#trump-china scandal

[tomorrowusa]

When Republicans make accusations against Democrats, it's a given that Republicans themselves are deeply guilty of those charges.

Republicans may be terrible at governing, but they are world class when it comes to projection.

Rep. James Comer (R-KY-01) is frantically searching for nonexistent "evidence" to impeach Joe Biden while ignoring Trump businesses getting over $7 million from China, Saudi Arabia, and other countries while in office. What on earth was the Chinese government doing at a Trump property in Las Vegas?

^^^ Did the Democratic Republic of Congo spend $25,171 at the Trump International Hotel in DC so he would stop calling them a "shit-hole country"? 🇨🇩

As for GOP Rep. James Comer, he's a hypocritical multimillionaire twit who is the perfect corrupt MAGA zombie.

The Republican leading the probe of Hunter Biden has his own shell company and complicated friends

[sansculottides]

𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗦 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝘁𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗙𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀

On June 14, 2024, international news agency Reuters exposed a secret disinformation campaign by the US Department of State meant to discredit Chinese-manufactured COVID-19 vaccines amongst Filipinos. The US anti-vax fake news campaign ran from 2020 to 2021, and involved the use of dummy social media accounts posting false and unscientific information about the efficacy of Chinese vaccines, as well as weaponizing pervasive racist conspiracy theories that the COVID-19 pandemic was created and spread by the Chinese government.

We demand an immediate investigation by the Philippine government on the matter, and for decisive action to be taken by the government to hold the US accountable for its deception campaign against the Filipino people. The Reuters exposé has uncovered a clear national security threat to the Filipino people. The US carried out its fake news campaign at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic was ravaging the Filipino people, and worsened already widespread anti-vaccination beliefs amongst the public.

We are appalled by the glaring lack of Philippine media coverage on the Reuters exposé. An international scandal has just been uncovered. How can truth be spoken to power, and how can political action be taken by citizens, if the media does not play its part? Silence is silence, whether due to the threat of repression or the suffocating consensus by media capitalists that unsavory things be left unsaid. We call on all media workers, whether working at mainstream media organizations, independent media, social media, or campus media, to take the lead themselves and focus public attention on this issue.

The year-long campaign clearly demonstrates the untrustworthiness of the US as a strategic diplomatic and military partner of the Philippines and of all Global South countries. The campaign was initiated by the Trump administration and was first focused on the Philippines. Later on, the project was expanded further into Central Asia and the Middle East. It took the Biden administration three full months to end the globalized and state-sponsored mass disinformation project.

This issue is not just a problem of specific administrations. The year-long campaign should remind the workers and the masses of the Philippines and the world that the US remains the world’s foremost imperialist power. Its overriding foreign policy concern is the maintenance of its dominant global military and economic position, and its means are deception and force.

The US’ covert effort to corrupt public discourse in the Philippines should prompt the Marcos administration to question the intentions of its close diplomatic and military ally. The disinformation campaign was motivated primarily by the US’ geopolitical rivalry with China, which has, since the former’s Pivot to Asia in 2012, increasingly taken on a more militarized and antagonistic form. US military and intelligence agencies are manufacturing consent in the Philippines to win the hearts and minds of the Filipino masses in its effort to overpower China through military means. This is its real goal, and not to aid the Filipino people to address Chinese maritime aggression.

The US has no legitimacy to pose as a champion of international laws and norms and as a partner to secure the Philippines’ national sovereignty. It conducted its campaign to serve its own geopolitical interests with no regard for the immense need of the Philippines to vaccinate its citizens against the pandemic. Once again, Washington D.C. has Filipino blood on its hands.

US interference in Philippine public life cannot be left without consequences. Philippine foreign policy should pivot away from its longstanding reliance on the US and towards ASEAN, and away from addressing Chinese aggression through militarized means and towards regional multilateral diplomacy. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚 𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨. 𝙄𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨!

📷 AP

Reposted from SPARK - Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan (Union of Progressive Youth), a socialist youth organization in the Philippines.

