this is good, not bad

It’s hilarious to me that this is being presented as a bad thing:

Germany has too many solar panels, and it’s pushed energy prices into negative territory.

NO, it does NOT. Power export and increased electrification will solve the “not making money” part and it will be awesome.

Somewhere I had but misplaced an “oh noes” article about the price of used electric cars starting to come down and that’s also being presented as a bad thing and once again I am asking why is this bad, affordable electrics are good, absolute turnip of a journalist.

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Fascism Watch for 1 July 2024: Let’s go through some tech bullshit, shall we?

Not just Twitter this time, though I assure you, there is plenty of Twitter. But let’s start with my favourite article of the last few weeks: I Will Fucking Piledrive You If You Mention AI Again. I love this article and I love it very much. It is distilled catharsis. Enjoy.

Now to get into some of Elon Musk’s Twitter fascism before moving on to other items:

• In 2023, Brazilian Police discovered Neo-Nazi groups using social media to incite kids to commit school massacres. Twitter was the only company resisting their removal in a meeting with social media firms.
  
  Yeah, you read that right. Elon Musk’s Twitter resisted removing attempts by nazis to get children to commit school massacres.
  
• Related: Neo-Nazis Are All-In on AI – Extremists are developing their own hateful AIs to supercharge radicalization and fundraising—and are now using the tech to make weapon blueprints and bombs. And it’s going to get worse.
  
• Tell me something I didn’t know: QAnon conspiracy theories are surging on Elon Musk’s X. Here’s proof. (Far-right conspiracy theorists have returned in droves after Musk took over the former Twitter.)
  
• Radicalized by the right: Elon Musk puts his conspiratorial thinking on display for the world to see. Anybody else remember his commentary just a few months ago that copyright doesn’t matter because we’ll have an Artificial General Intelligence god before the cases can get through court? I sure do! Everybody tried to laugh and shrug it off, but I think he believes it.
  
• Naturally, Republicans want to help: Missouri AG sues Media Matters as Republicans take on critics of Musk’s X – Move follows similar lawsuit by Texas attorney general, raising fear that news outlets could be next targets. Criticising the God King will be punished, but not as much as exposing his nakedness.
  
• Elon Musk’s X revenue has officially plummeted, new documents show, which is nice, but old news. It hasn’t continued to fall. This is because there are too many people still on it, and if you’re one of them:
  
• You are the fuel that energises Elon Musk’s hate machine.
  
  See also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, see also, there’s probably more but you get the idea.

Well, that was a lot. Let’s see what else we have.

Ah, this one’s good: Research finds pattern of YouTube recommending right-leaning, Christian videos. It does that to me, too. It really wants people to find fash content. I wonder if it’s related to the politics that lead to Tech Company Hit With DOJ Fine After Racist ‘Whites Only’ Job Posting and Stanford’s top disinformation research group collapses under right-wing pressure. I’m pretty fucking sure it is.

Here’s the least surprising thing ever: Someone managed to get Gab’s AI’s setup prompt. It is, naturally, everything you’d expect out of a fascist site.

Meanwhile, Meta accused of trying to discredit ad researchers – Meta allegedly tried to discredit university researchers in Brazil who had flagged fraudulent adverts on the social network’s ad platform. Fundamentally, Meta doesn’t like people saying things about it that it doesn’t like, and will absolutely throw its weight at people. See also A local news site was critical of Facebook—then Meta banned all their links.

If you’re wondering, the story that pissed them off was When Facebook fails, local media matters even more for our planet’s future.

Clearly, Google was fine with it: U.K. forces Google to remove websites selling gender-affirming medications. TERF Island is go go go.

Finally, to come back aground and close with more general news – stuff that isn’t actually directly fash / far-right / fundamentalist related, but is still tech bullshit:

• OpenAI and Anthropic are ignoring an established rule that prevents bots scraping online content because of course they are, did you really think they’d respect you or your rights?
• Microsoft removes documentation for switching to a local account in Windows 11 because by god they are going to spy on you as much as they can in every way that they can; my netbook is now running PopOS Linux.
• Windows 11 is Now Automatically Enabling OneDrive Folder Backup Without Asking Permission, because did you really expect any better.

We’ll close on some better news, from CheckMyAds: Google’s breaking down, but we need to keep our eye on the ball. They’re doing some good work. You might give them a looking-over, maybe sign up. I did.

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Biden to speak on the immunity ruling in 15 minutes (ish)

Biden’s gonna speak on the immunity ruling in like 15-20 minutes from now, at around 4:45pm Cascadian/Pacific time, 7:45pm Eastern. Or rather, that’s when the video feed starts.

Watch on YouTube

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Fascism Watch: Every other issue just became secondary at best

After today’s Republican Supreme Court decision granting presidents complete criminal immunity for anything that qualifies even remotely as an “official act” – something even George III didn’t have – everything else is secondary. Trump got more than he asked for. Read Justice Sotomayor’s dissent.

Trump has, of course, declared victory and called for a military tribunal to try Liz Cheney for treason over on Truth Social. If, you know, you’re wondering how he’s reacting. But yeah, as Sotomayor says, a president can now order military strikes on his political opponents and if he declares it an “official act” as Commander in Chief and remain immune from the law, so there y’are.

There is no more room for even a single electoral mistake. The next authoritarian – or the next person with authoritarian tendencies – elected President will be the last elected President. Every election has to go right until this is reversed, somehow, and until then the republic is truly dead, because that means you have one party that isn’t primed and ready to launch a dictatorship the moment they have power. and one that absolutely, positively is.

