Posted in: Melania Trump documentary from director Bruce Ratner will be released by Amazon See in context
The film also marks the first project that Ratner has directed since he was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women, including actor Olivia Munn, in the early days of the #MeToo reckoning in November 2017. Ratner, whose lawyer denied the allegations, directed the “Rush Hour” film series, “Red Dragon” and ’’X-Men: The Last Stand.”
Not to give away too much but it is well known Ratner has a hardcore JAV fetish too. He is looking for a payday and if mega-oligarch Bezos needs to cozy up to the incoming president he is the man to push something out.
https://apnews.com/article/washington-post-trump-bezos-cartoonist-resigns-53928aadc4fb4dda8f35fd840b5717ac
Sad that the art of cinema has descended to this. It used to be the only art that was originated in the US.
3 ( +4 / -1 )
Posted in: Lawmakers brace for Trump's promised Jan 6 pardons, with some urging restraint See in context
Trump said he would issue pardons to rioters on “Day 1” of his presidency, which begins Jan 20. “Most likely, I’ll do it very quickly,” he said recently on NBC's “Meet the Press.” He added that “those people have suffered long and hard. And there may be some exceptions to it. I have to look. But, you know, if somebody was radical, crazy.”
I remember in the first days after Jan. 6 there was an effort to censure Trump and election denialism that was largely bi-partisan, rightly so.
But with the 'radical crazy' FC like MTG still around and Trump still in the picture it gradually became the GOP dogma and here we are .
Shocking in the "World's Greatest Democracy ™" here is Trump on the verge of re-inauguration.
South Korea seems like it is wrestling with wannabe authoritarians who try insurrections with more respect for the rule of law.
10 ( +12 / -2 )
Posted in: AI is becoming ingrained in businesses across industries. Where is it going in 2025? See in context
Q: When did PwC decide it wanted a Chief AI Officer?
Recent events have shown us even in the event of an untimely death of a CEO, operations continue as usual and a replacement is quickly found.
Time for AGI CEOs and pass the savings from huge CEO salaries to workers.
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: Musk turns on UK's Farage and says he should quit as Reform party leader See in context
Musk has previously sought to influence British politics and has criticized Prime Minister Keir Starmer repeatedly since anti-immigration riots last summer.
Musk is deluded that he is an agent of Special Circumstances with vast resources meddling in foreign cultures.
Like in the books of his inspiration, Scottish Socialist Party member Iain Banks.
https://scottishsocialistparty.org/iain-banks-the-ssp-gets-my-vote-and-i-buy-the-scottish-socialist-voice/
14 ( +19 / -5 )
Posted in: Japanese firms working to attract, retain skilled foreign workers See in context
A nationwide survey conducted by the Tokyo-based firm over a one-year period through June 2024, covering three sectors and 350 skilled foreign workers who quit their jobs, revealed that "wage dissatisfaction" was the top reason for leaving among Vietnamese respondents.
Hmm, needed a Tokyo-based firm to discover worker's primary gripe is "wage dissatisfaction".
That is part of the problem there, more middlemen between worker productivity and the fruit's of their labor than you can count.
The foreign trainee program has faced widespread criticism for harsh working conditions and human rights abuses, with many employers accused of exploiting the system to secure cheap labor.
The article could have just concluded with this oft repeated fact too.
-9 ( +19 / -28 )
Posted in: Tuna fetches ¥207 mil at year's 1st auction in Tokyo See in context
*A franchise in Sushiro **or similar conveyor sushi restaurant chain.*
... or a 276kg fish.
But the Onodera group which bought the fish already owns scores of eateries and this sum for them is what workers can dig up from their couches. And fine to promote their brand.
The decadent inequality is real and when the Japanese consumer sees this they should connect this to their meager paychecks and rising inflation.
-13 ( +9 / -22 )
Posted in: Tuna fetches ¥207 mil at year's 1st auction in Tokyo See in context
The powerful buyers have now paid the top price for five years straight -- winning bragging rights and a lucrative frenzy of media attention in Japan.
Let me guess after spending this outrageous sum on tuna they do not pay the foreign technical trainees they recruit en masse a living wage.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Food-Beverage/Japan-food-service-firm-expands-worker-training-in-Southeast-Asia
Late Stage Capitalism in a nutshell.
-18 ( +17 / -35 )
Posted in: New Orleans attack came as officials warned of escalating threat of international terrorism See in context
The swirl of concerns led Wray to tell The Associated Press in August that he was “hard-pressed to think of a time in my career where so many different kinds of threats are all elevated at once.”
