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  1. #661
    Retired Member Hungary
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    Here's an excellent article on the "Confederate Memento Park" idea, inspired by Budapest's example.

    https://www.miamiherald.com/article243812472.html

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  3. #662
    Senior Member Emil El Zapato's Avatar
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    Now that makes sense ... I haven't read it yet ... The title says it all ... perspective, perspective,perspective
    “El revolucionario: te meteré la bota en el culo"

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  5. #663
    Administrator Aragorn's Avatar
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    We are currently having a statue issue here in Belgium as well, and most specifically with the statues of king Leopold II, who made the whole of Congo his private property and committed many atrocities there.

    The situation creates quite a precedent, because although Leopold II's nephew and successor Albert I was well-loved and regarded as a hero ─ he fought alongside the troops against the Germans in the trenches during World War I, and he was an experienced mountaineer who died under suspicious circumstances, leading to a strong (yet unproven) suspicion that the Nazis were behind his death ─ Albert I's son and successor Leopold III sold out to the Nazis in World War II, and after the death of his wife, he had an affair with (and got remarried to) a woman from a notorious Nazi-collaborator family, who was pregnant with his child. The Roman Catholic Church was complicit in the cover-up of her pregnancy until they were married, and even broke its own rule that one can only get married in church after the marriage is legalized by the mayor (or his substitute).

    When the war ended, the Belgian people were torn by Leopold III's betrayal. Half of the population wanted him out, but the other half wanted him to stay. Eventually he abdicated the throne to his then only 21-year-old eldest son, Boudewijn ─ better known as Baudouin in the Anglo-Saxon world, even though Boudewijn was his actual name and he had been raised in Dutch.

    Boudewijn was a very introverted and very Catholic man. He and his wife Fabiola never had any children, and so when Boudewijn unexpectedly died of a heart attack while on vacation in Spain, the throne went to Boudewijn's younger brother Albert II, who was not without controversy either, because he was known to have had an extramarital relationship, and only now after many years has it been proven in court that he has an illegitimate daughter. Albert II held the throne for twenty years, even though Boudewijn had actually been grooming Albert II's son Philippe as his successor. And so now Philippe is the reigning monarch of Belgium. The constitution has now also been changed, so that Belgium can have a queen. Philippe's eldest daughter Elisabeth ─ currently 18 years old ─ is now the crown princess.

    The bottom line is that several of the statues of past Belgian monarchs are quite controversial:

    • Leopold II, for his reign of terror in Congo;
    • Leopold III, for his willful surrender to the Nazis during World War II;
    • Boudewijn, for having refused to acknowledge the crimes committed by Leopold II; and
    • Albert II, for having refused to acknowledge his illegitimate daughter for over twenty years.

    The biggest controversy however currently revolves around the many statues of Leopold II, in the wake of the racism protests in the USA.
    = DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR =

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  7. #664
    Retired Member Hungary
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    I really think that Leopold II is comparable to Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot in terms of crimes committed against humanity. I am surprised there are still statues of him in public squares. The other monarchs mentioned are only of local interest though, it seems to matter very little to the outside world, what will become of them.

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  9. #665
    Super Moderator Wind's Avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Chris View Post
    Except for the rather over-the-top patriotic grandstanding, I agree with Pat Buchanan's assessment of the current political and law-and-order situation in the US below. The Bidenistas have pretty much alieniated everyone, except a few select minorities at this point. Like him or not, Trump stands for Law and Order and that will win him this coming election in a landslide.
    Trump stands for law and order? Sorry to break your bubble, but Trump is about to lose the elections. He would need a miracle right now or Joe Biden dropping dead. Or perhaps if Biden really messes up in the debates then that might save Trump but probably not. Trump is extremely unpopular now even though his fanbase is really loud and hysterical. He is going down.

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  11. #666
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    Quote Originally posted by Wind View Post
    Trump stands for law and order? Sorry to break your bubble, but Trump is about to lose the elections. He would need a miracle right now or Joe Biden dropping dead. Or perhaps if Biden really messes up in the debates then that might save Trump but probably not. Trump is extremely unpopular now even though his fanbase is really loud and hysterical. He is going down.
    Sorry mate, but you are the one in a bubble. Specifically, in a Western European liberal one.

