alvvayson

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alvvayson ,

Seems like they could just Google the lyrics and read that.

But I guess Spotify lyrics do give an idea on the pace of the song.

alvvayson ,

John Stewart always finds the best way to express what I'm feeling.

Regardless of the outcome, this election will go down as a shit stain on history.

I just hope the outcome doesn't turn it into explosive diarrhea.

alvvayson ,

A somewhat less pessimistic take: the system is set up to be self-stable.

And it was also designed so that States would have most of the power, not the Federal government.

At various points in history the common people did get benefits. New Deal. Universal suffrage. Civil rights. Abolition.

But it always requires a critical mass of the population to support change.

alvvayson ,

Both elections exactly prove my point.

The federal system is set up to favor State power, which is why the US presidential election isn't decided by popular vote. By design, Wyoming and California are considered equals in many respects.

It's a bad system, but it's very much entrenched in the constitution.

And it also requires critical mass. It's basically impossible to enact meaningful change with a 50-55% majority.
You need 60% or more to get big changes. And a majority of states.

alvvayson ,

Indeed - and I really hope it passes.

I thought about mentioning it in my previous comment. But basically, it's another example that States hold most of the power. The States actually have the power to effectively replace the current system with a national popular vote if they choose.

Other examples are the IRV in Alaska and the district system in Maine and Nebraska.

alvvayson ,

Religion, sexual orientation, union membership and political beliefs have all been used in the past to persecute people.

To think that it's not possible again is naive.

Privacy is the most fundamental right to be free.

Without privacy, the Chinese CCP model will be the model we all will eventually live under.

alvvayson ,

The way the US political system works is that it really requires solid majorities to want something.

So it will take a long time where nothing seems to happen and then suddenly big changes can happen.

I remember back in the 90s, it seemed impossible to ever get a black president, gay marriage or legal marijuana.

Or look at student loans or universal healthcare. Not perfect, but steps have been made.

So yeah, I do think the USA will lag for a long time and then suddenly surprise us all.

alvvayson ,

For decades, Israel and the US (and European countries) have pursued a policy to destabilize middle eastern regimes.

People don't realize this, but there was a wave of Arab nationalism that was killed by sponsoring Islamic extremists. Had that not happened, the middle east would be much more secular today than it is.

Israel attacking and destabilizing Lebanon and Syria and the US maintaining a dictator in Egypt are part of this strategy.

In turn, this leads to hate towards the West and Israel by the Muslims affected.

It won't stop as long as American voters care much more about gas prices than about human rights. American politicians are willing to sponsor genocide to have some control on oil prices in order to win elections.

alvvayson ,

I don't think you really have a lot of choices to be honest.

You'd first need to get new candidates to win a primary and then a general and the required majorities are lacking almost everywhere.

A more fruitful approach is to actually change public opinion.

It's a long uphill battle, but it's happening.

alvvayson ,

Americans still care about the price of oil, which is set in a global market and where Saudi-Arabia and Russia have more influence than the USA.

Obviously, the extremist Arabs that overthrew their own leaders are also to blame. Where did I deny that?

alvvayson ,

I know a lot of people don't like the American First Past the Post system, but to be honest, even in a proportional system like here in the Netherlands, you end up with very similar dynamics.

Truth is, progressives are always a small minority, in every country. Because they are always ahead of the curve on change.

In the US, this means that you only get a handful of progressives in the most progressive districts and never a really progressive national government.

In the Netherlands, this means progressives are always represented, but need to compromise to form a government. And often, they even get skipped and the centrist and conservative parties form a coalition.

Truth be told, Biden is as progressive as you could hope to get in the USA.

And, while I do think it is important to criticize him - and even threaten to not vote for him - to enable him to move more towards the left, it is also important to vote for him.

Progressives always win, not through getting majorities, but because they have the right ideas and eventually the other parties catch up to them.

For recent examples, gay marriage in the USA or marihuana legalization are now law in the USA.

I am 100% confident that American policy on Israel will also shift thanks to progressive voices. And it will not require a progressive majority.

UN Security Council backs plan for Israel-Hamas ceasefire ( www.reuters.com )

UNITED NATIONS, June 10 (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council on Monday backed a proposal outlined by President Joe Biden for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and urged the Palestinian militants to accept the deal aimed at ending the eight-month-long war....

alvvayson ,

I remain pessimistic on the course this genocide is taking, but a UN resolution for peace that both the US and China voted for...

