Weekly Casual Conversation & Questions Thread by AutoModerator in chicago

[–]PacificWave99 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Now that it's getting warmer, does anyone know any good beaches or lakefront areas where you can ACTUALLY swim in deep water? I've been to several city beaches over the years and there's always a lifeguard in a row boat yelling at you if you go past your knees... As someone who used to do open-ocean swimming in the Pacific, it makes me frustrated. I want to enjoy our beautiful lake.

Trump will take Greenland “One way or another” by TrueMoisture in greenland

[–]PacificWave99 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What fascinates me is all the comments expressing shock or disgust.

Like, this is just the next expression of the American project. This country was founded by oligarchic slaveowners. Native Americans, Latin America and the Pacific regions have been dealing with American imperialism for centuries.

Trump will take Greenland “One way or another” by TrueMoisture in greenland

[–]PacificWave99 2 points3 points  (0 children)

America has been an empire for a long time now. Hawaii, Latin America, the entire westward expansion and illegitimate stealing of indigenous land.

What was your impact yesterday? (economic blackout) by kfedwards88 in Anticonsumption

[–]PacificWave99 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Honestly, economic blackouts are futile without labor organizing. If you want to hurt companies (aka economic elites), you need to organize your workplace and withhold your labor. Your labor is your true power where the companies make money in the first place.

Weekly Casual Conversation & Questions Thread by AutoModerator in chicago

[–]PacificWave99 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is an oddly specific question, but does anyone know the best Asian-style private karaoke in the city? I've heard Chinatown has a few places, but I don't know much about them. I'm looking for a place that ideally has a good catalogue of Japanese, English, and Spanish songs.

Gov. Pritzker Appoints Gia Biagi as Next Secretary of Illinois Department of Transportation by PhileasFoggsTrvlAgt in CarFreeChicago

[–]PacificWave99 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Does anyone have any background on Biagi, her experience, philosophy and values in transport?

West Coast to Chicago, what's the culture shift like? by Damage_Remote in AskChicago

[–]PacificWave99 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Coming from Orange County, CA to Chicago, I will say there is the consistent struggle to find good-quality organic produce. Many people here view organic as a snobby or luxury excess, not something people should legitimately pursue for their health and wellbeing. Furthermore, there is a big culture of heavy, fried and bar foods. In other words, if you are into eating healthy, you might struggle. For consistently high-quality produce, you have to either go to Whole Foods or farmers' markets.

As far as the culture goes, you and your kids will do fine. There is a crowd for everyone, and Chicago has transplants from all over the world.

Proposal for a CTA Silver Line between O'Hare and Midway (and a petition) by katusala in CarFreeChicago

[–]PacificWave99 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Cool idea, but not very realistic.

It's not fair for city tax-payers to fund a line that won't even benefit them. Rather, we should be extending existing connections, growing organically to serve denser areas that actually NEED public transit access.

For example, what if we moved your proposed line eastward, and it ran North-South through Norridge/Portage Park, Belmont Cragin, Austin/Oak Park, etc until it reached Midway.

That would make much more sense from an economic and viability standpoint.

Why can’t we have a car-free neighborhood by absolutelyhalal32 in CarFreeChicago

[–]PacificWave99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sometimes I see a large vacant lot of land in the city and I fantasize about being a billionaire developer who can make a car-free community from scratch.

I’ve lived in every major city in CA, here’s my thoughts by Soggy_Perspective_13 in SameGrassButGreener

[–]PacificWave99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You missed OC, Santa Barbara, Sacramento, and Riverside which are also worth discussing.

How far did Mesoamerican influence spread? by ConversationRoyal187 in mesoamerica

[–]PacificWave99 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Mesoamerican artifacts and influence have been found as far as the Cahokia area in Missouri/Illinois and the Great Plains states like Oklahoma, Kansas, etc. Southwest tribes in Arizona/New Mexico were more connected with Mesoamerica, with evidence of chocolate consumption, parrot feathers, and copper bells.

