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Nonoka
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Posts posted by Nonoka
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11 hours ago, Nessie said:
What the west fails to understand is that Ukraine is not a unified country, millions of people in the east of Ukraine do not want to be part of this Ukraine alliance with EU and NATO, those people speak russian as their mother language and are effectivelly cut out from Ukraine since 2014 when they did not accept the coup imposed on them during the Maidan protests, if they were happy with it they would never have declared those republics independence and fight for its defense during the Ukraine attempts to retake military control of those areas. They rather die than be in this country where they are seen as subcitizens. It is no wonder why they were celebrating yesterday.
You are right, Eastern Ukraine is quite different, there's a clear dividing line between West/Central and the Eastern part of the country when it comes to views on Russia and who to choose as partner. Which is why part of me thinks that in one way, it would actually benefit Ukraine if it really just let these rebel territories go and accept their independence (plus Crimea) - let them seek association or integration or whatever they want with Russia, while the rest of the country can move ahead on its path towards EU and NATO membership (obviously, that would require both organizations to actually get serious about membership plans).
However, this creates another set of problems (as in other countries around the world using Russia's strategy to re-draw their preferred borders) and as we speak, such a "solution" seems to be off the table anyway as Russia just demanded once again they want all of Ukraine de-militarized and the central government to give up its NATO plans. So what will happen now is anyone's guess....
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...For me now, the question is how far Putin is willing to go to see his security demands fulfilled. I highly doubt that even if Ukraine would let go of these separatist territories (and NATO accepts), that Russia would stop there and withdraw its forces. Putin seemed quite unhinged to me in his speech yesterday - talking about how the creation of independent Ukraine should have never happened (so basically denying the legitimacy of Ukrainian state) and that Ukraine could quickly build nuclear weapons to challenge Russia (which is an absolutely outlandish claim, according to pretty much any analysis I've read).
I'm sorry, but no matter how big the historic heritage Ukraine shares with Russia, his rhetoric yesterday against the country was totally unacceptable and definitely had the tone of war in it. And I don't think Putin has much right to complain how the Ukrainian government is a NATO puppet regime, illegitimate etc. - given that he just recently propped up the dictatorship in Belarus and help them beat down huge protests by society (did people here forget about that?).
And he didn't just stop at Ukraine - he explicitly talked about how allowing the former Soviet republics to break away was a 'historic mistake' (even though they did so out of free will - ask any Estonian for example what they think about their country's "membership" in the Soviet Union).
To clarify - I'm under no illusion that NATO, and within them particularly the US, are these big moral defenders of freedom and sovereignty as they like to portray themselves. But the Russian regime under Putin definitely isn't interested in letting its former partner states have an independent future either, that much he made clear yesterday. And whether Russia likes it or not, the majority of Ukrainians today (but also e.g. Georgians, Moldavians) do see their future as part of the EU and NATO (check this out or this) - they do not want to live under a Russian sphere of influence as Belarussians for example are forced to. (Oh and by the way: the claim by Putin that Russia is being 'surrounded' by NATO is highly exaggerated anyway - not even 10 percent of Russia borders on NATO countries, see here).
I don't know where this is going to end, but again, speaking as a Hungarian-Romanian, I am quite happy atm that both countries are inside NATO and EU and with that, somewhat safe and sound from an economic and security perspective...I don't see this conflict de-escalating anytime soon.
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28 minutes ago, CzarnaWisnia said:
Btw, the Nord Stream pipeline's construction has been completed in September. It's being inspected now and will soon be ready to pump twice as much gas from Russia to Europe, while also reducing the US's influence over Europe. The US can sanction Russia all it wants (sanctions are tools of warfare) and keep raising its fists in the air, Europe needs and wants those resources (you can see the European leaders are not joining in the American conquistador rhetoric, but trying to reduce tensions). American media, being that it's just a mouthpiece for power, will frame it as a human rights issue (diversion), and angry tweeters will tweet a lot about it.
Actually, German government just announced that NS2 has been cancelled for the time being. Which, actually, I believe is the right thing to do overall (if we set aside the economic disadvantages in the short- and mid-term). I don't disagree with you in principle, but 'Europe' is not a monolithic block and this is definitely not about US interests only.
