Ye but like I said, here in the Netherlands, and I think across Europe people will automatically think of jews being sent to extermination camps like Auschwitz. Look at the dutch wikipedia page on deportation, the second paragraph explains that the term could technically be used to for instance describe migrants who are sent back to their country of origin, but it isn’t used to describe that, because the term is so very much associated with the Holocaust, and so a different term (uitzetten) is used to avoid this intensely negative association. So you’ll understand my confusion when the term directly linked to the worst crime against humanity is here suggested to have a positive connotation. And I don’t think the Jews had much of a chance to argue against their deportations.

Who will be the new Marinus van der Lubbe?

What maybe confuses me is that the word deportation to me already has an intensely negative ring to it. Here in the Netherlands, if we hear the word deportation, I think most people instantly think of the Nazi-regime. Therefor I see no need for any other word to show how it’s actually awful. But perhaps the situation in the US is different when it comes to what associations are stuck to these words.

Maybe it’s also something else, but it is nonetheless deportation too, and the definition she gives is not correct. Words have meanings and you can’t just pretend a different one to make a point.

School shootings kill some, but smartphones destroy entire generations.

I go to the movies once a week, but it’s more of an arthouse place, where you’re not bombarded at the entrance with sugary snacks and drinks. To give you an idea: I’ve never seen anyone eat popcorn there. I do go to restaurants but never to the likes of McDonalds and such, I imagine they would have these things? Perhaps they’re also not that common in Europe?

I’ve never seen either of these machines irl.

sure, it’s nice to do something about loneliness. Makes me think of human libraries, where you can borrow a human to have a talk with. But please, let’s do these things voluntarily and not for profit. There’s something nasty about “I’m only willing to speak to you if you pay me”.

I wish this was our problem. Of course, there should be no shame in living with your parents. But it should be out of free will, and here in the Netherlands sadly that isn’t the case for many. Our housing market simply doesn’t offer affordable housing options. For many young people the only option is a rental apartment that will cost you so much, that if you can afford it at all, you can forget about ever saving any money. Which means that you’ll effectively be stuck in this situation forever. Which is an option to consider, but meanwhile those who can afford to buy a house, because of rich parents or whatnot, they have a far better deal, often even paying less on a monthly basis, while at the same time their house increases in value. It’s a major dividing factor in our society, separating the rich from the poor. Of course staying home is another realistic option to consider, and more and more people make this choice, but only for lack of a better option. The real tragedy is of course when staying at home is also not a realistic option. A fucked-up housing market makes the vulnerable all the more vulnerable.

LibreOffice is forked long ago from the extremely corporate OpenOffice effort, which in turn originated from the non-open-source Star Office. Not all FOSS comes from enthusiasts.

That’s a fair point. I would also be very much in favor of governments subsidizing certain FOSS projects. There’s a lot of work to be done, and people certainly deserve to be paid for it too.

FOSS software will win eventually. It may take time, but if good FOSS software is being built by enthusiasts then a time will come where proprietary software fucks up. And when it does, FOSS is ready to take it’s place. And as soon as FOSS has become a standard in some field, why would there ever be a need to go back to proprietary?

I have no doubt in my mind that they do.

The question is, is it the fault of “evil Iran”. Or is it multiple parties fighting eachother, and they all share blame. Obviously Iran sides with the Shia minority in Yemen. What do you suggest they do, leave the entire Middle East to the US/Israel/Saudis? If the response here is “evil Iran”, then we’re missing the bigger picture. The Saudis, the US, Israel, Iran, everyone backs all sorts of groups wether it’s in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan or Yemen. The frame of Iran as an evil agrssor country and for instance Israel as an innocent victim is in fact, rather bizarre. And why do we NEVER talk about the Saudis? Perhaps because it happens to be our ally and we like their oil? Oh no but Iran is evil, so they are and always have to remain our enemy. They all share blame for the mess that’s been created in the Middle East. As long as the frame is “the enemy is evil” we’ll never find common ground, move beyond all these proxy wars. Of course Iran is also to blame, but Iran is also protecting legitimate Shia interests.

Exactly, also Houthi attacks on ships flared up when Israel started the Palestinian-genocide. Of course no party is innocent, but people always blaming Iran is rather bizarre.

I have not made a point of cars not serving a purpose in rural areas. If you say there are many rural areas in the US, then it is implied that I am not speaking of those areas. Cars are overused in densely populated areas where possibilities for public transit are immense, and cars are an extremely inefficient method of transport. Surely you’re not suggesting that there aren’t any densely populated areas in the US… And yes, of course there is some public transport already. But it’s far less than it could be and it needs proper investing. We’re not doing good on that front here in Europe, not good at all, but the US is hardly doing better. Efficient/collective solutions often seem to lose from individualistic options, despite the massive costs of the latter, and I find that a shame.

I think you need to somehow get money out of politics or these majorities will continue to be divided.

I’m not saying cars don’t serve a purpose in sparesely populated areas, like West Virginia. They do. But cars are overused in places where public transit would be a thousand times more efficient, like big cities. Also, trains are perfectly suitable to cover large distances. I happen to go on holiday to Italy next week and I do it solely by train. And Europe doesn’t even have good high speed raillines. Perhaps less so than the US, but Europe also neglects public transit in favor of the car lobby.

Sure in some rural places possibilities for public transit are limited. But in the US most people live in cities and they could very well have decent public transit, it’s a political choice to not invest in trains. .

Yup, Netherlands and public transport is pretty good here. As well as towns, including mine, are walkable/cyclable.

If it’s trying to get Tesla to go bankrupt, I highly doubt that will happen. And I also don’t really see what it achieves except for annoying Musk.

I hate Musk, Tesla, and cars in general. (I like trains). But I also dislike people who are wasteful, destroys things like everything is replaceable without any harm done. I also dislike people who are dishonest for their own benefit. This is not helping built a better future. It’s dishonest and destructive. Lose lose.