kwedd

joined 2 years ago
[–] kwedd 1 points 8 hours ago (2 children)

If a member of an opposition party interrupted a press conference by the minister of justice and security or the head of police or something, I wouldn't be surprised if they were removed by security, no. However, I wouldn't expect them to be forced to the ground or handcuffed.

Article 1 of the Dutch constitution states that given equal circumstances people should receive the same treatment. The article goes on to say that discrimination based on things like race, gender religion etc is forbidden. It doesn't say anything about positions of power in the government, but I feel that generally that shouldn't affect things either. I'd want security at a press conference to treat me and a member of Parliament the same, if neither of us was supposed to play an actual part in said conference.

I must admit for some reason I thought this guy was in the California state Senate. The fact that he's a federal politician does change my view slightly.

I'd like to note that it wasn't Noem or even the DHS that detained him, though. They were FBI agents. It's possible that she asked them in advance to crack down on any kind of disruption, but it seems hard to pin this specifically on Noem or the DHS.

The senator's actions were clearly inappropriate. Surely there are more appropriate venues to raise questions with the head of DHS. IMO at least he should have waited until she started taking questions. However, the FBI agents should have realized he was a senator and that roughing him up would be a very bad look for them, and by extension, the Trump administration. It does seem like they were technically within their legal purview to do what they did, though.

I can see why the optics of this are very bad for the FBI and the Trump administration, but at the end of the day, a senator being treated the same way a protester would be when interrupting a press conference, doesn't seem nearly as outrageous to me as all the other things happening in the USA. Things like the National Guard being mobilized because of a limited number of protesters resorting to vandalism or violence, people being deported to a foreign prison/death camp without due process, ICE running around and rounding people up without wearing recognizable uniforms, or showing ID or warrants, a mayor being arrested under false charges at an ICE facility, African Americans, women, gays and other minorities being erased from history, trans people having their rights trampled, important government institutions being defunded and/or dismantled, students being deported for criticizing Israel, environmental policies being removed, Trump trying to ignore judges, etc, etc...

[–] kwedd 18 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I've heard good things about LocalSend.

[–] kwedd 2 points 1 week ago

I think it's too early to say how this will impact the polls. A lot of people are still processing what happened. Blowing up the government over immigration didn't work out great for the VVD (liberal right), but perhaps Wilders' party will fare better.

It was the protest vote that won the PVV (Wilders' party) the last election and the BBB (farmers' party) the Eerste Kamer (Senate) elections before that. Now that the PVV and the BBB have been in the government and achieved basically nothing, those voters are more likely to vote for left-leaning parties or stay home.

If Wilders can push the narrative that the rest of the coalition forced his hand by blocking his immigration policies, perhaps he can win the election. However, considering that even the FvD was criticizing Wilders today that might be a tall order, even in the alt-right bubble.

If Groen Links/PVDA (green/labour alliance) can convince protest voters that the solution to their problems is to tax the rich and invest that money in social programs and environmental policies, maybe they can win the elections.

(Winning the elections in this context means becoming the largest party. Nobody ever gets an absolute majority.)

[–] kwedd 13 points 1 week ago

She hated my feminine behaviour/preferences growing up and still does and used to berate me for that. She didn’t support me when I came out as gay.

So she never accepted you as you are and didn't support you when you needed her most? Your dad's no saint, but if I were in your position, I'd sooner end contact with my mother than my father.

[–] kwedd 13 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Tell his son or daughter that he made a mistake, apologize for setting a bad example, and tell them the right thing to do, assuming the relationship was untenable, would've been to end things with his wife before pursuing someone else.

Edit: A bad husband doesn't necessarily make a bad father, though.

Edit 2: Come to think of it, a good father would probably also have waited a little longer before having his girlfriend move in.

[–] kwedd 15 points 1 week ago (3 children)

A good mother will prioritize the wellbeing of her children over winning a conflict with her (ex) partner. It is completely unfair of her to ask you to pick a side or go no contact with your father. Hopefully she'll realize this once she's had some time to process her (understandable) emotions. In the mean time, best of luck to you!

NGL, IMO your dad sounds like kind of a piece of shit (based on the limited information available to me). However, at the end of the day he is still your father and it's not your job to punish him for that. That's your mother's lawyer's job.

Be there for your mother if you feel up to it (and you love her), but keep in mind that it's a parent's job to emotionally support their children, not the other way around.

[–] kwedd 1 points 2 weeks ago

I haven't used it myself, but I hear Bazzite provides an experience similar to SteamOS. Note that some competitive online games with kernel-level anti-cheat won't work on Linux. Most other games should run fine, though.

[–] kwedd 18 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The Trump administration minutes later filed a notice of appeal.

As soon as humanly possible, I guess.

[–] kwedd 6 points 2 weeks ago

PBS Eons is also pretty good, if you're into paleontology.

[–] kwedd 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

What's Elizabeth Warren been up to lately? That's who I'd vote for of I were American.

[–] kwedd 3 points 3 weeks ago

You should check out Audit the Audit. They're largely focussed on covering police misconduct, but they're also not afraid of occasionally criticizing those interacting with cops. Every episode comes with a thorough analysis of the legal subtleties involved.

 
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