ChairmanMeow

@ChairmanMeow@programming.dev

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Chinese propaganda is rampant on the fediverse⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  If you look at just about any country anywhere, you’ll find that party membership does not really correlate with election success, but rather with more radical beliefs or activism. The national election results of the CPRF had been on a downward trend well before the war broke out as well. Their membership may have increased, but electorally they lost about 70% support. Even in wartime that’s hard to ignore.

  I also don’t think you’ve been paying attention to what the propaganda efforts of the Kremlin have been putting out. As a result, you have cause and effect reversed. They’ve been boosting national pride through the “great history of Russia”, which inevitably means highlighting the Soviet Union and the great patriotic war. But the Soviet sympathies created through it are a side-effect of this.

  This also explains why polling suggests that sympathies for the Soviet Union mostly (not fully) consist of cultural and military pride. Yet sympathies for the Soviet economic system is low in comparison. It’s also heavily influenced by current geopolitics. Ukraine used to be the most pro-communist member state, but these days the majority no longer regrets its dissolution. In East-Germany, there’s a significant chunk of people who believe life was better in the GDR, yet that effectively translates into nationalist support for parties like the AfD (who of course are fascist, not communist). In Hungary, a large majority believe they were better off under communism than they are now, yet a large majority of 70% supports the move to a market economy. Uzbeks believe the Soviet government better responded to their needs, yet only a tiny minority believe life was actually better in the USSR.

  But this is all largely besides the original point, which is that the graphic showing the Soviet referendum results is used in a misleading narrative that suggests people did not want the Soviet Union to dissolve, as that wasn’t on the ballot and subsequent referendum results showed overwhelming support for independence and dissolution. And as election results in former Soviet states prove, support for a return to communism or a more socialist system is fairly low, despite a complicated nostalgia for the Soviet Union in some member states.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Chinese propaganda is rampant on the fediverse⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  Party membership is a bad indicator for national popularity, as evidenced by the historically bad election result that followed the first article you linked.

  The second article does not have anything to do with the popularity of the party.

  The third article contradicts the sentiment you express in your own paragraph; you suggest the Russian government is taking advantage of rising Soviet sympathies, as if it’s “just happening”. But as your article explains, those Soviet sympathies are being expressly fuelled and created by the Russian government, as part of their propaganda efforts to promote the great patriotic war (which Putin now claims they’re in another one of course, fighting the west). It’s artificial, not natural.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Chinese propaganda is rampant on the fediverse⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  CPRF support rising rapidly? You must live in a fantasy world. Their electoral results have rarely been worse, their 2024 presidential election candidate receiving a mere 4% of the vote (a record low for the party).

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Chinese propaganda is rampant on the fediverse⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Protests were already widespread in the Union. Several member states had already declared nominal independence from Moscow. Gorbachev was doing damage control and trying his best to keep the Union from fracturing further. Elections in member republics saw huge rises in popularity for noncommunist parties.

  The referendum was an attempt to gain the political momentum required for reform, in an ultimate effort to keep the Union together. It was essentially a kind of propaganda attempt to display large support for the reformed Union, made possible because dissolution was not on the ballot.

  There was widespread civil discontent before the referendum. Elections saw noncommunists rise to power and several member states declared independence. Then I am somehow to believe that the population first swung all the way back to “actually the Soviet Union is great and we don’t want to leave it” and back to “we should leave the Soviet Union” in a matter of mere months? That is an extraordinary claim that requires extraordinary evidence, which you don’t have. The truth is far simpler: at every point once the civil unrest started, the population voted in favour of less Soviet Union and for more independence, and not the other way around.

  My point regarding the phrasing of post-Soviet polling is that the wording drastically changes the outcome. Sure, people aren’t happy about how the 90s turned out and they feel they’re not part of a superpower anymore. They’re not happy with being screwed over by western nations. They say those things were better under the Soviet Union. But ask them if they would go back to such a Union, and suddenly support evaporates. And in several former member states even the first few questions don’t find much Soviet sympathies (eg the Baltics). They want to live in a stronger nation, akin to the Soviet Union, but they do not want to go back to what once was. It isn’t a simple case of “boy we sure had it good”, that does a huge disservice to the diverse and complicated opinions of the Union.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Chinese propaganda is rampant on the fediverse⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  such as in the US Empire, where within a single month sentiment on Israel flipped from overwhelmingly positive to majority negative.

