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“The gist of the “censorship industrial complex” hoax is that the Biden administration, nonprofit organizations, and social media platforms all worked together to suppress conservative speech by characterizing it as “misinformation,” and that the silencing effects of this censorship continue to be felt by right-wing media, politicians, and other figures. According to the purveyors of this hoax, any misinformation research, news ratings systems, advertising brand management, or content moderation decisions that negatively impact conservative speakers are “censorship.” The goal of this hoax is to invert the First Amendment: if misinformation research is “censorship,” then suppressing that research becomes “free speech.” But this gets the First Amendment completely backwards. The First Amendment protects the right of private actors—including private universities, non-governmental organizations, and businesses—to ignore, criticize, or refuse to associate with speech they do not agree with. It protects the government’s own rights of free speech, including the right to prefer certain viewpoints and to communicate those preferences through persuasion, encouragement, and funding.”

— Mary Anne Franks

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Just a few tales from a previous life as a university cop.

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Just a few thoughts about Prince’s lyrics through the years and how they relate to our current state of disunion.

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I share a few thoughts about the Prince fans I see on social media. I'm not talking about the OG fans but the new jack uWu bois & girlz who have recently begun to experience his legacy. Stop with the subjective questions that, when answered, you will only disagree with in the comments.

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It is the only surviving fragment of a lost medieval manuscript telling the tale of Merlin and the early heroic years of King Arthur's court. In it, the magician becomes a blind harpist who later vanishes into thin air. He will then reappear as a balding child who issues edicts to King Arthur wearing no underwear. The shape-shifting Merlin – whose powers apparently stem from being the son of a woman impregnated by the devil – asks to bear Arthur's standard (a flag bearing his coat of arms) on the battlefield. The king agrees – a good decision it turns out – for Merlin is destined to turn up with a handy secret weapon: a magic, fire-breathing dragon. 

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If they gave a Nobel prize for sheer stupidity and complete incompetence, the Trumptards would be the odds on favorite.

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He’s the only reason it’s working

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Andrew Roth at The Guardian:

The United Nations general assembly has backed a resolution drafted by Ukraine and the European Union condemning Russia on the third anniversary of its full-scale invasion, spurning a rival US resolution reflecting Donald Trump’s split with Europe and growing union with Vladimir Putin. The United States, Russia, Belarus and North Korea all voted against the EU-Ukrainian resolution underlining an extraordinary shift in US policy since the US president’s election that has largely absolved the Russian president of responsibility for the invasion. In the vote, 93 countries supported the joint European resolution that named Russia an aggressor state and called on it to remove its troops from Ukraine, while 18 countries including the US and Russia voted against. The vote came as Trump met with Emmanuel Macron at the White House on Monday and the two spoke with G7 leaders to discuss peace talks to end the war and the growing gulf between Washington and European capitals over the future of the Nato alliance. Germany’s likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, warned this weekend that Europe should seek greater independence from the United States and said it was an “absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA”. Macron told reporters outside the White House that the G7 call was “perfect” but did not offer other details. Trump released a statement in which he said that all members of the G7 had said they wanted to achieve peace and that the war would never have happened if he had been president. Trump has quickly moved to direct talks with Putin that have eschewed Ukraine and has also sought to strong-arm Kyiv into a “critical minerals and rare-earths deal” to recoup the cost of US support for Ukraine in the three years since Putin launched his full-scale invasion. “I am in serious discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia concerning the ending of the War, and also major Economic Development transactions which will take place between the United States and Russia,” Trump said on Monday. “Talks are proceeding very well!” The UN votes on Monday were mostly symbolic. The US resolution was three paragraphs long and did not include any mention of Russia aggression, saying it “implores a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and the Russian Federation”. The Russian ambassador to the UN had called the US resolution a “good move”.

[...] The US had sought to kill the Ukrainian co-sponsored resolution, and US diplomats had pressured EU and Ukrainian officials in foreign capitals this weekend to withdraw their resolution before Monday’s vote, according to cables to US embassies and reports in US media.

Vote sheet, via X:

Shame on the USA for being on the same side as Russia, Israel, Hungary, and North Korea by voting against the UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution from Ukraine condemning Russia for invading Ukraine.

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Just my two cents on a gaming corporation trying to game the gamer. Tell me your thoughts plus snag a free subscription while you're there.

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the Janeway

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