#Tag · bonfire.cafe

@Npars01@mstdn.social replied · 2 weeks ago

@FediFollows @CollaboraOffice @nextcloud @CryptPad @ONLYOFFICE @jbz@indieweb.social @libreoffice

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/

"Saudi Arabia & Koch Network paid for an international state surveillance platform, & dang it!, they are going to get what they paid for!"
https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-google-hand-dissident-data-to-saudi-arabia-activists-say-2023-7

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/05/13/trump-tech-execs-riyadh/

https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligencer-trump-mbs-meeting-brings-ai-money-2025-11-20/

Orwell's telescreens and ubiquitous state surveillance, courtesy the fossil fuel industry.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90208133/orwell-knew-we-willingly-buy-the-screens-that-are-used-against-us

Saudi Arabia is seeking to be an innovation hub, but activists are warning that tech firms could be complicit in the repression of dissidents.

Microsoft and Google may have to surrender people's data to Saudi Arabia after signing huge deals there

Alex Akselrod boosted

https://civileats.com/2024/09/18/jd-vance-invested-in-acretrader-heres-why-that-matters/

@Npars01@mstdn.social · 3 weeks ago

@austinkocher

https://fortune.com/article/american-farmers-land-o-lakes-ceo-beth-ford-white-house-immigration-trump/

https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-trade-war-farmers

https://fortune.com/2025/10/04/farm-bankruptcies-low-crop-prices-trump-bailout-agriculture-economy-crisis/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-23/america-small-farmers-are-hurting-with-trump-policies-loan-woes

https://www.intrafish.com/salmon/massive-us-land-based-salmon-project-files-for-bankruptcy/2-1-1919250

https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/us-farmers-face-44-billion-in-losses-as-costs-rise-and-markets-shrink/

https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2020/01/17/land-grab-hungary-s-political-elite-accused-of-milking-the-system

"Republican billionaires prepare for land grab after bankrupting farmers.

Victor Orban's oligarchs are such am inspiration for every fascist movement."

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/03/world/europe/eu-farm-subsidy-hungary.html

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03066150.2019.1584190

https://www.arc2020.eu/hungary-the-last-smallholders/

https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/agriculture-as-a-source-of-authoritarian-power/

Green European Journal

Agriculture as a Source of Authoritarian Power

From speculation and pocket contracts to a tight grip on information, Orbán and the Hungarian elite are quietly stripping smallholders of their lands to strengthen their grip on power.

Agricultural and Rural Convention

Hungary | The Last Smallholders Part I | Agricultural and Rural Convention

In Viktor Orbán’s Hungary, the rural vote will have a crucial role to play in the upcoming April elections. Orbán has been milking farmers’ grievances for over a decade. Have the nation’s smallholders had enough? Revealing the findings of new research, Péter József Bori and Noémi Gonda track the progress of feudal dynamics in the Hungarian countryside. First in a three-part series. In Viktor Orbán’s Hungary, the rural vote will have a crucial role to play in the upcoming April elections. Orbán has been milking farmers’ grievances for over a decade. Have the nation’s smallholders had enough? Revealing the findings of new research, Péter József Bori and Noémi Gonda track the progress of feudal dynamics in the Hungarian countryside. First in a three-part series.

euronews

Land grab: Hungary's political elite accused of milking the system

Hungary is in the headlines again with allegations of large-scale land-grabbing by the ruling elite. Unreported Europe investigates whether leading politicians are handing out precious farmland to friends and family.

Missouri Independent

US farmers face $44 billion in losses as costs rise and markets shrink • Missouri Independent

Soybeans sit in storage, farm bankruptcies are rising, and total farm debt continues to climb. By nearly every measure, American farmers are struggling.

Bloomberg.com

Trade Wars, Rates Push US Small Farm Bankruptcies to 5-Year High

After years of low crop prices and rising costs, America’s small farmers are facing a crisis brought on by higher interest rates, Trump’s trade war and dramatically reduced demand from China.

In the second quarter, there were 93 bankruptcy filings, up from 88 in the first quarter and nearly double the 47 at the end of 2024.

