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@yolanda7712.bsky.social
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1 replies 26 reposts 63 likes
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Greg the Contrarian@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social |
32 followers 92 following 150 posts
I aim for kindness, empathy, understanding. I sometimes succeed.
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@yolanda7712.bsky.social
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1 replies 26 reposts 63 likes
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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I'm pro Biden ... But... Did we see the same debate? This is joke?
1 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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Hmmm, I just came across this podcast about the appropriation of Holocaust terms by, most recently, the anti Israeli contingent.
pca.st/episode/e7f3...
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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Lol, my spouse is a PoliSci major, this is must watch television in our household!
0 replies 0 reposts 4 likes
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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Yep, that's a fair description of what they did.
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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No, you're right. They don't. But this doesn't let Israel and supporters (including me) of the hook for the same.
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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... Of the average Palestinian, arguing that they are all complicit. This was wrong IMO. Not that they weren't complicit, most were, and many danced in the streets after Oct 7th. But they are human beings. And Israel owes them dignity.
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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You would/could bring up the fact that Hamas is blocking and attacking aid convoys because they cynically use the flight of their own people as a weapon against Israel. And it's true. But that doesn't absolve Israel - from the very beginning of the war they paid minimal attention to the plight...
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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By the way, probably not mass starvation, but starvation is present there. And I do blame the Israeli government for that. That's entirely avoidable.
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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I should have put the word "fact" in quotes.
1 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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... of the ideological spectrum. I have relatives that fall into that camp. I don't wish them ill. I wish they weren't captured by their garbage ideology.
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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First, I do think what they did was antisemitic. But also, I would bet a large sum that none of them believe they are in the slightest bit antisemitic. They think they're fighting the good fight. They're wrong and deluded. But I can say the same thing about many people on the opposite end ...
1 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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Yes, I'm with you. I agree, there is no genocide. I was giving the Aegis folks the maximum possible leeway for their labeling to be honest, which they still didn't meet.
0 replies 0 reposts 3 likes
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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It would have been totally okay in my book if they said in the description of Aegis that they have a hard left slant. In any case, I wish the members of the team well - I am sure they meant well, and they certainly sunk much of their valuable time on this project.
2 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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I think Aegis shutting down is a good thing. My biggest beef with this particular project is the lack of transparency about the partisan slant of the moderation. For example, people were labeled for disagreeing that Israel is committing genocide, a fact that at the very least is in dispute.
4 replies 2 reposts 5 likes
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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Lol, unlike rain on my wedding day, I stand by this being an example of irony. 😂 I define irony as a cruel joke life played on you. How do you define it?
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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Ironically, the very article referenced in this tweet is itself behind a paywall. 😫
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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I'm comfortable with the outcome of this election. The guy denied Hamas committed rapes in a district with a big Jewish presence. However, it's eye opening to see the wailing and gnashing of teeth on there, and the lopsided nature of the response. Makes me sad.
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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I think Pelosi was operating in adversarial space, and a lot of things that she could have, should have done were not possible because of that. Most republicans, at least publicly, were all on board with the Trump train.
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Michael Tae Sweeney
@mtsw.bsky.social
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manufacturing lament
10 replies 65 reposts 439 likes
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Adam Gurri
@adamgurri.liberalcurrents.com
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Incredibly fucked up www.mediaite.com/news/columbi...
4 replies 37 reposts 152 likes
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BoulderSizedBoulder ✡️🇺🇦
@rocksizedrock.bsky.social
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"pro-Palestinians" have banned this Jewish book by a Jewish author so consider buying it to read, share and support.
It's a powerful testimony to the Jewish spirit of survival in the face of unrelenting antisemitism, hatred and evil.
Truly ironic they banned it.
www.amazon.com/But-Live-Sto...
1 replies 1 reposts 6 likes
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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A damning look at the left's immoral hypocrisy towards Zionist / Jews though the lens of the publishing world. (This is a gift article, no paywall for 30 days)
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Saeed Jones
@theferocity.bsky.social
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Increasingly convinced that private equity is the root of all (contemporary) evil.
31 replies 138 reposts 783 likes
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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Revolutions rarely end well for those who participate in them. If you're into podcasts, I highly recommend the Revolutions series by Mike Duncan.
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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🤷I am trying not to not be an asshole to folks here. At a different time, on a different platform I would probably act differently.
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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America, gotcha. Yes, I do fear for the country's direction. It's not in good place, I agree. I do live here though, so I have a vested interest in it for better or worse.
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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Which country are we talking about?
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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quod erat demonstrandum?
