No Stupid Questions

Just hypothetically, if a state decided to stop receiving money from the federal government as well as intercepting and/or stopping federal income tax payments, could they do it? What might the consequences be?

Please be respectful so that rule 5 doesn't get broken.

well, at least, from my experience, there was only like 3 people who acted like them and they treated everyone else like inferiors, acted weird or mocking, etc.

most of them were only nice to the guys or didn’t talk to them, were rude to the girls.

Just saw the post of some dude who said all Germans are racist because they don't have black people.

People like this just make me cringe. I also know some people who say they will only date a specific ethnicity like only white or only Asian people and I think it's very weird.

I wonder where this movement started where people overly obsess about this. Can't we already just treat people for who they are/their personality and not judge them by their skin color and also not prefer some ethnicities over others?

BBC Article

These are propaganda coups for the Russians. They're dragging anchors and getting away with it.

Can't EU countries block Russian vessels navigating the Baltic sea?

To access the Baltic sea from the North sea any ship must cross the Danish straits. Same question.

It gives the impression they're winning and makes the EU and NATO look weak.

Like... where does the default windows signing keys come from? Isn't that like hard embedded into the BIOS/UEFI when the hardware is made? If so, how does Linux even use Secure Boot? Does it somehow replace the keys when you install a new OS?

I tried googling, but all I find is just simple pages that doesn't have much detail.

my dad specifically has really been feeding into hypermasculine, gun-loving, "true American" MAGA nonsense. I am gay and while he has no issue with me or my partner he continues to align himself with people who do not believe in my right to exist. He didn't believe Elon did a nazi salute. He said I was listening to the liberal propaganda. Now that trump has pulled out all the stops and continues to implement project 2025, I question whether I can still be in contact with him. Even if he is not (outwardly) rooting on everything, him not condemning what is happening to me seems like he is doubling down on his beliefs.

I am drained mentally and honestly think that he will continue supporting the destruction of this country and the rights of millions all because he idealizes their "alignment" with masculinity, guns, the military, traditions, etc.

How do I approach the topic with him and tell him it's either me or these beliefs/trump? Is that selfish of me? I know some people say that this will only further the divide but honestly I feel like things now are irreperable and I should not be involved with people who turn a blind eye to fascism.

There's this person, I won't name him, let's call him T. T's infamous online for stealing photos of red haired women to use for his avatars, "photos", and his whole online persona. For instance, he will claim to look like the women, saying that he has red hair and pale skin.

People have called T out on this because a real photo of him accidentally got leaked which shows he looks nothing like how he describes himself, and his rebuttal was "I never said those photos are of me"

T will also steal voice recordings from women who have exposed him in the past, using those samples to answer questions on Reddit, and when called out for this he will respond with "I never said the voice was mine". Some people noticed how his accent is constantly changing or his voice sounds AI generated at times, and he blames it on "foreign accent syndrome" when really what he's doing is stealing people's voice recordings. When people tell him he doesn't have foreign accent syndrome and is making excuses, he makes posts claiming people are "denying foreign accent syndrome exists" while leaving out the context that he used other people's voice recordings, to make himself look like he's being persecuted or is a "targeted individual".

He also is known for repeatedly making creepy comments to a forum member who he knew was barely 14, (he's in his 20's) requesting a story being written of him going on a date with him, saying "you're mine" to him, and "shipping" himself with him. When people call him out on this he says "it's slander" even though there's links to the things he posted. Then he'll say things like, "you cannot speak for a person's intentions because you aren't the proxy of their mind"

Also, when people point out that T's real selfie and the stolen selfies aren't the same race, he'll claim people are being transphobic to "transracial" people, and he'll also claim that people are being transphobic to him, even though he has never once claimed to be trans and is known for sending death threats to trans people in private message sessions.

This person does this kind of tactic a lot, and people get the impression he thinks he's being slick, and I'm wondering if there's a name for it.