    I really, really don't like Trump, but I realise that the things I dislike about him are precisely the things that make him popular with those that matter, the people in America that actually vote in elections, particularly in swing states.

    The current conduct of the American Left is suicidal and I can foresee it destroying the Democratic party altogether. A similar thing happened in Hungary a decade ago and the Left never recovered from that, even though they were the party most entrenched in the power structure, with the most supporters and powerful people behind them. This is actually a tragedy, because every democracy requires some balance between Left and Right, otherwise we get extremes and neither the far-Left or the far-Right are desirable places to be. But, in the US at least, the Left specifically stands for anarchy, lawlessness, anti-male chauvinism (otherwise known as misandry) and anti-white racism. US voters certainly took notice and come November, the Democrats are going to absolutely implode.

    This isn't a reflection of my own views, I very much prefer the Democrats on policy and competence when in power, but they chose unwisely when taking sides in the current unfolding low-level civil war cum bolshevist revolution and they're going to pay the price. Also, Joe ByeThen is an even worse Candidate than Hillary Clinton and the DNC is so corrupt they seem completely unable to come up with a decent candidate against Trump. They always choose the establishment candidate, the one the donors prefer or in the case of the previous one, the one that buys them outright. Trump is going to eat ByeThen for breakfast, he has no chance whatsoever against Trump, I'm afraid.

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  13. #667
    Senior Member Emil El Zapato's Avatar
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    I am finding out more about neighbor from Venezuela...I told him yesterday I was a loony lefty and he refused to accept that, he said I was a 'conservative' Democrat. Interesting because he equates 'leftists' with the likes of Fidel Castro and other Central and South Americans dictators. He cited Obama's effort to normalize relations with Cuba and how it 'did no good' because Cuba and the Russians have taken over Venezuela and turned it into a 'shithole'. I said, Obama's efforts were thwarted and that one needed to go the full deal...meaning it is a very large circle of behaviors that result in successes.

    This guy has always maintained that he doesn't fly an american flag like our stupid neighbors and doesn't even vote. Well, last week unbeknownst to me he was giving out American flags for people to put into their yards for what was ostensibly the 4th of July celebration. I was kidding him because I thought the flags were given out only to 'established' Republicans, I called him on the flag in his yard and he said he was the one giving them out. I said, "What!", you the guy that never flies an American flag. It seems he had some hidden away that he had received from some celebrations his kids had at school (he and his wife are teachers).

    Anyway, he says he is actually celebrating a month of 'liberation' for America, Venezuela, and Argentina : this from the guy that told me this joke: How does a Venezuelan commit suicide? He climbs up on the shoulders of an Argentinian!

    He offered me a flag and I told him there was no way I was going to put up a flag in my yard and I wasn't going to let him influence me into demonic behaviors. (He's Catholic, too) I cited Albert Einstein's perspective on flags and he said the only thing Einstein understood was theoretical physics.

    I've got a flag up in my front yard.

    I also told him that my new DNA test said I was 10% Peruvian and he called me a White Supremacist and went on to say African-Americans are blaming the wrong people for slavery, he said blame Great Britain and the Dutch. I just shook my and told him, "You have been in the United States way too long". He responded 21 years ...

    We're still friends.
    “El revolucionario: te meteré la bota en el culo"

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  15. #668
    Administrator Aragorn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Chris View Post
    But, in the US at least, the Left specifically stands for anarchy, lawlessness, anti-male chauvinism (otherwise known as misandry) and anti-white racism.
    I'm afraid you're dead-wrong about that, Chris. In the USA, the traditional left embodies the exact opposite of anarchy and lawlessness. They are all about (over-)regulation and thought control.

    Quote Originally posted by Chris View Post
    Trump is going to eat ByeThen for breakfast, he has no chance whatsoever against Trump, I'm afraid.
    I'm not so sure that Biden doesn't stand a chance, but at the same time, I also don't expect him to win just yet. From where I'm sitting, the balance is about level. Trump has just as many adversaries as proponents.

