Everything is Political

User avatar
...
Posts: 1234
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2018 6:50 am

Re: Everything is Political

Post by ... »

Good luck! Hope things turn out in the best possible way. Lord knows that needs to happen somewhere, with so many elections going the wrong way in recent years.

Next up, Canada!
User avatar
St. Gloede
Posts: 712
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2019 5:50 pm

Post by St. Gloede »

Thanks!

The voting boots are closed and 70% of the votes are already counted.

The prognosis is broadly as expected, with a landslide for the left block, with 100 vs. 68 MPs, and with a 10th party currently in with 1 MP due yo local populatity (Patient Focus).

My slight disappointment is that the results for the Socialist parties were much lower than the single post advance voting survey suggested. I expected it to be lower, but had hoped for a Red Party above 5% (currenyky 4.7%) and a Socialist Left above 8% (currently 7.4%).

The night is still young, and they may do better or worse as the remaining votes come in - especially as the city votes are among those far from counted in full.

The two parties furthest to the right, namely the Conservative Party and the Progress Party both crassed, the former looking to lose 4.7%, the latter to lose 3.4%, incredible.

Of thr smallest parties, the Greens are currently under 4% at 3.85%, starting the night at 4.2%. The Liberal Party is currently at 3.99, while The Christian Party is just at 4.07%. Anything can happen there, and it means semi-notable changes - however, the landslide is inescapable, and as it stands Labour, the Centre Party and the Socialift Left are set to get a majority government.
User avatar
St. Gloede
Posts: 712
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2019 5:50 pm

Post by St. Gloede »

And just like that, it's over - 99.3% of the votes are counted.

Image

Norway has ensured a drastic shift in its politics and will finally rejoin all the other Nordic countries in having a Social Democratic/Democratic Socialist prime minister. This is in itself quite important in speaking of the success and popularity of the Social Democratic model and socialist policies within international politics. The talking point that Scandinavia has abandoned Social Democracy in favour of Liberalism is, for now, dead - and may it stay that way.

There is no debate, the Centre Party's prime minister candidate is now backing Labour's Jonas Gahr Støre as Prime Minister, and he has a majority of 100 out of 169 MPs behind him:

Image

What's more, he will most likely get his dream coalition with the Centre Party and the Socialist Left - as they hold the majority together with 89 out of 169 MPs.

The full results:

Image

The next government

Both The Centre Party and The Socialist Left have minor issues with the likely coalition. The Socialist Left opening this issue up to party democracy and let their members decide before committing to joining the new government. The Centre Party on the other hand want to have an as centrist government as possible, and one where they can show themselves to be a norable force.

However as it stands we will most likely see this coalition, which ran the country from 2005 to 2013 return. A majority government tends to be preferred, and provided the compromises are reached, all is set.

Of course, a minority government is possible, then either with Labour on its own or with the Centre Party - possibly with an agreement with the Socialist Left allowing them a stronger voice than if agreements are reached behind closed doors.

Personally, I would prefer The Socialist Left to enter government, as we already have the Red Party to provoke from the left, and it will stop a more centre oriented government from getting support from the centre-right.

That said, the Christian People's Party, the one centre-right party most likely to swing leftwards, crashed below the 4% line - just as I hoped they would - landing on 3.8%, and getting 3 MPs solely due to regional strength. This is a decrease from 7, and makes them a minuscule party. It is the first time they crash below the line, and the narrative is clear: this is the end.

A slight shock is that the Greens also crashed below the 4% line, landing on 3.85%, and also gaining 3 MPs due to regional strength. This is however an increase from their sole MP, and solid progress, even if quite a small one in overall success (0.3 percentage points). They will be more notable, it is their all-time best election and we can expect them to pass 4% in the near future.

The Liberal Party managed their tight battle with the 4% line, landing on 4.5%, complete with cheers and hopes for a more liberal future. They are doing exceptionally well with the youth - passing 10% in the school elections (showing what teenagers think) and may once more become a bigger player for the right - though that remains to be seen.

The biggest winners this election is The Centre Party, going up 3.3% since 2017, going from 19 to 28 MPs and the Red Party going up 2.3% and with that going from 2.4% to 4.7%, and from 1 MP to 8 MP.

