Both of these guys are ancient. I wouldn’t care if any of them used drugs (as long as they don’t pose long-term risks for their health) because they might as well be medication. Or are we going to be so dense that the idea that two 80 years olds are likely taking some medication is going to fly over our heads? Furthermore, where do we draw the line of what a “drug-enhancing drug” is? Coffee? Most adults take it to function under inhuman schedules. Adderall? If you do have ADHD, you do also need it to function; if you don’t have it, it’s going be even less useful than coffee. Anything else that they bought at a pharmacy? I don’t care.

All in all, this looks like a talking point made up by people who want to treat politics like a sport, where we’re supposed to watch “athletes” compete with equal opportunity for performance, which is definitely not what a presidential debate should be about.

A lobby heavily aligned with the interests of a foreign power being capable of dropping by and dumping tons of money in order to place politicians loyal to their agenda in positions of power is not a sign of a healthy democracy.

Can they sell the mansion from abroad?

Hey! I will not tolerate this kind of racism against influencers! /s

Plenty of different reasons.

Historically, Greece was a poor country in Europe because it was the periphery of the Ottoman empire and therefore barely received investment.

Through the 20th century, the country went through pretty corrupt governments (one of them being a dictatorship).

When they joined the European market, it was already a very unproductive country in relative terms, which tends to force you into remaining in the periphery under normal market conditions; and their most educated citizens saw a very easy and profitable opportunity in just migrating out.

On top of that, the only sector of the Greek economy that had any sort of strength was tourism, which very rarely provides good wages.

By the 2007 crisis, they already had a dangerously high debt. Because they were, again, a tourism-focused economy, when the countries that had the most tourists going to Greece entered into recession, Greece’s income plumetted as well, and the debt just soared.

A little bit later, Greeks elected Syriza, which had simply accepted that they were in a debt spiral that would ultimately crush the country. Syriza’s leaders told the other European governments that their debt had to be renegotiated (annoying for Greece’s creditors, but at least it would be possible for them to pay in some capacity), or they’d leave the Euro-zone and just declare bankruptcy (thus they wouldn’t pay back anything) (terrible for Greece, but perhaps not as terrible as the alternative).

The rest of Europe told them to fuck off for a variety of reasons (plenty of German newspapers had chosen Greece as their sacrificial lamb, often calling the people of Southern European countries lazy, the Spanish president back then wanted to crush Syriza because they had been associated with a growing Spanish opposition party, generally a lot of them were into fanatical fiscal conservatism).

Then Syriza chose not to leave the Euro-zone anyway (which provoked Varoufakis to leave the government, out of principle), and just stick to managing the country’s misery. It has only been shit year after shit year for Greece since then, as any possibility of steering into a different direction was shot dead. It’s just a country without hope at this point.

Canary Islands. Great place, but the mass tourism is actually killing them, provoking skyrocketing rent and shortages of power and water.

This is what colonial rhetoric in the 21st century looks like.

So just stick to your own values?

If you won’t find ethics in religion, you’ll find some by exploring philosophy. If you won’t find truth in religion, you’ll find some by learning science. If you won’t find a purpose without religion, reach out to people who are worthy of sharing a life with, enjoy art, try to make the world a better place. You will find a purpose far truer to you than any preacher could offer.

It’s a wrong observation based on what you see online. When you see atheists online being explicitely atheist, they have some hot issue with religion at the moment. The vast majority of non-believers are just chill.

I, personally, went through a period during which I had already embraced the “Whatever, they’re stupid, but as long as they’re not evil I can respect their general existence”, then the church I did live next to forced me to move away, and when I protested, they tarnished my name and tacitly threatened several members of my family to receive the same treatment if they raised their voice.

So, honestly? I wish more atheists were angry and combative. Religion is a means of social control, enforcing comformity and protecting the privileges of the in-group and the impunity of the hierarchy. Brainwash kids into being unable to live without faith, so that if they ever try to leave, they’ll se their life get torn apart, both mentally and socially. You have just acted in bad faith (as you admitted you just guessed what the intentions of the other person were) as a means to protect your identity, your worldview, rather than sincerely considering the honesty of the other person because you have been abused into interpreting the possibility of reasonable doubt as a threat.

Nothing of this is an attack against you. I just want you to see your attitude will only lead you to continue living in a cloud of fear, hindering your own growth.

Nothing in the other user’s message said anything about not upholding those values.

I can tell you from harsh experience that becoming atheist and deconstructing the entire faith isn’t going to lead to any sort of salvation at all, the only thing it’ll accomplish is your own undoing. It’s a very slow and agonizing death by a thousand papercuts.

I deconverted two decades ago and nothing wrong came out of it. If anything, the immoral hypocrites who provoked problems from within the faith kept creating those problems and covering for each other, so things would have gone better if more people deconverted.

I’m sorry you weren’t in a good mental place to healthily finish the process though.

Is this bill going to be voted by the previous representatives or by the ones we just voted? Because that page shows the ones who are leaving.

Not “an”. Plural.

I would have agreed some time ago, but they’ve shot the prices through the roof lately.

By “crossing the red lines” do you mean ex-Eastern block countries joining NATO? Those countries joined out of their own free will BECAUSE they feared Russia might want to attack them. And, oh surprise, Russia did attack the one country not sucking up to them that didn’t join NATO. Why should Russia’s security be sacred above that of all its neighbours?

If by red lines you don’t mean that, then they’ve clearly not been crossed. Russia and US or EU troops have not directly fought each other, and no country has used nuclear weapons so far.

Do you recognize being invaded by a foreign country is a legitimate problem a country might have to face? If you do, and you oppose private military industry, that means you support public military industry, right?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thích_Quảng_Đức

Thích Quảng Đức was a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk who died by self-immolation (…) protesting against the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government of Ngô Đình Diệm, a staunch Roman Catholic. Photographs of his self-immolation circulated around the world, drawing attention to the policies of the Diệm government. John F. Kennedy said of one photograph, "No news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one.

Calling them brainwashed is disrespectul and ignorant of similar acts that, while they haven’t been enough to change policy, have invigorated social movements that sometimes resulted in the goals they were aiming for. The fact that you use “brainwashed” specifically almost makes me think that you can’t even understand how people could see the murders of tens of thousands of children as something worth taking radical action for.

Ironically, claiming that the people who call you out for committing war crimes are antisemites is EXTREMELY antisemitic.

Wholesome news.

I’ve seen the money management in US NGOs earn. If they want to claim they have tight budgets, they have to tighten their belts first.