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The woke capitalism of Apple and Amazon makes hypocrites of us all
https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tec...tes-us-all

EXCERPT: . . . Most of us are aware by now of Amazon’s dubious ethical record. In 2016, as part of research for his book Hired, James Bloodworth took a job at an Amazon warehouse in Staffordshire and discovered a “workplace environment in which decency, respect and dignity were absent”, with workers urinating into bottles for fear of being disciplined for taking a toilet break. But then, we tell ourselves as we click the “buy now” button, Amazon is hardly unusual among tech giants.

There is an Apple factory in Zhengzhou, China, that engineers have dubbed “Mordor” because of the high rate of suicide among its workers, while Apple, Nike and Coca-Cola are some of the companies currently lobbying the US Congress to weaken a bill that would ban imported goods made with forced Uighur labour. It is bitterly hypocritical of Tim Cook, the chief executive of Apple, to issue a sanctimonious statement in support of Black Lives Matter, while at the same time his corporation lobbies against a bill that seeks to protect labourers - slaves, really - who are, among much else, being tasked with picking cotton, feeding a Chinese industry that now accounts for 20 per cent of the world’s cotton market.

But then here am I, hypocritical to the bone, condemning these misdeeds while typing on an Apple device. And I have to confess that I did, in the end, buy several Christmas presents from Amazon, as well as buying a couple from the local independent shop. I also sometimes put my money towards (fair trade!) biscuits containing palm oil, or run an errand in my (hybrid!) car when I should really cycle. I was vegan for a few years, and I didn’t give it up for any reason to do with health or money, but rather because I didn’t like being the awkward person who demands a special meal be made for her, and because I missed drinking breakfast tea and couldn’t get used to drinking it black. In other words, all of these moral blunders are a consequence of selfishness and laziness, not malice. But the end result is just the same.

I don’t like the phrase “on the right side of history”, since it arrogantly assumes history has a moral direction. Hilary Mantel expressed this sentiment in her 2017 Reith Lecture: “Each century speaks of the grotesque cruelties of the one that went before - as if cruelty were alien to the present, and we couldn’t own or recognise it. It seems we are doomed to be hypocrites - repulsed by the cruelties of bear-baiting, while polishing off our factory-farmed dinner.”

We can never predict who will turn out to have been “on the right side of history”, since such people are usually not recognised in their own time... (MORE - details)
This is too much. Funny and where the hell is this going to finish?

https://nationalpost.com/opinion/rex-mur...87db9/amp/

Even the idiot’s first name has that dreaded 3 letter word in it. Yep the word ‘woman’ has it too. I thought we were bad but the US is going down some crazy road. I cant see politicians being this dumb so I figure it has to be an act, right? Just doing it so they can get away with shit I figure. Wow!
(Jan 6, 2021 12:30 AM)Zinjanthropos Wrote: [ -> ]This is too much. Funny and where the hell is this going to finish?

https://nationalpost.com/opinion/rex-mur...87db9/amp/

Even the idiot’s first name has that dreaded 3 letter word in it. Yep the word ‘woman’ has it too. I thought we were bad but the US is going down some crazy road. I cant see politicians being this dumb so I figure it has to be an act, right? Just doing it so they can get away with shit I figure. Wow!

Well, you guys have hate speech laws, where people can go to jail for simply saying the wrong thing. We only have these random, Democrat nutjobs, elected by morons.
(Jan 6, 2021 01:05 AM)Syne Wrote: [ -> ]
(Jan 6, 2021 12:30 AM)Zinjanthropos Wrote: [ -> ]This is too much. Funny and where the hell is this going to finish?

https://nationalpost.com/opinion/rex-mur...87db9/amp/

Even the idiot’s first name has that dreaded 3 letter word in it. Yep the word ‘woman’ has it too. I thought we were bad but the US is going down some crazy road. I cant see politicians being this dumb so I figure it has to be an act, right? Just doing it so they can get away with shit I figure. Wow!

Well, you guys have hate speech laws, where people can go to jail for simply saying the wrong thing. We only have these random, Democrat nutjobs, elected by morons.

