Sam: Hey, all. I know the international tide of late has been pretty disappointing (except for Thighland). But good news, something fascinating is going on in what has been called “Europe’s last dictatorship.” Anna: About 8 different world leaders just said “hold my dress uniform” Sam: Well, Alexander Lukashenko has been President of Belarus for as long as the title has existed. Taking office in 1994, has kept Belarus firmly in the shadow of the Old Soviet Union and gained notoriety for his authoritarian fancies, such as outlawing applause (naturally, the first person arrested for clapping had one arm). Lukashenko … Continue reading The Weekend Politics Claps Its Hands, Potentially Says Yeah

Monty: So this week I was listening to the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast before work. They were talking about the Trump campaign’s ad strategy and it suddenly occurred to me that I haven’t seen any US political ads for this cycle, not living there and all, and I’m morbidly curious to see what they’re like. Anna:  I…haven’t seen any, and I do live here. This worries me in the sense I think Biden really should do a Hulu ad buy or something for all the cord cutters, but advertising in 2020 is an entirely different beast. The trump campaign has been advertising … Continue reading The Weekend Politics Thread Reacts

Monty: So it’s come to this: Parliamentary Elections in Syria. Anna: I’m American so something something, never start a land war in Asia.  Monty: Shall we get into it? Syria is not a real democracy, and the international community as a general rule does not recognize the legitimacy of its elections, but they do give some small insights into how Syrian government works and what is going on internally with its government. The parliament has 250 seats, elected via 15 multi-member constituencies. Of these 250 seats, 50 are held by nonpartisan representatives, while the other 200 are united under the … Continue reading The Weekend Politics Thread Has the Freedom to Choose One Thing

Monty: Y’all ready for this? You may be wondering why we’re not doing a 4th of July-related post, and frankly if the US wanted us to do a WPT about the 4th of July, they should have made it election day. Instead we’re going to talk about the Dominican Republic. It was either this or Croatia, but Croatia’s election feels so much like every other European election and I am not in the mood for that. Anna: My Fourth of July plans are hiding in the basement watching Hamilton with Belle while the house I live in hosts a gathering … Continue reading The Weekend Politics Thread Isn’t Doing What You Expected

Anna: Fuuuuuuuuuck this. Like, I could post a graph here of police brutality stats or something to be educational, but nah, we all know the problem. We have probably seen footage of cops using police brutality against people protesting them for using police brutality. But there’s also a lot of good stuff too. Communities marching peacefully, local governments ending contracts and studying budgets to make adjustments, Ben and Jerry’s making a run for corporation I hope takes over. I am glad the news footage from other countries is calling it like it is, and hopeful we can keep up the … Continue reading The Weekend Politics Thread Pleads the Third

Anna: Alright, tell me everything. Monty: Okay. Last week, Suriname had a Presidential election. For those not in the know, Suriname is the only Dutch-speaking country in South America, having become independent from the Netherlands in 1975. Despite its relative obscurity considering its close proximity to the US, Suriname has had a violent and contentious history, particularly in the 1980s when the country was a military dictatorship under the de facto rule of General Dési Bouterse. Oh, did I mention that Bouterse is Suriname’s current President? Anna: military dictators and presidential elections go together about as well as strawberry milk … Continue reading The Weekend Politics Thread Spills the Beans

Anna: Today, brought to you by the “everything is political” school of thought, I’d like to spend a header discussing some COVID related life changes. My own state will be lifting the stay at home order on May 29th, at which point I assume most of the people in my county will immediately pretend nothing ever happened, will happen, or is happening. So my curiosity is this; in this shifting time of government declarations that aren’t technically laws, the politicization of if it even exists, and the rising tensions of election year…. How are y’all supposed to be dating right … Continue reading The Weekend Politics Thread Is a Way of Life Now

This week we have a guest PT host, whose social studies project this week was learning what the news is from reading articles. She has attempted an article of her own below. She’s also just fresh off a quarantined 8th birthday so, be gentle.  Animal Crossing Island Fun I want to talk about Animal Crossing. This week for school I learned what an article is. It’s like a page in a book or a newspaper or online that talks about a subject. One of those subjects can be news. When I hear news I think of an article. Like people … Continue reading The Weekend Politics Thread with special guest

Anna: Well, we were going to talk about the Polish Presidential Election, but then between COVID-19 and a security leak it has been postponed. Nine former Polish Presidents and Prime Ministers called for a boycott of the election, and now there is no election. Thanks, guys. Monty: I got nothing. Talk amongst yourselves, and enjoy a picture I drew of Anna’s cat: Continue reading The Weekend Politics Thread’s Plans Fall Through

Anna: mmm, bleach, delicious. So, I know usually we try to go wide and international for the PT but we gotta go local this weekend so I can tell y’all about the Protest That Wasn’t very close to me. As y’all know, there is a growing (and then I assume shrinking) population of united dumbasses protesting the government doing the very governmental action of governing which, the horror, I guess. At least here in the US. I don’t know about other countries, though I would like to find out. Anyway, I was perusing the Book of Faces the other day … Continue reading The Weekend Politics Thread Is on the Scene and Nobody’s There

Monty: So South Korea is holding its legislative election on Wednesday. Anna: I’m very curious how other countries are handling elections with pandemic safety at the moment, and also how candidates are using the pandemic, but mostly I haven’t checked the news in a week and am assured just knowing other countries still exist. I think I actually mean reassured there. 44 million people are eligible to vote in 300 representatives, with procedures in place so that even sick citizens can vote. Meanwhile, Wisconsin. Monty: For what it’s worth, South Korea is pretty far over the hill regarding the Coronavirus, … Continue reading The Weekend Politics Thread moves ahead

The Weekend Politics Thread is at a loss… Monty: I was supposed to cover Armenia’s constitutional referendum, but the vote was postponed due to the Coronavirus outbreak. The vote would have taken place today and tomorrow. It’s hard even to say what is going on anywhere, how much of it matters, or whether everything will go back to normal afterward or effectively start over from scratch. Probably somewhere in between. What I do know is that people are using it to be super-racist. Mostly against East Asians of course, as has been well-covered on this thread, but a surprising amount … Continue reading The Weekend Politics Thread is at a loss…

7-8 March: WPT No election; open topic Anna: Well I suppose we should talk about the coronavirus. No, I’m not writing this at 2 AM on Saturday morning, don’t look at me like that. Or cough on me, please. Some areas of the world have already started adjusting for the incoming influx  of influenza-like symptoms. And for most of the week, I was thoroughly prepared to give my own country shit for not doing so. But lo and behold, the Emerald City Comic Con has been postponed. I am betting it was because too many celebrities pulled out, personally, but … Continue reading The Weekend Politics Thread takes a step back…