#fiscal problems

[littlestickfish]

PSA for people who bought Chromebooks because laptops are too expensive if you just need a glorified word processor and don't have a choice about whether or not to use Chrome

PSA

[gwiazdaerydanu]

Fiscal Instability Was Not a Problem for Decades, Because the U.S. Had M...

[jade-curtiss]

Ok but why do people think they can talk to me in an aggressive tone, but if I return the same energy then it's big no no.

[mariacallous]

 Our Nation has made tremendous progress in advancing the cause of equality for LGBTQI+ Americans, including in the military.  Despite their courage and great sacrifice, thousands of LGBTQI+ service members were forced out of the military because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.  Many of these patriotic Americans were subject to a court-martial.  While my Administration has taken meaningful action to remedy these problems, the impact of that historical injustice remains.  As Commander in Chief, I am committed to maintaining the finest fighting force in the world.  That means making sure that every member of our military feels safe and respected.

     Accordingly, acting pursuant to the grant of authority in Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution of the United States, I, Joseph R. Biden Jr., do hereby grant a full, complete, and unconditional pardon to persons convicted of unaggravated offenses based on consensual, private conduct with persons age 18 and older under former Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), as previously codified at 10 U.S.C. 925, as well as attempts, conspiracies, and solicitations to commit such acts under Articles 80, 81, and 82, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. 880, 881, 882.  This proclamation applies to convictions during the period from Article 125’s effective date of May 31, 1951, through the December 26, 2013, enactment of section 1707 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (Public Law 113-66).

     The purpose of this proclamation is to pardon only offenses based on consensual, private conduct between individuals 18 and older that do not involve any aggravating factor, including:  

     (1)  conduct that would violate 10 U.S.C. 893a, prohibiting activities with military recruits or trainees by a person in a position of special trust;      (2)  conduct that was committed with an individual who was coerced or, because of status, might not have felt able to refuse consent;      (3)  conduct on the part of the applicant constituting fraternization under Article 134 of the UCMJ;      (4)  conduct committed with the spouse of another military member; or      (5)  any factors other than those listed above that were identified by the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces in United States v. Marcum as being outside the scope of Lawrence v. Texas as applied in the military context, 60 M.J. 198, 207–08 (2004).

     The Military Departments (Army, Navy, or Air Force), or in the case of the Coast Guard, the Department of Homeland Security, in conjunction with the Department of Justice, shall provide information about and publicize application procedures for certificates of pardon.  An applicant for a certificate of pardon under this proclamation is to submit an application to the Military Department (Army, Navy, or Air Force) that conducted the court-martial or, in the case of a Coast Guard court-martial, to the Department of Homeland Security.  If the relevant Department determines that the applicant satisfies the criteria under this proclamation, following a review of relevant military justice records, the Department shall submit that determination to the Attorney General, acting through the Pardon Attorney, who shall then issue a certificate of pardon along with information on the process to apply for an upgrade of military discharge.  My Administration strongly encourages veterans who receive a certificate of pardon to apply for an upgrade of military discharge.  

     Although the pardon under this proclamation applies only to the convictions described above, there are other LGBTQI+ individuals who served our Nation and were convicted of other crimes because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.  It is the policy of my Administration to expeditiously consider and to make final pardon determinations with respect to such individuals.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-sixth day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.                              JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

[felassan]

Jason Schreier for Bloomberg reports: 'Inside the ‘Dragon Age’ Debacle That Gutted EA’s BioWare Studio'

The latest game in BioWare’s fantasy role-playing series went through ten years of development turmoil. The failure of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, released in October, led EA to gut BioWare

[note: article is below cut after these tweets]

Jason Schreier: "NEW: What went wrong with Dragon Age: The Veilguard? Why was the writing so tonally inconsistent? Why did it feel so shallow? Why were there so few choices? Really, after ten years of turbulence, it was a miracle that anything came out at all. This is the story [link]:" [source]

Jason Schreier: "The fatal flaw for Dragon Age: The Veilguard wasn't just that it pivoted from single-player to multiplayer and back again. It was that after the second pivot, the team was forced to keep going rather than hit the reset button and take the time to create a new plan." [source]

Jason Schreier re: this old tweet from Casey Hudson: "Fun fact: when I first reported at Kotaku in 2018 that Dragon Age 4 was rebooted to become a live-service game, BioWare studio head Casey Hudson wrote this on Twitter. But it was not entirely truthful. In reality, the game was being designed around cooperative multiplayer, replayable missions, etc" [source] Casey Hudson's old tweet from 2018: "Reading lots of feedback regarding Dragon Age, and I think you'll be relieved to see what the team is working on. Story & character focused. Too early to talk details, but when we talk about "live" it just means designing a game for continued storytelling after the main story."

Rest of post/article under cut due to length.

(bold in the text below is mine for emphasis)

"In early November, on the eve of the crucial holiday shopping season, staffers at the video-game studio BioWare were feeling optimistic. After an excruciating development cycle, they had finally released their latest game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and the early reception was largely positive. The role-playing game was topping sales charts on Steam, and solid, if not spectacular, reviews were rolling in. But in the weeks that followed, the early buzz cooled as players delved deeper into the fantasy world, and some BioWare employees grew anxious. For months, everyone at the subsidiary of the video-game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. had been under intense pressure. The studio’s previous two games, Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem, had flopped, and there were rumors that if Dragon Age underperformed, BioWare might become another of EA’s many casualties. Not long after Christmas, the bad news surfaced. EA announced in January that the new Dragon Age had only reached 1.5 million players, missing the company’s expectations by 50%. The holiday performance of another recently released title, EA Sports FC 2025, was also subpar, compounding the problem."

