"The very essence of romance is uncertainty."
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
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Nina Simone with James Baldwin (1965)
Photo: Bernard Gotfryd / Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
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I am really struggling with the fact that this US Presidential Administration is a set of vassals to Vladimir Putin.
Kash Patel just confirmed as FBI Director
Fuck off, Putin, you won’t beat us all!
ft.com/content/dc981cd9-857d-4…
washingtonpost.com/national-se…
#usa #notrump #NoMusk
Volodymyr Zelenskyy accuses Donald Trump of living in a ‘disinformation bubble’
Ukrainian president’s remarks come as US counterpart appeared to blame Kyiv for war with RussiaChristopher Miller (Financial Times)
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Posted without comment.
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actually it is Joe Biden's fault. He could have prevented Trump 2 by putting him in jail. But Biden believed in democracy and justice.
@dummzeuch First, it was not Biden's job to prosecute Trump. The DOJ is supposed to be independent. And believing in democracy and justice isn't a fault.
I, too, wish there had been more aggressive prosecution of Trump, but let's be careful "blaming" Biden for being an ethical leader, please.
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“Our predecessors deposed a brain-addled king; they crushed the violent insurrectionists of a slaveholding confederacy; they forced the robber barons to contend with workers and unions; they kicked the Nazis’ asses throughout Europe.”
“No entitled reality-TV has-been backed by an addle-brained billionaire who cheats at video games is going to roll over us now.”
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Read the op-ed from Leah and Ezra in The Nation. thenation.com/article/politics…
How to Organize Our Way Out of the Trump-Musk Putsch | The Nation
A plan to harness grassroots energy—and to hold Democratic leaders accountableThe Nation
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Well...the US 'contended with workers' after murderous strike-breaking and after a depression that threatened a Russia-style revolution. THAT's what happened. And as for 'kicking Nazi asses"; #Britain, #Canada, and the Commonwealth were in to it more than 2 years before the US and that same Russia a year and a half. Oh, and btw; Russia suffered about 20M dead. I'd say most of the ass-kicking was by Russia...with a little help from the Commonwealth.
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What doesn't kill you will try again when your guard is down.
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Risk of wider war in Europe has 'never been so high', says French prime minister
#TroopDeployment #NATO #EuropeanSecurity #ColdWarEchoes #EuropeAtRisk
independent.co.uk/news/world/e…
Risk of wider war in Europe has ‘never been so high’, says French prime minister
The UK and France has banded together to propose 30,000 European troops stationed in UkraineAlex Croft (The Independent)
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Déjà vu down on the farm
Farmers feeling weight of Trump policies with shutdown of aid
#politics
pbs.org/newshour/show/farmers-…
Farmers feeling weight of Trump policies with shutdown of aid
In the last two presidential elections, farmers voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump, but now some are saying his efforts to cut the government are causing major financial pressure.William Brangham (PBS News)
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USAID bought $2 Billion worth of American crops every year. That is $2 Billion less American farmers are now getting. It was an American Farm support program that ran successfully for our whole lives. Plus it projected soft power into the world. That's a twofer.
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A media circus?
Because you tried extorting the leader of a war-torn country... who became a global hero due to his strong, principled resistance?
And you were rejected, with everyone calling Trump venal, evil, a Russian stooge and incompetent as a result?
Gee. That's too bad.
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→ Signals of Trouble: Multiple Russia-Aligned Threat Actors Actively Targeting Signal Messenger
cloud.google.com/blog/topics/t…
“In anticipation of a wider adoption of similar tradecraft by other threat actors, we are issuing a public warning regarding the tactics and methods used to date to help build public awareness and help communities better safeguard themselves from similar threats.”
#Russia #Signal #threat #warning #public #safeguard
Signals of Trouble: Multiple Russia-Aligned Threat Actors Actively Targeting Signal Messenger
Russia state-aligned threat actors target Signal Messenger accounts used by individuals of interest to Russia's intelligence services.Google Threat Intelligence Group (Google Cloud)
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"Even in the best of circumstances, expecting residents to maintain sidewalks leads to suboptimal outcomes."
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New at bl.ag online: 'Classifying Signs' by Harry Leeson, which explores class, taste, and the impact of street signs and public lettering policy on our built environments:
bl.ag/classifying-signs-by-har…
Kensington and Chelsea street sign photo by Alistair Hall: wemadethis.co.uk/.
#Class #Taste #PublicLettering #Lettering #Signs #London #Urbanism
'Classifying Signs' by Harry Leeson
Class, taste, and the impact of street signs and public lettering policy on our built environments.Better Letters (BLAG Magazine: Adventures in Sign Painting Craft, Community & Culture)
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Good Day!
