Need to let loose a primal scream without collecting footnotes first? Have a sneer percolating in your system but not enough time/energy to make a whole post about it? Go forth and be mid: Welcome to the Stubsack, your first port of call for learning fresh Awful you’ll near-instantly regret.

Any awful.systems sub may be subsneered in this subthread, techtakes or no.

If your sneer seems higher quality than you thought, feel free to cut’n’paste it into its own post — there’s no quota for posting and the bar really isn’t that high.

The post Xitter web has spawned soo many “esoteric” right wing freaks, but there’s no appropriate sneer-space for them. I’m talking redscare-ish, reality challenged “culture critics” who write about everything but understand nothing. I’m talking about reply-guys who make the same 6 tweets about the same 3 subjects. They’re inescapable at this point, yet I don’t see them mocked (as much as they should be)

Like, there was one dude a while back who insisted that women couldn’t be surgeons because they didn’t believe in the moon or in stars? I think each and every one of these guys is uniquely fucked up and if I can’t escape them, I would love to sneer at them.

Previous week

BlueMonday1984

2025-08-03 23:00:10

Stubsack: Stubsack: weekly thread for sneers not worth an entire post, week ending 10th August 2025

Need to let loose a primal scream without collecting footnotes first? Have a sneer percolating in your system but not enough time/energy to make a whole post about it? Go forth and be mid: Welcome to the Stubsack, your first port of call for learning fresh Awful you’ll near-instantly regret.

Any awful.systems sub may be subsneered in this subthread, techtakes or no.

If your sneer seems higher quality than you thought, feel free to cut’n’paste it into its own post — there’s no quota for posting and the bar really isn’t that high.

The post Xitter web has spawned soo many “esoteric” right wing freaks, but there’s no appropriate sneer-space for them. I’m talking redscare-ish, reality challenged “culture critics” who write about everything but understand nothing. I’m talking about reply-guys who make the same 6 tweets about the same 3 subjects. They’re inescapable at this point, yet I don’t see them mocked (as much as they should be)

Like, there was one dude a while back who insisted that women couldn’t be surgeons because they didn’t believe in the moon or in stars? I think each and every one of these guys is uniquely fucked up and if I can’t escape them, I would love to sneer at them.

(Credit and/or blame to David Gerard for starting this.)

Developers at Arkane Studios in France have called on their parent company, Microsoft, to stop supporting Israel during its ongoing war in Gaza, which a UN Special Committee said was "consistent with the characteristics of genocide."

The open letter published online (via Game Developer) is addressed to the "heads of Zenimax, Microsoft Gaming and the overall Microsoft group." It says that the ongoing situation in Gaza and Microsoft's work with Israel could "affect our reputation and work" and asks Microsoft to take the "appropriate measure" to resolve it.

It joins the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) movement, which has set Microsoft as a priority target of its boycott. BDS specifically mentions Microsoft's gaming division and Game Pass among its boycott targets.

Arkane Devs Call For Microsoft To Stop Working With Israel

An open letter from union members directed at company leadership says Microsoft has "no place being accomplice of a genocide."

^{Steve Watts (GameSpot)}

Melania Trump has demanded that Hunter Biden retract comments linking her to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and has threatened to sue if he does not.

Biden, the son of the former president Joe Biden, alleged in an interview this month that Epstein introduced the first lady to Donald Trump.

The statements were false, defamatory and “extremely salacious,” Melania Trump’s lawyer, Alejandro Brito, said in a letter to Biden. Biden’s remarks were widely disseminated on social media and reported by media outlets around the world, causing the first lady “to suffer overwhelming financial and reputational harm,” he added.

Biden made the Epstein comments during a sprawling interview with the British journalist Andrew Callaghan in which he lashed out at “elites” and others in the Democratic party who he said undermined his father before he dropped out of last year’s presidential campaign.

Melania Trump demands Hunter Biden retract comments linking her to Jeffrey Epstein

First lady threatens to sue Joe Biden’s son after he said the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein introduced her to Donald Trump

^{Guardian staff reporter (The Guardian)}

A decade and a half on from the Pirate Bay trial, the winds have begun to shift. On an unusually warm summer’s day, I sit with fellow film critics by the old city harbour, once a haven for merchants and, rumour has it, smugglers. Cold bigstrongs in hand (that’s what they call pints up here), they start venting about the “enshittification” of streaming – enshittification being the process by which platforms degrade their services and ultimately die in the pursuit of profit. Netflix now costs upwards of 199 SEK (£15), and you need more and more subscriptions to watch the same shows you used to find in one place. Most platforms now offer plans that, despite the fee, force advertisements on subscribers. Regional restrictions often compel users to use VPNs to access the full selection of available content. The average European household now spends close to €700 (£600) a year on three or more VOD subscriptions. People pay more and get less.

