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Kneecap: On Palestine, History Will Stand by Us


Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap talks to Jacobin about attempts to punish the band for its vocal stance on Palestine: “[The censors] won’t stop us from speaking out.”


'Unequivocal': Israeli Human Rights Orgs Describe Gaza Assault as 'Genocide' for the First Time


As death and starvation intensify, two Israeli human rights groups became the first in the nation to call their country's military campaign a "genocide," citing Israel's "coordinated, deliberate action to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip."


Archived version: commondreams.org/news/israeli-…


Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.



US | Faith Groups Sue Trump Admin Over Immigration Raids at Houses of Worship


Religious organizations sue DHS over policy targeting parishioners at houses of worship. Lawsuit alleges violation of First Amendment rights.


Case file: democracyforward.org/wp-conten…



US | Trump admin. is muffling CDC’s flagship health journal, report finds


CDC’s MMWR is publishing much less, and sources say studies now require RFK Jr.’s sign-off.


Archived version: archive.is/newest/arstechnica.…


Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.



Refuting Netanyahu's Lie, Trump Acknowledges 'Real Starvation' in Gaza


"Trump and Congress must decide: Will you continue to support the starvation of children, or are you willing to use all possible U.S. leverage to stop this horrific humanitarian disaster?" said Sen. Bernie Sanders.
#USA



How Meta keeps its AI hardware reliable


#AII


You Went to a Drag Show—Now the State of Florida Wants Your Name


If you thought going to a Pride event or drag show was just another night out, think again. If you were in Florida, it might land your name in a government database.
#USA


Progressive Group Takes Aim at Four Texas Republicans Who Voted to Cut Medicaid in New Ads


The progressive group Unrig Our Economy has rolled out a new $2 million ad blitz to target four Texas Republicans in the House, who backed the GOP megabill that guts Medicaid and other healthcare subsidies.
#USA



in reply to Pro

I support this but I find it fascinating the steam this can build and quick activism with guides and yet I never see any of this stuff when it comes to political policies
in reply to happydoors

Threats to the bottom line is the thing that motivates companies faster than anything else.
in reply to Pro

Here's a list of MasterCard's toll-free phone numbers in various countries: mastercard.fi/content/dam/publ…

And here's the same for Visa: visa.fi/content/dam/VCOM/downl…

And the content of that file, in case that they might remove that link:

