So… the candidate who has repeatedly publicly stated that if elected he fully intends to be a dictator claims to have nothing to do with a roadmap to dictatorship written by his ex-staffers…
Riiight.
This is another of the things that astonishes me about Trump - not only is he a grotesque buffoon in clown makeup and a ludicrous combover who notoriously smells like ass and a staggeringly delusional lunatic who clearly lives in some sort of fantasy world - he’s a transparent, egregious and laughably poor compulsive liar. He can barely complete a sentence without lying (well - he can barely complete a sentence at all, but you know what I mean).
I swear that if he was magically transferred directly into a movie script, the character would be rejected as too over-the-top to be believable. And yet here we are…
Despite negative perceptions on the state of the economy, people are losing money a lot slower than its June 2022 peak of losing a shit ton of money per quarter.
I think it’s a perception thing? Maybe people feel like they are earning more money than ever before but things cost more so they feel like they are losing money rather than earning less? I don’t know the answer but yea…. Prices are going up and they are still going up, and even if inflation is under control it feels like prices are going up faster than they were before….
Eating at a fast food restaurant I remember my first job I could get a burger for way less than one hour of work at my lowest wage I worked for I could get a whole combo meal at the fast food place next to one of my first jobs for about one hour of work…. Wages have gone up a bit but it’s not keeping pace so if i look at what my same job would pay per hour now it’s still not going to get me a meal for one hour of work, maybe only the burger.
I think you were being downvoted because while you may be technically correct, that means little to the daily life of your average person.
The last time I saw data on wages (pre COVID, so sometime between 2015 and 2019), when adjusted for inflation, wages for the average worker had actually dropped about 5% since then. Add to that that prices have increased faster than inflation across the board, even before COVID, and people are losing money simply keeping afloat. The price of a taco at Taco Bell is now twice what it cost in the 90s when adjusted for inflation. College tuition is up something like 1,500% since the 70s (thanks, Reagan). Something like 60% of houses are considered unaffordable to the average American today, compared to 30% roughly 20 years ago.
All this means that purchasing power has dropped, but “purchasing power” and “earnings” means absolutely nothing to people. The number in their bank account dropping instead of going up matters. The fact that people can’t get a mortgage for a house even though the rent they currently pay is more expensive matters. The fact that people have to take on debt to afford essentials is what matters. To the average person, any of that is a clear sign that they’re losing money.
Yeah but did you hear fast food workers make $15 bucks an hour now in at least one state? Plus people surely haven’t gone through all of their COVID stimulus savings yet.
My favorite excuse for not paying fast food workers more is, “that’s not supposed to be someone’s permanent job, that’s supposed to be a teenager’s job.”
Great, but we don’t live in your supposed to world and it is a permanent job for a lot of people now.
Also, the idea that you shouldn’t pay a teenager a decent hourly wage either is pretty offensive, but that’s a whole other issue.
They’re not missing it at all. In normal circumstances, we’ve always got some low amount of inflation. If prices fell, we’d have an entirely different and much worse set of issues.
If prices fell, we’d have an entirely different and much worse set of issues.
No, it would be a lot worse for the wealthy
Deflation causes people to save money and accumulate wealth.
The wealthy say this is bad because we won’t buy products, but now we don’t buy products because we have no money. Which is worse than not buying products because we’re saving money for a thing like a house or planning to have kids.
Except for the wealthiest who want all the money and can’t get what people are saving. They want everyone broke and all the money they don’t have already, being in circulation so they can take it.
Like, come on bro, it’s not complicated but there is generations of capitalism propaganda repeating that inflation is a good thing, it’s just not true for 99.99% of us. If it still doesn’t make sense, feel free to ask for clarification.
We have history that we can learn from where we’ve had deflation and could observe the effects. The wealthy are the ones not buying products in deflationary environments, or otherwise big ticket purchases for the rest of us. Those big purchases involve a lot of money changing hands, but above and beyond that, there’s also a lack of capital investment, because the investor has no incentive to do anything except to put their money under their mattress, once again not circulating it. If there’s constant low inflation, the investor is guaranteed to lose money keeping it under their mattress but has a good chance at making more money by investing it into companies who use it to hire people and produce things that people want to spend money on.
