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'No longer acceptable' for platforms to take key decisions alone, EU Commission says
It is "no longer acceptable" for social media giants to take key decisions on online content removals alone, following the high profile takedowns of US President Trump's accounts on Facebook and Twitter, the European Commission has said.
Trump's accounts have been suspended by the two platforms for inciting calls to violence ahead of the violent riots that hit Washington's Capitol Hill last week.
Speaking to lawmakers on Monday (11 January), Prabhat Agarwal, an official who heads up the eCommerce unit at the European Commission's DG Connect, noted how the EU executive's Digital Services Act attempts to realign the balance between effective content removal and preserving freedom of expression online.
"It is no longer acceptable in our view that platforms take some key decisions by themselves alone without any supervision, without any accountability, and without any sort of dialogue or transparency for the kind of decisions that they're taking," Agarwal said.
"Freedom of expression is really a key value in this," he told the European Parliament's internal market committee.
The comments came following concerns raised by some lawmakers in the European Parliament following the suspension of Trump's social media accounts. In doing so, platforms giants had demonstrated that they yield a disproportionate degree of power over the freedom of speech online.
"The fact that platforms like Twitter and Facebook decide who can speak freely is dangerous," Green MEP Kim van Sparrentak said.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by DannyB on Friday January 15 2021, @03:03PM (94 children)
Here is one recent problem to examine: Stating the election was stolen, with fire and passion, does not make it true no matter how many times you say it. If people hear that message, from several news sources, and all their friends, then they become enraged. I know I would become enraged if I heard the election was stolen, and it somehow seemed believable.
Part of the solution is an educated populace that can tell fact from fantasy. That can recognize a liar that says one thing Monday, the opposite on Tuesday, and then the original lie again on Wednesday.
I know the old saying: you can fool some of the people all of the time. But really. On this scale?
Beyond education, maybe the problem of having those echo chambers could be fixed. I don't know how. But Regan made this possible by eliminating the fairness doctrine back in the broadcast daze.
Another problem is the levels of rage. Before FaceTwit, people could disagree. But now people have to disagree to an extent they work themselves up into a murderous rage. It's unbelievable.
Why is it that when I hold a stick, everyone begins to look like a pinata?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 15 2021, @03:17PM (27 children)
And once the people are educated, they will vote Democrat forevermore. Snort!
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Barenflimski on Friday January 15 2021, @03:35PM (9 children)
Unfortunately, what you say is actually something I have heard repeated to me, yet they actually meant it. I've heard many times that its college that is the problem. "College creates snowflakes."
https://nypost.com/2018/11/30/how-to-make-snowflakes-and-expand-campus-bureaucracy/ [nypost.com]
https://www.newsweek.com/millennials-are-snowflakes-heres-data-prove-it-670662 [newsweek.com]
I've heard many people say that college brainwashes people to think differently. I've started to wonder if this is the root of people not liking college, because they equate learning with being brainwashed?
There is no doubt that you can have educated people disagree and join different political parties, but as DannyB points out, "Another problem is the levels of rage. Before FaceTwit, people could disagree. But now people have to disagree to an extent they work themselves up into a murderous rage. It's unbelievable."
I agree. Its all unbelievable. I'd love to rewind the interwebs to the time before FaceTwit. It would be nice if people would at least educate themselves enough to realize that talking things out is a whole lot better than burning it all down and starting over.
(Score: 3, Troll) by DeathMonkey on Friday January 15 2021, @05:27PM (7 children)
Liberals: Climate change is real, we should do something
Conservatives 20 years ago: Climate change is real, but there are more important things to worry about. Or, but the cure is worse than the problem. Or, any number of disagreements reasonable people could have.
Conservatives now: Climate change is a fake Chinese hoax.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by barbara hudson on Friday January 15 2021, @05:44PM (1 child)
SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
(Score: 2) by Captival on Sunday January 17 2021, @06:43AM
How amazing that everybody is a gullible retard except of course for all the enlightened free thinkers that vote exactly like you do.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 15 2021, @06:15PM (4 children)
Liberals: Climate change is real, we should do something
Yeah, then they vote for democrats who want to tell us how often we can flush our toilets.
Instead of restrictions, the damn liberals should supply alternatives that are actually better!
