GoGoGadget posted:

I am in the process of converting to Catholicism, which requires you attend like six months' worth of classes called RCIA, or Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. Last class was about Catholic social teachings, and the speaker was talking about things like caring for the poor, showing compassion and working towards the greater good, uniting as workers and supporting unions, caring for babies even after birth, being against the death penalty; you know, typical Democratic views. Looking around the room, I noticed a lot of the men in the room getting uncomfortable.

What was really hilarious to watch was their reaction to her talking about women's rights and how it pertains to contraception and how the church is beginning to lean towards accepting its use within a marriage due to allowing for the safety of the mother in spacing out pregnancies, and to help ensure that the number of children they have is sustainable. I saw one old dude's face turn beet red in barely contained anger.

Arrath posted:

I'm here wondering how large of a local electricity co-op I have to put together to get in on one of these new mini modular nuclear reactors.

I'll be like that community that sprung up around a diked off nuke plant in...poo poo, was it Footfall? Some Niven/Pournell work, I think.

Comrade Blyatlov posted:

What does the church of sasquatch preach?

Discussion Quorum posted:

I get the mindset of "I grew up Catholic and was taught all my life that this was anathema" and reacting badly. Dumb but I get it. But this was a convert? From what? Why are you mad at this religion you're still learning?

GAWT DURNIT I THOUGHT THIS WAS THE ONE WHERE THE WOMEN HAD TO MAKE BABIES, GONNA HAVE TO RECONSIDER

quote:

Elon Musk fires a top Twitter engineer over his declining view count

Employees showed Musk internal data regarding engagement with his account, along with a Google Trends chart. Last April, they told him, Musk was at “peak” popularity in search rankings, indicated by a score of “100.” Today, he’s at a score of nine. Engineers had previously investigated whether Musk’s reach had somehow been artificially restricted, but found no evidence that the algorithm was biased against him.

Musk did not take the news well. 

“You’re fired, you’re fired,” Musk told the engineer.

quote:

On Wednesday, the company suffered one of its first major outages since Musk took over, with users being told, inexplicably, “You are over the daily limit for sending tweets.”

It turns out that an employee had inadvertently deleted data for an internal service that sets rate limits for using Twitter. The team that worked on that service left the company in November.

GoGoGadget posted:

He wasn't a convert, but a sponsor of one.

And yeah, it is a bit odd to have to go through classes to convert, but the more I go through it the more I understand it. As pointed out, the ritual of it all is very important and you can't easily come into that without deliberate teaching. But what attracted me to it was the relative liberalism and actually caring about people I saw in those like the doctor running this RCIA group compared to my Southern Baptist upbringing where I was taught everyone was a sinner that deserved to burn eternally in the fiery pits of Hell.

facialimpediment posted:

YOU'RE FIRED, I KNOW MY POSTS ARE MORE POPULAR THAN THAT

facialimpediment posted:

Aaaaaaaahahahahgauhagauahaga

https://twitter.com/rmc031/status/1623775414962331648?t=641q_nJJ2B0CMElEItPVvw&s=19

facialimpediment posted:

Aaaaaaaahahahahgauhagauahaga

https://twitter.com/rmc031/status/1623775414962331648?t=641q_nJJ2B0CMElEItPVvw&s=19

GoGoGadget posted:

He wasn't a convert, but a sponsor of one.

And yeah, it is a bit odd to have to go through classes to convert, but the more I go through it the more I understand it. As pointed out, the ritual of it all is very important and you can't easily come into that without deliberate teaching. But what attracted me to it was the relative liberalism and actually caring about people I saw in those like the doctor running this RCIA group compared to my Southern Baptist upbringing where I was taught everyone was a sinner that deserved to burn eternally in the fiery pits of Hell.

facialimpediment posted:

Edit: and here's what everyone is saying regarding how twitter dies - not at once, just slowly due to stupid

stealie72 posted:

One of the few points in the catholic church's favor is that they generally fall on the works side of the "faith vs works" debate.

I spent 13 years in catholic school, which predictably means that I haven't been to church except for a wedding or funeral in decades, but I can still attest that the Jesus I learned about has nothing in common with American evangelical Jesus.

CRUSTY MINGE posted:

Catholics just like to dog and pony up the Jesus experience. The ritual is the religion to some of them. And they love them some formalized rituals backed by organ music written in the 19th century. The saints, the transubstantiation, the fancy hats the priests get as they level up.