Do you think that every article written about inflation just happens to forget that prices are still rising? Or do you think there’s a reason there are basically no economists anywhere arguing that deflation is what we should have instead?
What you might call a memo, I’d call a poor explanation to confirm your biases. Do some reading on how economists came to their conclusions, and you’ll see why we arrived at an ideal environment of some low inflation. If economics reporters were only serving at the behest of billionaires, we’re in an age of unprecedented access to information, and economics is almost entirely math. If someone wanted to be a whistleblower and show the math to back it up, it would have gone viral by now, and that still would have to contradict a working model of reality that makes sense for what we all understand about inflation. There will always be some percentage of people who don’t thrive in whatever our economic conditions are, and that sucks, but I don’t think anyone’s been able to show a system where we can save literally everyone, because as human beings, our flaws tend to get in the way of that. Still, that low amount of inflation tends to be the best we can do.
I mostly agree with you, but economics is at best a heaping tablespoon of math and a sack of human behavioral psychology. Those guys really only know what’s going on 6 months after it happened.
“The email, sent around 5:45 p.m. with the subject line ‘My manifesto,’ said lead azide devices were hidden in and around the Pennsylvania State Capitol and Pennsylvania Judicial Center ‘In the name of Palestine,’” according to the report.
ALSO READ: How The Onion’s founding editor finds humor in the dismal age of Trump
The report also says Capitol Police “told PennLive they are aware of the threat but will not be commenting on the incident at this time.”
Journalism is in such a fucking spiral these days.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this email was an Israeli stunt, TBH.
ALSO READ: How The Onion’s founding editor finds humor in the dismal age of Trump
A story about politics leading to terrorism and bomb threats is a bad place to advertize articles about political satire writers. There is nothing funny about this.
I’m guessing the author of the article didn’t get to choose where the ad went in, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the ad was inserted automatically without anyone reviewing what went there.
That’s not about the state of journalism, that’s about what companies are willing to let advertisers get away with.
There are many reasons to criticize what is going on in American journalism, but this is not a very good one.
Journalism is more than just journalists recording information. It’s also about spreading that information. It being automatic doesn’t make it any less shameful, if anything far moreso, and especially bad that they use the same font and size as the rest of the page.
No, I didn’t get to read just the story by itself. The story itself was published in a format that was unnacceptable, imo. This is a symptom of the disease plaguing the modern world, automated and profit-first systems pushing and begging for another moment of our attention at the cost of composure and ethics.
My family never could. I couldn’t myself until I was around 30, single with no kids. I believe it’s gotten much worse for families that are in that same socioeconomic class, especially those who have kids to raise.
The militant Islamist group has dropped a demand that Israel first commit to a permanent ceasefire before signing the agreement, and would allow negotiations to achieve that throughout the six-week first phase, the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity because the talks are private.
Giving Israel what they asked for, and they’ll still turn it down…
The Israeli public are in support of the genocide. This isn’t a Netanyahu problem any more than nazi germany was a hitler problem. Polls from both this and the last time Israel bombed Gaza had <5% of Israeli Jews saying the IDF is bombing gaza too much.
A new Pew Research Center survey finds that 39% of Israelis say Israel’s military response against Hamas in Gaza has been about right, while 34% say it has not gone far enough and 19% think it has gone too far.
I did find a <5% figure, on the same page
Israeli Arabs are much more likely than Jews to say the country’s military response has gone too far (74% vs. 4%).
Yeah idk why they even posted this, so 34% of Israelis think there hasn’t been enough genocide? If you really chosen people I cant wait til the lord takes you back.
Vigano referred to the pope only by his surname, “Bergoglio”, and accused him of representing an “inclusive, immigrationist, eco-sustainable, and gay-friendly” Church
First time I’ve ever heard the words “inclusive” and “eco-sustainable” used with the intent of condemnation.
Feels like a dog whistle. Things western world is pushing for, and he’s spewing it like he’s some middle eastern despot criticizing men for letting their daughters go to school
I used to work on the software for these cars, so I can speak to this a little. For what it's worth, I'm no longer with the project, so I have no reason to be sucking Google's dick if these weren't my honest opinions on the tech being used here. None of this is to excuse or defend Google, just sharing my insight on how these cars operate based on my experiences with them.
