CounterSpin interview with Sarah Anderson on poverty wages

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/46243509

April 21, 2026

Avraham Zarbiv is one of 14 people chosen for their “extraordinary contribution to society and the state”, alongside a scientist, a Michelin-starred chef, a leading doctor, members of the security forces and entrepreneurs.

A reservist who drives an armoured bulldozer, Zarbiv rose to prominence through videos documenting his personal campaign of destruction in Gaza, often accompanied by inflammatory rhetoric.

“You will have nothing left,” he declares in one voiceover, as the camera pans across a landscape of shattered buildings. “We will flatten you and destroy you.”

Israeli forces continue to be active south of the Yellow Line established last week in Lebanon, destroying villages and building up a command structure to support an open ended military occupation of that territory. The IDF is said to envision not only occupying the southern-most “buffer zone” inside Lebanon, but also to create what Israeli […]

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Coders at the most evil companies like Meta, OpenAI, Google, Tiktok, Amazon, Palantir are majority Asian (~60% according to some of these companies diversity reports, mostly east and south) and massively disproportionately immigrant/foreign from developing countries, probably representing ~30% (from my own observations). Disproportionately trans too but still a tiny proportion of the population

And contrary to popular belief, engineers at these companies have tons of autonomy. They're not just simply following orders. Leadership sets general strategy and high level goals but engineers are often times responsible for ideating the actual features to deliver. I've seen way more low level engineers come up with evil fucked up features than leadership has

The most evil CEOs and financiers are massively disproportionately (white) gay men, and even in executive positions at tech companies have a ton of (white) gay men

The Iran war is now the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market. Physical crude hit $150 a barrel. Futures markets are acting like a deal is around the corner. And James Gutman is back on Energy Empire to explain why those two numbers don't match — and what happens when they do.

This is James's fourth time on the show. He walks us through why the shock has already been absorbed but the real pain is still in the pipeline, why energy independence gave the US, Israel, Russia, and China each a permission structure to act more aggressively on the world stage, and why Europe — which didn't want this war — is now building a post-war security architecture for the Strait of Hormuz without the country that started it.

On the ground: 70% of American farmers can't afford fertilizer. Europe has six weeks of jet fuel left. The US can't deliver the weapons its NATO allies already paid for. And James makes the case that this war may bring us to peak oil demand — not because of any climate agreement, but because the world is making sure this never happens again.

We're dropping this right before Earth Day. Jigar got the Earth Day award two years ago. James thinks Trump deserves it this year.

Growing up we always had a garden. This meant fresh veggies and tasty fruit throughout most of the year. And even though I never had a cliché hatred for anything green, I never really appreciated this either. It was just normal.

Moving into a city really changed that, and spoiled me realized that not everyone has a garden. Nor parents that spend loads of their free time dealing with it. So while I’m grateful in retrospect at least, that still does not bring back that tasty salad from back in the days. What does not help either, is that I’m already annoyed by the repetitive watering chores for the few plants that actually do live on our balcony at the moment.

In comes TheStockPot. A youtuber that, among other cool stuff, build a smart greenhouse. While I’m sure he is not the first one with this idea (in fact the farmBot has been in my head for years), it’s his video that sparked my motivation. So if you like watching videos, this is where you should leave the post and just watch the video instead. All the credit goes to him and all I have to add will be some tinkering with electronics from a beginners POV. And some woodworking.

The idea

If you are still here, the idea is pretty straight forward: Take (or build) a greenhouse, lob some sensors in there, add a water pump, connect everything to Home Assistant and get an infinite supply of vegetables without spending time watering or going to the supermarket. So like any sane person, I ignored all the financial and time consumely implications and set out to build something alike.

The hardware

The system is based on an esp32 board with relays. A microcontroller with wifi that nicely integrates into Home Assistant.

The relays allow supplying any odd electrical device with up to 230V. The "original" uses them to power heating mats to better manage the temperature inside the greenhouse (which I don't). I used it because I didn’t think and just did what the video did. Actually I currently only use it to power one 12V pump. Speaking about 12V: I picked a 12V membrane pump since the board also takes 12V. This way I only need to run one power cable and there is no need to mess with high voltage. For sensors I used a DHT11 (air temp and humidity) and multiple DS18B20 (soil temp). Since I don't run active heating (or cooling) atm, these are not really required. They were wired in because they are cheap and I like data (and heating might get added, who knows). Lastly there is a simple float switch to turn off the pump when my water container runs low (I don't run tap water).

