Elon Musk: Always A Douche

[Gups]

I'm cool with the other unions (I especially find the janitors refusing to cleab funny) but feel weird with the postal worker stuff. Mail seems sacred. Don't know why.

It's the source of an incredibly weird and exceptional contract rule in English law. The general rule is that when you accept an offer, that acceptance is binding once it is received. The exception is if it's by post when it's at the moment you post it.

There's a whole book on how it came about but the theory is basically that the postal system was such a miracle to 19th century people that the courts just went a bit wild. The idea that you could drop something into a box for the price of a stamp and that it would, reliably and promptly arrive was a communications revolution.

Even now the Royal Mail has a division (largely ex-policeman and prosecutors) who are entirely devoted to privately prosecuting postal fraud, meddling with the post etc.

So I can understand why it feels weird. I suppose it's the first communications tech and it kind of blew everyone's minds

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

As long ago as 1818.

[The Minsky Moment]

(Thank you BvS)

Let's get 50 of him.

[jimmy olsen]

Even now the Royal Mail has a division (largely ex-policeman and prosecutors) who are entirely devoted to privately prosecuting postal fraud, meddling with the post etc.

So I can understand why it feels weird. I suppose it's the first communications tech and it kind of blew everyone's minds

The US post office police are supposedly pretty elite as well.

[Maladict]

He's making a strong case for liberal arts education.

Or a proper history/archaeology education. Rome had already been founded by the time the Trojan war is supposed to have happened.

Eh...there were separate villages on some of the hills going way back, but I wouldn't say Rome had been founded until they drained the forum and confederated the villages into one community, which was probably in the 8th century BC.

The forum area was already inhabited in the second millennium. I think the polis-style development in the 8th century was more of a Greek cultural influence, replacing the local tribe based settlement types. Not so much a (re)founding.

Some random Latin twins turning up at the Palatine in 753 proclaiming the founding of a new settlement would probably be asked to leave, unless they intended to purchase the land first.

[jimmy olsen]

He's making a strong case for liberal arts education.

Or a proper history/archaeology education. Rome had already been founded by the time the Trojan war is supposed to have happened.

Eh...there were separate villages on some of the hills going way back, but I wouldn't say Rome had been founded until they drained the forum and confederated the villages into one community, which was probably in the 8th century BC.

The forum area was already inhabited in the second millennium. I think the polis-style development in the 8th century was more of a Greek cultural influence, replacing the local tribe based settlement types. Not so much a (re)founding.

Some random Latin twins turning up at the Palatine in 753 proclaiming the founding of a new settlement would probably be asked to leave, unless they intended to purchase the land first.

Eh...I know it's just wikipedia, but there doesn't seem to have been much going on there beyond burials before the 8th-7th centuries BC.

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_ForumPre-Roman Period
Pottery deposits discovered in the Forum, Palatine and Capitoline demonstrated that humans occupied these areas in the Final Bronze Age (1200–975 BC).[11] In the early Iron Age an area of the future Forum, close to the site of Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, was used as a cemetery (10th century BC), possibly by the communities based on the Palatine and Capitoline hills.[12] Most of the burials were cremations of the same type which is also found in the other sites in Latium. The urn containing the ashes of the deceased was placed inside a large earthenware jar, along with grave goods, and then buried in a cavity cut into the ground and covered with a capstone.[13] There were also a small number of inhumation burials. On current evidence, it is likely that burials in the Forum ceased in the late 9th century BC and that the Esquiline Necropolis replaced them.[13]

The first archaeological finds on the sites of the key public buildings point to a transformation of the Forum from a cemetery to a public site in the 8th century BC.[14] Part of the Forum was paved over. The earliest finds in the sites of the Comitium and Vulcanal were votive offerings. They indicate that the area was dedicated to a celebration of religious cults.[15]

...

