And I wouldn’t exactly call it subtle - quite the opposite, in fact: in Germany, for example, politicians step in front of the camera and openly spout Nazi slogans. Just 10 years ago, they would have had to resign for that, and rightly so.
Yes, that’s definitely true, and it’s the same irrational fear of the unfamiliar that you find almost everywhere in the world. This is particularly absurd in rural areas of eastern Germany, because there are actually very few foreigners there.
It is not the people who make the laws, but their representatives, who, all too often, unfortunately do not make decisions in the people’s best interest. Nevertheless, it is indeed the people themselves who decide whether to use Twitter, speak to a voice assistant, or reveal their personal secrets in an AI chat.
Of course, it’s true that it may be appropriate to protect people from themselves, but I still think it’s also entirely appropriate to hold them accountable for their decisions and the consequences. For example, there are countless alternatives to Amazon, but people still order from there because it’s just so convenient.
In addition, people could also put pressure on their representatives if they allow themselves to be bought off by lobbyists yet again. Unfortunately, that just doesn’t happen very often.
What I’m getting at is this: None of what we’re experiencing today would be possible if people didn’t make it possible by buying products from companies that everyone knows are harmful to society.
I really wonder how we ended up here.
Why do people use mainstream social media? Why do they buy those stupid glasses? Why do they willingly feed corporations their most personal data?
Unfortunately, one has to conclude that it is, to a very large extent, people’s blatant stupidity that has led us to a point where there is now something like a new monarchy of unscrupulous billionaires - if not their stupidity, then at least their indifference, their apathy, and laziness. It’s just awful…
I’m afraid Germany hasn’t learned anything from him: In the state where I live, the state government unfortunately decided late last year to implement Palantir, even going so far as to amend the police law specifically to retroactively lend at least the appearance of legality to a contract for the purchase of the U.S. mass surveillance software “Gotham” that had already been concluded unlawfully.
There was significant public resistance, but it was simply ignored.
It may still be possible to prevent this through a lawsuit filed with the Constitutional Court, as the use of such applications for groundless mass surveillance is unconstitutional in Germany due to the right to informational self-determination - and I also find it hard to believe that such a thing is compatible with EU law.
I think our politicians must have been bribed. I can’t explain it any other way, because even just from security standpoint, it goes without saying that it’s insane to pass even the most sensitive data directly to the fascist regime in the US - thanks to Snowden, we all know that there’s almost certainly a backdoor.
Try explaining that to the people in Iran who rose up against the regime, were shot by the hundreds, and are now being bombed by the U.S.
The U.S. has threatened a founding member of NATO with a war of aggression, and furthermore, the U.S. is committing war crimes alongside the genocidal Israel - this is the situation in which the U.S. is calling for support for a war of aggression that tramples on international law. Or to put it another way: It is the situation that a narcissist - who should have been in prison for decades - has brought about with what he calls the “Art of the Deal.” GTFO!
Yes, that is the consequence, and it will remain that way as long as US citizens do nothing to change it. It will remain a self-fulfilling prophecy until the curse is broken. It won’t happen on its own; instead, things will only get worse if people don’t take their fate into their own hands. There are plenty of examples that prove this is possible - and all of these are examples where much more was at stake than just a job.
Please don’t get me wrong: It’s difficult on your own, but there’s strength in numbers. That may sound like a pipe dream, but it’s the only hope for a better life.
I can’t tell you exactly how that was possible, or why U.S. citizens allowed it to happen, but I think one of the main reasons is likely the U.S. Constitution itself: It is old and was originally designed for a nation that included slave-holding states. Added to this is the fact that it was a constitution conceived exclusively by very wealthy landowners. Of course, this was the standard worldwide at the time, but since this constitution remains by far the hardest to amend of all democratic nations, it was never fundamentally revised - which is, of course, absolutely absurd even for countries with a comparable system.
