I feel compelled to bring this up once more because the moderation team hasn't come up with a viable solution yet, and time is slipping away—please, just delete the posts that actually violate the rules. It really should be that simple. Locking the threads for "Protest against mandates" and "Media and coronavirus" seems like a rather ill-advised move to me.
It’s particularly frustrating because those specific topics have already become established pillars here, and they can't just be swapped out for something else. I suppose it was easy enough to quietly lock and remove new threads with 15 or 20 posts without offering any explanation, letting them fade into obscurity, but now you might be creating problems for yourselves.
For instance, if I wanted to write a post right now regarding the protests against mandates, I honestly wouldn't know where to put it, so I am asking the moderators for guidance so I don't end up off-topic or breaking the rules. Please don't suggest using the chat thread, as that is strictly a chat space. By locking these themes so thoughtlessly, you're essentially forcing users into a corner where they either have to break the rules or act out in defiance. One way people might show that defiance is by opening a "Protest against mandates Vol. 2" thread, which I think would be entirely justified given how relevant and necessary the topic remains, especially since no coherent reason was provided for the initial closure. This will likely lead to more than just tension; such actions give people plenty of reason to suspect that you've actually taken a side.
All of this leads me to wonder if the moderation team is not only being impulsive in their actions but perhaps a bit lost in all of this as well. It almost feels as though there isn't a clear way to resolve a problem that doesn't truly exist in the first place.
I'm not quite sure what the reasoning behind this is. I think we should just let people discuss things. I don't understand who exactly was spreading misinformation on these threads—which was cited as the reason for the lock—to warrant shutting them down. If the issue started somewhere and the discussion was ruined, I would argue it began when the user "minime0" minime0 showed up and started stirring the pot, trolling, drifting away from the point, diluting the conversation, and ultimately destroying it.
It seems we’ve reached a point where a thread in the "Feedback and Suggestions" section was actually deleted—one that was simply asking about a controversial quote made by Robert over on the COVID-19 Forum. It’s quite frustrating, really, because no one bothered to answer the question, nor did anyone offer any sort of explanation as to why the topic had to be removed in the first place.
I find myself feeling a bit uneasy, and I suppose I have to ask: is this kind of censorship going to become the new norm for this forum?
Morgan Peterson said:Every single one of those locked threads started off on such a high note, but then they just spiraled into what you see above. It basically turns into an endless trench war between two opposing sides, mixed with a whole lot of nonsense and misinformation being thrown around. I suppose most moderators just don't have the bandwidth to manage topics like that.
The threads are closed for now, though we haven't quite reached a final decision on how to handle them moving forward. I would ask everyone to please remain patient and offer some constructive suggestions.
What if we just scrubbed the posts that violate the forum rules and let the actual discussion continue?
I mean, where are people supposed to discuss the protests or conspiracy theories now?
I really hope that locking threads and deleting them without any explanation doesn't become our new normal...
Michael Jackson10 said:Newt Gingrich was never exactly the sharpest tool in the shed... now they’re overusing him so much he’s just getting duller by the day. You try acting all witty and smart, and all you do is make your own party look bad.🤦 And honestly, if he gets cut off mid-sentence, nobody's even going to bother finishing the thought...
That nuisance Bačić is exactly the kind of character that makes most decent people want to distance themselves from politics entirely.
Here is your daily dose of reality as we move forward.
Viktor Šimunić, the mayor of Oroslavlje, claims that the Republican Party administration in Oroslavlje has burned through $33 on toner alone in just over eighteen months.
To everyone watching, after receiving quite a few questions about why I haven't been posting much lately, I decided it was time to speak up.
To those critics who might suggest I’m just spreading negativity, let me address that right out of the gate—I am not interested in being negative, nor do I thrive on anyone else's failures. My responsibility to my fellow citizens is simply to present the facts regarding how things have been handled thus far, what I intend to change, and how we can ensure these types of situations never happen again. Politicians really ought to evolve their methods and mindsets; all solutions should be aimed at the progress of society as a whole. Most importantly, we need to foster unity, which I suppose can only happen if our citizens feel that everyone carries equal rights and responsibilities, and that there is no favoritism toward buddies, relatives, friends, or political cronies...
