The Rich and Powerful Who Abuse the System: the contempt topic

[kissdbyfire]

7 minutes ago, Kalbear said:

BOLD STRATEGY COTTON
https://mastodon.sdf.org/@[email protected]/111496340563378856

 

It was even better when he was pushed on this, like, "are you sure this is the best way to deal w/ it since you need adverts and all?" (Paraphrasing) and he says something along the lines of, "well, they'll kill the company and that will kill the earth, so..."

I guess he means that Ex Twitter would have saved the planet but thanks to advertisers being so mean and not liking their brands next to rank bigotry, the planet will die and it's all the advertisers' fault.

[The Anti-Targ]

On 11/26/2023 at 8:52 AM, Zorral said:

We will coup whoever we want!’: the unbearable hubris of Musk and the billionaire tech bros

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/nov/25/we-will-coup-whoever-we-want-the-unbearable-hubris-of-musk-and-the-billionaire-tech-bros

 

TBH, I think I would rather have [US] President Zuck than most of the hopeless bunch on offer currently. Though that's possibly because I don't really know what his main social and economic policies would be.

[Kalbear]

Gods, it gets so much worse. What a fucking whiny baby.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/11/elon-musk-on-x-antisemitism-controversy-dont-advertise-go-f-yourself/

Quote

Sorkin pressed Musk on the economics of pushing away advertisers, pointing out that X CEO "Linda Yaccarino is right here and she's got to sell advertising." Musk responded that the advertising boycott is likely to kill the company. "What this advertising boycott is going to do is it's going to kill the company, and the whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company and we will document it in great detail," Musk said.

Even before the latest controversy, Musk's X platform was struggling financially. When Sorkin pointed out that advertisers see things differently, Musk replied, "oh yeah? tell it to Earth."

Sorkin continued: "They're going to say, Elon, that you killed the company because you said these things and they were inappropriate things and they didn't feel comfortable on the platform. That's what they're going to say."

"And let's see how Earth responds to that," Musk replied.

OH YEAH WELL JUST WAIT UNTIL EARTH FINDS OUT

[LongRider]

 

22 minutes ago, Kalbear said:

OH YEAH WELL JUST WAIT UNTIL EARTH FINDS OUT

Elon said more than that.  Told his advertisers to "Go fuck yourselves."  

 

[Zorral]

41 minutes ago, The Anti-Targ said:

I don't really know what his main social and economic policies would be.

They have been saying and showing what these would be for quite some time now -- all for ME (meaning him etc.) and nothing for anyone else, including water and oxygen, which They have known for quite some time, having the Greatest of Projectionists for the Future working for Them, is going to be in very short supply, which water at least, already is, in many places. So They are locking up the supplies for Themselves as fast and quietly as possible.

[The Anti-Targ]

So... Trump, only with more money and intelligence to actually throw at trying to achieve this narcissist utopia.

I wonder if it would to too on the nose if one of our venerable SFF writers were to write a story about god-emperor Zuck. Or would they not see the connection to their ambition.

I guess having Star Trek be your personal SFF inspiration from your youth is incompatible with being a wealth hoarding narcissist.

[Zorral]

Charlie Stross just delivered an address about this to which I've linked here, ya?

[JGP]

3 hours ago, Kalbear said:

Gods, it gets so much worse. What a fucking whiny baby.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/11/elon-musk-on-x-antisemitism-controversy-dont-advertise-go-f-yourself/

OH YEAH WELL JUST WAIT UNTIL EARTH FINDS OUT

Dah hoil woild, shee…

I could totally see him thinking it funny to ash a cigar in a baby’s mouth, to stop it from crying.

