WatDabney

@WatDabney@sopuli.xyz

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨History is best told as a story of organised crime⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago⁩:

  Years ago - I believe in one of Dostoyevsky’s novels, but I haven’t been able to run it down - I read a wonderful allegory on this topic.

  The basic gist of it, told nowhere near as well as it was originally:

  Once upon a time, there was a peaceful village of farmers. They went through their days, tending their fields and caring for their livestock and each other and simply living.

  Every few years though, a group of bandits would ride down out of the nearby hills and attack tge village and take all they could carry of the farmers’ crops and livestock.

  Then one year, an entirely different group of bandits rode down from a different part of the hills, and they attacked the village and took everything.

  So when, a few months later, the customary bandits rode down to attack, they found the village already devastated and everything they would’ve stolen already gone.

  The bandits knew they couldn’t allow that - they depended on their theft of the villagers’ goods for their own livelihood. So they went back to their camp and, over a hard winter, thought about what to do.

  The next spring - long before the harvest, so long before their customary attack on the villagers, they rode down and they approached the village elders with a proposal.

  Instead of attacking the villagers and taking everything, they would settle for just taking half of everything, and in exchange they would protect the villagers from being attacked by those other bandits and having everything taken.

  And the villagers, with no other hope - being allowed to keep hslf of the fruits of their labors was at least better than losing everything - grudgingly agreed.

  And thus was government born.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨To survive the AI age, the web needs a new business model⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Yes.

  Data hoarders are going to really come into their own after the corporations start trying to paywall information - pretty much no matter what it is, there’s somebody out there who has it squirreled away on a drive.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨To survive the AI age, the web needs a new business model⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  On the first point, I’m not sure. I definitely agree that left to their own devices the AIbros would just keep expanding and battling each other and chasing ever more pie in the sky. But I don’t think they’ll be left to themselves. I think the MBAs will move in and take over, and it’ll shift to standard corporate tactics of buyouts and mergers and bankruptcies and liquidations, and inevitable consolidation.

  On the second, I agree. I think the web is actually going to effectively split into a commercial system of monolithic corporations and subscriptions and fixed hardware and a much less formal true web of small servers and self hosting and ad hoc networks.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨To survive the AI age, the web needs a new business model⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Amusingly enough, The Economist illustrates what I believe to be the new business model that’s already waiting in the wings for the internet.

  With admittedly no direct evidence to support it, my theory at the moment is that the “AI” players plan to consolidate and to continue to expand their reach and continue to gain users who rely on the “AI” for information rather than following links to the originals, then, once the "AI"s have killed enough clicks to collapse the ad model and drive the websites out of business (and give them the opportunity to buy up the remains of the businesses, and more importantly, their databases), they’ll put all of the information of which they’re now in sole possession behind paywalls.

  Broadly, the goal is to apply the most lucrative if least popular business model to information ,- to monopolize ownership of it in order to sit back and collect money as rent-seeking parasites.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨I just realized some people LIKE talking to each other.⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  My favorite ex-girlfriend is one. She’s genuinely interested in what anyone and everyone has to say, and radiates that enthusiasm.

  The oddest thing about it is that even she thinks it’s sort of weird and she actually wants to pull back a bit, but she can’t. She says it’s like a magnet - someone starts talking and she’s just irresistably drawn in.

  She actually went to see a psychologist about it, and she said that during the session it slowly shifted so that he was doing most of the talking, then at the end, he told her there was nothing wrong with her and that he couldn’t see her as a patient any more, then asked her out.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Five EU states to test age verification app to protect children⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  …to protect children.

  You can tell that that’s bullshit by the fact that they repeat it over and over.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Lawmaker says Alligator Alcatraz is an ‘internment camp’ after joint GOP-Dem visit⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Alligator Auschwitz.

