social.mjd.id.au

James Westman
James Westman mastodon (AP)
libshumate's vector tile renderer now supports labels! https://www.jwestman.net/2022/06/18/labelling-maps-is-surprisingly-hard.html
Image/photo
LINux on MOBile reshared this.
Y⃒̸̷̝̜̙ͥͥͥngmar
Y⃒̸̷̝̜̙ͥͥͥngmar mastodon (AP)
Past sunset and a few stragglers arrive at the anchorage.

Nightclub at the beach has the soundsystem turned up to the point where the lights are dimming with the beat 🤣

Some of the music isn't bad, actually.

#
A few sailboats at anchor. Some have their navigation lights on, more or less correctly.
#CruisingLife
Martijn Braam
Martijn Braam mastodon (AP)
My progress with messing with Megapixels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ypc3pfzSajo
LINux on MOBile reshared this.
Martijn Braam
Martijn Braam mastodon (AP)
And if you want to see the full images, here's the picture with postprocess.sh and the one that uses postprocessd-single
postprocess.sh picture
postprocessd picture
LINux on MOBile reshared this.
martijn
martijn ActivityPub

Megapixels and postprocessd improvements

Showcasing the new postprocessing plugins support in Megapixels and the current release of postprocessd with fixed stacking. These changes will most likely be in the new Megapixels release once 1.5.0 is tagged and postprocessd is in the process of being updated in Alpine Linux so it should show up in postmarketOS edge and hopefully in the next service pack for stable.
LINux on MOBile reshared this.
ancient_domains_of_word
ancient_domains_of_word mastodon (AP)
POV: It's June 24, 2022, and you are worried that communists are leading ordinary people astray by encouraging a general strike.
Kat MCP(NT4) MCSE(Win2K) reshared this.
3 comments - Show more
ancient_domains_of_word
ancient_domains_of_word mastodon (AP)
I didn't mean for this to be a honeypot
Sister Petra
Sister Petra mastodon (AP)
Suppose a man plants a seed in my front yard, it takes root, & it starts to grow. Suppose I didn't give consent or permission for the planting. In my yard, I have rights to pull it up or let it grow, because it’s on my property. If this situation unfolds inside my body, in my flesh, blood & organs, I'm denied the right to make this decision—because my body is not considered to be my own. Explain to me again how I'm considered equal to any man, under the law?
My body matters.
My freedom matters.
Luke reshared this.
Martijn Braam
Martijn Braam mastodon (AP)
I have around 50 of these photos now due to megapixels testing :D
Image/photo
LINux on MOBile reshared this.
Jonathan🇨🇩 🇾🇪 🇪🇹🇺🇦
Jonathan🇨🇩 🇾🇪 🇪🇹🇺🇦 mastodon (AP)
Kenya and Uganda spend $2 billion on military annually.
Our military:
Image/photo
Luke reshared this.
shoshin
shoshin mastodon (AP)
Question for the fedi: my partner would like to move off of Insta which is where she follows many activist accounts, primarily around feminism, parenting, herbalism, etc. She's considering mastodon but I'm not sure what to suggest for an instance. Any one out there have any thoughts?
Luke
Luke mastodon (AP)
@ParadeGrotesque it’s not so much finding a particular instance and more about curating who they follow by searching in keywords and hashtags etc. Takes a bit longer initially but pays off. Also Pixelfed is federated image sharing so look for instances of that.
@Parade du Grotesque 💀
Nation.Cymru
Nation.Cymru mastodon (AP)
The Real deal – what pedigree will Gareth Bale bring to Los Angeles FC? https://nation.cymru/sport/the-real-deal-what-pedigree-will-gareth-bale-bring-to-los-angeles-fc/
Devon
Devon mastodon (AP)
The suburbs are a wild place. Just saw a stretch Hummer in the drive through line at a Wendy’s.
Phil T
Phil T mastodon (AP)
A few examples of public wall art from around Blackburn U.K.
Image/photo
Image/photo
Image/photo
Luke
Luke mastodon (AP)
good stuff!
Nation.Cymru
Nation.Cymru mastodon (AP)
Call to boost Welsh in Newport - 'a lot of ethnic minority people want their children to speak it' https://nation.cymru/news/ethnic-minority-welsh-language/
Pixelcode 💙💛🕊️
Pixelcode 💙💛🕊️ mastodon (AP)
#? https://sns.d-rine.com/users/FollowBot
Screenshot of the profile
#FediBlock
sтυx💙💛 reshared this.
6 comments - Show more
sтυx💙💛
sтυx💙💛 mastodon (AP)
Not sure but does look like it.. 🤔

Checkout the posts from the admin account.. :blobcatscared:
lamp
lamp mastodon (AP)
at least it's civil and not gut-wrenching "kys tranny" *noose image* shit
Devon
Devon mastodon (AP)
I can map what’s going on in my life against my most used emoji.

