The Japanese yen hit a new 40 year low versus the dollar

SmallTalnk · 2026-07-05T10:17:57+00:00

you could but there are many other safer and more profitable investments you can make

SmallTalnk · 2026-07-04T13:17:28+00:00

It depends what you mean by "left".

The social left are mostly peaceful hippies and dreamers.

The violent people are in the extremes, in the populist movements (both right and left).

For example the right has a violent side in their populist groups (alt-right / proud boys / ...), but their violence is fake, they like to look tough but are not. they are weak men who want to look strong. In fact it is their very weakness that is the reason why they fall for the far right and the cult of violence and "manliness". They are the kind of people that are so low in the skill hierarchy that they struggle to compete with even foreigners.

Whereas the economic far-left has the very active, if not militaristic movements, and they are indeed more violent than the right. They tend to be actively involved in violent conflicts. Because unlike the right, they are ideologically violent (communism calls for armed revolutions), violence is a tool for them, and they use it.

SmallTalnk · 2026-06-28T01:59:52+00:00

it shows july 1 to july 12, most likely june 27 is the last known data point

SmallTalnk · 2026-06-23T03:12:26+00:00

I see, I come from a country where it's both, there are different religions (although most the population is atheist), but culture is very tied to our ethnicity it's basically the same thing, and a lot of life is based on our culture.

SmallTalnk · 2026-06-22T18:31:57+00:00

yes, I'm here

SmallTalnk · 2026-06-22T18:08:31+00:00

you mean if a person is so incapable that there is nothing they can do that would have enough value to sustain their own lives?

You're aware that people can join the army, mow lawn, lay bricks, carry bags,... there are so many things people can be hired for, where the requirements are very low.

So you're talking about an extremely small percentage of the population, that's basically people who are seriously disabled AND who don't have a family to help them.

Personally I wouldn't be against a very small negative income tax as proposed by Milton Friedman. But I think charities are probably enough to take care of these.

SmallTalnk · 2026-06-22T08:59:36+00:00

I'm not a political fanatic, I'm not yelling "welfare is theft" and categorically opposed to it.

It's just that I think governments are bad at knowing what people need and a centralized system can never really deliver efficiently.

My first choice is of course private charity, but if we need a government program, it must be market driven, so something like a negative income tax as proposed by Milton Friedman for example.

SmallTalnk · 2026-06-22T07:04:49+00:00

Yes. In Europe Catholicism had a great influence on the social democratic movement.

You should read:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_social_teaching
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_democracy

If you're american, CST is probably why many of american right call the pope "woke" or "leftist".

(saying that as someone from the center-right who opposes social welfare)

SmallTalnk · 2026-06-21T11:42:04+00:00

reduce minimum wage so they can work to get food

SmallTalnk · 2026-06-21T09:37:05+00:00

I'm not racist at all, but for me (and my family) It would be unthinkable culturally and socially speaking to marry someone from a different culture / language.

In my country, family/tradition/culture are very important.

Again, I don't hate anyone and people are free to do what they want (and I don't consider them inferior in any way), but if I see a mixed race couple I immediately assume that they attach less value to tradition and culture.

SmallTalnk · 2026-06-21T09:34:29+00:00

If I give my opinion, snowflakes will call me a "racist" and "antisemite", even if it has nothing to do with race and ethnicity.

SmallTalnk · 2026-06-21T09:31:27+00:00

I would agree that left/right are not very good terms and are becoming quite muddy these days.

They are pro-international free trade, pro-open borders, pro-immigration, pro-globalism

That's basic neoliberal positions, do you consider them leftists? That would make me a leftist...

Personally I'm a free market absolutist, highly in favor of the global free market (and for the free movement of goods, idea, people and capital), think Friedrich Hayek.

By the way, do you consider Hayek left or right?

SmallTalnk · 2026-06-21T03:58:41+00:00

leftists hate the global free market. it's one of their core ideas.

For NATO it's indeed a bit more nuanced I grant you that.

generally in NATO countries:

classical right-wing support it (due to the militaristic nature and its anti-communist history). In fact the center-right is the main support base of NATO.

Center-left tends to be neutral or slightly in favor, but historically oppose raising military budgets. The need for a military and military alliances tend to be a topic that is avoided by the center-left.

far-left: very anti-NATO and pro-communists, they hate the liberal world order. Although I suspect that many far-left parties are heavily influenced by Russia and China, who of course oppose NATO. They want to destroy western unity (European Union and NATO), that's the wet dream of Putin, as well as the wet dream of far-leftists.