[turmpygogosqweze]

Objections to Donald Trump and it's idiocy

Response to @fawndleme 1. I have literally now clue what you were talking about, so I did some research... Apparently Hillary Clinton started rumors that Obama wasn't born in the USA and Trump repeated it, before backing off publicly. You were very vague though, so that may not be it. 2. In 2016, his platform was built off of realizing the common sense that if the border is insecure, criminals can come over from Mexico or other countries to escape prosecution. Due to the inefficiencies and malpractice in the court systems, many times these criminals stay in our streets. Misrepresenting what he was saying by saying Trump called mexicans "rapists and murderers". 3. This is an example of Trump being hyperbolic - He did not, in fact, ban muslims, but only from several countries that had links to terrorist activities. Funnily enough, comments were turned off on that video so I had to do my own research.

4. There's quite literally no negative connotation in calling someone Pocahantas - and yeah the trails of tears joke is kinda funny, but that's Trump, calling names. He's not being racist towards a race, though, he's making a joke at the expense of an individual - if he was racist, would he not be racist towards all native americans (or at least the majority)? why has he been kind and cordial to many before?

5. You linked the middle part of a post, which I couldn't really understand without context (never even mentioned the names of the individuals in the post you made). Besides that, you can easily see the point he's making in a joking format - They haven't proved themselves as leaders yet.

6. Calling a virus from China the "Kung-Flu" isn't racist. I will fight you on this. It is blatantly moronic to say that, it's called a pun you moron.

7. You think Haiti isn't a crap country? Or the very many African nations often thrown into revolt by hungry warlords? You think this is false? Also, there is no racism here - he's naming countries, many African countries are Arab and Berber, some closer to white than Semite/Black as well.

8. So on this one, in the end it was settled and there was never an admission of guilt. There was evidence for and against it, and I won't say that the Trumps didn't do it, but I will say that it never went to court and it was never ruled that they did that.

9. The "fake electors" scandal, as far as I'm aware, was an issue that while Trump struggled to contest the election results, they attempted to halt for a while as they were confirming the results. They attempted to get alternative electors, not fake electors. The "fake electors" is a headline-making title, intended to clickbait.

So yeah, these are my thoughts. Honestly 4 and 5 are your best points, had some difficulty in refuting those. However, this was quite fun - i look forward to your reply or reblog..

[comeonamericawakeup]

"Have you heard about the president who received money from China and other foreign countries?" asked David Graham.

No, not Joe Biden- his predecessor, Donald Trump. Republicans have launched an impeachment inquiry based on their suspicion that Biden shared in the payments his son, Hunter, got from Ukrainian and Chinese companies, even though they can't find any evidence. But the GOP couldn't care less about the proof Democrats released last week that while president, Trump received at least $7.8 million from China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and 17 other countries. While in office, Trump created blatant conflicts of interest by taking millions from foreign governments seeking to influence him by spending lavishly at his hotels, golf courses, and condos. The Constitution's emoluments clause prohibits public officials from taking such foreign payments- but Trump simply ignored it. This would be a huge scandal for any other officeholder, but GOP "patsies" like House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer rationalize the corruption away by saying Trump "has legitimate businesses," unlike Hunter Biden. If Trump is re-elected, the GOP has given him carte blanche to fill his pockets with more foreign money.

THE WEEK January 19, 2024

[contemplatingoutlander]

This is an excellent summary of research that was done on two major mainstream news publications--The Washington Post and The New York Times--regarding whether the content of their front pages (from Sept. 1 to Nov. 8, 2022) provided readers with information that would help them to better understand policy differences between Democrats and Republicans in the leadup to the 2022 election. Unfortunately, the study discovered that these "liberal" newspapers of record both tended to post entertaining "horse race and campaign palace intrigue" articles rather than articles discussing political party policy differences.

When these two newspapers did report on policy issues, surprisingly (especially given its liberal reputation) the Times covered more topics related to Republican interests (i.e., "China, immigration, and crime"); whereas, the Post covered more topics of greater interest to Democrats (i.e., "affirmative action, police reform, LGBTQ rights")

Below are the opening and closing paragraphs from the article, which sum up the importance of how the mainstream media shapes public perceptions of election issues--often in ways that could wittingly or unwittingly help dangerous politicians like Trump win powerful positions in our government.

