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mostlysignssomeportents · 2 years

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Being good at your job is praxis

You know the joke.

Office manager: "$75 just to kick the photocopier?"

Photocopier technician: "No, it's $5 to kick the photocopier and $70 to know where to kick it."

The trustbusters in the Biden administration know precisely where to kick the photocopier, and they're kicking the shit out of it. You love to see it.

Last July, the Biden admin published an Executive Order enumerating 72 actions that administrative agencies could take without any further action from Congress - dormant powers that the administration already had, but wasn't using:

https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/biden-monopoly-executive-order/

This memo was full of deep cuts, like the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984, Northern Pac. Ry Co v US (1958), the Bank Merger Act and the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, and the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/07/09/executive-order-on-promoting-competition-in-the-american-economy/

The memo opened with the kind of soaring rhetoric that I absolutely dote on, a declaration of the end of Reagonomics and its embrace of monopoly:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/08/party-its-1979-og-antitrust-back-baby

But the memo didn't just offer red meat to tube-feeding activist cranks like me: it also set out 72 specific, technical activities that would make profound, material changes in the economy and improvements to the lives of every person in America, and then the administration executed every one of those actions:

https://www.davispolk.com/insights/client-update/president-bidens-executive-order-competition-one-year-later

They knew where to kick the photocopier and boy did they kick it - hard.

The White House action has Tim Wu's fingerprints all over it. He's the brilliant, driven law professor who's gone to work as Biden's tech antitrust czar. But Wu isn't alone: he's part of a trio of appointees who are all expert photocopier kickers. There's Jonathan Kanter at the DoJ and Lina Khan at the FTC.

Khan is a model of administrative competence and ideological coherence. Her tenure has included lots of soaring rhetoric to buoy the spirits of people like me:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/09/rest-in-piss-robert-bork/#harmful-dominance

But it's also included lots of extremely skillful ju-jitsu against the system, using long-neglected leverage points to Get Shit Done, rather than just grandstanding or demanding that Congress take action. Here's the FTC's latest expert kick at the photocopier: action on Right to Repair that exercises existing authority:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7bxaa/ftc-energy-rules-right-to-repair

The Right to Repair fight is a glaring example of democratic dysfunction. Americans broadly and strongly support the right to fix their own stuff, or to take their stuff to the repair depot of their choice. How broadly? Well, both times that the question has been on the Massachusetts ballot, there was massive participation and the measures passed with ~80% majorities:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/26/nixing-the-fix/#r2r

But despite this, state-level attempts to pass R2R bills have been almost entirely crushed by a coalition of monopolists, led by Apple, including John Deere, GM, Wahl Shavers, Microsoft, Google, and many other giant corporations who want the power to tell you your property is beyond repair and must be condemned to an e-waste dump:

https://doctorow.medium.com/apples-cement-overshoes-329856288d13

Right to Repair is a case study for the proposition that "ordinary citizens… get the policies they favor, but only because those policies happen also to be preferred by the economically-elite citizens who wield the actual influence."

https://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/mgilens/files/gilens_and_page_2014_-testing_theories_of_american_politics.doc.pdf

Enter the photocopier kickers, wearing boots. The same month that the White House dropped is massive antitrust executive order, it also published an executive order on Right to Repair, including electronics repair:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/10/unnixing-the-fix/#r2r-plus-plus

The EO built on the evidence compiled through the FTC's "Nixing the Fix" report:

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/reports/nixing-fix-ftc-report-congress-repair-restrictions/nixing_the_fix_report_final_5521_630pm-508_002.pdf

But it also identified that the FTC already had the power to do Right to Repair, in its existing Congressional authorization:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/07/09/fact-sheet-executive-order-on-promoting-competition-in-the-american-economy/

The Biden antitrust strategy is powerful because it recognizes that every administrative agency has powers that can be brought to bear to slow down the anticompetitive flywheel that has allowed giant corporations to extract monopoly profits and then launder them into pro-monopoly policies.

Which brings me to today's news: the FTC has carefully reviewed the powers it has under its existing Energy Labeling Rule (you know, the rule that produces those Energystar stickers on appliances) and concluded that it can also force companies to publish repair manuals under this rule:

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/10/federal-trade-commission-seeks-public-comment-initiative-reduce-energy-costs-strengthen-right-repair

As USPIRG's Nathan Proctor told Motherboard’s Matthew Gault, "When Congress passed energy conservation policies decades ago, it included the ability to require Right to Repair access. While that provision has gone unnoticed for too long, it’s not surprising it was written that way."

https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7bxaa/ftc-energy-rules-right-to-repair

The FTC is now planning to exercise that long dormant authority in a game-changing way - to kick the photocopier really, really well. It is seeking public comment on "whether lack of access to repair instructions for covered products is an existing problem for consumers; whether providing such information would assist consumers in their purchasing decisions or product use; whether providing such information would be unduly burdensome to manufacturers; and any other relevant issues"

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/R611004EnergyLabelingANPR.pdf

The Trump years were brutal. Every time we turned around, some Trumpy archvillain was twirling his mustache and announcing an evil plot. Yet so many of these turned out to be nothingburgers - not because they were sincere in their intentions, but because they lacked administrative competence.

Trump embodied administrative incompetence. He was very good at commanding the news cycle, and very good at riling up his base, but he had no idea where to kick the photocopier, and every expert photocopier kicker that Trump hired got immediately fired, because they would insist that Getting Shit Done required patience and precision, not a deluge of chaotic governance-by-tweeting.

To the extent that Trumpland Got Shit Done - packing the courts, handing out trillions in tax gifts to the ultra-rich - it was in spite of Trump and his trumpies, and because of the administratively competent wing of the party: McConnell, Romney, et al. In the GOP, "establishment" is a slur meaning "competent."

This isn't to say that Trump wasn't dangerous - he absolutely was. But it does militate for an understanding of politics that pays close attention to competence as well as virtue or wickedness.

It's one of the things that was very exciting about the Elizabeth Warren campaign - those long-ass policy documents she dropped were eye-wateringly detailed photocopier-kicking manuals for the US government.

Biden himself isn't much of a photocopier kicker. He's good at gladhanding, but the photocopier kickers in his administration represent a triumph of the party's progressive wing. And therein lies a key difference between the parties: in the GOP, the competent are the establishment; in the Democrats, the establishment are the ones who can't or won't act, and the progressives have got their boots on and are ready to kick.

Image: Temple University Libraries (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/tulpics/4882641645/

CC BY 2.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

[Image ID: A photocopier in an office copy room; a silhouetted figure is dealing a flying kick to it.]

