Nostr notes by Dave Rahardja

From the ACLU: #Flock lies to city managers about what they do. ...

2026-07-12T00:12:27Z

From the ACLU: #Flock lies to city managers about what they do.

“Flock’s chief information security officer, who was in attendance, told the council that Flock’s system did not “create a pattern or heat map of an individual’s movement” through the tracking of their vehicles. At the end of that meeting, the Oshkosh City Council approved a contract with Flock. The very next morning, the city learned that Flock had lied.”

#deFlock #fuckFlock

https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/tracking-alpr-cameras/flock-safety-credibility-lost-as-it-repeatedly-lies-to-city-councils-police-departments-and-public-across-the-country

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@catsalad/116608737040776147 Each ...

2026-05-21T04:02:14Z

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@catsalad/116608737040776147

Each time we offer a billionaire to the ocean another forest heals

quoting
note1mhp…7wpu

The ocean demands more billionaires 🌊

All that text and it buried the actual quote! Here it is: ...

2026-05-21T03:48:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…h9zg
_________________________

All that text and it buried the actual quote!

Here it is: “Compassion: that’s the one thing no machine ever had. Maybe it’s the one thing that keeps men ahead of them.”

Found on Facebook: #humor #stickers #epsteinFiles ...

2026-05-18T20:13:04Z

Found on Facebook:

#humor #stickers #epsteinFiles

Is it possible for #AI models to be trained ethically, deployed ...

2026-05-16T20:47:55Z

Is it possible for #AI models to be trained ethically, deployed for good and not harm, in a way that doesn’t destroy the environment? Yes.

Is it likely for that to happen? Not in my lifetime.

Similarly, it is *possible* to use intrusive mass surveillance for the good of humanity, but the overwhelmingly likely outcome is that the tech will be used to exploit and crush vulnerable people.

Same thing with guns. Is it *possible* for a population to be well-armed and entirely responsible for the use of their weapons? Yep. Is it likely to happen? Hell no.

AI tech is interesting, and it is morally neutral. But human nature being the way it is, it is exceedingly naïve to think that there’s any chance that its development will benefit society instead of exploiting it.

Show me some robust pro-consumer-rights regulation around this tech, and maybe I’ll begin to believe you. Until then, your optimism is unwarranted.

I got phished. tl;dr: Someone set up a convincing replica of a ...

2026-05-14T01:26:43Z

I got phished.

tl;dr: Someone set up a convincing replica of a popular clothing store website, complete with shopping cart, to harvest credit card information.

I searched for clothing made by Champion, and a search engine directed me to championwearshop dot com, which contained a high-fidelity copy of the Champion website. The website had a valid SSL certificate. It allowed me to search and add items to a cart.

Then, at checkout, it requested my credit card information. I entered it, and it went through a “verification” step and said “cannot process card—try a different card”. I tried a different card, same result. After three cards, I gave up.

The next day, I got a bank alert that there was a fraudulent transaction on a card, then another.

I only ever use one of the three cards on a regular basis, so I was positive it was this site.

Welp, lesson learned!

#phishing #scam

PS: The real website is champion dot com.

Fuck this trend. 1. Unilaterally cut employee benefits without ...

2026-05-12T02:06:21Z

Fuck this trend.

1. Unilaterally cut employee benefits without renegotiation
2. Blame “AI spending”

“AI spending” is now the go-to excuse to lay off and screw over your employees, no questions asked.

“A $2 billion tech firm is halting 401k contributions for staff”

#ai

https://www.thestreet.com/employment/a-2-billion-tech-firm-is-halting-401k-contributions-for-staff

A useful sticker to put on #AI images. The image is transparent! ...

2026-05-10T05:40:21Z

In reply to nevent1q…25f3
_________________________

A useful sticker to put on #AI images.

The image is transparent! On some devices, you can “lift” the sign and save it as a sticker.

#CRAP

Useful #AI acronyms: #CRAP - Computer-Rendered Artificial ...

2026-05-10T05:37:40Z

Useful #AI acronyms:

#CRAP - Computer-Rendered Artificial Pictures
#PISS - Plagiarized Information Synthesis System
#ARSE - Auto-Regurgitated Syntactic Extrusion

RE: https://mas.to/@wifsten/116035756091298221 What a fascinating ...

2026-05-08T18:50:13Z

RE: https://mas.to/@wifsten/116035756091298221

What a fascinating story. It suggests that there is a correlation between the closures of bars-tabac (coffee shop/tobacco shop) and the rise of right-wing party sentiment in rural communities, and that party support can be reversed by reopening bars-tabac.

This suggests that social/communal spaces reduce hateful programming. Maybe people who are lonely tend to feel disempowered and left behind, and thus are more susceptible to messages that blame some out-group for the way they feel.

quoting
note1qy0…mr6c

Village bar and pub closures fuel support for the #farright in #France and #UK

#NationalRally #UKIP #tabac
https://f24.my/Bixk.BS

New #EV sales continues to collapse in the US. Nissan has ...

2026-05-03T07:15:59Z

New #EV sales continues to collapse in the US. Nissan has abandoned its effort to turn its Mississippi plant to manufacture EVs, and is instead retooling it to make ICE and hybrid trucks and SUVs, likely to work around the 15% import tariffs for Japanese cars.

#cars

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/nissan-pulls-the-plug-on-its-500-million-ev-plan-for-america-269354.html

Gen X to Gen Alpha: LOOK AT ME I’M THE BOOMER NOW

2026-05-03T03:34:39Z

Gen X to Gen Alpha:

LOOK AT ME

I’M THE BOOMER NOW

Good news I guess?

2026-05-01T21:57:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…97fz
_________________________

Good news I guess?

