NoneOfUrBusiness

Could you expand (or link to something that expands) on the Solomon thing?

Cutting out philosophical arguments, prophecies and “no way this is a coincidence” types of stuff (which, yeah, there’s a lot of those), it’s a combination of

We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth. But is it not sufficient concerning your Lord that He is, over all things, a Witness?

-Quran 41:53

They have taken their rabbis and monks as lords besides Allah and also the Messiah, son of Maryam (Mary), though they were commanded to worship only One God. There is no god except Him. His Glory is far above any partners they ascribe (to Him).

-9:31

And let not those who [greedily] withhold what Allah has given them of His bounty ever think that it is better for them. Rather, it is worse for them. Their necks will be encircled by what they withheld on the Day of Resurrection. And to Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth. And Allah, with what you do, is [fully] Acquainted.

-3:180

Of course there’s a lot more where that came from, but the point is: We here have a religious text that encourages independent thought and pondering of the world and itself, promises harsh punishment for hoarding wealth and unequivocally condemns priestly institutions. Does that sound like an attempt to gain wealth or power? Exactly. Also this

He [Muhammad] looked displeased and turned (his attention) away, because a blind man came to him (interrupting his discourse). What would make you realise? Perhaps he would purify himself (by your attention),

-80:1-3

is not how a cult leader talks about himself. It’s admittedly hard to parse from the translation, but this is a somewhat harsh admonition of Muhammad here. The segment continues until verse 10 if anyone wants continue reading, but the gist of it is “you’re ignoring the man seeking guidance and trying to convince those who reject it? That is not how that works. Yes, even if it’s a random blind guy.”

Civil war? I have literally never heard anything about this. Best case scenario Putin is assassinated and another autocrat replaces him.

Russia is doing… fine? I mean the Russian people sure aren’t, but authoritarianism in Russia isn’t in any real threat despite the war. There’s also absolutely no comparison with China, which is getting stronger by the day. Weak and incompetent authoritarians are overthrown, and the CCP is neither weak nor incompetent.

their dictatorship is forcefully dissolved.

So never.

What if they take it seriously and suffer the other consequences? Because remember, the biggest threat to Germany currently isn’t Russia or China or even America; it’s the far right. Expanding the military this much would put a lot of strain on the budget and inevitably come at the cost of social welfare, further fueling the far right as living conditions get worse and worse. And on top of that taking healthy young adults away from a workforce that already needs more people to do something wholly unproductive can’t be good for the economy. You’re completely ignoring the opportunity cost here; there are simply more important and pressing problems that deserve attention and budget than a hypothetical with nothing to back it up.

WWII jokes aside, it’s absolutely inane that Germany is actually taking “threats from Russia” seriously. It’s one thing to keep their military in shape, but nothing we’ve seen from Russia makes expanding it even remotely necessary. Spend this momey on the poor you corporate stooge. And let’s not get into the demographic crisis these idiots are exacerbating with their treatment of immigrants.

I gladly welcome New Zealand into the third world.

While I do agree it’s more complicated than “money = food,” a lot of this complexity is fueled by imperialism of one kind or another, so this isn’t an “oh well that’s just life” situation. People would be less hungry if, for example, the people keeping them hungry weren’t financed and armed by America and (occasionally) China. The message of “we could fix this if we wanted” is still accurate.

Imperial boomerang moment in 3, 2…

Our military is simply murdering people.

This has been the case for as long as your military existed, so that goes without saying.

Why, in the name of all that is good and holy, should we require someone whose dream it is to be a carpenter, to take calculus to graduate high school?

I mean, they elaborate on that in the same paragraph.

but the fundamental ideas about rates of change seem like they’re something that everyone human deserves to be exposed to.

Now you can disagree with this idea, but you’re not even addressing it.

Oil they consume nationally is oil they can’t sell.

Its opposition has continued in the run-up to the UN Cop30 climate summit in Brazil, yet the country is now also making a whirlwind switch to renewable power at home.

It’s kind of in their interest to decrease their own oil consumption while keeping international oil consumption high, which is kind of what they’re doing. As for your other points, good public health is good for the economy in general, but not necessarily a boon for the leadership’s coffers. They make their money from oil; other people would make money from a thriving and diverse economy. It’s that divide that fuels seemingly counterproductive policies; they benefit special interests who don’t care about everyone else.

I mean, kinda? I (wrongly, it seems) assumed their slave labor would all be exported abroad for plausible deniability.

I’m all for shitting on Western hypocrisy, but I don’t think there’s much slavery in Italy.

Edit: Apparently I’m wrong.

Nothing will happen. The law doesn’t punish people that rich and/or powerful, even when they’re not the literal president. He got away with literal treason; no way diddling kids does him in.

50 years… which is peanuts in historical terms. There’s a reason post-colonial states almost uniformly suffer from weak economies and poor and corrupt governance. Overthrowing an already entrenched ruling class is a generations-long affair.

I mean, it’s imperialism. They want other people’s shit, which sometimes requires the military to force other people to give them their shit.

Authoritarianism ≠ “destroying their country.” That’s exactly what an authoritarian state does when its people are unhappy.

Yeah that’s a fair point. Seems climate change has a lot to do with it though, so this is more of a joint venture.