World News Thread

[Frelga]

Russian police are being much more aggressive today against protesters than they were a week ago.

Things got pretty dire, apparently. I don't want to say that this is about the US, but it's possible that the brutality of the government forces is meant as a challenge to the new administration. Or not. Putin does what he wants.

In other news from Russia.
https://twitter.com/olliecarroll/status ... 78369?s=19

In a move that will negate half of the Russian language, authorities from today are outlawing swearing on social media. Good job ban doesn’t cover English, otherwise I’d struggle to describe the f***d-up universe some moralistic lawmakers appear to live in

This may cause an entire generation of Russian online users to adopt English as their first language.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Meanwhlie, in Myanmar:

https://www.npr.org/2021/01/31/96265269 ... kyi-others

I literally was coming to this thread to say "Meanwhile in Myanmar".

I've been disappointed by some of what Aung San Suu Kyi has done since she came to power, particularly with regard to the treatment of the Rohingya (though I suspect that the military was behind that all along), but this is another huge blow to global democracy.

[RoseMorninStar]

It is distressing. Myanmar and Russia. And here. And...

[N.E. Brigand]

I didn't realize that "Burma" and "Myanmar" derive from the same word. Also "Myanmar" should be pronounced with two syllables not three, and the R is silent. Nice little linguistics lesson.

[Túrin Turambar]

Now that Brexit is finally done and Jeremy Corbyn is gone, I (and a lot of other people no doubt) have been paying less attention to British politics. Keir Starmer, the new leader of the Opposition has kept such a low profile, in fact, that I struggle to remember his Christian name (Kenneth? Keith?). In fairness, though, he is a pretty colourless figure, which might actually be what the Labour Party needs. In general, when I have seen his name on Twitter, it's in the context of progressives saying he's so moderate they won't bother to vote Labour while he still leads. His polling is OK, but they argue that, given how the Johnson Government has mishandled COVID-19, he should have a clear lead.

All being said, I read this essay this morning from a Labour supporter who actually supports him and strongly prefers him to Corbyn, and I found it an interesting read.

[RoseMorninStar]

Does the Brexit deal affect the British commonwealth at large? Canada, Australia, etc..?

[Túrin Turambar]

It allows Commonwealth countries to negotiate trade deals with the UK directly, and obviously has an impact on Commonwealth businesses operating out of the UK, but has no other effect.

[Túrin Turambar]

Hemiandrus jacinda: insect named after New Zealand prime minister

New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has received what may be her greatest accolade yet: a large insect named in her honour.

A new species of wētā – a giant flightless cricket that is endemic to New Zealand – has been named Hemiandrus jacinda for being Labour-party red in colour and “long-limbed”.

Steven Trewick, a professor in evolutionary ecology at Massey University in New Zealand and the scientist who named and formally described the insect, said it had struck him for “reflecting traits of the prime minister”.

It was a “striking species”, he said, and he considered it beautiful.

The prime minister’s office said Ardern was “aware of this and very honoured”. A spokesperson added: “A beetle and a lichen, along with an ant in Saudi Arabia, have also been named after her.”

[RoseMorninStar]

Wow! Impressive.

[Túrin Turambar]

In general, you are better off being an incumbent rather than a challenger in a crisis. And if you can manage the crisis, even better. In countries or states which have managed COVID-19 relatively well, some incumbent governments have won re-elections with huge landslides. We saw this in the state of Western Australia this weekend, where the Government completely isolated the state for months, was able to have life return to normal unusually quickly, and won re-election with an absurd 69% of the two-party preferred vote and 51 seats in the Legislative Assembly to the Opposition's 6. This is even more surprising as it's a Labor Government in a historically-conservative state.

I was curious if this trend shows up in Norway and Iceland, two other countries which handled the pandemic relatively well. Curiously, the Government of Norway has benefited, but not its counterpart in Reykjavik.

The main reason I wanted to make this post, though, was to highlight the current breakdown of the Icelandic legislature (or Althing), in particular, this party, which seems fitting given the country's Viking heritage:

Capture.PNG (49.03 KiB) Viewed 4213 times

The footnote states that "the Pirate Party rejects the conventional leadership model".

[Frelga]

@olliecarroll

Alexei Navalny has been transferred to prison hospital with severe respiratory illness and high temperature, confirm authorities. Jailed Kremlin critic earlier reported several inmates with TB. Prison service denies there being a problem.

[RoseMorninStar]

I guess several days ago he had requested a doctor and they sent Maria Butina in to see him. Hopefully he's had a TB vaccination.

[Túrin Turambar]

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, dies aged 99

Obviously not surprising given his failing health over the course of the year, but it is strange to read about the death of someone who has been world-famous since 1947. He was a household name when Joe Biden was in preschool.

The Crown wasn't a particularly flattering portrayal of the royals, but I get the impression it boosted his public profile and made him a bit of a fan favourite. Strange how these things work out. I have to say I always liked him.

I'll see if the flags here are at half mast tomorrow.

[Sunsilver]

Flags here were at half-mast YESTERDAY, and I am still wondering why. The U.K> time zone is 5 hours ahead of us, but not THAT far!

Edit: I think it was to honour those who died from the coronavirus. I am sure they will also be lowered to honour Prince Philip, since Elizabeth is still our Queen (head of the Commonwealth).