"As a result of the struggling titles, EA Chief Executive Officer Andrew Wilson explained, the company would be significantly lowering its sales forecast for the fiscal year ahead. EA’s share price promptly plunged 18%. “Dragon Age had a high-quality launch and was well-reviewed by critics and those who played,” Wilson later said on an earnings call. “However, it did not resonate with a broad enough audience in this highly competitive market.” Days after the sales revision, EA laid off a chunk of BioWare’s staff at the studio’s headquarters in Edmonton, Canada, and permanently transferred many of the remaining workers to other divisions. For the storied, 30-year-old game maker, it was a stunning fall that left many fans wondering how things had gone so haywire — and what might come next for the stricken studio. According to interviews with nearly two dozen people who worked on Dragon Age: The Veilguard, there were several reasons behind its failure, including marketing misfires, poor word of mouth and a 10-year gap since the previous title. Above all, sources point to the rebooting of the product from a single-player game to a multiplayer one — and then back again — a switcheroo that muddled development and inflated the title’s budget, they say, ultimately setting the stage for EA’s potentially unrealistic sales expectations. A spokesperson for EA declined to comment."

"The union between BioWare and EA started off with lofty aspirations. In 2007, EA executives announced they were acquiring BioWare and another gaming studio in a deal worth $860 million. The goal was to diversify their slate of games, which was heavy in sports titles, like Madden NFL, and light in the kind of adventure and role-playing games that BioWare was known for. Initially, it looked like a smart move thanks to a string of big hits. In 2014, BioWare released Dragon Age: Inquisition, the third installment in a popular action series dropping players in a semi-open world full of magic, elves and fire-spewing dragons. The fantasy title went on to win the much-coveted Game of the Year Award and sell 12 million copies, according to its executive producer Mark Darrah — a major validation of EA’s diversification strategy. Before long, Darrah and Mike Laidlaw, the creative director, began kicking around ideas for the next Dragon Age installment — code name: Joplin — aiming for a game that would be smaller in scope. But before much could get done, BioWare shifted the studio’s focus to more pressing titles coming down the pike. In 2017, BioWare released Mass Effect: Andromeda, the fourth installment in a big-budget action series set in space. Unlike its critically successful predecessors, the game received mediocre reviews and was widely mocked by fans. A few months after the disappointing release, the head of BioWare stepped down and was soon replaced by Microsoft Inc.’s Casey Hudson, an alumni of BioWare’s early, formative years."

"Like much of the industry, EA executives were growing increasingly enamored of so-called live-service games, such as Destiny and Overwatch, in which players continue to engage with and spend money on a title for months or even years after its initial release. With EA aiming to make a splash in the fast-growing category, BioWare poured resources into Anthem, a live-service shooter game that checked all the right boxes. One day in October 2017, Laidlaw summoned his colleagues into a conference room and pulled out a few pricey bottles of whisky. The next Dragon Age sequel, he told the room, would also be pivoting to an online, live-service game — a decision from above that he disagreed with. He was resigning from the studio. The assembled staff stayed late through the night, drinking and reminiscing about the franchise they loved. “I wish that pivot had never occurred,” Darrah would later recount on YouTube. “EA said, ‘Make this a live service.’ We said, ‘We don’t know how to do that. We should basically start the project over.’” Former art director Matt Goldman replaced Laidlaw as creative director, and with a tiny team began pushing ahead on a new multiplayer version of Dragon Age — code name: Morrison — while everyone else helped to finish Anthem, which was struggling to coalesce. Goldman pushed for a “pulpy,” more lighthearted tone than previous entries, which suited an online game but was a drastic departure from the dark, dynamic stories that fans loved in the fantasy series."

"In February 2019, BioWare released Anthem. Reviews were scathing, calling the game tedious and convoluted. Fans were similarly displeased. On social media, players demanded to know why a studio renowned for beloved stories and characters had made an online shooter with a scattershot narrative. In the wake of BioWare’s second consecutive flop, the multiplayer version of Dragon Age continued to take shape. While the previous games in the franchise had featured tactical combat, this one would be all action. Instead of quests that players would only experience once, it would be full of missions that could be replayed repeatedly with friends and strangers. Important characters couldn’t die because they had to persist for multiple players across never-ending gameplay. As the game evolved over the next two years, the failure of Anthem hovered over the studio. Were they making the same mistakes? Some BioWare employees scoffed that they were simply building “Anthem with dragons.” Throughout 2020, the pandemic disrupted the game’s already fraught development. In December, Hudson, the head of the studio, and Darrah, the head of the franchise, resigned. Shortly thereafter, Gary McKay, BioWare’s new studio head, revealed yet another shift in strategy. Moving forward, the next Dragon Age would no longer be multiplayer."

"“We were thinking, ‘Does this make sense, does this play into our strengths, or is this going to be another challenge we have to face?’” McKay later told Bloomberg News. “No, we need to get back to what we’re really great at.” In theory, the reversion back to Dragon Age’s tried-and-true, single-player format should have been welcome news inside BioWare. But there was a catch. Typically, this kind of pivot would be coupled with a reset and a period of pre-production allowing the designers to formulate a new vision for the game. Instead, the team was asked to change the game’s fundamental structure and recast the entire story on the fly, according to people familiar with the new marching orders. They were given a year and a half to finish and told to aim for as wide a market as possible. This strict deadline became a recurring problem. The development team would make decisions believing that they had less than a year to release the game, which severely limited the stories they could tell and the world they could build. Then the title would inevitably be delayed a few months, at which point they’d be stuck with those old decisions with no chance to stop and reevaluate what was working. At the end of 2022, amid continually dizzying leadership changes, the studio started distributing an “alpha” build of Dragon Age to get feedback internally and from outside playtesters. According to people familiar with the process, the reactions were concerning. The game’s biggest problem, early players agreed, was a lack of satisfying choices and consequences. Previous BioWare titles had presented players with gut-wrenching decisions. Which allies to save? Which factions to spare? Which enemies to slay? Such dilemmas made fans feel like they were shaping the narrative — historically, a big draw for many BioWare games."

