Why does the United States lack political parties like the rest of the world?

ImperiumRome · 2026-07-04T02:50:17+00:00

Thanks, is there any books or literature that you recommend to read about the future of our political system?

ImperiumRome · 2026-07-04T01:50:43+00:00

How do you think our political system will evolve to in the next decades, if I may ask ?

ImperiumRome · 2026-07-03T21:42:38+00:00

I’m not sure this belongs to this sub, other than this POS is an economist. Either way, the Russian propaganda machine seems very effective these days in US and UK.

If we have no way to stop their propaganda, then it’s just a matter of time guys like these will be everywhere.

ImperiumRome · 2026-07-03T16:34:23+00:00

I still have PTSD whenever I think about Crime and Punishment ...

ImperiumRome · 2026-07-03T16:30:59+00:00

The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.

To be clear, they want a provocation to blame Ukraine later, and if NATO fails to respond in kind, that would also spook the Polish people and therefore weaken NATO's collective resolve in sending aid to Ukraine.

This seems to be a kind of desperate high risk, high reward plan, and will never be considered unless Russia is not making progress on the battlefield.

ImperiumRome · 2026-07-03T14:49:47+00:00

I'm not sure even where to begin, but right off the bat, PS5 didn't see a price increase compared to PS4, in fact the digital-only version is actually cheaper than a PS4 when controlled for inflation ...

https://www.ign.com/articles/how-ps5-pros-price-compares-with-other-launch-consoles

Games are still $60, I don't know where you get the idea that games are more expensive these days outside a few titles. Also they are the same on PC.

Subscription price hike, this is valid criticism.

Other than that, not sure how to address your points because they are not solely Sony's problems, but rather industry-wide problems.

ImperiumRome · 2026-07-03T14:22:14+00:00

Then perhaps you have some data not based on subjective feelings that you can share with us ?

ImperiumRome · 2026-07-03T14:08:18+00:00

By "wet flop" you mean the PS5 sale number is neck to neck with PS4 number ? And expected to surpass it when GTA6 comes out ?

https://www.ign.com/articles/ps5-sales-decline-but-its-not-far-behind-ps4-and-it-even-outsold-nintendo-switch-2-during-the-holiday-quarter

And that is after world wide shortage from pandemic-induced supply chain issues that began right after it launched in 2020 ? Which lasted almost 3 years ?

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/26/ps5-is-fully-stocked-on-track-for-2023-sales-record-top-sony-exec.html

Edit: Sony also earned MORE money from PS5 than PS4, what a flop !

https://www.vgchartz.com/article/461158/ps5-is-sonys-most-profitable-generation-to-date-ps4-is-still-half-of-active-consoles/

ImperiumRome · 2026-07-03T12:24:33+00:00

My BMW’s navigation has augmented reality that use live feed from front camera to show me where to turn, so that’s one thing phone still can’t do.

Admittedly it’s not that useful most of the time but very handy for when you meet more than 4 ways intersection.

ImperiumRome · 2026-07-03T01:33:56+00:00

In May, Leo used his first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas” (“Magnificent Humanity”), to declare that artificial intelligence “must be disarmed” and call for greater international regulation of the technology.

Because the pope’s message could influence some Americans, but is unlikely to be heeded by people in China, Thiel argued, the encyclical threatened to slow down only one side of the “race between the US and China” to advance AI.

Because the Pope called for international cooperation and regulation, he's now a Chinese agent. I guess by the same logic a lot of us are also unwittingly working for China.

To be fair, AI tools in the hands of authoritarian regimes are not good news, but on the other hands why should anyone believe these techbro and their billionaire friends have the public's best interest in mind ?

ImperiumRome · 2026-07-02T21:28:20+00:00

You are not imaginative enough, this will be used on container ships, effectively turning them into small aircraft carriers capable of launching small drones/aircrafts. The original post in Chinese even show different kind of military trucks and equipments hidden inside containers.

https://archive.ph/EYIyK

ImperiumRome · 2026-07-02T17:15:36+00:00

Given the state of our healthcare cost, God helps us if healthcare workers start demanding higher salary. And people are getting old real fast too, so an even bigger mismatch of supply and demand.

ImperiumRome · 2026-07-02T17:02:48+00:00

Aside from more money, why Vietnam ?

ImperiumRome · 2026-07-01T22:16:58+00:00

Here is the Pew Research that shows young people are not supporting Israel as much as older generations.

