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When I think about how vital the principle of free speech is I'm not thinking of gab, I'm thinking of China...
@freemo I'd love to see the west develop the balls to cut China off completely, but I don't see that happening.
@Surasanji I agree,, but we only cut off the nations without money apparently... let focus on pakistan some more, lol
@freemo Yeah. It's totally fucked. I'm enraged that Israel is trying to buddy up to China. Those people are running literal concentration camps and harvesting organs.
Like, motherfucker, we can't be supporting this no matter how much money they'd throw our way.
@Surasanji Cant argue with that.China is basically north korea with actual money and power as far as I can tell.
@freemo Yeah. No one will tell them to GTFO, though. They have the west by the short hairs because the entire economy over the last 40 years has shifted towards China being a provider of cheap goods and labor.
@Surasanji Thats part of it I'm sure, at least in the USA.. You see very little chinese goods in europe it seems, at least in the shops.
@freemo You see Chinese goods all over the place here, although the vast majority of their stuff here is like infrastructure support. Manhole covers, railway ties and cars..
@Surasanji That could be the case here too, I havent looked. I just know a lot of products are "proudly EU" and usually cost a fortune and have a little tree on the package somewhere :)
@freemo Yeah, it depends on what you get here as to where it comes from. Most of the chicken/turkey is made in country, beef it's imported from Argentina a lot of the time- but there are sizable herds here, as well.
Vegetables are almost universally grown locally, they're subsidized by the government so basics are always cheap .
@Surasanji The netherlands produces most of its own food too, it is also a huge exporter of food in the EU
@freemo Gotta use all that below sea-level farm land for something!
@freemo Like, personally, I'd be willing to pay more for goods to know that China's behavior isn't being rewarded and that the world has said 'No. You can't do this to people.'