Eji1700's recent activity
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Comment on reCAPTCHA: 819 million hours of wasted human time and billions of dollars in Google profits in ~tech
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Comment on reCAPTCHA: 819 million hours of wasted human time and billions of dollars in Google profits in ~tech
Eji1700 Google is providing a service so that your websites can exist. I don't like it either, and try to support websites with subscription models so they don't need to do this, but to be very clear if...I don't want Google profiting from my involuntary labor.
Google is providing a service so that your websites can exist. I don't like it either, and try to support websites with subscription models so they don't need to do this, but to be very clear if you DON'T have systems like reCAPTCHA sites can get nuked in a heartbeat.
I don't like it, but at the same time, most of what you're access and complaining about simply just does not get to exist if this weird "we sell and use your data" model didn't become the standard. The barrier to entry to throwing up a website would be much more akin to "starting a small business" not "huh I had a neat idea, let's throw a few bucks at it"
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Comment on At what age do you consider someone to be an adult? in ~talk
Eji1700 Car insurance premiums go waaaay down and you can start renting cars at that age because the data backs it up. Actuaries and tons of research go into these decisions and it basically boils down to...Car insurance premiums go waaaay down and you can start renting cars at that age because the data backs it up. Actuaries and tons of research go into these decisions and it basically boils down to "this is around when people stop fucking around and have enough lived experience to apply to things".
I still think 18 is fine for a "legally you're on your own now" cutoff, but you already put it better than I possibly could.
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Comment on US Transportation Security Administration workers who are trans forbidden from performing pat down searches in ~society
Eji1700 I’m not going to go into this other than to say I don’t think you’re fairly assessing my point. I’m not saying this is fair or ok. I’m saying of ALL the things to fight right now for trans rights,...I’m not going to go into this other than to say I don’t think you’re fairly assessing my point.
I’m not saying this is fair or ok.
I’m saying of ALL the things to fight right now for trans rights, this is not the battle to take
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Eji1700 Started your lie in April with the wife. Just finished The Legend of the legendary heroes and Katanagatari where she hated both the endings so she got to pick the next one and is apparently aware...Started your lie in April with the wife. Just finished The Legend of the legendary heroes and Katanagatari where she hated both the endings so she got to pick the next one and is apparently aware of whatever is going to happen and ok with it
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Comment on US Transportation Security Administration workers who are trans forbidden from performing pat down searches in ~society
Eji1700 Yes that is basically my viewpoint with the added "why does anyone really want to fight for the right to abuse the rights of others?" With the plethora of rights trans people are being denied, not...Yes that is basically my viewpoint with the added "why does anyone really want to fight for the right to abuse the rights of others?"
With the plethora of rights trans people are being denied, not having the equal opportunity to infringe on the rights of others seems like it should be very low on the list, especially when it's an easy easy area for accusations of sexual assault to get thrown around, and feed the fire of paranoia.
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Comment on US Transportation Security Administration workers who are trans forbidden from performing pat down searches in ~society
Eji1700 It isn't and thus isn't a problem because this is 100% about perception. And yes, the inverse is also true, in that there are cis women who are accused of being trans, and that's also an issue,...If she does not know the woman is trans, how is this any different from a cis woman patting her down ?
It isn't and thus isn't a problem because this is 100% about perception.
And yes, the inverse is also true, in that there are cis women who are accused of being trans, and that's also an issue, but for a variety of mostly political reasons, not as big of one.
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Comment on US Transportation Security Administration workers who are trans forbidden from performing pat down searches in ~society
Eji1700 The situation that's going to end up in court, and in the news, is when a trans woman lays hands on a cis woman who does not want to be touched by the trans woman because she does not agree that...The situation that's going to end up in court, and in the news, is when a trans woman lays hands on a cis woman who does not want to be touched by the trans woman because she does not agree that the trans woman is in fact a woman. This is just how our society views things and that's a whooole other can of worms.
So, in your opinion, if a pat down of a cis woman is required, and they bring over a trans woman, and the cis woman says "i do not feel comfortable with this, please get a cis woman", is that ok?
If your answer is anything but "yes" you're already making a bad situation many times worse. And yes, it's going to wind up on the same pile as race with "well can you ask for a white woman?" and the answer to that currently is almost assuredly no, however:
You already have TSA members sexually assaulting the people they pat down.
You already have people getting pat down claiming to be sexually assaulted just to cause problems.
You already have people getting pat down feeling they were violated even if the TSA member was completely professional and did not do anything out of line by any standard.
You already have pat downs that suspiciously focus on racial minorities and attractive women.