Farm bankruptcies are soaring amid low crop prices, while Trump considers bailout of up to $14 billion | Fortune

Common Dreams

Decimated by Tariffs, US Farmers Warn Trump Bailout Not Nearly Enough to Erase Pain He Caused | Common Dreams

President Trump's $12 billion relief package for farmers hurt by trade war falls short. US farmers face bankruptcy as tariffs take a toll.

Land O’Lakes CEO Beth Ford is calling for solutions to the problems plaguing rural America—even if they’re messy.

American farmers were already facing multiple crises. Then came Trump’s immigration crackdown | Fortune

Civil Eats

JD Vance Funded AcreTrader. Here’s Why That Matters.

The real estate platform streamlines investing in US farmland. Now farms are fast becoming a portfolio staple for investors worldwide.

The Money Farmers: How Oligarchs and Populists Milk the E.U. for Millions (Published 2019)

https://civileats.com/2024/09/18/jd-vance-invested-in-acretrader-heres-why-that-matters/

@Npars01@mstdn.social · 3 weeks ago

@austinkocher

https://fortune.com/article/american-farmers-land-o-lakes-ceo-beth-ford-white-house-immigration-trump/

https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-trade-war-farmers

https://fortune.com/2025/10/04/farm-bankruptcies-low-crop-prices-trump-bailout-agriculture-economy-crisis/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-23/america-small-farmers-are-hurting-with-trump-policies-loan-woes

https://www.intrafish.com/salmon/massive-us-land-based-salmon-project-files-for-bankruptcy/2-1-1919250

https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/us-farmers-face-44-billion-in-losses-as-costs-rise-and-markets-shrink/

https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2020/01/17/land-grab-hungary-s-political-elite-accused-of-milking-the-system

"Republican billionaires prepare for land grab after bankrupting farmers.

Victor Orban's oligarchs are such am inspiration for every fascist movement."

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/03/world/europe/eu-farm-subsidy-hungary.html

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03066150.2019.1584190

https://www.arc2020.eu/hungary-the-last-smallholders/

https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/agriculture-as-a-source-of-authoritarian-power/

Green European Journal

Agriculture as a Source of Authoritarian Power

From speculation and pocket contracts to a tight grip on information, Orbán and the Hungarian elite are quietly stripping smallholders of their lands to strengthen their grip on power.

Agricultural and Rural Convention

Hungary | The Last Smallholders Part I | Agricultural and Rural Convention

euronews

Land grab: Hungary's political elite accused of milking the system

Missouri Independent

US farmers face $44 billion in losses as costs rise and markets shrink • Missouri Independent

Soybeans sit in storage, farm bankruptcies are rising, and total farm debt continues to climb. By nearly every measure, American farmers are struggling.

Bloomberg.com

Trade Wars, Rates Push US Small Farm Bankruptcies to 5-Year High

After years of low crop prices and rising costs, America’s small farmers are facing a crisis brought on by higher interest rates, Trump’s trade war and dramatically reduced demand from China.

In the second quarter, there were 93 bankruptcy filings, up from 88 in the first quarter and nearly double the 47 at the end of 2024.

Farm bankruptcies are soaring amid low crop prices, while Trump considers bailout of up to $14 billion | Fortune

Common Dreams

Decimated by Tariffs, US Farmers Warn Trump Bailout Not Nearly Enough to Erase Pain He Caused | Common Dreams

President Trump's $12 billion relief package for farmers hurt by trade war falls short. US farmers face bankruptcy as tariffs take a toll.

Land O’Lakes CEO Beth Ford is calling for solutions to the problems plaguing rural America—even if they’re messy.

American farmers were already facing multiple crises. Then came Trump’s immigration crackdown | Fortune

Civil Eats

JD Vance Funded AcreTrader. Here’s Why That Matters.

The real estate platform streamlines investing in US farmland. Now farms are fast becoming a portfolio staple for investors worldwide.