The biggest losers are however the two biggest parties on the right, who also happen to be the furthest to the right in the Norwegian landscape. The Conservative Party loses a full 9 MPs, moving from 45 to 36 - this from a drop of 4.6 percentage points. Meanwhile, the populist right Progress Party fell 3.5 percentage points, and lost 6 MPs, landing on a group of 21 MPs. However, the Progress Party thrives in opposition, and we can expect fairly poisonous anti-immigration rhetoric and flirting with conspiracy theories to push up their vote share next election. The question is, will it work this time?

Labour has done one of their worst elections, but can celebrate! They also saved themselves from some extremely low polls from throughout the last year, and ends up only losing 1 percentage point and 1 MP from 2017 - and this despite each of the other left block parties doing much better - and the Red Party going from being an insignificant to a significant left-wing party in parliament.

The parliament is very different from how it has looked before. The big parties are weakened, the Christian Democrats are near death (possibly) and there are more parties showing strength than ever before. It will be an interesting 4 years, and the effects of The Red Party with a large group of MPs, and how this presence will affect both them and the Socialist Left Party in 2025 is especially intruiging.

Minor note: For the first time a 10th party has also succeeded in breaking the mould, but this is a local party in one small city/town, focused on gaining the city/town a hospital. A very interesting event, if not of importance in terms of general national politics - beyond the fact that yes, it is possible, a party with 0.2% can make it ... (they/she got 40+ percentages in the town and thus gained the local MP).
Lencho of the Apes
Posts: 1900
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2018 4:38 am

Post by Lencho of the Apes »

The opposite of 'reify' is... ?
User avatar
Holdrüholoheuho
Posts: 3200
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2020 12:30 am
Location: Prague, Bohemia

Post by Holdrüholoheuho »

so, in Norway, there is a strong social democratic party but local idiotic social democrats still prefer to make friends (with i don't know whom) in Russia or China, and thus next month they will probably leave (for the first time since 1989) the parliament cuz they won't surpass the 5% threshold. heirs of the local neostalinism are also heading to extinction (the members are in average 75 years old). local pirates who might have had some leftist leanings in the past and who might become part of the next government (together with some centrist and right-wing parties) are turning (to fit their upcoming coalition partners) into a yuppie party. green party was never really formed here cuz ppl who were deprived of the consumption privilege prior to 1989 don't want to hear about the climate, they want to consume. this country is fucked! the only two relevant options next month are two coalitions: either 1/ "pirates & right-wing liberals" or 2/ criminal-oligarch (one-man party) & nationalists/patriots (represented by a half-Czech half-Japanese political enterpreneur). :puke:
------------------------
pleased to see the phrase "conspicuous consumption" again and not surprised to see the iconography convergence of the bygone feudalism and nowadays techno-feudalism.
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/06/rich ... of-seeing/
User avatar
flip
Posts: 3472
Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2018 7:07 am
Location: montreal

Post by flip »

Lencho of the Apes wrote: Thu Sep 16, 2021 12:36 am "Art For The 99 Percent"
https://jacobinmag.com/2019/05/wealth-a ... 1mqkpOYbLY
that study sounds interesting, but i'd be a bit wary about trusting the reporting on a math-based study when the author doesn't understand math. that article links to a more detailed one, and seems to take its info from there. that more detailed article says this:

"According to the study, every $10,000 in total family income, a person is about 2% more likely to go into a creative occupation. A family income of $100,000 makes it twice as likely to become an artist compared to a family income of $50,000."

that's obviously nonsensical, mathematically - it should be a bit more than 10% more likely, not 'twice as likely'. even the figure in the jacobinmag article (someone from a $1m family is "10 times more likely" to be an artist than someone from a $100k family) is clearly wrong, but not as egregiously, at least if you assume the two percent figure is rounded down from something close to 2.5%.
User avatar
Holdrüholoheuho
Posts: 3200
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2020 12:30 am
Location: Prague, Bohemia

Post by Holdrüholoheuho »

ooooh, my belief in acid-communism is shattered!
https://psychedelicsociety.org.uk/news/ ... VwSWram568
User avatar
Pretentious Hipster
Posts: 203
Joined: Sat Dec 15, 2018 1:27 am

Post by Pretentious Hipster »

Yea Canadian election is tomorrow.

I heard my "leftist" roommate say that she wants to vote for the People's Party of Canada because "a party with a name like that must be good in representing the poor" and it was awkward to explain to her that that party is literally worse than Trump.
User avatar
St. Gloede
Posts: 712
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2019 5:50 pm

Post by St. Gloede »

Decent news from Norway. The Centre party conceded and each MP voted to start deliberations with the Socialist Left - meaning we are quite likely getting the most left-leaning government we could expect based on the results. The alternative is a Labour/Centre Party minority government collaborating with the right-wing parties where it suits them.

