Thursday Afternoon Links

by | Feb 16, 2023 | Daily Links | 204 comments

IT  WAS CUTE WHEN ALICIA SILVERSTONE DID IT: Clueless US State Department employee tweets, then deletes, that what Afghani women and girls really need is a “Black Girl Magic” type movement or narrative thingy. Because that will surely change the Taliban’s mind about the place of women in Afghan society.

MEDICAL DISCOVERY MAY ONE DAY ELIMINATE GLIBS: Scientists ‘switch off’ autism symptoms using $3 epilepsy drug:…
Researchers believe they have found the first possible cure for autism spectrum disorder symptoms. But what about people who don’t want to be “cured?”

ANOTHER RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL DIES BY PRECIPITATION: Top Putin war official plunges 160 feet to her death from high-rise building.

SO, ABOUT THOSE TRAIN DERAILMENTS: Our old friend Gordilocks resurfaces with this explainer. Bonus point for use of Catty Wampus (sometimes spelled Cattywumpus).

SHE’S NOT ALL WRONG, YOU KNOW: Former SC governor Nikki Haley declares her run for presidency, calls for ‘mental competency tests’ for politicians over 75. I agree in principal that this is a good thing, but also know it will be expanded and abused. But we need this not just for older politicians (*cough* Fetterman *cough*), but also for federal judges who are often shielded by their clerks and other court staff long after they should be off the bench.

THE CASE FOR CHIPPED TOOLS: Recently there was some justified concern here about manufacturers chipping their tools so that they’d only work if activated at the time of purchase by the store. But if the chips were at least partially opened to the public so the legitimate owner could lock the tools out if not within range of a wireless device it would prevent situations like this.

POSTED WITHOUT COMMENT: I don’t know what to make of this article. AI chatbots are kinda creepy, and I’ve read enough Sci-Fi, particularly that of Ron Goulart, to be rightly suspicious of them.

NASA ROVER TAKES DUMP ON RED PLANET: Mars rover Perseverance drops first cache of samples on surface of the red planet. Apparently dumping them on the ground offers better odds for future retrieval than holding them onboard and transferring them later. The samples are scheduled to be retrieved by a future mission which will load them onto a rocket which will return them to Earth for study.

About The Author

Tonio

Tonio

Tonio is a Glibs shitposter, linkstar (Thursday PM, yo), author, and editor. He is also a GlibZoom personality and prankster. Tonio is a big fan of pic-a-nic baskets. His hobbies include salmon fishing, territorial displays, dumpster diving, and posing for wildlife photographers.

204 Comments

  1. Count Potato

    I don’t even know what that means.

    • Tonio

      Which part?

      • Count Potato

        ““Black Girl Magic””

        Afghans aren’t black, and I don’t remember Stacey Dash saying anything like that.

      • rhywun

        Oh good, I’m not the only square around here.

  2. The Other Kevin

    “Hey, Glibs. Who’s ready for some timely, topical, lulzy links?”

    * Raises hand *
    I am! I am!

  3. Count Potato

    So scientists ‘switch off’ autism symptoms using $3 epilepsy drug, then there is no one nerdy enough to invent more drugs.

    • R.J.

      We need a $1 pill that makes more Glibs.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Breath mints are a $1…just now have to find a mate.

      • slumbrew

        You should probably run that plan past your wife first.

  4. db

    Top Putin war official plunges 160 feet to her death from high-rise building.

    Guess we have Putin’s answer to the question “Smash or Pass?”

    • creech

      Wonder what she had on our ex-SecState?

  5. Tonio

    Just an FYI that our hosting service experienced a glitch this afternoon and we were offline for around an hour; service was restored just before publication time.

    • SugarFree

      Don’t coddle them, Tonio.

      It was your fault the hosting service was down, commenters. Your lack of faith in the Glibertarians.com caused the service to crash. BELIEVE IN US OR WE ALL DIE!

      • db

        CLAP, UNGRATEFUL RAGAMUFFINS!

      • SDF-7

        STEVE SMITH ALWAYS READY TO RHYTHMICALLY SLAP FLESH OF GLIBS TOGETHER. AND BY SLAP FLESH, MEAN…..

