Maedhros

Always looking for good excuses to post clips from The Wire (made by a former cop). It makes a pretty strong suggestion that the police aren't really to blame, not even the top brass. They just do what they have to, to please the politicians in charge (more convoluted than that, but oversimplified). "It's the chain of command baby, the **** always rolls downhill."

Yeah that's pretty fair overall. I think it's also fair to say that Progressives in the US are Scandinavian wannabees. Whenever I see AOC I think she must've been a Swede in a previous life.

To be fair, it's probably better to use Denmark as the example. We've been very lucky with our oil findings (though smart enough to nationalise it).

What countries? I can think of some who are somewhat similar in social democratic principles, but not one that stands out as more socialistic (Edit: and just to clarify, I use "socialism" like its being used in the 21st century. Meaning high taxes, welfare state, etc). No one is advocating "real" socialism. Are all the indexes that quantifies things differently but come to the same conclusions flawed? Yes they're designed to make certain countries shine...the countries where most people are happy. The methology varies, but the results are usually the same. Not a coincidence.

Thanks for replying. Yeah, no country is socialist really, but in the 21st century it feels like the useage of the word means "welfare state" more than anything else. I don't agree that it couldn't be done over there, you have a long history of having huge top tax rates after all, but I see your point with all the challenges.

No country is perfect (or even close to perfect), but there's a reason the same ones continously top all indexes no matter the positive criteria (democracy, happiness, least corrupt, you name it). Also, pretty sure Sweden isn't actually the "rape capitol" of Europe. They're superfeminist, so the term "rape" has a far wider definition there than elsewhere, and the women there are also far more likely to report them than in other countries (more faith in the justice system). I can ask you the same question I asked GD - why do you think those countries always top happiness indexes (and alike) despite being the most socialistic ones?

What's your take on the most socialist countries in the West are always topping democracy and happiness indexes? Not meant sarcastically btw, serious question. How do you explain socialism "bad", when countries that are the most socialist (within a capitalistic system) do so well? Would we do even better if we abandoned our system and became "mini-USAs"? https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidnikel/2019/03/20/northern-europe-dominates-happiness-rankings-once-again/#62e1f2902bd3 https://www.weforum.org/reports/global-social-mobility-index-2020-why-economies-benefit-from-fixing-inequality https://www.eiu.com/topic/democracy-index In before Skarpen "but barnevernet"

I agree, I was surprised to see how beloved that episode was. I saw people claiming it was one of the best episodes of TV ever, which surprised me considering Breaking Bad (and other shows, like The Sopranos) already had similar types of "lost in the wilderness" episodes. Looking forward to watching the newly released episode though. Very curious about what will happen to Kim in the end. Also, seconding Zoraptor's Dark recommendation.

I think Sanders has more positives than negatives. I think he identifies your problems more clearly than most other politicians over there. Then again, most Western-Europeans are gonna think that as he's pretty the "European-style" candidate.

Wonder if Trump or Biden will change some of their stances now to pick up voters from the Sanders-base. Bernie live on twitch: https://live.berniesanders.com/

Anyone seen The Plot Against America yet? I love much of David Simon's stuff (The Wire, Generation Kill, Show me a Hero), but have found some of his shows kind of hard to get into (Treme and The Deuce). Should probably give it a chance.

I checked my imdb ratings, and the only film there that I've given 9/10 or higher that isn't widely known is The Twilight Samurai from 2002.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_views_of_Donald_Trump What doubt? Trump is racist.

It's kind of weird with the popularity of guys like Sanders and Trump that a representative 3rd party hasn't arrived already. Sanders especially should've started a "Social Democrat" party a long time ago.

Yes...all part of our übermensch-plan. No one can withstand our blonde blue-eyed nation!! You make it seem like there's this big conspiracy to recruit future "Norwegians", but it's more about people not doing their job properly. There's nothing wrong with the guidelines, or the idea behind Barnevernet - it's just that way too many of the people who work there lack the relevant skills and education to do so. That being said, I wouldn't be surprised if barnevernet were more lenient with African immigrants. I often meet attitudes of "they don't know any better, we need to help them" in my line of work when it comes to African parents, while more is expected of our Eastern european immigrants. Maybe that could be how that "we only kidnap Norwegian-looking children" story originated. In any case, conspiracy theories like that are silly.

I'd imagine it reflects well on a country that it takes children's welfare seriously. There are other things I'm more embarrassed about when it comes to Norway. The "scandals" have led to huge discussions about how Barnevernet should be reformed, and what can be improved. There's no doubt the children's welfare institution in the country have been understaffed and lacked the competence to do their jobs properly, but the controversy is gonna lead to (hopefully) positive change, without abandoning the principle of prioritizing children's rights. One suggestion is to increase the % (from 8 to 80)of workers with Master's degree, making it obligatory to have competent people working in the sector in the long run. There have been to many social workers without proper education manning the sector. @Guard Dog Long story short...the children's welfare service here have been overly zealous in taking children away from their allegedly abusive parents. Some of the cases have been justified, some have not. Norway has stricter laws than most countries when it comes to a child's welfare (even spanking is illegal here), so that leads to more cases of potential abuse than in other countries. Norway lost several cases in European courts. Half of us think that doesn't matter because we're better equipped to deal with what's right or wrong than a court in Strasbourg, and the other half wants a huge revamp of the sector. Edit: and just for the record. You won't have your child taken away if you spank them. In 99% of the cases the Children's welfare services offer guidance and help.

No elephants poached for a whole year in African park: https://www.fauna-flora.org/news/zero-no-elephants-poached-whole-year-african-park

The government reflects the people in the country. You get the government you deserve. If you don't fight for a good government, you won't get it. I agree that it's better to have a "weak" government rather than a strong one if that's the case. My government doesn't love me, but the opportunities it gives derives from the people. The people here WANT to pay more taxes so that everyone gets the same benefits. Free healthcare, education, longer paid holidays, paid sick leave etc. If any government tried to do something about that, they'd simply lose the next election, which is why the system is intact. Even the rightwingers that has been in power now for a long time know better than to meddle with the system. Which is how it should be - the government should fear its people, not the other way around.

https://www.businessinsider.com/sen-loeffler-dumped-more-retail-stock-in-new-disclosures-coronavirus-2020-4?r=US&IR=T Is this not insider trading? Why do I have a feeling nothing's gonna happen here?

Watched the Castlevania series on Netflix. Pretty entertaining, if you can force your brain not to care too much about the dumb stuff.

Trump doesn't want voting to be easy: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/30/trump-republican-party-voting-reform-coronavirus

You could also flip it around. Cowardice is when fear prevents you from making a decision, but he went through with it. A coward wouldn't have the guts to kill themselves. But that's also a simplification. Generally I don't believe it's either brave or cowardly, it's usually just a result of mental illness. People killing themselves often think they're doing the ones around them a favour, or that people won't care that they're gone. Can't speak for this case in particular as I didn't read the article. -- Going to be interesting to see the results in Sweden. They seem to be hinging it all on Tegnell's strategy.

The importance of (great) music.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-says-he-told-mike-pence-to-ignore-governors-in-hard-hit-areas-if-they-are-not-appreciative?ref=home Be appreciative, and don't complain - or you won't get any help.