You already have questions over if the TSA should even be allowed to pat you down, with additional questions on the effectiveness of the entire organization as a whole (and this comes from someone who could at least see the argument that maybe some of their best successes can't be publicized, and even then thinks it's a VAST violation of personal liberties.)So in this already controversial hotbed of possible orwellian constitutional violating rights mess, we want to draw the line and say trans people should be allowed to wade into the most sensitive part of this too? Possibly in a such a way that should the person who is being pat down disagree with if they count as a member of the opposite gender, the answer will be, "fuck you, you're wrong".
This is just political suicide from every angle. This is the sort of shit I would try to get my enemy to do to undermine them. I understand the ethical point, but this feels like "well there should be a law to make sure trans people can join cop gangs notorious for horrible behavior". It's not quite as bad but dear god it's about as close as you can legally get.
Not every fight is worth having. Not all equality comes overnight. Doubly so if you actively double down on the hardest fights for the smallest gains. Fighting for your country and proving you are just as much of a solider has MASSIVELY different optics than the notoriously politically toxic TSA.
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Comment on US Transportation Security Administration workers who are trans forbidden from performing pat down searches in ~society
Eji1700 (edited )Link ParentI believe this is one of those things that's supposed to happen, but does not, and thus is a massive fucking problem because it really causes all sorts of issues, but the general vibe is "fine sue...I believe this is one of those things that's supposed to happen, but does not, and thus is a massive fucking problem because it really causes all sorts of issues, but the general vibe is "fine sue us" which many don't have the time or money to do.
Honestly, despite what i'm sure are hostile intentions behind this ruling, I don't think it's really that much of a problem. Given the extreme small % of the population that is going to be trans and working in the TSA, just saying "it's not worth the potential issues." makes sense?
All it's going to take is one case of a trans woman groping another woman, or even making that woman feel uncomfortable, to kick off a fucking shit storm, and in some edge cases I could agree with the person being searched that it was a problem.
No, the majority trans people are not like that, yes cis women grope other women, but again when you're dealing with such a small % and it's an extremely charged situation to begin with, why is this the fight to have?
Edit- Right cis. My bad.
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Comment on Single most useful program you daily use? in ~tech
Eji1700 Thanks for sharing this. I've never learned vim but as I've gotten more and more used to using the terminal I really have wanted to get better at something like it, and this seems to be scratching...Thanks for sharing this. I've never learned vim but as I've gotten more and more used to using the terminal I really have wanted to get better at something like it, and this seems to be scratching that itch without throwing me in the deepend.
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Comment on Megathread - Elon Musk and US politics in ~society
Eji1700 This is an endlessly frustrating topic to track because of our desire to make everything the end of the world. Don't get me wrong, he is breaking laws every which way from sunday, but the things I...This is an endlessly frustrating topic to track because of our desire to make everything the end of the world.
Don't get me wrong, he is breaking laws every which way from sunday, but the things I really want to know about get buried in the deluge of "ALSO HE CAN'T DO THIS" stuff which is so much more minor in the scheme of the massive security concern he is and obvious threat to the entire system of democracy.
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To be clear just venting. This topic is great.
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Comment on Looking for some recommendations for games where you can build your own spaceships etc in ~games
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Comment on Are we witnessing the takeover of a country right now? in ~society
Eji1700 Sure, it's not totally dissimilar no, but- Post WWI Germany and current US are VASTLY different environments, especially economy wise. Things were already bad by the time of things like the...Sure, it's not totally dissimilar no, but-
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Post WWI Germany and current US are VASTLY different environments, especially economy wise. Things were already bad by the time of things like the beerhall puscht, and VASTLY worse by the time hitler took power. Hyperinflation was in full swing at the bare minimum and a ton of other horrible things were happening to the average german citizen.
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I get why people compare Jan 6th to the puscht, but I really question how applicable it is. Hitler was personally IN THE BUILDING and declaring a revolution with a machine gun setup on site. Now granted you can absolutely argue that Trump is just not willing to put himself on the line mixed with the fact that people like Pence might have thwarted parts of the plan, but that's kinda the point.
Either way I think my point stands that the situation in Germany for the average German citizen was leagues worse than the average American citizen right now. Sure Musk and friends might be trying to push that over the edge to get to that point, but honestly if that was their goal there's much faster ways to accomplish that (just default the US debt for starters).
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Comment on I hate the new internet. I hate the new tech world. I hate it all. I want out, and I can't be the only one. in ~tech
Eji1700 I think this is much more conspiracy than reality for a few reasons, but the main one is that I know the kind of people who will willingly scroll 9gag and make low effort comments on all sorts of...Could be dead internet theory. I definitely believe a bit of both, as well as paid actors. The key of a bot is to act like a human, and lower effort content with short responses is harder to call out than a detailed breakdown that starts to hallucinate. Win-Win for Reddit.
