Worldwide Events & Politics

[Ace Nova]

 

 

This has been heating up for some time now.

Edited September 8, 2020 by Ace Nova

[Ace Nova]

 

[Ace Nova]

Seemingly good intentions but wow....could be quite dangerous if in the wrong hands...

 

[Ace Nova]

 

[Padme]

Well it looks like Navalny is gonna make it. A few days ago it was confirmed that he was poisoned. 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/07/alexei-navalny-taken-out-of-induced-coma-and-is-responsive-berlin-hospital

[Basic_GnR_Fan]

10 hours ago, Ace Nova said:

 

 

This has been heating up for some time now.

This would be pretty one sided, China would destroy India in a hot conflict.

[DieselDaisy]

Yes, but can China do this?

[Ace Nova]

11 minutes ago, Basic_GnR_Fan said:

This would be pretty one sided, China would destroy India in a hot conflict.

Depends on who you ask, where the fighting "could occur" and if any other nation (like Pakistan) were to get involved.

 

And if Pakistan gets involved....what will Russia do?  (The U.S. would likely remain neutral, imo...if anything, they would work towards diplomacy, imo).

But if Russia remains neutral and Pakistan joins China....India could have issues (But at that point, I can't see the U.S. not getting involved.  They would likely step in...either to keep Pakistan out of it or to work towards a diplomatic solution).

 

I don't think either nation wants war nor does the rest of the world....so hopefully it gets resolved soon...without a rise in conflict. 

 

 

[Len Cnut]

4 minutes ago, Ace Nova said:

Depends on who you ask, where the fighting "could occur" and if any other nation (like Pakistan) were to get involved.

 

And if Pakistan gets involved....what will Russia do?  (The U.S. would likely remain neutral, imo...if anything, they would work towards diplomacy, imo).

But if Russia remains neutral and Pakistan joins China....India could have issues (But at that point, I can't see the U.S. not getting involved.  They would likely step in...either to keep Pakistan out of it or to work towards a diplomatic solution).

 

I don't think either nation wants war nor does the rest of the world....so hopefully it gets resolved soon...without a rise in conflict. 

 

 

Meanwhile the state of Jammu and Kashmir have been under lockdown (and not cuz of Coronavirus) since Aug 2019 and apparently no one gives a shit.  Shame there ain't no oil there, maybe their human rights'd be worth something. 

[Ace Nova]

19 minutes ago, Len Cnut said:

Meanwhile the state of Jammu and Kashmir have been under lockdown (and not cuz of Coronavirus) since Aug 2019 and apparently no one gives a shit.   

Doesn't that have as much to do with media coverage though?  Why isn't it getting media coverage?  

People are having meltdowns over less than 0.001% of unarmed people getting shot by police every year in the U.S. (Between 11-30 people in a nation of 330 million) but there are people being truly oppressed in other parts of the world and no one seems to notice.  Why is that? 

(And I'm not saying people should not be concerned with issues in the U.S.  I'm just pointing out how politicized these "humanitarian" movements have become.  If most people truly believed in being "humanitarians" you would think they would focus on the worst issues first...and that includes issues that are "worse" in the U.S. as well). 

[soon]

You know that monk who set himself on fire to protest war, on the cover of the Rage album? Somedays that doesnt seem like such a bonkers act  What a mess we humans make. 

[Len Cnut]

6 minutes ago, Ace Nova said:

Doesn't that have as much to do with media coverage though?  Why isn't it getting media coverage?  

People are having meltdowns over less than 0.001% of unarmed people getting shot by police every year in the U.S. (Between 11-30 people in a nation of 330 million) but there are people being truly oppressed in other parts of the world and no one seems to notice.  Why is that? 

(And I'm not saying people should not be concerned with issues in the U.S.  I'm just pointing out how politicized these "humanitarian" movements have become.  If most people truly believed in being "humanitarians" you would think they would focus on the worst issues first...and that includes issues that are "worse" in the U.S. as well). 

Exactly, yeah, media coverage.  But again, the media, the news, that stuff is presented to you in order of importance, by which I mean which news item has more money in it.  Its why ‘Kardashian has baby!’ is a more worthy headline in many quarters than ‘Scores summarily executed in Burma’.  The sad truth my friend is that nobody gives a shit.  The news is as much a product as soap or scented candles.

Edited September 8, 2020 by Len Cnut

[Len Cnut]

4 minutes ago, soon said:

You know that monk who set himself on fire to protest war, on the cover of the Rage album? Somedays that doesnt seem like such a bonkers act  What a mess we humans make. 

Now there was a man who cared, bless him.  For all the good it done.

