John Oliver's Last Week Tonight

In California too and I'm basically on the same page. Plus, getting one going might help open the floodgates for further public transport projects.

I think so too, these sort of things have a tendency to create their own demand. Expand the train network, and people will start using it.

Trains here in the Netherlands are so crowded, the railway company has been tempted to actually dissuade people from traveling by train during peak hours. A few years ago, they even tried (and failed miserably) to strong-arm universities to adapt lesson schedules so students wouldn't need to travel during peak hours.

Wouldn't it make more sense to extent the railway and run more trains during those peak hours?

The test of the Hyperloop IIRC was a massive failure.

I'm not finding anything like that on a cursory search. Just some stuff about how competitive testing between companies seems to be going fine. What controversy I'm seeing is mostly about hypothetical stuff, like being vulnerable to power outages or terror attacks.

The railway is plenty extensive as it is, and very full, too. Trains run four times an hour on the busy routes as it is.

My only reservation with the hyperloop is that it's associated with Elon Musk.

John Oliver on robocalls.

Edited by windleopard on Mar 11th 2019 at 12:35:08 PM

"Here's some bagpipe music."

Not all things associated with Elon Musk are pipe dreams designed to fund his super villain plans to kill Superman.

Just most of them.

... Why is John making that stupid joke about the social security number being swear words? That seems overly random and crass, even for him, and more than a little forced.

This sort of joke is why I think his humor is pretty hit and miss, by the way.

I just hate Ajit Pai more and more... What the fuck is wrong with America's corporate culture?

The overwhelming emphasis on profit being tied to self worth, damn everything else, including your fellow man.

Robocalls. See, THIS is relevant, given how ubiquitous and utterly obnoxious they are. Everyone gets these things and knows someone who has gotten them.

@Redmess: I honestly think part of that is because it's HBO, and you're allowed to swear on there, so they're doing it to justify their rating. It's a dry kind of satire that calls out the absurdity of the situation, combined with a bit of juvenile humor: "Oh, I can swear on this network? Well, here I go then!"

Edited by Fighteer on Mar 12th 2019 at 10:19:10 AM

Oh, I see. Yeah, that kind of joke is kinda lost when you watch it on You Tube.

Ars reports on Oliver rocalling Ajit Pai.

This is definitely more true-to-form than the last few weeks, highlighting legal loopholes where sketchy practices thrive. Although I think in this case the problem and solution is significantly simpler than the norm, since he lays most of the issue on FCC regulations. Scammers are obviously not going to hold to regulation, and technology is continually changing to make it difficult for any countermeasures. I remember a time when all you had to say to telemarketers is that you're on a cell phone and they were legally obligated to hang up. My phone tends to mark the spam calls for me, which is nice.

I do think that Oliver's joy at taking pot shots at "business daddy" AT&T is less amusing and more obligated at this point. Kind of like a child starts acting out to test boundaries of their own freedom but ends up doing it for the attention you get from acting out (in this case more playing to the audience instead of legitimate Biting-the-Hand Humor).

i hope John Oliver talks about the Green New Deal next, conservatives are really trying to rally their base because of it

Edited by MABfan11 on Mar 12th 2019 at 4:36:32 PM

I'm sure he will sooner or later.

#TuckerCarlsonFucksHisRoomba

He has a great guest, but barely scratches the surface of the topic despite almost a full half hour.

Yeah, that was my thought, too. The topic of public shaming goes way deeper than that, and I think we need a part 2 to really explore the nitty-gritty.

The segment about Brexit he had beforehand was pretty great, too.

No new episode? Are we on hiatus already?

HBO only commissions a limited number of episodes per season, so they have the occasional hiatus.