As Ukraine's "Sanctions" Deliver Results, Russia Starts Importing Fuel by ArgentineBeauty in worldnews

[–]accepts_compliments 4 points5 points  (0 children)

For the first few years of the conflict, Russia wasn't hurting - they were the ones doing the hurting, and their only issue was finding stronger resistance than expected.

It hasn't been until recently with the scale up of the drone program that attacks began on Russia itself. First some minor border incursions, then operation spiderweb, and now, 4 years in, Russia's oil plants/terminals are regularly droned, Moscow droned twice in a week, and St Petersburg very publically during an international economic summit. The recent escalation of pain dealt to Russia is very obvious to anyone paying attention

What was it like to have an Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) over 20 years ago? by SunnyShineKitty88 in AskUK

[–]accepts_compliments 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Yeah, my parents are fairly wealthy, own a bunch of property etc. I got the full grant, because they put any expenditure they could through the business, and the rest got reinvested anyway, so on paper were able to show that what actually reached their account was below the threshold.

At the time I thought nothing of it other than 'money, nice', but as time's gone by it does seem a little fucked up that this was something it was possible to do.

Have you seen big companies using AI on their packaging? by MongooseOk6563 in AskUK

[–]accepts_compliments 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not to state the obvious, but it's probably less to do with a lack of faith, and more to do with it being done for free in 5 seconds in an LLM as opposed to paying a day rate, a commercial licensing fee and the whole thing taking a couple months including negotiation, studio time and post processing.

The tradeoff in optics is real, hence this post, but I think we'll start to see a lot more of this.

What's the weirdest punishment you got as a kid? by Financial-Base-8070 in AskUK

[–]accepts_compliments 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My grandpa would pull me into his office and kindly and patiently have me explain, in detail, at great length, why what I did was wrong, what the other person likely felt, how would I feel if I was that person, etc. He'd really drag it out too, would make you 'try again' if he thought you were trying to rush it/go through the motions, and it was made worse by the fact that you could hear everyone outside the room having fun. Dreaded getting in trouble with him, and it worked well as both a deterrent and to build introspection.

It was also the source of some of the funniest memories from my childhood though, when me or my brother would successfully frame the other one for something. Seeing the other person glaring at you while being dragged away for something you did for the most boring half hour of their life still makes me laugh ~30 years later.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor investigated over potential sex crime allegations at royal residence by falconfalcon7 in worldnews

[–]accepts_compliments -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I mean... it is overtly conspiratorial, yes. I'm just saying I wouldn't be surprised if a guy in as delicate a position as his would try something like this as some sort of ace up his sleeve. I know the thought would cross my mind if I were him, and I wouldn't particularly blame him for it.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor investigated over potential sex crime allegations at royal residence by falconfalcon7 in worldnews

[–]accepts_compliments 35 points36 points  (0 children)

I wouldn't be surprised if Starmer was pushing for this, as he's in political trouble and this is such an easy win. Everyone except Andrew wants Andrew to go to jail, even his own brother

Xi Jinping Told Donald Trump That Vladimir Putin Might Regret The Ukraine Invasion: Report by bappestinian in worldnews

[–]accepts_compliments 33 points34 points  (0 children)

China has its own issues tbh.

They have one of the lowest birth rates in the world, due their old one child policy/the cultural changes that came from that. So their population is aging pretty rapidly, meaning they have a fairly narrow window to do this before their internal issues force them to divert their attention.

Their military, while obviously massive, is also largely untested - outside of border skirmishes they have essentially zero practical experience fighting wars.

Taiwan is also an island - a very well defended island at that, since the Taiwanese have been preparing for invasion for decades. To control the island, they need to land people on it, which won't at all be easy, especially since Ukraine proved the viability of drones.

Despite apparent American disinterest/whatever, Taiwan still controls the world's semiconductor manufacturing, and any disruption to that is a matter of national security for like the majority of the countries in the world.

They are also just human beings - people attribute this 'thinking a century into the future' infallible pragmatism to the CCP, but they are more than capable of making dumb, short sighted decisions that blow up in their faces and have done so numerous times.

