Hot Takes Discussion

[Greece-GR]

The Beatles were not a true rock band. The only true rock band were cavemen who bashed rocks together. I'm pretty sure none of the instruments The Beatles played were made of rock, unless Ringo had some unconventional percussion techniques.

You clearly haven't watched Caveman.

Ah yes, Caveman, the best movie ever made.

[Hamidiye]

So... Paramaribo instead? Or Kaapstad? Hell, what was the biggest dutch settlement outside Europe in 1807?

Suriname was managed by the Batavian Republic and then was occupied by the British between 1799 and 1802, and between 1804 and 1816.

The damm brits basically occupied anything worth a damn in 1806 from what I gather... were there even any colonies left in that time?

[Malaiya Union]

The opposite of effective altruism is ineffective altruism, and most charities are ineffective altruism. That is, while effective altruism tries to find *something* as a way to empirically measure success and maximize those metrics, most charities are structurally incentivized to maximize the warm fuzzy feeling in the heart and the PR reputation of the stakeholders. Two wildly terrible metrics in terms of trying to improve the world.

[Mettaton-EX]

the entirety of the pundit/"think tank" class should be liquidated and re-educated

[Dollystana]

Baked potatoes > mashed potatoes

[HISPIDA]

Baked potatoes > mashed potatoes

depends. i don't like mushy baked potatoes that go with, say, a pot roast, but i like baked potatoes that have been just baked. they go great with ketchup.

[Ent The Offle]

I think zoos are outdated and harmful to most animals that inhabit it. I think the structure of zoos should be reformed to help local endangered animals and be more informative for children. This may help children be more sympathetic to animals and care about the environment and how it has an effect on living things.

[Kowani]

a smart thing trump did was, when confronted about the costs of his dumbfuck programs like the wall or the tax cuts, just lie and insist that they would pay for themselves

[Necroghastia]

I think zoos are outdated and harmful to most animals that inhabit it.

Er... why?

I think the structure of zoos should be reformed to help local endangered animals and be more informative for children. This may help children be more sympathetic to animals and care about the environment and how it has an effect on living things.

That is by and large the primary purpose of zoos. Except perhaps the "local" bit, but I'd wager it is a net benefit for endangered species to have multiple locations housing captive populations outside their native range.

[Free Algerstonia]

ancient civilization was not run by humans, it was run by aliens. aliens to this day are in control of all major religions and are making all worshippers worship alien civilization and making them loyal to aliens in preparation for an alien retakeover of humanity

[Necroghastia]

ancient civilization was not run by humans, it was run by aliens. aliens to this day are in control of all major religions and are making all worshippers worship alien civilization and making them loyal to aliens in preparation for an alien retakeover of humanity

...It ain't like they could fuck up worse.

[Neu California]

Digital computers are among man's greatest inventions... right up until they shit the bed.

edit: Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 are horribly overrated trash with stupid mechanics (turning down the difficulty gives you LESS xp? Seriously)

[Haganham]

The Soviet Union deserves no credit for the defeat of Nazi Germany. The German's conquest were only possible as a result of Soviet collaboration, and the Soviets didn't liberate any of the countries they seized from the Nazis, instead murdering surviving government officials and resistance leader for fascist collaboration(lol) in order to destroy any potential challenge to their colonization of eastern europe.

[Ethel mermania]

The Soviet Union deserves no credit for the defeat of Nazi Germany. The German's conquest were only possible as a result of Soviet collaboration, and the Soviets didn't liberate any of the countries they seized from the Nazis, instead murdering surviving government officials and resistance leader for fascist collaboration(lol) in order to destroy any potential challenge to their colonization of eastern europe.

Nah. Just because you rape German women doesn't mean you didn't win the war. This isn't the oscars.

[HISPIDA]

The Soviet Union deserves no credit for the defeat of Nazi Germany. The German's conquest were only possible as a result of Soviet collaboration, and the Soviets didn't liberate any of the countries they seized from the Nazis, instead murdering surviving government officials and resistance leader for fascist collaboration(lol) in order to destroy any potential challenge to their colonization of eastern europe.

[Deblar]

Another socialism related hot take:

The debate on how socialism should be established (reform vs. revolution) is pointless, only serving to divide the proletariat to the benefit of the bourgeoisie. The only thing that matters is the common goal; the overthrow and abolition of capitalism and the accompanying profits-over-people mindset that has caused and is still causing untold amounts of human and environmental suffering since capitalism overtook feudalism and mercantilism as the dominant economic system.

[Malaiya Union]

Another socialism related hot take:

It cannot sustainably run an industrial economy nor can it sufficiently produce technological innovation

[Malaiya Union]

Now for an actually controversial hit take:

A China under a KMT victory scenario will look incredibly similar to the China today: an ultranationalist fascist one-party dictatorship that culls minorities and is trying to take over the world

[State of Imperial Russia]

Now for an actually controversial hit take:

A China under a KMT victory scenario will look incredibly similar to the China today: an ultranationalist fascist one-party dictatorship that culls minorities and is trying to take over the world

Agreed. A China without communism is not a China without authoritarianism. Just ask the Qing Dynasty.

[Perikuresu]

Now for an actually controversial hit take:

A China under a KMT victory scenario will look incredibly similar to the China today: an ultranationalist fascist one-party dictatorship that culls minorities and is trying to take over the world

I think everybody agrees with this after the AltHisHub vid got released

[Malaiya Union]

Now for an actually controversial hit take:

A China under a KMT victory scenario will look incredibly similar to the China today: an ultranationalist fascist one-party dictatorship that culls minorities and is trying to take over the world

Agreed. A China without communism is not a China without authoritarianism. Just ask the Qing Dynasty.

To be honest, modern KMT-led China might even be more similar to a CCP-led China than we think. A KMT-led China will suffer from warlordism, extensive structural corruption, and communist insurgency, three things that might damage its growth prospects. On the other hand, it will not experience the insanities of the Great Leap Backwards, Cultural Revolution, and North Korea-level isolation from the global economy, so things might cancel out.

[Malaiya Union]

Now for an actually controversial hit take:

A China under a KMT victory scenario will look incredibly similar to the China today: an ultranationalist fascist one-party dictatorship that culls minorities and is trying to take over the world

I think everybody agrees with this after the AltHisHub vid got released

I don't think everybody really hits home the message tho. The modern KMT will be evil. As evil as the modern CCP, and in the same aspects.

[Perikuresu]

Agreed. A China without communism is not a China without authoritarianism. Just ask the Qing Dynasty
To be honest, modern KMT-led China might even be more similar to a CCP-led China than we think. A KMT-led China will suffer from warlordism, extensive structural corruption, and communist insurgency, three things that might damage its growth prospects. On the other hand, it will not experience the insanities of the Great Leap Backwards, Cultural Revolution, and North Korea-level isolation from the global economy, so things might cancel out.

ik Chiang Kai Shek wanted to reclaim the former territories of the Qing Dynasty but like, you think he would be able to reclaim Tibet, let alone consolidate control in a Soviet influenced Xinjiang (and Mongolia, but give up all hope)

[New Eestiball]

Birds aren't real
neither is Wyoming

[Malaiya Union]

Culture is a big reason why many developing countries (and even the lower end of developed countries, e.g. Greece) are stuck and are corrupt. A facet of their (our, I guess) culture sucks and encourages nepotism and low performance.

Culture is also strongly correlate to social norms and institutions, like the family system and its social role, clans, clerics, tribes and tribal elders, civil workers, military. When talking about underdevelopment, it follows that many facets of these social structures objectively sucks and are degenerated.