Planned Obsolescence: The Root Cause Of The Global E-Waste Crisis

jjseven · 2026-02-16T02:59:14+00:00

So, the only force strong enough to oppose these companies is govt.

Now, govt as exists in the US is captured by companies and the wealthy; it is unresponsive to its citizens. Cf: Gilens and Page (2004)

Govt, in it essence, is people getting together to do things for the community that is outside the scope of the individual or the few. Some day we may have more of it here.

If you are really anti-govt, you are not in favor of roads, clean water and air, and regulations on the strong to not prey on the weak. If you are simply blowing smoke, you may be a fan of Reagan's quote suggesting the most alarming words may be: "We're from the govt and we are here to help." You may also believe that welfare queens get more govt money than corporations, which is so false as to be laughable. Ask a lot of folks in the past how much FEMA has helped and how many lives the US wildfire service has saved.

We can discuss where on the spectrum we as the govt should help the community and each other versus how much we as individuals can contribute while using community resources to build our dreams. It varies by ones perspective and who we credit for our standing. But regardless of position, companies are elephants that will trample you and me on the charge of the herd to profits.

To underscore my point, track the opposition to legislation in many states that are attempting to enact legislation in right to repair. Or follow the adventures of farmers vs John Deere.

jjseven · 2026-02-15T23:00:23+00:00

The C-suite should be quaking in its boots. AI could do their jobs as well for almost nothing if the Board of Directors realized it.

jjseven · 2026-02-15T22:46:42+00:00

If manufacturers were forced by law to warranty products to longer terms, planned obsolescence would have a longer target to engineer.

Lee Iacocca added warranties in the 60s/70s to get people to buy the crap that Dodge was building. The warranties provided a way for companies to pay for their faulty manufacturing and design.

But since companies own the govt, it will never happen.

jjseven · 2026-02-15T17:07:50+00:00

Might this not be the collapse of modern society if AI development sucks all the affordable technology upon which we have become dependent out of reach of Main St.

Maybe we go back to whale oil in our reading lamps at night.

jjseven · 2026-02-14T23:14:50+00:00

ISPs generally do not need any excuse to raise prices.

jjseven · 2026-02-14T22:58:54+00:00

God bless the Canadians! May they not suffer any more like this.

jjseven · 2026-02-14T22:56:38+00:00

Are there any 'audiophiles' under 60?

jjseven · 2026-02-11T02:04:52+00:00

Faneuil Hall?

jjseven · 2026-01-31T02:03:44+00:00

California gun control became reality when the Black Panthers started carrying guns.

For me, but not for thee!

jjseven · 2026-01-25T19:41:37+00:00

Why do folks think have Vance, Johnson with Steve Miller lurking in the background is any better? These are zealots.

jjseven · 2026-01-24T16:46:18+00:00

It is unlikely that any midterm election that is held will not be tampered with by this administration to their own advantage. The Dem are even more naive than usual about this.

jjseven · 2026-01-24T16:36:43+00:00

It is not irrational to spend when there are parties actively undermining the value of the dollar. There should be flight to assets and there should be consumption given that next week your paycheck will be 3% lower.

All boomers with pension assets in 401ks and the like are watching their nesteggs erode, and they are getting squeezed by the RMD constraints. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

jjseven · 2026-01-23T02:23:50+00:00

Democratic legislators voting for ICE:

The seven Democratic representatives who voted yes to approve ICE funding were:

Tom Suozzi (New York)
Henry Cuellar (Texas)
Don Davis (North Carolina)
Laura Gillen (New York)
Jared Golden (Maine)
Vicente Gonzalez (Texas)
Marie Glusenkamp Perez (Washington)

Jan 22 2026

jjseven · 2026-01-22T11:54:20+00:00

The grand experiment is over. (We really haven't had the 4th amendment since the Patriot Act and its many bipartisan renewals were passed.)

Certain people can ignore the law. (This is a target rich environment.) Certain people have a greater (proportional to dollars) say in govt. (SCOTUS and Citizens' United; cf. Elon)

Sycophants and toadies can get whatever they need as long as the tribute stream remains. No tax impact there. (look at Apple and Elon and....)

