If It Ain't Intersectional...

[depsidase]

[inkskinned]

my most ungrounded and unresearched fear is that so many companies are pushing AI in part because it builds them a pathway towards a subscription model for a huge number of things that should not be subscription, but theoretically could be:

do you want to talk to verizon's help desk because there's an error on your bill? to access a real agent, you have to pay for Verizon Access+, only 5.99 a month.

want to filter out all the fake job postings from the real ones? subscribe to Indeed: Advanced Tactics and only verified postings will appear on your dash.

sick of the infinite ai slop? buy Google Premium; it'll automatically detect ai within a site and gives it a credibility score. with premium plus, you can shuffle high-credibility results to the top.

do you want a "luxury" experience? well, you'd have to pay for that luxury, and since the company sure doesn't want to pay its employees; the cost would fall to the consumer.

when automation has made every experience unpleasant; the experience of genuine humanity will be commodified.

[marzipanandminutiae]

This is already happening – one of the softwares used by a museum I work at only lets you talk to a human help agent if you have their premium subscription. It's such bullshit

[inkskinned]

the fact you are not the only one in these notes saying "no this is already happening; i have to pay money to speak to a representative" is just... really awesome! you said a software used by museums is doing this shit? okay! great! wonderful!! anybody know where i can scream

[amanitaphalloides]

I worry a little bit that people who refuse to learn about ai as a part of their anti ai position are going to be extremely unprepared to understand what’s actually scary about it and already have their digital literacy at risk tbh

[amanitaphalloides]

not that I am some genius in this regard but if you follow ai developments even slightly you might change the things you are most worried about. do people know the extent to which ai is already eating itself and how meaningless this is making swaths of the internet. do people know that there are plenty of random mid-sized companies today buying their employees’ likenesses to create digital clones and using these to make hundreds of videos. I am so much more worried about labor and surveillance and abuse than people becoming lazy about writing emails. and idk man I sort of like and respect people who are willfully ignorant about it as a way of minimizing its force in their lives and I am in some ways jealous but also when I see posts that basically still boil down to “chatgpt will never fool me” I am like 😭😭😭 for one thing not the only thing to be concerned about, for another thing I am really sorry but I don’t think you’re right

[tearsofrefugees]

Clerks smile and 'flip off' security camera while 'sneaking' immigrants out of courthouse: DOJ

Two Utah court clerks have been dubbed "anti-ICE vigilantes" after they were allegedly caught "sneaking" immigrants out the back door of the

[antifainternational]

That's how you show real solidarity!

"After they overheard that ICE was at the courthouse to arrest someone, they improperly accessed court databases to determine who was not born in the United States," a DOJ detention filing says. "They then snuck every suspected illegal alien who was at the courthouse out a back door, where ICE, who was waiting in the parking lot for their target to leave the building, could not see them."

Think about what you can do at your job or in your daily life to resist fascism when the opportunity presents itself!

[genderoutlaws]

fundraiser for their legal expenses x

[kayla-denker]

Hey, you, cis girl that's very (correctly) vocal about women being allowed to talk about their periods, do you include trans women in that?

I ask because every single time I've tried to talk about it to anyone that isn't a trans woman they get fucking angry. Which has caused me to have to just suffer in silence every single month. So I really relate to cis women when they talk about literally the exact same thing; being shamed by everyone around them their whole lives for talking about their periods, so they just suffer in silence every month as it negatively impacts their work and social lives. But I don't even feel like I can voice that I am literally dealing with the same exact thing because most of y'all react like you want to throw me in front of a bus for saying it, even those of you who act like your such big great transfem allies.

[kayla-denker]

I guess I'll take this opportunity to talk about trans women periods. The first thing any tme person thinks when they hear this is always "how can trans women have periods? They don't have uteruses!"

The answer is: the uterus isn't what causes your period, it is effected by your period. What causes your period and what causes trans women's periods is the same thing: the endocrine system.

