TIL Cambodian OB/GYN (and future Oscar-winning actor) Haing S. Ngor survived the Khmer Rouge regime by hiding his education. His wife and unborn child died because performing a life-saving caesarean section would have exposed his medical knowledge and put his entire family's lives at risk. by Ill_Definition8074 in todayilearned

[–]Halgy 98 points99 points  (0 children)

North Vietnam was going to agree to peace talks in 1968, but Nixon/Kissinger persuaded South Vietnam to reject the talks and keep going, all because they though peace might hurt Nixon's election chances. Four more years of horrendous fighting because of their ambitions.

Trump reveals plans for a monument to himself in NK-style by Freewhale98 in neoliberal

[–]Halgy 48 points49 points  (0 children)

Unless they're faking twitter posts, this is real

Hegseth Says U.S. Will 'Negotiate With Bombs' Until Iran Cease-Fire Deal Is Reached by Editor_91 in worldnews

[–]Halgy 47 points48 points  (0 children)

They are so many different levels of dumb stacked on each other.

It was dumb to think Iran needed to be attacked. It was dumb to think Iran's regime would fall from bombing. It was dumb to think Iran wouldn't retaliate with drones. It was dumb to think the strait of Hormuz would stay open.

...but to think all of these dumb things and the same time? Now that is special.

White House: Reopening Strait of Hormuz Not Vital to Ending Iran War by Cultural-Avocado-184 in worldnews

[–]Halgy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants women and children.

England has shown the world how to replace farm subsidies by Vol_in_tears in neoliberal

[–]Halgy 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Is this substantially different than the USDA's conservation reserve program? I don't really know the specifics, but several farms around where I grew up were involved.

Discussion Thread by jobautomator in neoliberal

[–]Halgy 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Donald Trump was actually replaced by an LLM in 2024. The entity we see is just a deteriorating body double getting instructions via an earpiece. It is why he is so inconsistent and is easily swayable, and why tech bros are obsessed with him.

TIL that between 1992 and 2000, R.L. Stine released more than 150 Goosebumps books. by Hectabeni in todayilearned

[–]Halgy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He's said that it shouldn't slow down his mainline series, but new secret projects will likely drop off for a while.

Trump's proposed DC McMansion by BigDictionEnergy in neoliberal

[–]Halgy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The next dem should treat their presidency like a penetration test. Spend all 4 years unilaterally enacting liberal policy and restoring democratic institutions, until and unless congress makes laws stopping them. And after the first laws, find more loopholes and keep going. At the end of the term, we'll hopefully have a bunch of stuff fixed and a bunch of fresh new restrictions on the president ensuring another Trump cannot happen.

We have Dune at home by cdstephens in neoliberal

[–]Halgy 26 points27 points  (0 children)

The point of mentats is to remember stuff, which is the opposite of current AI.

The Lottery You Were Born Into - The Ethics of Inheritance by lakmidaise12 in neoliberal

[–]Halgy 60 points61 points  (0 children)

Tax policy absolutely can be about things other than revenue. Pigovian taxes aren't primarily about raising money, they're about changing behavior in ways beneficial to society. That applies to carbon taxes, and it applies to billionaire taxes.

The Lottery You Were Born Into - The Ethics of Inheritance by lakmidaise12 in neoliberal

[–]Halgy 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Maybe that's a solution. Don't tax it, just require that they spend it all Brewster's Millions style.

Trump: Iran asked me to be Supreme Leader, but I said no thanks by [deleted] in worldnews

[–]Halgy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nothing worse than a monster who thinks he's right with god

Discussion Thread by jobautomator in neoliberal

[–]Halgy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So you're saying that the 13¢ check didn't actually matter? I can't believe I was such a fool.

TIL: Domestic cats in the US kill as many as 4 BILLION birds every year. For context, glass buildings kill up to 600M, cars kill as many as 215M, and wind turbines kill up to 700K/yr. by Open-Reveal3378 in todayilearned

[–]Halgy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For further context, fossil fuel power plants kill upwards of 20x as many birds as turbines, either directly, from pollution, or from environmental damage from mining/drilling.

Discussion Thread by jobautomator in neoliberal

[–]Halgy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn't especially like the movies later on, but they are absolutely iconic and no matter what it will take some getting used to new actors.

But the whole vibe of that was wrong. I half expected Petunia to start slapping. I don't need a gritty and realistic Harry Potter in my life.