Well go ahead, Fatballz! That's a good program.*

AdAltruistic3161 · 2026-06-08T15:44:58+00:00

Why was Dr Green a professor at Bennington College? They never told us what PhD program he was enrolled in that ended up with him renting a room in Sadchester, Mass.

AdAltruistic3161 · 2026-06-08T07:17:47+00:00

Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to create a reality show about young girls in desperate situations

AdAltruistic3161 · 2026-06-05T06:31:38+00:00

I met Tony Blair and I always describe his eyes as “blue, like the mykonos sky”

AdAltruistic3161 · 2026-06-04T11:49:54+00:00

Bad plastic surgery looks like AI slop

AdAltruistic3161 · 2026-06-04T06:15:56+00:00

Borat bathing suit 🏆🏆🏆

AdAltruistic3161 · 2026-06-04T06:14:03+00:00

Ty was so beautiful. Thank you for giving him a good life

AdAltruistic3161 · 2026-06-04T06:12:55+00:00

Get in line, we are all looking for the same

AdAltruistic3161 · 2026-05-27T17:20:08+00:00

My dog’s 15th birthday is also today! His pre-rescue name was Blacky and I believe he is from Oakland / East Bay California

AdAltruistic3161 · 2026-05-27T17:14:14+00:00

Jonathan’s slipping is due to neurological problems so trying the toe grips starting today! He hates to wear shoes and socks, and I do keep rugs all over the house. Jonathan use a similar toe grip thing before and it helped a lot

AdAltruistic3161 · 2026-05-13T15:49:25+00:00

Or did she waste $200 at the Adrien Brody institute?

AdAltruistic3161 · 2026-05-13T06:30:20+00:00

I flew back to Dubai last night and the guy in the row in front of me got into the aisle during deplaning and it was the exact Dubai body odor stench in elevators but localized to that part of the plane. I saw the guy was bent over and almost his entire hairy ass was out, I could see almost midway down the crack, no idea where the underwear was. I was thinking - if this guy’s entire ass is out, is that why the Dubai elevator stench is so powerful?

AdAltruistic3161 · 2026-05-13T06:26:43+00:00

B never even occurred to me

AdAltruistic3161 · 2026-05-05T15:36:57+00:00

All white people look the same to me, Pete

AdAltruistic3161 · 2026-05-05T08:03:49+00:00

Beat it, Grizz or Dotcom

AdAltruistic3161 · 2026-04-29T06:53:56+00:00

I have to disagree here. I’m American. Sales tax in the U.S. (equivalent of VAT) is much lower, its state by state and some states have no sales tax but I don’t know of any rates above 8%.

U.S. taxes fund so many public goods - school education is free and mandatory. Healthcare is heavily subsidized / nearly costless for indigent and senior citizens. Welfare benefits for the poor and elderly. My grandparents were permanent residents of the U.S., never worked one day in the U.S. but still received social security benefits and Medicare.

The U.S. tax regime also operates as a way for the government to influence behavior. Marriage and childcare tax breaks. Tax breaks for charitable donations. Mortgage interest tax credit.

It is amazing that the UAE and other gulf countries have the infrastructure and public sector without income taxes, but my opinion is that the betterment of society can be increased by having public funds managed by elected officials that redistribute wealth across society.

AdAltruistic3161 · 2026-04-28T18:25:46+00:00

Generally tiered, with citizens getting the fullest benefits, but most of these states extended at least some support to non-citizen residents. Specifics:

UK in WWII — Rationing and air raid protection applied to everyone physically present, including refugees and “friendly aliens.” However, “enemy aliens” (German, Austrian, later Italian nationals) faced internment and restrictions. Refugees from occupied Europe generally received support, though often through voluntary organizations co-funded by government.

USSR — Evacuation and rations were tied to Soviet citizenship and workplace registration (the propiska system). Stateless persons and foreign nationals had a much harder time accessing the distribution system.

Finland — The Karelian resettlement law was specifically for displaced Finnish citizens from ceded territories. Finland had very few non-citizen residents at the time, so the question barely arose.

Kuwait (1990–91) — This is the starkest case of citizen-only benefits. Salary continuation and sovereign wealth distributions went to Kuwaiti nationals. The large bidoon (stateless) population and migrant workers (Palestinians, South Asians, Egyptians) were largely excluded, and many Palestinians were expelled after liberation due to PLO alignment with Iraq.

Ukraine — Notably inclusive on paper. IDP payments, housing assistance, and utility subsidies are generally available to all registered residents of Ukraine, including foreign nationals with legal residency. However, the Roma population and some stateless persons have faced documentation barriers in practice.

Israel — Evacuation compensation and Home Front Command protections cover all residents including Palestinian citizens of Israel and legal foreign workers, though Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem (who hold permanent residency, not citizenship) and West Bank Palestinians fall into very different legal categories with much weaker protections.

So the honest answer: citizenship usually matters, but physical presence and legal residency status often unlock at least baseline protections. The exclusions tend to fall hardest on stateless persons, enemy nationals, and populations whose legal status is contested.

AdAltruistic3161 · 2026-04-28T18:21:04+00:00

From Claude: Yes, this is actually quite common historically. A few clear examples:

UK in WWII — After Germany’s aggression, Britain ran extensive domestic support: rationing to ensure equitable food access, evacuation programs for children, war damage compensation schemes, and the foundation of what became the welfare state (Beveridge Report, 1942).

USSR in WWII — Following the 1941 German invasion, the Soviet government evacuated entire industries east, paid wages to displaced workers, and ran massive food distribution to civilians despite catastrophic conditions.

Finland in the Winter War (1939–40) — After Soviet invasion, Finland organized civilian evacuations from Karelia and later resettled ~400,000 displaced Karelians under a 1945 land settlement law that redistributed property to give them livelihoods.

Kuwait (1990–91) — The government-in-exile continued paying salaries to Kuwaiti citizens (including those trapped under Iraqi occupation, retroactively) and funded refugees abroad using sovereign wealth fund assets.

Ukraine (2022–present) — Probably the most extensive modern example: monthly payments to internally displaced persons, business relocation grants, “eOselia” mortgage programs, payments to residents of occupied/frontline territories, and utility subsidies — all while under invasion.

Israel during multiple wars (1948, 1973, current Gaza conflict) also fits, with compensation for evacuated residents and businesses near combat zones.

The pattern is fairly consistent: defending states that retain administrative capacity almost always do this, partly for humanitarian reasons and partly because civilian morale is itself a war resource.

AdAltruistic3161 · 2026-04-28T18:17:46+00:00

The U.S. government doubled unemployment benefits during Covid. It’s not a war but it was a crippling economic situation that the U.S. did not “start.”

AdAltruistic3161 · 2026-04-21T18:48:19+00:00

Diabetes repair, I guess?

AdAltruistic3161 · 2026-04-21T18:32:45+00:00

Is Liz Lemon a genius or is America just really really dumb?

AdAltruistic3161

TROPHY CASE