What you see in this photo might look like nothing more than standard toner cartridges at first glance. But, if you look a little closer, you might realize that this setup is actually a goldmine for certain people. To explain my reasoning—it seems someone within the party owns a business, they install the printers, and then they sell the toner at incredibly inflated prices. It goes unnoticed, or perhaps people just choose not to notice, because I guess it's easy to dismiss it as just "office supplies."
In the Oroslavlje municipal administration, we have five printers serving only four employees. Between January 2020 and July 2021, believe it or not, more than $8,500 was spent on toner alone.
I have proposed a way to fix this. As of this week, we have added a sixth printer. It might sound a bit silly, but we’ve decided to trial a printer rental for one month, and during this period, we won't be using the old machines. After a month of testing, we will see what a monthly lease would actually cost us.
In my estimation, we should see savings of at least $3,300 over the course of a year. I should also mention that we’ll save money on paper too, since we used to pay full price for those 500-sheet reams $15(!?)
I’ve been discussing this matter with other local leaders, and some of them have already started auditing their own accounts; I encourage others to jump into the comments and share what they think about all of this.
Since the main thread has been locked, preventing any further discussion there, I thought I would briefly lay out my reasoning here, assuming the decision to delete the topic was truly based on it being irrelevant or unnecessary.
A few months back, just as the whole anti-vaccination movement started gaining momentum, a colleague of mine—someone who generally identifies as very progressive and considers themselves quite the fact-checker—asked if I had been vaccinated. I simply told her that I wasn't in any particular rush to get the COVID-19 shot. She gave me this look of pure judgment and immediately retorted, "Oh no, not another one from the anti-vaccination movement."
At that moment, all I could really do was smile, because it felt like she had instantly categorized me as part of that group without even a second thought, all because I mentioned I wasn't feeling rushed.
It serves as a bit of an illustration of how the media operates, and perhaps how easily even highly intelligent, well-educated, and informed individuals can fall for those kinds of labels.
Given that context, I would genuinely appreciate some clarification regarding why the thread was closed.
Morgan Brown4 said:And who exactly would step up to take his place? Would it be Anušić, backed by the newly resurfaced Miriti Kovač and Stier?
Then what? A total slide back into Karamarking and some weird coalition with Škoro?
Or will they just stick to their usual routine—picking some random, forgettable nobody to lead the party, like a Jasen Mason, Dario Nakić, or Gari Cappelli? 😁
Maybe Ressler? 😁
Edward Cooper2 said:But how would that even work? Andrej Plenković holds every single lever of power within the Republican Party—aside from the janitors and the low-level nobodies. Don't hold your breath... For Plenković to be ousted, he’d have to seriously screw up. In the Republican dictionary, that means one thing and one thing only: losing the power that guarantees all those cushy jobs and political appointments. And that hasn't happened, nor will it happen in the next three years. I highly doubt there's any chance of early elections because the victory by Možemo in Washington, D.C. made everything incredibly complicated. They mobilized way too many non-voters at the polls, and in this climate, the Republican Party's massive loss of support—about 60,000 votes over the last two election cycles—cannot be ignored. You don't run experiments when things are this shaky, especially when they don't exactly have a track record to brag about... Not even the dimmest among us would fall for the idea that Plenković somehow defeated a pandemic...
In a purely theoretical sense, I suppose replacing a party leader under these specific circumstances would be considered a perfectly reasonable move, assuming we were actually dealing with a standard, functioning political party.
