💣💣💣
He’s gaslighting us. We’re possibly heading for a recession in the US. China’s real estate market is jacked, Japan and the UK are in a recession. As tied up as our economies are, it would be expected. The one thing I, as someone that is in no way an expert on economics, think could save us is the major economic legislation headed by Biden that has been recently. Actually, I would expect the legislation to solely reduce the impact of a recession.
Here’s the text that I got on my desktop:
The Impact of Corporate Trolls on Reddit: A Growing Problem The rise of social media has brought about a new battleground for the spread of misinformation, manipulation of public opinion, and promotion of products and services. Reddit, one of the most popular social media platforms, has not been immune to this phenomenon.
Two significant studies, the Pew Research Center study conducted in 2018 and the Computers in Human Behavior study published in 2020, have shed light on the prevalence and impact of corporate trolls on Reddit.
Pew Research Center Study: Unveiling the Reach of Corporate Trolls The Pew Research Center study, conducted in 2018, delved into the experiences of 2,505 adult Americans who use Reddit.
The findings were alarming, revealing that a considerable portion of Reddit users had directly encountered the influence of corporate trolls.
The study found that 11% of the respondents had been contacted by a bot or troll attempting to promote a product or service. Even more concerning was the discovery that 13% of the respondents had witnessed a company manipulate public opinion on the platform.
The study’s demographic analysis further highlighted the targeted nature of corporate trolling. Younger users, particularly those aged 18–29, were significantly more likely to be contacted by corporate trolls, with 17% of them reporting such experiences, compared to only 7% of users aged 65 and over. This age-based discrepancy underscores the strategic approach of corporate trolls in engaging with a demographic that is often more susceptible to their influence.
I went to the Ford site to look into their EVs earlier this week. Their site on EV info is so disorganized and unhelpful. Trying to figure out how much charging would cost and the logistics of long-distance travel is way too confusing. They’re even messing it up with a subscription plan to their in-network chargers.
I suspect this is part of the reason people aren’t buying Ford EVs. Buying a car from a dealership is already too antagonized because we all know they’re trying to rip us off. To try to balance it out, shoppers try to gain as much knowledge on the car so they know what they’re agreeing to. However, when the car comes with all this new technology that changes the way we maintain them, and available info is scattered, indirect, unclear, and potentially costs even more, that will push away people that don’t want to deal with it.
Voices of the Voiceless by Lowkey & Immortal Technique (NSFW)
Guerra/War by Residente
English translation of lyrics:
[Invocatory Prayer] Heavenly King, comforter, spirit of truth, you are everywhere filling everything, treasure of goods and giver of life: come to dwell in us, purify us from all stain and save, you who are good, our souls
I see you and my anger touches you; When I scream without using my mouth; And my fury eats up people; Because it bites, even thought it has no teeth;
Pain causes me no trouble; Today the pains will recite poems; I eat the world without a plate; The fear cleans my shoes.
I melted fire; Today the nightmares do not sleep because the think about me; Today I can see what the other one did not see; And I make them pray though they do not believe in God.
Today the tears cry before dying; And I make the history books take note; Let Earth’s legs start shaking; Today I came to win and I’m made of war.
(Made of war); (And I’m made of war); (And I’m made of war); (And I’m made of war); (I make them pray).
I’m the hole that was left, the bomb that was dropped; What fertilized, the mother that gave birth to me; Since I was born I’m part of the menu; Because I reached the ovum before you.
I’m the jungle that runs barefoot; In the middle of the sea I survive without raft; I’m the caudal that moves the current; The battalions that clash head to head.
My rivals, let them come two by two; Today not even thunder raise their voices at me; I’m your defeat, your two broken legs; The nail that penetrated the boot.
I’m the strategy of any combat; Today there is victory or defeat, there is no draw; I’m the sorrow of your happiness; The war at the night and the war during the day.
(The war during the night and the war during the day); (The war during the night and the war during the day); (The war during the night and the war during the day); (The war during the night and the war during the day); (And I make them pray).