I do believe that part of why US is involved so much in this whole Ukraine-Russia mess is certainly preventing Europe to forge closer economic ties to Russia - however, I also noticed there is a strong tendency by some people, particularly in Western Europe - to downplay the threat of Russian aggression. And being Hungarian and Romanian myself and closely following political discussions there, let me tell you this threat is very much perceived to be real in this part of Europe (which says a lot because the Hungarian government tries hard to portray friendship with Russia, and people are not buying it).
And I believe this is even more so the case in Poland or the Baltics, where the governments also actively warned German government about their fears concerning the pipeline - because it is a fact that it gives Russia economic leverage over these countries, and, once again, these countries very much do believe Russia to be a threat to their security (and no, it's not just the political elites - there are enough polls out there to show what the population thinks).
Also by the way a reason why something like an EU army / defense policies independent of NATO will, unfortunately, never work and EU will continue to remain a powerless bystander in all of this - countries like Poland or Romania do not trust security guarantees by Germany, France etc. and will much rather continue seeking direct military support by the US and the US, knowing the strategic influence it gets from this in Europe, happily offers this support. Oh well.
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38 minutes ago, dcbyebyebaby said:
it is crazy that even with the massive media blitz to get young people to vote that Trump is fending of Biden. It has been nonstop on every social media platform, commercial, celebrity page, email etc for over a month. Everytime i open instagram it asked me if i voted. Without Covid trump would have demolished Biden.
That is really my main takeaway from these elections too. Even if Biden (now likely) wins, personally I wouldn't have much reason to celebrate if I was a Democrat in the US. Trump has not lost popularity since 2016, in fact, given the 2+ million extra votes he received in total (and still counting), you could argue he even grew in popularity, and that is despite COVID-19 and all the other stuff.
I'll be very very curious to see how Biden will be able to deal with over one third of America's population still clearly disapproving of Democrat policies. It could turn out to be a pyrrhic victory to some extent I'm afraid.
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21 minutes ago, karbatal said:
Yes. Then close ALL Catholic churches who are spreading hate against gays and women.
The one thing doesn‘t exclude the other. Any preacher who has been proven to do this should be barred from ever holding religious service again, regardless of the institution.
It‘s more than understandable though that the focus right now should be on islamic centers, particulary the ones with salafist and/or foreign ties, as they have been the ideological breeding ground for the majority of terror attacks in Europe the last years.
If we continue to object to the fact „Islamism is a massive threat to European society“ with „All radicalism is a threat“, and to demands like „We need tougher measures on islamic centers“ with „We need tougher measures for all religious institutions“....we will just go in circles, which will achieve nothing and allow the status quo to continue (and then people are in surprise when right-wing parties continue to be succesful...)
PS Do you understand German a bit? There was an interesting documentary made by ARTE some time ago where they investigated the ties of various islamic centers in Western Europe. It was revealed that Qatar has financed the construction of more than 140 insitutions - including schools and cultural centers - with hidden connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, who support the idea of Sharia law. There are clear signs of a systematic effort by foreign nations to spread the ideas of radical islamism within today’s European society and recruit people for it through seemingly impartial islamic institutions. I really don‘t think Europe can afford to ignore this elephant in the room much longer, regardless of whatever issues the Catholic church or other problematic institutions also cause.
For anyone interested, here‘s the link:
https://programm.ard.de/TV/arte/katar--millionen-f-r-europas-islam/eid_287242017741449
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10 hours ago, elijah said:
Those islamists (even those not deemed a threat) should be stripped of their nationality, trown out in their country of origin and forbidden to ever enter EU. The mosques that preach salafism should be closed down, foreign preachers should be forbidden to enter EU and the remaining islamic centers should be allowed to continue their practice after they embrace human rights, women's rights, LGBTQ rights and the devision of religion and state. Burqas and other religious garments should also be forbidden.
In this particular attack (but also in many previous ones) the terrorist was a native-born citizen, so deportation is tricky...Still, I agree tougher measures need to be introduced. This guy who committed the attack yesterday was known to police and intelligence service, he was arrested when he wanted to leave Austria for Syria to join ISIS in fighting. He was sentenced to prison for 22 months, but released early because he took part in a 'de-radicalization' programme and pretended to have turned away from his beliefs - he tricked authorities and they stopped surveilling him. I know we in the West usually let ourselves guided by humanistic views, "everybody deserves a second chance" etc. but in this situation there is a point reached now where we can't hold on to this any longer.
