weirdstuff

10 ms·

31.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
Too complex for an HN post and ultimately my definition will far too short, so I'll just cop out by saying "I know it when I see it". Usually defined by a relatively more weighted public sector ownership and operation of th
32.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
I don't think anything like "true socialism" could exist. Just like "true capitalism" or a "true scotsman".
33.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
This is a sentiment that I think is termed "technological utopianism" and it has limits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_utopianism
34.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
Cuba is a cherry-picked example and is misleading. Other socialist countries that are doing better: China; Denmark; Finland; Netherlands; Canada; Sweden; Norway; Ireland. Don't forget Cuba has been forced into economic isolation by the
35.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
"Democracy at Work" http://www.democracyatwork.info/
36.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
Kind of makes actual democracy obsolete I suppose; we seemingly now require technocratic governance and do not require attention towards other public sentiment outside of technical/legal analysis. I get this perspective, but I think
37.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
I don't think it matters much who occupies the oval office. I fear the U.S. is in a systematic regression due to deeper economic issues that so far are being totally unaddressed and unidentified in public. I hope other nations can begi
38.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
I know Trump voters, the majority of whom don't like Trump at all. Their reasoning: "Why delay the inevitable? How else to wake up the country but to elect a disaster? As things get worse we're ready as we'll ever be.&q
39.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
Let's get real. They weren't large campaigns; Russian firms/orgs (RT, really) hardly spent anything! So far the disclosed numbers are less than a 1/4 million; as opposed to the roughly $6.8 spent domestically. Billions
40.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
Compared to the rest of the developed world, the U.S. does have very poor working conditions. I'd also say a majority of U.S. workers doesn't have a clue and has little experience to make a comparison anyhow. I actually like peopl
41.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
And why are some posts, like yours, collapsed by default? And some accounts have default auto-dead comments. It's not transparent how this all works. Edit: looks like another commenter mentioned this too. Sorry for the dupe.
42.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
They could just as easily be real people under alt accounts. It's not that obvious. Many of my real-life contacts push meme-like propaganda all the time on facebook. I don't think they're paid to do it. Banning that stuff thr
43.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
I don't really get the identity politics thing. Aren't all politics identity politics?
44.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
Rhetorical question: are republicans really alone in this?
45.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
It is rigged in that it's propped up by a systemic weakness directly created by public policy. "Rigged" is a semi-accurate description but still controversial because for many it implies a Dr. Evil scenario (hence the voted i
46.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
But that's not even significant when you look at the billions spent by U.S. campaigns and orgs. Few hundred thousand from Russia isn't enough to do anything.
47.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
Totally agree; it was too obvious after the upset Trump victory when the Dems immediately started going down the list of scapegoats – especially Russia. I really don't think Russia's influence comes close to domestic influence, es
48.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
How's it sneaky? Business management and shareholders routinely try to shut down unionizing all the time throughout the last two centuries. My buddy is a manager at a national retail chain and often comments on how proactively anti-u
49.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
In my own experience a track record is meaning less and less, and employers are really starting to fixate on credentials. It's very weird and disconcerting to a fellow like myself who likes to believe an impressive record should speak
50.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
I'm not sure you know enough to compare the two. Disease, for example, is mostly a product of settled societies, not hunter-gatherers. Crime was a different issue as well, when tribes knew all the members. And sure, tribes had conflict
51.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
Costa Rica? (I don't know, just putting it out there. I hear there are lots of U.S. expats there.)
52.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
Too glib; they've been holding pretty steady at 8 hours, mainly due to regulation. Other work has increased hours, such as in many areas of health care, for example. Many folks also patch together multiple jobs in order to achieve a li
53.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
And they don't want to remain under their current status, either. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statehood_movement_in_Puerto_R...
54.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
Please excuse this more radical point, but part of me is ok with rescinding the visas to force some investment back into the domestic population. (Out of necessity.) We have a large enough population that there's no reason we should be
55.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
He's not normalizing anything, he's setting the context which I happen to account for as well; for example our country directly attempted to (and did) influence the Brexit campaign and Scottish referendum – and not just our media
56.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
Is it illegal for a seller to price something in the U.S. in bitcoin (or a some other form of exchange) and not dollars? If cigarettes became a more attractive medium of exchange, is it illegal to use that medium between two private, consen
57.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
Neither one of you can know for sure. Could be a bit of both.
58.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
"Currencies have legal support. It will blow up." Diamond reminds me of a bartender warning his patrons not to smoke pot. (Because alcohol is mostly legal, while pot is mostly illegal.) Also, fiat currencies need to maintain publi
59.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
That's more ok for a smaller outfit, but now that Google is abusing their monopolistic market position it's not as ok. Not to worry, the days of the U.S. government busting up monopolies seem behind us.
60.
by weirdstuff 9y ago
No, I think we need more FUD given what has just occurred. SSN and sensitive financial data of over half of U.S. adults obtained by criminals. Nice.

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