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InitialsDiceBearhttps://github.com/dicebear/dicebearhttps://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/„Initials” (https://github.com/dicebear/dicebear) by „DiceBear”, licensed under „CC0 1.0” (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)S
Posts
10
Comments
122
Joined
3 yr. ago

  • It's bitter, but let's make lemonade. Embrace it as the fuel to drive whatever actions seem necessary and possible to you.

    Take care of that light which lets you see how hate is no good, although, maybe you can yield it as a shield to brace the storm head on.

    We could get philosophical about who that 'you' or 'your soul' is, which feels like being destroyed, and wether it really is. On one hand, this entity will still remain. Though not unchanged. But isn't that a good thing? I prefer being capable of feeling pain, as it sometimes just plainly is a totally appropriate reaction or sensation. I know that feeling of breaking, but on the other hand, if I could not feel that anymore, I surely was already broken. Dull and unmoved. So in a paradoxical sense, it is an affirmation that you are fine, a fine person.

  •  
            The Iraq embargo, for instance, gave rise to Al Qaeda and the eventual destruction of the World Trade Towers.
    
    
      

    This is a racist narrative that relies on the assumption that Arabs have no control over themselves and “they’re all the same”.

    Nah. Even if we assume (which we do) that Arabs, like any other group of people, aren't all the same, and that they do have (partial) control over themselves, like anyone else ... the decisions and fates of a sufficiently large number of them can still be influenced by a sufficiently large external influence, such as revoked access to international trade. Sometimes in chaotic ways. Heck, if billboard ads work in influencing people, it seems difficult to believe more intrusive changes to people's lifes would have no effect.

    Since the article already mentions it, for example Germany between the WWs. The height of reparations was helpful for nationalistic and ultimately again militaristic groups in Germany to gain power. Not as an automatism, not as a justification, simply recognizing a statistical causality. Peace isn't equal peace. What's a foul peace worth? We need conditions which support a stable and peaceful coexistence, not plant the seeds for the next war.

  • Did you leave it intentionally vague wether you were talking about P or T? I kind of find it nice how it fits both, how similar they are.

  • In just over three weeks, Donald Trump has been able to redefine the United States’ position in the world from a global power to an international outcast.

    As a European I’m all for it. Fuck up your own country for once and leave the rest alone. Nobody needs the corrupt self-declared policeman of the world

    The Schadenfreude resonates with me, but that power vacuum scares me more. All kinds of potentially violent forces, who have been constrained by US hegemony, will test what the new limits are in the coming years.

    At least, a corrupt policeman still has to play and pretend, which somewhat aligns her with the designated role. The Mafia, on the other hand ...

    What I mean to say is, you cannot step down from that position "and leave the rest alone". It causes ripples across the world.

  • fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me

    By repetition, trust has been eroded beyond elections. For security or even trade partners, it's bad to be erratic, violent and self-harming.

    The American peoples have been played and fooled, much like it happened in GB. Hyped by fairytales of economic and nationalistic wonders, by stories of sovereignty appealing to the imperialistic dim-witted, in the misunderstood attempt to make their country "great again", they flushed it down the toilet, cheeringly.

    Apparently, both forgot how much of their power came from being central parts of powerful networks. Isolating yourself, alienating everyone else surely makes you lose these privileges quickly, makes you lose influence on so many scales. Wether these losses can be compensated by any means remains to be seen, I'm doubtful.

    And as much as I enjoy seeing imperialist nations falling apart, the power vacuum they create seems to invite even more imperialism. Like they say, even more dangerous than an evil person is a stupid person, because the latter is unhinged. You never know how much they will fuck up next time, and you cannot even trust them being restricted by self-preservation or "common sense".

    I guess if it can happen to two nations from the West (and not just any two), it can potentially happen to any and all. They sure try.

  • And I might consider visiting that state! It seems so nice, but being part of that country ...

  • Weigh on Earth or on Moon?

  • How in the world did the biggest governments in the entire world and legal systems just get cucked to the point where a literal hate platform ran by a Nazi sympathizer throwing sig heils all over the place is even allowed in Europe?

    Can't help but chuckle in despair at that sentence. Well put.

  • ... if the foreign companies want to keep selling to the U.S. market, yeah. Sure, they can choose not to, but that way the company loses global market share and customers. I think it hurts both U.S. consumers and foreign companies who'd like to make a profit in exports.

  • Just works from Germany. Greetings! The following is the body of the article copy-pasted:


    February 7, 2025 6:08 pm CET By Chris Lunday and Eliza Gkritsi

    BERLIN — A German court handed Elon Musk’s X a legal defeat, ruling that the platform must immediately provide researchers with access to data on politically related content ahead of the country’s Feb. 23 election.

    The court decision, seen by POLITICO, was issued Thursday and marks one of the first major judicial tests of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), raising fresh questions about X’s compliance with European regulations ahead of Germany’s federal election.

    The lawsuit, brought earlier this week by Democracy Reporting International (DRI) and the Society for Civil Rights (GFF), accused X of blocking efforts to track potential election interference by not granting them access to key engagement data — including likes, shares and visibility metrics — that other platforms made available to researchers.

