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Andy

@ andrewrgross @slrpnk.net

Posts
90
Comments
779
Joined
3 yr. ago

  • U.S. Intel Warns of Imminent Iranian Strike on Israel: Report

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  • I agree with you. I'd like more democracy is Israel.

    I think that people ARE going to need to reimagine what Israel is, though. People -- including folks like Einstein -- have been saying since it's founding that it is fundamentally incompatible to have a multi-ethnic democratic ethnostate. It's internally contradictory. You have to lose one of those words.

    Jewish nationalists would like to lose the multi-ethnic part. Religious extremists would like to drop the democratic part (and probably the multi-ethnic part too). I'd like to drop the ethnostate. I think Israel can be a democracy that welcomes Jews AND Palestinians. But to be frank, democracy and Zionism have been looking increasingly incompatible for a long time, and a lot of folks in the US need to start recognizing that.

  • Tim Kaine: Biden knows Netanyahu ‘played’ him in early months of Gaza war

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  • This is a key comment, right here.

    I am grateful that Kaine's comments show a slow pivot taking place in Washington. But we should all be clear that Democrats in congress like Kaine are engaged in a PR exercise to cover the fact that all that has changed is their recognition that they aren't going to be allowed to participate in genocide.

    Really, Tim? We gave them all those bombs to convince them NOT to flatten Gaza?

    To quote Principal Skinner: "I was only in there to get directions on how to get away from there!"

    Biden wasn't played, he was on board. And he still is. But at least Kaine is workshopping excuses for him to jump off the train he was helping drive.

  • U.S. Intel Warns of Imminent Iranian Strike on Israel: Report

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  • I'm just going to answer you and @JustZ@lemmy.world 's comment above at the same time.

    What's the hell is your point?

    Generally, when someone mentions something like the existence of some admirable quality in a country facing criticism or a terrible quality in a different country, it's irrelevant to the point at hand. It's either to derail a conversation or terminate it.

    The conversation thread is about the fact that Israelis should not be held responsible carte blanche for atrocities committed by their government, because many lack political representation and face extremely oppressive prejudice from their government.

    If you're arguing that the presence of any Arabs within power at all disproves their overall repression, in this context you're arguing against my point that they should NOT be held responsible for the crimes of their government. Is your point that Israel Palestinians are guilty of genocide in Gaza? Think about how inane that is.

    And if you're pointing out that regionally, Jews are an oppressed group... well then what? What does the fact that Qatar and UAE and Jordon are repressive mean in this context? It is wildly off-topic, and also utterly irrelevant that Israel's neighbors suck too. You know what? I don't think we should send weapons to Iran or Egypt or Saudi Arabia either. That's not exactly a hot take.

    Figure out what the hell your point is.

  • U.S. Intel Warns of Imminent Iranian Strike on Israel: Report

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  • it’s a democracy

    Israel has been rocked by protests and strikes for the last year. Tens of thousands of Israelis are in the streets demanding an election. But lets set that aside for a second.

    Try to explain your whole attitude to the TWO MILLION PALESTINIAN CITIZENS OF ISRAEL. I'm not talking about the people living under occupation. I'm talking about people with Israeli citizenship who are Palestinian. Do you want to guess how the police in Israel treat you if you're an arab citizen and go to a protest? I'll give you a hint: their head of police is Itmar Ben-Gvir. He was convicted of terrorism by his own country. His public position is that he would like to ethnically cleanse both Israel and the occupied territories. And he runs the national police.

    Think about what you're saying when you damn everyone in Israel because "it's a democracy" when it's an apartheid police state.

  • U.S. Intel Warns of Imminent Iranian Strike on Israel: Report

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  • That's an interesting take.

    I think it helps to remember that these decisions are often made by people who have very specific goals that aren't aligned with the nation itself. Generals who want to get promoted to higher levels, government ministers looking to curry favor with their patrons.

    You might be right, but they're likely not trying to improve Iran's standing. They're looking to each improve their own. Also, most people in these positions, in my observation ARE very dumb.

  • U.S. Intel Warns of Imminent Iranian Strike on Israel: Report

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  • Listen: I get it. But I've spent the last 6 months telling people that no matter how angry you get, saying this about Gaza is a call to genocide, and is an impulse we must all recognize and reject.

    So I have to say it to you too. "Leveling the whole country" is always an endorsement to kill every child and otherwise powerless person in that country. Hell, two million Israelis -- 20% of Israel's population -- are Palestinian.

    If you're mad about what Netanyahu and the Zionist movement are doing, call for JUSTICE, not retribution against the innocent.

  • Caustic Soda Locomotive at a Drying Station

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  • This is so lovely and bucolic. I love the thinking that goes into these. I didn't know about any of this, and it's really fascinating technology.

  • Israeli Spy Chief Accidentally Blows Cover with Amazon Self-Publishing

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  • I was thinking the exact same thing!