HRT changes the sex of your endocrine system. Feminizing HRT makes it a female endocrine system, giving us a 28-day hormone cycle just like cis women. At the end of that cycle, the hypothalamus floods the body with prostaglandins. Those are what cause all but one of the period symptoms, because they make muscles inflame and contract. They are what make the uterus shed its lining, they are what cause intestinal cramps, they are what cause body aches, they are what cause headaches and migraines. The only period symptom not causes by the release of prostaglandins throughout the body is depression, and that is caused by your endocrine system simply not processing as much estrogen and from simply feeling like shit.

So, the only symptoms trans women don't get every 28 days is menstrual cramps, because yes we do not menstruate since we don't have uteruses. But migraines, depression, body aches, intestinal cramps, and the infamous "period shits" don't exactly add up to us having any better of a time. Except we have to pretend that we're fine and nothing is different because no one believes that we get periods, not even cis women.

"But you can't call it a period then because that refers to MENSTRUATION!" is another one I hear all the time. This is incorrect. You use the word "period" instead of just "menstruation" because it doesn't just refer to menstruation. It refers to a period at the end of the hormone cycle where we experience a host of symptoms. And not all cis women experience all of the symptoms that encompass the period. Not all cis women get migraines, or body aches, or have severe depression. If a cis woman gets a hysterectomy she doesn't menstruate either! In that instance she experiences an identical period to what trans women experience. Yet, I doubt you'd insist that cis women who've had hysterectomies don't have periods.

[kayla-denker]

Oh, another thing that I personally discovered after bottom surgery: vaginal odor changes for trans women during our periods too. I was not expecting that because I always thought it was just from menstruation. But nope, the ph levels of a trans woman's vagina are the same of as a cis woman's vagina, and it changes during our periods just the same.

[kaioty-summer]

Hey, did y'all see this?

I saw this when running newpipe. But wait, it gets deeper. I clicked on the details buttons and it said as of today, we have 83 days left until Google rolls out this new requirement for apps inside and outside of the google play store. If any developer disagrees with their new terms and fees, they will be blocked!

I'll share some of the info below:

Looks like they're trying to nuke the remaining privacy and freedoms we have left on the internet.

What to do?

-Get your developer friends to not comply to their new guides

- Sign the open letter on the site and take action by checking out the full resources list on their website as well!

To summarize, this is all daunting especially when you feel all alone with unfair and inhumane regulations comming out faster than improvements but we got this working together!

Share the link with your friends, family and anyone who will listen!

Your phone is about to stop being yours. In September 2026, Google will block every Android app whose developer hasn't registered with them.

[yellowmagicalgirl]

If you're in the US, I created a petition to make it easier to contact senators and congressmen.

Google Wants To Control Our Phones

Join 1 people. Google is trying to make people hand over government id in order to make an Android app. If they don't, then that app can't b

If you're not in the US, see if your country is listed here for whom to contact.

[wizard-laundry]

The KIDS act (which contains KOSA) passed the US house, so I would recommend calling your senators and telling them to vote in opposition. I don't think I need to stress the importance of being able to use the internet freely and without privacy barriers being breached.

There are many scripts online you can follow, many ways to tweak your message to fit your senator (ESPECIALLY if they are up for reelection this year). Whether it's a recording you reach or a real person, be straightforward, don't argue, just let your rep know that you are a constituent and you oppose the KIDS act, etc.

Here is where you can search for your senator... call, email, fax, bring them physical letters, show up in person to their offices if you are able.

[bethanyactually]

Oppose KOSA and the KIDS Act (UPDATED 6/29) - PASSED HOUSE ⭑ 5 Calls

Updates June 29, 2026: By a vote of 267-117, the House has passed H.R. 7757, the KIDS Act. The bill now moves to the Senate, though the Sen

5 Calls is extremely useful for things like this! You enter your address and pick a topic you want to give your opinion about. Each topic includes a summary with dated updates, phone numbers for all your reps, and a brief script you can read to a person or voicemail.

[vaspider]

Online Age Verification Law Could Kill Whistleblowing

The KIDS Act, ostensibly aimed at protecting children, will raise the risk for journalists, dissidents, and whistleblowers.

