Nobody Cares: PRS

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Something I keep in the back of my mind when dealing with frauds and scams is how many of these people are human trafficking victims.

Rescued from virtual slavery in Myanmar’s online scam centers, 260 foreigners are being repatriated - AP

 

[Lexxi]

Feels like they've fallen a long, long way since the days of "Don't be evil" and into "Be evil, even in petty ways"

Google Calendar removes Black History Month, Pride and other cultural events

Didn't even realize Google had a calendar.

 

[Casey Pelous]

Next up is bringing back leaded gasoline.

How about asbestos brake pads? They were much stoppier!

 

[Free]

Sorry, but a couple winter storms is not what caused such a sudden dip in sales numbers.

US retail sales post biggest drop in nearly two years amid winter freeze

U.S. retail sales dropped by the most in nearly two years in January, likely weighed down by frigid temperatures, wildfires and motor vehicle shortages, suggesting a sharp slowdown in economic growth early in the first quarter.

But the larger-than-expected and across the board decline in retail sales reported by the Commerce Department on Friday probably does not reflect a material shift in consumer spending as it also followed four straight months of hefty increases.

Retail sales dropped 0.9% last month, the biggest decrease since March 2023, after an upwardly revised 0.7% increase in December, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales, which are mostly goods and are not adjusted for inflation, dipping 0.1%. Retail sales increased 4.2% year-on-year in January.

 

[Govi]

Oh My Gawd! Trump is bad for retail! Who'd a thunk it?

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

The WSJ reports that Broadcam and TSMC are discussing ways to split Intel into parts and buy it. Broadcom is interested in the chip design branch of Intel, while TSMC is interested into the fabs.

TSMC becoming the new owner of Intel's fabs would need the approval of the Trump administration.

https://www.wsj.com/tech/broadcom-tsmc-eye-possible-intel-deals-that-would-split-storied-chip-maker-966b143b?st=RiRV14&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

 

[Free]

The U.S. now has a vast, obsequious, butt-licking, corporate media elite we used to call the press. Very little of the better kind exists.

Group Claims Washington Post Wouldn't Run 'Fire Elon Musk' Advertisement

Common Cause signed a $115,000 agreement for the spot.

gizmodo.com

Tuesday’s edition of the Washington Post was supposed to feature a very straightforward message: Fire Elon Musk. Two advocacy groups teamed up to buy an ad placement that would have wrapped the paper in the call for Musk’s outing. But, according to one of the groups involved in the ad buy that spoke with The Hill, the Post backed out of the agreement and said it would not run the message on the outside of the paper.

Common Cause, a nonprofit watchdog organization, teamed with the Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund on the advertisement. They claimed to The Hill to have signed a $115,000 agreement with the Post to full cover messages on the front and the back of the Washington Post’s Tuesday issue, along with a full-page ad inside the paper. The ads would have appeared on the papers of people working at Congress, the Pentagon and the White House.

But once the groups submitted the messaging that they wanted, the Post said it wouldn’t run it. The paper’s ad department said the ad inside the paper could stay, but the outer wraps were a no-go, according to Common Cause, which said it was not given a clear explanation as to why the front and back page spots couldn’t move forward.

 

[Ellie]

I did not have Spain winning the sanest country title on my 2025 bingo card.

As immigration has increased, GDP has surged and unemployment has fallen to lowest level since 2008

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/18/how-spains-radically-different-approach-to-migration-helped-its-economy-soar

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

GameStop looks to sell its Canadian and French operations — CEO cites ‘Wokeness and DEI’

 

[Essence Lumin]

GameStop looks to sell its Canadian and French operations — CEO cites ‘Wokeness and DEI’

Yeah well fuck them. I will never buy anything from them again. Not that I have in many years.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

A water main in Detroit broke, this is the result.


Edit: just more proof it is real.

 

[Noodles]

Sorry, but a couple winter storms is not what caused such a sudden dip in sales numbers.

US retail sales post biggest drop in nearly two years amid winter freeze

Yeah no.

I mean, I can't speak for everyone, but in the past, I have tended to buy a lot of semi random, expensive, crap. Because I could afford it. Like I would go to Target once or twice a week to just browse.

These days, I can't even remember the last time I went to Target, and I general, I just don't order hardly anything anymore. Within like 2 years or less, I have gone from being kind of overly spendy to being excessively frugal and broke.

It hasn't been snowing for years.

And I imagine there are plenty of normal ass people like me in the same boat, because on a lot of issues, as much as I kind of hate it and want to be "special", I find my habits kind of align pretty closely with the masses.

I also don't see this getting better and I am even thinking it's best to just save because the cost of basic needs is likely going to start skyrocketing pretty quickly over the next 6 months.

 

[Cristiano]

Grand jury recommends Alabama police department be 'immediately abolished'

An Alabama grand jury has recommended that the Hanceville Police Department be "immediately abolished," prosecutors said Wednesday.

abcnews.go.com

 

[Free]

Grand jury recommends Alabama police department be 'immediately abolished'

An Alabama grand jury has recommended that the Hanceville Police Department be "immediately abolished," prosecutors said Wednesday.

abcnews.go.com

Can they get a pardon from Trump? They seem like his kind of law officers.

 

[Free]

What the...

Ransomware Hackers Come for Paddington Bear

Who will save Paddington from the hackers?

gizmodo.com

The British company that owns the rights to Paddington Bear has reportedly been hacked by a ransomware gang. The gang is now threatening to release sensitive information about the company that represents the lovable children’s book character.

The Sun reports that the Rhysida ransomware group, which allegedly operates from Russia, has claimed responsibility for the attack and is now goading the well-known talent agency, simply called The Agency, to pay it lest data be released. The company has refused to pay, the newspaper writes.

The Sun cites a letter that was circulated internally at The Agency, which represents the estate of Michael Bond, who created the lovable bear character. “Last week The Agency was subject to a ransomware attack by a criminal cyber group,” the letter said. “They claim to have stolen data they will publish if not paid a ransom. We have taken measures to ensure the security of our systems and continue to closely monitor them as a priority.”

 

[Noodles]

Turns out Paddington doesn't actually like Marmalade and actually just eats Strawberry jam on his sandwiches.

 

[Soen Eber]

A Palestinian-Israeli film just won an Oscar − so why is it so hard to see?

Despite winning awards at festival after festival, the film has been unable to find a company to distribute it in the US.

theconversation.com

While I maybe should post this in the "Israel-gazed-into-the-abyss" thread or whatever it's called, this actually has a broader application, pointing towards self-censorship and apathy within the U.S. towards controversial subjects.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Reconstructionist (@unavaleable.bsky.social)

think being online has radicalized me against reflexive contrarianism and irony-poisoning

bsky.app

 

[Isabeau]

Well, polls are closed.

Germany's conservatives led by Merz win election, far-right AfD follows in second

 

[Govi]

Well, polls are closed.

Germany's conservatives led by Merz win election, far-right AfD follows in second

Will Merz be able to form a reasonably stabile government without the AfD? Lord, I hope so!