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cyberbarf

SAY IT AIN'T SO, JOE POLITICS

The winds of change in American politics can be a slow breeze. But nothing could have been more hurricane than the collapse of Joe Biden's campaign after a terrible debate.

The rule is simple: the cover-up is worse than the crime. White House staff and Biden's own family kept Biden out of the limelight for years. He won the primaries unopposed with little to no actual campaigning. He had the least amount of White House press conferences in modern memory. The reason was simple: Biden, 81, turned into a frail human being with cognitive decline. It was when he had to meet foreign leaders and made simple gaffs like their names did some of the mainstream press began to wonder. After defending Biden's appearances, there was nothing to save their candidate from Trump. Trump did not have to campaign after the debate; Biden was in self-destruction mode. Every time he tried to explain himself, he had a bad cold, he bumbled on to the point his party's leaders, including Barrack Obama, pushed him aside.

It was not a proud moment for a career politician to be unceremoniously exited from the stage. But it is not about honor, patriotism or loyalty. It is about retaining power. Biden's family, all political leeches, did not want to give up their ability to lobby a lot of money. Biden himself refused to believe he was in trouble. But when Obama and his long time Senate colleagues bailed on him, it was over.

Over in a matter of hours, it appears. On Saturday, he was defiant. On Sunday afternoon, he released an X tweet calling it quits. He did not tell most his staff about the decision. We guess backstabbing is as contagious as COVID. In his farewell speech, Biden refused to acknowledge his health or mental ability was the issue. He said it was time to hand over the political machine to the next generation. He gave one final campaign speech that was irrelevant and immaterial. And his career's final chapter slammed the book cover in his face. He was sacrificed so the Democratic Party could stop the evil Trump from gaining the White House to bomb them with retribution and investigations. Democracy is at stake! the pundits cried on cable news. But in the most undemocratic way, the Democratic Party disenfranchised 14 million primary voters by handing the nomination to Kamala Harris.

Harris ran for President in 2020. She was terrible. She was a terrible campaigner in California as well. Her inner circle is like Biden's, friends and family. Her staff turnover raises a red flag abut her temperament and leadership ability. But it does not matter, she is a woman of color. A very left wing candidate. It took more than a week for Obama to endorse her as reports indicated that he wanted an open convention where the party elite, like himself, could make a deal for the next candidate. But with Biden's quick endorsement, it made it difficult to stem the tide against having a Democratic woman on the top of the ticket, even if she is not the best candidate.

American opinion polls are still consistently saying that 35 percent of voters do not like either candidate.

In the end, Biden did not say what he really wanted to say to his fellow Democrats:

cyberbarf

QUICK BYTES CYBERCULTURE

FORD posted lackluster earnings results. Its gas car segment made 1 billion dollars. Its truck segment made 2.4 billion. But its electric vehicle segment had revenue of $1.1 billion but generated a loss of $1.143 billion. One must consider that most manufacturers stopped producing e-vehicles this year because of a huge inventory of unsold cars, it is staggering that for every dollar made it cost 2 dollars to produce. That is a business model for disaster. A recent poll indicates that more and more consumers want manufacturers to produce gas powered cars while governments continue to press for their elimination.

ALEXA is a spendthrift. Speaking of something that does not make money, The Amazon business unit that focuses on Alexa-powered gadgets lost $25 billion between 2017 and 2021, The Wall Street Journal Amazon claims it has sold more than 500,000,000 Alexa devices, which included Echo speakers, Kindle readers, Fire TV sets and streaming devices, and Blink and Ring smart home security cameras. In late 2022, Business Insider reported that Alexa was set to lose $10 billion that year. The Wall Street Journal also reported that there is no internal time line for any profit from this business segment. Another business model that makes no sense.

ROYAL salary fit for a King. The British tabloids reported that Prince Harry, the heir to the throne, got paid $30 million last year for his royal duties. That salary compensation was a surprising number even for Royal loving Brits. But if you look at the Royals as merely a gossipy soap opera based on nostalgic heritage, then such a salary is in line with Marvel character leads.

AI STEALS continue unabated. X, formerly known as Twitter or Elon's Folly, was caught scraping user data to train its Grok AI program. Also, researchers have found that some companies are training home robots by using without permission iPhone users photos. How these companies got those photos (from social media?) is unclear but the intrusions under the guise of computer learning is getting absurd. A child may have a right to a free education, but a computer for-profit company does not.

