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Antigravitas posted:I, too, am afraid of being turned German by the Gender Nazis. Truly a fate worse than death. and somehow it still works on a sizeable portion of population simply because it represents their hatreds
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Feb 23, 2024 15:10
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Propaganda where adults are turned gay or lesbian by Western decadence confuses me a little bit. You would presume that the audience thinks of themselves as super manly men and upstanding women who couldn't be turned. So who is it meant to scare? People who know they're unconditionally straight but are worried their spouse will turn and leave them? People worried about their siblings who always seemed 'unconventional'? Retirees worried about their adult children? Or is it people not worried about themselves or their family but rather that society at large will turn homosexual and they won't feel comfortable at bars anymore? I say "a little bit" because I figure they don't expect or want the audience to think too much about this.
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Feb 23, 2024 15:11
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People underestimate the importance of preaching to the converted. Sure, those ads are not going to convince a regular person to become a virulent bigot, but it might nudge a quietly/subconsciously bigoted type closer to becoming loudly/consciously bigoted.
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Feb 23, 2024 15:18
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Which "election" had the ad where the guy has to salute president Pikachu? People that make these have weird imaginations
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Feb 23, 2024 15:47
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sad question posted:Which "election" had the ad where the guy has to salute president Pikachu? People that make these have weird imaginations That one was actually a parody. But it was indistinguishable from the real thing.
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Feb 23, 2024 15:50
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Bright Bart posted:Propaganda where adults are turned gay or lesbian by Western decadence confuses me a little bit. That ad did contain a mention of the Equality Gulag or whatever the nonsense term was, the evil homonazis will obviously have camps and liquidations because everything these people do is projection
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Feb 23, 2024 15:54
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Rappaport posted:That ad did contain a mention of the Equality Gulag or whatever the nonsense term was, the evil homonazis will obviously have camps and liquidations because everything these people do is projection Yeah, it is weird because it uses the overwhelming state apparatus as a boogeyman, at a time when the state is interested in population trusting it, opposed to the external threat or "saboteurs and traitors" from the inside. This type of thing makes sense in the US where it is easy for red states to cultivate Big Government fears, but complete nonsense for Russia.
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Feb 23, 2024 16:31
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Rappaport posted:That ad did contain a mention of the Equality Gulag or whatever the nonsense term was, the evil homonazis will obviously have camps and liquidations because everything these people do is projection
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Feb 23, 2024 19:25
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I'm going to make two posts because they're of very different temperament. The (Really) Cool / (Kinda) Neutral: Monocle, the magazine where the advertisements are for private islands and Patek Philippe s, had a several day's of reporting from Poland. To them it was a no brainer. For a solid decade "Made in Poland" has meant either the best in class (e.g. furniture, although here tied with Finland and Japan) or at the least premium (e.g. leather goods). You could probably sell a doorstop for $30 if it has the wavy red & white flag somewhere conspicuous. [Same thing with Czechia to some extent especially with firearms and crystalware.] This, however, was apparently news to the Poles. Some were incredulous. Others *kept* asking why Poland of all place has this reputation when Poles themselves prefer their homegrown brands to have fake Italian and German names when selling to the domestic market.
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Feb 24, 2024 19:02
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Bright Bart posted:... 
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Feb 24, 2024 19:13
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The Bad: So it seems that in polls, plenty think that Russia will attack Poland at some point in their lifetime. With a plurality believing a full-on invasion is going to happen. I won't be an armchair general. What I will agree with are the pundits who feel that it is ridiculous to not prepare for the eventuality. [And we aren't preparing as well as we say we should. There can a shortfall of 100 of the amount of specialists in the military, but at the same time as the forces are advertising for e.g. nurses because there are 100 nursing vacancies, (recruiters are telling me) that they only have spots and funding for 15 nurses a year to go through officer training.] What makes sense to me is that the Poles who believe and invasion is unlikely because Poland is of little use to Russia, and they would now have a western border and coast that are almost impossible to defend from a counter-attack should one come eventually if not straight away, are half right. These things may be true, but the use of attacking Poland would be rolling through to Germany, Czechia and Austria. Possibly the Netherlands. Much smarter persons with a lot more insider access are talking about this seriously. What I want to ask here, rather than arguing the above, is what casus belli the USSR and/or its emperor would use. That Poland is a direct threat in and of itself? That it could be a staging ground for a NATO invasion? That the Russian (i.e. Russian-speaking Ukrainian minority) is being mistreated? That Poland should never have been given autonomy over its defence arrangements and especially not allowed to join NATO and the EU? That the land is historically Russian? That the Polish government is fascist? Bright Bart fucked around with this message at 20:36 on Feb 24, 2024 |
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Feb 24, 2024 19:14
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mobby_6kl posted:Wait, where the hell is that? I've never heard of this perception, Poland is where some of my Ikea crap is made Almost all of the solid wood Ikea stuff. But also the very best furniture that adorns the homes of millionaires the world over. It's not limited to Monocle, and it's not new. The Economist was hailing the red & white flag as an example of soft power coups alongside Made in Germany or Scandinavian living standards or British cars. Like the latter, a yacht made in Poland is a status symbol a cut above.. well a yacht in general. Roots (in Canada) is a mall brand but also one which celebrities wear (specifically the leather goods). On its webpage it talks up how many of the leatherworkers are from Poland and were trained there. It may have started with vodka lol Bright Bart fucked around with this message at 20:37 on Feb 24, 2024 |
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Feb 24, 2024 19:15
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Huh
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Feb 24, 2024 19:18
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Bright Bart posted:Propaganda where adults are turned gay or lesbian by Western decadence confuses me a little bit. We are talking about a nation where homosexual activity is not considered gay as long as it is rape but is also part of the culture in some places like gulags, mafia and the military.
