unclevlad Posted September 18, 2023 Report Share Posted September 18, 2023 Yeah, recognizing that much of the South would go under water...that's something everyone recognizes. Well, everyone that understands there ARE problems, anyway. One aspect the video points out, tho...the major river systems that empty into an ocean, will see THEIR levels rise...and therefore, spill over greatly. But this form of "flooding" wouldn't recede. Bye-bye *large* chunks of the already receding Amazon rain forest. Who knows how far the water will back up on the Mississippi. Even if it's not enough to breach the flood control systems up as far as, say, St. Louis...if it forces the base level of the river to rise by a foot, it's that much closer to seasonal flooding. And that point's of concern even if the water rise is lesser. If we assume flood controls are installed to manage up to a 100 year flood...well, raise the base level some, and now maybe that level of river rise becomes once every 25 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DShomshak Posted September 18, 2023 Report Share Posted September 18, 2023 I just heard a story on this on BBC World Service, so I went looking for more. Here's what I found: A deeply depressing report on xenophobic violence in South Africa. It seems we Americans are not unique in this idiocy. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-66808346 Dean Shomshak Cygnia 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted September 18, 2023 Report Share Posted September 18, 2023 (edited) Much less painful to blame "outsiders" for your ills, than to admit they're caused by your own group. And it's easy for opportunists to manipulate those sentiments to put themselves in power. I'm glad Nelson Mandela isn't alive to see what his country is becoming. Edited September 18, 2023 by Lord Liaden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted September 18, 2023 Report Share Posted September 18, 2023 Take any marginal group. Demonize, demonize, demonize. It's been a path to power exploited over and over. And sometimes it need not be such a marginal group...Shiite vs. Sunni, Catholic vs. Protestant in Ireland, Somalia's ethnic cleansing, pogroms against Jews and Romani. Hate has always been a convenient path to power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted September 19, 2023 Report Share Posted September 19, 2023 Holy Forking Shirtballs... A Canadian citizen was killed on Canadian soil by (At least allegedly) agents of the India Government https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-canadian-authorities-have-intelligence-that-india-was-behind-slaying/ BoloOfEarth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted September 19, 2023 Report Share Posted September 19, 2023 42 minutes ago, Hermit said: Holy Forking Shirtballs... A Canadian citizen was killed on Canadian soil by (At least allegedly) agents of the India Government https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-canadian-authorities-have-intelligence-that-india-was-behind-slaying/ Well, one country's terrorist is another country's friendly citizen..... India has a less than stellar record on civil rights, according to Freedom House. Political freedom...not bad, 33/40. Civli liberties? Not good, 33/60. Free press, religious freedom, academic freedom...2/4. Independent judiciary, due process, protection from the use of illegitimate force...2/4. https://freedomhouse.org/country/india/freedom-world/2023 This site's always useful, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted September 19, 2023 Report Share Posted September 19, 2023 (edited) 5 hours ago, Hermit said: Holy Forking Shirtballs... A Canadian citizen was killed on Canadian soil by (At least allegedly) agents of the India Government https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-canadian-authorities-have-intelligence-that-india-was-behind-slaying/ This has stirred up a hornet's nest here. Prime Minister Trudeau has neither offered nor stated that he has proof the Indian government was behind the death of the Sikh activist. Political rivals of the Liberal government are accusing Trudeau of acting prematurely to try to deflect attention from his domestic woes. The government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi denies any involvement in the killing, but after Canada expelled a "senior" Indian diplomat, India declared its intention to retaliate in kind. Relations between the Trudeau and Modi governments were already strained over the former's criticism of the latter's Hindu nationalist policies. Edited September 19, 2023 by Lord Liaden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted September 20, 2023 Report Share Posted September 20, 2023 A further detail: Canada's ambassador to the UN has stated that the Canadian government has engaged in "quiet diplomacy" with India's government over this matter for months. Implicitly the behind-the-scenes work wasn't panning out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted September 20, 2023 Report Share Posted September 20, 