cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/36752354

Got a 7 day ban on !memes@lemmy.ml after responding to this very abusive commenter with this image:

I reported their abusive comments somewhat expecting to get banned as well. It came as a shock to me when i saw my ban but this commenter got off scot-free. They didn't even so much as get a single abusive comment removed.

This is the most blatant double standard I've encountered on that instance.

Link to the thread: https://lemmy.world/comment/19699062

Got a 7 day ban on !memes@lemmy.ml after responding to this very abusive commenter with this image:

I reported their abusive comments somewhat expecting to get banned as well. It came as a shock to me when i saw my ban but this commenter got off scot-free. They didn't even so much as get a single abusive comment removed.

This is the most blatant instance of a double standard I've encountered on that instance.

Link to the thread: https://lemmy.world/comment/19699062

This is an in-depth analysis of Russia's Shadowfleet by Kurt Engelen from Belgium's Royal Higher Institute for Defense (RHID). For reference, see also this recent and shorter article by Euromaidenpess.

Here's the report's conclusion (via Le Chat Ai) : The shadow fleet is not marginal but central to Russia’s war economy. Stronger enforcement—at sea, financially, and diplomatically—is critical to cutting off Moscow’s oil revenues and weakening its military capacity.

For a summary see comments. Also I can't edit the title thanks to the new bot.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/36952817

The general consensus here is that if you generate AI art at all, regardless of whether you use it commercially or not, you are engaging in art theft and are in fact an asshole.

So why doesn't that logic get applied to straight up turning someone's digital art and/or photos into memes and having millions of people repost it with zero attribution? I'm not talking about things like wojaks or rage comic characters where the creator intended for it to be a meme and knew for a fact that other people will copy it, nor am I talking about screenshots of popular media franchises, but the random art and photos people post that just happens to resonate with the internet in a way the creator never foresaw, becoming memes without the creator even initially knowing. Think the original advice animal meme templates like Scumbag Steve or Bad Luck Brian where it's literally just a random photo of someone, probably taken off their personal social media. Or the two serious and one goofy dragon drawing and others that were very clearly posts on art sharing sites that got reposted with new context. I've even seen some meme templates go out of their way to crop out names and signatures that the original creator put there so they are credited when their work is reposted. And no one slamming AI art seemingly has a problem with any of it. In fact, if you as the creator of an image tried to get the internet to stop using your personal work as a meme with no attribution, you'd be ignored at best and targeted for doxxing and harassment at worst for spoiling their fun, probably by some of the same people condemning the use of AI.

If you go on art sharing sites, the consensus among the artists themselves is that you're not supposed to repost their work at all unless given a CC license or otherwise explicit permission. Whether it's for commercial use or just as a random internet post doesn't seem to change their stance in the slightest. This implicitly includes not just AI but memes as well, as in both cases you are taking someone else's work and redistributing it without permission or attribution. So why is this okay if AI art is not? It's even more blatant than AI because it's not just stealing tons of people's work, blending them all in a neural network, and spitting out a "new" work that still has fragments of the stolen work, it straight up IS just stealing a specific person's specific work, full stop. I feel like the reason is circular, it's okay because it's been happening since forever and that's what makes it okay. And AI art is not okay because it's new and doesn't already have a history of everyone doing it.

The majority of people condemning AI art are not themselves artists but cite things like "respect for artists" as a reason for condemning it. But most artists aren't just against AI but against their art being reposted by anyone for any purpose, profit or otherwise. Even if they were never going to make money from that piece, they are still against reposts on principle while most of the non-artists seem to only talk about AI separating artists from revenue. So if we're actually to respect artists, wouldn't we adopt that stance for everything and not just commercial use or AI?

And if this is okay, what about AI art makes it different enough to not be okay?

Finally, it's not like people never make money off memes so a binary "AI is for profit while memes aren't" doesn't work.

Not trying to defend AI art, but trying to go further with the discussion that has appeared around it and genuinely trying to tease out some consistency and fundamental values in subjects everyone ostensibly feel extremely strongly about and are not willing to budge.

The general consensus here is that if you generate AI art at all, regardless of whether you use it commercially or not, you are engaging in art theft and are in fact an asshole.