Mastercard Global Service™

Local Toll-Free Telephone Numbers

  • American Samoa 1-1-800-307-7309
  • Japan 00531-11-3886
  • Anguilla 1-800-307-7309
  • Korea, Republic of 0079-811-887-0823
  • Antigua and Barbuda 1-800-307-7309
  • Liechtenstein 0800-89-7092
  • Argentina 0800-555-0507
  • Luxembourg 800-2-4533
  • Australia 1800-120-113
  • Malaysia 1-800-804594
  • Austria 0800-07-06-138
  • Mexico 001-800-307-7309
  • Bahamas 1-800-307-7309
  • Monaco 0-800-90-1387
  • Bahrain 8000-0087
  • Montserrat 1-800-307-7309
  • Barbados 1-800-307-7309
  • Netherlands 0800-022-5821
  • Belgium 0800-1-5096
  • New Zealand 800-441-671
  • Bermuda 1-800-307-7309
  • Norway 800-12697
  • Bolivia 800-10-0172
  • Panama 001-800-307-7309
  • Bonaire 001-800-307-7309
  • Peru 0800-77-476
  • Brazil 0800-891-3294
  • Philippines 1-800-1-111-0061
  • Cambodia 800-881-001 then 877-288-3891*
  • Poland 0-0800-111-1211
  • Canada 1-800-307-7309
  • Portugal 800-8-11-272
  • Cayman Islands 1-800-307-7309
  • Puerto Rico 1-800-307-7309
  • Chile 1230-020-2012
  • The Russia 8-800-555-02-69
  • China 10-800-110-7309**
  • Saba 1-800-307-7309
  • China 2 10-800-711-7309***
  • St. Eustatius 1-800-307-7309
  • Colombia 01-800-912-1303
  • St. Maarten 1-800-307-7309
  • Costa Rica 0-800-011-0184
  • St. Kitts-Nevis 1-800-307-7309
  • Curacao 001-800-307-7309
  • Saipan (N. Marianas) 1-800-307-7309
  • Cyprus 080-90569
  • San Marino 800-870-866
  • Czech Republic 800-142-494
  • Saudi Arabia 800-844-9457
  • Denmark 8001-6098
  • Singapore 800-1100-113
  • Dominica 1-800-307-7309
  • South Africa 0800-990418
  • Dominican Republic 1-800-307-7309
  • Spain 900-822-756
  • Finland 08001-156234
  • Sweden 020-791-324
  • France 0-800-90-1387
  • Switzerland 0800-897-092
  • Germany 0800-071-3542
  • Taiwan 00801-10-3400
  • Greece 00-800-11-887-0303
  • Thailand 001-800-11-887-0663
  • Grenada 1-800-307-7309
  • Trinidad and Tobago 1-800-307-7309
  • Guam 1-800-307-7309
  • Turkey 00-800-13-887-0903
  • Guatemala 1-800-999-1480
  • Turks and Caicos 01-800-307-7309
  • Hong Kong 800-966677
  • United Arab Emirates 800-0444-3895
  • Hungary 06800-12517
  • United Kingdom 0800-96-4767
  • India 000-800-100-1087
  • United States 1-800-307-7309
  • Indonesia 001803-1-887-0623
  • Vatican City State 800-870-866
  • Ireland 1-800-55-7378
  • Venezuela 0800-1-002902
  • Israel 180-941-8873
  • Vietnam 120-11576
  • Italy 800-870-866
  • Virgin Islands, 1-800-307-7309
  • Jamaica 0800-307-7309
  • Virgin Islands, U.S. 1-800-307-7309

Last Updated 31 January 2019

The contents of the file for Visa's phone numbers:

