Why or why not, are you Excited about Twitter being freed?


Emmanuel Goldstein
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2 hours ago, Just_A_Guy said:

I agree with the overall tenor, but remarks [jokes] like this

Nothing lands an attempt at comedy like it being taken too seriously, eh?

Fair enough point you're making, I suppose. But it's also kind of beyond the point. In point of fact, I have watched movies with gay characters in past times that didn't bother me that much. Why? Because they weren't making a woke political message of it. Disney is. It's the woke political messaging I am commenting on as much as anything. As to the morality of movies without the woke political messaging...sure...remove the political messaging and you still get broken morality. But at least you don't have the woke political messaging too, dang it! But there's another related point. If a company is famous for sugary treats and then starts replacing their treats with sugar-free versions and I complain about it, it doesn't exactly resonate with me for someone to try and invalidate my complaint by claiming the sugary treats weren't good for me anyhow. ;) 

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So my view on Elon has softened a wee bit once again. Sheesh, I'm all over the place on this.

In principle, I still maintain that he needs to let Alex Jones back on. But...where it was making me feel like he wasn't as committed to free speech as he previously claimed, I now see it as an anomaly. He's got a hang-up about Alex Jones because he's particularly sensitive about kids...well, about parents grieving for kids. I understand that.

That being said, allowing people to say things that are personally offensive to you is KEY to free speech. So there is an issue there. For things to be as the really ought to be, in my view, Elon has to put aside his personal distaste for what Alex said that is offensive to him. You can't let personal tastes dictate what others can and cannot say and still have free speech.

That aside, I am actually quite excited about what this can be. Alex is ambitious. I don't think he's going for just keeping Twitter as Twitter and having a basic level of success at Twitter. He's already stated he plans on adding long-form quality video (competing directly with Youtube but offering higher compensation). That's HUGE.

Right now Youtube can censor willy nilly because they have the revenue they want. But if Twitter starts legitimately stealing away Youtubers, and allows free speech without censorship for political views, it could devastate Youtube's revenue.

And Elon's talked about re-instating Vine -- pilfering from TikTok (which may or may not have legal issues in the future anyhow...we'll see).

And Elon co-founded Paypal. I don't see why he wouldn't add a payment sharing feature.

And then there's the Facebook model. And the Google model...all of which Elon could, in theory, incorporate into Twitter. And we get a one stop shop for these social media approaches but with free speech, where people flock, knowing they won't be censored (assuming he gets the Alex Jones problem in order), and advertisers will follow, you can bet. Plus the myriad of other ways he can monetize (like the Paypal model, etc).

I've moved squarely into the excited category.

If nothing but the long-form video occurs it's still exciting. I've become pretty disenchanted with Youtube. But Rumble and the like just don't have what they need to really compete yet. Twitter, potentially, has the potential to potentially not only compete, but potentially even overtake someday.....potentially.

Yeah...this is a bigger deal than I've even previously thought.

Edited by The Folk Prophet
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12 hours ago, Just_A_Guy said:

I agree with the overall tenor, but remarks like this make me wonder how far we’ve already gone.  What would Moses, or Nephi, or Brigham Young or Spencer Kimball think about a story of boozy potty-mouthed solders cockily practicing to kill others, where the hero is a serial fornicator who is caught in the act (yet again!) by the teenaged daughter of the object of his seduction?  Is a ten-second cameo of the two mothers of an animated hero really THAT much worse than what we’ve already acclimated ourselves to?  (I’m not saying this by way of excusing the rise of LGBTQ tolerance; I’m saying that a) we (myself included) probably haven’t locked our homes down nearly tightly enough; and b) we are already pretty well acclimated to what previously would have been considered a horrifying degree of sociological moral rot.)

Consider the original 1985 movie.

Maverick was living under the shadow of his father, an absolute professional who was thrown under the bus to cover up the fact that a legally dodgy mission had gone wrong. This pressure, combined with his not having a father in his life for most of his formative years, helped contribute to the irresponsible and aggressive behavior he displayed in the original. This is why he was given a reputation as being "dangerous" even compared to other fighter pilots who played as hard as they worked and why Goose was the only person willing to fly with him on a regular basis. 

This mix of aggression and irresponsibility collided with Iceman's aggression and irresponsibility to create the fatal accident that killed Goose. Yes, in real life the F-14 did have an issue where under certain circumstances the engines could potentially stall. This is what killed Lt. Kara Hultgreen, the Navy's first female combat aviator; she used a prohibited banking maneuver to try and correct after overshooting her aircraft carrier, causing her engines to stall and her plane (ironically, one of the two planes involved in the incident that inspired the first movie) to hit the ocean. 

