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mostlysignssomeportents · 11 months ago

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A profoundly stupid case about video game cheating could transform adblocking into a copyright infringement

I'm coming to DEFCON! On Aug 9, I'm emceeing the EFF POKER TOURNAMENT (noon at the Horseshoe Poker Room), and appearing on the BRICKED AND ABANDONED panel (5PM, LVCC - L1 - HW1–11–01). On Aug 10, I'm giving a keynote called "DISENSHITTIFY OR DIE! How hackers can seize the means of computation and build a new, good internet that is hardened against our asshole bosses' insatiable horniness for enshittification" (noon, LVCC - L1 - HW1–11–01).

Here's a weird consequence of our societal shift from capitalism (where riches come from profits) to feudalism (where riches come from rents): increasingly, your rights to your actual property (the physical stuff you own) are trumped by corporations' metaphorical "intellectual property" claims.

That's a lot to unpack! Let's start with a quick primer on profits and rents. Capitalists invest money in buying equipment, then they pay workers wages to use that equipment to produce goods and services. Profit is the sum a capitalist takes home from this arrangement: money made from paying workers to do productive things.

Now, rents: "rent" is the money a rentier makes by owning a "factor of production": something the capitalist needs in order to make profits. Capitalists risk their capital to get profits, but rents are heavily insulated from risk.

For example: a coffee shop owner buys espresso machines, hires baristas, and rents a storefront. If they do well, the landlord can raise their rent, denying them profits and increasing rents. But! If a great new cafe opens across the street and the coffee shop owner goes broke, the landlord is in great shape, because they now have a vacant storefront they can rent, and they can charge extra for a prime location across the street from the hottest new coffee shop in town.

The "moral philosophers" that today's self-described capitalists claim to worship – Adam Smith, David Ricardo – hated rents. For them, profits were the moral way to get rich, because when capitalists chase profits, they necessarily chase the production of things that people want.

When rentiers chase rents, they do so at the expense of profits. Every dollar a capitalist pays in rent – licenses for IP, rent for a building, etc – is a dollar that can't be extracted in profit, and then reinvested in the production of more goods and services that society desires.

The "free markets" of Adam Smith weren't free from regulation, they were free from rents.

The moral philosophers' hatred of rents was really a hatred of feudalism. The industrial revolution wasn't merely (or even primarily) the triumph of new machines: rather, it was the triumph of profits over rent. For the industrial revolution to succeed, the feudal arrangement had to end. Capitalism is incompatible with hereditary lords receiving guaranteed rents from hereditary serfs who are legally obliged to work for them. Capitalism triumphed over feudalism when the serfs were turned off of the land (becoming the "free labor" who went to work in the textile mills) and the land itself was given over to sheep grazing (providing the wool for those same mills).

But that doesn't mean that the industrial revolution invented profits. Profits were to be found in feudal societies, wherever a wealthy person increased their wealth by investing in machines and hiring workers to use them. The thing that made feudalism feudal was how conflicts between rents and profits cashed out. For so long as the legal system elevated the claims of rentiers over the claims of capitalists, the society was feudal. Once the legal system gave priority to profit over rent, it became capitalist.

Capitalists hate capitalism. The engine of capitalism is insecurity. The successful capitalist is like the fastest gun in the old west: there's always a young gun out there looking to "disrupt" their fortune with a new invention, product, or organizational strategy that "creatively destroys" the successful businesses of the day and replaces them with new ones:

https://locusmag.com/2024/03/cory-doctorow-capitalists-hate-capitalism/

That's a hard way to live, with your every success serving as a blinking KICK ME sign visible to every ambitious person in the world. Precarity makes people miserable and nuts:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/19/make-them-afraid/#fear-is-their-mind-killer

So capitalists universally aspire to become rentiers and investors seek out companies that have a plan to extract rent. This is why Warren Buffett is so priapatic for companies with "moats and walls" – legal privileges and market structures that protect the business from competition and disruption:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/warren-buffett-explains-moat-principle-164442359.html

Feudal rents were mostly derived from land, but even in the feudal era, the king was known to reward loyal lickspittles with rents over ideas. The "patents royal" were the legally protected right to decide who could make or do certain things: for example, you might have a patent royal over the production of silver ribbon, and anyone who wanted to make a silver ribbon would have to pay for your permission. If you chose to grant that permission exclusively to one manufacturer, then no one else could make it, and you could charge a license fee to the manufacturer that accounted for nearly all their profit.

Today, rentiers are also interested in land. Bill Gates is the country's number one landowner, and in many towns, private equity landlords are snappinig up every single family home that hits the market and converting it to a badly maintained slum:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/22/koteswar-jay-gajavelli/#if-you-ever-go-to-houston

But the 21st Century's defining source of rent is "IP" – a controversial term that I use here to mean, "Any law or policy that allows a company to exert legal control over its competitors, critics and customers":

https://locusmag.com/2020/09/cory-doctorow-ip/

IP is in irreconcilable conflict with real property rights. Think of HP selling you a printer and wanting to decide which ink you use, or John Deere selling you a tractor and wanting to tell you who can fix it. Or, for that matter, Apple selling you a phone and dictating which software you are allowed to install on it.

Think of Unity, a company that makes tools for video-game makers, demanding a royalty from every game that is eventually sold, calling this "shared success":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/03/not-feeling-lucky/#fundamental-laws-of-economics

Every time one of these conflicts ends with IP's triumph over real property rights, that is a notch in favor of calling the world we live in now "technofeudalist" rather than "technocapitalist":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/28/cloudalists/#cloud-capital

Once you start to think of "IP" as "laws that let me control how other people use their real property," a lot of the seemingly incoherent fights over IP snap into place. This also goes a long way to explaining how otherwise sensible people can agree on expansions of IP to achieve some short-term goal, irrespective of the spillover harms from such a move. Hard cases make bad law, and hard IP cases make terrible law.

Five years ago, some anti-fascist counterdemonstrators hit on the clever idea of blaring top 40 music during neo-Nazi marches, on the theory that this would prevent Nazis from uploading videos of their marches to Youtube and other platforms, whose filters would block any footage that included copyrighted music:

https://memex.craphound.com/2019/07/23/clever-hack-that-will-end-badly-playing-copyrighted-music-during-nazis-rallies-so-they-cant-be-posted-to-youtube/

Thankfully, this didn't work, but not for lack of trying. And it might still work, if calls for beefing up video copyright filters are heeded. Cops all over the place are already blaring Taylor Swift songs and Disney tunes to prevent their interactions with the public from being uploaded:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/07/moral-hazard-of-filternets/#dmas

The same thinking that causes progressives to recklessly argue in favor of upload filters also causes them to demand that web scraping be treated as a copyright crime. They think they're creating a world where AI companies can't rip off their creation to train a model; they're actually creating a world where the Internet Archive can't capture JD Vance's embarrassing old podcast appearances or newspaper editorial boards' advocacy for positions they now recant:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/17/how-to-think-about-scraping/

It's not that Nazi marches are good, or that scraping can't be bad – it's just that advocating for the use of IP to address either is a cure that's not just worse than the disease – it's also not a cure.

A problem can be real, and still not be solvable with IP. I have enormous sympathy for gamers who rail against cheaters who use aftermarket hacks to improve their aim, see through buildings, or command other unfair advantages.

If you want to tell a stranger how they must configure their PC or console, IP ("any law that lets you control your competitors, critics or customers") is an obvious answer. But – as with other attempts to solve real problems with IP – this is a cure that is both worse than the disease, and also not a cure after all.

Back in 2002, Blizzard sued some hobbyists over a program called "bnetd." Bnetd was a program that provided a game-server you could connect to with the Blizzard games that you'd bought. It was created as an alternative to Battlenet, Blizzard's notoriously unreliable game-server software that left gamers frustrated and furious due to frequent outages:

https://www.eff.org/cases/blizzard-v-bnetd

To the public, Blizzard made several arguments against bnetd. They claimed that it encouraged piracy, because – unlike the official Battlenet servers – it didn't check whether the copies of Blizzard software that connected to it had a valid license key. Gamers didn't really care about that, but they did respond to another argument: that bnetd lacked the anti-cheat checking of Battlenet.

But that wasn't what Blizzard took to the court: in court, they argued that the hobbyists who made bnetd violated copyright law. Specifically, Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which bans "circumvention of access controls to copyrighted works." Basically, Blizzard argued that bnetd's authors violated the law because they used debuggers to examine the software they'd paid for, while it ran on their own computers, to figure out how to make a game server of their own.