Seven years ago, in the wake of the 2016 presidential election, media analysts rushed to explain Donald Trump’s victory. Misinformation was to blame, the theory went, fueled by Russian agents and carried on social networks. But as researchers, we wondered if fascination and fear over “fake news” had led people to underestimate the influence of traditional journalism outlets. After all, mainstream news organizations remain an important part of the media ecosystem—they’re widely read and watched; they help set the agenda, including on social networks. We decided to look at what had been featured on the printed front page of the New York Times in the three months leading up to Election Day. Of a hundred and fifty articles that discussed the campaign, only a handful mentioned policy; the vast majority covered horse race politics or personal scandals. Most strikingly, the Times ran ten front-page stories about Hillary Clinton’s email server. “If voters had wanted to educate themselves on issues,” we concluded, “they would not have learned much from reading the Times.” [...] The choices made by major publishers are not wrong, per se, for the same reason that one newsroom cannot objectively know how to cover an issue, or how much to cover it: no one can. Still, editorial choices are undeniably choices—and they will weigh heavily on the upcoming presidential race. Outlets can and should maintain a commitment to truth and accuracy. But absent an earnest and transparent assessment of what they choose to emphasize—and what they choose to ignore—their readers will be left misinformed. [color emphasis added]

[edited]

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Mark Sumner at Daily Kos:

Republicans have wasted so much: It’s not just the carloads of “Let’s Go Brandon!” merch now on its way to landfills, it’s a huge amount of time and money that is owed directly to Americans. As soon as they gained a small majority—and once they were past the first round of follies in naming a speaker—Republicans got right on their No. 1 priority.

That priority wasn’t passing legislation to help people. They've been one of the least effective Congress in history. Instead, they jumped right into the most important task of all modern Republicans: Showing their loyalty to Donald Trump by launching unfounded attacks on his opponents.  In the House, that meant not one, not two, but three simultaneous investigations into everything Biden. A car loan, his son's private parts, anything was fodder for a mill meant to crank out a never-ending stream of Biden "scandal." All of this is completely worthless to the country. Now it’s not even useful to Trump.

The Republican grovel fest, headed up by Reps. James Comer and Jim Jordan, was ridiculous from the outset.  There was the fake FBI document produced by a Russian mole whose repeated claims were originally pushed in 2019 by Rudy Giuliani and were debunked almost as soon as they appeared. That hasn’t stopped Jordan from repeating these easily disproved lies and pretending to seriously investigate Biden’s actions in helping to get rid of a corrupt official.  Meanwhile, Comer was busy trying to prove that Biden was the recipient of money from China, talking up a witness who could prove everything if Republicans could find him. Comer went after Hunter Biden for paying back a small loan when Biden wasn’t even in office. Then there was a small personal loan to his brother, also while Biden wasn’t in office. In the end, they turned on Attorney General Merrick Garland when they could find no reason to impeach Biden.  That was the biggest problem for these Republicans: Biden hadn't done anything wrong. But that didn't stop them from crowing over every false claim as if it were proof that Biden was the godfather of the "Biden crime family." A crime family that is somehow so huge and corrupt and has netted Biden a beach home that isn’t even on the beach rather than towers full of golden targets. 

The House Republicans wasted a bunch of money and time on conducting bogus partisan witch hunts against President Joe Biden to try to find something on him. They came up with bupkis.

[simonalkenmayer]

Tucker Carlson out at fox

Don Lemon out at CNN

FOX already blaming Donald Trump for their dominion scandal and it’s spiraling size drawing in Supreme Court Justices

Trump and DeSantis attempting to out-Hitler one another

Courts going to the right

Politicians passing increasingly dangerous laws.

Ukraine attempting to join NATO, as China, who gets most of its oil from Russia, says “post soviet countries (like Ukraine) lack legitimacy in international courts”

India, Israel, and Saudi governments going increasingly right. Fighting in Sudan.

The world is sorting itself into two camps, just as I’d did before WWII.

Watching it implode is comforting insofar as it pleases me to have gotten predictions correct, and no further.

