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barsoap

@ barsoap @lemm.ee

Posts
9
Comments
743
Joined
3 yr. ago

  • [RetroBytes]Transmeta: A CPU Revolution That Never Was

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  • The way you described it, "imagery of real people" is straight-up misleading: No likeness of any real person was generated. There's no photos of him, how could his likeness possibly be generated if noone knows what he actually looks like.

    Noone knows what Max Stirner looked like, either, yet we're somehow using portraits of him. That's the kind of thing we're looking at here, and RetroBytes is being very transparent about it. Certainly more so than random publishing houses printing purported Stirner portraits on books.

  • [RetroBytes]Transmeta: A CPU Revolution That Never Was

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  • "I couldn't find a photo, here's what ChatGPT thinks he looks like". ChatGPT then generates a Danish-looking guy presumably on the basis of a Danish-sounding name. You make it sound like RetroBytes faked video footage or something.

  • Google decides it won't comply with EU fact-checking law

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  • The only reason the regulation happened is because Apple ignored the "industry, agree on a standard or we'll set one for you" memo: By the time the EU passed the act all other manufacturers had already shaped up.

    That is: For other companies, the looming threat sufficed. Apple needed to be forced.

  • Google decides it won't comply with EU fact-checking law

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  • The DSA contains provisions for combatting disinformation and as a very large online platform google is required to implement suitable practices. The DSA is a regulation, that is, immediately applicable law in all of the EU. As is usual for laws it's written pretty generically and abstract, though, so the commission is also publishing more detailed documents that companies can use as check-lists.

    In essence, the difference between the tax code and the finance ministry publishing a paper on accounting best practices. You're free to ignore the latter but that will likely make your life harder than it needs to be.

  • The Worst Person You Know Made a Great Point; Asmongold Asks Elon Musk To Prove Legitimacy of His ‘Path of Exile 2’ Account

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  • Well, define "long after". The earliest surviving non-Christian source is Tacitus who is generally considered to be a reliable histographer and had access to records that are now lost, he wrote, in about 116 CE, in the context of Nero's burning of Rome (64 CE):

    Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judæa, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular.

    116 CE should be about 80 years after crucifixion, not that long. If the Romans had not done it they would have considered themselves slandered and mentioned it in their justifications as to why Christianity should be persecuted, it would have been part of the contemporary political consciousness.

  • The Worst Person You Know Made a Great Point; Asmongold Asks Elon Musk To Prove Legitimacy of His ‘Path of Exile 2’ Account

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  • It's pretty well-established within the field of history that there was a Jewish mendicant preacher named Jesus of Nazareth who got baptised by John and nailed to a cross by order of Pilates. That's just as well (or badly) attested as anything else about notable people in Galilee at the time.

    It's the rest that ranges from unattested to either allegorical or certainly made up.

  • Billionaire-proofing the internet — Pluralistic

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  • I'd like to interject here for a second and point out that "Billionaire-proofing XYZ" is both a praxis and narrative we should be doing way more often. Forget about socialising healthcare, just billionaire-proof it.

  • Pixelfed user count has gone vertical.

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  • Elon Musk and Far-Right German Leader Agree ‘Hitler Was a Communist’

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  • Ha! We reached max comment depth so I'm replying here. Feel free to answer or don't or just tell me to end this I think lemmy wants to send us a message.

    If I had a dime for every time a politician blamed colonialism for the consequences of their corruption I'd have enough money to buy them. Which, btw, would be illegal. As in: It's illegal for me, under domestic law, to bribe people abroad that's why the Chinese are making inroads in Africa we're not matching their bribes, any more. Russia, at least, is pretty much out of the game now after they overextended, they're at least a magnitude worse than the Chinese in approach.

    Or, differently put: Maybe be a bit more specific when you say "global south" or "global north". We're currently defending Ukraine against imperial aggression from the north, you might've heard of that.

