That's bonkers to come from Republicans about Republicans.
Gas Bandit's Political Thread V: The Vampire Likes Bats
- Thread starter GasBandit
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GasBandit
Staff member
Elon Musk - belligerently stupid
GasBandit
Staff member
For the 10th consecutive month Earth experienced record-high temperatures. Both the air and ocean temperatures reached their highest levels ever recorded in March. Over the past 12 months, average global temperatures have been 1.58C (2.8 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, surpassing the Paris climate agreement threshold of 1.5C. (The Guardian / Axios / The Hill)
Getting really tired of these billboards.
I'd never heard of these people before the billboards went up. Then suddenly these billboards pop up and constitute, and this is not hyperbole, probably 1 out of 6 of every billboard I see along my 40mi commute to and from work, not counting the area immediately surrounding the casino (which mostly promote the casinos and their upcoming acts) and closer to downtown (which mostly promote whichever dispensary has just opened/is about to open). Why so many? Why would apparently THE most trusted news source (which, again, I've never heard of) need to flood my eyeballs with brand new billboards touting how much I should trust them?
So I looked them up. I don't know what I was expecting, but I was NOT expecting what I found. For anyone like me who (was lucky enough to?) never hear of them, Wikipedia describes them thus: "The Epoch Times is a far-right international multi-language newspaper and media company affiliated with the Falun Gong new religious movement."
Okay, opening sentence and I'm already going, "Whaaaa...? The Falun who now?" Back to Wikipedia, aaand: "Falun Gong practitioners operate a variety of organizations in the United States and elsewhere, including the dance troupe Shen Yun. They are known for their opposition to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), espousing anti-evolutionary views, opposition to homosexuality and feminism, and rejection of modern medicine, among other views described as 'ultra-conservative'."
...ok, I think I get it now. It's not enough that the DeVos (of Amway and Department of Education fame) family owns or controls giant swaths of the area, now we have not-so-subtle ads for, "The Times is your friend. Trust the Times" springing up everywhere as well? And here I thought construction barrels were going to be my biggest Springtime annoyance. But noooooo.
--Patrick
I'd never heard of these people before the billboards went up. Then suddenly these billboards pop up and constitute, and this is not hyperbole, probably 1 out of 6 of every billboard I see along my 40mi commute to and from work, not counting the area immediately surrounding the casino (which mostly promote the casinos and their upcoming acts) and closer to downtown (which mostly promote whichever dispensary has just opened/is about to open). Why so many? Why would apparently THE most trusted news source (which, again, I've never heard of) need to flood my eyeballs with brand new billboards touting how much I should trust them?
So I looked them up. I don't know what I was expecting, but I was NOT expecting what I found. For anyone like me who (was lucky enough to?) never hear of them, Wikipedia describes them thus: "The Epoch Times is a far-right international multi-language newspaper and media company affiliated with the Falun Gong new religious movement."
Okay, opening sentence and I'm already going, "Whaaaa...? The Falun who now?" Back to Wikipedia, aaand: "Falun Gong practitioners operate a variety of organizations in the United States and elsewhere, including the dance troupe Shen Yun. They are known for their opposition to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), espousing anti-evolutionary views, opposition to homosexuality and feminism, and rejection of modern medicine, among other views described as 'ultra-conservative'."
...ok, I think I get it now. It's not enough that the DeVos (of Amway and Department of Education fame) family owns or controls giant swaths of the area, now we have not-so-subtle ads for, "The Times is your friend. Trust the Times" springing up everywhere as well? And here I thought construction barrels were going to be my biggest Springtime annoyance. But noooooo.
--Patrick
Of I'm not mistaken, Falun Gong had been designated a hate group (or even terrorist group? Too sick to check) in most of Europe.
Yeah, they're not especially good guys.
Like Hamas, I'm sure they also do some good stuff like distribute food or provide money for funerals. But, well, the comparison doesn't quite end there.
Yeah, they're not especially good guys.
Like Hamas, I'm sure they also do some good stuff like distribute food or provide money for funerals. But, well, the comparison doesn't quite end there.
figmentPez
Staff member
There are way too many "Just stop eating fast food!" comments on that post.
