Beep boop - this is a robot. A new show has been posted to TWiT…
What are your thoughts about today’s show? We’d love to hear from you!
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Leo,
Twit was a Great Show Today
I Enjoyed the Episode 
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Half way through and I really enjoyed the deep dive into politics. I regularly listen to Patrick’s Phileas Club for the same reason, and why I enjoy TWiG as well. I love a great conversation with people whose insight and opinions I value. No back to my podcast!
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I’m glad you delve into difficult issues; too few do, among the more qualified. I was recently disappointed that Jason Snell stopped The Download for being too depressing; TWiT’s willingness to tackle critically important topics while offering social-commentary and perspective makes it all the more valuable in a media landscape of dwindling substantive voices.
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Another great TWiT is in the can!
Love the discussion about the China influence on all these big tech companies, and so great to have Patrick giving his inputs and non-US centric perspectives.
The reason I said this is because I am living in Asia, and the narratives on the news cycle here is very different. Opinions on what’s going on in Hong Kong is kinda split.
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Credit where due: of all places, Friday’s Easy Allies’ gaming podcast covering the Blizzard/Activision censure of the winning Hearthstone tournament player for supporting Hong Kong protesters articulated perhaps the most trenchant defense I’ve heard yet against capitulation: no matter how much profit could be had in China by Western firms, China can always ban them in favor of domestic ones. It’s a Faustian bargain with their own futures Western firms strike to ignore humanitarian principles in favor of profit.
Another great point they brought up was the fact that money-men desperately want to focus only on capital and leave social issues as “externalities”, but such impulses of idealized fantasy withstand not the slightest sober scrutiny, as articulated above. It strikes me as identical animus to tech titans’ desperate clinging to claims they’re a “platform” devoid of any broader accountability even when they directly profit from others’ fomenting mayhem and undermining media’s trustworthiness along with any notions of respectability and credibility beyond blind tribalism (to be clear: yes, tech itself is the platform, but no longer once paid by a party for exposure).
Seems to me the core problem is capitalist business having been hijacked by a philosophy of profiteering corporatism such that yield to investors is mistakenly interpreted as a legal mandate upon executives never to accept healthy business and instead forever foment tumult from within simply to indemnify themselves against investors’ whims regarding and accusations of having failed to do “enough” toward “growth” measured as maximizing shareholder value. If allowed to continue, as we are already seeing, it will drive profiteering firms into subservience to authoritarianism, one way or another.
I would point out that surveillance capitalism would serve as the perfect handmaiden of authoritarianism driving itself into leveraging far beyond politics and even civics to promulgate its primacy. All the start-up’s eager to capture activity rather than forge tools and infrastructure supporting privately doing so are complicit—wittingly or otherwise. Few exceptions exist, such as Keybase, underwritten by philanthropy given its means more often than not through reinforcement of the status quo.
Sadly, most users are unaware and most FOSS too arcane, projects under-provisioned, and installations inadequately deployed, to say nothing of lacking traction culturally and in the media given no profit motive to flog it, plus the network effects lent corporate alternatives because of that in a climate of ignorance.
The ironic thing is so much Western culture deifies capitalism and specifically corporatism, preoccupied with profit and commerce, foolishly ignoring the fact that neglecting humanitarian values is all but sure to clip their corporate and social wings sooner or later. You would think FOSS devs would be feted instead of neglected. File under pollution-death of the biosphere.
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It’s funny, China imposing censorship on western entertainment is basically a hack of capitalism. Money talks. They have it. For all our talk of having a superior system… This is its Achilles heel.
I remember censorship from Eastern Europe. I never in my life would have imagined it in Hollywood (or {insert American product}).
This is a test. Of hypocrisy and values.
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There was a lot of discussion around China imposing it’s values on us but aren’t we imposing our own “American” or “Western” values on them? Is it different?
Is it me but poor Patrick using apples ear buds could stop adjusting them just sitting. How do they expect you to use them when your exercising or moving around.
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I see a difference in enforcement versus exercise of liberty. Exposure’s not imposition when there’s a choice to ignore. Governmental fiat, on the other hand, is made unavoidable.
This was a good show. I appreciated in particular the presence of Patrick Beja, his specific perspective really enhanced the discussion.
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Patrick is awesome, I really like his optimism. I totally agree with his point about not falling into the defeatist attitude when it comes to politics, especially in America. We have to fight and push for what is right.
Great discussion, always love my hometown hero Brianna. She’s very eloquent and has a perspective very unlike mine, which is valuable.
One thing I would like to say is I think Patrick is a little too nice to Facebook about Libre. They want to control financial transactions…I don’t believe for a second their intentions are anything but becoming more rich and more powerful, period.
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Being 18 hours in the future (in Australia) you would think I should had listened two days ago, but it just hit my podcatcher.
Will be listening tomorrow.
Enjoy!
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Very good discussion on the issues involving China and American companies’ capitulation, and on Facebook. I was disappointed that there was no mention of the Pixels and the impacts they may have even while discussing the DOA Essential phones.
But we aren’t imposing western ideals and value on them. The Chinese government prohibit that. Anything that doesn’t conform pretty much doesn’t exist behind the curtain.
Only those ideals and values that mesh with what the powers-that-be agree with see the light of day. And, as has been seen, if those pushing western ideals step out of line, they are censured and threatened with the withdrawal of financial support.
Fear not. There will be a ton of Pixel talk this Sunday.
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@Leo is this a hint to upcoming guests for the coming Sunday?
Careful, Leo. It’s becoming a dense circle.
Just wanted to say this TWiT episode was fantastic. I really appreciated the varied international backgrounds/perspectives, and also Brianna Wu is a total Queen…intelligent, brave, and compassionate. I could listen to her every week.
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She was 1st to mention foreign investment as the fulcrum through which leverage was being asserted. That’s perhaps the most incisive point raised I’ve yet heard on the subject from anyone.
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