social media laws are a treatment of a symptom, not the cause.

meta/tiktok/google capitalize by maximizing engagement, most lucratively outrage (risking ideological polarization) and addiction (many health harms associated). five years ago, this was very different, before the sudden takeover of short form media. now, surveys are indicating that average screen times of children are nearing 8 hours a day.

the need to address this dire situation is the greatest is has ever been historically.

yet, banning it outright (aside from the heinous privacy violations) does not entail any accountability whatsoever for these large corporations in creating highly addictive and harmful social media platforms that have consumed our youth

further, without changes to the structural incentive of maximizing profit, these companies will continue to maximize engagement, and thus addiction to what is a harmful way to spend 8 hours of a day.

i am hopeful that the lawsuit happening in northern CA against meta will result in some decision ruling these engagement maximizing tactics illegal.

i also hope that voters will choose candidates in the future that will pass legislation preventing these products from existing, leaving platforms that are actually productive to society, decentralized, and (most importantly) non-profit.

anyone have any experience using ghost on activitypub? it’s another blogging/publishing platform similar to substack, but have never heard of it until i googled around

https://activitypub.ghost.org/

from a design perspective, consistency is key. light mode is on? then light mode means light mode, and apps should be in light mode.

do you want both your terminal to be dark theme and your gtk apps (including all of the gnome UI) to be light theme at the same time?

do you want settings within every single app in order to change from light mode to dark mode, as opposed to a global toggle that applies to every UI on your computer?

alternatively, is the terminal the only exception to this global toggle, and this design inconsistency by having the default contradict the default of the rest of your desktop environment is your preference?

i think you need to look into routing. Specifically, split tunneling.

https://tailscale.com/learn/what-is-split-tunneling-secure-critical-data-vpn

https://protonvpn.com/support/protonvpn-split-tunneling

https://mullvad.net/en/help/split-tunneling-with-the-mullvad-app

I’d recommend installing those python dependencies using apt, so that when you update your system packages, the python libraries get updated, too. Pip, on the other hand, is useful for development but is detatched from apt and you will definitely forget to pip update unlike apt update which you hopefully do frequently. Use the names of the packages the readme provides in the pip install … instruction. For example, for numpy, you can install this.

Then, since that python script has a shebang at the top, you can add it to a directory in your $PATH and mark it executable with chmod, and you can invoke the script in your shell from any directory with just the file name.

Most arguments people make against AI are in my opinion actually arguments against capitalism. Honestly, I agree with all of them, too. Ecological impact? A result of the extractive logic of capitalism. Stagnant wages, unemployment, and economic dismay for regular working people? Gains from AI being extracted by the wealthy elite. The fear shouldn’t be in the technology itself, but in the system that puts profit at all costs over people.

Data theft? Data should be a public good where authors are guaranteed a dignified life (decoupled from the sale of their labor).

Enshittification, AI overview being shoved down all our throats? Tactics used to maximize profits tricking us into believing AI products are useful.

Jordana Cutler, Meta’s public policy director for Israel, at the 2025 JNS summit :

We updated our policies to recognize that the term Zionist can be used as a proxy for Jews and Israelis. We banned content claiming Zionists run the world or control the media and we do not allow for dehumanizing comparisons of Zionists.

Although Tik Tok had a mass exodus of users from the US on acquisition by Larry Ellision, Meta has yet to see this, and honestly it deserves more. Let’s hope the lawsuit in CA about minors being addicted holds Meta accountable and more people see the evil doings of that company.

I also like

• Ben Palmer (@palmertrolls)
• The Good Liars (@tglnyc)
• Jordan Klepper on the Daily Show

We’re seeing the reality of what is entailed by ICE’s dangerously aggressive and reckless hiring, especially under the demand for more and more agents. Reminds me of the journalist who unexpectedly was hired by ICE and had fully received a position with no submission of any legal forms.