And if they're really liberal, they'll stop voting for machine politicians from the 70s and 80s that frustrate everybody else into voting for republicans.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 15 2021, @07:07PM
Tried doing all those things.
"Instead of restrictions, the damn liberals should supply alternatives that are actually better!"
Conservatives: muh lightbulbs, muh gas guzzlers, muh freedumbs from carbon taxes, damn environmental regulations increasing business costs!
"And if they're really liberal, they'll stop voting for machine politicians from the 70s and 80s that frustrate everybody else into voting for republicans."
So it is everyone's falt but your own?
Jesus christ you whiny dumb fuck, the things that frustrate you are the improvements you just said should be made! Sorry you're a moron?? The single best thing we can do is make college mandatory and free, with a requirement of environmental and social justice courses so you can actually comprehend the problems instead of whining about the solutions.
(Score: 2) by helel on Saturday January 16 2021, @12:49AM (2 children)
Democratic politicians can't just magic the problem away. They can only implement policy designed to address it. To use your analogy, if flushing toilets causes climate change then implementing policy limiting how often you can flush is a solution. It's the thing that will reduce the problem.
There is a way to get better alternatives tho - fund basic research. I'll give you one guess which party supports that one...
Republican Patriotism [youtube.com]
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday January 16 2021, @02:16AM (1 child)
"To use your analogy, if flushing toilets causes climate change then implementing policy limiting how often you can flush is a solution. It's the thing that will reduce the problem."
So now my toilet is plugged up all the time. What's the solution to that? Outhouses??
See, this is the problem with that sort of solution.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by helel on Saturday January 16 2021, @02:47AM
No, I don't really see. The toilet thing was just the AC's analogy. In the real world we're talking about things like minimum fuel efficiency standards so the real world equivalent of your clogged toilet is that you don't buy enough gasoline [caranddriver.com]. It's a problem, sure, but one that can be addressed.
Also, if clogging your toilet really is a problem you frequently suffer I recommend you get a poop knife [urbandictionary.com].
Republican Patriotism [youtube.com]
(Score: 1) by crotherm on Saturday January 16 2021, @03:24AM
Usenet got pretty wild back in its day. Spewing all these lies about green cards and such.
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 15 2021, @03:39PM
QED
(Score: 5, Insightful) by DannyB on Friday January 15 2021, @03:57PM
It is interesting how many educated long time Republicans are separating themselves from either their party, or at least from Trumpism.
It is interesting how many Republican judges, well educated people, including some Trump appointed judges, don't just drink the Trump koolaid when told to do so.
Educated people come to realize that the US is only 4 % of the world population. The other 96 % of people actually do exist!
Educated people discover the uncomfortable truth that not all people have white skin. (shudder Horrors!) And many of those oddball non white people are actually nice people if you can bring yourself to actually talk to them. Heck, you might even have to have one of them as a lab partner, or later a co worker, and actually get to know them.
Educated people discover that not all people (even white people) believe the same thing. Yes, sadly, people have different beliefs. One logical deduction from this is that: OMG that means there are people who believe differently than ME ME ME!!!
Educated people start to think about public policy in a longer term view and not so much about their most immediate needs in the next five minutes. Maybe it would be a good idea to have traffic signals? Roads? Bridges? Safe drinking water! Working sewer systems. Maybe a professional police force might be useful to keep crime down. Maybe military defense could be a good idea to preserve our way of life. All these simple things we take for granted. Things that people have bled and died for so we can enjoy our comfortable lives, even if we wish we had more / better. Nah! Let's just burn it all down! It won't affect my comfortable life! But will satisfy my short term rage! YEAH! BURN IT ALL!!! Educated people would embrace that idea.
Why is it that when I hold a stick, everyone begins to look like a pinata?
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 15 2021, @04:57PM (10 children)
Right, one people are "educated."
30 years ago when I was in preschool, the Commies had me march in their parade, golding happy rainbow flags. I thought I escaped that. 30 years later Commies want my kids to march in their parade, complete with rainbow flags.
(Score: 4, Informative) by maxwell demon on Friday January 15 2021, @05:05PM (9 children)
The communist flag was red, not rainbow.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 5, Funny) by DannyB on Friday January 15 2021, @05:16PM (3 children)
The communists are huge supporters of the gays.
See: Russia, how they treat gays
Why is it that when I hold a stick, everyone begins to look like a pinata?
