alvvayson

@alvvayson@lemmy.dbzer0.com

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨God is a dick.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Indeed, but the way the math for expansion works is that there is something called a Hubble horizon and that makes it impossible to ever reach the edge, since it is moving away from us faster than light. (The limit doesn’t apply to the expansion of space-time).

  Quite a nifty solution by the Supreme Programmer to avoid us hitting the limits of the simulation. I couldn’t have designed it better.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Unions as a 21st Century Anti-Fascist Force⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  I’m talking about long-term non-US centric policy.

  I don’t mean to imply that this is a priority for the short term in the US.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Unions as a 21st Century Anti-Fascist Force⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Nothing in this world is free. The US tax rate isn’t high. The issue is, you don’t get a good value back.

  You can’t have strong unions without money for unions.

  Organizing people costs money.

  Union dues tend to be in the $10-50 per month range, while unions easily increase wages by hundreds a month through collective bargaining.

  Most of the unions costs are fixed, so if everyone is a member the average due can easily be on the lower end ($10-20).

  If you have a problem with that, then that’s exactly why you don’t have strong unions.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Unions as a 21st Century Anti-Fascist Force⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  I fully agree.

  Also, one thing that Unions always have trouble with is that there is no individual benefit to joining a union, only a cost, so you get a prisoners dilemma type situation.

  Even in Scandinavian countries, union membership is on the decline.

  Personally, I think the solution should be that union dues are paid by a small tax, making it ‘free’ to join a union. And the unions can provide free benefits to their members, such as legal advice and representation. This will make it attractive to join a union.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[deleted]⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Not in the US, but it would make more sense to spread it out over multiple years to avoid the tax.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨How exactly are people lighting Teslas on fire?⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I once read an article many years about how arsonists were burning expensive cars in Berlin. The journalist indeed reported that they would light barbecue starters under the tires.

  If I recall correctly, they would even place it a little bit further under the car (i.e. not the outside) so that any passerbys wouldn’t notice anything until the tire was properly burning.

  This was before Tesla’s though, which have a sentry mode

  With the more recent cases, I have read that they smash the windows and throw Molotov cocktails inside, but I think that would draw a lot of attention and make alarms go off.

  On the other hand, I think this method might have less risk of the sentry mode filming.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Anon is waiting for Japan⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Also the post-WW2 world order heavily favours their economy.

  Their allies buy their debt, and their weapons. They give access to theiir markets to US companies, and support US wars around the world. They invest in the US economy in an unbalanced way that favours the US economy.

  And all of this was in exchange for US security.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨can European intelligence substitute the American one?⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I agree, except that I wouldn’t classify Israel as a top intelligence power.

  Their dependence on the USA is immense.

  For European purposes, Egypt (Suez) and Turkey (both Bosporus and the land link to Asia) are the most important regional allies. Both or very populous and could become a new source of cheaper labour, now that Eastern EU countries are becoming more expensive.

  Iran, Iraq and the Gulf countries are important as long as we can’t have Russian and/or American fossil fuels. But even then, Turkey and Egypt are the broker between us and them.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨How do you think smartphone manufacturers will comply with EU's replaceable battery regulation?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  We will have to see.

  Apple can charge $400 more, but if Samsung doesn’t, then they will lose market share.

  And the EU is still one of the worlds three biggest markets.

  So I am not really concerned.

  And worst case, I switch to a Fairphone, which might not be bleeding edge, but it is still a better phone than my previous gen flagship Samsung or the flagship iPhone that came before it.

  I see it as just running 2 years behind.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Controversial question⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Economic mobility is usually determined by things like IQ, EQ and other marketable skills. So I don’t really know if your proposal is the right way to measure it. But such data would at least give some insight.

  In the USA, most research I have seen says they have low economic mobility, because the rich have access to the best schools, etc.

  But still, it’s not zero. Both JD Vance and AOC are examples of economic mobility.

  One of them still fights (or appears to fight) for the class they came from, the other is successfully recruited to serve the interests of the ruling class.

  Were they born in 1908 (and ignoring race and gender for the moment), then probably both of them would have been leaders for the working class.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Controversial question⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  True, but nowadays most people don’t work in factories.

  The modern equivalent would be the cashiers of Walmart and the baristas of Starbucks.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨can European intelligence substitute the American one?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Also, when it comes to Russia, Ukrainian intelligence is top notch due to historical ties.

  But TBH, I do think Europe needs to find a way to make peace with Russia and with the Middle-East, specifically Turkey, Egypt and Iran.

  They are our direct neighbours. The cold war idea that we could have a powerful friend across an ocean, while having strained relationships with our direct neighbours just isn’t going to be a good strategy going forward.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Controversial question⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Correct, but there is a lot of nuance.

  Indeed, when things get bad, the public is willing to take risks. When everything is good enough, they don’t revolt.

  However, successful revolts do require intelligent and capable leaders.

  What the rich have realized, is that if they ensure smart and skilled kids get picked out of the drudgery and get comfortable working for the rich, then the exploited class will not really have anyone to lead them.