2023 I had heard things were tense behind the scenes before this, but always good to get more details. The more I hear of Modi, the more he alarms me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted September 20, 2023 Report Share Posted September 20, 2023 From every account I read and hear, India is well on its way to becoming a major player in world affairs. They're growing more internationally assertive. Everyone should pay attention to the Indian government's behavior leading up to and subsequent to this incident. Other countries in the world can anticipate similar dealings with them in future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DShomshak Posted September 20, 2023 Report Share Posted September 20, 2023 Yesterday on the BBC, the host interviewed an Indian pundit and former member of Modi's government. He blustered: not only rejecting any possibility of Trudeau's accusation being correct, but treating every question from the interviewer as a neo-colonialist insult directed at India. He also suggested that Trudeau was just hustling for popularity with Canada's Sikh community because of his administration's political problems. (Not a great ingterview overall. The subject was not really in a position to know anything; but stock outrage atroutine questions doesn't make a case either.) Okay... Without evidence, we can't trust Trudeau's claim that much. After all, Colin Powell solemnly assured the UN that the Bush administration had ironclad evidence of Saddam Hussein's WMD program -- evidence that turned out to be circumstantial at best, filtered by motivated reasoning. On a matter this serious, "Trust us" doesn't fly from *any* government. Not anymore. But contrary to Mister Bluster, I find it entirely plausible that Modi's government would send a death squad after a leading Sikh separatist. The BJP is explicitly sectarian, and in a Hindu state non-Hindus become second-class citizens by definition. Modi himself first came to political prominence backing Hindu zealots that rioted and murdered Muslims in his home state. There's been heavy (and internationally condemned) repression of the Hindu majority in Jammu and Kashmire. Journalists are threatened; movies are censored to ensure they promote a Hindu nationalist view. "The World's Largest Democracy" looks less democratic every year. What's the truth in this case? I can't know. But if I'm not ready to trust Trudeau unconditionally, I am even less ready to trust Modi's government unconditionally. Dean Shomshak Lord Liaden 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DShomshak Posted September 21, 2023 Report Share Posted September 21, 2023 well, this is at least mildly hopeful: More Trump Cult Republicans losing to Democrats. Trumpism costs the GOP in a crucial election, again (msn.com) Dean Shomshak tkdguy and Cygnia 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcw43921 Posted September 21, 2023 Report Share Posted September 21, 2023 "It's really easy to assume that the loudest voices are the only voices." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Neilson Posted September 21, 2023 Report Share Posted September 21, 2023 6 hours ago, wcw43921 said: "It's really easy to assume that the loudest voices are the only voices." How many remember "The moral majority is neither." wcw43921, Hermit, BoloOfEarth and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoloOfEarth Posted September 21, 2023 Report Share Posted September 21, 2023 5 minutes ago, Hugh Neilson said: How many remember "The moral majority is neither." ✋ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted September 21, 2023 Report Share Posted September 21, 2023 11 hours ago, DShomshak said: well, this is at least mildly hopeful: More Trump Cult Republicans losing to Democrats. Trumpism costs the GOP in a crucial election, again (msn.com) Dean Shomshak 1. It's been a longstanding issue that the primary process often favors more extreme candidates. There've been numerous articles addressing this, with things like ranked-preference voting. 2. I still wonder how much it's being a Trumpist, versus how much it's about being a total idiot. From that article, the NH loser posted abortion rights supporters "desired blood sacrifices to their god Molech." Seriously? That's going to be rejected even by a fair number of anti-abortion types, it's just too ridiculous for any but the most rabid. OTOH, we're nearing 3 years since the election Trump lost. That horse got sent off to the glue factory 2 years ago, but they still try to beat on it. This is one that now does alienate anyone outside the MAGA diehards *fast*. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted September 21, 2023 Report Share Posted September 21, 2023 More indications that the shutdown is inevitable... https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/21/politics/house-government-shutdown-negotiations-latest/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted September 21, 2023 Report Share Posted September 21, 2023 McCarthy sounds incredulous that some members of his caucus want to "burn the place down." How many years has he been asleep? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted September 21, 2023 Report Share Posted September 21, 2023 One could argue he's just got a massive ego, and thought he could control them. Meaning he didn't learn anything about needing, what was it, 15 ballots to become Speaker? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnia Posted September 21, 2023 Report Share Posted September 21, 2023 1 hour ago, Lord Liaden said: McCarthy sounds incredulous that some members of his caucus want to "burn the place down." How many years has he been asleep? The leopards are hungry for faces. Old Man 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DShomshak Posted September 22, 2023 Report Share Posted September 22, 2023 Today's "The Daily" gives some background on the dispute between Canada and India: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/21/podcasts/the-daily/canada-india-assassination.html Dean Shomshak Lord Liaden 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted September 22, 2023 Report Share Posted September 22, 2023 Thank you. That was an excellent illustration of how, in disputes between countries, it's never just the event itself that weighs in the balance. Current geopolitics and economics, and the memory of history, greatly shape the course of events. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnia Posted September 24, 2023 Report Share Posted September 24, 2023 Republican Congressman Calls For General Mark Milley to Be Executed in Shockingly Homophobic Screed Quote Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) published a shockingly violent and homophobic tirade against General Mark Milley, suggesting the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff be put to death. Gosar’s Congressional office released a newsletter on Sunday which claimed that the FBI, the DHS, and other federal agencies allowed the U.S. Capitol to be attacked by Donald Trump’s rioting supporters on January 6. From there, the newsletter blasted Milley for speaking with Nancy Pelosi after the riot, agreeing with her that Trump was “crazy,” and assuring the former House speaker that Trump wouldn’t be able to seize control of America’s nuclear arsenal during his last days in office. In addition, the newsletter called Milley “homosexual promoting” and “sodomy-promoting.” Here’s what Gosar’s newsletter had to say about the general, including the call for him to be hanged: After the riot was in full swing, the Chief’s request for National Guard was finally approved. But even after approval was given, General Milley, the homosexual-promoting-BLM-activist Chairman of the military joint chiefs, delayed. Of course, we now know that the deviant Milley was coordinating with Nancy Pelosi to hurt President Trump, and treasonously working behind Trump’s back. In a better society, quislings like the strange sodomy-promoting General Milley would be hung. He had one boss: President Trump, and instead he was secretly meeting with Pelosi and coordinating with her to hurt Trump. That is, when he wasn’t also secretly coordinating and sharing intelligence with the Chinese military. How this traitor remains in office is a question we need answered. DShomshak, tkdguy, Lord Liaden and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted September 24, 2023 Report Share Posted September 24, 2023 That was an incredible word salad of completely irrelevant, unrelated, debunked, blatantly false and potentially slanderous garbage. Definitely a contender for the "how much stupid can be packed into one paragraph" award. Not to mention a thinly-veiled provocation for General Milley to be assassinated. Making this sort of rant is playing to the most rabid of the GOP's base of support, driving the social-media clicks they seem to think equal votes. But I hope Republicans keep it up, because it just drives away more and more of the independents and moderate conservatives they need to actually win elections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted September 24, 2023 Report Share Posted September 24, 2023 POTENTIALLY slanderous? He called Milley a deviant and a traitor. There's nothing "potential" about that. The other aspect is, well, gee, when actual government officials call for hangings, can anyone be surprised when this causes a rise in violent acts from those he's addressing? The "in a better society" isn't an excuse; quite the opposite, it's more incitement. This is hate speech, pure and simple. It's prima facie grounds for impeachment, slander/defamation, and even criminal charges, IMO. Yeah, I know, only the lawsuit is possible, and even that's not likely, but that reflects the horrific state of the political system. I agree this continues the alienation of any but the hardest of hard-core MAGAts, but we won't know whether this means anything until the election cycles start moving into full swing. Cygnia, Old Man and Tom Cowan 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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