#coup collaborators

[saywhat-politics]

Musk suspended @AnonOpsSE after it helped expose his coup collaborators at DOGE.

[wyrdweavings]

In case anyone out there needs a copy

The U.S. Constitution, pasted in from the copy at the U.S. National Archives (you never know when the site might be taken down): We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and…

[originalleftist]

ABC has refused to commit to fact-checking the Harris/Trump debate tomorrow.

In a fair world, this would be accepted as reasonable grounds for Harris to withdraw immediately (as would the fact that her opponent is an illegitimate insurrectionist who should not be on the ballot, that platforming him platforms stochastic terrorism and directly contributes to hate crimes and political violence, and that its a huge security breach regarding the VP as he is a direct physical threat to her safety).

In the real world, of course, she'd be immediately denounced as hostile to the press, afraid to face Trump or scrutiny, and unfit for office.

My guess? Little King Donny threw a tantrum over the possibility of being fact-checked, and threatened to withdraw. And ABC wants those sweet, sweet fascist audience numbers. So they caved and gave Little King Donny what he wants. Again.

For me, this just reaffirms my commitment not to watch the debate.

[lesbiancorvoattano]

latin catholicism is super difficult and valid, which is why latin america has some of the most strict abortion laws in the world

[in-sightjournal]

Ask A Genius 1206: Musk, Ramaswamy, Saul, and Summers

  Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Hey, Rick. What’s your topic? Rick Rosner: Before we get to the discussion about pornography, I sent you an article. But first, let’s talk about Elon Musk, who, right now, seems to have aligned himself closely with Trump. Trump attended Musk’s recent SpaceX rocket launch and appeared impressed. Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy—another tech figure and entrepreneur, though not a…

[lire1x]

Un Animal Sauvage de Joël Dicker

Cela faisait un petit moment que je n’avais plus lu Joël Dicker. Je l’avais laissé après ma découverte d’Harry Québert…totalement amoureuse de son écriture, productrice de citations. J’ai (écou)lu « Un  animal sauvage» avec frénésie, tout juste après sa sortie le 27 février dernier, sans réellement suivre les avis déjà donnés sur #Bookstagram et Babelio. Grand bien m’en appris ! J’ai…

[hedgehog-moss]

I was reading Marguerite Yourcenar's Le coup de grâce last night, both in French and in English because I enjoy pondering the choices made by translators—and the English translation was so bad. At one point the word "solitude" in the French original became "privacy" in English, in a sentence where the difference in meaning did matter, I think. At another point, the very simple word "les oublis" became "remembrance betrayed" which I feel gives extra precision in the translation which wasn't present in the original...?

There's also a passage in French in which the narrator wishes a woman would have had children, "who would have inherited her courage and her eyes", but decides that's a pointless regret because these decisions on how to populate the future are not ours to make ("ne nous appartiennent pas")—the English translation turns it into "Absurd, for who wants to people (...) the future?" That's different...!! And later on the narrator says that "all these misunderstandings" make him want to "steer clear of any conviction that isn't entirely personal". The English translation says "such misapprehensions were to cure me (...) of holding ready-made convictions." I'm sorry but, in this context you're saying a different thing. Again.

By this point I went looking for the name of the translator, in order to carry it in my soul in a pocket of indignation—and I found: "translated from the French by Grace Frick in collaboration with the author"! Grace Frick! Marguerite Yourcenar's life partner!

That was such a plot twist. Your wife? Your own wife wrote this inaccurate translation, with your blessing...? Well, I now have two theories: 1. After publishing this book, Yourcenar regretted some minor writing choices and asked Frick to modify some words and phrasings in her translation so they were closer to what she wanted to express. As a perfectionist who feels many regrets immediately after submitting a completed work I sympathise with this, but also that's cheating. You can't give English readers a text that's closer to what you wanted your book to be while French readers are left to wallow in the mud of your less precise first draft. I'm affronted by this possibility. 2. Grace Frick's translation was imperfect, and Yourcenar said nothing because she loved her and her imperfect linguistic choices. I also sympathise. I hope that's what happened actually—it feels less plausible than 1. but it makes me feel more at peace with this whole affair. I felt all my indignation melt away as soon as I decided to embrace this explanation.

[psychotrenny]

I think one of Imperialism's most evil strategies is the national scale torture you'll see inflicted on countries that dare to dream of freedom. Like it's not just about overthrowing the anti-imperialist regime itself, but utterly breaking the very social, economic and in turn psychological foundations it's built upon. Prolonged periods of destruction that are as systematic as they are sadistic with the aim of making life unlivable until the government either collapses or gives in, accepting whatever concessions are forced upon them as the nation is remoulded into an dependent and obedient little neocolony.

