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urocklive1.bsky.social
Khashoggi's Ghost
@urocklive1.bsky.social
230K followers 38K following 15K posts
Democracy is the way. Truth and justice matter.

Russia can end the war today by leaving Ukraine.

Less proud to be an American than I used to be. I really thought we were better than this.

#IStandWithUkraine #NAFO Fellas fan
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urocklive1.bsky.social
I'm surprised, too. Others are trying to do it for them.
Here are the three things the EU has fined X for:€45 million: For having a system with blue checkmarks that misleads users into believing that anyone with a blue checkmark has been verified by X and is who they claim to be. This has been used for Maersk fraud and scams. €35 million: For having an advertising database that is impossible to use properly, so that it is hidden who is buying political advertising. €40 million: For blocking researchers’ access to public data so they cannot investigate hate speech, disinformation, election interference, etc. None of these three things have anything to do with limiting free speech.
December 7, 2025 at 9:21 PM
urocklive1.bsky.social
Elon and his X-Twitter bots are busy whining about how the EU's lawsuit against X is unfair and about free speech, but as usual, they are lying. This is what the EU suit is really about.
Here are the three things the EU has fined X for:€45 million: For having a system with blue checkmarks that misleads users into believing that anyone with a blue checkmark has been verified by X and is who they claim to be. This has been used for Maersk fraud and scams. €35 million: For having an advertising database that is impossible to use properly, so that it is hidden who is buying political advertising. €40 million: For blocking researchers’ access to public data so they cannot investigate hate speech, disinformation, election interference, etc. None of these three things have anything to do with limiting free speech.
December 7, 2025 at 8:44 PM
urocklive1.bsky.social
The world feels a little more unstable every day.
Ulrich Speck @ulrichspeck China probably feels emboldened because Trump is not clearly supporting Japan -- which has come under pressure by China after Takaichi stated the obvious with regard to Taiwan. Andreas Landwehr @andreaslandwehr Chinese fighter jets directed their fire-control radar at Japanese aircraft over international waters on Saturday near Japan’s Okinawan islands in two separate incidents that Japan’s defense minister condemned as “dangerous” https://cnn.com/2025/12/06/asia/china-japan-radar-intl-hnk 11:27 PM · Dec 6, 2025
December 7, 2025 at 9:36 AM
urocklive1.bsky.social
"Consider another example: When Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign endorsed a budget proposal including a 25 percent minimum tax on unrealized gains over $100 million—a policy affecting perhaps 10,000 of the wealthiest Americans—billionaire Mark Cuban publicly threatened to oppose her."
Or consider the 2017 Republican tax bill—the signature legislative achievement of unified GOP government. The bill delivered a massive corporate rate cut and passed-through business deductions that overwhelmingly benefited the wealthy, while providing modest, temporary relief to middle-class families. Republican donors were explicit about the stakes. As Representative Chris Collins admitted at the time: “My donors are basically saying, ‘Get it done or don’t ever call me again.’” Senator Lindsey Graham warned that failure to pass the bill would mark the end of the GOP as a party. The legislative priority wasn’t shaped by public demand—polls showed the bill was deeply unpopular—but by the financial threat from mega-donors who expected a return on their investment.
December 6, 2025 at 9:14 PM
urocklive1.bsky.social
"#1. The Ultra-Wealthy: Entrenching Oligarchy

Here we arrive at money’s most dangerous influence, where the political system becomes fundamentally detached from the will of the majority and tethered to the preferences of a tiny, wealthy elite."
When the policy preferences of wealthy Americans conflict with those of everyone else, the wealthy always win. Not sometimes. Not on certain issues. Exposed to the same debates, offered the same choices, average and low-income citizens simply do not see their preferences reflected in policy outcomes at anywhere near the same rate. This isn’t a partisan story—my analysis of the Forbes 400 richest Americans shows their wealth tends to grow faster under Democratic administrations than under Republican ones. The real goal of mega-donor influence isn’t to secure a specific party’s victory but to ensure that the political system, regardless of who is in charge, remains friendly to the interests of extreme wealth. It’s about creating a “heads I get a subsidy, tails I get a tax loophole” policy environment.
December 6, 2025 at 9:10 PM
urocklive1.bsky.social
One felt the need to ask the Pentagon Press Secretary what their job was actually supposed to be.