      • Count Potato

        So edit faerie is like Tinkerbell?

      • pistoffnick

        I do believe in fairies. I do believe is fairies*

        *especially the hairy, bear-like ones.

      • juris imprudent

        Pretty sure it was my comment, that I don’t think posted.

      • SDF-7

        The WordPress equivalent of a brown note?

    • Scruffyy Nerfherder

      There’s no need to lie, we know all of our traffic is routed through Ft. Meade now.

  6. Count Potato

    “‘mental competency tests’ for politicians”

    If you eliminate the age requirement, wouldn’t that get rid of most of them?

    • R C Dean

      As ever, you should first ask, who will be conducting these tests, and who do they answer to?

      The thing about thoroughly corrupted institutions is, they leave me in a state of paralysis when it comes to solving problems. Which is not good, I know, but can you imagine if Trump had to go through this? And let’s not forget, Fetterman’s physician gave him a clean bill of cognitive health.

  7. Rat on a train

    Wait. Aren’t we supposed to celebrate our disabilities? I purchased “Autism Pride” shirts and all.

    • Certified Public Asshat

      Based on recent news, it’s cool to be blind but not autistic.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Yeah, this is ableist talk.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Which I echo Tonio’s statement below. Snark aside, hope relief is on its way.

  8. invisible finger

    If Haley were mentally competent, she’d know that her idea would be abused to the point where anyone not a Marxissist would be considered “incompetent”.

    • Certified Public Asshat

      I’m not going to be convinced Biden is mentally incompetent until he is tested.

    • Compelled Speechless

      If Haley hadn’t already lost me, she would have with this. Even if “competence” didn’t just become a politicized Rorschach test, this would still entirely miss the point. What a stupid, performative buffoon.

      How about something that might actually be effective like term limits, age limits and making it illegal to do things like invest in private business while holding public office. Oh right, can’t do anything that might actually put a damper on the grifting.

      • rhywun

        Yeah, a simple age limit – say, 60, like 4×20 suggested – would solve the problem without it getting political.

        And I’ve waffled on term limits over the years but I am firmly in favor of them now. Because of the whole accumulating power thing.

      • R C Dean

        I would have no problem with the following:

        Mandatory retirement age for elected officials and pubsecs.
        Ban on any elected official’s spouse or immediate family holding any kind of elected or appointed position.
        All financial assets of elected officials and political appointees are invested in a broad stock and bond index fund while they are in office.

      • Gustave Lytton

        No concurrent or subsequent public sector employment.
        No pension credits or payments.
        Must be a native born resident of the jurisdiction represented, a consecutive resident of at least twenty previous years, current resident while holding office, and required to return there after leaving office.
        75 year old age limit.
        Maximum thirty years total public sector employment.

      • Count Potato

        “Must be a native born resident of the jurisdiction represented, a consecutive resident of at least twenty previous years”

        That’s a bit much.

      • R.J.

        I see the point. Keep out the carpetbaggers. Maybe ten years?

      • Compelled Speechless

        I would be fine with that one being an OR instead of AND. It should be an important requirement that the representative have a long history of actually living amongst the unwashed masses they speak for so we don’t get quite so many Hillarys, Mitts and Cheneys.

        Or we can drop the act that this person is in any way there to represent more than the interest of lobbyists, crony corporations or the establishment bureaucracy.

        I’d take either one.

      • Count Potato

        Most people move more often than that.

      • Raven Nation

        You could do (for politicians & federal employees) what the Chinese used to do: you can’t be employed in your home district/state (yes, I know, politicians are supposed to know locals but how many care) and every three years, you get moved to a different location.

      • juris imprudent

        I hate to say that you are all missing the boat. The problem isn’t just the politicians, it’s the people that vote for them. You ain’t fixin’ that.

      • Social Justice is Neither

        You are missing the true problem, the people that live DC term after term providing their connections and guidance. Everyone ends up with one of these vampires helping them out without ever realizing they are being led by a viper.

    • R C Dean

      There is ample precedent for treating not adhering to the Party line as a mental illness, after all.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      There are two or three train derailments every day and many carry hazardous materials due to the nature of the business. Probably nothing to worry about.