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Friday January 15 2021, @05:29PM (2 children)
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 3, Funny) by DannyB on Friday January 15 2021, @05:42PM
Apparently there is not a single gay person in North Korea. No, not even one.
Why is it that when I hold a stick, everyone begins to look like a pinata?
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 16 2021, @03:27PM
It's it so interesting how well propaganda works?
I don't mean Russia. I mean us. In Russia there is an average gay population, and it's no secret to anybody including politicians. There are even *gasp* gay clubs. The one and only difference between Russia and America is that in Russia it is illegal to disseminate propaganda of a sexual nature to anybody under the age of 18. So this effectively precludes any sort of gay pride march, tranny reading day at the library, or men walking around in S&M gear with other mean on leashes because these are all apparently things to do.
To be clear though I am speaking of Russia 'proper' here. Chechnya is a part of Russia (in a way analogous to how Puerto Rico is a part of the US) and they have their own set of rules, laws, and culture. And homosexuality in Chechnya is as well tolerated as it is in any Muslim majority nation. Which is to say, it's not.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 15 2021, @08:02PM (4 children)
Belive me, the colors of the flag were not red during the May Day "celebration." This was not a military parade, and they want the kids to have happy thoughts as they indoctrinate them.
I love how these armchair historians want to tell me, a person who was actually there.
I bet you also think you are smarter than average.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 16 2021, @12:20AM
We all know that you are somewhat stupider than normal. What were you doing "golding" flags, anyway? That sounds more Trumpist than communist.
(Score: 2) by helel on Saturday January 16 2021, @12:56AM (2 children)
Perhaps if you gave more information you'd get a more desirable response? Perhaps start by stating where and when you're referring to, describe the events or practices, and then discuss the indoctrination. That way people can lear from your experience instead of just being confused as to why you hate rainbows.
Republican Patriotism [youtube.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 16 2021, @08:42AM
You'll just be sitting there, minding your own business, and then they come marching in, crawl up your leg and start to bite your ass, and you'll be like, AY, GET OUTTA MY ASS, YOU STUPID RAINBOWS!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @05:21AM
I gave up trying to warn people about this ten years ago, now I just accept their ignorance, and await for the day their offspring are steralized with puberty blockers. I will be goign back to my Communist hellhole, which is under new management, and surprisingly people who live thee are not keen to fall into the trap again, no matter how many epiteths ending in phobia are thrown at them by the international media.
(Score: 2) by Tork on Friday January 15 2021, @05:22PM (3 children)
How long will a party last when it has to constantly invent enemies to entice you to vote for them?
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 2, Funny) by fustakrakich on Friday January 15 2021, @06:18PM (2 children)
Indefinitely... the magic works
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 15 2021, @07:07PM (1 child)
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Friday January 15 2021, @09:15PM
No thank you! They're the magician's assistant
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2, Insightful) by leon_the_cat on Friday January 15 2021, @03:46PM (19 children)
Yes and stating it was not stolen with equal fire does not make it so either so lets be honest neither of us know for sure if it was or not. From the statistical data we can infer that something was more than just a little off added to the numerous testimonies of polling chicanery, bending of election law and refusal to be transparent should lead to at least an investigation into irregularities but that was prevented from happening. As such a large number of people will no longer believe in the elected oligarchy system (some people call it democracy), this is a huge blow as belief in this system is a major component of control as it gives people the (mostly false) feeling they have a say. Now they feel they have none and that their voice is silenced online for political reasons. This only leads to totalitarianism and it will come down on you some day.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Barenflimski on Friday January 15 2021, @04:26PM (3 children)
That is only true if its two dudes yelling at each other on a corner with information that is equal and the same. Proving a negative is almost impossible, and not a great way to go about life.
I watched hours and hours of the "testimony" of people that wanted to say it was rigged. I heard it was too warm for anyone to accurately count ballots. I heard it was too cold to count ballots. I heard the power went out one time. I heard we should have done it like the Iraqi's. There were endless people describing how people were mean to them. I never once heard anything that even in the slightest would tip the scales. Doubt does not equal fraud.
