Not long after Donald J. Trump had secured a second go at being president, a group of dreamers set their sights on building a new world, far from this polluted planet and its troubles. This cohort was not destined for Mars, but to a space within themselves – a digital utopia just for the like-minded. Bluesky is a microblogging site for idealists, devoted to protecting them against the raging reality of divergent opinion in a democratic system. The pilgrims took with them their in-house journal, The Guardian , which left Elon Musk’s X with the flounce of a friendless man leaving a party to which he hadn’t been invited. Henceforth, the trust-funded worldwide webzine will dedicate itself to nurturing the delicate biosphere of an alternative reality. Defectors from Elon Musk’s X are taking up with Bluesky. Credit: NurPhoto via Getty Images Three million users have joined Bluesky over the past week, according to the platform, and they have been busy tending to their new world. In this environment, misinformation and disinformation are not alone the enemy; malinformation – information that does not accord with the idealists’ worldview – is the apple from the tree of knowledge, from which the Devil bid Eve to sup. Curious interlopers from the Other Place – the increasingly uncensored X – have experimented by pushing the boundaries of the sayable on Bluesky. To their delight , reasonably mainstream opinions attract the ire of the moderators, and are soft-censored as “intolerance”. Posts labelled thus are not visible in the app until a user clicks on “show”. This functionality is a clue to what the spotless mind can experience on Bluesky. Only the opposite of malinformation – “euinformation”, eu being the obverse prefix – is welcome here. Euinformation is well-meaning information; not really information so much as a curation of comforting progressive axioms. Meanwhile, in the real world, way over here in Australia, I’m never quite sure which way the discussion is going to go when someone raises the re-election of Donald Trump. Given space to speak, tradies volunteer that it’s not a surprise to them that Trump won. Hairdressers venture that it might be a good thing. Even in trendy urban enclaves, the anti-Trump clucking is not as secure as in 2016. The top three concerns in the US election were democracy (presumably whether it would be honoured), the economy and migration. But the cultural effect of focusing on those essentials is wide-reaching. On reflection, it seems everyone knew that they or other people privately had less and less patience with the vanity projects of the boardroom, while the economy constricted the lives of salary men and women. Acronyms have been crumbling. Many companies have slunk away from the ESG (environmental, social and governance) trend as it has emerged that many were just faking it. Australian companies have become more wary about the claims they make in this area after corporate watchdog ASIC announced it was cracking down on greenwashing – the “practice of misrepresenting the extent to which a financial product or investment strategy is environmentally friendly, sustainable or ethical”. In August this year, the world’s largest investment firm, BlackRock , which has $US10 trillion ($15.4 trillion) under management, reported that it had dramatically reduced its support for shareholder proposals addressing environmental and social issues. Another acronym, DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), is also under fire. Over 200 US colleges have backtracked on their DEI programs, as suggestions swirl that race-based admissions programs have disadvantaged some ethnic groups, including Asian Americans. The grandmama of corporate DEI, White Fragility author Robin DiAngelo, was accused of appropriating passages and ideas in her PhD dissertation from minority scholars without attribution. DiAngelo has become wealthy lecturing corporate teams around the Anglosphere on DEI, leaving them with a tangle of rules and terminology so confusing that their main use is to be weaponised in internal disputes. DEI scepticism and exhaustion have reached Australia too, with some consultants reporting that companies are scaling back, or at the very least rebranding, these departments. Australia, of course, also had the Voice referendum to remind us that permission for social change has to be sought once core concerns are covered. The arc of history does not bend inexorably towards the preoccupations of student newspaper alumni and their kin over at Human Resources. Conservatives used to insist that politics is downstream of culture; in fact, if Australia’s choice of Scott Morrison in 2019 didn’t get them over the line, America’s choice of Donald Trump this year should finally persuade them that this adage isn’t complete. Culture is downstream of economics. The party perceived to be capable of managing things so you can live a good life has first dibs on defining the mainstream culture. But you won’t hear that over at Bluesky, where the butterfly logo symbolises a new type of white flight from unpleasant ideas. As the progressive influx gains pace, the Bluesky Trust & Safety team received 42,000 reports of “harmful content” in a single day , compared with 360,000 for the whole of 2023. You can block your ears and block your enemies in a digital utopia, but Trump’s election has already changed the culture of the US, and Australia too. Parnell Palme McGuinness is managing director at campaigns firm Agenda C. She has done work for the Liberal Party and the German Greens. Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter .NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks tiptoed to more records amid a mixed Tuesday of trading, tacking a touch more onto what’s already been a stellar year so far. The S&P 500 edged up by 2 points, or less than 0.1%, to set an all-time high for the 55th time this year. It’s climbed in 10 of the last 11 days and is on track for one of its best years since the turn of the millennium. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 76 points, or 0.2%, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.4% to its own record set a day earlier. AT&T rose 4.6% after it boosted its profit forecast for the year. It also announced a $10 billion plan to send cash to its investors by buying back its own stock, while saying it expects to authorize another $10 billion of repurchases in 2027. On the losing end of Wall Street was U.S. Steel, which fell 8%. President-elect Donald Trump reiterated on social media that he would not let Japan’s Nippon Steel take over the iconic Pennsylvania steelmaker. Nippon Steel announced plans last December to buy the Pittsburgh-based steel producer for $14.1 billion in cash, raising concerns about what the transaction could mean for unionized workers, supply chains and U.S. national security. Earlier this year, President Joe Biden also came out against the acquisition. Tesla sank 1.6% after a judge in Delaware reaffirmed a previous ruling that the electric car maker must revoke Elon Musk’s multibillion-dollar pay package. The judge denied a request by attorneys for Musk and Tesla’s corporate directors to vacate her ruling earlier this year requiring the company to rescind the unprecedented pay package. All told, the S&P 500 rose 2.73 points to 6,049.88. The Dow fell 76.47 to 44,705.53, and the Nasdaq composite gained 76.96 to 19,480.91. In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady after a report showed U.S. employers were advertising slightly more job openings at the end of October than a month earlier. Continued strength there would raise optimism that the economy could remain out of a recession that many investors had earlier worried was inevitable. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.23% from 4.20% from late Monday. Yields have seesawed since Election Day amid worries that Trump’s preferences for lower tax rates and bigger tariffs could spur higher inflation along with economic growth. But traders are still confident the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate again at its next meeting in two weeks. They’re betting on a nearly three-in-four chance of that, according to data from CME Group. Lower rates can give the economy more juice, but they can also give inflation more fuel. The key report this week that could guide the Fed’s next move will arrive on Friday. It’s the monthly jobs report , which will show how many workers U.S. employers hired and fired during November. It could be difficult to parse given how much storms and strikes distorted figures in October. Based on trading in the options market, Friday’s jobs report appears to be the biggest potential market mover until the Fed announces its next decision on interest rates Dec. 18, according to strategists at Barclays Capital. In financial markets abroad, the value of South Korea’s currency fell 1.1% against the U.S. dollar following a frenetic night where President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law and then later said he’d lift it after lawmakers voted to reject military rule. Stocks of Korean companies that trade in the United States also fell, including a 1.6% drop for SK Telecom. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.9% to help lead global markets. Some analysts think Japanese stocks could end up benefiting from Trump’s threats to raise tariffs , including for goods coming from China . Trade relations between the U.S. and China took another step backward after China said it is banning exports to the U.S. of gallium, germanium, antimony and other key high-tech materials with potential military applications. The counterpunch came swiftly after the U.S. Commerce Department expanded the list of Chinese technology companies subject to export controls to include many that make equipment used to make computer chips, chipmaking tools and software. The 140 companies newly included in the so-called “entity list” are nearly all based in China. In China, stock indexes rose 1% in Hong Kong and 0.4% in Shanghai amid unconfirmed reports that Chinese leaders would meet next week to discuss planning for the coming year. Investors are hoping it may bring fresh stimulus to help spur growth in the world’s second-largest economy. In France, the CAC 40 rose 0.3% amid continued worries about politics in Paris , where the government is battling over the budget. AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.
