domain:youtu.be
hydroacetylene
6m ago
Reading the actual history of the Meiji restoration, it seems to have been dependent on the samurai class producing vast numbers of geniuses engaged in pointless bureaucracy they could be pulled off of without anyone noticing. It would be like the Hasidim deciding collectively, overnight, that they need to build an industrial economy and so their best and brightest have to be moved off of torah study to learn chip design or whatever.
Most colonized societies didn't have anywhere near the ability to do this. If we assume the samurai class had the same IQ advantage over the commoners that college graduates do over the hoi polloi in the USA(probably an underestimate) we're looking at a class of people with an average IQ similar to Ashkenazi Jews, who had quite literally nothing to do so they were given sinecures commanding vast resources with enforcing social conservatism as their only responsibility, and a single point of authority to rally around when it was apparent times needed to change, and a pre-existing tradition of employing literal geniuses in copying western technology. Those ingredients were rare in isolation; together they existed only in Japan.
The_Nybbler
Does not have a yacht
16m ago
Doesn't matter, the Robed 9 aren't going to allow anything radical. Roberts will always nerf it somehow. Only abortion was an exception.
hydroacetylene
18m ago
Almost half their MPs are landlords.
That seems oddly low- in the states I would assume that most people wealthy enough to be in congress own at least a renthouse or two.
hydroacetylene
19m ago
It's signaling, not reason.
hydroacetylene
27m ago
I mean, on the other hand, his path to survival is pulling an Eric Johnson. Politically driven railroading probably isn't aimed at doing that.
zeke5123a
28m ago
But honestly who cares? If you are moving to the US, you will be forced to develop a new social group. So why care about the old?
Ponder
30m ago
I think response 2 is directionally correct, but it can be combined with other approaches for a more beneficial outcome. You can only focus on a very small amount of the world's data your lifetime. You have to focus on things that are relevant to you. For instance, if you thought about every food (down to the specific plant/animal) in the world before deciding what to eat then you would starve to death because it is too much data to process. With suffering it is just not relevant to focus on most of it, and doing so will drain you of precious resources that you need to address the much more localized suffering.
It is axiomatic that an individual human can only impact a very limited amount of suffering. Once that boundary is chosen it becomes much more manageable. You can do local things that will have an impact on alleviating suffering for others and for future generations (e.g. helping preserve a piece of public land). Also, don't intentionally do things that will cause suffering for others. There is only so much you can do, and the rest of the suffering is out of your control.
You can also expand on response 1. There are techniques that allow you to think about suffering without being as bothered by it. Those include meditation, therapy techniques, Stoicism, psychedelics, and teachings that help you focus on appreciating the present moment (e.g. Letting Go by David Hawkins, or The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle).
Finally, the suffering might serve some purpose that you don't know. Maybe it is needed to teach new people a lesson that they would not be able to learn if the suffering was eliminated. Maybe the suffering is needed to motivate humans to take actions that will lead to a better future world. Maybe suffering is needed so that non-suffering can be properly appreciated.
SlowBoy
41m ago
DOJ was absolutely right to indict him (and Hunter Biden while we're at it).
DOJ slow-walked the investigation so certain crimes would reach statute of limitations, indicted when they could no longer put off indicting (because Hunter kept committing embarrassing gun crimes) then gave Hunter a sweetheart plea deal that only fell through when a judge refused to rubber stamp it. DOJ gets no credit here.
Naturally, the right wing didn't stop for a second to acknowledge that the Biden DOJ has indicted a major D figure.
You could just as easily take this the other way, right wing sides with a major D figure for once.
Atian_1
48m ago
Mix of 2, 4, 5 in my opinion. The way I see it: First secure maximum "least suffering"-ness for yourself and those close to you, then devote the rest of your energy to reducing general suffering in whatever way appeals most to you.
Gaashk
59m ago
They had a volunteer English program to boost English exposure a decade or so, and I was young and unattached, so I cotaught at an elementary school for room and board. I enjoyed it a lot (less so the teaching, but the class load was pretty light), and am Orthodox Christian, so they took me to a bunch of feast days for the various churches, and I ended up at a lot of supras.
