Seems like you live in a bubble. Corrupt and incompetent idiots are elected by people, because they like them. E.g. in Slovakia, people have elected as a PM a mafia (crime) boss and as a president his loyal servant. Because most of Slovak people WANT it.
....and for why are Slovaks electing mafia-bosses for presidents: that's the same like when Austrians are (according to latest pools) pro Neo-Nazis, Holocaust- and COVID-deniers, flat-Earthers etc. - and that despite the well-proven fact that the political parties in question are stumbling from one corruption-affair into another (indeed, usually corruption-espionage-affairs, where most of trails are leading straigh to Pudding).
Doesn't mean I must 'like' it or keep silent about such idiocies.
Torally agree. I know a lot or people, apparently educated (University degree), living in Europe, America or Canada, who say on Facebook that the mainstream media is censored, and the government is trying to control us, and the truth is the one spread by Russia :)) They are pretty convinced no matter how stupid the ideas would be. The book of Tom Nichols "The death of expertise" perfectly depicts that. We are here. So, what can we do now?
It's infuriating. Evidence of Russians paying politicians pops up, and they won't even release the names because it's "classified". Classified? Inconvenient to the government official in question, you mean ..
What could be the explanation? Is the real life so bad in Austria to justify this behaviour? Because I don't see that here. We have been through harsher times. But people seem happy to put all these extremists and deniers in power just because "we have seen the rest and we want something different". Although this different is sometimes beyond logic or even stupid, and any sane person could foresee that nothing good might come out if it. It looks to me like we are gambling our future in the worst moment. Disinformation campaigns of Russia and China for sure have a role, indeed. But is it only that?
Just next time you should start your laments with voters (i.e. us) first: Oh, how corrupt, incompetent and cowardly idiots we are that we elect such corrupt, incompetent and cowardly idiot politicians.
1) Corruption collects money. Money are used to purchase media. The media are used to saturate the infosphere to the extent that no person outside of the establishment is recognizable by the population. And an unrecognizable person cannot win the elections.
2) If an outsider seems to grow famous and attempts to threaten the establishment they quickly end up in a car accident or in jail (at lest in xUSSR, is it any different elsewhere?).
3) Any "revolutions", whether our Maidans or Trump's taking on the Capitol, just swap the opposition with the ruling party without interrupting the corrupt establishment. And how can they interrupt the establishment when ordinary people (the crowd of the revolutionists) are just ordinary people, not a stable organization?
4) A true revolution which is able to destroy an old establishment and create a new one is organized by a "state within the state" - a nation-wide movement that spreads through the entire society and is well-known without any mass-media. That may be a counter-communist grass-roots society or a religion. But they should be there for years and should be helping their neighbors in their daily lives by organizing their volunteer social services in parallel to those by the government. Only then people would follow the "good guys" they know in person instead of the talking heads on the TV.
A successful revolution is almost always executed by the urbanized class, not the workers or the rich. This middle class is the one with money, education and the means to oust the old establishment.
Heck, even in Russia this class of people ousted the Czar, not the communists (the latter just staged a coup and got the power for a few decades).
Back in Russia the democrats who ousted Czars were unable to organize themselves after they got the power. Which led to paralysis, social unrest and the success of Lenin's uprising. And Lenin was able to keep his forces organized, and they already had a country-wide hierarchical movement with enough structure to replace the government. This is how they first started the civil war, then survived it and kept power for 70 years. I believe something similar happens in Islamic countries.
Contrariwise, both Ukrainian Maidans were fueled by the middle class but they did not have any organization behind them thus as soon as they defeated the ruling party the people could not decide on anything and the political opposition took power. The trouble is that the opposition was about as corrupt as the government, thus the country did not change much. Compare that to Poland and Baltic states in 1990 when they had enough will and enough people to fire everybody related to the communists and build their countries anew.
The case of the "October revolution" (which was in reality a coup) was the exception, not the rule, where "professional revolutionaries" undermined a democratic revolution (February revolution). Hence my "almost always" statement.
As Henry Kissinger mentioned in one of his books, the French revolution (and the Terrorism after that) is the most similar case to the revolutions of 1917 (and the subsequent terrorism). He put the blame on Rousseau and his theory of absolute freedom which, taken to its logical extreme, means that no order or law is necessary (and terrorism/violence follows)
I am not sure they fired everybody. In Romania they didn't. And I don't think they literally should have. Somehow they put the country on the right path. We were also lucky. In the 90's just after communism people were more determined to go one way. Ukraine had its chance with the Orange revolution and Yuscenko. I don't know what happened, it all derailed; maybe it was Russia's interference as always.
