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Andy

@ andrewrgross @slrpnk.net

Posts
90
Comments
813
Joined
3 yr. ago

  • What do you think of the Singapore approach to drugs ?

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  • I don't agree with their approach, but I'll admit that their argument is sound.

    Particularly the part about rejecting the opinions of an outsider.

    I don't want to live in Singapore, bit if this is genuinely how Singaporeans wish to run their society I do not consider it my place to meddle. Especially because, as they note in the response, all of us should focus on getting our own houses in order before prescribing to others.

  • Bluesky just verified ICE

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  • Personally, I do want a common communication platform for people I despise because I want to be able to keep tabs on their public announcements. Also, I don't want any tech platform to have sole authority over who can communicate, as in the present, that will invariably work against the left more than the right.

    I do not want to share close proximity to them on a network graph, or regularly engage with their supporters, though. So I agree that federation is crucial. But to be clear, it's not because I want to ban them from a platform, it's because I want managed distance and better moderation.

    I don't mind Bluesky verifying them, but I'm glad that on Mastodon I don't have to share the same giant server as them.

  • How do you build and cultivate revolutionary optimism, given what's happening in the US?

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  • Yes. It's free and open-license. It's free as in speech AND as in beer.

  • How do you build and cultivate revolutionary optimism, given what's happening in the US?

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  • I'm a big fan of tabletop RPGs, and I like sci-fi, so a few years ago I moved from playing standard-issue cyberpunk to a homebrew solarpunk game instead.

    It was such a radicalizing experience that my friends and I eventually released it as a totally free game, along with a ready to run starter campaign. It's called Fully Automated! Solarpunk RPG.

    If you're a fan of TTRPGs and looking for a fun, social way to get better at believing in a better world, go download it. It's a blast, and really makes you want to go out and overthrow fascism.

  • I don't understand how Trump gets away with all his senial BS. How come everyone is not telling him to piss off or use the constitution to shut him the hell up?

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  • Respectfully, I think this is a naive myth.

    Ask yourself this: if Bernie won and began executing his agenda with the brash disregard for criticism of Trump, do you think he could do it and people would say the same things we say about Trump? Or do you think we would see the collective power of congress the supreme Court the state governments and the corporate world come down on him in 100 different ways?

    I think the more honest truth is that there are people with power who like what Trump is doing, and the people who don't like what he's doing don't have power.

  • ‘ELITE’: The Palantir App ICE Uses to Find Neighborhoods to Raid

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  • Yeah, it's wild how clearly we can see that Palestine is the world's laboratory for surveillance and state violence tech and tactics.

  • Anyone else about ready to give up on tech?

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  • My aggravation at the people who run big tech companies makes me more interested in hacking than ceding tech to them.

    I think stepping back from a lot of specific tools is appropriate. I'm trying to de-Google, and I've left a lot of platforms. I also appreciate unnetworked things like physical media, and music and e-books on non-networked devices.

    But leaving tech overall isn't appealing to me. I just recently started getting into mesh radio, for instance. It's dope stuff.

  • Removed

    Study: At Least 15% of All Reddit Content is Corporate Trolls Trying to Manipulate Public Opinion

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  • This article doesn't really seem to validate it's headline. I was eager to learn more about the methodology and how to better detect corporate content, but I was disappointed that they apparently just made the leap from the claim that 15% of popular subs host a non zero amount of corporate manipulation to the claim that this represents the fraction of total content.

    I'm not saying this to dispute how much of the total content is corporate bots. I'm just pointing this out because I actually care about the quality of statistical claims and data science, and I hate to see my ideological allies either misusing data because they're dumb or because they don't have a commitment to truth.

  • Removed

    Does Science actually need more money?

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  • I read op's question about whether money was the primary bottleneck facing scientists.

    And that's actually a reasonable question.

    There is, unfortunately, a real efficiency problem in science.

    The money spent is generally a great investment: you're not just funding discovery: you're also financially supporting millions of jobs that support discovery that include the businesses that sell to scientists and the restaurant staff in small college towns.

    However if we look at where the money goes, it's long been an open secret that a lot of the support costs are taking unjustifiable slices of the pie. Examples include what's called "overhead expenses", which are essentially astronomical rents universities charge their science departments. Also, equipment and repair costs are wildly inflated.

    I would like more funding of research, but I would also like reforms to limit this kind of exploitative price gouging in science. But to answer the question: yes, science would still produce more social impact faster if given more money.

  • Removed

    Does Science actually need more money?

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  • Gotta pay the gravity tax

  • At this point, what should we do about the ICE raids? If an ICE agent breaks in without a warrant or holds you at gunpoint, what do you do?

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  • The federal government is sending masked agents to brutalize and terrorize people is cities that are adversarial to their agenda.

    It's bad.

  • Instead of everyone leaving NATO, could everyone else just kick the US out?

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  • I wrote a long answer and then accidentally hit the back button and don't have the patience to retype it.

    The short version is that Vladimir Putin is responsible for the invasion of Ukraine. I don't want any confusion about that.

    NATO's influence was that the US has been advancing against Russia for decades even after their country collapsed, and it was obviously nakedly escalatory. Combined with the US is overall foreign policy, which has always been imperial, we've acted as though putting a gun to someone's head and telling them to stay cool was an actual way of calming things rather than the exact opposite.

    I'm not saying that a version of NATO couldn't have done what it claims to do. But that's never been the version that has existed.

