Looks like somebody is in need of a bit of democracy, eh?
Looks like somebody is in need of a bit of democracy, eh?
The problem with these counts is there is no way of making them look good, like lives saved due to "x". How many people lived because the Soviets managed to eliminate all famines in their territory after that? A huge feat given their relative frequency beforehand.
And then you can blame countless deaths on capitalism, feudalism, slavery, but then do you normalize those numbers based on total world population?
What about blaming AK-47s? The police?
My point is that it's a pointless metric that is only used to drum up support against some group of people, not a useful one for objectively understanding anything. It does away with all context, and replaces it with some inane number.
Them: "Gee things are getting bad.... The last time the poor were this bad off heads started rolling.... How did we avoid that? Ohh yeah! Concessions! What if we SAY we want to give them concessions, and then tell the government not to? That should work!"
-The wealthy leeches, enemies of humanity
What's a tankie?
You might not, but the majority of people who know what neoliberalism is would.
The criticisms are also that companies use slavery to acquire the materials to make EVs. And they don't work well in the cold (see current cold snap in Canada), the lifetime of the batteries aren't great, and we still need to destroy huge swaths of land to create cars, park/store cars, and drive cars.
EVs are only going to save the car industry. To fix it requires a redesign of cities (see Strongtowns, not justbikes, city beautiful, etc.).
The FAA. Have you met college students?
Imagine thinking a few hundred people you disagree with is worse than a mega-corp manipulating information for profits.
I "know" this is a metaphor, and I'm being a wet blanket about it, but I'm saying it anyway. There is no super hero to save anyone from anything, much less a society circulating the drain. The only way to make things better is by getting organized with your friends, family, and neighbours.
Be prepared (collectively) when things go to shit, and actively try to make them better. You can do very little alone, but together the choice is no longer between Hitler and Hitler, it's change or stagnation. And neither genocide Joe or Cheetos man will lead to any positive progress.
Okay, no more wet blanket.....
That's fair, it hurts when your slaves are taken away lol.
It's crazy that a single state has that much international sway though.
It is one of the consequences of monopolies, but monopolies are a consequence of economic competition.
The "winner" gets the losers stuff and customers (mergers for example), making the winner bigger and more able to manipulate the market to their benefit.
When there are few enough companies profits can be chased without consideration for anything else (planned obsolescence, shipping jobs outside the country, lay-offs, etc.)
So, like you said except in a for profit market, monopolies are inevitable.
I often see the term when someone questions whether or not something like Tiananmen square (from.your example) happened the way it is depicted in popular media. Questioning an event that (likely) is at least partially misrepresented due to it occurring in an "enemy" state should be a reasonable thing to do, especially when the state making the claims (USA) has a self reported record of interference in the affairs of others.
So then is tankie (supposed to be) used when someone uncritically supports a leftist state? The counter example would be (rightfully) pointing out a large prison population in North Korea as bad, while ignoring the larger prison population of the USA.
So tankie=uncritical support for NK/Cuba/china/USSR/Laos/Vietnam etc.
And bootlicker (to keep it balanced ;) = uncritical support for USA/Canada/Japan/France/Germany etc.
Is that about right?
Yeah and then Israel can go back to their peaceful genocide right? I get it death is bad, but ignoring context (settler colonialism) to feel superior by saying both sides are bad is dumb. None of us can sit here and tell an oppressed people how to fight their oppressor.
Maybe, it sounds familiar. But if past trends are any indication, once enough of the market is dominated by EVs, there will be a lot more money to be made by lowering quality to a bare minimum.
And the infrastructure argument still stands in that case.
12 days of Christmas by Bob and Doug Mckenzie
Cool, thanks for that. I think it's interesting (academically) to see how the usage of words (e.g. tankie) have evolved.
I remember the article. And I'm not saying that didn't happen, in fact I'm sure the Russian Oligarchs are siphoning tons from the Russian people.
But the fact remains, the article you shared is American propaganda being used to drum up support for more sanctions, or war, or some other purpose, which will just result in American Oligarchs sending Americans and/or their money to places they should never be. There is truth to the article, but the framing is for political purposes.
You want to support oppressed people? Great! You want to denounce a tyrant? Great! You see folks across the Atlantic rising up in revolution against oligarchs? Also great!
But being critical of how the media is presented can go a long way towards supporting the right causes, being upset about things that are worth being upset about, and making sure you don't waste your energy pushing the agenda of some government which should be minding its own business.
And the working people always suffer, and will always suffer, as long as our representatives don't represent us.
No need, the Soviets made a river of natzi blood in the 40's.
