The Political Thread

[Barry Poppins]

I'd commit murder before porn gets banned.

 

[Ricky Smarks]

The likelihood that you could get 66% of Congress to agree on banning porn is probably the least likeliest scenario of any amendment anyone has ever tried to pass in the last hundred years.

 

[Samoa Looch]

It's just another case of ass backwards logic by the GOP, celebrated by their voters. The GOP put the Simpsons meme "Won't someone please think of the children" on the front of their campaigning flag, even though everything they fuckin' do are things that most certainly show they don't give a flying fuck about families, children or Women.

An "online" porn ban (i.e. a porn ban) will lead inevitably lead to increasing numbers of sexual harassment and rape cases and the fucking kicker about that is, they will then, when they gonna get confronted with those increasing numbers in the future, just say "See, that comes from the ungodly porn y'all watched. Y'all can thank us for saving your daughters!" and the idiots gonna applaud them for it.

The fuckin' idiot parents who'll celebrate this are the same stock of idiot parents who campaigned on "D&D is Satan's work!" in the 80s and the fuckin' idiot parents who have campaigned on "Video Games are the reason for violence and school shootings." during the 90s and 00s (and probably some still do nowadays).
Idiot parents, who on one hand say that the government shouldn't tell them how to raise and care for their kids (Vaccinations/Measles are a beautiful current example), but then want the government to basically kill thousands of people's incomes "to save the children".

... AND don't even get me started on the obvious undertones of this bill... it's not just about banning "online porn videos", it's about so much more.

 

[Samoa Looch]

The likelihood that you could get 66% of Congress to agree on banning porn is probably the least likeliest scenario of any amendment anyone has ever tried to pass in the last hundred years.

Likely the case, yea... this bill was introduced twice and was canned both times, but politics have changed, so it's too easy (and plays into their hands really) to just ignore it.

 

[Samoa Looch]

• 2025 India–Pakistan strikes
  • Pakistan announces Operation Bunyanun Marsoos, the start of large-scale military action against India. A number of strategic locations across India are reportedly under attack. (Samaa.tv)
  • Pakistan Air Force warplanes launch airstrikes throughout India with missile strikes targeting Udhampur, Pathankot Airport and a BrahMos missile storage facility in Beas City, Punjab. The Indian Armed Forces postpones a press conference in response to the attack and urges civilians to seek shelter. (Al Jazeera)
  • A Pakistani Fatah-II missile is intercepted over the city of Sirsa in India's Haryana state. (News18)
  • India announces the temporary closure of its airspace over the northern and western regions of the country until May 14. (Al Jazeera)

 

[Samoa Looch]

 

[Chris]

Trump administration poised to accept 'palace in the sky' as a gift for Trump from Qatar: Sources

President Trump poised to accept "palace in the sky" as a gift from Qatar: Sources

abcnews.go.com

In what may be the most valuable gift ever extended to the United States from a foreign government, the Trump administration is preparing to accept a super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar -- a gift that is to be available for use by President Donald Trump as the new Air Force One until shortly before he leaves office, at which time ownership of the plane will be transferred to the Trump presidential library foundation, sources familiar with the proposed arrangement told ABC News.

The gift is expected to be announced next week, when Trump visits Qatar on the first foreign trip of his second term, according to sources familiar with the plans.

Trump toured the plane, which is so opulently configured it is known as "a flying palace," while it was parked at the West Palm Beach International Airport in February.

 

[Samoa Looch]

This the guy, who's telling people to just accept the fact they won't be able to afford buying their kids two dolls for Christmas?

Just checking...

 

[Chris]

Hamas to release US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander as part of efforts to reach Gaza ceasefire

It comes as a senior Palestinian official confirms direct talks between Hamas and the US in Qatar.

www.bbc.com

Hamas says it will release Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander as a part of efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

The 21-year-old soldier is the last living hostage with US nationality being held in the territory.

It comes after a senior Hamas official told the BBC that the Palestinian armed group was holding direct negotiations with a US administration official in Qatar. The official said talks had been ongoing for several days and were focused on securing a truce and facilitating the entry of humanitarian aid.

 

[Chris]

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/business/china-us-tariffs.html

The United States and China said Monday they reached an agreement to temporarily reduce the punishing tariffs they have imposed on each other while they try to defuse the trade war threatening the world’s two largest economies.

In a joint statement, the countries said they would suspend their respective tariffs for 90 days and continue negotiations they started this weekend. Under the agreement, the United States would reduce the tariff on Chinese imports to 30 percent from its current 145 percent, while China would lower its import duty on American goods to 10 percent from 125 percent.

“We concluded that we have a shared interest,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at a news conference in Geneva where U.S. and Chinese officials met over the weekend. “The consensus from both delegations is that neither side wanted a decoupling,” he said.

 

[Chris]

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/12/trump-drug-pricing-order-most-favored-nation.html

President Donald Trump on Monday revived a controversial policy that aims to slash drug costs by tying the amount the government pays for some medicines to lower prices abroad.

Trump signed an executive order including several different actions to renew that effort, known as the “most favored nation” policy. Trump did not refer to specific nations, but signaled that he would target other developed countries because “there are some countries that need some additional help, and that’s fine.”

“Basically, what we’re doing is equalizing,” Trump said during a press event on Monday. “We are going to pay the lowest price there is in the world. We will get whoever is paying the lowest price, that’s the price that we’re going to get.”

 

[Comrade Khan]

subsidizing medication is deemed controversial for Americans?

 

[Barry Poppins]

subsidizing medication is deemed controversial for Americans?

Unironically.

 

[Barry Poppins]

Trump administration poised to accept 'palace in the sky' as a gift for Trump from Qatar: Sources

President Trump poised to accept "palace in the sky" as a gift from Qatar: Sources

abcnews.go.com

In what may be the most valuable gift ever extended to the United States from a foreign government, the Trump administration is preparing to accept a super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar -- a gift that is to be available for use by President Donald Trump as the new Air Force One until shortly before he leaves office, at which time ownership of the plane will be transferred to the Trump presidential library foundation, sources familiar with the proposed arrangement told ABC News.

The gift is expected to be announced next week, when Trump visits Qatar on the first foreign trip of his second term, according to sources familiar with the plans.

Trump toured the plane, which is so opulently configured it is known as "a flying palace," while it was parked at the West Palm Beach International Airport in February.

 

[Chris]

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/us/politics/white-south-africans-refugees.html

The first plane carrying white South Africans who received refugee status from the Trump administration landed at Washington Dulles International Airport on Monday morning, according to a flight tracking website.

The arrival marks a drastic reversal in the United States’ refugee policies, which have long focused on helping people fleeing war, famine and genocide. President Trump essentially halted all refugee admissions programs on his first day in office before creating a pathway for Afrikaners, a white ethnic minority that ruled during apartheid in South Africa, to resettle in the United States.

The group that arrived Monday on a U.S.-funded Omni Air International charter flight say they have been discriminated against, denied job opportunities and have been subject to violence because of their race. 49 Afrikaners boarded the flight on Sunday, according to a spokesman for South Africa’s airport authority, after more than 8,000 people expressed interest in the program. There are scant details available about the individuals who arrived in the United States.