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dsmk

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dsmk ,

Since users choose their gender in the app, this has some potential to be used for more nefarious purposes, no?

Not a big fan of discriminatory options like this, btw.

dsmk , (edited )

Can’t really comment on that as in my city (not US) to drive for these companies you need a license. To get the license, they perform background checks, check your criminal record, ask for medical approval, etc, every time you have to renew it, and all this seems to stop a lot of bad stuff. Not saying it doesn’t happen - you can’t never completely stop it - but there are ways to reduce it.

Anyway, they could just allow customers to select their preferred gender, would make anyone that wants to use such option happy, and we wouldn’t even have to talk about discrimination.

dsmk ,

Are they checking the customers too? If not, it seems to be an easy way for some weirdos to go around targetting genders they don’t like.

dsmk , (edited )

Legal action for picking the “wrong” option in an app? Also, “I’m gender fluid, your honor”, so good luck proving anything.

By “nefarious purposes” I meant serious stuff. Some deranged fuck decides to kill (edit: a certain gender) and there’s not much you can do after they point a gun or put a knife to the driver’s neck. It’s too late by then.

I don’t know, I understand their intention, but it seems to have some flaws.

dsmk ,

The option allows customers to prioritize drivers from two of their 3 gender groups: “female” and “non-binary”. One group is left out and if you happen to be in that group, you’ll end up doing less trips, making less money.

I wouldn’t be happy with a setting to prioritize “male”, so you can see why I’m not happy with a setting that prioritizes “female” and “non-binary”. You either give the customer the option to prioritize any gender or you don’t.

Since they can’t verify one’s gender, the potential for abuse is there. A customer could prioritise these groups if they wanted to target them and the driver could also pick one of these genders if they wanted to have people of said gender in their car.

dsmk ,

Someone needs to learn the difference between gender and biological sex.

dsmk , (edited )

I wouldn’t put Afghanistan and Iraq on the same level.

Bin Laden (and Al-Qaeda) was in Afghanistan and they refused to hand him over. That invasion had the support of NATO and even Russia and China. Why? Because Al-Qaeda existing doesn’t benefit anyone and they were behind the attacks.

Iraq was different. It was mostly a US and British invasion, under false pretences. Iraq used to have chemical weapons and even used them against civilians back in the 80s, started a war with Iran and invaded Kuwait, but those were not the reasons given for the invasion…

Now, why wasn’t Bush charged with any crimes? For the same reason nothing will happen to Putin in Russia. What are you going to do, invade the country to arrest the president?

Is it fair? No. But it’s how the world works.

dsmk ,

Even if you remove the veto power, what exactly would you expect to happen?

Bush wasn’t going to be arrested and put under an international court for the same reason Putin isn’t going to be arrested for invading Ukraine. You can tell them “hand him over”, they say “make me”, and the only way to enforce the decision involves war, which no one wants to have.

The veto power is a problem, but it’s not the main problem here.

dsmk ,

So, tl;dr: After being hammered by strikes they made an offer to hand him over to a 3rd party?

dsmk ,

I’m not defending the occupation and whole “nation building” (which I doubt they though would take 20 years). Just pointing out that there was a difference between Afghanistan and Iraq, and that difference was reflected by the support (or lack of) from other countries.

dsmk ,

Trump is being charged with crimes

Not for dropping bombs or ordering drone strikes in a different country.

dsmk ,

People will forget - like we eventually forget about everything - but the information doesn’t have to disappear from the internet.

Have a website, blog, etc? Write about your experience, what you saw other people doing, the reactions, what politicians did, what you felt, etc. Archive the pages on the usual archival sites, so something lives on even after you die.

Just like some people went back to read what the newspapers wrote about the “Spanish” flu 100 years ago, someone is likely to get back to what we wrote/filmed/saved during this pandemic.

dsmk , (edited )

And I say, “Thanks dude! Bavarian cream is my favorite!”.

Okay, nothing wrong with this, unless you knew the person wasn’t a “dude”.

And the office temp shouts, “I’m not a dude!” and pushes the coffee and donuts onto the floor. Big mess.

Obviously wrong, but a “I call everyone dudes, no offence meant” from you would show everyone in the room that you didn’t mean to offend them.

And I reply, “Nobody cares about your stupid gender.”

And now you’re an asshole. And a dumb one at that as not only you expressed your opinion about someone else’s “stupid gender”, but also turned others against you.

Assuming this even happened and you’re not leaving anything out, you lack “people skills”.

