Elon Musk Buys Twitter

[Belize]

If people want shit, capitalists are happy to oblige.

At some point I feel like the onus is on the manufacturer to guide the consumer to reasonable choices. Like sure, maybe people want the cheapest possible home insulation available, but when that's asbestos it's ok for companies and government agencies to step in and say "no".

Maybe Road Princesses should be told no when they say they want a truck that barely carries a gallon of milk in the boot, takes up 4 parking spaces and gets 2 miles per gallon.

[Poopymonster]

At some point I feel like the onus is on the manufacturer to guide the consumer to reasonable choices. Like sure, maybe people want the cheapest possible home insulation available, but when that's asbestos it's ok for companies and government agencies to step in and say "no".

Maybe Road Princesses should be told no when they say they want a truck that barely carries a gallon of milk in the boot, takes up 4 parking spaces and gets 2 miles per gallon.

But how will the Road Princesses let their neighbors know they are Rich? That they are Hip? They have the latest shiny toy?
Road Princesses NEED their Lexus Overcompensators that get 5 gallons to the mile.

[Paranoid Android]

If people want shit, capitalists are happy to oblige.

Maybe going off topic here, sorry Moderator, but this is where Neo-Liberalism or at least free market capitalism is not the best policy for good of all. Cars is a good example especially in big ole FAT United States. We definitely demand huge cars and love trucks to drive to the grocery store and back home. Policy on small vehicles would really solve much of fossil fuel consumption and wear and tear on roads, health and safety, etc.

So maybe back on topic. That Elmo made that monstrosity of a EV truck that should never have been made. Especially in that capacity and design.

[Endus]

But how will the Road Princesses let their neighbors know they are Rich? That they are Hip? They have the latest shiny toy?
Road Princesses NEED their Lexus Overcompensators that get 5 gallons to the mile.

Owning a pickup is a statement of "being rich" in the same way that eating your hot dogs off real plates rather than paper ones is.

[Jessicka]

But how will the Road Princesses let their neighbors know they are Rich? That they are Hip? They have the latest shiny toy?
Road Princesses NEED their Lexus Overcompensators that get 5 gallons to the mile.

There are all kinds of reasons I’d prefer people bought Ferraris and Mustangs over trucks, but this should be enough for road princesses.

[AntiFascistVoter]

There are all kinds of reasons I’d prefer people bought Ferraris and Mustangs over trucks, but this should be enough for road princesses.

Even TransAms and IROCs were better for men unable to deal with their masculinity anxiety.

[Poopymonster]

Owning a pickup is a statement of "being rich" in the same way that eating your hot dogs off real plates rather than paper ones is.

Not just any truck, it has the shiniest features, has almost functional ability to be an actual "truck" outside of being large and being the bastard offshoot of an actual pickup. The price tag on it proves it!

Kinda like the Hummer. Purely to show off.

[Belize]

But how will the Road Princesses let their neighbors know they are Rich? That they are Hip? They have the latest shiny toy?
Road Princesses NEED their Lexus Overcompensators that get 5 gallons to the mile.

Maybe they could spend that money on grotesquely ornate lawn gnomes, instead of like, being a menace on the road with lifted F450s equipped with aftermarket miniature suns in place of headlights.

[Edge-]

https://www.thedailybeast.com/judge-...-media-matters

A federal judge on Monday ordered Missouri’s attorney general to stand down on an investigation into Media Matters for America launched in the wake of a lawsuit filed against the progressive watchdog last year by X owner Elon Musk. In November, as advertisers fled his platform in droves, Musk accused the nonprofit of “knowingly and maliciously” concocting a report showing ads from companies like Apple, Oracle, and Amazon next to content produced by hate groups. Four months later, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey issued Media Matters a civil investigative demand, seeking communications and documents the group had produced on Musk and X, as well as personal information on its donors in his state. Bailey separately sued Media Matters, alleging in a complaint that it had “pursued an activist agenda in its attempt to destroy X, because they cannot control it.”

U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta, an Obama appointee also known for presiding over the Google antitrust case, handed down a preliminary injunction prohibiting Bailey from pursuing either action. He wrote that Media Matters had “shown that their reporting was not defamatory and therefore was protected speech.” In a statement, Angelo Carusone, Media Matters’ president and CEO, called Mehta’s decision “a victory for free speech.”

Elon simps getting their weirdo lawsuits that appear entirely to be an attempt to get senpai to notice them are fuckin weird, yo.

