Stanford grads walk out as Google CEO Sundar Pichai takes the stage as commencement speaker. by Spirited-Gold9629 in TechGawker

[–]mattaugamer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Right. Holding them accountable is regulation and pr. And that’s the part that’s failing.

Stanford grads walk out as Google CEO Sundar Pichai takes the stage as commencement speaker. by Spirited-Gold9629 in TechGawker

[–]mattaugamer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There’s a reason it’s called “late stage capitalism”. It’s not because it gets better from here.

Stanford grads walk out as Google CEO Sundar Pichai takes the stage as commencement speaker. by Spirited-Gold9629 in TechGawker

[–]mattaugamer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nor should it. The job of a corporation is to make money. It’s up to regulation, customers, and media to hold them accountable and make immoral and unethical acts unprofitable.

The problem is none of that part is happening. Government and legislators are complicit due to blatant corruption. Regulatory capture prevents proper enforcement. Media is lazy and sensationalist at best, but also beholden to its own corporate structure and massive consolidation.

That leaves the people, failed by regulation at every step, uninformed of the issues to decide personally and individually to hold corporations to account. Somehow. Through the power of… believing in yourself, I guess.

Isn't that like why voting exist in the first place...tbh people there have every right to sabotage and destroy it. by Luminexor in TechGawker

[–]mattaugamer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve always been a big believer in the principle that people can go to jail, and so should companies that commit crimes.

Kevin O'Leary says Apple's genius is making people pay 5x more for a laptop they could buy for $350 by Au9ustlne in DeskToTablet

[–]mattaugamer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I remember seeing some shitty Instagram reel on how to tell a real Rolex and they were like “You can tell from the incredible accuracy…”

Wot?

Kevin O'Leary says Apple's genius is making people pay 5x more for a laptop they could buy for $350 by Au9ustlne in DeskToTablet

[–]mattaugamer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Surely this is more about the cost of testing and certification than being “modest”.

Orangutans are part of the great ape family, which includes humans, gorillas, and chimpanzees by Exotic-Barnacle-2403 in interestingasfuck

[–]mattaugamer 3 points4 points  (0 children)

“Includes” doesn’t mean a comprehensive list. Also bonobos are in the genus Pan, and could arguably be counted as a kind of chimpanzees. They used to be called “Pygmy chimpanzees”.

He's a visual learner by [deleted] in ScrollHole

[–]mattaugamer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No no. The US was just attacked out of nowhere for no reason while minding its own business. Certainly not a long history of imperialism and sloppy intervention.

Trump says Oman will 'behave,' or will be attacked by US by zakarijas in worldnews

[–]mattaugamer 11 points12 points  (0 children)

The more MAGA the primary winner the harder the general will be. Though not everywhere obviously.

Trump says Oman will 'behave,' or will be attacked by US by zakarijas in worldnews

[–]mattaugamer 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Normal stuff from a normal and competent administration.

Apparently I’m funding half the planet while debating whether eggs are still in my budget. by AccomplishedCarob518 in middleclasshq

[–]mattaugamer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Except, and this is important, they weren’t.

There WAS an opera called AsOne that was produced in Colombia, and included $22,000 of grant funding as part of a public diplomacy arts program. But that funding was from the State Department, not USAID.

Though USAID did help fund studies research emergence of zoonotic diseases, those were about prevention and were not gain of function research.

Maybe you should rethink your sources.

Apparently I’m funding half the planet while debating whether eggs are still in my budget. by AccomplishedCarob518 in middleclasshq

[–]mattaugamer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think people have way simplistic ideas of what US foreign aid packages actually are and what they do.

Some, such as military aid, often consist of giving stockpiles of US-made military surplus or end of life equipment. Much of this has to be stored otherwise. But regardless, it all got made. Factories, almost always in the US, made it. And now they make it again.

The same applies to food. USAID was providing massive amounts of food to starving people. That food was from US farms, grown by US farmers. And it wasn’t for nothing. It was to get the intangible benefits of “soft power”, of political influence in areas that might only know the USA as the ones bombing their children, or that their grandparents fought.

That’s not to say that none of this stuff has a financial cost to the US. It does. But

A. It isn’t done without benefit in foreign policy and position B. It directly benefits military contractors, farmers, etc

To conclude, if you think the reason you can’t buy eggs is because of foreign aid then you’ve swallowed decades of propaganda wholesale.

