andrewrgross

1

Can you share a source?

I don't think his strength is within an order of magnitude of theirs. I don't think his durability is either.

Granted, I wouldn't be surprised if you showed me a comic showing otherwise. There's probably a comic where he goes inside a star or something stupid, because there are always those kinds of writers. But based on his typical portrayal, I think he's more of a brush off a car crash and pick it up guy than a survive a nuke and crush coal into diamonds guy.

Andy @slrpnk.net 2mo ago

You know, sometimes when the Avengers announce a new inductee I'm like, 'Really?! You think that's a good strategic addition?? This feels more like a popularity contest!'

Their choices kind of look to me more like a publisher's idea of what will sell books & toys than a cooperative of gifted public servants. But I'm probably just being silly.

Andy @slrpnk.net 2mo ago

Agreed. His comments are so bizarrely stupid on so many levels.

They're not just "wrong": they're half-right-half-wrong. And the half that is wrong is idiotic in the extreme, while the half that is right casually acknowledges a civilizational crisis like someone watching their neighbors screaming in a house fire while sipping a cup of coffee.

Like this farmer analogy: the farmers were right! Their way of life and all that mattered to them was largely exterminated by these changes, and we're living in their worst nightmare! And he even goes so far as acknowledging this, and acknowledging that we'll likely experience the same thing. We're all basically cart horses at the dawn of the automobile, and we might actually hate where this is going. But... It'll probably be great.

He just has a hunch that even though all evidence suggests that this will lead to the opposite of the greatest good for the greatest number of people, for some reason his brain can't shake the sense that it's going to be good anyway. I mean, it has to be, otherwise that would make him a monster! And that simply can't be the case. So there you have it.

It'll be ~~terrible~~ great.

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Andy @slrpnk.net 2mo ago

100%.

Peter Frase deconstructed this in an article a decade ago (and subsequent book) "Four Futures".

It's really not complicated. Saying 'the rich want to make us all obsolete and then kill us off ' sounds paranoid and reactionary, but if you actually study these dynamics critically that's a pretty good distillation of what they'd like to do, and they're not really concealing it.

Andy @slrpnk.net 2mo ago

Reported experiences vary between the hundreds of hostages, but in general, public statements have been inspecific declarations that they went through hell. A smaller number have spoken more publicly and described specific horrible abuses. Prisoners released by Israel largely mirror this, which is consistent with an abundance of public evidence that Israel operates extremely brutal extrajudicial torture camps.

But honestly, I'm not sure why we're still talking about this. This started because you said that you believe it's important to exercise skepticism towards sensationalist claims, and I pointed out that it's equally dangerous to ignore credible atrocities because they are too shocking.

The situation in Israel/Palestine is really not that complicated. If you're unaware because you're not following it, that's fine, but then I think it's ignorant to demand extreme forms of evidence for things which are already well documented that you can't be bothered to review.

The US is materially supporting a state sponsor of terrorism in broad daylight. This is publicly acknowledged by experts and major figures within Israel. Do with that information what you will.

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Andy @slrpnk.net 2mo ago

You know, that's kind of a weird response. Because what I asked was whether or not my interpretation of a set of events fulfilled your criteria for credibility. And instead of answering a pretty simple yes-no question you asked whether Greta Thunberg has published photos of her unclothed body.

I feel like you responded in your head, and then imagined my response, and then wrote a response to that.

But I think I can infer that you're unconvinced.

Now I gotta ask: if that's your standard of evidence, do you also doubt the veracity of the Israeli hostages returned from Gaza who attested to being tortured and abused?

If not, I think you're exercising some pretty "selective" skepticism. And if so, congrats on your neutrality but Jesus Christ, that's fucked up. When anyone gets back from captivity and alleges that they were abused or raped or violated, requiring them to expose themselves to you as the price to have their claims considered is quite gross. It's not even an effective form of proof. Most torture is markless, and bruises are easily faked.

I'm not asking you to "believe women" or accept any victim narrative unexamined. I'm just pointing out that you can judge victims credibility without demanding that they submit to your leering gaze. Don't believe Greta? Fine. I think that just as the hostages are far more credible witnesses to their own treatment than Hamas, the hundreds of flotilla activists testimony is far, far more credible than IDF. But you do you.

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Andy @slrpnk.net 2mo ago

Uh... @DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works ?

I think it sounds like you might be a danger to yourself.

I don't know your situation, but I just want to point out two things:

The belief that those around a depressed person secretly don't want them around or would appreciate them more when they're gone is wildly untrue. It kind of sounds like your brain is trying to convince you of this, and you should know that your brain is almost certainly lying. Lots of people know folks who are depressed that we love very much and are grateful to have in our lives.
People who survive suicide attempts consistently experience enormous regret and relief that they survived. They typically describe the experience as terrifying, and report that it felt like someone else was trying to kill them.

I know that during depression, negative thoughts can make a convincing case that you cannot expect anything to get better, but there are A LOT of people alive today who enjoy their lives who felt the same way at some time in the past. I hope that with support you can perhaps be one of these people.

Andy @slrpnk.net 2mo ago

I think this might be an unpopular take, but I think we -- and I'm talking about activists and ecosocialists here -- should be advocating for a just transition away from fossil fuels in places like Russia.

Reading the article, my first thought was gleeful schadenfreude. The people responsible for Russia's coal industry are frankly monsters. They have so much blood on their hands for the human toll they have imposed on the climate, but also because they're authoritarian war-mongers. And seeing them hoisted by their own petard is a wonderful thing to see.