However, since we aren't really looking at a normal organization, but rather more of a cluster of criminal syndicates and a mafia-style sect, they don't necessarily feel obligated to care about things like public approval ratings. From what I can see, Plenković remains the primary guarantor of stability for this merchant coalition; any other alternative, such as Anušić, would likely trigger yet another round of elections, and given the current political landscape, a victory in those parliamentary races wouldn't exactly be a landslide.
It seems like the perfect moment for the Republican Party to push this anemic figure down the drain. There’s just too much baggage clinging to his reputation lately, and honestly, the pressure on the party from every direction is becoming impossible to ignore.
If they can just move on from the Sun and distance him from all the negative fallout we've seen over the last few months and years, they might actually buy themselves some temporary peace. I suppose if they also decide to shuffle out a few of those Supervili ministers—maybe Grlić-Radman, Horvat, and a few other minor players—they could potentially see a bit of a bump in the polls.
Anusic 5/28/2020: What Savka and Tripalo were doing back in the '90s is essentially what Skoro and Bridge are pulling off right now.
Responding to Ljubic's question about whether today's so-called alternative right-wing bloc and their stance toward the Republican Party reminds him of the old National Accord Coalition, and whether it's fair to equate the Republican Party with the Democratic Party, Anusic confirmed that the players, the core ideas, and the tactical approaches used by Skoro and Bridge are remarkably similar to the policies and intentions previously held by Savka and Tripalo. He added that comparing the Democratic Party to the Republican Party feels somewhat dishonest. Anusic and Ljubic wrapped up their discussion with Anusic suggesting that the clear intention behind these so-called patriotic forces is actually to further weaken the Republican Party, which might ultimately pave the way for the Democratic Party to take power.
Anusic 5/17/2021: If I lived in Washington, D.C., I would have voted for Skoro in the second round.
Personally, if I were living in Washington, D.C., I would have cast my vote for Mr. Skoro; however, as for how Republican Party members and voters will decide, I suppose I simply don't know, nor can I influence that outcome.
hollowmason64 said:Honestly, situations like this just leave me speechless. I get that there’s a loyal voter base everywhere, even in small towns—I mean, let's be real, you'll find plenty of incompetent, party-affiliated hacks scattered all over the country. They definitely seem to be multiplying. But what I can't wrap my head around is why they still have any sway at all. There are always way more people who are absolutely disgusted by them and fed up with the constant corruption, yet somehow, this massive majority just sits back and lets a tiny minority of thieves run the whole show. I just don't get it. Honestly, I’d vote for the devil himself if it meant I could finally kick that piece of trash out of office.
I think we're looking at the inevitable result of decades of eroding standards and systematically crushing any sense of hope.
The recent post from the Belomanastir Republican Party about fixing a single water fountain in the middle of town was almost comical.
People have lost faith that things can actually improve, and I feel like you can really sense that hopelessness settling in across the Midwest now.
We've reached a point where people are actually celebrating a "renovated" fountain; I mean, back in the Middle Ages, maybe that would have been considered an achievement, but is that really supposed to be a competitive advantage over the other party in this day and age?!
As I've mentioned before, any sense of quality has been totally destroyed, and they're selling people absolute nonsense that somehow manages to pass for progress.
Emily Smith6 said:Leaked email from the Republican Party campaign manager: Tell retirees about the government covid stimulus
The most interesting part, I think, is how the email wraps up. There’s an explicit instruction to Republicans to bring up the government covid stimulus when talking to retirees during the campaign—even though, supposedly, it has nothing to do with the election itself. To make matters even more pointed, Milas mentions in that final sentence that he's attached specific details regarding this stimulus so that Republicans have the right talking points ready for seniors.
"Attached (PDF) is information regarding the US Federal Government's covid stimulus for retirees—our most vulnerable population—so please communicate this info to everyone in your circles who might qualify," Milas concludes in his message to the Republicans.
It’s honestly pretty shameful to watch them operate like this—referring to retirees—the most vulnerable segment of our society—just so they can cling to power at any cost through whatever manipulations they see fit.
