Just your average urban druid interested in technology and quantum field theory.

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  • 379 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
Cake day: June 13th, 2023
  • Drunemeton@lemmy.worldtoNo Stupid Questions@lemmy.world•Serious statement: I don't understand the argument that not voting for Harris was the morally correct thing to do, because of Gaza. Why does anyone believe this?English
    52·
    2 days ago

    So how could she have broken with Biden as the current VP?

    She sides with Palestine, so she supports Hamas? She doesn’t support Israel? She supports Iran too!?

    That’s just the tip of the media iceberg that would have been thrown at her.

    Let’s say she does that. Do you think with the numbers that DJT turned out that she’d have gained so much more than she would have lost that it would have made a difference?

    Let’s further say that she did, and it was, and she won the election. She’s now thrown a long-term, strategic ally under the bus on the world stage. Not only that, she’ll have to forcibly disarm them, potentially feeding them to the wolves in the Middle East.

    How does she politically recover from that? ALL of that?

    And please don’t mention “genocide” in your reply. That’s already a know variable in play.

    Can you (or anyone) provide a politically viable path through the above ‘top level’ landmines which would have gotten her into the White House and into a position where she could take direct action to stop the genocide?

  • Drunemeton@lemmy.worldtoMildly Interesting@lemmy.world•This building built in the 60s has a sign warning you that there's a microwaveEnglish
    25·
    8 days ago

    As a kid we went to the University of Michigan hospital every six months for my brother.

    One visit we go to the cafeteria for lunch as usual, and there were signs everywhere warning that microwave ovens were in use!

    My mom asked one of the staffers what the signs were for and she told us that it turns out these new devices could affect pacemakers in a real bad way.

    “We found out the hard way when a few patients went into cardiac arrest right here in the cafeteria! Took them awhile to connect the dots…”

    “Oh my god,” my mom said! “Did you lose anyone?”

    “Oh no honey…there ain’t no better place to have one of those than in a hospital!”

    It would be years before we got one at home, and nobody we knew had a pacemaker.

  • Drunemeton@lemmy.worldtoNews@lemmy.world•Trump meets definition of a fascist, his former chief of staff saysEnglish
    9·
    16 days ago

    That was from Twitter, today.

    This was from Reddit years ago:

    14 Facets of Fascism

    Political scientist Dr. Lawrence Britt recently wrote an article about fascism (“Fascism Anyone?,” Free Inquiry, Spring 2003, page 20). Studying the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile), Dr. Britt found they all had 14 elements in common. He calls these the identifying characteristics of fascism. The excerpt is in accordance with the magazine’s policy.

    The 14 characteristics are:

    Powerful and Continuing Nationalism

    Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

    Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights

    Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of “need.” The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

    Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause

    The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

    Supremacy of the Military

    Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

    Rampant Sexism

    The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.

    Controlled Mass Media

    Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

    Obsession with National Security

    Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

    Religion and Government are Intertwined

    Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions.

    Corporate Power is Protected

    The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

    Labor Power is Suppressed

    Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed .

    Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts

    Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.

    Obsession with Crime and Punishment

    Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

    Rampant Cronyism and Corruption

    Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

    Fraudulent Elections

    Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.