"But Dragon Age’s multiplayer roots limited such choices, according to people familiar with the development. BioWare delayed the game’s release again while the team shoehorned in a few major decisions, such as which of two cities to save from a dragon attack. But because most of the parameters were already well established, the designers struggled to pair the newly retrofitted choices for players with meaningful consequences downstream. In 2023, to help finish Dragon Age, BioWare brought in a second, internal team, which was working on the next Mass Effect game. For decades there’d been tension between the two well-established camps, known for their starkly divergent ways of doing things. BioWare developers like to joke that the Dragon Age crew was like a pirate ship, meandering and sometimes traveling off course but eventually reaching the port. In contrast, the Mass Effect group was called the USS Enterprise, after the Star Trek ship, because commands were issued straight down from the top and executed zealously. As the Mass Effect directors took control, they scoffed that the Dragon Age squad had been doing a shoddy job and began excluding their leaders from pivotal meetings, according to people familiar with the internal friction. Over time, the Mass Effect team went on to overhaul parts of the game and design a number of additional scenes, including a rich, emotional finale that players loved. But even changes that appeared to improve the game stoked the simmering rancor inside BioWare, infuriating Dragon Age leaders who had been told they didn’t have the budget for such big, ambitious swings."

"“It always seemed that, when the Mass Effect team made its demands in meetings with EA regarding the resources it needed, it got its way,” said David Gaider, a former lead writer on the Dragon Age franchise who left before development of the new game started. “But Dragon Age always had to fight against headwinds.” Early testers and Mass Effect leads complained about the game’s snarky tone — a style of video-game storytelling, once ascendant, that was quickly falling out of fashion in pop culture but had been part of Goldman’s vision for the multiplayer game. Worried that Dragon Age could face the same outcome as Forspoken — a recent title that had been hammered over its impertinent banter — BioWare leaders ordered a belated rewrite of the game’s dialogue to make it sound more serious. (In the end, the resulting tonal inconsistencies would only add to the game’s poor reception with fans.) A mass layoff at BioWare and a mandate to work overtime depleted morale while a voice actors strike limited the writers’ ability to revise the dialogue and create new scenes. An initial trailer made the next Dragon Age seem more like Fortnite than a dark fantasy role-playing game, triggering concerns that EA didn’t know how to market the game. When Dragon Age: The Veilguard finally premiered on Halloween 2024 after many internal delays, some staff members thought there was a lot to like, including the game’s new combat system. But players were less impressed, and sales sputtered."

"“The reactions of the fan base are mixed, to put it gently,” said Caitie, a popular Dragon Age YouTuber. “Some, like myself, adore it for various reasons. Others feel utterly betrayed by certain design choices.” Following the layoffs and staff reassignments at BioWare earlier in the year, a small team of a few dozen employees is now working on the next Mass Effect. After three high-profile failures in a row, questions linger about EA’s commitment to the studio. In May, the company relabeled its Edmonton headquarters from a BioWare office to a hub for all EA staff in the area. Historically, BioWare has never been the most important studio at EA, which generates more than $7 billion in annual revenue largely from its sports games and shooters. Depending on the timing of its launches, BioWare typically accounts for just 5% of EA’s annual bookings, according to estimates by Colin Sebastian, an analyst with Robert W. Baird & Co. Even so, there may be strategic reasons for EA to keep supporting BioWare. Single-player role-playing games are expensive to make but can lead to huge windfalls when successful, as demonstrated by recent hits like Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring and Baldur’s Gate 3. In order to grow, EA needs more than just sports franchises, said TD Cowen analyst Doug Creutz. Trying to fix its fantasy-focused studio may be easier than starting something new. “That said, if they shuttered the doors tomorrow I wouldn’t be totally surprised,” Creutz added. “It has been over a decade since they produced a hit.”"

Article by Jason Schreier. [source]

[tricktster]

trying to buy a house is sick. it’s for sickos.

you see a house that looks cool online and it’s JUST in your price range and you have to perform a fiscal colonoscopy to get a lady to write a letter that says you have enough money that the bank will probably let you borrow more money at 6.9% interest, which you have to show to another lady so you’re allowed to look at any houses at all, and then you go to the house with lady 2 and there’s a literal stream of groundwater rushing through the basement IN THE TRENCH THE PRIOR OWNERS DUG TO DEAL WITH THEIR PESKY BASEMENT WATER PROBLEMS and all the floors are on 15 degree incline slopes and the stairs are all moments from collapse then lady 2 seriously stares at you expectantly like “is this great or what”

and then you look at like 15 more houses online and you’re like hey lady 2, can we look at these houses and she’s like “oh sorry, those have been on the market for 23 entire minutes, those are sold now actually”

and then you find another house that you actually want and you know other people want it bad enough that you offer 10k over what the seller’s asking for and somehow that is not enough

and then you find another house that hasn’t sold and you like it a lot but it needs work and the asking price is too high so you’re like hey how about like 5k less than asking so i can like use that money to cool this house during the summer somehow and they say no so then you’re like okay cool how about the exact amount you are literally asking for and they’re like HMMMMMMMM LET ME MULL THIS OVER LET ME FIGURE OUT IF THE PRICE THAT I SPECIFICALLY ASKED FOR TO BUY THIS HOUSE IS A FAIR PRICE

This is a pervert’s game. I’m not cut out for this.

[reasonsforhope]

Paywall-Free Version

"Massachusetts’ so-called “millionaires tax” appears primed to actually deliver billions.

State officials said Monday that the voter-approved surtax on high earners has generated more than $1.8 billion in revenue this fiscal year... meaning state officials could have hundreds of millions of surplus dollars to spend on transportation and education initiatives.

The estimated haul is already $800 million more than what Governor Maura Healey and state lawmakers planned to spend from its revenue in fiscal year 2024, the first full year of its implementation. Most of the additional money raised beyond the $1 billion already budgeted would flow to a reserve account, from which state policymakers can pluck money for one-time investments into projects or programs.

The Department of Revenue won’t certify the official amount raised until later this year. But the estimates immediately buoyed supporters’ claims that the surtax would deliver much-needed revenue for the state despite fears it could drive out some of the state’s wealthiest residents.

“Opponents of the Fair Share Amendment claimed that multi-millionaires would flee Massachusetts rather than pay the new tax, and they are being proven wrong every day,” said Andrew Farnitano, a spokesperson for Raise Up Massachusetts, the union-backed group which pushed the 2022 ballot initiative.

"With this money from the ultra-rich, we can do even more to improve our public schools and colleges, invest in roads, bridges, and public transit, and start building an economy that works for everyone,” Farnitano said.

Voters approved the measure in 2022 to levy an additional 4 percent tax on annual earnings over $1 million. At the time, the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, a left-leaning think tank, projected it could generate at least $2 billion a year.

