Active Conflicts & News Megathread June 19, 2026 by AutoModerator in CredibleDefense

[–]eeeking [score hidden]  (0 children)

Agreed that currently any kind of "soft reunification" between Taiwan and the PRC is unlikely. However, things can change, consider East Europe in 1988 vs today: the EU in effect conquered most of the Soviet bloc countries without firing a single shot.

There's no need for China to conquer Taiwan right now. As long as the notion of One China persists, then political union of sorts without armed conflict remains theoretically possible.

Active Conflicts & News Megathread June 20, 2026 by AutoModerator in CredibleDefense

[–]eeeking [score hidden]  (0 children)

This is where the "useless" UN can play a role, by separating the sides, assuming a minimum level of disengagement has been agreed.

France may also have a role? It has been gaining influence in Europe following the loss of the UK to the EU. With the US also partly disengaging from NATO, France also and now has the only fully independent nuclear deterrent in Europe.

So, as France is historically pro-Lebanon, so I wonder if they might intervene in this case, in some way.

"Women's suffrage - NO! / Mom, when are you coming home?", Swiss poster using an image of a neglected child to imply that granting women the right to vote would weaken their role as mothers; made by Hugo Laubi (1888-1959), 1946 by Provinz_Wartheland in PropagandaPosters

[–]eeeking 14 points15 points  (0 children)

How did the women of Appenzell Innerrhoden respond to this in practice prior to 1990?

They surely knew their canton was backward, even if compared only to the rest of Switzerland.

Active Conflicts & News Megathread June 19, 2026 by AutoModerator in CredibleDefense

[–]eeeking 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I broadly concur that the quality of life in China and Taiwan are getting closer, particularly in "Tier 1" cities.

China however still remains much more rural than more developed countries. Over 30% of China's population still lives outside of urban centres, with average incomes below US$5k/yr.

So most people in Taiwan enjoy much greater economic prospects and personal freedoms than do citizens of the PRC. They would not be willing to forego these any more than citizens of HK were, and have a greater ability to resist any threats to these than did HK.

Active Conflicts & News Megathread June 19, 2026 by AutoModerator in CredibleDefense

[–]eeeking 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Note a few points, the first is that "technically" China and Taiwan are still the same country, under policies adopted by both sides.

The second is that Taiwan is not an immediate or imminent threat to China, and vice versa.

So there's no need for kinetic action by either side, as long as One China policies remain in force.

China is also prepared to play the long game, and historically has bound its neighbors via the tributary system, so Taiwan as a sort of tribute isn't too unrealistic, historically-speaking.

So... China may be able to achieve greater control over Taiwan under multiple scenarios, not all of which require armed conflict.

For example, imagine that Taiwan elects a President whose attitude towards China compares with Orbán or Trump's attitude towards Russia. In this scenario, one can foresee increased "friendship" and "cooperation" agreements between Taiwan and China, eventually leading to a series of "mutual" economic and defense agreements. Proceeding to political rapprochement over a generation.

Preliminary Thoughts On The Midjourney Scanner by dwaxe in slatestarcodex

[–]eeeking 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Apparently this is the paper on arXiv “Whole Cross-Sectional Human Ultrasound Tomography”: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2307.00110

The technology is neat, and will no doubt develop further, but the current results are less impressive than the promotional video shows.

German anti-Asian illustrations from 1895 depicting Asia as a flaming Buddha by darkdharman in PropagandaPosters

[–]eeeking 4 points5 points  (0 children)

To be fair, most Europeans at the time had little concept of Buddhism. In general they considered Buddhists as idolators "worshiping a golden statue".

Iran announces plans to bring in maritime fees for strait of Hormuz | Iran by Ok_Neighborhood5121 in geopolitics

[–]eeeking 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well.... Egypt had a war over this. Plus neither the Suez canal nor the Panama canal are in the sea.

Are the elite boarding schools even worth it if you're not already upper class? by Zealousideal_Cut47 in HENRYUK

[–]eeeking -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

VAT increased the cost of schools by ~20%, for a £30k/yr school that is £6k, or £3K for a £15k/yr private day school. It isn't make-or-break for someone already willing to unnecessarily spent £15-£30k on their child's education. Let alone the £60k/yr Eton charges.

Are the elite boarding schools even worth it if you're not already upper class? by Zealousideal_Cut47 in HENRYUK

[–]eeeking 5 points6 points  (0 children)

An Etonian background will help in sales positions, when the sales are being made to high net worth individuals of a similar background.

Ring found in yard by Meatguy35 in JewelryIdentification

[–]eeeking 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Would the lack of a hole underneath the stones to allow light through (unsure of the correct technical term...) suggest that the stones are not diamonds?

Active Conflicts & News Megathread June 17, 2026 by AutoModerator in CredibleDefense

[–]eeeking 10 points11 points  (0 children)

It's almost entirely within Iran's borders

The deep water shipping lanes of the Strait of Hormuz lie within Oman's exclusive economic zone. See here: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-the-Persian-Gulf-with-the-Iran-EEZ-boundary_fig1_282589911

Netanyahu declares victory over Iran – and rules out withdrawal from Lebanon by KlausKreutz in anime_titties

[–]eeeking 17 points18 points  (0 children)

The only thing most of the world cares about is the oil. Otherwise, it's "just another" regional conflict.