Everything is stuck together with some resistors on a prototyping board, which I did for the first time. It was super doable for a solder beginner, and I learned quite a bit! Sticking multiple sensors together and supplying things with power made me think about what's going on and how to get everything connected with as little mess as possible. Way more interesting (and challenging) than following some laid out tutorial.

Don't solder everything to the board but make it disconnectable would be my own thought to share, for everything else there is more qualified people out there.

The software

ESPHome is super cool! If you run Home Assistant and want to integrate some custom devices, definitely give it a look. It’s a convenient and easy way to program your hardware. One maybe helpful note: Starting out I ran the ESPHome Device Builder on my Home Assistant instance (= a Raspberry PI 3). Compiling was really hard on that little guy and took forever. I switched to running a container on my local machine which made the whole process a lot quicker. Also make sure you have access to a USB to TTL adapter to program your board. Regarding the code I’ll happily point you to TheStockPot blog, which I used as a base for my own greenhouse. Biggest change I made was to remove the heating and add a float switch that prevents misting when the water is low.

In addition to that, I added a temperature sensitive automation in Home Assistant. Every time the temperature falls below 3 degrees C it disables the pump. This way I hope to prevent it running when things start to freeze.

The woodware

Building the frame from wood has the obvious downside that it will probably likely rot and the upside that it was free. Most pieces are planed roofing timber that I notched on the table saw. Notches for the windows were also cut on the table saw. Other than a little miscalculation in the width, everything went smoothly.

Throw in some preowned hardware, and this was the cheapest part of the build. One of those cheap, plastic skinned houses would likely do just as well (likely better due to better isolation), but where is the fun in that?

The résumé

Like (almost) always: It was a fun journey! Like also almost always: It was pricier than expected. Other than the controller and sensors listed above, I spend quite some money on other electronic related items (enclosure, prototyping board, wires, standoffs and other tiny bits). So from a financial standpoint, I don't think it'll pay for itself any time soon (in particular since I already have a version 2 in mind).

From a non financial standpoint it was (and is) a super enjoyable project! Starting with the first click of the relays, to wiring with a prototyping board, to checking my PlantStats™ every day, to watching my little plants grow. There was tons to learn and there is tons to improve! Some in this version some in the next. I still have to work on the watering schedule and the perfect placement for my misters. Also I might need to seal my housing a little better.

"Film created by Massive Attack (working with US photo artist thefinaleye). This montage work portrays a momentous American epoch that is yet to be named, and comes in the aftermath of the largest public protests in American history - focused on opposition to ICE raids, the militarisation of domestic forces, and state authoritarianism.

The film quotes statistics and research by the following sources: American Immigration Council, American Civil Liberties Union, Inside Higher Ed, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, US National Library of Medicine, US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Privacy International, FactCheck.org. Viewers seeking further information or wishing to take action are encouraged to visit aclu.org, veterans-aid.net, immigrantdefenseproject.org, and freedomforimmigrants.org.

Lyrics:

Big legs dangle from a helicopter hole Big chug rhythm it’s gotta be now ho! Brown, mean and young Dumb and full of cum What can you use a marine for This is a fucking ass machine gun war

With your boots on the ground Boots on the ground Boots on the ground Boots on the ground

We trim your hedges, we fight your wars Wait in the trenches, and we fuck ‘til we’re sore

Boots on the ground Boots on the ground

Born shiny bullets in an army of ants Blow that horn, we sleep in our pants Big titties, big titties Well we holler and we burn down cities

Boots on the ground Boots on the ground

Shootin up the town Stayin in the hole until Jimmy Hoffa is found With my boots on the ground

Well something goes tink when the cartridge is spent Where do you think all your cartilage went

Boots on the ground Boots on the ground

Now who the hell are these federal pricks? Hiding in the senate like a bloated ass tick Air conditioned fuckstick loafers Sittin in a room full of army posters

A coal to a diamond, a vote into law They Campaign up all the blood they can draw Mold your world, a soldier’s just clay How much does every soldier weigh? Cut you off at the ankles and they throw that away

Boots on the ground

It’s cold and hot, as Satan’s .hoof Spinning on the world I’m hiding on a roof I kill a brown man I never ass knew Choked on spit and then he turned blue He spattered black blood, he rolled fin out He died right here I got the pearl from his snout A puff of gray smoke from the tongue of a cloud He rotted in the sand and all that they found was his boots on the ground, boots on the ground, boots on the ground

All that they found was his boots on the ground, boots on the ground "

After agreeing they were all unusually hungry for some reason, Mariners fans heading to the game today on the ferry collectively opted for the $8 nacho upgrade.

