One warning sign that emerges is that Trump lists "promotion of terrorism" as fair game for censorship by digital platforms. The problem with that is that one person's "terrorism" is another person's "fight for freedom". Trump has threatened to deport protesters of Israel's Gaza war because they "support Hamas," which many would call supporting terrorism. In 2020 President Trump demanded the arrest of peaceful protesters, suggesting they were "terrorists".
So, while his anti-censorship proposal sounds good, one needs to keep a careful eye on the details.
Also, he framed his proposal with a misnomer by calling the censorship campaign it seeks to reverse as being waged by "leftists". In fact the campaign is led by establishment liberals who have morphed into right-of-center censorial advocates for the military and pharmaceutical industrial complexes.
One warning sign that emerges is that Trump lists "promotion of terrorism" as fair game for censorship by digital platforms. The problem with that is that one person's "terrorism" is another person's "fight for freedom". Trump has threatened to deport protesters of Israel's Gaza war because they "support Hamas," which many would call supporting terrorism. In 2020 President Trump demanded the arrest of peaceful protesters, suggesting they were "terrorists".
So, while his anti-censorship proposal sounds good, one needs to keep a careful eye on the details.
Also, he framed his proposal with a misnomer by calling the censorship campaign it seeks to reverse as being waged by "leftists". In fact the campaign is led by establishment liberals who have morphed into right-of-center censorial advocates for the military and pharmaceutical industrial complexes.
Some "details" on how Trump hopes to deal with protests.
"A coalition of over 120 civil liberties, religious, immigrant rights, human rights, racial justice, LGBTQ+, environmental, and educational organizations wrote to The House of Representatives on September 20, 2024, urging opposition to H.R. 9495.
"The diverse group expressed deep concerns about the bill's potential to grant the executive branch extraordinary power to investigate, harass, and effectively dismantle any nonprofit organization — including news outlets, universities, and civil liberties organizations like ours — of tax-exempt status based on a unilateral accusation of wrongdoing."
I have to admit that I did not watch the entire Trump clip about his censorship plans, because, really, 6 minutes of Trump? Don't think so. You can always be about 99.9999% sure that whatever he says is worthless. And if it's about the media, you can raise that percentage.
However, I am curious as to what his specific plan was. Was it HR 9495?
Twitter is much better under Musk--not perfect, but better. Accounts that I have followed were suspended before Musk and were reactivated after he came on board. Also appreciate Matt Taibbi for the Twitter files testimony. If it has disinformation--so what? We don't need to be protected--and are adults. That's what comes with freedom of speech and even the president and the government sometimes transmits disinformation. Freedom of speech is super important for democracy.
Destroying CBS and ABC is a different topic and they seem to be destroying themselves by being more and more irrelevant.
But, we have to see if he actually does this--Trump does not always follow through on what he promises.
keep the ridiculousness coming
how is a social media site that produces more disinformation than before, and frequently disseminated by the owner - better????
answer? IT'S NOT
and "freedom of speech" is not a suicide pact. Don't you think that having a population that is becoming increasingly misinformed and clearly deluded is kind of a problem?
And you call Trump an authoritarian. Who gets to decide what's true? You and ml1? LOL
At least the 2nd time you’ve brought me up when I wasn’t part of the discussion. thanks for the rent-free space in your head.
Having worked as a diplomat in Moscow in Soviet times & knowing how Trump behaves, I am convinced that the FSB has a sex tape with Trump, but does it matter any longer? Trump has won & his reputation is awful in any case. Russian state TV showed nude pictures of Melania. So what?
So, while his anti-censorship proposal sounds good, one needs to keep a careful eye on the details.
I can’t even
If you took the time to look outside of your bubble at the aborted attempt by the Biden admin to establish a ministry of truth and the pervasive advocacy of censorship of social media by liberal establishment hacks and organizations (actually center-right as described above) you might even.
I don't know that I'd call him my "hero." I read Bloodlands and found it very good. I watched his Ukrainian lecture series and found that good. Apart from that, I really haven't read much by him, and didn't follow your link. For the sake of argument, let's agree that whatever your link is, shows Snyder being stupid. I'll stipulate that social media generally shows people at their stupidest, especially platforms like Twitter than incentivize hot takes.