    What drives our economies, btw, what makes us so rich, is labour productivity, industry with high degrees of automation, uncoupling value-add from labour investment. Which is why it's so fucked to see a country like South Africa fall to the consequences of corruption, to wit, more blackouts than electricity production. No, it wasn't evil England who made the ANC bleed Escom dry. Those are domestic problems requiring domestic solutions.

  • NVIDIA's Blackwell AI Servers Faced With Overheating & Glitching Issues; Major Customers, Including Microsoft & Google, Start Cutting Down Orders

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  • Intel and overheating.

  • Elon Musk and Far-Right German Leader Agree ‘Hitler Was a Communist’

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  • If you get the time do read up on it, aside from checking that everything is indeed kosher, ask why you haven't heard of it before. Why, in the list of data points you are exposed to, one that does not fit the colonial exploitation narrative seems to be missing.

    Anyhow short rundown: Germany needs green hydrogen for its industry (at least until fusion, it's dependent on energy inputs), Namibia has lots of wind and sun, world's best location in fact, and Germany the tech to turn that into electricity, then into hydrogen, then into ammonia for transport. Germany is going to finance the initial stage of the project which includes enough generation capacity for Namibia's electricity demands as well as to start exporting. IIRC it also includes fixing up the Namibian electricity grid. Namibia is planning on using its revenue share to further expand things and become an exporter of both green energy and refined metals, because when you have lots of hydrogen and also lots of iron ore it does make sense to export steel instead of ore, if not finished metal products. Value added yadayada you know your Marx.

    And Namibia really can use the extra money. There's plenty of stuff to invest in, from making sure San are not malnourished over not re-introducing school tuition to speeding up land reform. With easy access to capital and material, I'm sure Namibia will become a manufacturing powerhouse, at least compared to its population size. Sensible people look for win-win situations, and this is one of them. SWAPO even calls it Socialism with Namibian characteristics.

    (Side note: Australians so far do not seem to have understood that it makes sense to keep the value-add in country, it's not like they're lacking in cheap energy, or the capacity to tap it. Confounds me to this day).

  • Elon Musk and Far-Right German Leader Agree ‘Hitler Was a Communist’

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  • Wikipedia does not consider anything anything, it describes how other people describe it. Basic media literacy, wikipedia is an encyclopedia. You seem to be confusing racism with banter and it's kinda telling you can't tell the difference.

    The IMF brutally exploits the Global South with predatory loans.

    The IMF did a lot of shit especially in the past, but don't pretend that loans were forced on states, or they would treat even EU countries any differently (remember Greece?), or that it wouldn't be a UN institution that the global south itself co-founded. Haiti was made to take on debt, ages ago, and France is skirting its responsibility, yes. But IMF loans? If you don't want them, don't take them.

    What you're doing here is blaming stupid decisions of southern governments on the north. You act as if you were incapable of governing yourselves.

    But it's oh so fucking easy to blame diffuse foreign powers. It's a tactic employed by many politicians in the global south: "Don't look at our corruption, blame the evil Europeans". They're distracting you and you're falling for it hook, line, and sinker.

    Macron

    ...and the French are making fun of him for it. He's not exactly popular, as you might have heard. His only saving grace is that he's not LePen.

    I'm curious: What do you think about the German-Namibian hydrogen project?

  • Elon Musk and Far-Right German Leader Agree ‘Hitler Was a Communist’

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  • Guess Wikipedia is “tankie” now.

    You did not read the article. It makes a clear distinction between council democracy itself (soviet means council), and what was implemented in the USSR. There did exist some democracy on lower levels that were not of immediate interest to the higher-ups, but that was also the case under monarchism.

    Your next paragraph is worse, when you rely on “any East European.” Nostalgia for the Soviet Union is well-documeneted. 66% of Russians polled in 2015 want Socialism back,

    Russians have neither a liberal democracy nor a social market economy. They're also not terribly educated about the outside world. Ask Poles, ask Ukrainians, ask Romanians.

    and this number is actually a good deal higher in many post-soviet sattelite states.