The Money Farmers: How Oligarchs and Populists Milk the E.U. for Millions (Published 2019)

Randahl Fink

@randahl@mastodon.social · 3 weeks ago

I am really tired of listening to Marco Rubio praising Trump for getting Europe to spend 5 percent of GDP on defence.

No country is spending more on defence to please Trump. We are spending more, because we are alone in the war with Putin. We are spending more, so we can lead the world, now that Trump has put the US in the back seat.

We could have finished Putin together, and the world would have been safer and wealthier. But instead Trump wanted a war with Venezuela. That is how dumb this is.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-oil-industry-donations

@Npars01@mstdn.social replied · 3 weeks ago

@randahl

https://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2025/12/16/coreweave-oracle-stocks-plunge-as-generative-ai-bubble-deflates/

https://archive.ph/vrEJw
https://www.ft.com/content/95efca74-4299-11ea-a43a-c4b328d9061c

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/12/supply-boom-in-cheaper-renewables-will-seal-end-of-fossil-fuel-era-says-iea

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brandonkochkodin/2025/11/10/its-not-just-an-ai-bubble-heres-everything-at-risk/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/26/ukraine-war-briefing-kyiv-hits-russian-oil-refinery-with-british-storm-shadow-missiles

"Trump's fossil fuel donors want a world war, in hopes it'll preserve their increasingly worthless assets.

They fear a future freed of their control."

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-cracks-down-on-russian-oil-sector-as-revenues-plummet

https://www.npr.org/2025/12/25/nx-s1-5645803/turkey-is-in-the-crosshairs-over-russians-ghost-fleet

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-06/saudis-plan-100-billion-ai-powerhouse-to-rival-uae-s-tech-hub

https://www.eco-business.com/opinion/clean-energy-is-inevitable-despite-trump/

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/climate/antonio-guterres-energy-transition-speech-economics.html

The world is not on track to meet its climate targets, and the devastating effects of global warming are appearing faster than many anticipated. But the undeniable progress made in the Paris climate agreement's first decade provides reason to hope that mo

U.S. Is Missing the Century’s ‘Greatest Economic Opportunity,’ U.N. Chief Says

Eco-Business

Clean energy is inevitable despite Trump

GOV.UK

UK cracks down on Russian oil sector as revenues plummet

UK announces 24 new sanctions against Russian energy and military supply chain targets.

Ukrainian military says ‘numerous explosions’ at Novoshakhtinsk refinery; Zelenskyy says ‘very good’ talks held with Trump envoys. What we know on day 1,402

Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv hits Russian oil refinery with British Storm Shadow missiles

Client Challenge

Watchdog’s flagship report says rise in low-carbon electricity will make transition ‘inevitable’, despite Trump’s calls to carry on drilling

Supply boom in cheaper renewables will seal end of fossil fuel era, says IEA

Common Dreams

Trump to Big Oil Execs: Give Me $1 Billion and I'll Help You Wreck the Planet | Common Dreams

"You won't read a more important story today," said one commentator. "Trump is willing to literally destroy the planet for $1 billion."

Randahl Fink

@randahl@mastodon.social · last month

Brief summary of Trump’s address to the nation:

The US is falling apart and it is because of Biden, but the US is actually very successful, and that is because of Trump. The huge tariffs you have paid will now be used to pay members of the military. Drug prices will be reduced by 600 percent, so if you used to pay 100 dollars, you will now… receive 500 dollars? And the US which the world is laughing at, is totally respected like never before. And merry Christmas!

@Npars01@mstdn.social replied · last month

@randahl

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/12/09/federal-agents-arrest-citizen-observer-watching-ice-north-minneapolis

"This message is brought to you by the wealthiest fascist billionaires on the planet.

We look forward to a new year of looting & pillaging the planet."

Heidi Li Feldman

@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social · last month

‘Tincher has marks on her neck and wrist from where agents restrained her. Agents cut off her wedding ring and held her in leg shackles at Whipple Federal Building for about five hours, where she saw about seven other detainees.

Tincher said she’s even more motivated after her arrest to volunteer to support immigrants in her community. ‘

MPR News

Federal agents arrest citizen observer watching ICE detain neighbors on her north Minneapolis block

Susan Tincher, a 55-year-old American citizen, appears to be the first observer arrested by federal immigration enforcement officers since the agency launched an immigration surge in the Twin Cities last Monday.

