#give me a billion dollars. I will end politics

[briarrolfe]

I keep thinking about that “would you suck x number of dicks for a billion dollars” tumblr post, mainly about how I would use that power to become the most powerful political lobbyist on earth.

The biggest individual donations to Australian political parties are in the low millions; I would be able to accumulate these numbers in a matter of days.

(Source)

Now, I hate billionaires… but ethically, I could not turn down the opportunity to suck dick and reshape our nation. This sort of money would buy unprecedented political cache! For example: I Could Own Senator Penny Wong. Currently her office is ignoring the phone calls of regular punters like me… but I could buy not being ignored and end Australia’s contribution to the genocide of Palestine. And I could outcompete mining company donations! If they tried to one-up me, I’d just need to increase my workload to a second dick a day, whereas they would have to open additional mines (I would by that point have the political cache to block new mines). Hell, I’d suck a lot more dick than that if it meant I could end our country’s contributions to climate change. I could spend entire days with the Health Minister (taking breaks, of course, for sucking dicks) talking about nothing but putting trans healthcare and dental on Medicare. I could threaten to withdraw my support from both parties until they raised Centrelink benefits. I could make us a republic. Do you understand! I would enter my villain arc! Clive Palmer would be constantly putting hits out on me!! I WOULD BRING ABOUT FULL SOCIALISM. And then. Then! I would graciously retire from politics, finally able to work full time on my book, knowing I would be supported into old age by the social system, still sucking dicks of course so that I could, as a hobby, systematically undermine the American gun lobby and the British Royal Family.

[ronanlynchdefender]

The political stances of The Raven Cycle characters are so fascinating to me. You got Blue over here who is very much a progressive activist in the making. She recognizes things like misogyny and is not afraid to call those things out even when it concerns her closest friends. Because of that, I definitely see her as the type of activist who would be in the front lines at protests whether that be at the Capitol, college campuses, at the border, or as is the case in the dreamer trilogy, tied to a tree. She is the type of person who demands change in our current system and would demand it loudly and through acts of protest or civil disobedience.

Then you have Adam who displays no strong desire to change the system and whose only desire is to rise up in that system. He wants to climb the social ladder and assimilate to those of higher social status which is partially why he envies Gansey so much in the beginning because Gansey was born into it. Adam still tries to do this in the dreamer trilogy by essentially pretending to be a Gansey-like figure while at Harvard despite hating it. Eventually, Adam gives up on trying to belong within this higher social class and "climbing the ladder" but then strangely enough becomes a fed, which means just integrating into another form of hierarchy and power structure. And I feel like a more interesting arc would've been rejecting being a part of these societal systems altogether.

Which I suppose now leads us to Ronan who is a literal anarchist. He actually rejects all societal systems and rules and it permeates every aspect of his life. But actually, I shouldn't say all because there is one societal institution which he does enjoy partaking in: religion. With the exception of his catholicism, he does not engage in any other societal institution: education, law, politics. He hates it, in fact, It is antithetical to his being which is what makes his characterization so perfect because of course a gay farmer god would hate oppressive rules and structures (except for religion). That's not even mentioning that he is a canonical ecoterrorist that cost the US government a billion dollars. But what is really interesting about his character (and where his and Blue's political stances differ) is that because he rejects these systems he has no interest or stake in changing them. He'd sooner tear down the system than try to reform it.

And then there’s Gansey who doesn't seem to engage in politics and would rather spend his days reading his little Welsh books and going on his fun adventures. Of course, he is able to do this largely because he has the privilege to not worry about politics or social class. It seems that Blue's influence changes this as they are both chaining themselves to trees in protest during the dreamer trilogy. Other than that, I don't really have a lot to say about Gansey and his politics. But I find it very interesting that Maggie has created this close-knit group of characters with such varying relationships to how they view politics and social structures. I tried to draw out a 2-axis grid to show their differences, but I don't know if it really works because I feel like Gansey kinda screws it up but nevertheless I like how they each represent different ends of a spectrum sort of.

[user211201]

Identity Death

--- Originally posted on 2024-04-12 by dumb-and-jocked. ---

As directed by @mrrharper

“Endless war will end our world!” Alan shouted.

“Stop funding our military!”

Alan was amongst the hundreds of protestors at the courthouse fighting against the proposed budgetary reforms. Schools, roads, transportation, parks, environmental protections agencies–they were all on the line. Through the presented bill, thousands of institutions would be shut down as billions of dollars would be rerouted towards a single entity: the military.

“The military corrupts! Stop the brainwashing!” Alan spat. He had organized this event under his alias, a popular political blogger on multiple social media outlets. Although his voice was loud and aggravated, Alan's physical appearance was anything but. He wore a baby blue tee and white-washed skinny jeans. 5’7 with bleached hair. All he needed was a rainbow somewhere to perfect his twink look. But he was not here to make that kind of statement. He was at the protest to make another form, something that could gain traction. Peering across the crowd, Alan saw his chance. 

A few of Alan’s fellow protestors were bombarding one of the towering guards with jeers. They scrutinized him, although it appeared none of their words got through the soldier’s heavy artillery padding. In fact, the solider stood proud in his position, dominantly poised with his chest puffed up in pride. Alan approached the guard slowly, noticing he remained perfectly still as the protestors continued to insult him. Without thinking twice, Alan approached and made his move. 

“How about you show us what they’re really funding, dickhead?”

Alan threw a fist at the soldier, putting all his strength behind the movement. Due to the crowds, the soldier did not recognize the motion until it was too late. Alan’s knuckle dove right into the much taller man’s neck, ricocheting into the muscular, masked chin. Instantly, there was a cheer from the crowd at the successful blow, but it was quickly hushed.

“You pathetic cocksucker,” the soldier growled. In a flurry, the once peaceful statue became a merciless brute, swinging down and dragging Alan out of the crowd. Before he knew it, Alan found himself handcuffed with the soldier escorting him off into the enemy’s territory.

“You can’t do this! This is illegal!” Alan cried out. 

“Shut your whiny mouth.” As soon as they were out of public sight, the soldier slapped Alan hard across the face. The warmth of blood soon filled his cheeks where the bruise began to bloom. Alan made sure not to react, but he could not hide the worry in his voice.

“Where are you taking me?”

“The barracks, you fairy prick.”

The soldier brought Alan to a building not too far from the protest lines. He guided them down numerous hallways, Alan losing track before they even made it halfway there. There were checkpoints, various nods, and some curt conversations with other soldiers, but nobody questioned about Alan or the situation. Eventually, Alan was tossed into a small makeshift bedroom, only holding a cot and a pile of unwashed clothes.

“Get undressed,” the soldier demanded.

“Why should I listen to you?”

Alan was met with another forceful assault, this time a punch to his gut.

“Cause I’m First Sergeant, maggot, which means out of the two of us, I’m in charge.”

Alan scoffed. “Is that your name: ‘First Sergeant’?”

“First Sergeant QF24,” the soldier gruffly shot back.

“That’s not a name either,” Alan replied. 

“Been in service so long I don’t need a civilian name.”

Alan wanted to jump on this, make a point about how this was evidence of the dangers of the military, but First Sergeant continued.

“While my identity is real, I assume the one you were about to give me is not. What do you go by, something like that 'AlanActivist' snot?”

Alan blushed, believing that his pseudonym had been cool and unique.

“It’s about time you considered that maybe it is not the military that enforces this ‘identity death’ you all are so worried about, but your own belief system.”

“You can’t be serious,” Alan snarked, surprised at the soldier’s intelligent argument. First Sergeant was however humorless, once again pointing to the pile of discarded clothes.

“Get dressed, degenerate.”

The soldier placed one of his giant, gloved hands behind the twink’s back and pushed him towards the pile. It appeared to Alan as a giant heap of army green and camouflage. Slowly but hesitantly, he began to strip himself of his clothing, hoping to avoid any further hazing. Once down to his underwear, he silently pleaded that he would not have to drop anything else.

“Soldiers go commando, sissy.”

First Sergeant quickly appeared behind Alan before ripping his underwear clean off, exposing the twink’s bare bottom and small package to the world. Alan quickly covered himself up with one hand before leaning down towards the pile. He grimaced, his fear no longer overriding the powerful musk seeping from the military cloth. First Sergeant chuckled at his disgust from behind.

“Aren’t homos supposed to like that kind of thing?” he asked, before grabbing the back of Alan’s head. “Go on, get a better whiff of it!” Amused, First Sergeant plunged Alan’s head into the musky pile of clothes. Alan’s oxygen supply was cut off, forcing him to inhale the overpowering masculine fumes.

“You idiots never consider that being in the military is hard work. It’s not all fun and guns.” First Sergeant smothered Alan’s head further. “‘Bout time you realize what it’s like, standing on the front line all day, hot and sweaty and random strangers berating you for protecting their country, their freedom.”