  Put another way, in 1908, every factory had a few leaders workingnat the lowest levels. And they are the ones who spearheaded strikes and such.

  Nowadays, society is really stratified in terms of skill.

  Anyone who grew up poor, but had talent to organize, probably ended up in some kind of middle management or professional job and makes 2x the average.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why do people from Western societies always seem to complain?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I agree with this take.

  We are wired to find the next problem and to solve it. Enjoy our work for a short while and then start looking for the next problem to solve.

  Whether it is cultural or genetic, I don’t know, but it’s definitely very deep in our western psyche and it will not be going away any time soon.

  The main problem I see is that a lot of people in Western society nowadays use complaining as a substitute for action, and so problems don’t get solved, but people convince themselves that they took action by complaining.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Isn't EU's "VAT" a regressive tax? Why do they have that, instead of something like, taxing the rich?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Sure, but those are relatively small potatoes.

  And if a single person does it a lot, then the tax authorities can easily examine their spending and prove that they are spending more than they are officially earning. And then they can apply punitive measures.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Isn't EU's "VAT" a regressive tax? Why do they have that, instead of something like, taxing the rich?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  It is, but it’s also a very efficient and difficult to evade tax. For many EU countries the VAT revenue is equal or larger than the income tax revenue.

  Most Europeans don’t mind it. You can control your spending, so VAT doesn’t hit us in inconvenient ways, like for example, taxes on cars and property.

  European countries compensate poor people with good social programs. So in the end, poor people are getting more benefits than the VAT they pay.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Anon is jealous⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Yep.

  Entertainers get the big bucks because millions and billions of normal people spend a lot of time and money being entertained by them.

  And we are always looking for the cool and funny next thing. And hawk tua girl legitimately entertained millions of us for 30 seconds.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Threw a wrestling watch party, made special food, and was very disappointed in the outcome.⁩ ⁨⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Also, having been on the other side of such a situation: it’s not cool to pressure or guilt trip your guests. Either be hospitable and let them do whatever they want, or don’t invite them.

  If people aren’t hungry, then they aren’t hungry. Maybe they are on a diet, maybe they misunderstood OP’s intention and ate beforehand. Maybe they are recovering from something and don’t want to eat too much.

  And as for the two that did not showed up. It’s a good practice to reconfirm the night before. Sometimes people forget. Sometimes life gets in the way.

  If they did reconfirm and still didn’t show up and did not have a good excuse, then I would start looking for better friends.

  Hope OP has better success next time. I do understand that the situation sucks.

  But it’s also a situation that, in my opinion, is preventable.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why do big corporations get to claim losses, but small businesses can't?⁩ ⁨⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Because they manage to attract investment.

  As long as investors are willing to give cash in exchange for equity, a company can operate on that cash and run at a loss.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨TikTok Algorithms Actively Suppress Criticism of Chinese Regime, Study Finds⁩ ⁨⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Yeah, the biases of TikTok are pretty clear.

  But it’s also clear that western owned sites are filled with western propaganda. It’s insane how Zionist reddit appears, even when the demographic on reddit is actually much more progressive/left.

  But people just get banned who post something critical and there are obvious bot farms heavily manipulating the voting there.

  The same is true of the mainstream media.

  I have therefore switched from being anti-TikTok to being pro-TikTok.

  Lemmy is better, but only because it’s new and the powers-that-be haven’t really refined their approach. You can already see though that lemmy.world has changed, with people getting banned and such.

  I had comments removed on lemmy.world that were very mild.

  Which is why I moved to dbzer0.

  Back to TikTok, if it takes an adversarial superpower to get back free speech in the West, then so be it.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Dutch toilets⁩ ⁨⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Yep, but nowadays they are losing popularity. I don’t even know if you can still find them.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Checkmate, Atheists⁩ ⁨⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  The humiliation of losing to a black woman.

  The past months the mood in America has been: not these two old geezers again.

  I am honestly optimistic that it’s going to be a landslide for the Democrats without Biden. Americans are just sick of Trump and they didn’t want Biden to run again.

  So the Democrats are giving the people what they want, while the Republicans are trying to force feed them something they don’t want.

  Let’s see how this plays out.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Jon Stewart's Debate Analysis: Trump's Blatant Lies and Biden's Senior Moments | The Daily Show⁩ ⁨⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  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.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Jon Stewart's Debate Analysis: Trump's Blatant Lies and Biden's Senior Moments | The Daily Show⁩ ⁨⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  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.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Jon Stewart's Debate Analysis: Trump's Blatant Lies and Biden's Senior Moments | The Daily Show⁩ ⁨⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  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.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Jon Stewart's Debate Analysis: Trump's Blatant Lies and Biden's Senior Moments | The Daily Show⁩ ⁨⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  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.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Unfortunate post placement⁩ ⁨⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Unfortunate reality, but headline placement is quite OK.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨So is Israel just going to finish Palestine off?⁩ ⁨⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  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.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨So is Israel just going to finish Palestine off?⁩ ⁨⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  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?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨So is Israel just going to finish Palestine off?⁩ ⁨⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  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.