Sometimes an imperialist power will act directly to achieve this (just take the gratuitous and deliberate destruction of civil infrastructure during the bombings of Yugoslavia and Iraq), but the preferred strategy is to employ local proxies. Groups like RENAMO in Mozambique or the Contras of Nicaragua. Bands of reactionaries, traitors and general desperadoes are gathered up, trained, armed and transported over the border at the expense of the Imperialists and their local collaborators. These armed groups have no interest in build mass support, of representing an alternative way of life. Their only purpose is destruction; killing, torturing, looting, burning whatever they can in order to bring their country to its knees. Frequently targeting important nodes in the networks that sustain the nation and the people's faith in it (bridges, rail depots, factories, hospitals and schools) but ultimately happy to attack whatever they can; every house burned or person tortured contributes to the climate of terror and corrosion of government credibility. Because when they kill these groups don't like to do it cleanly; their attacks generate countless reports immolation, disembowelment, victims hacked to pieces and left to bleed. But when possible they prefer to leave their victims alive and capable of further spreading their terror, inflicting the most vicious sorts of rape and mutilation on a mass scale

It's not just just evil for the sake of evil mind you. The cruelty has a point; human destruction to accompany the physical. Every person killed is someone who can no longer contribute to the development of the nation, while even living yet physically and psychologically broken victim places further strain on their country's increasingly fragile support systems. Meanwhile the terror of these actions spreads the impact beyond their immediate victims. The murder and torture of peasants makes the survivors too scared to go back into their fields, slowly starving the nation as the rural economy grind to a halt. The gruesome deaths of traders and travelers leaves the survivors too terrified to continue their business, shutting down the distributive networks that make national development and often life itself possible. The terror unleashed on foreign professionals can prompt the survivors to flee and discourage newcomers from arriving, depriving the underdeveloped economic and education systems of the skilled workers they need to improve or even function. And every broken body, ever broken mind, is proof of the government's weakness and ineptitude; a humiliating failure to protect their own people that demoralises supporters and empowers dissenters. The motivated sadism of these terrorist attacks is a microcosm of the motivated sadism displayed by their Imperialist backers

But why go to all this trouble? Why not just send in the paratroopers or organise a coup to end those troublesome regimes quickly? Sometimes it's a matter of possibility. As great as they are, the powers of Imperialist nations are not unlimited. All manner of constraints (domestic unrest, international condemnation which advantages dangerous rivals, the simple financial and human costs of such operations) limit what actions are viable or desirable. This is especially significant when the targets are motivated and disciplined anti-imperialists with a base of deep-rooted popular support, the sort of regime that won't go down to a simple commando raid or bribe to the right general. But sometimes, it's not enough to merely cut down a dissenting government; you have to salt the earth and make sure nothing similar ever grows back. I'll finish with the words of an anonymous Jesuit priest, talking about Nicaragua yet in terms widely relevant enough to be published in John Saul's conclusion to A Difficult Road: The Transition to Socialism in Mozambique (1985):

In Chile the Americans made a mistake. They cut off the revolution too abruptly. They killed the revolution but, as we can see from recent developments there, they didn't kill the dream. In Nicaragua, they're trying to kill the dream

[mariacallous]

In 2019, I gave a talk at TED that created waves: first at the conference, then on the internet and then, convulsively, in my own life. TED is Silicon Valley’s sacred ground. It’s the most consequential tech conference in the world and, in 2019, my talk entitled “Facebook’s role in Brexit - and the threat to democracy” was a break with normal service. It was the first time, a speaker had implicated Silicon Valley directly in the political tumult of 2016. It ricocheted out of the conference and across the internet where it’s now been seen five million times. And, most cataclysmically of all, it precipitated a lawsuit that devoured my time, energy and health.

This week I returned.

It was a big deal on any number of levels. For me, personally, for TED, and, I believe, or at least, hope, for Silicon Valley. I got to send a message to the leaders of these companies from a platform that is inside the temple. I’ve lost my voice and I feel like I’ve lived through a tornado….but with the knowledge that it’s one I’ve chosen to unleash.

TED has just released it as the first talk from the conference. I got to name what is happening for what it is: a coup. I call the Silicon Valley companies who attend this conference and even sponsor it, collaborators who are complicit in a regime of fear and cruelty. And I accuse Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, who is talking here on Friday not just of data theft but data rape.

There’s so much to say and I will write more soon but for now I’d be so grateful if you watch it and share it with your families and friends. In spite of everything, I’m grateful to have been given this platform and to be able to communicate what I believe are vital truths but I have paid a price for doing this work and the last week has been a rollercoaster of emotions: doubt, self-questioning, denial, overwhelm, fear.

And in the middle of it, the night before I flew to TED, I went to the Observer’s farewell party. This Sunday marks the end of the newspaper as we know it. Six years ago, I got to write about the experience of giving my TED talk in the Guardian/Observer. Paul Webster, the editor, put it on the front page.

This time around, that’s not possible. TED gave me editorial freedom to say what I wanted. The Guardian/Observer won’t even allow me to write about it, in any form.I pitched a piece for this Sunday about the experience. It would be my last article for the paper, it transfers to Tortoise next week who have declined to renew my contract; an epitaph to my 20-year career there and an an end point to an investigation that brought the Guardian and Observer extraordinary kudos and the most money it has ever raised from any story. It was turned down. That is an extraordinary indictment.

Here, instead, is a still from the talk. I believe that existing movements - the labour movement, the civil rights movement - are fundamental to asserting our rights against Silicon Valley, to rebuilding the internet from the ground up to rejecting the autocratic takeover not just the US but our reality: we all live on these platforms.

I’m six years older than when I gave that first talk though I feel 106 years older. Part of my reason for going through with it - and it was touch and go whether I would - was because, as I say at the end, I’m reclaiming my story. I’ve been trapped in someone else’s narrative. And I also really want to use it as a personal moment of change. In 2016, I threw myself over what felt like an about-to-explode bomb. I ended up absorbing the shock blast from something that was much bigger than me: the waves of destruction that the technological and political changes of 2016 sent through the system. I need to mark this chapter as now over and put back together some of the bits that shattered through this process.