The military body odor seeped into Alan’s system, numbing his body and clouding his mind. By the time he was pulled away, the naked twink struggled to form a coherent thought.

“Much better,” First Sergeant noted the lopsided smile on the twink’s face. “Now, fit yourself into some tactical gear.”

Without questioning it, Alan followed the soldier’s command. He did not know every single piece of equipment that went into the common soldier’s uniform, nor did he understand the procedure to follow, but somehow Alan managed to get the attire onto his body.

Combat pants, military-grade socks, gore tex boots. Camouflage button-up, hardshell jacket, belt with holster and magazine pouches. Shooting gloves, army print hat, face mask. It took a minute longer for Alan to place every minor piece of tactical protection onto himself, but finally his smaller frame was completely covered, dwarfed by the oversized gear.

“Looking like a real soldier there,” First Sergeant mocked. “Now let’s actually make you one.”

Already covered in the musky clothing, Alan’s intellectual ability had been dulled considerably. But when First Sergeant approached, clutching Alan’s head once more before shoving it into his wet armpit, his brain completely halted. Coming straight from the source, the soldier’s stench wafted past all Alan’s barriers, taking control immediately. Its first instruction was to keep sniffing, its second was to conform.

With a chuckle, First Sergeant watched as Alan’s body began to expand underneath his hold. The shrimpy twink grew inside of the tactical gear, filling it out properly in every direction. Muscular arms filled the sleeves of the jacket, meaty hands stuffing the crevices of the gloves. The vest became as padded on the back as it was in the front, juicy pectorals and rigid abdominals forcefully pushing against the fabric. 

Thicker thighs padded the pants, bloated feet crowded the massive boots. Two muscular buttocks crammed the seat of Alan’s pants. A lantern jaw and cleft chin became prominent underneath the face mask. Buzz cut hidden by the cap, deeper voice waiting to confirm with “Sir, yes sir!” First Sergeant even noticed the prominent padding his new soldier was developing beneath the belt. When he ultimately removed Alan from his hold, the man before him now stood at the same domineering height.

“Good, now just stand still for one moment.”

Even if he wanted to, Alan could not move. The musk was still lingering in his mind, holding him steady as First Sergeant deposited an obnoxious military headset onto Alan’s head. He then plugged the headset into a walkie-talkie before tuning it to an empty channel. A robotic voice began looping into Alan’s ears, along with a few simple tones to open up the receptive pathways in his brain.

“Ready to get back out there?” First Sergeant asked, knowing his fellow soldier could not hear him. With a smirk, he escorted the dumbfounded subordinate out of the room, pacing slowly as Alan absorbed the propaganda. It was simple phrases, nothing too complicated but through repetition effective on the psyche. “Military good,” “pacifism bad”. “Nationalism good,” “multiculturalism bad.” “Masculinity good,” “progressivism bad.” The messages were rudimentary, but deliberate.

Once they stepped back into the open, fresh air, Alan’s consciousness resurfaced. He tried to fight back against the rampant messaging, doing his best to tune out the audios as the First Sergeant led him back to the front line. Alan was being attacked on all fronts: his morals, his identity, his sexuality. Every time he turned away to defend one trait, it was like he lost another. He felt himself dwindling, chipping away.

Before long, the two stood directly in front of the courthouse, mere feet away from their first encounter. First Sergeant loaded the new soldier up, arming the man with a weapon and other items necessary in case of an emergency.

“Let’s see if you’re done cooking yet.” First Sergeant looked directly into his subordinate’s eyes, pleased with their reflective quality. He then removed the headphones.

“Name and rank, soldier?” he saluted. The other man fell into place, mirroring his actions.

“Private Aaron Steel, MH36 sir!”

First Sergeant smiled. The name change was a good sign of transition, but complete removal would have been preffered.

“Ready for the task, soldier? Will you be loyal and obedient to the greatest nation? Follow every instruction in the name of tradition?”

The soldier nodded his head quickly, “Affirmative, sir.”

“Alright then.” First Sergeant replaced the headphones back onto the private’s head, knowing a little more time would do the trick. “Dismissed. Get back to work, private.”

“Sir yes sir!”

First Sergeant strolled back to his command at the front line. The new private monitored the crowd, absorbing his commands as he scanned for any disturbances.

[1americanconservative]

@Bitcoin4Freedom

I can't stand Donald Trump. He is braggy, he insults people for no reason, and he is just a brutal personality. But my mind is made up. I'm voting for him and here's why: * He puts Americans and their well-being first. Kamala will not. * He will bring

@elonmusk

into his cabinet to be the efficiency czar and get rid of waste. This alone may be the best single reason to vote for him. * He will bring

@RobertKennedyJr

into his cabinet to Make American Healthy Again. He will finally get to the bottom of why our food companies are destroying the health of our children. * I'm sick of the way the media lies continuously about

@realDonaldTrump

, starting with the incessant racism claims. They are just nonsense. The latest thing I learned? He sent his plane to fly Nelson Mandela home after he was in jail with the U.S. wouldn't do it. Racist? No. * I'm sick of the U.S. being embroiled in foreign wars. Trump will keep us out of them again. He's just crazy enough that foreign nations will stand down. They have no fear of Kamala. They will fear him. * Trump sees this country as fundamentally good. Kamala sees it as inherently evil. * Trump will end the nonsense of the open border which makes our country less secure, less financially stable, and brings in millions of people illegally who compete for Americans' jobs. * This government has to print billions to care for the illegals. That makes all of our dollars less valuable and makes prices zoom upward. * He will stockpile Bitcoin. * He will keep men out of women's bathrooms and women's sports. * He is a heavyweight personality and negotiator. Kamala is a phony personality and a lightweight negotiator. * The people who want Kamala Harris to win are the most annoying people in the country. They have pushed for pronouns, masks, endless vaccines, cancel culture, riots, blatant racism towards whites, gender confusion, undermining the U.S. constitution. * He will upset the current political system. He was nearly the victim of assassination 3x. And he keeps going. He's not the best in interviews, but he at least puts himself out there. Over and over and over. Kamala hasn't done a single press conference. * Harris and the media trying to prop her up hid Biden's cognitive decline. They accuse

@realDonaldTrump

of being a threat to democracy. Yet she was installed as the nominee with no votes. She wants to pack the Supreme Court. She wants to eliminate the filibuster. She sued

@RobertKennedyJr

to keep him off the ballot. And the threat to democracy is Trump? Nonsense. * Those who support Harris look at Trump supports as vile, stupid, ignorant, and fascists. They disown family members or disinvite them from Thanksgiving dinner of they support Trump. This is disgraceful. * Every time she talks, I try to give her a chance. But she is the most phony and condescending politician I have ever seen. Ever. I can't do it. I won't do it. * She and those who support her are resistant to Voter ID and believe requiring an ID is racist. Her Department of Justice is suing the state of Virginia for trying to purge the voter rolls of illegals. Why would we not want 1 vote per 1 U.S. citizen? Is it more racist to believe people from the inner city are perfectly capable of securing a government issued ID? Or to believe they are incapable? That's it. I'm done. Thanks for hearing me out.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

This video is for everyone who supports Palestine. If you don't support Palestine, you can scroll.

What's Palestine? I am dead ass requesting you to tell me what's Palestine. Do you know who you're chanting for, and what you're chanting?

When you say "free Palestine" you are not talking about Gaza. Do you know that? Gaza is not Palestine.

"From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." It is calling to end the existence of Israel. From the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, which includes the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and the entire state of Israel. The only Jewish state in the entire world.

7 million Jews and 2 million Arabs live here in peace. With your "free Palestine" idea, where do you want us to go? Where do you want us all to go? What do you think is gonna happen the day Israel stops existing? Do you not think that if Hamas takes over, if the damage they are already doing, having full control, full complete control over the tiny area that is Gaza, what do you think is gonna happen the day they have full complete control over the state of Israel?

What do you think is gonna happen to you? Chanting "free Palestine" in the streets right now. If you want freedom for the people of Gaza who, by the way, you guys are categorizing together as Palestinians, you have no idea who lives there. If you want freedom for these people, you stand with Israel to end whoever is actually occupying them.

Israel has never attacked Gaza unprovoked. Israel has never, ever, ever targeted the Gazan civilians during any war or any attack that we have inflicted upon Hamas and their terror targets, the places they hide their rockets and guns and ammunition, which are civilian homes, hospitals, schools.

The people of Gaza can't speak themselves against Hamas cause they know they'll be killed. You, from the comfort of your home in your Western country think that you can speak for the people of Gaza about who is inflicting terror on them.

