Not wrong entirely, but these bills are more than just “banning ticktok,” and are creating more legal spying while being overtly simplified to just seem like not a big deal. The US is making a new Patriot Act that covers more modern communication systems. They are just doing the same old “red scare” shit to paint China as the “authoritarians” for spying on us. But it always paints our global and local spying as being “the price of freedom” or whatever.
The current set of bills are looking to actually be a modern revival of the old Patriot Act. Just with much much more spying on US citizens and users of VPNs. I am betting that we will see a lot of torrent sites and other file sharing/streaming sites banned and will massively benefit orgs like the MPAA/RIAA and other copyright outfits. Get sites banned and say they “aid our enemies” and shit will be much worse. So legal censorship and oppressing the masses at the whim of the capitalists.
The Amish and groups like them aren’t themselves the main issue. As they by default tend to stay amongst themselves in their communities. Which limits a lot of exposure both with stuff going in and coming out of their living spaces/communities. The main cause of this shit are the folks that are either too “woo woo” and think that basically all diseases are actually “curable” with shit like crystals and the energies of “mother Gaia.” Along with their more conservative counterparts in the “God, Jesus, and prayer” side of things. In addition to the overlapping groups that think that all vaccinations are “government mind and body control” shit.
So if more and more people are joining the anti-science side of things and refuse to see how we literally haven’t had to deal with these terrible diseases because of vaccinations. Then it means said diseases are going to start actually spreading more and more again. Kind of like how people that didn’t live through hard times that lead to aid programs and protections tend to see those things as “not needed at all.”
Of course it doesn’t help matters that the sins of the past have made very real reasons for different minority groups to absolutely distrust vaccines due to shit like the Tuskegee and Nazi “experiments.” Once trust is lost and very real shit like those things are proven, then I am not sure at what point it is even possible to start over. Unfortunately these groups get lumped in with the medical versions of flat earthers that are completely anti-science and proud of it.
And that is all just the human sides of things. The actual diseases themselves evolve the more they are able to spread. Which literally means that shit we had dealt with dramatically now has more and more places and people to spread into. Which at a point also means that people that did take the shots and were good to go are now being punished by these new versions that are taking hold in the anti-science fucks (that also tend to be the same fucks that won’t wear fucking masks and try to avoid close contact while fucking sick). If the anti-science assholes that are refusing to take shots over both real and really dumb reasons (muh freedumbs). Then they shouldn’t removed about taking basic fucking actions like wearing masks and not claiming that they are somehow the same as the stars and triangles the Nazis forced people to wear. They are selfish and anti-respecting the lives of everyone around them. They just want everyone to yield to their main character-ass whining about “liberty” while oppressing everyone.
Might be a really good way to unintentionally get more arms into leftist groups biding their time (and maybe get some more people radicalized).
I highly doubt the US intelligence agencies aren’t tapping StarLink. We already know for a fact that they were/are tapping Google and other carriers (if they didn’t already have actual backdoors made for them by the companies). We also know that the intelligence agencies also like to either flip employees or simply have their own people get jobs there and get access. Being honest, for all the bans on using Chinese equipment/devices for fear of spying (even when other governments were already analyzing and finding nothing). I don’t see why any other nation shouldn’t be doing the same for US stuff on their infrastructure/networks.
We are historically not very trustworthy, and have been basically one of the top nations for getting into shit that wasn’t even made by us (along with Israel) like the Stuxnet attack. We accuse other nations of shit while damn sure doing it ourselves, like a cheater that then constantly accuses the other partner of cheating.
Obviously any nation trying to use something like StarLink would be foolish to not use any and all methods for encrypting all traffic.
Even if it is true that so many homes in Gaza have tunnels. It seems like a smart idea to make them anyway, due to it being a matter of “when” and not “if” the IOF start attacking at anytime.
That is true in how workers should be. I am not from Australia, but a lot of workers might feel pressure to answer for fear of some kind of actions (likely a higher chance of being written up for some other BS). While this pressure could still be felt and managers can always find reasons to go after anyone. I think that given the way that fucked up work practices have gotten worse (at least in my opinion), it is very important that shit like this be added to laws.
