I would be a little reluctant to uptalk America's role in this situation, Trump in particular. Much of this has happened independent of the United States, and because of China's influence in the region. If anything, his efforts have further alienated our allies and driven them more into the arms of their neighbors and other trade partners and away from American influence (Mexico and Canada bypassing the United States to make deals in Europe and Asia is a fine example). It definitely appears that they are intent on replacing the United States with other customers who are willing to play a little nicer (maybe China has convinced NK that they can benefit from this situation). Although, Trump's unpredictable behavior may have given North Korea pause and a reason to play a little nicer. It still seems more likely that this is political and economic maneuvering and they will either use America's unwillingness to cooperate as a wedge to drive between allies, or they will play up to Trump's ego and tensions will ease (giving Trump an opportunity to claim a win, even if little of it can be attributed to him personally).

Hello, Hubski! Will you have me?

Like some of the other users here, I too miss the older Reddit. I have been a user over there since about 2010 and have watched it change substantially over the years, mostly in negative ways that have stripped the site of its focus on useful content and discussion. I've witnessed its shift from a portal of communities to a portal built on community manipulation. With each passing year, the look, the feel, and the experience has shifted towards more easily digestible content and the interface towards memes and images rather than information -- a trend that has taken a major step forward in recent days. And don't get me started on the trolling and negativity that has experienced quite the surge in the last couple years. I've started feeling like most of the site is in a race to the bottom for some reason (with the exception of some very interesting and informative subreddits). And it looks like this is by design rather by accident.

This combination of issues has left me wanting to find a better online community, a process that has been ongoing for quite some time. I tried to give Voat a go, but I'm guessing you can surmise how that went down :/ (I am apparently a "deep-state cuck nosed jew" according this very vocal gentleman and his dedicated team of like-minded friends -- whatever that means, lol).

As far as Hubski, I have been tangentially aware of the site's existence since 2015 when I saw it mentioned on a forum, and in recent months I have been lurking around the fringes, stopping in on occasion to find a bit of news, or to read some comments, but, until now I hadn't taken the step of joining and learning the finer details of the site or how the community/system works. So far, Hubski, with its focus on quality and discussion seems to be the closest in terms of what I am looking for in an online community. I hope as I learn the mechanics of the site that this will prove to be true! I suspect it will!

Anyhow, I am looking forward to our time together and hope that we are both bettered because of our interactions! Thank you, and does anyone happen to have any pointers for someone just starting out?

I just got blocked by a user for the first time. I found out because I was told I was silenced on another post by them that I encountered; a post which I found interesting, I still shared the post, it was worth sharing. All I did was try to point out their misunderstanding of an article. Can I ask if this is normal and if I have somehow violated a community rule? Sorry to take up your time, but you are my first encounter and a lifeline to the culture here. It wasn't my intention to drive the user off, nor insult them, it was quite an angry response I received. Any pointers?

Kim Jong-un is a western educated man who has experience living in Europe and writes/speaks English. It's just my opinion, but I always figured that after he secured enough power and was in a good enough position he would open up to the world more than his father. The fact that China has made a lot of head-room with them in the last couple years has probably helped it along, especially given currently Asia/U.S. tensions.

This also isn't an end to the mess, it's an agreement to engage and cooperate, it's ground work, but not an actual peace treaty or trade deal, but it's definitely a good start.

This reads a little like a native advertisement the way it's constructed, but it was an enjoyable read, none-the-less, especially knowing that they are a major company that is in a situation where they are face to face with climate change issues and not straight out denying the fact, like so many other companies. I was also surprised to read that their Executive Vice President has a master's degree in environmental science, which likely contributes to this openness.

Thank you for the response, and I will keep these tips in mind! Have a good day!

I see what you are saying, and it is correct at that level, but I think you have confused the listed price they are talking about with the Medicare/Medicaid schedules. They are being required to list the prices they actually charge at a hospital level, in an online format, not what Medicare is willing to pay out for patients (which may or may not be fully covered or relevant to patients covered by other insurers). The fee schedule IS the negotiated lower price and represents what they will pay out for a specific service. Those with other insurance plans, or no insurance at all, are often charged a different rate, that rate is the often listed price they are talking about or the insurance companies negotiated price.

Also, asking for evidence isn't calling someone a liar, it's just that, asking for evidence to support their claim. Especially if the other parties understand the situation differently.

And thanks for welcoming me to Hubski.

Wait, maybe I'm not understanding your claim correctly, but insurance companies and government medical programs regularly negotiate prices that are different and often much lower than the listed price. And I have yet to see any major medical procedures or items that weren't being sold at a profit, or, if they weren't being sold at a profit to the public, they were being subsidized by the government to make up for the discrepancy. Can you please direct me toward information that says otherwise? Or are you talking about something else?

The last update I heard about this, the police had used a genealogical site to track the DNA samples found at a crime scene to the suspects family and after he was arrested they matched it with his DNA. So it looks like they really did catch the guy.

