TheMediumJon's recent activity
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Comment on A Nazi tattoo exposes US Democrats’ greatest weakness in ~society
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of October 27 in ~society
TheMediumJon Link ParentDamn, I'll try and keep that in mind next year in case they do.Damn, I'll try and keep that in mind next year in case they do.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of October 27 in ~society
TheMediumJon Link ParentDamn, Jacobin coming through again. I had seen some coverage of him regarding the tattoo before and thought to myself "yeah right, coincidence", but that's certainly a deeper background than has...Damn, Jacobin coming through again.
I had seen some coverage of him regarding the tattoo before and thought to myself "yeah right, coincidence", but that's certainly a deeper background than has mostly been done of him.
He's (obviously, indeed humanly,) not perfect, but if I were of Maine, yeah I'd likely vote for him given this.
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Comment on Amazon Web Services outage impacts in ~tech
TheMediumJon Link ParentOh man, I've not tried anything personal at all yet, actually.Oh man, I've not tried anything personal at all yet, actually.
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Comment on Amazon Web Services outage impacts in ~tech
TheMediumJon LinkSo apparently the US-East AWS servers are having issues.... In the spirit of discussion? How's this impacting you, if at all? Personally, slack as well as a bunch of other company services are...So apparently the US-East AWS servers are having issues....
In the spirit of discussion? How's this impacting you, if at all?
Personally, slack as well as a bunch of other company services are barely functional or not at all. Great fun.
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Amazon Web Services outage impacts
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Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
TheMediumJon Link ParentWell if you'd ask who am I to argue, the answer is Emperor TheMediumJon the first, so take that.Well if you'd ask who am I to argue, the answer is Emperor TheMediumJon the first, so take that.
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Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
TheMediumJon Link ParentSounds a bit like a reverse Ron L Hubbard.Sounds a bit like a reverse Ron L Hubbard.
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Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
TheMediumJon Link ParentMight as well go the full NortonA private permanent Renaissance faire just so they can be the Monarch. Guests can come but must all bow to their whim.
Might as well go the full Norton
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Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
TheMediumJon Link ParentThere's cursing sailors as wellThere's cursing sailors as well
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Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
TheMediumJon Link ParentIf they don't then I shall personally utilize my question-provided billions to spread monocles to all. Basic lensed ones for those with no need for prescriptions, proper prescripted ones for those...If they don't then I shall personally utilize my question-provided billions to spread monocles to all.
Basic lensed ones for those with no need for prescriptions, proper prescripted ones for those in need thereof.
Can't be riding on the great Zeppelin Unignitable without a good monocle (and top hat).
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Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
TheMediumJon LinkThe first answer that comes to mind in terms of ridiculousness is the classic "Buy everyone a free pony"*(limited to as long as supply of available foals lasts). But I like this question. I'll...The first answer that comes to mind in terms of ridiculousness is the classic "Buy everyone a free pony"*(limited to as long as supply of available foals lasts).
But I like this question. I'll have to think some more about what ridiculousness I'd actually like to do rather than a trope-y spur of the moment thing.
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Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk
TheMediumJon Link ParentAh yes, the classic quick family-friendly game of Campaign for North Africa.Less so Warhammer and things you and I might have heard of and more extremely complicated games about specific military battles or campaigns that can last for real-world months - they aren't allowed to play at work, so play on weekends
Ah yes, the classic quick family-friendly game of Campaign for North Africa.
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Comment on Pragmatic socialists should support effective altruism: Or how a Marxist sociologist undermined my socialist beliefs in ~society
TheMediumJon LinkGood fucking lord. I am straining my entire will not to just expletive that author as such. This... I don't know why I continued going on, but here's my penny, whatever it remains worth: Strong...Good fucking lord. I am straining my entire will not to just expletive that author as such.
This... I don't know why I continued going on, but here's my penny, whatever it remains worth:
instead of caring all that much about democratic control of the economy or ownership of the means of production.
Strong "Abolitionists should refocus to caring about the decent treatment of slaves rather than about whether these people are owned by people" energies here.
EA-style socialism
I'm think I'm vaguely familiar with EA as a concept, but mostly as an almost third-way-ist alternative thought to socialism rather than as a form thereof.
"worker ownership of the means of production" does not actually capture what we care about
Who does he speak for and what do they care about? Is it these "EA-socialists"? What is their goal that they claim to be socialists but apparently reject worker ownership of the means of production?
because these voluntary associations have the potential to promote social welfare in ways that can mitigate problems resulting from the concentration of political and economic power.
Only insomuch as the political power allows so or as much as they are willing to actively struggle against it (or the economic power).
From this framework, we get three different types of political arrangements:
Okay so the delineation of capitalism there I understand. But where runs the line between the voluntary social organization that controls the state and economy and the political power that controls the economy and society?
And even if we can avoid these principal-agent problems, state control over the economy will be enormously inefficient for reasons explained by Hayek.
My dude, I don't think Hayek is considered particularly binding for a socialist. And I certainly feel confident enough to say, if your target audience is socialists the onus is actually on you to say why you are relying on Hayek.
Wright isn't calling for any radical changes.
Is he, or is he not, advocating for the (eventual) shift of political and economic power into the hands of some form of social-collective body as I seem to be interpreting? If he is, how is that not radical compared to the status quo. If he is not, what exactly does he argue for?
we could require donors to contribute to a centralised pool of funds
I believe that concept was invited somewhere in ancient antiquity (so far ago that it does require that redundancy there) under the name "taxes".
We could then use deliberative democratic processes to collectively decide where funds should be distributed and democratic elections to decide on community leadership positions.
Also known as (direct) democracy.
At the same time I don't have any interest in being part of one.
