On the side notes

Apparently, it's still unfashionable to be so judgmental, so I offer my apologies to piranha. It was an unfair comparison to those who have human consciousness, but continue to conduct business as usual with a smile and softer language. ***(Speaking of language, one tech company apologizes for an insulting translation of one person's name, but another won't do the same for a country's name, let alone correct it? Still there, 微软.)***

Took another look at EET's issues with a video from an event closer to the situation and the article attached to that video. If I'm interpreting that video and article correctly, the practices from two big businesses caused the billion-dollar shortfall. While it isn't what I first thought it was, I wonder if it's a positive thing to cover the shortfall, or a negative thing to have been part of what caused the problem in the first place. Also, if I remember correctly, the investment is to be made over a period of time, so if the business practices that caused the problem continue, then so will the drain on resources, no matter how much investment is made. It looks to me like refilling a bucket with a hole in it without fixing the hole first - but in this case, whatever's being poured in is going to be recovered from what comes out, so there's less interest in fixing the hole at all.

I thought an experienced reporter would have thicker skin than that, to make an ungracious response into big news rather than consider it par for the course, especially considering the network he belongs to. Besides, the pattern of innocuous question to leading question to conclusion in the form of a question is a familiar one, so I'm not surprised that it was turned away so abruptly. Anything for ratings is still a thing, and I'm not changing my mind on that network's opinions. ***(Also, I hope enough people know to watch out for the fundraiser robocalls that are related to this spat. It sounds like they're using real people, but the person hung up right quick when I pointed out that the information website was a .com.)***

缅甸 is another place that has a big construction project built under terms that put it under a neighbor's thumb. I wonder if the people displaced by the project are some of those referred to in the letter from the brother in red.

Whatever else happens, I'm gratified to see this coverage, from antitrust efforts and traffic reduction to consideration on supplementing honeybee pollination with native bees. (Though** if monocultures and pesticide use continue as they are, it looks like damage to more types of bees rather than a solution to a mismatch between pollinator activity and plant bloom times, and it's early days yet on that traffic fix.)

Whether the choice is to ignore these posts or not, the issues I post about are being addressed nonetheless, and I can live with that.

**There are the odd times when I think the recommendations actually provide countering views on more than culture, rather than the rabbitholes I've come to expect from it.