500,000 Gazans cross to Israel every single day to work. Let me make something very, very clear. Since Israel left Gaza in 2005, Israel does not owe shit to Gaza. "The electricity, the water..." Why isn't Hamas providing those things to Gaza? Where is all the billions of dollars they are being sent constantly? We don't have to let Gazans come and work here. We don't have to give them food, electricity and water. We don't have to warn them to go out of their houses when we attack Hamas targets. We don't have to do anything. And somehow we are held to the standard that we do?

Hamas kills their political opponents. They have not held elections since they've been elected in 2006. Even after they have GoPro'ed a massacre of 1,300 people, not people killed by rockets - massacre by hand - you still don't know who they are. You still don't realize they do the same thing to the people of Gaza. You still support these people.

If you want Gaza to be free, you support Israel annihilating Hamas and freeing them of the people of Gaza. Once Gaza is free of Hamas, there will be peace.

Don't you think that if Israel was truly controlling Gaza and occupying Gaza, this wouldn't have happened. We would know what was going on there.

Wake up already. These terrorists are using your values against you. They are hiding in their terror tunnels right now alongside 199 hostages. These are not freedom fighters, these are bloodthirsty monsters.

Stop chanting these empty, empty slogans and wake up to see what is right in front of you.

"The siege, they have a fence around Gaza..." Have you seen what happens when they make one hole in the fence? Have you seen what happens in less than five hours to 1,300 people when they break through this fence?

This will never fail to amaze me. "Gaza's under siege! The fence around Gaza!" Do you mean the border? Somewhere that is not our territory? Same border that 500,000 Palestinians cross to make money here in Israel? The same border they can easily cross if they don't affiliate with Hamas or carry any weapon? The same border they have with their Egyptian brothers who do not allow them anywhere near their country?

And if after everything I said, you still support Hamas, there is no other way to say it: your values align with Hamas. And I'm being very, very gentle.

If you truly want peace, you stand with Israel.

==

Hamas is Gaza's Taliban. Hamas is Gaza's ISIS. Hamas is Gaza's Boko Haram. Hamas is Gaza's Iranian Regime.

Oct 7 was Israel's Mahsa Amini moment. Israel is doing this not just for the Israelis, but for the Gazans, who live in a terrorist regime.

If you rooted for the collapse of the Iranian Regime with #WomanLifeFreedom, then you root for the extermination of Hamas. Because they are the same exact problem.

How have people gotten so confused after only one year?

[crguang]

feel like the only way i can see kafhime be so soft is if we go with an AU where kafhime got together before astral express and stellaron hunters. and they broke up due to their opposing natures as astral express and stellaron hunters are symbolized to the opposites of one another in many ways, including their path.

astral express cares about the journey while stellaron hunters care about the ending. and they break up on a bitter note and go with their life.

EXACTLYYYYYYY UGH!!!! i feel like such a contrarian cause everyone loves kfhm but unless they met before a LOT of things happened canonically and have some sort of history they make no senseeee, kafka is everything himeko hates. himeko is everything kafka could never bother to be. the SH and the express crew are ultimately working for the same goal but the SH are undeniably more selfish about it, and they believe that the end justifies the means when that’s not a value of the express crew at all. trailblaze vs finality. their core values don’t align and that’s what’s so interesting about their relationship with each other and the TB, who’s known both sides (even if they cant remember they still have a relationship with the SH). characterization wise i just don’t see canon himeko letting her guard down for someone like kafka and vice versa, i think the destroying planets part would be enough for her to never wanna see kafka again personally

it’s also what currently irks me about how the stellaron hunters are perceived in the game, they have everybody be friends when they shouldn’t be like😭 in the recent event march is acting all buddy buddy with silver wolf like she wasnt ready to leave the luofu to deal with their stellaron crisis alone just because kafka was the one telling them to go there… like she got so heated seeing kafka but SW helps her out once (cause she’s the TB’s friend) and suddenly there’s no animosity towards what the SH do, i don’t get it. and it’s not himeko’s politeness towards firefly to work towards a common goal (saving penacony) either, she was trying to cheer her up and everything like what’s going on… what happened to “we’re not your friends why should we care”?😭

i also recently saw one of topaz’s voice lines about them and it’s just something like “i’m not familiar with their work but they have an excellent credit score”… YOU WORK FOR THE IPC?????? in kafka’s trailer she literally breaks into pier point (ipc hq) and kills a bunch of them. you’re telling me she doesnt give a fuck?… i get that she only works for one division of the ipc but how is she not familiar with some of their work like that sounds so stupid. jade i understand because that woman is evil herself so im not surprised she sees the SH as an opportunity/investment rather than condemn their actions. but it’s just crazy because you don’t get a 10.99 billion dollars bounty playing with kittens. i feel like the natural reaction to them would be “i don’t like those guys actually” but no one cares😭😭 it’s a little annoying bc i love that the SH aren’t good people but they’re not treated with the ire they deserve and it’s lame. commit to the bit!!!!!

all that to say that himeko’s the one person i would never want to change her mind about them because her understanding/empathy should have its limits. their actions are despicableeee firefly can act as cute and shy as she wants, that machine probably has killed so many people bruh. they make their own choices and should be held accountable for them otherwise it’s just lame and there are no stakes to that story imo. ive had that on my chest for the longest time im sorry i used your ask to dump it all but omg it was annoying me so bad😭😭😭

[coochiequeens]

"Until recently, a meeting between them was unlikely. Their worlds are quite different: one is an outspoken atheist feminist from France, the other is a Reformed politician from the Netherlands." In other words it is possible for people who usually oppose each other on social issues to agree on something.

One an outspoken atheist feminist from France, the other a Reformed politician from the Netherlands. "We form an interesting but important coalition." Photo CNE.news

European Union

People hardly ask questions about surrogacy, notice the French activist Olivia Maurel and the Dutch Member of the European Parliament Bert-Jan Ruissen. "People have no idea what kind of market is behind this."

Until recently, a meeting between them was unlikely. Their worlds are quite different: one is an outspoken atheist feminist from France, the other is a Reformed politician from the Netherlands. Despite these differences, French activist Olivia Maurel and SGP MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen find common ground in their shared mission: a worldwide ban on surrogacy. "We form an interesting but important coalition", Ruissen says.

Maurel and Ruissen are examples of the flanks of this politically diverse coalition, which has grown significantly in recent years. In early April, they met at the Casablanca conference in Rome. There, politicians, legal experts, and medical professionals gathered to discuss a global ban on surrogacy.

During the conference, there was little opportunity for an in-depth conversation. At the request of the CNE.news, Maurel and Ruissen spoke again at the end of April via a video call about their objections to surrogacy. "We use a woman for her uterus and take a child away from the mother immediately after birth," says Maurel, who was born through surrogacy. "That's why Olivia's story is so important," Ruissen adds. "People need to know the consequences of this practice."

In surrogacy, a woman carries and gives birth to a child for another, whether or not for financial compensation. The commercial market for this is growing from 14 billion dollars in 2022 to an expected 129 billion dollars in 2032.

Personal

For Maurel, this debate is personal. She was born in 1991 to an American surrogate mother. The publication of her story on CNE.news in October last year brought her into contact with the organisation behind the Casablanca Declaration. With this Declaration, politicians, jurists and other experts call on countries to ban surrogacy within their territories.

Shortly after they connected, Maurel became the spokesperson for the Casablanca Declaration. She shared her life story in various parliaments and had a private audience with the Pope. "I told him I am an atheist but that we need to work together on this issue," says Maurel. "He is very kind; he understood me and was very open to my story."

Politicians she addressed also showed understanding, says Maurel. Yet, she also sees some naivety. "Not everyone realises how much this market has been commercialised. It sounds nice: a woman helping another couple fulfil their desire for children. But people have no idea what kind of world is behind this."

MEP Ruissen signed the Casablanca Declaration in April. He shares Maurel's observation. "With surrogacy, you cross an ethical border when you intentionally do not let a child grow up with its mother. In this debate, the desires of adults seem to be more important than the child's interests."

Maurel and Ruissen largely agree with each other's arguments despite their different backgrounds. Both focus on the child in their objections to surrogacy. "We must prioritise the child in this discussion," says Ruissen. "With surrogacy, we prioritise the child in a contract," adds Maurel. "We ignore children's rights for the desires of adults."

Momentum

In European politics, surrogacy is on the political agenda, Ruissen says. Last week, the European Parliament adopted a directive banning the exploitation of surrogate mothers. Maurel was present at the vote. “While this is not a condemnation of the practice as such, it is quite an achievement”, she says. “It is a step into the right direction, Ruissen adds. "We have momentum, and we must use it." A group of French parliamentarians did just that on Tuesday when they proposed enshrining the ban on surrogacy in the French constitution.