Springtime in Perthshire by James McIntosh Patrick (1907-1998)
Oil on Canvas
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"I'm surprised more plumbers aren't yet making the switch to cargo bikes" That's Amsterdam plumber Job van Oostrum, who adds that there's "No need to worry about parking spaces, you can park right outside the door without any hassle" 👨🔧 AT5: www.at5.nl/artikelen/23... (Dutch) #DecadeoftheCargoBike
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Sign painters are also getting in on the cargo bike action.
Lots more of these at bl.ag/two-wheels-good-even-bet….
Pictured is Francois Morel's (mo-signs.com/) bike of burden in Paris, France.
#SignPainting #SignPainters #TwoWheelsGood #CargoBikes
Two Wheels Good—Even Better Lettered
Sign painter bicycles around the world lettered to advertise their sign painting services.Better Letters (BLAG Magazine: Adventures in Sign Painting Craft, Community & Culture)
This speech by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is excellent. It discusses the rise of Hitler and the Nazis, thwarted efforts of Neo-Nazis to intimidate Jews in Skokie, Illinois; clearly illuminates that Trump and Musk are attacking programs that feed people and cover their health care; and calls on all of us to be ready to fight for a better America.
youtu.be/hS66O1C7Gp4?feature=s…
#democracy #community #civilrights #autocracy #stopdoge
youtu.be/hS66O1C7Gp4?feature=s…
#democracy #community #civilrights #autocracy #stopdoge
he is such an intelligent and compelling orator. I’ve seen many clips over the past few years that have really impressed.
I also didn’t realize that’s why the Illinois Nazis were in the Blues Brothers. It seemed out of left field. Now I know and love that they were attacked in a satirical way as well.
@mlawton he really pulled in a lot of facts and subjects together in a compelling way.
I didn’t know that on the Blues Brothers either.
I didn’t know that on the Blues Brothers either.
Q4 2024 Blogpost
toot.community
A worldwide Mastodon instance from The Netherlands. Run by digital enthusiasts, inviting everyone, everywhere to join us in the #fediverse.Mastodon hosted on toot.community
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Some of the views on Trump’s betrayal of American values and of Ukraine from some main papers in Europe. All of them - left, right, center - calling out Trump falling for Putin’s lies (or pretending to).
#betrayal #treason #trump #putin
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Trump's foreign policy has always amounted to extorting trade partners and sucking up to other authoritarians. His "isolationism" is laziness and a desire to foist problems onto other countries. Nevertheless, he fetishizes American military power and relies on it as a backstop for his threats. It's interesting then, in the abstract, that he seems so determined to undermine US influence by drawing down its economic and political entanglement and by letting Musk go after the defense budget.
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So Dodgy is a protection racket. "Be a shame is something was to happen to one of your tanks, General."
I was puzzled by Hegseth's declaration that military spending must be reduced 8% per year for 5 years running. Then I remembered that major defense contractor Elon Musk is in control of the Treasury, and that Hegseth is an alcoholic TV pundit. So maybe not.
@fgbjr Yeah, Clinton was excoriated for a far, far smaller military budget cut after the USSR collapsed. It's hard to see this going over well in Washington. Not that I would be complaining? Better that than some things. But neither of these guys are in contact with reality.
It'll be interesting if Elon Musk does try to take a hatchet to defense projects. There's this recurring pattern with him where he makes bold claims to expertise in a niche area and craven pundits go, "just look at this guy Elon he's a total genius, wow," and experts in the area go, "jesus, this guy's completely full of shit, and here's why." With impact on red-state employment it might (FINALLY) prompt congressional hearings, which might at least put a small dent in the carnage?
@fgbjr I'm still not 100% convinced he's not just collecting private federal data on everyone so he can feed it into "Grok" or something equally stupid. He doesn't seem to understand what anything is for, nor does he seem to really care. And I think that's going to make him enemies one way or another.
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Paging @briankrebs
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@Beachbum
Mr. Big Balls is a Senior Advisor at CISA. Meaning he has data to get back at his old enemies and sell to his old friends. all the threat intel the government currently has….im not sure where we go from here
Mr. Big Balls is a Senior Advisor at CISA. Meaning he has data to get back at his old enemies and sell to his old friends. all the threat intel the government currently has….im not sure where we go from here
What's not to like?!
Economists say the GOP budget would destroy Medicaid and "disproportionately benefit the 1%"
salon.com/2025/02/16/economist…
#ImpeachDonaldTrump #TrumpDidThis #RepublicansDidThis #RepublicansOwnThis #GOPKakistocracy #GOPWeirdos #NoRepublicansEverAgain #USPol
Economists say the GOP budget would destroy Medicaid and "disproportionately benefit the 1%"
House Republicans want to pay for their tax cuts by cutting social services used by the working classSalon.com
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You know, the majority of the American people might in fact not be so enthusiastic about the prospect to be ripped off to the advantage of the richest 1% of them, who wouldn't even need that money ordinary working people earned.