"Medicare will require hospitals to post their standard prices online and make electronic medical records more readily available to patients, officials said Tuesday." - From the article.

As someone who has handled medical payments, the rate differentiation is extremely wide between what the standard pricing is and what Medicare recipients and others pay. And the article is about all patients and standard rates, not just Medicare recipients. Medicare is just pushing for more transparency industry wide to help people make more informed decisions.

It sounds like you and your wife have built and run an exceptional institution that is very morally and ethically centered, especially to insist on standardized pricing, but I know from experience that this isn't the norm in the United States. I'm glad that people like you are out there to do it.

The other top leader on that list is Kroger. They are in third place in the first three states listed and fourth on the list in the forth state listed, but apparently not bad enough to appear in Pennsylvania's top 10 (Dillion's, Fry's, and Fred Meyer are all Kroger owned companies).

This is so very true. Attaching things to identity is a tried-and-true methodology for propaganda and control that is, unfortunately, very effective with many people. It's this very reason that certain parties are so interested in linking political affiliation and lifestyle to people's internal sense of identity. It makes it so much easier to control discourse when everything is earmarked into what party you are affiliated with or what type of lifestyle you should be living.

It's this reason that discussions about capitalism become left vs right, rather than discussions about economics, culture, and society. Why some people can't believe in or discuss issues like Climate Change without it becoming a conservative vs liberal issue that somehow affronts them personally, rather than a scientific and social one. And why corporations franchise out identities to people, rather than products, targeting impressionable youth, retired biker daddies, tattooed bearded whisky sipping malcontents, house moms, and hipsters based on what values they should have, beliefs they should hold, behaviors they should adopt, the type of people they should associate with -- and, of course, what products and services should go along with that lifestyle. Wink. Wink.

Identities are big business these days. Data driven cash-cows. The present and the future of marketing, politics, and culture. And it is technology and science that are driving this beyond anything we could have predicted even a generation ago; which is probably one downside to having never been where we are as a society, today -- we don't yet understand the impacts and problems that come with this data driven, identity peddling world we have constructed around us. Nor do we have the regulation and the rules to properly regulate it the way it should be.

Very interesting read. One element I would like to add, which came to me during my time studying communication and the effects of propaganda, is the underlying concept of motivation and intent in regard to how someone might communicate during discussion and frame the delivery of their intended message, or guide it to the outcome they want.

As per your above argument, we tend to assume during most active discussions that the beliefs, opinions, and attitudes of those engaged in the activity are based on some sort of internal logic (whether or not that logic is substantiated through evidence and reason), and that, even though their reactions are guided by past experiences and beliefs, the responses you receive are generally spontaneous and in the moment, not planned or constructed or motivated before hand. Rarely do we give much thought to what active intentions and/or conscious or subconscious motivations may play a role in someone's ability or inability to accommodate the cognitive dissonance you mentioned above, or their willingness to adapt and change rather than retreat from, or intervene in, the flow of the conversation to alter its outcome.

We all harbor biases and experiences that create the individual realities you discussed, but we sometimes don't consider how unknowingly powerful those biases and experiences can be when they play into tough situations and/or uncomfortable discussion (or challenge something someone needs or wants to be true).

When these motivations come from knowingly, actively influencing discourse they can be even more powerful, especially if other members are unaware of its happening. Such influences don't necessarily have to be overtly malicious in nature, only an underlying motivation or need that guides someone's stance in a conversation for private reasons -- it is actually one of the fundamental aspects of critical discussion over passive sharing of opinion.

Intent and motivation are powerful forms of influence that can dictate, at a fundamental level, the very nature of communication and discussion. Sometimes, internal (and perhaps unknown) influences can interfere before a discussion becomes productive -- and make it difficult or impossible for some people to overcome even active, critical attempts to open themselves up to alternative view points (I've personally witnessed people completely give themselves over to an idea and accept it only to discard it in practice due to it challenging them on an emotional level, even when mentally they new the opposite to be true -- this is probably one of the hardest types of people to have critical discussion with)

I think this aspect of discussion is just as important as any other, being mindful of such influences. An effective member of a discussion has to spend equal if not more time in consideration of the positions of other group members, and other peoples reactions to the conversation, as they do their own. Only then will they be mindful of barriers that are going up or aware of other intentions that may be influencing the outcome of the conversation (or know when to walk away). This is probably more important than any concrete, fact-only based arguments: the flexibility to know when and how to step forward (or back) and lean more on emotion, or reason, or fact, without being dishonest in what you want to accomplish, or letting other vent or retreat when necessary, in an effort to keep a beneficial dialogue moving forward.

So I guess my, hopeful, contribution to this conversation, is that most successful discussions don't really come from defending your own personal beliefs and opinions, but by actively understanding those of the people you engage. Only then can you truly construct an argument that they will accept, or successfully challenge their beliefs (You know, if that is the intent that motivates you to engage in discussion with them).