Teflon Don, like Epstein, collected pictures of powerful people doing “embarrassing” things. Unlike Epstein he didn’t use a private island, he used hotels that catered to people with power.

And pax silica will lessen the geopolitical fallout by ensuring there is fab redundancy outside of Taiwan.

It’s not an either or, many feminists champion other issues.

It’s not even profitable though… At this point it seems it is just about control, like they would rather have a money pit then let independent workers, ie creatives, have any profit.

I do wonder if they had a referendum whether this war would have been avoided. Maybe I’m just being idealistic but even if Crimea had voted to stay with Ukraine then that would have at least gone a long way to show it isn’t simply the will of the hegemon. Or if Crimea had voted to go independent then the international community could create a new security agreement.

Yes, that is good of China to not act like the USA. Which is why it is concerning when they start to act like a more competent version of the USA.

I wasn’t the one who made that claim of Xi, I was the one who showed up with receipts and said you would have to read between the lines to arrive at a similar conclusion: that Xi & the party will use force if necessary to achieve the goal of reunification. Do you not think that is more relevant?

Glad you specified pre-2022, as in before the invasion that displaced many residents; yeah, I would support any region to hold referendums on the matter of self-determination. I think Ukraine was wrong to keep their people from voting on the matter, if they had issues with the process then they should have worked towards consensus on the matter of having a legitimate referendums.

Like I said, I recommend reading literature on the matter from CCP members to get more context on the matter. It won’t help you shit post for karma but it does help one make sense of things.

I don’t know about that, but I think the whole framework of “historical legitimacy” is flawed. Regardless of history, it’s ultimately the people who get to decide what government is legitimate for them.

If the CCP were to let the people of Taiwan decide their political system then this question of identity is moot, the people would simply decide what government they identify with. Bringing up identity in this context is like saying a government owns a particular identity, which it never does, it always belongs to the people.

I mean I more or less support any country to develop military power to defend themselves, from the USA or any others. It’s the application of military power to practice realpolitik that I don’t support.

Honestly it’s a reading between the lines. Xi says:

We will uphold the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, and advance peaceful national reunification. All of us, compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, must come together and move forward in unison. We must take resolute action to utterly defeat any attempt toward “Taiwan independence,” and work together to create a bright future for national rejuvenation. No one should underestimate the resolve, the will, and the ability of the Chinese people to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

https://www.cfr.org/blog/what-xi-jinpings-major-speech-means-taiwan

The “peaceful reunification” is aspirational, not practical. The practical is “take resolute action to utterly defeat any attempt toward ‘Taiwan independence’” and we see that with this military action. Consensus among CCP members is that peaceful reunification is unlikely to happen and that military force will be required (see the book “Leadership and the Rise of Great Powers” by a member of the CCP).

Oh, so like when the USA does the same to Venezuela and Cuba it’s just self defense like Trump says?

They want artificial employees to discipline the labor market but what they will get instead is a deskilled labor force and business structures that are even more resistant to adaptation.

Most people are ignorant of the Nakba or the policy of “mowing the grass”

The body count is higher because they started the war and made Gaza into an open air prison. Nakba is a thing.

Yes and no. If it is framed as “Israel did it as well”, then yes it’s a whataboutism. But if it is framed in history, where Israel is the occupiers with overwhelming resources and has turned Gaza into an open air prison, then no, it’s not a whataboutism but illustrating a larger pattern of violence.

When being a contrarian asshole becomes your marketing strategy.

Our political system equates value to revenue and that is why we don’t tax accordingly. Business owners are labeled “job creators” and taxing them is framed as a negative value add.

Absolutely agree that athletes are also being exploited here and the burden should not fall on them to correct this (except as advocates for a better system).