[Flarelaine]

I feel this unfairly misrepresents how deeply and thoroughly marketing affects consumer demand.

At some point I feel like the onus is on the manufacturer to guide the consumer to reasonable choices. Like sure, maybe people want the cheapest possible home insulation available, but when that's asbestos it's ok for companies and government agencies to step in and say "no".

Maybe Road Princesses should be told no when they say they want a truck that barely carries a gallon of milk in the boot, takes up 4 parking spaces and gets 2 miles per gallon.

At some point, consumers will need to grow up. We can't all go "that ad said this is cool so I'm obliged to buy it". And that applies in a broader sense; it is my responsibility to make a conscious choice whether it's my groceries or my vote. Until that happens at a societal level...

Maybe going off topic here, sorry Moderator, but this is where Neo-Liberalism or at least free market capitalism is not the best policy for good of all. Cars is a good example especially in big ole FAT United States. We definitely demand huge cars and love trucks to drive to the grocery store and back home. Policy on small vehicles would really solve much of fossil fuel consumption and wear and tear on roads, health and safety, etc.

... yes, responsible policies can help a lot. Until the man-children take those as personal attacks and make sure to vote anyone else into office out of spite.

[Edge-]

https://www.reddit.com/r/NPR/comment..._links_to_npr/

For some reason Twitter seems to be suppressing the Arlington story initially reported by NPR.

[Drutt]

https://www.reddit.com/r/NPR/comment..._links_to_npr/

For some reason Twitter seems to be suppressing the Arlington story initially reported by NPR.

Apparently the peaches now have freezerburn.

[Edge-]

Apparently the peaches now have freezerburn.

Always had been.

Just try posting "cisgender" on Twitter and see what happens : 3

[Belize]

So if Twatter doesn't comply with Brazilian anti-insurrection laws, there's a non-zero chance they'll just be blocked within the country.


Musk has responded to the subpoena with the decorum you'd expect from him, by making and posting AI generated images of the judge as a sith lord.

[Karreck]

Musk has responded to the subpoena with the decorum you'd expect from him, by making and posting AI generated images of the judge as a sith lord.

Elon Musk really is just a wet fart of a human being.

[Elder Millennial]

At the risk of derailing the thread.

I was born and raised in upstate NY. That part of the state where once or twice every winter everything collapses under 6ft of overnight snow. Both my parents and grandparents had large rural properties with animals. My parents mostly just for fun, my grandparents for eating.

I will never understand how "the truck" became the go to car of average Joe. A decent truck fundamentally sucks at being a car, because it is not meant to be used like one, and a "truck" that got itself "car-ified" just fundamentally fails at being a truck.

So we ended up with these Jack-of-all trade trash mobiles that only truly excel at killing people in crashes.

There's literally no practical scenario where you'd look at a RAM built in the last 20 years and find a vehicle that's either good as a utility vehicle or a personal car.

[Muzjhath]

At the risk of derailing the thread.

I was born and raised in upstate NY. That part of the state where once or twice every winter everything collapses under 6ft of overnight snow. Both my parents and grandparents had large rural properties with animals. My parents mostly just for fun, my grandparents for eating.

I will never understand how "the truck" became the go to car of average Joe. A decent truck fundamentally sucks at being a car, because it is not meant to be used like one, and a "truck" that got itself "car-ified" just fundamentally fails at being a truck.

So we ended up with these Jack-of-all trade trash mobiles that only truly excel at killing people in crashes.

There's literally no practical scenario where you'd look at a RAM built in the last 20 years and find a vehicle that's either good as a utility vehicle or a personal car.

Marketing and abuse of psychology.

Meanwhile farmers are importing miniature Kai trucks from Japan.

[Gorsameth]

At the risk of derailing the thread.

I was born and raised in upstate NY. That part of the state where once or twice every winter everything collapses under 6ft of overnight snow. Both my parents and grandparents had large rural properties with animals. My parents mostly just for fun, my grandparents for eating.

I will never understand how "the truck" became the go to car of average Joe. A decent truck fundamentally sucks at being a car, because it is not meant to be used like one, and a "truck" that got itself "car-ified" just fundamentally fails at being a truck.

So we ended up with these Jack-of-all trade trash mobiles that only truly excel at killing people in crashes.

There's literally no practical scenario where you'd look at a RAM built in the last 20 years and find a vehicle that's either good as a utility vehicle or a personal car.

