@barney@mas.to avatar

barney

@barney@mas.to

American. Pro-democracy.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

TonyStark, to random
@TonyStark@progressivecafe.social avatar

What’s this person talking about? Maybe we can have a game from here on out?

And b, should I just block everyone who follows? Probably at this point.

barney,
@barney@mas.to avatar

I think GP is trying to be your ally, investigating someone else who has been harassing you? But I'm confused. There's not really enough concrete information for me to understand what's going on.

@TonyStark

barney,
@barney@mas.to avatar

@TonyStark Well that is certainly odd. Maybe they were informing you that they blocked your attacker, and basically inviting you to join in the dunking, but then they accidentally blocked you instead.

barney,
@barney@mas.to avatar

You do a tremendous amount of good here. And it looks like you do a tremendous amount of good offline, too. So, on behalf of all of us, thank you!

None of us, online or offline, is owed your time or energy. Those belong to you, and I hope you're taking care of yourself first and foremost, because you do more than your share for the rest of the world.

@TonyStark

barney,
@barney@mas.to avatar

I followed your link, looked over that thread several times (because it was confusing), and then looked at that account's other posts to get an idea of what its deal is.

Its "I'm not disagreeing with you" reply came out of left field. It didn't make sense in the context of that conversation. Like you, I was confused. It wasn't overtly hostile (yet), but its motivation was clearly something other than continuing the discussion.

...

@TonyStark

barney,
@barney@mas.to avatar

...

The rest of that account's posts suggest to me that it is authentic, and it likes to post about US politics, often with something akin to the anti-Left Left viewpoint that we've talked about recently. But it doesn't look typically tribal to me. It doesn't invoke the usual talking points, and its political values don't match the full constellation that the Pro-GOP Left typically holds. It often accelerates quickly and unpredictably away from concrete political issues, period...

@TonyStark

barney,
@barney@mas.to avatar

Like many, it uses a veneer of political ideology as a rationalization of emotional conflicts. But it's much less invested than usual in keeping its ideology internally consistent. Sometimes pro accounts get like that, when they get careless about keeping their personae separate. But I think this is an authentic person. It came looking for a fight, and its thought process is a bit evanescent, so it arrived there suddenly and inexplicably.

In short: It's them, not you.

@TonyStark

barney,
@barney@mas.to avatar

Yeah, good observation. "Utopian" was inconsistent with its persona. If anything, you should be calling it utopian, not vice versa.

That made me wonder for a moment if it's a non-native English speaker pretending to be a native English speaker while adopting an inauthentic persona. But I don't think that's it. I think it was just flakiness.

@TonyStark

barney,
@barney@mas.to avatar

@TonyStark

Yeah, quite odd. Maybe it's not authentic after all, in which case it fooled me. Maybe it was sent to attack you and make you feel bad, and it forgot for a moment (with "utopia") what its angle was supposed to be.

I just went to block it, and I discovered that its instance has already suspended it. That's weird, isn't it?

barney,
@barney@mas.to avatar

@TonyStark

Also weird: As you suspected, it called you "him" in a reply directly to you. That's an error.

I interpreted it as an error of social signaling from someone who gets carried away in their own thoughts. But it could also be the error of an inauthentic troll who was sent either to hurt your feelings, or to pry your followers away from you, and then got a little careless with their work.

barney, to infosec
@barney@mas.to avatar

This looks like a very, very big deal.

The FBI just shut down a massive global malware operation that the Kremlin has been using, at least since 2004 (!), to steal information from hundreds of computers in at least 50 countries.

Click the link at the end to read the rule 41 affidavit, which goes into great technical detail about how the Kremlin's malware worked, and how the FBI killed it. It's like a spy novel for computer geeks.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-court-authorized-disruption-snake-malware-network-controlled

barney, to random
@barney@mas.to avatar

The , murderer had a swastika tattoo on his chest, an SS tattoo on his arm, and a "right wing death squad" patch on his tactical vest.

But "police are still searching for a possible motive..."

https://www.tmz.com/2023/05/08/allen-texas-mall-shooter-tattoos-swastika-ss-nazi/

lauren, (edited ) to internet
@lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org avatar

Musk features (for many) "Fck Zodiac" dck diagrams on non-logged in home page.

