Air Force award ceremony shows just how close Ansar Allah came to smoking US jets, supercarrier
It is very telling what the US military's own press releases will not say. A recent award ceremony gave a Silver Star to Lt. Col. William Parks for gallantry during missions in early 2025. The official story describes a fifteen minute life or death struggle where he performed high G maneuvers to evade missiles that were detonating feet from his aircraft. He is credited with six aerial victories and personally defending against five surface to air missile engagements, all while preventing the loss of two other US jets.
"For 15 minutes, with enemy missiles detonating mere feet from his aircraft, Parks led his flight through a serious of high-G maneuvers and countermeasure employment” and coordinated the emergency deployment of tankers, which “prevented the probable loss of two aircraft due to fuel starvation."
Parks was “Parks has been credited with six aerial victories protecting the lives of more than 5,000 Sailors aboard the USS Harry S. Truman” carrier, and “personally defended against five deadly surface-to-air missile engagements targeting his aircraft.”
The curious part they completely omit is who he was fighting. The release does not mention Yemen, the Red Sea, Ansar Allah, or the Houthis. The only clue is that his deployment supported Operations Prosperity Guardian and Rough Rider, the twin US campaigns against Yemen.
Rare high-resolution observations of a flare-prolific solar active region
Rare high-resolution observations of a flare-prolific solar active region
Scientists have captured an exceptionally rare, high-resolution view of an active region that produced two powerful X-class solar flares—an achievement rarely possible from Earth.Janine Fohlmeister (Phys.org)
How does discovery work in fedora server?
I can pull up cockpit by using the hostname in the web browsers url, but samba doesn’t point to the server by name. Only IP address pulls it up.
I don’t want to risk installing conflicting stuff but I’m not finding a lot of detail here. Does fedora have something for this included? Does it use avahi? Systemd-resolved? Smoke signals?
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Poll: In a dramatic shift, Americans no longer see four-year college degrees as worth the cost
Poll: In a dramatic shift, Americans no longer see four-year college degrees as worth the cost
Americans have grown sour on one of the longtime key ingredients of the American dreamBen Kamisar (NBC News)
Chernobyl Fungus Appears to Have Evolved an Incredible Ability
Chernobyl Fungus Appears to Have Evolved an Incredible Ability : ScienceAlert
The Chernobyl exclusion zone may be off-limits to humans, but ever since the Unit Four reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded nearly 40 years ago, other forms of life have not only moved in but survived, adapted, and appeared to thrive…Michelle Starr (ScienceAlert)
This appears to be supported by the findings of a 2022 paper, in which scientists describe the results of taking C. sphaerospermum into space and strapping it to the exterior of the ISS, exposing it to the full brunt of cosmic radiation.There, sensors placed beneath the petri dish showed that a smaller amount of radiation penetrated through the fungi than through an agar-only control.
The aim of that paper was not to demonstrate or investigate radiosynthesis, but to explore the fungus's potential as a radiation shield for space missions, which is a cool idea. But, as of that paper, we still don't know what the fungus is actually doing.
That's where it seems really cool to me. If we have nuclear spacecraft or even just passive cosmic radiation exposure, what's otherwise a waste/threat could become a factory. Reinforcing the hull with a regenerative radiation shield, genetically engineering it like E. coli to biosynthesise needed compounds, mass producing it as food for something we can eat- it'd be so useful to have something like that in space where you're surrounded by energy you can't use.
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They outlawed every communist/socialist/anarchist organization that wasn't them, and then, when there was no other party to kill, they started killing their own, but you are probably in the wrong instance to bring that up.
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That's a pretty fantastical view. The Bolsheviks came in second, behind the SRs, who were fond of terrorism and were entirely backwards in theory and in practice. The SRs had also had a major split shortly before the election without most of the voters knowing. It was the bolsheviks that succeeded in carrying out the revolution, weathering the Russian civil war, and then solidifying the socialist state.
They didn't just murder anyone that had more support than them, that's a fanfiction view of soviet history. They were, towards the revolution, consistently the most supported among the working classes. The Left-SRs, who weren't really a coherent political force as the SRs themselves had a major split, supported the revolution and many ended up joining the bolsheviks anyways as the SRs faded away. The Right-SRs, who came behind the bolsheviks, had some join the bolsheviks and some join the White Army.
All in all, the bolsheviks were supported by the majority, and the CA was being phased out in favor of the soviets anyways.
Bolshevik was a faction name in use after a split in 1903, the minority within the party, who chose the name because the amount of delegates leaving the congress instead of voting on resolutions gave the Bolsheviks the majority vote
you're presenting it like they called themselves 'the majority' only after 1917
The pure socialists’ ideological anticipations remain untainted by existing practice. They do not explain how the manifold functions of a revolutionary society would be organized, how external attack and internal sabotage would be thwarted, how bureaucracy would be avoided, scarce resources allocated, policy differences settled, priorities set, and production and distribution conducted. Instead, they offer vague statements about how the workers themselves will directly own and control the means of production and will arrive at their own solutions through creative struggle. No surprise then that the pure socialists support every revolution except the ones that succeed.The pure socialists had a vision of a new society that would create and be created by new people, a society so transformed in its fundaments as to leave little opportunity for wrongful acts, corruption, and criminal abuses of state power. There would be no bureaucracy or self-interested coteries, no ruthless conflicts or hurtful decisions. When the reality proves different and more difficult, some on the Left proceed to condemn the real thing and announce that they “feel betrayed” by this or that revolution.
The pure socialists see socialism as an ideal that was tarnished by communist venality, duplicity, and power cravings. The pure socialists oppose the Soviet model but offer little evidence to demonstrate that other paths could have been taken, that other models of socialism — not created from one’s imagination but developed through actual historical experience — could have taken hold and worked better. Was an open, pluralistic, democratic socialism actually possible at this historic juncture? The historical evidence would suggest it was not.
Decentralized parochial autonomy is the graveyard of insurgency — which may be one reason why there has never been a successful anarcho-syndicalist revolution. Ideally, it would be a fine thing to have only local, self-directed, worker participation, with minimal bureaucracy, police, and military. This probably would be the development of socialism, were socialism ever allowed to develop unhindered by counterrevolutionary subversion and attack.
One might recall how, in 1918-20, fourteen capitalist nations, including the United States, invaded Soviet Russia in a bloody but unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the revolutionary Bolshevik government.
Certain anarchist factions were nothing more than bandits, its honestly weird to see someone defend those clowns.
Plenty of anarchists joined the Bolsheviks, somehow those are never mentioned.
Emma Goldman (and others) who were in exile because instead of organising with workers in America, they were busy deciding what the workers should be doing and going around blowing shit up.
Honestly unsurprising that someone as smug as you would like Emma Goldman's writing, she's as smug and pompus as any modern anarchist twitter acedemic. Tell me more about how you think workers have no autonomy and are lead like sheep by like 1 spoopy bad guy
::: spoiler spoiler
(Сталина 👻)
:::
Would you say the same about the Zapatistas? Or the Makhnovshchina. They fought against the Bolsheviks so in your black white thinking, they are evil, right? But back to West Asia: the common interest they share with the USA is to fight the IS or Islamism in general. The USA supported islamists when they fought against communists. Isn't this "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" logic that made the US support Islamists until they didn't and now Rojava got a little support but that doesn't mean any ideological alignment as you seemed to imply.
Also, it's not a state but I don't expect tankies to get that.
For the Zapatistas, not so much (though they explicitly reject being labeled as anarchist), for Makhnovschina, absolutely, they were glorified bandits correctly seen through by anarchist Lucy Parsons.
As for Rojava being a state, it still has private property and class struggle, and as such does have a state:
Private property is still constitutionally protected by article 70 of the DAANES constitution: "Private property is protected and may not be taken away except for the public interest. It must be compensated fairly, and this is regulated by law."
Would you say the same about the Zapatistas?
Not sure, to be honest, I would have to read more about the Zapatistas. They absolutely are a micronation with no geopolitical power whatsoever, though.
Or the Makhnovshchina. They fought against the Bolsheviks so in your black white thinking, they are evil, right?
I never called Rojava evil, and I don't think they're evil, so don't put those words in my mouth. Regarding Makhnovshchina: if they weren't capable of enduring a civil war-destroyed red army, how were they supposed to survive Nazi genocide? How is a loose set of preindustrial farmers going to stand a chance against total extermination by an industrial power? And no, Vietnam isn't an example because Vietnam was well funded and armed by the Soviets. No Soviet weapons, no Vietnam.
don’t put those words in my mouth.
Well, I would read less into your comment if it was clearer. I explained the concept of prefiguration with Rojava as an example and you brought up that they have the same interests as the USA. So what is the implication or relevance here? Are you saying they wouldn't have made it without the USA, that the USA helped them build the structures before the revolution or during or after? Or that it's a USA backed coup? Which is it? You can't write obscure comments and whine for being misunderstood.
My implication was simply that they are allowed to exist because they happen to align with geopolitical US interests in the region, and otherwise would have likely disappeared.
You didn't respond to my comments on the Machnovschina
So your comments had nothing to do with the topic I was talking about, yet you expect me to engage with every detail of your offtopic comments, I see.
If you are interested: Gelderloos argues in Worshiping Power (worth a read and you find it on theanarchistlibrary.org) that decentralized guerrilla tactics are very good at defending, while being bad at conquering. If this would be enough to withstand between two imperial powers is very doubtful. I never said that anarchist movements in the broader sense are stronger, I would say tho they are worth fighting for. But you are aware that the Soviet Union doesn't exist anymore either, right? And other Bolshevik adjacent movements were crushed by the USA. The line of argument you are using against anarchism can be used by liberals against Marxism Leninism. If you want to join the winning team, it isn't any kind of socialism.
I think having a shallow understanding of theory even within our own tendencies is a common problem that just comes with trying to study dense topics that are deliberately hidden from us. It isn't a fun problem, but it's one that comes with the territory. I try to do my best with it, that's why I made my intro Marxist-Leninist reading list for those that want one.
Read Theory, Darn it! An Introductory Reading List for Marxism-Leninism
"Without Revolutionary theory, there can be no Revolutionary Movement."
- Vladimir Lenin, What is to be Done? | Audiobook
It's time to read theory, comrades! As Lenin says, "Despair is typical of those who do not understand the causes of evil, see no way out, and are incapable of struggle." Reading theory helps us identify the core contradictions within modern society, analyze their trajectories, and gives us the tools to break free. Marxism-Leninism is broken into 3 major components, as noted by Lenin in his pamphlet The Three Sources and Three Component Parts of Marxism: | Audiobook
- Dialectical and Historical Materialism
- Critique of Capitalism along the lines of Marx's Law of Value
- Advocacy for Revolutionary and Scientific Socialism
As such, I created the following list to take you from no knowledge whatsoever of Leftist theory, and leave you with a strong understanding of the critical fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism in an order that builds up as you read. Let's get started!
Section I: Getting Started
What the heck is Communism, anyways? For that matter, what is fascism?
- Friedrich Engels' Principles of Communism | Audiobook
The FAQ of Communism, written by the Luigi of the Marx & Engels duo. Quick to read, and easy to reference, this is the perfect start to your journey.
- Michael Parenti's Blackshirts and Reds | Audiobook
Breaks down fascism and its mortal enemy, Communism, as well as their antagonistic relationship. Understanding what fascism is, where and when it rises, why it does so, and how to banish it forever is critical. Parenti also helps debunk common anti-Communist myths, from both the "left" and the right, in a quick-witted writing style. This is also an excellent time to watch the famous speech.
Section II: Historical and Dialectical Materialism
Ugh, philosophy? Really? YES!
- Georges Politzer's Elementary Principles of Philosophy | Audiobook
By far my favorite primer on Marxist philosophy. By understanding Dialectical and Historical Materialism first, you make it easier to understand the rest of Marxism-Leninism. Don't be intimidated!
- Friedrich Engels' Socialism: Utopian and Scientific | Audiobook
Further reading on Dialectical and Historical Materialism, but crucially introduces the why of Scientific Socialism, explaining how Capitalism itself prepares the conditions for public ownership and planning by centralizing itself into monopolist syndicates. This is also where Engels talks about the failures of previous "Utopian" Socialists.
Section III: Political Economy
That's right, it's time for the Law of Value and a deep-dive into Imperialism. If we are to defeat Capitalism, we must learn it's mechanisms, tendencies, contradictions, and laws.
- Karl Marx's Wage Labor and Capital | Audiobook as well as Wages, Price and Profit | Audiobook
Best taken as a pair, these essays simplify the most important parts of the Law of Value. Marx is targetting those not trained in economics here, but you might want to keep a pen and some paper to follow along if you are a visual person.
- Vladimir Lenin's Imperialism, The Highest Stage of Capitalism | Audiobook
Absolutely crucial and the most important work for understanding the modern era and its primary contradictions. Marxist-Leninists understand that Imperialism is the greatest contradiction in the modern era, which cascades downward into all manner of related contradictions. Knowing what dying Capitalism looks like, and how it behaves, means we can kill it.
Section IV: Revolutionary and Scientific Socialism
Can we defeat Capitalism at the ballot box? What about just defeating fascism? What about the role of the state?
- Rosa Luxemburg's Reform or Revolution | Audiobook
If Marxists believed reforming Capitalist society was possible, we would be the first in line for it. Sadly, it isn't possible, which Luxemburg proves in this monumental writing.
- Vladimir Lenin's The State and Revolution | Audiobook
Excellent refutation of revisionists and Social Democrats who think the State can be reformed, without needing to be replaced with one that is run by the workers, in their own interests.
Section V: Intersectionality and Solidarity
The revolution will not be fought by atomized individuals, but by an intersectional, international working class movement. Intersectionality is critical, because it allows different marginalized groups to work together in collective interest, unifying into a broad movement.
- Vikky Storm and Eme Flores' The Gender Accelerationist Manifesto | (No Audiobook yet)
Critical reading on understanding misogyny, transphobia, enbyphobia, pluralphobia, and homophobia, as well as how to move beyond the base subject of "gender." Uses the foundations built up in the previous works to analyze gender theory from a Historical Materialist perspective.
- Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth | Audiobook
De-colonialism is essential to Marxism. Without having a strong, de-colonial, internationalist stance, we have no path to victory nor a path to justice. Fanon analyzes Colonialism's dehumanizing effects, and lays out how to form a de-colonial movement, as well as its necessity.
- Leslie Feinberg's Lavender & Red | Audiobook
Solidarity and intersectionality are the key to any social movement. When different social groups fight for liberation together along intersectional lines, the movements are emboldened and empowered ever-further.
Section VI: Putting it into Practice!
It's not enough to endlessly read, you must put theory to practice. That is how you can improve yourself and the movements you support. Touch grass!
- Mao Tse-Tung's On Practice and On Contradiction | Audiobook
Mao wrote simply and directly, targeting peasant soldiers during the Revolutionary War in China. This pair of essays equip the reader with the ability to apply the analytical tools of Dialectical Materialism to their every day practice, and better understand problems.
Congratulations, you completed your introductory reading course!
With your new understanding and knowledge of Marxism-Leninism, here is a mini What is to be Done? of your own to follow, and take with you as practical advice.
- Get organized. Join a Leftist org, find solidarity with fellow comrades, and protect each other. The Dems will not save you, it is up to us to protect ourselves. The Party for Socialism and Liberation and Freedom Road Socialist Organization both organize year round, every year, because the battle for progress is a constant struggle, not a single election. See if there is a chapter near you, or start one! Or, see if there's an org you like more near you and join it.
- Read theory. Don't think that you are done now! Just because you have the basics, doesn't mean you know more than you do. If you have not investigated a subject, don't speak on it! Don't speak nonsense, but listen!
- Aggressively combat white supremacy, misogyny, queerphobia, and other attacks on marginalized communities. Cede no ground, let nobody be forgotten or left behind. There is strength in numbers, when one marginalized group is targeted, many more are sure to follow.
- Be industrious, and self-sufficient. Take up gardening, home repair, tinkering. It is through practice that you elevate your problem-solving capabilities. Not only will you improve your skill at one subject, but your general problem-solving muscles get strengthened as well.
- Learn self-defense. Get armed, if practical. Be ready to protect yourself and others. Liberals will not save us, we must save each other.
- Be persistent. If you feel like a single water droplet against a mountain, think of canyons and valleys. Oh, how our efforts pile up! With consistency, every rock, boulder, even mountain, can be drilled through with nothing but steady and persistent water droplets.
"Everything under heaven is in utter chaos; the situation is excellent."
- Mao Tse-Tung
Revolution. Socialism. Liberation. - Freedom Road Socialist Organization | FRSO
Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) is a national organization of revolutionaries fighting for socialism in the United States. Our home is in the working class.admin (Freedom Road Socialist Organization | FRSO)
This right here. The problem is tankies don't like to admit there's other philosophies WITHIN communism (council communism, anarcho-communism (which are basically the same fucking thing but no one realizes cause they only read the first page of das Kapital and nothing else)).
I should also distinguish between tankies and MLs before this instance dogpiles me calling me a liberal. Literally every ML I've met in real life understands the theory behind anarchism and I've had some great talks with them. It's just this theory of leaderlessness comes off shaky to most. Meanwhile online ML who do no organizing, attend no protests and spend all their lives complaining online are the ones thinking this meme is the most hilarious shit. I believe this kind of behaviour to be exclusively online.
Yeah it’s pretty obvious with how even the most basic of pro-anarchist comments in here are downvoted by them.
Can’t expect anything else from people who will shoot you in the back during a revolution
1922
marxists.org/reference/archive…
Goldman is a horribly biased source for the Russian Civil War. She lived in Russia during the Civil War, 1920-1921, wrote that piece in '22 from Stockholm, and then the Civil War concluded in '23. She grew up with anti-Russian biases common of western Europeans (still continues today), spoke relatively broken Russian, and chiefly was entirely wrong about the anarchist movement in Russia.
The anarchists, who were faced with a dillema between supporting the bolsheviks and the Whites, majority decided to support the bolsheviks and were comrades in arms. Bandits like Makhno's faction that were slaughtering villagers and stealing soviet supplies were killed, but the overwhelming majority of anarchists joined the Red Army, called "soviet-anarchists." Goldman is primarily pointing to the minority of anarchists that denied the bolsheviks as the only anarchists.
