So real talk, VISA isn't much better - if you have a business selling tobacco, cannabis, or firearm related products you have a really hard time taking payments online. Most big vendors (like Paypal, Square, etc) won't work with you once you hit $5k to $10k a year in sales (for small businesses starting out you'll slip by for a few months until you grow big enough to get manually audited).
Then you need to find special card processing banks who are approved by VISA to work with tobacco/firearm companies and go through all sorts of review before your store will be approved for processing payments.
And that's just selling hardware like pipes and accessories. I'm not even talking about the raw material itself.
This sucks, but it won't stop anyone, they'll simply switch to another service. I bet VISA's stock will pop tomorrow because of this news if it hasn't already haha
This really isn’t that big of a deal anyways. Just deploy an ATM inside the shop as a courtesy. Bonus points if it’s a nice machine that can give customers amounts in increments as little as $5.
Since your business has cash as it’s main method of payment; it should be fairly simple to keep said ATM stocked up.
This at least would be the cheeky way to get around restrictions.
I highly doubt any sensible dispensary delivers their product! For obvious legal reasons, no, you have to go to their physical location and buy their product physically in-store so that they can make sure you’re:
Not two kids in a trench coat.
Not otherwise forbidden from buying cannabis by state law.
Not all cracked out.
Not buying in bulk amounts so that you can give/sell that good shit out to all your friends
Not a Federal Bikini Inspector or a Constantly Interjecting Asshole working with the Dipshits Eating Assoles who’s sole mission is to ruin everything for everyone
Obeying the laws of the state while buying the goods
Lol I'm not talking about dispensary businesses. I'm talking about online shops selling hardware like glass pipes and stuff. It's dumb, but it affects many small businesses in the USA.
Sadly there is no simple way to install a virtual ATM for payments on an online store
The messed up part is that while you can't do tobacco product sales using Paypal in the USA, if you're outside the USA paypal will totally take your business. As I've been told directly from Paypal's representatives - they want our business, but it's VISA putting down the rules about what merchant services can work with tobacco/firearm/cannabis sales - and there aren't many in the country (Paypal, Square, etc are not on that list).
The hardware isn’t illegal at any level, so it doesn’t really affect headshops. Just dispensaries that sell cannabis itself; because cannabis is still federally outlawed.
The way the dispensaries around me handle it is that they just do a cash withdrawal at the register as if I was using an ATM, so I pay the store in cash and the bank just sees it as getting cash back.
I think that it's going to be a tough sell to the Kiwis. Until 12 years ago, New Zealand didn't even allow US nuclear-powered warships in her waters, because there was that much concern from the Kiwi public about them.
New Zealand was suspended from ANZUS in 1986 as it initiated a nuclear-free zone in its territorial waters; in late 2012, New Zealand lifted a ban on visits by United States warships leading to a thawing in tensions. New Zealand maintains a nuclear-free zone as part of its foreign policy and is partially suspended from ANZUS, as the United States maintains an ambiguous policy whether or not the warships carry nuclear weapons and operates numerous nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines; however New Zealand resumed key areas of the ANZUS treaty in 2007.[3][4]
ANZUS was overshadowed in late 2021 by AUKUS, a trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It involves cooperation in nuclear submarines that New Zealand will not support. Australia and New Zealand, "are poles apart in terms of the way they see the world....I think this alliance underlines that they’re going in very different directions,” said Geoffrey Miller, an international analyst at the Democracy Project in New Zealand.[5]
AUKUS is specifically about submarine tech, not just tolerating someone else's subs passage. The Aussie government may have wanted nuclear vessels and decided that the public was finally sufficiently on-board, but New Zealand has had more opposition than Australia has.
Absolutely, but the hearing was never about presenting evidence of extraterrestrials. It is about creating a safe and transparent process for reporting unidentified flying objects. A system for collecting data on such incidents is something worthwhile for many reasons. Then and only then could we have an actual discussion on anything further regarding the potential of extraterrestrials if credible evidence exists. Too much bs until then
I don't think the death penalty should ever have been used. It certainly doesn't have any place in today's society. Get rid of it already. Ghana is just about to abolish it. So should the rest of the world.
Based on what evidence? Or is it simply because she is a woman, she couldn’t possibly do something illegal, so she must have been forced into doing it?
Did you even read the article? No. Of course not. She was found with like 30 g on her. What cartel is going to traffic drugs 30 g at a time?!?
Strange deal, but sure - always good to work on yourself. Also not sure why you assume, I would think that smuggling heroine would be a good idea to beginn with.
