These Streamers Need To Be Stopped! Someone is Going To Get Killed... & Today’s News

[@Accursed_Farms]

Thanks for the mention! (I'm the Stop Killing Games guy in the video) With the exposure this is getting, at the very least I think we're going to get answers one way or the other and clear up all ambiguity on whether companies can destroy people's games or not. Best case scenario, people will be entitled to keep games they pay money for, what a thought.

[@JakeRayTM]

Hey Ross! Thank you, for the effort you put into this cause.

[@Rassalcon]

Keep up the fight lad

[@Hanstra]

WE LOVE YOU ROSS!

[@TooMuchFlipping]

Thank you Dr. Freeman.

[@Rejoice.]

My boy Freemans Mind!

[@Boatanga]

I’ve heard many other people say this about what’s going on with video game ownership. “if buying isn’t owning then pirating isn’t stealing”

[@taylorbug9]

Facts

[@kingofhearts3185]

Damn right it isn't

[@MaksB.]

Indeed

[@jnothanks]

Something about having cake and not eating it, too.

[@liamroarke7991]

Bet your ass.

[@Excalibur-Sonic]

"If buying isn't owning then piracy isn't stealing."

[@ll2323]

I like how u think! 😂

[@andrejuarez]

Preach 🙏

[@Catio167]

Piracy isn't stealing. It's copyright infringement. Stealing would require you to get a copy of a game without paying for a license and then destroying all legal copies. (because stealing only applies when the object is no longer in the possession of the proper owners, which piracy doesn't do)

[@glowghost6498]

@@Catio167true but “if buying isn’t owning then piracy isn’t copyright infringement” doesn’t really have the same ring to it lmaoo

[@glowghost6498]

@@Catio167also thanks for explaining it in a very understandable way!

[@alannahatfield6081]

17:40 I don’t think people realize how hard it is to breastfeed and how hard the resources can be to access. When I first started breastfeeding my daughter I had trouble with it and the lactation consultants in the hospital were not allowed to come into contact with me or my newborn because of Covid restrictions. After the hospital I had to go to a private lactation consultant clinic. This was very difficult. I had no sleep and I couldn’t even drive after my c-section. These private companies aren’t just exploiting lack of information around breastfeeding. They also exploit the limited and difficult to obtain resources that support breastfeeding.

[@Maddy1998]

Totally agree! Sometimes you just can’t get baby to latch, or maybe you aren’t producing enough milk, sometimes your body just doesn’t agree with it and you have to use formula. But It also takes a very big toll on Mom’s emotional well being. And PPD is NO JOKE. The issue for me, is the shaming. I’m well aware that it’s best for a mom to breastfeed their baby- NUTRITIONALLY, but when someone has PPD it’s safest to use formula. It’s also ultimately up to the parent IMO. It’s this weird line that we have to toe. Breastfeeding is great but formula is also great; AS AN ALTERNATIVE. These companies come in and muddle that for profit, saying that formula is “just as good”, when in reality, a mom/dad/parent just needs to weigh the pros and cons for THEMSELF. It’s so frustrating seeing companies shame people or lie just to make a profit. It’s hard enough to be a parent, we don’t need any added stress.

[@Doodlecream]

Not to mention the work restrictions so many mothers face, it’s hard to pump enough for a baby to eat when you’re working 8 hours a day.

[@cpiccerilli]

I so agree. If the US system actually cared about breastfeeding, there would be mandated paid parental leave (6 months minimum), lactation consultant appointments would be covered by insurance, and healthcare providers would do more checks at home similar to some European countries

[@Gloupyli]

The Leche League was created to inform about breastfeeding! There's a website, you can also find a consultant, and they're very diligent. Not like a friend's pediatrician who told her it wasn't useful to breastfeed past 3 months (when the WHO recommends 6 months if possible). Fun fact, in France (maybe the EU at large, I'm not sure), you can actually take time to pump at work, should you want to!

[@beewest5704]

When my mom gave birth to me 30 years ago there were nurses that visited especially first time moms for 5 days after the baby were born. They helped with breastfeeding. The less women breastfeed the less there are women to help new moms with breastfeeding tips.

[@Loekstoer]

Lobbying should be illegal. Your telling me I can’t pay a politician to do what I want. But I can pay someone else to pay a politician to do what I want. It’s a broken systeem, it should get fixed? But I know it’s never gone happen😢

[@Ironcorgi2]

The problem is it’s asking congress to regulate congress which will never happen

[@yourfriendlyemperor]

Yeah, it's literally a sanitary word for bribery.

[@shallendor]

best government that money can buy! : )

[@RavenHaili]

It definitely won't if we stay divided

[@Anaphriel]

There is no such thing as "lobbying", it's just bribery wearing a fancy overcoat.

[@Jonathan_Collins]

Anyone who thinks “oh he doesn’t know any better he’s just a kid” how tf do you expect them to ever learn if you don’t teach them what they are doing is stupid.

[@lockhak33]

It would have been in his best interest if he was arrested

[@localmenace3043]

And also, kids aren’t all stupid. They’re very capable of learning when they have to. Infantilizing them and defending bad behavior because “he doesn’t know any better” is exactly why these kids are comfortable behaving in a way they know isn’t right - they know they can get away with it.

[@orangejuice732]

Saw this exact comment on Charlie’s video

[@kryngosilva4919]

I feel like the only way kids like this learn, is when they finnaly do something to the wrong person, and then everyone is sad because a kid died in a 'prank-gone-wrong'. Hope this kid escapes this stereotype.

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

Especially when they go that far they need to learn action have consequences

[@Masterom2000x]

Video Game Companies : "Piracy affects our sales, pirates and emulation are bad, even when emulation fixes the launch bugs that we refuse to fix and preserves classics." Also Video Game Companies : "Thanks for your money, but we are taking away the game you bought, no refunds. No hard feelings, right?"

[@Iwatoda_Dorm]

The advent of the live service game has brought so many opportunities For companies to absolutely shred us in the ass out of our money.

[@charityquill4965]

video game companies : no we will not sell this game in this region, it won't make us any money there Also video game companies: how dare you emulate a version of our game for this region at no cost to the players! You are hurting our game's developers! JAIL FOR TEN THOUSAND YEARS!!!

[@ericreativecuts]

My mom, a GP in Canada, wrote a paper on this bottle milk controversy, especially when it comes to Nestle, like 20 years ago. And then Nestle had the audacity to contact her to try to sell formula to her patients! She laughed at them and said "did you even bother to Google me? Go fuck yourself." Queen.

[@negativeionz]

That is pretty badass. I like your mom. Wish we had more doctors like her today.

[@derianardor]

As a gamer... Nothing like hearing "hey get comfortable not owning what you bought" to remind me piracy is more and more a moral imperative

[@UlshaRS]

Is it piracy when it's protecting creations from venture capitalists and corporate profiteers? or a moral imperative to save cultural expressions and artforms. Either way it's time to get a parrot.

[@RitzStarr]

Nope. Not how it works. Piracy is theft. You aren't entitled to someone else's work. Period. Full Stop. No further discussion. We all pirate. The only difference is most of us know it's wrong, and the rest of us pretend they're beacons of virtue for stealing from others.

[@carstekoch]

​@@RitzStarr So first buying the game, then pirating an offline version would be fine, right?

[@tinchomau]

@@RitzStarr Yes further discussion because you are mistaken; piracy by definition isn't theft, that's the full stop. You're just objectively incorrect given our modern definitions. I agree that it is inherently wrong, but the exception relies that in this modern context it is not only ok to pirate, but obligatory. No one is claiming the morally high ground, instead that piracy is a necessary evil.

[@sourgreendolly7685]

@@RitzStarrThere are morally correct times to steal. That's what makes the story of Robin Hood so timelessly popular - he stole from the rich and gave to the poor. If you wanna make an argument that this isn't one of those times, then do that. But grandstanding that stealing = bad, no nuance is just silly.

[@chishionotenshi]

It's very weird as a childcare provider to hear people say "They're just kids." You do realize that children are capable of morality? That they know the difference between right and wrong? Like adults that do this, the kids who are doing this are CHOOSING to behave badly in public, knowing they should not. Now, that isn't to say that they aren't more likely to try it to get the attention they see other people getting, but they know what they are doing and shouldn't get some special pass because they are young. These kids need guidance from their peers and adults to change this behavior before they've completely screwed up their ability to be a mostly normal person. This behavior doesn't just annoy strangers, it will ruin relationships with family, friends, and partners.

[@DubhghlasMacDubhghlas]

by the age 14 kids know what is right and wrong. And a 14 year old should know sticking your hand in people food is wrong.

[@dismurrart6648]

I remember that, as young as like 5, telling people I don't like debbled eggs, not because I disliked the taste, but because I thought theirs specifically looked gross and I was trying to spare their feelings. If you teach a kid to be decent, they will be at least some of the time

[@MrMoney331]

I agree with all this, the part that sucks is the certain places on the internet will blow them up and make them "famous" and pay them money for doing this bullshit. And I'm sure there are a bunch of his peers on the chat telling him to do stuff. That kind of stuff can overwrite some of the things you have been taught. What really sucks is everyone is talking about this, which is probably just gonna drive more viewers to his channels unless he gets banned.

[@toast1188]

@@DubhghlasMacDubhghlashe knows it’s wrong and that’s why he’s doing it. But since it’s “for a video” or “for the stream” it’s how he “works” which is all bs

[@JoybuzzerX]

I've only heard such comments online, media and parents trying to keep their kids out of any serious trouble. For instance as a parent, I've never seen two kids fight and parents just standing back and saying "boys will be boys" they get in and stop the fighting.

[@jenniferfortier1345]

All these stories about consumerism, (the diet story, formula story, Ozempic story, and many more) has me crippled when it comes to buying products for myself. I want the truth and I'm not sure who to trust anymore, Doctors can be bought, lobbyists force policy that is better for their bottom line, companies pay influencers and it's getting harder and harder to know who to trust. Like, I haven't bought shampoo in months because I'm trying to find a good honest brand that doesn't lie, stretch the truth or make up irrelevant facts. Why do I have to become a shampoo expert to see past the BS. I should be protected as a consumer, if only there was an agency for that....

[@localmenace3043]

If there’s a food industry I would hope people would unanimously agree needs some of the strictest regulation, it’s freaking baby formula. It’s so disgusting to see big companies decide profit is worth more than the next generation when that generation would likely give them more business in the future. Greed is a poison and they’re all sick.

[@judesussman4502]

beans

[@edwing72]

You shouldn’t trust people to do the right thing. Honor is a medieval idea that should be left in the past. Laws and regulations are the only way to discourage people from engaging in this nonsense.

[@lovemandagrace]

​@@judesussman4502 this is Philip DeFranco not iNabber. Lol.