Zelensky dismisses compromise with Putin, pointing to Prigozhin’s death (www.cnn.com)

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin – the Russian mercenary leader whose plane crashed weeks after he led a mutiny against Moscow’s military leadership – shows what happens when people make deals with Russian leader Vladimir Putin....

dsmk , (edited )

he would have not genocided tens of thousands of ethnic Russians since 2014

Zelensky became president in May 2019…

edit: I am really being downvoted for pointing out a fact? lol.

dsmk ,

I personally don’t want anyone to die, but it’s not like Ukraine asked Russia to invade them, steal their land and kill their people.

dsmk ,

No one was shelling anything until Russia sent their “little green men” into Ukraine. Just saying…

dsmk , (edited )

I’m not Ukrainian, so it’s not my place to tell them to just bend over and take it. If they want to continue fighting, then it’s their right and I support their position.

I’m also not sure if a compromise is possible when the positions of both sides are so far apart. Ukraine thinks they can win, Russia still thinks they’re the 2nd best army in the world and that all is going well, so even if you trust Putin or Russia (which you shouldn’t, see the 2nd Chechen War), I’m not sure how both sides can agree on a middle ground. There are still too many cards to be played before we reach that point.

Those who truly worry about human life should keep in mind that if it’s too easy for aggressors to start wars, they’ll keep doing it because it works. Do nothing, appease the aggressors, and you might end up with even more dead people.

But hey, it’s just Slavs killing Slavs, right?

All I see is Russia invading another country (2014 and then again in 2022) and bringing war, death, and destruction to a land that had its problems but was fairly peaceful. Them being “slavs” matters little here.

dsmk ,

Ukraine, with the resources and military they had, wanted war with a nuclear power with a much larger military? Was anyone in Ukraine even talking about war in 2014 when Russia invaded Crimea and started that shit in the east? Where they so full of themselves in 2022 that they though they could take on a nuclear power?

Something doesn’t fit here.

Russia invaded Ukraine. Not the US, not NATO, not the EU, not China, not the bogeyman: it was Russia.

You should stop painting Russia as if they are a bunch of amateurs that can’t control themselves. They weren’t baited or provoked. They looked at the political situation in Ukraine and made the decision to invade, twice. Putin isn’t a moron, so presenting him as being played by the US or having no other choices makes no sense.

What’s happening is the consequence of a country invading another in order to expand their borders. Anyone (and I mean anyone) doing that should pay a heavy price so they learn the lesson.

dsmk ,

A few points:

0:

First things first:

  • Russia invaded Ukraine.
  • They can stop the war at any time they want.

1:

The peace terms Russia offers is the equivalent of me telling you that I’m going to beat the shit out of you if you don’t give me a room of your house and stop talking to your neighbours. Obviously you won’t accept my terms, not because you want to fight with me, but because my terms are not acceptable to you.

I really fail to see why would anyone support these type of invasions where one side just annexes land because they can. Would you support it too if it was the US? I wouldn’t.

2:

The “little green men” - later confirmed by Putin to be Russian - were not invited by anyone. A group of people inviting someone to annex them is also not a justification for an invasion. That’s not how international law works nor would you accept that justification from other countries.

If it walks like and invasion and quacks like an invasion, then it’s an invasion. Let’s not pretend otherwise. Putin’s own version of history even justifies all this because it’s all “Russian land” anyway.

3:

I really don’t like Nazis, Ukrainians or not. The problem with invading because of them is that Russia has the same type of crowd, which following the logic promoted people like you means that any country can now invade Russia, as they also have a “nazi problem”, not only in political parties, but also in Ultra groups and “philosophers”. Well, unlike you, I don’t think we should be invading countries because they have some ultra nationalistic groups… so I’m not going to support any invasion of Russia either.

I’d also like to remind you that the far right party had less than 2% of the votes in the 2019 election. If less than 2% is a signal that the country is full of nazis, then maybe I don’t know how % work.

The now very famous Azov Battalion (thanks Russia for creating some martyrs, like wtf?) was created in May 2014. What’s the context though? In February, Russia took over Crimea and started shit in the east, confirmed by people like Igor Girkin. The bloated, weak, and corrupt Ukrainian army was shitting their pants and the usual groups got together to fight. It wasn’t only the far right though, you even had far left anarchists doing the same. I don’t know why this is a surprise… who’s going to stand and fight if not those with more extreme views?

4:

I don’t know if the USA was behind the coup, in any case, with Russia’s interventions in Belarus and Kazakhstan that seems to be acceptable from their point of view.

What I know is things went to shit when the then president Viktor Yanukovych did a 180º turn on the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement and decided to do an agreement with Russia instead. Maybe you’ll blame the US for that decision, I don’t know, but that’s when the protests, Maidan, etc, happened.

In any case, Ukraine had laws and the new government and elections followed that law. It’s just what it is, we don’t have to like it. And it’s certainly none of Russia’s business.

