@kerravonsen@mastodon.au avatar kerravonsen , to Unofficial Haiku Community

Cold world, run by greed
Not content to have plenty
Suck out the last drop

Snatch a poor man's crumbs
For the sin of being poor
Barely surviving

Cold cruel callousness
No people, just assets, and
Liabilities

- 13th Jan - Cold -

@ClareBear@mastodon.nz avatar ClareBear , to random

She named "climate, protecting nature, and ensuring that everyone is taken care of" as bottom lines for negotiations if the party were in a position to help form a government.

"The public good over corporate greed, it's as simple as that," Swarbrick says. "We're not only interested in changing the government but... a government of change."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/582242/public-good-over-corporate-greed-greens-challenge-willis-to-debate-them-instead

@NewtonMark@eigenmagic.net avatar NewtonMark , to random
kerravonsen ,
@kerravonsen@mastodon.au avatar

@dotstdy @NewtonMark I can't point to the article, but yes, they are -- because they switched to self-serve checkouts, so that they could fire all the checkout humans. Came back to bite them because humans are much better at detecting theft than self-checkouts are. Hence the draconian, expensive, unfriendly measures, because heaven forbid that they actually admit that they made a mistake in firing people.

@miki_lou@mastodon.social avatar miki_lou , to random

“It may not be their intention as of right now to privatize , but the way that this act is written creates this slippery slope towards , making water a for-profit service due to the fact that the public corporation in this legislation states that it must be incorporated under this Business Corporations Act,” https://pressprogress.ca/ontario-claims-province-isnt-privatizing-water/

@DoomsdaysCW@kolektiva.social avatar DoomsdaysCW , to random

Countries are struggling to meet the rising energy demands of data centers

’s lagging energy grid is forcing companies, including , to use generators.

By Daniela Dib and Pablo Jiménez Arandia, 15 September 2025

Excerpt: "That Mexico’s electric grid is struggling does not bode well for a country trying to position itself as a data center hub, and which is already home to 150 , including from Microsoft, , and . Together, they have invested over $7 billion in the country since 2020.

"Like Mexico, countries around the world are scrambling to meet the rising energy demands of data centers, spurred by a boom in and . Like Microsoft, some companies have tapped alternative — and sometimes more — energy sources. Mexico’s power grid faces a deficit of 48,000 megawatt-hours by 2030, which is more than half the country’s output in 2023, according to the Mexican Institute For Competitiveness, a research center. As the country lures more data center-related investments, more companies may follow in Microsoft’s footsteps.

" 'This case is part of a broader global pattern, particularly in areas where the rapid deployment of is outpacing the ’s capacity,' Marina Otero Verzier, a visiting professor at Columbia University who researches data centers, told Rest of World. 'In some cases, corporations frame fossil-fueled generators as temporary solutions, which, over time, become normalized.'

"Microsoft set up its data center last year in , an industrial hub with a population of over 67,000 people, but was unable to plug into the country’s energy grid, which is itself largely powered by . In documents filed to Mexico’s environmental secretariat in 2023, Microsoft said the grid would not be fully operative to the company until mid-2027 due to 'long construction times required in [Microsoft’s] contract with CFE,' referring to the Federal Electricity Commission. The following year, the secretariat approved Microsoft’s request to use seven generators to temporarily power its data center.

"A spokesperson for Microsoft declined to comment on how the company is powering its data centers in Mexico now, and whether it will continue using generators.

"Worldwide, nearly 60% of the electricity used by data centers comes from fossil fuels including . including and meet more than a quarter of the demand, according to the International Energy Agency. But while the share of renewable energy is increasing, the rapid growth in the demand for data centers is outpacing the expansion of renewable energy infrastructure, posing a challenge to the climate goals of countries and tech companies alike."

Read more / listen:
https://restofworld.org/2025/ai-energy-supply-data-centers/?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

@grickle@mstdn.social avatar grickle , to random

It has come to this.

ALT
@mlupica@c.im avatar mlupica , to random

The 2009 French animated short "Logorama" is a great example of a cultural warning shot that was completely ignored. 16 years later, and the dystopia it lampoons is now demonstrably worse. I think of the film often, but most recently because I closed my last radio show with the Ink Spots song that rolls in the credits.

16 minutes well spent.

https://youtu.be/zAKopCwGlcc

Report Names 'Corporate Oligarchs' Who Are Cashing In as Trump-GOP Austerity Assails Workers ( www.commondreams.org )

The Trump administration and wealthy oligarchs are profiting off the suffering of everyday Americans, cutting essential programs while lining their own pockets with billions in tax cuts. How can we allow this blatant corruption to continue unchecked? Join the fight for climate action and democracy now! #CorporateGreed ...