#pluralistic

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desertpups · 6 months

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Dermott explains defiance of Pride tape ban: 'We need supporters'

Arizona Coyotes defenseman Travis Dermott explained his decision to use Pride tape Saturday night, becoming the first known player to stand against the NHL's recent ban on the rainbow-colored equipment.

"You don't really want to go against rules that are put in place by your employer, but there's some people who took some positive things from it," Dermott told Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports. "That's kind of what I'm looking to impact.

"You want to have everyone feel included and that's something that I have felt passionate about for a long time in my career. It's not like I just jumped on this train. It's something that I've felt has been lacking in the hockey community for a while. I feel like we need supporters of a movement like this; to have everyone feel included and really to beat home the idea that hockey is for everyone."

The NHL sent a memo to all 32 teams in early October prohibiting the use of Pride tape. The decision came months after the league nixed Pride-themed warmup jerseys following controversy surrounding a collection of players who refused to wear them last season.

Dermott included the colorful tape on the shaft of his stick for Saturday's victory of the Anaheim Ducks. The NHL said it will review the situation "in due course," and Dermott committed to his decision expecting backlash.

"I don't want to put my teammates or my coaches or my GMs or the equipment managers in any kind of bad light when it's their job to kind of look out for something like this happening," he said. "It was definitely something that I did just by myself and was prepared to kind of deal with whatever repercussions the league decides to push towards that. I'm not going to back off and say that this battle is won, but we're going to find better ways to do it."

#Travis Dermott #Arizona coyotes #coyotes #pride tape #nhl

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annieqattheperipheral · 7 months

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Players & team front office responses

The Florida Panthers hosted the league’s first Pride Night in 2013, and the promotion gradually spread across the league until all teams were wearing rainbow-colored jerseys and using Pride Tape during the 2021-22 season without issue. (x)

Oct 2023:

An NHL spokesperson told ESPN that Pride tape had been allowed for years as an exception to its stick tape restrictions, which otherwise would allow players to use only black or white tape. The league said the current ban on Pride tape was to prevent teams and players from using it as an "end around" to violate the new uniform policy.

Stickers and ribbons are also banned from player uniforms, although coaches are allowed to wear ribbons.

...

Commissioner Gary Bettman: "What happened last year was that the issue of who wanted to wear a particular uniform on a particular night overshadowed everything that our clubs were doing. So what we said, instead of having that distraction and having our players have to decide whether or not they wanted to do something or not do something and be singled out, we said, 'Let's not touch that,'"

ESPN

Deputy commissioner Bill Daly: “I think the primary point is that nothing’s really going to change in the sense that our clubs will continue to celebrate these special initiatives and these causes and do a lot of cause messaging around those events,” he said. “The only difference this year is we’re asking the clubs not to employ use of the players on the ice during the game. As you know, probably, we had some issues last year with players feeling uncomfortable in supporting certain causes and we didn’t want our players to be put in those situations going forward.”

Sportsnet

"Game/practice restrictions don't interfere with players' ability to support in other settings. In fact, we encourage them to. (We) just don't want to put other player(s) in a tough spot simply because they don't choose to join."

Toronto Maple Leafs

Morgan Rielly - A

“It’s unfortunate. But I think as players and as people,” Rielly said Tuesday. “We’re going to continue to support those people and those causes that we think need it or are worthy and very deserving of it. Whatever statement was made is fine, but as players, we’re going to continue to offer support and be allies. We want to be a part of this community.”

...

Rielly, for one, won’t be deterred from speaking in support of marginalized groups.

“I wish players had the right to kinda do more and be more involved,” Rielly said.

“I’m going to continue to be involved in the community and offer support to those communities and those groups that want that and need that. As players, we’re going to continue to be involved, pretty much no matter what the league says.”

Brad Treliving - GM

Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving said that both he personally and the Leafs as an organization have always been supporters of the 2SLGPTQ+ community. Memo or no memo.

“Nothing’s gonna change that,” Treliving said. “We’ll figure out our ways that we make sure that we do the right things and support as we always have and stay true to what we believe in. There’s always challenges in in the world, but that doesn’t affect how we support.”

sportsnet

Mitch Marner - A

“That’s something that I think a lot of people in our organization take pride in and have supported that community for a long time,” Marner said on the Jeff Marek Show Tuesday. “I know I have a lot of friends, I’ve got family, so that’s something close to my heart. I think I’ve said before, but everyone in this world should be able to express themselves as best as possible, and love who they love. They shouldn’t be looked at any differently… It’s unfortunate, but it is what it is. We’re still obviously going to support those communities, and still got a lot of love for them.”

Sportsnet

Edmonton Oilers

Connor McDavid - C

"I've expressed disappointment in not being able to wear the various jersey or the tapes ... whether that's Pride tape or pink tape," McDavid said Tuesday.

"Is it something that I'd like to see back into place one day? Certainly," McDavid added.

ESPN

"In terms of a league standpoint, is it something that I'd like to see put back into place one day? Certainly. You know, but that's not the way it is right now," he told reporters at Rogers Place.

...

"I've commented on this before. I think everyone knows how I feel," said McDavid, a three-time MVP of the NHL.

"I've enjoyed all the nights that we've celebrated here in Edmonton, whether that's Pride night or military night or Indigenous night, all the various nights that we've had and had a chance to celebrate. I've always enjoyed them. I can't speak for anyone else or the league."

Zach Hyman

McDavid's teammate, Zach Hyman, also used the word disappointing when asked about the ban on Pride tape but suggested he won't stop supporting the LGBTQ2S+ community.

"We'll be able to support them individually, but collectively that's out of the players control. Disappointing, but out of our control," Hyman told reporters.

"It's out of our hands. I know personally I enjoyed wearing the Pride jersey, the Pride tape, the military jersey, we had Willie O'Ree night, Indigenous night, all those great things that we support."

CTV News Edmonton

Nashville Predators

Ryan McDonagh - A

"It's a fine line in today's world and today's sports culture," McDonagh said before the Predators faced the Tampa Bay Lightning in their 2023-24 season opener at Amalie Arena. "You want to be your own self, be your own individual, represent yourself. But you also represent your company, your brand and your employer —everybody that you're working for.

"I think it's a work in progress as far as what's right and what's not. Ultimately the individual has the final say. I think that's what you found out last year with guys that made certain stances on things. That has to be continually discussed ... letting people make their own choices."

...

McDonagh said there are other ways players can show support for causes, though. For example, the rule doesn't prohibit players from wearing supportive shirts in arenas.

"Just because I'm not given the opportunity to wear a jersey doesn't mean I can't speak out for something I believe in," he said. "One opportunity closes, another opportunity opens.