DOUBLE DRIBBLE is a foul but the National Basketball Association (NBA) made a slam dunk with its new $76 billion media deal. The deal has ESPN, NBC and Amazon taking over game broadcasts. This appears to be another splitting game days between three different platforms with apparently the bulk of the money coming from Amazon. The loser in the deal is current broadcaster TNT who could not match the scope of the deal terms. Many sports fans are upset with the prospect of subscribing to a streamer and cable to watch games. And many were upset with the fact of losing TNT's NBA show featuring Charles Barkley, who will still be under contract with TNT even after it loses it broadcast rights.

SUMMER FLUFF is upon us. A bizarre beverage combining marshmallow fluff and Coca-Cola took TikTok by storm. Called Fluffy Coke, the sugary concoction combines the creaminess of marshmallow with the crispiness of an ice-cold fizzy drink. Content creator Emma Grace and her grandma seem to be the masterminds behind the trend as they made it on viral video and giving it a 10 out of 10 score for taste. Viral videos still a thing? Weird food combinations are still a thing? Yes, some people have too much time on their hands.

cyberbarf

ONE, 2, 3 . . . ANNIVERSARY

August means another anniversary year for cyberbarf. This non-stop digital zine now turns 23 years old.

In our first monthly issue in 2001, we proclaimed our “e-Dependence:”

When Johannes Gutenberg crafted his 42 line bible in 1455, created on his invention of movable type, to mirror the manuscript copyists of his time, the concept of publishing has continued relatively unchanged to this modern era of communications.

Like the master’s assistant, Peter Schoffer, who later opened his own print shop, and who first published a book with the date and place of publication and the printer’s name in 1457, people have used the media of typed words to communicate thoughts and ideas to others. The growth of the internet community can be directed related to the convergence of several factors: telecommunications, efficient tools and cost.

We are the communication descendants of Gutenberg. We add to the craft of wordsmanship as each generation adds volumes to the printed word. As revolutionary as tacking a printed list of demands on the church door, individuals are now empowered with an electronic printing press; the Internet

Telecommunications access through universal telephone lines gave individuals the distribution channel to reach others effectively and quickly. The HTML editors and web design programs have made it easier for non-technical persons the ability and tools to create their own content. The cost of creating, publishing and accessing content on the web is at a low-cost breakpoint which has established the fertile ground for the explosive crops of individual web pages uploaded each day. This site is one of those pages.

In the beginning, the purpose is to create a personal ejournal of net observations and essays on this new electronic printing revolution, where individuals are empowered with the tools to make their ideas well known in the public space. We will also take a neo-journalistic view of how the Internet is changing perceptions, realities, and judgments. “Examine the Net Way of Life” is the mission statement.

Since the explosion of domain names, web sites, content providers, and national media attention, “the medium has turned into the message.” There has been a rush to “be on the net” without thinking through the process of what being on the net means. Billions of corporate dollars have been thrown into the wind on this mantra. And the rise of the fallen dot.com business models will be the storyline of a wary generation. It may not be the science of accident reconstruction, but there needs to be some outside the box examination of this enterprise.

It is important to look at this phenomenon with a objective, cynical, and critical eye. This will not intended to be a technical digest site. The attempt is to be a conversational, observational dialog with its readers who like to view the topic of the Internet, its social issues, current events and community culture from an unconventional, tangential and humorous viewpoint.

So, loyal readers, how are we doing?

iToons

cyberbarf

FOUND BUT NOT LOST ON THE INTERNET

The proponents of AI generators continue to say the technology is getting better. And better. And bizarre. ArsTechnica decided to test those claims by prompting AI to provide a short animation of a cat drinking a beer. It turned into a cat drinking a beer, with human hands. To say AI generators are artists is a farce since AI cannot grasp the concepts of context, reality or absurdity.

Source: ArsTechnica

A rare orange lobster was found in a food delivery at a Red Lobster restaurant. The staff never saw one before and decided it needed to be saved. It was donated to a Denver aquarium. Funny, there were no Trump jokes in the article.

Source: neatorama

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THE WHETHER REPORT

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STATUS

Question: Whether Biden's sudden departure from his campaign hurt the entire Democratic Party ballot?

* Educated Guess

* Possible

* Probable

* Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

* Doubtful

* Vapor Dream

Question: Whether the world woke up to how fragile the Internet is?

* Educated Guess

* Possible

* Probable

* Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

* Doubtful

* Vapor Dream

Question: Whether entertainment industry will soon hit a post-pandemic recession?

* Educated Guess

* Possible

* Probable

* Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

* Doubtful

* Vapor Dream

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