European legal systems are largely built around the idea that courts are apolitical, and that judges make their decisions neutrally based on the word of the law and the facts of the case.

This is of course impossible, but some people—especially judges themselves—are afraid that the system would collapse if the public learned how political the work of courts really is. So when France started publishing all the judgments of their courts to the public, they also forbade the public from studying individual judges.

It’s pretty funky.

Of course, studying the performance of individual judges is criminalized in France, so we have very limited ability to know about their individual performance. :)

It’s a huge lie that judges are neutral, but some argue it’s a necessary lie.

Also they are so negative all the time!

Political defined as:

Pictures containing a politician from any country

Which is a prettyanageable definition. It’s a cliche that everything is political, but it’s also somewhat true. Banning pictures from protests would be a weird move IMHO.

I kind of agree, but on the other hand it’s quite a good snapshot. It really does capture a moment in history and the failure of a country, in all its blurredness.

If this was a photography community, I would be more reluctant. But it’s an interesting pic.

I think that would be most people these days.

Pretty disappointing stuff, especially concerning the potential for joystick drift and the gluing of the battery. If they haven’t fixed drift I think I have no choice but to skip this generation.

But in the US the genocide was largely carried out by random people shooting folks for fun from their train wagons, in Israel it’s carried out by the professionally organized army of an allegedly democratic nation. Very different.

Even when the US army was directly involved (no small degree, especially if you don’t accept Native American warriors as military targets), its actions were not driven by Democratic institutions. Sure, people voted for leaders who supported genocide, but the genocide was not the direct result of democratic institutions malfunctioning. In Israel it is.

Oh, I have no doubt the Daily Mail wanted Thunberg dead long before she spoke out against Israel.

They’re far beyond that point. Their only concern right now is to finish their genocide before they’re stopped.

Yes, it’s not that genocide has never happened in democracies. But in the US, democratic institutions were not the driving factors behind the genocide: you did not have actors locked in to their genocidal actions due to the democratic institutions. Democracy and genocide in America were two largely separate things.

My idea here is that while the genocides on Native Americans were genocides in a democracy, Israel’s genocide can be categorized as a genocide by democracy. It is made possible, or at the very least worse, by democratic institutions (however flawed).

It’s just a shower thought really, I might obviously be wrong. But I have a fairly good overview of the history of genocide and I am fairly certain this one is unique in this regard.

I really think celebrity changes the nature of this. I suspect the media’s urge to cover celebrity news is even greater than their urge not to talk about Israel’s crimes.

Indeed - I think one of the big takeaways from this for the international community will be just how incompatible apartheid is with democracy. It has been obvious to (honest) observers and to supporters of Palestine for a long time, but recent experiences in Israel shows how democracy is not worth the paper of the ballots if democracy does not extend to everyone.

Seeing how Netanyahu deals with criticism from the Israeli opposition will be extremely interesting. I think it’s safe to say liberal Israelis have bigger things to worry about than Hamas.

I don’t know many israelis, but the ones I do know are on the streets protesting all the time now. Accounts differ, but there are many signs that Netanyahu is not particularly popular even at home these days.

What is pretty unique about Israel’s genocide is that it is strangely democratic in nature. Sure, Israeli democracy is hardly a democracy at all, but it plays by democratic rules for the part of the population who are considered full citizen. And within this democratic system Netanyahu and his crooks have painted themselves into a corner, where they need to appease the most extremist extreme right terrorists they have chosen as coalition partners. Because the second they stop the government will fall and they will almost certainly be prosecuted for crimes against humanity.

So the combination of the existence of these crimes and the democracy-like institutions in Israel are actually forcing Netanyahu to double down on genocide. It’s pretty crazy.

In the third Reich, the first thing the NSDAP did was to abolish democratic institutions. Israel’s genocide is very different - dynamics of democratic government are actively fueling the fire of their holocaust. It’s the first ever democratic genocide. When the dust settles, I think this is going to give us a lot to think about.

I wonder how many civilians in Gaza Israel would have to murder in order to gain the same amount of press as they would receive for killing two famous white people.

I suspect there were never enough people there to solve this equation.

A rule of thumb for weirdness in age difference is age/2+7, leaving you at 51/2+7=32,5. So going by that, 30 is a bit on the young side, which is obvious also from the fact that you felt the need to create this thread.

If one person would be in a position to judge you for it (or rightfully feel weird about it) it’s your daughter. It’s safe to say she seems cool with it, so whatever.

Some context:

Rachel Anne Accurso (née Griffin; born November 30, 1982), better known as Ms. Rachel, is an American YouTuber, social media personality, singer, songwriter, and educator. She is best known for creating the YouTube series Songs for Littles, a children’s music series focused on language development for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.

Mad respect for her standing up and fighting for what’s right. Bravery is a rare trait in America these days.

on many communities and instances

Bingo!

We have no ambition of being more lenient than Reddit, it’s just less centralized. If people want to be bigots they can find themselves an instance and a community for that, and other people can choose not to be exposed to their bullshit. That’s the whole point.

Also, the UKSC judgment is a pseudo-scientific piece of junk. Agreeing with it is a big-ass red flag.

What is it like?

For me, it’s my favourite thing in the world. I feel more at home when I’m in the middle of the mountains not having seen people for days than when I’m in any building I’ve ever lived in. We evolved for these conditions, and at least for some of us it resonates with our souls - much like the ocean calls to others.

The experience of hiking is a bit like running, just dragged out over days. In the beginning you have energy. At some point you get tired, and you might want to stop for a while and you’re worried if you’re going to make it. And then you push through, and suddenly your body is in walking mode. So don’t get too worried if you start feeling tired early in the hike.

As for the tent, the experience varies a lot. Is it raining? Are there lots of mosquitoes or midges? Is it cold? Are you walking until sunset, or do you have time at the camp site? What is the terrain you put your tent on?

You generally don’t have the answer to those questions. I have had a wide variety of experiences in tents - crazy tent pole-breaking winds, thunderstorms beyond anything I believed was possible, floods, cows trying to graze underneath the tent in the middle of the night. Most of the time though the biggest event is waking up to the view, or going out to take a leak at night and enjoying the night sky.

The important thing is to always be flexible and open to improvise. When you’re in up there you’re at the mercy of the mountain, and you adjust your plans accordingly. Many mountain folks believe that the mountain has a will of its own that needs to be respected, and I don’t hink it’s too far from reality. Following from that is that the experience is never completely predictable, which is part of what makes its appeal infinite.

Enjoy!

It, uhm, predicts tokens?

If calling it a word predictor is oversimplifying, I mean.