Tag Archives: world news

Books, Business, Economics, Finance, Observation, Politics, Tech

In: ‘Antitrust: Taking on Monopoly Power from the Gilded Age to the Digital Age’, Amy Klobuchar Takes on World’s Greatest Challenge

May 7, 2021 Danny Leeds

Is the title above wrong? Depends who you ask…

In her new book, Klobuchar tries to connect the historical roots of antitrust actions to populism and her own ancestry. That’s not all, however. Although difficult, particularly for readers who are not legal scholars, there’s an important and deeper historic thread here that she is aiming to contribute to.

That job is to find a way to illuminate how the digital age, with all its challenges and complexities, can come to terms with the simple question of how to measure damage that is being done by big tech monopolies, through sheer size, power and lack of external accountability.

Moreover, there is an issue of how antitrust law and practice veered away from the remedies and goals, first established during the Gilded Age, toward a laissez-fair, anti-regulatory stance that gained steam in the Regan years.

That shift is, in many ways, to blame for the current extreme state characterized by dangerous levels of concentrated wealth and power by big tech.

This effort may seem like one that is doomed to being ignored by all but the already long-since converted. But, make no mistake, it is a topic that will grow, reverberate and become more relevant as the current administration in Washington consolidates and comes into its own.

“People have just gotten beaten down. I wanted to show the public and elected officials that you’re not the first kids on the block with this. What do you think it was like back when trusts literally controlled everyone on the Supreme Court, or literally elected members of the Senate before they were elected by the public?”
— Amy Klobuchar, in Wired interview with Steven Levey

When President Biden recently nominated Lina M. Khan to the Federal Trade Commission, in addition to Columbia Law School professor Tim Wu, who announced earlier this month he would join the National Economic Council, he set forth a clear path for an antitrust direction that has the potential to be more than just rhetoric and window dressing.

Khan is an unequivocal proponent of a new era of antitrust, one that is, not coincidentally, along the lines of what Klobuchar advocates. Likely sharing these ultra clear views from her long and celebrated research, Khan, along with Wu, is a key addition to Biden’s growing roster of Big Tech critics, and there is already a blueprint for actions and cases that will build to a crescendo over the next several years.

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Biden’s call for the repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, meanwhile, a hotly contested and possibly flawed legal shield some feel is exploited by Internet platforms, is another indicator of the tenor of the coming actions.

In a sense, with this bestselling book [on Amazon: #1 in Political Economy, #1 in Government Management, #1 in Business Law (Books)] the gargantuan task of connecting the culpability of massive, nearly infinitely powerful behemoths, each in it’s own territory, to the social and economic catastrophes that they’ve brought down on the world.

However, while politicians like Klobuchar may not have the charisma and energy to set a fire under the population, it is the very deeds themselves that will eventually conspire to ignite an uprising and put pressure on the government and the courts to take real, substantive measures. And with young, new faces and minds such as possessed by Khan and Wu, ultimately there is a bulwark of criticism against monopolist abuses building in government and among the public at large.

“I am never saying, ‘Get rid of their products.’ But let’s have more of the products that give you more choices. You can keep one product, but it’s better to have other products, because we’re not China.”
Amy Klobuchar in Wired interview with Steven Levey

In response to Klobuchar’s quote above Steven Levey in Wired wrote; “In other words, Facebook could keep it’s main app, but the public might benefit if Instagram and WhatsApp were not Mark Zuckerberg productions.”

While this kind of “moderate” view may not be the earth shattering remedy that would turn the juggernauts around in a heartbeat, from Zuckerberg’s perspective it would not be ideal, to say the least.

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And, since we have seen the unfettered and viral growth of big tech, for at least a quarter century in some cases, and since there was a aura of hero worship afforded their leaders for most of that time, a break-up, such as that could ultimately turn out to be the beginning of more sweeping changes. A welcome outcome for those that have been harmed the various monopolistic structures that rule nearly all our lives, or at least it seems, at times.

Levey then asked Klobuchar why legislators so often embarrass themselves in hearings with irrelevant partisanship, clueless technical questions, and time-wasting grandstanding. Her response;

“Welcome to my life,” she says. “I get it—there’s going to be hearings that are irritating to people who know a lot. But that’s a great argument for tech to use because they don’t want this oversight.”
Amy Klobuchar in Wired interview with Steven Levey

In defense of using the word “antitrust in the title, while also advocating its eradication in future she responded:

“Well, I thought antitrust was an interesting word”. “It’s not only about this body of law; it’s also about not trusting anyone.”
Amy Klobuchar in Wired interview with Steven Levey

Perhaps it is more the course of history that led to the current and incredibly extreme situation and obscene dominance by big tech that is what should never have be trusted to arise in the first place.

Perhaps these firms will one day be seen, looking back from future generations, as a temporarily necessary, but evil mistake of history, as was the toothless interpretation of laws that led to their rise from “scrappy underdog startups” into malignant monopolies run amok.

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Breaking News, Observation, Politics

Trump will Launch Social Network “In a Few Months” according to Spokesperson

Video March 21, 2021 Eric Cho

No where to go, now an attempt to go solo

After a lifetime ban from Twitter and other social media outlets in the aftermath of inciting the January 6th terrorist attack on the Capitol, today, on Fox News, a Trump spokesperson announced that he is starting his own network.

Long-time adviser and spokesperson for the Trump campaign, Jason Miller, stated on on Fox’s “MediaBuzz” that the former guy would be “returning to social media in probably about two or three months.”

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In typical fashion spokesperson says it will be huge

Next he bragged that his return to social media would be via “his own platform” and that this new network would garner “tens of millions” of users and in his opinion would also “completely redefine the game.”

“It’s going to completely redefine the game, and everybody is going to be waiting and watching to see what President Trump does, but it will be his own platform.”
—Jason Miller, Trump Spokesperson

This news comes at a time when the furor of constant rage tweeting from the former guy has finally died down. It remains to be seen if this announcement is credible as there are pending legal and financial challenges that could potentially stand in the way of such an undertaking.

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Observation, Tech

Epic Battle over News Content Payments is Moving Next to Europe

February 27, 2021 Danny Leeds

Possible WW3 over Digital Ads with Zuck & Google Vs MSFT & Apple

Sometimes, in order to tackle a complicated subject it is necessary, first, to take a step back. For example, before tech and the internet became the dominant economic force it is today there were hundreds, even thousands of companies that had important roles to play in the economy.

Not they other companies are unimportant today, but the sheer scale of trillion dollar (and growing) tech companies such as Google, Facebook who combined represent a near monopoly in digital advertising, and Apple and Microsoft, each also with strangleholds in some markets, but on the outside in the war over digital ad income.

This disparity and imbalance is so massive as to be nearly unprecedented in history. And, now, as the first blind hero worship phase has ended, we are entering a phase where the nearly ubiquitous influence and dominance over lives and fortunes are finally being questioned.

Next up: The war erupting as a result of the extreme correlation between the entrenched and overwhelming dominance of Facebook and Google in digital ads, the income source of media producers, and the near demise of that industry.

The situation has finally become so critical and lopsided that governments are finally stepping in to enforce changes that could never happen while one side, the “dominant digital platforms” holds all the cards and power.

One new axiom that has emerged with the rise of big tech monsters is that only a monster can hope to prevail in a war with another monster. Enter Kong vs Godzilla.

In this emerging world war it is more complicated still; on one side are the parallel duo of Facebook and Google, with similarities in the way they dominate digital advertising, but also in that they share a “surveillance” based business model using private user data to control markets and traffic.

On the other side are Apple, which has staked a claim to user privacy as a means to clearly differentiate a positive product and service based model, Microsoft, that appears to simply want to play the underdog as a search engine alternative to google and a “smaller” player in the digital ad space.

And then, in a corner of distinction above all others, lies the power of world governments.

World governments are playing a pivotal role as a kind of referee – finally stepping in, as the dangers and damage caused already by the duo of Facebook and Google, have awakened the possible regulatory, anti-trust actions that only they can enforce.

First was the rumble down under, now, on to Europe and North America

Even as a kind of truce has erupted in Australia, with the government making specific alterations to the News Media Bargaining Code that, apparently, appeased Facebook enough to withdraw its universal ban on hosting Australian news product.

According to AP News: Google and Facebook, take a combined 81% of online advertising in Australia and initially condemned the code as unworkable.

That has rapidly changed, and the stand-off has come to at least a temporary end.

Also likely, is that the massive demand for an app offering direct access to some of the exact stories that Facebook banned sent a strong enough message that competition for viewers is only one click away.

Motivating the two sides to come to terms and for Facebook to back down from its draconian stance vis-à-vis the new law.

Even as the Aussie skirmish fades a new front in Europe is emerging

Microsoft announced on February 22nd that is was joining a coalition of European Publishers to promote an “Aussie style” code for digital platforms to remunerate news content producers.

In addition to Microsoft, groups involved include the European Publishers Council (EPC), News Media Europe (NME), European Newspaper Publishers’ Association (ENPA), and European Magazine Media Association (EMMA).