Blizzard didn't sue bnetd's authors for pirating Blizzard software (they didn't – they'd paid for their copies). They didn't sue them for abetting other gamers' piracy. They certainly didn't sue them for making a cheat-friendly game-server.

Blizzard sued them for analyzing software they'd paid for, while it was running on their own computers.

Imagine if Walmart – one of the biggest book-retailers in America – had a policy that said that you could only shelve the books you bought at Walmart on shelves that you also bought at Walmart. Now imagine that Walmart successfully argued that measuring the books you bought from them and using those measurements to create your own compatible book-case violated their IP rights!

This is an outrageous triumph of IP rights over real property rights, and yet gamers vocally backed Blizzard in the early noughts, because gamers hate cheaters and because IP law is (correctly) understood as "the law that lets a company tell you how you can use your own real, physical property." Hard cases make bad law, hard IP cases make batshit law.

It's more than 20 years since bnetd, and cheating continues to serve as a Trojan horse to smuggle in batshit new IP laws. In Germany, Sony is suing the cheat-device maker Datel:

https://torrentfreak.com/sonys-ancient-lawsuit-vs-cheat-device-heads-in-right-direction-sonys-defeat-240705/

Sony argues that the Datel device – which rewrites the contents of a player's device's RAM, at the direction of that player – infringes copyright. Sony claims that the values that its programs write to your device's RAM chips are copyrighted works that it has created, and that altering that copyrighted work makes an unauthorized derivative work, which infringes its copyright.

Yes, this is batshit, and thankfully, Sony has been thwarted in court to date, but it is steaming ahead to the EU's highest court. If it succeeds, then it will open up every tool that modifies your computer at your direction to this kind of claim.

How bad can it be? Well, get this: the German publishing giant Axel Springer (owned by a monomaniacal Trumpist and Israel hardliner who has ordered journalists in his US news outlets to go easy on both) is suing Eyeo, makers of Adblock Plus, on the grounds that changing HTML to block an ad creates a "derivative work" of Axel Springer's web-pages:

https://torrentfreak.com/ad-blocking-infringes-copyright-ancient-sony-cheat-lawsuit-may-prove-pivotal-240729/

Axel Springer's filings cite the Sony/Datel case, using it to argue that their IP rights trump your property rights, and that you can only configure your web-browser, running on your computer, which you own, in ways that it approves of.

Axel Springer's war on browsers is a particularly pernicious maneuver, because browsers are the best example we have of internet software that serves as a "user agent." "User agent" is an old-timey engineering synonym for "browser" that reflects the browser's role: to go out onto the web on your behalf and bring back things for you, which it displays in the way you prefer:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/07/treacherous-computing/#rewilding-the-internet

Want to block flickering GIFs to forestall photosensitive epileptic servers? Ask your user agent to find and delete them. Want to shift colors into a gamut that accounts for your color-blindness? Ask your user-agent:

https://dankaminsky.com/2010/12/15/dankam/

Want to goose the font size and contrast so you can read the sadistic grey-on-white type that young designers use in the mistaken belief that black-on-white type is "hard on the eyes"? That's what Reader Mode is for:

https://frankgroeneveld.nl/2021/08/24/most-underused-browser-feature/

The foundation of any good digital relationship is a device that works for you, not for the people who own the servers you connect to. Even if they don't plan on screwing you over by directing your user agent to attack you on their behalf right now, the very existence of a facility in your technology that causes it to betray you, by design, is a moral hazard that inevitably results in your victimization:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/02/self-incrimination/#wei-bai-bai

"IP" ("a law that lets me control how you use your own property") is a tempting solution to every problem, but ultimately, IP ends up magnifying the power of the already powerful, in contests where your only hope of victory is having a user agent whose only loyalty is to you.

The monotonic, dangerous expansion of IP reflects the growing victory of rents over profits – income from owning things, rather than income from doing things. Everyday people may argue for IP in the belief that it will solve their immediate problems – with AI, or Nazis, or in-game cheats – but ultimately, the expansion of a law that limits how you can use your property (including your capital) to uses that don't threaten neofeudalists will doom you to technoserfdom.

Support me this summer on the Clarion Write-A-Thon and help raise money for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/07/29/faithful-user-agents/#hard-cases-make-bad-copyright-law

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wthtorke · 2 years ago

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(Re)Home

Yautja and Human Smol read with some witcher stuff cause I was into it back then lmao, no warnings!

The Earth had a capacity for life. Only so many people it could house and nurture safely.

Humanity hit that threshold long before you were born.

The peace treaty between species made it possible to live among the stars. Some races were willing to share their planets, while others offered space in their ships.

'It's almost like exchange students, but for life- you'd become one of them.'

You didn't feel at home on Earth. Ever since your first breath, you had no place on that planet.

So up you went. 'Above and beyond,' or whatever they told you. Usually, humans who wanted to leave had forms filled out and uploaded to the exchange system.

If you had to call it anything, you'd describe it as 'adoption'. You, specifically, were adopted by yautjas. The deadliest species in the treaty.

You packed your bags, taking your 'goodbye pack' the government provided you with. Laptop, tablet, and other human things 'so the adaptation wouldn't be so harsh'. That's what the flyer said.

"We wish you luck and success in your new life among the stars. It's an honor to have an earthling as brave as you out there."

That's what the video said.

You sling your bag over your shoulder and pick up the government packs off the floor, walking toward the hangar in your papers. You and some others behind you get in line for admission.

Seeing yautjas wasn't new. There were videos and pictures of them plastered everywhere, just like the other species of the treaty. But still, your eyes widened from their bored expression when you saw your admits standing in front of the ship, datapads in hand.

You're first in line, walking up to them and presenting your registration. They repeat your name and information, and you confirm everything, waiting patiently.

"Welcome to the clan." One of them says, nodding at you. You nod back and make your way inside. The ship is a transport shuttle, spacious and high-tech. This was happening. It takes you a second to choose a seat and strap yourself.

The information speech you're given during the trip feels warmer and more welcoming than anything you've heard on Earth.

'Maybe this was a good decision.' You think.

"From today on, you'll be part of our society, which means no special treatment. No special conditions. No buts and ifs." He keeps talking. "Just life as a yautja in a mothership. That's all."

You appreciated the clarity and honesty they had. You expected it to be hard but weren't afraid of working for it. Whatever challenge presented itself for you, you'd beat it. You had survived this far. This wouldn't be different.

Your group gets taken to the housing levels, where each human gets assigned a room. Your eyebrows rise up when you see two grown yautjas in yours.

"Get up, Fang. Our partner is here."

Fang and Claw. Two youngsters from the clan you got accepted into. Written in bold letters at the end of your papers. "Hey," you say as they approach you at the door. "Good trip?" The other one, Fang, asks.

"Yeah, good trip," you answer. You had no idea they'd be so big. "Are you guys really my age?"

"Are you 124?"

"Oh man."

Despite their scary looks, Fang and Claw are what they are. Young. And a little stupid. You somehow felt at home with them. It was nice to be treated like a person and not a number for once.

You get installed in your bunk bed, pull out your laptop, and test the 'fastest internet connection in the galaxy' they had on the ship. A direct link to Earth, in case you want to talk to anyone.

You just wanted access to the shows.

"What's that necklace?" Claw asks. "What's in it?" You look up from your screen, then down to your chest. "It's a wolf necklace."

"Your previous clan?"

"They don't have clans, just families," Fang replies. Claw frowns in confusion, "So your previous family?"

"No, not my family-"

"That's a wolf- so Wolf clan,"

"Claw-"

"I like it," he continues. You smile at the sheer absurdity of it, "Cool to wear your symbol like that."

You laugh softly, "It's not my symbol- it's from a show, a story- the Witcher. In the story, the Witcher comes from a school whose banner is the wolf. Their symbol is the wolf," You play with the pendant between your fingers, "I don't really have a family."

They both stop to listen to you explain. Claw shakes his head, "But you wear it, so it's your symbol. Wolf human from the Witcher school. A Witcher," the word sounds weird when translated from them, clearly adapted.

"Wolf human," Fang repeats, "Nice title, sounds strong. You should keep it," he says. You huff in amusement. "Sure, I'll keep it,"

They barely return to their own unpacking before you look up again. "We should watch it," they look back at you, "- the Witcher-, we should watch it-, sometime." You clear your throat awkwardly.

"It's a filmed story? Like the ones in the human culture lessons?"

