This makes me wonder why the point of this was. What does China gain by severing a communications cable? Traffic is just going to be re-routed over other links, so all they’re really doing is marginally slowing down internet connectivity in the region.

Is this just a way to send a message that they’re willing do damage communication infrastructure?

If these jobs become automated, that doesn’t automatically create more “high level” jobs. It just creates unemployment.

Email is still really useful when you have a lot to say but don’t want to write a letter. If I’m catching up on the last several weeks with my parents, I’m not going to write a 10-page text. I can write a nicely formatted email and attach a few photos, though. It’s far more convenient than writing a letter and stuffing a bunch of printed photos into an envelope.

I’ll preface this by saying that I strongly feel that in a democratic society, citizens have a patriotic duty to do certain things. Jury duty makes our justice system work. Taxes make our public services work. Voting makes our democracy work.

I can’t fathom the idea of not voting. Even if you don’t support any particular candidate, you still have the option to pick the person who is less likely to ruin your way of life. I have voted in every election since I’ve been old enough to do so. I’ve voted for a few candidates I really believe in, and I’ve voted against a few I truly hated. I have never voted for a candidate that aligned with my views 100%, but I’ve always voted.

Given the popular vote numbers, it’s an undeniable fact that the majority of American voters support Trump. Given the lack of turnout, though, I have to wonder if it’s true that the majority of American citizens support Trump. A large group of the population supports the GOP, and a large group of the population just doesn’t give a shit. Both are equally to blame for the next 4 years of suffering.

I’m going to go ahead and say convicted felons probably shouldn’t be eligible for the country’s highest office, either.

The only person who should be able to “opt out” a child from vaccination should be a MD or DO, and they had better have a dammed good medical reason for it.

Mask mandates never should have been lifted in the first place. We already have to wear pants, a shirt, and some kind of footwear in public; practically, this doesn’t really have a good reason other than cultural norms. Adding a mask to this is such a simple request, it blows my mind that people are so strongly against it; it’s one of the few requirements for personal attire that actually has a good reason behind it, and it’s incredibly easy to just put on a mask if you’re going to be face-to-face with another person.

Human beings have developed the science and technology to grow crops to feed the population on a massive scale. In fact, growing plants takes a much lower energy input per output calorie than farming animals for meat. Meat production requires the production of plants first in order to feed the meat animals; it’s extremely inefficient compared to producing plants for direct human consumption. Not only does a vegetarian diet reduce animal suffering, it’s also a more efficient use of natural resources.

Predatory animals do not have this option. The owl that eats a mouse isn’t doing it because he would rather eat a mouse than a soybean. He’s doing it because eating a mouse is the only way he’ll survive. Owls do not have farms, genetically modified crops, fertilizers, statistical analysis of crop yield, or any else of our agricultural advancements.

The fact of the matter is that human have no need to eat meat. We eat meat because we want to, not because it’s necessary for our survival. If you choose to have a steak for dinner, you’re making a decision that your desire for a specific flavor of food is more important than the suffering of a cow that provided the meat.

We are still evolving culturally, but we have moved past a lot of horrible things that we did throughout history. We can afford animals with the same right to life and happiness that we afford each other. The fact that so many people refuse to make even the smallest effort toward that goal is disgusting. “Eat something else” is such as simple request, yet the smallest inconvenience is just too much to handle. What does that say about our species?

Words like “murder” and “rape” only apply to non-human animals because for much of history, taking those actions on animals were necessary evils for us to survive. Our species has learned to evolve over time, and we no longer take many of the horrible actions that were commonplace centuries ago. We need to evolve as a culture away from eating meat, and our language needs to evolve with us.

I strongly disagree. On one side, people get to eat, yet conscious, feeling creatures are killed so that humans can eat their “preferred” source of food. On the other side, people still get to eat, animal suffering is greatly diminished, only some people may not enjoy their dinner quite as much.

I refuse to accept that the atrocities that are committed against what we call “meat animals” are worth it to satisfy someone’s culinary preferences. You can get all the nutrition you need from plant-based sources.

You’re right. It’s just the double standard makes me angry. We have millions of cows and chickens tortured and slaughtered every year, and the vast majority of people don’t care. Yet dogs are seen as companion animals and not a source of food. Pigs are by far as intelligent as dogs and cats, yet everyone loves bacon.

I agree in part: you cannot create an egg laying operation without culling male chicks. That’s why factory farming of eggs should not exist. There’s a huge difference between someone having a few hens and roosters that happily live on their farm and a factory farming operation. One is providing a safe home for animals and receiving food in return; the other is exploitation.

While I’m completely in favor of this, it doesn’t address the more significant problems. Factory farming and the consumption of beef and chicken cause far more animal suffering worldwide than eating dogs. Legislation needs to exist to prohibit the production and consumption of ALL meat products. What’s the point of banning dog meat when cows, chickens, goats, sheep, etc are all raised for meat? Banning dog is a good first step, but it’s insignificant. I see no difference in eating dogs va eating the normal “meat animals.”

Before anyone asks, no, I’m not vegan, but I’m in favor of coexisting with animals and using what they leave for us (like free range eggs), not murdering them for food.

You’re correct about an outside individual accessing your network, but that still doesn’t prevent a device on your network from phoning home.

I think most people have at least some open ports, though. Isn’t port forwarding required for a lot of online games? It used to be at least.

You should never fully trust ANY device on your network. Even if it’s not collecting your personal information and sending it off to who-knows-where, there could always be a zero-day exploit just waiting for someone to find it.

The best solution IMO is don’t let your smart devices have access to the internet. Put them on a VLAN, block them at the firewall, whatever method you prefer. Accessing your home network remotely is one thing, but your air conditioner doesn’t need to INITIATE a connection to the outside world.

It seems like “we’re protecting the CHILDREN!” is supposed to make any kind of bullshit legislation acceptable. It’s the parents’ job to protect the children. It’s the government’s job to maintain order, provide public services, and ensure the security of the country.

If you want to protect children from “legal but harmful” content online, maybe don’t allow your 12-year-old to have a smartphone. How about blocking sites like TikTok and Facebook on the devices that children do have access to. Monitor your children’s online activities. I have said for years that until a child is able to purchase their own tech devices and pay for the service, let them use the family computer.

Governments should hold the parents accountable for raising the children they chose to have, and step in when they choose not to; don’t enact sweeping legislation that harms everyone because the parents refuse to take accountability for their children.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/biden-says-it-appears-israeli-military-not-responsible-for-deadly-blast-at-gaza-hospital

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/18/politics/us-intel-gaza-hospital-blast/index.html

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