Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Ich Bin Ein Hong Konger
Pro-Democracy Parties Sweep Hong Kong Elections in Historic Turnout
Beijing allies fell from a majority of 300 to a mere 60 seats, while pro-Hong Kong candidates won 347 of 452 seats — claiming seven of eight local councils after having control of none before Sunday. The election set a record with 71 percent turnout and more than doubled the turnout of 2015 elections with nearly 3 million voters.
“There has been a very deep awakening of the Hong Kong people,” said Alan Leong, chairman of the Civic Party, one of the largest pro-democracy parties. “ . . . Unless the C.C.P. is doing something concrete to address the concerns of the Hong Kong people, I think this movement cannot end.”
Hong Kong Watch Founder Says UK Has a Responsibility to Take Lead, Call for Sanctions on China
Benedict Rogers, a British human rights activist and the founder of Hong Kong Watch, joined protesters outside Downing Street on Saturday to call for the UK government to act in Hong Kong.
“I think the United Kingdom absolutely has a responsibility to take a lead now, especially now that the United States Congress and Senate have taken this really welcomed stand. But the United Kingdom obviously has a moral obligation given our history. More importantly, we have a legal obligation as a signatory to the Sino-British joint declaration which China is blatantly flouting,” Mr Rogers said.
Polls Show Tories Could Win 64-Seat Majority, Has 19-Point Lead over Labour
Polling suggests that the Conservative Party could win a 64-seat majority in the House of Commons in the December 12th General Election.
The poll of polls conducted by Electoral Calculus and published in The Telegraph has Mr Johnson’s party polling at 42.8 per cent, giving him 357 seats in the 650-seat lower house while Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party is polling at 30 per cent and is currently predicted to lose 55 seats.
Meanwhile, The Guardian reports that the latest Opinium/Observer poll puts the Conservative Party 19 points ahead of the Labour Party at 47 per cent, with just three weeks to go until polling day. Labour is on 28 per cent with the extreme anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats having fallen to 12 per cent.
Democracy is a roller coaster. It can’t be controlled so those who have no faith in humanity itself show themselves for who they really are and surrender to the totalitarian option. They get control of the weak-minded media & academia and think they can lie their way to power. Maybe they can and maybe they can’t.
Democrats’ Worst Nightmare: Polls Show 34 Percent of Black Likely Voters Approve of Donald Trump
A pair of recent polls show that 34 percent of black likely voters approve of President Donald Trump’s presidency, a stunning development that could have a massive impact on his re-election campaign in 2020.
A Rasmussen poll released Friday showed black likely voter approval of Trump at 34 percent. An Emerson Poll showed 34.5 percent approval by the same demographic.
Democracy lives in the hearts of the people not the pens of the pundits.
Regards,
Jim
Published in General
I guess this is good news, but can we believe polls?
We can if we like what they’re saying. But seriously, the Hong Kong elections aren’t a poll, they are a fact. It really is extraordinary. As for the others, we shall see.
Mate De,
Right before the 2016 election, there were polls that had HRC up by 10 points. However, Rasmussen only gave her about a 1.5 point lead well within the margin of error. Rasmussen has been one of the more reliable polls. I am not as familiar with Emerson but they seem to be almost exactly on the same page as Rasmussen (it doesn’t get any closer).
I think this is probably a good rough estimate. It makes sense also. Black unemployment hasn’t been this low in 50 years. Trump’s full-employment economy is more helpful to the black community than having Obama as President ever was. The Black church-going community, still a large representation, does not like the strange gender-bent culture peddled by the Democrats.
The Democratic candidates are so strange and self-satisfied that I don’t think they are selling to whites or blacks. The latest SNL sendup of the Dem debate made a mockery of all of them. Kanye West is no marketing dummy. He didn’t get to where he is because he didn’t know how to appeal to the mass. He and his wife are able to deal with Trump. That is all that is required. You don’t need to love Trump just realize that even Trump can do good so why not get some good done.
Regards,
Jim
I am so thrilled by this victory in Hong Kong. I know the control of government still exists in Beijing but this is important. Why hasn’t the UK stepped up? I know Trump is mostly silent due to the hope of a trade deal with China. Thankfully the Senate has no such restraint. Can Iran be next?
Sweezle,
The UK has been tied up in Brexit and the coming election. It looks like Boris is going to crush Corbyn. That means Brexit will happen. Boris has already made a statement a few months back in support of the Hong Kong movement. Once he is free of the election with a commanding conservative majority behind him, he will probably direct his foreign office to formally legally throw down the Gauntlett at the UN. He will accuse China of breaking the agreement that Britain signed with them.
Our Senate will back Britain’s claim and let the President play good cop with Xi. Meanwhile, we will be in the lead on Iran. There is an old Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.” Now you know why it’s a curse.
Regards,
Jim
True, but are elections in China even honored in anyway? Isn’t it a dictatorship?
I think that is what the protest is about, isn’t it? Who calls the shots in Hong Kong. The Beijing-backed candidates suffered a landslide defeat so the Hong Kong people spoke loud and clear about what they think of the mainland. So what happens now? I don’t know but I can’t help but feel that it is a momentous development in China’s relationship with Hong Kong and the world.
What exactly can a tiny island nation half a world away do about a Chinese city? It was Margaret Thatcher, fresh off beating the Argentines at sea, who looked reality squarely in the face and cut the best deal she could for the people of Hong Kong, getting them 50 years of semi-autonomy. It is that, and only that, that can be reasonably pressed for.
The U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force would be hard pressed just to protect Taiwan. There is zero chance of compelling the Chinese Communist Party to allow a Chinese city to become a real democracy. It is not going to happen, and encouraging it can only end very badly.
What is intriguing is the record sized vote, lopsided results PLUS the dump of embarrassing records about the vast prison colonies, records which had to be dumped by rivals to Xi, who had Hong Kong inside his governing portfolio before he grabbed all the other reins of power. Now Xi has no one he can lay blame off on for poor performance or mistakes. It may be that his rule is much shorter than Mao’s.
The local elections in Hong Kong for this one limited municipal body are honored under the Basic Law, agreed to by Beijing.