Mammon category archive
Fly the Fiendly Skies 0
Thom discusses the larger issues highlighted by United Airlines decision to beat the bejesus out of one of its customers and persuasively links them to Reaganomics.
Excerpt:
This is . . . police violence as a dimension of a business plan.
Benighted Airlines 0
Thom points out that the “rule” United Airlines cited to justify beating the bejesus out of one of their customers does not exist. “Deny boarding” is not the same thing as “removal from the plane.”
Fly the Fiendly Skies, Reprise 0
Meanwhile, Michael Hiltzik dissects United’s excuses. Here’s a bit from his piece:
(snip)
But Munoz, whose version of the episode appears to come from the playbook of how to dig oneself into an ever deeper hole, also undermined the argument that the flight was overbooked. He related that “after the flight was fully boarded,” gate agents “were approached by crewmembers that were told they needed to board the flight.” The implication is that the crew members heading to Louisville were late in arriving, that every passenger held a paid ticket and had been properly boarded, and that only belatedly did United decide to pull passengers off the plane to make room for the crew.
Video via SeattlePI.
Ryan’s Derp 0
There is nothing I can add to this.
A Case of Consumption 0
Lee Camp tees off on that recent Pepsi ad. (Warning: Language, and lots of it.)
At Psychology Today Blogs, Pamela D. Rutledge has a less profane take. A snippet:
For Pepsi, however, this has been a significant fail. Rather than pushing the edge of pop culture to show themselves youthful and “with it,” they have potentially alienated a younger generation known for having high levels of social concern.
The Business of America Is Giving America the Business 0
If you think that “business” and “integrity” are in any way related, listen to the “Camel cigarette” ad in this OTR broadcast (a RealPlayer compatible audio player is required; kplayer works on Linux, somewhat to my, and no doubt to Real’s, surprise).
And, yes, I used to be addicted to tobacco; now I’m addicted to nicotine gum. One does what one can.
There’s nothing like addiction to create a successful sales strategy.
Just ask the vapids vapers.
The Snaring Economy 0
Josh Marshall points out that there is nothing new about the “gig” economy. It has happened before, and it wasn’t pretty then, either.
Koch Dealers 0
Thom reads from the platform for which David Koch ran for president in 1980 on the Libertarian ticket. It’s more out there than you can imagine.
Where There’s Smoke . . . . 0
Click to see the image at its original location in a slideshow.
I remember my first business trip to L. A. It was in the late spring around 1980.
The weather was hot, the sky was orange, and the air burned my eyes.
“Next on the Auction Block . . . You!” 0
The Republican Party strips your browsing habits nekkid. El Reg comments on the recent bill to allow your ISP to sell you to the highest bidder (emphasis added):
Your ISP already knows quite a lot about you: your name and address, quite possibly your age, and a host of other personally identifiable information such as your social security number. That’s on the customer information side. On the service side, they know which websites you visit, when, and how often.
That information can be used to build a very detailed picture of who you are: what your political and sexual leanings are; whether you have kids; when you are at home; whether you have any medical conditions; and so on – a thousand different data points that, if they have sufficient value to companies willing to pay for them, will soon be traded without your knowledge.
There may be a bright side. Perhaps someone will leak Congresscritters’ browsing histories.