“Yeah, no, it’s a great question. I think the most important thing for the Pentagon Press Corps is twofold: to hold the administration accountable,” Wilson replied before blasting the Biden admin.
So holding us accountable, I think, is very important. But also communicating to the American people all of the work we’re doing and all of the work that our warfighters are doing every single day is a huge part of it. And that’s why we wanted to engage new media like all of you and bring you here, because the only people that watch CNN are those who are forced to in airports, right? Now we’ve got people who actually have huge audiences, huge numbers of viewers, and we’re able to get our message directly to the American people. We don’t have to rely on the MSDNC filters anymore. And I think for this department, that’s going to be a huge win.
December 5, 2025 at 10:57 PM
urocklive1.bsky.social
The decision, at least at first, falls to US District Judge Joseph Leeson, an Obama appointee presiding over Laiss’ case, which is scheduled for trial in January. Leeson has called a Monday hearing.

Laiss's attorneys are claiming the administration’s view should be accorded little weight.
The “plain language” of Trump’s pardon, his attorneys say, covers his alleged crime. They also argue that Trump’s pardon of close allies like John Eastman, Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows and others identified as co-conspirators in the 2020 effort would be an “outrageous” outcome “while a then-26-year-old man who cast two votes for President Trump” was punished.
December 5, 2025 at 10:06 PM
urocklive1.bsky.social
Apparently the decision on who the pardons apply to now falls to Ed Martin.🙄

A man named Matthew Laiss is facing federal charges for casting presidential ballots for Trump in both Pennsylvania and Florida, and claims his case should be dismissed because Trump has pardoned him. Ed Martin disagrees.
“The government has consulted with the Office of the Pardon Attorney about Laiss’s motion and can ‘explicitly confirm’ that, in the view of the executive branch, Laiss is not covered by President Trump’s November 7 pardon proclamation,” prosecutors wrote. Martin’s determination should be accorded “high deference,” they added, saying that a court could only reverse the interpretation if it were “unreasonable.”
December 5, 2025 at 10:01 PM
urocklive1.bsky.social
Even past examples of blanket pardons, such as Andrew Johnson’s sweeping clemency after the Civil War, Jimmy Carter’s pardon for Vietnam-era draft dodgers and Joe Biden’s pardon for marijuana offenses relied on more explicit criteria.

Trump must be mad that he can't pardon state crimes.
Trump’s latest blanket pardon applies to “all United States citizens for conduct relating to the advice, creation, organization, execution, submission, support, voting, activities, participation in, or advocacy for or of any slate or proposed slate of Presidential electors … in connection with the 2020 Presidential election.” And while Trump identifies 77 recipients, he emphasizes that the pardon is not limited to the initial list. Trump then charges Bondi and Martin to issue pardon certificates to “eligible applicants.”
December 5, 2025 at 9:45 PM
urocklive1.bsky.social
FWIW, Google's AI mode offered up this:
Olivia Nuzzi's new book, American Canto, has had a disappointing sales start, with early indicators suggesting it is not performing well with general book buyers. The book was released on December 2, 2025. Specific sales figures are not yet public, but early signs include: Low Amazon Rank: As of December 5, the hardcover edition ranked around No. 5,546 on Amazon's bestseller list, considered a low rank for a high-profile release. On its first day, December 2, it was ranked even lower, at No. 12,673. Low Store Sales: Employees at physical bookstores in New York City reported minimal interest and few to zero sales in the first couple of days after release, despite ordering several dozen copies. Industry Data Pending: Official first-week sales figures from Circana Bookscan and the New York Times bestseller list are not expected until the week of December 8-12, 2025. The book's launch has been surrounded by media controversy related to Nuzzi's personal life and reporting ethics, which some commentators suggest may have actually hurt sales rather than helped. The media coverage and attention have not translated into strong purchasing interest so far, with a notable gap between the public's interest in the surrounding scandal and their willingness to buy the book. Vanity Fair, which had recently hired Nuzzi and published an excerpt, has parted ways with her amid the controversy and poor initial sales.
December 5, 2025 at 9:01 PM
urocklive1.bsky.social
Governor Newsom Press Office (parody) @AwesomeNewsom Fan account I WANT TO CONGRATULATE DONALD J. TRUMP FOR WINNING THE "YOU DIDN'T WIN THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE BECAUSE YOU'RE A WARMONGER AND A CLOWN BUT WE STILL NEED YOU SO HERE'S A HAPPY MEAL AWARD YOU CAN WEAR TO YOUR CABINET CONCUBINE MEETINGS SO YOUR HAREM CAN CLAP LIKE CIRCUS SEALS" MEDAL. Acyn @Acyn “This is your peace prize. It is also a beautiful medal that you can wear everywhere you want to go.” Over a video of Trump accepting his new prize.
December 5, 2025 at 7:57 PM
urocklive1.bsky.social
"It was all about business. Oligarch money. Projects. Investments. And now Ukraine is about to pay the price for those conversations.

