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Soph0571
Soph0571's Journal
Soph0571's Journal
August 21, 2018
[link:https://www.mediaite.com/online/ex-nsa-chief-hayden-buries-trump-over-report-he-may-deny-briefings-to-obama-thats-almost-unspeakable/|
Petty fucking man child....
Ex-NSA Chief Hayden Buries Trump Over Report He May Deny Briefings to Obama: That's 'Almost..
...Unspeakable’
Speaking with Wolf Blitzer on The Situation Room Monday, the ex-intelligence official tore into the idea that Trump would actually consider such a move against Obama.
“It would be absolutely unprecedented,” Hayden said. “To preserve the dignity of the office, of the men who have served in it, you do update former presidents. Number one, as a practical matter, you kind of want to keep them on your side. You want them to feel part of governance, so when they may be asked a question — the best former presidents stay quiet — but if they are asked a question, can be broadly supportive.
“But again, that’s so violating of a norm of the peaceful transfer of power in the United States. It’s an almost unspeakable proposal.”
“It would be absolutely unprecedented,” Hayden said. “To preserve the dignity of the office, of the men who have served in it, you do update former presidents. Number one, as a practical matter, you kind of want to keep them on your side. You want them to feel part of governance, so when they may be asked a question — the best former presidents stay quiet — but if they are asked a question, can be broadly supportive.
“But again, that’s so violating of a norm of the peaceful transfer of power in the United States. It’s an almost unspeakable proposal.”
[link:https://www.mediaite.com/online/ex-nsa-chief-hayden-buries-trump-over-report-he-may-deny-briefings-to-obama-thats-almost-unspeakable/|
Petty fucking man child....
August 20, 2018
***August Photography Competition*** - FINAL ROUND NOW OPEN FOR VOTING
Final round open and available for voting here:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211021797
Cheers
Soph x
August 20, 2018
***August Photography Competition*** Final Round - VOTES NOW CLOSED
It has been a great contest with many magnificent and unusual entries. I have taken the top three scored entries from each submission thread to provide you with a stonkingly marvellous selection for the final vote.
The theme is August is Abstract
The vote will close on THURSDAY 24TH AUGUST 1700 GMT and I will post the results on Friday
I would like to take a minute to thank heartily all those who took the time to enter my first ever competition 
And on that note:
tour Eiffel
In the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir
Graffiti past its Prime
Abstract Green
Doggie Doggie Prancing Horse
Backlit. Montreal Subway
August 19, 2018
America is shut for business. Nationalism, isolationism, xenophobia and protectionism is the name of the game. Nativism is all the rage. Nation hood and national identity are taking centre stage after 50 years of relative globalisation and it is not a good look. Here in the UK the Prime Minister keeps saying we are open for business, which is ironic for a nation that is about to slam shut its borders, and I am very sure that if we did not have an ocean between us and everyone else one of our many right wing wankers would right now be demanding we build a wall to keep the ‘other’ out.
It seems to me that across the west we are currently seeking to redefine ourselves, however the obsession with nationalism and national identity from some (mostly white, mostly left behind communities), being driven by a populist narrative, is more than a little problematic. We against them may be considered understandable by some but as a narrative it teaches you to hate people you have never met. It certainly teaches you to externalise why your life has not gone to the plans you dreamed about when young. Pay sucks? Blame the immigrant. Feel scared? Blame the Muslim. Feel powerless? Blame the minority. Those who cling to national identity over rationality tend to need to look outside their own community for someone to blame for everything that sucks, but they will also vote for the nationalist sabre rattler over and above looking at what is really in their economic best interest, based on a false narrative that somehow, we are better than everyone else. Assertions of nationalism fundamentally stand in the way of the realisation of a ‘nationhood of man’. It excludes rather than includes people.
