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Survivor of CIA Torture and Rendition Supports Assange at Extradition Trial

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Re: Survivor of CIA Torture and Rendition Supports Assange at Extradition Trial

#191

Post by refurb »

arcticbull wrote: post #110
lawnchair_larry wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

LGBT have equal rights in the US.

Not really. More than in some places to be sure. 1. Until June 16, 2020, that you could be fired for being gay or transgender. And that's not even a blanket ruling, as religious institutions in the US are basically exempt from the Civil Rights Act protections. 2. It's still illegal to use one bathroom or another as a transgender person depending on which state you're in. 3. Transgender people are not allowed in the U…

The US is more progressive than many European states.[1]

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_the_European_Un...

Re: Survivor of CIA Torture and Rendition Supports Assange at Extradition Trial

#192

Post by jariel »

sudosysgen wrote: post #130
jariel wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Proportionality is relevant in this, but I won't bother to respond to your fiction regarding historical events. You might want to ask the mass murdering regimes of those regions, many of whom continue to operate today, about those issues.

You mean, like the mass murder of millions of innocents the US has perpetrated abroad? If you believe in proportionality and not utilitarianism, I shudder to think what you find commensurate. Certainly much more than I would. How many people did Vietnam murder since the end of the war? How many did Laos?

[flagged]

Re: Survivor of CIA Torture and Rendition Supports Assange at Extradition Trial

#193

Post by jariel »

justanotheranon wrote: post #142
jariel wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Remind me again, what made the USA any better than North Korea or any other off-the-rails criminal regime?" ... is an intellectually offensive question. Posed in the open, by someone on an 'American' blog, in perfect safety knowing there would not remotely ever be any repercussions for posing the question.

you don't know that there won't be repercussions. perhaps when i say "America is already at dystopian North Korean levels of mass propaganda", my IP address is stored in XKEYSCORE and my cell phone billing info is cross referenced and my name is put on a Watchlist. perhaps when i try to apply to a FedGov job, some automated sytem for scoring Inside Threats uses that Watchlist, and determines i am a security threat, a…

"you don't know that there won't be repercussions. perhaps when i say "America is already at dystopian North Korean levels of mass propaganda", my IP address is stored in XKEYSCORE and my cell phone billing info is cross referenced and my name is put on a Watchlist."

It's really sad how deep down the rabbit hole of delusional moral equivalence so much of the anti American bigotry on HN amounts to, and of course so ironic that this is all American-based.

If you want to work for US government spy apparatus, yes, there will be a loyalty test. And that is fine and normal, and it's the same everywhere.

Otherwise, you are free to say pretty much as you please, whenever you want, unless you're making bombs or calling for violence - even in the later case you can get away with it.

Thankfully, there are forces in the world that remain vigilant towards ensuring that you can do that. You can look on a map and it's fairly evident to see which places are fairly open and safe, and which are not.

Re: Survivor of CIA Torture and Rendition Supports Assange at Extradition Trial

#194

Post by ncmncm »

stjohnswarts wrote: post #176
shadowfox wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> he set back computing by 50 years No opinion on Chomsky's politics. But that quote definitely needs some substantiation. Personally, I don't see how anyone , has managed to set back computing by 50 years.

They haven't, it's a clear exaggeration, and lacks any substance at all.

Which is not to say he was right about human language acquisition. (He wasn't.)

But the three grammar classes were correct, and are still in use. They were later found to match work done 2500 years ago, in India.

Being wrong in science, particularly biology, is not a crime, nor, usually, even a shame.

Re: Survivor of CIA Torture and Rendition Supports Assange at Extradition Trial

#195

Post by ncmncm »

stjohnswarts wrote: post #182
arcticbull wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, the two major parties are "center-right" and "far-right" politically. There are some leftists but they aren't represented, and because of the two-party system they won't be. Two parties ~= one party.

AOC and her squad are very far left and they're mainstream.

Centrists.

Re: Survivor of CIA Torture and Rendition Supports Assange at Extradition Trial

#196

Post by x86_64Ubuntu »

ifmpx wrote: post #186
x86_64Ubuntu wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does identity politics have to do with human rights, and why does one preclude the other? Your statement makes it out to seem that you simply don't like what you consider "identity politics" and wanted to bring that into the discussion, regardless of how irrelevant it is.

You're being uncharitable in your reading. GP is rightfully pointing out that political discourse is far often centered on identity politics to the exclusion of more important topics such as human rights. No one is saying that one precludes the other except you.

Like someone else said, which rights are being displaced by "identity" politics? Once again, this is nothing but white anxiety about the public discourse concerning race. Nothing more.

Re: Survivor of CIA Torture and Rendition Supports Assange at Extradition Trial

#197

Post by 0xy »

arcticbull wrote: post #110
lawnchair_larry wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

LGBT have equal rights in the US.

Not really. More than in some places to be sure. 1. Until June 16, 2020, that you could be fired for being gay or transgender. And that's not even a blanket ruling, as religious institutions in the US are basically exempt from the Civil Rights Act protections. 2. It's still illegal to use one bathroom or another as a transgender person depending on which state you're in. 3. Transgender people are not allowed in the U…

Do you think it's beneficial for the US military to accept transgender people who, according to dozens of studies, have substantially higher rates of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation and other negative side effects?

Additionally, some of the hormone blocking drugs can cause bone loss (presenting a real physical risk).

Obviously, this has innumerable risks in a military environment from an objective standpoint. In fact, even post-transition, suicidal ideation is still orders of magnitude higher than average.

Re: Survivor of CIA Torture and Rendition Supports Assange at Extradition Trial

#198

Post by CraigJPerry »

stjohnswarts wrote: post #180
CraigJPerry wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does the USA have a left today? The right who voted for the new deal are left of today’s left. Today’s left are more right than yesterday’s right.

Please go back and cite me some references where they defended black rights, women's rights, LGBTQ rights, etc. I'll be waiting with bated breath.

The indian reorganisation act? ...and breathe again

Re: Survivor of CIA Torture and Rendition Supports Assange at Extradition Trial

#199

Post by CraigJPerry »

stjohnswarts wrote: post #182
arcticbull wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, the two major parties are "center-right" and "far-right" politically. There are some leftists but they aren't represented, and because of the two-party system they won't be. Two parties ~= one party.

AOC and her squad are very far left and they're mainstream.

>> very far left

On what grounds? AOC, like Sanders, advocates for centrist policies like those in the UK. AOC is a left leaning centrist. The rhetoric in the US does label her and Sanders extreme left but that’s evidence in favour of my point - there is no left in the USA.

Who is the USA’s version of John McDonnell telling us all that there’s a lot to learn from Das Kapital?

Re: Survivor of CIA Torture and Rendition Supports Assange at Extradition Trial

#200

Post by Viliam1234 »

boomboomsubban wrote: post #177
Viliam1234 wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In reality, I can both oppose female genital mutilation and consider Ayaan Hirsi Ali racist. Of course you can. But became sufficiently famous doing so, and you will probably also find yourself on some list of "problematic" people. In case I am completely wrong about this, the best way to convince me would be to provide a name of a recent famous speaker against female genital mutilation who is considered politicall…

> course you can. But became sufficiently famous doing so, and you will probably also find yourself on some list of "problematic" people This acts like people were out to vilify her, when she publicly holds incredibly offensive positions. OK, I'll bite. Former congressman Joe Crowley Layli Miller-Muro Nimco Ali Comfort Momoh Waris Dirie

Thank you! Never heard about them before, but they have a Wikipedia page each, so obviously other people did. That's a good news!
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