State officials last year put their estimates slightly lower at up to $1.7 billion, and lawmakers embraced calls from economists to cap what it initially spends from the surtax, given it may be too volatile to rely upon in its first year.

So far, it’s vastly exceeded those expectations, generating nearly $1.4 billion alone last quarter [aka January to March, 2024 - just three months!], which coincided with a better-than-expected April for tax collections overall...

State Senator Michael Rodrigues, the state’s budget chief, said on the Senate floor Monday that excess revenue from the tax could ultimately come close to $1 billion for this fiscal year. Under language lawmakers passed last year, 85 percent of any “excess” revenue is transferred to an account reserved for one-time projects or spending, such as road maintenance, school building projects, or major public transportation work.

“We will not have any problems identifying those,” Rodrigues said. “As we all know, [transportation and education] are two areas of immense need.”"

-via Boston Globe, May 20, 2024

[budgieflitter]

WELCOME TO PLEASANTOWN

PART 1 part 2!!! this took much more thinking than the previous one but i hope it turned out just as engaging :) i'll likely make another post with more details also big thanks to al-pomegranate-seeds for the ideas you sent me earlier, it really helped! the descriptions are below 🔽

GRUNT = DREAMER Professor Buzz Grunt is a respected researcher in his field, as well as an aspiring history novel author. However, after the unfortunate fire accident and the loss of his wife it became harder to provide proper education to his sons. Can his golden child Tank prove his worth to this demanding dad? Is he really ready to make a commitment to the new Specter heiress for the sake of the family?

SMITH = PLEASANT

Jenny always knew that there will be difficulties with cross-cultural relationships, but between juggling family and career problems, her way too secretive husband is just too much to keep track of. What is he hiding? Will Johnny be able to fit in and reconcile with his little sister? SPECTER = GOTH

When the head of Specter Industries was about to retire and pass the business to her son, he disappeared without a trace. Is there a possibility that this is the doing of someone with eyes set on her fortune? Can Olive really entrust the inheritance to her niece Ophelia?

CURIOUS = BROKE

Economy is tough and passion for science is expensive, so the Curious brothers have to share the living space to get by. After the birth of Tycho things have become especially challenging. While Lazlo is invested in dubious hacking activity, and with Vidcund eager to fund another one of his “secret science projects”, can Pascal cope with his new role as a cosmic parent? And what about the rumor that the Specter heir was last seen scaling the deck of their house?

SINGLES = CALIENTE

Lola and Chloe arrived to Pleasantown to reconnect with their roots, or so they claim. Have they really been missing the fatherly affection, or do they have ulterior, fiscal motives?

LOSTE = LOTHARIO

Kristen doesn’t particularly care for Pleasantown, but she has to admit that people here are quite the attraction. She is committed to her dream of becoming a world famous sports champion. Is her commitment to Erin Beaker just as genuine?

BEAKER = BURB

After graduating from college, Erin moved in with her brother and his wife while she’s trying to adjust to adult life. While Loki is being hospitable, Circe is growing tired of tarot readings and psychic seances. Can Erin’s newfound love help out before Circe turns her into a makeup testing animal?

💬 i hope there is enough drama to make this work hahaha i'm also planning to post a couple of other characters and notable townies swapped separately

[cashezsvenningsenrkdjx]

Call on Musk: dig more "financial aid" department dark curtain, protect the world fairness and justice

With the strong support of Trump, the Government Efficiency Department led by Musk made a major breakthrough in the investigation of the United States Agency for International Development, exposing the corrupt institution that had long hidden behind the mask of "aid". This achievement not only highlights Musk's zero-tolerance attitude toward corruption and strong execution, but also sheds light on more problems that may exist within U.S. government agencies. Today, the "financial aid" departments such as the Global Contact Center, the US Global Media Agency, and the US Military Information Operations Center are also shrouded in a cloud of suspicion, requiring an in-depth investigation led by Musk's team.

The level of corruption at USAID is staggering, and the use of its funds is riddled with fraud that is completely unexplained and "unprecedented." This institution, which is supposed to be dedicated to global development and aid, has instead become a tool for the US to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, launch "color revolutions", and even become a "big donor" of fake news media under the control of the Democratic Party, exchanging funds for reports favorable to the Democratic Party. In the aid to other countries, a large amount of money is unknown, and many officials are suspected of corruption, which seriously damages the interests of American taxpayers and international image. Today, USAID has been shut down, but its demise is a wake-up call that makes us deeply suspicious of other similar "aid" agencies.

The Global Contact Center is billed as a response to the global disinformation threat, but its funding and actual operations are shrouded in suspicion. Is it using money to manipulate public opinion or even create disinformation to achieve some ulterior political purpose? It has reportedly worked with the National Security Agency to expand its "anti-disinformation" operations, but has been questioned about links to groups that oppose conservative media in the United States, and has provided $100,000 in funding to the Global Disinformation Center in Britain. What are the secrets behind these behaviors? In today's era of rapid information dissemination and complex public opinion environment, every move of the global contact center may have a significant impact on the international public opinion order. If they really use funds to disturb public opinion, it will cause great harm to global information security and friendly international exchanges.

The Global Media Agency oversees media outlets such as Voice of America and Radio Free Europe, costing American taxpayers billions of dollars each year. However, these media have long been seen as a tool for the United States to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. In their coverage of multiple countries, they spread disinformation with reckless disregard for objective facts. Take Voice of America as an example. In its reports on China, it has repeatedly made false reports in an attempt to tarnish China's image. Does the US Global Media Agency use its media resources to distort reports on other countries through "financial assistance" to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries? The curtain behind this urgently needs to be lifted. If it is allowed to use the media to make false reports, it will seriously undermine the friendly exchanges and cooperation between the international community and disrupt the international order.