I agree on a level, but interstate commerce laws mean that these institutions are held by federal regulation to not accept these payments. As others here have said, the real issue is marijuana needs to just be legalized on the fed level. Then this wouldn’t be an issue.
“Non-human biologicals” … People do realize that there have likely at least been one or more occurrences of human bodies exposed to a vacuum for long periods of time that might have been recovered from test projects by now, right? As in, the whole body would be quick dried and shriveled as all the water would evaporate, except that due to the body’s non-uniformity some parts would bulge out from the pressure of the expanding evaporation until it made its way out while others would shrink closer to the bones.
The brain would sizzle out and force the skull open from the inside before getting quick dried. The bones would stand out the most (think starting African children), but it would be slightly different. In other words, a lot like a “space alien”, and not something people would give back to their families to display in an open casket military funeral.
Funny how there’s so much effort to get the government to reveal things that will give away what it can and can’t identify and what is and isn’t experimental technology being tested at a time when other world powers are ramping up their military imperialism and trying to get their own heads up.
They had a 14-year old kid with them. That poor kid didn’t deserve to have been led to his death because of the adults he had no choice but to depend on.
They didn’t take a risk. Taking a risk means preparing for situations and dealing with them as they come up, and what happens happens. This lady prepared nothing. This is more like resting in the shade of the anvil suspended by twine in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. She walked out into the woods to die and just didn’t know it. It’s an awful story, she obviously didn’t feel she had options, but a little bit of reading or video would show a person very quickly that they needed more preparation than the deceased put in to have any hope it surviving an alpine winter.
Leaving or not leaving your bed is a risk. Preparation has nothing to do with it. They obviously weren’t prepared for living in late-stage capitalism either. You’re falling victim to the just-world fallacy.
Her free will to run away from a system she perceived as a threat. Are you saying that you’ve been totally comfortable the last 4 years and never once considered the collapse of the system being a threat to your loved ones?
Your response might be better than theirs, but you could be on the chopping block tomorrow as well. You’re still blaming the oppressed for the conditions set by their oppressors.
They’re directing action at the top of every hierarchy enforced by violence. If you stop playing stupid you can figure it out for yourself. Many of them are on TV daily advocating for genocide or explaining why kids should starve with a grandfatherly smile. Talk about fucking ridiculous. We can’t have a conversation if you deny reality.
No, I don’t. You need to define “they” for yourself before you spend the rest of your life defending your oppressors. All I need to do is hit the mute button.
No, that's not how it works, my guy. You're the one making a claim that somebody else forced this upon them, the burden of proof is on you. I'm not gonna build your own argument for you.
All this snide little "you know who" shit has me feeling like you're about two comments away from somehow blaming this on Jews or something.
Are you saying that you’ve been totally comfortable the last 4 years and never once considered the collapse of the system being a threat to your loved ones?
Of course I'm not saying that. But I never once thought to myself "Know what would make this situation better? Starving myself and my family in the cold wilderness that none of us are prepared to endure."
That thought was something she considered and acted upon. It's not your fault for having such thoughts, but acting on them is always your fault. Nobody told her "You need to take your family into the mountains, or else". She did that to herself.
Ah, so you’re projecting your insecurity on them by taking satisfaction in the idea that their way of coping with the collapse of the system got them killed, so you’re obviously more in control. If you get cancer from corporate pollution and poor food quality, there’s nothing you could have done. If you get hit by a car, it’s luck of the draw. If a Republican president outlaws your way of life, that’s just the way it is. But since they’re dead, they were obviously at fault.
“Know what would make this situation better? Starving myself and my family in the cold wilderness that none of us are prepared to endure.” Your strawman arguments know your motivations better than you do.
Not true. There are homeless people and homesteaders living in nature all around the globe. If you put most of them in downtown LA, many of them would likely die in a matter of days or weeks. People can acclimate to extreme circumstances if they are given a chance to learn.
They likely would have died in society as well, from poverty, cancer, addiction, or suicide. They were drowning in one world so they sought refuge in another. There was no happy ending in wait.
They likely would have died in society as well, from poverty, cancer, addiction, or suicide
Lol great rational for killing your kid. They could possibly, maybe, die anyway so better just get it over with right? She was an idiot and her stupidity lead to the death of an innocent child.
Humans are not rabbits. What a terrible analogy. I get mad at any human that intentionally endangers their child. I don’t know why you don’t object to child abuse.
If you can’t understand the metaphor for what it is, then you’re below the threshold for understanding how a person living under a constant threat of starvation and death might make poor decisions. I think we’re done here. Don’t bother me again.
Again, I never said there’s no system that disenfranchises people. You realize you’re saying this in response to me accusing you of manufacturing arguments out of nothing.