IMO the moment somebody takes the decision to join a radical islamist organization, and there's conclusive evidence for it, it should be game over - life in prison, and for everybody around that person who actively and intentionally influenced him to take that decision. I know many islamists still won't be deterred from committing heinous crimes like these, but at the very least this would send out a strong and clear message to both the islamists AND the European public at large that governments are taking this seriously.
Statements of solidarity, expressing how horrible the crime is, lighting candles etc. and then going back to the modus operandi after 2 weeks won't cut it much longer I'm afraid. If Europe doesn't finally tackle these issues surrounding radical islam with all its might, and conveys this to the public convincingly, I fear grave social and political consequences. At the end of the day, the Muslim community is one of the biggest sufferers of all this, as with every further attack, the mistrust and discrimination against them grows as well.
And, when it comes to politics, we all know how the right-wing parties love to exploit this issue of islamism, and as we also know, it has worked great in many EU countries the last years...And it will continue to work as long as people have the impression that European leaders respond weakly to islamist terror. I'm already dreading the French elections in 2022, you just know this topic will be No. 1 in Le Pen's campaign. The last thing I'd want to see is the majority of EU countries under right-wing nationalistic rule by 2025.
3 hours ago, karbatal said:Main problem for LGTB and women's rights in the EU right now are white Christians.
I'd say it's different throughout Europe. In Poland, yes, for sure. In Western Europe? That's debatable IMO. But in any case, this isn't really a competition of which group causes the biggest problem (and I don't think that was @elijahs point). Any place that has been proven to spread hatred against LGTB and women (and yes, many islamic centers were time and time again proven to do just that) is one place too many.
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Speaking of anti-maskers...
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15 hours ago, mtzlplk said:
The four policemen idiots were already fired and charged for murder, what else do they want?
They torch and loot stores, what for? Did they ever think of ordinary people working on those stores who will lose days of income because of what they did? These rallyists are being infiltrated by destabilizers.
Yes, I agree with you on that point.
Again, as with many recent issues, it seems to me like many are only thinking in black or white patterns. It's either "You must totally support all forms of protests" or the exact opposite.
Sorry, but what does any of this in the below clips have to do with fighting against racial inequality? Protesting a crime by committing a crime yourself, as robbery and theft clearly is?
And it's not just the big chain stores that got robbed and looted, as clearly seen here. Again, what does destroying the property - and in many cases therefore the livelihood - of innocent people have to do with protesting the actual issues that are at hand?
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Having said that, it should be noted that the majority of people are not acting like this, as with most protests in recent years (also from what I've observed here in Europe), it's the minority consisting of anarchists and criminal looters, who often latch on any protest so they can act out these things without having to fear condemnation. There are plenty of clips over social media proving majority of protests are not looking like this (as with the videos posted above by other members).
I fully support everyone standing up and marching against the systemic racism and police brutality, and I understand a certain extent of chaos and rioting is to be expected in huge protests like these, but people who are responsible for producing scenes like these above, I will never support. Sorry, not sorry.
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I actually do it find it quite ironic how she pretty much served us Dante's Inferno with her performance (and how everyone criticized her that it wasn't fitting), and one year later, look at where we are
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Beijing tightens grip over coronavirus research, amid US-China row on virus origin
Hong Kong (CNN) - China has imposed restrictions on the publication of academic research on the origins of the novel coronavirus, according to a central government directive and online notices published by two Chinese universities, that have since been removed from the web.