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Feb 24, 2024 19:56
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Bright Bart posted:What I want to ask here, rather than arguing the above, is what casus belli the USSR and/or its emperor would use. That Poland is a direct threat in and of itself? That it could be a staging ground for a NATO invasion? That the Russian (i.e. Russian-speaking Ukrainian minority) is being mistreated? That Poland should never have been given autonomy over its defence arrangements and especially not allowed to join NATO and the EU? That the land is historically Russian? That the Polish government is fascist? This is hard to answer because you are asking a future hypothetical, and we don't know what the future brings us. What we can tell is that things can change in unexpected ways rather quickly (say ten years), and it's good to be prepared for various scenarios on societal and household levels. It's currently unthinkable that Russia would go to direct war with NATO and EU. But what if NATO and EU were paralyzed by Trump, Orban and other internal malicious agents? These rifts are something that Putin has been trying to increase all this time and if he succeeded, Poland would be left very vulnerable to a veteran Russian army. The most realistic prospect would IMO be that Russia threatens Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, using the Russian populations there as a pretext along with demanding a land connection to Kaliningrad. Poland then becomes a battlefield as the Suwałki Gap gets hit first, and Russia would want to push the front deep inside Poland to have defense depth for the inevitable counterattack. Please note that I don't see this likely to occur in following years or even ever, but it's one possible scenario where Poland gets invaded.
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Feb 24, 2024 21:02
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Yeah nobody knows for certain of course, but considering... the last 2-10 years, it'd be stupid not to have credible deterrance against an attack
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Feb 24, 2024 21:23
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The Suwałki gap land bridge seems like a great idea, until you look at the map and realize the bridgehead around Grodno is surrounded from three sides. It would be much easier for NATO forces to defend on the Bug and push into Belarus through Grodno than it would be for Russia to even attempt any western thrusts.
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Feb 24, 2024 22:04
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Bright Bart posted:British cars Okay, now I know you are loving with us.
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Feb 24, 2024 22:15
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Mokotow posted:The Suwałki gap land bridge seems like a great idea, until you look at the map and realize the bridgehead around Grodno is surrounded from three sides. It would be much easier for NATO forces to defend on the Bug and push into Belarus through Grodno than it would be for Russia to even attempt any western thrusts. OTOH it is easy for Putin or his successor to order an attack. For NATO to attack you'd need to have some consensus between the members.
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Feb 24, 2024 22:56
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I don't plan on making any large electronics purchases anytime very soon, but in case something needs to be replaced on short notice: I'm wondering how sketchy are the online only electronics retailers that have no physical locations but are listed on Ceneo, like Sferis or Morele? They sell new electronics for sometimes 20-40% what you find at MediaMarkt or X-Com. But that is hardly compensation if they end up being lemons or repackaged returns/display models. I've had mixed experiences here when I bought from the really small retailers. I've gotten plenty of things with the safety seal broken ("so we could turn it on and make sure it works fine") sometimes noted somewhere in the fine print and other times not mentioned until I already had it in my hands and called them about it. I once also got a phone that was technically new but it was clearly intended for the SE Asian market because it had Vietnamese when booting up for the first time (and came with instructions on how to switch the language to Polish by clicking a number of buttons this way then that way.
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Feb 26, 2024 14:12
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One weird trick is to check Wikipedia. Sferis belongs to Action, which is one of the biggest electronics retailers. Morele have a Wikipedia page and have been around since 2000, plus they’re a known (for me) brand. If I was forced to buy something from the smaller companies, I’d definitely see if they’re on Google maps and if they have an actual office or warehouse. Google reviews are also a good supplement for Allegro/Ceneo reviews.
