Betty Ross6 said:She didn't offer an express pass to the European Union (not like the big shots in Turkey were hoping), but this is what happened
At a press conference in Istanbul held alongside Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Angela Merkel mentioned that Germany might help speed up the process for visa-free travel for Turks and "push" Ankara's negotiations for European Union membership forward, according to Reuters.
Germany can only really help through financial aid and lobbying to open specific chapters, nothing more. Membership is a completely different matter, and all members get a vote on that...
Opening a chapter doesn't actually mean much by itself; you just have to look at how long Turkey has been stuck in negotiations already...
The thread title and the intro just don't match the facts.
That word "interference" really rubs me the wrong way every single time I see this thread...
I actually posted about it once before and ended up with two strikes. Fair enough, since my tone was pretty rude and blunt back then...
But now, asking politely: can we please drop the "interference" part? (Especially since the moderator over at Reddit is notorious for doubling threads and tripling polls...)
It’s bothersome. It’s irritating. It just doesn't sit right...
P.S. I have nothing against our younger neighbors, but if something is an eyesore, it's an eyesore!
On the other hand @Freedom, he's basically a trolling machine.
The whole discussion about Syria has turned into such massive trolling that it’s actually unbelievable. The trolls just barge in and drive away anyone being reasonable. As if the situation with Ukraine and Russia wasn't enough to push out everyone with a different opinion, now it's happening with Syria too. It's either clones or people who have never even touched this topic suddenly flooding the thread with comments.
I could easily point out at least 20 separate trolling posts right here. And yet, we're opening a thread about @USA trolling? 🐔 Not to mention all the constant copy-pasting from sites like RT, Sputnik, or Fox News...
If it isn't mentioned here, there's no ban. Just a deletion. A ban only happens once it hits this forum... I wasn't the only one who saw that.
Something feels off... Someone could decide tomorrow that my contribution to the PDF is absolutely nothing. Oops, banned.
Aside from his stuff on the PDF and immigration, I haven't read much of his work. But based on what I've seen so far, it doesn't warrant a ban on the PDF.
Exactly. Clearly, us little commenters don't have any influence at all. My only way to protest is to just stay silent for a while. And I will. 🐔
First things first... thanks! @William Bennett53 responding...
Another one... Since that thread is locked, I guess this is my only option...
Just this... @Kansas is just plain ugly...
Yesterday’s meltdown... calling the President such vile names... all it got him was a simple deletion. Maybe he even lost some hidden points too... if we mortals can even tell. If nobody had called him out here, he probably would have just kept going... If he didn't get hit with a political ban, then why on earth is he being banned now... @Kansas... where everyone stays respectful?...
What kind of metrics are we talking about...? Rules apply to some, but not others, just because that’s how the moderators decided... It’s such a mess. One group gets their posts wiped and a 35-point penalty, while others get banned from the site entirely! Such a joke...
Food for thought... Something feels a bit off with the moderation tools... either on one side or the other...
I don't get how a commenter like @Sam Alvarez4/">@@Sam Alvarez4, who’s out here calling the President some absolute trash and using such vile language on this site, is still allowed to post without getting banned? Seriously...
Could we get a moderator note on immigration threads (politics) clarifying that reposting comments from other sites—whether they're foreign or just local American news outlets—doesn't actually help the discussion?
For instance.
(One comment was already deleted in the meantime)
Another example.
(The English comment is so poorly written it’s painful to look at...😠)
Between the flood of emoji-only replies and all the partisan trolling, do we really need people dragging in comments from other websites?
If so, I could keep pasting stuff from other sites until sunrise... especially with the time difference.😁
Actually, this info comes straight from the Saudis themselves...
I had actually already shared that link over in the migration thread... Since this whole conflict kicked off, the Kingdom has taken in roughly 2.5 million Syrians...
Pure propaganda that even their own citizens don't buy... while Arabs from other countries just laugh and wave them off... Even if you factored in every single Syrian working there for years, plus their families and descendants... they still wouldn't hit that number...
First off, there’s already a thread covering this exact topic. Second, what on earth is that "Liberals" 😠 nonsense used in the opening comment? Third, if we're supposedly discussing wealthy nations on the Arabian Peninsula, how did we end up talking about Sandjak, Mufti Zukorlić, and Canada?
lonebadger6 said:Look, you’re missing the point here. I never said being North American makes someone a criminal; if anything, I was saying the exact opposite... You really need to work on reading the room and understanding context. It's not like I claimed all Americans were responsible for some guy attacking a homeless person with a rock in my last post either. Anyway, you asked a question and I gave you an answer, so if you're still feeling salty about getting a ban, there's a specific thread for that...
You're just trolling this thread to get a rise out of people. Even if a moderator issued it, it feels excessive and honestly just irritating...
Let's leave it to the admin@to make the final call.
This topic is proving to be quite a handful for the moderators...
I wasn't exactly thrilled with those reactions... @Bradley Sanders4 on the thread... Honestly, based on what she wrote there, I'd strip her moderator privileges in a heartbeat...
Well, regarding this whole topic... they're doing the absolute best they can... You have my full support, if that even matters...