5:

NATO had an open door policy from the start. I know this, you should know this, and Putin certainly knows this. The policy doesn’t change. Nor it should change. We don’t tell Russia’s CSTO to change their rules, they don’t tell us to change our rules. It’s simple to understand.

Ukraine has been trying to join NATO from the early 2000s. Are they in NATO? No, of course they are not. The chances of me joining NATO today are higher than Ukraine’s chances in 2014, yet Russia did what they did.

Russia invaded Ukraine, but not because NATO kept repeating the same “we will consider any application” talk they’ve been repeating from the start. Nothing changed. Russia started a war - not NATO - and as grown ups they also need to accept the consequences of their decisions.

6:

because no great power ever allows foreign military threats to amass on its borders

I thought it was because of the Nazis? And I’m sorry, where’s the “great power” here?

Reminds me of the UK after WW2. Still acting like they were rich, powerful, and had an empire. Russia needs to have a good look at themselves. They are not the Soviet Union or are in the US or China’s league. We all need a reality check sometimes, hopefully this will be theirs.

Also, and while with many differences and a weird past, not even during the Cuban missile crisis did the US invaded Cuba. Shit only almost hit the fan because of the nukes, not because Soviet troops were there… and they were there for a long time before that.

7:

What’s happening is that the US has gotten its latest war that it’s been pushing for for decades. It’s always the USA, always has been, except this time, right?

Chechnya, Georgia… yes, it must be always the US forcing Russia to start wars. It’s never Russia’s fault, the poor guys just can’t control themselves and have to wage war on everyone around them.

Next we’ll blame any war in the Pacific on the US too when China decides to occupy some random island that doesn’t belong to them, because of course China was “forced” to be aggressive. Their claims over the south china sea that overlap territorial waters of other countries? All the US fault! Can’t you see they are being oppressed for gods sake!!! /s

It’s always everyone else’s fault. The US should start doing the same. Vietnam? It’s all the Soviet’s fault. Iraq? I don’t know, maybe blame Iran or something 🤷‍♂️. I’m joking, they shouldn’t do that.

What about taking responsibility for our actions? Russia decided to invade Ukraine. No need to be so defensive about it, they started the war, it’s them that crossed the border in 2014 and 2022. The way some of you talk it’s as if Ukraine/NATO/US invaded Russia, but no, Russia did it.

[I’d really like to continue this conversation about how Russia is totally blameless for the war they started (lol), but I have more important things to do. I’ll leave the thread here.]

dsmk ,

Even Russia has issues with China’s claims:

newsweek.com/russia-breaks-silence-china-map-disp…

But sure, keep blaming the US for China’s actions. Poor China, also being forced into doing this.

Regarding the “Nazi apologia”, what part of “don’t invade someone else’s country” don’t you understand? Tankies gonna tankie, I guess.

dsmk , (edited )

Indeed, it’s normal to have disputed claims, even between China and Russia. But as soon I mentioned China in the south china sea, that “jumped out”. If China behaves like dickheads with Russia, it’s normal. If they do it in a different region, it’s the US’ fault.

You hate a country so much that it clouds your view to the point that you criticise said country for doing something (eg: invasions) and then defend another you like (Russia) for doing the exact same thing. “Go home yanks” one second and defend Russia invading other countries the next. And I’m the fucking zombie?

I never left Europe, so I don’t know what’s that about medicine. I have free healthcare. I’m not a fucking tankie though, you won’t see me defending the invasion of other countries like you do.

There’s not much to run from to be honest. It’s just I have no patience to discuss with people that defend the invasion and annexation of other countries. You want this war, you love it so much that you go around the internet making excuses to justify it, you just lack the balls to admit it. And then, when a country you don’t like does the same, you correctly criticise their imperialism and tell them to go home… you’re not doing it for the right reasons though, after all you like war when Russia wages it. It’s just a general hate of the west that makes you have that reaction.

I really dislike people like you, so, and as soon I submit this comment, I’ll do what I should have done when you replied to me: block you.

I’m not going to ask for proof of that coup because I know you don’t have it, but let me turn that question around… Would a country with so many nazis remove people like Biletsky from power, only give 2% of the vote to the nazis, and elect a jew (all in 2019)?

You’ll probably do some mental gymnastics as you need to hold on to something… I mean, a man needs to sleep at night and if there’s nothing to justify this war Russia started, you might reach the conclusion you’re just a bad person that likes to see big countries invading, annexing, and killing people (as long it’s Russia doing it!).

Ta ta and farewell.

Meta discontinues Messenger Lite for Android, it will be unavailable after Sep 18. Users need to install regular Messenger app instead (beehaw.org)

I have not found any news article on this on a whim. Because my friends and family, I need to use Facebook Messenger, and Messenger Lite was a OK client - lightweight, no unnecessary features, etc., compared to the regular Messenger app....

dsmk ,

I use Telegram every day, but without end-to-end encryption (by default and on groups), it’s as private as Facebook Messenger. They can read everything. The only difference is that currently people trust them more than they trust Facebook, but everything turns to shit eventually.