"It's called a 'movie'. Idiot."

"Shut up."

You put your hands up before any growling appears, "It's a series- actually. Short episodes that make up for one long thing. Good to watch in between, ah-, training? Missions? Whatever you guys do?"

Claw nods, "Wolf-human story with the wolf-human, I'm in." You smile and look at Fang. "Is there blood?"

"Lots of it."

"I'm in."

You watch the first season during your first night at the ship, only pausing to retrieve your food and for general discussion between the yautjas about how accurate (or stupid) the fighting scenes in the show were.

You have to plug your laptop into the adapted port on the wall so you can keep binging with your roommates, smiling ear to ear whenever they'd say something positive about it. When you finally close your laptop down, you look at them again. "So, thoughts?"

"Don't fuck with magic," Fang says. Claw nods. "Never fuck with magic."

You laugh as they each settle down in their bunks. Fang shuts the lights off as you lay in the dark for a bit more.

"Sleep well, wolf-human." Claw says. Fang mumbles something in return. You smile again, bidding them goodnight before closing your eyes to sleep.

Home, sweet home. Finally.

---------

Thanks for reading <3 muah muah

more work like this here

#yautja #predator #alien #the predator #yautja/human #human/yautja #headcanon #alien relationship #predators #yautja boyfriend #alien romance #alien x human #alien boyfriend #alien vs predator #predador #aliens vs predator #yautja x human #reader #gender neutral reader too

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donjuaninhell · 1 year ago

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How difficult is usenet to actually use?

If you can figure out how to torrent, you can figure out Usenet. Actually in a lot of ways Usenet is easier. First download SABnzbd, think of this as your BitTorrent client except that it's managed entirely within your internet browser. It's the program that decodes the data in .nzb files, figures out what binaries it needs to download and gets them, and then compiles them before unpacking. Think of .nzb files as the equivalent to .torrent files in BitTorrent. You're also going to need to sign up with a Usenet provider, you might as well take advantage of the offer advertised on the SABnzbd website for Newshosting. I use Newshosting and it's one of maybe three providers actually worth signing up for, the others are Easynews and Giganews. But honestly Newshosting is the one to go with.

Okay so now that you've got a binary downloader and you're signed up with a Usenet service, what about actually finding "filez"? For this you'll need an indexer, there are free indexers out there like NZBKing, but they're sort of meh. A subscription to one of the good ones, however, is absurdly cheap. NZBGeek charges $6USD for six months access or $12USD for a year, $80 nets you lifetime access. NZBFinder is more expensive and tiers their service, locking some 4K UHD and porn behind higher tiers. Honestly NZBGeek is the one to go with, there's not much I haven't been able to find on there, and the things I haven't been able to find is like extremely obscure stuff, we're talking early minor works in Rainer Werner Fassbinder's filmography that I'm not wholly certain even received a DVD release, that kind of thing. But who knows, maybe the porn selection on NZBFinder is better, I have no idea.

Once you're signed up with a provider and an indexer, plug in the required info into the SABnzbd settings page, set SABnzbd to watch a folder, search your indexer for whatever it is you're looking for, download the .nzb file into that watched folder and you're good. SABnzbd will read that .nzb and start downloading files.

There is one downside to Usenet, and it's that multi-file downloads aren't as much a thing. Oftentimes you won't be able download an entire season of TV in one go, you'll have to download each episode individually, although occasionally season repacks are uploaded. NZBGeek makes it easy to set up batch queues however, and you can play with the options in SABnzbd to schedule the downloading of those batches. There are also options to automatically rename and sort files into folders once they're downloaded, which is practically a necessity when downloading an entire TV series (unless you enjoy manually moving files across dozens of folders). Thankfully it's easy to configure it so that TV episodes are sorted to resemble something like "Series Name"/"Season XX"/"Episode XX - Episode Name". Even with that extra bit of work you have to put in downloading all the episodes of a TV series individually on Usenet it will probably still be faster than Torrenting (depending of course on how well a .torrent is seeded). Usenet files will always download at the fastest possible speed, so your speeds are only ever bottlenecked by your internet connection and provider speeds. With my internet connection I'm always hitting 9.5 MB/s with whatever it is I'm downloading, meaning a 5GB film is finished downloading in around seven minutes. (We've come so far. I remember downloading the trailer for Star Wars: Episode 1 with my dad over 56k dial-up. It took an entire afternoon and in that time my mom's car broke down while she was out and she couldn't get a hold of the house.)

And it's not like I don't still use BitTorrent, I'm seeding 1322 torrents on a private tracker at this very moment. I generally turn to Usenet for films and new episodes of TV, and it's a mix of BitTorrent and Usenet if I'm downloading an entire TV season or series. When it comes to music piracy I'm on a private BitTorrent tracker and I use SoulSeek too. I don't pirate much software but that's generally done on BitTorrent, and as for eBooks, well there's no better option than Library Genesis. It's always good to have a mix of options to cover your bases.

Go have fun.

#answered asks #anon ask #computers #usenet #piracy #also if you want my soulseek username hit me up #i'm sharing over 5500 albums on there and thousands of ebooks too

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nitearmorweek · 1 year ago

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As everyone gets to work preparing for NiteArmor Week, the mods wanted to encourage people to bring their own lived experiences into their creations. You are welcome to write and draw mandalorians in a way that reflects your own life and culture; Bo-Katan and the Armorer do not have to physically resemble their live action counterparts.

For those who may need a little help or are looking for new resources, we have gathered a small list of guides. Some of the below sources came from @lavenderursa's collection of inclusive writing tips. The mods recommend reading through the original post they worked hard to put together! The hope of this new post is to build out their post to include a few more elements specific to Star Wars.

Writing Resources Collectives and authors who have published tips and guides on writing stories that center diverse experiences:

Writing With Color

The History of Black Hair [Words to Describe Hair]

A Guide to Natural Black Hair

How To Write About Trans People

A Primer on Writing Trans Characters

The Do’s and Don’ts of Writing Transgender Characters

Important Tips on Making/Writing Asian OCs

Dear Non-Asian Writer

How to Avoid Asian Stereotypes, Appropriation, and White Washing

Tips for Inclusivity with Reader Inserts

A Guide to Writing Disabled Characters

A general cane guide for writers and artists (from a cane user, writer, and artist!)

Creating authentic deaf and hard of hearing characters

Art Tips Helpful information on how to draw different body types, skin tones, and hair:

Basic Skin Tone Coloring [part 2]

Kupa's Guide to Skintones

A Guide to Drawing South Asian Skin Tones [part 2]

Protocols When Drawing Native American Hair

A guide to designing wheelchair using characters! [part 2]

Whitewashing in Art and How Colors Work

How to Draw Disabled People

Drawing East Asian Faces

Plus Size Body Types

POC Blush tones

Afro, 4C hair

Image References Websites that offer images that can be licensed for use and/or inspiration. The below three are highly recommended resources, but some do have a cost:

createHERstock - Your destination for authentic stock images featuring melanated women

Nappy co - Beautiful photos of Black and Brown people, for free

Eye for Ebony - Beautiful lifestyle stock photos featuring people of color

Affect The Verb - This is a disability-led effort to provide free & inclusive stock images from our own perspective, with photos and illustrations celebrating disabled Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC).

Pixerf - Asia's fastest-growing Asian stock photo market place

Disability: In - Disability Inclusive Stock Photography

Disability is Beautiful - The best free stock images provided by the disability community.

Cosplayers Artists and content creators that have posted amazing Star Wars cosplay! Their hard work and attention to detail in costuming is a wonderful source of inspiration and reference. If you are inspired by any of their photos, please make sure to credit them and send your love. Here are just three examples of cosplayers within the fandom:

Jahara Jayde | twitter | ko-fi

arseniccupcakes | twitter | patreon

cutiepiesensei | twitter | instagram

Further Reading Additional articles, studies, and analyses that discuss racism and ableism within the Star Wars fandom specifically:

Racism In Star Wars: A List of Resources

Star Wars Franchise: Stitch's Media Mix Analyst

Star Wars: A Tale of Racism

Disability In Star Wars

Blind Warriors, Supercrips, and Techno-Marvels: Challenging Depictions of Disability in Star Wars

What's the Problem, Papi?: Internet Daddy-ism and Coddling, Fetishization, and what "Latino-looking" actually means.

Sinophobia in SW Animation

Thank you for making it to the end of this post! Please do not consider this a definitive list or a replacement for anti-racist work in the real world. Keep reading, stay curious, and seek out new perspectives from voices you may not have been listening for.