I hate him, so bad lol

[Kalbear]

In a very weird crossing the streams moment, Drew Magary - the person who did the sports humor website Kissing Suzy Kolber and was responsible for Sexy Rex Grossman - came out with a scathing response to Elon Musk:

https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/elon-musk-nyt-interview-18524602.php

Quote

“Tell it to Earth.” If you imagine Will Smith delivering that line, it REALLY hits. But this was coming from a purported titan of industry, who was seemingly unaware that no one gives a holy s—t about his social media platform anymore. “Twitter isn’t real life” is a tired sound bite, but it’s never been more true than now. You really are screaming into the void when you post there. But Musk, who told Sorkin that he believed data to be more valuable than gold, remains committed to the idea that owning X means owning the chief information exchange for all of this planet’s 8 billion citizens. He thinks he can Thanos Snap wars and recessions into being merely by posting a recycled Pepe the Frog meme from 2016 on there. There is no reasoning with someone who is so megalomaniacal and so, SO stupid.

Quote

Ah well, allow me to respond on behalf of the Earth: The brands are right. No one gives a f—k about X anymore, and no one will be outraged when you — yes, you, Elon Musk — have finally killed it. The days of serial tweeters like me lamenting the days of Twitter Classic are over. We’ve gone elsewhere and use X only sparingly, and only as a necessary evil. Without us, and without any advertising support, X will soon make no money of any sort, and you’ll be left only with the occasional $8 a month from @FreedomBob69.

 

[Zorral]

Ousted propaganda scholar Joan Donovan accuses Harvard of bowing to Meta
In a whistleblower complaint, she breaks her silence over events that unsettled other misinformation researchers

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/12/04/joan-donovan-harvard-dismissal-complaint/

Quote

 

A prominent disinformation scholar has accused Harvard University of dismissing her to curry favor with Facebook and its current and former executives in violation of her right to free speech.

Joan Donovan claimed in a filing with the Education Department and the Massachusetts attorney general that her superiors soured on her as Harvard was getting a record $500 million pledge from Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg’s charitable arm.

Tech is not your friend. We are. Sign up for The Tech Friend newsletter.
As research director of Harvard Kennedy School projects delving into mis- and disinformation on social media platforms, Donovan had raised millions in grants, testified before Congress and been a frequent commentator on television, often faulting internet companies for profiting from the spread of divisive falsehoods.

Last year, the school’s dean told her that he was winding down her main project and that she should stop fundraising for it. This year, the school eliminated her position. The surprise dismissal alarmed fellow researchers elsewhere, who saw Donovan as a pioneer in an increasingly critical area of great sensitivity to the powerful and well-connected tech giants.

Donovan has remained silent about what happened until now, filing a 248-page legal statement obtained by The Washington Post that traces her problems to her acquisition of a trove of explosive documents known as the Facebook Papers and championing their importance before an audience of Harvard donors that included Facebook’s former top communications executive.

Harvard disputes Donovan’s core claims, telling The Post that she was a staff employee and that it had not been able to find a faculty sponsor to oversee her work, as university policy requires. It also denies that she was fired, saying she “was offered the chance to continue as a part-time adjunct lecturer, and she chose not to do so.”

Donovan obtained the Facebook documents when they and the former Facebook employee who leaked them, Frances Haugen, were the subject of extensive news coverage in October 2021, with The Post writing that the documents showed Facebook “privately and meticulously tracked real-world harms exacerbated by its platforms, ignored warnings from its employees about the risks of their design decisions and exposed vulnerable communities around the world to a cocktail of dangerous content.” ....

 

 

[The Anti-Targ]

Not having any independant capacity to form an objective opinion on this Harvard case I can only proffer a more general view. Private donors individually giving $millions to higher education institutions is fundamentally problematic because of the mere possibility of such large donations coming having large strings attached. The fact that universities need such wealthy benefactors, some of whom will feel entitled to tell universities what to do, to function to a high standard highlights that funding of higher education is a broken system.

A country should decide what level of excellence it wants its universities to achieve and fund them to achieve that level of excellence from the public finances. If wealthy benevolent donors want to give something back from the kindness of their hearts then donations should be made through a blind trust.

[Zorral]

Well, most often the most wealthy universities and colleges, like NYU, are private institutions so they can accept donations from anyone they like.  And they do -- and NYU in particular is in the business of real estate, which the students fund.

Some others, like Penn, are in the business of sports franchises.  And some, of course, are both.

