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Also worth noting that a lot of the problems stem from capitalist mode of software production. For the most part, software isn’t being built for quality, but to make a profit. The goal is to produce software that’s just good enough so that people are still willing to use it as cheaply as possible.
I find justification here interesting given that Telegram doesn’t have feeds like Facebook or Twitter. It’s a point to point messaging service, so is Germany saying that Telegram is supposed to spy on the communication of the users in private groups?
Sure, but the premise here is that the government should be able to control what people are allowed to discuss using online platforms. I don’t necessarily disagree with the notion of limiting harmful speech, but it’s worth pointing out that this is precisely the kind of thing westerners like to criticize China for doing saying that Chinese government is authoritarian.
If we accept that it is reasonable for the government to limit free speech when it’s deemed harmful and to ban platforms that don’t comply then we have to admit that China’s approach to controlling online speech was fundamentally correct. It certainly could be argued that it helped avoid the kind of social instability we now see in the west.
China has a democracy that clearly functions a lot better than German democracy given that public satisfaction is far higher than any western government. Harvard research center study of long-term public opinion survey finds extremely high government approval. People who actually live in China say their country is democratic.
edit: it will never cease to amaze me how westerners form strong opinions about China without having the first clue about it. Thinking that you understand a country better than people who actually live there shows an incredible amount of chauvinism.
The fundamental idea behind work is that certain things need to be done in order for people to live whether people like doing these things or not. We need to produce food, build housing, provide sanitation, healthcare, and all the other things that make a society function. The necessity to do these things isn’t going to go away, and therefore the idea of work will not go away either.
First, let’s establish some context here. What Russia is rightly concerned about is the fact that NATO has been relentlessly expanding to the east. They’ve now given NATO an ultimatum that it has to roll back and comply with the original security guarantees that were given after USSR dissolved. The threat to Russia is real and should not be understated. NATO being able to put nukes in Ukraine would mean that they could reach Moscow in five minutes. This is a red line for Russia. All the NATO members have already stated that there is no prospects of Ukraine joining NATO or EU in the foreseeable future. This precludes any reason for Russia to act.
Russia has also never once said that it plans to invade Ukraine. The troops you’re talking about are stationed in their barracks. Likewise, France, Germany, and even Ukraine are saying that there is no Russian invasion happening.
So far, the only countries insisting that there is some imminent invasion are US and UK. And the country that’s been most damaged by these claims is Ukraine since all the investors are now pulling out leading to the economy crashing. This is the primary reason Ukrainian government has now broken with the US narrative.
Russia is achieving its goals without any need to invade Ukraine. Europe has absolutely no interest in having a full out war in Ukraine, and it’s also heavily dependent on Russian gas and oil meaning that EU has little appetite to try and sanction Russia. On the other hand, US appears to be pushing for conflict as a distraction from the disastrous domestic policy and because accepting Russian demands would be seen as weakness. This is already driving a serious wedge within NATO. Russia will continue to apply pressure by doing military exercises within its borders, and negotiating with western powers. France, Italy, and Germany are already having direct talks with Russia and this is the most likely path towards resolving the issue.
Russia invading Ukraine would be counter to their goals as it would actually help unite NATO against them. There is no conceivable benefit to Russia from fighting a war in Ukraine. It’s also worth noting that Russian media hasn’t talked about any war, and typically countries prepare their public for a war when they’re planning on having one.
The only scenario Russia has stated that it would engage militarily in Ukraine would be if Ukraine invaded Donbas. Ukraine has been ignoring its Minsk agreement commitments failing to grant autonomy to Donetsk and Luhansk, and has been engaging in committing war crimes in these regions by attacking water supply and civilian targets.