Are you a socialist then?
First I would lose any money I have invested, as that would go to the workers of the respective companies instead.
Yes, that is how worker ownership of the means of production works.
Then I would gain part ownership of the company I work for. But I don't really want both my wages and my investment tied to the same company. It's too much risk—what if the company goes broke? Probably the first thing I would do is sell my ownership stake in the company, become a wage labourer instead, and use the money to invest in an index fund.
I know that I have far more to read in terms of socialist theory, but goddamn that person did not read (Marxist) socialist theory. The basic premise, I would argue, is the exploitation of workers when they do not own their own employment.
I don't want to brag, but I think I would have been pretty good at it.
I don't want to brag, but I shall do so anyway.
I just... Why?
This sounds like someone who is a devoted capitalist trying to co-opt socialist ideology.
From starting with Hayek, through principally rejecting worker ownership of the means of production, explicitly saying they don't want radical change, focus on purely voluntary organization...I'm not sure how else a co-opting would look like if not thusly.
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Comment on US conservative news network Newsmax files antitrust lawsuit against Fox News in ~tv
TheMediumJon Link ParentAlso, at least one of these organizations is going to be throwing money at their lawyers for this, which means less money for other things?Also, at least one of these organizations is going to be throwing money at their lawyers for this, which means less money for other things?
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Comment on The day when three NASA astronauts staged a strike in space in ~space
TheMediumJon Link ParentAlso in the vein of examples of consequences to space labor relations: Mike Duncan's 11th series of Revolutions about the (future and thus fictional) Martian Revolution, which I'd very much recommend.Also in the vein of examples of consequences to space labor relations: Mike Duncan's 11th series of Revolutions about the (future and thus fictional) Martian Revolution, which I'd very much recommend.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
TheMediumJon Link ParentI might be mistaken, but I vaguely have that in memory as being explicitly stated as such - that yes the Dalefolk say outright some of that gold in there is actually ours taken by the dragon just...I might be mistaken, but I vaguely have that in memory as being explicitly stated as such - that yes the Dalefolk say outright some of that gold in there is actually ours taken by the dragon just as yours was.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
TheMediumJon Link ParentIt's been a while and some books since I read the Hobbit, but as far as my recollection goes that seems like very much adopting Smaugs narrative beyond the actual facts? Wouldn't the actual...What you don't know is the people behind your break-in is a gang of the descendants of the previous owners of your house who you evicted many many years ago. They believe their historic grievance gives them more right to your house than you, its long-standing resident. The burglar they hired (with a promise of a fraction of your possessions) stole even his robbery tool from your neighbor down the street! They always hoped to murder you in your sleep so they could steal not only all your possessions but your home itself; they waste no time before claiming possession upon realizing you're dead. And as your body grows cold they cause a fucking "race war" between all your neighbors.
It's been a while and some books since I read the Hobbit, but as far as my recollection goes that seems like very much adopting Smaugs narrative beyond the actual facts?
Wouldn't the actual analogy be:
You went on a murder-pillage spree across an entire town (to keep the "out in the middle of nowhere paradigm you used, despite my initial instinct being an entire block). Killed or sent away everybody living there, some of them resettling nearby and others going to exile far away. And you did keep the stuff from all of them obviously.And then the descendant(s) of the dude whose house you took up residence in with your loot hire a "professional" to take a particular item back from you. Upon realizing that they stopped by the close community of descendants of those aggrieved by you you fly into a murderous rage and go burn down their second village as well (giving a real huffing and puffing wolf energy). You get killed through luck/skill by those victim-descended victims.
At which point there does somewhat erupt a race-war, because everyone you stole from wants their shit back except the (descendant of the) dude whose house you put your stash considers all its contents to be his.
I mean, yeah, Thorin's a right bastard there and could have avoided that mess by handing over a rightful amount of gold from the start. But also, he didn't steal all that gold.
E: Even if you argue regarding only what we see in the book, I don't recall Smaug having a different narrative of how he got that gold and mountain, so there's no reason to consider Thorin's background statements to be disputed.
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Comment on Finland will remove swastikas from its air force flags to enhance integration with Western allies following NATO membership in ~society
TheMediumJon Link ParentThat seems like a fair assessment. And as AP seems to mention, Finland might've not used it in a Nazi-ish way, since it adopted it from a major early supporter - the swedish Count von Rosen....That seems like a fair assessment.
And as AP seems to mention, Finland might've not used it in a Nazi-ish way, since it adopted it from a major early supporter - the swedish Count von Rosen. Except that he then was the brother-in-law of a Goering fellow.
Certainly not blame, but maybe as you say, sympathism...
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Comment on Most Ukrainians now favor ending the war with Russia through negotiations, as support for fighting until victory has dropped sharply since the early days of the conflict in ~society
TheMediumJon Link ParentYeah, some might say it is the difference between "we should surrender" vs "we will not be able to make Russia surrender".Yeah, some might say it is the difference between "we should surrender" vs "we will not be able to make Russia surrender".
I mean, in the case of Plattner, you can (like Jacobin did, posted elsewhere on here) take a look at his online record some years back, in addition to his Public stances on the campaign.
Given both of these (+ actually going to cover up the tattoo), the odds of dog whistle vs genuine mistake tilt very heavily towards one from the other.
Whereas if your public position is ideologically way closer to being a Nazi and your disavowal is "I swear I'm not a Nazi, that tattoo is entirely innocent" and/or you keep aforementioned tattoo, like say some secretary of something, that obviously merits a different interpretation.
Basically, I feel like you are trying to accuse at least some slice of libs/leftists of hypocrisy to a degree that isn't actually aligned with facts.