I wonder how the charges of 'terrorism' will be used in the cases of Jabbar or Livelsberger, both US citizens and military.
But federal charges of 'terrorism' were indeed filed against a US citizen in the past weeks for an act of 'domestic terrorism'.
https://whyy.org/articles/new-york-prosecutors-terrorism-law-luigi-mangione/
Curious.
7 ( +8 / -1 )
Posted in: China to weather Trump tariffs, seek better ties with Japan in 2025 See in context
Takamoto Suzuki, economic research manager at the China unit of trading house Marubeni Corp, said he believes Trump intends to use the threat of additional 60 percent tariffs to reach a deal with Beijing to win what Washington wants, rather than going through cumbersome procedures to realize the hike.
Marubeni is a great example of how none of these entities are your friends.
https://www.reuters.com/article/markets/commodities/marubeni-pleads-guilty-to-pay-88-mln-for-indonesia-bribery-idUSL2N0MH02Q/
None of their economic manipulations, in this case tariffs, are to increase the prosperity of workers.
Not Trump MAGA. not Japan Inc., not China.
Workers need to become more savvy to these specious economic proposals.
0 ( +4 / -4 )
Posted in: Judge to sentence Trump before inauguration in hush money case See in context
The judge said that instead of incarceration he was leaning towards an unconditional discharge –- meaning the real estate tycoon would not be subject to any conditions.
Two-tier American injustice system for billionaire oligarchs in NYC in full effect.
And still the MAGA faithful will whine about witch hunts, lib far left NY judges and the usual litany.
Let's see what sentence in NY courts the enemies of billionaire oligarch get.
Or just your ordinary street level criminals and fraudsters.
6 ( +10 / -4 )
Posted in: New York governor to push for expanded mental health laws, citing violent subway crimes See in context
Mayor Eric Adams has said the man accused of the attack in Grand Central had a history of mental illness and the father of the suspect in the shoving told the New York Times that he had become concerned about his son's mental health in the weeks before the incident.
And wouldn't you know they are trying to paint the UHC CEO killer with this broad brush too.
https://www.scrippsnews.com/us-news/assassination-of-a-ceo/luigi-mangiones-mental-state-could-be-part-of-murder-defense
-1 ( +0 / -1 )
Posted in: New York governor to push for expanded mental health laws, citing violent subway crimes See in context
Adams, a Democrat, has for years pressed the state Legislature to expand mental health care laws and has previously endorsed a policy that would allow hospitals to involuntarily commit a person if he or she is unable to meet their own basic needs for food, clothing, shelter or medical care.
I suspect this is one more measure by Hochul and Adams as a response to the killing of the UHC CEO, not only subway violence.
The subway and other random violence in NYC did not prompt Adams to perp walk the suspects in person, bring terrorism charges against the suspect, and Gov. Hochul to set up a special hotline for traumatized CEOs.
https://apnews.com/article/unitedhealthcare-ceo-security-threats-wanted-posters-9a6687d14e667e5b48a1581923830e3f
And for the oligarch class to step up their own personal security.
NYC is a tale of two cities as it were.
-1 ( +0 / -1 )
Posted in: Nearly 80% of Japanese firms expect continued economic growth in Japan in 2025 See in context
Nearly 80% of Japanese firms expect continued economic growth in Japan in 2025
Now do Japanese workers. I suspect the results will be very different.
-4 ( +2 / -6 )
Posted in: Crowd control See in context
A security guard holds a sign for visitors to Kawasaki Daishi temple in Kawasaki on Friday.
When just posting a sign is not enough.
You need the all-weather, 24-7, marching band uniform wearing ojiisan holding something or gesturing.
-3 ( +5 / -8 )
Posted in: Outlook for Japan's politics set to hinge on small opposition party See in context
Takahide Kiuchi, executive economist at Nomura Research Institute, echoed the view, saying that the DPP "should simply demand a large directed at corporations and large asset holders and take a broader perspective including that of rentiers and remain flexible in its discussions with the ruling parties."
Fixed it for these overpaid financial analysts who are mouthpieces for financial conglomerates.
Only wish the 'small opposition party' was the Reiwa or JCP.
-2 ( +4 / -6 )
Posted in: Soldier shot himself in head before Cybertruck exploded outside Trump's Las Vegas hotel, officials say See in context
This image provided by Alcides Antunes shows a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside President-elect Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel early Wednesday, Jan. 1,
The picture crops out the big gold Trump hotel sign in front of the Cybertruck.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/01/tesla-truck-fire-trump-hotel-las-vegas
Probably already the defining picture of 2025.
