When I was a kid they taught penmanship too. I was awful at it but then when I was an adult I had a job where I actually had to use those skills and I was glad to have them - same with everything I learned in Home Ec, most the stuff I learned in wood/metal/auto shop, etc. I think all of those classes are extinct now, based on how people talk about school never teaching them anything useful.

Same here. I’ll drink whatever’s on tap but I don’t like Pepsi as much cuz it’s too sweet.

There are so many regional differences even if the recipe is 99% the same. Denatured coca leaves aren’t a thing outside the Americas, different bottling plants will use different types of sugar, water of differing quality will affect the taste, etc etc.

And IIRC it was after they had made a bunch of practical effects, so it’s not like it was saving them money or anything. The execs literally just said “re-do these parts but worse”.

Maybe your body is digested over a thousand years because the Sarlaac doesn’t catch very much prey so it has evolved a hyper-efficient digestive system and sits dormant most of the time, but also once you’re in Luke’s right and you’ll actually die of crushing or acid burning or dehydration.

But they also call it “The Almighty Sarlaac”, which to me implies that this is all folk knowledge. So maybe “be digested over a thousand years” is just what Tatooinians believe will happen to anyone who falls in.

Even if Luke’s right, it’s not like being held down by tentacles while stomach acid slowly burns every part of your body until you finally die of dehydration doesn’t sound pretty painful.

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Buddy Holly In My Ass

Yes, but as a specific exercise, the US government wants to spy on US citizens because if gives them the power to arrest you. You could be committing crimes right now and not realize it, but if you ever become a person of interest they will use them against you.

Of what use is specific data from specific nationals to a foreign government? They don’t have anywhere near the same level of power over your life as your home government does, unless you’re a defense contractor or a government official or something, all of that information is just fluff to them.

And not for nothing, but the original conversation was about Discord, which is partially owned by Tencent but partial ownership by a private Chinese firm does not give the Chinese government any kind of special control over the platform.

Power to do what, exactly? It’s not like China is going to get non-citizens extradited from their home country to punish them for saying bad things about the CPC. Believing in vague generalities doesn’t help anyone, you’ve got to be specific.

Why exactly do you believe the Chinese government wants the messages of non-Chinese citizens? Because Discord is blocked in China proper.

My first thought was “this is a much easier way for a Vampire to eat than stealing from a blood bank.”

The first step is denial, shortly thereafter, anger. I know it’s hard to accept that you’ve been lied to your entire life about something, but doing genuine research on socialist governments is what set me free from my own liberalism and it could do the same for you.

I’m not talking about watching YouTube videos either, I’m taking about reading books. When you’re ready, I recommend starting with Blackshirts and Reds by Michael Parenti.

The US government has not funded seventy years of flat earth propaganda which the majority of the population believes without question, so your point is a total non sequitur.

You’re right, a bunch of them want to go back!

unquestioningly believe Western propaganda about a country you’ve never been too

it’s OTHER people who are naive

'kay bud.

Been listening to Yeonmi Park, I see.

it’s not nearly an extreme hellhole like NK

North Korea is like ten times nicer than Russia, and definitely doesn’t belong on the same list as Taliban-controlled Afghanistan or still-a-warzone Syria, regardless of what you think of their government.

Hexbear’s largest and most site-threatening drama was over its vegan comm (and I think the mods of Reddit’s vegancirclejerk?). It ended with the site requiring content warnings on all pictures of meat.

But you know what? They were right. Vegans are basically right about everything, and the reason me and my fellow omnis get our jimmies so rustled by them is because we fucking know they’re right.

The whole IP paradigm needs to change. I can accept the logic that IP needs to exist in the first place so that people who invent something can get paid (at least in our current system) - but the term should be shortened to something like five years, or if it’s going to be longer there needs to be a list of events that immediately invalidate it, including the product no longer being legally available. IP shouldn’t be able to be traded between companies like a commodity, and it shouldn’t be able to be locked up to prevent it from going into the public domain.