"If you feel strongly for something, there's a will and a way to support anything you want in this world."

The Tennessean

Calgary Flames

Mikael Backlund - A

"I mean, it's their decision," said Flames captain Mikael Backlund.

"We're going to support Pride any way we can, other than the tape, and we're going to follow the rules and do what we're told."

Rasmus Andersson

"I mean, it sucks," said Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson.

"It's something that's close to my heart and something I would love to support but, you know, it is what it is and we've got to find other ways to support it."

CTV News Calgary

Jonathan Huberdeau - A

“I fully supported it, and still support it,” Huberdeau said. “For me personally I still support it, and if I get the chance to do it, I’ll do it.”

Sportsnet

Vancouver Canucks

Patrik Allvin - GM

"Decisions like that, that’s something we follow the NHL, what they recommend,” said Allvin. “I think this organization has done a lot of good things in the community…we will continue to do that. But we definitely follow the league rules and what they’re telling us to do.”

Quinn Hughes - C

"I preached it before, last year in this locker room, this organization, with Pride, will always support that,” said Hughes. “It starts at the top of the organization with the Aquilinis on down. Whether we’re wearing the tape or the jerseys, it’s something that we’ll always support. We may not be doing anything on the ice but we’ll still be doing things off the ice to support it.”

Ian Cole - Canucks’ NHLPA union rep [fr??!]

"I know the reputation that this organization has,” said Cole. “When I came here, it was a really great selling point of this organization — how they approach these things…I think it is very important.”

...

“I think that the NHL wants zero controversy, which inevitably gave them controversy,” said Cole. “Unfortunately, they are the iron fist there and what they say goes…They’re the ones that make the rules. Unfortunately, as employees, we don’t get a ton of say in it. But I really respect and like what the Vancouver Canucks have done.”

[sidenote: this dude's got his own horrendous serious issues (tw: sa) so consider this the worst person you know said something passable. Also he had the NHLPA's support when he was suspended for the allegations so it makes me wonder if he gets at all that they need to take a stand here.]

Vancouver Is Awesome

Winnipeg Jets

Josh Morrissey - A

"It's always been something that I've tried to embrace, the different theme nights and, obviously, the inclusivity around the game of hockey," Morrissey said. "Try and have everyone feel comfortable to either play or watch or be a part of what I think is the greatest game on earth. So that won't change, I guess, as a goal personally to try to grow the game, regardless of what the memo says."

Kevin Cheveldayoff - GM

"I do know that this organization takes great care in wanting to be inclusive and the theme nights," Cheveldayoff told reporters in Winnipeg. "What the specifics of the memos are, I really can't speak to. I don't really have that yet.

"I'll have to obviously get briefed on that a little bit more. But I do know that the commitment from an organization standpoint is we'll do everything we possibly can."

CBC

San Jose Sharks

Anthony Duclair

"I know a lot of guys are supportive of that. I have no problem in the past to do it. It sucks that’s not going to be part of the league moving forward,” Duclair, who has worn both Pride jerseys and used Pride tape on his sticks in previous years, told San Jose Hockey Now. “It’s a little weird to me, a little puzzling to me.”

...

“For me, you’re also banning Black History Month,” the San Jose Sharks winger, of Haitian descent and also an outspoken member of the Hockey Diversity Alliance, opined. “I think we’re taking a step backwards, to be honest.”

...

All these guidelines might affect Duclair, who famously, before Martin Luther King Day during the 2020-21 season, wore skates that featured, per The Athletic, “the letters ‘BLM’ to support the Black Lives Matter movement, a raised fist logo and the phrase ‘Change Hockey Culture.’ The left skate also [featured] the logo of the Hockey Diversity Alliance.”

Duclair isn’t sure if such on-ice statements are now banned during Black History Night.

"That’s something I’ll have to ask,” he said. It sure looks like it though.

But one thing that Duclair knows, the NHL, is once again, falling behind other leagues, by not opening the door for new fans to feel welcome.

“That’s why the NBA, NFL, leagues like that, they’re always growing year after year, always getting new fans, new viewership,” he said.

San Jose Hockey Now

Pride Tape

The Pride Tape team is extremely disappointed by the NHL's decision to eliminate Pride Tape from any league on-ice activities.

The league has used language in recent days which would prohibit the tape from any proximity to NHL Hockey. We hope the league - and teams - will again show commitment to this important symbol of combating homophobia. Many of the players themselves have been exceptional advocates for the tape.

For the last six years we are grateful for the clubs and their players' support and visibility for inclusion in hockey. The NHL's amplification and global influence has been integral to Pride Tape connecting with players, parents, coaches, officials, fans at all levels in over 40 countries.

Seven years ago, Pride Tape was born out of adversity as a grassroots hockey initiative that remains resilient, and optimistic about our plans with hockey clubs, organizations and their partners at every level.

Thank you to everyone around the world who has had the courage to speak up for inclusion and stand up to the idea that Hockey is For Everyone. Despite this setback, we are encouraged for what lies ahead based on our recent conversations from every corner of the sport.

You Can Play

If Hockey is for Everyone, this is not the way forward.

It is now clear that the NHL is stepping back from its longstanding commitment to inclusion, and continuing to unravel all of its one-time industry-leading work on 2SLGBTQ+ belonging. We are now at a point where all the progress made, and relationships established with our community, is in jeopardy. Making decisions to eradicate our visibility in hockey- by eliminating symbols like jerseys and now Pride Tape immediately stunts the impact of bringing in more diverse fans and players into the sport.

We continue to be encouraged by our ongoing work and conversations with individual clubs, where we are working collaboratively to ensure Pride Nights remain vibrant events, providing visibility and a message of inclusion to the entire hockey community all year-round. We know this issue is not within the hundreds of dedicated staff within individual clubs who go to work daily to create a culture of belonging for everyone, everywhere in the hockey ecosystem.

We call on all allies, players, fans, and coaches at every level in hockey to amplify their voices and join us in this important conversation and to remind the NHL #WhyThisMatters. This includes the NHLPA and the NHLCA. Hockey is safer and better when more of us belong.

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zvaigzdelasas · 7 months

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600 employees at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne were temporarily laid off by Ford. Additionally, GM will likely [...] lay off some 2,000 employees at its Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas City, Kansas, which builds the Cadillac XT4 SUV and the Chevrolet Malibu sedan.

