Mammon category archive
Industrial Revolution Redux 0
San and his crew talk with Brian Merchant, tech columnist at the Los Angeles Times, about what the who-shot-john about “artificial intelligence” is actually about.
Fly the Fiendly Skies . . . 0
. . . and you just may just get left holding the bag.
Boy, am I glad that my days of stepping on airplanes once or twice a month are behind me.
The Crypto Con 0
Binance President pleads guilty to not preventing money laundering.
The Crypto Con 0
Sam and the crew talk with Jacob Silverman about Sam Bankman-Fried’s conviction for multiple financial crimes.
The Privatization Scam 0
The Arizona Republic’s Laurie Roberts follows the money.
Medicare Disadvantage 0
Over at Delaware Liberal, retired Delaware State Representative John Kowalko explains in detail why Medicare Part C, also called “Medicare Advantage,” is a con and a scam less desirable alternative than traditional Medicare (Medicare Parts A and B, plus a “stopgap” policy).
If you or someone you care about is using or considering using “Medicare Advantage,” the post is well worth a read.
The Pusher Men 0
Sam and Peter Mougey discuss the merchants of addiction.
This New Gilded Age 0
No rooms for the weary: E. J. Montini writes of the shortage of affordable housing for working people in the Sedona, Arizona’s mystical mecca for tourists. Here’s a tiny nugget (emphasis added):
So much so, that the city may designate an area at Sedona Cultural Park, normally a performance venue, as a place where working people living in their cars will be able to stay safely.
Car Nation 0
Engadget reports on a recent study released by the Mozilla Foundation. It is somewhat disquieting; here’s how to report opens:
The Carnappers 0
Persons in Philly who overstay their metered parking by the teeniest bit are now getting barnacle bills.
Facebook Frolics, It’s All about the Algorithm Dept. 0
The Attorneys-General of New York and New Jersey explain why they have joined 40 other states in suing Meta for knowingly endangering the mental health and well-being of children and teenagers. Here’s a bit of what they have to say:
Remember, “social” media isn’t about being social or sociable. It’s about making tech bro fat cats fatter and fatter.
You don’t use it. It uses you.
Incensed To Kill 0
Richard Lettieri, writing at Psychology Today Blogs, takes a look at what research to date tells about mass. He notes that the recent shooting in Maine “mass shooting of 2023, a year that has witnessed 565 such massacres as of this writing. That’s almost two such calamities per day.”
He goes on to look at qualities mass shooters tend to have in common and identifies six; follow the link for a detailed discussion of each one.
- The majority of random mass murderers are white men (emphasis in the original–ed.), middle-aged or younger.
- They have histories of mental health problems.
- Chronic cynicism and brooding distrust are why mass murderers tend to be loners.
- Ninety percent of future mass murderers had prior contact with the law.
- The revenge motive is another animating force behind random mass murder.
- They typically have a history of difficulty maintaining employment, and are frequently out of work at the time of the killings.
In my view, though, he failed to address perhaps the most significant characteristic, though, granted, it’s not a psychological one: the ready availability of weapons of war at your local store.