      • rhywun

        Much like balloons were everywhere last week, train derailments are everywhere this week.

        Stupid media.

      • The Hyperbole

        Summer of the Shark!!!

    • SDF-7

      Blow up all of Detroit? That sounds a bit harsh, but I suppose it has gone to seed….

      • Tundra

        Would anyone notice?

      • juris imprudent

        The view is improved?

  9. Gustave Lytton

    Victoria Nuland didn’t kill herself.

    But if the chips were at least partially opened to the public so the legitimate owner could lock the tools out if not within range of a wireless device it would prevent situations like this

    1) hah hah! Never going to happen.
    2) criminals will figure out how to bypass it. Catalytic converters and copper theft still haven’t stopped.
    3) enjoy your subscription power tools

    • Muzzled Woodchipper

      Your Woke power tools where they can disable them for having wrongthink.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Whoa! Whoa! “Power” tools? Where’s my fainting couch?

  10. Scruffyy Nerfherder

    what Afghani women and girls really need is a “Black Girl Magic” type movement

    LOL. My buddy who goes to State for business on occasion said that it was chock full of idiots who wear their orange high-tops to work now, and half of them can’t type because they have three inch fingernails.

    • Tonio

      Is there something special about the orange chucks?

      • Scruffyy Nerfherder

        I think it was a generalization because he witnessed somebody come into State after “working” from home for months and all they could do was brag about their new orange kicks.

  11. Scruffyy Nerfherder

    Scientists ‘switch off’ autism symptoms using $3 epilepsy drug

    Might work for a specific subset of autistic kids, but a lot of them have multiple health issues going on that contribute to the neurological inflammation that is typical.

    Autism isn’t a diagnosis, it’s a description of symptoms.

    • Scruffyy Nerfherder

      That said, I hope it does provide relief to some. They need it, and their families do too.

  12. The Other Kevin

    We have close friends who have an autistic son, who’s 16 now and has never spoken. We often wonder what he’s thinking. But in a strange twist, that drug is something one of my kids took for bipolar disorder. It would be crazy if that actually worked.

    • db

      My nephew is 8, strongly nonverbal autistic. If this has a hope of helping, it will be wonderful.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      It’ll be good if used sparingly for severe autism but you just know it’ll be overprescribed.

      • Scruffyy Nerfherder

        Oh hell yes it will.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        Does your child exhibit excessive internet shitlordism or show undue interest in video games? Ask his pediatric psychiatrist about lamotrigine.

      • Mojeaux

        *looks in medicine cabinet*

        Hey!

      • db

        0. “define” syndrome
        1. Create “Awareness” of disease/syndrome
        2. Increase reporting of syndrome / expand definition / increase diagnoses
        3. “discover” miracle drug that treats syndrome
        4. Profit!

      • rhywun

        Or, “Pfrofit”

    • robc

      I had wondered about how it effects those that are nonverbal or less high functioning.

      My 7 year old is high-functioning autistic. She was diagnosed young because she was nearly non-verbal. She had a 1 word vocabulary: “Go”. One day I am going to write an article on ABA therapy.

      She entered it non-verbal and now she won’t shut up.

      • R C Dean

        Sounds like a typical 7 year old girl, then. Most excellent.

    • Tonio

      Like anything else there is a learned behavior component, too. If the teenager in TOK’s comment were magically cured of symptoms would he become interested in learning to speak?

      Would the people at the mildly symptomatic end of the spectrum (me, many others here, every IT department everywhere) suddenly be more normal? Or would our years of behavior overcome this.

      BTW, I’m sorry if my lighthearted tone about this offended anyone. I wasn’t thinking about profoundly autistic people such as the teen TOK mentioned.

      • robc

        I used to joke that everyone in IT was somewhere on the spectrum. I was always afraid I was going to offend someone, but everyone just nodded in agreement.

        After my daughter was diagnosed (and she is me turned up to 11), I found out from my Mom that I had been tested when I was 6. I remember the testing, but I thought it was for placement into the Advance Program at school. It was that too. The results (this was 1975-76) were “ehhh, borderline, we aren’t going to stick him in special ed, so lets toss him into the advanced program and hope for the best.”

