Notices by Lee 🌏 (mrlee@aus.social)

#USpol #Politics #AUSpol #Media #Capitalism

We are witnessing and unprecedented attack on #Freedom and #FreeSpeech in the #USA #USpol

1. Executive Order on "Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship"**: On his first day in office, Trump issued an executive order that, while purporting to protect free speech, was viewed by critics as a tool to suppress speech he dislikes and rewrite history to suit his agenda[1][3][4].
2. Undermining Internet Freedom Programs**: On the same day as the "Free Speech EO," Trump issued an executive order entitled “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid,” which is undermining programs that support technologies that enhance privacy, fight censorship, and support internet freedom globally[2].
3. FCC Reinstatement of Complaints Against Broadcasters:
Two days after issuing the Free Speech EO, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reinstated complaints against broadcasters ABC, CBS and NBC over their coverage of the 2024 election, alleging bias[2].
4. Threats to Deport Protesters:
The administration threatened to deport non-citizens who participated in pro-jihadist protests and cancel the student visas of Hamas sympathizers on college campuses[2].
5. Banned Words List for Government Agencies:
The administration circulated lists of banned words for staff of government agencies, prohibiting the use of terms like "diversity" and "integrity"[2].
6. Censoring Displays of Pictures:
The administration directly censored the display of pictures of women and people of color[2].
7. Restrictions on Access to Books: The Defense Department reportedly restricted access to books on topics from immigration to psychology in its school system serving military families[2].
8. Sweeping Crackdown on Federal Communications About the LGBTQ+ Community: Trump ordered a sweeping crackdown on federal communications about the LGBTQ+ community, removing LGBTQ+ resource materials from government websites and placing new restrictions on how federal employees can discuss or speak to LGBTQ+ people or even use words such as "sex" or "gender"[3].
9. Restricting Gender Identity on Official Documents:
Trump ordered that LGBTQ+ Americans may no longer identify as transgender on passports and other documents[3].
10. Criticism of the News Media: Trump has continued his criticism of the news media, calling journalists the "enemy of the people" and suing various media organizations over journalism he claims was libelous or unfair[1][3].

Citations:
[1] https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2025/2/10/trump-accused-of-leading-a-multipronged-attack-on-us-media
[2] https://cdt.org/insights/when-it-comes-to-free-speech-the-trump-administration-should-follow-its-own-order/
[3] https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2025-01-26/trump-free-speech-executive-order-critics-respond
[4] https://www.justsecurity.org/106608/free-speech-executive-order/
[5] https://www.aclu.org/news/human-rights/the-targeted-chaos-of-trumps-attacks-against-international-human-rights-law-and-justice
[6] https://www.npr.org/2024/10/21/nx-s1-5134924/trump-election-2024-kamala-harris-elizabeth-cheney-threat-civil-liberties
[7] https://www.aclu.org/trump-on-surveillance-protest-and-free-speech
[8] https://www.brookings.edu/articles/donald-trump-has-threatened-to-shut-down-broadcasters-but-can-he/

@GossiTheDog
Same love here

@arstechnica
Thank you, Europe

@Radical_EgoCom
I am not your enemy here. I believe we want the same thing. It's just we have very different ideas on how to achieve that, based on our life experiences and knowledge.

@Radical_EgoCom
You appear to think that counter-revolution is this overwhelming force, post revolution. (Please correct me if I am wrong on that)
I don't agree that is the case.
Let's imagine the USA, post revolution, in 2032. Priot to revolution 100's of Millions will have been plunged into poverty, the billionaires have run amok, committed endless crimes, started pointless wars, kids will have been drafted and died, mass violence has been committed against, the people, etc, etc.
The vast majority of Americans will want change. The vast majority will support a transition to a truly transparent, truly egalitarian, truly... society. There will be some counter-revolution, but non-violent "keeping the peace" actions will suffice. Because the end goal is truly a better country. People crave peace in these situations. There is always a good window of opportunity to turn good will into good progress.
Yes, there are lots of ways things may not pan out as planned, but if violence against people is part of that plan, it's far more likely that any revolution will fail.

