Source: www.schneier.com – Author: Bruce Schneier
Comments
This message will be deleted… •
I’ll save you the time of reading echo’s posts and just leave this message here, IMO:
Men are always wrong and Women are always right.
Gay parades for all you must all be gay or kneel before the gays in worship.
Grown men wearing women’s clothing and clown makeup can read to your children during story time but you cannot raise your children in going to “church” because they need to figure out based on nothing whether they’re even a boy or a girl.
Clive is always wrong and he’s also a man.
We need more strong lesbian and gay alliance people here to spread their religion of homosexuality to others, even if it’s completely off topic.
tut
This message will be deleted
Hi all,
This week we have a Cybershow episode called “Disappearing Worlds” It
is about how digital technology is making familiar human concepts like
trust, money, truth, care and even people “disappear”. This makes us
insecure.
Have a great weekend.
vas pup •
@https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/03/friday-squid-blogging-operation-squid.html/#comment-433827
Yes, probably will be deleted.
I guess this blog is not about LGBTQ+, WOKE, you name it but about really security issues which affect people regardless of their demographics, sexual orientation, political/religious affiliation.
Those subjects of security should unite all folks OR we just need danger of total extinction of humanity to forget about what is different among us and remember what is similar? – just opinion.
Hope my post will not be deleted as well.
vas pup •
Hundreds rescued from love scam centre in the Philippines
https://www.yahoo.com/news/hundreds-rescued-love-scam-centre-094252739.html
“Hundreds of people have been rescued from a scam centre in the Philippines that made them pose as lovers online.
Police said they raided the centre on Thursday and rescued 383 Filipinos, 202
Chinese and 73 other foreign nationals.
The centre, which is about 100km north of Manila, was masquerading as an online
gambling firm, they said.
South East Asia has become a hub for scam centres where the scammers themselves are often entrapped and forced into criminal activity.
Young and tech-savvy victims are often lured into running these illegal operations, which range from money laundering and crypto fraud to so-called
love scams. The latter are also known as “pig butchering” scams, named after
the farming practice of fattening pigs before slaughtering them.”
For more information – follo the link.
44 52 4D CO+2 •
Any estimates about the amount of food that had to be destroyed to recover 1.3 tons of banker’s delight?
Clive Robinson •
@ vas pup, ALL,
Re : Horses do drink water.
“I guess this blog is not about LGBTQ+, WOKE, you name it but about really security issues which affect people regardless of their demographics, sexual orientation, political/religious affiliation.”
Or disabilities and a “hundred and one” other human/social issues.
Importantly though is nor is this blog anti any of those either.
There are two watch words for each and every thread,
1, Context
2, Relevance
The other day I posted again about a “relevant” security distinction between certain types of men and certain types of women as burglars. But importantly it was in a “context” of how long CCTV “footage” is retained.
The previous time I mentioned it was years ago, again it was both “relevant” and within “context”.
The fact that the gap was years was that security as a topic is very very broad, thus certain contexts come up very rarely or with the right relevance needing comment.
It was not as someone falsely assumed that the blog posters here,
1, Don’t get it,
2, Don’t see it,
3, Don’t acknowledge it,
4, Don’t want to talk about it.
It is because down the bottom of “The Computing Stack” where most of the blog threads are is “technical” which is agnostic to “good or bad” or “gender” or “sex” etc which are “human” thus up the top of the stack.
Yes, our host is broadening the blog and thread contexts are going “up the stack” as well as down.
But two things have to be remembered,
1, Most constructs have foundations it’s why we have the computing stack.
2, Getting foundations wrong is one of the most serious security flaws there is.
Thus like it or not this blog will remain “technical” in quite a large part, otherwise it would quickly be irrelevant as far as security is concerned
Oh the funny thing is that there is a flip side, in that some people have complained when we “talk technical” because it’s “not their sort of technical” or too deep down technical.
Because they fail to realise that “Domain Knowledge” is to “Renaissance People” a “transferable skill/asset” across many domains. That is what appears in what the complainer considers to be “not in their domain” thus riles against it, actually does apply to their domain, they just do not want to take the blinkers off and see “the knowledge transfer”.
I’m known to say that “Security folk” need to “get with it” as far as “Radio” is concerned and learn to play with “Software Defined Radio”(SDR) and GNU-Radio and similar. Untill recently I was almost “A lone voice in the dark” now however more people are seeing the relevance, even though they may not want to play in that sand pit.
Because for many in the past “radio” has been seen as at the very bottom of or even below the ISO OSI seven layer stack, or DoD APRA four layer stack. Thus they discount it…
I’ve explained the notion of,
1, Bubbling up attacks
2, Reach down / around attacks
Yet they do not put 2&2 together. Thus failed to realise there is a whole series of quite nasty attacks out there (which are now getting exploited). Not just RowHammer or Meltdown but many more such as the notion of “Phantom CPU’s” where the likes of “Memory Management Units”(MMUs), “I/O Management Units”(IOMMU) and “Direct Memory Access”(DMA) logic blocks well below the main CPU can not only be used as “backdoors” they also can be “Turing Compleat” thus “programmable” in ways most can not get their heads around easily.
Thus those on this blog need to have “wider horizons” and extend their knowledge both down and up the computing stack.
But… Also those with different perches on the rungs of the stack should remember that “horses do eventually drink water” they just want to do it in their own time and at their own pace.
Thus “context and relevance” remain as “watch words” of advice.
ResearcherZero •
On me farm, men and women all cry equal amounts about their little hands hurting. I can’t hear or spot the difference between one or another, especially over the phone.
You’re all soft. But that’s probably a better thing than you all being hard. 😉
JonKnowsNothing •
@Clive, All
re: JN1 spring & summer waves
While a lot of information on C19 has dried up, there is still a trickle of information seeping out into the public sphere. Much of it contradictory and lots of information missing the science part.
USA
- JN1 is the dominant form all over the USA. All previous versions have been squashed.
- JN1 continues to mutate. Other versions continue to mutate.
- JN1 mutations are gaining traction in the population
Vaccines are a mixed bag with contradictory information
- 65+yo can get a spring jab. In other countries this can be 75yo.
-
The value of the jab is – hard to determine as jab rates are down. Jab effectiveness is very poor depending on what criteria is selected. 54% at best.
-
- Prevention – No, Reduced Illness – No, Reduced hospitalizations – Maybe
-
Reporting on the outcomes is near nil. The only numbers that seem to count are those who end up in hospital. Going to the ER and being sent home, may not be counted in vaccine statistical results. The majority of people who get C19 with or without a jab, are told to
-
- Stay home (CDC)
-
- Go to work (CDC)
-
Winter 2023-2024 was the 2nd worst surge since 2019 primarily the JN1 variant
-
Long COVID 17.6M USA
-
- Long COVID is increasing in scope, each round of C19 increases likelihood of symptoms
-
- Long COVID doesn’t exist (AU QLD study) the after effects are the same as for other viral infections, like the flu. The symptoms are real we just shouldn’t use the C19 word for them.
-
- There is no cure for Long COVID
-
RAT Test may not be reliable and may not be available
-
Treatments & drugs continue a declining scale of effectiveness
-
- In practical terms, we have the same treatment options as in 2019. Only the extreme lethality of JN1 is less than D614G. JN1 is still very lethal.
The spring-summer 2024 edition of COVID-19 will be a global event, featuring mostly JN1 and its variants mixed with SARS-CoV-2 variants in other countries and cities.
The spring event is starting now with school holiday breaks and will be followed by summer vacation travel.
ResearcherZero •
It’s good that humans are not heartless, metal, killing machines.
But are humans beginning to treat one another more like machines?
Windows of Sensitivity: Growing up in public
‘https://www.sciencenews.org/article/social-media-teens-mental-health
A well-intentioned but naïve intervention could backfire and come across as “creepy” and “too much.” [eggplant]
https://theconversation.com/its-not-just-bad-behavior-why-social-media-design-makes-it-hard-to-have-constructive-disagreements-online-161337
–
Definitional power is the capacity to paint social reality in the interests of dominant groups.
Some people are into the power of power
The absolute corrupting power that makes great men insane
While some people find their refreshment in action
The manipulation, encroachment and destruction of their inferiors
‘https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2056305116662398
How people jump to conclusions — even at their own cost — when they see others doing the same.
“People can learn to consider evidence worthless because others have acted as though it is worthless. However, we found that they do this even when good evidence is available. This means they all too frequently make decisions that go against their own success.”
[blank space]
‘https://phys.org/news/2021-03-reveals-people-tendency-conclusions.html
Growing Up In Public (with your pants down)
‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wLnLhudPjE
ResearcherZero •
“People You May Know”
“Friend” recommendation system for sociopaths and sadists.
‘https://www.wired.com/story/764-com-child-predator-network/
Large increase in complaints following sacking of thousands of workers at Meta.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/06/facebook-content-enabled-child-sexual-abuse-new-mexico-lawsuit.html
Meta uses an AI reporting system which fails to do the job.
‘https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/jan/17/child-sexual-abuse-ai-moderator-police-meta-alphabet
The AI System – Slum School: disposable labour for as little as $1.50 an hour
“We just think of it as normal. It’s a competitive advantage.”
‘https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-46055595
–
Harmful content moderation at $2.20 per-hour ends.
‘https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-shuts-down-moderating-harmful-content-east-african-office-2023-1
“I can’t afford the therapy that I need with the barely-living-wage pay that we receive.”
https://theintercept.com/2020/06/18/facebook-moderator-ptsd-settlement-accenture/
In many cases, users report no action being taken by the company.
‘https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/mar/14/facebook-messenger-meta-pay-child-sexual-abuse-exploitation
ResearcherZero •
$12.7 billion worth of meth, cocaine, MDMA, heroin and cannabis was consumed last year, more than $2 billion more than the year previous.
‘https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/drug-use-in-wa-plummeted-during-the-pandemic-so-what-happened-when-borders-opened-20240312-p5fbvh.html
“We drain over 100 gigalitres of water through main drains out into the ocean and into the estuary every year.”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-10/primary-water-source-in-perth-drying-up/100974130
100 to 230mm less rainfall each year since 1971–2010 compared to 1911–1970
‘https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/water/managing-aquifers-to-deal-with-groundwater-loss/
Decline in recharge of southwest groundwater is unprecedented for the last 800 years
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-023-00858-7
The Gnangara groundwater system is made up of three aquifers.
1,000 gigalitres of groundwater is being lost from the Superficial aquifer since 1980
‘https://www.wa.gov.au/service/natural-resources/water-resources/interactive-water-science-maps
morganism •
Just dropped to see if anything here on the Nebula hack of the Russian Govt. Claimed worm dropped into the main secure gov network there.
Last post on X was Mar 12, havn’t heard or seen much since then.
“We have encrypted all systems of the Moscow Government. Not the website mosreg. All internal systems of government. pic.twitter.com/NrZNs03qkE
— Nebula (@Nebula00x) March 11, 2024”
https://fintechs.fi/hacktivist-group-nebula-strikes-at-the-russian-election-systems/
Russian hacking group ‘Nebula’ claims to have breached the Moscow government systems and encrypted the intranet data. They say the virus is self-replicating and will continue to infect systems on the network. This could totally paralyze the Moscow government. https://t.co/0nBHGWSliL
— Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) March 11, 2024
ResearcherZero •
“preparations by the authorities to impose sweeping Internet blockages”
‘https://meduza.io/en/feature/2024/03/12/meduza-is-facing-the-most-intense-cyberattack-campaign-in-its-history
Plan to to “reshape the society and facilitate rapid mobilization following the elections“
https://informnapalm.org/en/russia-after-the-elections/
Network of European websites spreading Kremlin disinfo.
‘https://insightnews.media/pro-russian-websites-network-in-europe-serve-russia-information-warfare/
Waking up the sleeper agents. – “The countries which were part of this former Communist bloc are one of the major sources for the FSB and GRU recruiting.”
https://www.euronews.com/2023/08/18/spies-like-us-how-does-russias-intelligence-network-operate-across-europe
Kremlin disinfo more successful than originally thought.
‘https://www.hybridcoe.fi/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/20240306-Hybrid-CoE-Working-Paper-29-The-impact-of-Kremlin-disinformation-WEB.pdf
–
Urban humans have lost much of their ability to digest cellulose. Rural hicks more adept.
‘https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/49259/20240315/gut-bacteria-cellulose-digestion-plants.htm
[bonus cool graphic]
“They found, for example, levels as high as 30% to 40% in non-human primates and humans from 1,000 years ago, and 20% in modern hunter–gatherer people. In sharp contrast, they found that those eating a modern diet showed levels less than 5%.”
‘https://phys.org/news/2024-03-team-bacteria-species-human-gut.html
Winter •
@morganism
From the link:
‘https://fintechs.fi/hacktivist-group-nebula-strikes-at-the-russian-election-systems/
By taking this bold step, they aim to expose and challenge what they perceive as a fraudulent election, strategically targeting essential systems to disrupt the electoral process and call for transparency and fairness.
This is purely a PR move. Everybody knows the votes have long been tabulated. The authorities do not need the actual ballots to publish the results of the election.
Clive Robinson •
@ JonKnowsNothing, MarkH, SpaceLifeForm, Winter,
Re : C19, JN1, long Covid and what’s to come.
Another year,
Another reaping of humanity,
Another maiming of many,
With vast waste and lost opportunity cost,
As Big Phama pulls in another billion or more in fraud earned dollar.
When will it end?
“While a lot of information on C19 has dried up, there is still a trickle of information seeping out into the public sphere. Much of it contradictory and lots of information missing the science part.”
If you look back to the very begining of 2019 on this blog, there were predictions and prognostications made by “the usual suspects” and most have been proved so far.
Some are still on the countdown clock such as increases in cancers and people incurring life long immunocompromise of organs and the like[1].
The only “honest” figures have been from things politicians and the like can not avoid such as the legally required recording of deaths, and the consequent “Excess Death” figures.
Though they are also “fiddled” by giving as percentages of preceding five year average… In an upward curve 10% of the previous five years growth is way more actual deaths this year than it was in the first year of that five year average, even though it’s still 10%…
You can see this from simple 10% per year growth you can calculate in your head starting at 100,
110, 121, 133.1, 146.41, 161.051
Now multiply by millions of coffins.
[1] Whilst still disputed by the “old guard” and those with “blame the victim” accusations for pecuniary benefit, the evidence that certain pathogens like virii are direct causes or triggers of cancer and immunocompromise is growing remorselessly as it did with environmental triggers.
JonKnowsNothing •
@Clive, @ MarkH, SpaceLifeForm, Winter, All
re: “fiddled” by giving as percentages of preceding five year average
In many aspects of C19 reporting, they fiddle the baseline, they fiddle the threshold and ceiling values, restate the valuations, in a way that makes comparisons difficult.
- Stock Markets require businesses to submit annual reports, and those reports must have a 5 year or 10 year annual comparison list. If a company restates one aspect or recasts numbers for one year, they are required to recast all the other years using the same change method.
For C19 reporting there is no recasting. You have to read the fine print if it is included.
- The CDC heat map of C19 infections shows only areas that actual report data, as many states are no longer required to report anything, and only for regions having “above 300 sequences for 2 weeks”.
Per the displayed map, this is only 5 sections of the USA. The entire central portion of the USA and the NW section are Undefined.
My personal peeve is the “numbers per 100,000” value. This really masks the actual cases in an area, primarily since you have to look up how many people live in NY or London compared to how many people live in a rural setting. For small cities and rural areas under 100,000 population this value is always zero.
Clive Robinson •
@ ResearcherZero
Re : WA’s not so little problem.
$12.7 billion worth of meth, cocaine, MDMA, heroin and cannabis was consumed last year, more than $2 billion more than the year previous.
Quoting “price” is a bit of a “political trick” as it’s related to “supply and demand” not to actual net weight consumption.
But the rapid rise in cannabis consumption does not surprise me at all.
It’s a drug that is strongly related to pain relief (like the bodies own pain relief chemicals) both physical and mental.
It’s main “downside” is where it gets it’s early street name, in that it makes you “doppy”.
The opposite effect is achieved by amphetamines but they do not stop the pain relief effects of cannabis
Back in the 1980’s research was done on using the two in combination to deal with long term and otherwise incurable pain. Only as usual certain types of Politicians with very conservative often nutball religious convictions kicked off.
However like the active ingredient in “magic mushrooms” now getting proper research into how it helps for chronic depression. Research into chronic pain has alleviated restrictions on cannabis I suspect amphetamine research in combination will be re-started and published with probably beneficial results. As for other “drugs” it’s long been known that “LSD” helps those with chronic migraines. Medical literature is increasing with the likes of,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5584001/
What the graph in the “WA Today” article tells me is that for most recreational drugs little has changed, but that Cannabis and methamphetamine usage is rising significantly.
Which begs the question of people maybe “self medicating” for what they feel is incurable pain and consequent depression in WA…
Now the relevent question might be,
“What could have caused an increase in this sort of pain in WA?”
And for that matter world wide…
There might be a relevant answer a little further up this thread…
Winter •
@Clive
The only “honest” figures have been from things politicians and the like can not avoid such as the legally required recording of deaths, and the consequent “Excess Death” figures.
Use life expectancy. These nicely show the dips.
‘https://www.worldometers.info/demographics/life-expectancy/
Historically, by country:
‘https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/GBR/united-kingdom/life-expectancy
Erdem Memisyazici •
I wonder if they began the investigation with the thought, “something fishy is going on here.”