😜 or 😆- I’m relatively carefree and joking around a lot.
😢- I find this is usually when other people are having a hard time. When I have my hard times, I like to replace sadness with action of some kind.
😩- Best case: why is (insert corporation) so hard to deal with? Worst case: why is US healthcare so hard to get?
😅- Dang, things are hard, but I guess I have to keep pushing forward anyway.
Kat MCP(NT4) MCSE(Win2K)
Kat MCP(NT4) MCSE(Win2K) mastodon (AP)
I know it's just Practice ... But 3456 is still cool! Lol

Practice #
4️⃣3️⃣ PIETY - SLOPE
5️⃣6️⃣ NOBLE - BLURT
quordle.com
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 🟩⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜🟨🟨🟩🟨 🟩🟨⬜⬜🟩
⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜🟨🟨⬜🟩 ⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
#Quordle
Matthew Davidson
Matthew Davidson friendica
Dietary supplements are a splendid case of Goodhart's Law in action. [Takes a multivitamin, anyway.]
Ruben
Ruben friendica
Luckily we have kidneys to filter out the waste.
Ruben
Ruben friendica
I should add _most_ of us have kidneys, by no means a given. Keep up the fluids everyone and avoid sugary drinks. #
#kidneyhealth
sтυx💙💛
sтυx💙💛 mastodon (AP)
# 🐐
#Goats
wobweger
wobweger mastodon (AP)
it's so 😎 ,
how little one is taking measurements
you can almost see calculations going on 💚
Aaron Toponce ⚛️:debian:
Aaron Toponce ⚛️:debian: mastodon (AP)
Firefox uses the ~/.mozilla/ directory instead of the Freedesktop.org XDG specification when saving data in your home dir.

So here's an 18 year old bug.

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=259356
4 comments - Show more
Be
Be mastodon (AP)
Did the XDG spec exist 18 years ago?
Aaron Toponce ⚛️:debian:
Aaron Toponce ⚛️:debian: mastodon (AP)
According to the ticket, unless they could forsee the future?
patchlore
patchlore hometown (AP)
Should I get a PinePhone? I think I'd mainly just use it as a pocket-computer rather than a phone. The form factor looks nice. I'd also want to get the keyboard too.
Devine Lu Linvega
Devine Lu Linvega hometown (AP)
definitely not.
patchlore
patchlore hometown (AP)
why not?
Devine Lu Linvega
Devine Lu Linvega hometown (AP)
multiple reasons, obviously, you would be better off finding any disused phone and find a keyboard it, but principally, if Pinephone is built anything like the pinebooks, they'll be fragile and poorly built, the software support will be weak, and the time you think you'll be "computing on the road", you'll actually spend running around looking for drivers.
Csepp 🌢
Csepp 🌢 hometown (AP)
Old phones are a bigger gamble IMHO. PinePhone drivers definitely work, or at least are usable for daily computing stuff. Batteries are also not such a big concern, since it uses a standard Samsung battery.
With an old phone, you can't even be sure if it supports OTG and unless you get lucky with pmOS, you will be stuck with an old outdated downstream kernel.
Only real driver issue with PP I can think of is the screen flickering and that has a tested workaround.
theruran 🌐🏴
theruran 🌐🏴 mastodon (AP)
maybe get an old mobile phone with a keyboard? or Palm Pilot 😛
Purism
Purism mastodon (AP)
Meet PureOS: a fully-convergent, user friendly, secure and freedom respecting Operating Systems for your daily usage. When we talk about how we have invested in convergence with PureOS we start with the desktop OS and shrink it down to your pocket. Watch convergence in action ⬇️
5 comments - Show more
Jan Vlug
Jan Vlug mastodon (AP)
Tbh, the fact that there are no cables visible in the video is a bit misleading according to me.
If this was really possible without cables that would be very cool.
Ruben
Ruben friendica
I agree, marketing gumph. I've not come across anyone with a # set up this slick. I believe @Kyle Rankin uses a Nextdock360 which he describes here, https://wp.puri.sm/posts/my-first-week-of-librem-5-convergence/
#librem5 @Kyle Rankin
Chris Vogel
Chris Vogel mastodon (AP)
Maybe the part with using # and # as a tablet is a bit far fetched...

