#public

Rumour is a pipe Blown by surmises, jealousies, conjectures And of so easy and so plain a stop That the blunt monster with uncounted heads, The still-discordant wavering multitude, Can play upon it. ↗

— William Shakespeare

#gossip #libel #public-opinion #reputation #rumor

Public life is debased because it's only the nice people who are worried about imposing their views on others. ↗

— Alain de Botton

#nice-people #public-life #views #life

All the mega corporations on the planet make their obscene profits off the labor and suffering of others, with complete disregard for the effects on the workers, environment, and future generations. As with the banking sector, they play games with the lives of millions, hysterically reject any kind of government intervention when the profits are rolling in, but are quick to pass the bill for the cleanup and the far-reaching consequences of these avoidable tragedies to the public when things go wrong. We have a straightforward proposal: if they want public money, we want public control. It's that simple. ↗

— Michael Hureaux-Perez

#capitalism #corporations #deepwater #economic-interventionism #environment

Even if it were possible to cast my horoscope in this one life, and to make an accurate prediction about my future, it would not be possible to 'show' it to me because as soon as I saw it my future would change by definition. This is why Werner Heisenberg's adaptation of the Hays Office—the so-called principle of uncertainty whereby the act of measuring something has the effect of altering the measurement—is of such importance. In my case the difference is often made by publicity. For example, and to boast of one of my few virtues, I used to derive pleasure from giving my time to bright young people who showed promise as writers and who asked for my help. Then some profile of me quoted someone who disclosed that I liked to do this. Then it became something widely said of me, whereupon it became almost impossible for me to go on doing it, because I started to receive far more requests than I could respond to, let alone satisfy. Perception modifies reality: when I abandoned the smoking habit of more than three decades I was given a supposedly helpful pill called Wellbutrin. But as soon as I discovered that this was the brand name for an antidepressant, I tossed the bottle away. There may be successful methods for overcoming the blues but for me they cannot include a capsule that says: 'Fool yourself into happiness, while pretending not to do so.' I should actually want my mind to be strong enough to circumvent such a trick. ↗

— Christopher Hitchens

#assistance #bupropion #depression #future #happiness

Where the roots of private virtue are diseased, the fruit of public probity cannot but be corrupt. ↗

— Felix Adler

#corrupt #diseased #fruit #private #probity

Mental health is often missing from public health debates even though it's critical to wellbeing. ↗

— Diane Abbott

#debates #even #health #mental #mental health

My popularity plunged three years ago and I didn't try to court publicity. ↗

— Namie Amuro

#court #i #plunged #popularity #publicity

I will undoubtedly have to seek what is happily known as gainful employment, which I am glad to say does not describe holding public office. ↗

— Dean Acheson

#describe #does #employment #glad #happily

I think celebrities have an obligation to the public to not just sing or act. ↗

— Clay Aiken

#celebrities #i #i think #just #obligation

This is pure speculation, but for a period of time, a lot of getting into a party was through fundraising and volunteer work, and Republican women had more time to do that than democratic women, who were out there getting jobs. ↗

— Madeleine Albright

#fundraising #getting #had #into #jobs