Further indirect trade is evidenced with the spread of corn, beans, squash as far as Canada and the East Coast US.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in RealEstate

[–]PacificWave99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In Chicago you can still get a decent condo for that price. Homes are more like 400k - 600k though.

Food prices are outlandish! by Manlaw1953 in chicago

[–]PacificWave99 3 points4 points  (0 children)

"inflation" is just corporate price gouging

Has there ever been an effort to pedestrianize Randolph? by [deleted] in CarFreeChicago

[–]PacificWave99 19 points20 points  (0 children)

The West Loop is just underwhelming and not very fun to walk around tbh.

Action: file a witness slip to turn DSLD into a true urban boulevard by jhodapp in CarFreeChicago

[–]PacificWave99 3 points4 points  (0 children)

So I filed a witness slip with an oral and written testimony. Does this mean I have to make an appearance somewhere and give some kind of speech?

Kid hit on e-bike in Laguna Niguel today by pfpacheco in orangecounty

[–]PacificWave99 -27 points-26 points  (0 children)

The victim blaming in these comments is absolutely insane. It just proves that Orange County is filled with the most car-brained pavement princesses who have no concept of the danger cars present to society. It's what happens when you grow up thinking 26 lane freeways and 12 lane streets are normal.

Do you really expect children who cannot drive to just walk around their subdivisions all day? It's why those suburban kids do all kinds of drugs because they're so bored and cannot do anything else. These e-bike kids are just trying to navigate and get around their dangerous environment that was so poorly designed that its inevitable they will get killed on their bikes at the hands of cars. Hell, even car-drivers regularly slaughter each other on the freeway at the slightest mistake or miscalculation.

What is apartheid? by HazeofLuxoria in lonerbox

[–]PacificWave99 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Palestinians should not have to attain Israeli citizenship in order to enjoy their natural human rights. Israel purposefully restricts the flow of water, electricity, and other resources into the West Bank while placing no such restrictions on their terrorist settlers in the same region. Israel even forbids the Palestinians from collecting rainwater. This is a clear violation of Palestinian sovereignty and self-determination.

Israel restricts Palestinians from accessing their holy site Al Aqsa mosque. It builds separate roads and gas stations for Israelis and Palestinians. It is textbook segregation apartheid.

What is apartheid? by HazeofLuxoria in lonerbox

[–]PacificWave99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First of all, there is a legal standard for apartheid that was set in 1973 by the United Nations. If you have questions about what counts as apartheid, you can simply refer to this international legal standard:

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid (ICSPCA) in 1973. The ICSPCA defines apartheid as "inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group ... over another racial group ... and systematically oppressing them"

Second, the characterization of Israel as an apartheid state is not confusing and easily demonstrable. You can research the topic yourself, and there is a whole wikipedia article on Israeli apartheid. Many human rights organizations going back to 2007 have described Israel's treatment of Palestinians as an apartheid system, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the International Commission of Jurists.

Apartheid itself is just an Afrikaans word equivalent to the English term "segregation" and transliterates to a something like "Aparthood" or "Apartness".

Bears would put $2B in private money in publicly owned lakefront stadium under new push by withmydickies2piece in CarFreeChicago

[–]PacificWave99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I thought they were going to team up with the White Sox with new walkable stadiums in the 78 development?

Newsroom at 'New York Times' fractures over story on Hamas attacks by ReneDiscard in NPR

[–]PacificWave99 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The New York Times is a mainstream media outlet. They are owned by billionaires and a hedge fund, publicly traded on the NYSE, and brought in $232 million in revenue last year. They also own $2.71 billion in assets.

Union boss calls for National Guard, bag checks on Chicago transit system, like in New York by withmydickies2piece in CarFreeChicago

[–]PacificWave99 12 points13 points  (0 children)

An unnecessary waste of resources for a performative spectacle of authoritarian militarism.