In order to improve matters, we just need to make sure that profit is defined in such a way that maximizing profit also maximizes the things that make life worth-while. — Ludwig V

That's quite easy yet barely anyone is prepared to do it.

Old news: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/11/israel-opt-horrifying-cases-of-torture-and-degrading-treatment-of-palestinian-detainees-amid-spike-in-arbitrary-arrests/

Older news: https://www.savethechildren.net/news/stripped-beaten-and-blindfolded-new-research-reveals-ongoing-violence-and-abuse-palestinian

It's not the exception but a feature.

@Mikie @180 Proof What's Trump's stance actually on the state level book bans in Utah, Tennessee, Idaho, and South Carolina?

I love how the US simply skips fascism and goes right back to medieval fedualism including witch hunts and book burning.

EDIT: and Lolita from Nabokov is still on there. As well as the Pillars of the Earth which sex scene definitely gave me a boner when I was a teenager.

I haven't got an inability to have a conversation. I have a disinterest in having this conversation. You are hung up on a word regarding an event that's already two weeks out of the news cycle. — fishfry

You have a disinterest because you were wrong and are unwilling to admit it. That's called not being able to have a conversation.

I like the guy too. If only it mattered with all those conservative dinosaurs everywhere else.

I think that's because everybody realised how shit Biden would be and in comparison you've now arrived in Elysium. Enjoy it while it lasts for 2 weeks.

"lawfare" a phrase coined by insance dangerous nutjobs when they are forced to adhere to the law.

I wonder what Ambrose Bierce would have made of all this in his seminal Devil's Dictionary.

Congrats on having a job you actually like!

https://medium.com/@stuartcapstick/a-letter-to-my-kids-4011845ff98b

A letter to my kids

What can I say, now that it’s too late?

I can tell you the obvious: that I’m sorry, that I tried.

I can tell you how sorry I am, that it ate me up. That even as we sat in bed with the nightlight on, reading together about coral reefs and finding Dory, I knew there was not much time left for those bright and beautiful places.

I can tell you that I tried, that even though it felt hopeless, still if there was any chance left then I wasn’t going to quit. I can tell you that this is why we always took the train, why I pestered politicians, why we changed what we ate, why I got myself arrested that time.

But what I really want you to know: that the hardest thing was living through a time when we could have turned this around, but that most people just carried on as if it didn’t matter.

There will be a thousand explanations for this. You’ll hear that people were selfish, that we were trapped in a consumer culture, that our politicians were craven servants of fossil fuels, that the media didn’t keep us informed, too preoccupied with dance contests, fashions and trivia.

There is something in all of this, but I want you to know what it felt like at the time. It felt like a dream, where everything seemed so normal, but where under the surface there was a horrible and brutal truth we all pretended didn’t exist. Hardly anyone even spoke about climate change and the destruction of the natural world. If you did, more often than not the conversation would be shut down, familiar devices pulled out of nowhere to dismiss, sidetrack, and silence your concerns.

And outside, the world — the thoughtless, concrete and metal, fume-choked, all-consuming human world — rumbled on, deaf to the warnings and unwilling to lift a finger.

I want to tell you that I am sorry, and that I tried.

Your dad,

Stuart

I absolutely understand that you believe, deeply and powerfully and to the ends of the earth, that I am wrong.

I acknowledge your right to feel this way. I'm very pluralistic about ideas, and favor free expression.

I reiterate my use of the word coup. A lot of online commentators are talking about it. It's an interesting touchpoint of political conversation. It's not a religious war. I could even argue that it wasn't a coup. It's such a small thing. I have no idea why this is important to you. — fishfry

You haven't even begun to address the points I raised so you reducing this to mere opinion reflects your inability to actually have a converation. It's not just semantics, which is a ridiculous reduction of the discussion. You are claiming to analyse the situation but in fact are just repeating dumb shit from Fox News. No power has transferred, no rules were broken. No coup. Having actually lost this discussion since you fail to provide a rebuttal to actual arguments you first try to gaslight me and now pretend it's just another opinion. Only reason you're doing it is because you're incapable of investigating and challenging your own opinions on the matter.

That's what I find interesting. Joe's coup, or non-coup -- you haven't actually told me what word you prefer. Someone suggested that it was all Biden's idea. That is false to the point of hilarity. Biden hasn't had an idea past licking his ice cream and smelling prepubescent girls in years. — fishfry

I've repeatedly stated what it was: he withdrew his candidacy. And no, it doesn't matter who's idea it was.

It's quite clear, also in your interactions with other posters you don't want to talk politics at all. You're only here to display your unswerving loyalty to a buffoon. That's fine but don't expect anyone here to take you seriously.

There's no easy answer to this. There's no difficult answer either. But it is clear where we need to look. Start with the difference between "the positive things that modern societies can do" and "economic activity that is deemed more profitable". You "deemed" identifies the problem, or part of the problem. One can recognize that positive activity may not be profitable. But one can also recognize that making a profit can also be positive.
The misalignment bites because money is not just an accounting measure, but a proxy for resources. Whoever controls money, controls resources. If the profit and positivity were aligned properly, our resources could be directed properly . — Ludwig V

Profit and "positivity" are perfectly aligned in crisis, which is why the rich get richer in every crisis. Alignment doesn't resolve anything.