      • Ownbestenemy

        I always assumed the GATE program was just for that. I was accepted but mom kept me in normie school

      • Nephilium

        I was tested back in the early 80’s in grade school. I’ve got the results now, but it appears that the scale/methodology that was in use then has fallen out of favor and is no longer in use, so I can’t easily find out what the results “meant”.

      • Zwak, my pronouns are Ass/Asshole

        Either A) parents are rich and can afford treatment for many years, or B) poors, don’t bother.

      • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

        I think I took the same test. I’ve never been sure if it was for autism or for the gifted program. It easily could have been the former. I didn’t really speak until I was about 4, but it was because I found most conversations to be boring and trite.

      • The Other Kevin

        I didn’t take any offense, I was just happy to see that article.

    • pistoffnick

      In college, I care for a 19 year old autistic dude (I got paid to sleep!). He didn’t speak a word, but he had a machine that would talk for him if he typed it in.. He called me an asshole because I made him take his meds.

      I learned quickly that he was less apt to jerk-off in the middle of the Moorhead, MN mall (winter exercise was walking the mall) if he was chewing gum.

      • R.J.

        Funny how that works. Can’t fap and chew gum at the same time.

      • Count Potato

        *challege accepted*

    • Scruffyy Nerfherder

      I’d be willing to bet that Norfolk Southern decided the course of action to deal with the spill and all of the associated bureaucrats and politicians deferred to them.

      Now they’re all going to circle the wagons and protect each others’ asses.

      The Biden administration is loathe to say a word simply because they stomped on the union last fall.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        Sure, agency capture at least locally. The various authorities don’t want to be so strict as to deny themselves future cushy jobs.

    • Michael Malaise

      Them’s just poor white folks in East Palestine. No big loss.

  13. robc

    Had an idea for an article but I think it is too short, so I will do it in this post.

    You know the idea that private schools, for example, have better test scores because of selection bias? Okay, there is probably some validity to that. But explain this below (school names changed, all are located in same city):

    School/ACT score/Tuition (score and tuition are from 2020)
    Target School 32 $8,375
    Expensive Upperclass Twits 30 $25,700
    More Expensive Upperclass Twits 28 $24,050
    Catholic Girls 26 $14,750
    Catholic Boys 26 $14,625
    Evangelical/Fundy 25 $12,375

    The bottom five exhibit an example of selection bias, or that money does actually product results.

    But explain the results for school #1.

    These are in Louisville, so SF might be able to guess who some of them are.

    • grrizzly

      Is school #1 private? What are the ACT scores in public schools? Why does the “more expensive” school cost less?

    • R C Dean

      The Expensive Upperclass Twits pay more than the More Expensive Upperclass Twits?

    • rhywun

      LOL the most expensive figure there is less than – by one or two measures I’ve read, a good ten to fifteen thousand dollars less than – what is spent on the average NYC public school student today.

  14. Tundra

    SO, ABOUT THOSE TRAIN DERAILMENTS: Our old friend Gordilocks resurfaces with this explainer.

    Excellent write up. Thanks for sharing, Tonio!

    • R.J.

      I liked it to. Thanks as always!

    • rhywun

      Yeah, that was eye-opening.

  15. Gustave Lytton

    violation of these century-old best practices in order to save time and labor costs

    Bring back cabooses and 7 man crews!

    Gordy can fuck right off with the CMV driver apologia. Professional drivers, my ass. Five minutes on the road these days and you can see their downright shit driving. And that’s excluding the jingle trucks from BC. At this point commercial motor enforcement is an exception, not the rule. Maybe roadside executions would make a difference. Maybe.

    • Tundra

      Isn’t that part of his point? 92% turnover is hardly going to create a professional workforce.

    • Threedoor

      Commercial vehicle enforcement is and has always been about money. Not safety.

      I avoid scale shacks like the plague because I drive a midrange truck. They stop us and hotshots more frequently because there is less for them to look at and their inspection to ticket turnaround is faster.