Well, this is the internet so it's pretty much impossible to make me upset. You're just some Dingus on a keyboard, and I'm some other Dingus on a keyboard.
Internet libs love to tell people how they should fight for their rights. I wonder if anyone has considered holding a bake sale in Gaza? Maybe then both sides can sit down and talk? Maybe Israel just doesn't know committing genocide is bad? Does Hamas know Israel wants to commit genocide? Does Israel know Palestinians feel pain and suffering?
It's impossible to know without DiALoGuE.
Good point. North east US.
And you are right they didn't mention a storm, but that's not my point. The article title clearly exacerbates the problem, and points the blame in a way that suggests the Russians are either too stupid or too poor to fix the problem. Why should any of us care about such a small thing for one? And two, what is their intention? It's well known that NYtimes toes the state line when it comes to propaganda against American "enemies" .
Really the only thing useful from the article is:
"20,000 without heat in Russia due to infrastructure failure. Crews working to fix it."
But then why would anyone care about that?
Well, playing the same game as rich guys will result in you losing. But it's important to remember the October revolution was funded with much less.....
A well thought out response. You got me lol. One day I hope to live up to your intellectual standards.
/s
They haven't shied away, it is just more profitable to mine outside your borders using slave labour. The fact of it is, with planned obsolescence being the best way to ensure a steady demand of a product, and the environmental destruction required to support the manufacturing and use of EVs, they still are not a solution. They are a market solution which means it is profitable, and a lateral move at best, and a back step at worst.
If EVs help the environment that is secondary.
https://miningwatch.ca/publications/2023/9/6/contemporary-forms-slavery-and-canadian-mining-industry
And what are you going to do about it? Be upset? That sounds like a waste of your time, emotions, and intelligence.
Like I said in another response, I'm sure what happened is mostly true, but the framing is for political purposes. It's important to be critical of the purpose of an article (to inform? Or to influence?) so you can focus your energy on the politics that you have influence over.
You're right, but the work doesn't end at this election. There's a long road of reforms or revolution required to move away from the conditions that made these two the only "options". And your representatives aren't going to do it for you.
What do you mean you have an election to keep your country in existence?
Yeah the US is just butt hurt that they were so humiliated by such a small nation and now they won't let it go.
I'm very good at talking with my mouth full, thank you.
So do you support the agenda of Biden? Or maybe Trump? Maybe you are disappointed with the political landscape of your country and would like changes? Maybe I am giving you too much credit?
Back to the thread at hand: it is kind of insane that it may actually be possible to legally assassinate your political rivals without any legal reprecussions while leading any country isn't it? And now that the cats out of the bag, doesn't that worry you in the least?
Violence is the only option, even if you don't like it. Ask Nelson Mandela.
Alternatively, like in Canada, have your people become the majority and give them Independence, and forget about the destruction of the natives.
Liberation will never be given to you by your oppressor.
So, you think I am in support of genocide Joe?
And besides, he's so old I would be surprised if there were enough drugs on the planet to get him hard enough to ride.
Sure. Leaving most of Trumps policies in place as well as supporting a genocide in Palestine. He also hasn't done anything to reverse the genocide on the Indigenous people in the USA, if you want to be spicy. He hasn't done anything about the clearly disproportionate violence against non-white people, and he allows the hate speech and othering to continue unabated, providing a nice scapegoat for the country's problems without him having to lift a finger.
There's also the ongoing imperialism of the USA, and their hundreds of military bases across the planet, asserting control over numerous populations. While this isn't necessarily fascist, the common argument used for invasion into other countries is that "we need to bring them freedom and Democracy, and our Western values". And again, there is still an occupation in Iraq by the USA military, under Biden, where these were clear "reasons" for the occupation.
So, is it fascist to allow the continuation of things that may be considered fascist when viewed together? Probably. Especially when you lead the largest military in the world, and the second largest economy, no one else has the power to sign a paper and end the atrocities. Well, at least some of them.
Are you okay?
Lol. I wasn't showing any support for anyone, just pointing out the clear goal of the article, and especially it's headline. It's important to check sources, especially when there is a news article pertaining to your geo-political enemies.
Wow, infrastructure breakdown left 20,000 without heat for a few days? That's not news. A good storm in the northeast can knock the power system out for days here. Just more mindless propaganda trying to make you think a certain way.
Or, hear me out, get rid of qualified immunity. You guys aren't a kingdom FFS. And sorry, Biden is at a minimum fascist adjacent.
What I find interesting is it seems like we are again converging on the same service as cable. Which suggests that the best method of profiting off watching movies/tv at home is to have ad supported entertainment, with a monthly fee.
Once again, the profit motive ruins something good .