In this forum probably it is not necessary, but in case you are new on this… HR is there to protect the company and just the company. If HR finds that getting rid of you is easier than of the problem you are complaining about, for the good of the company, they will boot you out. It is not been mean, it is for what they are paid for.

So true on the USSR.

On using personal narrative for advance I am fine, but has to be more or less genuine to the context. If I say that my neighbor is horrible because once took my lawnmower and never returned it back and leave the part that he bought me later on a better one because he broke mine… I have been completely disingenuous.

Thanks for the clarification… sorry if it sounded I was going after you, actually I read your comment as you intended.

What I was venting about is about how the media that, today, works as memes only portrayed one side of her story… something like this meme does too. Now, if we are going to be that simplistic, this meme captures far more her experience under the Soviet rule than her moms after WWII.

Good Point! Yes I have been following MeRA25 / DIEM25 (gosh horrible name(s)!) and their podcast since 2 yrs ago and Yanis Varoufakis for more than a decade… great man yet so sad he is unable to connect Europeans. Of course, Brussels was able to permanently linked him with Greeceś default, when he was the very person denouncing the whole scheme. They need a marketing person (and a new name now since 25 is half over). I was tempted once to give him a great domain for a new European party. In any case, Amazing intelligent and humanistic guy, but his speeches sound too commie and too rancid. Even, over and over he proved himself right in international politics and economics and his new book positions him as very, very well verse in current technological affairs,yet Yanis, rather than being the front lead, he should be the mentor to someone can speak in today’s language.

It is true, the system in Europe highly penalizes pan-european or even pan-national parties in contrast a small highly concentrate party in a region, so one could consider to organize a coalition wave of small parties scattered across the EU. But I still think is is better to have a common name across Europe. This is a thing of talking to a few lawyers to see the possibilities.

Many Estonians were sent to Siberia… but we have to set the premise in the right here. Till 1950, for 1000 years, Estonia has been independent 22 years (after WWI and the Soviet revolution). Before Russia, for 1000 years, Germany, Sweden or Denmark owned Estonia.

After WWII, true the Soviets send many people to Siberia, a horrendous amount of people… but it comes with the caveat that Nazi Germany occupied for 4 years before so probably, the intent was to deport “collaborators”, although we know how these things are operated and probably many were completely innocent (in war we know how repugnant neighbors are to each other on reporting innocents.)

Now her mom did come back a decade later and apparently they made a very good life ever since. That is like if in the 1950s I was imprisoned for a decade (rightly or not) and for the next 3 decades I succeeded in the system and lived far better than my peers (and better than the overwhelming majority of Russians!) but I just self the story of 1950s… it is just disingenuous.

Don’t take me wrong, I believe in the preservation and even right of self-determination of people, myself come from one without it, but stop portraying like Estonians or Ukrainians were heavily discriminated by Moscow… they were not. Estonians were not the blacks in the US of 1800s, not even in the 1950s, nor were the Jews in Germany of 1930s but more like the Scots in UK or Basques in Spain. Many people were sent inhumanely and even criminally to Siberia but was proportional to either being suspected of being a collaborator, not for being Estonian or Ukrainian.

I celebrate that Estonia is an independent country and remains to be so for many decades to come, but play your cards right, be vary of Russian’s intentions as of the US’ or Germany; all three would not think it twice before throwing you under the bus the very moment they calculate to use you as a tool for their own gain. Finland in 1950-2010 knew how to operate in that environment; strength your defenses, but reassure you won’t be used by one or the other side; Finland thrived then.

The lands you are probably referring was the Mexican Cession (most of the US western lands now). That cession happened after the Mexican war that ended in the treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo signed in 1848. So the map mostly accurately reflects that as US territory in 1850.

