Spyke

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196

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IIRC the study that the "X% of companies are responsible for X% emissions" is somewhat misleading. For example they use the combined output of everyone's car exhaust and attribute that to the major oil companies since they provide the gas. Not saying that large corporations and the wealthy in general contributing to climate change exponentially more than the average person, but its misleading to say that as an individual it doesn't matter if we try to use less energy.

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‘There’s nothing American about promoting violence’: country star Jason Aldean criticised for anti-protest song

The song’s lyrics include the lines: “Cuss out a cop, spit in his face / Stomp on the flag and light it up / Yeah, you think you’re tough / Well, try that in a small town / See how far you make it down the road / Around here, we take care of our own.”

Later, Aldean alludes to a conspiracy theory that the US government intends to round up its citizens: “Got a gun that my granddad gave me / They say one day they’re gonna round up / Well, that shit might fly in the city, good luck.”

Who does he think does the rounding up?

world

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France passes bill to allow police remotely activate phone camera, microphone, spy on people

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During the 2020 protests in Portland, Or the US Marshalls flew a plane equipped cell phone snooping equipment over downtown for hours every day. The equipment acts as a mock cell tower so mobile phone traffic in the area gets routed through their tools before going to an actual tower. It also collects data from wifi in the area, in addition to whatever unknown abilities it has. This was around the time anonymous federal agents were picking up people off the streets in white vans and hiding in bushes shooting pepperballs at people walking by.

memes

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Fascism as defined by Merriam-Webster says

A political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition

The emphasis on race and economic / social regimentation are the major break from the left.

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What's a company secret you can share now that you no longer work there?

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This was a decade ago, but when my mom signed up for Dish Network I asked the installer about getting the internet package. He laughed and said to avoid it like the plague. The guy claimed that at the time Direct Tv and Dish Network used the same satellites for internet, two of them to be exact. The rates for using the service went up with high server load and it was only really usable after midnight.

I ended up building a Cantenna from two Bush's Baked Beans cans and $15 worth of radio equipment from radio shack and "borrowing" free Wi-Fi from a mansion about a mile away.

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DAE Feel the Urge to Connect with an Old Friend Again but at the Same Time Feel Afraid/Relunctant?

A friend and former coworker of mine went dark about a year ago. We both got laid off from a restaurant in Portland, Or during the pandemic. He elected to use his unemployment money to get super addicted to fentanyl. Once all the unemployment money and government eviction protections ran out he went out on the streets and disappeared.

Flash forward to last week, another friend and I were drinking on the sidewalk in front of a bar. Our old friend happened to walk by. Neither of us recognized him at first, he had become straight stereotypical homeless guy. All scabby and hauling a cart of stolen goods. We made contact with him and figured out where he was staying at a "safe rest village" not far away. I walked back there with him and met a few of his new crew, they all smoked fent and passed out in front of me. Homeless friend and I were both from the same hometown and I've known his family have been trying to get a hold of him for months, so I arranged a time to meet with him the next day so he could use my phone and get some shit together.

He didn't show up to the meeting, so I walked down to the SRV. Security at the SRV doesn't let outsiders in and won't say the names of anyone inside, I paid a guy walking in to go grab my buddy. After waiting about 45 minutes he finally rolled out. I walked with him down to the needle exchange and caught up with his life more. Him and his friends generally buy fentanyl for $1 a pill. It works on a barter system a lot of the time, trading bikes and power tools straight for pills. After he picked up his supplies for the day he said he needed to pick up something back at the village and would meet me outside in a couple minutes. Never came back out.

I'll try again next week.

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Hotel > AirBNB

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...Or actually enforce zoning and regulations that ban short term rentals in residential areas? Most Air B&B's in America are already illegal, real estate interests just have a ton of sway in local governments.