spot on account

re: Internet/totalitarianism/control of information, every single government tries to control information, the media, public opinion, and uses the internet as a tool for that goal (just like tv, radio, print, etc). The internet/access to information in and of itself does not guarantee greater accuracy/truth of that information, and unless the population is educated, respectful, and capable of critical thinking it can easily become little bubbles of echo chambers and a playground for griefers. What good did widespread internet availability do for the last US election? has the internet made americans more free, or more easily monitored and controlled? what good is it for cuba for cubans to have access to world of warcraft, so they can neglect their children who starve to death while they grind up to the next level? has the internet prevented mainstream media from fabricating news / pushing their agendas, or has it given more people a platform for fabricating news, anonymously? yeah, im not saying the internet is all bad, of course there are other very useful applications for it, but its not a magic "improve society" wand.

final thing i want to say, I have several friends who studied in cuba as exchange students in the late 90s, early 00s and yes, they had to make treks to specific places for access but they were able to send emails and such, so this piece is not factually accurate. If the cuban govt was so dead set on stopping people from communicating, im pretty sure they would identify network cables hanging in the middle of the street and easily follow them back to your apartment, not to mention detect wifi networks setup all over their tiny island.

it was the closest he came to acknowledging that "bringing democracy" is a euphemism for "bomb them to the stone age"

if people want to insist on profiling terrorists, they should try and be as accurate as possible- being muslim is a terrible filter. where they are from is a much better indicator, especially if they're from a war zone (take your pick- just in pakistan hundreds of innocent children have been killed just by drones over a 5 year period).

i'm pretty sure lightning is still more of a threat than terrorism. in fact i just looked it up: 1 in 7 million for lightning over 9 years, 1 in 3.5 million americans killed by terrorism in 30 years vs 1 in 1.15 thousand iraqi civilians killed in 5 years.

i wonder what these terrorists guys are all butt hurt about? oh right, we declared war on them and have been actively bombing them for over a decade, so easy to forget!

you have people living in artificial environments that use tons of power because they want to, because they like it, not because they REQUIRE it. native americans lived in southwest USA for a thousand years just fine without the need of AC or diverting rivers.

go read up on the absurd agricultural subsidies tied to the colorado river- that isnt a problem created because farmers need to produce food to feed the world, its a problem created because politicians want money making businesses to tax, and because people are willing to spend money to eat what they like instead of what there is, a lot of money is made.

same with trawling- nothing to do with feeding all those people, everything to do with money. trawling has been going on for over a hundred years, well before the world population was even a 3rd of what it is currently- fishermen trawl because they want to be efficient because that makes them more money, not because they are concerned about how they are going to feed undernourished people.

the problem isnt getting people to eat insects. the problem is getting the developed world to stop eating so much, especially so much meat. there is an obesity epidemic around the world, over 3000 tons of food are discarded every day, and you want to tell me the problem is not enough food?

and lets not be disingenuous about nuclear waste, nuclear technology was invented as a weapon, not an energy source. you're telling me that if tomorrow a terrible plague wiped out 90% of the earths population, that nuclear armed states would give up their nuclear weapons? bs.

the video is on point. the environmental crisis is caused by greed, not because there are too many people on the planet. and if you feel so strongly that there are too many people on the planet, I assume you are relieved when your family members die? Unless you are willing to volunteer yourself and your family to die for the greater good, overpopulation is a facile bogey man to mask what you really want to say- lets get rid of all those "other" people so *I* dont have to change my own lifestyle.

actually, its not at all like that. the planet has food and land in surplus for everyone, but there is huge waste. Some of it is the price of technology and the modern life style, some of it is avoidable, reckless waste, but its not only a matter of "if there were only less people". That wouldnt make trawling the ocean any less destructive, or nuclear waste any less toxic. The planet is going to survive no matter what, the question is in what form, reducing the number of people on the planet only changes the time it takes to ruin the planet if the people that remain are going to continue irresponsibly consuming and contaminating as before.

exactly, and she didnt get the joke, got offended and set herself up for a takedown so perfect it was almost planned. shes a dumbass, never argued otherwise, but I understand why she took offense.

to be fair, she almost certainly objected to the idea that being pregnant and giving birth takes less effort than ordering a pizza.

his exact wording was that it takes more effort to order a pizza than to have a kid. i understand the joke fine, but pregnancy, wanted/planned or not is quite a bit more effort than ordering pizza- and thats without addressing the actual effort it takes to "have a kid". i think its normal for a mother to get defensive with this joke, and it does seem like he was fishing for the response.

agreed. Also, he should have manned up and said what need to be said- bombing (especially drones) does more harm than good. They are just creating generations and generations of new terrorists. A good trained unit (like the op that took down osama) is way more useful than a remote control bomb run.

ive never been to the middle east, but for various reasons had friends from several different countries in and around the area. i think the answer is simple: muslims, like christians, jews, mormons are not all alike (ok not sure about the mormons!), and even if you have a st augustine or a ghazali saying thats how it should be there will always be those who disagree, vocally or quiet like. Hes right that the culture changed, and he's right that its tragic that arab scientists are basically the butt of a joke, but i think its difficult to ommit that the peak of arab science also coincided with a peak in their power and resources. How many african nobel prizes are there in that period? or from indigenous peoples? Im not saying they are stupid, just that its difficult to get an award for cutting edge top notch science when you are at a serious deficit in resources.

as a legal immigrant who left the US but has a lot of friends and family there, Ill just add two points-

1) a lot of immigrants take very good jobs in the US that low skilled americans are far, far away from doing. There is tons of research on how the US takes the best and the brightest from around the world, just in my immediate family there are 3 people with 3 degrees from the best american and european universities that work in the US who would instantly become the top experts in their fields if they decided to come home. Beyond what they pay in taxes, invest in the economy, real estate, their kids' educations etc etc, they make important contributions in their fields and Im quite sure that the US' big lead in technology for example would fall apart if american universities could no longer bring in international students. A lot of the technological breakthroughs happen in the US at US universities, but driven by foreign/immigrant students.

2/ Its not our fault if american businessmen are hypocrites like Trump who hire illegals then complain about them taking jobs from americans. Just like the factories in China that killed US manufacturing belong to corporations with mostly western management. By your own capitalist philosophies, if anyone is responsible it is american consumers unwilling to pay for fair trade and quality products, instead preferring cheap goods produced with slave wages- you cant have your cake and eat it too.

saved me a lot of typing! Just want to add, that while I do think speakers should just speak regardless of hecklers, as i understand it speakers get paid quite handsomely. While it would be interesting and noteworthy to hear Kissinger give a speech, I would not be happy at all if he were being paid 250,000 dollars of community money for it. And hecklers have rights too. Seems to me that speakers will only go where they're paid and pampered.

Lady got rude much quicker than bike dude who had every right to be annoyed, the same way I am annoyed when a driver puts on their blinkers and takes up a lane near an intersection or after a curve- they're inconsiderate assholes and they deserve to get called out. I would have parked my bike in front of her car and told her to enjoy the nice fucking day.