Winter •
@Al
So, since greater Wuhan, with 20 million people in a country with 1 billion has about 2% of the population, there was a 2% chance that the virus would have appeared there and a 98% chance it would have emerged elsewhere.
Which holds for every city in China. Every place in earth/China is statistically equally unlikely. The previous corona epidemic started in Hongkong. What are the odds that a corona epidemic starts in Hongkong?
So, statistical ignorance leads to conspiracy theories. Theories intended to distract from horrible incompetence of policy makers in the face of a pandemic.
lurker •
@Winter, All
“Use life expectancy. These nicely show the dips.”
I looked at those curves and found a significant dip for US, UK, and to a lesser extent Canada, for the years 2014-2018, pre-covid. No such dip was evient for AU, NZ, or a few European countries I checked.
JN1 is the current Variant of Interest here too, but figures are less reliable since reporting is no longer required, so PCR tests are far and few. But the wastewater detections are showing an upward divergence from reported cases. This link is a mix of static and dynamic data, and dynamic data whose source is no longer available.
‘https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/450874/covid-19-data-visualisations-nz-in-numbers
JonKnowsNothing •
@lurker, Winter, All
re: Use life expectancy drips and dips
Each country defined what they would do and not do from 2019-present. Some countries took the isolation route, either by intent or by getting caught in the No Fly No Travel rules in other places.
NZ had the best record for all aspects of C19, during the early years. They established a protocol that was sabotaged internally by NZ persons in charge of the isolation management. Later that was further sabotaged by AU attempting to create an open transit corridor but failing on their end to keep the corridor clean.
AU did OK, but mostly because no one was going there. The internal feuds between AU States about closed borders and open borders mirrored those issues globally. Once the virus escaped into AU general population it was game over for AU.
During these years life expectancy in NZ and AU did not shift much. It was after the collapse of isolation protocols that large numbers of people died. Most of them in care homes, elderly or with the convenient “pre-existing condition”. AU particularly did not report C19 statistics. NZ was limited but the death toll there was in the same demographic groups but also hit the Maori population. The AU indigenous peoples got heavily impacted but AU has an odd view of this population so it was not included in AU statistics.
In the USA, death statistics are highly suspect. Only if you die in hospital does it count. If you are triaged to a rehab facility or hospice the cause of death and contributing cause list may have no indication of C19. It is the responsibility of the Hospice MD to decide what to place in those fields and COVID is not the first choice on their list.
Winter •
@JonKnowsNothing
In the USA, death statistics are highly suspect. Only if you die in hospital does it count.
Life expectancy does not care about cause of death.
vas pup •
@Clive “Thus “context and relevance” remain as “watch words” of advice.” No doubt – thank you for your input.
@ALL on robots
Advanced army robots more likely to be blamed for deaths
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/03/240314122121.htm
“Advanced killer robots are more likely to blamed for civilian deaths than
military machines, new research has revealed. The study shows that high-tech
bots will be held more responsible for fatalities in identical incidents.
Dr Dawtry said: “As robots are becoming more sophisticated, they are performing a wider range of tasks with less human involvement.
“Some tasks, such as autonomous driving or military uses of robots, pose a risk to peoples’ safety, which raises questions about how — and where — responsibility will be assigned when people are harmed by autonomous robots.
“This is an important, emerging issue for law and policy makers to grapple with, for example around the use of autonomous weapons and human rights.
“Our research contributes to these debates by examining how ordinary people explain robots’ harmful behavior and showing that the same processes underlying how blame is assigned to humans also lead people to assign blame to robots.”
Other studies showed that simply labeling a variety of devices ‘autonomous robots’ lead people to hold them accountable compared to when they were labeled ‘machines’.
“For example, we found that simply labeling relatively simple machines, such
as those used in factories, as ‘autonomous robots’, lead people to perceive them as agentic and blameworthy, compared to when they were labeled ‘machines’.
lurker •
@Winter
“Life expectancy does not care about cause of death.”
No, but we do, for reasons ranging from actuarial to salacious. The curves you referred to appear NOT to show a reduction in life expectancy, or rather a reduction in rate of increase of life expectancy, which could be attributed, even temporally to C19. Unless perhaps there is an error on the x-axis; or my browser is not displaying what their code thinks it should …
But again if the dip in the Nth America and UK curves is not caused by C19, then what? This is UN data, which could be expected to be massaged to reduce nationalistic artifacts, but one set of curves is drawn by macrotrends, which obviously shwws a dip 2014-2018. The other curve from worldometer shows only a slight reduction in the rate of increase of life expectancy for the five years prior to 2020. Are these two companies presumably with skin in the game both fudging the figures to hide the effects of C19? Both show the effects of the 1957-58 “Asian flu” pandemic to be more significant than C19, and more accurately placed on the time axis.
Clive Robinson •
@ vas pup, ALL,
With regards the Science Daily article,
“Advanced killer robots are more likely to blamed for civilian deaths than military machines, new research has revealed.
“
To be honest I can not say I’m surprised.
Most humans when presented with something outside of their actual knowledge domains resort to what is often called “The Duck Test” of,
If it,
1, Looks like a duck,
2, Quacks like a duck,
3, Waddles like a duck,
Why would you think it was a goose?
At one time I used to work on the design of sub systems for “Bomb Disposal Systems” some called them “wheelbarrows” some called them “robots” neither was true, they were more accurately “Remotely Operated Vehicles With Remotely operated actuators”(ROV-ROA).
But the point is to most people they were either,
1, A robot.
2, A machine.
We are familiar with machines in the general sense of realising they have no “free agency” even when the go wrong and jump the tracks etc. We do not consider “the machine to be at fault” as it has no agency. We instead blame the closest “Directing Mind” we can find, be it the operator, maintainer, owner, builder, designer, specifier of the machine and it’s intended purpose.
However most have no real familiarity with robots even though we might have one or two in high end kitchen appliances (the simplest being auto-cookers in microwaves, or washing machines, that change their operation dependent on what you load into them). Or other more mobile home appliances like vacuum cleaners. What we are familiar with though, is the B-Movie “Mechanical-Man gone crazy” with the obligatory in chest doomsday device, or the computer that will destroy the world from space memes with awful catch phrases like “I’ll be back” or clunky footsteps.
Then we see US Army “robots” that look like mechanical dogs or headless horses and some how leap to the conclusion they must be more intelligent than the animals they vaguely look like…
Thus we fool ourselves into nightmare worse case thinking, via our B-Movie preconceptions and the duck test.
Putting labels on things is in effect just “putting a thumb on the scales” of an observers balance of judgment.
I have a friend who is gadget crazy and has both a vacuuming robot and a security robot trundling around his home. He also has “a neighbors cat” that comes in to demand food and attention. The cat appears to have a more sensible approach to the robots than most humans…
AL •
@Winter
One big problem that I see, and the AI has been helpful is people who dislike dealing with inconvenient truths. There is nobody more concerned about this than government. The other week, the AI spat out something or other about India’s Modi, and they object.
But Google drives the point home with their AI that has a Flounder from the sensitivity training group filter on the AI’s output.
It became clear to me that what we need for AI is 1st officer Spock from Star Trek. Since AI does run on a desktop, I’m working towards getting that Spock.
In this thing about Covid origins, I don’t think we should think like Democrats or Republicans. We should instead think like Spock and that is what I intend to do. And I think Spock would say that the “likelihood or chance” that the coronavirus originated from the lab greatly exceeds the likelihood or chance that the coronavirus emerged naturally and its first appearance in Wuhan is purely coincidental. That does appear to be your position.
I don’t think it’s science. I think your natural emergence theory is a political diagnosis because of the legal ramifications involved if there is human culpability. Your people are hiding behind “reasonable doubt”, but Spock would give me “preponderance of the evidence” and preponderance means lab.
I’m a kinda of let the chips lie where they fall. The chances that the association between the lab and virus was true was much greater that the chances that there was no association. I dispute claims to the contrary. Possible that there is no association, not saying impossible, but am saying not likely, had significantly a lesser chance.
Those kinds of evaluations are scientific based. I think there has been a large conflict of interests present in areas of the science. And finally, I think it is hazardous to grant the state the benefit of the doubt on matters like this that could involve negligent homicide, involuntary conscription into medical experiments etc. I see that as supporting fascism.
JonKnowsNothing •
@AL, All
re: Lab or Nature
This is of minor historical value. Everything starts with nature. Humans tend to mess things up. Your question is more like: is it “intentional messing up” or “accidental messing up”. In both cases humans are the central pivot point.
However, rather than worry about historical maybes, you might want to concern yourself with the many SARS-CoV-2 animal reservoirs, that exist globally. It does show that COVID-19 can live happily in whitetail deer when it is lethal to humans. (1) There are quite a few host-reservoirs, now. So every hunting season, one can expect the Bring Home The Trophy set will bring home COVID-19 from their deer carcasses, hides, and antlers. As each geographic group of deer have their own variant, we can look forward to many years of Bambi’s Vengeance.
