prof without numbers

If I get the urge to argue with or correct someone, I'll block them instead. Doesn't mean they're bad people, I just want to minimize those feelings.

[Matt Stoller @matthewstoller]

Since lots of gossips are now gunning for me, I'm redoing this thread. It's clear something messed up happened in Platner's relationships, and he hasn't hidden that. But there's a big difference between 'normal people in bad relationships who hate each other' and 'crime.'

So let's be adults. This is a political attack.

Top Maine Democratic Party donors in recent years are Reid Hoffman, Haim Saban, and David Ellison. David Ellison! As in the Trump ally who fired Stephen Colbert and is taking over TikTok, CBS News, and CNN. These names should mean something. Saban may be the single most important AIPAC donor in the Democratic Party.

Another big donor to the Maine Democratic Party is the founder of Zynga, Marc Pincus, who said in 2024 that "an attack on Amazon is an attack on America." It goes beyond big tech and Wall Street. Crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried’s partner Nishad Singh at FTX gave $100k to the Maine Democratic Party in 2022.

The insiders running the party are the people funded through these streams of revenue, they are the ones dealing with the donors and currying favor with them. And while I will not speak out of school, the Maine Democratic establishment simply cannot be trusted and that is well-known.

Platner may be a fatally weakened candidate, that is for others to decide. It's a wave year in a blue state, but I get that Susan Collins is a strong incumbent. Winning this Senate seat matters, so I get why people might see value in ditching him. I generally think that polls and electoral guesses are mechanisms to get ordinary voters to focus on anything but policy. It's a disciplining mechanism, since no one can tell the future. But it's not crazy to see Platner as a poor candidate.

Let's be clear, the goal of pushing Platner aside is to destroy the agenda on which he was elected, which is about taming oligarchy and reorienting us from endless war. That is why the Maine Democrats aren't saying 'let's respect Platner voters and transition to someone else,' they are taking a sanctimonious 'he gets NO say in ANYTHING.' Those are not the actions of people who want to win a Senate seat, those are the actions of nasty insiders claiming factional power for themselves.

If Platner steps down, he will be characterized as a deviant, and that's just how it'll be forever. True or not. And everyone will be tarred as supportive of immoral behavior. It doesn't matter if you are a liberal, centrist, young, old, whatever. People are saying the Bulwark, a centrist outlet started by ex-Republicans who were skeptical of Platner, are tarred by this. Punchbowl is reporting that Senate progressives will never have credibility going forward. The ploy here is obvious.

That is, even though the actual immoral behavior at issue here is the genocide in Gaza, the corruption of DOGE and Musk, and the neoliberal turn in American politics for 40 years that has destroyed our faith in society and each other.

Platner has been consistent about his platform, and there's no reason to assume that will change. 70% of Maine Democrats picked him as their candidate, and he has the right to represent their views. So he should stay in the race or, if he feels he cannot win, leave on terms that will ensure his platform, and not that of Maine Dem Party oligarch donors, is the one on the ballot in November. The Maine Dem establishment cannot be trusted.

And frankly, this kind of ugly scenario is how power works. They make ordinary people pick among ugly scenarios, and then they make it seem like the obvious path is the one that accords more power and wealth to oligarchs. And if you don't choose that one, you're a bad person who deserves approbation and scorn. That's why I had to delete the original thread and rewrite it, because endless numbers of reporter gossips - who don't report on government policy - are using this extremely obvious ratfucking to try and destroy people like me telling you the truth.

[Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 @FmrRepMTG]

We are back to bombing Iran during the ceasefire for the Iran war that is not a war because Iran bombed a vessel for crossing the Strait of Hormuz that they don’t control yet apparently control.
Not sure how they bombed the vessel because we have totally and completely obliterated their military and beat them in the war that is not a war like 40 times now.
I’m so glad that Trump ran for president to end forever foreign wars otherwise I might start thinking this war that is not a war that we won like 40 times is starting to turn into another forever foreign war in the Middle East.
Good thing Pete Hegseth, Secretary of the Department of Defense, I mean War, is headed to Israel to take orders from, I mean ask for advice, on how to totally wipe out Iran, I mean bring peace.
I’m totally sure no one in the executive branch or donors will do any sort of insider trading based on super duper secret military decisions.
You know the kind based on intelligence that Congress is going to fuse with Israel’s military after they all vote to pass the National Defense (war) Authorization Act.
Because this is exactly what we all voted for when we said Make America Great Again.

