2025 Overseas Political Thread

[licks2nite]

Friedrich Merz, future Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany and Wolfgang Steiger, Secretary General of the CDU Economic Council

Merz held senior positions in the CDU Economic Council for many years until he took office as party head. According to a former HSBC employee, Steiger has been a good friend and close associate of Merz since the latter’s time in the Bundestag in 1994. It was thanks to these long-standing ties, as the German investigative journalist managed to find out, that Merz entrusted Steiger to establish contact with the leaders of Latin American cartels:

«In 2011, Wolfgang Steiger met with the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Juarez Cartel in Cullacan, Mexico, where they signed the first drug contract. After that, Steiger, together with Merz, began an active search for the main organizers and key supervisors for each stage of the implementation of the deal: this is the person who controls the supply of drugs under the guise of medicines, the person responsible for supplying weapons to the cartels, and the distribution supervisor in Germany. Steiger controls them all, while Merz makes the key decisions. All these people are firmly dependent on Merz.»

https://vtforeignpolicy.com/2025/04...-through-illegal-drug-trafficking-in-germany/

Lengthy well presented article by a Brazilian geopolitical analyst with pictures and diagrams.

 

[80watts]

There was a news report about HSBC in Mexico and US doing deals with the cartel. The US employees got off scott free after turning over evidence. Those people should of been hanged.

 

[licks2nite]

A mother arrested and jailed seven hours after she confiscated iPads from her own children because she wanted them to concentrate on their homework.

Neil O’Brien, a Tory MP and shadow education minister, commented on the incident, noting “This is beyond absurd. People are having phones snatched all the time and police won’t follow up even when they know where they are, yet a law abiding person can end up in a cell for hours on end for taking away their own kids’ iPads.”

Richard Tice, the deputy Reform UK leader, said that the “world has gone mad,”adding that “Police need to catch real criminals not mums looking after their children!”

Greg Smith, the shadow business minister, added his criticism, remarking “Absolutely mad. A parent chooses when their child gets screen time and anything that challenges that is absolutely bonkers.”

Harry Miller, a former police officer who works with the free speech campaign group Fair Cop, urged that police in the UK are becoming “Stasi like”.

https://modernity.news/2025/04/12/mother-arrested-jailed-for-being-a-responsible-parent/

UK ministry makes public spectacle of arrest to tell children not grow up snatching cell phones. And warn public of phone snatching. Cheaper than jailing the phone snatchers. Everybody gets the message including the undocumented and unvetted.

 

[80watts]

The woman's ex called it in??

 

[licks2nite]

Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein of sexual abuse, has died by suicide aged 41, her family has confirmed.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cql67qk0dd3o.amp

Oh my gosh. That is so sad

 

[licks2nite]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...sh-Virginia-Giuffre-four-days-live-story.html

Canada isn't only jurisdiction needing improved driver training. Vetting of arrogant drivers. Virginia Giuffre suffers renal failure during car accident and commits suicide. Australia assisted dying laws. Ross Munn bus driver tailgating at 110 km/hr. Hit Toyota Highlander slowed to 75 to make right turn. Australia drives on left. Munn says only broke tail light passing Guiffre car.

 

[licks2nite]

Turkish fighter jets issued warning signals and jammed Israeli aircraft during Tel Aviv's latest deadly bombing campaign in Syria.
https://www.newarab.com/news/turkey-jams-israeli-jet-electronics-amid-deadly-syria-airstrikes

Yet another chapter in a story not going away.

 

[westwoody]

View attachment 122594
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...sh-Virginia-Giuffre-four-days-live-story.html

Canada isn't only jurisdiction needing improved driver training. Vetting of arrogant drivers. Virginia Giuffre suffers renal failure during car accident and commits suicide. Australia assisted dying laws. Ross Munn bus driver tailgating at 110 km/hr. Hit Toyota Highlander slowed to 75 to make right turn. Australia drives on left. Munn says only broke tail light passing Guiffre car.

Get a dashcam people!
I was stopped at a red light and I got rear ended by an asshole who was yakking on her phone. She didn’t slow down, she didn’t see the red light and she didn’t see my big white SUV.
Manitoba Insurance was very interested in the video.