If Signal is too “boring” or no one uses it in your circles, try WhatsApp. Yes, it’s also from Meta, but at least comms are encrypted (same protocol as Signal) and a lot of people use it.

dsmk ,

WhatsApp uses the Signal Protocol. Is it as private as Signal? No, it “leaks” way more metadata. Have I personally checked if they’re encrypting messages? Also no, although others have. Is it possible that they’re doing something “funny” and no longer encrypt? Yes, but is there any suggestion or proof of that being the case?

Should you use WhatsApp? No, but the suggestion above was to use Telegram, a service that doesn’t do end-to-end encryption by default and leaks the same type of data as WhatsApp. Going from Messenger to Telegram is a sideways move. From Messenger to WhatsApp would be at least a small upgrade (with the benefit of having more contacts there than Telegram, at least in some countries).

I understand the point about it also being a Meta app. I guess the question is what do you trust more? Telegram and the people behind it with your plain text messages or a Meta app with end-to-end encryption? I don’t trust either, so I pick encryption.

I’m not anti Telegram or anything like that. It’s a nice app, lots of features, smooth, etc, and I use it, but privacy was never their main priority.

dsmk , (edited )

I didn’t say anything about them “storing messages in plain text”. I said that they don’t do E2EE by default and since they have the keys for the TLS that encrypts data in transit, they can read the content of your messages. Encrypting their drives - something that any decent service does - only protects you if someone “steals” a drive: Telegram has the keys and can obviously read the contents of their drives.

I found this Kaspersky blog post which provides a nice tl;dr. They even make the same point as me:

Let’s go straight to the root of the problem: Telegram is a unique messenger with two types of chats: regular and secret. Regular chats are not end-to-end encrypted. Only secret ones are.

No other messenger does this: even the notorious WhatsApp, part of Mark Zuckerberg’s data-hungry empire, uses end-to-end encryption by default. The user doesn’t need to do anything at all, there are no special checkboxes or anything: messages are protected from all outsiders (including the service owners) right out of the box.

[…]

This is not new. Back in 2015, Edward Snowden had this to say about Telegram’s defaults:

I respect @durov, but Ptacek is right: @telegram’s defaults are dangerous. Without a major update, it’s unsafe. [source]

To be clear, what matters is that the plaintext of messages is accessible to the server (or service provider), not whether it’s “stored.” [source]

In practice, they’re no different from Messenger, Slack, Discord or a direct message on Reddit. Most messages on Telegram can be read by them, just like Google can read all messages in your Gmail.

Why is Signal or WhatsApp better? Because they do E2EE for all messages. It doesn’t matter if they forget to encrypt their servers, all they see and store is encrypted messages. You hold the keys, not them.

dsmk ,

If you (user 1) are talking with your friend (user 2) through me (telegram) and I have the encryption keys, then for me (telegram) communications are essentially in plain text. I can even encrypt them 100 times… I have the keys and can read your (user 1 + user 2) messages.

You’re again talking about storing messages (not sure why). Telegram might encrypt their storage (I never claimed they didn’t), but they have the keys and therefore can read what’s stored. They also have the keys for the messages, so there’s no hypotheticals or claims here: they have the keys for everything, so they can read everything.

E2EE is opt-in and currently only available for direct chats. Unless you manually start a “secret chat”, there’s no E2EE MTProto 2.0 to help you. They can read everything.

The audit done in 2020 goes over how Telegram encrypts their cloud chats and those encryption keys are not stored on the same servers. While E2EE is preferable, the reason why Telegram works the way it does is because how messages are handled by default.

So… Telegram has the keys to decrypt your messages?

I mean, it’s not hard to understand. The party that holds the keys can read the messages.

dsmk ,

iOS is too restrictive for me. Not being able to access the file system, no sideloading, no background apps, limited app access to the hardware, etc. Apple has the best mobile SoCs, but then you can’t even run an app like Syncthing to keep some folders in sync (it can’t even access those folders) or use some app to re-encode a video in the background.

I like the UI consistency between apps and OS (Android is a bit more “messy”) but overall it’s a bit like ChromeOS. Good for basic stuff and sometimes the best for specific tasks, but try to do anything more advanced and you’ll quickly find a wall.

On my phone I have apps like Syncthing running in the background. Sometimes I run an app that gives me detailed info about battery usage, track/map the signal of mobile networks, contribute to Mozilla Location Service, can see to which bands my phone is connected to (and if rooted, even control which are used). If an app needs to use bluetooth to send a file or NFC, it can. On the other hand, Android still struggles to do fast file transfer well (at least it never works as well as Airdrop for me)… there are trade-offs.

