[-] Nikophos@lemmy.ca 6 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

I'll highjack this comment to add my opinion - I wasn't sure if it was appropriate for the main post.

I see the profile picture as performative (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). I don't want to fall into a habit of doing performative things and feeling like it's enough action. I also recognize Clippy is a flawed choice, as one of Microsoft's mascots and it's existence as a proto-AI assistant.

All of that said, I found the solidarity in the comment section of the original video comforting. So today, I will perform (and maybe spread just a little more awareness).

[-] Nikophos@lemmy.ca 23 points 4 months ago

:) happy to help! I appreciate the appreciation

193

YSK: People are switching their profile pictures to Microsoft's Clippy in protest of the unethical, immoral, anti-consumer practices by various companies. The movement was started by Louis Rossmann (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_Dtmpe9qaQ) on August 7th, 2025.

@6:46 "Clippy's a symbol that what used to be considered one of the worst annoyances in our life would now not only be welcomed, but for all of his flaws, celebrated as an idol. Because for all of these things that occur right now where there is negative malice of intent, [...] Clippy just wanted to help. And if you were to turn him on today, unlike most cloud bullshit, he'd still work."

Louis hopes for this to be a show of solidarity.

@5:44 "When a company CEO logs into their Slack and sees 10,000 Clippy's looking back at them, what I hope occurs is that they intuitively understand that they no longer live in a world where they can get away with fucking over the consumer."

@5:58 "[...] that [people] are alert and they are aware of what is going on, and they are going to politely but firmly push back against it. Every single one of those 10,000 people will be an obstacle to the anti-consumer practices and the anti-ownership practices, and they will no longer be another cog in the assembly line sending us all into a dystopia."

Why YSK: I was curious about the number of Clippy avatars, and thought other people might be curious too.

@4:28 "Clippy never tried to normalize sex trafficking. He just wanted to help."

[-] Nikophos@lemmy.ca 9 points 5 months ago

I was scrolling through job postings today and came across one that read like this. I was confused -> clicked the link -> saw a picture of two oil rig workers -> genuinely said "Ah, oil!" out loud -> and closed the web page.

They try to hide behind green washing and jargon. It happened to me at a university career fair a few months ago, too.

[-] Nikophos@lemmy.ca 5 points 5 months ago

To clarify, I agree with the comment I replied to. Just wanted to add context for the people down voting. I know immigration is a difficult topic right now and we all just want to see people treated well.

[-] Nikophos@lemmy.ca 7 points 5 months ago

Maybe I'm misreading, but I don't think @teppa is blaming immigrants. I think both things can be true: our politicians are taking advantage of hard working immigrants, exploiting them for cheap labour and increased housing demand/cost, which makes our GDP look better.

It's not the immigrants' fault - we need immigration badly, and benefit greatly in many ways. But not if we're taking advantage of people. We all deserve better.

[-] Nikophos@lemmy.ca 7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/democrat-republican-elect-primary-1.6497911

It's apparently all part of a Democratic strategy aiming to help those seen as extremist Republican candidates to secure their Republican party's nomination. (Which Mastriano did win.)

The hope for Democrats is that those extreme Republican candidates would be much easier for Democrats to beat in the November general election. But the strategy has raised some concerns about effectiveness and whether it could have unintended consequences.

https://observer.com/2016/10/wikileaks-reveals-dnc-elevated-trump-to-help-clinton/

The memo named Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, and Ben Carson as wanted candidates. “We need to be elevating the Pied Piper candidates so that they are leaders of the pack and tell the press to them seriously,” the memo noted.

[-] Nikophos@lemmy.ca 22 points 7 months ago

Respectfully, I'm under the impression that the Conservative party has the least impactful policy for addressing climate change, particularly for carbon emissions.

I'm also not a fan of their housing plan - I'm concerned that removing federal tax on all home purchases will benefit corporations that purchase single family homes, in comparison to only helping first-time home buyers (or even better imo, the NDP's housing plans).

And to address crime, I'll admit I like their claim to target off-shore tax havens, but the Conservatives have also mentioned targeting pro-Palestinian protestors with jail time (and deportation for internationals) ... not to mention, I believe a lot of crime stems from economic and social instability. They haven't even released an economic platform, but I won't be surprised if they cut social programs while blaming Trudeau and letting the rich benefit with tax breaks. How will that make Canada safer?