    Social media platforms, including X, are already getting European Commission scrutiny over alleged failures to mitigate risks around election interference. Russia was accused of interfering in Romania's annulled presidential election late last year, via a TikTok campaign that boosted a pro-Kremlin candidate.

    The case adds to mounting tensions between European regulators and Musk’s social media platform over its rolling back of content moderation and refusal to accede to data access demands.

    The DSA, which came into force in 2022, requires large platforms to grant researchers access to data to study systemic risks. The Commission already accused X in July last year of breaching the DSA for not meeting requirements around researcher data access. It also quizzed Meta last year over its decision to shut down research tool CrowdTangle.

    The Berlin Regional Court sided with the plaintiffs, issuing an urgent injunction that forces X to provide real-time access to the requested data via its online interface until Feb. 25. The ruling also orders X to pay legal costs and imposes a €6,000 procedural fine, setting a precedent for how European courts may enforce transparency obligations under the DSA.

    X did not immediately respond to POLITICO's request for comment.

    The digital space is not a lawless zone, and I trust that X will now quickly comply,” said Michael Meyer-Resende, executive director of DRI, adding that the platform's refusal to cooperate had “forced” legal action.

    The Berlin ruling is one of the first major tests of the DSA’s research access provision (Article 40), which was designed to enable research on social media and support the regulation's implementation.

    TikTok and Meta provided DRI with access to data based on a very similar application, the nonprofit told POLITICO earlier this week.

    “The decision is a huge success for research freedom and democracy,” said Simone Ruf, deputy director of GFF’s Center for User Rights. “We have fought for access to vital research data and are now blocking attempts to manipulate elections.”

    With just over two weeks to go before election day, the question now is whether X will comply with the ruling or attempt to delay through legal appeals.

  • Elon’s response to the world saying they saw a Nazi salute at the presidential inauguration. Not quite an “oops, I didn’t mean it that way”

    Oh, WOW! Glad I asked. Will happily add this to a conversation with a 'skeptical' friend.

    Honestly, I found some genuinely funny and actually laughed. But I would never share stuff like that in public, if at all, certainly not in a position like Musk, especially not after that salute. Guess he's testing the waters or normalizing.

    Anyways, thanks a lot for the info with screenshot! Once more, reality trumps satire. When asking the question, I thought it might be about some hints here and there requiring interpretation. I did not expect something so blatant.

  • What are the Holocaust Jokes referenced in the title? Didn't find an explanation in the article.

    For context, I'm a German missing out on many news and stories, for sanity reasons. But I'd like to know more about this.

  • Sometimes deals can be arranged with countries of origin (or nearby), even if it takes time and diplomatic effort (and probably some compensation to the receiver).

    If that fails, and anyways until that succeeds (if ever), you still have to treat these people as humans with dignity and rights.

    If they are criminals, they serve their time like anyone else.

    But first and foremost, if only for pragmatic reasons, society should look for ways to integrate these individuals in a way which benefits everyone; as a productive member. Most people don't strive to live in misery, and they probably came to your country in hopes of a better future. Help them build that, and everybody might win.

    The alternative is to become a monster yourself and still have no answers.

  • Surround yourself with Yes-men, piss off your allies, cuddle with dictators. Great strategy.

    Maybe MAGA actually stands for Make America Gone Again. Is that acceptable English? Not a native speaker.

  • Jesus (fucking) Christ!

  • For sure, a less reliable partner is a less valuable partner. That's one way to lose your geopolitical influence.

  • this just doesn’t look very nice.

    Of course, that's because it's Venice! Uhm.

    Sorry. Great comment, carry on.

  • Glorious.

  • We can plot it on 2 axis as a 2x2 grid:

     
        
    legal & legitimate   |  illegal & legitimate
    ----------------------------------------------
    legal & illegitimate |  illegal & illegitimate
    
      

    Definitions:

    • legal: conforms to the law
    • illegal: breaks the law
    • legitimate: the right thing to do
    • illegitimate: the wrong thing to do (not sure if this translation is correct, but this is what I mean)

    Examples:

    • legal & legitimate: Doing things which are allowed and fine, both morally and legally. Like crafting things and selling for a fair price.
    • illegal & legitimate: Might be as small as crossing the street when the lights are red (although no one is nearby), or as big as rebelling against systemic injustice // 2nd row of OP picture
    • legal & illegitimate: Exploiting others, benefitting from negative externalities, though under legal protection. Like the 1st row of OP picture, and things like fossil fuel extraction, colonialism, imperialism
    • illegal & illegitimate: Villainous deeds like murder

    I learned this idea during a training workshop for social disobedience (climate action, sit-in). Of course we saw ourselves on the legitimate side, partially covered by law, partially breaking it, but ultimately not caring so much about that part due to the perceived legitimateness. Against the fossil fuel industry, which we see as illegitimate, though sadly protected by law.

    PS: Not sure if intended, but this sub's image very much reminds me of the movie SMILE, which might be my all time horror favorite.