23 votes

Volfefe index

22 comments

  1. [13]
    Neverland
    (edited )
    Link
    As far as news items in 2019, this one took me the longest to figure out if it was a joke - or not. The fact that they referenced the covfefe flap made it extremely difficult. The world (anglo...

    As far as news items in 2019, this one took me the longest to figure out if it was a joke - or not. The fact that they referenced the covfefe flap made it extremely difficult.

    The world (anglo mostly) has become such a joke that it's hard to separate the satire from reality. This is how we felt under authoritarian communism. Not a good trend.

    10 votes
    1. [2]
      DonQuixote
      Link Parent
      Yes, that's why I get my news fix from National Enquirer. Might as well cut to the chase.

      Yes, that's why I get my news fix from National Enquirer. Might as well cut to the chase.

      3 votes
      1. GnomeChompski
        Link Parent
        Humor is certainly not the solution, but it dulls the pain and sting in both mind and body. The fact that we use humor to digest politics is not a bad thing. I love to watch, Stewart, Colbert,...

        Humor is certainly not the solution, but it dulls the pain and sting in both mind and body. The fact that we use humor to digest politics is not a bad thing. I love to watch, Stewart, Colbert, Carlin, Maher, Oliver, Noah, Minhaj, goodenss the list goes on. But that's the point. We enjoy watching because we hear them spew the hard facts as these comedians make us take it with spoon full of humor. And then, we don't get mad, we move on, we forget. And the shit just keeps piling up until you have a shitlord like the US has for a leader.

        1 vote
    2. [3]
      mike10010100
      Link Parent
      Yeah, it's almost like Trump got a complete playbook handed to him by Putin himself... But that would be ridiculous, right?

      Yeah, it's almost like Trump got a complete playbook handed to him by Putin himself...

      But that would be ridiculous, right?

      3 votes
      1. [2]
        unknown user
        Link Parent
        Disclaimer: I do not live in the US. And while I mostly stay in tune with the zeitgeist of the US-American culture, my information is incomplete. Please feel free to point out the inaccuracies. I...

        Disclaimer: I do not live in the US. And while I mostly stay in tune with the zeitgeist of the US-American culture, my information is incomplete. Please feel free to point out the inaccuracies.

        I get and support the emotional charge behind your post but as a Russian I have to disagree with the content. I have already written a bit about why Putin remains popular in Russia among many different demographies but just to reiterate: Putin plays the role of the man who “keeps it decent” and “has the moral high ground”. It is especially noticeable in the Russian State Propaganda SinkTV news: one of their most beloved tricks is contrasting the “Orderly Politics Of Progress” led by V.V.P. himself against the “Chaos And Degradation” of Ukraine/Europe/The-West-In-General.

        On the other hand, Trump seems to be doing something closer to the Yeltsin's style of politics: be loud, be outrageous, and always be on the news. The more they hate you, the better! It doesn't matter how they talk about you as long as they do talk about you. You're the honest man, the truth-talker while your haters are The Establishment, the ones who use the politically correct language. The ERB version of Trump had a nice line satirising (and summarising?) that attitude:

        Our country's in crisis!
        Who wants to vote for the mother of ISIS?
        This might not be exactly true…
        But I don't do politeness.

        If Trump really were reading from Putin's book, he would leave the routine news-making to the replaceable talking heads on FOX News while he himself would only come out to either heroically save the day when (((they))) have screwed up again or to make sure that everyone knows how he's “just like you, dear citizen” by going fishing or riding a motorcycle.

        That's enough political talking from me for today. I really should stop doing this. Too depressing. I hope it isn't too off-topic.

        10 votes
        1. Archimedes
          Link Parent
          Thanks for your perspective! I don't think mike was necessarily saying Trump is behaving like Putin but that he's behaving how Putin would like him to. Putin wants a foolish and weak US president...

          Thanks for your perspective!