[Thomas Massie @RepThomasMassie]

I spoke to McConnell for about 20 minutes this morning.

He said we should end the war with Iran, quit giving aid to Israel, stop spying on Americans without a warrant, and he’s really sorry about how my primary turned out.

[Ken Klippenstein @kenklippenstein]

Let me know if my Graham Platner apology is debasing and self-flagellating enough 👇https://t.co/VlN6iulpls

[prof without numbers @restrepowriter]

@davidsirota You don't have to hold a grudge -- just maintain boundaries.

[Thomas Massie @RepThomasMassie]

Is America ready for my term limit legislation titled “Three Strokes and You’re Out” ?

[Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 @FmrRepMTG]

Most Americans are trapped in the two party mindset.

But just wait until 2032 when Social Security and Medicare is insolvent and they start cutting benefits from Americans even though you’ve paid in your entire working life by force.

Yes that’s right, SS and Medicare will be bankrupt in just a few years.

Congress makes the budget every single year and Congress is responsible for this impending disaster even though it’s the last thing they want to talk about and the last thing they want to fix.

They have overspent your tax dollars by trillions and trillions to the point the value of a dollar is going down so rapidly that by the time Social Security and Medicare go bankrupt many of you won’t be able to support yourselves because the dollar will be so weak.

The dirty little secret on how they’re going to handle it is this.

First, they are going to take Social Security away from the Rich and that won’t bother the majority of Americans, but give it a few more years and they’ll be taking Social Security away from the middle class too because the compounding interest on our national debt is growing so fast and out of control that there’s no real way to fix it.

And that’s when Americans will finally be so angry that they’ve had it, but it will also be too late.

Most Americans don’t have any real savings for retirement so by that point not only will most Americans not get Social Security checks, but they won’t have any real retirement set up, and the value of the dollar will be so incredibly weak that it will plunge most Americans into poverty.

And both political parties are to blame. Both Republicans and Democrats are doing this to Americans while Americans are too busy to notice.

Republicans are going to tell you that you have to vote for them because they are the lesser of two evils but really they are both one and the same and operate together.

Republican and Democrat voters are just fighting each other to their own demise. But if everyone were to break free from the fake two party system and demand real accountability from the people that they vote for then you might actually save America.

[Mohamad Safa @mhdksafa]

Slavery was legal.
People who freed slaves were considered criminals.

Segregation was legal.
People who stood up for justice were considered criminals.

War is legal.
People who advocate for peace are considered targets.

Never use legality as a guide to morality.

[The Curious Tales @thecurioustales]

Zhuangzi’s point was brutal.

We suffer more from the story in our head than from the event itself.

An empty boat still hits you.

The damage is the same.
Only your interpretation changes.

Meaning creates the wound.

[Drop Site @DropSiteNews]

More than 4,000 critically ill or injured children approved by the WHO for medical evacuation remain trapped under Israel’s siege of Gaza. One-year-old Nabih is one of them.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 264 children cleared for evacuation by the WHO, Israeli authorities (COGAT), and Palestinian authorities have died while waiting to leave Gaza for treatment.

The ministry says Israeli restrictions on patients approved for evacuation have contributed to more than 1,570 deaths since Oct. 7, including 505 cancer patients. It adds that another 6 to 10 patients die each day awaiting transfer. The crossing was again closed for extended periods this week, including all of Wednesday.

[prof without numbers @restrepowriter]

@mar80549 .

[marah khalad @mar80549]

I keep drawing tirelessly, hoping to receive a few donations to help my family survive. But it all feels hopeless. Sometimes it feels like my art is nothing more than meaningless lines, as if no one loves it or sees its value

🙏

https://t.co/1A1yNddFsB…

[Glenn Greenwald @ggreenwald]

It became obligatory in left-Dem politics to call what Israel did a "genocide." Many who clearly don't really believe that complied.

