♲ @equalityAlec@twitter.com: This morning I'm thinking about how 99.9% of the U.S. still doesn't know that, after they killed Breonna Taylor, Louisville cops managed to get the City to increase their budget by $750,000 and to cut the public library budget by $775,000.
Notices by Hypolite Petovan (hypolite@friendica.mrpetovan.com), page 105
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Hypolite Petovan (hypolite@friendica.mrpetovan.com)'s status on Monday, 10-May-2021 11:58:27 EDT 
Hypolite Petovan
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Hypolite Petovan (hypolite@friendica.mrpetovan.com)'s status on Monday, 10-May-2021 11:13:25 EDT
Hypolite Petovan
♲ @KellyMDoran@twitter.com: MTA recently came under fire for an accidental honest response to a rider question about why benches were removed from a station, but unfairly targeting homeless people is longstanding. Now @SafetyNetUJC is suing MTA. nytimes.com/2021/02/12/nyr… https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/12/nyregion/homeless-nyc-subway.html
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Hypolite Petovan (hypolite@friendica.mrpetovan.com)'s status on Monday, 10-May-2021 10:58:08 EDT
Hypolite Petovan
You're right about the theoretical distinction between data collection and surveillance, but in Facebook's (and Google's) case the distinction isn't meaningful because most people in the US have a Facebook and a Google account.
Open protocols would make it harder for law enforcement to act on data collection because there wouldn't be a single entity they could leverage to have done the legwork for them.
I'm a prominent Friendica figure, and yet no amount of law enforcement pressure could get me to hand out dat about any given Friendica account because I simply don't have access to it.
Open protocols means that individual servers could choose to collect as much data as Facebook or not, and users could choose their home server based on that criterion. There isn't such freedom with Facebook. -
Hypolite Petovan (hypolite@friendica.mrpetovan.com)'s status on Monday, 10-May-2021 07:45:12 EDT
Hypolite Petovan
♲ @DevitaDavison@twitter.com: We're literally watching the largest labor movement in modern American history happen in the form of paper signs taped to the windows of fast-food and fast-casual restaurants!
477x640 -
Hypolite Petovan (hypolite@friendica.mrpetovan.com)'s status on Sunday, 09-May-2021 21:20:32 EDT
Hypolite Petovan
Bushwick LEGO bin update
It's time for another #LEGO update!
After the disappointing Lower East Side bin I sorted previously https://friendica.mrpetovan.com/display/735a2029-4760-3f8e-99cb-16d608200049, the bin I picked up in Bushwick from Craigslist has been way more satisfying, but also required way more work.
At a whopping 25 lbs of LEGO, this has been the largest bin I've been given to sort. I was anxious at the completion rate I could get from this bin, but a couple factors gave me some confidence. First, I was able to find numbered bags of parts, taken straight from a set box and never opened. Second, there were many assemblies in the bin, ranging from a few parts to half of what looked like a space ship.
These assemblies allowed me to identify sets and set aside parts for them ahead of the actual sorting, which somewhat sped up the process. Given the overall weight I still had to handle about 10,000 parts to sort them into their set or into my storage for ulterior use, and it took quite a bit of time. I was helped by my partner who enjoys knolling and sorting, thank goodness, otherwise this update would have taken even longer to come.
Without further ado, let's dive into the sets. Out of the record 90 sets I was able to identify in the bin, I've chosen to complete the following:- 7248 - City - Digger https://rebrickable.com/sets/7248-1/digger/ (2005): This set got me wincing as it features multi-part stickers, and the parts that were stuck weren't the right ones 😰.
- 7992 - City - Container Stacker https://rebrickable.com/sets/7992-1/container-stacker/ (2007)
- 60027 - City - Monster Truck Transporter https://rebrickable.com/sets/60027-1/monster-truck-transporter/ (2013): Found both partially assembled with an unopened pats bag.
- 8270 - Technic - Rough Terrain Crane https://rebrickable.com/sets/8270-1/rough-terrain-crane/ (2007) : I was ready to discard it because of the low number of parts, but my partner convinced me to keep it so that my kid can play with it. How could I say no?
