circuitfarmer

Yes. Avenues exist. But money is corrupting.

I tried giving you an opportunity, but I’m going to block you now.

I really don’t even know what this means.

I wish the best for you.

Your problem is that you want to censor ideas you don’t like.

This is a natural result of media controlled by corporate interests. It’s also a misunderstanding of “free speech” – even when you are free to say what you will, it does not mean you are free from the consequences of that speech.

You want to control what other people think by dictating what they get to see and what they’re allowed to share with others.

Again, I suggest looking into how propaganda works. Letting everyone speak about anything (without vetting of topic, qualifications, or direction) has consequences. We are seeing those consequences now and will continue to see more as the propaganda machine runs wild on the back of “let everyone speak”.

Your view of this is overly simplistic and I am, in the most polite way, attempting to direct you to self improvement. It is a common issue at the moment across all discourse – probably vestigial of the information sharing capabilities now available.

It’s right there in the TOS! /s

I recommend you take strides to learn how propaganda works, most specifically the purpose of shifting opinion (i.e. the Overton Window): “I’m just asking questions” and “I’ll let anyone speak” are two of the most effective methods of propaganda. It does not need to be intentional on the part of the interviewer.

“Don’t Be Evil”

(I know this hasn’t been the Google motto in years – when it stopped was one of the biggest corporate red flags)

So many countries are experiencing the same thing right now. It’s rich vs poor all around the world.

Could the whole bullshit with Canada and Greenland from the US simply be diversion? All designed to take focus from rich vs poor.

So much winning!

No one wins a trade war. We all get to lose because of one loser (well, plus 70 million other losers).

Where will they get new MAGA hats?

Great wealth goes hand in hand with great corruption. People don’t earn a billion dollars. It has to be stolen, from many, at scale.

I’m not sure why any of this is surprising. The US was perfectly fine letting China manufacture all the things. That manufacturing know-how leads to design know-how. The desire by US corporations to keep wages low or eliminate US labor entirely to use outsourced manufacturing leads to this.

It isn’t just military hardware: it is products across entire industries. China is producing good ones, and even when they aren’t, they’re producing them at volumes the US could not dream of touching.

A visit to the Titanic wreck, perhaps?

…silly me. Musk has been on the Titanic for months.

It is fucking wild. One might say it sounds like entitlement. But surely a “self-made man” like Donald Trump knows nothing of entitlement… /s

What a great way to improve enrollment! Make it so half the population can’t hit the standard.

But of course. Democratic countries doing very well with policies far more socialist than would be politically expedient for the US? Can’t have that.

massively upset people in the synagogue

Nazi collaborator wearing swastika armband: “what? It’s my synagogue too.”

Hm, I may need to rewatch it myself. That also doesn’t match what the link above suggests about interpreting the ending: “Algren finds redemption through his newfound purpose and ultimately sacrifices his life for the cause he once opposed.”

Edit: I just checked the last scene. You’re right, he doesn’t actually die. Which means the link is also wrong.

Still, I think it’s a stretch to say he’s the last samurai, since he never really becomes a samurai. One important note is that samurai is “samurai” in the plural, too.

What did he save? Literally everyone but Meiji-backed forces dies at the end.

It is implied that Tom Cruise dies at the end. I think the confusion comes from a voice over, but you never see the character on screen again.

He also does not “become a samurai”. He fights alongside them, but at no point do they call him a samurai.

Edit: looks like that link is wrong. He doesn’t die at the end. I guess memory is a fickle beast.

The fun thing about The Last Samurai is that the title doesn’t refer to Tom Cruise. He does not play a samurai in the film. He plays an American officer.

He hangs with a group of samurai, who are collectively the last of their kind.

That said, plenty of people complained about it in its day.