 

[80watts]

I don't think its driver training. It is the attitude of the driver.
There are other problem like excess traffic (rush hour), which slows traffic, so people weave and change lanes causing mild havoc on highways etc.
Most drivers are cautious, but it takes only a few assholes to create chaos on a highway.
Prime example from Chillwack to downtown Vancouver it all should be a 8 lane highway. Car/trucks should maintain a 4-5 car spacing to maintain speed. But hey everyone rides each other bumpers (to prevent assholes from cutting in front).

 

[licks2nite]

May 8 2025
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza — Israel's ongoing blockade of humanitarian assistance for Gaza forced a leading aid group to shut its community soup kitchens Thursday as it faced empty warehouses and no replenishment of supplies in the war-battered enclave.

The ongoing hunger is threatening Gaza's population, already battered by 19 months of war. In April, the World Food Program said its food stocks in Gaza had run out under Israel's blockade, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the territory.
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/08/nx-s1-5392324/world-central-kitchen-gaza-aid

April 28 2025
As the aid ban continues, humanitarians are doing everything possible to reach people with whatever supplies remain available.
They also have stocks of food and other lifesaving items ready and waiting to enter the Gaza Strip as soon as border crossings re-open.
This includes nearly 3,000 UNRWA trucks of aid, while WFP has more than 116,000 metric tonnes of food assistance – enough to feed one million people for up to four months.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/04/1162666

As true as a UN report.

 

[licks2nite]

Australia’s Unrealized Gains Tax Will Be A Lesson In Economic Suicide
Australia seeks to turn theoretical wealth into actual poverty by taxing imaginary money.

But wait, it gets even better. That $3 million threshold? It’s not even indexed to inflation. So as the value of money inevitably erodes, more and more regular people will find themselves dragged into this mess.

Then there’s the bureaucratic nightmare of it all. Valuing assets for tax purposes every single year is an administrative quagmire. How do you accurately value a private business annually? How do you value collectibles, real estate, or other non-liquid assets in a way that’s fair and consistent? The government doesn’t have that kind of precision, and neither do most investors. What you end up with is a system riddled with errors, disputes, and compliance headaches for both taxpayers and the government.

My prediction? You’ll see a mass exodus of capital. People will restructure their investments, move funds offshore, and pull money out of productive sectors of the economy. You’ll see market volatility as investors dump assets to avoid future tax liabilities. You’ll watch the property market distort as people chase after tax shelters. And ultimately, you’ll see economic growth grind down under the weight of a policy that punishes investment and rewards government overreach.

...after this plays out, no serious policymaker with a shred of economic literacy will be able to look at the forthcoming outcomes and still argue that taxing unrealized gains is anything but a disastrously stupid idea.

https://quoththeraven.substack.com/p/australias-unrealized-gain-tax-plan

A culture on earth exists thriving on chaos. You will own nothing and love it.

 

[Bang4thebuck]

Australia’s Unrealized Gains Tax Will Be A Lesson In Economic Suicide
Australia seeks to turn theoretical wealth into actual poverty by taxing imaginary money.

But wait, it gets even better. That $3 million threshold? It’s not even indexed to inflation. So as the value of money inevitably erodes, more and more regular people will find themselves dragged into this mess.

Then there’s the bureaucratic nightmare of it all. Valuing assets for tax purposes every single year is an administrative quagmire. How do you accurately value a private business annually? How do you value collectibles, real estate, or other non-liquid assets in a way that’s fair and consistent? The government doesn’t have that kind of precision, and neither do most investors. What you end up with is a system riddled with errors, disputes, and compliance headaches for both taxpayers and the government.

My prediction? You’ll see a mass exodus of capital. People will restructure their investments, move funds offshore, and pull money out of productive sectors of the economy. You’ll see market volatility as investors dump assets to avoid future tax liabilities. You’ll watch the property market distort as people chase after tax shelters. And ultimately, you’ll see economic growth grind down under the weight of a policy that punishes investment and rewards government overreach.

