IudexMiku's recent activity
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Comment on Ireland plans to send asylum seekers back to UK under emergency law in ~news
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Comment on US government reportedly ponders crimping China's use of RISC-V in ~tech
IudexMiku Link ParentThey are pretty bad, there's no point downplaying it. They've been supporting a genocide (which is raising tensions with Iran), planning to fight over Taiwan, and have spent the last several...If you think what the US does is bad, baby, you ain't seen nothin yet.
They are pretty bad, there's no point downplaying it. They've been supporting a genocide (which is raising tensions with Iran), planning to fight over Taiwan, and have spent the last several decades destabilising, staging coups, and invading any country that they disapproved of. To call China the "greatest threat to world peace" is very strange to me. The greatest threat to Taiwan, I agree, but their ambitions are hardly as global as the horrors of Pax Americana.
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Comment on Northern Sámi, a language spoken in the Arctic, has more than 300 words for snow and a special word for "frightened reindeer" – can it survive in a warmer world? in ~humanities.languages
IudexMiku Link ParentThat's from the 2022 paper by Eira linked in the article. It specifically uses the term concepts and not "words", which leans more towards adjective use of sorts, rather than having distinct...at least 318 concepts for snow and ice designating various types of snow and snow conditions
That's from the 2022 paper by Eira linked in the article. It specifically uses the term concepts and not "words", which leans more towards adjective use of sorts, rather than having distinct words.
The BBC article interprets this as though they are distinct words, which isn't claimed in the paper (reflecting the usual quality of the BBC's reporting).
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Comment on The West is losing Muslim Liberals – Indifference to Palestinian suffering in Gaza is alienating moderates across the Islamic world and tarnishing the appeal of liberal democratic values in ~misc
IudexMiku Link ParentDo you sincerely believe that Hamas wants a Palestinian genocide just to garner some sympathy points for themselves? Do you think that Hamas is intentionally making Israeli soldiers butcher...Do you sincerely believe that Hamas wants a Palestinian genocide just to garner some sympathy points for themselves? Do you think that Hamas is intentionally making Israeli soldiers butcher children?
I cannot imagine having this mindset, where one has more issue with the victims than the murderers. Surely one should be more upset at the Israelis for shooting civilians than at Hamas for the crime of counting their dead?
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Comment on Browser game recommendations in ~games
IudexMiku LinkFallen London is my go-to casual browser game. It's not the most exciting game ever made, but it works on mobile and I enjoy playing some every few hours. The writing is good and the stories are...Fallen London is my go-to casual browser game. It's not the most exciting game ever made, but it works on mobile and I enjoy playing some every few hours. The writing is good and the stories are interesting.
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Comment on My doomed career as a North Korean novelist in ~books
IudexMiku LinkCorrect me if I'm misunderstanding something, but isn't it common to not win many literary awards? I'm under the impression that it's very difficult to win awards for writing, and that it's...Correct me if I'm misunderstanding something, but isn't it common to not win many literary awards? I'm under the impression that it's very difficult to win awards for writing, and that it's unfortunately difficult to make a living as a writer all over the world.
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Comment on My lived experience with the cult of social justice in ~humanities
IudexMiku (edited )LinkI've some major issues with the article and I'd rather not see its ilk on Tildes. If I wanted to see conservative whining I'd go back to Reddit. It's one thing to have problems with the social...I've some major issues with the article and I'd rather not see its ilk on Tildes. If I wanted to see conservative whining I'd go back to Reddit. It's one thing to have problems with the social justice movement in America - I'm not a huge fan myself - but to pin it all on illiberalism is to ignore reality.
Firstly, there's the matter of detail. What exactly are the author's "liberal values"? Considering liberalism's focus on the individual, I would hardly call opening speeches with specifying one's identity as "illiberal"; I dare say it is very liberal to do that. Although he glosses over exactly which identities he dislikes: he was obviously fine when people were bisexual, but where does he draw that line?
He merely expressed concern that some of the more extreme language being used might alienate allies.
What is this extreme language that his friend dislikes? He gives the reader enough detail about the response but glosses over the inciting statement. That feels suspicious to me.
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, in his book Woke Inc. (2021), wrote that CSJ beliefs arguably “meet the legal definition of a religion” and thus employers would be well-advised not to force these views upon their employees.
Vivek Ramaswamy is a far-right politician who thinks Donald Trump should be pardoned, wants to ban abortion in the majority of cases, and thinks transgender people exist in a “deluded and mentally deranged state”. It's nonsense to consider him a source on anything worth writing about.
Even SSSS (the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality) eventually succumbed to the dogma. They were pressured into releasing embarrassing statements denying biological sex, reinforcing the irrational worldview of CSJ and undermining their scientific mission.
