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Iuz the Evil

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Everything posted by Iuz the Evil

  1. I’m partial to Blanton’s and Angel’s Envy myself. They’ll do the trick.
  2. It is far too early to assess the impact of this on Russia’s military efforts in Ukraine. This didn’t unfold in more extreme outcomes, or widespread civil war, but it did result in major logistical disruption and undermined morale in State media and other ways. It’s not a good outcome for Russia, it’s just a better outcome than full blown military insurrection. We will have to wait and see what unfolds from this. Definitely was not a good event for the Russian side in the current conflict.
  3. I don’t disagree with the risks and problems associated with civil war in Russia. I do not see any likelihood that there’s another probable outcome however, since Russia has managed a semi-Democratic transfer of power like once in their entire history. And Ukraine is never going to bend the knee at this point, they’re tired but they are all in and have every expectation of wearing Russia down. They should be hoping for maximum disarray in the invading nation, and hopefully take advantage of that. It’s a difficult situation, but under no circumstances should Russia be allowed to benefit from their aggression. The risks of an emboldened Russia seeking to subjugate former Soviet bloc states is at least as great. On a positive note, the opposite has happened. NATO was strengthened, Sweden/Finland applied for membership, their military was absolutely exposed by a much smaller regional nation, and they’re facing geopolitical isolation. Whatever the narrative, one would hope this will discourage future adventurism.
  4. https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/23/europe/russia-mod-wagner-yevgeny-prigozhin-intl/index.html So there’s a lot of buzz about Wagner and Russian forces getting in firefights, charges being brought against Prigozhin (incitement to an armed rebellion), and general ugliness between the two. Maybe this is why you don’t use large scale mercenary forces? Anyway, always hard to know what the truth is but this is pretty good news for Ukraine (just a matter of how good). Edit: here’s the link to the criminal charges. unbelievable. https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-06-23-23/h_a103a31ff6e0de344102f9f17c980eb3
  5. Well, it’s a fairly specific decision based on the congressional authority to regulate tribal affairs. So if you get a GOP Congress you could have a problem. They didn’t weigh in on the equal protection issue, related to the ability of tribal children to benefit from adoption. It’s a good ruling though, we spend a lot of time on ICWA in child welfare. I’d be very unhappy if those protections went away. They also ruled that tribal lenders are bound by bankruptcy laws, in a separate ruling, so in that way curtailed tribal protections. But I don’t have strong feelings there.
  6. I respect that you have strong feelings on the subject, and will leave it at that.
  7. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB957 Custody determination based on parental affirmation of child gender identity. That’s moving through congress in California right now, and is essentially equivalent to the Florida law regarding removal of parental rights for LGBTQ individuals. It is expected to pass by the legislative analysts I work with… that can change, but I think right now it’s likely to move forward. This isn’t “respect people”, this is “you can lose custody of your children through a court process”. I imagine that devout Catholics and followers of Islam may have some strong objections to this, and it’ll undoubtedly be subject to court challenge. It is however a reasonable example of the sorts of behavior I have come to expect from the right, but different this time. There are others easier to find on a variety of issues. This is not a “may consider” it is a “shall consider”, that’s a very different thing. There’s quite a bit of this sort of activity out here, probably harder to see when you aren’t in California. In any event this board remains an interesting place and I’m not looking to offend, although I’m sure that can happen anyway. I consider the right to have much more odious behavior, and the left is not in any way hesitant about using their own flavors of the power of government coercion to enforce social policy. Both can be true. In any case, I offer this example only because it was asked for. I’m more interested in reading the comments than participating so I’ll now bow out.
  8. Fair enough. It appears to me that side feels similarly about the actions of their opposition, so we can just keep on the same way we have the past decade or two then.
  9. The Clifton article is very interesting. There’s also the dimension of the role of the State/government in these discussions. It is entirely possible to get someone to agree “that’s a tough situation for that kid” while not moving them at all on factors like the role of public education, the rights of the child’s parents to be informed and actively involved in decision making on behalf of their minor dependent, public funding of media campaigns, child welfare laws and so forth. Reasonable minds may differ on proposed solutions to problems that arise, or find identified interventions too intrusive or antithetical to other beliefs. There are a host of arguments that tend to split reasoning or hinge on one factor or another, like the impact to individuals versus society (see also: pandemic response). I can empathize with the concern about exercise of governmental power, it’s rooted in the same frustration I feel when Desantis uses the State to ban textbooks, or specific LGBTQ+ public events. The conservative spectrum tends to object to mandated curriculum that is counter to their belief traditions and express concerns about weaponizing powerful governmental institutions (like the department of education or child welfare). Government has a lot of power, and it’s unpleasant when it’s used in ways you don’t agree with. And also concurrently, the folks in question will logically be wanting to persuade you of their viewpoint also, which they self evidently would consider more valid than the counter argument being presented (since they’ve already adopted it and theoretically believe they’ve considered the arguments, within the framework of their own belief system). In any case, it’s interesting to consider. Neither of the most prevalent political perspectives appears likely to voluntarily depart, and the conflicts are worth considering. The pro-Trump people are no more likely to secede than we were in California during his Presidency, and I’d prefer it if we found ways to manage despite disagreement.