  • Is it a red flag that your boss asks you to explain yourself in front of other coworkers?

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  • Yes, 100%. That's more than a red flag. A red flag is a warning sign of a problem. That's just a problem.

  • Brussels plots open source push to pry Europe off Big Tech

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  • Thank fucking God that they're finally waking up. This is long overdue.

  • Instead of everyone leaving NATO, could everyone else just kick the US out?

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  • GoddlessCommie's take is valid.

    Nato is the core organizing instrument of western imperialism. Nato is like Israel's Iron Dome missile defense shield. It's easy to look at it and say, 'Well how could anyone object to a tool of defense??' But if you know anything about war then you know that establishing an unbreakable defensive capability is what allows an imperial army to slaughter their weaker targets with impunity.

    I'm not co-signing GodlessCommie's point. But we gotta ask: did you like Vietnam? Iraq? Afghanistan? Korea? Venezuela? Nicaragua? Georgia? Libya? Ukraine? Gaza? Because arguably, all of this shit rests upon the conditions established by NATO and US imperialism. So... It's not unreasonable to ask whether NATO has actually fostered peace or just fostered peace for the people who wage wars.

  • we need more users

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  • I think that if we want new folks, it would make a big difference is we organized the equivalent of a new member drive.

    Currently, look at a default front page for your home instance and ask how enticing it is to a total newbie. There might be some good stuff, but it's foreign and overwhelming. You feel out of place.

    Now imagine if the first Friday of January had been "new subscriber day". People on Reddit and Bluesky are taking about the fediverse and if it's any good. And on Lemmy there's a bunch of posts about finding the best instances and memes about being new on Lemmy. That's a much more inviting beginner experience, and it makes it more likely for folks to come back the next day.

    I really think planning for bursts of new folks is the way to welcome people.

  • Why is kissing?

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  • This. Put another way: mammals use our mouths for sensing and manipulating. Note that people naturally use their mouths and noses to kiss and smell babies and pets on places other than their mouths.

    If we instinctively use our mouths to kiss things, it's natural that when two people want to do this at the same time they're going to both do it to the other person's mouth.

  • What is the champagne of champagnes?

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  • For what it's worth, I just asked my sommelier husband, and he independently answered Billiecart-Salmon, Runart, and Krug.

  • Bose open-sources its SoundTouch home theater smart speakers ahead of end-of-life

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  • I appreciate the distinction, but open source is always a spectrum, so I think the description is a reasonable application here.

  • Memes @lemmy.ml
    Andy @slrpnk.net

    I don't like it, but I don't make the rules

  • Political Memes @lemmy.ca
    Andy @slrpnk.net

    I don't like it, but I don't make the rules

  • Memes @lemmy.ml
    Andy @slrpnk.net

    Apparently he's a gaming YouTuber now

  • World News @lemmy.world
    Andy @slrpnk.net

    Israel prepares to call up 450,000 soldiers amid mounting toll on reservists and their families - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

    www.jta.org /2025/05/28/israel/israel-prepares-to-call-up-450000-soldiers-amid-mounting-toll-on-reservists-and-their-families
  • Solarpunk @slrpnk.net
    Andy @slrpnk.net

    I had a thought about the popularization of solarpunk today

  • Memes @lemmy.ml
    Andy @slrpnk.net

    Let's not take things to far okay

  • Memes @lemmy.ml
    Andy @slrpnk.net

    They can't hold out forever

  • Memes @lemmy.ml
    Andy @slrpnk.net

    They're gonna be so embarrassed when they find out

  • solarpunk memes @slrpnk.net
    Andy @slrpnk.net

    They're gonna be so embarrassed when they find out

  • Memes @lemmy.ml
    Andy @slrpnk.net

    A simple mnemonic

  • Star Trek Social Club @startrek.website
    Andy @slrpnk.net

    Poll: What's the cross-over between fans of Trek and solarpunk?

    mstdn.games /@FullyAutomatedRPG/113924421710964188
  • Memes @lemmy.ml
    Andy @slrpnk.net

    Plz stop :(

  • Memes @lemmy.ml
    Andy @slrpnk.net

    It's a hard time of year for some of us

  • Solarpunk @slrpnk.net
    Andy @slrpnk.net

    Just came across this pretty cool solarpunk comic book: [Re]Ignite by Howtoons

    readallcomics.com /howtoons-reignition-1/
  • Nature and Gardening @beehaw.org
    Andy @slrpnk.net

    Tips for disposing of fallen leaves

  • zerowaste @slrpnk.net
    Andy @slrpnk.net

    Tips for disposing of fallen leaves

  • Solarpunk @slrpnk.net
    Andy @slrpnk.net

    Examining Octavia Butler's unpublished Parable of the Sower sequels

    lareviewofbooks.org /article/theres-nothing-new-sun-new-suns-recovering-octavia-e-butlers-lost-parables/
  • Solarpunk @slrpnk.net
    Andy @slrpnk.net

    An interesting short: "HYPERVOLTAIC CHRONICLES" by THE LINE ANIMATION

    vimeo.com /798350609
  • Fully Automated RPG @slrpnk.net
    Andy @slrpnk.net

    An interesting short: "HYPERVOLTAIC CHRONICLES" by THE LINE ANIMATION

    vimeo.com /798350609
  • Solarpunk @slrpnk.net
    Andy @slrpnk.net

    The Amazon’s Ashaninka tribe restored their territory. Now they aim to change the region - Lemmy.ca

    lemmy.ca /post/28948066