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Half of Americans anticipate a U.S. civil war soon

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Re: Half of Americans anticipate a U.S. civil war soon

#411
post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both happened because state was weak and decomposing. The revolutionary activities in Russia were long. Neither happened primary because of famine, both were in the making for years. In both countries, pleadership seen issues years and years before but was incapable to fix them.

It's hard to separate these things but I've studied, especially the Russian revolution fairly in-depth, and the sense I get is that people were feeling extremely desperate because of the food situation, and when they saw how incompetent and aloof the government was, how unable to solve their problems, the resulting feeling of helplessness and hopelessness was the last straw. I believe if food had not been an issue it…

Tho, there was revolutionary activity going on long before in Russia. What reforms they were doing, it was a lot due to fear of revolution.

Also, the way people talk about is as if hunger implied revolution. Most hungry places most of the time are just that - hungry and disordered. Organized revolution requires pre-existent groups, arms, competent leadership and especially weak state. When state is not weak, it will suppress the revolutionary activity with zero issues.

Re: Half of Americans anticipate a U.S. civil war soon

#412

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very interesting! Generally, in the country in the Europe I've lived in, the people who want to secede are those who don't want to see their taxes go to the country's lazy and scammy region (almost all countries have one).

That's the most fucked up thing here. The regions with the highest concentration of people upset about paying taxes overlaps almost exactly with the places that get the most excess benefit of taxes, typically in the range of 1.1:1 (which means many other places are seeing about 15% less benefit per capita). A lot of that money goes to roads and infrastructure, so it's a little more dramatic than it sounds, but import…

>That's the most fucked up thing here. The regions with the highest concentration of people upset about paying taxes overlaps almost exactly with the places that get the most excess benefit of taxes,

How is this any different than when some rich techie on HN says "I know it's not good for me personally but I want higher taxes because that's the right thing to do"?

Re: Half of Americans anticipate a U.S. civil war soon

#413

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't heard much talk of Californians dreaming of becoming independent, but maybe I'm traveling in the wrong circles. What I have heard is people talking smack about kicking California out, and taking 10% of the US GDP with it. Which would be dumb for the rest of us.

There is this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_(proposed_Pacific_... but they want to secede from existing states, not from the union

The fact that all of the different economic regions in CA have to answer to one shitty state government is absolutely mind boggling. Imaging the Boston-DC corridor being one state and how dysfunctional that would be.

Re: Half of Americans anticipate a U.S. civil war soon

#414
post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Take off your tinfoil hat, Science is one of the most respected academic journals in the world, and it is a US-based publication (its twin is the British journal Nature , together they form the pinnacle of academic achievement). This specific article is about a preprint, not a Science publication yet, but do be aware that the organization behind that website has a lot of reputation to lose if they were to engage in t…

Is there any point where you think we can question Science, Nature, etc? If so, what point would that be? I think trying to reproduce studies or questioning logical fallacies, inaccuracies; quite easily justify criticism of established journals. Especially important when criticism comes from similar experts with high academic achievements.

But please do question it! Just calling it, I quote, "crock of shite" does not deserve the name "questioning" by any measure.

Re: Half of Americans anticipate a U.S. civil war soon

#415
post #248

Whenever I read this trash I wonder who is pushing the narrative. Is this writer even an American? What does he have to gain by fomenting a narrative that Americans want to go to war? Who's in his back pocket? Americans need to wisen the fuck up that so much of this "America divisive, we disagree so much, civil war coming" is manufactured. Especially in the age of GPT-3 where it can be as simple as telling an AI bot…

Take off your tinfoil hat, Science is one of the most respected academic journals in the world, and it is a US-based publication (its twin is the British journal Nature , together they form the pinnacle of academic achievement). This specific article is about a preprint, not a Science publication yet, but do be aware that the organization behind that website has a lot of reputation to lose if they were to engage in t…

Both nature and science have sections written by journalists and they are not prestigious. Only the actual research articles carry any weight.

To be honest I see these journals as getting to full of themselves and are turning into any other member of the American media.

Re: Half of Americans anticipate a U.S. civil war soon

#416
post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Take off your tinfoil hat, Science is one of the most respected academic journals in the world, and it is a US-based publication (its twin is the British journal Nature , together they form the pinnacle of academic achievement). This specific article is about a preprint, not a Science publication yet, but do be aware that the organization behind that website has a lot of reputation to lose if they were to engage in t…

I'm not particularly clear.. was this article published in one of their journals? What is the relationship of "Science Insider" to these other publications?

Yes it's just by "some guy", the journalism section is not the cream of the crop that we expect from the scientific articles. Frankly, I think they will spoil their reputations going into the newspaper game too far rather than sticking to science.

Re: Half of Americans anticipate a U.S. civil war soon

#417
post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Take off your tinfoil hat, Science is one of the most respected academic journals in the world, and it is a US-based publication (its twin is the British journal Nature , together they form the pinnacle of academic achievement). This specific article is about a preprint, not a Science publication yet, but do be aware that the organization behind that website has a lot of reputation to lose if they were to engage in t…

Is there any point where you think we can question Science, Nature, etc? If so, what point would that be? I think trying to reproduce studies or questioning logical fallacies, inaccuracies; quite easily justify criticism of established journals. Especially important when criticism comes from similar experts with high academic achievements.

Again, it's just the journalism section. No science of any value ever happened there. Treat that section like it was some independent newspaper that happens to have the same name.

Re: Half of Americans anticipate a U.S. civil war soon

#418
post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the past month, women in large swaths of the United States have lost their right to bodily autonomy, health, and even life. A woman in Wisconsin was forced to carry her dead fetus inside her for ten days because the hospital was afraid to perform an abortion to remove the fetal tissue due to the law from 1849 being unclear about when exceptions are allowed to its complete and total ban even in the case of rape and…

While I agree that harsh restrictions on reproductive healthcare are very bad policy in part for the reasons you mention, pointing this out doesn't seem like a very effective counter-argument to the idea that things are better today than in the past. Prior to the Roe v. Wade decision, which came just 60 years ago, abortion was illegal in all circumstances in all states. Cancer survival rates have significantly increa…

I guess you all in how you define the past versus today. Compared to just a year ago, it's worse. Compared to five ago, it's worse. Compared to twenty ago, it's worse. Compared to fourty ago, it's worse.

But I guess if you compare it to when we were all hanging out in trees, it's better.

Re: Half of Americans anticipate a U.S. civil war soon

#419

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does not seem to be a democratic way of handling secession. Makes me wonder why Hong Kong should be free in the view of most westeners, but not Texas...

Because China signed a 50 year pact saying as much.

Nope - the pact introduced the "one country, two systems", and that is still in place. Also HK citizens themselves aren't exactly opposed to the new situation: https://research.hktdc.com/en/article/NTY0NDU0NDI3.

Re: Half of Americans anticipate a U.S. civil war soon

#420
post #388

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They wouldn't survive very long without water. You can't drink GDP.

what do you think desalination plants would do?

Probably not much, since California routinely can't even import enough electricity to power itself now.
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