Insightful comment. I consider myself politically neutral yet I can tell apart when a genocide is happening, privacy violations, a ailing society, and a long etc. You are completely right with “socialist left needs to focus on is crafting its messaging in a way that resonates with the public”. I still not sure if socialism is a solution but gosh… if a wondering mind like me, gets with a rancid aftertaste when reading words like “means of production”, “capitalism”, “Marxist”… for real, the language needs to update and connect with people… It is like I say “we need to gather around the wireless to hear news”. (in 1910s radio was known as “wireless” from wireless telegraph)… it is a good statement but if i said some people simple will get confused with the term and the rest will know the term but simply think a person that uses those old references cannot possibly have the solution for today’s world problems.

I did check them… even interacted with one of their executive members but, besides the literature that found it mostly bland and ambiguous, did not find enthusiasm there for the change Europeans demand. Besides, being federalist, I think on the rest of policies they will accommodate to whoever they partner with on the center-left. I did not see a substantial audience with Volt’s message, maybe I should have spoken with more of their people. My search continues. Thanks SubArticTundra.

Thanks again, I see it like that. These days I predict the US has more chances of changing than Europe since the lack of social net will precipitate the demand for change more radically. Finally, what is your take on leftist parties in Europe such as Diem25 (I am not versed on the differences Marxist, leninist and that)?

Could not agree more here! Any group you follow there you see with a minimal grasp of reality?

No doubt, with more responsibilities there is always a tendency to conform more, but from there to vote blindly there is a stretch. I wonder what happened to the Pirate parties in Europe!! I am looking for a pan-European, not necessarily federalist party in Europe but the few available do not convince me… I am tempting to create one (partially joking)… or just give up and find a peaceful live in some coast.

The official Israeli CBS cites 50% of Israeli Jews having their ancestry in Europe, primarily Ashkenazi and post-Soviet groups… but of course, with DNA test ban in Israel is hard to know for sure… Being 75% of the Israeli population Jewish, that places it as 2/3 of Jews in Israel are from European origin… and that is their own stats. I would even say more are.

The theory is that. What is perplexing is how with so many countries, with so many stakeholders (voters, industries,…), the discipline is incredible. The Ursula case is interesting, the US did not like the candidates that was posed to win (Manfred Weber as probably saw on him as too patriotic German and Margrethe Vestager as too popular with Europeans with her antitrust cases on American companies)… so imposing ignoring the Spitzenkandidat system and resorting only to secretive backroom deals… it is amazing this is what the EU has become!!! It is no surprise most EU representatives in the parliament know no clue about the candidates and just follow party lines, but still… I would expect some more dissidents. Meloni in Italy is interesting too… her speeches were vociferously anti-establishment but the media was kind of passive with her… and no surprise, she is indeed perfectly inline with the establishment… but, the media were told to be nice with her before elections so the apparatus knew beforehand her real self! There is a vetting process before hand!

Germ theory was unknown then and those Spaniards lacked understanding of contagion, well I’m lying, the people then knew about contagion with blood and corpses but not through items like air or blankets. The disease spread, while catastrophic it was fully unintentional. The only accounts like the famed Bartolomé de las Casas described the diseases as “divine punishment” or “mysterious plague”, never as a warfare tool.

However with the British, again more than 2 centuries later, there was knowledge and intent as per Jeffrey Amherst and Colonel Henry Bouquet discussing it “Could it not be contrived to send the smallpox among the disaffected tribes?” “I will try to inoculate them with some blankets…” during the Siege of Fort Pitt (1763).

Very true, but Spaniards did not know about the lack of immunity from European diseases and never had that intention for erasure of Indigenous. The English, that colonized 2 centuries after the Spaniards, used European diseases as an additional tool for complete genocide on indigenous.

So true… but unlike the US, where it is well known there are sectors that earn lots of money and power, I don’t know exactly how it works in Europe since everyone losses with these choices. I am positive, the US choose Ursula for the post (I bet they do like when selecting the General to rule Pakistan where he is vetted for a couple of weeks in private) and forced into the EU with bypassing the Spitzenkandidat process. But why so many powers in Europe let that fly?!

It is perplexing to me how she has been able to get where she is with that story and how the media complicit with it!