    That asks specifically about the economic situation. Probably due to current factors such as affordability of rent, you won't see me arguing that there's work to do in those areas. Oh wait Hungary tops the list yep that's not surprising they just got EU funds cut due to democratic backsliding and they were very much a net recipient. Fidez is a bunch of corrupt fascists. We'll have to switch stereotypes around, Romanians are supposed to be the thieves I guess it's ok they can still be the drunks.

    As for your defense of Imperialism, I’m quite happy to be proven right, you’re a neoliberal at heart with an Anarchist coat of paint. No Anarchist I have ever spoken to, regardless of their opinion of the USSR, has said Imperialism is fine once it has been pointed out.

    Which imperialism did I defend? I said that we stopped sailing cannon boats up rivers. I'm fucking European don't dare blaming shit Seppos do on us.

    Unless you mean the "pressure companies abroad into not using slave labour" thing in which case yes I'm completely fine with us throwing our big economic dick around. Do you have any issues with us using our economical power to combat slave labour and other forms of exploitation, even against the will of governments in the global south?

    And, no, we're not the "same economic bloc" as the US. This is our bloc. Mercosur is likely to come into force soon, US is way unlikely to ever happen. Things that may puzzle you: It actually includes Vietnam.

    The Third World is not poor. You don’t go to poor countries to make money. There are very few poor countries in this world. Most countries are rich! The Philippines are rich! Brazil is rich! Mexico is rich! Chile is rich! Only the people are poor.

    ...then elect better governments? It's your countries, your responsibility. Do something with those riches, like for starters distributing them fairly, and growing them. Are we supposed to swoop in and direct you in how to do it? We'd very likely do a better job this time around but generally lost the taste for imperialism so the answer is no.

    Why do you keep replying? What is your goal?

    To save your soul.

  • Elon Musk and Far-Right German Leader Agree ‘Hitler Was a Communist’

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  • Your bits on the USSR translate to “I said it wasn’t democratic” as well as “state and public control is totally different and in the USSR it wasn’t public” so they can be safely ignored, given the books I already linked proving otherwise.

    Noone but tankies considers the USSR to have been democratic. You can use a different, non-standard, sectarian, definition of a common concept all you want but don't be confused if people don't agree with your equivocation tactics.

    As for Imperialism, I mean you specifically who said you wanted to live in a Social Democracy in the Global North rather than Socialism.

    No. I said I do not want to live under what you call socialism, which is, in the best case, red-painted oligarchy. I'd love there to be actual socialism but in the meantime, until material conditions are created which actually allow a revolution, and that includes resilience against a Bolshevik counter-revolution, a liberal democracy with a social market economy is adequate. It is an improvement over your red-painted oligarchy, ask any East European.

    As to your implied accusation of colonial exploitation: First off, there's no cannon boats of ours sailing up your rivers, we gave that up long ago: If you don't want to sell us stuff, then don't sell us stuff. Secondly, this. The USSR never cared about the conditions the people producing their imports are in, somehow a social market economy does manage to.

  • Elon Musk and Far-Right German Leader Agree ‘Hitler Was a Communist’

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  • Please explain how a democratic, publicly owned economy is “feudalism.”

    Democratic is not what the USSR was, and that style of thing is the only thing Marxists ever achieved. There's also a difference between public ownership and state control, doubly so in non-democracies. Also you're leaving out a model not really seen anywhere outside of liberal democracies and that's foundations, that is, self-owning companies. Zeiss is a good example. Their purpose, according to statute, pretty much say "We do optics and funnel some money to the University of Jena", no shareholder interest at all.

    As for prefiguration, it doesn’t seem to be possible in a Capitalist state so far either, so again you just approve of Imperialism and Capitalism so long as it’s your state that sits on top of the Global South.