Δ Await second dial tone

  • Anguilla 1-800-847-2911
  • Antigua 1-800-847-2911
  • Argentina 0800-666-0171
  • Aruba 800-1518
  • Australia 1-800-125-440
  • Austria 0 800-200-288Δ800-892-8134
  • Bahamas 1-800-847-2911
  • Bahrain 800-006
  • Barbados 1-800-847-2911
  • Belgium 0800-1-8397
  • Belize 811 or 555Δ800-847-2911
  • Bermuda 1-800-847-2911
  • Bolivia 800-10-0188
  • Bonaire* 001-800-847-2911
  • Brazil 0800-891-3680
  • British Virgin Islands 1-800-847-2911
  • Bulgaria 00-800-0010Δ888-557-4446
  • Cambodia 1-800-881-001Δ888-710-7783
  • Canada 1-800-847-2911
  • Cayman Islands 1-800-847-2911
  • Chile 1230-020-2136
  • Mainland China (South) 10-800-110-2911
  • Mainland China (North) 10-800-711-2911
  • Colombia 01-800-912-5713
  • Costa Rica 0-800-011-0030
  • Croatia 0-800-220-111Δ866-654-0125
  • Curacao* 001-800-847-2911
  • Czech Republic 800-142-121
  • Denmark 80-010277
  • Dominica 1-800-847-2911
  • Dominican Republic 1-800-847-2911
  • Ecuador 1-999-119 or 1-800-225-528Δ800-847-2911
  • Egypt (Cairo only) 2510-0200Δ866-654-0128
  • Egypt (outside Cairo) 02-2510-0200Δ866-654-0128
  • El Salvador 800-6921
  • Estonia 800-12001Δ800-406-9982
  • Finland 0800-11-0057
  • France 0800-90-1179
  • Germany 0800-000-6510
  • Gibraltar 8800-877-3745966
  • Greece 00-800-11-638-0304
  • Grenada 1-800-847-2911
  • Guam 1-800-847-2911
  • Guatemala 1-800-999-0115
  • Guyana 159Δ1-855-477-1390
  • Honduras 800-0123Δ800-847-2911
  • Hong Kong 800-96-7025
  • Hungary 06-800-17682
  • India 000-800-100-1219
  • Indonesia 001-803-1-933-6294
  • Ireland, Republic of 1-800-55-8002
  • Israel 1-80-941-1605
  • Italy 800-819-014
  • Jamaica 0-800-847-2911
  • Japan 00531-11-1555
  • Jordan 1-880-0000Δ888-557-4442
  • Kazakhstan 8 800-121-4321Δ888-557-4447
  • Kenya 866-654-0162
  • Latvia 8000-02288
  • Lebanon 01-426-801Δ866-654-0130
  • Liechtenstein 0800-89-4732
  • Luxembourg 0800-2012
  • Macedonia 0800-94288Δ888-557-4458
  • Malaysia 1800-80-0159
  • Mauritius 01-120Δ866-654-0165
  • Mexico 001-800-847-2911
  • Monaco 0800-90-1179
  • Montserrat 1-800-847-2911
  • Morocco 002-11-0011Δ866-654-0163
  • Netherlands 0800-022-3110
  • Nevis 1-800-847-2911
  • New Zealand 0800-44-3019
  • Norway 800-12052
  • Panama 001-800-111-0016
  • Paraguay 008-11-800Δ800-599-1137
  • Perú 001-800-890-0623
  • Philippines 1-800-1-111-9015
  • Poland 0-0-800-111-1569
  • Portugal 800-8-11-824
  • Puerto Rico 1-800-847-2911
  • Romania 0 808-03-4288Δ888-557-4416
  • Saba* 1-800-847-2911
  • Saint Eustatius* 1-800-847-2911
  • Saint Kitts 1-800-847-2911
  • Saint Lucia 800-238-5517
  • Saint Maarten* 1-800-847-2911
  • San Marino 800-819-014
  • Saudi Arabia 1-800-10Δ866-654-0129
  • Senegal 800-103-072Δ888-557-4451
  • Singapore 800-110-0344
  • Slovakia 0 800-000-101Δ800-406-9970
  • South Africa 0800-990-475
  • South Korea 00798-11-00-908-12
  • Spain 900-99-1124
  • Sweden 020 160 4293
  • Switzerland 0800-89-4732
  • Taiwan 00801-10-3008
  • Thailand 001-800-11-535-0660
  • Trinidad and Tobago 1-800-847-2911
  • Turkey 00-800-13-535-0900
  • Turks and Caicos 0-1-800-847-2911
  • Ukraine 800-502-886Δ888-557-4445
  • United Arab Emirates 8000-021Δ866-654-0112
  • United Kingdom 0800-89-1725
  • United States 1-800-847-2911
  • Uruguay 00-0411-940-7915
  • U.S. Virgin Islands 1-800-847-2911
  • Venezuela 0800-1-002167
  • Vietnam 1 201-0288Δ888-710-7781
  • Updated 1/10/2023
Questa voce è stata modificata (1 mese fa)


France's warship builder Naval Group investigates 1TB data breach


France's state-owned defense firm Naval Group is investigating a cyberattack after 1TB of allegedly stolen data was leaked on a hacking forum.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/frances-warship-builder-naval-group-investigates-1tb-data-breach/

Questa voce è stata modificata (1 mese fa)

in reply to return2ozma

I don't use Google Wiretap, but I use google assistant on my watch to control the smarthome, and I would be very, very disappointed if it was dead
in reply to return2ozma

so glad i use google home as a sirius speaker and speaking to it is the only way i can control it /s


[Announcement] Path of Exile 2 Boss Rush Event at PAX West


The Path of Exile 2 Boss Rush Event is coming to PAX West on August 29! Kill as many bosses as you can in 20 minutes, and win some cool prizes.

Choose between 7 preconstructed character builds, one for each class, then see how many bosses you can kill. Before each boss are a few packs of monsters so you can test out your skills, before getting to the main event. Then throw yourself at the boss for as many attempts as it takes to bring it down.