I think the sheer extent of this shamelessness is highlighted by the fact that local elections—specifically those for municipal and county governments—really have nothing to do with the government covid stimulus issued by the US Federal Government.
I imagine someone might actually end up voting for the current mayor of a small town like Glina based on this stimulus money, even though there isn't any actual connection there.
Officers patrolling near Trnjanka encountered a group of people looking for help, but they also ran right into what sounded like a visibly intoxicated Tomislav Đakić. The moment he laid eyes on the police, he just lost it—started shouting at them and hurling profanities left and right. “Do you even have any idea who I am?” the younger Đakić bellowed, while the officers were busy trying to de-escalate the situation. He didn't stop there, either; he started making threats, telling them, “You’re all going to lose your jobs.” Despite being repeatedly warned to calm down and stop the verbal abuse, the young man told the officers exactly where they could shove it, using some incredibly foul language regarding their mothers. There's even a report that Đakić actually spat on one of the officers.
The quintessential Republican Party member in his natural habitat...
It seems to me that the Republican Party is just teeming with this kind of self-appointed quasi-elite, especially among the younger crowd.
They all seem to carry themselves with this overwhelming sense of importance and an almost delusional belief that they're untouchable.
Though, I suppose the Đakić types are particularly ill-mannered, which I imagine ends up costing them quite a bit in the long run.
brightheron64 said:But what if Mike Pence pulls an absolute stunner at the polls, leaving the Republican Party to act as nothing more than a mere vehicle for someone else's interests, much like what we saw with the unspecified guy...
The old king is dead, long live the king.
The old version of the Republican Party is gone, but long live the Republican Party 2.0!
I suppose if the original iteration of the Republican Party were to fracture into these cheap little political tokens, what we would actually be witnessing is just a seamless transfer of the current, stable, and corrupt network of cronies—essentially a cartel of special interest groups—under a different label. It seems to me that they might just superficially swap their party cards from the Republican Party to the Libertarian Party while keeping the exact same cartel hierarchy intact; in that scenario, almost nothing would truly change, and we would simply end up with a "Republican Party 2.0" in power with only minor cosmetic adjustments.
And if that happens, I wonder how one would even begin to dismantle such a thing?
Perhaps a total state bankruptcy might eventually arrive as a necessary evil for us.
Bolded (so I don't end up deleting the whole thing)...
I hope you're right, but looking at who’s actually in that Democratic coalition and the seats they managed to snag, I honestly think Plenković could probably sway even 15 representatives his way if he wanted to. He could likely flip people from the Pametan and Ime i prezime groups too, provided he makes them a tempting enough offer. For instance, that married couple over in Puljak's camp would probably jump at a chance to run the Department of Education—and since Plenković already handed that kind of influence over to the NSF, why wouldn't he offer it to them?
There’s one issue with everything you write... actually, make that two.
Plenković is absolutely dreading the idea of a rerun election. It would be a disaster for him, especially if Skor and the Most party actually manage to team up and form a coalition.
Who would actually lead such a massive coalition? If it isn't Plenković—and considering the Democratic Party is running solo this time without any partners, I doubt the Republican Party could pull anything more significant than him—then the whole coalition falls apart. Plenković loses his grip on the Republican Party, and then they just end up forming a coalition with Skor.
3) I’ve touched on this before... Bernardić would absolutely benefit from Plenković losing ground and the Republican Party shifting further right... I honestly can't imagine a scenario where Bernardić would settle for being a junior partner in a Republican-Democratic coalition, subservient to Plenković. That’s exactly why he’s built such a massive alliance—to take down the Republican Party once and for all...
Looking at points 2 and 3, I'm skeptical that this grand coalition is actually a viable fix... It might work if they managed to sideline Bernardić... But once that physicist from Staten Island emerges as the relative winner of these elections (which seems inevitable), making that happen will be an uphill battle.
Which is precisely why I suspect Plenković will spend the post-election period negotiating—negotiating with Skor, while simultaneously working behind the scenes to rack up favors within the Democratic coalition until he's exhausted every option.