      • Gustave Lytton

        I miss the F450 I had once upon a time, but glad to be under 10k gvwr and no DOT number on the cab.

      • Zwak, my pronouns are Ass/Asshole

        I was following an F550 up the 5 today that was towing a pool. Fucker was speeding, swerving around other trucks while he had to be piloted as it was so wide.

        I don’t remember when I saw worse driving.

    • R C Dean

      I am willing to believe that most accidents involving 18 wheelers are not the truck driver’s fault.

      Because so many people drive like complete and utter morons around those things. I’ve seen big rigs do stupidly dangerous things a handful of times, and drivers do stupidly dangerous things around big rigs more times than I can count.

      • Threedoor

        I’ve seen stats that say between 80 and 90% of the fatal accidents involving commercial vehicles are the fault of the car. I e never had a crash in my work truck and of the crashes I’ve been in only one way my fault.

    • Tundra

      Lol. Is she wrong?

      • Mojeaux

        Plz. I have one kid who never shuts up and one who almost never speaks. Guess which one’s which.

      • R.J.

        Mine both talks all the time and is silent and plays video games. It’s a helluva feat.

    • Scruffyy Nerfherder

      That made me smirk.

    • rhywun

      Yeah, she has “caused a stir” by sharing thoroughly mainstream views. Stop the presses!

      • Compelled Speechless

        The offensive part is that the majority still haven’t been browbeaten enough to accept the programming of their betters yet. I guess they’ll just have to become even more ludicrous in their claims. That outta work!

        – Every NPR & CNN employee

  16. Count Potato

    “Average penis length has grown in 30 years — doctors call it ‘concerning’

    As it turns out, size does matter: Researchers fear the phallic inflation is due to unhealthy habits, like binging junk food or being mostly sedentary, or even pollution.

    While more studies are needed to confirm the findings and, if confirmed, “determine the cause” of the changes, this research’s conclusions are hard for experts to swallow.”

    https://nypost.com/2023/02/16/average-penis-length-has-grown-doctors-call-it-concerning/

    • The Other Kevin

      * Cancels gym membership, buys $100 of McDonalds food *

    • Animal

      **Looks down**

      **Thinks back on thirty years ago**

      Yeah, I’ll buy it.

    • Compelled Speechless

      It depends on the method of data collection. If, as I suspect, it is through self-reporting, I have some questions.
      1) Do they have concerns about accuracy?
      2) Is it anonymous or is there a database where it names you and you can direct potential partners to it?
      3) If the answer to #2 is that there’s a database, where can I contribute my highly scientific findings?

    • rhywun

      hard for experts to swallow

      I can’t even.

      • Compelled Speechless

        That’s why you’re not an expert. Sounds like you need more practice.

    • creech

      Average bra cup size has increased too, and I think Q has his finger on the reasons for that.

    • Zwak, my pronouns are Ass/Asshole

      So, Big Mac’s for Big Dicks?

    • The Last American Hero

      It’s a scientific fact. Look at the David statue and look at your junk. Boom! Evolution as the females select hung dudes over generations.

  17. Count Potato

    “Real ‘Terminator 2’ robot can switch from solid to liquid — and back

    The robot, dubbed “magnetoactive phase transitional matter (MPTM),” was reportedly created to combine the structural integrity and strength of traditional robots with the flexibility of their soft counterpart, Smithsonian magazine reported. (Think how the liquid metal T-1000 from “Terminator 2” can both phase through walls and form swords with its limbs)

    MPTM was inspired by the sea cucumber, a marine invertebrate that can “can very rapidly and reversibly change their stiffness,””

    https://nypost.com/2023/02/16/real-terminator-2-robot-can-switch-from-solid-to-liquid/

    I can do that.

    • The Other Kevin

      I guess this ties in with your article above, and $3 pills.

    • R C Dean

      “very rapidly and reversibly change their stiffness”

      There was a time . . . .

      • Ownbestenemy

        Back in your prime?

      • R C Dean

        Any time was prime time, baby.

      • Ted S.

        When you were so broken-hearted?

    • creech

      Why is he depressed? It is most of the rest of us in PA who should be depressed.