Here’s a bunch of stuff I was working into a few posts. It’s not important now, but you might skim the headlines. There are a few different topics, and they should matter more, still. And I suppose, really, they do. But, you know. Precipice of dictatorship, and all that. So.

• Crow Newsletter is doing the job I used to do with the Cultural Warfare Updates – monitoring and reporting on the fundamentalist right.
• Texas AG Ken Paxton is getting free help from Stephen Miller’s America First Legal – Exclusive: According to contracts provided to Law Dork, America First Legal has worked on at least five ideological cases for Texas for “$00.00.”
• Russia adds ‘LGBT movement’ to list of extremist and terrorist organisations
• Expert has shocking conclusion on transgender athletes: “Trans women are not biological men” (Summarises story in New York Times that’s behind a paywall)
• Maine Sheriffs’ Association Announced That It Opposes “Shield Law” Bill – “They clearly demonstrate that law enforcement is NEVER on the side of LGBTQ+ people,” Allison Chapman said.
• Liv Raisner Went Undercover With an Anti-Trans Quack Therapist – Gender exploratory therapy is the newest face of conversion therapy. A trans investigator went undercover to share an inside look at the tactics used by its manipulative providers.
• UN Women Calls Gender-Criticals An Extremist Anti-rights Movement – In a shot at “gender critical” activists, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women announced that trans rights are not opposed to women’s rights for Pride Month.
• Reading Between the Lines of a USA Today Anti-Trans Column – How does it harm a cis woman to tie for fifth place with a trans woman? Opinion columns opposing trans women’s equal participation in sports won’t tell you.
• What’s in the Cass Report? – The final report of the Cass Review of gender-affirming care for youth is being taken as vindication from anti-trans activists. [Editor’s TLDR: it’s rigged. They decided to define their quality levels in such a way that makes every study showing the efficacy of intervention to be “low quality.” As a result, all the evidence is “low quality.”]
• The Cass Review heralds how all trans medicine will die – In effect, the study research completely blew off the input of the people most affected by access to treatment
• Cass Review out of step with high-quality care provided in Aotearoa
• The Evidence Supports Informed Consent
• Seen but not heard: The New York Times failed to quote trans people in two-thirds of stories on anti-trans legislation in a one-year period – From February 15, 2023, through February 15, 2024, another 18% of such articles included anti-trans misinformation with no fact-checking
• What is Anti-Trans Leaker Eithan Haim Accused of by the US Gov? – The government alleges Haim sought the re-activation of his lapsed access to healthcare records at a hospital he no longer worked at for the purposes of leaking health records to a conservative activist.
• Ohio House passes trans bathroom ban
• Louisiana lawmaker behind Ten Commandments bill is eyeing more culture war wins – Republican state Rep. Dodie Horton is also backing a bill to prohibit teachers from discussing gender identity or sexual orientation with students.
• LGBT Resource Center Announces Closure Amidst DEI Changes
• How Did Schools Become So Dangerous for LGBTQ Kids? [Editor: Very intentionally, of course]
• Jonathan Haidt Promoted a Fringe Theory on Trans Youth – The author of The Anxiety Generation told Margaret Hoover for PBS that young people become trans due to peer contagion effects. There is no evidence that this is so.
• “Florida Has A 1st Amendment Problem” – Judge Rules Trans Teacher Can Use “Ms.” – A Federal Judge has ruled that a trans woman teacher forced to go by “Mr.” can return to going by “Ms.” and use female pronouns in the classroom.
• ‘Trying to scare us:’ Bomb threat targets story time for LGBTQIA+ kids, families at Durham library
• Morning Briefing: Drag Shows Target of Bomb Threats in New York, Alaska, and Texas – Pride Month drag show events in New York, Alaska, and Texas were the target of bomb threats: ‘Fuck you and your drag queens.’
• Supreme Court allows Idaho ban on trans minors’ medical care to go into effect
• OK Schools Chief Says Schools Will Now Be Required to Teach the Christian Bible and Oklahoma schools head Ryan Walters: Teachers who won’t teach Bible could lose license – In an interview with NBC News, Walters discussed his new Bible instruction mandate and the consequences for those who don’t comply.
• A Christian group teaches public school students during the school day. Their footprint is growing
• Former Far-Right Hard-Liner Says Billionaires Are Using School Board Races to Sow Distrust in Public Education
• They Came For The School Library. Now They’re At The Public Library in Escambia County, Florida
• Three female GOP state senators who filibustered S.C. abortion ban lost their primaries – They were defeated by three male Republican candidates.
• This Country’s Abortion Crisis Is Really a Voting Rights Problem – The only way anti-abortion politicians can pass dangerous, unpopular restrictions is by gerrymandering their state legislatures into oblivion. To restore the actual will of the people, we have to fight back…and not just during a presidential election year.
• Why the assaults on abortion rights and voting rights go hand in hand
• Iraq criminalises same-sex relationships in new law
• ‘Lavender’: The AI machine directing Israel’s bombing spree in Gaza – this is a really good look into the Israeli bombing rules, including things like how it’s better to hit targets while they’re at home with their families.
• Israel deletes tweet confessing more genocidal intent – but people screen-grabbed it first – I personally saw this, and while they’re showing the preview image in front of the video at the link, if you played the video, you saw that the “there are no innocents there” line was specifically in the context of children, as in even the children are not innocent and should be bombed.
• Exclusive: Israeli documents show expansive government effort to shape US discourse around Gaza war – As the Gaza war rages, Israeli funds target US college campuses and push to redefine antisemitism in US law

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