#but don't know about x or y laws governing their activity

[notbecauseofvictories]

I am going on an official Work Trip, and even though I know---I know---it's largely going to be sitting in rooms with other business people, doing business-y things like brainstorming and swapping jargon, I'm still very nervous about it.

[tetsunabouquet]

What are your opinions on the Dong Family from the Shaman King sequels?

Now this is an excellent question! Well, when they were first introduced, I was surprised yet I wasn't. I hadn't expected the Tao family to be involved in a clanwar but with the way they clearly had enemies that caused them to go into hiding it didn't felt out of left field. I really would like to hear their story and why they feel justified to go after the Taos despite the fact they never suffered that much as they said they've been involved with the Daremoine for centuries. They're not oppressed or anything, so why should I root for characters who kill innocent bystanders just to keep their power? In that regards, I wouldn't care if they were to die. Especially Yonhon, he really is a snake that deserves hell. How he manipulated his sister and the Black Maiden is just unacceptable. I don't care how much he loves his momma and wants to keep her out of the fight. The fact he even put his mom in a forced coma is an act of abuse. The Dong mother deserves her bodily autonomy. The girls from the Dong family are more likable to me. Shahon doesn't seems to care for the war, she seems more of the long-terms kind of schemer and I love those kind of antagonists. If you were to ask me which characters I would like to peek into their minds and I had to chose between Shahon and Yonhon, I'd definitely choose Shahon. I'd love to know what she's up to. HongHong seems redeemable, and I'd really like her to run for the hills with lightning speed. She deserves a better family, and she definitely feels like the Dong clan's version of Iron Maiden Jeanne back at the start of the Shaman Fight, when she was ignorant and brainwashed by the X-Laws. I found the Dong family's plotline way more likable until they started developping the Illimunati plotline. Not only does that seem total fanfic-y, but it distracts from the interesting questions. I mean, I'm way more interested in the Dong family then Manta's old butler having his Iron Man fantasy, something that also actively undermines the original story. Because if the Daremoine controls the world, and its a Shaman run organization with non-Shamans working there and at least having knowledge about it, then why the fuck was everyone so upset when the island was discovered by humans through the X-satellite? They already have the world's governments in their pockets, they should already have known it exists and be closing a blind eye to it! I swear, the Daremoine plot kills the actual interesting and cool new stuff that has been introduced. Tamao had her awesome cloud form, yet the technique is still not being taught to the characters or is it something they are talking about achieving. Compare that to how in the original story, new techniques were introduced. If the characters didn't learn them immediately, it would be hyped up and mentioned various times throughout the story by characters like Hao's minions taunting the main cast they were taught his techniques. I can only wonder if Daremoine's power ritual will be explained in the next manga or if it will never be mentioned again.

[darthkvznblogs]

What is the status of mutants in general?

This one's a bit of a minefield for me to answer, because mutants tie into a lot of spoiler-y stuff I can't discuss till we're done with "Year 1" content, specifically the arc that's just started over on the Supergirl fic.

I can say a few things, though, for now:

-Mutants have been around since ancient times, but there was a boom in mutant births around the 50s and 60s. This led the major world powers to panic, as mutants with very dangerous abilities started to sprout all around and intentionally or accidentally cause major incidents that put lives at risk and (more importantly to them) threatened the status quo. Magneto and Xavier led major movements to both safeguard mutants and pressure the world's nations into a better solution to this problem than "capture/contain/eliminate".

-There are laws all over the world restricting mutants with potentially or outright dangerous mutations from living in most developed nations (or at least most major population centers) to prevent potential disasters. These individuals are typically given a choice when identified - stay and be constantly monitored (probably wearing a power dampener if your mutation is dangerous enough), or get an all expenses paid trip to the artificial island of Genosha, where they can live freely and ensure that their mutations won't put others in danger. Mutants with harmless or easily controllable mutations are still registered, but they are not closely monitored or expelled. It's illegal in most of the world to discriminate against mutants and crimes targeting them are usually handled like any other kind of hate crime. It's kinda...dystopian, but it was the best compromise the UN could reach with Mutantkind's representatives, with the promise of improving infrastructure worldwide so these measures eventually become unnecessary. There are exceptions, for better and worse - nations were mutants go completely unregulated, and others where they are captured and incarcerated, or worse (that's usually where the X-Men come in).