Do you have any additional recommendations, sources, or guides to share? Feel free to drop them in the comments of this post ❤️

#nitearmorweek #references #resources #bo-katan kryze #satine kryze #bo katan kryze #the armorer #mandalorian #nitearmor #armorkatan #admin post

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showkaani · 6 days ago

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Technology in Africa: Key Areas of Growth

1. Mobile and Internet PenetrationMobile Revolution:

Africa is the world’s fastest-growing mobile phone market. Mobile penetration has surpassed 80%, with smartphones becoming more affordable.Internet Access: Over 500 million people now have internet access, primarily through mobile devices.Mobile Money: Services like M-Pesa in Kenya have revolutionized financial access, enabling mobile banking, payments, and loans for unbanked populations.

2. Startups and Innovation HubsTech Hubs:

Over 600 tech hubs (e.g., Nairobi's iHub, Lagos’ Yaba ecosystem, Cape Town's Silicon Cape) serve as incubators for innovation.Startup Boom: African startups attracted over $3 billion in investment in 2022, especially in fintech, agritech, healthtech, and edtech.Youth-Driven Innovation: With 60% of Africa’s population under 25, there’s a strong focus on youth-led digital solutions.

3. FintechAfrica

is a global leader in mobile-based financial services.Startups like Flutterwave, Chipper Cash, and Paystack are transforming digital payments.Fintech addresses challenges like low banking access and cross-border transactions.

4. AgritechLeveraging drones, satellite data, and mobile apps to improve yields and market access for farmers.Platforms like Twiga Foods (Kenya) and Farmcrowdy (Nigeria) are streamlining food supply chains and offering digital tools to farmers.

5. HealthtechTelemedicine and mobile health services are filling gaps in healthcare access.Apps like mPharma (Ghana) and Zipline (drone delivery of medical supplies in Rwanda) are game-changers.

6. Edtech and E-LearningCOVID-19 accelerated the adoption of online education.Startups like uLesson (Nigeria) and Eneza Education (Kenya) provide accessible digital learning content for students.

7. Government and Policy SupportSeveral governments are investing in digital infrastructure and supportive policies.Rwanda’s Vision 2050 and Kenya’s Konza Technopolis project show long-term digital commitment.

8. ChallengesInfrastructure gaps: Power, internet, and transport limitations in rural areas.Funding disparities: Most investments go to a few countries (e.g., Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa).Digital literacy: Skills development still lags in many regions.🔮 Future OutlookAfrica’s digital economy could contribute over $180 billion to GDP by 2025.AI, blockchain, and green tech are emerging fields with huge potential.Regional cooperation (e.g., AfCFTA) may enhance cross-border digital trade.

#technology #technique #technews #techinnovation #smart tech #Technology Africa #Africa #Asia #tech #electronics #hardware #phones #technoblade

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e17omm · 10 days ago

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So my phone and my PC is currently in a symbiotic relationship.

See, my internet went out last evening and its only gonna get fixed today sometime hopefully. So I have no internet. But I do have mobile data and the data plan I have stockpiles what I dont use every month.

And because I rarely go outside for longer periods I never use up the monthly data I get. So I have about 120 GB of mobile data stockpiled currently. So I hotspot my phone and connect my PC to it to get internet. Its slower but it works.

But my hotspot is the best (fastest, by a slight margin) while my phone is active, so it eats more power because I make it stay awake.

So I plug my phone into my PC whenever it needs to be charged.

My phone is providing my PC with internet, and my PC is providing my phone with power.

#its good that i rarely go outside #i could last like 2 weeks hotspotting my phone for internet access on my pc

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applyfreephoneusa · 17 days ago

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How to Get a Free Government Phone in 2025 – Step-by-Step Guide That Works

Life today runs through your phone: job searches, doctor appointments, school updates, and emergency calls. If you’re struggling to afford one, free government phones exist to keep you connected. This guide explains exactly how to get yours in 2025 – no confusing jargon, just clear steps from start to finish.

Why Free Government Phones Exist

Imagine being unable to call 911 during an emergency, missing a job interview because you couldn’t receive emails, or losing touch with family. That’s the reality for millions of low-income Americans. These programs began decades ago to ensure everyone has access to essential communication. They’re funded through small fees on phone bills – not taxpayer dollars – and serve as a true lifeline for seniors, veterans, families, and people between jobs. You’re not taking a handout; you’re using a service designed for you.

Programs Offering Free Phones in 2025

Two programs exist, but only one reliably offers free phones right now:

Lifeline

The core program providing free smartphones and monthly service.

Includes unlimited talk, text, and 4.5GB–25GB of data (varies by state).

Covers both wireless service and home internet discounts in some cases.

Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)

Important Update: As of June 2025, the ACP is paused due to lack of congressional funding.

While it previously offered extra internet discounts, it currently does not provide free phones.

Focus your energy on Lifeline – it’s fully operational and accepting applications.

Who Qualifies for a Free Phone? (2025 Rules)

You likely qualify if anyone in your household participates in federal assistance programs or meets income limits. Let’s break it down:

Qualifying Through Programs (Simplest Path): If you or someone in your home receives benefits like:

Medicaid

SNAP (Food Stamps)

SSI (Supplemental Security Income)

Section 8 Housing or Federal Public Housing Assistance

Veterans Pension or Survivors Pension Benefits ...you automatically meet eligibility requirements. Your benefit letter is your golden ticket.

Qualifying Through Income: If your household income is at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, you qualify. Here’s what that looked like for 2025:

1 person: $15,650 per year or less

2 people: $21,150 per year or less

3 people: $26,650 per year or less

Each additional person: Add $5,500

(Alaska and Hawaii have slightly higher limits – check your state’s exact figures.)

Key Rules to Remember:

One phone per household: Everyone shares one Lifeline benefit.

Active use required: Make at least one call/text every 30 days.

Yearly renewal: You must confirm your eligibility annually.

Documents You’ll Need to Apply

Gather these before starting your application to avoid delays:

Proof of Identity:

Driver’s license, state ID, passport, or birth certificate.

Proof of Eligibility:

Program-based: A current benefit award letter (dated within the last 12 months).

Income-based: Recent tax returns, three consecutive pay stubs, or a Social Security benefits statement.

Proof of Address:

Utility bill, lease agreement, mortgage statement, or official government mail.

Stuck?

Visit your local library: Staff often help with scanning/photocopying documents.

Contact community centers: Many offer free assistance gathering paperwork.

Your Step-by-Step Application Guide

Applying takes 20-45 minutes. Follow these steps:

Find a Reputable Provider:

Start at the official Lifeline website to search providers by zip code.

Major nationwide providers include Assurance Wireless, SafeLink, and Q Link Wireless.

If you prefer guided help, you can also apply for a free government phone through this trusted provider.

Apply Online (Fastest & Easiest):

Go directly to your chosen provider’s website.

Fill out the digital form – you’ll need your full name, address, date of birth, and last 4 digits of your SSN.

Upload photos or scans of your documents right there on the site.

Apply by Mail (If No Internet):

Download and print the Lifeline application form.

Make copies of your documents (never send originals!).

Mail everything to: Lifeline Support Center PO Box 1000 Horseheads, NY 14845

Phone Application (Limited Providers):

Call providers like Assurance Wireless at 1-888-898-4888 to apply verbally.

Wait for Approval & Choose Your Phone:

Most online apps get approved within 24-72 hours. Mail apps take 1-2 weeks.

Once approved, you’ll select your free phone. Some providers let you upgrade for $10-$50.

What Kind of Phone Will You Get?

Real talk: You’ll likely get a new Android smartphone – not a flip phone or refurbished device. Common models include:

TCL 20XE

Samsung Galaxy A03s

Nokia G300

Key features:

4G/5G connectivity

Decent cameras

Preloaded with essential apps (email, maps, contacts)

Can you get an iPhone?

Rare, but possible: Providers like AirTalk Wireless occasionally offer older iPhone models (e.g., iPhone SE, iPhone 7).

Usually requires a small co-pay ($30-$50) and depends on state availability.

Service includes:

Unlimited nationwide talk & text

4.5GB–25GB of monthly data (varies by state/provider)

Free hotspot capability

International calling to select countries

How Long the Whole Process Takes

Approval: 1–4 business days (online) / 7–14 days (mail).

Shipping: 3–7 business days via USPS or FedEx.

Total Timeline: 7–14 days from application to phone-in-hand.