[@ll2323]

They don’t care about humans anymore, they’re betting on AI replacing us all.

[@matterking1]

Capitalism eats itself from the bottom up.

[@tim_hoffman]

This formula story is beyond disgusting and horrifying. Shit like this makes me embarrassed and ashamed to be an American

[@italyc9132]

This is why people do not want to have babies. Rightfully so

[@Tustin2121]

Petition to outlaw all forms of corporate lobbying!

[@Traxiconn]

Welcome, it does not get better.

[@fetB]

yea, its a different level of evil to exploit babies

[@vladimirputin2398]

Disgusting capitalists killing children for their own profit

[@Bunny_bax]

Phil. I’m begging you add a segment about good news in the world. there’s so much bad news so having a little good news every day would really help

[@frigginmanbeard3073]

I am against cutting down to just three large shows a week. I like the length of the shows these days, but I am 100% behind the idea of adding a segment with some good news. Would be refreshing.

[@RyanCrossOfficial]

I want to cast as little shade as possible, but its crazy to see the real time process of reflecting on his audience’s well being, considering doing something better, and then actively realizing how much that could uproot the business model (likely negatively) and immediately walking back the idea. Especially after directly reporting on how companies make morally questionable decisions in the name of profit. We all do it - so its not necessarily a criticism of Phil. Its just like racial bias - it happens and needs to be combatted, but doesn’t make you a racist. The same is true of all the vitriol against product managers/designers for big social media companies, or many other positions with commercial decision making - its easy and rewarded when you make decisions that in the larger context are not good for society.

[@amit734reddy]

I don't think every show "needs" to have positivity!! It is good that he is pointing out issues, Every time a little positivity is added to a conversation people suppress the bad news as no one wants to talk about it but those are the conversations that must be had!!

[@StomachPlug]

​@@amit734reddy On the flipside the negative stories are covered everywhere while the positive ones get little to no room to breathe in the public zeitgeist. I cannot tell you how stocked I would be to get even _one_ positive news story; national or local, from anywhere in the world in every episode. I'm not in danger of getting diabetes any time soon, so I will _happily_ take a spoonful of sugar to make the medicine go down.

[@InkAndSmudge]

I think you should add a segment where we just share something wholesome to detox by the end of the video. Like "the world is ending but OMG LOOK AT THE PUPPIES" haha

[@sarahwatson3192]

Swoop does the kitty palet cleanser at the end of all her vids. Gotta love that palet cleanser.

[@pertheguy]

As someone from outside the US it's so frustrating and enraging to see USA and US companies constantly meddling in other countries business, especially when it comes to health and safety related issues and then get away with it

[@DudeWheresMyApple]

100%, it's the hypocrisy of it that gets me - there would uproar in the US if it happened to them rather than a developing country

[@trancepeirce3107]

Wait until you find out these US companies are all international fronts that use the US as a vehicle for global commerce and control.

[@SokkingBTtulaj]

@@DudeWheresMyAppleIt's not just a developing country issue. EU politics is completely under US corporate control. Same goes for Australia.

[@dealbreakerc]

​@@SokkingBTtulajexcept they're not. The EU routinely requires US food products to be changed to comply with different laws restricting the use of various ingredients (costing the costs monies more to essentially develop and produce two recipes rather than one), US pharmaceuticals face major restrictions in the EU compared to the US that they clearly would prefer not to have to, and the EU (or more specifically European countries) have tougher personal data and privacy protections which the US corps are fully against.

[@SokkingBTtulaj]

@@dealbreakerc Yeah, and? You clearly have no idea how every EU high ranking EU leader has either family ties to the US or previously worked for a US corporation. Before Ursula Von Der Leyen's corruption scandal the US wire tapped Angela Merkel's phone and blackmailed her. The US also routinely deals in election meddling in the V4 countries and US ambassadors are openly hostile to the local leadership, trying to push US ideals and monsanto products on Central-European countries.

[@20sunshine]

Hearing the US play around with rules for baby formula in other countries is not surprising. I remember learning about the Nestlé scandal. It’s so sad that we would play with so many children’s lives just to line pockets of the rich.

[@XhumpersX]

Not really, this is pretty misleading coverage of the formula issue. Formula companies do it for money like any company, but thats not why the US government so heavily promotes access to formula. What Phil failed to mention is that a lot of the anti-formula advocates are anti-feminist conservatives in a similar vein to anti-contraception advocates that want women at home breast feeding and taking care of children instead of entering the work force and sharing domestic responsibilities evenly which formula allows parents to do.

[@melkormorgothbauglir.4848]

​@@XhumpersX So formulas a good thing to you Women must sacrifice their baby's health to be independent and Breastfeeding is impeding women's independence that's gonna be their next marketing campaign that Women's freedom is being impeded by Breastfeed and women must fight for their right to maintain jobs and sacrifice their children's health I'm but most Women see it this way f**k my boss only thing he wants is for me to work more to detriment of me and my babies health I'm but a child's rights should be priortised above this independence jobs give your going to have to sacrifice your career for your baby its one or the other either you go to work quick and sacrifice your babies health or take a lot of time of fir the babies and the only thing the Jobs side has is this imaginary freedom that's the only thing they have otherwise anybody would pick the health of their baby and truth careers are worthless compared to your children if you want to maintain a good career and excel above your peers don't have children but if you want children you have sacrifice your career sadly you can't do both without giving a bit away on the other and children will always be worthless compared to children your boss won't care for you when your dying or cry at your funeral or sell an arm and a leg just to pay for your hopeless cancer treatment he won't show up at your elders home desperately trying to remind you of himself despite your Alzheimers and giving away a bit of that for a career no if your to poor to have a baby annoying as it is to say your better of not having a child maybe theirs a world we can build where people don't have to make that choice but right now this is where we live.

[@olorin3815]

@@XhumpersXor they just use that as an excuse lol. At end of the day its just about money, would they need to keep meeting formula companies to discuss sexism

[@Respondkindly]

@@XhumpersXthat’s really misleading… as someone from one of these countries that has fought tooth and nail to prevent American baby formula companies (they are banned only local companies can sell baby formula) we have maternity leave loads of women breast feed and go back to work once the year is up. There is such an emphasis on breast feeding that from 1-7th grade children are taught the importance of breast feeding to reinforce the practice in families.. formula is always marketed as secondary when breast feeding cannot be done. America meddles with so many industries in other countries for the sake of money (greed) at every stage… and this is why a lot of countries do not want to be allies with America it’s imperialism is literally costing babies their lives it is beyond despicable

[@bigcow91]

@@XhumpersX Not misleading at all, your explanation does not reconcile why US government is pressuring OTHER countries to deregulate. haha

[@Jonathan_Collins]

The fact that “They’re just kids” is a huge argument people use for this behavior is absolutely disgusting.

[@fenner1122]

💯

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

Yeah because dude this way to far it to be ot just kids problems this is not some dumb teenage crap they're actually being a nuance to society

[@garythecyclingnerd6219]

I mean, yes, but “they’re just kids” ALSO means they get a stern correction of the behavior. Kids are dumb and do dumb things, we expect and tolerate it, because we need accountability and behavioral correction alongside it - not just let them keep doing it.

[@ll2323]

If a kid gets physically with me, they’re gonna learn in that moment people hit back regardless of age.

[@ImmortalLorient]

If they're "just kids", then where the hell are the parents? This is on them in that case.

[@HarJBeRw]

Regarding the elephant story, the point made by Kitty Block, the CEO of the Humane Society, is ENTIRELY misleading. Yes, The value of seeing an elephant as a safari-goer/ecotourist does indeed stretch over the elephant's lifetime and can be multiplied for every person that pays to see it, but equally, that means thousands of people can pay to see the SAME elephant! The value of an elephant for eco-tourism is directly inversely correlated to the number of elephants present in that country. Obviously if there's only 10 elephants in your country, the value each of those brings to your country for eco-tourism purposes is immense. But, guess what, in countries like Botswana, which has 130,000 elephants or over a THIRD of the global african elephant population, the value of each of those elephants for sightseeing purposes is so small as to be non-existent... By contrast, elephants for the purpose of trophy hunting have a set value that won't deviate for any reason. In countries like botswana and zimbabwe, the local elephant populations are being replenished faster than they can be trophy hunted. Attemtping to establish regulations globally in a one-size-fits-all method is just a fool's errand. I live in Rwanda, WE need more elephants, and the points she made make plenty of sense. NOT FOR BOTSWANA AND ZIMBABWE.

[@bobbythemedic]

Love this. Thanks so much for making the post of reason and logic. I found it really frustrating when she brought up the point about 'eco-tourism' being more valuable than trophy hunting in every circumstance or instance because it doesn't encompass the totality of the conversation efforts. Her point doesn't reflect the situations in which problem animals or over population needs to be addressed and managed.

[@ciara4483]

For the gaming thing, another thing that comes into play is constantly having an internet connection. Mine went down one day and I couldn't even LAUNCH the sims, a single player offline game. It forces you to log in to the EA app online and THEN switch to offline mode, which cannot be done without internet

[@aroseprince]

Where I live in El Salvador, our telecommunications infrastructure is under constant weather from .... Weather. Going on and offline is a reality for many people.

[@adamgreenhill110]

Meanwhile, you can get Sims for free with every expansion pack, and play offline! When EA makes paid gaming SUCK, piracy offers a better option

[@ctg4818]

Any game that does online only does it because it has a store of some other MTX bullshit

[@lunacouer]

Just FYI, that's a bug with the EA App where it's not remembering your user info even though you've checked "Keep Me Logged In". EA f'd up when we did the switch from Origin, and you can fix it - if you're willing to backup your user folder, uninstall your game, all DLC, the app, delete all related leftover folders and registry keys (EA Desktop, Origin, Sims 4, etc), restart your computer then reinstall everything**, lol. But otherwise, the EA App is supposed to send you straight to offline mode when your internet is down, just like Origin used to. However, the fact that you need to use the app at all is ridiculous. What started as a way to combat piracy is just turning more and more people to the arrrr side. I think that cart button was many people's last straw for paying for anything else again. The greed is ridiculous, they're selling half-finished games that are breaking people's saves (and you can't get refunds) and people are getting tired of renting a game that spends half its time broken. **If anyone knows an easier way - like the exact file left behind - please let us know. I did this as a last resort to trick the EA App into thinking it was a fresh install, since my internet was iffy there for awhile. It worked but it was a huge pain. 0/10, do not recommend.

[@Echoingsunflowers981]

I miss origin, it at least allowed me to play the sims whenever I wanted

[@tylerhackner9731]

I’m tired of streamers doing this thinking they can do whatever they want

[@liamroarke7991]

They need to face real consequences.

[@xwing2417]

Remember the killer clown prank? That ended when a man drew his sidearm and basically arrested him.

