@marwood_lennox Americans think this is some sort of incredibly complex challenge yet somehow most advanced democracies have done away with gerrymandering years if not decades ago
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T.L.
2.8K posts
T.L.
@tomTL1984
Interests: Development Economics, Social Democracy, Literature. Chicago, Madrid, Tokyo, Sao Paulo. Follow =\= endorsement
USA Katılım Temmuz 2009
1.1K Takip Edilen524 Takipçiler
You absolutely can ban gerrymandering, loads of countries do this.
Sean T at RCP@SeanTrende
First, you can't really ban gerrymandering, you can only cabin it. And that only works if you have precise, quantifiable measures with crisp cutoffs. No weighing, no multi-factor tests, etc. Just something like "no splitting counties or municipalities more than necessary." 1/
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That ship has long sailed.
Obama had a brief window of time to make the case to a LatAm with a cresting pink tide: “Sorry for the coups. We are all American, let us be partners in your development.”
He did nothing and got flamed for “apologizing for America” anyway.
Collingwood 🇬🇧@admcollingwood
A major problem for the Donroe Doctrine is Beijing's economic penetration into South America, for most of whose nations China is now the number one trading partner. The centre of this is Brazil, which looks as if it has gone all in on the full Chinese tech stack, from 5G to EVs.
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@Tropicastalia It was. It absolutely was. 1994 was nuts. The whole family booked rooms at the Othon Palace (not sure if it still exists) and we watched the action from above, peering over the balconies.
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T.L. retweetledi
Only Hong Kong, San Francisco and Cape Town come close.
Travel Bucket List@TravelBucketX
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 🇧🇷
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The only time I ever went to a public history event, they only had Army of Northern Virginia uniforms to spare and fighting under General Lee is not my idea of a good time.
melchieser@melchieser
Picture was from last year’s WWII event in Manila. A Japanese tourist asked me what army we were supposed to be and my immediate reaction was “🤨”. Though to be fair, I’ve seen GI reenactors in the US get asked why they’re dressed as Nazis
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guy named "aldo buttazzoni" lamenting that the region that would've gladly lynched his ancestors isn't as insular as it use to be
Aldo 🌞@AldoButtazzoni
Driving through rural south right now and the last 4/5 gas station clerks have been Indians who can barely speak English.
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Colorado princesses enjoying the imperial core - tale as old as time
🥥 𝙇𝘼𝙏𝘼𝙈 🥥@TheLatamGuy
One of those guys who goes around New York City interviewing people stumbles across the daughter of the current President of Paraguay 🇵🇾
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@eris_nerung If the vibes don’t match - like those kiosks blasting Reggaeton in *Cascais* - it is insufferable.
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@marwood_lennox Reduced friction changes the calculus, no? Illegal immigration from Argentina exploded in the few years their passport had visa-free access to the US. After visa reqs were reinstated, it nosedived as the country is prosperous enough that crossing the Rio Grande is not enticing.
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@tomTL1984 I don't buy it - sure it's difficult to move now, but I'm unconvinced the regulations are the biggest barriers. They are no stricter then from other parts of the world which do see significant immigration to the US (or at least did, before Trump).
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Interesting observation. The Jesuits have historically taken a rather liberal approach to syncretism; which is why hundreds of thousands of Brazilians both go to Church and practice syncretic forms of Yoruba spirituality.
The Catholic Gaijin@timothyjphelan
Religious acts become so ordinary in Japan that even practicing Catholics stop seeing them as religious. In a men’s gathering after Mass last week, one parishioner said that while traveling, he bows and claps at a Shinto shrine. Another said he lights incense and offers it before the deceased’s photograph when attending a Buddhist funeral. These were practicing Japanese Catholics. They weren’t trying to reject Catholic teaching. But no one seemed to see tension with the Catholic faith. I was surprised.
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@marwood_lennox Don’t you think that any industry, sector and/or activity soaking billions of dollars from PE, city budgets, investment funds etc is in of itself important, regardless of any actual impact to our civilizational prospects?
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As I've said many times, the most radical opinion one can have on AI rn, which is one I have, is that it's fundamentally not very important.
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@tomTL1984 i was there for 3 months but then my 3 months were up, im gonna be in icarai for the foreseeable months grinding my german and figuring out how to go to uni there fr
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i wanna be HOME in GERMANY what the fuck is this place i don't speak this language i was not made for this weather i hate every last thing about it here
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@eris_nerung A short layover on my way to Argentina but I’ll be back in about a week. Aren’t you on the other side of the pond? I should be around Icarai on May 9-10
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Another movie adaptation that needs to happen is The Honourable Schoolboy. It's the middle entry of John le Carre's "Karla trilogy," right in between Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Smiley's People. You could even bring back Gary Oldman as Smiley.
Criminal Penguin@Crime_Penguin
If they ever do a period piece Bond film (set in the 50s like the books), the Hong Kong underworld would be the perfect setting. A smuggling haven crawling with Russian, Chinese, and American agents waging the Cold War in the last jewel of a dying British Empire.
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