Apploitation in a city of instaserfs
How the “sharing economy” has turned San Francisco into a dystopia for the working class









If you spend enough time in San Francisco, you’ll notice sharing economy workers everywhere. While you’re waiting to get some food, look for the most frantic person in the lineup and you can bet they’re working with an app. Some of them are colour-coded: workers in orange T-shirts are with Caviar, a food delivery app; those in green represent Instacart, an app for delivering groceries. The blue jackets riding Razor scooters are with Luxe—if you’re still driving yourself around this city, these app workers will park your car.

In the Bay Area, there are thousands of such people running through the aisles, fidgeting in line and racing against the clock. They spend most of their time in cars, where it can be harder to spot them. Oftentimes they’re double-parked in the bike lane, picking up a burrito from inside an adjacent restaurant or waiting for a passenger to come down from the apartment on top. If you look closely, you’ll see a placard in the window that says Uber or a glowing pink moustache indicating they drive around Lyft’s passengers. Last summer, I was one of them.

Oh, Canada! I’m writing you from Berkeley, California to warn you about this thing called “the sharing economy.” Since no one is really sharing anything, many of us prefer the term “the exploitation economy,” but due to its prevalence many in the Bay Area simply think of it as “the economy.” Whatever you want to call it, the basic idea is that customers can outsource all the work or chores they don’t want to do to somebody else in their area.

You can be chauffeured around the city while somebody picks up and launders your dirty underwear. You can have groceries delivered to your door and your bathroom given that deep clean that you don’t have time to do yourself. The best part is you can do it all on your phone! Sharing economy companies promise their customers all the luxuries of the rich and famous—and they can do that by taking advantage of the system and, in some cases, bending or simply avoiding labour laws.

I know this because I spent a month driving, shopping and in other ways serving the users of apps like Uber, Lyft, Postmates and Instacart. I recorded the whole thing for a podcast called Benjamen Walker’s Theory of Everything. Benjamen wanted to see what it was like to work for an app, but he didn’t want to do the work himself. In the spirit of the sharing economy, he convinced me to “partner” with him. There is so much ridiculous stuff I can’t get to in this short space that you should listen to my full adventures online at www.sharingeconomy.fail or by searching for “Instaserfs.”

I signed up for as many sharing economy jobs as I could, but they’re not really jobs. I was never an employee; I was a “partner,” or a “hero” or even a “ninja” depending on the app. Sharing economy companies are just middlemen, connecting independent contractors to customers. When I signed up to work with (not for) these apps, I was essentially starting my own ride-sharing/courier business.

As a freelance filmmaker, I knew the deal: being your own boss is a big responsibility. In the U.S., we independent contractors have to pay an additional self-employment tax and we have to find our own health insurance. We’re also not guaranteed a minimum wage. As sharing economy workers, we use our own cars, which means paying for our own gas and maintenance costs.  We are on our own.

We do still have a boss. It just isn’t a person. It’s an algorithm.


https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/monitor/apploitation-city-instaserfs?utm_content=buffer4dcc8&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer


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Be sure to read the whole article.

The new year's eve massive rape campaign was the first explosion. There is no more wait and see.

Bowhead whales have an average lifespan of 200 years. They can survive this long because they have a very low body temperature — and the lower an animal's body temperature, the longer it can live.

The largest living species of tortoise that can survive well past a hundred, with the oldest recorded at 152. The most famous Galapagos Tortoise was 'Lonesome George', a sub species who lived on the Islands, he was 100 years old and still classed as a young adult! He had become an ambassador of sorts for the islands off the coast of Ecuador whose unique flora and fauna helped inspire Charles Darwin’s theories on evolution.

These sharks live farther north than any other shark species and some estimates put their lifespan at over 200 years. They also hold the world record for having the most toxic meat of any shark!

Koi fish usually live for 25-30 years but there are reports of kois that have achieved ages of 100–200 years. One famous koi in Japan, named "Hanako", died in 1977 and a study of the growth rings of one of her scales reported that she was 226!

Some collected specimens have been calculated to be more than 400 years old. These animals show exceptional longevity with a highest reported age, for ‘Ming’ the clam, of 507 years. It was collected alive by an expedition in 2006 so it may have lived even longer if left in the wild.