[@tweetspie06]

​@@xwing2417 Didn't a guy get shot pranking people last year? That apparently wasn't big enough news.

[@thefruch7588]

@@tweetspie06yep and no one felt sorry for him and the dude who shot him didn’t get charged. And I’m fine with it tbh

[@KHChaosrules]

@@tweetspie06The guy said he'd continue streaming after he recovered, so not even getting shot was enough of a lesson to not bother people

[@madisonlederer1545]

Also, I'm a librarian at a library that stocks CDs and Blu-rays for patrons. Not only do a lot of folks (especially older ones) take them out *and use them still, but we also struggle to bring in new releases - Mostly because they may not get physical releases if they're streaming-only. We accidentally bought a bootleg of an Apple+ show on Amazon thinking it was an official release because of this.

[@ronswanson1410]

A lot of this comes down to businesses adopting these continuous growth models that they use after going public. In short, any way they can make money, they will make money... Whether it's them trying to nickel and dime their customers or firing large numbers of their employees to save money.

[@madisonlederer1545]

​@@ronswanson1410 Exactly, and it's always the customers who take the hit :( There's so many great streaming-only movies and shows that I know our patrons would love, but we can't (legally) supply them in our system. Nobody wins except the corporations in that equation

[@ceno10101]

I was only able to play as many games as I did as a teen in the 90s, because of the library. Doom, Simcity, Diablo, etc.

[@OldSchoolDudeGaming]

Apple Plus is the worst about this.

[@madisonlederer1545]

@@ceno10101 Yes! We don't have games we loan out per se, but we have a bunch of consoles under our STEM umbrella that kids can use in the library with supervision; A Switch and 3DS/DSi primarily, plus we recently got funding to add a VR headset. We serve a very small community that is fairly lower-middle class, so a lot of the time the kids who come to play with the consoles don't own them at home - As someone who is a hardcore PC gamer, it always makes me smile to see kids having a blast with them and getting to experience old and new games 🫶

[@JohnBorgen]

Keep the big news Phil. I really like the deeper dives in to the topics you choose. Most of the time, you cover a topic before I read about it anywhere else, and I appreciate that about your program.

[@FlockOfDeaglesGG]

They need to stop giving these corporations small fines. Start doing percentage based fines. Take their financials, and fine them a % of their yearly profits.

[@TheHollowBlade]

Have not watched the entire show, but it dont matter. I agree with you 100% corporations come out making literally billions in profits doing a bad thing and they get charged 5million. Normal people get tickets for 150$ and that hurts because 150$ is alot of money for most. Imagine if you get caught speeding and we use the same logic we do with corporations and the ticket is 5$… everyone would speed, there is no real consequence if the punishment is only 5$. A corporation that makes 1bil doing shady shit should be charged a solid 500mil to make them feel the heat. Make them feel consequences so they behave.

[@cluelessmango768]

Yeah, also, in my opinion, if we want companies to stop breaking the law, we would need exponentially higher fines for second or third offences.

[@DaSaltyBaeJ]

Or somehow forcing the people approving these decisions out of their positions would suffice in my opinion. That way the business can keep going without innocent employees losing their jobs and some individuals getting that long overdue promotion.

[@cluelessmango768]

@@DaSaltyBaeJ that’s just replacing one crook with another. The employees are not hit if the company made some stupid analysis and it told them that breaking the law suddenly isn’t profitable anymore. They’ll either stop or hide it better, but that second one is a separate issue

[@FlockOfDeaglesGG]

@@DaSaltyBaeJ if you do that, the corporation could just rotate some other shill to take over. We saw that with Boeing.

[@InB4Ethan]

why the hell is the US government getting involved with baby formula rules in other countries to begin with

[@thoughtlesskills]

$$$

[@silverserpent420]

Power. Money. Control. The US is so low on the world education totem pole. Yet, we have the audacity to think we should be telling other countries how to live. 😂

[@Ironcorgi2]

Our politicians like their lobbyists happy.

[@Anaphriel]

Because the businesses behind it are international. The more money these businesses make, the more they have to bribe...uhh, "lobby" the same politicians with. It's a pretty tight circle of you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours and we'll pretend we've never met when the bodies pile too high for the dumpsters out back.

[@JoybuzzerX]

Lobbyist. "Want our money? Make this happen. Yes, that's a good politician." Funny enough, the politician suckling from the company 😜

[@bananaslamma35]

I have a very spoiled niece. At any time at which I've told people about her spoiled behavior and the fact that she is genuinely a spoiled brat. They always say "she's just a kid, she'll learn eventually." They did that for the better part of a decade now... and now her parents are facing the fact that they have a spoiled rotten brat for a daughter that doesn't know the word "no" and throws a crying fit whenever something doesn't go exactly as she wants it to, and now they can't discipline her in any way because she screams and throws fits and even gets violent whenever any attempt at discipline is made, and they're cowards. I wish I could say now I'm laughing, but I'm not, that kid had her life ruined by a combination of laziness and stupidity that resulted in her being raised to be an absolute shit. All because people kept saying "she'll learn eventually" and refused to teach her any lesson whatsoever, just expecting she'd learn by watching, I dunno, whatever is the latest brainrotting youtube kids video trend.

[@rileyfuckingrifle]

Call them out. "But you guys, she'll learn eventually... In prison." Probably won't help now, but maybe they'll do something.

[@ousontmeslunettes9891]

🤣 They failed as her parents but yeah it's too late. I don't understand why we have driving licence but no parental licence.

[@maria44688]

As a teacher, these parents are The. Most. Frustrating. to deal with. I couldn't imagine looking at a kid and having such low expectations for them.

[@spoodersama1455]

I think its pretty obvious why we dont have parenting licenses. Governments could use them to oppress groups of people. Remember when natives american were sterilized by force?​@ousontmeslunettes9891

[@Uhdksurvhunter]

People used to call me out because sometimes when my daughter cried i didnt give her any attention. I would tell them, why the fuck would i give her crying attention when there is nothing wrong? Shes just pissed cause she couldnt have candy, or whatever.

[@DarkAngel040]

So, I breastfed, pumped, and supplemented when my son was a newborn to allow his father to take over at points and allow me to rest. He got nipple confusion at 2 months and only would bottle feed. I had post partum depression and couldn't sit and pump for hours a day while staying home and taking care of my baby. We ended up going to soy formula after my son started to get stomach sensitivity to dairy based formula. Formula saved my sanity, very literally. And in the mom sphere, there's a HUGE mom shame associated with formula feeding. Hearing "breast is best" when I was sobbing over my hungry child and trying not to self harm while hooked to a beast pump was absolutely gutting. Hearing people say my baby wouldn't be chubby and happy, wouldn't be as smart or healthy, or wouldn't do as well in life because I had to supplement was devastating. Fed is best. If you can manage to breastfeed and it isn't a detriment to you, 100% do it. If you can pump and bottle feed while doing your day-to-day, FANTASTIC. But if you can't and your mind, body, or outside sources don't allow you to exclusively breastfeed, then please make sure your baby is fed and healthy. Don't let mom shaming make you feel like a failure. sorry for the soap box preaching, but I have heard that many stories of women like my sister crying because their milk would let down in the shower and go down the drain but her breast wouldn't pump or allow her baby to feed. It sucks. I just wish people were more gracious reguarding feeding supplement.

[@sarahkatesmith4936]

This sounds very similar to my experience. Sending virtual hugs! Got to say that I still feel a lot of guilt about not being able to breastfeed my children. They are happy, healthy kids now, but the guilt and worry remains 😔

[@DarkAngel040]

@@sarahkatesmith4936 don't! Your baby is loved and didn't ever go on an empty stomach because you cared more about their nutrition than your pride. Supplementing saves lives in so many ways. You did and are doing your best, Momma!

[@Wynaro]

"I will violate the law and prepare the budget for the fine." How many times have I heard that on this channel this week?? It's almost like there's a global problem where companies are violating laws in order to manipulate and take advantage of civilians for the sake of profits because laws are only enforced against civilians and not to protect civilians... God I'm fucking tired of this.

[@cuzthatshoweyroll]

It’s almost like the fines need to be exponential increased for these multi billion dollars companies. Buuuut we know that will probably never happen. Late stage capitalism 💀

[@mymumdroppedmeinthewomb367]

Payable by fine = legal for a fee

[@deedrole5296]

just call it what it is, a fee and the cost of doing business. Wealth makes everything an option.@@mymumdroppedmeinthewomb367

[@sowilo1324]

i definitely agree that fines need to be scaled up for entities that have the money to just throw at legal issues to make them go away. it reminds me of speeding fines, where the general public get their lives screwed over for accidents/emergencies, while rich fúcks can joyride through the countryside safely thinking 'well ithe fine is only x amount, so x is the price to drive however i want' when it's supposed to be about safety, not the fee of doing what you want. ive heard of some places where your speeding ticket is directly correlated (not sure if thats the right word) to how much money you have in order to curb the amount of rich A holes breaking the laws and tossing money at it to make it go away, and also to not bankrupt those who made honest mistakes but cant afford extremely high ticket prices. the goal is to make the ticket have weight to it and prevent the idea that theres a flat price to pay in order to speed. if you're rich, that ticket is gonna actually hurt.

[@violaballs]

This is not just about social media. A well taught kid will not do such disrespectful things. Parents are not raising them right.

[@deedrole5296]

At the risk of sounding like a broken record..."where are this child's parents"? At some point this kid's and his parents need to be held liable AND responsible for his behaviour. This situation should have prompted a DCS investigation at the very least.

[@emmyashbaugh]

Could not agree more. Parents should 100% be held accountable. I say this as a mom of three, my kids know to treat others how they want to be treated.

[@orangutanenthusiast5631]

Social media are the parents in this case

[@SomaShiori]

literally all I could think about when I saw that kid dunking his hand in someone else's food - where the HELL are these kids parents and how is it allowed that a 14 year old can stream without their parents even knowing about it?!?! do they not pay ANY attention????

[@KaLaRandomnosityness]

Here in Thailand, you'll hear sad sentiments like "I want to have a child, but I can't afford to buy formula' - the marketing is so damn aggressive. Thailand's been distancing itself from the US for a while now and It's the been a great decision. Just look at the aftermath of the war on drugs & other US policies has had in thailand. Even the 'sexpat' industry here can be attributed to vietnam war. (not saying the US is the blame for all our problems, but they've certainly played their part in exasterbating some of our bigger issues)

[@PrimeCypher]

That guy from Ubisoft really misunderstands us. No, I’m not comfortable with the fact I don’t own things like music. I feel like it’s a hostage situation, and it’s them saying “look, if we go down, you lose everything, so don’t let us fail.” For them to think they can do that with games, especially selling them at full price, is insane.