-There is no mutant cure. There are ways to dampen mutant powers, but it's not an illness you can get rid of or a body part you can cut out.

-Mutants have a life expectancy 1.5 times greater than regular humans - so Magneto, who's about 75-ish in the modern day Kverse, looks and acts closer to his mid-to-late fifties.

-As part of the agreement with Magneto and Xavier, there are no national registries - it's all tied to SHIELD's Index, which collects data on all Enhanced individuals, naturally or otherwise (remember, SHIELD is not an American organization in the Kverse). This is meant to ensure the registry can't be used freely to doxx or target mutants, though it does mean anyone who can overcome SHIELD's security can gain access to that info.

-Xavier typically detects powerful mutants via Cerebro before they can be discovered by the various national agencies and extends an invitation to join his school (which is more oriented towards an active role in mutant defense and advocacy). If that fails, Magneto sends in his own team to offer them a place in Genosha. If that fails, they usually back off but keep an eye on them in case anything goes wrong with the "normal" government procedures.

-Xavier's school isn't in NY but it also isn't in Genosha.

-The whole "system" is effective but fragile. The world's powers are keenly aware that if they so chose, mutants could wreak havoc with their way of life, and the mutant leaders know perfectly well that there's whole fleets of Sentinels (courtesy of Trask Industries) and other such weapons and defenses ready to go in case the system fails. There's also a lot of third parties that don't play by these rules - shadowy merc groups who kidnap or kill mutants that may be useful or problematic for certain organizations and governments, the Mutant Liberation Front, which performs acts of terrorism in the name of freeing mutants from persecution (suspected but unproven to be sponsored by Magneto), and just other characters who are doing their own thing, like the Hellfire Club.

There's a whole lot more to say, but I feel like you get the gist of it! TL;DR: the world got scared when a bunch of powerful mutants started showing up, they had like a decade of uncertainty and some violence, but cooler heads (mostly) prevailed and they mostly agreed to live as better neighbors than they were roommates until they could ensure the entire house wouldn't fall to pieces, so to speak. No one's really satisfied with this approach, but at least it's prevented a lot of death and destruction so...

[goddslayerr]

Questions for Problematic/Villain muses (sending u some too!) 3. What's an inherently problematic view your character holds 7. Do you ever think that despite your muses actions/morality they do have a point when it comes to their reasons? 10. Is a healthy relationship (platonic or otherwise) possible with your muse? 14. Is your muses morality compliance or does it follow a strict set of rules?

3. What's an inherently problematic view your character holds

"if it doesn't concern me, then i have no business getting involved." this is something that i've thought about a lot - ashton is selfish. very selfish. it's one of their worst traits, and i can see this line of thinking being inherently problematic because ashton has turned their back on so many horrible things.

a contractor wants me to kill this person? fine, it's not like i knew them anyways. they have a family? not my problem. despite the fact that they advocate for a much less government-controlled world, it's mostly done out of self interest rather than something they do for the greater good. they are only seeking revenge, and they are willing to rip apart potential allies if they start getting in the way of their own goal.

7. Do you ever think that despite your muses actions/morality they do have a point when it comes to their reasons?

honestly when it comes down to it, the only reasonable thing that i can think of is ashton wanting full eradication of the world nobles. nobody should hold enough power where they can freely enslave people without any kind of repercussions. given their own history with being enslaved and being forced to endure the cruelness of celestial dragons, their views are understandable at the very least.

10. Is a healthy relationship (platonic or otherwise) possible with your muse?

platonically? absolutely! when it comes to friends, ashton is nothing but supportive. they know when to draw a line and being their friend is probably one of the safest routes to go with them in terms of relationships.

when it comes to romantic or otherwise intimate relationships, that's where things get a bit... tricky.

i'm sure if it came to the right person, there's a chance that they could have a healthy relationship, but ashton has a very bad habit of borderline worshiping their lover like a personal god. any morals for them go out the window when it comes to romantic relations. oh, someone talked badly about x? i'll just kill them then. or alternatively: if x wants me to do y, i see no issues with it, no matter how immoral it might be.

it's deeply, deeply unhealthy and is probably a big reason why i don't find myself actively seeking out romantic ships. i'm not against them! but ashton has such a twisted view of intimacy that i can't imagine them being remotely healthy unless a healthy dynamic is specifically discussed with me.