Grant_us_eyes
1hr ago
Weirdly enough, I recall reading an article that basically said exactly that; a Jew found he was much happier living in Israel than he was in America, despite the issues you outlined.
He basically concluded that it was a mix of close proximity, similar culture, and a sort of espirit de corp - a type of shared experience leading toward tighter and closer bonds.
I wish I could remember the name of the article, though. I hate how my brain works, sometimes.
jkf
1hr ago
Honestly it turns fries into one of the easiest things you can make -- with homecut potatoes and appropriate oil choice they are reasonably healthy IMO -- I've got some pork fat in the freezer and will try with lard once I render it!
Hoffmeister25
American Bukelismo Enthusiast
1hr ago
I will say that the main counterargument I’ve seen on the right is that Adams was indicted precisely because he has defied the Biden administration on immigration and policing. He notably said at a public event that the mass influx of “asylum seekers” into NYC would “destroy this city.” He will also, if removed from office, be replaced (pending a new election) by a very far-left black anti-police extremist named Juwaane Williams; this has led some to believe that Adams is being cleared out precisely to allow Williams’ ascent.
anon_
1hr ago
The choice of whether to have a union is with workers. If Starbucks wants to not have one, it needs to convince workers that they will benefit more not having one.
anon_
1hr ago
The issue is that they get seniority for their kids by padding out their timecards.
anon_
1hr ago
Naturally, the right wing didn't stop for a second to acknowledge that the Biden DOJ has indicted a major D figure.
Part and parcel of a politics where even if opponents do something completely and unambiguously right (for once), it can't be acknowledged. Which is sad, because Adams had it coming and the DOJ was absolutely right to indict him (and Hunter Biden while we're at it).
Because expressing a willingness to move to America, especially a red state, from Canada impugns your progressive bona fides among your friends.
It really is that simple: “did you hear Claire is moving to Texas? I could never do that. Too many MAGAs down there, it’s crazy that she thinks she would fit in there. I went to Tampa once and everyone at the beach was white and you just know they all voted Trump. I was super uncomfortable”
Ha! I fully admit that I had not seen the post; I originally replied to your comment from the new comments thread, rather than seeing it under the parent post.
So, yes, I agree that @Highlandclearances’s comment claiming a link between national happiness and homogeneity looks very odd considering the post to which he was replying, especially considering that even besides Israel, another country in the top 5 (Serbia) has its own internal ethnic divisions, including an ethnically-separate breakaway region it refuses to recognize as a sovereign nation. Hell, even the #1 entry, Lithuania, has a substantial ethnic Russian minority.
So yes, I would agree with you that the link between homogeneity and happiness is not as straightforward as might be assumed. However, I would also be very interested in the methodology of the report under discussion. In the case of Israel, for example, I’d be curious to know how representative their sample was. (Were the Palestinians included?) I’d also want to see where Israel has ranked on that same report in previous years. (I’m indisposed right now or I would look into it myself before commenting.) That being said, my argument does look a bit comical when juxtaposed with the post that it’s under. It could just be that Israel is an extreme outlier and that the general link between ethnic homogeneity and happiness is generally true and observable.
Celestial-body-NOS
🟦 All human beings are equal, **even when they aren't.**
2hr ago
[I] called him a leftist and a [D]emocrat
In 1865, the Democrats were the right-wing party.
zeke5123a
2hr ago
Can someone steelman why a wife would care enough about abortion that said wife would tank a doubling of income and a better life? That just seems insane.
The other two are a misunderstanding and innumeracy
Folamh3
2hr ago
But I presume that's also true of the two people he was motivated to write the article about. I don't think he was writing about billionaires.
5434a
2hr ago
It's an overly sweet bubblegum flavour drink that makes cherryade seem sophisticated and grown up.
Celestial-body-NOS
🟦 All human beings are equal, **even when they aren't.**
2hr ago
Modest proposal: Automate the ports, but keep paying the longshore-men until they reach retirement age, and then just don't hire any more to replace them.
We'll get the efficiency benefits right away, the financial benefits over the next 47 years, but no-one will find themselves suddenly struggling to put food on their families.
Why do you assume an Iq advantage for samurai? It seems more likely to be reversed in class terms of we assume the class system existed long enough to have a breeding effect.
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