As I write this, many non-logged in users looking at twitter.com, are presented first with a Tweet by Musk (of course), and then a highly problematic tweet as noted in the subject above. There is at least one additional tweet below that is questionable at least. This is being seen from an ISP in Los Angeles, and another in Berkeley.

Try for yourself and see what happens, but I wouldn't expect this to be present everywhere. Remember to use an incognito window to avoid any previous cookies, etc.

This is how Musk apparently wants to feature Twitter to governments and advertisers. Impressive. Most impressive.

barney,
@barney@mas.to avatar

@lauren

Yup. I just hit Twitter.com with a browser in incognito mode. The first tweet on my page was Musk's latest, and the other one was... the one you described. I didn't scroll any further.

arstechnica, to random
@arstechnica@mastodon.social avatar

US senators call Tesla’s safety review a “sham,” demand answers from Musk

Senators accuse Tesla of hiding “untold number” of complaints.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/05/us-senators-call-teslas-safety-review-a-sham-demand-answers-from-musk/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

barney,
@barney@mas.to avatar

@arstechnica

His safety review was a sham. He knowingly forces his engineers to release defective cars that crash into people and kill them.

Half of the satellites that are now in orbit were built and launched by him.

Is that okay? I think it may not be okay.

ernie, (edited ) to random
@ernie@writing.exchange avatar

Twitter is straight up recommending a space hosted by Richard Spencer. I can't remove this. It's stuck at the top of my timeline

EDIT: I have determined this was because a journalist I was following decided to listen in. (This is a situation where, if you’re reporting, you might want to pull out your secondary.)

barney,
@barney@mas.to avatar

@ernie

For those who may not be aware of this: Richard Spencer, who is now being actively promoted by Twitter, is a Nazi. An actual, sieg-heiling, Hitler-quoting Nazi. See the video below.

I wonder what it would take to convince people to leave Twitter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o6-bi3jlxk

barney, to random
@barney@mas.to avatar

This graphic is astounding.

The AR-15 is a military weapon. It was never meant to be owned by any private citizen. But, by 2020, 23.4% of guns produced in the US were AR-15s.

The AR-15 has become a uniquely American fetish - a grotesque symbol of a failed nation that destroyed itself from within.

(Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2023/ar-15-america-gun-culture-politics/)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2023/ar-15-america-gun-culture-politics/

akaykunmi, to random

@barney your friend tony stark blocked me. but tell him that most democrats favor incremental changes which almost never works. and they know this, too.

barney,
@barney@mas.to avatar

@akaykunmi

He posted this CNN article, which lists 38 new gun safety laws that the Democrats enacted in 2022 alone. In 11 states and at the federal level.

Gun safety laws save human lives. You said they don't, and that's false.

If you really believe the falsehood that you stated, you're misinformed. If you know that gun laws work, but you choose to lie about it anyway, then you're an even worse person than I realized.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/30/us/gun-control-laws-2022/index.html

TonyStark, (edited ) to random
@TonyStark@progressivecafe.social avatar

There are two very wrong, very dangerous claims being made in my mentions right now. One is that nothing ever happens on gun safety. The other is that Democrats have done nothing on the issue.

There’s even an odd third one claiming Democrats haven’t been bipartisan enough on it. These claims are not only wrong but dangerous to efforts to elect people to office who will bring more change. They’re dangerous to efforts to save more lives. Don’t spread such things if you care about helping. 1/3

barney,
@barney@mas.to avatar

@akaykunmi @TonyStark

"Republicans should take back their party from the MAGAs" does NOT undercut @TonyStark's post in any way. It does the opposite. It weakens Republican opposition on issues like sane gun laws.

What does undercut @TonyStark's post: You. "Rs and Ds aren't different enough" is a gentler version of "Rs and Ds are the same." And that despicable lie is currently causing American children to die in pools of their own blood.

barney, to random
@barney@mas.to avatar

Video: A bystander describes yesterday's shooting.

A boy survived the shooting, "covered from head to toe like somebody had poured blood on him." His mother died shielding him from the bullets. "I felt for a pulse, pulled her head to the side, and she had no face."

