General News Thread

[RacingeR]

And yeah, now that we have an international community looking over everyone's shoulders, those kinds of practices are being called out for what they are, though you're right that relatively few are strong enough to demand retribution from those who conquered them.

Eh. The international community is still very busy pretending that the USA's shit doesn't stink. Colonialist practices are still very much in place, except that now they often take the form of economic dominance, rather than by force. Though they don't hesitate in making use of the latter, like in Bolivia.

Honestly, the fact that the US' hegemony has been slowly dwindling is the only positive thing to come out of the shitshow that recent years have been. I can't think of a single thing that has been more harmful to the world at large and has caused more death and misery, including the two world wars. But really, I think progress as an international community or society won't come until its members are made to be responsible of their actions regardless of how much big dick energy they're trying to project. And that'll take a while.

[AsGryffynn]

No such thing as a decent right winger and Lincoln gets no points for doing half the job

How about the guys saying Spain's Gender Violence law should be scrapped and replaced because it creates a legal asymmetry that condemns men to harsher penalties than women for the same kind of stuff, no ifs or buts.

Now you're sounding like a freaking fanatic, honest.

[Twelveseal]

Eh. The international community is still very busy pretending that the USA's shit doesn't stink. Colonialist practices are still very much in place, except that now they often take the form of economic dominance, rather than by force. Though they don't hesitate in making use of the latter, like in Bolivia.

Honestly, the fact that the US' hegemony has been slowly dwindling is the only positive thing to come out of the shitshow that recent years have been. I can't think of a single thing that has been more harmful to the world at large and has caused more death and misery, including the two world wars. But really, I think progress as an international community or society won't come until its members are made to be responsible of their actions regardless of how much big dick energy they're trying to project. And that'll take a while.

Yeah, I don't see that change happening for a long while yet. At this point, the only people really punishing bad actors are also bad actors. And in doing so, they're really just competing with each other for power and influence rather than genuinely trying to uphold some kind of sense of justice.

You're right in that it's basically economic colonialism at this stage, though in a sense that's just normal. You're always going to have a situation where the strong prey on the weak until you have a situation where everyone is on completely equal footing... which is completely unnatural and can't realistically be achieved in a world with finite resources and human competitiveness. You always end up with someone taking advantage of someone else, whether it's another nation or the people of their own. So long as you have any kind of institution that needs leadership and lasts longer than a single generation, it's going to end up in some degree of corrupt.

On an unrelated topic, why the hell is there some weird parenting group ad trying to tell me that a Denver airport is the center of the New World Order?

[SpoonyViking]

How about the guys saying Spain's Gender Violence law should be scrapped and replaced because it creates a legal asymmetry that condemns men to harsher penalties than women for the same kind of stuff, no ifs or buts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orcQSPds0_0

[AsGryffynn]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orcQSPds0_0

https://youtu.be/pN2fk1sKme8?t=18

[SpoonyViking]

Honestly, I take that as a badge of honour.

[LegalLoliLover]

First, shitty farming practices.
Now, "unplanned donations"

I know that the riots are all just planned by the Chinese Communist Party, but can they at least make it a bit less obvious? This is insulting to my intelligence.

[Twelveseal]

Lol. Fyi, if you don't want shit stolen, don't go live in a commune built around a complete lack of law enforcement. If you want to adopt a lifestyle without law enforcement, you have to either get used to the idea that people take what they want unless stopped by you or the community, that you have to personally secure your own possessions and defend them yourself as well, or that you don't have private property in the first place and everything is just communal. Even if you have leadership, without some kind of enforcement mechanism, there's no point in finding stolen goods. Possession becomes the rule, regardless of how it came about.

In other news, looks like we got a plague of locusts in Africa. Time for more shot to hit the fan.

[rxrx]

Still waiting for Bunker Boy to blame China as the cause of him shitting in his pants.

[Toulou]

I know that the riots are all just planned by the Chinese Communist Party, but can they at least make it a bit less obvious? This is insulting to my intelligence.

"Planned by the Chinese Communist Party"
I know that every nation its trying to mess with the United States right now, but whatever influence they have would not work in the first place if the United States was not so incompetent when dealing with police violence, and actually tried to improve the material conditions of poor people. I doubt that they managed to be a big influence anyways, the police its working full time in creating riots and many of the people that are rioting do not care about a community that does not allow them to live without fear of being victim of state violence.