For the non Europeans, she is Kaja Kallas, the EU Foreign affairs representative. She is extreme bellicose, specially toward Russia and representing a tiny minority of Europeans on the matter. But she encapsulates perfectly her boss (Ursula). Europeans elected a completely different parliament recently with a clear mandate for a radical chance… to end up with the corrupt Ursula von de Leyen once again. I strong believe these positions in the EU are heavily vetted by the US before allowed to run.

Colonialist Spain formally recognized in 1542 Indigenous peoples as “free vassals of the Crown” as Spaniards themselves, not slaves. Of course, as in The Mission movie portrayed, many colonialists violated the Crown’s laws (Columbus himself was imprisoned for violating a Crown law from 1495 banning enslaving Taíno people). The Spanish crown wanted conversion + integration whereas British sought *erasure * of the Indigenous. But it was not just the Crown laws, individuals from Spain easily intermarried from early on, the English did not.

This distinction of the Spanish colonist vs all their norther neighbors that were far more repressive. I attribute this to the Spanish experience under Islamic rule for 8 centuries, where differences were highly tolerated and conversion was ‘only’ mandatory for those not considered as “peoples of the Book” mentioned on the Islamic scriptures.

To conclude, Spanish colonialism, from the Americas to the Philippines, was abusive, sometimes heavily, but the centuries later the ‘civilized’ British one was plainly genocidal from beginning to finish and the independent United States, continued with the legacy if not increasing it. In word of historian James Axtell: “The Spanish asked Native people to become something else [Christians]; the British demanded they vanish.”

The US is making full usage of the bases in Europe to support Israel, without them it would have been logistically very hard; short of like the invasion of Afghanistan without the collaboration of Pakistan. These US bases fall under the US European Command (EUCOM) but are integrated into NATO’s architecture. The European NATO members, not only provide the bases, but subsidize the costs (e.g., infrastructure, utilities), therefore, becoming participants with the Israeli Campaign.

Countries can have some say. Spain, for instance, blocked some US airplanes destined to some campaigns, but it is just symbolic since the US just need not to declare the intention (or lie) and that is the end of the restrictions. It is not like Spain is going to inspect the vast amount of tonnage the US military is moving through Spanish ports, let alone between US bases. US could easily avoid the bases in Spain and use instead Germany, Italy and Morocco, but why would do so, when you can just humiliate your vassals in their face and have no repercussion at all… same as blowing up Nord Stream 2.

When a neighbor to one side of your home actively participates is genocidal intent, and the other neighbor in the other side also does the same but he smiles at you and even lends you a cup of sugar when needed… I am sorry, but there is no “lesser evil” here… I will vote for anyone but any of them, even if there is no chance it will make a difference now!

However… that is not a ‘wasted’ vote, but actually an extremely important one… although for a longer term, for following elections. If Democrats see that they loose an election because they loose 3% of typical votes to a third party, they will try to accommodate the concerns of that 3% next time around. If that 3% keeps voting Democrats, there is no incentive to change. The same applies for the Republican side. If the big political parties don’t address that still, magic can happen, out of the blue, that 3% can become a 13% movement and donations start coming and in two or three years you have a chance of introducing a capable third party… either way is a win.

No voting, in theory, should have a similar wake-up power as a vote for a third party, but in reality it does not… in the mind of politicians it a much costlier vote to get to it ends usually dismissed as a lost cause; they don’t take much reading into 25% or 45% absentee vote… but 1% vote loss to the other side or a third party is watched as a hack, specially in highly polarized elections when it is hard to compensate that 1% loss with voters from the other side!

So mark what is your critical red lines and if no major party respects them, do vote for anyone, anyone that does, no mater how small… don’t try to do short-term political engineering since political parties have thousands of people far more capable than any of us at doing political engineering and start throwing around catchphrases such as “lesser evil” or that the other side is “fascist/communist” that is solely designed to leave you parallelized.

Finally, it is the problem of political deception. When it is so blatant in both sides, the same principle applies, vote for anyone, anyone that has not lied on your red lines so far, make your mark that you are sick of deceptions so politicians know they have to address it. Again, don’t try to find the lesser evil while indicating your neighbor that smiles at you, that you are okay tolerating with his crimes and deceptions.