3 ( +6 / -3 )
Posted in: 10 people wounded in shooting outside New York City nightclub See in context
The motive was not immediately known but Rivera said: “This is not terrorism.”
No, just the daily background noise of what many working Americans in the Big Apple and other cities experience on a daily basis.
But you know what recent crime in NYC was hit with terrorism charges.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/23/luigi-mangione-pleads-not-guilty-to-terrorism-in-us-healthcare-ceo-murder
Not all victims are created equally and not all perpetrators prosecuted the same way either.
9 ( +10 / -1 )
Posted in: South Korea's Yoon resists arrest over martial law bid See in context
A protester holds a placard reading "Stop the Steal" during a rally to support impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol
Also a slogan used by the supporters of a certain incoming President to deny an election.
And attempt an insurrection.
I wonder if they are using it unironically and they hope for similar outcomes?
Good on the SK state for going after the anti-democratic Yoon.
1 ( +3 / -2 )
Posted in: Firework mortars, gas cannisters stuffed inside Tesla that exploded outside Trump's Las Vegas hotel See in context
“This is a Tesla truck, and we know that Elon Musk is working with President-elect Trump, and it’s the Trump Tower,” McMahill said when reporters asked about possible political connections. “So there’s obviously things to be concerned about and it’s something we continue to look at.”
If you look at the pictures:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/tesla-deadly-trump-tower-cybertruck-212934587.html
Cybertruck, Trump Hotel, January 1st 2025 it is just an amazing metaphor for whats to come.
Looks like something Grok would come up with but its real.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Musk flummoxes internet with 'Kekius Maximus' persona See in context
"Kek" is also a reference to a "virtual white nationalist god," the nonprofit Southern Poverty Law Center told AFP, adding that Roman male images have been used by white nationalist groups such as Identity Evropa.
This is some 4-chan level trollery, but Musk has used his position to monetize it with his memecoin like this and DOGE.
Elon Musk has adopted a new online persona, sparking a flood of speculation online
I wonder why Musk has taken to wearing his host of children like human shields?
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/global-trends/elon-musk-death-threat-bill-shea-twitter-luigi-mangione-brian-thompson-bluesky/articleshow/116489327.cms?from=mdr
4 ( +7 / -3 )
Posted in: U.S. prepares state honors for late president Jimmy Carter See in context
"Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns."
--Jimmy Carter, 1979
A wise and good man.
Well, that is the rentier economy of legacy wealth we live in and I wish Carter could have done more to address that during his term.
It is only gotten worse since then and maybe reached its apotheosis now in 2025.
0 ( +1 / -1 )
Posted in: U.S. Treasury says Chinese hackers stole documents in 'major incident' See in context
Chinese state-sponsored hackers breached the U.S. Treasury Department's computer security guardrails this month and stole documents in what Treasury called a "major incident," according to a letter to lawmakers that Treasury officials provided to Reuters on Monday.
You know the CCP is jailing Marxist Beidai students who are protesting worker conditions.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/12/ten-student-activists-detained-in-china-for-supporting-workers-rights
But if they point out in these leaks how the US Treasury is still bailing out Wall Street and supporting oligarchic capital I suppose they are doing good work.
https://www.propublica.org/article/the-bailout-was-11-years-ago-were-still-tracking-every-penny
0 ( +5 / -5 )
Posted in: Tokyo stocks to test further gains in 2025 amid global risks See in context
While the dollar-yen rate is likely to have a limited impact on equities next year, an economic recovery at home is expected to make stocks attractive for investors, with Japan appearing finally to be on a path to realizing wage growth that outpaces inflation, analysts said.
Japanese firms offered historic increases at this year's annual pay talks, helping wages to outpace inflation in June for the first time in over two years. Wages also rose in July but turned negative in the following three months.
Real wages could stabilize in positive territory in 2025 as firms are expected to continue raising pay amid persistent labor shortages, according to economists.
This could not be more divorced from the reality of labor in Japan. But have to give some year end ganbaru propaganda to the proletariat!
The reality is the Nikkei is going gangbusters and 99.91% of the gains are going to rentier capital.
Investors love layoffs and low wages and precarious working conditions.
https://www.axios.com/2023/04/04/layoffs-tech-stocks-boom
The media claptrap definitely needs to get away from the fiction that the markets are congruent to the prosperity of the people.
This is oligarchic marketolatry.
-5 ( +3 / -8 )
Posted in: Jimmy Carter, former U.S. president and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, dies at 100 See in context
Doesn't mean anything. Those "historical experts" were almost certainly high-tower academics, whose ranks are undeniably teeming with "progressives." Yeah, no bias there.