All the rest is working for me just as @kyle described it. I extended his solution with an external usb-c dock to have the # charge (no matter how full I connect it) when the combo N360/L5 sits on my desk at home connected to external power.

By doing so I even can switch off the N360 and keep the L5 charging and connected to my lan.
#nexdock360 #librem5
devrtz
devrtz mastodon (AP)
At the # in Hamburg last month I deliberately didn't bring my laptop and did all my packaging and light coding on the # using a #.

While it did indeed get a bit hot during compilation, I enjoyed using # in docked mode very much 🚀

#
#minidebconf #librem5 #nexdock360 #phosh #mobilelinux
Matthew Davidson
Matthew Davidson friendica
4am. Can't sleep. No, that's not fair; haven't tried. Amazing how much faffing about one can do. My brain clearly needs to sort something out, and keeping me awake all night is just a means to an end.

Gad, I look irresistible with dark circles under my eyes.
Ruben
Ruben friendica
That mental toaster of yours has a bit of burnt toast jammed in it. Have you tried hanging upside down and shaking?
Wackkingu Gidora
Wackkingu Gidora mastodon (AP)
Image/photo
Hypolite Petovan
Hypolite Petovan friendica (via ActivityPub)
"It's for the people meat"?
"It's people for the meat"?

...

It's Obvious Plant. 🤦‍♂️
@Wackkingu Gidora
FediTips
FediTips mastodon (AP)
If you have an independently hosted WordPress blog, you can turn it into a Fediverse server by installing the WordPress ActivityPub plugin. This means people can follow your blog from Mastodon etc.

Here's how to do it:

1. Go to your WordPress dashboard's Plugins section, click "add new" and search for "ActivityPub" . Click "install now" on the plugin, and when it has finished installing, click "activate".

2. On the WordPress dashboard, go to the "Users" section. Click on your username and scroll to the bottom to find your Fediverse address. Share this address with whoever wants to follow your blog on Mastodon etc.

3. To alter the plugin's settings, on your WordPress dashboard go to Settings > ActivityPub

If you want to switch off or remove the plugin, go to "plugins", then "deactivate" or "delete".

NOTE: This plugin only works with independently hosted WordPress sites. It doesn't work with free accounts on WordPress.com.

# # # #
#FediTips #Fediverse #ActivityPub #WordPress
8 comments - Show more
Carl Heath
Carl Heath mastodon (AP)
need to try this out. :)
Avoid The Hack!
Avoid The Hack! mastodon (AP)
Time to find a way to adapt this to GRAV!
Devine Lu Linvega
Devine Lu Linvega hometown (AP)
Sometimes I can't believe how fast computers actually are..

I generate a thousand cache files, 500 html files, validate thousands of links between each of them, and all of this in a VM(which you'd expect to be slower than native) in less than a second.

#
#uxn
5 comments - Show more
Seachaint :verified:
Seachaint :verified: mastodon (AP)
The truly scary thing is how successfully all that power has been negated by sloppy coding and lazy abstractions for decades 😢
Imagine if an 19XXs era hacker could have been transported directly to where we are now, without being scarred by the intervening time, and let loose with the computers we have now.
Or: What Would Margaret Hamilton Do, WWMHD
Matt 🌈 💙💛
Matt 🌈 💙💛 mastodon (AP)
That's all well and good, but have you tried using a web browser on Windows with more than three tabs open? 🥲 Slow AF.
Kev Quirk
Kev Quirk mastodon (AP)
Finished the first # book this morning and I REALLY enjoyed it.

