Phil Landmeier @shuttersparks@qoto.org

America’s legal system today

I want to practice law:
—You need a 4 year Bachelors, take the LSAT, then a 3 year JD, then pass the BAR, buy malpractice insurance, & total cost is ~$300K

I want to enforce the law:
—Here’s paid 13-week training & a gun

I want to write the law:
—No qualifications needed and a billionaire can buy you a seat

#California #Snow (via from Michael Steinberg, who really needs to put an account here). #CAwx #Sierra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnXIyq4Bx4U

My own view is that more extensive use of remote work makes more sense than ever. Google operated quite effectively for a prolonged period during COVID with the vast majority of workers remote. // Amid cutbacks, desk sharing at Google Cloud, and office downsizing - https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/22/google-asks-some-employees-to-share-desks-amid-office-downsizing.html

Nunca lo habría imaginado...
I never would have imagined it!

Russian propaganda bots are active on the Fediverse. Here’s an example of one, along with the tells:

1. Generic profile picture and name
2. Incomplete or brief bio
3. 90% of posts are re-hashes of Russian propaganda

This post itself was a reply about Russian propaganda bots buying Twitter Blue.

I reported this account to newsie.social.

Please do the same when you see these.

Elon Musk is letting Russian propagandists buy blue checks on Twitter, giving prominence to their disinformation. // Musk even replied to one, giving it even more of a boost. We know whose side Musk is on! - https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/22/2154365/-Twitter-s-sale-of-blue-checks-is-enabling-spread-of-Kremlin-aligned-disinformation

Significant snow in the L.A. area mountains is not uncommon. Blizzard warnings don't happen. Until now.

Arizona’s former AG failed to report evidence disproving claims of election fraud in the state, instead he released a letter in April 2022 alleging “serious vulnerabilities” in the state's voting systems. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/mark-brnovich-hid-findings-debunking-election-fraud-claims-arizona-1234684606/

Things guys have said to me recently on first dates part 1:

"We lost a lot when women went to work and got out of the kitchen."

Umm. Nothing is stopping you from staying home and taking care of the cooking, cleaning, etc.

As @JosephMenn reports, Russian propagandists are eager buyers of Twitter Blue.

This is because Twitter Blue privileges their posts in Twitter's relevancy algorithm, ensuring their propaganda achieves more reach.

It also gives them a fancy blue badge.

Russian propagandists aren't the only bad hombres buying Twitter Blue. A few months ago, I discovered that the Taliban are also paying for the service.

Twitter Blue: loved by Putin and the Taliban!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/02/22/russian-propagandists-said-buy-twitter-blue-check-verifications/

@uanews

When will the real estate holdings of Russians go on sale?

https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fincen-alert-potential-us-commercial-real-estate-investments-sanctioned-russian

OPEC nations continue to support Russia.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/07/rich-russians-fleeing-sanctions-are-pumping-up-dubais-property-sector.html

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/russia-sells-weapons-abu-dhabi-arms-fair-amid-97329053

Russia is laundering its money through real estate with the cooperation of the financial services industry, especially tax havens in Cyprus, Jersey, Cayman, & Malta.

https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/combating-offshore-tax-evasion-would-help-save-ukraine-and-liberal-democracy-by-yuriy-gorodnichenko-and-ilona-sologoub-2023-02

https://cina.gmu.edu/russian-money-flows-through-u-s-real-estate/

https://fortune.com/2022/03/04/wealthy-russians-selling-american-real-estate-amid-ukraine-crisis/

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-warns-banks-to-watch-for-russian-oligarchs-investing-in-commercial-real-estate-11674686651

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/russian-intelligence-agent-charged-fraud-and-money-laundering-connection-purchase-and

So is someone going to sue Kevin McCarthy and Fox News for this deal to hand over all the Capitol security footage from Jan. 6 to (checks notes) Tucker Carlson exclusively? How is that even remotely legal? @aclu

Did Tucker Carlson or Fox News execs promise Kevin McCarthy anything of value for granting exclusive access to Jan 6 footage? If they did that is a FELONY: 18 U.S. Code Section 201 - "Bribery of public officials and witnesses." Same goes if McCarthy asked for anything of value in return for granting access. There must be a criminal investigation!

Does anyone on here work on the Twitter API or know someone? Because it looks like with recent Twitter API changes, @ProPublica can't track deleted tweets from politicians anymore w/ Politwoops (projects.propublica.org/politwoops/).

The API we used for years has been deprecated, and the v2 API simply...does not seem to report deletions correctly. The new method to ingest tweets also seems very limited. And I'm not sure we actually understand what the paid model would be!

The Mormon Church is being fined 5 million because it hid a 32 billion dollar investment fund. This was not accidental. The SEC proved that both the investment firm and church went to great lengths to knowingly hide these assets. For the folks playing along at home, that’s a fine of 0.016% on the investment. Imagine lying on your taxes and you hid an extra $100K offshore and the IRS said “No sweat, pay us $15.63.” If there are no other repercussions, that’s not a fine, that’s encouragement.

White House Slams Marjorie Taylor Greene’s ‘Sick’ Call for ‘National Divorce’ https://www.thedailybeast.com/white-house-slams-marjorie-taylor-greenes-sick-call-for-national-divorce?via=ios

Rick Astley must find Lent very difficult.