This is some real ignorance of basic macroeconomics.

Sorry… 5% of their GDP isn’t that important?

What the fuck are you talking about?

The U.S. spent over half a trillion dollars on Chinese goods in 2022. You’re telling me they don’t need that?

https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/china-mongolia-taiwan/peoples-republic-china

Note China needs American money just as much as America needs Chinese junk.

Very much so:

The poverty figure for the first six months of this year was 52.9%, up from 41.7% in the second half of 2023, said the country’s Indec statistics agency.

Since taking office in December, Milei has slashed subsidies for transport, fuel and energy and sacked thousands of civil servants, as he seeks to bring down inflation and reduce government expenditure.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ceqn751x19no

But hey, he’s curbed inflation! Libertarianism FTW, am I right?

This happened in Peru 100 years ago: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lina_Medina

And in Paraguay, an average of two girls between the ages of 10 and 14 give birth every day: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/nov/30/paraguay-child-teen-pregnancies

That’s how little has changed.

Paraguay’s strict abortion laws – some of the most extreme in the Americas – give child and adolescent abuse victims few options if they become pregnant. Abortion is granted only in very rare cases where the mother’s life is recognised to be in danger.

See also: Idaho, USA.

Pure speculation on my part here, but could it be that this was done at the behest of Russia by the people on the ship, maybe on the orders of the company that owns the ship, but not an officially sanctioned PRC operation?

The “a vote for Kamala is a vote for genocide” people were literally saying before the election that Palestinian genocide cannot get worse because genocide is genocide.

So I guess this isn’t worse?

Congratulations, idealists. You definitely stopped the genocide by refusing to vote for Harris and urging others to do likewise. A+ job.

I had the most hilarious discussion with a Tankie about China a while back. They refused to accept that China is pretty much communist in name only. I pointed out that they had billionaires, privately-owned companies, a stock exchange and private property, meaning you can earn capital in China.

The Tankie actually said something on the lines of, “If you would JUST READ MARX you would know that earning capital is a fundamental cornerstone of communism!”

Lots of poor people used Redbox.

At least poor people still have the public library.

For now.

I am not really clear on the concept of an “AI-generated Tom Cruise.” Is it less dead inside than regular Tom Cruise?

Putting out arrest warrants on both of them is so smart. It’s a way to avoid people claiming they are taking sides or playing favorites or aiding terrorists or being in favor of genocide or whatever. Both leaders are culpable because both the IDF and Hamas have committed atrocities.

Something that article does not mention, but should:

But we do know that X has joined with 130 countries and many other social networks in a pledge to avoid posting terrorist content, and to remove it expeditiously.

Ignoring The Christchurch Call

X made that commitment in 2019 when, as Twitter, it became a supporter of The Christchurch Call – a set of 25 commitments designed to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online.

The Call was developed in response to the March 2019 act of terror that saw an Australian man murder 51 people at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The murderer live-streamed his depraved acts, and those vile videos were widely shared.

The Call requires different commitments of government and online service providers. Among those required of the latter are the following actions:

Take transparent, specific measures seeking to prevent the upload of terrorist and violent extremist content and to prevent its dissemination on social media and similar content-sharing services, including its immediate and permanent removal, without prejudice to law enforcement and user appeals requirements, in a manner consistent with human rights and fundamental freedoms

Days after the Call was finalized, Twitter became a signatory. Elon Musk’s renamed platform, X, is listed as a supporter of the Call and therefore committed to the document’s suggested actions.

In December 2022, Musk met with French president Emmanuel Macron, who wrote that the billionaire “confirmed Twitter’s participation to the Christchurch Call. There is no place for terrorist and violent extremist content anywhere.”

17 months later, it appears Musk no longer holds the views Macron conveyed. And X, it appears, is ignoring the Christchurch Call in pursuit of Musk’s maximalist definition of free speech.

https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/23/australia_x_terror_video_takedown/

Jesus. The CEO of Grindr is a supporter of homophobes. We truly are in the worst timeline.

I can’t quite put my finger on what makes that look so unsafe to me, but I would be really nervous while in it.

Are you kidding? Like all of them.

Using autism as an insult. And the r-word. I’m sure I’ll see both, but I wish there were a corner of the internet free of mocking people with disabilities.