[QatzelOk]

This is probably the main problem with entertainment: it stops you from feeling important things that are provoked by daily reality.

"I tod I taw a puddy tat" is a lot more entertaining than "capitalism is destroying our living systems."

soundtrack

[QatzelOk]

So far, the pofo community is too awestruck to comment on what many are calling "the most important signature of our lifetime." But the feedback will eventually surface once everyone gets over the initial shock.

Here's a nice slogan for this sig:

the 1% care as much about our happiness as
beef consumers care about the happiness of cows

The 1% own the mine, so while they are all sitting in air-controlled cabins on the surface... they encourage their "miners" to ignore the canary cage (it's soooo boring) and concentrate on this new Tweedy-bird technological spectacle.

[QatzelOk]

In our society, the dumb don't listen to the smart.
They listen to mass media.

What's great about Western propaganda is how it can be used to smear all its competitors.

[QatzelOk]

Let's stop calling it "Democrats and Republicans,"
and just say "the Federal Reserve."

The fake duality of American political "choice" has its parallels in the many fake choices that the well-controlled consumer drone "makes."

......

The shittiest shithole of all is lack of community,
and many "rich" countries have this in spades.

If all you have to judge "the good life" is commercial media, you will make some very self-harming choices including those that kill your natural ability to associate with other humans in a meaningful way.

[Hong Wu]

Let's stop calling it "Democrats and Republicans,"
and just say "the Federal Reserve."

The fake duality of American political "choice" has its parallels in the many fake choices that the well-controlled consumer drone "makes."

......

The shittiest shithole of all is lack of community,
and many "rich" countries have this in spades.

If all you have to judge "the good life" is commercial media, you will make some very self-harming choices including those that kill your natural ability to associate with other humans in a meaningful way.

The problem with shithole countries is they try to become developed countries but developed countries are basically Moloch devouring everyone who has technical intelligence. Yet if they don't become developed they can't defend themselves from the developed countries. It's a zero-sum game and in their position, they have almost no one who possesses technical intelligence in the first place. So they're fucked. They will be shitholes until the paradigm changes.



What can save us besides a secular authoritarian that forces people to get abortions, forces us to struggle? I honestly don't know.

[QatzelOk]

What can save us besides a secular authoritarian that forces people to get abortions, forces us to struggle? I honestly don't know.

Abortion is an interesting modern phenomenon.

After aggresively developing medical intervention to the point of guaranteeing that virtually every baby can survive, we decide to kill about a quarter of them in abortions because "choice."

If we just flushed modern medicine down the toilet, we would get a similar level of survival, but it would be NATURE deciding which babies live or die, rather than Goldman Sachs and the income inequality that institutions like it create.

Another example of augmented reality (abortion) being harmful and fake.

[Hong Wu]

Abortion is an interesting modern phenomenon.

After aggresively developing medical intervention to the point of guaranteeing that virtually every baby can survive, we decide to kill about a quarter of them in abortions because "choice."

If we just flushed modern medicine down the toilet, we would get a similar level of survival, but it would be NATURE deciding which babies live or die, rather than Goldman Sachs and the income inequality that institutions like it create.

Another example of augmented reality (abortion) being harmful and fake.

Yeah, I basically am trying to find a solution in technology Very perceptive of you. I'm not going to name names but not everyone on this forum has great reading comprehension, yet there are a few people lilke you who can not only comprehend but also follow up on the implications.

Interesting anecdote, the Chinese developed gunpowder hundreds of years (at least) before the west started building rifles. Yet the Chinese (and to a certain degree, the Japanese and Koreans too) deliberately suppressed their merchant classes (because merchants only care about money) and this suppressed their technological and economic development. Eventually the forceful reopening of Japan and China's "century of humiliation" was the long-term result. I could go on but I'll spare everyone

So anyway, you like bikes. I'm more of a motorcycle and scooter guy. I use a lot of armor. Although I don't have one yet, electric scooters are borderline free to use. Just as an electric car costs you less than a gas car, an electric scooter costs you less than a gas scooter and a scooter gets 100 miles to the gallon (I don't know what that is in metric, sorry).

I ironically don't believe in global warming but if people just wear some armor and ride around on cheap electric scooters, maybe with nuclear power, if the wars stop because of weapon proliferation and economic interdependency, maybe technology will save us. There's obviously something romantic about going back in time but it isn't going to happen, the advantages of using technologies are just too great.

[Hong Wu]

To elaborate, when I was in Taiwan I saw a ton of people on scooters. I was like wow, they're so brave to ride these scooters everywhere. The girl I was talking to was like no, we just can't afford cars and every time I ride my scooter I feel afraid. I was like, of course that would be it.

I probably sound pretty liberal fascist right now but ultimately you have to force people to do this kind of thing. The problem with liberals is that they talk about things like electric scooters but their preferred mode of transportation is the private jet. They can't lead. And I don't think you can really force something like this before it's necessary. The left has the right idea but they're using it like a club instead of waiting for when the time is right, as if white imperialism is still a threat to these people they supposedly care about (they don't).

[QatzelOk]

...the Chinese developed gunpowder hundreds of years (at least) before the west started building rifles. Yet the Chinese (and to a certain degree, the Japanese and Koreans too) deliberately suppressed their merchant classes (because merchants only care about money) and this suppressed their technological and economic development. Eventually the forceful reopening of Japan and China's "century of humiliation" was the long-term result.

...

So anyway, you like bikes. I'm more of a motorcycle and scooter guy. ...

I ironically don't believe in global warming ...

This is sort of scary.

You write about how the right decision (to muzzle the corporate greedbag class) lead to submission to people who made the wrong decision (Western wars and colonialism to force capitalism onto the world).

And then you proudly describe how you make the wrong decisions (nuclear power, pollution denial, motor vehicle consumption) to demonstrate how you are now on the wrong road to hell.

Your narrative structures are complex and layered, and you don't seem to shy away from self-deprecation.

[QatzelOk]

our houses are too large - there's lots of space for elephants in every room
The "elephant in the room" unpacked.

...

The management and staff of this thread would like to remind you that your participation in signature conversations is important and worthwhile.

It's almost as important as your familiarity and acceptance of orders from people you've never met, delivered in condescending tones from on-high.