After you kill the boss, a portal will open up to the next arena, and the level of all subsequent bosses will increase. There are 15 bosses in all, we highly doubt you can kill them all!

Above the booth will be a live leaderboard featuring the top Exiles able to kill the most bosses in the shortest period of time.

If you're planning to visit the expo - in between playing the new content update for Path of Exile 2 launching the same weekend - make sure to check out our booth! All visitors will have the chance to earn Path of Exile 2 merchandise prizes depending on how many bosses you can kill.

PAX West

  • When - August 29 - September 1
  • Where - Booth#2309

Good luck, Exiles!



Gamers Bombard Visa & MasterCard With Emails and Calls Over Steam and itch.io Censorship


Cheat Sheet Source
- Main Thread.
- Second Thread.
- Another Thread.

Strategy in Practice:

Questa voce è stata modificata (1 mese fa)


Gamers Bombard Visa & MasterCard With Emails and Calls Over Steam and itch.io Censorship


Cheat Sheet Source
- Main Thread.
- Second Thread.
- Another Thread.

Strategy in Practice:

Questa voce è stata modificata (1 mese fa)


Gamers Bombard Visa & MasterCard With Emails and Calls Over Steam and itch.io Censorship


Cheat Sheet Source
- Main Thread.
- Second Thread.
- Another Thread.

Strategy in Practice:

Questa voce è stata modificata (1 mese fa)


Gamers Bombard Visa & MasterCard With Emails and Calls Over Steam and itch.io Censorship


Cheat Sheet Source
- Main Thread.
- Second Thread.
- Another Thread.

Strategy in Practice:

Questa voce è stata modificata (1 mese fa)


Tea app leak worsens with second database exposing user chats


The Tea app data breach has grown into an even larger leak, with the stolen data now shared on hacking forums and a second database discovered that allegedly contains 1.1 million private messages exchanged between the app's members.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/tea-app-leak-worsens-with-second-database-exposing-user-chats/

Questa voce è stata modificata (1 mese fa)

in reply to return2ozma

How many red flags do you need to collect before you get a free cat?


Billionaire Peter Thiel backing first privately developed US uranium enrichment facility in Paducah


A California-based company with ties to billionaire investor and Trump ally Peter Thiel announced plans Friday to build America’s first U.S.-owned, privately developed facility to enrich uranium in far western Kentucky.

In an email sent to WKMS, General Matter said that the company intends to make a “historic investment in American nuclear infrastructure” by restoring a shuttered facility in Paducah. The gaseous diffusion plant in McCracken County, which ceased operations in 2013, was built by the U.S. government in the 1950s to bolster national defense efforts – and later to generate fuel for nuclear power plants.


Oh wow, good to see California and Kentucky working so closely together these days on so many important things.

Massie, Khanna hammer Republican leadership for thwarting Epstein transparency push

It just goes to show that no matter who you are, Republican or Democrat, Conservative or Liberal, we can all come together over as ~~recipients of Thiel money~~ Americans.

Technology reshared this.

in reply to Basic Glitch

I would treat the Billionaires like Iran...control their access to nukes.


You Went to a Drag Show—Now the State of Florida Wants Your Name




The age-gated internet is here: Goodbye, online anonymity.




Pizza e jazz a Vasanello


21 agosto 2025 20:30:00 CEST - GMT+2 - Da Antonio, Pizza Gastronomica, 01030, Vasanello, Italy
Ago 21
Pizza e jazz a Vasanello
Gio 20:30 - 22:30
Elisabetta Fratoni Jazz Quartet
Nella pizzeria gastronomica da Antonio a Vasanello, jazz e pizza 🍕 🎺
Questa voce è stata modificata (3 settimane fa)

reshared this



Pre-Wikimania 2025 – #319


wikipediapodden.se/wp-content/…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:25 — 14.3MB) | Embed

This is a special episode where we meet Joris Quarshie who is the Lead for Online Participation from the local team, and Butch Bustria who is a Wikimania committee liaison having organized Wikimania in Singapore.

