Worth Knowing, Probably Not Quite Threadworthy, 09/25

[SVPete]

Choppy Seas: Greta Thunberg’s Flotilla Mutinies After ‘Queer Activist’ Joins Cause

https://freebeacon.com/israel/choppy-seas-greta-thunbergs-flotilla-mutinies-after-queer-activist-joins-cause/

A single "queer activist" has thrown Greta Thunberg’s Gaza-bound flotilla into disarray, with several participants blasting the group’s leaders and at least one coordinator ditching it entirely.

The beleaguered Global Sumud Flotilla aims to bypass Israel’s blockade to deliver aid to Gaza. But when self-described "queer activist" Saif Ayadi joined the effort, Khaled Boujemâa, a Tunisian coordinator for the flotilla, resigned in anger.

"We were lied to about the identity of some of the participants at the forefront of the flotilla," he said in a Sept. 14 video posted to Facebook, the French outlet Le Courrier de l'Atlas reported, according to a translation by Google Translate. "I accuse the organizers of hiding this aspect from us."

I wonder how that gay activist would have been "welcomed" by Hamas.

[SVPete]

Google Admits To Choking Conservative Speech, Offers Zero Compensation For Damages

https://thefederalist.com/2025/09/24/google-admits-to-choking-conservative-speech-offers-zero-compensation-for-damages/

Following an investigation and subpoenas from the House Judiciary Committee, Alphabet — the parent company of Google and YouTube — admitted to censoring conservative voices and claimed Biden administration officials pressured it to silence expression online. However, the company offered no compensation for the damages inevitably wrought on the voices they suppressed.

In a statement of facts letter from company counsel Daniel F. Donovan to Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Alphabet and YouTube (collectively “the company”) committed to reinstating users whose accounts were terminated from YouTube for supposedly violating “COVID-19 and election integrity policies that are no longer in effect.” The company also claimed YouTube, which is owned by Google, “values conservative voices,” despite its deeply stained record of censoring, suspending, “contextualizing,” and kicking such conservative voices off the platform.

The letter did not offer any plans for compensation for individuals who were deplatformed or demonetized under YouTube’s former content policies.

Being a courageous corporation in the face of, "Nice business you got there," is not done casually, but Google had and failed to use a platform that could be used in a very public exposure of LIEden minions' intimidation efforts.

BREAKING: Google admits Biden admin pressured them to censor YouTubers, will reinstate banned accounts

https://thepostmillennial.com/breaking-google-admits-biden-admin-pressured-them-to-censor-youtubers-will-reinstate-banned-accounts

Google admitted that the Biden administration pressured the company to censor content on its platforms and has committed that they will reinstate accounts that were terminated from the platform.

In a letter to Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Jim Jordan, Google's parent company Alphabet stated, "Senior Biden Administration officials, including White House officials, conducted repeated and sustained outreach to Alphabet and pressed the Company regarding certain user-generated content related to the COVID-19 pandemic that did not violate its policies. While the Company continued to develop and enforce its policies independently, Biden Administration officials continued to press the Company to remove non-violative user-generated content."

"As online platforms, including Alphabet, grappled with these decisions, the Administration's officials, including President Biden, created a political atmosphere that sought to influence the actions of platforms based on their concerns regarding misinformation," Google added. "It is unacceptable and wrong when any government, including the Biden Administration, attempts to dictate how the Company moderates content, and the Company has consistently fought against those efforts on First Amendment grounds."

After years of suppression, I think those suppressed deserve more than a government-pressured, "We'll let you back, now."

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

Trump to Schumer: Keep crying and I'll give you something to cry about

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/24/white-house-firings-shutdown-00579909

The White House budget office is instructing federal agencies to prepare reduction-in-force plans for mass firings during a possible government shutdown, specifically targeting employees who work for programs that are not legally required to continue.
The Office of Management and Budget move to permanently reduce the government workforce if there is a shutdown, outlined in a memo shared with POLITICO ahead of release to agencies tonight, escalates the stakes of a potential shutdown next week.

In the memo, OMB told agencies to identify programs, projects and activities where discretionary funding will lapse on Oct. 1 and no alternative funding source is available. For those areas, OMB directed agencies to begin drafting RIF [Reduction In Force] plans that would go beyond standard furloughs, permanently eliminating jobs in programs not consistent with President Donald Trump's priorities in the event of a shutdown.

The move marks a significant break from how shutdowns have been handled in recent decades, when most furloughs were temporary and employees were brought back once Congress voted to reopen government and funding was restored. This time, OMB Director Russ Vought is using the threat of permanent job cuts as leverage, upping the ante in the standoff with Democrats in Congress over government spending.