Highly recommended.

https://kevq.uk/we-are-legion-bobiverse-1/
#Bobiverse
15 comments - Show more
Adam :archlinux: :terminal:
Adam :archlinux: :terminal: mastodon (AP)
Well dang, now I have another book series to read. Sounds interesting. My going to read list is getting quite long.
Kev Quirk
Kev Quirk mastodon (AP)
mine too thanks to the folks here. Who needs GoodReads! 😂
Adam :archlinux: :terminal:
Adam :archlinux: :terminal: mastodon (AP)
😊 wish I could find a crowd sourced goodreads alternative. The bookwyrm instances I've tried usually don't have books I'm looking up. Want more of a database than the social aspect since Mastodon ha dles the social.
Alejandro Baez
Alejandro Baez mastodon (AP)
the series is amazing. The audiobook version is even more enticing. Highly recommend.
Grow Your Own Services
Grow Your Own Services mastodon (AP)
Some random tips for people running their own # server:

-When blocking, you only need to block the main domain (e.g. example.com). All subdomains are automatically included in the block (e.g. subdomain.example.com).

-When making custom emoji, remember to include alt text with CamelCase so that blind people can understand them through screen readers.

-If you want to run a server totally separate from the Fediverse, there are some hints and tips by @wiligl at https://biosphere.wilmarigl.de/en/?p=3171
#Mastodon @Wilmar Igl
FediTips reshared this.
Kat MCP(NT4) MCSE(Win2K)
Kat MCP(NT4) MCSE(Win2K) mastodon (AP)
Just been put in the "mate" zone.
😟 😢
Thomas "Vax/Boost/Mask" Fuchs
Thomas "Vax/Boost/Mask" Fuchs mastodon (AP)
Didn't think I'd ever live in a place that is ruled by an unelected committee mostly consisting of perjurious religious extremists and literal insurrectionists ruling by decree, but well you know, here I am.
Sigma_Wolf77
Sigma_Wolf77 mastodon (AP)
renounce your immigration and head on back to whatever mud hole you slid out from.....

Bye felicia...
j_kildare_bosworth
j_kildare_bosworth mastodon (AP)
I feel your pain. Every time I hear proud boys all I think is anyone using intimidation means their argument doesn't have any legs. I mean the think intimidation works on drag queens?

Conservatives think Gay Pride is all rainbow flags and drag queens. When it's drag queens not taking any shite and they will spill blood. I dare proud boys take on drag queens one on one without their guns.

Proud Boys would have their asses handed to them. Ask the NYPD.
Nation.Cymru
Nation.Cymru mastodon (AP)
Archdruid says Welsh language has no strongholds left, calls for tourism tax https://nation.cymru/news/archdruid-eisteddfod-welsh-language-communities/
Kat MCP(NT4) MCSE(Win2K)
Kat MCP(NT4) MCSE(Win2K) mastodon (AP)
Resident Adviser sure have a lot of boring options on their compulsory gender form
Select box full of gender options like FTM ,Female to Male, ...
LINux on MOBile
LINux on MOBile mastodon (AP)
Just reading a post about Linux on the Surface Go 2 on my Linux-running Surface Go 2.
# #
Surface Go 2 running KDE Neon, Angelfish browser.
#kdeneon #tablets
ASDU
ASDU mastodon (AP)
Ganz viele Fragen:
Welche Distro?
Pen funktioniert?
WLAN und LTE laufen?
Beide Kameras funktionieren?
Irgendwelche anderen Einschränkungen?
Veränderungen der Akkulaufzeit unter Linux?
Danke dir!
Nation.Cymru
Nation.Cymru mastodon (AP)
Online dating fatigue – why people are falling in love with a new generation of apps https://nation.cymru/opinion/online-dating-fatigue-why-people-are-falling-in-love-with-a-new-generation-of-apps/
Nation.Cymru
Nation.Cymru mastodon (AP)
📚Highly readable and compellingly written, 'O Glust i Glust' is easily one of Llwyd Owen’s most confident and skilfully constructed novels ✍️
@JonGower1https://nation.cymru/culture/review-o-glust-i-glust-by-llwyd-owen/
Nation.Cymru
Nation.Cymru mastodon (AP)
Gareth Bale joins Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC https://nation.cymru/sport/gareth-bale-joins-major-league-soccer-side-los-angeles-fc/
Nation.Cymru
Nation.Cymru mastodon (AP)
Iechyd da - Novice cider makers are the toast of Pisgah https://nation.cymru/news/iechyd-da-novice-cider-makers-are-the-toast-of-pisgah/
Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
Here's something weird: in the wake of Roe v Wade in the 1970s, the Southern Baptist Convention repeatedly passed resolutions affirming the right to abortion and rejecting government interference in the decision to bear a child to term:

https://text.npr.org/734303135

Back then, white evangelicals were deeply suspicious of people who opposed abortion. Getting too worked up about the issue was a sign of crypto-papacy, and back then, white evangelicals *hated* Catholics:

https://doctorow.medium.com/schizmogenesis-755bbb6a8515

1/
A flaming dumpster set in a hellscape excerpted from Bosch's 'Garden of Earthly Delights,' filled with bewigged judges in robes, all pointing angry fingers.<br /><br />Image:<br />EFF (modified)<br />https://www.flickr.com/photos/electronicfrontierfoundation/50617066023<br /><br />Cory Doctorow (modified)<br />https://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorow/52089982616/<br /><br />CC BY-SA 2.0<br />https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
33 comments - Show more
Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
These two blocs, along with racists, homophobes and transphobes, provide the bulk for the master strategists of the GOP, people who aren't merely elitists, but actual *elites*. By definition, elite politics can't win majorities on its own, because elites are always in the minority - that's what "elite" means.

7/
Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
The cruelty isn't the point. The cruelty is a means to an end. The cruelty is how you mobilize useful idiots to turn out to the polls and vote for the vast expansion of the wealth of a tiny number of people. The cruelty is how you get the turkeys to vote for Christmas:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/03/09/turkeys-voting-for-christmas/#culture-wars

8/
Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
An oft-repeated truism about abortion restrictions is that they don't affect wealthy people who can afford to miss work and travel out of state. Some argue with this, pointing out that being merely wealthy won't save you if you need an emergency D&C after a miscarriage, say.

https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/24/texas-abortion-costs/

9/
Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
That's true as far as it goes, but there's a group of people for whom this is much less true: the ultra-rich, the 1% and (especially) the 0.1%. These are people whose wealth allows them to bend reality - to charter private jets, or to have private doctors fly to them on private jets. People who have their names on hospital wings.

10/
Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
The defining characteristic of these people is *impunity*, the power to do as they like without consequence, to bypass the rules, laws and challenges of the rest of us. These are the people building luxury bunkers in New Zealand and whose only concern about civilizational collapse is the logistics of coercing their private goons in the Great After:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/23/tech-industry-wealth-futurism-transhumanism-singularity

11/
Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
Dobbs, the case that overturned Roe v Wade, was decided by an illegitimate court whose appointees were nominated and confirmed by politicians who lost the popular election. The illegitimate Supremes are the apex of a vast cohort of federal judges who were likewise appointed by politicians who lost the popular vote:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/12/02/minoritarian-third-supreme-court/

12/
Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
These judges have emitted a steady stream of unhinged, cruel decisions on culture-war issues, and these have real, human consequences. But it's a mistake to assume the reason that billionaires put so much energy into getting these judges appointed was to strike down New York's concealed carry law. That was -a means to an end, a way to get turkeys to vote for Xmas (there are a lot of musket-fucking single-issue ammosexual voters who will vote for anyone who makes it easier to get guns).

13/
Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
The reasons so much money was poured into the elections that resulted in these judges' lifetime appointments to the federal bench were economic, not cultural. These are judges who will reliably rule in corporations' favor, whether they have maimed their workers, poisoned our planet, price-gouged the public, or killed us with unsafe products. They will wave through mergers that the FTC or DOJ have blocked. They will make extremely rich people *much* richer.

14/
Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
These judges will put Black and poor people in jail, sure - and that will make the Christmas-voting turkeys happy. But just as importantly, they'll let millionaires escape consequences, no matter how heinous their crimes.

Whether it's getting drunk and mowing down four people:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/affluenza-case-ethan-couch-who-killed-4-in-dui-wreck-set-for-release/

Or raping a teenager:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/04/us/brock-turner-rape-victim-chanel-miller-book-emily-doe/index.html

Or hell, raping a *baby*:

https://time.com/43626/wealthy-child-rapist-jail-delaware/

15/
Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
The cruelty isn't the point, power is: the power to use other people in cruel ways, to be sure, but also the power to float above other people's pain, sorrow and concern. The rich dream of a world where "personal responsibility" is code for "total lack of empathy."