    Oh man... I wonder what the next Captain America is going to be like. Supposedly, they were planning to introduce Sabra... 😬

  • Israel Opening Aid Routes to Gaza After Biden’s Threat to Netanyahu

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  • That's good to know. Say that. Try saying, 'This guy, _____, gives a great explanation of why ________.'

    Without context, I have no ideas what I'm watching.

    Look at foggy: now I know this beau guy is a popular commentator on military and foreign policy, but is controversial to some due to personal run ins with the law. That's good context.

  • Israel Opening Aid Routes to Gaza After Biden’s Threat to Netanyahu

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  • Just type your thoughts as words or paste a link to an article.

    Ain't nobody got time for your links to long ass videos of strangers talking (timestamped to the got-dang middle ass of the video).

  • Does anyone else remember when "they" broke up the anti-work movement on reddit by putting a mod on fox news then dividing the community by creating the work reform sub?

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  • This whole thread is spitting facts

  • Israeli military investigating after Gaza officials say foreign aid workers killed in IDF strike

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  • This is very funny and also very sad.

  • Iowans were fooled by a prank to make a busy area of Des Moines... walkable

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  • That's sad to hear.

    I went to De Moines for work once, and to their credit: the place has charm. It's got more going on than I expected.

    Coming from the west coast, I'll totally own up to my preconceptions, but a bunch of the businesses and signs made it clear that De Moines has a far more open-minded, fun-loving modern culture than I was expecting.

    Still, I can't say I'm surprised at this. Especially on Facebook. I don't think the people who run the hip microbreweries and rad clothing stores I saw are commenting on Historical Society Facebook posts.

  • Judgy asshole

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  • I think the mainstream Santa lore is dogshit.

    I know a pro Santa, and as an actor he has to have his story straight. And if you ask him his life story, it basically starts as a mortal man in ancient Turkey with the story of the original St. Nicholas, and then proceeds to his gradual ascension to demigodhood through devinely favored acts of anonymous charity around the world.

    Eventually, his aging slows down and stops, and he makes his way to the frozen north where the ancient, immortal elves have retreated to enjoy their hobby of crafting far from the bother of humans. They become friends, and he begins a routine of spending his time wandering the earth looking for the needy and deserving and passing along recommendations to the elves. What they build, he offers to deliver. And in the process, he inspires hundreds of millions to pretend to give on his behalf so that no one ever knows if he is real or which gifts came from him.

    He doesn't judge each of us, and he doesn't actually give presents to most people. He just wanders the world every day looking for those in need. And he doesn't command the elves, he just furnishes them with requests which they oblige at their discretion.

    It's such a better story, isn't it?

  • Jewish settlers set their sights on Gaza beachfront

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  • This is so disgusting to read.

    I look at her comments -- she doesn't deny that it's ethnic cleansing -- and I am disgusted to be associated with this woman as a Jew. Her vision is just vile. I've known many liberal zionists who seem confused or cowed, but these far right nationalists have a vision for domination that is completely indistinct from any nationalist movement (Nazis included). It's just horrible to watch how gleeful she is to see these people die or forced off their home at the barrel of a gun.

    These people cannot be allowed to win.

  • I made some new art for the game – sort of a recruiting poster for the Civil Defense.

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  • That's awesome.

    I just read The Lost Cause by Cory Doctorow, and it presents civil defense in the same way. Is really inspiring.

  • Israel announces largest West Bank land seizure since 1993 during Blinken visit

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  • They do it because they can.

    Netanyahu in particular is famous for asserting that policy control flows from him to the US, not the other was around.

    He believes that Israel controls the US, and he controls Israel. And for decades, that insane belief has been shown largely accurate.

  • YSK: Lemmy has 53k monthly active users but only 1172 have ever donated

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  • I am a Patreon supporter of the developers. It's that the best way to support the project?

  • Experimental Video Game Made Purely With AI Failed Because Tech Was 'Unable to Replace Talent'

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  • That's a great image.

    RIP Norm.

  • Experimental Video Game Made Purely With AI Failed Because Tech Was 'Unable to Replace Talent'

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  • I don't doubt that AI tools can be used to make great games, but I think part of the reason so many people disagree with you is because:

    1. You claim "The best games will mostly be AI created eventually", and I think most people question on what basis you think that AI will produce overall better quality. If you said that it's faster, or can allow indie studios to complete with AAA, that makes sense. Attributing quality to it -- at this stage -- seems odd.
    2. It's unlikely, imo, that the best games will be created by AI as opposed to with AI.

    I think using AI throughout the process so that one person can achieve the productivity of a whole team is a credible vision. But to say that games will created "By AI" implies that a generative AI engine will generate the code de novo to a complete game. Which I think is already possible, but it will be very, very hard for such a system to innovate newer games. Because currently, these tools rely on replicating features in their training, so their ability to create quests that match a new genre or to generate dialogue that is funny in the context of the story is going to be very impaired.

    By and large, I think current evidence shows that Human-AI cooperation almost always improves upon AI performance alone, and this is particularly the case when creating things for humans to enjoy.