Waymo's cars actually do a really good job at self-navigation. Like, sometimes it's scary how good they actually are when you see the conditions they can operate under. There are so many layers of redundancies that you could lose all of the camera feeds, GPS, and cellular data, and they'll still be able to navigate themselves through traffic by the LIDAR sensors. Hell, even if you removed the LIDAR from that scenario, those cars accurately know their location based on the last known location combined with how many times each tire has revolved (though it'd just run into everything along the way, but at least it'd know where it's located the entire time). All of the other sensors and data points collected by the cars actually end up making GPS into the least accurate sensor on the car.
That said, the article mentions that it was due to "inconsistent construction signage", which I'd assume to be pretty accurate from my own experience with these cars. Waymo's cars are usually really good at detecting cone placements and determining where traffic is being rerouted to. But... that's generally only when the cones are where they're supposed to be. I've seen enough roadwork in Phoenix to know that sometimes Mad Max rules get applied, and even I wouldn't know how to drive through some of those work zones. It was pretty rare that I'd have to remotely take over an SDC, but 9/10 times I did it was because of construction signs/equipment being in weird places and I'd have to K-turn the car back where it came from.
That's not to say that construction consistently causes the cars to get stuck, but I'd say was one of the more common pain points. In theory, if somebody were to run over a cone and nobody picks it back up, an SDC might not interpret that obstruction properly, and can make a dumb decision like going down the wrong lane, under the incorrect assumption that traffic has been temporarily rerouted that way. It sounds scary, and probably looks scary as hell if you saw it on the street, but even then it's going to stop itself before coming anywhere near an oncoming car, even if it thinks it has right of way, since proximity to other objects will take priority over temporary signage.
The "driving through a red light" part I'm assuming might actually be inaccurate. Cops do lie, after all. I 100% believe in a Waymo car going down the opposing lane after some sketchy road cones, but I have a hard time buying that it ran a red light, since they will not go if they don't detect a green light. Passing through an intersection requires a positive detection of a green light; positive or negative detection of red won't matter, it has to see a green light for its intended lane or it will assume it has to stop at the line.
In the video, the cop says he turns on his lights and the SDC blows through a red light. While I was working there, red light violations were so rare that literally 100% of the red light violations we received were while a human was driving the car in manual mode. What I'd assume was likely going on is that the SDC was already in a state of "owning" the intersection for an unprotected left turn when the lights came on. When an SDC thinks it's being pulled over, it's going to go through its "pullover" process, which first requires exiting an intersection if currently in one. So what likely ended up happening is the SDC was already in the intersection preparing for a left turn, the light turns red while the SDC is in the box (and still legally has right of way to the intersection), cop turns on the sirens, SDC proceeds "forward" through the intersection until it's able to pull over.
But, that's just my speculation based on my somewhat outdated understanding of the software behind these cars. I'd love to see the video of it, but I doubt Waymo will release it unless there's a lawsuit.
This is pretty interesting to read, thanks! I would think that Waymo employs an abundance of visual sensors that could give us an idea of what happened if they so chose to do so. Construction zones can be hard, maybe they need to own this one?
So I’ve been in situations where I was stopped at a red light, and emergency vehicles were coming and I was waved by a policeman to cross the intersection against the red light to clear the way.
So what, is a self driving car going to just sit there and keep the intersection blocked?
(I'm assuming we're talking about unprotected left turns.)
I don't know if I ever saw it happen, myself, so I can't say for certain. My understanding of the SDC's logic is that if it was already in the intersection, it would complete the turn, and then pull off to the right shoulder to let the emergency vehicle pass. If it hasn't yet entered the intersection and detects siren lights behind it, I believe it will turn on the hazard lights and remain stationary unless honked at (I could be mistaken, but I think it'll recognize being honked at by emergency vehicles, and will assume it to mean "move forward and clear a path"). The SDCs have an array of microphones around the car to detect honks, sirens, nearby crashes, etc, and can tell the direction the sounds are coming from for this purpose.