My sources are telling me that in that Miami meeting, Kushner and Witkoff are not negotiating. They’re delivering an ultimatum."
The message, as it’s been relayed to me, is simple and brutal: this is the deal, and there will not be a better one. Putin isn’t moving, Putin isn’t accepting anything else, and if Ukraine doesn’t take the offer being pushed from Trump’s side, they are being told to prepare for American support to dry up — weapons, funding, political backing. The very lifeline that has kept Ukraine alive on the battlefield is being turned into a weapon, used not against the aggressor, but against the victim. They didn’t even have the respect to sit with them in Brussels, shoulder-to-shoulder with European allies. They dragged them into a hotel in Florida to say: take this or stand alone.
December 5, 2025 at 3:57 AM
urocklive1.bsky.social
They just lie and lie and lie and lie, and the dumbest people on the planet believe them.
Lucas Sanders 💙🗳️🌊💪🌈🚺🟧 @LucasSa56947288 Here’s Kash Patel on Newsmax claiming on Newsmax that the Biden FBI intentionally did not solve the pipe bomber case:
December 5, 2025 at 2:57 AM
urocklive1.bsky.social
A transcript of the call to strategize how to protect Ukraine was leaked to the German newspaper Der Spiegel and published Thursday. Macron, Zelenskiy, Merz, Mark Rutte, Alexander Stubb, and other European leaders all took part and discussed US negotiation efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
“There is a possibility that the U.S. will betray Ukraine on the issue of territory without clarity on security guarantees,” Macron said, noting that there was “a big danger” for Zelenskiy. German leader Merz also expressed his misgivings, telling Zelenskiy that Trump’s handpicked negotiators, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, “are playing games with both you and us.” While European leaders have expressed their concerns about America’s Ukraine policies, this transcript is the clearest indication of how they feel about the Trump administration and its efforts. The Finnish president has gotten along well with Trump in public but still said, “We must not leave Ukraine and Volodymyr alone with these guys,” referring to Witkoff and Kushner.
December 4, 2025 at 11:49 PM
urocklive1.bsky.social
We're embarrassing ourselves.
Yaroslav Trofimov @yarotrof First you threaten to cut off US weapons sales to Europeans for Ukraine unless Kyiv accepts Russian demands, then two weeks later you complain that Europeans want to rely less on US weapons. 🤷 Julia Davis @JuliaDavisNews U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau on Wednesday slammed European NATO allies for prioritizing their own defense industry over American arms suppliers, according to three NATO diplomats.
December 4, 2025 at 3:29 AM
urocklive1.bsky.social
December 4, 2025 at 12:09 AM
urocklive1.bsky.social
Bill Browder on how Kushner and Witkoff are being played by Putin.
Sir William Browder KCMG @Billbrowder Putin Meets With Witkoff and Kushner for Nearly Five Hours and the two sides did not reach any specific compromises, an aide to President Vladimir V. Putin said, as the United States pushes a plan to end the war in Ukraine. Let me translate for you what this means. There was never any intention from Russia to settle this conflict (even when they released their 28 point “peace plan”). This whole thing has been a well executed intelligence operation with two very specific objectives: 1) to derail the devastating oil sanctions that Senator Lindsay Graham has tee’d up and 2) to derail the EU plan to transfer the Russian frozen assets to Ukraine. As a result of these so called “peace negotiations” both of these serious consequences have been kicked into the long grass. Putin is happy and Trump will say “we can’t impose sanctions on Russia while we’re trying to get peace”. And he will lean heavily on the EU to not confiscate the frozen assets so they don’t “derail these productive negotiations”. For anyone who understands what Russia cares about, this whole thing is so obvious. It’s a shame we let ourselves get played by Putin. Most importantly, the Russian terrorism against innocent Ukrainians will continue.
December 3, 2025 at 10:44 PM
urocklive1.bsky.social
America First = America alone

And anyone who thinks America is better off alone is profoundly ignorant.
Shashank Joshi @shashj Not only is Rubio skipping the NATO foreign ministers' meeting, a break from 20 years of practice, but the US is sending @DeputySecState , a man who publicly questioned NATO's need to exist less than six months ago. Message received loud & clear.
December 3, 2025 at 9:04 AM
urocklive1.bsky.social
No wonder there's so much he doesn't know about what his admin is doing.
Trump appears to doze off in another meeting. It is the second time in a month Trump has appeared to struggle to stay awake as his advisors have spoken to cameras about the administration's initiatives.
December 3, 2025 at 12:36 AM
urocklive1.bsky.social
Oh swell.