Any pro-worker protections that can help fill the gaps where unions are missing/lacking is good while capitalism is the way of the world. And of course should be some of the first laws and constitutional setups in all anti-capitalist states as personal times should be important and separate from work times. So in all states/nations there should be clear rights for workers and place lives before profits/jobs.
Also any non-western power launching any kind of rocket or putting satellites in orbit are defaultly “aggressive.” While any US or US aliened western power is somehow not only “good” for doing these things, but they are also the global gatekeepers of what is and isn’t “allowed.” Much like how the west/US are entitled to have bases all over the world and stage larger and larger “war games” right off the coasts of whatever nations they wish. But China sailing or flying a millimeter past their shores is “ramping up for war.”
US has convinced itself and many of the most powerful nations (ie the West) that it is China that is trying to “take over other nations” or otherwise control them by “expanding their empire.” Even though they are not, and are anti-imperialist. Or how places like Cuba aren’t allowed to be traded with due to their “oppressive governments.” But the US is still somehow the “good guys” and should just be allowed to patrol the whole world by land, air, sea, and space. That it is allowed to strike and occupy other nations without any approval by said nations. Oh and it is also somehow fair or good that even if all other nations in the UN vote one way that the US can stop a democratic vote by voting the other way.
Just love how this is what US lead democracy for the world works. /s
Two things that IDF and US law enforcement share is both being scared 24/7, and constantly going out of their way to do everything possible to paint civilians as active enemy combatants/terrorists. Yet they always like to say shit like “if you haven’t done anything wrong, then you have nothing to fear” to us. Also love to do everything to give off the air of being such “badasses protecting the masses”. Fuck all of them, and they will certainly have much to fear once the masses start to actually come for them. Not very leftist of me to say, but if they are finally taken I can only hope that they are not given fast or painless ends. As they had their chance to stand with the masses and chose to be lapdogs for zionists/fascists/the oppressors of the working classes. Reactionaries are pussies and take out their rage on everyone they feel is weaker than they are.
Doesn’t make up for all the literal genocide their kingdom pulled. But they would know what one looks like to call it out. Still love to see the ball is moving for Palestine at all given how hard the Zionists are trying to go after everyone everywhere.
I have also seen one or more comments on another post about this situation (I think on Hexbear) saying it might have been one of the Iron Dome missiles. That the supposed failed rocket from Hamas failed to launch correctly, but was maybe high enough to still have caused a lock-on by the ID. Though I don’t know enough about how the dome works to really say how likely it would happen. As it could be an opportunistic moment for Israel to launch a few non-ID attack missiles. While the media would be more likely to be streaming the air-explosions from the intercept missiles.
Shit is lining up with 9/11 really well in that aspect. The US was getting alerted by the Russian FSB well before shit went down and were like “lol nah that can’t be real you dumb KGB guys”. The Israeli gov is using lessons it learned from the US and Fascist Italy/Nazi Germany in false-flags and just lying about very important bits of information.
Thank you for a really good answer. I wasn’t aware of the Talmud or most of that stuff.
Pocket Casts isn’t on Android. I kept hearing it brought up when I was looking to replace DoggCatcher and went with Podcast Addict. Took Google so long to finally allow people to manually add feeds from URL. Which was why I never really used it unless just wanting to stream an old ep of a listed show randomly. So when they added that ability, I was happy to see they seemed to be kind of supporting it seriously. But I was already moved to PA and am glad to not gone with Google.
I liked their original Listen app for being ridiculously bare bones and no ads or anything that requires more data. But they killed that long ago. I am not sure if Google just loves to create trust issues with users. Or if they just really have self esteem issues and can only act in dramatic ways that don’t make sense.
Seems more like a lesson learned from all the people the US placed in Gitmo without even a secret trial. And at least China had the argument that they literally did have many spread out terrorist attacks from more radical believers in the Uyghur communities inside China. I think that both the US and China handled shit bad as fuck. But until the US fully shuts down Gitmo and returns it to Cuba, and ends all of our black sites. Then it isn’t exactly something that the US has any real right to talk any shit about just because it is China. We are beyond the level of tyrannical, we are just better at controlling the narrative and have somehow been allowed to just dictate what other nations are “good” and “evil”.