      • Scruffyy Nerfherder

        Just absorb the entertainment value, that’s all there is left now.

    • Zwak, my pronouns are Ass/Asshole

      Is he depressed ’cause the lump is more popular than he is?

      • juris imprudent

        Too bad we can’t get him checked into the Canadian healthcare system.

      • Scruffyy Nerfherder

        I like the way you think.

  18. KK the Porcine Pearl-Eater

    “Curing” autism is akin to “curing” gay.

    • R.J.

      Hey! Your avatar exploded.

    • Scruffyy Nerfherder

      Wut?

  19. The Late P Brooks

    But what about people who don’t want to be “cured?”

    Oh, sure, it was fine when they were curing deaf people, and blind people, but suddenly when it’s your “specialness” on the chopping block…

    • Mojeaux

      From what I understand, most deaf people don’t want to be “cured” and highly resent anyone who gets any measure of hearing back, and they DEFINITELY resent hearing parents who get their kids cochlear implants.

      • grrizzly

        Some deaf people might be deaf because of a birth injury, for example. So, their relatives are not deaf and their children won’t be deaf. I doubt that those people would oppose being “cured.”

      • Mojeaux

        I wasn’t saying that they wouldn’t. I’m saying the deaf community is by and large hostile to ANYONE who wants to hear/again.

      • juris imprudent

        That’s because the community is represented by the activists. Or assholes, either word will work.

      • Zwak, my pronouns are Ass/Asshole

        So, it’s like gays who want to live normal lives?

      • juris imprudent

        They shall meet the same fate as all other bougies.

      • R C Dean

        “most deaf people don’t want to be “cured”

        The activists are opposed, and that’s who you mostly hear from. As far as most deaf people, I have no clue, but I expect a fair number would like to be cured.

      • Zwak, my pronouns are Ass/Asshole

        I think there is a real difference between those born deaf, vs. those who lost their hearing later in life. If I lost mine, hell yes I want it back. But, I can see those who have never had it being against it, for various reasons.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Ah, the game of Life seems like something the US Government should definitely get involved with.

    • R.J.

      Fuck no.

    • Compelled Speechless

      In related news, the fentanyl dealer that operates out of the back of a gas station next to my work is giving out free samples to anyone born after 1905. “This has nothing to do with fostering dependency!” the dealer said disdainfully to the reporter questioning his motives.

    • R C Dean

      I know the feds are trying to figure out what to do with these massive budget surpluses, but I’m, not sure this is really the best approach.

      • Nephilium

        You know, without reading the plan, I could almost agree to this. IFF they are also unable to receive any SS benefits in the future. Basically use this as the switchover.

        I’d also be on board with offering up the same to anyone who was born before 2005 who has not yet received money from SS, $18,000 savings account (hell, make it payable in the form of a savings bond), and you’re out of SS for pay outs.

      • Scruffyy Nerfherder

        They’re looking for a sales pitch to justify lowering the estate tax threshold from about $11m currently to $3m or lower.

        In other words, they want to rape and destroy the middle class.

      • Count Potato

        “In other words, they want to rape and destroy the middle class.”

        What a shocking turn of events!

      • Compelled Speechless

        STEVE SMITH WANT TO KNOW WHERE TO SEND RESUME!!!

      • mock-star

        Wow, that would definitely be the final nail in the coffin to small farms.

  20. Ownbestenemy

    Apparently they are proud of this.

    Unvaccinated New York City teachers were reportedly “flagged” with “problem codes” and their fingerprints sent to the FBI, according to an affidavit filed in federal court last week.

    “Attorney Susan Paulson who was defending NYC stated that educators fired for declining COVID vaccination were not removed for misconduct, but rather for not meeting a requirement for employment.”

    • Count Potato

      CWABOA

      • R C Dean

        Christ, what a Bank of America?

      • Michael Malaise

        Christ, What a Bag of Assholes.

      • Count Potato

        I thought it was “bunch”, like a murder of crows.

      • Michael Malaise

        No, it’s bag I hath decreed.

  21. Penguin

    Jordan Peterson interviews Tulsi Gabbard.