According to London‑based piracy monitoring and content‑protection firm MUSO, unlicensed streaming is the predominant source of TV and film piracy, accounting for 96% in 2023. Piracy reached a low in 2020, with 130bn website visits. But by 2024 that number had risen to 216bn. In Sweden, 25% of people surveyed reported pirating in 2024, a trend mostly driven by those aged 15 to 24. Piracy is back, just sailing under a different flag.

Can’t pay, won’t pay: impoverished streaming services are driving viewers back to piracy

As subscription costs rise and choice diminishes on legal sites, film and TV fans are turning to VPNs and illicit streamers, with Sweden – home of both Spotify and The Pirate Bay – leading the way

^{Guardian staff reporter (The Guardian)}

Who is impacted?

Millions of YouTube users—especially teens and adults—will soon be affected by a new AI-based age detection system launching August 13th. This system analyzes your entire watch history and behavior to estimate your age, overriding the age you've set on your account. If the system thinks you're underage, you'll be locked out of content unless you upload your government-issued ID—putting your personal information at serious risk.

What is at stake?

This isn’t just about age restriction—it’s about mass surveillance and data control. Similar measures are spreading fast: the UK’s Online Safety Act has already led to censorship and demands for ID. In Australia, YouTube is being restricted for those under 16. Spotify is now requiring ID in some regions. Games are being banned from Steam and itch.io. This pattern—justified as “protecting kids”—is being used to normalize invasive tracking and limit freedom online.

Why is now the time to act?

This policy goes into effect on August 13th, and we cannot allow YouTube to quietly implement AI surveillance that violates privacy and autonomy. Once these systems are normalized, they rarely go away—they expand. If we don't speak up now, we risk losing our ability to browse, create, and enjoy content freely. This is about more than YouTube. This is about digital freedom.

I don't know about you, but I don't want AI and companies tracking everything I do, with all my personal information going who knows where. This is an attempt to acquire user data, and blatant censorship hidden behind a thin veil of ''protect the kids!'' We cannot allow this to escalate further.

YouTube’s AI Tracks Everything You Watch — Stop This Now

^{Gerfdas Gaming (Change.org)}

More than 120 education scholars have condemned the cancellation of an entire issue of an academic journal dedicated to Palestine by a Harvard University publisher as “censorship”.

In an open letter published on Thursday, the scholars denounced the abrupt scrapping of a special issue of the Harvard Educational Review – which was first revealed by the Guardian in July – as an “attempt to silence the academic examination of the genocide, starvation and dehumanisation of Palestinian people by the state of Israel and its allies.”

The writers note that the issue’s censorship is also an example of “anti-Palestinian discrimination, obstructing the dissemination of knowledge on Palestine at the height of the genocide in Gaza”.

‘Censorship’: over 115 scholars condemn cancellation of Harvard journal issue on Palestine

In an open letter, writers denounced abrupt scrapping of a Harvard Educational Review issue dedicated to Palestine

^{Alice Speri (The Guardian)}

In late July, the U.S. cybersecurity giant Palo Alto Networks (PANW) announced that it had acquired the Israeli identity management and information security firm CyberArk, paying a staggering $25 billion dollars worth of cash and stock to purchase the firm.

Palo Alto is one of the world’s largest cybersecurity firms, and provides infrastructure protection, firewalls, and cloud security services to tens of thousands of companies internationally.

Udi Mokady, CyberArk’s founder and executive chairman, is an alum of Unit 8200, the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate’s elite signals intelligence division. So are the four co-founders of Wiz: the Israeli cloud computing firm recently bought by Google for $32 billion. So, too, is Palo Alto’s Founder and Chief Technology Officer Nir Zuk.

“These acquisitions are a way to take people from Unit 8200 in Israel, and bring them into influential positions in the U.S. tech industry,” said Paul Biggar, founder of the tech startups CircleCI and Darklang and head of the activist group Tech for Palestine. “These companies handle their customers' customer data. If you are a bank, and you are using Palo Alto Networks, the data about all your customers, and their transactions, are passing through servers that are controlled by spies, or former spies.”