14. Is your muses morality compliance or does it follow a strict set of rules?

ashton has their own set of rules when it comes to morality. i've mentioned this a few times before, but their captain (karter) regularly kidnaps and eats people, which are both pretty immoral things to do. they definitely don't like that he does these things, but these people are strangers to them, so karter can do whatever the hell he wants to them just so long as he keeps them out of it.

they do not care what other people think of them, because, hey, they're already wanted dead. nothing's gonna change that outcome, so why even bother trying to conform to social rules and laws that the government created?

[bohba13-writing-den]

To clear things up, this isn't about the spyware. (Though I would LOVE regulation on that) This is about who is using it, how they can use it, and the fact this has been a known vector in the past. (there used to be a blanket ban on media companies operating in the US being foreign owned, the FCC now assesses such purchases on a case-by-case basis)

Several things you need to know first. China is ABSOLUTELY hostile to the US and its allies. There are a myriad of reasons for this that are too numerous to explain in detail, both good and bad. HOWEVER know that China is hostile to the US.

Now, one might think that this isn't an issue. Bytedance is a private company, that China can't force them to do anything.

And to that I say "bless your heart."

Because if you think the US is bad, and it is, China is WORSE!

By law, any "privately" owned business must have 80% of its shares owned by the local "union."

Oh, that's great, the workers have control of the company right?

nope. Unions in the PRC are in fact extensions of the local government, which are in turn beholden to the provincial government, who are then beholden to the national government, who are again, may I remind you, actively hostile to the US and its allies.

Next, there is a law in place in China which basically means the CCP can walk up and demand the info they have on their users, and they must comply. No warrant, no probable cause, nothing. Just, hey we want your data, hand it over.

Now, honestly, this isn't what I'm scared of. It once again goes back to their highly invasive algorithm.

So there are several factors to this. First and foremost is the fact that this algorithm can peg you down very quickly, which is honestly kind of scary. Then, once it finds out what will keep you on the app, instead of feeding that to you constantly, which would result in you eventually putting the app down, which they don't want for many reasons. Instead what they do is they put that at random intervals so that it works like gambling, resulting in you being hooked on the app.

Again, while ethically dubious and should be highly illegal, this is not why the ban has bipartisan support.

This has bipartisan support because all of this put together, results in a social cyberweapon.

Remember how much damage Russian bots were able to do? Now imagine if they had TOTAL CONTROL over a platform that had the popularity and reach as TikTok.

They could use the invasive info gathering to create categories of users with very high specificity, feed them information to do X Y or Z, and have a high likelyhood of those people doing that thing.

They could selectively radicalize users and have them act within their rights that are otherwise potentially damaging to national security.

Now yes. This does sound crazy, especially to someone not familiar with how exactly the CCP oppresses their people. (And no, it's not with social credit, that died in the proposition phase)

China uses the app on their side of the "Great Firewall" to control the flow of information. They use it to push their propaganda and suppress dissenting opinions, factually and/or morally right or wrong.

TikTok goes well beyond any platform in information gathering and invasiveness. Knowing the bodies involved, this is a tool meant for Chinese intelligence to compromise millions of Americans to act in hindrance of US interests, whether those interests be good or bad.

Why do you think it has become such a strong platform for pro-Palestinian information to disseminate? because that information actively undermines the current US position (Which I also do not support because Israel needs to back the fuck off and actually care about civcas.) Why do you think we have heard exactly jack and shit about the ongoing genocide of the Uyghurs on TikTok?

It's because at the end of the day, they are completely beholden to the CCP.

A very qualified YouTuber (Even if I disagree with some of his takes when it comes to Gaza and Bushnell) has a video on how easy it is to astroturf political movements and protests merely using the app's advertiser services, and you know that Chinese intelligence has beyond premium service in that reguard.

This shit is fucking bonkers, but as someone who has been paying attention to that side of geopolitics for a long time, this is completely on brand for the CCP.

I hate that a lot of people are going to lose their jobs, but Chinese companies are generally not allowed to operate in the US for exactly this reason. Huawei has installed hardware backdoors in the past for example.

