Model split also has it’s downsides. For example:

Not every trip is the same in every country. Denmark commutes 22km on average, the Netherlands does 3km

Not every country travels as far. Someone who does 10km by train out of 100km has a much greater share than 20km out of 10.000.

Also, the price point determines the sort of people looking at your add

Only half? They must have taken some impressive anti-corruption measures to get it down.

Wait, my memory says you flap your hair with your hands. Is it really ear stroking?

A lot can be legal if you agree to it. But they absolutely can’t unilaterally declare this rule into effect.

Just don’t pay, what are they gonna do? Sue you for damages that they admit themselves can’t prove?

Pretty sure that’s not how consulates work…

A lot of the issues you mention are, at least in part, caused by not dying. For example, I’ve got asthma, but without bronchodialators I wouldn’t be an asthma patient, I’d just be dead. Another is better diagnosis, melanoma are much easier to identify nowadays, and we actually do diagnosis. If you look at old death reports, they contain a LOT of “sickness of the X” or “natural causes” for people in their early 60s.

Oh absolutely, in the grand scheme of how fucked humanity is, most chemicals are barely a blip compared to ecosystem collapse and global warming.

I know it looks like this sometimes, but it’s really not all that bad.

I’m a chemist, I work mostly in (workplace) safety, hazardous materials and waste, so I sorta-kinda know what I’m talking about. I’m also a random internet stranger, so definitely check my data for yourself.

Compared to 50 or 60 years ago, when we had leased gasoline, asbestos carpets, ashtrays at macdonalds, trash burning in cities, indoor gas/oil lamps, coal heaters and pewter/lead cups (well ok, not those last ones but you get the idea), we’re doing SO much better.

If we didn’t ban all those things, you literally wouldn’t be able to spot the problems coming from BPA. It would be lost in the noise from how bad all those other things are for your health.

That’s not to say we should ignore microplastics, or that they’re healthy, or that modern people are whiny babies. Absolutely not. BPA is absolutely bad for you, but it’s more of a “dog biting your hand” type of bad, as opposed to the “bear mauling your face” level of bad we had in the 60s and 70s. Both can kill you, but you’ll barely notice the dog while having your face mauled.

Correct. I guess that could be clearer, now that I reread my post. Edited.

I mean, they don’t “hate your guts”, but the people making the choices don’t give a shit about your feelings as long as you’ve bought the game. The devs, who aren’t making those choices, probably want to make the best game, but they likely prioritise “having food” over “Making the best game ever”.

For internal consumption.

Just keep saying you’re winning massive victories and planning to rename the streets in Amsterdam, and some Russians might be dumb enough to believe it

Spending 45% doesn’t mean anything like getting 45%. You’ve gotta subtract all the graft and corruption, and all the sanction-dodging isn’t exactly free either.

Additionally, it’s the 11th largest economy fighting against the donations of more than half of the countries above it in the ranking

Absolutely, I can easily do that right now, but it takes more effort than your average “I have a bank account and that’s it” person is willing to spend.

Having a “public sale” sounds like a great idea for all those people.

I wish the Netherlands would hold a sale like this, only for persons, with a sensible limit of a million or something like that.

There are literally no downsides.

And if western Europe does end up collapsing, I don’t think you want any investments, other than canned food and a deep basement.

https://nypost.com/2023/01/18/spacex-employees-enjoy-calm-as-elon-musk-distracted-by-twitter/

Russia is currently the second most powerful military force, with combined air, naval and ground forces, in the entire territorial area of Ukraine.

It’s been active in the EU till 2015, which is basically cassettefuturism in real life.

With a sprinkling of “we have always been at war with NATO”