Saying "representative" has usually worked for me.

True if they're just dropping aid packages off with the local authorities to do as they please with, but less true if the NGOs are sending workers to directly distribute aid to the population -- which is what I'm under the impression most NGOs are doing. One of the major reasons for the drop in donors was the Taliban's ban on female NGO workers, which made it more difficult for NGOs to operate effectively in the country; not an issue you'd run in to if you're just dropping off pallets of resources.

A lot of people in this thread seem to be under the impression that the headline is talking about donations to the Taliban. It's talking about donors to NGO humanitarian efforts directed at the Afghani people, the civilian population suffering under the Taliban's rule.

Here are ChatGPT's response to the headline and an analysis of the potential pitfalls of this approach. This is way easier than coming up with a response myself.

Gotta upgrade your subscription to the Diamond+ tier to get access to the "turn off the lights" feature.

The absence of hippos in the most dangerous tier makes me doubt the veracity of this list. Also seems like cows and zebras are being underestimated, and cheetahs are probably being overestimated.

Source: wild guesswork and armchair zoology.

Does seem like there should be at least a bit of regulation and oversight involved if I want to buy a human spine...

Seems like a great way to ensure that talented players want absolutely nothing to do with the sport anymore...

I'm reminded of the "Time 100" online poll that Time Magazine held some years back, which a group from 4chan gamed to such a degree of specificity that they not only made moot the winner, they arranged the top 21 winners to make an acrostic.

https://techcrunch.com/2009/04/27/time-magazine-throws-up-its-hands-as-it-gets-pwned-by-4chan/

If you put a poll online, even a totally meaningless popularity contest, people are gonna take that as a challenge. All the more so if the poll actually has some tangible impact on something.

https://www.epa.gov/green-power-markets/us-grid-regions

Texas very specifically refuses to connect their power grid across state lines specifically to avoid any federal regulation. Texas is on their own by choice.

Much in the same way the nice folks from the Neighborhood Protection Association might "ask" for a modest financial contribution to the "protect your business from arson" fund.

Wouldn't even be the first time this month there was a news story about cops ignoring reports of a potential serial killer.