          I don't think mike was necessarily saying Trump is behaving like Putin but that he's behaving how Putin would like him to. Putin wants a foolish and weak US president he can manipulate, not someone like himself.

          3 votes
    3. [7]
      stephen
      Link Parent
      Is it too soon to start calling Trump's government totalitarian yet? I asked a couple days ago and got a no. But it seems like I should ask again.

      This is how we felt under authoritarian communism

      Is it too soon to start calling Trump's government totalitarian yet? I asked a couple days ago and got a no. But it seems like I should ask again.

      5 votes
      1. [4]
        skybrian
        Link Parent
        Totalitarianism is not just a bad name to call a government you don't like. It means a government that requires complete subservience to the state. We are very far from that. Other than for people...

        Totalitarianism is not just a bad name to call a government you don't like. It means a government that requires complete subservience to the state.

        We are very far from that. Other than for people who need to deal with immigration issues (and then it's very serious), the federal government doesn't have that much effect on most people's daily lives. Many of us could ignore Trump just by ignoring the news and social media. (That doesn't mean we will, but we could.)

        9 votes
        1. [3]
          stephen
          Link Parent
          I don't think I'm using it in that sense though - especially since I'm not expressing an opinion one way or another. There some totalitarian aspects to the federal government: The way the...

          I don't think I'm using it in that sense though - especially since I'm not expressing an opinion one way or another. There some totalitarian aspects to the federal government:

          • The way the executive lately has been replacing non-conformists and people who disagree with the president.

          • Purges of departments which release reports and findings which are inconvenient to the executive. Just this week we have the whole hurricane debacle where NOAA had kiss the ring after they contradicted the presidents cone of uncertainty sharpie revision.

          • What about our foreign policy? Is the way we saddle nations with debt to hitch them to the global economy under pain of invasion or isolation not approaching totalitarian?

          Maybe it's not totalitarian for all of us *all the time." But you even say it yourself:

          Many of us could ignore Trump just by ignoring the news and social media.

          What about those of us who can't ignore it? Do they experience totalitarianism?

          2 votes
          1. spctrvl
            Link Parent
            Authoritarian is the more fitting term, I think. Totalitarianism is rather specific, and doesn't really describe the modern American government- that's actually why the term inverted...

            Authoritarian is the more fitting term, I think. Totalitarianism is rather specific, and doesn't really describe the modern American government- that's actually why the term inverted totalitarianism was coined, and Trump fulfills its tenets to a much greater extent.

            6 votes
          2. skybrian
            Link Parent
            The reason "totalitarian" begins with "total" is because it's about total control of everyone all the time. As Mussolini put it: "everything within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing...

            The reason "totalitarian" begins with "total" is because it's about total control of everyone all the time. As Mussolini put it: "everything within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state." It's not about how some people are treated in the army or in prison, for example, unless the whole country is basically like a prison. For more about this, you could read the Wikipedia article: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totalitarianism

            You could say some people experience totalitarianism, but that would be using it as a metaphor and it's a stretch.

            The NOAA thing was an attempt at bullying that basically failed. Getting someone to put out a press release is concerning but nothing like having full control.

            And it's certainly not the case that the US has total control of any other country.

            5 votes
      2. [2]
        mike10010100
        Link Parent
        Nope. It's not too soon. It's far past time.

        Nope. It's not too soon. It's far past time.

        1 vote
        1. stephen
          Link Parent
          According to Sheldon Wollin and Chris Hedges we have had "inverted totalitarianism" since Bush.

          According to Sheldon Wollin and Chris Hedges we have had "inverted totalitarianism" since Bush.

          1 vote
  2. [8]
    unknown user
    (edited )
    Link
    Really, I just wanted to share the fact that this exists. It's amazing how Twitter, a place where people exchange funny pictures and short posts, has become a thing that can influence the global...

    Really, I just wanted to share the fact that this exists. It's amazing how Twitter, a place where people exchange funny pictures and short posts, has become a thing that can influence the global economy.

