@FootyScran @ChicagoFire Pic is inaccurate; the slice I got was twice the size of this
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Austin Kiesewetter
1.7K posts
Austin Kiesewetter
@awkrant
he/they // socialist autodidact // Bruce Springsteen theologian // Chicago & Detroit enjoyer // truck sim // cf97 forever
Chicago, IL Beigetreten Ocak 2021
2.5K Folgt207 Follower
@tonyannett I'm told Chinese policy makers looked very closely at the collapse of the Soviet system in the 80s-90s and drew a lot of inspiration. Their success cannot be described as entirely "socialist" or "capitalist," bc they have favored pragmatism over ideology (so far)
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People often argue that China’s success is because it dumped socialism for free market capitalism.
This isn’t right. Its economy is a peculiar blend of socialist and capitalist features.
Yes, it uses market prices and it has a huge private sector (accounting for 80% of urban employment).
But the Communist Party still directs the overall strategy, including the industries targeted for expansion. And it uses its control of the banking system to tell banks who to lend to and on what terms.
And public capital is still 30% of total capital (50-60% in the business sector).
I like to think of it as a blend between Lenin’s New Economic Policy and the East Asian developmental model pioneered by Japan and Korea.
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taking one for the team #cf97
Chicago Fire FC@ChicagoFire
@ufcolin Ok you get the copyright strike then
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Time to get the ball rolling on the new @ChicagoFire stadium chicagoyimby.com/2026/03/founda…
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@Eric_Erins @PaulSkallas old prison adds to the haunted aura
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@PaulSkallas Joliet’s an odd place. Old urban core. It’s grown rapidly by annexing farmland, building new subdivisions. Republican mayor. It’s 1/2 rust belt city 1/2 working class exurb. The old urban part has always had a hold on me. It feels haunted. Something in that limestone
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I've been to Joliet a bunch of times. One of those towns that used to have money, still has a nice downtown, nice architecture, went through decline. sits at the lower middle class part of the spectrum now. A kind of place you can buy a house for like $300,000.
Not surprised they were ok with a big data center. These places that went through decline are the most likely places to approve of data centers. They are looking to come back and accept anything they can get.
Other richer places dont want them, and poorer places that were nver nice dont want them either
robert@rfhirschfeld
The proposed Joliet data center would cover 795 acres, about the size of 2.5 Grant Parks. At full buildout, it would consume 1.8 gigawatts of electricity. For reference, the entire City of Chicago uses about 3.45 gigawatts. One facility. More than half of Chicago's power.
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Illinois is full of vibrant public art, with murals celebrating local culture and history across the state. 🎨
See more at 👉 blog.scssoft.com/2026/03/illino…
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Don’t misread this. It doesn’t show a preference for sprawl, but a preference for space.
The survey forces a tradeoff between
Bigger home/far away or smaller home/walkable
So people choose space.
But that doesn’t mean they want long drive, isolation, car dependence
It means that’s the only way the current system delivers family-sized housing.
We’ve never actually offered the real alternative, which is family-scale homes + walkable neighborhoods.
We should offer that and survey people to find out how they like space AND amenities/ convenience
Pew Research Center@pewresearch
Majority of Americans prefer spread-out communities with big houses. More: pewresearch.org/short-reads/20…
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That big ladder truck? It’s not there for you, sorry.
A funny wrinkle in US fire response is departments demand huge ladder trucks that don’t serve the purpose most assume. People see them and think “They have to be big to reach high distances and save people during a fire. Smaller trucks would mean less safety for people stuck in a building during a fire DUH”.
Except in US doctrine the building is responsible for egress, full stop. You see this in the utility of American vs EU apparatus. The latter are explicitly referred to as rescue aerials, while US ladders exist to allow an elevated platform for suppression (to spray water) which EU aerials also do.
EU ladders “have evolved to create a device that sets up and levels quickly, and can raise, retract and extend at a fast pace to evacuate victims”. Meanwhile oversized US ladders cost >2x the price to operate ladders which are shorter, less capable, and less maneuverable at the scene.
So the end outcome, repeated over and over in US fire departments, is spending far more for less utility, while demanding conditions on city streets to serve large apparatus that actively harms life safety in other ways. Lose, lose, lose.
The below article clip is from 2016. Since then EU apparatus has continued to advance and improve in many ways. US apparatus is still in 1995. Yet the cost difference has continually widened.
Jason,@jasonc_nc
On ladder trucks: A Pierce (US) 100’ ladder is ~46’9” in length. A Rosenbauer (EU) 105’ turntable ladder is 33’9”. -13’ (28%) shorter -5’ MORE reach -articulates AROUND obstacles vs straight ladder -Cheaper -More nimble -Faster setup -Superior extraction for disabled or injured
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At Chicago Fire training
No Jack Elliott
Andrew Gutman, Viktor Radojević & Chris Mueller trained
Fire II’s Jack Sandmeyer, Damian Nigg & Trip Fleming were with the first team
GK: Chris Brady, Josh Cohen & Jeff Gal #cf97 #VamosFire
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Pope Leo this week called universal health coverage a "moral imperative."
He also said: “Health cannot be a luxury for the few,” it is “an essential condition for social peace.”
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@CitiesForNature @Eric_Erins Well, they had a ground breaking ceremony. I guess that is not technically breaking ground
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@awkrant @Eric_Erins they already broke ground???
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@awkrant This is about the rail yard on the other side of the river
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What’s the first place you want to go when Illinois DLC gets released?
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