Thought it might be interesting to have a non-US politics pinboard for interesting events happening around the world !

I'll kick off with something extremely important happening in UK politics; the Labour Party has been found in breach (three breaches) of the Equality Act (details below) - following this, the 'new' Labour party leader, Keir Starmer, has let Jeremy Corbyn (figuratively) hang himself & has suspended him from the party.

Hopefully, with Corbyn & his friends and influence gone, Starmer can clean things up & we can have the Tories, the DUP/SF, and the SNP facing some decent opposition nationally !

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2020/oct/29/uk-politics-live-ehrc-to-publish-report-into-labour-and-antisemitism

Corbyn is one of the worst retail politicians I've ever observed operating at that stage he's been on. He's worse at read-a-room than Hillary Clinton or even Uncle Joe.

About time Corbyn got sacked. I haven't looked into the anti-Semitism issue in detail, but just from the last election alone he should have been deemed unable to lead the party.

I suspect some will view this as another step in purging the left from the party to occupy the centre ground - see also: Long-Bailey.

For me its more of a question of leadership as the "is anti-semitism in the Labour party real" argument has long been lost, with this report just putting a bow on a foregone conclusion. What that leaves is how to respond to it and Starmer is certainly being far more decisive; it feels like leadership direction. If it is indeed a lurch towards the centre but that makes the party more electable then that is the priority. No-one made a substantial difference in perpetual opposition which is all Corbyn ever knew how to be. Having said that, even I could run rings around Boris at PMQs, just give me 10 minutes preparation and it'll be more work than he ever does for it.

The anti-Semitism thing was all fluff.

The media laid it on, however until pushed hard he would equivocate and dither when asked about it. Similar to the guys in the regular NSBM threads that can't just admit that nazis are bad. Even at this remove, when told that his own party has 70 whistleblowers all raising issues, he makes a snide remark rather than a clear condemnation. He's either an anti-semite, or just plain stupid. Either one isn't fit for office, and neither is good for the Labour party in opposition.

He had some good ideas, but having become so prominent and having been so painful, he was a millstone around the neck of the Labour party.

I suspect his calculation was that acknowledging anti-Semitism within Labour's ranks would provide political cover for the thoroughgoing racism of the Tories. His calculation was incorrect, and he should have seen the writing on the wall at some point, but I can understand how he got where he is (which is out on his ass).

But that's what I'm talking about when I say he's a dogshit retail pol.

I guess the only real consistent thing Left-ish parties have is a tendency to infight constantly. They'd actually achieve something if anyone was pragmatic.

Obviously Starmer had to be seen to be responding, acting on the report. That's demonstrating basic leadership on this. What's less obvious is that a civil war with the parties left was in any way necessary or productive. Corbyn may have been a pretty bad failure in the end but he certainly had a positive impact in some areas, galvanising young membership in particular. I know plenty of people reconsidering their membership currently, citing disillusionment with centre ground politics and concerns that effective support for the Palestinian cause is no longer possible. Again, Long-Bailey was the start of that, with someone shooting their mouth off to criticise Israel on a totally unrelated topic being spun into an anti-Semitic conspiracy. That's just the little bubble of people I know of course, but I don't see a lot of longer term benefit to this all.

As I said before it's at least decisive over the dithering and obfuscation of the Corbyn era but I don't think it's great to be focusing inwards when the other side is as incompetent and corrupt as they are. No, they need to deal with it and move on as quickly as possible. Targeting Corbyn really works against that.

Corbyn was sabotaged by the right wing of his party from day 1. Blairites were absolutely not happy with him and would rather lose the election than have him in charge.

I don't think that is much of an excuse. In-fighting like that is pretty standard but the more effective leaders do a better job of rising above it. Corbyn failed that test, juries out on Starmer.

That's exactly the kind of argument that Corbyn (and some of my more left-wing friends, from a personal sample) get into - They can't just condemn anti-semitism, because 'look, jews Israelis murdering babies !'

I know that's not what you're doing, just coincidentally illustrates the problem that Labour have been (very publically) having.