No transparency? I continue to hear this, and I have yet to find anything to back this up. I continue to hear that peoples feelings were hurt, but no evidence of actual malpractice. Do we really need 10 people looking over the shoulders of the 5 people from varying parties that already count and verify each others ballots? Sounds great when yelling this in a crowd, but if you did this and everyone got to have an objection because of a scuff mark on a ballot, the ballots would never be counted in time and you'd have the same people saying this was the conspiracy.
All of the laws of these states were on the books and challengable before the election. Why didn't that happen? Because these politicians and lawyers know that the public memory is about as long as the next headline. It is super easy to stir the pot. It is extremely difficult to do anything in government in a manner that doesn't upset someone.
I'd suggest for every one of these people that want to whine and complain, that they themselves go down and sign up to help out in the next election. Go run for office. Go sign up to count ballots and learn how the process work. If the process doesn't work, then you're lucky, we vote in 2 years, so lobby your government to fix it. Go work in the local government and learn for themselves that in the end, most of the grandma's counting ballots are actually well meaning and nice people.
Standing on the side claiming the world should stop because one has doubts is nonsense. Offering only complaints and no solutions isn't helpful.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Friday January 15 2021, @05:55PM (2 children)
The irony being that these are all the "she lost, get over it" folks that are now rioting because they lost and can't get over it.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 15 2021, @08:06PM (1 child)
No, it's hardly all. It is a very small subset, and mind you none of them are remotely conservative. They just latch onto whatever is happening at the tome. Real conservatives are waiting for other shoe to drop.
This is about as ironic as this site claiming it is nothing like the green site, within few years becoming even more rife with Leftist drivel than the Green site. What a fucking accomplishment.
Now mod this post a flamebait, so everyone can clap...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 16 2021, @12:24AM
OK, done. Did you have some point?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by DannyB on Friday January 15 2021, @04:29PM (6 children)
Does it even seem plausible that Democrats could somehow manage to steal the election in one Republican leaning precinct / county? Let alone ALL of them.
It boggles the mind to conceive of the level of organization it would take to have such a vast number of people, in key positions, at every voting precinct. And to somehow keep this all a secret. It isn't even believable to think that Democrats, yes Democrats could manage a medium size organization, nevermind something this vast -- and in secret.
About as credible as 400,000 NASA people, and contractors, managing to keep the faked moon landings a secret for 50+ years. Without real proof of the fakery ever getting out!
Every election has had irregularities. It is common for recounts to differ by hundreds of votes. Sometimes as high as a thousand. But never enough to affect the actual outcome in the precinct being recounted.
If there is some kind of vast conspiracy to steal the election, it is upon those saying so to PROVE IT. They filed dozens of baseless lawsuits without any proof. They didn't even take their own lawsuits seriously -- they just expected a Republican judge to rubber stamp it. They didn't even produce proof of service upon defendants. Clearly bad faith in a lawsuit not even meant to be taken seriously.
If there really were a vast conspiracy to steal the election:
1. I would just LOVE to see the PROOF of it
2. I would be just as enraged as you are
So far all I've seen is claims the election was stolen. Passionate claims. Loud. Repeated. Said with a straight face. But that doesn't convince me. How was it done? Specifics? Who did it? What physical evidence is there? (This was the most camera recorded vote and recount ever!) I'm not talking about ordinary irregularities of dozens or hundreds of votes. I'm asking about what could change the outcome.
Why is it that when I hold a stick, everyone begins to look like a pinata?
(Score: 3, Funny) by DeathMonkey on Friday January 15 2021, @04:56PM (1 child)
And of course, that entire massive conspiracy was coordinated by a sleepy guy suffering from dementia...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @07:33PM
Noone thinks the kid sniffer orchestrated anything. He's a reanimated corpse the puppet masters stuck on a string.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday January 15 2021, @07:45PM (3 children)
Let's just think a bit more about this massive conspiracy.
Much of America is small towns. Where everyone knows one another. Strangers are very obvious.
How would a vast conspiracy manage to infiltrate every single small town voting precinct? And keep it quiet -- 100% of the time, without fail.
How would the learn how the various checks and balances and security mechanisms work at each local voting and counting place? How would you engineer a way to flip votes or miscount votes at every one of these locations? With so many eyes (and cameras) watching?
How is it that all of these precincts certified their elections. Presumably all the local people knew who the vote counters were. Probably go to church / school / work with them. Other people (both parties) carefully watching. The local people would know who is ultimately in charge of presiding over the election, and declaring the certified outcome. And that person would know all the people he/she is communicating with about the entire process. Strangers would stick out.