Undeniably even registered Republicans rank Carter higher.
https://www.postandcourier.com/news/scholars-rank-trump-worst-president-presidential-greatness-survey/article_8c775052-d025-11ee-9dad-17697b0ca965.html
3 ( +5 / -2 )
Posted in: Musk causes uproar for backing Germany's far-right party ahead of key elections See in context
These tech bros are attracted to this kind of authoritarianism because they honestly believe "the smartest people" (i.e. tech bros and super rich people, the übermenschen) should run everything.
No, but neither the SPD or CDU did anything to address the growing problems and divide that was growing in Germany with the Islam (Turkish and Moroccan primarily) and now it has gotten so out of control.
Yes, this exactly the Musk/Thiel philosophy and it is called pro-natalism.
https://discussion.fool.com/t/libertarian-eugenics-billionaires-like-elon-musk-want-to-save-civilization-by-having-tons-of-genetically-superior-kids-inside-the-movement-to-take-control-of-human-evolution/81022
Basically believing wealth as the highest indicator of genetic fitness.
Despite the uncomfortable fact for them that researchers found that higher Intelligence was correlated with left-wing beliefs.
https://futurism.com/neoscope/left-wing-beliefs-intelligence
3 ( +8 / -5 )
Posted in: Musk causes uproar for backing Germany's far-right party ahead of key elections See in context
The Tesla Motors CEO also wrote that his investment in Germany gave him the right to comment on the country's condition.
Interesting logic by Musk there.
Does he know the USGov has the power to confiscate the assets under asset forfeiture seizure of people who misrepresented their immigration status and worked illegally?
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/washington-post-reports-elon-musk-briefly-worked-illegally-us-1990s-2024-10-26/
As President Musk exerts his influence he is making a lot of enemies at home and abroad.
4 ( +7 / -3 )
Posted in: 80% of female inmates in Japan convicted on theft, drug charges See in context
Around 80 percent of female inmates in Japan last year were convicted on charges of theft or violating drug laws, with the percentage remaining almost the same since 2011, according to the government's annual crime report.
So the vast majority non-violent and fueled by economic or psychological trauma.
This is more a condemnation of Japan's economic and social in justice system than these women.
-12 ( +15 / -27 )
Posted in: Trump sides with Musk in right-wing row over worker visas See in context
MAGA-voters getting that they voted for....more American jobs and less "foreigners"?
In the tech industry, most Americans particularly minorities cannot read above the 8th grade level. If you can’t read or do math properly, but you can become a militant activist, how is that helping your future or the U.S.?
MAGA are flailing and the comments are getting less and less self-aware.
I am in the tech industry, an American minority, and guaranteed have metrics far above the MAGA masses.
So amazingly everything you just stated is absolutely wrong, and I am sure the same applies for many others in similar circumstances.
4 ( +5 / -1 )
Posted in: Trump sides with Musk in right-wing row over worker visas See in context
“I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program," Trump told the newspaper.
Undocumented migrants too.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-two-undocumented-housekeepers-took-on-the-president--and-revealed-trumps-long-term-reliance-on-illegal-immigrants/2019/12/04/3dff5b5c-0a15-11ea-bd9d-c628fd48b3a0_story.html
Trump has only himself to blame for this MAGA tempest. The old GOP of old money fat cats knew they needed immigration to fuel their business wealth. Trump is highlighting the dichotomy between the needs of his team of billionaire oligarchs and the desires of his MAGA masses.
12 ( +15 / -3 )
Posted in: Japan's economy likely to grow in 2025 but Trump tariffs cast shadow See in context
The Japanese economy is expected to continue to grow at a moderate pace in 2025 supported by solid consumer spending on the back of wage hikes and the government's policies aimed at easing inflation pain.
Yet all the news from the past week was that both holiday spending and wages remain flat.
But need some propaganda so people think the Japan Inc./LDP combine is doing something besides lining their own pockets and insulting the people's intelligence.
Such a development could lower Japan's real GDP by an additional 0.12 point, according to Kobayashi.
So then Japanese workers can have the same experience as Trump voters in the US when they find out tariffs, restricting immigrants and massive tax breaks for billionaires is not the solution for bringing down inflation and raising wages.
-10 ( +12 / -22 )
Posted in: Japan logs record ¥29.26 tril current account surplus in 2024
Posted in: Legal hurdles keep high-profile rape victim's film off Japan screens
Trump bailed on Chief at halftime
Posted in: Eagles deny Chiefs Super Bowl three-peat with dominant defense in 40-22 rout
Posted in: 2-week search ends for trapped driver inside sinkhole in Saitama