It’s nice that a couple can do that. Today I would say most newlyweds are still renting their land.

Every movement has its participants and its leaders - whether they meant to be, or simply were by virtue of their actions and position. Imo, there is nothing more human than the genuine and wholesome acknowledgment of those who paved the way for us. As well as raising awareness about the negative impacts of systemic oppression.

We rely on sharing lived experiences to raise awareness: about how society needs to change, mental health issues, learning differences, diversity, and so on.

Some might be overly sensitive about such things, due to many negative cults of personality in recent times. However, don’t let those negative experiences affect the present positive one: Aaron Swartz and the negative consequences of systemic oppression.

Leaving this from the Reddit thread, since it was put so well:

I look forward to seeing how this is excused, justified, and quietly cheered on by some of our fine members. No doubt the babies were "guards" in the "open air prison" and were in fact apartheid babies.

And hey, you can't blame people for murdering dozens of babies, as long as those people have hard lives. And of course being known as the sort of people who would murder a bunch of babies has NOTHING to do with why they have hard lives.

Edit: Ok so far the top winners are, in no particular order:

"They had it coming"

"I'm not saying that they had it coming, but they had it coming."

"Give peace a chance."

And my favorite, the short lived "It didn't happen."

Raise the black flag 🏴‍☠️ a moral imperative.

Don’t let them take your hard earned money, giving the people nothing of real value, and giving artists and writers nothing of real value. Selling us cheap stuff, selling our data.

Their profits don’t come back to society in meaningful ways - they fight tooth and nail, using every loophole, loopholes they lobbied for, to avoid paying taxes. To pay less tax than hard working individuals. They will hide behind “the government collects the taxes they want to collect, it’s perfectly legal”, but they made it legal. They are the ones who control the ringing of the Wall Street bell. You don’t get to be a billionaire unless you are state-sponsored.

Amazon, of all, do not need ads. Just another cost they pass along to citizens.

If you’re on the fence, then let this be the beginning of your piracy as advocacy. Piracy as resistance.

Poland is not perfect. Yes, they did support. However, they have always been a bit xenophobic and insular. It’s kind of like that wacky uncle or person in your community. Really nice as long as you avoid certain subjects. Like the Holocaust. It was only a matter of time. Idk why they think they need to make this move. Why not support the clear war front - keep it from advancing further to your doorstep.

There’s an age limit btw: 30. 35 if you’re a veteran.

Millennials get shafted yet again.

Contrary to your opinion, an ideal President’s job is not to start or participate in civil or cultural wars. It is to help all of us. Even the ones who “don’t deserve it”. Denying aid also only plays into “their” hand. People who vote against government often complain that it’s never done anything for them. If it misses an opportunity to serve citizens, that failure only further chips away at the institution and democracy.

Republicans want that to happen. They have shown clearly at least since Nixon and neoliberalism that they want only one thing: to overthrow the people’s government entirely and replace it entirely with corporate capitalist overlords.

That’s why people leave voicemails… you leave a verbal note of why you’re calling. And if the receiver prefers to read a text about it, several services transcribe voicemails automatically good enough to get the general gist. Or they can listen to them.

The point is that people usually don’t set out to ruin your day or misbehave, and you cannot control other people’s experience, expectations and preferences, only your own. So it’s on you to know yourself well enough to manage your boundaries appropriately with technology/tools, and possibly communication, and not to blame other people for “missteps”. When what they are doing is likely perfectly within the realm of reason to them.

Especially if they have a disability and calls are easier for them. If you have the disability, you can communicate your preferences but don’t expect people to know immediately. Set up your tech accordingly to communicate your needs. And acclimate where you can.

If things “escalate”.. well… it’s likely your fault. We always need to look at our part first.

Very excited to check this out. I was so disappointed with the original airing.

I mean, I had friends who really enjoyed it. But Leia was too precocious and literally the only way the plot seemed to move forward, making Obi just weak and old seeming way before his time. They tried pushin her pet ladybug droid for marketing, I guess. The Vader confrontations looked scary but quickly became impotent. Wasted Hayden in flashbacks imo. Then they could have at least walked around the beam gate in the open desert.

It really did dirty strong actors, like Sen Organa (Jimmy Smitts), the female resistance soldier (sorry don’t recall her name offhand), Rupert Friend, Ewan himself.

Everyone, especially the fans, deserved so much better than another shameless grab from an out of touch executive team.

I think it’s about money and control. Slavery is a far more lucrative framework to a shortsighted business model that doesn’t value human life or input in the least beyond what it can earn. Think about exploiting a machine for unlimited gains vs waiting for people to work through a creative process, or rewrites. No breaks for hundreds or thousands. No day limits.

Then think about the people in power being able to implement their own (stupid) visions without any pushback or challenge. Want to incorporate your advertisers, backers or political agendas? Want to change your mind after you release? Responding instantly to testing? Boom. No creative pushback. No talent pushback or wrangling.

And they own it all outright if it came from their platform. Near total “self sufficiency”. There are so many stories about great movies or films that almost didn’t happen because one or several out of touch producers, or bean counters from accounting, almost ruined everything. (Thinking about “The Offer”, or more recently The Algorithm on “Barry”)

Eventually, maybe it could mean fewer unions to negotiate with if studios own both likenesses and writing process, or less bargaining power for the existing unions. They already own your face, or can compose “original” amalgams.

Much can be accomplished on a set / lot with computers as it is. Factor in non union performance, or weaker unions, and I bet they think they’ll print money. I am thinking like late career-Bruce Willis where it’s quantity over quality (before he announced his illness, he squeezed a few more millions out of his name and face doing a scene or two in a series of very low budget films). This would matter to many who care about quality, and ethics, however, look at network drama or procedurals like L&O. People in general can be far less discerning as long as it’s not too bad. In fact, they often prefer formula and tropes are tropes for a reason. Sometimes formulae are overt and sometimes it’s more subtle.

Is that all possible under current law? Do antitrust or monopoly laws cover this? I don’t know. I think pressure could shape laws as usual.

Just a thought experiment from a former entertainment professional. I side with unions of course against the executives and shadowy funders that make the millions behind the scenes. But take all with a grain of salt.

Edit: now I’m thinking about how cost and investment there is over a life to train people to achieve the necessary competence and ability (like any job, or any soldier), and how they could bypass some, or eventually all of that, knee capping human arts and culture. And to some degree literacy. We don’t belong in museums yet… Dang it >:(

It’s kind of reflective of the world right now - USA probably. Those in power are happily steamrolling the rights of disenfranchised people for money, while said people simply grumble but only change the channel. As long as there’s streaming, they stay in their lane.

Should be out in the streets!

16 years here. Hard but that’s life.