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@Hegar@kbin.social avatar

Hegar

@[email protected]

Mostly kind chonky weirdo. Gentle nerd freak of the pacific north west. All nation states are vermin.

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Hegar ,
@Hegar@kbin.social avatar

100% death tax on all assets over $1m excluding a single house. That my final offer.

There's no justification for a birth lottery that awards democracy-warping levels of wealth to whoever had the evilest parents.

Hegar ,
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That's just completely not true though.

Hegar ,
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The only way this gig is ethically justifiable is if the support act is a guillotine.

Hegar ,
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Obviously there's a proxy war between russia and the west in ukraine, but I don't think the US wants a long attritional war.

They could have done more to not end up in one, but I think escalation management really is driving a lot of decisions in washington.

Hegar ,
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That much power fucks with your head, even if a well adjusted person manages to make it to that position, they won’t stay well adjusted for long.

Neuroscience supports this. Giving someone power causes changes in your brain that makes your brain less capable of empathy, closer to the brain of someone born with psychopathy.

https://www.npr.org/2013/08/10/210686255/a-sense-of-power-can-do-a-number-on-your-brain

https://neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/how-power-erodes-empathy-and-steps-we-can-take-rebuild-it

https://hbr.org/2015/04/becoming-powerful-makes-you-less-empathetic

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/social-empathy/201909/power-blocks-empathy

https://www.livescience.com/1128-mere-thought-money-people-selfish.html

https://blog.ted.com/6-studies-of-money-and-the-mind/

Hegar ,
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Across time, space and cultures, to be ruled is to be ruled by villains.

Hegar ,
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In parliamentry systems you can dissolve parliament, requiring an election. It's usually a way to bypass deadlock. Imagine if, when republicans are fucking around with the debt ceiling and pissing off the country, you could threaten to call a snap election and let them answer to voters then and there.

So if this passes it would basically force a national referendum on netanyahu's leadership.

If gantz is pushing this, probably he thinks he can win. That could mean netanyahu's many financial and political crimes being looked into again. Maybe.

It could mean more of a focus on getting hostages back, but it might not lead to much change in gaza:

Gantz’ centrism is not equivalent to Western centrism: Natenyahu’s Likud party and other Israeli nationalists have “gone so right-wing that the center in Israel has changed,” a Middle East Institute think tank fellow told Al Jazeera. Previously serving as Commander-in-Chief of the Israeli Defense Forces, Gantz has overseen two military offensives in Gaza and labeled several Palestinian NGOs terrorist organizations, indicating it is “unlikely” he would improve the conditions for Palestinians living in Gaza

Hegar ,
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Yeah but presumably the parent in the M1 has a spouse operating a surveillance drone to provide real time fire child correction?

Hegar ,
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Thank you this kind of comment is why I come here.

Hegar ,
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Thierry’s district ... is not a swing district. ... Previously, Thierry had beaten a Libertarian candidate 87%-13%, with no Republican running in the race.

In case anyone thought this might have been a tactical ploy by a dem in a heavily republican area, it was not. Just a crazy person shooting themself in the foot with their own cruel thoughts.

Hegar ,
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I agree that dems have cause for concern broadly, but I'm not sure that a 10% drop during an uncontested incumbent primary translates to a "10% drop in reliable D’s electoral engagement".

Hegar ,
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He's not clever though.

He's brazenly stupid. He never thinks things through and is incredibly easy to read and manipulate. He has almost no self control.

He's dangerous, but not because of anything that could be confused for cleverness.

Hegar ,
@Hegar@kbin.social avatar

Turns out when your main business is crime and you commit dozens of obvious crimes in public and you leave plenty of evidence of your crimes and you piss off the people you asked to cover up your crimes, you may eventually have a hard time proving you didn't commit crimes.

Hegar ,
@Hegar@kbin.social avatar

Nuns in her order were forbidden from forming friendships with each other, and were transfered and punished if they showed warmth or spent time with each other.

This was for the obvious reason - having friends is the first step on the slippery slope to being gay.

Isolation and alienation are hallmarks of a controlling cult.

Hegar ,
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Yeah, I'm guessing it was that, which won an IgNobel prize like a decade ago.

If you've ever worked in a call center, this kind of thing happens from time to time. After a couple times you learn to ignore it and push through.

Hegar ,
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35000+ tragic mistakes and counting.

Hegar ,
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The Mycenian Greeks probably wrestled control of Crete from the Minoans ~300 before the late bronze age collapse of greek and hittite power structures.

Cultural elements and settlements of these "Eteocretans" remained, but I don't think the Minoans were in any place to halt anything at that point. During the period we call collapse they seem to have been doing a lot of fleeing into the mountains.

Hegar ,
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Not in the late bronze age.