Populist strong men (and women) are playing on the fears and anger of the ‘left behind’ and the use of nationalism as a tool of control of the masses essentially creates a dichotomy between ancient feelings of communal loyalty and our modem democratic systems of popular sovereignty - of the people and for the people. Nationalism in its most benign form may undeniably expose in us a fundamental part of human nature - a hankering for self-determination and justice (but does not every human wish for this irrespective of where they come from?)– and which is why popular sovereignty is probably the best form of governance of our age. However, when this is inevitably exploited by cynical nasty fuckers what is benign can too often in the 21st century turn into something with dark tribal undercurrents and taken to extremes we see the banning of people from nation states because of their religion or ethnicity and taken one step further, as we have seen all too often, ethnic cleansing and genocide.
The question today is how much we should let them get away with? Bad behaviour, racist behaviour and protectionist behaviour all excused and condoned because of some arbitrary sense of identity based on a loyalty to a border, to a language, to a race? Build that wall, Ban that Muslim. Stop free movement. Looking at it in the context of what is happening today I am unsure if nationalism, even in its most benign from should ever be seen as a force for good. I am unsure that we can justify some the cohesive benefits that may come from national identity with the fact that populist leaders exploit those natural feelings of communal identity into something horrible. If you look at Trump and you look at Brexit it is not overstating the case to say that the concept of nationalism is essentially ethically empty. It in no way feeds into moral choices, individual values or the concept of self-identity. It is a canard. Nation states are arbitrary units. There is no divine right to exist. Nations disappear, but the people who populated that nation remain.
In 1941 there were only 11 democracies left in the world. Are we heading there again? It is a shame that people allow nationalist rhetoric to distort their better selves. Nations are only as good as the people that govern them. And so, we enter an age when history repeats itself. Again.
Just sayin’
Nationalism, isolationism, xenophobia, protectionism. We have been here before. It never ends well.
America is shut for business. Nationalism, isolationism, xenophobia and protectionism is the name of the game. Nativism is all the rage. Nation hood and national identity are taking centre stage after 50 years of relative globalisation and it is not a good look. Here in the UK the Prime Minister keeps saying we are open for business, which is ironic for a nation that is about to slam shut its borders, and I am very sure that if we did not have an ocean between us and everyone else one of our many right wing wankers would right now be demanding we build a wall to keep the ‘other’ out.
It seems to me that across the west we are currently seeking to redefine ourselves, however the obsession with nationalism and national identity from some (mostly white, mostly left behind communities), being driven by a populist narrative, is more than a little problematic. We against them may be considered understandable by some but as a narrative it teaches you to hate people you have never met. It certainly teaches you to externalise why your life has not gone to the plans you dreamed about when young. Pay sucks? Blame the immigrant. Feel scared? Blame the Muslim. Feel powerless? Blame the minority. Those who cling to national identity over rationality tend to need to look outside their own community for someone to blame for everything that sucks, but they will also vote for the nationalist sabre rattler over and above looking at what is really in their economic best interest, based on a false narrative that somehow, we are better than everyone else. Assertions of nationalism fundamentally stand in the way of the realisation of a ‘nationhood of man’. It excludes rather than includes people.
Populist strong men (and women) are playing on the fears and anger of the ‘left behind’ and the use of nationalism as a tool of control of the masses essentially creates a dichotomy between ancient feelings of communal loyalty and our modem democratic systems of popular sovereignty - of the people and for the people. Nationalism in its most benign form may undeniably expose in us a fundamental part of human nature - a hankering for self-determination and justice (but does not every human wish for this irrespective of where they come from?)– and which is why popular sovereignty is probably the best form of governance of our age. However, when this is inevitably exploited by cynical nasty fuckers what is benign can too often in the 21st century turn into something with dark tribal undercurrents and taken to extremes we see the banning of people from nation states because of their religion or ethnicity and taken one step further, as we have seen all too often, ethnic cleansing and genocide.