There are a lot of paradoxes from this point of view. In Slovakia at least their are consistent anti-EU in all polls. In Hungary the EU and European values are supported by a larger majority than in other Eastern European countries, but they keep voting for Orban...
In Hungary, there is literally no organized party independent of Orban. There is no other party apart from his that has ever governed AND still exists above the threshold, he controls the budget for all of them, and has his moles in apparently each and every one. State institutions, all critical service providers, rural municipalities, the biggest banks and countless other employers are in his pocket, too. You may take actual risks by voting against him, and there's no one you can vote for that could challenge him anyhow anyway.
Thank you so very much for your foreword. Yes, they will dump "us" anytime. And Thank you for being loud. I do the same in my very small way. Thank you for looking through these bastards.
100% True in RuSSia nowdays, not relevant even for corrupted democraties (you can win without cheating elections here. Just use proper marketing tools and offer whatever People want to hear, even better tell them what they do need and offer solution working or not doesnt matter)
Not surprised or shocked by your comments on the subject, more like water off a duck's back (quack, quack). Then again just when I think Mr. Cooper has reach the far side, I read the morning news and am enlightened.
TOM: well the world would not be in this effervescent crap if W. duh'BUSH didn't decide that he TOTALLY had to invade Iraq because of their Weapons of Masquerade Disruption. Geee....that only totally opened the door for PUTIN'potatoe to invade Georgia and Ukraine...repeatedly.
I find interesting the recent spate of EW-equipped tanks. Obviously, EW is very important for Russians.
My guess is that we'll soon see anti-EW drones, with the capability of home-on-jam running ahead of the main body of the attackers (a quadcopter HARM, if you wish)
Seems like you live in a bubble. Corrupt and incompetent idiots are elected by people, because they like them. E.g. in Slovakia, people have elected as a PM a mafia (crime) boss and as a president his loyal servant. Because most of Slovak people WANT it.
....in an echo-chamber, not only in a bubble....
....and for why are Slovaks electing mafia-bosses for presidents: that's the same like when Austrians are (according to latest pools) pro Neo-Nazis, Holocaust- and COVID-deniers, flat-Earthers etc. - and that despite the well-proven fact that the political parties in question are stumbling from one corruption-affair into another (indeed, usually corruption-espionage-affairs, where most of trails are leading straigh to Pudding).
Doesn't mean I must 'like' it or keep silent about such idiocies.
Torally agree. I know a lot or people, apparently educated (University degree), living in Europe, America or Canada, who say on Facebook that the mainstream media is censored, and the government is trying to control us, and the truth is the one spread by Russia :)) They are pretty convinced no matter how stupid the ideas would be. The book of Tom Nichols "The death of expertise" perfectly depicts that. We are here. So, what can we do now?
It's infuriating. Evidence of Russians paying politicians pops up, and they won't even release the names because it's "classified". Classified? Inconvenient to the government official in question, you mean ..
What could be the explanation? Is the real life so bad in Austria to justify this behaviour? Because I don't see that here. We have been through harsher times. But people seem happy to put all these extremists and deniers in power just because "we have seen the rest and we want something different". Although this different is sometimes beyond logic or even stupid, and any sane person could foresee that nothing good might come out if it. It looks to me like we are gambling our future in the worst moment. Disinformation campaigns of Russia and China for sure have a role, indeed. But is it only that?
Just next time you should start your laments with voters (i.e. us) first: Oh, how corrupt, incompetent and cowardly idiots we are that we elect such corrupt, incompetent and cowardly idiot politicians.
I believe the case is as follows:
1) Corruption collects money. Money are used to purchase media. The media are used to saturate the infosphere to the extent that no person outside of the establishment is recognizable by the population. And an unrecognizable person cannot win the elections.
2) If an outsider seems to grow famous and attempts to threaten the establishment they quickly end up in a car accident or in jail (at lest in xUSSR, is it any different elsewhere?).
3) Any "revolutions", whether our Maidans or Trump's taking on the Capitol, just swap the opposition with the ruling party without interrupting the corrupt establishment. And how can they interrupt the establishment when ordinary people (the crowd of the revolutionists) are just ordinary people, not a stable organization?
4) A true revolution which is able to destroy an old establishment and create a new one is organized by a "state within the state" - a nation-wide movement that spreads through the entire society and is well-known without any mass-media. That may be a counter-communist grass-roots society or a religion. But they should be there for years and should be helping their neighbors in their daily lives by organizing their volunteer social services in parallel to those by the government. Only then people would follow the "good guys" they know in person instead of the talking heads on the TV.