One consequence of this is that the current administration won the last presidential election by about two million fewer votes. And that’s just scratching the surface: there are numerous reforms that have been blocked for decades by a minority of ultra-conservative states, since there is no proper mechanism that would be based on the population of these states. There is also no democratic country in the world in which constitutional court justices are appointed for life.
What I mean to say is this: The almost religious belief in the effectiveness of their Constitution is, in my opinion, the main reason why U.S. democracy cannot survive - at least not without far-reaching reforms that are not even remotely realistic with either of the two major parties.
The only option at this point, in my view, would be a general strike that paralyzes the country until it simply forces through the reforms that have been overdue for more than 100 years. In my view, there is no other option within this system.
In that sense, American citizens could actually bring about something fundamentally good out of the reign of terror imposed by their orange despot - it would be a blessing for the country and for the world. Unfortunately, I just don’t think that will actually happen.
Yes, I think so too. It’s pretty obvious, after all: ICE has a budget equivalent to the military spending of a medium-sized country. By U.S. standards: This “agency” has a larger budget than all other U.S. federal agencies combined - that is, the FBI, CIA, etc.
ICE was founded after 9/11 by Bush Jr. At that time, its purpose was essentially to enforce the conservatives’ absurd immigration policies outside the democratic decision-making process.
Today, it is clearly a secret police force that is exclusively loyal to the regime. Of course, this is once again about the self-enrichment of unscrupulous MAGA people, but I think it’s still pretty obvious that the main goal is to field a force that, if necessary, can crush resistance from the military - possibly also from the police, though I don’t think resistance from that side is very likely.
I mean, the Secretary of Education is a wrestling promoter and she’s by no means the only completely unqualified member of the administration. The entire cabinet is like that: from MMA fighters to conspiracy theorists - it’s a grotesque, full-blown clown show.
But hey, it won’t be easy to find even halfway decent lawyers for this job anyway, given that working for this attorney general will most likely make you liable to prosecution.
FOSS
The Iran war - or rather: this war of aggression waged by the U.S. and Israel in violation of international law - should in and of itself serve as a catalyst for the creation of a new international community that no longer grants imperialist powers a veto right or permanent membership in the “Security Council” - you know, an institution that actually punishes violations of international law and genocide.
Are there really still people who believe that this regime cares about anything other than shameless self-enrichment?
It was already like that during the Orange Pedo’s first term in office.
How can anyone still believe that he even remotely considers the people in his shady dealings?
Well, that’s only logical, because contracts are generally void if one party fails to adhere to the terms of the agreement.
Since this “art of the deal,” which the orange pedo thinks he’s so good at, simply consists of breach of contract and subsequent blackmail, he shouldn’t be surprised.
It would be great if other countries had just as much guts, instead of letting themselves be blackmailed by this criminal.
What I find most absurd about LLMs is the providers’ business model, since it fundamentally cannot function without stealing the work of others.
I’m already waiting to see who he’s going to blame for all this. The usual suspects, like Biden, seem a bit “worn out” to me by now. Well, maybe Antifa, or even God himself, punishing the U.S. for its lack of faith? We’ll see…
Indeed, I do believe, however, that neo-Nazi parties like the AfD are by no means successful on their own merits.
As in the U.S., I think, this is only possible thanks to the active support of the very same billionaires who, in the U.S., ensured that a pedophile serial criminal could become president. In my view, this is only made possible by an artificial illusion of public opinion, which is now predominantly propagated through mainstream social media platforms.
If one considers public opinion according to the definition by the renowned political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, I think it becomes clear what I mean:
Elisabeth Noelle-Neuman, The Spiral of Silence: Public Opinion - Our Social Skin
Mainstream Social Media platforms are, after all, controlled unilaterally by billionaires who use them to advance their interests - something Musk for example makes particularly obvious. In doing so, they control public discourse and make Nazi ideology appear socially acceptable again by artificially amplifying it to make it seem like a majority opinion.
Unfortunately, this has by now eliminated the effect of social isolation, which explains why, even in Germany and despite its terrible history, Nazi ideology appears to be a socially acceptable viewpoint - which, in turn, has a very significant effect on political discourse.