Hyperreality

That's because Americans are dumb. You should be more like us Europeans and blame foreigners, migrants and supranational institutions like the EU which are preventing our magnificent national politicians from putting 'our' people first. /s

sigh

The US could halve medical spending per capita, use all the money saved to increase defense spending, and still have a better healthcare system with better health outcomes.

It's a false dichotomy to suggest that the US has to choose between more defense spending or better healthcare/education. Better healthcare costs a lot less in much of the developed world.

To give you an idea, the US spends THREE times as much on healthcare per capita as South Korea. You vastly outspend Switzerland and Norway, and they're significantly richer than Americans, with very high wages. Their per capita GDP is up to 25% higher than that of the US.

I did the maths, and if the US spent the same as South Korea does on healthcare, America would save roughly 2.4 trillion dollars. In other words, the US could double its military spending, and still have more than enough to offer every American better healthcare and better education.

Here's a not entirely implausible scenario:

1. Putin 'wins' in Ukraine.
2. Trump wins or 'wins' the election.
3. President Trump (again) says he won't protect European NATO allies.
4. NATO is effectively dead. The US nuclear umbrella no longer protects Europe.
5. An emboldened Putin, engages in constant provocations and distractions.
6. Some EU members are forced to drastically increase defense spending. Others come to the conclusion that acquiring a nuclear deterrent is now a necessity. Populist Putin verstehers win elections in some European countries, in part thanks to support from an emboldened Kremlin, promising to reduce defense spending. The EU project effectively dies. Europe is divided.
7. A large part of the EU now kowtows to China.
8. Because Europe is weakened, Putin continues to cause provocations and a miscalculation is made OR Russia deliberately invades the Suwalki gap (which is already indefensible now), thereby connect Kaliningrad with Russia. Putin's allies have regularly suggested that this is part of the plan.
9. Europe is now at war with Russia. The US does not intervene, because of Trump or his isolationist successor.
10. Europe is weakened from decades of underinvestment, weapons caches are depleted having supported Ukraine, Europe hasn't had enough time (or will) to properly re-arm, Europe is divided, it is not clear who will protect who.
11. Certain European countries feel existentially threatened. They have no conventional military response to Russian aggression. Russia is making steady gains.
12. Some European countries still have a non-conventional military response.
13. A nuclear war starts in Europe.
14. Most importantly for American readers, this significantly raises fuel prices.
15. Half the population blames a long dead Biden and soy based diets.

Oh, Netenyahu's saying it openly now?

I suppose that's a change to not being open about it in English, but being open about it in Israeli/Hebrew media.

Two sides of the same shitty, bloody, and corrupt coin.

"The only way to solve this, is to give Ukraine no more money so that they're forced to surrender ASAP, and Russia gets exactly what it wants."

https://i.imgur.com/h3DTCqU.png

You should host the internet.

Mother Theresa was a cunt. Seriously, google that shit. Horrible woman.

e:

The conditions in her missions were so dire, in fact, that they were once compared to photographs of "Nazi Germany's Bergen-Belsen concentration camp." ... When confronted about these allegations, according to Christopher Hitchens, Mother Teresa said, "There is something beautiful in seeing the poor accept their lot, to suffer it like Christ's Passion. The world gains much from their suffering."

I don't know if you've noticed, but people are getting bored of Israel already. The same horrible things happen, but it's no longer news, it's just more of the same.

Half the electorate are of below average intelligence. A quarter are outright stupid. Tell them that the money spent on Ukraine will go to schools or the health service, and the morons will believe it. They're easy prey for 'populists' who offer 'easy' solutions.

(Populist is a stupid word. What they promise may be popular, what they deliver is inevitably less popular than wiping your peehole with a dog turd)

It's tiresome, but it is what it is.

The thing with a lot of animals is also that they're pretty dumb.

They could potentially out walk us, it's the most energy efficient way of moving, but what they actually do is run off when they see a human, then when they no longer see the human, they take a break. At which point the human catches up. At which point they run off again. Repeat multiple times.

The human simply has to keep walking, while the animal keeps running off. If the animal instead walked, the human would never or take far longer to catch up, because the animal would tire itself far less.