Biologist Richard Dawkins, a notorious critic of religion, has come under fire for making similar invidious comparisons in his attempts to defend his own scientific field from related gender essentialism and science denial.
Oh, and the author is using verbatim transphobic buzzwords. Maybe his real issue with the social justice movement is that transgender acceptance has risen in recent years.
The author links to right-wing rubbish like the Daily Mail for sources, he blames all the problems of the movement on "Neo-Marxist equity", and he works classic transphobic phrases into speech. I wonder if the author's problem is caused by the mistaken belief that he's progressive at all.
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Comment on What are the benefits in the here and now of linguistic diversity? in ~humanities.languages
IudexMiku LinkCultural identity is a big part of language. Irish, for example, was wiped out in many parts of Ireland for economic reasons (English was more useful for getting work). It's revival attempts were...Cultural identity is a big part of language. Irish, for example, was wiped out in many parts of Ireland for economic reasons (English was more useful for getting work). It's revival attempts were brought about as a means to defy English domination of Ireland and reclaim our own cultural distinction from the English. That's why it's taught in schools. The lack of assimilation is a benefit, not a negative side-effect.
A few areas do still have Irish spoken as a first language, but I think that without government intervention in the 1900s we might be looking at a dead language instead. Gaeltachts don't exactly have huge populations.
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Comment on Mass Effect: How do you feel about where it started vs where it went? in ~games
IudexMiku LinkIirc Mass Effect 3 had some horrible development conditions for the workers at Bioware, and that stymied it quite a lot. That much does offer some explanation as to why the quality dropped off....Iirc Mass Effect 3 had some horrible development conditions for the workers at Bioware, and that stymied it quite a lot. That much does offer some explanation as to why the quality dropped off.
One of my big gripes with ME3 is the Reapers' motivation. The earlier games, the first especially, do a great job of building them up as some unstoppable alien force. The chat with Sovereign? Great stuff. I love it.
But they're hardly beyond our comprehension by the end of the series. In fact, their motivation turns out to be very simple, which was really disappointing to me.
I have heard that an earlier draft for the game had the plot following up on the dark energy plotline from Haestrom in ME2. This wouldn't have been a perfect fix (Why did the reapers ever build mass relays, for one. Or ever let organic life evolve to begin with?), but I think it would have at least had the sort of depth that the final version lacked.
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Comment on Why I don't criticize Israel - Sam Harris - transcript from a 2014 podcast in ~misc
IudexMiku Link ParentThe colonial argument will be relevant as long as Israelis continue to benefit from their colonialism and Palestinians still suffer from it. It's not in the distant past either. Israel's formation...The colonial argument will be relevant as long as Israelis continue to benefit from their colonialism and Palestinians still suffer from it.
It's not in the distant past either. Israel's formation is within living memory. The war of 1967 is more recent still. And this is ongoing colonialism. Israel is still forcefully demolishes homes of Palestinians.
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Comment on Why I don't criticize Israel - Sam Harris - transcript from a 2014 podcast in ~misc
IudexMiku Link ParentThat's fair. I probably should have done that, but I find highlighting text on my phone to be quite awkward, so I just copied what I could.That's fair. I probably should have done that, but I find highlighting text on my phone to be quite awkward, so I just copied what I could.
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Comment on Why I don't criticize Israel - Sam Harris - transcript from a 2014 podcast in ~misc
IudexMiku Link ParentThere is no question which side is better. Israel have conquered and abused the people of Palestine for decades. Fighting a brutal colonial regime isn't something condemnable.There is no question which side is better. Israel have conquered and abused the people of Palestine for decades. Fighting a brutal colonial regime isn't something condemnable.
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Comment on Why I don't criticize Israel - Sam Harris - transcript from a 2014 podcast in ~misc
IudexMiku LinkThis article leaves a bad taste in my mouth. "Moral illusion" my ass. He says these things as if, in a world without Israel, Palestinian children might just explode at random, or Gaza might just...This article leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
This is where most critics of Israel appear to be stuck. They see these images, and they blame Israel for killing and maiming babies. They see the occupation, and they blame Israel for making Gaza a prison camp. I would argue that this is a kind of moral illusion
"Moral illusion" my ass. He says these things as if, in a world without Israel, Palestinian children might just explode at random, or Gaza might just happen to be blockaded. He has this spineless stance where he admits Israel did, and continues to do, terrible atrocities, and then absolves them of blame.
He declares that it's probably an accident that Israel keeps murdering children. That's an inane opinion, quite frankly. I don't think even Israelis think they're doing it by accident.
He spends a while arguing how Palestine would be terrible, and kill all the Israelis in his hypothetical, all while denying the very real genocide being carried out by Israel. The horrific mass displacement, murder, mistreatment and oppression that Israel has done to Palestinians over the past 75 years or so is very much in line with the definition of genocide. But that doesn't matter to Sam - it's all an "accident".