A politically diverse coalition around a particular issue is not new. In discussions about gender, feminists and conservatives also find common ground. But Ruissen and Maurel see around the topic of surrogacy not only shared ambition but also results. "In the European Parliament, you see people from the extreme left to the extreme right coming together on this issue," says Maurel. "That's why we also try to work with various parties outside our political bubble," Ruissen responds. "It is so important that we work together when it comes to human dignity." That is what it is all about, says Maurel. "It's about more than just surrogacy. Sometimes, we seem to forget, but human dignity is at stake."

Money

"If we as a society start buying and selling children, we are heading in the wrong direction," says Maurel. Photo CNE.news

Maurel knows the consequences of surrogacy like no other: she inherited her mental health issues from her surrogate mother, who is also her biological mother. Additionally, she struggled with the fact that her parents had paid for her; knowing this made talking about it difficult. "It felt like: Olivia, suppress your feelings; they may have spent more than $150,000 to get you," she said earlier to CNE.news.

Still, she stepped forward to share her story. "Our society is heading in the wrong direction and no longer protects the most vulnerable: women and children. I don't want my children to live in such a world," explains the mother of three. However, she pays a price for her openness: "My speech in the Czech Parliament ended the relationship between me and my parents."

Despite these struggles, Maurel has no negative feelings towards her parents. "They just used the means available to them without being aware of the consequences." Maurel also sees that her story does not apply to every child. "I am sure that there are also beautiful surrogacy stories. But such successes do not make the practice more ethical."

Since Maurel began seeking publicity with her story, she has come into contact with other children of surrogate mothers. They often dare not speak out, the activist observes. "Some are still dependent on their parents, and others do not want to be abandoned again. They struggle with a conflict of loyalty."

Contract

Both Maurel and Ruissen focus their arguments on commercial surrogacy. Altruistic surrogacy, in which women carry a child without any financial reward, accounts for a small percentage, about 2 per cent. However, both Maurel and Ruissen oppose this as well. "Even with altruistic surrogacy, you still need a contract," says Maurel. "And you still separate children from their mothers”, Ruissen adds. “That is an ethical boundary we should not cross."

For most people, surrogacy is a distant issue, Maurel acknowledges. However, she believes this does not diminish the importance of discussing it. "Not everyone struggles with reduced fertility or has the money to do this. But if we as a society start buying and selling children, we are heading in the wrong direction. That's why we need to have this debate."

[unichrome]

The biggest heist that almost was

Let me tell you about the most insane bank heist that is going to sound like I'm just leaking the script for the next American hacking movie. The goal? Steal one billion USD. And it all began with an email and a printer, which as we all know is where problems usually start. Another weapon in this heist was... Weekends and time zones.

As usual, no prior computer science education needed.

What happened?

On the morning of February 5th 2016, a printer had stopped working in the central bank of Bangladesh (Bangladesh Bank). But it wasn't just any printer, it was the printer responsible for printing all the records of the multimillion transfers going in and out of the bank. When the poor employees finally won the printer battle and had it resume normal operation, they saw a very concerning account transfer in the records that was coming out. The bank had an USD account in the USA, at Federal Reserve Bank, with approximately 1 billlion Dollars in it, and the Federal Reserve Bank had received instructions to drain almost the entire amount. In the records that came out in the printer, the American bank had attempted to urgently message the Bangladesh bank regarding this transfer, but couldn't get through to them. This was because the hack had actually started the day before, Thursday 4th, at around 20:00 Bangladesh time, when the bank was closed. However, USA had just started their day, giving the American bank plenty of time to follow through with the instructions from the Bangladesh bank to drain their entire account while they were closed. And that wasn't the end of it, as weekends are from Friday to Saturday in Bangladesh, meaning that the Bangladesh bank headquarters in Dhaka wouldn't discover this withdrawal until Sunday morning. That's when they immediately tried to reach the American bank, which of course didn't work as over there it was Saturday evening, and the American weekend is from Saturday to Sunday, meaning that they wouldn't be reachable until Monday.

You see what I mean by the hackers using time zones and weekends, finding the perfect time for the American bank to execute their orders while Bangladesh discovers the withdrawal several days too late, and again several days too late for Americans to be reachable. But it didn't stop there with their timehacking.

The money had to go somewhere from the American bank, and it would be stupid to send it directly to the hackers own account without laundering the money first. So they had set up four different bank accounts in the Philippines, using fake names and credentials. Why the Philippines? Because the Lunar new year was on Monday the 8th, which is a holiday and holiday means no bank activities in either Bangladesh or the Philippines, buying the hackers even more time. As a final act, they messed with the printer responsible for printing transaction records, adding another few hours to their schedule. Moon and stars really aligned perfectly for this plan.

But how did they do it?

It all began one year prior, in January 2015, with an email sent to several employees at the Bangladesh Bank. The email seemingly contained a job application from a person who didn't actually exist, but who was very polite in his request for a position at the bank, with a link to his CV and cover letter. Naturally this link led to a document with a little surprise gift - malware. Since the heist happened, at least one of the recipients must have clicked the link, and successfully deployed a RAT - Remote Access Trojan, malware that lets you control a computer from the comfort of your own home, as well as a toolkit with various malware to move from computer to computer, avoiding discovery, and covering their tracks.

From there, the hackers slowly made their way through the bank offices network, one step at a time to avoid setting off alarms, looking for any computer that had control of the banks SWIFT setup. SWIFT lets banks transfer large amounts of money between themselves and other banks connected to SWIFT. And as soon as they found one of those computers, they stopped. They didn't need to hack SWIFT in the traditional sense of the word - since they operated in a bank computer, the SWIFT-software assumed they naturally had to be bank employees. However, one of the parts of the malware used in the heist was for manipulating the SWIFT system, as the hackers weren't physically there to press anything. Additionally, since they were laying dormant for the time to strike, they needed to keep an eye out for SWIFT updates that could detect any tampering with the system, and adapt accordingly.

Then they waited many months for the stars to align on February 4th, 2016.

There were 35 transfers made by the hackers from the American bank account, totaling almost 1 billion USD, but there were two of these tiny little seemingly insignificant details that prevented this from becoming the worlds largest bank heist in history. The hackers biggest enemy became this concept known as “words”.

The Philippine bank accounts were all located in the same RCBC Bank office on Jupiter Street in Manila. And this would be the hackers downfall, as USA had sanctions put on an Iranian cargo ship called Jupiter. Since the transactions went to a recipient that contained the word “Jupiter”, it created a security alert in the Federal Reserve Bank that the employees needed to investigate. When they saw what was going on, they managed to stop all but five of the initial 35 transactions, thus “only” roughly 100 million USD made it to the Philippines. The Bangladesh bank requested to reverse the transactions, but since the money was in the Philippines, they would need bureaucracy in form of a court order to reclaim the money, and we all know that's not a 5 minute project. It was when Bangladesh filed the court order in late February that the case became public (since court orders are public documents) and the news broke to the country.

Once in the RCBC bank accounts, the money arrived on Friday the 5th and was immediately moved again. First the 100 million was converted to local currency, and some of it was withdrawn in cash, while the rest was sent off to other hacker-controlled locations. And this is where the second tiny little detail cut off even more of the hackers precious payday. 20 million USD had been sent to Shalika Foundation, a charity organisation in Sri Lanka. But,  once again the hackers worst enemy - words - decided to strike again. A typo was made in their transaction, sending the money to “Shalika Fundation”, and a bank employee who must have had their morning coffee spotted this typo and rejected the transfer and kept the funds frozen. This left the hackers with 80 million USD.

✨Now comes the money laundering!✨

There was a second reason for choosing the Philippines as deposit zone; gambling is legal and the casinos had no money laundering regulations imposed. The accomplices of the heist booked private rooms in two casinos located in Manila - Solaire and Midas - and proceeded to purchase tokens to gamble for with the stolen money. Since they played with a room consisting of their fellow accomplices, winning was not really much of a challenge. Then the tokens could be exchanged back to money that would now be clean. To avoid suspicion, they didn't gamble all of the money at once, but over the course of several weeks gambled away the dirty money to clean money.

Who was behind it?

It's normally difficult to pinpoint where the more sophisticated hacking groups come from. Oftentimes, they will leave false clues behind that points to another group so they will face more trouble instead of the group that did it. They may even place clues from several different groups, just to mess with the analysts. It's also quite common to simply “steal” a way of working from another group, or use a leaked/stolen tool from another group (criminals aren't safe from other criminals, especially not in this business) - there are new malware coming out all the time with code that is just a slight modification of a well-known malware actor that had their source code leaked or simply had hired the same programmer. Or they may leave no clues as to who was behind it. Attribution to the guilty part is usually the single most difficult mission in IT-security - often it's just pure guesswork with little to no solid evidence to back it up, if you're lucky there's circumstantial evidence.