A party/entity that's sponsored by 1% of the American people is guaranteed to not be representing the nation, which is the sovereign of all government.
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"USA", Chiapas, Mexico (2006)
Photo: Irina Gendelman / Urban Archives, U. of Washington
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If #Ukraine isn't involved in the "peace talks," the press needs to stop referring to them as peace talks, esp in the era of Trump. JFC
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Absolutely. There are no peace talks going on. Only oligarchy talks and corrupt deals.
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Good point.
Maybe "appeasement talks" or "betrayal talks"?
Maybe "appeasement talks" or "betrayal talks"?
Musk:
“We’ve got people in there that are 150 years old. Now, do you know anyone who’s 150? I don’t, OK.”
Reason:
“Under ISO 8601, a missing value for a date is coded as May 20, 1875, because that was the date of an international standards-setting conference held in Paris, known as the “Convention du Mètre.”
For that reason, under some coding systems, a missing value for a date will default to 1875 — which in the year 2025 produces a round figure of 150.”
What a clown. 🤡
“experimental design”
What came to mind *first*?
- the way an experiment is designed in science (40%, 107 votes)
- a design that tries new things (57%, 151 votes)
- other (2%, 6 votes)
This entry was edited (1 year ago)
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i knew my answer was wrong, but i answered that way all the same. you might say it was an “experimental answer”
It’s been a tough year so far but I really find joy in the community here on Mastodon and the larger Fediverse.
There’s a satisfying DIY punk rock feeling to it all, as if I’m sticking it to dystopian billionaires every time I boost someone’s Mastodon post or fave someone’s Pixelfed image or try out some new Fedi app or follow some interesting stranger on some weird platform I’ve never heard of but can still interact with because it’s federated.
It’s what the internet is supposed to feel like.
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This guy woke up, got email he was fired and by 3:45pm locked out of everything digital,
He writes, "Additionally, before I could fully print off my government records, I was also locked out of my electronic personal file that contained my secure professional records."
If You work for the federal government in any capacity, and maybe even a sub-contractor, You should immediately back up and download/print any of your personnel and personal records #USPol
National Park ranger fired from "dream job" on Valentine's Day pens emotional viral letter: "Things are not ok" - CBS News
cbsnews.com/news/national-park…
National Park ranger fired from "dream job" on Valentine's Day pens emotional viral letter: "Things are not ok"
"I am the defender of your public lands and waters ... I am the highlight of your child's school day ... I am tired of waking up every morning at 2am wondering how I am going to provide for my family if I lose my job," Brian Gibbs wrote.Li Cohen (CBS News)
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it's really cruel. I've no doubt cutting all these jobs will make it look in the balance books like the US government is less expensive to run but the nature in which hundreds of thousands of people are being terminated without warning or respect is really inhumane. I think people working in the tech industry (of which I am one) are used to precarious contracts and sudden lay offs but people choose to work in the public sector and third sector in the hope they will get treated as humans
Get ready to cancel that summer trip to your favorite National Park ( that your tax dollars are supposed to be funding )…
About a month ago I got a letter from the IRS saying they'd reviewed my 2023 return and were sending me an additional refund in 7-10 days. I thought that was great, obviously, but haven't received the check.
Not having a functional government kinda sucks.
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Republicans believe life begins at conception and ends at birth.
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OMU that's too true.
Except I thought it was more like it was ending when somebody shows up at school with a gun.
I suppose you are right. If the policies really were about the children, they would have looked quite differently.
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Best one I’ve heard 🤣
#Republicans are comparing #Trump to #Jesus Christ.
Fair enough.
Nail him up. If he comes back in 3 days, I'll admit I was wrong.
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From @MeidasTouch
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I know similar instances. Rapid City and New Mexico, and Big Bend. If you are a migrant, best bet is to enter via the National Parks right now? Or Chinese or Russian spies. Dealers Choice, speaking of fentanyl? Ffs, this is madness.
This entry was edited (1 year ago)
One frustrating aspect of trying to write about all the incredibly reckless and risky actions taken by this administration with govt data is that by the time you're done writing, half the stuff in your story is outdated already, because they've reversed themselves, or they've been reversed. Or, and this is usually the most frequent cause: Because they've gone and done something even more colossally stupid, cruel and/or unwise.
I have not missed this aspect of reporting on the Trump administration at all. But it is absolutely true that their flood-the-zone-with-stupid approach really can become something like a mental ddos on journalists. And ofc that's intentional.
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It's been truly sickening to read the news today: Trump calls Zelensky a "dictator" who took US money to go to war, making it clear as day that the US president sides with Russia in this conflict. Zelensky says the president lives in a circle of disinformation. That is plain to see, even for Trump's supporters, who live in and help cultivate that same bubble.
