Too bad about all the lead in them. They're not as bad as some brands, though.

Here's a couple of photos from 2005 found on the CEO's public Flickr page:

The CEO is the guy in the middle in the left photo. The photo on the right was taken the same night, possibly by the CEO, but certainly uploaded by him. At the very least he had no problem with posting it publicly, and has decided not to remove it over the years.

RIP, Marshall. Your novella, Manna (full text), was so impactful for me, as a 20-something at the time you first released it on your website.

Did anyone actually read the whole article? These comments sorta read like the answer is no.

The researchers say that their findings prove no active collaboration between TikTok and far-right parties like the AfD but that the platform’s structure gives bad actors an opportunity to flourish. “TikTok's built-in features such as the ‘Others Searched For’ suggestions provides a poorly moderated space where the far-right, especially the AfD, is able to take advantage,” Miazia Schüler, a researcher with AI Forensics, tells WIRED.

A better headline might have been "TikTok algorithm gamed by far-right AfD party in Germany", but I doubt that would drive as many clicks.

For more info, check out this article: Germany's AfD on TikTok: The political battle for the youth

How is that embarrassing? I have literally 639 tabs right now, across 39 windows. Just live your life as you see fit.

I hear you, and that's a fair thing to discuss, but what's being discussed in this particular screencap is the smear campaign that occurred prior to the general election.

I also think it's important to note the following, since you've mentioned this topic:

• An "Obama Boys" strategy was used in 2008 by Clinton supporters. (source)

• A higher percentage of Sanders voters backed Clinton in 2016 than her voters backed Obama in 2008. (source)

(edited to fix a broken link)

The ozone layer hole situation is another great case study in something that was fixed by humanity being proactive.

ETA: This post I made here feels good to read but it's not really true, unfortunately. Check out seefin's post in this same thread for more info.

There's a growing body of research from behavioral neuroscience which indicate that wealth, power, and privilege have a deleterious effect on the brain. People with high-socioeconomic status often:

• Have reduced empathy and compassion.
• Have a diminished ability to see from someone else's perspective.
• Have low impulse control.
• Have an extreme sense of entitlement.
• Have a hoarding disorder.
• Have a dangerously high tolerance for risk.

When you don't need to cooperate with other people to survive, they become irrelevant to you. When you're in charge, you can behave very badly and people will still be polite and respectful toward you. Instead of reciprocity, it's a formalized double standard. When you have status, you're given excessive credibility, and rarely hear the very ordinary push-back from others most of us are accustomed to, instead you receive flattery and praise and your ideas are taken seriously by default.

Humans have a strong need for egalitarianism; without it our brains malfunction and turn us into the worst versions of ourselves.

Some sources:

Hubris syndrome: An acquired personality disorder? A study of US Presidents and UK Prime Ministers over the last 100 years

(Abstract) or (Full Text)

Does power corrupt? An fMRI study on the effect of power and social value orientation on inequity aversion.

(Abstract) or (PDF Full Text)

Social Class and the Motivational Relevance of Other Human Beings: Evidence From Visual Attention

(Abstract) or (PDF Full Text)

The Psychology of Entrenched Privilege: High Socioeconomic Status Individuals From Affluent Backgrounds Are Uniquely High in Entitlement

(Abstract) or (PDF Full Text)

Hoarding Disorder: It's More Than Just an Obsession - Implications for Financial Therapists and Planners

(Abstract) or (PDF Full Text)

On the evolution of hoarding, risk-taking, and wealth distribution in nonhuman and human populations

(Abstract) or (Full Text)

Shitposting is just pretending to be stupid/racist/shitty for laughs/attention, right? Pretty low form of humor, if you ask me (no one did), but I'm also guessing a lot of shitposters aren't just pretending.

I like a laugh as much as the next person, but we can't sit around going "Why are people in this country so fucking stupid/racist/shitty?" while simultaneously elevating "acting" stupid to some high form of humor. You see how that's counterproductive, right?

“Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe. It is impossible to calculate the moral mischief, if I may so express it, that mental lying has produced in society. When a man has so far corrupted and prostituted the chastity of his mind, as to subscribe his professional belief to things he does not believe, he has prepared himself for the commission of every other crime.” - Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason

“Any community that gets its laughs by pretending to be idiots will eventually be flooded by actual idiots who mistakenly believe that they're in good company.” - Jason Garrett-Glaser

Looks like someone forgot about the 3-2-1 rule. Teachable moment.

"We need to eradicate Jewish stranglehold over the United States of America. … We will win, because unlike our opposition, we are willing to die for what we believe in … We're in a holy war and I will tell you this. Because we're willing to die in the holy war, we will make them die in the holy war. And they will go down." - Nick Fuentes

There's no love lost between me and Meta, but I'm just gon' leave this here:

Against Intellectual Monopoly

It takes a big person to cop to things like that, instead of doubling down. Whatever his reasons, we should all strive to be as open to admitting when we were wrong as Coolio was.

If that were the only reason, why does their website call it "The Long Weekend Sale"?

Exactly.

“Any community that gets its laughs by pretending to be idiots will eventually be flooded by actual idiots who mistakenly believe that they're in good company.” - Jason Garrett-Glaser

Say what you will, but this person absolutely knows what they're about.