China is doing more to un-fuck their bad choices, as they have made sure that folks that shouldn’t have been mixed in were able to get jobs and technical/vocational training/school. The US never put any tiny amount of even PR level shit for helping Muslims we grabbed up and tortured while being held without any level of legal protections. There are some folks that might just be kept forever at this point as they are afraid that those people might become actual terrorists after being treated so badly while innocent.
Does that mean China gets a pass? No. But the US has done far more in the past 40 years to create the very extremists and terrorists that we keep seeing pop-up. We have done more to create suffering on a global scale since the end of the British Empire. We just hide it better and our gaslighting is top notch from media to trade. Just because we have “freedom of speech” doesn’t mean we aren’t tyrannical.
Seems like they could pretty easily hit the shops that are being brazen enough to buy them and then provide shoppers. Go in an start placing the owners in jail, as they are the ones that should be held accountable. Not the low-level workers, but the very top.
Would certainly be much better to go super fast with as little time to freak out. Rather than to be sitting in the dark trying to not wast air on panic attacks while waiting to even be found (let alone rescued). Would suck to know you were found, but then run out of air before you could reach the surface. Though I am glad that they didn’t also implode into the actual wreak. Still super close.
Didn’t mean to write so much and rant. But the main point of agreement with you is the first paragraph.
You are likely correct on the fact that normie users are pissed off. One of my co-workers (that always reminds me he doesn’t use Reddit aside from if he needs to sell or trade PC parts) wouldn’t stfu about how it was stupid and “all just about some power-tripping mods” all because HardwareSwap was considering going longer and he was trying to list some parts (due to a different freakout reaction over needing to downsize his PC to have money in savings after a mass purge of some leaders at work). He was mildly okay with it at first because the automods thing being impacted by the new API stuff. All that “okayness” was completely right out the window after that specific thing was adjusted by Reddit.
So while he isn’t a normal day to day viewer of the site, I imagine that most of the “I don’t pay attention to politics/policies” users (which I think of as the bulk “normie” mainstream users) are not far behind his sentiment. I did ask if he tried other options, like big Discord servers like LTT/GN or other big PC based YT channel fan servers. Or even forums of those channels/sites. He just wanted to removed about the amount of users being so low. Which I also reminded him that r/HardwareSwap was tiny at some point too and there were smaller subs that he could at least try as they would have higher traffic while the big ones were down.
Protests are supposed to make people frustrated and cause normal operations to be messed up. But in the US, we are just taught to hate anyone or groups that dare protest in ways that impact daily functions. We are told that the only “correct” protests are to be in a pre-selected spot out of the way of everyone else. Or maybe a one-off march with speakers just saying how things are wrong and have people cheer and then leave. And reactionaries are supposed to be the ones that everyone supports because they are (like the majority of people/users) “not hear for politics and don’t care.” They are also the main thing stopping new unions from forming. Which does seem to line up with how much Lenin was correct in speaking about no revolutions are going to win if those folks can’t be won over. Which requires being fully ready and willing to be lashed out at, and stand firm in keeping up the effort and care about them no matter what.
The bills (specifically the Restrict Act) give a lot more legal justifications for increasing US spying on citizens and some big punishments if found using methods (such as VPNs) to access apps from foreign adversaries. 20yrs prison and/or $1,000,000 fines. It of course means that the US control over social media (and the communications in them) is kept. Another Patriot Act being pushed while using the smoke screen of “protecting America.”
Even if the above wasn’t part of it. The US government likes to talk about competing in the “free market” with China and other nations instead of with violence/war. But they also pull this shit banning any level of “free market competition.” And will point to China as being the one that is “evil” for restricting shit. The US and Israel are the cause of nations like Cuba not being allowed to be traded with or compete. The US and Israel like to point to the DPRK as being “authoritarian,” but are spying on and purposely causing suffering entirely more than DPRK or China.
The fact that they can’t even correctly pretend to understand even basic facts like Tiktok not being in China. Shows how little they care to hide the real reasons for making the legal setup for much much more oppression inside the US. They feel that they have sufficiently created stupid masses that just believe them without question. Which is sadly true for so many people in either party. Though maybe the politicians of the US will have finally FAFO if gen-Z literally arms up and goes hunting.