Meanwhile, Russian officials are offering American companies the chance to make billions by coming back to Russia. And wouldn't you know it? The White House is open to this idea. Nevermind that just two years ago Russia appropriated a good portion of the brands for the Fortune 100, and then took over their stores and sold them to Friends of Putiny.
nytimes.com/2025/02/19/world/e…
Kremlin Message to Trump: There’s Money to Be Made in Russia
Russian officials are arguing that American companies stand to make billions of dollars by re-entering Russia. The White House is listening.Anton Troianovski (The New York Times)
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it's the same thing he did in Afghanistan. He negotiated with the Taliban and left the Afghan government out.
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New York (1976)
Photo: Elisa Leonelli / Claremont Colleges Library
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Now we are screwing Nepal on a large electrification grant intended to help Nepal balance China's influence.
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I am speechless.
"As far as Mr. Trump is concerned, Russia is not responsible for the war that has devastated its neighbor. Instead, he suggests that Ukraine is to blame for Russia’s invasion of it. To listen to Mr. Trump talk with reporters on Tuesday about the conflict was to hear a version of reality that would be unrecognizable on the ground in Ukraine and certainly would never have been heard from any other American president of either party.
In Mr. Trump’s telling, Ukrainian leaders were at fault for the war for not agreeing to surrender territory and therefore, he suggested, they do not deserve a seat at the table for the peace talks that he has just initiated with Mr. Putin. “You should have never started it,” Mr. Trump said, referring to Ukrainian leaders who, in fact, did not start it. “You could have made a deal.”
nytimes.com/2025/02/18/us/poli…
#USPolitcs #Trump #Ukraine #FreeArticle
Trump’s Pivot Toward Putin’s Russia Upends Generations of U.S. Policy
As peace talks opened in Saudi Arabia, President Trump made clear that the days of isolating Russia are over and suggested that Ukraine was to blame for being invaded.Peter Baker (The New York Times)
maybe the Americans wake up, before Alaska is Russian again. Maybe Trump gets a good deal for it. How about South Africa for example?
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I can’t.
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Imagine if we could liquidate and distribute Elon Musk’s assets…
3-year study finds MacKenzie Scott’s $19 billion in charitable giving has been ‘transformational’ for nonprofits fortune.com/2025/02/18/study-c…
#Philanthropy #MacKenzieScott #ElonMusk #DeportElonMusk
3-year study finds MacKenzie Scott’s $19 billion in charitable giving has been ‘transformational’ for nonprofits
A new report analyzes data from over 1,000 organizations that have received grants from billionaire MacKenzie Scott.Alicia Adamczyk (Fortune)
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Bill Gates warns of millions of deaths if Trump and Musk don’t reinstate axed foreign aid funding
fortune.com/2025/02/18/bill-ga…
#USAid #StopTrump #StopMusk #USPol
Bill Gates warns of millions of deaths if Trump and Musk don’t reinstate axed foreign aid funding
Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates warned millions of lives are on the line if foreign aid isn't reinstated.Eleanor Pringle (Fortune)
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You know why we Germans are so pedantic about data protection? Someone around 90 years ago went through all records available, selected people with certain criteria, with the help of IBM, and then killed them all.
We don't want to be on any list.
And now the US Gov and Musk are trying to get access to all data they have about every person and put them into a big fat DB and run AI over it.
I am afraid what they will do with that.
This entry was edited (1 year ago)
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@HistoPol @leobm @SaanichGuy @fenkt @MrLaCave
When she was in her teen, she followed neo fascists organizations but now no. She simply can't. She avoided 'fascism' carefully since a long time. She even addressed fascism as 'evil'.
The fascist party is banned from italian politics and it's a formal crime as casted in the 1948 constitution.
She's far right. Ultra conservative. But in the very moment she would say the words 'I'm fascist' or pay homage to Mussolini, she would be charged.
When she was in her teen, she followed neo fascists organizations but now no. She simply can't. She avoided 'fascism' carefully since a long time. She even addressed fascism as 'evil'.
The fascist party is banned from italian politics and it's a formal crime as casted in the 1948 constitution.
She's far right. Ultra conservative. But in the very moment she would say the words 'I'm fascist' or pay homage to Mussolini, she would be charged.
This entry was edited (7 months ago)
sudo βραχυκύκλωμα
in reply to God • • •JWM (Joe No Se)
in reply to God • • •Bob Peterson
in reply to God • • •lordUser
in reply to God • • •Daedalean
in reply to God • • •Peter Brown
in reply to God • • •You mean causes wide ranging and long-term damage the country.
Emmavetch
in reply to God • • •Frank
in reply to God • • •