So why doesn't that logic get applied to straight up turning someone's digital art and/or photos into memes and having millions of people repost it with zero attribution? I'm not talking about things like wojaks or rage comic characters where the creator intended for it to be a meme and knew for a fact that other people will copy it, nor am I talking about screenshots of popular media franchises, but the random art and photos people post that just happens to resonate with the internet in a way the creator never foresaw, becoming memes without the creator even initially knowing. Think the original advice animal meme templates like Scumbag Steve or Bad Luck Brian where it's literally just a random photo of someone, probably taken off their personal social media. Or the two serious and one goofy dragon drawing and others that were very clearly posts on art sharing sites that got reposted with new context. I've even seen some meme templates go out of their way to crop out names and signatures that the original creator put there so they are credited when their work is reposted. And no one slamming AI art seemingly has a problem with any of it. In fact, if you as the creator of an image tried to get the internet to stop using your personal work as a meme with no attribution, you'd be ignored at best and targeted for doxxing and harassment at worst for spoiling their fun, probably by some of the same people condemning the use of AI.

If you go on art sharing sites, the consensus among the artists themselves is that you're not supposed to repost their work at all unless given a CC license or otherwise explicit permission. Whether it's for commercial use or just as a random internet post doesn't seem to change their stance in the slightest. This implicitly includes not just AI but memes as well, as in both cases you are taking someone else's work and redistributing it without permission or attribution. So why is this okay if AI art is not? It's even more blatant than AI because it's not just stealing tons of people's work, blending them all in a neural network, and spitting out a "new" work that still has fragments of the stolen work, it straight up IS just stealing a specific person's specific work, full stop. I feel like the reason is circular, it's okay because it's been happening since forever and that's what makes it okay. And AI art is not okay because it's new and doesn't already have a history of everyone doing it.

The majority of people condemning AI art are not themselves artists but cite things like "respect for artists" as a reason for condemning it. But most artists aren't just against AI but against their art being reposted by anyone for any purpose, profit or otherwise. Even if they were never going to make money from that piece, they are still against reposts on principle while most of the non-artists seem to only talk about AI separating artists from revenue. So if we're actually to respect artists, wouldn't we adopt that stance for everything and not just commercial use or AI?

And if this is okay, what about AI art makes it different enough to not be okay?

Finally, it's not like people never make money off memes so a binary "AI is for profit while memes aren't" doesn't work.

Not trying to defend AI art, but trying to go further with the discussion that has appeared around it and genuinely trying to tease out some consistency and fundamental values in subjects everyone ostensibly feel extremely strongly about and are not willing to budge.

Join the lemmy.ml boycott today and help foster a better Lemmy-verse! No more posts, comments (except to counter their propaganda ofc!) or upvotes on any comms on the Lemmy.ml instance! To make this easy you can do an instance block at Settings > Block Tab > Scroll to bottom > Input "lemmy.ml" and apply

And consider donating to individual instances instead.

Check the megathread for more!

Join the lemmy.ml boycott today and help foster a better Lemmy-verse! No more posts, comments (except to counter their propaganda ofc!) or upvotes on any comms on the Lemmy.ml instance! To make this was you can do an instance block at Settings > Block Tab > Scroll to bottom > Input "lemmy.ml" and apply

And consider donating to individual instances instead.

Check the megathread for more!

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro said Monday that his government will end its free trade agreement with Israel and seeks to revise the one with the United States.

Petro made the announcement during a cabinet meeting amid rapidly deteriorating tensions with its former partners over Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, which is largely sponsored by the US.

The announcement came shortly after an open letter by the Colombo-American Chamber of Commerce, which said that 500 businessmen distanced themselves from the president’s opposition to the genocide.

According to Petro, the “pro-gringo” businessmen failed to understand that life comes before trade.

Israeli naval forces intercepted and seized ships from the Global Sumud Flotilla en route to Gaza, as activists vowed to continue their humanitarian mission despite threats and international pressure.

