Notices by Randahl Fink (randahl@mastodon.social)

This just went down:

1. US has spent 114.2 billion on aid to Ukraine — far less than European countries.

2. Trump pulls the imaginary number 500 billion out of a hat, and demands Ukraine pay this sum back to the US by letting the US take control of mines in Ukraine.

3. Zelenskyy says no. Because unlike Trump, Zelenskyy is not an idiot.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/zelenskiy-us-minerals-deal-says-i-cant-sell-ukraine-2025-02-19/

It appears, UK Prime Minister Starmer still has not understood, the US is out of the alliance. Starmer:

"The UK will work to ensure we keep the US and Europe together. We cannot allow any divisions in the alliance to distract from the external enemies we face."

In my view, the solution is not to fantasize that Trump could be Biden. The solution is to realize that the US that was is gone, and Europe must now carry the torch of freedom on its own.

Source:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/15/europe-will-not-take-part-in-us-russia-talks-ukraine-kellogg

"It is time for every American patriot to stand up"

Wow! Attorney General Kris Mayes has the floor:

https://youtu.be/jrE0DOEcbRE?si=jXRQiIstm862IHmD

MAGA farmers voting for Trump, only to have USAID shut down, thereby ending the $2.1 billion in food purchases from… American farmers.

#TrumpChaos

In the eternal quest for increased revenue, YouTube is introducing a feature where rich people can like videos more than poor people, and I am about to throw up.

It is called the hype button, and it is similar to the like button. But where likes are democratic, hypes are for pay, allowing rich kids to add as many hypes to videos as they can afford.

This is Elon’s enshittification of Twitter all over again.

Please criticize this feature and hit 👎 while it is free:

https://youtu.be/4OssXl1Qr3I

On the Danish island of Bornholm, farmer Knud Andersen have cancelled his agreement to host American cruise ship tourists on his farm, which he has been doing 15 times every year.

In a post on Facebook Mr Andersen explains that American tourists are no longer welcome, because Donald Trump's statements about Denmark are "completely unacceptable" and "we will not open our doors to that kind of an attitude."

https://www.tv2bornholm.dk/artikel/knud-andersen-siger-nej-til-amerikanske-turister

Trump wants to complete the ethnic cleansing in Gaza:

“I’d like Egypt to take people. I’d like Jordan to take people. We just clean out that whole thing.”

This was said on Air Force One by President Trump to reporters according to chief national correspondent Steve Herman of Voice of America.

You read that right — the US presidency is now arguing for crimes against humanity.

Mark Zuckerberg is turning Threads into a copy of Musk's X, by removing content restrictions, firing moderation teams and preventing what he now calls "censoring".

At the same time he is already anticipating legal action from the EU, and wants to solve this by "[Working] with President Trump to push back against foreign governments".

Mastodon is the last inclusive platform standing.

In my backyard I have a koi pond. Apart from being a fun pastime, it is also an interesting microcosm of the climate change on planet Earth.

I built it in 1999, and for many years I stopped the pumped water circulation in mid October to avoid pipe damage from the frost. But year by year, I have delayed turning off the pump, as it has gotten warmer and warmer.

This year, my pump is still running, and the fish are swimming around like its spring. They clearly enjoy it, but I am deeply worried.

@aral Thank you. Added.

I love how all the politicians are now celebrating Jimmy Carter.

They should read his book.

Canadian troops have died to honour article 5 for the US, and now Trump threatens an unprecedented 25 percent import tax, that would cripple the Canadian economy.

Trump sees nothing but personal gain, no matter how much he destroys. The democratic world must unite in an all for one, one for all strategy against Trump. If he is allowed to bully one country at a time, he will win. If we unite, he will lose.

Wake up EU, UK, Norway, Australia, Japan. It is time to put a leash on the mad dog.

Does your country have a fireworks problem?

In Denmark, it used to sound like a war zone from fireworks exploding constantly throughout December. But we finally made a law, that you can only use your fireworks from December 31 to January 1, and I am so relieved — and owners of dogs, horses, etc. are grateful.

Elon Musk just confessed to tampering with the X content algorithm so people will not read the news, effectively creating a platform where unsourced claims get prioritized, and statements with links to documentation gets pushed aside.

X really is the platform of dumb.

@aral Rudy Giuliani next?

The first clown leaves the bus:

Matt Gaetz withdraws and will therefore not become attorney general in Trump's government, in what will likely be the first of an endlessly long list of defeats for Trump.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/11/21/politics/matt-gaetz-withdrawing-attorney-general/index.html

While Trump's trials are evaporating like dew in the morning sun, a billionaire from Trump's inner circle now promises “The hammer of justice” against those who tried to hold Trump accountable.

It reminds me of this famous quote from the Peruvian dictator Óscar R. Benavides:

"For my friends everything. For my enemies the law.”

I tested Threads. In my experience, this is how Threads compares to Mastodon:

— The algorithm decides if your content is visible to others. Some content gets zero exposure for reasons which are not transparent.

— Sharing links to other platforms makes the algorithm suppress your content's visibility.

— Slower to use.

— Only one app allowed, and it does not support iPads and other tablets.

— Ads are coming in early 2025.

— You cannot run your own server.

— Your data is mined by Zuckerberg.

@aral I am open to alternative suggestions.

@aral subscribe on YouTube for the next update. 😀