The next 2 years will be some of the most dangerous in the history of the world. Be vigilant. Be kind. Be brave. Be safe.

I am very glad the pandemic happened when it did, because people will know how to shelter.

I am not optimistic. I don’t want to frighten people but I want everyone to be safe.

We have to march and organize and VOTE. That’s the thing that holds it at bay. It’s the only thing that keeps violence from happening—that all peaceful measures are exhausted.

[mariacallous]

As all journalists know fear sells better than sex. Readers want be terrified. And here in the UK, there appears to be every reason to frighten them.

A country that was overdependent on financial services has been in decline ever since the banking crash of 2008. Then, from 2010 on, the astonishing Conservative policy failures of austerity, Trussonomics and, above all, Brexit further weakened an enfeebled state.

I was a child in a happy family during the crisis of the 1970s. Like all happy children I just got on with my life. But even I picked up a little of the despair and hopelessness of the time. That feeling that there is no way out is with us again.

In 1979, Margaret Thatcher came to power, and with great brutality, set the UK on a new path as she inflicted landslide defeats on Labour.

Obviously, our current Conservative government is heading for a defeat, maybe a landslide defeat.

But there is little sense that Labour will transform the country.  The far-left takeover from 2015-2019 traumatised it. As recently as 2021, everyone expected Boris Johnson to rule the UK for most of the 2020s.  

Johnson’s contempt for the rules he insisted everyone else follow and the great Truss disaster are handing Labour victory. But the centre-left appears to be the beneficiary of scandal and right-wing madness, not an ideological sea change that might inspire it and sustain it in power

Desperate to drop its crank image, battered by the conservative media establishment, fashionable opinion holds that a wee, cowering and timorous Labour party will come into power without radical policies that equal the country’s needs.

Just this once, fashionable opinion may even be right

And yet, and I know I will regret this outbreak of commercially suicidal optimism, there are reasons to believe that the UK’s position is not quite as grim as it appears.

1)    The economy may revive

Although no one has been as wrong recently as the economists and central bankers who predicted that inflation would be a transitory phenomenon, it is finally coming down. Falls in energy prices may even bring it to the 2 per cent target this month. Interest rates will eventually follow suit.

Lower interest rates mean lower government borrowing costs. They will reduce the extraordinary debt bill Labour in power will have to meet.

Chris Giles of the Financial Times calculated this week that lower government borrowing costs improve the public finances five years ahead by almost £15bn (about 0.5 per cent of national income) for every percentage point reduction.

Meanwhile the Conservatives have raised taxes so high (by UK standards) a Labour government may not need to risk unpopularity by raising them further.  Under Conservative plans the tax burden has risen from 33.1 per cent of gross domestic product in 2019-20 to 36.5 per cent in 2024-25 with further rises planned, taking it to 37.1 per cent by 2028-29.

If the 1997-2010 Labour government is any guide, Labour will be reluctant in the extreme to play into its enemies’ hands by raising taxes

It may not need to if economic growth leads to the revenue growth that would take the UK out of the rolling crisis that has afflicted it since 2016.

I wouldn’t be doing my job if I did not add that there are some pretty large caveats to make.

Economists missed the post-covid inflation surge because they forgot about politics. Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine upended the European economy. An extension of the war in Ukraine or the Middle East, or, more terrifyingly, a US-China confrontation, or the return of Donald Trump could all derail a new government.

In any case the IMF predicts growth of 1.5 percent in 2025, which is nowhere near the 3 percent we need to fund the state.

And yet, with a bit of luck there is a fair chance that our fortunes may revive, albeit modestly.

2) Labour is not as scared as it looks

Near where I live in London is the Union Chapel, a vast neo-Gothic hall.

Will Hutton was there recently to launch his new book This Time No Mistakes: How to Remake Britian. I have interviewed Will for the podcast, which should be out in a couple of days. For now, I’ll just say his book is a classic combination of liberal and left thought, and makes the case for radical reform. Keir Starmer arrived on stage to the cheers of the crowd and endorsed Hutton’s findings.

The fashionable view is that Labour has abandoned difficult policies so as not to alienate frightened voters, and I can see why people think that way.