Source https://sh.itjust.works/comment/21312093

Modlog https://photon.lemmy.world/modlog?user=14420106

Join the lemmy.ml boycott today and help foster a better Lemmy-verse! No more posts, comments (except to counter their propaganda ofc!) or upvotes on any comms on the Lemmy.ml instance! To make this was you can do an instance block at Settings > Block Tab > Scroll to bottom > Input "lemmy.ml" and apply

And consider donating to individual instances instead.

Check the megathread for more!

@TheJesusaurus@sh.itjust.works

Thousands of Greek workers prompted large-scale disruption during a 24-hour general strike on Wednesday, protesting against the conservative government's plans to introduce a 13-hour work day. The strike has disrupted transport in the capital Athens and the second-largest city Thessaloniki, trains and ferry services, while teachers, hospital staff and civil servants are also taking part.

Greg Mello, director of the Los Alamos Study Group, which studies the US nuclear arsenal, stated that none of the current US or other countries' missile defense systems are capable of countering Russian non-ballistic nuclear weapons.

According to him, the US initiative to create the Golden Dome system is technically unfeasible. Mello noted that Russia possesses weapons such as the Poseidon underwater drone, hypersonic missiles, and cruise missiles, which are specifically designed to overcome missile defense systems.

He emphasized that instead of fanciful projects like Golden Dome, real arms control measures are needed to ensure mutual security.

Russia has lifted its moratorium on the deployment of intermediate- and shorter-range missiles, paving the way for the deployment of the Oreshnik system in Belarus. This is a response to the growth of NATO missile forces in Europe and the changing strategic balance.

The Oreshnik is a ballistic missile with a range of up to 5,500 km and hypersonic warheads (up to Mach 10), virtually invulnerable to missile defenses and equipped with decoys. Deployment in Belarus reduces the flight time to Europe by 3-4 minutes, threatening key NATO facilities, including NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Russia believes the collapse of the arms control system is a consequence of the actions of the US and its allies. The deployment of the Oreshnik system in Belarus is a necessary measure to restore the strategic balance.

The Pentagon has removed the procurement of Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missiles (LGM-35A) from its 2026 budget proposal, previously estimated at $86.1 billion. Funding has been reduced by $2.85 billion, but $4.15 billion will be allocated for research and testing ($2.65 billion in flexible funds and $1.5 billion in mandatory spending). A $0.742 million adjustment to previous advances has also been included.

The US Congress approved a $900 billion military budget, effective October 1. Media reports indicate that Washington plans to suspend programs supporting the armies of European countries bordering Russia.

The Belarusian Ministry of Defense explained that the West's hype surrounding the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons and the Oreshnik system is due to their role as a strategic deterrent. Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces Viktor Tumar noted that these weapons are intended for use only in extreme cases, but their very existence discourages adversaries from aggressive plans.

He emphasized that the presence of tactical nuclear weapons and the Oreshnik system allows Minsk to avoid an arms race and preserve funds for social programs. According to Tumar, the West, on the contrary, is increasing its military presence and reducing social spending.

^^^

ROME, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Italian unions called a general strike for Friday in solidarity with the international aid flotilla for Gaza, while protests sprang up in a number of cities late on Wednesday after reports that the ships had been intercepted by military personnel.

In the southern city of Naples, demonstrators got into the main railway station and halted train traffic, while police surrounded the Termini railway station in Rome after protesters gathered close to entrances.

"The aggression against civilian ships that were carrying Italian citizens is an extremely serious matter," the CGIL union said, calling the strike which other smaller unions said they would join.

In the northwestern city of Genoa, the USB announced that it intended to block the port and called on all protesters to gather at 10 p.m. (2000 GMT) at one of the main entrances.

There's an Aztec city building game called Tlatoani. It's in early access, but has enough meat on the bone that it's one of my goto games.

Out of curiosity I checked Steam DB for active player numbers. I have discovered at any given point I am 10% to 25% of the given player base BY MYSELF. I am 1 of 4 people playing this game right now in the world. With the prevalence of the internet I always assume whatever weird bullshit you're into there's at least a thousand people talking about it; making memes outsiders could never comprehend. It's actually novel to fly under the radar for once.

What do you do that doesn't have a community associated with it?

Over the past two years, the Brave browser has seen an average of about 2.5 million net new users each month. This September, we officially surpassed 100 million monthly active users worldwide.