Political news from elsewhere

[allezfred]

Are you going to tell us your paymaster is anti-gun?

 

[Buzz]

Russian doctors have finally agreed to let Navalny travel to Germany for medical care.

Alexei Navalny: Russian doctors agree to let Putin critic go to Germany

They had earlier said the Kremlin critic, in a coma in Omsk, was too ill to be moved.

www.bbc.com

 

[DELTA]

Are you going to tell us your paymaster is anti-gun?

Watch the video I posted. He makes a subtle comparison of minorities from caucuses to cockroaches.

He's liberal with a right wing leanings. He knows that sticking to only liberal ideology with get him 15% most.

 

[Buzz]

The crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong continues.

HK police accused of 're-writing history' of attack

The 2019 attack shocked Hong Kong, as masked men were seen attacking protesters and passers-by.

www.bbc.com

 

[MsZem]

I realize this serves the interests of lots of politicians, some of them rather unsavory, but it's still really cool:

Making history, 1st commercial Israel-UAE flight departs for normalization talks

All aboard the 'Peace Plane': El Al 971 with high-level Israeli, US delegations leaves Ben-Gurion; will be greeted in Abu Dhabi by UAE FM; talks to focus on economic, civil issues

www.timesofisrael.com

 

[allezfred]

Novichok nerve agent used in Alexey Navalny poisoning, says German government

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was poisoned with a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group, the German government said Wednesday.

www.cnn.com

 

[ballettmaus]

A look at how Germany fared after taking in so many refugees since 2015. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/30/angela-merkel-great-migrant-gamble-paid-off

More than 10,000 people who arrived in Germany as refugees since 2015 have mastered the language sufficiently to enrol at a German university. More than half of those who came are in work and pay taxes. Among refugee children and teenagers, more than 80% say they have a strong sense of belonging to their German schools and feel liked by their peers.

...

The AfD, meanwhile, never reached the point “when it will be the country’s second-largest party”, as historian Niall Ferguson predicted in February 2018. The party has established a steady presence in local parliaments across Germany, especially in the states of the formerly socialist east. But at federal level the AfD has dropped to fourth in the polls, down from its third place and 12.6% at elections in 2017, and has been stricken with infighting since immigration has dropped off the top of the political agenda.

The spectre of jihadist terrorism, which some feared the refugee crisis would usher into the heart of central Europe, has faded from view in recent years. After a spate of seven attacks with an Islamist motive in Germany in 2016, culminating with a truck driven into a Berlin Christmas market that December, the country has seen no further attacks for the last three years.

...

Germany’s Federal Office of Criminal Investigations records a rise of criminal offences, including violent crime, in the years between 2014 and 2016, linking the trend to the influx of migration. The percentage of asylum seekers found guilty of such crimes also doubled in the same period. However, the majority of these offences were within the refugee shelters where new arrivals were initially housed. By 2017, when Trump claimed that “crime in Germany is way up” because it had taken in “all of those illegals”, the number of overall recorded crimes was decreasing. Last year, crime in Germany sank to an 18-year low.

 

[Buzz]

Japan has a new Prime Minister.

Yoshihide Suga picked by Japan's governing party to succeed Shinzo Abe

Japan's governing party has picked him to succeed Shinzo Abe who stepped down due to health reasons.

www.bbc.com

 

[Buzz]

Barbados to remove Queen Elizabeth as head of state

The government of Barbados says the time has come to leave the colonial past behind.

www.bbc.com

 

[MacMadame]

I've been trying to figure out the implications of these treaties that Isreal is making with other Middle Eastern countries and ran across this article which brought out why I was confused and skeptical:

Occupying Palestine is rotting Israel from inside. No Gulf peace deal can hide that | Raja Shehadeh

Israel has twisted its laws and contorted its politics to protect the occupation. The UAE and Bahrain deals won’t create peace, says writer and lawyer Raja Shehadeh

www.theguardian.com

 

[Louis]

Italian referendum on parliament size heading towards 'yes'

Exit polls suggested a fairly resounding 'yes' vote won the day in the referendum with a projected share between 60-64%.

www.euronews.com

Italian elections today (I voted!).

The big issue is a referendum to reduce the size of Parliament from 945 to 600. 600 is still way too big, but it got an enthusiastic yes from me. Based on exit polling, the reduction of Parliament is predicted to pass, whereas the previous attempt in 2017(?) failed.

Great to see high (by American standards) turnout and accommodations made for everyone.

Turnout at the close of voting Monday indicated that some regions saw nearly 60%-75% of eligible voters cast ballots, including those who voted from home or hospitals because they were sick with *********-19 or quarantining. An army of volunteers, wearing head-to-toe protective equipment, made house calls to ensure that even *****-affected Italians could vote.
Those who made it to polling centers had to follow strict protocols on wearing face masks and social distancing, with the elderly given precedence in lines and hand sanitizer stations ubiquitous.

 

[Vagabond]

Armenia and Azerbaijan could be on the brink of war, and the Armenian Government has declared martial law.

