They’re probably going to shut you down here too, because it’s pretty obvious they’ve decided to kick out anyone who doesn't fall in line with whoever is leading things now. But seriously, being a moderator shouldn't mean running a dictatorship. This whole thing feels like a cheap, arrogant imitation of authoritarianism. Honestly? Just walk away from this forum before you lose your mind. It’s just not worth the stress.
Security checkpoints feel more like an internal power grab than actual safety measures. This whole "half-baked savior" regime is basically just using tactics to chip away at our individual freedoms. And honestly? No matter how many layers of control they pile on, not a single terrorist plot has actually been caught thanks to these specific checks. In just two years, the TSA workforce ballooned from 16,000 to a massive 67,000 people! It’s clearly just bureaucratic political correctness being pushed through, which somehow ends up shielding Islamic terrorists in the background. Of course, this is going to make everyone absolutely furious, and by the next election, we can probably expect a Ronald Reagan type administration—or maybe something even more radical. I didn't have any travel plans lined up, but if I were you, I’d suggest avoiding flying in, out of, or even within the USA altogether. We should aim to cause as much disruption as possible through civil disobedience. Let's force the TSA to either actually do the job they were hired for or just stop this nonsense and let airlines handle their own security protocols.
Charles Davis88 said:This whole post is, well, full of nonsense. 🙂
Between claims that Ironing Man is just another name for Skate Mus, suggestions that moderators should be from the "New World" (🤣), and the idea that in America you can only be one thing—a fascist, a communist, or part of the 🤔 diaspora... Not to mention quoting Kokuza like she’s some modern-day heroine! It's the ultra-urban Kokuza versus the shepherds! 😂😂
Posts like this are exactly why I don't hang out here more often. 😁 I'm afraid of catching the contagion, if you catch my drift...
I feel bad if certain Western themes and perspectives don't fit into your imaginary little bubble. Kokica is practically a fallen hero of this site. We should probably start an entire sub-forum dedicated to Kokica's mental (and other) qualities.
And that fear of catching the "infection" of free thought? It's so typical for a generation that was still in diapers when the missiles were falling on Washington, D.C. This postmodern political correctness in modern America is exactly why things are the way they are. The forum is just a mirror reflecting that reality.
This whole thing keeps happening because the moderator cares more about their own ego than actually showing respect (or finding the time) for everyone else. I’ve been part of the diaspora for ages, and I feel like I’ve seen every single crisis and headache since, I don't know, 2002 or 2003. Honestly, aside from that one guy from Australia (was his name Hobbit or something like that?), this entire moderation team is pretty useless, and the quality of leadership just keeps getting worse. I remember when this group of "housewives" suddenly swooped in—I think that was the exact moment this forum lost its edge. Look, if we're chatting about cookies or recipes, fine, everything's great. But the second Kokuza jumps in to lecture people like they're uneducated peasants, she gets banned, while the "clueless" crowd stays right where they are. People in the diaspora have way more options for how to build their lives. It's not like nobody wants to help the newcomers, but even these "kids" need to put in a little effort to find info themselves. Like, imagine someone asking: "I'm a chef but I want to work in IT, what school do I need, and how much is an apartment in Los Angeles? Because I'm an American from Lower Krkusa and I only want to live in New York, Florida, or California"—what are you even supposed to say to a question like that?
Up until now, most of this moderation has basically come from the diaspora living in Graz or Vienna. But the diaspora includes users from every single continent with years of life experience (some even live in multiple countries!). How can someone moderate a global community when they spend every weekend sleeping at their mom's place back in... America?
BTW, ambermason16 is (as far as I know) just another name for Skate Mus... If moderators are allowed to have a couple of nicknames, why shouldn't regular users have a few too? Just to keep things interesting!
On top of that, there are political topics that really matter to the diaspora. Economic issues in different countries hit politics differently in the places where we actually live. Our view of the political world is completely different from someone who's seventeen and only knows about the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. I realized a long time ago that in Europe, your only choices seem to be being a fascist, a communist, or part of the diaspora—but moving continents doesn't magically fix all the old baggage. We have a few users here with libertarian views that are totally unknown in most parts of the world, and their posts make zero sense to anyone who hasn't experienced much more than just Communist Party or Republican Party ideas.
Naturally, the diaspora sees internal American problems through a different lens (as Njegos would say, "if you stand on a hill, you see better than those stuck in the valley"), and certain European solutions just don't align with what people in the diaspora have actually gone through.
Plus, the criteria for free speech are totally different here compared to the EU or America, which causes a lot of frustration. For example, if I write that my current president is a jerk, it's totally fine here. But if I go on a forum and say Sanders is a jerk—whether I mean it literally or just figuratively—will I get banned? That feels so disconnected from the environment I actually live in; neither side should be bowing down to political figures.
Because of all this, I truly believe a moderator for the diaspora should be from the "New World"—the USA, Canada, or Australia. But hey, if there aren't any other options, or if the forum policy is to maintain some "Old World" tradition of being overly respectful to hierarchical structures, then let it be!