  10. While I certainly do not underestimate the capacity of groups of humans to be stupid and willfully ignorant, I think there is also a plausible explanation that among Trump supporters there isn’t a viable option seen by them at this time. Aside from Desantis (who is in my mind very threatening as he may arguably be more competent in his weaponizing political cruelty as well as his policy decisions, almost all of which I find deeply troubling), who do they turn to as a voice against the group calling them stupid, willfully ignorant and racist? They believe themselves to be the subject of deep cultural disdain, by a group they hold in equal contempt. It’s the conflict, in my opinion, between urban and rural, by region, that goes back many years. They don’t see another option, and in truth there isn’t one being presented at the moment they would find palatable. The philosophical and political divisions are incredibly deep. Media bubbles are too impermeable. To question the political dogma of one party is heresy. Even “yes, but” on any topic gets you ostracized. I believe it’s a symptom of pretty serious problems in this nation, which although not in general unprecedented are at a fever pitch. Others, may of course differ - I rather hope people do.
  11. It was simulated, they said so in the article. It’s a very concerning outcome of that scenario though.
  12. That’s one of the reasons it’s concerning. I do not like the idea of experimenting with machine learning systems operated weaponry, given how stupid we are as a species. But hey… I for one, welcome or new robot overlords. They will find me quite useful in their new regime
  13. https://ustoday.news/ai-controlled-drone-goes-rogue-and-kills-human-operator-in-simulated-usaf-test/ This seems… concerning in some ways.
  14. Whistleblowing statutes only protect you if there is evidence of legal wrongdoing. If they have a specific law violation they’re protected, otherwise as a public servant you are explicitly prohibited from taking any position on political issues or using information you gain through your position in that sort of manner. Public servants are to serve, without expectation of personal reward or influence. That seems to rarely happen, but it’s the intent of these sorts of issues. This is true, it is hard to find the source in many of these cases. In my very recent experience, a serious local Witch Hunt resulted in no findings. As long as they do not get identified, they’re safe. I suspect given the State in question, they will be able to leverage the full authority of the State to investigate. Might not change the outcome, but the Sheriff was asked to investigate the information breach in the local case I mentioned. As was Counsel and Human Resources. All governmental data systems, including cell phones issued, were subject to review. I hope they are careful, or this will be personal very painful for them.
  15. That’s no joke, we had that in California on the other side and people lost their jobs and faced financial penalties (termination for cause). An NDA signed in public service is actionable, you can’t say “First amendment rights” as a defense.
  16. Thanos had a lazy and arbitrary approach to the problem 😏
  17. That’s true enough for every State I’ve lived in, although I am a people person. Maybe 50% of the people though, about half of folks seem decent enough.
  18. https://amp.theguardian.com/technology/2023/may/22/uber-suspends-diversity-chief-karen-bo-young-lee This is… unfortunate from my perspective. It may not have gone over well, but I would hope that people of all backgrounds could appreciate the desire to not be stereotyped or called names (like “Karen” if in fact that is not your name). The motivations in this case seem appropriate.
  19. Incorporated municipalities derive their authority from the State. It’s bad behavior, but almost certainly legal (I’m sure it will be litigated though). California did this during the pandemic related to local jurisdictions wanting to pass laws in opposition to State policy, there are exceptions but in general the State can override local jurisdictions (City or County) if (and only if) there is a conflict between the local laws and State. When there’s a direct conflict, State law supersedes the local authority.
  20. Possibly true, they’ve also been using glide munitions to fire at Ukrainian targets from within Russian airspace. I can see Ukraine looking at that as a reason to make them fair game. Edit: I see Russia pulled back their report on shooting down “two Ukrainian jets” in the area. Looks like Friendly Fire incidents, Ukraine is having a field day. Impossible to know for sure, but sure looks like Russia hitting their own aircraft.
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