Previously, Microsoft had already Earlier this month, Microsoft was lobbying in support of other countries following Australia’s lead in creating legislation mandating that news outlets to be paid for articles published on the platforms in the United States, Canada, the European Union, and other countries.

“We welcome Microsoft’s recognition of the value that our content brings to the core businesses of search engines and social networks because this is where Google and Facebook generate the vast majority of their revenues.
It is crucial that our regulators recognise this key point, and don’t get misled into thinking that side deals on the basis of a stand-alone product are the same thing, because they are not at all and undermine the neighbouring rights that we have been granted. All publishers should get an agreement – no one should be left out”.
-CHRISTIAN VAN THILLO, CHAIRMAN OF THE EUROPEAN PUBLISHERS COUNCIL

EPC, NME, ENPA, EMMA, and Microsoft call for arbitration to be implemented in European or national law that requires search engines and media platforms that aggregate news pay for content based on the Publisher‘s Right set out in Directive 2019/790.

Pandora’s Box is open and spilling all over the highway

Interestingly, Microsoft is, in a roundabout and equally self-severing way (according to critics) is now the second trillion dollar tech monster to take a direct stance against Facebook and Google and the monopoly strangle hold the enjoy over the financial life-blood of advertising that is essential for journalism and news production to survive, let alone flourish.

Source: StatCounter Global Stats – Search Engine Market Share

Critics will point out that Microsoft’s Bing search engine with a tiny market share compared to Google (in chart above the ridiculous 90% plus monopoly can be seen) has nothing to lose and everything to gain by supporting government efforts to even the playing field. And Apple? Facebook has already declared war and alleged all sorts of evil motivations for the privacy controls being built into its operating systems.

But that kind of talk is a bit late and weak now that the ultimate tech monster showdown has already begun. The first crack in a flawed and destructive business model, one shared to a great degree by both Facebook and Google has seen its first failure. Many more are yet to come.

And, last but not least, Microsoft and Apple are positioning themselves as the “good guys” and siding with governments and the News production organizations, partly, in order to be seen in a more positive light in case various anti-trust and regularity battles loom between either of them and the governments that are, currently, also investigating all of the giants.

By the way, seen any of Amazon’s recent “we are good guys, despite what you might have heard, seen or experienced” commercials? Small tip: if you have to spend millions on commercials trying to convince people you are not an evil greed-obsessed avaricious crap-ass company then you probably are exactly that.

The horses are out of the barn so grab your popcorn and get ready for this to get strange soon. After Europe Canada and then the US is coming into the ring.

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Breaking News, Climate Solutions, News, Observation, Politics

It’s time to face it: Politicians that propagate Disinformation for the Fossil Fuel Industry are Wrong and Evil, Period

February 20, 2021 Danny Leeds

If four years of the Former Guy taught us anything, it’s that we have no time left for evil, soulless greed run amok

– Opinion & Analysis –

Recent attempts by politicians, beholden to the fossil fuel industry in Texas, to use the collapse of the energy infrastructure during the recent weather disaster as an opportunity to bash and trash wind and solar energy is an example of an unfortunate, banal and still common form of pure evil.

The deeper connections, easily seen lurking just beneath the surface, are rich and multilayered.

If this extreme weather disaster is one of many that are linked to climate change, a manifestation of dangers that climate scientists have been warning of for decades, the irony goes beyond just sick.

Wind and solar energy exist as an early and tentative positive step toward somehow stopping, or at least slowing down, the negative man-made climate change repercussions before it is too late.

The real reasons behind the Texas power grid collapse are related to traditional fossil fuel based energy sources and bad management of the energy infrastructure that can be traced back to an arrogant belief that Texas is better off without connections to the national system.

The local political response to this eminently preventable catastrophe was to bash and trash and blame the very technology that, ultimately, is part of a tentative start to actually begin to solve the bigger problem of man-made climate change.

…the time is gone to accept “two sides” to an argument that, by postponing any real solutions, will kill us all.

Just as the history of the internal combustion engine and the fossil fuel and auto industry’s attempts to prolong its near monopoly, using disinformation and other tactics for over 50 years was evil, the anti-sustainable energy politics in Texas today is just a continuation of that effort.

The time is gone to accept “two sides” to an argument that has one side trying, by attempting to postpone any real solutions, to kill us all, in the name of short term greed.

Under unique circumstances lending legitimacy to evil is too costly to condone

Looking at “both sides” of an issue is a practice based on a theory that “reasonable people” can disagree on diametrically opposed views. This idea is often suspended, however, by unreasonable people for their own reasons. That is sometimes called “war”.

Reasonable people, people, for example that understand climate science and want to prevent the total destruction of the earth and the extinction of all inhabitants, are often reluctant to suspend this idea of “good people on both sides” by their very nature as caring individuals.

“Now we need to understand that the “silence of one good man” can spell disaster for all good people. Each of us who remained passive as our impending disaster continued might have been the one “good man” who didn’t act, didn’t speak out, didn’t resist…
— Elayne Clift in Salon

Now is a time when huge changes are going to be forced by an external and highly powerful and dangerous threats to our survival. The changes that are needed involve radically new ways of thinking and acting across many spheres of activity.

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New technologies, such as the aforementioned wind turbines and solar collectors, new forms of transportation, new ways of looking at other causes of, and remedies to, the excessive expulsion of carbon into the atmosphere will be absolutely required.

The truth is that for these new ways of thinking and acting to take over in human commerce the old ways must be cancelled. With extreme prejudice.

The past and those that want to go back to it are a lost cause, unfortunately

Many many “rich” people will be unhappy about this. And they will have politicians in their pocket that will gladly spread lies and disinformation to try and sustain the sick, evil gravy-train of polluting, carbon spewing systems as long as possible.

Sick and evil, not because those ways of surviving for humanity, burning fossil fuels and using them for a million different things that were a benefit in the short term, but because the short term is over.

The various arguments that somehow it is a good idea not to change and for the changes to slow down and not step on any toes as they gradually become “viable” have zero validity as of today (really as of 25 years ago but that’s water under the bridge).

Eventually the climate itself will kill them for their mistakes. Unfortunately it will also kill the rest of us if we allow them to continue to postpone positive change with lies and disinformation.
– D.L.

There must be an understanding among “reasonable” people, people who want to be part of an urgent crusade to save the world, literally, that points of view and the people who espouse them represent evil, plain and simple.

They will scream that reasonable people are “femi-nazis and “eco-terrorists” and say and do whatever it takes to protect what’s left of a deadly status quo. But they are wrong.

Eventually the climate itself will kill them for their mistakes. Unfortunately it will also kill the rest of us if we allow them to continue to postpone positive change with lies and disinformation.

“Every one of these people is the banality of evil personified. Every one of them became what Arendt called a “leaf blowing in the whirlwind of time.” Now every one of them bears responsibility for what could lie ahead.”
— Elayne Clift in Salon

This change in thinking about how to respond to this kind of evil will be a more important factor in the survival of humanity than all the technological advances combined.

“World War III is a guerrilla information war with no division between military and civilian participation.” – Marshall McLuhan (1970), Culture is Our Business, p. 66.
–Marshall McLuhan

“Info-wars” were predicted as the battlefield of WWIII by Marshall McLuhan in 1970 and now we are in it and there must be an understanding of what is at stake.

When disinformation is used as a perennial weapon against positive, necessary change it is necessary to do more than disagree. It is necessary to expose the lies and, more importantly, the obvious sick and criminal motives for the lies. Over and over as often as necessary.

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Breaking News, Observation, Politics

Trump is Guilty of High Crimes but 43 vote to Acquit

Video February 13, 2021 Eric Cho

Opinion and observation:

The meaning of this ongoing assault on the truth

One thing that was unavoidable during this unprecedented 2nd impeachment process was the sense that the facts and evidence of a heinous series of crimes left any sane individual utterly devoid of any doubt that Trump was guilty. And yet, in the face of so many facts and so many public acts, a minority of 43 Republicans voted to acquit and stood up to say, with that vote, that they do not care about the law, the constitution or even this country.

What that means going forward is only clear in a few, but very important, respects. It is clear that the majority in this country – demonstrably sane Republicans like the seven that did vote to convict, and the roughly 259 million that do not support Trump’s insanity – will have to continue to fight for what they believe in – even if opinions are diverse, and fight as much as necessary for the basic understanding that we will never follow a wannabe dictator and criminal.

Again, what is clearer today than before the trial, is that the forces that propelled Trump into power and, even to this day, seek to maintain some kind of grip on the poison political tribalism he stands for, will attempt to use it to regain power again and try to use it to terrorize the rest of us.

No muddy waters, no reasonable doubt, just complicit co-conspirators

The inescapable takeaway from the entire fiasco of the so-called “Trump-era” is that, without some kind of active and confrontational prevention from those that believe in democracy and democratic values, there will be a continue to be a force from the far right that will fill any void and seek to destroy this country and potentially the world.

Because, in the end, political disagreements over tax policy, immigration, and so many other admittedly important concerns, it is the pro-oil, anti-environmental, climate change-denying racist and corrupt evil that must be prevented, from this moment forward, from ever wielding power in this country again.

There is no reconciliation with a coalition that seeks to destroy the world in the name of religious fantasies and lust for a racist reckoning or misanthropic judgement day.