Pro Tip: Save the provider’s customer service number. Call them if your status doesn’t update after 5 days.

How to Spot & Avoid Scams

Scammers prey on people seeking free phones. Protect yourself:

Never pay fees: Legit providers won’t ask for credit cards or upfront payments.

Beware "exclusive offers": Ignore texts/emails claiming you’ve "won" a free iPhone.

Check state availability: If a provider claims to serve your state, verify it on the official Lifeline website.

Guard your SSN: Only share the last 4 digits after you’ve verified the provider’s legitimacy.

Report fraud: Call the Lifeline Fraud Hotline at 1-855-4LL-SCAM (1-855-455-7226).

Where to Apply Safely in 2025

Only use these trusted sources:

Lifeline’s Official Site: The safest starting point.

Major Providers’ Websites:

Assurance Wireless

SafeLink Wireless

Q Link Wireless

StandUp Wireless

Community Partners:

Public libraries

Local nonprofits (e.g., United Way affiliates)

Tribal assistance offices

Don’t Wait – Your Connection Matters

Every day without a phone puts you at a disadvantage – missed job calls, inaccessible telehealth, or being unable to reach loved ones. The process is simpler than it looks: Confirm your eligibility, gather your papers, and apply. Within weeks, you could have a reliable smartphone with free monthly service.

Would you be ready to get started? Apply for a free government phone through this trusted provider or visit the official Lifeline website today. This isn’t charity – it’s a tool you’ve earned. Stay safe, stay connected, and take that first step now.

#free phones

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harshnirmal · 1 month ago

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How to Build a Strong Personal Brand Online in 2025

In today’s digital age, your personal brand is often your most valuable asset. Whether you're a freelancer, entrepreneur, coach, content creator, or job seeker—building a powerful online presence can open doors, generate income, and create influence. In 2025, personal branding has gone beyond fancy bios and selfies. It’s about authenticity, authority, and consistency across platforms.

This guide will show you step-by-step how to build a personal brand online that attracts opportunities and earns trust in an increasingly noisy digital space.

Why Personal Branding Matters More Than Ever

The internet is saturated. Every niche is crowded. If you don’t stand out, you disappear.

But a strong personal brand:

Positions you as an expert in your field

Attracts clients, partnerships, or job offers

Builds trust and community

Helps you charge more for your time and services

Whether you're starting from scratch or refining your online image, a clear brand can be your biggest differentiator.

Step 1: Define Your Personal Brand Identity

Before posting content or building a website, get crystal clear on who you are and what you stand for.

Ask yourself:

What’s my mission or purpose?

What problems do I help people solve?

What are my values and beliefs?

What kind of audience do I want to attract?

This identity will influence your content, visuals, tone of voice, and positioning.

Pro Tip: A digital marketing consultant can help you craft a brand message that feels authentic and resonates with your ideal audience.

Step 2: Optimize Your Online Presence

Once you’ve defined your brand, your next goal is to align your online profiles with your message. That includes:

A professional profile photo

Consistent username/handle across platforms

A powerful, clear bio (who you help and how)

Links to your website, portfolio, or landing page

Focus on platforms where your audience hangs out—LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter (X), YouTube, or your own website.

Need help building a stunning personal website? Work with a website development team that knows how to make your brand shine online.

Step 3: Create Valuable, Branded Content

Content is the engine that drives your brand. To gain visibility and trust, post content that provides value consistently.

Content types:

Educational posts (tips, how-tos, tutorials)

Opinion pieces or thought leadership

Behind-the-scenes or personal journey updates

Video content (vlogs, reels, YouTube shorts)

Live streams or podcasts

Create 3–5 content pillars that relate to your brand and rotate them weekly. Consistency builds recognition and loyalty.

Want a content calendar made just for you? Hire a social media expert to create, schedule, and manage content tailored to your goals.

Step 4: Build Credibility Through Social Proof

No matter how great your message is, people want proof that you’re legit.

Ways to build social proof:

Testimonials from clients or peers

Screenshots of positive feedback or results

Interviews or podcast guest appearances

Case studies or before-after transformations

Press mentions or awards

Even if you're just starting out, document small wins and share your growth journey. It builds relatability and authenticity.

If you want your brand to be seen by media outlets or featured on popular platforms, collaborate with a PR and branding agency that can get you noticed.

Step 5: Network and Collaborate

Your brand doesn’t grow in a bubble. The fastest way to grow your audience and credibility is through collaborations and relationships.

Try this:

Engage daily with your niche community

Comment meaningfully on others’ posts

Join Twitter/X Spaces, Clubhouse rooms, or LinkedIn groups

Collaborate on content, giveaways, or interviews

The more you're seen associating with other credible people, the stronger your personal brand becomes.

Step 6: Offer Something of Value (Lead Magnet)

Want to grow an email list or attract leads? Give something away in exchange for contact info.

Ideas:

Free guide or checklist

Ebook or mini-course

Exclusive newsletter or training

Templates or tools

Place it on a landing page and promote it via your social content, website, and bio link.

Need a custom-designed funnel to capture leads? Let a conversion specialist help you design one that turns visitors into subscribers or clients.

Step 7: Stay Consistent and Evolve

Personal branding is a long-term game. It’s built brick by brick, one piece of content and connection at a time.

Stay consistent by:

Posting regularly (daily or at least 3x/week)

Keeping your tone and visuals uniform

Tracking your analytics and learning what works

Updating your message as you grow

Remember: You are the brand. People don’t buy logos—they buy people they trust, relate to, and believe in.

Bonus: Tools to Level Up Your Personal Brand in 2025

Here are some tools and platforms that can help you scale faster:

Canva – Design stunning visuals easily

Notion – Organize your content and planning

Buffer / Hootsuite – Schedule content across platforms

ConvertKit / Mailchimp – Manage and grow your email list

Linktree / Beacons.ai – Create bio links with multiple destinations

And if you’d prefer to outsource and focus on what you do best, a full-service branding agency can take care of everything from identity to execution.

Final Thoughts

In 2025, your online reputation is your resume, your storefront, and your personal marketing campaign—all rolled into one. Whether you want to attract freelance clients, grow a social following, or become a thought leader in your space, personal branding is the way forward.

Remember:

Be real, not perfect

Be helpful, not salesy

Be consistent, not occasional

When done right, your personal brand becomes your passport to opportunity, income, and impact.

If you're ready to craft a bold, unforgettable personal brand, visit Pradeep Digital Marketing and let the experts help you build it from the ground up.

#digital marketing #pradeepdigitalmarketing

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kikothecategld · 5 months ago

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KikoTheCat: The Upcoming Memecoin Revolution on MultiversX

In the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrency, there’s always room for innovation, fun, and community. From the rise of Dogecoin as the pioneer of memecoins to the global explosion of Shiba Inu, it’s clear that people love projects that bring personality and passion to the blockchain. But there’s one glaring omission in the current memecoin landscape: a cat-themed coin that truly represents the internet’s favorite animal.

That’s where KikoTheCat comes in. As the first significant cat-themed memecoin on MultiversX, KikoTheCat aims to fill this gap and capture the hearts of crypto enthusiasts and cat lovers alike.

Who Are We?

We’re a team of three dedicated crypto enthusiasts who have been active participants in the MultiversX ecosystem for over three years. Our journey within this space has been transformative, as we’ve witnessed the unmatched potential of MultiversX as a blockchain.

After years of experience and a deep understanding of the crypto space, we decided to take the leap and create something fun, innovative, and impactful. Following long discussions and brainstorming sessions, we realized there was one glaring opportunity waiting to be seized: a cat-themed memecoin.

The result? KikoTheCat, a coin designed to bring joy to the community, harness the power of memes, and provide a meaningful use case for one of the most scalable blockchains in the world.

Why a Cat-Themed Meme Coin?

Memecoins are more than just tokens; they are movements powered by communities. And when you think of the internet, cats are everywhere — from viral videos to beloved memes. Cats have dominated social media for years, but they’ve been underrepresented in the crypto world.

That’s not fair to the millions of cat lovers out there. Dogs have had their moment in the spotlight, but now it’s time for the internet’s true rulers to step up: the cats. KikoTheCat is here to give cats the recognition they deserve in the memecoin world.

Why MultiversX?