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How to get started with Bluesky
Stock market today: Wall Street inches higher to set more records
Asana ( NYSE:ASAN – Get Free Report ) had its price objective hoisted by investment analysts at Oppenheimer from $20.00 to $22.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 0.86% from the company’s previous close. A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on ASAN. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Asana in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Asana from $13.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp upgraded Asana from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday. DA Davidson increased their target price on Asana from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Asana from $17.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.53. View Our Latest Analysis on ASAN Asana Stock Performance Insider Activity at Asana In related news, insider Eleanor B. Lacey sold 9,308 shares of Asana stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.99, for a total transaction of $111,602.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 375,310 shares in the company, valued at $4,499,966.90. The trade was a 2.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink . Also, COO Anne Raimondi sold 29,807 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.99, for a total value of $357,385.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 761,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,125,445.12. This trade represents a 3.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders have sold 44,092 shares of company stock worth $527,668 over the last 90 days. 63.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Asana A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASAN. Neo Ivy Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Asana by 195.1% in the 3rd quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 169,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,964,000 after purchasing an additional 112,038 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Asana by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,863,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,605,000 after buying an additional 12,055 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Asana by 103.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 165,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,920,000 after buying an additional 84,114 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Asana during the third quarter valued at $538,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Asana in the third quarter worth $189,000. Institutional investors own 26.21% of the company’s stock. Asana Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) Asana, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates a work management platform for individuals, team leads, and executives in the United States and internationally. Its platform helps organizations to orchestrate work from daily tasks to cross-functional strategic initiatives; manage work across a portfolio of projects or workflows, see progress against goals, identify bottlenecks, resource constraints, and milestones; and communicate company-wide goals, monitor status, and oversee work across projects and portfolios to gain real-time insights. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Asana Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Asana and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., discusses why he believes the ATF should be abolished and names other federal entities he thinks should be nixed. Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., wants to abolish the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and plans to put forward a measure that would do just that. "The ATF is a disaster," Burlison, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, told Fox News Digital on Thursday, adding that "for decades they've been a disaster agency" which has "been violating the... Second Amendment ." The congressman suggested that states should be allowed to handle matters themselves, without federal interference. "There's very few ATF officials," he said, accusing the agency of "co-opting or commandeering [local] law enforcement to enforce laws" which state lawmakers did not pass. CONGRESSMAN ERIC BURLISON: IN THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, ‘THE INMATES ARE RUNNING THE PRISON’ Left: Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 25, 2023; Right: The letters "ATF" are seen on a Department of Justice ATF Explosive and Fire Investigation vehicle at the Marine Corps Air Station Airshow in San Diego, California, on Sept. 28. (Getty Images) The legislator plans to introduce a proposal previously put forward in 2023 by then-Rep. Matt Gaetz , R-Fla. Burlison, a freshman who took office last year, was one of the Republicans who joined Gaetz's measure as a cosponsor. GOP Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Mary Miller of Illinois, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Cory Mills of Florida, Mike Collins of Georgia, Barry Moore of Alabama, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Bob Good of Virginia also joined as cosponsors, according to congress.gov. MATT GAETZ URGES COLLEAGUES TO ABOLISH THE ATF BEFORE IT STRIPS AMERICANS OF GUN RIGHTS: ‘CANNOT BE TRUSTED’ A vest worn by special agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is seen during a training session near San Marcos, Texas, on Aug. 19, 2010. (Michael Paulsen/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images) Fox News Digital reached out to the ATF for comment on Friday. "ATF provides enormous benefits to the American public through all of its efforts fighting violent crime every day," ATF spokesperson Kristina Mastropasqua said in an emailed statement. Burlison also thinks the Department of Education and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should be abolished. GAETZ INTRODUCES ‘ABOLISH THE ATF ACT’ AFTER RULING AGAINST STABILIZING BRACES ATF seal (Ted Soqui/Corbis via Getty Images) CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "The EPA is making one-size-fits-all rules for the entire United States" and is "being more harmful than... helpful," he said. Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.Better Artificial Intelligence Stock: Nvidia vs. AMD