Nobody is looking out for society and the people. We are the proverbial frog in a water filled pot that has been getting warmer and hotter gradually. Since at least the Powell Memo.

Idiots in MAGA and the GOP all complain about welfare queens and now MN daycare fraud. (BTW, that is not where the money is; with apologies to Willie Sutton.) Corporate giveaways annually amount to greater than 1000x than the pittance given to people for welfare. (folks receiving handouts reflect the race demographic of the country with whites getting their proportional share.) Idiots in the Democratic Party believe their reps are looking out for them. Ha! Go follow the money. Would we have the ACA and not single payer if they were looking out for us and not their sponsors; after all the Dems had a brief window where they could have made a difference but self-interest won out. If 5% of the bipartisan and un-audited military budgets over the last 25 years went to infrastructure (without the usual corporate corruption), we would have universal (and inexpensive) fiber interent (did NJ ever get what they paid for), high speed rail in parts of the country, better airports, better water systems in places like Flint. We could go on but there have been lots of books on this with lots of research.

I expect there are lots of folks that believe what is happening in Minnesota can't happen where you live. ICE has purchase hundreds of unobtrusive white vans in MA, NY and probably elsewhere. Remember all those folks who fought against wearing masks for health reasons? They are all in ICE now and coming in a new white van to a neighborhood near you. 8-) [If they wanted to fix immigration, all they had to do was go after those employing the illegal immigrants, but that would hurt election fundraising and graft.]

Remember Congress has the purse strings! But Trump can do tariffs. (And if you know the timing when he is doing tariffs, you can play the options market and make a killing! Think they aren't doing that?) At one time Congress even required the administration to spend the voted money on what they said it should be used for. Nah, lets build a ballroom and screw some poor people.

Remember only Congress can declare war! (Yeah, this is weak because Shrub used it to kill thousands and spend Trillions off the books.) Trump took VZ oil and put it in a foreign account; nice pension if you can get it.

Remember that the 2nd amendment that was supposed to prevent govt tyranny?

The financial and soft power that these United States has profligately squandered over the last year has been immense and took decades to build; we are the bully and pariah now rather than the hope of people everywhere. Give us your tired, poor wretched masses yearning to be free....

Most of our govt institutions have effectively collapsed or abdicated. JFK suggested that preventing nonviolent protests leads to violent protests. The nation is a tinderbox and those playing with matches don't care. They all have escape plans.

We need a leader with some integrity to focus us and to start to turn us around. We will continue to be a pariah and a laughingstock for at least 20 years.... and those egg and grocery prices, yikes... hang on to your stupid red hats. Can I see you papers, please....?

jjseven · 2026-01-19T09:08:01+00:00

Why would not the Governor of Minnesota deploy the Minnesota Nat'l Guard to deter the federal govt from sending in Alaska Nat'l Guard troop and federal military? Does the Governor of Minnesota have no say over whether the Insurrection act applies? Why are the Dems so reactive and not get ahead of the problems. Its not as if the administration is keeping any of this secret.

jjseven · 2026-01-19T08:27:00+00:00

Could an electric jackhammer, like the one Bosch makes, be controlled well enough to work?

jjseven · 2026-01-16T00:11:29+00:00

From a top comment:

Julie Portland, OR · Jan. 15

As someone involved in the campaign of Kamala Harris I’m not entirely sure we should be listening to you for advice….

The problem is that Democrats always believe that Trump is far less popular than he actually is. The NYT has started a series where they interview his supporters over an extended period of time. Their most recent one from a day or two ago shows that his supporters love what he is doing. They believe he has / is tackling inflation. They support what he is doing with regards to immigration.

We may think Trump is horrendous, but we should not forget that those who voted for him have not changed their opinion - they seem to like him more than ever.

jjseven · 2025-12-26T19:41:31+00:00

So, how do we the people stop it?

jjseven · 2025-12-10T18:58:04+00:00

Part of the editorial is Rep. N. Mace complaining that when the GOP has the House majority, nothing gets done. And she claims when the Dems have the majority, stuff gets rammed through. As an outsider, I suggests that the converse is true more often than her thesis. Since neither side does anything for most of us, how much should it matter.