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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The ad hominem attacks are one thing I had to get used to around here, I really haven't encountered this level of enmity on other platforms. Reddit is a bit different. Each subreddit has its own set of group-thinkers and they downvote you if you aren't espousing their ideology.
2 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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Yes, I think the far left found a home here on Bluesky, and it's not pretty. I used to wonder how it's possible that sane people could support Trump and his warped ideology. I was sure that the left didn't have that problem. But some people here are just as terrible, in a different direction.
2 replies 2 reposts 11 likes
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AkivaMCohen
@akivamcohen.bsky.social
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Every. Single. Time. This happens literally every time. And every time, the same people buy the same faked data, which Hamas keeps faking because it works every time.
12 replies 29 reposts 93 likes
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BoulderSizedBoulder ✡️🇺🇦
@rocksizedrock.bsky.social
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Anyone who claims to support trans people but won't vote for Biden because of Gaza or whatever is a fake ally. An elitist, privileged, spoiled brat fake ally.
1 replies 1 reposts 4 likes
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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A small quibble. I think the far right wants these things for "white men", and the far left, being diametrically opposed wants these things for everyone else. They both exclude Jews though.
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J. P. Gownder (கவுண்டர்) ☮️🕊️🏳️🌈
@jgownder.bsky.social
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I'll happily oppose Joe Biden the day after he's sworn in (we can hope) in January 2025. But the thing is, I've studied fascism. Viktor Orban ruled Hungary as a non-fascist the first time. The second time, he ushered in fascism. This is the Republican model, and it's terrifying.
11 replies 94 reposts 317 likes
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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Genocide is a very heavy, loaded term. Why do you think what's happening in Gaza is a genocide, and not a regular ol' war? Or are you just sloganeering?
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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The thing I dislike about this platform is that I get these "Blocked" spots in message threads that make it hard to view a complete conversation. Not sure what to do about it, just venting I guess. 😁
2 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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... isn't doomsday by a longshot, we can certainly mitigate the suffering of millions, maybe billions. So I for one am thankful for the climate scientists agitating and explaining and cajoling. We need this to keep us honest and to work to do better!
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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... a difference. And having these models by people that know what they're doing are super important to understand what's going on and where we're heading and to hopefully push the conversation in the right direction and maybe eventually even move people into action. Because even though this ...
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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... first world country, and not destitute (and I assume by your BlueSky account that you're likely in that category), you're not really going to suffer a huge amount anyway, certainly no doomsday for you. But I think it's important to understand that we can make a difference here. Still can make...
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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... exiting, pick your point of view!), and millions of people are going to try to migrate away from places that may become actually unlivable (parts of India for example). What I'm saying is that all of this is possible, even likely, but is not doomsday, not by a long shot. If you're living in a...
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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... years) which would plunge England and much of Europe into a sub-arctic climate for that time. But you know what? Alaska's already there, there's no doomsday there. Yes, tons more hurricanes screwing many people living near the oceans are likely, and that's a bummer (or maybe a really ...
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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I don't think that even the worst scenarios that are being presented regarding global warming are doomsday scenarios at all. They are alarmist, and deservedly so. I mean a possible, maybe likely consequence of global warming is that the oceans stop their circulation for a while (maybe a few dozen...
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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... as I mentioned, this one "moderation layer" service isn't clearly labeled itself.
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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In general, I can agree that this approach is better than the one taken by Twitter - but only if we have multiple moderation / labeling services we can choose from, and only if those labeling services are correctly labeled themselves. At present there's just Aegis (which is biased) and ...
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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... labeling service, and people are free to subscribe (or not). But this itself is predicated on the labeling service being honest with people about what it is so that those people can make an informed decision, and I think in this case, Aegis is significantly lacking.
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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I agree with what you're saying, and I think that Rawl's Veil of Ignorance is the right way to approach moderation (and governance in general). However, that's not what we have here with BlueSky. BlueSky is a premised on a different proposition, namely that any particular group can offer a ...
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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Thus, for example, you can be labeled if you disagree that Israel is perpetuating a genocide, which as far as I can tell isn't remotely a settled conclusion.
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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... from, namely what I see as a hard-left viewpoint. These folks that subscribe to Aegis without this context thus would be fooled into thinking that the labels were much more impartial than they really are, and the people so labeled have every right to feel slandered without this context...
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Greg the Contrarian
@gregthecontrarian.bsky.social
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... categorizing folk as they see fit, although I strongly disagree with their methods and outcomes. I simply don't need to participate in this particular categorization scheme. My big problem is that others that do participate may not understand the slant with which these categories get applied...
1 replies 0 reposts 0 likes