Goldman was also contested by other anarchists at the time. Kropotkin, while displeased that the revolution wasn't an anarchist one, supported the revolution nonetheless. Lucy Parsons was another principled anarchist that nonetheless supported the bolsheviks, and also agreed with labelling Makhno a bandit. Goldman, however, was a friend of Makhno, showing the real allegiances Goldman had.
Goldman's anti-communism was ultimately based in unprincipled chauvanism. Her writings on anarchist theory are valuable, but we should not take her as any sort of authority on actually existing socialism, which she had denounced before it even finished fighting for its own existence.
Guys stop killing eachother while we still do have a common enemy.
The meme Is correct since that Isnt anarchism, there Is a real anarchism wich Is very good.
Ik this Is a marxist instance but real communists dont fight anarchists, since actual anarchist have the same goals as them
Anarchists and Marxists may share the imperialists and capitalists as a common class enemy, but take their practice in different directions. Anarchism is primarily about communalization of production. Marxism is primarily about collectivization of production.
When I say “communalization,” I mean anarchists propose horizontalist, decentralized cells, similar to early humanity’s cooperative production but with more interconnection and modern tech. When I say collectivization, I mean the unification of all of humanity into one system, where production and distribution is planned collectively to satisfy the needs of everyone as best as possible.
For anarchists, collectivized society still seems to retain the state, as some anarchists conflate administration with the state as it represents a hierarchy. For Marxists, this focus on communalism creates inter-cell class distinctions, as each cell only truly owns their own means of production, giving rise to class distinctions and thus states in the future.
For Marxists, socialism must have a state, a state can only wither with respect to how far along it has come in collectivizing production and therefore eliminating class. All states are authoritarian, but we cannot get rid of the state without erasing the foundations of the state: class society, and to do so we must collectivize production and distribution globally. Socialist states, where the working class wields its authority against capitalists and fascists, are the means by which this collectivization can actually happen, and are fully in-line with Marx’s beliefs. Communism as a stateless, classless, moneyless society is only possible post-socialism.
Abolishing the state overnight would not create the kind of society Marxists advocate for advancing towards, and if anything, would result in the resumption of competition and the resurgance of capitalism if Marx and Engels predictions are correct.
Yeah
What Is the right choice...well depends
Sincerely idk, both work and have worked without a problem, on different scales of course
Btw saw your post on theory and thank you very much since i really Needed something like that
Ty 😀
1. Oppose all authority.
2. Are also CIA agents.
Another solid piece of logic from the red fascists.
Its because anarchism isn’t seen as a valid threat or opposition to the US empire and because of it’s ineffectiveness against capitalism, the CIA/FBI can use the promotion of anarchism to split the left, silence revolutionary activity, and attack Marxist-Leninism, an actual working ideology. People that claim to be anarchists who take it upon themselves either in real life or online to bash “tankies”, AES states, etc are doing the current state’s work for free.
red fascists
Deeply unserious term and proves my point lmao
Yeah as we can see Rojava is a state and as far as states go imo doesn’t deserve undying support. My solidarity lies with the people of the region in their struggle against imperialism, not in the leadership’s ideals and use of authority.
For questions about the vanguard and why socialism is a better proven model both politically and economically I recommend State and Revolution by Lenin.
If you would be curious what decentralization looks like under a Socialist state, this video explains Vietnam’s recent government restructure to allow for more self-regional control in it progression towards communism and the “withering away” of the state.
Your choices are:
Tory,
Diet Tory,
Or as of recently, Tory^2^.
Police explain 30 arrests for holding up signs in Bristol
"Officers attempted to engage with protesters to explain that it was a criminal offence"Tristan Cork (Bristol Live)
If voting didn't work, you will blame it on corruption or unprecedented times like war or natural disaster.
Its either democracy or some external thing happened, never that voting didn't bring democracy.
And we haven't even touched the subject of legally making it difficult for minority and "unwanted" groups to vote. We also didn't talk about immigrants who live work and pay taxes but are not represented by voting
If I can VOTE(the most important thing)
Ancient Greek democracy begs to differ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sortitio…
They argued that electoralism will result in rich amd artistocracy corrupting the whole process and getting into power and never letting it go, focusing on their own selfish interests
My comment is sarcastic.
They argued that electoralism will result in rich amd artistocracy corrupting the whole process and getting into power and never letting it go, focusing on their own selfish interests
Thank goodness that never happened!
In Italy we had a communist party in parliament but not anymore since Berlusconi (wich fortunately died After 4 terms)
I Hope every day we Will have a real left again in Italy, wich now Is like these other countries
Beware of Westerners Bearing Gifts
Beware of Westerners Bearing Gifts
The American peace proposal for Ukraine is deficient, but the EU proposal is an absolute farce, which is clearly just an attempt to stall for time and buyБрайан Энтони Рео (New Eastern Outlook)
Terrorist Attacks on Black Sea Tankers Linked to Obstructing Ukraine Settlement – Russian MFA
Terrorist Attacks on Black Sea Tankers Linked to Obstructing Ukraine Settlement – Russian MFA
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Ukrainian regime's terrorist attacks on Gambian-flagged tankers Kairos and Virat in the Black Sea, as well as on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) infrastructure, are directly connected to desire to obstruct international e…Sputnik International
West losing arms race to Russia – Lavrov
West losing arms race to Russia – Lavrov (FULL INTERVIEW)
The West wants still more sanctions on Moscow because it cannot compete with the Russian weapons industry, the foreign minister has saidRT
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united24media.com/latest-news/…
Is this what "winning the arms race" looks like?
Russia Sends “Disposable Soldiers” Into Battle With No Helmets and No Armor
Ukrainian forces document the lack of basic protective gear among Russian troops, reflecting serious supply issues and tactical concerns on the battlefield.Ivan Khomenko (UNITED24 Media)
So wild that this is such a widespread phenomenon and yet Ukraine can't seem to resist the onslaught of ... unarmored and unarmed soldiers who eat nothing but tree bark and have to scavenge for their weapons and ammo.
Ukraine must be in really bad shape if they can't defend against that, huh?
russiamatters.org/news/russia-…
This report from the Harvard Kennedy school indicates that Russian forces gained 258 square miles of Ukrainian territory between end of Oct and Thanksgiving, with half of those gains in the week running up to Thanksgiving. I can't find data for gains over the last 5 days, but the rate of Russian gains is increasing.
According to this report from the Harvard Kennedy school
Yeah man sounds super russian
I think it's so awesome how you guys have to give yourselves processing disorders to avoid parsing information that threatens your curated slava ukrani reality
It's literally Harvard
The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs is the hub of Harvard Kennedy School's research, teaching, and training in international security and diplomacy, environment and natural resource issues, and science and technology policy.
Like literally it's the race-science white supremacist nazi-friendly ivy league school of the USA.
The fact that you got triggered by their choice of domain name is on you, not on them.
Holy shit.
Holy fucking shit.
Can you people get any more stupid?
Literally calling Harvard Russian propaganda.
I mean, my God. And you won't even learn anything from this. You'll just memory hole it. We were always at war with Eurasia.
Moscow condemns Ukrainian ‘terrorist attacks’ in Black Sea
Moscow condemns Ukrainian ‘terrorist attacks’ in Black Sea
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has condemned “terrorist attacks by the Kiev regime” in the Black SeaRT
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Is it though? People hear what they want to hear and believe what they want to believe. No one wants to believe that their privileges are predicated on suffering elsewhere.
Westerners in particularly have always been very "heads in the sand" when it comes to modern history but it's not surprising. Every nation struggles with the darker aspects of their history.
Correct: redsails.org/masses-elites-and…
Meanwhile I get nothing out of it but insults and the hope that a (very) few will begin their deprogramming journey, as I did soon after 9/11.
Masses, Elites, and Rebels: The Theory of “Brainwashing”
I’ve become very skeptical of the concept of “brainwashing.” Over the past few months this skepticism has boiled over into open and explicit disagreement with even well-meaning pushers within the Marxist-Leninist corner.redsails.org
These people, who don’t know shit about fuck, are absolutely sure that they already know everything that needs to be known, and that we don’t know shit about fuck.
And in twenty years they’ll say they knew it all along.
Please elaborate: where’s the racism?
This has been the US playbook since before we were born, and funding, arming, and influencing Salafi jihadists in particular has been going on since at least the 1980s. Previously:
6 December 1993: Anti-Soviet warrior puts his army on the road to peace
FAIR: Forgotten Coverage of Afghan ‘Freedom Fighters’
But the U.S. government and the American press have not always opposed Afghan extremists. During the 1980s, the Mujahiddin guerrilla groups battling Soviet occupation had key features in common with the Taliban. In many ways, the Mujahiddin groups acted as an incubator for the later rise of the Taliban in the 1990s.
Despite CIA denials of any direct Agency support for Bin Laden’s activities, a considerable body of circumstantial evidence suggests the contrary. During the 1980s, Bin Laden’s activities in Afghanistan closely paralleled those of the CIA. Bin Laden held accounts in the Bank for Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), the bank the CIA used to finance its own covert actions. Bin Laden worked especially closely with Hekmatyar—the CIA’s favored Mujahiddin commander. In 1989, the U.S. shipped high-powered sniper rifles to a Mujahiddin faction that included bin Laden, according to a former bin Laden aide.
6 December 1993: Anti-Soviet warrior puts his army on the road to peace
Robert Fisk is the first western journalist to interview Osama bin Laden, ‘the Saudi businessman’ overseeing large-scale building work in SudanRobert Fisk (The Independent)
(Mass dislikes time!)
Yes, the US does evil shit in the Middle East. Killing brown-skinned practitioners of the other Abrahamic religion overseas is an American tradition.
That still doesn't change the fact that China is persecuting Uyghurs in the Xinjiang province.
You can't shit-talk one authoritarian state and cheer on another.
To liberals, "simping so fucking hard" literally just means, "not believing literally every piece of propaganda that right wing western propaganda outlets pump out about them.
If they were old enough to be paying attention in 2002, they would be accusing anyone who didn't believe Iraq had WMDs of "simping so fucking hard" for Saddam.
“Authoritarian state” is a bullshit category. Authoritarian states are just states insufficiently subservient to Washington. It’s no more or less coherent than “terrorist state,” which the US uses in the same way.
“Authoritarianism” is the contemporary word for “totalitarianism,” which is just an erudite-seming term for horseshoe theory, which is horseshit. Previously:
- ‘Horseshoe theory’ is nonsense – the far right and far left have little in common
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsesho…
- Funny thing about Hannah Arendt’s construction of “totalitarianism”: She came from a bourgeois family and so was unsurprisingly anti-communist, and she was funded & promoted by the CIA.
Imperialist Propaganda and the Ideology of the Western Left Intelligentsia: From Anticommunism and Identity Politics to Democratic Illusions and Fascism
One of the centerpieces of the cultural cold war was the Congress for Cultural Freedom (CCF), which was revealed in 1966 to be a CIA front. Hugh Wilford, who has researched the topic extensively, described the CCF as nothing short of one of the largest patrons of art and culture in the history of the world. Established in 1950, it promoted on the international scene the work of collaborationist academics such as Raymond Aron and Hannah Arendt over and against their Marxian rivals, including the likes of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir.
Imperialist Propaganda and the Ideology of the Western Left Intelligentsia: From Anticommunism and Identity Politics to Democratic Illusions and Fascism - Monthly Review
Gabriel Rockhill is executive director of the Critical Theory Workshop/Atelier de Théorie Critique and professor of philosophy at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. He is currently completing his fifth single-author book,... READ MOREMonthly Review
this post isn't cheering on china, it's shitting on the west's hypocrisy.
also you might want to look up who funded the wahabis who groomed the terrorists that the crackdown is a response to.
"Yes, the US does evil shit in the Middle East. Killing brown-skinned practitioners of the other Abrahamic religion overseas is an American tradition.
That still doesn't change the fact that Iraq is building weapons of mass destruction to attack the USA.
You can’t shit-talk one authoritarian state and cheer on another."
Seriously, how many times do you need to hear it before you western chauvanists realise it's not about "good or bad", it's about trustworthy or untrustworthy.
Ironically Abrahamic religion’s influence feeds into liberalism’s good vs. evil worldview.
Philosophy professor Hans-Georg Moeller:
- YouTube
Profitez des vidéos et de la musique que vous aimez, mettez en ligne des contenus originaux, et partagez-les avec vos amis, vos proches et le monde entier.www.youtube.com
If not reeducation, which method would you prefer China use to combat the foreign radical Wahhabism and terrorism spread by the CIA in Xinjiang for the purpose of regional destabilization and regime change?
We all know how the US chose to implement its own war on terror. Muslim majority countries in the Middle East support China's method.
Knife Attack Kills Dozens in China's Xinjiang
Xinhua news agency says mob staged attacks in two towns Monday, killing both Han and Uighur residentsBill Ide (Voice of America (VOA News))
That still doesn’t change the fact that China is persecuting Uyghurs in the Xinjiang province.
The US tried to foment division in China by funding and organizing Salafi terrorist into Xinjiang, and once its efforts failed, it made lemonade out of its lemon by concocting and promoting a genocide narrative.The only countries pushing this narrative are the “always the same map” imperial core countries, which just so happen to be largely the same ones supporting Israel’s genocide.
Almost no predominantly-Muslim country buys the Uyghur genocide narrative, because they know it’s bullshit, because they talked to the Uyghurs themselves.
twitter.com/un_hrc/status/1578…
#HRC51 | Draft resolution A/HRC/51/L.6 on holding a debate on the situation of human rights in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of #China, was REJECTED.
- The Uyghur Human Rights Project is a product of the National Endowment for Democracy, which is the American government’s main regime change NGO.
- A Reddit AMA Claiming To Be A Uyghur Quickly Exposes A CIA Asset Slandering China
- The Xinjiang Genocide Allegations Are Unjustified
- Uyghur genocide allegations
- US-Funded Uyghur Activists Train as Soldiers of Empire
- The blueprint of regime change operations How regime change happens in the 21st century with your consent
The US tried to foment division in China by funding and organizing Salafi terrorist into Xinjiang, and once its efforts failed, it made lemonade out of its lemon by concocting and promoting a genocide narrative.
Much like how after China foiled their color revolution attempt in 1989, the CIA had to pivot to the "Tinyman Square Massacre" narrative.
Sources:
- china news propaganda site
- medium article from rando
- project syndicate link which is an op-ed site (not news)
- a wiki page from an incredibly biased group
- a youtube link...
- a site calling itself a news site, yet no actual credentials, but seems to be associated with China (Ajit Singh has written Chinese propaganda books)
- a substack link
This has to be the least compelling list of evidence one could provide, and yet you get upvotes because it looks like you've provided proof of something. All you've done is provide a lot of incredibly, seriously biased opinions with no actual facts at all.
Wow, I wonder why there aren’t any Western corporate media sources with a Media Bias/Fact Check seal of approval…
The first step is to understand the media, which Media Bias/Fact Check and the Ad Fontes Media* are never going to teach you. The only people who are taught it are those who get degrees in marketing, public relations, political science, history, and journalism; and even then only some of them.The new post-Trump/“post-truth” media literacy curricula won’t teach it to you either, because it was paid for and crafted by the US military-industrial complex: New Media Literacy Standards Aim to Combat ‘Truth Decay’.
This week, the RAND Corporation released a new set of media literacy standards designed to support schools in this task.The standards are part of RAND’s ongoing project on “truth decay”: a phenomenon that RAND researchers describe as “the diminishing role that facts, data, and analysis play in our political and civic discourse.”
None of it is a secret, though, and it can be learned.
-
- Propaganda model
- Edward Bernays
- Walter Lippmann
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Powell Memorandum
- The Trilateral Commission’s report, The Crisis of Democracy* I’ve criticized MBFC & Ad Fontes before:
- lemmy.ml/post/12705767/8913172
- lemmy.ml/post/13566156/9605612
It's OK to distrust more than one Government, but how anyone can believe the Chineses Government in this matter is beyond me.
Did you not see the insanely violent crack down on Hong Kong Democracy Movement with you own eyes? Do you not remember Tianamen Square? Great Fire-Wall?
Theres liyteraly over 10GB or evidence of the persecution of Uyghurs by the Chinese Government:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinjiang…
I can understand not wanting to believe/trust the US and EU Govs, but trusting the Chinese Government is (IMO) insane.
"How anyone can believe the foreigners is beyond me" Let me guess you don't consider foreigners human
"All foreigners are 'insane' btw" calm down hitler
Did you not see the insanely violent crack down on Hong Kong Democracy Movement with you own eyes?
The UK’s 99 year lease to subjugate the people of Hong Kong ended, a lease which had been forced upon Imperial China at gunpoint during the century of humiliation. Hong Kong reintegration after the lease expired was a foregone conclusion. The last minute, US-backed attempt at color revolution failed. It was the so-called “revolutionaries” who brought the brutality, by the way.
Do you not remember Tianamen Square?
I’ve already asked another commenter this but it’s valid here too: Would you class the western oppression of dissent to be on the same level as that famous student protest in China?Only someone misinformed about the 1989 protest and US/CIA/NED-orchestrated, murderously violent riot would ask this, which to be fair is 99% of Westerners.
- 📺 The Tiananmen Square "Massacre" Never Happened: , part 2, — [Sources]
- Edit to add: YouTube took down for “violating YouTube’s terms of service,” but I found a reploaded a copy, splitting it up into three pieces. This is why you don’t know what really happened, because Western corporate media don’t want you to know. They were reuploaded just today; who knows how long they’ll stay up.
- The Tian’anmen Square ‘Massacre’: The West’s Most Persuasive, Most Pervasive Lie.
- CBS, 1989: There Was No "Tiananmen Square Massacre"
- Images from Tiananmen 1989 the West never shows (NSFW / CW: violence and death)
- Tank Man video footage. Tiananmen Square, Beijing, 1989
- How psy-ops warriors fooled me about Tiananmen Square: a warning
- 1989 Tian'anmen Square riots
- A Note on the Tiananmen Protests
- Washington Post, 1989: Rebel Without a Magazine
> [Chinese Intellectual’s founder] Liang [Heng] had come from his New York office, where he serves as the magazine's foreign editor, to Washington Thursday and Friday to address the board of directors at the National Endowment for Democracy -- a substantial financial backer of the magazine -- to tell it what he knows, what he thinks and what will possibly happen.