But then my second thought was this: the workers in this industry are suffering badly, and will suffer worse. They are in an economic crisis that is getting worse, and ruled over by oligarchs who amplify all their suffering.

And then my third thought was of revolution. As much as we hate to admit it, revolution in the real world is a value-neutral proposition. In the face of awful circumstances, it's hard to imagine the outcome of a revolution not being better. But that's just a failure of imagination. This kind of event fuels revolution, but there's no guarantee that such a revolution won't simply move to another form of exploitation and barbarism. If we want the workers of Russia to be able to live lives of dignity and comfort, and we want the whole world to decarbonize as fast as possible, then I think that Russia needs access to the technologies and ideas that provide that. My point is that we should begin advocating for tech transfer.

Tech transfer to a regime like Putin's? I don't love it. But I think it needs considered.

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Andy @slrpnk.net 2mo ago

So where does this fall for you?

Two weeks after the alleged incidents, we have further reported details. Greta Thunburg has given a lengthily interview to Aftonbladet. In it she alleges that she was tortured in captivity. She also shows off her suitcase, which bears Israeli vandalism. Her story is corroborated by interviews with numerous witnesses, including journalists such as Saverio Tommasi.

Thunburg describes a visit by the Israeli Minister of National Security, Itmar Ben G'vir. Ben G'vir has confirmed this, and released footage of the event. Though the foreign minister has denied the claims that she and the other activists were tortured, Ben G'vir has expressed pride that they were made to suffer. He described them as terrorists. This was reported by The Times of Israel. This should be understood in the context that he is responsible for overseeing their treatment, and he has repeatedly expressed that he believes that terrorists in captivity should be tortured.

So my question, again, is whether you'd say that Greta Thunberg's claims to have endured torture in Israeli captivity, during which time she was beaten, starved, and subjected to solitary confinement can be considered objectively verified.

I think so. I think the original report was fairly credible, and I think subsequent reporting thoroughly substantiates it by rigorous journalistic standards. Would you agree with this?

Andy @slrpnk.net 2mo ago

That's pathetic. You're either an artist or a philosopher. No engineer would be able to write such nonsense

(What no art education does to a mfer)

I'm actually an automation engineer!

Look: it's fine to be unfamiliar with ideas, but please don't be rude and stubborn about not knowing something.

You should read Einstein's writing. Sagan too. If you place technical knowledge as the highest (or only) form of intelligence then maybe they'll break through for you.

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Andy @slrpnk.net 2mo ago

Can I ask how old you are, and what your parents do/did growing up?

I don't want to come off as mocking, but it sounds like you don't understand the role art plays in a functioning society.

Artists explore ideas at the lowest level of a chain of creativity that extends up to scientists and decision makers. In the same way that rocket engineers rely on physicists and chemists to uncover the science that underlies engineering, and physicists and chemists require mathematicians the uncover the math that underlies physics and chemistry, artists essentially research the human condition to allow their society to weigh whether building a rocket is worth doing; where it should go; what it should do; who should be on it; etc.

Our collapsing society could in some part be blamed on the fact that our economic system has failed to fund research into the ideas and social technologies that we need to transition away from obsolete social systems.

Andy @slrpnk.net 2mo ago

Good for you, and thanks for doing all that! I won't prescribe a specific strategy, but for what it's worth: as soon as I read the news about this today, I went and donated $10.

I already liked him, but I don't just throw $10 at everyone I like. But I saw this and immediately wanted his campaign to see strong fundraising this week and get the message that they don't need to worry about this kind of thing.

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Andy @slrpnk.net 2mo ago

Well maybe I'm wrong then. FWIW, you sound confident and credible to me.

I do agree that it seems obvious that this was sent to CNN by Janet Mills rather than discovered in house. I was just saying that I think this kind of research is easy enough for CNN to do that they could, but I agree that based on the timing of Mills' entrance into the race and the fact that I just don't really expect places like CNN to be that proactive that, yeah, this was absolutely sent to them in an email that probably looked like: "Subject: Anonymous bombshell tip! ; From: PR@ millsforsenate. com"

I'm curious how it works out. Attacking a guy running as an outsider in Maine for being pro-worker, pro-gun, and fed up with the system kind of sounds like they're misreading the electorate. Like... don't threaten Mainers with a good time, you know?

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Andy @slrpnk.net 2mo ago

Really? You think so? I could be wrong, but that doesn't seem at all the case to me.

First, I think a lot of this is just skill. You dig around in the stuff that's publicly known, find usernames and links to old bios, and then start searching for those usernames on every social media site to see if a unique handle appears on OkCupid, PornHub, etc.

Second, on the resource side, there are tons of data brokers that have a ton of info on all of us. You don't think CNN has $50 to drop on a file filled with tracking data on a senate candidate? I think even broke local newsrooms have access to license plate reader data and leaked medical records and a ton of super personal info. I don't think they tend to use it, because a lot of them are understaffed and it's less cost-effective than just writing up local police blotters and whatever appears on Nextdoor. But I don't think it's hard to get this stuff at all.

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Andy @slrpnk.net 2mo ago

In the article I saw, it said that the account had identifying information, and the posts were deleted but archived.

My interpretation is that the campaign of Janet Mills -- his primary rival -- found all of this during opposition research and then sent it to CNN.