Aside from the fact that the use of the superlatives "perfect" and "every episode is a 10/10," renders it immediately some degree of bullshit, this is a surprisingly not awful list. I wouldn't have included Steins;Gate, which is drug down by a tediously unsympathetic protagonist and too many convenient plot contrivances, but aside from that, I'm sort of impressed by the inclusions, and particularly the generally underrated Paranoia Agent, only somewhat diminished by the use of the clunky localized name "Lil' Slugger" instead of the vastly superior and more correct name, "Shounen Bat."
Don't focus on the power. Focus on your passage through life.
Balance independence with consideration and empathy.
That is to say, be conscious of other people's preferences and desires but don't let yourself be dominated by others. Maintain a strong sense of yourself while still accommodating other people.
Keep that balance, so that you come across as strong and independent and in charge of your own life and kind and considerate and concerned for others, and "soft power" is just there to be had. People will just naturally seek your counsel and generally follow your lead.
That's also how you develop and exercise it as a nation-state. And that's why Trump has so completely destroyed US soft power - because he possesses and exercises none of those qualities. He, and the nation under his leadership is boorish and aggressive and inconsiderate, and also callow and thin-skinned and petty.
The tech oligarchs are in the process of building a new feudalism, which, like the old feudalism, will consist of two things - one relatively small group of gentry who own all the property and are free to do entirely as they please, and the rest of the populace relegated to being obedient peasants who own nothing and have no freedom at all.
And surveillance and data collection and control are going to be integral to that.
I know only one person who's completely fallen under the spell, but yes.
Though to be fair, I already disregarded most of what he said since he's a reactionary conservative who spends his days pouring right-wing podcasts into his ears at 1.5x. But at least on topics other than politics, he used to be fairly knowledgeable and trustworthy.
But since he's started telling me how impressed he is by how smart Claude is (since it tells him what he wants to hear), I've started disregarding everything he says, regardless of topic.
Trump's the best thing that's happened to the Iranian government in years.
There's no way they'd want to assassinate a deranged moron who's united the country under their rule, hamfistedly provided them with excuses for whatever aggression they want to engage in and is such an incompetent boob that he can't manage to effectively counter a single move that they make.
Of course they did - that's become SOP for Israel.
At this point, mass murder is such an integral part of their national image, their political system and their economy that they have to do whatever they can to keep engaging in it. They cannot allow peace under any circumstances, because then they'd have to stop murdering people and stealing their land and without that, they'd have nothing.
Translation - "Because the President is a deranged lunatic and I'm a cowardly sycophant, we are going to cripple the US by clinging to outdated technology while the rest of the world continues to advance."
At this point, everyone who's not a billionaire, whether left- or right-wing, should support socialism.
Even if you want pure hard right social policies and laissez faire capitalism, the first thing we have to do is break the stranglehold the billionaires have on the government, and socialism is the only thing that stands a chance of doing that.
the court said Thursday consumers can’t sue Bayer for the absence of a cancer warning on its label, given that federal regulators concluded a cautionary statement wasn’t necessary.
And there it is.
The Supreme Court just handed the oligarchs something they've been angling for for years - immunity for manufacturers who get a government rubber-stamp
Which means that now consumers have no recourse at all. The manufacturers will simply bribe the appropriate people, get rubber-stamp approval for whatever the fuck they want to do, and if anyone tries to sue them, they can just say, "Too bad - the government already said it was okay."
Well yeah. As long as the tech oligarchs keep kissing his fat, stinky ass and giving him big piles of money, he'll follow them anywhere.
Aside from the fact that the use of the superlatives "perfect" and "every episode is a 10/10," renders it immediately some degree of bullshit, this is a surprisingly not awful list. I wouldn't have included Steins;Gate, which is drug down by a tediously unsympathetic protagonist and too many convenient plot contrivances, but aside from that, I'm sort of impressed by the inclusions, and particularly the generally underrated Paranoia Agent, only somewhat diminished by the use of the clunky localized name "Lil' Slugger" instead of the vastly superior and more correct name, "Shounen Bat."
That was the goal all along.
Forget the Republicans - the most determined enemies of leftism in the US today are the Democrats.
It's always projection for the Felon-in-Chief
Don't focus on the power. Focus on your passage through life.
Balance independence with consideration and empathy.
That is to say, be conscious of other people's preferences and desires but don't let yourself be dominated by others. Maintain a strong sense of yourself while still accommodating other people.
Keep that balance, so that you come across as strong and independent and in charge of your own life and kind and considerate and concerned for others, and "soft power" is just there to be had. People will just naturally seek your counsel and generally follow your lead.
That's also how you develop and exercise it as a nation-state. And that's why Trump has so completely destroyed US soft power - because he possesses and exercises none of those qualities. He, and the nation under his leadership is boorish and aggressive and inconsiderate, and also callow and thin-skinned and petty.
Israel is pure evil.
By design.
The tech oligarchs are in the process of building a new feudalism, which, like the old feudalism, will consist of two things - one relatively small group of gentry who own all the property and are free to do entirely as they please, and the rest of the populace relegated to being obedient peasants who own nothing and have no freedom at all.
And surveillance and data collection and control are going to be integral to that.
So basically, the US is trying to make it so that Israel can continue their conquest of Lebanon unopposed.
Somehow I don't think it's really Iran that's threatening to kill Trump...
I know only one person who's completely fallen under the spell, but yes.
Though to be fair, I already disregarded most of what he said since he's a reactionary conservative who spends his days pouring right-wing podcasts into his ears at 1.5x. But at least on topics other than politics, he used to be fairly knowledgeable and trustworthy.
But since he's started telling me how impressed he is by how smart Claude is (since it tells him what he wants to hear), I've started disregarding everything he says, regardless of topic.
Oh please.
Trump's the best thing that's happened to the Iranian government in years.
There's no way they'd want to assassinate a deranged moron who's united the country under their rule, hamfistedly provided them with excuses for whatever aggression they want to engage in and is such an incompetent boob that he can't manage to effectively counter a single move that they make.
At this point, I'm reminded of that song on an almost daily basis.
The whole MAGA anti-trans thing is just about pure "what the queers are doing to the soil" energy.
The Trump White House looks like it should be in a trailer park.
And yes - just as I assumed when I saw that the change was made in 2024, the current governor is a Democrat.
Of course they did - that's become SOP for Israel.
At this point, mass murder is such an integral part of their national image, their political system and their economy that they have to do whatever they can to keep engaging in it. They cannot allow peace under any circumstances, because then they'd have to stop murdering people and stealing their land and without that, they'd have nothing.
Translation - "Because the President is a deranged lunatic and I'm a cowardly sycophant, we are going to cripple the US by clinging to outdated technology while the rest of the world continues to advance."
Nothing says "250th anniversary of the nation's founding" quite like the Felon-in-Chief pardoning even more of his criminal cronies and sycophants.
At this point, everyone who's not a billionaire, whether left- or right-wing, should support socialism.
Even if you want pure hard right social policies and laissez faire capitalism, the first thing we have to do is break the stranglehold the billionaires have on the government, and socialism is the only thing that stands a chance of doing that.
And there it is.
The Supreme Court just handed the oligarchs something they've been angling for for years - immunity for manufacturers who get a government rubber-stamp
Which means that now consumers have no recourse at all. The manufacturers will simply bribe the appropriate people, get rubber-stamp approval for whatever the fuck they want to do, and if anyone tries to sue them, they can just say, "Too bad - the government already said it was okay."
Translation - why should all that donor money go to campaigns and advertising when it could be going to bribes to state legislators instead?