Hyperreality

1. I like that you included an archive link and media bias fact check link OP. Obviously, the latter isn’t without controversy, but it’s better than nothing.
2. It’s important that criticism is coming from a former Israeli PM and Biden. I know there are a lot of the people who are very critical of both or likely don’t think they’re going far enough, but because the former is Israeli and the latter has been vocal in his support of Israel, it’s far harder for Israel’s far right government and their supporters to discount that criticism. This is far more damaging than any protest march could be, especially if those participating in that martch have always been critical of Israel or can be painted as making excuses for Hamas or Iran.

A lot of this is historians using a euphemism in a time when homosexuality was/is still frowned upon or outright illegal, and contemporary audiences not picking up on it.

Eg. “confirmed bachelor” or “he never married.” Wikipedia:

Rose Wild of The Times observed that even where it was used in an apparently non-coded form in historic obituaries, the phrase could still be revealing of the subject; Wild gave the example of a school master’s obituary from 1923 that stated “he never married”, but continued that he “usually spent his holidays in a little inn frequented by seafaring men at Falmouth”. … A similar phrase, “confirmed bachelor”, was used in the second half of the 20th century…

A lot of people like it in part because it contains said content, but pretend they don’t. Plausible deniability, they have a valid excuse for watching it because the plot is good.

Hell, plenty of anime is targeted at teenagers, so you could perhaps ignore the ‘fan service’ featuring post-pubescent children, point out their tits are bigger than their head, and file it under cultural differences. But a lot of anime sexualises clearly very young characters, with gratuitous panty shots and the like, often not even bothering to make flimsy excuses like “she’s a 1000 year old demon” or “she’s an alien”.

It’s depraved.

If it makes you feel any better, Japanese ‘hentai’ is a dying art, because they pay the artists too little and because it’s niche and frowned upon in Japan.

Given America is likely to vote Trump as the next president, and his extensive ties to China, you’ll probably end up selling out the Taiwanese for a lucrative real estate deal for Dear Leader.

“we have lots of requests to interview Putin, he just doesn’t want to do it”

Because they’re actual journalists who would ask serious questions.

Not really. It sounds random, but the author of the article probably translated it from Celsius to begin with.

-4 F = -20 Celsius.

Potiomkin villages” (and subsequently Potiomkin anything eg. Potiomkin AI).

Potemkin village:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potemkin_village

Apparently the original story is largely a myth:

… the tale of elaborate, fake settlements, with glowing fires designed to comfort the monarch and her entourage as they surveyed the barren territory at night, is largely fictional. … “Based on the above said we must conclude that the myth of ‘Potemkin villages’ is exactly a myth, and not an established fact.” … The close relationship between Potemkin and the empress could have made it difficult for him to deceive her. Thus, if there were deception, it would have been mainly directed towards the foreign ambassadors accompanying the imperial party … it is possible that the phrase cannot be applied accurately to its own original historical inspiration. According to some historians, some of the buildings were real, and others were constructed to show what the region would look like in the near future, and at least Catherine and possibly also her foreign visitors knew which were which.

TBH I have a subscription to multiple streaming sites, but I usually torrent what I want to watch anyway.

I paid to watch it, I’m simply choosing to watch it in the way that’s most convenient to me. Sometimes Netflix forgets to supply the video in the quality I paid for, so I’m simply helping them fulfill their contract.

I did a quick google, you can torrent updates for free for at least some garmin products. Given you paid for lifetime map updates, I’d argue it’s not even illegal.

I don’t see the problem. You bought the product, you’re allowed to download it in perpetuity, even if it’s from a torrent site.

Hell, the law is on my side. Depending on where you live, there are laws which allow you to make copies of media you own for personal use.

You can use a VCR to record broadcast TV, I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to make a copy of stuff that’s available on streaming sites, etc. Especially if you bought it.

Ebook reader. Prefer an actual book, but the price of ebooks be much better arrr.

His poop is bigger than my house.

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Fuck not brushing your teeth regularly and having unbrushed teeth from lunch till night time.

I try to brush my teeth three times a day. Used to have regular issues, now I don’t and my teeth are less yellow.

No brainer.

Great news to be honest. I hope disney sees a similar spike in profits so they can make more great shows for me to pirate.

Relevant:

Hyperreality is seen as a condition in which, because of the compression of perceptions of reality in culture and media, what is generally regarded as real and what is understood as fiction are seamlessly blended together in experiences so that there is no longer any clear distinction between where one ends and the other begins. … Hyperreality is the inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality, especially in technologically advanced societies.

Yep.

https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/study-finds-link-between-brain-damage-and-religious-fundamentalism/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9583670/

She no longer has a career with mainstream studios.

Fascist bullshit is her career now. I assume she has another wackadoodle movie coming out soon. Or maybe she’s the next mother of Elon’s soon to be estranged children.

In non-first past the post systems you often end up with coalition governments.

The result is that you can screw the other guy over, but you’re likely to be in government with them sooner rather than later, at which point they’ll screw you right back.

It breeds compromise, even if it happens after spending a full year negotiating before agreeing to enter a coalition government and exactly and to ten decimal places which laws you that government will be enacting during the coming parliament.