@Npars01@mstdn.social replied · last month

@heidilifeldman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resistance_during_World_War_II

"How to build a Resistance Movement in 1 easy step."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Resistance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_resistance_movement_in_World_War_II

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auxiliary_Units

https://www.brusselstimes.com/1545256/french-resistance-fighter-odile-de-vasselot-dies-aged-103

https://airmail.news/issues/2025-8-2/the-spy-who-came-in-from-the-burning-picassos

French Resistance fighter Odile de Vasselot dies aged 103

"It was impossible to do nothing with all those large flags bearing the swastika," de Vasselot recalled in 2023. She also worked with the Belgian Resistance.

Auxiliary Units - Wikipedia

Polish resistance movement in World War II - Wikipedia

French Resistance - Wikipedia

Resistance during World War II - Wikipedia

@arstechnica@mastodon.social · 2 months ago

Wary of picking just one, NASA nears important decision on a lunar rover selection
"This would be a cheap insurance policy."
https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/12/wary-of-picking-just-one-nasa-nears-important-decision-on-a-lunar-rover-selection/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

@Npars01@mstdn.social replied · 2 months ago

"Trump is still evaluating his bribes from manufacturers.

All his corrupt billionaires are vying for government contracts. "

@Npars01@mstdn.social · 2 months ago

@funkylab @w7voa

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/02/15/musk-doge-deception-reuters/

"The wealthy elites who put Trump into a presidency, do not believe there are things like "social contracts", "society", or a "public good".

They have a cynical & sociopathic Hobbesian view of humanity because it serves their desire for wealth & power."

For people who don't believe in the existence of human society, they've weaponized social engineering to benefit themselves a lot.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreydorfman/2014/06/26/conservatives-should-oppose-social-engineering-even-by-conservatives/

Alex Akselrod boosted

@Npars01@mstdn.social · 2 months ago

@GossiTheDog

https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-google-hand-dissident-data-to-saudi-arabia-activists-say-2023-7

"How to turn every Windows 11 machine into a zombie botnet or surveillance platform in one easy step."

Does anyone remember agreeing to send their data to petrostate despots as part of their licensing or subscription?

Like many other tech companies accepting #PrinceBonesaw's investment money, these companies are imposing these features on an unwilling user base in turn.

https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/11/critics-scoff-after-microsoft-warns-ai-feature-can-infect-machines-and-pilfer-data/

https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows-11/microsoft-ai-ceo-pushes-back-against-critics-after-recent-windows-ai-backlash-the-fact-that-people-are-unimpressed-is-mindblowing-to-me

Saudi Arabia is seeking to be an innovation hub, but activists are warning that tech firms could be complicit in the repression of dissidents.

Microsoft and Google may have to surrender people's data to Saudi Arabia after signing huge deals there

@Npars01@mstdn.social · 2 months ago

@GossiTheDog

https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-google-hand-dissident-data-to-saudi-arabia-activists-say-2023-7

"How to turn every Windows 11 machine into a zombie botnet or surveillance platform in one easy step."

Does anyone remember agreeing to send their data to petrostate despots as part of their licensing or subscription?

Like many other tech companies accepting #PrinceBonesaw's investment money, these companies are imposing these features on an unwilling user base in turn.

https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/11/critics-scoff-after-microsoft-warns-ai-feature-can-infect-machines-and-pilfer-data/

https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows-11/microsoft-ai-ceo-pushes-back-against-critics-after-recent-windows-ai-backlash-the-fact-that-people-are-unimpressed-is-mindblowing-to-me

Saudi Arabia is seeking to be an innovation hub, but activists are warning that tech firms could be complicit in the repression of dissidents.