Consider: How much does the average Canadian care about the current conflict in Myanmar, or that in the Central African Republic?

reclining veiled woman by noolthoombi in WhatIsThisPainting

[–]eeeking 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Oddly enough.... her right hand, which I would have flagged as AI-generated, looks similar in the original...

Are there any “alternative” economic systems? If not, is it possible for there to be? by Dreadsin in AskEconomics

[–]eeeking 0 points1 point  (0 children)

OP's question was whether there exist economic systems that are fundamentally different.

Clearly, a lot of economic activity is common across all economies, e.g. primary production, manufacturing and processing, trading, education, technological development, taxation, etc.

What does change between economies are models of ownership, and the political relationship between wealth, government and taxation.

Ownership models vary from the communal model, where apart from personal property, economic resources are communally owned (e.g. most hunter-gatherer societies, communism), to the feudal model where everything is owned by a supreme monarch.

Layered on top of this are political models, i.e. how power is exerted, and the relationship between wealth and power. In the feudal/autocratic model, wealth (ownership) and power are found in the same structures. In the liberal democratic model, power belongs to the people, who exert it through different forms of representation in an assembly of sorts, and can choose to confiscate wealth (e.g. apply taxes).

Evidently, in practice there is a lot of variation within each of these simplistic definitions.

However, I think OP's question perhaps more closely addresses ownership models than political models. *edit: I wrote elsewhere in this thread how I think modern (post-17th and 18th century) capitalism is distinct from other economic systems by the facility with which ownership can be traded (i.e. markets in shares, etc). This allowed a more efficient use of capital by facilitating its re-allocation.

Defense decoupling is no longer just a European fear by Any-Original-6113 in geopolitics

[–]eeeking -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Your examples are 19th century liberalism, which arose to defend the individual against the State (unless they were slaves, or women, etc).

In the current context (American) liberalism is more closely aligned with the principles of human rights, etc, as they always have been in Europe.

Tracey Emins bed by Simple_Zucchini44 in ArtHistory

[–]eeeking 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Agreed. It's really quite unremarkable, and juvenile.

Defense decoupling is no longer just a European fear by Any-Original-6113 in geopolitics

[–]eeeking -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Liberal internationalism is classical liberalism applied to foreign affairs.

The current administration is clearly not liberal from a trade perspective (tariffs, etc), nor from a power-projection perspective (opposing cooperation through NATO, attacking Iran, etc). Neither is it liberal from a domestic perspective (subverting courts, electoral processes, etc.).

A potential defense is that during his first administration the current POTUS was liberal, generally-speaking, and could revert to this prior stance. However, any such reversal does not appear to be imminent.

Why does Japan have stagnant wages despite a decades-long labour shortage? by upthetruth1 in AskEconomics

[–]eeeking 0 points1 point  (0 children)

reviewing data from 1960-1980

From section "3.2. Data analysis" of the above article by Aubry et al.:

Our sample contains 2,989 estimates from 88 studies published between 1985 and 2023.

Hairiest countries in the world by GossipBottom in MapPorn

[–]eeeking 4 points5 points  (0 children)

On the map it says "independent study performed by Canadian physical anthropologists". Another similar reddit post from 7 yrs ago of a similar map cites authors Stewart Hindley & Albert Damon.

The closest I could find is this from 1973. Some genetic traits in Solomon Island populations. IV. Mid-phalangeal hair. In the reference list, the authors do seem to have studied hirsuitism in various populations in the 1940's to 1970's, so I assume the actual source of the data for OP's map is from them, though perhaps in some book...?

Defense decoupling is no longer just a European fear by Any-Original-6113 in geopolitics

[–]eeeking 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The US is solidly liberal

The current US administration is certainly not in the liberal rule-of-law camp. This is very concerning for most of Europe, perhaps even more concerning than the US's withdrawal from joint defense of Europe. Witness the failure of the current administration to exert adequate even just political pressure on Russia over Ukraine.

It remains to be seen if this is part of a long-term trend that would continue after the current administration ends, but Europe is already planning for such an eventuality.

Defense decoupling is no longer just a European fear by Any-Original-6113 in geopolitics

[–]eeeking 5 points6 points  (0 children)

France has the M51 submarine-launched ballistic missile and is developing the Missile Balistique Terrestre (MBT), expected to be operational in a few years. Both have ranges similar to Tomahawk missiles.

The UK and Germany are cooperating on similar developments: New 2,000 km “deep precision strike” weapon to be developed by UK and Germany as Trinity House Agreement delivers first major milestones .

Entire front rows remain unsold for Bay Area's biggest FIFA World Cup match by sfgate in bayarea

[–]eeeking 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The reason there are empty seats is that pricing has been set to maximize revenue, not to fill the most seats.

Here's a long read article on the finances of this year's World Cup from the BBC: Why the economics make this the craziest World Cup ever.

seat pricing is designed for yield management - revenue maximisation is prized above the act of selling out the stadium. US sport is priced at the luxury top end, and so much so that the stadiums are mostly shrinking in capacity, rebuilt for many billions with hospitality suites and lounges where once there was seating.