[rxrx]

"Planned by the Chinese Communist Party"
I know that every nation its trying to mess with the United States right now, but whatever influence they have would not work in the first place if the United States was not so incompetent when dealing with police violence, and actually tried to improve the material conditions of poor people. I doubt that they managed to be a big influence anyways, the police its working full time in creating riots and many of the people that are rioting do not care about a community that does not allow them to live without fear of being victim of state violence.

The main problem with modern USA is the reflex action to blame Russia and China for almost anything while at the same time refuse to reflect and change what is wrong with itself.

[Twelveseal]

Yeah, no. The main problem isn't a tendency to blame others for our own fuck ups. That's just our own elites trying to cover their asses by foisting more blame on outsiders than is actually due.

The main problem is that we have a thoroughly entrenched ruling class who's too busy fighting among themselves for wealth, power, influence, and the spread and success of their own ideals to actually govern effectively or make decisions for the the rest of us. They're incapable of making the sorts of reforms that are actually needed here, incapable of effectively addressing our issues and crises, or of making sound judgments for the future. Coupled with the way power and information are concentrated in the parties, it makes meaningful, positive change extremely slow to materialize without large-scale disruptions like these riots and protests forcing it.

[rxrx]

Yeah, no. The main problem isn't a tendency to blame others for our own fuck ups. That's just our own elites trying to cover their asses by foisting more blame on outsiders than is actually due.

The main problem is that we have a thoroughly entrenched ruling class who's too busy fighting among themselves for wealth, power, influence, and the spread and success of their own ideals to actually govern effectively or make decisions for the the rest of us. They're incapable of making the sorts of reforms that are actually needed here, incapable of effectively addressing our issues and crises, or of making sound judgments for the future. Coupled with the way power and information are concentrated in the parties, it makes meaningful, positive change extremely slow to materialize without large-scale disruptions like these riots and protests forcing it.

Reforms are very difficult since stake holders won't want the status quo to change. Media being under control by the state is also an issue too.

[LegalLoliLover]

The main problem with modern USA is the reflex action to blame Russia and China for almost anything while at the same time refuse to reflect and change what is wrong with itself.

Except in this case, the police officer who killed George Floyd was charged formally with a crime.

[Twelveseal]

State controlled media is more a Chinese or Russian thing. It's not that straightforward here. Rather, it's that most media companies are controlled by private individuals or groups that are part of the ruling class or are otherwise aligned with their agendas. Fully state controlled media isn't really a thing here. If it was, Trump wouldn't be throwing tantrums every time one of them runs a negative story or shows his numbers slipping in the polls. Instead, it's that the majority of our news is a tool for one person or another to push their own narrative and values by what they report, what they don't, and how.

And yeah, reforms are extremely difficult. Once power gets concentrated in a place it's like pulling teeth to spread it out or restrain it again.

[LegalLoliLover]

I'm sure that many people know about this:

However, what's hilarious is posts, like this:

I always find "with me or against me" ultimatums amusing because it's such a pathetic way to make an ally and oftentimes end up making an enemy, instead. In other words, instead of being "neutral", which in the minds of the delusional are "enemies" anyway, it's more efficient to formally be an "enemy" in order to permanently silence the delusional imbecile.

[Pendant]

Fuck small businesses. Tired of everyone using small businesses and their owners as cover. And not just in this instance, it's always been a thing.

[Mattias]

But you've got to protect those small businesses that are the backbone of good working class families.

Also overlook the fact that the remaining 99% of the time the same people who espouse those ideals are willing to throw those businesses under the bus so Walmart can get another minor raise in profits for the quarter by stomping on the little guys necks.

[Pendant]

But you've got to protect those small businesses that are the backbone of good working class families.

Also overlook the fact that the remaining 99% of the time the same people who espouse those ideals are willing to throw those businesses under the bus so Walmart can get another minor raise in profits for the quarter by stomping on the little guys necks.

Show me one small business which isn't just a glorified labor protection dodge racket. Because that is effectively what they are.

The only exceptions would be worker owned co-ops or businesses which are family owned and operated since in both of these cases profits are divided among the workers in an equitable fashion. Another exception would be cases where the "company" is one individual who puts himself out for hire as a consultant, artist, translator, etc. Obviously those don't count.

And Walmart can burn too.

[SpoonyViking]

People who would stay neutral as a police force beats up and murders citizens aren't prospective allies, they're just scum.