Recent comments in /f/todayilearned

hamsterwheel t1_j85zt4c wrote

Reply to comment by EdibleBatteries in TIL the Pacific island nation of Nauru has been so damaged by phosphate mining that in 1964 Australia offered to repopulate the entire nation to Curtis Island near the Australian Coast. Nauru refused the offer in order to maintain their sovereignty and not become part of Australia. by triviafrenzy

But the original statement was so sweeping and downright stupid that it's worth criticizing. It's like pointing out failed communist states and saying "tHiS iS wHaT hApPeNs wHeN tHeRe aRe lEfT wInG gOvErNmEnTs."

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DeviousMelons t1_j85ykww wrote

Reply to comment by nickriel in TIL the Pacific island nation of Nauru has been so damaged by phosphate mining that in 1964 Australia offered to repopulate the entire nation to Curtis Island near the Australian Coast. Nauru refused the offer in order to maintain their sovereignty and not become part of Australia. by triviafrenzy

They missed a golden opportunity because they wanted to make a name for themselves.

The mining industry brought the island so much wealth that they could set up a national stipend which would make every citizen set for life for a century but instead they pissed it away on real estate projects.

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Papi__Stalin t1_j85w1hs wrote

Reply to comment by followingAdam in TIL the Pacific island nation of Nauru has been so damaged by phosphate mining that in 1964 Australia offered to repopulate the entire nation to Curtis Island near the Australian Coast. Nauru refused the offer in order to maintain their sovereignty and not become part of Australia. by triviafrenzy

That's not true. "Statistical" (presuming you mean statistically), there is no way to prove which political wing has improved people's lives more.

The greatest leap forward (in terms of GDP, population levels, technology and life expectancy) was the industrial revolution (even Marx congratulate the bourgeoisie on their achievements that exceeded any civilization before in such a short time in the opening of the Communist Manifesto). This did come with massive exploitation and wealth inequality but in most people's opinions the good of it outweighs the bad.

Furthermore, right wing ideas have provided stability to nations for centuries (look at Burke and his ideas of slow gradual reform or Hobbes and his idea of the role of the state).

Left wing governments did guide the Western world to social democracy which has been successfull so far but seems to be slowing down.

But left wing governments have also been responsible for Maoism, Stalinism, The Red Terror, etc. Whereas right wing governments have been responsible for Fascism, Pinochet, Nazism etc.

There is no clear winner between the two political wings. It's almost like you should look at each policy independent of origin and debate it on its merits (regardless of its left wing or right wing) rather than viewing everything through partisan lenses.

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No_One_Important-- t1_j85tex3 wrote

Reply to comment by AggravatingSite6905 in TIL Punk icon GG Allin was born with the legal name of Jesus Christ Allin. by Rofl47

I knew a person who went on some tours with Merle probably ten-fifteen years ago. He claims one night in the van Merle confirmed that GG and himself gave each other head when kids.

I have little doubt there was sexual abuse in the home. Their father was very strange. Isolated the family, would pile snow over the windows so you couldn't look in or our, made them dig graves, constantly talked about a coming apocalypse, and general abuse.

To be clear, I cannot confirm if the things I've been told are true, but it was a good source and someone who had evidence they indeed played gigs with the Merle in the Murder Junkies post GG's death.

I know this if fucked, but I don't think any amount of behavioral intervention could help GG, and I do wonder what would have happened if he did kill himself on Halloween as he said he would for years.

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MovieCriticsAreSJWs t1_j85pnr1 wrote

Reply to comment by Vladius28 in TIL that CBS offered actress Candice Bergen to work as a journalist after "Murphy Brown". She declined, not wanting to blur between actor and journalist. by DragonTonguePunch

In movies and TV, you can have your cake and eat it too. In reality, the majority of people are working beyond 50 hours a week which doesn't include travel. Pregnancies also are unplanned. She had a "white people problem" in that her financial position gave her several options.

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Timbo_007 t1_j85p1dh wrote

Reply to comment by TheFightingImp in TIL the Pacific island nation of Nauru has been so damaged by phosphate mining that in 1964 Australia offered to repopulate the entire nation to Curtis Island near the Australian Coast. Nauru refused the offer in order to maintain their sovereignty and not become part of Australia. by triviafrenzy

Nope. I got this from a documentary they showed on german television a couple years ago

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trav0073 t1_j85jamj wrote

Reply to comment by PiryatJos in TIL the Pacific island nation of Nauru has been so damaged by phosphate mining that in 1964 Australia offered to repopulate the entire nation to Curtis Island near the Australian Coast. Nauru refused the offer in order to maintain their sovereignty and not become part of Australia. by triviafrenzy

He’s disagreeing because it’s a ridiculous statement, lol. Nauru collapsed because it’s a small island nation whose entire economy was based on mining a limited resource which, when depleted, completely wiped out the economy. Blaming its failure to modernize on Right Wing “idealogy” (it’s spelled “ideology”) is laughable - they failed to modernize because they live on 8 square miles in the Pacific Ocean and never had a sustainable economic model to begin with, and because the bulk of those resources were absorbed by larger, more powerful nations (as has happened repeatedly for all of time).

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