TOP 10 RIGHT NOW
Rudy Giuliani Drains Final Dregs of Dignity With Abraham Lincoln Filter Attack Video
PEAK CRINGE
Friday, October 22, 2021
LOCAL POLICE UNIONS NOT COMPLYING WITH VACCINATION REQUIREMENTS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY AND PUBLIC HEALTH
As COVID-19 continues to kill more officers five times faster than gunfire, Chicago PD officers have decided they'd rather die from something preventable than receive a vaccine.
BLOGGER NOTE: Update inserted farther down
__________________________________________________________________
Chicago Court Gets Its Prior Restraint On, Tells Police Union Head To STFU About City's Vaccine Mandate
from the please-don't-make-me-side-with-this-asshole dept
Tim Cushing: "The Chicago PD -- fronted by the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) [itself fronted by John Catanzara, "one of the most frequently-disciplined officers in the history of the Chicago PD"] -- is fighting the city of Chicago's vaccine mandate.
Yes, the thin blue line between criminals and the safety of the public has decided it will not stand between the spread of the virus and the safety of the public. Or, indeed, the safety of its officers, apparently.
As COVID-19 continues to kill more officers five times faster than gunfire, Chicago PD officers have decided they'd rather die from something preventable than receive a vaccine.
Disgraced-officer-turned-police-union-president John Catanzara is the one making the most noise about the city's mandate and is weaponizing the PD's lack of self-care against the mayor and the city itself. . .
The city apparently takes this threat seriously. It has asked a Cook County (IL) court for an injunction to block the FOP from speaking out against the vaccine mandate, which covers all city workers. The FOP has sued right back, seeking an injunction blocking the city from enforcing the mandate. In the meantime, the PD itself has cancelled all vacation and time off requests to ensure staffing once the mandate goes into effect.
The resistance against the mandate is inexplicable, given the alarming number of law enforcement deaths the virus has caused. Law enforcement agencies demand tougher laws and increased funding every time there's a spike in officer deaths at the hands of suspected criminals. But when it's a preventable disease doing the killing, cops would rather go jobless than be inoculated.
This resistance is being led by a man who's mostly known for violating rights and running his mouth. If Catanzara truly speaks for the Chicago PD rank-and-file, perhaps a 50% layoff isn't a bad idea, especially if the city can restock with new officers who aren't already accustomed/resigned to the PD's long history of brutality, violence, rights violations, and nonexistent oversight. Then again, you'd think the rank-and-file would want to continue trying to get a handle on increasing gun violence in the city, given the oft-stated concerns about public safety.
But none of that makes this an acceptable interim outcome. The litigation crossfire has resulted in an additional violation of rights.
A judge late Friday issued a temporary restraining order against the Chicago police union president, prohibiting him from making public statements that encourage members not to report their COVID-19 vaccine status to the city.
Cook County Circuit Judge Cecilia Horan ruled there was potential irreparable harm if local Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara persisted in making such statements. City attorneys argued they were tantamount to him advocating “sedition” and “anarchy” because he was directing members to disobey an order from their superiors.
Catanzara's agitating may be aggravating and annoying but it is not "sedition" or "anarchy." His statements may run contrary to the city's wishes but he should be free to make them. He has not actually called for strike (which is forbidden by the PD's contract) but rather suggested officers' should refuse requests for vaccination status and memorialize these interactions via body cam if possible. Catanzara has also speculated that more than half the police force will no longer be employed if a COVID vaccination is a job requirement. This court order appears to be prior restraint -- something impermissible even with the city's obvious interest in ensuring the safety of its employees.
That being said, maybe Chicago police officers should do the thing they're always telling citizens to do: comply, comply, comply. If it appears rights are being violated, members of the public are expected to take their lumps first and sue about it later. That's what the PD should do here: supply the PD with their vaccination status and get aggrieved later -- that's if they care at all about being the thin blue line standing between the innocent public and violent criminals."
UPDATE:
Chicago police union takes fight against vaccine mandate to court as some hold-out cops sent home without pay
About 2,000 police officers have not complied.
