Foreigners only- Comey testimony

[Turdacious]

For you non-Americans, was the Comey testimony a big deal where you're from/where you live, or just a big deal in the US?

[Beer Jew]

It's a big deal. The prevealing hope in the UK is that Trump is impeached and resigns.

It would be a bigger deal if it hadnt fallen the day before a general election.

[Wild Bill]

I would not even hear about it if not FB posts from Americans.

[aussie luke]

All over the news here in Australia

Was broadcast live and I stayed up late to watch to the end in the hope of something instantly impeachment worthy.

Highlight was ol' ramblin grampa McCain ...wtf was he on about? Not sure if he was serious or seriously trolling the whole fucking thing.


Being half British, it has been a fascinating couple of days watching the news from as far away as possible... yet knowing the outcomes of both things could have an effect here too.

[Sangoma]

"News" are complete waste of time. A lot of useless wankers - professional protesters - would be without jobs or audience if not for Trump.

Why the fuck people care about politics - especially in other countries - puzzles the shit out of me.

[Boris]

It's all over the news in Japan.

I'd say in general, in Japan, people have no idea how he became the U.S. president and now assume that every American they talk to probably is a supporter or closet supporter.

[Wild Bill]

So, Trump is Russian spy after all?
All this Russian investigaton was mostly in humorous context in Russian news, and as a result i don't even know how it ended.

[aussie luke]

"News" are complete waste of time. A lot of useless wankers - professional protesters - would be without jobs or audience if not for Trump.

Why the fuck people care about politics - especially in other countries - puzzles the shit out of me.

Because the stupid shit that dumb fuck does can definitely have an effect on our countries and the stupid shit our dumb fuck prime ministers do.

Seeing the Australian and British prime ministers bow down to Trump and not dismiss him as an absolute retard is fucking embarrassing. Had the British election gone the other way (as it nearly did) the so called special relationship would have turned very quickly.

[Sangoma]

"News" are complete waste of time. A lot of useless wankers - professional protesters - would be without jobs or audience if not for Trump.

Why the fuck people care about politics - especially in other countries - puzzles the shit out of me.

Because the stupid shit that dumb fuck does can definitely have an effect on our countries and the stupid shit our dumb fuck prime ministers do.

Seeing the Australian and British prime ministers bow down to Trump and not dismiss him as an absolute retard is fucking embarrassing. Had the British election gone the other way (as it nearly did) the so called special relationship would have turned very quickly.

Spending time on things over which I have no control - I consider a waste of time. There are real issues in real life I can address. Would you like your doctor to read about extra piece of research or learning (not really, actually) about what Trump does? Taking my dog for a walk does more good for the Universe than entertaining the illusion of being part of the Big Political Picture. Instead of trying to decipher the news spend time reading works by Edward Bernaise, you will quickly realise that I am right.

[JimZipCode]

... spend time reading works by Edward Bernaise

Is he the father of the sauce?

[Sangoma]

He is the Father or Public Relations. The nephew of Sigmund Freud - quite telling, isn't it?

One of the remarkable things he did was marketing cigarettes to women. He connected it to the suffragette movement, so women would be free to light "the torches of freedom" in the public... His list of political clients is quite remarkable, but reading his own thoughts about the craft of manipulating public opinion is mind blowing.

Below is the abstract of his article from the Journal Of Sociology in 1928:

Manipulating Public Opinion: The Why and The How

Public opinion, narrowly defined, is the thought of a society at a given time toward a given object; broadly conceived, it is the power of the group to sway the larger public in its attitude. Public opinion can be manipulated, but in teaching the public how to ask for what it wants the manipulator is safeguarding the public against his own possible aggressiveness. The method of the experimental psychologist is not as effective in the study of public opinion in the broad sense as is that of introspective psychology. To create and to change public opinion it is necessary to understand human motives, to know what special interests are represented by a given population, and to realize the function and limitations of the physical organs of approach to the public, such as the radio, the platform, the movie, the letter, the newspaper, etc. If the general principles of swaying public opinion are understood, a technique can be developed which, with the correct appraisal of the specific problem and the specific audience, can and has been used effectively in such widely different situations as changing the attitudes of whites toward Negroes in America, changing the buying habits of American women from felt hats to velvet, silk, and straw hats, changing the impression which the American electorate has of its President, introducing new musical instruments, and a variety of others. Group adherence is essential in changing the attitudes of the public. Authoritative and influential groups may become important channels of reaching the larger public. Ideas and situations must be made impressive and dramatic in order to overcome the inertia of established traditions and prejudices.

I don't think modern PR professionals can be that frank in the public about their work, though they are probably more advanced in their ruthlessness than the founder. I am not interested in being the part of these games, though completely avoiding them is not possible (I am waiting for the day that goes without the mention of the name Trump).

Hilariously, I only realised about a week ago that Britain has a new prime minister. And I only realised now that the change happened a year ago. Try explain to me what great loss it has been to my life, not to know such an important fact.

[Thud]

so how's that different than politics?

[Sangoma]

What do you mean? That's exactly how politics is made.

[Thud]

Perhaps I misinterpreted you. I responded before you edited your post with expanded content. But still...

Seemed you were saying following politics is a waste of time and suggested reading Bernaise instead. I was making the connection between him (PR) and politics. If one is interested in one it would follow they'd be interested in both, rather than either/or.

[Sangoma]

I think reading books is different than trying to become an expert in politics. Bernaise is a once off affair. Once you understand how it works you became less vulnerable to the marketing media tricks. Besides, it's fun to read and realise how we are duped into believing one thing or another.

[nafod]

... spend time reading works by Edward Bernaise

Is he the father of the sauce?

I blame him for making the dab popular.

[JimZipCode]

A little dab'll do ya.


(The guy's actual name is Bernays.)

[odin]

What BeerJew said. We have our own shit to deal with, like forming a viable government, but yes it gets a mention.

[Turdacious]

What BeerJew said. We have our own shit to deal with, like forming a viable government, but yes it gets a mention.

Interesting. Your election made news over here, although the coverage was framed around what it meant for Trump.

[odin]

I think in ordinary circumstances Comey's testimony would be huge news but we've had a string of big things over here.

[Shafpocalypse Now]

How about this corollary: Here in the US, Trump supporters feel Comey's testimonial helped Trump (and I can't explain why), whereas most non-Trump supporters felt it hurt him. What was the general impression in your countries?

[Beer Jew]

It's mixed - most non-Americans aren't Trump supporters, but we do tend to get both sides of the argument played out in the news here.

[odin]

Most of my friends - and me - are fairly centre-left so a lot of them are willing this to be his downfall. I may as well come out of the closet and say I like him though so hope it isn't. Reason I like him is largely because he's not Hilary Clinton who I disliked intensely. He also made some vaguely positive noises towards the uk which we will need desperately if we continue with our idiotic divorce from Europe, not that we collectively deserve a leg up. Ultimately I'm not living with him day in day out so accept many of you may loathe him.

[Protobuilder]

Not a big deal. People are divided between "CNN said Trump hates everybody" and people who say we are blessed to have somebody like Trump in office but I didn't see anything about Comey in the local news.