> After his arrival in the United States, he earned his master's degree in literature from Columbia University and secured an initial $200,000 grant from the NED, a private corporation created in 1983 to "strengthen democratic efforts worldwide," to start his magazine.- The Seattle Times, 2011: Quiet scholar who inspired uprisings
> That is not to say [Gene] Sharp has not seen any action. In 1989, he jetted off to China to witness the uprising in Tiananmen Square. In the early 1990s, he sneaked into a Myanmar rebel camp at the invitation of Robert Helvey, a retired Army colonel who advised the opposition there. They met when Helvey was on a fellowship at Harvard; the military man thought the professor had ideas that could avoid war.- The blueprint of regime change operations - How regime change happens in the 21st century with your consent
Great Fire-Wall?
The firewall isn’t there to keep Chinese people from The Truth. It’s there to keep imperial core meddling out, and to help China develop its own domestic internet services. In contrast, the rest of the world is dependent on / addicted to US internet services from Google/Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook/Meta, Microsoft, etc., which many countries are beginning to regret.
- 📺
- 📺 The Great Firewall of China
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinjiang…
I already covered Xinjang elsewhere in this post, and if you had read it you would know that Adrian Zenz is a crackpot.
That still doesn’t change the fact that China is persecuting Uyghurs in the Xinjiang province.
The US tried to foment division in China by funding and organizing Salafi terrorist into Xinjiang, and once its efforts failed, it made lemonade out of its lemon by concocting and promoting a genocide narrative.The only countries pushing this narrative are the “always the same map” imperial core countries, which just so happen to be largely the same ones supporting Israel’s genocide.
Almost no predominantly-Muslim country buys the Uyghur genocide narrative, because they know it’s bullshit, because they talked to the Uyghurs themselves.
twitter.com/un_hrc/status/1578…
#HRC51 | Draft resolution A/HRC/51/L.6 on holding a debate on the situation of human rights in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of #China, was REJECTED.
- The Uyghur Human Rights Project is a product of the National Endowment for Democracy, which is the American government’s main regime change NGO.
- A Reddit AMA Claiming To Be A Uyghur Quickly Exposes A CIA Asset Slandering China
- The Xinjiang Genocide Allegations Are Unjustified
- Uyghur genocide allegations
- US-Funded Uyghur Activists Train as Soldiers of Empire
- The blueprint of regime change operations How regime change happens in the 21st century with your consent
It’s OK to distrust more than one Government
Then you should try it, you hypocritical dipshit. You believe everything that comes out of the western propaganda machine without question, and then assume anyone who doesn't believe them are "believing the Chinese government"
If it were 2002 you would be accusing anyone who didn't believe Iraq of having WMDs of "believing Saddam!"
Do you not remember Tianamen Square
So do you do this in the opposite direction? When people doubt a claim made by China, do you start randomly bringing up unrelated events from forty years ago. What exactly was the chain of reasoning that made you thought this was relevant? Oh right, there wasn't one: you've just been trained like a literal dog to compulsively blurt out "Tinyman Square!" every time you hear the word "China".
The Xinjiang Police Files are said to be leaked documents from the Xinjiang internment camps, forwarded to anthropologist Adrian Zenz from an anonymous source.Adrian Nikolaus Zenz (born 1974) is a German anthropologist known for his studies of the Xinjiang internment camps and persecution of Uyghurs in China. He is a director and senior fellow in China studies at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, an anti-communist think tank established by the US government and based in Washington, DC.
Yeah... not suspicious at all.
It’s OK to distrust more than one Government, but how anyone can believe the the west in this matter is beyond me.
The west has repeatedly coup'd, invaded, destroyed, killed, bombed, sanctioned everyone that dares look at them wrong. But sure, daddy west is completely right when it comes to China.
Hong Kong Democracy Movement
Democracy is when you have west funded protests trying to do a color revolution. Sure.
Do you not remember Tianamen Square?
Oh, one of the biggest propaganda lies the west ever made about China? Have you actually watched the tank man video? How about the evidence of the contrary to the so called "massacre on Tiananmen square".
Great Fire-Wall?
Oh no, China doesn't allow the west to propagandize to it's citizens, while simultaneously propping it's own national platforms, the horror!!!11!!1!
Also, let's just ignore how the Arab League literally investigated the so called "Xinjiang genocide", and found nothing.
But sure, Adrian Zenz is right, lmao.
Debunking the "Tiananmen Square Massacre"
By Matthew John Every June in the United States we are subjected to a barrage of anti-China propaganda from major media outlets and prominent political pundits (on top of the regularly-scheduled China bashing).Matthew John (Hampton Institute)
Not you, tho. You’re convinced that what you believe is correct.
Yeah, as opposed to believing what I believe is incorrect...
Do you even understand the concept of other minds?
Disclaimer: not .ml.
Critisizing someone's sources and then refusing to provide any other ones "because it's pointless" seems a little hypocritical to me.
I’m pointing out the problems with the sources for all the other people that are observing that comment and being swayed, because it’s a bunch of baloney.
So we should trust your word over someone's who has at least put in the effort to provide sources?
Look, you don't need to prove anything, but if you're gonna argue or act like you're defending people from misinformation, then I'd expect to see more than just "don't listen to that guy". It's not exactly easy finding objective information about various issues in China and filtering out all the American propaganda. Personally, I'd very much appreciate any links that don't lead to obvious manipulation.
Mate, the person literally said "Either the sources are biased or not"
are you telling me that
Fun fact: every single time someone writes this, whatever follows is guaranteed to be an outrageous strawman that in no way it's what the other person was saying.
If someone claims to solve string theory and then provides shit sources there is never an obligation to provide sources that solve string theory. Pointing out sources are shit is part of science. I don’t need to provide a counter argument because that’s not the purpose of the conversation. I don’t need to provide proof of the alternative because the only thing I’m trying to accomplish is to stop this liar from spreading misinformation.
A lie can travel around the world before the truth takes a few steps. That’s exactly what that user is trying to do. Post as many lies as possible so that refuting them takes hours if not days if not months or years.
How can you know if the sources really are bad if it's not obvious aftet reading? Do you just trust a random person's words? In this case, you're essentially arbitrarily picking one version over another.
The problem with 'stopping lies' is it requires effort, which not everyone may wish to dedicate. I'm by no means denouncing the other person for trying to stop misinformation (assuming that's the case, since I still have no idea). However, it's all in vain if they don't bother to do anything to prove their point.
Anyone can post misinformation as sources, just as anyone can post that the sources are bad. Fundamentally there isn't a whole lot of difference between the two. If you really feel the need to defend people from being misinformed, some better source or other form of proof, or at the very least a deeper explanation would go a long way.
That still doesn't change the fact that China is persecuting Uyghurs in the Xinjiang province.
But it's not a fact though? You can't imagine up some fictional scenario and then just claim it's a fact; words have meanings
Not only is China indisputably persecuting Uyghurs, but we have far more proof for the genocide in the Xinjiang province than we do for the one in Gaza. Millions of scholars who are not at all associated with either Adrian Zenz or Uyghur separatists agree that the Uyghur genocide is the deadliest, most important, and best documented atrocity of all time. If you need links to the evidence, I can give you as many links as you want.
\
\
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But first, I need you to solve a CAPTCHA to make sure that you are not a robot.
To prove that you are not a robot, enter the number of trees visible in the image below:
It's supposedly been a decade long genocide and yet still nobody has been able to present any evidence beyond uncorroborated and inconsistent testimonials from a single digit number of sources, filtered exclusively through right wing American NGOs.
Meanwhile two years of genocide in Gaza produced an endless stream of audio-visual and forensic evidence so overwhelmingly undeniable that even governments participateing in the genocide have started to admit it.
Seriously.
The time jordanlund came here to make an ass of himself about the “Uyghur genocide”: lemmy.ml/post/25050001/1626891…
A snippet from my response:
(a) Show me the Uyghur bodies(b) Show me the serious bodily or mental harm
(c) Show me the conditions calculated to bring about physical destruction in whole or in part
(d) Show me the measures intended to prevent births within the group
In accordance with China's affirmative action policies towards ethnic minorities, all non-Han ethnic groups were subject to different laws and were usually allowed to have two children in urban areas, and three or four in rural areas.(e) Show me the forcible transfer of children from one group to another group
All you have are a couple of photos of prisons, which proves nothing, and some garbage testimonies that we’ve debunked a thousand fucking times already.
Both things can be true
Anything can be true if you retreat into your mind palace of pure logic and reasoning
Then you can literally just say whatever the fuck you want
"During the cold war, the anticommunist ideological framework could transform any data about existing communist societies into hostile evidence. If the Soviets refused to negotiate a point, they were intransigent and belligerent; if they appeared willing to make concessions, this was but a skillful ploy to put us off our guard. By opposing arms limitations, they would have demonstrated their aggressive intent; but when in fact they supported most armament treaties, it was because they were mendacious and manipulative. If the churches in the USSR were empty, this demonstrated that religion was suppressed; but if the churches were full, this meant the people were rejecting the regime's atheistic ideology. If the workers went on strike (as happened on infrequent occasions), this was evidence of their alienation from the collectivist system; if they didn't go on strike, this was because they were intimidated and lacked freedom. A scarcity of consumer goods demonstrated the failure of the economic system; an improvement in consumer supplies meant only that the leaders were attempting to placate a restive population and so maintain a firmer hold over them.
If communists in the United States played an important role struggling for the rights of workers, the poor, African-Americans, women, and others, this was only their guileful way of gathering support among disfranchised groups and gaining power for themselves. How one gained power by fighting for the rights of powerless groups was never explained. What we are dealing with is a nonfalsifiable orthodoxy, so assiduously marketed by the ruling interests that it affected people across the entire political spectrum."
-Michael Parenti
The real victims in Xinjiang were the people who got stabbed & bombed & run over by CIA-funded Salafi jihad terrorists, which fortunately is no longer a thing, much to the CIA’s chagrin.
I can too volunteer for an interview as I tell how Greenland is genociding left handed people. But nobody will ever want to pay me for that.
Reporter: [REDACTED]
Reason: Chinese genocide denialist
Yes, reporter, that is precisely what we’re doing. We’re denying that there was or is a genocide in Xinjiang.
We also deny the white genocide in South Africa, among other bogus accusations.
Incorrectly identifying something as genocide is irresponsible much like denying a case of genocide that is actually taking place.
Jesus Christ, "Whataboutism" really does just mean anything other than complete blind belief in the American Nat-sec blob now. "Oh, you don't believe that people who activity cheer on the genocide of Palestinians are being sincere in their claimed concern for Chinese Muslims? WHATABOUTISM!"
people are being systematically murdered.
I assume you're referring to Gaza? Because not even the most frothing sinophobes have tried to claim a "systematic murder" of Muslims in China, so if you're not referring to Gaza, you are literally making up lies whole cloth.
When dealing with hypocrites, whataboutism is the correct and logically consistent response.
People who complain about whataboutism are 99% hypocrites whose hypocrisy has been pointed out. And they have no rational arguments to defend their view other than deflecting the topic.
Citations Needed podcast:
Whataboutism - The Media's Favorite Rhetorical Shield Against Criticism of US Policy
Since the beginning of what’s generally called ‘RussiaGate’ three years ago, pundits, media outlets, even comedians have all become insta-experts on supposed Russian propaganda techniques. The most cunning of these tricks, we are told, is that of “whataboutism” – a devious Soviet tactic of deflecting criticism by pointing out the accusers’ hypocrisy and inconsistencies. The tu quoque - or, “you, also” - fallacy, but with a unique Slavic flavor of nihilism, used by Trump and leftists alike in an effort to change the subject and focus on the faults of the United States rather than the crimes of Official State Enemies.But what if "whataboutism" isn’t describing a propaganda technique, but in fact is one itself: a zombie phrase that’s seeped into everyday liberal discourse that – while perhaps useful in the abstract - has manifestly turned any appeal to moral consistency into a cunning Russian psyop. From its origins in the Cold War as a means of deflecting and apologizing for Jim Crow to its braindead contemporary usage as a way of not engaging any criticism of the United States as the supposed arbiter of human rights, the term "whataboutism" has become a term that - 100 percent of the time - is simply used to defend and legitimizing American empire’s moral narratives.
Oh cool, you also gargle propaganda from an evangelical nutjob Adrian Zens and from the U.S State Department on it's number-one global rival. Very analytical and socialist of you.
There is no "plight", the U.N found nothing and reported nothing. Again and again, people like you do the work of the feds back in the 50s-60s.
Hot take:
The US has committed horrifying war crimes and crimes against humanity against Muslims and continues to do so.
And so does China
Its always fascinating to see the war between Nazis and Tankies fight over which imperial power is based, rather than demonstrating a working frontal lobe and damning both for their crimes.
And so does China
The only "evidence" of this comes from the empire and is demonstrably false
Skip to the nameca...
Oh wait. We are at the belittling flowchart. I do not know this one yet.
Let me grab popcorn.
Idk man, this page has over 401 citations from various sources.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecut…
Edit: This also has a lot of citations ns from various sources too.
Sounds like a colossal reach at best, and pathetic cope at worst.
You understand the colossal differences between multiple independent journalists researching and reporting on the same topic, and a large organized group of pseudointellectuals trying to disprove a single person based on vibes alone, right?
You seem to be very desperately, and pathetically holding onto a form of fallacy of composition:
practicalpie.com/fallacy-of-co…
Fallacy of Composition (27 Examples + Definition) - Practical Psychology
We've all heard the saying, "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts." But what if we assumed that what's true for one part must be true for thePractical Psychology
No, I'm simply calling out a lazy gish gallop. It's the same in both cases.
How many sources are listed on the Wikipedia page for Christianity? If I accept your logic as valid, it seems I'll have to convert.
The 400 citations in question:
[1] Victims of Communism Memorial Association
[2] Burger Eagle Freedom Institute
[3] China Freedom NGO (Washington DC)
[4-399] Western State Television Station (retrieved in 2020)
[400] Literally the CIA
The article editors in question:
u/USA_STEM_Edgelord_USA_1990
u/TotallyNotAFed69
u/WhiteCisManInHis30s
Wikipedia is one of the most reliable sources of public information, most especially do to the international collaboration efforts on it.
You can't just dismiss a source on the basis that you don't like it. You need to provide actual evidence that the source is untrustworthy
Wikipedia is one of the most reliable sources of public information
Yeah if you're looking up wood joints and math theorems. Not if you're trying to learn anything about politics or history that ties into the interests of the systems and institutions that filter the media allowed as valid citations.
You need to provide actual evidence that the source is untrustworthy
Do they ban the New York Times because they lied the country into every war it's been in since McKinley?
Gift Ideas for Privacy People
Happy winter and merry festivities!
Last year I made a post outlining many gift ideas for privacy enthusiasts. I'm back this year with an updated list. Privacy enthusiasts, by nature, are sometimes difficult to buy gifts for. This list is here to make it easier for you to come up with ideas, even if you don't directly gift what's on the list. I've decided to make a rule this year: only physical items. You can't put a subscription under the tree.
3D printers
3D printers can turn plastic into any shape you want. While a lot of 3D printers include proprietary privacy-invasive software, there are open-source options such as RepRap. The privacy benefit of these comes in the form of homemade firearms. Traditional firearms include many elements to trace the ammunition back to the firearm, but homemade firearms (such as ones made using a 3D printer) exclude these. The reliability of the firearm depends on the quality of the 3D printer, but the designs are getting easier and easier to make.
Accessories
Especially for phones, there are a few of privacy accessories that are simple but effective.
- Faraday bags
- Lens covers (which some phone cases include)
- Microphone blockers (which is more effective as a recording jammer)
- Monitor filters (better known as privacy screen protectors)
Anonymous dress
Anonymous dress is clothing that conceals your identity in public. Obtaining these items of clothing is a chore, so it's always easiest when it is gifted by somebody else. Black, unthemed clothing does the best job of protecting privacy. The holy grail of anonymous dress is:
- A balaclava to hide your face.
- A baseball cap to further hide your face, although a sun hat does a better job.
- A hooded down jacket to hide body shape and skin color. There are significantly long down jackets that extend below the knees that can somewhat conceal your gait too. Last year I included jackets that spoof AI recognition or blind infrared cameras, but those are very difficult to find and can be very identifying.
- Elevator shoes to conceal your height.
- Sunglasses to hide your eyes. Reflectacles do the best job of this.
- Touchscreen gloves to prevent fingerprints and still be able to use touchscreens. Normal gloves work when paired with a capacitive stylus.
- An umbrella to hide your clothing from surveillance cameras.
Ciphers
Not all encryption is digital. Traditionally, complex codes and ciphers were created to conceal messages. Hardware devices like the enigma machine were used to further aide the process. Modern versions of those devices, as well as related items such as invisible ink are still around and can be a fun project.
Computers
Laptops, desktops, and servers are all useful devices for accessing digital services privately. While there is no best choice, some lists can help shine some light on which hardware is considered secure:
- PrivSec.dev Laptop Hardware Security
- Qubes OS Hardware Compatibility List
Concealment devices
Concealment devices are things that look like ordinary objects, but in some way or another, have a hidden compartment used for storage. These are excellent ways to hide sensitive items such as cash, backup security tokens, and more. These are excellent gifts if you're giving one-on-one rather than at a party.
Cryptocurrency wallets
Cryptocurrency wallets are devices used to securely store (the keys for) cryptocurrency such as the private cryptocurrency Monero. The two best options are:
- Ledger
- Trezor
Dumb tech
Dumb tech is the opposite of smart tech. It doesn't connect to every device in your house. It doesn't broadcast that data to a corporation. It doesn't get exposed in a data breach. It doesn't get hacked. It doesn't go down when the internet goes offline. Things like dumb TVs or dumb cars are becoming harder to find but more and more valuable for privacy.
Mail is almost always sensitive. For that reason, it's useful to protect the contents by using security envelopes. For delivering packages privately, it's also useful to have a label printer capable of printing shipping labels.