Again, it’s a bit like ChromeOS/Chromebook vs Linux/Windows/macOS. Perfect for my parents, but not enough for me.

The hardware is fine. Things like the display (Samsung), modem (Qualcomm), cameras (Sony) can be found on Android devices (or at least similar hardware). Their SoC is the best there is, but then is restricted by software… a bit like buying a Ferrari to drive it in a city. Imagine a “gaming phone” with the latest A16?

Regarding software updates, Google and Samsung (at least on the more expensive devices) now have 5 years of software updates. Not as good, but not a problem for those buying a new phone today. Some brands are still bad though.

dsmk OP ,

1.5x speed is your friend, but (from memory) essentially it’s a video where he:

  • Criticises Linus/LTT/LMG for their handling of the initial review/problem and what happened with the female employee. Also points out their incompetence, fuck ups, and Linus not reacting as he should.
  • Criticises Gamers Nexus/Steve for the way he presents opinions as facts, nitpicking, how youtube channels should managed/updated, and his “gatekeeping”. Also mentions the comments about LMG hiring people from the industry and how they leave out important information about the people being hired as it doesn’t fit the narrative.
  • Criticises the community for being fanbois, sending threats, asking for Linus “head”, lack of understanding how content creation works and the difference between small and larger operations, the reaction to some of the official replies. Also, the difference between one person (eg: Linus) and the organisation (eg: LMG/LTT) and how Linus (or any “main” dude) probably doesn’t read or reply to most of emails.
  • Goes into content production from a point of view of a content producer (written and now video), the logistics of that and how it can be hard to fix mistakes, especially when different teams and people (with different areas of knowledge) are involved.

Etc. I’m probably forgetting a few things, so watching the video and reading comments there is probably a good idea.

I'm worried that in the future we will be forced to use smartphones just like in China

In China, you can’t exist without a smartphone, because for all existential things you have to do (paying bills, buying tickets etc.) , you are forced to use the almighty wechat app. Smartphones are a tool to manipulate and to spy on the population. It is a tool utilized by the ruling class, to control the masses. I hate the...

dsmk ,

Every generation needs to adopt new technologies if they want to live in society. For some it was cars, for others it was phones, faxes or the internet. We also stop using older technology… for example, I’ve never sent a fax in my life. It probably sucks for people who still want to send faxes, but now you scan and email or take a picture and send it via your favourite app. Today you need internet and a phone. It is what it is… like every generation you either keep up or get left behind.

Yes, smartphones can be used to manipulate and spy. You can also use them to learn, to be entertained, to drive to places you had no idea how to reach, keep in touch with people, and so on. I’m not being “controlled” by anyone when I pick my phone and make a video call to a friend or watch a tutorial about something I want to do. You’re only focusing on the bad aspects, so it’s not a surprise that phones are so evil for you. Plus, some people prefer to have all their tickets, cards, etc, inside an app instead of carrying coins and cards around… it’s not bad for everyone.

Regarding China, yes, some countries will be like them. Some won’t. There’s a lot of stuff that have nothing to do with phones that could have be done by other countries, but haven’t because things are different. Governments want to control people, but you probably don’t need a permit to travel from one side of your country to the other like they do in China or used to to in the Soviet Union. Maybe I’m being naive, but I don’t see why every country must become very controlling surveillance states. It’s possible, but there are other possible outcomes too.

I think it’s good to be aware about the negative aspects of technology, but to “hate the future” just because it may (or not) be worse than today doesn’t make sense to me. I’ll deal with the problem when and if it appears.

dsmk , (edited )

I don’t have anything to add in terms of solutions, but I think it’s worth trying to understand why your batteries only last 1 or 2 years.

If it’s because they’re too low capacity for your needs and you’re deep draining discharging them often, then you might be able to save money in the long term by getting a larger, more expensive UPS. If the environment where they operate is harsh (eg: too hot), maybe the fix is actually air con or something like that. And so on.

Batteries can last a long time, but you need to avoid the extremes: temperatures, state of charge, charging cycles, etc.

dsmk ,

No. For most (if not all) batteries the recommendation is to avoid discharging them too much.

Having a larger battery helps here because you won’t go as deep. On a larger UPS, maybe you’ll be at 30% when the power returns instead of being at 5%. On a phone, it may reduce the number of charging cycles because you no longer need to charge during the day or have to go too deep. On EVs, a larger battery means that you won’t have to fast charge as much during trips and that you won’t have to charge it to 90% to reach the next charger or arrive with a very low state of charge.

