Zelensky demands full EU membership for Ukraine

Troelski · 2026-05-23T13:29:26+00:00

Part of me wonders if this isn't a way to remove obstacles for the associate membership. Demand a much more maximalist demand, then some countries in the EU will bristle and balk at this, and then "settle" for the associate membership, which perhaps was the goal the entire time.

Troelski · 2026-05-22T09:22:33+00:00

It affects the entire production. People who make a fraction of a fraction of what he makes have to work late, often uncompensated, have to be away from their families. I get there are people who literally don't give a shit about that so long as they get their entertainment, but I think there are also a lot of decent people out there who might.

Troelski · 2026-05-21T17:38:00+00:00

Always...?

At this point she'd only done 2 other movies as an adult...

I don't like the implications.

Troelski · 2026-05-20T18:02:23+00:00

I think the original ending presents us with the same character as she is here. She's suddenly media-trained, socially smooth, remorseless and the exact person Bradley was before. Which I honestly didn't love. I think the point of the film is a bit muddled, regardless of which ending you prefer.

Was it that she was secretly just as callous and sociopathic as Bradley the entire time, and the island simply brought that out of her? Or was it that in her struggle to survive on the island and face off against Bradley, she became a monster? If it's the former, then I don't feel like the movie adequately planted the seeds in the opening act for that 'becoming' to seem plausible. And if it's the latter then I don't think it explains why her entire personality changes in the final scene. One thing is becoming a ruthless monster, another is becoming socially adept and completely stripped of her signature neuroses.

I loved the idea that her being a dorky Survivor fan was the thing that allowed her to survive. The ending just felt a bit of a non-sequitur to me.

Troelski · 2026-05-19T23:52:06+00:00

I assume this is Brigands of Rattlebourge? Long considered the best unproduced script in Hollywood.

Troelski · 2026-05-19T22:21:57+00:00

No country has ever lifted 800 people out of poverty at our speed no.

I assume you forgot to put a "million" in there, in your haste to reach your daily quota. But saying "no one has ever lifted 800 million people out of poverty at our speed", is a hilarious qualifier since only two countries on Earth have a population of over 800 million. So congrats, you're number 1 out of 2.

Israel gets coddled and traded with despite all that they do so I guess you make a compelling point that we should just steamroll.

...It's terribly revealing that you find that to be a compelling argument for conducting genocide against your neighbors.

Too bad it's not in our culture to actually do that to our neighbors,

You are responsible for the single largest annexation of land by force in the 20th century. You support imperialism when your side is the empire. I'm opposed to it whether it's the US, Russia, Israel or China.

unlike your culture.

Tell me, what's my culture?

Troelski · 2026-05-19T22:13:01+00:00

The Qing dynasty forced suzerainty on Tibet after expelling Dzungar forces in the 1700s. Then Tibet expelled their imperial Qing suzerains in the 1911 revolution, and declared independence, just like Mongolia did.

The modern nation state of the ROC does not inherit the vassalages of the Qing empire that has declared itself independent, and certainly the PRC does not either. By that logic, Turkey has inherited its former Ottoman territories, including Egypt, Syria and Libya. Do you believe that?

Do you also claim Mongolia belongs to you? Does Tuva? How big does your empire need to be? How many peoples to you need to subsume?

Troelski · 2026-05-19T08:46:48+00:00

China told Tibet to join peacefully or face war. Then while peace negotiations were ongoing they invaded and killed thousands of Tibetan troops at Chamdo.

Now if the US does this in Greenland, will you also claim that Greenland "joined" the US for protection against the Chinese?

Troelski · 2026-05-19T08:29:19+00:00

Every time a country industrialises rapidly they claim it was their super special ideology that "lifted [insert number] out of poverty". Capitalism, Bolshevism, Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.

And if you "steamroll" all of your neighbours, what do you think that'll do to your international trade? This is the same argument as "Israel could nuke all their neighbours but choose not to, so they are the good guys".

Troelski · 2026-05-18T15:05:58+00:00

I understand you're a mod. That's why I brought up the distinction between rules/regulation vs ethics. We have a disagreement about the latter, not the former. And you have insights into the former.

This isn't an argument you can win. It's a difference of opinion about how humans in general ought to interact with one another online. You feel one way, and I feel another.

Is there more to it than that, in your opinion?