Fuel and emission regulations.

Corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards were introduced back in the 70's with the goal of getting car manufacturers to make more fuel efficient passenger cars, not by making them more attractive to buy but by making gas guzzlers more expensive.

But thanks to lobbying light trucks were exempt from this standard. As a result car manufacturers pushed for light trucks where they could still build inefficient engines rather then actual passenger cars who were now subject to stricter regulations.
And the entire marketing machine behind the car industry went into overdrive to condition the public that they needed a big truck to drive around in the city.

[Belize]

Marketing and abuse of psychology.

Meanwhile farmers are importing miniature Kai trucks from Japan.

"Vintage" kei trucks that are 25+ years old because US law prohibits importing anything newer, which is dumb as hell

[Edge-]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ads-rep...acist-posts-x/

Paid advertisements for major organizations affiliated with both the Republican and Democratic parties and some of their biggest names have appeared under pro-Nazi and racist posts shared on Elon Musk's social media platform X, formerly Twitter, a CBS News investigation has found.

Advertisements for the Senate Republicans' campaign arm, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and the right-wing Heritage Foundation think tank have appeared recently under racist or pro-Nazi posts from verified accounts on X.

Last week, the World Bank ceased all paid advertising on X after a CBS News investigation found a promoted advertisement from the organization showed up under a racist post from an account that prolifically posts pro-Nazi and white nationalist content. The World Bank made the decision to remove all paid advertising on X, calling the incident "entirely unacceptable," after a promoted advertisement under a racist post was flagged to the organization by CBS News.

Elon continues to give advertisers a ton of really great reasons to keep their money and brands off the platform including, "There's just no way we can guarantee that your advertisement won't appear right next to a Twitter user arguing that Hitler was right and deserves and apology."

One of the U.S. political ads found by CBS News was under a post by a verified account that prolifically posts pro-Nazi and racist content. The account, which has nearly 100,000 followers, shared a picture of Hitler rejecting a Star of David being held by an arm draped in a striped sleeve.



Under the post, an ad appeared for the National Republican Senatorial Committee directing users to donate through WinRed, the prominent conservative online fundraising platform used by many GOP candidates and groups, including GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign and the Republican National Committee.

The advertisement showed an image of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio with the caption saying it was "paid for by the NRSC."

The NRSC is the chief fundraising committee dedicated to getting Republican Party candidates elected to the U.S. Senate. Multiple other promoted advertisements directing users to WinRed were posted under similar content. CBS News is not publicly identifying the accounts spreading racist content on X.

CBS News asked the NRSC and WinRed for comment about the placement of the fundraising ads on X. In response to questions about the ads on X, NRSC spokesman Mike Berg wrote in a post on the platform that CBS News was, "trying to pressure advertisers to stop spending money on X by associating advertisers and [Musk] with white nationalists," which he called "patently absurd."

Promoted advertisements for the congressional campaign of Jerrad Christan, the Democratic candidate for Ohio's 12th district, also appeared under antisemitic posts. The seat is currently held by Republican Troy Balderson.

Huh, so asking, "Are you comfortable with your ads appearing next to Nazi posts?" is apparently..."pressuring advertisers to stop spending on X"? Though I don't think media have to do anything to make advertisers to associate Elon with white nationalists, they just have to look at his posts and how his policies have resulted in significant increases in hate-speech.

A post by a verified account with 150,000 followers showed a man with a boot on his neck underneath the Statue of Liberty. The text on the image read, "Land of Freedom. Where one is ruled by the Jews, Freedom is only an empty dream."

Christian's campaign ad appeared under the image with a link that redirected readers to ActBlue, a fundraising platform used widely by Democratic campaigns.

Under another post by the same account, CBS News found an ad for the National Republican Senatorial Committee - a paid advertisement from Mary Trump's political action committee, the Democracy Defense Fund, with a link to the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue. Mary Trump, the former U.S. president's niece, has spoken out against her uncle for years.

The post in question depicted an Orthodox Jewish man dancing on a gravesite with the caption: "Your reminder to NOT die for shlomo. He'll dance on your graves."

The PAC advertisement under the post had an image of Mary Trump with a request to donate money to help "defeat Donald, defend the Senate, and flip the House."

CBS News has sought comment from the Jerrad Christian for Congress campaign and Mary Trump's PAC on the placement of the organizations' ads.

Yep, sounds right.