  It didn’t go from +90% to -90%. That’s what I mean with the huge ‘swing’ seen here. Negative attitudes on Israel went from 42% to 53% in 3 years time. Yet this supposed “total reversal of opinion” happened in months? Nonsense of course. Remember, the Soviet referendum did not have “dissolution” as an option. People picked the option closest to it.

  the large majority of people in post-soviet countries feel worse off and/or regret its fall

  This is irrelevant to the false notion that the Soviet Union dissolved against what the people wanted at the time, which that graphic is often used to misleadingly suggest.

  Even then, opinion polling on the subject is highly unreliable. Even the same pollster slightly rephrasing the question nets wildly different results. In the Baltics opinion is pretty consistent that the fall of the USSR was a good thing. But Belarusians tend to disagree with that. But when Belarusians are asked if they prefer to follow a Soviet system or a western democratic system, they choose the latter. And when another pollster asks them again in the same year, opinions flip again.

  There’s certainly a strong sentimental nostalgia towards the Union, though not in all former member states. Yet it seems unlikely the population would be willing to vote it back into existence.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Chinese propaganda is rampant on the fediverse⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Right up to the end, the majority of people in the USSR wished to retain both the USSR and the system of socialism. This is proven not just from eyewitness reports of support, but also vote totals

  This isn’t entirely true. The question posed essentially meant the USSR would reform into a more supranational organisation, granting more sovereignty and independence to the constituent republics. Voting “yes” was basically a vote for “‘less’ Soviet Union”, as there was no option to vote to dissolve it entirely. It’s also why after the yes-vote won, Soviet hardliners tried to coup the government.

  When the New Union Treaty wasn’t fully implemented, member republics took it upon themselves to run full independence referendums, which were passed with overwhelming numbers (see the results on en.wikipedia.org/…/Category:Referendums_in_the_So…, 90%+ pro-independence in most countries. Remember, most happened in 1991 just like the Union referendum, and no large population swings to the complete opposite direction that fast). The massive disapproval of the communist party was also very visible, as the vast majority of republics started electing non-communist leaders.

  And of course there were people still in favour of the Union, but they were largely outnumbered. Pro-union manifestations were met with large protests that often ended in police action to suppress them. Pro-Union sentiments started increasing again after the economic crises post-collapse, but it has never become so popular again to lead to a reformation.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  People are mostly water, no? Makes perfect sense then.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Amazon is forcibly upgrading Prime members to Alexa Plus, and users are not happy⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Wouldn’t follow up or ask hard questions about combined metrics. It’s in their best interest to be enthusiastic about the numbers and push them to less critical media outlets everywhere, so the share price goes up.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Amazon is forcibly upgrading Prime members to Alexa Plus, and users are not happy⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I just explained that the shareholders wouldn’t do that, because that only risks the shareprice going down, which is against their interests.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Amazon is forcibly upgrading Prime members to Alexa Plus, and users are not happy⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  At a shareholders meeting/end of year report/etc… Does matter as long as it goes public.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Amazon is forcibly upgrading Prime members to Alexa Plus, and users are not happy⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Because Microsoft presented numbers that chuds think sound good, so they will want to buy their shares, pushing the share price up. The people who own shares but know the numbers are fud will shut up because idiots are buying their shares at a premium. The people without shares who know better won’t buy shares, which doesn’t affect the price, and Microsoft just replies nothing to their questions.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Amazon is forcibly upgrading Prime members to Alexa Plus, and users are not happy⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  The share price might change, as that’s largely based on feelings instead of facts. Sure they didn’t sell as well, but they presented numbers that look better (even if they aren’t) so line go up.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Amazon is forcibly upgrading Prime members to Alexa Plus, and users are not happy⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  As a shareholder, you are financially incentivised to not question narratives the company presents if they supposedly present the company in a good light.

  Suppose you do ask, the narrative unravels and the share price tanks. Congrats, you’ve just lost a buttload of money. Why would you do that?

  No, best option is to applaud loudly, tout it in the press and watch useful idiots buy your shares at inflated prices.