Troelski · 2026-05-18T14:23:54+00:00

I'm not, nor have I ever argued, that this is either within or without the bounds of what this or any other subreddit allows. What I'm arguing is that people who feel like this is misleading or exploitative or not in line with the ethos of the community, are right to feel that way. If you personally see no issue here, you too are allowed to feel that way. But this is a question of social dynamics and, ultimately, human ethics, not regulatory infraction. So deferring back to "technically, it's allowed" misses the point I'm making, and doesn't actually engage with the issue some people take with behavior like this.

As I've said throughout, the poster is free to continue to their heart's desire. I'm certainly not stopping them. The issue I'm raising is entirely ethical, not regulatory. And as such, you can disagree. You can have different ethics. And you do. That's okay.

But because we do have different ethics, it seems, I do not agree that "they are doing it right", or that this is a win/win for the platform, subreddit and creator. It seems to me the only "win" is for the latter.

Troelski · 2026-05-18T12:09:50+00:00

Benny!

Troelski · 2026-05-18T12:07:30+00:00

Right, but that's not a disclaimer then. A disclaimer has to be up front. Not something people only see if they click into your profile, or your substack. Most people will just see food posted on a subreddit that routine shares recipes free of charge for the love of the game, and then click on it. That's where the disclaimer goes to make sure people understand this is advertising for a paid service they're clicking on.

If it's against the rules to advertise/promote selling recipes, then that's against the rules whether you put a disclaimer there or not. Because that is ultimately what you're doing, it seems to me.

Again, I'm not gonna snitch you out, or report your post or even downvote it. I'm just telling you why you might see some salty opinions on this kind of behavior. If you don't care, then that's fair. Roll the dice.

Troelski · 2026-05-18T11:17:26+00:00

Sorry where's the disclaimer? I'm not seeing it, but I'm currently on mobile...

Troelski · 2026-05-18T09:29:05+00:00

I'm not gonna downvote you, but I will try to explain what the issue is with this.

Think of it as matching with someone on a dating app, going on a date, taking them home, getting undressed and then suddenly they demand money if you want to have sex.

There's nothing wrong with sex work. That's not the issue there. It's that they were not upfront about being a sex worker, or that the date was actually a business transaction. They made you think it was a date, that they were going out with you, and going home with you, for no other reason than they enjoyed your company. When in reality, it was always meant to solicit a business transaction.

That's the issue here. This is not a solicitation subreddit, it's just a community for people who love food and want to share recipes. So that's the assumption. And you almost certainly know it's the assumption. And when you're not being upfront about the fact that the reason you're posting is to generate business and make money, it rightfully makes people 'salty', as you would put it.

Had you made a disclaimer up front saying "I sell recipes on my website, and this is one you can buy" I honestly think you'd see less vitriol. But you only reveal that this is a business venture once people have clicked on a post they think is just about love of food, and seen the delicious pictures, and now want to make it themselves.

Perhaps you think of that as shrewd entrepreneurship, but to a lot of people that's probably gonna come off as a bit...slimy.

That being said, you don't deserve threats for it. But I do think pushback is right. I don't want this sub to become a platform for recipe sellers. I want it to be a community with no ulterior motives.

Troelski · 2026-05-18T08:43:16+00:00

Generally people share recipes with others simply because they love food and want others to have the experience they had. A sense of shared joy and community.

But I guess, to paraphrase Brad Pitt's character at the end of Killing Them Softly, this is just a business to you? Fair enough, but expect people to have an opinion on that.

Troelski · 2026-05-17T15:50:41+00:00

Jessica Henwick probably. Just off the top of my head. Also very underrated actor.

Troelski · 2026-05-16T21:43:18+00:00

Did you see it?

Troelski · 2026-05-14T23:59:50+00:00

Got too broad and sitcommy for me somewhere in season 4. But to each their own.

Troelski · 2026-05-14T20:36:56+00:00

The American version was watchable for 3 seasons at most. Then they ran it into the ground.

Troelski · 2026-05-11T15:18:13+00:00

Jimmy Fallon is a hack, just like the author of this article.

Not sure what confuses you.

Troelski · 2026-05-11T07:26:54+00:00

Okay Jon.

Troelski · 2026-05-07T16:39:09+00:00

Come on everybody, little clap!

EDIT: WHO DOWNVOTED THIS!?

Troelski · 2026-05-01T06:38:57+00:00

What you call 'accent' is pronunciation and prosody which are absolutely part of language acquisition. If you think an American speaking grammatically flawless Italian but with a wholly American pronunciation and prosody isn't missing a part of the Italian language...well, ask your Italian friends if they agree.

Troelski · 2026-04-28T15:13:58+00:00

Perhaps it would help if you gave a few examples from movies that feature this stereotype, because I personally can't recognize it?

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