But mostly, the talk is a huge thank you to the people who supported me through my legal trials. The 30,000+ people who contributed to my crowdfunder and held me up. You are the model for what is needed in the next days and years.

This is what we’re up against. This was Palmer Luckey, on stage the day after me. That’s an autonomous missile next to him. He’s a US defence contractor, Trump cheerleader.He got a standing ovation.

In my talk, I could feel waves of hostility coming from some people in the room. TED is ground zero of the AI gold rush. But there was also cheerleading and l’ve been overwhelmed by huge love and support from others who see exactly what is happening. It’s the weirdest time to be here. And it was the weirdest energy from an audience of any talk I’ve ever given. But then, it was intended to make them uncomfortable. Politics is technology now. Silicon Valley is desperate to deny that, but it can’t and no can we.

[jjmcquade-misc]

Conspiracy theories that turned out as true

Here is a list of theories that were initially labeled as conspiracy theories by the mass media but later turned out to be true:

MKUltra: A secret CIA program that conducted mind control experiments using LSD and other methods on unsuspecting individuals. Initially dismissed as a far-fetched conspiracy theory, its existence was later confirmed through declassified documents released in the 1970s, revealing the extent of the unethical experiments.

Tuskegee Syphilis Study: A U.S. Public Health Service experiment where hundreds of Black men with syphilis were left untreated to study the disease’s natural progression. Initially denied and considered a conspiracy theory, it was confirmed in 1972 after a whistleblower exposed the study, leading to widespread outrage and reforms in medical ethics.

Operation Snow White: A conspiracy orchestrated by the Church of Scientology to infiltrate U.S. government agencies and steal sensitive documents. Dismissed as an unlikely plot, it was proven true in the late 1970s when investigations led to the conviction of several Scientology members.

CIA’s Involvement in the Crack Cocaine Epidemic: Allegations that the CIA facilitated the spread of crack cocaine in the 1980s to fund covert operations were initially rejected as conspiracy theories. Investigative journalism, notably by Gary Webb in the 1990s, and subsequent inquiries confirmed some level of CIA complicity or negligence in drug trafficking networks.

NSA’s Mass Surveillance Program: Claims of widespread government surveillance of citizens were dismissed as paranoid theories until 2013, when Edward Snowden leaked documents revealing the NSA’s extensive PRISM program, confirming the scope of global surveillance activities.

FBI’s COINTELPRO Program: A secret FBI initiative to surveil, infiltrate, and disrupt political groups, including civil rights organizations, was initially denied and labeled a conspiracy theory. It was confirmed in 1971 after activists stole and released FBI documents exposing the program’s illegal activities.

Project Sunshine: A U.S. government project that collected tissue samples from deceased children without parental consent to study the effects of radioactive fallout. Initially dismissed as a gruesome conspiracy theory, it was later confirmed through declassified records in the 1990s.

Operation Mockingbird: A CIA effort to influence and control media outlets and journalists during the Cold War. Long considered a conspiracy theory, it was substantiated by declassified documents and congressional investigations in the 1970s, revealing the agency’s manipulation of public narratives.

CIA’s Involvement in the 1953 Iranian Coup: The CIA’s role in orchestrating the overthrow of Iran’s democratically elected government was initially denied and dismissed as a conspiracy theory. It was officially confirmed in 2013 when declassified documents detailed the agency’s collaboration with British intelligence.

FBI’s Spying on Martin Luther King Jr.: Allegations that the FBI surveilled and attempted to discredit Martin Luther King Jr. were initially rejected as conspiratorial. The program’s existence was confirmed in the 1970s through released documents, exposing the extent of the FBI’s efforts to undermine the civil rights leader.

These examples demonstrate that while many conspiracy theories lack evidence, some dismissed by the mass media have been validated over time through investigations, leaks, and declassified records, revealing hidden truths about government and institutional actions.

These are less obvious, often overlooked incidents that still carry the weight of confirmed conspiracies:

The Business Plot (1933) Okay, this one stretches just before the post-WWII mark, but it’s modern enough and obscure today. Rumors swirled that a group of wealthy American businessmen planned to overthrow President Franklin D. Roosevelt and install a fascist regime. Marine Corps General Smedley Butler blew the whistle, claiming he’d been recruited to lead the coup. People dismissed it as a wild tale—until a congressional investigation confirmed there was indeed a plot. Big names like DuPont and J.P. Morgan were linked, though no one faced charges. It’s a chilling “what if” that doesn’t get much airtime today.

Operation Paperclip’s Darker Edges You might’ve heard of Operation Paperclip—the U.S. recruiting Nazi scientists after WWII—but the conspiracy angle is less known. Beyond the famous ones like Wernher von Braun, whispers persisted that war criminals with horrific pasts were smuggled in. The government insisted they were just harmless tech experts. Declassified files later showed otherwise: many were high-ranking Nazis whose records were scrubbed to dodge immigration laws. It’s not just about rockets; some worked on biological and chemical weapons projects, a detail that stayed buried for decades.