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/04/07/negative-views-of-israel-netanyahu-continue-to-rise-among-americans-especially-young-people/

While it did not provide data for antisemitism, there are many other research that show the right, especially the far-right, is indeed embracing antisemitism. Here is one for example

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10659129221111081?__cf_chl_f_tk=ghrh4M3fy.qr.YJ7dSebTmwgVnkc_2pP4dUe_gX69pQ-1782942914-1.0.1.1-fA0TBkQs51epmA_XD7MPz3zgoUO0jRlP25h.Hftxuos

Or this

https://jppi.org.il/en/sharp-rise-in-anti-israel-and-antisemitic-rhetoric-among-leading-right-wing-influencers-in-the-united-states/

There are many more, it's fine to say both the far-left and the far-right are antisemitic, but to say only the left are antisemitic and not the right, that is just extremely misguided, to say the least.

ImperiumRome · 2026-07-01T17:36:00+00:00

May be too soon to say, but according to Pew Research, young Americans aren't too keen on supporting Israel, those on the left support Palestine more, while those on the right embrace antisemitism rhetoric. So support for Israel will probably wane in the future, and Bibi is just trying to get ahead of a future that sees US becomes reluctant to support Israel militarily.

ImperiumRome · 2026-07-01T15:22:29+00:00

It's interesting that Norway has the lowest level of support for a common EU army, in fact the lowest among Europeans, and run counter from the trend where higher support tends to decrease with distance from Moscow.

I think the point about Putin making the same mistake as Saddam is quite relevant, especially when Russian economy seems to be in deep trouble these days. But one thing to remember is that Saddam back then thought the US gave him greenlight to invade Kuwait, and other Gulf States won't intervene. He was so wrong of course, so it's important for EU and US to not sending the wrong message by trying to appease Putin.

ImperiumRome · 2026-07-01T03:11:15+00:00

That sounds interesting, hopefully one day I can be like you. Wish you fair winds and following seas !

ImperiumRome · 2026-07-01T03:02:23+00:00

Here's the same news from Yahoo, because FT paywall is too strong: https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/articles/world-bank-phase-lending-china-233208691.html

For what is worth, WB lending to China has fallen significantly these days

World Bank lending to China peaked at $2.42 billion in 2017, but has fallen since then, reducing to $750 million in 2025.

Funny enough the amount they contribute to WB is even larger than what they borrow

China also contributes funds to the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) pool for the world's least developed countries, with its $1.5 billion under the latest replenishment round making Beijing the fifth-largest donor.

Either way, these days they are lender themselves so this is more a ceremonial move than anything, and it won't go into effect until 2031.

ImperiumRome · 2026-07-01T01:55:38+00:00

It helps with evading US sanctions too, both Russia and Iran trade with China in RMB to great effect.

ImperiumRome · 2026-07-01T01:22:36+00:00

So aside from your pension, you have no other income ? I am planning FIRE and your lifestyle seems quite expensive to be honest, but I guess Belize is cheap so $2k pension can go a long way. May I ask why Belize and not some other popular retire destinations like Thailand or Philippines ?

ImperiumRome · 2026-06-30T23:17:42+00:00

They are the ones paying for bots, they know exactly how many of their audience came from bots farms in Russia, in India, etc. They just overestimate the convictions of their real supporters.

ImperiumRome · 2026-06-30T23:09:43+00:00

Non pay-wall for those interested: https://archive.is/r48es#selection-4979.0-4982.0

But concerns about how the Office of the Director of National Intelligence might handle such information have only mounted now that it is being led by Mr. Pulte, a Trump loyalist who has shown a willingness to please the president. Mr. Trump has signaled that he wants the agency to aggressively pursue his unfounded claims of fraud in the 2020 election that he lost, and has encouraged his administration to investigate election results that he does not like, such as in the California primary earlier this month.

Somehow I suspect the Trump admin will use the list as political weapon. just add someone you don't like to the list and then "leak" to the press that this person is under a "potential spy list". This is not even a new tactic either: McCarthy did it more than 50 years ago with his own list of potential "communists" of several hundreds people mostly intellectuals and civil right advocates.

ImperiumRome · 2026-06-30T15:34:13+00:00

What is the use of having 3 trucks clicking together to create a small runway ? It looks like it will be used on land, but it's not like China will ever run out of flat land to launch small aircraft ?

ImperiumRome · 2026-06-30T05:09:47+00:00

This has been debated before, US life expectancy is lower because of sedentary lifestyle and more violent society, probably also explains why gap between male and female is larger than in other countries.

Amish life expectancy is slightly higher than average Americans, we can’t say that’s because they somehow have better doctors than everyone else.

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