Calendar tool mentioned in this episode: wfc.toolforge.org/

All episodes in English (podcast feed)

Credits


The music are from Surf Shimmy Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

Image: Matatu bus illustration.svg by Francis Akuka for the Wikimedia Foundation, CC0.

Discuss the episode on the project’s talk page.

The episode is also available on Wikimedia Commons.

#English #podcast #wikipedia

Questa voce è stata modificata (1 mese fa)


Chinese digital propaganda in Central America





Oh My God, TAKE IT DOWN Kills Parody


The most recent South Park episode, featuring a naked Donald Trump, may have violated the law.

Technology reshared this.

in reply to General_Effort

i find it very interesting how suddenly trump loves a law that focuses on consent. so, he does understand what that means?
in reply to General_Effort

Where are all those liberals at who just recently defended Dems for voting with Republicans to pass this law?? Where are all their bullshit justifications now?


Peter Thiel Just Accidentally Made a Chilling Admission. Five Decades Ago, One Man Saw It Coming.


The question was posed in a safe environment. Douthat, one of the Times’ most reliable conservatives, offered Thiel sufficient context to escape with an easy answer. Douthat prefaced his question by saying: “a number of people deeply involved in artificial intelligence see it as a mechanism for transhumanism—for transcendence of our mortal flesh—and either some kind of creation of a successor species or some kind of merger of mind and machine.” He was referencing the movement to radically enhance and evolve humans to achieve immortality. Transhumanist adherents advocate for a range of innovations, from genetic biohacking to uploading our consciousness to a computer to merge with A.I., freezing ourselves through cryonics, and robotically adapting our bodies through expansive bionics that reach the level of cyborgs.

Douthat clearly thought that Thiel would choose human over machine. But Thiel responded with a long hesitation. In a video of the exchange, Douthat—to his credit—is clearly taken aback.

Thiel has long been cagey and ambiguous about his beliefs—likely a strategic play for his career as an investor—but he has clearly been fascinated with transhumanism for a long time. This recent interview, though, seems more direct and dangerous. Thiel seems unwilling to answer the question: Does he eventually want to be a literal, honest-to-god brain in a jar wired to a Macbook Pro?


Yes... That's been the plan the whole fucking time. I thought we all knew this already?

There is just something about watching the slow, but inevitable collapse of the U.S. and eventually humanity as we know it, due to the very deliberate actions of one billionaire who was born in another country and who has been playing both sides against each other, while all other silicon valley billionaires have just accepted this as inevitable and are holding brainstorming sessions about what they can do following the collapse, rather than just stopping the guy who is orchestrating the whole thing.

Transhumanism is our inevitable fate, but this was all kicked off by a movement thar coerced Americans into believing they had to organize against secular humanism before things got anymore out of hand.

Thank God (can I still say God or do I have to say Thank Thiel?) we didn't let that happen.

don't like this

Technology reshared this.

in reply to ruuster13

I've never seen Putin look that happy IRL. He's glowing
in reply to ruuster13

He really does just look so much more relaxed and carefree. Like one picture says 1000 words and tells the story of the life that could have been had he followed his heart rather than becoming a murderous dictator.

Theil looks roughly the same, but with a fun captains hat.

in reply to Basic Glitch

Maybe he's so grumpy because he's not a he at all! Maybe both heads are stuck in the USSR (U Shall Stay Repressed)
in reply to Basic Glitch

The world would probably be a better more peaceful place if he could find a pair of heels that fit, and the right place to rock them at.

Even if he's not into that, there's still more lifestyle options he may have missed.




A leap toward lighter, sleeker mixed reality displays


don't like this

in reply to Pro

“Researchers in the field sometimes describe our goal as to pass the ‘Visual Turing Test,’” said Suyeon Choi [...] “A visual Turing Test then means, ideally, one cannot distinguish between a physical, real thing as seen through the glasses and a digitally created image being projected on the display surface,” Choi said.


So they just came up with a needlessly opaque synonym of “verisimilitude”.

