gpl's recent activity
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
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Comment on At least thirty protesters arrested during pro-Palestinian protest at UT Austin in ~news
gpl Link ParentYeah I definitely agree it's complicated. And I agree that both sides sometimes default to using the actions of the worst people on the other side to justify a dismissal. That being said, I do...Yeah I definitely agree it's complicated. And I agree that both sides sometimes default to using the actions of the worst people on the other side to justify a dismissal. That being said, I do think it's a bit different when, for example, one side's stated purpose to protest what they perceive as genocide, vs when it's to protest like, mask mandates. To use an example. But that's not an issue of the outliers, but rather disagreeing with the central point of the protests, so I suppose it's not very relevant to the point.
Re: @Minori's point. Nazi bar situations are bad and should be avoided, I agree. My understanding, based on the reporting I have read, is that in the majority of these protests, with some exceptions, there has actually not been very much hateful language (especially if you do not include ambiguous phrases like "from the river to the sea" which I personally do not think should be counted). The biggest exception was early at the Columbia, but even then the hateful language was coming from people who were not students, and have since been excluded from the encampment there. I guess it doesn't really matter whether they were students or not as long as they were included in the protest, which is the point of the Nazi bar analogy, but nonetheless I just have not seen much evidence of violent or antisemitic language at the vast majority of these protests, and I think I have been following relatively closely.
Any such examples and language should obviously be condemned and if the student protestors are wise, the people using such language should be excised from the movement. From what I have seen at least this is generally been the case.
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Comment on Happy 6th Birthday, Tildes! in ~tildes
gpl LinkMoreso than anywhere else I've found, this place reminds me of the forums of my youth. All that's missing is an IRC channel ;)Moreso than anywhere else I've found, this place reminds me of the forums of my youth. All that's missing is an IRC channel ;)
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Comment on UK asylum seekers will be deported to Rwanda in ~news
gpl Link ParentThank you! I definitely don't mean to be misleading or anything, I had interpreted my quoted statistic as reflecting the total number who get rejected, not just the ones who get rejected AND have...Thank you! I definitely don't mean to be misleading or anything, I had interpreted my quoted statistic as reflecting the total number who get rejected, not just the ones who get rejected AND have already been reported. I didn't recognize the distinction. In any case, this would mean 65%-75% (depending on how the point in your last paragraph is understood) of asylum cases get approved. Not quite as overwhelming of a majority as my original comment implies, but a strong majority nonetheless.
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Comment on Towers of silence in ~humanities.history
gpl Link ParentI don't even really view it as "wrong", per se, given that the point is made multiple times in the episode that the content of these tracts are really problematic and hateful. This is kind of...I don't even really view it as "wrong", per se, given that the point is made multiple times in the episode that the content of these tracts are really problematic and hateful. This is kind of like, in my mind, when people say Nazis were well dressed by Hugo Boss. It's not wrong, and if in the context of a design or aesthetic oriented discussion (with appropriate acknowledgements of, you know, Nazis), not an issue. Just my two cents.
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Comment on UK asylum seekers will be deported to Rwanda in ~news
gpl Link ParentAh I somehow missed this update as an outside observer. Pretty ridiculous, I agree, but better than outright ignoring the court I suppose.Ah I somehow missed this update as an outside observer. Pretty ridiculous, I agree, but better than outright ignoring the court I suppose.
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Comment on UK asylum seekers will be deported to Rwanda in ~news
gpl Link ParentOk, but this is a question which can actually be answered. Even this BBC article has some stats: between 2018 and 2023, only 2% of arrivals by boat were returned to their home country after their...Ok, but this is a question which can actually be answered. Even this BBC article has some stats: between 2018 and 2023, only 2% of arrivals by boat were returned to their home country after their case had been processed. Therefore, the vast majority (98%) seemingly have valid asylum claims under UK law. You call it "border jumping", but seeking asylum is very much a real thing that is not illegal.
Which is not to say everything here is above board. The UK Supreme Court has found this Rwanda plan to be unlawful, but the Tories are going ahead with it anyway.
