Prigozhin lowers WWIII risks?
Friday 24th June 2023: Prigozhin Tells Russians the truth about the war and then launches what looks like an attempted coup. The result seems to
Friday 24th June 2023: Prigozhin Tells Russians the truth about the war and then launches what looks like an attempted coup. The result seems to
Around the world, many countries have both a battle with equality for some racial groups and minorities and also a battle with crime-rates within and by those same groups.
Should we consider crime rates the real sentinels of problems and a solution require focusing on factors behind crime rates? Or is the correct response to rising crime rates or crime rates within specific groups an adoption of being “tough on crime”, thus increasing rates of incarceration and even deaths in custody for oppressed minorities and racial groups?
This is an exploration of not adjusting the level of penalties and instead focusing on the core issues and inequalities behind crime-rates. It is clear that it is “damaged people” in general rather than specific racial groups that correlate with elevated crime rates, so why not use crime rates to identify who is facing inequality?
It can seem all those tech companies are so dumb giving away services for free.
I recently read another comment containing the “I don’t want Google getting more of my data to sell” and it reminded me of the question, ‘why is your data valuable?’ people too rarely ask. The common myth is that Facebook and Google etc want your data so they can sell it, but even with companies that do sell your data, it still requires someone to turn data into money, and enough money to fund the “free” services of the tech companies and allow them enough spare to make profits beyond anything seen in the world previously. So how does the data turn into so much money?
There is no such thing as a free lunch. Google and Facebook etc make their money from advertising, not from selling data, and unless they use can the data to persuade you to buy products at prices inflated by advertisers paying part of the sale price to Facebook/Google etc, they would lose money.
Your data is used to inflate the cost of living and earn votes for politicians with an agenda that gives them a budget to spend. They (Google/Facebook etc) don’t want to sell your data, but the reality, is more sinister: they use it to have to change your thinking, so more of your money will go to make them richer.
From “the biggest corruption scandal ever” in Brazil, problems in Venezuela, human rights in Saudi Arabia and Iran, to the problems caused by lobbyists against action on climate change, an abundance of fossil fuels is a source of political power, yet rarely force for good, and Australia, with a wealth of coal and gas, is not spared.
The current crisis in Ukraine not only drives up energy prices globally, but it also creates a dilemma for gas producing nations.
Democracy collapses when a leader, who is able to bypass the checks and balances, uses their position to retain power.
Steps by recent leaders Scott Morrison and Australia and Donald Trump in the USA, raise questions as to whether current reliance on conventions and constitutions reliably protects democracy.
China, Russia and even North Korea are all technically democracies, and all proof of how technically being a democracy does not necessarily deliver real democracy.
What if Russia and China both intended that the invasion of Ukraine would trigger global inflation and food shortages, and a potentially new financial crisis?
That Putin sees himself in the image of Peter the Great and restoring the Russian empire is no secret, and is generally portrayed as evidence that Putin has completely lost the plot. But what if there is a bigger plan involving both Russia and China that starts with triggering a global financial crisis? A dangerous game by two desperate leaders needing to bring others with them as their own economies collapse.
Democracy is under threat, and a significant part of the problem stems for the distortion of the current model of ‘opposition’. While the politics of division and polarisation of the USA Trump republicans vs Biden democrats attracts most attention on the world stage right now, what happens in Australia following the recent election which saw democracy strike back (page coming soon), has the potential to provide the world with an alternate blueprint for the role of the opposition party, which could reinvigorate democracy and spread to the US and elsewhere.
Is there an alternative to the current Republicans vs Democrats style, where ‘opposition’ is about each party demonising the other?
The internet was heralded as providing ‘disintermediation’, enabling everyone able to connect with everyone else directly. Yet, somehow, gatekeepers have emerged, controlling the ability to
This is an an examination of the roles of employment in society. This a reference page as background to deeper explorations on the impact or robotics, the arguments for a ‘living wage’ or basic income, and other topics.
Was Feb 24th, the start of WWIII? Is it a world war of sanctions, troops and tanks, or nuclear?
NATO, and specifically the US, seem to feel the risk of WWIII is so real, that they refuse Ukraine any assistance that could defeat Putin’s forces and anger him further. Their hope seems to be “let him win on the battlefield but lose through sanctions”.
It can seem all those tech companies are so dumb giving away services for free.
I recently read another comment containing the "I don't want Google getting more of my data to sell" and it reminded me of the question, 'why is your data valuable?' people too rarely ask. The common myth is that Facebook and Google etc want your data so they can sell it, but even with companies that do sell your data, it still requires someone to turn data into money, and enough money to fund the "free" services of the tech companies and allow them enough spare to make profits beyond anything seen in the world previously. So how does the data turn into so much money?
There is no such thing as a free lunch. Google and Facebook etc make their money from advertising, not from selling data, and unless they use can the data to persuade you to buy products at prices inflated by advertisers paying part of the sale price to Facebook/Google etc, they would lose money.
Your data is used to inflate the cost of living and earn votes for politicians with an agenda that gives them a budget to spend. They (Google/Facebook etc) don't want to sell your data, but the reality, is more sinister: they use it to have to change your thinking, so more of your money will go to make them richer.