Maverick wasn't the victim of his own irresponsibility. It was his best friend. And oh by the way, he's now slowly realizing that Cougar suffered because of him as well. The shock of everything finally hitting him has left him devastated to the point that he's on the edge of handing in his resignation. Sundown, Iceman, and most of the other pilots are content with this turn of events, seeing him as a liability. 

...Only for Wolfman, Charlie, and Jester to recognize the inherent good still left inside of Maverick and, in their own way, call him out for his actions while encouraging him to rise above. This, combined with him learning the truth about his father, turns him into an actual professional like his father was, to the point that he specifically requests Merlin to be his back-seater as an apology for what happened with Cougar. By the time he's done, even Iceman has begun to respect him again.

In short, the original movie is a redemption tale with a military setting. 

Yes, most people back then went nuts for the action scenes and the soundtrack, but there was something real at the core of it. This is why it's lasted where other movies of a similar nature started becoming forgotten (like the "Iron Eagle" franchise...). 

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54 minutes ago, Ironhold said:

Consider the original 1985 movie.

Maverick was living under the shadow of his father, an absolute professional who was thrown under the bus to cover up the fact that a legally dodgy mission had gone wrong. This pressure, combined with his not having a father in his life for most of his formative years, helped contribute to the irresponsible and aggressive behavior he displayed in the original. This is why he was given a reputation as being "dangerous" even compared to other fighter pilots who played as hard as they worked and why Goose was the only person willing to fly with him on a regular basis. 

This mix of aggression and irresponsibility collided with Iceman's aggression and irresponsibility to create the fatal accident that killed Goose. Yes, in real life the F-14 did have an issue where under certain circumstances the engines could potentially stall. This is what killed Lt. Kara Hultgreen, the Navy's first female combat aviator; she used a prohibited banking maneuver to try and correct after overshooting her aircraft carrier, causing her engines to stall and her plane (ironically, one of the two planes involved in the incident that inspired the first movie) to hit the ocean. 

Maverick wasn't the victim of his own irresponsibility. It was his best friend. And oh by the way, he's now slowly realizing that Cougar suffered because of him as well. The shock of everything finally hitting him has left him devastated to the point that he's on the edge of handing in his resignation. Sundown, Iceman, and most of the other pilots are content with this turn of events, seeing him as a liability. 

...Only for Wolfman, Charlie, and Jester to recognize the inherent good still left inside of Maverick and, in their own way, call him out for his actions while encouraging him to rise above. This, combined with him learning the truth about his father, turns him into an actual professional like his father was, to the point that he specifically requests Merlin to be his back-seater as an apology for what happened with Cougar. By the time he's done, even Iceman has begun to respect him again.

In short, the original movie is a redemption tale with a military setting. 

Yes, most people back then went nuts for the action scenes and the soundtrack, but there was something real at the core of it. This is why it's lasted where other movies of a similar nature started becoming forgotten (like the "Iron Eagle" franchise...). 

This read of Top Gun '85 is, in my opinion, quite a stretch. Yes, it was a redemption tale. That's plain. But something "real" at the core of it?

Here's my take, FWIW. A cocky kid gets his cockiness deflated but then learns to be cocky again.

In my view, Top Gun '85 isn't a great movie. It has some cool flying stuff and some good music. But it's not a good movie, not a good message, and decidedly immoral.

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Follow-up to a video I posted earlier and a continuation of the discussion about Disney:

 

 

 

Kamran Pasha is a Hollywood insider - turned - whistleblower, and has proven fairly reliable like the rest of the Midnight's Edge crew.

Based on both his knowledge of the industry and information he has received from contacts within Disney, he suspects that the current Bob was a patsy. 

In short, he believes that Disney got itself involved in cryptocurrency, got hammered when FTX (that cryptocurrency group) collapsed, and is now in such a bad way that the company as a whole could easily be in danger. Thus, the chief financial officer and the board conspired to oust current Bob for some nebulous reason, bring previous Bob back, and prepare the company for sale to or merger with a financially stronger company - like Apple - to cover the losses and fix the books. 

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On 11/21/2022 at 11:12 PM, mrykalov said:

Why or why not, are you Excited about Twitter being freed by Elon Musk?

I am not. He is a liar and a fraud. He reminds me of Bill Gates in how slimy he is.

 

Cant say I really care for him either. But no matter what twitter is or becomes, it doesn't much affect me anyway.