The grand plan for green job creation has been hacked back after fears the markets would not wear it. The majority of people in this country, and the overwhelming majority of people who vote for opposition parties, now recognise that Brexit was a disastrous error. Year in year out it drags the country down. And yet Starmer, who once argued for a second referendum, is terrified of mentioning the subject in case he upsets a minority in marginal seats.

There was a depressing little vignette a few days ago when the European Commission laid out proposals for open movement to millions of 18- to 30-year-olds from the EU and UK, allowing them to work, study and live in respective states for up to four years. Labour joined the Tories in rejecting the offer.

 It would rather squash the aspirations of young people than lay itself open to the charge that it was taking us back towards EU membership.

Yet Rachel Reeves, Keir Starmer and David Lammy talk about the need for cooperation. “Success will rest on forming new bilateral and multilateral partnerships, and forging a closer relationship with our neighbours in the European Union,” Reeves said as she explained her economic programme.

Meanwhile the UK has been ruled by Conservatives for so long our battered minds can underestimate how much the country will change when they are thrown out.

The new parliament will be filled with politicians who support renters, more home building and the EU. They will at least be interested in a land value tax and a universal basic income. Radical that ideas have been forbidden for years will soon seem normal.

3) The impetus for change

The last Labour government of 1997 to 2010 did not change economic fundamentals for what seemed at the time to be a very good reason.

 When it came to power neo-liberalism worked. Indeed, is easy to forget now how successful the ideology appeared before the crash of 2008. Politicians like Gordon Brown and Tony Blair accepted much of what Margaret Thatcher had done because they thought they had no choice. Everyone knew, or thought they knew, that this was how you ran an economy.

None of that certainty pertains today. The Brexit nationalism that succeeded neo-liberalism has failed. Starmer and Reeves will not be like Blair and Brown: they will have no good reason to cling to discredited ideas.

That does not mean they won’t cling to them for fear of the Tory press or swing voters or because of their own intellectual failings. There is no guarantee that countries will turn themselves round. The UK could go the way of Argentina or Italy.

But the Labour leadership is made of serious politicians, and I keep asking myself why would serious politicians want to preside over decline? I can’t see why they would.

As I said, maybe I will regret writing this piece. But for the moment I think we can enjoy a rare moment of optimism.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

Tomorrow (November 29), I'm at NYC's Strand Books with my novel The Lost Cause, a solarpunk tale of hope and danger that Rebecca Solnit called "completely delightful."

#15yrsago Peak Population: when will population growth stop, why, and how? https://www.alexsteffen.com/peak_population_and_sustainability

#15yrsago James Boyle’s “The Public Domain” — a brilliant copyfighter’s latest book, from a law prof who writes like a comedian https://memex.craphound.com/2008/11/29/james-boyles-the-public-domain-a-brilliant-copyfighters-latest-book-from-a-law-prof-who-writes-like-a-comedian/

#10yrsago NSA and Canadian spooks illegally spied on diplomats at Toronto G20 summit https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/new-snowden-docs-show-u-s-spied-during-g20-in-toronto-1.2442448

#10yrsago New CC licenses: tighter, shorter, more readable, more global https://creativecommons.org/Version4/

#10yrsago Berlusconi kicked out of Italian senate https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/27/silvio-berlusconi-ousted-italian-parliament-tax-fraud-conviction

#5yrsago Sennheiser’s headphone drivers covertly changed your computer’s root of trust, leaving you vulnerable to undetectable attacks https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/sennheiser-headset-software-could-allow-man-in-the-middle-ssl-attacks/

#5yrsago New York City’s municipal debt collectors have forged an unholy alliance with sleazy subprime lenders https://www.bloomberg.com/confessions-of-judgment

#5yrsago Here’s how the Pentagon swindled Congress with $21 trillion worth of undocumented, untraceable, unaccounted for expenditures https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/pentagon-audit-budget-fraud/

#5yrsago The prosecutor who helped Jeffrey Epstein escape justice is now a Trump Cabinet member https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article220097825.html

