@Jay14Jy@Rajjah@eigenrobot Like with all things, depends where. The MS Delta is genuinely extremely poor, but transfer policies raise the standard of living above developing status. Areas like Biloxi or Meridian can be quite rich
Similarly, Bavaria and the Rhineland are prosperous. East Germany is not
@shagbark_hick@Journey3519 New Paltz I contend should be shot into space, it's like Asheville NC on steroids
Capital Region is interesting
Latham, Clifton Park are your mini tech/immigration hubs. Schenectady, Cohoes, Troy, thats ground zero China Shock
But all have the Monster Tattoo energy lurking
@JackofBlades22@gmoneybucks@SwannMarcus89 It wouldnt hurt but honestly the biggest problem it has is that most people like to own stuff and aren't fooled by assertions that they only seek to redistribute
@HMBrough_ That being said, Canada doesn't have any semblance of a serious bone in its body on security
India carrying out hits in Canada is something that won't draw direct retaliation - and Canada's allies have basically taken the approach of "we'll treat it seriously when you do, guys"
@HMBrough_ Not sure I'd go that far - if only because it's hard to imagine Malaysia turning around, while for Canada, the Khalistan stuff is almost entirely a species of its current domestic politics. The NDP and Liberals are bad on this. The Bloc doesn't care, and the Tories are fine
@4815162342hmm @UpdatingOnRome I suppose in the sense that the US is more of a naval and mercantile power primarily, that works
But in general, no. The Russian State's capacity for power projection is really low. It's in an attritional war with a former satellite, and it's taking them way too long to finish
@fitzr1122 Getting Dati Leumi into the IDF was a success story, yes, but it was facilitated by leadership engaging with the Hesder program, & issues regarding women to be put on the back burner. The salience of security for the settlement movement also helped
None applies to the Haredim
@fitzr1122 Anecdotally I'm very skeptical about this
Opinion in Haredi circles isn't easy to pin down but the attitude towards Tzahal hasn't changed much even if the youth are a bit more nationalistic than they used to be
And his assertion there is a military use for them is debatable
@HMBrough_ Elite Democrats seem to have antipathy towards the current Indian government
I find this extremely annoying because geopolitically we should be courting them above all else and Indian domestic political history indicates that no, the Congress Party is not our friend, at all
@HMBrough_ Most Republicans and Democrats that I know really don't think about Hinduism one way or the other. It's extremely low salience.
It's only when you raise the salience that you hear weird comments. From Democrats it's weird stuff about jati varna, from Republicans it's about beef
@UpdatingOnRome The Greeks in Alexander's time pretty much hated the Macedonians, and over two thousand years later, guess what, they hate the Macedonians for claiming Alexander
@David_Jorgonson @GoldwagNathan Rural sheriffs are the ones standing up for their constituents with the 2nd Amendment Sanctuary county movement and refusing to engage in unjust tyrannical confiscation policies
@David_Jorgonson @GoldwagNathan Authoritarianism in the US has existed, particularly in the mid 20th century at the peak of relative federal power, just as in most of the world. But it's a profoundly less authoritarian country than just about any I've visited in it's level of centralization and control
@David_Jorgonson @GoldwagNathan Terms like that are kinda hard to reconcile with the experience of living abroad. In Germany you have to register with the police every time you move addresses. In France they ban the hijab in public spaces. In most European countries they explicitly ban political parties, etc
@HMBrough_ North Koreans, even at the elite level, climb over each other to become street sweepers in Vladivostok
Much depends on how they're used. If they deploy as units with own leaders and comms, they may be woefully ineffective. But that's better than being used as penal unit manpower
@ArtOfTheFu@ryenarussillo Didn't know he had one - I've seen them on the road a few times but honestly I don't get the hype. Just looks hard to drive with the sight lines