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Joined
2 yr. ago

  • their way rather than how they should be.

    Every language has different sounds. It has long been understood that languages will translate words/names into versions they can actually hear and pronounce. Sadly, some people mock or demean people who try to speak a non-native language and make errors in it. In the U.S. it used to be fairly common to mock Asians coming from a language with only one liquid consonant sound for their inability to differentiate between 'r' and 'l' sounds.

    I know I can't hear the difference in various Russian language vowels and while I can hear tones, I don't know how I'd explain their pronunciation in an Anglicized name -- or if it would be relevant.

    While I appreciate that regional accents mean that non-U.S. citizens might not say "comma" the way it is heard in the U.S., I do expect that if a U.S. citizen tells me to pronounce their own name in a U.S. manner, then that is how it "should be" pronounced.

  • Maybe someone can look for it since I'm being lazy, but I coulda sworn I saw a piece around a decade ago about how sky burials were falling out of fashion in India/Nepal and it was impacting the vulture populations that partially depended on dead humans as a food source. Now I'm wondering if the issue was sky burials in decline or if it was poison in cattle -- or both.

  • I feel sorry for the kid. This sort of crap makes me angry.

  • And cameras. Don't forget to record what they are doing. I feel like this sort of interaction could go really wrong if there isn't a video record.

  • With all the new anti-voting laws, what percentage of young people can actually register to vote? Do they have valid ID? Can they get it? My grandmother died years ago, but she managed to make it 97 years without ever owning a photo ID. She didn't drive, but she had a voter card and the bank knew her by sight as well as signature. In today's world, I'm pretty sure she'd be disqualified from voting.

  • For folks who don't get to the page until it is scrubbed (which might not happen, but I expect it will), you are quoting from the "Editorial Reviews" section a quote by "Senator JD Vance"! 🫢

  • I updated the post with a new link. Business Insider says they could hold certain mutual funds, and they link to a PDF of the full text -- but it is a seemingly random documentcloud.org link of the sort where one might not trust anonymous users, so I leave it to you (and anyone else) to decide if you trust Business Insider and follow the link there.

  • It is a somewhat specific 'special interest', but if you have an interest in pro-choice democratic women running for office, then maybe emilyslist.org. The name stands for, "Early Money Is Like Yeast". They look for women who might not be in politics to get them to run in state elections -- not just federal.

  • Permanently Deleted

    Jump
  • Cory Doctorow has been calling out this enshittification for years. The whole read is good, but here is a sample chunk:

    Amazon's monopoly (control over buyers) gives it a monopsony (control over sellers), which lets it raise prices everywhere, at Amazon and at every other retailer, even as it drives the companies that supply it into bankruptcy.

    Amazon is no longer a place where a scrappy independent seller can find an audience for its products. In order to navigate the minefield Amazon lays for its sellers (who have no choice but to sell there), these indie companies are forced to sell out to gators (aggregators), which are now multi-billion-dollar businesses in their own right:

    See also his piece Amazon is a ripoff.

    A combination of self-preferencing (upranking Amazon's own knock-offs), pay-for-placement (Amazon ads), other forms of payola (whether a merchant is paying for Prime), and "junk ads" (that don't match your search) turn Amazon's search-ordering into a rigged casino game.

  • Axios doesn't mention Gaza, no, but here's some other reporting:


    From the Jerusalem Post:

    Ben-Ami said Harris has consistently supported a two-state solution while being clear on Israel’s right to defend itself.

    She has also been a powerful voice calling for greater protection of Palestinian civilians in the wake of October 7, speaking out about the humanitarian crisis, and pressing for an urgent ceasefire to free the hostages and end the devastation, Ben-Ami added.

  • He’s already been considering this for at least a week or more.

    He and his team have considered it, but I doubt Trump is capable of preparing for it. His team will try, but -- like Biden -- he is an old man past his prime. Voters do not want Project 2025, so Trump's team CAN'T talk about it with anything but denial, and that is the only 'plan' they have. The rest is a few insults that Trump repeat over and over, to which Harris can say, "I'll take the insults if it keeps necessary abortions legal. I'll take it to keep schools open. To improve them. To make sure [insert message here] is expanded, not abolished."

  • You don't see them. You are on the ice and so are they. They hunker down and purposefully cover their nose with their paw when you look in their direction. When you look away, they creep closer until your head starts to turn again. They don't want you don't see the little black spot getting closer and closer. If you are lucky and looking around while you are out on the ice, you will see a little black spot disappear. If you do. GET OUT NOW. If the spot was big enough to notice, the bear is probably close enough to charge. I hope your snow machines are close and ready to go.

  • They are trying very hard not to mention Project 2025 (bullet points). They're even saying they won't really do that stuff... while standing with the authors. They know most Americans are against their stuff, so they talk about anything OTHER than their plan to: eliminate the Department of Education, cut and overhaul Medicaid, roll back the recent law banning surprise medical billing, and revoke FDA approval of the abortion pill mifepristone, and so many other horrible things. Instead, they're gonna mispronounce Kamala's name and make fun of her laugh.