Wentzville, which builds GM’s midsize pickups and cargo vans, also does stamping work for Fairfax’s vehicles. In a memo to employees, GM said it anticipates running out of the stamping parts for Fairfax as soon as early next week, though it said parts inventory remained fluid. “It is unfortunate that the UAW leadership’s decision to call a strike at Wentzville Assembly has already had a negative ripple effect, with GM’s Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas and its 2,000 team members expected to be idled as soon as early next week,” GM said in a statement. [...]

Jessica Enoch, communications director for Ford, said in an email to the Free Press, “Approximately 600 employees at Michigan Assembly Plant’s body construction department and south sub-assembly area of integrated stamping were notified not to report to work Sept. 15. This is not a lockout. This layoff is a consequence of the strike at Michigan Assembly Plant’s final assembly and paint departments["...]

“Our production system is highly interconnected, which means the UAW’s targeted strike strategy will have knock-on effects for facilities that are not directly targeted for a work stoppage. In this case, the strike at Michigan Assembly Plant’s final assembly and paint departments has directly impacted the operations in other parts of the facility.”

15 Sep 23

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honourablejester · 4 months

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Numenera Oddities

So. Numenera does the thing I love from D&D 5e, and that is trinket tables. Or, in this case, oddity tables.

Oddities are ancient salvaged techno-magical items that aren’t necessarily directly useful, like the more powerful one-shot cyphers or reusable artefacts, but are more there for the flavour of the world. Characters often start with them, GM assigned, and I assume you can find more of them out and about. And … I do love them. These are from the Oddity Table on pgs 305-307 of the Discovery corebook, and they’re just … so illustrative of this future fantasy, scavenger world, 'remants of past civilisations' setting.

I think one of the things that I most love is that, from the characters’ POV, in their medieval fantasy setting, these are inscrutable artefacts of a bygone civilisation, but from our POV, with our technology, you can so clearly see what some of them are intended to be:

26 – Series of thin plastic cards that show all kinds of unknown creatures. (Somebody had trading cards or card games during the past billion years)

20 – Plastic bottle that contains a spray that cleans any stain and never runs out. (Somebody finally invented a universal household cleaner, an infinite universal household cleaner, I bet they made an absolute mint)

30 – Metallic jar that maintains the temperature of liquid inside indefinitely. (Somebody made an improved thermos)

60 – Cup that instantly boils any liquid poured into it. (As well as an instant tea/instant pot noodle/instead meal cup)

33 – Small wand-like device that keeps away normal insects in a 5ft radius. (As well as mobile personalised insect zappers)

55 – Shirt that displays your muscles, bones and internal organs when you wear it. (And, for whatever reason, a portable x-ray shirt? Was this a practical invention first, for field x-rays, or was it for funsies, or both?)

58 – Bracelet with a tiny bell charm that rings like a massive bell when intentionally rung. (Personal protective device?)

80 – A bracelet that rends you unable to reproduce while worn. (An easy, non-invasive contraceptive device, interesting)

76 – Ceramic ring that makes you feel as though gentle hands are caressing your body. (As well as a possible sex toy? Or aide for touch-hunger? Not going to lie, if I touched this with no context and no idea what it was going to be, I’d freak the hell out)

79 – A pair of small, floating cubes that keep a small, enclosed room at the temperature at which water freezes. (Portable refrigeration)

Like, a lot of these are clearly futuristic novelty items or household appliances, as well as some more in-depth and casual medical technology. And I love that? I love that. You’re in a medieval fantasy scavenger world where the detritus of past super-futuristic civilisations litter your world, and you’re there picking up random bits of ancestor junk and trying from your own frame of reference to figure out what the fuck they had going on.

Some of the oddities are a bit more inscrutable even from our POV.

7 – Box with a tiny group of musicians in it who play when it is opened and look horrified when it is closed. (Now, this could be a novelty item again, but this is also a setting where ancient crystal obelisks eat people and trans-dimensional portals and pocket dimensions are also a thing, so … not beyond the bounds of possibility that those are live and enslaved musicians getting shunted into a pocket stasis dimension every time you close the lid)

And some have a language barrier in effect:

16 – Small rod that emits a voice saying the same thing in an unknown language every time a button is pushed. (Could be anything from a personal memo to an ancient distress call)

47 – Five metallic plates that orbit around your head and display ever-changing, unknown symbols. (I fucking love this one, if I was a scholar in this world I would dedicate my life to figuring out this language from the presumption that those symbols are some form of reading from me and if I can just figure out what they’re reading from what symbols show when, maybe I can Rosetta stone this language out? I mean, that’s a lot of assumptions, but you’d have to at least try, right?)

There’s also a series of oddities that are clearly communication/monitoring devices:

17 – Glass plate that shows what seems to be a live image of the moon, but from a closer vantage.

43 – Glass cube that shows what seems to be a live aerial view of an unknown, ruined city.

89 – Plate of glass that, when you view the night sky through it, reveals ten times as many stars.

And we, the players, know that the setting does have ancient satellites still in orbit around the planet, full of nanomachines and other ancestors-know-what. So these are clearly receivers for satellite feeds, or possibly in the last case a light-pollution filter. Though I’d be interested to know if that last one is a live image, or if it’s an image of the stars of this world several million years ago.

And then, in the midst of all that, there are several oddities that are clearly just art, or novelties, or just for fun:

57 – Amulet that, when worn, projects holographic images of fish swimming around you.

Is this a nightlight? A holographic art piece? A fun fashion accessory? I don’t know, but I desperately want one, and no matter how useless it is, I would not sacrifice this one oddity for any number of more useful cyphers or artefacts. It’s pretty, and I love it.

I love the design philosophy of these, the illustration of the world and its history that they provide. And, I mean, some of them, like D&D trinkets, can also function as plot hooks. Where is that unknown city on the live feed? Are those musicians real people trapped in a horrifying pocket dimension? Could you Rosetta-stone one of the ancient languages from that metallic plate device, and if you could, what other, potentially more powerful secrets would it unlock?

They’re just … I love trinkets. I love environmental worldbuilding, I love archaeology, I love the illustration of setting inherent in physical objects. These are fantastic.

Trinket tables are the best. Honestly, if you are designing a game, do put in a class of objects that don’t exist for any mechanical, game purpose, but are just there to show your world. To show the ethos of your world via the tiny details and physical objects that populate it.

Also, this game appears to be, to a large extent, ‘fantastic archaeology: the setting’, and I’m here for it. Absolutely!

#numenera #ttrpgs #trinkets #trinket tables #oddities #playing with POVs #i love these so much

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roosterteethwatchdog · 1 year

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This is the first detailed glassdoor after all that happened with RT in October. I will say what they say about management and what the GM said in their internal memo about issues being "past events" and lamenting that things weren't handled internally makes me believe that management just does not give a shit and I don't believe them when they say they'll improve.