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Feb 26, 2024 14:52
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Bright Bart posted:I don't plan on making any large electronics purchases anytime very soon, but in case something needs to be replaced on short notice: I'm wondering how sketchy are the online only electronics retailers that have no physical locations but are listed on Ceneo, like Sferis or Morele? They sell new electronics for sometimes 20-40% what you find at MediaMarkt or X-Com. But that is hardly compensation if they end up being lemons or repackaged returns/display models. Recently had to file a criminal complaint against one of these sorts of retailers, who sold me a switch but never sent it, just endless notes about delays in restock until they stopped responding to my emails entirely. While I was at the police station I saw a ukrainian lady trying to file a complaint against her ex-boyfriend who had been threatening to murder her, the cop at the desk pretended to not be able to understand her accent and kept telling her to speak polish (she was) until she left. acab! after she left I could hear the cop in the back laughing with his cop buddies about it, looooool Comte de Saint-Germain fucked around with this message at 15:36 on Feb 26, 2024 |
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Feb 26, 2024 15:32
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Speaking of, this place opened up in Warsaw: https://maps.app.goo.gl/8XzxKcxCQjiyftXg7 It's a chain specialized in used consoles (at a markup of course) but I've checked their catalogue and all I can say is I avoid Marszalkowska now lest I end up leaving with two DSes and an Xbox 360. I was looking into getting a used DS in Poland some time ago and it was dire (unless you find Allegro Lokalnie fun) so this is a nice change. Mokotow fucked around with this message at 18:40 on Feb 26, 2024 |
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Feb 26, 2024 18:35
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Mokotow posted:One weird trick is to check Wikipedia. Sferis belongs to Action, which is one of the biggest electronics retailers. Morele have a Wikipedia page and have been around since 2000, plus they’re a known (for me) brand. Thanks for this. Just because they're on Wikipedia and have been around for a while doesn't 100% reassure me for all of them. But it maybe doesn't make them any sketchier than the big box stores with physical locations. I was just a little surprised because e.g. Sferis can have just one colour of something that comes in two colours and that was nudging me the wrong way because I was making up scenarios in my head where they got a lemon shipment and it was all that colour. Comte de Saint-Germain posted:after she left I could hear the cop in the back laughing with his cop buddies about it, looooool Drat. Not cool. The talking and laughing in the back does happen sometimes in hospitals when it comes to younger males. Definitely heard a lot of comments, when someone is complaining or demanding something, that they're wimps who should have stayed and made themselves available for the draft to defend their country rather than telling us the bed is too soft and the lights are too bright. Or if they won't file their paperwork for one reason or another to be insured and are costing the hospital money people will make comments. And you'll definitely be known as 'The Ukrainian lady in room #' instead of someone trying to pronounce your last name. But, you know, they still receive the same care unlike what you witnessed.
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Feb 26, 2024 18:44
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Mokotow posted:Speaking of, this place opened up in Warsaw: Cex rules, there's been one in Gdynia for forever now
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Feb 26, 2024 18:45
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Oh. And in case you guys thought I was making the luxury label stuff up: Other things that are Monocle Approved are Patek Phillipe watches, UBS private banking, and realtors that sell houses like this through the magazine: 
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Feb 26, 2024 18:56
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I guess since you are bringing this back, I'll add to the chorus of people who've never heard anything Polish-made being called a luxury, ever. Patek Philippe is a well-known brand, but AFAIK they very deliberately position themselves as a Swiss watch company, even if their factory may be in Poland(?) - not any different from brands that cclaim to be American, French, Italian but really manufacture everything in China. E: Patek-Philippe watches are in fact still made in Switzerland steinrokkan fucked around with this message at 19:01 on Feb 26, 2024 |
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Feb 26, 2024 18:58
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I mean that's not unexpected. You obviously wouldn't hear about it locally since the point is about luxury exports. You'd have to keep track of English language publications ostensibly targeted to the 1%.* But there have actually been stories specifically on the fact that Poles have ready access to some things the world covets and they don't at all recognize them as anything special, sometimes specifically seeking out foreign goods to import on the presumption they'll be better quality. *I do this. Because they often have the money for good reporting. And I'm probably not the only one. These publications may make their money on ads for things like private banks and islands but I'm guessing the average reader is well an average person. steinrokkan posted:Patek Philippe is a well-known brand, but AFAIK they very deliberately position themselves as a Swiss watch company, even if their factory may be in Poland(?) - not any different from brands that cclaim to be American, French, Italian but really manufacture everything in China. Oh I wasn't implying that Patek Philippe is a Polish brand. Although there is a very, very interesting Polish connection. Just giving an example of what else gets the Monocle Approved label. UBS is also Swiss. And they sure are made in Switzerland. They're the most expensive watch brand in the world I think? Bright Bart fucked around with this message at 19:08 on Feb 26, 2024 |
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Feb 26, 2024 19:05
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There are reports that a deal to release Navalny was in the final stages of negotiation in the days leading up to his death. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/navalny-was-close-being-freed-prisoner-swap-says-ally-2024-02-26/ quote:Navalny was close to being freed in prisoner swap between Russia and West, ally says
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Feb 26, 2024 19:08
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Swiss brand recognition: Polish brand recognition: 
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Feb 26, 2024 23:28
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Actually it was quite difficult to get a hold of peanut butter when I first came over. Not only that but you'd try explaining what it is to folks and get screwed up faces like it's something preposterous.