I think this is much more conspiracy than reality for a few reasons, but the main one is that I know the kind of people who will willingly scroll 9gag and make low effort comments on all sorts of posts. They exist in droves. There's no need to make mass bot networks or god forbid something as complicated as paid actors for 99% of the vapid content out there.
That's not to say there aren't shit tons of bots, and the occasional paid actor, but the ratio is much much smaller than most people claim.
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Comment on Are we witnessing the takeover of a country right now? in ~society
Eji1700 (edited )Link ParentObviously, I mostly disagree. I will agree OP's question is not as bad as the Satan dino bones example, but what kind of proof could one possibly offer to OP? For quick reference: So the claims...Obviously, I mostly disagree. I will agree OP's question is not as bad as the Satan dino bones example, but what kind of proof could one possibly offer to OP?
For quick reference:
Foreign money and tech billionaires have bought control of the US government, they're looting the system and weakening it, and then they're going to crash it so they can install a new system that they can better control.
So the claims are:
- Foreign money and tech billionaires have bought control of the US government
- Foreign money and tech billionaires are looting the system and weakening it
- Foreign money and tech billionaires are doing the above so they can install a new system that they can better control
and the 4th, implied, claim, from the title - We witnessing the takeover of a country right now
So...
- Who's foreign money and tech billionaires?
I can guess that it's probably at the minimum the saudi's and Musk/Zuck, but who else? Microsoft? Oracle? Valve? Nvidia? Samsung? LG? OP seems to have a vague idea of what the problem is, but how the hell can anyone refute something without definitions?
Ditto for foreign money. There's plenty of other countries dumping money in the US, and some are much more popular allies. Are we only counting donations to super PAC's or do we include the trillons in business dealings that occurs?
- Are they looting the system and weakening it?
The looting part seems to be something that could in theory actually be verified or disprove. I still maintain that, right now, it's basically an impossible claim to prove/disprove though. Even IF that's their goal in the most blatant of manner, I don't see any way for them to even have really accomplished this in such a short time frame.
Weakening it, well yes we see that. It's part of the very stated goals of multiple members of the groups in power. On the other hand though, what parts? Obviously they're strengthening the shit out of other parts, and while I can assume what OP meant to some extent, it's sure as hell hard to refute something so vague as "they're weakening the government", but that's partly because the "meat" of this claim is in part 3.
- Are they doing this to install a new system they can better control?
What does this even mean? What system are they replacing? Is OP implying that the goal is to straight up install a monarchy with Trump as King? I'm certain they're not.
However the range of viable options they're implying is quite large, and it changes the difficulty of trying to even offer intelligent discussion on the subject, let alone prove/disprove something. Why install a new system they have better control over if they already have enough control over this one to blow it up in the first place? Again I can think of several arguments for or against this stance, but I sure as hell can't guess what OP's view of this is.
- Are we witnessing the takeover of a country?
Even this becomes nebulous fast. If we still have elections in 4 years and there's a legit transition of power, would that qualify as disproving the argument? I'm not so sure, both from a legit standpoint and from the kind of discussions I've had on this subject with those I suspect are like OP.
To be clear, one of the first sentiments I saw in leftist circles after the DC crash turned out to involve a black hawk helicopter was that the crash was planned by the administration and this was going to become the US equivalent of falling out of a window in russia.
This is a WILDLY absurd claim at the bare minimum if you know anything about planes, and yet was resoundingly supported by people who, I think most, would consider rational and well liked as a theory.
I have no idea where OP stands on the scale from "helicopter assassinations" to "the death of the spirit of the country even if the law stands", so yes, I think the teapot is invokable. This is much the same as "we have the ability to feed everyone and we aren't because we're evil". It's such a wide net as to be nearly impossible to even come to an agreement on what's being discussed.
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Comment on Are we witnessing the takeover of a country right now? in ~society
Eji1700 Depends on what part of the system. Should the executive be able to make radical changes out of no where? Absolutely not. Should civil infrastructure projects be possible without 20+ years of...The system exists , in part, to prevent exactly these sorts of radical changes.
Depends on what part of the system.
Should the executive be able to make radical changes out of no where? Absolutely not.
Should civil infrastructure projects be possible without 20+ years of arguing in court? Almost certainly.
It's in theory the second one most people run into, because it's those kinds of projects that have decades and decades of laws built up to try and protect one thing or another, but now hitting a critical mass of "fuck it it's just not worth it".
The first is arguably a response to that problem, and many others. Of course it mostly centers around everyone's frustration with congress essentially abdicating its purpose and just becoming a place for things to die.