...after this plays out, no serious policymaker with a shred of economic literacy will be able to look at the forthcoming outcomes and still argue that taxing unrealized gains is anything but a disastrously stupid idea.

https://quoththeraven.substack.com/p/australias-unrealized-gain-tax-plan

A culture on earth exists thriving on chaos. You will own nothing and love it.

Such a stupid idea. Let's raise cash flow to pay for taxes on imaginary gains! Oops, looks like my investments went down again! Time to get that money back some day from the government! I can see the liberals eventually going down this path. Deferred capital gains on real estate investments is how a lot of people build wealth. Without that, all we would have to invest in would be other businesses earning an active business income. Passive income is taxed to shit already. Honestly wouldn't mind owning 10 pizza shops all breaking even on paper with $0 in declared cash sales 😂😂

 

[80watts]

Jesus, just raise the fucken tax and be done with it. If you can't raise taxes, then its time to cut expenses.....

Governments could--- not pay interest on Debt. Defaulting. What would happen?

 

[Larry's Torch]

OMG!
Is that Oswald Cobblepot? !

 

[Bang4thebuck]

Glad to read a lot of others on here are also apathetic towards Palestine. Rejected the two state solution in various forms repeatedly over the years because what they really want is to eradicate the Jews and take over Israel.

They're just playing the propaganda game funded by Qatar to try and gain international political support and it's working. You can't do anything these days without a pro-Palestine (see: Hamas) protestor jumping out of the bushes. They picked a fight they couldn't win, and they're salty about being the losers.

Pretty fucked up they hide Hamas fighters in hospitals and schools using children as shields so they can pull the "they're bombing our hospitals and killing our kids!!" card. Netanyahu really needs to get aggressive here while Trump is in power. Why don't their neighboring countries take in the Palestinians? Because they know better, and learned from their past mistakes when they took some of them in as refugees.

The antisemitism and how much hatred society allows towards the Jews is seriously fucked up and it's sad to see universities just mindlessly support the pro-Palestine movement which is really spreading Hamas ideology and antisemitism. I've spent many years in post-secondary and enjoyed my time at university, but it seems like most people just go to unquestionably digest far-left bullshit without any debate or life experience to test their beliefs.

 

[80watts]

Teachers at elementary, high school and colleges and universities all have teachers that influence people who take their classes. College/Universities have the most radical people who read different books, think the shit they learned should be practiced, and go on a tear, fucking up young impressionable minds. Teachers should have the non-religious, and non-political stances. Teach the course materials etc etc. etc....

 

[Cock Throppled]

Another mindless drone murders two innocent Israeli staffers in Washington over Gaza, and screams "Free Palestine." Yes, I agree - Free Palestine from Hamas, who are the SOLE cause of the misery Gazans endure. The college students parroting the same old anti-israel rhetoric refuse to see that Hamas' only goal is to eliminate Israel, not work for peace, help Palestinians to prosper, develop Gaza or create any kind of stability. The more dead Gazans the better for Hamas, to use as PR to blame Israel.

Blaming Israel for trying to survive surrounded by hostile nations, is blaming the victim.

 

[licks2nite]

How the India-Pakistan conflict tests Beijings Hardware

In the evolving chessboard of global military strategy, wars are often more than territorial disputes—they become laboratories where emerging technologies are tested, refined, and evaluated. One such testing ground has been the India-Pakistan conflict, where China, through its defense exports to Pakistan, has found an opportunity to observe and assess its military hardware in real-world combat conditions.

https://vtforeignpolicy.com/2025/05/how-the-india-pakistan-conflict-tests-beijings-hardware/




Happening everywhere.

 

[licks2nite]

Footage allegedly shows American security guards throwing stun grenades at Gazans outside aid site

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1928052327707013544

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1927382188670021708

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveb...ing-stun-grenades-at-gazans-outside-aid-site/

Indiscriminate hostility on some well dressed Gazans.

 

[itchyandscratchy]

Footage allegedly shows American security guards throwing stun grenades at Gazans outside aid site

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1928052327707013544

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1927382188670021708

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveb...ing-stun-grenades-at-gazans-outside-aid-site/

Indiscriminate hostility on some well dressed Gazans.

This reminds me of when Hamas machine gunned innocent men, women and children in their homes and then setting the houses on fire.