If Putin dies, a successor might (secretly) align with Ukraine. Something like “If you attack XX, I will remove my troops from ZZ, if you don’t attack me. I will be focusing on a bread & butter campaign if I run Russia. Take care of my rivals in the meantime, mm’kay?”

Mind, I would prefer Russia outright being conquered and Marshall Planned into something completely different, but I would accept the other scenario if the outcome could be decent. In this case, Ukraine gets back Crimea and all other territories, plus security guarantees.

I think we have the opposite going on here - the conservatives are breaking the system in such a way, that it must change. This is the big chance for a 3rd party to destroy the old guard, simply because the old guard is being incredibly dumb and greedy with their own overhaul.

It is simply a question of who can offer the better future. The wealthy dudes who are going to kill grandma by taking away her medicine and money, or the nice lady who wants granny to live a long and decent life?

Unfortunately, the Traitor in Chief really likes Hitler and enjoys giving Putin a reacharound. I don’t like our odds for having peace.

Wise is definitely on my radar. I will go for it. Also, I should get my passport if I can. Who knows what kinds of interesting times we will live in?

I really hope that the EU introduces a global payment and banking system that is agnostic. I don’t want to be under MasterVisa’s thumb, and would prefer to keep the bulk of my money as Euros instead of American Dollars. Problem is, as an American, I can’t readily use Euros in my daily life.

Here’s hoping the EU can strike up a solution with Blue States, so that I don’t need to ask Musk for permission to buy anything.

Yeah, that is what happened to DLSite. It sells Japanese media such as hentai, so Visa & Mastercard put a universal ban on their products, no matter the category. It is a 1st Amendment violation IMO, since they are gatekeeping an entire culture.

I can easily see MasterVisa banning European or Canadian merchants for the sake of a Trump Regime.

If they got the coop working and user-friendly, I might be able to convince someone to join me for a playthrough. Regardless, I will certainly pick up a copy - SS2 deserves my money, and I want Night Dive to keep bringing back the good stuff.

I hope Lucas makes an official Amerika DLC. It is important that Paper’s Please message is not treated as anti-communist, but anti-totalitarian.

“Hello, is this Canada? I got a vermin infestation in a White House that could use fumigation. Do it like how you did in 1814. It is too far gone to be saved.”

ProtonMail. Despite the boss likely being a conservative dogebag, their company is headquartered in Switzerland. That is the first big thing I check for my privacy and banking services. It is harder for a service to be poisoned by Yarvin’s Cabal if the service’s HQ is located in a democratic country, especially one famed for their privacy.

Money is imaginary. It was invented for the purpose of saving time through pure convenience. Why not go a step further, and sacrifice some profit for the sake of giving everybody some security and agency? What efficiency we lose, we get back in people being able to enjoy the fruits of civilization. Money only has value if people agree that it does, and we should apply that understanding towards redefining the purpose of money: luxuries.

The elite have hoarded the value of what workers have provided to society, and then consistently throws those same workers under the bus. Your “material conditions”, is just unfettered abuse.

Also, the system I laid out? It gives political agency to ordinary people, because they can protest and strike without losing their home or starving. This takes away the greatest tool of coercion that capitalism wields against workers. That is way more valuable than raw profit, because people can oppose bad actors in society. Like Schuemer, or Trump himself. Same goes for shitty workplaces - people can genuinely wait for a better job. This will force many bad companies out of business, because people want to be treated humanly.

I think the problem with Communism and Capitalism, is that both were implemented in the first place without specific goals or structure. Those things got added on later, such as the 5 year plans or how lobbying works.

IMO, we will need a v2.0 Constitution in the future, designed not only to address political issues, but also create fiscal rules. Things like universal benefits and healthcare, how much people should be payed, wealth limits, workers voting for their leadership, and so on. This, like the Magna Carta or the French Revolution, will require force in order to displace the ways of old.

It will suck, but conflict seems inevitable. Might as well make the most of it, and forge a new way forward.