[@cream476]

It's also just a clear missunderstanding of how that works. When I pay for a streaming service I only pay like $20 at most to watch as many movies/TV shows as I want for a month. People are willing to accept that they don't own the movies because the trade off is that they get access to a full library of them for the price of one or two dvds. That isn't even close to the same thing as paying $60-90 for one game that I can lose access to at any time just because the company decides they want to shut it down

[@xtiphuny89]

As usual, these are people who project their own feelings onto the masses to justify petitioning for a system that gives THEM what THEY want, not necessarily what anyone else wants. Owning media is the only way to ensure that games are FINISHED and gamers are being offered good options. The oversaturation of online access games had led to a boom in quantity and a massive decline in quality. Imo.

[@Dc0sby]

​@cream476 Yeah, that's why there trying to because Netflix, 50 dollars a month, is far better for them.

[@Echoingsunflowers981]

Also when it comes to music, it’s so easy to pirate but most people don’t for convenience

[@midgy]

I had my baby back in 2022. I had planned to breastfeed / use a breast pump. I never planned on using any kind of formula. Unfortunately after trying EVERYTHING I was NEVER able to produce enough milk. So I had no choice but to supplement with formula. It negatively impacted my mental health. I cried a lot because of it & I felt like a failure. Despite the fact that it was in no way my fault that I was unable to produce enough breast milk & it happens to a lot of women. I wish this would have been brought up more in my breastfeeding class. The breastfeeding consultant that was in charge of the class brought up the fact that some women can’t produce enough. But she then went on to say that those women need to just “keep trying” & that EVENTUALLY they will be able to produce enough milk for their baby. And she made it sound pretty shameful that so many women used formula to feed their babies. There should be no shame in using formula. However, it is shameful how expensive formula is. It shouldn’t break the bank to feed a baby.

[@Dharmarenee]

Sorry for your difficulties trying to breastfeed a good resource is the “La Leche” those people are superheroes when it comes to breastfeeding.

[@EridianX]

That kid in the first story needs to fuck around and find out.

[@philtrasher]

Thank you for talking about Ross's “Stop killing games” initiative. As a game developer, I find it insane and genuinely terrifying to hear any industry peers push against people wanting to own the games they pay for. That Ubisoft guy absolutely does not speak for me or any developers I know personally. It's almost exclusively the big publishers and out-of-touch shareholders pushing this mentality. I, and many other devs, rather you pay once for a game and own it forever instead of making you pay for one of the dozens of subscription services for a game that the publisher can take away from you whenever they want.

[@BrianGlaze]

Thank you

[@TikkiNikki]

It's just another way for large corporations to exploit normal people. They "give" you something for a SUBSCRIPTION and take it away when they aren't making enough money from you

[@feha92]

I kind of get where he (the ubisoft guy) is coming from in terms of being good for consumers: the 'game being a service' thing has some convenience, for both the consumer and the publishers&devs. But yes, it also has many (much larger) issues. But the solution to them is easy - just outlaw the practice of unilaterally _terminating_ the service. There are many ways to do the implementation, but the gist is that state regulation is done to ensure perpetual ownership _of the license_ (aka guarantee of being supplied the service) you bought to the service, even if the service shuts down. My preferred implementation would be state-owned archival projects being given all needed source-code and executables and documentation to distribute the game and host servers and the like yourself, before being allowed to sell as a 'service'. Including patches and DLCs. Then when the game dies, those archives makes everything public and distributed under self-perpetuating licenses [that might have a clause terminating the licenses 3 years after some copyright holder started publishing it again. Basically, while you might not hold ownership over a physical copy of the product, you do hold ownership of a receipt providing you a guarantee of eternal access to the service/product.

[@w00tyd00d]

Digital copies were supposed to the next ecological step to how we prevent waste while still being able to sell media for profit. Then DRM became a thing and companies have been trying to combat what they think will be the end of the industry, piracy, and ever since it's been an uphill battle with what we, the end consumers, have rights to with our digital assets. It's now gotten to the point that they're trying forgo any ownership whatsoever so that they have complete control over the consumer pipeline, not realizing that all they're doing is making piracy look more and more enticing. Like the famous quote from Gabe Newell goes, "The easiest way to stop piracy is not by putting antipiracy technology to work. It's by giving those people a service that's better than what they're receiving from the pirates."

[@Caterfree10]

+++

[@toaonua523]

The Us has allowed Nestle to kill 10 million babies to the surprise of no one

[@gasdom22]

The idea of owning a game shouldn't be so crazy. I still own and play games from 20 years ago. But now games can vanish after like 3 years? A company shouldnt be allowed simply take away the product just because they dont want to deal with it. And then people who are just trying to preserve these pieces of gaming history get prosecuted for piracy! Its ridiculous!

[@GregHuffman1987]

>14 year old smokes a joint - shut it all down!! >14 year old bullies and harasses people - this is viable content

[@marvelsProtege]

The 📼 of him smoking was old

[@MrMoney331]

Cause drugs are baaaad 😂

[@banditnmbr087]

Oops should have scrolled more just commented something similar. This is not surprising with how stupid rules can often be. Reminds me of I believe the movie was the new kid were the MC was trying to get expelled from school doing all kinds of terrible things. He finally breaks a broom getting ready to wack a teacher with it and gets expelled for braking the broom on purpose.

[@deedrole5296]

Whatever your position is on legalized cannabis....14 years old using it ESPECIALLY on a public platform is not it. @@MrMoney331

[@Rathial]

The video game ownership thing is an absolute nightmare as someone who plays way too many video games, I cannot even list the number of games I've played that simply no longer exist. The worst part is a lot of the games that do this are gacha games or micro transaction riddled they simply milk customers for a year then delete the game. How these actions can't be seen as just rug pull scams at this point is beyond me.

[@HaviccB]

These companies are training you to buy less games and to skip micro transactions..you will be better for it.

[@Nightknight1992]

at this point emulator creators are like modern day historians, preserving something for eternity which the publishers wont

[@kaitlynmorgan4613]

@@HaviccB buying and playing games is a form of entertainment that can serve you years. its worth it to buy games, but microtransactions is where people should be lost on. at least when its an addiction and buying something wont enhance your joy playing/wont be something enjoyed for long

[@Mesaaaaaaaa]

Thats the issue is they dont even last for years. You buy a full price game and they take it away once sales slow​@@kaitlynmorgan4613

[@HaviccB]

@@kaitlynmorgan4613 no argument here.. I buy games on a 4 year back log.. They are cheap and I don't ever feel Presure to buy a seasons pass or cosmetic dlc

[@yourheadisround]

I'm an American living in the Philippines and almost from day 1 I noticed the outrageous claims of these milk brands! "Proven to increase EQ and IQ". And also commercials like "You don't want your kid to grow up short and he made fun of, riiight?" And also "Hey, your toddler and child all bond over drinking our milk. But what about your teenager? Introducing Birch street!". It's fake milk all the way down

[@lunatickgeo]

and don't forget the sped up "breastmilk is still best for babies up to two years" tagged on at the end like an afterthought! like a "put this here so we don't get scolded by teacher!"

[@Oxcymoron]

These streamers choose their victims well. Ofc he's confident harassing people in the uppity areas and not the more hood areas.

[@Doombot2point0]

Also of course he decided to mess with young women thinking it would be some epic prank and get no push back. I'm sure he was surprised when she took action. Good on her! Tough guy needs to try that prank on a grown ass man who just got off work and is trying to enjoy dinner with his wife or something lol But I know he will cower behind the "I'm just a kid!!" excuse which is gross. Don't take advantage of societal barriers kid because at some point everyone will agree you make a good exception to the rule.

[@Oxcymoron]

@@Doombot2point0 you're absolutely right. I figured that kid that got shot at the mall while filming his "pranks" would have been a wake up call for these guys.

[@Doombot2point0]

@@Oxcymoron yes but you see, you have a functioning brain with the ability to recognize patterns and connect dots. Clearly, this 14 year old clump of cells does not. Is it too late for an abortion? lol jk

[@zforz6264]

They wouldn’t survive in the hood tbh. They start something and will end up dead for sure lol

[@robledog]

The lady was hood mate

[@SerialDesignation_O]

Thank you for covering the "Stop Killing Games" initiative. It is so crazy that they want us to be okay with what is essentially an NFT of a game at this point. I can't believe any company thinks it is okay. It breaks consumer's trust. It ruins perfectly good things. There is no need for "always online" model.

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

They're going to say the consumer wanted it when they rigged it to be that way and even if the consumer wanted to why do they have to be so scummy and go all the way with it

[@standepain]

@@USSAnimeNCC- But how did people not see this coming?

[@AdomMekanica]

​@@standepain Because they did it slowly overtime. People, at least the majority, got used to it overtime. DLCs, microtransaction, DRMs. These were hated at first, but people gradually got used to it an excepted it. The common analogy I've heard it is slow cooking a lobster. I don't know if it's actually a thing, but the idea is that if you slowly raise the temperature overtime, the lobster doesn't realize it's been cooked until it's too late. We've seen the end goal of the game's industry when Xbox One first came out. DRM, always only system where facial recognition prevents you from sharing games with others on the say system. It was just too soon so there was backlash, but you can bet they still want it to be a thing.

[@standepain]

@@AdomMekanica I know but the moment I saw what they were trying to do I was out. If people were dumb enough to not see the writing on the wall then that's on them. Maybe I'm old school but if I can't own it physically and be able to do everything without being on the internet I'm not buying it. Probably explains why the PS3 is the last system I bought.

[@SephoneNorth]

I used to teach High School and Middle School in Florida. This behavior is very common. The young people do not believe that actions have consequences. They can do what they want and when and they do not suffer for it. Spend any time on teacher forums and you realize how bad it is. And it spans all socio-economic lines. It’s not just an intercity or rural issue. It’s systemic and we don’t know how to fix it. Also, that kid isn’t a kid. He’s 14, which is a freshman in high school. He’s two years away from driving and 4 away from voting. He needs to learn now.

[@Beautyonthebrain_]

the way to fix it is by ensuring that kids know that there are consequences outside of school. My dad was a teacher & I knew if I got in trouble at school, I would get in trouble with my parents which resulted in loss of privileges, grounding, extra chores, etc. That hinges on having active, present parents who know how to teach those lessons without traumatizing their child. The better the parents get, so will the kids. But, that is the work of a generation, it's not going to be fixed overnight.

[@spoodersama1455]

He isn't a kid he's 14 Is crazy. I'm from south florida and at 14 we had pregnant girls in the class. Just because he can almost drive and almost vote doesn't make him any more mature.

[@negativeionz]

@@spoodersama1455 He's not gonna be "more mature" at 18, either. Or 21, for that matter.

[@spoodersama1455]

@@negativeionz you don't know that though. A lot happens from 14 to 21. He looks like he hasn't even hit puberty.

