@MsMelChen@guardian@MrWinMarshall ④ Of course, there are uninformed people who see the headlines and think it's just another US war in the Middle-East with the goal of getting oil. But the more common grievance is that Trump started a war seemingly with no plan on how to end it, leaving geopolitics in shambles.
@MsMelChen@guardian@MrWinMarshall ③ I'm not sure how many leftists support the IRGC given they massacred all their Marxist allies the second the revolution was over, and ongoing persecution around sexual freedoms, suppression of protest/free speech, etc. Not a popular regime with most Westerners across the board
@Halalcoholism@AureliusTPK What I've heard from Singaporeans is that they're a nation of dobbers. I'm not sure if that's high or low trust behavior. But it's certainly going to create high trust-like conditions.
I saw a post saying Singaporeans aren’t especially trusting of each other, but have strong faith in the state and the system. Thus they implicitly understand that following the rules makes for a better society, but also is a sign of being a quality citizen. The latter aspect ties into Singaporeans’ highly competitive nature.
I don’t think Singaporeans are particularly afraid of the state; I think the rules were established early on and people internalised them, so they rarely need to be enforced.
In Japan people also are extremely rule-abiding, but the background factor is less government enforcement but social shame. It’s freer in that sense, but both societies are low on transgressions of the social order.
@Halalcoholism Japan is another East-Asian high-trust society known for safety, low crime, social harmony, etc - without the draconian laws or state torture (well, since 1946 anyway). It's also a far freer, happier, and more innovative culture. Not perfect, but I know where I'd rather live.
@Halalcoholism There's a bit of a contradiction here. If safety/social cohesion stem from the cultural values of the citizenry without law enforcement breathing down people's necks (true), then there's no need for state torture & authoritarianism to build this kind of high-trust society.
True power move would be for these channels to break up their anime episodes into three parts
(the first being ten minutes, the second being ten minutes, and the third being just a few minutes of course)
@MsMelChen 2) traffickers are generally poor/desperate people with no knowledge of these laws, set up by gangsters who remain safe overseas and thus escape execution. They'll keep finding people to dupe, and executions won't have any effect. Thus, attemtpts continue despite the brutality.
@MsMelChen This overlooks important details: 1) Singapore govt. uses brutal state torture against drug users (people often suffering from mental illness), and drug traffickers not given the death penalty are also tortured in contravention of international law.
@MsMelChen Singapore does a better job at international PR (marketing itself as a fun resort island where everything "just works"). But given the PAP's time-dishonoured record of state torture, I think a sane observer would take the Western liberal checkboxes over "enlightened" autocracy.