I would support term limits for supreme court justices. It should ...

2026-05-01T01:43:52Z

I would support term limits for supreme court justices. It should be some number that doesn’t align with presidential elections, like 10 years.

If you can write and maintain CLAUDE.md to tell a bot how to work ...

2026-04-26T16:26:47Z

If you can write and maintain CLAUDE.md to tell a bot how to work on your code, then you can write and maintain a document to tell your coworkers how to work on your code.

I can’t believe it took coding bots to get some people to write documentation.

#ai #coding #software

No. NO. FUCK YOU. NO. FUCK OFF. STOP TURNING EVERYTHING INTO ...

2026-04-26T02:38:08Z

No.

NO.

FUCK YOU. NO.

FUCK OFF.

STOP TURNING EVERYTHING INTO GAMBLING GODDAMNIT.

#lego #gambling #bettingMarkets

RE: https://mastodon.social/@climatenewsnow/116468230309788020 ...

2026-04-26T02:21:37Z

RE: https://mastodon.social/@climatenewsnow/116468230309788020

Original article: https://insideclimatenews.org/news/23042026/corpus-christi-water-emergency-explainer/

“No modern American city has ever run out of water. But chances are rising that Corpus Christi, Texas, could be the first. Absent a biblical rainfall event, its reservoirs are on track to completely dry up by next year.”

But more than half of the water consumption in Corpus Christi goes to petrochemical industrial plants. Let’s see if people are willing to throttle down the water supply to machines before they do to humans.

#climate #weather #climateChange

quoting
note1eqv…ypme

A massive drought coupled with political mismanagement might fully deplete water in a major city: neither in West Asia nor Africa, but in the United States.

The city of Corpus Christi, Texas could soon completely out of water in the next year. #climatechange #climatecrisis #globalwarming

https://futurism.com/science-energy/texas-water-crisis-climate

RE: https://hachyderm.io/@evacide/116438525414891868 Every ...

2026-04-24T01:26:00Z

RE: https://hachyderm.io/@evacide/116438525414891868

Every technology that can be used for surveillance will eventually be used for surveillance.

This one isn’t even that far of a stretch.

RE: https://mastodon.online/@parismarx/116455204022893824 Hey, ...

2026-04-23T17:38:43Z

RE: https://mastodon.online/@parismarx/116455204022893824

Hey, consider joining Paris Marx’s Patreon. Tech Won’t Save Us is one of the more relevant, substantial, and entertaining! podcasts on my playlist.

quoting
note1682…xjlz

Enjoy the show? Help us hit our goal of 100 new supporters over on Patreon to celebrate its sixth birthday!

Join today: patreon.com/techwontsaveus

It’s Great To Be Alive in Colma! ...

2026-04-23T03:58:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…tce5
_________________________

It’s Great To Be Alive in Colma!

#BankOfAmerica has sent an email informing account holders that ...

2026-04-22T06:23:14Z

#BankOfAmerica has sent an email informing account holders that they are adding a #BindingArbitration clause to their agreement. You have 60 days to opt out. Opting out was easy: I clicked a link, and clicked Submit.

If you are a Bank of America account holder, take a moment to check your email and click the opt-out link.

HAHAHAHA #kakistocracy “White House officials ‘openly ...

2026-04-19T05:19:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…5klj
_________________________

HAHAHAHA

#kakistocracy

“White House officials ‘openly discuss’ firing Kash Patel as FBI chief threatens to sue over report about ‘excessive drinking’”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/kash-patel-alcohol-fbi-mess-firing-the-atlantic-b2960378.html

Psst: water check! Have you drunk some water recently? Not tea, ...

2026-04-18T21:22:47Z

Psst: water check! Have you drunk some water recently?

Not tea, not coffee, not soda.

Drink some water and you’ll feel better.

#selfCare

PS: I love you

I love that Patel is paranoid about losing his job because he ...

2026-04-18T01:09:50Z

In reply to nevent1q…rydv
_________________________

I love that Patel is paranoid about losing his job because he inevitably will. Trump discards everyone, and it doesn’t take long for him to do so.

Here we see the carcass of a Porsche. An invisible army of ...

2026-04-17T22:28:49Z

Here we see the carcass of a Porsche. An invisible army of scavengers have picked the bones clean. In nature, nothing is wasted.

#cars #attenboroughVoice

https://www.carscoops.com/2026/04/porsche-911-stripped-la/

Folks, THIS is how it should be done. Friday April 10: ⁃ SF ...

2026-04-15T03:10:04Z

Folks, THIS is how it should be done.

Friday April 10:

⁃ SF Chronicle published a credible claim that Eric Swalwell sexually assaulted a woman (https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/eric-swalwell-allegations-22198271.php).
⁃ CNN published claims by three other women that Swalwell also assaulted them (https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/10/us/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations-invs)
⁃ Democratic allies withdrew their endorsements, including both chairs of his Governor campaign (https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/10/politics/democrats-withdraw-endorsements-of-eric-swalwell-and-demand-he-end-bid-for-california-governor)

Sunday April 12:

⁃ Swalwell withdrew from the #California governor race (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/swalwell-exits-california-governors-race-after-assault-allegations)

Monday April 13:

⁃ Swalwell resigned from the US House (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyd8rj1ylro)

Tuesday April 14:

⁃ Gavin Newsom called for a special election to fill Swalwell’s vacancy (https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/special-election-date-set-to-replace-rep-eric-swalwell/3876089/)

In the span of FIVE DAYS (including a weekend), Eric Swalwell went from the leading candidate for California governor to a *persona non grata* for the #Democratic party apparatus, based on credible allegations of sexual violence.