If you can't handle listening to what the death cult is doing to America, that's totally okay. But please vote. Please. I beg you.

video/mp4

atrupar, to random
@atrupar@journa.host avatar

Dang. Jake Tapper to Durbin: "All due respect, sir, you and your fellow Democrats were very ginger and very polite when it came to RBG and not pushing her to retire when you had a Democrat majority in the Senate. How'd that work out for you? How'd that work out for Roe v Wade?"

video/mp4

barney,
@barney@mas.to avatar

@atrupar

This is f*cking garbage. Jake Tapper's answer makes no sense at all. It is the opposite of the truth.

If Feinstein retires now, then the Republicans can keep her Judiciary Committee empty for the rest of this Congress. This is the opposite of the RBG situation.

barney,
@barney@mas.to avatar

@kevinrns @atrupar

I used to think that, and so I argued that Feinstein should resign. But, like you, I was wrong.

This article explains how it actually works. Whether Feinstein resigns or not, she can't be replaced on the Judiciary Committee unless the Republicans agree to it.

Also, judicial appointments have not "stalled." Last week, the Senate confirmed 6 new Biden judges: Farbiarz, Kirsch, Merchant, Hsu, Hunt, and Brailsford.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/senate-feinstein-resignation-judges-17909766.php

barney,
@barney@mas.to avatar

@kevinrns @atrupar

It's very important to understand the facts. This article explains them.

Facts: If resigns, she can't be replaced on unless the Republicans allow it, or Schumer nukes the filibuster and Manchin and Sinema go along with that.

Opinion: I don't trust the Republicans, and I don't trust Manchin or Sinema to nuke the filibuster either.

Again, Biden's judicial nominees are being confirmed now. Six were confirmed last week.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/senate-feinstein-resignation-judges-17909766.php

barney, to random
@barney@mas.to avatar

"Florida lawmakers pass bill allowing radioactive material to be built into Florida roads."

Every single day, I see leftists on here saying "don't vote, both parties are the same."

https://www.wftv.com/news/local/florida-lawmakers-pass-bill-allowing-radioactive-material-be-built-into-florida-roads/GOCH74D4A5C2VAJDFKQQEPCVK4/

barney,
@barney@mas.to avatar

@SteveBologna

"Mosaic Inc., a Tampa-based mining and fertilizer company that has pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into the campaign coffers of Republicans across the state, including Gov. Ron DeSantis. Mosaic also spent $20,000 to entertain lawmakers at a gathering last year spearheaded by one of its key allies in the Legislature, Rep. Lawrence McClure, R-Plant City, who reported last year that he owned $6,000 of company stock."

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2023/04/17/phosphogypsum-mosaic-mcclure-stacks-radioactive-waste-road-construction/

TonyStark, to random
@TonyStark@progressivecafe.social avatar

Gun violence is now the leading cause of death among children in the United States.

Every developed nation has people with mental illness, video games, disgruntled ex-employees, alienated people, homicidal and suicidal persons, etc. Why does the U.S. have the problem it does?

It’s the same things it always is- the number of firearms, access to them, fetishism surrounding the 2nd Amendment, and the immense political power of the firearms industry.

Not a Republican has the courage to step up.

barney,
@barney@mas.to avatar

@davidpmaurer @TonyStark

They did. Just last week, for example, the Democrats passed three new gun control laws in Washington State.

Would you like us to post all of the hundreds of other gun control laws that Democrats have enacted? Because it's getting late, and I would like to go to sleep soon.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/25/washington-gun-control-laws

QasimRashid, to random
@QasimRashid@mastodon.social avatar

This Week:
—FL GOP banned DACA status lawyers from practicing law
—NC GOP legalized voter discrimination against Black citizens
—TX GOP gave the Governor power to unilaterally overturn election results

THIS WHAT FASCISM AND ELECTION FRAUD LOOKS LIKE.

Abolish the filibuster—Pass Voting Rights.

barney,
@barney@mas.to avatar

@BernieWonIowa @QasimRashid

If Feinstein resigns, then the Republicans can keep her seat on the Judiciary Committee empty for the rest of this Congress. But if she stays, then she can go back to Judiciary as soon as she's well, and in the meantime judicial confirmations can continue without delay.

Apparently you dgaf about federal judges. But some of us care about voting rights, and abortion rights, and a lot of other stuff that doesn't matter to you.

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