Chinese companies are merely extensions of the state, and are used as such whenever it suits them.

so the house of representatives just passed a bill that will now move to the senate to BAN tik tok completely in the united states and they are expected to argue that “national security risks” outweigh the freedom of speech and first amendment rights. biden has already said that if it gets to him, he will sign it. whether or not you use the app…….this is something to be worried about

[sophiamcdougall]

Jesus Christ. Way to prove my and everybody's point

>> we don't get the luxury to care about what's going on in the rest of the world

Just want to put that here and stare at it. A luxury. To care about the rest of the world. A luxury that America, and only America, does not have. >>We know the outside world exists. We don't think the globe revolves around us. We don't think we are the only country. I know that the internet is an international place. You say that and spend ... all the rest of the post proving otherwise. It's stunning. I genuinely feel sorry for all the Americans in the notes who are trying to be better, even the ones who were sort of annoying about it, who have to see this now, because wow. >>There are parts of America right now where it is basically illegal to be trans, where women are going to prison for having miscarriages, and the government is actively and openly discussing the eradication of entire groups of people. My God. How do you think any of this is unique? Do you think no one else has problems? And yet, the rest of us, if only because we have no choice, care about you! You're talking to people who, despite our own troubles, are mostly well aware of and willing to help you with all of those things, if only by spreading the word! And we don't even expect you to return the favour! Oh, no, we know that's too much to expect. And great job reinforcing everyone's expectations as to why. We're not asking you to take an interest in our politics, our oppression, our anything. We just want you, in the course of your navel-gazing, to take the fraction of a second required to specify that you're talking about your favourite subject: you. Everybody else does this. Everybody else is like "Hey, if you're in [country] could you spare a second to [thing]?" "A really handy resource I've found in [country] is..." "Heard the cops in [country] are doing [x], I want to let people know that the law says [y]." We all do that -- including those of us from fucked up, obnoxious countries with a bad reputation (hi!) Because we know what'll happen if we don't! Are you really, seriously going to sit there and argue you're just too special and important and so much more beleaguered than the entire rest of the world that you can't do what literally. everyone. else. does? >>Why would I tell you to contact your senators? Why would I condemn you for not caring about American politics and American problems? Why would I argue with you over how some Americans choose to react of certain holidays that other Americans celebrate? YES YOU ARE. You cannot come crashing into what you acknowledge is an international space, shout at everyone to Do The Thing and then claim you're not talking to us. We are included in the category of Everyone!

>>Like bestie, the post just isn't for you. I'm not talking to you!

A) don't call me bestie, mate. B) So fucking say that! Mention on your posts that you're only talking to under 5% of the world's population! That's literally all anyone is asking you to do. >>Americans are allowed to talk about American issues on the internet. No. one. was. asking. you. not. to. >>I don't go on your posts you literally have >>and be like "BuT tHiS iS a EuRoPeAn iSsUe". "YoU nEeD tO lAbLe tHiS aS a SwIsS iSsUe". Like no, that's dumb. The Swiss wouldn't be telling me contact my local Swiss official about Swiss political, economic, and social issues. Obviously, that post would be for Swiss people and the people that that issue directly affects. No, you'll go to a (for example) Swiss post, ignore 1000 signs that the poster is talking about Switzerland, and tell them to contact an American-only helpline or that what they've just said is illegal according to US-only law. The poster absolutely will have already labelled it a Swiss issue in a vain attempt to stop that happening. Poor OP will be stuck repeating "Thank you but like I said, I'm in Switzerland" through gritted teeth for the rest of time because you can't learn that other countries exist, because something-something the public school system. I have posted about something happening in the UK, had an American retweet it and add "Only in the US would this happen," although at least that person had the grace to apologise.

Friendly reminder

If you mean "In America" please say, in America. *"Here's a list of free resources or helplines for ..." if you mean in America, say in America. *"Now it's nearly x-holiday, we're all going to have to deal with y again..." if you mean in America, say in America. * "Everyone who's afflicted by [common modern problem afflicting billions worldwide] is entitled to compensation..." if you mean in America, say in America * "If you haven't already called your senator about this, you're a bad person... " Cut that out anyway, but if you mean in America, say in America. If you'd like international help/attention for whatever the problem is, figure out how people can give it.

If you're on the internet, you're in an international space. Always. Your country isn't the world, and when you loudly make it clear you view American and Person as interchangeable synonyms, you're being rude. All the rest of us routinely specify the country we're talking about already.