aasatru

joined 11 months ago
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

I think some of the greatest folk songs ever written recount events that have happened, and sometimes ties them together with some interpretation of whatever it might mean.

You could argue the assassination of JFK is such a monumental event that it doesn't need a song - just as I guess you could argue the same about the Titanic for -Tempest. I'd disagree - I'd say it would need an ever the greater song, and I think Dylan delivered perfectly in Murder Moust Foul.

I think most people would agree Blood on the Tracks is among Dylan's strongest, though it's hard to find an obvious meaning why it matters in most of the songs. They are incredible songs that take us along for the ride, and while it's sometimes interesting to ask "what", there's rarely any point in asking "why".

The whole album is full of crazy connections. Crossing the Rubicon has an insane amount of parallels to unpack. And I wouldn't say Goodbye Jimmy Reed is lacking in energy!

 

Immigration officials on Tuesday morning arrested 25-year-old union farmworker activist Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez in Sedro-Woolley, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement records and Juarez’s fellow organizers.

Juarez, who is a member of the Indigenous Mexican Mixteco community, has organized on behalf of farmworker rights in Washington state since he was 14 years old and worked as a berry picker, according to Rosalinda Guillen, a longtime activist leader and founder of social justice group Community to Community Development.

Guillen says Juarez called her shortly before 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday and she heard Juarez’s partner screaming and crying before the call abruptly ended.

“(It was) Lelo’s voice saying, ‘Leave her alone. She has nothing to do with this. I was just taking her to work,'” Guillen said.

An ICE spokesperson said Juarez is a citizen of Mexico and was ordered by an immigration judge to return there in 2018. Juarez “refused to comply with lawful commands to exit the vehicle he was occupying at the time of the arrest,” according to the spokesperson, and will remain in ICE detention during deportation proceedings.

Juarez was driving his partner to her job at a tulip bulb company in Mount Vernon, said Edgar Franks, political director for Indigenous farmworkers union Familias Unidas por la Justicia. Franks said officials broke Juarez’s window and forced him out of the vehicle. Juarez later called from an ICE facility in Ferndale, Whatcom County, and said he had been detained.

Protests were held in Tacoma yesterday.

 

There's a protest today in Tacoma against the detention of two Union members organized by the Washington State Labor Council.

The Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO is mobilizing union members, community, and supporters to the Tacoma NW Detention Center (1623 E J St, Tacoma, WA 98421) to protest the detention of union siblings Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez and Lewelyn Dixon tomorrow, Thursday, March 27. Supporters will gather in front of the detention center at 5:30 p.m.

Stay safe out there.

Cross-posted from !washington ([[email protected]](/c/[email protected])), for those who might be interested but who don't follow that community (yet). :)

 

Protest at Tacoma NW Detention Center - March 27 5:30 pm

For those in the Seattle/Tacoma area: There's a protest today against the detention of two Union members organized by the Washington State Labor Council.

The Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO is mobilizing union members, community, and supporters to the Tacoma NW Detention Center (1623 E J St, Tacoma, WA 98421) to protest the detention of union siblings Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez and Lewelyn Dixon tomorrow, Thursday, March 27. Supporters will gather in front of the detention center at 5:30 p.m.

Stay safe out there.

More information: https://thestand.org/2025/03/solidarity-with-detained-union-siblings

#Seattle #Tacoma #50501 #Washington #WashingtonState

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

Thanks for looking into it!

I think maybe it makes sense to consider three different levels of opposition.

The first is the actively anti-human assholes. This is the direction that the US has certainly taken, that the Torys are prone to, and that trans people are at the frontlines of right now. This is where people fuelled by hate actively want to strip people of rights. As far as I'm concerned it's really the same battle be it for trans people, women, minorities, hell, even white men who are not landowners. I think the people seeking to take our rights away here won't stop before they have destroyed everything. Trans people first, the rest of us second. I think we're blessed with this group being very tiny in Denmark.

The second is just pure neglect. I'd say this is where the Torys really shine. Not giving a shit and defunding the NHS gets you to the same point eventually, but just with less opposition. A lack of education could also be put in this box. Denmark is not immune to this, but I think the current government is making an effort at least it some areas that matter to me. That said, I'm not a big fan - I certainly wouldn't vote for them if I had the right to.