Every single clock, even those that are air gapped. Countdown timers lose a minute, stopwatches add a minute. Biological clocks aren't affected.

Could it be said that this is a pattern or that someone who comes to this conclusion is exaggerating?

For example, in many animes the characters are Asian and right-wingers don't seem to mind. Maybe because most of the characters appear to be white, or because many Japanese animes have an actual cast of white characters. They don't seem to mind if in a fictional world all the characters are white or Asian, but on the other hand they would mind if in the fictional world all the characters were black or had dark skin. Is this really a fact or an exaggeration?

I've tried searching for other posts that ask a similar question, but I couldn't fine one that could fully make me understand what it would mean in this scenario.

So far from my understanding is that if I browse All, the instance I'm on won't show anything at all from the instances that it blocked. But manually doing the workaround would still show me the community and whatever posts that got federated in my instance. Is my understanding correct?

The other topic of federation that I'm interested to understand as a user are below.

The example: fedia.io states in their federation list that it does not federate with ani.social. But ani.social states they federate with fedia.io.

I can go to say [email protected] just fine via fedia.io, although there is some posts that doesn't show. Is this one of the result of this situation?

Additionally, today I did basically try to subscribe to all the same communities/magazines on my lemmy.world (I'm considering to abandon this account), fedia.io and kbin.earth accounts.

Other than the situation above happened to some communities where some post doesn't sync, I've also found some communities that's just inaccessible from either 3 instances.

Is that another result of not being federated?

Thanks in advanced.

Conceivably, you could run trials by having a judge (or panel of judges) bring forth the evidence they thought was important. Instead, many countries have a system where one party prevents "one side" of a case and another party presents the "other side". How did this come about?

I have no idea how while Trump is a) ripping out the underpinnings of constitutional law which, in turn, is all that holds up all other laws (including transactional) in the US AND b) ripping apart the post war Western defense alliance leaving Europe and Australia completely exposed and vulnerable AND c) going to impose global reciprocal tariffs, which are going to kill trade and plunge the country and the world into the greatest economic depression (coincidentally) since the 1930's, how the market isn't down 75% - 90% by this point. Hopes & Dreams? Hallucinogens? Heroin?

What power on earth is allowing Hedge Funds, Banks and Small Investors the justification to keep betting on an underlying business system which is literally being pulled apart at the seams with no real hope of being functional shortly. How is this happening. It's like I'm taking crazy pills every day. The market should look at what Trump's already done (much less what he still promises to do) and say, whoop that's us, we're audi, this is insane, we can't trade our value as a corporation any longer, we don't know where supplies, labor, administration, distribution, sales, or any law governing any of it stands, we have to pull all our monies out, and put them someplace safe like our pockets.

What is happening to keep the market propped up, when literally everything, everywhere that it needs for stability in projected earnings is being hollowed out beneath it?

edit 2/20 : lol edit 2/21: lol

TL;DR: I want to learn about disinformation. Where do recommend I start?

Background:

I've been a bit apprehensive about disinformation for a while now more than ever with the rising tide of post truth content on the internet and the active toppling of governments from within using info warfare. I'm also seeing a whole lot of users in suspicious activities online who, for example, leave spicy live bait in political comment sections. So I've gotten suspicious and also curious about this secret world behind the veil.

I'm not exactly sure of what I'm looking for because of this unknown unknown, so bear with me. I'm imagining learning about an underlying theory with illustrative examples that relate to modern groups and their tactics.

I'm thinking of something more robust than articles or blog posts and yet less dense than academic material, so maybe some books or long-form videos would be great, although any format is welcome. I wonder if there are reliable & trustworthy authors, science communicators, intelligentsias, or researchers themselves who put out this accessible content.

I'm familiar with the book An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook's Battle for Domination that exposes the play-by-play of foreign disinformation farms in American politics during the 2018 election. I thought it was great but limited in scope to Facebook along with the few countries it touches on. But learning about the rest of the nations along a broader timeline would be more ideal.

