Narcissus 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: AI Might Be Our Best Shot At Taking Back The Open Web

    Narcissus ( profile ), 26 Mar, 2026 @ 05:42am

    Grandpa here

    As a guy closing in on 60 with frightening speed, I feel the comments of many people above. I'm also being forced to use AI by my boss. They don't tell me how, I just need to somehow. I also see the barbaric influence greedy tech moghuls have on the world in general, and how they make everything worse for everybody. I can be like the many of the commenters above and close myself off from anything AI. I can refuse to engage with it and hope I can keep my job until I retire. I can keep screaming at the clouds and hope it doesn't rain. I chose a bit different path. I'm (slowly) learning to use it. Initially it just caused me extra work, because I didn't know how to use it. I've now gotten to the point where sometimes it actually gives me useful results and saves me time. I'm not spending days to spar with it, I just incrementally learn more about it. It made me realize something. People like me (I'm an expert in my field) will be more valuable in the future, not less. LLMs can generate everything you ask for but at the end, somebody with actual wisdom (so, contextual knowledge) needs to say if what it generates makes sense. I work with much younger people, much more fluent with these new tools, and they still call me to okay things. So, kids that are ChatGTPing their way to a degree are actually taking the wrong lesson. As mentioned in the comments several times, it can be dangerous to generate code with a black box, if you don't understand the code it generates. Therefore people that can revise said code will be worth their weight in gold. Obviously they will use their own AI tools. They're already PEN testing code with AI models. The same will go for other fields. Law, for example. We've all heard that LLMs can go terribly wrong when writing legal texts. So, a wise person needs to revise it. This was a bit of a preamble to what I wanted to say: Just blindly rejecting everything AI is not a useful attitude. The technology is there and we somehow need to deal with it. Even if you want to fight it, you'll still need to understand what it is and how it works, to effectively put it back in it's place. Otherwise you're just an old man, like me, that's angry at the TV because he can't figure out the remote. And, I do think things will settle down. The current situation is untenable. The amount of money these companies are burning up is unsustainable and, if all the datacenters they're planning actually get built, there will simply not be enough energy to power them. When LLMs have to charge realistic amounts of money for the models, the craze will die down. In the mean time I think we should look at ways how to use the tools, while trying to negate or lessen the negative impact they have and which are undeniable. For that we need all of us working in unison and making good choices (elections matter!). Just saying NO is likely to give these people free reign to destroy the world.

  • On the post: Hey Brett Kavanaugh, This Is On You:

    Narcissus ( profile ), 18 Feb, 2026 @ 05:53am

    Grounds to sue?

    “If the officers learn that the individual they stopped is a U. S. citizen or otherwise lawfully in the United States, they promptly let the individual go.” One would wonder, when the "officers" didn't let somebody go promptly after that somebody identified themselves as an American citizen, if that somebody has grounds to sue for infrignement of their constitutional rights. IANAL, but that seems a rather logical conclusion.

  • On the post: Minneapolis Proved Something MAGA Can’t Accept: Most People Are Actually Virtuous

    Narcissus ( profile ), 29 Jan, 2026 @ 04:19am

    Splitting hairs?

    I find it doubtful that many wehrmacht soldiers were directly involved in arresting jews and shooting hostages. Those actions were typically reserved for the Gestapo and the SS. Note: I'm not saying it never happened anywhere, I'm sure it did, but I'm sure it was not policy to involve the Wehrmacht. While this might seem like splitting hairs, I do think it makes an important point, which is connected to the article. The Wehrmach consisted, as you say, out of regular people. Regular people that, despite maybe being not a fan of their government, could be convinced (or pressured) to fight in defence of their homeland. And, maybe, not enquiring too deeply if ugly stuff happens in their name. What most of them could probably not be convinced of, is that the defence of the Vaterland required them arresting women and children and shooting/hanging innocent civilians. On a separate point: People often compare the Pretti shooting with things that happen in authoritarian states. While for sure authoritarian states shoot protesters, see recently Iran, this kind of open execution is very rare. Most authoritarians are smart enough to know not to give protesters a focus point for protests. As, again, Iran found out when they killed a girl for not properly wearing her headscarf. Somebody being disappeared is much scarier and gives no clear cause for people to organize behind. The government can always claim they had nothing to do with it or that the person is still under interrogation. All the above makes the Trump regime just as bad as other authoritarian regimes, but also much stupider.

