When I read the headline, I immediately thought of ICE, and when I read the post, I thought of the US president…

Yes, exactly, it will only get worse because there is no mass resistance.

Since paedophilia is such a terrible crime that is universally despised by all social classes and political orientations, I think the Epstein scandal is the last chance to trigger mass protests against the obvious depravity of the political system and the open and fatal corruption in government offices. Given the severity of these crimes, this would be an opportunity to overcome the division between left and right in the interests of the population and to rise up against the real enemy, namely the moneyed aristocracy. However, since this will not even happen in the case of this completely perverse scandal, I can’t imagine how it could ever happen.

So it will turn out exactly as you describe: it will get even worse. Presumably, the elite will next transform the country from the usual plutocracy into an actual dictatorship like Russia, which makes resistance even more unlikely due to the tyranny, because then there will be repression on a scale that will make today’s status quo seem mild.

In my opinion, the current regime is already working on this - for example, with ICE, which already has a budget that compares to the military spendings of a medium-sized country and is already quite obviously acting as a secret police force outside the already dysfunctional legal system.

For people like you, who have long recognized the obvious, I am very sorry, but I fear that sooner or later it will come to this due to the apathy of the American people. If they don’t act now, I think they won’t be able to do so at all soon.

What hope? That would only lead to the orange pedophile being replaced by someone who is smarter and less obviously depraved, but just as unscrupulous. The only option is a general strike by the population that lasts until reforms are implemented that fundamentally reshape the system - and unfortunately, that is out of the question, as the current president impressively demonstrates: No crime could be terrible enough to motivate the American people to resistance, even though they are not even being oppressed by force.

Yes, I also consider this sad truth to be the most likely scenario. I mean, if the Epstein case, which clearly shows that the system is rotten to the core, is not enough to bring citizens out onto the streets and paralyze the country until serious reforms are implemented and those responsible are held accountable, then nothing will ever change and no one will be prosecuted for these terrible crimes. In short, if citizens want justice, they must rise up en masse, and they will never do so despite the monstrous actions of their leaders, even though, unlike in true dictatorships, they are not in immediate danger of life and limb (yet).

As a result, the situation will only get worse, because the unscrupulous monsters at the top realize that they are untouchable and that the American people will let them get away with absolutely anything. As I said before, if the Eppstein case is not enough, I don’t even want to imagine what it would take to mobilize US citizens against their overlords.

Are US citizens actually aware that this affair already allows only one conclusion, namely that the US is a banana republic where the law counts for absolutely nothing, a nation controlled by organized crime of the worst kind?

As others have already asked, but with different expectations: Have I missed something? I think I am fairly up to date on the published Epstein documents. None of this seems surprising to me - on the contrary, it’s what I expected (even badly redacted files). So is the idea now that there are documents that incriminate the US-President, files that may even be used as evidence that the US president is a child molester and that he is being protected by government institutions, or have I missed some new developments?

I’m just asking because I’m not sure whether US citizens are only now recognizing their president for what he is, or whether it’s actually a matter of holding him accountable for at least some of his particularly terrible deeds. I sincerely hope I’m wrong, but I can hardly imagine that happening in this system.

But please don’t get me wrong, I also believe that if, despite the regime’s ongoing attempts at censorship, absolutely nothing happens in this matter, the criminal justice system in the US can no longer be taken seriously by anyone. This is probably one of the biggest scandals in US history, involving immeasurable suffering on the part of hundreds of victims. If there are no consequences, if US citizens let this slide even though it is completely obvious that state institutions are actively covering up serious crimes, then they deserve no better.

So, my initial question again against this backdrop: Have I missed something? Is there any hope that somethin could actually change in the US?

How Spotify’s $109 Billion Market Cap Stacks Up Against Other Music and Entertainment Companies

Nevertheless, Spotify makes more profit than any music label, even more than all the remaining music labels combined. This is how it works today: music, literature, journalism, and art no longer exist according to this logic - only content. And as disrespectful as the term sounds, that’s how it’s paid for - with scrabs because that’s the business model.

Your pirate approach is no longer up to date, because it is no longer directed against large corporations, but robs artists of the little they have left. This will only accelerate the trend: no one will try to make a living from art anymore. If you think that people will do it anyway because they want to express themselves, I think you are absolutely wrong.

Spotify absolutely deserves to be singled out for its exploitative practices, especially since this company is largely responsible for musicians not being paid fairly for their hard work. It’s just a shame that there’s hardly anything to steal here other than people’s hard work, to which Spotify has contributed nothing - but that applies to all companies that are successful on the internet today. Without exception, all of these companies are built on the same platform logic: the content that these companies exploit is paid for with starvation wages, if at all (not at all in the case of LLMs).

Therefore, I cannot see anything positive in this because it does not change the underlying problem in the slightest.

Is there actually still a difference between the so-called democracy in the US and the absolutist monarchy of the Middle Ages? I can hardly see any difference.

In any case, the law seems to be “by the grace of God” and therefore does not apply to rulers, who are somehow also appointed with absolute power in this system “by the grace of God”.

But hey, it probably doesn’t make much sense to worry about it—it won’t lead to anything anyway.

Even if it is does not seem very promising, I think it is still important to point out to your representatives once again that their plans do not reflect the will of the people and that it is unacceptable to keep trying to push them through anyway.

As long as they continue to try, against all reason, to push this plan through without consulting the citizens, the population should express its rejection.

Unfortunately, I’m afraid there is not much else we can do other than inform our friends about this important issue and not let our representatives get away with it without protest.

Email templates and the addresses of representatives in all EU countries can be found here: Fight Chat Control

The fact that American taxpayers actually finance right-wing indoctrination to a considerable extent seems to be overlooked here, which is probably due to this very right-wing indoctrination.