{"data":{"id":18558,"title":"Plain Truth: Civilian Defense Farce","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/spectrum-dispatch\/18558-Plain-Truth-Civilian-Defense-Farce","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/18558","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/18558","channel":"Undefined","category":"Undefined","series":"News Update","images":[{"id":1547,"name":"PlainTruthFI1.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/e0op6vokxdi6sr\/source\/PlainTruthFI1.jpg","alt":"","size":950082,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2014-04-01T19:31:34+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/1547","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/1547\/similar"},{"id":26463,"name":"source.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/media.robertsspaceindustries.com\/weozjmuuh3hwh\/source.jpg","alt":"","size":843046,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2019-09-19T15:49:32+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/26463","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/26463\/similar"},{"id":27892,"name":"source.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/media.robertsspaceindustries.com\/w3o9r4zgppm77\/source.jpg","alt":"","size":900916,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2021-09-06T14:48:40+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/27892","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/27892\/similar"}],"images_count":8,"translations":{"en_EN":"< Transmission Begins >\nAcross Human history one thing has been more precious than anything else, life. For millennia we pondered its origins, dedicated ourselves to preserving it, and then eventually struck out into the stars in search of it. We\u2019ve become so obsessed with preserving life that we recently discovered a way to avoid death in most cases. Despite this incredible scientific achievement, I\u2019m worried where this development will lead us next. My name is Parker Terrell, and this is the Plain Truth.\n\nLet\u2019s start today\u2019s show with a simple question, what are you willing to die for? Sure some of you are laughing at that notion now, but it used to mean something. Before regen tech upended what it meant to \u201cdie,\u201d knowing what someone was willing to put their life on the line for laid bare the principles, people, or even places they believed were worth the ultimate sacrifice. We\u2019ve virtually eliminated martyrdom and all it used to mean, and the change it could inspire. Today the power that our fragile mortality used to hold is all but gone. We now live in a time when dying to defend something means you regen safe and sound with maybe with a few scars to show for it.\n\nThere\u2019s no doubt that our newfound ability to delay death has changed how each and every one of us go about our lives. But don\u2019t think for a second that our governmental and corporate overlords haven\u2019t also adjusted their plans accordingly. If anything, they\u2019re giddy at the fact that we\u2019re now both disposable and reusable. Why else would they have pushed so hard to spread regen tech far and wide?\n\nDon\u2019t believe me? Well, look no further than Stanton. Where, once again, a system owned by some of the largest and most successful corporations to ever exist failed to defend itself from attack. The hate-spewing terrorists known as XenoThreat had barely left the headlines when they recently struck again, which makes the attack\u2019s success all the worse since you figure someone in the system would\u2019ve learned from last time and, I don\u2019t know, maybe done something to prevent it from happening again. Instead what we wound up with was a complete and total failure of system security. Thankfully for Stanton, a system run by mega-corps who promised to uphold UEE-level security standards, the incursion triggered a system-wide CDF alert and instantly deputized millions of regular people to come to its defense.