Money
Banks and payment service providers are almost always incredibly privacy invasive and offer poor security. While some of these issues can be mitigated with services like Privacy, it doesn't fix the underlying issue. Anonymous payments not only protect your privacy, but protect your money too, and having the ability to make payments like these is what allows privacy to further grow. Anonymous payment methods include:
- Cash
- Gift cards (when purchased with cash and adequate anonymous dress)
- Monero (which is physical when paired with a cryptocurrency wallet)
- Stored-value card (when purchased with cash and adequate anonymous dress)
Optical discs
Optical discs are a physical way to store movies, shows, music, games, and more. The idea is that, instead of paying a subscription and streaming content, you can pay a one-time fee and get the full quality media offline. This is also excellent for ripping to create a digital archive to stream from your own servers for free.
Paper
Your most sensitive information is put at risk the moment it becomes digitized, so pen and paper isn't so bad for some uses:
- Earlier this year, Amazon removed the option to download and transfer ebooks. It's becoming increasingly harder to "own" an ebook, especially without using privacy-invasive software. For that reason, books are much better for privacy.
- Calendar apps are convenient for reminders, but they often sync to cloud services or include telemetry. Physical calendars are a good way to have peace of mind knowing that your personal events are away from prying eyes and can be erased without a trace.
- Notebooks are also useful for the same reasons as books. There are also numerous benefits to writing things down instead of typing them.
Paper shredders
Paper shredders destroy sensitive documents to prevent obtaining sensitive information by digging through landfills. However, shredded documents can be recovered using automated software. The paper shredder industry hasn't discovered fire yet, it seems.
Power cables
Most cables carry both power and data. However, that can be exploited by cleverly designing fake power stations that discreetly steal data when plugged into devices. Some cables only deliver power, without delivering data. These are incredibly useful for protecting vulnerable devices in public settings.
Printers
Printers suck. So much so that not even Framework wanted to make one. Nevertheless, a new printer called Open Printer is in the works. Until it's finished, the best option is to gift a printer that allows printing over a wired connection.
Promotional merchandise
There is no shortage of promotional merchandise for privacy. Some of my favorites include:
- Electronic Frontier Foundation
- Naomi Brockwell TV
- Privacy Guides
I also recently found products like this that serve a functional benefit of telling people you don't want to be recorded without explicitly talking to them.
Rayhunter
Rayhunter is a device created by the Electronic Frontier Foundation to detect Stingray attacks. It can be installed on supported devices, which are great gifts for high threat model people.
Safes
Safes are a secure box to store sensitive items. I shouldn't need to explain why this is a good idea.
Security seals
Security seals are a special type of sticker that makes it very clear if the seal has ever been broken. This is useful to place on the case of computers or other containers that shouldn't be opened often.
Security tokens
Security tokens are hardware devices used to authenticate accounts at a hardware level. When setup correctly, they are one of the most secure way to login. The most popular open source options are:
- Nitrokey
- OnlyKey
- SoloKeys
Smartphones
GrapheneOS is the most private and secure operating system available. They recently announced that they are partnering with an OEM to manufacture devices designed for GrapheneOS. However, until that device is made available, Google Pixels are still the only device GrapheneOS can be installed on.
USB flash drives
USB flash drives are the unsung heroes for so many areas of privacy. Whether it be installing operating systems such as Qubes OS and Tails, or creating offline Seedvault backups for GrapheneOS, USB flash drives have a multitude of uses. Just remember: it's better to have many, smaller USB flash drives than one, large USB flash drive.
Wi-Fi hotspots
Wi-Fi hotspots are (for privacy use-cases) hardware devices that allow connecting devices to the cellular network in a much more private way. The best one that supports an excellent privacy organization is the Calyx Internet Membership.
Wired headphones
Wired headphones not only provide higher quality audio output, but they also avoid the history of security issues with Bluetooth and the surveillance capitalism that comes with Bluetooth Low Energy beacons. Which type of wired headphones you gift depends on a lot of factors, but one that pairs nicely with Google Pixels are the Pixel USB-C earbuds sold by Google themselves.
Wireless routers
Wireless routers often leak everything sent through them. For that reason, custom software such as OpenWrt was designed to replace the privacy invasive software preinstalled on routers. OpenWrt also created their own router called the OpenWrt One. Earlier this year, they announced that they would be creating a new router called the OpenWrt Two. It hasn't come out yet, but maybe it will be on the list next year.
Conclusion
There is no shortage of privacy tech. The same technology that empowers privacy is the thin veil slowing down the world from its dystopian target. Giving the gift of privacy means giving the gift of a better future for those of us fighting on the front lines.
Lack-of-AI notice
I’ve been burned before, so I always try to mention that none of my content is AI generated. It isn’t even AI assisted. Just because something is comprehensive and well-structured does not make it AI generated. Every word I write is my own. Thank you for your understanding.
peripheral device used to gain access to an electronically restricted resource
Contributors to Wikimedia projects (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.)Gift ideas for a privacy enthusiast
Happy Christmas and Merry Hanuka!If you're struggling to find something to buy your privacy enthusiast friend for the holidays, I have some gift ideas. As with any gift, not everyone will need these, but it can give you a good idea of what to look for. Feel free to submit your own suggestions, as well!
No affiliate links, no sponsors, no favorites. All prices are in USD. If a price is something like "$X.99" or "$X.49" or "$X39" I have rounded it up by one digit.
Subscriptions
Some privacy tools come at a cost, and not all open source software can be used for free!Addy.io
Addy.io is an email aliasing service.Lite: $1 / month
Pro: $3 / month
Bitwarden
Bitwarden is a cloud-synced password manager.Personal Premium: $10 / year
Personal Families: $40 / year
Business Teams: $48 / user / year
Business Enterprise: $72 / user / year
Calyx Institute Internet Membership
The Calyx Institute Internet Membership provides you with a privacy respecting cellular hotspot.Contributor Yearly: $500 / year for first year, $400 / year thereafter
Contributor Quarterly: $150 / 3 months
Contributor Plus: $600 / year for first year, $500 / year thereafter
Sustainer Yearly: $750 / year for first year, $500 / year thereafter
Sustainer Quarterly: $175 / 3 months
JMP
JMP is an open source phone number provider.Plan (USD): $5 / month + additional usage costs
Mullvad VPN
Mullvad VPN is a virtual private network.1 month: $5.28 / month
Physical vouchers are also available through resellers.
MySudo (PROPRIETARY)
MySudo is a proprietary aliasing software. I could not find any open source option for aliasing phone numbers, especially this cheap.SudoGo: $1 / month or $10 / year
SudoPro: $5 / month or $50 / year
SudoMax: $15 / month or $150 / year
Privacy.com (PROPRIETARY)
Privacy.com is a proprietary financial transaction masking and aliasing tool. There are other options such as Revolut (open source), but Privacy.com seems to be the one that works best in the United States. Consider your threat model while using these tools.Plus: $5 / month
Pro: $10 / month
Premium: $25 / month
Proton
Proton is a software suite that includes email, VPN, cloud storage, password manager, calendar, and wallet. Their pricing is extremely convoluted and difficult to navigate.Pricing
Proton Unlimited 1 month: $13 / month
Proton Unlimited 12 months: $10 / month
Proton Duo: $15 / month
Proton Family: $24 / month
Mail Plus 1 month: $5 / month
Mail Plus 12 months: $4 / month
Drive Plus Monthly: $5 / month
Drive Plus Yearly: $4 / month
Proton VPN Plus 1-month plan: $10 / month
Proton VPN Plus 1-year plan: $5 / month
Proton VPN Plus 2-year plan: $4.50 / month
Pass Plus Monthly: $5 / month
Pass Plus Yearly: $3 / month
Proton Business Suite Monthly: $15 / user / month
Proton Business Suite Yearly: $13 / user / month
Mail Essentials Monthly: $8 / user / month
Mail Essentials Yearly: $7 / user / month
Mail Professional Monthly: $11 / user / month
Mail Professional Yearly: $10 / user / month
VPN Essentials Monthly: $9 / user / month
VPN Essentials Yearly: $7 / user / month
VPN Professional Monthly: $12 / user / month
VPN Professional Yearly: $10 / user / month
Pass Essentials Monthly: $5 / user / month
Pass Essentials Yearly: $2 / user / month
Pass Professional Monthly: $7 / user / month
Pass Professional Yearly: $3 / user / month
Drive Professional Monthly: $10 / user / month
Drive Professional Yearly: $6 / user / month
Hardware
Not everything is digital. Hardware is the foundation for privacy, after all!Dumb Television
Smart TVs are so last century... and this century... and the next century... Enjoy the luxury of buying a "dumb TV" while it lasts, because your TV doesn't need to spy on you! There's no best option here. You might need to purchase a large monitor instead of a TV.Google Pixel
Google Pixel phones are one of the most secure devices, especially when you run a security/privacy focused custom Android distribution such as GrapheneOS. Other phones exist for this category, but the Google Pixel is a good baseline. Prices here are based on what are actively being sold on Google's own website.Some things to look out for when installing a custom Android distribution:
- Make sure the custom Android distribution you want to install supports being installed on the device you get. GrapheneOS, for example, only supports Google devices.
- Make sure the device you purchase allows unlocking the bootloader.
- Make sure the custom Android distribution you want to install supports locking the bootloader after installation for the device you get. Some devices do not allow relocking the bootloader, and in some cases this can brick the device. Google Pixels generally have the best support for this.
- Make sure the device you purchase is carrier unlocked or the carrier allows OEM unlocking/bootloader unlocking. Some carriers (most notoriously Verizon) will disable this functionality to maintain a monopoly and will refuse to lift the restriction. Second hand sellers are often unaware of this and will mistakenly list the device as "carrier unlocked" when it is in fact not.
Pricing
Refurbished Pixel 6 128GB: $340
Refurbished Pixel 6 256GB: $390
Refurbished Pixel 6 Pro 128GB: $540
Refurbished Pixel 6a: $250
Refurbished Pixel 7 128GB: $430
Refurbished Pixel 7 256GB: $480
Refurbished Pixel 7 Pro 128GB: $630
Refurbished Pixel 7 Pro 256GB: $680
Refurbished Pixel 7 Pro 512GB: $780
Pixel 7a: $500
Pixel 8 128GB: $700
Pixel 8 256GB: $760
Pixel 8 Pro 128GB: $1,000
Pixel 8 Pro 256GB: $1,060
Pixel 8 Pro 512GB: $1,180
Pixel 8 Pro 1TB: $1,400
Pixel 8a 128GB: $400
Pixel 8a 256GB: $460
Pixel 9 128GB: $650
Pixel 9 256GB: $750
Pixel 9 Pro 128GB: $850
Pixel 9 Pro 256GB: $950
Pixel 9 Pro 512GB: $1,070
Pixel 9 Pro 1TB: $1,300
Pixel 9 Pro XL 128GB: $950
Pixel 9 Pro XL 256GB: $1,050
Pixel 9 Pro XL 512GB: $1,170
Pixel 9 Pro XL 1TB: $1,400
Pixel 9 Pro Fold 256GB: $1,500
Pixel 9 Pro Fold 512GB: $1,620
OpenWrt One
OpenWrt One is the first router designed specifically to run OpenWrt. It's not the only supported device, and there are other open source router firmware projects, but this is a good out-of-the-box choice.Pricing
This can currently only be purchased from unofficial resellers for $90.
Qubes OS certified hardware
Qubes OS is likely the most hardened Linux distro available. They have their own list of certified hardware that comes with Qubes OS preinstalled. Those devices aren't the only ones capable of running Qubes OS. You can also check out the Hardware compatibility list and Community-recommended computers. These computers can run more than just Qubes OS, but if it's good enough to be certified by them, it will likely run anything else just as securely!Pricing
NitroPad V56: Lowest $1,565.58
NovaCustom V56 Series 16.0 inch coreboot laptop: Lowest $1,256.40
NitroPC Pro 2: Lowest $1,614.73
Star Labs StarBook: Lowest $863.00
NitroPC Pro: Lowest $1,614.91
NovaCustom NV41 Series Lowest $930.60
Dasharo FidelisGuard Z690: Lowest $994.28
NitroPad T430: Lowest $737.79
NitroPad X230: Lowest $737.79
Insurgo PrivacyBeast X230: $1,341.46
Raspberry Pi
Raspberry Pis are miniature computers that are very useful for setting up proxy servers.There's endless configurations, but the most recent Raspberry Pi model is the Raspberry Pi 5. There are multiple resellers of this, and the cheapest one is the $50 Raspberry Pi 5 2GB
Self-hosting hardware
A privacy enthusiast's best tool is being able to self-host certain things. There is no single device to self-host, but some ideas are:
- A server rack for general self-hosting
- A powerful GPU for self-hosting AI
- A self-hosted home automation kit
Hardware Accessories
What is a piece of hardware without a few accessories? Modularity is always a benefit of modern technology.Camera covers
From laptops to webcams to phones, cameras are everywhere. If you don't fully trust the device you use and want some peace of mind, having an accessory to obscure the lenses of your cameras is a good thing to have. There are lots of options here depending on which camera you want to cover. Some phone cases even offer a sliding camera cover.CD/DVD/Blue-ray drives
Some CD/DVD/Blue-ray drives can allow you to preserve the physical DVDs that you have bought and paid for, that may soon be end-of-life. These devices allow you to read the contents of the disk, and save a digital copy of it for archival purposes. There is no best-option here, so look around to find one that fits.Data storage devices
Data storage devices are useful for many things such as backups, installing operating systems, booting live operating systems, data transfer, and more. The market here is huge and convoluted, so learn about different types of drives, different connectors, different connector versions (such as USB), etc. before making an educated decision.Hardware security keys
Hardware security keys allow your accounts to be locked with a physical form of multi-factor authentication. Many organizations sell these, and some of them even provide open source hardware/software. Here are a few common brands:Microphone blocker
Microphone blockers come in all shapes and sizes, but they all serve the same function: making sure your microphone is not able to hear anything. The effectiveness of some of these are debatable, given that most phones have multiple microphones, but it can be a fun gift nonetheless.Privacy screen protector
Privacy screen protectors are films that you apply over your screens to restrict viewing angles. This means that if someone were to look at your phone while standing next to you, they likely wouldn't be able to see what you're doing. These screen protectors are also available for laptops, smart watches, and other screens.When buying these, make sure of the following:
- The screen protector supports fingerprint unlock for relevant devices.
- The screen protector actually works well.
- The screen protector will actually protect the device as a screen protector.
- The screen protector fits correctly for the device you're getting.
- The cameras will still work after the screen protector is applied to relevant devices.Wired headphones
Bluetooth can pose a privacy risk, and that is especially true when you need to play sensitive audio. One time I was in a hallway with my Bluetooth earbuds in, connected to my phone but not playing anything, when suddenly I heard a grainy piano song. My phone wasn't playing anything, and eventually the music just cut out. To this day I have no idea how it happened, but it does mean you should be careful with wireless headphones.Wires can be annoying, but being able to fully turn off Bluetooth can give you peace of mind knowing that your audio stays inside the wire. Having high quality wired headphones can be a blessing, and even provide a better listening experience. It's worth looking at many brands, but Google still sells USB-C wired earphones and headphones from a few different brands. Here are a few:
Google Pixel USB-C™ earbuds: $30
AIAIAI Pipe 2.0 USB-C Earphones: $40
AIAIAI Tracks 2.0 Headphones: $60
Currency
Anonymous payments are growing more and more difficult, so if you aren't sure what to buy, these are well appreciated options.Cash
Cash is one of the most anonymous methods of payment, and can be a privacy enthusiast's gold. Multiple small bills ($1, $5, etc.) are appreciated more than a few large bills ($20, $50, etc.) because many places do not accept cash in large bills. You can also gift some rare or interesting cash, such as $2 bills, half dollars, silver dollars, dollar coins, etc.Cryptocurrency
Getting cryptocurrency, especially anonymously, can be a long and painful process. If you are comfortable setting it up, this is a huge time saver and a great gift. Monero is generally considered the most private cryptocurrency, so that's a better choice than other cryptocurrencies. However, Bitcoin is the most popular and most widely accepted, even though it isn't very private. Try to obtain these through anonymous means such as using cash at cryptocurrency ATMs that may be in your city.Prepaid cards
There's usually no option to pay in cash online, but there are ways around this. If you buy gift cards or prepaid VISA cards with cash, it can be almost as anonymous as cash itself. Some good choices may include:
- Amazon Gift Cards: Amazon is very hard to use privately, but this can help significantly.
- Google Play Gift Cards: Google Play is one of the most secure ways of installing apps, but not all of them are free. Google Play gift cards can allow you to pay for apps anonymously, so you can maintain your security.
- Visa Prepaid Card: This is a catch-all solution for when there's no specific gift card available.
Physical Items
As with hardware, not everything needs to be digital. There are plenty of items that are cheaper and good for almost anyone.Books
eBooks are a marvel, but they come with complications. Sometimes the formatting isn't right, sometimes you can't get them anonymously, and you need a device to even view it. If the digital apocalypse ever happens, the only way to access information will be through books. No ads, no eye strain. A good privacy related book you could buy is Michael Bazzell's Extreme Privacy: What It Takes to DisappearCalendar
Digital calendars can be convenient, but not always safe. Anything digital can risk being remotely accessed or spied on. Having a physical calendar means you can have the benefits of a calendar, without the need for a digital device. Plus, it comes with pictures that you get to pick.DVDs
Best paired with a DVD ripper, having physical copies of movies and games means no company can take it away from you with the push of a button. You have no ads, use no internet, no subscriptions, and have full quality.Faraday bags
Faraday bags and pouches are containers for your devices that block all incoming and outgoing signals. That means anything that goes inside of it will have no Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, NFC, etc. This is useful if you want to make sure your device isn't phoning home. This is an item that you may want to spend extra on, because lower quality ones can still leak radio signals.Merchandise
Privacy themed merchandise can be a good way to show that you care about privacy and to help spread it. You can find privacy merch anywhere, but NBTV (a privacy YouTuber) has a good selection of products: shop.nbtv.media/en-usd/Monerochan my beloved
Notebooks
Having everything in a digital notes app can be nice or convenient, but I much prefer to write a lot of things down in a physical notebook. From diaries to sketches, it's nice to take a break from your digital life to jot down some ideas, privately.Paper shredder
When you have sensitive documents that you need discarded, one of the best ways is a paper shredder. If you buy one of these, the best ones are ones that dice the paper or burn it entirely. Even those small squares can be pieced together again.Safes and lockboxes
Speaking of sensitive documents, where do you store those? A good place to store sensitive documents is in a safe or a lockbox. From government documents to your best ideas, they deserve to stay (in a) safe. It's good to make sure you buy a fireproof safe, just in case Fahrenheit 451 becomes more of a reality.Surveillance camera jackets
As the looming threat of widespread AI surveillance comes closer, defenses against them grow stronger. Generally, you have two options:
- A jacket that fights AI recognition
- A jacket that blinds cameras entirely
These can be expensive and hard to find, but the best way to fight surveillance.
