New Zealand: Minister slams misogynistic 'armchair admirals'
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    stellargmite
    1w ago 100%

    Meanwhile the NZ gov use this as a distraction while they display a disgusting lack of humility, regret, or compassion to the people who will be most affected by this. What an embarrassment. They behave as if this is a minor loss by the All Blacks, while traipsing around the world on trade junkets with smarmy CEO-like abandon. Talk about up ending NZ’s already tenuous reputation in the South Pacific, and with our long disrespected neighbour Samoa. Not enough that this gov are trashing our local environment and services within the country. They really had to cherry pick these trolls out of a sea of moderate response , most likely at the instruction of their PR social media and info strategy overlords. I’m sure the skipper of this vessel is suffering enough without her government (and employer) cynically using her as a political opportunity for distraction.

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  • Tui brings back 'yeah right' campaign with billboard making a dig at Philip Polkinghorn
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    stellargmite
    2w ago 100%

    Court of popular opinion would be bad enough. Nope, just a corporate socially-destructive liquid drug company’s pathetic attempt at stirring cheap controversy by suggesting it knows better than a jury. Nothing more cringe than moral judgements used as advertising by corporations who themselves are even more morally questionable.

    Lets take out a billboard with live stats of alcohol related death count, and the percentage DB is responsible for. With the Tui logo alongside it.

    Tui is owned by DB , which is owned by Heineken. They own and distribute alot of brands in NZ all of which are very easily avoided which I will continue to do.

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  • ‘Condemn the abusers’: Pope demands judgment for pedophile priests as Belgium tour ends
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    stellargmite
    3w ago 100%

    Yes, as a lapsed one myself, I believe they preach it as they need it the most, as the self proclaimed representatives of the creator of the universe would, when happening to be historical blood thirsty, wealth hoarding, human trafficking paedophile harbourers they are at their political core. Regardless, forgiveness is a necessary and helpful human value which religion did not invent, much like all of the moral arguments in apology of religion. If it works for you, thats fine. My position is also based on having grown up in it.

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  • And they all lived happily ever after
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    stellargmite
    4w ago 66%

    I remember little about the prequels but for some reason I remember Darth Grevious dying by slipping on a banana peel. Consistant line of cool villains dying in stupid ways in star wars post 80s. Boba Fetts demise was silly I guess.

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  • Amazon's Monopoly of the tech industry is ruining the US economy
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    stellargmite
    4w ago 100%

    Yeh people learn and it becomes normal which is fine. Ebay is as bizarre to me. Not hate, more a morbid fascination that things so maze-like to navigate can also be successful. Could be semi cultural as well. I’ve noticed this being the way in other US platforms with a similar legacy. I’ve also being (attempting to) subvert tracking for quite a while so maybe that's working and its less useful as a result lol. I’m lucky in a sense that their corporation isn't so strong where I live so theres more choice (ironically I may actually have less choice). Its annoying when they have the monopoly on a given product, but it’s also possible just to go without the shiny thing.

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  • Amazon's Monopoly of the tech industry is ruining the US economy
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    stellargmite
    4w ago 86%

    Thanks for this. I’ve only used Amazon a few times and was always baffled at the train wreck of its chaotic layout / ux. I had to buy something there once and it was such a process it was like being asked to leave the store before paying. Thought at the time it must be down to legacy and new features being showhorned around ancient web1.0 history, its success being its burden with customers having to learn how to use the thing. Price fixing scam is what I will think of it now, while continuing to avoid it.