The Nayirah Testimony Hoax (1990) In the lead-up to the Gulf War, a girl named Nayirah testified to Congress that Iraqi soldiers in Kuwait were ripping babies from incubators and leaving them to die. It was a gut-wrenching story that helped justify military action. Skeptics called it propaganda, but they were shouted down—until it unraveled. Nayirah was the Kuwaiti ambassador’s daughter, coached by PR firm Hill & Knowlton (hired by Kuwait’s government) to sell the war. Investigative journalists exposed the lie, proving it was a fabricated conspiracy to sway opinion.

The CIA’s Heart Attack Gun (1970s) Ever hear rumors of a gun that could silently kill with no trace? In the ‘70s, people speculated the CIA had a dart gun that triggered heart attacks using frozen toxins. It sounded like James Bond nonsense—until the 1975 Church Committee hearings. The CIA fessed up: they’d built it. The dart dissolved in the body, leaving no evidence. It’s a spy gadget turned real, and while it’s niche, it’s not a household name like Snowden’s leaks.

The Ford Pinto Scandal (1970s) This one’s corporate, not governmental. Word got around that Ford knew their Pinto car could explode in rear-end crashes due to a faulty fuel tank. Ford denied it, insisting the car was safe. Then internal memos leaked: they’d calculated it was cheaper to settle lawsuits from burn victims than fix the design. Court cases confirmed it—a cold-blooded conspiracy of profit over lives. It’s a grim footnote in automotive history that doesn’t get the spotlight it deserves.

Project SHAMROCK (1940s–1970s) Before the NSA’s modern surveillance scandals, there were whispers they’d been snooping on Americans’ telegrams for years. Critics were labeled paranoid—until the Church Committee (again, busy folks) uncovered Project SHAMROCK. Starting in the ‘40s, the NSA collected millions of telegrams without warrants, sharing them with other agencies. It ran for decades before exposure in the ‘70s, a precursor to today’s privacy debates that’s faded from public chatter.

Bohemian Grove’s Real Rituals (Ongoing) For years, people murmured about Bohemian Grove—a secretive retreat in California where elites like politicians and CEOs allegedly held weird rituals, including mock sacrifices to an owl statue. It sounded absurd, a fever dream of conspiracy buffs. Then, in 2000, Alex Jones snuck in and filmed the “Cremation of Care” ceremony, proving it happens. The meetings are real; what they mean—powerful networking or something darker—is still up for debate. It’s not a headliner like Watergate, but it’s verified and eerie.

These cases flew under the radar compared to the big-name conspiracies, yet they all started as dismissed theories before evidence—documents, testimony, or footage—proved them true. They’re snapshots of modern history where secrecy and power collided, only to be dragged into the light later!

1. 9/11 and Government Foreknowledge (2001)

Initial Dismissal: After the September 11, 2001 attacks, claims that the U.S. government had prior knowledge or was complicit were widely rejected as baseless conspiracy theories by officials and mainstream media.

Later Validation: The 9/11 Commission Report (2004) revealed significant intelligence failures, including missed warnings from agencies like the FBI and CIA. While it didn’t prove intentional involvement, it confirmed that critical information was overlooked, lending some credibility to theories of negligence or mishandling.

2. Iraq War and Weapons of Mass Destruction (2003)

Initial Dismissal: Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the idea that the U.S. and its allies exaggerated or fabricated evidence of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) to justify war was dismissed as anti-government propaganda.

Later Validation: The Iraq Survey Group report (2004) found no active WMD programs, and subsequent inquiries, like the U.K.’s Chilcot Report (2016), confirmed that intelligence was flawed or manipulated, validating the core claim that the war’s premise was shaky.

3. Mass Surveillance Programs (2013)

Initial Dismissal: For years, suggestions that governments were conducting widespread surveillance of citizens via technology were brushed off as paranoid delusions.

Later Validation: Edward Snowden’s 2013 leaks exposed programs like PRISM, run by the NSA, showing that the U.S. and other governments were monitoring communications on an unprecedented scale, confirming the reality of mass surveillance.

4. Financial Crisis and Banking Misconduct (2008)

Initial Dismissal: Before the 2008 financial crisis, theories that major banks were engaging in reckless or fraudulent practices—like predatory lending and creating risky financial products—were often dismissed as exaggerated or alarmist.

Later Validation: The crisis exposed widespread misconduct, with investigations and settlements (e.g., the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act and billions in fines) confirming that banks had indeed acted irresponsibly, validating earlier suspicions.

5. COVID-19 Lab Leak Hypothesis (2020)

Initial Dismissal: Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the notion that the virus originated from a lab in Wuhan, China, was labeled a conspiracy theory and dismissed by many scientists, media outlets, and organizations like the WHO.

Later Validation: By 2021, intelligence reports and scientific discussions (e.g., U.S. government assessments and WHO revisits) deemed the lab leak a plausible scenario, shifting it from fringe theory to a legitimate hypothesis, though conclusive evidence is still lacking.

6. Social Media Manipulation and Data Misuse (2018)

Initial Dismissal: Claims that social media platforms like Facebook were exploiting user data for political or financial gain were often downplayed as speculative before 2018.

Later Validation: The Cambridge Analytica scandal (2018) revealed that data from millions of users was harvested without consent and used to influence elections, confirming that such manipulation was occurring on a large scale.