No kidding.  Big Grin 

If I had voted for Cleaver then I should have the right to change it when he showed his true self.
(Jan 6, 2021 01:25 AM)Zinjanthropos Wrote: [ -> ]
(Jan 6, 2021 01:05 AM)Syne Wrote: [ -> ]Well, you guys have hate speech laws, where people can go to jail for simply saying the wrong thing. We only have these random, Democrat nutjobs, elected by morons.

No kidding.  Big Grin 

If I had voted for Cleaver then I should have the right to change it when he showed his true self.

Funny thing about morons....they have no shame nor regret.
Messonnier: The slow vaccine rollout should speed up ‘pretty massively’ in coming weeks
https://www.statnews.com/2021/01/05/nanc...interview/

INTRO: Nancy Messonnier, a top federal health official involved in the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, predicted on Tuesday that delays in the administration of the shots would improve soon, even as public health experts have piled up complaints about the slow rollout and about the gap between the number of doses distributed versus those actually going into people’s arms.

“I really expect the pace of administration to go up pretty massively in the next couple weeks,” Messonnier, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said in a conversation with STAT infectious disease reporter Helen Branswell.

Only a fraction of the Covid-19 vaccines distributed so far have been administered to health care workers and residents and staff of long-term care facilities, the first priority group for the immunizations. But Messonnier noted that the two vaccines regulators have so far authorized - one from Moderna and one from a partnership between Pfizer and BioNTech - are both based on an mRNA platform that’s never resulted in a successful vaccine before, and that both come with new distribution, storage, and administration protocols... (MORE)
I've got a bit of a thing about actresses wanting to be actors.
Boeing Admits To Fraud And Conspiracy in $2.5 Billion 737 Settlement
http://nasawatch.com/archives/2021/01/bo...its-t.html

RELEASE: "The Boeing Company (Boeing) has entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice to resolve a criminal charge related to a conspiracy to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration's Aircraft Evaluation Group (FAA AEG) in connection with the FAA AEG's evaluation of Boeing's 737 MAX airplane. Boeing, a U.S.-based multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells commercial airplanes to airlines worldwide, entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in connection with a criminal information filed today in the Northern District of Texas.

The criminal information charges the company with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. Under the terms of the DPA, Boeing will pay a total criminal monetary amount of over $2.5 billion, composed of a criminal monetary penalty of $243.6 million, compensation payments to Boeing's 737 MAX airline customers of $1.77 billion, and the establishment of a $500 million crash-victim beneficiaries fund to compensate the heirs, relatives, and legal beneficiaries of the 346 passengers who died in the Boeing 737 MAX crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302."


Women, Blacks, conservatives least likely to get the COVID-19 vaccine, survey reveals
https://www.studyfinds.org/least-likely-...d-vaccine/

RELEASE: Although millions are lining up to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, opinions remain varied. Many view the vaccine as a saving grace that will deliver the world from the seemingly never-ending pandemic nightmare. Others, however, prescribe to more conspiracy-centric beliefs. Researchers from Texas A&M University surveyed 5,000 people and find nearly a third of Americans do not plan on getting the vaccination once it becomes available to them.

In total, 31.1 percent of the poll say they have no plans to get the shot right away. Moreover, the results find African-Americans, women, and conservatives are more likely to refuse the COVID-19 vaccine and not trust that it is safe. Statistically, females are a staggering 71 percent more likely to refuse the vaccine and African-Americans are 41 percent more likely to do the same.

Politics play a role in COVID vaccine confidence. The survey also reveals that politics play a big role in one’s vaccination beliefs. For each one-point increase in conservatism, a respondent’s odds of saying they’ll refuse the vaccine increased by 18 percent. The survey was conducted in mid-2020, before the presidential election. At that time, the survey finds Americans planning to vote for Donald Trump were 29 percent more likely to not trust the vaccine and refuse vaccination.

As far as why so many are skeptical about the vaccine, two main reasons kept coming up among respondents. Americans say safety concerns and skepticism regarding the shot’s effectiveness are key in their decision. That being said, reasons varied quite a bit across different demographics. For example, most women are hesitant to get the COVID vaccine because of safety concerns. African-Americans, on the other hand, are also concerned about safety but say lack of adequate funds and health insurance are also why they plan to forgo vaccination. Meanwhile, researchers say conservatives have been skeptical about many vaccines for a number of years.

