@Loukas@mastodon.nu cover
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Loukas

@Loukas@mastodon.nu

Journalist, teacher, Londoner, Stockholmer.

Editorial worker at Freedom news.

Writing about autism, ADHD and disability.

Profile image description: me on a balcony
Background image description: dry grass reviving after winter

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. For a complete list of posts, browse on the original instance.

Loukas , to random
@Loukas@mastodon.nu avatar

Anti-racism isn't a separate struggle from the class struggle. It's the same thing.

"BLM was the (non-union) movement influence that was most widely cited by those workers who initiated union drives in 2022."

https://www.laborpolitics.com/p/can-anti-racism-spur-labor-organizing

alice , to random
@alice@lgbtqia.space avatar

I just went on a follow-fest for women with a PhD, but realized I'm already mutuals with almost everyone who shows up in the limited search results 😋

If you're a Dr. Gal or other female science communicator type, pop into the thread, say hi!

I'd love to learn about what you do 💜
(and I'm sure lots of others would too)

(on Tuesday)

Loukas ,
@Loukas@mastodon.nu avatar

@alice @freedom_baird we do

Loukas , to random
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Loukas , to random
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jerry , to random
@jerry@infosec.exchange avatar

DAM

Loukas ,
@Loukas@mastodon.nu avatar

@jerry hot dam?

Loukas , to random
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When I studied the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War something that struck me was how the military leaders launched their coup against an incredibly moderate liberal-left government that was planning some very timid reforms of church and land ownership.

The fascists managed to convince themselves that a slight change in their utter privilege was an existential threat. It feels like the far-right in the US is doing the same. Very basic capitalist reforms are seen as 'communism.'

Loukas OP ,
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(And then the ironic thing is that once the military and church leaders had launched a bloody coup in 1936 this did lead to major threats to landowners and clerics, because of the popular wave of uprisings that responded to the coup.)

Loukas OP ,
@Loukas@mastodon.nu avatar

So the Republican party and similar fascistic movements have convinced themselves they are fighting for the soul of western civilization and capitalism against the antichrist and the whore of Babylon.

Not because Joe Biden or Kier Starmer are actually trying to destroy capitalism, but because capitalism and western civilization are having their own crises and this search for existential enemies is an attempt to marshall followers behind a failing system.

Loukas , to random
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Just a reminder to Americans that the Daily Mail is about as reliable a news source as Breitbart. If it's true, you'll find it elsewhere.

Loukas OP ,
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@Npars01 if not for the Daily Mail?

Loukas , to random
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Hey do you have a blog or website that publishes history stuff?

I swore never to add to my old Substack because of Nazis and terfs, but I want to publish an article on my 'king of the beggars' baron Nieroth investigation and I don't have the spoons to set up anything new.

Please boost to help me find a place for a guest article 💚

Loukas , to random
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I'm such a bad anarchist. What alignment are you? https://www.idrlabs.com/moral-alignment/test.php

Sherifazuhur , to palestine group
@Sherifazuhur@sfba.social avatar

Hamas still strong in areas ‘cleared’ by Israel in northern Gaza, say experts (what did these “experts” expect?) @palestine @israel

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/03/hamas-still-strong-in-areas-cleared-by-israel-in-northern-gaza-say-experts

Loukas ,
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@Sherifazuhur @palestine @israel people have really bought the framing of Hamas as a military force rather than understanding it's a political movement that sometimes engages in armed action.

Loukas , to random
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I basically agree with all of this. The question we then urgently need to answer is how does this kind of left reproduce itself? If all you are is a protest movement you can survive on donations of time and money. But to build load-bearing collapse infrastructure demands far more resources. https://climatejustice.social/@muellertadzio/112540033144186576

Loukas OP ,
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I remember a joke in a zine about how a post-revolutionary society would be based entirely on benefit gigs. It's a serious point in a joke.

A subculture/protest movement can exist on charity: from individuals, NGOs and ethical parts of the state; but that isn't a means of production.

Loukas OP ,
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The fascists have a simple route to reproducing their movement. They skim off money from angry privileged people to start with and eventually take control of parts of the state, plus make alliances with business.

