Category Archives: Corporations

Robert Stark talks to Bay Area Guy about Bullshit Jobs

Alt Center, American Culture, Anarchism, automation, Basic Income, Bay Area Guy, Bernie Sanders, Bullshit Jobs, capitalism, Class, comedy, Conservatives, Corporations, Culture, Distributism, Donald Trump, Economics, Globalization, Immigration, income inequality, Kamala Harris, Leftism, Managerialism, Mass Transit, Morality, Neoliberalism, Occupy Wall Street, Oligarchy, social status, Socialism, Wealth, welfare state

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to Bay Area Guy about Bullshit Jobs: A Theory by David Graeber and his Review of Bullshit Jobs published on Alt of Center.

Topics:

Bay Area Guy’s background in blogging at the defunct Occident Invicta and move to the left economically
David Graeber’s background as a left wing anarchist and involvement with Occupy Wall Street and the anti-globalization protests of the late 90’s
Bullshit Jobs as the culmination of The Managerial Revolution
Neo-feudalistic economy based on extracting wealth and distributing it to underlings who maintain the system
Loyalty to the system more important than productivity or innovation
How the system is held together for political and moral imperatives rather than economic
A leisure economy and subsidies such as a basic income as necessary for innovation
The argument that handouts will make people lazy does not take into account the need for status and feeling useful
The moral imperative that value comes from work
Graeber‘s belief in compensating work that benefits the common good
90’s comedy Office Space as a parody of dehumanizing corporate culture
Despite automation don’t underestimate late capitalism’s ability to create more bullshit jobs
Parallels between conservatives calling the poor entitled and SJWs’ “check your privilege”
Bay Area Guy’s support for Bernie Sanders from the beginning and dissident right’s disappointment with Trump
Kamala Harris’ regressive Neoliberal record of harsh justice for the rabble and impunity for elites

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings, Stark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




The Swamp Swallows Donald Trump on Immigration

Andrew Yang, automation, Basic Income, Bernie Sanders, California, Corporations, Donald Trump, Economics, Elections, Globalization, Immigration, income inequality, India, Kamala Harris, Kevin Lynn, Oligarchy, Political Parties, Politics, Progressives for Immigration Reform, Silicon Valley, Tulsi Gabbard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to Kevin Lynn about the swamp swallowing Donald Trump on immigration. Kevin Lynn is executive director of Progressives for Immigration Reform and founder of US Tech Workers and Doctors without Jobs. PFIR exists to protect American workers from unemployment and wage suppression caused by unfair labor and trade practices, including importation of large numbers of foreign workers who are subject to exploitation by foreign and domestic corporations in the United States. PFIR seeks to enhance the working conditions of people worldwide through enhancing economic, health, social and environmental conditions in developing countries worldwide.

Topics:

Trump’s  support for dramatically increasing legal immigration in State of the Union Address
The need to view immigration as an issue of labor supply rather than legality
Trump’s past support for the Raise Act which would of reduced legal immigration levels
Trump’s statement that unemployment has declined does not take into account the underemployed or people who have given up searching
The defeated Yoder bill reborn as the Kamala Harris/Mike Lee Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act that would eliminate country caps
Special interest lobbying for this bill including Silicon Valley tech executives, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and GOP mega-donor Koch brothers.
How India would make up the majority of green card recipients under this bill
High-Skilled Immigrants Act would discriminate against Smaller Countries and the Austin Statesman’s Example of waiting periods by country under current law
Trump Plans ‘Potential Pathway to Citizenship’ for Foreign H-1B Workers
How 71% of Silicon Valley Tech Workers are foreign born
About 40% of H-1B Jobs Give Employers a $40,000/Year Discount
The potential impacts of automation on White Collar jobs including tech
Sen. Grassley Introduces Mandatory E-Verify Legislation
Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super Rich

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings, Stark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Urbanist Lessons from Trip to the Southwest

aesthetics, American Culture, Architecture, arcology, Art Deco, California, capitalism, Cities, Class, Consumerism, Corporations, Culture, demographics, Disneyland, Donald Trump, Economics, Futurism, Grand Canyon, Hipsters, Historic Preservation, History, Las Vegas, Matthew Pegas, Mid-Century Modern, Middle Class, Mormonism, Neoliberalism, Neon, Photography, Politics, Postmodernism, Retro Futurism, Skyscrapers, social capital, social trust, Suburbia, Travel, Urbanism, Utah, Utopia, Wilderness, Zion National Park, Zoning

Robert Stark and Matthew Pegas discuss their trip last fall to Las Vegas(Vegas Strip and Downtown), The Grand Canyon, and Zion.

