CicadaSpectre

Do you have the clip by chance? Or better still, is there a cache of all the videos, articles and posts of Ukraine being a "totally normal democracy"? I remember there was a giant shareable document breaking down and debunking the Uyghur genocide myth a few years ago.

I agree. When the Russian intervention began and Western media did a huge crackdown on the truth, the only people I saw allowed to tell the Russian side on mainstream were MAGA crackpots who looked crazy doing it. Can't say there's no censorship, because the narrative is allowed on mainstream media, but presented from the side progressives hate and distrust the most. It's an insidious kind of manipulation.

I love this game. I did well on my first playthrough, but of course I managed to get the two characters I wanted to save most killed :(

And here I thought California would at least be a little better about maskers.

I had forgotten about that.

I've been noticing the articles are saying he was a chaotic mess, a hindrance to the war in Ukraine, and acted like he was the personal representative of all American volunteers there. Not sure if any of that is true or if they're just trying to distance themselves from him, but I could see it being true.

Doesn't change the fact he's a pro-Ukrainian who tried to assassinate Trump, and failed miserably. Kind of makes me wonder if the first assassin was also pro-Ukraine.

Omg, that analogy is perfect. I think I'll start using it.

It's not about what power the president has. The president exists for manufactured consent. If Biden gets in and commits genocide and fails to do anything progressive, it's proof "socialism" can't work, that we consented to genocide, and that democracy works because he didn't overstep his authority. But if Trump gets in and ignores his opponents, does whatever he wants, etc., then we consented to that and are fine with the erosion of democracy if it means more fascism.

It's a farce, and personally I think we're being guided towards a fully fascist transition in the figure of Trump. Not because he, as a person, is anything. He's a moron. But because he's the kind of bigot chud that half the country idolizes, and through them the illusion of democracy can be shed and capitalists can take full power. After all, if more than half the voters support a fascist takeover, then isn't that more or less how our failed model of democracy works?

One of the crew were nice and answered my question. Idk what factors are important, but the white security guy sitting down at the terminal refused to even listen to me as I tried to ask my question, demanding I keep moving. The Hispanic man working on some security railings smiled and kindly explained that the US wasn't doing any COVID stuff when I asked him.

On that note, it was surreal coming back from China during COVID. The absolute shutdown Beijing was in as I left. Like, a week straight of near-empty metro, temperature checks, etc. Then get to the US, and they were like "Flight from China? Nah, you guys just come on in." It was also jarring to see the narrative change from "China is super evil for locking down Wuhan" to "China is evil for letting COVID spread all over the world". Honestly, coming back from China did more for my political development than any other single factor.

First thing I experienced coming back to the US was rudeness from airport security when I was trying to see where I needed to be screened for COVID, then finding out the US wasn't doing shit about it (this was February 2020, mind you). Second thing I experienced was racism as white Americans loudly complained about the POC airport employees with accents.

I regret coming back a lot, lol.

God I miss China. I got to live there for 5 months while teaching English, and the only thing I hated was my job and the other Americans. Insufferable libs to a man. Not being able to speak or understand Mandarin, I couldn't make friends with the locals, sadly. There was this place I'd always eat. 14 yuan for a massive bowl of pork, peppers, and noodles. I think that's, like... $2.

If I could go back and do a job I'd like, I'd take it in a heartbeat. Thank you for sharing your experience. It brings back good memories.