This case was no different. The first clue came from the IP the bad guys used to connect to the Bangladesh bank from. It was located in Pyongyang, North Korea. But, as I mentioned, this is not a conclusive verdict, as the IP may simply be planted false evidence to throw the analysts off their track. After the heist, the hackers used a data-wiper to scrub as much of their malware off the bank systems, but they didn't succeed in deleting all of it, some of the tools were still present, including the wiper.

Due to the scale of this operation, it caught the attention of every single IT-security person and IT-security company worldwide, who all of course wanted to know who and how they did it. With the remaining malware, a joint effort was made, comparing malware code to other malware code for similarities. Some was found in Poland, after an analyst noted the similarities from another suspected North Korean hack. Some was found in another infamous North Korean hack targeting Sony Pictures. More and more signs pointed towards the same actor. Some were false leads, the hackers seemed to be wanting to implicate the Russians did it, but failed quite miserably at that, just sprinkling random Russian words into the malware and making it way too obvious it was a ruse.

You may not believe this, but the North Korean government has one of the most notorious hacking groups in the world, known as the Lazarus Group. Some of its more well-known adventures include an extremely data-destructive hack of Sony Pictures (as punishment for releasing “The Interview”), creation of the ransomware WannaCry which was used against many targets worldwide (including hospitals), and various attempts at gathering information from governments and government-affiliated corporations all over the world. And, of course, this heist.

Eventually, after months of collaboration all over the world, the final verdict fell on North Korea, and specifically one of their programmers. His name is Park Jin Hyok, and worked for Chosun Expo - a front company for the North Korean government, located in Dalian (China) who used the funds of the fake corporation gained from legitimate programming jobs from customers worldwide to create the malware and plan the heist with all of its expenses. Of course he wasn't the sole person involved in this project, but it's the only person we know was in it.

This particular heist had been meticulously planned for several years, and Park Jin Hyok had moved to Dalian, set up fake IDs and built a network of contacts there to avoid suspicion. However, he didn't manage to delete all of his online footprints, and became the number one suspect when his internet activities suddenly came from Pyongyang, North Korea.

Additionally, several Chinese business men - many associated with the casino industry in China's Macau territory - were also charged and arrested for assisting with setting up the gambling rooms and coordinating the money laundering process. One unknown Chinese business man managed to get away with 31 million USD of the 80 million that remained after the heist, and as you would expect, he was never to be seen again.

With the middlemen from China paid off, not much remained of the original 1 billion to North Korea. But the heist has fascinated the whole IT-security world nonetheless.

I remember when the news of this case dropped to the IT-security world, who all wanted to take part in the hunt. It was a very fun time, we were all sitting at the edge of our seats waiting for the next update. I hope it was at least somewhat exciting for you too to read about, and thank you for reading this long post! If you liked it, please consider reblogging as it motivates me to write more. You may also like malware stuff I've written about before, such as Stuxnet or just plain evil malware that is a threat to our daily lives.

As always my inbox is open if you have any questions.

[c-optimistic]

For months now, I’ve watched in horror as posts about genocide and stopping a war have stopped and turned into talking points for the election. ‘Vote blue no matter who’ I see plastered everywhere, as though this messaging is anything but a fresh coat of paint over a rotten and dirty and collapsing structure, unable to hide the stench or the oozing of the blood of those who suffer every single day under the policies enacted by the current administration.

I don’t particularly care who any of you vote for. And I’m happy to reassure you I live in a red state where my vote is meaningless. I just don’t really comprehend this refusal to admit that we’ve been down this road before. ‘We gotta save our democracy,’ and ‘don’t you know that we’ll be living in Gilead,’ and ‘how can we save anyone else unless we secure our rights first?’

A lot of people much smarter than me, more eloquent than me, with bigger followings than me, have spoken on this. And I don’t particularly care to rehash political arguments beyond pointing out one thing: when a party stops talking policy and starts only fear-mongering, we’ve already lost. Blame citizens united, blame the Supreme Court, blame lobbying groups, blame dark money, but at the end of the day, the two parties have far more in common than they have differences. They got the time to send billions worth of weapons to kill innocents, got the time to ban TikTok, got the time to make the rich richer, and while they’re doing all that, they have us squabble over scraps. The red guys drape themselves in a flag and shout that the gays and immigrants are out to get them, and the blue guys drape themselves in a rainbow and say actually no, men with guns are gonna force us into nuclear families.

It’s funny, isn’t it. How both these parties get along just fine when it comes to money and murdering babies. But somehow, when it comes to helping vets or giving kids a good education or respecting a small government or caring about the environment or getting affordable healthcare, then the other guys are intransigent and out to get us.

I don’t care for the lesser of two evils argument. I don’t believe that our only choice every four years is to be scared enough to vote for a politician who seems to keep doing the same thing no matter whether there’s a R or a D next to their name. It’s heartbreaking to see people I respect choose to turn away from those who suffer in the name of minimizing damage, as though we’re all powerless somehow.

Most of all, I wonder if any of us truly comprehend what those who suffer at the hands of our policies hear when we say these things. That our safety matters more? That it’s okay for us to halt pressure on our elected leaders for the sake of a democracy that we’ve convinced ourselves we have? Do we think the homeless vet with cancer in California dealing with sweeps by a democratic governor has time to wait? Or that kid with polio in Gaza? While innocents are sentenced to death as a result of a broken criminal legal system and the democrats have—for the first time in over a decade—removed death penalty abolishment from their platform? We scream ‘vote blue no matter who’ and our tax dollars go to bombing kids in shelters, go to separating families at the border, go to funding wars and havoc and pain worldwide, and we ignore that both the nominees are more willing to appeal to the basest of human behavior rather than choose to make the world a better place for everyone and not just a few.

I didn’t watch the convention. I couldn’t. Why this celebrity worship of politicians who have done nothing to deserve the praise? Why turn our political leaders into paragons without reproach rather than what they all actually are: people. People who are corruptible, greedy, easily manipulated, and willing to sacrifice large swaths of innocents for the sake of their careers. Why should we celebrate either of these nominees? Why shouldn’t we instead demand better? Demand real policy outside of just ‘the other guy is worse.’ I know he is. That’s not the issue.

I don’t want slogans and pretty words. I don’t want to be scared into voting for someone I know will carry on a genocide, all in the name of saving myself. I want real actionable plans. I want to keep pushing those in politics to fight for something other than lining their own pockets. Civic duty is about more than harm reduction. It’s about more than merely securing the best outcome for ourselves. It’s about fighting, with each other, not against, for a fair and equitable society for everyone. I don’t believe we are without power, that true change is out of reach. They wouldn’t try so hard to silence us and keep us distracted by fighting each other if we didn’t have power.

And yet, I have no hope whatsoever that we will obtain any meaningful political change. Not today, not in November. Not for those children in Gaza, not for those unhoused folks in California, and certainly not for the average American, who has more in common with her flag waving and rainbow wearing neighbors than any politician.

But don’t you worry, I’m sure in four years’ time, we’ll all have a new bogeyman to be scared of, and we can start this whole process yet again.

[victusinveritas]

Here's the full piece (pulled from https://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Understanding_Oil without any edits.

The brutal attacks/bombings this week in New York, and Washington D.C., along with threats of attacks there and elsewhere in the country have changed our times forever. While the mass media concentrates on the details of the destruction, and the blanketed words of politicians, I will attempt to understand and explain the events from the fence. BOMBING AND BEING BOMBED ARE THE SAME THINGS ON DIFFERENT SIDES OF THE FENCE.

Terror is not a spontaneous human action without credence. People just dont hijack planes and commit harikari (suicide) without any weight of thought to the action. No one in the media seems to ask WHY DID THESE PEOPLE DO THIS HORRIFIC ACT OF VIOLENCE AND DESTRUCTION?

To be able to understand the answer to this, we must first look at our U.S. Mideast Policy. During most of the 20th century, U.S. businesses have worked on attaining oil rights and concessions from countries in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. After WWI, secret back door deals by our State Dept. yielded oil rights from then defeated Turkey to fields in what is now Iraq and Saudi Arabia, in return for looking the other way at a crime against humanity, the Genocide of the Armenians by the Turks. Oil profits have been the motivating factors behind many attempts at counterinsurgency of democratic regimes by the CIA and the U.S in the Middle East (such as Iran in the 1950s, where the Shah replaced the Prime Minister who refused to give up oil rights to the U.S., and since the people couldnt deal with the Shah, an extremist government headed by the Ayatollah Khomeini ultimately prevailed). During the Iran-Iraq war, America supplied both sides with weapons and advice. These are not the actions of a rich superpower wanting peace. Lets not forget that Saddam Hussein, before being Americas vision of the Anti-Christ, was a close ally of the U.S., and the CIA. So what was the firm belief system of consecutive American administrations that caused all this to occur ? PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST WILL LEAD TO HIGHER OIL AND GASOLINE PRICES. Lets not also forget the power of the Arms industry, disguised as defense, that still sells billions of dollars of weapons to the area. Therefore it has not been in the short-term economic interest of the U.S. to foster Peace in the Middle East. Using the above reasoning, the U.S. has encouraged extremist governments, toppled democracies, as in the case of Iran to replace it with a monarchy, rigged elections, and many more unspeakable political crimes for U.S. businesses abroad. Lets not also forget the Red Scare. During the war between the then Soviet Union and Afghanistan, the U.S. armed and supported the Taliban, a fundamentalist Muslim organization, and allowed them to export opium and heroin out of their country to pay for those weapons. Therefore the Taliban rose to power and control with the help of the U.S.A. Today, the bombing of Iraq still continues, no longer covered by the media, the economic embargo still remains, killing millions of children, and recently, while the world and the U.N. General Assembly have cried out to bring in peacekeeping forces into Israel and Palestine, to end the escalated war and recent assassinations, the U.S. has vetoed the rest of the Security Council and has halted the possibility of peace, there, in the most volatile place in the world.