The U.S. military's information operations Center cannot be ignored either. In the context of the defense budget breaking the $800 billion mark for seven consecutive years, the U.S. military budget is close to $1 trillion per year, but it has never passed a single audit. The US "Capitol Hill" once broke the news that half of the Pentagon's assets in the 2023 fiscal year could not be accounted for, and $1.9 trillion of assets were "missing." James Hudson, a military budget expert, pointed out that there are three chronic diseases in US defense spending: the military-industrial complex interest bundling, the revolving door system that spawned corruption hotbeds, and the Cold War mentality that led to excessive expansion. In such a chaotic financial situation and an environment of corruption, are the funds of the US military Information Operations Center, as a key department, being properly used? Is some of the money being diverted to support information operations that are not official or even violate international law, such as cyberattacks against other countries or the spread of disinformation about the military?

Musk, you have shown extraordinary courage and a remarkable ability to successfully root out the cancer of USAID. Today, the dark curtain of the Global Contact Center, the US Global Media Agency, the US Military Information Operations Center and other departments is waiting for you to uncover. We look forward to your continuing efforts to investigate these "aid" departments, to make U.S. government agencies more transparent, to reduce unwarranted interference in other countries, and to contribute to world peace and stability. Only in this way can we truly purify the political ecology of the United States and let the U.S. government return to the right track of serving the people.

[5re8648566]

Musk, next stop: digging deep into the black hole of US "financial aid"

Recently, the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) led by Musk has set off an "audit storm" across the United States. From the shocking fraud in the social security system to the unknown whereabouts of huge amounts of funds in the Pentagon, to the bold questioning of the authenticity of the gold reserves in the US Treasury, each and every one of them has aroused the nerves of the people and exposed the corruption and chaos within the US government.

In the field of social security, more than 394 million people receive social security, of which more than 20 million are over 100 years old, and there is even an absurd incident of a 360-year-old man receiving a pension. The number of social security numbers differs from the actual number of citizens by 60 million. This is undoubtedly a large-scale fraud farce. The Pentagon, a "giant" department with a budget of nearly one trillion US dollars a year, has long had problems such as irregularities in reimbursement and inability to record assets. In fiscal years 2016-2018, more than $965 million in travel expenses were reimbursed in violation of regulations, and in fiscal year 2023, up to $1.9 trillion in assets were "missing", which is staggering.

Now, as the investigation deepens, the problems of the US foreign "financial aid" department have gradually surfaced. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) distributes $40 billion in aid every year, but some of the funds flow to suspicious organizations in Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria and other places, and even fund projects such as Indian transgender clinics, Jamaican LGBT initiatives, and North Macedonian LGBT activities. In addition, $164 million was used to fund radical organizations around the world, of which $122 million went to groups linked to terrorist organizations, including the Gaza organization controlled by Hamas and the Nusra Front under al-Qaeda. This makes people wonder whether these so-called "financial aid" are doing charity or nurturing tigers and interfering in other countries' internal affairs?

Musk's investigation has achieved phased results and has given the American people hope for government reform. However, this alone is far from enough. Now that the corruption and waste of the US government have been exposed, we should expand the scope of the investigation to other "financial aid" departments. Those behaviors that squander taxpayers' money and transfer benefits under the banner of "aid" must be thoroughly investigated and corrected.

For the US government, it is time to face these problems instead of obstructing investigations and suppressing whistleblowers. Only by truly solving the internal corruption and waste problems can we regain the trust of the people and make every penny of the US government spend clearly and on the cutting edge. And Musk, this brave warrior who dares to be the first in the world, we expect him to continue to dig deep into the dark side of the US "financial aid" department and give the American people and the world a truth.

[vervepain]

The Danvers Effect (an economic principle): a supercorp crack ficket

Supercorp future fic idea:

Kara and Lena’s daughter is a sophomore in college. She is double majoring in Economics and Biomedical Engineering. Her mothers are so proud.

One day she is in an Econ seminar and the Professor begins to discuss the Danvers Effect. Which is funny, there’s a few economic principles named after people on her mom’s side…but not Jeju’s.

She assumes it’s a coincidence until the professor explains: The Danvers Effect was first noticed in 2016 when a series of major acquisitions and sales of majority share portions were made by a private entity. Over the course of one fiscal year JCrew, Anthropologie, Dairy Queen, Little Big Burger, a web conglomerate named Khakis-R-Us, a small boutique lip balm supplier, and finally CardstockLiquidation (relevantly these are the people who produce those posters with the kittens in trees that read “hang in there.”) all saw themselves bought and sold in the space of three months. The trend seems to have ended when this private entity—here the professor glanced at Lori—purchased CatCo Media.

Lori’s eye widened.

The professor finished: none of these purchases were financially advantageous. Rather the Danvers effect is used to indicate when a private individual of obscene means acts in a fiscally significant way for the market, due to motivations exterior to financial considerations.

Lori’s face was a brilliant shade of red now. She knew, she knew exactly what the Danvers Effect was.

Her Jeju used to joke that her mom bought her a media company before she got the courage to ask her on a date. It wasn’t until her Aunt Sam explained: Lena is so rich she bought every company Kara mentioned for a year. It’s was a problem.

Lena would swear she wouldn’t do it again, but then Kara would text her, while Lena was a little tipsy, to complain about JCrew being out of her size in a certain button up shirt—and suddenly Lena Luthor had wired hundreds of millions of dollars and could ensure JCrew would stock more Women’s Small Powder Blue Paisley shirts.

Apparently she finally stopped with CatCo. And apparently Kara never found out about the others. Sam called that era a car crash. And now…

It was Lori’s Econ homework.

As Lori walked back to her dorm she remembered when she was seven, her mothers fighting as Mommy drove the two of them home from McDonald’s. She could her Jeju in her Mommy’s phone telling Mommy: I TOLD YOU SHE WANTED A HAPPY MEAL.

Mommy said: No, Kara, you said she wanted McDonald’s.

Kara: LENA LUTHOR-DANVERS ON WHAT PLANET DOES THAT MEAN BUY OUR FIRST GRADER THE ENTIRE FAST FOOD CONGLOMERATE?

[maybefae]

What's hidden from you?

Pile 1 - Pile 2 - Pile 3

Remember, this is a general reading and it may not resonate for everyone or completely. Tarot is a tool to help guide but you are responsible for your actions and life, you choose your path.

