Kitahara_Kazusa's recent activity
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Comment on Sentenced to life for an accident miles away in ~life
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Comment on Sentenced to life for an accident miles away in ~life
Kitahara_Kazusa Link ParentI mean, just compare the penalty for speeding (usually a fine, or even a warning if you're polite at the officer is in a good mood) with the penalty for speeding and causing a wreck that kills...I mean, just compare the penalty for speeding (usually a fine, or even a warning if you're polite at the officer is in a good mood) with the penalty for speeding and causing a wreck that kills someone.
Attempted murder has a different punishment than actual murder, even though you're clearly attempting to murder someone.
Robbery has penalties based on how much you steal, so an incompetent thief who doesn't steal very much will face less time than a good thief if they're both caught.
In quite a few categories beyond felony murder, people can get significant variance in their sentences based on factors entirely outside of their control.
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Comment on Why I don't criticize Israel - Sam Harris - transcript from a 2014 podcast in ~misc
Kitahara_Kazusa Link ParentThat's the only interpretation of his comment that makes sense, unless you think he was advocating for a nuclear strike on Pakistan. It only makes sense if he is referring to extremists, either...That's the only interpretation of his comment that makes sense, unless you think he was advocating for a nuclear strike on Pakistan. It only makes sense if he is referring to extremists, either the Taliban or similar regimes.
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Comment on Why I don't criticize Israel - Sam Harris - transcript from a 2014 podcast in ~misc
Kitahara_Kazusa Link ParentThey wouldn't have been there if the Palestinians hadn't kept trying to invade Israel. Its a fairly normal thing for the losing side of a war to lose some territory as well. And certainly after...They wouldn't have been there if the Palestinians hadn't kept trying to invade Israel. Its a fairly normal thing for the losing side of a war to lose some territory as well. And certainly after this war is over Israel is going to have a much increased presence in whatever is left of Gaza.
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Comment on Why I don't criticize Israel - Sam Harris - transcript from a 2014 podcast in ~misc
Kitahara_Kazusa Link ParentThe settlements are in the West Bank, not Gaza. Well, they used to be in Gaza, but then the Israelis pulled out. Kind of a strange thing to pull out of an area as the first step in a big secret...The settlements are in the West Bank, not Gaza. Well, they used to be in Gaza, but then the Israelis pulled out.
Kind of a strange thing to pull out of an area as the first step in a big secret plan to invade it, don't you think?
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Comment on Why I don't criticize Israel - Sam Harris - transcript from a 2014 podcast in ~misc
Kitahara_Kazusa Link ParentGiven that he isn't advocating for an immediate declaration of war on Pakistan (which is a Muslim country armed with nuclear weapons), I think its fairly obvious that he is talking about radical...Given that he isn't advocating for an immediate declaration of war on Pakistan (which is a Muslim country armed with nuclear weapons), I think its fairly obvious that he is talking about radical Islamists, not just any Muslim lead government.
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Comment on Why I don't criticize Israel - Sam Harris - transcript from a 2014 podcast in ~misc
Kitahara_Kazusa Link ParentIn a hypothetical where the Taliban has nuclear weapons, and a nuclear strike is the only effective way to prevent them from building more and using them, would you seriously be against nuking...In a hypothetical where the Taliban has nuclear weapons, and a nuclear strike is the only effective way to prevent them from building more and using them, would you seriously be against nuking them?
MAD only works to prevent the other side from using nukes when they care about not being destroyed.
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Comment on Why I don't criticize Israel - Sam Harris - transcript from a 2014 podcast in ~misc
Kitahara_Kazusa (edited )Link ParentWell, given that the Israelis aren't trying to simply clear Gaza of all life (the fact that it isn't covered in napalm should be proof enough of this), the Israeli goal has to be something other...Well, given that the Israelis aren't trying to simply clear Gaza of all life (the fact that it isn't covered in napalm should be proof enough of this), the Israeli goal has to be something other than just killing everyone in Gaza, let alone killing all of the Palestinians in general.
Obviously the Israelis could be doing a lot of things better, but it shouldn't be a question which side is better.
