#CoSo, please accept this joy amidst all the acrimony.

Hey #CoSo we're in the end days of October and the little line tells me that we're less than half funded.

So I'll do this again.

#CoSo is free, but nothing is free really. Someone has to pay for compute, storage, network, etc... that these cloud systems rely on. Unfortunately that's @th3j35t3r.

Your data is not being monetized and you're not being force-fed content/ads that you don't want but have been profiled for.

If you can, join #CoSoPro. This place is crazy but has a lot of value.

Anywho, I love you #CoSo... none of us are perfect. I hope whomever you are you can find some level of peace, forgiveness and solace in your heart and life. I don't proclaim to be smart enough or confident enough to know what is right. But I have to believe in love and grace above all else.

As much as I love this place it's become terrible in the last few days with proxy social media wars between #Israel and #Palestine. I need to disconnect.

There is no justification for killing innocents. There is no justification for indiscriminate killing whether by gun, blade, bomb or any other means.

This cycle will continue on, and one, and on, and on... And innocent Israelis an Palestinians will die. The cycle of hate will continue.

Likely until the end of time.

It's all such a waste.

I just remembered I'm going to a bat mitzvah next weekend and how the world has changed for my #jewish friends. 😢

I find all sorts of newsletters and substacks that I'm interested in and subscribe.

~time passes~

Me: "Fsck, I have too many of these things to read... ~unsubscribe~."

The cycle goes on...

The #Republicans have nominated a guy who once described himself as "David Duke without all the baggage."

Brilliant move guys.

Firing your content moderation staff probably wasn't the smartest thing, eh #Elon?

This morning they interviewed an Israeli man on the radio. His direct family lives far from what would be considered the "front lines". But he was reading his family group chats with cousins and uncles/aunts living in a kibbutz near the border. They were trying to track down each other and saying goodbye when they thought it too late to get out.

It was heart-wrenching.

FFS, we need to stop letting the wealthy exert their influence to ruin everything.

While we're at it... #CoSo isn't free.

It's free, but really someone pays the bills.

Compute takes money. Network speed takes money. DR takes money. Storage takes money.

CoSo will never cost you a penny. But that doesn't mean it's free. If you can help, chip in and go #CoSoPro. Or rock a 1-time contribution.

If you're not paying for the product, you ARE the product. Because CoSo is paid for, you will never have an algorithm shoving content down your hatch or farming you for content.

This is going to happen in #Israel and #Palestine. Some child is going to remember that the "other" killed, kidnapped, etc... their mother/sister/brother/father/uncle/aunt/grandparent.

And we will do it all over again.

Sorry, I've been quiet about this for a number of days. But today I'm letting all the feelings and thoughts flow out.

@JV3MJD I mean... I'd love it... but in all fairness this seems like the sketchiest of sources.

@Render I'm sort of a #4 person... #3 seems a little like they didn't really read the room. #1 would sound good but my understanding is that the PA is sort of in name only. #5... betting against a relatively militarized Israel is about as good as getting into a land war in Asia. #2... maybe? I dunno.

@Render

4. Iran wants to throw a monkey wrench into Saudi/Israeli peace talks.
5. They were sort of stalled out on any movement. We had a right-wing nationalist surge in Israel in the last few years and they knew the fight was going to happen sooner or later.

@Render I've heard a few theories:
1. Shake things up, take more power from the Palestinian Authority.
2. Surprise military might would weaken the global view of Israel's military capability. Allow other countries critical of Israel to feel a little moew brazen.
3. Think that by taking hostages they could force release of some of their captured members.
...more

So I have thoughts, but I know enough to know I'm not as well schooled as others (though that doesn't discount my opinion).

Why did Hamas do this NOW?
(Pinging @Render specifically, though you have no obligation to drop knowledge bombs, you're just awfully convenient and have insight).

For sake of argument, I'm going to assume Iran played a heavy part in advising and arming Hamas because... DUH.

...more

I really like this #KickStarter and I'd hope you do too.

#Indie #Comics. #IndieComics

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/laszlothegargoyle/laszlo-the-gargoyle

Great piece on Bloomberg about Twitter/X

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-10-05/the-moral-case-for-no-longer-engaging-with-elon-musk-s-x