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[MINISTRY] "This is a time to pull together, turn our minds off, and follow orders." - [PEACE]
by Zig the N.g 17 Apr '20

17 Apr '20

Looks like SOMEone got the "front running sedition" memo :) Ok, ok, The Z.g humbly accepts total elevation beyond all proportion for even the slightest pop-psych obviousness :D :D BTCes welcome muh fl.pper n.ppers :D This a nice little piece highlighting The Ministry's rules for acceptable discourse on present topics. Be warned, it has no trigger warning whatsoever, yet probably inherently demands one. So without giving a trigger warning (hint hint, wink wink) per se (nudge nudge), one might consider one's internal emotional consequences from reading an arguably mildly humorous take on the present discourse of the Lame Stream Media. Did I not mention the b.gger n.gger warning? This Glorified Bug Absolutely Warrants Whatever “Emergency Measures” Our Regimes Want to Impose on Us. OBEY https://www.anti-empire.com/this-glorified-bug-absolutely-warrants-whatever… Let’s try a little thought experiment. Just for fun. To pass the time while we’re indefinitely locked down inside our homes, compulsively checking the Covid-19 “active cases” and “total death” count, washing our hands every twenty minutes, and attempting not to touch our faces. Before we do, though, I want to make it clear that I believe this Covid-19 thing is real, and is probably the deadliest threat to humanity in the history of deadly threats to humanity. According to the data I’ve been seeing, it’s only a matter of days, or hours, until nearly everyone on earth is infected and is either dying in agony and alone or suffering mild, common cold-like symptoms, or absolutely no symptoms whatsoever. I feel that I need to state this clearly, before we do our thought experiment, because I don’t want anyone mistakenly thinking that I’m one of those probably Russian-backed Nazis who are going around saying, “it’s just the flu,” or who are spreading dangerous conspiracy theories about bio-weapons and martial law, or who are otherwise doubting or questioning the wisdom of locking down the entire world (and likely triggering a new Great Depression) on account of the discovery of some glorified bug. ...

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Fact-checkers have lost important digital tools — and will lose one more in September - Poynter
by jim bell 17 Apr '20

17 Apr '20

https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2019/fact-checkers-have-lost-importan…

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proposed compulsory password exposure law -- Re: is this true?
by Zenaan Harkness 17 Apr '20

17 Apr '20

----- Forwarded message from Zenaan Harkness <zen(a)freedbms.net> ----- From: Zenaan Harkness <zen(a)freedbms.net> Date: Fri, 17 Apr 2020 10:07:39 +1000 Subject: Re: is this true? On Fri, Apr 17, 2020 at 02:14:30AM +1000, Scott wrote: > > > > https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/now-the-police-want-your-passwords… > > have you heard much of this ? > > not sure how trustworthy the source is They've been proposing and talking about this a few times, though as far as I know it has not passed yet. Those "petty nazis" or fascists who want back door access to everyone's private data, always try to berate us with "if you're not doing anything wrong, you don't have anything to hide". The answer to this, and the human rights foundation is that "I don't have to be doing anything wrong, to want my privacy". Our right to privacy is fundamental to dignity as a human being. The other abomination is the ongoing war against basic legal rights - e.g. the right to not self incriminate - which this proposed law would of course dispense with in really substantial ways. So far, it seems we've (thankfully) managed to dodge this bullet - but if it comes back on the agenda, it will be a fight and a half for us/ the community/ people who value due process and fundamental human rights. ----- End forwarded message -----

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Re: Cypherpunks list planned downtime
by rnblvfcguhube＠420blaze.it 16 Apr '20

16 Apr '20

Thank you Greg! Apologies for breaking thread!

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Wikileaks: Julian Assange
by grarpamp 15 Apr '20

15 Apr '20

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8210957/WikiLeaks-boss-Julian-Assa… Assange family, children, embassycat... on persecution, coronavirus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgK5ZqjvC5s https://twitter.com/embassycat https://www.youtube.com/user/TheWikiLeaksChannel/videos https://twitter.com/wikileaks https://twitter.com/defendassange "Falling in love is an act of rebellion" #FreeAssange

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Ergodox-EZ model with one extra "forefinger" key?
by Zenaan Harkness 15 Apr '20