Questa voce è stata modificata (1 mese fa)
in reply to AbouBenAdhem

To be fair, one of those is much, much easier to remember. Honestly I don’t even know how to pronounce verisimilitude.
in reply to KairuByte

Honestly I don’t even know how to pronounce verisimilitude.


It's 'verisimilitude'.

in reply to Pro

It’s remarkable that there continues to be investment in this UI form factor over such a long period of time, despite there being no evidence that there is a widespread market for this. The challenge to make this good is obviously very very high. I strongly suspect that the challenge of convincing people to adopt this form or computing in anything larger than a few niche use cases is even higher. As cool as this technology seems in theory, the fact is that people generally don’t need it and don’t want it. There will always be niche markets for this, and perhaps that’s enough to justify the continued investment. But, I hope investors aren’t fooling themselves into thinking that this is going to ever be common or widely adopted.
in reply to xenomor

AR is (going to be) huge within industrial maintenance, so much time can be saved by having documentation and visual aid/guidance right there I your FOV as you do the work. It has the potential to reduce both required skill level or specific equipment knowledge and massively reduce time spent troubleshooting equipment.
in reply to ExcessShiv

You may be correct, but I suspect that by the time that we eventually achieve this technological goal, it will be more economically viable to plug it into robotic solutions that mostly take humans out of the loop for such industrial applications. I don’t think any of that is happening soon. I still don’t see a long term path for XR beyond some niche gaming and porn applications.
in reply to xenomor

If you had, hypothetically, AR glasses that weighed 25 grams with a 12 hour battery runtime with transparent or equivalent real world visuals and perfectly opaque virtual content across the entire field of view, youd have even broader adoption than earbuds have today.

Being able to pull up your phone apps without holding your phone, the ability to have real world subtitles in any language. If they go the camera and reproduce route, they can have a nice solution to presbyopia (reading glasses suck to have to switch out).

Unfortunately current headsets weighs the same as twenty eyeglasses and has much improved, but still terrible passthrough, and wouldn't last but a couple of hours even if you wanted to try. Bigscreen beyond gets down to 100 grams, but still looks weird and requires external battery and processor.

in reply to xenomor

I actually think this is the only way forward past phones. All the AI assistant tools, voice controlled speakers, foldable devices don't really change how we use 99% of the software. VR/AR, when (if?) finally done right will change that.



After partnering with Israel, Google Cloud supports AI ambitions of UAE, accused of complicity in Sudan genocide


Google announced a cybersecurity partnership with the United Arab Emirates, which has been accused of arming the paramilitary group denounced for committing genocide in Darfur
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After partnering with Israel, Google Cloud supports AI ambitions of UAE, accused of complicity in Sudan genocide


Google announced a cybersecurity partnership with the United Arab Emirates, which has been accused of arming the paramilitary group denounced for committing genocide in Darfur
Questa voce è stata modificata (1 mese fa)

in reply to Davriellelouna

This is an advertisement in this article
in reply to Davriellelouna

Tldr: New tech (audiovisual media) bad, old tech (reading) good.

They even say that good reading skills lead to liberal democracy. Which is ironic because there is no government on this planet (that i know of) that is democratic (or liberal).

Personally i think we would live in a utopia if people consumed cave-art and stories by storytellers rather than this book-slop which is easy to mass produce and distribute.

in reply to sadTruth

I mean I’d say the Stage of Technology we’ve been in since like 2010 has been very detrimental for the individual and destructive to society. Social media, smartphones, surveillance states. AI is an even worse version of these. If social media ran by billionaires are not open, unbiased, non-manipulative emotional-reactaction-over-critical-thinking silos, what makes you think all these LLMs run by millionaires and billionaires won’t be? They’re just the next step in social media.
Questa voce è stata modificata (1 mese fa)
in reply to shiroininja

I think this is all very person-dependent. I have found 3d printing resources/tips/experiences from others. I have gotten into building my own antennas after learning about VNAs via social media. I have gotten into SDRs, ham radio, electronics thanks to shtuff on social media. I have learned a few new 3d modeling tricks via social media. I have found a few suggestions for go packages, etc. I could keep going for years about what I have run into online.

