The news thread

[SGR]

if desantis appointed me to a panel on what needs to be done to rectify the injustices done to southern white trash i'd say the same fucking thing "let's start with making me a millionaire and then take it from there"

if i were black i'd support the fuck out of reparations but since i'm white and sure as fuck don't want to PAY reparations i'm against it

frankly i'm starting to feel the same way about ukraine

they're saying california should pay $500 B to blacks - well, at least they're people we actually owe something to - from what i've read we've spent $120 to $250 B on ukraine and i mean who the fuck are they

Good points. You and I had nothing to do with slavery. We never had a choice in the matter. And the people who'd end up getting the money from our tax dollars had nothing to do with slavery either - they weren't slaves (which doesn't mean they haven't put been put in a disadvantageous position because of it). As a result, the majority of the white population is not going to support it - and it's a losing proposition, even for Democrats (and they know it - but they can't say it out loud). To me, it just comes across as completely patronizing to black people to act like we're seriously considering it. But if they tell black people the truth, that would be racist. If cash payment reparations did happen, wouldn't other groups have a case too? How about women who weren't allowed to vote until 1920? Or the Irish? Or Chinese Americans? It's a Pandora's Box that I don't think any politician has the balls to open.

And yes, if it was a binary choice, I'd support black people in the US (or our homeless people or veterans) getting this money we're spending on Ukraine. We should be investing in and helping our own people. Fuck the stupid war. The war needs to be ended.

[Janszoon]

Good points. You and I had nothing to do with slavery. We never had a choice in the matter.

That's not what it's about though. It's about the fact that the United States, as a country, benefited enormously from slave labor and wouldn't be where it is  today without it.

[Toy Revolver]

That's not what it's about though. It's about the fact that the United States, as a country, benefited enormously from slave labor and wouldn't be where it is  today without it.

so are you trying to say blacks should be paying the rest of us reparations for creating this fuck hole because that's not fair at all - they didn't want to do this to us our ancestors forced them to

[SGR]

That's not what it's about though. It's about the fact that the United States, as a country, benefited enormously from slave labor and wouldn't be where it is  today without it.

However you want to characterize it is fine, but ultimately, if the money would come from taxes on people who had nothing to do with slavery, that would seem to be entirely unfair. The government probably couldn't gather all the necessary (i.e. whatever number that whatever committee comes up with) funds this way, but it would make more sense to auction off valuable or desirable historical items in museums related to those who were involved with slavery (like our founding fathers) to pay reparations, in the hypothetical case that it happened. My main point though is that it's not going to happen, and to continue to dangle the carrot like it will seems rather insulting.

'That's just not happening': California lawmaker sparks furious backlash after warning black residents NOT to get their hopes up for seven-figure reparations checks - as Gavin Newsom reveals budget deficit is $10 BILLION higher than forecast

[Psy-Fi]

Housing association discovers body of tenant six years after death

The association discovered the corpse of Robert Alton in his apartment. A coroner determined Alton would have died in 2017 at the age of 70, his death going unnoticed since he continued to pay rent through automatic rent payments funded by housing benefits.

[Toy Revolver]

could be brutal

i've been to that city, Chittagong, i was just googling pictures of it and i can't believe how modern it looks

my memory might be a little exaggerated but when i was there they didn't even have bridges or traffic lights

if that's not entirely accurate it's definitely true that huge intersections were just free for alls with cars busses scooters bicycles pedestrians- i'm talking like eight lanes of traffic passing through each other with no guidance

and to cross over water you had to get on these boats that were like super long canoes and would literally be only one or two inches above the water when full

[Nimbly9]

Lol got'em

Trump Wishes A Happy Mother's Day to the "Mothers, Wives, and Lovers" of "Radical Left Fascists."

[Psy-Fi]

Lol got'em

Trump Wishes A Happy Mother's Day to the "Mothers, Wives, and Lovers" of "Radical Left Fascists."

A fascist lover
Made my mother
And then my mother made me...

