china doesn’t need us goods; on the other hand, when everything at dollar general quadruples in price, more people will join the anti trump protests

waiting is effortless when you have a distraction so good that when they call your name, you briefly forget why you were waiting. i was once tempted to tell the nurse, “hold on, i have 2 more pages to read”

I also believe that the human element might be a problem with communism. One of the ingenious things about capitalism is that it takes a terrible vice - greed - and yokes it for everyone’s benefit. I believe that our system is out of whack, though. The degree of inequality that we tolerate is outrageous - these days, the richest scoop up all the benefits and leave the workers only enough to survive (or less). The fact that 3 men control more wealth than the poorest 175,000,000 other Americans is offensive - especially when you consider that the poorest have no homes or food. It’s even worse when you look beyond American borders.

Thanks for the reply! The article you linked was very interesting. I am aware that western propaganda emphasizes the challenges and failures of communism while sweeping the manifold problems with capitalism under the rug, and it is nice to consider a different viewpoint. There is also an unfair tendency among western philosophers to link authoritarianism with communism when there is no philosophical connection. My personal belief is that authoritarianism was already pervasive in imperial Russia and China, and that better explains the brutality that has been unfairly associated with communism.

I would also like to say that capitalism is way less efficient than people are led to believe - take fast fashion, for example. Excess shoes and clothes are constantly being dumped on developing countries because the manufacturers failed to find a buyer at any price.

OP didn’t respond so I will take a shot. My understanding is that under communism, the economy has to be planned by the government. Under capitalism, the price of shoes (for example) is usually determined by the demand for shoes and the amount of shoes that can be manufactured. If demand falls, the price falls. If manufacturing capacity increases, the price falls more, etc. This mechanism has feedback loops that make it efficient. In theory, companies never make more shoes than they can sell, because if they do make too many, they can sell the excess by cutting prices. Under communism there is no free market, so the mechanics of supply and demand don’t work. Some communist bureaucrat conducts a study and estimates that the country will need 100k pairs of shoes next quarter. The government then makes those shoes in a state-owned factory. Suppose, though, that it turns out that the country needed more. With no free market, there is no competitor to step in and meet the demand for shoes - now you have a shortage. Similarly, you can have considerable waste if you grow too many apples or whatever. In true communism, there is no price to adjust - you either have an apple voucher or you don’t. Thus there is generally more problems meeting demand efficiently. This is, in fact, exactly what we saw under the Soviet Union - the stores were often stuffed with unwanted items while long lines developed for items that were in high demand. Without any consideration of authoritarianism etc., this is an often-cited reason for the failure of communism.

I am not a political theorist or an economist, so please correct me if I am wrong.

I just switched to Deezer! It is pretty good so far, and they seem to have even relatively obscure Canadian music. Good francophone content, if you’re into that sort of thing.

I think you mean melanin. racist AND stupid

A lot of the bad stuff that happens on the internet is directly related to perceived anonymity. If you want to bully, harass, make bigoted statements, disseminate propaganda, or shill for a corporation, it’s better to be anonymous. If a country gives its citizens the right to free speech and reasonable protections for privacy, a non-anonymous internet is better. Besides, anonymity on the internet is an illusion for about 99% of internet users. All of the big social media companies know who you are - their whole business depends on the data they collect on you, and that data is worth much less if it can’t be associated with an individual. They also have heavy incentives to share that information with the government. Try making an ‘anonymous’ threat against your country’s leader and see if any law-enforcement types decide to visit you.

Sweet! Four more years of Trump presidency, and Elon Musk can just pay for it out of pocket.

I remember when Trump joked about running for president. He also joked about sexually assaulting women. Then he joked about supporting white supremacists, undermining democracy, etc. Every Trump joke is a probe to see if his supporters will back him.

I am a lifelong atheist. I attend a very progressive christian church where I am open about my lack of belief. They seem to accept me, including the minister. I don’t try to convert them and they don’t try to convert me. I started going because I was lonely and I wanted some opportunities to do good. Their whole theology is about helping people and trying to change the world for the better. The two major precepts are “God is love” and “Jesus has no hands but yours.” They don’t talk about sin or redemption. We have a huge rainbow sign that says “All are welcome,” and we actually mean it. The minister talks about Jesus as a teacher, not as a saviour. We raise money and food for the local food bank, and provide community outreach to people, many of whom have disabilities. We sing. We eat cookies and drink absurd amounts of coffee. I suddenly have so many sweet old lady friends, and even a handful of friends my own age.

Renting is a good choice for people who can’t immediately absorb big expenses. If your furnace quits, it can be really nice to phone the landlord and ask them to fix it. Homeowners have to have ready access to cash, and not everyone is in that situation - especially when they are starting out.

The amazon reviewer is confusing chloroform (an inhalation anaesthetic that, in movies, is used to knock out people for kidnapping) and chlorophyll (a harmless substance used by plants for photosynthesis)

This was my exact thought! Prosecuted, yes. Convicted, no.

When my wife was in university, she went on an exchange with a dozen other students to a Chinese university. The program assigned her group a pair of local guides.

The first night, the guides offered to take them out for snake. Everyone refused.

The second night, the guides repeatedly offered everyone snake, saying that there were plenty of local places to get snake. Everyone refused.

The third night, her group had a discussion. They didn’t want to offend their gracious hosts. Snake had to be a popular local delicacy, because the guides repeated their offer daily.

They decided to be adventurous. One of them spoke up: “yes, we would like to try snake…”

The guide said, “what kind of snake do you want? chips? hot dog?”

How evil does a person have to be before it is acceptable to celebrate his death? This man devoted his life to profiting from human suffering. The fact that the law was on his side does not excuse his actions; it simply means that he worked within an evil system.

I am sure the shareholders he enriched celebrated every earnings call. His leadership led to untold number of deaths for profits.

Je parle aussi dragon. Foos!

I turned down a promotion this year for several reasons, one being that i didn’t want to supervise my friends. I didn’t want the awkwardness, and i was afraid my imposter syndrome would get much worse. My friends know too much, haha

I have crazy high hours on Skyrim because I replayed it in French and Spanish. It is a very fun way to get the cheapest language immersion ever (though your vocabulary becomes a little, um, specialized)