Archaeological evidence

Originally a low-lying, grassy wetland, the Forum was drained in the 7th century BC with the building of the first structures of Cloaca Maxima, a large covered sewer system that emptied into the Tiber, as more people began to settle between the two hills. Archaeological evidence shows that by the end of the 7th century BC, the ground level of the Forum was raised significantly in some places to overcome the problems of poor drainage and provide a foundation for a pebble-paved area.[18][19] In the middle of the 7th century BC thatch-and-timber huts were demolished on the route of the Via Sacra and rectangular stone buildings began to replace them.[20][19]

The earliest structures in the Forum were discovered in two separate locations: the site of the Comitium and the group of sanctuaries of Regia (House of the kings), House of the Vestals and Domus Publica.[19] Around 650–630 BC the area of the Comitium was excavated into a deep triangular depression. The area was paved with a beaten earth pavement and later replaced with a more substantial gravel one. Nearby was located an archaic sanctuary dedicated to Vulcan known as Vulcanal (also Volcanal): a small rectangular pit and elliptical basin carved out of an outcrop of tuff.[21][22] It has been suggested that the earliest ancient materials collected in the area of the Vulcanal are from the second half of the 8th century BC.[23] It appears that the Romans were aware of the sites' archaic origins: the foundation of the Comitium and Vulcanal were attributed to Romulus himself while the first Curia (senate house), which was located nearby, to Tullus Hostilius.[24]

At the western end of the Forum, excavations near the House of the Vestals and the sanctuary of Vesta have revealed an important group of 7th-century-BC buildings. The archaeologists have identified them as the early phases of the Regia (House of the kings), House of the Vestals, and Domus Publica (official residence of the pontifex maximus).[25] There seems to have been something of a surge in development of the Forum in the last quarter of the 7th century BC, as many of the changes date from 625 to 600 BC. Archaeologically, there is substantial evidence for development of the Forum in the 6th century BC: parts of the paving have been found and a large number of fragments of terracotta decorations from this area suggests that structures around the Forum were becoming more elaborate and highly decorated.[26]

[Maladict]

There was some late Bronze Age habitation in what later became the Forum of Caesar iirc.

[Sheilbh]

Separately amid all the European Commission making sure Twitter is aware of their legal responsibilities, European privacy campaigners have launched a complaint against the Commission over their microtargeting on Twitter, in breach of their terms and law:

noyb files complaint against EU Commission over targeted chat control ad campaign

Today, noyb filed a complaint against the EU Commission's Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs. In September 2023, the Commission used unlawful micro-targeting on Twitter (X) to promote its heavily criticized chat control regulation. It seems that the Commission was desperate to garner public support, which could be used to pressure national governments into accepting the controversial legislative proposal. This move both undermined the established democratic procedures between EU institutions and violated the EU GDPR.

Massive backlash and a lack of support. The proposed EU regulation on chat control is arguably one of the most controversial EU regulations in a long time. The fear is that the law could undermine all encrypted online communications – and open the door to mass surveillance. It has faced massive backlash from both industry, civil society, academia, member states and the legal services of the European institutions.  Despite the heavy criticism, the negotiations are moving forward in Brussels, with the EU Commission pushing for a timely adoption.

Micro-targeting based on sensitive data. Part of this seemingly aggressive attempt to promote the chat control was a targeted advertising campaign on X (formerly Twitter) to change public opinion. While online advertising isn't illegal per se, the EU Commission targeted users based on their political views and religious beliefs. Specifically, the ads were only shown to people who weren't interested in keywords like #Qatargate, brexit, Marine Le Pen, Alternative für Deutschland, Vox, Christian, Christian-phobia or Giorgia Meloni. The EU Commission previously raised concerns over the use of personal data for micro-targeting and described the practice as "a serious threat to a fair, democratic electoral process".

Misleading opinion polls. The Dutch complainant was confronted with an X post claiming that 95 percent of Dutch people allegedly said that the detection of child abuse online is more important or as important as their right to online privacy. According to media reports, these statistics are misleading. They are based solely on opinion polls conducted by the EU Commission, which failed to mention the negative effects of a chat control mechanism to participants.

A complaint against the EU Commission. The Commission's advertising campaign, which was even flagged as misleading on X, also violated European data protection law. Although people's political opinions and religious beliefs are specifically protected by the EU GDPR, these very data categories were used for the ad campaign. noyb now lodged a complaint against the EU Commission with the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) and is currently assessing whether to lodge a complaint against X for enabling the illegal use of sensitive data for political micro-targeting.

Felix Mikolasch, data protection lawyer at noyb: "The EU Commission has no legal basis to process sensitive data for targeted advertising on X. Nobody is above the law, and the EU Commission is no exception."

