Because a shit ton of fraudulent science hasn’t come out of the US or Europe. Nope. No sir.

Sure, it’s not a bad thing and it should be standard practice, but to act like encrypted traffic guarantees privacy is silly.

If you are implying that a government wants your data, they can just buy it or request it from the company directly. They don’t have to snoop to get it. Also SSL isn’t going to stop them.

The fact that anyone thinks they have any semblance of privacy when typing into an online AI chatbot is saddening.

Of course anything you type into a externally hosted AI is going to be harvested and sold.

But sure, in this case you are also potentially exposing your queries to your ISP or someone listening on your local network too.

Enterprise adopted 100GbE networking around 2019. You can now buy used network cards for around $100 each.

Corporate media tycoons would benefit from oligarchy; they are the oligarchs. So long as they bend the knee.

Lately, military “defence” usually just means oppressing the people of other countries.

This is dumb.

Even if you encrypt network traffic, the receiving server still knows what you’re doing. All it does is prevent third parties from snooping.

Usually.

right now

Only just recently?

Line goes up in relation to how successfully the corporation pursues the agenda of those with power (read: money).

Are you trying to equate the ideology of a political regime with a minority population of South Africans?

South Africa had no right to exist as an apartheid state, and Israel has no right to exist as an apartheid state.

After apartheid ended and living conditions improved, black South Africans didn’t go and slaughter every white South African as retribution, so when Israel says freed Palestinians would slaughter all Israelites, why should we believe them?

If the occupation ended today and Palestinians were allowed to live fairly and given ample resources to rebuild, what reason would they have to seek further conflict? If treated fairly, why would Palestinians act any differently than the South Africans freed from apartheid? This conflict is ultimately the direct result of unfair treatment after all.

Relevant username?

destroying as much fossil fuel infrastructure as possible is a good thing

Maybe not when doing so would release as much methane as a small country.

If the plant tastes very bitter or soapy

brb, eating soap

This is great! Now you can compare prices for the 10 services you require and calculate the extent of your of financial ruin, all from the back of the ambulance!

I jest. Also, good luck opening a SQL database or parsing a massive minified JSON file. Many facilities do not provide the data in an easily accessible or standardized form, making it inaccessible for most people.

Something, something… The USA, the 13th amendment, and for-profit prisons.

At least they won’t take your organs though. Right?

EDIT: I’ll update my previous comment for clarity

“But, that would cost money!” - Zucc

the number of Americans who own 401(K) investments, which benefit from better stock index performance, has increased significantly in recent years

This is the same as saying lots of Americans have bank accounts. The accounts could be empty.

the US cooled inflation down to that level far faster than other Western economies (e.g. the UK and Eurozone)

The US did not experience the same economic effects as the UK. The UK performed Brexit which raised the cost of goods by definition, and had their price of fuel skyrocket due to the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war. The US is not dependent on Russian oil.

wage growth has actually outpaced inflation in recent years

EDIT: Wages with respect to productivity have been stagnant since 1970, but today’s average worker produces far more value for their employer. Employers are not sharing their increased profits with their workers, who are making roughly the same as workers from 1970. So yes, workers got a very slight real increase in pay, but are still vastly underpaid.

The inflation rate measures the price change of a basket of household goods

No, it doesn’t. That’s the consumer price index.

employers are more willing to be generous with pay raises when the economy is good. In short, people credit increases in wages to their own hard work but blame inflation on the Government.

No, increased wages are not because bosses decided to be nice. Corporate profits reached records during the pandemic, paying more reduces profits. Unions and displays of labor activism in the US have expanded significantly in the past few years. People are demanding higher wages from their employers. The entire purpose of the Federal Reserve is to combat inflation. Action by the government is the only way to control inflation.

Economists are not stupid.

That’s debatable, but some are certainly self-serving.

Tell me how high interest rates benefits those who have to borrow money for school, medical expenses, a car, or a first home.

That’s fair.

Is it not tax evasion/fraud? In the US, either can bring criminal charges. For a smaller municipality, is there no assistance available from higher government?