[gotta-winwin]

RELATIONSHIP WITH SEVENTEEN <> HYUNG LINE

SCOUPS - older brother figure

THEN: When Cyana was first announced to be joining seventeen, Coups was more than hesitant. It was a huge change to be adding a member two years after seventeen's debut, let alone a female member. He was stressed, pressed and worried with how the media would represent this change, and how Cyana would feel having to be around 13 boys. NOW: Now, Coups could never imagine seventeen without Cyana. Although it was a tough adjustment for everyone, she became his little sister and was basically adopted into the Choi family. He plays the role of her guardian, always worrying about her well-being. Don't be fooled however, the eldest and maknae often get into their own crazy schemes for the sake of "fun."

JEONGHAN - comfort buddies

THEN: Jeonghan didn't really mind having a female member. Sure, he was a little confused why the company decided to suddenly make them 14, but he took it in stride and made it his mission to befriend Cyana. They grew close despite the language barrier and became a chaotic force. NOW: Jeonghan's seventeen's therapist and that applies to Cyana as well. She often finds herself going to Jeonghan to vent about the struggles she is having. They are late night walk buddies and although they've had their spats throughout the years, the bond they have is inseparable.

JOSHUA - hometown besties

THEN: Similar to Jeonghan, Joshua didn't really bat an eye about a female member joining them. He knew it was bound to change their routine, but he was just excited to have another member from LA. Cyana immediately gravitated towards him, as Joshua helped her with navigating the language barrier and idol life. NOW: Cyana and Joshua, although not as close as they were in the beginning, still have that older brother-younger sister vibe. He's the first one she calls whenever good news happens and they often travel back to LA together to visit their families.

JUN - platonic soulmates

THEN: Jun was a member Cyana wanted to get to know well simply because he could speak Mandarin. It took them awhile to get close however, as both of them were naturally shy and could not say more than a few words before choking in the awkward silence. Jun took many steps (forcing Cyana to watch a Chinese drama with him) to become closer with the girl. NOW: Currently, Jun and Cyana are still inseparable. They facetime the most often out of everyone, often having each other on call while they do other things, just for the presence of each other. Watching Chinese dramas is still their tradition, and Jun has played a big part in helping Cyana feel confident enough to being acting.

HOSHI - frenemies

THEN: To put it quite frankly, Hoshi was terrified to know they had a female member joining them. He knew it would change up the chemistry they already had onstage, and although he was excited to try choreographing for a female idol, he figured it'd be awkward. Upon meeting however, Hoshi fell in love with how cute baby Cyana was and also realized they bonded easily over dancing. NOW: Hoshi and Cyana have a sort of love-hate relationship. Hoshi enjoys teasing Cyana to no end and gets upset when Cyana doesn't participate in his tiger agenda. They're like hot and cold, Hoshi pushes Cyana out of her comfort zone and Cyana reminds him to calm down a bit. They're a storm onstage, often collaborating in duo dances for special events.

WONWOO - twin flames

THEN: Besides Woozi, Wonwoo was the member Cyana took the longest to get to know. It didn't help that Wonwoo avoided her every chance he got, resulting in the most awkward tension filling the room. It took lots of failed attempts to finally grow closer, as Cyana realized Wonwoo was just nervous and Wonwoo discovered how much he had in common with the girl. NOW: The members often describe Wonwoo and Cyana as twin flames. They compliment each other well and often spend hours parallel playing in silence. Wonwoo's the first person Cyana goes to for solace, and vice versa. Fans love to joke that Wonwoo's Cyana's personal cameraman because he's often the one behind all the shots.

WOOZI - coproducing maniacs

THEN: Woozi was probably the one that was the most against Cyana joining the group. It didn't make sense to him why it would be a smart move, and he sadly did ice her out for most of their first comeback with her. It wasn't until Woozi stumbled across Cyana's notebooks filled with lyrics did he realize maybe he's got it all wrong. NOW: Woozi and Cyana are known in the Kpop industry as the producer duo. They co-write and co-produce most of seventeen's songs, and due to the close proximity the work calls for, they grew close over the years. They're often found huddled together at Universe Factory and their chat logs are filled with song ideas and demos.

[saywhat-politics]

Is Elon Musk Staging a Coup? Unelected Billionaire Seizes Control at Treasury Dept. & Other Agencies

Elon Musk, the tech billionaire and unelected adviser to President Donald Trump, is asserting control over much of the federal bureaucracy and sensitive government computer systems despite lacking clear authority. The highest-ranking career official at the Treasury Department was pushed out after refusing to hand Musk's team the keys to the government's entire payment system and the $6 trillion in payments the system processes annually, including Social Security checks, tax refunds and Medicare benefits. Musk and his team have also seized control at the Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration, key institutions that function as the central nervous system of the U.S. government. "In any other situation, this would be called state capture, and people around the world would be condemning it," says Democratic strategist Waleed Shahid, who writes in a new blog post that "Elon Musk is staging a coup." We also speak with Lindsay Owens, executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative, who warns that Musk could be laying the groundwork for major tax cuts Republicans have promised that will disproportionately benefit corporations and wealthy people like him. "Elon Musk is going to pay for his tax cut with your Social Security," says Owens.

