European elections TLDR; -High voter turnout; votes mostly going to left-of-center environmental/liberal parties, or to right wing nationalist/eurosceptic parties -Centrism, which is a long-time powerhouse in EU politics, is the most recent loser in the European power struggle. -There is a scaled-down version of the right/left battle we see in the USA going on - and nearly all newspapers I read have a very slanted language in expressing the results, which is a pattern I recognize from election coverage in American medias ~2015+. -Right-wing nationalism and anti-European Union sentiment has been growing massively since the migrant catastrophe in 2014/15. In many countries, nationalist parties are in the top 3, with several in ruling coalitions. This mostly in smaller countries. -There is disunity between the conservative right wing and nationalist right wing on basis of pro/anti-EU sentiment Result: Fractured clusterfuck with no clear power bloc Some sources -- Results European elections results | News | European Parliament Home | 2019 European election results | European Parliament --- News (read: opinion) EU elections: Wake-up call for centrists amid euroskepticism, climate inaction | DW | 27.05.2019 Nå er maktbalansen i Europa endret Polarisering
It's happening across the globe notably in Brazil, Philippines, India, Chile. Add to that the usual authoritarian regimes and it's looking like the pieces are in place for the next BIG war.
Greater political polarization in recent years has arisen due to the need to re-focus the core voting base(es) to conflict in fundamental ways. These hot-button, single-issue votes(ers) are the last remaining leverage on a shrinking base that can no longer be effectively controlled in traditional ways (church, media, etc.). I believe we are entering the initial phase of a religious/conservative death march. There are still enough mindless cretins following the orders of their overseers in corporate and Christian-based circles to make this strategy work, as we have seen in recent elections. But their numbers are dwindling fast, so the implications and outcomes of desperate moves will be on us shortly, as we are seeing with the Trump fiasco, for example. It's not going to be pretty. These people on both sides are fighting for the same thing they have since the beginning of recorded time: Economic Control. It is hard to convince insanely rich and powerful people that this not a good way to cover their graft and a doomed long-term approach.
What do you make of this Viking? I cannot tell if this is all an organic result of the failings of the EU or if the powers that be figured out the EU just wasn't going to work so they are implementing another approach.
I don't know, of course - conspiracies to influence politics by powerful people are no joke - but I feel strongly that this is a direct consequence of the failings of the EU. To make something very complex very short, a combination of elitist power creep and aggressive disdain for the critics and victims of it's policies. A lot of similarities to the US left and Trump, I think.
It should be obvious to most people here that this backslide is occurring. I'm not sure how one could deny it at this point. Which really fucking sucks, because we've been trying for a year and half and we found out today my better half is finally pregnant. And I have no idea what kind of world is going to be inflicted upon them.
Hey, congratulations. I just started my family back in march, you're in for one of life's biggest treats, if this is your first. As for bad times, yeah, I had those thoughts a lot before the kid came, too. History alternates between periods of stability and periods of chaos, and we're looking at the bad end of the post-war stability. Our kids might be gunned down on the front lines of WW3, and that's a shitty thought. Stoicism was a good help for me, there. There's very little you can do to impact the world, but you can impact your own little world.
I appreciate it, yeah it's our first. In spite of that sort of dread in the back of my mind, I am extremely happy. I've always wanted to be a dad. There's just that lingering fear of that happiness turning sour when there's some fucking war or another because the people in charge couldn't figure out how to be adults.
I'm more concerned about a neighbour looking the other way when he's driving home, school bullies or giving the boy too much food so he gets all fat. Check back in with me when you're on the other side of birth - I found it narrowed my concerns and efforts immensely to what I could manage to deal with.
The so called far right anti immigrant landslide has once again failed to materialize but the far right have made modest gains. There's a certain type of gutter intellect that will always fall for the big bad wolf is coming narrative, history has shown us this many times. Interestingly, the UK's King Bigot Tommy Robinson who spouts nought but anti Islamic rhetoric was humiliated at the polls receiving only 2.2% of the vote. Robinson one of the main "Big Bad Wolf" cheerleaders has been resoundly rejected and put back into the sewer which bodes well for the future.
Smokin, what good has actually come from Islam in your opinion? Serious question. You stand up for it so strongly, but why? All I can really see is negatives.
There certainly are negatives in some Islamic factions, the lunatic Wahhabists of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, etc... are a cancer in our world but not all Muslims are of this ilk. In the West we tend to associate Islam with those of the Arabic ethnicity but the largest Muslim population lives in a country that is not populated by Arabs - Indonesia. There are many non Arab countries with large Muslim populations. Turkey, Malaysia, Ghana, Senegal and Bosnia to name a few. Not all Muslims are of the fanatical Wahhabist Saudi Arabian variety. In Islam men and women are equal. Gender inequalities come from cultural practices, not the religion of Islam. In the Qur'an, men and women enjoy the same rights not just spiritually, but also socially and politically. Several Islamic countries have had female heads of state, including Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Turkey. Islam has a deep commitment to social justice. During the fasting of Ramadan Muslims experience hunger as a poor and hungry person might, one of the pillars of Islam is to help the poor through a donation. Muslims must give 2.5 percent of their savings to the poor, it's a requirement of those who have accumulated wealth. The Jihadists who perpetuate violence in the name of Islam are no more true to their faith than Christians who blow up abortion clinics. It's a common misunderstanding that Muslims are violent, in fact it's a religion of peace and love more than anything. Go to a Mosque Johnny with an open mind and see how you'll be welcomed. The Muslim is not our enemy, the war mongering savages are.
When your unoriginal holy book has 500 pages about killing everything non Muslim.... Yeah it's a shit religion despite how BDS shills might try to spin it. Vigilo Confido
Oh and uh... equal rights for women? Religion of peace? We just reading the Taqiya manuscript here or what? Vigilo Confido
Congratulations!!! If it makes you feel any better your fears have been the fears of every parent of every generation. The truth is, there is no better time to be alive than now. Enjoy being a dad it's what us men were born to be.