Microsoft and Google may have to surrender people's data to Saudi Arabia after signing huge deals there

@arstechnica@mastodon.social · 2 months ago

Tires that talk to your town about the state of roads are on the way
Pirelli's Cyber Tire can work for the greater good as well as the driver.
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2025/11/tires-that-talk-to-your-town-about-the-state-of-roads-are-on-the-way/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

@Npars01@mstdn.social replied · 2 months ago

"ICE subpoenas Pirelli's spyware tire logs to add to its Ring camera footage, Flock vehicle spyware, and NSO Group dissident monitoring."

@arstechnica@mastodon.social · 2 months ago

Google is rolling out conversational shopping—and ads—in AI Mode search
Conversational shopping is Google's first big swing at monetizing AI Mode search.
https://arstechnica.com/google/2025/11/google-rolling-out-conversational-shopping-and-ads-in-ai-mode-search/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

@Npars01@mstdn.social replied · 2 months ago

https://www.npr.org/2025/11/14/nx-s1-5608188/data-center-ai-space-lizards

https://www.desmog.com/2025/04/22/ai-energy-demand-can-keep-fossil-fuels-alive-tech-backers-promise-worlds-two-biggest-oil-producers/

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/jamal-khashoggi/

"The fossil fuel industry burns tons of its toxic products for each of these AI-enabled spyware features.

Keep up the good work Google! The planet is frying.

#PrinceBonesaw is visiting Trump in November and you know how he gets when he's disappointed."
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-06/google-thiel-stand-out-in-saudi-prince-s-silicon-valley-tour

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/26/us/politics/jamal-khashoggi-killing-cia-report.html

https://nypost.com/2025/11/13/world-news/widow-of-slain-journalist-demanding-compensation-from-mbs/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/05/29/mbs-saudi-arabia-big-tech-authoritarian-embrace/

https://www.theenergymix.com/a-trillion-more-barrels-of-oil-new-ai-tool-would-trigger-400-billion-tonnes-of-climate-pollution/

An AI-fossil fuel axis is forming in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia as AI advocates pledge an endless need for energy — spelling disaster for the climate.

Saudi Crown Prince Is Held Responsible for Khashoggi Killing in U.S. Report (Published 2021)

DeSmog

AI Energy Demand Can Keep Fossil Fuels Alive, Tech Backers Promise World’s Two Biggest Oil Producers

Jonathan Schofield boosted

@Npars01@mstdn.social · 2 months ago

@DrALJONES @palestine

https://www.commondreams.org/news/fossil-fuels-gaza-genocide

"Like the British Empire before it, Trump's billionaire cronies seek opportunities to remake global fossil fuel supply to favor themselves at the cost of millions of lives

The fossil fuel industry is the most corrupt on the planet. It doesn't do equitable distribution"

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/6/21/palestines-forgotten-oil-and-gas-resources

https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/01/26/how-is-gaza-offshore-gas-development-tied-to-the-israeli-invasion/

https://mondoweiss.net/2023/12/gas-gaza-and-western-imperialism/

https://www.versobooks.com/en-ca/blogs/news/the-destruction-of-palestine-is-the-destruction-of-the-earth

https://mondoweiss.net/2025/09/ecocide-imperialism-and-palestine-liberation/

https://www.mesp.me/2024/02/13/between-tales-and-facts-the-long-saga-of-gaza-marine/

Mondoweiss

Ecocide, Imperialism and Palestine Liberation

The devastation in Gaza is not just genocide but also ecocide - the intentional destruction of the ecology. Israel’s assault shows how settler-colonial violence is tied to environmental harm, and why climate justice depends on Palestinian liberation.

DrALJONES

@DrALJONES@mastodon.social · 2 months ago

Trump wants to recreate the 1920s mandate structure in Palestine.

"This is imperialism masquerading as a peace process."

Trump is pushing an Israeli-crafted UN resolution to eliminate the possibility of a Palestinian state.

It would establish US control over Gaza; separate Gaza from the rest of Palestine, & allow the US, & therefore Israel, to determine when Israel would supposedly withdraw.

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/11/13/trump-wants-to-recreate-the-british-mandate-in-palestine

#USPol #Europol #UKPol #BDS #USImperialism #Palestine @palestine .

