I am sympathetic and agree that Islamic extremism is too readily taken to represent Islam broadly. However the argument that this is more “cultural” than “religious” doesn’t quite work for Afghanistan because it is actually a true theocracy where the clergy govern and hold ultimate political power. So there’s no “non-religion” entity that’s merely using religion. In this case, government policy and religious dictates are one and the same.

I wouldn’t say the religion in question is quite the same religion practiced by most other Muslims, more an extreme denomination

What info did he give her? I’ve been trying to find this info

Yes, the supreme leader of Iran stated he was opposed to developing nuclear weapons in 2003. The supreme leader then did not proceed to authorize two decades of an Iranian nuclear weapons program, a nuclear weapons program the West has not been negotiating about with Iran under his supreme leadership, a nuclear weapons program which was not bombed out last year, because of course it didn’t exist. /Sarcasm

People who cannot discern context or degrees of wrong are no better than ICE agents. Love you

So if socialism is bad because it’s in the name of Nazis, then democratic republics for the people must be pretty horrible too, going by the DPRK.

While we’re cherry-picking, the Kingdom of Norway is consistently one of the best countries to live in across several metrics. So clearly we should go back to kingdoms, because it’s in the name. Sometimes the old ways are best XD

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If you’re out of the loop, I found this article fairly helpful for a primer on the issues. It’s CNN, but I can’t be arsed to find a more kosher source.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/25/us/tea-app-dating-privacy-cec

That’s… What an AI generated review is.

If budget is the top of your list, EVs currently have high depreciation. You can easily find 2-year old EVs with low mileage for 50% off MSRP.

I didn’t say it’s the same system, there are several different ways and degrees in which modern slavery exists. Trapping and exploiting migrant/seasonal workers is another popular one. Modern slavery exists from the US to Brazil, China/central Asia, Russia, Türkiye, even in parts of western Europe you’ll find it in smaller or less obvious amounts.

https://www.walkfree.org/global-slavery-index/

https://www.antislavery.org/slavery-today/modern-slavery/

Well, the US did have the slate truck coming up for really barebones options… But tariffs ruined that for now. Some of the lower budget Korean EVs have limited/optional connectivity.

There is plenty of modern slave labor and exploitation going around. No major manufacutring nation is innocent.

Yes, their energy requirements have also skyrocketed in the last 20 years. However if you look at their energy mix, in 2010 their energy mix was around 70% from coal, and today it’s around 50% of their totally energy mix.

The Last Jedi and and Rise of Skywalker came out during Trump’s first term, UK had triggered article 50, natural disasters, North Korea was ramping up nuclear testing, a new age of fake news was taking shape, trade war, rise of Hindu nationalism… you know what you’re right, I do miss those times compared to now… But you know maybe this is the second act when things are most dire before… Well depends on the story arc 😅

The estimate is 130-140 aircraft existed in the entire fleet, so sounds like the former.

It’s less that it’s bad for her and more that it’s another way the US is dismantling their own soft power. There are long term advantages to having the rich and powerful from around the world get their upper education in your universities.

Nononono the solution isn’t for him to write that novel, it’s for him to write “The First Algorithm”.

Andy Weir found his genre niche and stuck to it. And within that genre niche, I find he’s a competent writer, both technically and I’d say artistically, with strengths and weaknesses. The combination has made his works genuinely enjoyable for me. Ernest Cline, while admittedly not for me, doesn’t seem to be in the same league.

No, I mean if we’re talking about comparing US and Chinese consumer chips on most phone activities in 2025, you aren’t likely to notice a major difference.

If you want to compare mobile camera systems, that’s a separate comparison. I like Google camera software/processing a lot, but Chinese companies have been innovating tremendously with their mobile camera stacks. I’m way more interested in the Huawei 14/15 ultra offerings for example.

Yeah this view is pretty dated. Like it or not, China has caught up and started leading in several industries over the last 10 years. They have the capacity, skills, and domestic demand for competitive high quality products. Their domestic chip from SIMV is only a few years behind at “5nm” which was the 2021 standard. I’m still playing modern games on a 8 year old i7. Most consumers who use their phones for social media probably wouldn’t notice much difference between a 2021 phone vs 2025 phone besides a better camera and software.