[moghedien]

here's my conspiracy theory. not exactly what I actually think is gonna happen, but something I thought of that makes me go "hmmm" nonetheless. book spoilers btw

so Moiraine's "death" has been pretty heavily foreshadowed to the point where I wouldn't even call it foreshadowing but something they straight up said was going to happen.

that makes me suspicious that this definitely won't happen in the finale. maybe next season we'll get a doorway or an actual death, but I feel like its the most obvious bait and switch that could be being set up here

and we haven't seen Lanfear in person, we don't know what she's doing. we don't know what her goals are outside of being Egwene's sleep paralysis demon. She has been in everyone's dreams though. We know specifically that she's been in Egwene's dreams. She's been in Moiraine's dreams. She's been in Rand's dreams. She's been in Liandrin's dreams. Probably more than that too.

and if she was in Moiraine and Liandrin's dreams specifically then she might know some things about the tower. She might know about relatinships. She might know the politics. And by might I mean she almost certainly does. and she clearly has interest in at least sabotaging the Black Ajah based on her interaction with Liandrin, though I guess she might not have been actually trying to sabotage them. She might be trying to use them. And if nothing else, she learned that the orders were coming from Ishamael and the orders aren't coming in anymore and other Forsaken are probably trying to fill that hole.

so my conspiracy theory is that all of the Moiraine vs. Lanfear for this season is a bait and switch. Lanfear wants Rand. She wants to manipulate Moiraine. She wants to stop Moiraine from manipulating Rand. She wants to have control over every resource she can manage. So she distracts Moiraine. She makes herself out to be a threat or an ally or both while never even actually being there. She lets it build all the way to a "final" confrontation where she might actually show up in person because by now she's got the parts she needed moving on their own. The coup happens. The Black Ajah has a great deal of power with Alviarin as #2 whispering in Elaida's ear. The tower is in chaos. The tower that was previously being held together by Moiraine's lover is in chaos. Moiraine's lover is deposes. Moiraine's only collaborator and the one that was supposed to bring all of this together for her is no longer there and Moiraine was too busy worrying about her own neck getting slit by Lanfear to even consider the hands that Lanfear might be playing elsewhere, behind her back, that specifically target and destablize everything she's built and everything she cared about and what was supposed to see her plans done once she's gone. Now she's not gone and the plans and schemes are in shambles.

and remember that even if Siuan doesn't die in the coup (which she better fucking not), Moiraine went through the doorway in book 5 thinking that Siuan was dead

[terephin]

I've been having ideas for like a week, so fakepost time, Star Wars Edition.

rotunda

dailyjediquotes reblogged verpine-sextoy [21:3:28]

dailyjediquotes [21:3:27]

QUOTE OF THE DAY : "Kill yourself, perhaps you should. Traditional, it is." - Jedi Master Yoda, 225:6:11BrS

verpine-sextoy follow [21:3:27]

what the kriff. why

dailyjediquotes [21:3:28]

It's advice, given to Jedi Knight Lo'or Cil'lin during negotiations with the Breem. Apparently, it's traditional when two of them can't reach an agreement to kill themselves, and whoever heals back to life first is considered to have the favour of the planet, thus winning.

verpine-sextoy [21:3:28]

that does not help

#skill issue honestly verpie #you should really read up on the Breem though. fascinating species

419 notes

da-emperooorxxx reblogged droidswrongsactivist [21:3:28]

czerka-corp-officialdeactivated15740 [3949:2:12]

The Czerka Corporation would like to remind you that all rumours regarding the nature of our current HK series droids are just that, rumours. The HK series are designed only for protocol duties, and will not, nor can they ; Kill you, Kill your family, Kill your enemies, Kill your pets, Deliberately cause a diplomatic incident, Spread your secrets, Spread your enemies secrets, or break article 509-411-C of Republic Law.

droidswrongsactivist [3949:2:15]

Mocking Statement : This latest attempt at hiding the nature of the HK series is the most pathetic yet. I am forced to applaud the meatbags of Czerka, I did not have faith that they could make it more obvious.

da-emperooorxxx [21:2:13]

Wait wait wait, I just saw this, how frakking old are you @ droidswrongsactivist?????

droidswrongsactivist [21:3:27]

Irrelevant.

#what the fraaaakkk

1009441 notes

dailyjediquotes reblogged remembertheskywalker [21:3:28]

generalbaewalkerdeactivated16537 [16:5:20]

Whoo, finally back on Coruscant and just in time too huh. Never thought the Separatists would get so bold. Everyone doing alright?

historyiswritten follow [20:9:43]

This is, to my knowledge, the last message sent by Anakin Skywalker before his death.

Look, I honestly don't care if the rest of the Jedi betrayed the Republic, but I refuse to believe Skywalker was in on it. The man was a hero unlike any other.

#yeah I've had my issues with the narrative for a while #but I swear by the fact that no matter what Skywalker wasn't part of the coup #I've read his logs #there's no way he'd do anything like that

56811344 notes

dailyjediquotes [21:3:27]

Anonymous asked : How in the name of Chaos has Imperial Intelligence not killed you by now????

Don't wooooooorry about it.

#snitches get 10-12 new orifices btw #just fyi

5 notes

droidswrongsactivist reblogged historical-smash-or-pass [21:3:27]

historical-smash-or-pass follow [21:2:44]

Smash or Pass ; Revan

Don't have much on this one honestly. I looked into them before this, but all I could find was that they were some sorta General during the Mandalorian Wars or something?

