Politics around the world

[alanrotoi]

I know. It was for Israel my comment. They don't want peace too.

[Shoegazing Leo]

Brazil received 2,000 syrians. (and is an important syrian-lebanese comunity)

[JTK]

And yesterday the caricature was:
("Good thing we have such a right idiot like Orban." "We can blame him for all, if everything goes wrong.")

[Usrin]

Absolutely true. Orbán became the useful idiot for the EU which could not cope with the refugee crisis without him. Not surprisingly, NO high-ranking politicians, only journalists and activists complain about the fact that Orbán treats refugees as animals. (Btw, I wish him and his followers the same "welcome" on a day when they have to escape from Hungary...)

Back to the current situation: I'm sure that behind the scenes, all EU leaders including Merkel are happy that Orbán is holding the crowd back. This way they can still show a "humanistic", "democratic" face to the world in contrast to the "cruel", "aggressive", "racist" Hungary. But if they really disagreed with Orbán's policy, they would immediately introduce sanctions or try to expel Hungary from the EU! (I think that would have been really happened if Orbán had let everybody travelling further to Austria/Germany, dumping the problem on those countries...)

And yesterday the caricature was:
("Good thing we have such a right idiot like Orban." "We can blame him for all, if everything goes wrong.")

[JTK]

Yep, that's what the caricature was about and I also think, that behind the curtains European polititians are grateful to have someone to pass the buck to. Nevertheless...

[Usrin]

Politics from Norway: local elections were held on Monday. The outcome is a success for the left-wing in most places. They have got majority in many, previously conservative-led councils, e.g. Bergen and Tromsø, and they have a good chance for governing Oslo. (There they need the votes of the Green Party, officially not committed to any side, so negotiations are going on.)

Sadly enough, the only remaining city with right-wing majority is Stavanger. So for the next 4 years, we can expect:
- worse and more expensive public transport
- less money spent on recreational areas and cycle paths
- privatised social services and kindergartens (luckily it doesn't affect my family now)
- increasing stupid administrative workload for teachers in schools (that one does)
- etc.

The "advantages" for which people supported the conservatives are:
- lower property tax (officially promised, good for the bourgeois)
- improvement of road network instead of public transport (but hey, where the hell can they put more cars in the city?)
- lower road toll (not promised, but people still associate this to Høyre and Frp rather than to left-wing)

The party I voted on (Sosialistisk Venstre) got 4.5% of the votes, and will be in opposition. Their views are positioned somewhere between the real Communist party (Rødt, 1.5%) and the moderate Social Democrats (Arbeiderpartiet, ca. 30%).

[BonzaiJoe]

I'm so appalled by European politics that the prospect of emigrating for ideological reasons like so many German intellectuals in the 1930's seems real (not nearby, but real). And any country would of course be happy to see me cause I'm white as fúck.

Also, not doing anything becomes less and less comfortable every day when I know there's something I could do, instead of writing songs. I could write about these problems. Sacrifice my living hours to make a minuscule difference in the whole thing.

The strangest thing is: Even if we imagine there's no such thing as morals and that foreign nationals are not to be considered humans, Europe is still pursuing a policy that is spelling out its own doom in the relatively near future.

USA is doing the same thing, only with climate change and domestic poverty being the primary threats there. Why? Because the blind logic of money is taking over power due to a complete lack of resistance. And in the world of money, the future only exists if the next annual budget holds. And sometimes, for the next budget to hold, the future must be sacrificed. And for one's own budget to hold, the community has to be sacrificed.

[zaqrack]

I'm so appalled by European politics that the prospect of emigrating for ideological reasons like so many German intellectuals in the 1930's seems real (not nearby, but real). And any country would of course be happy to see me cause I'm white as fúck.

Where to? Let's sync so we can end up closer to eachother

[zaqrack]

The party I voted on (Sosialistisk Venstre) got 4.5% of the votes, and will be in opposition. Their views are positioned somewhere between the real Communist party (Rødt, 1.5%) and the moderate Social Democrats (Arbeiderpartiet, ca. 30%).

How does this work? Do you get full voting rights, or limited to some extent? What are the criterias you have to meet to be able to vote in Norway?

[Usrin]

I'm so appalled by European politics that the prospect of emigrating for ideological reasons like so many German intellectuals in the 1930's seems real (not nearby, but real). And any country would of course be happy to see me cause I'm white as fúck.