    7 votes
    1. [5]
      RapidEyeMovement
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      FinTwit is a pretty interesting place where a whole host of ideas are discussed. In some ways it has replaced reddit for me with regards to interesting discussions, and for some reason it is...

      FinTwit is a pretty interesting place where a whole host of ideas are discussed. In some ways it has replaced reddit for me with regards to interesting discussions, and for some reason it is easier to ignore the trolls over their.

      3 votes
      1. [4]
        skybrian
        Link Parent
        Any recommendations for interesting people to follow?

        Any recommendations for interesting people to follow?

        1 vote
        1. [3]
          RapidEyeMovement
          Link Parent
          Yeah, I can point you in some directions, what are you interested in? Macro views, Commodities(Gold, Oil, etc), Technical Analysis, Stats, Currencies, Geo Politics. (I follow about 300 people in...

          Yeah, I can point you in some directions, what are you interested in? Macro views, Commodities(Gold, Oil, etc), Technical Analysis, Stats, Currencies, Geo Politics. (I follow about 300 people in the Fintwit sphere)

          1 vote
          1. [2]
            skybrian
            Link Parent
            Hmm. How about macro?

            Hmm. How about macro?

            1. RapidEyeMovement
              (edited )
              Link Parent
              None of these peoples politics I endorse, I only follow because of their market acumen, Technical Analysis, or differing world views. Also note some of the people talk their won Position/book too...

              None of these peoples politics I endorse, I only follow because of their market acumen, Technical Analysis, or differing world views. Also note some of the people talk their won Position/book too much, so anything posted I always have to view it through that lens.

              Twitter Handle Area of expertises
              @Chigrl all things Oil/Crude and General Market
              @RealBrianWatt Cantankerous trader specializing in scalp trading has been doing some great teaching lately
              AdamMancini4 Great and simple to follow Technical Analysis and broad market trends
              @EpsilonTheory Using AI to map market sentiment
              @StockBoardAsset Broad Asset investments, talks his own book too much
              @OddStats Funny random Stats that mean nothing but some people take seriously but shouldn't
              @DRuizG80 excellent coverage of the auto industry
              @BankofVol interesting look at the market using AI and volume profiles
              @StockCats market satire + cats
              @Guruleaks1 Calling out Fake trading Gurus
              @hks55 interesting views on the Market
              @jessefelder Interesting podcast and world view, does a ton of research
              @Halsrethink Economist, geopolitical and geosecurity strategist

              sorry I created this list a couple of weeks ago and never posted it

              1 vote
    2. [2]
      edward
      Link Parent
      Which is why we should start considering the nature of Twitter's ownership. That influence rests in the hands of Jack Dorsey and some shareholders. Twitter needs a new ownership model that...

      It's amazing how Twitter, a place where people exchange funny pictures and short posts, has become a thing that can influence the global economy.

      Which is why we should start considering the nature of Twitter's ownership. That influence rests in the hands of Jack Dorsey and some shareholders. Twitter needs a new ownership model that reflects this nature. Be it nationalization, internationalization, non-profit, or something else. All of those have their own problems, but are probably better than private ownership.

      Mastodon style federation would be a good way to take it out of the hands of a single entity, but Twitter would have to be seized from private ownership before that happens.

      2 votes
      1. skybrian
        Link Parent
        I don't understand how the ownership of Twitter makes much difference here? Even if Mastodon were fixed to scale up to this level of traffic, the White House server would get plenty of subscribers...

        I don't understand how the ownership of Twitter makes much difference here? Even if Mastodon were fixed to scale up to this level of traffic, the White House server would get plenty of subscribers and the content would be just as bad. It would amount to the same thing.

        5 votes
  3. RapidEyeMovement
    Link
    A detailed description of the Volfefe index as defined by its creator JP Morgan, for those that might want to see the actual data behind it.

    A detailed description of the Volfefe index as defined by its creator JP Morgan, for those that might want to see the actual data behind it.

    7 votes