World News Thread

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Dave_LF
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Re: World News Thread

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N.E. Brigand wrote: Thu Sep 01, 2022 7:21 pm Nine people have been infected with -- and three of those people have died from -- a "pneumonia of unknown origin" in the Tucumán region of Argentina. Eight of the nine infected people (and thus two of those who have died) are health care workers, all from the same clinic. Tests are negative for Covid, influenza, hantavirus, and "25 other" possible pathogens.
It's just legionella:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/04/americas ... index.html
"Just," that is, provided you're not one of the ones who's got it.
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Túrin Turambar
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Re: World News Thread

Post by Túrin Turambar »

Liz Truss defeats Rishi Sunak to become the U.K.'s next PM (and third female PM). She will travel to Balmoral Castle to kiss hands Tuesday morning local time and then announce her cabinet.
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RoseMorninStar
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Re: World News Thread

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Hopefully the can work out some of the strike issues taking place in the UK.
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Frelga
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Re: World News Thread

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The law of unintended consequences in action. But in a kind of fun way.


If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn't as cynical as real life.

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Voronwë the Faithful
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Re: World News Thread

Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

I split off the discussion about The Passing of Queen Elizabeth II to a separate thread.
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Frelga
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Re: World News Thread

Post by Frelga »

Watch this space.

Armenia is requesting military assistance from Russia, under the treaty of mutual defense, against Azerbaijan, a former signatory of the same treaty.

Russia doesn't exactly have military power to spare on another conflict, but neither can they afford to advertise that fact.



If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn't as cynical as real life.

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Frelga
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Re: World News Thread

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No word on aid to Armenia.

Meanwhile, two member states of the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization), Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, are fighting each other.

If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn't as cynical as real life.

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Re: World News Thread

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I saw a headline that Russia had brokered a peace with Azerbaijan and Armenia and they were knocking it off for now but I didn't check for details.

As for this new blow up in Central Asia...is this happening because Russia is too weak to keep the peace or was it bound to happen regardless of any other events?
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Dave_LF
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Re: World News Thread

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And it sounds as though Khamenei is at death's door too, if not beyond it. That part of Asia could look rather different soon.
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Re: World News Thread

Post by Frelga »

River, it seems likely that the exposed weakness of Putin's military is at least in part behind the flaring up of the conflicts.

Armenia, at least, has nowhere else to go for help - their historic enmity against Turkey goes way back. But I've seen it's mentioned that Kazakhstan is reaching out to China for security guarantees.

When the emperor has no clothes, it's embarrassing, but when the neighbors learn that the emperor has no army, he's really in trouble.
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Re: World News Thread

Post by N.E. Brigand »

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken yesterday hosted a meeting of the foreign secretaries from Azerbaijan and Armenia.
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Dave_LF
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Re: World News Thread

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Dave_LF wrote: Sat Sep 17, 2022 1:52 am And it sounds as though Khamenei is at death's door too, if not beyond it. That part of Asia could look rather different soon.
He's hanging in there, but there are pretty significant demonstrations going on throughout Iran right now over the death of a woman while in the custody of the Morality Police (actual name). Hajib burning, etc. This would probably be a top story if it weren't for the bad day two other international fascists are having.
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Re: World News Thread

Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

The good news is that Italy elected its first female prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.

The bad news is Giorgia Meloni appears set to become Italy’s most far-right prime minister since Mussolini
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Re: World News Thread

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Iran Protests surge to dozens of cities
Iranians fed up with oppressive rules and a battered economy have faced bullets, tear gas and arrests to demand an end to the Islamic Republic’s rule.

