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Posts by William Gonzalez3

305 posts shown.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine: Part 5 in War in Ukraine ·
dustyowl29 said:Maybe, but probably not by this fall... remember how long it took during that period when America was occupied? It was four years before the liberation movement even truly gained momentum..

The liberation process in America actually began back in 1991.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Otkos_10
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Sanctions on Russia in War in Ukraine ·
If Russia doesn't realize right now that we aren't playing games—they're really not going to get it.
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Sanctions on Russia in War in Ukraine ·
Paul Anderson7 said:Everyone seems to be rooting for a weakened Russia. In a perfect world, they’d just become some sort of massive demilitarized zone that focuses entirely on exporting raw materials and their agricultural goods. It would be a win-win for everyone involved, which is honestly the funniest part—even the Russians themselves would probably find that setup more appealing.

It’s a bit like those countries in Africa—everyone assumes they’re doing great just because they don't have a military worth mentioning and mostly just export their natural resources.
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Sanctions on Russia in War in Ukraine ·
slysurfer77 said:Listen to this—calling it some sort of anti-Russian campaign. 🙄 It’s almost as if Russians just showed up in Ukraine for a quick vacation and now everyone hates them. I suppose the only thing truly "unifying" Russians right now is Putin's crackdowns.

Honestly, this frantic race between organizations and institutions to purge anything remotely connected to Russia feels about as intelligent as renaming French fries to "Freedom Fries"—just one of those mindless interventions we've seen from Americans before.
The last thing I read was that restaurants are even pulling Russian salad from their menus.

And yeah, I think it's starting to feel more like hysterical Russophobia than actual economic sanctions.
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Sanctions on Russia in War in Ukraine ·
Carl Lee27 said:To be totally honest here, the real goal of sanctions has never actually been about sparking revolutions or putting direct pressure on a regime—at least not as the primary objective. You're never going to hear them admit it out loud, obviously, but the main function of sanctions is really just to impoverish both the people and the state. When a country is broke, it becomes incredibly difficult for them to fund military campaigns, support uprisings, or keep up that kind of momentum.

If you look at the situation in Iran, you can see that it isn't quite as straightforward as people assume.

In fact, Iran has remained actively involved in the conflicts in Syria—and despite the USA doing everything in its power to destabilize them through decades of heavy sanctions, they still haven't managed to force a change in the regime there.
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Sanctions on Russia in War in Ukraine ·
silverotter72 said:Hold on just a second! Are you actually suggesting those countries aren't thriving? Honestly, if you asked me, I’d pack my bags and leave this miserable European Union for any one of them in a heartbeat. Right this instant. I could spend my days driving in circles on dirt-cheap gasoline until I eventually starve to death. Sounds like a dream, doesn't it?

Reports suggest the whole point of these sanctions is to isolate and drain Russia—essentially hoping to spark enough internal unrest to eventually force a change in leadership.
But if we look at what happened with places like Cuba, Iran, or North Korea—nations that have lived under long-term sanctions—I suspect we can say with some certainty that nothing similar is going to happen here.

In fact, there is a real possibility that this entire anti-Russian campaign—which seems to be going way beyond just the sanctions themselves—might actually play right into Putin's hands by reinforcing his narrative that the West is an enemy of Russia. If that happens, it might just end up making them more unified than ever.
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Who's going to do the dirty work in Utopia? in Philosophy ·
Andrew Booth29 said:Why limit it to them? You could say the exact same thing about religious zealots or pretty much any other group out there... It seems to be a universal human trait, doesn't it?

Regarding these "ideals"—they’re actually quite a burden. The goals a person sets for themselves really ought to be measurable and attainable. Abstract, impossible objectives often serve as nothing more than an excuse for doing absolutely nothing. That said, occasionally it helps to aim for something out of reach; sometimes, you actually manage to hit the mark. 😬

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"Shoot for the moon; even if you miss, you'll find yourself among the stars."
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Reporting spam posts in Feedback & Suggestions ·
Please, let's be civil...
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Reporting spam posts in Feedback & Suggestions ·
Since you're the only moderator who actually took the time to look at this report—and considering this user is clearly just a clone of the permanently banned Adis Šabović—would you consider issuing a permanent ban that prevents them from simply creating another account?
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Reporting spam posts in Feedback & Suggestions ·
Private Message said:...honestly, I’m a total moron—not even an animal at this point—so you can just call me Tarzan, you thick-headed, tunnel-visioned jerk! Who even are you? You claim to be an American patriot? No, you aren't; you're just some outlier. A complete non-entity!
So, you picked up a few formulas and a couple of axioms and suddenly felt brave enough to lecture us on philosophy? Maybe try sticking to math or physics instead, buddy. In those fields, there are no subjects, no Mexicans, no Americans, and no Yugoslavs—it’s all just cold logic. Everything is governed by necessity; everything is predetermined. To pretend you're being "apolitical" is just pure delusion—do you realize how foolish that sounds? It's not just a small mistake, either; it's a classic, textbook case of sheer stupidity.
You really are something else, you absolute disaster...
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Reporting spam posts in Feedback & Suggestions ·
This thread was intended strictly for discussing philosophy—a section that hasn't had an active moderator for months now.

Most of the other subforums have at least one moderator keeping things running, and I honestly think it would be much more efficient if people reported posts directly to them, rather than cluttering up this specific thread.
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Reporting spam posts in Feedback & Suggestions ·
Total darkness

I also think it might be a good idea to clean up the spam on this page —it’s getting a bit out of hand, I guess.
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Reporting spam posts in Feedback & Suggestions ·
Just looks like another clone of Adis Šabović to me.