PLEASE. Do not claim that “both parties are the same.”

Age-verification laws are a backdoor for #surveillance. Remember, ...

2026-04-14T04:01:48Z

Age-verification laws are a backdoor for #surveillance.

Remember, any time legislators demand that you give them the ability to monitor your activities using the tired excuse of “think of the children!”: they really don’t give a shit about the children. They only want to monitor you.

If they really think social media is addictive and bad for children, they’d regulate the industry, instead of asking everyone to upload a video of their ID and/or faces to verify their identity.

I hope prosecutions will follow.

2026-04-13T21:52:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…v7ny
_________________________

I hope prosecutions will follow.

RE: https://mastodon.social/@arstechnica/116398678116637934 I ...

2026-04-13T20:15:25Z

RE: https://mastodon.social/@arstechnica/116398678116637934

I mean, it’s not like it’s the first time IBM complied with a Fascist authoritarian.
nostr:note1evzwhl4xyp5ddz3ffxadeaure2n7jawuc3xwfat5dt7a6u3ssuqslddczp

People minimizing Orbán’s defeat in #Hungary through voting, ...

2026-04-12T23:14:54Z

People minimizing Orbán’s defeat in #Hungary through voting, and claiming that the same can’t be done to Donald Trump: Remember that Orbán was in power for SIXTEEN YEARS, that is, 2.5× LONGER than Trump. He had more than twice the time Trump has had to intimidate, corrupt, and destroy Hungary’s systems of voting. And yet, voting unseated him.

PLEASE do not preemptively give up on voting. Voting still works in the US, and it is quite likely that our voting infrastructure will far outlive Trump and his destructive party.

Authoritarians rely on a perceived popular mandate to continue their abuse. Voting can decisively deny them that mandate. Do not give up prematurely.

VOTE. VOTE. VOTE.

I’m so sorry to hear that. Hugs to you and to those he left ...

2026-04-12T20:38:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…r243
_________________________

I’m so sorry to hear that. Hugs to you and to those he left behind.

This is one big reason I don’t buy cars older than the late ...

2026-04-12T03:42:40Z

This is one big reason I don’t buy cars older than the late 90s. I love older cars, and I love restomods, but I also like to survive crashes. Car safety tech improved *so much* between mid-1990s and the 2000s, and I want that benefit.

This man was a race car driver. His skills were many times better than mine. Yet a stray SUV killed him. There are occasions where passive crash safety is all that stands between me and death.

Every one of these stories is a memento mori to me. AI6YR Ben (npub1ucv…5a8g) https://m.ai6yr.org/@ai6yr/116389511088994685

Evergreen post. ...

2026-04-12T03:13:15Z

Evergreen post.

https://xcancel.com/HoldenShearer/status/998913016925220865

RE: https://biologists.social/@steveroyle/116388089734768557 ...

2026-04-11T21:48:24Z

RE: https://biologists.social/@steveroyle/116388089734768557

Never mind the stunning space photos; look at the people.

Look at everyone in space, and everyone on the ground. Look at how competent and focused they are. Look at the evidence of decades of study and training behind those eyes. Look at how unpretentious and how unpolitical they are. Look at how they’re not grifting, not scheming, not exploiting, not stealing from the common good. Look at how they are focused on doing science and engineering and ops and safety and how they work together to push humanity farther and further than ever before.

Then realize: all these people work for the US government. Yes, Virginia, there are actually competent people working for the government. When people tell you government is incompetent and full of scams, realize that it’s a bald-faced lie. Government, done well, mobilizes immense expertise to improve lives for everyone.

quoting
note1qgl…0dem

Artemis II photos. Some wonderful shots here.

HT Stuart Breckenridge (npub1qs2…740s)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/albums/72177720307234654/

RE: https://mstdn.social/@MaryAustinBooks/116377115782932989 ...

2026-04-10T01:53:29Z

RE: https://mstdn.social/@MaryAustinBooks/116377115782932989

Awesome!

quoting
note1sxa…0pmn

Wow! President Claudia Sheinbaum has declared the intention to create universal #healthcare in #Mexico. Her proposal has some significant hurdles for implementation, but I won't be a naysayer. More power to her for setting this noble goal. I mean, that's where it starts. A lot of people opposed Medicare, too.

https://thedeepdive.ca/mexicos-president-sheinbaum-decrees-universal-healthcare-for-120-million/

I don’t think a prolonged general strike is going to happen in ...

2026-04-08T05:08:09Z

I don’t think a prolonged general strike is going to happen in the US, and I’ll tell you why: the social safety net doesn’t exist, and people are broke.

43% of USians cannot afford an unexpected $1000 bill¹. The median household spends 33% of their income on rent². The median household has $8k in savings³. Most people will lose their health insurance if they don’t show up to work.

How many of these people can sustain a general strike during which they will not get paid?

…

¹ https://www.usnews.com/banking/articles/2026-financial-wellness-survey

² https://usafacts.org/answers/how-much-do-households-spend-on-rent/country/united-states/

³ https://www.bankrate.com/banking/savings/savings-account-average-balance/#how-much-does-the-average-household-have-in-savings

This is fascinating reading about the #cars situation in the US. ...

2026-04-05T05:33:52Z

This is fascinating reading about the #cars situation in the US. #EV vehicles are beginning to come off-lease after the incentive-driven boom of 2022–2025, peaking in 2028 when an expected 800,000 units will hit the market.

In the US, EV prices have cratered. Incentives have disappeared, and customers have shown little interest in buying new ones. A 3-year-old EV today retains only 40% of its initial value, which means off-lease returns will cost whoever finances the deal a lot of money.