This was my hope going into the election (based on the polling), and with the Red Party with a solid opposition from the left they will need to be more forceful and careful with alienating voters than before - while dissatisfied voters are just as likely to move left as right/sitting out.

The deliberations start tomorrow, but there is no deadline and we may wait 2-3 weeks before we have any kind of final platform (if indeed they can agree to even start the project). What is promising is that Labour is forcing the Centre Party's hand and is actively pushing to accommodate and include The Socialist Left - the leader of Labour even going out in the media promising to give them more room to handle their core causes than in the previous administration. The first stage of the deliberations will only include the Party leaders and deputy and/or parliamentary leaders - meaning a tight group of only 6 people.
User avatar
rischka
Posts: 6582
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2018 3:43 am
Location: desert usa
Contact:

Post by rischka »

chuck and nancy better get on saving my vacation to all the national parks which is starting this friday! ! ! :cry: i'm still going, they can't stop me :x:

it sure looks like republicans plan to destroy the economy so they can bring back that guy who says only he can save us

and with an assist from my own senator. once again i am so sorry i voted sinema because i thought she had something to do with films :? JK

should i write to her :pirates: now that i'm an entitled karen maybe they'll pay attention

edit: looks like my vacation is saved :D
:lboxd: + ICM + :imdb:

ANTIFA 4-EVA

CAUTION: woman having opinions
User avatar
Holdrüholoheuho
Posts: 3200
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2020 12:30 am
Location: Prague, Bohemia

Post by Holdrüholoheuho »

i am back in the local metropolis (returned from the local wilderness — situated in the further east).
among other things (i did in the wilderness), i was electing the new members of the local parliament.
i don't expect anyone cares about the parliamentary elections in the Middle Banana Republic but i will still tell the shit.

results:
Image

Spolu ("Together") = thatcherists, pinochetists, clerofashists (71 MPs)
Ano ("Yes") = criminal oligarch and gang of his useful idiots (money-hungry yesmen) (72 MPs)
PirStan (Pir = "Pirates", Stan = "Mayors and Independents") = pirates & centrist liberals (37 MPs)
SPD ("Freedom and Direct Democracy") = political entrepreneur Tomio Okamura (viz viewtopic.php?p=32448#p32448 ) and gang of his useful idiots (patriots) (20 MPs)
Přísaha ("Oath") = ex-cops attempting for the law & order police state
Čssd = social democrats
Ksčm = communists (conservative neostalinists)
Tss = conservatards, sociopaths, antivaxers
Volný blok ("Free block") = antivaxers, morons
Zelení ("Greens") = greens

in the local parliamentary elections, we don't vote for a single candidate list in the whole Middle Banana Republic (MBR) but for 14 different candidate lists in 14 different regions of the MBR.
my permanent residency is not in Metropolis but in Eastern Bohemia (EB), so i voted for a PirStan candidate list with a pirate Mikuláš Ferjenčík on the forefront.
Image

Ivan Bartoš, Pirates' candidate for a Prime Minister, was on the forefront of the candidate list in Northern Bohemia.
Image

