abrasivesaint

Nice.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/09/we-will-fight-with-our-fingernails-says-netanyahu-after-us-threat-to-curb-arms

Snoop reading Libertarian Municipalism is incredible.

To be fair Mercer brought up private orgs vs government orgs, i just spoke on the world i’m familiar with as i felt it related to what he was talking about.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/08/politics/joe-biden-interview-cnntv/index.html

A counterpoint to this is that I don't think this makes corruption any less available or the private organization any less susceptible. I think that these private organizations thrive because they’re playing ball with government agencies and there’s obviously profits to be made. I’d even go as far as to say that these organizations exist as round about ways to control the standards and work with insurances and licensing agencies without it being obviously government connected. JCo and AAAHC announce when they're coming to inspect a healthcare facility well in advance, and every facility cleans up their act and makes sure their shit is in order. They pass their “inspection” and everyone goes back to corner cutting and all that jazz. The Department of Health does not announce when they come in, and they can shut your facility down on the spot. edit: the 2nd paragraph was meant as an example that privatized/non-government organizational standards doesn’t necessarily mean those standards are upheld universally and consistently, or that they’re universally more effective as organizations.

I read a bit about the NFPA the last time i saw you mention it. So correct me if i’m wrong, from my understanding the NFPA writes the safety guidelines and best practices that get adopted and enforced by local government agencies. I assume the adoption of such standards by an employer is through some manner of a contract (to be an accredited legal business you have to adopt “XYZ”standards, NFPA in this case) and are held to such standards through local government agencies? I imagine licensing/insurance companies also require such standards? So the NFPA holds no “authority” in a legal sense, but they can pull your accreditation which would in turn effect your licensing/insurances, etc? This is the same in the healthcare arena, the Joint Commission handles a lot of large healthcare facilities and AAAHC/AAAASF largely covers ambulatory centers. I think some states have their own private agencies outside of these, but i could be mistaken.. Arizona is coming to mind for whatever reason, but i’d have to look into it. So i think we’re kind of weaving around each other trying to make the same point. My comment wasn’t necessarily that it needs to be a federal organization, but at the end of the day it is a government agency that enforces the accepted standards and handles any required legal action. If we’re just talking about removing power from federal agencies and bringing it back to local levels then i’m all for it. PS: i meant to add this link to the others in the post from the other day. Libertarian Municipalism https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/murray-bookchin-libertarian-municipalism-an-overview edit: when saying a “government agency” i mean as simply as a governing body. I’m not arguing a case for the federal gov. and its specific agencies.

it’s worth seeing, but there’s a lot of criticisms that can be made. I don’t think it’s all it was cracked up to be. edit: i wasnt mad that i paid to see it, but i’m not in a rush to watch it again.

Ya buying healthier food like fruit and vegetables is actually cheaper than anything else now, the old “eating healthy is expensive” excuse doesn't hold up anymore. I could buy $10 worth of vegetables and eat for 2 days but a meal at any fast food spot is $15 easy. I have no doubts that aspects of the USDA and FDA are and can be lobbied or politically swayed, but they also do regulate and crack down from time to time. I don’t think things would be better if they didn’t exist, i think it would be far worse. Corporations use these chemicals that are “approved” as “safer” options but would absolutely choose the less safe cheaper options if they could.

Side bar: i’m at the grocery store and just saw a dude reading the nutrition facts on a Twinkies box. my man, don’t waste your time. It’s a Twinkie. Either eat that lump of dog shit and enjoy it or dont.

I think there’s a chance. I think people will vote for him because they “have to”, but I’m not expecting him to win. If i had to make a prediction right now, i’d say same numbers as last election but in Trump’s favor.

Ok, i’m going to break my recently rekindled silence regarding economic theory around these parts.. …to state that pointing out the shortcomings of Capitalism and arguing that there are better ways is a point i have tried to make around here for years. My argument has always been that unfettered Capitalism has just as dire of consequences as any other ism. You can overdose on anything.. everything in moderation, including Capitalism. The problem that i’ve always had around here is that these conversations, and the subsequent critiques that get directed at me, are based on economic systems that currently exist. You’re either a Capitalist, Socialist, Communist, and that’s it. No other options available.. no dissecting and embracing aspects of Capitalism, aspects of Socialism.. no thinking outside the box. Here’s your isms, choose one. The other general opinion is blame the government, and i agree, blame our government. However, as i’ve grown older i’ve understood that there’s always a “governing body”, regardless of what people like to think. Just like anything else, unfettered government is extremely problematic. In my opinion, the creation of the U.S. federal government was supposed to look more like NATO than it how it currently looks. A collective of states that believe in a common idea and unite to serve as a means of defense, not total control over those states. However, because of the many flaws of humans (our religious, political, and economic ideologies) that got concept has been corrupted, and here we are. The internet changed the world. Barring a mass demolition of societal institutions, there is no going back, no “returning to monke”. However, we can use what we’ve created up to this point to build a better future. That requires us to stop and truly examine our systems. It requires some “hard conversations” regarding the hoarding of resources. A couple dozen people should not control the world’s resources and have the same amount of “wealth” as billions of people. (Edit: removed a part here because i mis-worded it and it wasn't important enough of a statement ti reword properly, ha.) I’ve spouted enough about this around here, i’m going to leave these links on my bow out. The Post-Scarcity Anarchism essay. https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/murray-bookchin-post-scarcity-anarchism Democratic Confederalism https://www.freeocalan.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Ocalan-Democratic-Confederalism.pdf Post-Scarcity Anarchism (a collection of essays under the Post-Scarcity Anarchism title) https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/murray-bookchin-post-scarcity-anarchism-book

Don’t expect that to follow through, and is rather convenient timing on Hamas’ part considering Israel’s about to invade Rafah. edit: meaning it’s an opportunity to further expose/paint the villain because Hamas accepted a ceasefire that Israel had no intention of accepting. Netanyahu has made it very clear that he wants full destruction at all costs and nothing less.. because anything less means he may lose power and go to prison.

https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-war-humanitarian-aid-8659eae6e0a7362504f0aa4aa4be53e0

For anyone who hasn’t payed close attention to all of this as far as hostages and ceasefire goes.. this has been the Israeli govt/IDF play since day 1. Lightly float the words for ceasefire and hostage deals, and then throw out a SIKE! followed by heavy bombardment.

There’s an estimated 1.4 million people taking refuge in Rafah. https://abcnews.go.com/amp/International/wireStory/latest-hostage-held-gaza-dies-israel-hamas-work-109895704

Could be, but this is, allegedly, in response to the pending invasion of Rafah. If Israel invades Rafah, as they claim they plan to regardless of this, the death toll is going to skyrocket. It’s essentially the edge of the world for anyone left in Gaza.. there’s nowhere else to go.

https://www.axios.com/2024/05/05/israel-us-ammunition-shipment-hold

The antitrust agency says it found evidence Sheffield sought to communicate with OPEC and US peers about oil pricing and output, potentially driving up costs for consumers. The FTC says its order will prevent Sheffield from engaging in “collusive activity” that could drive up crude prices and force US consumers to pay higher fuel prices. The agency says he exchanged hundreds of text messages with OPEC representatives and officials about the oil market. https://fortune.com/2024/05/02/exxon-pioneer-merger-ftc-claim-collusion-texas-opec/ https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/05/02/energy/oil-ceo-opec-scott-sheffield https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/us-ftc-order-bans-exxon-mobil-pioneer-natural-resources-deal-2024-05-02/