@Npars01@mstdn.social replied · 2 months ago

@DrALJONES @palestine

https://www.commondreams.org/news/fossil-fuels-gaza-genocide

"Like the British Empire before it, Trump's billionaire cronies seek opportunities to remake global fossil fuel supply to favor themselves at the cost of millions of lives

The fossil fuel industry is the most corrupt on the planet. It doesn't do equitable distribution"

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/6/21/palestines-forgotten-oil-and-gas-resources

https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/01/26/how-is-gaza-offshore-gas-development-tied-to-the-israeli-invasion/

https://mondoweiss.net/2023/12/gas-gaza-and-western-imperialism/

https://www.versobooks.com/en-ca/blogs/news/the-destruction-of-palestine-is-the-destruction-of-the-earth

https://mondoweiss.net/2025/09/ecocide-imperialism-and-palestine-liberation/

https://www.mesp.me/2024/02/13/between-tales-and-facts-the-long-saga-of-gaza-marine/

Mondoweiss

Ecocide, Imperialism and Palestine Liberation

Dan Gillmor

@dangillmor@mastodon.social · 2 months ago

This guy runs the Windows unit at Microsoft, and he's telling you that the company intends to infiltrate "AI" into every aspect of the operating system.

If you use Windows, this is an injection of a living, self-replicating virus into your digital existence.

Yes I use Linux.

Twitter post: "Today we’re taking the next step in making powerful AI easy and useful on Windows 11. With Copilot and new agentic experiences at the center, every Windows 11 PC becomes an AI PC that empowers you to connect, create, and work in more natural ways. Voice is becoming the next..."

@Npars01@mstdn.social replied · 2 months ago

@dangillmor

https://karenattiah.substack.com/p/jamal-khashoggi-the-washington-post

" #PrinceBonesaw wants his energy hogging state surveillance platform, no matter the price."

https://luxurylaunches.com/transport/bill-gates-chartered-saudi-prince-superyacht-06152025.php

https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-google-hand-dissident-data-to-saudi-arabia-activists-say-2023-7

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/05/29/mbs-saudi-arabia-big-tech-authoritarian-embrace/

Reminder: #PrinceBonesaw is very interested in knowing the location of women. So is the GOP.
https://www.businessinsider.com/absher-google-slammed-for-siding-with-saudi-government-app-2019-3

https://www.businessinsider.com/absher-google-refuses-to-remove-saudi-govt-app-that-tracks-women-2019-3

https://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-arabia-mbs-human-rights-violations-apple-google-app-store-2022-9

And hacking the phones of billionaires
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/01/mohammed-bin-salman-jeff-bezos-hack-could-be-a-ticking-time-bomb

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/01/bezos-hack-amazon-saudi-mbs-whatsapp/605755/

The Atlantic

The Staggering Vulnerability of Global Elites

Anyone can get hacked. But when it happens to the rich and powerful, the stakes can be extraordinarily high.

Kollona Amn is being used to target Saudi human-rights activists and sentence them to years in prison, despite Big Tech's policies against harassment.

Saudi Arabians are using a widely available Google and Apple store app to report activists who speak out against the government. Some have received harsh sentences while others are self-censoring.

Google reviewed the app — called Absher — and ruled that it does not violate any agreements, and therefore will remain on Google Play.

Google, siding with Saudi Arabia, refuses to remove widely-criticized government app which lets men track women and control their travel

The app — called Absher — has been the subject of intense protest since INSIDER reported its existence. Google has rejected calls to stop hosting it.

'Grotesque': Marco Rubio leads intense criticism of Google for refusing to pull down Saudi government app that lets men track and control women

Saudi Arabia is seeking to be an innovation hub, but activists are warning that tech firms could be complicit in the repression of dissidents.

Microsoft and Google may have to surrender people's data to Saudi Arabia after signing huge deals there

Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post, and the Cost of Speaking Out

As Saudi Arabia hosts comedians and courts gamers, the silenced voice of Jamal Khashoggi still echoes.

Ricky Mondello

@rmondello@hachyderm.io · 3 months ago

“Billionaires are spending outrageous sums to stop Mamdami.” is an incredible endorsement.