I have found the world's knowledge available at my fingertips. Others are finding tiktok dances. I think this is a matter of who you are and what you prefer to do than "the bad tech" making people somehow bad. You will find that people through history have fit a similar distribution of people who are into learning and people who just want to be entertained.

in reply to shiroininja

I agree on all of this, but were books different (except for surveillance)?
- Back then those authors that wrote books with messaging supporting the owner class received loads of coverage from their media andtherefore spread their propaganda far and wide. While the average Joe could write whatever they want, nobody was able to see it (until now with social media), because printing is timeconsuming and expensive, and marketing even more so.
- Back then fascists spread their ideas in books, today they do on social media. In both cases supported by the money of the 1%.
- Back then only politically active people were surveilled, now it is everyone. This is a big change.
- Back then entertainment was inexpensive, now it is basically free.

Also that's not really the point the article is making. They say that simply reading books makes you smarter. As if people read physics books in their freetime back then. No, they just read entertaining stories, and now they stream entertaining stories. Nothing has fundamentally changed. Back then Oil made you part of the owner class, now it's IT and the owning of marketplaces.

in reply to sadTruth

You're also ignoring the massive rise in literacy rates as compared to when books were new. Most people simply could not read them.
in reply to prole

I was thinking about the time before the internet, like 1980s, not like the more distant past
in reply to sadTruth

Are you okay? You're saying a lot of weird things there
in reply to Phoenixz

Personally i think we would live in a utopia if people consumed cave-art and stories by storytellers rather than this book-slop which is easy to mass produce and distribute.


That's sarcasm. Don't worry.

Democracy


There is no democracy on this planet because all democracies are representative democracies. In representative democracies the politicians are not representative of the people, but they promise to do things a certain way, and if people elect them for it, that's like indirect representation.
However this breaks down as soon as secrecy laws are put in place, because if the government or private companies can decide which knowledge will reach the people, and which will not, they will simply declare information that will upset their voters to be secret. This breaks all representative democracies.

Then there is the issue of corruption, which is generally legal under the guise of lobbying.

And because all democracies that i know of have secrecy laws, they can't be considered democratic.

Liberty


With the liberal part: A person can only be free if they feel safe. But in all countries (that i know) there is a large part of the population that works most/all of their day because they are (rigtfully) afraid they can't pay for their daily needs if they don't. And they don't like their job.
So how can any society claim to be free, if a (large) part of their population is not controlled by their ambitions, but by their fears? If you dislike your job, but do it anyways because if you don't you die, that's not freedom. That's the definition of slavery.

Am i OK?


Absolutely not. Here a list of problems that could (all) be solved by diverting some funds from the world's militaries:
1. Startvation
2. Malnutrition
3. Homelessness
4. Climate Change
5. Wage Slavery fixed by UBI/Scary Communism

And here a list of things that can be fixed literally for a negative cost. People would be richer while fixing the following problems:
1. Mass animal torture fixed by Veganism.
2. War
3. Any disease, physiological or mental including aging fixed by Antinatalism

And these are just a few of the worst problems. All of them fixable. Many for free.

Knowing that all of the problems are easily fixable, and the people around me are not only not working on them, but actually making things worse by dedicating their live to emitting CO2 (SUVs, Meat-Eating), supporting (Wage-)Slavery (Being against UBI), and making more babies so they may suffer under these manufactured conditions makes me sad (and angry).

I would say the first step in fixing these problems is realizing that things are absolutely not OK. That earth is closer to hell than to paradise. The next step is realizing that no sane person can (or should be) OK under these conditions. And the final step is implementing a solution, ideally with the help of others.

in reply to Vinstaal0

Is it a representative democracy with secrecy laws? Then no.

There is no democracy on this planet because all democracies are representative democracies. In representative democracies the politicians are not representative of the people, but they promise to do things a certain way, and if people elect them for it, that’s like indirect representation.
However this breaks down as soon as secrecy laws are put in place, because if the government or private companies can decide which knowledge will reach the people, and which will not, they will simply declare information that will upset their voters to be secret. This breaks all representative democracies.
in reply to sadTruth

People are voted here for the person there are or for their idea's on certain subject or whatever somebody chooses to make their vote. Everybody can enlist themselves to be voted on different levels on the politic spectrum. Heck, it is even is a spectrum instead of a 2 or 3 party system.