I think the problem is that criticism of Israel in any capacity is very, very frequently presented as antisemetic on its face, when that's not at all the argument being made. I don't follow UK politics because I've got my fuckin' hands full in America over here but from what I've gathered that's what I figured the whole "Corbyn is anti-semitic" thing was about. If it's not then whoops, I've got some reading to do, but speaking generally, it's not anti-semitic to say that Israel is an apartheid state committing atrocities against Palestinians on a daily basis for eons and framing it as such feels like a thought-terminating-cliche from people who support Israel's existence but don't want to grapple with the nasty shit they're doing. If "condemning anti-semitism" necessarily requires full throated support of the Israeli government then yeah, you're gonna perceive a lot of leftists as anti-semitic, but that's a criminally un-nuanced way of looking at it and reeks of bad faith left punching.

Agreed - criticism of Israel is perfectly fine - and can make for some really interesting discussions. Problem is that a certain part of the left here will hide behind 'whataboutIsrael' whenever they're picked up on things like the below. That two different human rights groups in four years have now published quite lengthy criticisms of the Labour party for anti-semitism should say a lot.

Hopefully Starmer (both a former human rights lawyer, and former head of the Crown Prosecution Service) is switched on to the real world enough to clean this stuff out.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/28/antisemitism-open-your-eyes-jeremy-corbyn-labour

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/mar/01/labour-extends-ken-livingstones-suspension-over-antisemitism-claims

Wow at that mural - you don't even need to inspect it closely to see the problem, a glance is enough.

Not only is there a lot of "what about Israel", but there is also people who spuriously complain about it on any other issue. For example, saying that the US police learnt brutality tactics from Mossad or whoever which is a) untrue [although apparently the facts were debatable at one point] and b) doesn't explain why the brutality happens so why mention Israel? Its relatively simple to spin that sort of thing into accusations of spreading anti-Semitic conspiracies. In this manner, people with a bee in their bonnets about Israel and actual Nazis cross over to spread some of the same nonsense.

Its also easy to see how distaste for Israel can lead to anti-Semitic memes or whatever being spread on social media. Both the real racists and the most ardent defenders of Israel want to conflate the state with the religious/ethnic group so individuals really need to be careful with the social media. The same social media the Labour party wasn't properly monitoring until recently. I suspect much of it was well intended, not like that makes any difference though.


Anyways, going from tier 1 to full lockdown here on Thursday. Yay. Tiers of a clown.

Anti-semitic visual tropes are an entirely European creation, and that is the context that made them anti-semitic in the first place. They're not "anti-semitic" because drawing an exaggerated nose is inherently wrong or abusive, they're "anti-semitic" because they were used to enforce racial difference and incite hatred and violence as part of a centuries long, systemic program to institutionalize and maintain an oppressive power relationship between European Christians and Jews.

That context is lacking in Palestinian and Palestinian diaspora art. They're not enforcing racial difference. There is no racial difference to speak of; everyone involved had ancestors who shacked up on the same back forty. They're not using it to uphold an oppressive power relationship, in fact, they're using it to try and break down an oppressive power relationship. Palestinians have no power, which has to be born in mind when assessing Palestinian art. I wish they wouldn't use that imagery—its material history makes it, in the current parlance, fucking cursed—but I understand the artistic purpose and impulse; it is meant to shock because what the Israeli state has done and is doing (at an ever accelerating pace) to the Palestinian people is shocking.

But this isn't and never really has been about the merits or flaws of Palestinian art. This is about Jeremy Corbyn, and bro done stepped all over the old crank with the golf spikes (repeatedly). The leader of a major parliamentary party in a multiracial democracy with its own freighted (and ongoing) history of real antisemitism of the European old school cannot fucking endorse that kind of imagery, regardless of the nuances of its artistic value. To do so shows such a profound lack of political and social judgment as to be borderline disqualifying on its face in a party such as Labour.

