alvvayson

@alvvayson@lemmy.dbzer0.com

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alvvayson,

And yet, we managed to mostly abolish slavery and child labour in most countries.

It’s not going to be easy, but it can be done.

alvvayson,

If you really think that wage slavery is comparable to being owned by a human, then you’re delusional.

Yes, slavery and child labour still exists. But if you think living in the US or China or India in 2024 is just as bad as 1850, then you are also delusional.

Some countries like Afghanistan or North Korea might be objectively worse, but those are a minority.

alvvayson,

There will always be winners and losers with any change.

Plantation owners definitely lost a lot of wealth due to the abolition of slavery, while the industrial tycoons gained a lot of wealth.

Switching away from fossil fuels will similarly benefit those who invest in the energy sources and technologies of the future, while shrinking the fortune of those dependent on fossil fuels.

Already, some forms of fossil energy are losing new investment.

For example, the high profile Keystone XL pipeline was never built, even though Trump approved it, because investors doubted its profit potential. Biden revoking the permit was mostly symbolic.

Now, I do otherwise agree with this more nuanced take of yours. Morality needs to be aligned with financial incentives in order to achieve change. That’s just how our current world works and I don’t see that basic mechanism changing.

So it makes more sense to focus on making fossil fuels less profitable, e.g. through taxation.

alvvayson,

Once the alternatives become more profitable, they will move to legislate in their favour.

Here in Europe, we already have billions in subsidies for wind and solar energy.

Will it go smoothly, or fast enough?

No, I think 3 degrees warming is basically inevitable at this point.

But it will happen, about five decades later than it should have happened.

Guess we will see in the next two decades.

UN Security Council backs plan for Israel-Hamas ceasefire (www.reuters.com)

UNITED NATIONS, June 10 (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council on Monday backed a proposal outlined by President Joe Biden for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and urged the Palestinian militants to accept the deal aimed at ending the eight-month-long war....

alvvayson,

I remain pessimistic on the course this genocide is taking, but a UN resolution for peace that both the US and China voted for…

I didn’t expect to see this happen any time soon.

📄 rule (sh.itjust.works)

alt-textIt blows our hivemind that the United States doesn’t use the ISO 216 paper size standard (A4, A5 and the gang). Like, we consider ourselves worldly people and are aware of America’s little idiosyncrasies like mass incarceration, the widespread availability of assault weapons and not being able to transfer money via...

alvvayson,

As a European, I do appreciate Legal as a format.

It just happens slightly too often that an A4 is not long enough and the last bit, including the signature, goes to the next page.

I wish Legal was common here. Or perhaps we could get a Long A4 with a third extra height or so.

The Letter format should just be replaced by A4 though.

alvvayson,

As your links explain, C series is used for envelopes, while B and elongated A are special case that aren’t commonly used.

In any case, none of those series has an equivalent to American Letter.

The only paper that you will commonly find in European offices are A4 and (to a lesser extent) A3.

A big office printer might have 4 trays stocked with A4 and one tray with A3, for example.

alvvayson,

It’s really insane that the police get called on US citizens peacefully protesting against a genocide in a foreign country.

alvvayson,

You might be interested to learn about the concept called “hostile witness”.

Google is your friend. Hope that helps.

alvvayson,

It’s unlikely that the details will be known before an agreement is reached.

But to your point, what really matters is whether the USA will force Israel to accept the proposal, or if the Israeli population protests harder against Netanyahu (but that’s unlikely to reach the required mass).

Netanyahu wants the war to continue and will not accept any deal, unless his hand is forced.

Anyway, Israel was telling people to flee Rafah. My local news says they are probably doing that to pressure Hamas by panicking the Gazan population.

So, no, I don’t think Israel will accept the deal.

alvvayson,

I am not a Jew, but I have to recognize that many of the people most fiercely standing up against Israeli human rights violations are Jews.

In the USA, Bernie Sanders, Robbert Reich and Chuck Schumer are three Jewish politicians that have been very consistent in their messaging.

alvvayson,

If you can’t tell the difference between a limited number of well known examples and a statistical percentage, then perhaps you shouldn’t lecture others on thinking.

alvvayson,

I really don’t want to victim blame, but people really have to be careful when travelling.

Not every country is as liberal as the West.

Otto Warmbier

Brittany Griner

And now this guy.

Netanyahu's outraged response after report of pending US sanctions on IDF (www.newsweek.com)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement condemning sanctions on the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) after a report surfaced claiming that the Biden administration is set to blacklist a unit for alleged human rights violations in Gaza....

alvvayson,

Honestly, tokenism is a good place to start.

Realistically, there is no political majority in the USA to go further. The progressive caucus is only about 10% of the House.

That’s enough to have influence, but not enough to drive policy.

But over time, the movement grows.

alvvayson,

So, what’s the alternative?

The House just passed an aid package for Israel worth billions by an 86% majority.

Meaningful sanctions just aren’t in the cards.

alvvayson,

Flying through Turkey, Dubai or Qatar would make any flight restrictions largely symbolic.

alvvayson,

Looks like they at least made it sturdy enough to withstand a car wash.

Progress!

alvvayson,

Bad take.

A regional conflict in our backyard will greatly impact Europe.

Just look at what the Syrian civil war and Iraq/Afghan wars did and how the resulting refugee problem impacted Europe.

Now imagine that times five if Iran and Israel get sucked in a war with Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq in the crossfire.

alvvayson,

The idea that the EU is powerless is naive.

alvvayson,

Indeed.

And an often overlooked downside of all the tax loopholes is that asshole billionaires don’t pay tax, so they have a competitive advantage against someone like Mark Cuban.

Basically, with billionaires we are evolving them to become nastier with each generation.

alvvayson,

Exactly.

Imagine if Coca-Cola tried to shame or guilt people into buying Coca-Cola.

How would that work out.

The guilt tripping and shaming is going to backfire.

To win, you have to inspire people to actually want to vote for you.

Otherwise, they just might not even bother showing up.

alvvayson,

The US allegedly spent a billion dollars intercepting these missiles.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is all out of air defense and only Germany seems to be sending an extra patriot on the short-term.

As a European, I think the wakeup call is to start taking European security more seriously, since the USA seems to have other priorities.

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