The Off Topic Topic

[Habbaku]

Sacha Baron Cohen trolled a bunch of militiay-types in Washington:

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/06/sacha-baron-cohen-trolls-alt-right-rally-with-racist-sing-along

[Sheilbh]

Interesting French municipal elections - huge success for the Greens. It feels like in France and Germany the Greens are on course to become the main party of the left. I sort of wonder if that is the future for the left across much of the rest of Europe too?

Obviously not everywhere - Italy and CEE are moving in a very different direction politically which I don't really understand/know how works.

[Tamas]

I would imagine it is largely the "we haven't tried these guys and they are not fascists" factor.

[Sheilbh]

I would imagine it is largely the "we haven't tried these guys and they are not fascists" factor.

I don't know. Again Italy and CEE are different and there's something else going on there.

But in most of the rest of Europe there's been a long-term decline in the old mainstream left's vote and base especially as their support among their old working class base has declines - and often moved to the populist or far-right. On the other hand the left that survives - the Greens (and in the UK, the Greens and Labour) - have done really well with university towns, and graduates. It's not a million miles from Piketty's Brahmin left. I think in Germany the SPD seem in terminal decline and the PS have been wiped out in France. There is competition for what they new left looks like - La France Insoumise, Hamon's project and the Greens. I think it's maybe more likely that the Greens will win that battle than the PS or SPD return.

I think it also sort of applies in the UK, but here it's more within the Labour Party because of our voting system.

[Admiral Yi]

Alliance of free money underclass and eco-conscious bobosie.  Makes sense to me.

[Josquius]

Interesting French municipal elections - huge success for the Greens. It feels like in France and Germany the Greens are on course to become the main party of the left. I sort of wonder if that is the future for the left across much of the rest of Europe too?

Obviously not everywhere - Italy and CEE are moving in a very different direction politically which I don't really understand/know how works.

In the last Swiss elections the Greens were so successful that it massively challenged their political system. They should have broke the existing status quo for the top 8 positions in the country but were cheated out of it.
In the UK too they put in a better showing last election than they have previously, if we were a democracy they'd be doing fairly well.
It really does seem to be something younger millenials and digital natives care about a lot. Which is good.

[Syt]

Caricature from a German satirical magazine, early 1900s.

"Colonial Powers"



"This is how Germans colonize.

This is how the English colonize. The French like this, and the Belgians like this."

[Josquius]

Weird. The British weren't particularly big on preaching with colonialism. The colonial authorities most often got involved in proselytising when it was stopping priests from stirring shit.

[Duque de Bragança]

Interesting French municipal elections - huge success for the Greens. It feels like in France and Germany the Greens are on course to become the main party of the left. I sort of wonder if that is the future for the left across much of the rest of Europe too?

Huge abstention for these municipal elections, 60 % of the registered did not vote so it would require confirmation at a later election.

OTOH, the defeat is clear for Macron's party, lacking any real local grassroots support. Only Édouard Philippe, current PM, was elected Le Havre mayor in the run-off. He was previously rumored to leave the government due to disagreements with Jupiter but being more popular than him since the CoVid crisis, he has strengthened his position.

Greens are still way behind the RN in national elections. RN won Perpignan, its biggest but only big victory.
Since French greens are of the melon water variety (green outside red inside), and have had an anti-vaxxer as n°2 in the last European elections, I am not exactly thrilled.

[Malthus]

Caricature from a German satirical magazine, early 1900s.

"Colonial Powers"



"This is how Germans colonize.

This is how the English colonize. The French like this, and the Belgians like this."

I can't figure out what the German colonizers are doing with the giraffes. Making a giraffe chorus line? Sounds like something that would work in 1920s Berlin ...

The Belgian one is freaking brutal, and horribly apropos. Though chopping off hands would be even closer.

Edit: perhaps goose-stepping giraffe soldiers?

[Syt]

I can't figure out what the German colonizers are doing with the giraffes. Making a giraffe chorus line? Sounds like something that would work in 1920s Berlin ...

The Belgian one is freaking brutal, and horribly apropos. Though chopping off hands would be even closer.

Edit: perhaps goose-stepping giraffe soldiers?

The German one is all about order. The giraffes are all numbered, the crocodile gets muzzled, and the little sign says "Dumping of debris and snow in this spot is verboten." So I guess goose stepping it is. The Belgian one is indeed quite vicious. It's also the only one that seems to depict a head of state instead of a generic national stereotype.

I can't figure out what's going on with the French boots, though.

[Admiral Yi]

The giraffes are goose stepping.

[Malthus]

I can't figure out what the German colonizers are doing with the giraffes. Making a giraffe chorus line? Sounds like something that would work in 1920s Berlin ...

The Belgian one is freaking brutal, and horribly apropos. Though chopping off hands would be even closer.

Edit: perhaps goose-stepping giraffe soldiers?

The German one is all about order. The giraffes are all numbered, the crocodile gets muzzled, and the little sign says "Dumping of debris and snow in this spot is verboten." So I guess goose stepping it is. The Belgian one is indeed quite vicious. It's also the only one that seems to depict a head of state instead of a generic national stereotype.

I can't figure out what's going on with the French boots, though.

Heh those boots are a puzzler - they look deliberately drawn twice the size they are supposed to be. My guess is that it's a joke on French fashions in clothing. Like one of the English dudes in tweeds.

Makes sense to use a caricature of Leopold, given the colony was his sole property at one point.

[derspiess]

Love the goose-stepping giraffes

[The Brain]

There are no natives left in the German one.