 

[Martell Spy]

Elon Musk’s new enemy: Nordic workers
Union bosses tackling Tesla want EU to get tough on the world’s richest man.

https://www.politico.eu/article/elon-musk-x-pace-x-faces-new-enemy-nordic-unions/

Quote

 

However, Musk has recently addressed his distaste for unions, saying in New York last week: “I disagree with the idea of unions. I just don’t like anything which creates a lords and peasants sort of thing. I think the unions naturally try to create negativity in a company.”

Prepared for a long conflict
As for the guys who started the action against Tesla, they are digging in for a long strike.

"We are prepared for this conflict to take a very long time before we get a collective agreement," said Jesper Pettersson, a spokesperson for IF Metall.

And the backing from unions across Europe has not gone unnoticed. "We are getting incredibly strong support from our Nordic friends. It's very important and we are grateful for it," Pettersson said.

Despite his status as an EV market leader, Musk is not doing his part in the green transition, according to Stahl from ETUC.

Green jobs and production also have to be on good terms for workers. "It's the world's richest man, and he obviously can't afford to pay workers accordingly," he said.

 

 

[Larry of the Lawn]

1 hour ago, Martell Spy said:

Elon Musk’s new enemy: Nordic workers
Union bosses tackling Tesla want EU to get tough on the world’s richest man.

https://www.politico.eu/article/elon-musk-x-pace-x-faces-new-enemy-nordic-unions/

 

What a fucking loser

For real- he loves saying this absolutely backwards shit.  Like he loves name dropping Banks and the Culture but totally missed the point, either intentionally or because he only is capable of intelligent thought in a very narrow field.  We've seen what happens without unions- you get lords and peasants, you ignorant (or disingenuous, pick whatever works for you Elon) fuck.  

Edited December 9, 2023 by Larry of the Lawn

[Ran]

He's going to lose this one. Either he just gives up on the Swedish market entirely and pulls out, or he negotiates. Really no two ways about it.

He said some ridiculous thing or other about how he doesn't like "lords and peasants", implying that unions are the "lords", but the reality is that collective bargaining simply evens the tables. And the fact is that in the Nordic countries, there's basically very little government intervention in this stuff -- it's pretty much entirely collective agreements that determines business-labor relations. Sweden doesn't even have (or need) minimum wage laws, that's all sorted out through the unions. In theory, a libertarian-minded business man should probably appreciate the relative lack of red tape and the flexibility, but of course someone whose principle is to not treat with unions is going to have a bad time of it.

[Zorral]

RISING INDIA, TOXIC TECH
Covert Indian operation seeks to discredit Modi’s critics in the U.S.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/10/india-the-disinfo-lab-discredit-critics/

Quote

 

NEW DELHI — Since 2020, an opaque organization calling itself the Disinfo Lab has published lengthy dossiers and social media posts claiming to reveal the personal relationships and funding sources behind U.S.-based critics of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Disinfo Lab has combined fact-based research with unsubstantiated claims to paint U.S. government figures, researchers, humanitarian groups and Indian American rights activists as part of a conspiracy, purportedly led by global Islamic groups and billionaire George Soros, to undermine India.

In each instance, these allegations have gone viral on Indian social media after they were amplified by pro-Modi influencers, who at times used the group’s findings to validate their own positions. Its reports have been cited by Indian officials on television and presented on Capitol Hill. Despite its reach, the Disinfo Lab does not disclose its affiliation, describing itself on its website as a “separate legal entity” that seeks to offer “completely unbiased research.”

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi swept into power nearly a decade ago. Since then, he has repeatedly rallied voters in this vast democracy and entrenched his party’s power by exploiting differences between the Hindu majority and Muslim minority.

Religious tensions have existed in India since independence in 1947, and Modi’s right-wing followers in his Bharatiya Janata Party and beyond turned to inflammatory rhetoric and violence against Muslims to secure support from Hindus.