One who outlives them all, real name 'Turritopsis Dohrnii', this jellyfish is unique in that it exhibits a certain form of immortality; it can transform itself from an adult back into a baby through a process known as ‘transdifferentiation’, in which one type of cell transforms into another. The jellyfish turns itself into a blob-like cyst, which then develops into a polyp colony; this is the first stage in jellyfish life. Through asexual reproduction, the resulting polyp colony can spawn hundreds of genetically identical jellyfish - near perfect copies of the original adult.


We need to believe we control everything to give life a purpose, a planet a soul, and the human lifespan a measure of time for the ever changing weather...

I do not understand the logic of the leaders, unless it is to purposely collapse their own country.

Evil Commie, yeah. Can't really blame her turning into a Dyke... I mean... Bill. Nuff said.

German Police: Migrants Brought Taharrush Rape Game to Europe and Showcased It on New Year’s Eve



German authorities now admit the Muslim migrants brought the “Taharrush” rape game to Europe and showcased it New Year’s Eve. Sexual attacks on Western women were reported in Cologne, Berlin, Hamburg, Bielefeld, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Stuttgart, Germany. Taharrush attacks were also reported in Sweden, Finland, Austria and Switzerland on New Year’s Eve.

Welcome to the New Europe.
Speisa reported:

    After the NYE mass assaults against women in several European cities, the German Federal Criminal Police Office, BKA, now say that the Arab “rape game” Taharrush has established itself in Europe.

    In addition to the events in Cologne, police in Berlin, Hamburg, Bielefeld, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Stuttgart have reported of similar incidents. In addition, police in Vienna and Salzburg in Austria and Zurich in Switzerland have raised the alarm about similar mass assaults against women by newly arrived Arab migrants. Also Sweden and Finland experienced the same on New Year’s Eve.

    – The attacks range from sexual molestation to rape, says head of BKA, Holger Münch.

    The “rape game” Taharrush is about a large group of Arab men surrounding their victim, usually a Western woman or a woman wearing Western-style clothing, and then the women are subjected to sexual abuse.

    They surround the victim in circles. The men in the inner circle are the ones who physically abuse the woman, the next circle are the spectators, while the mission of the third circle is to distract and divert attention to what’s going on.

    If there is enough men, the woman is dragged along by the mob, while the men take turns ripping her clothes off, grope her, and inserting fingers in her various body orifices.

Here’s an example of Taharrush in the Arab World.
You can hear the female victim screaming.

In December a Muslim migrant in Germany bragged on video about participating in a gangrape of a virgin in Germany.




The migrant bragged about the gangrape on video.

Taharrush has made its way to Europe.


http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/01/german-police-migrants-brought-taharrush-rape-game-to-europe-and-showcased-it-on-new-years-eve/

Armed guards protect anti-gun celebrities at Golden Globe Awards







The Golden Globes were held on Sunday and the award show was filled with celebrities spending countless hours praising each other.

While the stars had to worry about hair and makeup, they didn’t have to worry about personal protection — because many of these gun control advocates were protected by armed security guards, snipers on the roof, armored cars, and bomb sniffing dogs walking up and down the red carpet.

Several celebrities who were nominees and presenters at the award show signed a letter thanking President Obama for his Executive Action on gun control.

Amy Schumer, Quentin Tarantino, and Matt Damon believe the average American shouldn’t be armed, but when it comes to their own personal security — no expense should be spared.

    Increased security presence at the 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/YxPEnZQfrM
    — Allen Schaben (@alschaben) January 10, 2016

    First time I've ever seen security with machine guns walking #GoldenGlobes (@ScottFeinberg) https://t.co/E3Q76hkOkv pic.twitter.com/fVnBi933Q8
    — Janice Min (@janicemin) January 11, 2016

    Security with machine guns patrol red carpet before 73rd Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/FSRlmmcBnN
    — Allen Schaben (@alschaben) January 10, 2016

    Beverly Hills PD armored vehicle in position. At 4, a look at prep and security going into tonight's #goldenglobes pic.twitter.com/jLMANNRWgy
    — Ashley Kewish (@ashleykewish) January 10, 2016

    @SantaMonicaPD K-9 Rambo pawz'd for a moment on red carpet while aiding in security check at the #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/cTYiEdWLbt
    — Jacqueline Seabrooks (@SantaMonicaCoP) January 10, 2016


http://redalertpolitics.com/2016/01/11/armed-guards-protect-anti-gun-celebrities-golden-globe-awards/#exVkVa01eVEbPgCA.99

Let's hope this will be her favorite color at supermax eventually.