People in Serbia, Lebanon, Iraq, Sudan, and Afghanistan to name a few have seen bombs fall, not always at military targets and kill innocent civilians, as the scene in New York city yesterday. The wars waged by our government in our names has landed smack in the middle of our living room. The half hour of destruction closed down all world financial markets, struck the central headquarters of our military, and had our leaders running into bunkers, and our citizens into fear and frenzy. What scares me more than what has occurred is what our reactions to the occurrences may cause. President Bush belongs to a long generation of Republican Presidents who love war economies. The media has only concentrated on the bombings, if you will, and what type of retaliations are looming for the perpetrators. What everyone fails to realize is that the bombings are a reaction to existing injustices around the world, generally unseen to most Americans. To react to a reaction would be to further sponsor the reaction. In other words, my belief is that the terror will multiply if concrete steps are not taken to sponsor peace in the middle east, NOW. This does not mean that we should not find the guilty party(s), Bin Laden, or whoever they may be, and not try them. Put simply, as long as a major injustice remains, violence precipitates to the surface of life.

Native American folklore, the Bible, Nostradamus, and many other major religious beliefs point to this era with the visuals of yesterdays disasters, and conditions of ecological disasters we experience daily in our lives today. War, rumors of war, famine, long burning fires, etc., are at our doorstep. We can prevail over this possible vision with the power of the human spirit, understanding, compassion, and peace. ITS TIME TO PUT OUR NEEDS FOR SECURITY AND SURVIVAL, ACHIEVED ONLY THROUGH PEACE, ABOVE AND BEYOND PROFITS, ESPECIALLY IN THESE TIMES.

SOLUTION:

The U.S. should stop sidestepping the U.N. Security Council, and allow U.N. Peacekeeping troops and missions to the Middle East. Stop the violence first.

Stop the bombing and patrol of Iraq.

With todays gains in the use of alternative fuels, develop them to full usage with autos and other utilities, to make the country less dependant on an already depleting natural reserve, oil.

By initiating peace, we would have already shaken the foundations of support for Bin Laden, and/or all those that sponsor activities like those we saw yesterday, and break the stronghold of extremists on the world of Islam. On the other hand, if we carry out bombings on Afghanistan or elsewhere to appease public demand, and very likely kill innocent civilians along the way, wed be creating many more martyrs going to their deaths in retaliation against the retaliation. As shown from yesterdays events, you cannot stop a person whos ready to die.

Source: http://donce.awardspace.com/esej.html [dead link]

[seriously-mike]

Midha and Stoica are not the only ones who view AI regulation as existentially for the industry. Open-source AI has powered the most thriving Silicon Valley startup scene in years. Opponents of SB 1047 say the bill will benefit Big Tech’s closed-off incumbents instead of that thriving, open ecosystem.

From Gizmodo's article on new California bill designed (essentially in practice, let's cut the bullshit here) to give the major players like Microsoft, Google and Midjourney the monopoly on AI.

Because hey, I said it multiple times and I'll say it again: all the attempts at curbing AI development were dictated by either those who want to maintain the monopoly, like Microsoft by way of OpenAI, or those who want to jump on the AI bandwagon, cash out and kick everyone else off the bandwagon, like Manbaby McEmeraldmine.

I pointed out how full of shit the "miraculous" Nightshade is. It doesn't protect your art from the corporations by design - if it did, it would be SLAPPed into oblivion under flimsy pretenses like "unlawfully reverse-engineering proprietary software". Now we have a horde of Butlerian jihadists, egged on by self-proclaimed "AI experts" whose "expertise" ends on listening to sales pitch bullshit and reading decades-old science fiction novels, push an act to punish AI developers "for the potentially catastrophic dangers of their AI systems". I'm sorry, what "potentially catastrophic dangers" are we talking about in regard to tech that nobody trusts to do serious work? Are they expecting an explosion of fad diets involving rocks and Elmer's glue? Do they really think someone's gonna measure an important structure in kilotomatoes and uses a buffalo heart tomato as a reference instead of cherry tomato or the other way around? Are they preparing for airline chatbots stating it's okay to bring gallium, firearms or explosives onto an airplane?

"Potentially catastrophic dangers" is the usual term of "we have no idea how to grab you by the nuts and bring you to your knees, so we're making some new bullshit up". This can be compared to papal bulls against railroads or any homicidal bullshit the Khmer Rouge cooked up when left unattended. This is what the conservatives are making up in response to transgender people existing, and homosexual people existing in earlier decades, and women wearing trousers even earlier. Alarmist bullshit based on some sick fantasies, with no base in reality at all.

And who sponsors this bill? Oh boy.

Demis Hassabis (CEO, Google DeepMind)

Sam Altman (CEO, OpenAI)

Bill Gates (Gates Ventures)

Kevin Scott (CTO, Microsoft)

That's just the beginning of the list. We will be fed a lot of corporate bullshit about how the billions of dollars the corporations have mean that every half-assed algorithm they push is perfectly safe, but basement-dwelling nerds who own nothing but a gaming PC and a box of Kleenex should be essentially forbidden from tinkering with open-source algorithms, because, uh, reasons. Like, cutting into a $250 million a year profits of a corporation.

But, the list doesn't end here. Who also signed the laughably brief and meaningless statement by, hahaha, "Center for AI Safety"?

Ya-Qin Zhang (Professor and Dean, AIR, Tsinghua University)

Yi Zeng (Professor and Director of Brain-inspired Cognitive AI Lab, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Xianyuan Zhan (Assistant Professor, Tsinghua University)

Albert Efimov (Chief of Research, Russian Association of Artificial Intelligence)

Alvin Wang Graylin (China President, HTC)

Jianyi Zhang (Professor, Beijing Electronic Science and Technology Institute)

Hongyi Zhang (Research Scientist, ByteDance)

Amazing, all of them not just outside of California, but also outside of the US and with a stake in AI research performed by US' direct economic competitors. This reminds me of the recent revelations about "Green" parties and movements in the EU, chiefly Germany, who received covert funding from Gazprom for fucking decades, all in the name of opposing clean nuclear energy and buying more and more Russian gas to be used for generating energy in the EU.

We're still not done, though. More names I'd like to point your attention to:

Vitalik Buterin (Founder and Chief Scientist, Ethereum, Ethereum Foundation)

Thuan Q. Pham (Former CTO, Uber, Board member, Nubank)

Josh Wolfe (Co-Founder & Managing Director, Lux Capital)

Miles Palmer (Founder, 8 Rivers Capital)

Crypto bros, bank board members, vulture capitalists, in one word: frauds. They want a return on their investment in the major corporations and can't afford any more shocking reveals that shitposts from Reddit are served as genuine advice and that corporate data models still contain shittons of copyrighted images from Disney et al. They also can't afford localized open-source models cutting into the corporate profit margins by virtue of barely working and still providing comparable results for less.

Don't get duped, folks. This bill is just another corporate-sponsored hit piece, and basted in alarmist bullshit three feet thick.

[elijahhendley]

７月15號 Day 4: A Day of Walking

Today was another slow start for me. I woke up around 8:30am and had breakfast in the hotel. The breakfast at the hotel is very strange. It is not the most normal American breakfast, but it is not a very traditional Taiwanes breakfast. They have noodles and rice options as well as sausage, bacon, and eggs. My favorite item on the menu is the pineapple. It is so good!