  Also, fuck Debbie Wasserman Schultz. We likely wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place if she and the DNC hadn’t sabotaged Sanders in 2016.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Trump’s latest attack on wind energy gets instantly fact-checked⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Unfortunately, facts count for nothing now, since Trump is a delusional narcissist whose only reality is inside his own mind, and he’s surrounded himself with angrily frightened sycophants who just want to be told that reality is something other than what all the people the hate and fear say it is.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Iran voices 'serious doubts' over Israel commitment to ceasefire⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Actually, there’s no basis for any doubt whatsoever.

  Israel has zero integrity and they WILL violate any ceasefire, guaranteed.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Tesla Robotaxi Freaks Out and Drives into Oncoming Traffic on First Day⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  And this is why DOGE gutted the Office for Vehicle Automation Safety at the NHTSA.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why Filipinos see politicians as the top source of disinformation⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Between the Duterte family and the Marcos family, there really isn’t much question as to why Filipinos see politicians as a top source of disinformation, is there?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨How to get to Santa Claus beard status⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  As the proud owner of a Santa Claus beard (though in color and texture, it’s more of a Grizzly Adams beard) I would say that the most important thing is to turn the care over to a professional. Just like your hair, don’t attempt to manage it yourself (beyond washing, combing and the loke). Find a stylist who also does beards and go on a regular schedule and have them trim it and maintain it. And they’ll also be able to tell you if you need to do something special to care for it.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why do some people say "I wouldn't want a government to dictate what I eat"? This would mean they'd be against food safety regulations, would it not?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  And…?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why do some people say "I wouldn't want a government to dictate what I eat"? This would mean they'd be against food safety regulations, would it not?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  You’re talking about two different things.

  Context was the idea of a government banning certain popular foods

  This would mean they’d be against food safety regulations, would it not?

  It’s entirely possible to be in favor of food safety regulations and opposed to the government banning foods outright. In fact, I think one could safely presume that those are the positions most commonly held by most people.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Grave of the Fireflies⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I’ve had a copy of it for about ten years now and still haven’t watched it.

  I plan on it, but I know enough about it that I know I have to be in just the right mood.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨what’s the difference between “he died” and “he’s dead”?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  It’s not that they’re truly synonymous but that each also implies the other. If it’s true that he’s dead, then it’s also true that he died and vice versa. So it seems like they mean the same thing because if ypu say one, it can be taken for granted that the other is necessarily also true.

  But even that’s not 100% - it’s possible that “he died” is true but “he’s dead” is not, since he might’ve been revived. That illustrates the fact that they actually each communicate something different - “he died” is an experience through which he went at some point, while “he’s dead” is the state he’s in right now.

  So again, they broadly communicate the same thing since saying one implies the other as well, but they don’t actually mean the same thing.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Catchiest video game song?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  As far as Pokemon goes, I’ve always been partial to the Team Galactic battle theme from DPPT. And though “catchy” doesn’t quite do it justice, the night theme for Jubilife City, also in DPPT, is tremendous. Walking into that city for the first time at night was one of the defining moments of my video game life.

  And the Shiver City theme from Paper Mario is unforgettable.

  I don’t think anything will ever beat Still Alive from Portal though.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Hard-right candidate who lost Romania’s presidential race contests results at top court⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Nah - sorry. I’m not buying it.

  Granted that most of those at tte top are not dumb and are instead evil, greedy, power-hungry and entirely self-serving, most of the rank and file have to be dumb.

  Either they’re so dumb that they think that the lies they’re told are true, or they know that they’re not true but go along with them anyway because they think that the face-eating weasels aren’t going to eat their faces, which is just a somewhat different sort of dumb.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Hard-right candidate who lost Romania’s presidential race contests results at top court⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  The vast majority of them are that dumb. Even a surprising number of their politicians are genuinely dumb.

  But yes - they’re most certainly not all dumb. The people at the top very much are not.

  But even they realize that most of their supporters genuinely are dumb. In fact, they count on it.

