I find solace in doing things that will help others and maybe improve the world. Local food pantries and shelters need help now more than ever. Mutual aid groups can also be quite effective if nonprofits in your area are sparse or otherwise ineffectual.
Perhaps the actions of a few individuals won't change much, but I prefer it to sitting around and waiting for the world to burn to a crisp.
It's a bad position to be in. If they crash it will be bad, but if they keep growing and then crash it could be worse.
According to Chenoweth, the number refers to peak, not cumulative participation. She also says 3.5% is not absolute – even non-violent campaigns can succeed with less participation, according to her 2020 update to the rule.
That's the opposite of what her update said (well, it's rather misleading). Her update noted cases where nonviolence failed even when they beat 3.5% - including one case that achieved 6% participation. She did note that most successful attempts didn't need to reach 3.5%, but also that reaching that is no longer a guarantee.
Her original research only went to 2006, there's been a few recent cases which broke the rule. Like she said in her update, history isn't necessarily a predictor of future results. I think there are also some very recent cases like Nepal where 95% of the movement is nonviolent, but violence at the very end of the movement tips the scale. (IIRC something similar happened with the Iranian revolution, though the results of that were decidedly undemocratic in the long run). There's some nuance with Nepal as well- the organizers did not choose to go for violence, it was largely an unplanned mob reaction.
Based on the totality of her research (which is publicly accessible and based on publicly accessible data), I still think nonviolence is more likely to achieve success than violence, but it really annoys me when articles like this one overstate the effects. It makes it really easy to tear apart the argument.
I don't see the point in boycotting something that's free and doesn't make money off of selling my data. I suppose you aren't obligated to donate to it, but that was already true.
I suppose OTOH, I'm not pro-tankie, but I at least prefer tankies to the fascists and authoritarian capitalists (or whatever you want to call them) that run mainstream media. Harm reduction is the name of the game IMO, not finding a platform with a perfect set of political values aligning with yours (at least for me, I haven't run into many leftists who are also committed to nonviolence due to pragmatic reasons). The russia/ukraine stuff in that thread you link does look nasty, on the other other hand
As of December 22 at 22:30 CST, it's currently available at the internet archive. If that goes down and someone needs it, let me know, I have it saved.
Steam's business model does prevent it from pricing its consoles like Sony, Xbox, Nintendo, etc. since they need the console itself to be profitable, not just a means of bringing in games sales.
It's plausible that they're taking into account an uptick in overall game sales from this console - at least for me, I've been purchasing new games mostly off of steam rather than playstation/nintendo ever since I got a steamdeck - but you're right that they aren't going to sell at a loss.
Regardless of the price (and whether or not I even buy one), I think it's healthy to have another "big" player in the console market.
As this continues, I would highly recommend folks support their local food pantries as they are able. Cash is better, but there's nothing wrong with a food drive to collect cans from your neighbors. Some pantries also accept fresh produce, if you have some left from your garden this year.
Hey man, the playing-pinball-while-a-cat-interferes peertube community is very close-knit (https://video.apz.fi/).
I kid, but it's true that peertube lacks the dopamine hooks and variety that youtube does. It's much harder to sink hours into watching a bunch of videos that you'll only half remember by the next day.
When google shoves their ai to the top of search results, its hard not to read it. I've been spoiled by ublock and I am no longer used to ignoring the first few things that come up.
Ah, but they were wearing a bright yellow vest! Be honest - would you think twice if you saw someone wearing a safety yellow vest and carrying a drill? Apparently there was construction going on nearby as well, so the basket lift didn't really stand out.
Yeah, the tricky thing about the "analog" Renaissance is the folks going for film cameras, typewrites, vinyl, and so on are looking for higher-quality equipment, rather than "mass market" stuff. Kodak could plausibly rebrand itself to appeal to this crowd.
This is a valid concern that folks need to take into consideration. It's all well and good to say that long term liberty is more important than short term security, and I agree with that sentiment, but it's better not to force people to choose.
This is why there are strike funds. In this case, I would recommend mutual aid - even a small group of 5-10 people can work together to save money by buying essentials in bulk. Larger groups can help each other cover rent, form daycare coops, and so on.
Best time to start a group was a year ago, next best time is today.