Notices by Andrew (shivviness@beige.party)

@RickiTarr

I think there's something in the air, too, similar to what Adam Curtis describes in his documentary "Hypernormalisation", which he defines as that sense of unreality where everyone knows the systems underpinning society are crumbling, yet collectively pretend they’re not. Politicians and citizens alike resign themselves to maintaining the pretense of a functioning society.

"We live in a world where the powerful deceive us. We know they lie, they know we know they lie, they don’t care. We say we care, but we do nothing. And nothing ever changes. It’s normal. Welcome to the post-truth world."

Curtis looked at the fall of the Soviet Union, but there are parallels with what's happening in America today.

Also, don't apologise for having optimism. Maintaining hope that thing can get better is a sine qua non for actually materially improving our situation.

@JugglingWithEggs

The UK unfortunately, predictably is going down the same dark fascist path as America, just in its own drab, pompous British way.

@MediaActivist

Kier Starmer has his orders from his elite overlords, which is to carry on with their plan to raid the UK's coffers and sell off whatever remains of the family silver to those same elite interests at pennies on the dollar.

This is all feels like a stage managed descent into fascism, with Reform being the agreed upon party to take over.

Farage will report to Trump or whoever is President.

We're a US vassal state.

@Remittancegirl

The fascists are definitely aiming to kill disabled people.

They're just building up to it.

@aj @rootwyrm @sophieschmieg @briankrebs @tknarr @sb

Colinising Mars is beyond our capabilities presently, I also believe, and a huge waste of resources, and that's assuming we're not in climate and biosphere collapse. Given that everything is in fact imploding around us, attempting to reach Mars let alone establish a colony on it is pie in the sky. That Musk cannot understand this basic fact speaks volumes as to his grasp on things generally and understanding of the basics of space exploration.
We are being led by very worst people imaginable at a time of unprecedented global crisis.

This article, entitled "I researched every attempt to stop fascism in history. The success rate is 0%.", is worth having a read of.
It argues, per the title, that "Once fascists win power democratically, they have never been removed democratically. Not once. Ever."
There are criticisms to be made of it, but I think the author is right, i.e. MAGA will refuse to cede power.

https://cmarmitage.substack.com/p/i-researched-every-attempt-to-stop

This is an interesting Reddit thread discussing the article.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1mzxjez/is_it_true_that_creeping_fascism_is_never_stopped/

Quokka-eating-a-eucalyptus-leaf timeline cleanse.

"Nom nom nom nom".

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

I'm just thinking about how things are likely to go on mainland Europe in the next four years, especially in the run up to the next German federal election, which needs to take place before 26 March 2029. AfD, who are unashamedly far Right white supremacists, are currently leading polls and look set to win.
Likewise, National Rally in France I think could easily win.
Factor in that Reform are leading polls in the UK and it paints a bleak picture indeed for democracy in Europe generally.
For those of you based in Europe, how do you feel about what is presently unfolding in America, i.e. neofascism, occurring over here?

@TheBreadmonkey
I am easily tempted and have also now joined you down the rabbit hole.
Thank you, Ben

Interesting and entirely predictable that Musk is raging against his own AI, Grok, for dispensing impartial responses he doesn't like. This week he publicly called it a "very dumb AI" and said he's updating it so that it delivers answers more in line with his own terrible biases and prejudices. And that's the problem with AI, namely that it can be programmed to yield whatever answers it's programmer wants it to. The notion that AI is going to end up being anything other than biased is cloud cuckoo land.

There could be significantly more people on the planet than we previously thought, according to a new study which claims rural figures worldwide could be undercounted between 53 per cent to 84 per cent, though the study declines to specify what population that equates to.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/world-population-billions-more-study-b2718787.html

Timeline cleanse.

Does anyone here think that Trump's plan might be to totally default on US national debt?
He's currently vilifying debt holders like China and the EU. Especially, he's deliberately painting a picture whereby it looks like it's these entities are mooching off and generally taking advantage of the US.
Also, the fact that public expenditure is being cut left, right and center, in preparation for the fallout from this course of action, tends to support my hypothesis.
Trump's entire business career has been one of bankrupting his businesses and not paying his debts, and he may be about to do it with an entire country this time.

Trump very much channeling his inner Sarauan here, commanding his orcs to cut down national park trees.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/03/trump-national-forest-executive-order

Everything that's gone down since Trump's election vis-a-vis DOGE has ranged from "Woah, that seems kinda illegal, doncha think?" to "That is so far beyond the pale in terms of blatant illegality as to have previously been deemed unthinkable".
The supposed sensibles in the Dems and media's heads have been left utterly spinning. This is despite many of us screaming about the fire, i.e. Project 2025, for some time, in vain ultimately.
The MAGA vandals that are tearing down American government with such alacrity are acting, disconcertingly, as though they total have impunity for their actions. And at this point I'm not optimistic that common sense and the rule of law are actually going to prevail, things are so topsy turvy

@hellomiakoda @theautisticcoach

I agree with your point, however, I personally have found the minority of autistic people who are awful tend to be particularly disagreeable and sociopathic, i.e. they excel at being terrible people

@Lazarou @christineburns

I'm somewhat surprised how Europe's combined military might cannot beat Russia? Even in terms of bodies to throw at the problem, Russia has quite a small population relative to the rest of Europe

@hannu_ikonen

I’m not sure who’s leading the resistance in this timeline, and there may well not be any resistance yet given the penny has yet to drop for most people, but I hope whoever they are that they're working on some structured knowledge dissemination to counteract the fact the fascists own nigh on our entire media. We are going to be collectively waterboarded in fash misinformation in the next few years

@RustyBertrand

Our elites here in the UK are some of the most unpleasant, bigoted people imaginable.
We are ruled over by the absolute worst of us, but then the neoliberal system actively selects for these racist scumbags

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cql569v0pq2o