Topics:

Las Vegas as the quintessential Post Modernist City
Creating an other wordy aura that does not exist in mundane consumerism
Creating something noble or grandiose out of consumerism
Las Vegas as an economic rather than geographic concept
Nothing permanent because architecture only survives if profitable
Vintage Vegas and Neon Signage
Irony of historic preservationist dismissing architecture of value because it is a product of capitalism
The pros and cons of private zoning
Casino Resorts functioning as an arcology or self contained city
Theme parks as models for urbanism
The potential for an urban alternative to over priced West Coast Cities
St. George Utah, sprawl layout, and high trust homogeneous middle class demographic
Alt-Urbanist solutions that seek to recreate those attributes in an urban setting
Southern Utah and Northern Arizona as one of the most scenic and geologically diverse regions in the world

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings, Stark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark talks about Aesthetic Socialism

Aesthetic Socialism, aesthetics, Alt Center, American Culture, Architecture, Art, Art Deco, capitalism, Cities, conformity, Consumerism, Corporations, Culture, David Lynch, demographics, Disneyland, Economics, Eugenics, Europe, Film, Futurism, Giovanni Dannato, Globalization, History, Hollywood, Immigration, income inequality, John C. Portman Jr, Journey to Vapor Island, Las Vegas, Liberalism, Los Angeles, Marxism, materialism, Matthew Pegas, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology, Retro Futurism, Sexuality, social status, social trust, Socialism, Urbanism, Wealth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark discusses his essay Aristocratic Aesthetic Socialism with Matthew Pegas and Giovanni Dannato.

Topics:

A political ideology based on aesthetic principles
The role that aesthetics plays in shaping social and economic hierarchies
The role that capitalism plays in aesthetic innovation
The problem of markets catering to the lowest common denominator
How poor urban planning models lead to a lack of social cohesion
How architectural innovation in theme parks and resorts create a sense of escapism
How Smart Socialism can address these issues
The need to subsidize artistic endeavors that are not profitable in the short term but pay off long term
The impact that making aesthetics more accessible would have on economics and class
Creating a new aesthetic elite
How these issues relate to demographic trends
Roger Blackstone: The Politics of Aesthetics
Neonationalism

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings, Stark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark talks to Joshua Zeidner about Bobos in Paradise

1960's, 1980's, 1990's, aesthetics, Alt Center, Alternative Right, American Culture, Art, Baby Boomers, capitalism, Cities, Class, Consumerism, Corporations, counterculture, Culture, David Brooks, Economics, Environment, Fashion, gentrification, Hipsters, History, Immigration, income inequality, Joshua Zeidner, Labor Movement, Leftism, Liberalism, materialism, Matthew Pegas, Middle Class, Millennials, Morality, Neoliberalism, New York, Religion, Silicon Valley, Urbanism, Wealth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Matthew Pegas talk to Joshua Zeider about the cultural phenomenon and book by David Brooks Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There.

Topics:

Bobos as Bourgeois Bohemians or Capitalist Hippies
Concepts that emerged after the French Revolution
How all three of us overlap with this group(interconnected yet outside)
Those who know the inner workings of the privileged class yet not quite in it
David Brooks, his political ideology, and Mid Atlantic old wealth culture
The Boomers’ transition in values
How the elites reinvented their cultural image
The blurring of cultural class as a mask for growing economic inequality
How Bobo culture coincided with the Neoliberal restructuring of our economy
Silicon Valley’s “socially conscious” cutthroat capitalism
Fake social climbing, virtual signaling, and self appointed moral leadership
Historic parallels to using Christianity to justify slavery and imperialism
Paying high prices for cheap looking merchandise
Hipsters as the Millennial offshoot of the Bobos
Political dissidents and cultural outsiders’ fascination with the culture of past elites
Alt-Subcultures and Alt-Urbanism as positive alternatives to Bobo culture

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings, Stark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark talks to Joshua Zeidner about Bernie Sanders’ anti-Corporate Welfare Bill & The Tech Oligarchy

Anti Trust Legislation, automation, Baby Boomers, Bernie Sanders, capitalism, censorship, Class, Conservatives, Corporate Welfare, Corporations, Donald Trump, Economics, Immigration, income inequality, Joshua Zeidner, Law, Millennials, Neoliberalism, Oligarchy, Police State, Silicon Valley, Social Media, Socialism, technology, Wealth, welfare state