No Justice, no Peace

The future will, quite simply, not exist if neanderthal bigots (sorry neanderthals, you deserve better) with zero moral consciousness are permitted any say in government. This is not a political disagreement or lack of consensus. This is dangerous criminal terrorist elements that believe they have the right to decide the future of this country for all of us, against any person that holds views that would prevent Trump or any person with his destructive and worthless character.

Trump’s hyperbolic call to arms: “If you don’t fight, you won’t have a country” is, in reality, some kind of perverse projection, as it is us, those that have been terrorized by this malignant clown, that must listen and realize that he is right, not about the duped and manipulated followers he was lying to, but about us: we are the ones that almost lost our country.

And who should be the judge of the character of would be “leaders”? That is, and must be, we the people. If there are, in reality, 74 million people who are either brainwashed or simply ignorant enough to support a criminal like Trump, then the will of the majority, of the 259 million with the better sense not to support such a person, must be the arbiter of what is right.

The next chapter in the ugly and disgusting Trump saga will be private and legal efforts to stop him or anyone descending from his corrupt and bankrupt “cause” from re-entering the political arena.

This must not be seen as petty vengeance but as a sacred quest to protect, not only this country, but the entire world from the plague that we have all witnessed and endured other the last 5 years.

The losses must be recovered and the wrongs set right

The poisoning of the national discourse, the destruction of institutions, the loss of lives in the insurrection and the nearly half a million dead, in part, due to maladministration of the government response to the pandemic, all of this and so much more might not have happened if Trump had been stopped sooner.

There is no clearer course, and no outcome more important to prevent, than any return to the horrors that were perpetrated with this demented and dangerous man at the helm of our country.

And the proof today is in the bogus acquittal by 43 ,who share his guilt, proof of the absolute necessity to actively prevent any reemergence of his poisonous reign, or that of any acolyte that may attempt to rise carrying his diseased, corrupt mantel.

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Breaking News, Observation, Politics

Georgia initiates Criminal Investigation into Trump’s call containing alleged ‘attempts to influence’ Election

February 12, 2021 Wiley Simms

Announcement marks the 2nd state to launch cases against #45

The call from Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger will be called into question as Georgia prosecutors have initiated a criminal investigation against the former president.

The request comes as Trump is currently facing his second impeachment trial on the charge of “incitement of insurrection” following attacks on the Capitol on January 6. Trump could be heard, in the weeks following the election, claiming that the election was stolen from him, which included his loss in Georgia, where he fell short of approximately 12,000 (11,780) votes.

To listen to full phone conversation Trump had with Georgia’s Secretary of State, The Washington Post obtained the entirety of the call.

Documents, as well as the telephone call itself, are to be preserved as evidence, in order to further look into Trump’s attempts to overturn the election results in Georgia. During the call with Raffensperger, Trump could be heard pressing him to “find” the votes, meaning the 11,780 needed for him to win the state.

Trump took to Twitter at the time (his account has since been deleted) and spoke of Raffensperger, stating he “was unwilling, or unable, to answer questions such as the ‘ballots under table’ scam, ballot destruction, out of state ‘voters’, dead voters, and more. He has no clue!”

To which he responded

Respectfully, President Trump: What you're saying is not true. The truth will come out https://t.co/ViYjTSeRcC
— GA Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (@GaSecofState) January 3, 2021

The letter, sent to a handful of state government officials, according to the New York Times, responsible for first reporting on the story:

“This investigation includes, but is not limited to, potential violations of Georgia law prohibiting the solicitation of election fraud, the making of false statements to state and local governmental bodies, conspiracy, racketeering, violation of oath of office and any involvement in violence or threats related to the election’s administration.”
Letter confirming Criminal Investigation As quoted in the New York Times

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Politics

Twitter upholds permanent ban: No hope of Trump ever returning to platform

February 10, 2021 Madison Santel

Trump has yet to resurface on any social media platform, are we in the clear?

The proverbial nail in the Twitter coffin for Trump has finally been pounded home. Based on a statement from a Twitter spokesperson, once you are removed from the platform, you are removed, with no exceptions. So that means, regardless of his potential future run for president in 2024, it has been confirmed, Trump will never be allowed to share a rant via a tweet.

Of course, if the current impeachment trial in the Senate is successful in one of its aims, he will also be banned forever from seeking public office.

Trump had his Twitter account permanently suspended back on Jan. 6 following the Capitol riots. Other social media platforms followed suit with freezes of Instagram, Facebook and Shopify, even his accounts on Snapchat and Twitch.

https://twitter.com/TwitterSafety/status/1347684878574366721?s=20

During an interview with CNBC, Twitter CFO, Ned Segal, spoke in detail, confirming that Trump will not be allowed back on the platform, ever.

"The way our policies work, when you're removed from the platform, you're removed from the platform whether you're a commentator, you're a CFO or you are a former or current public official," says $TWTR CFO @nedsegal on if President Trump's account could be restored. pic.twitter.com/ZZxascb9Rz
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) February 10, 2021

“When you’re removed from the platform, you’re removed from the platform, whether you’re a commentator, you’re a CFO, or you are a former or current public official,” said Segal. “Remember, our policies are designed to make sure that people are not inciting violence. And if anybody does that, we have to remove them from the service, and our policy is not to allow people to come back.”

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Breaking News, Observation, Politics

Trump’s Best Impeachment Defense: ‘I’m a Buffoon and it was all a Joke’

February 10, 2021 Eric Cho

Laying out the evidence, built up over months and leading to Jan. 6th, makes a compelling case, for anyone not considered a clown

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“Tower of Lies“
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All throughout the so-called “presidency” of DJT bizarre double standards were used, exploited and reinforced by him and his minions. If he made an outrageous, even criminal statement, either on Twitter, or in a publicly available video recording, and outrage or any kind of pushback arose, the go-to explanation was “he was obviously joking”.

No matter if the gaffe was suggesting people inject bleach to combat the corona virus, or when he suggested that the U.S. buy Greenland, there was always a built in escape hatch: he didn’t really mean it, and you are a political hack, or worse, for suggesting that he did.

And, even more ridiculous, if you were a member of the press or a democrat, there were many who would seriously posit that he should not, or could not, be held accountable because he is obviously an idiot or a clown or a criminal mastermind and stable genius that would, therefore, get away with it anyway.

From an interview by NPR titled “What Might Accountability For President Trump Look Like?” with IAN BASSIN, executive director of Protect Democracy:

“But when you look internationally and you look at history, what you find is that the risks of not acting are actually worse. What happens is that abusers return to power often and engage in even more abusive behavior. To put this in terms I think we all could understand, as every parent knows, if a child takes a cookie from the cookie jar when he’s not supposed to, and you just move on, not only will he do it again, but next time, so will his brother and sister.”

Added together with propaganda techniques cribbed from Russia (and others) such as “Whataboutism” and an even more primitive derivative of the idea which comes straight from the playground-bully school: “I know you are, but what am I?”.

”Whataboutism has been common in Putin’s Russia. The Atlantic cited one such example in 2014, noting that when the Kremlin faced criticisms of its treatment of protesters, government officials responded, “What about the United Kingdom? Breaking the law during public gatherings there could lead to a fine of 5,800 pounds sterling there or even prison.”

— DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN for NPR

And then there are the famous Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels’ well known axioms: “Accuse your enemy of that which you are guilty” and the “Big Lie” theory:

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”

One valid reason for this unique out-of-office Impeachment proceeding is exposing the limits for the “Buffoon Defense”

This stroll down memory lane brings us to the current Senate Trial that will lead to a vote to convict Trump and, since he can no longer be removed, to bar him from ever again running for, or holding, public office.

When the evidence is laid out, as if Trump were an actual president and serious person, which is happening, beginning today on live TV, the effect is shock, not that these things happened, but that the gulf between his actions, and the consequences any other person would receive as a result, ever became so incredibly huge.

This was the drift of the impeachment managers presentation; lay out facts, using words, charts, graphs and even video evidence. Facts that, under any other circumstance, and with regard to any other politician, or any other defendant, would yield a 99.9999% likelihood of grave and serious consequences.

Yet in this bizarre case it is being seen and understood as serious and real by, perhaps, the majority, and at the same time is seen as meaningless or worse, some kind of left-wing conspiracy, by the rest.

What does the success of such obvious propaganda and mind control say about our society and situation going forward?

Even among the most discerning witnesses of the last four plus years it remains hard to determine just how much of the propaganda was planned, orchestrated and understood by the perpetrators with Trump as a figurehead.

Or if it was all a big, insane coincidence, that an actual buffoon could be just smart enough to use the “idiot-card” with such success.

If there is a book being written on Trump’s true legacy or on the mysteries that he left behind, this core mystery, how much his actual stupidity was a key benefit to getting away with so much crime, so much destruction, and, in the end, depending on the outcome, even murder, should be the central premise.

And this trial, with the articulated goal of accountability for real and very serious crimes, must have as a secondary aim, to expose and deconstruct the lies and the methods of avoiding accountability for all the damage and destruction over the entire tenure of the administration.