    Dude Latinos are the most vocal and active in the prefigurative space. There's a reason we use a Portuguese term, "especifismo", for a basic organisational principle. It's the failure to think outside of the vanguardist box that makes Marxists not achieve anything but regression: Don't dilute yourself to be better and more enlightened. You are not, you're also a mere human. Anarchists understand we need to eat humble pie when talking to people, that we do not have all the answers, that all we have is a good compass and a toolbox that can help people to walk into that direction, on their own terms, at their own pace, organically, without coercion, which is crucial because the end goal does not contain any coercion.

    Labour vouchers being used to buy goods and services from the social fund isn’t money, because they are destroyed upon use.

    How do you eat if you don't have a labour voucher? How is that "to everyone according to need"? It's the same "bow to the bosses or starve" tyranny as capitalism without welfare state.

  • Elon Musk and Far-Right German Leader Agree ‘Hitler Was a Communist’

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  • You’d rather have Capitalism, warts and all, than Socialism.

    No. I would rather have liberal democracy than regress to feudalism with a different coat of paint. Actionism is a trap, the system is begging you to oppose it in certain ways because doing so will only reinforce it. If you want to sit on the long end of the leaver, you might need to walk some distance.

    their jobs are extremely dirty and toxic, risk their health and safety, and most do so because they need to make a living

    Then get them safety equipment and robots.

    You want things to be de-commodified, don't you? "A stateless, classless, moneyless society". You say currently sewerage workers are compelled by money, I take that to mean that you think they only do it because they need money because otherwise they'd starve.

    But they would be supplied for in communism whether they do that job or not. So why would they still choose to do the work? For the greater good, of course. This isn't something that's unique to Anarchism. You're trying to saw off a branch that you yourself are sitting on.

    Moreover, this “prefiguration” phase would be be better accomplished in a Socialist state, would it not?

    In a soviet-style state: Definitely not. You need freedom of association to be able to get people used to the necessary modes of organisation. The USSR did not tolerate such things, China does not tolerate such things. The reason is simple: They do understand that it is in direct contradiction to the centralisation of power, and thereby the privileges of the party. To do prefiguration, you have to eat humble pie.

  • Elon Musk and Far-Right German Leader Agree ‘Hitler Was a Communist’

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  • What happens between now and that level of automation?

    We already do have robots that clean sewers, cleaning sewers isn't actually the point but doing things "people don't want to" and, duh, what'll happen is inventing all automation that might be necessary, as part of prefiguration.

    In the meantime I would much rather have a socdem government than a tankie boot in my face. Ask anyone from a post-soviet country as to why.

    You’re making assumptions about me

    No. I'm drawing conclusions from your choice of argument. What, in your mind, and be honest now, is the social standing of people doing such jobs? Are they respected? Do you respect them? Investigate the value attached to those things, and where those judgements really come from. Did you form them yourself, after careful analysis? Do you have them because it is socially expected that you have them? Is it fantasy to value the sewer worker next door more than Elon Musk? Do you think a society, at large, might be capable of doing that?

    You want this now,

    When the fuck am I supposed to have said that? Did you, drumroll, assume?

    ...ok you got me. I want this now. I also want bedtime to be abolished. But I'm also an adult, old enough to understand that actionism does not lead anywhere as the socio-psychological component of the system is furnished to prompt exactly that unreflected actionism that reinforces it. Your rebellion has been factored into the equation and is being used against your dreams. It is not sufficient to swim against the stream, you have to get out of the river. It's nice here, btw, I have dry socks.

  • Elon Musk and Far-Right German Leader Agree ‘Hitler Was a Communist’

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  • You'll have plenty of protective equipment. That's not the issue. You'll even have robots.

    The issue, I think, is that you don't know what it's like to be part of a tribe, never have felt the solidarity and the motivation to contribute according to your abilities that comes along with it.

  • Elon Musk and Far-Right German Leader Agree ‘Hitler Was a Communist’

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  • A lot of necessary jobs go undone if nobody wants to do them, like garbage disposal, sewer maintenance, etc.

    Do you want to clean your toilet?