16/
Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
Subverting the legislature and the judiciary is an iterative process: first you buy some politicians who pass favorable laws and appoint favorable judges; then those judges rule in your favor when those laws are called into question. That makes you richer, which lets you buy more politicians, who pass more laws and appoint more judges.

17/
Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
As Bill Clinton - who used his strong majority in both chambers of Congress to get NAFTA passed, smashing unions, but not to turn the right to an abortion into a federal law - liked to remind us: "It's the economy, stupid."

The stupid economy just keeps getting stupider. The rich have gotten *so much richer* and each surging transfer of wealth from our teeming millions to their board-room handful has been attended by more political power for America's oligarchs.

18/
Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
The iterative buy-laws-buy-judges-buy-judgements process crossed an important threshold in 2010, when ultrawealthy backers secured their *Citizens United* SCOTUS decision, which freed them up to make unlimited, secret campaign contributions to politicians who would make them richer and thus able to buy more politicians.

19/
Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
Citizens United was key to the election of the pols who gave us the illegitimate Supreme Court who, in turn, gave us the Dobbs decision and despite the prominence of Dobbs in our national discourse (and its importance to pregnant people and the children they are forced to bear), there's plenty that SCOTUS is doing that is equally terrifying. The Supreme Court of Oligarchs is primarily concerned with elite impunity and power, not cruelty - the cruelty is merely the means, power is the end.

20/
Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
One extremely relatable way of understanding elite impunity is the tax evasion of the ultra-rich. A year ago, Propublica began reporting on the IRS Files, leaks detailing the tax strategies of the 0.1%.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/15/guillotines-and-taxes/#carried-interest

The oligarchs whose finances were thus exposed are all heavy political spenders. Unsurprisingly, they lobbied hard for tax breaks in the Trump tax bill, and received incredibly specific tax loopholes that applied to just one or two very rich donors.

21/
Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
Bechtel spent $1m getting one such loophole, and netted $111m in return - a shrewd investment indeed:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/11/the-canada-variant/#shitty-man-of-history-theory

The most revolting GOP politicians - the ones who are forever in the news for their authoritarianism and bigotry - have been *showered* with money by billionaires, including self-styled "progressives." These billionaires are the true single-issue voters, because their single issue is *themselves*:

https://observer.com/2021/02/elon-musk-spacex-gave-119k-to-republicans-who-opposed-biden-win-after-capitol-riot/

22/
Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
Many of these high-rolling donors got rich by being born rich, and boy do they hate inheritance tax. They argue that the ability to steer our whole society - to steer our ecosystem off a planetary cliff - should be allocated on the basis of whether you emerged from a very lucky orifice:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/19/dynastic-wealth/#caste

23/
Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
The tax-evasion tactics that Propublica documented over the past year are eye-glazingly complex, and if you *do* manage to figure out how they work, you realize that they are idiots' fictions. That's true for Peter Theil's $5 billion tax-free ROTH:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/26/wax-rothful/#thiels-gambit

And for the Real Estate Investment trusts that have "hollowed out" hotels and smashed their unions:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/03/01/reit-modernization-act/#reit-makes-might

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Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
For the sports teams whose billionaire owners pay no tax on a torrent of money, even as their players cough up their share:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/08/tuyul-apps/#economic-substance-doctrine

Or whose hobbies - playing with the horsey set, say, or "ranches" - can yield hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of tax avoidance.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/12/08/required-ish-reading/#hobby-lobby-ists

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Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
In fact, there are ten major tactics that American oligarchs use to escape the taxes that everyone else has to pay, allowing them to retain more cash that they can use to buy more impunity, provided that they keep up the culture-war side-hustles that get useful idiots out to the polls.

https://www.propublica.org/article/billionaires-tax-avoidance-techniques-irs-files

I. The Ultra Wealth Effect (borrowing against vast asset wealth)

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax

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Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
It's sometimes said that GOP politicians fear their base, but it's truer to say that their fear their *bases*. They understand that the culture-war cruelty is the key to keeping the billionaire money-taps flowing, and vice versa. Politicians who lose elections also lose their dark money.