This is going to send a small shock wave of losses to lease underwriters across the auto industry. More importantly, it means the prices of used EVs will continue to fall as more units flood inventory, putting downward pressure on new EVs too.

The upside is that there will be a lot of lightly-used EVs available to pick up at lower prices, and you can probably strike good deals for newer units. And with rising gas prices…

https://www.autoweek.com/news/a70884164/800000-evs-to-hit-used-market/

Went to the Hakone Estate and Gardens Night Event tonight, in ...

2026-03-31T06:24:59Z

Went to the Hakone Estate and Gardens Night Event tonight, in Saratoga. #sfba #photography #nightPhotography #naturePhotography

RE: https://vmst.io/@jalefkowit/116319239712929440 The ruling ...

2026-03-31T02:01:18Z

RE: https://vmst.io/@jalefkowit/116319239712929440

The ruling makes sense to me.

“Attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine are both meant to ensure that people can prepare for proceedings without fear that interactions with lawyers will be used against them. The former protects confidential communications between a client and a lawyer made for the purpose of obtaining legal advice. [Judge] Rakoff holds, correctly, that there is no attorney-client relationship because Claude expressly disclaims providing legal advice and the existence of any fiduciary obligation. Nor does it seem likely an attorney-client relationship could exist between a person and a piece of software”

Ya, makes total sense.

quoting
note1php…wtdp

"Does a defendant who used an AI translator retain attorney-client privilege?

Not according to a recent decision from a judge in the Southern District of New York. On Feb. 17, Judge Jed Rakoff issued a written opinion in United States v. Heppner. This first-of-its-kind ruling found that documents created by a criminal defendant using Claude are not protected by attorney-client privilege or the work product doctrine."

https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/ai-and-privilege-after-united-states-v.-heppner

An AI proponent (I’m not one of them) might draw the ...

2026-03-30T01:07:12Z

In reply to nevent1q…9e00
_________________________

An AI proponent (I’m not one of them) might draw the distinction that scraping the web does not remove the original from circulation, unlike taking air.

One thing that continues to grate on my conscience about #AI is ...

2026-03-29T08:30:24Z

One thing that continues to grate on my conscience about #AI is how artists and writers consistently feel that the technology has STOLEN from them. We all know that web scraping is (and should be) a perfectly legal and acceptable use, because preventing it also prevents all sorts of beneficial behaviors—the Internet Archive wouldn’t be able to exist, for one thing.

But yet, the very nature of AI takes scraped content and regurgitates it as a pink-slime extrusion that it feeds back into the web. And to creators, that just FEELS WRONG; it feels like stolen valor, it feels like exploitation.

And it’s something I can’t (and shouldn’t) shake from my mind each time I see something made by AI. Just because something is LEGAL doesn’t mean it isn’t ABUSIVE and UNETHICAL. Scolding people who complain about AI by telling them that web scraping is good, actually, doesn’t address the main complaint: that somehow, these AI assholes have EXPLOITED A COMMON GOOD and we can’t quite figure out how to stop it.

That hot dog makes me uncomfortable. (Wienerschnitzel ...

2026-03-27T07:27:38Z

That hot dog makes me uncomfortable.

(Wienerschnitzel drive-through)

#signs #humor

“A Dutch court has ordered X and its AI chatbot Grok to ...

2026-03-27T05:12:23Z

“A Dutch court has ordered X and its AI chatbot Grok to immediately stop generating non-consensual sexualized imagery and child pornographic material in the Netherlands, imposing a penalty of €100,000 per day on each defendant for non-compliance.”

Good.

#fuckElon #ai #slop

https://www.techpolicy.press/dutch-court-orders-x-grok-to-stop-aigenerated-sexual-abuse-content/

I didn’t know we had such elaborate restrictions on photography ...

2026-03-20T23:55:23Z

I didn’t know we had such elaborate restrictions on photography on national forest lands. It seems really odd that people aren’t always allowed to take photos or videos wherever they can legally access. https://mstdn.social/@bryanhansel/116264113037398178

quoting
note159z…0tp3

Without a press release or public announcement, the U.S. Forest Service quietly updated its filming and photography rules, which are now in effect now, bringing its policies in line with the EXPLORE Act, but leaving a critical question unanswered.

https://www.paddlinglight.com/articles/forest-service-updates-filming-and-photography-rules/

RE: https://mastodon.social/@randahl/116248355762185053 They ...

2026-03-18T04:54:49Z

RE: https://mastodon.social/@randahl/116248355762185053

They stole a year of her life, with no credible charges filed.

quoting
note196w…nsmg

The Trump regime detained Leqaa Kordia, a young woman from New Jersey, for an entire year for using her constitutional right to protest Israel's genocide in Gaza.

At a hearing Friday, the judge said "I’ve heard testimony. I’ve seen thousands of pages of evidence presented by the respondent, and very little evidence presented by the government in any of this."

Monday she was released.

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2026/3/16/pro-palestine-protester-leqaa-kordia-freed-from-us-immigration-detention

Still chuckling at how Facebook renamed itself Meta because it ...

2026-03-15T01:54:26Z

In reply to nevent1q…5x29
_________________________

Still chuckling at how Facebook renamed itself Meta because it was so sure about the Metaverse.

Now they’re super sure about AI.

#Starlink just raised the monthly fees for aviation access from ...

2026-03-11T04:28:59Z

#Starlink just raised the monthly fees for aviation access from $50/month to…wait for it…$1000/month for aircraft that go faster than 300 MPH.

Some pilots of small aircraft bought and installed Starlink receivers in the hopes of getting real-time weather, icing, and turbulence reports over satellite, all of which was accessible for $50/month up to 450 MPH.