How would you do this at scale in so many different small towns in so many different regions? In the mountains? The desert? The plains? Farming communities?
It boggles the mind that such a vast conspiracy could even exist, let alone be kept secret.
Why is it that when I hold a stick, everyone begins to look like a pinata?
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 15 2021, @09:24PM
"My gut feeling is that most conspiracy theorists have never been project managers. Their optimism is adorable..."
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday January 16 2021, @02:24AM (1 child)
You don't need small towns, You only need about a dozen key high-population counties.
And when +1200 people are willing to sign an affidavit attesting to witnessing what they believed was fraud (remember, lying on an affidavit is a felony) seems to me those affidavits should at least be examined, whether you believe anything nefarious happened or not.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @12:00AM
Seems like it would be easier to bribe 1200 people to simply lie or stretch the truth than run a conspiracy across hundreds of different counties. As usual rightwing nuttery is projection, as evident from how Trump's accusations and lawsuits always targeted communities with larger numbers of minorities and democrats. Can't believe you nutters are still in the Qult.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday January 15 2021, @04:53PM (1 child)
I would add this:
Trump's own people said things like: this was the most secure election in history
An AC elsewhere on SN posted:
Why is it that when I hold a stick, everyone begins to look like a pinata?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Friday January 15 2021, @05:58PM
Lawyers fear perjury because it has the actual consequence of losing jour job on top of the slap on the wrist the legal system hands out.
Hmm....wonder why Trump's legal team refuses to claim vote fraud under oath?
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 15 2021, @05:02PM (1 child)
No, but the lack of any actual evidence supporting it being stolen, pretty much ought to end it. To suggest that the two positions have equal validity is rather ridiculous. This is a bit like arguing with a flat earth creationist, yes, they have a point of view, no it is not as valid as that of those that acknowledge that the world isn't flat.
At any rate, the folks complaining about it being "rigged" didn't seem to have any issue with the gerrymandering and the fact that smaller swing states get an outsized role in deciding the outcome of the election.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 15 2021, @07:16PM
It is all they have left, trying to use the general dissatisfaction with politics to make their horror show sound less repulsive. "TeH DeMoNrAtS aRe jUsT aS BaD!@!"
Was all fun and games till they want actual fascist.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by FatPhil on Friday January 15 2021, @05:42PM (3 children)
The statistically "off" things you refer to are a mixture of lies, irrelevancies, and utter lack of understanding of stats - usually a combination of all three. In particular that Shiva dude, he's a complete idiot, and all of his analyses are pure garbage.
The people who feel they they have no say are just whiny little shits that don't understand the paradox of democracy. Only one side wins. Get over it.
And they, by interrupting the functioning of your terribley broken democracy, are the ones who are bringing on the totalitarianism.
It would be hard for you to be more wrong in just one paragraph even if you'd *tried*. Start your next post with "up is down. black is white. odd numbers are even. hot is cold. I've got something intelligent to say." to make sure you get off to a better start on that front.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 16 2021, @12:35AM (2 children)
Shiva, you say?
The Dance is over.
Statistical Geniuses over here. My Gawd are they stupid! [americanlibertyreport.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @03:58AM
That one has to be trolling. The lack of knowledge about how election statistics work or Virginia's historical voting record makes that sad. I almost think that had to be on purpose. The last paragraph, however, makes it hilarious in hindsight.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Sunday January 17 2021, @10:03AM
Classic Trumpaloon behaviour, concentrated Dunning-Kruger.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Tokolosh on Friday January 15 2021, @04:19PM (25 children)
The biggest lie yet perpetrated on the human race is that socialism or communism will benefit society. Evidence, history, economics, research, science and bitter experience back this up. So, time to suppress this fake news, deplatform anyone making the argument and delete all the posts. If this is not done, it means that any nonsense can be published, without consequence.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday January 15 2021, @04:35PM (13 children)
In the US we have public education. Socialism!
Some socialist countries have a better standard of living than we do.
I am NOT saying I want to turn the US into a socialist country. I'm just saying we already practice some socialism and not all socialist countries are bad.