Then, third, there's the lack of action. This is just thinking that the current system is good enough. Opposition to gender quotas would be a typical example from the women's struggle - for trans rights, it's access to affordable trans health care. Here one depends on the realization that in order to achieve a just society, it's not enough to simply do nothing. I think this is where the fight is mostly taking place in Denmark. It is an important fight, but it's also miles ahead of the miserable shithole of the first level I listed (aka Amercia).

Then again, that's just my attempt to make sense of it. There is overlap between the levels, it's not always clear cut, and it's easy to slide downwards. But I think it's nevertheless important to acknowledge that the fight looks very different depending on contexts.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

Yeah, when I stated that it literally wouldn't be a dilemma any more it's because having the prisoners sitting in the same interrogation room would destroy it, the same way playing poker with your cards backwards would destroy the game to the point where it cannot really be considered poker any more.

Wasn't making a smarter point than that. :)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

I guess there's a reason people argued about this dilemma for so long in the literature. :)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago (2 children)

For cooperation to emerge between rational players, the number of rounds must be unknown or infinite. In that case, "always defect" may no longer be a dominant strategy. As shown by Robert Aumann in a 1959 paper, rational players repeatedly interacting for indefinitely long games can sustain cooperation.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Well, sure, it's if they are in the same room or they can hear through the walls or whatever. An actual flow of information, not just them lying to each other. I assumed that was obvious.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago (4 children)

Two prisoners are arrested.

Both are given a choice: Rat out your buddy, and we'll let you go with one year in prison. Keep your moth shut and we'll give you four years. If you keep your moth shut and your buddy rats you out, you'll get ten. If you both rat, you both get eight years.

The dominant strategy of both prisoners is to speak: In either case, ratting on their buddy will lower their punishment. However, if both prisoners choose this strategy, they end up losing collectively: Rather than both receiving four years as they would if they both kept their moth shut, they both yet eight years because they both talk.

That's the basics of the dilemma. The years don't matter, just the ranking of preferences.

If the prisoners can communicate, they will know that the other prisoner didn't talk, and if one prisoner opens his mouth, he will know that the other prisoner will immediately do the same.

I learned the prisoner's dilemma when I studied game theory. The fact that it depends on a lack of information flowing between the prisoners and that snitching is only the dominant strategy when it's a single-round game is just parts of the assumptions of the dilemma.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago (4 children)

I should also add that the prisoner's dilemma is only a dilemma when it is played in only one round. Once it becomes a game of several rounds cooperation arises as the dominant strategy.

Then again, I'm not sure how the prisoner's dilemma is relevant here in the first place, I just thought it was a funny point to make.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago (11 children)

The prisoner's dilemma depends on the fact that the two prisoners cannot cooperate. If you allow information to flow between them it's literally not a dilemma any more.

So yes.

If you mean cooperation with the police, how the hell did you derive that from my text?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I currently live in Denmark. I have to admit I'm not following the public debate here very carefully, and there are plenty of backwards people around who will shout loudly about just about anything, but any reversal (or anything else than gradual strengthening) of trans rights would come as a huge surprise to me.

I am open for the possibility that I'm simply not following close enough. But I think the problem with trans rights is that it has become politicized, when it is really not a political issue. The fact that I have not heard about it at all in the public debate here is therefore, in my opinion, a good sign. For sure one can dig up shitty opinions if one starts looking for it, but they have not been given a defining role in the public debate as is the case in many countries.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago (4 children)

Yeah, I'm not going to make the argument that people are fundamentally good either, and they are shaped by the media landscape they consume.

I live in a country where trans rights are not really questioned, and where I am feeling confident that they won't be. Of course it still has ways to go and there are bad people, but trans rights have not become effectively politicized and it's just not a point of contention.

It's no fundamental rule of society that we have to go around hating each other. It's a construct. That doesn't mean it's not the case where you live, but it's something that can be changed.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 1 week ago (19 children)

Leftists and other assorted humanists and progressives are wildly unpopular because most of the public simply can't imagine not having the sheer bloodlust they have for thy neighbor.

Believe it or not, this is not a necessity of human nature. It's just your society that's fucked up. And it's probably not even that bad if you go out and talk to people rather than judge society by the distorted reflection given on social media.

 

Very direct response to nazis in a community.

Cross-posting from !Resist

 

Rough and rowdy ways is as good as anything Dylan has ever released.