Well, in the 1930's there were a lot of better countries to live than Germany. But where is it better today than in Scandinavia? Anywhere you go, there is even less concern about the future of the society and the environment, and short-term economic profit is even more important... The only exceptions are some dictatorships where you would have no freedom and rights in your everyday life. (The relatively most livable one may be Cuba, but it is going to fall now, "thanks" to the US.)

[Usrin]

How does this work? Do you get full voting rights, or limited to some extent? What are the criterias you have to meet to be able to vote in Norway?

For voting in the local elections (town/city/county council), one has to be a resident in Norway for 3 years continuously. But only Norwegian citizens can vote in the general (parliament) elections. Requirements for the citizenship are 8 years continuous residence, language exam and a test on Norwegian history and society. This is my goal - I still have 5 years to improve my Norwegian... (Btw, shorter residence is required and no test is needed for people coming from Denmark/Sweden/Finland/Iceland.)

[zaqrack]

How does this work? Do you get full voting rights, or limited to some extent? What are the criterias you have to meet to be able to vote in Norway?

For voting in the local elections (town/city/county council), one has to be a resident in Norway for 3 years continuously. But only Norwegian citizens can vote in the general (parliament) elections. Requirements for the citizenship are 8 years continuous residence, language exam and a test on Norwegian history and society. This is my goal - I still have 5 years to improve my Norwegian... (Btw, shorter residence is required and no test is needed for people coming from Denmark/Sweden/Finland/Iceland.)

It is very generous to allow voting after three years residence. The citizenship requirements sound tough (e.g. UK only requires 5 years as far I know) - but in my opinion the Norwegian requirements seem fair, considering the status of the country. I assume there is no shortcut for rich foreigners as in many other countries.

[alanrotoi]

About Denmark:

1) What do you think about monarchy and danish monarchy?
2) You're only 5.6 million people sorrounded by powerful and populous countrys such Germany and UK. Is there a stronger patriot feeling or solidarity/unity between danish?
3) How is the feeling and relation today with Norway? (between people, not politics). And Sweden?
4) What's your (danish people) general opinion about Russia, Germany and USA?

I like to make these questions because it's a different kind of information I could have from news or informative sites.

[BonzaiJoe]

About Denmark:

1) What do you think about monarchy and danish monarchy?
2) You're only 5.6 million people sorrounded by powerful and populous countrys such Germany and UK. Is there a stronger patriot feeling or solidarity/unity between danish?
3) How is the feeling and relation today with Norway? (between people, not politics). And Sweden?
4) What's your (danish people) general opinion about Russia, Germany and USA?

I like to make these questions because it's a different kind of information I could have from news or informative sites.

1) I think it's a joke and it should be abolished as soon as possible. But most of the population loves it so that won't happen in my lifetime.

2) Yes, I guess so. I think your question contains some very strong arguments for Denmark to work for closer international cooperation and a stronger EU, but unfortunately there is a strong sentiment of "ain't nobody gonna mess with OUR potato fields" here. "People" (in a very broad sense with very many exceptions) are wary of all kinds of foreigners except perhaps white people from Sweden and Norway (and maybe Britain and USA).
In the city, where I live, national sentiment doesn't mean very much on a conscious level. People here don't actively identify as Danish. However, in the countryside, national sentiment appears to be much more prevalent - perhaps in the absence of local sentiment.

3) We are very friendly with Norway and Norwegians. We make jokes about them and they make jokes about us. We still think of them as a sibling country. Sweden: also very friendly relations, but because of Sweden's progressive politics, some Danes are more wary of Sweden. As your question regarded people not politics, I'd say Swedish and Norwegian people are some of the few people that most of us here actually manage to view as equals. All the jokes and stereotypes only speak of jovial relations.

4) Russia: Public opinion here is against Russia and particularly against Putin, but it's not something we feel very strongly about.

Germany: My grandmother was born in 1917 and died in 2011. Right until the end, she harbored a deep-rooted disdain for Germany. I think everyone from younger generations has accepted that Germany learned a lesson after WWII and terms are friendly. Generally, we see them as responsible, related and profoundly European. They are definitely more foreign than Sweden and Norway, though.

USA: as in many other countries, opinions on USA are divided along the left/right spectrum. Generally, we are very pro-USA, but the left wing is not. When George W. ruled the US, we were less enthusiastic. We always relate better to Democratic presidents. Politically, we are probably the #1 ass-kisser of the USA. It's horrible.

[alanrotoi]

Two weeks ago Argentina launched its second telecommunications satellite made here. It's an event I'm proud because it's not an easy quest, only eight countrys did it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUSvBbgoUik