makes me think of tunnel girl

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/tiktok-tunnel-girl-gets-permit-to-continue-digging-underneath-herndon-home/ar-AA1AES0N

Massive Tunnel Project Episode 1 - Cutting the Doorway! DIY Engineering Fun | YouTube

i think tik tok might be in a position where they must sell in order to continue serving content to American users

https://apnews.com/article/trump-tiktok-china-bytedance-social-media-tariffs-665e46fd5bb555e97c4d7301e07230df

The order was announced as White House officials believed they were nearing a deal for the app’s operations to be spun off into a new company based in the U.S. and owned and operated by a majority of American investors,

the extension only happened because after the TikTok CEO, Shou Chew, threw a big party for right wing influencers during Trump’s record breaking $200M bribe acceptance party inauguration, Trump mysteriously halted the order (despite being signed into law) to ban the app.

from the article:

Top TikTok executives reportedly rubbed shoulders with American tech leaders and handed out business cards at an elite pre-inauguration donor event on Sunday featuring members of the Trump administration, as the app’s future in the U.S. remains uncertain.

Tiktok executives including CEO Shou Chew and vice president Michael Beckerman were reportedly on hand at the event, which President Donald and First Lady Melania Trump hosted at the National Building Museum in Washington. They joined a reported guestlist including Vice President JD Vance, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and conservative megadonor Miriam Adelson.

geeze, it’s almost like the tech oligarchs told Trump to pause the ban until they could negotiate a way to profit more from acquisition of TikTok (or a newly created US based subsidiary that Bezos is trying to invest in) than by outright banning users access to it, cold turkey.

people keep using this ‘interrupting your enemy’ phrase incorrectly and it’s really tiresome.

it’s like, “hey, your enemy is destroying your country, do something!” and braindead meme junkies are like “well actually, don’t interrupt your enemy…” smh

ig it gives them permission to do nothing… it grants validation for passivity.

wealthy people are not a monolith. some, those with advance warning (insider advantage) will benefit while others lose out. this is not just about rich vs poor, it’s also ultra rich vs ultra rich, cabals of powerful elites vying for control of global markets in the chaotic aftermath of global financial restructuring.

in addition to buy low, sell high… perhaps even more lucrative, the crash will be used as an excuse for another massive corporate bailout benefiting the wealthiest business owners and will accelerate the transfer of wealth from govt (taxpayers/poors) to private interests (oligarchs and bankers). this happened in 2008, during Covid PPP, and it will happen again.

this would have worked in 2016, I doubt it would now. the oligarchs who put the administration in power want their pound of flesh, and they will get it regardless of whose name is in the daily headlines.

hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been fired, research and education slashed, unprecedented damage done to institutions, and civil rights violations not seen in peacetime in generations. no, I’m afraid ignoring Trump isn’t going to solve anything.

the oligarchs must be stopped. one way or another.

i concur with your assessment. aside from a miniscule number of spiteful perpetually online leftists, there is no evidence whatsoever that gaza made an impact on large numbers of voters. whether one party represented change/disruption VS status-quo/more-of-the-same is almost certainly how typical Americans framed their decision.

it’s all about how the regulations are designed… for the benefit of corporations? or regular people?

for example, there could easily be rules placing caps on the amount of advertising that’s allowed on any given platform. no fucking way now the government will ever put that cat back in the bag now that the 20 percent of GDP comes from tech monopolies fueled by advertisements.

first time hearing about this, any more details you can provide or link to a news release? is this Ubiik?

saving this for later, thanks

the Cold War was a free printing money machine for 50 years. creating a new one against China makes sense if you’re an oligarch whose wealth rides upon govt contracts and endless military industrial expansionism.

and it kinda explains why Putin is manipulating Trump to make him believe they’ll choose the US over China in a game of saber rattling. Russia is positioning itself to be the tie-breaker so it can play both sides against one another in lucrative energy/arms deals. maybe they’ll even get some real estate out of it.

political memes often are news though. they aren’t like, mutually exclusive.

yep. we all definitely need breaks. i take long breaks every few months or in the winter when seasonal depression kicks in.

but this is a critical junction for global history. class warfare has escalated and accelerated, and the vast vast majority of us are being actively oppressed through the dismantling of economic and social welfare programs.

my family stands to lose too much for me to be burying my head in the sand right now.

some aren’t ready or able or willing to do the work of preparing a response. others have no choice but to pay attention because their family’s future literally depend on knowing whether today is the day they “come for you” and all this (bwamp bwamp) news actually reaches your doorstep.

so while people are arguing anime fandoms and who wins The Big Game, I’ll be trying to understand my enemy, encourage my allies, and decide what an appropriate response looks like (in real life) using the latest information i have available.