Under the new policy, all academic papers on Covid-19 will be subject to extra vetting before being submitted for publication. Studies on the origin of the virus will receive extra scrutiny and must be approved by central government officials, according to the now-deleted posts.A medical expert in Hong Kong who collaborated with mainland researchers to publish a clinical analysis of Covid-19 cases in an international medical journal said his work did not undergo such vetting in February.The increased scrutiny appears to be the latest effort by the Chinese government to control the narrative on the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed more than 100,000 lives and sickened 1.7 million people worldwide since it first broke out in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December.Since late January, Chinese researchers have published a series of Covid-19 studies in influential international medical journals. Some findings about early coronavirus cases -- such as when human-to-human transition first appeared -- have raised questions over the official government account of the outbreak and sparked controversy on Chinese social media.And now, Chinese authorities appear to be tightening their grip on the publication of Covid-19 research.A Chinese researcher who spoke on condition of anonymity due to fear of retaliation said the move was a worrying development that would likely obstruct important scientific research."I think it is a coordinated effort from (the) Chinese government to control (the) narrative, and paint it as if the outbreak did not originate in China," the researcher told CNN. "And I don't think they will really tolerate any objective study to investigate the origination of this disease."CNN has reached out to China's Foreign Ministry for comment.Increased scrutinyAccording to the directive issued by the Ministry of Education's science and technology department, "academic papers about tracing the origin of the virus must be strictly and tightly managed."The directive lays out layers of approval for these papers, starting with the academic committees at universities. They are then required to be sent to the Education Ministry's science and technology department, which then forwards the papers to a task force under the State Council for vetting. Only after the universities hear back from the task force can the papers be submitted to journals.Other papers on Covid-19 will be vetted by universities' academic committees, based on conditions such as the "academic value" of the study, and whether the "timing for publishing" is right.The directive is based on instructions issued during a March 25 meeting held by the State Council's task force on the prevention and control of Covid-19, it said.The document was first posted Friday morning on the website of the Fudan University in Shanghai, one of China's leading universities.When CNN called a contact number left at the end of the notice, a staff member of the Education ministry's science and technology department confirmed they had issued the directive."It is not supposed to be made public -- it is an internal document," said the person, who refused to reveal his name.A few hours later, the Fudan University page was taken down.The China University of Geoscience in Wuhan also posted a similar notice about the extra vetting on Covid-19 papers on its website. The page has since been deleted, but a cached version of it remains accessible.The Chinese researcher who spoke to CNN said the notice was issued a few days ago, adding that only Covid-19 research was subject to the additional checks.David Hui Shu-cheong, a respiratory medicine expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said he did not encounter any additional vetting when he and a team of mainland Chinese researchers published a clinical analysis of Covid-19 cases in the New England Journal of Medicine in February."The process was really simple then," he told CNN over the phone.Hui said he was still revising the draft of the paper until 3 a.m. on the day it was due for submission, and the paper was sent to the NEJM by midday."There was completely no restriction at all," he said."I don't know if it is because some researchers published something that is considered sensitive domestically in China. (I'm) not sure if it is because of the controversy about the origin of the virus later, and the non-sensitive stuff becomes sensitive too."Origin of the virus
In late December, Wuhan reported the first cases of the coronavirus, linked by authorities to a seafood market in the city. Scientists in China and the West have said the virus is likely to have originated in bats and jumped to humans from an intermediate host -- just like its cousin that caused the SARS epidemic in 2002 and 2003.However, parts of Chinese social media and even the country's government appear to have launched a concerted campaign to question the origin of the virus.Chinese officials and state media have repeatedly stressed that there has been no conclusion on the exact origin of the virus. Last month, Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, promoted a conspiracy on Twitter that the virus had originated in the US and was brought to China by the US military.Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations, said the origin of the coronavirus has become a politically sensitive topic in China."It is no surprise that the government seeks to control related scientific research so that the findings do not challenge its own narrative on the origin of the virus and the government response to the crisis," Professor Huang told CNN."The danger is that when scientific research is subject to the needs of those in power, it further undermines the credibility of the government narrative, making accusations of underreporting and misinformation more convincing."In China, research papers on the coronavirus are already subjected to layers of vetting after they are submitted to Chinese academic journals, according to an editor at a Chinese medical journal.Wang Lan, the editorial director of the Chinese Journal of Epidemiology, said all Covid-19 papers have to go through an approval process for "major topics" after being submitted to her journal."It has always been the case," she told CNN. "They have to be approved by three levels of organizations. It's a long process."The Chinese researcher who requested anonymity said under the new restrictions, however, coronavirus research that contradicted the official narrative could be suppressed by Beijing."I think the importance is that the international scientific community must realize that any journal or manuscripts from (a) Chinese research institution has kind of been double-checked by the government," said the researcher. "It is important for them to know there are extra steps between independent scientific research and final publication."CNN's Steven Jiang and Alexandra Lin contributed reporting.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/12/asia/china-coronavirus-research-restrictions-intl-hnk/index.html
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Check this out...Quite revealing of the true state of relations between this organization and China's ruling party...
