The Well-Mannered Politics Thread

[Inqui]

The following thread is not mine at all nor do I take credit for it.

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1054466550433042432.html

It's a 61 tweet thread that goes in to detail about China trying to influence its interests onto key U.S. institutions. It's well worth a read. Conspiracy or nah?

Short answer, no it's not a conspiracy and it's an issue that doesn't get enough attention. Long answer... it's complicated and it depends on how much time you have.

Australia's torn between the US being its top security partner and China being its top trading partner. And the security community there is torn between the doves who think China represents the biggest opportunity in several generations and the hawks who think China represents the biggest security threat in generations (this debate's going on in policy circles all over the world including the US atm but it's especially big in Australia). Both sides overstate their positions but the reality is that they're both right.

I'll try to find examples of both ends of the spectrum but the IP theft issue has been a complaint from corporations for a while now from all around the world; airlines facing penalties for having Taiwan on their flight networks (as opposed to Taipei); Party-aligned think-tanks and grants; one Australian senator having his debts paid in return for taking a pro-China stance on certain issues; security questions from the state-owned companies in the tech sector in particular (though iirc a DoD report recently said these weren't as bad as people think) and sovreign risks for private companies like Huawei (their own government doesn't make it easy for them) and so on.

It's not a mainstream issue yet but I can see it being the top foreign policy issue during one of the next three presidential elections, if not the biggest issue period. And true to form with partisan issues, the debate will lose all sense of nuance and will trigger me immensely lol. One thing I'll say I respect Trump for is that he was the first mainstream candidate to make it a high-priority issue, even if I think his trade approach is completely wrong-headed.

Long story short, it's definitely something governments need to be awake to, though I'd also say a nuanced approach is needed because it's not necessarily an existential issue and there are still a lot of opportunities for growth and prosperity for everyone. I believe it was page 35 or so where I started banging on about this so it's a topic I've got a lot of interest in. So it'll be a shame when both sides make it a blindly partisan issue haha.

 

[Willbacker]

because talking about foreign ethnic peoples as carriers of disease is a common racially-motivated argument to try and justify the vilification of foreigners who look or speak differently

so either you were being racist (either on purpose or not on purpose doesnt really matter) or you were parroting statements from other people who were being racist...

Since there's also people from other countries like Malaysia and the Middle East that could be accompanying the caravan I guess I'd be the fool to think that even one person could be carrying. No I wasn't thinking about race in the least but its typical of the left to charge us for it.

 

[Willbacker]

I've learned to not express a political opinion ANYWHERE. Anything you say leaves you open to be demonized (even if the title of the thread is "Well Mannered"), so I just keep my opinions to myself.

I do remember you one time making an opinion and one poster got way out of line. You most defintly deserved an apology

 

[rossihunter2]

Since there's also people from other countries like Malaysia and the Middle East that could be accompanying the caravan I guess I'd be the fool to think that even one person could be carrying. No I wasn't thinking about race in the least but its typical of the left to charge us for it.

you are literally talking about races - why would someone from Malaysia and the middle east be a disease threat?

and maybe it is typical of the left to charge you for it - because it's straight out of the fascist political playbook so forgive me if i have very little sympathy

 

[Willbacker]

The following thread is not mine at all nor do I take credit for it.

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1054466550433042432.html

It's a 61 tweet thread that goes in to detail about China trying to influence its interests onto key U.S. institutions. It's well worth a read. Conspiracy or nah?

Trump is making it a sticker point in his trade talks with China to curtail the sharing of technological information. A lot of companies show their greed by sharing secrets weith the Chinese.

Here's another article detailing the selling of of Loral Space technology under the Clinton administration. in case you didn't know about it.

https://capitalresearch.org/article/flashback-bill-clinton-gave-china-missile-technology/

Just to add on this shows what that technology did

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/18/AR2007011801029.html

 

[Willbacker]

you are literally talking about races - why would someone from Malaysia and the middle east be a disease threat?

and maybe it is typical of the left to charge you for it - because it's straight out of the fascist political playbook so forgive me if i have very little sympathy

Sorry if they're a different race but there's diseases in those countries that are not typical here. The Zika virus being one.

 

[balfan23]

I do remember you one time making an opinion and one poster got way out of line. You most defintly deserved an apology

Yeah it was my first and last post. I felt if I couldn’t post an opinion here without being instantly judged where could I.

I think this sums it up pretty well

https://townhall.com/columnists/mic...-dangerous-and-divisive-lie-n2372296?amp=true

 

[29BmoreBird22]

Sorry if they're a different race but there's diseases in those countries that are not typical here. The Zika virus being one.

You seem to be misinformed about the Zika Virus.

The Zika Virus originated in Uganda, which is pretty far from the Middle East. The Aedes mosquitoes that carry this disease ARE NOT found in the Middle East or in most of northern Africa. They prefer a more subtropical environment.

They are found everywhere in the world, except Antarctica, but their range is fairly limited anywhere not below the halfway point of Africa, so I would hardly have concerns with a Middle Eastern bringing Zika Virus over.

Despite this, I work for the Department of Health and, while it is rare, I probably see at last one to two positive reported cases of Zika every day, so this isn't a disease that hasn't made its way to America yet and they'd be introducing a new catastrophic plague.

 

[Willbacker]

You seem to be misinformed about the Zika Virus.