What is an "Ultra"? This is a state of being where immediate change is desired, it can either be grounded on materialist (class consciousness) or metaphysical (false consciousness) analysis. Let us look at a few real world examples:

• You could be at risk of poverty or social exclusion
• You or your loved ones might be unable to access healthcare services
• You could simply be more likely to experience violence for being born a woman

What can a proletariat do to overcome poverty under capitalism? Only work, but alone worker is hopeless to change anything. In desperation they seek a solution. If you choose to do politics, be prepared to face these people, because you will inevitably run into them. People who are bitter, angry, lost, facing great illness, an ongoing tragedy. Are you ready to tell them what to do? "Sorry my hand's are full." doesn't cut it when your daughter is in the hospital.

You are prescribing a death sentence. This is very serious, especially when you are a spokesperson for a (dis)organized movement. Wearing a hammer and sickle is not just about being a fan, it's about being a member of a group who wants to change the world for the better. Every "I don't know" is a spit in the face of communism, if you don't know what are you doing there dressed up in uniform? Take it off and put on the civilian garb. At the very least have a "HQ" you can point people towards, to look for help.

Of course we are going to fail at this, you must be okay with that and pick yourself up again. But whenever you see an "Ultra" remember to always contextualize them, don't mock them and don't provoke them. If you must be ready to defend against them.

Don't:

• Assume the other person knows, no matter how trivial it may seem.
• Try to prove a point, you're supposed to educate.
• Put on that shit eating grin, communis is community first, go lib out somewhere on your own time.
• Be perfect, you are supposed to change and that's okay. (This rule applies to itself)

I have been writing this down as I've been facing a lot of reactionary sentiment on the online left space, including my own reactions that just turn into a tarpit of doom. On the internet we're extremely alienated and yet this brings us the closest together in our primary issue, a way to escape the armchair.

What is the main obstacle in our way? Well I can't even share where I'm from without, from what I understand, risking death or injury. Meanwhile I have been browsing the Chinese internet to contrast what we have here. My algorithm is literally chock full of people helping each other and doing practical work, literally seeing people being lifted out of poverty in real time. I've also ran into CPC members doing mukbang as they're taking a break from doing some construction work.

Shouldn't we be aimed to do something like this? We don't have a direct action online community and obviously we can't just go and make one, but like what are we doing here? Stewing in our own soup? How much more are we going to keep yelling "Do something" on the internet while refusing to connect it to the real world? Then it's no wonder all we end up with is react content, ultras and a few lucky ones in between, who don't fall through the cracks.

It's no wonder Breadtubes lesson of "Just ignore the haters and focus on yourself and what you care about." Lessons taught by the bourgeoise will only stick to the bourgeoise. And yet I bring you a lesson from Comrade Lei Feng:

• Embrace comrades with the warmth of spring.
• Temper work with the heat of the summer.
• Brush up your mistakes as you brush the autumn leaves.
• Treat your enemy with the harsh indifference of winter.

We don't need some petty bourgeoise liberal to dictate us. They can either adapt or face the harsh indifference of winter that they so gleefully been applying on those they deem below them.

We're not just numbers on a machine we're flesh and blood people. Always remember your message will end up reaching a person and we don't know what they're going through. There's people exhausted and giving up trying to maintain these money printing machines. If you want to struggle do it for the people.

Important : I am just a lumpenproletariat, therefore you should not rely on my advice, nor should you pass this forward to anyone, this is merely my thoughts on a page that I thought might be useful for the class conscious individuals to read and draw some lessons from. Please don't shame anyone for our lack of knowledge, there's nothing funny about someone trying to learn. We aren't going to hurt you just because our lives can't be immediately improved, just be honest with us don't lie, don't give us the silent treatment. At least tell us that you can't help so that we can learn.

Also if this is the wrong comm please just delete this.

Not my OC. Just found it on an old hard drive when I was looking for something else.