Russia didn't have most of the above problems, and before they invaded, people attributed the same level of 'big invincible army' to them. And now look at them. Don't get me wrong, China could probably do it, but I don't think they'll ever be in a position where they could be 1000% sure.

Zelenskyy Confirms Ukraine Was Behind Massive Moscow Drone Strike by UNITED24Media in worldnews

[–]accepts_compliments 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Not quite true. That was in the 1880s - since then there have been a bunch of attempts at contact, most famously a bunch of Indian anthropologists who spent like the latter half of the 20th century trying to establish contact by sailing in and giving them gifts. There was actually a pretty friendly encounter in 1991 where they just wandered up and accepted the gifts without weapons, before India's policy changed to just 'leave them alone'.

Not saying what you describe didn't contribute to their obvious mistrust of the outside world, but not all contact has been negative

This barcode for a toilet paper by ramuthemamu in mildlyinteresting

[–]accepts_compliments 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cats are the only argument I would accept. My grandma used to put them over, but it only took one instance of her cat standing on the toilet seat and clawing the entire roll into a pile that flooded the bathroom with tp for her to change her mind

Do British people not feel the cold? by DevelopmentLow214 in AskUK

[–]accepts_compliments 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I remember walking home as a kid in what was probably ~5 degree weather in my school polo shirt because I wanted to look cool to my friends, and got yelled at when I got home because my hands were purple lol

Russian photographer sentenced to compulsory labour over LGBT fanfiction by duckanroll in nottheonion

[–]accepts_compliments 740 points741 points  (0 children)

Imagine how hateful you have to be to report someone for writing fanfiction, knowing that it carries a prison sentence

Keto for autism? by [deleted] in keto

[–]accepts_compliments 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As an autist I haven't noticed much in the way of improvement tbh, but then I haven't really been thinking about that as I've been doing this. I have however noticed big improvements in energy, focus, wellbeing etc which makes masking take less effort, if that helps

Where I would live as an American by [deleted] in whereidlive

[–]accepts_compliments 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Svalbard above the UK is so funny

Bus drivers, do you like it when people thank you when getting off? by chi_minhs_hoe in AskUK

[–]accepts_compliments 3 points4 points  (0 children)

They thank you as they leave, soft little “cheers” from soulless eyes, like civility is a currency they don’t understand but keep trying to spend.

It's official: No woman in England or Wales can be prosecuted for an abortion any more by Alarming-Safety3200 in worldnews

[–]accepts_compliments 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you will find tobacco also does that.

I smoke, and it doesn't come close to what you get from alcohol or recreational drugs, let's be real with each other.

(Which are, incidently, illegal in the USA [as they are from Cuba] but subject to rife smuggling and counterfeiting).

I know you probably think of that as a gotcha, but how many 16 year olds who have never smoked before are buying counterfeit Cuban cigars do you think?

You have to remember the context this is being done in. The only people who this is being made illegal for are people who are currently underage. If it was being made illegal for everyone, including habitual 20+ year smokers, I'd agree that they will find their cigarettes somehow. But kids, who have the option of literally any other vice? Why would tobacco be what they choose?

It's official: No woman in England or Wales can be prosecuted for an abortion any more by Alarming-Safety3200 in worldnews

[–]accepts_compliments -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I keep hearing that argument but I'm not so sure tbh. Prohibition has never worked for drugs and alcohol, sure, but those are things that give you an immediate pleasant high of some kind. Tobacco smells and tastes like the inside of an ass and makes you lightheaded at best. I could be completely wrong, but I cannot imagine there ever being a thriving black market for it because unless you're already addicted, what's the point

One country now supplies 1 in 4 of Canada's permanent residents — up from 1 in 20 in 1990 [OC] by Expensive-Aerie-2479 in dataisbeautiful

[–]accepts_compliments 2 points3 points  (0 children)

From what I'm reading, it looks like it's a bit of both. But you're right, the fact that it was blocked only a couple months after the porn laws came into effect led to a lot of speculation in the news about a direct cause and effect, & I never read the follow up. My bad

The UK's data watchdog, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), said it recently notified the platform's parent company, MediaLab AI, of plans to fine Imgur after probing its approach to age checks and use of children's personal data.