Archive for 2018

SO YOUTUBE IS PURGING INFOWARS? This ongoing censorship campaign sucks, but come on: InfoWars is big, they can host their own video. When you rely on someone else’s platform, you’re at their mercy. And when it’s an SJW-controlled platform, why share revenue and traffic with them? It’s one thing if you’re a fledgling vlogger, but that’s hardly the case here.

WEIRD THAT THE PRESS IS SPENDING MORE TIME ON HIS TWEETS AND OFFHAND REMARKS: 5 things Trump did this week while you weren’t looking. Of course, what they mean by “while you weren’t looking” is “that the press didn’t report because it was distracted by shiny objects.” The carried interest thing is kinda big, and I’d missed that story.

OPEN THREAD: Thread away!

SEEMINGLY LEGITIMATE PERSONA: Don’t blame me, I’m just quoting the The San Diego Union-Tribune verbatim (albeit via SFGate.com). I’ll add that this dude is seemingly legit by California standards.

A Mexican man who was deported twice and had a history of arrests was able to assume the identity of an American citizen and receive more than $360,000 in government benefits for nearly four decades, California court records show.

Andres Avelino Anduaga used a fake birth certificate starting in 1980 to develop a seemingly legitimate persona by applying for a California driver’s license, Social Security number and U.S. passport, according to documents obtained by the San Diego Union-Tribune. The official U.S. documents identified him as Abraham Riojos, born in Texas in 1958.

More criminality:

Further investigation revealed the man claiming to be Riojos had a rap sheet that included 21 different names and six dates of birth, dating back to 1974, the newspaper reported. They included a firearms violation, forgery, cocaine possession and multiple DUIs, according to prosecutors.

What a scam. With long term rip-off talent like this he ought to be working for The Clinton Foundation.

LANCE MORROW: The Age of Travesties: Modern culture as a mockery of a sham.

As I’ve said before, you don’t get Hitler because of Hitler — there are always potential Hitlers hanging around. You get Hitler because of Weimar, and you get Weimar because the people in charge of maintaining liberal democracy are too weak and corrupt to do the job.

KATIE COURIC: Tech Companies ‘Do Not Care About Stories’ And The Journalism Industry.

Couric, the highly influential journalist and television anchor, is yet another person to speak out against the tech industry for not caring about its potentially adverse effect on her industry.

“These tech companies are not media companies. They do not care about stories, about content, about true connection,” Couric told Recode founder Kara Swisher during a podcast published Wednesday. “I think they care about widgets and gadgets and delivery systems, but they aren’t super-interested in the vegetable soup that’s running through the pipes.”

Couric suggested that in order to remediate such a problem, a company needs to truly value good writing and what it can do.

“I think the secret sauce is people who are technologically savvy, but also respect and care about storytelling,” Couric continued. “The company that combines those two things is gonna win the day. I haven’t really found it yet.”

See, that’s the thing with “storytelling” — it needs Rather* a lot of editing and a sense of drama to make it exciting — if not entirely accurate.

* Pun definitely intended.

 

WHY IS SILICON VALLEY CRUELLY EXPLOITING PEOPLE? ‘Success’ on YouTube Still Means a Life of Poverty: You can have a million views a month and still not be able to make rent. But: “One in 3 British children age 6 to 17 told pollsters last year that they wanted to become a full-time YouTuber. That’s three times as many as those who wanted to become a doctor or a nurse.”

Related: ‘I wanted to be an Instagram star… but I ended up a financial wreck’: Woman, 26, reveals how her debts spiraled as she paid for luxury holidays, the best clothes and amazing restaurants on her quest to be a social media star.. Remember, these platforms are designed to be addictive. There should probably be lawsuits and Congressional investigations. For the children!