  • On the post: ACIP Chair Wonders Aloud If We Should Really Be Vaccinating For Polio These Days

    Narcissus ( profile ), 29 Jan, 2026 @ 02:57am

    Misunderstanding

    Milhoan appearently wasn't properly briefed and he thought the podcast was titled "Why should I NOT trust you".

  • On the post: Bari Weiss Is Sad That People Aren’t Enjoying Her Clumsy Destruction Of CBS News

    Narcissus ( profile ), 15 Jan, 2026 @ 01:25am

    Bari is doing a great job!

    "We need to be the news for these 10 days." She's sticking to the mission perfectly. In the last weeks I've heard: - She's pissing of every serious journalist that still remains at CBS (I refrained from scare-quoting journalist, because I'm a nice guy) - She's spending inordinate amounts of money on private security and rolls up in a motorcade - Her Dokupil protegé is FFing bad at anchormanning and only has a job because the Orange Man got elected. - She tried to clumsily suppress a story her overlords didn't like about Alligator Auschwitz and failed spectacularly - She's setting up a show called "Whiskey Fridays with Dokupil", allegedly sponsored by Jack Daniels (Jack Daniels sponsoring a show with Whiskey in the name is an atrocity on a whole other level) - Now I hear she's sad (Note, I didn't have to Google anything, this is just from memory. There's probably more) So, everybody is talking about how shitty a job she's doing. Despite the fact that there are a few other (minor?) things happening in the US right now. Mission Accomplished!

  • On the post: Recent Boat Strike Sure Looks Like A War Crime

    Narcissus ( profile ), 09 Dec, 2025 @ 07:16am

    Police action

    I think it would be covered under the "police action" bit. Those type of actions tend to be against insurgents, freedom fighters and other assorted non-governmental groups. The Netherlands, for example, fought a "Police action" (that's what they called it themselves) after WW II to try to prevent indonesia from gaining independence. Obviously, they were not fighting the government of Indonesia, because they thought that was them. And, formally, they were right. Incidentally, that police action was also rife with human rights violations and atrocities. Maybe we should have Geneva IV, to ban Police Actions alltogether. But I agree. I hope they put the guilty ones on trial, even though I'm not hopeful that will ever happen. Pretty sure the preemptive pardons are already written.

  • On the post: The Leopard Has Come For A Small Town Kansas Mayor & Its Residents

    Narcissus ( profile ), 03 Dec, 2025 @ 01:58am

    How is it his fault?

    Obviously I'm blissfully unaware of how this whole "registering to vote" thing works in the US. But, how is it possible that he registered to vote, where presumably they asked for some form of ID, they registered him and allowed him to vote, and now he is on the hook for voting illegally? What is the point of the registering process if it is not also about vetting applicants for eligability? They should prosecute the registering bald eagle (again, not familiar who does the registering) for doing a shoddy job.

  • On the post: Pete Hegseth Has Turned State Violence Into TikTok Content

    Narcissus ( profile ), 18 Nov, 2025 @ 07:35am

    I was thinking the same thing. I just checked and Colombia and Venezuela are original members of the ICC, so they could bring a case. Venezuela could do it just to make everything awkward for everybody. Some countries stopped sharing info with the US because of these murders, but no country has gone much further than that. A conviction before the ICC would make it harder for them to look away. Having said that, knowing how fast the ICC moves, the only one that might live to see a verdict could be Pete. Hopefully by then he's already locked up by the US. (one can hope?)

  • On the post: Formula 1, Others Oppose Arena Football One’s Logo Trademark Application

    Narcissus ( profile ), 18 Nov, 2025 @ 01:32am

    Title is confusing

    The ArEan football? I thought this was some kind of football specific to blond-haired, blue-eyed übermenschen...