I loved Tempest, but Murder Most Foul takes commemorative song-writing to a level it has never seen before. I Contain Multitudes is ballsy as fuck, and Goodbye Jimmy Reed just rocks. No idea if it's an unpopular opinion. #Dylan

 

It's almost as if American tabloids have learned they can generate clicks by refusing to recognize the reality of the situation.

Steve Bannon whipped up the CPAC crowd by talking about the possibility of Trump staying in office for a third term—and concluded his speech by giving a provocative gesture that resembled the controversial salute Elon Musk gave at a post-inauguration rally last month.

The source is Bluesky. I would suggest not following the link to the Daily Beast.

Via @[email protected] on Mastodon.

 

The Europeans Podcast is a fully independent podcast on Europe and the EU, which I've found to be a great source to keep up to date on whatever is going on in the continent (in addition to this wonderful community, obviously).

This week they announced a fundraiser for a new mini-series — Who Does it Best — studying various policy fields across European countries, comparing best (and worst) practices in national solutions to common problems across the continent. They plan to start out with podcasts on housing, childcare, and drugs.

Basically, the question is how these policies are solved nationally across the continent. What are the solutions that work well, what are the solutions that work less well, and how can we learn from each other. So I guess it's something for the policy nerds.

They talk about the mini-series in their latest episode, or in this thread on Mastodon for those who prefer that.

Check it out! :)


I take the time to promote their effort because I like what they're doing with their podcast. It's completely independent, being funded almost entirely by their listeners. They've been going like this for seven years now, so they are clearly committed to the gig.

They also seem to have their principles in the right place. This is evident when they speak about tricky subjects — I find they tend to have well-researched an nuanced coverage — but also in their actions: I discovered them through their decision to have an active presence on the fediverse (@europeanspodcast), and they have been speaking favourably about Mastodon several times on their podcast since I started listening. So they're seem to be walking the walk, not only talking the talk, and taking their independence seriously.

Anyone interested in helping can find the fundraiser here. They're currently at just under €5k.

If you're not interested, I nevertheless recommend checking out the podcast! It's usually a great listen.

I hope this doesn't go under rule 2 of the community - it's a small independent undertaking that I think is of some interest to anyone interested in building a pan-European information landscape, so I feel like it doesn't fall under commercial advertising. But if the moderators disagree that's of course their decision - if so, sorry about that!

 

BEUC [the European Consumer Organisation] and 22 of its member organisations from 17 countries have filed a complaint on 12 September 2024 to the European Commission and the network of consumer protection Authorities (CPC-Network) to denounce several deceptive practices by leading video game companies (Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Mojang Studios, Roblox Corporation, Supercell and Ubisoft) marketing popular games (such as Fortnite, EA Sports FC 24, Minecraft, Clash of Clans and others) and affecting millions of European consumers.

The Norwegian Consumer Council's @finnmyrstad posted a thread about it on Mastodon:

2/ 🕹 According to our analysis, these companies are using misleading tactics that do not comply with the EU rules on unfair commercial practices. In particular we identified that:

🎰 Gamers cannot see the real cost of digital items, leading to overspending.

💵 Companies’ claims that gamers prefer in-game premium currencies are wrong.

⚖ Consumers are often denied their rights when using premium in-game currencies.

🚸 Children are vulnerable to these manipulative tactics.

 

Dear houseplant community,

Like the beginning of any good letter, I should probably have written you sooner.

Anyway, a friend of mine had this beautiful plant that she neglected for months, completely drying it out. At the end there were just a few leaves hanging half a meter from the plant itself, completely dried out.

I cut off a piece, gave it roots, potted it, and it went wild! Explosive growth, every new leaf bigger than the last. It was unlike anything I've ever seen.

A few months later, it had had enough. Leaves started curling up and withering. Growth halted. I thought maybe I had forgotten to give it water, but that wasn't it. Moving it to a sunnier spot didn't help either. Now it's almost completely dead, and I miss what we once had.

So, a couple of questions:

  1. Does anyone have any idea what went wrong? Did I water it too much? Too little?
  2. What can I do? Can it be saved? Does it need plant nutrition? A bigger pot? I'm afraid of doing anything, as it seems so fragile one bad move would surely be the end of it.

Thank you so much in advance!

Yours truly, Aa

@[email protected]

 

Makes me feel a bit better about my general political anxiousness.

 
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