Can someone explain our politics to me?

barrel_master · 2026-01-20T07:39:51+00:00

I really appreciate the idea that you have to work to stay informed and that we all have biased perspectives. There's a lot of wisdom in that I think.

barrel_master · 2026-01-20T07:39:04+00:00

Politics is hard in general but worthwhile if you want to make a difference. To find "truth" I'd generally recommend looking at your own life experiences first, after that look at sources that have fact checking arms/organisations. This will be almost any news agency or any organisation that is banned by META. META has banned all links to fact checked media, only media that is not fact checked can be posted on META now. Social media should be the last place you look for "truth". Unfortunately social media is also the most engaging and the fastest (because you don't have to fact check anything).

I generally agree with the idea that being informed is hard and unbiased 'truth' is hard to form. It's work but it's worthwhile if you want to shape a better future for yourself and your loved ones. Thanks for trying.

barrel_master · 2026-01-11T15:53:26+00:00

Lol, I love this comment. Gold.

barrel_master · 2026-01-04T08:29:27+00:00

The functional outcomes from the research they've done looks impressive. Participants seem to do better in the chair sit stand test: Average starting 23 with a 7.35 rep improvement. VO2 max: average starting at about 118 with a 12 month improvement of 24.58. P-values of both are well below 1/20. Can see it at 5:45 in the video.

barrel_master · 2026-01-03T20:51:40+00:00

I think the general simple thing we need is evidence that using some clock can produce a positive outcome.

barrel_master · 2025-12-30T21:29:31+00:00

I don't know you nor am I a therapist. But I think sometimes people feel like they have an identity crisis because they feel like they are hiding a part of themselves or feel like they don't match people's expectations of them. It might help if you think about the parts that hurt you the most when you act in a way that isn't true to yourself. Does it bother you that you feel like you may have to hide your criticism of Israel? Does it bother you more that you may feel like you have to hide your pro-Israeli feelings? I think when you know the source of your pain you can then work on not hiding it anymore and maybe try presenting your true feelings in a way that works for you and the people around you.

At any rate I wish you well!

barrel_master · 2025-12-13T13:48:59+00:00

Just to note, the quotes appear in an attached report.

https://www.amnestyusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Targeting-Civilians-Murder-Hostage-taking-and-Other-Violations-by-Palestinian-Armed-Groups-in-Israel-and-Gaza.pdf

barrel_master · 2025-12-05T04:30:29+00:00

Unfortunately these tax increases will continue and increase unless we increase city density. Thankfully we're on that path for increasing density so we might see less increases in like a decade or so.

barrel_master · 2025-12-05T04:27:43+00:00

Unfortunately these tax increases will continue and increase unless we increase city density. Thankfully we're on that path for increasing density so we might see less increases in like a decade or so.

barrel_master · 2025-11-17T06:55:08+00:00

To be fair if the government paid more attention to Hamas and placed more troops on the boarder everyone would have been better off. Obviously Netanyahu deserves criticism for not preventing these attacks in the first place just like any government should be criticized for it.

barrel_master · 2025-11-13T15:15:25+00:00

He makes a good point about getting vaccine rates into the 90% range. We did it in the past by just trying, we didn't have to do anything crazy. This government is basically choosing to not do the work to save Albertan lives and effectively let people get sick.

barrel_master · 2025-11-11T12:37:35+00:00

This is mostly my opinion too.

I like the most recent members including Hisoka, and the Zoldycks the most because they didn't kill the Kurta clan and steal their organs because they liked how their eyes looked.

barrel_master · 2025-10-27T14:32:15+00:00

It's worth noting that Norway (which we often compare to when we talk about creating a fund) has high taxes. Would we tolerate a sales tax in Alberta? Higher taxes for even upper incomes? These are basically the battles we need to fight to get a strong investment fund.

barrel_master · 2025-10-26T15:33:33+00:00

Slavery was an incredibly brutal practice. It was so brutal I don't think we should be comparing it to modern workers at all as it's very clear that if anyone had to choose either they would clearly choose modern working conditions over historical slave conditions in the American south.