I have no doubt that Corbyn was undermined and sabotaged at every turn by the Blairite wing of the party. I have no doubt that this antisemitism kerfluffle is at least as much smoke and mirrors as substance, especially given the right wing capture of the British media. That said, any progressive or leftist that gets in bed with neoliberals has to do so knowing that they will be undermined and sabotaged by their "allies," and come in with a plan to thwart that sabotage. Any progressive or leftist who doesn't do that is a political fucking baby and shouldn't be in a position of leadership.

But let's be real here y'all. Corbyn's real sin was losing.

There's way too many centrists in the Labour party who fondly remember the failure of New-Labour and want to take us back to that. I have mixed views on Starmer but I want to see him "in-action" before I cast judgement.

The whole Labour anti-semitism fiasco was a total spook. The far-right can openly back Boris and Tory MPs can share shit from Tommy Robinson but as soon as Labour bring Israeli human-rights violations into the spotlight or say they're going to recognise Palestine they're the anti-semites. The UK (especially England) is a joke.

Putin has decided to step down. Genuinely did not see this coming.

https://in.news.yahoo.com/amphtml/vladi ... ssion=true

Jesus H Christ. I'd always thought he'd declare himself Czar before bowing out.

Medvedev's turn again, I suppose.

I won't believe Putin is stepping down until I see it.

Meanwhile in Poland...

What's next, witch trials?!

Yeah, Kremlin's denying it. Appears the resignation claim originated with The Sun, so...not exactly the most trustworthy source, to say it lightly.

Shocker to hear about Putin stepping down but as others have pointed out, it's probably fake. The Sun is anything but a trustworthy source.

This is highly likely. They recently signed a law which gives immunity to ex-presidents. It's a known fact that Putin is ill.

From what I can tell, the only media treating it as fact are tabloids. I have yet to see any serious and reliable source claim as fact that Putin's ill--it's all "according to rumors", "according to a British tabloid", "The Sun claims" and the likes from what I see.

Damn, that would've put the icing on the cake with Donald out !

Kremlin are definitely fibbing about him being totally fine, though - the man looks unwell, and those videos of him with the shakes aren't generally a sign of a healthy body.

Definitely seems a bit premature to be saying he's going, though.

Oh, I agree he's not totally fine, but there's a whole bunch of things other than an incurable illness like Parkinson's it could be. Could be a different, curable illness. Could be side-effects from meds for a different illness, too. Could be a sign he's had a minor stroke. Could even be alcohol/drug withdrawal. So seems a bit premature to say he's definitely ill, too.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/14/hong-kong-politicians-face-pro-democracy-exodus

Meanwhile in Hong Kong - government members removed for 'upatriotic conduct' trigger a mass walk-out by pro-democracy members. China states that they're probably ineligible to stand for election again because of their unpatriotic conduct.

The British government has (for a change) owned up to it's responsibilities, and has offered a very easy route to leaving Hong Kong to those that desire it, via two new visa classes - https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/foreign-secretary-statement-on-national-security-legislation-in-hong-kong

The new visa routes open in January 2021 - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/british-nationals-overseas-in-hong-kong

This offers around 3.5 million people the opportunity to get out from under the jackboot.

Facebook has now stopped Australian news sites on Facebook, and stopped anyone from anywhere in the world from sharing them

In a nutshell: Aussie government wanted to get Facebook to pay for the content they use, Facebook said no, Facebook threatened to shut it down, Aussie government dug their heels, Facebook flipped Australia the bird and shut down the sites as of today.

Our government has a real superiority complex and Facebook is a bully. There are no winners here.

Interestingly, this is also impacted arts groups (saw this in the Guardian today, below). One thing that really sticks from the article is "Australian arts and cultural organisations and venues are scrambling to plead their case with Facebook to have their sites restored" - that's your proper future dystopia right there !

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/feb/19/facebook-news-ban-hits-more-than-250-australian-arts-organisations

Even some band pages have been blocked.

Regardless on the stance of having companies pay for news media, the way Facebook is acting is scary

Even Betoota Advocate, a shitposting page like The Onion, got dursted from Facebook. That's been overruled though and they're back now. Fuck Facebook and fuck my deadshit government