  • On the post: The Murder Of Charlie Kirk Didn’t Help Anyone

    Narcissus ( profile ), 12 Sep, 2025 @ 01:48am

    Utilitarian

    The discussion about where Stephen's lines and boundaries are, is unnecessary. In my view they were properly explained by Stephen in his initial article. I see his views less as idealistic, which is how most people seem to view them, but as utilitarian. He is clear that violence is an option, but only the final one and it will never be a solution to anything. He rejects violence because it begets violence. After violence is initiated the next step is escalation. So, logically, shooting Charlie Kirk is against his world view, since it solves nothing. But, I would go even further: Shooting Charlie Kirk is an admission that all other options are null and void. It is an admission that the only path is escalation. It's nihilism. If that is the answer, then it's time to start the civil war because you stopped believing in the US as a functioning country. Digressing a little, K. being shot is exactly what Trump wants. Remember how he reacted when Zelensky mentioned there couldn't be presedential elections in war time? Do you think it's an accident he's sending troops into DC or threatening to do the same in Chicago? They're actively hoping for shoot outs, so they can declare a national emergency. This, of course, will give them sweeping powers and it will end democracy in the US as you know it. So, considering the above, I can subscribe to Stephen's views. It is clear that how you weigh the factors will determine when the ultimate response (violence) is needed. I do want to stress though, that everything, probably even a large public support for K.'s shooter, will be seen by Trump and his cronies as a legitimazation for a clamp down. And this, I think, is the point of Stephen: If you punch some body in the face because he pushed you, expect to get into a fight. So, you'd better be damn sure you're ready for a fight! Note: As of this writing I haven't heard who the shooter is or wat his motivation is. I find it a bit disconcerting that basically evrybody is kinda assuming the bullet came from the left, including the president, based on vibes.

  • On the post: Why False Equivalence Is One Of Democracy’s Most Dangerous Lies

    Narcissus ( profile ), 13 Aug, 2025 @ 01:49am

    Left vs Right, really?

    The Overton window in the US has moved so much to the right that the Democratic party is basically saying "I wish we could be Republicans, just without the fascism." Harris was effectively running on that exact platform. She stopped short of laying a wreath at Reagan's grave, but I feel that was discussed internally at some point. The Dems would comfortably be on the right side of the spectrum in most European countries. All this while polls I see are indicating that many Americans have views that would be considered centrist in Europa. On things like universal health care, LGBTQ rights, abortion, and even gun control, most Americans are pretty much middle of the road. The strange fact is that for these middle of the road Amreicans there is no party to really vote for. Also important to realize is that this movement to the right has been a process of decades, starting seeriously with Reagan and relentlessly pushed by successive presidents. Clinton was doing his part in that too, for example. So, progressives shouldn't expect to undo that damage in months, or even years. They have to be in it for the long haul. So, what to do? Many, many things. Setting up a 2025-like progressive strategy would be one. However, first and foremost: Vote! And yes, many Democrats are feckless, ineffective, and corrupt. I do however feel that this whole fascism thing is non-negotiable. You should do evertything in your power to stop fascism. So, if you don't want to vote for a Democrat, vote against a fascist.

  • On the post: IRS Commissioner On Direct File Program: ‘It’s Gone’

    Narcissus ( profile ), 08 Aug, 2025 @ 12:27am

    Commissioner Billy Long is committed to modernizing the IRS and providing a taxpayer experience that meets today’s expectations Many countries already provide fully prepared tax statements for everyone. So, if he wants to meet today's expectations...

  • On the post: Elon Says Teslas Drive Themselves. The Crash Data Tesla Tried To Hide From A Court Says Otherwise

    Narcissus ( profile ), 07 Aug, 2025 @ 12:29am

    She did something much worse than destroying people's lives. She burned rich people's money.

  • On the post: FCC Boss Brendan Carr Whines About Accurate Comcast/NBC Reporting That Made Donald Trump Sad

    Narcissus ( profile ), 24 Apr, 2025 @ 07:21am

    Why do they want access?

    Many news organizations are tiptoeing around this administration because they're afraid to lose access. If you're a self respecting news org, why do you need "access"? You know that they will lie to your face, so nothing you hear through official channels is useful. If you ask a difficult question Goebbelina Leavitt will scream in your face that you're fake media and then will either ignore the question or straight up lie. So, what's the upside of access? Those resources could be used to do some actual reporting. Maybe do some research for once. Obviously Fox, OAN and, apparently, Tim Pool, need to be there, but they're Goebbelina's line into MAGAT world. The rest might as well take a break.

  • On the post: Don’t Kid Yourselves, Folks. Trump Is Just As Willing To Deport/Jail Actual US Citizens.

    Narcissus ( profile ), 23 Apr, 2025 @ 01:55am

    *Pedantic mode engaged*

    I assume you mean the Gestapo (or as MTG would say the Gazpazzo Police). The Gestapo (Geheime Staats Polizei or Secret State Police) were Nazi thugs that were doing most of the arresting and torturing of "unwanted elements", meaning mostly Jews and resisters. They were more or less given a free hand to do whatever, like ICE now. The Stasi (Staats Sicherheit or State Security) was a post war ministery in East Germany. They were mostly involved in collecting information wholesale. They collected info on everyone in huge archives. I think the best comparison here would be the NSA.

