I’m finding it difficult to continue because you’ve abandoned political analysis for moral truisms. We began by discussing the objective sources of legitimacy and statehood, but you’ve retreated into a ‘Gish Gallop’ of emotional appeals.

Whether or not you like a regime’s methods doesn’t change the reality of its statehood or its control over a territory. Since you’re no longer engaging with the central argument of how states actually function in reality, there’s nowhere left for this conversation to go.

What we as we want and what is real are two different things. We do business and perform politics with many authoritarians and will continue with no end in sight. Some of us live in reality.

Winning the civil war and controlling the land does.

Winning an election in Taiwan doesn’t give them a claim to mainland China. This isn’t relevant.

1. Taiwan’s constition states that they are a part of mainland China. Their position is that the ROC and not the PRC are the rightful government.
2. 142 or so countries agree that the PRC is the rightful government of Taiwan. 12 recognize the ROC. And, importantly, 50 or so, including the US, acknowledges the claim that the PRC is making without agreeing or disagreeing with it.

Yes, the PRC claims that there is one country and Taiwan is a part of it. They also know that a seperatist group maintains control of Taiwan. If the confederacy lost all but Kentucky in the civil war, the US would still need to regsin control by military means. I’m not sure it would be called an invasion though.

You don’t think that people in the KMT would? I think there are still some who hold that view and would never say it because it’s brings waaaay too much heat and no political points. Rather, the KMT has shifted to cultural identity position.

“We are the original China; we don’t need to declare independence because we are already the masters of our own (ROC) house.” - Chairwoman Cheng

Calling it annexation is the pan-green position of the DPP. The other major ROC position of the KMT (pan-blue) would never use annexation because it would infer that the PRC is legitimate.

The PRC, of course, would also not use annexation. They would claim reunification of the country from a seperatist groups like the DPP.

I feel odd having to say this, but because I understand the other side doesn’t mean I agree with them. Its important for me to understand the major positions in this conflict.

They lost a civil war and retreated from the land. How is that a better claim?

I think you need to have a clearer idea of what left wing and communism are, how the CCP, PRC, and China are different, and know the CCP’s argument for Taiwain is. Relately, it would be important to know the ROC’s claim as well.

Once you know what communism is, you’ll have to ask yourself is the PRC communism? Can a single nation state be communist? How can a single party be legitimately move a government to communism through authoritarian means? How would it work otherwise? Is the CCP position on Taiwain imperialism? Does that argument hold water?

And does not challenge that position either.

I’ve heard there can be a lot of bullying by well established nurses against new nurses.

Grow the fuck up and start thinking like an adult and not a horny little boy. Oh uncomfortably hot sweat woman… She must want me because boobs. Jesus.

I love the corruption of the saying to give us the name. Reminds me of “Goodbye” being a corruption of “God be with ye”.

Ultra Violette’s Lean Screen SPF 50+ Mattifying Zinc Skinscreen, a facial product that Rach says she used exclusively, was the “most significant failure” identified. It returned a result of SPF 4, something that shocked Choice so much it commissioned a second test that produced a similar reading.

Other products that did not meet their SPF claims included those from Neutrogena, Banana Boat, Bondi Sands and the Cancer Council - but they all rejected Choice’s findings and said their own independent testing showed their sunscreens worked as advertised.

An investigation by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation found that a single US-based laboratory had certified at least half of the products that had failed Choice’s testing, and that this facility routinely recorded high test results.

Everyone’s skin responds differently to the product, she adds, and it’s one that is almost always being stress-tested - by sweat, water, or makeup.

It is very difficult to rate effectively for the same reasons. Historically, it has been done by spreading the sunscreen on 10 people at the same thickness, then timing how long it takes for their skin to start burning both with and without the product applied.

While there are clear guidelines as to what you are looking for, Dr Wong says there is still a lot of variability. That is down to skin texture or tone, or even the colour of the walls, and “different labs get different results”.

But she says results are also quite easy to fake, pointing to a 2019 probe by US authorities into a sunscreen testing laboratory which resulted in the owner being jailed for fraud.

Many sunscreen brands from all over the world use the same manufacturers and testing labs - and so this issue is unlikely to be isolated to Australia, she adds.

One day, I hope people can have a nuanced discussion of the porn industry. Sentiments like this are true (emphasis mine):

Kytsya frequently promotes the advantages of going into the adult content creation industry, promising TikTok followers that it can prove a lucrative career choice. “The thing about my job is if you go full out you can make enough money to start your own thing whether that’s buying houses or doing Airbnbs and investing,” she says.

And she properly hedges with:

She also offers practical advice to followers who are considering working in this world, encouraging them to make sure they get tested regularly for sexually transmitted infections. She acknowledges that there are “dangers” involved in the work, and recommends that girls “who have just turned 18” should not rush into the adult industry. “Take time to think about it before you do it.”

More than taking time, the industry needs protection against exploration. Hell, success often means becoming the exploiter. You may be kinder and more empathic doing so, but that’s not garunteed.

Most young women aren’t going to make the money she made and hard work may not be enough. Unionization is unlikely happen industry wide since there’s a so many new women showing up all the time.

Finally, it’s important to see that many women in the sex work industry are being traffic. Smart legislation and enforcement can and should be used.

facts are always backed by numbers*

9/10 bolded statements are true.

* this fact isn’t backed by numbers

It looks like you can self host Navidrome.

How is this article about the Lebanese community gaining “white” status in the Jim Crow south relevant in order to become a naturalized citizen relevant to our discussion.

It is infinitely infuriating when some middling engagement with the material presents a loose keyword match of the topic at hand masquerading it as something relevant worthy of a “gotcha ya” moment. Citing this article in this context is a waste of everyone’s time when the whole of your argument is “Lebanese people are white”. It didn’t matter to to racists then and it doesn’t now.

Nou’la had immigrated with his wife Fannie from Zahleh to Valdosta, Georgia around 1906. They decided to move to Lake City, Florida in 1926 after N’oula was flogged by the local KKK chapter, and after several run-ins with the law in Valdosta. Unfortunately for the family, problems with the law persisted in Lake City, and came to a head when the Sheriff and his deputies shot Fannie to death over an altercation at the Lebanese couple’s store. They then placed N’oula in jail where later that night a mob dragged him out and killed him.

This happened in 1929. They were declared “free white men” in 1913.

Afeef Nessouli

“I’m a Lebanese-American Muslim who is gay.

“From that, I have a lot of experience going to Lebanon and experiencing war. “In 1998, I was there when one of the sonic booms was above the sports stadium.

“I remember that just because it was so traumatising as a child to hear bombs, even though in 2006 there were way more experiences and it was way more horrifying, for some reason, the 1998 experience when I was 11 was really, really traumatising.

“I think these experiences set me up for always really being interested in the Middle East as just a place of complexity and competing interests, narratives that feel different than my experiences.”

Source