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AUGMENTED REALITY: Rudy's Honest Abe Character Assassination
"Rudy Giuliani has managed to find one last scrap of dignity to lose with an inexplicable and borderline incomprehensible attack video featuring himself disguised as Abraham Lincoln using an augmented reality filter. In the video, the former New York City mayor appears with a big superimposed hat and beard, and he, for some reason, meanders in and out of what seems to be his best attempt at a British accent. The video is targeted at Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe, whom Republicans have frequently accused of coming up with a controversial scheme in the 1990s—when he worked in the Clinton administration—to allow donors to sleep in Lincoln’s bedroom at the White House. That claim has been debunked by fact-checkers.
Nevertheless, Giuliani, playing Lincoln, described McAuliffe as “the man who dishonored our past by selling my bedroom hundreds and hundreds of times to scoundrels.” McAuliffe is yet to dignify the video with a response.
Thursday, October 21, 2021
More Details from ArsTechnica: Trump's Brand of TRUTH Social
A reverse merger acquistion
This truth won't set you free —
Trump to launch social media platform to compete with Twitter and Facebook
Former US president to go public with TRUTH Social via merger with SPAC.
"Donald Trump is launching a social media platform called TRUTH Social, which will go public via a merger with a blank-check company, as the former US president seeks to capitalize on his popularity among a large chunk of Republicans.
The move comes after months of speculation about whether Trump would launch a media company to compete with Twitter and Facebook and set the stage for another presidential run in 2024.
Trump, who used Twitter extensively during his 2016 campaign and four years in office, was banned from the platform, along with Facebook, YouTube, and other big social media networks in the wake of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
The former president said in a statement on Wednesday that the new app would be controlled by Trump Media & Technology Group.
“I created TRUTH Social and TMTG to stand up to the tyranny of Big Tech,” he said in a statement. “We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter, yet your favorite American president has been silenced. This is unacceptable.”
Digital World Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company launched by Patrick Orlando, will merge with TMTG in a deal that values the business at $875 million, with a potential to rise to $1.7 billion based on the performance of the stock.
> In September, Digital World raised $293 million of cash in an initial public offering.
> Eleven hedge funds, including DE Shaw and Saba Capital, which are headed by prominent Democratic party donors, participated in the offering, according to filings.
> Assuming no investors redeem their shares, an option they have, that cash will be used to capitalize on Trump’s media business.
TRUTH Social is already available for preorder on Apple’s App Store, where it is scheduled for release next year.
The app is described as “America’s ‘Big Tent’ social media platform that encourages an open, free, and honest global conversation without discriminating against political ideology.”
. . .Trump and other Republican lawmakers have accused Big Tech companies of censorship and bias against conservatives and have called for an overhaul of the laws that govern a platform’s liability for the speech they host. Several smaller “free speech” platforms have sprung up, with some vying recently to become partners with the former president to give him a platform.
Jason Miller, a former senior adviser to Trump who this year set up his own social media platform called Gettr, which is intended to appeal to conservatives, issued a statement congratulating his former boss.
“Now Facebook and Twitter will lose even more market share,” Miller said. “President Trump has always been a great dealmaker, but we just couldn’t come to terms on a deal. . . .”
TOTALITARIAN TRUMP: Launching A New Social Media Network "Trump Media & Technology Group"
Intro
Trump Announces His Own Social Network, 'Truth Social,' Which Says It Can Kick Off Users For Any Reason (And Already Is)
from the because-of-course dept
Mike Masnick:
"Last night, Donald Trump sent out a press release announcing (effectively) the launch of his new social network, "Truth Social."
The press release shows that it's a bit more complicated than that.
Trump is launching "Trump Media & Technology Group" which is entering into a reverse merger agreement to become listed as a public company in order to launch this new service. Apparently, Truth Social will let in "invited guests" next month, followed by a full launch in early 2022.
The press release has the expected bombastically ridiculous quote from the former President.
"I created TRUTH Social and TMTG to stand up to the tyranny of Big Tech.
