Ray20

10 ms·

121.
by Ray20 9mo ago
> when we model superpowers as rational actors within their ideological system But they are not. We can thus look at the people who make decisions, but not at the countries themselves. So, it’s most likely not about joining NATO, but abo
122.
by Ray20 9mo ago
> The best move is to cozy up to whomever is in power next. Why care whomever is in power next? You could just do your job. So, the solution is to press the nuclear button, get a couple hundred million dollars from an offshore account in
123.
by Ray20 9mo ago
I think they would have lost long ago and would have had many times fewer losses in dead and wounded.
124.
by Ray20 9mo ago
> Without western support, Ukraine would be in a much worse state than it is now. No, that doesn't seem to be true.
125.
by Ray20 9mo ago
I think nuclear deterrence works even in such situations. The retaliatory system is structured in such a way that after decapitation, the decision to use or not use a nuclear weapon is made not by the "number two" or the "suc
126.
by Ray20 9mo ago
> As for international law, it is extremely clear, prohibiting the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. Decided by whom?
127.
by Ray20 9mo ago
Do you understand that the difference in the Ukrainian case is literally caused by the actions of Western countries? Venezuelans are going to work tomorrow because no one has provided their corrupt dictatorial government with hundreds of bi
128.
by Ray20 9mo ago
> people who continue to work when all of their basic needs are met There are no such things as "basic needs". If people can easily satisfy their basic needs, they simply expands this concept until it ceases to be easily satisf
129.
by Ray20 9mo ago
So we come to the conclusion that this is not just a violation of freedom of speech, but also persecution of political opponents? The situation didn't look any better.
130.
by Ray20 9mo ago
> of the CCP bankrolling the Chinese electronics industry to the point where roughly 70% of all electronics goods are produced in China. But we don't see this bankrolling in absolute values. Rather, it's due to regressive taxat
131.
by Ray20 10mo ago
No, they are not. I think, on average, those who execute are much less aggressive than those who are executed.
132.
by Ray20 10mo ago
Or not. Unlike all of the above, AI directly conflicts with the concept of intellectual property, which is backed by a much larger and more influential field.
133.
by Ray20 10mo ago
> what you're arguing for is a system that you understand and can verify, but not other people. I don't think people really need it. We're used to using and trusting systems we don't understand. So, I think if the sys
134.
by Ray20 10mo ago
> Might the genuinely good system you put in place have been abused? The system's resistance to abuse is one of its important characteristics. So if the system have been abused on that scale, the system probably wasn't good in
135.
by Ray20 10mo ago
> I don't think a person with integrity is likely to vote for such an openly corrupt conman. As far as I understand, it was precisely because of situations like the one described in the article that people voted for him. In practice
136.
by Ray20 10mo ago
He is literally a communist, and was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union until the very end of that party's existence.
137.
by Ray20 10mo ago
An ally's reliability is relative. And relatively speaking, the United States is a very reliable ally. I mean to what are we comparing America's reliability? To the reliability of the European Union? Which calls Ukraine not just a
138.
by Ray20 10mo ago
> They are advancing, sure, put look what they paid for to achieve this: 300k dead, 700k wounded, depletion of their souvereign wealth fund, 20%+ inflation, lower oil production and so on. Russia is a totalitarian dictatorship led by the
139.
by Ray20 10mo ago
> Ukraine is going to have some painful demographic issues The scariest thing is that even in the best-case scenario, this may no longer be possible. Even before the war, Ukraine's demographics were dire, then young people left, and
140.
by Ray20 10mo ago
> As you said Ukraine’s demographic situation was quite horrible before the war. Very few people in their 20s This is a perfect situation for waging war. Young people are prone to rebellion and overthrow the authorities that send them to
141.
by Ray20 10mo ago
Until someone implements Jim Bell's ideas using encryption algorithms, distributed networks, and the cryptocurrencies, then there will be no government. Perhaps there won't be one anywhere. Perhaps we'll really miss the good
142.
by Ray20 10mo ago
Why change what works?
143.
by Ray20 10mo ago
> it will get even cheaper and faster later Yeah, and will be done by somebody else. I think this is the main problem, and if you get rid of it, you'll have a completely sensible strategy. I mean there are many government contractor
144.
by Ray20 10mo ago
> But you don't put off buying a computer because it will be cheaper next year. Why not? Sounds like a pretty reasonable strategy. > Nobody seems to be putting off buying GPUs Many people doing exactly that.
145.
by Ray20 11mo ago
But we want the web into the desktop, not the desktop into the web.
146.
by Ray20 11mo ago
> The cloak of words has always been needed, for some reason Needed? Probably not. There is just no reason not to use that cloak of words.
147.
by Ray20 11mo ago
> largest concentration of power an elected body auditable by the commons So, billionaires are bad because they can use their money to enter into voluntary deals with other people, which can lead to them achieving goals we don't lik
148.
by Ray20 11mo ago
> But the power concentration is a strong reason. A centralized authority capable of so severely restricting the economic freedom of the most powerful people implies a far greater concentration of power than the one you're fighting
149.
by Ray20 11mo ago
And yet, startups exist.
150.
by Ray20 11mo ago
> in the case of Russia of course, wider privatization in the 1990s was disastrous in many ways When you effectively hand over state property to high-ranking communists for less than five percent of its real value, that is not a privatiz

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