#rooster teeth #roosterteeth #glassdoor

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suspension3333 · 25 days

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My story - Truman show (Almost 40 years) / Horrible situations are happening. (Over 3 years) / Everyone's killing me all the time / I'm dying

KKK (666) & BCI Criminals / Crimes & the others

2 states / Serial killers & Mass killing: Murderers / Corruption

Police reports + FBI & CIA Reports +@ (Total: 16 e-mails + Pictures + Media relations (Too many) + 911 + Carrollton PD + LAPD + 211 (Hate crime) +@) FBI & CIA & Cops +@ (Reported too many times): They don't arrest my family & nephews & cousins & the others. (Over 3 years) Check these out.

EVERYBODY/THEY: BCI Criminals - Crimes / Wide open - Over 3 years / Had made a plan & killing me all the time - For about 12 years / Almost 40 years - Trueman show & Lolita & Maruta (Remote hacking) & Cute baby (Ref. CIA Stuff - 17 babies: Ref. News + @) My Mom was an announcer of MBC TV Station (Former: TBC / Now: MBC) & MY Brother - Wanted to be a star + Nephews / Cousins / Relationships + @ - Related My family & nephews & cousins & relationships + @ - They sold me & They had sold me & They are selling me to MBC + SM Entertainment + SK Telecom + @ (+ The others) - $5000/$50000 a year - Human trafficking Prostitution + @ : Businesses + @ : Deals + @ - Moneytree (Black money / Abandonment of a dead body + Stand in for a dead man + Sue + @) & murder & earn money + @ - Too many

KKK (666) / Prostitution (Human trafficking) / Businesses / Deals / Moneytree (Black money / Abandonment of a dead body + Stand in for a dead man + Sue + @) & murder & earn money + @: Too many people: Involved - Presidents (Joe Bidon & Seok Ryul Yoon + @ (+ Former presidents: Bushs & Clintons & Obama & Trump + @ / Jae In Mun & MB Lee + @), senators + @, UN + @, TV Stations (MBC+KBS+SBS+TVN+@/CNN+NBC+CBS+KTLA+ABC+@) & Media relations (Too many), Korean stars (SM & YG & JYP Entertainments+@) & Hollywood stars (Tom Cruise / Brad Pitt / Jennifer Anistone / Emma Stone / Matt Damon / Robert D. Junior & Chris Evans (Marble + DC + @) / Steven Spielberg & Harrison Ford / keanu Reeves + Leonardo Dicaprio + Bruce Willis + @), Companies (SK+Samsung+LG+Hyundai+Neuralink+Synchron+Microsoft+Blizzard+Tesla+Porshe+BMW+GM+Ford+Chrysler+@), co.workers (Former), friends (Former), my family & nephews & cousins & relationships+@ - Too many

Methods of attack - Radiation exposure (By hacking - Artificial gravity + remote hacking + @: Get that (Radiation) from Hospital of Plano + @ (Ref. 16 e-mails + @): Burning me all the time (Possible to move/keep/hold (Radiation - Biochemical weapon) - Inside of my head (Nose & neck + @) & foots & arms & inside/outside of my body - I'm just like a dead body now.) & Possible to move/control my whole body (By hacking - Artificial gravity + remote hacking+@) & brain hacking + a medical experiment on a living body: Remote hacking & Ultra sonic waves (High frequency/Radio frequency - Hacking tool + Podcast) & Electronic harassment & General hacking & CG/Upgrade+@ - Everybody's killing me all the time by using those.

Everybody, they are all murderers.(Serial killers & Mass killing: Murderers - They have been killing people so long time - South Korea & USA Side + @). They have been killing people all around. (Ref. KKK (666) + @: Long history)

For example (They said like those),

3/9/2022 - 6am (+3/10/2022 - 7am) Waste disposal? Long term? Hacking? Got money? Billions + @? Youtube + @? 폐품처리? 오래 해킹? 돈벌이 (수십억)? Youtube + @? (Ref. My memos & e-mails - Useful? Moneytree + @? Name? DOB? Fortune + @?)

3/13/2022 - 8am Killed? Persons? 50 + @? 50명 이상 죽여봤다? No survivors? Brain hacking? Killed? Everyone? 50 + @? (Ref. Memos - Front page & next page (+First e-mail - The same issue) +This video (Please watch this video carefully - They said, "Just? Over 50? Persons? Then, we can be alive? Huh? Hahaha! & We can escape then, huh? Hahaha! & Number of murders: varies from person to person - Ex) 6,7,10 +@) & 200~300 persons +@, at once? Possible? & One by one? Possible? - Methods +@ - Too many" - They just said so on 032324@07:10PM + Death of stars: Related)

4/19/2022 - 12pm 우리 밥이였잖아? 밥이잖아? Our feed? Long term? Past & now? (Ref. My memos & e-mails)

The others (Too many evidences)

My e-mail addresses: [email protected] & [email protected] / Cell phone: (714) 336-6259 / Name: Ji Sung Kim / Address: 1300 Walnut St #110 Carrollton TX 75006 Please let anybody know about the issues & save me. I just need a helping hand. I have been dying because of them.

Youtube: www.youtube.com/@BCI_Criminals_Crimes_KKK_666 Twitter(X): @suspension3333 Instagram: @suspension6259

KKK (666) & BCI Criminals / Crimes + World wars (Related - UN & Israel & hamas war & palestine & World wars (1 & 2) & Strikes + @ Too many) I'm dying because of these. They are killing me all the time. (Ref. KKK (666) + @: Long history)

#@suspension6259

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lboogie1906 · 2 months

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Charles Anthony Tillman (born February 23, 1981) nicknamed “Peanut”, is a former football cornerback who played in the NFL. He played college football for the Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns and was selected by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft.

He played 12 years for the Bears, helping them reach Super Bowl XLI, and played one year with the Carolina Panthers, making Super Bowl 50 with the team, although he had been placed on injured reserve earlier in the season. He was selected to two Pro Bowls and was the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2013.

He was known for his cover skills as well as his ability to force fumbles by stripping or “punching” the ball away from players, with his well-timed punch of the ball commonly known as the “Peanut Punch”. In 2022 the NFL acknowledged it as a new Gridiron football concept in a memo sent to all GMs and head coaches.

He joined the FBI in 2018.

He was born in Chicago but spent the majority of his youth traveling around the world. His father, Donald Tillman Jr., was a sergeant in the Army. He graduated from Copperas Cove High School in Texas. He was a two-time All-District 8-5A and all-area team selection. The Austin American-Statesman and All-State Class 5A honorable mention named him to the Super Cen-Tex team.

He attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, he started for all four years as a left cornerback. He graduated from ULL with a BA in Criminal Justice

He makes appearances on Fox Chicago Sports shows. He organizes, runs, and advocates numerous charitable functions. He and his wife, Jackie, have three daughters and a son.

His Cornerstone Foundation mission is to help improve the lives of critically and chronically ill children throughout Chicago.

He has worked with the United Services Automobile Association (USAA) as part of the insurance company’s “Thank You” campaign.

In September 2019, he rowed across Lake Michigan to raise awareness and nearly $200,000 for childhood cancer. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

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carhirenews · 4 months

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Exclusive: GM’s Cruise robotaxi unit dismisses nine execs after safety probe

By Greg Bensinger and David Shepardson Dec 13 (Reuters) – General Motors’ Cruise robotaxi unit dismissed nine key people amid an ongoing safety investigation, according to a memo seen by Reuters on Wednesday, which the company confirmed included Chief Operating Officer Gil West. The investigation relates to an Oct. 2 incident in which a woman […] The post Exclusive: GM’s Cruise robotaxi unit dismisses nine execs after safety probe appeared first on CAR RENTAL NEWS. https://car-rental.news-6.com/exclusive-gms-cruise-robotaxi-unit-dismisses-nine-execs-after-safety-probe/

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pent1162-blog · 5 months

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6187 萬潤

6187萬潤法人說明會call memo 20231122中信投顧公司簡介：公司成立於1996年，最初發展被動元件領域設備、自動切割機、電感測試與包裝機，2000年跨足半導體設備。2004年進入PCB 檢查設備及FPD塗膠機，之後又發展LED設備及SiP製程設備。公司主要產品為半導體測試及封裝設備，以及被動元件設備兩大領域，目前共有自動化、貼合、點膠、視覺檢測、被動元件／LCD，及機器人等六大產品線。2023年開始，公司跨足植球機及雙軌點膠機。總部在南科高雄園區，2022、2023年在台中、新竹買廠，2022年在日本、美國都有設立辦公室服務客戶，2022年有出貨到日本。公司員工280人，約6成為R&D人員，軟體硬體各半。 2023Q3財務狀況：營收3.31億元 (QoQ +20.2% YoY -41.2%)，毛利1.40億元，GM…

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college-girl199328 · 1 year

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Sustained R1 service could lead to bus cancellations as LRT disruption continues

The city of Ottawa says OC Transpo is looking at several service plans for Sunday and into the workweek as trains remain stuck on part of the Confederation Line, but those plans could affect other commuters.

Two trains became stuck on the line during a freezing rainstorm on Wednesday when a significant amount of ice built up on the overhead wires that power the light rail transit system. An attempt to clear the ice Friday caused more damage to the wires, leaving a third train immobilized on the line. An attempt to move one of the stuck trains on Saturday caused even more damage, immobilizing a fourth train.

OC Transpo is offering rail service between Blair and Tremblay stations, with R1 service running from St. Laurent to Rideau and then another train loop between Ottawa and Tunney’s Pasture in the west end.

Troy Charter, director of transit service delivery and rail operations, tells CTV News Ottawa that keeping that R1 service running will affect other parts of the bus network. "Our commitment is to continue to provide R1 with as frequent a service as possible, but I do need to be 100 percent transparent and honest in this regard, and we do know that there will likely be other impacts to increasing cancellations in other parts of the system," he said in an interview. "The teams are working through that to try to minimize those impacts." And we’re going to continue to work through this all weekend."

Students are returning to classes on Monday, and some federal public servants, who have been working from home since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, will be coming back into downtown offices starting Monday, which would mean increased demand on the system.

Charter said there is currently no timeline for a full return to service. "Our goal is to return to service as soon as possible," he said. "We’re not going to cut corners." We’re going to do this right… At this point, I don’t have a timeframe, but we are looking at multiple service plans for Sunday, as well as Monday and next week, depending on what transpires over the next day.

OC Transpo says it is bringing in additional oversight to monitor repairs on the Confederation Line as work to repair the line and resume full service continues. Transit Services GM Renée Amilcar announced the additional oversight team in a memo Saturday morning.

“OC Transpo is bringing in additional external oversight, in addition to TRA, to closely monitor RTM’s work, provide independent advice to OC Transpo, and confirm that we have a solid plan to return service to this area,” she said.

"Once the inspection is complete, repairs to any damaged sections of the OCS will be completed before recovery attempts resume." TRA was hired to monitor RTM after the September 2021 derailment. Amilcar did not specify who would be providing the additional external oversight.

Charter also didn’t specify who was providing the additional expertise but said it was a team that has worked with the city on the LRT before. "We want to bring in other engineering consultants that have been working with us, with the city of Ottawa and are very familiar with the design and build of the line. "They’re consultants we worked with through the construction phase and the design phase of the system, so we wanted to engage them as well," Charter said.

“At this point, given where we’re at, we didn’t want to bring in a separate consulting firm that needs to be briefed on the situation." "We needed to bring in people familiar with the system who could help us immediately.”

Ottawa mayor Mark Sutcliffe says the disruptions this week are definitely frustrating. "Like all residents and OC Transpo passengers, I’m as frustrated as anyone," he told Newstalk 580 CFRA’s "CFRA Live with Andrew Pinsent" on Saturday morning.

Sutcliffe said OC Transpo and the city are bringing in as much expertise as they can to help solve the issue and ensure reliability going forward. "We need a reliable service; we need a service people can have confidence in," Sutcliffe said.

He noted that before the current issue, the system had been running reliably. "For the past nine months, we’ve had a very reliable system," he said, while acknowledging that this is part of a troubled history with the train. "Whenever an event happens with our light rail system, it’s adding to a list." "It’s not an isolated event; it’s part of an ongoing saga of this story we’ve had playing out over the last roughly four years now."

He told CFRA that bringing in additional oversight is a good thing. "They’re bringing in expertise from outside, which I think is great." "Anytime we’ve got an issue and there are other people who can help and have more experience with this, fantastic," he said.

“It’s been an unfortunate sequence of events." "When they’ve tried a solution, unfortunately, it’s not worked and in some cases even added to the problem, and that can happen sometimes, but they’re doing everything they can to fix this.”

Sutcliffe ran on a platform for improving public transit, specifically the LRT. One of his moves was to create a subcommittee at the city council specifically to monitor the LRT project as Stage 2 began.