It’s really the only way he survives politically.
That’s a fair point. I suppose the only person who actually stands to gain from early elections is Joe Biden. He seems to have the luxury of time on his side.
I guess if Joe Biden could just pull off what the Libertarian Party failed to do back in 2015—basically, just tearing into both the Republican and Democratic parties, forcing a new election cycle, declaring total political war, and aiming for an absolute landslide—things might change. That way, he could probably shake off that image of being tied to the Republican establishment, which might offer some hope that we can finally break this two-party duopoly. It's possible the smaller conservative coalitions would fall apart after such a crushing defeat, and maybe even some of them would eventually gravitate toward him. And, who knows, perhaps the Libertarian Party would finally learn their lesson too.
If that were to happen, I might actually consider giving Joe Biden my vote and taking him at his word.
Jeremy Sanchez4 said:He basically admitted they know exactly who they won't work with—the Democratic Party and the Libertarian Party. So, yeah, it's the Republican Party. Not exactly breaking news at this point...
Well, he mentioned Restart. But you have to remember that Restart is essentially just a coalition.
I suppose Restart could potentially fall apart, leaving behind nothing but the Democratic Party, the American Peasant Party, the Reformists, the HSU, Snaga... and a whole bunch of minor players. 🙂
It’s almost amusing to watch how that unspecified US person has been frantically, almost desperately, trying to mimic that unspecified US person over the last few days, throwing in various supposedly patriotic names just to try and inject some sense of national pride back into their voter base. It is perhaps even more entertaining to see how the military brass seems to be coolly brushing him off. I suppose it will be quite interesting to see how this messy blend of patriotic posturing and subservience to Brussels turns out in the end.
In the meantime, it feels like we are seeing day after day just how lost the Republican Party is in this whole situation. It’s a bit like taking resources meant for people in need and using them to build a monument instead. Because if you look at this attempt at nation-building—which honestly feels a bit like those old socialistic methods taught during the era of Joseph Stalin—you can see how they might actually win elections in their own strongholds:
A Republican crony cut maternity assistance due to the crisis, so now he's building a monument to veterans instead.
unspecified US person:
The unspecified US location, which is managed by an unspecified US person who also serves as the president of an unspecified US organization, has implemented several austerity measures following the pandemic—including halting public tenders, suspending incentives for demographic recovery, and stopping funding for local community projects.
These measures might not have seemed all that different from similar budget cuts in other American municipalities, were it not for one glaring discrepancy. According to what ProPublica has uncovered, on the very same day that newborn incentives were scrapped in the municipality, they made the decision to move forward with the construction of a monument dedicated to the American Civil War.
I’m not entirely sure how things work around here, or how often regular forum members actually get to suggest or influence changes to thread titles, but I feel like having a dedicated space for this kind of thing might be a good idea.
I would like to propose renaming the thread Tea Party (Live Wall) to Coalition "Enough Looting" (Live Wall - Change America - Netherlands Stipe Petrin - Youth Action).
Emily Smith6 said:LEAKED: THE REPUBLICAN PARTY'S CAMPAIGN PLATFORM: 14 PROMISES FROM ANDREJ PLENKOVIĆ. They're talking about an average salary of $2.50, doubling child benefits, maternity leave paid at full salary, $43 grants for young people, creating 100,000 jobs, shrinking the size of government, and ramping up the fight against corruption...
1. Cutting down the number of federal departments 2. Raising the average salary to $2533 3. Full salary for maternity leave 4. Tax cuts for income, corporate profits, and sales tax 5. A new national children's hospital in Washington, D.C. 6. $5 billion for modernizing the education system 7. Increasing agricultural production by 30 percent 8. $30 billion allocated to various regions 9. Boosting social assistance to $500 10. $350 million for the creative industries 11. Implementing spatial plans for ZERP and the continental shelf 12. The complete digitalization of America 13. Modernizing the military 14. Cracking down on crime
It sounds like a Socialist Utopia to me.