[@joshuabreland2338]

My little brother was diagnosed with renal failure shortly into covid and died last year while in a hospital bed, begging to just stop it all. Hopefully, with this, no one will have to suffer through the same fate my baby brother had to through years of excruciating treatment and care.

[@MamaJewels99]

I’m so sorry for your loss.❤

[@hektonian]

Day by day I become more and more convinced that greed, especially of the corporate breed, is the primary cause of all human suffering

[@TheTee5231976]

I heard 'greed is the root of all evil' my whole life but it's never been more accurate during my lifetime until now

[@yulikitten]

That's because it is. Greed is going to kill us all

[@brandonstinson4988]

It always has been that’s why money is evil and the best society doesn’t have it.

[@TheQueenRulesAll]

Well, we know this because as soon as there was a middle class that could own a home and get educated and a lot less homelessness, the privileged right proceeded to give the country back to the wealthy. They called it trickledown economics and allowed corporations and others to accumulate wealth by stealing from the worker and taking the taxes paid by the workers taxes in the form of subsidies, tax breaks and bail outs to the corporations and the wealthy. We would not have billionaires if everyone paid taxes and workers got a living wage.

[@PeachysMom]

@@TheTee5231976it’s really so true as we find ourselves out here in late stage capitalism. We never knew how true

[@lancelot2845]

Sometimes I think we already live in a dystopia. The fact that a government puts the interests of companies and profits above human lives isn't necessarily surprising but it is horrifying.

[@rileyfuckingrifle]

LOL. Yep. A lot of us have "depression" that is just deplorable living conditions. 🥲

[@stevenboelke6661]

Nothing new. The only thing we can do to limit harm to ourselves is unionize, but it will still hurt others and there's not a lot we can do becuse a lot of their international efforts are clandestine.

[@BackstabberDD]

I man that part doesn't surprise me. it's more the 'no one talks about it, and instead only comments on content creator drama' part that feels dystopian. And so the machine keeps turning.

[@denaa6140]

It's horrifying the the lengths that they will go for them. Disgusting

[@negativeionz]

Sometimes I'm really glad I've traveled a bit and seen the darker side of human life. Americans are so damn soft and spoiled. You are the 1% of Earth, sir. It's your birthright as an American. What people call the 1% is actually the 0.01% but people are too stupid to math. You live in what is arguably one of the safest and most painless times in human history in the richest country to ever exist. Perspective, folks.

[@novarage1923]

Former kid here: at that age you know the difference between right and wrong. Being 'just a kid' doesn't shield you from appropriate consequences for your actions. Taking into account the reach one has should be included in whatever those consequences are. My nieces and nephews are Gen z and gen alpha: they'd never behave this way without already having understood the wrongness of their actions and they'd absolutely be aware that there will be consequences. It's part of life and growing up.

[@spoodersama1455]

Former kid here: we were breaking into people's houses and fighting people on the street at 14. Just because you were taught certain values or morals doesn't mean everyone was.

[@ProfessorEthical]

Smoking joints, harassing people, starting fights in the streets, recording all of the evidence..... Sounds like his parents should be held accountable.

[@Gallalad1]

A) there should be a mandatory minimum age for streaming/monetised content. B) I think it’s far simpler than any particular influence and is far more simply that teenagers are inherently far more cruel and now they get a positive feedback loop where before at least in theory you were discouraged.

[@dagroth123]

have fun enforcing your minimum age laws on other countries.

[@Gallalad1]

@@dagroth123 I mean, if America nationally took that standard then it would definitely be a precedent. Plus most of these companies are based in the US so much like how most companies comply with GDPR by default it would likely just become the standard. Plus the EU would probably love to follow suit on this.

[@Anaphriel]

If it can't be applied globally, it's a waste of time! - is a pretty flimsy counterpoint.

[@Gallalad1]

@@Anaphriel tell me you dont understand GDPR standard setting works without telling me you understand GDPR and standard setting works

[@Anaphriel]

@@Gallalad1 Tell me you didn't get that I wasn't replying to you without telling me you didn't get that I wasn't replying to you

[@loridorii]

The kidney transplant story is huge. My dad started dialysis on my 10th birthday. He was a universal donor, so getting to the top of the list took seven years. All of my teenage years were spent with a sick father, and then the kidney wasn't even a good match, only passable. He would have had to go back on dialysis if his heart hadn't quit on him first.

[@negativeionz]

I'm sorry for your loss.

[@loridorii]

@@negativeionz thank you

[@soccerchick1]

Dialysis is awful. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.

[@TheTee5231976]

That's immediately calling the cops no matter the person's age for food tampering. I don't know if he could have put something including drugs or poison or deadly bacteria that could kill me in my food. It's happened in the past and even in more recent times.

[@oh-duh]

Look at what NK's Kim Jong Un did to his exiled, older half-brother, Kim Jong-nam, at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia. You are spot-on with this line of thinking.

[@cluelessmango768]

It’s way too much of a stretch to argue you were seriously worried a bratty kid poisoned your food, but tampering with it, yeah.

[@carstekoch]

​@@cluelessmango768 Hold him, demand he pays for the food he messed with and if he doesn't, get the police involved. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

[@thefruch7588]

It is tampering with your food. He put his hands in it. Pretty close shut case. There’s even video evidence

[@TheTee5231976]

@@oh-duh exactly! I remember the event. Those girls didn't even know what they were doing so who knows what influenced this kid. Then add to it all the stupid actions of people during covid with licking food at the store before putting it back just for clout. Plus many people are struggling to pay for food and the amount of food waste we have just adds to this insanity

[@filmgeek520]

With movie ownership, I first noticed this issue when I moved from the U.S. to the UK. I had bought a few movies and shows with my Amazon U.S. account, but when I moved, none of those titles transferred over to Amazon UK. Even though I had spent probably $100 by that point, and those titles were just gone. I couldn’t even repurchase some of them because of region issues. This is also a problem for streaming exclusives that have been removed from their platform and have no other way to be viewed. I just looked the list of Disney+ original programming and was SHOCKED by how many originals were just not on the platform anymore. There are industry professionals trying to get jobs who have no way to showcase a portfolio or reel of their work because it is just not available. One of my favourite shows when it came out, Prop Culture, I can’t even re-watch. This is why physical media is so important. It’s like erasing memories. We can’t only keep the popular/good stuff. Not to mention a lost of the content that gets removed tends to be by diverse creators.

[@advkow]

Really hate these public streamers. Especially the ones who freaking hire bodyguards so they can not have consequences or try to talk their way out of it.

[@twistfinger]

My 87 year old dad had been playing Ring of Elysium for a few years since after basically aging out of stuff like PUBG. ROE was great because you could play against bots while also having some social aspect by playing with humans and and still have fun in a battle royale gun game but Ring of Elysium shut down the game and servers in December 2023 and now he has no other games to play like PUBG, Apex Legends, or Warzone because you can't just play with bots and stay away from all the teenage insta-killers. So now he's left completely without a game since they can't just host it on community servers the way games used to be.

[@janemiettinen5176]

I love that your nearly 90yo dad plays video games, pure awesomeness. Ipad solitaire is enough for my 91yo grandma. But Im ready to go shout from the barricades now, just for him to get his games back!

[@audrianamichelin8726]

I understand the push for breast milk, however america is just not set up for that. The lack of maternity benefits, paid time off and access to clean pump areas in work places is non existent. How am I expected to breast feed when I have unpaid maternity leave and worrying about feeding myself. The only option is to return to work early, which then has my milk supply depleated to nothing and i can no longer manage 12 am, 3 am and 6 am feeds when im exhausted from work. The formula market is no longer for people who cant breast feed its for people who cant afford to breast feed.

[@jefferybrown6473]

That doesn't excuse the U.S from screwing over the rest of the world.

[@ladyastralis]

I was waiting for Phil to bring this up. Kind of sad he didn’t.

[@Taokomg]

It was a hard realization for me when I became a new mom. I had every intention of being a breastfeeding mother but after my paid maternity leave was up, it became impossible to do and my milk dried up quickly. I never felt so much guilt in my life.

[@bunnerkins]

@@Taokomg I'm just an internet stranger, but I'm sending virtual hugs your way. Don't you dare feel guilty when the system steps on your neck.

[@Jen.Elle1254]

That is such a sad truth. When you realize the depth of the consequences faced by millions of people, for absolutely no reason other than corporate greed and political gain, it's nothing short of horrific. It's heartbreaking that so many mothers and families have to make that decision.

[@calebpoulter7156]

Long time viewer first time comment. Having spent over a year and a half volunteering in Botswana, I've had numerous conversations with local friends about President Masisi's recent statement. He emphasized that while many Batswana take pride in conservation efforts, they must prioritize the protection of their own people. The reality on the ground underscores this urgency: elephants, though majestic, pose significant challenges to communities already grappling with daily life. Crop destruction exacerbates the strain, especially amid ongoing drought conditions, jeopardizing food security for both humans and their livestock. Moreover, the threat extends to property damage and, tragically, occasional loss of life. Finding solutions isn't straightforward. It's not merely about scaring away or relocating elephants, as many communities have deep ancestral ties to their land. Balancing modernization with wildlife preservation presents a complex challenge. As Botswana's elephant population balloons out of proportion, where do we draw the line? Ultimately, the crux of the matter is about weighing the value of human life against that of animals.

[@kathanazius4463]

As someone who's main hobby has been playing videogames for two decades, I fully support the Stop Killing Games initiative. It's incredibly frustrating that a variety of games just aren't playable anymore, many of which were singleplayer but for the fact that publishers implemented DRM that checked with servers and then took down the servers. There's no consumer protection here--a company could release the best game in all of existence and take it down an hour after everyone on the planet bought it so long as any major part of the game relies on a multiplayer connection. Heck, a company could "patch" a game so that it no longer worked offline, and then kill the game. There's no legal precedent set to prevent these things from happening. It's ridiculous, and I really wish the default for any and every sector of the economy, even new ones in the future, assumed consumers were protected and in the right until laws were written to say otherwise. That would make it much harder for companies to screw people.

[@nat6098]

As someone who studied archaeology we are in a digital dark age. Our entertainment, employment, and even our social lives are pretty much exclusively on some platform or another that can wipe it all away with little to no warning. If I had the money I'd love to get all my photos printed and in an album so even if hard drives and backups fail I could still have them. Everyone always wonders how cultures seem to die out after major events (when it's not due to active cultural genocide) and it's because the way they stored information was lost. As people die their knowledge is dying with them and right now we are relying almost solely on technology to keep any knowledge they wanted to keep. It's such a fragile system when you think about it. There's a reason that paper copies are still kept by governments and businesses, at least if something goes wrong with the computer you have a hard copy. Also please print out you journals if you want them to be preserved. One reason we know so much about what it was like to live in England during WW2 was because of people journaling. We are losing so much by discarding physical media of all sorts

[@scottb2698]

The idea of trophy hunting sustaining conservation is not unique to Botswana. This is the case in many countries. Even in my own state of Pennsylvania, every penny of conservation money comes from donors or hunting. Hunting licenses not only fund the effort directly, but federal conservation funding is determined by hunting licenses sold! People equate hunting with poaching, but I think hunters hate poachers even more than the general public does!