We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter, yet your favorite American President has been silenced. This is unacceptable.
I am excited to send out my first TRUTH on TRUTH Social very soon.
TMTG was founded with a mission to give a voice to all.
________________________________________________________________
BLOGGER INSERT
________________________________________________________________
I'm excited to soon beginning sharing my thoughts on TRUTH Social and to fight back against Big Tech. Everyone asks me why doesn't someone stand up to Big Tech? Well, we will soon!"
I mean, first off, it's an interesting world in which you can both claim to be silenced, but also (a) put out a press release read by millions and (b) launch your own damn social network. Doesn't seem that "silent" to me, but what do I know?
Anyway, given that Trump claims that the mission here is "to give voice to all," I was pretty interested in Truth Social's terms of service which (unsurprisingly), make it clear they can kick you off for any reason they want at all.
Specifically, it says:
We reserve the right, but not the obligation, to:
(1) monitor the Site for violations of these Terms of Service;
(2) take appropriate legal action against anyone who, in our sole discretion, violates the law or these Terms of Service, including without limitation, reporting such user to law enforcement authorities;
(3) in our sole discretion and without limitation, refuse, restrict access to, limit the availability of, or disable (to the extent technologically feasible) your access or any of your contributions or any portion thereof; or
(4) otherwise manage the Site in a manner designed to protect our rights and property and to facilitate the proper functioning of the Site.
In other words, like every other website out there, Truth Social will moderate content.
Also, there's this:
"If we terminate or suspend your account for any reason, you are prohibited from registering and creating a new account under your name, a fake or borrowed name, your email address or the name of any third party, even if you may be acting on behalf of the third party.
> In addition to terminating or suspending your account, we reserve the right to take appropriate legal action, including without limitation pursuing civil, criminal, and injunctive redress.
So, it sure sounds like Truth Social, giving voice to all, is pretty damn sure it's going to have to kick people off its site (and maybe even sue them!).
And why might they kick you off?
Well, there's a very long list of "Prohibited Activities."
I'll highlight some of them...
> use the Site to advertise or offer to sell goods and services.
How much do you want to bet that Trump himself will violate this?
> If you LINK TO THE SITE in an "unauthorized" way, they can remove your account.
trick, defraud, or mislead us and other users, especially in any attempt to learn sensitive account information such as user passwords;
> MISLEADING OTHER USERS is grounds for having your account banished.
use any information obtained from the Site in order to harass, abuse, or harm another person.
So much freedom.
This kind of thing is standard on all social media sites -- but which is notable because it's what many Trumpists get kicked off other platforms for. And yet, here it is.
> use the Site as part of any effort to compete with us or otherwise use the Site and/or the Content for any revenue-generating endeavor or commercial enterprise.
Any effort to use the site to make money and they'll shut you down. That's... weird.
> harass, annoy, intimidate, or threaten any of our employees or agents engaged in providing any portion of the Site to you.
If you annoy Trump or any of his employees, no more Truth for you! > upload or transmit (or attempt to upload or to transmit) viruses, Trojan horses, or other material, including excessive use of capital letters and spamming (continuous posting of repetitive text), that interferes with any party’s uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the Site or modifies, impairs, disrupts, alters, or interferes with the use, features, functions, operation, or maintenance of the Site.
One of those is not like the others. Excessive use of capital letters?
I mean, that's not banned on any other social media platform I know of. Seems a lot less "freedomy" than we were lead to believe.
Also... excessive use of capital letters?
Can I think of a famous social media user who regularly made use of that... hmm... who could that be...?
Also, there's an indemnity clause (a pretty broad one actually), so that if they get sued for something, you may be on the hook for the legal bills:
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold us harmless, including our subsidiaries, affiliates, and all of our respective officers, agents, partners, and employees, from and against any loss, damage, liability, claim, or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses, made by any third party due to or arising out of: (1) use of the Site; (2) breach of these Terms of Service; (3) any breach of your representations and warranties set forth in these Terms of Service; (4) your violation of the rights of a third party, including but not limited to intellectual property rights; or (5) any overt harmful act toward any other user of the Site with whom you connected via the Site.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, we reserve the right, at your expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which you are required to indemnify us, and you agree to cooperate, at your expense, with our defense of such claims. We will use reasonable efforts to notify you of any such claim, action, or proceeding which is subject to this indemnification upon becoming aware of it.