    Of course, that's not what elections should be about, but there is no fair election process in the USA, because they'll always be voting for one of two evils. The system itself excludes the possibility of someone getting into the White House who'd break the status quo.
    = DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR =

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  17. #669
    Senior Member Emil El Zapato's Avatar
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    Bottom line what is happening in the U.S. is required if we are to ever become United. Personally, I don't really care about a United States but I do care about peace and tranquility and most essentially equality of the kind that people expect as an unalienable right. Equality of opportunity, not that freaking claptrap meme that Jordan Peterson pushes, equality of outcome.
    Last edited by Emil El Zapato, 7th July 2020 at 16:18.
    “El revolucionario: te meteré la bota en el culo"

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  19. #670
    Super Moderator Wind's Avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Chris View Post
    This is actually a tragedy, because every democracy requires some balance between Left and Right, otherwise we get extremes and neither the far-Left or the far-Right are desirable places to be.
    Now this is true. However, you have to understand that the United States is still a very highly right wing, ultra-capitalistic country. There are extremes on both ends and both are nuts. There should be more moderate steering towards the left and the middle. Now the corporations rule everything and both parties are ruled by money and donors, it's legalized corruption.

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  21. #671
    Senior Member Emil El Zapato's Avatar
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    Down with the Corporations!!
    “El revolucionario: te meteré la bota en el culo"

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  23. #672
    Senior Member Emil El Zapato's Avatar
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    One of those evils is evil because they actually have a sense of balance, an intellect that derives from more than hillbilly common sense, and a desire to do the right thing for everyone. And because they aren't flakes, fruits, or nuts! As the meme of California goes, Just ask J.P.
    “El revolucionario: te meteré la bota en el culo"

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  25. #673
    Super Moderator Wind's Avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by NotAPretender View Post
    I am finding out more about neighbor from Venezuela...I told him yesterday I was a loony lefty and he refused to accept that, he said I was a 'conservative' Democrat. Interesting because he equates 'leftists' with the likes of Fidel Castro and other Central and South Americans dictators.
    That's funny. I would probably be considered as a very left leaning person by the world's standards, since especially in many countries being a right winger is considered the "norm." Except that in many parts in Europe being on the left is being considered the "norm". Yet I don't like social justice warriors and I don't want to get into identity politics. What matters to me is true equality, freedom and compassion for all living beings. Don't stomp on my freedoms and I won't stomp on yours. However, I believe that ultimately we are not free right now even here. We are free only as much as the laws allow us to be, but as a good person I don't need laws to tell me what's right or wrong. I would never harm others or try to dictate how they should live their lives. That's my politics.
    Last edited by Wind, 7th July 2020 at 19:44.

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  27. #674
    Administrator Aragorn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by NotAPretender View Post
    One of those evils is evil because they actually have a sense of balance, an intellect that derives from more than hillbilly common sense, and a desire to do the right thing for everyone.
    If you believe that, then I've got a bridge for sale that you might be interested in.

    Quote Originally posted by NotAPretender View Post
    And because they aren't flakes, fruits, or nuts! As the meme of California goes, Just ask J.P.
    Jimmy Page? John Petrucci?

    Sorry, I don't do Acronymese™ yet. I'm still busy studying Vernacular™.





    Quote Originally posted by Wind View Post
    Quote Originally posted by NotAPretender View Post
    I am finding out more about neighbor from Venezuela...I told him yesterday I was a loony lefty and he refused to accept that, he said I was a 'conservative' Democrat. Interesting because he equates 'leftists' with the likes of Fidel Castro and other Central and South Americans dictators.
    That's funny. I would probably be considered as a very left leaning person by the world's standards, since especially in many countries being a right winger is considered the "norm." Except that in many parts in Europe being on the left is being considered the "norm". Yet I don't like social justice warriors and I don't want to get into identity politics. What matters to me is true equality, freedom and compassion for all living beings. Don't stomp on my freedoms and I won't stomp on yours. However, I believe that ultimately we are not free right now even here. We are free only as much as the laws allow us to be, but as a good person I don't need laws to tell me what's right or wrong. I would never harm others or I try to dictate how they should live their lives. That's my politics.
    Amen to that, Brother.
    = DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR =

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  29. #675
    Senior Member Emil El Zapato's Avatar
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    Jordan Peterson ...
    “El revolucionario: te meteré la bota en el culo"

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