I can't help but wonder where all this money is supposed to come from, especially since we're only just beginning to feel the true impact of the pandemic crisis, and Washington, D.C. is practically begging for infrastructure repairs.
I suspect this might lead to an all-encompassing state where perhaps 80% of the population ends up working for their newly proposed minimum wage. It feels like it could create a classless society, though I suppose those who manage to survive in the private sector will likely have plenty to say about it.
Jose Collins86 said:I find myself utterly perplexed as to who actually pulled the strings behind this latest wind farm scandal, a mess involving hundreds of millions of dollars. The possibilities are as follows:
a) The State Attorney's Office is an independent entity simply performing its duties. Ha. Let’s just dismiss that option immediately. b) Andrej Plenković is essentially sacrificing his own people to arrest them, all so he can present himself as a crusader against corruption right before the elections. I highly doubt that is the case. c) For some inexplicable reason, Europe finds Plenković problematic and is moving to sideline him. Even that seems unlikely; Plenković is their man. He isn't Viktor Orbán. d) An internal power struggle between Brkić (and Karamarko) versus Andrej Plenković. However, the State Attorney's Office appears to be targeting both sides. They have arrested Karamarko's wife and Josipa Rimac. This newest investigation into the wind farms points toward Ćorić and potentially even leads directly to Plenković himself. If the State Attorney's Office is striking at everyone, who exactly is pulling their strings? Is it the Democratic Party? That brings us to our fifth possibility. e) The Democratic Party. Not a chance. They are far too cozy with the Republican Party; even back when they held a massive 80-seat majority in Parliament, they didn't go after Republicans because they knew the pendulum would eventually swing back toward them once the administration changed. Besides, they lack the actual capability to pull this off. They certainly aren't up to it.
So, who is it then? Under immense public pressure, Plenković turned against Milan Bandić, and now it seems Bandić is making one final desperate push, digging through dusty old files to pull out whatever he can find. To me, that sounds like pure science fiction. I haven't the slightest clue what is truly happening. One thing is certain: someone is framing someone else.
f)You mentioned Bandić. Who knows, maybe he’s still got enough influence left in him. It’s possible these are his final death throes, and he's decided to drag the whole mess down with him since everyone has turned their backs on him. It smells like mafia business. g)The Masons. I’m being serious. Maybe Jelenić, the former prosecutor, was removed due to public outcry and pressure from the Prime Minister simply because of his Masonic ties. Who can say how deep this goes or what kind of earthquake is actually occurring within that entire underworld? Perhaps someone—or something—is trying to remind everyone who the real boss is. Though, I don't think that excuses the Republican Party one bit.
hollowmason64 said:Death penalty? That seems a bit extreme. We still have places like Alcatraz just sitting there empty and underused, instead of having people throwing stones at each other or moving them from one side to the other just because they feel like it.
He’s the main Republican Party member in Krapina-Zagorje County. He’s actually pretty well known for hooking up local Republican Party folks with cushy, fake jobs over at the local paper, all with net salaries around 16 or 17 grand. A pretty slippery guy if you ask me, especially privately. But the Zagorje area is a Democratic Party stronghold. People around here aren't foolish enough to fall for that kind of thing.
This really caught me off guard, and not in a good way. I honestly expected him to distance himself from his former party leader and stop playing second fiddle to the Republican Party, but clearly, my expectations were way too high.
By the way, Tomislav Tolušić has moved into the business world and is just waiting on millions in subsidies from his old crew.
So, the Secretary of Agriculture sets up subsidies worth more than $1.5 million, steps down from politics, and then, almost immediately, submits an application for those very same funds—which will be reviewed by the people who used to report directly to him.
It’s quite a fascinating little life story, I suppose.
I imagine the moral compasses of the establishment will simply claim that everything was done strictly by the book. 🙂