#5yrsago Reddit takes a stand against the EU’s plan to break the internet https://www.redditinc.com/blog/the-eu-copyright-directive-what-redditors-in-europe-need-to-know/

#5yrsago The secret history of science fiction’s women writers: The Future is Female! https://memex.craphound.com/2018/11/29/the-secret-history-of-science-fictions-women-writers-the-future-is-female/

#5yrsago Redaction ineptitude reveals names of Proud Boys’ self-styled new leaders https://splinternews.com/proud-boys-failed-to-redact-their-new-dumb-bylaws-and-a-1830700905

#5yrsago Redaction ineptitude reveals Facebook’s 2012 plan to sell Graph API access to user data for $250,000 https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/11/facebook-pondered-for-a-time-selling-access-to-user-data/

#5yrsago Google engineer calls for a walkout over China censorship and raises $200K strike fund in hours https://twitter.com/lizthegrey/status/1068208484053856256

#5yrsago Correlates of Trump voting: searches for erectile dysfunction, hair loss, how to get girls, penis enlargement, penis size, steroids, testosterone and Viagra https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/11/29/how-donald-trump-appeals-to-men-secretly-insecure-about-their-manhood/

#5yrsago Google’s secret project to build a censored Chinese search engine bypassed the company’s own security and privacy teams https://theintercept.com/2018/11/29/google-china-censored-search/

#5yrsago Mozilla pulls a popular paywall circumvention tool from Firefox add-ons store https://web.archive.org/web/20181130141509/https://github.com/iamadamdev/bypass-paywalls-firefox/issues/82

#1yrago The Big Four accounting firms are one (more) scandal away from collapse https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/29/great-andersens-ghost/#mene-mene-bezzle

[grumpy-old-patriot]

A message to all of the never Trump morons. You backed Joe Biden because you don’t like president Trump. Because of your actions, and the scandalous cheating. We got Joe, along with unaffordable food, energy, insurance, rent, automobiles, alcohol and tobacco, housing upgrades and anything bought in a store. We got a money hole in Ukraine. We got the Middle East on fire again. We got China expanding across the globe. We got a stripped down military. Just to name a few. You are traitors to the people and deserve nothing but sorrow.

[cmesinic]

Please sign.

[tomorrowusa]

Republicans would rather flash dick pics from Hunter Biden's laptop than talk about the millions of dollars Trump's businesses got from China and other foreign governments during his tenure in the White House.

The Trump-China scandal gives Fox News yet another chance to display its hypocrisy and bias.

Sean Hannity’s response to Trump’s Chinese bribes shows staggering contempt for his audience

[hjellacott]

A republican's view on monarchy (having lived under two different ones)

I was born in a country with an European monarchy that's never worked. They don't engage particularly with their citizens, they have a minority support in the country and their frequent scandals and troubles with the law make us all quite sick of them. And still we now have a new monarch who even I have to admit is an incredibly respectable, knowledgeable person who truly cares about our country and to see this monarch representing my country out there, with all their knowledge, wisdom, elegance and diplomacy is incredible. And as much as I wish my birth country was a Republic, I have to admit that we couldn't have a better representative than the monarch we have right now. And that's important when it comes to international relationships. You don't want a Donald Trump to be representing your country and making all the neighbours furious.

Then I moved to Britain, so I've never lived outside a monarchy. And in Britain, I found a monarchy that works. I learned that sometimes, in very specific cases, monarchies can be a phenomenal option. In Britain, people adored Queen Elizabeth. I mean, she was an incredible, respectable woman. She solved countless diplomatic issues in the country, improved Britain's international relationships with every country they had relations with, solved social crises, truly cared about Britain, represented the hard-working female in a world of men, showed a tremendously resilient and strong character people were proud of, served Britain in the military as a car mechanic during WWII, never gave a scandal, never caused a problem, never embarrassed Brittons. And when there were hard times and she spoke, people really felt comforted by her. And that's without mentioning that she and her family worked on thousands of events annually (particularly famous is the case of Princess Anne, the most hard working royal after her mum!) And hundreds of them are supporting charities. Like, until I came to Britain I had never even heard of royals who give millions to charity, to culture, to health... they kept funding and funding great things with their own money, and using their faces to draw attention towards things worth supporting, such as less known charities, or social centres and theatres. And I had to admit that family was doing great things for Britain, much better than I'm sure any politician would. And King Charles, who I deeply dislike? Even I have to admit he's a champion for environmental causes, has spent his life pushing politicians (even when he was supposed to be impartial) to have a more environmentally friendly country with more love towards foreigners, more respect for culture and a more modern and cheaper monarchy. He's already even made plans to slim down the monarchy to make it cheaper for the citizens, and to scale down his coronation and he won't take the Queen's currency from circulation so as not to cause trouble to people. He's not stupid and neither is William. And I have to admit that I do believe William and Kate will make for tremendously great monarchs one day. They're what the country needs and wants. Loyal leaders who aren't full of arrogance and greed and who don't cause problems, don't hurt the national image and aren't thirsty for attention.

