https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/03/10/opinion/sunday/youtube-politics-radical.html?referer=https://boingboing.net/2018/03/11/why-youtubes-algorithms-push.html

Clickbait radicalisation, eh.

djchump wrote:

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/03/10/opinion/sunday/youtube-politics-radical.html?referer=https://boingboing.net/2018/03/11/why-youtubes-algorithms-push.html Clickbait radicalisation, eh.

Aye, the yt recommendation algorithm has a definite preference for clickbait and thus controversial tabloidy (extremist?) bullshit. Most people are sadly stupid enough to fall for it and cannot distinguish fake news from real news.

Critical thinking and source/fact checking really need to be introduced in modern school curriculums these days.

I love those guys.
Great video and dance choreography.

In the broadest possible sense. National pathology imo. Win win win win win or else.

Mental health is definitely the issue but guns are the easily available killing tool.

I see it like how you would treat a kid. If you let them have a plastic sword and they kept whacking people round the head with it you would take it off them until they proved they could play with it sensibly.

JonB wrote:

davyK wrote:

kp

Brooks wrote:

Honestly in the absence of guns forthwith (which is a logistical impossibility) I still think Americans would keep murdering eachother in absurdly high numbers for a developed country. They need to rewrite more of cultural messaging that the Constitution.

I believe this.  Guns aren't the issue. Mental health is.

Why not both?

Mental health is the cause, guns are the tool. Gun control would probably lower the death count, so that's no doubt a good thing but mental health seems to be me to be the real thing to address.

Also it can't be stressed how much much sensible and legal gun use part of the states. It's a hobbie, a sport, a form of protection and a form of vocation in terms of hunting. Even taking away the tyrannical government /militia arguments, there's a lot of people in the states who use guns safety and responsibly.

One might argue the anger is the ultimate outcome of rampant consumerism. And when you perceive you are missing out your self worth drops. (Suppose I'm reiterating what Mr B says above - winners and losers - innit?)

I don't think you can separate the guns from certain wider cultural issues - machismo, hyper competitiveness and individualism and reverence for private property. The aggressive reaction against any suggestion of restricting access to guns is because it challenges some fundamental cultural beliefs. In that sense, the nation's attitude to guns and what they mean is as central as anything else.

From the Hofstede country comparison on American individualism.

INDIVIDUALISM
The fundamental issue addressed by this dimension is the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members. It has to do with whether people´s self-image is defined in terms of “I” or “We”. In Individualist societies people are only supposed to look after themselves and their direct family. In Collectivist societies people belong to “in groups” that take care of them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty.

The fairly low score on Power Distance(40) in combination with one of the the most Individualist (91) cultures in the world reflects itself in the following:

The American premise of “liberty and justice for all.” This is evidenced by an explicit emphasis on equal rights in all aspects of American society and government. Within American organisations, hierarchy is established for convenience, superiors are accessible and managers rely on individual employees and teams for their expertise. Both managers and employees expect to be consulted and information is shared frequently. At the same time, communication is informal, direct and participative to a degree. The society is loosely-knit in which the expectation is that people look after themselves and their immediate families only and should not rely (too much) on authorities for support. There is also a high degree of geographical mobility in the United States. Americans are the best joiners in the world; however it is often difficult, especially among men, to develop deep friendships. Americans are accustomed to doing business or interacting with people they don’t know well. Consequently, Americans are not shy about approaching their prospective counterparts in order to obtain or seek information. In the business world, employees are expected to be self-reliant and display initiative. Also, within the exchange-based world of work we see that hiring, promotion and decisions are based on merit or evidence of what one has done or can do.

Had to laugh at this from the BBC. Sums it up really.

Mr Tillerson was reported to be astonished at how little Mr Trump grasped the basics of foreign policy.

The Republican president, meanwhile, was irritated by Mr Tillerson's body language

He's playing chess, just like how Phoebe and Joey play it.

If Putin is a genius former fsb agent turned dictator, Trump is kindof his antithesis; Forest Gump born into a rich millionaire family who believes himself to be a genius self made man.
The contrast really couldn't be any bigger. The way Russia manipulated the 2016 US presidential elections was actually quite brilliant, noone saw it coming (even with the Brexit prelude) and that's including Trump and the GoP. The Russians have been grooming Trump since 2013 and he didn't even realise it. Trump is well and truely way out of his league.

It may sound like I admire Putin and I guess in a sense I do. He's highly intelligent, devious and cunning, much more so than any other politician on the world's stage. He's also quite brazen and ruthless as the lastest asassinations attest. Fuck with the Russian state and you and your loved ones will get what's coming to you, even if you move around in oligarch circles. Nerve gas as the obvious calling card as to who ordered the hit.

Doesn't bode well for Meuller's Russian witnesses now, does it?

Aye, Mueller and Trump will clash in the upcoming months, no escaping that.
Especially now that the investigation has expanded to the Trumps themselves and their business empire.The whole CA Facebook mess is only fuel to the Russiagate fire.

Soon to be an inferno?
It's almost popcorntime....

Putin winning by a landslide.

Well blow me down.

Tempy wrote:

Part of me wants to set calendar reminders for these posts so I can look back on our optimism in 6 years time as Trump is finally forced to leave. I set one to see if Bitcoin finally picked up after the slump, but the vigour had gone.

Forced to leave? Look to China for his next move.