To be fair, the Liberal's economic platform disappointed me, but at least they released something. Regardless of what happens, I hope Canadians remember that we're in this together, and that we need to start holding our politicians accountable. And more importantly, that change for change's sake isn't good enough - that we deserve better, not just different.

[-] Nikophos@lemmy.ca 3 points 8 months ago

Oh gosh, glad to hear things are somewhat better over there, healthcare-wise. I hope your recovery went/is going well!

[-] Nikophos@lemmy.ca 14 points 8 months ago

Just to add, for anyone curious: Canadian healthcare is provincial, not federal, so your mileage may vary depending on which province you live in.

One of the "Canadian officials" recently quoted in American news for threatening to withhold electricity is Doug Ford, the Conservative Premier (i.e. the "Senator") of Ontario. While many Canadians have supported his response to Trump's tariffs, he's been dismantling Ontario's public healthcare by withholding public funding, so he can set up a two-tiered private/public system. He's also had a fair number of scandals. And was just comfortably re-elected :^)

[-] Nikophos@lemmy.ca 14 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

"👊🇺🇸🔥"

A screenshot of the text, "Not long after, Waltz responded with three emoji: a fist, an American flag, and fire."

[-] Nikophos@lemmy.ca 23 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

If a man told you he worked with computers, it'd be odd to raise an eyebrow and respond "Are you some kind of computer boy?". The technician treated this woman's work as something special because she was a woman. In other words: A man that works with a computer is still just a man. A woman that works with a computer must be something special, a computer girl.

And bonus points for calling her a girl, which is just a little bit more infantilizing.

17
General Strike US (generalstrikeus.com)
submitted 9 months ago by Nikophos@lemmy.ca to c/politics@lemmy.world

We’ve voted, we’ve protested, and still, they ignore us. Our government refuses to meet our basic needs while the billionaire class hoards wealth and power. The General Strike is a grassroots network of regular people who know our greatest power is our labor and our right to refuse it. We aim to unite every person and organization fighting for racial, economic, and environmental justice so that together, we can see real change in our lifetimes.

For transparency, I'm Canadian, but I figured I'd share.

[-] Nikophos@lemmy.ca 9 points 9 months ago

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/legal-experts-constitutional-crisis-vance-musk-judicial-rulings-trump-rcna191387

"I think the tweet, taken on its own terms, is empty because it refers to the 'legitimate powers' of the executive. And the whole question in these cases is whether the executive is acting legitimately or not," Greene told NBC News.

"He has some cover in that sense," Greene added, referring to Vance. "He hasn't promised unlawful behavior."

Rick Pildes, a professor at New York University’s Law School, also highlighted Vance’s use of the words “legitimate powers” in his post but pointed out that the judiciary is the branch with the power to decide what a president can “legitimately” do or not do.

"Under the rule of law and the Constitution, it is the courts that determine whether some use of the executive power is lawful or not. That is the critical point," Pildes said via email.

"The concern is that the vice president’s statement could be taken to suggest that the Executive Branch is prepared to refuse to comply with a court order based on the president’s own view that he has a power that the courts have concluded he does not," he added. "A president who orders his officials not to comply with court orders would be creating a constitutional crisis."

Also note,

It's not the first time Vance has floated defying court orders.

Greene pointed out that others in Trump's orbit, including Musk, have floated ignoring court orders.

On Saturday, Musk reposted a post on X from a user who wrote, "I don’t like the precedent it sets when you defy a judicial ruling, but I’m just wondering what other options are these judges leaving us."

I think it's a series of microaggressions; on their own, each comment is seemingly innocent, and every response appears to be an overreaction. But their comments put together paint a larger picture. I think this is part of the strategy - "Look at these emotional people, panicking at nothing!" as they slowly overwhelm and erode their checks and balances.

It's important not to become emotionally overwhelmed, and not to jump to conclusions. I definitely see the tendency to doom-scroll and panic in people right now - I do it myself sometimes as much as I try not to. But I'm thankful for the journalists and scholars that raise alarms, because if people don't know what's happening, how will anyone be held accountable?

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Nikophos

joined 10 months ago