@tiotasram@kolektiva.social2026-03-02 17:12:33
Seeing Iran appoint new leaders and continue to fight is seeing the more literal kind of necropolitics in action, as a hierarchical system continues to function while replacing the expendable human parts that it lost. The system is of course changed and influenced (and ultimately was built) by humans, but it has become something undying, or at least almost as hard to kill as an idea, and it maintains a terrible inertia in it's destructive tendencies (e.g., "Morality Police" continue to patrol the streets).
Lest anyone think this somehow expresses approval of US actions, the same logic applies here too: what once had a (thin) verneer of democracy, a system which loudly proclaimed to be controlled by "the people" (but which never was nor was ever intended to be) has lost its paint job, exposing the inhuman machinations beneath. Trump is a symptom, not cause, of an institution built on blood and spoils, whose alignment with the Epstein class (and moreover, their institutions) is ever more apparent with each disregarded law and principle.
Stepping back for a moment, this systems/necropolitics perspective is just a perspective, with its own distortions and blind spots. To paraphrase LeGuin, any institution built by humans can also be changed or destroyed by them. But I think it's very useful to put on the systems goggles in this moment, especially when some are fond of preaching about the dangers of "overwhelmingly powerful systems unaccountable to humans which pursue destructive ends" without actually examining the plethora of existing systems that do just that.
P.S. yes, United Healthcare is another good example of this.
P.P.S. yes I bending the meaning of necropolitics here, but the two are related: these systems would not be so free to profit from human death and suffering if they were more vulnerable to the deaths of their constituent parts. Necropolitics of the standard variety is of course present as companies like Raytheon and Lockeed Martin profit from the carnage. The F-15 caught by friendly fire? Just as profitable for Beoing to replace as one downed by the enemy.
@Techmeme@techhub.social2026-01-30 14:01:48
Oura CEO Tom Hale says the company has no plans to abandon its subscription model, even as rivals experiment with cheaper hardware and no recurring fees (Samantha Kelly/Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-30/o…
@ocrampal@mastodon.social2026-01-29 13:48:02
Excel didn’t kill accountants; it gave them better tools. Yet, with AI, we’ve abandoned this logic in favor of a collective fantasy. We’re treating a sophisticated calculator as a human replacement rather than a human multiplier.
https://www.…
@heiseonline@social.heise.de2026-01-23 15:20:00
„Hytale“ angespielt: Das bessere „Minecraft“?
Das Sandbox-Abenteuerspiel „Hytale“ könnte der Zwillingsbruder des großen Konkurrenten „Minecraft“ sein. Markante Alleinstellungsmerkmale fehlen.
https://www.
@der_raddler@dresden.network2026-01-27 20:48:29
Zwei #Podcast Tipps zum Abend:
Im Hörsaal klärt Martin Andree noch einmal sehr kurzweilig darüber auf, dass das Versprechen der Techkonzerne von freien Internet eine Lüge ist und sie an der digitalen Oligarchie arbeiten.
Hörsaal - Deutschlandfunk Nova: Populismus als Waffe - Wie Big Tech Demokratie und Öffentlichkeit kaputtmacht
Webseite der Episode:
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot2026-02-17 19:53:09
"Austria’s military has already dumped Microsoft and moved to open-source services hosted in Europe, and some German regional governments have done the same. Danish schools were told to abandon Google laptops by the Danish data protection authority in 2024. The new Dutch government says digital sovereignty will be a national priority"
#DigitalSovereignty
@thijs_lucas@norden.social2025-12-18 05:08:48
In Kiel gibt es gerade Empörung dafür, dass die Ratsleute demnächst 721€ und damit 75% mehr an Aufwandsentschädigung für ihre Arbeit für unsere Demokratie bekommen. Vorher waren es 412€.
Wie stellen wir uns denn die Leistung der Ratsleute vor, so mit Einarbeitung in die Abstimmungsunterlagen oder gar für die Erstellung eigener Anträge? Da gehen zig Stunden jede Woche drauf. Oder wollen wir das gar nicht, Sachverstand?
Oder wollen wir nur Leute mit reichen Eltern und Lobbygeld im…
@memeorandum@universeodon.com2026-02-12 21:46:01
Even Trump's own appointees are ruling against ICE's mass detention strategy (Kyle Cheney/Politico)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/12/donald-trump-judges-mandatory-detention-rulings-00778256
http://www.memeorandum.com/260212/p101#a260212p101
@Techmeme@techhub.social2026-02-15 16:36:39
Sources: the WH is pressuring Utah Republican State Rep. Doug Fiefia to abandon HB 286, an AI transparency and kids' safety bill similar to California's AI law (Maria Curi/Axios)
https://www.axios.com/2026/02/15/white-house-utah-ai-transparency-bill
@thijs_lucas@norden.social2025-12-07 14:13:50
UPDATE: Ticket ist vergeben. Danke fürs Teilen ❤️
Moin #Kiel - wir haben eine Karte für #JetztWohin für heute Abend, 20 Uhr im Studiokino übrig. Für den Kassenpreis von 25€ würde ich euch gerne die Karte überlassen.
Heute werden auch Robert Habeck und Regisseur Lars Jessen dabei sein.
…