After my breakfast, I went back to my room to go back to sleep. After sleeping for a bit and talking on the phone to my people back home, I started to get hungry. So, naturally, I start my wondering activities. I walk a path I am fairly familiar with, looking for someplace to eat. I am in a hurry because we have a classroom meeting at 1pm and I left the hotel at 12:33pm. Definitely did not give myself enough time. Oops. But I walk past this place that looked pretty good, but the menu was all in chinese so I did not walk in at first. But after 8 more minutes of walking, I circle back because I need to find food quickly. I talk to the shop owners and ask them what is the best thing on the menu because I could not read it well lol. It was a good chance to practice my chinese but I eventually use google trranslate to translate the menu. They were super nice and recommended the scallion pancake and I also ordered a burger on top of that. It was all very good. But by the time I got my food it was 1:06pm. I was LATE! I speed walk back to the hotel in 4 minutes and find the room we were meeting in. That was when I noticed there were also like 5 others missing. I felt a little relief that I was not the only one late.

After classroom time, we went out to the Chiang Kai-shek memorial hall which was very cool. The court yard, the arches, the statue, and the buildings were all so big. I also loved the traditional style used to make the buildings as well. While there, we were able to see the changing of guards and the museum as well. They did the changing of gaurds out side, and it was scorching hot. I was sweating so much and I know the gaurds had to be hot as well.

After the chiang kai-shek memorial hall we were able to see the Taiwan "White house" which the president does not acually live at. Then we went to the grand hotel, which indeed was very grand. It was awesome to see all of the history of the place and how many important leaders in the past have stayed in this hotel. Also, how many important meetings happened in this hotel as well. Such as the negotiation for the US to break diplomatic relations with the Republic of China(Taiwan, R.O.C). After the Grand Hotel, we went to the night market where we ended our night eating so much great food.

ACADEMIC REFLECTION

Reading about Chiang Kai-Shek and how he came to political power was very interesting. Many people liked him during his time and were very radical when it came to keeping him in power. But, at the same time, a lot of people did not like him. As peter told us today, your view of who Chiang Kai-Shek was, whether he was a good or a bad person, depended on your own family history and how Chiang Kai-Shek treated your family in the past. People like him because he lead the rupeblic of china to victory over the japanese. He also was a martyr, survivning warlords, coups d'etat, japanese invasion, and communist rebellion(taiwan review). In the 1940s, even president Franklin rosevelt sent over billions of dollars to support Chiang Kai-shek. But others do not like him because under his rule, the White terror happened. The White Terror was a period of time when 10s of thousnads of Taiwanese people were killed, and hundreds of thousands of people were arrested and treated like animals. And it was all done to anyone who seemed to oppose the KMT(Chinese National Party)(Jamison).

Memorial Hall-freedom square where many protest happen.

Grand Hotel

Taiwan's "White House"

Chiang Kai-Shek statue and a replica of him in his office

Shilin night market - Bao and Winter Melon Tea :)

Until Next time, 再見！

[lunarsilkscreen]

Minimum Wage, and beyond

Let's use any store for an example:

Minimum wage is set at $15 an hour.

In order to break even, which is arguably the entire point of a business to begin with. You need to pay your employees hours worked.

That means you need to sell 2 $10 sandwiches an hour per employee. You make cost of ingredients AND pay that employee.

Now, back in the day before utilities were a thing: water, power, refrigeration, ectera... You didn't need EXTRA to pay the utilities. It wasn't a thing. That's why bartering worked, because the shopkeep could sell goods to the next sap to walk in the door.

And, besides from the assholes, rent wasn't a thing. You bought a plot of land, took out a loan to hire a carpenter and built your house and business on the same spot, called it a day. (Or got some buddies and some brewskis and did it yourselves.)

There's building codes, and inspectors, and utilities, and you have to worry about termites, carpenter ants, other pests, mold, mildew, ASBESTOS!

You gotta pay all *that* on top of the doctor that owns the business that you manage for him while he's in the Bahamas. He's never there, he rarely checks in, he just wants to foot the bill for a continuous dividend.

And shit if you fuck it up, or the business is in a location with no foot traffic. (And since it's to expensive to go outside, now you only interface with people delivering to other people! And those other people will give you a bad review when they inevitably receive their food cold.

Did I mention it was good for nothing doctors that recommended asbestos in the first place as a miracle insulation?

So how the f* are you supposed to make enough money to pay yourself, your employees, and your boss AND STILL HAVE ENOUGH TO PAY UTILITIES!

And on top of *that* what's the next step since you don't work for a corporate infrastructure that has hierarchy beyond *some doctor who owns this place*?

Unless you manage to figure out how to convince the doctor landlord to pay you a bonus for making astronomical returns, this is it buddy. This is your life.

I hope you enjoy Pizza.

So how is it possible that anybody make more than that? How is it, that somebody can get a loan of A BILLION DOLLARS. Refuse to pay it back, and then not go to jail? Is it because you'd have to be an idiot to loan out that much? Well if you got that much to lend, it must be fine.

In America, "pawn stars" has ensured that bartering is like an old fashioned nearly ancient way to make money. Goods are money, disposable items means you can't sell anything. Hell, I've never seen anything at a garage sale go for more than a couple bucks.

The goods as currency just doesn't work if everybody is just waiting to "storage wars" your old stuff when you can't pay your mortgage anymore. It's not value, it's icing for land owners and banks.

So tell me, how is value store supposed to work for the average person? We need to spend money to eat, and for the economy to work, it's mathematically impossible to make ends meet at a business that sells food if the local population doesn't come eat at your establishment.

On a macro scale, what we have isn't working at all.

It wasn't working when minimum wage was $7 it isn't working with minimum wage at $15. We checked the math twice.

How do you ensure an employee can afford room and board, and still have time to participate in politics to ensure a working government and economy?

That is the questions we're trying to answer as we look at the entire system from a macro perspective.

We have to ensure that the plumbers, and the farmers, and the electricians and the mechanics can all get paid a living wage, but they cannot if there is nobody who can afford their services.

So how do we make sure, that the "dirty jobs" that "nobody wants to do" actually have demand for use, AND return on investment to the individual doing them?

I think, that it should be illegal for a residential unit to be used on AirBnB. I think, that they should have to be zoned like regular inns and hotels. I also think, that if somebody who *owns* the house they're living in, or you know, has a mortgage. Then you should mind your own damn business if they have an OnlyFans. unless they're keeping you up at night, or out in the streets, I don't think you should care.

I also think that rental housing should also follow the same rules for Hotels and apartments. They should be zoned for that, and they shouldn't count towards the theoretical residential housing that the city thinks they have.

At the very least, it'll ensure that there's a supply of people nearby to buy pizza from Dr. Pizza's Pizza and Law office.

And you'll be able to keep track of your homelessness issue.

[kennessycognacxo]

Books of 2023 - A Retrospective

With 2023 having finally ended, here's a list of the books of 2023 that left an impression on me:

The Psychology of Money. The book seems to follow the mantra of "keep it simple, stupid". A lot of the insights the book provides seems to be simple, borderline obvious. But that's the appeal of the book and a major reason why it makes for such good reading. Morgan Housel is able to translate seemingly obvious financial truths in such a digestible manner that it makes reading the book a joy. With a lot of books floating around purporting financial freedom, Psychology of Money provides a good entry point for sound financial advice.

Pachinko. There's little that needs to be said about this book that hasn't been said already on BookTok or elsewhere. If you haven't read this book already, do yourself a favour and pick it up immediately. Min Jin Lee's intergenerational story of Korean immigrants moving to Japan set during Japan's colonial era in the early 20th century, the novel not only highlights the lasting discrimination Koreans faced and continue to face within Japanese society, but shows how the threads of family and legacy stretch across time and space. Would recommend this to anyone with a pair of eyes.

Shoe Dog. For all the bootstrap entrepreneurs out there, this book should already be on your shelves. And if you aren't looking to kickstart your own billion dollar shoe company, give it a read regardless. An energising memoir about the founder of Nike and his Herculean task to create the ultimate running shoe, Mark Knight makes you feel like you're in the trenches with him as he and his band of misfits take on the sporting apparel world. For anyone wanting to read a David & Goliath story as the underdog claws their way to claim their own space within an already dominated market, pick it up.

Sapiens. I know I'm a little late to the party with this one, but given its size and heft, you'll have to forgive me. Honestly, it's such a sweeping book that's able to condense history, anthropology, and sociology into a forgiving format. For anyone wanting to learn more about the world we live in, and how we came to be as a species, Yuval Noah Harari makes learning about the history of humanity less of a chore and more of a well made documentary. Also, it does boost your cool literary points by at least 10 anytime you mentioned that you read a book on Obama's reading list.

Confessions of an Economic Hitman. For anyone wanting further confirmation of America's deeply self serving agenda in the pursuit of global dominance, John Perkins' memoir as an economic hitman might be worth the read. With settings and characters akin to a 007 movie, Perkins takes you into the shadowy world of foreign aid as a thinly veiled disguise of neo-colonialism. The memoir dives deep into a setting filled with handlers, joint government partnerships, and coups. Honestly, reads similar to Manufacturing Consent, but with less statistics and graphs which makes it very easy to read.

