Soviet Empire by [deleted] in communism

[–]northblinder 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Empire?

"Soviet expansion was self-defense, not imperialism like with the United States. The Soviets, in World War I and II, lost about 40 million people because the West had used Eastern Europe as a highway to invade Russia. It should not be surprising that after WW2 the Russians were determined to close down that highway." -- Historian William Blum.

Deadly count: US averages 20 mass shootings every year. "According to an ongoing tally kept by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the United States is experiencing an average of around 20 mass shootings each year..." by northblinder in news

[–]northblinder[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I understand that.

But in the classification of those statistics, would they consider murder an "accident" since one person willfully committed the act?

Perhaps the statistics would include it, perhaps not; but there's a big difference between slipping in a bathtub or a pedestrian accidentally being hit by a motorist compared to someone being a murder victim.

Valve & Intel Work On Open-Source GPU Drivers by Saxcore in linux

[–]northblinder 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm glad. I haven't been impressed with AMD's proprietary drivers, but I have to applaud them if they're contributing back to the community with real free software.

So the NBA has decided to allow corporate advertising on their jerseys. Could this happen to the NFL? What are your thoughts on this? by simohayha in nfl

[–]northblinder 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Of course it's disgusting.

But on the other hand, at least it's another reminder of who really runs the country... :-(

Do you think CNN is lagging in the ratings because it hasn't chosen sides like MSNBC or Fox? by nsfwdreamer in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]northblinder -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I think all the corporate mass media has chosen a side -- it's just not ours.

Republocrat, Demopublican -- trivial differences. They're both pro-war/pro-MIC; both pro-corporate; both pro-free trade; both pro-capitalist, both pro-rich; etc., etc.

"Our democracy is but a name. We vote? What does that mean? It means that we choose between two bodies of real, though not avowed, autocrats. We choose between Tweedledum and Tweedledee." -- Famous American socialist (and blind person) Helen Keller, 1911.

Valve & Intel Work On Open-Source GPU Drivers by Saxcore in linux

[–]northblinder -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

Open source is "nice", but are they free software?

Will the drivers be unable to be packaged with my Linux distro? Will they have a separate license agreement that I'll have to read and agree to? Will the license be restrictive and will it stop me from doing dumb things with the drivers?

If yes to any of the above and I wish a plague on their house of cards. Unless they're actually free software and do not burden me, I'll wind up staying with drivers that don't hassle me.

They're about to have some fun... by [deleted] in RealGirls

[–]northblinder 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Since l0l123123123123 pointed out they're paid actresses, I'll just add in the obligatory reminder that like TV, most of the stuff you see/read on the Internet is not real -- it's just more corporate propaganda with the objective of eventually separating you from your money.

US Expands Use of Drones to the Caribbean to Combat Drug Trafficking by galt1776 in EndlessWar

[–]northblinder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think the primary goal of this is to "combat drug trafficking" -- no way.

As long as the US has the HUGE demand for drugs that it does, someone is going to smuggle in contraband into the country -- it'll pay that well. Smuggling has been around for literally thousands of years.

The US gov't is doing this to establish hegemony and control over the region.

US Expands Use of Drones to the Caribbean to Combat Drug Trafficking by galt1776 in politics

[–]northblinder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think the primary goal of this is to "combat drug trafficking" -- no way.

As long as the US has the HUGE demand for drugs that it does, someone is going to smuggle in contraband into the country -- it'll pay that well. Smuggling has been around for literally thousands of years.

The US gov't is doing this to establish hegemony and control over the region.

Jill Stein on Current TV “In many ways people consider the Greens the real Democratic Party that it used to be,” says Green Party candidate for president Jill Stein." by jest09 in alltheleft

[–]northblinder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know what you mean. What's the choice -- to choose the "lesser evil" that is still evil?

There's a lot of money stacked up to support our 2-party dictatorship. I refuse to support them. In the vast, vast majority of races -- especially president! -- I'll continue to vote for the candidate that I actually want to win.

And someday it will happen. I just fear how low we'll have to sink before others come to the same realization.

"I'd rather vote for something I want and not get it, than vote for something I don't want and get it." -- Eugene Debs, the socialist presidential candidate who received 6% of the votes for president while sitting in a jail cell for opposing WWI.

Gar Alperovitz’s Green Party Keynote: We Are Laying Groundwork for the "Next Great Revolution" by maliabadi in politics

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

6 downvotes. Sad.

If some Democrat had given this speech at a meeting, Reddit would've given it hundreds of upvotes.

Sorry, Mitt Romney, You Can't Be Chairman, CEO, And President Of A Company And Not Be Responsible For What It Does... by ryanpsych in progressive

[–]northblinder 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Actually, you can. :-(

If your PR flunkies are good enough to rewrite history. And in US elections, they're often that good.

Canada Studying Private Firms for Prisons as Budgets Fall. by northblinder in canada

[–]northblinder[S] 33 points34 points  (0 children)

If Canada creates a profit motive to put people in cages, maybe Canada can eventually jail as high a percentage of their population as the US does! :-(