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Comment on Remembering May 4 (Kent State massacre) - An interview with Devo's Jerry Casale in ~humanities.history
gpl Link ParentI hope it can be avoided too. It is extremely disheartening to see elected politicians basically lusting after the potential of deploying the National Guard on these protests.I hope it can be avoided too. It is extremely disheartening to see elected politicians basically lusting after the potential of deploying the National Guard on these protests.
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Comment on At least thirty protesters arrested during pro-Palestinian protest at UT Austin in ~news
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Comment on At least thirty protesters arrested during pro-Palestinian protest at UT Austin in ~news
gpl Link ParentYeah I agree. Re: protestor behavior, I'll just add that if you judge any protest movement by its worst actors, then one would be compelled to condemn them all. There is always a small minority...Yeah I agree. Re: protestor behavior, I'll just add that if you judge any protest movement by its worst actors, then one would be compelled to condemn them all. There is always a small minority that takes it too far. But from what I have seen, these protests have been peaceful (although disruptive – which is the point) until cops show up. They have also been diverse, I've seen plenty of Jewish students taking part as well.
Obviously the actors who do take things too far should be condemned. But calling in the police, or the state guard, or the national guard (which has not happened, yet) is an insane overreaction.
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Comment on At least thirty protesters arrested during pro-Palestinian protest at UT Austin in ~news
gpl LinkI was thinking of making a megathread for these protests. I am in academia and the whole situation so far has left me incredibly bitter with regards to both universities as institutions and our...I was thinking of making a megathread for these protests. I am in academia and the whole situation so far has left me incredibly bitter with regards to both universities as institutions and our state governments. A lot of the harsh response so far feels to me, in a weird way, like an attempt to avoid another 2020 protest situation. The powers that be seem to have learned a lesson from that summer and are working hard to make up for it now. It is absolutely sickening that there are a large fraction of fellow Americans who would love nothing more than to see some young people be harmed for protesting. Elected politicians even. I posted a relevant retrospective on Kent State in a separate thread that was prompted by reading about the news today.
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Comment on US Congress approves bill banning TikTok unless Chinese owner ByteDance sells platform in ~tech
gpl Link ParentThere are two separate concerns here. One is US customers' data being controlled and accessible by "foreign adversaries", to use the bill's language, and the other is China having a way to reach a...There are two separate concerns here. One is US customers' data being controlled and accessible by "foreign adversaries", to use the bill's language, and the other is China having a way to reach a large number of Americans and the potential use of that reach for propaganda purposes in the event of a hot war between China and Taiwan (and/or the US). The former concern is very much addressable by regulation that has not even really been attempted yet, let alone attempted and failed. The latter is not relevant until a hot war actually occurs.
Put another way, TikTok can be regulated all you want up until there's a China-Taiwan showdown and then it can be flipped to spewing propaganda. What then, and how did regulations between now and that future help?
Ban it then. I completely disagree the backlash would only grow until then. A large majority of Americans support Taiwan and would be completely opposed to a Chinese takeover. In the event that happens, I suspect there would be almost no backlash to banning the app then. There is of course no way of knowing for sure, but history shows us that Americans are very much inclined towards "rally around the flag" type reactions to global conflicts. Even a bill in which a ban is triggered by the outbreak of hostilities I think would have very little opposition.
Anyway, I remember when the "Great Firewall of China" was a thing people talked about, or China banning Facebook as you mentioned, and there the reasons were also concerns about foreign information (or propaganda). The logic here is exactly the same, and it doesn't sit well with me.
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Comment on US Congress approves bill banning TikTok unless Chinese owner ByteDance sells platform in ~tech
gpl Link ParentYou definitely present good points. One thing I definitely believe is that finding the answers to these questions (i.e. to what degree does TikTok censor political content unfavorable to China) is...You definitely present good points. One thing I definitely believe is that finding the answers to these questions (i.e. to what degree does TikTok censor political content unfavorable to China) is difficult, and that is by design, which is already quite concerning.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club meta discussion - should we read nonfiction as well as fiction and with what frequency? in ~books
gpl Link ParentI’m chiming in as a non-participant. I read mostly non-fiction and would enjoy reading with others. Maybe it could be something that happens less frequently but concurrently with that months...I’m chiming in as a non-participant. I read mostly non-fiction and would enjoy reading with others. Maybe it could be something that happens less frequently but concurrently with that months fiction read.