Dozens have reportedly been killed by security forces as demonstrations continue to spread across Iran. Protests began after Mahsa Amini died in the custody of the morality police.
From Wikipedia:
On 16 September 2022, a 22-year-old Iranian woman named Mahsa Amini (Persian: مهسا امینی), also known as Jina Amini or Zhina Amini (Persian: ژینا امینی, Kurdish: ژینا ئەمینی),[4] died in Tehran, Iran, under suspicious circumstances, allegedly due to police brutality.[5][6][7][8]

The Guidance Patrol, the morality police of Iran's Law Enforcement Command, arrested Amini for not wearing the hijab in accordance with government standards. Police said she had a heart attack at a station, fell on the floor, and died after two days in a coma.[9][10] Eyewitnesses and women who were detained with Amini said she was severely beaten, which in addition to her leaked medical scans,[1] led independent observers to diagnose cerebral hemorrhage and stroke.[11
That is just.. mind boggling. If a woman's hair is so awfully horribly immodest I would shave my head. :(
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River
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Re: World News Thread

Post by River »

I think the hijab is supposed to be a sign of devotion. Except it's being coerced, turning it into a sign of something else. You'll notice that the men are also out there, protecting and participating.
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Túrin Turambar
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Re: World News Thread

Post by Túrin Turambar »

Voronwë the Faithful wrote: Mon Sep 26, 2022 3:20 am The good news is that Italy elected its first female prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.

The bad news is Giorgia Meloni appears set to become Italy’s most far-right prime minister since Mussolini
Apparently she's been smashing glass ceilings in the hard right. From Politico Europe: "In 1992, a 15-year-old schoolgirl went to join her local branch of the far-right Youth Front in Rome. The all-male group of radicals met her with bemusement. Thirty years later, Giorgia Meloni is on course to become Italy’s first female prime minister."
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Re: World News Thread

Post by RoseMorninStar »

I had read this, which I suppose can be interpreted many ways,
The hijab is worn by Muslim women as an act of obedience to God’s command in the Quran, where Allah (God) says:

وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا ۖ وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَىٰ جُيُوبِهِنَّ ۖ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ

“And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment….” (Quran 24:31)
I took 'adornment' to mean hair, but perhaps it refers to the chest? If it is a matter of devotion, shouldn't it apply to all?

I wore a tiny headcovering when I was young.. a vestige of the old days.
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Well, gee. I looked at several videos.. several websites. They all had different reasons for wearing either full covering or hair covering.

eta: when I was in school we had exchange students who were Muslim/people from around the world if many faiths but they didn't wear coverings if any sort. Not even in Iran. I think that came back in the 1980's(?) with the Ayatollah Khomeini.
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Inanna
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Re: World News Thread

Post by Inanna »

Rose, societies/families sending girls to foreign exchange programs would be unlikely to be hijab wearing ones.

It’s not common in India. You see burkas a lot, but not hijabs. I’m not sure why. But in south East Asian countries - Singapore, Malaysia (the two I’ve been to), it’s everywhere. A particular outfit - covering everything and a hijab.
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RoseMorninStar
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Re: World News Thread

Post by RoseMorninStar »

Inanna, yes, I'm sure it's more common/traditional in some places than others, but it wasn't always so (I'm a little older than some of you so I remember). In Tehran, Iran in the 1960's & 70's the wearing of hijabs, nijabs, and burkas was uncommon. It was after the Islamic revolution (around 1979/early 1980's?) when the country took a hard right to religious totalitarianism that hijabs, nijabs, &/or burqas became common/required. Wearing certain garments can be spiritual or religious in nature, but it can also be political because it was forced by a political state and has become symbolic of such. It is associated with political/religious extremism (and not necessarily with spirituality) for that reason.
Photos from Tehran, Iran in the 1960's-70's.
Indonesia 1970's.

It's not easy to find data, but even in Afghanistan the wearing of such was not common in the mid 20th century until the take over by the conservative Taliban rule that the wearing of such/laws restricting women's dress and activities was enforced. Many Afgahni women assert it was never a part of their culture prior to the take over the of Taliban.

I know styles/customs change. It was much more common for women to wear headscarves (and men to wear suits and hats-not baseball caps) in public in the US at one time. But it wasn't mandated by law. I guess my point is that these are often more recent laws/customs (within the past 40 years) and a woman died for lack of a piece of headwear.
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Re: World News Thread

Post by RoseMorninStar »

Inanna, out of curiosity it would be interesting to ask your older relatives what they remember in this regard.
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