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On 11/27/2022 at 6:55 AM, Ironhold said:

Follow-up to a video I posted earlier and a continuation of the discussion about Disney:

 

 

 

Kamran Pasha is a Hollywood insider - turned - whistleblower, and has proven fairly reliable like the rest of the Midnight's Edge crew.

Based on both his knowledge of the industry and information he has received from contacts within Disney, he suspects that the current Bob was a patsy. 

In short, he believes that Disney got itself involved in cryptocurrency, got hammered when FTX (that cryptocurrency group) collapsed, and is now in such a bad way that the company as a whole could easily be in danger. Thus, the chief financial officer and the board conspired to oust current Bob for some nebulous reason, bring previous Bob back, and prepare the company for sale to or merger with a financially stronger company - like Apple - to cover the losses and fix the books. 

I hadn't heard about the crypto stuff, but have also heard about an Apple merger.

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1 hour ago, scottyg said:

I hadn't heard about the crypto stuff, but have also heard about an Apple merger.

Take the crypto stuff with a healthy dose of skepticism. I’m not saying it’s not true-but I’m from Missouri until they…well, show me more proof. 
 

There are more lies out there about Disney than I’ve ever seen. People will believe anything if it fits their preconceived biases. I admit mine. Pro Disney, skeptical of the Disney haters. 

 

We’re now being told “insider information” about companies by people who two weeks ago wouldn’t be able to tell us where Disney’s corporate headquarters is located without Googling it. 

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2 hours ago, Moorco said:
On 11/21/2022 at 9:12 PM, mrykalov said:

Why or why not, are you Excited about Twitter being freed by Elon Musk?

I am not. He is a liar and a fraud. He reminds me of Bill Gates in how slimy he is.

Cant say I really care for him either. But no matter what twitter is or becomes, it doesn't much affect me anyway.

I am more or less an Elon Musk fanboy. For the most part, he acts the way a principled rich man who values personal liberties ought to act. Not that I always agree with his principles, because very clearly I do not, but he shows more personal integrity than most hyperrich people.

Plus, SpaceX and Tesla are astounding achievements, a fact that no honest person can dispute.

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16 minutes ago, mirkwood said:

alyssam.jpg

It's an amusing pwn (as the kids call it...or...do they? Is "pwn" still a thing? I don't know.), but it's not very logically sound. It's not like buying a VW is actually putting money into the hands of Hitler and the Nazis. If you believe Elon is such, then buying a Tesla would be. So....

I know. Nothing to help the joke along by criticizing its logical merit. But good golly it's been bugging me all day that none of the commentary I've seen on the matter points this out. :D So I figured I'd ruin the joke here. Sorry.

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4 hours ago, LDSGator said:

Take the crypto stuff with a healthy dose of skepticism. I’m not saying it’s not true-but I’m from Missouri until they…well, show me more proof. 
 

There are more lies out there about Disney than I’ve ever seen. People will believe anything if it fits their preconceived biases. I admit mine. Pro Disney, skeptical of the Disney haters. 

 

We’re now being told “insider information” about companies by people who two weeks ago wouldn’t be able to tell us where Disney’s corporate headquarters is located without Googling it. 

The people with Midnight's Edge are (in)famous for the fact that they generally have their receipts in order when they go to make a statement. If they say there's smoke, get a bucket of water ready just in case. 

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2 hours ago, The Folk Prophet said:

It's an amusing pwn (as the kids call it...or...do they? Is "pwn" still a thing? I don't know.), but it's not very logically sound. It's not like buying a VW is actually putting money into the hands of Hitler and the Nazis. If you believe Elon is such, then buying a Tesla would be. So....

I know. Nothing to help the joke along by criticizing its logical merit. But good golly it's been bugging me all day that none of the commentary I've seen on the matter points this out. :D So I figured I'd ruin the joke here. Sorry.

Killjoy.  :bananallama:

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3 hours ago, The Folk Prophet said:

It's an amusing pwn (as the kids call it...or...do they? Is "pwn" still a thing? I don't know.), but it's not very logically sound. It's not like buying a VW is actually putting money into the hands of Hitler and the Nazis. If you believe Elon is such, then buying a Tesla would be. So....

I know. Nothing to help the joke along by criticizing its logical merit. But good golly it's been bugging me all day that none of the commentary I've seen on the matter points this out. :D So I figured I'd ruin the joke here. Sorry.

I was actually thinking the same thing.  But my position was... "What's the point." (Notice, no question mark.)

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I think Tesla's stock is going down over concerns about how much Musk's cross over with Tesla stock being leveraged in regards to his buying Twitter.

