RationalWiki talk:What is going on in the world?

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What is going on?

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"Useful idiot"[edit]

This phrase crops up now and again here, usually to describe a left wing politician who questions western foreign policy, and leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Should we also start using it about every politician who tries to justify acts committed in our name?

Nobody is right if everybody's wrong. London Grump (talk) 10:32, 12 June 2024 (UTC)

...that's not what useful idiot means. A "useful idiot" is one who thinks they are truly fighting for a cause, when in reality they are merely parroting propaganda or in some way being manipulated politically without them realizing it. It's a Cold War leftover phrase, but still occasionally applicable. These days probably the most prominent "useful idiot" is hardly left-wing: Tucker Carlson, whose unrequited love of Vladimir Putin and other strongmen is obviously done with zero critical thinking and with much regurgitation of strongmen propaganda. Simply questioning a Western foreign policy does not make one a "useful idiot". BobJohnson (talk) 12:57, 12 June 2024 (UTC)
Are there no examples of someone being called a useful idiot just for questioning Western foreign policy? In a field as charged as (geo)politics, I would be surprised if there were no examples of someone insinuating a critic is a propagandist or misled dupe to discredit their criticism. Carthage (talk) 13:06, 12 June 2024 (UTC)
According to the Wigo at least, she is not "just" questioning Western foreign policy, she supports downright dictators just because they are anti-western. If she isn't a useful idiot, she's extremely disingenuous. GeeJayKWhere all evil dwells Where every lie is true 13:10, 12 June 2024 (UTC)
Notice I wasn't asking about Clare Daly. Carthage (talk) 13:11, 12 June 2024 (UTC)
Not in the exact words, but in the past I have heard Jeremy Corbyn be called things like 'a tool' or 'being naive' in regards to his foreign policy stances. KarmaPolice (talk) 13:17, 12 June 2024 (UTC)
I took a quick scan of news headlines, and it didn't take long to find an example of the phrase applied wrong: Heritage tool Nile GardinerWikipedia calling Kamala Harris "Hamas' useful idiot" in the Torygraph for... er, tepid pressure on Netanyahu to not invade Rafah, I guess. [1] (Although by the absurdly overwrought rhetoric in the column, you would think that Gardiner was reacting to someone killing a puppy or something.)
So, yeah, that's an example of that phrase being used quite wrongly. I'm sure there's many more examples out there. But when you are at the level of being a Russia spy apologetic (as the Wiki on Daly seems to indicate), I think the term "useful idiot" could apply. BobJohnson (talk) 14:22, 12 June 2024 (UTC)
I was vague in my original post. We know how how it has been used generally from Lenin - who would have disagreed with Bob's definition - on. I was questioning how it is used here. As far as I can recall, it's only been used here about John Pilger, people concerned about Palestinians and this Daly person.
Hardly rational. Aren't we better than that? London Grump (talk) 13:57, 14 June 2024 (UTC)

Didn't you guys already add an entry about the Brazil Abortion stuff a few weeks ago? Why are we adding it again?[edit]

TheOneAndOnlyCirrusMan (talk) 16:58, 25 June 2024 (UTC)

Oh, I missed it. Chillpilled (talk) 17:06, 25 June 2024 (UTC)

North Korea?[edit]

@Euromec I question the accuracy of your last WIGO entry. Reasoning; https://www.nknews.org/2024/06/fact-check-north-korea-has-not-announced-plans-to-send-troops-to-ukraine-yet/ . KarmaPolice (talk) 18:43, 27 June 2024 (UTC)

Pope Francis[edit]

Are we gonna have another schism? Over the dumbest shit possible too. Carthage (talk) 12:18, 8 July 2024 (UTC)

Schisms happen all the time with the Catholic Church, it's just that 95% of the never go anywhere. [qv: Independent Catholicism ] KarmaPolice (talk) 12:33, 8 July 2024 (UTC)

Biden[edit]

Shouldn’t we mention his outstanding performance last night? 2A00:23C4:AA1D:4A01:5868:136A:BED9:A1E1 (talk) 06:46, 12 July 2024 (UTC)

Burkina Faso[edit]

You know one of the underappreciated legacies of colonialism in Africa is homophobia. Like, you can trace a direct line between missionary activity and homophobic sentiment in Africa. I think that's context that a lot of people would rather not think about. Carthage (talk) 16:10, 12 July 2024 (UTC)

dunno if thats an underappreciated legacy. i thought was just an acknowledged fact these days. the draconian laws in uganda mentioned the article were drawn up with the direct involvement ofus evangelicals. this is not merely a throwback from colonialism, this current. AMassiveGay (talk) 18:08, 12 July 2024 (UTC)

Max Boot's wife...[edit]

...is a person too, Sue Mi TerryWikipedia. Referring to her solely as someone's wife doesn't seem to be polite, nor very rational.--2A00:102A:4006:73FC:65E5:2010:3202:13D9 (talk) 05:51, 20 July 2024 (UTC)

Honestly, this type of shit is par for the course for this God-awful Godless wiki. @Natsuki Marx You've got some explaining to do. MayGodSaveUsAll (talk) 07:52, 20 July 2024 (UTC)
I think the explanation is the Mediaite headline was almost verbatim copied. Take it up with them. Chillpilled (talk) 08:08, 20 July 2024 (UTC)
There's no rule saying that we have to keep the exact same headline. Fixing the WIGO entry will not magically make sexism disappear, but you're sure as hell not gonna tell me that we can just use the N-word just because the headline uses it. Also, I was asking Natsuki Marx, not you, Chillpilled MayGodSaveUsAll (talk) 08:22, 20 July 2024 (UTC)
I don't think this is a particularly big deal. I didn't actually copy the title purposely, I just typed what I thought an accurate nutshelling of the situation article was. I'm more inclined to mention Max Boot only because I'm immediately familiar with who he is, and not his wife. You're welcome to change the text of the poll if you'd like. (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Natsuki Marx ♥ (talk) 11:43, 20 July 2024 (UTC)
How about 'Sue Mi Terry (partner of Max Boot)'? KarmaPolice (talk) 11:58, 20 July 2024 (UTC)
For the record, I believe both of those original commenters are trolls, but I've edited the entry now. (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Natsuki Marx ♥ (talk) 12:01, 20 July 2024 (UTC)
Thanks for editing for clarification. I'm not a troll, as far as I can know (though my post may sound a bit troll-ish, when I re-read it), I just found it annoying, uninformative & also very 19th century when someone's only referred to by their relationship status. (Also I'm not an American, so I have had no clue who's Max Boot & even less why his wife's indictment can be of interest. I had to search for both. I would've rewritten it myself, but that was not an option as I'm not a registered user.)--2A00:102A:4006:73FC:58E7:F6D1:22BB:E9FD (talk) 15:00, 20 July 2024 (UTC)
I would like to also thank Natsuki Marx for the edit. I apologize for sounding harsh, which I think lead to a misunderstanding. Natsuki, I don't believe you were deliberately being sexist for adding that WIGO entry. But, I suggest thinking about why it is that you are more familiar with Boot than Terry. MayGodSaveUsAll (talk) 17:51, 20 July 2024 (UTC)
Who gives a shit? Being a pundit’s wife is what this person would be most immediately known. It’s a headline, not a damn biography. Get over yourselves. Pizza SLICE.gifChef Moosolini’s Ristorante ItalianoMake a Reservation 18:40, 20 July 2024 (UTC)
Good post!cosmikdebris talk stalk 20:03, 20 July 2024 (UTC)