Larger batteries also allow devices to age better. If I get a phone that barely lasts me a day, I’ll probably have to replace the battery or carry a power bank around after a while. On the other hand, if I always end the day with 20-30% left, I’ll only have problems after losing ~20% of capacity. It’s the same with a UPS. If we find ourselves going down to 5% when it’s new, then 2 or 3 years later that USP won’t be enough for our load/outages and will shutdown before power returns.

dsmk ,

Is the glass half full or half empty? For you, I guess it’s half empty.

Rules can be updated and tightened if needed. This is a good step, another could be taken if they don’t play nice.

dsmk ,

You made 4 points about things that may or may not happen. For some of them you made the worst assumption possible (eg: batteries may not be available to buy. As if China won’t go brrrrrr making them :P ). And that’s why I said that “I guess” that for you the glass is half empty (aka you’re focusing mainly on possible issues).

You might be right of course, but keep in mind that the main players (eg: Samsung, Apple) already sell some components to 3rd parties or are starting to do so. Even Apple, with all their control, don’t disable 3rd party batteries on their phones, they just show you a warning inside the settings menu. So, from a slightly different point of view, the glass is actually half full and you may not need additional rules. I guess we’ll have to wait and see if someone wants to piss off the EU and have more rules imposed on them.

Anyway, it was a quick reply to the top comment on this thread (when I opened it at least). I didn’t spend much time trying interpret your comment :P

dsmk , (edited )

According to Russia, they started it all in 2014 by invading Crimea. They initially denied it, but then even Putin himself said that the Little Green Men were their special forces. People like Igor Girkin said he was commanding militias in Crimea and later in the Dombas and that they were composed of Russians and some Ukrainians. That’s what Russia says, so there’s no point in even trying to deny it.

There was no Azov before the invasion. There was no war crimes. There was no famine. There was no shelling. No ceasefire violations. It started when Russia made the decision to invade Ukraine.

Maybe you want to go further back? How far back? How about 1994 and the Budapest Memorandum where Russia agreed to respect Ukraine’s borders?

Wait, I know, you’ll blame NATO. Care to explain why countries want to give some of their military freedom away just to join NATO? What is nice Russia doing or saying that makes them want to join? Could it be something to do with the regular comments about invading their countries or nuking their cities? And do you really think that a weak, bloated, and corrupt military (a fair description of pre-2014 Ukraine military) was going to be allowed into NATO (and we’re the ones falling for propaganda)? I’d also like to know your opinion about CSTO.

Russia decided to invade Ukraine to expand their territory. That’s why Putin gave that long history lesson days before the invasion (the one that was not going to happen and was an American lie!). It’s was all there, for those who actually listened to it.

If you want to support them, then do it, but at least grow up a pair and stop using bullshit excuses to support your position.

dsmk ,

Yes. “Denazify” everyone that thinks Ukraine is a country, give up all your weapons, and give us part of your territory… or else.

Sure, totally fair demands. /s

NATO encirclement

Can you explain why countries want to join NATO? Why do they want to give away some control of their military so badly and risk being dragged into someone else’s war just to join this alliance? Why are fairly neutral countries like Finland and Sweden joining it?

It’s as if there’s a country to the east pushing the idea that they’re actually part of Russia, that their culture doesn’t exist, that their cities should be nuked or that said country’s army should just invade!

Reminds me of that meme where the guy puts something into his bike wheel and then blames someone else for the outcome.

dsmk ,

I’ve watched the lecture. He makes some good points, but there are also some flaws with his positions. I recommend doing a quick “googling” for articles with counter points.

Russia is not governed by amateurs that are easily baited into invading a country. They decided to force Ukraine to align with them and when that didn’t work, they decided to invade in 2014. The decision and responsibility is theirs.

It’s a bit like blaming the Soviet Union or China for the Vietnam war because they were “expanding” communism or something like that. It makes no sense.

dsmk ,

Oh, I’m liberal now. Weird as I was a fascist just before I left reddit. In a few hours someone will call me a communist.

You should be honest with yourself and at least become familiar with the context of the demands before forming an opinion. I’ll give you a hint: UA does have a very real Nazi problem that is directly connected to RF’s invasion.

I’m very honest with myself. I also try to not bullshit myself into believing it’s only an Ukraine problem.

Russia didn’t invade Crimea and then the Donbas region in 2014 because of Nazis. After Yanukovych weirdly reverted his position on Europe (European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement) and got kicked out, Russia decided to invade to support all those “Russian speakers”. Of course, there was even a referendum, but as Igor Girkin said, they had the guns and politicians did as they were told.

