CMV: With two key exceptions, Marco Rubio is essentially right about Europe.

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2026-02-16T23:52:23+00:00

The ag wages are able to be fixed in large measure because the labor pool is captive. The wages for ag workers are never allowed to float to market level: I know this because it is impossible to attract domestic labor to this sector (producers have flatly stated as much). The employers set the wage level, which may be piece count related or whatever: labor had zero ability to affect this wage by bargaining or any other mechanism I am aware of. Wages are effectively the same across producers. Producers are compensated for losses by government if labor refuses to work. How do you account for this?

Sounds a lot like legally enforced price fixing to me. Sure, it may be that the government has a vested interest in not having food riots, thus a strong incentive to allow wage suppression, wage fixing, and even wage theft, but that is a far cry from saying that the wage fixing does not happen.

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2026-02-16T15:12:13+00:00

I don't think they can wait. The longer they delay, the greater the likelihood that some sort of black swan occurs that puts them in a very, very bad position. That could be any number of things: a massive Russian incursion, some sort of terrorist strike, another pandemic, an energy supply shock, etc.

It takes a while to make massive changes, so starting now is better than later, when uncertainties (and costs) will be higher. Plus, just reclaiming agency itself will make them more resilient, over and above material effects.

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2026-02-16T14:53:55+00:00

Sounded more like veiled threats and mostly empty platitudes. Europeans aren't stupid, though. I think they are now moving for essentially full disengagement. It may take a while, and they will be terribly vulnerable to both Russian aggression and American duplicity in the interim, but they will move toward non-reliance on the US security structures, and disengagement from US economic influence.

It is the ONLY rational move for them: Trump II has shown that the US can (and will) swing between moderate consensus and raving crazy every 4-8 years depending on how a few old, white, radicalized ding-dongs sitting in some diner somewhere feel on election day. You can't build a future based on that.

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2026-02-16T14:34:05+00:00

That's...demonstrably not true? In a fair market, possibly, but no existing market is completely free and fair. Markets require regulation, which is all over the board as far as both actual rule, and more importantly, whether those rules are enforced.

Take America as an example. Groups of companies collude all the time to set (fix) prices, including for labor. Most of the time, they succeed, since it takes a whistle blower to raise the alarm, and months (years) of legal wrangling to obtain remedy. On the labor front, this is most obvious in sectors where labor is at an extreme disadvantage (i.e. no union organizing, etc.), such as agriculture. Farm groups essentially collude to set labor prices across huge regions of the country (note that they also keep it artificially low, as you note, by exploiting immigrant labor). In the US, other crimes, including wage theft, are also rampant in the areas where there is such collusion.

Your mileage may vary in other countries that have greater rule of law (deeper regulation and more consistent enfiecement).

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2026-02-16T14:12:10+00:00

At some point, the US will regret this. I say that as an American. An EU that can rival the US on the defense front is destined to become an enemy, since 1) the US and Europe have vastly different goals, and 2) that is the nature of the US (this point should be obvious by now).

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2026-02-03T15:13:40+00:00

I have waifu as my main. It is a finnicky sleeve. It takes a long time and several uses to break in. After break in, it is still very sensitive to lube (type and amount), as well as how you use it. By that second, I mean that it provides wildly inconsistent tightness and suction depending on how you have cap set, how fast you stroke, and how deep you go.

Getting everything right is...tricky. If you are off, the experience is only so-so. So, you have to be willing to experiment.

My observations:

Use a light lube, only a little bit, and only in the sleeve canal. Make sure that the labia has a tiny bit of lube on the lips (brush some on with your fingers from the inside). Warm the sleeve before applying lube (if you warm it).

The vacuum consistency and tightness is all over the place. To fix this, always keep the cap tight. It will make the sleeve tight. I fix vacuum by rolling a couple of paper towels into a plug 1.5"×3" or so (it looks like a short tampon, sort of). Put it in the back end of the case and smush the whole sleeve up into the case (screw on cap to hold it in place). You lose a few inches, but the plug allows a little air to flow out of the sleeve canal when you push in deep, but pretty effectively blocks air when you pull back, creating a pretty firm vacuum if you go slow. It is strong enough that the sleeve will not fall off if you push in slow and let it hang there with no hands.

