OTOH if you have to ask, then a couple possibilities need to be considered. Maybe they are already so well appointed, a twenty dollar trinket is just a waste of our planet’s dwindling resources. Maybe you know them so poorly, it really isn’t appropriate to be buying them a gift in the first place.

What we all want for our birthday is to feel like we are special to the people in our lives. That they know us, care about us, and wish us well. That’s not the sort of thing you can ask for; if you have to ask, it devalues it tremendously. We can all buy stuff for ourselves. Asking what they want and then buying it for them rather defeats the point of a birthday gift between two adult peers; its the sort of thing a parent does for a child, because a child only cares about getting stuff.

So we agree one is preferable to the other

There is no stigma that I am aware of.

I’d also like to investigate how this jives with the well documented sexual attraction dynamics of siblings. Those who grow up together are almost never attracted to each other no matter how much they see each other naked. Those that are raised separately and meet for the first time as adults are often very attracted to each other due to genetic reasons that apparently we have a mechanism for overcoming when raised together. I would expect to find there was a similar mechanism regarding our parents.

Childish.

Citation required

I would rather my money went to drug dealers than to capitalists exploiting addiction. I reckon we only finally got legalization because of government corruption and kickbacks. The idea of fucking Fantino (you probably don’t know him, non-Ontario people) making bank after a career of using his power as a police chief to fan social stigmas and demonize users in the press all those decades is more than I can stand.

Fuck legal weed. Legalization is great, that’s fine. But I’d pay more for black market weed to avoid having my addictions financially exploited by the exact same people who demonized, criminalized, and prosecuted cannabis users for the first 40 years of my life. Fortunately I don’t pay more, I pay less.

How is this weird? Yes, it’s unfortunate, but it is a reflection on society, not on gamers. Individual gamers have completely random opinions on everything except gaming. Gamer’s opinion on dirty companies and genocide are no different than the general publics, which, what the fuck have THEY done about assault and murder?

Trade gamers for red-heads and make the final panel about sun block, it still works.

What’s right with Pauly Shore? And please state your age.

Look how hard you work to justify your exploitation and violence to yourself. You know you aren’t going to convince me, this is all about bulwarking your own views.

They’re not trying to get attention. They’re trying to express their natural instinctive behaviours, and are being prevented by your violence and cruelty.

You can tell my generation has mostly aged out of social media because no one has said Pauly Shore.

Smart phones, then closed driver GPUs and compute units, then probably printers.

Meaning must be generated, not found.

books exist

When all your needs are met, you help others with theirs.

people think they will be the boot?

one of the many idiots that fell for the obvious bullshit.

The thing is, you don’t even have to fall for it. You can very much not believe what is being said to you, and still be influenced in ways that the propagandist intends. One major technique being used is the amplification of existing discord. Both parties of the conflict ALREADY don’t believe what the other is saying. They amplify a message you believe is wrong, inducing you to fight all the more against that thing, think about it, be upset about it, hate it, all the while the propagandist is exploiting the cover provided.

Timeline of modern examples of Russian “hybrid warfare”

2007 – Estonia Cyberattacks

• After Estonia removed a Soviet war memorial, it was hit by massive cyberattacks targeting government, banks, and media.

• One of the first clear cases of state-linked cyberwarfare combined with information warfare.

2008 – Russo-Georgian War

• Russia used cyberattacks, propaganda, separatist movements in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and limited military force.

• Information manipulation portrayed Georgia as the aggressor.

2014 – Crimea and Eastern Ukraine

• Crimea annexation: Russian “little green men” seized key points while propaganda campaigns confused the population and international observers.

• Donbas War: Russia armed and supported separatists while denying direct involvement, using cyberwarfare and disinformation heavily.

2015 – Syrian Conflict

• Russia intervened in Syria, blending military force, private military companies (e.g., Wagner Group), propaganda, and diplomatic manipulation.

• Russia portrayed itself as fighting “terrorism” while targeting opposition forces.

2016 – U.S. Presidential Election Interference

• Russian intelligence agencies (GRU, FSB) engaged in cyberattacks, hacked emails, social media manipulation, and disinformation campaigns.

• This was a major hybrid campaign aiming to sow distrust and division.

2017 – NotPetya Cyberattack

• Originating from Russia and targeting Ukraine, the NotPetya malware spread globally, crippling companies and infrastructure.

• Disguised as ransomware but actually destructive sabotage.

2018 – Skripal Poisoning in the UK

• Russian operatives used a banned nerve agent in an assassination attempt.

• Propaganda and diplomatic misinformation campaigns followed to confuse attribution.

• Blending covert action, deniability, and information distortion.

2020 – Belarus Protests

• Russia supported Belarusian regime of Lukashenko against widespread protests.

• Information campaigns, security force support, and diplomatic pressure were combined.

2022 – Full-scale Invasion of Ukraine

• Initially framed as a “special military operation” to “de-Nazify” Ukraine.

• Involved military invasion, cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, economic blackmail (like gas supply threats), and the use of mercenary groups.

• Continued narrative warfare domestically and internationally.

2022–2025 – Global Disinformation and Influence Campaigns

Russia expanded its hybrid toolkit:

• Artificial amplification of anti-Western narratives globally.

• Building alliances with other disinformation actors (e.g., Iran, China).

• Using energy markets, food supply disruptions, and cyberattacks as pressure points.

• Strengthening alternative media ecosystems (like RT, Sputnik, Telegram channels) to bypass bans in Europe and elsewhere.

• Emergence of AI-driven propaganda (deepfakes, AI-generated fake news).