[@Confron7a7ion7]

It's also my understanding that these conversation programs will also often pick which specific animals can be killed. Like if they have one that's overly aggressive, not great for mating/ breeding, in it's dying years anyway, just somehow problematic. One way or another that one will be hunted since it's more valuable to the efforts dead than alive. Yeah, it's a cold way to have to think but at least they're being smart about it.

[@jhcoverdrive9287]

Owning vinyl is nice because most albums come with a digital copy. I’m 42 and have always had a working turntable little more than arms length away. I may only use it a few times a month but I’m glad to still have physical versions of most of my favorites. It also keeps that childhood memory fresh…I just like the process of loading up an album and playing it through both sides

[@sinkalaj]

I'm from Botswana and I'm also very anti trophy hunting. Botswana had a ban on hunting for many years and it was only lifted a few years ago. The hunting isn't so much about money but to control the elephant population. A lot of people live in very rural areas and elephants have trampled villages and crops. Something needed to be done. I love the presidents suggestion. If European countries want to save them then let the elephants roam freely in their countryside and see how that goes.

[@fxarts9755]

great to hear from someone whose country is actually influenced by this and not some Western gov official or activist a thousand miles away. thanks for the insight. its hard to judge this situation from an outside perspective. like yea we all want happy animals but we also have to live with them sustainably and that for both sides.

[@nerdjournal]

ok but tell me how paying for the transport of 20k elephants improves Botswana's finances? I'm glad to hear your opinion, but that isn't a financial solution... it's a financial implosion. You guys can have the right to kill them, they should have the right to regulate letting them be sold in their country. Right? But by all means, take on the cost of untold millions to ship those elephants and then tell me how that financially benefits the country, because it isn't going to make them allow the sales of game trophies. If anything, it would cause a complete trade ban. That's the point, you can do what you want in your country, they can do what they want in their country.

[@nerdjournal]

@@fxarts9755 Does a country not have a right to regulate what is sold? Somebody should probably tell the US they can't ban trade with Cuba anymore.

[@sinkalaj]

@@nerdjournal As I said, this isn't about the money but a way to control the elephant population. Botswana has had to cull the elephant population in the past, allowing trophy hunting is just a way to make some money out of something that needs to be done anyway. Botswana has done incredible work in conservation. Germany already has regulations, tightening them is essentially trying to force Botswana to stop trophy hunting. Botswana just offered them a solution. Botswana has already sent elephants to Angola and Zimbabwe to limit the amount that need to be killed. This isn't the 1st time Western countries have tried to impose their will on African nations when it comes to conservation. President Masisis comment wasn't meant to be taken so literally, but I'm sure he'll follow through if needed.

[@NevirSurrender]

It should count as self defense to retaliate physically against these streamers who only harass other people

[@cluelessmango768]

While I hate those kinds of streamers, I still don’t agree with physical violence.

[@thefruch7588]

@@cluelessmango768what’s your solution then?

[@cluelessmango768]

@@thefruch7588 a fine, which obviously ends up at the parent’s doorstep which probably means they’ll punish their kid Or having them sit down with the police and tell them that they could get in real trouble if they continue being human scum. Generally the presence of police really sets in the severity of the situation. Hell, have them bring the kid to the station and have their parents pick them up. Sitting in a room at a police station all alone surely puts a fright in a kid’s shoes Another way is through law, like, we could definitely be talking about a law intended to make sure kids under 18 aren’t allowed to stream. To me it makes sense, like, I definitely could see that 14-year old boy regretting being such an **** on camera as that might affect his future. Like, try all that before we start considering normalizing beating up stupid kids. As for adults, surprisingly enough it’s allowed to be an indecent human being. Best you can do is call the police as they might be a public nuisance. That is until they stick a finger in your food or touching people uninvited that they actually break laws and they should be punished accordingly. Perhaps we should consider that in this new age people can make money breaking laws, and any money made like ad money and donations should be taken away if they broke a law to get money. I’m no legal expert so I wouldn’t know how to get this written out as actual law, but it’s something to consider.

[@spoodersama1455]

​@@thefruch7588 harassment isn't grounds for self defense. Call the cops if it bothers you so bad or go about your day.

[@airforceone83]

I lived in Botswana for 2 years and had seen plenty of elephants. What people outside of Botswana may not think about is how dangerous wild elephants can be. None of the locals will ever tell you to seek out and engage elephants because you can easily be killed, even accidentally. While the conservation efforts have been great, increased number of wild elephants also means increased likelihood of human casualties (more elephants roaming), hence why there is support for both sides. Btw, the word for people of Botswana is "Batswana" instead of Botswanans. The singular form is "Motswana".

[@mymumdroppedmeinthewomb367]

Noooo but the lady on the tv said it's mean!! Eco tourists are the only way!! Lol

[@overloookable]

That's the biggest part. Yes they're amazing animals and yes we should take steps to safeguard them but we need to think about the people living there first. Incredibly annoying how people will wax for hours about animals in a country but not spare a thought for the people living there

[@presleylawlor6519]

I’m interested to know if there are any efforts to just… move the elephants? Obviously that would take a lot of work, money and coordination between governments and NGOs but it seems like the logical solution to keeping the elephant population growing, no?

[@presleylawlor6519]

@@overloookablebecause, and yes I’m aware I’m talking about *people* with lives, feelings, histories and families; people are far from going extinct. I suggested moving the elephants because that’s what people are more likely to agree to but frankly if it were up to me I’d move the people. Last in first out and all. But I’m under qualified to say that. That’s for an ecologist working in the region to say.

[@Beanzoboy]

@@presleylawlor6519 You wouldn't want to move elephants to other countries. First, they may not be native to the place, so they may just die off due to lack of food/excess predators, etc. Second, Botswana is the best conservation country in Africa. Meaning anywhere you move those elephants to? Not gonna be as good at conservation, ensuring that far more elephants will die anyway. Third, why are "animal rights" activists the ones with the say about how that country handles its animal species and conservation? The "animal rights" activists put no thought into anything. They don't live there, they don't have to live around these huge, sometimes dangerous, animals. 1.6M dollars? Per year? Does literally fuck all for conservation. Trophy hunters pay 100k+ for trophies, and one group could provide that annual income in a matter of months, ensuring that old/infertile/sick/dangerous animals are culled, and putting far more money into conservation efforts. The culled animals can be used by the villages as food sources, and the money that comes in helps villages take care of these animals as a whole. "Animal rights" activists don't see the big picture. They don't see the problems that arise. They don't put any thought into the people that live there, or the government that has to pay for it all.

[@Shizznad]

I have a brother who had a heart transplant and he will need to have a kidney transplant later in life after all the medicines he has to be on. I cannot describe the elation I experienced hearing the pig kidney story. The fact that there is a hope that transplant recipients could not have to wait or die on the list lifts a weight off my shoulders...

[@HoneyGun]

Its kind if like with funimation and crunchyroll. All those people who bought the anime episodes online now losing access to their library as the studio shuts down.

[@Tustin2121]

Corporate Lobbying needs to be OUTLAWED!!!

[@cathyannis83]

It’s all very well the guy from Ubisoft saying that consumers have got used to not owning their music and movies if they don’t possess a physical copy, but I don’t pay full DVD price for the movies I watch on my Disney+ subscription. I absolutely understand I do not own the games I play through my PS+ subscription; when I pay £50-£80 for a digital game, however, I should own that game! I shouldn’t have to worry that I might not be able to play it in a few years if maybe it’s not considered successful enough for the developers to continue providing support, or that it might get delisted when it’s succeeded by a few sequels and now considered old. He’s comparing apples to oranges and it’s very disingenuous.

[@lightworker221]

When I buy digital copies of movies through my cable provider or other sources, they generally charge the same price as a physical DVD.

[@deedrole5296]

@@lightworker221 Most platforms also offer the option to rent at a greatly reduced price...after the initial launch of the movie.

[@leronixx]

I understand your need to take a sponsor, but the constant advertisement of these gambling sites disgust me. My wife has a severe gambling addiction. It has put so much stress on our family. We gave struggled to provide for our 2 kids when she slips up and falls into this addiction again. Every add on Netflix, prime video, and a few on your channel are for gambling. You don't know what this can cost a family.

[@PhoenixWeaver]

The digital gaming situation is actually way different from digital movie or music, because we aren't paying for those directly, we are using services to listen or watch that media and it's not for one product. If I'm paying so much for a game, I better be able to continue playing that game until the end of time. Otherwise, I won't be buying digital games anymore

[@ZinoDust]

The Stop Killing Games Initiative hit close to home. Me and my entire family love older media and having swaths of shelves dedicated to the games and/or the media we love. It's fun to just have a moment where I'm like "I wanna play this particular game." Then grab it off the shelf and play it immediately. Now I'm having moments where I have to worry about what happens when I loose access to my account with the digital versions of games I like playing; let alone if that platform hosting the game goes down. It's surreal to consider. Just yesterday I was playing a single-player game session and had a pop-up that said I lost connection to the servers and was booted to the main menu. Lost my progress in the time since the last auto-save that was a pain to replay. I will always opt for physical media and I'm immediately supporting the initiative now that I know about it.

[@stephenrhea9255]

Working in a University setting alongside archivists, it is a massive issue that video games are being lost forever. With print media, like newspapers or even with movies, archives can be created. But video games can be lost if there was never anything but digital or if it relied on a server somewhere else. Its losing the history of gaming.

[@elizabethcassidy8082]

The anti-emulator mindset of these companies also makes vg preservation so difficult! In the future it will be incredibly difficult to replace and repair some of the hardware, and emulators are important for preserving at least a facsimile of the game. Piracy has long been incredibly important for the preservation of nearly all media, but I struggle to find a medium other than Video Games where piracy is essential for preservation.

[@RoyG.BivDevoe]

@@elizabethcassidy8082 That mindset also applies to companies that frown upon mods, fan games, and ROM hacks. These programers don't profit off of them they just want to express their love as well as their art for the games that they and many others have grew up with. Some of those modders will get lucky and have their mods spotted by an indie company or a AA/AAA company for hire. Some of these companies don't even realize or they don't care that they are discouraging their own target audience.

[@WirlWind494]

You'll have to archive KZbin 'let's play' videos instead.