Hegar ,
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It looks like it's supposed to be more greek, since the romans weren't known for fighting naked, whereas we think 'greek' and we think shirtless. Also romans weren't involved in egypt in any serious way till much later. Whereas the 'sea peoples' seem to come from roughly the sphere of mycenean influence, even if they don't all seem 'greek'.

Hegar ,
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I don't think he upset dick cheney.

Hegar ,
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Are people not familiar with Chick Tracts? These comics are the product of the prodigous paranoid right wing evangelical conspiracy theorist Jack Chick (1924-2016).

I think these comics are best understood as the work of an outsider artist, like Henry Darger or a painting elephant. His work allows you to glimpse a mind outside the normal human experience.

His work focuses on who is going to hell - everyone who's not a right wing american protestant, and many who are. It shows a strong pornographic influence - many end in a blissful face dowsed in a baptismal money-shot.

It's meant to be used as a legitimate tool to evangelize. The worst christian lunatics leave these things in public, earnestly believing that after reading you'll realize the divinely ordained truth that freemasons will all burn in hell along with blood-drinking rothschilds and D&D players.

Hegar ,
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I always took them all whenever I found them - horrible things, I love them covers it perfectly.

But also, I wouldn't just leave a kitchen knife lying in public. Most people can be trusted to safely avoid the danger. But what if a child, or someone intent on harm found it?

The responsible thing to do is to remove the threat from the environment.

Hegar ,
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The d&d game summoning the devil was always my favorite. Always love a d&d episode.

Also any one where the pope is shown in league with someone unlikely - communists, jews, muslims, etc.

Hegar ,
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Bauxite is the obvious one. How could you forget about bauxite?

Hegar ,
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Pfft some glitch, you have to accept a massive nerf to average height, dental hygiene, disease load and interpersonal violence. Broad spectrum subsistence has a much higher skill cap.

Hegar ,
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Before anyone rushes to judgement about "suing 'Call of Duty'":

Families of the Uvalde victims have filed a lawsuit against Daniel Defense, the makers of the AR-15 assault rifle, and Activision, the publisher of the first-person shooter video game series "Call of Duty," and Meta, the parent company of Instagram, over what they claim was their role in promoting the gun used in the shooting.

The suit alleges the companies partnered to market the weapon to underage boys in the games and on social media.

They're alleging the AR-15 maker, activision and meta played a role in aggressively promoting the gun to underage boys. This isn't 'video games caused columbine'. Stealth marketing guns to kids is maybe not great. Meta's whole thing is shady intrusively targeted marketing. Everyone knows that Activision is capable of some truly scummy behaviour. I'm not 100% sold but that it seems worth hearing out to me.

Hegar ,
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Gun manufacturers specifically market guns and lobby for laws that make it easier for children to access guns.
Activision does not.
Meta does not.

Activision and Meta are vital parts of how gun makers market guns to children, this suit alleges.

If they are (which is definitely within the capabilities and inclinations of both those companies), then they should be held liable for their role in contributing to the epidemic of children killing people with guns.

Hegar ,
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Focusing on AR-15 is ridiculous. They’ll use what ever the best thing is they have access to.

No, because an AR-15 was used in this specific case, and these specific companies were involved in making and aggressively marketing this specific gun to the specific person who used it to kill these people.

This isn't a "Marilyn Manson/video games/anything-but-guns is the real reason" type argument.

These specific companies' obviously dangerous practice of marketing guns to teenaged boys contributed to the events at Uvalde, or so the suit alleges.

It's an argument worth hearing the details of before judging.

Hegar ,
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Holding companies responsible for how their products are used is the closest thing we have to fixing the issue.

Being able to sue both the makers and marketers of guns designed for massacres creates pressure for a solution to be found because now someone who matters is losing money.

Hegar ,
@Hegar@kbin.social avatar

how easy it is to procure

For sure. I grew up in australia. If I could snap my fingers and ban all guns I would in a heartbeat. But I live here and I know that's not possible.

The most feasible way to reduce the ease of getting guns is to hit the pocketbook of those who profit from how easy guns are to get. Our country is too corrupt for legislation to work. We have to sue companies and hope we like the changes they suggest.

Hegar ,
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"oppressed profitability" is a fucking brutal turn of phrase.

Hegar ,
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In case anyone was curious about what sort of politician has a daughter who's a full time missionary, yes he is exactly the cruel and corrupt grifter you'd expect, and a notably half assed one.

He introduced a bill to "regulate sexual content" in libraries, which he claimed was inspired by drag story hour, however drag story hours were not addressed in the bill.

He sponsored a bill to let parents sue schools if they don't like what their children are learning.

He's tried to pre-emptively block ranked-choice voting and forcibly de-transition adult prisoners as part of the "Missouri Child and Adolescent Protection Act."