About the (4)th point:
A successful revolution is almost always executed by the urbanized class, not the workers or the rich. This middle class is the one with money, education and the means to oust the old establishment.
Heck, even in Russia this class of people ousted the Czar, not the communists (the latter just staged a coup and got the power for a few decades).
Back in Russia the democrats who ousted Czars were unable to organize themselves after they got the power. Which led to paralysis, social unrest and the success of Lenin's uprising. And Lenin was able to keep his forces organized, and they already had a country-wide hierarchical movement with enough structure to replace the government. This is how they first started the civil war, then survived it and kept power for 70 years. I believe something similar happens in Islamic countries.
Contrariwise, both Ukrainian Maidans were fueled by the middle class but they did not have any organization behind them thus as soon as they defeated the ruling party the people could not decide on anything and the political opposition took power. The trouble is that the opposition was about as corrupt as the government, thus the country did not change much. Compare that to Poland and Baltic states in 1990 when they had enough will and enough people to fire everybody related to the communists and build their countries anew.
The case of the "October revolution" (which was in reality a coup) was the exception, not the rule, where "professional revolutionaries" undermined a democratic revolution (February revolution). Hence my "almost always" statement.
As Henry Kissinger mentioned in one of his books, the French revolution (and the Terrorism after that) is the most similar case to the revolutions of 1917 (and the subsequent terrorism). He put the blame on Rousseau and his theory of absolute freedom which, taken to its logical extreme, means that no order or law is necessary (and terrorism/violence follows)
I am not sure they fired everybody. In Romania they didn't. And I don't think they literally should have. Somehow they put the country on the right path. We were also lucky. In the 90's just after communism people were more determined to go one way. Ukraine had its chance with the Orange revolution and Yuscenko. I don't know what happened, it all derailed; maybe it was Russia's interference as always.
Yushchenko and Tymoshenko did not agree about their roles. Later Yushchenko allied with Yanukovych.
There are a lot of paradoxes from this point of view. In Slovakia at least their are consistent anti-EU in all polls. In Hungary the EU and European values are supported by a larger majority than in other Eastern European countries, but they keep voting for Orban...
In Hungary, there is literally no organized party independent of Orban. There is no other party apart from his that has ever governed AND still exists above the threshold, he controls the budget for all of them, and has his moles in apparently each and every one. State institutions, all critical service providers, rural municipalities, the biggest banks and countless other employers are in his pocket, too. You may take actual risks by voting against him, and there's no one you can vote for that could challenge him anyhow anyway.
The picture of front lines in Zaporizhzhia got April 1, 2023 instead of 2024
Don's going to correct that, when up again (it's early morning in the eastern USA).
Thank you so very much for your foreword. Yes, they will dump "us" anytime. And Thank you for being loud. I do the same in my very small way. Thank you for looking through these bastards.
Thank you, Tom. Thank you, Don. The way the West abandoned the Afghans, Syrians and Iraqis was very painful.
In elections, the winner is not the one for whom the majority of voters voted, but the one who controls the counting of their votes.
100% True in RuSSia nowdays, not relevant even for corrupted democraties (you can win without cheating elections here. Just use proper marketing tools and offer whatever People want to hear, even better tell them what they do need and offer solution working or not doesnt matter)
2 last elections in Slovakia wins the side which didn't control counting.
Eastern wisdom - if something looks obvious, it means it is not true.
Not surprised or shocked by your comments on the subject, more like water off a duck's back (quack, quack). Then again just when I think Mr. Cooper has reach the far side, I read the morning news and am enlightened.
Hi Don, Thanks for the first update . . .
Thank you Don for this good report
Bogdanovka is in Russian control
Don: the video clip (https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1775960321510764853) sure as hell looks like an overflight of 4 SU-25s....or am I wrong????
TOM: well the world would not be in this effervescent crap if W. duh'BUSH didn't decide that he TOTALLY had to invade Iraq because of their Weapons of Masquerade Disruption. Geee....that only totally opened the door for PUTIN'potatoe to invade Georgia and Ukraine...repeatedly.
I find interesting the recent spate of EW-equipped tanks. Obviously, EW is very important for Russians.
My guess is that we'll soon see anti-EW drones, with the capability of home-on-jam running ahead of the main body of the attackers (a quadcopter HARM, if you wish)
This sounds like an orwellian kind if control :(