The question today is how much we should let them get away with? Bad behaviour, racist behaviour and protectionist behaviour all excused and condoned because of some arbitrary sense of identity based on a loyalty to a border, to a language, to a race? Build that wall, Ban that Muslim. Stop free movement. Looking at it in the context of what is happening today I am unsure if nationalism, even in its most benign from should ever be seen as a force for good. I am unsure that we can justify some the cohesive benefits that may come from national identity with the fact that populist leaders exploit those natural feelings of communal identity into something horrible. If you look at Trump and you look at Brexit it is not overstating the case to say that the concept of nationalism is essentially ethically empty. It in no way feeds into moral choices, individual values or the concept of self-identity. It is a canard. Nation states are arbitrary units. There is no divine right to exist. Nations disappear, but the people who populated that nation remain.
In 1941 there were only 11 democracies left in the world. Are we heading there again? It is a shame that people allow nationalist rhetoric to distort their better selves. Nations are only as good as the people that govern them. And so, we enter an age when history repeats itself. Again.
Just sayin’
August 19, 2018
Fundamentalists of all stripes claim that they want to take us back to a time, when things were simpler and purer than they are today. In reality however, fundamentalism is a very modern phenomenon. It is a marketing tool for religious control. A simple message, simply translated. We are right. They are wrong. Our path is the only path. If you do not follow our path then you are damned.
In reality, there are not that many fundamentalists out there. Be they Christian, Muslim or Jew, they are few in number. But they are loud. Very, very loud and they drown out the voices of the moderate and the reasoned. They infiltrate everywhere with their easy to digest factualism. Their belief in the literal, inherent and historical absolutism of religious text does not allow for dissent, discussion, debate. It does not allow layers of understanding, it does not allow for symbolism, allegories, myths and interpretation. It leads to a lack of nuance and quite frankly is rather insulting to the wider community. The idea that we cannot understand the symbolism at the heart of faith says more about the fundamentalists and their wish to keep people under educated than is does about our ability to grasp nuance.
A ‘pure’ masculinity is at the heart of all fundamentalism. The patriarchal structure where women are seen as different and unequal and the lgbt community is treated as sinners, demonstrates that this rise in fundamentalism is not about faith but control. Control of the community, control of action and control of thought. This is present in all fundamentalist communities irrespective of faith.
So, is fundamentalism undermining faith? I think so. I fear what may happen to the religious majority whose voice is taken away by the loud mouth faith hi-jacking fundamentalist minority. It is no wonder that people are walking away from faith.
Fundamentalism undermining faith...
Fundamentalists of all stripes claim that they want to take us back to a time, when things were simpler and purer than they are today. In reality however, fundamentalism is a very modern phenomenon. It is a marketing tool for religious control. A simple message, simply translated. We are right. They are wrong. Our path is the only path. If you do not follow our path then you are damned.
In reality, there are not that many fundamentalists out there. Be they Christian, Muslim or Jew, they are few in number. But they are loud. Very, very loud and they drown out the voices of the moderate and the reasoned. They infiltrate everywhere with their easy to digest factualism. Their belief in the literal, inherent and historical absolutism of religious text does not allow for dissent, discussion, debate. It does not allow layers of understanding, it does not allow for symbolism, allegories, myths and interpretation. It leads to a lack of nuance and quite frankly is rather insulting to the wider community. The idea that we cannot understand the symbolism at the heart of faith says more about the fundamentalists and their wish to keep people under educated than is does about our ability to grasp nuance.
A ‘pure’ masculinity is at the heart of all fundamentalism. The patriarchal structure where women are seen as different and unequal and the lgbt community is treated as sinners, demonstrates that this rise in fundamentalism is not about faith but control. Control of the community, control of action and control of thought. This is present in all fundamentalist communities irrespective of faith.
So, is fundamentalism undermining faith? I think so. I fear what may happen to the religious majority whose voice is taken away by the loud mouth faith hi-jacking fundamentalist minority. It is no wonder that people are walking away from faith.