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4 hours ago, elijah said:
There is practically NO INFO in Bulgaria that it was the EU who helped China in January with medical supplies so its only natural that China gave back a month later to Italy. IN our news its always China and Russia (!!!!) that have helped Italy, while EU has done zero. All lies. EU has deblocked enormous amount of money to help fight this crisis and France and Germany have alone already donated more medical supplies to Italy and Spain than China and Russia. But hey, I guess no-one cares about the facts these days...
Yes, it's frustrating.
Speaking of this, the Commission just uploaded this fact-sheet on their main website and social media channels, that's at least something...although by far not enough to counter the massive disinformation floating around.
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The question of shared European debt is not an issue to be treated lightly - I don't agree with the German or Dutch position, but their concerns aren't pointless. This is something the governments have to sell and explain to their people, and the German population - one of the most supportive for European integration, don't forget - is very divided on this issue.
Having said that, let's not be one-sided when it comes to the EU's actions. Yes, the leaders of the member states are in disarray, but the European institutions themselves are clearly trying to help as much as they can with their limited competences.
QuoteCommission creates first ever rescEU stockpile of medical equipment
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_476
European Commission to develop coordinated ‘exit strategy’ from lockdowns
QuoteCommission proposes unprecedented suspension of EU’s fiscal rules
ECB shakes off limits on new €750bn bond buying plan
https://www.ft.com/content/d775a99e-13b2-444e-8de5-fd2ec6caf4bf
QuoteEuropean Parliament Approves $40 Billion Emergency Package
https://www.voanews.com/europe/european-parliament-approves-40-billion-emergency-package
IMO, this epidemic shows all the more again that more federalization and strengthening of European institutions is what's necessary in dealing with international crises. The will and commitment to a strong aid program is clearly there in the EU institutions, but sadly, this is overshadowed in the news again by the endless quarrels between the member states.
I hope this is a lesson the member states will learn - unfortunately, my fear too is that the opposite thing could happen, i.e. states will channel their frustration against the EU and call for its dismantling. We're already seeing effects in Italy, where Russia is securing a propaganda coup with its helping 'efforts' (which are mostly a farce only), while the EU is made to look as an ignorant by-stander.
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Good measures just announced by Germany's central government.
Not a complete lockdown as in Spain or Italy, but a wide prohibition of contacts - meaning you can still go out for basic necessities (supermarkets, drugstores, but all other things closed, including barber shops, cosmetic stores etc), workplace, as well as for sports / taking walks, but only with one other person and a minimum distance of 1,5 meters (that other person doesn't have to be from your family or household - so there's still a minimum of social contacts allowed). However, if you're outside with more than one person, they must be from your family or household or you'll face heavy fines.
Having said that, Germany is a federal country, i.e. the different states within Germany can take stricter measures than what the central government announced, if they feel necessary to do so. E.g. in Bavaria where there's been a big spike in cases, you can only be outside alone or with someone living in the same apartment.
Measures will last for 2 weeks, but I think it's obvious it's going to be longer than this. I'm preparing myself for this situation to last until late April for sure (and probably beyond, however at some point they'll have to lift some measures or there won't be an economy to fall back on anymore)
Anyways, I think it's very rational of the German government to allow people some extent of physical activity and a basis for social contacts, however small it might be. Yes, the spread of the virus must be contained as much as possible, however we should also keep in mind the emotional and psychological ramifications of being isolated for a long period of time. Which in turn can lead to a whole different range of problems - domestic abuse or depression being one of them. So, IMO, this is a good balance of measures - let's hope people stick to them and don't fuck it up with 'Corona parties' and other bizarre stuff like this.
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@elijah I totally feel you with your posts re/Europe, for me too European unity and the future of EU is something that lies close to my heart, and it's sad to see how many issues we've been tormented with since the past 10 years-ish. The growing populism, the economic crisis (which will most likely flare up again now), the ever-lasting refugee issue, now this thing...and then of course on the outside you have persons like Putin and Trump who eagerly await any sign of instability in Europe so they can weaken and undermine the system.
