unfortunately, reading cannot solve a problem of alienation and belonging.

we only have a right to an attorney if we are faced with criminal charges AND cannot afford a lawyer.

most of us haven’t really thought about who we’d call if we ever needed a lawyer. i found myself in a terrifying situation last year, then again this summer, in which i needed a lawyer. they are not easy to find and if you do call one, they will not call you back. rich people have lawyers in their networks, we do not have those networks.

we do not have those other “rights” if we can’t afford to sue the cops

mMore than Half of Americans Mistakenly Think They Have a Right to an Attorney in All Civil Cases

Here are some books by media analyst, Robert McChesney. I haven’t read all these. He actually died recently and when i found out, I just went and downloaded every book by him i could find R.I.P.

Capitalism in the Information Age: The Political Economy of the Global Communication Revolution

Dollarocracy: How the Money and Media Election Complex is Destroying America

The Death and Life of American Journalism

The Political Economy of Media

Will the Last Reporter Please Turn out the Lights? The Collapse of Journalism and What Can Be Done to Fix it

got his paper right here

The Maidan Massacre in Ukraine: The Mass Killing that Changed the World

American security culture vs Chinese security culture

“Chairman Xi, the Main Character demands an audience to witness in awe as they enjoy the smell of their own farts. Failure to meet this demand will result in charges of censorship”

Chairman Xi: these conditions are acceptable

that is not a cheat, that is an integral part of the analysis. no one needs to cheat. we are not clairvoyant, we recognize patterns, we have a solid understanding of the opposing interests involved, and with this understanding, as events play out, a clear picture will emerge.

our job is to observe, learn, analyze, discuss, and in some cases provide material support - being the first one to be right on the internet is not among our priorities.

nobody did. he keeps it way on the DL. he’s actually a phenomenal air guitarist. legendary. fans only know him by his stage name, Torgasm. they have no idea he’s Ted Cruz. his Finnish is way too good.

executive function.

last time i opened, i found it hidden underneath that intimidating tree with the sunglasses on and detective hat

nah, these vetting questions are getting more and more over the top, we’re expected to spend hours formulating responses, not knowing if we’re being tricked (because trick questions are now a regular thing) - this is not how you vet people, and i certainly won’t go through all that to be on discord.

obviously it’s not just the deprogram, there are plenty of servers in the fediverse that also use vetting questions to showcase their big brain

competitive individualism makes us endlessly exploitable by bad actors, feds, and wreckers. what do they want? personal gain, personal achievement, and elevated social status.

i’m gonna be honest, i’m still pretty aggravated by what happened in this community this afternoon - there was a post that warranted serious discussion. not to scold the comrade who wrote it. in fact, we all need to take some responsibility for letting this type of “neoliberal left anti-left” mindset take root and flourish. we can’t just change spaces and expect everything to be better for it. the character of the space depends on the social interaction within.

there were the makings of a thoughtful discussion about cultural hegemony but it got deleted bc one person was embarrassed so nobody learns a thing and these dangerously wrong ideas still go unchallenged.

that was a perfect opportunity to discuss ways to recognize it, root it out and resist so we don’t just end up reproducing reddit over here. vetting questions can’t protect us when the feds are inside the house. case in point.

(is that how you say case in point?)

so this is NOT a parody? people are replying like it’s a legitimate concern.

this is the most important thing you all need to know right now.

given that we have not even begun to properly organize, and given that y’all haven’t done a single thing besides learn wrong things off of reddit.

you are not in any position to be deciding who you want to kill after the revolution. what revolution?

i have never listened to this podcast before but i’m familiar with Hakim. this post is just joking right? people don’t really talk like this except on Facebook, i’m scared lolol

what do you mean by “active communist?” did you join org or?

and are the spaces you’re referring to irl gatherings or internet discussions?

there’s a lot to explain on this, and the answers to those questions will tell me how to proceed.

are there any mastodon instances that won’t ban M-L content?

the same state that repealed a mandatory paid sick leave law within months of it being approved by voters. go figure.

i downloaded the ARRL Ham Radio Licensing Manual and I do plan to get into it once i find safe/stable housing (currently homeless)

i’ve been concerned about this as well and as a non-tech savvy person, it’s hard to figure out how to even learn about ways around it. techie stuff is aggressively gatekept - in fact, i came across some interesting articles about LoRa communications and Reticulum Network, but i can’t find anything written up that doesn’t assume a certain level competence or background in tech - so i tried to ask in a socialist prepper subreddit, where i was told that i should not be interested unlearning about Reticulum Network because it’s way too advanced and only hardcore techies are capable of using that.

but anyway - wrt the concern of privatized internet infrastructure, i think that Reticulum thingie could be promising if the nerds ever start sharing their toys with us lolol

i use an iphone and i’m using Voyager. i don’t know anything about it except that it seems to work lol

edit: i find it easier to use than the browser version (due to neurodivergent touch screen struggles)

reddit did you a service