RE: https://mastodon.social/@villebooks/115849466509695866
There's also a YouTube channel called "Al Mayadeen English, check it out!
It Never Had To Be This Way
- 24 Followers
- 88 Following
- 889 Posts
Coach Pāṇini ®I hope in the new year folks will stop being surprised that people with no #CoreValues, #FirstPrinciples, or sense of #shame will somehow operate differently or experience consequences.
Please stop saying how wild their hypocrisy is, that is the most important thing to grasp.
https://inaniludibrio.com/2025/03/25/the-most-important-thing/
☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆This is how China's economic model works: Explaining Socialism with Chinese Characteristics
Danielle Foré“Transgender for everybody”, but unironically. As in, spend some time deconstructing your gender and then actively choose what gender roles and expressions you actually do and don’t want to perform. Deconstruct your sexuality too. Deconstruct your religion. Deconstruct anything you were indoctrinated into so you can be authentically you
T. Thorn Coyle they/themWord on the street is:
You want the rose, you also get the thorns.
Mitch WagnerMastodon seems to be fading away.
Manton Reece @manton has some thoughts on Mastodon's CEO change and 2026 direction. https://www.manton.org/2025/12/02/mastodon-ceo-change-reset.html
I've noted a drastic decline in activity in my Mastodon timeline. The people I follow just aren't posting as much as they formerly did. I'll sit and scroll the Mastodon timeline for a few minutes and discover to my surprise that I've scrolled back through 12 hours.
Of the three Twitterlike services, Bluesky and Threads are far more active for me.
On the other hand, I get far more activity on my posts on Mastodon than I do on Bluesky and Threads — more replies, likes and reblogs. I think it's because at least two very popular Masto users follow me and occasionally boost my posts, which has helped me attract more followers here. I have 1,100 Mastodon followers, compared with 677 on Bluesky and 285 on Threads.
However, I get most of the activity on my posts on Facebook, with Tumblr a solid second place. Masto is third, Bluesky and Threads a distant fourth and fifth and mitchwagner.com gets hardly any activity at all, and I do it because I just like blogging.
I really want Mastodon to succeed. I like the philosophy, and I like that the platform permits posts of any length (if you choose an instance configured that way). I can't stand being locked into a 300- or 500-character box.
I hope new management breathes new life into Mastodon. As Cory Doctorow @pluralistic points out, the reason that Bluesky and Threads take off isn't because proprietary platforms are inherently superior to open source — it's because those two platforms have much more money than Mastodon does.
It frustrates me that Mastodon and Bluesky insist on being separate silos. They need to get it together and become one thing. Arguing over AT protocol vs. ActivityPub is foolish.
YogthosA study that looked at more than 1,000 loans to Africa found that Chinese lenders never seized assets, never used courts to enforce payments, and never applied penalty interest rates.
Mandy AllenHey Portland! Join us on No Kings Day. We’re filling a full square mile of Portland’s east side sidewalks with protest, purpose, and people power.
From the Convention Center to Broadway, from MLK to Grand, we’re taking over the sidewalks in one loud, united voice. You can then go onto the rally downtown.
https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/event/793933/
Look for an event near you at NOKINGS.ORG
NO KINGS! We're Taking Over the Streets of East Portland! · No Kings
**In America, we don’t put up with would-be kings.** No thrones. No crowns. No kings. And no more Donald Trump trying to rule like one. **We’re filling a full square mile of Portland’s east side sidewalks with protest, purpose, and people power.** From the Convention Center to Broadway, from MLK to Grand, we’re taking over the sidewalks in one loud, united voice. NO KINGS is a national day of action and mass mobilization in response to increasing authoritarian excesses and corruption from Trump and his allies. We’ve watched as they’ve cracked down on free speech, detained people for their political views, threatened to deport American citizens, and defied the courts. They’ve done this all while continuing to serve and enrich their billionaire allies. 🚨**On Saturday, June 14, we’re taking to the streets nationwide. We’re not gathering to feed his ego. We’re building a movement that leaves him behind.**🚨 🇺🇸 We’re standing together with friends, neighbors, allies, and special guests; we all know what’s at stake. 🎨 Bring your flags. Bring your signs. Bring your bells and noisemakers. Bring your people. Let us know if you have a band, theater, or art group and you'd like to put on something special.🎭 [email protected] **Now through June 14th, help get out the word about No Kings Day** * Sidewalk Chalking https://www.mobilize.us/oepindivisible/event/796768/ * Pop Up Protests https://www.mobilize.us/oepindivisible/event/796793/ The flag doesn’t belong to Donald Trump. It belongs to us. We’re not watching history happen. We’re making it. **On June 14th, we’re showing up everywhere he isn’t—to say no thrones, no crowns, no kings.** Check out nokings.org for more information. *A core principle behind all No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values.*
AwattoAnalog"Westenberg" is penned by the eponymous Joan Westenberg. She is also on Mastodon @Daojoan
Take a few minutes out of your day and have a read of "The Internet is Shrinking"
You'll be glad you did.
Source: https://www.joanwestenberg.com/the-internet-is-shrinking/
The Internet is Shrinking
The internet used to be limitless, open to anyone with an idea. Now, it’s a polished prison run by tech giants. Is this the future we signed up for? Here’s how Big Tech quietly turned freedom into captivity. Remember when the internet felt infinite? When every click could
MikeDunnAuthor