Category Archives: Economics

“Legitimate companies don’t work this way for a reason.“

Vanity Fair: This Podcast Can’t Legally Tell You Amway Is a Pyramid Scheme. “Get an exclusive early listen to The Dream, hosted by Jane Marie, which digs into the under-explored world of multi-level marketing schemes.” By Katey Rich, September 21, 2018.

“But The Dream’s real concern is far from the key-party-and-polyester image conjured by the airplane game. Marie and her producer had, like many people, noticed her Facebook feed filling up with friends from high school selling leggings, or makeup, or handbags, asking their friends to buy them and sign up as salesmen themselves. They’re all participating in multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes, which anyone involved will tell you are not a pyramid scheme, because pyramid schemes are illegal.

“That doesn’t mean it’s not one,“ Marie, a veteran of This American Life, said in a recent phone call. “That means it hasn’t been prosecuted.“ “

Find the podcast here: The Dream. I listened to all the episodes in the past few days. Recommended!

Apprehensions on US-Mexico border: Trump’s first year in office saw lowest number since 1971

BBC: Trump wall – all you need to know about US border in seven charts.

“Mr Trump argues $5.7bn (£4.5bn) is needed to address a “humanitarian and security crisis” at the southern border and has warned the shutdown will continue until he gets the cash.

Democrats say the wall is a waste of taxpayers’ money and accuse the Trump administration of a “manufactured crisis”.

Here are seven charts and maps that try to explain where we are with the wall and what the situation is like at the US-Mexico border.”

Link via MetaFilter.

“While visitors are enjoying the free access, they may be doing irrevocable damage to America’s national parks.”

The Guardian: Joshua Tree national park announces closure after trees destroyed amid shutdown.

“For 17 days, a host of volunteers and a skeleton staff kept the trash cans and toilets from overflowing at Joshua Tree national park.

But on Tuesday, 18 days after the federal government shutdown furloughed the vast majority of national park staff, officials announced that vandalism of the park’s distinctive namesake plants and other maintenance and sanitation problems will require closure starting Thursday.

“While the vast majority of those who visit Joshua Tree do so in a responsible manner, there have been incidents of new roads being created by motorists and the destruction of Joshua trees in recent days that have precipitated the closure,“ spokesman George Land said in a news release.”

Vox: Joshua Tree National Park has been trashed in the shutdown. Now visitors are cutting down trees. “Despite severe damage, the park will not shut down entirely.”

“A week ago, Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California was forced to shut down its campgrounds due to “health and safety concerns over near-capacity pit toilets,“ according to CNN.

But despite the partial closure, things continued to get worse.

According to National Parks Traveler, visitors are creating illegal roads and driving into some of the park’s most fragile areas. They are also chopping down trees, setting illegal fires, and graffitiing rocks. With Joshua Tree being roughly the size of Delaware, the eight on-duty law enforcement rangers had no way to stop all the prohibited activity.”

Links via MetaFilter.

I’ve been to Joshua Tree National Monument during a school exchange back in 1992, before it became a National Park, and again with André in 1999. It’s been on my list of places to re-visit more thoroughly, but now I’ll have to find out if it’s still worth it. It’s a shame that this is happening to Joshua Tree and many other National Parks because of a stubborn and incompetent president.

Auch drei Jahre später noch ein aktuelles Thema

WDR Doku/Deutsche Welle et al: My Escape / Meine Flucht – Eine Doku, gefilmt von Flüchtlingen. 90minütige Dokumentation von 2016, jetzt auf YouTube veröffentlicht.

“Hunderttausende von Menschen fliehen nach Deutschland. Hinter ihnen liegen Bürgerkrieg und Verfolgung. Auf der Suche nach Sicherheit begeben sie sich auf eine lebensgefährliche Reise. Für viele dieser Flüchtlinge ist das Mobiltelefon ein unverzichtbares Mittel zur Organisation ihrer Flucht. Doch darüber hinaus ermöglicht es den Menschen, ihre riskante Route zu dokumentieren. Der Dokumentarfilm hat Fluchtgeschichten gesammelt und lässt die Flüchtlinge selbst sprechen. So entsteht ein eindrückliches Bild aus nächster Nähe, von Menschen, deren Verzweiflung sie nach Europa treibt – ungeachtet aller Gefahren.”

In den USA sind über 92% der unter Zweijährigen schon in den sozialien Medien zu finden.

WDR Doku: Kinderfotos im Netz: gepostet, geklaut, missbraucht. (YouTube, 43:28min)

“Von der breiten Öffentlichkeit weitgehend unbemerkt werden im Internet massenweise Kinderfotos geklaut und von Pädophilen für sexuelle Zwecke missbraucht. Unbedarft gepostete Alltagsbilder bei Instagram landen in pädophilen Foto-Blogs und werden dort mit perversen Kommentaren versehen. Kinder und Jugendliche sind im Internet immer häufiger Opfer sexualisierter Gewalt, ohne dass Politik und Industrie etwas dagegen unternehmen. Die Dokumentation “Kinderfotos im Netz: gepostet, geklaut, missbraucht” durchleuchtet das perfide System des Foto-Diebstahls und zeigt, wie schutzlos Kinder im Netz Beute von Pädophilen werden.”