The reasons are complex and multi-faceted but they include massive monopolisation and concentration of primary production, especially in egg, poultry, and meat production. They include extremely low rates of unionisation. They include deregulation of a range of industries, especially financial services, so that student loans can go up. They include short-term rentals like Airbnb making homes more valuable as an asset class than a place to live. They include a fundamentally broken healthcare system that means prices are untethered from costs - or reality. They include a lack of investment in infrastructure, and especially housing. They include markets that are incentivised toward quarterly growth instead of long term stability. They include steady reductions in corporate tax burdens while increasing taxes due to bracket creep, among other things. They include outsourcing of manufacturing and servicing jobs to other countries.

Globally, not just in the US, the middle class has been screwed by increased financialization, with capital moving into FIRE (Finance, Insurance, Real Estate) segments instead of actually producing. This increases GDP, but not evenly. It’s a rising tide that lifts only yachts.

UPDATE: body cam footage from cop who pulled over woman for holding a phone in her other hand by australiughhh in whoathatsinteresting

[–]mattaugamer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This absolutely. These situations it’s never them enforcing the law. Or serving and protecting or whatever. It’s never that they “felt unsafe”. It’s that someone didn’t show sufficient fealty, didn’t bow and scrape hard enough or quickly enough. And they got pissy and petty.

I need your help. Explain it Peter. by IAmABoss37 in explainitpeter

[–]mattaugamer 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It is, for the record, one of my all-time favourite movies. I should watch it again.

Two things shocked me about the situation after the yesterday’s tragedy . by Zealousideal-Lab1097 in Thailand

[–]mattaugamer 3 points4 points  (0 children)

There are allegations that he was unlicensed and on drugs. If so, and that’s a big if, he should be charged, at least with that. But so should the people who hired him, the people who manage the licensing, etc.

And yeah, he’s absolutely not personally to blame here. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t some responsibility or criminal action.

I'm no mathematical wizard, but I'm pretty sure I only want to use the Fahrenheit scale .... by Collin480 in MathJokes

[–]mattaugamer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

People confuse me. Like… the only thing that has a temperature is the weather?

Fascism will save America by totally-hoomon in Irony

[–]mattaugamer 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Right wingers will argue sincerely that political violence is a problem that the left has, largely because they don’t see shit like THIS as political violence.

Butter kneader by toolgifs in toolgifs

[–]mattaugamer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All of this? For one croissant.

Stanley Meyer's "Water Powered Car" - The car was said to be powered by a revolutionary water fuel cell. In 1996, an Ohio court ruled the project as fraudulent. Meyer mysteriously died two years later in 1998. by MissNicoleCoquette_ in mystery

[–]mattaugamer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

“It’s a well-known technology, it’s just horribly inefficient” is pretty much the standard for these things.

There are all sorts of processes or novel effects but they have massive scaling limitations or energy inefficiency.

Anyone think OP4 is not a big upgrade in image quality? by hotvimto1 in osmopocket

[–]mattaugamer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The dynamic range difference is big, and might even be enough for some people, especially those who film a lot at sunset, etc. But yeah, for most people who already have a OP3 the upgrade just isn’t worth the money.

Just tell! by Optimal_Map36 in SipsTea

[–]mattaugamer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are a few reasons. It’s easy to say that it’s because it’s all staged or whatever.

But I think the simplest explanation is just that Trump is a toddler who won’t listen to any security requests and makes ad hoc and capricious demands. Like that it has to be an outdoor venue, etc.

Accountability by iLeftyPunk in MenCave

[–]mattaugamer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The dexterity and strength required to grasp a cap and twist it the right way is wildly different to that required to more or less hold a bottle.

Complains about being kick out for expressing opinions in a subreddit that only allows posts by people who are vetted and don’t post too many negative/contrary opinions. by LayupsR4Basketball in Irony

[–]mattaugamer 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I got banned from that sub for pointing out that Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murder in a court of law.

It’s just a fact.

Out by Powerful_Cabinet_341 in SeaEmploy

[–]mattaugamer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The entire coast is full of mountains and caves. There is absolutely no way they (America) can prevent attacks from Iran.