[@elizabethcassidy8082]

@WirlWind494 you might be facetious but honestly THAT is better than nothing. While it is preferable for someone to be able to play a game, preserving a let's play is not unlike a book that is only preserved in quotes recorded in other books

[@RockerCentauri]

I'm 100% for the game petitions, but those publishers are a fuckin nightmare. They are of the mindset "It's ours and go fuck yourself if you think you get to play the game you bought forever" which is absolutely bullshit because we let them go fully digital because we were given the impression that we could still play these older games on our own, even if the servers are shut down. Phantasy Star: Online on the Sega Dreamcast is still available to be played by yourself without the internet connection to the servers, which is important because that's a game that came out more than two decades ago that primary mode of play was intended to be Online on PSO servers; but through some hoop-jumping you can at least get access to the files to simulate an online experience, or play it offline by yourself. There are games today on Steam that you can still buy with ALL of it's DLC at full price (Magicka published by Paradox Interactive to name one) that have completely lost their ability to be played even in that kind of capacity, let alone the intended way; and all because these companies decide to completely neglect their titles even though they have the cash to spend to at least pay somebody to give us a way to play it on our own without using their servers. Something needs to be done; especially considering the god-awful state a lot of games are released in these days, with notable examples being Fallout 76 and Cyberpunk 2077. It took them AGES to even patch these games to make them playable, which already felt like bullshit because we're paying nearly $100 USD a pop anymore for these video games that are coming to us in sorry states to begin with; but then to let them degrade into complete garbage with no way for us to even play it on our own if we want feels like they're just taking our money and running without delivering on their promise of a good product that will last. I got console games that are older than some of the people making these newer titles that I can still pick up and play today, what they're doing to us is just shameful.

[@vf.3226]

Dude please dont shorten these. These videos have legit been soooo good for my mental health. You help me make sense and keep track of all the random stories that my nuerospicy self otherwise couldnt keep up with. Ill even see if my therapist will sign a notarized letter if you REALLY need the proof 😂

[@freezingcathedral]

if they're stories you couldn't keep up with, then they're stories that you don't need to be concerned with. simple as.

[@vf.3226]

@freezingcathedral or it's like I have a life to live, health conditions to manage, and I'm working at an unprecedented pace in all of human existence. It's OK for me to appreciate a trusted source compiling and recapping the stories I've seen or haven't for the day that may ultimately be impactful in my life. If you want shorter videos, you can always just watch the reels. But I enjoy the deeper dive and if I had my way these videos would be even longer and cover more. Obviously that's not going to happen, so the least I can do is to show support for the content that's already a benefit to me. I just really genuinely don't understand why you took time out of your life to leave the comment you did, but go off I guess 🤷‍♀️

[@ItsBeeRay]

Big fan from Botswana here. It's also important to note that human lives aside, elephant overpopulation poses a threat to the local eco-system as a whole. Their destructive nature and grazing habits result in habitat loss for so many smaller species of animals as well as posing a threat to certain species of flora as well. It's insultingly arrogant for people sitting in offices in the U.S, Germany, the UK etc. to insinuate that their knowledge of elephant conservation, eco-tourism and hunting regulations in Botswana trumps that of on the ground, educated local experts who dedicate their lives to working directly with these animals. Botswana has successfuly tripled the elephant population over the last 30 - 40 years WITHOUT the help of the "Humane Society of the U.S". I think the handling of elephant related issues should be left to those who actually have them.

[@cbjamboii]

Respect. I’m in Botswana as well

[@paigeconnelly4244]

If Botswana knows what it's doing, then it can control the elephant population without the barbaric, cruel, and evil practice of trophy hunting. 🤷‍♀️ If the EU wants to ban imports of elephant heads and tusks in it's own borders, it can. Botswana needs to worry about it's own problems and laws, not the EU's.

[@ncubesays]

Full support from Zimbabwe

[@1barbsie]

This is always the thing that happens, after decades of exploiting other countries for their resources, they want to now limit how these same countries manage and exploit their own resources. Why do Europeans feel they have the right to tell other countries what to do with their animals? If you like the elephants so much, then you live in close proximity to them, so they can trample your farmland and kill the people where you live.

[@vanitasastra]

If course we are more competent than you. We are simply more evolved than you.

[@Ouzzel]

Fines as punishment consistently show to be ineffective when it comes to crime, but especially for corporate crime. If you can just pay a fine for a crime then its not a crime, its just a license fee to do the thing.

[@Fauxmadd]

I still buy physical all I can and then I digitize them to my house server. I will do this for as long as I can.

[@ShannonWhittle1]

I’m from Zimbabwe and have family in Botswana. I remember hearing them talk about the benefits of trophy hunting. Being an animal lover, I hated this idea. But the harsh reality is it takes a lot of money to actually conserve these animals futures and stop poaching. That’s money many countries in Africa just don’t have. People pay thousands of dollars to take trophies home, if that money can secure a species future, then that’s the priority. It’s a sad reality

[@Beanzoboy]

Some trophy hunters pay 100k+ per trophy. Is it a sad reality, though? The animals that are allowed for hunting are the old, sick, infertile, or dangerous. The ones that don't have long anyway, or pose more of a danger to their species than a hunter. Some bull elephants have been known to kill several other younger elephants just to do it. It is very difficult and very costly to take care of such huge creatures, and it takes a lot of land. In the US, we have to manage population sizes for deer, wolves, coyotes, foxes, etc. so the populations don't get too large to where they cause other problems to livestock, humans, or other animals. It's the same idea here.

[@thorwaldjohanson2526]

It's the best and only actually successful model in the world. Same with hunting deer, elk etc in north America. It saved those species. It's well regulated and you have to buy tags, which are limited in number. You are also restricted to specific seasons. The money from selling tags directly goes into the conservation.

[@soccerchick1]

@@thorwaldjohanson2526it’s worked FAIRLY well in North America. There’s still plenty of people, countless honestly who abuse the program and the numbers of animals and fish vary/go up and down every year. We’re constantly struggling with certain parts of conservation here too. So many species of endangered plants, animals, birds and fish here and the program is not new.

[@sp00kyduck30]

I'm genuinely curious about this, but is there no way to rent out the elephants to other countries who wish to have some in their safari parks or zoos, like China has done very successfully with their pandas? I was wondering that because I was reading about how the pandas are making China a ton of money, with the continuous rent being paid to them, but China is also not having to allocate funds to raising the pandas themselves, and it sounds like the perfect thing to keep people safe from elephants, and by extension, the poachers who are only there for the elephants.

[@Sword8808]

One of the most egregious examples for game servers shutting down is the game Babylon's Fall from Square Enix. It was an RPG that they decided had to be always online, it didn't even last a full year before the servers closed leaving the game 100% unplayable. This is a game that sold for full price and even if you wanted to play solo, it still needed server support to play. It released March 3rd 2022 and shut down February 27th 2023. Every time this happens, players call for devs/publishers to update their game so it can be played offline going forward, then the devs/publishers may say that it would take too many resources to make it work. However, this eventuality should be considered from the get-go of development. If you're making an always online game, especially ones that include a campaign and can be played solo as is, they need to build in an offline setting. So if/when server support is dropped, they can flip the switch that allows players to continue accessing the core parts of the game offline.

[@janemiettinen5176]

So, basically 60 bucks for a year’s worth of playing? Not cool. My first console was the OG Nintendo, I could still play it, if the controllers would work. With all my games..

[@Sword8808]

@@janemiettinen5176 Potentially more than $60 as well, they had a digital deluxe edition for $100 too. Although the game sold pretty poorly so hopefully there weren't too many that bought the deluxe.

[@janemiettinen5176]

@@Sword8808 Thats just bad for future business, I would think. I wouldnt buy anything from a company ever again, if I got rug-pulled once. Like no chance, zero, no matter how amazing product they will come up with. The trust is gone and people have principles, screw me once and Ill spend my squirrel skins elsewhere. And you know there is at least few peeps with that deluxe version, there always is. 100 bucks for 11 months feels really scammy.

[@AmuzonJungle]

On the topic of physical game media: I work at a thrift store and I can say for a fact that the only physical media that sells near instantly is game media. ESPECIALLY old cartridge based games, which are my personal favorites, but even the disc based ones sell REALLY well too. There's still a market for physical game media and I don't see that changing, no matter how much the industry wants us to give it up. There's just SOMETHING satisfying about holding a game in your hands, knowing everything in the game is right there, and all you have to do is pop it in. No downloading. PS - N64 is the best cartridge console and you cannot change my mind!

[@o7kenlen]

if buying isnt owning, then piracy isnt stealing.

[@EveryCrazyDay]

I would never advocate violence against children…. But this kid pushes my limits.

[@kingofhearts3185]

Defense and a lesson, no problems as far as I can see.

[@comicsans3537]

My policy is this: Not my kid, you are old enough to know better, and therefore you are old enough to reap what you sow :) He did literally, by definition iirc, asdault her in some form. That'd be self defense and he doesn't get the "I didn't know the law" defense in America.

[@spoodersama1455]

​@@comicsans3537did he touch her I thought he just grabbed her food.

[@CrystallineLore]

The problem with game ownership is not digital vs physical, but just the fact that developers specifically don't want you to own their games. These developers, like Ubisoft, ensure that's the case even with physical games. Digitalization of video games is the only reason you can play many of them today. Sony no longer produces Playstation 2s, discs/cartigages WILL eventually fail, or get damaged/lost, etc. This makes it increasingly more difficult to get 'valid' physical media. However, digital copies are forever replicable and with emulation being a proven solution, can be played by anyone forever too, and in fact more easily as time goes on.

[@ChristopherAndersonPirate]

The digital only model for video games really worries me because I now own over 2000 games but on Steam. What happens when Gabe Newell passes away one day? Is Valve going to keep being accompany we can trust? I truly believe a law needs to be passed that forces game companies to release the code that allows the fans to keep servers running after a company shuts down a games service.

[@Athairne]

Imagine forgetting the password to your account but you've lost access to the email account associated with it - potentially, depending on the platform and customer service, you could be losing an entire library of games through zero fault of your own. Or even an incorrectly applied account ban. Depending on the platform, you'll get no help regardless of the validity of the penalty.

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

This is why the free market isn't all good their a reason law and regulations exist because their going to eb people who choose profit over what make sense or what right

[@tempurpedic8498]

Do you really think that Gabe Newell dying would mean Steam just deletes all their games? Do you know how companies work?

[@elizabethcassidy8082]

At least with music I can rip, convert, and burn onto CDs, as well as some movies onto DVDs, port onto Hard drives, and use pretty much any player. I have no clue where to start with my games. It's horrid.