one is allowed to give preference to 4 ppl on the candidate list he/she votes for.
so, when i was voting in EB for "PirStan" candidate list i gave preference to the aforementioned Mikuláš Ferjenčík and then to 3 Pirate ladies (skipping other Pirate men and all the "Mayors and Independents").
unfortunately, not all the Pirates' sympathizers was as wise as i was and didn't give preferences to Pirates which resulted in terrible tragedy!!!
when this PirStan coalition was made some months ago, Pirates were high (in predictions) and it almost seemed the future will bring us a Pirate Prime Minister.
thereafter, the criminal oligarch from "YES" (fearing he will lose power) started the anti-Pirate shistorm full of the worst lies.
as a result, "PirStan" dropped to 15%, "Together" rose to 28% (they were not targeted by oligarch's shitstorm) and most of the ppl who voted for "PirStan" gave (unlike me) their preferences to "Mayors and Independents".
thus, out of 37 PirStan MPs, only 4! are Pirates (in previous parliament there were 22 Pirate MPs — they lost 18! including Mikuláš Ferjenčík who was not re-elected).
the extent of this tragedy might become even more clear, when pointing out that on each candidate list there were 2/3 of Pirates and 1/3 of Mayors (when the coalition was negotiated Pirates were stronger party than Mayors) and Pirates paid 2/3 campaign expenditures and Mayors only 1/3.
when my sis called me and told me these results on Saturday (because i was in offline nescience) i responded that she must be mistaken because if PirStan has 15% (which was already shocking — i expected they will have at least 20%) which gives 37 MPs then Pirates can't have only 4 MPs. my disbelief was so convincing that my sis started to doubt herself and admitted she might have made mistake. but when she double-checked and said she was actually right and Pirates truly have only 4 out of 37 (despite on each PirStan candidate list there were 2/3 of Pirates) i almost fainted (and i am still somewhat disoriented because i can't still believe it happened).
my only solace is that criminal oligarch (who started the massive anti-Pirate shitstorm) is now sinking in his own shit.
local parliament has 200 members and thus to form government there must be the support of at least 101 MPs.
i expected if criminal oligarch will be eliminated by both coalitions ("'Together" and "Pirstan") sooner or later Pirates will get into conflict with pinochetists, thatcherists and clerofashists from "Together", government will fall and new one will be formed by "Together" and criminal oligarch.
but since Pirates have only 4 MPs, "Together" and "Mayors" have 104 MPs and thus, even if Pirates will freak out, right-wing government will not fall apart and oligarch will stay redundant (if his shitstorm would be weaker and Pirates acquired at least 9 MPs, he might have been able to get back into game but now he is fucked!).

so, 4 Pirates in the new local parliament are the most leftists MPs (despite they themselves don't identify as leftists — viz "declaratory left" vs. "attitudinal left" viewtopic.php?p=23952#p23952 ) and there are 0! (zero) MPs in the new local parliament who would represent the Left (who would declare themselves being leftist).
local social democrats completely discredited themselves by keeping in the past 8 years in power the criminal oligarch and thus for the first time they didn't pass the 5% threshold.
the local communist party was established in 1921 and since then it was permanently present in the local parliament.
between 1948-1989 (during commie totalitarian rule) there were no other parties in parliament.
post-1989, they had always approximately 10% and they were never part of any post-1989 government.
now, it is for the first time (since 1921) they are completely out (didn't pass 5%).
the Middle Banana Republic was never more on the Right in the past than it is at this moment.

last but not least, at this moment the local president is supposed to appoint someone to negotiate about forming a new government.
however, during these elections coincidentally climaxed his alcoholism, and thus instead of carrying his presidential duties, he is delirious on the intensive care unit. due to his long-lasting excessive consumption of booze part of his brain turned into grey porridge (he is capable as a broken record recall over and over some stuff from the long past, but he can't recall what happened just a few hours ago, he can't recognize some faces, etc., etc.), his liver is out of function, etc., etc. — in sum, it is just a matter of days/weeks the Middle Banana Republic will hold a state funeral during which most of the residents will rejoice and shout with joy "the witch is dead!".
Last edited by Holdrüholoheuho on Thu Oct 14, 2021 5:50 pm, edited 4 times in total.
User avatar
...
Posts: 1234
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2018 6:50 am

Post by ... »

i don't expect anyone cares about the parliamentary elections in the Middle Banana Republic but i will still tell the shit.
I'm always pleased to see reports about elections I know next to nothing about. Even if some of the details elude me, it's still better than being completely ignorant.
User avatar
St. Gloede
Posts: 712
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2019 5:50 pm

Post by St. Gloede »

Hmmmm, ok, so my PMs office is slightly, erm ...

Image
User avatar
...
Posts: 1234
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2018 6:50 am

Post by ... »

By erm, I assume you mean fantastic! Heh.
User avatar
Holdrüholoheuho
Posts: 3200
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2020 12:30 am
Location: Prague, Bohemia

Post by Holdrüholoheuho »

greg x wrote: Wed Oct 13, 2021 5:43 am Even if some of the details elude me
yea, some details of the local politics are highly elusive and mysterious.
f.e. i can imagine that for those who didn't live through Soviet (Brezhnev) times it is hard to grasp how an alcoholic/senile president who is either delirious (delirium tremens) or in a coma can be served (on his deathbed) the apricot rolls or a wine sausage — those are the meals he is served (on the intensive care unit!) according to his spokesman (i.e. spokesman the clown).
in the Middle Banana Republic anything goes!
https://twitter.com/cernymuz/status/144 ... 46179?s=20
User avatar
St. Gloede
Posts: 712
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2019 5:50 pm

Post by St. Gloede »

The negotiations between the Labour Party and the Centre Party are complete and they have revealed the baseline of their shared platform. There will be adjustments here, as they need The Socialist Left to get their budget approved, and with this there will be concessions. These are broad strokes highlighted by the media so far - there has been a total document of 82 pages released today. The details themselves will not be that interesting until the budget is approved.

