We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people.
Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]
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Banned from Twitter I just got banned from Twitter, which I do find hilarious to be honest, given the things they tolerate. Have no intention of pressing that ‘remove’ button. Wotevah…
On Gab.com from now on, was moving away from Twitter anyway as more and more of the interesting people have been banned.
I foresee a steady division process in which Twitter only tolerates what Kristian Niemietz describes as “high status opinions”, with platforms like Gab, Minds and Parler etc. becoming the home for contrary views. In short, social media will be more of an echo chamber, much like it was during the ‘golden age of blogging’ 2001-2009, when you knew exactly what to expect from a given site (such as this one for example). I always saw the whole point of platforms like Twitter as being where things get mixed up and people spar across the divide. But that will increasingly not be the case, so not sure what Twitter et al are really for.
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Who Are We? The Samizdata people are a bunch of sinister and heavily armed globalist illuminati who seek to infect the entire world with the values of personal liberty and several property. Amongst our many crimes is a sense of humour and the intermittent use of British spelling.
We are also a varied group made up of social individualists, classical liberals, whigs, libertarians, extropians, futurists, ‘Porcupines’, Karl Popper fetishists, recovering neo-conservatives, crazed Ayn Rand worshipers, over-caffeinated Virginia Postrel devotees, witty Frédéric Bastiat wannabes, cypherpunks, minarchists, kritarchists and wild-eyed anarcho-capitalists from Britain, North America, Australia and Europe.
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I like the way that these bans never have any description of what part of the comment is violative of what rule.
“Oh, you know what you did, comrade!”
I only have used Twitter from an official company account to broadcast my work. Other than that, I have never bothered with it, and never shall. I am not even sure I want to bother with any of the other stuff, either.
To be worn as a badge of honour.
You got banned for the same offense as I – “threatening” others. And just as believably.
In reality, you PO’ed someone and they began reporting everything you typed until Twitter could find something that arguably maybe almost approached “threatening.” Ilhan Omar’s staff got me. Wonder who got you.
“They can go drown themselves for all I care” is neither a demand they commit suicide nor a threat of murder (either of which would be something Twitter could tut-tut about in a consistent and plausible way).
Someone at Twitter is bad at English comprehension, unsurprisingly.
“much like it was during the ‘golden age of blogging’ 2001-2009, when you knew exactly what to expect from a given site (such as this one for example).”
Except that it’s totally completely different. If you didn’t like the echo chamber on a particular site, you could go elsewhere. Twitter denies that option to go elsewhere. You may choose to go to Gab.com or whatever, but TPTB then use that to mark you out as an outlaw. Twitter, and the people it has enabled, has killed off that breadth of opinion.
I don’t this will end well and I can’t see a way out. Re-establish the blogosphere? Twitter et al have tasted power – you would be a brave independent hosting provider to defy the deplatforming mob.
No, they’re not. It’s just that it’s their dictionary, to revise at their own will.
They decided that they don’t want their platform used to present PdH’s views to their readers. How they accomplish that doesn’t need to meet with my approval.
At least now they’re being more honest and direct about it. “We don’t like you. So, you’re banned.”
They don’t want you using your Jedi mind-tricks on people, even conservatives.
I think it violates this policy: https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/glorifying-self-harm
‘You may not promote or encourage suicide or self-harm.’
I’ve never understood why people use Twatter. What is its attraction?
Freedom of Speech depends on a pro freedom Culture – and that culture has been undermined for many decades.
Today if, for example, I quote the Meditations of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius in defence of Freedom of Speech – I am informed that he was a white, male, heterosexual and a slave owner.
That is it – no need to refute to what he said, a classic of Western civilisation for almost two thousand years is just GONE.
Now we have massive Corporations such as Verizon backing Marxists such as Connell West – the Connell West who hated BARCK OBAMA for not introducing Marxism over night (to Connell West the gradualism of Mr Obama was a betrayal of the Marxist cause).
Verizon Yahoo – backing Connell West who wants to exterminate capitalism.
Because Professor West happens to have black skin and bleats about “racism”, the backing of this Marxist by Big Business is supposed to be morally good, prove that Verizon – because it backs an ideology (Marxism) that is responsible for more than 100 million days.
Watching the television advertisements as I typed the last comment…..
Most of them either tried to link the Corporations to fighting “climate change” “carbon footprints” and so on (as people are freezing to death), or they were obsessed with SKIN COLOUR (trying to associate the Corporations with people who happen to have dark coloured skin – not to sell goods and services to those people, but to sell goods ands services to people with “white” skin, but are ASHAMED to have “white” skin).
There was also an advert for the film “Red Sparrow” – which is coming on television at some point.
When this film first came out I assumed that it was an attack on the old Marxist Soviet Union – after all “Red” and “Sparrow” was the name that the KGB gave to female agents who used sexual tactics (the males were called “Ravens”).