Lou Miami and the Kozmetix - Fascist Lover

[Lisnaholic]

could be brutal

i've been to that city, Chittagong, i was just googling pictures of it and i can't believe how modern it looks

my memory might be a little exaggerated but when i was there they didn't even have bridges or traffic lights

if that's not entirely accurate it's definitely true that huge intersections were just free for alls with cars busses scooters bicycles pedestrians- i'm talking like eight lanes of traffic passing through each other with no guidance

and to cross over water you had to get on these boats that were like super long canoes and would literally be only one or two inches above the water when full

That's one hell of a travel experience, TR!
AFAIK, Bangladesh is a country that's never stood a chance: suffering famines since before George Harrison organised his benefit concert and now doubly screwed as it will become the victim of our rising sea levels. From a position of great ignorance, I wonder if an area with such problems should even have been a country in its own right. If Gandhi had had his way, it would've been part of India, or more recently could've remained a disconnected part of Pakistan - a weird situation, but still better than going it alone without a stronger big-brother country to help it out.

[Toy Revolver]

From what I saw a lot of India was doing a lot worse than anything I saw in Bangladesh.

Obviously, an acute famine is horrific but India had (and I think still has) famine conditions woven into modern districts where a lot of people had money. I believe that Bangladesh does a better job of caring for their poorest people than India.

Geographically they have been dealt a tough hand even before global warming but with heat waves and wild fires and how unpredictable and widespread it all is, even with rising sea levels, it's hard to say who's going down first. Plus, they're culturally adapted to swampy flooding already so maybe they will have an edge. And think about Japan, they have mother nature breathing down their necks non-stop and relatively speaking they're doing great.

I can't see how they would be better off if they were still East Pakistan but who knows.

My impression is Pakistan is worse off and they are on the brink of water rights conflict (also climate related) with Afghanistan and I just think that place is a complete mess.

[Toy Revolver]

An 18-year-old man armed with at least three guns roamed through a northwestern New Mexico community firing randomly at cars and houses, killing three people and injuring six others including two police officers before he was killed, authorities said.

The shootings occurred around 11 a.m. Monday in Farmington, a city of about 50,000 people near the Four Corners — where New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado meet — that is a supply line and bedroom community to the region's oil and natural gas industry.

imagine just driving along taking it easy and pop

what if you were in the car and that happened to a loved one

this country is fucked out of its skull

[Lisnaholic]

On yesterday's news:-

Historically, I think Indians had, or could easily get, British citizenship, so there were plenty in London when I was growing up there. More recently, in the 1980s, India became a favoured country for international companies to establish their outsourced call-centres, because English was widely spoken and Indian universities were earning an impressive reputation for the quality of their computer graduates. Isn't the head guy at Google an Indian? I never heard of Bangladesh being spoken of in those kinds of terms, which is why I'm surprised that parts of India struck you as a lot worse than Bangladesh, but you should know, having actually visited these places. And it's true that India does have those out-of-control megacities where the quality of life must be appalling.

I also can't remember any facts with which to make a comparison between Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Obviously, an acute famine is horrific but India had (and I think still has) famine conditions woven into modern districts where a lot of people had money. I believe that Bangladesh does a better job of caring for their poorest people than India.

I can't see how they would be better off if they were still East Pakistan but who knows.

^ It seems like this would be the hypothetical bottom line if you lived in Bangladesh: Would you rather be abandoned by your neighbouring countries, or be abandoned by people you shared citizenship with?

[Toy Revolver]

obviously it's more important for people to take care of themselves and each other

the border between india and bangladesh had refugees trying for greener pastures on both sides but the indian side was really bad

like with kids in final stages of starvation like on those commercials bad

[Lisnaholic]

^ Like many people, I've never witnessed that kind of poverty, except on t.v.

the border between india and bangladesh had refugees trying for greener pastures on both sides

That's a depressing scenario. I wonder if the US border will ever be like that, with Americans fleeing all the mass shootings and book-bannings for the serene tolerance that is Mexico. 

[Toy Revolver]

i think that americans are already fleeing to mexico at close to the same rate they're coming here

it's just when you add all the central american countries that the numbers get skewed

spanish speaking immigrants don't seem problematic to me

i think constantly calling it a "crisis" is racist af tbh

not to mention, it was our fucked up policies that made those places difficult to live in