His argument relies on the hypothetical "what might happen" that ignores the reality of the current situation. What might happen concerns me far less than what is actually happening.
Israeli soldiers have occasionally put Palestinian civilians in front of them as they’ve advanced into dangerous areas. That’s not the use of human shields we’re talking about.
He talks about the use of human shields, and how Israel doesn't use them. Which is strange, because in the middle of the segment he acknowledges they have used human shields! Every time he discusses something terrible that Hamas does, he admits that Israel does it too, just that he prefers one side to the other. I'm unclear why. Possibly it is a love of the status quo, or a hatred of Muslims (which he has apparently gotten a lot of flack for in the past).
You have one side which if it really could accomplish its aims would simply live peacefully with its neighbors, and you have another side which is seeking to implement a seventh century theocracy in the Holy Land.
Without the context of the article, I'd assume that his meaning was swapped. Israel has not lived peacefully with it's neighbours at any point in its history. Why Sam thinks that it'd start as soon as Palestinians quit rebelling against their colonial overlords is beyond me.
Parts of this have changed since it was written. I would like to note that Hamas' constitution was changed in 2017 to remove the genocidal section he refers to. But overall, this is a pretty poor take on the situation, that just ignores reality in favour of an imaginary future.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~news
IudexMiku Link ParentTrue. It's a terrible situation. I wish Palestinians didn't have to resort to violence. But Israel has never stopped using violence against Palestinians, and peaceful protests have done nothing to...True. It's a terrible situation. I wish Palestinians didn't have to resort to violence. But Israel has never stopped using violence against Palestinians, and peaceful protests have done nothing to stop their atrocities. I somehow doubt Israel would ever return land to Palestine no matter how nicely they ask. I don't see what choice they have to not turn to violence when the alternatives fail.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~news
IudexMiku Link ParentIsrael has been casually murdering Palestinians for decades. I find it hard to condemn Hamas for their response to that. What else could they do?Israel has been casually murdering Palestinians for decades. I find it hard to condemn Hamas for their response to that. What else could they do?
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Comment on What happens in The Dark Knight [2012] in ~movies
IudexMiku LinkThis article encouraged me to read up about Aaron Swartz (I had heard the name, but could no remember no specifics). He was way more influential than I expected, with involvement in RSS and...This article encouraged me to read up about Aaron Swartz (I had heard the name, but could no remember no specifics). He was way more influential than I expected, with involvement in RSS and Markdown. I admire his commitment to free information too. Tragic that he died so young.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~misc
IudexMiku Link ParentI will not pretend to be intimately familiar with the current situation in Iran. I also don't think there is much value in comparing atrocities. I just don't see the benefit to elevating US...I will not pretend to be intimately familiar with the current situation in Iran. I also don't think there is much value in comparing atrocities.
I just don't see the benefit to elevating US imperialism above other terrible events. To say that after all the coups, the wars, the genocide and slavery that the US stands morally above any another country? I can't understand that point of view. They're all at the bottom of the same pit, metaphorically speaking.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~misc
IudexMiku Link ParentI don't think it makes the US better in the sense that I don't believe the motive, intentionality, or directness of killings relieves the severity of the act. If one country killed a million...I don't think it makes the US better in the sense that I don't believe the motive, intentionality, or directness of killings relieves the severity of the act.
If one country killed a million people directly via gunfire, or if another country killed a million people indirectly by destroying infrastructure, then at the end of the day, they've both killed a million people. I wouldn't call one of them better than the other.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~misc
IudexMiku Link ParentI see where you're coming from, but I respectfully disagree. I'm not sure if intentionally sparing some civilian infrastructure makes the US any better than Russia, especially when it leads to...I see where you're coming from, but I respectfully disagree. I'm not sure if intentionally sparing some civilian infrastructure makes the US any better than Russia, especially when it leads to civilians dying anyway.
I was reading this paper the other day, and the death toll as indirect consequences for the USA's invasions are horrific.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~misc
IudexMiku Link ParentI disagree with the view that USA imperialism has some special privilege that makes it any better or more justifiable than other countries' ambitions. As I see it, the USA just has the better PR...I disagree with the view that USA imperialism has some special privilege that makes it any better or more justifiable than other countries' ambitions. As I see it, the USA just has the better PR machine.
If you want to have a different culture you need to be able to defend that culture.
I don't want to misinterpret what you've said, and I hope you've just used some poor wording in your comment. However, is this meant to be a justification for American interventionism and cultural genocide?
Ugh, the Irish government making a mess as usual. They can ship refugees to the UK in a rush, but even after years of complaints and promises there's no sign of ending direct provision.