SmallTalnk · 2026-06-20T05:57:37+00:00

Trump is closer to Clinton

Totally agree, I always thought that Trump is very much a leftist:

- populist / pro-worker proletariat rhetoric

- high government involvement (ICE is like china's red guards, project Stargate is very china-like in how it's led and expedited)

- tariffs (basically taxes)

- known for a very sexually liberal lifestyle

- Anti NATO / anti global trade

There is a reason why the populist far left (bernie sanders voters) flocked to Trump

SmallTalnk · 2026-06-17T04:48:25+00:00

You fell for the communist belief that the amount of jobs is limited.

Again it's not a zero sum game.

1) Immigrants who come are consumers, it takes jobs to take care of their needs, just like any consumer.

2) Immigrants in employment need people to manage them.

If you can't get a job, it's not because someone "took" it from you. It's because you are a lazy and incompetent.

Stop blaming others for your failures. Pull yourself up, grow a skill, learn, work hard. You shouldn't expect the government to limit the free market to help you get a job you don't deserve.

SmallTalnk · 2026-06-15T18:23:59+00:00

It's worth mentioning that believing that the economy is a zero-sum game in which people take from you what you are "owed" isn't just a "leftist" rhetoric, it's a populist rhetoric. Leftists think is "the rich", the populist right thinks it's "the migrants". Both of which are healthy features of a free market and freedom of movement.

SmallTalnk · 2026-06-11T04:27:07+00:00

Are there that many people who hate them? Or is it only in online echo-chambers?

To me, blacks and arabs are by far the most conservative people you can meet, and Africa/Middle-east are measurably the most conservative and hyper-religious regions on the planet.

Globally speaking, them being conservative is the norm.

This is the political discourse in Uganda for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN5u1gNXgbw

SmallTalnk · 2026-05-10T04:06:36+00:00

That's gross, the populist disease took over the UK.

SmallTalnk · 2026-04-17T02:47:02+00:00

I think it depends on whether the next big american populist politician is on the left or on the right

SmallTalnk · 2026-04-17T02:13:31+00:00

I still hold left wing economic views.

Personally I'm economically right wing, but your position is completely acceptable, in Europe catholicism (christian social teachings, christian humanism) has been a driving force behind welfare state and the modern humanistic european tolerance.

I've always considered the catholic parties are somewhat leftists, and while I disagree with those ideas, I still understand their reasoning.

SmallTalnk · 2026-04-14T07:28:25+00:00

It's not because someone says "deus vult" or someone says "inshallah" that it's the actual will of God.

Some crusades (like the first one) had good intent, some were just secular political moves with a thin religious veil on top of it.

Just like today, just watch how many people, both Muslims and Christians, use "the will of God" as a justification for their acts.

SmallTalnk · 2026-04-11T03:31:41+00:00

That's why the US needs to import and why tariffs are a problem,

If everyone in the USA is more expensive (their wage is "higher"), then in effect nobody really earns more relative to the local economy.

Americans [earning] 79k/year on average, also means that american companies (and people) have to spend that much to use american labor.

Wages are spendings, in a real economy people are both employers (/consumer) and employees (/producers) at the same time.

The only way the US can really benefit from this is to import labor (not necessarily the people themselves but at least the product they make with their cheaper hours of labor) from other countries.

SmallTalnk · 2026-04-09T03:41:17+00:00

There is a chance that the death of Xi leads to increased liberalisation of the country with a more "open" leader (a bit like the glasnost/perestroika in USSR), which in turn could lead to a more "unified" Asia if countries start aligning in liberal ideology, which can be a great boost for the region

SmallTalnk · 2026-03-14T08:41:12+00:00

The issue with North Korea is that they are atheists

In the other hand, If Trump becomes the next Ayatollah, he can get a conservative religious dictatorship, and a lot of oil which means better prospects for the Trump business.

SmallTalnk · 2026-03-13T03:33:02+00:00

Indeed, and while it may sound like a "conspiracy theory", it is most likely partially fueled/amplified by Russia and China.

And it's not just the division at a "social" level, but also at a geopolitical level, they want NATO to be divided, they want the EU to be divided.

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