[DieselDaisy]

40 minutes ago, Len Cnut said:

Meanwhile the state of Jammu and Kashmir have been under lockdown (and not cuz of Coronavirus) since Aug 2019 and apparently no one gives a shit.  Shame there ain't no oil there, maybe their human rights'd be worth something. 

India would say you have been spinning googlies again. 

[Len Cnut]

5 minutes ago, DieselDaisy said:

India would say you have been spinning googlies again. 

Yeah, their perspective has been that its a counter terrorist measure.  Seems a pretty extreme one though, don't ya reckon?  Locking down that entire region, imposing curfews, arresting thousands of, by their own admission, 'political activists', widespread searching of homes and civilians, restriction of internet and news, shutting down media, pretty draconian stuff.  And this is all officially reported shit, none of this is being denied by anyone.  The unofficial (because there's no way of getting news out of there) stuff would frighten you. 

[DieselDaisy]

3 minutes ago, Len Cnut said:

Yeah, their perspective has been that its a counter terrorist measure.  Seems a pretty extreme one though, don't ya reckon?  Locking down that entire region, imposing curfews, arresting thousands of, by their own admission, 'political activists', widespread searching of homes and civilians, restriction of internet and news, shutting down media, pretty draconian stuff.  And this is all officially reported shit, none of this is being denied by anyone.  The unofficial (because there's no way of getting news out of there) stuff would frighten you. 

6 test series, 3 in Pak, 3 in India, winner gets Kashmir. Problem solved. 

Sorry - you're being serious and look at me being facetious.

Edited September 8, 2020 by DieselDaisy

[Ace Nova]

 

[soon]

28 minutes ago, Len Cnut said:

Now there was a man who cared, bless him.  For all the good it done.

Oh I wasnt saying it makes sense as a tactic necessarily. But it achieves the goal of not having to deal with how ugly humanity is every waking moment of our lives. Like you pop your head out of your hole and see "oh youre all still doing wars and abusing one another... I think Ill just bounce."

[Len Cnut]

20 minutes ago, DieselDaisy said:

6 test series, 3 in Pak, 3 in India, winner gets Kashmir. Problem solved. 

Sorry - you're being serious and look at me being facetious.

Actually I think thats a cracking solution, beats a war  

8 minutes ago, soon said:

Oh I wasnt saying it makes sense as a tactic necessarily. But it achieves the goal of not having to deal with how ugly humanity is every waking moment of our lives. Like you pop your head out of your hole and see "oh youre all still doing wars and abusing one another... I think Ill just bounce."

I think it makes perfect sense as a tactic   

[soon]

5 minutes ago, Len Cnut said:

Actually I think thats a cracking solution, beats a war  

I think it makes perfect sense as a tactic   

I was gonna say that if I ever do a tactic that gets immortalized on the cover of a Rage album, Id be well pleased  Images are what sparked the massive resistance to the war in Vietnam, for sure.

The Arab Spring was set off by a man setting himself ablaze in protest. It works for sure.

We're all just so vile and I guess anyone of us could contribute the logic of warfare - or apparently any of us could find ourselves making these decisions and taking lives. Its fucked up. All I see is ugliness and it makes me sad, okay?? 

 

[Ace Nova]

10 minutes ago, soon said:

Oh I wasnt saying it makes sense as a tactic necessarily. But it achieves the goal of not having to deal with how ugly humanity is every waking moment of our lives. Like you pop your head out of your hole and see "oh youre all still doing wars and abusing one another... I think Ill just bounce."

The saddest part is that the "average human being" is typically not a "bad" person. I could go on for pages about it but long story short, most human beings are "good natured" to the point that they may trust the wrong leaders, etc etc.  (Others may not have a choice) 

 Then you have issues with some of the "bad elements" taking power and doing everything they can to maintain that power, etc.   Then add things like "mob mentality" "culture wars" "land disputes" "identity politics" and the hyper-influence of the media and social media....that's 2020 in a nutshell. 

The good news is that human beings are resilient and we have come a long way.  While the newer generations may not be as "socially conservative" as previous generations, they certainly seem to care about Social Justice and Humanitarian issues.  (Although they may be influenced to think some issues are worse than what they are while other issues are worse than what they think they are).  

 

[soon]

12 minutes ago, Ace Nova said:

The saddest part is that the "average human being" is typically not a "bad" person. I could go on for pages about it but long story short, most human beings are "good natured" to the point that they may trust the wrong leaders, etc etc.  (Others may not have a choice) 

 Then you have issues with some of the "bad elements" taking power and doing everything they can to maintain that power, etc.   Then add things like "mob mentality" "culture wars" "land disputes" "identity politics" and the hyper-influence of the media and social media....that's 2020 in a nutshell. 