And yes Britain has an incredibly colonial past, like nearly every country worldwide. Even those who weren't colonialists, have been thirsty for territory. Look at the US, which has always been at war with someone, intervening heavily in other countries (and not really for the better, look at Iraq or Syria) and having military bases worldwide. Or China, or Russia. Everybody has been thirsty for more territory. But you can't look at monarchs by how they treat other citizens in other countries. They serve their own. And what really counts is how they serve their own people, who are actively hiring them to do what's best for their own country.

And in that aspect, I understand people's fury towards Harry and Meghan. Imagine you live in Sussex for example. You've got these nobles, these dukes, who carry the name of your homeland but have never lived in Sussex nor done anything for Sussex. And for years they even got your money from taxes. And now they leave the country they ought to serve, and instead of not causing trouble, not embarrassing the nation, and nicely representing Britain and improving the image of Britain worldwide and improving international relations, they do the whole opposite. Betray their family (they're at war with pretty much both of their families as a whole), get paid millions for venting out all the family secrets and dramas, betray the trust of relatives who didn't know their private conversations would be made public, and attack Britain's arguably most important institutions constantly. Always whining about their problems. And you're in Sussex, feeling betrayed and hurt, seeing these entitled people complaining non stop, thirsting for money and attention while you can hardly afford to live. I mean, how can someone not be furious at them? I assure you people I'm Britain have very little shits left to give about the Sussexes.

People in Britain are struggling with Brexit, massive economic crises, a year that's seen the most massive strikes in history, crumbling public services and rising inflation and cost of living crisis. People in Britain don't need privileged nobility complaining about how hard their lives are and getting all the attention, when the headlines should be their country's real issues.

[daviddaniyikaye]

2024 GLOBAL PREDICTIONS BY DR. DAVID ANIYIKAYE

1. The Nigerian Economy will be in a very delicate state due to inflation & scarcity of funds. I see a highly challenging year for the economy because it's still in a transitional stage. There is a desire to ditch an over-reliance on the dollar. (The Yuan & digital currency in view) but the cabals will resist the move fiercely.

2. Crime rate will be on the rise in Nigeria. The rate of prostitution & selling of hard drugs next year will be insane. I see busy timelines for law enforcement agents.

3. Speculative ventures & investment companies will flood the market space; where most of them will be positioned to rip people off based on "opportunities" for fast cash.

4. Politically, I see a lots of decampment in Africa! New allies or hybrid parties will be formed.

5. There will be economic recessions globally; a downturn for the USA as the dollar gets more weakened. Joe Biden will not win the election, & a woman or a Trump could replace him.

6. Russia & China will have the upper hand in the global power dynamics of 2024. Putin will be flexing his muscles but must be wary of the effects of wrong decisions on the economy of Russia. India will experience huge growth economically, while the UK will experience a highly challenging year.

7. Ukraine will be completely defeated by Russia in 2024 & will be taken over for a build.

8. Tensions will continue in the middle east in 2024 but there will be the appearance of some powerful figures for conflict resolutions to prevent WWIII. Tensions will exist strongly between the USA & Iran, while Russia sides with Iran. The role of China will be crucial to avoid escalations.