Still not sure why you felt it was relevant to share?
I don't know that I'd call him my "hero." I read Bloodlands and found it very good. I watched his Ukrainian lecture series and found that good. Apart from that, I really haven't read much by him, and didn't follow your link. For the sake of argument, let's agree that whatever your link is, shows Snyder being stupid. I'll stipulate that social media generally shows people at their stupidest, especially platforms like Twitter than incentivize hot takes.
Still not sure why you felt it was relevant to share?
I explained the relevance in my post. I even used the word "relevance".
I'll admit I skipped over that. I pretty much ignore any link to Twitter. But, now that you've brought my attention to it, I am curious what you're issue is with the advice to avoid obeying authoritarians in advance -- do you disagree with that? You have been unhappy with the fact that Twitter cooperated with the Trump and Biden administration in their requests to remove or block misinformation around the pandemic. There has been no reporting that substantiates that Twitter would have faced any consequences for not honoring those requests.
As you noted just upthread, though, the incoming Trump administration is looks to be on a path of quite explicitly retaliating against speech it disfavors -- do you think people should follow Snyder's advice to refuse to self-censor in advance, or you disagree with Snyder, and feel people should continue to express themselves regardless of possible threatened action by the incoming administration?
So, while his anti-censorship proposal sounds good, one needs to keep a careful eye on the details.
I can’t even
If you took the time to look outside of your bubble at the aborted attempt by the Biden admin to establish a ministry of truth and the pervasive advocacy of censorship of social media by liberal establishment hacks and organizations (actually center-right as described above) you might even.
I think because you used "ministry of truth" I must now and forevermore treat you as a ridiculous figure.
You seem to be following terp's trajectory, albeit in a much more literate manner.
I'll admit I skipped over that. I pretty much ignore any link to Twitter. But, now that you've brought my attention to it, I am curious what you're issue is with the advice to avoid obeying authoritarians in advance -- do you disagree with that? You have been unhappy with the fact that Twitter cooperated with the Trump and Biden administration in their requests to remove or block misinformation around the pandemic. There has been no reporting that substantiates that Twitter would have faced any consequences for not honoring those requests.
As you noted just upthread, though, the incoming Trump administration is looks to be on a path of quite explicitly retaliating against speech it disfavors -- do you think people should follow Snyder's advice to refuse to self-censor in advance, or you disagree with Snyder, and feel people should continue to express themselves regardless of possible threatened action by the incoming administration?
I think Snyder's advice on not obeying in advance is axiomatic. I think his analysis of Musk, Trump, Putin and Xi is moronic.
Glad to see we both agree that avoiding obeying in advance is good advice. There'll be, unfortunately, plenty of opportunity to follow this and other "axiomatic" advice regarding authoritarianism in the near future. I'll be curious, once the Trump admin gets going, if there ever comes a point where you feel Musk crosses a line, and crosses it far enough, to cause you to withdraw your previous voluminous praise and support.
I think Snyder's advice on not obeying in advance is axiomatic. I think his analysis of Musk, Trump, Putin and Xi is moronic.
It's not an "analysis". As you may recall, there was this reporting out of the Wall Street Journal a couple of weeks ago - Putin Asked Musk to Block Starlink Over Taiwan As Favor to Xi. It really wasn't much of an observation, but lots of people make silly observations on social media that they probably just could have left out.
I think Snyder's advice on not obeying in advance is axiomatic. I think his analysis of Musk, Trump, Putin and Xi is moronic.
It's not an "analysis". As you may recall, there was this reporting out of the Wall Street Journal a couple of weeks ago - Putin Asked Musk to Block Starlink Over Taiwan As Favor to Xi. It really wasn't much of an observation, but lots of people make silly observations on social media that they probably just could have left out.
As for Musk and Trump, it's "axiomatic".
Also, there's nothing wrong with a historian pointing out something which should be "axiomatic" or self-evident, because even self-evident truths can be ignored. Be that as it may, Professor Snyder's discussion of that principle, in his shorter explanation or the longer one in his book, shows that it's being ignored.
There's a lot of that "obeying in advance" going on, such as the attacks on Professor Snyder over one tweet, to try to undercut the truths about authoritarians that he writes about.
