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InitialsDiceBearhttps://github.com/dicebear/dicebearhttps://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/„Initials” (https://github.com/dicebear/dicebear) by „DiceBear”, licensed under „CC0 1.0” (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)PI
Posts
3
Comments
130
Joined
2 yr. ago

  • I doubt Ukraine will demand anything less than Russia pulling out of previous held lands. Russia will doubtless demand all lands it currently occupies (and maybe even ones it claims but does not occupy). Russia's demand could be cast as peace, though really it involves giving a massive portion of Ukraine to Russia. And if you're thinking that might be temporary... well, just ask Finland, which lost 9% of its territory to a peace agreement in the Winter War after the Soviet Union invaded them.

  • This is good advice. You can make a much bigger splash in local politics. Vote. Get educated on local issues. Become an activist. Run for office. Get involved in local community groups. There's only so much your typical individual can do towards national or even state politics, but local involvement is much more impactful.

    There's a saying, that the states are the laboratories of democracy. There's often this push to make big scale reforms at the national level, and in some cases that is the right thing. But Congress is perpetually gridlocked. Often it's better to build from the state, county, and local level to fine tune a reform and prove to the country that it is a good idea. Take ranked choice voting. Some states and localities are slowly adopting it without needing permission from Congress.

  • The New York field office was involved in leaks that lead up to the Comey memo during the 2016 election. After the Anthony Weiner laptop was found, they started giving interviews hinting that Hillary was going to be under investigation again. Comey's memo was supposed to clear that up, but instead it just muddied the waters more. They got their wish, of course. Hillary lost her sizeable lead, which given the unfair Electoral College system ultimately meant a loss.

  • There is a breed of pug, retro pugs, that is a Jack Russell terrier mix. They have elongated snouts, leading to a happier life. Most of the health problems that are unique to pugs, poof, gone.

  • And looking more broadly, how much of any given system's death toll should be counted, and in what way. Mao caused massive amounts of death with the Great Leap Forward, which arguably would not have happened under a system that relied less on central management and more on capitalism's distributed feedback mechanisms. Then there were purges, suppression campaigns, and land reforms that resulted in productivity losses.

    But comparing that with a capitalist country that is a liberal democracy is hard. There are a lot of factors involved. Case in point: there was solid growth in China and the USSR. But we can't make a direct comparison between them and the West. China and the USSR were playing catch up using technologies produced by capitalist countries. Take tractors, which immensely boosted productivity. Those were sourced from the West, at least initially.

  • I've had a positive experience overall. I have had the Pixel 2 and now 5 on Google Fi. It's nice to have a phone that is close to stock Android. My bone to pick until the Pixel 6 was a short support life at just three years. Now it has security updates until five years, which is less than I would like but much more acceptable. When my phone's security support life ends in October, I am planning on a new Pixel. I'll still take a look at my other options, though.

    Overall, I've been very impressed with the camera, including some very challenging lighting scenes. I have a few photos up on Wikipedia that are just me popping out my cell phone and taking a well framed shot.