. @cnn.com is partnering with Kalshi, the "world's largest global prediction market company."

That means the cable "news" network is now in business with the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., a senior adviser to the company.

Another reason not to watch.

www.axios.com/newsletters/...
A tweet from Donald Trump Junior on Jan 13, 2025 On Election night at Mar-a-Lago, while biased outlets called the race a coin toss, my family and close friends used the prediction market @Kalshi to know we won hours before the fake news media. I immediately knew I had to contribute to their mission. Today I am proud to announce that I am joining Kalshi as a strategic advisor. The Kalshi team has worked hard, sued the Biden administration, and achieved the impossible feat of becoming the first legal prediction market in the US. I'm excited to be part of what they're building. Now, time to trade on whether Biden is going to pardon Fauci and Cheney.
December 2, 2025 at 9:39 PM
urocklive1.bsky.social
The plaintiffs accuse Trump of “grooming” the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit starting in 1998, the year she was born. They accuse Trump of using Gates’ Gates Foundation as the primary “cover and silencing mechanism” to continue the operation, as well as facilitating “coordinated sexual assaults.”
The plaintiffs also allege that the minor plaintiff's “infant daughter” was taken from her “as punishment for filing lawsuits,” which they argue was “identical to Epstein’s use of custody threats against mothers who sued.” Additionally, the plaintiffs accuse Trump and the other named defendants of having "attempted to murder" the lead plaintiff "no fewer than [on] five separate occasions" between 2023 and November of this year, including by way of "poisoning, vehicular assaults and orchestrated physical attacks designed to appear accidental."
December 2, 2025 at 8:56 PM
urocklive1.bsky.social
"It is, instead, the response of a sneering, spoiled punk who has been caught doing wrong and is now daring the local fuzz to take him in and risk the anger of his rich dad—a role fulfilled by Donald Trump, in this case."
Institutions, for a time, can cope with buffoonish leaders. While the secretary has been festooning the Pentagon with new Department of War signs, adults in the building have tried to conduct some of the nation’s geopolitical business. Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll, for example, is likely the Defense Department point man for Ukraine because Hegseth has made a fool of himself too many times to be taken seriously by American opponents. (The Russians would have to suppress the smirks on their faces if Hegseth were sent to Moscow or Geneva for anything more than a grip-and-grin photo opportunity.)
December 1, 2025 at 11:37 PM
urocklive1.bsky.social
Multiple bomb threats at Schumer's NY offices today. Messages sent with "MAGA" as the email subject head.
Official announcement from Schumer stating this, and decrying political violence and threats.
December 1, 2025 at 8:25 PM
urocklive1.bsky.social
"Researchers using Google Trends search data in a 2020 study found a link between male insecurity and support for Trump. They identified areas with high levels of web searches for erectile dysfunction, penis size, penis enlargement, hair loss, hair plugs, testosterone, and Viagra."
Last year, men went for Trump over Kamala Harris, 55% to 43%, while women backed Harris, 53%-46%. A poll in April showed the gender gap on Trump approval especially wide among voters under age 30, with 45% of men approving but only 24% of women. Three-fifths of voters under age 30 say it’s important to date or marry someone who shares their political views. Which means these pro-Trump men are limiting their romantic options. No wonder their egos are bruised. Republican politicians routinely scam the voters with rhetoric that they don’t actually believe. The GOP’s long-unfulfilled promise of a health care plan is a good example. But when it comes to precarious manhood, Republican voters and their leaders seem to be in sync, with many of them concerned that their masculinity is under siege and determined to take it out on women.
December 1, 2025 at 7:38 PM
urocklive1.bsky.social
I'm so weary of lying liars lying without pushback. And Welker is one of the worst at letting this happen.

Imagine if they let actual journalists do journalism on these shows.

Anyway, this made me laugh:
𝕋𝕨𝕠 𝕊𝕙𝕖𝕕𝕤 𝕁𝕒𝕔𝕜𝕤𝕠𝕟 @HowCamJokes Pulitzer Prize to the first journalist who asks Noem, “would you have allowed the Afghan shooter into the country if vetting revealed that he, say, murdered his own dog with a shotgun?”
November 30, 2025 at 9:54 PM