As for communism, I can only say this: Communism only works:
1. in Heaven, where it isn't needed
2. in Hell, where they already have it and always will have it
Why is it that when I hold a stick, everyone begins to look like a pinata?
(Score: 2, Flamebait) by Tokolosh on Friday January 15 2021, @04:48PM (11 children)
Public education in the US? Thanks for making my case for me. Dollar per benefit, it is the most inefficient system devised, exceeded only by the healthcare system and the military-industrial complex.
Countries have varying degrees of socialism. The ones that have an better standard of living than the US, are ones that are less socialist with stronger free markets. The truth that cannot be spoken by left or right, is that the US is remarkably socialist. Just read the headlines today.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 15 2021, @05:06PM (2 children)
Can I introduce you to the DoD, if you think that the public education system is inefficient, the DoD is an order of magnitude of orders of magnitude worse. They'll literally lose entire pallets of cash and nobody with any power seems to think this is a problem.
(Score: 3, Touché) by mhajicek on Friday January 15 2021, @05:36PM
It's working as intended. It's extremely efficient in its true objective of funneling money into certain pockets.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 15 2021, @06:53PM
They don't see it as a problem because they know exactly where those pallets of money went: To bribing local warlords. The bribes themselves were all off the books so that no warlord would know (and complain about) if or how much any of the others got paid.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by DannyB on Friday January 15 2021, @05:08PM (2 children)
When I was in public schools (mid 60s to end of 70s) public education actually did work.
The biggest discipline problems were:
* chewing gum
* talking out of turn
* and OMG running in the hallways
Kids watches Sesame Street.
Now:
* pregnancy
* rape
* drugs
* school shootings
Kids watched Barney purple dinosaur
Why is it that when I hold a stick, everyone begins to look like a pinata?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 16 2021, @01:58PM (1 child)
I went to school in the 90/00s. It was the same stuff. Pregnancy, drugs, and school shootings didn't used to happen, because most people didn't go to school that long. In the 60s, 40% of workers didn't have high school diplomas, nowadays 40% have 4 year degrees.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Sunday January 17 2021, @12:49AM
The workers that didn't have a diploma in the '60s were school aged in the '50s.
The students in school in the '60s and '70s didn't enter the workforce until the late '70s or '80s. My own time in school from early '70s to late '80s saw practically everyone graduating (some a year late), no shootings, no rapes, 1 pregnancy, and a fair sized minority into pot. There was one half-hearted knife fight.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by FatPhil on Friday January 15 2021, @05:47PM (1 child)
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @07:37PM
"much of the other 96% of the world is doing a whole load of these things just fine."
yeah, right, you dumb tub of shit.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Friday January 15 2021, @08:11PM (1 child)
So if we have the least socialism and the worst education system, what would that imply?
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 16 2021, @08:49AM
If... socialism... weighs the same as a duck, it's made of wood.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Friday January 15 2021, @09:57PM
And yet, when anyone suggests we should do something more like one of those other countries with a better standard of living, the GOP screams OMG SOCIALISM!!! So which is it?
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Friday January 15 2021, @06:28PM
Does anybody read the last chapter of the Little Red Book? It has a rather happy ending.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Friday January 15 2021, @04:58PM (2 children)
"Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism, as I understand it." - George Orwell [orwell.ru]
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday January 16 2021, @01:19AM
And now the Democratic Socialists are going full-1984. Their mantra of "It's okay when we do it" also extends to public violence and murder.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @05:29AM
This is case of re-branding. I grew up in People's Republic! It had to be Democratic Socialism, it was in the name!
(Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Friday January 15 2021, @06:02PM (7 children)
The biggest lie perpetuated by Americans is that socialism is communism.
Let's compare the USA with the social semiconductor it's northern border, Canada.
Longer lifespan? Canada. Universal public health care probably has a lot to do with it. Covid infection and death rates? Less than half the USA per capita.
I guess you also want to eliminate the free covid vaccines in the USA, because that is socialist. And old age pensions. The minimum wage. Public utilities like water. Fire departments. Free public schools and libraries. And erect tolls on city streets. Do away with food inspectors, air traffic controllers, all those other things that everyone benefits from without necessarily paying for on a simple user fee basis because shared public services is socialism.
SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 15 2021, @07:21PM (3 children)
"Fire departments"
That one is particularly insidious actually, around 85% of all fire fighters are actually volunteers. I think it is awesome people are willing to support their communities like that, but it is really messed up that such an essential service people provide goes unpaid. 3 AM call? Get up and spend at least an hour taking care of the community then pray you get some sleep before work in the morning. Rather shameful and shows how the US culture simply does not value community properly.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 15 2021, @08:19PM
On the subject of fire departments, I'd noticed over the years (in a canadian city) that one always sees the local fire department show up at even minor vehicle accidents and other places without a fire or the expectation of one. I mentioned it to a paramedic friend of mine, and she said it all came down to funding. Fire Departments need to be big enough and dispersed enough to respond in a timely manner anywhere within their service area. Modern building codes have resulted in a huge reduction of fires and other incidents that the fire department traditionally responded to.
Politicians see the huge size of the department in point one and the funding that goes with it, the small number of call-outs or other services rendered in point two, and decide funding can be reduced. This is a bit of a problem, since the fire dept. needs to be as big as it is to do it's job properly, regardless of how often it needs to do that job. So the local fire chiefs started seizing any opportunity they could to send personnel out and log it as a call-out.
There was a point I wanted to make when I started this but I've lost it now. Oh, maybe: Taxpayer Funded - Insanity, if it works at all.
I have no information on how many are volunteers.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday January 16 2021, @02:30AM (1 child)
Actually, it shows how Americans value community more than they value getting paid.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 16 2021, @10:35AM
I'm not talking about the volunteers. It is nuts that essential services rely heavily on volunteers. Just shows what we value as a society. Maybe the volunteers should stop giving their labor for free, or we should track all Republicans and Libertarians to make sure they have to pay for any such services they receive. Call the police on some minority minding their own business? Police time billed to the person wasting their time. House on fire? Better pony up a few grand before they turn the hoses on.
See where this is going?
(Score: 1, Redundant) by Tokolosh on Friday January 15 2021, @08:26PM
None of the things you list require a government, except for public rights of way, and enforcement of liberties and contracts. That is not to say that potentially they could be provided more efficiently by the state, but in the long-term, that is unlikely. If there were a way for individuals to opt out, I would say have at it. If you think your system is superior, nobody would opt out, so I challenge you to let that happen. How about making Social Security opt-in?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 16 2021, @01:04AM
Public services predate the advent of socialism (19th century) by centuries. Try again.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @07:40PM
"The biggest lie perpetuated by Americans is that socialism is communism. "
yes, well the Jews that control the kids education, tv and church can't have little Jimmy learning that Hitler was the good guy in WW2.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Friday January 15 2021, @05:05PM
It may not be a solution, but it's an attempt [soylentnews.org] and has been tried in Taiwan. It may be that the scale of Facebook is too great for this to work; it may be that it could work but would interfere with profits.
(Score: 0, Informative) by hemocyanin on Friday January 15 2021, @06:48PM (17 children)
You should have had this discussion with Rachel Madow a while back.
As for education, the Critical * Theorists have taken it over. Opposing viewpoints are verboten, disagreement is violence, and everyone is a racist nazi. It is NOT going to get better.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by aristarchus on Friday January 15 2021, @07:57PM (16 children)
hemonaicyn here is a poster child for the education solution. An under-educated person picks up a few trigger-words, like "Cultural Marxism" and "Hillary" and develop an lower brain response. They can only hate, not understand. They cut themselves off from other points of view, and claim that organizations like CNN are somehow biased. The whine about being silenced, when they offer no rational arguments, and start adopting the positions of the Former National Socialist Worker's Partei of the Deutschland. Yes, it people can publicly act in such uneducated ways, in public, without being asshamed of their ignorance, it is not going to get better.
(Score: 1, Touché) by hemocyanin on Friday January 15 2021, @09:52PM (15 children)
Point made.
(Score: 2, Flamebait) by aristarchus on Friday January 15 2021, @10:09PM (14 children)
The boy doth quote himself! Very small bubble, very small. But you do nazi you, hemo!
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by hemocyanin on Friday January 15 2021, @10:15PM (13 children)
Point made again.
(Score: 2, Flamebait) by aristarchus on Friday January 15 2021, @10:25PM (7 children)
Yes, the bubble is closing in! Get out, while you can, hemo! We don't want you becoming Buffalo Horn Hat Guy!