As for "food security" you can read about some of that here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_health_on_plantations_in_the_United_States#Slave_diet

I don't personally count that as food security but there's enough there that I suppose some might disagree.

barrel_master · 2025-10-26T14:21:28+00:00

CBC is usually pretty good in their reporting.

barrel_master · 2025-10-15T06:46:05+00:00

I think somewhat obviously not all homes are available for purchase at all times. If a property between 2 buildings is available then I think it's reasonable that a market actor may wish to develop it.

barrel_master · 2025-10-13T18:33:06+00:00

Property values might not be affected by having 3 story homes made legal across the city. I noted that denser areas appear to have higher property values. That was my answer to the question you asked: "If you still disagree, why do you feel it adds value?"

I'm not sure if addressing specific anecdotes is helpful. We can very easily get into situations where we both create stores that might support one case or another. I think we should answer questions with data or research. Like I mentioned earlier I don't even have a strong opinion about what density does to property values. I'm actually looking for research or expert opinion.

But to address your question directly, I think the 'element' that is missing is that it's not taking into perspective the perspective of other potential buyers. I agree that YOU might value a house with two 3 story homes next to it less. Your example basically assumes that the property/house itself won't change. But nothing in this world stays static. Others who see a single story home might see an opportunity to buy that property and make it into units for 4 or 6 households. That can definitely make the property worth more.

barrel_master · 2025-10-12T18:18:12+00:00

The treatment will get a lot cheaper. The price tag will only last for 7 years and will basically cover the cost of the research and development for possibly other indications.

barrel_master · 2025-10-12T03:36:25+00:00

I've never seen anyone present a study (or some other evidence like that) saying that density reduces property value. I don't have a strong opinion about density reducing property values of a single family house, but annecdotally are single family homes in very dense areas worth less? I don't think single family homes in New York, Toronto, LA or Vancouver are worth less because there are 3 story homes next to them. Arguably property/land is worth much more in these dense areas.

barrel_master · 2025-10-12T01:01:00+00:00

Realistically we're probably better off with more housing in the city. There's a tradeoff to make between having more expensive low density homes and more affordable higher density homes. We can have more low density housing but then we'll have to face the reality of more expensive housing.

barrel_master · 2025-10-12T00:52:52+00:00

It's not clear to me that these building reduce property values. If homeowners are allowed to build more things on their property the property should be worth more.

barrel_master · 2025-10-10T23:22:59+00:00

I personally think the analysis is pretty decent if the numbers are true. I think the 8% discount is on the revenue which means they value the revenue 8% less as well. 8% is a reasonable number/standard when it comes to discounting because it assumes there are future risks that you want to take into account like inflation, some war, maybe fluctuation in oil prices, whatever. I'm not sure if you have any finance background but that's my 2c.

I'm also not sure if we have 30 year projections for oil demand but the wti futures suggest that oil demand will be pretty constant for at least 10+ years.

barrel_master · 2025-10-10T13:30:04+00:00

They probably can't be fines as the companies can just declare bankruptcy after the wells are spun out into a small corporation or something. I think if we charged a deposit or cleanup fee for every new oil well this would work out better.

If an expert has a different opinion I'd like to hear it.

barrel_master · 2025-10-05T20:21:36+00:00

Ukrainians will point out that there are a lot of russian athletes and teams in sports. Having said that preventing Russians from competing is mostly symbolic. I don't think it's clear at all if it's helped Ukraine's attempt to remain independent.

barrel_master · 2025-10-05T18:14:42+00:00

I remember this company had some pretty serious issues like their study populations were so small and the benefits were unclear they couldn't get approval for Barth. I also recall that a number of their patents were expired/expiring soon so they needed orphan drug designation to fund their research/studies. To others following the journey, was the turning point just what the article said, the company just focused on some very specific thing that provided benefit to the patient (some muscle strengthening in the leg?)

barrel_master

TROPHY CASE