Ending notes
Thank you all for reading this! I hope it helps you find a gift for a privacy enthusiast you can't think of a gift idea for. You don't have to buy the exact things listed here, but it gives you a general outline with ideas. I know there are some great gift ideas I missed here, so please leave them in the comments to help out others!Merry Christmas, Happy Hanuka, and have a nice day!
- The 8232 Project
Real-Life 'Invisibility Cloak' Stops AI Cameras From Recognizing People
Scientists have developed a real-life "invisibility cloak" that tricks AI cameras and stops them from recognizing people.Pesala Bandara (PetaPixel)
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giantpaper, Maeve e dflemstr like this.
a balaclava to be anonymous?!
which city let's you walk around with a balaclava?
Now, eating a meal at a restaurant or spending an extended time indoors like that would be a little out of place.
The worst that can happen is you get escorted out if the location is really stingy. As long as you can deal with social pressure (it helps that nobody will know who you are) you should be fine.
Are you suggesting it's literally illegal to walk around with a barclava in your city?
☞ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_b…
The French ban on face covering is the result of an act of parliament passed in 2010 banning the wearing of face-covering headgear, including masks, helmets, balaclavas, niqābs and other veils covering the face, and full body costumes and zentais (skin-tight garments covering entire body) in public places, except under specified circumstances.
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Maeve likes this.
KZ are great value for money - I’m not affiliated with them or anything.
webcam covers? Hard wired keyboards?
and for power cables, why not a power bank? put the power bank between the "power station" and the device you're powering and you're good
nitecore makes some awesome power banks
webcam covers?
I already included this under accessories.
Hard wired keyboards?
Wired keyboards are far more commonly used than wireless keyboards.
and for power cables, why not a power bank? put the power bank between the “power station” and the device you’re powering and you’re good
That is one workaround, but you end up carrying cables anyways. Sometimes you may need to loan your cable to someone else, or need precise wattage.
Even still, you're coming up with gift ideas, which is the goal of this post 😀
Sometimes you may need to loan your cable to someone else, or need precise wattage.
most of the power banks nitecore makes have regulation in them that auto-lowers to a slow charge when it's needed for smaller devices
Wired keyboards are far more commonly used than wireless keyboards.
I wouldn't be so sure of that, I've seen lots of people with wireless keyboards. even bluetooth keyboards which are even easier to eavesdrop on
unfortunately yes, nobody even knows the difference between the snowden leaks and wikileaks
no one even knows who Edward Snowden is or what he did except for the people he was trying to expose
look up interviews with random people on the street.
No one knows anything about the Snowden leaks except for people that would end up on a platform like this
Other than that, great list, thanks for the contribution
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Maeve likes this.
Supernote is an eNotebook and is writing focused rather than book focused, but it uses a stripped down fork of android and you can easily side load other android apps onto it including e.g. F-droid. You can use it without an account and with no network connectivity (loading content via USB), or your choice of cloud providers, including recently self-hosted storage.
I mostly read library books so unfortunately I have to go through Kindle, but you can use the Kindle app on the device and it works pretty well. Not as many features as a dedicated device, but the basics work great.
Major caveat: it's not backlit so you need a book light/lamp/headlamp, which is a big pain.
I’ve decided to make a rule this year: only physical items. You can’t put a subscription under the tree.
Fantastic list, thank you so much!
I saved your post and will be using it as my reference; this is a better list than I made for myself. Albeit I already follow most of your recommendations:
- Is there a reason why you don’t have YubiKey on your list?
I didn’t like it at first but now I highly recommend it. - What about the Camera Shy Hoodie?
I know it’s DIY but IMO there are people here that might be willing to make it themselves.
Those Reflectacles are a bit expensive so they’re already on my wishlist! I also saved this:
7 Privacy Garments That Block Surveillance Cameras
You rock, Charger8232! Thanks again!
EDIT: I forgot about Zenni glasses:
EyeQLenz and Zenni ID Guard™ are designed to reflect signals to help disrupt unwanted tracking under certain conditions. Results may vary due to recognition technology and environmental factors. Zenni does not guarantee that its products provide anonymity or total protection from surveillance and biometric identification.
7 Privacy Garments That Block Surveillance Cameras - surveillancefashion.com
Observe the cutting-edge privacy garments designed to thwart surveillance cameras—discover how these innovative fashions can protect your anonymity in a watchful world.Ava (surveillancefashion.com)
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Maeve likes this.
Is there a reason why you don’t have YubiKey on your list
I don't buy them because yubico is american. Nitrokey is a German alternative, been really happy with mine so far.
Fantastic list, thank you so much!
You're welcome! I'm glad I could help.
I saved your post and will be using it as my reference; this is a better list than I made for myself.
Thank you! I'm glad you can give the gift of privacy.
Albeit I already follow most of your recommendations
If you have any questions about my recommendations in other posts, I'd be happy to answer them too!
- Is there a reason why you don’t have YubiKey on your list?
I didn’t like it at first but now I highly recommend it.
I recommended them last year, but YubiKeys use proprietary hardware and software. I wanted to avoid that this year.
- What about the Camera Shy Hoodie?
I know it’s DIY but IMO there are people here that might be willing to make it themselves.
I also included that last year, and I mentioned this year that those can be uniquely identifying, so it's sometimes better not to have it. Your anonymous dress can, ironically, deanonymize you.
I also saved this:
7 Privacy Garments That Block Surveillance Cameras
All of the images there are AI generated. I would take that article with a grain of salt.
You rock, Charger8232! Thanks again!
Thank you!
EDIT: I forgot about Zenni glasses:
EyeQLenz and Zenni ID Guard™ are designed to reflect signals to help disrupt unwanted tracking under certain conditions. Results may vary due to recognition technology and environmental factors. Zenni does not guarantee that its products provide anonymity or total protection from surveillance and biometric identification.
I don't see any benefit of those over Reflectacles. Plus, their website has a few privacy issues. It doesn't seem like something to support for privacy when there are better options available.
7 Privacy Garments That Block Surveillance Cameras - surveillancefashion.com
Observe the cutting-edge privacy garments designed to thwart surveillance cameras—discover how these innovative fashions can protect your anonymity in a watchful world.Ava (surveillancefashion.com)
I came here to mention pen and paper which is what I use for privacy reason... A bit like I moved back to print from ebooks (full privacy and full ownership of the books I purchase).
Since you already mention paper, allow me to suggest another gift idea that relates to it: a nice fountain pen and/or a nice mechanical pencil.
Why a pencil or a fountain pen and not a ballpoint? Pencil (mechanical or not) and fountain pens are the exact opposite of the ballpoint pen: unlike the ballpoint pen they require no force to be used. Meaning you don't need to hold them firmly (no death grip) and the hand barely needs to guide them while the tip of the lead (or the nib) gently slides on the sheet of paper. Which means there is a lot less fatigue and you will have the ability to write for a lot longer and, maybe, to write nicer thx to having a prettier handwriting (no guarantee about that last part: my handwriting is and always was atrocious ;)
A few considerations regarding fountain pens:
- Fountain pen can (will) be messy. They regularly need to be filled with ink (aka, staining fingers) and only using ink made for fountain pens (don't use India ink in a fountain pen, ever). They can also be very fragile (not all of them, but they're all more fragile than a ballpoint pen if only because of the nib)
- Most people think fountain pens are expensive/overpriced collectibles, that are way too expensive to carry around everyday... and they're not entirely wrong. Too many fountain pens are just that: expensive collectibles. But not all of them as some companies still makes fountain pens that are meant to be used instead of being exposed. Here are the two I use almost daily:
Lamy Safari (~25€) Originally dating back to the 80s, they were designed in Germany to help children learn proper handwriting. So, not only are they great for beginner (and advanced) fountain pen users but they're also very sturdy and easy to fix. They also have a unique design (that I love ;)).
Platinum Preppy (~6€). They look like nothing (any cheapo gel pen) but they're amazing.
25€ may still sound expensive compared to a pencil but to give you an idea: my oldest Lamy safari that I purchased in the late 80s still works perfectly fine today. Some 40+ years later. Also, 3 or 4 years ago, I contacted Lamy customer support after I damaged one of my Lamy while cleaning it (100% my mistake) and they send me a replacement part for free... The pen was was 15 or 16 years old. - When buying a fountain pen you need to pay attention to the type of nib (which, for cheaper models, like our Lamy Safari and Platinum Preppy only means considering the thickness you prefer: fatter or thinner line, ranging from EF (extrafine) to B(road), but on more expensive model you will also need to consider the 'springiness' of the nib, its softness which can make a pen absolutely unique and wonderful to use). As a general rules, for a same nib, German brands (Lamy) will have a slightly larger nib than their Japanese counterparts (Platinum Preppy). So you know ;)
And now for mechanical pencils:
- Why not just a wooden pencil? They're great and can be cheap, sure. I use them very often but when you constantly need to sharpen it this can quickly become a pain in the... (it also creates a lot of mess you may not want to deal with when outside or not at your desk). On the other hand, mechanical pencils need no sharpening and they also are more comfortable (they never become tiny to the point of being hard to write with, since its only the lead that wears out not the body containing it) ;)
- Mechanical pencils comes in various lead width/ From ~0.2 to 3mm. The larger the lead, the fatter it will write but also to stronger it will will be. If you have a small handwriting, avoid the larger ones. A good compromise is 0.7mm. If you have real small writing, go for 0.5. If you write using a microscope, go for smaller but beware they will be fragile.
- Like wooden pencils, mechanical pencil leads are available in various grades of hardness from H(ard) to B(old) (with HB being the 'average': 6H, 4H, 2H, HB (aka "#2", in the US) 2B, 4B, etc.). It means how soft the lead is. The softer (higher B) the darker the line on the paper but also the quicker that lead will wear out and the more likely it will smear if you touch the paper. The default HB is a good starting point, though but don't be afraid to experiment as it can change a lot (for writing as well as for sketching I much prefer 2B, and can even use 4B only for sketching though).
- There are many brands and many models available. Like with fountain pens, some models can be real fancy and expensive. To any beginner, I would suggest to steer away from those fancy and expensive models because, well, as a beginner you don't know how much you will like any of them and it's probably a waste of money: wait after you get some practice to try fancier models. Maybe avoid the the most complex and the metal body ones as they will weight more, which may not be what you need from your EDC mechanical pencil.
The cheapest of them all and also really excellent model would be a pack of Bic 0.7mm. They cost a few cents each, in a pack of ten. They do look like the cheap plastic pencils they are but they still work very well and very reliably. Btw, unlike what too many people seem to believe those plastic Bic can (easily) be refilled and there is no reason to throw them away when you finished the included leads: just remove the little eraser, fill in a couple new leads through the hole, put the eraser back and you're ready to write!
A little less cheap but still cheap and already a lot nicer check online (Amazon, and so on) for the brand 'Four Candies' mechanical pencils. They sell really nice sets , their pencils are available in (pastel colored) plastic or in (brighter) metal. They come with all you will need for a long time (a lot of spare leads, & erasers). The plastic ones are really light (they have my preference for that reason alone, as my edc when I don't use a Bic pencil). They are also very well made.
Well, that's about it... My apologies for such a long comment, I hope it's ok ;)
FWIW before whine about the lack of editing or digitization : take of photo of the result on your phone, auto-upload to your desktop or even server and voila, a proper process to have your cake and eat it too.
I very often take a basic A4 piece of paper, or even a napkin, whatever is around really, then sketch to summarize a complex situation, snap a pic and send it to myself. Amazing way to think, very flexible and intuitive, at basically no cost and entirely private. Sure you still have to re-draw it after, IF you want to, but typically the idea itself is already on a substrate, maybe that's enough. If you want to edit it... guess what, you can edit the photo itself, no need to vectorize it first. Paper is great.
Naaaah, I barely scratched the surface of it 😛
Picking up the right writing device and learning to use it properly oftentimes will make the difference between realizing how powerful writing is as a tool, or endlessly suffering through it, and maybe hating it. Alas, in that field like in so many others, schools seem to have given up on teaching kids much, if anything.
Which is terribly unfair to those kids, if you're asking me: being able to (comfortably) write longhand, to be able to communicate one's thoughts and ideas (while at the same time not having to rely on high tech)
and to be able to communicate in full privacy. That's priceless. It also feels great and it can be real fun, but that's just my personal opinion ;)
Pretty much all open hardware devices should be on such a list, e.g.
- NitroKey for both authentication tokens and storage (of e.g ssh keys)
- PGB-1 (based on RP2040) or Haxophone (based on RPi Zero) for music
- Precursor for token and dev (via its own FPGA)
so check CrowdSupply for more of such things.
I'd also add reMarkable. Sure you can use their cloud but you do NOT have to. It means you have your own Linux e-reader but also sketchpad entirely offline. You can work and sync with ssh or rsync and even setup your own cloud, cf github.com/ddvk/rmfakecloud . If you want something more open from the start check the PineNote but it's harder to get and you have to tinker a bit more.
GitHub - ddvk/rmfakecloud: host your own cloud for the remarkable
host your own cloud for the remarkable. Contribute to ddvk/rmfakecloud development by creating an account on GitHub.GitHub
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I recognise that ReMarkable is top tier rn for eReading, but £350 is uncomfortably high for me. Roughly 50 physical books' worth before buying any books.
Worth it if you have the money to spare.
reMarkable isn't about replacing books. You can have a PocketBook with KOReader for 120EUR. It's not a price per book comparison, IMHO it's a price per sketch and thus ideas, work, presentations, etc because that's where reMarkable is unique, low latency e-ink writing.
For "just" reading there are plenty of alternatives, including cheaper alternatives.
Perhaps a short section about how to purchase items without giving up PII could be added.
I would hate it if someone bought me a gift from Amazon and had it sent to my home as a gift. Now Amazon has my home address.
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Honestly, all the open source privacy hardware on CrowdSupply is worth including:
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Report: Dublin to drop motion to remove former Israeli president's name from city park
The Dublin city council is expected to withdraw a proposal to remove the name of a former Israeli president from a local city park, Raidió Teilifís Éireann reported.
According to Ireland's National Television and Radio Broadcaster, Dublin Mayor Ray McAdam said the motion to rename Herzog Park didn't contain enough information for an "informed decision," adding that, "there is not a procedure" in place to complete it.
McAdam reportedly added that the motion will be withdrawn due to legal "question marks," adding that he personally didn't think it was "appropriate or right to look to rename Herzog Park."
The contenders for a new name for the park included "Free Palestine Park," "Palestine Park" and "Gaza Park."
NixOS 25.11 released | Blog | Nix & NixOS
NixOS 25.11 released | Blog | Nix & NixOS
Nix is a tool that takes a unique approach to package management and system configuration. Learn how to make reproducible, declarative and reliable systems.nixos.org
Waiting some weeks for uncaught bugs to be ironed out might be advisable if you still have limited debugging capabilities.
Otherwise, you can always nixos-rebuild build-vm using the new release channel and see whether it breaks anything you depend on.
My experience is that it probably won't. My past few years of updating my server from one stable release to the next were, in one word, boring. Some renames, deprecations etc. with clear errors/warnings to fix at eval time but nothing that actually broke once it was built and deployed.
The Trump administration keeps cancelling key economic reports - people are concerned
The Trump administration keeps cancelling key economic reports and everyone is suspicious
The Donald Trump administration keeps cancelling key economic reports and everyone is concerned.On Monday (24 November), the US Bureau of Economic Analysis cancelled the release of its growth estimate report for the third-quarter GDP.Ellie Abraham (indy100)
Mega-thread of Palestine, climate, and labor protests around the globe - Nov. 30
Mega-thread of Palestine, climate, and labor protests around the globe - Nov. 30from MiniMia (who was arrested, need to find out more about that.)
syzito.xyz/@fkamiah17/11563734…
#FreePalestine
#Palestine #LaborSolidarity #EndFossilFuels #news #politics #USpol #UKSpol #ClimateAction
Well, there's been a hella lot of protest action around the globe while I was getting arrested, so here goes ...As part of the We Ain't Buying It campaign, activist carolers picketed branches of Home Depot in protest at their cooperation with ICE.
1/
#SolidarityIsBeautiful #GlobaliseTheIntifada #USPolitics #FuckICE
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Mega-thread of Palestine, climate, and labor protests around the globe - Nov. 30
Mega-thread of Palestine, climate, and labor protests around the globe - Nov. 30from MiniMia (who was arrested, need to find out more about that.)
syzito.xyz/@fkamiah17/11563734…
#FreePalestine
#Palestine #LaborSolidarity #EndFossilFuels #news #politics #USpol #UKSpol #ClimateAction
Mastodon server hosted in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Mastodon server hosted in Copenhagen, Denmark, by a dane. All languages are welcome, Federated with other Danish servers. Focus on safety, transparency and security.Mastodon hosted on expressional.social
Well, there's been a hella lot of protest action around the globe while I was getting arrested, so here goes ...As part of the We Ain't Buying It campaign, activist carolers picketed branches of Home Depot in protest at their cooperation with ICE.
1/
#SolidarityIsBeautiful #GlobaliseTheIntifada #USPolitics #FuckICE
He's right in that the hatred and oppression of the outgroups has been exported to the third world. But this is not quite the same purpose that the outgroup served under Nazi Germany. The outgroup served some material benefit in work camps during the war but this was not it's main purpose.
The main purpose was to direct the failures of capitalism to a scapegoat. To unite the nation under fascism and nationalism so that as the material conditions of the working class continued to decline the hatred would further be directed at that group.