Do you have any suggestions? What would be a right approach to get myself soaking wet in the topic?

I'm staying in an apartment temporarily and I have absolutely no idea how it is heated. It's a two-bedroom apartment. There is no thermostat. There are no vents. There is one radiator in the apartment's living room, at the front and down the hall from the bedrooms, and one radiator in the bathroom.

I have felt every wall in my bedroom. All of them are cool. The floor is also a normal temperature.

And yet, despite it being at or below freezing most nights in the past month, I can be in my bedroom without a shirt on and be comfortable. It might be nice to be a little warmer, but I don't feel cold or anything.

I am mystified. How is it being heated?

While it is true that the EU provides more financial support than the US, the US provides most of the military aid that helped the country withstand and slow down the Russian advance. The EU is powerful as an economic block, but they don’t have a unified army, they depend on American weaponry (with the exception of France), and I don’t see much political will to keep arming Ukraine if the US pulls out completely or if the Trump administration pauses sanctions.

It seems to me that Trump simply cannot get over Zelensky not ‘helping’ him to find something nefarious about Biden’s son during his first administration and now POTUS is first provoking him and then, when Zelensky send a diplomatically worded answer, POTUS overreacts and insults, like he got the excuse he was looking for. So vindictive and victim blaming.

This is not the America I was taught about.

I’ve never seen a country destroy it’s credibility with allies so fast in such a short notice. Putin is sure having a good time watching all this.

I’ve heard most US senators are pro Ukraine, but I don’t see any of them confronting Trump. GOP belongs to MAGA now.

Unless democrats win the midterms in 2026 he’s going to have 4 years of trifecta. I don’t see how Ukraine can survive 4 more years of onslaught only with European help and no boots on the ground.

Does Ukraine have any chance?

In today's political landscape, it's hard not to notice the growing divide and the erosion of informed discourse. As we navigate these turbulent times, I can't help but wonder: Have we reached a tipping point where ignorance has become the norm? Are we so far down the road that the public is ill-equipped to counter the latest governmental abuses?

It seems like the powers that be have successfully convinced many that losing is winning. The erosion of trust in institutions and the rise of misinformation can leave one questioning if we're collectively stuck in a cycle of intellectual stagnation.

Let's unpack this a bit:

• Media Influence: The media plays a crucial role in shaping public perception. However, with the rise of clickbait and sensationalism, the quality of information available has deteriorated. This makes it harder for individuals to discern credible sources from those pushing agendas.
• Historical Context: Looking back, periods of significant change have often been met with resistance and misinformation. The current era isn't unique in this aspect, but the speed at which information spreads today amplifies these challenges.
• Public Engagement: The shift towards more polarized debates can stifle open dialogue. When discussion becomes a battleground of talking points rather than fact-based exploration, it's harder to foster understanding.
• Intellectual curiosity: Encouraging critical thinking is essential. Without it, individuals risk being swayed by narratives that don't hold up under scrutiny.

So, while the situation seems dire, there's still room for hope. The challenge lies in recognizing our role as participants in shaping the narrative. We can choose to engage thoughtfully, seek out diverse perspectives, and remain curious.

Let's not lose sight of the power we hold in our collective intellect. By fostering critical thinking and a commitment to understanding, we can navigate these challenges and find our way back to a more informed public discourse.

What are the main criticisms of Linux in desktop platforms?

i don’t mean this to say that people with mental health conditions are all abusive, nor do i take your comments as a diagnosis, i’m more or less just curious. after all, only a professional could help the specific person.

i have been emotionally abused by someone. they can never accept their own faults or mistakes. telling them they made a mistake will set them off and cause outbursts of anger. they strictly adhere to rules and try to control people to follow a rigid set of them.

will often prey on weaknesses to make you stay with them because “no one understands you, just me”. discards you but comes back after a while and the cycle repeats.

often makes others feel bad about themselves, that they are the best/only good person and they should be the reliable one to come to when something’s wrong. in their eyes, you are worthless no matter what you do to change it.