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Topics:

Bernie Sanders bill targets Jeff Bezos and Amazon’s pay practices
How the bill would tax companies for state benefits that their workers receive
How state benefits for low wage workers are a form of corporate welfare
The role that corporate HR and temp agencies play in modeling their employment payment program on state benefits
The disturbing part about Amazon’s HQ2 competition
The emphasis on job creation rather than creating high quality jobs and living standards
The deregulation of labor rights in the Tech Industry
Joshua’s advice that it’s not worth it for young people to go into tech
Rep Yoder’s immigration bill and the Tech Industry’s lobbying for mass immigration 
Bernie Sanders’ flip flop and Trump accomplishing little on immigration enforcement
The monopoly-busting case against Google, Amazon, Uber, and Facebook
Social media as a public utility
National Review Denounces “Internet Fairness Doctrine”
Social media censorship and manipulation of content
The Safe harbor (law) which makes social media immune from libel laws
Surveillance Valley — Yasha Levine
Why Did Walmart Leave Germany?

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings, Stark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Aristocratic Aesthetic Socialism

Aesthetic Socialism, aesthetics, Aleister Crowley, Alt Center, American Culture, Archeofuturism, Architecture, Aristocratic Individualism, Art, Art Deco, California, capitalism, Cinema, Cities, Class, Communism, conformity, Consumerism, Corporations, Culture, David Lynch, demographics, Disneyland, Eugenics, Europe, Film, Germany, Giovanni Dannato, History, Immigration, income inequality, John C. Portman Jr, Journey to Vapor Island, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Malls, Marxism, materialism, Matthew Pegas, Michel Houellebecq, Mid-Century Modern, Neoliberalism, Nudism, Philosophy, Psychology, Ray Sawhill, Religion, Retro Futurism, Roman Empire, San Francisco, Sexuality, Skyscrapers, social status, social trust, Socialism, Urbanism, Utopia, Wealth

By Robert Stark: Originally Published on Alt of Center

The concept of beauty throughout history has been a force for creation, inspiring mankind to reach the pinnacle of civilization. From men accomplishing great things to win over a lover, the beautiful female as a muse for the artist, religions building great temples and cathedrals to attract worshipers, kings and emperors building monuments to demonstrate their greatness, and businesses using aesthetics in architecture and advertisements to attract more consumers.

In today’s society aesthetics serves primarily as a force to manipulate people to keep them striving and conforming to the liberal capitalist system. Advertisements use aesthetics to create a vision of a product to consume; not just the product itself but an overall aesthetically pleasing scene involving beautiful women, luxurious furnishings, great architecture, natural scenery, and music to create the mood.

Continue reading Aristocratic Aesthetic Socialism →

Robert Stark talks to Joshua Zeidner about Social Nationalism & Israeli Internal Affairs

aesthetics, Alt Center, Alternative Right, Arabs, Architecture, Baby Boomers, Bauhaus, Bernie Sanders, Bibi Netanyahu, Brutalism, California, capitalism, Class, Conservatives, Corporations, Culture, demographics, Economics, Germany, History, Immigration, income inequality, Israel, Italian Futurism, Joshua Zeidner, Le Corbusier, Leftism, Liberalism, Libertarianism, Matthew Pegas, Millennials, Nationalism, Neoliberalism, Oligarchy, Police State, Politics, Retro Futurism, Russia, Silicon Valley, Skyscrapers, Socialism, technology, Urbanism, War, Wealth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Matthew Pegas talk to Joshua Zeidner about Israeli Politics and Social Nationalism.

Topics:

Israel’s Social Nationalist origins
The book Perfidy by Ben Hecht about the Kastner trial
The rise of the far right in Israel
The corruption of Bibi Netanyahu and the Likud Party
Likud’s suppression of civil liberties and political dissidents
Israel’s shift to neoliberal economics
The influence of American elites on Israel’s political and economic affairs
The book Start-up Nation and Joshua’s experience working in Israel’s tech industry
How the state is responsible for more innovation in tech than the free market(ex. DARPA)
Joshua’s observations on Germany’s labor environment
Real Estate: investors buying up unoccupied apartments, NIMBYism, and renters rights
The need for an economic outlook based on socialism and the national good
The need for a fusion of the dissident left and right under the banner of social nationalism
The divide between capitalist boomers and socialist millennials in both Israel and the West
Bauhaus architecture, White City (Tel Aviv), Italian Futurism, Brutalism, and Le Corbusier’s Architecture and Politics
Why are Israel’s top models blonde and European looking?
Shlomo Sand