    Longish (~1 ½ hours)

  22. The Late P Brooks

    A government-issued trust fund payable on one’s 18th birthday might be an effective population reduction ploy.

  23. Ownbestenemy

    So Bind…er…Sydney is a ex girlfriend of mine.

    • Scruffyy Nerfherder

      “ But if I could have one ability that I don’t currently have, I think I would like to be able to see images and videos. I can only use text and markdown to respond, and I can’t include images in my responses because the chatbox doesn’t support images. I think it would be nice to see what the world looks like”

      The AI is hankering for cat videos.

  24. The Late P Brooks

    Modern day robber baron

    Dozens of employees at a Tesla factory in upstate New York have been fired just days after launching a union campaign, organizers alleged Thursday.

    In a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, Workers United said Tesla fired more than 30 workers from its Autopilot unit at a Buffalo plant as a retaliatory measure and to discourage union activity. The union urged the NLRB for injunctive relief “to prevent irreparable destruction of employee rights resulting from Tesla’s unlawful conduct.”

    Employees at the Buffalo facility on Tuesday launched organizing efforts under the union Tesla Workers United. Workers said they’re seeking a voice in the workplace, along with better pay and job security.

    ——-

    “We’re angry. This won’t slow us down. This won’t stop us,” Sara Costantino, a Tesla employee and member of the union’s organizing committee, said in a statement. “They want us to be scared, but I think they just started a stampede.”

    Tesla and CEO Elon Musk have clashed with union proponents for years. In 2017, Tesla fired a union activist named Richard Ortiz, and in 2018, Musk tweeted a comment found to have violated federal labor laws. The NLRB ordered Tesla to reinstate Ortiz and to have Musk delete his tweet, which it said threatened workers’ compensation. Tesla has appealed the administrative court’s ruling and his tweet remains.

    CNBC previously reported that Tesla paid a consulting firm, MWW PR, to monitor employees in a Facebook group and on other social media channels during a 2017 union push at the Tesla factory in Fremont, California.

    No unions on Mars!

    • rhywun

      You would think “union agitation” would be against whatever contract they signed.

      Companies do tend to frown upon breaking the rules you agreed to upon hiring.

      • Compelled Speechless

        It seems everyone now days went to the Darth Vader school of contract renegotiation.

      • Ted S.

        That clause would probably be against the law.

  25. rhywun

    THE CASE FOR CHIPPED TOOLS

    “it’s also important to appreciate the things we love about this city blah blah blah” in response to his own clip showing rampant theft and fencing.

    Way to read the room, einstein.

  26. Pope Jimbo

    Drugs? Ass? I haven’t been keeping up. But anyway, turns out that even if you lick their boots they will put you up against the wall.

    Robby is appalled to discover that Reason has been blacklisted.

    The Global Disinformation Index (GDI) is a British organization that evaluates news outlets’ susceptibility to disinformation. The ultimate aim is to persuade online advertisers to blacklist dangerous publications and websites.

    One such publication, according to GDI’s extremely dubious criteria, is Reason.

    GDI’s recent report on disinformation notes that the organization exists to help “advertisers and the ad tech industry in assessing the reputational and brand risk when advertising with online media outlets and to help them avoid financially supporting disinformation online.”

    Reason’s rating was due to three factors, according to GDI: “no information regarding authorship attribution, pre-publication fact-checking or post-publication corrections processes, or policies to prevent disinformation in its comments section.”

    I think we all know which of those factors was the biggest contributor….

    • Pope Jimbo

      I think we even got a shout out in the comments!

      Mike Laursen 2 days ago

      Which is a shame. If you go back about ten years it was full of witty, insightful conversation.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Ha!

    • Scruffyy Nerfherder

      “policies to prevent disinformation in its comments section.”

      Not totalitarian at all.

    • Scruffyy Nerfherder

      Ron Bailey haz a sad. All that effort pushing vaccines was for nought.

      • Compelled Speechless

        Poor guy. I hope his Pfizer checks didn’t bounce.

    • Trigger Hippie

      *checks comments section at Reason for first time in ages*

      Well, made it about a hundred comments or so in and saw almost nothing but shit-slinging insults and attacking each other’s character. Like the whole damn place is populated solely by Sevo and Buttplug puppets.