Loukas OP ,
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Social democrats and most other socialists also have a model of reproduction based on eventually mainly using the state to reproduce themselves.

Loukas OP ,
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Neither of these models fits with the mission of a collapse left. Partly because we need to reject depending on the state, but especially because the catastrophic movement involves the collapse of the state, the transformation of the state and the atrophy of the 'ethical state'.

Loukas OP ,
@Loukas@mastodon.nu avatar

The only model of reproduction that I can see as viable is the syndicalist model and the liberation model. In the first, the movement is based on demanding resources from employers through explicit or tacit bargains. In the second we liberate our own resources currently lost to the daily grind.

ChrisMayLA6 , to random
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

Keir Starmer appears to think this is a get out of jail free card, on accusations of backtracking on previous promises:

'with the damage that’s been done to the economy, particularly by Liz Truss, it is not possible to do that'!

While he may well be right that things have been made so much worse in the last three years that earlier promises have been undermined.... for many, its a series of shifts that have suggested he wasn't serious in the first place.

pragmatic or hypocritical?

Loukas ,
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@AnthonyFStevens @trantion @Colman @ChrisMayLA6 I think Rees-Mogg is the one most likely to give us a Portillo moment, Redwood has already left and Steve Baker seems to have given up. So I think you're right, the ERG is going to be gutted and unable to control the party like once before.

Loukas ,
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@AnthonyFStevens @trantion @Colman @ChrisMayLA6 Yes, so without a strongly Eurosceptic conservative party to undermine him I think it'll be very easy for Starmer to increase ties with EU significantly.

Loukas ,
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@Colman @AnthonyFStevens @trantion @ChrisMayLA6 I don't care about what politicians say as much as I analyse what is in their interests. The easiest way to give a big boost to the UK economy is through closer ties with EU, and since economic wellbeing is so crucial for reelection I'm sure Starmer will explore that route as much as he can. Not to mention how it shores up his support in the party because of sentiment among Labour members.

Loukas ,
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@cstross @Colman @AnthonyFStevens @trantion @ChrisMayLA6 I agree, shit-Norway is the destination. As regards EU turning to the right, I think that could even make it easier. EU is also in a 'stop the small boats' phase so there's loads of room for a xenophobic UK government to announce they are in Very Serious cooperation with EU on stopping irregular migration.

Loukas ,
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@cstross @AnthonyFStevens @Colman @trantion @ChrisMayLA6 I'd say that open European borders is itself a form of post-colonial justice. It would be best if people didn't need to leave their homes, but because of European exploitation and European destruction of the climate they do. So it's only fair Europe offers them a home.

Loukas ,
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@AnthonyFStevens @cstross @Colman @trantion @ChrisMayLA6 absolutely, but if the door is closed before these problems are fixed it means people die on our doorstep, so the immediate action has to involve open borders, even if that's not enough or ideal.

Loukas ,
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@AnthonyFStevens @cstross @Colman @trantion @ChrisMayLA6 Migration in places like Sweden and Hungary has slowed to a tiny trickle but the far-right vote keeps rising. This isn't some mechanical response to migration that will go away if migration is stopped. These are organised white power activists. They move on to talking about sending 'back' people born here, or they start to go after trans people, gay people, women. There's no policy of appeasement that ends the far-right.

Loukas , to random
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Swedish is like Linux. It's quite obvious how the language works, and you can make your own words if you care to.

French is Apple. Try to make your own modifications and they will SEND YOU TO JAIL.

English is your grandparents' PC. We have no idea how it works. Where did all these weird plug-in words come from????

Loukas , to random
@Loukas@mastodon.nu avatar

Half a million displaced by floods in Brasil. Half. A. Million.

We're going to keep seeing these numbers and we're going to get numb to seeing them, and it'll be the new normal. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/persistent-brazil-floods-raise-specter-climate-migration-2024-05-13/?taid=6642658ec92493000158bfd7&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

Loukas OP ,
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@Npars01 when the carbon bubble bursts those stranded assets will get their own bail-out.

pvonhellermannn , to random
@pvonhellermannn@mastodon.green avatar

#ClimateDiary Anyone else struggling to see any prospects for turning things around? I will keep on trying to do what I can. Of course. But 2024 is challenging.