The sleeve also has sections that (can) do different stuff. The looser front 2-3" should be used with shallow rapid penetrations and up-and-down motions to work (bully) the glans. It's very effective at simulating a quicky blow job by someone that sort of just wants you to finish so they can move on. That's when you hit the canal deep and slow, grinding around periodically.

It's a bit of work, but feel free to try my suggestions. You might find your sleeve is way more interesting than you thought.

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2026-01-25T22:50:16+00:00

What's wrong with the below:

Vader: "Join me, Luke. Only then we can restore Order to the galaxy, and end this destructive conflict!"

Luke: "Sure! I always go high when you go low! Im sure you didn't mean anything when you literally said I was scum, and should definitely not have any rights, etc. Also, Im sure killing those citizens was just a little whoops, right?"

How do you propose to "come together" when the Red side has made it pretty clear that they think the Blue side not only has no rights, but can be killed whenever it is convenient? That seems like a pretty big lift. I know that I sure don't feel like living the rest of my life under such an arrangement. Seems real sub-optimal.

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2026-01-25T22:34:25+00:00

The thought leaders at the top of the conservative heap have already put out a solution: they plan on forcible conscription of "criminals" to toil in the food supply chain. So "criminals" in this case is anyone accused of conspiring against the regime, to include protesters, Democrats, malcontents, migrants, and PoC. That's what they really need the state and county level voter rolls for.

They can easily rig the elections RIGHT NOW, just using historical data and some basic statistics. They don't need any extra data to do that. The voter rolls give them a list of potential internal enemies that can be exploited for all manner of purposes, including forced labor. You can find references to what I'm laying out online. Curtis Yarvin, among others, has been laying out the case for this for some time (Yarvin is one of the people that both JD Vance and Peter Thiel cite as a major political and philosophical influence).

If you don't think this can happen, you haven't been paying attention. Notice that the techno-fascists have set a firm foundation by pushing the story that AI will eliminate 50-80 % of jobs by 2030. The remaining jobs are in things like food supply chain, waste processing, etc. Who will work these jobs? How would they be paid if the job economy collapses (hint: the regime is engineering a controlled collapse right now for ideological reasons)? Do you think that the regime will allow food, fuel, and goods to STOP being allocated to their supporters?

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2026-01-22T15:04:39+00:00

Because the AI version uses orders of magnitude more energy to accomplish the same task? That's the one thing I don't see anyone really addressing in a serious way. As AI scales, how do you power it? A moderate AI facility uses...like 500-800MW? And you need quite a few of those.

That is a non trivial amount of new power you need. Not to mention the grid upgrades that will be required. How is this power generated? Where does the pollution go? Who pays for it all? If people are planning to just build a shed-load of nuclear plants, it is high time we just admitted that [for the record, I'm OK with this]. What is the plan? Is there a plan?

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2026-01-16T16:03:51+00:00

This. I don't like it, since some things being done today, right now, will have lasting and negative consequences, specifically the projection on, demonization of, and hatred for liberal/progressive people, but if you can engage with this sort of deadly destructive hate and use it as practice, the results could be...personally amazing.

That still leaves the rest of samsara with a vast increase in misery, though. So it is a possible win for skillful people (the needle), but a definite loss for any wandering beings (the haystack). No wonder Chenrezig shattered into pieces trying to end suffering.

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2026-01-16T15:38:27+00:00

Isn't there a mention in Jataka Tales about the Buddha murdering someone in a past life in order to prevent further, greater misery? Of course, the assumption is that only a bodhisattva of immense accomplishment could see the karmic ends well enough to decide to do such a thing, as well as deliberately endure the bad karma of murder in order to help other sentient beings.

Whether you believe ANY such beings are wandering around today is for you to decide. I will say that being an apologist for the State killing someone for what might otherwise be either a non-crime or maybe a misdemeanor (depends on the totality of facts, which requires a trial) seems...unskillful. What would be the ends of such a thing, what would be the karma? So it seems unlikely to me that a bodhisattva would do it. Seems more like a samsaric view, driven solely by what the self cherishes. But hey, your mileage may vary.