Edit: should've known better than to talk on this fucking website lol
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
Kitahara_Kazusa LinkI'm currently reading Radiance, not a ton has happened so I'm not sure how I'll feel when I finish it, but at minimum it's interesting and very well written so it certainly won't be bad. Also...I'm currently reading Radiance, not a ton has happened so I'm not sure how I'll feel when I finish it, but at minimum it's interesting and very well written so it certainly won't be bad.
Also planning to read US Naval Gunfire Support in the Pacific War as soon as it comes in, that one has an incredibly self explanatory title, but it really is a topic that seems to get glossed over every time it comes up so I thought I'd try to read into it a little more.
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Comment on UN Secretary-General: A worrisome new nuclear arms race is brewing. Any use of a nuclear weapon — anytime, anywhere and in any context — would unleash a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions. in ~misc
Kitahara_Kazusa Link ParentIts incredibly unrealistic. Looking at the total number of nukes isn't super meaningful, given the power and reliability of modern weapons, the ability for countries like the USA and China to...Its incredibly unrealistic. Looking at the total number of nukes isn't super meaningful, given the power and reliability of modern weapons, the ability for countries like the USA and China to conduct a counter-value strike (polite word for glassing cities) remains present even without the massive stockpiles of the cold war.
These nukes will remain until they are unnecessary, so lets look at what objectives having nuclear weapons achieves. For Russia, the benefit is obvious, without Russia's nuclear arsenal they would have been invaded by now. Their nukes are very obviously the only thing keeping the current state of Russia in existence. For India and Pakistan, the nukes ensure the current borders around Kashmir. If you removed nukes from one side the other would have an immediate advantage, and if you removed nukes from both then India's larger conventional military would dominate. So neither side will be willing to disarm until they can agree on their borders. If you look at China, they would like to take Taiwan at some point, and without nuclear weapons such a project would be utterly impossible. It might still be impossible, but nuclear weapons gives them a chance. The USA would very much not like China to annex Taiwan, or anything else for that matter, and again nuclear weapons are necessary to achieve this goal. Again, because of the imbalance in conventional forces, a mutual disarmament would be unfavorable to China and thus is unlikely to ever occur.
If you create a world where nuclear weapons are not necessary to achieve vital foreign policy objectives, then that is a world where total nuclear disarmament can occur. But that is the only way.
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Comment on Fun fact: Taiwan claims exclusive sovereignty over mainland China and Mongolia as well as parts of Russia, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Japan in ~humanities.history
Kitahara_Kazusa Link ParentFrom what I know the problem is Taiwan cannot declare independence, because it has already said there is only one China, and the CCP has said they may take military action of Taiwan tries to go...From what I know the problem is Taiwan cannot declare independence, because it has already said there is only one China, and the CCP has said they may take military action of Taiwan tries to go independent.
So it is difficult for Taiwan to make any statements about how much land it claims, because even admitting to claim the island of Taiwan as sovereign could result in war. So they just keep the most ambitious claims from the earliest days of the civil war, not because they're serious about them, but because there's no way for them to make any comments on the subject without risking a war.
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Comment on Do you replay video games? in ~games
Kitahara_Kazusa LinkIf I really liked a game I'll usually replay it once or twice directly after I finish it, just to make sure I didn't miss anything and because I'll still be caught up in the story. Generally after...If I really liked a game I'll usually replay it once or twice directly after I finish it, just to make sure I didn't miss anything and because I'll still be caught up in the story.
Generally after that I won't ever go back to it again, however, and it's not like I'll replay it enough to get every ending, just the ones that initially caught my interest.
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Comment on Ten things kids don’t know how to do (and five things they know how to do better) in ~life
Kitahara_Kazusa Link ParentIn general it's incredibly useful to understand the process behind anything you're going to automate. Even if you rely on calculators for division, it's still helpful to know the steps behind how...In general it's incredibly useful to understand the process behind anything you're going to automate. Even if you rely on calculators for division, it's still helpful to know the steps behind how you would do it without one, since it makes spotting errors much easier.
If a calculator is just a black box that gives you a number then you'll be much more likely to not notice when you put in bad data and get a garbage answer, while if you already know what to expect then you can use the calculator as a shortcut while still being able to check the result.