\n\nThink about that for a second. Four of the most successful and highest-earning corporatocracies of our era can\u2019t defend themselves despite having ruled Stanton long enough to know what it takes. I don\u2019t know what that says to you, but to me, that means it\u2019s not a priority. The cost isn\u2019t worth it. They\u2019ve realized that providing proper defense is expensive, volatile, and unpredictable. All traits mega-corps famously love.\n\nNow, if we look back, Crusader is at the core of what\u2019s going on here. Its security failings in the past have allowed this to happen, even famously forcing the Senate to get involved. But the situation is also an indictment against Hurston, ArcCorp, and microTech for not finding a way to help. For putting their bottom lines before the security of a system they swore to keep safe for us all.\n\nMeanwhile, even though the UEE has the power of the military and Advocacy at its disposal, plus the legal authority to take necessary action in Stanton when system security has been compromised, it can\u2019t or won\u2019t muster the forces necessary to stop these attacks. Honestly I\u2019m not sure which is worse. Either way, it clearly doesn\u2019t care. In fact, the UEE\u2019s probably happy it signed away all responsibilities to protect and secure the system.\n\nThe entire situation got me thinking. Why don\u2019t these pillars of the empire care? Why is security in Stanton not worth it to any of them? I thought about it for a bit and then it finally hit. Why pay for security if you can get someone else to do it for free? If only there was some kind of public and private partnership that could deputize millions of \u201cqualified\u201d individuals in an instant and direct them to exactly where they\u2019re needed.\n\nOf course, I\u2019m talking about the Civilian Defense Force. An instant army of people like you and me that these four mega-corps are using as a de facto security force in Stanton. Now don\u2019t get me wrong, the CDF has done some good around the Empire, particularly in coordinating supplies following natural disasters. But Stanton\u2019s always been special, and this is no different. The CDF being deployed in Stanton is nothing short of corporate welfare on an epic scale.\n\nThese are wildly successful companies offloading their security costs and risks onto us. That means some CDF volunteer, and not one of these mega-corps, is paying the insurance claim on a destroyed ship. That means using public funds to finance the CDF, which then in turn compensates the brave people who are actually out there fighting for Stanton. Not that those payments are undeserved. It\u2019s simply a cost these companies, not the public, agreed to bear when they purchased their planet-wide fiefdoms. Ideally, the law overseeing the CDF would be amended to stop the corporate exploitation happening in Stanton. At the very least, the CDF should invoice the mega-corps for the cost of services rendered on behalf of the people of the empire. But we all know it won\u2019t happen. That\u2019s because this goes deeper. Much, much deeper.\n\nThis goes beyond the government turning a blind eye to Stanton\u2019s mega-corps\u2019 exploitation of the CDF. I\u2019ve been looking into this for a while now and believe it\u2019s all part of a plan that goes back years. And I\u2019m not the only one to have noticed some strange coincidences. Like how the CDF was created right before the widespread release of regen tech. Somehow our government had the foresight to make dying for the empire as easy as possible just before the concept of death got flipped on its head. Now the trillion-credit question is\u2026 did the government share this privileged information with the mega-corps in Stanton so they could plan accordingly or are we to believe it was just luck when they got access to a free undying army?