I kill the war without shooting it; The war fears hugs; The war wears camouflage; So nobody sees when it gets sad.
The war loses all of it fights; When the enemies listen to each other; War is weaker than it is stronger; It can’t handle life, so it hides behind death.
(And I make them pray); (And I make them pray).
Edit: Warning. These songs and corresponding video can be emotionally intense.
Note: This is a developing story. My response will likely be edited as news comes out and the progression of events becomes clearer.
Last update: 6/26/23 @ 1650 EST
Russia invaded Ukraine in Feb 2022 on what the world overwhelmingly believes are false pretenses. The arguments were that Ukraine was taken over by nazis and that the country was actually supposed to be part of Russia, not sovereign. The world thought it was going to be a quick war, but Ukraine fought really hard with economic, intelligence, and military-equipment support of the West. Russia severely overestimated its military might, particularly its training and logistics. What was expected to be a quick invasion turned into a long war of attrition.
To help with the war, Putin hired a group of mercenaries he had previously helped build into world prominence. This allowed Russia to commit military objectives and behaviors that would otherwise be considered illegal for the Russian government to accomplish. The mercenaries are called the Wagner Group and have been more effective at accomplishing military goals in Ukraine than the regular Russian military. The Wagner Group grew up to ~50k troops, with most leaders being skilled and experienced military veterans while lower-ranks had Russian prisoners fighting for their freedom. This group is known for committing horrible war crimes, and the leader of the group is widely accepted as a terrible person.
The leader of the Wagner Group is called Yevgeny Prigozhin. He has been vocal about the management of the invasion of Ukraine and at odds with Russia’s Ministry of Defense leadership, something that is in part a result of how Putin likes to run Russia: pinning his subordinates against each other. Another tactic that Putin uses is to place relatively powerless people in powerful positions. This make sit hard for the to topple him because they lack elite political connections to do so. Prigozhin was a criminal that started a hot dog street vending business, made a restaurant change out of it, and then became Putin’s chef. The person he assigned to Minister of Defense was a also of “low status” as a person from the countryside and minority ethnicity. In line with his approach, Putin pitted the Minister of Defense (Shoigu) and Prigozhin against each other to prevent military forces from toppling him. This, along with their “low status” history, ensured neither accumulated too much power because if one started getting too powerful, the other would take them down.
Back to the war and recent events, the Ukrainians make a stand at the Ukranian city of Bakhmut. Russia assigns Wagner to take the city. The ferocity of Ukrainian fighters caused Wagner to take heavy loses. During this battle, the Russian military coincidentally did not provide Wagner the supplies they were requesting, leaving them in need while fighting their battle. On at least one occasion, the Russian military promised to give him the supplies, to then not deliver them. Prigozhin, frustrated with the way he and his forces are being treated by the Russian military, trades the city of Bakhmut with Ukrine for intel on the locations of high-ranking Russian military officers. Towards the end of the battle, Russian forces attempted to swoop in and take partial victory for taking the city. Additionally, Prigozhin claims that his forces were purposefully attacked by Russian military, losing several men to the attack. Around or after the battle of Bakhmut in which Wagner loss a lot of men, Putin announced that the remaining Wagner Forces will be absorbed by the Russian military. Prigozhin objects to the deal and insists that he replace the Russian MoD (Shoigu). Putin declines the request, and the following happened within the last week, bit mostly over two days.
The deal:
So, WTH? because this is wild!
Everyone on the world stage is still waiting. This is something that will have severe repercussions for Russia and indirectly Ukraine and the world. It’s like a season finale of Game of Thrones. The big event just happened, and we got left on a cliffhanger. The resolution will likely be played out slowly over the next season, but expect crazy things to continue to happen though not as intense as the build up to a civil war in a nuclear power over 2 days.
The helium makes it float, so they got a guy to rub his spit on the rocket using his finger, but that process takes a long time so we’re just refilling the rocket in the meantime until we find it.