Contact your representatives, US folx. Yes, even if you're scared. Yes, even if you think it doesn't matter, even if you think they won't listen. Write an email if you can't make a call. Call after hours and leave a message. Call during office hours if you feel up to it, but do something. Call every day. Email every day. Fucking bother your rep. They work for you, not the other way around.

Your single call is not the point. The point is the aggregate of calls and emails. The point is that even "safe" Republicans don't feel really safe right now. The point is that "safe" Democrats are feeling pressure from the left due to the success of DSA candidates. You think they won't listen, and they'll probably try to make you think they're not, but they do, in the aggregate. The midterms have them running scared right now, and now is the time to shut this shit down.

Yes, again. Sorry it's not over. The people who really, really want to criminalize dissent are going to make us keep fighting this one. Sorry about that, but keep fighting.

[tzikeh]

Please don't just reblog this - contact your senators and your representative.

Go here: https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm

Contact information for your two senators will populate the page.

Contact both of them. Call. Email. Write a letter if you can.

Go here: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Enter your info.

Contact information for your congressional representative will populate the page.

Contact them. Call. Email. Write a letter if you can.

[haunteddollsgeorg]

As a society we have benefited so much from successful public health measures that we now have the privilege of declaring that we must not need them anymore

Bitch before enriched flour, neural tube defects like spina bifida were far more common. Even now, spina bifida clinicians and researchers are begging to have salt and maize fortified to reach groups that don’t use as much flour. Before iodized salt, the United States had a fucking GOITER BELT. Eleven years after the introduction of fluoridated water, a city in Michigan found the rate of dental caries among school children dropped a staggering 60%— in an era where tooth decay regularly fucking killed people

I’m literally not even going to start on vaccines, which are among the most successful and robustly studied public health measures in world history

You might say “oh well today we all have access to vitamins and toothpastes and dentists so we don’t need those things in our food supplies” and boy do white people on social media loooove to fucking say that. But here’s the thing: no, people don’t all have easy access to those things. That’s privilege talking yet again

[odinsblog]

This is their logic:

[titleknown]

Trump Moves to Deeply Censor the Entire Internet

The Trump administration is cynically exploiting calls for stricter AI regulation to pass broad censorship measures at the federal level.

So, in terrible news, Trump's trying to pull some strings to pass this massive internet censorship bill, featuring all the kinds of internet censorship we're terrified of, including mandatory ID for accessing basically any website, specifically to crush state regulation of AI, because apparently this man will always see the moral bottom of the barrel and start digging.

So, if you live in the US and hate censorship and AI you know what to do, contact your congresspeople and tell them do not fucking dare let this through or so help us god...

[titleknown]

IMPORTANT UPDATE: The bastards just worked out a deal on the package, and they're going to try and ram it through the House in the next couple of weeks.

So, if you've been waiting to call, the time is NOW. Do it ASAP, be polite, be informed, but light up those phones like a Christmas tree!

[starlightxraven]

Nobody needs AI to search the Internet, court says in ruling against Google

Google AI Overview court loss in Germany could spell doom for AI search industry.

[appalachian-werewolf]

"Google AI Overview court loss in Germany could spell doom for AI search industry."

It fucking better.

[mrsjdavis]

Like to charge, reblog to cast?

[butchflirt]

“We will not blame him for the crimes of his ancestors if he relents the royal rights of his ancestors; but as long as he claims their rights, by virtue of descent, then, by virtue of descent, he must shoulder the responsibility for their crimes.”

— Séamas Ó Conghaile, an Edinburgh-born Irish Republican and socialist, on King George V; a sentiment that transcends time. (via tal-eire)

[yourreddancer]

The European Union already forced Apple to abandon its proprietary charging port and adopt USB-C across its entire iPhone lineup. It just did something bigger. A new EU mandate requires every smartphone sold in Europe including Apple devices to feature a battery that can be replaced by the user without specialist tools, without voiding a warranty, and without sending the device to a manufacturer approved service center. Batteries must maintain a minimum capacity threshold after a set number of charge cycles and replacement parts must remain available for up to ten years after a model goes on sale.