REMINDER : SUBMISSIONS MUST HAVE BEEN DEAD FOR 100 YEARS AT A MINIMUM. I CAN'T BELIEVE I HAVE TO KEEP SAYING THIS.

historical-smash-or-pass [21:3:1]

[Image ID : Tags reading #Smash #One of the few respectable meatbags I've known]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN "THAT YOU'VE KNOWN" IT'S BEEN THOUSANDS OF YEARS?????

#Do not worry your tiny meatbag brain about it.

1209 notes

bith-by-bith reblogged lekkuposting [21:3:27]

dug-in-a-hole follow [3:7:11]

Would you still love me if I was an Exogorth?

astralsauce follow [3:7:11]

No.

dug-in-a-hole [3:7:12]

Bad news then you mopak nerf herder.

57435 notes

bith-by-bith reblogged memoryoftaris [21:3:27]

clonerreviews follow [21:3:25]

GAR PROJECT MEGAREVIEW, PART TWO

Hello everyone, this is Koral Nai here again for you all with part two of the Megareview covering the Grand Army of the Republic project. This is made in collaboration with @ galactic-foundry , @ arms-armours-and-auxilaries and @ starshipping . Please remember to check them out for their parts on the CIS Droid Army, Armaments and Vehicles, and Starships of the Clone Wars respectively.

Without further ado, here's the video.

[Video pictured ; Title "GAR MEGAREVIEW PART TWO - UNITS 200001 THROUGH 400000". The thumbnail depicts a grey eyed Kaminoan sitting in front of a shelf of damaged Phase 1 Clonetrooper equipment. It is 25 hours long.]

shouldsioniastandfree follow [21:3:26]

Wow, the longneck was serious about it? I though the first one was the Kaminoan version of a joke.

on-starlit-wings follow [21:3:26]

We all know Kaminoans don't have fun. They're too busy gloating about the superiority of their own frakking poodoo for that.

303496 notes

Calling it there for this one. Hope, uh, you enjoyed?

Btw if you're questioning the numbers, there's like a lotta people in the SW galaxy, and while rotunda is pretty small for being SW soc med, that still means you generally multiply the notes by 100.

Also for the dates : https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Great_ReSynchronization

Also if you can tell what the various mini references and jokes are, please say so! I put a decent amount of research into this shitpost.

Now I gotta figure out how to tag this thing...

[mostlysignssomeportents]

2600’s amazing Hackers on Planet Earth con may go down under enshittification

Catch me in Miami! I'll be at Books and Books in Coral Gables on Jan 22 at 8PM.

It's been 40 years since Emmanuel Goldstein launched the seminal, essential, world-changing 2600: The Hacker Quarterly. 2600 wasn't the first phreak/hacker zine, but it was the most important, spawning a global subculture dedicated to the noble pursuit of technological self-determination:

https://www.2600.com/

2600 has published hundreds of issues in which digital spelunkers report eagerly on the things they've discovered by peering intently at the things no one was supposed to even glance at (I'm proud to be one of those writers!). They've fought legal battles, including one that almost went to the Supreme Court:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeCSS

They created a global network of meetups where some of technology's most durable friendships and important collaborations were born. These continue to this day:

https://www.2600.com/meetings

And they've hosted a weekly radio show on NYC's WBAI, Off the Hook:

https://wbai.org/program.php?program=76

When WBAI management lost their minds and locked the station's most beloved hosts out of the studio, Off the Hook (naturally) led the rebellion, taking back the station for its audience, rescuing it from a managerial coup:

https://twitter.com/2600/status/1181423565389942786

But best of all, 2600 gave us HOPE – both in the metaphorical sense of "hope for a better technological tomorrow" and in the literal sense, with its biannual Hackers On Planet Earth con:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackers_on_Planet_Earth

For decades HOPE had an incredible venue, the Hotel Pennsylvania (memorialized in the phreak anthem "PEnnsylvania 6-5000"), a crumbling pile in midtown Manhattan that was biannually transformed into a rollicking, multi-day festival of forbidden technology, improbable feats, and incredible presentations. I was privileged to keynote HOPE in 2016:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1D7APjmVbk

But after the 2018 HOPE, the Hotel Pennsylvania was demolished to make way for the Penn15 (no, really) skyscraper, a vaporware mega-tower planned as a holding pen for luxury shopping and empty million-dollar condos sold to offshore war-criminals as safe-deposit boxes in the sky. The developer, Vornado (no, really) hasn't actually done all that – after demo'ing the Hotel Pennsylvania, they noped out, leave a large, unusable scar across midtown.

But HOPE wasn't lost. In 2022, the ever-resilient 2600 crew relocated to Queens, hosted by St John's University – a venue that was less glamorous that the Hotel Pennsylvania, but the event was still fantastic. Attendance fell from 2,000 to 1,000, but that was something they could work with, and reviews from attendees were stellar.

Good thing, too. 2600 is, first and foremost, a magazine publisher, and these have been hard years for magazines. First there was the mass die-off of indie bookstores and newsracks (I used to sell 2600 when I was a bookseller, and in the years after, I always took the presence of 2600 on a store's newsrack as an unimpeachable mark of quality).

Thankfully for 2600, their audience is (unsurprisingly) a tech-savvy one, so they were able to substitute digital subscriptions for physical ones:

https://www.2600.com/Magazine/DigitalEditions

Of course, many of those subscriptions came through Amazon's Kindle, because nerds were early Amazon adopters, and because the Kindle magazine publishing platform offered DRM-free distribution to subscribers along with a fair payout to publishers.