"What's encouraging here is that we're seeing OC Transpo and the light rail office, as well as RTG and RTM, working effectively and collaboratively to find a solution here, bringing in outside expertise," he said. "Of course, you want the problems to be few and far between, but when they happen, you want to see all hands on deck, communicating effectively."

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cybertriumphllama · 2 years

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Know the hot tips for where and how to buy gold in Bangladesh:

We have therefore provided the exact calculation for gold. The fill is as follows:

This calculation is used in Bangladesh. 1. Make sure that the type of gold you buy is backed by real gold or a government sovereign guarantee.

2. Make sure that the company you are dealing with cannot hedge or lease.

3. Make sure that you only buy jewelry certified by Bangladesh Government.

4. Always try to buy gold from big stores. This is because such stores offer quality Hallmark products with attractive designs.

5. Trade gold with good shop owners. Because they are honest.

6. Try to buy gold from a store that has been doing business with integrity for a long time. Because they are honest and make less profit.

7. Check the price before buying gold. Because prices fluctuate daily. buying gold

8. Follow the gold return policy carefully or ask the shop owner before buying. Because it is very important.

9. Check the cash memo after purchasing the gold product to see if the hallmark is attached. This is also very important

10. Save all gold purchase memos very carefully. This is because the shopkeeper cannot return the fair value without a cash memo while selling the gold.

Gold Price in Bangladesh - 24-hour gold rate live, TODAY Gold Price in Bangladesh BD Gold Price

Bangladesh Gold Price: We do not publish any information without verification. Contains medium and large articles on gold and silver market, gold technology, trend news, gold and silver analysis. Apart from this, the words News, Vision and Mission, News Archive etc. have been specially discussed.

BB Gold Price: A gold and silver price website written entirely in Bengali. Through bdigoldprice.com we produce high quality gold and silver related prices and articles in Bangla with full details especially gold.

Capable of meeting the knowledge transfer needs of lovers.

Gold account:

Many people don't know the exact value of gold.

* 1 bhari = 16 annals

* 1 bhari = 96% rati.

* 1 Anna = 6 Rates.

International measurement is determined as-

* 1 ounce = 2.4295 grams

* 1 ounce = 28.3895g

* 1 ounce = 0.41114 oz.

* 1 bhari = 11.664 grams

One load: 11.664 gms

#Gold in Bangladesh #Gold #gold jewelry #gold coast #goldman

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major-shenanigans · 2 years

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MAJOR SHENANIGANS

“When you were selected to beta test the self-proclaimed 'game-of-the-century' that had the whole internet on the edge of their seat, you had no idea that what you had just joined was the memo contenting your fellow beta-tester was about to play a part in the end of your world... And the attempt to create a new universe.” Hello everyone! My name is Eridan - Though sadly, I’m am not our favorite seadweller. It is going to be my legal name in a few months - And I will be your Game Master (GM) over here at ‘Major Shenanigans‘. We are a SBURB/SGRUB Fansession! Meaning both Trolls and Humans will be taking part in our session. Players are needed at the moment so feel free to come on down and check us out. Those who wish to become spectators in the future are also welcome to join us. https://discord.gg/E634CMHnJA

#sburb #sburb session #homestuck fansession #homestuck #roleplay #rp #homestuck rp #homestuck roleplay #oc

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himbeaux-on-ice · 3 years

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this came to me in a vision

#giving me access to the imgflip meme generator was a mistake I have been unleashed #memo to GM’s #sidney crosby #kris letang #evgeni malkin #pittsburgh penguins #golden trio #pens #pens hockey #geno #sid #tanger #queue minutes for hooking #also these jerseys FUCKED when can we have these back

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mostlysignssomeportents · 3 years

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Monopolists are winning the repair wars

In 2018, dozens of states introduced Right to Repair bills. These bills are wildly popular among voters, but wildly unpopular among monopolists ranging from Apple to Microsoft to Google to GM to John Deere to Wahl. Every one of these bills was defeated.

Repair advocates regrouped for 2021. 27 R2R bills have been introduced at the state level. Every single one that came up for a vote was defeated, thanks to aggressive lobbying by an unholy alliance of the country’s largest, most profitable, least taxpaying corporations.

In 2014, a pair of American political scientists published a groundbreaking peer-reviewed paper analyzing 30 years’ worth of US policy-making that compared policy outcomes to public polling results.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/testing-theories-of-american-politics-elites-interest-groups-and-average-citizens/62327F513959D0A304D4893B382B992B#authors-details

They concluded that general public sentiment had almost no impact on US policy making — but the political preferences of wealthy people and large corporations were hugely predictive of what laws and regulations we’d get.

Or, in poli-sci jargon, “Economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence.”

The Right to Repair fight is a hell of a proof of this principle. It’s really hard to overstate the popularity of the idea that you should be able to fix your own stuff, or choose where you get your stuff fixed.

Take auto-repair. As auto-manufacturing has grown more concentrated, car makers have squeezed independent mechanics — as close to a folk-hero as the American imagination can produce! — to the margins.

After all, forcing car owners to use official service depots has huge advantages: manufacturers can gouge on service prices, they can force drivers to buy expensive original parts, and they get to unilaterally decide when a car is beyond repair and force you to buy a new one.

Drivers have a good intuitive sense that this is going on. That’s why, when Bay Staters voted on Massachusetts Question 1 (an automotive R2R ballot initiative) in 2012, it passed with an 86% majority!

Mass Question 1 is a really good example of how monopolists can arm-twist politicians into frustrating the will of the people. Immediately after the 2012 initiative, auto-makers set about retooling their cars to escape the new right to repair rule.

The 2012 rule forced automakers to give mechanics access to diagnostic info from cars’ wired internal networks, so Big Car moved all the useful diagnostic data to their cars’ wireless networks. Hence the 2020 Massachusetts R2R ballot initiative, which closed this loophole.

The 2020 fight over the Mass. R2R ballot initiative was fuckin’ wild. The car-makers ran some seriously freaky scare-ads, in which the ability of auto mechanics to read wireless diagnostic data led directly to women being stalked and murdered.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/03/rip-david-graeber/#rolling-surveillance-platforms

I’m not making this up. The underlying premise was, “We turned your car into a hyper-aggressive mobile surveillance platform that incidentally gets you places. If we let other people see the data we’re nonconsensually extracting from you, it will put you in terrible danger.”

Thankfully, Bay Staters saw through this bullshit and passed 2020’s Question 1 with a 75% majority.

The thing is, people completely understand that they should be in charge of deciding who fixes their stuff.

They understand that the risk of poor repairs should be addressed through consumer protection laws (which also bind monopolists’ own authorized repair depots), not by having the repair market privately regulated by monopolists who have vast conflicts of interest.