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Comment on Are we witnessing the takeover of a country right now? in ~society
Eji1700 The wealth cap idea is not really likely to work. Taxes and other such instruments are a lot more elegant and will achieve the same goal without winding up going in circles about what qualifies as...The wealth cap idea is not really likely to work. Taxes and other such instruments are a lot more elegant and will achieve the same goal without winding up going in circles about what qualifies as "wealth".
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Comment on Are we witnessing the takeover of a country right now? in ~society
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Comment on Are we witnessing the takeover of a country right now? in ~society
Eji1700 Right. It's hard to interact with ANY bureaucratic entity and come out feeling that your time wasn't hellishly wasted, especially for anyone older (things have gotten a lot better with agencies...Right. It's hard to interact with ANY bureaucratic entity and come out feeling that your time wasn't hellishly wasted, especially for anyone older (things have gotten a lot better with agencies actually adopting tech and using it to cut out bullshit and update, sometimes...).
There's absolutely a lot of truth in that in trying to be perfectly fair and follow a bunch of feelgood laws from decades of grandstanding politicians, that you actually lose the ability to get shit done.
One of the often cited issues is the military budget, and ignoring any other arguments, I have met a person who's job it was to help facilitate military contracts and he made a ton of money doing it. HALF of that was just making sure that the companies involved met all sorts of obtuse standards, and absolutely led to conversations that boiled down to "uhh quick go out and find the most competent person of this race/lineage/whatever you can so we can check off another box."
This is just the well meaning side of things, not the literal absolutely 100% fraud and graft, and it's all over the place for both.
That said, yes, Musk is at best a well meaning idiot(giving a fuckload of credit here) who, somewhat understandably, has come to the conclusion that if you let people try to make things perfect they'll just never do it, so it's better to burn everything down and just make a decision and adapt to the consequences.
There is some legit merit in this. I've seen many times where someone just say "damn the consequences, chuck the whole thing out", and then a year or two later yes they're forced to rebuild, but this time it's built right or using more modern knowledge and practices rather than the decades of legacy debt.
There is, obviously, also some extreme danger in it. I have ALSO seen this same cavalier approach used on something essentially business critical, and the company essentially did not survive.
Yes it was at the same place, so the irony was fully on display, and also goes to show that people who get high up by doing this sort of thing just think it's a magic panacea and it's not.
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Comment on Are we witnessing the takeover of a country right now? in ~society
Eji1700 There's a teapot floating in space somewhere between earth and Neptune. Prove me wrong. In short, doesn't work like that. With that in mind. As opposed to before when they were just sitting at...- Exemplary
Prove me wrong?
There's a teapot floating in space somewhere between earth and Neptune. Prove me wrong.
In short, doesn't work like that. With that in mind.
Foreign money and tech billionaires have bought control of the US government,
As opposed to before when they were just sitting at home not donating to everyone? Why is this different?
they're looting the system and weakening it, and then they're going to crash it so they can install a new system that they can better control.
If this is your answer to the previous question, what makes you think they're that smart or that in control?
People have this super strange belief that their enemies, who they will constantly cite as the dumbest assholes on the planet, are super competent strategy masters playing the long con.
Even people who are TRYING to be that (project 2025 as a possible example) seldom meet with anywhere near the kind of success being ascribed to these machinations. Most takeovers are "right place right time" as much as they are "brilliant master plan".
So first off, are they trying to takeover the country?
Probably kinda sorta? Again I don't think they can plan that far ahead in some ways (for better and worse). It's a very much moment to moment "what can I get away with" game. IF they actually see the opportunity, yes I think they will, but for all the doom, gloom, and panic right now, I still think we're pretty far from a total takeover.
Second, are they doing it by the methods ascribed?
I doubt it. I'd more say "fuck shit up for short term gains" mixed with some level of "i actually think i'm right" (and again, broken clock is right twice a day thing, some of it they may accidentally be) mixed with "someone else told me to do this and they'll keep me in power and I don't fucking care".
The third one is, to me, the most dangerous. Trump's first term is basically littered with stories that boil down to "do this treasonous horrible thing" "uhh no" "fine i'll get someone else". Obviously he ran his second campaign on the idea he won't be putting up with that shit again, and this is the sort of stuff I am worried about.
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Honestly, I think it's kinda showing the 1st world problem biases of many that they think a full country takeover could occur without millions dead in the streets. I've spoken to people who've lived through government takeovers. If it's JUST the rich get richer and put their cronies in, that would be a pretty unusual state.
That’s my point. Theres aren’t alternatives because it’s difficult to make and expensive to maintain. The Google “won” when they said “we’ll handle that at no charge but we’re using the data”