\n\nWe need to take a quick break, but when we return, Celia Larabee will join us to try to find out just how deep this goes. She has uncovered evidence that potentially ties Stanton\u2019s mega-corps to Amanda Xiang, the lawyer and pro-militia advocate who, along with ex-Advocacy agent Bryce Balewa, is responsible for championing the CDF. Was the CDF really their idea or did mega-corp credits and influence really drive its creation? Plus, we\u2019ll dig into the murky financials of these mega-corps to highlight some interesting accounting that bloated their security budget to make it appear like they were addressing the issue. That and more with Celia Larabee when Plain Truth returns, right after this.","de_DE":"< Die \u00dcbertragung beginnt >\nIn der Geschichte der Menschheit war eine Sache kostbarer als alles andere: das Leben. Jahrtausendelang haben wir \u00fcber seine Urspr\u00fcnge nachgedacht, uns seinem Erhalt gewidmet und sind schlie\u00dflich auf der Suche nach ihm zu den Sternen aufgebrochen. Wir sind so besessen davon, das Leben zu erhalten, dass wir vor kurzem einen Weg gefunden haben, den Tod in den meisten F\u00e4llen zu vermeiden. Trotz dieser unglaublichen wissenschaftlichen Errungenschaft mache ich mir Sorgen, wohin uns diese Entwicklung als n\u00e4chstes f\u00fchren wird. Mein Name ist Parker Terrell, und dies ist die schlichte Wahrheit.\n\nLassen Sie uns die heutige Sendung mit einer einfachen Frage beginnen: Wof\u00fcr w\u00e4ren Sie bereit zu sterben? Sicherlich lachen einige von Ihnen jetzt \u00fcber diesen Begriff, aber er hatte einmal eine Bedeutung. Bevor die Regenerierungstechnologie den Begriff \"sterben\" auf den Kopf gestellt hat, war es wichtig zu wissen, wof\u00fcr jemand bereit war, sein Leben aufs Spiel zu setzen, um die Prinzipien, Menschen oder sogar Orte zu kennen, die seiner Meinung nach das letzte Opfer wert waren. Wir haben das M\u00e4rtyrertum und alles, was es fr\u00fcher bedeutete, und die Ver\u00e4nderung, die es bewirken konnte, praktisch abgeschafft. Heute ist die Macht, die unsere zerbrechliche Sterblichkeit einst hatte, so gut wie verschwunden. Wir leben heute in einer Zeit, in der das Sterben, um etwas zu verteidigen, bedeutet, dass Sie gesund und munter wiederauferstehen, vielleicht mit ein paar Narben als Beweis.\n\nEs besteht kein Zweifel daran, dass unsere neu entdeckte F\u00e4higkeit, den Tod hinauszuz\u00f6gern, die Art und Weise ver\u00e4ndert hat, wie jeder Einzelne von uns sein Leben f\u00fchrt. Aber glauben Sie keine Sekunde lang, dass unsere Regierungen und Unternehmen ihre Pl\u00e4ne nicht auch entsprechend angepasst haben. Wenn \u00fcberhaupt, dann freuen sie sich \u00fcber die Tatsache, dass wir jetzt sowohl wegwerfbar als auch wiederverwendbar sind. Warum h\u00e4tten sie sonst so sehr darauf gedr\u00e4ngt, die Regenerations-Technologie weit und breit zu verbreiten?\n\nSie glauben mir nicht? Dann schauen Sie doch mal in Stanton vorbei. Dort hat es ein System, das einigen der gr\u00f6\u00dften und erfolgreichsten Unternehmen geh\u00f6rt, die es je gab, wieder einmal nicht geschafft, sich gegen einen Angriff zu verteidigen. Die hasserf\u00fcllten Terroristen, die als XenoThreat bekannt sind, waren kaum aus den Schlagzeilen verschwunden, als sie vor kurzem wieder zuschlugen. Das macht den Erfolg des Angriffs umso schlimmer, denn man sollte meinen, dass jemand im System aus dem letzten Mal gelernt und vielleicht etwas unternommen h\u00e4tte, um eine Wiederholung zu verhindern. Stattdessen hatten wir es mit einem vollst\u00e4ndigen und totalen Versagen der Systemsicherheit zu tun. Zum Gl\u00fcck f\u00fcr Stanton, ein System, das von Mega-Corps betrieben wird, die versprochen haben, Sicherheitsstandards auf UEE-Niveau einzuhalten, l\u00f6ste der Einbruch einen systemweiten CDF-Alarm aus und rief sofort Millionen von normalen Menschen auf den Plan, um das System zu verteidigen.\n\nDenken Sie einen Moment dar\u00fcber nach. Vier der erfolgreichsten und bestverdienenden Korporatokratien unserer Zeit k\u00f6nnen sich nicht verteidigen, obwohl sie Stanton lange genug regiert haben, um zu wissen, was n\u00f6tig ist. Ich wei\u00df nicht, was Ihnen das sagt, aber f\u00fcr mich bedeutet das, dass es keine Priorit\u00e4t ist. Die Kosten sind es nicht wert. Sie haben erkannt, dass eine angemessene Verteidigung teuer, unbest\u00e4ndig und unvorhersehbar ist. Alles Eigenschaften, die Megakonzerne bekanntlich lieben.