- 8077 - Atlantis - Exploration HQ https://rebrickable.com/sets/8077-1/atlantis-exploration-hq/ (2010): After the 7206 - City of Atlantis https://rebrickable.com/sets/7985-1/city-of-atlantis/ and 8076 - Deep Sea Striker https://rebrickable.com/sets/8076-1/deep-sea-striker/ sets I built from the previous bin, I'm glad to be able to build another big set in the same theme.
- 76020 - Guardians of the Galaxy - Knowhere Escape Mission https://rebrickable.com/sets/76020-1/knowhere-escape-mission/ (2014): One of the sets having a couple of unopened parts bag, their owner just opened the bag that was featuring the buildable Groot figure and ignored the rest, including the Rocket Raccoon minifig.
- 7692 - Mars Mission - MX-71 Recon Dropship https://rebrickable.com/sets/7692-1/mx-71-recon-dropship/ (2007): I discovered the Mars Mission theme in the previous bin, and I like the comparative ship designs of the opposing factions. While there weren't enough parts to complete a set then, this time is the right one to build a set from this theme.
- 9449 - Ninjago - Ultra Sonic Raider https://rebrickable.com/sets/9449-1/ultra-sonic-raider/ (2012): Another set that was present in the previous bin, with the parts from the new bin it finally is affordable to complete. My first Ninjago set!
- 9470 - The Hobbit - Shelob Attacks https://rebrickable.com/sets/9470-1/shelob-attacks/ (2012): This bin introduced several The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings sets to me, despite lacking all the minifigures. This one is still cute with the famous giant spider that can hang from her silk-producing butt.
- 79002 - The Hobbit - Attack of the Wargs https://rebrickable.com/sets/79002-1/attack-of-the-wargs/ (2012): Another returning set after the previous bin, I was able to sell one warg for a hefty sum to a Belgian woman. Now I will build a lonely tree and boulders.
- 79013 - The Hobbit - Lake-town Chase https://rebrickable.com/sets/79013-1/lake-town-chase/ (2013): I don't remember this scene from The Hobbit? On the other hand, it's been 25 years since I read that book. Found partially assembled, excited about the boat.
- 9474 - The Lord of the Rings - The Battle of Helm's Deep https://rebrickable.com/sets/9474-1/the-battle-of-helms-deep/ (2012): A big set with more than 1,000 parts! Definitely the most expensive set to complete from the list, but it looks worth it.
- 9471 - The Lord of the Rings - Uruk-hai Army https://rebrickable.com/sets/9471-1/uruk-hai-army/ (2012): Meant to pair with the previous set. No army though.
- 9473 - The Lord of the Rings - The Mines of Moria https://rebrickable.com/sets/9473-1/the-mines-of-moria/ (2012): Found partially assembled. No troll.
- 7931 - Star Wars - T-6 Jedi Shuttle https://rebrickable.com/sets/7931-1/jedi-t-6-shuttle/ (2011): This set was 60% assembled in the bin, and also possibly is the blandest Star Wars ship design I've ever laid my eyes on.
- 7957 - Star Wars - Sith Nightspeeder https://rebrickable.com/sets/7957-1/sith-nightspeeder/ (2011): I found out about this set in the previous bin but didn't have enough parts to complete it cheaply. However I haven't been able to reuse much of the parts since it was almost complete in this bin. Still no minifigures.
- 9496 - Star Wars - Desert Skiff https://rebrickable.com/sets/9496-1/desert-skiff/ (2012): After having happily completed and built the 75020 - Jabba’s Sail Barge https://rebrickable.com/sets/75020-1/jabbas-sail-barge/ set from last bin, I was elated to find the Sarlacc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarlacc to pair it with!
- 75015 - Star wars - Corporate Alliance Tank Droid https://rebrickable.com/sets/75015-1/corporate-alliance-tank-droid/ (2013): A rare boon for a second-hand treaded vehicles, all the tread links were still new in their original sealed bag.
- 75017 - Star Wars - Duel on Geonosis https://rebrickable.com/sets/75017-1/duel-on-geonosis/ (2013): Found almost completely assembled, without minifigures even though it's a battle scene, but they are too expensive to buy separately.
- 7965 - Star Wars - Millenium Falcon https://rebrickable.com/sets/7965-1/millennium-falcon/ (2011): Another big set, and finally the iconic spaceship after so many other Star Wars sets across several bins! I actually have plans to hang this set vertically on my wall as all the other viewing angles are pretty uninteresting.
