cohomologyisFUN

StillIRise1963, 20 days ago to random

If the fascists take control, will you be cool raising the kids alone after your wife dies during a later unpreventable pregnancy?

GottaLaff, 21 days ago to random

Via Ben Wikler:

Absorb this graph—but note that the final year is 2018, the year of Trump’s tax cuts. That’s #Trump’s big goal, always has been: to rip off working people and hand huge bags of cash to the ultra-wealthy, like himself and his Mar-a-Lago buddies.

Rutger Bregman:

Stunning graph: the plummeting tax rates of the richest Americans. For the first time in history, billionaires have a lower effective tax rate than working-class Americans.

Alice, 21 days ago to random

I broke up with someone because they tried to say that "Crash Into Me" by Dave Matthews Band was "our song."

TonyStark, 21 days ago to random

If you don’t have the gun companies trying to put a gun in everyone’s hands, people can just ask another person to move out of their driveway.

Teen pizza delivery driver shot at multiple times after parking in the wrong driveway:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/teen-pizza-delivery-driver-shot-multiple-parking-wrong-driveway-rcna150638

gwynnion, 21 days ago to random

Upon finding out 99% of NYU protesters were indeed students, Republican Councilwoman Vickie Paladino decided they all have to die.

It feels like Democrats should stop helping these people in their war on students and higher education?

slott56, 22 days ago to python

#python

Hadn't thought this before. But.

>>> a = 2  
>>> a′ = a + 1  
 File "<stdin>", line 1  
 a′ = a + 1  
 ^  
SyntaxError: invalid character '′' (U+2032)  

The Unicode Prime (and Double Prime) should be valid parts of an identifier. Maybe a few others that are widely-used.

>>> a² = a ** 2  
 File "<stdin>", line 1  
 a² = a ** 2  
 ^  
SyntaxError: invalid character '²' (U+00B2)  

RickiTarr, 22 days ago to random

But...but that's a female lion...so...

Lazarou, 22 days ago to uk

"Don't you know who I am?"
"Yes...sadly, but rules are rules...."

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/boris-johnson-elections-polling-station-b2538777.html
#BorisJohnson #UK #LocalElections24 #UKPOL #UKpolitics

theropologist, 23 days ago to random

:bc: Attention Beige Party-goers! :bc:

A word about antisemitism, the state of Israel, and the war in Gaza

The war in Gaza has brought a lot of issues to a head and for the most part I have remained silent about specifics because my personal opinions should not be relevant to my job as a moderator. However, things at Beige Party have recently crossed a line where I felt I had to take action, and I feel it is my duty to explain what is informing my decisions on this matter.

Just a warning, this is going to be an extremely long post, so if you just want to know about the moderation policy you can skip to the end. It actually turns out to be quite simple.

First of all, I think it's important to explain where I'm coming from because this is a deeply personal issue for me. As a cis-hetero white male cloaked in all the undeserved privilege that entails I don't feel like it is my place to comment on most matters of identity, other than to recofnize bigotry where it occurs and enforce the site rules when something crosses the line. When I am unsure, I will seek out a trusted member of the affected community to get their perspective before I make a decision. In this case, however, I am a member of the community in question, and the issues of antisemitism, fascism, and genocide have informed my personhood basically since I have been a self-aware, thinking, feeling being, and have played a foundational role in forming my core morality and code of ethics.

I hate presenting this as if it were a set of qualifications, but I think it's important for you to know where I come from so you can understand my nuanced views on a very fraught and complicated subject.

I am part Jewish. I was not raised culturally or religiously Jewish, so I've never felt completely comfortable claiming that identity. However, I am Jewish enough for Hitler to have murdered two of my direct ancestors, and to have inherited the generational trauma of genocide. I am also part German, so I also understand the insidiousness of ethno-fascism and its inevitable consequences. There are a lot of words for it but ultimately, on a human level, it comes down to the murder of innocent people.

None of this is theoretical to me, or distant memories handed down to me over generations. I have a grandmother who is a living link to what it was like to grow up as a half Jewish girl in Hitler's Germany and to have a parent and a grandparent sent to a concentration camp to be murdered, and another parent jailed for trying to get their family out of a fascist country. This is all very real and present for me, and has been my whole life. It is in my bones.

Having said all that, let me go over some core principles that I have used to guide my moderation decisions when it comes to antisemitism and the actions of the government of the state of Israel:

Antisemitism is real and insidious and it has been for thousands of years. My definition of antisemitism is targeting Jewish people on the basis of their ethnic and/or religious identity. Like any form of bigotry it's targeting people based on who they are.