It remains to be seen if the ability to use the Buffoon Defense will extend to Sedition and Murder, if so, the larger story will ultimately be the insanity of acquitting a man so obviously deserving of finally being made to face consequences, and that will be rightly seen as the larger crime.

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Breaking News, Tech

Mark Zuckerberg Joins Clubhouse: Crashes the App (for a short time)

Video February 4, 2021 Eric Cho

On a crazy night Zuckerberg, KimDotCom and Guy Kawasaki all join rooms at the same time

Clubhouse, the red hot “social audio” app which is growing, even by invitation only by the millions per week. Part of the appeal is the up-close and personal audio interactions that happen among people from all walks of life; including big names. Last week it was Elon Musk “interviewing” the CEO of Robinhood (see video below).

KimDotCom is a bit of a crazy one, could be perhaps called infamous rather than famous, as the founder of “MegaUpload” and the New Zealand Extradition saga. There’s a strange kind of irony to having Mark Zuckerberg show up. Obviously it shows how Clubhouse is just too hot to ignore – it will probably spur rumors that he is circling the rooms with designs on acquiring or copying the app.

We have been testing Clubhouse for a future feature article and it is truly remarkable what the atmosphere is while using the app. The intimacy of group audio, combined with a kind of democratic algorithm / interface (for the most part), makes for a social media experience that is nothing like any other platform that has caught on.

Remarkable guests and smart conversation, this podcast has it all, subscribe now → https://t.co/SxUHfYnhH0 #MakeItRemarkable #remarkablepeople #podcast
— Guy Kawasaki (@GuyKawasaki) November 7, 2020

Just listened to Mark Zuckerberg on Clubhouse.

On for 15mins crashes the app at the end 😆
— Katerina (@Katerina_Mtaus) February 5, 2021

In some ways it’s like being at a huge trade show like CES and going to a keynote or a panel discussion. However, the fact that it is live 24/7 365 days a year makes for more impromptu access, more spontaneity and more… chaos (sometimes for good or…).

I’m tryna see Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook in the same Clubhouse room
— Labib Yasir (@LabibYasir) February 1, 2021

Clubhouse was launched, in what may be the most fantastically serendipitous timing ever, in March 2020. Tearing a page, ironically, from the Zuckerberg and Facebook playbook, it has been and continues to be an invitation only club.

After the session with Zuckerberg was over one of the “Stage” speakers coined the term “Digital Teepee” to describe the feeling of being in such an intimate setting with such a controversial figure like Mark Zuckerberg. Others speculated what his motivations might have been to join the club.

Here’s what Mark Zuckerberg said on Clubhouse about AR, VR, and Remote Work

“We should be teleporting, not transporting ourselves” pic.twitter.com/AT16reaQus
— Josh Constine 📶🔥 (@JoshConstine) February 5, 2021

In a nod to the “Trade-show” aspect the first affinity group was… Venture Capitalists

In an interesting twist, however, the initial focus for invites was not on college students, as was the case with the early days of facebook, but mainly consisted of venture capitalists.

Perhaps this was indirectly related to the fact that , Alpha Exploration Co., the company behind Clubhouse was launched after a $12 million investment came from Andreessen Horowitz after they had only been in existence for approximately two months.

The invitations are being handed out more liberally now and the “club” is growing at over a million users per week at the moment. The demand is so extreme, however, that invites are even being sold on eBay in the US and even on equivalent platforms in China and elsewhere.

In a first, in what will almost surely crash the app again, Netflix will be doing a promotional room (which has never happened before) to promote Zendaya’s new film‘Malcolm & Marie’ which will be live on Netflix tomorrow.

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Breaking News, Business, Tech

Jeff Bezos will step down as Amazon CEO: will Exec Chair position allow remote control?

February 2, 2021 Eric Cho

All signs point to continued involvement, or?

Founder and CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos has announced he will step down and become executive chairman. Andy Jassy, the current cloud computing chief, will become the next CEO stated for the third quarter.

During the pandemic and recent holidays, Amazon with its warehouses open, recorded sky-high profits reaching quarterly sales over $100 billion.

Based on a memo posted for Amazon employees, Bezos noted: “As Exec Chair I will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives but also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions.”

End of an era:

–0 to $1.5t (nobody in history);
–Turned biggest cost centers into profit centers (nobody in history);
–Established recurring revenue relationship w/82% of US households (nobody in history); and
–Hired 500k+ people in 12 months (nobody in history)#Bezos
— Scott Galloway (@profgalloway) February 2, 2021

Or:

Jeff Bezos made over $90 billion last year during the pandemic while over 20,000 Amazon workers got #COVID19.

They named him "Profiteer of the Year."pic.twitter.com/av7Cb5Lefh
— AJ+ (@ajplus) February 2, 2021

Though his Exec Chair position may mean that very little changes going forward, based on the challenging prospects for the huge and much criticized firm it may indeed signal the end of an era.

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Apple, Observation, Tech

Apple’s Tim Cook: ‘A social dilemma, cannot be allowed to become a social catastrophe’

January 31, 2021 Danny Leeds

Apple gets serious about exploitative surveillance business models, and it’s about time

Six months ago when we first published “Cracks in The Wall: Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook Silently Declare Wars Against Each Other” we were worried. Although we firmly believed it was a just war, and that the time was at hand for the rotten underbelly of the internet and, more than anything else, for the business model of Facebook to be excoriated out in the open, using the term “war” in conjunction with Apple seemed over-the-top and even inflammatory.

We stuck with the title and now, looking back, it was accurate if not 100% polite. After new privacy features in iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur were made public, Facebook and Zuckerberg took it as an attack on its tracking-first-business model and fought back with some rhetoric about how Apple was going to harm small businesses.

The first feeble attempt at fighting back was a full page ad in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other outlets, where Facebook alleged: “these changes will be devastating to small businesses” with the supposition that small businesses depend on Facebook’s darling invention; tracking-based advertising, and need it to build their brands and to sell products.

Missing from this self-serving logic is the price of this form of targeting and data collection – in dollars, literally billions of them charged to those same small businesses, and in the cost to virtually all “users” who’s privacy is sacrificed with little to no consumer benefit and many, many potential detriments.

This is not just some sort of scrap between rival companies, it’s all our futures at stake

With the salvo of clear and decisive comments made by Tim Cook at the Computers, Privacy and Data Protection conference, and in interviews with various magazines, the righteous and timely battle against demonstribly evil internet business models is for real now, with the unnamed but obviously targeted Facebook at the top of the list.

The quote from Tim Cook in the title above exactly captured the current reality: the excellent documentary titled ‘The Social Dilemma’ did not go nearly far enough in exposing the danger of surveillance based business models that should not be allowed to exist

As if Facebook has ever been a friend to small business. The concept that has been clear for many years is that the surveillance capitalism, for the most part invented by Facebook, that Apple is now declaring war against, was always an obscene and disastrous one for every person on the planet, other than Mark Zuckerberg.

“If a business is built on misleading users, on data exploitation, on choices that are no choices at all, it does not deserve our praise. It deserves reform,”
Apple CEO, Tim Cook, speaking at the Computers, Privacy and Data Protection conference

However, with a vast power over almost all digital advertising (sharing, with Google, more than 70%) and no competition to speak of where anyone could go for “social media” access, 3-5 years ago it was hard to imagine how anything could slowdown, let alone stop, Facebook’s inexorable rise.

In what will be a huge theme for this decade, only giants can fight and hope to win against other giants.

Right now, as of Tim Cook’s declaration of war on the “data-industrial complex” and with numerous anti-trust and other legal actions against Facebook pending, it suddenly seems plausible that a real change, a much needed change, could finally come in the way that human beings communicate via that immense network of devices we call the internet.

“Technology does not need vast troves of personal data, stitched together across dozens of websites and apps, in order to succeed.”
— Tim Cook

In an exclusive interview with Michael Grothaus at Fast Company Cook stated: “In terms of privacy—I think it is one of the top issues of the century, we’ve got climate change—that is huge. We’ve got privacy—that is huge. . . . And they should be weighted like that and we should put our deep thinking into that and to decide how can we make these things better and how do we leave something for the next generation that is a lot better than the current situation.” (emphasis mine)

This statement, though perhaps hyperbolic to some, is at the heart of our coverage of Apple, Google, Facebook and “Big Tech” in general over the last few years. In fact, this idea can go further and deeper as… “privacy” is just the tip of the iceberg and the predatory infrastructure that the data-collection and exploitation business model enables is even more dangerous and is a threat to the entire economy.

Of the new “Big 5” (Apple, Musk, Facebook, Google, Amazon) only Apple and the affiliated Elon Musk enterprises actually have proprietary products or products and services that benefit humanity in a concrete way.

Elon Musk has sustainable energy and sustainable transportation as stated goals of Tesla, while SpaceX, has reaching Mars (to give earthlings a second planet available in case we screw this one up) and, now with Starlink, building a second broadband internet backbone in space.

Apple, while on the one hand being inadvertently responsible for both Google and Facebook in different ways (more on that soon in a subsequent post), is at the heart of the real reason why internet business models and structures are key to our survival and to humanity’s ability to survive and reverse global warming by evolving, enhanced communication.