That said, because it's listening for sirens, the SDC will usually be aware that there's an emergency vehicle heading toward it well ahead of time, and if they've got their lights on, the SDC will usually be able to determine which vehicle, specifically, is the emergency vehicle, so it can monitor its trajectory and make sure it's staying out of the way when possible. Typically, they will be proactive about steering clear of anything with lights/sirens running.
This would also considered a higher-priority event, and usually it will automatically ping a live human to remotely monitor the situation, and depending on the specific context, they may either command the SDC to remain stationary, proceed forward, make a U-turn, or whatever else may be necessary. In case the emergency vehicle has a loud speaker, we'd be able to hear any requests they're making of us, as well.
For what it's worth, I know that Waymo also works pretty closely with the Phoenix PD, and provide them with updates about any significant changes to the car's behaviors or any tips/tricks for dealing with a stuck car in an emergency situation, so if a situation got particularly sticky, the cops would know how to work around it. My understanding is that Phoenix PD has generally been very cooperative, though they've apparently had issues with state troopers who don't seem to care to learn about how to deal with the cars.
If you listen to the video of the interaction with the police officer and the two Waymo guys, it’s clear to me he’s not making anything up about the events that took place. The car did run through the intersection when he turn on the light. He’s not trying to issue tickets or anything - he really is interacting with the Waymo people to let the know “your car was behaving erratically. It needs to be off the road”. Its very possible the road construction uncertainty plus being in an oncoming traffic lane plus being lit up by the police triggered some very specific failure of process in the code.
The company is responsible. Waymo should get the citation. If there were a live driver, the driver would get the citation. If companies want to start going down the route of AI, then whoever is in ownership or responsible for training, should be responsible for the actions of the AI.
Arizona law does allow officers to give out tickets when a robotaxi commits a traffic violation while driving autonomously; however, officers have to give them to the company that owns the vehicle. Doing so is “not feasible,” according to a Phoenix police spokesperson
I'm not sure why the police say it's "not feasible" to issue Google a citation. Google are the registered owners of the vehicles and thus responsible for any actions it performs, just mail them a ticket?
I’m just speculating, but there is probably a very efficient workflow for sending a ticket to an individual (given the number of tickets police write and the revenue they generate), and I wouldn’t be surprised if the workflow doesn’t accommodate an AI operated vehicle. Kind of like how a restaurant would need to restructure its workflow to accommodate DoorDash.
In other words, “infeasible” might actually mean “would take extra effort”.
Yeah they probably just use a 20 years old out of date system (like any government agency that respects itself) that doesn’t take into account that maybe a car doesn’t have a driver
I thought the laws in the USA prevented this. It’s why you have manned speed traps because citations must be handed over personally to the driver while other countries have automated speed check systems and send the ticket to the owner of the car, and that can be a leasing company for example.
Generally in the United States you have an opportunity to cross-examine all evidence, these cameras are not calibrated regularly and generally not kept up (arguably they are so low budget they need no upkeep), so they become un-admissable when you challenge them, which many people win because the camera was last calibrated and cleaned when it was installed.
We have that opportunity too. You can opt to not accept the proposed (automated) settlement, and challenge the citation itself. People have done that and won. However, administrative fees for that are often higher that the proposed settlement so it’s only worth it in special cases.
Can’t speak to other countries but that generally offends American Courts, it comes off as retaliatory for exercising your American rights and has been struck down numerous times in various venues. One of the most scared rights in America is to be heard and reheard in front of a court of competent jurisdiction, we all have our day in court.
how about you tape/glue copies of the ticket over the lenses of any exposed cameras and allow Google to figure out the logistics of how to pay the ticket?
How is it not feasible? Companies have addresses and records of employees. I know you’re just citing, but something doesn’t sound right. I mean, we are talking about Phoenix police so that could explain it.
Waymo told multiple outlets that the vehicle drove into the oncoming lane because of “inconsistent construction signage,” and that it “was blocked from navigating back into the correct lane.” The company said the car drove away from the cop “in an effort to clear the intersection” before pulling into the parking lot where the traffic stop took place
…
Waymo didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment. The company told Fox 10 Phoenix that its cars “are three-and-a-half times more likely” to avoid a crash than a human being.
I actually rode in a Waymo yesterday. They’re quite cool, and as much as I hate the car centric society in the West, I hope they catch on
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