Idag har varit en kĂ€nslomĂ€ssigt tung dag för mig. Vanligtvis upplever jag mig sjĂ€lv som ganska stabil, men idag har tankarna snurrat kring allt som hĂ€nder i vĂ€rlden. Jag kĂ€nner ett behov av att skriva av mig â och kanske fĂ„ nĂ„gon annan att stanna upp och reflektera genom det hĂ€r inlĂ€gget.
En man i min egen Ă„lder, med tvĂ„ smĂ„ barn och en fru, blev idag kallblodigt mördad. Det som skrĂ€mmer mig mest Ă€r att sĂ„ mĂ„nga, Ă€ven i min nĂ€rhet, verkar tycka att detta Ă€r nĂ„got att glĂ€djas Ă„t. Jag ber er: lĂ€s detta med öppet hjĂ€rta, fundera sjĂ€lva och dela gĂ€rna vidare â sĂ€rskilt till dem som uttrycker glĂ€dje över en annan mĂ€nniskas död.
Charlie brukade pÄminna oss om att vi mÄste möta mÀnniskor som tÀnker annorlunda Àn vi sjÀlva, ansikte mot ansikte. Han menade att vi mÄste föra respektfulla samtal dÀr vi verkligen lyssnar. Om vi slutar att diskutera och debattera med varandra, dÄ vÀxer avstÄndet mellan oss. Och nÀr avstÄndet blir för stort riskerar vi att börja se vÄld som acceptabelt mot dem vi inte lÀngre kan tala med.
Hans ord kĂ€nns sĂ€rskilt viktiga nĂ€r vi ser tillbaka pĂ„ historien. Vad har gjort att sĂ„ mĂ„nga grymheter kunnat ske â till exempel Förintelsen, Gulag eller Stasis angiverisystem? Det var inte bara en brutal ledare som krossade mĂ€nniskoliv. Det handlade ocksĂ„ om samhĂ€llen som steg för steg började acceptera avhumanisering och hat. NĂ€r man börjar tĂ€nka att vissa mĂ€nniskor har âfel Ă„siktâ eller âfel ursprungâ och dĂ€rför Ă€r mindre vĂ€rda, dĂ„ öppnas dörren för att vĂ„ld och förföljelse kan bli normaliserat.
Ingen av oss vill tro att vi sjĂ€lva skulle ha angivit vĂ„ra grannar till Stasi eller blundat nĂ€r mĂ€nniskor skickades till lĂ€ger. Men historien visar gĂ„ng pĂ„ gĂ„ng att det oftast bara Ă€r en minoritet som kan stĂ„ emot grupptrycket och grymheten. Vi lurar oss sjĂ€lva om vi tror att vi automatiskt hade varit undantaget. Sanningen Ă€r att mörkret finns inom oss alla â och vi mĂ„ste aktivt kĂ€mpa för att stĂ„ emot det.
Jag vill avsluta med ett tÀnkvÀrt citat frÄn den vise Elrond:
"It darkens the heart to call dark deeds 'good.' It gives place for evil to thrive inside us. Every war is fought both without and within. Of that, every soldier must be mindful."
Vila i frid, Charlie.
đ„ The French government is accusing X of the very things the French government itself is doing:
- Illegally collecting personal data
- Processing personal data without proper security
- Extracting data from automated systems
- Violating the secrecy of electronic communications
âBut the curse of every ancient civilization was that its men in the end became unable to fight. Materialism, luxury, safety, even sometimes an almost modern sentimentality, weakened the fibre of each civilized race in turn; each became in the end a nation of pacifists, and then each was trodden under foot by some ruder people that had kept that virile fighting power the lack of which makes all other virtues useless and sometimes even harmful.â
-Teddy Roosevelt
Donald Trump vaatii, ettÀ vaaleissa ÀÀnestÀjÀn tulee todistaa henkilöllisyytensÀ, kuten esimerkiksi meillÀ Suomessa ja Ylen Yhdysvaltain-kirjeenvaihtaja kirjoittaa "Trump on hÀviöllÀ taistelussaan vapaita vaaleja vastaan".
Siis, Yle on ihan tautista paskaa.
It has become apparent to me that the conservative commentariat has bred a set of people akin to the Underwear Gnomes of South Park fame.
It goes like this:
1. Be naturally good looking and well spoken.
2. Become popular speaking traditional conservative beliefs in a trustworthy, wise and approachable manner.
3. Once you have built an audience, deliberately descend into an insane morass of conspiracy theories. insane ideas, antisemitic lies from the 15th century and all around wackiness where you turn on the very people who brought you to prominence.
4. Watch your audience blow up overnight because people either hate you or believe what you are spewing, taking bad faith advantage of the trust you built long ago in good faith.
