Elon Musk & Twitter thread (updates) -- free speech and information control unrest

[Secular Sanity]

In a sense, this bitter quarreling transpiring in the media today isn't really new. Society has been incrementally returning over the past 35 years to the state it was in before the fairness doctrine.

I.e., back in those days when non-moderate voices were not muffled, when they had non-underground avenues to express themselves. Which unfortunately included the extremism of Southern Democrats being openly paraded, not just the communist organizations (which relabeled themselves "social democrat" after Russia [and China belatedly] finally embarrassed them enough to lose their fealty).

Use as a political weapon: Bill Ruder, Assistant Secretary of Commerce in the Kennedy administration, acknowledged that "Our massive strategy [in the early 1960s] was to use the Fairness Doctrine to challenge and harass right-wing broadcasters and hope that the challenges would be so costly to them that they would be inhibited and decide it was too expensive to continue."

Good point, CC.

I’ve always liked Milton Friedman and I see Musk’s unveiling of the government involvement within Twitter as a good thing. I hope it will eventually turn a profit under his watch. Fingers crossed.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/yqrBa09jiAI

Here's the full video.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/1EwaLys3Zak

[C C]

[...] I’ve always liked Milton Friedman and I see Musk’s unveiling of the government involvement within Twitter as a good thing. I hope it will eventually turn a profit under his watch. Fingers crossed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqrBa09jiAI

Here's the full video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EwaLys3Zak

circa 1:25 mark (short vid)

DONAHUE: You're going to trust me to put all of the candidates on my program, or am I just going to put my favorite on there?

FRIEDMAN: You put your favorite on and some other station will put its favorite on. You do not get fairness by every individual program being fair. You do not get fairness by every individual station being fair. In any event, I'm not in favor of fairness. I'm in favor of freedom. And freedom is not fairness.

Fairness means somebody has to decide what's fair, and that means the FCC people have to decide what's fair. I don't want the FCC people to decide for me what I should listen to. And you wouldn't be able, if the public at large didn't agree with your choices, you'd be out of business.

[stryder]

There was a time when we worked together to do the right thing, but then came self-promotion, and thousand-page bills, along with slavish mediocracy and equity.

Social media is not only dividing us, but also splintering us, republicans, and democrats alike. It’s harboring tribalism. Our choices of where we live, eat, shop, etc. are based on like like-minded groups. Republican policies are hated by the democrats, but the same policies are liked when under a Democratic president.

We must learn to work with others that are different from ourselves. Sadly, I don’t see this happening anytime soon. I think it will continue to snowball, and like Yazata, I think we need to stop thinking of China as an opportunity and more of a threat.

Apple is the richest company in the world. Tim Cook said, "There's a confusion about China. The popular conception is that companies come to China because of low labor cost. I'm not sure what part of China they go to, but the truth is China stopped being the low-labor-cost country many years ago. And that is not the reason to come to China from a supply point of view. The reason is because of the skill, and the quantity of skill in one location and the type of skill it is." But we’re forgetting that China’s development as a world-class tech innovator have come about through China’s authoritarian government. Tim Cook has been silent on the recent riots at the iPhone factory. There’s been talk about them moving the company outside of China, but I highly doubt that things will change. Something about power and money comes to mind.

"You sharpen the human appetite to the point where it can split atoms with its desire. You build egos the size of cathedrals, fiber optically connect the world to every eager impulse, grease even the dullest dreams with these dollar-green, gold-plated fantasies until every human becomes an inspiring emperor, becomes his own and God, where can you go from there?"—Devil’s Advocate

I could be wrong, but I think that Elon can stay grounded. He seems to be becoming more, not less, reflective, and he has a self-deprecating sense of humor.

A bit missed in regards to industrialised nations is that while Tim Cook rationalised it wasn't down to cheap labour, it's actually down to lesser bureaucratic paperwork with various "rights" laws passed as well as using "conflict" materials that otherwise would likely banned elsewhere in the world.

Those things are what add to the cost of a product (afterall the cost of a product is both materials and the cost of labour which the latter can skyrocket with extra for healthcare, welfare and other assorted taxes)

Furthermore it's the size of the pool of materials the countries stockpiles in one location, elsewhere you deal with an open market approach where you have to source the goods yourself through whoever is selling, in a communistic environment I'd assume* those raw materials are stockpiled and shared out depending on the ruling party.