When building KikoTheCat, the choice of blockchain was crucial. We wanted a platform that was secure, scalable, and future-proof. That’s why we chose MultiversX (formerly Elrond) as the home for our project. Here are the reasons why MultiversX is the perfect fit:

1. Unparalleled Scalability

MultiversX’s Adaptive State Sharding Technology can handle up to 15,000 transactions per second. This makes it one of the fastest and most efficient blockchains in the world, ensuring smooth and low-cost transactions for KikoTheCat holders.

2. Top-Tier Security

MultiversX is built on a highly secure infrastructure, making it a trusted choice for projects that prioritize safety and reliability. KikoTheCat’s community can rest assured knowing their investments are protected.

3. Eco-Friendly Blockchain

As concerns about crypto’s energy consumption grow, MultiversX has positioned itself as an energy-efficient blockchain. This aligns with our vision of sustainability and responsibility.

4. Vibrant Ecosystem

The MultiversX ecosystem is thriving, with innovative projects and a strong developer community. With tools like the xPortal wallet (formerly Maiar), it’s easier than ever to onboard new users and make crypto accessible to all.

5. Global Recognition and Growth

MultiversX is rapidly gaining recognition as one of the top Layer 1 blockchains. By building KikoTheCat on this platform, we’re contributing to its growth while leveraging its technology and reputation.

Our Vision and Goals

At KikoTheCat, we have a clear mission: to become one of the top memecoins in the world while supporting the growth of the MultiversX ecosystem. Here’s how we plan to achieve it:

1. Building a Strong Community

Community is the backbone of any memecoin. We’ll focus on creating a welcoming space for cat lovers, crypto enthusiasts, and everyone in between. Through social media campaigns, giveaways, and fun challenges, we’ll foster a vibrant and engaged community.

2. Transparent Tokenomics

Trust is earned through transparency. Our tokenomics are designed to be fair, with clear allocations and no hidden agendas. We believe in empowering our community by keeping everything open and above board.

3. Bringing Exposure to MultiversX

KikoTheCat isn’t just about our project. It’s about helping the MultiversX ecosystem grow by increasing trading volume and bringing more users to the blockchain.

4. Creating a Global Brand

With the power of memes and the appeal of cats, we’ll build KikoTheCat into a globally recognized brand. From merchandise to partnerships, the possibilities are endless.

Tokenomics: The Foundation of KikoTheCat

KikoTheCat’s tokenomics are designed to ensure sustainability, fairness, and growth. Here’s the breakdown:

Allocation

Percentage

Tokens (out of 7,000,000,000,000)

Team

10%

700,000,000,000

Marketing

10%

700,000,000,000

Private Sale

45%

3,150,000,000,000

Liquidity Listing

35%

2,450,000,000,000

Key Details:

Private Sale Revenue: We aim to raise 50 EGLD through the private sale, all of which will be added to the liquidity pool.

Listing Price: The listing price will be 50% higher than the private sale price to incentivize early participation.

Vesting and Unlocks

Team Tokens: Locked for 10 months, with 10% unlocking each month after the lock-up period.

Marketing Tokens: Available immediately after listing to support airdrops, social media campaigns, and partnerships.

The Roadmap

We have a clear plan to take KikoTheCat to the top:

Phase 1:

Launch social media campaigns.

Build a strong community.

Begin the private sale.

Phase 2:

Token listing and liquidity pool setup.

Execute marketing campaigns.

Collaborate with MultiversX ecosystem projects.

Phase 3:

Introduce new utilities and partnerships.

Expand global recognition through influencers and media.

Conclusion: Join Us on This Journey!

KikoTheCat is more than just a memecoin. It’s a community-driven project built on one of the best blockchain platforms in the world. Whether you’re a cat lover, a crypto enthusiast, or someone who believes in the potential of MultiversX, we invite you to join us on this exciting journey.

Our vision is clear: to bring KikoTheCat to the forefront of the global memecoin movement while shining a spotlight on the incredible capabilities of MultiversX. With a strong community, transparent tokenomics, and a team dedicated to innovation and growth, we’re confident that KikoTheCat will become a force to be reckoned with in the crypto space.

The future is bright, and KikoTheCat is ready to lead the way. Together, we can create something truly extraordinary — a project that not only brings joy and excitement to the crypto world but also helps pave the way for the broader adoption of MultiversX.

So, whether you’re a seasoned investor or someone new to crypto, KikoTheCat welcomes you. Join us as we unleash the power of memes, cats, and blockchain technology to create something unforgettable.

Let’s take KikoTheCat to the moon — or, in true cat style, to the very top of the scratching post of success!

#crypto #egld #multiversx #memecoin

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theculturedmarxist · 1 year ago

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Every single "oh please OH PLEASE get out and vote they're so important 🥺" post I see just drips with idealist nonsense. They have no idea how politics work. They have no idea how their government works. They have no idea how political parties work.

Absent an overarching political program, none of this bullshit matters. You can vote and vote and vote, and it doesn't fucking matter one single fucking bit because as long as you're voting for a bourgeois party, you're never, not ever, going to get what you want.

The Republican and Democratic parties are political machines designed to generate outcomes favorable to their donors. Unless you're a millionaire, they don't give a shit about you or what you want, because what you want is diametrically opposed to what millionaires and billionaires want, which is to keep all the misery and oppression of society in place, so that they can keep on being rich and powerful.

Let me give you an example. The USA has some of the worst internet in the world. It's already dogshit if you live in a city, and outside city limits it drops off a cliff and gets worse the further out you go. This was supposed to be fixed when the federal government provided the telecoms with huge subsidies to go out and build rural internet. Instead they took the money and just didn't do that, because it's a lot more profitable to just take the fucking money and then pay whatever piddling penalty they might get slapped with.

Mount Airy, NC, decided to do something about it. They built their own municipal broadband. It was the cheapest and fastest internet in the state, and probably still is. Time Warner Cable got wind of it and did what they usually do: lobby the government to keep competition down. They got what they wanted. The shiteating state assembly passed a law basically making municipal broadband impossible, and the shiteating blue governor Bev Perdue did nothing to stop it, because she's a bourgeois whore just like everyone else in the party.

More recently, Charlotte tried to pass a "bathroom bill" giving trans people the right to use the fucking bathroom, and hardly a day later Raleigh overrode it with their own dick hogging law (which also prevented localities from setting wage requirements for contract workers).

The two parties aren't local, or regional, or federal, they're systemic. Voting for them at the local level, even if they're "progressive," just reinforces the entire rotten apparatus. Because when push comes to shove, those local "progressives" you voted for will do as they're fucking told, or else they'll get primaried by "their own" party. Even if you do manage to swing, say, a state with progressive candidates, they'll just get ratfucked by the party apparatchiks, like they did in Nevada where "progressives and socialists" won, only for party operatives to rob them, then quit.

The entire system is fucking rotten and it can't be reformed from the inside, by design. You can't use it to vote for a better world, because making sure that wasn't an option was the entire point from the fucking beginning.

You're going to either resign yourself to the fact that you need to get your fucking hands dirty, or vote yourself into your grave.

#voting

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voiceapisolutions · 3 months ago

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The Benefits of Integrating Text-to-Speech Technology for Personalized Voice Service

Sinch is a fully managed service that generates voice-on-demand, converting text into an audio stream and using deep learning technologies to convert articles, web pages, PDF documents, and other text-to-speech (TTS). Sinch provides dozens of lifelike voices across a broad set of languages for you to build speech-activated applications that engage and convert. Meet diverse linguistic, accessibility, and learning needs of users across geographies and markets. Powerful neural networks and generative voice engines work in the background, synthesizing speech for you. Integrate the Sinch API into your existing applications to become voice-ready quickly.

Voice Service

Voice services, such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) or Voice as a Service (VaaS), are telecommunications technologies that convert Voice into a digital signal and route conversations through digital channels. Businesses use these technologies to place and receive reliable, high-quality calls through their internet connection instead of traditional telephones. We at Sinch provide the best voice service all over India.

Voice Messaging Service

A Voice Messaging Service or System, also known as Voice Broadcasting, is the process by which an individual or organization sends a pre-recorded message to a list of contacts without manually dialing each number. Automated Voice Message service makes communicating with customers and employees efficient and effective. With mobile marketing quickly becoming the fastest-growing advertising industry sector, the ability to send a voice broadcast via professional voice messaging software is now a crucial element of any marketing or communication initiative.

Voice Service Providers in India

Voice APIs, IVR, SIP Trunking, Number Masking, and Call Conferencing are all provided by Sinch, a cloud-based voice service provider in India. It collaborates with popular telecom companies like Tata Communications, Jio, Vodafone Idea, and Airtel. Voice services are utilized for automated calls, secure communication, and client involvement in banking, e-commerce, healthcare, and ride-hailing. Sinch is integrated by businesses through APIs to provide dependable, scalable voice solutions.