Fighting Flares Between Azerbaijan and Armenia

The governments of both countries reported action with tanks, military helicopters and artillery in a rapid escalation of a long-simmering conflict.

www.nytimes.com

At least 16 dead in Armenia-Azerbaijan clashes over disputed region

Nagorno-Karabakh provides crucial transit routes for gas and oil to international market

www.theguardian.com

In my city here in the U.S., vandals have attacked an Armenian Apostolic church and school twice in the past few months, and these attacks have been attributed to supporters of Azerbaijan.

I have been to both countries, and I have to say that there is a lot of ignorance and disinformation there about the origins and nature of the conflict between the peoples.

☮

 

[ilovepaydays]

BREAKING: Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah has passed away in NYC at age 91.

Apparently, his half-brother Nawaf is expected to take over. I guess succession doesn’t go by primogeniture like in Western European countries.

 

[Vagabond]

More on the Armenia-Azerbaijan crisis:

Nagorno-Karabakh: at least three Syrian fighters killed

Syrians on the ground are believed to be contractors working for Turkish security companies

www.theguardian.com

As fierce combat between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces stretched into a fourth day, the presence of Syrians on the ground – believed to be contractors working for Turkish security companies – signalled a new frontier for Ankara’s increasingly assertive foreign policy.

Turkish intervention in a dispute that foreign powers have traditionally sought to restrain was a dangerous new factor that threatened to make the fighting there longer and bloodier, analysts said.

Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict: Why Caucasus flare-up risks wider war

If fierce fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops persists, outside forces may get involved.

www.bbc.com

So far there are more than 100 confirmed deaths among civilians and Armenian combatants killed in action. Azerbaijan does not release data on its military losses, but these can be assumed to be at least as high.
The fighting appears to be driven by an attempt by Azerbaijani forces to recapture swathes of territories occupied by Armenian forces in the Karabakh war after the Soviet Union collapsed. Hundreds of thousands of ethnic Azeris were displaced from these areas in 1992-4.

Oy!

 

[MacMadame]

Data on Hong Kong citizens being sent to China?

Big tech firms may be handing Hong Kong user data to China

Allegation follows new law that lets Hong Kong ask for sensitive data if deemed to threaten national security

www.theguardian.com

 

[MsZem]

This is a good summary of what's happening in Israel, as Netanyahu tries every dirty trick he can come up with to keep himself in power.

The disease Netanyahu fears isn’t CV-19. It’s dissent.

 

[Vagabond]

 

[MsZem]

Minister of Tourism Asaf Zamir has resigned from the government. We'll see if any of his Blue & White peers follow suit.

Blue and White minister Asaf Zamir quits government

Last week, Science and Technology Minister Yizhar Shay also contemplated resigning but was persuaded not to by Blue and White leader Benny Gantz.

www.jpost.com

 

[MsZem]

Bibi et al. got the main Jerusalem protests shut down by passing an emergency measure that people can only take part in small protests within 1 kilometer of their residence.

Israelis did this in response:

Tens of thousands protest Netanyahu across Israel; activists assaulted, arrested

With mass demos barred, activists gather in smaller groups in hundreds of places; total turnout may be highest ever; police arrest, fine protesters; several attacked by opponents

www.timesofisrael.com

 

[Buzz]

The death of a black university student in Belgium has created a firestorm in that country and force it to face it’s racist present.

A Black Belgian Student Saw a White Fraternity as His Ticket. It Was His Death.

Sanda Dia’s death after an initiation ritual was regarded as a tragic accident. Newly released videos and photos have made it a symbol of growing intolerance.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Buzz]

Outrage in India after a remains of a rape victim is cremated without the family’s consent.

Hathras case: A fatal assault, a cremation and no goodbye

The family of an Indian woman who died after an alleged gang rape by upper-caste men are in torment.

www.bbc.com

 

[MsZem]

I can't even. Israel has become ridiculous.

Regev to ex-soccer star: Apologize to Likud or you’ll never be national coach

Transportation minister threatens TV host Eyal Berkovic for referring to her party as a 'criminal organization'

www.timesofisrael.com

 

[Buzz]

Norway blames Russia for cyber-attack on parliament

Moscow said there was no evidence for the accusation, calling it a "serious and wilful provocation".

www.bbc.com

 

[allezfred]

Jacinda Ardern wins re-election in a landslide proving compassion and preventing unnecessary death is a vote winning strategy. Who knew?

New Zealand PM Ardern Wins Re-Election In Best Showing For Labour Party In Decades

The Labour Party now controls a majority of seats in Parliament, giving it a strong mandate to govern. The 40-year-old Jacinda Ardern has promised to be a voice for all New Zealanders.

www.npr.org

 

[Buzz]

Hay Festival severs UAE ties after sex assault claim by employee

Abu Dhabi's minister of tolerance has denied allegations he sexually assaulted a festival organiser.

www.bbc.com

 

[Domshabfan]

Bolivia has voted and thrown out the US-backed coup that installed a military junta. The candidate for the party of Evo Morales won a thumping 52 % vote in the first round. Congrats to the people of Bolivia, hopefully, the new government will bring justice to them people who lost their lives under the military government.