15 Apr '20

Dear Ergodox-EZ, I would like an Ergodox-EZ model with one extra key (per hand/side), namely for the respective forefingers, replacing the two 1.5 sized keys to the right of the T, G and B keys with 3 single sized keys (and similarly for the right hand, replacing the two 1.5 sized keys to the left of the Y, H and N keys also with 3 single sized keys). Is this something you might consider for a future version of the Ergodox EZ? Secondly, will you consider a version which has an additional row above the top row, e.g. for "Function" and ESC keys etc? I know Ergodox has layers, and when I buy one, I may find that's ultimately "better" (say, due to less overall hand movement), but I'm a key junkie and would jump at those additional rows of 7 keys :) In the very least, due to my Vim-inspired "carpal dance move", I really like "snapping" the escape key (which on my present and ageing Microsoft Natural 4000, is near the top left of the keyboard). Being able to Flick-Snap that Escape key is a satisfying experience, but the ergodox has no key in that corresponding location. In a deeply sad and morose resignation, one can imagine getting used to the existing Ergodox top left key (of the left hand keyboard) being mapped to Escape, but key junkies need moar :D Similarly, I would like to be able to flick-smack a corresponding key at the very top right of the right hand board too :) By the way, the patented and "fully trademarked, man" Flick-Snap (TM)(C)(R) move is without doubt THE most satisfying keyboard motion in the universe, and is performed with religious fervour using the pad of the middle finger. Alternatively, or possibly additionally, an add on display to sit or clip to the rear of the EZ, which instantly flicks between screens depending on which layer I am on. This is arguably one of the more vitally important addons which should exist. Finally, do you plan to have a future version of the Ergodox which supports lighting both under the keys, as well as under the keyboard, rather than just one or the other? Hope you guys are well during our freedoms lock down. Kind regards, Zenaan PS: feel free to make these FAQs public - I have no doubt that many people are breathlessly clamouring for the answers ;)

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3D Printed Guns: US State Facists Trying to Kill Free Speech, Again
by grarpamp 15 Apr '20

15 Apr '20

https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/14/21220765/defense-distributed-defcad-rela… https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/letter_to_defense_distributed.pdf https://3dgun.btfh.net/ Files already all over bright and dark nets since many weeks. Hot new print models released for those who know where to look. Two dozen state attorneys general are asking the Trump administration to crack down on Defense Distributed's Defcad site for selling 3D-printed gun files. In a letter sent today, they urged the Justice Department and State Department to enforce rules against exporting weapons and making undetectable firearms. "If the federal government fails to act, these files will be distributed widely with potentially grave consequences for our national and domestic security," warns the letter. Attorneys general argue that Defcad is violating export control regulations and the Undetectable Firearms Act, which bans manufacturing, owning, and selling guns that don't trigger metal detectors. Anyone who downloads files could "automatically manufacture functional weapons that cannot be detected by a standard metal detector and, furthermore, are untraceable because they lack serial numbers," says the letter. "Continued dissemination of these files will increase the risk of terrorist attacks and gun violence across the United States." Defcad has well-established problems with ITAR, but the letter doesn't explain how it violates the Undetectable Firearms Act beyond asserting that files "enable the automatic manufacture of functional plastic weapons."

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Fwd: The United Nations Development Programme COVID-19 Contest Announcement
by Cecilia Tanaka 15 Apr '20

