CONTEXTVAL

Most of Corbyn’s five objections are to the ‘political declaration’ - which is legally not necessarily enforceable

They are also designed to be passed - unlike the six tests

I’m annoyed that people will be angry at him forever for not backing a second vote. I used to be very against a second vote, but not sure any more

‘But before long, the Serb’s stance was changing. “Dodik has said ... publicly that when he used moderate, constructive speech, nobody supported him, that he switched because in order to gain votes, you have to use ethnic, nationalist rhetoric,” Inzko told me. “In a way, he was right: Since then, he has won every election.”’

...

‘It’s no surprise, then, that Dodik is characterized in the West as pro-Russian, a label he flaunts. In March, he welcomed the Night Wolves, a pro-Kremlin biker group, to Bosnia, and in October even called for Republika Srpska to recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea.’

He also wants independence for Republika Srpska

A decent point made in this article: that formalising ethnicity so much in the Dayton accords has allowed divisive rhetoric to flourish in Bosnia since the war

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/01/serb-president-dodik-bosnia/579199/

Saying there’ll be no election next year. Haha

‘The gilets jaunes movement is unlike any other seen in postwar France because it sprang up online without a leader, trade union or party behind it. Along the barricades there is a broad mix of people, some apolitical, some on the left who feared nationalism, some who had voted for the nationalist Le Pen, some environmentalists. Many were against the European Union, feeling it enshrined rampant capitalism.’

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/07/macrons-arrogance-unites-us-on-the-barricades-with-frances-gilets-jaunes?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Even though he is a horrible Blairite

https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/a22696255/chuka-umunna-second-referendum-brexit/

‘When Umunna talks, it’s hard not to feel that he is mentally preparing a future manifesto. He believes that the stance each individual MP takes on Brexit will come to be as significant as where you stood on the Iraq War: “If we hit economic choppy waters in the future, where you are on this issue will never be forgotten,” he predicts. “It will define politics after.” That’s why he spent the early summer attempting — though failing — to convince colleagues to vote to stay in the European Economic Area. And there are other passion projects: he wants a designated NHS tax; he wants to turn the Houses of Parliament into a museum and replace it with a modern electoral system with some form of proportional representation; he wants to reduce the voting age to 16.‘

The Brexit thing I 100% agree with. Politicians don’t often seem to reckon with this. 

NHS tax is silly but

I think I agree with him a lot? Doesn’t go far enough I suppose and is ultimately a centrist

Rebuilding of Raqqa: 

https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/a-year-after-the-end-of-isis-control-in-raqqa-a-ruined-city-looks-to-rebuild?utm_source=twitter&utm_social-type=owned&mbid=social_twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_brand=tny

‘ in January, 2018, the State Department allocated some two hundred and thirty million dollars toward Raqqa’s “stabilization,” including de-mining efforts. That was a relatively modest sum, about a hundredth of what the U.S. has spent on bombing the Islamic State. Nevertheless, in August, Trump cancelled the grant. ‘

Another reason Trump is not a harmless idiot but an evil, evil fuck

‘ While we waited to hear back, drinking Bedouin espresso, Arian aired some grievances typical of Raqqa’s Arab residents. isis fighters did not come from around here, he said, but from all over the world, and were allowed to do so by Western spy agencies, so that they could be more conveniently killed in one place. “Not us bring this terrorists to our land,” he said, tapping my knee for emphasis. “The world decided to get rid of in Raqqa all this garbage, and they killed a huge number of poor people. We paid, the people of Raqqa, for this crisis. At least the world must be responsible now.” ‘

Any truth to this I wonder?

pretty mad having 10 referendums on the same day. must affect turnout in a whole lot of complex ways

interesting bits:

‘Few Taiwanese refer to the island as the Republic of China except on official occasions, but the mainland government points to the name as supporting its territorial claim. Beijing has said that any official name change to “Taiwan” would be met with a military attack.Editors’ PicksDelay, Deny and Deflect: How Facebook’s Leaders Fought Through CrisisHow China Walled Off the InternetNever Solved, a College Dorm Fire Has Become One Man’s ObsessionPartly for that reason, Taiwan’s referendum law prohibits the public from proposing questions on issues of national sovereignty like the island’s name, flag and territory. The president can, however, put such issues to referendum in existential emergencies, like an imminent takeover by mainland China.While the Democratic Progressive Party has traditionally favored independence, it is not seeking to hold an independence referendum. But by holding votes on other issues and making them a part of Taiwan’s political culture, the government is creating the infrastructure and legitimacy that would be needed to hold an emergency referendum in the future.“Saturday’s referendum furthers a long-held D.P.P. goal to get referendums institutionalized,” said Michael Fahey, a legal consultant based in Taipei. “Major sections of the D.P.P. always wanted to have some kind of referendum law in case there ever needs to be a referendum on self-determination, there will be a mechanism in place for doing that.”‘

and 

‘The opposition Kuomintang appears to have benefited from the referendums on issues like same-sex marriage that galvanized conservative voters: The party had a strong showing in local electionsthat were also held on Saturday.“The Kuomintang and certain conservative forces very smartly recognized that if they put resolutions together that have strong appeal to certain special interest groups, they might be able to mobilize all those people and hopefully they would be like-minded and cast votes for the K.M.T. candidates,” Mr. Fahey said.‘

Also quite interesting to find out that the KMT are now anti independence and closer to the PRC as they are the right-wing one of the two main parties

Good article about how the term ‘grooming gangs’ is meaningless race science:

https://medium.com/@Reg_Left_Media/making-a-monster-how-the-times-created-the-asian-grooming-gang-f944ad598822

And the best article about the Otto Warmbier affair I have read:

https://www.gq.com/story/otto-warmbier-north-korea-american-hostage-true-story

Didn’t know the beating stuff was bollocks. And it was seized on by Trump. Also, according to this article the poster offence was just made up wholesale by NK.

