Leo Gura

Glad you liked it. I nearly didn't post it cause I thought no one would care.

Yes, great example!

I asked Claude: Leo: Has there been any good research or understanding of how much sanctions affect a nation's development? I'm wondering about to what extent scanctions are responsible for the lack of success of nations like Cuba, Iran, and North Korea vs how much is it their own fault of bad governance, lack of development, ideology, Marxism, corruption, bad geography, etc. Claude: This is a complex question that economists and political scientists have studied. Here's what research suggests: 1. Measuring sanctions' impact is difficult because: - Hard to isolate sanctions from other factors - Countries adapt over time - Different types of sanctions have varying effects - Limited data from closed societies 2. General findings: - Comprehensive sanctions typically reduce GDP by 1-5% annually - Impact usually strongest in first 1-2 years - Effects often diminish as countries adapt - Targeted sanctions have less economic impact 3. Case-specific factors: Cuba: - Sanctions estimated to cost $130 billion over time - But central planning and inefficient state control major factors - Tourism and remittances help offset impacts Iran: - Oil export restrictions most impactful - Has diversified economy to reduce vulnerability - Internal economic mismanagement significant - Corruption and bureaucracy major issues North Korea: - Sanctions impact severe but difficult to quantify - Juche ideology and central planning primary barriers - Geographic/natural resource challenges significant 4. Other important factors: - Political system quality - Education levels - Infrastructure - Geographic location - Natural resources - Trading partners - Technology access 5. Consensus view: - Sanctions are a significant hindrance but rarely the primary cause of underdevelopment - Internal governance and policy choices typically more decisive - Effects vary greatly based on country circumstances Most experts believe that while sanctions create real obstacles, domestic policy choices and governance issues are usually more fundamental to development outcomes.

There will be rapists too.

It's also good to look at America's evils. Acknowledging Native American rights and genocide is also important. But it should not be used to distract from problems in the Middle East. Israel has been a huge inflammatory issue in the Middle East for 75 years now and it needs a resolution. America and Europe should certainly not be funding their evil. What happened to American Natives was horrible, but today we have a peace and we are not bombing their towns and children nor trying to push them off their land. And if we are, then we should stop. We could also consider giving them some more land. The US Federal government owns like 60% of the land in the Western USA and much of it empty. No one is seriously telling Israel to not exist or move back to Europe. That's a strawman. Palestinians & even Hamas will accept a peace deal where they are given decent land and settlers are permanently stopped. The issue is that Israel refuses to stop settlers. This is unacceptable and wrong. American empire is a deeply problematic thing which we as Americans need to confront and stop denying, in the same way that Israelis are denying their colonialism. The real issue for America is not Native Americans, it's dismantling our military empire. And we can start by cutting off Israel.

Because they are killing 40,000 civilians, 15,000 children, 75 years of ongoing and continuing ethnic cleansing, dragging the Middle East and the USA into war with Iran, corrupting the US government, and creating global terrorism. The better question, why are you distracting from the obvious with irrelevancies and whataboutisms?

@Gennadiy1981 Your bias is so cartoonish. What did you think this work was about? You thought we would do truth-seeking and in the end your Jewish fantasies would get excepted, preserved, and served? You think that being a Jew is like an island in the middle of an ocean of self-deception? No. It is the ocean, the self-deception, just like everything else humans do. Only now when the rubber meets the road, when all the philosophy finally makes contact with your living reality, now you plead special exception. Now Leo is biased. Leo was great right up until he deconstructed my Jewishness. This work was never about preserving your self. Truth is a dagger in your Zionist heart. That's no mistake. That's the whole point! The problem is that you assumed truth would validate you. Instead truth reveals you to be a monster. That's no mistake, that's the truth. The point of our work was to make you conscious and open enough to accept your monstrosity.

It is, assuming you have decent health and of sound mind. Bootstrapping doesn't mean you will succeed in your initial ideas. Your ideas and goals may need changing. You gotta discover your niche in life. Bootstrapping involves a lot of failure before you succeed.

@Karmadhi That guy is like a Borat character.

@Bobby_2021 You are not interested in investigating or questioning your ideology, which is antithetical to our work.

I've been to North Korean concentration camp. Great people. Great rats. Lots of fun. 5 stars!

That's not something to be proud of.

There is no comparison to the backwardness and evilness of NK.

North Korea invaded South Korea to spread its Communist dictatorship. So spare us your crocodile tears.

Pales next to the corruption of MAGA.

You are missing selfishness and corruption. Every leftist is corrupt.

Yes, yes, this is old news.

That is different. Those are very specific jobs that require certification. But a programming job does not.

@Thought Art No worries.

That is questionable. What is your evidence? But also, you should consider the bigger picture. If your style of government causes the world to sanction you, then it is not a viable style of government. In the world of realpolitik, you can't just pretend that sanctions are someone else's fault. One of the many problems of Communism it that since it promises to launch violent revolutions and expropriate property, it will be very polarizing and strongly opposed by the status quo. Which includes scanctions and coups and the like. Because you are basically promosing to take all their property. Is that a wise way to conduct a government? No. And you see the end result in that map of North Korea. You can cry, "But in a fair world the capitalists wouldn't employ sanctions!" But this shows how stupid Marxism is because there is no fair world. Your politcial theory needs to account for how politics actually is, not how you wish it were. Yes, if you try to confiscate the wealth and property of all the world's most powerful and wealthy people they will sanction you and refuse to trade with you. Surprise Pikachu face!

Do we?

No, even the serious ones. Of course if you don't have the skill expected of you that's a serious problem.

This thread is acceptable. Youtube downloaders can be legit tools. It is not piracy to download a public video for personal use.

You can upload images to Imgur.com and post links.