A man that spends that much time on Twitter shows that he may not actually be acting in the capacity of a CEO all that much.  For someone who claims they work hard he certainly seems to work less than I do and have more time to do things like "twitter" than I have.

I have been wrong many times before but I think twitter may hit some severe financial difficulties in the next year or two from the way I hear they are heading.

There are some of my students who said that he is trying to pick a fight with Apple recently (that can't be right...that seems...not wise considering how much of the US population owns an Iphone right now...) to try to bully them into paying to advertise with him again (he's lost a lot of the advertisers from what I hear).

The sounds of it make it seem Twitter may not have a bright future.  I could be wrong (and am open to admit I am wrong many times), but I am going to hazard a guess that things may not be that rosy for Twitter's future. 

If Tesla stock really is mixed into his leverage for the buyout of Twitter, Tesla may have some ramifications from that as well.  We will see where everything stands in two or three years for Twitter and Tesla...it may be that they are on their way out at that point or at least in precarious positions financially. 

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1 hour ago, JohnsonJones said:

There are some of my students who said that he is trying to pick a fight with Apple recently (that can't be right...that seems...not wise considering how much of the US population owns an Iphone right now...) to try to bully them into paying to advertise with him again (he's lost a lot of the advertisers from what I hear).

It's true. He's been publicly complaining about 1) Apple withdrawing advertising from Twitter, going so far as accusing them of being against free speech (someone desperately needs a US civics class).

Screenshot_20221129_083800.thumb.jpg.e0ea431fe5d8cde678c61c0d78288385.jpg

2) Apple charging a 30% fee on app store revenue, to which many critics have flipped the "shut up and pay" line he used on AOC against him.

Screenshot_20221129_083841.thumb.jpg.5473c10021ec26cd5a3a92b5edad2880.jpg

3) Supposedly, Apple has threatened to pull Twitter from their app store. To my knowledge, this hasn't been substantiated by Apple or anyone else other than Musk and his army of syncophants.

Screenshot_20221129_083826.thumb.jpg.2bf3d89a02750bb059ca09b1e83fbdec.jpg

Some conservative personalities have suggested that Musk should make his own smartphone to stick it to Apple, and he's responded with suggestions that he may do so if Apple does indeed pull Twitter from the Apple store (again, a development that hasn't been credibly verified that I'm aware of).

Additionally, conservatives (and liberals to a lesser extent) are upset with Apple over their cooperation with the Chinese government to suppress the current unrest there, which threatens to significantly disrupt Apple's iPhone production numbers right before Christmas.

1 hour ago, JohnsonJones said:

If Tesla stock really is mixed into his leverage for the buyout of Twitter, Tesla may have some ramifications from that as well.  We will see where everything stands in two or three years for Twitter and Tesla...it may be that they are on their way out at that point or at least in precarious positions financially. 

Between Musk making himself one of the most polarizing figures in the US and other car manufacturers investing in EV production, I think Tesla may be in trouble.

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1 hour ago, JohnsonJones said:

If Tesla stock really is mixed into his leverage for the buyout of Twitter, Tesla may have some ramifications from that as well.  We will see where everything stands in two or three years for Twitter and Tesla...it may be that they are on their way out at that point or at least in precarious positions financially. 

One potential unforeseen benefit for Tesla in all of this is people like myself who, heretofore, would never be caught dead buying a pretension lefty-loved vehicle like a Tesla. But now...I dunno. I think I might enjoy getting one now just to stick it to all the Alissa Milanos out there.

I'm joking somewhat, of course. I don't think there are that many people like me out there.

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8 minutes ago, The Folk Prophet said:

One potential unforeseen benefit for Tesla in all of this is people like myself who, heretofore, would never be caught dead buying a pretension lefty-loved vehicle like a Tesla. But now...I dunno. I think I might enjoy getting one now just to stick it to all the Alissa Milanos out there.

I'm joking somewhat, of course. I don't think there are that many people like me out there.

I recently got an Uber ride in a Tesla and, my personal feelings about their CEO aside, I was not impressed. Ingress/egress in particular was... odd. I'm not sure if this is true for all models, but in the model I was in the windows had to be slightly rolled down in order for the doors to open. They roll down automatically when you push a button to open the door, but it still struck me as an unnecessarily unusual design flaw. 

I never learned the details of how this happens, but apparently it's possible to lock yourself out of a Tesla while the key is in your hand. I only know this because Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey tweeted about it happening to him a few months ago, and there were numerous comments from people claiming that they'd experienced the same, but not expanding on how.

Edited by Godless
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