Without warning, Starlink raised prices to $250/month for 300 MPH, and $1000/month for 450 MPH customers.

Many customers predictably terminated their subscriptions. The money they spent on equipment and installation is gone for good, and they’ve lost their real time weather feed.

Serves them right for going with an Elon product, I guess. Only disappointment and rugpulls await. And you’re making a Nazi richer, so, tough noogies.

#fuckElon #enshittification

https://avgeekery.com/starlink-aviation-plan-changes-spark-backlash/

Welp #endlessWar #illegalWar #IranWar #kakistocracy ...

2026-03-11T02:50:11Z

Welp

#endlessWar #illegalWar #IranWar #kakistocracy

https://xcancel.com/ChrisMurphyCT/status/2031531835453309125

Can’t wait for the AI bubble to pop too

2026-03-07T02:29:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…myg6
_________________________

Can’t wait for the AI bubble to pop too

Yay, a fellow Before Timer! I wrote and ran my own BBS on an ...

2026-03-06T06:27:47Z

In reply to nevent1q…gaj2
_________________________

Yay, a fellow Before Timer! I wrote and ran my own BBS on an Apple //e in Singapore in the early 1980s.

My first “Internet” access was BITNET around the same time.

That’s a great article, by the way. I guess it’s no surprise ...

2026-03-03T04:21:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…utf5
_________________________

That’s a great article, by the way. I guess it’s no surprise that Anthropic is yet another TESCREAL nuthouse. They seem to be True Believers™ in something, and it turns out, that something is EA.

Sorry!

2026-02-27T21:14:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…5nsq
_________________________

Sorry!

I always wonder if these types of glasses will ever accommodate ...

2026-02-27T18:58:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…x275
_________________________

I always wonder if these types of glasses will ever accommodate people who already wear corrective eyeglasses like me. Better yet, allow me to remove my regular glasses when wearing them, then accommodate my vision correction!

I would love a small, portable “big screen” that looks like a pair of glasses.

ONE BILLION personally-identifiable records was leaked by IDMerit ...

2026-02-23T20:45:09Z

ONE BILLION personally-identifiable records was leaked by IDMerit an “AI-powered digital identity verification solutions provider”. The leaked data included:

Full names
Addresses
Post codes
Dates of birth
National IDs
Phone numbers
Genders
Email addresses
Telco metadata

Good thing we’re not uploading personally-identifiable documents for age or identity verification or anything whatsoever OH WAIT

FUCK all this surveillance tech. FUCK this identity verification bullshit. No one can be trusted with this information.

#dataBreach #surveillance #privacy

https://cybernews.com/security/global-data-leak-exposes-billion-records/

Turns out there WAS voter fraud…by Elon’s PAC in Georgia. ...

2026-02-20T22:33:33Z

Turns out there WAS voter fraud…by Elon’s PAC in Georgia.

“There was evidence to suggest America PAC had violated a state law that prohibits any person or entity, other than an authorized relative, to send an elector an absentee ballot application prefilled with the elector’s required information, according to Janice Johnston, the SEB’s vice chairman.”

Deport Elon for committing voter fraud.

#fuckElon

https://newrepublic.com/post/206857/georgia-voter-fraud-elon-musk

Never trust lawmakers who want to expand surveillance “to ...

2026-02-19T18:30:00Z

Never trust lawmakers who want to expand surveillance “to protect children”.

It’s never about protecting children.

Plus: influencers are one thing, but it’s gross when tech ...

2026-02-17T08:59:40Z

Plus: influencers are one thing, but it’s gross when tech podcasts, especially those that deal with software quality, design, or ethics, accept sponsorship money by #AI companies and they do some awful ad read. It really makes me want to stop listening to them.

https://mstdn.social/@rysiek/116082744544161649

quoting
note1j52…knm0

AI slop is so useful and desirable that Google and Microsoft have to spend shit ton of money to have "influencers" shill for it:
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/06/google-microsoft-pay-creators-500000-and-more-to-promote-ai.html

Remember when "influencers" were shilling for NFTs? That was fun and ended well for everyone involved, proving NFTs are actually useful. 🤡

RE: https://med-mastodon.com/@jeneralist/116063720006024901 The ...

2026-02-16T02:49:32Z

RE: https://med-mastodon.com/@jeneralist/116063720006024901

The fact that “return on investment” needs to be a consideration at all when developing pharmaceuticals is the more fundamental problem.

#capitalism #kakistocracy

quoting
note19u8…h4f4

The FDA decided not to even review Moderna's mRNA flu vaccines for approval, even though the studies the FDA would be reviewing were conducted the way the FDA told Moderna to do them.

Now #Moderna expects that none of its other #mRNA #vaccines will be reviewed, and has halted studies on vaccines for EBV, HSV, and shingles.

A lot of people with herpes would be angry if they found out.

A lot of people who have family members with #MS -- now thought to be caused in part by EBV -- will be livid.

Oldie but goodie. ...

2026-02-08T07:58:15Z

In reply to nevent1q…de9z
_________________________

Oldie but goodie.

You may already know that “data centers in space” is a ...

2026-02-08T03:56:14Z

You may already know that “data centers in space” is a cynical scam to tie AI funding to taxpayer-funded space operations. This article does a good job of explaining why the *physics* of putting data centers in space is an enormous problem unlikely to be solved any time soon.

#ai #scam

https://news.satnews.com/2026/01/29/the-fractal-lab/

#Substack openly platforms—and profits from—#Nazis. And not ...

2026-02-08T00:22:25Z

#Substack openly platforms—and profits from—#Nazis. And not just nudge-nudge-wink-wink types of Nazis, but literal black-swastika “NatSoc” Nazis. And they recommend Nazi writers.