\n\nWenn wir nun zur\u00fcckblicken, ist Crusader der Kern dessen, was hier vor sich geht. Seine Sicherheitsm\u00e4ngel in der Vergangenheit haben dies m\u00f6glich gemacht und sogar den Senat gezwungen, sich einzuschalten. Aber die Situation ist auch eine Anklage gegen Hurston, ArcCorp und microTech, weil sie keinen Weg gefunden haben, um zu helfen. Weil sie ihre Gewinne \u00fcber die Sicherheit eines Systems stellen, von dem sie geschworen haben, es f\u00fcr uns alle sicher zu halten.\n\nObwohl die UEE \u00fcber die Macht des Milit\u00e4rs und der Advocacy sowie \u00fcber die rechtliche Befugnis verf\u00fcgt, in Stanton die notwendigen Ma\u00dfnahmen zu ergreifen, wenn die Systemsicherheit gef\u00e4hrdet ist, kann oder will sie nicht die notwendigen Kr\u00e4fte aufbringen, um diese Angriffe zu stoppen. Ehrlich gesagt bin ich mir nicht sicher, was schlimmer ist. Wie auch immer, es ist ihr offensichtlich egal. In der Tat ist die UEE wahrscheinlich froh, dass sie die Verantwortung f\u00fcr den Schutz und die Sicherheit des Systems abgegeben hat.\n\nDie ganze Situation hat mich zum Nachdenken gebracht. Warum k\u00fcmmert es diese S\u00e4ulen des Imperiums nicht? Warum ist ihnen die Sicherheit in Stanton nichts wert? Ich habe eine Weile dar\u00fcber nachgedacht und dann wurde es mir klar. Warum sollte man f\u00fcr die Sicherheit bezahlen, wenn man jemand anderen umsonst daf\u00fcr sorgen lassen kann? Wenn es doch nur eine Art \u00f6ffentliche und private Partnerschaft g\u00e4be, die im Handumdrehen Millionen von \"qualifizierten\" Personen abstellen und sie genau dorthin schicken k\u00f6nnte, wo sie gebraucht werden.\n\nIch spreche nat\u00fcrlich von der Civilian Defense Force. Eine Armee von Menschen wie Sie und ich, die diese vier Megakonzerne als De-facto-Sicherheitstruppe in Stanton einsetzen. Verstehen Sie mich nicht falsch, die CDF hat im ganzen Imperium gute Arbeit geleistet, insbesondere bei der Koordinierung der Versorgung nach Naturkatastrophen. Aber Stanton war schon immer etwas Besonderes, und das ist nicht anders. Der Einsatz der CDF in Stanton ist nichts weniger als eine Wohltat f\u00fcr Unternehmen in epischem Ausma\u00df.\n\nEs handelt sich um \u00e4u\u00dferst erfolgreiche Unternehmen, die ihre Sicherheitskosten und -risiken auf uns abw\u00e4lzen. Das bedeutet, dass ein Freiwilliger der CDF und nicht einer dieser Megakonzerne das Verseicherungsanspruch f\u00fcr ein zerst\u00f6rtes Schiff bezahlt. Das bedeutet, dass der CDF mit \u00f6ffentlichen Geldern finanziert wird, die dann wiederum die mutigen Menschen entsch\u00e4digen, die tats\u00e4chlich da drau\u00dfen f\u00fcr Stanton k\u00e4mpfen. Nicht, dass diese Zahlungen unverdient w\u00e4ren. Es sind einfach Kosten, die diese Unternehmen, nicht die \u00d6ffentlichkeit, zu tragen bereit waren, als sie ihre planetaren Lehen kauften. Idealerweise w\u00fcrde das Gesetz, das die CDF beaufsichtigt, ge\u00e4ndert werden, um die Ausbeutung durch die Unternehmen in Stanton zu stoppen. Zumindest sollte die CDF den Mega-Corps die Kosten f\u00fcr die im Namen der Bev\u00f6lkerung des Imperiums erbrachten Dienstleistungen in Rechnung stellen. Aber wir alle wissen, dass das nicht passieren wird. Das liegt daran, dass die Sache tiefer geht. Viel, viel tiefer.\n\nEs geht nicht nur darum, dass die Regierung ein Auge zudr\u00fcckt, wenn Stantons Megacorps die CDF ausbeutet. Ich gehe der Sache schon eine Weile nach und glaube, dass das alles Teil eines Plans ist, der Jahre zur\u00fcckreicht. Und ich bin nicht der Einzige, dem einige seltsame Zuf\u00e4lle aufgefallen sind. Zum Beispiel, dass die CDF kurz vor der breiten Einf\u00fchrung der Regenerations-Technologie gegr\u00fcndet wurde. Irgendwie hatte unsere Regierung den Weitblick, das Sterben f\u00fcr das Imperium so einfach wie m\u00f6glich zu machen, kurz bevor das Konzept des Todes auf den Kopf gestellt wurde. Nun stellt sich die Billionenfrage: Hat die Regierung diese privilegierten Informationen mit den Megacorps in Stanton geteilt, damit sie entsprechend planen konnten, oder sollen wir glauben, dass es reiner Zufall war, als sie Zugang zu einer kostenlosen Armee der Unsterblichen erhielten?