9. There will be massive spiritual awakening like never before, globally.

10. Big year of success for Davido & afrobeats in general. Wizkid will be moving smarter to regain lost grounds.

11. A year marked with conflicts, civil wars in many countries, heavy restrictions globally & financial losses for big companies.

12. A year of judgement for many evil people who pretend to be angels of light. It's also a year of fruition & rewards for the righteous.

13. A fortunate year for travel & hospitality industries. The desire for travel will be very high generally in 2024.

14. Huge progress in scientific discoveries, inventions & technological advancement. (Cure for an incurable disease).

15. A year of intense office politics & legal disputes. There will be intense discord among leaders due to differing opinions but I see hard settlements. World powers could resort to underhand tactics to gain control (e.g Major cyber attacks).

16. Nigerian actress Bimbo Akintola should lay low & be more mindful in 2024 to avoid a tragedy, bad health or huge loss.

17. Obtaining funding & raising capital will prove to be more challenging for many countries. It will require diligent efforts & valuable alliances to gather resources in 2024. Africa will come into huge focus because of her resources.

18. Some countries might offer to help Niger Republic (E.g China). The country is in need of a leader, & must be very careful in forming alliances. I see a major coup happening in another African country.

19. Pray against earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding or other kind of disaster in places around California, Mexico, Italy, Japan, Turkey, Syria & Indonesia.

21. Some high profile men & women being brought down to earth in 2024. It's a year of karmic repercussions for past evil deeds. I see more unveiling of more scandals & atrocities.

22. People born in the year 1982, 1994, 1970 & 1958 with birth-month between March & December must be very careful of launching or starting anything new in the year 2024. They should avoid anything that has to do with some spotlight or risky moves. Prayers should be done against evil enchantments, the face of God should be sought like never before.

23. South Africa, France & India could form more economic alliance with Russia. India will be doing very well economically.

24. There will be significant climatic changes that are unfavourable globally. Sea levels will be rising exponentially. World governments will lay huge emphasis in the area.

25. Significant laws will be passed in relation to the use of AI as it gains more ground in the tech & media industry.

26. Dwayne Wade getting into some trouble legally. Gabrielle union could remarry or make a new relationship official & I foresee some sort of elevation of status for her.

27. Don Jazzy finally stepping down as the main boss of his label, to lead behind the scenes. He should be mindful of his health & not begin anything new for the spotlight to avoid a huge loss in 2024.

28. Fortunate year for Rihanna but artistes like Ty Dolla, Nicki Minaj, Lil' Uzi, Madonna, Lil' Baby, Lil' Wayne & Zlatan could be in the news for bad reasons. They should lay low in 2024 & be more prayerful.

[alphaman99]

Rich Pletcher posted:

There are people who claim Trump is mentally unfit to be the president.

Curiously, these are the same people who:

- Cringe in fear when someone wears a red hat.

- Have had three years of insomnia because Trump was elected.

- Have their mental stability upset by hearing a word they don't like.

- Are driven to extremes - either violence or complete isolation (safe spaces) when hearing an opposing position or idea.

- Create new definitions and meanings for words and phrases to fit their mood.

- Re-frame words and actions to mean exactly the opposite of what they mean.

- Ignore context and reality to redefine their opponent's statements and actions in the worst way possible.

- Conflate and amplify simple, innocuous actions into scandals.

- Adopt a philosophy of double negatives - for example: being "intolerant of intolerance" actually means tolerance of everything.

- Will believe literally anything that confirms their bias, no matter how implausible, absurd, ridiculous or impossible it is.

- Are able to live with the schizophrenia caused by cognitive dissonance - holding diametrically opposed ideas in their minds.

- Can't decide which gender they are.

- Are only capable of emotional reasoning - basing their "rightness" on how upset they are. The more upset, the more correct - even when there is no factual support for their position.

- Will only reason to a level of emotional satisfaction - they stop analyzing any issue when they achieve a point that makes them feel good.

- Have so little self-awareness as to be the people they claim to hate.

And yet, these are the people who claim it is their right to lead, that they can stand up to the mean old Putin and will protect us from China's technological, economic and military ambitions.

These people don't belong in the White House, they belong in a mental institution.