Grocery store prices are skyrocketing, too, fucking dumbasses.
When every company realizes they can just not compete with each other on prices, we basically get auto-collusion. Gooooo capitalism!
"if I had it my way, Biden wouldn't be president" is a 100% ok sentiment. Heck, I think technically 90% of the US agrees. The bit in the middle is kind of damning though.Sooo, this kinda sounds like "admitting" to something... but maybe that's just me.
I remember when Arby's sold 5 regular roast beef sandwiches for $5. Now it's 4 for $10.
--Patrick
figmentPez
Staff member
The first time I remember there being an Arby's 5 for $5 it was beef n' cheddar sandwiches. When they brought it back a year or more later, they lost the cheese, and it's been downhill ever since.
Dave
Staff member
Man I can't WAIT to go to work tomorrow night. One of the Trumper dudes I work with is also a huge Reacher fan. He's going to be doing cartwheels to justify this.
boundingintocomics.com
'Reacher' Star Alan Ritchson Baffled At Religious Support For Donald Trump: "The Entire Christian Church Seems To Treat Him Like He's Their Poster Child"
'Reacher' star Alan Ritchson has made it clear that he is not a fan of either Donald Trump or his popularity among Christians.
boundingintocomics.com
Ew, Bounding Into Comics. A notorious Comicsgate website.Man I can't WAIT to go to work tomorrow night. One of the Trumper dudes I work with is also a huge Reacher fan. He's going to be doing cartwheels to justify this.
'Reacher' Star Alan Ritchson Baffled At Religious Support For Donald Trump: "The Entire Christian Church Seems To Treat Him Like He's Their Poster Child"
'Reacher' star Alan Ritchson has made it clear that he is not a fan of either Donald Trump or his popularity among Christians.
At least they surprisingly cited the source, from the Hollywood Reporter interview. Here's that link if you don't want to feel dirty clicking on a Bounding into Comics link:
The High Highs and Low Lows of Alan Ritchson
'Reacher' shot him into Hollywood’s top tier, but behind that success — the 41-year-old reveals in an unusually candid interview — was a harrowing struggle with bipolar disorder, sexual assault and a suicide attempt that he survived with a mix of faith, love and brute force.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
That's okay, you're better not knowing. To say the least, it's run by a bunch of right-wing yahoos.
Sounds like some Critical Drinker bullshit.
figmentPez
Staff member
But also, regular collusion: Hormel settles pork price-fixing suits for $11 million
"Lawsuits launched in 2018 allege the companies that control a majority of the nation's pork supply conspired for years to artificially constrict pork supplies to boost prices in violation of antitrust law. The companies did so, according to the complaints, by relying on data gathered and shared by Indiana-based Agri Stats, which the Department of Justice sued last fall."
The pork companies deny this, but have spent over $200 million combined to settle cases against them. Which means they've definitely screwed customers out of well over $200 million.
We already offshored other customer service work, might as well add cashiers to the list.
fortune.com
Outsourcing founder explains why a Manhattan restaurant uses a staffing firm in the Philippines that pays cashiers a few dollars an hour: ‘The cost is admittedly cheaper than the U.S.’
Happy Cashier workers, who take orders via video chat, have been cropping up at local New York fast-food chains as early as October 2023.
Dave
Staff member
Any non-paywall sources?
edit:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/outsourcing-founder-explains-why-manhattan-002818568.html
edit:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/outsourcing-founder-explains-why-manhattan-002818568.html
They are free to remove all the workers. It really just means that if they piss off enough people, there won't be anyone there when the place burns down.
figmentPez
Staff member
Wow, Starbucks is fucking lucky you can't sell digital coffee.
It will be interesting to see what happens when the world coffee market collapses due to climate change.
--Patrick
Even though I worked for Blockbuster for about 10 years, yeah, they're not wrong. Mom & Pop shops struggled to survive thanks to Blockbuster.
With books, I think it played differently here in Canada. Chapters dominates, and is still going relatively strong today. Smaller book stores struggle, but some are still around.
Though, sadly, I find used bookstores barely exist anymore.