Jul 11, 2025
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This isn’t just about business; it’s about democracy
Paul Krugman:
Warner Bros. Discovery, which among other things controls CNN, has agreed to sell itself to Netflix. But it isn’t a done deal, because Paramount has made a rival, hostile bid. Now, most Americans, even those like me who pay a lot of attention to the economy, don’t usually take much interest in insider baseball about corporate wheeling and dealing. But this is a bigger story than usual, for three reasons. First, there’s an antitrust issue. In an earlier era, when the U.S. government took monopoly power seriously, both proposed acquisitions would probably have been blocked by regulators. Second, there’s a financial issue. On its own, there is no way that Paramount, which is deeply in debt and whose credit rating is “a notch below ‘junk’” could afford to buy Warner. It’s able to make a semi-credible bid only because of assurances of support from Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest men thanks to his stake in the software giant Oracle. But when analysts look closely at the details, they find that Ellison’s promises of support are more than a bit squirrely:
[[T]he Warner Bros. Discovery board worried that Mr. Ellison did not personally guarantee the bid under his name and is planning to contribute equity for the deal through a trust with holdings that could be modified at any time.]
Adding to the risk of Oracle’s deal is the fact that Oracle is itself shaky according to the estimation of gimlet-eyed financial markets due to its huge, debt-financed bets on AI. As Bloomberg reports, its investment grade debt now “trades like junk.” But it’s not just about the money. For the average American, there is something fundamentally important about this corporate cage-match to win Warner Bros. Discovery. And it’s not about entertainment, it’s about democracy. You should understand that Paramount’s hostile bid is, above all, a political move in the pursuit of cementing the dominance of MAGA-supporting tech billionaires and further eroding American democracy.
Paul Krugman explores how the broligarchs and MAGA influencers have helped to decimate American prestige.
I want to be clear that I have a lot of doubts about this, because I just don’t think this is real, because it simply can’t be true.
It just can’t be.
This feels too much like an Onion headline. So, hopefully this is some kind of prank/joke or a lesson in not trusting everything you read.
But apparently according to -
Vice
Independent
Road To VR
Palmer Luckey has created a VR headset that will kill the user if they die in the game as a way to commemorate Sword Art Online...
Which just feels...
Like this can’t be real.
I didn’t watch the anime, but I’m pretty certain the plot of the players being trapped in a video game that killed them for real, was you know, a bad thing. Like I’m pretty sure the person behind that in the anime was the bad guy and you know evil.
Now to be clear; while Palmer says the device does work for real, it’s more of “piece of art” than actually something to be used. But according to these articles, the idea of severe and real consequences in losing a video game is something he is very interested in exploring for real.
And I just...
Like this can’t be real.
Either he’s fucking with people, or these articles are dramatizing this or turning this into something it’s not...because I just find it so hard to believe that someone would be this stupid and deranged.
But again...
What’s that joke about how Sci-Fi creates unthinkable horrors and then people and companies bring said awful horrors into existence.
I mean how many times has a Media Studio/Company try to create a reality show based on The Hunger Games, there’s also Netflix’s apparent Squid Game reality show that is coming at some point.
But still... I can’t see this actually existing outside of an Onion Headline, I just can’t. Like I feel crazy for even writing this, because it just feels like believing this to be true for more than one second is falling for a gotcha prank or an obvious Rick Roll.
And yet...the past few years have taught me that reality is more than capable in its ability to surpass The Onion and it’s headlines in insanity and stupidity.
The VR billionaire really wants you to feel like you're in the game. Like, really.
Yes, this thing will actually end your life. More specifically, it is rigged with bombs so that your head will explode.
In his blog post, Luckey explains how his lethal new contraption is supposed to work:
I used three of the explosive charge modules I usually use for a different project, tying them to a narrow-band photosensor that can detect when the screen flashes red at a specific frequency, making game-over integration on the part of the developer very easy. When an appropriate game-over screen is displayed, the charges fire, instantly destroying the brain of the user.
What’s wrong with some people? This is a guy who became an overnight Billionaire, and he does what with his wealth?
MBTI & Tech Palmer Luckey: ENTP
“Palmer Freeman Luckey (born September 19, 1992) is an American entrepreneur and the founder of Anduril Industries, a defense technology company focused on autonomous drones and sensors for military applications.
He is best known as the founder of Oculus VR and designer of the Oculus Rift, a high quality virtual reality head-mounted display that is widely credited with reviving the virtual reality industry.
In 2017, owing to issues related to 2016 political contributions to Republicans and public support for then-presidential nominee Donald Trump, Luckey departed Oculus and founded defense contractor Anduril Industries.
Luckey ranks #22 on Forbes' 2016 list of America's richest entrepreneurs under 40.”
Sources: video, wiki/Palmer_Luckey
Palmer Luckey Media Blitz Was Fake News, According To UploadVR
Palmer Luckey Nimble America Media Blitz Was Fake News, According To UploadVR | #GamerGate
Palmer Luckey, founder of Oculus and former front-man for the VR company (which is owned by Facebook), recently left the company this year. This came after a tumultuous media blitz labeling him as a racist, sexist, Trump supporter, and smearing him and his girlfriend in a concentrated attempt to cost him his job and reputation in the public sphere. It worked. (more…)
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Palmer Luckey is Leaving Oculus, Facebook
Oculus co-founder and Rift creator, Palmer Luckey, is leaving the company according to a statement. As first reported by Upload, Luckey’s last day at the company is March 31. The company, which is owned by Facebook, issued the following statement: “Palmer will be dearly missed. Palmer’s legacy
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Palmer Luckey, who founded Oculus, sold it to Meta, then started arms company Anduril (what is it with the LOTR appropriation here), AND a company called Mod Retro that makes… copies of products that Analogue already made years ago, namely Game Boy and N64 clone consoles.