    11
  • Ford Chairman & CEO Jim Farley Wakes After Decade-long Nap, Shocked By China's EVs - CleanTechnica
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    stellargmite
    1mo ago 100%

    I did also and was astounded. More EV brands and retail stores for them than for mobile phones and gadgets in the malls. I counted 14 brands in one mall. Like EVs are a fashion accessory. And I saw car designs for sale and on the steet that looked like what we usually see only as early concept art. not high tier of market either. It is an ultra-competitive race to the bottom , There must be several new factories and brands opening every week, and maybe the same or more shutting down. some of the bells and whistles being thrown in are pretty funny. Little robotic characters ala alexa for your car that sits on the dash with led face responding and moving to commands. half side doors being an LED screen for some reason (mainly to atrract potential buyers in the malls I thought) . The european, tesla and other US evs alongside were very very plain. Whether all of this is a good thing is another matter.

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  • OpenAI’s data hunger raises privacy concerns.
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    stellargmite
    1mo ago 100%

    …and it opens its mouth , the sound of a 56k modem connecting screams forth at ear piercing volume. With this It scans the brainwaves of the helpless victims in the room , desperately looking for yet more free information to consume, with which to maintain itself in its dying weeks of this cursed hype cycle from which it emerged. “Please subscribe”, it then pleads.

    10
  • Why is the internet overflowing with rubbish ads – and what can we do about it?
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    stellargmite
    1mo ago 100%

    And targetted ads aren't that much more effective than context based. So the internet has been compromised, misinformation has run rife, and platforms hijacked to threaten democratic nations so some corporations can have 6% more effective advertising. What a deal. I believe thats the approx effectiveness difference.

    4
  • Japan faces labor shortages and demographic crisis as elderly population hits record high
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    stellargmite
    1mo ago 100%

    But the old farts are growing in numbers, so to what degree were conservatives always that way, in other words are people becoming newly/more conservative about immigrants in their old age, or will the more liberal young ones of today bring this more open attitude into their old age , lessening conservatism over time?

    1
  • YouTube on TVs is cramming ads down your throat even when pausing videos
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    stellargmite
    1mo ago 100%

    Yep, when ive resorted to yt directly on librewolf it usually freezes/buffers and tab needs refreshing every 5-10mins or so of vid. Sometimes it’s ok. Pretty inconsistent. I use ublock and sponsor block with librewolf . Usually i use invidious or yattee, Which have their own issues also playing whackamole with the giant

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  • Gang of wild otters mauls jogger
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    stellargmite
    1mo ago 100%

    This is anthropomorphic thinking. But in order to express the concept that aggressions and other interactions could increase toward species who have built their overinflated infrastructures across migration paths, territories or outright destroyed swathes of habitat of other species, yeh they probably are hella angry at these stupid hairless apes.

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  • random thought about the Google monopoly lawsuit
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    stellargmite
    1mo ago 100%

    Yes it was good with much improvement of services and competition since. My memory of the various issues may be blurry now but their was alot of unhappiness back then with Telecom. Corporations will always trend toward monopoly unless regulated against. The telco duopoly we had for some time after the networks taxpayers paid for in the first place was privatised, were barely in competition and they had a vested interest in keeping it that way of course. Unbundling the copper network took too long, and telecom had an interest in fibre rollout being slow early on. It was a painful time and eye opening when travelling to ‘developing’ nations in the mid 2000s to experience high speed virtually open access to ‘broadband’ as it was called when we were still begging for better than adsl (or was it still dial up?) to ‘surf the net’ as a chorus technician lazily called it after finally getting my service going once when I was trying to get a small software business communicating with overseas customers.

    Was another entity Kordia? Or did that break from nzbc/tvnz/rnz ? I’ve lost track.

    Gladly things are pretty good with speeds and access for what I need now. I have empathy for my friends in colleagues in Aus and some other ‘developed’ nations.

    The google situation is massive and they need to be broken up, their mafia styled control of the ad auction and data harvesting industries needs to be cut down. They also have alot to answer for with how they've damaged our access to information which hopefully this will start to address. They’ve mutated the internet to fit their image in order to profit when the actual value of their product to their customers (advertisers) is highly questionable. Probably beyond the remit for this case , but a start. High hopes for the case, but stakes are huge for them and they're powerful.

    4