Perhaps before the 2022 invasion. You can see for example the first round of the last presidential election results here - the light blue supported the pro-Russia candidate Yuriy Boyko, who didn’t advocate being part of Russia but instead wanted better relations with Russia. After the invasion, Boyko himself apparently became part of a new party of ex-pro-russian candidates who now support Ukraine against Russia.

Generally it’s hard to say how many fit into the category of “wanted an independent Ukraine but that is still close to Russia”, but my sense is that it was a pretty large part of the blue group. Consider for example the average American liberal who wants the US to be more like Canada - probably there are some who would rather have their part of the country become part of Canada, but it’s probably not most and certainly nowhere near all. Additionally, it’s likely that many who actually did want to live in Russia changed their mind after the atrocities of the invasion.

As soon as the government oligarchs who own the media thinks it might matter, they have a million tools to silence you.

But it’s also worth noting that the Chinese don’t even have that. At least in America, you can get your message out by getting a billionaire to agree with you.

It’s funny that we’re arguing this on a platform that’s legal in the US, and banned in China. Is lemmy.ml a US surveillance op too? Are you? Am I?

Actual argument I had recently with a “libertarian” family member:
Libertarian: “Rent control shouldn’t exist! It’s wrong for big government to tell property owners and renters what kind of agreements they can enter!”
Me: “What are your thoughts on single family zoning that bans missing-middle housing throughout most of the US?”
Libertarian: “Well that’s different! People choosing what kind of rules should apply to where they live is the epitome of freedom!”
Me: “Couldn’t that same argument apply to rent control?”
Libertarian: “Wha…you have clearly been brainwashed by the woke mind virus! So sad!”

“I have lung cancer? How bad is it?”
“Well let’s just say it’s…non-small lung cancer.”

I’m sorry, but fuck free speech as so many people are raving about. Its the worst thing that has happened to the world since the Internet came on.

I think the mistake isn’t free speech but not having enough exceptions for fraudulent statements. For example, if you say anything false and damaging about a specific person, everyone agrees that’s libel and not “free speech”. But if you say something false and damaging about a group of people, like trans people or immigrants, that’s “free speech” and perfectly legal. Or if you say something false and damaging about fake cures, etc.

It’s actually a tough problem because we can’t expect everyone to just be perfectly right all the time. But I think that for people like Rogan who have a wide platform, there should be some liability for lying about things that actually harm others. The fact that this is effectively legal is why psychopaths are dominating media narratives right now.

Home grown food from urban gardens. Your soil is probably completely untested, and the idea of “maybe I shouldn’t just pour chemical waste out of the window” is barely 4 decades old.

And let’s not forget that any soil near a road had a ton of lead released nearby throughout much of the last century, and that just stays there. As well as lead paint chips from buildings.