I like SMTV, but if you are coming from Persona it is a VERY different experience. Persona is a much more narrative spinoff series from the original SMT franchise. SMT games you are typically alone, with just a party of the monsters you recruit to help you. Consequently there isn't a whole lot of dialog. There is some story, but in most SMT games it tends to be very back-heavy.

SMT games do tend towards bleak, depressing and extremely difficult. They usually do have multiple narrative paths/endings to give it some replay value. They are really for people who enjoy those kinds of gameplay systems first and foremost.

I read through this and I hate it.

Author apparently regularly speaks at the UN and is writing a book on ethical AI? I see we are off to a great start. And by the second paragraph we already have:

But dig a little deeper, and the reality becomes far more insidious.

Every post, like, and comment exists in an ecosystem designed to prioritize “core socialist values” over freedom of speech.

Remind me which country is the one banning TikTok and censoring speech?

For instance, posts addressing politically sensitive issues, such as criticism of Chinese cybersecurity laws or advocacy for human rights in Xinjiang, have reportedly been flagged or removed

Assuming they even are (note reportedly), not really a bad thing. You don't need to sell me on the platform more Jason.

In a report by China Digital Times, RedNote’s (Xiaohongshu) content moderation includes strict guidelines for handling “sudden incidents,” a term used to describe politically or socially sensitive topics.

One might assume that China Digital Times is a Chinese newspaper as the name might suggest to a layperson. However, they are based in California and have direct connections to the US government. Hardly an unbiased source to be citing.

By exporting a content control and surveillance model, RedNote challenges the open exchange of ideas on which democracy depends.

If the open exchange of ideas is that critical to democracy, isn't the US a more egregious offender? All of this stems from the US's instigating actions, China did literally nothing except provide a service that they have provided for years.

Joining RedNote has also brought Westerners closer to Chinese citizens than ever before.

Framing this as a negative, even subtly, is arguably the most evil thing in an article chock full of propaganda.

So in an attempt to thwart imagined Chinese propaganda, USians have pushed their user base into actual Chinese platforms. If even a portion of those users come to the realization that China are not evil harry potter villains, it would be a net win.

I would say it is one of the US's bigger own-goals, but they have had so many.

Dang, the Russian disinformation has corrupted the World Bank now too! They must be using their mind-scramble lasers.

On one hand, we have a well documented campaign of murdreing civilians and trying to drive them out of their territory permanently, with constant video and photographic evidence to back it up.

On the other hand, we have some questionable anecdotes and blurry satellite photos of some schools and governmental facilities in a country with over a billion people walking around with video cameras in their pockets.

Guess which one the US considers a clear genocide.

How much longer until we hit the "They are all nazis and we knew it from the beginning, that is why we didn't send troops" phase of cope?

If Russia isn't there, I don't see the point.

I suppose they could be checking with their owners if they would be allowed to surrender/negotiate with Russia. In which case the answer is probably no.

I think you made a wrong turn on lemmy.

But yes, won't somebody think of poor Amazon. They are really just hanging on by the skin of their teeth, aren't they.

Sounds like the Mediterranean Sea is a Hamas sympathizer, US is going to launch an anti-sea operation in the near future.

it is another stark reminder that the brave men and women who defend our great nation put their lives on the line each and every day to keep our country safe.

What, praytell, were they doing in the Mediterranean that had anything to do with keeping the US safe? I am going to go out on a limb and guess absolutely fuckall given that it is a minimum of 6,000 km from the US.

where leaders told me this month that a major decline in U.S. military assistance to Kyiv would embolden Beijing and weaken deterrence in Asia.

I don't think that is a common fear shared by the people, WSJ should have reported that Taiwanese leadership are worried. There is not a single mention of what the people of Taiwan want. I have many friends from uni there now, and that is not an express concern of any of them. More than anything they want to be left alone with things the way they are, not dragged into an armed conflict for American interests.

I am honestly surprised it took this long, I had just assumed he was already disappeared after they banned the communist party from existing.

and prevented any teaching about the positive aspects of Soviet history in schools.

Yet when I was a kid I was still being taught how positive slavery was in the US, and how people were actually better off as slaves than free. (That school thankfully is now a parking lot, which is all it deserves). Very happy to have left that country when I was young.

She also noted in her blog post that, according to UN statistics, most Ukrainians who have left the country have settled in Russia.

Good news for them is that it's probably unlikely they would be forced to repatriate in that case because that sounds like absolute hell.

Of course, liberals will just throw down the "Russian Propaganda - Get Out of Argument Free" card and call it a day. By the time they have pressed their remaining citizens into slavery, liberals will have already moved onto the next Cause and won't care anymore.