@dangillmor@mastodon.social avatar dangillmor , to random

Big Pharma's pure greed is on ugly display in this ProPublica article.

https://www.propublica.org/article/revlimid-price-cancer-celgene-drugs-fda-multiple-myeloma

RunRichRun ,
@RunRichRun@mastodon.social avatar

@dangillmor
Corresponding interview (listen or read transcript) with ProPublica health care reporter David Armstrong, by Dave Davies via :
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/14/nx-s1-5397893/how-much-are-we-willing-to-pay-for-life-saving-medications

@OutOfExile_IDR_Voice@kolektiva.social avatar OutOfExile_IDR_Voice , to random

Important update for donors: NOT a mutual aid request.

For those of you who were so kind in making contributions last fall, I'd like to thank you all, very much.

For transparency's sake: Though, I received most of the donations, one kind person should have received a refund.

After a number of issues with PayPal, and their eventual release of some funds, they ultimately decided I was selling something, and not receiving donations. I requested that PayPal refund the remaining balance on hold, back to those who donated it.

I do hope, you've received said refund. Please, let me know, if you did not. I'm very sorry for any confusion this may have caused, and am very grateful for everyone's generosity. Ko-fi had nothing to do with any of the issues.

Because of the PayPal fiasco, I will be opening a Patreon account to link on all my pages. After my first, and only attempt at mutual aid, I will probably never do it again; no matter how great the need.

For those who'd like to support what I do in that way, please, do not make contributions on Ko-fi. I hope to have the Patreon link posted on site and profiles, soon. Thank you all again.

Artwork by John Haim. Check out his work at: https://pixabay.com/users/johnhain-352999/

ALT
OutOfExile_IDR_Voice OP ,
@OutOfExile_IDR_Voice@kolektiva.social avatar

Update to this "Thank you" post.

I went to the PayPal account today for the first time since last fall's fiasco. I discover, the contribution that was supposed to be returned to sender, was still in my account. Arrrg. I also had a thoughtful message from PayPal, plastered across the page.

Despite an eight hour customer service session last fall, explaining my account "activity", what I do, and that these were contributions, the message read:
"Your account access is temporarily limited".
Why? – "We noticed that you have been using your PayPal account in a questionable manner".

Apparently, billion-dollar corporations find human kindness and generosity "questionable". Were talking about , approximately $130 in contributions. Pardonnez-moi mon français but, WTF!

I noticed I could give my bank card a nickname on the PayPal website, so I did. I named my card "PayPal is fascist", then logged out of my account. That'll show them.

A couple hours later, I thought I would see if I could transfer the money to my bank, anyway. Amazingly enough, it worked. The billion-dollar corporation finally released the remaining payment of $18.31 (after PP fees of course ) to the lowly disabled advocate. Giving my card a nickname, worked? 😉

I guess the moral of the story is, PayPal is fascist. That's it.

Image is a screenshot of a portion of my bank card on the PayPal website. In the field below, where the card can be given a "nickname", it reads: "PayPal is fascist".

@PhoenixSerenity@beige.party avatar PhoenixSerenity , to random

More than 50 members of an uncontacted have been photographed on a riverbank in the remote near an area where companies have been granted concessions by the country's government.

The large group from the appeared in recent days near the southeastern village of , which belongs to the people. A smaller group of 17 appeared near a neighboring village.

The Yine, who speak a language related to that of the Mashco Piro, have previously reported that the has been angry about the presence of on their land, according to the group .

“This is irrefutable evidence that many Mashco Piro live in this area, which the government has not only failed to protect, but actually sold off to logging companies,” Alfredo Vargas Pio, president of the local Indigenous rights group , said in a statement from Survival International.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/peru-amazon-rainforest-tribe-uncontacted-unusual-sighting-logging-area-rcna162259

@PhoenixSerenity@beige.party avatar PhoenixSerenity , to random

They keep killing the ancients.
Men who kill elder trees, are men who kill their children's futures.
Souls must be disconnected from nature & their spirits desperate for money, for them to be OK destroying forests, for a temporary paycheque.
There are more ethical ways to earn a living.
Stop believing industrial & government lies.
kills & throws balance out of whack.

Government tells us to not fret, that they're managing better - they're , . You can go see for yourself, how many clearcuts are still happening on big scales, at several places across Vancouver Island & some parts of BC interior where greedy corporations are decimating the last inland in the world. Our BC NDP government is OK with ongoing mass ecocide - they get money from industry lobbyists 🤑🤮😡

Don't stop, fighting to 🌲❤️🌲 need in times of increased, rampant & sellout enabling governments ✊️

ALT
@athomeinmyhead@universeodon.com avatar athomeinmyhead , to random

ALT
@w7voa@journa.host avatar w7voa , to random

"The cost of living is still too high for too many working families, but today’s PCE report shows continued progress bringing down inflation," says National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard in a statement. "Annual core inflation is at its lowest level since March 2021, and overall inflation is down 60 percent from its peak." https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/05/31/statement-from-national-economic-advisor-lael-brainard-on-april-pce-report/

Breedlov ,
@Breedlov@mastodon.sdf.org avatar

@w7voa Until we “solve” corporate greed, prices will remain high.