@shiri @jamie @oliphant @snarfed.org @luca @PCOWandre @chronohart @snarfed
(1/n)
I think I owe you a quick #INTRO, as I have not been in contact with you before, so you might better understand my concerns.
I am a political commentator, as well as an activist. This is why I cannot remain silent:
This is a global super-election year. #Democracy is up for grabs in about 50 countries.1)--This is how the billionaires and the #autocrats like #Putin and #Xi see it, or how #YoelRoth...
@shiri @jamie @oliphant @snarfed.org @luca @PCOWandre @chronohart @snarfed
(2/n)
...former head of #Twitter's Trust and Security department, might have phrased it. 2)
We have all seen what has happened to #Twitter. What many still don't know, is why he is supposedly burning a lot of money with the purchase: 3).
#Musk and his #TESCREAL 4) adherents from #SiliconValley are vying for world domination.
#Elmo already is the world's most...
@shiri @jamie @oliphant @snarfed.org @luca @PCOWandre @chronohart @snarfed
(3/n)
...influential fascist, just considering his market power regarding #SpaceX 5) and the "voice" he has as #X owner. By turning off his #StarLink service in #Crimea, he has successfully prevented potentially victorious strikes by #Ukraine against #Russia's invasion force.
But they are not the only #billionaire group vying for even more power. The most...
@shiri @jamie @oliphant @snarfed.org @luca @PCOWandre @chronohart @snarfed
(4/n)
... successful has so far been the #FederalistSociety in conjunction with the #CenterForNationalPolicy (#CNP), among whose major feats are putting #Trump in the #WhiteHouse and hijacking the #US #SupremeCourt. 6)
#Autocrats like #Putin and #Xi trying to gain influence through military and economic means are the other group of people trying to destroy #Western #democracies by disseminating...
@shiri @jamie @oliphant @snarfed.org @luca @PCOWandre @chronohart @snarfed
(5/n)
... #disinformation and carrying out #CyberWarfare.
And, last but not least, another, even more dangerous #Elmo's pal, #PeterThiel, is enabling governments around the globe to get rid of opponents. The dangerous spyware he owns, #Palantir, is being used e.g. to hunt down investigative journalists in #SouthAmerica 8) and elsewhere 7) and for #discriminatory...
@shiri @jamie @oliphant @snarfed.org @luca @PCOWandre @chronohart @snarfed
(6/n)
...#PredictivePolicing. 8)
*2024 certainly isn't the year to remain silent:*
#Poland lost and regained its democracy twice already.
The *US* might lose it to a ruthless autocrat in 2025.
And #Ukraine is fighting tooth and nail for its #democracy.
//
FOOTNOTES:
1) https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/12/2024-elections-around-world/
2) https://mastodon.social/@HistoPol/111086529042597457
3) https://mastodon.social/@HistoPol/110079043525873237
4) https://mastodon.social/@HistoPol/110565890923413442
...
@shiri @jamie @oliphant @snarfed.org @luca @PCOWandre @chronohart @snarfed
(7/7)
...5) https://mastodon.social/@HistoPol/110895646106566535
6) https://mastodon.social/@HistoPol/110682464056461528
7) https://mastodon.social/@HistoPol/110916599773179434, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353352542_Palantir%27s_Surveillance_Empire_A_Story_of_American_Policing_Patriotism_and_Profit,
8) https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/journalism-latin-america-under-attack-spyware
9) https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/27/17054740/palantir-predictive-policing-tool-new-orleans-nopd