RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Do you think there are any truly credible sources of news and information?

I feel like anymore when I read something, I need to do further research, and find second or third sources for verification. So many headlines are click bait half truths, hyperbole, or just full on lies and don't get me started
on YouTube "News".

Alienated53,
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

@RickiTarr IMO: The digital age and demise of much of the media and capture by has exacerbated this problem, but it has always been the case the media entities had their own slant/bias. In my youth, it was necessary to read between the lines in MSM such as Time and Newsweek with each having its own perspective. At least those of us with enough skill can seek out various sources. Sadly, Joe and Joanne Sixpack (a dated reference admittedly) do not often have the skills needed.

ThomHartmann, to random
@ThomHartmann@mstdn.social avatar

What’s that putrid smell emanating from the GOP?

https://hartmannreport.com/p/dear-gop-youll-never-wash-the-stink-99b

Alienated53,
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

@ThomHartmann And yet, he has the support of the majority of te white voters in the US and with the help of voter suppression, gerrymanders and a 24/7 propaganda network (that is never fully countered by any MSM outlets) might still be elected again. The antidemocratic forces in the US are strong.

CelloMomOnCars, to climate
@CelloMomOnCars@mastodon.social avatar

" reviewed in this factsheet indicate that people generally agree that is happening, and it is one of the most pressing concerns across the globe. At the same time, a stark difference of opinions about how to distribute responsibilities among people from various parts of the world emerges. This clash of opinions mirrors the conflict between advanced and developing economies in international politics."

https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/global-surveys-show-peoples-growing-concern-about-climate-change

Alienated53,
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

@CelloMomOnCars Unless and until we are able to shake off the parasites ( sociopaths) that own the MSM and the political system this disconnect will continue. I don't pretend to know how we do this and suspect it will only happen when the causes a tipping point of . Probably with an attendant high rate of human die off. I so hope to be proved a raving lunatic for such beliefs.

atrupar, to random
@atrupar@journa.host avatar

New in PN: I spoke with Larry Glickman about Trump playing the NYT like a fiddle

"The narrative they're putting forward is the GOP is the working class party and Dems are the party of elites ... but when you look under the hood, you realize it's total bullshit" https://www.publicnotice.co/p/lawrence-glickman-interview-trump-media-coverage

Alienated53,
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

@atrupar IMO a big reason many fall for this BS is that the chose to adopt a rightwing ideology of and while courting donors and PMC minions of oligarchy that very much helped destroy . In my county the union manufacturing jobs that allowed comfortable lives for many disappeared with this betrayal. At the same time the MSM became increasingly the propaganda ministry for the .

Alienated53, to random
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

control of the US health care system is fully exposed by this story in the news: Fundraiser for Olympian Mary Lou Retton exceeds goal as she's 'fighting for her life' in ICU

CelloMomOnCars, to climate
@CelloMomOnCars@mastodon.social avatar

YES.

" signs first-in-the-nation corporate bills

The laws will require large corporations operating in the state to disclose both their and their -related financial ."


https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/07/newsom-california-climate-disclosure-00120474

Alienated53,
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

@CelloMomOnCars The closer we get to meaningful accounting/enforcement, the more I suspect the will throw in with the , .

CelloMomOnCars, to cycling
@CelloMomOnCars@mastodon.social avatar

“The predominant history tells us that the status quo with is because that’s what ‘Americans’ — as if that’s a thing — have always wanted,” he said. “And what makes my jaw drop when I look back at the historical record is that that was never true … There was never a moment when lots of Americans weren’t fighting .”


https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2023/10/american-society-wasnt-always-so-car-centric-our-future-doesnt-have-to-be-either/

Alienated53,
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

@CelloMomOnCars History is of conspiracy by Oil, auto and tire companies to destroy public transportation. Proof the has controlled the US and a very long time. Some progress with New Deal era, but short-lived and by 1980 abandoned by even the .

ProPublica, to Health
@ProPublica@newsie.social avatar

How a Company Stalled a Potentially Lifesaving in Pursuit of Bigger Profits

A vaccine against , the world’s deadliest infectious disease, has never been closer to reality, with the potential to save millions of lives.

But its development slowed after its corporate owner focused on more profitable vaccines.

https://www.propublica.org/article/how-big-pharma-company-stalled-tuberculosis-vaccine-to-pursue-bigger-profits?utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

Alienated53,
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

@ProPublica Coupled with this https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/college-degree-life-expectancy-rcna118571 one has to wonder how much longer we will suffer the survival of such a disgustingly inhumane society.

CelloMomOnCars, to climate
@CelloMomOnCars@mastodon.social avatar

"Most of the $2 trillion in annual investments in developing countries needed by 2030 will have to come from the private sector, the said, warning that governments risk high debts if they try to reach net-zero goals with public funds."

But
How come it sounds so much like the IMF is prepping developing countries so they're ripe for the picking by private money - once again?