AOC is an example. The point of "genocide" is that it's the worst crime against humanity. Yet she endorses Hakeem Jeffries: one of the House's most stalwart Israel loyalists who financed, armed and defended genocide. Nobody who actually believes it's a "genocide" would work to empower those who perpetrated it:

[Mohamad Safa @mhdksafa]

If a child is killed, captured, raped, mutilated, tortured, or starved, and you ask about their nationality, race, or religion, then you are not human.

No amount of propaganda should convince you that the systematic murder of tens of thousands of children is not genocide.

[Mick Wallace @wallacemick]

The US + Israel hit 307 Medical Facilities in Iran in 40 days. They deliberately target them because they are used to help the sick + wounded. And the EU of the famed 'European Values' said nothing...

[Caitlin Johnstone @caitoz]

Western politics is mostly just empire managers making up fake problems to fight so they don't have to address the real problems.

Can't stop fighting wars or the western empire will collapse. So they make up fake threats from dictators and tyrants and take action to stop them.

Can't stop inflating the military budget and circling the planet with more and more war machinery or the military-industrial complex will stop reaping profits. So they tell you to be afraid of Muslims and "terrorists" and Russia and China and take action to protect you from them.

Can't stop polluting the world and destroying the biosphere or capitalism will perish. So they split us into two mainstream warring factions arguing about culture war wedge issues and promise to protect each faction from the other side.

Can't stop supporting Israeli atrocities or they'll hamstring their hegemonic agendas in west Asia and make an enemy of the Zionists. So they make a boogie man out of "antisemitism" and set up envoys, inquiries and task forces dedicated to stopping it.

Can't get money out of politics and stop wealthy oligarchs from using their riches to manipulate western politics to their advantage, because the oligarchs run the empire. So they fearmonger about "communism" on the right and tell the centrists that the leftists are costing them elections.

Can't stop ramping up authoritarianism and eroding the civil liberties of the citizenry or else they won't be able to suppress future revolutions. So they cite unpopular people and groups as reasons why the authoritarianism is necessary to protect the public while constructing a giant cage of surveillance and control around everyone.

Can't stop coercively extracting resources and labor from the global south because that's the whole reason the empire was set up in the first place. So they tell everyone the immigrants are the source of all their problems and make western politics revolve around immigration policy.

The empire managers make up fake problems to solve because the empire is the source of all the real problems.

They make up fake monsters to protect us from because they themselves are the real monsters.

They make up imaginary ghouls and goblins lurking around every corner because they don't want us looking up and seeing the real bastards who are poisoning our world.

[Muhammad Mazen @mhmd_s09]

One of the most brutal scenes in human history has been leaked.

Footage from an Israeli aircraft shows thousands of starving Palestinians running towards an aid truck, before it bombs and kills them all.

A video that the world must never forget.

[Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand]

After reflection, this new narrative by Palantir is probably much more consequential than people may assume.

Palantir is basically being the canary in the coal mine announcing the death of two major assumptions propping up the US economy right now:

1) that AI labs will be able to extract significant economic rent - as opposed to AI models being mere commodities

2) that other countries can accept structural dependency on US technology and services without pushing back on sovereignty concerns

Why are Palantir specifically starting to be vocal about this?

First off, major middle-powers, even US “allies”, are one by one showing them the door. In June, France announced that the DGSI - its domestic intelligence agency, which had relied on Palantir since the 2015 Paris attacks - would replace it with French firm ChapsVision, with Prime Minister Lecornu explaining (https://t.co/SLhEGprBZC) that France “cannot accept new strategic dependencies in the digital sphere” and shouldn't depend on the goodwill of companies “capable of turning off the tap.”

Germany moved even earlier: its domestic intelligence service, the BfV, also selected ChapsVision over Palantir (https://t.co/pDZVj4SYUY), and the German military has said it will no longer use Palantir at all. Then, just this week, Spain instructed state-controlled companies - including strategic firms like Telefónica, Indra and Navantia - to avoid signing any new contracts with Palantir (https://t.co/0ik4UAFrT7).

Even in the UK, Washington's most loyal vassal, the NHS's £330 million data contract with Palantir is under review following parliamentary pressure (https://t.co/uJl6g4BMsW), and London Mayor Sadiq Khan blocked a proposed £50 million Palantir contract with the Metropolitan Police.