No change in Oil policy

The oil politics will be mainly the same as that of the Liberal-Conservative government, remaining committed to a 55% cut in emissions by 2030 (based on 1990 numbers), and the already planned increase to 2,000 NOK (About €200) per ton CO2 fee will also be implemented. Meanwhile, they will not stop approving new oil fields or halt the search for oil. Environmentally there will thus not be any real change (as things stand). Concessions are likely to come to the Socialist Left - but they left the government negotiations in part as they could not get the compromises they wanted already. Let's see what happens here.

Tax cuts/increases

There will be income tax cuts for everyone earning 750 000 NOK or less, and tax increases on those who earn more. This is based on a progressive system and rates will vary.

Drug reform

They will not decriminalize narcotics in themselves, but change the laws those that those addicted to narcotics will not be prosecuted.

Extension of free dental care

The age limit for free dental care will be raised from 18 to 21. People between the ages of 22 and 25 will only be charged 50% of the current rate. Prices will remain the same for everyone else.

Temporary employment

The most decried attack on workers rights, allowing employers easier access to temporary employees as opposed to hiring them full time will be reversed.

Municipal organizations

The municipalities that were forced to merge under the Solberg government will be given the opportunity to decide if they want to stay in the new municipalities or return to how it was.

Farmers

They are promising the most pro-farmer policies since the 70s, with direct increases in their support.

Electronic cars

VAT will be added to electric cars costing more than 600,000 NOK. Electronic cars costing less will remain VAT excempt.

Railroads

There will be a complete stop to further privatisation of the railroads, but the reforms carried out to far will not be reversed.

Free food at schools

There will be a gradual implementation of free healthy meals in the school system.

Cheaper kindergartens and implementation of free school childcare in the first year of schooling

A very moderate concession/compromise, but will help families.

No government whip for changes in the abortion law

Each MP will be free to vote as they see fit in any proposals related to extending abortion rights.

EEA (EU deal)

There will be a commission to look into the EEA deal. This will likely not result in anything as Labour has stated that leaving the EEA (European Economic Area) is a deal-breaker. We may however be more likely to see this government turn down more EU proposals, as is their right through the deal.
User avatar
St. Gloede
Posts: 712
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2019 5:50 pm

Post by St. Gloede »

Reading the 82-page platform, which is missing a lot of clear details and indicating the direction they want to go in and initiatives they want to do, rather than the extent, the exact tax brackets, fees, investment, etc. but this is for the final budget negotiations as well as later - there is actually a lot of key issues I'm surprised the media have not focused on.

1. There will be a large focus on developing and producing sea power and balance oil jobs to the renewable energy sector.

This was one of my key issues this election - i.e. ensuring that natural resources stay under collective ownership and control and that we make the necessary investments to maintain highly strong collectively owned revenue streams and employment opportunities.

The platform goes further to guarantee a coordinated investment and infrastructure plan for water, wind, solar, and other renewable energy sources - and keep all under collective ownership. Each is likely to be increased, though especially in the case of wind, other environmental and social concerns will be taken. There will also been a big focus on small water power opportunities, which are demonstrated to be quite environmentally friendly, and to ensure collective ownership in this sector.

I am very, very happy with this - and is a complete turn for the development of privatisation that would have happened with the outgoing government.

2. An incredible set of promises for workers and especially union members

This is only a small portion of the steps they are making:

- Not just remove the regulation change that allowed companies to hire more part-time workers, but change them further to enforce full employment as the norm
- Introduce a full-time initiative in the public sector
- Doubling the tax-deductible amount for union fees
- Increase awareness and school education in terms of how unions and work-relations are organized in Norway (this was severely lacking when I was young - I don't even remember learning about codetermination/workplace democracy or the syndicate congress).
- Work on making it harder for those who issue work to avoid responsibilities as an employer
- Limit the role of staffing agencies (we have seen a surge of temp work through staffing agencies, limiting the need for companies to hire full-time/part-time employees. Further left parties want to ban them outright - but any movement here is a big plus).
- Direct the police to increase focus on breaches with employment laws, illegal renting of workers, etc. They will also consider increasing fines, etc. On top of this they will look into the ability of unions to handle this directly, reinstate the rights for collective suits and more

3. Large steps to increase affordable housing across the country

This includes promising to build 3,000 student homes a year, giving municipalities the option to get 70% of the costs of new housing projects covered by the state, reimbursement for rent and most importantly a revamp and added investment of the "House bank", which is a state-owned bank set up to help people buy/save homes - with a particular focus on young, old and people with poor economies.

