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I think it's all of a piece with the modern era - style over substance is a proven winner.

Brexit won on telling people that it was whatever they wanted it to be, despite the contradictions is a great example of this. Make believe, boosterism - call it what you want.

We have "levelling up" as the verbal equivalent of standing in the hatch of a tank wearing a military uniform, staring at the horizon and looking stern.

There's nothing behind it, but so far that's been fine.

Looks like the rise in water levels is slowing somewhat. Hopefully no serious damage done

Those drapes look like something out of HR Giger.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/20/putin-and-macron-agree-to-try-and-secure-ceasefire-in-eastern-ukraine

You're clearly not one of the significant minority on whom propaganda works.

Brexit won on telling people that it was whatever they wanted it to be, despite the contradictions is a great example of this. Make believe, boosterism - call it what you want.

True, but it seems much of the heavy lifting on that was done by the illegal use of anti-social media data to exploit people's weaknesses. While I agree other election campaigns are vapid in the sense you describe, but not necessarily illegal, I think the greatest threat at the moment is this 'micro-targeting' of vulnerable people who are alone in front of their computers. That doesn't excuse voting for stupid nonsense, but I don't want to blame the unwary alone.

I wonder how much of the online Brexit misinformation was Putin's work? In his eyes it would be worth spending a great deal to get the UK out of the EU.

But that’s just part of telling people what they want to hear. It’s not presenting something of substance that you ask them to engage with critically and examine- indeed it’s the opposite.

Technology allows that to be targeted in a way that previously could not be done at scale, sure, but it doesn’t change the content.

President Biden cancelled a family event this evening in Delaware after a National Security Council meeting to stay in Washington. Not looking good.

What I find particularly weird with the flickr stream is how the photos are juxtaposed - Grant Shapps pretending to work for the coastguard next to Liz Truss having a meeting with her team. It just makes it look like they're pretending at all the jobs, not just the ones they're dressing up for.

I've enjoyed browsing the Flickr stream. So much gold.

How staged is the Shapps one by the Needles?! Where he looks like Beavis! They're literally wasting time, money and resources dicking about for photoshoots!

And Truss' phallic metaphors. I particularly like the one with the flattering perspective and the flag.

These imposters have to go.

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It's right out of the populism playbook. Kim Jong Un loves a bit of it and so did people like Gaddafi.

Rather than actually doing anything useful, they spend their time trying to prove their useful through propaganda. The whole tory party is a giant cult personality. That personality being 'vacant cunts'

Strange. Putting Michael Dukakis in a tank cost him the '88 presidential election.

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2013/11/dukakis-and-the-tank-099119/

A whistleblower has leaked the details of 30,000 Credit Suisse accounts. Lots of the customers are corrupt politicians. Also drugs, mafia etc. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/feb/20/credit-suisse-secrets-leak-unmasks-criminals-fraudsters-corrupt-politicians

Coincidentally I looked up some global fraud stats the other day. The 2018 total for bribes and corruption was estimated at $3.6 trillion, or 5% of global GDP. That's more than the car industry was worth in 2021.

I think I've realised what it reminds me of - the Butterfield detective agency

https://youtu.be/LcmXCXqI7Ew

Lots of the customers are corrupt politicians

To literally nobody's surprise. Amazing reading though, the Graun often seem to be part of breaking big news stories other outlets aren't.

The Graun is one of a number of supposedly independent papers chosen by the whistleblower. Sounds like a similar arrangement to the wikileaks and Snowden deals. It puts the paper in a tricky position of trying to put the readers first and not serve as the PR outlet of the whistleblower. The material has to be checked fast, under pressure from the whistleblower, who is trying to break the story before their adversaries expose them. It's a delicate balance. The other papers and the lobbyists and politicians always scrutinise these relationships, trying to find evidence that the paper hasn't lost impartiality. Sometimes they make mistakes. Plenty to read on the Guardian's wiki entry about all that.

Putin says he is going to recognise the breakaway Ukrainian republics after an hour long massive Soviet gammon rant about the good old days.

His father was in an NKVD destruction battalion in WW2. His job would have been to terrify Soviet citizens to stop them siding with the Nazis. Thousands of people were shot out of hand, with no process or investigation, just the merest suspicion that they might not be loyal. Criminals were recruited into these regiments. Women and children were massacred. You've got to wonder what impression this made on Vlad.

So, glass half full - we have so many Russian Oligarchs in London and so much Russian money that it's unlikely we will get nuked. Can we take away the Oligarchs passports and maybe tie them to post boxes to prevent them scarpering?

Aren't the Jocks looking after the nuclear arsenal?

McBoooooom

Russian “peacekeepers” despatched

But Truss announced we were going to unleash the announcement of sanctions tomorrow

I thought most Oligarchs were wanted back now anyway if they weren't one of Putin's circle

Was just thinking it looks like Putin’s in a real rush to get something done here before a deadline and it doesn’t seem to be self-imposed. There didn’t seem to be a danger of the west properly arming and supporting Ukrainian forces such that they could repel the Russians. So it must be something else.

Can't remember where I read it and it was a while ago, but someone said that there is a bit of a balance between him/his circle, the Oligarchs, mafia and military. Yes he can lock some of the Oligarchs up to show strength, but he can't lock all of them up and he does reply on their money and services in one way or another.