The consumer electronics industry built its current business model around batteries that degrade, cannot be replaced at home, and create a natural upgrade cycle every two to three years. The EU just legislated that model out of existence in the world's largest regulatory market.

Apple, Samsung, and every other manufacturer now faces a choice between redesigning their devices for the European market or accepting that their current hardware architecture is no longer legally sellable there.

Given that no company walks away from European consumers voluntarily the phones are going to change and once they change for Europe the rest of the world will ask why theirs still do not.

[dreamsrunfaster]

[eldritchbauble]

What the government categorizes as legal vs illegal, over the counter vs rx, easy to buy vs age restricted, and whether or not and at what level to schedule substances is absolute clown shoes btw.

Alcohol has been legal since prohibition ended, but it kills tons of people while cannabis is still banned federally and only legal in 38 states. Contraceptives were rx only until last year but it's insanely easy to poison yourself or your kids with Tylenol. You can easily abuse medicines like Benedryl. There's no age restriction on caffeine despite research demonstrating that it affects brain development. A 12 year old with $5 can go chug a Monster. Or 3. Caffeine OD can make you hallucinate and kill you. Cannabis is still on the same schedule as heroin. Testosterone is a scheduled drug, listed as more dangerous and more likely to be abused than Xanax.

Absolute clown shoes.

[transcyberism]

To this date, there has been exactly one death attributed to THC overdose. Ever. And the case is considered unusual enough that another doctor contacted by the news for comment doubted the cause of death that the coroner recorded was accurate. Aside from one unexplained case where a woman died alone in her home with no witnesses and had no other obvious signs of illness, lethal cannabis poisoning has never been reported. Unlike alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, Tylenol, cough syrup, and about a million other things that are totally unscheduled.

You can die from eating too many vitamins. Hell, there has been at least one case of someone dying of licorice poisoning. Fucking bergamot oil from Earl Grey tea is poisonous in high enough amounts (though the one reported case of that thankfully was nonlethal).

And look. THC is still a drug. I'm not going to hype it up like it's a magical substance that will usher in world peace like so many cannabiz sites do. It has toxic long-term effects on the liver (increasing inflammation, fatty liver, and elevating serum liver enzymes), it can cause birth defects or miscarriage, it is strongly believed to adversely affect cognition and memory via structural changes to the hippocampus with long-term use, and it can cause respiratory depression, tachycardia, and panic attacks at high enough dosages (which was that coroner's logic when he attributed the one reported THC death to it - if it can slow breathing and speed up the heart rate, maybe it could cause acute respiratory distress or cardiac arrest, was the idea).

But if you can sell fruit seeds high in amygdalin - a cyanide precursor, basically - and call it "vitamin B17," and claim it could cure cancer, and that's totally legal, something is fucked up with the way we regulate substances.

[animentality]

[bumblebeerror]

Credit card companies will TRY to saddle you with this kind of debt by the way - if ever a loved one dies and you are not co-signed on their credit card, do NOT agree to pay their debt unless you ask a lawyer first if you truly have to.

They will say “don’t you want them to go to the grave without debt”, they will try to guilt you, they will take advantage of your vulnerability.

Source: when my father died, he had some credit cards that my mom wasn’t on that she had no access to. The companies contacted her while she was sorting through the bills and getting a handle on how to run the house alone, badgering her with his credit card debt.

She wasn’t liable for any of it, but if she had ever agreed to pay before finding out that she didn’t need to, she would have been considered to have taken on his debt and would have HAD to pay it. It’s slimy, it’s predatory, and it’s entirely legal for them to do this.

Never accept the credit card company’s word about your obligation to pay anyone else’s debt, if you don’t have access to the card, ask a lawyer before agreeing to anything.

[supermoonscarab]

voting is fake and doesn't do anything and they just really don't want black people or women to be able to do it for no reason at all.

