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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: July 5th, 2023

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  • No, Bastard (Operators from Hell).

    Hopefully that checks out, even though it’s an old reference.

    (Also, agree with the original expression of the negative systemic evaluation of the US policing system, even if I don’t love the crude expression; and even though I’m contributing in a humourous satire of the expression)




  • There was a good discussion online between Christine Lemmer-Webber, one of the editors of the ActivityPub W3C Standard, and Bryan Newbold, protocol engineer at BlueSky.

    These are long reads. But they are worth reading. Christine and Bryan agree that ATProto and ActivityPub have different design goals and so what you get from “federation” with each is different. ATProto makes a centralized index of the entire system possible, at the cost of relying on very few (practically likely one) centralized providers.

    As a result, the Lemmy ecosystem, as it exists today, wouldn’t be possible with ATProto. It would probably look more like Reddit, but with a “credible exit” possible as a defense against enshittification.







  • The official @[email protected] account replied and doubled down

    [email protected] - @jonah

    Corporate capture of Dems is real. In 2022, we campaigned extensively in the US for anti-trust legislation.

    Two bills were ready, with bipartisan support. Chuck Schumer (who coincidently has two daughters working as big tech lobbyists) refused to bring the bills for a vote.

    At a 2024 event covering antitrust remedies, out of all the invited senators, just a single one showed up - JD Vance.

    1/2

    [email protected] - @jonah By working on the front lines of many policy issues, we have seen the shift between Dems and Republicans over the past decade first hand.

    Dems had a choice between the progressive wing (Bernie Sanders, etc), versus corporate Dems, but in the end money won and constituents lost.

    Until corporate Dems are thrown out, the reality is that Republicans remain more likely to tackle Big Tech abuses.

    2/2

    (Less importantly, my response)



  • Technically, you’re correct. In this particular case though, I don’t think it’s the best kind of correct.

    Juries are the triers of fact when present. In a civil case, that means the judge can ask all kinds of nuanced questions in the jury instructions, as that could be necessary for the judge’s application of the law later down the line.

    In the US criminal justice system, the laws are meant to be interpretable by the common person (a lot of work being done by “meant-to-be”). A judge only asks them a single question: For the charge X, how do you find? Since juries do not need to justify their decision, they can use whatever reasoning they want to behind closed doors to reach their decision: facts, ethics, or flipping a coin. The lawyers use voir-dire to try to exclude jurors that would be too biased, or would be willing to use a coin flip (juries almost universally take their job seriously—they hold the freedom of someone in their hands.)

    As mentioned elsewhere, an acquittal by a jury in the US is non-reviewable. It doesn’t matter why they acquit. Convictions, OTOH, are reviewable, and judges have famously thrown out guilty verdicts from juries before.





  • I hear the screams of the vegetables (scream, scream, scream)

    Watching their skins being peeled (having their insides revealed)

    Grated and steamed with no mercy (burning off calories)

    How do you think that feels? (bet it hurts really bad)

    Carrot juice constitutes murder (V8’s genocide)

    Greenhouses prisons for slaves (let my vegetables grow)

    We have to stop all this gardening (it’s dirty as hell)

    Let’s call a spade a spade (a spade is a spade is a spade is a spade is a…)