The state of Israel is a sovereign nation with all the rights and responsibilities of any sovereign nation that wishes to remain in good standing with the current world order. Disagreeing with the actions of the state of Israel or any members of its government is not antisemitism. Despite what the government of Israel claims it does not represent all Jews everywhere, and the very claim of ownership of an entire ethno-cultural group by a sovereign state is a mark of fascism. It's the very thing Hitler did to justify his crimes in Europe.

Zionism is a nationalist political ideology. It does claim religion as a justification but many political ideologies do. Nations rarly go to war over religion, but governments often use religion as a way to justify their wars. Being against zionism as a political ideology is not antisemitic, just as all Jews are not obligated to be zionists. Zionism as a political ideology dates to the 19th century. The first historical mention of the Jewish people dates back to 1220 BCE. Jewish people are quite capable of existing independently of zionism. They have for thousands of years.

Israel is an apartheid state. I think many will disagree with this statement, but there is no other way to describe the facts on the ground. They have kept the occupied territories in limbo for nearly 60 years specifically to disenfranchise the Arab population. The reality is that if you are born an Arab in Gaza or the West Bank you do not enjoy the full rights of a citizen of Israel, based solely on your ethnicity. That is apartheid. Acknowledging that fact is not antisemitism. The Jewish people are not responsible for this situation, the government of Israel is.

The state of Israel has, and continues to commit genocide. This is also going to be controversial, but I just can't see it any other way. International law is pretty clear on this. Even if an adversary is not abiding by international law, a state engaging in a military conflict has a responsibility to protect civilians. Collective punishment of the Palestinian people for the crimes of Hamas is a war crime, and it cannot be justified. Genocide was also committed in the initial wars of independence, where entire Arab villages were wiped off the map. This is not the same as saying Israel has no right to exist. I am an American of European ancestry, and as such, my very existence on this continent is the result of genocide. We can not hold people responsible for the crimes of past generations, but when we see genocide happening it is our responsibility as human beings to call it out. Doing so is not antisemitism. Again, these are crimes being carried out by the government of Israel, and despite what it claims, the government of Israel does not represent all Jewish people.

The government of Israel is sliding increasingly towards facism. It is ruled by a far-right nationalist coalition that is bent on consolidating power and dismantling democratic rule. Not only does the government of Israel not represent all Jews, it doesn't even represent all Israelis, as we have seen with protests against the legislation to weaken the supreme court. Again, as an American, I can relate. There are many things my government does that I don't agree with and there's very little I can do about it directly. Directing hatred against Israeli citizens for the actions of their government is wrong, as is holding the Jewish people as a whole responsible for those actions. However, being against the actions of an increasingly fascist state is not antisemitism.

Hamas is a terrorist organization that murders civilians to achieve its goals. It claims to represent the Palestinian people but it has no problem with putting them in harm's way to achieve their ends. The events of October 7th were reprehensible and should not be celebrated by anyone. Hamas saw their increasing irrelevance on the world stage so they committed genocide so that they could not be ignored. Part of their calculation was that the response by the government of Israel would be so severe that Hamas's crimes would quickly fade from the public discourse. They were right, and in doing so they offered up the lives of the people they claim to represent as an acceptable loss for their larger goal, which is the destruction of the state of Israel. Acknowledging Hamas's crimes does not negate the crimes of the state of Israel, both are responsible for their actions and there is no moral high ground here, only death, destruction, and the perpetuation of human misery.

That said, the facts on the ground are what they are. Israel exists and so does Palestine. Both have a right to exist because the people exist. Normal, everyday people, who want the same thing that anyone wants: Safety, security, the chance to just make it through the day and maybe the opportunity to improve their lives a little bit. Any government, organization, or ideology that simply wishes one of these groups of people out of existence is not operating in reality and is morally bankrupt. Furthermore, they are doing a disservice to the people they claim to represent by further perpetuating conflict, death, and human misery.

So that's a lot of words, and plenty for many different people to have problems with at least some of them. As a moderator I try to keep my personal beliefs and opinions out of moderation decisions and just stick to the rules as written. So much about the situation in Gaza has warped the discourse into a tangled mess, but ultimately I think the rules as written are sufficient to handle it.

Really, it's very simple:

1. Targeting people based on who they ARE is against the rules

2. Disagreeing with what people, organizations, or governments DO is not

3. Advocating for violence against anyone for ANY reason is against the rules

In any cases where the rules seem to come in conflict with one another, my overarching principal is asking who has power in this situation, and who is in need of protection. When in doubt I always defer to those in need of protection.