Even X prohibits such use of personal data. The social media platform X states in its advertising guidelines, that political affiliation and religious beliefs should not be used for the purpose of ad targeting. The EU Commission's campaign was nevertheless shown to at least several hundred thousand Dutch X users. The post in question is still available here.

Maartje de Graaf, data protection lawyer at noyb: "It is mind-boggling that the EU Commission doesn't follow the law it helped to institutionalize just a few years ago. Moreover, X claims to prohibit the use of sensitive data for ad targeting, but doesn't do anything to actually enforce this ban."

A threat to democracy. It appears that the EU Commission has tried to influence public opinion in countries such as the Netherlands in order to undermine the position of the national government in the EU Council. Such behaviour – especially in combination with illegal micro-targeting – is a serious threat to the EU legislative process and completely contradicts the Commission's intention to make political advertising more transparent. noyb requests the EDPS to fully investigate this matter in accordance with the EU GDPR. Given the seriousness of the violations and the large number of individuals affected, noyb also suggests that the EDPS imposes a fine.

[Jacob]

In Sweden, Tesla has apparently gained an injunction that allows them to send their employees to pick up the license plates that were previously delivered by mail (and thus blocked by sympathy strikes).

[crazy canuck]

In Sweden, Tesla has apparently gained an injunction that allows them to send their employees to pick up the license plates that were previously delivered by mail (and thus blocked by sympathy strikes).

That is not surprising. The same thing would've occurred in Canada.  And the postal union would have been liable and damages to the company.

[Jacob]

That is not surprising. The same thing would've occurred in Canada.  And the postal union would have been liable and damages to the company.

I don't get the impression that the unions are going to be held responsible for the costs incurred by the company as a result of the strike action. It seems that laws around unions are a bit different in Sweden than in Canada and the US.

[Josquius]

Speaking of strikes.
We've had a long bus strike here of late. My hometown is basically cut off for those who don't drive.
Recently a delegation from the strikers travelled to ontario to meet the public sector workers union there: major shareholders of the UK bus company.
This says much about the UK and Canada. Bizzare.

[crazy canuck]

That is not surprising. The same thing would've occurred in Canada.  And the postal union would have been liable and damages to the company.

I don't get the impression that the unions are going to be held responsible for the costs incurred by the company as a result of the strike action. It seems that laws around unions are a bit different in Sweden than in Canada and the US.

True, but we are talking about is a union being held responsible for unlawful behaviour which occurs during a strike.  That can be the union that is out on strike or another union engaging in unflawful behaviour related to the strike.

There must have been some unlawful behaviour in order for an injunction to be granted.  Injunctions are not issued to restrain lawful behaviour. 

[Jacob]

Maybe (probably) I used the wrong legal term there

Tesla is suing the Swedish state (and others, but not the union) for not delivering the license plates. The issuing authority has a contract with Post Nord to deliver the plates, but the unionized workers at Post Nord refuses to deliver them (which is legal). Tesla has some argument that the issuing authority is at fault. While this is being worked out in the courts (and it will take a while), a judge has issued a [insert appropriate legal term here that may not be "injunction"] that Tesla is allowed to pick up the license plates from the issuing authority.

As far as I understand it, the union has not done anything contrary to the law.

[Zanza]

What I find surprising is that Postal workers selectively boycotting a third company is legal. I think here you can only strike about your own job (or at least own industry) conditions.

[Sheilbh]

Speaking of strikes.
We've had a long bus strike here of late. My hometown is basically cut off for those who don't drive.
Recently a delegation from the strikers travelled to ontario to meet the public sector workers union there: major shareholders of the UK bus company.
This says much about the UK and Canada. Bizzare.

Yeah Canadian public sector pension funds are maor investors - it's a bit like privatised rail here actually being operatted by, say, TrenItalia.

I think it may be similar in the UK with other countries as our pension funds, like Canada's, are really big. I think both are over 100% of GDP. And in terms of reliable, steady, low risk shares it feels like bus companies are probably pretty solid - plus as long as you do it out of the home country you're unlikely to get pushback from local workers about privatisation.

What I find surprising is that Postal workers selectively boycotting a third company is legal. I think here you can only strike about your own job (or at least own industry) conditions.

I was surprised too as sympathy strikes/industrial action are basically banned in the UK. Looks like they're legal in Sweden and the recent Social Democrat government strengthened that position.

Not sure what I think about it.