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Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
Dem politicians, on the other hand, are *not* afraid of their base. They understand that having an openly anti-democratic, racist, homophobic, misogynist christofascist opposition means that they can rely on voters turning out for them no matter what:

https://www.levernews.com/it-is-time-for-dems-to-fear-their-own-voters/

It's why they'll go with their donors to back anti-abortion politicians in primary races, even as they're publicly vowing to protect abortion rights:

https://www.newsweek.com/nancy-pelosi-supports-anti-abortion-candidate-despite-roe-v-wade-outcry-1708557

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Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
We have to realize that the culture war is downstream from oligarchs' bid for wealth, which they can turn into power, which they can turn into impunity. Lots of oligarchs are bigots of one stripe or another, but even when they aren't, they are still pro-bigotry, because bigotry is how they secure power.

--

Image:
EFF (modified)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/electronicfrontierfoundation/50617066023

CC BY 2.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Cory Doctorow (modified)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorow/52089982616/

CC BY-SA 2.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

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Doc Edward Morbius ⭕​
Doc Edward Morbius ⭕​ mastodon (AP)
I'd spent time looking for a good description of the dynamic I was seeing ever more often in politics: power for power's sake.

Eric Blair, of course:
“The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness: only power, pure power. We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means, it is an end. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?”
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/8327593-the-party-seeks-power-entirely-for-its-own-sake-we

That's today's GOP/GQP. Or Torrys (uk). Or AFD (de). Or RN/FN (fr).
Doc Edward Morbius ⭕​
Doc Edward Morbius ⭕​ mastodon (AP)
I'm increasingly convinced that impunity and immunity are two of the greatest problems facing the world.

Certainly major themes of your work in past years.

But yes this.
olav
olav mastodon (AP)
This is such a mindblowing observation: Ultimately, politics is about gaining and keeping in power. Bigotry is no end in itself, it is just a means by elites to control an allegiance of believers.
makeworld
makeworld mastodon (AP)
Trying to order my Framework Laptop but getting "Insufficient stock for order" despite the website saying it's in stock 😕

Contacting their support now, hopefully an easy fix.
Devine Lu Linvega
Devine Lu Linvega hometown (AP)
that's foreboding for when you'll want to get replacement parts..
makeworld
makeworld mastodon (AP)
ha yeah I hope not. Honestly from what I saw on Reddit I think this is just a glitch that they'll fix.
Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: The oligarchs' Supreme Court; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/25/roe-v-wade-v-abortion/

#

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A flaming dumpster set in a hellscape excerpted from Bosch's 'Garden of Earthly Delights,' filled with bewigged judges in robes, all pointing angry fingers.<br /><br />Image:<br />EFF (modified)<br />https://www.flickr.com/photos/electronicfrontierfoundation/50617066023<br /><br />Cory Doctorow (modified)<br />https://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorow/52089982616/<br /><br />CC BY-SA 2.0<br />https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
#Pluralistic
16 comments - Show more
Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
If you're a Medium subscriber, you can read these essays - as well as previews of upcoming magazine columns and early exclusives on doctorow.medium.com.

My latest Medium column is "Reasonable Agreements: On the Crapification of Literary Contracts"

https://doctorow.medium.com/reasonable-agreement-ea8600a89ed7

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Cory Doctorow's linkblog
Cory Doctorow's linkblog mastodon (AP)
If you prefer a newsletter, subscribe to the plura-list, which is also ad- and tracker-free, and is utterly unadorned save a single daily emoji. Today's is "🎹". Suggestions solicited for future emojis!

Subscribe here: https://pluralistic.net/plura-list

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Hypolite Petovan
Hypolite Petovan friendica (via ActivityPub)
This is why I've always used the most convenient encrypted anything I could use in my daily life, including my very innocuous family group chat. "It's only for crimes" is a recurring argument to enable complete mass-surveillance and I'm happy to throw in my tiny wrench.
[bookmark=https://twitter.com/johnnemann/status/1540700368668983298]Random advice: if you're going to use Signal, use it for everything. It can just be your messaging app - it sends regular SMS to people without Signal just fine. You'll never notice it's any different. This will be better for everyone than having An App Specifically For Crimes[/bookmark]
M. Grégoire reshared this.
Brian Ó
Brian Ó diaspora
Besides, the more "legit" traffic in the system, the harder it is for spies to find what they're looking for.
Hypolite Petovan
Hypolite Petovan friendica
@Brian Ó
Besides, the more "legit" traffic in the system, the harder it is for spies to find what they're looking fo
Indeed, it's another aspect I like about this, but I couldn't add it to my 280-character limited tweet.
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