“Are MLMs a cult? Multi-Level Marketing schemes like Lularoe, Young Living Essential Oils, Doterra, Kyani, Herbalife, and Amway are scams for sure, but are they cults? Here we cut past the success stories, the testimonies, and the how-to’s in order to analyze these pyramid schemes in light of Steven Hassan’s BITE model.
The world of pseudoscience is closely tied to the MLM world, as essential oils, naturopathy, homeopathy, anti-vax / anti-vaxxers, cancer conspiracies, and all kinds of alternative medicine exist in both. Direct sales and network marketing are often little more than alt-med quackery.”
“Twitter on Thursday said it has “permanently suspended” conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his InfoWars outlet, citing “new reports of Tweets and videos posted yesterday that violate our abusive behavior policy.”
Last month, YouTube, Apple, Facebook and Spotify banned Jones’ main platforms over concerns about his content. But Twitter only suspended some of his privileges, a move that drew criticism.
On Wednesday, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio tussled with Jones after Jones confronted and touched him outside a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.
And at a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey faced questions amid criticism from Republicans that big tech companies suppress conservatives online.
01) Intro to Synthesis Part 1 – The Building Blocks of Sound & Synthesis
Intro to Synthesis Part 1 – The Building Blocks of Sound & Synthesis:
“An introduction to synthesis by Dean Friedman back in the day. When he’s not twiddling LFO knobs and envelope sliders, Dean’s an indie recording artist with a slew of international chart hits and critically acclaimed albums to his credit. You can see what he’s currently up to on his website”
Intro to Synthesis Part 2 – Types of Synthesis & Programming Examples:
Intro to Synthesis Part 3 – Additional Synth Features, Performance Controls & Wrap Up:
“Actor Burt Reynolds, who starred in films such as “Deliverance,” “Boogie Nights” and “Smokey and the Bandit,” died of cardiac arrest, his longtime agent Todd Eisner tells CNN.”
I think my favorite Burt Reynolds movie, is City Heat. It was just a really fun movie, that also starred Clint Eastwood…and it’s kind of nostalgic for me.
I was really sad to get this news, a few hours ago.
01) Act Now to Stop Congress from Expanding “Crime of Violence”
“Tomorrow morning the House is scheduled to vote on H.R. 6691, the “Community Safety and Security Act of 2018.” This would rewrite the definition of a “crime of violence” in the federal code, resulting in nonviolent offenses being labeled as violent offenses.
In addition to this expanded definition, the process to approve H.R. 6691 has been expedited, omitting careful consideration and debate in the House Judiciary Committee.
Contact your House member now and tell them to vote NO on H.R. 6691.
In less than a minute, you can contact your Member of Congress by entering your contact information below and reviewing the correspondence. Hit submit and you’re done! It’s that easy!”
01) Tech firms must do more to combat child sex abuse online (CNN)
Thanks to feinmann0!
“UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced Monday 3 September 2018, that the Conservative government was planning a major crackdown on child abuse online, and said that tech giants must do more to combat the problem.
In a speech made at the London headquarters of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), Javid said it was his “personal mission” to tackle crimes such as online grooming and live-streaming of sexual acts on minors.
“The growth of the internet has given potential offenders who previously may have had no access to children the opportunity to meet and groom and abuse victims online on gaming sites and on social media and to get access to more abuse material than ever before,” he said.
The Home Secretary also also accused large internet companies of being “a long way from where they need to be.”
“Restrictions that are supposed to keep our children safe online are either not being enforced or do not meet expectations,” he said. “I am not just asking for change, I am demanding it.”
Javid’s comments came in the wake of a National Crime Agency announcement that it had received 82,109 individual industry referrals for online child sex abuse, a rise of 700% since 2012.”
Eivind Berge nailed it with his comment: “Abuse, abuse everywhere you look if you are gullible enough to buy the abuse industry’s self-serving definitions. The real number for this is zero, since online abuse is an entirely bogus concept.”
I wonder whether the alleged rise in so-called ‘industry referrals’ mirrors the increase in underage ownership of mobile technologies. I also wonder if ‘industry referrals’ mirrors the increase in peer to peer underage sexting. But no, it can’t be the fault of the kids; there has to be a pervert adult in the loop, because the fuckwit politician says so and uses the word ‘grooming’. So it must be true.
As we all know…this is a war on kids, just as much as it is a war on adults…because it is a war on human sexuality.
The transition from adult producers to child/teen producers has been enlightening…not only where it comes to the intents and desires of children/teens…but where it comes to exposing who the government goons are willing to go after…and how underhandedly they go about it.
It’s these clueless monsters like Sajid Javid, who are going to destroy the internet…in their crusade to stop something, which can never be stopped…
…You cannot stop a force of nature, like human sexuality.
“Chris Hedges, “America: The Farewell Tour”, at Politics and Prose on 8/22/18.
A longtime foreign correspondent, Hedges has reported from more than fifty countries. His latest book is a profound exploration of one of the most troubled: today’s United States. Hedges, author of American Fascists and War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, cites the opioid crisis, the increases in gambling and magical thinking, and the explosion of xenophobia as symptoms of a society that has lost hope. He traces this disillusionment to the twin ills of a de facto corporate coup d’état and a failed democracy. The anger and frustration these have spawned helped bring Trump to power and Hedges issues a passionate call to action to reverse them.
Chris Hedges is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist who was a foreign correspondent for fifteen years for The New York Times where he served as the Middle East Bureau Chief and Balkan Bureau Chief for the paper. He previously worked overseas for The Dallas Morning News, The Christian Science Monitor, and NPR. He writes a weekly column for the online magazine Truthdig out of Los Angeles and is host of the Emmy Award–winning RT America show On Contact. Hedges, who holds a Master of Divinity from Harvard University, is the author of the bestsellers American Fascists, Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt, and was a National Book Critics Circle finalist for War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning. He has taught at Columbia University, New York University, Princeton University, and the University of Toronto. He currently teaches college credit courses in the New Jersey prison system.
Founded by Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade in 1984, Politics and Prose Bookstore is Washington, D.C.’s premier independent bookstore and cultural hub, a gathering place for people interested in reading and discussing books. Politics and Prose offers superior service, unusual book choices, and a haven for book lovers in the store and online. Visit them on the web at https://www.politics-prose.com/“
Just to acknowledge it…
…It’s wrong to seek out the most extreme forms of pornography…and then conclude that “pornography is torture”, based upon this intentionally selected extreme.
This is one of the things I’ve always found so loathsome, about religious activists…the strawman arguments…especially in incidents, where they went out of their way to construct it.
…It’s disappointing to see it here, in an otherwise good speech.
Otherwise…you can find a number of things said here, which are absolutely applicable to the plight of MAPs [or any other marginalized group]…and some are a good description, as to what “Our Love Frontier” is all about.
“This show is available at no cost to public access and non-profit community stations! Contact your local channels and let them know you would like them to add Economic Update to their programming. Let us know if you’ve reached out: info@democracyatwork.info”
“The most effective way to keep people down is to make them feel so bad about themselves if they disobey authority, that they wont rebel. They wont join together. They wont do anything about it.”…
“The “conversation” about sexual assault never needed Asia Argento, Rose McGowan or the #MeToo movement. It’s time to stop letting real people be destroyed by other people’s fiction while pretending that we can’t tell the difference.”
– Atheist Media Links