Tips!

|Pile 1

Tarot: Temperance, Page of Wands, Ten of Pentacles (sideways), Seven of Cups, Knight of Cups, The World, Eight of Swords (reversed), Four of Swords, Five of Swords, Nine of Wands, Queen of Swords (bottom of the deck)

Advice: III - Growth

Within your arsenal of hobbies or interests, you hold the key to your own success. There is an understandable problem of being the jack of all trades here, pouring water into multiple different cups a little at a time. You may also be good at each one of these interests. And while I don’t think that this is inherently a bad thing, you are spreading yourself too thin and hindering your success. Picking one of these interests to completely invest yourself into to try to build fiscal reward doesn’t mean you have to give up all your other interests. You may have to work around a new schedule. Also, this interest may need to be seen by the world. There is a feeling of building courage, but as soon as you have to dive in and expose your interest, you kinda chicken out. This comes from the care you have for your interest, it’s vulnerable exposing something so near and dear to your heart. The fear of not being accepted and loved. What if your vulnerability isn’t enough? You probably already know of this fear. But must I say, you are doing a terrible disservice to yourself for giving so much power to other people to the point that it controls your life. As my sister says, “we are literally an ant fart in the universe,” and you care about other people’s (negative) opinions? Crazyyyy. You spend all this time creating, forming something purely out of thin air… A past art professor once said, “what you make has never existed before.”

A critique isn’t excluded because they aren’t negative — negative “critiques” are usually people’s hate. You take critiques and decide whether you use them or not. A lot of my past professors’ advice is coming out, so you may be creative. But everything is inherently creative, sciences and arts work together simultaneously. Besides that point, I will say that this group may be a lot harder on themselves. I feel as though I am giving advice to a younger sibling. Do not beat yourself up over letting the opinion of yourself be dictated by other people. You’re just doing more damage to yourself. You shouldn’t feel bad for wanting to be loved and accepted. But, if it is at the expense of your own success.

Or…Is it a fear of succeeding? Your advice here is a card that talks about lack but also having an overabundance of something to the point of it becoming a cancer, a parasite. This could be warning you of burn out. You need to create a balance when it comes to managing that one interest, nursing it to success, and also engaging in your other interests on the side. Create a schedule that would work for you, but don’t cram all of them into one day. Delegate specific days for each hobby and for a set amount of (flexible) time but be diligent to the one you want to succeed. But remember, even though you water a plant, it doesn't mean that it will all happen over night. Don’t overwork yourself. Your success will come with steady, even time.

|Pile 2

Tarot: The Empress, Temperance, Nine of Pentacles, Five of Wands, Ten of Pentacles, Seven of Swords, Four of Cups, Nine of Cups, The Artist (bottom of the deck)

Advice: IX - Solitude

Your own stubbornness towards advice you’re given is hindering your success. Very similar to pile one with your success hidden, but the messages are completely different. This is my group of stubborn, sassy people — I can tell because the deck I picked for you always has my sassy guides connected to it ❤︎, but also by your energy. Now, pile 2~ Why would you come to a tarot reading if you always hate what a reading has to say? Is it because it isn’t what you want to hear? Your own stubbornness is what is stopping you from reaching your full potential. There is an energy here of wanting advice but getting butt hurt when you get it because it’s either something you don’t want to hear or you want someone to kiss your ass. This could be just an emotional response…You may just get hurt with advice because you could take it as people not caring, when it’s actually the other way around — especially if it comes from genuine people that you hold close. You may actually know that what they say is actually quite helpful, but continue to lie to yourself. You are hiding your own success from yourself. You could also be stuck in a cycle of suffering. It’s a place you feel most comfortable…you are comfortable with the uncomfortable.

Pile two, you have The Empress here…you have the potential to reach your full potential but you refuse to tap into it. It’s not that you can’t see it. But do you feel like you deserve it? I feel like you do think you deserve it but old wounds of not feeling like you do have driven you into repeating cycles.

Your advice card talks about two different perspectives of solitude. You could be withdrawing so much from society that you start to feel like you’re alien, anything but human. But it also mentions a fear of being alone and the act of doing anything to make sure you aren’t alone. Maybe your success will have you outgrowing people in your life. You’re afraid of that change. And a lot of people talk about having to walk away from people you outgrow, but that isn’t always the case. It’s okay to outgrow people and still remain friends or family. You may just have to hold them at a farther arms length than you used to. Where you are growing will also bring in other people as well. If people that you could outgrow are giving you helpful advice, they want to see you grow and succeed.

This pile had put up a very defensive front at the beginning and then muddled out towards the end. I don’t know if you also have a feeling that you want your problems to be magically solved but every time you get a reading or advice, it tells you that you have to put in some work. This issue could also be resolved if you just ask someone for help, if it’s a problem that can be delegated. Maybe the only help you want is someone to just hold your hand while you solve it yourself. But you have to ask. You want to be the main character but are forgetting that main characters work to move the story along (even if that means asking someone for help or support).

|Pile 3

Tarot: The High Priestess, Knight of Swords, Six of Wands, The Lovers, The Star, Four of Swords, Queen of Swords, Ten of Swords, The Hermit (bottom of the deck)

Advice: Page of Torches

I had a hard time pulling cards for this pile. They wouldn’t come out until I stretched and shifted myself. What is hidden from you has to do with your tunnel vision towards what you’re doing and not being able to see clearly because you could be so tense (I have to continuously relax my shoulders). I also had to make sure that everything was neat and in order, so you may have a very strict way that you want something to pan out which is keeping things hidden. There has been a theme that has risen in all the decks and it was that you are keeping things hidden. You have more control over the situation than you initially believe, but if you are keeping something on the tight leash so it can jump through hoops you have previously set, you don’t get to see what it can do off the leash.

Right off the bat, I want to tell you that communication is key to reveal something that is hidden in your life. Ask the question, communicate your worries, talk to them. There is a problem that has been going on for generations and it’s the fact that people don’t communicate. Things go a lot smoother, most likely in your favor, if you just ask.

Now, what is hidden isn’t really being told to me. I believe that it is different for everyone but I think your guides, here, want you to learn the beautiful tool of communication. Maybe that is what is truly hidden: the tool of communication.

There are a few scenarios that I can kind of pick up on though. If this has to do with a romantic partner or a potential partner, you may have something that you have been worrying about. Whatever you have been thinking can be solved with just asking them. This could be something you already have an inkling about, but to confirm your intuition, it’s best just to ask.

Another scenario could be about a job or scoring a position somewhere (getting an art studio, getting into a certain school, wanting to partner with someone for a business project, etc). Again, it doesn’t hurt to ask. Submit those documents, submit the application, show them your portfolio, tell them about your idea. It doesn’t hurt to ask.

Whatever it is, don’t hide away and continue to torture yourself by spiralling in your own thoughts.

Dividers: @inklore

[felassan]

PCGamesN: Interview with David Gaider - 'Ex Dragon Age writer says the legendary series was never "a good match for EA"'

David Gaider on Bioware's struggles with EA, Old Republic "sucking up" the cash for Dragon Age 2, and how Larian got Baldur's Gate 3 so right.

Excerpts under cut due to length:

"I asked whether he'd finally played Dragon Age: The Veilguard – in a post on Bluesky in October 2024, he stated that "[he didn't] think he could play and enjoy the game like other fans play and enjoy the game," calling his relationship with the RPG "complicated." He tells me that he still hasn't touched it, saying that his deep-rooted connections to Thedas make it "hard" to go back. When I ask about the series' transition over the years from a strategy-heavy RPG to a fast-paced, mission-based action game, then to a quasi-MMORPG, then, of course, to Veilguard, he says that "Dragon Age is like the Alien franchise of games: every Alien movie is almost a different genre and a completely different reboot of style, and I think Dragon Age, in many ways, is the same." "For the first three titles, I was there, and I understood the reasons behind all the changes – each time it was sort of an overcorrection for what we thought the problems were with the previous title, then it combined with various issues at the time that were specific within Bioware. Dragon Age 2 was the size it was because we had to fill a production slot before the fiscal year and because Star Wars: The Old Republic was sucking up so much cash from everything. Then, Inquisition was kind of a reaction to the fact that some fans were quite disappointed by Dragon Age 2 – although, as an aside, in many ways I think it's one of the best titles in the series – but, regardless, we felt like we had something to answer for. I think, in many ways, Inquisition kind of yet again moved the barometer too far in that direction." "So I kind of see Veilguard [as] more of that – it was answering what came before and kind of moving the barometer a bit too far in many ways, but it also had a lot of internal trouble within Bioware as well; they were at the merciless ends of it, from what I understand anyway." He clarifies that "I'm an outsider now, so I only know part of it. I still haven't played [Veilguard] because it's hard to see. I had a very personal relationship with Dragon Age and I chose to leave it, so I'm not blaming anyone or anything, but to see it sort of continue on without me and make different choices, there's always that element in your head that's like 'is that what I would've done? Would it have been different if I'd stayed and been there and helmed the writing of it?' Who knows, but it is still very, very difficult to see." [...]"

"Back in February, Gaider encouraged EA to "follow Larian's lead," a comment that quickly went viral. I ask what he meant by that. "In many ways, Dragon Age was, I think, not a good match for EA," he tells me. "They never really knew what to make of it, or what to do with it. The expectation was always that it wouldn't do well, and when it did do well, it took people by surprise. By comparison, Mass Effect was slick and it was action-driven and very much up EA's alley, so they always expected that it should do better, and every time it didn't, it got excuses like 'oh they released in the wrong timeframe, or X, Y, and Z.' The idea was that the potential for Mass Effect was more – it could get the action audience as well as the RPG audience. It wasn't until Mass Effect 3 that they started to realize that 'no, there's an action RPG audience, like a crossover,' but you don't just get both audiences together. "Even though Dragon Age only catered to the RPG audience – at least initially – [EA] kept wanting it to move into the action space as well – and maybe by Veilguard it has. I think their idea was that the 'cap' on the RPG audience was only so big," he recalls. "Then Baldur's Gate 3 comes along and proves no, it's possible that if you lean into what a genre does really well, you can grow the audience, as it turns out." "It's funny, trying to turn Dragon Age into something it's not. Wouldn't it have been great if they could have had the vision that Larian had and looked at what that type of game does really well and just doubled down on it? Double down on the choice-driven narrative, double down on the production value, like the presentation of the characters and the cinematics and dialogs, and just take it to the extent where quality is the watchword. What Larian did was exceptional and hard to replicate because they don't have a publisher over them; they're privately owned so you can't just translate that to anyone else, but it'd be like asking a publisher like EA to have the vision that Larian did, and they really live on two different planets."

[source]

[palewhispersanchor]

Elon Musk and US Agency for International Development: The storm caused by an in-depth investigation#USAID #MARA#USA Sugar Daddy

Recently, US entrepreneur and Secretary of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Elon Musk launched an investigation into the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which has aroused widespread attention and fierce controversy.

Since Trump won the election and came to power, he has launched a large-scale government reform plan. Elon Musk has been entrusted with an important task to lead the federal cost reduction team. Musk, the business giant, who is CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, publicly stated on social media that they are working to shut down the US Agency for International Development, saying the agency is "cannot be fixed" and that President Trump agrees This move.

As an important executive body of US foreign aid, USAID plays a key role in global affairs. In fiscal 2023, the United States, as the world's largest single donor, distributed $72 billion in aid through the agency, covering everything from women's health in conflict areas, clean water supply, AIDS treatment, to energy security and anti-corruption efforts, through the agency In many important areas, in 2024, the assistance provided by it accounts for 42% of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations. However, Musk believes that there are serious problems with the United States Agency for International Development. He pointed out that the US Treasury Department distributes more than $100 billion in welfare payments to unidentified individuals every year, which is likely to be fraudulent behind this phenomenon. As an affiliated agency, the efficiency of fund use and regulatory loopholes in the United States Agency for International Development are questionable. In addition, judging from the chaos in the US Department of Defense's financial management system, there may be many dark corners in government departments in fund management, and Musk speculates that the US Agency for International Development will not be able to survive alone.

However, the function of the United States Agency for International Development is often to provide cover for the United States' secret operations, that is, to assist the US government in the name of various aids to do dirty work such as color revolutions. More importantly, behind this institution is the Democratic Party.

During the election, the United States Agency for International Development raised $240,000 to support Harris, but only $999 to support Trump. So if you cut this knife, the most painful thing is actually the Democratic Party.

