the lounge

@SDW,

1. My mum is 63 and still treats the screen of her smartphone like the keys of a mechanical keyboard. On that basis, Imma have to give everyone's favorite octogenarian a pass. Atleast he tries to use a smartphone. Most 80 year olds are terribly technophobic. It's why nitrous36 keeps saying to get these old MFs out of office.
2. I can't speak for your particular tax situation, unless you wanna put all your business on the internet. (not recommended) The economy is doing alright-ish actually, but you are right, inflation is fucking berserk. I'm feeling it over here.
I referred to this: https://www.barrons.com/articles/tru...onomy-ec8ff89a
I hope the link works. Otherwise just google trump vs biden economy.
3. I assure you, no one is pushing over the USA. No one dares. Now I grant you that soft power doesn't go as far as it used to, but it's still a great tool for diplomacy.

Seeing as we are discussing slavery, here's a story on why soft power is important. Sometime in the 70s, the POTUS of the time (Carter?) told the then leader of what is now called the UAE, (behind closed doors) hey listen, I know you still have African slaves etc. etc. in your country. Free them, or we may have to reconsider a future oil deal, etc. etc.
Obviously, this was an important point in the wake of the civil rights movement and so on, it would look bad on USA to associate with such a country.
The VERY NEXT DAY, the ruler announced that all slaves were to be set free immediately and paid for their work if hired AND immediately made full citizens. It's why today, you can sometimes see black Emiratis with very prestigious surnames (inherited from the family they worked for of course). They're also the only Emiratis that don't seem to mind working hard under the hot sun.

^ Interesting little tidbit.

The history of Europeans actually buying and selling white slaves is part of our history books here. European colonialism has committed some horrible crimes, some of which surprisingly recent, and while officially a lot of countries abondoned their colonial past, they continued to influence a lot of internal affairs of former colonies, commonwealths etc.

While I am not entirely familiar with all the history regarding the transactions on land ownership between native Americans and settlers, I think it is safe to say that they were taken advantage due to the cultural differences. Just because certain legal processes were followed during the transactions (contract documents, witnesses, receipt of payments) which make the transactions technically legal, it doesn't make it ethical.

I genuinely think that the current president is not really any better than the previous one with perhaps with the exception of the January 6 events.

On hindsight I think Trump could have assumed a much more discreet public image but his strategy was to target a very specific demographic in order to gather support which was arguably successful but unfortunately for him rubbed off really wrong with some other people.

A few years back, there was an interview with one of the unsuccessful presidential nominee finalists who went on record saying that at the end of the day it makes little difference who becomes the president as they have serious commitments to their big/corporate endorsers and sponsors that they need to cater to with the highest of priority.

Unfortunately, I have been looking for this interview for years after I saw it the first time and cannot find it anywhere anymore, but that comes as no surprise

ejtnt: "While I am not entirely familiar with all the history regarding the transactions on land ownership between native Americans and settlers, I think it is safe to say that they were taken advantage due to the cultural differences. Just because certain legal processes were followed during the transactions (contract documents, witnesses, receipt of payments) which make the transactions technically legal, it doesn't make it ethical."

^ This.

Yea, its easy to say something isn't ethical when you look at it through a modern lens with that logic almost everything in past times was unethical.

^ this

Ethics do evolve with time but as you said it is important we learn from the past and not repeat the same mistakes. I also think it is important to try and make amends when possible within reason.

That said, there are a lot of things that we consider unethical now that were unethical in the past as well but due to a lot of reasons the general public would not become fully aware of.