This understanding has only deepened through the pandemic year, as authorized repair depots shuttered and vital equipment languished thanks to anti-repair laws and technological countermeasures.

For example, Medtronic’s workhorse PB840 ventilators couldn’t be refurbed without using a grey-market activation dongle that a single Polish med-tech homebrewed, encasing them in cases harvested from busted clock-radios and guitar pedals.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/10/flintstone-delano-roosevelt/#medtronic-again

Medtronic — a med-tech monopolist that effected the largest corporate inversion in history to escape US taxes — argues that letting independent med-techs fix its products puts patients at risk, but this argument is every bit as flimsy as the auto-makers’ Mass. scare-ads.

It ignores three important facts:

I. Med-techs have always done this kind of repair. The change isn’t that med-techs are demanding the right to do something new — it’s that Medtronic leveraged its monopoly to foreclose on the industry-standard practice

II. Medtronic’s own security track-record is comically terrible. This is the company that makes pacemakers that can be wirelessly hacked from across a room to kill its user, whose software update system doesn’t even use cryptographic signatures.

If Medtronic is an expert on any aspect of patient safety, that expertise is certainly hard-won, derived from its long history of lethal patient endangerment.

III. If there is a problem with indie technicians struggling to fix Medtronic products, the obvious answer is to provide service manuals, parts and diagnostic codes.

The case for Right to Repair is incredibly strong. Not only does R2R protect consumers from ripoffs, it also provides local jobs — 1–4% of US GDP comes from the independent repair sector, almost entirely in independent small/medium businesses.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/02/euthanize-rentiers/#r2r

Repair is an important environmental, labor and human rights story. As leaked internal memos demonstrate, Apple’s aggressively landfilling of devices (so customers buy more) is environmentally devastating and creates demand for conflict minerals.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/31/hall-of-famer/#e-waste-apple

The average American family loses $330/year because of the lack of access to independent repair, a $40b annual drag on the economy thanks to monopoly rents collected by monopoly firms.

To say nothing of the impact on jobs: landfilling a kiloton of ewaste creates <1 job; recycling that waste creates 15 jobs, while repairing it creates 200 good, local jobs that can’t be offshored (you don’t send a phone overseas for repair).

https://www.ifixit.com/Right-to-Repair/Jobs-Revolution

Then there’s the food security story: John Deere is an agribusiness monopolist that outraged farmers by claiming that they didn’t own the tractors they paid six figures for, merely “licensed” them on terms that forbade them from fixing their own machines.

Deere leads Big Ag’s anti-repair, forcing farmers to use official parts, preventing modifications that would allow third-party attachments, and collecting outrageous service call fees for a technician whose job is to unlock the tractor after the farmer replaces a part.

This policy means that farmers who fix their own tractors still can’t use them even if there’s a hail-storm coming and they need to bring in the crop. Farmers — who’ve been fixing their own gear since the first farmer built a forge next to their farmhouse — are desperate.

Some farmers download anonymously maintained Ukrainian firmware and overwrite the Deere software, creating unknowable risk of remote attack. Others have to maintain “backup tractors” they use for weeks while waiting for Deere to fix their equipment.

https://www.npr.org/2021/05/26/1000400896/standoff-between-farmers-and-tractor-makers-intensifies-over-repair-issues

Just like Medtronic and GM, Deere claims that allowing independent service creates infosec risk — but just like its anti-repair comrades, Deere’s own infosec is a dumpster-fire, with tractors across America at risk of mass-scale cyber-attacks:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/23/reputation-laundry/#deere-john

The common thread joining these firms is monopoly: a lack of competition that allows them to extract billions from the public, and a cozy cohort of business leaders who can mobilize that loot to ensure that politicians and regulators don’t give the public what it demands.

American industry is experiencing a wave of monopolism not seen since the Gilded Age, and it affects every sector. Take hair-clippers — a category that exploded during the lockdown thanks to the newly created need for home haircuts.

The clipper market is monopolized by a single firm, Wahl. As I discovered — the hard way — Wahl has designed its newest clippers so they disintegrate if you try to take them apart to sharpen them.

https://twitter.com/doctorow/status/1380554358824136706

Instead of sharpening these devices, you’re expected to buy a new $40 blade (for a shaver that costs $60 all in!), and throw out the old one — or, less realistically, you can mail them your razor for factory sharpening.

You won’t be surprised to learn that Wahl is part of the war on repair, sending letters to state legislators warning that letting people sharpen their own clipper blades could lead to fatal housefires.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4446374-Wahl-Opposition-Illinois.html

Two years ago, the FTC convened an inquiry on independent repair called “Nixing the Fix.” The Nixing the Fix report was released earlier this month, and it affirms everything that repair advocates have said all along.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/07/pro-act-class-war/#we-fixit

The FTC calls bullshit on manufacturers’ claims about cyber-risk, housefires, and whether getting your car fixed by your family’s beloved mechanic will lead to your murder. It broadly and firmly endorses Right to Repair.

Which brings me back to 2021, were every one of the 27 R2R bills that has been brought before a state legislature for a vote has been defeated, thanks to heavy corporate lobbying by monopolists.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-20/microsoft-and-apple-wage-war-on-gadget-right-to-repair-laws

These bills were voted down after heartbreaking testimony from ed-tech repair specialists who described the devastating impact that a broken laptop has on poor families whose kids are doing remote learning.

They were voted down despite the record, the public support, the climate questions, the food security issue, the human rights issues — voted down to preserve the monopoly profits of a tiny number of firms whose claim to being “American” is tenuous at best.

These tax-dodging, offshoring companies view the American public as an all-you-can-eat buffet, and disclaim any responsibility to the country — while still expecting its lawmakers to defend their interests, at the expense of the voters.

Image: Jcaravanos (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:E-waste_workers.jpg

CC BY-SA: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

#pluralistic

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suspension3333 · 1 month

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KKK (666) & BCI Criminals / Crimes & the others

2 states / Serial killers & Mass killing: Murderers / Corruption

Police reports + FBI & CIA Reports +@ (Total: 16 e-mails + Pictures + Media relations (Too many) + 911 + Carrollton PD + LAPD + @) FBI & CIA & Cops +@ (Reported too many times): They don't arrest my family & nephews & cousins & the others. (Over 3 years) Check these out.

For example (They said like those),

4/19/2022 - 12pm 우리 밥이였잖아? 밥이잖아? Our feed? Long term? Past & now? (Ref. My memos & e-mails)

The others (Too many evidences)

My channel: www.youtube.com/@BCI_Criminals_Crimes_KKK_666

#@ganzi3i

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