[@TheHollowBlade]

@@tempurpedic8498depends on who takes over the top spot. If they bring in a dusty old dude whos entire life has been built to only make money at all costs like most big developpers have become.. then yes its totally possible they find some stupid loophole to find a way to squeeze more money out of the players while holding their games hostage. You might say thats illegal, but these big companies have hundreds of layers they can use to find even the smallest loophole that allows them to push their greed. Gabe is still a gamer at heart and he gets it for the most part. Once hes gone who knows what will happen. People said the same shit about Blizzard thinking it was impossible for them to do any harm. Yet here we are and blizzard is nothing but a shadow of its former-self with no sign of improving.

[@Nightknight1992]

no offense, but prize picks sounds like a horrible sports gambling like app

[@3up3rn0va]

As a consumer and a gamer change needs to happen. An all digital age is inevitable. But we as consumers need to have rights to things we own. More and more people are pirating because of this companies can take away our goods at anytime. And personally, I think that is evil.

[@audduck]

My husband is a living kidney donor, having given one to his mother 17 years ago. The average kidney donation last about 10 years, but she got 15 years out of that kidney before she needed to go on diyalisis. He's been following the pig kidney story really closely and each step of the way, we've gotten super excited. There are so many people out there waiting for a kidney donation, and it would be great to be able to get them the help they need.

[@SMOKEtillUReyezBLEED]

In NorCal next town over to me. A young kid. Probably the streamers age, killed a woman and kid when he stole his parents car and crashed it downtown. He was streaming but not sure if it was to a website or just to friends. But I feel we already deaths tied to this bullshit

[@tylerbakeman]

We should stop buying games anyway. The gaming industry is probably anticipating such a movement, to capitalize/ adapt to us when we do stop; however, *Ubisoft releasing a “AAAA” unfinished project (advertising it as a “complete game”), with outdated graphics *XBox not having exclusives *Playstation only having exclusives (only supporting PS5) *Blizzard controversies (there are many) *Apple Arcade raising the price of the service *SquareEnix postponing releases *NaughtyDog ReReleasing Re-releases of games (in part, we can blame PlayStation for how they make new consoles) *Dragons Dogma 2 graphics controversies (idc about the micro-transactions: CapCom shouldn’t have released DD2 capped at 30fps and those older graphics. Performance-wise, sucks) *Nintendo controversies (think about the “PointCrow” topic from awhile back) *Apple not allowing Epic Games on the platform *TriArc remaking Call of Duty (but worse every other year) *Servers for old games disappearing. *Ports for beloved games not being available (nor the distribution in general). *etc It is clear that gaming used to be something we could enjoy growing up, but now gamers are being exploited for their interest (in micro-transactions, unfinished releases, and overpriced plagiarism). Rarely is a new game invented: Hogwarts Legacy piggy-backs on the mechanics of the Souls series (in-part demonstrating, they are no longer creating games… kinda like Disney no longer creates movies… The gaming industry is creating Assets to add to the same game, for us to buy AGAIN AND AGAIN). The gaming industry as a whole, sucks. We can just make our own games, like we used to (gamers making games. Not corporations making the same games we invented). Recognizing however, there are some solid recent games: God of War constantly creating masterpieces. Zelda constantly doing great. Sonic FINALLY doing something good (needs work). Kingdom Hearts is trying their best, and doing fine. And a handful of upcoming anticipated releases of new/ smaller projects, with some nice graphics and mechanics (looking like something straight out of MetalGearSolid),, which look promising. Outside of that, fuck the industry, let’s make our own games (it’s not hard, just tedious).

[@miche13curry]

With the ownership story; I think the biggest annoyance for me is movies. They will ask for me to pay almost the same price to "own" a movie as it was for a DVD. Sometimes I do this for my favorite so I don't have to deal with it leaving streaming. But you don't own it in the same way as a dvd! They can randomly decide to remove it from their digital library (youtube, apple, amazon all can do this). So you are left with nothing after buying a copy.

[@Spiker985Studios]

Reminds me of Sony's agreement falling out for the movies that they had in the PS Store - all the people who bought those movies, lost them, as far as I can tell

[@standepain]

I will never understand why people buy streaming movies. I have...dear god, a few thousand DVD and Blu-rays. All the movie that I "own" on a streaming service I still have a physical copy of.

[@zanulabuschagne4826]

As a South African, I understand what Botswana is going through, we do this constantly in our country with bucks and deer. Its all about doing it sustainably. If you have too many of one species it destroys the entire ecosystem. Botswana does have one of the best run governments in Africa, and I trust that they would handel the fragile situation such as keeping these large creatures sustainably in a country alongside humans. But that will unfortunately always include the killing of those animals to protect the ecosystem from collapsing. If the ecosystem collapses then there will be a bigger issue at hand. It is easier to keep population control of large animals, WAY more difficult to restart and restore a collapsed ecosystem.

[@brandonofthewastes]

Nobody in Politics: Absolutely nobody: Hannibal: But I Always Come Back!

[@janemiettinen5176]

Im a Finn and if culling wouldnt be an option, we would have really dangerous time driving or just being outdoors! We have large animals like moose and bears, but also deer, wolfs, lynx, foxes, reindeer, coondogs and many others. We have hunting clubs that get certain amount of licenses yearly, depending on the population, done very sustainable way. Our country is like a big forest sprinkled with couple cities, so it would get wild and fast. In a country this sparsely inhabited (3rd of Texas with only 5mil peeps), we would be the very exact part of the ecosystem to be wiped away. On the other hand, listening to Phil lately, it might not be the worse option, humans can be absolutely horrible.

[@soccerchick1]

There’s an overpopulation of humans at this point smh. Animals shouldn’t have to suffer everytime because we’re greedy, self centred asshats.

[@crye_o]

I don't mind digital only games but I absolutely should be able to play it regardless of if it's still being updated. At this point I tend to only buy indie games as digital media but if it's something I want to be able to replay, I always buy a hard copy for this exact reason. I do the same thing with music. If I have an album I love, I get myself something I can listen to regardless of streaming status.

[@samanthaorologio6866]

To everyone saying “if buying isn’t owning…” Nothing we’ve bought is TRULY owned by us. We can say that all day. But having recently bought land and a house on said land. I can feel how easily they can strip it from us should they choose to. Despite having paid in full. Nothing we have is ours and it’s sickening.

[@miketalksaboutstuff]

How would Botswana even release 20,000 elephants in Germany? Like are they gonna air drop them in with little parachutes attached to their backs? Catapult them across the ocean? Bring them in by boat?

[@smokedbeefandcheese4144]

Smuggling them through Italy

[@Firegoesboom]

For reference please watch Operation Dumbo drop

[@calmwaveofchaos1878]

I'm pretty sure there was a U.S. military operation in Vietnam that did at least half of that with elephants, but I think it was at a much smaller scale. With enough spite and creativity I'm sure Botswana could find a way.

[@TheZillionX]

Thanks Phil for helping shine light on gaming ownership. So many of us have seen companies restrict our access to games just to squeeze few more bucks from us.

[@l.e.a.d.761]

The Baby Formula story was the one I was most invested in, but with situations like these that involve bipartisan corruption I sometimes feel like I don't know what to do about it.

[@cic3000]

there is literally nothing you CAN do about it. It's a billion dollar industry formally backed by the US government. Protect yourself and if you have new mother friends, warn them about the health risks, but considering this is becoming prevalent in less developed countries, nothing we can do.

[@MinatheMenace]

In regards to the games topic. KHUX is an example of a game that died because they stopped managing it. It was a free to play gacha game run by Square Enix. Many people spent money on the game to buy medals and characters. Then they decided to kill the game, released the ending early, then closed it completely. Players lost everything. The medals they collected, the money they spent on customizable clothing for their avatars, character medals, coins, ect. It's pretty scary to spend money on games online or on mobile that could just....decide not to run their game anymore.

[@naotohex]

The gaming industry has just become so awful with its practices. I really do think 100 years from now, hell even 50 years from now the physical space will be gone and so many of these online connected games will be gone with it. Though maybe this is what they want, an article recently published said that over 60% of the gaming space are consuming older titles, not these new titles. If they stop publishing the game and basically gatekeep it to that time period it forces customers to have limited options. The problem is that many of these new options just absolutely suck and are not what people want.

[@Echoingsunflowers981]

I’m so sick of live service games, I crave for the era where games were being made for creativity and fun. Thank god for indie developers

[@denaa6140]

The baby formula story is grim. America is so disgusting.

[@johexxkitten]

I remember as a child breastfeeding being stigmatized as "POOR" If you are poor, you breastfeed because you can't buy formula. If you had money formula was a prestige way to feed your baby... It was like can you afford Walmart or Gucci, if you can afford formula your baby will thrive, grow & be intelligent, athletic & strong. Whereas poor babies were breastfed were smaller, weaker, slower, less intelligent & athletic. Add to that you could literally feed your child in your own home... Mother's gave birth & lived in seclusion until their baby was weaned... A mother could NEVER feed their baby outside the home unless baby had dinner in the shitter... I had no kids, entirely by choice... I actually don't like to be around kids, if hell were a thing, it's Disney for me. But I will stand by ANY mother needing to feed her child!

[@LoFiAxolotl]

Hell is what's outside of Disney World.... but i mean Disney quite literally comes close to hell... Hello Florida

[@Nenernener123]

I’m just gonna copy paste what I just posted as I agree. The formula conversation is infuriating, but the larger struggle in the US forcing many to turn to formula is not being able to afford time off of work to provide. Trust me, any Mom doing literally any research on parenting knows breast milk is best. As a Mother who was blessed in every other way, I found that I was incapable of making even a portion of enough milk for my child. I was able to take the maximum time off of work after delivery, despite having a pump I rented the hospital grade pump for home & pumped every 3-4 hours 24 hours a day for 3 & 1/2 months, took up to 20 supplements to assist with milk production, took the breastfeeding class while pregnant & saw the lactation specialists to assist after delivery, all to being forced to turn to formula to feed my child. I was shamed by online Moms who insist that your body is capable. But just like many cannot get pregnant, I could not feed my child. Doing the best you can for your child is best. To anyone worried about having to feed their infant formula, my kiddo is 10, possibly the healthiest & most physically fit child in their grade, & is testing multiple grades above her age. Just do your best!

[@kgniku503]

Does this mean the Activision Blizzard breastmilk incident was a government op!?

[@LoFiAxolotl]

@@Nenernener123 the advantages of breast milk is WAY overplayed by the way... yes breast milk is technically better.... but the benefits are mostly in the past as the anti-bodies are for illnesses that are easily cured or for illnesses we already eradicated... Formular is fine and it should be the choice of the mother if they breast feed or not.... there should be no shame in either direction.... neither is a bad option

[@luan4753]

​@@LoFiAxolotluhh... source?

[@thatothertomjones4774]

It's crazy that in America you guys are allowed to advertise gambling without ever saying the word. "Skills based fantasy game", "Sports platform", "Easy game play"... Like what??? This crap has ruined countless lives and families and Phil's over here selling like it's candy crush! Disappointing.