Hardcore catholics are up there with people who are fascinated with everything the royal family does. Pomp and circumstance.

maffew buildings posted:

I had a baptist friend explain to me the heaven and hell thing when I was seven and have been an atheist ever since. Wow, this is what happens when a summer of '68 Berkeley student and hippy Nam vet let their kids choose their own adventure with religion.

stealie72 posted:

One of the few points in the catholic church's favor is that they generally fall on the works side of the "faith vs works" debate.

I spent 13 years in catholic school, which predictably means that I haven't been to church except for a wedding or funeral in decades, but I can still attest that the Jesus I learned about has nothing in common with American evangelical Jesus.

GoGoGadget posted:

Being trained to be that way as a Southern Baptist is what made me fall away from religion once I was old enough to think critically. I remember telling a friend that had just found out his mom had cancer that she was going to Hell since she wasn't saved.

citybeatnik posted:

We get the added benefit of rules lawyering over things. Not quite to the point of rabbis, unfortunately.

Executive Summary posted:

1. The Ukrainians’ will to defend, the capabilities of their Armed Forces, and Western unity in supporting Ukraine surprised the Kremlin. Despite this, Russia’s strategic goal remains the same: subjugating Ukraine and changing the European security architecture. Read more in chapters 1.1, 2.1

2. Russia believes that time is on its side. To keep the war machine going, Russia is ready raise the stakes. Russia seems to believe it can “bomb” Ukraine to the negotiating table. Read more in chapter 1.1

3. Russia’s belligerence has significantly increased the security risks for Estonia, and the large-scale exercise Zapad 23 may further strain the situation in the Baltic Sea region. Russia still has enough strength to exert credible military pressure in our region. Read more in chapter 1.2

4. Russia supports its military efforts in Ukraine by using cyber tools against Ukraine and the countries that support it. Its activities in cyberspace have not yielded the results Russia had hoped for, but we must remain vigilant. Read more in chapter 1.3

5. The Russian special services officers hide behind various “covers”. A tried-and-tested cover organisation used abroad is the Russian Orthodox Church, which the Kremlin also operates as an instrument of influence against Ukraine and the West. Read more in chapters 4, 5

6. Belarus has provided logistical and material support to Russia in the war against Ukraine, but the Belarusian Armed Forces have not yet intervened in the military operations in Ukraine and do not wish to do so in the future. Read more in chapter 1.4

7. Russia is moving towards a total dictatorship. The prospects for the current regime collapsing and the country democratising are slim despite the problems caused by the war and Western sanctions. On the contrary, an even more radical faction is rising to the fore in Russia’s ruling elite. Read more in chapter 3.1

8. In foreign policy, Russia has its stakes on creating a geopolitical coalition of authoritarian regimes opposed to the West who share a mistrust of Western policies and values. Diplomatic resources are being diverted from the West to other regions. Read more in chapter 2.1

9. Russia’s military credibility in former Soviet territories has weakened because Russia has failed to provide the security guarantees promised within the CSTO framework, and its Armed Forces have been unsuccessful in Ukraine. In Africa, however, Russia sees its best opportunities precisely in the field of security. Read more in chapters 2.2, 2.3

10. Under Xi Jinping, China is moving towards deepening authoritarianism and no longer hides its ambition to become a global superpower. China’s efforts to build a community of like-minded countries opposed to the West under the banner of the Global Security Initiative – which would also include Russia – undermines Estonia’s security. Read more in chapter 6

VSOKUL girl posted:

do the southern baptists even do the fun speaking in tongues stuff that 7th day adventists do

if not what's the point

VSOKUL girl posted:

do the southern baptists even do the fun speaking in tongues stuff that 7th day adventists do

if not what's the point

shame on an IGA posted:

shame on an IGA posted:

pantslesswithwolves posted:

My sister quit believing in a Christian god after her church group leader earnestly explained that no, pets don’t go to Heaven because they can’t profess their faith in Jesus Christ.

Kesper North posted:

The Estonian foreign intelligence service just pulished their annual security report. Some interesting reading.

https://raport.valisluureamet.ee/2023/en/

pantslesswithwolves posted:

My sister quit believing in a Christian god after her church group leader earnestly explained that no, pets don’t go to Heaven because they can’t profess their faith in Jesus Christ. If that’s true, God’s an rear end in a top hat for imbuing something with life and then condemning it to hell because they can’t participate in his popularity contest.