- There is also Deer Chronic Wasting Disease similar to BSE Mad Cow coming to the family dinner. (2)
The other aspect that’s concerning, and it’s not just for COVID-19, is that all that virus in the wastewater, rolls into the oceans. Many countries use the oceans to dump their garbage including used medical kit (PPE). So COVID-19 is rolling around in the oceans and infecting ocean animals. (3)
===
1)
htt ps://e n.wikiped ia.org/wiki/SARS-CoV-2_in_white-tailed_deer
- March 2022 joint statement regarding animal monitoring, the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) specifically cited white-tailed deer as an example of a newly formed wild animal reservoir.
- SARS-CoV-2 evolves at an accelerated pace in white-tailed deer, at triple the rate of viral evolution in humans. White-tailed deer also maintain active infections much longer than humans, with infections lasting anywhere between six and nine months.
htt ps://en.wikip edia.org/wiki/List_of_animals_that_can_get_SARS-CoV-2
Listing of animals known to contract COVID-19
2)
https://en.wiki ped ia.org/wiki/Chronic_wasting_disease
- Chronic wasting disease (CWD), sometimes called zombie deer disease, is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) affecting deer. TSEs are a family of diseases thought to be caused by misfolded proteins called prions and include similar diseases such as BSE (mad cow disease) in cattle, Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) in humans and scrapie in sheep.
-
Natural infection causing CWD affects members of the deer family. In the United States, CWD affects mule deer, white-tailed deer, red deer, sika deer, elk, caribou, and moose.
-
Experimental transmission of CWD to other species such as squirrel monkeys and genetically modified mice has been shown.
3)
htt ps://en.wik ipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_and_animals#Impact_of_personal_protective_equipment_(PPE)_pollution
- Impact of personal protective equipment (PPE) pollution
- Wastewater transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the marine environment
JonKnowsNothing •
@lurker, @Winter, ALL
re: @W: “Life expectancy does not care about cause of death.”
Yes there is a difference in how deaths are counted.
- One is the average length of time, your birth cohort is expected to live. This is set on your day and year of birth.
- The other metric is morbidity-mortality which is if you do not make it to your expected date as defined above, what killed you.
-
- Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular population
-
- Morbidity is a diseased state, disability, or poor health due to any cause.
So technically, life expectancy is about how long you MIGHT live. Causes of Death and Contributing Factors to Cause of Death are about why you didn’t make it.
For the most of us, average folks we don’t make much distinction in the usage of the words, but there is a definition difference for some people.
re: @l: if the dip in the Nth America and UK curves is not caused by C19, then what?
I may not understand your question completely but there is a verifiable change in Deaths in the USA, from before COVID pandemic.
These deaths are called Deaths of Despair (suicide, alcohol, drugs) and the magnitude is off the scale but only in the USA and only for a particular demographic: Non Hispanic White Males.
Details of this situation are examined in a book
- Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism (1)
To understand exactly what is happening in the USA, and only in the USA, the authors present an analysis of where, when, why and how. The book is well presented and quite readable. However, the results do require some time to absorb the meaning, as these deaths are not from any of the commonly attributed causes.
So, within this demographic, the numbers have risen off the charts and have been accelerating for some decades.
===
1)
Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism
Case, Anne; Deaton, Angus (2020). Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism.
Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691190785.
ht tps://en.wik ipedia.org/wiki/Angus_Deaton
- Sir Angus Stewart Deaton FBA[1] (born 19 October 1945) is a British-American economist and academic. Deaton is currently a Senior Scholar and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of Economics and International Affairs Emeritus at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and the Economics Department at Princeton University. His research focuses primarily on poverty, inequality, health, wellbeing, and economic development.[2]
-
In 2015, he was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his analysis of consumption, poverty, and welfare.
ht tps://en.wi kipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Case
- Anne Catherine Case, Lady Deaton, (born July 27, 1958) is an American economist who is currently the Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, emeritus, at Princeton University
h ttps:/ /en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disease_of_despair
- Mortality and morbidity rates in the United States have been decreasing for decades. Between 1970 and 2013, mortality rates for middle-aged Americans fell by 44% and morbidity was on a decline even among the elderly
- the US White non-Hispanic population significantly differs from populations in other countries. For example, in 2015, drug, alcohol and suicide mortality was more than two times higher among US White non-Hispanics in comparison to people from the United Kingdom, Sweden or Australia.
ResearcherZero •
How we talk about abstract things affects how we think of them.
‘https://www.popsci.com/language-time-perception/
Persuasive and Evasive
https://uwaterloo.ca/news/media/research-shows-people-who-bs-are-more-likely-fall-bs
A mismatch between the adaptive strategies people devise and the information they receive, resulting in people reacting disproportionately to information.
“These concepts are reentering the policy lexicon as types of intentional policy responses that are largely undertaken when political executives are vulnerable to voters. Intentional overreactions derive from the desire of political executives to pander to voters’ opinions or signal extremity by overreacting to these opinions in domains susceptible to manipulation for credit-claiming purposes.”
Intentional underreactions are motivated by political executives’ attempts to avoid blame and may subsequently lead to deliberate overreaction.
‘https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11077-016-9259-8
–
Pteropid lyssavirus was discovered in 1955. Outbreaks often occur following deforestation.
‘https://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/cda-cdi2109-pdf-cnt.htm/$FILE/cdi2109a.pdf
“lost bat habitats, droughts and a lack of flowering plants as key indicators of potential Hendra outbreaks.”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-25/hendra-virus-bat-habitat-flying-fox-research-horses/102011352
Lorikeet paralysis syndrome has occurred since the 1970’s. The cause remains unidentified.
‘https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/thousands-of-rainbow-lorikeets-are-unable-to-fly-and-vets-don-t-know-why-20240208-p5f3ch.html
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-01/mysterious-virus-killing-lorikeets-in-queensland/12205888
Feline infectious peritonitis was first discovered in 1963, though you may notice there is only a mention at the bottom of the following article that: “the virus is not unique to the country and has been previously reported in the UK”.
‘https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/cyprus-dead-cat-island-feline-coronavirus-outbreak/
“Despite decades of research into bats and the pathogens they carry, the fields of bat virus ecology and molecular biology are still nascent, with many questions largely unexplored”
“The observation that bats may be refractory to, or tolerant of, viral infection was noted as early at 1936, yet the immunological mechanisms that underpin this phenotype have only begun to be elucidated in the past few years.”
‘https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-020-0394-z
[CHOP, CHOP, CHOP. followed by roar of chainsaws… some bulldozer sounds]
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/16/health/deforestation-bats-hendra-virus.html
HeV first emerged in Hendra, Australia in 1994 where the outbreak was responsible for the death of a horse trainer, illness in a horse strapper, and the death of 20 horses.
‘https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8510678/
Enabling conditions for Hendra virus spillover
ResearcherZero •
A recent study suggests measles appeared about 4,000 years ago, originating from a virus affecting livestock.
‘https://theconversation.com/explainer-a-history-of-the-measles-virus-and-why-its-so-tenacious-130262
“The date was April 12, 1955 — the announcement came from Ann Arbor, Mich. Church bells tolled, factory whistles blew. People ran into the streets weeping. President Eisenhower invited Jonas Salk to the White House, where he choked up while thanking Salk for saving the world’s children — an iconic moment, the height of America’s faith in research and science. Vaccines became a natural part of pediatric care.”
Poliovirus is believed to have existed within human populations for at least 3,500 years.
Before a polio vaccine became available, several polio epidemics had occurred between 1948 and 1955. Many people avoided crowds and public gatherings, such as fairs, sports games and swimming pools, during this time due to concern about getting polio. Some parents wouldn’t let their children play with new friends and regularly checked them for symptoms.
“The first epidemics appeared in the form of outbreaks of at least 14 cases near Oslo, Norway, in 1868 and of 13 cases in northern Sweden in 1881. About the same time, the idea began to be suggested that the hitherto sporadic cases of infantile paralysis might be contagious.”
‘https://www.britannica.com/science/polio/Polio-through-history
ResearcherZero •
Your collection of personal germs is a unique blend. Pretty darn cool hey! 😀
‘https://phys.org/news/2024-03-bacteria-personal-thought.html
https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2024/03/427241/covid-19-virus-can-stay-body-more-year-after-infection
Are we all livestock? Should we shoot all the livestock? No.
Should we all stop drinking milk. No.
Your phones (and bodies) are covered in viruses and bacteria.
reacting disproportionately to information
‘https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11077-016-9259-8
How we talk about abstract things affects how we think of them.
https://www.popsci.com/language-time-perception/
How to liberally apply all that BS to your garden…
(seriously a good guide for the proper application of manure)
‘https://extension.psu.edu/wise-use-of-manure-in-home-vegetable-gardens
Winter •
@Clive
Also that due to Wuhan’s status as a travel hub, it is also a business hub, and with that an entertainment hub.
