You’re goddamn right he did. But he wouldn’t have relaxed parking fines for goddamn petrol hogs. 😄 Stalin was a big-picture guy.

The really funny part is when they say Russia is still communist. Blue MAGA.

Heh. Well, that’s one way they’re better than Stalin. No way his Russia would have relaxed the rules like that.

Because we all know why Iran is doing it. They’re a brutal theocracy ruling by fear, so killing even children to maintain power is normal and expected.

That probably applies to Israel at this point, too, but they are more of a conquering colonial power, which is slightly different.

The USA? It’s unclear. Killing Iranian children is very counter-productive for their interests.

Yep, and can you blame her? Trump’s evil hasn’t been a secret since the grab em by the pussy tape, and he still got elected twice. Might as well cash in. Good for her.

Muslims in all the countries around Turkiye shout louder about US persecution. That’s the reality. China is good at suppressing the shouts of their own ethnic minorities. The sad reality is that propaganda works.

You did not look it up, did you? We’re talking about today. Which country is worse for the world today?

If you want to bring up Mao, I could bring up Kissinger and Nixon’s bombings of Laos, or the obliteration of the cities in the Korean War, or the United Fruit Company.

See, I did not even mention South America in my question about the last fifty years. Look at the numbers, honestly compare. There have been millions of deaths in the Middle East from the US wars there. Sanctions have killed millions more. You have to realise that this actually happened if you want to honestly understand why people might see the US on the same level as China. It did not start with Trump.

I do acknowledge Mao’s killings, the killings of intellectuals and landlords and ethnic minorities who refused to submit, and dissidents who died in camps, and pregnant women given forced abortions, and gay people imprisoned for deviancy.

However, that was not the point of this discussion. The point is that things have changed.

The US is seen as the monster now, because it is more dangerous to other countries than China.

Also, China’s repression has slowed down a lot, so the increasing repression in the USA is alarming everyone who used to see the US as a reliable if warlike friend.

I dunno, if your AIDS drugs get suddenly cut off, you might have a bit of resentment.

Lot of Muslims in Turkiye who do not like US policies in the ME. However, it’s also that they have good economic relationships with China because of geographic proximity.

Australia has great trade with China, and we recently ended a trade war with them to great mutual satisfaction, so that’s why our opinion of China is better than our opinion of the US even though they’re our biggest military ally.

How many millions died in the Middle East because of the US in the last fifty years? And how many Falun Gong and Uighurs and Tibetans died because of China in the same time?

Compare those numbers, mate. You may be surprised.

Then you live in America. I do not, and buddy, we do not like your government.

Ah. Very informative. Telling. Hmmm.

You think men like dying more than women? What’s that based on?

Wrong. Women are better at withstanding g-forces without passing out.

This is actually a real statistic, mate. It’s happened relatively recently. The reasons for it are not yet entirely clear. Women are indeed outperforming men in the education system.

It is very important that we do not in any way ask them how they feel.

Magnesium’s fine, I’ve licked it. Held some magnesium tape in my mouth once while mixing the thermite.

It’s way older than the internet, mate. You’re pretty much doomed to hear it at this point.

Don’t worry, I have a friend exactly like m… I mean that, and I liked it. The bleakness is off putting to many people.

Oh yeah, it’s massive overkill for the conventional grid. It’s just one of the things I see people say when trying to get people to accept that battery banks can make a renewable-only grid viable here in Australia.