The Elitist Chat Thread

[Bethencourt]

It has worsened when caring about it, so it seems to be on others' hands. I consider more important to pay my taxes and my economic decisions, what I buy, who I buy it to...
I do not consider voting a bad thing, but as the elected ones are so inept, it is somehow a gymnastic effort rather than something relevant. I have voted a lot and I will for sure, but the results in real life wining or loosing the ones I voted for in the elections are quite random. Better than having coups, wars, civil wars , for sure. But nothing great really.

And when it comes to take a decision it seems to be more important to be a lobby representative than a voter.

[Sir Adrian]

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/University-Place-man-dies-after-being-tased-by-deputies-259010521.html?tab=video&c=y


America, you have a problem.

[Bethencourt]

Do you think that is USA only having this problem? I am thinking on two cases in Europe, for sure there are more, unknown or without media attention.

[The Roman Republic]

Its going to be very interesting on what the political outcome will be for the EU over the next couple of years

[Bethencourt]

I foresee disturbance in that mudpit.

[Derpy Hooves]

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/University-Place-man-dies-after-being-tased-by-deputies-259010521.html?tab=video&c=y


America, you have a problem.

I can also post a link and then say "EU you have a problem"

[Sir Adrian]

You could, however I posted that not because of that one incident, happens, but because stuff like this is becoming more and more frequent over there and strangely enough it's also happening on the background of an increasingly militarized police force. The only place in europe where regular police officers carried shotguns and assault rifles was Italy, at the height of the mafia wars.

[The Roman Republic]

I think that it only looks like that due to online media and whether things get announced online.

[Pontifex Maximus]

I would like to vote so many things, but I am just not allowed. The decision process in the EU is a farse.

Just do what we do here in America. We follow a simple process:

1. Form political attachment to one party.
2. Ignore everything bad your party does, blame the other party for every wrong
3. Vote along your party line no matter what happens in every election, DO NOT research politicians of either side to understand their policies or voting habits
4. Watch either Fox or MSNBC so your political choices (and step 2) can be completely validated by mindlessly absorbing every propaganda nugget sent your way
5. Whine loudly about the other party messing everything up constantly on social media

This is democracy in action, people. It is something you communist Europeans will never understand.

[Bethencourt]

Just do what we do here in America. We follow a simple process:

1. Form political attachment to one party.
2. Ignore everything bad your party does, blame the other party for every wrong
3. Vote along your party line no matter what happens in every election, DO NOT research politicians of either side to understand their policies or voting habits
4. Watch either Fox or MSNBC so your political choices (and step 2) can be completely validated by mindlessly absorbing every propaganda nugget sent your way
5. Whine loudly about the other party messing everything up constantly on social media

This is democracy in action, people. It is something you communist Europeans will never understand.

He, he, he. That is exactly how it happens here but some of them say they are communists.

[Makrell]

I understand both sides i think, regarding many or few parties.

Do people in the US (or the us or UK members here) feel attached to "their" congressman/MP, cause that is just about the only argument againist proportional representation i can understand.

Is it easy for you to talk to your congressman about your joys and fears?

[Pontifex Maximus]

I understand both sides i think, regarding many or few parties.

Do people in the US (or the us or UK members here) feel attached to "their" congressman/MP, cause that is just about the only argument againist proportional representation i can understand.

Is it easy for you to talk to your congressman about your joys and fears?

Everyone from my district who purports to represent me is a drooling idiot with private/corporate interests pulling the strings. A bible thumping Republican who upholds family values by suppressing everything that couldn't appear in a Sunday school film holds no appeal to me in the same way the nepotistic idiot democrats running Atlanta who steal money from the state by using their issued gas cards to fill up the tanks of their whole family or using city funds to purchase new textbooks they happened themselves to have written and reap royalties from reviles me. Politicians in this state are scum, it doesn't matter if they come from the jackass party or the giant sweaty pachyderm party.

[Nevins]

You could, however I posted that not because of that one incident, happens, but because stuff like this is becoming more and more frequent over there and strangely enough it's also happening on the background of an increasingly militarized police force. The only place in europe where regular police officers carried shotguns and assault rifles was Italy, at the height of the mafia wars.

When I walked around in Paris there were police with FAMAS rifles out all over the place. The vast majority of US police carry a sidearm with perhaps an AR 15 or shotgun in their patrol vehicle

[Sir Adrian]

Those were either GIGN, french version of SWAT or Gendarmerie Nationale, basically french military police. Your visit probably coincided with some official visit or summit or something, regular french cops don't carry that type of weapons and neither of those agencies normally patrol the streets

[Nevins]

So essentially the same as the US then

[Sir Adrian]

Increased presence due to international event =/= carrying shotguns and assault rifles in your car. EU police officers are not allowed to use force unless attacked (that means no preemptive ), weapons are issued only in special circumstances and killing someone while on patrol lands you straight in jail, meanwhile the cases of US cops shooting somebody who was asking for help or holding a Wii controller are not as rare as they should be.

[Nevins]

Increased presence due to international event =/= carrying shotguns and assault rifles in your car.

The Gendarmiere are not equipped exclusively for those events, nor do all police in the US carry those extra shotguns and rifles.

EU police officers are not allowed to use force unless attacked (that means no preemptive ), weapons are issued only in special circumstances and killing someone while on patrol lands you straight in jail, meanwhile the cases of US cops shooting somebody who was asking for help or holding a Wii controller are not as rare as they should be.

LOL. Source your stuff, unless you are seriously trying to claim that such a simplistic statement encapsulates the entirety of Europe.

[Sir Adrian]

Gerdarmerie Nationale are part of the army, they're not police.

I never said the entirety of Europe only the EU, and yes those regulations do apply to the entire union. Chapter 1 of the Eu ascension criteria specifically mentions the harmonization of the political system and public institutions. One of the criteria mentioned in that chapter is police activity and its guiding principles. That criteria is met when your national police force is fully harmonized with that of the EU, which means your police force follows the same principles and regulations in regards to civilian protection, execution of duty and the use of force as those of all the other member states. You can look it up on Google if you do not believe me.

Then you also have several overbranching institutions and regulations which monitor police activity through the entire EU such as: CEPOL (European Police College), an agency of the Council which is tasked with training EU police officers and providing an overwatch of police activity in the EU, Eu directives which specifically deal with police violence or the protection of civilians like Directive 29/2012 regarding victims protection, or the directive regarding violence against women, you then have the ISEC program as well a NGOs like Fair Trials International.

If you want more you will just have to look up the legislation of each member state and compare it.


I'm curious to see what the US has in regards to limiting the powers of the police, besides Copwatch

[Nevins]

Gerdarmerie Nationale are part of the army, they're not police.

They are very much police

I'm curious to see what the US has in regards to limiting the powers of the police, besides Copwatch

Minor stuff like the court system and then the legislative bodies

[Sir Adrian]

Court systems and legislative bodies which do almost nothing to prevent incidents like that from happening and fail to punish cops guilty of abusing their station, need I remind you of the LA riots? How many of the cops involved in killing innocent has been convicted lately?