@Radical_EgoCom
Those goals will never be reached because "violent methods put countries on repressive trajectories." Once on those trajectories, it gets harder every day to pivot.
There, of course, will always be that messy, chaotic period after a revolution. There will always be random acts of violence, but the message must always be peace and non-violence. We have seen examples like Truth and Reconciliation Commissions in South Africa.
I agree there will always be resistance to change after a revolution, but there is also an overwhelming desire for unity too that can be channelled into peacefully quashing counter-revolution.

@Radical_EgoCom
Yes, you are right.
If we are to stop counter-revolution, then we must do something that humanity has never really succeeded in doing. But someing it absolutely must do to survive and something that's essential to humanity's evolution. That will be to build truly meritocratic, truly transparent, truly inclusive, truly egalitarian, non patriarchal, grassroots democracies that never allow any one person or group to ever claim too much wealth and power.
Given what we see happening in the USA right now, and it is only going to get much worse, there will be a huge appetite for this kind of peace.

@Radical_EgoCom @caffinepwrd
"violence will be necessary to repress counter-revolution"
But you must understand that there will be a much greater desire for "counter-revolution" if a significant number of people have had extreme violence inflicted on them. As MLK points out.
"Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness."
Why would people support change when it just meant more violence? That only helps the "counter-revolution"

@Radical_EgoCom
What it says to me is that "right values" are key. If you start with the wrong values; "any and all violence is acceptable," a revolution has already gone down the wrong path. It's already made the period after revolution harder to navigate and more violent. I accept that most revolution is neither 100% peaceful or 100% violent.

@caffinepwrd @Radical_EgoCom
"non-violent means are always complimented by violence."
This is because everyone acts out their frustration in different ways. What matters is that non-violent voices dominate, especially when change is won.

@Radical_EgoCom
The article covers this right at the beginning. "Compared to nonviolent resistance, violent methods put countries on repressive trajectories by normalising state-on-citizen violence among security forces. These new norms and the resulting human rights violations are likely to persist long after the conflict that engenders them. This implies that nonviolent struggle is much more likely to produce a sustainable peace than violent methods."

@Radical_EgoCom
It's a good question you are asking here, and it has been well discussed by historians. This article ads some good historical perspectives.
I like the distinction between Civil Wars and Civil Resistance.
Please give it a read.
https://www.civilwarpaths.org/the-long-term-consequences-of-violent-vs-nonviolent-rebellion/

@Radical_EgoCom
Because there is no motivation, no moral imperative, no logical reason to do otherwise.
If "any means necessary" was OK to win power, then "any means necessary" will be OK to maintain power.
When maintaining power becomes the new priority, why would a movement NOT use "any means necessary" to keep that power? Its enemies will not disappear or give up. If they don't use "any means necessary" and loose, it will all have been for nothing.
A revolution is both the winning of power and the maintaining of power. A revolution is destined to fail if it is birthed through "any means necessary"

@Radical_EgoCom
Disagree
Because to me, "the means justify the ends" includes any kind of violence.
Any movement that is birthed from "the means justify the ends" will end up rulling in the same way. So we will have replaced one evil for a new evil.

WE ARE NOT LIVING IN CIVILIZED TIMES!
"Capitalist peace theory" is BS
#Socialism #Capitalism

#Bikes #Cycling #BikeTooter

@_elena @elena
I think the happiest day of a person's life is when they realise they don't have to care about what other people think about them.
[Living in "the west"]

#Capitalism #Socialism

@FisherPeter @Radical_EgoCom
It's hard to do that because the Capitalists have gone out of their way to destroy any country, economically, that has embraced socialism.
It's fair to say that may countries claimed to embrace socialism but were just dictatorships, so they failed.