stellargmite

Indeed. Authoritarians keep multiple sets of books. Reactionarianism might be near the top of the pile, with no particular ideology , let alone morality, being at the foundation. whatever is required in the moment to maintain power. Also worth pointing out that HK were promised universal suffrage by the CCP, under internationally ratified agreement. I realise this ship has sailed, but we should not forget what Hong Kongers have had stolen from them. And how we all lose because of it, especially those from the ‘main’land

Yeh and their own ‘R and D’ may have been leverage in the negotiation.

I switched in 2021. I havent noticed any fuckupery. Whats been happening ?

And the one who suddenly is concerned about ethics in regards to strikes . These Machiavellian creeps go from bad to worse with each day.

Pathetic little puppet state . Human life comes second to a few bucks for this embarrassment of a government.

There’s alot of actual news, and this story is non news beyond what occurred on the day. I switched off from NZ media completely due to the constant asinine repetition of what presumably they think I need to be hyperventilating about as well.

You should go to Aus and judge for yourself. They're also addicted to fossil fuels, and sports (which includes gambling). Funny thing is of all the many Australians I know, and all the many times I’ve been there, none I know seem to mention, do any gambling, take part in or work in gambling related areas. Anecdotal I know. I have seen casinos, and noticed many bars have gambling machines in them. And perhaps when you imply that all Australians are completely addicted, you don't literally mean “all”. Perhaps you mean a disproportionately large amount of the population in comparison with similarly sized economies with rule of law? Would need to chevk that. I know alcoholism is a big issue. Their economy is most likely addicted to gambling however, with many Western democracies being beholden to special interest groups, most citizens are well aware of what goes on in their democracies. There is also very strong and active rights groups, NGOs, activism and lobbying on all manner of social issues probably including this one. They currently have a slightly less conservative gov right now so perhaps things are being done. I’m with you on how damaging and nefarious gambling industries are to individuals and societies.

The nz SIS also turned a blind eye to people being kidnapped by united front on NZ shores and taken on Chinese ships to China. If one state is able to do this to NZ without our push-over government(s) taking any action what so ever, a cybersecurity threat level report is probably not even the tip of the iceberg. As usual we want cake and to eat it - trade partnerships are being juggled on either sides of the Pacific while NZers rights are trashed. Keep selling that milk powder.

Loneliness is also a thing, and I’d guess it’s rising. Falls under mental health also I guess. I also don't relate, but we can look at the history of sex tourism, ‘mail order brides’ , dating sites etc, scams in general and there is a fair bit of cross over maybe. Add to the mix these pseudo intelligent LLMs that seem to serve to please and here we are. What I don't get is how users falling for them aren't having the bubble burst by the context issues and inconsistent coherence. Perhaps loneliness and other mental issues result in us hearing/seeing what we want to. Self reinforced illusion to fullfill some sort of need. Just speculating tbh.

I’m amazed it didn't already as someone who has never used or heard one being used. What’s the business model? Just the data harvesting for purpose of their other businesses?

Presumably IRL they live in a fairly secular, non theocratic society, so perhaps its their chance to start a virtual cult. Strange that they're non specific about this higher being. Guess I could bring one of my equally fictitious higher beings on one of their fictitious raids.

You're right, but also They get alot more from the deal than you acknowledge. The service has never been free. They already had a profitable model, and now they want even more. I call it evil, but in a sense it’s standard corporate behaviour.