But then Amazon enshittified its magazine system. Having locked publishers to its platform, it rugged them and killed the monthly subscription fees that allowed publishers to plan for a steady output. Publishers were given a choice: leave Amazon (and all the readers locked inside its walled garden) or put your magazine into the Kindle Unlimited system:

https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/arp/B0BWPTCP4K?deviceType=A1FG5NAKX0MRJL

Kindle Unlimited is an all-you-can-eat program for Kindle, which pays publishers and writers based on a system that is both opaque and easily gamed, with the lion's share of the money going to "publishers" who focus on figuring out how to cheat the algorithm. Revenues for 2600 – and all the other magazines that Amazon had sucked in and sucked dry – fell off a cliff.

Which brings me to the present moment. After 40 years, 2600 is still at it, having survived the bookstorepocalypse, the lunacy of public radio management, the literal demolition of their physical home by an evil real-estate developer, and Amazon's crooked accounting.

This is 2600, circa 2024, and 2024 a HOPE year:

https://www.hope.net/

Once again, HOPE has been scheduled for its new digs in Queens, July 12-14. Last week, HOPE sent out an email blast to their subscribers telling them the news. They expected to sell 500 tickets in the first 24 hours. They didn't even come close:

https://www.2600.com/content/hope-ticket-sales-update

It turns out that Google and the other major mail providers don't like emails with the word "hacker" in them. The cartel that decides which email gets delivered, and which messages go to spam, or get blocked altogether, mass-blocked the HOPE 2024 announcement. Email may be the last federated, open platform we have, but mass concentration has created a system where it's nearly impossible to get your email delivered unless you're willing to play by Gmail's rules:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/10/10/dead-letters/

For Emmanuel Goldstein, founder of 2600 and tireless toiler for this community, the deafening silence following from that initial email volley was terrifying: "like some kind of a "Twilight Zone" episode where everyone has disappeared."

The enshittification that keeps 2600's emails from being delivered to the people who asked to receive them is even worse on social media. Social media companies routinely defraud their users by letting them subscribe to feeds, then turning around to the people and organizations that run those feeds and saying, "You've got x thousand subscribers on this platform, but we won't put your posts in their feeds unless you pay us to 'boost' your content":

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/04/platforms-decay-lets-put-users-first

Enshittification has been coming at 2600 for decades. Like other forms of oddball media dedicated to challenging corporate power and government oppression, 2600 has always been a ten-years-ahead preview of the way the noose was gonna tighten on all of us. And now, they're on the ropes. HOPE can't sell tickets unless people know about HOPE, and neither email providers nor social media platforms have any interest in making that happen.

A handful of giant corporations now get to decide what we read, who we hear from, and whether and how we can get together in person to make friends, forge community, rabble-rouse and change the world. The idea that "it's not censorship unless the government does it" has always been wrong (not all censorship violates the First Amendment, and censorship can be real without being unconstitutional):

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/04/yes-its-censorship/

What can you do about it? Well, for one thing, you can sign up for HOPE. It's gonna be great. They've got sub-$100 hotel rooms! In New York City!

https://store.2600.com/products/tickets-to-hope-xv

If you can't make it to HOPE, you can sign up for a virtual membership:

https://store.2600.com/products/tickets-to-hope-xv-virtual-attendee

You can submit a talk to HOPE:

https://www.hope.net/cfp.html

You can subscribe to 2600, in print or electronically (I signed up for the lifetime print subscription and it was a bargain – I devour every issue the day it arrives):

https://store.2600.com/collections/subscriptions-renewals

2600 is living a decade in the future of every other community you care about, weird hobby you enjoy, con you live for, and publication you read from cover to cover. If we can all pull together to save it, it'll be a beacon of hope (and HOPE).

I'm Kickstarting the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues, narrated by @wilwheaton! You can pre-order the audiobook and ebook, DRM free, as well as the hardcover, signed or unsigned. There's also bundles with Red Team Blues in ebook, audio or paperback.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/19/hope-less/#hack-the-planet

[irhabiya]

remember the guy, stuart seldowitz, who was harassing an egyptian street vendor in ny a couple months ago? threatening to report his face to "his friends over at the egyptian mukhabarat (intelligence)" and get his family detained, have their nails picked off one by one? then goes on to say that his threats and harassment are justified because "this is america and free speech is a thing here"

how hysterical is it that these soulless, heartless, morally bankrupt ghouls openly brag about collaborating with and backing oppressive regimes abroad and their oh so precious freedom of speech domestically at the same time, like the censorship in our homeland is inherent to us being lesser beings and not a product of you meddling in our lives—like he admits that they do.

you back a coup to reinstall wildly oppressive military government that we had spent weeks, months, years fighting off just for you to fund a massacre and undo it all, continue to back and collaborate with that government to secure your interests in the middle east, and we have to suffer the consequences of that but it's somehow because we're backwards and lesser than.

like i think the thing every egyptian mourns from a decade ago, no matter what their political leanings are, is dissent. i'm terrified for the protestors at the press syndicate in cairo, they're almost certainly all going to end up as political prisoners, and god knows what they'll do to them there.

they play a role in this, they support it, they watch it happen and laugh about it to our faces.