  The people who do ask the questions are the people the company doesn’t feel obliged to answer.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Autofocusing Smart Glasses With Eye Tracking Tech Could Make Bifocals Obsolete⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  When the battery dies, the glasses continue to function as a traditional pair of single-vision specs, ensuring the wearer is never left in the dark or have safety compromised such as when driving or operating machinery.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨If the protests in Iran win/topple the government what will it look like immediately afterwards? Also what would be the good or bad about installing a monarchy again?⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Some of them are protesting for it, judging by the pro-shah chants. Not sure how widespread it is though.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Circumcision classed as possible child abuse in draft CPS document⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Some women visually prefer it for cultural reasons. This mostly goes for the US, in Europe it’s different. But most threads I can find state women prefer uncut penises because they feel nicer and self-lubricate better.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨US | Renee Nicole Good said ‘I’m not mad at you’ before ICE agent shot her, video shows⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Erratic? She backed up, clearly turned the wheel away from the officers, and only once the car was fully turned away and no officer was directly in front anymore did she accelerate. The officers were never in any danger.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨I felt so betrayed when I found out Germany isn't called Germany in Germany⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Ja

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Microsoft Office has been renamed to “Microsoft 365 Copilot app”⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I did.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Microsoft Office has been renamed to “Microsoft 365 Copilot app”⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Entra is derived from the Latin intrate, meaning “to enter”, which makes sense for access management/id verification software tbh.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Who is going to be the next Pres of Venezula after all this US stuff?⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Whether or not she is in Russia is disputed btw.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨I am so scared of nuclear war, how do I cope with it?⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  A global, world-ending nuclear war is still unlikely at this point.

  There’s a fair few steps in between filled with horrors that we get to pass first. Such as when superpowers realise that since nobody can realistically use nukes, conventional warfare is back on the table (e.g. if China invades Taiwan and the US intervenes, will either side nuke the other’s population centers? Probably not).

  Then follows the realisation that superpowers can use nuclear weapons in a conventional war, but in a more tactical way (as a little treat). Don’t bomb a city, bomb a navy, or an airfield or army base instead.

  Global nuclear war would only happen if a nuclear state is threatened with total destruction. But fully destroying a state hasn’t been the playbook for some time now. Instead, take whatever peripheral stuff you want, and strategically weaken the enemy state in key areas (e.g. take out an important figurehead, like the US did with Maduro, or fund/arm insurgencies like in Syria). Let civil unrest then do the rest and topple the government for you. Then use diplomatic/economic/military pressure to sway the fledgling new government into your sphere of influence. With a bit of luck the country itself isn’t totally ravaged and can become profitable fairly soon.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨How TF2 Still Makes Millions (With No Updates)⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Half-Life Alyx came out in 2020 and was pretty good.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨World's Video Game Companies⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Microsoft doesn’t earn more than 90% of their revenue from gaming, so it’s not on here.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨A belated Christmas gift to R6 Siege!⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Their public statement says this isn’t true and a rollback is in progress.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨"i can hear the difference"⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  To be fair, it was 4 coat hangers. The Monster cable was therefore outnumbered.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Random idea: a federated alternative to Amazon Prime built from independent shops?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  The main reason for a store to sign up on a website would be:

  • Advertising
  • Centralised shipping
  • Centralised handling of payments (and note, this one is especially hard due to laws surrounding KYC and complexities in handling different payment methods)

  The Fediverse, being decentralised, has a hard time implementing the latter two. The first is basically not much different than being discoverable on Google.

  So fun as it sounds, it won’t be easy to implement. You’d likely have to have independent “shippers” and PSPs sign up to this, and somehow have webshops choose which to use. And that’s a very awkward structure for a Fediverse-minded solution.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨BillBoard for a Divorce Lawyer⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Probably so young Dutch kids don’t understand, and the majority of Dutch people understand English fine.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Now, that may seem weird to some, but to me what is really surprising is that some languages found it necessary to use two words to describe what is essentially the same fucking shit.

  Sucking on fingers is an entirely different kink from sucking on toes. So somewhat different I suppose.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Depends on your definition. Wikipedia is either ambivalent about it, or lists the thumb as a finger.

  In Dutch, thumbs are fingers, and there’s word for “digit” in the context of fingers and toes.