Honestly, I think we might need to consider deleting his posts—and all the replies to them—as well.
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Free Nelson Mandela! in Feedback & Suggestions ·
I am in complete agreement with hiddenpuma75—whose presence here can honestly only be described as exemplary and beyond reproach.

Since he isn't a problematic user—in fact, I’d say his contributions actually elevate every single subforum he touches—there really shouldn't be any reason for that irrational, and likely quite impulsive, decision regarding his status to remain in effect, especially considering he hasn't moderated the Religion section for quite some time now.
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Intentional Communities: The pursuit of a modern utopia in Philosophy ·
When looking at the communities that came closest to actually achieving a utopia, one standout example has to be New Harmony—the project launched by the wealthy industrialist Robert Owen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Harmony,_Indiana

Before this venture, Owen ran a textile mill where he pioneered several innovations that we basically take for granted in the US today—he was even one of the first to implement a version of worker self-management.
He essentially tried to scale up those factory principles and apply them to the entire social structure of New Harmony.

As for the community itself—if my memory serves me right—it was open to everyone and operated without private property. It managed to draw in about a thousand people, but it ultimately collapsed just two years after it started, largely due to the issues already mentioned in the thread. There were just too many "strong personalities"—lots of armchair theorists who preferred debating reality rather than actually working—and those types quickly overwhelmed the group. So, as a pure socialist experiment, New Harmony lasted roughly two years.
The movement continued afterward, though likely in a different form, and I believe Owen’s sons played a significant role in keeping his vision of public service alive.
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Lab results - looking for opinions [PLEASE READ 1ST POST] in Health ·
velvetmoose9 said:It might help to have a few more details regarding:

- any active sports you play (tennis, bocce, chess, 110m hurdles, soccer...)

I don't really do any sports.

- any past knee injuries?

None, actually.

- what kind of work do you do? (for example, a utility worker at Exelon who climbs poles three times a week, a machinist standing at a lathe for 8 hours a day, a lexicographer at an Ernest Hemingway institute sitting sedentary for 14 hours a day, or maybe a technician at an authorized Samsung service center...)

Mostly I just sit at a desk—though I’ll head up or down some stairs here and there during my eight-hour shift.

- general habits (do you mostly sit, stand, lie down, cross your legs...)

I spend most of my time sitting.

- body weight, height, approximate body composition

92 kg, 189 cm, and an "average" build.

- approximate leg "shape"—by which I mean things like bow-legged or knock-kneed (I'm guessing you might be one of those)

Neither, really.
My legs are straight.

- future plans (for instance, are you planning to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, win an NBA ring, engage in recreational exercise, or just continue sitting for 14 hours a day—whether at work or at a pub while managing tolerable pain with a bit of Voltaren once in a while...)

I'd like to get into some recreational exercise, but I have little ones in preschool age that I look after while my wife works afternoon shifts at a school, so I can't really do much besides walking them to the park and either sitting on a bench or just standing there while they pretend to be pigs in the sand.
I am considering buying an indoor bike, because my GP told me I should be cycling and walking on flat ground (she diagnosed me with gonarthrosis).

Regarding what was mentioned above, I guess you don't necessarily need to fire up the Husqvarna just yet ☕

actually, on second thought, I think I might want to.

I still have my other leg, so—if I do this—I'll probably just need to trade in my current car for an automatic, and then I'll be all set.
It seems like a much better plan than potentially wrecking my liver by overdoing it on painkillers.
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Lab results - looking for opinions [PLEASE READ 1ST POST] in Health ·
Hey everyone, my knee is killing me. I'm in my mid-thirties.

X-ray results:

Bone structure and mineralization appear normal for the bones shown.

Reduction of the joint space in the tibiofemoral joint—it seems more pronounced on the medial side.

Flattening and sclerosis of both tibial plateaus.

Early signs of sharpening in the intercondylar eminence.

Periarticular ventral bone apposition.

Subchondral osteosclerosis of the patellar articular surface.

Fabella.

So... am I going to lose the leg? Should I start looking at prosthetic wooden ones?
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Banned for 3-4 years because a former mod couldn't stand religion... in Feedback & Suggestions ·
I am wholeheartedly backing the request made by hiddenpuma75.
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Deleting posts in Feedback & Suggestions ·
lonebadger6 said:It’s quite a marvel, really; there are so many posts here criticizing Bitorajac and his song, yet they actually stay on topic, aren't trolling, and remain perfectly civilized...

Are you suggesting that the comments from Mark Harris66, feralpilot0, and Matthew Castillo5 are actually trolling, uncivilized, or off-topic?
🍿
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Deleting posts in Feedback & Suggestions ·
William Bennett53 said:In your very first post in this thread, you were clearly just trolling, and if memory serves, not a single moderator even acknowledged it. If there was some underlying desire for you to express regret, well, it certainly escaped us.

But moving past that, I was responding to the general inquiry, not specifically to you, so I trust we can consider this misunderstanding resolved.

I really feel that if a moderator is going to delete one of my posts from a thread, they should probably take a moment to actually address it—maybe offer some kind of coherent explanation as to why it was removed in the first place.

Look, setting that aside—I was actually responding to a question from the heavens, not to you specifically, so I really hope we can just put this misunderstanding behind us.

Of course.
So, there are just a few more appeals left to deal with on this thread—namely feralpilot0’s post, which was second in line, then mine—since my post was the third one—and finally Matthew Castillo5’s, who is actually a new member here.
For goodness' sake—it looks like you've only been deleting the comments that take a negative stance toward Bitorajac and his song.
😲
That was truly unexpected.
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