European Politics

generally yes, though I am happy he said he was going to start cranking our LNG to export to Europe. I am not so sure he will follow through on that or not.
 
bearfan said:
He was never a good guy to me
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Yeah, but you're Republican. Try to see it with my eyes: When he called for the abolition of nuclear arms, he was a good guy. Then he didn't close Gitmo and was a bad guy. Then he did Obamacare and was a good guy. Then he was spying on us and was a bad guy. Then he wanted to help the Syrians and was a good guy. Then he wanted to station nukes in Germany and was a bad guy. I have to admit that I'm losing track a little, but if those videos say he's a good guy again, I guess I'll have to take that for now.
 
He has said a lot of things. He has always struck me as a person who has grand ideas (agree with them or not) but does not follow through and does not seem to understand people take those grand ideas as something that will happen. He is the guy who keeps saying he will paint his house, but it still has a 1970s coat of paint on it
 
How much of that is Congress refusing to even consider working with him, though? I wonder how much Obama would have gotten done if he were president in, say, 1980 instead of 2010, when there was a much greater level of cooperation within the parties.
 
He had 2 years of the greatest majorities in modern history to work with and the most executive power in history (that has been increasing from President to President over time for sure) to do what he wanted. Obamacare is the perfect example . regardless if you like the policy or not. He bowed out of the debate beyond "just pass something", he did not explain/sell it at all, which is why the "you can keep your plan" proved a disaster, and the one job the executive branch had control of (the actual rollout) was a total mess. This is supposed to be his signature accomplishment and is has been misstep after misstep.
 
Yes, Obama had a great majority to work with. What he didn't have was a functioning supermajority for most of that time. Ted Kennedy spent the first 8 months of Obama's term dying and unable to work, and Scott Brown was elected only 6 months later, during which McConnell whipped the entire GOP to avoid working with Obama. He had six months, not two years, to get stuff done with the way the US system works.
 
The fact that Scott Brown was elected in MA of all places will tell you what people thought of Obamacare. But, he still had much more to work with than any other President past or probably in the next 30 years
 
Yeah, but I was more going for the "criticising European media" thing. :P
 
The thing is, I was only half-joking. Obama and America are portrayed as good or evil here - and by "here" I mean Germany - as required by the simplification of world events. It really is hard to track how I am expected to feel towards the US at any given time. Right now, I'm not sure if I'm expected to hate them for the NSA affair, or for the announcement to station nuclear missiles in Germany, or if I'm supposed to like them for their role in the Crimea crisis.
 
The government party dominated the elections. They won the Istanbul mayorship and passed the %45 vote threshold. Main opposition couldn't pass the %30 vote threshold. Like I've stressed before, there's no hope for the country through elections. Shit will go down in the upcoming months, with government possibly pressuring the opposition even more with the power they got from this election, Gülenist movement's propaganda against the government, the loss of respect across the globe due to authoritarianism (especially from the Turkey's big brother, the USA), ongoing possible war with Syria debate, the reaction of nationalists to the discussions of a autonomous Kurdish state. The country is incredibly polarized and the country shows signs of a possible civil war or bloodbath on the streets.
 
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The city always had a troubling history. ;)

The city was founded in 1869 by a Welsh businessman, John Hughes, who constructed a steel plant and several coal mines in the region; the town was thus named Yuzovka (Юзовка) in recognition of his role in its founding ("Yuz" being a Russian or Ukrainian approximation of Hughes). During Soviet times, the city's steel industry was expanded. In 1924 it was renamed Stalino (Сталино), and in 1932 the city became the centre of the Donetsk region.
 

Hopefully Putin will send in some troops to protect these poor people (in case anyone missed it, this is heavy sarcasm)


Protesters in Ukraine’s East Call On Putin to Send Troops

MOSCOW — Several hundred pro-Russian demonstrators who have seized government buildings in the city of Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine, urged President Vladimir V. Putin on Monday to send troops to the region as a peacekeeping force, and they demanded a referendum on seceding from Ukraine and joining Russia.

The renewed unrest in eastern Ukraine, which flared on Sunday with coordinated demonstrations by thousands of pro-Russian protesters in Donetsk, Kharkiv and Luhansk, reignited fears in Kiev and the West about Russian military action a little more than a month after Russian forces occupied Crimea. The Kremlin annexed Crimea after a referendumthere last month.


 
Far-right wing is growing in Europe, Imperial Russia demand, stupid austerity measures for some countries, mass unemployment, deindustrialization, bad politicians...
 
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