And, while the US is definitely directing it's xenophobia in a way similar to this, it is not being done by the same group that wants healthcare and high speed rail. The group that wants healthcare and high speed rail barely has any influence in American politics.
I think BE has this take because he spends far too much time arguing with liberals that have no understanding of Imperialism but do want "better things and not worse things" and so attracted to DSA candidates and that movement.
There is no class consciousness in the US. And BE keeps arguing for a new political party while at the same time criticizing an organization who's main material benefit is not in electoral politics. DSA is a stepping stone for education. It is not that movement. If you're reading this and at all think you are a leftist, then chances are, you started that journey with Bernie in 2016. Bernie is a SocDem Zionist. He's not what we want. But he was a stepping stone for many people that grew up in their politics to realize that "the left" is not the Democratic party at all.
It's why he doesn't talk about PSL at all but spends all day critizing DSA. If he promoted PSL instead of DSA I would take his criticism more seriously. If he was offering an alternative I would take his criticism more seriously. He has good criticism that a lot of leftist will nod their head and agree with. BUT, he is serving the purpose of inaction. He is giving leftist a place to reasonably decide to just not do anything and maintain their doomerism. Whether this is his intention or not really doesn't matter. Whether he sometimes mentions vaguely what should be done instead does not matter. His viewers are consuming his content to serve the rational of their own inaction.
PSL is essentially exactly what he wants people to be doing. They focus on material support and improvement at the community level and run political candidates as a means of exposure. But I don't think he actually cares. I think he enjoys being critical more than he enjoys being helpful. If he wanted to be helpful he'd offer analysis on why DSA is able to get mass political exposure by running political candidates and why PSL fails to do so. That would be a good video and would better serve to introduce his viewers to an alternative.
PSL needs more leftist. But we're not getting any more of you showing up because you watched a BE video criticizing DSA. You know you just sit at home instead.
If he wanted to be helpful he’d offer analysis on why DSA is able to get mass political exposure by running political candidates and why PSL fails to do so.
He does though. It's because the DSA is part of the DNC and they work with the same DNC consultants. The DSA poses no threat to the duopoly because it's part of it.
If you want a hillarious 1:30 hour debate with a DSA member I recommend this youtu.be/tQJqyrb7vFk. Watch a few minutes of the start of the debate and then skip to the middle for the content
He does not and has not actually talked about PSL or anything outside of the electoral politics of DSA. He literally only mentions them in the context of the electoral politics. Nothing else.
I think the fact that people think the debate was "hilarious" is more telling of the people that enjoy BEs content for that type of slop. The DSA guy was literally just a normal guy talking to someone that spends their life critizing people online. No normal person is going to moved to the left if every leftist they meet acted like BE. I'm sorry, that's just the world we live in.
It's the same reason why when BE talked with Hasan on Noah's Livestream he spent the whole time agreeing with Hasan and backpedaling on a lot of his criticism. He has some good criticisms of DSA. But even in that debate when the DSA member brings up PSL BE does not even recognize it. Like, I don't think he actually has a good idea of what these organizations like PSL and DSA are actually doing outside of their electoral politics. And he either completely avoided talking about PSL or literally didn't even know what the DSA guy was talking about. Either way, he's not someone to get a good takes from for leftist organizations in the US. He's great on other things. Especially his old content. His video on the American genocide of natives as a blueprint for Hitler. That video was absolutely top tier.
But he just does not care to talk about organizing outside of criticism of electoral politics. He will gesture to it as a "do more" statement. But that's not at all the purpose of his content or what people get out of it.
Every time the DSA guy tried to point to anything outside of electoral politics BE would literally just redirect it back to it; and mock any local organizing as "book clubs". He understands Imperialism, he understands history, he is great at many things. But as far as useful criticism of leftist organizations; he's essentially acting as a doomer with very little constructive advice.
I partially agree. Orgs like PSL or Greens do indeed offer alternatives and he doesn't talk about those much. Even indepedents like Kshama Sawant don't get any mention. In that you're completely right.
But his criticism of DSA remains completely valid. It serves as a limited hangout to prevent people from joining other organizations and is designed to not get anything done. When he calls the DSA a book club he's not exaggerating and he gives plenty of good examples.
Local organizing is irrelevant when the organisation refuses to use power when it has it.
What example of the DSA having power and refusing to use it are you referring to? I would not say any single candidate that came from the DSA being elected and captured by the Democratic party is an example of the organization.
The idea that a candidate like Mamdani will not "play ball" once elected to do everything they can to get the bare minimum of their policy implemented is silly. No one with a brain isn't expecting this. His goal is some form of positive material changes for those he represents. The point is to associate the left with material changes that improve people's lives. That's all electoral politics under a bourgeoise dictatorship will ever be.
For someone that should understand the limitations of electoral politics under a "liberal democracy" (something BE should know) he is absolutely obsessed with only looking at American leftist through that lense.
And it's just the result of him being a content creator. He is focused, ironically, on the liberal idea of activism because that's the view that most Americans (even so called leftist) view the lense of change from. Which is just not Marxist in its analysis in the slightest. Which is not something I think BE has ever claimed to be. But he seems to have captured a group of leftist that seem to think he is.
The DSA is probably at its most powerful moment ever right now... So they have decided to endorse DNC establishment ghoul Hakeem Jeffries instead of his DSA challenger Chi Osse.
BE also doesn't tell Americans everything should be solved through electoralism
"I want my workplace to have better working conditions"
"Fucking Nazi!"
lol
To finance the free busses.
Do you think the West did slavery because it was fun or something? Exploiting others is massively profiteable.
Just logging that I don't think sharing random takes by internet people is a great use of this comm. I appreciate the one large post of analysis in the comments, but I'm not convinced people are making it here (7 upvotes vs 99 on the OP atow), and I'm not sure sharing the short take to vaguely dunk or vibe with is useful.
I'm considering blocking the OP to improve my feed (just to match content I want; this is certainly not report worthy), but would appreciate hearing others reasons for wanting to see this post first.
Even this framing sanewashes the Nazis.
The actual Nazi party delivered none of this while gutting government services and selling services (like the post office) off to the lowest bidder.
The term "privatization" was coined in order to describe what the Nazis were doing in Germany
No, this is false. The Nazis were fighting for benefits for their in-group. They did not get the benefits, of course.
Turns out when you're willing to throw others under the bus, leadership will gladly do the same for you.
Why do you think they called themselves National Socialists
Because it was a good rhetorical strategy to gain power?
Does it matter that their first acts once they gained power was to kill actual socialists and communists?
Does it matter that working conditions worsened for German people even before the first shots of WW2 were fired, as they ramped up productions to prepare the war machine?
I'm sorry, it's just historically inaccurate to describe the actions of the Nazi party as even potentially beneficial to the German people.
We see this in fascist movements today as well. Even under "white supremacy" there's no advocacy for anything that would actually benefit white people, it's just grievance politics against out groups.
That seems entirely unrelated to anything that I'm saying.
Maybe, if they were extremely disingenuous, one could make the argument that the Autobahn, which is still in use today, Materially improves people's lives, and that this refutes my point that the nazis didn't advocate for the material interests of the German people. Maybe.
But it was also not necessarily built for that. (War production benefits from internal infrastructure as well)
But that doesn't impact the overall character of what I'm saying.
Look, liberals are wrong to support a genocide abroad, full stop. Liberal (and conservative, of course) politicians should face trial at the Hague for war crimes committed.
You (or here, BadEmpanada) don't need to lie about the Nazis to make that comparison.
The end goal of Nazi Germany was to improve the lives of the in-group at the expense of the out group. In America the spoils of imperialism also don't end up in the hands of the peasants. But the peasants will support it as long as the government will give them some treats in exchange.
You should look up what the inspiration was for Nazi Germany.
Oh I didn't know that Zohran became mayor of Israel.
Last I heard was that he had become mayor of NYC, and even the Palestinians living in NYC will be able to ride the free bus in NYC. So again, who is the outgroup?
Last I heard Zohran Mamdani was telling people to vote for top AIPAC recipient and massive Zionist Hakeem Jeffries who supports murdering the out-group (Palestinians) so that the in-group (Americans) could get free busses.
Is this really so difficult to understand or do you simply not want to understand it?
Isn't that what countries are supposed to do? Prioritizing taking care of their own population first? Does that make me sound like a nazi? I dont think so...
Also, the nazis werent really into what youre talking about anyway, youre just making stuff up..
Fucked up with no one to blame but myself.
cross-posted from: aussie.zone/post/27191517
I spun up nextcloud to replace onedrive about a year ago. Everything was going well so I chose not to renew my onedrive subscription, this was exactly 6 months ago, I'd assume.I got an email a few days ago reminding me that they would delete my data. I ignored it because obviously I had moved my data to nextcloud. not gonna trick me Mi¢ro$oft.
But yesterday I decided to have a quick look though and it turns out I didn't copy over everything, and certanly not my 5 years of camera roll backups.
I started a sync of everything last night and woke up in the morning to find that it had stopped at about 10gb out of 80gb. And now onedrive won't connect and if I try to log in to onedrive with that account via the web it just kicks me back to the microsoft portal.
I'm 99.5% sure there is nothing to be done and I'm not an overly sentimental person so if they are lost it won't break me. I have many important photos backed up in immich but just not everything.
But I just needed to ask in case someone knows where to find the M spot I can touch for magic file recovery.
Edit: turns out you can just pay them more money and they still had my stuff. thank you for joining me on the shortest support ticket of all time
Who Killed Hannibal
A Who Killed Hannibal meme. Caption your own images or memes with our Meme Generator.Imgflip
US whistleblower exposes Biden administration’s Israel cover-up
US whistleblower exposes Biden administration’s Israel cover-up
Whistleblower Steve Gabavics tells Marc Lamont Hill how the US dismissed Israel's killing of an Al Jazeera journalist.Al Jazeera
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What distro do you install on other's computers?
What distros do you install on your mom's, sister's, buddy's, etc machines?
My go-to has usually been Mint, but I wonder if there is a better set and forget, easily understood distro to install on the computers of those who will rely on you for support.
atomic distros would probably be a good option, but it seems that same disk dual boot is a no no, and that can be a deal breaker.
I'm thinlink QoL, for me, that is.
400+ installs in the past four years - discarded/donated business laptops that get fixed, cleaned, upgraded with cheapest SSDs and donated to predominantly tech illiterate users.
99% is ubuntu lts + ansible playbook that removes snap, disables A TON of update naggings, installs flatpak, coupla apps and systemd timer to autoupdate all flatpaks. this is the only thing that has low support requests, everything else we tried (mint, debian, fedora) has a disproportionately higher support request frequency (reinstalls, wifi, fix this, remove that, etc).
I totally could adapt debian to be as good or even better (fedora with the bi-annual versions is right out), but one of the important caveats is the user being able to install it with minimum hassle if needed and that just would not be doable.
I'd urge everyone ITT to look at the thing through the user's eyes and not get lost in "no true scottsman" fallacies. the goal is to convert a user over, not to demonstrate how cool you are. once they know what's what, you can sell them on fedora and atomic and whatnot, but not as a first step.
I don't use ubuntu, have it on none of my stuff, and wouldn't go out with you if you do. but it's presently the only option for beginners for use on laptops that has a semblance of a modern desktop OS.
I'm not looking for a date, but this made me curious. Would you elaborate?
I don't use Ubuntu and wouldn't go out with you if you do
White House unveils ‘media bias’ tracker
White House unveils ‘media bias’ tracker
The Trump White House has launched an online tracker targeting news organizations accused of publishing “false and misleading stories”RT
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Ah, yes, the White House. A notoriously unbiased place with an excellent set of morals is certainly where I want to get my information from.
/s
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MediBiasFactCheck
Like all western propaganda, it is not designed to fool critical thinkers; it is designed to give the lazy an excuse not to think.
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Ah yes. A bias tracker from the same people who posted on every official site "the radical left democrats shut down the government."
These people are ridiculous
Reporter: [REDACTED]
Reason: Breaks Community Rules
In that people report on Russian media posts all the time, this isn’t remarkable. But the story is true, and the irony of it being about the latest new US propaganda organ isn’t lost one me.
Against Decay, We Build: DeDe (Decentralized Delivery) Protocol
This is DeDe (Decentralized Delivery) Protocol:
Not a token, not speculation.
It’s infrastructure, deployed on Ethereum mainnet.
We’re watching the same pattern everywhere:
Postal systems collapsing.
Parcels lost, broken, stolen or seized.
Increased surveillance, ID requirements, more decay.
Less reliability, less privacy, less dignity.
The institutions that were supposed to protect our right to communication are failing, even though privacy of correspondence is guaranteed under UN Article 12 and ICCPR Article 17.
So instead of being stuck in surveillance and Inefficiency-As-A-Service, we have to build parallel systems immune to centralized control.
Systems by us for us, in the spirit of the Fediverse:
community-powered
decentralized
permissionless
protocol, not platform
no corporations
no bosses
no surveillance
no extraction
DeDe (Decentralized Delivery) is not a token, not a scam, not a VC product, not a walled garden.
It’s a rail, an open delivery settlement layer anyone can build on.
What it does:
Every parcel is an NFT with a lifecycle
Escrow is automatic, trustless, and transparent
Anyone can create an NFT-Parcel
Anyone can carry parcels while they’re already on the move
No fleets, no gig exploitation, no “shadow wages”
Zero extra CO₂, use the movement people already make
Protocol fee is immutable (0.5%), so nobody can rug / extract
Privacy is natively built in.
Fully MIT-licensed & open-source
It’s not a startup.
It’s not a marketplace.
It’s not a company.
It’s the peoples infrastructure for physical logistics.
Because if we want a free world, we can’t outsource critical communication infrastructure to decaying governments, surveillance corps, or gig economy parasites.
If you want to understand the philosophy behind it, here’s the full manifesto + artwork:
Medium:
medium.com/@ekarlsson66/dede-t…
If you want to poke around the contracts:
DeDe Protocol GitHub (MIT):
github.com/pablo-chacon/dede-p…
DeDe Quik-Start Templates GitHub (MIT):
github.com/pablo-chacon/dede-t…
No pressure to “like crypto.”
DeDe is just a tool.
Use it, fork it, ignore it. All up to you.
More decentralized civilizational fundamentals, means less dependency of collapsing control systems.
We must have working alternatives when the centralized systems break down.
Against decay, we build.
That’s the spirit of the fediverse.
That’s the spirit of DeDe.
GitHub - pablo-chacon/dede-protocol: DeDe Protocol, Neutral, Trustless Settlement Rails for P2P Crowdshipping
DeDe Protocol, Neutral, Trustless Settlement Rails for P2P Crowdshipping - pablo-chacon/dede-protocolGitHub
Not to be hypercritical, I'm not a published dev so take this in that light. I always find it sketch to happen upon a GitHub repo that has no description in the right column. The software may be tight, but in the back of my head I'm wondering, why didn't they take 5 minutes and provide a description?
AboutNo description, website, or topics provided.
On the other hand, it's always comforting that it is being actively maintained:
7b8fc3b · 42 minutes ago
Just random thoughts from the old head.
But all the data about the project needed is in:
1. README.md
2. WHITEPAPER.md
3. DeDe-FAQ.md
If it is deployed on Etherium mainnet, that implies there's a monetary/crypto based cost right?
From the Medium article:
DeDe allows:
Commuters
Cyclists
Students
Gig workers
Travel enthusiasts…to earn money by delivering parcels along the path they were already taking.
...
It simply turns existing human movement into an economic engine.
Those statements sound like a person is actually transporting stuff physically. I'm not sure I see the connection. I tried reading the github too but it got more technical than I can understand.
Is this a courier service for physical packages that pays the couriers with crypto by doing shipments paid with crypto? How would that be trustworthy? A courier could simply open the package at the risk of non-payment for potentially stealing valuables. Or is this digital packages only? But if that's the case, what would physical activity be needed for? What's to stop this from turning into that Black Mirror episode where people are cycling in place constantly, to pay their electric bills?
Just trying to wrap my head around this and I think I'm missing something.
Here is a clearer explanation. DeDe is not a courier service and not a gig app. It is only infrastructure, a smart contract protocol.
DeDe is not an app, not a marketplace and not a company. It is a tiny delivery settlement rail that sits on Ethereum, similar to how Bitcoin sits under money transfers and Matrix sits under messaging. Those systems do not provide apps or account systems, they provide rails. DeDe works the same way but for physical delivery.
This is what the protocol actually does. Anyone can register a parcel on chain as an NFT. The sender deposits the parcel value into escrow, because the escrow amount represents the value of the item/parcel/delivery. Anyone who wants to can pick up a parcel and deliver it. It is completely voluntary and there are no assignments, no scheduling and no forced routes. The smart contract holds the escrow until both sides confirm that the parcel arrived. When they agree, the contract releases the payment to the carrier and takes a 0.5 percent transaction fee from the escrow. It is a transaction fee, NOT a parcel fee. The remaining 99.5 percent goes to the carrier.
If someone builds an app or a marketplace on top of DeDe and decides to charge an additional service fee, that fee belongs to that external service. It is outside the protocol, outside the smart contract and outside DeDe entirely. For example, if a carrier receives 95 percent of the parcel value, DeDe still only took 0.5 percent as the transaction fee, while the other 4.5 percent would be the fee of that particular app or marketplace. DeDe does not define or control those business models.
There is no app, no login system, no surveillance layer, no tracking and no central operator baked into DeDe. Those things, if anyone wants them, are built by others. A future marketplace built on top of DeDe becomes a kind of free for all UPS or DHL where senders and carriers meet, but all settlement still flows through the trustless contract. That part is the only responsibility of DeDe.
Carriers can choose any parcel they want. If a parcel matches their daily route, it is efficient and reduces the number of trucks in cities, but they can also deliver completely unrelated parcels if that is what they prefer. with what kind of transport they prefer. Everything is voluntary.
The trust comes from the smart contract. It does not track or identify anyone. It simply releases money when both sides confirm delivery. That is the entire mechanism, a neutral settlement layer for physical logistics. Everything above that, including apps, marketplaces and business logic, belongs to the people who build on top of it.
If anything is unclear I can explain more.