"To die" vote.

FBI's Clinton probe expands to public corruption track


EXCLUSIVE: The FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of private email as secretary of state has expanded to look at whether the possible “intersection” of Clinton Foundation work and State Department business may have violated public corruption laws, three intelligence sources not authorized to speak on the record told Fox News.

This new investigative track is in addition to the focus on classified material found on Clinton’s personal server.

"The agents are investigating the possible intersection of Clinton Foundation donations, the dispensation of State Department contracts and whether regular processes were followed," one source said.

The development follows press reports over the past year about the potential overlap of State Department and Clinton Foundation work, and questions over whether donors benefited from their contacts inside the administration.

The Clinton Foundation is a public charity, known as a 501(c)(3). It had grants and contributions in excess of $144 million in 2013, the most current available data. 

Inside the FBI, pressure is growing to pursue the case.

One intelligence source told Fox News that FBI agents would be “screaming” if a prosecution is not pursued because “many previous public corruption cases have been made and successfully prosecuted with much less evidence than what is emerging in this investigation.”

The FBI is particularly on edge in the wake of how the case of former CIA Director David Petraeus was handled. 

One of the three sources said some FBI agents felt Petraeus was given a slap on the wrist for sharing highly classified information with his mistress and biographer Paula Broadwell, as well as lying to FBI agents about his actions. Petraeus pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in March 2015 after a two-plus-year federal investigation in which Attorney General Eric Holder initially declined to prosecute.

In the Petraeus case, the exposure of classified information was assessed to be limited.

By contrast, in the Clinton case, the number of classified emails has risen to at least 1,340. A 2015 appeal by the State Department to challenge the “Top Secret” classification of at least two emails failed and, as Fox News first reported, is now considered a settled matter.

It is unclear which of the two lines of inquiry was opened first by the FBI and whether they eventually will be combined and presented before a special grand jury. One intelligence source said the public corruption angle dates back to at least April 2015.  On their official website, the FBI lists "public corruption as the FBI's top criminal priority."

Fox News is told that about 100 special agents assigned to the investigations also were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements, with as many as 50 additional agents on “temporary duty assignment,” or TDY. The request to sign a new NDA could reflect that agents are handling the highly classified material in the emails, or serve as a reminder not to leak about the case, or both.

"The pressure on the lead agents is brutal," a second source said. "Think of it like a military operation, you might need tanks called in along with infantry."

Separately, a former high-ranking State Department official emphasized to Fox News that Clinton’s deliberate non-use of her government email address may be increasingly “significant.”

“It is virtually automatic when one comes on board at the State Department to be assigned an email address,” the source said.

“It would have taken an affirmative act not to have one assigned ... and it would also mean it was all planned out before she took office. This certainly raises questions about the so-called legal advice she claimed to have received from inside the State Department that what she was doing was proper."

On Sunday,  when asked about her email practices while secretary of state, Clinton insisted to CBS News’ "Face The Nation," "there is no there, there."


http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/01/11/fbis-clinton-probe-expands-to-public-corruption-track.html

Sorry Hillary – Obama Will Not Endorse Candidate in 2016 Dem Race

Obama turns his back on former Secretary of State.







U.S. President Barack Obama will not publicly endorse a candidate before the 2016 Democratic primary election, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said on Sunday.

"We'll do exactly what has been done in the past," McDonough said on NBC's "Meet the Press." He said Obama will be "out there" campaigning after the primary election to help support the Democratic candidate.


http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-obama-idUSKCN0UO0L720160110

"To die" vote.

http://freebeacon.com/blog/disgraced-former-lehman-brothers-ceo-and-major-democratic-donor-refuses-to-apologize-for-role-in-2008-financial-crisis/

This table lists the top donors to this candidate in 1999-2016
 DO NOT POST SESC LINKS

Harpy was a New York senator and had to campaign (easy) for the position.