I didn't expect to see this happen any time soon.

alvvayson ,

It's unlikely that the details will be known before an agreement is reached.

But to your point, what really matters is whether the USA will force Israel to accept the proposal, or if the Israeli population protests harder against Netanyahu (but that's unlikely to reach the required mass).

Netanyahu wants the war to continue and will not accept any deal, unless his hand is forced.

Anyway, Israel was telling people to flee Rafah. My local news says they are probably doing that to pressure Hamas by panicking the Gazan population.

So, no, I don't think Israel will accept the deal.

alvvayson ,

Exactly.

If the USA tried to again be a White/European ethnostate and allow anyone with Caucasian heritage to immigrate and barred everyone else from immigrating, then no one today would accept that.

And if they went full on apartheid and started putting natives and minorities in locked down ever-shrinking reservations, people would really lose their shit.

When white nationalists try to advocate for such policies, they are rightfully criticized for being racist.

I can never understand why Israel gets special treatment in that regard.

alvvayson ,

Indeed, also it's much nicer to use a shared high quality tool than to buy an el-cheapo disposable tool.

Even something simple like a crowbar. I once borrowed a (shorter) professional crowbar after struggling with a (larger) cheap one. The thing I was trying to pry came out like butter.

Even though physics dictates that a shorter lever should be inferior, it just had a much better design and grip.

Better for our wallet, sanity and environment.

alvvayson ,

I am not a Jew, but I have to recognize that many of the people most fiercely standing up against Israeli human rights violations are Jews.

In the USA, Bernie Sanders, Robbert Reich and Chuck Schumer are three Jewish politicians that have been very consistent in their messaging.

alvvayson ,

If you can't tell the difference between a limited number of well known examples and a statistical percentage, then perhaps you shouldn't lecture others on thinking.

alvvayson ,

I really don't want to victim blame, but people really have to be careful when travelling.

Not every country is as liberal as the West.

Otto Warmbier

Brittany Griner

And now this guy.

alvvayson ,

Netanyahu and the right need more terrorists in order to justify further land grabs, so yes, that's the goal.

Radicalize more people, so that those people strike back, then engage in war and take their land.

And yes, this is also how the Europeans and Americans took land from the natives during colonization.

alvvayson ,

The last natural, human, popular subreddit to arise on reddit was r/antiwork

After that, the site got swarmed by bots and censorship.

If you try and post something even remotely progressive in a popular subreddit, it will get deleted and you will probably get banned.

alvvayson ,

Usually with these types of things, it tends to be worse for the smaller economy, but both suffer. (See Brexit, Sanctions on Russia, Iran and Venezuela, and also historically those on apartheid South Africa and Rhodesia).

Turkey has a GDP 2-3x that of Israel, so I don't know why you'd think it would be worse for them.

alvvayson ,

I didn't think I'd find a mercantilist in 2024, but here we are.

No, that's not how it works, otherwise the US would be a poor country based on their massive trade deficit.

Trade takes place because it is mutually beneficial. Each parties gets something out of each trade.

Reducing trade therefore will always hurts both countries.

Exactly which loses more will depend on a lot of factors, but in general smaller economies are more dependent on larger economies.

alvvayson ,

Because base 12 is superior to base 10.

  • Signed, the Sumerian master race
alvvayson ,

Yes, but they actually combine base 12 with base 5 to get base 60.

And how they do it, is also quite interesting:

With one hand you can count to twelve. Use each finger segment of the four fingers to denote a number and count by placing the thumb.

Base of index finger is 1, middle is 2 and top is 3.
Middle finger has 4,5,6, ring finger has 7,8,9.
Pinky has 10,11,12.

Now use the other hand to count how often you reached 12.

In terms of the names of the numbers, it goes 1-12 like we also have in English (that's why eleven and twelve have unique names).

And then you have 1-5 dozens, to get up to 60.

alvvayson ,

No, I'm not sure. I learned it from a TikTok video.

Google only shows me Babylonian cuneiform.

Google does show some sources that claim eleven and twelve are evidence of a base-12 influence, but most sources disagree with that theory.

So yeah, perhaps I mixed it up.

alvvayson ,

When starting these meds, Euphoria is a common side effect.

It can still make a huge difference in your life, but the euphoria isn't permanent.

alvvayson ,

Just switching by itself is a huge contribution.

And I also think they pay to use it, since commercial usage is not free.

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