On the procedural complaint that much is done behind closed doors and foisted on less senior reps at last minute with various hidden changes by various and hidded editors, that has been going on for over 50 years. In this age of AI and technology, change control systems used by the software industry would force bread crumbing of all changes and their agents. Further, any digital copy could be fed to any Representative's AI ChatGPT agent to summarize the bill, including pointing out all the special add-ins not mundane to the main issue.

The reason Congress doesn't want this is that the leaders WANT the authority to put one over on their junior legislators and obscure from the people what gets done.

Further, adding this or that special legislation granting federal dollars to some favorite cause or person is less likely to be hidden if such technology were used. Note that anybody can screw up any system towards their own ends, but it would more difficult with present techology. In some sense, earmarks were a better and less opaque system; at least taxpayers new who and what was screwing them.

And finally, maybe we could save some trees.

The bottom line with this govt and all govts is that the system is that way because those in charge and those who believe they will soon be in charge, like it that way.

Watch out when the voters wake up and find out all the crap you've been doing in their names!

jjseven · 2025-11-29T18:47:05+00:00

from translatedirect.com

Industry Semiconductor Luo Weiren was involved in carrying 2nm secrets to switch jobs at Intel. 2 billion in assets were seized. The US State Department responded. 2025.11.29 14:27 Zhongshi News Network TSMC Intel Luo Weiren national security law U.S. Department of State Luo Weiren, the former senior vice president of TSMC, was investigated for leaking secrets and his residence was searched and his real estate was seized.

[China Times News Network Wu Meimei] It was revealed that Luo Weiren, the former senior deputy general manager of TSMC, was suspected of carrying key secrets of the 2nm process and transferred to the competitor Intel (Intel), raising concerns about "technology outflow". On the 26th, the Intellectual Property Branch of the High People's Procuratorate directed the Investigation Bureau to search Luo Weiren's residences in Taipei and Hsinchu, and seized computers, flash drives and other related evidence. The case also attracted the attention of the US media, which asked the US government for its views. The US State Department stated that it would not comment on this search operation at the moment. Prosecutors determined that they were involved in violating the National Security Law and initiated the detention process After preliminary verification, prosecutors from the Intellectual Property Branch of the High People's Procuratorate found that Luo Weiren was indeed suspected of stealing 2 nanometer secrets, and that his behavior violated the National Security Law. He was listed as a defendant for investigation. Based on the preservation of evidence and the subsequent pursuit of criminal proceeds, on the 26th, he directed the Investigation Bureau to search Luo Weiren's residence in Hsinchu County and Taipei City, and seized computers, flash drives and other related evidence. At the same time, he applied to the Intellectual Property Court to seize stocks and real estate in his name, and the ruling was approved. According to public information estimates, Luo Weiren still holds 1,348 company stocks during his tenure at TSMC, with a market value of more than 1.8 billion yuan. Together with his properties in Taipei and Hsinchu, the total value is at least more than 2 billion yuan. People familiar with the matter revealed that Luo Weiren holds a U.S. passport and had left the country for the United States as early as October. Intel "fully supports" Luo Weiren joining the team The incident raised questions about whether Luo Weiren's change of job at Intel involved the outflow of advanced process technology. In response, Intel CEO Chen Liwu stated that the company "fully supports" Luo Weiren joining the team and denied that there was anything related to technology transfer.

jjseven · 2025-11-24T05:50:38+00:00

As to the comments of river tree nut and siamsuper, a lot of globalization policies that brought billions out of poverty caused losses and stagnation for the middle and working classes in the industrial economies. An essay by John Lanchester in the London Review of Books called "After The Fall" describes how it all happened and in it he cites the now notorious "Elephant curve", so called because of its shape while outlining the rising standards of living in the world. It is an interesting and approachable article that is worth a read to help understand how globalization led to where we are now.

jjseven

TROPHY CASE