But, I am told, the film is not really an attack on Marxism (because Marxism is good – ask Hollywood millionaires, they “know” Marxism is good), it is just a “Russia is bad – because Russia is bad” film.
By any logical standard a RACIST film – because it is arguing that Russians are bad because they are Russians.
I hope that is not true about this film – should I watch it to find out if actually attacks Marxism, or whether it is just a pathetic “Russia – Boo! Hiss!” film.
Red Sparrow isn’t bad – its a bit confusing at times, and its a brave choice for Jennifer Lawrence, who I think IRL is an arsehole.
However it doesn’t get try too hard to preach.
Paul Marks- I’ll admit it’s been a while since I’ve seen Red Sparrow, but what I recall of it seemed to suggest the intelligence cadre doing the horrible things was motivated by a fairly explicitly collectivist ideology, and is suggested to be a holdover from Soviet days gone partially underground. It never explicitly calls out Marxism per se, but I found the most reasonable reading of it to be that they were Marxist holdovers with an added dash of nationalism.
Feel free to correct me if my memory is mistaken.
Absolutely! Been banned at least five times, to my knowledge… 😂
Every single person I know about as having been banned from Twitter has had interesting things to say.
True. So what’s your point?
We are entering a world of tribal capitalism. See how Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire picked up Gina Carano. There are TPTB and there are the outlaws.
I’m an outlaw. I’m a Kulak. Molon Labe.
[…] – Shlomo Maistre […]
Never used Twitter. I thought it a pointless and stupid platform from the off. History has proved that observation correct.
I use Gab and Minds out of bloody mindedness, so not too worried about the echo chamber. Twitter et al want echo chambers so, fine, let ’em. If they want to label me an outlaw, I’ll wear the badge with pride.
Apologies for going off topic, but Paul Marks asked, so…
Red Sparrow could be seen as an anti-Russian movie — but let’s keep things in perspective.
If it is true that most Russians approve of Putin, then any story that puts the Putin regime in a bad light is objectively anti-Russian.
As to whether Paul Marks, or anybody else, should watch it: I think that the anti-Russian angle, such as it is, could be ignored even by a patriotic Russian. I myself found it very easy to ignore the anti-American angle of The Handmaid’s Tale (1990 movie).
The reasons to watch it are:
(a) it is a well-constructed story of intrigue and
(b) Jennifer Lawrence strips naked.
Let’s get (b) out of the way.
In my opinion Jennifer Lawrence smiles too little to be attractive. (Perhaps that makes her a good choice to act in a Russian role?)
Nonetheless, after watching her nude scene, i began to appreciate her, ehm… talents. But that scene can be found on YouTube.
As for (a), the story was good enough for me to get the book, and then the 2 sequels; and i have re-read all 3 of them, something that i do not do often. You might want to go directly to the book, but the movie is probably a good way to find out whether you would enjoy the book. (I note that the story in the book has substantial differences from the movie.)
https://www.catholicarena.com/latest/irishbishopbanned
The offending tweet:
General situation and background (from link):
Of alternative platforms, and for the much reviled ( these days ) medium of email, I recently found Proton mail. http://www.protonmail.com
The interface isn’t as slick as Gmail, but as an secure email client ( it employs PGP in a fairly transparent manner ) I like it.
I’m considering a paid subscription, and reducing may already minor use of GMail. If only to support what seems to be a worthy cause.
I don’t know if anyone else has used it, if so, opinions ?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, I recently purchased a paid sub for Proton mail & am in the process of phasing out GMail, on the basis “be part of the solution not part of the problem” 😉
Dear Mr de Havilland
Hilaire Belloc would have a hard time on Witter:
“From the towns all Inns have been driven: from the villages most…. Change your hearts or you will lose your Inns and you will deserve to have lost them. But when you have lost your Inns drown your empty selves, for you will have lost the last of England.”
This and That
Or perhaps worse:
Epitaph on the Politician Himself
DP
Quite so, DP, quite so.
So the Twitter thought police are not only malicious, they are stupid with it. Never saw that one coming.
Perry de Havilland (London) writes:
“Perhaps unsurprisingly, I recently purchased a paid sub for Proton mail & am in the process of phasing out GMail, on the basis “be part of the solution not part of the problem” ”
Googol has been deplatforming people for quite a while. It’s worse than on Twitter, because when Googol unpersons you, you lose all of your Google Photos and Google Docs, in addition to your mail. So WHATEVER Google services you use, be sure to download and save everything locally as well.
APL writes: “Of alternative platforms, and for the much reviled ( these days ) medium of email, I recently found Proton mail. http://www.protonmail.com”
Lots of people write good things about Proton Mail. I went a slightly different route; I have a paid account on Mail.com. One of the nice things about mail.com is that your “domain name” can include “engineer.com” and “programmer.com” and several dozen other interest group or profession group addresses. And you can have ten DIFFERENT addresses that all flow into your primary account.