People like to forget that far-right groups like the Azov Battalion and some of far-left/anarchist groups that joined the fight were only created after the invasion, after the Ukrainian army completely failed to do their job. It’s as if the ultra-nationalist and people with more extreme views in general are the first to react to an aggression against their country! /s

But yes, Ukraine had “nazis”, but so did Russia. I recommend reading about people like Aleksandr Dugin (and his views), which seems to be liked even by Putin himself. As a space fan and a fan of some of the Soviet accomplishments, I couldn’t help but notice that when the war started, the boss of Roscosmos was Dmitry Rogozin… an old member of the Russian National Unity party, which had some “interesting” views. In fact, here’s a picture of young Rogozin with the flag of the party in the background. I’ll also give you a hint: they’re nazi as fuck.

I guess we need to invade Russia, right? And make some demands where Russia gives away part of their territory… at least that’s what the very well informed and smart people such as yourself think should happen? Or this only applies to when Russia has a problem with someone else?

Also, in 2019 the far-right party (Svoboda) received 2.16% of the votes in the whole country. Not even 3%. And then Russia comes in, invades Ukraine again and transforms Azov into national heroes. Well, good fucking job Russia! I’m sure that helps reducing support for nazis. /s

These are open-ended questions and a proper explanation would take a long time. And let’s just say I’m dubious that you’re actually curious. The (over)simple answer is that they’re taking a deal to be subservient to the United States, which usually requires their political class, and therefore economic ruling class, to see an interest in doing do. Not that they’re correct - the US is slowly deindustrializing its European allies as we speak. The reason why those interests won out? Those are specific historical stories. Try answering your own question but for Ukraine’s toying with NAT membership. What led to the change in their political class?

If that’s the case, then Putin must be part of the conspiracy? The guy managed to give a new life to the alliance and even recruited 2 new countries where popular support to joining used to be really low. There’s no way he’s helping NATO so much without being part of all that. Surely you can see the guy is a plant?

Or maybe there’s a simpler explanation (Occam’s razor, for the cool kids).

Maybe people read what Russian politicians say, look at the size of their country, remember what happened during the days of the Soviet Union (and now at what happened to Ukraine) and say: “maybe we should be friends with that big guy over there, just in case the local bully decides to invade us”.

Of course my lIbErAl mind is too dumb to understand high level politics like you do, but if one reads Putin’s On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians and Address concerning the events in Ukraine, it’s not that hard to imagine that there’s a much simpler reason.

What lead to the change in Ukraine’s political class? Other than Yanukovych’s reversal and people getting pissed? I don’t know. If you’re suggesting any foul play, I’d like to remind you that Russia intervened directly in Belarus and Kazakhstan, so apparently that’s all good.

Case in point that you’re not curious in any real answers.

I’m curious, that’s why I sometimes actually read what Mr Putin says, am aware of his obsession with Peter the Great and his conquest of the Azov sea, etc. I also watch a bit of Russian television as they have interesting views on countries around them. I’m not even talking about weekly threats of nuking European cities or higher ups at Russia Today suggesting that Ukrainian kids should be killed in a river… Did you know that Kazakhstan now has a lot of “ethnic Russians” in need of protection? A bit weird since everything was fine until they stopped playing ball with Russia…

To know the real answers you can’t filter out everything that doesn’t fit your view. You have people like Putin making up excuses for his view that Ukraine is not really a proper country… yet you decide not to read it and to outright ignore it. And I’m the dumb guy who doesn’t want real answers?

Liberals often use cartoonish examples to understand a world for which their knowledge and ideology are inadequate.

My apologies, let me make it easier for you:

  • Russia, which is not governed by morons, decided to invade Ukraine to accomplish certain objectives. They knew what they were doing, you don’t need to make excuses up to defend their actions.
  • Like any major power, they don’t give a fuck about Ukraine or the people that live in Ukraine. It’s not a nice thing, but hey, it is what it is.
  • No, Russia didn’t have to invade. No, Ukraine wasn’t going to invade Russia (nuclear obviously, plus they struggle to take control of their own territory…). And no, there’s no way in hell 2014 Ukraine was going to join NATO (they’ve been trying since the early 2000’s…).

Anyway, if you want to support them, then fine. Just don’t try to come up with bs excuses for what they’re doing. You like Russia and you like what they’re doing. I on the other hand don’t agree with they’re doing and also have a similar position when other countries do the same, so you can see why I don’t support their invasion of Ukraine.

dsmk ,

I don’t know what reddit is saying about Russia, but the “poor Russia, couldn’t help themselves and had to invade” doesn’t convince me. They made a calculated move which didn’t go as well as they expected. It happens sometimes.

NATO had an “open-door” policy from the start. Russia knows this, so unless we really think everyone over there is really dumb, they knew that NATO’s “sure, maybe we’ll let you in sometime in the future” meant little. Ukraine was trying to join since the early 2000’s and the reply was always the same… Ukraine wasn’t going to join NATO in 2014, like zero chance. I recommend reading about the state of their forces, corruption, etc, at the time. What changed was that Yanukovych was going to sign the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement, something that most of Ukraine supported (if we’re to trust polls and look at the reaction when he unexpectedly changed his mind) while Russia wanted Ukraine to do the same agreement with them instead.