Apple is no longer just an electronic device maker. Software, hardware, A.I., possibly an electric car, and services are all merging and reaching what we call “Apple Singularity”. Apple has the potential to trigger a monumental shift in the ways we communicate online – networked human communication – away from the trash-filled nightmare of the present day – where three obscenely massive companies: Facebook, Google and Amazon, have built business models that do not rest on innovative products or services but on predatory systems that enslave users, gouge small businesses and do very little in adding benefit to humanity as a whole.

“At a moment of rampant disinformation and conspiracy theories juiced by algorithms, we can no longer turn a blind eye to a theory of technology that says all engagement is good engagement — the longer the better — and all with the goal of collecting as much data as possible. It is long past time to stop pretending that this approach doesn’t come with a cost — of polarization, of lost trust and, yes, of violence”
Tim Cook

What the three massive deadbeats do is make a small handful of individuals and shareholders very rich. Fortunately, the issues with these business models are finally being questioned. But this is only the beginning.

The unthinkable is now at least possible to imagine: a world where Facebook does not have unlimited power to take, and profit from, our data

Once a real understanding of the degree of inferiority of these models, when measured by the costs vs. the benefit to humanity itself, becomes clearer, the government regulation and involuntary changes forced by the market will begin and quickly accelerate.

It is the combination of the lack of substance or concrete contribution by firms with a predatory business model casing the harm, in ways that are partially invisible, up until now, and make them so dangerous.

The danger is social, political, and in then end affects our economy and the lives of nearly every person who uses the services of those companies. Which is very nearly the entire population.

The economic damage that is being caused by the business models invented by these companies is, much like global warning, so massive that it threatens the entire planet, but the lack of attention we are giving it is based on ignorance of the magnitude of the danger.

Apple and Tim Cook’s perspective is extremely important and key to lighting a spark to ignite fires that will burn away that ignorance. The “big-tech” world that Apple, led by Steve Jobs, had a huge hand in creating, desperately needs a shake up and it needs to start now. This has nothing to do with a handful of huge companies fighting over control of the internet – it’s not about one winning, it’s about further damage being stopped, and a new, better internet being allowed to emerge.

Now, Tim Cook and Apple are beginning a long battle to make that happen on behalf of all of us.

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Observation, Stock Market

Opinion: With Trump in the Rear-view we are shifting to the Economy, Corona and Climate

January 18, 2021 Danny Leeds

The wheels are already spinning towards new challenges brought on by Trump’s actions

With so many challenges facing the US and, in many ways the entire world, even as the bizarre political drama recedes, it may be hard to find even a moment of neutral footing before the next crisis phase begins.

In fact it is in the most “positive” areas, endlessly touted as a triumph, where the first fireworks could be set off. Although many believe that the stock market is in a bubble phase, as extreme if not more extreme than either the “dot-com crash” of 2000 or the real estate collapse on 2008, this is truly the first time a bubble was inflated during a time when a triple threat – political, medical and climate emergencies, was in various phases of unfolding at the same time.

But it’s the forth “leg”, the lone bright spot as it has seems, that could carry a very big danger. With the pandemic still not showing any signs of abating, although there are vaccines being distributed, and the political madness of 2020 looking to begin to fade (at least partially), it is the possibility that the stock market bubble finding it’s “pin” that could trigger the next challenge to Biden and the country as a whole.

Perhaps the various stimulus funds being planned for dissemination can postpone any reckoning for at least a few months, but if that is not the case the situation could become extremely dangerous very quickly.

How the current stock market climate compares to 1999 and 2007

Looking back at the history of both of those bubble-crash cycles there are some notable differences. But there are far more similarities. All the various sentiment metrics and herding behaviors are present in forms, just as extreme, potentially more so.

The actual peak may be in the future, as SPAC entities are joining with traditional VCs to ride the avalanche of FED funds flooding into the money supply.

As was the case in 1999 there’s a momentum – a reflexivity as George Soros termed it, that begins as a smooth wave and eventually a tsunami of self-perpetuating belief in the absurd.

That moment could already have come and gone, it’s only in retrospect that the over-heated irrational exuberance becomes obvious to all. Perhaps the folly of WeWork will be the pastor child, or perhaps something that is just now happening.

Once the tsunami hits the shore, however, it will make landfall on an already devastated geography. After four years of corruption and devastating lock-downs (underplayed just enough to extend the misery) and so many challenges and messes to clean up, there will be a shock to the financial system that is unlike anything seen in 2000 and 2008.

A trillion plus dollar bail out after several (three?) have already been set in motion for other rescues and attempts to reinvigorate the economy, will be a hard and dangerous method to use, although it “worked” in the first two bubble-crash scenarios.

The big picture may look endless grim but the hope is in the change

Without a doubt the one thing that would like arise from such a nightmare scenario, similarly to the pandemic and the climate crisis, is that deep and irreversible change on a massive scale will be needed to begin a new phase of recovery.

Just as there’s a “bottoming out” that has to happen when a person finally confronts addictions and other self-destructive behaviors, humankind as a whole will be forced to make severe and lasting changes in order to overcome what will seem like an escalation of woe, at precisely the moment that a happy, sunny return to “normal” is anticipated

While all of this sounds dire, there are few today, who are paying attention, who would not say that massive change is needed. In politics, in business, in the economy, in healthcare and, of yes, in our response to existence level threats such as the climate crisis, we need, more than anything else to change.

Perhaps a downturn in a fantasy filled stock market bubble is just the pin prick that we need to wash away the negative trends of the past and begin from a new perspective that recognizes just how different our organizing principals need to be, as a species, in order to not only survive, but to do so in abundance.

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Breaking News, Politics

Trump Headlines Explode Faster than Anyone can Absorb

January 12, 2021 Eric Cho

The sheer volume of actual news, and the various perspectives is daunting and exhausting

Since the most recent phase of the post election chaos, created by Trump and his absurd and unhinged rejection of the reality that he lost to President-elect Joe Biden, reached crisis status due to the terrorist mob attacking the U.S. Capitol, the development of the various threads of the story have exploded exponentially.

With various legal cases and developments in the search for accountability, for numerous individuals including Trump himself, and with his ongoing defiance of his own guilt and the fate that awaits him, it feels like there are bombshell headlines nearly every hour.

In addition to all of those serious and important threads are the reactions of the famous and the infamous, some trying to deflect or obfuscate, even to make light of the carnage, and the outrageous nature of the crimes. Others are grappling to give voice to the outrage that the vast majority feel, on many different levels at what has happened, and what continues to happen. Most of all: what might happen next.

Below are various headlines from the last 24 hours, some of which encapsulate the horror and the confusion, as well as the attempts to find clarity in this massive, ongoing and developing story:

”GOP Rep. Peter Meijer says he is ‘considering’ Trump impeachment after Capitol riot”
-USA Today

“Jim Jordan repeatedly refuses to say Biden fairly won election”
-CNN

”New terror threat points to plot to surround Capitol, lawmaker says”
— CNN

”Trump Threatens Violence If He’s Impeached for Inciting Violence”
-New York Magazine

”Analysis: The bonkers Republican logic on why Trump shouldn’t be impeached”
-CNN

”Deutsche Bank won’t do any more business with Trump”
-CNN

“Pro-Trump Attorney Lin Wood Not of ‘Sufficient Character’ to Practice Law, Decides Judge”
-Newsweek

”Was the Capitol Attack a Last Gasp of MAGA Violence or the Beginning?”
-Vanity Fair

”Texas officials worry Trump’s trip could turn violent”
-Politico

”There Will Be No ‘Unity’ Until Republicans Give Up Voter-Suppression as a National Policy”
-Esquire

”Don Lemon: Trump ‘the biggest snowflake of them all”
— The Grio

”Trump Expresses No Contrition for Inciting the Capitol Mob.”
-The New York Times

”Democrats have a new tool to undo Trump’s ‘midnight rule-making.’ But there’s a catch.”
-NBC News

“Facebook Removes ‘Stop The Steal’ Content; Twitter Suspends QAnon Accounts”
-NPR

“Extremists move to secret online channels to plan for Inauguration Day in D.C.”
-NBC News

”How to stop an Insurrection Caucus: These reforms could reduce GOP extremism and save our democracy”
-Salon

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Observation, Politics

Observation: Forget the Alamo: Trump is still trying to incite an Insurrection

January 12, 2021 Danny Leeds

Using a location that conjures a war reference about remembering a slaughter is already a veiled message to extremists

Faced with a world without his Twitter account Trump appears to be reaching out to symbolism and and tacit messaging to continue to try and build anger and foment a civil war.

Texas officials were quoted as saying that they oppose Trump’s visit outright, citing the possibility that he would be citing more violence and that maskless fans could create a coronavirus surge, as has happened in relation to other Trump events.

By choosing Alamo, TX, “coincidentally”, for some kind of news conference, vaguely related to his unfinished and disastrous border wall, he is likely sending a message to the most violent and most extreme of his “army” of followers across the nation.

The Battle of the Alamo, which took place at the Alamo Mission (no where near Alamo, TX), a former Spanish religious outpost which had been converted to a makeshift fort, is a historic symbol of Texans’ resistance and their struggle for independence. The battle cry of “remember the Alamo” first became popular during the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848.

