye will at the Madrid Summit this week support the invitation of Finland and Sweden to become members of NATO. The concrete steps of our accession to NATO will be agreed by the NATO Allies during the next two days, but that decision is now imminent.

NATO is about to expand by two new members, and Putin can only blame himself for revitalizing the alliance.

 

[Sheep40]

Inevitably NATO is probably going to include the entire former Soviet union at some point in history.

 

[There Is No Arceus]

Inevitably NATO is probably going to include the entire former Soviet union at some point in history.

it'll probs be a while before NATO includes Russia

 

[Sheep40]

A while, but eventually. Eventually.

 

[indigohex3]

Boris Johnson has quit as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Boris Johnson quits as Britain’s Prime Minister).

And he (Boris Johnson) is still a sausage roll according to a video on YouTube (don't worry, the video I saw is Safe For Work).

 

[Max1996]

Man...all these 'protesting' farmers are making a mess of things here...some people in the Netherlands just suck...

 

[There Is No Arceus]

Man...all these 'protesting' farmers are making a mess of things here...some people in the Netherlands just suck...

yeah, i don't get why they think that this crap will get them support

 

[indigohex3]

There has been a shooting in Japan with former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a critical condition after the shooting on the eve of House of Councillors (or Upper House) Elections taking place this weekend (Abe in state of cardiac arrest after shooting; police arrest suspect | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis). It is alleged that the shooter was dissatisfied with Abe and intended to kill him. I didn't agree with much of Abe's policies, but this is a step too far and should not be condoned, as assassinations are horrific events and would solve nothing but encourage vigilantes and could end up causing more problems than what it "solves", and I suspect worse will come as a result of this cowardly act. I condemn what happened in Japan today, and no doubt everyone on the forums will join me in condemnation of this barbaric act.

BREAKING: News has come through that Shinzo Abe has died following the shooting ([BREAKING] Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has died: NHK).

 

[Volphied]

There has been a shooting in Japan with former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a critical condition after the shooting on the eve of House of Councillors (or Upper House) Elections taking place this weekend (Abe in state of cardiac arrest after shooting; police arrest suspect | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis). It is alleged that the shooter was dissatisfied with Abe and intended to kill him. I didn't agree with much of Abe's policies, but this is a step too far and should not be condoned, as assassinations are horrific events and would solve nothing but encourage vigilantes and could end up causing more problems than what it "solves", and I suspect worse will come as a result of this cowardly act. I condemn what happened in Japan today, and no doubt everyone on the forums will join me in condemnation of this barbaric act.

BREAKING: News has come through that Shinzo Abe has died following the shooting ([BREAKING] Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has died: NHK).

I don't think anyone's gonna be condoning such a senseless and horrific act. Quite the opposite:


I'm now curious about what effect this will have on the upcoming elections in Japan.

Interestingly enough, Abe's grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi (AKA "Monster of the Shōwa era"), was also once targeted by an assassin, though unlike Abe he survived.

 

[indigohex3]

If you thought that jackass Scott Morrison couldn't sink even lower, it looks like that that jackass is now engaging in conspiracy theories, channeling them at a church run by Margaret Court (Conspiracy questions follow Scott Morrison's Sunday sermon). If you are not from Australia, you wouldn't have heard of this guy called Tim Stewart, a friend of ScoMo and a prominant proponent of the QAnon conspiracy here in Australia (who even got ScoMo to use the term "ritual sexual abuse" (a term heavily used by followers of QAnon) in that jackass' apology to child abuse victims. And while that jackass was Prime Minister, he spoke out against globalism, no doubt getting his cue from Donald Trump and Keith Rupert Murdoch (who pressed for Brexit). As an Australian, I am becoming even more embarrassed that this jackass was once our Prime Minister, and even more embarrassed that he associates with people such as Margaret Court.

And in the case of QAnon, if they really care about protecting children, where were they when children were gunned down while in school? If QAnon really care about protecting children, why are they silent about all these wars and human rights abuses against children in theatres of war such as Ukraine and Syria? If QAnon really care about protecting children, why aren't they figthing against domestic abuse which hurt children? And if QAnon really care about children, why aren't they protesting poverty that children have to face worldwide? Seems hypocritical to me.