A lot of what is done in the government is transparent and open for the public to read/see, a lot of our justice system is publicly available as well (except certain cases regarding children).

Most companies have to be transparent at least on a financial level and most of the bigger once also on other levels.

Our politic system is far from ideal though: democratiemonitor.nl/wp-conten…

in reply to Vinstaal0

Let's say i put myself out there and say people should vote for me if they want world peace.
Let's assume the people vote for me, because they want world peace.
Now that i am elected, a lobbyist from a arms company visits me and asks me to grant them an export license to sell weapons to an agressor (let's assume i have the right to sign such deals).

Are there laws in place that allow me to prevent my voters from finding out that i granted that export license, like a law that says i don't need to report publicly that i signed this? Or maybe even a law that prevents journalists from reporting on this even if they find out, because the contract (or it's contents) are considered secret and publishing it would be illegal?

in reply to sadTruth

We have a lot of registers and depending on the licence the company or person receives it will be made public. Things like building changes, export of live animals etc. You can look some up over here: nvwa.nl/onderwerpen/erkenninge…

Weapon licences go through the police instead of the government itself justis.nl/producten/wet-wapens… the office of justice needs to sign it off it seems.

So it just works differently, if you would want to pass a law that changes how those licences are signed, it would be known, and you wouldn't be the person signing it. The office of justice would be, and probably it is checked multiple times before it even gets there that it isn't financing terrorism or something which is illegal according to the WWFT and some other laws.

Pretty sure a journalist is allowed to write about anything and everything rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/m… there are probably some exceptions on things like kids etc, but a public spokesperson doesn't have that anyway.

This law goes on about the open government: wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0045754…
And there are multiple parties who try and keep businesses somewhat in check (like accountants, the fiod, etc.)

So if you would try and pull this off in The Netherlands you would have a hard time doing it and I doubt you can do it without somebody being a whistleblower.

in reply to Vinstaal0

In that case i'll give the Netherlands the title of actual democracy. Let's hope it lasts for a long time.
in reply to Vinstaal0

Here in Germany there are constantly scandals where politicians sign off illegal deals with the industry, and when the word get's out, the contract is kept secret to minimize the damage to reputation. Whistleblowers are hunted and politicians that did blatantly illegal things are protected under "immunity".
in reply to sadTruth

Representative democracy is a type of democracy. You're not doing anyone any favors by conflating "direct democracy" and "democracy".

Though somehow, I feel like you know exactly what you're doing...

in reply to prole

For me democracy means rule of the people.
Of course you can define words as you want, and say that only direct democracy is rule of the people, while representative democracy can be oligarchy dressed as democracy, but for me using such a definition makes the word democracy meaningless and undesirable.
in reply to sadTruth

Yeah, this is me defining words, and not established definitions that have literally been in use for hundreds of years 🙄


Middle School Cheerleaders Made a TikTok Video Portraying a School Shooting. They Were Charged With a Crime.


in reply to Pro

Look, if we just ignore school shootings and don't talk about them they'll go away.


The new age verifying app for the EU will only accept Google Play integrity for Android, de-facto banning any aftermarket OS like GrapheneOS


Taken from the readme of the app on github:

The current release provides only basic functionality, with several key features to be introduced in future versions, including:

App and device verification based on Google Play Integrity API and Apple App Attestation

Additional issuance methods beyond the currently implemented eID based method.

These planned features align with the requirements and methods described in the Age Verification Profile.


There is an issue opened to remove this as it's basically telling us that to verify our age in the EU an American corporation has the last word, making it not only a privacy nightmare but a de-facto monopoly on the phone market that will leave out of the verification checks even the fairphone (european) with /e/os.

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A Second Tea Breach Reveals Users’ DMs About Abortions and Cheating