  As I said, it depends on where someone falls on the right-wing “credulous idiot to lying sack of shit” scale. They all fall somewhere along it, necessarily, with the rank and file almost entirely on the idiot end and the handful of genuine powers on the sack of shit end.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨When will all the folks complaining about loss of Snap and health insurance realize the GOP wants us to die and has ZERO empathy for fellow Americans?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I keep wondering the same thing.

  It’s especially galling when I see some cautionary piece in the legacy media about how some Republican policy “might” lead to some negative consequences. As if they’re unaware of that and it’s up to the media to gently nudge them and point it out.

  The Republicans are fully aware of the harm their policies are going to do and that’s much of the point. They quite simply want everyone who’s not one of them to die. They’re not only okay with that - they’re eagerly looking forward to it.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Hard-right candidate who lost Romania’s presidential race contests results at top court⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  That’s what they do.

  Far right is a fundamentally dishonest position. It’s based entirely on lies - the lie that the nation/world was better off under some older system, the lie that the problems today are caused by liberal values, the lie that diversity is bad and racial purity must be defended, the lie that authority is good or even necessary, the lie that men deserve to dominate and women should submit, on and on and on, it’s all lies.

  So when they lose, as they deserve, they just automatically fall into the lie that they should’ve won. That’s what defines their entire worldview - they claim a set of truths, and when the world contradicts them, they convince themselves (or pretend, depending on where they fall on the far right scale of credulous idiot to lying sack of shit) that it’s some sort of conspiracy to deny them what’s rightfully theirs, when the reality is simply that they’re wrong. About everything.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨US Government officials have coordinated with Musk executives to pressure small african countries into embracing Starlink⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  To the degree that fascism has a distinctive economic system, one of its most notable qualities is a combination of private ownership of the means of producton with government/corporate partnership and a “revolving door” by which powerful individuals pass back and forth between business and political leadership positions.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Reminder that Trump and Musk are only Thiel's meat puppets.⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  If only it was that simple…

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨US eliminates unit countering foreign disinformation⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Imagine that - an office dedicated to counterong foreign disinformation somehow ends up being accused of censoring conservative views.

  That reminds me of when I saw a mouse in my kitchen, so I set a trap snd caught it, snd somehow that slao stopped the ragged holes that were inexplicably appearing in food packages in the cupboards.

  Just one of life’s mysteries I guess…

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[deleted]⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I can’t see any situation in which I would.

  Mostly I have zero interest in sucking any dick (other than maybe my own, and I’m not that flexible).

  But beyond that, $20 just seems wrong no matter what - if I wanted to do it, $20 would be pointless and if I didn’t, it wouldn’t be near enough.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Democratic Senators Team Up With MAGA To Hand Trump A Censorship Machine⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  The timing here is what makes this move particularly baffling…

  It’s only baffling if you cling to the ever-more-laughable belief that the Democrats are any sort of meaningful opposition.

  If you instead simply shift to the ever-more-supported belief thatvthey are in fact essentially oligarchic co-conspirators, then the timing makes perfect sense.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[deleted]⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  That whole family is just rich white trash, aren’t they?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[deleted]⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  “Lefties keep calling us Nazis but they don’t even know what Nazis are, and oh yeah, by the way, all of these people over here should be killed because they’re an inferior race.”

  Even setting aside the staggering psychopathy of the modern right - their complete and utter disregard for the lives of other human beings - I don’t even begin to understand how any human being could have so little self-awareness.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[DISC] Chigau Miyahara Omae janai! - Chapter 43⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Lately this series keeps feeling like tragedy and heartbreak are looming just barely off-stage.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Trump literally referred to himself as "King". Surely conservatives are against a monarchy forming?⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Conservatives don’t care.

  Their blinkers don’t allow them to even see things like that. They’re just focused on seeing the people they hate made to suffer, and as long as that happens, they’re content. The rest is just trivia.