Fedex and UPS deliver almost anywhere, and can do insured packages. Here in the U.S. there's also the postal service, which also can deliver across a wide geography, beyond that of the U.S. borders. These cost a trivial amount of money and if one has a post office near them, they can pay with cash and avoid revealing their identity.
It sounds like you want people to use a form of cryptocurrency to pay a stranger, whichever stranger comes first, to deliver a physical package, then paying the deliverer once the package is accepted, using that same cryptocurrency.
Even if the protocol doesn't track or identify anyone, if the ledger is available for anyone to see or even if it were limited to package deliverers, a tracking mechanism would be trivial to create.
This does not guarantee any level of security for the package, only the payment, which is only theoretically secure because I haven't taken the time to check.
If it somehow took off as a solution people needed, once a package is put on the chain, there could potentially a mad free-for-all of deliverers, all fighting tooth and nail to get that package.
The entire trip delivering would also be fraught with dangers potentially, as deliverers who weren't fast enough might simply rob or kill the winning deliverer, take the package, then deliver it themselves. If they wanted to...
If the payment for a package is high enough, one might wonder just what was so important to warrant such a payment. Drugs? Guns? Biological weapons? Black market organs for transplant? Actual cash money?
Don't forget that computational costs electricity, which costs the environment until the world gets off of fossil fuels. Potential users would have to ask themselves if the package delivery is more important than climate change.
This sounds like a way to try and make crypto money, for doing absolutely nothing, by inserting crypto into a market that doesn't need it, to do a job already handled just fine by companies that already have the infrastructure in place, with no real problem being solved that needs solved.
What problem does this solve? How does this make package delivering any better?
Thanks for the thoughtful critique. Some clarification to help:
DeDe isn’t trying to replace FedEx/UPS/USPS.
DeDe is not a platform or an app.
It’s a protocol, closer to TCP/IP than Uber.
It handles one function only:
escrow -> pickup -> dropoff -> finalize
Everything else (matching, identity, trust, messaging, routing) is off-chain, by design.
That separation is what preserves privacy and prevents metadata leakage.
What problem DeDe actually solves
Not postal logistics, those require fleets, warehouses, and fixed infrastructure.
DeDe addresses the centralized crowdshipping model used by Uber/Doordash/Amazon Flex:
• zero privacy
• centralized control
• data extraction and surveillance
• wage manipulation
• platform lock-in
• mandatory identity
• opaque matching
DeDe gives communities the same underlying mechanics of crowdshipping
without a corporation in the middle collecting or exploiting sender/carrier/destination data.
No tracking, no identity, no metadata
Parcel NFTs only encode:
• parcel ID
• escrow amount
• lifecycle state
No names, addresses, routes, timestamps, or identities.
All sensitive information stays off-chain.
DeDe doesn’t broadcast parcels, seek couriers, or coordinate delivery.
It only settles funds trustlessly.
No token, no speculation
• no governance token
• no staking token
• no inflation
• no “earn crypto for nothing”
• no VC angle
Ethereum is used strictly as a neutral, permissionless escrow layer.
In short
DeDe is a tiny, open, neutral settlement rail for P2P delivery,
just infrastructure communities can use or ignore as they like.
Regarding environmental footprint:
Blockchain environmental impact depends on how electricity is produced, not on the existence of computation itself.
Electricity demand has been rising for decades, long before blockchains or AI, and will continue to do so.
If critical economic infrastructure depended on abundant, cheap green power,
it would create a strong incentive for energy producers to scale sustainable sources faster.
The largest investors in green energy today are still heavily tied to fossil fuels,
so shifting economic incentives can help accelerate the transition.
Have Nvidia drivers on Linux gotten worse over later generations?
I just saw the GamersNexus benchmarks and I wondered to myself, why do they have so many problems with Nvidia on Bazite? I've used PopOS with my RTX 30 graphics card and I've essentially had performance parity with Windows.
Do you guys think they misconfigured something in the background or do you think that the driver has just gotten worse? What are your experiences?
Maybe the graphic drivers have matured more for the RTX 30 than the later versions.
Are you using the proprietary drivers, or the open source ones?
I have always used what PopOS bundles. It used to be the proprietary driver, but ever since a certain driver version, they have switched to the Nvidia-made FOSS driver. Because nvidia stopped developing any sort of proprietary components in the driver and just made the FOSS driver instead, which became the "official" Nvidia driver in May 2025 i think.
Edit: Correction, only the kernel modules are all FOSS, while the userspace modules such as CUDA for example are still proprietary.
It’s a bazzite issue. Many people share that the drivers are pretty reliable on other distros.
From experience, they got pretty good over last 2-3 years.
I have a 5060ti 16gb version and don't experience any issues with frame pacing and stuff like that on nixos, while when I tried bazzite I was experiencing some issues with the gpu.
It's most likely a bazzite specific issue, especially if you use something like the steamos interface.
For example my monitor is a 160hz monitor that support's gsync, but if I enable global gsync in any wayland compositor the bottom part of my screen is cut off and experience weird vissual bugs, but if I make them only enable gsync on my steam games when they are fullscreen I don't experience that issue. The steamos session inside of bazzite doesn't have that feature, so when it enables gsync I experience that same issue of cut off part of the screen with weird visual issues.
All this is ironic, bazzite is often chosen for gaming, but as all these niche distros they have problems in stability which in this case reflects on exactly their core feature: gaming performance.
Stands yet again in demonstrating that gamers don't actually care about performance, just in claiming that they have a top spec pc, if that thing does not perform like it should but just gives a workable experience it is actually fine
I just went to repurpose some old hardware for my nephew (4790k + 32gb ddr3 + rtx 3050) which I thought would make a very passable bazzite box. I put 2 drives in the test rig, one with bazzite Nvidia + kde and one with win11 running with the rufus tpm bypass hacks.
CS2 ran at ~40fps in bazzite with no sound once you got in game, win11 ran at ~100
Helldivers2 ran at ~50fps in bazzite with constant frame drops even after letting it precompile shaders. On windows it was a very playable 70fps.
I mainline Linux myself and I wanted bazzite to be the set-and-forget answer but it really wasn't. I can't in good faith hand that build over to an 12 year old with bazzite and that was super disappointing.
None of the problems that they're describing are caused by using an Nvidia card.
The default proton is bad, using GE-Proton will often improve things.
CS2 getting 40fps and no sound. A quick trip over to protondb.com/app/730 will show that this is a problem with CS2 as it happens on every graphics card. Setting SDL_AUDIO_DRIVER=pipewire resolves the issue for a lot of people.
Helldivers 2 low FPS: Protondb has people with both graphics cards reporting the low fps issues. Setting a framerate cap will reduce FPS variance, using GE-Proton10 fixes HDR issues. In my experience disabling vsync improved performance significantly, this is true of a lot of games if you're using adaptive sync.
I see this all the time in the Linux communities. If someone is having an issue with a game and they use an Nvidia card then community responses are often to do the blame Nvidia meme rather than troubleshoot the issue.
Appreciate the recommended fixes. I did find similar and was able to work through some of the issues with CS2 but I did that on instinct, and it wasn't until I was halfway through troubleshooting game 2 of 2 attempted that I realized it wasn't where I needed it to be for a remote support hand-me-down.
I did briefly entertain the idea of setting up rustdesk on it but the atomic nature + Wayland made unattended (read: "help I broke it and I can't log in") not really viable. By the time I got to "hrm, I could probably set up a reverse ssh tunnel into my homelab for persistent support?" I decided windows was probably the play here.
Like the other guy said I think this is a bazzite-induced problem. I have other Linux systems at home. My daily driver and my wife's daily driver are both highly custom Ubuntu server derivatives, we both have Nvidia GPUs (3050, 5070), and neither of us have similar issues.
The reason I wanted to try bazzite was that I didn't want to remotely support something super custom.
I suspect the difference in experiences is more due to x11/pulse(my custom systems) vs Wayland/pipewire(bazzite) than it is any particular GPU vendor or driver branch. Which I guess is a roundabout way of saying
Maybe? Probably?
Judging by the protondb entry on CS2 I strongly suspect I would have at least the audio issue regardless of gpu.
I have 3080 and I've seen significant performance issues too (e.g. in Cyberpunk 2077, KCD2). I think it depends a lot on the games you play. Apparently DX12 (via vkd3d) doesn't perform well on Nvidia cards.
My next GPU will probably not be an Nvidia card.
When I upgraded my GPU last I tried for the first time since ATI was a thing to leave nvidia and go AMD. I tried to get a 6900XT but just had endless issues with drivers, which I was surprised about because if you believe a majority of Linux users it should have been flawless - it was not. I had endless issues with drivers and games running badly. I caved and returned it for a 3070ti - trust me I tried a lot of things.
Anyway, I've since tried AMD again and upgraded to a 9070XT and the transition this time has been absolutely flawless, even keeping the same install (CachyOS has a guide to swap from nvidia to AMD).
This is all to say, don't believe the hype around AMD but at least give it a try and don't feel too bad if it doesn't work out for you. Ultimately both nvidia and AMD have been improving significantly over the years
Sure, but FWIW I play from AAA to indies and it "works" as in no bug, no noticeable visual glitch.
I don't benchmark from my driver version to the previous one on Windows or Linux or a price point equivalent with AMD hardware, I just play. I don't think anybody gain much from checking performance benchmarks before playing a game, at least I can say for sure to me that's not part of the fun.
I would notice if something was blatantly wrong e.g 50% performance hit, but I wouldn't if it's 5% hit. I don't really care for it as it doesn't affect my gameplay. Like I said, it's from a casual player, not a pro player nor a game tinkerer.
Working "better" on Windows means nothing to me. Either I can play and I'm happy or I can't (which never happened) then I'd be disappointed and potentially check why.
PS: I'm also a developer of XR content so I'm relatively confident I'd spot any significant problem.
Yesterday I was looking for new linux distros, I wanted to try Fedora and OpenSuse but drivers didn't work there at all. In Fedora this Nouveau driver was okay but in OpenSuse even open-source driver wasn't working.
Just take a look at their workflow and you tell me. NVIDIA uses an AI-powered code editor called Cursor. It is a fork of VS Code that integrates Large Language Models (LLMs) directly into the programming environment.
Here a quote from this article:
A high-profile endorsement from NVIDIA’s CEO Jensen Huang in late 2025 underscored Cursor’s rapid ascent – calling Cursor his “favorite enterprise AI service” and noting that 100% of NVIDIA’s engineers now use AI assistance with a remarkable boost in productivity.
digitalstrategy-ai.com/2025/11…
In late 2024 and early 2025, CEO Jensen Huang explicitly stated that "every single software engineer at NVIDIA uses Cursor."
dataconomy.com/2025/10/15/jens…
And then there is this article:
fortune.com/2025/11/25/nvidia-…
So it’s kinda obvious they use a lot of AI in their code. Now there is no direct proof they use it in their drivers but they obviously do given the CEO’s stance.
‘Are you insane?’: Billionaire CEO Jensen Huang blasts Nvidia managers who are ‘telling their people to use less AI’
Huang said Nvidia employees should be using AI everywhere they can, "because we have the power to do so."Dave Smith (Fortune)
No doubt NVIDIA is peddling AI as they are financially depending on it now.
Now from claiming something is powerful and even used to actually shipping code on something low level and benchmarkable like (GPU) drivers I have doubt. I imagine they can say they use AI there to rephrase comment and it would "technically correct" but beyond that I'm still skeptical.
Regarding chip design, AI has been used for decades ... if you consider routing to be AI. It's not generative in the modern sense, it's not using LLM, but it's automated a process.
To me it's the typical Harvard Business School playbook. C-suite repeat keywords they read in their peer most popular magazine, they aggregate in a document they call "strategy" they lower down the chain of commands people "execute" that because they must, thanks to KPIs.
I'd love to hear it from an actual engineer working on drivers but I imagine it'd be hard to get a honest opinion with NDAs and all.
Thanks for providing all the sources!
The drivers run OK, but because they were not built for my distribution with the right flag, when I sleep and resume my system, I need to log out and back in to the desktop or else it bugs out.
Is this the drivers fault for not having that be a default flag? The maintainers fault for not using the correct flags? Waylands fault for not interfacing with the driver right on resume? My fault for having the audacity to want to use the sleep function?
I have no clue, but it doesn't happen with the open source nouevau drivers, so I'm inclined to place a fair bit of the blame with nvidia.
If it's the same bug as what I'm seeing, I just wrote a script that changes the display settings and sets them back then bound it to a hotkey.
Any monitor that stays blank after waking up is fixed if you adjust the display settings (tricky to do with blank monitors, hence the script).
I’m on Arch, with Hyprland as my Window Manager. I use an RTX 3070.
For Wayland specifically, the driver was next to unusable for a while. I jumped ship from Windows in Sept. 2023. Beginning with driver 560 iirc, it got a lot better, plus their engineers pushed a lot of changes across the Wayland ecosystem to implement explicit sync support (a net positive, but before this, Nvidia was too stubborn to implement implicit sync, so bad screen tearing was unavoidable). Also there’s been a slow migration to using the GSP processor on newer cards. They claim it can improve performance, which may be true, but I also recently learned it helps them keep some more parts of their code closed-source, which is likely why it’s required to use the open source kernel modules.
At this point, though, it does feel very smooth and I can play games like The Finals at competitive framerates!
But relative to my performance under Windows, it’s still worse, mainly in average framerate. Like others have said, DX12 games seem to be hit hardest. I sometimes have to run lower settings to compensate. Also, if my VRAM gets filled, Xwayland apps all break, so I have to be very careful with higher quality texture quality especially.
Anyways, to answer your question, I think an average gamer doesn’t notice the degraded performance, without benchmarking or comparing framerates back to back— it still runs pretty smooth and framerates are still pretty high. If they aren’t happy with it, they’ll drop quality settings or resolution, just like they’d do under Windows.
Israeli forces carry out attacks in Gaza, breaching ceasefire
Israeli forces carried out attacks across multiple areas in the Gaza Strip on Sunday in breach of the ceasefire agreement, according to Wafa news agency.
Israeli troops conducted intense shelling and aerial attacks from helicopters east of al-Bureij refugee camp, in central Gaza. Israeli warplanes also carried out six air strikes east of Rafah, in southern Gaza.
In Khan Younis, Israeli forces shelled a house in the town of Bani Suheila. There were no immediate reports of casualties in any of the attacks.
I'm new to lemmy, came from reddit. What's the lemmy etiquette like? How different is it from reddiqutte?
I'm new as in this is my first day using lemmy. I don't know anything about lemmy etiquette and don't want to do anything bad
thanks and have an amazing day! also plz be kind 😁
Each instance has its own vibe. You joined [Any Lemmy instance, just a fair warning that a few instances and a chunk of Lemmy users have defederated/blocked it, so you may miss out on some content. Otherwise, pretty chill for the most part.
You can replace .ml with any Lemmy instance. The most Lemmy thing remains all the instance tribalism.
Yes, but a new user needs to know the instance they join has pros and cons. Like another user stated, they joined .ml after lemm.ee closed and didn't know why several communities they had subscribed to weren't showing up.
Let's be real for a second, lemmygrad, .ml and. hexbear are well known for blocking and being blocked on Lemmy. Users should know Lemmy isnt like reddit where each user can potentially see 100% of content, it's dependent on your instance.
Lemmygrad an Hexbear sure. Nobody will recommend those as servers to start off.
.ml however is a pretty general server which is federated very broadly. It's not a bad place to start off.
Ukrainian terror plot to bomb gas pipeline outside Moscow foiled – FSB
Ukrainian terror plot to bomb gas pipeline outside Moscow foiled – FSB
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has thwarted a Ukrainian-sponsored terror plot to bomb a major gas pipeline in Moscow RegionRT
like this
Maeve likes this.
Ah, I respectfully disagree with you.
A serious position deserves a serious presentation. If you (or anyone) want to discuss media bias or comparative morality in war, start that discussion. The original comment didn't come close.
Where are people getting this Lord of the Rings-ass idea? Russia doesn't want to absorb Ukraine because
A) They do not want to be responsible for tamping down decades of Banderite insurgencies, and
B) Doing so would mean that they now share a vulnerable border with a NATO member which is, and I cannot stress this enough, most of the reason they went into Ukraine in the first place.
What they actually want is a buffer zone in the form of a demilitarized Ukraine. The Donbas Republics have voted to join the Russian Federation, so they're not going back to Ukranian control, but western Ukraine is far more strategically beneficial to them as a rump state.
"Nah they don't want to take over, they just want to make it into a weak country they totally control"
Lmao that's great I wonder why Ukraine doesn't go for that
Totally control
Did you read anything I said? They do not want to be responsible for dealing with the shambles that Ukraine has become. It benefits them far more to let that be Europe's burden
It doesn't matter what the Ukranian government wants or doesnt want, they've lost the war. If you don't like it, take it up with the nazis in charge or the Americans who put them there in the 2014 Maidan coup and told them they could win. The Ukranian people overwhelmingly want peace. There were so many offramps before this point, and the US puppet government refused all of them, so now here we are learning an object lesson in why diplomacy is preferable to belligerence.
If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.
If the war keeps going there will be no more Ukraine
Fucking grim what Russia is doing. It's like Israel to Palestine.
If the war keeps going there will be no more Palestine. Peace now on Israel's terms is the only way to preserve it.
I've definitely heard people say that
You have not.
"Israel" has no terms and has offered no peace other than annihilation. Russia has offered peace deal after peace deal for ten years. You know these things are not comparable, and to insist they are for the sake of your pride is to whitewash the zionist entity's genocide.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/20…
It's not exactly a rare sentiment from pro-Israel side. And it's easy to recognize how bullshit it is. Which is why it's such a good comparison.
It's actually the exact opposite. It is the Ukrainian Nazis who think and behave exactly like the Zionists, up to and including their systematic use of torture, their brutal execution of captives and civilians "sympathetic to the enemy", and their penchant for assassinations and terrorist attacks on civilians.
It is not a coincidence that they openly say that they want to turn Ukraine into a "larger Israel". Or that they help Zionist backed terrorists in Syria and the Sahel.
It is these Banderite fascists, who have illegally seized control of Ukraine and now brutally repress the population, who have a fanatical ethnic hatred of Russians and who want to ethnically cleanse Ukraine of everything Russian like the Israelis want to do to Palestinians.