(Score: 1) by hemocyanin on Friday January 15 2021, @10:52PM (6 children)
No chance of that. I'm an atheist. He is somewhat amusing though: https://imgur.com/t4mDuoe [imgur.com]
"sound actually proceeds electromagnetic activity ... so when you sing and drum especially when you do so really loudly, you affect the quantum realm ..." Buffalo Horn Hat Guy
(Score: 2, Flamebait) by aristarchus on Saturday January 16 2021, @12:03AM (5 children)
Yep, instead of a pardon and organic jail food, I think he needs psychiatric care. But you yourself are getting close to that as well, my dear hemo!
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by hemocyanin on Saturday January 16 2021, @01:50AM (4 children)
That guy was one random life event away between rioting for Antifa or being a Qdude. Same mindset, different religion.
(Score: 2, Touché) by aristarchus on Saturday January 16 2021, @05:00AM (3 children)
Nah, and you know it, hemo. Crazy only bends one way, and that is toward the right. Pol Pot? Right wing authoritarian, under a Maoist cover. Any other questions, Boomer?
(Score: 1) by hemocyanin on Saturday January 16 2021, @10:05AM (2 children)
Not a boomer.
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by aristarchus on Saturday January 16 2021, @10:53AM (1 child)
Oh, shit? Pre-Boomer? Or just an idiot right-wing nut-job of any generation? Admit it, hemo, you are a Nazi left over from the previous Nazis. Actual Nazis. OK, crypto-Boomer?
(Score: 1) by hemocyanin on Saturday January 16 2021, @08:01PM
point made again, again.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 15 2021, @10:46PM (4 children)
walks like a duck, quacks like a duck
gee it's a duck!
Personally I don't think hemo is an actual nazi type, just an idiot possibly with creeping dementia that watches Fox News and still can't put 2 + 2 together to realize he is constantly defending nazis. Being an old white male he has been sold a persecution complex that is laughably absurd.
Details may be off in reality since we're communicating via 100 symbols, but that is the caricature he portrays. Calling him a nazi or a nazi supporter may be accurate, but it just feeds into that persecution complex and has him double down. Reality by damned!!!
(Score: 1, Insightful) by hemocyanin on Friday January 15 2021, @11:16PM (3 children)
Look who's the nazi now! The old "2+2=4" thing is an "attack phrase" -- you need to decolonize your math if you want to be a lefty: https://twitter.com/ESMathTeacher/status/1290680121024684032 [twitter.com]
Background: https://arcdigital.media/mathgate-or-the-battle-of-two-plus-two-ed4af5f32933 [arcdigital.media]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 15 2021, @11:45PM (2 children)
HA!
I try and give you some benefit of the doubt even though you have displayed a sickening level of support for the insurrectionists and this is how you respond? Whatever you cantankerous fart, you traitor to democracy, you lover of racists. We see what you are by your response to the insurrection.
(Score: 1) by hemocyanin on Saturday January 16 2021, @01:47AM (1 child)
Just saying, you used the idiom "2+2=4". That means you are a nazi by left-authoritarian standards. Read the backgrounder -- I'm not even joking. I'm just pointing out how insane the left-authoritarians are and if you think you can escape that, think again. You already screwed up.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 16 2021, @05:02AM
No, no! It is the 2X4 upside your head, hemo! Also known as a "clue stick"? Do not you Pine for the days of 3X5 studs? I know you do!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 16 2021, @03:46PM
They are producing news shows that are presenting fantasy as fact.
Prior to this there used to be a 'hard liberal', 'hard conservative', and 'respectably neutral' slant to most news in the United States (there has always been partisan news stories published, but for most papers they had to maintain a veneer of credibility by ensuring most of their stories most of the time were factually correct.) However the past 20 years or so has seen more 'flexibility' in the mainstream stories to the point where news within an ideological bubble will all copy each other in order to ensure consistency, while the other side will present a different narrative (whether real, slanted, or factually incorrect) and the only real way to verify the facts is if you have the time, critical reading/thinking skills, and knowledge of other news networks to source your information from, say, international sources and sources with known slants to verify which narratives are correct, incorrect, biased, or unbiased.
Unfortunately many people in the US have come to worship their news media like a false idol, and are making sacrifices to it because the narratives tell them to.