What also isn't considered is that China had some sort of rule in regards to how much of a company any foreign national can own, originally it was something like 10%* (there are likely ways around that using holdings companies) so that means a company will not earn as much profit as they could of had, however they won't have to pay as much to the state there either since they are only a marginal share.

* going from memory rather than sources, and thoses nuggets of information are likely outdated.

[Secular Sanity]

[...] I’ve always liked Milton Friedman and I see Musk’s unveiling of the government involvement within Twitter as a good thing. I hope it will eventually turn a profit under his watch. Fingers crossed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqrBa09jiAI

Here's the full video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EwaLys3Zak

circa 1:25 mark (short vid)

DONAHUE: You're going to trust me to put all of the candidates on my program, or am I just going to put my favorite on there?

FRIEDMAN: You put your favorite on and some other station will put its favorite on. You do not get fairness by every individual program being fair. You do not get fairness by every individual station being fair. In any event, I'm not in favor of fairness. I'm in favor of freedom. And freedom is not fairness.

Fairness means somebody has to decide what's fair, and that means the  FCC people have to decide what's fair. I don't want the FCC people to decide for me what I should listen to. And you wouldn't be able, if the public at large didn't agree with your choices, you'd be out of business.

The way I see it, is that these platforms, e.g., Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc., can dictate what you can and can’t say, and I’m sure they all favor centralization and control of the economy, but I’m hoping that Elon sees the advantage of transparency and self-publishing where no one gets banned because of a demanding mob. I’m hoping that more people will be attracted to sites that promote this and there are more platforms now that allow people to escape the cancel-culture mob. We’re a small group, but Stryder has maintained this position, and we haven’t had any problems that we can’t handle.

---

A bit missed in regards to industrialised nations is that while Tim Cook rationalised it wasn't down to cheap labour, it's actually down to lesser bureaucratic paperwork with various "rights" laws passed as well as using "conflict" materials that otherwise would likely banned elsewhere in the world. 

Those things are what add to the cost of a product (afterall the cost of a product is both materials and the cost of labour which the latter can skyrocket with extra for healthcare, welfare and other assorted taxes)

Furthermore it's the size of the pool of materials the countries stockpiles in one location, elsewhere you deal with an open market approach where you have to source the goods yourself through whoever is selling, in a communistic environment I'd assume* those raw materials are stockpiled and shared out depending on the ruling party.

What also isn't considered is that China had some sort of rule in regards to how much of a company any foreign national can own, originally it was something like 10%* (there are likely ways around that using holdings companies) so that means a company will not earn as much profit as they could of had, however they won't have to pay as much to the state there either since they are only a marginal share.

* going from memory rather than sources, and thoses nuggets of information are likely outdated.

All good points, Stryder. And yeah, government regulation is out of control.

[C C]

The way I see it, is that these platforms, e.g., Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc., can dictate what you can and can’t say, and I’m sure they all favor centralization and control of the economy, but I’m hoping that Elon sees the advantage of transparency and self-publishing where no one gets banned because of a demanding mob. I’m hoping that more people will be attracted to sites that promote this and there are more platforms now that allow people to escape the cancel-culture mob. We’re a small group, but Stryder has maintained this position, and we haven’t had any problems that we can’t handle.

The demands of other countries will always compromise them globally. But it would be nice to get them get back to halfway what they were in the US before the outrage of Trump being elected put their external intimidators and reformers into a tizzy.

As far as Twitter goes, Elon will never even rewind to that level of potential distress for the complainers, fragile souls, and soapbox orators. Not just because of them and bureaucrats, but his own reservations about turning back the clock on certain this's and that's. Their wailing is unwarranted theater.

Censorship of Twitter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_of_Twitter

Twitter Suspensions
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter_suspensions

[C C]

Why efforts to dismiss Musk's 'Twitter Files' by liberal media won't work this time
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/efforts-...-work-time

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As Elon Musk Releases “Twitter Files, ”You’ll Need Miranda Devine’s “Laptop from Hell”
https://johnkassnews.com/miranda-devines...d-to-hide/

INTRO: The American left is shrieking in rage over Elon Musk’s weekend release of “The Twitter Files.” With the Republicans in control of the House, they’ll begin investigating when they take over in January. But the left is desperate to confuse the issue and gaslight you on this one.