Tyler Grant76 said:I have no clue who started that whole story over at the Women's Corner and Complaint, but it really took hold, just like so many other rumors. When someone pointed out how harmful it is to spread unverified info—and that this kind of agitation is basically xenophobia—a few users got all worked up. It looks like they're still sulking, too. Morgan Rodriguez57 and kiss just kept posting that endless series of Canadian-style nonsense, so I eventually just stopped replying in that thread. They called me stupid, not very bright, and even mean... well, honestly, I'm just frustrated. My only real regret is that I wasted a reply meant for coastalwolf87 because the thread is already locked. Personally, I wish they'd reopen it so everyone could see the actual arguments, but I don't think I'll jump back into the fray. It's a shame, really.
I only heard about this whole thing this morning since I don't check the US boards.
It's such a shame the thread was locked because there were some really interesting, well-reasoned points made... from both sides. Instead of shutting it down, they should have just warned everyone to stop the personal attacks.
Come on now, let's all stay sweet and positive! If you dial back the comments about people's personalities, maybe they'll reopen it. 👋
nimblecrane6 said:Honestly, this whole topic has massive potential for actual discussion—and more importantly, for some genuine learning. So, you want to talk about where everyone actually comes from? You know, the different states and origins that make up this massive melting pot we call America? It’s a bit of a rabbit hole, isn't it? One minute you're talking about someone hailing from the East Coast, and the next, you're deep in a tangent about folks from the Midwest or those West Coast types. It's all part of the tapestry, I suppose. Where does everyone originate? Where do all these people actually trace their roots back to? So, you want to talk about culture? Honestly, where do we even begin? It’s such a vast, sweeping topic that I feel like we could spend an entire afternoon just circling the perimeter of it without ever actually stepping inside. It’s everything from the way we drink our coffee in the morning to those deep-seated, unspoken social rules that dictate how we behave in a crowded subway car. It’s the fabric of everything. But fine, if you're insisting on opening this particular can of worms... let's dive in. What specific corner of the cultural landscape are we dissecting today? Give me something to work with. Do you really want me to go down that rabbit hole? Fine. If you’re looking for a breakdown of the political maneuvering and those backroom deals that paved the way for this absolute circus we're living through right now... buckle up. It wasn't just one thing; it was a slow-motion train wreck of policy shifts and power plays. Honestly, looking back at the sequence of events, it’s almost impressive how much chaos can be manufactured when enough people in Washington decide to play games with the rules. I mean, if you look at the timeline, the pieces were being moved on the board long before the first explosion actually happened. It’s all connected, though most people are too distracted by the shiny distractions to see the pattern. Where do you even want me to start? With the legislative gridlock or the actual shady dealings behind the scenes? So, you want the lowdown on the current situation? Fine. Let’s get into it. Who are these people exactly? How are they moving from point A to point B? What's driving them to leave? Where did their families end up? And why, for heaven's sake, is the makeup of these groups such a bizarre, specific mess? It’s all connected, really. You can't just look at one piece of the puzzle without the whole thing falling apart in your hands. Expect a long one. Do you actually want me to dive into the potential fallout? Because if we’re going to do this, let's do it right. We aren't just talking about numbers on a spreadsheet; we're talking about a massive, cascading domino effect. I mean, where do you even start? You’ve got the financial impact on transit countries—those nations basically acting as the middle ground—and then there's the fiscal strain on the actual destination countries. It’s a heavy lift for any economy. Then you jump into the demographic shifts, which change everything about how a society functions, not to mention the public health risks and those inevitable cultural shifts that happen when populations move. And don't even get me started on security. Or the political consequences within the host nations once people actually settle in. That ripples outward, too, fundamentally altering the entire global political landscape. It’s all interconnected. So, do you really want the deep dive? Because it's a lot.
However, right from the jump, a specific clique of forum users has taken this stance... They need help right this second—not tomorrow, not after some committee meets, but *now*. And then you see those people who stay silent until they can jump in to "analyze" the situation? You’re nothing but a bunch of bottom-feeders. Honestly, may you all get exactly what's coming to you. Xenophobes and fascists, the lot of you.
I honestly fail to grasp why any semblance of critical thought or deep deliberation on this subject is treated like a taboo. Why is it suddenly considered unacceptable to examine the various facets of this crisis instead of just obsessing over one single issue? It’s exhausting. Should we actually be providing field assistance right now while they're crossing borders through Europe?
So, we’re back at it again. Right at the tail end of this thread—back when we were discussing those refugees who are actually turning down humanitarian aid just because they see the Red Cross logo on the boxes—certain members of this group have resurfaced. And what do they do? They go right back to that same old routine: spitting venom and slapping labels on anyone actually trying to understand *why* someone might refuse help in the first place. I mean, seriously, why is it suddenly such a taboo subject to even discuss? Why is it considered unacceptable to have a conversation about the logic behind these decisions? It's like we aren't allowed to ask questions anymore without being branded.
I'm genuinely curious here.
Where did that idea even come from? None of those people even mentioned the cross.
Here's the video, just so I don't have to repeat myself.
@Susan Price30 Is this some kind of conspiracy against you? 😁
All jokes aside, those are heavy accusations... Personally, I’d bet my life on it—neither as a moderator nor a regular commenter, would anyone here ever do something like that.
Don't take it all to heart, truly. 🙂
ps. I wasn't quoting you. You can still delete the comment if it isn't too late. If I were you, I would...
Right now, we’re looking at a textbook case of collective hysteria—just endless "what if" scenarios. It's all bad English, blatant trolling, and nothing but twisted information.
btw. "Migrants at the US border." Seriously, what kind of headline is that? Who even came up with this? 🤦