There is no sign that Trump is trying to reduce the potential for violence, more likely it’s the opposite

Already many of those that engaged in a terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol have stated openly, either in interviews or in social media posts, that they believe that politicians not named Trump, regardless if they are Republican like Pence (who that were intent on hanging from gallows in sight of the Capitol Steps) or Democrat (“Put a bullet into Nancy Pelosi’s Head” was a threat from one individual) should be murdered.

Further, they say that they will never stop or give up “because this is like 1776”. Apparently, Trump would like to add “Remember the Alamo” to this brain-worm controlled thought process. Interestingly, since Trump began his run for president stating that “Mexicans are Rapists”, using a symbol from the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848 has a kind of dual purpose – Mexicans are the enemy in his book, apparently, and so is the U.S. government.

Buried somehow in these references is the idea that somehow the “Patriots” in his “army” were “oppressed” by the U.S. Government (which he is the current “leader” of) and Mexico (by the racist belief that people are a threat simply due to their race & heritage) and they must therefore fight back and get revenge.

This kind of convoluted circular logic is typical of the propaganda that has, amazingly, led to thousands of radicalized Trump followers looking for blood and wishing for a second civil war. Since this brainwashing is not a simple thing to reverse, once various “Big Lies” are accepted as truth, the situation has the potential to get much worse before it gets better.

“Remember the Alamo” is literally a battle cry that means it is time to fight back. Trump is not likely staging his circus at that location by chance. Should the press and the 84+ million Americans that do not want Trump as a dictator stand up to this insanity? Should the press take off the kid gloves and clearly state what this subterfuge os clearly all about?

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Breaking News, Observation, Politics

Trump is Permanently Banned from Twitter

January 8, 2021 Eric Cho

After close review of recent tweets

This is a breaking news story

Suffice it to say for the moment: He deserved it and it’s about time. The fact that his account was re-activated after a short pause was a strange choice by the platform. At least they made the right one in the end. Here’s the official tweet

https://twitter.com/TwitterSafety/status/1347684878574366721?s=20

https://twitter.com/TwitterSafety/status/1347684880403066881?s=20

DO YOU HAVE A TWITTER ACCOUNT I CAN BORROW pic.twitter.com/ASIr6n2LkT
— weeniehead (@essbeeay) January 8, 2021

https://twitter.com/CrypticNotAlone/status/1347686710877057031?s=20

Below the full text from the official Twitter bog explaining, in detail the action taken and why:

After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.

In the context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this very course of action. Our public interest framework exists to enable the public to hear from elected officials and world leaders directly. It is built on a principle that the people have a right to hold power to account in the open.

However, we made it clear going back years that these accounts are not above our rules entirely and cannot use Twitter to incite violence, among other things. We will continue to be transparent around our policies and their enforcement.

The below is a comprehensive analysis of our policy enforcement approach in this case.

Overview

On January 8, 2021, President Donald J. Trump tweeted:

“The 75,000,000 great American Patriots who voted for me, AMERICA FIRST, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, will have a GIANT VOICE long into the future. They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!”

Shortly thereafter, the President tweeted:

“To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th.”

Due to the ongoing tensions in the United States, and an uptick in the global conversation in regards to the people who violently stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, these two Tweets must be read in the context of broader events in the country and the ways in which the President’s statements can be mobilized by different audiences, including to incite violence, as well as in the context of the pattern of behavior from this account in recent weeks. After assessing the language in these Tweets against our Glorification of Violence policy, we have determined that these Tweets are in violation of the Glorification of Violence Policy and the user @realDonaldTrump should be immediately permanently suspended from the service.

Assessment

We assessed the two Tweets referenced above under our Glorification of Violence policy, which aims to prevent the glorification of violence that could inspire others to replicate violent acts and determined that they were highly likely to encourage and inspire people to replicate the criminal acts that took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

This determination is based on a number of factors, including:

President Trump’s statement that he will not be attending the Inauguration is being received by a number of his supporters as further confirmation that the election was not legitimate and is seen as him disavowing his previous claim made via two Tweets (1, 2) by his Deputy Chief of Staff, Dan Scavino, that there would be an “orderly transition” on January 20th.
The second Tweet may also serve as encouragement to those potentially considering violent acts that the Inauguration would be a “safe” target, as he will not be attending.
The use of the words “American Patriots” to describe some of his supporters is also being interpreted as support for those committing violent acts at the US Capitol.
The mention of his supporters having a “GIANT VOICE long into the future” and that “They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!” is being interpreted as further indication that President Trump does not plan to facilitate an “orderly transition” and instead that he plans to continue to support, empower, and shield those who believe he won the election.
Plans for future armed protests have already begun proliferating on and off-Twitter, including a proposed secondary attack on the US Capitol and state capitol buildings on January 17, 2021.

As such, our determination is that the two Tweets above are likely to inspire others to replicate the violent acts that took place on January 6, 2021, and that there are multiple indicators that they are being received and understood as encouragement to do so.

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Apple, Apple Car, Books, Breaking News

Apple Car Confirmed: talks with Potential MFG Partners including Hyundai underway

January 7, 2021 Danny Leeds

Following leaks and rumors, a more definitive statement from Hyundai

In December 2020, a Reuters story cited sources with knowledge of the project to confirm the existence of the long rumored “Project Titan” otherwise known as the “Apple Car”. Now, based on a statement from a Hyundai spokesperson, “AppleCar” is moving forward in the form of discussions with potential manufacturing partners.

Hyundai also confirmed to CNBC that discussions with Apple has begun, but added the caveat that they “understand that Apple is in discussion with a variety of global automakers, including Hyundai Motor. As the discussion is at its early stage, nothing has been decided.”

This hesitation could stem from the possibility that the initial statement may have been interpreted as hinting that an agreement could be imminent, sending Hyundai’s stock 23% higher. The surge in the price followed a report by the Korea Economic Daily which had implied that Apple suggested the tie-up and Hyundai Motor was reviewing terms.

Apple doing what Apple does

Even after the Reuters report in December, many were still skeptical, and today the time frames being discussed are very conservative mentioned a 7 year time horizon, even while the Reuters report mentioned at least the possibility, however remote, that 2024 could see an actual release onto the consumer market.

It is historically established that Apple often enters established markets for specific products and, in may cases, makes a ultra high quality, uniquely “Apple” version. EVs are now firmly established as the future of individual sustainable transport, but with Tesla having set the quality and popularity bar as high as it has, Apple will have a challenge ahead of it to produce a likely self-driving fully realized electric vehicle to match the state of the art in 2024 and beyond.

At CES 2020 Hyundai unveiled new technologies they already have in development, such as EVs, driverless and even flying cars.

The fact that Tesla founder Elon Musk is now the richest man in the world, after removing that title from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is not a factor in the “race” to build the best software and hardware for the future of EVs, but is an added dramatic fact that serves as a backdrop to the intrigue.

And hey, wow, imaging having a variety of non-polluting, sustainable energy vehicles to choose from by the worlds top manufacturers and with Apple and Tesla battling it out at the high end to provide the best and most desirable.

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Politics, Tech

Finally: Shopify, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram freeze Trump accounts

January 7, 2021 Wiley Simms

Above: Photo Collage / Lynxotic / Adobe Stock

The day after it would have helped, better late than never

After more than four years of tyrannical abuse of social media and the eCommerce hawking of propaganda trinkets, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and even Shopify have put blocks on Trump accounts.

Particularly in the case of Facebook, the timing is somewhat unsatisfying. Facebook, as many can recall, has supported Trump “fake” and misleading advertising since before the 2016 election. Those ads were, according to many, a very big reason that he was elected at all. This was a huge mistake of history, one might say, and the mistake started at Facebook.

Naturally, being “arbiter of the truth” or not, is an entirely different issue, because it is the warlord-like raking-in of millions upon millions, if not billions of dollars, by blindly allowing lies, hate, racism and worse be propagated as political advertising, that has been the clear “wrong” that Facebook allowed and profited from.

So, it’s ,at least somehow, a belated comfort that, at least for the moment, ads fomenting violent overthrow of the imaginary “deep state” or sales of MAGA hats that finance said ads, are no longer running in tandem like some kind of dystopian fascist nightmare machine.

At least the media, much of the government and now a lot of big tech and social media are united in one simple thought: Trump is simply a criminal and aiding him in any way make you and your company one also. So, yes, shut it down, now.

Shopify

Shopify, the multinational e-commerce company that hosted shops that relate to Trump’s campaign products as well as Trump’s personal brand have both been taken down. Those who attempt to go to TrumpStore.com or shop.donaldjtrump.com, known for selling the official Trump MAGA merchandise will be meet with error messages as the sites were taken down Thursday morning.

A spokesperson for the company released the following statement following the terminated stores affiliated with Trump:

“Shopify does not tolerate actions that incite violence. Based on recent events, we have determined that the actions by President Donald J. Trump violate our Acceptable Use Policy, which prohibits promotion or support of organizations, platforms or people that threaten or condone violence to further a cause,”
-Spokesperson for shopify

Twitter

https://twitter.com/TwitterSafety/status/1346970431039934464?s=20

Twitter also added that “Future violations of the Twitter Rules, including our Civic Integrity or Violent Threats policies, will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account.”

