Greenleaf

Greenleaf, 4 days ago

Multiple outlets reporting (I’m reading the Al-Jazeera live feed) and a spokesperson for the UN secretary-general has confirmed that Israel attacked a UN-marked vehicle on the way to the European Hospital in Gaza as a part of their duties. One UN staffer was killed and another injured.

I am 1,000% sure this is was intentional and retaliation for the UN vote last week. Death to “israel”.

Greenleaf, 4 days ago

Not to mention, notice how steeply the plane is already banking to the left. Going left would almost certainly be safer since that’s where the plane is already heading.

Greenleaf, 8 days ago

Sincere answer:

Jesus was likely an apocalyptic preacher who was crucified by the Romans but developed a following in the course of his ministry. Shortly after his death (and maybe just before), his followers saw him as a man who had the “divine” about him, like a messenger from God. Eventually, his followers started treating him like he was still a man but who was adopted by God as his son. Then eventually (maybe early 2nd century?) you eventually had this notion of Jesus as actually God. They started with a man and kept heaping glory on him until they made him God.

So over the decades, you have all these contradictory texts about Jesus’ divine versus human nature. When you get to the 3rd and 4th centuries, eventually church leaders wanted to create one harmonized view of who Jesus was. But the the problem is your sacred texts all describe him in contradictory and mutually exclusive terms.

So that did they do? They came up with the doctrine of the trinity to try and address all these contradictory views into one doctrine. But the trinity fundamentally does not make sense because it tries to take these contradictory views and mash them into a whole.

A good book if you want to know more is Bart Ehrman’s How Jesus Became God.

Greenleaf, 11 days ago

Yes. For years now, when I’ve engaged with libs on the topic of free speech (usually w/r/t China), I point out that the amount of free speech the people of a country have is directly related to how much of a threat that speech is perceived to be by ruling powers. China has relatively free speech but it’s still a socialist country living in a capitalist world that wants it dead, so it’s not totally unfettered.

Libs love to tout about how Americans have totally free speech (debatable, but still). But up until recently, free speech hasn’t been a threat to power in the US. So sure, let the peasants have free speech, it won’t actually change anything.

Well now it seems that the ruling class do perceive a threat. They thought they could control speech in the internet age by making sure the biggest social media outlets are firmly under their thumb. They have Facebook, Google, and Twitter. But TikTok changed the game. The fact that it’s from China is a happy coincidence for them - if it was instead from a vassal state or some relatively powerless state outside their orbit, they would have muscled their way in.

Not being able to control the narrative is a threat, so that speech needs to be restricted.

Greenleaf, 16 days ago

Oh no, the same political body that enthusiastically supported the genocide of an entire continent, allowed wholesale theft of indigenous lands, legalized ownership and enslavement of human beings, persecuted people of my same political persuasion, and authorized and pursued wars that killed millions for no reason other than profits…. dares to label my criticism of a racist, genocidal apartheid state antisemitic?! Oh no, whatever will I do.

I guess on the plus side, I don’t know anyone under 45 - regardless of ideology - who thinks speaking out against Israel is anything close to antisemitism, so all this does is further delegitimize the US government in the eyes of young people, so that’s good.

Greenleaf, 16 days ago

I’ve been a fan of their music for a long time but I’d look a little closer into Yauch’s views on Tibet and China. Whatever, they’re all decent radlibs for the most part I guess.

Greenleaf, 16 days ago

Remember, when the campus protests first entered the news cycle, it was all about how Zionist students felt unsafe even though no one had actually been harmed in any way?

Greenleaf, 16 days ago

It’s like if Indigenous Peoples Day was the original holiday, then the US government decided “nah, we’re making it Columbus Day now”.

Greenleaf, 18 days ago

dorner

Greenleaf, 22 days ago

This might be sincere, but as someone who worked in M&A in a past life, it’s pretty standard to say “I’m not interested in selling” to bluff the price up a bit.

Greenleaf, 24 days ago

Any app that the US government can’t control will be treated this way. That means any app developed outside of the US or its vassals that gets popular enough among Americans. It’s how the US implements its own soft “Great Firewall”.

Greenleaf, 24 days ago

I don’t mind the flowery PR so long as behind the scenes, China is not naive regarding the US. They are dealing with an injured, cornered wolf in the US and sometimes it feels like China sees the US more like a little Golden Retriever.

Greenleaf, 24 days ago

They simply can’t comprehend anyone not thinking western domination is a good thing.

Greenleaf, 23 days ago

A minor criticism, but it seems the CPC views the CPUSA as the legitimate party of communism in the US :/

Greenleaf, 23 days ago

I hope they refuse but honestly, just making TikTok difficult to access will be enough to kill it over time in the US. Maybe half the current users won’t even bother, and the rate new users will be coming in will slow down too because a lot of people who would have just downloaded TikTok with the push of a button won’t go through the hassle. And these social media apps need a constant inflow of new users.

Greenleaf, 27 days ago

Pretty similar to what US corporations do to shed pension liabilities…

Greenleaf, 29 days ago

It’s worth remembering that you can read all about the horrors the IOF has inflicted on Gaza; or see photos and videos of Palestinian children suffering in ways that will haunt you for the rest of your life… and you can know that the US military did all that and more many times over to the people of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

Greenleaf, 26 days ago

“Cannibalism” is a topic that has been well-studied in anthropology. And what anthropologists will tell you is - that while it’s not like cannibalism has never existed anywhere - that it’s largely been a vehicle/excuse for white supremacy for colonialism and wiping out entire people groups.