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/imf-says-private-sector-needs-shoulder-most-climate-investment-burden-2023-10-02/

Alienated53,
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

@CelloMomOnCars They end up using public funds to increase the wealth of the , IMO.

chu, (edited ) to climate

In conversation w a friend, she was surprised when I said we won't have electricity after social collapse. She asked "why? What happens to electricity?"

I had to then explain that infrastructure needs people to maintain and if things fall apart, nobody will keep the generators going or the wires in check. She seemed surprised by this.

Is this why people don't seem worried about what's coming? They have no idea???

I was trying to hide my shock that I had to explain this to someone who isn't a child. I think I take too much for granted and assume too much of people's ability to be logical.

Now her obsession with social issues at the expense of makes sense. I was always wondering how someone on the left would not care about collapse. I have tried to explain before that as much as I share her concerns about the many dire issues that do need dealing with, none of it matters if climate change causes collapse. Then we won't have social housing, or equity, or any of the other things she cares about. (she was even part of a group that protested demanding "affordable gas")

Her look of shock finally helped me realize that she has absolutely no idea what means. No idea. I've been arguing with her all these years and she's had no idea.

I don't even know what to say.

There's no way she's the only one. Lots of well intentioned people say "yes climate is important but....".

I am here to tell you that none of those other issues will even exist in the face of climate and social collapse.

I don't know if the average person can even imagine the number of deaths that we are facing when the society we built loses electricity.

Alienated53,
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

@luis_in_brief @chu in the late 1990s I worked at a factory that was transitioning to just in time materials. I was working in shipping and receiving and helped set up the Kanban system of materials supply. It originated in Japan and was all the rage. The fragility of such a system requires an extremely stable commercial network. That stable world that the relied upon has now succumbed to the inherent nature of .

RollingStone, to random

Meta is going all in on the AI rush, revealing more than two dozen different chat bots with “personalities” loosely based on celebrities like Snoop Dogg and Kendall Jenner. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/meta-ai-chat-bot-characters-snoop-dogg-1234833287/

Alienated53,
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

@RollingStone This is just going to get exponentially more weird. It's another roll of the technology roulette wheel. Or is it more akin to the Russian version. A democratic society should be debating AI and deciding what risks it is willing to take. Caveat: learn from the as do not fall for 's propaganda. distorts and corrupts the ethics of those involved. The interests of humanity conflict with the goal of maximizing profits.

ProPublica, to Insurance
@ProPublica@newsie.social avatar

UnitedHealthcare tried to deny Chris McNaughton health coverage. He fought back, filed a lawsuit and exposed the company’s inner workings.

None of the UnitedHealthcare representatives heard in this video responded to our requests for comment.

Shortly after we published our story, United settled Chris’ . The terms are confidential.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDOS8I0wp24

Alienated53,
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

@ProPublica Glad for ProPublica reporting on this. However, very similar stories/exposés have been happening for years. They show just how badly a profit-motive driven capitalist insurance system perverts and dehumanizes the healthcare system. Makes it even more obvious the scam to privatize is evil. Despite the recurring exposés, the 's lock on our political system prevents serious change.

Alienated53, to climate
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

"This civilization is gone. This world is gone. It already ended for millions of people. Some of us just haven't felt it yet. It was never an easy one for most of us. It was never fair, but there was a level of predictability. There was a level of comfort and convenience. That's gone now. Things aren't going to get better. They're not going to get back to the way they were."
STILL, IT IS UP TO US AS TO THE REPLACEMENT!
https://www.okdoomer.io/the-world-has-already-ended/

ProPublica, to Idaho
@ProPublica@newsie.social avatar

Idaho Created a $25 Million Fund to Fix Unsafe .
Why Is Nobody Using It?

About a decade ago, one school district went to the state for money to fix its crumbling buildings.

It got a fraction of what it asked for.

Since then, no other district has even applied.

https://propub.li/485N1nO

Alienated53,
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

@ProPublica was once, IMO, a major US value. Certainly in my childhood youth it was so, even if many to "beat" the Russkies. The adjacent values of became ascendant in the 1970s, and culminated in the Reagan revolution. The surrendered to the same religion with the Clintonites. Now and , public anything, have crumbled. Of course it is worse in Idaho.

ThomHartmann, to random
@ThomHartmann@mstdn.social avatar

Over the past 40 years, Republicans have pulled off an incredible magic trick. They’ve convinced average working people that tax cuts benefit them when in fact the opposite is true. How much longer will America fall for their BS?

https://hartmannreport.com/p/how-the-gop-suckered-america-on-tax-b1a

Alienated53,
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

@ThomHartmann Probably as long as the and / owners operate the most pervasive propaganda network ever assembled, the . Even the falsely labeled "left" MSNBC carries a multitude of pro- and ads.

georgetakei, to random

Trump met with pharma lobbyists and nixed his promise to have Medicare negotiate drug prices.

Biden just announced Medicare would negotiate drug prices on ten popular drugs used by millions of seniors.

The first is empty talk. The second is bold action.

Alienated53,
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

@georgetakei Semi-bold action at best. The really bold actions were taken off the table by the hobbled long ago. But we must take the crumbs that fall off the masters' buffet, I guess.