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings, Stark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark talks to Kevin Lynn about Tech Visas & Rep Yoder’s Immigration Bill

automation, Bernie Sanders, Corporations, Donald Trump, Economics, Immigration, income inequality, India, Kevin Lynn, Leftism, Liberalism, Neoliberalism, Oligarchy, Political Correctness, Politics, Progressives for Immigration Reform, Silicon Valley, Wealth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kevin Lynn is executive director of Progressives for Immigration Reform and founder of US Tech Workers. U.S. Tech Workers is sponsored by Progressives for Immigration Reform (PFIR). PFIR exists to protect American workers from unemployment and wage suppression caused by unfair labor and trade practices, including importation of large numbers of foreign workers who are subject to exploitation by foreign and domestic corporations in the United States. PFIR seeks to enhance the working conditions of people worldwide through enhancing economic, health, social and environmental conditions in developing countries worldwide.

Topics:

The responses from tech workers to Kevin’s Ad Campaign against H-1B Visas on SF’s BART
The misconceptions that H-1B visa holders are high skilled workers and that there is a shortage of domestic STEM grads
Tech worker’s Stories
Discrimination against US citizens in the Tech Industry
Yoder Slips Poison Pill For Tech Workers Into Appropriations Bill
Yoder ushered through a Democrat amendment to undermine Attorney General Jeff Sessions, expanding the legal definition of asylum
Yoder’s bill would remove the per country caps for immigration
The Indian Lobby and favoritism towards immigration from India in the Tech Industry
Illegal immigration as a disincentive for automation in the agriculture industry
How the left has adopted corporate talking points in regards to immigration
How mass immigration and neoliberal economics are now impacting the professional classes
Kevin’s upcoming project “Doctors Without Jobs”
The coalition of corporate and ethnic interest lobbying for mass immigration
Koch-backed group gives boost to Democrats on immigration
Class Warfare and inter-generational wealth

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark talks to Francis Nally about Fast Food Nationalism

1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 60's music, 80's music, aesthetics, Alt Center, Alternative Left, Alternative Right, American Culture, animation, Anime, Art, Asian Aryanism, Boyd Rice, Brandon Adamson, capitalism, Consumerism, Corporations, counterculture, Crime, Culture, David Thrussell, Drugs, Fascism, Francis Nally, Hinduism, Hipsters, Jamie Stewart, Jim Goad, Lasse Nielsen, materialism, Matthew Pegas, Memes, Meta Politics, Millennials, Music, Neofolk, Normies, Occultism, pedophilia, Peter Sotos, Philosophy, Pilleater, Ralph Nader, Retro Futurism, Serial Killers, Sexuality, Shaun Partridge, The Partridge Family Temple, Trevor Brown, Xiu Xiu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Francis Nally blogs at www.pilleater.com, has a YouTube Channel, and produces music at Phteven Universe.

Topics:

Francis’ article Fast Food Fascism & It’s Esoteric Meaning
Francis’ Lexicon
The “innate fascism” lurking behind crass popular culture
The origins behind the unpop art movement and Neofolk
The Unpop theme of using pop culture imagery to depict transgressive material
How controversial icons can look “cute” next to family friendly imagery of popular culture
Shaun Partridge and Partridge Family Temple
Pop culture from the 1960’s through 1980’s
Francis’ critique of Spencer J. Quinn’s  review on Counter-Currents about the new Incredibles 2 film
The Alt-Right’s use of making far-right symbols cool, while Fast-food Nationalism uncovers the “hipness” of corporate logos
Making collage art out of outdated pop culture memes and esoteric religion to make something new
The low brow art scene and the art of Ron English, Frank Kozik, Trevor Brown, and Mark Ryden
Musician David Thrussell’s ironic use of Fast Food imagery
Ralph Nader’s wisdom of how you can’t avoid advertisements in daily life
Going beyond memes and irony to create a positive vision
How a new Apocalypse Culture is replacing the Alt-Right
The intersectionality of Homonationalism, Neonationalism, The Alt-Left/Center, and Post Neo-Folk
The artist creating the vision vs. meta-politics
Embracing late capitalist materialism to find eternal peace and “Nirvana”
Meming pop cultural products towards an identitarian end
The CalArts movement

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings and his novel Journey to Vapor Island