ibuprofen's recent activity
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Comment on Struggling in my relationship in ~life
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Comment on How industrial slaughter became the blueprint for modern capitalism in ~finance
ibuprofen LinkThis is an article that might seem insightful only if you already agree with all its conclusions. Obviously the white supremacist writings the author goes on to quote actually happened. But...This is an article that might seem insightful only if you already agree with all its conclusions.
Here’s something else you probably didn’t know: the modern obsession with eating massive amounts of meat isn’t “natural” or “traditional.” It comes from colonial propaganda designed to justify white supremacy.
Obviously the white supremacist writings the author goes on to quote actually happened. But arguing that something comes from propaganda designed to justify white supremacy is a very strong claim. Given the historical prominence of hunting, knights throwing banquets full of game, the celebrations of hunting prowess, etc. it seems highly plausible that a cultural aspiration to eat tons of meat existed long before 19th century colonialism and was simply appropriated by white supremacists to serve their propaganda.
Did you ever stop to wonder why, during the height of COVID, when even schools were shut down, Pres. Donald Trump declared slaughterhouses “essential to national security?” Even as these plants became disease superspreader sites—with management literally taking out bets on how many workers would get sick or die—the government understood the unspoken “deal” operating between the exploitation of workers and the exploitation of animals. Remember: making death for profit is the original goal of the system itself.
Sure, it definitely could be that there's an unspoken deal the government is sworn to uphold that workers are to be exploited to exploit animals above all else. That makes sense, if you really really want to write a provocative article with that as a premise.
But in reality the food supply is really, really important. And do you know what's even more important than the supply of a particular category of food we all could live without if we had to? Confidence in the food supply. That's non negotiable. People who were irrationally buying out the dried pasta aisle needed stability more than they needed chicken.
And that's where I noped out on this article. The leaps of logic for provocative effect are absurd.
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Comment on What is your 'Subway Take'? in ~talk
ibuprofen Link ParentIt's not that I don't get the rest of what you're saying, it's that it's irrelevant to my disagreement with this single point above: I think the fact that there is no national-level debate over...It's not that I don't get the rest of what you're saying, it's that it's irrelevant to my disagreement with this single point above:
I'd change that to 'the Japanese national government'.
I think the fact that there is no national-level debate over kicking the Americans out of the bases indicates a general national acceptance of the status quo that cannot be hand-waved to simply being a property of the Japanese federal government.
I don't disagree with any of the other points you've made. I just don't think they support the distinction you drew between the national government and the population at large.
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Comment on What is your 'Subway Take'? in ~talk
ibuprofen Link ParentI don't think those are comparisons that work in your favour: Americans have extremely contentious debates about healthcare and guns. The point isn't "If you don't like it vote differently and it...I don't think those are comparisons that work in your favour: Americans have extremely contentious debates about healthcare and guns.
The point isn't "If you don't like it vote differently and it will change" — it's that if enough people care about an issue this will be reflected in a democracy's national political discourse.
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Comment on What is your 'Subway Take'? in ~talk
ibuprofen (edited )Link ParentOkay, but at the risk of sounding like a broken record... They're a democracy. If they don't like it they should do something about it. The fact that there isn't a mainstream national political...Okay, but at the risk of sounding like a broken record... They're a democracy. If they don't like it they should do something about it.
The fact that there isn't a mainstream national political party which supports changing this indicates that the national population generally doesn't see this as something in need of changing. I don't think you can hand wave that away as being just due to the national government. It sounds like the national population is content with the local trade-offs.
EDIT: typo
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Comment on What is your 'Subway Take'? in ~talk
ibuprofen Link ParentWhen gardening you use a shovel to dig a hole. But you utilize a shovel to bang in a stake. Utilize is supposed to convey a novel, uncommon use.When gardening you use a shovel to dig a hole.
But you utilize a shovel to bang in a stake.
Utilize is supposed to convey a novel, uncommon use.
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Comment on Amazon's Prime Day deals could actually cost you more in ~tech
ibuprofen LinkThis is a pretty useless article. It talks about a bunch of items no one was claiming was on sale. It doesn't distinguish between items sold by Amazon versus those sold by third party sellers who...This is a pretty useless article.
It talks about a bunch of items no one was claiming was on sale.
It doesn't distinguish between items sold by Amazon versus those sold by third party sellers who set their own pricing.
And while it acknowledges that inflation and tariffs might play a role this is hand-waved away in service of publishing something anyway.
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Comment on Robin Williams' daughter pleads for people to stop sending her AI videos of her dad in ~tech
ibuprofen LinkThat's a pretty significant omission in the title.Zelda Williams, the daughter of Robin Williams, has asked people to stop sending her AI-generated videos of her father, the celebrated US actor and comic who died in 2014.
That's a pretty significant omission in the title.
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Comment on OpenAI’s H1 2025: $4.3b in income, $13.5b in loss in ~tech
ibuprofen Link ParentI strongly agree with that. You can see the same thing happening in Gemini. The 03-25 experimental model was vastly superior to everything they've come out with since. I think they released an...In the context of this post I wonder if the goal with gpt-5 is cost reduction rather than overal improvement.
I strongly agree with that.
You can see the same thing happening in Gemini. The 03-25 experimental model was vastly superior to everything they've come out with since. I think they released an extremely impressive experimental model, got the accolades, and have spent the last 6 months on efficiency.
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Connor McDavid puts his money where his mouth is with shockingly-low contract
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Way past its prime: how did Amazon get so rubbish?