15 Apr '20

Hellooo again, shiny happy people! Hope all of you are feeling awesome and having fun in this annoying quarentine! :D I think this contest can be very interesting for some people here. No, not because of the prizes, but because they can help to save lives. Please, help to avoid great losses for the humanity like this one... :'( < https://planetprinceton.com/2020/04/13/covid-19-kills-princeton-mathematici… > Conway was simply amazing. Please, honor all the people who changed this world for better, with their knowledge, researching, and Science discoveries in all areas. Honor their lives and their deaths helping those who are still here, those who can still be saved... <3 Wish you all much love, inspiration, and good luck, my beloved ones! <3 ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Hackster.io <help(a)hackster.io> Date: Tue, Apr 14, 2020, 21:46 Subject: The United Nations Development Programme COVID-19 Contest Announcement To: <cecilia.tanaka(a)gmail.com> The COVID-19 Detect & Protect Challenge with Hackster <https://hackster.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3fd72855783c7f1a97812d84…> <https://hackster.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3fd72855783c7f1a97812d84…> COVID-19 is an unprecedented global health and humanitarian emergency, which threatens to create devastating social, economic, and political crises. In some of the world's most vulnerable areas, the impact could be catastrophic. This extraordinary situation demands innovation and ingenuity from the best and brightest of humanity, wherever it may be found. Today, the United Nations Development Programme is announcing the *COVID-19 Detect and Protect Challenge <https://hackster.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3fd72855783c7f1a97812d84…>*, in partnership with Hackster and some of the world's leading technology companies. <https://hackster.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3fd72855783c7f1a97812d84…> We're calling on the community to support developing countries through the sharing and transfer of open source technology. This challenge has three priority actions: - Design replicable, low-cost tools and resources to aid viral detection - Flatten the curve in communities with preventive solutions - Reduce the disease's impact on the economies of these vulnerable areas The 10 best entries will receive a $1,000 Visa gift card, an NXP HoverGames drone and telemetry radio, and most importantly, a Global UNDP Innovator Award badge and certificate. <https://hackster.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3fd72855783c7f1a97812d84…> JOIN THE CHALLENGE TODAY <https://hackster.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3fd72855783c7f1a97812d84…> Copyright © 2020 Hackster.io, an Avnet Community. All rights reserved. Oh, and lots and lots of health too! Love you all, keep safe, please! <3 <3 <3 Ceci ---------- Loving. Caring. Sharing. Being Excellent To Each Other And To Our Hackerspace. <3 ---------- "Don't let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It's your place in the world; it's your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live." - Mae Jemison

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Zhaoxin KaiXian x86 CPU Tested: The Rise of China's Chips
by jim bell 14 Apr '20

14 Apr '20

https://www.tomshardware.com/features/zhaoxin-kx-u6780a-x86-cpu-tested

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Tracing COVID-19 cases with Google Timeline?
by jim bell 14 Apr '20

14 Apr '20

I am surprised that when I do a Google search for 'COVID-19 "google timeline" ', I see essentially no results. We all know now what COVID-19 (nCov, Coronavirus) is. From the reports I see, this virus has the unusual characteristic of being very contageous for up to periods of weeks prior to a person's feeling symptoms. That is presumably how a large fraction of a cruise ship became infected. This is quite ominous. If epidemiologists were to ask a patient, "tell us where and when you've been each minute over the last 15 days" the vast majority of these victims wouldn't have a prayer of providing that information. And even worse, finding the other people who were "in that AM/PM at 5:07-5:21 10 days ago" would be essentially impossible. Or potentially dozens of other involved locations, over those 15 days. Before one of you accuses me of "advocating" the use of Google Timeline to track potential cases of COVID-19 by means of Google Timeline, I don't need to "advocate" it. Rather, I simply point out that there are a lot of people out there scared of this virus, and probably be looking for a way to determine if their paths have crossed with a victim, even if that victim wasn't symptomatic for 1-2 weeks after the contact. So at some point, I think there will be discussion of this possibility. The data is already being collected, in all Android phones (is there an Apple equivalent?) In principle, if a new infectee is identified, it would be technically possible to work backwards, figure out where he has been over the relevant period, and find anybody who was close to him during a multi-week period. One reason this could be important is that there may be a drug which might reduce (or, hopefully, eliminate) a person's contageousness if it taken during this pre-symptomatic period. One possibility is an old anti-malarial drug, chloroquine, which I have mentioned before. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32074550 But if people only begin taking chloroquine when they begin exhibiting symptoms of this new flu, that means that they will be spreading that virus for as much as two weeks, or even more. In principle, hundreds of people could be infected, directly or indirectly, merely because there is no early warning. Suppose you receive a text or email notification that you were in a small store, 5 days ago, with a person who just developed symptoms of COVID-19. You MIGHT be infected. So, you MIGHT want to take a chloroquine pill. (The half-life of chloroquine is 45-55 days). Or some other pill that could assist if taken long before symptoms were likely to appear. Not only might you not get sick, maybe you'd be able to avoid transmitting the virus to many others. (My speculation...) And maybe you'll live, when you otherwise wouldn't. We Cypherpunks are SUPPOSED to be more concerned, than average, about the privacy and freedom implications of technologies. What I have described, above, might be handled in a completely-voluntary fashion. But, we want to ensure that this doesn't turn into a permanent form of tracking. So we should debate the implications of all this, ideally before everyone else is talking about it. I would be surprised if Google isn't already considering something like this. They have much of the data to do so. They might hesitate to announce such an idea, for fear that people would think this is some sort of generalized people-tracking system. Jim Bell

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