1000 Years of Joy and Sorrow. Ai Weiwei is truely a singular artist in his own right. From defacing and destroying centuries old Chinese artefacts to make a statement on global consumerism, to investigating the Chinese government's ineptitude in the face of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Weiwei has never shied away from his most hard held beliefs of bring voice to the people. 1000 Years of Joy and Sorrow serves a mirror, reflecting not only his own youth and rise to artistic stardom and subsequent imprisonment by the Chinese government, but the life of his father, a young struggling artist in Paris who becomes a political pariah during Maoist China. For anyone wanting to understand the inherent political power art has, or wanting to read a son's ode to a father's sacrifice, this is a must read.

[asoiaf-essays-collector]

'Is anyone in the ASOIAF fandom outside of the 100 people on tumblr connected to reality?' You hit the nail on the head. They are not lmao. So much time has passed with no book content that these people are pathologically married to their 'metas' aka headcanons and think they know what GRRM will do better than himself. Also, it absolutely sends me how everyone outside of Sansa/J0nsa fans ignores the show because they didn't get their headcanons catered on a silver platter and all their theories got blown the fuck out of the water. I once saw someone say that ASOIAF discoursers will not stop aggressively ignoring the show and treating their theories as more canon that the actual tv adaptation based on years worth of conversations and notes between the author himself and the showrunners. People really believe those main character endgames came out of thin air as if a multi-billion dollar corporation like HBO wouldn't have clauses in place in the event GRRM shat the bed and didn't finish the books (which he did lmao) for him to give the writers his notes/outlines as to the ending.

It's sunken cost fallacy at this point and fans being extremely embarrassed they completely misinterpreted the kind of story they were reading. The fact that Sansa fans of all sections of the fandom got a vast majority of the themes and endgames correct is even more salt on the wound for these people lol.

Dear nonny, the thing that slips over the heads of fandom majority (pretty obvious thing) that both ASoIaF and GOT are very complicated and complex works with a lot of different circumstances around them that require at least a little bit analysis to understand.

It's very easy thing to say that that GoT was bullshit and not mention it ever again. It doesn't require this thing called thinking. And it seems that most people in this fandom took the easy way out of the reality. Because as we wait Winds of Winter it's just so easy to skip, for example, I don't know, Sansa's chapters and then go discuss with 10 000 anti sansa fans that she's so unimportant and stupid.

I really think we should see the fine line between giving show too much credit and not trusting it at all.

You know, back in the days, I remember seeing somewhere that D&D were given just a paper (or even a half of it) of those outlines. For this massive story with a dozen focal characters and 50 more characters that are also very important, just important and kinda important. With those peculiar connections through sometimes littlest events. And who knows which of those points they were given made it to the show end and which did not. I'm not saying they blatantly ignored the commandments by GRRM, there are a variety of reasons they couldn't just make it happen.

For example, what if the seemingly unimportant character D&D killed or wiped off earlier suddenly made it to the end - we know a bunch of them. Robb's wife, Doran Martell, princess Arianne, Young Griff - those are just the politically very important figures and those are just from top of my head.

Second reason not to trust the show in some instances is the pressure of the fandom that GoT was under at that point. Like yeah they couldn't change the fact that Dany that was previously established in the show as this big feminist progressive icon is suddenly big bad evil guy of the series. But I also can absolutely imagine them not being able to kill someone like Tyrion because killing both fan favourite #1 and fan favourite #2 was too much - although I don't think he's gonna end up dead, it's just an example.

That is also why I think it was impossible to end show with Jonsa. (1) for some reason fan favourite chemistryless Jonaerys (2) lack of any establishment that cousins can marry in Westeros and it is not viewed as incest and (3) therefore big bad backlash from fans they couldn't handle. Also it would have contradicted the badass feminist course they were taking with Sansa.

But at the same time - season 6 is the last decent season of the show. There are reasons to believe that big events happening there are gonna happen in the books - Battle of Bastards, doom of the Great Sept etc. Jon meeting Sansa too, btw. There is background for it, there were premises in the books.

So regarding the show - to see which show events are to expect and which are not a fan has to a) remember the circumstances around said event both from book and from show, b) remember the themes of the story and tools the author uses to show those themes, and c) understand and interpret them correctly.

Sounds like a lot of mental work, right?

So no wonder people just can't handle it.

Except for Sansa and Jonsa stans - because for us it is a way to exist in this toxic fandom.

You know the funny thing - as I was reading the books, I treated Sansa as a regular character. I liked her but not much more than the rest of the bunch. It was when close friend of mine said to me "Urgh, I hate Sansa" and I started the whole discussion "But why?" with them that made me feel defensive about her. And then I saw that the part of the fandom that likes Sansa have to do absolutely the same on the regular basis. And all of them are very nice people that have to do "you see that theme, and that happened because of that, and it correlated with that theme of this character, and the logic of Sansa's arc and etc" - regularly. I mean the database for every Sansa and Jonsa theory is huge, including every possible evidence - book quotes, themes, background, show clues, another characters arcs, interviews with actors and GRRM himself - everything. And all they usually get as a response are misunderstood events and misinterpreted themes - the nicest of them see Sansa as a cautionary tale (and don't they get the point? It was Robb who had the cautionary tale arc, and he didn't get the POV).

I'm sorry, the anwer happens to be so much longer than I intended. It's just that I have seen a lot of Sansa and Jonsa shit around here, I'm sure you have too. And I'm so sick of it, really. It's so unfair to the nicest people in this fandom.

And the sad thing, it won't be over after WoW and DoS are released (if ever). They won't be able to just shut up and admit their ignorance - even if the themes are catered to them by author himself in actual books.

Because guess what - there are GRRM interviews when he said that Sansa is important and discussed her themes. There are characters in the books that said that Sansa is important. And there are still takes that I see here "nah, Sansa's gonna stay in vale till the end, that's all she's good for"

[missmayhemvr]

I am probably going to ruffle a lot of feathers saying this, but I don't think liberals can actually be allies to anyone. Hear me out on this tho because I don't believe im the first to say this and that those before me often had their meanings or purposes twisted.

So first gotta define what a liberal is, I'd say it's someone that believes in capitalism first and foremost, that it can be reformed or suite the needs of many or that it isn't inherently evil or contradictory. A liberal by this definition can want social changes then right? But this means that capitalism has to remain in the end.

This is a stumbling block, this is a thing that means so much yet in the end it will not ever by definition be able to help us all and will always come back to be an oppressive force on the lives of anyone that has been marginalized, colonized, or harmed for the sake of capital.

For example let's look at wealth distrubution in the US, we all know the top earners and we all know they didn't get there from hard work. When you look at who is the poorest in the nation you see which groups, indigenous people and black people, those historical dispossessed of their land and those dispossessed of their labor. Black people have an average family weath (meaning assets transferable, houses cars, business) of a few thousand dollars. I believe it's similar if not worse for indigenous people here. A liberal thinking themselves an ally would seek to address such ills in the confines of capitalism and political electoralism which means vote for the right people and they will even the playing field (higher taxes on the rich better social safety net end legalized discrimination) all of these things however will only address symptoms and not causes. You can raise the min wage, have good social security and be allowed to vote all you want but it will never give reparations to black folks for the labor or suffering we have been put through, it will never bring the average wealth of us to be that of or white counterparts (unless through a means I'll get to later) and it will never result in the control of the land back to the hands of indigenous peoples here. This is because at the end of the day capitalism naturally prevents these things. Under capitalism is indigenous people want their land back what is their one way of doing that? Purchase, high min wage among a peoples that have faced 100s of years of genocide isn't going to get you the billions or trillions you'd have to pay and that's if they were willing to sell. And even more so if they were willing to hire you.

A similar situation becomes clear when you look at the black belt or the hood, you're not gonna make back enough for it to ever matter if you arent Beyonce and even then the structure is working against you.

Finally we look globally towards Africa and south America where regardless of the nation the population size or the volume of rare and pricy minerals or oil, these countries not only remain rather poor but the economy tends to still be run by the very nations or corporations that colonized in the first place. Because by no rule of capitalism will you ever be able to buy your way out of this oppression.

Liberals commitment to capitalism will always be greater than their commitments to people. A system which the only equality it can ever truly provide is by dispossessing few that would be seen as middle class and putting them in the same level of poverty as bipoc. Liberals as such will always push against us when we choose to fight back in meaningful ways and would rather ally themselves with fascist if and when able as they don't challenge the system of capitalism but just reinforce it. You can see it would the people's of various African nations sought to take back the farm land being used for cash crops so they could feed the people and not be reliant on other nations, liberal people and institutes sided with the settlers who stole the land in the first place. You see Biden who is truly the face of liberalism literally holding the hand of an Italian fascist turned pm.

So I don't think bipoc, queer or oppressed nations can trust liberal allyship. As it confines us more than uplifts us.