So, when I first wrote this article I had a paragraph noting that once it actually launched I expected that Truth Social would speedrun the content moderation learning curve just like every MAGA-wannabe social network before it.
But... of course, it's even faster than that. You see, despite saying it wasn't open, a bunch of fairly enterprising people figured out how to access the site and sign up for accounts via an unadvertised link. So someone set up a Donald J. Trump account. And posted quite an image.
The "donaldjtrump" account of Trump's TRUTH Social has already been hacked. pic.twitter.com/LDQ5w24tcV
— Drew Harwell (@drewharwell) October 21, 2021
Someone else created their own Donald Trump account:
Was just able to setup an account using the handle @donaldtrump on 'Truth Social,' former President Donald Trump's new social media website.
Although the site is not officially open, a URL was discovered allowing users to sign up anyway. pic.twitter.com/MRMQzjNhma
— Mikael Thalen (@MikaelThalen) October 21, 2021
And a Mike Pence account:
Anyone can create an account on Trump's social network TRUTH Social using a publicly available link. I literally just registered "mikepence." The site hasn't even launched yet and it's already this vulnerable pic.twitter.com/v9nPN8ibDS
— Drew Harwell (@drewharwell) October 21, 2021
And thus we learned that, indeed, the "freedom loving" Truth Social... is already banning accounts.
A hush falls upon TRUTH Social. pic.twitter.com/HSKMTMlEMU
— Drew Harwell (@drewharwell) October 21, 2021
Freedom is so fleeting.
I mean, it went away even faster than all those other Trumpist social media sites. Oh, and it seems notable that even pre-launch, Trump's "freedom" loving social media site has text ready to go for suspended accounts:
You can no longer use your account, and your profile and other data are no longer accessible. You can still login to request a backup of your data until the data is fully removed, but we will retain some data to prevent you from evading the suspension.
>> So... it seems that Truth Social has "permanent suspensions" all ready to go. Just like every other social media website, of course. But, at least they don't present themselves as the antithesis of those other social media sites while all doing the same thing.
>> Either way, this can't be a good week for all those other super thirsty MAGA wannabe social networks. Gab is still out there pretending Trump is posting on its platform (they just repost every one of his press releases on his "verified" account and say they've "reserved" the account for him). Then, of course, there was Parler, who promised not to remove content, but whose former CEO gleefully told reporters that he was suspending "leftist trolls." And, then, of course, there was Gettr, which was taken over and "launched" by former close Trump aide, Jason Miller, and which also speedran the content moderation learning curve. Miller was unable to get his recently former boss to get on his own platform, and now they'll be competitors.
And, hey, competition is a good thing. Let a million social networks bloom. But don't expect one that is actually "taking on Big Tech" or guaranteeing that everyone has a voice. Because that's not Truth Social. It's just more lies.
Oh, and there are even some people suggesting that Truth Social is merely a reskin of Mastodon, as it matches almost exactly.
If that's the case, then it's almost certainly violating Mastodon's AGPL license. And, considering that Truth Social's terms of service say that it is forbidden for you to:
copy or adapt the Site’s software, including but not limited to Flash, PHP, HTML, JavaScript, or other code.
Then it seems that it certainly would violate such an open source license. And, I'm not even going to ask why they're including "Flash" in that list other than to wonder where they copied this list from... "
Filed Under: content moderation, donald trump, hacked, mastodon, social media, terms of service
Companies: tmtg, trump media and technology, truth social
THE ENTREPENEURIAL SPIRIT from Silicon Slopes Summit in Salt Lake City
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Silicon Slopes Magazine, Summit 2021
Click the cover below to read the Summit '21 Issue!
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Wednesday, October 20, 2021
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