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US FCC to vote to restore net neutrality rules years after the agency voted to repeal them
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of April 22 in ~news
gpl LinkTexan Suing Ex’s BFFs Over Abortion Allegedly Promised to Drop Lawsuit for Sex In a state with a healthy media environment, every Texan media org would be pressing politicians who voted for this...Texan Suing Ex’s BFFs Over Abortion Allegedly Promised to Drop Lawsuit for Sex
In a state with a healthy media environment, every Texan media org would be pressing politicians who voted for this bill over this. This is the state of reproductive rights in the US right now.
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Comment on Remembering May 4 (Kent State massacre) - An interview with Devo's Jerry Casale in ~humanities.history
gpl LinkWith the recent heavy-handed suppression of pro-Palestinian protests at many US universities (something that is seemingly only just beginning), I came across this interview with a participant in...With the recent heavy-handed suppression of pro-Palestinian protests at many US universities (something that is seemingly only just beginning), I came across this interview with a participant in Vietnam-era protests at Kent State. For non-US users who may not be familiar, this is a well known event in the US. An anti-war protest on May 4th, 1970 at Kent State in Ohio turned deadly when the Ohio National Guard opened fire on student protestors, killing four of them. The interview I have linked to is with an artist who was present at the time, and friends with some of the victims. I think this is timely not only because of the relevance to today's protests, but also because the anniversary is coming up. One quote jumped out at me:
Fifty years after the fact the narrative has finally shifted to recognizing the students as victims rather than ‘communists’ and ‘trouble makers’. That is largely because they now appear to be on the right side of history regarding the USA’s imperialistic mistake called The Vietnam War. However, in the immediate aftermath of the Kent State killings and for at least two decades hence, the official history controlled by right wing media and corporate news sources marched to a different drummer - that of patriotic whitewashing where anti-war sentiment and student activism were portrayed as misguided and downright anti-American. Remember, the parents of the killed and wounded students banded together and brought a class action lawsuit against the University and the State of Ohio. They lost their case on the simple defense argument that invoked the declaration of Martial Law as exonerating them from any liability. Today’s youth population would do well to read up on how easy it is in a supposedly free society for individual rights to be taken away in a heartbeat.
Emphasis my own.
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Remembering May 4 (Kent State massacre) - An interview with Devo's Jerry Casale
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Comment on US Congress approves bill banning TikTok unless Chinese owner ByteDance sells platform in ~tech
gpl Link ParentI am not naive enough to think that China does not have access, if they wanted it, to TikTok data. That being said, the first link you provide demonstrating Chinese influence on content is flawed...I am not naive enough to think that China does not have access, if they wanted it, to TikTok data. That being said, the first link you provide demonstrating Chinese influence on content is flawed in its comparisons. I would be willing to believe it happens, as is thought to happen in US companies, but that article does not convince me.
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Comment on US Congress approves bill banning TikTok unless Chinese owner ByteDance sells platform in ~tech
gpl Link ParentMy point is that Europe has been successful at regulating tech companies not based within their borders, including TikTok. The mere fact that TikTok is operated by a foreign country, even one that...My point is that Europe has been successful at regulating tech companies not based within their borders, including TikTok. The mere fact that TikTok is operated by a foreign country, even one that is at best a competitor and at worst an adversary, does not preclude regulation from working. The examples you give are a very different thing: an attempt by the US (for example) to influence how China interacts with western businesses within their own borders. I do not think you can extrapolate that to the converse, i.e. the US influencing how Chinese companies operate outside of China's borders. Europe has seen success so far in doing so.
Maybe that would all change down the road if the US and China continue to escalate their competition. But I see no reason to think that for the time being it would not work. That is my only point here.
I'm just about 1/3 in so hoping it clicks! I'm definitely invested enough to finish as is.