Mammon category archive
The Privatization Scam 0
The Orlando Sentinel’s Scott Maxwell can voucher that it is–er–questionable.
Facebook Frolics 0
Cathy O’Neil skewers the Zuckerborg’s argument that it is to big and complex to break up. A snippet (emphasis added). As an aside, I suspect that U. S. Steel, American Sugar, and other trusts busted by Teddy Roosevelt made similar arguments.
Really? No doubt, the breakup would be difficult for Facebook’s managers, who rely on data sharing among WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook to create the most complete possible profiles of users and then sell their attention to the highest bidder. If the companies were separated, all the investment they’d been making into surveillance and targeting wouldn’t immediately work out as well as they had hoped. For them, the product is the advertising, not the service to users.
Facebook Frolics 0
Not that I expect it to do much good since Ronald Reagan gutted antitrust enforcement, but it’s about damned time.
Loan Rangers 0
Paul Mulshine explores the student loan debacle. He says that it’s not the students who are at fault; it’s the lenders and their enablers in business and government. A snippet:
He used as an example his own alma mater, Duke University.
“When I went to duke in 1974, the tuition was $2,300 a year,” he said. “Now it’s over $50,000.”
Follow the link to see how he builds his case.
Facebook Frolics 0
Facebook surfaces the scratches.
If a Lie Falls on Facebook and No One Is There To Fact-Check It, Is It Really a Lie? 0
Facebook doesn’t want anyone to find the answer.
Judging Amy 0
Thom follows the money.
It’s All about the Algorithm 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Christine Louise Hohlbaum reflects on the power that we have ceded to technology companies. It is a particularly timely article amongst the swirl of lies and conspiracy theories surrounding the upcoming election.
Here’s a snippet:
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*The citation is from Which Side of History?, a recently published collection of essays.
Trick Play 0
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution follows the money.
The Climates They Are a-Changing 0
At the Hartford Courant, Maxwell Warren warns that we have entered a new age.
Our intellect, technology, ambition and desire for a better life have propelled us forward with rapid changes. And for the last 70 years, our unsustainable lifestyle fed on increasingly greater amounts of fossil fuels.
Follow the link for more.
The Stock Market Is Not the Economy, “The Happiest Place on Earth” Dept. 0
The caller, a Disneyland “cast member,” calls to discuss Disneyland’s laying off 28,000 employees. The caller’s voice fades several times and the hosts have to ask him to repeat himself, but I think, even with the audio issues, his story is worth the few minutes of your time.