HeavenlyPossum, (edited ) to random
@HeavenlyPossum@kolektiva.social avatar

When I was a kid in the 80s and 90s, I watched Star Trek: The Next Generation. I soaked up the vibes of a high-tech, utopian future. I internalized the trajectory we were on was good, that we had reached the End of History. There might be a few bumps on the road, but the direction was inevitable and the destination was inexorable.

It turns out that the fastest a human being has ever traveled was 39,897 kilometers per hour. That was the crew of the Apollo 10 mission returning to earth. That happened on 26 May, 1969.

Fifty-four years ago. We peaked more than half a century ago.

1/of several

Alienated53,
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

@HeavenlyPossum This is still on-going. Here is just one example of how the has control within the : "Biden Infrastructure Report Pushes 'Disastrous Water Privatization Schemes,' Watchdog Says
"President Biden should have never appointed an investment banker to chair an advisory council for the nation's infrastructure," said one advocate." https://www.commondreams.org/news/biden-water-privatization

timnitGebru, to random
@timnitGebru@dair-community.social avatar

"Three days after the article was published, someone asked Yudkowsky on social media: “How many people are allowed to die to prevent AGI?” His response was: “There should be enough survivors on Earth in close contact to form a viable reproductive population, with room to spare, and they should have a sustainable food supply. So long as that’s true, there’s still a chance of reaching the stars someday.”"

Remember that these are the bozos policy makers are talking to.

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/before-its-too-late-buddy/

Alienated53,
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

@timnitGebru "The Bozos" seem to me to be a direct offspring of and cultures. Rand is already extremely influential among our political/economic leadership. Makes the threat from TESCREAL seem all the more palpable IMO.

petersuber, (edited ) to Youtube
@petersuber@fediscience.org avatar

Where we are:

", #X [] and [] have stopped labeling or removing posts that repeat Trump’s claims [that he won the 2020 election], even as voters increasingly get their news on .
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/08/25/political-conspiracies-facebook-youtube-elon-musk/

Alienated53,
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

@petersuber Can we just finally admit that the ideological differences between the / and are de minimis compared to the hatred/fear they harbour for or anything left of rabid .

Alienated53,
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

@petersuber On another level, this also explains precisely why and the are so unable to walk a straight path and always hedge every action such that their funders are not alienated beyond recovery. The party is still rife with those that supported a move to allow become their new masters. Biden himself has twisted into a pretzel trying to serve two multiple masters. Be immensely interesting if DEMs win big enough to control three branches

georgetakei, to random

I remember the 2000 Election. There were enough votes for Ralph Nader to hand the election to George W. Bush.

I remember the 2016 Election. There were enough votes for Jill Stein to hand the election to Donald Trump.

In 2024 the Green Party is running Cornell West. Let’s not repeat this history, friends

Your vote is not a marriage. You’re not choosing a life partner. It’s a chess move for what’s best for the country and the world.

Alienated53,
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

@georgetakei It is more than sad that we have a system that is so dysfunctional that to avoid a takeover I must vote for a party and candidate that has shown no ability to overcome its decades of complicity with a sufficiently to deal with the that cannot be managed by a system. Almost by definition will fail us. Perhaps it will buy us a little time to make real changes that are necessary.

Alienated53, to random
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

Clarence Thomas’ Billionaire Friends Bought Him a Lot More Than Vacations...ProPublica’s investigations also illustrate the creation of a cult of personality that was engineered from the top down. Financed by a small group of extremely wealthy people were efforts to turn the jurist into a national cultural icon...
Forgive me for seeing a connection between this information and Rand's influence on our top leadership in the US.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/08/supreme-court-clarence-thomas-billionaire-friends.html

Alienated53,
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar
rbreich, to random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Never forget that nearly half of the Pentagon budget goes to private contractors.

Investigations show these companies make egregious profits overcharging DoD.

The Senate is now debating an $886 billion defense bill.

Let’s call it what it is: corporate welfare on steroids.

Alienated53,
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

@rbreich My knowledge of the history of capitalism and military contracting is certainly not extensive. What I do know seems to indicate that it has historically, in the US, been ripe with fraud and abuse. Wouldn't the world be much better off if war was not a profit center for the . Seems a no-brainer, but for one fact. That controls the levers of power. Unless that changes, wars for profit will continue.

godsouza, to climate
@godsouza@sfba.social avatar

Editorial: Change only comes with mandates and force https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-07-21/editorial-its-not-enough-to-be-frenemies-with-fossil-fuel-companies-we-have-to-kick-them-to-the-curb

pass legislation to California’s two big , and , from .
Remaining frenemies with fossil fuel companies in the naive hope they will see the light on is a losing proposition for .

Alienated53,
@Alienated53@mastodon.online avatar

@godsouza IMO, unless we adopt a war footing on the scale of that used during WWII, we will not likely achieve sufficiently fast reductions in GHG emissions. Rationing, mandating production changes. I have little hope we can do it but letting the capitalist and "billionaire philanthropy" make the decisions is a fool's game.

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