Notices by Jay Baker (mediaactivist@todon.eu)

Labour “putting deportation machine into overdrive”, shows Corporate Watch analysis: https://freedomnews.org.uk/2024/11/27/labour-putting-deportation-machine-into-overdrive-shows-corporate-watch-analysis/

In this searing investigative report on #Bluesky, @davetroy asks how are the users flocking there safe from EXACTLY THE SAME THING that happened at Twitter/X?

https://america2.news/without-sky-social-media-and-the-end-of-reality/

"Notably, Musk has not made any mention of Bluesky and the exodus of some 20 million people from X. In the past, he has railed against Threads and Substack. This time... crickets. It's as if he has a plan in mind to use Bluesky to his advantage. Perhaps he intends to buy it. We don't know. Plan accordingly."

@radikal Immediately had to follow you back, even just for your cover image on your profile: one of my favourite films! Solidarity!

Also interesting is the fact that the only significant abuse I've received since being on Mastodon for years is from people angry at me for dissing Bluesky. I guess maybe they just wanted to help prove my point?

The "confusing" claim is particularly hilarious when you realise the signup process - including server choice - is almost identical for Bluesky as it is for Mastodon. But fuck it, who cares about reality any more?

No, it's not the "starter packs" doing it. In the first Twitter exodus a couple of years ago, masses fled in different directions, splintering the crowds, causing confusion, and leading many to simply return to Twitter. Now, Bluesky had enough of a readymade Twitter 2.0, trendy techbro backer vibes, commercial interest, and maybe a little Russian funding thrown in, all to exploit the longstanding myth of Mastodon being "confusing" in order to grab the majority in this next exodus. And they'll stay there. Until "Twitter 2.0" inevitably becomes..."X 2.0." Maybe then, finally then, folks will get it, and just fucking use Mastodon. Or maybe they'll be jazzed by some Twitter 3.0 by then, then 4.0, and 5.0, I don't know, maybe we're doomed and don't deserve the web we claim to crave after all.

"Ooh, 'starter packs' are a great idea and attracting more people to Bluesky." I don't give a shit if they're giving out fucking rocket packs, or free pizza upon joining - there's nothing they can do to polish a turd, repair their bad copy, their rotten foundations, their absolute trap, and many of us will be over here on Mastodon chomping our popcorn watching folks adamant to try and reinvent the wheel while Twitter 2.0 unfolds before us, as history repeats itself.

"The reason Firefox seems to be getting worse is because Mozilla is desperately trying to find other sources of revenue, and they seem to think advertising is their best bet – even going so far as working together with Facebook. Imagine how much more invasive and user-hostile these attempts are going to get if Mozilla suddenly loses 80% of its revenue?" Mozilla begs courts to allow Google search deal for Firefox to continue: https://www.osnews.com/story/141227/mozilla-begs-courts-to-allow-google-search-deal-for-firefox-to-continue/

"The 1 percent’s extravagant consumer behaviors — in combination with rampant militarism and the continued dominance of the fossil fuel industry — are pushing the Earth toward disastrous climate tipping points from which there might be no return." Can Earth Support a Human Future? Maybe, If the Rich Consume Less: https://truthout.org/articles/can-earth-support-a-human-future-maybe-if-the-rich-consume-less/

If you love group calls on Signal, but don’t want to create a group chat for every combination of your friends or colleagues, you’re in luck. Introducing call links: Share a link with anyone on Signal and in just a tap or click they can join the call. No group chat required: https://signal.org/blog/call-links/ #Signal #SignalApp #SignalMessenger

‘Genocide-free’ cola makes a splash in the United Kingdom https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/11/23/genocide-free-cola-makes-a-splash-in-the-united-kingdom #BDS #Gaza #FreePalestine

@richpuchalsky Thanks so much, I really appreciate that.

@katzenberger I really appreciate that. And I always enjoy our exchanges on here. Keep up the good work on your side of things!

@nickajordan Thanks so much.

I realise I've been a little quieter than usual on here lately. I had a rough week or so, finally burnt out trying to do too many things on top of caring for my partner, having a birthday without being able to share experiences with her like I have in the past due to her worsened illness, on top of a crisis of confidence in a lot of my work after a year of setbacks and rejections, ongoing family abandonment/abuse, then defenders of Bluesky coming on here to throw some meanness my way recently as icing on the cake, ha. I'm getting my shit together now and will be more communicative towards the new year. I dig so many of you and didn't want you to think I was being an ignorant prick.

Jewish Anti-Zionist Activist Describes His Arrest Under UK’s Anti-Terror Law: https://truthout.org/articles/jewish-anti-zionist-activist-describes-his-arrest-under-uks-anti-terror-law/

John Prescott: The Blairite bulldog who forgot the working class https://freedomnews.org.uk/2024/11/21/john-prescott-the-blairite-bulldog-who-forgot-the-working-class/

Vice’s Hard-Right Turn to Trumpism https://theintercept.com/2024/11/19/vice-news-right-wing-trumpism/

"Netscape is obviously dead, Firefox is hanging on by a thread (which is inconspicuously shaped like a giant sack of money from Google), Opera is dead (its shady Chrome skin doesn’t count), Brave is cryptotrash run by a homophobe, and Vivaldi, while an actually good and capable Chrome skin with a ton of fun features, still isn’t profitable, so who knows how long they’ll last. As an independent company, Chrome wouldn’t survive...and Chrome in anyone else’s hands might have the potential to be even worse." https://www.osnews.com/story/141156/doj-will-push-google-to-sell-chrome-to-break-search-monopoly/

2/Be aware you are effectively operating behind enemy lines. It may be tactically useful to do so, but don’t pretend there is anything “good” happening here. For all the talk about critical thinking, folks could try using some for once. 🤦

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/joecardillo_bluesky-bigtech-socialmedia-activity-7263206291139932161-BTim