As for me, I don't even have to visit the forum, but I'll swing by for updates. I won't pretend I'm not rambling a bit too much!
Just look at that example above—pure trolling and someone trying to pull all the strings just to show everyone how much they need a lesson in basic keyboard etiquette. And then, once they finally figure out how to type, they start passionately defending some Banana state they’ve never even stepped foot in, let alone lived in. They aren't even citizens! Their actual home was swept away by the winds of war over twenty years ago.
By any standard set of forum rules, this kind of behavior should merit at least a 10-day cooling-off period.
But hey, I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this plays out...
I totally get that moderating takes a massive amount of time and mental energy. My gripe with mods in general is that they don't look at the big picture. They just swoop in, grab a few posts from the usual suspects they already dislike, deal with DMs and all that other "background noise" (which feels way more intense here than anywhere else), and then moderation turns into a five-minute sprint of deleting stuff, handing out warnings, and dropping one-line explanations...
Look, I try not to be a total jerk, but when someone crosses the line—like Ashley Rogers4 lately, which I think is just due to mass stupidity—I’m going to report it. And iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii guess what happens? NOTHING! I’m automatically labeled the "jerk," while Ashley Rogers4, that retiree who's basically halfway through life, and a few other immature kids can talk trash whenever they want without any consequences. Ashley Rogers4 went on a little "vacation" recently, and there was a massive meltdown trying to drag her back from the mess she made herself. Then shadowdrifter34 decides to give a dead cold return to the attacks—which is always a mistake—and ends up getting banned for 10 days! WHY?
Because moderation lasts about five minutes and the mods aren't looking at the big picture.
Hey, I get it—they aren't getting paid for this. And honestly, doing everything for nothing feels pretty pointless anyway...
It’s not just happening here, either. A few years ago, I used to hang out on political forums (like The New York Times ones) that had professional moderators watching 24/7, and the exact same stuff would happen there... To me, a Forum is like a virtual circus where things are always going sideways, and if you don't have the heavy hitters or the brass balls to handle it, you shouldn't expect much...
Jeffrey Torres said:Here is a little sad-but-funny post I put together after reading a Gmail. Just a simple math problem with a pretty shocking result. Some quick thoughts and calculations from a typical CNN viewer.
The plan to bail out the big banks will cost American taxpayers about 700 billion dollars. They've already handed over 500 billion, plus billions more in Euro from European countries. To help make sense of what that actually means, here is a little bit of math. There are roughly 7.7 billion people on Earth. If we divided that 700 billion dollars among everyone on the planet, everyone would get about 90 million dollars.🤣😂 I mean, if that money were actually distributed to end the crisis or poverty—rather than just making every single person on this planet a millionaire—it would be quite different. And honestly, who really cares anymore? It feels like nobody does. It seems like there is a massive issue with how things are being distributed and calculated; someone out there must be losing their mind. For example, let's say France pays 26 billion Euro from its taxpayers to pull its banking speculators out of the crisis. With a population of about 67 million, that’s roughly 388 million Euro per person. That means a family of four would essentially be paying 1.55 billion Euro. Now, think about what GDP per capita actually represents. How could one person ever pay that much if their annual GDP per capita is only 50,000 Euro (which isn't even that high)? We are talking 388 million Euro. How many years would that take? I guess maybe several hundred years, since it takes 20 years just to earn a single million. So, the crisis is still here, the government is laughing at the taxpayers, and they are once again funding the speculators who lost all that money in the first place. What is left for us? Nothing, because we are just the people. That is just how the world works, unfortunately.
I just quickly summarized this from somewhere else, so now you can do the math and let me know what you think.
No matter how you slice it, half of that money would probably just get blown on PlayStations, iPhones, iPads, new tires, 22-inch rims, sticks, Porsches, and straw hats. After all that, the rest of us would still be stuck in the exact same mess we started in.
I can only speak from what I’m seeing right now during my stay here. It feels like someone is celebrating a holiday every single day! The very first article of our Constitution guarantees religious equality for everyone. Disrespecting any other religion, their beliefs, or their holidays is considered a violation of the CONSTITUTION—it's tacky, and honestly, in some cases, it's straight-up criminal.
Unfortunately, this forum has become a breeding ground for uncivilized local thugs and small-town bullies... basically, just a bunch of idiots of all stripes.
Whether we're talking about Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or a Sudden chain, those people couldn't care less.
A hillbilly is a hillbilly, whether they're a low-life, a redneck, or a total mofos.
Honestly, I’m just so incredibly grateful for all this hard work being put into building things up—doing it all for my future generation of Albanian friends.
