GreyEyedGhost

One of the big problems is good, lasting solutions are rarely quick, easy solutions. And most people want solutions now, not 5, 10, or 20 years from now. And let's not even mention how long we neglected these problems to let them get this big. But don't worry, prisons and policemen aren't expensive at all, not like schooling and social programs.

You're correct, there aren't always non-violent solutions, but those are often due to people who insist on engaging in violence, whether it be invading another country or taking offense at someone pulling into their driveway.

I once had someone get in my face and say, "Are you man enough to fight me?" I responded with "I'm man enough to find non-violent solutions to my problems." Why should someone be proud of the problem-resolution method of choice for 3-year-olds?

Plenty of pride about fighting Nazis, but not a lot of interest in helping Jews.

Yeah, I don't know if he a hopeless idealist/useful idiot or a shill, paid or otherwise, but I think it's important to point out the futility of the stance now and then.

So your solution is to try harder within the current system, like many others have done for the last 50 years, but this time it will be different! If the problem is with the system, work on changing the system while achieving the best you can until the system has changed. Who you vote for in this election won't have any impact on the system. This will require a different approach. Vote for who you like, but don't fool yourself that this will make anyone with power change their stance or plan. Your actions are part of the system working as intended.

While this is true to a degree, there also seems to be indications that some people are more susceptible to addictive behavior than others, so some will only be inclined towards addiction if their circumstances are bad enough to make it more attractive.

I suspect this is similar to smoking causing cancer. Sure, it will likely shorten your life and cause cancer, or you can be like George Burns and smoke regularly for over 70 years.

Ultimately, it's hard to know how susceptible you are to addiction (or smoking-related cancer) until you've taken the chance.

So they would have to have a white-list for Ukraine and a process for getting on the white-list. That doesn't seem that complicated. Somewhat intensive, sure, but a very simple solution. And I would think militarily advantageous equipment would be more controlled in a war zone than normal.

Most people don't feel loyalty to the country they betray. It isn't a requirement to be a traitor.

Geolocation is very different when you use an omnidirectional antenna passively listening to multiple signals rather than a directional antenna connecting to a satellite for a bidirectional communication session. And all of this ignores the simple fact there are sanctions against some countries and a war going on in another. They are the seller of their antennas and could easily limit who is allowed to change the region of their antenna to work in the white-list zone. Starlink knows the exact equipment I bought from them, and they will know if I move it, and if I change ownership to another person (who actually uses it). Yes, none of this can happen without some administrative or programming work, but that's the case for many companies if they don't want to break the law.

That's the difference between my first and second marriage in a nutshell. Moving away (psychologically, not physically) from all the horrible shit I grew up with and thinking that was normal to having a better understanding of what I want to have in my life and some idea of how to get there.

Tough place to be. Really, who's going to give away a working Brother printer?