So, you’ll need a primer to keep things straight. And I’ve got the perfect primer right here. It’s Miranda Devine’s book “Laptop from Hell: Hunter Biden, Big Tech and The Dirty Secrets The President Tried to Hide.”

I wouldn’t tell you to do something I wouldn’t do. Order it immediately. I have the book right here and I’ve been using it as a reference volume as the hysterical left–including those journalists who’ve broken journalism forever–scream about Musk’s release of “The Twitter Files.”

Devine is a columnist for The New York Post, the newspaper that broke the story about the Biden Inc. bagman and second son of “The Big Guy” in the White House who was cut in for 10 percent. The release of “The Twitter Files” that were provided by Musk to independent journalist Matt Taibbi.

The files detail how the Big Tech social media giants colluded (yes, colluded) with the Democratic National Committee and the Biden administration in the most corrupt political scheme in American history. The “Twitter Files” also reveal that political and government actors sought out Big Tech to suppress speech.  Biden Inc. and his journalistic enablers often talk of protecting democracy even as they step on it.

Musk promised to release the files so the world could see the extent of the corruption at Twitter. And even before he released the internal documents, the left wing—which is all about force and nothing but force—began savaging Musk’s reputation and his company.

You might also say they “rigged” a presidential election.  That’s exactly what they did. They rigged it... (MORE - details)

[Yazata]

Here's your chance to own a piece of (old pre-Elon) Twitter! They are auctioning off hundreds of items, ranging from expresso machines through dozens of giant screen TV monitors. There's kitchen equipment suitable for quantity cookery for large banquets, laser projectors, and all kinds of office furniture.

https://www.bidspotter.com/en-us/auction...erita10194

[Yazata]

This is worth watching about old twitter and child-porn

https://twitter.com/Lukewearechange/stat...8802169856

[Syne]

Yeah, the leftists in charge didn't care one iota about child-porn. They were far more interested in silencing political opposition.

[C C]

Will Elon Musk's ultimatum cost him Twitter?
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64003232

EXCERPTS: . . . And then there's the matter of the poll itself. How we view the results - 57% of the 17.5m votes cast were in favour of Musk standing down as Twitter CEO - depends on what we think he wanted to achieve by it.

Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1604617643973124097

The poll has either spectacularly backfired - if Musk was looking for an ego-boost - or it has been a huge success in getting him off the rather large hook he has found himself caught on since his purchase of Twitter was, basically, forced through.

Let's not forget that the Tesla owner spent months trying to get out of buying this company. As I write, Musk's Twitter feed is uncharacteristically silent.

That won't be the case for long, undoubtedly. He has a track record for listening to polls. After all, he put to the vote whether or not he should buy Twitter in the first place, when this entire circus began.

[...] So... if he does what he's been told by the people and quits - who takes over?

He's been a one-man band since his arrival at the social media company. There's been no regular mention of a deputy, or someone with whom he has worked closely...

[...] But before you dust off your CV, consider for a moment the job description of Twitter CEO. You have the world's most demanding boss; you inherit a demoralised workforce - half of it recently laid off and the remainder under instruction to work long hours. The finances are bleak according to Musk: he says Twitter is operating at a loss of $4m per day.

And then there is the legacy of chaotic decision-making which has defined recent months at Twitter...

[...] A new CEO who is less intent on relentless revolution might calm investors and improve employee morale. Currently every second tweet in my timeline is people threatening to leave Twitter or complaining about it. A social network obsessed with itself is arguably not fulfilling its potential.

[...] perhaps he's now learning the hard way that social media, and the people who bring it to life, are not machines. Perhaps the future of this troubled firm lies not in the stars, but with feet firmly on solid ground. If he'll allow it... (MORE - missing details)

- - - FROM COMMENTS - - -

Wall Street Silver (Dec 18 ... Replying to @elonmusk): "I suspect Elon already has his replacement selected and this is just a poll to make it seem like we are deciding."