IRS agents go after wealthy tax cheats because they are scored and graded on how much money they recover and they're going to recover many many times more going after a wealthy tax sheet then they are going to go after some random Schwab who makes a little six figures or less.

I saw something on one of the news channels the other day, that seemed to indicate that the IRS indeed is going fairly heavily after the "Schwab" who makes 6 figures or less....

There's a ton of those, and they are easy pickings since they dont' have the resources for lawyers and heavy duty CPAs.....so, you can recover a LOT of $$ shaking down a LOT of small fish.

It's quicker too than going after a well lawyered up rich guy that can take years.

There are well established limits to the 1st Amendment, which is why some states have laws against "involuntary pornography" that have stood up to 1A challenges. The key is not just classifying anything pornographic that was manufactured without consent as illegal, but also considering the intent behind it. To protect 1A rights, things like public interest in disclosure have to be considered. Only where intent to hurt the victim can be established (i.e. revenge porn) can it be made illegal.

But, this law in the UK is saying you can't even generate it for home collections or use.....and the 1A definitely would protect that here in the US.

Libel isn't protected in the US so writing fiction about real people can and has got people sued. I don't see why pictures get stronger 1A protection than words.

Well, it isn't libel if you create it for your own personal collection/use...you can make pictures or write anything you want here to keep private.

And to a large extent, you can publish it too...as long as it isn't libelous.

Writing fiction, wouldn't necessarily be libelous....and for celebrities/public figures, they have less protections than normal folks...so, there's that too.

Why does anyone use F-droid? Why does anyone use F-droid to install NewPipe?

Well, that answers none of my questions...

I have no idea what the fuck F-droid or NewPipe is....

It doesn't sound very iPhone-ish to me...?

and why do you need that?

Well, aside from "what does NEED have to do with anything....they are quite useful for protecting your hearing when you are out target shooting.

But seriously what the fuck does "need" have to do with getting a suppressor or a few of them?

I don't "need" a corvette or Porsche...but they are fun to own and drive.

Same in that suppressors are fun to have...it's nice to shoot without having to wear hearing protection, etc.

Hell, silencers/suppressors are MUCH easier to get in countries around the world that are VERY strict about firearms ownership, primarily due to hearing concerns.

It's a breeze to get a suppressor in much of Europe...that is if you can somehow get past the draconian gun laws.

That is making shareholders money. That is it. That is the goal.

How do you figure?

Disney stock has been tanking badly over the past few years, and I"m not talking about covid problems.

Only thing I can figure is, they are more beholden to Blackrock and Vanguard than they are their other stockholders.

YouTube used to be great early on. Lots of interesting people posting about interesting or genuinely funny stuff. These days it's just a bunch of influencers trying to sell you crap. They've turned YouTube into yet another marketing platform. Fuck them. I can't actually remember the last time I watched anything on YouTube anyway. It's not worth coming back to in the first place anyway.

You and a few others have made very similar statements.

I seem to always find something to watch on YouTube....but then again, I'm generally searching for specific subjects, or looking through subscriptions from people that speak to my specific subjects...examples being photography, cooking (specific styles or ethnic foods).

Anyway, the algo seems to have pretty accurately figured my interests and if I'm wanting to be passive in my looking for content, well, it seems to accurately suggest videos that are in my interests.

I dunno that I've ever seen a true "influencer" as many have stated.

How do you watch YouTube...is it only passive scrolling, or do you usually search for specific topics/subjects?

Can someone make an enumerated list of all things good this means for the user, that they could not have or do before this EU law took effect?

This isn't about making payroll. This about paying the shareholders for them sitting on their ass.

It doesn't even seem to be about THAT these days...seems some studios, at least, are more interested in pushing "the message" than making profits...ie "See Disney".

They're losing money hand over fist and don't seem to care....the agenda must be pushed.

Safety testing means it will not say things that are politically unpalatable. For example, it must not misgender anyone. It must not provide statistics that look bad for some race or other "protected" group, etc.

In other words....no fun to play with, and not really worth messing with....

Go for the truly open source models if you want something you can really "play" with and use to generate anything you wish.

You can buy a machine gun in the US but this software needs safety testing.

Well, you'd better have at least a bare minimum of about $40K or so, since citizens can ONLY own full auto weapons that were manufactured 1986 or earlier...so they're a bit rare (thanks Hughes amendment [rolls eyes]).

And once you find an old one that is legal to sell, then you have to get with the ATF and go through the enhanced background check, and you pay the tax stamp ($200 I believe), and then likely wait at least 6mos to a year to get it processed, and THEN, if all works, yes...you can then purchase and own a full auto machine gun.

AI safety testing is MUCH easier, cheaper and quicker.

This is one reason why I want to leave the US ... I want to live in a crowded, communal culture where neighbors tend to randomly drop by to chat or ask if you have a food item.

Err...I don't know where you got that this is not a thing where I live...?

I know and enjoy my neighbors, we talk while we're out walking our dogs, or riding bikes in the neighborhood, or go to the neighborhood pool.

We just don't share walls, we're all single family dwellings.

You don't have to share a wall to be neighborly...not sure where you got that from?

I find that NOT sharing a wall, helps you keep from actually hating your neighbor due to the noise their lives generates.