plasmatix

One could argue that USD is a US export.

Depends which part of Syria we're talking about.

I don't think anyone would scoff and the discovery and elimination of waste or fraud. I think the vibe you're describing is doubt that these supposed billions in waste/fraud/abuse live up to the hype.

Surely there's plenty of waste in federal spending but I suspect the vast majority is not going to be blatant and easy to identify

Famously friendly and cooperative Donald Trump?

Russia feels like its getting a good deal because its everything Russia wants. Trump behaving like a baby in front of the world is just a bonus.

And now they aren't even jobs.

I’m curious to know if you think unions are bad for the economy now, after everything they/labor have accomplished for worker rights in the last century, or if it’s those very things you consider bad for the economy?

Is child labor good for the economy? Maybe short term.

Are 16 hour workdays and subsistence pay good for the economy? That doesn’t make good consumers out of the employees.

Unions exist because people were subjected to brutal conditions and it seems very unlikely to me such conditions were conducive to a healthy economy.

Why do you think it’s called “The Great Recession”?

So what you’re saying is you can’t have peace and prosperity if the other side doesn’t want it?

* StarCraft! (1998)

Allowing anyone to benefit from forced labor sounds like an invitation for corruption.

Funny enough, a few years ago I got a ~$20 check from the IRS after they made some adjustments to my tax filing.

So not only can they do it for you, they can do it better!

I think you’re misunderstanding the comic. I’ve always taken it to be exactly what you’re saying, thus the “I am very intelligent”. Because he’s not.

All you've been doing is mischaracterizing things to the point of absurdity and then pointing out how your mischaracterizations are absurd.

Propaganda can be harmful even if hasn't programmed anyone to welcome an invader with open arms.

Nobody was put in jail for writing poetry. They were put in jail for praising North Korea.

Banning the praise of North Korea isn't banning bad advice.

If the person had been speaking into a microphone instead you'd be telling me how South Korea outlawed talking.

Since you don’t seem to be aware, propaganda could have negative real world impact influencing (not even mind control!) a small group of people. Imagine the impact is only a group of 5 people “defect” to North Korea under the belief it is some paradise. Thats harms.

On the other hand, Americans lack the perspective of a society that has been invaded multiple times in the last century. And remains under threat from one such dangerous and hostile invader.

Framing it as violating a noble ideal of “free speech” I think gives it more importance than it deserves.

Seems plausible such a trade off is a net good for South Korea. We live in the misinformation age. Look at the crazy stuff some people believe. South Korea has effectively outlawed pro North Korea propaganda. Hard to quantify the averted harm of such a policy, but the price seems minimal.

I mean, if someone dies in a car crash and they weren’t wearing their seat belt, is it victim blaming to say they should have been?

Given the insane demand for these things right now, the real cost is not being able to sell it.

Not for Russia's benefit but for his own.

To be clear, I don't see it as either/or. No doubt a mixture of solutions is the optimal strategy.

If you have any literature to recommend, I'm happy to read it.

I don't understand how, with the dearth of information we currently have, anyone can see this as "higher values" vs "money".

No doubt people are motivated by money but it's not like the board is some infallible arbiter of AI ethics and safety. They made a hugely impactful decision without credible evidence that it was justified.

But is it low enough?

Solar drops to zero every night.

For hydro, there's already seasonal variation with rain/snow melt. Beyond that, it looks like the majority of hydro in the US is on the west coast, which has been experiencing a drought for years and is projected to get worse. The west coast is big on removing dams for habitat restoration, too.

Wind: Admittedly I have no idea what sort of consistency wind has. But it does seem reasonable to assume the overall reliability of wind power will decrease as installed capacity increases, assuming we started with the most productive geographies first and then move to increasingly marginal areas.

In the same way that storm fronts travel through an area and bring high speed winds perhaps there is the opposite, where relatively sudden, large-scale lulls form?

To minimize the likelihood of blackouts we'd need to either:

1) Build sufficient excess capacity of wind/solar/hydro to overcome variance in output. This may not be feasible, if even possible, considering the points above.

2) Maintain fossil fuel peaker plants.

3) More nuclear for base load.

Having written these thoughts out I now realize your statement presumes we can ever (and always) meet 100% of electricity demand with wind/solar/hydro in the first place.