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Tinker ☀️
Tinker ☀️
@tinker@infosec.exchange  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago

You can't beat the US military, itself.

We literally have caches of munitions and equipment in ice caves and various other places throughout the world. - A ride to the hospital costs $5,000 and is not covered by taxes/govt. College isnt covered. We have minimal pensions or worker support. Et cetera.

All the public money that could go to social needs goes to violence.

And we're good at it.

You have to go after leadership (not a threat from me or a call to violence). The think tanks, the political apparatus, the corporations that profit from war efforts, the billionaire oligarchs.

The "vote them out" stage is in one year and we have no idea if we'll even have a means to democratically transfer power.

You are in it now. There is no waiting. Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, North Korea, Oligarch Russia - if you've ever asked yourself what you would do in those times and places... you are doing it right now.

If you have means and power, sort out ways to counter the current regime's leadership and initiatives.

If you don't have that power and are just a "normal
person with a family and job", then actively join and build Community and Mutual Aid in your neighborhood. You need to feed each other. Shelter each other. Care for each other's kids. Actively take care of each other. This isn't kumbaya woo-woo feel-good shit. This is removing the threat they have over our heads.

No one wants to and many can't fight back because we are all wage slaves who cant afford not to work for capitalist corporations that fund the war effort.

So build apparatus that lets us get out from under the capitalist boot. Build it. Now. Right at your doorstep. Go... GO!

#venezuela

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suzanne
suzanne
@cshlan@dawdling.net replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 weeks ago

@tinker
❤️

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maswan
maswan
@maswan@mastodon.acc.sunet.se replied  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago

@tinker
Additional option: If you have the opportunity, emigrate. The base for the violence apparatus is taxes and economy built by normal people working and paying.

Germany's capacity for war would have looked different if 10% of "apolitical" families had left in the 1930s instead of holding their heads down and going to work like normal.

Various forms of activism might be even more effective, sure, but it's hard for some people for various reasons.

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pettter
pettter
@pettter@social.accum.se replied  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago

@maswan Don't the US levy taxes on their emigrés? @tinker

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pettter
pettter
@pettter@social.accum.se replied  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago

@maswan Also the US can just keep printing money as long as the dollar is the global reserve currency, and will intervene militarily to keep it that way. Taxes or no don't really matter for that part. @tinker

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Tinker ☀️
Tinker ☀️
@tinker@infosec.exchange replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 weeks ago

@pettter @maswan - Hoping back to this thread: the concept that if you emigrate from the US you have to pay taxes only matters if you plan on keeping your citizenship. If you plan to fully emigrate and leave the US behind, you obviously wouldn't need to pay taxes (you might lose your US citizenship though).

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maswan
maswan
@maswan@mastodon.acc.sunet.se replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 weeks ago

@tinker @pettter Getting rid of US citizenship is expensive, even if it is a good idea. It won't happen automatically by not paying taxes.

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Tinker ☀️
Tinker ☀️
@tinker@infosec.exchange replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 weeks ago

@maswan @pettter - you're correct, I'm saying that it factors into the whole double-tax consideration - that's all I'm putting forward.

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Nicole Parsons
Nicole Parsons
@Npars01@mstdn.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago

@tinker

The fossil fuel industry is trying desperately to hang onto power.
https://www.wired.com/story/trump-energy-industry-ai-fossil-fuels-pittsburgh-summit/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattdurot/2025/07/17/bill-gates-charles-koch-and-three-other-billionaires-are-giving-1-billion-to-enhance-economic-mobility-in-the-us/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/15/trump-ai-oil-energy-summit

https://observer.com/2025/07/five-billionaire-philanthropists-equip-frontline-workers-ai/

A fast way to counter fossil fuel funded fascism is to radically reduce fossil fuel consumption & don't use fossil fueled AI.
https://news.microsoft.com/source/emea/features/building-the-foundations-for-saudi-arabias-ai-powered-future/

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/20/us/politics/koch-network-2024-election-trump.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/01/28/koch-tells-donors-desert-conservative-political-network-can-increase-tenfold/1072952001/

https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/01/02/billionaire-stanley-druckenmiller-buys-ai-stocks/

#FAFO
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/business/pif-saudi-arabia-fund-problems.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/arielcohen/2025/11/26/saudi-arabias-push-for-ai-remains-a-challenge/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-12-31/everyone-s-watching-stocks-the-real-bubble-is-ai-debt

https://www.nytimes.com

Saudi Arabia’s Prince Has Big Plans, but His Giant Fund Is Low on Cash

Bloomberg.com

Everyone’s Watching Stocks. The Real Bubble Is AI Debt.

Something has changed in the artificial intelligence boom in the past year. Since the arrival of ChatGPT in 2022, America’s biggest tech companies have been leading the charge, aided by hundreds of billions of dollars on their balance sheet. Now, debt has entered the picture and the stakes are higher.
https://www.nytimes.com

Koch Political Operation Spent Nearly $550 Million During 2024 Cycle

WIRED

Trump and the Energy Industry Are Eager to Power AI With Fossil Fuels

At a Pittsburgh summit, the Trump administration, energy executives, and tech barons joined as one to promote AI as the future of fossil fuels.
Observer

5 Billionaire Philanthropists Pool $1B to Help Low-Income Americans with A.I.

Five major philanthropists team up to invest in tech-driven solutions for struggling Americans.
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Neil Moffatt
Neil Moffatt
@NicelyManifest@mastodon.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago

@tinker It all started to go belly up when we settled into farming culture some many centuries ago. The start of personal wealth and property accumulation that unbalanced societies. And by its very nature compounded while poverty at the mass end compounded.

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Mugita Sokio
Mugita Sokio
@msokiovt@uwu.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago

@tinker The United States is a Jesuit-run craphole, so of course we would do this.

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mahadevank
mahadevank
@mahadevank@mastodon.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago

Well if the Venezuelans know a thing or two about US history with "rehabilitating" nations.

It should stack the heck away.

There seem to be some protests underway there.

What would be ideal would be if they thanked the US very much but then to leave them alone to run their country as they wish.

Something tells me the Venezeulans will show more spine than Americans.

#venezuela

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Tinker ☀️
Tinker ☀️
@tinker@infosec.exchange replied  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago

I you're not sure how to join or build community and mutual aid - here is a quick primer: https://infosec.exchange/@tinker/113589807117870451

You have community where you are now, even if you're unaware of it.

If you say "I can't do anything, I have to take care of my kids. I have a job. I don't want to starve. I'm fatigued" - it's because our system is designed this way. Its NOT YOU!

It's intentional and systemic.

So you have to join and build a new system and work with your neighbors to GET and GIVE support, food, shelter, all of it.

Join mutual aid to make your life easier. AND to fight what is going on.

#solarPunk #mutualAid #venezuela

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