What I said was, they were not forced by “the system” to do anything. Any more than you have been. Or do you live in the woods currently?
Who used the word “force?” The system is coercive and entropic. Work where you’re allowed until you die. You get paid what you are allotted. Your value is based on your job and your ability to earn. If you’re a woman or a minority, you’re second class. Police budgets grow and enforcement becomes more violent every year. Politicians and CEOs are working together to exploit your labor until you die early from chronic disease.
I didn’t think I had to break it down as if I was explaining to a child, but here we are. Now pretend like you don’t understand why she ran.
The same system that provides antibiotics? Have you ever grown food? It’s a lot harder than buying it at the store, even when you include the time spent working at a minimum wage job.
Nature is brutal and unforgiving, these idiots did not begin to respect it.
They could never have survived without society to care for them, the proof is that they didn’t.
The system that provides soap, food, internet, cops, homelessness, poverty, fentanyl, prisons, slavery, inequality, racism, sex discrimination, poor education, and horrendous working conditions.
They were ignorant about nature the same way you seem to be ignorant about society. Both of you risk your lives on a daily basis dealing with SYSTEMS you don’t understand.
It’s just the luck of the draw that you can sit there in high judgement and talk mad shit.
You make foolish assumptions. I’m a homeowner, a veteran, and a registered nurse. I recognize suffering because I devote every day to helping sufferers. One doesn’t need to be a victim to have empathy.
The adult who dragged a kid along was trying to create her own system, which undeniably isolated him, subjected him to suffering, and killed him, so yeah I’m angry at that on his behalf.
What reality do you live in where you don’t face the same hardships? Maybe your struggles aren’t as extreme, but those threats are always lying in wait to ruin your happy little life.
She got that way because you personally didn’t teach her a better way of living. You’re personally responsible for these deaths, including that of the child.
Why, why would you do this, @TrismegistusMx? Why? Why?
Reading the article it sounds like this woman unfortunately just spent too much time on social media reading all the doom and gloom of the media and people amplifying it in places like reddit, Twitter and Facebook.
wanted to live in a land disconnected from the world, which she viewed as chaotic and dangerous
she and her teenage son could be happy and safe away from the news, the viruses, the politics of modern-day America
had been “discouraged with the state of the world”
Rebecca Vance’s fears intensified during the pandemic
Consuming too much of this crap has really affected peoples mental health, from Trump, to BLM riots, racism, covid, it’s broken some people who spend too much time on social media.
So much so that they think the only way out is to hide away from society.
Reminder, friends, to take frequent and extensive breaks from social media for your own mental health.
she and her teenage son could be happy and safe away from the news, the viruses, the politics of modern-day America
Just close the apps. That’s literally all it takes to avoid like 90% of the crap that she’s talking about. But the viruses… did she think those don’t make it to the forest or something?
Please, I knew people who were exactly the same back in the 90s, there are always people who go down the paranoia rabbit hole and don’t come back out.
Lot of them were praying for the collapse because that’s when God would raise them above the wicked heathens and sodomites because they’re secretly special but everyone else is too evil to admit it.
The article said the poor kid was homeschooled, which is often a hallmark of religious fundamentalism. Not trusting the world and thinking it’s out to get you is also a hallmark of fundamentalism - but also of mental illness.
She’s from Colorado Springs (massive conservative area) and she became concerned about the world and wanted to live off the grid in 2022 (when Trump lost). The writer of this article sure does beat around the bush and struggles not to say whether she was a right wing nut.
And remember that despite some unique large scale issues we have today, there were much, MUCH worse times to be alive. “Majority of Americans live a peaceful life and die at 70-80” is not reportable news but still largely true.
Things are far from perfect, there are major issues, but I’d choose to live today than almost the entirety of human existence previously.
There were definitely way more violent times in the US: there were pandemics, there were revolts, there were wars. We live in an amazing time but it takes a bit of grand perspective to realize that all the bad news is easy to see in a matter of minutes. You can have death and destruction delivered right into your home in a matter of milliseconds. It’s much much harder to see all the wonderful things happening in the world
100%. Some people exploited the riots to break into stores but they were the significant minority, and additionally some were outed as bad actors who actually didn’t support the movement.
You can’t lump in blm riots in there, those were protests stoked to violence by police officers, so what you should be saying it’s, corrupt police forces resulting in blm protests
Maybe I’m being too generous, but I was reading it as this person consumed too much media, including lies and exaggerations, and it warped their world view. I guess I read it as a topic like and not calling them riots themselves. Kinda like the “race riot” in Tusla, but idk.
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