Topic: Blacklists

The hosts continue thanking donors and address a report that the No Agenda show notes website is being blocked by SonicWall security appliances as "hateful or racist." They encourage listeners to contest these blacklistings. The segment concludes with a summary of the "value-for-value" funding model.

Nearly 600 publishing professionals signed a letter of intent to block book deals for anyone associated with the Trump administration. This "Chinese communist" style of shaming is contrasted with a growing movement in France, where intellectuals and politicians are warning that American "cancel culture" and "leftism" are threatening French national identity.

Forbes Media, owned by the Hong Kong-based HNA Group since 2017, published an editorial warning companies against hiring former Trump administration PR officials. While Steve Forbes issued a clarifying statement, the incident has sparked concerns about the creation of political blacklists in the corporate world.

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian resigned from the company's board, requesting that his seat be filled by a black candidate and pledging his future stock gains to social justice causes. Simultaneously, the tech industry is moving to replace terms like "blacklist" and "whitelist" with "blocklist" and "allowlist" to avoid racial connotations. Celebrities like Billie Eilish have also commented on white privilege within the music industry.

Clarifications are provided regarding the reported banning of uBlock Origin from the Chrome store, noting it was only a beta build rejection. Additionally, the Safari "fraudulent website warning" issue is discussed; while URLs are sent to Tencent in China, Google's Safe Browsing list is used elsewhere. The hosts express frustration over being included on subjective website blacklists that are difficult to appeal.

A story from a "closeted conservative" director in Los Angeles suggests that straight white males are being told by agents that they will struggle to find work. The agent reportedly suggested the director "come out as trans or gender non-binary" to become eligible for more jobs. This anecdote is linked to the cultural conversation surrounding the "Joker" film and its portrayal of the neglected common person.

Internal Google documents reveal the use of "twiddlers," which are C++ snippets used to manually re-rank search results and down-rank specific URLs or news sources. The documents also discuss "Machine Learning Fairness," using examples like left-handed mugs to justify altering search results to meet diversity quotas. Evidence suggests Google maintains blacklists for sensitive topics like the Las Vegas shooting and applies negative weights to conservative outlets like Breitbart and Infowars.

China is expanding its "Social Credit System," which monitors and ranks citizens based on financial reliability and social behavior. Individuals on the "discredited" blacklist can be banned from high-speed travel, private schools, and luxury purchases. Some local jurisdictions have even implemented public shaming measures, such as unique ringtones that identify a caller as a debtor to anyone nearby.

The hosts discuss the "Shitty Media Men" list, an anonymous Google spreadsheet circulating in media circles that contains allegations against various men in the industry. They compare the use of such secret lists to Soviet-era tactics and express concern over the lack of due process. The discussion touches on the inherent dangers of blacklisting and the "list era" of modern culture.

The hosts sign off with their traditional "In the Morning" greeting and a discussion about rainsticks. Adam Curry shares a brief anecdote about a trip to Hollywood, visiting Paramount Studios and meeting with producers from "The Blacklist" and E! News host Cat Sadler.

A visit to Paramount Studios included a meeting with Luke Reiter, a producer for "The Blacklist," and the show's creators. Observations of the studio lot noted that the executive dining room and commissary are surprisingly similar to Silicon Valley corporate cafeterias. The host also discovered that the guest Wi-Fi password at Paramount was "downsizing," a reference to a then-current production.

The "No Agenda" community on the Mastodon social network is reportedly being targeted by "No Borders, No Nations" activists who want to block the server. Despite the decentralized nature of the platform, some admins are circulating blacklists to prevent "No Agenda" users from federating with other instances. The hosts point out the irony of "no borders" activists demanding digital firewalls and blocks.

The Washington Post promotes a website called PropOrNot, which features a blacklist of sites allegedly spreading Russian propaganda. The list includes Zero Hedge, the Corbett Report, and Ron Paul. The hosts label this "Neo-McCarthyism" and criticize the Post for publishing what they deem fake news.

NBC's scripted drama "The Blacklist" is accused of inserting climate change propaganda into its dialogue at the behest of the Lear Foundation. A specific scene is analyzed where a character mentions Bramble Cay being submerged by rising sea levels, a detail that has no relevance to the show's primary plot. The hosts argue this is a deliberate attempt by the network to normalize globalist narratives through entertainment.

The hosts explain the difference between executive producer credits in film versus television. In TV, the "showrunner" is typically the final executive producer listed in the credits and is often the person who created the show. They cite John Bokenkamp of "The Blacklist" as an example and suggest this knowledge is useful for those trying to contact decision-makers in the industry.

A listener named Pim Oum sends a highly critical email accusing the hosts of "sucking up to big money" and being a "no content show." After a brief email exchange, the listener, who apparently works at Schiphol Airport, threatens to put Adam Curry on a "no driving list" for airport gate connections.

A decline in newsletter open rates is attributed to changes in Gmail and Hotmail spam filtering algorithms implemented around July 4th. The hosts speculate that using bulleted lists in emails triggers spam flags, resulting in a 20% drop in engagement. They recommend using independent email providers like Mark Burkell's service to avoid the restrictions of centralized systems.

Russia has issued a travel blacklist for several European Union officials, including former UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. In response to international sanctions, Russia is also promoting an alternative to the SWIFT banking system, which reportedly has 100 countries connected. The "Turkish Stream" pipeline project is also expected to begin in the coming weeks.

The hosts discuss technical issues with the show's donation spreadsheet and the blacklisting of the "noagendanation.com" domain. Adam Curry explains the complexities of email server policies and "extortion rackets" run by whitelisting companies. Dvorak expresses frustration with Excel's formatting and the way listener notes are submitted.

John C. Dvorak discusses technical issues with his email server, including the mysterious deletion of his alias files. He also complains about aggressive spam filters that blacklisted the word "nipples," preventing a listener from sending a story about a "Dr. Oz" show producer's strange request for a guest.