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Em Adespoton
Em Adespoton @ adespoton @lemmy.ca
Posts
1
Comments
2,608
Joined
2 yr. ago

  • Sometimes people hold unpopular opinions privately until they’re examined under the spotlight. Then they realize that’s not actually their opinion. See: Brexit.

  • It wasn’t the fall that killed them; it was the collision.

  • Buying with cash is useful, or else someone is still selling your purchase patterns.

    And turn your phone off before you go in the store.

  • Yup, those are the people who benefit. Everyone else gets priced out. And good luck if you’re in trades or the service industry.

  • Well, DOGE already fired a significant amount of the staff that wasn’t focused on private sector interaction. There’s nobody left who could take time to police online speech. So a large portion of that cut just means that there will be a hiring freeze for positions focused on government security and investigations.

  • The guards and administration want him alive.

    People like Epstein die in prison because showing up in court runs the risk of taking down powerful people. People like Luigi always have their day to be dragged through the mud in court before they rot away forever in jail, with random reminders that they’re still alive and suffering.

  • Agreed. What I want is someone who can run our country, both domestically and internationally. I’m fed up with people who are good at politics.

    Of course, I also want electoral reform and serious workable strategies to combat wealth inequality. I have my doubts that he’ll make any progress on those fronts.

  • What exactly does “spun off” mean here? Doesn’t Comcast still have a stake in the new org? Isn’t this just changing the lipstick color on the pig?

  • Elizabeth May was talking about it too… and kept her seat.

  • I’ve got an ancient laser printer. Toner is cheap and it just works. Anything more complex? I send it to a print shop and let THEM deal with the suffering. I just get the results I’m expecting when I expect them, without wasting time and money on printers and ink and all the things that can go wrong with them. Works for me….

  • Why are people generally in prison? Usually because they’re violent, drug addicted or at odds with the status quo.

    Luigi is in prison accused of killing a man responsible for getting people hooked on drugs, marginalizing the already marginalized and poor, and ruining the lives of millions.

    I think the inmates would be more likely to treat him like a hero.

  • Sounds about right.

    The benefit is, if you’re ever able to afford property, you can hold it for a few years, sell it, pay off the mortgage, and move almost anywhere else in the world as a millionaire.

    Remote work begins to look very attractive.

  • Say something is coming from China; if it goes through Amazon, they ship it to a US warehouse (import fees) and from there to a Canadian warehouse (more import fees). If they ship it by post, it goes from China direct to Canada, never touching the US, and both countries have de minimus exemptions, so on small purchases no fees are levied.

    Eventually Amazon will get their supply chains adjusted so that non-US stuff never crosses the US border, but they’re not there yet.

    Same thing happens for FedEx and UPS; for FedEx, stuff from China flies to Anchorage, from there to Dallas or Memphis, from there to Windsor, and from there to wherever you are in Canada. For UPS, it goes to Ottawa California, then to Delta BC, then to somewhere in Canada.

    As I said, eventually the shippers will get this sorted; Prince George BC will likely become a major shipping port if these tariffs last for very long, and shipments will stop touching US soil when they don’t have to. But until they do, the postal service is one of the only carriers that isn’t transiting the US between other countries. And even when they do, USPS doesn’t have to pay anything during shipping, so no tariffs are applied if the package isn’t destined for the US.

  • This analysis is spot-on. And it’s not limited to Trump. There are malicious actors in all parts of life who use the same strategy.

    Next time you’re in a meeting and that one guy takes up most of the time talking about nothing while sometimes making himself look like an idiot? Well, that’s time he doesn’t have to spend doing real work or answering real questions. He’s driving whatever discussion there is, leaving little time for everyone else to discuss and plan. It’s often not an accident.

    However, even when it is, this is survival of the fittest in action: our society selects for this type of person; behaving in this manner tends to ensure survival of the individual, even when it’s to the detriment of the group. As long as the group can eventually work around the person, it’s a successful strategy.

    So just like a lawyer or doctor or engineer or parent or artist or security analyst has to stay focused, keep perspective, and work intelligently to spend time on the wins that count, the same goes for politics and Trump. Don’t focus on what his team says, focus on how society is affected, and figure out the best response to that negative impact, not the latest news-bite.

    And yeah, I think that even in Trump’s case, it’s not all intentional; he’s just risen to the top because society selects for blowhards like him unless there are intentional safeguards put in place. And others on his team have come up with strategies to slowly but surely dismantle the safeguards that were in place.

    The solution isn’t to throw up your hands; it’s like with a kid throwing a tantrum; ignore the hubris and continue to not give them the cookie, and don’t treat them as if they’re going to respond rationally. They’ll respond to strength and action, and still take any opportunity you give them to push the boundaries.

  • The White House may never be for sale, but it does have a history of being burned to the ground when its occupant provokes its northern neighbour.

  • Interesting. Considering they’re handling a bunch of Amazon’s shipping now to avoid tariffs, they’ve got lots of bargaining power right now.

  • Because what everyone wants right now is to return to the polls….