\n\nWir m\u00fcssen eine kurze Pause einlegen, aber wenn wir zur\u00fcckkommen, wird Celia Larabee zu uns sto\u00dfen, um herauszufinden, wie weit die Sache geht. Sie hat Beweise gefunden, die Stantons Mega-Corps m\u00f6glicherweise mit Amanda Xiang in Verbindung bringen, der Anw\u00e4ltin und Bef\u00fcrworterin der Miliz, die zusammen mit dem Ex-Advocacy-Agenten Bryce Balewa f\u00fcr die F\u00f6rderung der CDF verantwortlich ist. War die CDF wirklich ihre Idee oder haben Kredite und Einfluss der Megakonzerne die Gr\u00fcndung vorangetrieben? Au\u00dferdem gehen wir den undurchsichtigen Finanzen dieser Megakonzerne auf den Grund und beleuchten einige interessante Buchhaltungen, die ihr Sicherheitsbudget aufbl\u00e4hten, um den Anschein zu erwecken, dass sie sich des Problems annehmen. Das und mehr mit Celia Larabee bei der R\u00fcckkehr von Plain Truth, gleich nach dieser Folge.","zh_CN":"< Transmission Begins >\nAcross Human history one thing has been more precious than anything else, life. For millennia we pondered its origins, dedicated ourselves to preserving it, and then eventually struck out into the stars in search of it. We\u2019ve become so obsessed with preserving life that we recently discovered a way to avoid death in most cases. Despite this incredible scientific achievement, I\u2019m worried where this development will lead us next. My name is Parker Terrell, and this is the Plain Truth.\n\nLet\u2019s start today\u2019s show with a simple question, what are you willing to die for? Sure some of you are laughing at that notion now, but it used to mean something. Before regen tech upended what it meant to \u201cdie,\u201d knowing what someone was willing to put their life on the line for laid bare the principles, people, or even places they believed were worth the ultimate sacrifice. We\u2019ve virtually eliminated martyrdom and all it used to mean, and the change it could inspire. Today the power that our fragile mortality used to hold is all but gone. We now live in a time when dying to defend something means you regen safe and sound with maybe with a few scars to show for it.\n\nThere\u2019s no doubt that our newfound ability to delay death has changed how each and every one of us go about our lives. But don\u2019t think for a second that our governmental and corporate overlords haven\u2019t also adjusted their plans accordingly. If anything, they\u2019re giddy at the fact that we\u2019re now both disposable and reusable. Why else would they have pushed so hard to spread regen tech far and wide?\n\nDon\u2019t believe me? Well, look no further than Stanton. Where, once again, a system owned by some of the largest and most successful corporations to ever exist failed to defend itself from attack. The hate-spewing terrorists known as XenoThreat had barely left the headlines when they recently struck again, which makes the attack\u2019s success all the worse since you figure someone in the system would\u2019ve learned from last time and, I don\u2019t know, maybe done something to prevent it from happening again. Instead what we wound up with was a complete and total failure of system security. Thankfully for Stanton, a system run by mega-corps who promised to uphold UEE-level security standards, the incursion triggered a system-wide CDF alert and instantly deputized millions of regular people to come to its defense.\n\nThink about that for a second. Four of the most successful and highest-earning corporatocracies of our era can\u2019t defend themselves despite having ruled Stanton long enough to know what it takes. I don\u2019t know what that says to you, but to me, that means it\u2019s not a priority. The cost isn\u2019t worth it. They\u2019ve realized that providing proper defense is expensive, volatile, and unpredictable. All traits mega-corps famously love.\n\nNow, if we look back, Crusader is at the core of what\u2019s going on here. Its security failings in the past have allowed this to happen, even famously forcing the Senate to get involved. But the situation is also an indictment against Hurston, ArcCorp, and microTech for not finding a way to help. For putting their bottom lines before the security of a system they swore to keep safe for us all.