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Feb 27, 2024 01:22
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Bright Bart posted:Actually it was quite difficult to get a hold of peanut butter when I first came over. Not only that but you'd try explaining what it is to folks and get screwed up faces like it's something preposterous. That's because in the 90s, Nutella and other chocolate-tasting spreads (including a black and white Mily Way thing) were real fast to conquer the market. Way faster and with better marketing than regular peanut butter. Hell, for the longest time I called it peanut butter, cause I didn't know that it was a different product. And you know, I still gotta add to the choir of "I never thoguht of Polish things as quality lol", especially since I learned that signs like "Teraz Polska" were just buyable with cash, not gives as actual merit awards (same with the Mother and Child Institute logo and the Rainforest Alliance). BUT, while I never thought of that myself, I have heard the IKEA things being higher quality. My aunt moved Barcelona a few years back and just before she left, she helped my grandmother with some IKEA assembly. The furniture seemed okay enough so she bought the same things in Spain. Everything was made of worse materials, the interlocking twisty locks were plastic instead of metal, and overall the quality felt like a really lovely piece of plywood as opposed to what we have in Poland.
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Feb 27, 2024 08:11
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Teraz Polska was a great way to avoid lovely products
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Feb 27, 2024 08:40
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Kikas posted:That's because in the 90s, Nutella and other chocolate-tasting spreads (including a black and white Mily Way thing) were real fast to conquer the market. Way faster and with better marketing than regular peanut butter. I remember the first peanut spreads that were available were nasty Nutella imitations that tried to cut costs by substituting peanuts for hazelnuts and reducing the cocoa content. I still see proper peanut butter as a very niche product even today.
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Feb 27, 2024 08:55
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The nutella thing also caused a lot of kids trying peanut butter to expect something sweet
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Feb 27, 2024 09:01
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I miss the Snickers spread so much
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Feb 27, 2024 09:03
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Mokotow posted:Teraz Polska was a great way to avoid lovely products My part of the country just now [you know what it is but don't say it outright I've doxxed myself enough talking about work and my publications] has excellent tap water. Stellar. There was a campaign to get people to drink it instead of buying bottled water. And to ask for it in restaurants. The restaurants were enccouraged to put up signs in turn encouraging you to ask for tap water, and places like coffee shops and obiady domowe were asked to have pitchers and glasses out for self serving. They would get tax incentives to make up for revenue lost on selling bottled still water. The result? I have no clue. But at least a few people got turned off government water. They were suspicious. If it's fine than why are you spending so much convincing me it's fine?
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Feb 27, 2024 09:07
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The peanut butter sold in Latvia and Lithuania is really bad, especially the Rimi house brand. Just trying it once put off my kid from eating peanut butter entirely for a year or so. Bit extreme, but after trying it I could she where she's coming from. Polish produce and dairy has a bad rap as well (not entirely undeserved in the case of apples), but I think much of the bad reputation for manufactured goods stems from the low quality and unknown origin crap that was imported through Poland, frequently with Polish packaging, and sold in markets in the 1990s.
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Feb 27, 2024 09:11
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a podcast for cats posted:The peanut butter sold in Latvia and Lithuania is really bad, especially the Rimi house brand. Just trying it once put off my kid from eating peanut butter entirely for a year or so. Bit extreme, but after trying it I could she where she's coming from. Dutch peanut butter is wrongful and wicked, and that’s what you usually find in supermarkets. Even the Polish “American style” pb you sometimes find (maybe in Maxima?) and other places is loving awful.
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Feb 27, 2024 09:35
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Bright Bart posted:My part of the country just now [you know what it is but don't say it outright I've doxxed myself enough talking about work and my publications] has excellent tap water. Stellar. It's so loving depressing seeing the amount of plastic bottles my in-laws use on any given day. I and my kids have been drinking the tapwater there without any trouble for a decade now but no sign of that changing their minds.
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Feb 27, 2024 09:41
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