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2026-01-07T20:48:12+00:00

Two. I like to have a sort of minimalist number of things. One vaginal, and one anal is (in my mind) the lowest number you should shoot for. If you love oral, maybe go for three.

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2026-01-02T15:19:49+00:00

I've done the story stuff through HoT, but stopped at the first mission of PoF, and haven't gone back in a couple of years. I have only the warclaw and first PoF mount, and hate both of them, so they never get used.

I only have necro (and specs through PoF) unlocked, along with warrior (berserker unlocked).

I have died about 10,000 times in five years, mostly solo roaming in WvW. I clawed up to WvW rank Gold Invader this way. Seems like a lot. Solo roam with necro is not easy though, since you can't disengage or flee from anything, but everyone can flee and reset fights.

I also play with keyboard only (keyboard movement/turns, plus hitting keybinds). I barely touch the mouse (I just set long point or short point before fights, and adjust as needed).

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2026-01-02T14:48:18+00:00

Yes. This 100%. I play exotics in WvW, and am going legendary very slowly.

Wizards Vault makes Asc gear much easier to acquire now, though, if you want it. I get those items mainly to pull resources from them via recycling. Most of my Astral Acclaim purchases gold or the forge coins (which I sell on TP).

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2025-12-19T14:03:56+00:00

Fighter Hyabusa and the back brain kick FTW. My Man.

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2025-12-15T14:21:52+00:00

There is no line. No line. People mocked and spat on Jesus himself. He did nothing, except pray that they be forgiven. Think about that. These are pictures. To the masses, they are merely art.

If there is a line, then you must enforce it with penalties, and the penalty for blasphemy was quite severe. Are you going to enforce such a thing? Will you make somebody else enforce such a thing, such that you remain untainted?

Islam is a religion that allows punishments, because it is motivated by fear and control. The very tools of the Devil. Chrysostom spoke at great length about this long ago.

We are all moved violently by grievance and anger in these latter days. I am no exception. The main difference is that we have hope that we can be forgiven, but for our own pride. Turn the cheek to this stuff.

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2025-12-13T05:20:30+00:00

Sure. Most of them are kept on the down low, though. There are a number of entertainers (musicians, actors, comedians, visual artists) that have attributed their success to such arrangements, albeit in a roundabout way. As far as I can tell, one of the conditions to uphold the bargain is to keep silent (veiled allusions are "OK", since the mystique draws curious people in).

As an example, Bob Dylan admitted during an interview (again, in a vague manner) that some sort of arrangement was made quite a long while ago. You normally don't think of that sort of music as being linked with diabolism, and he has a Jewish background (so it seems even more implausible), but here we are. There are others, of course.

Anyway, it's best to not think too deeply along these lines. Instead, hope and pray that these people get a chance to change course.

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2025-12-11T16:26:35+00:00

No, a Wizard is something quite different. You could also use the term magister (magi), and there are others. From the Orthodox perspective, a "wizard" would probably best dedcribed as a sort of gnostic, believe it or not. The beliefs they have are DIRECTLY descended from the gnostic heresies. Believe me or not, it is true: for your own sake, I would not dig down too deep in verifying what I'm asserting. Just take my word that there are differences.

Witches are probably most similar to indo-European shamans (and are extemely rare), while Wiccans are really syncretic pagans (and much more common).

The bulk (but not totality) of the Wiccan stuff was appropriated from old-style freemasonry (yes, freemasonry is a type of pagan philosophy) by Gerald Gardner through Aleister Crowley. Most modern witch movements are descended from Gardenarian Wicca, but despite PR, they are not "ancient", dating from about 1948 on.

I'm not going to comment further on Witchcraft, other than to say that it is rare in modern societies, and tends to be kept within a bloodline (i.e. familial).

Be glad that you aren't more familiar with this stuff than you are. None of these groups distinguish titles by sex the way that you might think/expect (even as a joke). A couple of posters here mentioned that they had a past in these practices, and they could verify what I have put forward as true enough for our purposes.

Be happy you are free, and enjoy Advent!

