Well, I am always looking for book recommendations… I’ll put this on my list 🙂

May he have pineapples shoved up his arse in hell, right next to old hitler.

Oh interesting, I’ve never really delved past the movies.

They did also choose to humanize a storm trooper with Finn in the new films, but I don’t remember him going through any “deprogramming” or anything, he just kinda realizes he’s a nice guy one day.

It would have been much more interesting to see him struggle with his changing worldview.

Nuh-uh, Xi pressed the big red communism button and now all the capitalism is gone!

[is joke, obviously that’s not how it works]

“It’s just never worked” is ignorant though. Every nation that has tried to dump capitalism has has successes and failures, and there are many factors that contribute to each. Economies are extremely complex and you simply can’t say anything intelligent without getting at least a bit more in-depth than “works/doesn’t work”.

The USA and the international institutions they control have done an impressive job making it look like open markets equals prosperity, but when you look just under the surface, a different picture emerges.

Vietnam, for example, was denied access to IMF loans, while trying to rebuild after an absolutely brutal war that basically set them back to the stone age. Only once they agreed to certain liberal reforms were they allowed access to the funds and resources they needed.

If you’re not really paying attention, it looks like you’re right.

That’s true, the storm troopers and stuff are basically presented as automatons. I guess some audiences like not having to think, but it would have been much more impactful to show them as people with their own beliefs and motivations and stuff.

Sadly true. And most people aren’t aware that they did pretty much the same thing to Laos, who they weren’t even at war with. They just carpet bombed the whole country, “just in case.”

Fuck the USA. They’re literally the evil empire from star wars.

You could probs add Burkina Faso to that list too.

Mostly this, although Vietnam is doing quite well, especially considering their circumstances.

Cuba is also really interesting…not thriving, to be sure, but you have to end the US blockade before you blame them for their own hardships. And in spite of everything, they have democracy like we’ve never seen in the west.

Edit: also what beejboytyson said about Cuba.

I see China building renewable energy capacity, and crazy fast trains, faster than the rest of the world combined.

I see Cuba, a tiny island nation, still independent after 64 years of brutal US sanctions.

I see Vietnam, a popular retirement destination for American ‘expats’.

I see Russia, being fairly shitty and also 100% capitalist for 25 years.

Hmm, seems like you may have been told a bunch of times that communism is bad but never really looked into it.

For the good of everyone, except the ones who are dead. 🤪

Yes good point… naturally “guzzling resources at planet eating rates” is quite expensive.

I’m so not sold on this AI stuff. It just seems like a fancy new way to create problems.

Exactly, which makes the whole endeavour more of a guessing game than a science.

We can’t even measure calories accurately, never mind predicting how much your specific body will actually absorb. Maybe we could be more accurate with vitamins and stuff, but I dunno.

💀💀💀

That’s rad.