Palantir making a lot of noise around them caring about sovereignty makes a lot of sense: it's damage control since they keep being told they're a sovereignty risk.

I doubt it will work - because it's true: they are a sovereignty risk - but the fact that they feel the need to be vocal around this tells you where the wind is blowing: they're not shaping the narrative, they're reacting to one they're losing.

What they're saying against closed-source AI (basically a broadside attack on OpenAI and Anthropic), is again highly self-serving. Palantir's sudden love of open-weight AI models conveniently coincides with them launching 2 days before a partnership with Nvidia to sell exactly that: open models models (NVIDIA's Nemotron) in sovereign environments.

So it's essentially a product launch.

It doesn't make what they're saying wrong: it is factual that the value proposition of closed-source AI labs looks increasingly unsustainable. I mean: you're paying 10X the price of Chinese open-source AI models for something that's not really better (or just marginally) and on top of that you have zero control over your data, or the models themselves.

When Palantir says that "the architecture that maximally preserves sovereignty is one that enables institutions to own their tribal knowledge, and to compound it as alpha," they're right. I'd add that this also means you shouldn't trust Palantir either with that "tribal knowledge"... they obviously left this part out 😉

When you take a step back, these two things have major implications on many other US companies.

SpaceX - which just went public at the largest IPO valuation in history - is one clear example as I describe in my latest article on the new space race with China (https://t.co/JK3ELAyEVO).

If countries like France concluded with Palantir that they couldn't depend on a company “capable of turning off the tap” when it’s merely analyzing their data, what should they conclude about a company that aims to literally control their entire connectivity - at one man's whim, from space?

What percentage of SpaceX's crazy market cap is based on the assumption that foreign governments will not do to Starlink what they're currently doing to Palantir?

And SpaceX - or Palantir - aren't alone: a significant proportion of the top US tech giants, who rose in a world where no one questioned American technological hegemony, now face an environment that's much less conducive to the kind of lock-in their business models - and valuations - depend on.

When you pair this with the fact that it increasingly looks like the US made a wrong bet with closed-source AI - an extremely expensive wrong bet - the picture that emerges is of a country that bet its economic future on two things - proprietary AI and captive allies - and is losing both at the same time.

And to compound the problem, it doesn't help that the official narrative of the US government - via the voice of Jacob Helberg, the Under-Secretary of State (https://t.co/Z1rotPl9Ee) - is to be vocally opposed to "AI Sovereignty": essentially telling everyone "you know what, your worst fears are real, our tech companies are really out to undermine your sovereignty."

Read Helberg's post (the one I linked) and put yourself in the shoes of - say - a European or Asian leader and ask yourself how you'd react to being told that building your own AI capabilities is "marching in perfect formation into the past," that your pursuit of sovereignty is really just "synchronized mediocrity," and that your only path to the future runs through American technology.

If it was me in a position of power, I'd read this as a massive wakeup call: when another country's official position is that your sovereignty is a problem, history says you're about to need it.

So yes, it looks like - unexpectedly - Palantir, of all companies, is being quite the canary in the big tech mine. Yes they obviously do this for self-serving and cynical purpose, and yes they're of course also very much part of the problem and not the solution. But it doesn't make them wrong: sometimes it takes a vulture to tell you something is dying.

[Israel Exposed @xIsraelExposedx]

It took a little longer than expected, but we have created a website for people to view the footage collected from Gaza in one place. You no longer have to download the entire archives to see them.

It includes:

64,537 videos
17,905 photos
Ability to download individual videos
Searchable index
Exhaustive sources list (300+ journalists)
Geolocation data
Livemap with minute to minute updates
Victim list

It can be accessed here: https://t.co/s0Se94PXWF

Please share & quote tweet to help this post break out of the twitter algorithm prison.

We will keep adding the rest of the archives to the site, be patient- it is difficult work. Continue to seed the torrents provided, as that is the best way to ensure the footage remains stored in decentalized way.

God bless all those who sacrificed their lives to get this footage out, and everyone invovled in collecting/archiving it.

Join our telegram:
https://t.co/bvcis3b9GT
Follow our backup accounts:
@ZionismExposedx & @IsraelExposedAr

[prof without numbers @restrepowriter]

@mar80549 .