Vigilantes hunting for 'justice' for New Year sex attacks carry out beatings on random foreigners in Cologne – as officials admit the assaults WERE carried out by migrants



Vigilante mobs have been attacking Pakistani and Syrians in Cologne, leaving at least two in hospital, following calls on social media for 'revenge' in the wake of the New Years Eve assaults.

The attacks were carried out by groups of young men, allegedly specifically targeting foreigners, after reports Cologne police are focusing their investigation on asylum seekers and migrants.

More than 500 criminal complains have now been filed over the events outside Cologne's famous cathedral on New Years Eve, where young women were sexually assaulted, raped and robbed.

Attacks: Right-wing supporters attend a to protest against the New Year's Eve sex attacks in Cologne, as police reports that a number of Pakistani and Syrian men have been attacked by vigilante groups

Two Pakistani nationals were admitted to hospital after six men were attacked by a mob of 20 people near the city's main train station - the scene of the New Years Eve attacks - on Sunday.

It is unclear what their condition is although the police are looking to press charges of 'serious bodily harm' against their attackers who kicked, beat and abused them verbally.

According to the Cologne Express newspaper, a group of 'hooligans, rockers and bouncers' linked up on Facebook for payback for the mass sexual frenzy on the last day of the year that was allegedly carried out largely by foreigners and refugees.

The Express said the Facebook vigilante groups had promised an 'orderly clean up' of the old town centre in their 'manhunt.'

Police confirmed one Syrian man was also hurt in an attack on Sunday, which took place just 20 minutes after the first, but is believed to have been carried out by a separate group of five men.

Two Pakistani nationals were admitted to hospital after six men were attacked by a mob of 20 people near Cologne's main train station(pictured)

Racial tension: Supporters of Pegida, Hogesa (Hooligans against Salafists) and other right-wing populist groups protest against the New Year's Eve sex attacks in Cologne, Germany, this weekend

Too little too late? Police presence has now been heightened in Cologne, but many criticise the force's actions on New Years Eve, saying not enough was done to stop the mob assaults on women

The 39-year-old man was injured but did not require medical treatment.

Police say they are still investigating whether the attacks were racially motivated and whether there was any link to the New Year assaults.

Today, the minister for North Rhine-Westphalia, the German state where Cologne is located, admitted that people of foreign descent were responsible for virtually all of the violence on New Year's Eve in the city.

'Based on testimony from witnesses, the report from the Cologne police and descriptions by the federal police, it looks as if people with a migration background were almost exclusively responsible for the criminal acts,' Ralf Jaeger, interior minister from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia told a special commission on the Cologne violence.

'All signs point to these being north Africans and people from the Arab world,' he added. 'Based on what we know now from the investigation, asylum seekers who arrived in the past year are among the suspects.'

Cologne has a significant first and second generation immigrant population and racial tension has heightened in the wake of New Years Eve.

Mob violence: More than 500 criminal complains have now been filed over the events outside Cologne's famous cathedral on New Years Eve, where young women were sexually assaulted, raped and robbed

The city, which has a population of just over one million, has more than 120,000 practicing Muslim residents and the largest Jewish communities in Germany. Just over 5.5 per cent are born in Turkey.

Over the past week, the police presence in the city has been heightened, but many has called the efforts 'too little too late', questioning why officers had not been able to stop the mass attacks.

The assaults on women in Cologne and other German cities have prompted more than 600 criminal complaints, with the police investigation focusing on asylum seekers and migrants.

In Cologne alone, 516 criminal complaints had been filed by individuals or groups in relation to assaults on New Year's Eve, while police in Hamburg said 133 similar charges had been lodged with the north German city.

On Monday, a regional parliamentary commission in the state of North-Rhine Westphalia, whose largest city is Cologne, will question police and others about the events on New Year's Eve.

The anti-Islam political movement, PEGIDA, whose supporters threw bottles and fire crackers at a march in Cologne on Saturday before being dispersed by riot police, will hold a rally in the eastern German city of Leipzig on Monday evening.

The attacks on women in Cologne have also sparked a debate about tougher rules for migrants who break the law, faster deportation procedures and increased security measures such as more video surveillance in public areas and more police.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3393543/Two-Pakistanis-Syrian-man-injured-gang-attacks-Cologne.html

"To die" vote.