Anti-vax messages aimed at African Americans? Study leader Timothy Callaghan, assistant professor at the Texas A&M University School of Public Health, says he was most surprised to see so many African-Americans planning on skipping the vaccine. Black Americans have been hospitalized and are passing way due to COVID-19 at much higher rates than Caucasians. “This points to the need for the medical community and policymakers to find ways to both build trust in the vaccine in the African American community and to ensure that it is delivered affordably,” Callaghan says in a university release.

On a worrying note, the study author note many anti-vaccination groups have been specifically targeting Black Americans. Researchers say it is of utmost importance to start reaching out to these skeptical demographics with positive COVID-19 vaccine messaging. The study is published in Social Science & Medicine.


No more birds and bees? Young adults say they learn more from porn than ‘the talk’
https://www.studyfinds.org/birds-and-bee...than-talk/

INTRO: Sex can be a touchy subject for many families. So much so that a new study finds many teens and young adults say they’re getting most of their information from watching porn than from their parents. Researchers say while younger teens still get most their information about sex from “the talk,” young adults are turning to the internet for their sexual questions.

According to the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior, young adults between 18 and 24 say their go-to source when it comes to sex education is pornography. One in four people in this age group say porn is most helpful when learning how to have sex. Fewer young adults said their sexual partner is the best source of information. Even less picked their parents, friends, media, or a healthcare professional... (MORE)
Tucker Carlson: ‘The People Who Run The Republican Party Don’t Really Like Their Own Voters’ But Trump Did
https://dailycaller.com/2021/01/07/tucke...trump-did/

EXCERPTS: “[...] The people who run the Republican Party don’t really like their own voters,” Carlson said ... “And they especially don’t want the voters that Trump brought,” Carlson continued. “Trump brought the party’s ranks noticeably downscale, ‘from the country club to the trailer park,’ as they often sneer. And this horrifies them. Many Republicans in Washington now despise the people they’re supposed to represent and protect.”

Carlson claimed that this view is shared by “our entire leadership class” who have rejected Trump supporters. “... a very specific form of intra-white loathing is at the core of the reaction to Donald Trump.” Carlson claimed that “socially anxious white professionals” feel contempt for “working-class people who look like them.”

“So if you want to understand the hatred, the [...] gut level loathing and fear of Trump — in say New York or Washington or L.A. ... it’s his voters. The new money class despises them,” Carlson said...

The Fox News host said Trump didn’t despise this constituency and “did not judge his own voters. In real life, Trump actually ate at McDonald’s: that’s true and they knew it was true.” (MORE - details)
Airforce vet Trump rioter, 35, who was shot dead by cops while storming Capitol had charges of reckless endangerment, malicious destruction of property and tampering with a car on her rap sheet
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...sheet.html

SUMMARY POINTS:
  • Ashli Babbitt, 35, died from a gunshot wound to the chest after she joined dozens of protestors who stormed the Capitol on Wednesday

  • A witness to the shooting suggested she was shot by police when she tried to climb through a broken window to get into congressional chambers

  • DailyMail.com can reveal she was previously prosecuted for reckless endangerment, malicious destruction of property in July 2016

  • The 14-year Air Force veteran was also the subject of two restraining orders

  • Babbitt, then named McEntree, was also prosecuted for tampering with a 2012 Ford on a country road in Prince Frederick, a Maryland town outside D.C.

  • Court records reveal police found probable cause for the two criminal charges, but Calvert County court acquitted her of the reckless endangerment charge

  • She was found not guilty of malicious destruction or tampering

  • Babbitt was subject to a temporary peace order filed in February 2017

  • An unidentified loved one sent Babbitt a text as she flew to DC for the protest,

  • 'Be safe. I cannot lose you,' the sender wrote, as Babbitt texted back a selfie from her airplane seat wearing a 'Trump 2020' mask

  • She wrote: 'Tons of trump supporters on my plane!!!! I'll watch my 6' – using the military term for looking out behind you
(MORE - details)
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Cynical Sindee: Good thing she was white, an AF veteran, a Trump supporter, etc. Otherwise, militant demonstrators and Antifa would excusably/pardonably be burning and looting DC right now for yet another act of police shooting an unarmed troublemaker. Her past criminal charges would have made her all the more martyr-worthy.
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