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cstanhope@social.coop ("Your friendly 'net denizen") wrote:

"The worst of the internet is continuously attacking the best of the internet. This is a distributed denial of service attack on the good parts of the World Wide Web.

If you’re using the products powered by these attacks, you’re part of the problem. Don’t pretend it’s cute to ask ChatGPT for something. Don’t pretend it’s somehow being technologically open-minded to continuously search for nails to hit with the latest “AI” hammers."

https://adactio.com/journal/21831

jwz wrote:

The "stupidity" of tariffs.

Let's say your job is writing about chess. You've seen *The Queen's Gambit* at least twice, so you're considered an expert.

This guy sits down at the table, flips over the board, and says to his competitor, "How about you hand me your wallet or my friend here busts up your kneecaps?"

The article you write is about how this guy is literally the *worst chess player you have ever seen*, and you're not sure he even understands the rules.
https://jwz.org/b/ykl6

Boosted by mattblaze@federate.social ("Matt Blaze"):
mattblaze@federate.social ("Matt Blaze") wrote:

@draken @SteveBellovin @wendyg @signalapp Most of the features that Signal lacks here aren't especially important outside the classified world and a few other specialized applications. But in those applications, they're *very* important.

Boosted by mattblaze@federate.social ("Matt Blaze"):
mattblaze@federate.social ("Matt Blaze") wrote:

@draken @SteveBellovin @wendyg @signalapp No. "Safety numbers" ensure you're communicating with the same person you started with. They don't tell you who they are, if they're authorized to receive any particular message, or if they're still in the same role.

Boosted by mattblaze@federate.social ("Matt Blaze"):
mattblaze@federate.social ("Matt Blaze") wrote:

@draken @SteveBellovin @wendyg @signalapp Signal provides excellent protection against third party interception of content (when used on uncompromised devices). That is not the only security consideration in protecting classified communication. Signal does not, for example, support security labels, certified identities, clearance levels, or any of the other specialized features required to properly protect classified traffic. It also runs on fundamentally vulnerable general-purpose platforms.

Boosted by jwz:
RadicalGraffiti@todon.eu ("Radical Graffiti") wrote:

Luigi sticker spotted in Strasbourg, France

Boosted by mattblaze@federate.social ("Matt Blaze"):
mattblaze@federate.social ("Matt Blaze") wrote:

@SteveBellovin @wendyg This shows why pointing the finger at the person who added the reporter misses the point. The combination of systems in use (a "helpful" iPhone platform and a general-purpose Signal) invites mishaps like this. The mistake was using these platforms for natsec communication, and the blame for that is properly shared by everyone in the chat group.

Boosted by mattblaze@federate.social ("Matt Blaze"):
tknarr@mstdn.social ("Todd Knarr") wrote:

@SteveBellovin @wendyg I think the last error is most important because the official systems are designed specifically to make the first 3 errors impossible. In fact, to make them impossible even if they aren't errors and Waltz was trying to add Hughes. As for no official text message system, there are official digital message systems in place, right? And email if nothing else.

Boosted by jwz:
inthehands@hachyderm.io ("Paul Cantrell") wrote:

If you have a Republican Senator and/or House Rep, congratulations: today is your day!!

They can stop these mush-brained tariffs any time they want. They have that power. CALL THEM, relentlessly, and ask why they’re not doing that.

Pit Republicans against their president. Pit them against each other. Shake the jar and make them fight. This is a •huge• fracture point in the MAGA coalition. Stick dynamite in it and blow it up.

jwz wrote:

Great Moments in Peaceful Protest History.

The revolution WILL be given permission:
https://jwz.org/b/ykl4

Boosted by jwz:
Daojoan ("JA Westenberg") wrote:

white house economic policy now decided by letting a raccoon loose in a room full of levers. the raccoon has ties to Russia

Boosted by mattblaze@federate.social ("Matt Blaze"):
SteveBellovin@infosec.exchange ("Steve Bellovin") wrote:

There's an interesting Guardian article on the Signal chat fiasco: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/06/signal-group-chat-leak-how-it-happened (h/t @wendyg). I won't try to summarize the article; read it yourself. But we have a combination of an AI failure (the phone decided that it was Hughes' phone number), a UI failure (the phone did not make it crystal clear whose contact information was being updated, a user error (Waltz didn't read the phone screen carefully enough because of the second error), a technology problem (there's no official secure text message system, a policy issue (picking Signal even though it lacks important features to secure such exchanges), etc. To quote myself, "complex systems fail in complex ways."

Boosted by jwz:
claytoncubitt.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy ("Clayton Cubitt") wrote:

Yo

cstanhope@social.coop ("Your friendly 'net denizen") wrote:

Ya ever wonder what it would take to manipulate stock on a global scale? :thonking:

Boosted by cstanhope@social.coop ("Your friendly 'net denizen"):
johl@mastodon.xyz ("Jens Ohlig") wrote:

The Chaos Computer Club, Europe‘s largest community of #hackers, has released a declaration on what is incompatible with the club’s values: “Those who aim to destroy coexistence in society and work toward an alternative society with principles based on chauvinism and nationalism are working against the moral principles that unite us as a club.