Just like everything else before this, Vaskolik is bound to hand it all over to the Albanians eventually in some upcoming peace treaty (let's call it the Surdulica Charter). In that deal, the younger generations of Albanians will basically promise not to push north of the Surdulica gorge for at least 20 years following those massive German-made achievements during the Battle of Mexico III. You remember that one, right? Where the Vaskolik swine units managed to "hold their ground" for almost three (3 - van-tu-three!) whole days against those Albanian attacks in Mercedes-Benz and BMW cars (German-made—and yes, I'm emphasizing the German manufacturing here!) coming from those famous plants in Leposavić and Krnjevac Dolinack. It was all under the fascist leadership of Adem Zejrulahu—an "alleged" killer whose products cause such huge damage to Vaskolik roads and the Mexican weaklings on the sun-baked concrete of the only bridge over the Danube. That's where the Canadians and Americans from occupied Mexican Zitnica use those VW minivans (German-made! Seriously, what a COINCIDENCE!) to break through toward that massive, legendary flea market in Dörcol, where the Zvezda Grando stars are STILL "holding out" and spreading the glory of the heroic turbo-folk days to the entire world.
Jeremy Wilson3 said:Here we go again, back to the usual nonsense. There’s nothing more democratic than when the people finally send the elite out to be publicly shamed. Anything else is just noise.
I have to disagree!
The elites should be sent off to actually do something productive—like here in the States, where they end up walking along the highways picking up plastic bottles and trash while wearing those bright orange or striped safety vests.
Morgan Rodriguez57 said:You might want to brush up on your history a bit—in the US, the whole system is actually designed to keep the general public from having direct control over the government, basically ensuring that power stays within the hands of the elite... it’s not even a secret if you look into books about the American electoral and administrative systems...
The American setup actually shares a lot of DNA with the Roman Republic—and even then, it was arguably much more democratic back then (with the tribunes and the comitia)—though it’s a stretch to call Rome a true democracy by today's standards... 😉
Hey, I'm trying!
It’s just that books and Hollywood movies never quite capture the actual reality I'm living through.
mistycyclist5 said:You’re missing the point. If you look at where true democracy is actually lacking, you’ll find the USA—at least, not the version of it they try to sell to the rest of the world... and I say that from firsthand experience.
In America, if you don't have the money, you don't have rights!
If you ask me, voting should actually be a paid privilege. But hey, nobody asked for my opinion, right? Haha!
Actually, think about it: people with money could just buy themselves a few extra votes. Meanwhile, those who can't even afford the basics (well, honestly, they brought that on themselves!) wouldn't have the power to vote in politicians who would just steal from the wealthy to hand out handouts.
goldentrucker17 said:Man, maybe try actually looking up what these terms mean before you start spouting nonsense? You’re claiming the USA is a constitutional democracy? What is that supposed to imply? That it’s a nation with a constitution and a democratic setup? There are easily over a hundred countries out there that fit that exact description. So why wouldn't America be a constitutional democracy? We have elections and we have a constitution.😁
Then what exactly is a PARLIAMENTARY democracy in your book?
Moses, tell your mom that I am NOT the one rambling here.
Morgan Rodriguez57 said:And you really picked *that* as your example... if there's anywhere lacking democracy, it's definitely the US... 🤣
Well, it really depends on how you define democracy. At its core, democracy can just be rule by the mob—and honestly, we've seen that play out far too many times already.
A constitutional democracy is all about the rule of law, where the rules apply equally to everyone. That is exactly what the USA is. It's just that the radicals and the local traitors are working overtime to spin it as some kind of sacrilege.
I totally get why they do it, though. It’s their way of trying to strip away the power of the system (even if it also strips away the strength of their own arguments).
Look, the way this system is DESIGNED, you just can't fix it from the inside using peaceful democratic ways. It’s just not happening.
The only real way out is a total overhaul of the Constitution—changing the entire structure of the government. We need to STRIP away the power of the POLITICAL PARTIES to rule OVER the people. We need something like what they have in the USA, where the PEOPLE actually hold every politician "by the throat" and make sure they're answerable to their local communities.
Complete privatization of all resources, slashing bureaucracy down to almost nothing, capping taxes at a level where we only pay off debts, implementing basic labor laws, setting up dedicated labor courts, passing laws that make private property absolutely untouchable, cutting social benefits to a bare minimum (so nobody's just living off someone else's hard work), total freedom of trade and labor, and some serious vetting... honestly, it sounds like science fiction.
It'll happen in New Jersey in a month.
OR—we go the violent route, which is really the only option left for Europe.
OR—we get displaced all across Earth, which, let's face it, is already starting to happen.
brightcobra10 said:So wait, does that mean an 18-year-old can sign a binding contract but still isn't allowed to grab a beer at a local pub?😲
Honestly, I haven't heard of anyone signing up right at 18. Even if they did, once you're an adult, you're on your own—if you trip and fall, that's on you! Plus, US forces aren't anything like the Mexicans or Russians used to be. Seriously, someone tell Alja we need more troops! Specialists only deploy after really intense preparation.
I was actually hanging out with a guy this past Saturday who just got back from Iraq. He's 27, Black, and before that, he was stationed over in Pittsburgh because they were working on some stuff for the US in Canada. He told me he actually had a harder time in Pittsburgh than he did in Iraq! The heat there was just brutal, and without any air conditioning, he felt like he was drying out like a piece of cod. The only thing that kept him going was the vibe in Osijek—they’re actually planning to put up a monument for him...