All the arguments you give were also the very reason Wuhan got their big biology center. It has always been a disease hotspot.
Winter •
@ResearcherZero
If you were not covered in germs you would very likely die.
Without the ones in your gut, you certainly would die. Or you would have to eat a very special diet with a lot of additives.
Winter •
@JonKnowsNothing
These deaths are called Deaths of Despair (suicide, alcohol, drugs) and the magnitude is off the scale but only in the USA and only for a particular demographic: Non Hispanic White Males.
Also called the “Opioid Crisis” where the Sacklers almost singlehandedly killed over 600,000 Americans.
In the UK, life expectancy was falling for the same reason, increasing poverty.
‘https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-58893328
Also in the UK, the in/decrease of life expectancy is in lockstep with Conservative Rule: Life expectancy only increases when the Conservatives are not at the helm:
‘https://theconversation.com/life-expectancy-in-britain-has-fallen-so-much-that-a-million-years-of-life-could-disappear-by-2058-why-88063
Clive Robinson •
@ JonKnowsNothing, ALL,
Re : Almost reminiscing about bias.
“However, rather than worry about historical maybes, you might want to concern yourself with the many SARS-CoV-2 animal reservoirs, that exist globally.”
You and I had many concerns over “animal reservoirs” back in the early part of C19 around about the time of the cull and disastrous burial of mink in Europe.
I was mostly worried about rats and mice, other rodents, family pets, and farm livestock, due to their normal proximity of these to humans in the UK and just about every other part of the world as well.
I was less worried about actual live in the wild wild creatures like otters and similar, and I got it wrong.
As it turns out so far I was right about mice, it’s how Omicron allegedly came about in Africa.
But I’d discounted wild creatures like deer from my thinking.
The question is why?
The answer is whilst we do do game and wildlife control outside of fishing we hunt very little. Some do shoot “game birds” and when I was quite a bit younger I used to shoot a lot of rabbit and pigeon “for the pot” on farmland around where I lived.
But in the UK hunting is now seen as a “blood sport” and much is made about “The noble Stag” being “torn down by dogs” and equivalent… So outside of rural areas where game control is still considered “normal” the carrying of a firearm attracts much unwanted attention from “the boys in blue”. It’s got so bad that a Scotsman carrying a just repaired table leg home in a bag got accosted, shot, and killed from behind by two policemen… But this apparently was OK with the powers that be because “it could have been a gun” and “what’s one more dead Paddy anyway”[1]…
So in much of England there is next to no places for “wildlife” to exist and the general population rarely sees wildlife let alone come into communicable disease range of it.
So yup my view was unintentionally “biased”.
[1] The story makes grim reading with the police coming out very badly. The least anti reference is probably,
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Harry_Stanley
Apparently there had been an anonymous report of “an Irishman with a gun in a bag”, so the thinking “he must have been a terrorist” or some such.
Clive Robinson •
@ ResearcherZero, ALL,
“Your collection of personal germs is a unique blend. Pretty darn cool hey! 😀”
That depends…
Some see your “micro flora” as more unique than a fingerprint, and like skin cells subject to “Edmond Locard’s Principle”[1].
Thus they are already seriously looking at using it as a “biometric”.
Some TV series like “Bones” have mentioned it and “Warehouse 13” made a fairly big thing out of “Arties’ spit lock” on the “Bronzer” which had just the right amount of comedic yuck factor.
[1] Most simply expressed as,
“Every contact leaves a trace”
It’s the notion in forensics that there is an exchange of material on every contact. Thus if you have been to the scene of a crime you leave part of you behind, and take part of it with you. Thus you can be tied to the crime… (Actually not it’s a lot more complicated).
Winter •
@Clive
You and I had many concerns over “animal reservoirs” back in the early part of C19 around about the time of the cull and disastrous burial of mink in Europe.
Virologists very early on were unanimous about the future of SARS2. It would never again go away. We already had 4 ones who had been around for a century or more causing little more than a simple cold.[1]
The common opinion among virologists is that SARS2 will go the same route.
[1] an article from spring 2019 explaining these viruses:
‘https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7157439/
With a simple warning that might have been heeded with some benefits. Remember, this is spring 2019:
Continuous surveillance on animal species including bats and other mammals residing near bat habitats is essential for early identification of potential zoonotic outbreak and prediction of possible interspecies jumping. Emphasis should be placed around wet markets, farms and abattoirs to safeguard humans from novel zoonotic pathogens.
AL •
@JonKnowsNothing – Your question is more like: is it “intentional messing up” or “accidental messing up”
No it isn’t. My question is, did God or man do it? I think the likelihoods indicate “man” and the likelihoods indicate “accidental”, although I would include “negligence”. I make no claim that there was any intentional release and do not believe that.
Winter •
@Clive
Whilst people will say that the stories are being amped up by rivals,
With fresh memories of the death of hundreds of passengers due to intentional misinformation and pilot mistraining, Boeing does not need rivals to harm their brand. Having a whistleblower dying under murky circumstances just before another round of depositions and a few new near disasters with their planes just adds spice to their fall.
Boeing has lied to and deceived regulators and customers for many years for personal gain. They deserve much more “punishments” than they are getting.
Winter •
@AL
My question is, did God or man do it?
Neither did. It happened all by itself. No sentient entity created a new viral variant.
Such things happen like rain and storm or throwing 6 times 6 with a dice, if you wait long enough.
Evolution created elephants and oak trees from single cell mud archeabacteria. It can easily produce a virulent virus. Evolution already had created 2 deadly coronaviruses just in the last two decades alone (SARS1 and MERS). A third deadly coronavirus was in the books. It was even predicted multiple times [1]
So, unless there is factual evidence, your “question” can be answered by putting the full blame on your deity of choice.
[1] ‘https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7157439/
fib •
Moderator, this is a test. My posts are vanishing after submission, even after confirmation. They are not being held for moderation, simply vanishing.
JonKnowsNothing •
@Clive, @Winter, All
- Deer
The problem with the deer COVID-19 reservoir is there are a lot of urban deer now. Either from people are encroaching into their habitat or the deer are moving into urban areas to munch on lawns and rose bushes. Deer reside in many eco-niches and cities that have deer incursions have difficulties dealing with deer population explosions. Since within cities there are no apex predators and shooting Bambi in someone’s front yard causes no end of problems.
So urban deer present similar human interaction problems as urban coyotes, urban foxes, urban feral hogs, urban wolves, urban bears and urban mountain lions.
- Deaths of Despair: Opioids
Opioids and Fentanyl are only a fraction of the problem in the USA. The condition reviewed in the book is the unique outlier of deaths in the USA.
Opioids and Fentanyl exist globally. Deaths from drug overdose in countries other than the USA all have similar statistical metrics, however, the death metrics in the USA far exceed the metrics of other countries.
Opioids and Fentanyl contribute but are not the sole cause of the anomaly in the USA.
The book shows there is a different mechanism at work in USA, increasing rate of Deaths of Despair for one demographic. The factors indicated do not exist, or do not exist yet, in other countries.
lurker •
@Clive Robinson
re, “table leg might have been a gun”
But a man who was “searched” on arrest, still managed with hands cuffed behind him, to pull a gun from a holster and shoot a PC.
‘https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-65833109
lurker •
@fib
It happens. Auto-mod sees nothing wrong, approves, then later a human mod sees something s/he doesn’t like …
If you mean you get an approval notice but the post never appears, that sounds like a [java|php]script bug
Clive Robinson •
@ AL,
Re : Deities are unnecessary except for the mentally feeble.
“My question is, did God or man do it?”
As noted deities do not actually exist so “God is out”
But although man was responsible not in the way you are implying.
There are over 2^32 viruses around and they mutate from around once a month to once a year which is why we have currently the estimate of 4billion or more. Most have little or no effect on humans.
There are several ways viri can mutate but the one that is most problematic is when a host is infected by two or more viri simultaneously and the RNA gets mixed up in a cell producing a new hybrid with very different properties to the original viri.
For reasons we still do not understand the mutations tend to reduce in lethality and can also reduce transmissibility.
Some viruses are multi-species but many are not (hence we’ve not been wiped out). Those that are multi-species can effect the different host types radically differently.
C19 mainly attacks the linings of human lungs and heart. In most other species it attacks the gut wall. So in humans it kills by respiratory failure but in animals it just gives diarrhoea etc.
The chance that a mutation can zoonotically transfer from one host species to another is primarily dependent on two things,
1, It mutates such that the new host species is susceptible.
2, The new host species are available before the mutation dies out.
Thus most viri that could significantly effect humans has been limited in the past simply due to lack of human availability.
Due to increasing population in humans, driving humans into wild habitat and displacing species that generally previously had no contact with humans zoonotic transference has increased significantly.
With out any maths required or conspiracy theories it can be easily seen that humans have indeed been responsible for the C19 Pandemic but it required no lab or wet market for this to happen. Hence my earlier point about the causal chain.
