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 From:  william (WILLIAMA)   18 Aug 12:46 
 To:  Drew (X3N0PH0N)      17 of 24 
43047.17 In reply to 43047.16 
Of course, there are parts of the state that are actively engaged in promoting a contradictory, atomised set of views and beliefs. In the USA (how long will the "U" remain vaguely applicable) we can see the growth of political cults towards the end of the C20th and the start of the C21st which were unusualy wacky, even in a nation where cults were and had been commonplace since the inception of the nation. So in the first decade of this century we see the rise of the Tea Party which was a powerful political force in spite of having no obviously coherent policies, not even libertarianism or alt-right conservatism. Much of this fervour has been adopted by the GOP under Trump, so we see incoherent and often contradictory pronouncements. And yet what Trump actually did in power was entirely in line with what Nixon was aiming at 50 years earlier. Pack the Supreme Court with rightwing morons, institute a kind of C17th conservative moral code by law, free the ultra-wealthy to do what they want, crush socialist dissent. Well, he managed the first of those and started on the others. 

Over here the same has been the aim of countless MPs within the Tory party and elsewhere. We had the insanity of Johnson, who lied every bit as wildly and enthusiastically as Trump and lent support to every rag-tag bunch of thugs that sounded roughly in line with Tory strategy. I think that there's an important sense in which the UK hasn't been governed for the last decade and a half. It's been shaped into a disparate mass of groups and individuals.

Thank goodness we've got that sensible, honest socialist Mr Starmer to lead us out of this mess.

He May Be Your Dog But He's Wearing My Collar
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 From:  Drew (X3N0PH0N)   18 Aug 13:37 
 To:  william (WILLIAMA)      18 of 24 
43047.18 In reply to 43047.17 
> there's an important sense in which the UK hasn't been governed for the last decade and a half. It's been shaped into a disparate mass of groups and individuals.

That rings very true, yeah.
 
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 From:  CHYRON (DSMITHHFX)   18 Aug 14:44 
 To:  william (WILLIAMA)      19 of 24 
43047.19 In reply to 43047.17 
The Tea Party's sole coherent policy was rich guys not paying taxes, hiding inside a nebulous cloud of grievances the rich guys couldn't care less about, but got the great unwashed onboard with sufficient coaching. It was, and remains a resounding success, and is the meal ticket of ensuing extreme right movements.
“A man with nicotine, protein, caffeine, and creatine coursing through his veins is an unstoppable force.”
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 From:  Drew (X3N0PH0N)   18 Aug 20:17 
 To:  CHYRON (DSMITHHFX)      20 of 24 
43047.20 In reply to 43047.19 
I think the original impetus for the Tea Party was opposing the bank bailouts. Which is a good position. They held it for the wrong reasons, of course, and quickly became a vaguely racist anti-Obama, fiscal conservatism thing but ... yeah.

 
 
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 From:  william (WILLIAMA)   19 Aug 09:38 
 To:  Drew (X3N0PH0N)      21 of 24 
43047.21 In reply to 43047.20 
Similar confusion is visible in the Gilet Jaune thing in France. It kicked off with one main gripe. People who were obliged to depend on fuel, especially diesel, were suddenly hit with big tax rises. This came on top of a history of falling wages in rural and semi-rural occupations, rising prices, and rapid increases in inequality. The final straw, as it were, was that the tax increases were portrayed as environment-friendly measures, whereas many of the worst environmental offenders, big corporations and wealthy individuals, were getting massive tax breaks, even as their wealth increased. The poor saw themselves cast as anti-environment-friendly while being expected to contribute most. So far so coherent. Where it gets confusing is that there was no single solution or view being espoused. Gilet Jaune protestors came from the right, the far right, the left and the far left. Most were anti-Macron. Also, as the protests expanded, the root causes were muddled, in part by the government and the press with a campaign of disinformation and partly because the causes actually did begin to divide. There were plenty of protestors who cared nothing about the price of diesel, but were profoundly anti-Macron. They were joined by revolutionaries on the right and left. Probably most significantly, later, especially after the end of the Covid restrictions, it became an anti-police protest. The French police were extraordinarily violent in their response to protests (perhaps I should say openly violent, because with their history of bodies floating down the Seine in the 50s/60s/70s they have some previous m'lud) with numerous instances of lost limbs, blindings, and brain damage.

Macron is an unusually inept president. He seems to have a skill for instituting reforms in a manner most likely to upset people. No sooner had the Gilet Jaune protests dies down, than he introduced a pension reform. To say it was clumsy is an understatement. But there you have it: violent protests again.

He May Be Your Dog But He's Wearing My Collar
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 From:  Drew (X3N0PH0N)   19 Aug 14:26 
 To:  william (WILLIAMA)      22 of 24 
43047.22 In reply to 43047.21 
This is slightly tangential to that but most recent mass movements seem to have this amorphous, non-specific quality. 

Even the more organised ones, from Occupy to BLM to Gilet Jaune, they don't really have *demands*. So they can be easily co-opted and neutered by the bourgeoisie, as in the case of BLM, or just ignored, as in the case of Occupy, which was crippled from the outset by its extreme horizontalism. ("defund the police" isn't specific enough to be a demand, it's a slogan).

Even the climate activist groups like Just Stop Oil and Climate Rebellion, they're a bit more organised and *kinda* have demands, but they're not very good at putting those demands at the forefront of their activities.

The recent student protests were a bit better and in some cases actually got something done.

Again, I think the lack of an actual left prevents these movements from getting much done (when they're left-aligned). A protest, in and of itself, is never going to do anything. 
 
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 From:  CHYRON (DSMITHHFX)   20 Aug 09:33 
 To:  Drew (X3N0PH0N)      23 of 24 
43047.23 In reply to 43047.22 
The global elite have been very diligent at ensuring popular resistance to their misrule remains fragmented and confused. This is mainly by contolling the vectors of information, in olden times sermons, then books, newspapers, radio, tv, internet, and currently social media (we may reasonably suppose efforts are underway to influence brain waves, as shown in a Batman film), and by fairly transparent and brutal reward/punishment regimes. They made capitalism function as an apologia for theft and murder. I think these things are generally known and understood, but only voiced by kooks. The institutions of the left, and newer formations as they spring up, are very closely monitored, infiltrated, and disrupted. If they have coherent demands, and they often do, these are misrepresented and twisted by those who interpret things on our behalf and tell us what to think. It is an extremely challenging environment, and it seems can only be matched by some equally fanatic cult or religion. But those can also be co-opted.
“A man with nicotine, protein, caffeine, and creatine coursing through his veins is an unstoppable force.”
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 From:  Drew (X3N0PH0N)   22 Nov 02:48 
 To:  Some call me... (PSYCHO_GEEZER)       24 of 24 
43047.24 In reply to 43047.1 
I watched this the other night. Mostly out of something like morbid curiosity.

Annnnndd... for what it was *trying to be*, it was very good. If you like the character of Deadpool and the irreverent comedy and meta-commentary then it does that stuff very well.

It was fun to see Blade. I have a soft spot for Wesley Snipes. And I *reallly* enjoyed Channing Tatum's Gambit as a Louisiana weirdo, that was probably my favourite thing in the film.

It didn't make me laugh but it did make me smile a lot. But it also made me roll my eyes a lot (I'm a bit tired of Ryan Reynolds' patter).

There were bits of invention. Like the extended ultra-violent fight scene in the family car.

I surprised myself by enjoying watching it. But ultimately it was hollow and left me with nothing. These Marvel films have the feel of music videos or slick adverts rather than actual films.

I think William nailed it with: There's too much production and not enough direction.
 
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