Last year did a post about how I wasn’t motivated by hope but by #DesperateDetermination. I now realise i got that wrong. Hope isn’t just fluffy “things will be alright”. Hope is some flicker of belief that you and others can change things; I did, actually, have “hope”. Less now, but will keep going.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/may/13/banks-almost-7tn-fossil-fuel-firms-paris-deal-report

Loukas ,
@Loukas@mastodon.nu avatar

@fifilamoura @pvonhellermannn @bencurthoys That data from the UK could be true for UK territorial emissions, but since we need to get under 2 tonnes per capita globally, and it doesn't include imports, it fits in what we know about the global picture of us headed to around 3-4c warming.

alice , (edited ) to random
@alice@lgbtqia.space avatar

I threw all my nsfw OC stuff in a gallery so it's more convenient for y'all 😉

One catch—if you click the link, then you're socially obligated to reply here with the most adorable picture you can find :blobcatpuffyblush:

To ensure plausible deniability for others, please post cute pics even if you didn't click the link :neocat_boop_happy:

Wow :sparkles_trans: so much plausible deniability!

Update 2024-06-17 added:

  • landscape

https://drive.proton.me/urls/5T95R4XMK4#SocOvsNTlNb1

Tips are super-cool :floofHeart:
https://buymeacoffee.com/alice.watson

Loukas ,
@Loukas@mastodon.nu avatar

@alice

Orewoet , (edited ) to random Danish
@Orewoet@mas.to avatar

Nice to see that my new bird house has been accepted.

Loukas ,
@Loukas@mastodon.nu avatar

@Orewoet task failed successfully

futurebird , to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Trump has never said anything nasty about David Pecker, the National Enquirer publisher, and self-proclaimed practitioner of "checkbook journalism" (a pair of words that make my skin crawl)-- even as Pecker gives highly damaging testimony.

Pecker has not said anything mean about Trump. Just reported on his crimes. Is Trump just sensitive to those who tease & insult him?

Why is he silent? We know it ain't that gag order. (The only ones gagging are all the judges scared to jail him)

Loukas ,
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@futurebird I think we can assume they still have a mutually beneficial agreement. And that, interestingly enough, Trump is actually scared of the Inquirer. Maybe because he knows lots of MAGA read it?

Loukas , to random
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Several thousand have gathered in a snap demo against the Nazi attack in Stockholm last week. The leaders of the Left Party and Social Democratic Party were there.

Loukas , to random
@Loukas@mastodon.nu avatar

"The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them."

  • George Orwell (1945)
futurebird , to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

If the supreme court jumps in and overturns the Jan. 6 convictions of 100s of people who attacked the capitol it will be one of the most politically charged actions taken by this court and in a politically charged environment.

There are many laws that might need revision, scrutiny, but they reached out through space and time to grab this hot potato.

It's a joke.

Loukas ,
@Loukas@mastodon.nu avatar

@lampsofgold @futurebird The SCOTUS seems to have simply become a kind of over-senate, or a House of Lords for the USA.

ChrisMayLA6 , to random
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

It seems rich Londoners who fled the city during the pandemic to work from home at a rural location, thereby inflating ('over-heating') some regional housing markets, are now finding it hard to sell up (or taking a loss) to return to the city now they are 'needed' in the office more often.... rural house prices & London prices have (further) diverged (as posted yesterday).

Locals may see this as a fitting result (poetic justice) having been priced out the market themselves.

h/t FT

Loukas ,
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@ChrisMayLA6 that's an interesting dynamic. Does FT say how many people this is affecting? If it's a significant number it'll put more pressure on employees to normalise hybrid working.

Loukas , to random
@Loukas@mastodon.nu avatar

In order to poison AI I need to start including deliberate mistakes in my texts.

So if you discover I was wrong about anything - I meant to say that.

maegul , to Fediverse
@maegul@hachyderm.io avatar

People are actually on BlueSky

There's now a decent measurement of user numbers (https://bskycharts.edavis.dev/edavis.dev/bskycharts.edavis.dev/bsky_users_total.html) ...