Trump has since deleted the three tweets that led to the temporary suspension of his account. Trump’s account will remain locked for an additional 12 hours after the deletion. It is not clear the exact timing of when the tweets were deleted and when Trump will be allowed to post again, he has yet to tweet. According to CNBC, the lock could be removed around 3 p.m. ET.

Facebook

Trump’s official Facebook and Instagram accounts have both been locked due to policy violations. Facebook Newsroom released a statement via Twitter starting on January 6 at 8:36 p.m. ET, stating that Trump’s account would be blocked for 24 hours. On January 7th, they updated its statement to explain the extent of the block would be “indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete.”

CEO and founder, Mark Zuckerberg also released his own statement on the matter:

“The shocking events of the last 24 hours clearly demonstrate that President Donald Trump intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden.

His decision to use his platform to condone rather than condemn the actions of his supporters at the Capitol building has rightly disturbed people in the US and around the world. We removed these statements yesterday because we judged that their effect — and likely their intent — would be to provoke further violence.

Following the certification of the election results by Congress, the priority for the whole country must now be to ensure that the remaining 13 days and the days after inauguration pass peacefully and in accordance with established democratic norms.

Over the last several years, we have allowed President Trump to use our platform consistent with our own rules, at times removing content or labeling his posts when they violate our policies. We did this because we believe that the public has a right to the broadest possible access to political speech, even controversial speech. But the current context is now fundamentally different, involving use of our platform to incite violent insurrection against a democratically elected government.

We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great. Therefore, we are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete.”

We believe the risks of allowing President Trump to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great, so we are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks. pic.twitter.com/JkyGOTYB1Z
— Meta Newsroom (@MetaNewsroom) January 7, 2021

Instagram

Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri also took to Twitter to confirm that Trump’s account for the platform had also been placed on a hold.

We are locking President Trump’s Instagram account for 24 hours as well. https://t.co/HpA79eSbMe
— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) January 7, 2021

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Movies, Observation, Politics

Capitol Chaos: Check out the ‘Flag of Treason’ Video by Lincoln Project

Video January 6, 2021 Madison Santel

A reminder from the Lincoln Project about what that flag stands for.

A fitting and well made documentation of just what is symbolized by this flag and an implication of the horror of seeing it defiantly waved inside and around the capitol after a violent riot on behalf of Trump.

To those flying the #FlagOfTreason today … this is for you:https://t.co/wc0VxVOrxA
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) January 6, 2021

A sad day in many ways, but the condemnation that it deserves is the appropriate next step. This has, thankfully begun.

https://twitter.com/reuterspictures/status/1346911370814504960?s=20

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Apple, Business, iPhone, Mac, OS Software, Tech

Apple Innovation in 2021 and Beyond

Video January 4, 2021 Danny Leeds

Apple had a big year – but how big will first become apparent in 2021…

By now, it is not unexpected for the latest iteration of the iPhone, iPhone 12 in this case, to do well and even best the competition across the board in any given year. While it is nearly an automatic ritual that doubt will be cast, and the demise or at least diminution of the iPhone and Apple are predicted, nearly every year the opposite in the case.

This year was different. There was plenty of doubt – but the surprise announcement of the M series of chips for mac and the even more surprising benchmarks and performance improvements pretty much obliterated the doubters.

Not only that, but a layer beneath that headline news was a secondary layer of innovation and areas where long planned improvements came to fruition.

The first steps into a massive multi-year system software transition, one that will eventually merge the mobile operating systems of the iPhone, iPad, Apple watch, etc with the mac, moved seemingly ahead of schedule, with the huge improvements in iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur.

And all the various services such as Apple TV+ and many other offerings made huge strides as well.

As a matter of fact, a list of all the upgrades, added features and new services and products would be so long and varied that the transcription is beyond the reach of a simple article such as this one.

However, that alone is not where some of the biggest changes and most surprising evolutions have occurred. The real “action” so to speak is in the integration and unexpected by-products of the merging and deepening of all the new features and settings.

Take for example the macs that feature the M1 chip. It is not the chip itself, not even the new operating system that has the most impact on the performance or usability of the machines.

It is the integrated functionality of the various elements of the chips – Apple M1, the first ARM-based system on a chip – composed of several different components including the CPU, GPU, unified memory architecture (RAM), Neural Engine, Secure Enclave, SSD controller, image signal processor, encode/decode engines, Thunderbolt controller with USB 4 support, all of which are made more powerful by the continuously upgraded software system.

This – a kind of invisible interactive and synergistic ecosystem – not only has at it’s heart the “whole widget” philosophy legacy of Steve Jobs, but also a new and insanely futuristic definition of “whole” which now includes these proprietary Apple chips (CPU, GPU, NE), plus A.I. / machine learning and system core operating as one continuously evolving and reinforcing “unit”.

The future is already here, we just don’t see it like fish, maybe, never heard of a thing called water…

This new concept of the constantly increasing potential advancement in efficiency and power is not only the new standard basis for what constitutes computing technology at Apple, but will emerge as the ultimate re-definition of what “power” in computing means at all.

Similar to the internet – where the evolution and development is at stone age levels compared to where it will (and must) eventually reach in decades and even centuries, computing (or “personal” computing as it was dubbed in the last century) is also in very early and very primitive stages of evolution and this next step represents an early beginning, not a destination or accomplishment of a goal.

Even Apple has stated that the initial transition of a unified operating system shared by mobile and desktop / laptop devices, iOS / macOS, will be years still in development and implementation.

Meaning, in 2024 we may see the first real life trails and dissemination of a new kind of computing system, and, more importantly, computer assisted communicating, made possible by the complete integration of these hardware, software and A.I. advances.

Just in time, because the threats of global warming, pandemics, political upheaval and economic disaster need, more than anything, enhanced learning and communication that can be aided, we must fervently hope, by improved digital tools. A better bicycle, so to speak.

Fortunately, Apple has our back on this. And in 2021 more, much more will be revealed, if 2020 was any hint, of an exciting future not just for technology, but for the creative uses of it for the betterment of humankind.

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Breaking News, Lifestyle, Observation, Politics

Trump’s Mystery Companion Revealed

Video January 1, 2021 Kat Lee

https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1341929186869567488/pu/vid/1280x720/mCM28xQPJ7GbBJ5M.mp4?tag=10

According to White House insiders, using a double is a known technique, used since at least 2017

In a soon to be moot “conspiracy” theory that has gone on since around 2017, both evidence and speculation has pointed to a body-double replacing Melania at various times when “Melania” is seen next to her husband.

Original on FB: Trump’s Charade Exposed

Since Trump’s loss to Biden in November, it seems that the effort in trying to hide the subterfuge has been lacking, and many photos of the double have surfaced, particularly during Trump’s recent trip to his resort residence in Florida.

This post is an updated and expanded version of our recently published story: Trump Travels with Mystery Double: zero mention in media, which compiled some of the many instances of photographic evidence (some seen again herein), mostly published originally on twitter accounts. As we pointed out in the original article, the fact that the press continued to caption and refer to these charades as “President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump…” is, in and of itself, an additional strange feature of the phenomenon.

Thanks to a tip from a reader’s comment to the original piece, it does appear, at least to the eyes in the Lynxotic Newsroom, that the double is, in actuality, Melania’s sister, Ines Knauss, seen below. Two years older than her sister, at 52, Ines differs from Melania in the cut of her nose and lips, though they are very similar. This may also be due to a lack of surgical enhancement, which can be seen by comparing older and more recent photos of Melania.

Melania’s “squinting cat eyes” which may also benefit from artificial enhancement, are typically not an issue for the double since huge very dark sunglasses are usually employed to make any direct eye-to-eye comparison impossible.

Melania’s doppelgänger, based on a tip from a reader, is likely her sister: Ines Knauss

Anthony Scaramucci, former White House Communications Director, once appeared on Have You Been Paying Attention?, an Australian game show, and was apparently able to confirm that the First Lady, in fact, does have body double.

“You know Michael Cohen, the President’s lawyer, insists that there is a body double and insists that actually her sister sometimes replaces her on the campaign trail,” he told viewers.
Anthony Scaramucci, former White House Communications Director, once appeared on Have You Been Paying Attention?, an Australian game show

Scaramucci went on, adding “Usually when you see somebody more affectionate with Mr. Trump,” referring to Melania’s body-double. “Let me put it to you this way, when he loses [the election] on Tuesday, I’m going to be a happy camper, but nobody is going to be happier than Melania.”

📷 M in Milano Italy #FBF 1992
Posted by Ines Knauss on Friday, 24 June 2016

Clearly, looking at these photos and tweets it’s crazy obvious that an entirely different person than Melania is standing next to Trump, holding has hand (enthusiastically, no less) and smiling, waving and then chatting with him in ways completely out of character compared to the typical behavior of FLOTUS herself.

art of gossip #courtesy of #artist ines knauss pic.twitter.com/SnsQIJ1bWC
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) August 6, 2014

Even more odd are the ubiquitous captions stating that the photos are of “President Donald Trump standing next to First Lady Melania Trump” when that is so obviously not the case. In the first wave of fake Melania sightings, folks on Twitter began a guessing game and many felt that it was an established probability, if not a fact, that the real Melania was M.I.A. and a body double had been hired to take her place.