[Túrin Turambar]

He had requested a low-key, no-fuss funeral. Interestingly, due to COVID restrictions, this is exactly what will happen. His body will not lie in state and he will have a quiet, private family funeral.

I cannot imagine what it must be like for the Queen - to lose a partner of 73 years.

[Sunsilver]

Yes, I really feel for her.

Have determined that yesterday flags were lowered for another very good reason. This was Holocaust memorial week.

[Túrin Turambar]

As an interesting connection between those events, Prince Philip's mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, was one of the righteous among nations for hiding a Jewish refugee family from the Gestapo during the German occupation of Greece. What's also interesting is that Alice and her son were among the few members of their extended family to actively fight against the Nazis - Philip fought in the Second World War on the opposite side to his brothers-in-law.

I find social rituals around death fascinating. The BBC has come under heavy criticism for abandoning their regular programming on BBC 1 and BBC 2 to provide rolling coverage of Philip's death. Which I understand, as there wasn't all that much to say once the death was announced. This is the first example of what the BBC calls (from memory) a 'Class-A royal death' since the death of the Queen Mother in 2002, and so it's the first to happen in the age of social media.

It's also been interesting to follow the debate around the coverage of the Prince's history of questionable remarks. There's been a bit of a political split between "the media should admit he was racist, and his death shouldn't change that" on one side and "he has only just died, he was of his time, he wasn't malicious, he could be genuinely funny and put people at ease, and besides, he made the right decision in 1939 when it really mattered". We wouldn't have seen this sort of debate in the past, but then, as I said, we didn't have Twitter when the Queen Mother died.

[Sunsilver]

Well said, Túrin. Three of his sister were members of the Nazi party. He definitely said some very controversial things, but sometimes you have to take the good with the bad when judging someone, and in his case, I would say the good definitely outweighed the bad.

Came across this story on FB today - I find it quite touching that Philip took the rescued men into his own personal cabin, and that he had a picture of his future Queen and wife on the table:

Prince Philip Saved Us from Dying
In January 1945, Roy ‘Gus’ Halliday and Petty Officer Norman ‘Dickie’ Richardson, his rear gunner, ditched their Avenger bomber, its wing on fire after a dog fight with the Japanese, in heavy seas off Sumatra.
Wearing only inflatable life jackets, the two men and a third crew member were facing death. Then came rescue in the shape of the Destroyer HMS Whelp, whose First Lieutenant was Philip Mountbatten (Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh)
Dickie, who sadly passed away earlier this year, vividly recalled the day when Prince Philip’s quiet heroism in the British Pacific Fleet saved his life.
“I pulled a dinghy out of the aircraft, but it didn’t inflate” said Dickie. “‘Gus’ had skilfully flown us back towards the fleet before we were forced to ditch but relying only on our Mae Wests to keep us afloat, we were in a pretty dicey situation.”
Luckily, HMS Whelp was less than a mile away, close enough to put down a boat, although they had great difficulty getting it away in the strong swell.
“As the ship’s boat came alongside, Prince Philip was at the rail looking over” said Dickie. “He welcomed us aboard and took us down to his cabin where he lent us towels and dry clothing for us to wear. I remember he had a framed photograph of his sweetheart, the future Queen Elizabeth II on the table in his cabin.”
“As a serving officer with the British Pacific Fleet, and before that in the Mediterranean, Prince Philip gave great service to his country. He was very well liked and set a great example to us all” said Dickie.
Dickie’s crew sailed with HMS Whelp to Freemantle where they re-joined HMS Victorious and in March, April, and May 1945, 849 Squadron was involved in intensive bombing raids over the Sakishima Islands and Formosa in support of the Battle of Okinawa. In June, the fleet returned to Sydney and most if not all the crew were rested. Dickie, meanwhile was retained for more action, this time as senior TAG and acting Chief Petty Officer flying further strikes – on shipping, harbours, and airfields on the Japanese mainland, two of those raids being on 10 August, the last day of action by the Fleet.
“I probably had my closest shave of all on that last day” said Dickie. “We were very nearly shot down on the raid in the morning and landed with a big hole in the wing.” The second raid on 10 August was his last recorded flight. Dickie had completed a total of 511 flying hours and had unbroken service with 849 Squadron from its formation in August 1943 to its decommissioning at the end of the war.
Prince Philip and HMS Whelp were in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese signed the surrender.
Dickie and the 21 year old pilot of the stricken Avenger, who went on to become Vice Admiral Sir Roy Halliday, were reunited with Prince Philip at Buckingham Palace 60 years later. “It was wonderful reminiscing with HRH Prince Philip as a fellow VJ Day veteran” said Dickie. “The air strikes at Palembang were fairly dangerous and I will never forget the day he saved our lives.”

[Frelga]

A Twitter account that posts old declassified KGB files, along with other Soviet images, posted directives regarding Prince Phillip's visit to USSR in 1973. The goal was to keep his entourage, including known spies, from spying, and locals from misbehaving in front of the foreigners. There are also some interesting tidbits on the journalists from various UK outlets and their flattering or not portrayal of the USSR (including some things the BBC people were saying while drunk.)

[Túrin Turambar]

BBC’s Prince Philip coverage breaks UK TV complaints record

Strong contender for the title of "most British thing ever":

And in a sign that the BBC is destined to be criticised by all sides, 116 people wrote to the corporation over the weekend to complain that it was making it too easy to complain about its coverage.