If you are still on Substack either as a reader or publisher, please seriously consider leaving the platform. It’s a Nazi bar. You don’t want to give them your money or your attention. I hear ghost dot org is a great, Nazi-free alternative.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/feb/07/revealed-how-substack-makes-money-from-hosting-nazi-newsletters

I wonder if I can start a new #LicensePlateFriday #cars thing. I ...

2026-02-06T20:28:24Z

I wonder if I can start a new #LicensePlateFriday #cars thing. I love collecting funny or interesting vanity license plates, especially in #California, where it is *exceedingly* difficult to get any vanity plates that read well, because 40 million people are sharing the same namespace.

Anyway, if you have a funny or interesting license plate (or license plate-adjacent) photo that YOU HAVE PERSONALLY TAKEN, post em with the #LicensePlateFriday tag. I’d love to see em!

Edit: Thought of a better one start with.

#TGIF #LicensePlateFriday #humor

RE: https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/116022803319662931 If you are a ...

2026-02-06T09:24:17Z

RE: https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/116022803319662931

If you are a natural-born US citizen, please, PLEASE read this. Our immigration system is unjust and impossible to navigate. It is Byzantine and cruel because of a combination of bigotry, neglect, and parasitic opportunists.

The next time you hear “why don’t they come here legally?” remember that it’s nearly impossible for most people to do that.

quoting
note1tp4…syqw

Having been through the US immigration process (I got my first work visa more than 25 years ago and became a citizen in 2022), it's obvious to me that Americans have *no idea* how weird and tortuous their immigration system is:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorow/52177745821/

--

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2026/02/06/doge-ball/#n-600

1/

The problem with AI is you don’t know when it’s wrong.

2026-02-05T20:42:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…skdx
_________________________

The problem with AI is you don’t know when it’s wrong.

RE: https://journa.host/@z_everson/116019478582007164 #scam ...

2026-02-05T20:03:49Z

RE: https://journa.host/@z_everson/116019478582007164

#scam #rugpull
nostr:note1z48rjlv3866rfn5u6h3gq7h34556amj3qs9sty8k2fnh2a4jm35symgjz3

Sometimes the Pope gets it right. “Unthought thoughts” ...

2026-02-02T20:11:16Z

Sometimes the Pope gets it right.

“Unthought thoughts” encapsulates #ai #slop well.

https://infosec.exchange/@mttaggart/116002666171029017

quoting
note1dku…32rr

Amen, Your Holiness

https://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/pope-leo-xiv-brings-not-peace-but-a-sword-to-ai-oligarchs-and-a-slop-mad-world-in-new-address-says-its-turning-people-into-passive-consumers-of-unthought-thoughts/

It’s really this simple. #meme ...

2026-02-01T03:10:00Z

It’s really this simple.

#meme

Studio Ghibli’s Japanese pronunciation is “Jiburi”, which ...

2026-01-31T04:00:18Z

Studio Ghibli’s Japanese pronunciation is “Jiburi”, which is a transliteration that uses a soft “g” sound. But the Italian word that the studio’s name apparently comes from uses a hard “g” sound.

When you pronounce “Studio Ghibli”, do you use…

Audiophiles are woo-woo crystals people, but with money. ...

2026-01-30T18:11:36Z

Audiophiles are woo-woo crystals people, but with money. https://bloor.tw/@bloor/115980841892587966 https://bloor.tw/@bloor/115980841892587966

quoting
note1cs8…t7d8

What the, and I cannot overstate this, fuck?

Here’s the video. #Batman #sfba ...

2026-01-29T03:56:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…ayxs
_________________________

Here’s the video.

#Batman #sfba

A man dressed in a Batman costume lambasted #SantaClara city ...

2026-01-29T03:53:12Z

A man dressed in a Batman costume lambasted #SantaClara city council for not making a firmer stand against ICE during Super Bowl weekend.

Legend.

#sfba #fuckICE

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/bay-area-council-ice-super-bowl-21320703.php

Not even a week in, and TikTok has gone 100% Fash ...

2026-01-29T03:43:48Z

Not even a week in, and TikTok has gone 100% Fash Quds News Network (npub1k7k…6qz5) https://mastodon.neometropolis.net/@QudsNen/115975090202501700

Hey Fedi, since Thorlo Experia recycled socks are now basically ...

2026-01-26T21:57:55Z

Hey Fedi, since Thorlo Experia recycled socks are now basically discontinued, where can I find colorful, comfortable, moderately-padded #socks that are made of recycled or upcycled materials?

I’ve been seeing more than a handful of videos on YouTube ...

2026-01-26T07:36:55Z

I’ve been seeing more than a handful of videos on YouTube claiming that #OpenAI will be running out money this year. I dare not hope, but I do have hope. Because as OpenAI goes, so goes the entire #AI industry.

From their mouths to {%deity%}’s ear. Here’s hoping.

Kids are protesting ICE on #Roblox. They are play-acting what ...

2026-01-26T06:54:15Z

Kids are protesting ICE on #Roblox. They are play-acting what they see in real life. The kids are watching. They understand what’s happening.

#fuckICE #kakistocracy

Source: hxxps://www.tiktok.com/@clips4closet

Did you know that #ICE has shot TWELVE people since September ...

2026-01-25T23:34:09Z

Did you know that #ICE has shot TWELVE people since September (that we know of)?

After seeing how blatantly ICE and DHS lies after the last few shootings, I don’t believe a single claim that ICE made about these victims.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ice-shootings-list-border-patrol-trump-immigration-operations-rcna254202

RE: https://eupolicy.social/@johnnyryan/115954790316678127 Every ...

