I think we are in agreement on almost everything here.

The middle class can do nothing in the face of a regional offensive by Islamist warlords. When it gets to that point it’s already too late.

My argument is in agreement with what you have said: a strong middle class is a bulwark against the formation and expansion of warlords.

As for the second issue, I fear my words were unclear here- when I referred to “two decades-long invasions” I was speaking of two separate invasions, each decades long. Namely the Soviet invasion in 1979 and the American invasion in 2001. The 2001 invasion was brutal and unjustified, but we can agree it was not the root cause of Afghanistan’s problems.

One issue we may find disagreement on is the attempts at creating a firm national government. I am not aware of any serious attempts at such a thing since the 70s. Each government has been either a puppet government set up to suit foreign interests, or a reactionary warlord. It may be true that the peculiar circumstances of Afghanistan prevent it from having a firm national government, but that hypothesis goes untested in the face of overwhelming foreign meddling.

Yes not everything is down to ecominics, the bombs and bullets are probably a more significant factor. Being unable to feed your family is bad, burying your family is worse.

And yes, the middle class Afghanis can’t put up a fight for many reasons, one of which is that they largely stopped existing. The moment they are locked out of their personal and business savings, they become poor desperate Afghanis.

Can you explain your disagreement or argument? I dont understand what you are getting at, and “elaborate on pre-2001 afghanistan” is a very broad topic.

Or maybe the two decades-long invasions did extreme damage and brought insane brutality to a poor population?

When America was in control, we set up a strong central bank system to help stabilize the country. Afghans filled the bank with their savings, these funds were outside of the control of the Taliban. The middle class, the opposition to the Taliban, were growing. Then as the US left, we looted every penny. Overnight thousands were bankrupted, leading to economic depression and a huge gain for the Taliban.

Civilization actively rejects Afghanistan.

Yea it is ironic that the decendants of Holocaust survivors would go on to commit a genocide of their own

He died for his own cause, I am only trying to amplify and honor his message.

I will take advantage of his death to spread understanding, empathy, and a hopeful end to the genocide.

He tried to die for a purpose, why are you so intent on stripping his death of that purpose? You are the one who dishonors the dead.

The war against nazism wasnt just fought on the battlefield, it was also fought on the cultural front.

edit: and even more importantly, the economic front as well.

I think Matt Nelson is a hero. His death was not one of fear and loneliness. It was the ultimate act of empathy, compassion, and humanity.

I’m going to celebrate his heroic deed, and I encourage everyone to do the same.

Israel is an ultranationalist power which has lost its democracy and is now waging an offensive war for the purposes of territorial gain and ethnic cleansing.

In a word, they are Nazis.

Ask yourself: how did we eradicate the Nazi scourge? Then do that.

It’s not about the production cost, its about the opportunity cost.

A quick google search tells me a national ad costs $200k-$1m for a 30s slot. That means 5 seconds of screen time costs $30k-$150k.

I dont have an alternate source. I think the bot should be banned.

Because the source of its output is rightwing garbage, and the bot spams every post here.

The bot has no opinion, but its owners have an agenda.

Wow, the stupid bot thinks NBC news is left center too? Ridiculous.

Why even post if you’re going to add no information?

Worthless bot should be banned.

I think you’re splitting hairs here.

The difference between “aiding and abetting” and “comitting” are vanishingly small. Both crimes deserve the most severe condemnation, both crimes deserve the most severe punishment.

Perhaps this is the crux of our disagreement, because I think it is obvious that IBM, Dow, et al. should have been prosecuted for their role in the holocaust.

Our modern would would be much better off if these evil companies had faced justice, instead of allowing them to normalize their inhumanity.

Sadly our ancestors did not eradicate fascism, they just postponed it. We should learn from their weakness and their mistakes as we wage our modern fight against fascism.

"Man I really wish Steve would stop doing that!

Anyway, here you go Steve I loaded a few more magazines for you, try not to hit innocents this time haha"

It is ghoulishly disingenuous to suggest that a nation making their 500th shipment of child-exploding munitions to a genocidal warlord is somehow less culpable.

Biden is like a negligent parent, letting his mentally disturbed 14-year-old have access to the family assault rifle. Maybe after the first shooting he could havd a credible defense. But by now Netanyahu is on his 2000th school shooting, and Biden is still providing weapons.

Biden might as well be shooting those Palestinian children himself, the blood is on his hands.

This sounds good on paper but it’s hard to imagine implementing it in a meaningful way.

For example, the #1 polluter in the world is the US Dept of Defense. Their crimes against the environment are so devastating and numerous, future generations will never forgive us for allowing it. You’re telling me the ICC would issue ecocide arrest warrants for US generals, secretary of state, and commander in chief?

I wish it would happen, but unfortunately this will probably be applied just like other ICC actions: A cudgel for stronger nations to punish misbehaving weaker nations, while never applying the same justice to powerful nations who misbehave.

When I started dealing drugs, I did it because my friends and I were smoking trash weed and we wanted to secure a good supply of quality product. It worked out well. My car was clean. I didn’t sell much.

A few years later when I turned 23 I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. My life fell apart, I was bedridden, I went through a medical bankruptcy. That is when I began to deal drugs to survive. For a few years I paid my bills by selling weed, ecstasy, adderall, mushrooms, acid from the bed where I spent 95% of my time. My car was dirty.

Was I just a regular person? I dont know