Hundreds of Former Israeli Spies Are Working in Big Tech, Database Shows

A $25 billion deal is the latest acquisition to strengthen the link between the U.S. tech sector and Israeli intelligence.

^{Murtaza Hussain (Drop Site News)}

“The information given by our support team was totally wrong.”

Stripe apologizes for customer service agents claiming LGBTQ products were banned

^{Ash Parrish (The Verge)}

As wildfires rage across southern Europe, claiming lives and displacing thousands, leaders are pointing to the fossil fuel-driven climate crisis.

Archived version: archive.is/newest/commondreams…

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.

'We Are Being Cooked Alive': Wildfires Driven by Climate Crisis Ravage Europe

Fire-related deaths were reported in Turkey, Spain, Montenegro, and Albania.

^{jessica-corbett (Common Dreams)}

Tesla’s in-car graphics could be getting an upgrade thanks to Unreal Engine.

Tesla’s graphics are about to get Unreal

^{Jay Peters (The Verge)}

Another specialized Linux distro has announced its shutdown, joining the growing graveyard of discontinued distributions.

https://www.neowin.net/news/sad-news-another-linux-distro-is-shutting-down/

Lip-Bu Tan has received Trump's approval. Still, Intel needs more than a PR boost: it may be slimming down too much to perform.

Intel's CEO survives baptism of fire, will his company do the same? - Techzine Global

^{Erik van Klinken (Techzine)}

Is it Windows or Linux?

Wean yourself off of Windows with Linuxfx — I've tried many Linux distros designed to look and feel like Windows, and this is the best one yet

^{Les Pounder (Tom's Hardware)}

And revenue shares continue to set records.

AMD's desktop PC market share hits a new high as server gains slow down — Intel now only outsells AMD 2:1, down from 9:1 a few years ago

^{Anton Shilov (Tom's Hardware)}

“Greater Israel” is an extremist ideology for Israel to conquer Palestine as well as parts of numerous other countries.

Archived version: archive.is/newest/truthout.org…

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.

Netanyahu Backs Idea of “Greater Israel,” Which Includes Parts of Jordan, Egypt

^{Sharon Zhang (Truthout)}

Konami has revealed that Fox Hunt which is already arriving weeks or months after Metal Gear Solid Delta, won't have cross play either.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater’s Fox Hunt Won't Have Cross Play - Gameranx

^{Ryan Parreno (Gameranx)}

It is a mistake to think that Benjamin Netanyahu is solely responsible for Israel’s genocide or that removing him would bring it to an end. To win support for war, he has mobilized large swathes of Israeli society, from liberals to the far right.

Archived version: archive.is/newest/jacobin.com/…

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.

How War Became Israel’s New Normal

^jacobin.com

“The [structural] mechanism producing these problematic outcomes is really robust and hard to resolve.”…

Study: Social media probably can’t be fixed

^{Jennifer Ouellette (Ars Technica)}

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5070304

Russian authorities have announced partial restrictions on calls in messaging apps Telegram and WhatsApp. This is part of a long-standing effort to control the internet.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-internet-messenger-whatsapp-telegram-crackdown-2a89703deb1094af1b0206161efe2050

Please read Section 201(3)-(4) of the Real ID Act:

(3) OFFICIAL PURPOSE- The term 'official purpose' includes but is not limited to accessing Federal facilities, boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft, entering nuclear power plants, and any other purposes that the Secretary shall determine.

(4) SECRETARY- The term 'Secretary' means the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Source: dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/real-i…

In other words, the Secretary of Homeland Security has unilateral authority to expand the uses of real IDs. In their 2008 rule, DHS even doubled down:

"DHS does not agree that it must seek the approval of Congress as a prerequisite to changing the definition in the future (except of course to remove one of the three statutorily-mandated official purposes) as § 201(3) of the Act gives discretion to the Secretary of Homeland Security to determine other purposes."

Source: federalregister.gov/documents/…

That could include voting, accessing medical care, etc. Do you trust Kristi Noem with this power? Do you trust every future secretary with this power?

If not, I urge you to not get a real id or real id driver's license if you don't have one, or turn in your real id for a state id or state driver's license if you do have one, and instead get a passport. The DHS cannot enforce anything if the majority of Americans refuse to get real ids. Let us not just bow down to a national id that invades our privacy and could be used to control us.