2026-01-25T18:50:03Z

RE: https://eupolicy.social/@johnnyryan/115954790316678127

Every tech that enables surveillance will be used for surveillance.

quoting
note17m6…dvfp

The latest evidence that broadcasting people’s movements and intimate data in the Real-Time Bidding online advertising system is truly dangerous.

https://www.wired.com/story/ice-asks-companies-about-ad-tech-and-big-data-tools/

ICE arrested workers at a restaurant they ate at. ICE arrested ...

2026-01-25T01:39:25Z

ICE arrested workers at a restaurant they ate at.

ICE arrested workers at a hotel they stayed at.

Businesses need to CLOSE THEIR DOORS TO ICE because they threaten their employees. AI6YR Ben (npub1ucv…5a8g) https://m.ai6yr.org/@ai6yr/115953159079151589

I wonder if you can even register those cars in the US.

2026-01-21T21:12:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…0zgn
_________________________

I wonder if you can even register those cars in the US.

RE: https://dice.camp/@Tim_Eagon/115934400887468405 You know ...

2026-01-21T18:25:47Z

RE: https://dice.camp/@Tim_Eagon/115934400887468405

You know it’s gonna be bad weather when Ted Cruz leaves.

quoting
note18ju…nlvv

Stay safe Texans, your Senator Ted Cruz boarded a plane yesterday for warmer climes!

#UsPol #Texas #Winter #Weather

The constant hunger for “hitting the jackpot” and becoming ...

2026-01-18T07:23:30Z

In reply to nevent1q…g9j2
_________________________

The constant hunger for “hitting the jackpot” and becoming fabulously wealthy corrupts *everything* one does. The goal of one’s social activities shifts from SERVICE to EXTRACTION. No one is a friend; everyone is a mark. Nature exists only for exploitation; society exists only for you to steal their money.

It’s a hollow, ghoulish existence. The numbers in your E*TRADE account becomes your self-worth. You don’t live; you “hustle”. Your thirst for the next jackpot causes you to reduce humans, animals, nature, resources—everything—into numbers on a spreadsheet, waiting to be “optimized” to drive out “waste”. You hire laywers and CPAs to minimize dollars leaving your portfolio, even when they pay for the common good. You think of politics in terms of Return On Investment, because fuck the people. There is nothing you can’t represent as a dollar figure, even your soul.

You become a parasite.

#wealthInequality #TheAmericanLie

I want a society that’s designed to make everyone moderately ...

2026-01-18T07:13:34Z

I want a society that’s designed to make everyone moderately wealthy, and not only five people astronomically wealthy. The damage and misery caused by unmitigated inequality has been demonstrated over and over again, for millennia, yet we fall for the lie over and over again.

In the US, we choose inequality because we are taught to believe the blatant lie that we might one day *be* one of those five fabulously wealthy people. But look at the numbers: there are only five of them among millions; the odds are staggeringly against you.

It’s like a middle-school sports enthusiast thinking they will become a top-billing star in some major league, and make tens of millions of dollars a year: the numbers simply do not work out; there are only so many quarterback positions available, and tens of thousands of applicants. Yet they are raised to cling to that selfish “dream” instead of focusing on building something that *everyone* (including themselves) is likely to benefit from.

#wealthInequality #TheAmericanLie

I’m not a Wikipedia editor/contributor (I’m not knowledgeable ...

2026-01-16T21:12:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…gpsc
_________________________

I’m not a Wikipedia editor/contributor (I’m not knowledgeable enough for the most part), but if I were one, and I didn’t want my work to be sold to train AI so Wikimedia Foundation can make even more money off of it (they actually started selling it to Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Mistral, and Perplexity LAST YEAR without telling us! Surprise!), this may be a good time for me to WITHHOLD FURTHER LABOR and stop contributing to Wikipedia until they reverse this decision.

#enshittification

https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/15/wikimedia-foundation-announces-new-ai-partnerships-with-amazon-meta-microsoft-perplexity-and-others/

RE: https://wandering.shop/@susankayequinn/115901357070406663 ...

2026-01-16T20:54:34Z

RE: https://wandering.shop/@susankayequinn/115901357070406663

Motherfuckers

quoting
note1ez7…k4y4

FUCK https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/15/wikimedia-foundation-announces-new-ai-partnerships-with-amazon-meta-microsoft-perplexity-and-others/

The Austin Independent School District has released a collection ...

2026-01-16T04:26:10Z

The Austin Independent School District has released a collection of videos showing #Waymo cars driving past school buses with their STOP signs out and lights flashing.

FUCK these cars. Get them off our streets.

#FuckWaymo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6EuLcXrIA0

It appears that turning off the new “Smart Features” in ...

2026-01-15T07:28:12Z

It appears that turning off the new “Smart Features” in #GMail that “provide smart features and personalize your experience” also turns off a decades-old feature that categorizes spam away from your Inbox.

Smart Features uses Gemini #AI to enable LLM-assisted email composition and summary, and to suggest stuff from your calendars and promotional items.

In other words, disabling GMail’s AI features requires you to give up a categorization feature that you’ve had for decades, long before “AI” as we know it today was even a thing.

#enshittification

https://support.google.com/mail/thread/389345915/turning-off-ai-smart-features-just-puts-all-my-sorted-emails-into-my-inbox

I don’t think there’s escaping political parties. They are, ...

2026-01-15T06:53:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…vduj
_________________________

I don’t think there’s escaping political parties. They are, at bottom, simply an organizing group that happens to be successful at getting votes.

I think we can all dispense with the fiction that the separation ...

