SevenOfWine

A real friend wants their friends to be happy. Maybe think about that next time you selfishly decide not to go down on them.

Sorry to reply to an older comment, but you are correct. Feeling alienated from (capitalist) society or the fake mediatised and commericalised reality we're often fed is indeed different to derealization.

I've experienced the latter, and it's more like an out of body experience. Like you're floating a few centimeters above your body, or like you're watching yourself in a movie. Like you're experiencing something that feels like very vivid deja vu or like you're in a dream. Which can of course lead you to make very bad decisions.

It’s a product of this warped system of capitalism. Unite over it. Don’t pin it to your lapel.

I sometimes wonder if it isn't sometimes a deliberate attempt to individualise societal problems. Pretend the syptoms are the problem, rather than adress the cause: a sick and profoundly unfair society that is in seemingly terminal decline. You're sad about climate change? It's your fault for not taking anti-depressants. You're angry about industrial pollution? You didn't put the yogurt pot in the wrong bin, it's your fault.

Interesting reading the mod log and seeing what got your comment removed and you banned.

Obviously this sucks, but it's also quite interesting. They call themselves American Banderites. Banderites were far right Ukrainian nationalists, but since WW2 the term has mainly been used by Soviet propaganda and by the Putin regime:

In propaganda the term has been used by Soviets after 1942 as a pejorative term for Ukrainians, especially western Ukrainians, or Ukrainian speakers; under Vladimir Putin-ruled Russia the term was used by state media as a pejorative for Euromaidan activists and Ukrainians who support sovereignty from Russia ... Today, in Russian propaganda, the word is used to refer to all in Ukraine who back the idea of sovereignty from Russia; Ukrainian nationalist collaboration with Nazi Germany is also emphasized

This is why Ukrainians sometimes call themselves Judeo-Banderites, as a joke about how many Jewish people support the supposedly Nazi regime in Kiev and its Jewish president. Obviously, Ukraine does have a far right, but they're incredibly marginalised:

Ukraine does have a far-right movement, and its armed defenders include the Azov battalion, a far-right nationalist militia group. But no democratic country is free of far-right nationalist groups, including the United States. In the 2019 election, the Ukrainian far right was humiliated, receiving only 2% of the vote.

This was a bit of a tangent, but it sounds like these kids may have been influenced by Russian propaganda. Certainly interesting how the far right is divided over Ukraine, with some supporting Russia and some supporting Ukraine, despite the whole Jewish president and relatively pro-LGBT thing.

I'm honestly surprised that Stephen King's obsession with including child abuse and rape in his books hasn't caused more waves in the age of twitter. Certainly a bit weird how Stephen King is often recommended to young adults.

It's not the size of the rock that matters, it's how you throw it.

Here's what I found:

Over the past year, numerous dissidents across Russia have found their Telegram accounts seemingly monitored or compromised. Hundreds have had their Telegram activity wielded against them in criminal cases. Perhaps most disturbingly, some activists have found their “secret chats”—Telegram’s purportedly ironclad, end-to-end encrypted feature—behaving strangely, in ways that suggest an unwelcome third party might be eavesdropping. These cases have set off a swirl of conspiracy theories, paranoia, and speculation among dissidents, whose trust in Telegram has plummeted. In many cases, it’s impossible to tell what’s really happening to people’s accounts—whether spyware or Kremlin informants have been used to break in, through no particular fault of the company; whether Telegram really is cooperating with Moscow; or whether it’s such an inherently unsafe platform that the latter is merely what appears to be going on. ... Elies Campo, who says he directed Telegram’s growth, business, and partnerships for several years, confirmed this general characterization to WIRED, as did a former Telegram developer. In other words, Telegram has the capacity to share nearly any confidential information a government requests. Users just have to trust that it won’t.

https://www.wired.com/story/the-kremlin-has-entered-the-chat/

Do you know why NATO annexed Sweden?

Ugh. Short term thinking.

There's a reason the BBC often has a lot of good stuff. They give some talented nobodies some money, tell them to make a show, with no expectation it'll be a big hit. Sometimes it turns out to be a cult classic like Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, often the talented nobodies learn the ropes and their next show ends up being great.

Nurturing talent isn't profitable, but you do it anyway because at least some of that talent will make you money a few years down the line.

Bit of a tangent, but go on the BBC sounds website. You'll find loads of (science fiction) dramas from authors and actors you've never heard of. I suspect the amount of people who've actually ever listened to some of them is miniscule, bu itt's a cheap way for the BBC to give new talent an opportunity to write and act in something, to develop their skills.

you’re making this up

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_interference_in_the_2016_United_States_elections

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/russias-alleged-election-meddling-tactics-is-2024-already-compromised/ar-BB1iXPOs

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-intelligence-report-alleging-russia-election-interference-shared-with-100-2023-10-20/

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

They're willing to outsource it to countries with more expertise.