JonKnowsNothing •
@Winter, @Clive, All
re: [C19] causing little more [symptoms] than a simple cold
I would suggest that the difference between viruses/bacteria infections and symptoms be a bit clearer. The “simple cold” is not simple at all.
There are many illnesses that have similar symptoms but the causes are wildly different, and those differences are important for treatment, care and prevention.
Which is one interesting aspect of C19 treatments, now mostly ineffective.
- Viruses are not susceptible to antibiotics. Antibiotics work on bacteria only. Rx used monoclonal antibodies, not antibiotics, in attempts to either impede the viruses’ colonization of the human cells or to reduce the magnitude of the immune hyper-response Cytokine Storms. Antibiotics were used to control secondary bacterial opportunistic infections.
This did give some flex to what was put on the Death Certificate.
Winter •
@JonKnowsNothing
re: [Coronaviruses] causing little more [symptoms] than a simple cold
I seem to have been unclear.
There are 7 known coronaviruses that infect humans. Four that have done so for a century or more and three that appeared only after the turn of the millennium.
The former four viruses cause symptoms that are described as “a common cold”. They are not known to cause any serious medical problems.
The latter three are all lethal. C19 is one of the latter three lethal viruses.
It is expected that the lethal coronaviruses will slowly evolve to become less virulent and most likely will eventually end up as medically unproblematic.
But predicting is difficult, especially of the future.
fib •
@ lurker
Thanks, friend. The problem was on my side [yes, JS].
@ cybershow
re Disappearing Worlds
Very nice. Keep up the great work!
vas pup •
@Clive: “Putting labels on things is in effect just “putting a thumb on the scales” of an observers balance of judgment.” Exactly! Label creates motivational bias and/or short cut for judgment if I got it right. Thank you.
@all
How the abnormal gets normalized – and what to do about it
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240314-how-the-abnormal-gets-normalised-and-what-to-do-about-it
“How not to be manipulated
In today’s onslaught of overwhelming information (and misinformation), it can be difficult to know who to trust. In this column, Amanda Ruggeri explores smart, thoughtful ways to navigate the noise. Drawing on insights from psychology, social science and media literacy, it offers practical advice, new ideas and evidence-based solutions for how to be a wiser, more discerning critical thinker.
Other research shows that you can even become habituated to your own negative
behavior: when volunteers lied repeatedly in order to get more money, their lies became bigger and bigger over the course of the experiment – and the parts of their brain associated with emotions activated less and less. The takeaway,the researchers concluded, was that the more we do something, even something we know is wrong, the less uncomfortable with it we become.
Be exposed to anything enough, in other words, and that thing winds up being
normalized. Even if it’s bad.
Of course, this has upsides: to some degree, humans need to be able to adapt to
new circumstances and situations, no matter how dire. Our species likely
wouldn’t have got very far – or, at least, wouldn’t have had the emotional
capacity to problem-solve, imagine, and create – if we’d walked around in a
perpetual state of shock and anxiety.
It can also perpetuate a vicious cycle. The study on inner-city violence found that participants were more likely to perpetrate violence if they thought it
was normal, for example. But this applies to larger, more complex issues, too.
If someone doesn’t think climate change is a big deal, why would they be motivated to do anything about it? If their awareness of humanitarian disasters is fading, will they still be as likely to share their concerns with representatives or donate to relevant charities?
When it comes to media consumption, this raises two questions: how can publishers cover a topic without desensitizing their audience to it? And – as a smart, informed media consumer – how can you navigate the news to make sure you’re not running that same risk?
Researchers have been exploring how being exposed to the same news issue over and over affects consumers. One study, for example, found that news consumers were more likely to become annoyed by coverage, and even to avoid it, when they felt like it was repetitive.
It’s not just that viewers crave novelty, the researchers write. It’s also that people get especially annoyed when they perceive that nothing’s changing or improving. “Some users are particularly negative about the lack of progress and long, drawn-out coverage of the issue, which is in part traceable to the
political actors involved”, the researchers write.
…more leaders make minimal progress on an issue, the more bored with hearing
about it people become. Theoretically, this could lead to that issue being
covered less and less – and any pressure for progress on it falling apart, too.
Then there’s the other issue, especially common when viewing news reports of
other people suffering: if we feel too distressed by what we see, it can lead us to feel burnt out and want to shut out the coverage altogether.
When it comes to news consumption, researchers suggest consuming news more
mindfully, such as at more specific times, when feeling overwhelmed by a particular crisis. Given the importance of novelty, I’d also suggest that, to stay well-informed, ensure your !!!media diet is diverse. Even if it is a particular topic or crisis that you want to know more about, !!!expand beyond the same outlet or even type of media. If you’re following the Gaza-Israel war, don’t just doom-scroll breaking news headlines; seek out
foreign policy analyses and first-person essays, watch documentaries, listen to
audio books, read poetry.
And, crucially, consume perspectives from both sides of the war.
…remember that a different angle on the present is to think longer-term.
Perhaps that’s looking backwards, trying to understand how we got here by
swapping out some of your daily news coverage for, say, history books or
documentaries. Or it might mean looking forwards – what might this mean for
tomorrow? – and seeking out analyses that think about what our current decisions might mean for one, 100, and even 1,000 years from now.
…finding emotional distance from circumstances in order to view it with fresh eyes. If something you don’t like about your own country is starting to feel
“normal” to you, for example, you might talk to someone who lives in a
different country, read about how the issue is handled elsewhere or (for those
with the means) even travel abroad.”
Clive Robinson •
@ ALL,
Any one remember the EncroChat encrypted phones that were a Police plant?
And wonder how any convictions were going?
https://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/24182572.croydon-dealer-jailed-encrochat-plans-uncovered/
Well “Stephen Dynan” has been awarded 12 years’ imprisonment on Friday, March 8, for admitting “Conspiracy to”,
1, Obtain a firearm
2, Import cocaine
3, Import cannabis
4, Supply cocaine
5, Transfer criminal property
6, Carry out a sophisticated warehouse burglary
Note they are all “Conspiracy to” charges which in all probability means it was just on data from the Backdoored EncroChat phone.
The desired firearm was apparently a “skorpion machine gun”, these are only a little bigger than a hand gun and can easily be concealed under the arm or carried in a belt pouch
they fire at a “stoped down” rate of 850/min and much favoured with certain types of criminal or terrorist.
Often the barrel is threaded and it can be fitted with a “moderator” (silencer) that actually makes it quite quiet in use as well as easy for “two handed” use for greater accuracy.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Škorpion
Apparently a non automatic version is liked in the US as “range toys” or “plinkers” and cost around $750.
I’m told that the full spec versions are currently coming out of the Ukraine War for less than €500.
ResearcherZero •
@lurker
You can step over handcuffs. They also can be removed easily. High security cuffs are much more difficult. Probably he was wearing the less secure version, but not necessarily.
It’s generally a good idea for police to secure weapons on arrest, and on returning to the cop shop. But they often don’t follow procedure and will quite happily turn their back on someone with a loaded weapon on their hip. Easy way to get yourself and colleagues shot.
Once taken from behind, your sidearm becomes their sidearm and your body becomes a shield.
There are many variations on what can go wrong if procedure is not followed. One common mistake is that police turn situations into a hostile encounter when it need not be one, or drastically underestimate the situation, and again fail to keep protocol in mind.
–
Speculative Concurrent Use-After-Free
‘https://www.vusec.net/projects/ghostrace/
–
Espionage group targeting organizations in Russia, Germany, Ukraine, the UK, Slovenia, Canada, Australia, and the US with email attachments (img and iso).
“The actor employs sophisticated tactics, such as abusing PowerShell, curl, and Program Compatibility Assistant (pcalua.exe)”
‘https://www.trendmicro.com/en_us/research/24/c/unveiling-earth-kapre-aka-redcurls-cyberespionage-tactics-with-t.html
Jerome •
@ Clive Robinson
Thought prompted by the ‘SDR’ article.
(Which @Tautata may appreciate as it has multiple Germany resource-references)
Have you heard the discussion around the mRNA ‘vaccines’ containing a nanoparticle with an identifiable MAC address?
There are videos of people displaying a stream of foreign,unidentifiable MAC addresses on their phone when in locations with no mobile phones or other transmitters present
Interesting thought experiment as for how technically possible it is.
ResearcherZero •
@JonKnowsNothing
Buffoons keep releasing pigs here, and there are already millions more than they could possibly ever shoot. Disease carrying pigs, that are no longer afraid of humans and happily breeding in large numbers. Every week I see young piggys routing around on the roadside.
First aid kits and a knife are mandatory for traveling in remote areas. There are a few people around the district who had to chop their own leg off after a log rolled on it.
Luckily we have a small population. Distance makes the spread of infection easier to manage. If someone becomes ill, sometimes no one notices for a week or two if they are missing. Which is perhaps not ideal if you are the one who becomes sick or injured.
