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Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2017 5:08 am
by 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?
Re: Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2017 6:05 am
by 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.
Re: Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2017 6:43 am
by Wild Bill
I would not even hear about it if not FB posts from Americans.
Re: Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2017 10:42 am
by 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.
Re: Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2017 6:27 am
by 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.
Re: Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2017 1:09 am
by 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.
Re: Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2017 1:38 am
by 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.
Re: Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2017 5:48 am
by aussie luke
Sangoma wrote: ↑Sat Jun 10, 2017 6:27 am
"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.
Re: Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 12:09 am
by Sangoma
aussie luke wrote: ↑Mon Jun 12, 2017 5:48 am
Sangoma wrote: ↑Sat Jun 10, 2017 6:27 am
"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.
Re: Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 1:37 am
by JimZipCode
Sangoma wrote: ↑Tue Jun 13, 2017 12:09 am... spend time reading works by Edward Bernaise
Is he the father of the sauce?
Re: Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 2:31 am
by 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.
Re: Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 2:36 am
by Thud
so how's that different than politics?
Re: Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 2:45 am
by Sangoma
What do you mean? That's exactly how politics is made.
Re: Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 2:53 am
by 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.
Re: Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 5:54 am
by 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.
Re: Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 11:23 am
by nafod
JimZipCode wrote: ↑Tue Jun 13, 2017 1:37 am
Sangoma wrote: ↑Tue Jun 13, 2017 12:09 am... spend time reading works by Edward Bernaise
Is he the father of the sauce?
I blame him for making the dab popular.
Re: Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 2:19 pm
by JimZipCode
A little dab'll do ya.
(The guy's actual name is Bernays.)
Re: Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 7:40 pm
by odin
What BeerJew said. We have our own shit to deal with, like forming a viable government, but yes it gets a mention.
Re: Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 8:14 pm
by Turdacious
odin wrote: ↑Tue Jun 13, 2017 7:40 pm
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.
Re: Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2017 9:10 am
by odin
I think in ordinary circumstances Comey's testimony would be huge news but we've had a string of big things over here.
Re: Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2017 7:10 pm
by 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?
Re: Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2017 10:10 pm
by 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.
Re: Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Sun Jun 18, 2017 2:02 pm
by 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.
Re: Foreigners only- Comey testimony
Posted: Sun Jun 18, 2017 3:02 pm
by 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.