- 7915 - Star Wars - Imperial V-wing Starfighter https://rebrickable.com/sets/7915-1/imperial-v-wing-starfighter/ (2011) and 8091 - Star Wars - Republic Swamp Speeder https://rebrickable.com/sets/8091-1/republic-swamp-speeder/ (2010): Star Wars, Star Wars, Star Wars, ugh. Still cheap enough to justify their inclusion in this list.
Special note: I found 65% of the parts (including all 18 minifigures!) for the 7662 - Star Wars - Trade Federation MTT set https://rebrickable.com/sets/7662-1/trade-federation-mtt/ in this bin, but the remaining parts would set me $160 back. It sounds expensive, but this set goes for at least $300 on the Used market. I personally like the set, which doesn't hurt, but it was too expensive on its own to be included in this batch. I have one more bin to sort, hopefully I'll be able to find more parts for this set and it'll be a little cheaper, but I know I'll have to pay top dollars for certain parts in specific colors that were produced only for this particular set, raising their price.
After this behemoth of a bin, I'm going to take a little hiatus in my sorting endeavor before tackling the last LEGO bin taking space in my closet, I already know it won't be the same as any previous bins since this time, I got a shoe box full of instructions booklets with the bin!
Until then, keep on bricking! -
Hypolite Petovan (hypolite@friendica.mrpetovan.com)'s status on Sunday, 09-May-2021 12:20:19 EDT
Hypolite Petovan
Of course, but we can still use this expected outcome as a way to show how unjust the law underlying this criminal act is. Criminal ≠ Unethical. -
Hypolite Petovan (hypolite@friendica.mrpetovan.com)'s status on Sunday, 09-May-2021 11:13:59 EDT
Hypolite Petovan
Would you mind you elaborate on that, Brad? -
Hypolite Petovan (hypolite@friendica.mrpetovan.com)'s status on Sunday, 09-May-2021 11:12:46 EDT
Hypolite Petovan
Facebook is part of the mass surveillance apparatus because it collects a vast amount of data on all its users (and even non-users) indiscriminately including locations, political leaning, etc... This is different from targeted surveillance where specific individuals are tracked for a specific purpose. This mass collection in itself is harmless, but there isn't far of a leap between mass surveillance and targeted surveillance, and law enforcement agencies have been enjoying working with Facebook to easily gather data on persons of interest, and this is where this mass collection becomes problematic.
So Facebook collects data as part of its advertisement business model, but the wide array of data points attributed to named accounts made it a natural fit for mass surveillance by the US government.
There is, of course, the other reason it's problematic, as highlighted by the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where spin doctors were able to target very specific political messages to very specific Facebook user subsets, unbeknownst to the rest of the users and the media, but while I believe open social media protocols can be enforced, I'm not sure how you could enforce a ban on "unethical secret mass opinion change". -
Hypolite Petovan (hypolite@friendica.mrpetovan.com)'s status on Sunday, 09-May-2021 10:44:28 EDT
Hypolite Petovan
I do agree the situation is different. At least in the US, wealth is revered and people aren't directly killed for their beliefs that I know of. Also lynchings aren't so blatantly linked to a fascist government like yours sound like. In Hungary's case, you unfortunately seem to have less an organic mob than a militia with specific targets through government propaganda, though. -
Hypolite Petovan (hypolite@friendica.mrpetovan.com)'s status on Sunday, 09-May-2021 05:55:06 EDT
Hypolite Petovan
♲ @dgmacarthur@twitter.com: The FBI is going after the founder of Sci-Hub, for the appalling crime of making publicly funded research freely available.
https://twitter.com/ringo_ring/status/1390782451140767749 -
Hypolite Petovan (hypolite@friendica.mrpetovan.com)'s status on Sunday, 09-May-2021 05:50:30 EDT
Hypolite Petovan
♲ @theIMEU@twitter.com: Israeli forces are throwing stun grenades and shooting rubber bullets at Palestinians inside Al Aqsa mosque, effectively trapping them inside. Dozens are wounded, but medics are not being allowed through to treat the injured.
https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1390764462714630150/pu/vid/848x480/6UIjCTea5-csg0r3.mp4?tag=12 -
Hypolite Petovan (hypolite@friendica.mrpetovan.com)'s status on Sunday, 09-May-2021 05:50:30 EDT
Hypolite Petovan
♲ @Katabassist@twitter.com: This is one of my biggest problems with capitalism in the end. There's so much racism and cruelty baked into the system. It leads to all kinds of "trip over a dollar to rush to a dime" bullshit. Capitalism can't even do capitalism right, because hurting people is more important.
