America & the World V: DOGE Business

[Neon Ignition]

It's amazing, probably better described as telling, that none the men involved is capable of looking at the company they're keeping and reflecting on how things usually turn out for such regime's in the end. Staggering weakness of character to be so needy of a sense of power.

[MartyG]

You make it sound like the West is somehow superior - it's just different stripes of the same tiger.

[Dogg Thang]

Some stripes are closer to the anus.

[MartyG]

They are stripes nonetheless. I seriously doubt the motivations of any leader, regardless of location are purely benevolent, mostly just power and the wealth it brings with it. People do not get to these positions by being nice to others.

[Asura]

They are stripes nonetheless. I seriously doubt the motivations of any leader, regardless of location are purely benevolent, mostly just power and the wealth it brings with it. People do not get to these positions by being nice to others.

This is dangerously close to "they're all the same"; which is a dangerous mindset.

Some human beings are worse than others. Some regimes are worse. The UK isn't great, we have loads of problems... But corruption in how we privatised rail is one thing; we don't have concentration camps where we're killing men and having our soldiers force themselves upon women to "breed out" a segment of society.

North Korea is a dictatorship. They lost a war decades ago and just put their head in the sand instead of getting with the programme. Millions of people have died and that could've all been avoided. This is all the actions of people; not some kind of accident.

[Neon Ignition]

Western nations share issues in their political classes but nations like Russia, China etc are on another level so by that measure western countries often are superior. The Tories are absolutely rank and most are counting down to vote them out, the fact that's even an option highlights things aren't as bad as in those nations which are effective dictatorships with all the **** that comes with it

[MartyG]

But on the flipside - thinking we're superior leads to the belief that those values can be enforced on others.

This is dangerously close to "they're all the same"; which is a dangerous mindset.

Some human beings are worse than others. Some regimes are worse. The UK isn't great, we have loads of problems... But corruption in how we privatised rail is one thing; we don't have concentration camps where we're killing men and having our soldiers force themselves upon women to "breed out" a segment of society.

And clearly I'm not blind to the differences - I didn't say they were the same stripe.

[Neon Ignition]

That's the real tricky scenario. Some values being enforced on others is damaging... some values should be enforced on others

[MartyG]

How has that worked out in the past?

[Neon Ignition]

Depends on the situation. There's a long line of atrocities due to efforts to force values on other nations

But on the flip side many countries with greater freedoms and less oppression wouldn't be the way they are had they not gone through that process historically. We absolutely shouldn't wade in and dictate that they become 'westernised' in all aspects but for things like treatment of women, slavery, war crimes, freedom of speech and anti-dictatorship stances they're values where the line should be held.

[Anpanman]

With NK, the way I've read it is that the population are brainwashed into thinking westerners - Americans in particular are the devil and must be destroyed. Their leader is a god and they accede to his every wish.
Similar to IS.

NK didn't lose a war decades ago, it ended in stalemate or inconclusive.

[Neon Ignition]

Hunter Biden indicted on gun charges after plea deal falls apart | Hunter Biden | The Guardian
Republicans throw everything behind this

[Neon Ignition]

Embedded Tweet

[Wools]

Some stripes are closer to the anus.

I’ve always felt Bordersdown has needed a T-Shirt.

I think we’ve found our first one.

[MartyG]

NK didn't lose a war decades ago, it ended in stalemate or inconclusive.

Yes, technically it never ended, so they're still at war but in a state of truce: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/27/w...niversary.html