–
Slappy fight in the halls of power.
‘https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/17/us/politics/trump-disinformation-2024-social-media.html
Doctors say, it’s a matter of life and death.
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/17/politics/supreme-court-social-media-disinformation-first-amendment-covid-election-2024/index.html
Companies government has been limited from advising on misinformation/disinformation:
Facebook/Meta, Twitter, YouTube/Google, WhatsApp, Instagram, WeChat, TikTok, Sina Weibo, QQ, Telegram, Snapchat, Kuaishou, Qzone, Pinterest, Reddit, LinkedIn, Quora, Discord, Twitch, Tumblr, Mastodon “and like companies.”
‘https://www.npr.org/2023/07/05/1186108696/social-media-us-judge-ruling-disinformation
–
“TikTok makes it nearly impossible to change what content you see or to alter the algorithm it has decided to use on you. That’s not going to change even if its ownership structure changes.”
‘https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/chuck-todd-big-missing-piece-congress-rushed-tiktok-debate-rcna142959
Unwinding efforts once viewed as critical:
A list of immature, silly and dangerous behaviour conducted by verified adults.
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/election-deniers-playbook-2024
Reuse of popular audio tracks creates a feedback loop of misinformation:
Misinformation videos may pose a uniquely difficult target for debunking.
‘https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/how-effective-are-tiktok-misinformation-debunking-videos/
ResearcherZero •
‘You owe a debt, from 20 years ago.’ Court actions have increased by more than %50.
‘https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-18/ato-chases-small-business-debts-insolvencies-to-hit-gfc-levels/103583512
Whiff of Robodebt: “The ATO letters have no detail about how the on-hold debts were allegedly accrued, which appears to conflict with recommendations made by the commonwealth ombudsman in 2009 when dealing with an almost identical issue.”
Some have received debt notices of 55 cents, one at 33 cents.
‘https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/30/ato-on-hold-tax-debt-letters-robodebt-apology
Clive Robinson •
@ ResearcherZero, lurker,
“You can step over handcuffs. They also can be removed easily. High security cuffs are much more difficult. Probably he was wearing the less secure version, but not necessarily.”
The story is difficult to follow, but apparently he had a vintage colt revolver in an under arm holster for which ammunition is nolonger made.
He was abused as a child and was recognised has having a mental disability.
When he was stopped he was not initially properly searched and his hands cuffed behind his back, after bullets were found in his chest bag.
It’s said that whilst in a police van he somehow got the gun down to his lower back.
On arriving at the police station it was decided a new search was required and he still had his hands cuffed behind his back.
Apparently he may have had hyper extensibility ie “double jointed” and four shots were fired “from the hip”
The first hit the custody officer in the chest, the second in his leg, the third the wall, and the fourth went into the prisoners neck.
Apparently the other two police officers jumped the prisoner after the first shot was fired. How a bullet got into the prisoners neck has not been made public.
The prisoner then suffered brain injury and was operated on resulting in further brain insult and is now mentally disabled and incapable of normal cognitive function or the ability to speak and walk without assistance.
The sentence handed down by the judge is rather surprising, it’s unlikely he can actually go to a normal UK prison as they are not suitable for those with physical and mental disabilities.
Thus I suspect the sentence will be appealed, not that it’s likely to make much difference to the prisoner. Because it looks like from the little information available he will be life long institutionalised any way.
Clive Robinson •
@ Jerome,
“Regarding my question about the security of Rasp Pi.”
Sorry I thought it was a general enquiry.
My “security view” of all consumer grade OS’s security wise “not fit for purpose”.
In many ways you would be more secure running pre 1995 hardware with no “connectivity” and an OS of that vintage.
The simple fact is anything with a radio chip –which is what the Raspberry Pi’s “Broadcom” chip is,– is decidedly “suspect” security wise… Even if being run without any network or other recognisable communications cables plugged in.
Since Apple and Google “did their thing for C19” their OS’s have had code to “beacon Bluetooth” in various ways, and in the case of Smart Devices WiFi is effectively mandatory.
I’m told that Microsoft Win 11 likewise sees RF chips as “use without user permission” for that “consumer experience”.
To be honest I’m not going to find out as I had such a bad experience with Win 10 and getting rid of it from a couple of laptops that I’ve banished any ‘current’ supported MS OS’s from my personal systems.
As far as I’m concerned Micro$haft are now subject to the,
“100% of everything is crap”
Rule.
As for Network SDR’s yup you can use them and they are very useful for “Radio Engineering” work. But not for computer security work. Because the antenna is “local to the SDR not you”.
ResearcherZero •
@Clive Robinson
Windows 11 is decidedly less fun than Win 10. There is an upcoming update for Linux to make things a little more easier and secure, but it still is a bit of a hassle to migrate a system that arrives with Windows. Turning off the security “enhancements” in the BIOS makes the process much simpler. Once running another operating system then the device works as one might imagine an out-of-the-box experience, and in a greatly shorter amount of time.
If you do want any of the added security additions, then it is a PITA to set up for a non Windows OS, but then it only takes about the same amount of time that securing Windows does. Though once you have done it a few times, it arguably takes even less time.
–
American bases and civilian personnel asked to leave Niger…
‘https://apnews.com/article/niger-sahel-us-air-base-a5545b937fbd56dff2114a8b8602b95b
–
Cause of failure not malicious or intentional.
“likely at or near the subsea network cable landing points”
‘https://www.mainone.net/ghana/blog/2024/03/17/faqs-on-mainone-submarine-outage-2/
13 African Countries Affected By Submarine Cable Cut
‘https://www.submarinecablemap.com/multiselect/submarine-cable?ids=mainone,africa-coast-to-europe-ace,sat-3wasc,west-africa-cable-system-wacs
ResearcherZero •
“hospital staff are told not to tell the new mother that her baby is about to be removed”
Another stolen generation. Children under 12 months are being removed at ten times the rate of non-Indigenous children, though they make up only 5% of the population.
‘https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-18/first-nations-baby-removals-subject-of-inquiry/103587598
JonKnowsNothing •
@ResearcherZero , All
re: feral pigs
Feral pigs are a huge problem in USA. Nearly every state has a ginormous population of them and they adapt well to all climates.
They are very dangerous.
Urban folks just do not appreciate how dangerous, until they run into a pack of them. They are highly intelligent and learn fast they can intimidate humans with a couple of jaw clacks, followed up by a serious attack if you do not get the initial message.
In Silicon Valley, there is a mountain ridge that runs along the coast. We have cougars, coyotes, deer and wild pigs. In the high rent sections the mega housing has been built in their territory. The pigs have learned to come down the mountain to get into garbage and sometimes they can invade a store. The cougars follow both the deer and the pigs down the mountain into the urban city.
In Texas, they try to shoot them, but they are very hard to catch and kill. If things go wrong, you have an entire irate herd chomping on you instead.
In my area, there is no restriction on killing them, other than informing a very happy game ranger that you want to kill some. They do not make good eating because the local forage are acorns from the oak trees in this region. It makes the meat bitter. Generally, if anyone is going to kill one, they do it in the spring before the pigs start eating acorns.
In Barcelona Spain, they come down the mountains into the city and terrorize the residents. The sows bring their piglets which make them even more dangerous. Barcelona has a Pig-Patrol unit but the pigs have learned to evade all the standard capture methods.
Some people might remember the German pig that stole a laptop from a picnic area at a nudist park by grabbing a bag she thought had food in it, and the owner raced after her and her piglets.
It did not have a happy ending after the media pictures faded. An ongoing outbreak of ASF in Europe and in Germany had them doing massive culls of all the pigs and wild boars in the area. They ran capture fences and slaughtered all of them. Including the laptop grabbing pig.
In the USA, I think pigs are a bigger problem across the States, but pet trade released pythons and exotic venomous snakes which are thriving from Florida to California. It’s a huge problem because even in areas were there are venomous snakes like rattlesnakes, copperheads, and coral snakes, we are not prepared to find a 20ft python in our yards nor a 10ft cobra hiding under some debris.
ResearcherZero •
@JonKnowsNothing
You can get them here on the salt flats. Plenty of open space so you can sit in a hide a long way away. But you have to move pretty quickly because the boars come looking for you.
A wild pig tore out all four tires of my truck. Big too. My dogs all ran off and I hid too.
They are the only things that frighten me. Pigs in pig terrain. Pigs are very smart. They know how to avoid traps and they also how to ambush you. You don’t want to get caught with a bad ankle or without a tree to climb if need be. Very hard to get the boars in thick bush.
Most other wild creatures you can avoid disturbing, but wild pigs will sneak up on you.
–
“They don’t know the right answers,” LeBlanc said. “They want us as a board to sit down and work them out.” To Leblanc this was the essence of American democracy — “compromise,” “late-night conversations” and mutual respect.