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Comment on Sisters share ten-dollar a week meal plans for families facing inflation in ~life
ibuprofen Link ParentI mean pretty much by definition your time is worth less when your income is lower. If society valued your time more then you'd be paid more for using it at work.I mean pretty much by definition your time is worth less when your income is lower. If society valued your time more then you'd be paid more for using it at work.
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What you need to know about the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals resolving their Mid-Atlantic Sports Network dispute
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Comment on A baseball discussion thread, 2025 spring training edition in ~sports.baseball
ibuprofen Link ParentI don't know about that. Vladdy's always been a tough one to figure out contract-wise. Just about the only path to a deal would have been locking him up ASAP when he was super young, but you don't...Not getting a deal done for Vlad this year is ridiculous.
I don't know about that. Vladdy's always been a tough one to figure out contract-wise. Just about the only path to a deal would have been locking him up ASAP when he was super young, but you don't really see those kinds of deals very often and he's always been the sort of guy to bet on himself.
Then he had his great year and suddenly his asking price went through the roof, and I don't think it came down during the two less successful seasons. And after last year they apparently offered him $400m and not only did he turn it down he said they weren't even close to making a deal when he reported to camp.
Jays fans are overreacting as if Vladdy is the second coming of Frank Thomas or Pujols, guys who had career OPS+ 30-40 points higher than Vlad at this age.
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Comment on Wealthy Americans fuel half of US economy consumer spending in ~finance
ibuprofen Link ParentYour example points directly at a huge part of the problem: progressives have decided that certain rights exist and are keen to expand and enforce them ASAP instead of working to build a broad...Your example points directly at a huge part of the problem: progressives have decided that certain rights exist and are keen to expand and enforce them ASAP instead of working to build a broad social consensus that agrees with them.
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Comment on Canada bet big on immigration. Now it’s hitting the brakes. in ~society
ibuprofen Link ParentIt's not just housing, pretty much all of our service infrastructure isn't built up to a level that can support this. Healthcare is particularly bad, since we were already insufficiently prepared...It's not just housing, pretty much all of our service infrastructure isn't built up to a level that can support this. Healthcare is particularly bad, since we were already insufficiently prepared for aging boomers and then covid accelerated healthcare retirements and other stresses.
Canada has an immigration system that's obviously flawed but generally still pretty alright. The problem is there's a parallel stream of irregular immigration that's being abused, and our government has done an atrocious job of containing this, closing loopholes, and ensuring our immigration is orderly and at a manageable level. Our current government (a) sees immigrant growth on their watch as likely to grow their political base, (b) has a progressive wing that likes the idea of Canada taking in people who want to be here regardless of whether it's in our country's interest, and (c) has a business wing that really likes the idea of lots of entry level labour desperate to work and keep wages down.
On the face of it, something like international students should be a no brainer. Smart, educated, young people who build ties here early are pretty close to dream immigrants. Historically that's been true, but that only works if you're actually bringing in students. If you don't vet the institutions and programs you end up with a massive loophole of "students" who are signed up at diploma mills which barely exist, aren't educated, and are working under the table while trying to get permanent residency. It's a mess.
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Comment on Tumblr to begin selling user content to AI generative service companies, opt-out will be per blog in ~tech
ibuprofen Link ParentWell of course one isn't a fan of it. I totally get that, and of course we always prefer opt-in and upfront choices. But this doesn't seem to be anything that materially changes the platform in...I am personally not a fan of a platform relying on mining user content from the past fifteen years to aide other companies
Well of course one isn't a fan of it. I totally get that, and of course we always prefer opt-in and upfront choices. But this doesn't seem to be anything that materially changes the platform in any way.
will be harboring personally identifying information en mass
Is Tumblr full of personally identifying information? I always thought of it as a largely anonymous platform.
using said data to create a facsimile of the user base to automate said user base content in the future especially when that sort of technology was ne er a worry from the start of the content development.
Who is looking to automate Tumblr posts? What does a Tumblr AI do to change your ability to express yourself or connect with your friends?
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Comment on Tumblr to begin selling user content to AI generative service companies, opt-out will be per blog in ~tech
ibuprofen Link ParentI think I'm missing something here. As far as a free platform monetizing their userbase goes, AI training data seems one of the most benign options out there. It's completely depersonalized....I think I'm missing something here.
As far as a free platform monetizing their userbase goes, AI training data seems one of the most benign options out there. It's completely depersonalized. There's no tracking or profile-building. How is the user experience being enshittified?
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Exclusive: Why the Kansas City Royals are using full-size NOB lettering
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Comment on I’m worried that the Israel-Palestine conflict is tearing Tildes apart in ~tildes
ibuprofen Link ParentOf course you see much more of what's removed — I didn't mean to imply that only hate speech is removed or should only be removed. I'm not criticizing what's removed or advocating that less be...Of course you see much more of what's removed — I didn't mean to imply that only hate speech is removed or should only be removed. I'm not criticizing what's removed or advocating that less be removed here at Tildes.
Does she suffer from depression?
What's she overspending on?
If the house is just in her name then have you been paying into it? Or is it her asset that has a loan against it to pay for her spending? That would be a lot cleaner, though obviously still undesirable.
This is complicated because she has authority over all the kids and you don't. Even though you have equal parenting authority over your own kid in practice she's going to set the tone for the household. You can't win by fighting this, regardless of whether you're right.
So don't try. Instead of trying to shift her to being more authoritarian or authoritative, focus on shifting yourself to more of a "gentle parenting" style. Even if you think this is objectively a worse style of parenting, shifting allows you to influence her to be less permissive because it removes her built-up defence of dismissing your approach as authoritarian. Sometimes it's better to be effective than to be right.