4. Pension

The minimum pension will be increased, and loopholes hurting part-time workers from earning pension equal to that they contribute will be closed. They will also look at building in adjustments so that pensions will not just rise but continue to increase matching future inflation.

Other

More teachers, more doctors, more funding for hospitals, ensure that health services are decentralized and better available in rural communities, etc.
-

Personally, I am very happy with this centre-left platform. While parties to the left of the soon to be in place minority government are criticizing the platform as grey, far from green, not doing enough to reduce income inequality, etc. there is a lot of really good stuff here from a left-wing perspective. It may not undo all of the negative changes by the sitting government - but it is a strong step and the right direction and immediately stops practically all the outsourcing and privatization efforts - so that the situation will not worsen. The green moves, along with a very big focus on union power is also exciting to see.
User avatar
...
Posts: 1234
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2018 6:50 am

Post by ... »

Sounds pretty good and having pressure from the left can be a good thing for making a comprise solution still be a win, unlike compromising to the right. And if the pressure works, then the benefits might even be better.
User avatar
Holdrüholoheuho
Posts: 3200
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2020 12:30 am
Location: Prague, Bohemia

Post by Holdrüholoheuho »

my (today's) daily dosage of study in political science...
https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/il ... e-air-loom

Illustrations of Madness
James Tilly Matthews and the Air Loom
By Mike Jay

Mike Jay recounts the tragic story of James Tilly Matthews, a former peace activist of the Napoleonic Wars who was confined to London's notorious Bedlam asylum in 1797 for believing that his mind was under the control of the "Air Loom" - a terrifying machine whose mesmeric rays and mysterious gases were brainwashing politicians and plunging Europe into revolution, terror, and war.

...
For everyone who has since had messages beamed at them by the CIA, MI5, Masonic lodges or UFOs, via dental fillings, mysterious implants, TV sets or surveillance satellites, James Tilly Matthews is patient zero.
...
The Air Loom worked, as its name suggests, by weaving "airs", or gases, into a "warp of magnetic fluid" which was then directed at its victim. Matthews’ explanation of its powers combined the cutting-edge technologies of pneumatic chemistry and the electric battery with the controversial science of animal magnetism, or mesmerism. The finer detail becomes increasingly strange. It was fuelled by combinations of "fetid effluvia", including "spermatic-animal-seminal rays", "putrid human breath", and "gaz from the anus of the horse", and its magnetic warp assailed Matthews' brain in a catalogue of forms known as "event-workings". These included "brain-saying" and "dream-working", by which thoughts were forced into his brain against his will, and a terrifying array of physical tortures from "knee nailing", "vital tearing" and "fibre ripping" to "apoplexy-working with the nutmeg grater" and the dreaded "lobster-cracking", where the air around his chest was constricted until he was unable to breathe. To facilitate their control over him, the gang had implanted a magnet into his brain. He was tormented constantly by hallucinations, physical agonies, fits of laughter or being forced to parrot whatever words they chose to feed into his head.
...
The machine’s operators were a gang of undercover Jacobin terrorists, who Matthews described with haunting precision. Their leader, Bill the King, was a coarse-faced and ruthless puppetmaster who "has never been known to smile"; his second-in-command, Jack the Schoolmaster, took careful notes on the Air Loom’s operations, pushing his wig back with his forefinger as he wrote. The operator was a sinister, pockmarked lady known only as the "Glove Woman". The public face of the gang was a sharp-featured woman named Augusta, superficially charming but "exceedingly spiteful and malignant" when crossed, who roamed London’s west end as an undercover agent.
...
The operation directed at Matthews was only part of a larger story. There were more Air Looms and their gangs concealed across London, and their unseen influence extended all the way up to the Prime Minister, William Pitt, whose mind was firmly under their control. Their agents lurked in streets, theatres and coffee-houses, where they tricked the unsuspecting into inhaling magnetic fluids. If the gang were recognised in public, they would grasp magnetised batons that clouded the perception of anyone in the vicinity. The object of their intrigues was to poison the minds of politicians on both sides of the Channel, and thereby keep Britain and revolutionary France locked into their ruinous war.
...