Having said that, I'm really missing a response to the virus right now on an united European level, with a coherent policy and joint cooperation - the past weeks have been quite chaotic with every country doing its own thing, like banning the export of masks and medical equipment to other member states. This is not doing the reputation of the EU any favors, especially in Italy...Similar with the sudden border closures of many countries (without notifiying the others), which is causing transport issues and damaging the free flow of goods (for example here the trucks carrying goods between Poland and Germany have been stuck for days because of massive traffic jams)
I understand though this is a first-time situation for Europe, as for most of the world, so it's easier said than done. Hopefully before there's another epidemic on this scale again (which will probably happen some point in the future) we'll have a EU-wide task force who will be able to give a quicker and more united response.
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Just listened to it this evening again after a while, this is definitely growing to one of my favorite songs off the record.
The variety of instruments and different layers give this song such a rich and full sound. From the Moroccan Gnawa rhythms (finally I know what that 'guitary' sound in the background is) to the strings, the trumpets, the choir...
My favourite part is the build-up from the verses to the chorus, where the strings intensify and the trumpets hit. Gives me goosebumps every time. Underrated track for sure!
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Stunning indeed! Reminds me of the 2017 Vogue Germany cover, similar styling. Will look forward to reading the interview.
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2 hours ago, runa said:
I think the most frightening thing is the rise of far-right party in many country around the world, all of this because the poor middle-aged white male feels threatened. That's very scary.
At this point this is actually more of a myth though. I don't post too often in the political section, but it really should be pointed out that the problem of far-right populism has, as unfortunate as it is, become much much more complex than this.
As an example, in Germany the far-right AfD became the second-strongest party in a couple of regional elections this year, but what really rocked the boat was when statistics came out showing who voted whom. Because, unlike what is often claimed, there were big amounts of supporters from pretty much any economic status, age and gender - women, people with high-income jobs, even parts of the migrant community. In addition, the far-right was the most popular party among young people below 30.
It's a similar demographic with the Front National voters in France, and the Bolsonaro supporters last year IIRC. Can not speak for Spain or other countries outside of Europe that face this situation, but those results do indicate that populism is spreading far beyond its original target demography (which was the poor, middle-aged white male). As long as the rest of society and political parties don't recognize this, there will be no effective 'fighting' against this trend.
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11 minutes ago, alquemist said:
I‘ll be His bride
Haha good on her for showing the lyrics, now we can also rest the case of 'fight against the anguish vs. English'
I'd greatly appreciate a lyrics sheet for Come Alive next, I can never understand what she's mumbling in the pre-chorus
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You guys remember this small clip from the Apple Music Interview back in April?
We never got to see more of it, and I was wondering if they're ever going to show sth more...well, I checked on Apple Music now and they have put up two more clips. One she's talking about Dark Ballet and in the other one she gets asked which previous era was Madame X inspired by the most (hint, she doesn't give a clear answer haha) I can't link but just check it out for yourself if you've subscribed there
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35 minutes ago, ThinkOfMe said:
Sounded new, referees to the marriage as her first
Thank you!
Sounds very interesting indeed. I might check it out for myself now!
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5 hours ago, ThinkOfMe said:
Talking about live to tell
wrote it for Sean and wrote it for love Oh wow, could you tell those were older interview excerpts or is it brand new?
Hope sb can capture the interview parts
New war in Europe, courtesy of Putin
in Politics and World Events
Posted
Okay, this is terrifying. Talked to my uncle who lives about 30km west to the Ukrainian border, apparently Hungarian government already sent reinforcements to the border because they're expecting a big influx of citizens fleeing from over there, up to several ten thousands.
There are missile attacks all over the country and Putin is talking about how he is going to de-militarize and 'de-nazify' the country, how the fuck can ANYONE sane think it's a-okay for Russia to go this far in defense of their 'interests'. And shame on any European who is still harping on with what-about-isms about 'the West' this and 'the West' that (so much for European solidarity), let me just say again thank god most of Central / Eastern Europe is inside NATO, I'd be absolutely frightened for my home country right now if it wasn't.