The Russians don't and have never reciprocated this hatred. They consider the Ukrainians their brothers. The liberated territories are full of Ukrainians who now live as equal citizens of Russia. There are millions of Ukrainian refugees who chose to go to Russia.
If and when Russia completely absorbs Ukraine, the Ukrainians will still be living on their land, just as peacefully as any of the other 150+ ethnic minorities in the Russian Federation. The same cannot be said of the Palestinians and their stolen land.
The Kiev regime is Israel. The ethnic Russian people of the Donbass are the Palestinians. Only unlike the Palestinians they were lucky enough to have a neighboring country willing to step in to protect them and liberate them from the genocidal Western-backed fascists.
Russia is doing in Ukraine what the collective Arab world should be doing in Palestine: eradicating a Nazi regime.
Why are there millions of Ukrainians living peacefully and happily in Russia alongside Russians, if Russians hate Ukrainians? Why do so many of these Ukrainians living in Russia support Russia and the SMO?
Is it maybe because the only Ukrainians who the Russians actually hate are the Nazis who have hijacked the country of Ukraine, turned the country into a prison from which no one but the rich can leave, and brainwashed the people into hating Russians? Brainwashed them into hating themselves in fact, since a majority of Ukrainians are native Russian speakers...
Should the Russians love these extremist fascists who murder and torture Ukrainians and Russians alike and commit terrorist acts against civilians?
I'm not saying every single Russian is perfect or that there aren't any who make stupid generalizations about Ukrainians, but clearly the mainstream Russian opinion and most importantly the government position, is that Ukrainians are brothers (literally, so many families have relatives on both sides of the border). The ethnic hatred hasn't been elevated to the level of state policy there. The extremists in Russia haven't been empowered like they have in Ukraine.
And weren't you claiming that the Russians are doing to Ukraine what Israel is doing to Gaza? Now you say they just want to "erase their identity". Do the Zionists just want to turn the Palestinians into Israelis? Do they believe that Palestinians are just Israelis who have been led astray? No. They don't even see the Palestinians as humans. They want to physically kill or remove them from the land.
In Mariupol, Russia has rebuilt for free the local residents' homes that were destroyed in the fighting. When is the last time Israel allowed Palestinians to even return to their homes at all, let alone rebuilt their homes that the Israelis demolished?
Why is Ukrainian an official and protected language in the Donbass and Crimea and is even taught in schools there, if the Russians wanted to erase Ukrainian identity? Why are there streets named after Ukraine in Moscow?
Meanwhile in Ukraine the Russian language is banned, even though it is the native language of most of Eastern Ukraine. They literally punish children for speaking Russian in schools. They burn Russian books. The Russian Orthodox Church is being attacked. History books were rewritten to glorify Nazis and vilify the Soviet liberators (many of them were Ukrainians btw). Streets and towns with Russian names were renamed, and many now bear names of Nazi collaborators. Who is trying to erase who's identity?
Why is it that after nearly four years of conflict involving millions of combatants in Ukraine, the conflict has one of the lowest civilian to combatant casualty ratios of any modern war? Why are there are nowhere near as many civilian casualties in all these years as there were in just the first few months of the Gaza genocide?
Why is it that every time Israel drops a bomb they kill a dozen Palestinians, but when Russia launches entire salvos of hundreds of drones and missiles it is rare to have even one or two civilian casualties? Is it maybe because the Russians do not want to mass murder Ukrainians like the Israelis want to do to the Palestinians?
There's a lot of Russians who live(d) in Ukraine. Those of course are going to be welcomed in Russia. And there's Ukrainians who support Russia over their own country, those are going to officially be well received too. So there's really not big disconnect between the hateful attitudes and official proparanda.
And sometimes they treat Ukrainians as "brothers" in the sense that they're denying their whole identity as Ukrainians.
There's a lot of Russians who live(d) in Ukraine
So every Russian-speaking Ukrainian is just a Russian? It seems it's you who is denying Ukrainian identity.
What exactly constitutes a Ukrainian in your opinion? Is it just someone who hates Russia? If a Ukrainian speaks Russian as their native language and likes Russia do they cease to be Ukrainian?
And sometimes they treat Ukrainians as "brothers" in the sense that they're denying their whole identity as Ukrainians.
So which is it? Do they hate Ukrainians or do they think they are one and the same?
And if they are denying Ukrainian identity, why does Ukrainian language have officially protected status in the new Russian regions, why is it offered to be taught in schools, unlike Russian language in Ukraine which is heavily suppressed? Again, who is trying to erase who's identity?
So every Russian-speaking Ukrainian is just a Russian?
Nobody claimed this
What exactly constitutes a Ukrainian in your opinion?
I trust their own identity and view on this one.
So which is it? Do they hate Ukrainians or do they think they are one and the same?
Both happen. And denying one's identity is a pretty hateful act.
I trust their own identity and view on this one.
So you can't even tell them apart, is what you're saying.
I'm saying I'm not trying to define their identity for them. I'm happy to just go with this
I wouldn't be able to tell Portuguese and Brazilian people apart either. I hope that doesn't erase their identities.
Invading other countries, conquering parts of them and adding them to your country and creating butter states isn't imperilaism
Hah yeah right
I posted two very common definitions above and it's imperialism because it fits the definition. It shouldn't matter if you support it, it's not a reason to not consider it imperialism.
Russia is invading countries, annexing land, creating buffer zones. That's like run of the mill imperialism.
You're not vibing hard enough.
If the US responded to the "requests" of separatists for support, and then those separatists voted to join the US, the imperialism would be pretty obvious. How do you explain to liberals that there is a difference?
Does it work?
I've found some success in turning the focus back on the West. The NATO bloc has put Ukraine in $100 billion in debt, has made all of its aid conditional on the exploitation of its energy and mineral and agricultural resources, and is intent on fighting to the last Ukrainian. It makes Western imperialism in Ukraine pretty obvious, even if I don't touch on Maidan being a coup that installed a neonazi banderite regime run by Western collaborators (because they'll dismiss that as Russian propaganda).
My angle has always been that the West never wanted Ukraine to even win, they just wanted it to be a millstone around Russia.
Defending Russia's actions seems impossible. As we see here, to the liberal mind, whoever swings first is the bad guy. That's it.
Attacking a country, annexing parts of them, creating a buffer zone out of country and trying to be the predominant country in the area is definitely not extending power, expansionism and trying to be regional hegemon
The struggle to just not call duck a duck reminds me of this meme
It's especially strange since you seem to be fine with all of the very imperialistic actions Russia are doing, you just don't like it being called imperialism.
Again, you're confusing the measures imperialist countries use to perpetuate international plunder, ie imperialism, with imperialism itself. Annexation can be done by imperialist countries in order to set up or protect their systems of international exploitation, or it can be done in non-imperialist fashions, such as when seperatists that are being ethnically cleansed by Kiev request to join Russia, and Russia obliges.
Countries do not simply "exert power" for the sake of it, but as a means to an end. Russia's acceptance of the requests for support from Donetsk and Luhansk against the far-right regime ethnically cleansing them is different from the US Empire engaging in brutal sanctions on Cuba for nationalizing industries owned by Statesian capitalists. The latter is an example of the methods used by imperialists to protect their plunder, as the Cuban revolutionaries kicked out the Statesian colonizers.
You've clearly seen the common definitions used for imperialism and choose to define it in a way that excludes Russia. I guess at that point not much else can be said that sure it doesn't fit your definition but it does fit those very common definitions. Can't go anywhere there if we just can't agree on the definition to use.
I just find it strange to try and deny them being imperialist if the horrible things imperialists do are still fine. If you are fine with invasion, annexation, buffer state creating then being opposed to being grouped with other countries that do that seems minor.
You just rephrased the exact same actions in a different way. The reality is that Russia invaded Ukraine, annexed land and is trying to create a buffer state. Russia's actions fit the definitions beat by beat, you just feel like using nicer sounding language about the exact same actions changes things when it just doesn't.
Here's the definition for a refresher
Wrong.
In 2014, the west backed a far-right coup, placing Banderites in charge of Kiev. They started suppressing ethnic Russians in the Donbass region, resulting in Donetsk and Luhansk seceding and forming their own breakaway states. These states were at war for a decade, which Russia tried to patch up with the Minsk agreements, which Kiev broke both times. Finally, the DPR and LPR requested Russian intervention, and Russia accepted in 2022. Afterwards, a referendum was held, and both the DPR and LPR voted to join the Russian Federation, rather than continue to be ethnically cleansed by the Nazis in Kiev.
The definition you give doesn't apply to Russia's actions here. The part about expansionism in your definition is in service of maintaining empire, an economic status. Russia is not an Empire, nor is it becoming one, because it is not creating colonies nor plundering from them. Annexing territory is not imperialism, what would be imperialism is the US Empire forcibly annexing Hawaii to serve as a millitary base and to harvest for minerals after couping Liliʻuokalani against the wishes of the people.
Imperialism is an economic relationship that is maintained by the measures you listed. Imperialism is where one country exports capital and leverages this to extract vast sums of wealth from imperialized countries. Imperialism is maintained by hegemony and expansionism. Russia annexing groups that voted to join Russia without setting up any colonies doesn't at all meet the definitions of imperialism. Posting your same definition that's already flawed and vibes-based and yet you still misunderstand will not prove any point to anyone here.
The definition you give doesn’t apply to Russia’s actions here. The part about expansionism in your definition is in service of maintaining empire, an economic status.
Empire-building links back to imperialism. I'm sorry but you can't just add in new requirements until you are satisfied with the results. It doesn't work like that.
I should've also included this part earlier with all the talk about colonies
Russia is clearing Kiev's forces out of the DPR and LPR. You have not explained how this is in service of empire-building or colonialism, which are economic relations.
I'm not adding requirements, I'm going off of your own requirements.
You call their invasion and annexation "clearing out Kiev's forces". You don't see how changing the language doesn't make what's actually happening any different?
And no, the definition didn't include your additions. You are taking the definition, adding more requirements and still claiming it is the same requirement. Not how it works.
Do you support the rights of Donetsk and Luhansk to escape ethnic cleansing, and establish their own territory?
Secondly, no, I'm not adding. What do you think an empire is? What is colonization? You're reducing all of these to mere political preference instead of economic relationships, cherry-picking vague summaries and sticking your head in the sand when it comes to parts of those summaries that explain the economic factor that you are keen on erasing.
It absolutely has bearing. If you recognize the right of self-determination for the people in Donetsk and Luhansk, then you recognize their right to join Russia. Consensual joining of territory is absolutely not imperialism, and Kiev trying to prevent the ethnic Russians it has been slaughtering from leaving its grasp is closer to what Israel is doing to Palestinians.
Secondly, no, I’m not adding. What do you think an empire is? What is colonization? You’re reducing all of these to mere political preference instead of economic relationships, cherry-picking vague summaries and sticking your head in the sand when it comes to parts of those summaries that explain the economic factor that you are keen on erasing.
If I'm in support of their invasion, annexation, expansion and creation of buffer state it doesn't change anything about the actual actions. And it's the actions and not the language that makes one an empire.
Secondly, no, I’m not adding.parts of those summaries that explain the economic factor
I'd be happy to see you point out those parts in the actual articles. As a matter of fact, the imperialism article even has this addition about colonialism
Annexing territory is not imperialism itself. It can be a part of imperialism, if you relate it to how it's in service of economic extraction and the setting up of imperialized subjects. If you support the people in Donetsk and Luhansk as having sovereignty, then Kiev's Banderites are invading their territory and thus Russia is clearing out the invading force. That's why I asked if you recognize the right of self-determination for the people of Donetsk and Luhansk, because it seems you support Kiev's right to ethnically cleanse them.
Secondly, colonialism is different but related. Colonialism is the direct subjugation of one country under another, with formalized occupying forces and states, like what happened in Algeria. Imperialism on the other hand is the more general process of exporting capital and plundering the global south. The methods of expansionism and colonialism are means by which to maintain imperialism.
Reading 2 short paragraphs on Wikipedia and thinking you know enough to understand what imperialism is and the mechanisms it operates by is the peak of liberal hubris.
It doesn't say Russia is imperialist, it says it has been accused of neo-colonialism and described as neo-imperialist. Both of those are true, it has indeed been incorrectly accused and described as such, as we have proven here.
Further, Wikipedia is extremely western, liberal, imperialist biased. The editors are overwhelmingly western and liberal, and as such present such a view. Prolewiki is a Marxist wiki, that openly has its own biases, and has this to say of Russian "imperialism:"
It only has 4 of the top 100 corporations in the world and 6 of the top 500. 82% of Russian exports are raw materials, including 58% oil, 11% metal, and 6% food. In 2017, Russia imported $106.2 billion worth' of machine goods and only exported $12.8 billion. Russia does not have any of the top 100 corporations in terms of capital export, and most Russian capital export is capital flight to tax havens. Russia only controls 0.7% of the world's wealth and has much less wealth per adult than the United States ($8,843 vs $336,528). Russia has intervened militarily in other countries such as Yugoslavia, Georgia, Ukraine, and Syria, but not to seize natural resources like imperialist countries do.
It also has this to say of imperialism in general:
Imperialism is the most recent evolution of the capitalist mode of production that began in the late 1800s to early 1900s, in which monopolies and cartels become the dominant economic force of society.[1] It involves the merger of banking capital with industrial capital to create the greater finance capital and a fundamental distinguishing character of export of capital instead of export of commodities.It is a global system of economic, political, and military domination, with the imperialist powers using a variety of means, including economic sanctions, military interventions, and cultural influence to maintain their dominance over other nations.
So your biased view doesn't work. When we take your definitions at face value, and apply them to the facts on the ground, we can see that those accusing Russia of neo-imperialism and neo-colonialism are wrong, and we can also see that leftists don't think Russia is imperialist either.
Again: Do you support the rights of Donetsk and Luhansk to escape ethnic cleansing, and establish their own territory?
I used the definitions given by the article, and expanded on what it had laid out, like empire-building. When you displayed a separate article trying to give analysis, not just a definition, I explained how using the definition you gave, the analysis is incorrect. The reason I bothered with letting you cherry pick a definition is because you are correct about one thing, that changing the name of something doesn't change the actions. That's why I've focused on proving your own definition inapplicable, and asked you over and over again:
Do you support the rights of Donetsk and Luhansk to escape ethnic cleansing, and establish their own territory?
I take it you don't at this point, it seems you're in favor of Kiev's stance that they have the right to ethnically cleanse the Donbass region of ethnic Russians.
"Imperialism focuses on establishing or maintaining hegemony and a more formal empire."
This is what you ignored, over, and over, and over, and over, and over again, and which I answered over, and over, and over, and over, and over again. Russia isn't establishing or maintaining hegemony or a more formal empire, you focus on the fact that the Donbass voted to join Russia as evidence of their "expansionism," and stopped thinking there when that's not even the focus of imperialism or what constitutes it.
This is all in addition to your support of ethnic cleansing, of course.
Russia is clearly trying to create a local hegemony and using rhetoric from their imperialistic history. Well put here:
There's also a whole article
I know you disagree with the analysts. I was just posting this to show that maybe the view on Wikipedia doesn't align with you after all, in actual words or in "cut off" extra definitions.
Wikipedia is a very popular site that usually uses very common definitions as their basis. That's why I originally used it.
I've already explained, using the definition Wikipedia gives, Russia does not fit that. Wikipedia is not written by a single person, nor do the analysts that claim Russia is imperialist write the definitions given by Wikipedia as their claimed definition. It's also possible for someone to give a definition, have that definition not apply to something, yet still have that same person incorrectly apply it. Moreover, Wikipedia is saying some analysts, not even taking a definitive stance itself.
Wikipedia is indeed popular in the west. So is Fox News and CNN, NYT, etc. That doesn't mean they are correct or valid.
Why do you dodge the question of sovereignty for Donetsk and Luhansk?
The analysts are wrong, as I explained. Wikipedia does indeed refuse to take a stance on most things, it's a terrible source for political history and current events. Sometimes the sources can be nice, but often they are terrible.
Why do you dodge the question of sovereignty for Donetsk and Luhansk?
Türkiye condemns alleged Ukrainian attacks on tankers
Türkiye condemns alleged Ukrainian attacks on oil tankers
Türkiye has said that alleged Ukrainian drone attacks on tankers threaten the safety of navigationRT
like this
Maeve likes this.
Morbidly curious how many Ukranian attacks on random countries it will take for US liberals to admit they've been had. My prediction: infinity attacks on other countries or one single attack on the US.
While I'm here, I'd like to officially put down my prediction for 9/11 Two: This Time it's Banderites
Explained: How an Indian-origin entrepreneur 'borrowed' $500 million from the world's biggest asset manager
Explained: How an Indian-origin entrepreneur 'borrowed' $500 million from the world's biggest asset manager
International Business News: Discover how Indian-origin entrepreneur Bankim Brahmbhatt faked invoices and clients to borrow over $500 million from BlackRock's lending arm, leading to his companies' bankruptcy and a major financial scandal.TOI Business Desk (The Times Of India)
just_another_person
in reply to muusemuuse • • •muusemuuse
in reply to just_another_person • • •just_another_person
in reply to muusemuuse • • •Doesn't matter. Your machine going to another is not simply due to mdns running. In fact, I doubt that's a default package selection in Fedora Server for security reasons, but I could be wrong.
Run
dig [whateverhostname]from your machine, and then check/etc/systemd/resolved.confon the server and see if something with MulticastDNS is enabled. Don't see why that would ever exist as a default.non_burglar
in reply to just_another_person • • •mdns (multicast DNS ) is specifically designed to work where a DNS server is presumed to not know hostnames, usually on a local network. So it is possible to use hostnames without a DNS server.
On fedora, discoverability of mdns should be on by default. Configuring mdns presence to others is a config away, if not enabled by default.
just_another_person
in reply to non_burglar • • •I'm aware of what it is. This is a Fedora Server install that shouldn't have it enabled by default because it generally only fits the use-case of home users. Someone installing the default package list in an enterprise setting would not want this enabled.
I even checked to be certain, and it is not enabled by default.
non_burglar
in reply to just_another_person • • •