More Resources:

The future of outbound and inbound dialing services

The Best Cloud Communication Software which are Transforming Businesses in India

#voice api #best voip for small business

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i-need-some-advice-on · 2 years ago

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Hello and welcome to “I need some advice on”!

I created this blog for those of us who use the internet and want to get some advice on something going on but it doesn’t warrant an “am I the asshole” submission because sometimes you want some advice from strangers on the internet!

*DISCLAIMER* THIS BLOG IS NOT FOR LEGAL ADVICE. ESPECIALLY FOR PEOPLE UNDER THE AGE OF 18. IF YOU NEED LEGAL ADVICE TALK TO A LAWYER OR A TRUSTED CONFIDANT NOT A COHORT OF TUMBLR USERS.

Rules:

1) feel free to submit anonymously! However I do hold the right to not post your questions if I deem them inappropriate. If you spam the inbox you will be blocked.

2) PLEASE do not censor your words. This is the die fuck bitch cunt dick website. If someone has a word or a tag censored, the only way it remains hidden from their blog is if the word itself has appeared in full. So stop censoring!!

3) please keep it civil and if you are arguing with someone in the comments, take it to the DMs

4) if you are OP and are looking to add some additional information, make a sideblog and reblog with the information needed and DM me to let me know there is some additional info! Don’t DM me the additional info

5) I will be deleting any submission requesting advice on how to harm yourself or another person. If you are thinking of self harming, please look here and not to this inbox. There is never any reason to hurt yourself. You will get through this I promise, but asking strangers on the internet how to best self harm or the fastest way to end your life means that you need more help than this blog can provide. You are loved, and you will be okay. Life is worth living. I promise.

6) Please remember: I run this blog for free. I do not get paid to do this. I have a full time job and relationships outside of this. If your submission isn’t posted the same day it is likely in the queue. I do my best to keep up on the submissions I am, however, human. Please don’t message me asking where it is. I will make a post if I deem your ask inappropriate or unwarranted for this blog.

7) Again, this is not a legal advice blog! If you are in a dangerous or challenging legal situation speak to a trusted confidant in your life (parent, friend, sibling, lawyer, neighbor, etc.) if you cannot speak to someone, a great starting place is Lawyers Without Boarders. You can also search for pro-bono, or free legal consultation services in your area.

8) One additional note since this is something that has come up a lot lately but, this is not a medical advice blog! I understand how inaccessible healthcare is around the world but please understand that medicine is extremely different across countries and cultures. Asking the void of the internet for medical advice is dangerous and can cause you harm.

Remember, this is the internet. We are all strangers here just trying to help one another out with semi embarrassing things we’re scared to ask people around us but there are lines that I as the moderator refuse to cross.

One extra note: I am just one person running this blog and I have a pretty busy life and sometimes will go a few days without checking tumblr. I do my best to get stuff queued as soon as possible but life does get away from me sometimes.

If you have any questions about these rules, please feel free to DM me, my DMs are open.

#rule posting #I need some advice on

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howzitsa · 4 months ago

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MSI H610M-E PRO Intel LGA1700 M-ATX Motherboard MSI PRO series motherboards help users work smarter by delivering an efficient and productive experience. Featuring stable functionality and high-quality assembly, PRO series motherboards provide not only optimized professional workflows but also less troubleshooting and longevity. MSI motherboards feature tons of convenient and smart designs for DIY users, and countless system tuning and troubleshooting tools are at your disposal to push your system to new heights and satisfy even the most demanding tweaker. This makes it so easy to install your own motherboard without any issues. MSI motherboards let you manage speeds and temperatures for all your system and CPU fans. Total Fan Control allows you to check your primary system characteristics in a simplified graphical interface. You can also set up to 4 temperature targets for CPU and motherboard, which will adjust the fan speeds automatically. Detecting CPU & GPU temperatures and automatically adjusting fan duty of system fans to a proper value by adopting MSI AI ENGINE. The most important thing about DIY is expandability. MSI PRO series motherboards feature plenty of possibilities for prosumers’ needs. Stable LAN, faster storage and USB transfer speeds and other expandable connectors are ready to enlarge your flexibility. Stay connected with Intel® LAN, optimized for stable internet throughput and ideal for championship-level online playing. MSI PRO series motherboards are designed to satisfy any professional workflow. Elevate your listening pleasure and enjoy the extreme sound quality. Moreover, with years of experience in creating performance-enhancing tools that are easy to use, only the highest quality applications are at your disposal. The extensive features let you fine-tune your system to deliver reliable maximum performance. MSI lightning Gen 4 PCI-E is the latest and the fastest PCI-E data transfer solution with 64GB/s of transfer bandwidth that has doubled compared to its previous generation. PCIe 4.0 maintains both backward and forward compatibility with older and newer specifications. Optimized by steel armor design, your motherboards can support the weight of heavy graphics cards. MSI conducts thorough memory testing with the most popular memory brands under extreme conditions to ensure your system runs stable no matter what. Our memory partners include brands like Corsair, Crucial, Kingston, G.Skill and many more to optimize memory modules and configurations. Core Boost technology combines MSI’s premium layout and optimized power design which allows for faster and undistorted current delivery to the CPU at pin-point precision. Not only supporting multi-core CPU, also creating the perfect conditions for your CPU overclocking. FEATURES: Supports 12th Gen Intel® Core™, Pentium® Gold and Celeron® processors for LGA 1700 socket Supports DDR4 Memory, up to 3200(MAX) MHz Core Boost : With premium layout and digital power design to support more cores and provide better performance Memory Boost: Advanced technology to deliver pure data signals for the best performance, stability and compatibility Lightning Fast Experience: PCIe 4.0 Audio Boost: Reward your ears with studio grade sound quality Steel Armor: Protecting VGA cards against bending and EMI for better performance, stability and strength. SPECIFICATIONS: Socket: 1700 CPU Support: Supports 12th Gen Intel® Core™ Processors, Pentium® Gold and Celeron® Processors up to i9 Chipset: Intel® H610 Chipset DDR4 Memory: 3200(MAX) / 3000 / 2933 / 2800 / 2666 / 2400 / 2133 MHz Memory Channel: Dual Channel DIMM Slots: 2 Max Memory (GB): 64 PCI-E x16: 1 PCI-E x1: 1 SATAIII: 4 M.2 Slot: 1 TPM (Header): 1 LAN: 1x Realtek® RTL8111H Gigabit LAN controller USB 3.2 ports (Front): 2(Gen 1, Type A) USB 3.2 ports (Rear): 2(Gen 1, Type A) USB 2.0 ports (Front): 4 USB 2.0 ports (Rear): 4 Audio ports (Rear): Realtek® ALC897 Codec VGA: 1 HDMI: 1 DirectX: 12 Form Factor: mATX Operating System: Support for Windows® 11 64-bit and Windows® 10 64-bit WHAT’S IN THE BOX: MSI PRO H610M-E DDR4 Intel 1700 mATX Motherboard – Black x1 SATA Cables x2 EZ M.2 Clip x1 I/O Shield x1 Quick Install Guide x1

#COMPUTERS #DESKTOPS #DESKTOP_COMPONENTS #MOTHERBOARD #ATX #INTEL #INTEL_MOTHERBOARD #MSI #PROH610M_EDDR4

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hippolotamus · 1 year ago

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Hippo my loooove

🥑🎲🧸🥐🐝

🫶

James, darling!!!!! 🥰

🥑 you accidentally killed somebody, which mutual(s) do you text for help?

oh! I was hoping someone would ask this! 😅 hands down I’m texting @blackandwhiteandrose and @stereopticons first. @giddyupbuck if an assist is necessary. ngl probably my boss too because she has a scary amount of knowledge about serial killers and natural disasters *chuckles nervously*

🎲 ⇢ what stops you from writing more in your free time?

Mental fatigue mostly. After work and parenting it can be a struggle if the beans aren’t happening.

🧸 what’s the fastest way to become your mutual?

more than likely? just show up like a feral cat and don't be rude

🥐 name one internet reference that will always make you laugh

I couldn’t decide on something that wasn’t fandom specific, but one of my love languages is Memes. So have some of my personal favs

🐝 tag your biggest supporter(s) and say one nice thing about them

@stereopticons - i cannot be expected to say just one nice thing. i'll go with: if you don't have her in your life... i'm so sorry. i, for one, am looking forward to the day we get to spend the rest of our lives living in a forest cottage with our cats.

