earthworm

I still haven’t gotten into this series, because it feels like there’s so much homework you have to do before you can play specific titles.

Is the argument that it’s okay for states to have a monopoly on violence as long as they’re consistent about it?

I’m not sure I want that, either.

You can consistently do the wrong thing.

Another reason to release the files, so we can breathe a sigh of relief when someone’s not in them.

If only I could Ctrl+Z seeing this comment…

You’re assuming we’d stop at Bruce Wayne.

The same people willing go after Batman are willing to go after Lockheed-Martin and every politician they paid for.

I agree.

Halloween is the context.
I said it was fine without context.

As in, on a normal day where people are not trick or treating (and therefore expecting candy)… it’s fine.

As long as they wash their hands first.

State violence is there to enforce rules, conquer territory or achieve political goals. Terrorism is there to create fear.

Many terrorist attacks were and are part of a campaign with explicit political goals, often including taking territory.

• The IRA’s political goal was to remove northern Ireland from the UK
• The Taliban’s political goal was to enforce a strict interpretation of Sharia law
• Hamas wanted to establish a Palestinian state

We just don’t call these behaviors terrorist attacks when they’re perpetrated by a state.

• Russia’s bombings of Ukraine
• Israel’s violations of the Geneva convention in the Gaza strip.
• The United States’ air strikes on Venezuelan ships

I’m not advocating for violence by anyone, but your argument buys wholesale into every state’s argument for why they should get to have a monopoly on it.

When a non-state actor does it, we call it “terrorism”. When a state does it, we call it “state violence”.

But the killing is the same. The desire to strike fear into opponents is the same. The goals are the same: to get power and control, or to keep it.

“Terrorism” is a word used and abused by state actors against smaller non-state actors, so that they can destroy it without having to negotiate (and possibly give concessions).

Trump is trying this now with Venezuela. If it’s a corrupt government, you still have to engage in diplomacy. If it’s a cartel, you have carte blanche to air strike Venezuelan ships.

The Taliban succeeded and now control the state of Afghanistan. Now that they’re a state actor, violence against civilians has not stopped, we just stopped calling it terrorism and seeing it in the news.

Oh, right, that holiday.

Without context, this is just… fine? As long as they wash their hands first.

Can someone explain?

I think maybe he wore the mask on purpose.

Just double-checking how long I’m supposed to boil this ramen for.

Yup. Still three minutes.

Launching October 1st, Gemini For Home is a suite of new AI-powered features for Google’s smart home hardware and software.

The biggest change: Gemini is replacing Google Assistant on all of Google’s smart speakers, all the way back to the original Google Home speaker. This LLM-powered upgrade, announced at Google I/O, will be available through an Early Access program at first, with a wider rollout planned for next year.

On smart speakers, Gemini brings an entirely new voice assistant that uses and understands natural language, can interpret context, and can pull in more real-time information. You still activate it with the wake words “hey Google,” but Google Assistant has been evicted.

“Gemini for Home is the intelligence for your entire home,” Anish Kattukaran, head of product at Google Home and Nest, tells The Verge. “It’s not going to just replace Assistant on speakers and displays, but it’s going to upgrade your other devices as well, your cameras and doorbells, where you interact with those devices, and bring those smarts collectively to your entire home.”

I’m not excited for Apple to invent smart homes after this, completing the duopoly of LLMs being in everyone’s homes even harder than before.

Long live Home Assistant

🫡

I downvote because it’s paywalled.

Paywalled links are just ads with extra steps.

How long until parliament decides to push the undo button on this stupid law?

Because he would have replaced them with people who willingly bought his book and then the American military would be fuuuuu…

Easy explanation: all of their constituents are equally immigrant disposable, they just don’t realize it until they get personally fucked by the politician they voted for.

The only “safe” people are the ones bankrolling them.

Desperately casting “Resurrect (Democracy)”

Imagining the astronauts recording TikToks in between their very serious space experiments.

I know there have been viral videos from space before, but like…

“Jerry? You’ve been on the space toilet for three hours.”

“My bad. I got caught up scrolling Lemmy on my space phone.”

Literally how??

I didn’t even know could access your own back records from space, let alone pull off Ocean’s Lesbian.