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#51

Off the Record / Re: Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-1...

Last post by Tamas - August 10, 2022, 09:21:35 AM

Well looks like a bunch of vatniks are running away from Crimea after Ukraine hit their base this morning...

The Telegraphy's short video came up for this on Youtube. One Russian lady was crying she is so sad to leave it was so nice like they were home.

M.F.ers were holidaying pretty much next door to a war started by their country. Disgusting.

#52

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by Tamas - August 10, 2022, 09:17:18 AM

Right but I think you're reading the tea leaves wrong. I don't think working class voters care about redistributive projects as much as they cared about a sense that the government was going to make sure they had a job, through control of national industries and essentially guaranteed positions. I think a lefty politician, with a fancy education, probably read that as broad support for socialism. The workers were likely much more concerned with the meat and potato issue of their job and their livelihood.

Most people who care about the Marxist parts of socialism are the highly educated, and the wealthy (who generally oppose it as a class), the proletariats generally care about the kitchen table issues. Labour has frankly remained decently leftist, albeit not as leftist as it once was, but it seems fairly separated from many of the expressed concerns of its historical working class base--and prone to dismissing them entirely when they conflict with how the educated elite who run the party want things to be.

That's a good summary of the Democrats probably but not the Labour party, I feel.

#53

Off the Record / Re: Out And About.

Last post by Syt - August 10, 2022, 09:16:15 AM

Does it smell as bad as the ones in the Viennese metro around, say, 2012? 

Considering the location, surprisingly no. There's areas around Schwedenplatz (the main "Bermuda triangle" of nightlife) that are pretty bad, though. Overall it's better than it used to be, however.

#54

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by OttoVonBismarck - August 10, 2022, 09:06:25 AM

Right but I think you're reading the tea leaves wrong. I don't think working class voters care about redistributive projects as much as they cared about a sense that the government was going to make sure they had a job, through control of national industries and essentially guaranteed positions. I think a lefty politician, with a fancy education, probably read that as broad support for socialism. The workers were likely much more concerned with the meat and potato issue of their job and their livelihood.

Most people who care about the Marxist parts of socialism are the highly educated, and the wealthy (who generally oppose it as a class), the proletariats generally care about the kitchen table issues. Labour has frankly remained decently leftist, albeit not as leftist as it once was, but it seems fairly separated from many of the expressed concerns of its historical working class base--and prone to dismissing them entirely when they conflict with how the educated elite who run the party want things to be.

#55

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by The Larch - August 10, 2022, 08:44:45 AM

Weirdly Janan Ganesh wrote about this today and I think he's probably broadly right:

So what's the point? That Labour should stop being even remotely left wing and move into being a permanently center party?

I guess the question really is: where is Britain. I've been reading my whole life that the "natural" government in Britain is Tory, if that is actually true (and I don't know that I fully believe it, but a lot of Brits seem to), is the country really the right ground for a true leftist party?

In my mind the core value of traditional Labour, when it had its peak of success, wasn't its socialist behaviors (and there were many), I think it was more its nationalist and protectionist behaviors. I think when Labour became the party that could credibly be seen as globalist and anti-British even in some sense, it started to operate at a divergent set of values from its working-class base. Labour's leadership seems crafted for educated lefties less so than for the people who sweat for a living--the traditional base of the party.

What do you consider is traditional Labour's peak of success is? Harold Wilson? In my mind it'd be Atlee's post war government, which was extremely socialist-y, and basically the creator of today's British welfare state.

#56

Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...

Last post by OttoVonBismarck - August 10, 2022, 08:35:17 AM

I'm highly skeptical Trump faces serious penalty. Frankly, this situation probably based on the limited amount we know, isn't terribly different from the HRC email situation--mishandling of executive documents, some of which are classified. The reason this involves an FBI raid and search warrant and the HRC email investigation did not is because HRC actually complied with subpoenas and turned over evidence voluntarily. DOJ likely concluded Trump would do the exact opposite--in fact Trump asserted a legal theory that he was immune forever and all times, on all topics, from any government subpoena or oversight of any kind by virtue of being elected President. With that sort of footing it seems like a more adversarial data collection tool like a search warrant becomes important.

The issue with making Trump feel any legal pain for this is the same as it was for HRC (whom many wanted to see punished), the statutes involved generally have not been prosecuted for pro forma / procedural fuck ups, they have generally only be used for prosecution when there is clear criminal intent. While I think Comey's October surprise violated the norms of democracy and good sense, I agreed with his earlier conclusion on the case--that while HRC acted carelessly and recklessly with government documents, she did not have criminal intent, which has typically been a standard for prosecution in such cases.

#57

Off the Record / Re: The China Thread

Last post by OttoVonBismarck - August 10, 2022, 08:30:42 AM

Right, the goal of steps we're taking now should be to shore up domestic chip production for critical national defense and infrastructure industries. We should also take a bit of a global approach to trying to purchase and invest in chip production in non-Chinese/Taiwanese sources as much as possible. The perfect can often be the enemy of the good, we cannot insulate ourselves from the risks of Chinese domination of the chip market in case of a Taiwanese invasion, but that does not mean we should not even attempt to alleviate the problem. I'd note that something to remember is unless Taiwan were to capitulate bloodlessly, it is highly likely much of TMSC's assets would be damaged or destroyed in an all out war, and chip fabs don't get repaired in a few weeks or even a few months, they take years to get built.

This is yet another glaring fault of entrusting things of high national concern to the sole vagaries of the free market, there are probably good economic efficiency reasons so much of the world's chip manufacturing happens in Taiwan. But it is not good "industrial policy" (which the United States has lacked for over 40 years.)

#58

Off the Record / Re: The China Thread

Last post by DGuller - August 10, 2022, 08:17:43 AM

I agree.  Taiwan is going to be important for the foreseeable future in the industry no matter what, it's just a difference between a massively disruptive event and a catastrophic shortage.

#59

Off the Record / Re: Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-1...

Last post by jimmy olsen - August 10, 2022, 08:00:29 AM

https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1557305676967313408

"A Ukrainian government official told The Washington Post on Wednesday that an airfield explosion in occupied Crimea was the work of Ukrainian special forces

#60

Off the Record / Re: Out And About.

Last post by Duque de Bragança - August 10, 2022, 07:48:57 AM

There's not many functional phone booths in Vienna any more, but one of the more interesting ones is around the corner from me, looking like something from a post-human/post-apocalyptic future:

Does it smell as bad as the ones in the Viennese metro around, say, 2012? 

Duque, I think the green stain running out of the booth tells us all we need to know.

Rhetorical question for the eagle-eyed viewers? 
It's an open air phone booth remember, unlike those in the Viennese U-Bahn/tube.