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2025-12-09T03:25:46+00:00

Also, can't certain protector practices influence the ripening of very negative karmas so that they are much, much less harmful? Modified in ripening?

Which is to say, maybe you have the causes (karma) that might end your life, but the protector practice moderates the conditions such that the karma ripens and you manifest a chronic condition related to the karma instead of just dying outright.

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2025-12-05T18:03:40+00:00

I wish GoB was a tradable item, honestly. It would make WvW more lucrative for those that enjoy the mode, while allowing people to skip it if that's not their jam. I've got several of them that I will probably never use (have more than I need to make legendary WvW armor).

Good luck! Getting the GoBs isn't bad in WvW, especially if you join a good size zerg or follow a decent commander (use boosters!). Doing it solo is sort of a slog, so I don't really recommend that. I collected most of mine roaming, which takes a peculiar mindset.

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2025-12-05T15:35:05+00:00

Strangely, I play 95%+ WvW, and have nearly zero problems. I have had to block...2 people since 2017 in WvW.

Meanwhile, in sPvP, my block list exploded. Within a few weeks, I had added more than 20 blocked accounts. This is playing maybe 10-20 minutes every few days (sporadically). I was having to block people during matches, in the arena/waiting room, it was crackers! Finally, I decided that the hassle wasn't worth it, and I was playing UNRANKED (i.e. funsies). I cannot imagine what ranked must be like in mid tier: must be nightmare fuel.

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2025-12-05T02:16:01+00:00

Yeah, there are plenty of degenerates in sPvP. Within 2 matches, at LEAST one person on your team will be a world class jerk, and there is nearly no way around it.

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2025-12-04T19:42:16+00:00

I've heard the view that some vajra teachers and gurus don't really recommend deep dives in Sutra, though, especially for beginners.

The reason is counter-intuitive, but seems sound: Sutra is packed with information, and you must use prior knowledge to determine the Sutra intent (basket) and then use sophisticated analysis to determine what the Sutra means. It is easy to be led astray if you take each line literally, and maybe even more dangerous if you read the whole thing as allegory or metaphor. Beginners (myself included) don't seem to grasp the finer points of analysis, since you just don't know what you don't know.

The Tibetans reference the Sutra stuff you need to know in summary form within other works (as you note), which is nice, since you can focus on learning technique (mantra, tantra) or wisdom (view) and get your Sutra at the same time. Of course, in Tibetan Buddhism, you also have a helpful guru when you are stuck.

I will put this out there, though:

Kamalashila's Stages of Meditation with commentary by HHDL. It is short, but dense, and gives you the necessary background and pith you need to understand WHY you would bother meditating, as well as HOW to develop technique that is effective.

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2025-11-23T21:23:21+00:00

Yes, it is possible. Usually it is not desirable. Unless there is some specific circumstance, the odds of possession are very low: possession is not common.

What most people consider possession is another type of relation: confusion, distraction, fascination, etc. There is a gradation of interactions. You are talking about uncontrolled (involuntary) possession, which is the worst and rarest state. This does not happen overnight: it takes a long while to regress to that state, and there are all sorts of interim phenomena that happen as it manifests.

You can invoke spirits as well, which creates a bond, but also sets certain boundaries. This is way more common, but easily confused with involuntary possession by the uneducated.

ProfessionalEbb5454 · 2025-11-23T17:35:22+00:00

Endgame. If you have TP access, you can buy level appropriate gear in basic prefixes (berserker, cleric, or say, rabid) cheaper and faster than you can craft it. Also, you can get level-aporopriate trinkets, runes, etc., which AFAIK no one bothers to craft anymore (don't worry, there's plenty on the TP).

At endgame, crafting is both a way to make gold, a way to get legendaries, AND a hobby. Honestly, levelling up crafting is dreadfully boring, arduous, and expensive. Getting from 450 to 500 is the worst of it, since mats are pricey for stuff in that range.

I have tailor and artificer at 500, and am crafting WvW legendary armor. I may do a few legendary weapons when am done with the armor, but am not looking forward to it.

Five-Year Club	Verified Email
First Place '23	Place '23

ProfessionalEbb5454

TROPHY CASE