I think the answer to this might be hard to understand if you live in a wealthy, western country with relatively low levels of crime but it’s very detrimental for society if law enforcement (which includes police, judges, prosecutors, etc) starts getting targeted by criminal organizations. If judges or police let their fears dictate their ability to enforce the law, it becomes easier for criminals to evade the law.

Their lives aren’t worth more, but it’s not about them specifically, it’s about the institution they work for. Imagine if federal judges or US attorneys were getting whacked off for imprisoning mafia associates. Would you want those judges to start giving lenient sentences because they’re scared? Would you want police to let crime occur because they’re scared of ending up like cops in 1990s Medellin?

By creating such stiff penalties, the hope is to discourage criminals from targeting law enforcement so that they can do their jobs. And, mostly, it’s worked. Even relatively powerful gangs or organized crime groups won’t usually touch a beat cop, much less a judge or district attorney, because they know the crackdown will be so swift afterwards.

Lula is so confounding to me because I think his domestic policies are good and sound, but he has some of the shittiest foreign affairs takes I’ve ever heard.

“It takes two to go to war” gee Sun Tzu thanks for that illuminating take, it’s not like war by definition would be between two or more factions. If the US invaded Brazil would he be saying that as well? That Brazil is at fault for fighting back?

It reminds me of when the new Colombian President shit on the US in a speech to his base then met with the CIA director the next day and asked for money. Lula just wants to be anti-west for the sake of being anti-western and because it’s a pathetic attempt to get a dig at the west (at the expense of Ukrainian people); he has no other coherent rationale for how exactly it’s Ukraine’s fault that they got invaded because Russia doesn’t accept their sovereignty or ability to make autonomous decisions regarding their future. It’s the classic global south mentality of “I want pity for my history of colonization, and you should be standing up for me, but if another country gets colonized by an imperialist power, you’re insane for suggesting I condemn it when I can profit off of it (in this case by buying cheap fertilizer) instead”.

Countries pass legislation and regulation for industries and people that can influence how much they pollute, and Mother Nature doesn’t give a shit about per capita pollution either. 2 people dumping 20 barrels of oil into the ocean is still doing less damage than 50 people dumping 1 barrel each.

Great pic! One of the most slept on airports & one im proud is my main one. Traffic is usually pretty decent, security lines are very short on average, flights are the cheapest in the region, and it’s got a pretty simple layout. And you can be in downtown in probably about 15 minutes after leaving

I know many on the left are uncomfortable with religion, and that’s valid, but I wish we took more advantage of how churches operate in many communities. Not only do they serve as a gathering place and social center for many people, they often do a lot of charity work and provide useful resources and connections for people. Many times they hold after school programs, soup kitchens, and do other volunteer work and can be cornerstones in their neighborhoods. I’m not advocating tax dollars go to churches or saying all churches are good, but frankly I think we need to use every tool in our box to start helping people out and helping underinvested neighborhoods recover

It was the same in the US ten years ago, who knows where it’ll be in the next 50

Wow, never would’ve expected New Mexico to become such a large oil producer

I wonder with the continued implementation of climate change policies and regulations, as well as the shift towards EVs, if those 300 million barrels will be worth as much in 50 years though

In a sense I agree with you, I guess I just feel like the satire was kind of blunted or damaged by how blatant it was, because it almost felt like it was explaining the joke a little too thoroughly at times.

Did anyone else think “don’t look up” was just…not very good? Idk I thought the writing left a lot to be desired and the general vibe of the movie seemed to be “haha society stupid, me smart” in a pat-yourself-on-the-back kind of way.

I mean shit at this point you could put Sadam Hussein on the ballot and I’d vote for him over Mosby.

I mean some of this does sound pretty bad though:

“The 400-page report from researchers at New York University also revealed that the MTA’s failure to properly supervise the outside firms allowed costs to spiral in other key ways: contractors and unions overstaffed the project, dug caverns for platforms that were double the necessary size and drew up station designs so bespoke that each of the three new stops has escalators made by a different manufacturer. “

Jordan needs out of office ASAP. Between this and blaming Ukraine for the Russian invasion, I will be dumbfounded if she wins again

Baltimore DOT being active on this sub is really cool and I wish more city agencies would do this. Feels like an actual effort to engage with regular people and get them more involved in your programs.

