MerryJaneDoe

OR...and hear me out on this....

Trump escalates the war on the premise that the US should provide safe passage to those ships. He dumps a fleet or two of ships into the Gulf, along with a trillion dollars or so for a ground war and insurance for the tankers. The US and Israel promise to keep the Gulf secure in perpetuity.

we’ll be living in a very different world. The boot of the west will come off the neck of humanity, and the rest of the world will finally have a chance to breathe.

We're already seeing this trend and have for years - but Rome doesn't collapse in a day.

The entire point of the petrodollar is to perpetuate the US hegemony. The entire world, including our allies, know this. The average American knows this. It's just that Americans aren't in agreement as to whether the current arrangement with OPEC is a net good or a net bad.

I agree, of course, that my assessment is simplified. There's always a host of variables.

Until OPEC agrees to Iran's demands to change to Yuan, they'll still settle in USD. So at this point, it's just background noise.

Yes, there are ripple effects. Yes, people will go hungry (hungrier?). Freight costs increase. Less travel. Everything that depends on that sweet, sweet crude will increase in cost.

Again, this doesn't affect Trump and his cronies. They have money. They don't care about the average American and they never did. They don't care about any other citizen of the world unless that citizen is hideously wealthy AND willing to eat at the same table.

It's outrageous, of course. But this situation didn't just magically create itself. It's been the norm since OPEC was formed. Our global economy depends on oil, which means every person's well-being depends on it. The solution is energy independence, but it's really difficult to get people excited about solar panels. They would much rather see bombs and bullets on TV.

You can actively work on countering the negative effects, so I'd start with just a list of positives. If all the negatives were gone, which country would you choose?

Let's suppose it's the USA. You're uncomfortable there, because of violence and ICE scares, but everything else is fine. You can look at local crime rates, especially gun violence. Find an area/school where these statistics are near-zero. You can mitigate the ICE risk by retaining an immigration lawyer and making sure that all your paperwork is in order.

Make the same type of list with Japan and China. What would you need to do to mitigate the xenophobia/ethnic differences? (Are you already fluent in both languages?)

You also mention finances, which should probably be near the top of the list. Figure out a realistic cost for your entire time at school, then work with your family to understand what's doable and what stretches them past the breaking point.

Condensing some information for discussion here (and thanks for providing the archive link!):

It’s not clear what further tools President Donald Trump has to keep global oil prices from surging in the near term – other than fully reopening the strait.

The situation is even more extreme in liquefied natural gas. The Strait of Hormuz typically accounts for about a fifth of global supply...The US is the world’s biggest LNG exporter, and its domestic gas market is relatively insulated from the war due to its massive production.

So...why would Trump want to reopen the Straight? Keeping oil in short supply keeps the petrodollar dominant. And it increases the value of domestic oil/natural gas.

In short, Trump has no reason to ease gas prices. The effects on the upper class are minimal, and he's shown that he absolutely does not care about the economic impact of his policies upon the working class.

A very informative article, but (as always seems to be the case with major news outlets) a bit short on analysis and clarity.

Saapas, I can see that you were trying to relate your own experiences to the discussion and even add to the discussion by asking a question. I'm sorry that nobody seems to understand what you're trying to do. Many here are autists and many more are self-involved. I, in fact, am both and very pleased with myself for feeling empathy and compassion in this moment.

Back to your very valid question: Sleep scientists have long tracked sleeping cycles. Not all sleep is equal. Sleeping for a certain amount of time resets certain chemical imbalances in the brain. Many people can take a twenty-minute nap at midday, for example, and feel clear-headed afterwards. However, if they take an hour nap, they may feel lethargic. But then maybe that same person could take a two-hour nap instead, and feel great.

Your mileage may vary, but my point is that sleep cycles are a real thing. If your body is used to going to sleep at a certain time, that's the time it expects sleep. It's based on your body's own internal clock. Daylight Savings Time messes with that clock. Your body doesn't care that your phone jumped ahead an hour.

Not everyone will have a difficult time adjusting, but it's not uncommon to feel restless for a couple of weeks until the body catches up to the new sleep pattern.

https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=circadian+rhythm+daylight+savings

It's a fun movie, but the action tropes do get a bit thick near the end.

The Obshak scene, where Hutch confronts Yulian in the club, though - chef's fucking kiss.

I'm that lazy on a daily basis. I'm just not that comfortable, dammit, and probably never will be.

It's a statement. It needs no response.

1. Maybe.
2. No. Because biology is not a black/white science. There are shades of gray. If you define male as "XY" , then what is a person born "XXY"? What if that person is born with both a penis and vagina?
3. It's not a logical statement to begin with, it's a statement of taxonomy, a classification. It's like saying "How do you argue with someone who thinks red and pink are the same color?" You don't. They see what they see.
4. "woman" is a gender (a sociological term, not a biological classification).

And, of course, I have MUCH more to say on the subject. But, ya know, gotta start the conversation somewhere....

Good questions, keep 'em coming!

the main value proposition of crypto is permissionless peer-to-peer payments.

I think a lot of people, including myself, expected a more user-friendly experience. And what many of us realized is that a peer-to-peer payment system is a lot of work and risk for the user. Everything looks unpolished and sketchy. You don't know if you've installed the right software. There's no FDIC insuring the money, and the FBI is going to laugh if you say that you accidentally sent your life savings to the wrong crypto address.

I guess what I'm saying is that I started to realize all the labor involved in secure fiat monetary systems. For me, as someone without a lot of money or any real reason to transfer my money electronically beyond paying bills, the effort just didn't seem worth it.

So, yeah, that's the reason I just parked my cash in Coinbase and let it grow. The risk and the hassle of actually utilizing a peer-to-peer system didn't seem to have much of a reward.

Support groups.

Seeing a therapist is a great idea, but most people can only afford to go a few times a month, if that.

Support groups are cheaper (or free) and they accomplish the same thing, albeit without the focus being solely on yourself.

"Hello human billionaire friend. I too would like to harvest unlimited data directly from the government agencies."

And variable. You can be highly intelligent today, but in ten years? A dumbass.

Modern media can turn a person's mind to mush. People who stay sharp are the people who keep reading (books, not memes and comments!), who challenge themselves to learn new useless things, who stay active in mind and body.

I think we've all seen our fair share of people go through this as they age. They find a comfort zone and become programmed by their routine.