The Zika Virus originated in Uganda, which is pretty far from the Middle East. The Aedes mosquitoes that carry this disease ARE NOT found in the Middle East or in most of northern Africa. They prefer a more subtropical environment.

They are found everywhere in the world, except Antarctica, but their range is fairly limited anywhere not below the halfway point of Africa, so I would hardly have concerns with a Middle Eastern bringing Zika Virus over.

Despite this, I work for the Department of Health and, while it is rare, I probably see at last one to two positive reported cases of Zika every day, so this isn't a disease that hasn't made its way to America yet and they'd be introducing a new catastrophic plague.

I was just trying to make a point.

Its good to hear you are working. Hope its something you like.

 

[29BmoreBird22]

I was just trying to make a point.

Its good to hear you are working. Hope its something you like.

Did you like not think I was working before or something...?

 

[Dom McRaven]

Did you like not think I was working before or something...?

I think he could be referencing to the time where you were talking about how you were struggling to find work in your field or something to that extent.

 

[29BmoreBird22]

I think he could be referencing to the time where you were talking about how you were struggling to find work in your field or something to that extent.

Hmm, well, if that's the case, yes, it took me a bit of time to find work in my field in this town, but I did almost a year ago now. It's been a great job and will definitely hold me over until I apply to vet school.

 

[Willbacker]

Did you like not think I was working before or something...?

Remember you said you was willing to volunteer at a vet clinic and nobody was hiring. Never did an update lol.

 

[Somerset Ravens]

Please vote today if you are able. Remember if you don't vote , don't bitch.

 

[Dom McRaven]

Please vote today if you are able. Remember if you don't vote , don't bitch.

I'm unable to vote today....

Spoiler

EARLY VOTED!

 

[rossihunter2]

I'd just like to say that as an outside observer it is ridiculous that voter suppression tactics are so rife in your election - rife and also somehow legal...

 

[Somerset Ravens]

I'd just like to say that as an outside observer it is ridiculous that voter suppression tactics are so rife in your election - rife and also somehow legal...

May I ask how you came to that conclusion?

 

[rossihunter2]

May I ask how you came to that conclusion?

which conclusion?
that voter suppression is happening?
or that it's ridiculous that it is happening?

 

[Somerset Ravens]

which conclusion?
that voter suppression is happening?
or that it's ridiculous that it is happening?

That voter suppression tactics are so rife in our election process.

 

[rossihunter2]

That voter suppression tactics are so rife in our election process.

In North Dakota, thousands of Native American voters have been disenfranchised by having to provide proof of address (most native americans dont have traditional residential addresses) in a new voter ID law in that state

In Georgia where Brian Kemp (secretary of state) has purged thousands of voters (in mostly minority-high urban areas) including putting more than 50000 registrations on hold - it is crazy that that it is legal for brian kemp to be overseeing the election in georgia but also running as a candidate (that's a conflict of interest if i ever saw one) and it is baring out even more on election day - polling stations in low-income and high black population areas are being purposefully opened late, given faulty voting machines, supplied voting machines without power units, supplied fewer voting machines than other areas (in south west atlanta the polling station was only given 3 whole machines), legitimate voters being forced to fill in provisional ballots in stead and in some cases the polling station is being moved completely on election morning - that's clearly a conscious effort to deter voting from a particular group (and is in fact probably illegal) given that the person responsible for ensuring none of those things happen just happens to be on the ballot

great example in georgia:

Early Voting: - Gwinnett County was caught purging absentee ballots - A fed judge ordered it to stop - Brian Kemp filed an emergency motion to block the court’s ruling - The motion was denied Today: - Gwinnett County voting machines have “technical issues”

In Colorado, (supposedly the safest state for election security) hundreds of thousands have been purged from the electoral rolls

In Detroit, polling stations in high black population areas like martin luther king jr high school, voting machines have been left locked up with no on site ability to unlock them, in other polling stations machines have been provided with faulty scanners again to predominantly black precincts

In Arizona, polling stations have been opened late for no apparent reason

In Kansas and Georgia, there is misinformation being spread about the ID needed to vote and turning voters away despite the voter id laws in those areas having been struck down in court and in Kansas particularly polling sites have been moved

There are additional reports all across the US of polling station locations having been moved last minute without notification and "random" power outages at voting sites

In Maryland, count public transport was cancelled but under pressure has reintroduced it

In Florida, mail-ballots were not sent out to significant numbers of people (mostly students in other states) despite repeated requests, voters are being denied entry to their polling stations because they are in gated communities

In Texas and PA, machines aren't working and no paper ballots (or nowhere near enough) were provided as replacement and specifically in texas there have been reports of "calibration issues" whereby the machine picks the wrong candidate

In PA there are also reports of election officials asking for ID despite the fact that the voter registration card explicitly states that it is itself a form of ID

Reports are that there are "broken" machines all over the tri-state area and particularly Brooklyn too

these are just some of the reports coming out already - it's obviously worst in Georgia (and most blatant - and obviously corrupt) but it's happening all over your country

it should be easy to vote and yet various states are making it harder for certain demographics to vote - we live in a world where i can communicate securely with almost anyone in the world but voting machines are unsecured, slow, faulty and in difficult to reach locations - you should be able to vote on your phone tbh but you absolutely should be able to at least use paper voting in stead of machine voting

in the uk ive voted in different areas and different polling stations in all sorts of different votes and none of them have taken more than 5 minutes no matter how busy it was