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Hypolite Petovan (hypolite@friendica.mrpetovan.com)'s status on Sunday, 09-May-2021 02:11:53 EDT
Hypolite Petovan
Murdering someone because they're black or foreign has nothing to do with murdering someone because they're rich. Being rich isn't "being different", nobody was born rich and you can give away your wealth while you can never give away the color of your skin or your birth country.
Being rich means having despotic power over an increasing number of people as your wealth grows. Challenging this undemocratic power, even to the point of threatening rich people with murder, has nothing to do with racism. Lynching isn't the correct word in this particular case. -
Hypolite Petovan (hypolite@friendica.mrpetovan.com)'s status on Sunday, 09-May-2021 02:04:57 EDT
Hypolite Petovan
Notice how I didn't mention social media should be a monopoly but a public good. While I do believe electric power production, water extraction, parcel distribution, telephone and Internet access should be public monopolies (again for most of them), social media should just be a public good.
Contrary to what you said there is little money in social media itself, all revenue Facebook and Twitter are getting comes from advertisement and mass surveillance, not from individuals paying for social media like we are paying for electricity, water, telephone or internet access.
With social media as a public good, a state could forbid proprietary social media protocols, provide their own instances for open federated ones and still allow individuals to run/make their own platform. -
Hypolite Petovan (hypolite@friendica.mrpetovan.com)'s status on Saturday, 08-May-2021 12:07:28 EDT
Hypolite Petovan
Large companies should be terminated to be replaced by nationalized companies. Services everyone are expected to use should be public goods and no one should extract a profit from it. This goes for telephone, internet but also social media.
And please be careful when you use "lynch" with a potential American audience, this term has an overwhelmingly racist connotation in the US. -
Hypolite Petovan (hypolite@friendica.mrpetovan.com)'s status on Saturday, 08-May-2021 09:20:05 EDT
Hypolite Petovan
♲ @zeynep@twitter.com: The WHO just updated its page on how COVID-19 transmits. Those few sentences on aerosols represent one of the most crucial scientific advances of the pandemic. My NYT piece on the century-long history of the error, the year of delay—and what it means now. nytimes.com/2021/05/07/opi… https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/07/opinion/coronavirus-airborne-transmission.html
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Hypolite Petovan (hypolite@friendica.mrpetovan.com)'s status on Saturday, 08-May-2021 07:48:26 EDT
Hypolite Petovan
You aren't helping, Isaac! Same thing in Europe, the obvious way out of the rise of fascism has been the deadliest World War to date. -
Hypolite Petovan (hypolite@friendica.mrpetovan.com)'s status on Friday, 07-May-2021 19:15:09 EDT
Hypolite Petovan
A while ago, I stumbled upon this awesome #LEGO MOC of a Thunderjaw from Horizon Zero Dawn created by @niksto96 . At the time, I didn't know anything about this video game but the design of this machine intrigued me enough that I spent 95 hours on it.
brickvault.toys/products/the-t… https://www.brickvault.toys/products/the-thunderjaw -
Hypolite Petovan (hypolite@friendica.mrpetovan.com)'s status on Friday, 07-May-2021 17:35:05 EDT
Hypolite Petovan
♲ @Snowden@twitter.com: Daniel Hale was charged under the Espionage Act for the "crime" of exposing the classified fact that nearly 90% of those the government kills via drone are innocents and bystanders. 90%.
Hale should be pardoned. Reality Winner should be pardoned. End the war on whistleblowers.
https://twitter.com/democracynow/status/1390599286711332867 -
Hypolite Petovan (hypolite@friendica.mrpetovan.com)'s status on Friday, 07-May-2021 17:25:06 EDT
Hypolite Petovan
♲ @zackbeauchamp@twitter.com: The internal incentives inside the GOP have trapped us in a one-way ratchet towards more anti-democratic behavior, with no obvious way out vox.com/22420764/liz-c… https://www.vox.com/22420764/liz-cheney-trump-republicans-democracy-2024
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