  • On the post: Don’t Kid Yourselves, Folks. Trump Is Just As Willing To Deport/Jail Actual US Citizens.

    Narcissus ( profile ), 23 Apr, 2025 @ 01:42am

    Forgot one for the list

    Also, people working for foreign suppliers will think twice about doing on-site support. I myself was asked to get on a plane to the US and support solving an issue with our products. I refused. I feel they don't pay me enough to risk being swept up in some ICE razzia and send to a Salvadorean prison. While being thoroughly white, if you squint you could think otherwise (I have a number of ancestors from different European countries). Also if they check my socials (few as they are) I'll for sure not come off as a big supporter of the current regime. "Check your privilige" suddenly got a new meaning for me...

  • On the post: Trump Declares A Trade War On Uninhabited Islands, US Military, And Economic Logic

    Narcissus ( profile ), 04 Apr, 2025 @ 02:18am

    Mobster mentality

    Mobsters operate under the assumption that nobody can touch them. If you don't pay their "protection money" they torch your business or break your legs. If you go to the police they'll bribe them. Trump has basically been running his real estate company in the same way: "I don't have to pay you because my lawyers are more expensive than yours." The problem here is that the mobster approach works, as long as your victims don't organize. This is what's happening. For example, the EU now actually gets stuff done, because they see a real threat. Both in the Ukraine and the tarrif war. Maybe the most surprising news (to me) I heard this week is that Japan, South Korea and China have closed a trade deal to protect themselves against the tarrifs. Anybody with some knowledge of the region would understand the enormous amount of cultural resistance this deal would've had to overcome. Those countries/peoples distrust eachother a lot, for historic reasons. And here is where the Mango Mussolini miscalculated. The world is seeing what nonsense this is and that these tarrifs are based on nothing. Since there is no rhyme or reason behind the tarrifs, you can also not approach them in a reasonable way. You can't lower your tarrifs if there are none. So, negotiating is off the table. What you CAN do however, is routing around the damage. So, increase your trade with other countries and put up defensive tarrifs. So the mobster victims are organizing. Maybe it will turn out that the world can get along just fine without the mobster. It will cost a lot of money, sure, but short term cost vs long term gain. That is the real damage Trump has done. He made the US unpredictable. If you're a mobster that is maybe good. If you're a country and, I don't know, want to borrow money on the international markets, that's not good.

  • On the post: Trump’s Secret Police Are Now Disappearing Students For Their Op-Eds

    Narcissus ( profile ), 28 Mar, 2025 @ 02:24am

    Now it makes sense

    Seeing recent developments, this map makes sense, kinda: Ancestry map (Yes, it's a joke, don't @ me)

  • On the post: Meta, Apparently, Really Wants Everyone To Read This Book (By Trying To Ban It)

    Narcissus ( profile ), 14 Mar, 2025 @ 05:43am

    Non Sequitor

    Just chiming in her to say Mike has achieved one of my lifelong dreams: to create idiom. (yes, I know, I'm weird) A few months ago I was watching some random youtube vid on Voltaire and the narrator just dropped this: "The French government Streisanded his books by burning them." No additional explanation, dude just continued, indicating he expected everybody to understand what he meant. Obviously it was possible to sort of get what he meant from context, but still. Congrats, Mike!

  • On the post: Trump Claims Boycotting Tesla Is Illegal, Which It Very Much Is Not

    Narcissus ( profile ), 14 Mar, 2025 @ 04:10am

    Not so sure

    "And Tesla’s stock will surely rise at some point." Tesla stock value was always based on air. The price of the stock would make it worth more than the 5 biggest carmakers together. If you want to be nasty, you could say that quintessentially it's a meme stock. From an investor standpoint you would defend those prices as a bet on the future of the company. Which is a big bet but, okay. However, now, due to Musk's antics, the brand (a huge part of a company's goodwill) is basically toxic. Besides that, sales are dropping like a stone and not even a Trump commercial can fix that. Seeing the reason for the drop it will make it worse probably. So, the future of the company is looking bleak. Any sane investor would look for the exit. Not sure that can be fixed. Maybe Musk can sell it to Greenpeace or the Dalai Lama?

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