And the concept behind long division is really quite necessary for a lot of simple and useful math. Say you cook 5 eggs at a time and you want to know how many boxes of 12 you need. Even if you don't write it out, you need either long division or fractions to solve that problem.
And as complicated as long division is, at least in my experience fractions were FAR worse, even in high school plenty of people would just give up as soon as they saw fractions.
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Comment on France’s browser-based website blocking proposal will set a disastrous precedent for the open internet in ~tech
Kitahara_Kazusa Link ParentThere's always been restrictions. If you're in the US and you try to run a website hosting pirated movies, you will get shut down. If you tried to run a website selling drugs, or offering any...I’d argue we did have a free and open internet- at least here in the US - for many years. I lived through it. I don’t know what kind of revisionist history you’re trying to sell here, but I’m not buying.
There's always been restrictions. If you're in the US and you try to run a website hosting pirated movies, you will get shut down. If you tried to run a website selling drugs, or offering any other illegal service, you would get shut down. In most of Europe, if you run a website hosting a bunch of targeted hate speech, you will get shut down. And in cases where the people hosting the website are outside of the jurisdiction of the country in question, it is not at all unheard of for the country to just block the domain. This is already happening in France and I've given examples. Just because things happen on the internet does not mean that laws do not apply to them.
And if you still consider the internet to be "free and open" even with all of those restrictions in place, but consider a block on certain scam websites to be where the line needs to be drawn, I really have to question why you think that is the point where it becomes a problem.
Yes, theoretically Macron could be putting this law in place because he is worried about another French Revolution happening. But first, why would he want to implement a browser based system, as opposed to regulating it at the ISP level? This draws more attention to the regulations that are being put in place and thus makes it more likely people will circumvent them, and as I've also said it makes the restrictions easier to circumvent than the normal method. And second, do you honestly believe that anyone thinks France is at risk for a color revolution, or really any revolution for that matter?
I mean I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens, but if the French use this law to suppress political opposition it will be incredibly easy to notice, and I would bet any amount of money that the French will not use this law for that.
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Comment on Ten things kids don’t know how to do (and five things they know how to do better) in ~life
Kitahara_Kazusa Link ParentIts standard to teach basic division first, and then get to long division later, right? Like first you learn that 4÷2 = 2, or 9÷3=3, and so on. But eventually you need to learn how to divide 10 by...Its standard to teach basic division first, and then get to long division later, right? Like first you learn that 4÷2 = 2, or 9÷3=3, and so on. But eventually you need to learn how to divide 10 by 3, which suddenly isn't so simple, so now you need long division.
But knowing how to do long division requires you to be able to do normal division first, because the first step in long dividing 10÷3 is to realize that 9÷3=3. So I don't see how it would be possible to attempt to teach long division without normal division first.
Alternatively you could break it up as 10÷3 = 10/3, which after you understand fractions is much simpler than long dividing and getting 3.3333..., but getting to the whole 'after you understand fractions' part is fairly difficult.
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Comment on France’s browser-based website blocking proposal will set a disastrous precedent for the open internet in ~tech
Kitahara_Kazusa Link ParentThere's never been a completely free and open internet, and there never will be. There are always laws about what you can and cannot do. Usually these laws have the support of most of the public,...There's never been a completely free and open internet, and there never will be. There are always laws about what you can and cannot do. Usually these laws have the support of most of the public, or they wouldn't have been made in the first place. Ie, recently Canada passed that law banning Meta from hosting links to news sites. While that seems like it has somewhat backfired, at least initially it was popular. Or the French laws I already mentioned, there's not too many Frenchmen out there complaining that the government blocking access to nhentai is an unjust restriction of the internet. And I could go on, there's a ton of ways in which the internet is restricted even in the USA, which has less of these kinds of laws than most places.
Well, I mean I guess there is if you count Tor browser and the .onion sites, but even those occasionally get traced by the FBI and people get arrested. But I don't think those kinds of websites are very relevant to this discussion.