The BJP and affiliated Hindu nationalist groups have been in the global vanguard of using technology to advance political aims, tightening their grip with an ideology that imperils India’s traditional secularism and equality among religious faiths. Disinformation and divisive, often bigoted online posts and videos are rampant.
Government censorship of critical views has been on the rise. Social media platforms and other Big Tech firms, protective of their position in one of the world’s largest markets, have often given Modi and his allies what they want.

Despite concerns over repression and accelerating autocracy, the Biden administration has been actively courting Modi, hoping that India can help contain Chinese expansionism in the Indo-Pacific region.

Canada’s explosive announcement on Sept. 18 that Indian government agents may have assassinated a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil underscores the uncomfortable choices the United States and other Western countries face in moving closer to Modi’s India.

In reality, however, the Disinfo Lab was set up and is run by an Indian intelligence officer to research and discredit foreign critics of the Modi government, according to three people who worked in the organization or were familiar with its establishment. While claiming that it aimed to uncover anti-India disinformation, the Disinfo Lab itself is running a covert influence operation, they said.

The organization’s material is among the most widely circulated by right-wing Indians and Hindu nationalists. Its reports gain global reach, partly because they are spread on social media by high-profile figures with large followings on X, previously known as Twitter, including current and former officials in Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, former intelligence and military brass, and a cabinet minister, according to a Washington Post analysis of nearly 100,000 reposts of Disinfo Lab content on X. While it is unclear how many of them, if any, are aware of the Disinfo Lab’s intelligence ties, these top retweeters give the Disinfo Lab a stamp of authority and, some of its targets say, boost its ability to intimidate individuals overseas. ....

 

 

[Rippounet]

It's ok guys, economists have definitely proved it: inequality has actually not exploded at all since the 1960s in the US. According to this new study (the 30th of its kind), Piketty, Saez & Zucman got it all wrong, and inequality in the US has been remarkably stable, with the 1% definitely not concentrating more wealth.
I mean, apparently PSZ forgot to take into account the fact that rich people are married while a lot of poor people aren't, so obviously the 1% are twice as poor as they thought, and it was really a mistake to take pension funds into account like they did, and really you have to take into account all the little things that the rich contribute...
OTOH, it's a real shame that this article isn't freely available and that the University of Chicago (!) Press charges 30$ to read it, and how odd it is that its conclusions are being widely discussed in the media, apparently before the final article has even been published...
It's almost -almost- as if there was a massive and organized communication effort around this work and other efforts to debunk Piketty & all. I mean, it's not like the rich have the means to finance countless analyses that would say that taxing them is not that great an idea, right?

In all seriousness, economic negationism is really a thing. How long will it be before orthodox economists start telling the homeless that their poverty is all in their head, I wonder...

[fionwe1987]

20 hours ago, Zorral said:

RISING INDIA, TOXIC TECH
Covert Indian operation seeks to discredit Modi’s critics in the U.S.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/10/india-the-disinfo-lab-discredit-critics/

 

For those hoping/thinking a post-Trump GOP would simply collapse, this is a template of what to fear. A more disciplined and capable, but no less noxious and power-hungry leader could shape the GOP in the BJP's image, and find sustained electoral success.

As terrifying as things are in the US, y'all don't have it as bad as it could be. The Dems have many flaws, but they're no Indian National Congress.

[kissdbyfire]

Oh poor Elon!
 

Elon Musk's luck has finally run out

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The change of fortune was apparent at The New York Times Dealbook Conference last week. During an interview with host Andrew Ross Sorkin, the recognizable tells that Musk's hand had gone cold were everywhere. He raged at the very people who will dictate Twitter's fate, seemed baffled by key questions about the future of his companies, and offered non-apologies for his unhinged, antisocial behavior online. Sorkin suggested Musk's brain is like a storm, but it sounded more like two cats fighting to get out of a duffle bag.

And it goes downhill from there…

[The Anti-Targ]

Poor Musk, his downfall may mean he lives the rest of his life as a mere double digit billionaire rather than a triple digit one, and doesn't get to be the first ever trillionaire.

Perhaps we should pass the hat around to help him out.