“There’s more you should ask before going out and saying, ‘I don’t agree with this ideologically,’” Hendricks advised
This was a version of American democracy that bore little resemblance to the horror show that Green and Barton described each day on their podcast.
‘https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/17/patriot-academy-biblical-citizenship-school-board/
Many say policies in their country would improve if more elected officials were women, people from poor backgrounds and young adults.
–
“The elections are an extension of military occupation and of the war itself … rather than an exercise in the democratic franchise.”
Arrests, displacement of families to the front lines and authorities forcing people to write explanations of their refusal to vote.
‘https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-occupied-election-voting-arrests-eb0b0d872cf55e561dc221bbc53d63d4
Lithuania’s intelligence agency announced that the attack on Volkov was likely “Russian organized.”
https://www.irishtimes.com/world/europe/2024/03/13/navalny-ally-leonid-volkov-targeted-in-hammer-attack-in-vilnius/
Mangushev’s widow, Tatyana Azarevich, said these crosses were her husband’s idea.
“that’s all his doing. He tried to create maximum chaos,” she told Systema in January.
‘https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ultranationalists-panic-ukraine-invasion/32833769.html
ResearcherZero •
@JonKnowsNothing
Like with snakes, if you tangle with pigs you will get tagged, as they move much faster than humans. Pig skin is super tough. Ridiculously so. Even large bullets often don’t stop them. Yowza! Best to stay in the truck, or close to it, so you can make a quick get away.
Winter •
@JonKnowsNothing
Urban folks just do not appreciate how dangerous, until they run into a pack of them.
The fourth labor of Hercules was catching the Erymanthian boar. Capturing a wild boar in ancient Greece was classified among things like fighting lions and hydra’s. I think the Greek did have a keen understanding of the nature of wild boars and how to approach them, or rather, avoid them.
ResearcherZero •
There goes one now.
“As soon as you open source everything people will start doing all sorts of crazy things with it. It would be a very quick way to discover how [AI] can go wrong.”
‘https://techmonitor.ai/technology/ai-and-automation/open-source-chatgpt-ai-llm-geoffrey-hinton
Real time “facts” – but “funny” (and wrong).
‘https://x.ai/
“Reliable and systematic ways to measure the danger posed by AI models do not yet exist. In addition to worrying that future AI models may become unruly and deceptive, making them difficult to control, some experts have suggested that even today’s models can help generate dangerous disinformation or produce chemical or biological weapons.”
‘https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-no-choice-open-chatbot-grok/
There is now the potential for Grok-1 to be misused…
‘https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/17/technology/chatbot-xai-code-musk.html
Clive Robinson •
@ ResearcherZero, JonKnowsNothing,
Re : Hogs as “Ram Raiders”.
“Pig skin is super tough. Ridiculously so. Even large bullets often don’t stop them.”
It’s not just the thick skin.
A friend in Europe hunts “wild pig” as they are what is politely called an “invasive nuisance species”. A description that comes nowhere near close to the environmental damage they do, and they are spreading.
The gun my friend uses is the sort that would smash your shoulder if you are not properly trained, and would more properly be described as “ordinance”.
His comment is that unless you can get a clear shot to the brain you are very much endangering yourself. Because “they don’t drop” even when a bullet goes right through the body.
He tells a story about how he learned to be more cautious, he once put a round through the front shoulder of a sow and ended up having to jump up into a tree as the brut just went into “Ram Rage” mode smashing at the tree untill it finally bled out several minutes later. The tree was so damaged in the assault that it died as well… As my friend points out you can not fire a fifty cal rifle in a tree as you would pop right out. So he now carries a fairly large side arm that as he puts it would pass through a cylinder block of a family car.
But he also cautions against relying on vehicles to hide in as those piggy jaws are like those devices first responders use to cut cars open, and if the pig can get a grip on a vehicle body work it might as well be tin-foil…
Even wolves leave them alone so there are no predator species to keep them “naturally” under control. Except… “they eat their own”… if you wound one it’s friends come round and turn it into “dish of the day”… So they would have no problem leaving only your teeth behind.
Apparently as poison and even exploding bait does not work there is apparently ongoing research into a “genetic solution”. That is if you can not find a big predator then find a micro one such as a pathogen that kills or sterilises them.
I think we can see where that might end up…
But it kind of proves the old,
“Can man create a problem, man can not solve?”
ResearcherZero •
@Clive Robinson
We would use .303 from a very long distance and .44 if need be for closer proximity.
Even then you need to be a very good shot, keep calm and keep your wits about you.
The only good thing is that there are very few people who want to accompany you. Which is ideal for such situations. The last thing you need is some dopey fool walking out in front.
Some people also go a little nutty in such situations which is both unsafe and unsettling.
High powered rifles can send a round flying in the wrong direction for over a kilometer.
It would be nice if crazed maniacs from any location would take that into consideration.
There are all kinds of crazed maniacs that come down from the city and start blasting in all directions. In the direction of houses for example, or the direction of local tourist spots which might be host to numbers of visiting tourists and innocent busk walkers.
We already have our fair share of crazed maniacs, and don’t need any additional at this time.
–
Free and customisable “open-source’ AI is not the same as traditional open source code.
Meta for instance but did not release the training data.
‘https://crfm.stanford.edu/open-fms/paper.pdf
But the risk is not theoretical.
https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/unpatched-critical-vulnerabilities-open-ai-models-to-takeover
Vulnerabilities in AI systems can give attackers unauthorized access to the AI models, and access to the rest of the network.
There is also the risk that a nation state can weaponise models and exploit known and unknown vulnerabilities. There are many new models in the works, which will have bugs.
‘https://www.traficom.fi/sites/default/files/media/publication/TRAFICOM_The_security_threat_of_AI-enabled_cyberattacks%202022-12-12_en_web.pdf
“Once someone releases an “uncensored” version of an unsecured AI system, the original maker of the system is largely powerless to do anything about it.”
https://spectrum.ieee.org/open-source-ai-2666932122
Winter •
@Clive
“Can man create a problem, man can not solve?”
God seems to be unable to create a rock S/he cannot lift, or so I heard. But man is not God, so he will eventually create a problem that will “solve” mankind.
Note, “Eternal Peace” is the name of a cemetery.
Clive Robinson •
@ Winter,
Note, “Eternal Peace” is the name of a cemetery.
And apparently part of an “RV Park” name in central Alabama (though why…).
Also raising an eyebrow is,
“A Peace of Heaven Cabins & RV”
In, Vanderpool, Texas.
And similar… Such is the nature of certain types of marketing…
Clive Robinson •
@ Winter
Somebody I’m aquatinted with who has “An English sense of humour” is doing a “Recreational Vehicle”(RV) tour of the US… and Texas is one of those places with weird sounding RV parks. Apparently they were not attracted to,
“Peace N Quiet RV” in “Gun Barrel City” main street…
According to the add,
“The Newest RV park in Gun Barrel City. Located right on Main Street with EZ access from 175, close to town, Cedar Creek Lake, Activities, and more! Last Updated: 03/13/2024.”
Apparently there is an app especially for RVing giving places activities and attractions like “No Children”, “No Dogs”, “No …”.
For someone like myself who has spent time “living in a hole in the ground under a tarp” such amenities do sound a step up 😉
Winter •
@Clive
Re: Perpetual Peace
My quote was a joke that originated in Kant’s treatise of the same name.
‘https://www.gutenberg.org/files/50922/50922-h/50922-h.htm
Towards Perpetual Peace
Whether this satirical inscription on a Dutch innkeeper’s sign, on which a churchyard cemetery has been painted, concerns mankind in general, or in particular the rulers of states, who can never be sated of war, or simply the philosophers, who dream this
sweet dream – [is a question that] may be better set aside here.
&ers •
@ALL
One Estonian govt institution got breached.
Reason – Ivanti VPN.
hxxps://www.ria.ee/media/3920/download
Page 2 there. But they don’t tell who it was.
There isn’t very much of them who use Ivanti though.
Statistics Estonia publicly states that they use it. Use Google translate.
hxxps://www.stat.ee/et/konfidentsiaalsete-andmete-kasutamise-juhend
I’d say – publishing that kind of info on the web is just asking for troubles. Remember “Stealing the network” book series where h3X searched
printers from the university web pages? OSINT is a very powerful tool.
Clive Robinson •
&ers, ALL,
Re : What can be found with OSInt.
“OSINT is a very powerful tool.”
Isn’t it just…
We’ve seen one or two post give just a taste here in the past.
The one that sticks in my head was that drunken lawyer for Trump’s “My Election was Stolen” court case nonsense.
From just a photo of her glugging cheap wine in her kitchen they got not just the address, nor just the busses that stopped outside her house, but an entire video walkthrough of the house on a real estate agents site… And sure enough “same kitchen”.
Yup “Down Town Sydney” got her score card well and truly marked…
In what appeared to be ten minutes of work and if I remember correctly from the back and forth just a few “front page Google searches”.
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