@blackandwhiteandrose - personal life coach, cruise director and graphics consultant. literally nothing is off limits.

@disasterbuckdiaz - mi amor, mi vida, mi alma. so damn smart, kind, full of amazing ideas. LOML right there

@vanillahigh00 - the first person to beta my work. a chance meeting that led to an incredible friendship in and out of fandom.

@watchyourbuck - provider of the loudest yells and (loving) threats. need a cheerleader? she's your gal (gn)

@giddyupbuck - from words to edits, they will shamelessly encourage any absurd idea i come up with. likewise with @jesuisici33 @daffi-990 and @tizniz

@shortsighted-owl and @eddiebabygirldiaz - other escapees from The Zoo (ifykyk) who have supported me in and out of fandom, through all kinds of shit.

@elvensorceress - my dearest ducky friend. she is friend to all and literally deserves all the love in the world

@spotsandsocks - legit one of the nicest humans on planet earth. The universe was blessed when Spotty was gifted to us.

YOU - bless you for being absolutely unhinged with me about Buddie and loads of other outrageous topics

send a writer truth & dare ask

#writer truth & dare asks #hippo gets mail #james tag #this post just about sums up me in a nutshell #a complimentary 'stay if you dare' if you will

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 1 year ago

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LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

May 29, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

MAY 30, 2024

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned today in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They spoke at Girard College, a school where Black Americans make up most of the student body, where they emphasized the importance of Black voters to the Democratic coalition and the ways in which the administration’s actions have delivered on its promises to the Black community.

“Because Black Americans voted, Kamala and I are President and Vice President of the United States,” Biden said. “That’s not hyperbole. Because you voted, Donald Trump is a defeated former president.”

Harris noted that Black Americans are 60% more likely than white Americans to be diagnosed with diabetes, and called out the administration’s capping of insulin at $35 a month, along with the provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act that permit Medicare to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies. She called out the administration’s relief of more than $165 billion in student loan debt for more than 5 million Americans, as well as the first major bipartisan gun safety law in 30 years.

What has guided them, Harris said to applause, is the “fundamental belief” that “[w]e work for you, the American people, not the special interests, not the billionaires or the big corporations, but the people.”

She contrasted their record with that of former president Trump, who tried to get rid of the Affordable Care Act that puts healthcare within reach for millions of Black Americans, proposed cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and handpicked Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade. “And as he intended, they did,” she said. “[T]oday, one in three women and more than half of Black women of reproductive age live in a state with an abortion ban.”

Then Biden took the stage to chants of “Four more years!” He added to Harris’s list of ways in which the administration has worked for racial equality: reconnecting the Black and brown and poor neighborhoods that were cut apart by highways in the 1960s and addressing the decades of disinvestment that happened as a consequence of the carving up of those neighborhoods (this cutting apart of neighborhoods is a really big deal in urban history, by the way); getting rid of the lead pipes that still contaminate water, especially in minority neighborhoods; making high-speed internet widely available and affordable; investing in historically Black colleges and universities; appointing more Black women to federal circuit courts than all other U.S. presidents combined.

Under the Biden administration, he noted, Black unemployment is at a record low and Black small businesses are starting at the fastest rate in 30 years. The wealth gap between Black Americans and white Americans is the lowest it’s been in 20 years. “We’re opening more doors for economic opportunity, including access to capital, entrepreneurship, workforce training so you can build a life of financial freedom and create generational wealth...all while being the providers and leaders of your families and community,” the president said.

Biden drew a contrast between his administration and Trump, saying, “I’ve shown you who I am, and Trump has shown you who he is. And today, Donald Trump is pandering and peddling lies and stereotypes for your votes so he can win for himself, not for you.” “[W]e’re not going to let Donald Trump turn America into a place that doesn’t believe in honesty, decency, and treating people with respect,” he said, “and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let Donald Trump turn America into a place filled with anger and resentment and hate.”

According to Myah Ward and Brakkton Booker of Politico, this was Biden’s fifth trip to the Philadelphia area and his seventh to Pennsylvania this year. As he tries to win the state in 2024, the campaign has opened 24 field offices and outspent Trump there by a ratio of more than 4 to 1.

Harris and Biden’s appearance in Philadelphia looked pretty much like a normal day in a normal presidential campaign season.

The same was not true of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who was in a courtroom in Manhattan as Judge Juan Merchan instructed the jury in the criminal case against Trump for falsifying business records to hide a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, to stop her account of their sexual encounter from becoming public in the days before the 2016 election.

Legal analyst Joyce White Vance explained that to find Trump guilty, “[t]he jury must find unanimously that Trump created fraudulent business records and that he did it with the intent to influence an election through unlawful means.”

Trump and his supporters immediately took to the media to misrepresent the court system. Trump appeared to sleep through the jury instructions but later posted on social media: “I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE CHARGES ARE IN THIS RIGGED CASE…. THERE IS NO CRIME.” (He had told the judge on April 4, 2023, that he understood the charges against him.) Trump insisted that he had been railroaded by the fact that “a lot of key witnesses were not called,” although his own defense did not call them and he declined to testify himself. He called the judge “conflicted” and “corrupt,” and said “Mother Teresa could not beat these charges,” a reference to the Albanian-Indian Catholic nun canonized by the Catholic Church in 2016.

Fox News host John Roberts misrepresented the judge’s instructions, launching a wave of fury on right-wing media stations and prompting Florida senator Marco Rubio to write: “This is exactly the kind of sham trial used against political opponents of the regime in the old Soviet Union.” Utah senator Mike Lee chimed in with his own attacks on Judge Merchan. Roberts later corrected his tweet, but it was too late to change the narrative.

Tonight, those two themes reappeared again and again on social media in both Trump’s feed and those of his supporters. Their frenzy suggested they are concerned about the jury’s verdict. Newsmax host Todd Starnes tweeted: “President Trump needs to get out of New York City RIGHT NOW! Fly back to Mar-a-Lago or another state that will provide him safe harbor.”

Indeed, it seems we are seeing the fear of accountability that has been missing from the top levels of American politics since President Gerald Ford pardoned President Richard M. Nixon in 1974. While Ford believed Nixon’s accepting the pardon was an admission of guilt for his participation in the coverup of the break-in at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate Hotel before the 1972 election and anything else he might have done, Nixon never admitted such guilt.

In the fifty years since then, certain powerful people seem to have concluded that they cannot be held accountable to laws or rules. The MAGA Republicans are illustrating that disrespect for the rule of law on a daily basis as they work to undermine the courts and the Department of Justice.

Yesterday, Jodi Kantor of the New York Times reported that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s story that his wife flew the upside down flag of distress favored by the January 6th rioters as a response to a hostile neighbor did not line up with accounts given by neighbors and a police report.

Because of that distress flag, as well as the “Appeal to Heaven” flag that flew over his beach house, Alito is under increasing pressure to recuse himself from considering cases related to the events of January 6, including whether Trump is immune from prosecution for his actions surrounding the attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Today Alito refused to recuse himself, blaming his wife for flying the flags—“My wife is fond of flying flags. I am not,” he wrote—and suggesting that anyone who thinks he should recuse himself is “motivated by political or ideological considerations.”

And in what should almost certainly be read as trolling those who disagree with him, Alito, the author of the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision taking away from American women the right to make their own decisions about their healthcare, wrote: “[M]y wife is an independently minded private citizen. She makes her own decisions, and I honor her right to do so.”

Trump promptly congratulated Alito “for showing the INTELLIGENCE, COURAGE, and ‘GUTS’ to refuse stepping aside from making a decision on anything January 6th related.”

MAGA attacks on the rule of law affect real people’s lives. Ryan J. Reilly of NBC News reported today that after former Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police officer Michael Fanone called Trump “authoritarian” with a “violence fetish” in front of the Manhattan courthouse yesterday, Fanone’s 78-year-old mother was swatted, with officers showing up at her home after reports of a murder there. Fanone protected the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and went into cardiac arrest after a rioter assaulted him with a stun gun. “This is the reality of going up against or challenging Donald Trump…. These swatting calls are incredibly f---ing dangerous, especially when the target is somebody like my mom.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#GOTV #Heather Cox Richardson #Letters From An American #voters #campaign 2024 #MAGA lies #Rule of Law #Biden Harris Accomplishments #black Americans

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