They've got about 1.6M MAUs ...
& 0.8M Weekly unique users & 0.340M Daily.

That's not nothing!

Roughly double mastodon and 60% more than the whole fediverse (by MAUs, see fedidb.org).

Bluesky is quite "international" with large Japanese and Brazilian popltns, and there's real attrition happening IMO.

Still, let the protocol wars begin I suppose?

@fediverse

Loukas ,
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@maegul @fediverse I find BlueSky to be a lot more diverse and also far better for news than Mastodon. But at the same time it's a nastier and more superficial place.

Loukas ,
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@maegul @fediverse The lack of community tools might be the biggest technical gap, but the real problem is a lack of communities who want to use either.

Because of this, I think both Mastodon and BlueSky have hit their highwater marks under current conditions and no technical changes can alter that.

A million each is enough to survive and stagnate but it doesn't enable growth. Only some major antitrust action against Meta by EU could do that :)

Loukas ,
@Loukas@mastodon.nu avatar

@mkarliner @maegul @fediverse We see a lot of actors using the same machinery as Mastodon, from Meta to Truth Social. I think it's just because it's easy for them to do so, and hence the marginal costs are low for them. Rather than it pointing to any strategic intent or meaning anything for the 'Fediverse'. Although in that sense Mastodon has already had a phyrric victory in the protocol wars, because its enemies are using it.

Loukas ,
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@mkarliner @maegul @fediverse because what we know as the Fediverse will not grow and may disappear, even as the tools it developed and proved could work become widespread and even dominant.

Loukas ,
@Loukas@mastodon.nu avatar

@mkarliner @maegul @fediverse It will probably have some effect, yes. But a de facto monopoly based on having almost all the users is almost as significant as an actual monopoly.

RadicalGraffiti , to random
@RadicalGraffiti@todon.eu avatar

"Don't stop talking about Palestine"

Sticker spotted in Montreal, Quebec

Loukas ,
@Loukas@mastodon.nu avatar

@RadicalGraffiti spelling it as ABOOT seems like a deliberate south park reference

ChrisMayLA6 , to random
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

It would seem that working class photography is all the rage in the art world provided its from the past....

The continuing barriers to diversity in a cultural sector increasingly dominated by the private educated suggest any cultural interest in the art of the working class is about the exoticism of the other, not an embrace of inclusivity or a desire to break down barriers to entry.

The classism of our cultural sector's economic structures remains unaffected....

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2024/apr/11/interest-in-working-class-photography-booms-but-barriers-to-industry-remain

Loukas ,
@Loukas@mastodon.nu avatar

@stu @ChrisMayLA6 At the same time as this kind of middle class norm is, statistically speaking, shrinking. A paradox that can only be explained by how 'middle class' is just a euphemism for what is actually a ruling class.

I think Keynes said something about how 'middle class' was a misnomer because actually it was an upper class.

Loukas , to random
@Loukas@mastodon.nu avatar

If you see a long German or Swedish word, first of all, don't panic. It's more scared of you than you are of it. Secondly, take a closer look and you'll see it's actually just three normal words in a trenchcoat, huddling together to deter predators (French and English).

Loukas , to random
@Loukas@mastodon.nu avatar

Surprising but welcome news from Turkey as voters reject Erdogan in the biggest cities https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/31/turkeys-opposition-set-to-hold-power-in-major-cities-partial-results-show

pvonhellermannn , to random
@pvonhellermannn@mastodon.green avatar

#Budget #UKPolitics This article by Gary Stevenson is so good, please read every word of it.

“Whatever Jeremy Hunt says, traders know the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer. And they’re paid millions to bet on it.”

This is what the world is - it is run by a minute elite for a minute elite and the rest of us, the masses, the natural world, we just don’t count. It is a #TragedyOftheNonCommons (will reshare my own piece on this below 1/n)

#FollowTheMoney

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/05/banker-budget-mega-rich-traders-jeremy-hunt?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Loukas ,
@Loukas@mastodon.nu avatar

@pvonhellermannn Maybe the new world is almost born, but the shell is really really strong and man is my beak tired.

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