The CCC declares representing racism and fascism (…) to be incompatible with a membership in our ranks.”

http://ccc.de/en/club/unvereinbarkeitserklaerung-des-ccc

Boosted by jwz:
carnage4life@mas.to ("Dare Obasanjo") wrote:

At this rate MAGA will only be able to afford to rent the libs.

Boosted by cstanhope@social.coop ("Your friendly 'net denizen"):
mfowler@toot.thoughtworks.com ("Martin Fowler") wrote:

18F was a US government group helping government departments improve their use of technology which got recently wood-chipped. Here's a good overview of their work plus lessons learned: which apply to any large organization.

https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/learning-from-the-legacy-of-18f

mattblaze@federate.social ("Matt Blaze") wrote:

Captured with the Rodenstock 23mm/5.6 HR-Digaron-S lens and Phase One IQ4-150 Achromatic Back, polarizer+590nm (red) filter.

Washington DC is not a city of many notable inclines, and so lacks the proliferation of "step streets" found in places like Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and The Bronx. Most famous are Georgetown's Exorcist Steps (so named for the fatal effect they have on members of that profession), and, shown here, Kalorama's Spanish Steps, which occupy 22nd St NW between S and Decatur.

mattblaze@federate.social ("Matt Blaze") wrote:

Spanish Steps, Kalorama, Washington, DC, 2023.

All the pixels, none of which are actually in Spanish, at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/53335651417

#photography

chipotle@mstdn.social ("Watts Martin") wrote:

Lately, Spotlight just…stops working. Inevitably, at some point after I reboot, the index is gone. I can't search for files, Hazel breaks, etc., etc. And today, I can't even re-enable it from the command line. Cool cool cool.

chipotle@mstdn.social ("Watts Martin") wrote:

While I don't want to read unwarranted things into Panic retiring the developer forum for Nova, I'll be very relieved if Nova 13 comes out soon and takes the quantum leap it increasingly feels like it needs to.

jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:

"By the early 18th century, New York City had one of the largest slave populations of any of the settlements in the Thirteen Colonies. Slaves worked as domestic servants, artisans, dock workers, and various skilled laborers, as opposed to the South where slaves were primarily agricultural labororers. Slaves lived near each other, making communication easy. They also often worked among free black people, a situation that did not exist on most Southern plantations."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New%5FYork%5FSlave%5FRevolt%5Fof%5F1712

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
workingclasshistory ("Working Class History") wrote:

#OtD 7 Apr 1712 over 20 enslaved Africans in NYC rebelled and set fire to the home of an enslaver, then attacked colonists, killing 9 and injuring 6. British colonial authorities sent in militia, executed rebels and implemented harsher laws. Learn more: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10675/maiden-lane-revolt

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
BootsChantilly@mstdn.social ("Boots Chantilly") wrote:

You know, I'm never one to utter the sentence, "Art is ________," much less finish it, because art is a billion different things to a billion different ppl, but the following statement from Maria Mouschoutzi, PhD, really does speak to me.

“Art shouldn’t be driven by effectiveness; it should be driven by expression.”

#Art #AI #Ghibli

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
judah@mas.to ("Judah The Mac") wrote:

jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:

okay, this is hilarious "Toilets on the Air (TOTA) is an exciting new contest for licensed radio amateurs during HOPE_16. Compete to make the most voice, CW, and digital contacts with other attendees for points and awards like "Worked All Toilets". Use this web site to announce which of the designated restrooms you're outside of and log your contacts."

https://mastodon.radio/@KE2AEQ/114297220917095294

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
KE2AEQ@mastodon.radio ("Todd") wrote:

You've activated parks, summits, and the occasional windmill. Here's your chance to activate a toilet! Please join me and my club N2YCR for a Toilets on the Air amateur radio contest at HOPE_16.

https://hope-16.totawatch.de/

The conference is August 15–17 in NYC: https://hope.net/

#TOTA #HOPE_16 #AmateurRadio #HamRadio

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
bsletten ("Brian Sletten") wrote:

Another good outcome in the UK’s lunacy case against Apple:

#technology #encryption
#nobackdoors #cryptomeanscryptography

https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/07/uk-demand-for-apple-backdoor-should-not-be-heard-in-secret-says-court/

jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:

"UK’s demand for Apple backdoor should not be heard in secret, says court"

https://mastodon.social/@bsletten/114297218728398770

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
georgetakei@universeodon.com ("George Takei :verified: 🏳️‍🌈🖖🏽") wrote:

He’s worse than most of us even said he’d be. I personally didn’t think he’d crash the economy quite so quickly, but never underestimate his idiocy.