See the article or provide other suggestions before sea-lioning.

They say they don’t want to replace workers. They say they just want to use AI to make existing workers more efficient. Very well; let’s hold them to their word.

To me, the real tragedy is that a shared identity really could be forged between these two groups. In another world, I can imagine a beautiful fusion between the Israelis and Palestinians, like two trees growing around one another.

So much of the conflict in the West is viewed from a Biblical lens. Israel represents the return of the Jews to their ancestral homeland! But really what present-day Israel represents is the spiritual descendants of the Biblical Israel ruling over and occupying the genetic descendants of the Biblical Israel.

Through this thread, a common identity could be forged. That kind of shared identity is the kind of thing that national identities could be forged from. Instead of “Israel” being defined as “the Jewish homeland.” “Israel” could be defined as “the home of the genetic and spiritual descendants of ancient Israel.” This conflict need not always be “the Jews vs the Palestinians.” It could simply be one type of Israeli and another type of Israeli. Some claim that name by blood. Some claim that name by religion. But both are united in one nation.

The nation of Israel has no right to exist, same as all other nations.

I don’t know about this as a blanket declaration. I’m no moral philosopher, but if I can imagine Trump saying this in a speech announcing the annexation of Canada, then there’s probably something morally wrong with.

I wonder what the legal basis for this is? Is there a constitutional provision that allows banning of parties that seek to end democracy?

If so, I wonder how that would work for someone that wanted to end electoral democracy, but not for any malevolent purpose? For example, instead advocated for a different or non-electoral democratic system, but still with noble intentions? For instance, under the German system, could a party lawfully argue to a system based on sortition?

In sortition, public offices are assigned by lottery, as we handle jury selection today. It doesn’t guarantee the most competent leader will be elected, but elections also clearly don’t select for the most competent leader. The main advantage of sortition is that, unlike elections, it doesn’t select for the most power-hungry and psychopathic members of society. It’s long been said that no one who actually wants power should be given it, and sortition is a way of solving that problem.

Could someone in Germany advocate for moving to sortition, or would that violate some constitutional provision meant to protect electoral democracy?

You think they have no employees at all? BYD had over five times the employees than Ford! And subsidies? In the US, we bailed out our auto sector during the Great Recession and heavily subsidize our auto sector via tariffs. Plus no car plant had been built in a generation without heavy state and local tax breaks and subsidies.

Seriously. What are you smoking? Cause I want some.

“They’re just heavily subsidized, not actually beating us!!”

Pure cope.

All auto makers are heavily subsidized, US automakers most of all.

And yet, the birth rate has only declined further.

People always point out that China “isn’t really a Communist country.” And while they certainly are different from the days of Mao, they forget that, from the beginning, the goal was to treat the market economy as a means to an end. The CCP values market economics because it allowed China to quickly industrialize. They don’t value capitalism for its own sake; they view it as a necessary evil.

Because of this, they’re able to do the kind of long term industrial planning that is unthinkable in the US. And there’s ultimately likely to be a lot less resistance to mass automation in China than in the US. If the state owns all the automated factories and distributes their goods fairly to all, why oppose automation? Automation is only a bad thing if it represents losing your livelihood, your method for keeping a roof over your head.

Plus, delivery drones have one fatal flaw that always gets glossed over - they’re loud as hell. Even if the tech can be made to work right, people simply don’t want to put up with that much constant high-pitched noise. If a company ever did figure out large-scale drone delivery, delivery drones would be immediately banned due to the sheer annoyance of the damn things.

You got downvoted because you didn’t try to answer your own obvious question first before asking others to answer it for you.

The main barrier to people living cheaper lifestyles abroad is their obligation to continue to pay American taxes for what amounts to no benefit.

This is a myth perpetrated by rich people. It’s similar to the handwringing about the estate tax. It’s just rich people bitching. The first $133k of foreign earned income is completely tax free. And additionally, any foreign taxes paid can be deducted as tax credits. So if you would normally owe $10k in taxes to the US government, but you paid $8k in taxes while living abroad to a foreign government, you’ll only owe the IRS $2k.

The idea that this is a substantial barrier to middle class people moving abroad for a cheaper lifestyle is just fucking comical. It’s only a problem if you are very, very wealthy. And even the very wealthy don’t end up getting double-taxed. No one who moves overseas for cost of living reasons is going to have to worry about taxes being a problem.

The water is one thing. But I always heard the concrete box apartments are just how they’re sold. They mass produce concrete apartment blocks. But the idea isn’t that you’re supposed to just live in the box. When you buy an apartment, you’re buying an empty shell, a blank canvas. The intention is that after buying it, you will then put in the money to outfit it with drywall or other interior finishings of your choice. Though I imagine there are scummy landlords that just rent out the bare concrete boxes.

[Go outside at dawn, breathe deep]

Ah, nothing like the taste of fresh satellite in the morning!

That’s a good question!

Why can’t we just go back to reporting volumes in bushels, like God intended?

There is a metric. The metric is one truck!

Fuck it. Let’s just outlaw time. Let’s just make it illegal to own a clock!

Calendars too. We’ll just live in the eternal now.

And are we talking a reasonable work truck, or one of those American abominations referred to as ‘pickup trucks.’