A theory that tells you the reverse is not a moral theory though.

But this accepts a world where people are exploited and nature destroyed to support a lifestyle that isn't sustainable and to then fix it by redistributing wealth gained through exploitaition and destruction. The more reasonable answer is to stop exploiting and destroying things.

You say that as if it's a bad thing. All the positive things modern societies can produce are already largely displaced by economic activity that is deemed more profitable (vaccines vs. erection pills, ending world hunger vs. over-processed foods, etc. etc.).

Don't try to gaslight me. You used that word and it was the wrong word to use. I point that out and you keep using it, I point it out again and then I'm the one hung up on the word. No mate, you were simply wrong and your interpretation of the whole situation along with the pundits you like to quote is wrong and dumb for the reasons I've stated.

That's pretty dumb but unsurprisingly so.

I missed the "black job" thing being on holidays and trying to avoid my phone most of the time. Can you explain what it's about?

NOS is the dude insisting words don't matter because they've never caused anything while being a sucker for absolute free speech.

Power shifted like Mario Andretti at the Indy 500. Biden had and still has many supporters among the Democrats. They got shafted along with his fourteen million primary voters. They've had to go along with the coup now that it's a done deal; but they are not necessarily happy about it. — fishfry

What power of authority did Biden have as the presumptive nominee at the exclusion of everybody else? None. He had no power as presumptive nominee especially if at the convention, entirely in line with democratic party rules, his nomination could be taken. The appeal to his primary votes are irrelevant as party rules are also what they voted for. In fact, within their vote is included the possibility the nominee cancels their candidacy, drops dead, becomes ill, mad, is assinated or removed in accordance with party rules.

The only reason so many people like you are making such a huge issue about it is myopic politics. This is simply not a big deal and anybody who keeps insisting on it make a living out of having dumb opinions.

It's not a coup which you keep using because you insist something bad or illegal happened. It didn't. It doesn't matter how many votes he got as a nominee, he wasn't confirmed as the nominee. He stepped down or would've been removed at the convention in accordance with party rule. His presumptive nomination didn't confer any powers either. For a coup both rules need to be broken and power shifted. Neither happened.

Finally, I didn't appeal to it being democratic but that it would've been a breach of trust by the Democratic Party to let a doorknob run for the presidency. Learn to read.

This is as usual written by people who barely understand what a democracy is and what a political party is. Biden was the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party not the "democratically elected presidential nominee". The Party is not a democracy and has its own process for nominating the nominee and had every option available to it to not nominate Biden at the upcoming convention. Biden could either leave on his own, or get booted during the convention. In fact, it would be a breach of trust towards Democratic voters to allow an incompetent, senile grey-tufted old fogey to run as the nominee all but ensuring Democratic values would not be pursued for 4 years due to losing the presidency.

I think Trump is a wannabe dictator as borne out by his actions on the 6th of Jan. and the obstruction he committed during the Müller investigation. I don't really care to delve into the details of everything he says. I took your word for the interpretation but pointed out your own equally stupid interpretation of Biden withdrawing his candidacy.

I never bring up anything in this thread. I engage Bullshit.

You parrotting Trump talking points doesn't equate "correcting the record". In fact, you're the primary source of disinformation on this site.

You mistake disinterest with anger because you're just projecting.

Just as stupid as labeling Biden withdrawing his candidacy as a coup. So you're in good company.

There's no cognitive dissonance only me being amused by insane hysterics.

They all get to vote later on. But I love how your panties are getting twisted. It's very entertaining.

We are in crises, multiple ones. They're just not immediate enough for people to realise.

being conservative means you're as ignorant today as you were yesterday. So no, he'll stay.

You're just miffed their spectacle is effective and they're going to win the election.

In addition, from what was he removed? He wasn't the official Democratic candidate, merely presumptive.

I don't see the problem. If a party leader is clearly incompetent or does things contrary to the principles of the party they ought to be ousted.

love it.

BTW, excellent commentary from two Dutch comedians back in the 80`s which has only become more relevant:

if only the Indians would've had a more stringent immigration policy, the US wouldn't be such a mess today.

What is? So far I've only seen inferences, which is mostly wishful thinking from GOPhers. The DNC would've had options during their convention to sideline Biden within the rules as well.

Your lack of knowledge of political organisation shines through when you insist on collectivism being statist. Your don't know what you're talking about because you've never spend the time to actually study the subject. You're not dumb simply uninformed and uneducated and entirely boring as a result.

"let's get politically organised by not having a weak nominee" equals fascism when you're a trump turd. For all their differences, in the end progressives and collectivists are always better organised when they believe it's necessary.

Edit: which is why the Democrats are still perfectly positioned to fuck up again because they're neither progressive or collectivists but those that are see the Democratic Party ad the only viable ticket at the moment.

Look behind the curtain of Trump's bullshit and you'll see a pending American reformation. That's how the puzzle pieces are coming together for me. How about you? — frank

That whole post is wishful thinking. Note what he did during his presidency was mostly to benefit rich people. Duties on Chinese goods also protects local business, which can be a smart industry policy but since no such policy existed, we know why it happened. Not to help main street.

Yes, this sums it up: