Al Capone's vault part II

And just like in part one they won't find a damn thing...

Quote from: Oliver the Second on February 20, 2025, 11:58:01 AMAl Capone's vault part II

And just like in part one they won't find a damn thing...

I dont think the audit will be too revealing but I do support it. I've always believed the French fucked us, well, we bent over and fucked ourselves really, when the French called on us to pay them back in gold for whatever debt they held in the 60's. The dirty secret was that the US had way overprinted dollars and the French called us on it. So much gold was leaving that we were forced off the gold standard and onto the petro dollar.

If it does turn out that we are massively short on gold, I'm not confident we will be told. I think even Trump is scared of a truth that would create chaos in the financial markets. We'll see!

Download your Kindle books right now - Amazon is killing this option in a few days



Another day. Another cloud service changing the rules on stuff we already bought and paid for.

This time, Amazon is removing a feature that's been part of the Kindle experience for more than a decade: downloading files to your computer. You have until Feb. 26, 2025, to download copies of your Kindle books to your computer. After that, Amazon will remove the ability to download books to files you can control yourself.

I'm a little disappointed that Amazon doesn't say anything about this in its main Digital Content management interface. The only time you see this warning is if you select "Download" from the three-dot menu next to a book.

Why should you care?

First of all, just as a matter of general principle, it's nice to have control over the stuff you bought and presumably own. Digital content isn't really property we own. Vendors make it abundantly clear that we're licensing that content, and even if we paid full-price money for something, it's just licensed, and they reserve the right to take it away if the whim strikes.

There have been some examples of where Amazon has reached into our Kindle devices and removed books. In fact, back in 2009, Big Brother Bezos deleted 1984 and Animal Farm from Kindles everywhere. Just last year, Puffin Books edited many of Roald Dahl's books, including Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, to be more socially conscious by removing words like "fat" and "ugly." Those edits were pushed into digital copies of the books already in customers' possession.

Books have always been unchanging snapshots directly into an author's mind. They are instruments of record. But when companies can change their content on the fly, well, that can change everything.

When people were able to keep their own copies of books, they had that instrument of record. But when books are changed on the fly, and we can't see the previous versions anymore, it's possible to rewrite history.

What if a president decides to sign an executive order to change the name of a body of water? Or what if a president decides that all books referencing his predecessor should be rewritten to describe that predecessor in wildly unflattering terms? Or what if an executive order is given requiring all existing digital books to edit out any mention of, say, slavery or the internment camps of World War II?

This could happen. Today, we still have print materials as instruments of record, even if digital copies are modified. But there may be a time in the future when all of our history is represented solely in digital form. Then, it's entirely possible for regimes to rewrite history to represent a particular perspective, whether that's the way it happened or not.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/download-your-kindle-books-right-now-amazon-is-killing-this-option-in-a-few-days/

Quote from: Oliver the Second on February 21, 2025, 10:51:17 AMDownload your Kindle books right now - Amazon is killing this option in a few days



Another day. Another cloud service changing the rules on stuff we already bought and paid for.

This time, Amazon is removing a feature that's been part of the Kindle experience for more than a decade: downloading files to your computer. You have until Feb. 26, 2025, to download copies of your Kindle books to your computer. After that, Amazon will remove the ability to download books to files you can control yourself.

I'm a little disappointed that Amazon doesn't say anything about this in its main Digital Content management interface. The only time you see this warning is if you select "Download" from the three-dot menu next to a book.

Why should you care?

First of all, just as a matter of general principle, it's nice to have control over the stuff you bought and presumably own. Digital content isn't really property we own. Vendors make it abundantly clear that we're licensing that content, and even if we paid full-price money for something, it's just licensed, and they reserve the right to take it away if the whim strikes.

There have been some examples of where Amazon has reached into our Kindle devices and removed books. In fact, back in 2009, Big Brother Bezos deleted 1984 and Animal Farm from Kindles everywhere. Just last year, Puffin Books edited many of Roald Dahl's books, including Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, to be more socially conscious by removing words like "fat" and "ugly." Those edits were pushed into digital copies of the books already in customers' possession.

Books have always been unchanging snapshots directly into an author's mind. They are instruments of record. But when companies can change their content on the fly, well, that can change everything.

When people were able to keep their own copies of books, they had that instrument of record. But when books are changed on the fly, and we can't see the previous versions anymore, it's possible to rewrite history.

What if a president decides to sign an executive order to change the name of a body of water? Or what if a president decides that all books referencing his predecessor should be rewritten to describe that predecessor in wildly unflattering terms? Or what if an executive order is given requiring all existing digital books to edit out any mention of, say, slavery or the internment camps of World War II?

This could happen. Today, we still have print materials as instruments of record, even if digital copies are modified. But there may be a time in the future when all of our history is represented solely in digital form. Then, it's entirely possible for regimes to rewrite history to represent a particular perspective, whether that's the way it happened or not.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/download-your-kindle-books-right-now-amazon-is-killing-this-option-in-a-few-days/

The old lady buys shit on Amazon. My boy and his old lady do too. I don't.

What is Kindle?

Quote from: Herman on February 22, 2025, 08:14:25 PMThe old lady buys shit on Amazon. My boy and his old lady do too. I don't.

What is Kindle?

Its an e-reader for downloading books into and build a personal library.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Kindle

Quote from: Prof Emeritus at Fawk U on February 22, 2025, 08:16:33 PMIts an e-reader for downloading books into and build a personal library.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Kindle

And owned by Amazon. Got it.

Quote from: Herman on February 22, 2025, 08:21:15 PMAnd owned by Amazon. Got it.

Well, yeah, that much is certain.

About all these tariffs...

For years governments around the world have run the money presses at ludicrous speed causing very bad inflation and the people have started grumbling about it.

The solution? Blame someone else and cash in at the same time.

"Oh, prices are high because this country put tariffs on us. Well we're going to put tariffs on them right back!"

"Hey! That country put a tariff on us because we put a tariff on them! Well we'll raise their tariff and show them!"

So tariffs are piled on top of tariffs, the people end up paying even more, all that extra money they spend goes straight to their government, and they're tricked into blaming some other government for it.

Maybe politicians aren't so dumb as we think.

Quote from: Oliver the Second on March 08, 2025, 12:51:50 PMAbout all these tariffs...

For years governments around the world have run the money presses at ludicrous speed causing very bad inflation and the people have started grumbling about it.

The solution? Blame someone else and cash in at the same time.

"Oh, prices are high because this country put tariffs on us. Well we're going to put tariffs on them right back!"

"Hey! That country put a tariff on us because we put a tariff on them! Well we'll raise their tariff and show them!"

So tariffs are piled on top of tariffs, the people end up paying even more, all that extra money they spend goes straight to their government, and they're tricked into blaming some other government for it.

Maybe politicians aren't so dumb as we think.

As an old school socialist, I like tariffs. But, I don't know why Trump thinks it is a good idea to put tariffs on Canada when the States already has a trade surplus with us excluding energy.

Quote from: Brent on March 08, 2025, 01:16:13 PMAs an old school socialist, I like tariffs. But, I don't know why Trump thinks it is a good idea to put tariffs on Canada when the States already has a trade surplus with us excluding energy.

Trump keeps taking about a 200 billion subsidy that America extends to Canada and I can only assume is about the military.

America owes money to Canada up to 400 billion or something.... I would have to go look it up again.

All Trumps tariffs are reciprocal... Canada charges America Tariffs already apparently.

Quote from: caskur on March 08, 2025, 01:45:31 PMTrump keeps taking about a 200 billion subsidy that America extends to Canada and I can only assume is about the military.

America owes money to Canada up to 400 billion or something.... I would have to go look it up again.

All Trumps tariffs are reciprocal... Canada charges America Tariffs already apparently.

All those numbers sound pretty suspect to me. Politicians exaggerate.

Trump is right, we have not opened up some industries to foreign competition. Those are the industries I would put tariffs on. Tariffs on potash and energy are not good for Americans or Canadians.

JFK assassination files just dropped -

https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/release-2025

Quote from: Oliver the Second on March 18, 2025, 07:38:14 PMJFK assassination files just dropped -

https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/release-2025

I'm not going to read that. So, are there any surprises?

Quote from: Shen Li on March 18, 2025, 08:36:08 PMI'm not going to read that. So, are there any surprises?

I'm surprised it was actually released. Probably nothing jaw dropping because they never let us know the juicy stuff but there may be a few tidbits.

Quote from: Oliver the Second on March 18, 2025, 09:21:31 PMI'm surprised it was actually released. Probably nothing jaw dropping because they never let us know the juicy stuff but there may be a few tidbits.

If you see any of those juicy tidbits, post them.