5. Sell things.
6. Profit.
Because the EU is a good thing if it'd be democratic
The US is also a federal union of states and seems to work fine
Europe is much better if it's not fragmented in lots of separate countries
There's little difference between me a Dutch person or German or Spanish in modern identity, we should keep our traditions though, just like Texas has its traditions while having a federal union called the United States of America
But right now the European Union obviously does NOT function and is NOT democratic, because it's been taken over by an unelected authoritarian group of career politician cronies called the European Commission
They stole the power from the people and we have to reform the EU to take it back
Long term a federal European union of states is preferable
Especially if you want to compete with China
đȘđș So good to see the world wake up to the terrors of the European Commission
I hope all the attention helps European people via their country's governments force the European Union to reform and redesign its structure to one that's actually democratic
No indirect appointment of corrupt cronies but actual democracy close to the people
It also makes no sense to have 720 members of the European Parliament, it's simply too much and makes it too inefficient
The real cancer rotting the EU from within though is the European Commission which should be disbanded and replaced with a democratic body
FYI the European Commission consists of 32,000 paid civil servants and all it does it create laws that nobody agrees with
Europeans, you should keep posting about the terrors of the European Commission and vote parties into power in your country that can put real pressure on the EU to change and reform
This is the way to go
Instead of changing to shitty alternatives like paper straws, wooden cutlery, and cassava bags that disintegrate and are all inferior to plastic
You gotta make something that's good for the environment AND as good or better than plastic (cheap and strong)
Also bacteria that break down plastic seems to be promising
That's why I hate the performative eco stuff, it makes our lives worse when instead we should be looking at making our lives better while caring for the environment
And you do that by inventing new technology instead of limiting the AC and making us suck through paper straws
Imagine the thing you choose to critique Elon Musk on is work ethic đ
Elon Musk:
âąÂ Works 80ïżœïżœ120 hours per week during peak periods
âą Jobs created (direct + supply chain): ~600,000
âąÂ Salaries paid out by his companies: ~$110 billion
âą Taxes he paid in just 2021: $11 billion (largest tax bill for an individual in history)
âąÂ Value created for shareholders: Trillions
âąÂ Drives hundreds of billions in economic impact
âąÂ Brought human spaceflight back to America (SpaceX)
âą Helps paralyzed patients control computers with their thoughts, giving new meaning to their lives
âą Created Starlink, enabling people to access internet anywhere
Elonâs wealth increases because his companies build products and services people love, companies that generate hundreds of billions of dollars in economic value in the U.S. and around the world. He isn't buying yachts, expensive houses or cars. He's continuously pushing his chips into the middle of the table and creating companies that are changing the world. His wealth is tied up in those companies, thus he only pays big tax bills when he sells stock, which is rare.
In 2015, I marched for Bernie and donated to his campaign.
In 2019, after years of being a miserable democratic socialist who blamed everyone else for my sadness, I decided that I couldnât stand being a miserable fuck anymore, and needed to start taking risks and aggressively started doing stuff to change my life.
I started working multiple jobs. I had 3 I was juggling at one point. I funded my life with one of them, and with the additional jobs, I invested all of my dollars in Palantir. It was honestly fun. Yeah, I worked 70 hours a week usually and sometimes would go 60 days without a day off, but it was exhilarating. I was making changes and doing things. It was way better than being miserable and angry and making my entire identity about politics and my disdain for âthe rich.â Those were hopeless times and I was glad to be doing something for myself.
I was able to grow a portfolio of 4,000 Palantir shares at an 8 dollar cost basis between 2021-2023. 32,000 dollars from hardcore grinding. Between 2023-2025, that 32 grand grew to over 400 grand. In May 2024 I started rotating some of the profits into TSLA, along with purchasing with new income.
Iâve learned so much about capitalism since 2019, how wealth is created, and the difference between makers and takers. Iâve been inspired by so many amazing builders and entrepreneurs on this platform. Iâve even interacted with many of them. Totally surreal.
Today, I cheered in my car as it drove me home when I heard that Elonâs pay package was approved. I voted my 750 shares on it with a huge grin on my face. If Elon gets paid 1 trillion dollars, I will be a multimillionaire.
After all Iâve been through and after everything Iâve done for myself over the last 10 years, I look at this post by Bernie and know I wouldâve cheered it on in 2015, but today, I see it for what it actually is. Manipulative, depressing rhetoric intended to depress a base of voters and make them feel hopelessly dependent on him and his colleagues. None of them build anything or create value or give working class people like me the opportunity to peg my labor against their genius. They did nothing but make me miserable.
I hope even one person can read this get pumped to start doing shit. There are ups and downs, but itâs yours. Nobody can take your grind away from you. Kick ass and build over years of time and watch what happens along the way. Donât listen to sad miserable people like Bernie.
Look you guys can keep screeching at me, thatâs fine. But attacking JD Vance is absolutely retarded. Heâs the most conservative guy weâve had in the White House in decades BY FAR. Heâs an effective communicator, smart, and rock solid on the issues. Heâs everything that conservatives have said theyâve wanted for many years. Dogpiling and counter signaling him just a year into his tenure, and doing it because he wonât disavow some podcasters, is suicidally stupid behavior. And it certainly makes me question your motives.