‘During the televised confession, Otto would read from a handwritten script that he had put on his “quietest boots, the best for sneaking” and attempted the theft at the prompting of a local Methodist church, a university secret society, and the American administration, “to harm the work ethic and motivation of the Korean people”’

Christ, reading the timeline made me so aware of how much stuff has happened re: North Korea in the last couple of years. May you live in interesting times

Basically says that his brain damage came about by an accident. Maybe an allergic reaction. As NK have nothing to gain from severely beating or injuring an American hostage. But what kind of accident?

This has more answers:

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/06/could-botulism-cause-severe-brain-injury/530586/

‘The scans showed “extensive loss of brain tissue in all regions of his brain.” That means his brain was deprived of oxygen and/or blood for a long time, and tissue died everywhere—much the same process that happens to brain cells in a particular area of the brain when a person has a stroke, everywhere.

‘This MRI also makes it possible to say whether a stroke is recent or not. People in early stages of hypoxic-ischemic brain injury sometimes improve; people in remote stages do not. Warmbier’s brain injury is in a remote stage. His doctors reported that it happened more than a year ago.

‘What caused this type of diffuse cellular death throughout the entire brain?

‘This can be the result of asphyxiation, including by exposure to poisonous gas, and by cardiac arrest of innumerable possible causes. The doctors reported yesterday that the most likely caused was “cardiopulmonary arrest.” That isn’t much of a hypothesis—almost begging the question, in that it means his heart and/or lungs ceased to supply his brain with oxygen.

‘The real question would be what the doctors believe to be the cause of said cardiopulmonary arrest. They said there was no evidence of trauma, including scars or fractures, which would be evident in imaging tests even after they’ve healed. Even in the hands of forensic pathologists, the exact etiology may never be known with certainty. Though no obvious explanation involves humane treatment and attentive medical care. Even if the 22-year-old simply suffered a (very rare) cardiac arrest of some organic cause, brain injury this severe would mean that he was not resuscitated for a prolonged period.

‘The explanation that came from North Korea was that the cause was a combination of botulism and ingesting “sleeping pills.” The food-born botulism toxin would not directly account for the damage to the brain. Rather, it paralyzes the muscles of the body, and that can involve the thorax to such a degree that it will stop a person’s breathing. This is a common cause of death in people with untreated botulism. The Ohio doctors said yesterday there was “no evidence” the young man had botulism—though if this happened a year ago, the toxin would be gone from his body and no evidence may remain.

‘Overdosing on a sedative or opiate could also suppress a person’s breathing to the point that brain tissue dies. The combination of explanations is not implausible.’

We will probably never know

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/01/23/make-america-big-again-the-headache-of-translating-trump-into-foreign-languages/

Meanwhike the summit in Singapore is happening right now

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2018/06/11/china-and-the-korean-war-loom-over-trump-and-kim/

Also good article about how important the korean war was and is in China, in consolidating Mao and the CCP’s power. Good having an external enemy eh. Shit like this is why you wonder whether China will ever allow peace

So apparently the script for Gladiator 2 that Nick Cave wrote had the pantheon of gods dying because of Jesus, so Maximus was sent back to earth to kill Jesus. And then he ended up fighting in all the world’s wars. So good. Want to read it

Also been trying to get into World Cup, no one has really jumped out at me yet

Listening to New Statesman podcast. Started in the 60s apparently. Seems to be that it has always been spectacle then, rather than properly handling the business of government. Lots about how good Hague was

I really want to go see it now

Also listened to the Daily about how Alex Jones is getting sued by Sandy Hook parents. They are trying to say that his speech is not protected by his first amendment rights because he doesn't genuinely believe the things he's saying, he is only saying them to make a profit. I hope they win

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43924702

https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/bj3xav/the-story-of-tommy-robinson-hateful-hero-of-the-british-far-right?utm_source=vicefbuk

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/may/17/maximum-stake-for-fixed-odds-betting-terminals-cut-to-2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinjiang_Production_and_Construction_Corps

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinjiang

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/thank-the-party-china-tries-to-brainwash-muslims-in-camps/2018/05/16/29ad707e-596a-11e8-9889-07bcc1327f4b_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.5fe94dc2129c

http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2123202/why-china-so-worried-about-us-recognising-jerusalem-israels

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-religion-education/in-chinas-jerusalem-christians-say-faith-trumps-official-sunday-school-ban-idUSKBN1EI025

http://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/2146058/us-isnt-first-country-open-embassy-jerusalem-and-it-wont-be

Good article

Interesting podcast about him

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/embedded/id1091709555?mt=2&i=1000393719916

About how he was a producer in Hollywood and his career only got started because he made a Reagan documentary. Makes the case that his current political beliefs were not there all along, but he developed western chauvinism etc because it was fashionable and got him funding

Says it all about modern superheroes, especially at the end