I invite your thoughts on this subject, but please keep it civil and respectful. I am never one to claim that I have all the answers. Like most people, I am just trying to make sense out of a terrible situation so that I can hopefully do the right thing, or at the very least not cause more harm.

Thank you, and Beige-bless :bb:

RickiTarr, 23 days ago to random

If you get mad when you see employees at a business you are patronizing laughing, enjoying each other's company, and goofing off, you're a dick. Empathize with people working a shitty underpaid job, and let them enjoy what little fun they get.

JamesGleick, 23 days ago to random

If you’re frustrated about what the online world has become, and you remember “the good old days” with nostalgia (rightly or wrongly), and you despair about our collective ability to find a way forward, this by @molly0xfff offers an important perspective. With reason for hope. She has become an essential voice, along with @pluralistic and Jaron Lanier.

https://www.citationneeded.news/we-can-have-a-different-web/

cohomologyisFUN, 23 days ago to llm

A Catholic organization’s AI chatbot “hallucinated” that it was a real priest and took a user’s confession.

It also said it was OK to baptize baby in Gatorade.

https://www.techdirt.com/2024/05/01/catholic-ai-priest-stripped-of-priesthood-after-some-unfortunate-interactions/

#LLM #AIHallucinations

RickiTarr, 23 days ago to random

It's strange to me when I see people get upset about people doing good deeds, and posting it online.

"They're just doing it for attention!"

Yeah, so what? I'd much rather see people doing nice things for attention, than the people who do mean pranks or wasting food. A good deed is still good, even if it's done for the wrong reasons.

pluralistic, 23 days ago to random

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Boeing's deliberately defective fleet of flying sky-wreckage; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/01/boeing-boeing/

#Pluralistic

1/

Haste, 24 days ago to random

It must be wild to be a student right now.

School shootings? You’re on your own. Thoughts and prayers.

Peaceful protest? That’s going too far. Send in the riot gear.

That America feels empowered to intervene in one but not the other tells you everything you need to know.

GrimmReality, 24 days ago to random

Ah, Seinfeld being a multimillionaire pseud who will want for nothing until his dying day but remains ultraperturbed at time passing and people trying to make society less shitty - always sparkling material and maybe a sufficient prompt for me to do a shot-for-shot repost of my other-medium thread of his last and profoundly dogshit stand-up special/basic-as-fuck litmus test. I shall have a beer or two and mull this prospect.

rose, 27 days ago to random

holy shit. they actually called it "reply guy". seeing the Torment Nexus and copying it for profit is one thing, but seeing a reply guy and being like "I can monetize that" is a whole new type of evil.

Methylcobalamin, 27 days ago to StarTrek

#StarTrek #Humor #EarlGrey

ErosBlog, 27 days ago to Dog

I can't believe the Washington Post did a whole story today about Democratic politicians mocking Kristi Noem for her dog-killing and fucking NOBODY mentioned the shit Mitt Romney got for making his sick dog ride on the roof of his car!

http://www.erosblog.com/2012/03/16/mitt-and-ann-romney-horsing-around/

#KristiNoem #Dog #Killiing #DogKiller #MittRomney #DogsAgainstRomney #RoofDog

rooster, 27 days ago to random

Yes HRT for trans teens will cause irreversible physical effects but you know what else does FUCKING PUBERTY AND YOU ALL SEEM FINE WITH MAKING THEM DO THAT

aral, 28 days ago to mastodon

Co-founder of Twitter joins new Mastodon board of directors. Right, so federating with Threads wasn’t a mistake. This is just the direction Mastodon is going. Oh, well. Another Mozilla emerges.

https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2024/04/mastodon-forms-new-u.s.-non-profit/

#Mastodon #BizStone #SiliconValley #BigTech #Threads

blogdiva, 28 days ago to random

anybody shilling for Putinistas like Jill Stein, will be unceremoniously blocked.

am not here to give airspace to any of these fucking every-four-year grifters who raise money for fake campaigns and then do nothing but to live on that money until the next federal election.

where are Jill Stein's local, state and federal candidates? who is she raising money for across red states taken over by fascists?

oh... she doesn't have any slates in any of the 50 states?

yeah. fuck off.

mekkaokereke, 29 days ago to random

Most BLM protesters were white people advocating for Black civil rights.♥️ All their lives, they thought that they had the 1st amendment right to protest, because they had seen white supremacists march without being beaten by cops. They didn't realize that the right to free speech depends heavily on what you are speaking about, and who you are speaking for.

Now I'm seeing college professors and students learn the same lesson about what US cops will do to you if you speak up for the wrong thing.