2026-01-15T05:29:05Z

I think we can all dispense with the fiction that the separation of branches of government can overpower the collusion of partisanship. George Washington was right after all.

It follows, then, that a better system of government must weaken the strength of parties, by allowing minor parties to become competitive. I think that begins with #RankedChoiceVoting, which effectively undoes the natural game-theory tendency for two, and only two, very powerful parties to emerge.

What I would like to see next is the abolition of the Senate and the electoral college altogether, but that seems much less likely than first switching to RCV in the majority of states, or passing an amendment that permitted RCV in the way electoral college votes are counted.

But it is like an airport because people won’t judge you for ...

2026-01-15T00:26:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…qczx
_________________________

But it is like an airport because people won’t judge you for having a martini at 7:30 in the morning.

RE: https://mastodon.social/@augieray/115891261862815558 ...

2026-01-14T04:29:21Z

RE: https://mastodon.social/@augieray/115891261862815558

“Senate Democrats aren’t eager to fight” should be on the tombstone of Chuck Schumer’s career.

#FuckChuck

quoting
note1rrg…63k2

Democrats need to find a backbone and get better leaders who recognize what's happening in the nation and what's needed from them.

"Despite the fast-spreading outrage over the actions of DHS, many Senate Democrats aren’t eager to wage a fight over the department’s budget as part of this month’s funding fight."

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/senate-democrats-appear-ready-to-duck-ice-dhs-government-funding-deadline

One of the biggest reasons why I left Spotify (this was after ...

2026-01-12T20:48:02Z

One of the biggest reasons why I left Spotify (this was after they gave Joe Rogan a truckload of money, and tried to embrace/extinguish podcasts, but before they played ICE ads and before I discovered their CEO invests in killer drones) was because they were padding their LoFi playlists with garbage AI slop attributed to fictitious artists, bands, and labels. They were obviously doing this to avoid paying out any money to artists despite continual playback.

Spotify is 100% leaning hard into AI. They have an “AI DJ” that “curates” your music. They are replacing artists with AI slop. It’s all part of their grand enshittification. [@halva](https://mk.absturztau.be/@halva ) https://mk.absturztau.be/notes/ahf6b9v2rduf04iz

It’s kinda hard to tell which mutual aid request posts are real ...

2026-01-10T22:59:13Z

It’s kinda hard to tell which mutual aid request posts are real and which are scams. Anyone have tips on how to exclude the scammers?

Getting tired of seeing posts on Mastodon by European men ...

2026-01-10T19:43:40Z

Getting tired of seeing posts on Mastodon by European men scolding people that they should be more polite, or that if someone categorizes some people as “bad guys” then that makes THEM the bad guys, etc.

Maybe sit down and listen instead, huh? Your privilege is showing.

I don’t know if you noticed, but some people don’t want others to exist, or to exist only in a state of misery and subservience. THESE ARE BAD GUYS. You can’t reason with them, because their position is not one built on logic, but dominance. They don’t deserve politeness, only PUBLIC SHUNNING and RESISTANCE. Being rude to them is good and proper, and healthy for the world.

I swear if I have to read another Dutch man lecture me, a person born in Indonesia, a nation the Dutch colonized and exploited for centuries—about being polite…

https://www.humancode.us/2025/09/25/the-politeness-trap.html

I will sell you this piece of paper for half that subscription ...

2026-01-06T06:00:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…6wjf
_________________________

I will sell you this piece of paper for half that subscription price.

“Billionaires will leave if you tax them”: 1. No they won’t ...

2026-01-05T06:30:09Z

“Billionaires will leave if you tax them”:

1. No they won’t
2. They leave even when you don’t tax them
3. Things get better for most people when they leave
4. They say this so you won’t tax them

#billionaires #taxTheRich

Hey, remember that awkward and antisocial #Tesla diner that ...

2026-01-05T04:41:59Z

Hey, remember that awkward and antisocial #Tesla diner that opened in LA last July, where they built giant screens that blocked the view from the apartments next door?

It’s a ghost town. The crowds are gone. The chef resigned in November.

Given that the food is mediocre and overpriced, and the atmosphere is basically “corporate diner”, the only reason people would want to go there is to be associated with the Tesla brand. And since the brand has gone toxic, well…there’s not really any reason to be there any more, is there?

#goodNews #fuckTesla

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/03/tesla-diner-elon-musk-los-angeles

Someone posted this 8-bit JD Vance GIF and I love it. ...

2026-01-04T06:22:13Z

Someone posted this 8-bit JD Vance GIF and I love it.

I’m not a #finance expert but this seems really bad. Banks ...

2026-01-04T02:43:52Z

I’m not a #finance expert but this seems really bad. Banks haven’t needed this much cash infusion since the 2008 recession. On Oct 31, the Fed infused $51B of cash into one bank (they didn’t say which), and on Dec 28, they infused another $34B of cash into another bank (again they didn’t say which). This is after five years of zero such actions.

The article speculates that there is a short squeeze: banks have been shorting precious metals like silver and gold, but their prices have skyrocketed. They’re getting margin-called.

In any case, it seems that banks are suffering a liquidity crunch, to the tune of about $85B so far. Is this bad? This seems bad.

https://www.dcreport.org/2026/01/01/ny-fed-follow-up-34b-cash-infusions-wall-street/

Either we discovered some new fundamental truth about how human ...

2026-01-03T02:47:54Z

In reply to nevent1q…qd8t
_________________________

Either we discovered some new fundamental truth about how human intelligence works in the last decade, or incentives have aligned to pretend we did.

“Human intelligence is more than predicting words” was a ...

2026-01-03T01:45:11Z

“Human intelligence is more than predicting words” was a completely uncontroversial statement 10 years ago.