You’ll get there eventually; we can’t all be as progressive :D

I honestly don’t think people care that much about a woman running. Because at that level, their gender is not ‘man’ or ‘woman’ but ‘politician’.

People didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton because she was quite unlikeable and the campaign centred around it being ‘her turn’. People didn’t vote for Harris because she was generally invisible and had to run a very truncated campaign. The fact that both were women was the least of their worries.

Other countries have elected women leaders with no issues. Heck, you see women presidents all the time in movies and TV shows. Nobody bats an eye.

So… I take it he’s completely forgotten that disastrous debate by now huh? It was pretty clear to even the most fervent Biden supporters that he wasn’t going to win. When even those folks were telling him to resign, it as done by that point.

If anything, staying in would’ve driven more people to Trump or caused them to stay home due to disillusionment.

Ah good, I really could use another two years of working from home.

Ohh, handy! Thanks for that link.

You can absolutely mean those things. I’ve said them to others, so they don’t offend me.

I agree that everyone’s a unique individual. But when looking at problems on a global scale, you need to approach things objectively and dispassionately.

From a purely statistics standpoint, I and 1 sibling should be here. Because that’s the replacement rate for when my parents die. A life for a life, so to speak.

Problem is, my parents had three kids. So now we’ve already gone above that replacement rate. And globally, more people have kids above the replacement rate, hence the population growth.

I don’t have or want kids. That’s not for me, and I don’t want them to be born in a world that’s going to get rapidly worse to live in. Unfortunately, not everyone is willing or capable to make such choices.

Well you can also turn that around and ask: why do we need more people? What does another individual add?

One might argue that a baby born today might cure cancer or all known diseases. They might invent free, unlimited energy. They could be the greatest writer to ever live. Humanity’s best poet. He could bring about world peace.

But he could also be our next Hitler, Saddam Hussein, etc.

Earth is a finite planet. It’s not getting any bigger. So every human we add to it, takes up yet another square meter that consumes resources for an average of 80 years or so. I’ve seen my country get more crowded and the problems it causes.

We don’t need more people. At all.

There’s also simply way too many people on earth as it is. My country - one of the smallest on earth- had 15 million people back in 1995. Right now, 30 years later, we’re at 18 million. And in 2037, they’re expecting 19 million.

Small numbers on a global scale, but definitely a lot of growth that’s causing issues. There’s a housing shortage, rising prices, healthcare and pensions are under threat, etc etc.

And there’s places that are much, much worse. For example, even India is encouraging population growth. When the country is still very poor. That’s going to help their economy in the short run, but it’s going to be a much larger problem down the line.

We need a controlled population decline, sooner rather than later.

Honestly though, a week should be fine for most purposes if we’re talking simple infantry weapons and general population readiness.

Most weapons are so easy, a child can use them. And they do. If the average Afghan dirt farmer can use a Kalashnikov, it wouldn’t be too hard to train you or anyone to use something like an AR-15 or a Glock pistol. Or indeed even a Kalashnikov, should you be able to liberate one from an invader.

Most people in Europe have never held a gun, much less shot one. That makes it a scary, unknown thing. A week’s worth of training should at least make people more comfortable with them and allow them to shoot one if the need arises. Think of it like learning first aid, only… the opposite.

We’re also talking deterrence here. To make it very unappealing to invade somewhere. You’re not going on the offensive.

Could be. But I was also around when the Soviet Union was still a thing and reached to East Germany.

Also, if you think I trust those shifty Belgians, you’re very wrong ;-)

Well, give us all a rifle, a hundred rounds and some marksmanship training, you knobhead. I’ve always been a big proponent of arming your populace in defense of a large threat from beyond your borders. And this seems like the right time to do it.

I’ll gladly follow a week’s worth of training and do a background check if it means I get to keep a machine gun in my closet.

Ha, the slang and colloquialisms are actually the easy part, really!

We are subjected to an awful lot of US culture in general. We watch Hollywood movies and we get most US shows, which are shown with subtitles here. We also follow US news and events, we enjoy US music, we use a lot of the same services, etc. Basically, if I moved to the US, I’d fit right in.

We tend to enjoy US culture quite a bit. We might disagree on topics like politics, healthcare, gun issues or the metric system, but by and large we’re like… Canadians.

Thank you, we take pride in our language education.

We learn English, French and German in school, which really helps when dealing with the rest of Europe. Whenever you meet someone from another European country, chances are you can find at least one language you both speak. Makes trade and travel a lot easier.

I do occasionally slip up when talking to Americans. We’re generally taught UK and US English here simultaneously. Which means I sometimes have the UK spelling in my head, which can differ slightly. For example, flavour vs flavor. Online, I usually try to keep it ‘US English’.

Yeah, I can absolutely see that ‘District of Columbia’ argument in my head :D You’d assume people at least know that one considering how much important stuff happens there. I’d understand if someone not from the US didn’t know. But Americans really should.

Well I’d certainly hope the people in the military get properly trained. You’d hate to confuse Austria and Australia or Georgia (state) and Georgia (country) if you ever needed to bomb or invade either one of them :D

I always knew Americans in general were bad with global geography… but to not even know their own states? That sounds insane.

Heck, in our Dutch schools, we actually learn all the states in the United States. I definitely know New Mexico is a state. Same as Alaska and Hawaii (but not Puerto Rico, which is a territory but not a state)

How am I better at this than actual Americans? That should not be a thing.

Non negotiable sounds fine with me. Because we don’t negotiate with terrorists.

I’d like to give a heartfelt thank you to Microsoft management though, for furthering the cause of Linux adoption. We couldn’t have done it without you. 🙏

I’m definitely not going to be forced to Windows 11. I’ll probably install Linux on my now three year old PC until it falls apart and I need a new one. Or I might just go back to Mac, which I used exclusively for 7 years in the 2010’s.

If Microsoft thinks they can intimidate or push me to 11, they’re sorely mistaken.

They’re not. I got one last week, the one about ‘buy a new computer with Windows 11’. And I’m in the Netherlands.

It’s a shame they’re inherently dangerous, hence why they aren’t used anymore. They have a high risk of spreading infection when blood/fluid ricochets back into the device while administering a dose. Thus contaminating the next one to be administered. Basically, the risk isn’t worth the convenience.

I still think they’re pretty cool. They’re the real life inspiration for Star Trek’s hypospray. Many people would love a device like this since fear of needles is quite common.

One colleague of mine has a huge fear of needles. She basically had to be held down by four people while getting her covid shot. It was necessary, she consented to the manhandling… but a device like this would’ve made it a lot less stressful for her to get the shot.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink.

Many people are too uninformed to understand why RCV benefits them. Others understand that it’s liable to upset the status quo that they like. Between ignorance and malice, it’s not surprising that RCV is a difficult sell.