@Npars01@mstdn.social replied · 3 months ago

@rmondello

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/26/opinion/us-capitalism-socialism.html

"Billionaires sincerely believe in socialism, but only the type that sees taxpayer dollars going into their insatiable maws only.

They don't like the kind of socialism that benefits everyone."

https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2019/jun/06/socialism-for-the-rich-the-evils-of-bad-economics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism_for_the_rich_and_capitalism_for_the_poor

https://robertreich.substack.com/p/so-much-for-socialism

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/29/socialism-for-the-rich

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/10/imf-uk-tax-cuts-inequality-neoliberalism/671651/

So Much for Socialism

The Trump regime is using the specter of socialism to make America even more authoritarian. The regime will lose.

Socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor - Wikipedia

The long read: The economic arguments adopted by Britain and the US in the 1980s led to vastly increased inequality – and gave the false impression that this outcome was not only inevitable, but good

‘Socialism for the rich’: the evils of bad economics

Opinion | Made in the U.S.A.: Socialism for the Rich. Capitalism for the Rest. (Published 2021)

@arstechnica@mastodon.social · 3 months ago

Weak EV demand sees GM lay off 1,700 workers at two plants
The automaker expects the regulatory environment to seriously slow EV demand.
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2025/10/weak-ev-demand-sees-gm-lay-off-1700-workers-at-two-plants/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

The automaker expects the regulatory environment to seriously slow EV demand.

Weak EV demand sees GM lay off 1,700 workers at two plants

@Npars01@mstdn.social replied · 3 months ago

https://www.propublica.org/article/idaho-vaccine-bill-medical-freedom-act-maha?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

"Trump's tariff wars on EV are temporarily slowing the EV transition.

His fossil fuel megadonors are ecstatic as they get to keep their captive energy markets a little longer.

Making EV's more expensive & harder to get is how you manipulate fossil fuel demand artificially."

So much for the "Freedom" party and "free market" libertarianism. Hypocrites.

ProPublica

@ProPublica@newsie.social · 3 months ago

The Idaho Medical Freedom Act makes it illegal to require anyone to take a vaccine or receive “medical intervention.” Leslie Manookian, the activist behind the law, hopes to make it a “societal norm” for the rest of the country.

#News #USPolitics #Idaho #Vaccines #Health

ProPublica

Idaho Banned Vaccine Mandates. Activists Want to Make It a Model for the Country.

@Npars01@mstdn.social replied · 3 months ago

@ProPublica

https://jacobin.com/2022/01/covid-asset-bubbles-purchases-billionaires-wealth-inequality

"Pandemics & bailouts are very profitable to our fascist billionaire donors.

Can't wait until the next Excess Mortality Event like covid."
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/jun/26/billionaires-wealth-oxfam-report

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/apocalypse-then-rich-get-richer-1.6147415

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/19/opinion/rich-billionaires-philanthropy-covid.html

https://inequality.org/article/updates-billionaire/

https://fortune.com/2025/04/02/world-record-number-of-billionaires-wealth-higher-than-most-gdp-despite-stock-market-bloodbath/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ellamalmgren/2025/09/09/americas-richest-billionaires-keep-getting-richer-theyre-not-donating-much-more/

Forbes

America’s Richest Billionaires Keep Getting Richer. They’re Not Donating Much More

The members of The Forbes 400 are $1.2 trillion wealthier than a year ago. But how much of their fortune have they given back?

Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg still dominate the billionaire ranks, but their fortunes have taken a hit as S&P 500 losses and boycotts chip away at their wealth.

The world’s billionaires now hold more wealth than every country in the world except the U.S. and China—and they'd be even richer if it wasn't for tanking stocks | Fortune

Many claimed early in the pandemic that COVID-19 would flatten inequality in a deeply unequal world. Luckily for the ultrarich, central banks stepped in, making the global elite richer than ever.

Opinion | What Happens When the Superrich Are This Selfish? (It Isn’t Pretty.) (Published 2023)

The Central Banks Made the Superrich Even Richer During the Pandemic