In general, as long as the process behind why the laws are being made is explained and has the support of the public, I don't see a reason its necessarily bad to restrict the internet in certain ways. If France was an autocracy with limited communication with the outside world, and there was a real fear that the government would use this law to restrict the flow of information in France, you would have a point. But that just isn't the case.
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Comment on France’s browser-based website blocking proposal will set a disastrous precedent for the open internet in ~tech
Kitahara_Kazusa Link ParentIf you're pirating movies, you need to know how to download a VPN already. If you can download a VPN you can download a browser. Given how easy it will be to get around this wall the French are...If you're pirating movies, you need to know how to download a VPN already. If you can download a VPN you can download a browser.
Given how easy it will be to get around this wall the French are setting up, it will be very obvious if they try to use it for anything nefarious.
And again, the French government, along with basically every other government around, has been blocking various websites it deems illegal since basically the creation of the internet. The potential for abuse has always been there, the main thing changing now is how they implement their restrictions, not what the restrictions are.
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Comment on France’s browser-based website blocking proposal will set a disastrous precedent for the open internet in ~tech
Kitahara_Kazusa Link ParentI think the people who would be downloading a browser specifically to bypass this law, or laws like it, are probably not the same people who would be at risk for accidentally downloading a virus...I think the people who would be downloading a browser specifically to bypass this law, or laws like it, are probably not the same people who would be at risk for accidentally downloading a virus instead of a legitimate browser. Sure, that will happen, but I'd bet it will happen to fewer people than the number of people who would be protected from viruses by browsers that do follow this law.
And my real point is that the internet has never been completely free and open, there's always restrictions against illegal things. If the French government has decided to block this by requiring ISPs to not allow access to certain websites they know to be spams, it wouldn't be news at all, that's a fairly normal thing for governments to do. Now they're just trying to build that restriction into browsers instead, for some reason that probably makes sense to the French government, and I just don't see why this is newsworthy or "dangerous".
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Comment on France’s browser-based website blocking proposal will set a disastrous precedent for the open internet in ~tech
Kitahara_Kazusa LinkDoesn't France already block several websites it considers to be illegal by forcing all ISPs within the country to not allow access? I've seen various news articles relating to some porn websites...Doesn't France already block several websites it considers to be illegal by forcing all ISPs within the country to not allow access?
I've seen various news articles relating to some porn websites that had what France considered improper age verification, and I know they blocked some hentai website over lolicon material.
Changing from an ISP based block to a browser based block doesn't seem to have much practical difference, at least not to me. If I'm understanding it right it will probably less restrictive to use a browser based system, because then you would only have to download a non-compliant browser once in order to bypass it, while the current system requires constant use of a VPN.
So if you're an average person you can get a government approved browser that will automatically block any scams the government has been made aware of, and if you are worried about the government suppressing information you can just get a browser that doesn't comply, which will always be hilariously easy. If the Chinese people are capable of getting VPNs, the French will be too.
And arguments about setting a precedent or a slippery slope aren't very convincing, because again the French government has already been doing this stuff for years, just using a different method. In all cases these websites exist for purposes deemed illegal by the French government, so it isn't too shocking that they would try to prevent people from accessing them, whether it be intentionally or by mistake.
Also I'm fairly sick and I'm typing this on my phone, so hopefully the flow of the paragraphs makes sense, I always try to type long comments on my computer so i can properly proofread them
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Comment on Russia has 'right to war' with 'each and every' NATO country - Dmitry Medvedev in ~news
Kitahara_Kazusa Link ParentMedvedev is either actually insane, or is trying to pretend to be insane so that he doesn't fall out of a window for being a potential successor to Putin. There's no point in trying to understand...Medvedev is either actually insane, or is trying to pretend to be insane so that he doesn't fall out of a window for being a potential successor to Putin.
There's no point in trying to understand the logic behind his statements, because there isn't any.
Actually you are right, at least for my state, with regards to murder. However, for every other crime an attempt gets knocked down a level.
If you actually commit a Class A felony, you're looking at 10 years to life depending on the details. If you attempt one and fail, you're looking at 2-20 years, as if it was a Class B felony. And so on all the way down. Simply failing to accomplish the crime you tried to commit can save you huge amounts of jail time.