\n\nMeanwhile, even though the UEE has the power of the military and Advocacy at its disposal, plus the legal authority to take necessary action in Stanton when system security has been compromised, it can\u2019t or won\u2019t muster the forces necessary to stop these attacks. Honestly I\u2019m not sure which is worse. Either way, it clearly doesn\u2019t care. In fact, the UEE\u2019s probably happy it signed away all responsibilities to protect and secure the system.\n\nThe entire situation got me thinking. Why don\u2019t these pillars of the empire care? Why is security in Stanton not worth it to any of them? I thought about it for a bit and then it finally hit. Why pay for security if you can get someone else to do it for free? If only there was some kind of public and private partnership that could deputize millions of \u201cqualified\u201d individuals in an instant and direct them to exactly where they\u2019re needed.\n\nOf course, I\u2019m talking about the Civilian Defense Force. An instant army of people like you and me that these four mega-corps are using as a de facto security force in Stanton. Now don\u2019t get me wrong, the CDF has done some good around the Empire, particularly in coordinating supplies following natural disasters. But Stanton\u2019s always been special, and this is no different. The CDF being deployed in Stanton is nothing short of corporate welfare on an epic scale.\n\nThese are wildly successful companies offloading their security costs and risks onto us. That means some CDF volunteer, and not one of these mega-corps, is paying the insurance claim on a destroyed ship. That means using public funds to finance the CDF, which then in turn compensates the brave people who are actually out there fighting for Stanton. Not that those payments are undeserved. It\u2019s simply a cost these companies, not the public, agreed to bear when they purchased their planet-wide fiefdoms. Ideally, the law overseeing the CDF would be amended to stop the corporate exploitation happening in Stanton. At the very least, the CDF should invoice the mega-corps for the cost of services rendered on behalf of the people of the empire. But we all know it won\u2019t happen. That\u2019s because this goes deeper. Much, much deeper.\n\nThis goes beyond the government turning a blind eye to Stanton\u2019s mega-corps\u2019 exploitation of the CDF. I\u2019ve been looking into this for a while now and believe it\u2019s all part of a plan that goes back years. And I\u2019m not the only one to have noticed some strange coincidences. Like how the CDF was created right before the widespread release of regen tech. Somehow our government had the foresight to make dying for the empire as easy as possible just before the concept of death got flipped on its head. Now the trillion-credit question is\u2026 did the government share this privileged information with the mega-corps in Stanton so they could plan accordingly or are we to believe it was just luck when they got access to a free undying army?\n\nWe need to take a quick break, but when we return, Celia Larabee will join us to try to find out just how deep this goes. She has uncovered evidence that potentially ties Stanton\u2019s mega-corps to Amanda Xiang, the lawyer and pro-militia advocate who, along with ex-Advocacy agent Bryce Balewa, is responsible for championing the CDF. Was the CDF really their idea or did mega-corp credits and influence really drive its creation? Plus, we\u2019ll dig into the murky financials of these mega-corps to highlight some interesting accounting that bloated their security budget to make it appear like they were addressing the issue. That and more with Celia Larabee when Plain Truth returns, right after this."},"links_count":0,"comment_count":43,"created_at":"2022-02-16T02:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"4 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-07 19:30:33","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":18557,"next_id":18560}}