August 19, 2018
Not sure that this needs additional commentary?!?!?!
Complicit. Every. Single. One. Of. Them.
Not sure that this needs additional commentary?!?!?!
August 19, 2018
I am unsure Trump has ever managed to read a book... which makes this even more impressive Hitler like behaviour - he is behaving like a despotic tyrant instinctively....
An instinctive Nazi?
I am unsure Trump has ever managed to read a book... which makes this even more impressive Hitler like behaviour - he is behaving like a despotic tyrant instinctively....
August 19, 2018
[link:https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/19/us-democrats-are-struggling-to-make-sense-of-a-socialist-surge|
Interesting article that raises some very interesting issues. Worth a full read
US Democrats are struggling to make sense of a socialist surge
The most prominent among them is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who won an important New York Democratic party primary election, beating an established incumbent in the Bronx-Queens. This posits the question that centrist predecessors least like to dwell on: if we were so great, why are we losing out to the old hard left and Trump? And it poses an urgent tactical question for the midterms and beyond as to how far the party machinery should aid candidates running on platforms that differ from the leadership’s. A leading figure on Hillary Clinton’s campaign says it boils down to “a devil’s pact with a lot of small print. Does the party machine help candidates who don’t share our politics over the line in tight races to get rid of a greater threat? Or do we end up driving the working-class voters we lost even further away?”
[link:https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/19/us-democrats-are-struggling-to-make-sense-of-a-socialist-surge|
Interesting article that raises some very interesting issues. Worth a full read
August 19, 2018
[link:https://splinternews.com/white-gop-lawmaker-is-perfectly-ok-with-trump-s-allege-1828440694|
Just one racist defending another racist....
White GOP Lawmaker Is Perfectly OK with Trump's (Alleged) Past Use of the N-Word
Discussing former Trump aide Omarosa Manigault-Newman’s new tell-all book Unhinged, CNN New Day anchor Victor Blackwell asked Williams if it would matter to the state senator if Manigault-Newman’s allegations that Trump repeatedly used the N-word while filming The Apprentice turned out to be true.
“Yes, it would matter,” Williams, a self-described “family guy,” began. So far, so good. “It would matter as a individual; it would not necessarily matter to me as the person that is running our country.”
Wait, what?
“He has his personal beliefs, his personal ideas. But I truly believe he is able to separate those from how he is running the country,” Williams explained.
Debating the finer points of this ridiculous answer, Williams argued that since Trump “did not use the N-word as the office of the president,” everything was just fine.
But the Georgia state senator said he’d certainly draw the line if Trump said it now, you know, on television. “Now, if he was president, and he goes on TV and uses the N-word, yes, I would have a major problem with that. But he did it before he was president.” Oh.
“Yes, it would matter,” Williams, a self-described “family guy,” began. So far, so good. “It would matter as a individual; it would not necessarily matter to me as the person that is running our country.”
Wait, what?
“He has his personal beliefs, his personal ideas. But I truly believe he is able to separate those from how he is running the country,” Williams explained.
Debating the finer points of this ridiculous answer, Williams argued that since Trump “did not use the N-word as the office of the president,” everything was just fine.
But the Georgia state senator said he’d certainly draw the line if Trump said it now, you know, on television. “Now, if he was president, and he goes on TV and uses the N-word, yes, I would have a major problem with that. But he did it before he was president.” Oh.
[link:https://splinternews.com/white-gop-lawmaker-is-perfectly-ok-with-trump-s-allege-1828440694|
Just one racist defending another racist....
August 19, 2018
I very rarely do nature but this bird came right up to me when we were on a picnic a couple of weekends ago and I thought it pretty
Bird
I very rarely do nature but this bird came right up to me when we were on a picnic a couple of weekends ago and I thought it pretty
Profile Information
Gender: FemaleHometown: UK
Home country: UK
Current location: UK
Member since: Fri Oct 13, 2017, 06:59 PM
Number of posts: 9,685