The existential threat… I don’t know. Do you really think that their “existential threat” is now higher that Finland joined NATO (because of Russia’s actions)? Estonia is fine, but Ukraine is makes that “existential threat” much, much worse? And who the hell is going to start a war in Russia when they have capacity to reply to normal attacks and will, without a doubt, use their nukes if invaded? Does NATO now have a death wish or something like that?

I keep reading about that non expansion promise… again, I guess you all think Russians are dumb and got verbal assurances thinking that it’s the same as having them in writing. In any case, Russia doesn’t own eastern Europe, many countries have made clear they don’t want to be under their thumb or be part of their country. If Russia doesn’t like this, well, though luck. A reality check would also help here… they’re not the USSR.

The Vietnam example wasn’t a good one, but my point is that if we start finding excuses to justify wars, well, we can, but it never ends and it’s never our fault.

The US has some history with Cuba… but the only time when there was a really serious reaction wasn’t when Castro became friends with the Soviet Union… it was when nukes were deployed in Cuba (partially their fault, after deploying theirs in Turkey). Russia invaded Ukraine because they were winking at the EU and NATO… like, they didn’t even kiss!

I know why they invaded, but I also believe in taking responsibility for one’s actions. We can talk about moral responsibility, but at the end of the day Russia invaded Ukraine and therefore they are responsible for the war they started.

dsmk ,

I’m not sure if the MAGA (and similar) crowd likes electric cars :-P

dsmk ,

Some planes and carriers have this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=slzAcWff7nU

It costs money though, so you usually only see them on more premium carriers and larger planes.

I’m working from memory here, but I think there was an instance where there was a crash or some incident where people could see it happening on the cameras though… and it’s not ideal having everyone in the plane panicking because they’re going to die.

dsmk ,

How long of a delay (too long and people complain) and how to cut if off without having to add another line to the pilot’s checklists during troubleshooting?

dsmk ,

The intention was probably good, but at the end of the day my phone still lagged, I couldn’t disable or was aware of the “feature”, the guy at the store still told me to get a new phone, Apple still denied it at the time, etc. Willingly or not, they created a bad experience for some iPhone owners and made money selling new devices.

I’m not getting any of this money and that was my first and last iPhone (I’m still pissed all these years later…), but it’s good that they’re receiving bad PR and have to pay something. Not only customers got cheap battery replacements and a setting to disable this (on newer iPhones) after the lawsuits, but next time they’re more likely to remember to create a help page on their site and to inform their store staff about features like this one.

dsmk ,

I bought a replacement in 2015 (months after the problem started), so no, I wasn’t trying to use the latest iOS on a 5 years old phone. Even if I was, it’s up to them to make sure it runs at least well enough and/or to provide a way to downgrade (something that Apple didn’t [still doesn’t?] allow you to do) as customers have no idea if the update has a problem before they install it and use it for a while.

Only Apple can prove this as all we have is rumours, but I believe they started playing with the idea of slowing down devices way before that wider release years later. I remember finding similar reports when I tried to find out what was happening to my phone. There were complaints even on Apple’s own community forums: some owners had laggy iPhones while other owners, with the same device/model, were fine. Unfortunately, other than the usual user blaming from people that didn’t have the problem and the “buy a new phone” comments, no one suggested an actual fix.

The slow down in 2017 was huge for some people. Here’s a 3 year old iPhone 6 that had its frequencies go from 1400 MHz to 600 MHz: twitter.com/Sam_RMSI/status/943400254451335168

I’m far from being an Apple hater - I’m typing this on a M1 MBP after all - but it’s not okay to slow down phones like that without any warning, information or a way to disable the “feature”. The person above had their clock speeds drop to less than half of the original speeds! Like, what the heck?

I’m sure they had good intentions, but in practice they slowed down some devices too much without any warning or a way to reverse the change. Their only fixes for the problem they created all involved giving them money: you either had to buy a new phone or pay for a battery replacement which was not that cheap. They had to be sued first and only then they added a setting to disable the throttling and started offering affordable battery replacements…

This type of behaviour from companies shouldn’t be defended or praised.

No More Windows! Indian Defence Services are Switching to Linux: Indian Govt offices to use Linux distribution, replacing Microsoft Windows (gadgeteer.co.za)

Based on Ubuntu. Interface and functionality like Windows, users will not feel much difference. BRICS countries committed to their own Linux distributions. South Africa has been the exception.

dsmk ,

You usually want to know and control what goes into your distro, especially if we’re talking about more critical systems. If you just install Ubuntu, you’re handing over control to its creator, Canonical.

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