The good news is that human beings are resilient and we have come a long way.  While the newer generations may not be as "socially conservative" as previous generations, they certainly seem to care about Social Justice and Humanitarian issues.  (Although they may be influenced to think some issues are worse than what they are while other issues are worse than what they think they are).  

 

I think I can get with much of what you are saying about human nature. But even more so, I like the 2 wolves analogy on human nature. You know that one? That 'inside us all there are two wolves, one good natured and the other viscous. And its all about which wolf one chooses to feed.'

And all those things you list feeds the bad wolf, maybe. A corrupting influence. Like I cant think that all these people elsewhere in the world fighting are any different than I am. Ergo, if I was there I guess Id be doing all those same things? Its scary to me.

Im not sure where I stand on the notion we've gotten better as a society. Theres been improvements in some facets of life for sure - Important and huge ones that I wouldnt seek to dismiss. But whose to say that as time changes and people move forward we are not also creating new issue? For instance there are Amazon employees tasked with 'suicide watch' as part of their job, who work on the Amazon warehouse floors, because the conditions and pay are so difficult. Or that whole Nuclear clock thing is the closest its ever been to midnight. Its more dangerous today than it was during the cold war, as far as I understand. I mean Ill try and do my best to make the world a bit better too... until the climate crisis takes me! 

(Its weird, I woke up this morning feeling so refreshed, with less stress, for the first time in too long. And then I turn my attention back to the world and... its like Ive never watched the news before almost - like seeing it with fresh eyes. No wonder the aliens only monitor us and never land! We're, collectively, maniacs!! . Me reading my feed this morning was like Axl in the chair in WTTJ video. Or that video meme "Run" with the EDM music )

[SoulMonster]

8 minutes ago, soon said:

I think I can get with much of what you are saying about human nature. But even more so, I like the 2 wolves analogy on human nature. You know that one? That 'inside us all there are two wolves, one good natured and the other viscous. And its all about which wolf one chooses to feed.'

And all those things you list feeds the bad wolf, maybe. A corrupting influence. Like I cant think that all these people elsewhere in the world fighting are any different than I am. Ergo, if I was there I guess Id be doing all those same things? Its scary to me.

Im not sure where I stand on the notion we've gotten better as a society. Theres been improvements in some facets of life for sure - Important and huge ones that I wouldnt seek to dismiss. But whose to say that as time changes and people move forward we are not also creating new issue? For instance there are Amazon employees tasked with 'suicide watch' as part of their job, who work on the Amazon warehouse floors, because the conditions and pay are so difficult. Or that whole Nuclear clock thing is the closest its ever been to midnight. Its more dangerous today than it was during the cold war, as far as I understand. I mean Ill try and do my best to make the world a bit better too... until the climate crisis takes me! 

(Its weird, I woke up this morning feeling so refreshed, with less stress, for the first time in too long. And then I turn my attention back to the world and... its like Ive never watched the news before almost - like seeing it with fresh eyes. No wonder the aliens only monitor us and never land! We're, collectively, maniacs!! . Me reading my feed this morning was like Axl in the chair in WTTJ video. Or that video meme "Run" with the EDM music )

Things are just getting better and better. Cheer up. 

[ZoSoRose]

How many politics/world events/everything is fucked threads do we need on a music forum?

[Ace Nova]

2 hours ago, soon said:

I think I can get with much of what you are saying about human nature. But even more so, I like the 2 wolves analogy on human nature. You know that one? That 'inside us all there are two wolves, one good natured and the other viscous. And its all about which wolf one chooses to feed.'

And all those things you list feeds the bad wolf, maybe. A corrupting influence. Like I cant think that all these people elsewhere in the world fighting are any different than I am. Ergo, if I was there I guess Id be doing all those same things? Its scary to me.

Im not sure where I stand on the notion we've gotten better as a society. Theres been improvements in some facets of life for sure - Important and huge ones that I wouldnt seek to dismiss. But whose to say that as time changes and people move forward we are not also creating new issue? For instance there are Amazon employees tasked with 'suicide watch' as part of their job, who work on the Amazon warehouse floors, because the conditions and pay are so difficult. Or that whole Nuclear clock thing is the closest its ever been to midnight. Its more dangerous today than it was during the cold war, as far as I understand. I mean Ill try and do my best to make the world a bit better too... until the climate crisis takes me! 

(Its weird, I woke up this morning feeling so refreshed, with less stress, for the first time in too long. And then I turn my attention back to the world and... its like Ive never watched the news before almost - like seeing it with fresh eyes. No wonder the aliens only monitor us and never land! We're, collectively, maniacs!! . Me reading my feed this morning was like Axl in the chair in WTTJ video. Or that video meme "Run" with the EDM music )

 

Oh the wolf analogy is a real “thing”.  From a psychological perspective, there's actually "3 sections of subconsciousness” that make up a person's subconscious/conscious.   