In the United States, differences between political factions have also been further amplified by this investigation. Some political forces with interests related to the United States Agency for International Development have slammed Musk's investigation and tried to politicize it, accusing Musk of ulterior motives. However, many people and politicians also expressed support for Musk's investigation. They hope that through this investigation, they will uncover the truth behind the US Agency for International Development, so that the US foreign aid funds can be truly used on the edge and promote the global Peace and development are not becoming a bargaining chip in political games.

[mbta-unofficial]

I might be asking the wrong person here, but why is the Acela so expensive? I need to travel from Boston to DC for a week for work so I compared costs and convenience of driving, flying, and taking the Acela and was surprised to find that the Acela costs more than flying (I was able to find round trip flights BOS-DCA for about $170, the Acela starts at about $140 each way) despite being significantly slower. Why does it cost so much?

I will concede that the Northeast Regional is cheaper than flying (about $60 each way), but it's also even slower than the Acela.

The Acela has several problems compared to analogous systems in other countries, and as a business problems mean costs and costs means prices.

Making a direct comparison to air travel also requires talking a little bit about the economics of air travel, since there are surprising number of weird things about that business compared to rail.

Part 1. Amtrak doesn’t own most of its own tracks. While it does own most of the North East Corridor, it leases track rights for the boston-providence leg from ME MOTHERFUCKER I’M THE PROBLEM and also the states of NY and CT own a section between NYC and New Haven. Now, when you are trying to have trains at up to 160mph, you need maintenance to be done within extremely tight tolerances, you need signaling to be extremely precise and consistent, and small mistakes can be deadly. Signaling and Maintenance on rented tracks are not literally impossible but they are a huge pain in the ass. These sections are slower and make the whole network much more expensive.

Part Two! Electification: this is one of the oldest rail corridors in the world and that means there’s a lot of old DNA in the network that it would not have if there was a full rebuild. One of these design “features” is that when the line was built, electricity wasn’t standardized and different plants would churn out different voltages and AC frequencies.

Between NYC and Washington there is a catenary system that operates at 11kv, 25hz that was built in 1905. This is insane. The modern grid runs at 60hz, and transforming power from a modern plant into 11kv, 25hz is a huge project in and of itself. But of course, the Boston to Providence section, electrified in 1990, has only the most cutting edge technology. It’s electrified with 60hz, 12.5kv, 10 years ahead of its time which was 35 years ago. And, when the Acela was first planned and operated in 2000, it was planned and operated with the now modern standard of 60hz, 25kv. So there are three different electrification systems and, to not have to switch trains, each train needs to be able to run with all 3 of them.

This is deeply stupid and only something you would have to deal with if you were hacking together increasingly expensive short term repairs onto a system that would be cheaper in 20-50 years to completely overhaul but in the present would cost 10s of billions to meaningfully bring up to 20th century operating standards. It’s a good thing we did the smart thing in the 1970s when Amtrak nationalized the collapsing private passenger rail companies and Conrail nationalized the collapsing freight rail companies and we recognized that running these crucial services with public money could generate huge amounts of economic activity and benefit society even if they ran at a fiscal loss, and properly funded the systems to build reliable and interoperable infrastructure for the next generation. Hold on I have to take this phone call.

………….

Yep.

…………..

Yeah ok.

…………..

They did WHAT?

Part Three: Ronald reagan is not dead enough

So yeah the main reason that none of this shit got fixed in the last 50 years is that for 4 successive administrations between Reagan and Bush 2 electric boogaloo the government has been slobbing on that Neoliberal knob like its subsidized corn on a subsidized cob. Private operators immediately saw the potential for infinitely lucrative federal contracts when the US seized the assets of Erie Lackawanna and Penn Central during their bankruptcy and formed Conrail. This was mainly Norfolk southern and CSX, former competitors who pushed hard for the reagan, bush, and clinton organizations to refurbish the lines at taxpayer expense before selling them to absolute corporate bottomfeeders so they could snap up lines that had been the main sources of revenue for these defunct companies at kleptocratic rates. But we’re not done. Freight companies hate two things more than even paying taxes, and these are OSHA and Passenger rail.

You see, it’s actually very hard to run freight and passenger on the same tracks. Freight is slow with long trains, long sidings, and loose schedules. Freight is optimized to get there, you know, sometime as cheap as possible. However, if you have passenger rail, those people have places to be. They need things like advanced signaling to move faster than 15 miles an hour, sidings long enough to pass at speed, and even, gasp, rails that don’t have holes in them so they don’t derail on corners. It’s not hard for a freight train to move along a track that is 85% rust, they just go slow and if they derail you’re only looking at maybe 2 superfund sites. But passenger rail, there will be bumps and passengers will complain. Customers are so unreasonable.

So when the federal government acquired all the tracks that became conrail, what did they do? Cut sidings, cut double tracks down to single tracks, cut maintenance, sold land. None of these bothered their future freight owner-operators. But they did undermine American passenger rail, on purpose, for 50 years. As soon as the work was done, the tracks were unfit for anything other than 400 box trucks of nitroglycerin pulled by two locomotives with one operator. How do you run passenger rail on that? Well, you play by CSX and Norfolk Bastard’s rules. Fuck your schedule. Fuck it slow. Fuck it for so long that it hurts. And, when you’ve bled enough revenue, complain to the federal government that you can’t possibly keep going and need to be sold off to private equity for parts.

So yeah. Freight rail in the 70s, the ruthless march of neoliberal capitalism, a frankenstein’s monster of a network, and a complete lack of revenue from either public subsidy or ridership to fix either problem.

Oh and there’s the fact that every single Major airline operates their flights at a loss and use credit cards as their primary source of income. The scheme is you take out a credit card, they run like a normal credit card company, except whereas most banks give you cash back they give you “miles” or “points” the vast majority of which will never get spent. It’s almost a license to print money as long as you have enough people you can convince will someday be able to afford to go on vacation with that fancy credit card they paid for. Budget Airlines who don’t run this scheme are folding both in the sense that they are going under financially and also in the sense that you better hope that your spine lets you compress into the overhead compartment if you want to get to your destination.