I don't know that I'd call him my "hero." I read Bloodlands and found it very good. I watched his Ukrainian lecture series and found that good. Apart from that, I really haven't read much by him, and didn't follow your link. For the sake of argument, let's agree that whatever your link is, shows Snyder being stupid. I'll stipulate that social media generally shows people at their stupidest, especially platforms like Twitter than incentivize hot takes.
Still not sure why you felt it was relevant to share?
What don't you get? Snyder said something on the Twitter that Paul considers silly, so therefore nothing Snyder has written should be paid attention to. It's "axiomatic". Glenn Greenwald didn't have to get direction from anyone to undercut Professor Snyder, he was "obeying in advance".
Jankowicz spoke with NPR about the board's botched rollout, what she had hoped to accomplish, and the irony of an effort to combat disinformation being derailed by disinformation. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What was the purpose of the Disinformation Governance Board?
Basically, everything you may have heard about the Disinformation Governance Board is wrong or is just a flat out lie. The board was quite simple and anodyne. What it wanted to do was to coordinate among the Department of Homeland Security's components — agencies like FEMA or the Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency or Customs and Border Patrol — and make sure that Americans had trustworthy information about issues connected to homeland security.
But we weren't going to be doing anything related to policing speech. It was an internal coordinating mechanism to make sure that we were doing that work efficiently, we were doing it to the best of our ability, and we were doing it in a way that respected privacy, civil rights, civil liberties and, most importantly, the First Amendment.
What's troubling about this is the fact that you and terp and nan so often just uncritically buy into rw propaganda and repeat their framing. You're all obviously smart people, but yet it happens.
So, while his anti-censorship proposal sounds good, one needs to keep a careful eye on the details.
I can’t even
If you took the time to look outside of your bubble at the aborted attempt by the Biden admin to establish a ministry of truth and the pervasive advocacy of censorship of social media by liberal establishment hacks and organizations (actually center-right as described above) you might even.
I can't even that you would think that there is even a remote chance of Trump telling the truth about something before you see the details.
So, while his anti-censorship proposal sounds good, one needs to keep a careful eye on the details.
I can’t even
If you took the time to look outside of your bubble at the aborted attempt by the Biden admin to establish a ministry of truth and the pervasive advocacy of censorship of social media by liberal establishment hacks and organizations (actually center-right as described above) you might even.
I think because you used "ministry of truth" I must now and forevermore treat you as a ridiculous figure.
You seem to be following terp's trajectory, albeit in a much more literate manner.
I didn't even bother to respond to that ridiculousness.
If we want to have a conversation about social media moderation that's intelligent and without hyperbole, fine. It would be enlightening I'm sure.
But the people trying to tell us Donald Trump, the man who has sued multiple entities for writing something negative about him, who calls the media the "enemy of the people" is a First Amendment champion is too much to bear.
I'd almost think the people talking about Trump as a "defender of free speech" were just trying to clown us. But the comments are seemingly too earnest to be performance art comedy. Just delusions I guess.
"The Trump administration will likely roll back EPA regulations affecting fossil-fuel power plants, including a rule that sets limits for carbon emissions from power plants, according to Michelle Bloodworth, president and CEO of America’s Power, a trade group for owners of coal-fired power plants.
" 'Given these elections, we do expect to see a lot more delayed coal plant retirements because of data center growth,' Bloodworth said on Sunday at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ annual meeting in Anaheim, California.
"According to Bloodworth, there are six EPA rules that will force the early retirement of most U.S. coal-fired power plants, which total about 180,000 MW, while also impeding new gas-fired generation. They are the carbon rule, the ozone transport rule, mercury and air toxics standards, effluent limitation guidelines, the coal ash rule and the regional haze rule.
"The carbon, ozone transport, effluent limits and MATS rules are being challenged in court, Bloodworth said during a panel discussion on power plant retirements in an era of rising electric demand.
"Bloodworth expects the Trump administration will ask the courts to stay the pending lawsuits and to remand the rules to the EPA. Based on precedent, it is highly likely the courts would grant those requests, she said."
and how, pray tell, was it not optional?
please point out that part of the testimony. Pretty sure it doesn't exist.