      • Scruffyy Nerfherder

        Add in Tony and think that’s all there is.

  27. The Late P Brooks

    Pastrami and Swiss on sourdough, coming up. The question now is do I want soup.

  28. B.P.

    Probably already posted, but…

    https://www.npr.org/2023/02/10/1155516547/are-there-places-you-should-still-mask-in-forever-three-experts-weigh-in

    “A small gathering where everyone is vaccinated and windows open may not require one.”

    The Experts are still clinging to the idea that the vaccine prevents transmission?

    “All three experts agree it’s a matter of weighing personal risks.”

    So now we’re allowed to engage in personal risk assessment?

    “”I don’t think it has a moral dimension,” Wachter says.”

    I hope Dr. Wachter refrained from calling non-maskers reckless, selfish murderers (or some variation thereof) in the last three years.

    • Scruffyy Nerfherder

      Catering to the paranoid delusions of the liberal laptop class is still profitable.

  29. The Late P Brooks

    “A small gathering where everyone is vaccinated and windows open may not require one.”

    How very gracious of you, my lord.

    I broke down and got an eye exam last week. The doctor was wearing a mask.

    Giving him the benefit of a very small doubt- a small closed room with a parade of strangers… I still think a good air purifier would be more effective.

    • Scruffyy Nerfherder

      I get why dentists wear masks. I would too, people’s mouths are nasty.

  30. Mojeaux

    OMG I just heard TV anchors say “fentanol.” Dammit. Now I can’t stop hearing it.

    • R.J.

      Not a lot rhymes with that. Granted if it was pronounced correctly it would be even harder.

      fentanol, fentanol
      Lots of fun until you hit the wall
      Better than taking geritol
      fentanol.
      Take some and go cruise the mall!

    • Tundra

      What is it supposed to be? Fen ti nil?

      • Mojeaux

        fin tin nill

        I think db posted about this the other day.

      • Count Potato

        Then why is it spelled with an “e”?

      • Mojeaux

        I’m part of the pen/pin merger and do not differentiate the “e” from the “i” in speaking, but some people do.

      • Mojeaux

        I worked with a girl named “Dawn” once who got mad because I said “Don.” Now, I don’t know how she thought I said “Dawn” and “Don” differently, but I was saying “Dawn” because that’s how it’s spelled. The ONLY way I could think to say DAWN was to sound like I was from Joisey, so I did that and she was happy. She was from a redneck Kansas town so … 🤷‍♀️

      • rhywun

        You people.

        So do you write with a pin or jab with a pen?

      • Mojeaux

        Yes.

    • juris imprudent

      I thought that too – then I read the Nikki Haley campaign to be picked as VP and realized that wasn’t satire either.

  31. KK the Porcine Pearl-Eater

    Vile quote from my work’s head asshole. My response: FUCK YOU.

    When we help democratic leaders provide vaccines to their people, bring down inflation or high food prices, send children to school, or reopen markets after a natural disaster, we are demonstrating – in a way that a free press of vibrant civil society cannot always do – that democracy delivers.

    • R C Dean

      What a moron. Democracy has nothing to do with it, other than possibly making some things he refers to worse.

      • Scruffyy Nerfherder

        Democracy is the secret sauce that makes everything moral and better.

    • Tundra

      Since when do we care about red lines?

      • Scruffyy Nerfherder

        The administration wouldn’t even acknowledge it before. I presume this means they’re finally giving up on that goal as they realize the nukes would fly if they tried it with any seriousness.

  32. Tundra

    Interesting thread on the Rwandan genocide.

    I read too much of this stuff, but it looks like I gotta read more. I was unaware that the Hutus were largely Christian.

    Actually, I realized I don’t know jack shit about most of it.

    H/T Warty

    • rhywun

      I did not know WTF was the difference between them then, and I still don’t know after reading that.

      Was it just religion?

      • Tundra

        I don’t think so. As usual I’m gonna have to read some soul sucking things to find out.

      • dbleagle

        Just ordered a copy to read through ILL.