[analogdelight]

once again i'm begging you to understand that the answer to trans people in sports is not just allowing trans women to play in women's leagues, it is the radical gender desegregation of sports as a whole.

Men should not be allowed and encouraged to have their own leagues separate and apart from half the population. Siloing women and trans people into a completely separate space is not equality, it's fully giving away the plot.

And before anyone says "well we can't let women play in men's leagues, the men are fucking terrible and misogynistic." STOP ALLOWING THE MEN TO BE MISOGYNISTIC.

[analogdelight]

Women's leagues were already the bullshit liberal stopgap compromise. If they are to stick around permanently, it should be in an affirmative stance to make up the historical inequities in athletic development, not as the end-all-be-all final stop on a woman's athletic career.

The radical degendering of sports would solve the "issue" of where trans people get to play. If we don't segregate based on gender at all, there's no basis for excluding trans women.

[flurgehbla]

Looking at sports like skateboarding, bmx, slopestyle mtb, sports which up until very recently have not had any higher level competitions for women. It becomes very obvious how much the disparity in performance between women and men is influenced and enforced by social conditions. Because these are sports that dont particularly favour strenght, or body mass or height, and the variation in body types is fairly broad. And even though there is no inherent limitation for the women to do the same tricks as the men, they perform on a much much lower level. Because if you only have access to a fraction of the resources and sponsorships, and have been told repeatedly (likely for the most of the time youve been practicing the sport) that you cant do as well as men and you cant compete in it and you definitely could not compete against men, then the bar is gonna be a lot lower.

[analogdelight]

That's not derailing the point at all, that's actually highlighting the fact that the only limiting factors in women's sports achievement are social attitudes and money. The solutions remain the same. Investing in women's and girl's athletic programs until they achieve parity with what men and boys have access to, and continuing to address the misogyny inherent in the attitude that women/girls can't compete on the same level.

To take a small tangent, I wanna talk about a sport-like activity I used to be heavily involved in: Drum Corps International (DCI for short). DCI is a highly competitive marching band league (that's an oversimplification, but enough info for the purpose of this comparison). DCI has two main divisions, World Class and Open Class. Think of these as a major league and a minor league. The main differences between WC and OC are the average age of the members of the corps, the cost of enrolling in the corps, and the amount of time dedicated to training and rehearsal during the season. World Class costs more, has an older average age, and rehearses far longer and more rigorously. Open Class has it's own competitive circuit, and is judged at a slightly lower standard than World Class. OC has its own seeding shows and its own semifinals/finals competition. There is an Open Class Champion named every summer at the end of the season.

And then every Open Class corps also competes in World Class finals week. Every corps in DCI, regardless of division, competes in World Class Prelims, and then the top 24 corps regardless of division advance to World Class Semifinals, and then the top 12 regardless of division advance to Finals. The Open Class champions also get to perform at WC Finals as "the thirteenth corps". When DCI started formatting it's finals competitions like this, Open Class corps got better on average. Having the opportunity to compete at the highest level raised the overall quality of the activity for everyone. Some OC corps regularly make semifinals, some WC corps get knocked out of contention in the process. It's not perfect, but the fact that every corps is allowed to compete in the same competitions is something to be lauded. This isn't a perfect one-to-one with a lot of competitive sports, but I think it's a decent analogue when discussing the effects of economic disparity.

I think, until all of the economic disparities have been addressed (which is as much of a class issue as a gendered issue), women and girls need a space where they can be developed and celebrated. But I don't think that necessitates the existence of Men's Leagues at all. The NHL should not be allowed to bar women and trans people from playing hockey full stop. The NBA should not be allowed to bar women and trans people from playing basketball full stop. There are already women and trans people who play well enough to be in these leagues. The continued existence of Men's Leagues speaks to the misogyny inherent in the culture, and I think the rise of women's sports (the PWHL, the WNBA, the NWSL) is both something to be celebrated but also needs to be understood as a compromise position, not the end-all-be-all of gender equality in sports.

Because it's not equality. It's segregation. It is separate but equal in all but name.