@interfluidity I don't think of it in terms of that. Rather, since the Gaza Disengagement, there has been a fantasy among Israelis that Hamas could build Gaza to be like Singapore (and not, say, like Jordan) but constantly chose violence instead. Zero clue about what made Singapore tick, just amplification of the attitude that everything bad that happens to Palestinians is the Palestinians' own fault.
@interfluidity Of course, the standard anti-Zionist and pan-Arab line engages in a similar fantasy that Palestine (or a pan-Arab state) would be a fully developed country if Israel were destroyed and the Jews sidelined, rather than, again, a middle-income country with the same social problems as Egypt or Jordan (or Lebanon).
@interfluidity The parts of the quoted article talking about the Dominican Republic's growth are really interesting too - and as always for me, there's an infrastructure angle, in that Santo Domingo got the idea of building a subway from New York, but then didn't outsource planning to American consultants, and instead built it its own way at some of the lowest costs per km in the world.
“the monopolist is like a politician who wins power – whether through greatness or by deceit – and then gerrymanders their district so that they can do anything and gain re-election. Even the noblest politician, shorn of accountability, will be hard pressed to avoid yielding to temptation.” @pluralistichttps://pluralistic.net/2024/05/18/market-discipline/
@admitsWrongIfProven@fraying@Nerdfest good point. though it is an eternal mystery that Tesla, Starlink, SpaceX exist and have sometimes done remarkable things, much as I don't like to credit their founder and under his influence they sometimes do awful things.
@interfluidity@Nerdfest he’s not a founder. He’s just a rich asshole who occasionally hired good people who tolerated him long enough to launch something.
@ivory i write a reply to someone. while i write, they delete their post.
i can’t send the reply to a deleted post. great. my reply is in my drafts. i want to rework it to a topline post. every time i bring it up, i get a modal dialog. “Can’t reply. The post has been deleted.” I hit okay, and the draft is dismissed. There’s no way even to copy the text before it’s gone.
issues with drafts have been much biggest frustration with your otherwise excellent client. (drafts have also disappeared.)
who elected sam altman? who elected elon musk? who elected george soros? who elected charles koch? who elected robert mercer? jeff bezos? mackenzie scott? michael bloomberg? melinda gates? bill gates? dick uihlein? mark zuckerberg? peter thiel? howard schultz? who do we vote for to throw the bums out?