OP is onto something.

maybe people are getting sad out there. maybe news is coming at us fast… because change (unprecedented bad bad change) is happening faster than ever before?

it’s a sign of the times. people blaming news junkies or whining about blocking comms don’t get it. we’re no longer living in a time when we can afford to ignore what’s happening around us.

ps, I’m not arguing against memes. in fact go check !conservative@lemmy.world it’s been turned into a satire comm under new mods and it’s wonderful!

i don’t wonder that. let the normies have their Destiny 2 and PublicFreakout and fantasy sports communities elsewhere. seeing comment section after section on Reddit filled to the brim with “I’m so funny!” unserious one liners was obnoxious. people talking about GoThrones fandom and RC cars while inequality skyrockets or the rich dismantle every federal govt program that benefit 99% of the population is not a good thing to yearn for. the founders-effect dominance from a handful of narrow ideologically centrists is not something we need more of.

meh. you’re not a psycho.

compassion is a muscle. if you’ve never spent much time, dedication, or effort working on empathizing with other people you won’t be good at it (or even think about it).

we just so happen to live in society where those skills are not as rewarded compared to being self centered, independent, and ruthless. conditions maketh the man. hang out with someone who’s got a lot of compassion and concern for the feelings of others and you’ll quickly realize what you thought was your personality is actually a learned maladaptive response to living in a cruel and apathetic world.

🧑‍🍳🤌

they knew what they were signing up for.

godspeed you glorious kamikaze children!

actual bonding comes later, first you have to spend a bunch of time just being in the presence of other people. make acquaintances using a common activity first is a good approach.

that you say “willing to” already kinda sounds like you don’t give others much opportunity to get to know you and vice versa. as another commenter said - you may be stuck in a self limiting loop.

make opportunities for connection first - find a litter clean up volunteer event, or a community garden where they need help, or an after school club, or a friendly working class bar (this was my place of choice for years until I found better alternatives)… the specific place or context doesn’t matter. find an activity or thing you enjoy (or could see yourself enjoying) and where other people can see/be around you… and eventually, completely unplanned you will invariably get to know people and then, maybe… bond with them. bonding isn’t a prerequisite to talking and sharing information about yourself or your struggles though. it can be as simple as pulling up a bar stool and raising a glass to someone you just met. or the non alcoholic equivalent if you don’t drink, I guess.

it’s a shitty time to be alive for many of us. some have it much worse than others, and there’s truly no rational explanation why things are this way. I’m sorry for your pain and what you’re going through. you don’t deserve it. no one does. glib life advice from strangers on the internet should not be given lightly or taken too seriously… but, since you asked directly, here goes.

1. find someone who will listen and commiserate, preferably irl. who and where will vary wildly dependending on your circumstances but consider that many people nowadays are longing for someone to connect with (not romantically, just someone who can listen without judgement). if you learn to reciprocate that vibe, you’ll find someone in no time.

2. exercise, move your body around for at least 30 minutes continuously, every damn day. doesn’t matter what, just MOVE. walk around your neighborhood, back and forth to the store, or even around the campus/work parking lot at lunch. bonus points if you can convince someone else to walk with you.

3. disable all notifications on your phone, except critical contacts like close family or friends, (or work if you have serious responsibilities - gotta pay those bills).you need to reclaim your time as your own. agency is a big part of self dignity, and having a machine dictate your time is dehumanizing.

4. hang out around other people in a public space, preferably where nature can be enjoyed or where laughter can be heard. just watch and listen to the world. a park bench, a library, a dive bar (not a sports bar with TVs or tourists, but regulars). participating in the rhythm of social and natural spaces can be a kind of mindfulness and gets the juices flowing so to speak.

more ideas come to mind but this might be a start. good luck stranger. ps, check out “tragic optimism”. has helped me a lot over the years. take care.