You have the "ID" which is your raw survival instinct.  Your "ID" encompasses everything you need to survive as a "being" on this planet...including pleasure and aggression...which could lead to other things (if corrupted) such as the need for power, etc etc.   Your ID responds directly and immediately to basic urges, needs and desires.  When you are a newborn baby, your ID controls the vast majority of your conscious.   (And that's by design).    (As Christians we can say this is our “carnal being”) 

Then on the other side, you have your "Super Ego".  The Super Ego begins to gain strength from the very first time your parents told you "right" from "wrong".  It's something we are born with which can be seen in babies when they "do something right", their parents get excited and smile...and the baby smiles back.  But it gets refined and developed through the morals and values of society.  The Super Ego's function is to control the ID's impulses.  It is the "Angel in your mind" telling you "maybe you shouldn't do that".   If you nourish your Super Ego, eventually (ideally) it will begin to persuade your ID to focus on moralistic goals vs goals focused on (just) pleasure and/or survival.  (As Christians we can say this is influenced by the need and the desire to Honor God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit) 

Finally we have your Ego...which is who you are.  A "well balanced" person will control his ID.  The ID never goes away...but if "controlled"  it can eventually evolve towards "moralistic" goals.  This typically happens over the course of a lifetime.   It's easy to see the difference between a 16 year old boy who can barely control his ID when it comes to females, etc vs a matured, 45 year old man who has gained control of his ID and with the help of his Super Ego, does not let his "ID" take over when in contact with women because his "ID" by that point may have realized that it is "better rewarded" by a loving and stable relationship.   A well balanced Ego will also tend to choose "flight" over "fight" once the Super Ego has further trained the ID to realize that it has a "better chance" of survival by "walking away".   But the neat thing about the ID is that if you don't have the "choice" to walk away, it will still react directly and immediately...that's when you hear about things like "adrenaline rushes" etc. (As Christians we can say our Ego is our Carnal being/soul with the ultimate goal of being in Communion with Christ) 

This is basically what a healthy psyche looks like:

 

As far as worrying about Nuclear War, etc...don't focus on Social Media/Media all day.  Anyone who focuses on Social Media would think we are at the brink of war.   Every Nation that has Nuclear Arms understands that if they dare to use them, they will also be destroyed.   There isn't a country on this planet that could launch a full scale Nuclear Attack and not expect to be attacked back by Nuclear Weapons.  The concept is called "Mutually Assured Destruction" and it's the primary reason no one has used a Nuclear Weapon since the end of WWII. 

As far as "are we better as a society?" I've asked myself that question often. 

I think a interesting way to look at it would be like this...Imagine you had a time machine....and you went back in time....

First stop...50 Years - 1970 - The world is in the middle of the Cold War with the two Nuclear Super Powers of the World fighting a wasteful, deadly war by proxy in Vietnam.  Tensions are high but at least we have the Hippie Movement, The Doors,  Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and the beginning of mass music festivals to distract us from the nightmares of realizing you could be sent off to war the next day or worse yet, wake up to a snowfall of nuclear destruction.  (If you had the good fortune of not being within the 100 or so miles of the blast radius). 

 

Next Stop...500 years.  You land in a place with no electricity, no running water, etc.  It was the beginning of the rise of Western Civilization and Imperialism.  Knowing you, you would jump right back into your time machine and head to the next stop....(since no, you can't try to change imperialism just because you are there..and if you tried, you'd likely be beheaded.  )

 

Next stop...1000 years....circa the 5th century AD.  It would be really cool to visit...but to live there in a society?  The Western Roman Empire was in the midst of a collapse and Europe was a disorganized mess.  China wasn't much better....mostly warring between tribes and ethnic groups.  Again, no running water, no electricity and you would be lucky to have a few pieces a bread a day for a meal.

Next stop 5000 years....circa 3000 BC....I would love to visit this time period.  But again, would you want to live there?  If you're anywhere near Egypt you'd likely be a slave if you weren't Egyptian, etc etc.

 

And I didn't even get into the modern convniences we have that have advanced our civilzation to what it is today.  If it weren't for computers, smart phones, the internet, etc....we wouldn't be able to have this discussion over 1000 miles away from each other.   

 

As far as Climate Change....

 

 

 

 

Start focusing on the good results first....then continue to focus and/or be an advocate about what needs to be done better, etc.

 

Edited September 8, 2020 by Ace Nova