General News Discussion Thread

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it is not deflecting to say that china's initial covid response was obviously absurdly better than what would have happened if the same thing occurred in the US, or honestly most other countries.

it is like if you say lebron james is a bad basketball player after he loses a game, and i say no actually he's better than like maybe every other basketball player alive, and we have massive amounts of evidence supporting that. that's not deflecting, it's literally just pointing out the obvious to counter ridiculous misinformation

Yeah most people have already figured out that the Chinese govt is objectively awful.
Chinese support for their own government is extremely high
https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...hake-chinese-citizens-trust-their-government/
https://www.npr.org/2020/09/23/9136...ative-chinese-support-for-their-government-ri

There is polling that suggests people in many countries view Chinese government favorably. What you mean is that most white westerners hate China, which yeah that seems to be true. and obviously u would care most about that

uyghur/taiwan/blahblah
honestly i would probably never discuss this with you or anyone similar to you. if there were some way to hold a good faith convo abt any of this i would have less of an issue but sadly i dont think that's possible here

weird social credit system
i like how youre just listing literally every negative thing youve ever heard about china, no matter how ridiculous. please dont make me whip out the jackie chan card
 

Myzozoa

to find better ways to say what nobody says
is a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Past WCoP Champion
It is well documented that US military contractors provided direct payments to 'the taliban', to the tune of a sum well in the billions of dollars over the course of the now lost war. Further, the US also provides billions in assistance to Pakistan, which is the prime mover of all organized taliban activities. So no, the Afghan government's troops were not cowardly, they didn't fail to hold some type of line that the U.S had created over two decades, no such control was ever instantiated, in fact the opposite occured. 'The taliban', instead of being confronted militarily, were paid to wait until the U.S withdrawal. "The taliban" held Afghanistan essentially the entire length of the US occupation, and built up their foreign diplomatic capacity in the mean time. The narrative that asserts that the situation we are seeing now is somehow more complicated than 'The US funded the taliban lol' is so brain dead and divorced from reality that I refuse to discuss it further, except for to say that from the beginning the entire war project was mainly a way of diverting tax payer dollars into the hands of war profiteering corporations and everyone who was paying attention knows this. As usual it will be civilians in Afghanistan who have to pay the real price for US arrogance and denialism when the bill finally comes due.

there is simply no way of having a productive discussion with someone who adamantly asserts that their ignorance is as good your facts and I encourage other users to not encourage such people by engaging with their posts.
 
The Guardian is phenomenal until they're covering something that isn't about North America or Western Europe.

In other news, there's been a lot of protests going on right now demanding the end to the US inflaming tensions and supporting the TPLF over in Ethiopia.
so you mean to say the US have moved their meddling to Africa? Ethiopia are already in trouble with Egypt for trying to dam up the nile. popular!
 
Isn't Richard Spencer super loaded because of his family?

so you mean to say the US have moved their meddling to Africa? Ethiopia are already in trouble with Egypt for trying to dam up the nile. popular!
We've been screwing with Africa for quite awhile now, not to the extent of Latin America or the Middle East but still quite a bit. The most notable example of this in modern times would be how we disposed of Gaddafi and plunged Libya into a state of virtual anarchy. I don't know what America gets out of inflaming the Tigray conflict in Ethiopia, but it's not like we can realistically stop our government from doing stuff like this over and over again.
 

Plague von Karma

Banned deucer.
This seems to be something just emerging right now. To combat the literal fleet of crypto miners that inundated the country last year, after multiple failures to crack down, Kazakhstan's internet has shut down. After China banned crypto-related transactions and implemented many restrictions on the blockchain, over 87,000 "power-intensive" rigs were taken to Kazakhstan, making it go from a largely unknown country in the mining field to just behind the US in August 2021; hashrate 18% to the US's 35%, then it jumps off a cliff. For some further abstract, gas prices also skyrocketed - as in, gouged - because of the sheer energy consumption these little gremlins demanded, prompting massive protests as some people in the southern areas literally could not afford to keep the lights on. Keep in mind, Kazakhstan is a cold as fuck country, this has probably killed people.

Needless to say, this is absolutely insane. Cryptobros have forced an entire country's internet off. It's unknown whether the government did this - I can't find any super reliable sources bar The Guardian's article I linked earlier, though it was nationwide all-at-once - but there'll probably be some more articles soon. Definitely a hot-button topic to keep watch on.