I mean, not really, to the second part. It is true the US was technically involved with Venezuela’s demise, but not as directly as you’re making it sound. Chavez hinged the entire economy and welfare state off of unusually expensive gas prices, and openly installed cronies at PdVSA. When US shale production shot up, OPEC slashed prices to kill it and in exchange the Venezuelan economy started to collapse (endemic corruption and mismanagement also seriously exacerbated the conditions). US sanctions have certainly made the situation worse, but it doesn’t take a Columbia economics professor to tell you it isn’t a good idea to budget entirely off the royalties from a commodity subject to extreme fluctuation.

Regardless of your stance on this issue, did we not just vote to keep it under municipal control? What’s the point of these ballot initiatives if politicians can just circumvent them and do whatever they want. The mayor should respect the choices we made

>doesn’t impress anyone

>another way for cops to power trip

This question doesn’t seem to be being asked in good faith. I’ve got no qualms with somebody having issues with police, but the point of this sub is to get explanations for things you don’t understand, whereas you appear to have already decided the answer and motivations and just want validation for it.

I’m not sure how you think police departments work, or how any jobs works, but I find it difficult to believe you don’t understand how some employees might have 15 minutes to set aside for a press conference. And those officers probably aren’t assigned to the case. Police departments have officers who are on desk duty or even “reception” at police stations, so there’s a chance these guys aren’t focused on solving crimes at all at the moment. They could also be senior police who are handling the situation with the chief and are there as a show of support and to demonstrate there are numbers behind the case.

Point being, there are a litany of reasons those other people could be there and if you think this press conference is the difference between Justice and no Justice I just don’t know what to tell you. But again, I get the feeling you’re either looking for an argument or looking to get validated rather than having genuine interest being PR strategies

No you’re 100% right. There is literally no reason for trams to replace buses outside of liking train aesthetics. They’re vastly more expensive and completely inflexible in their service routes, and suffer from the same issues buses do with getting stuck in traffic. Reddit has convinced itself that the disappearance of trams was some vast conspiracy by Big Auto, but the truth is that most tram companies were already financially struggling or entering bankruptcy and companies like GM only slightly sped up the inevitable. New Yorkers hated how loud and uncomfortable they were, so much so that Fiorello LaGuardia promised to get rid of trams during his mayoral campaign.

We should focus on heavy rail, light rail and BRT/protected bus lanes if we want to improve public transit, not spending 20x the money for a service that reduces the comprehensiveness of NYC’s transportation needs

This car looks like someone left their car beside a bar on Saint Patrick’s day and it got green shit thrown up all over it.

Really? The US hasn’t supported just about every democratically elected president of Colombia? The US doesn’t support Lula, Rouseff or Bolsonaro? How about in Chile and Argentina, neither of which are under authoritarian rule and still enjoy US support?

I get the CIA did some shitty things back in the mid-20th century, but good god that statement is absurd.

Yeah maybe tell the police and/or MTA and not Reddit?

This map seems really misleading, or a bad way to display airport data, as it would suggest Heathrow and Frankfurt and De Gaulle are the airport heavyweights when they’re relatively small compared to many US and Chinese airports.

If you had asked me to list the states whose largest source of electricity was nuclear power, I definitely would not have said Maryland, South Carolina, Illinois and New Hampshire. Nor would I have guessed that wind is the largest source for Oklahoma and South Dakota. Interesting data!

Thanks for that answer! As a follow up, was the Monroe Doctrine a challenge to that narrative? Just curious if the US was solely concerned about European power being in Latin America or if the US also was incredulous about Europeans being better suited to run those countries too

We’re discussing what to do with apartments and condos right now, but we’ll see if I’m smart enough to grasp the concept this time