Agreed. 2000 was fantastic, but that was 9 years before 7. Its been 17 years since 7.

I read the headline as “Getting Nut Neutrality” and wondering if it was Novemember. I need like 20 more minutes of sleep.

I tend to be skeptical of the reactionary AI is always slop trend. I’m sympathetic to it because it’s a response to the hype machine that knows no prudence. But damn when you say

“Your next move: Build AI foundations. Our work with organisations confirms mounting evidence that isolated, tactical AI projects often don’t deliver measurable value. Tangible returns come from enterprise-scale deployment consistent with company business strategy.”

I read this as marketing. What’s the evidence you’ve been gathering? Why do you believe your projects are applicable to all companies? What happens if we invest and it doesn’t help like you say it will?

This is like saying the solution to your relationship troubles is having a baby. No… No this is not the solution. Make my smaller projects work and show return and then we talk larger commitments.

Sanctions were reimposed recently. Like I said, go see what happened after the sanctions were lifted.

If you think the only one with power in Iran is Khomani, you don’t understand the basics of the Iranian power structure.

Sanctions were lifted in 2015. You can see for yourself what the effects were.

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.

Yes! The gamelan is awesome. I was at a sacred music conference with my wife years ago and they had an amazing dance troupe set to gamelan music. I’ve long forgotten the name of the troupe, but damn if they didn’t hit it out of the park!

I really feel this. It’s been a decade since I’ve listened to them, but they definitely stroked that dope box.

It’s either high energy prot metal or like tabla music or droning stuff. Also Dopesmoker.

That makes sense. The use of violence here is to control the workers and the rest of society. It gets everyone back in line during a crisis reminding people that they have the power, not only to exploit them, but to also kill, imprison, and immiserate. Get in line and you’ll be better off. Work for us help get people in line and you’ll be better off than them.

How is the slave owner using a slave driver to whip slaves different from the slaves organizing and killing the slavers?