RE: https://mastodon.social/@kottke/116013120934445460

CONTEXT

the Government Pension Fund of Norway is the largest sovereign-wealth fund in the planet; investing over a real, EU trillion in businesses worldwide.

where did they get the money to start the fund? FROM SURPLUS PETROLEUM & FOSSIL FUEL REVENUES. Norway nationalized key sectors of their economy, starting with oil & gas.

so the Norwegian government uses oil & gas money to rid the country of #petromafia #consumerism thru investments not taxes.

take that, neoliberal capitalists.

RE: https://mastodon.social/@kottke/116013120934445460

CONTEXT

the Government Pension Fund of Norway is the largest sovereign-wealth fund in the planet; investing over a real, EU trillion in businesses worldwide.

where did they get the money to start the fund? FROM SURPLUS PETROLEUM & FOSSIL FUEL REVENUES. Norway nationalized key sectors of their economy, starting with oil & gas.

so the Norwegian government uses oil & gas money to rid the country of #petromafia #consumerism thru investments not taxes.

take that, neoliberal capitalists.

it's actually not okay the extremes it takes for some folks to leave Twitter. O_o

and still, some people (who don't personally agree with the many issues) just *still* linger on there casually, seemingly immovable.

Like, anti-consumer, monolithic, data-harvesty platforms that you submit misused personal info to. That should be bad enough, but instead, the effective standard we have as a global community is wayyy too low.

#Twitter #Bigotry #Hate #CSAM #Consumerism #Serfdom

it's actually not okay the extremes it takes for some folks to leave Twitter. O_o

and still, some people (who don't personally agree with the many issues) just *still* linger on there casually, seemingly immovable.

Like, anti-consumer, monolithic, data-harvesty platforms that you submit misused personal info to. That should be bad enough, but instead, the effective standard we have as a global community is wayyy too low.

#Twitter #Bigotry #Hate #CSAM #Consumerism #Serfdom

Happy New Years pocket friends!

A year ago, I began microblogging about my #NoBuyYear2025 where my family made a commitment to reduce our consumption of non-essentials. I definitely can say I am so happy we did this. It has totally changed the way I think about #shopping and #money and #consumerism.

We thought of it as a traffic light system. We had a ‘green list’ which was what we decided was essential and we were allowed to buy. Then we had an ‘orange list’ which meant we looked second-hand first and only elevated it to buying new if we had to, then, well, red for non-essentials is a bit self explanitory isn’t it? Each person also got an allowance that was exempt from these rules.

At first, I thought of posting about all the things I bought each month. I stopped that after February because I realised that the idea was more about what I wasn’t buying and about changing my relationship with consumerism.

In this year, I learned that I can be much happier with much less, and I stopped feeling constant anxiety and stress over money; even when my income dipped to the lowest it’s ever been for a few months in 2025.

Gonna have another post in the next few days about my intentions for the next year.

So, what are your aspirations for the coming year?

Happy New Years pocket friends!

A year ago, I began microblogging about my #NoBuyYear2025 where my family made a commitment to reduce our consumption of non-essentials. I definitely can say I am so happy we did this. It has totally changed the way I think about #shopping and #money and #consumerism.

We thought of it as a traffic light system. We had a ‘green list’ which was what we decided was essential and we were allowed to buy. Then we had an ‘orange list’ which meant we looked second-hand first and only elevated it to buying new if we had to, then, well, red for non-essentials is a bit self explanitory isn’t it? Each person also got an allowance that was exempt from these rules.

At first, I thought of posting about all the things I bought each month. I stopped that after February because I realised that the idea was more about what I wasn’t buying and about changing my relationship with consumerism.

In this year, I learned that I can be much happier with much less, and I stopped feeling constant anxiety and stress over money; even when my income dipped to the lowest it’s ever been for a few months in 2025.

Gonna have another post in the next few days about my intentions for the next year.

So, what are your aspirations for the coming year?

This shopping season basically clenched it - Amazon sucks.

It used to be useful for finding certain things. Then it seemed to abuse vendors more and more, so I began to use it more as a search engine to discover vendors which I would then contact directly on their own websites, and purchase there. At this point, the "Temu effect" has kicked in on Amazon and most of the vendors are Chinese knock-offs and rip-offs of other products - and the search results are limited to the same crap over and over. Enshittification indeed.

At this point I only keep Amazon because a few vendors whose consumable products I like are *only* available via Amazon - in fact the vendor website links to their Amazon store instead of their own warehouse - so I still make use of it. But that's it. Ugh as in ugly.

#consumerism #amazon #enshittification

This shopping season basically clenched it - Amazon sucks.

It used to be useful for finding certain things. Then it seemed to abuse vendors more and more, so I began to use it more as a search engine to discover vendors which I would then contact directly on their own websites, and purchase there. At this point, the "Temu effect" has kicked in on Amazon and most of the vendors are Chinese knock-offs and rip-offs of other products - and the search results are limited to the same crap over and over. Enshittification indeed.

At this point I only keep Amazon because a few vendors whose consumable products I like are *only* available via Amazon - in fact the vendor website links to their Amazon store instead of their own warehouse - so I still make use of it. But that's it. Ugh as in ugly.

#consumerism #amazon #enshittification

Tomorrow is Black Friday. Here's the cartoon I did last year. I'll share a new one tomorrow (with a similar point, but a new visual :)

#BlackFriday #climatecrisis #consumerism

RE: https://mastodon.social/@greenpeace/115650407839633653

since re-booting my #sewing life, i’ve learned how insidious the #petromafia is in #fashion with #polyesters.

when we made our clothes, we learned fabrics #tech. #globalization for #consumerism killed that knowledge.

most people don’t know polyesters don’t burn, they melt ―and that will kill you in a fire.

you know what’s the least flammable fiber? sheep wool.

no wonder Italy’s military uniforms are sewn in the finest of EU wools ―industries historically protected from capitalist predation

Black Friday. Cartoon for Trouw.

#BlackFriday #consumerism #exploitation #sweatshops

Great NYT video story about a little piece of technology that has delivered enormous benefits to consumers — and is in danger of disappearing. It’s called the price tag. Yes, the price tag.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/opinion/dynamic-pricing-algorithms.html?unlocked_article_code=1.4k8.WMRb.dmQekahP8Nvj&smid=url-share #giftarticle #consumerism #Blackfriday

Black Friday. Cartoon for Trouw.

#BlackFriday #consumerism #exploitation #sweatshops