Some other things I wanted to link but couldn't put anywhere;
https://www.reuters.com/markets/eur...stan-crackdown-hits-crypto-miners-2022-01-06/ <- this one is very good
https://netblocks.org/reports/internet-disrupted-in-kazakhstan-amid-energy-price-protests-oy9YQgy3
https://www.zdnet.com/article/kazakhstan-leaders-shut-down-internet-amid-energy-price-protests/
 

Plague von Karma

Banned deucer.
This seems to be something just emerging right now. To combat the literal fleet of crypto miners that inundated the country last year, after multiple failures to crack down, Kazakhstan's internet has shut down. After China banned crypto-related transactions and implemented many restrictions on the blockchain, over 87,000 "power-intensive" rigs were taken to Kazakhstan, making it go from a largely unknown country in the mining field to just behind the US in August 2021; hashrate 18% to the US's 35%, then it jumps off a cliff. For some further abstract, gas prices also skyrocketed - as in, gouged - because of the sheer energy consumption these little gremlins demanded, prompting massive protests as some people in the southern areas literally could not afford to keep the lights on. Keep in mind, Kazakhstan is a cold as fuck country, this has probably killed people.

Needless to say, this is absolutely insane. Cryptobros have forced an entire country's internet off. It's unknown whether the government did this - I can't find any super reliable sources bar The Guardian's article I linked earlier, though it was nationwide all-at-once - but there'll probably be some more articles soon. Definitely a hot-button topic to keep watch on.

Some other things I wanted to link but couldn't put anywhere;
https://www.reuters.com/markets/eur...stan-crackdown-hits-crypto-miners-2022-01-06/ <- this one is very good
https://netblocks.org/reports/internet-disrupted-in-kazakhstan-amid-energy-price-protests-oy9YQgy3
https://www.zdnet.com/article/kazakhstan-leaders-shut-down-internet-amid-energy-price-protests/
Something I missed; Kosovo has also banned crypto mining due to power concerns. Blackouts were occurring as a direct result of all the fuss, and machines are being seized as we speak.

Sources;
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...currency-mining-ban-electricity-b1987862.html
https://www.reuters.com/markets/com...ocurrency-mining-save-electricity-2022-01-04/
https://m.economictimes.com/markets...rency-mining-devices/articleshow/88786128.cms
 

antemortem

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jesus... just heard the news... hope pokimane makes a quick recovery
This was so fucking hilarious when penguiz0 covered it in the most dramatic way possible, only to break the fact it was like a 3-5 day suspension or something. What even is the point? It obviously looks great for her to make headlines—all press is good press, you know? But does it benefit Twitch at all to go with slaps on the wrist over either harsher punishment or none at all, acknowledging that the creators are breaking the law?
 
This was so fucking hilarious when penguiz0 covered it in the most dramatic way possible, only to break the fact it was like a 3-5 day suspension or something. What even is the point? It obviously looks great for her to make headlines—all press is good press, you know? But does it benefit Twitch at all to go with slaps on the wrist over either harsher punishment or none at all, acknowledging that the creators are breaking the law?
the entire offlinetv crew, which I largely like (but have mixed feelings towards now), are just kinda flaunting their fuck you money since they know a 2 day suspension is literally meaningless for them and they'll Garner sympathy points when they come back. meanwhile YouTubers who don't have their kind of money are constantly dealing with DMCA shit. im a firm believer that people can pay for whatever content they want but god damn if making fat stacks off reacting to TV shows is not one of the most low effort forms of "content" I don't know what is, and I say this as a big Hasan fan.
 

antemortem

THE ORIGINAL DAVE
is a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Admin Alumnusis a Top Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis an Administrator Alumnus
Socialization Head
the entire offlinetv crew, which I largely like (but have mixed feelings towards now), are just kinda flaunting their fuck you money since they know a 2 day suspension is literally meaningless for them and they'll Garner sympathy points when they come back. meanwhile YouTubers who don't have their kind of money are constantly dealing with DMCA shit. im a firm believer that people can pay for whatever content they want but god damn if making fat stacks off reacting to TV shows is not one of the most low effort forms of "content" I don't know what is, and I say this as a big Hasan fan.
I do have to say that these streamers living on their lineskating only fall further into their pocket of success knowing they can get away with streaming just about anything at this point. Plus, there’s basically no assurance that, even if Twitch decided to take more punitive action against them, that they wouldn’t just shore up their resources on something like Youtube, where there would be no reason for Youtube to make noise about it unless the streamers actually flirt with DMCA on that platform specifically… it’s fuck Youtubers all 2022, am I right? lol
 
I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet, probably because the US can't be blamed. But Russia has 100k troops on the border of Ukraine and is threatening an invasion. Granted this has been the status quo since the Crimea invasion but this time the threats seem to have backfired on Putin as the West has begun to arm Ukraine with advanced weaponry which they had previously not done to avoid antagonizing Russia. Now Russia either has to back down and be seen as weak, or launch a ridiculously costly invasion that will turn most of the world against them.