My favourite is that he tried to pre-emptively block cities from banning pet store animals, at the request of Petland and others, after Petland was linked to bacterial infection outbreaks, puppy-mills and some fairly obvious cruelty. "He further acknowledged that he had not researched existing Missouri law on the matter." (per wikipedia)

If you're cruel or rich, Ben Baker's got your back.

Greater Idaho movement: 13 counties in eastern Oregon have voted to secede and join Idaho (ktvz.com)

On Tuesday, voters in Crook County passed measure 7-86, which asked voters if they support negotiations to move the Oregon/Idaho border to include Crook County in Idaho. The measure is passing with 53% of the vote, and makes Crook County the 13th county in eastern Oregon to pass a Greater Idaho measure.

Hegar ,
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They'll swallow a 6% sales tax in exchange for joining the white ethnostate of their dreams idaho.

Hegar ,
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I share your frustration. Cars are dumb. New cars are shit and dumb. It's also super bad for the environment - the manufacturing is a huge part of the total carbon emission of a car.

Seems pretty clear to me that it's a status thing - you're displaying your access to resources by showing that you can waste them. That's why I think it's legitimately useful to insult people's new or expensive cars. Deny them the social reward they seek and it puts pressure to find a new status token. Maybe instead they can waste money on carbon fibre bikes or the latest overpriced micro-transportation.

Hegar ,
@Hegar@kbin.social avatar

In case anyone missed the reference, this is based on a work found painted on the walls of Fransisco Goya's dining room after he died. You'll often hear it called "Saturn Devouring His Son", but the work was never titled or displayed publicly. There's really no good reason to believe that the devourer is Chronos/Saturn, that the devouree is even a child, or that either body is male.

I personally like to think of it as Untitled (Dining Room).

Hegar ,
@Hegar@kbin.social avatar

Did this person depict lots of mythological figures?

Nope! It's been a few decades since my art history lectures but my memory is (and wikipedia agrees) that he did a lot of portraits and battle scenes. IIRC his battle paintings inspired Picasso's. His late work is especially dark - madness and horror type stuff. Sinister distorted figures. They're often called The Black Paintings.

if this is common knowledge

Quite the opposite. This painting was used in a slide in my greek mythology class during the lecture about the titans and chronos. Then in an art history class I learned the context, which I feel is much less known.

Hegar ,
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Yeah, it's one of my favourites too. So immediately striking. I don't think it would've occurred to me to read up on it - what's to read about? There's just the figures and the act, nothing else. But then you find out that it's somehow even more goth.

Hegar ,
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There's a great Mac game from 1997 called Harry the Handsome Executive, where you zoom around on an office chair and weild a staple gun. The first level is you looking for a window so you can experience natural light again.

Hegar ,
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Yeah wow that's incredible. That dog looks very alone and scared, I could see how people say drowning. Cresting a hill was my first thought.

Hegar ,
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It's unbelievably dangerous to allow the people tasked with enforcing the state's monopoly on violence to access secretive private funding.

At least the republicans destroying US institutions are mostly working on behalf of other states. Allowing your police to be beholden to private money is such an own goal.

Hegar ,
@Hegar@kbin.social avatar

That headline really is a thing of beauty. It's like finding out that your trash is piling up because the city retasked all the sanitation workers to lie in fields of filth and create a heavenly host of garbage angels.

Hegar ,
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I generally recoil from comparing biden to putin but this really requires russian levels of post-truth politics.

Israel is committing war crimes like trump commits all his crimes - openly, in public and shielded by US elites.

Hegar ,
@Hegar@kbin.social avatar

on the way out.

This is overly optimistic. We humans are so resilient. We have every resource that's left at our disposal.

Even if there's full scale environmental collapse, we'll survive, rebuild, and be around to do it all over again.

Hegar ,
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Yep, once cyanobacteria flooded the world with oxygen, everything that couldn't hack it in an oxygen rich atmosphere died off never to return, and cyanobacteria and the chloroplast is still here, defining our world.

As bad as we fuck things up, we're better placed than many organisms to weather the consequences of our actions. Our numbers and harm done might go down for a while but like waves of the plague, we'll adapt to upset the new equilibrium in time.

Hegar ,
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I can't not read that in a garbled south african accent.

Hegar ,
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There was a recent case in NC where a 12 y/o was found dead with his underpants off and the camp obstructed the investigation and continues to maintain the death was accidental even after a coroner ruled it was not. It's the second death at that camp as well, previous one was in 2014.

https://www.wfae.org/crime-justice/2024-02-16/nc-regulators-shut-down-trails-carolina-camp-after-12-year-old-boy-dies

Hegar ,
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Russia has said multiple times that they are a threat to NATO. Pretending otherwise is as childish as pretending this isn't a proxy war between NATO and Russia.

If you're going to defend Russia, at least try not to contradict Russia.

Hegar ,
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Yikes, just looked at your profile. A supporter of both capitalism and authoritarianism?

I've never seen anyone so eager to tell the world that they are Neutral Evil.

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