#FakeMelania strikes again! pic.twitter.com/j7wfZsK96N
— ☮️ What's So Radical… (@upton1144) December 25, 2020

At this point the resemblance is so far off and the various features, hair color, nose, lips, breasts half the size, the whole lack of corresponding features is so incredibly, blatantly, visible that it is a form of unintentional fraud for news outlets, large and capable ones such as CNN, Wapo and more, to be playing along with the ruse.

Which Melania body double was most convincing? #FakeMelania pic.twitter.com/oOCCRKsbdQ
— Andrew Kimmel (@andrewkimmel) October 25, 2020

This is the kind of omission of ‘news’ that is mind boggling; only Twitter cares?

Some still seem to believe that Melania changed her body, face, hair and so forth and others, apparently, just want to play along and accept the non-explanation from Trump as the automatic truth; as if he is saying, “it’s all fine here, my wife is definitely not avoiding me or refusing to been seen with me in public together…”

Others on Twitter are mentioning the fact that they both seemed to have abandoned Barron Trump, who is usually seen next to Melania, and whom, presumably she would not leave behind during Christmas break in Florida. Some, as is to be expected on Twitter, poked fun at Trump’s complaints about FLOTUS not getting magazine cover shoots and adds the twist of the mystery double for good measure…

Apparently Vogue has offered to feature @FLOTUS in a cover shoot, but only if it's Fake Melania.#FakeTrumps pic.twitter.com/qgueBFAj1I
— Jack Hennessy (@JackHennesanity) December 26, 2020

And, of course, many are reveling in the observation that the “real” Melania would not be so cheerful, and definitely not be seen enthusiastically squeezing Donald’s hand and chatting with him so willingly and attentively. There have been so any memes of her pulling away and smiling “fakely” only to suddenly frown when she thinks that the cameras are not focused on her, and have been shared over the last weeks and months, that it’s impossible to take any of this seriously.

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Apple, Branding, Breaking News, Business, Observation, Tech

Facebook vs. Apple vs. Google vs. U.S. Gov: War of Giants is at Hand

December 20, 2020 Danny Leeds

The battle is getting very public and will get louder and nastier

The full page newspaper ads taken out by Facebook, where they proclaim themselves the champion of small business and attack Apple directly are interesting and curious on many levels.

It will take a series of articles to attempt to untangle the confusions and endless, often intentionally fostered, misconceptions that will most certainly arise in this battle of titans.

At the heart of the matter is, however, the largest misconception humanly possible, the idea that these monstrously huge companies, and how they operate, are anything at all related to “normal”.

The fact that all of us have seen the role of the internet in general increase over the last 20+ years, and have therefore had to deal with, and in some cases, go through and cooperate with these behemoths, may be the status quo that has developed, particularly in the last decade, but it is without precedent on many levels.

The size, power and influence is beyond comprehension and this clouds every issue

Before even beginning to contrast one giant against another one must first confront the very existence of entities of this magnitude. It’s fair to say that never in history has such a tiny group of companies, and by extension, individual humans, controlled so much of the economy and so much of that impacts the society and our experiences.

This chart is not current. If it were the disparity would be far larger and even more astounding:

This information, for a human, is so out of whack that you would have to stare at this chart for days before it could even sink in. And, as it it only a chart of size, built on company market capitalization, the power and influence, which represents and ever larger disparity, is not represented.

The dominance overall is so extreme as to be humanly incomprehensible. And by all measures the disparity between the big tech firms and “everybody else” grows literally by the second.

If you are afraid of A.I., you’re too late, the world is already controlled by computers and software via these companies

Facebook is probably the best example to illustrate the problem of market power and dominance on a level that is so far beyond traditional methods of measurement that even government antitrust investigations are barely able to begin to access the potential violations.

“The questions below might seem odd, or even absurd. But what is really absurd is that they are, for the most part, never asked. “
— D.L.

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The questions below might seem odd, or even absurd. But what is really absurd is that they are, for the most part, never asked. Since the iPhone and later Samsung / Android revolutionized information and photo sharing, it has been accepted as a simple reality that Facebook controls nearly all the “social networking” that is done with that data. Why?

What is Facebook? Most would say they are a “social media company” but that can mean anything you want it to mean. They claim they are in the business of “connecting people” yet they derive massive wealth and profit from advertising, and “monetizing” their network, the largest network of “social users”, by far.

And if they are interested in connecting people, then what do those people own of the network that they themselves comprise? That would be nothing.

What say do they have in how they are used to “monetize” the network that they literally “are”? None.

What trust do they have to surrender to the company, which includes Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and more (all controlled 100% by a guy named Zuckerberg)? 100%

“What ‘say’ do they have in how they are used to “monetize” the network that they literally ‘are’? None.”
— D.L.

Who authorized Facebook (or Google) to amass vast databanks of private personal information from a huge chunk of the world’s population, and use that data to amass fortunes of unheard of size using secret proprietary algorithms that they have zero requirement to disclose? Well, technically, users, inadvertently and without understanding, did. Otherwise: No-one.

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Well, technically all of this was “allowed” via Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, passed in 1996, and states that an “interactive computer service” can’t be treated as the publisher or speaker of third-party content. This, effectively, protects websites and “platforms” such as Facebook, from lawsuits in the case that a “user” posts something illegal. There are exceptions, for example, for copyright violations, sex work-related material, and violations of federal criminal law.

This fact does not remove responsibility for building a system that gives massive financial benefit to Facebook, Google, etc and very little, in reality, by way of return or influence to the “user”.

It’s as if a man figured out a way to use mental-telepathy to rob banks and could never be caught or prosecuted due to the fact that no one had ever robbed a bank that way before. And then he claimed that he should be allowed to continue doing it forever, with impunity.

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What would Facebook and Zuckerberg have if the billions of “users” stopped using its network? Nothing.

How little sense this makes just goes on and on. There could be 100s of pages of similar questions and answers and the end result would be a slightly better understanding of the absurdity of the very existence of such a “service” or company or whatever this is.

Why absurd? In a nutshell, Facebook controls private networks that exist “inside” a more public network called, for lack of a better term, “the internet”. And, because of what could be termed a mistake of history they represent a dominant, near monopoly, in the “space” which in this case is currently called “social networks”.

The dominance and the definition of monopoly can be argued endlessly (and likely will be in the coming antitrust cases) but, in the end, the numbers don’t lie. Only one person benefits, in direct payments of trillions of dollars, from a near monopoly in social networks. The billions of people, the very people who are the network, do not.

A bleak analysis, perhaps, but is there any light at the end of this tunnel?

The current increase in antitrust cases, both in the US and Europe, is a canary-in the-coal-mine moment and the wars over all the arising issues has begun and will go on for years.

The fact that Facebook is heavily advertising that they are the “good guy” while Amazon and Google do the same, is both ridiculous and sad, since “good guys” don’t have to buy ads to draw attention to that fact.

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And the fact that these companies have already started, both in word and deed, to attack each other directly, is an indication of just how serious and all pervasive these mega-wars will be. This is just the beginning.

While none of the companies depicted on the chart above can be said to be without blame for the world of injustice and malfunction that is the internet, and by extension, our world, there is one company that stands apart from the others in so many ways and for so many reasons that they, amazingly, represent some hope within the madness.

And, not coincidently, they are the one that is already being attacked, in print and software, as the wars begin: Apple.

How Apple actually represents hope to clean up the tech universe that, arguably, they are most responsible for having created, is likely a hard sell with those that want to lump all these huge companies together. Because, after all, they are all huge.

However, nothing could be further from the truth. More on this and other burning questions in our next episode, so stay tuned.

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Apple, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Movies

New Apple TV+ Series: Jared Leto in talks to play the ex-CEO of WeWork

December 18, 2020 Wiley Simms

Series of Silicon Valley cautionary tale in development

Jared Leto could be returning to a TV screen near you. It has been well over 20 years since the show “My So-Called Life” that the actor has starred in any small screen episodic. This news come with reports that writer and producer Lee Eisenberg and studio exec Drew Crevello are developing a series for Apple TV+ based on the infamous workspace rental startup company ‘WeWork’.

The series concept is inspired by the 6 part podcast called “WeCrashed: The Rise and Fall of WeWork”. If Oscar winner Leto signs on to the TV show, he would be cast as the former boss of WeWork, Adam Neumann.

Neumann, who served as CEO for the company from 2010 to 2019 and later resigned. According to reports at the time, his “eccentric behavior” was one of the main reasons he was pressured to step down.

Leto, who is known for choosing equally eccentric and challenging characters, including his work in “Suicide Squad”, “American Psycho” and “Dallas Buyers Club”, could likely more than fit the bill to play Neumann.

Prior to WeWork’s collapse, it had an estimated value of $47 billion. The series has been in development since February with Leto currently in negotiations, with additional information to come in the future.

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