Thoughts?
 
I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet, probably because the US can't be blamed. But Russia has 100k troops on the border of Ukraine and is threatening an invasion. Granted this has been the status quo since the Crimea invasion but this time the threats seem to have backfired on Putin as the West has begun to arm Ukraine with advanced weaponry which they had previously not done to avoid antagonizing Russia. Now Russia either has to back down and be seen as weak, or launch a ridiculously costly invasion that will turn most of the world against them.

Thoughts?
Anyone that says that this isn't Russian Imperialism is absolutely deluded. Putin has been salivating at reestablishing the Soviet Bloc of Europe. NATO is a shit group but if Ukraine and its people want to join them then Russia should have no say in the matter. America is obviously not supporting Ukraine out lf the goodness of it's heart but that's irrelevant to the fact that innocent people are in danger and need whatever support they can get to avoid a Russian invasion. Crimea will probably never return to Ukraine. Let's hope the rest of the country doesn't follow suit.
 

Myzozoa

to find better ways to say what nobody says
is a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Past WCoP Champion
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/19/white-house-biden-inflation-corporate-power

ah. Le mysterious economie`. Its workings unknown by all but those few stoics willing to endure her expensive lessons.

Does anyone really know what inflation is or from whence it came?

Perhaps... the 'flation was caused by the government :blobthinking:, after all, in a major break from economic 'science' (economics is actually an art) it went ahead and spent money on things.

It surely could never be businesses trying to maintain profits and squeeze the labor market at the same time. Business has never done that before in all of recorded history. Besides, blaming corporations for your problems is socialism, ultimately we can only blame the federal reserve.

Till next time fellow economists *tips fedora*
 

Myzozoa

to find better ways to say what nobody says
is a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Past WCoP Champion
https://www.theguardian.com/comment...crets-morally-bankrupt-steal-poor-switzerland

facilitating organized crime and exploitation is explicitly built into the system, this isn't an 'oops', this is the heart of the idea of a current strain of revisionist capitalism (which aims to transport our political economy back in time to about 1870). It is a mode of political economy designed for the convenience of gangsters, purposefully opaque in order to facilitate thefts on a grand scale.
 
https://www.theguardian.com/comment...crets-morally-bankrupt-steal-poor-switzerland

facilitating organized crime and exploitation is explicitly built into the system, this isn't an 'oops', this is the heart of the idea of a current strain of revisionist capitalism (which aims to transport our political economy back in time to about 1870). It is a mode of political economy designed for the convenience of gangsters, purposefully opaque in order to facilitate thefts on a grand scale.
There's a book called Kleptopia that starts with a former BSI employee who was charged for trying to blow the whistle on the organisation while he was working as a compliance officer. You should check it out.
 

Myzozoa

to find better ways to say what nobody says
is a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Past WCoP Champion
https://www.theguardian.com/comment...ia-rich-wealthy-western-elites-thomas-piketty

Posting this here, since I'm not posting it to invest in the circulation of a "Let me tell you what we need to do about ukraine" online discourse which is so cringe, but more for the framing of the conflict between the petro-capitalists and everyone else.

"To implement this type of measure, it would be sufficient for western countries to finally set up an international financial registry (also known as a “global financial registry” or GFR) that would keep track of who owns what in the various countries. As the World Inequality Report 2018 has already shown, such a project is technically possible and requires the public authorities to take control of the private central depositories (Clearstream, Euroclear, Depository Trust Corporation, etc) that currently register securities and their owners. This public register would also be an essential step in the fight against illicit flows, drug money and international corruption.

So why has no progress still not been made in this direction? For one simple reason: western wealthy people fear that such transparency will ultimately harm them. This is one of the main contradictions of our time. The confrontation between “democracies” and “autocracies” is overplayed, forgetting that western countries share with Russia and China an unbridled, hyper-capitalist ideology, and a legal, fiscal and political system that is increasingly favourable to large fortunes."
 
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