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Reposted by Rafko74

Anne Applebaum

@anneapplebaum.bsky.social

Also a reminder of how many different kinds of people made extraordinary efforts to manipulate the X algorithm

December 7, 2024 at 11:17 AM

Reposted by Rafko74

Anne Applebaum

@anneapplebaum.bsky.social

Excellent

Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · Dec 7

Chinese state media is concerned by the exodus of X users to Bluesky. "State outlets, which put considerable resources into amassing millions of followers on X — including by buying ads, deploying bots, & hiring influencers — have recently seen their growth plateau." www.semafor.com/article/11/2...

Bluesky boom worries Chinese media | Semafor

State outlets, which put considerable resources into amassing millions of followers on Elon Musk’s social media platform, have recently seen their growth plateau.

www.semafor.com

December 7, 2024 at 11:15 AM

Reposted by Rafko74

Radosław Sikorski

@radek-sikorski.bsky.social

My message to the Russian delegation: we are not taken in by your lies. We know what you are doing. Until you stop this brutal war, you should not be here (2/2)

📍 OSCE Ministerial Council

December 6, 2024 at 5:13 PM

Reposted by Rafko74

Joe Katz

@joekatz45.bsky.social

Kash Patel has the very Trumpian quality of having done so many different horrifying/disqualifying things that some of them go under the radar.

For instance, this little tidbit about how Patel straight up lied to the Pentagon during a hostage rescue operation and put everyone involved in danger.

On that Friday, according to multiple reported accounts, SEAL Team 6 was awaiting the Pentagon’s green light on a rescue mission in West Africa. The day before, the administration had learned where gunmen were holding Philip Walton, a 27-year-old American who had been kidnapped that week from his farm near Niger’s border with Nigeria. As multiple agencies now coordinated on final details for the evening operation, the State Department worked to resolve the last outstanding task—securing airspace permission from Nigerian officials. Around noon, Patel called the Pentagon with an update: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, he said, had gotten the approval. The mission was a go.

The SEALs were close to landing in Nigeria when Defense Secretary Mark Esper discovered that the State Department had not, in fact, secured the overflight clearance, as Patel had claimed. The aircraft were quickly diverted, flying in circles for the next hour as officials scrambled to alert the Nigerian government to their position. With the operation window narrowing, Esper and Pompeo called the Situation Room to put the decision to the president: Either they abort the mission and risk their hostage being killed, or they proceed into foreign airspace and risk their soldiers being shot down.

But then, suddenly, the deputy secretary of state was on the line, Esper later wrote in his memoir: They’d been cleared.

Soon Walton was reunited with his family.

What had happened?

Celebratory feelings gave way to anger as officials tried to make sense of Patel’s bad report. According to Esper, Pompeo claimed that at no point had he even spoken with Patel about the mission, much less told him he’d received the airspace rights. Esper wrote that his team suspected that Patel had simply “made the approval story up.”

Anthony Tata, the Pentagon official and retired Army general to whom Patel had originally given the green light, confronted Patel in a rage. “You could’ve gotten these guys killed!” Tata shouted, according to two people familiar with the exchange. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

Patel’s response was: “If nobody got hurt, who the fuck cares?”

Patel denies saying this, or making up the approval story. He “would never jeopardize an operation, American hostages or our soldiers,” he said through his spokesperson. “In every situation, including this one, I followed the chain of command.”

But three former senior administration officials independently cited the near catastrophe in West Africa as one of their foremost recollections from Patel’s tenure. They remain unsettled by Patel’s actions in large part because they still have no clue what motivated them. If Patel had in fact just invented the story, as Esper’s team concluded, then why? Was it because the election was in four days, and Patel was simply that impatient to set in motion a final potential victory for Trump, whatever the risk—was it as darkly cynical as that? Did his lack of experience mean he just had no grasp of the consequences?

December 2, 2024 at 5:10 PM

Reposted by Rafko74

Ron Filipkowski

@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social

As much as MAGA wants to make it so, Hunter wasn’t pardoned for anything related to their fantasy that Joe got money from Ukraine. Comer held years of hearings on it and wouldn’t even hold a vote on it because he knew it would fail. Don’t let them rewrite the history of this too.

December 2, 2024 at 12:26 PM

Reposted by Rafko74

George Takei

@georgetakei.bsky.social

Here’s a crazy idea. Let’s make sure the proposed new FBI Director can pass an FBI Background Check.

December 2, 2024 at 4:42 PM

Reposted by Rafko74

Ron Filipkowski

@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social

MONTHS AFTER Joe said he would not pardon Hunter, Trump won the election & appointed a man as FBI Director who has spent the last 4 years on every right-wing podcast ranting that he was going to go after Hunter. Obsessed with him. Were you aware of that, critics? Not relevant?

December 2, 2024 at 5:39 PM

Reposted by Rafko74

Ron Filipkowski

@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social

One year ago, Kash Patel, while sniffling repeatedly as he does in every interview (he just can’t shake that cold) promised to prosecute Hunter for new crimes. Then Trump names him FBI Director. He told you ahead of time he’s going after Hunter. So tired of the pearl clutchers.

December 2, 2024 at 5:26 PM

Reposted by Rafko74

PatriotTakes 🇺🇸

@patriottakes.bsky.social

This is a real tweet from vice president-elect JD Vance depicting himself as Trump’s wife.

November 29, 2024 at 12:16 AM

Reposted by Rafko74

Sophie Pedder

@sophiepedder.bsky.social

Wow. Here is one to brighten up your morning. The first images of the restored interior of Notre Dame cathedral. Breathtaking. In just five years France did it

November 29, 2024 at 8:08 AM

Reposted by Rafko74

Joe Roberts

@joe--roberts.bsky.social

The Original BruceBuds Advent Calendar known as #obbac is a Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band christmas calendar that every day leads up to Christmas post a video.
The #obbac was started many years ago on Twitter by @BerlinBritta. I took over in 2021. This is the 2nd year also on BlueSky

November 21, 2024 at 2:56 PM

Reposted by Rafko74

Acyn

@acyn.bsky.social

Jay: I think social media should be basically common infrastructure that society gets to use and evolve it as society evolves, building a more democratic form of social media to reflect a democratic society.

November 20, 2024 at 5:07 AM

Reposted by Rafko74

Carole Cadwalladr

@carolecadwalla.bsky.social

NEW: The great Trump-Musk crackdown is coming. And it will hit hard & fast. Journalists will be first. But everyone else is next.

I urge you to read my 20 lessons in How to Survive the Broligarchy, inspired by & featuring the great @timothysnyder.bsky.social
1/
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

How to survive the broligarchy: 20 lessons for the post-truth world | Carole Cadwalladr

In the wake of Trump’s unnerving appointees, the investigative journalist and veteran of the libel court offers pointers on coping in an age of surveillance

www.theguardian.com

November 17, 2024 at 10:18 AM

Reposted by Rafko74

Daniela Richterova

@drichterova.bsky.social

The first copies of #WatchingtheJackals are in hand. Many 🙏 to @Georgetown_UP for their trust & support.

Over the next few months, I’ll be sharing sneak peeks & tidbits from the book—stay tuned! 🐺📚

Official release: 2 Jan '25; available for pre-order now.

@kcsi.uk @kcl.ac.uk