The "Middle Man" operating the Air Loom
Image

A victim of the Air Loom's influencing rays
Image

Image
Lencho of the Apes
Posts: 1900
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2018 4:38 am

Post by Lencho of the Apes »

VQ approves this message.
The opposite of 'reify' is... ?
User avatar
Holdrüholoheuho
Posts: 3200
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2020 12:30 am
Location: Prague, Bohemia

Post by Holdrüholoheuho »

May the gaz from the anus of the horse be with you, brother!
User avatar
Holdrüholoheuho
Posts: 3200
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2020 12:30 am
Location: Prague, Bohemia

Post by Holdrüholoheuho »

popular political palindrome of these days (in the Middle Banana Republic)...

PIJAN LEŽEL NA JIP

PIJAN = boozer
LEŽEL = was lying
NA = on
JIP = (abbreviation for "Jednotka Intenzívní Péče", i.e.) the Intensive Care Unit
User avatar
Holdrüholoheuho
Posts: 3200
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2020 12:30 am
Location: Prague, Bohemia

Post by Holdrüholoheuho »

in THE STONEBREAKERS by Azul Aizenberg (mentioned in another thread) one can hear...
They were paid on "plecas", a local currency that could only be exchanged at their bosses stores.
Image
thus one of the demands of the “Great Strike” at Tandil (1908) was "plecas" abolition.
thus i expect with the progression of techno-feudalism all kinds of "cryptoplecas" (one-way ticket cryptocurrencies) will become emitted (and handed over as a wage) by various enterpreuners (and it will be called crypto "ecosystem").
Lencho of the Apes
Posts: 1900
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2018 4:38 am

Post by Lencho of the Apes »

Is that display of plecas moving into "circulation" designed to look like an octopus? Nif-TY!
The opposite of 'reify' is... ?
User avatar
Holdrüholoheuho
Posts: 3200
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2020 12:30 am
Location: Prague, Bohemia

Post by Holdrüholoheuho »

accumulation of the capital by the swastika-like arms of the octopus!
Image

and final credits are accompanied by the song with the following lyrics...
Oh, damned bourgeoisie!
So many regrets you make me suffer!
As long as your race exists,
it will be impossible to live.
But the decisive worker
will prepare the revolution.
Face to every governmental disgrace
borns a Caserio, an Artal.
Anarchy, come soon!
Liberty, come now!
When that day arrives,
life will be pure bliss.
When that day arrives,
life will be pure bliss.
User avatar
rischka
Posts: 6582
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2018 3:43 am
Location: desert usa
Contact:

Post by rischka »

when is the revolution? i have free time now :pirates:

btw i forgot how to change my name to witchka :oops:
:lboxd: + ICM + :imdb:

ANTIFA 4-EVA

CAUTION: woman having opinions
User avatar
Holdrüholoheuho
Posts: 3200
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2020 12:30 am
Location: Prague, Bohemia

Post by Holdrüholoheuho »

for witchka is too late.
change it already to noirischka!
(profile → edit profile → edit account settings)

https://youtu.be/xIhBORkRskM
User avatar
Holdrüholoheuho
Posts: 3200
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2020 12:30 am
Location: Prague, Bohemia

Post by Holdrüholoheuho »

btw. yesterday (in the U.S. still today (i.e. 23th)) was/is the anniversary (of the start) of the Hungarian revolution of 1956...
https://twitter.com/kinometer_com/statu ... 65955?s=20
User avatar
Holdrüholoheuho
Posts: 3200
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2020 12:30 am
Location: Prague, Bohemia

Post by Holdrüholoheuho »

Communists Tried to Capture Mickey Mouse, Says Disney!
Espen Kulseth
I'm sure Mickey would make a great comrade.
https://twitter.com/jacobin/status/1452 ... 80003?s=20
Lencho of the Apes
Posts: 1900
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2018 4:38 am

Post by Lencho of the Apes »

Trotsky’s “Manifesto for an Independent Revolutionary Art”

https://www.leftvoice.org/the-communist ... M0_1GBKHak
The opposite of 'reify' is... ?
Post Reply