@cdarwin@c.im2026-02-11 06:11:38
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are accusing the Justice Department of
covering up the names of co-conspirators of the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein
as fallout from the Epstein files grows across the globe.
Millions of pages remain unreleased.
As many prominent U.S. figures evade accountability following mentions in the Epstein files,
a number of European figures have resigned for their relationships with Epstein.
“The most extraordinary and worrying …
@grumpybozo@toad.social2026-03-15 02:07:19
I’m not *feeling* special…
I’m feeling fucking cold. I am gaining an understanding of how people are driven to dangerous stupidity by the lack of heat.
@floheinstein@chaos.social2026-03-12 12:33:23
The new emojis are out - at least the ones Apple includes in the next iOS update:
Distorted Face, Fight Cloud, Hairy Creature, Ballet Dancer, Orca, Landslide, Trombone, Treasure Chest
Another emoji originally was on the list for Unicode 17, then postponed to 18, and in October 25, it was removed from the draft. Probably because a certain company in the consortium took offense to it.
U 1FADD
@chris@mstdn.chrisalemany.ca2026-04-15 01:28:10
I have a problem with the House of Commons floor crossers, as I think most people do.
But I havent been able to come up with a more palatable alternative or at least a different scenario.
The biggest problem, for me, is the act of poaching. The trickle of MPs.
It gives the impression, falsely or not, that these people needed just a little more time, a little more convincing, a little more... ? to eventually turn on their constituent's choice of party.
What would be more pallatable? How about a group? Rather than a trickle.
People tallk, it is naïve to think it isn't known between individuals who may be thinking of leaving or switching parties.
So if there is more than one with that thought I think it would be better for our democracy if those MPs banded together and made their concerns known privately in their caucus first, then if nothing changes, they communicate to others including the public, and make it clear this is something that could happen en masse.
Then at least it takes away the transactional nature of it and frames it more as a democratic choice, informed by whatever situation is happening and done for the benefit of constituents and Canadians.
How does this change get made? Unfortunately that's the hard part. It would be hard or maybe inappropriate to "legislate".
It would need to be an expectation, a habit, a "norm".
It could happen. Though today, politicians following "norms" seems to be a little out of vogue.
#canPoli #cdnpoli #canada #democracy #houseofcommons
https://halifax.citynews.ca/video/2026/04/13/floor-crossing-raises-questions-on-canadian-voting-stability/
@tiotasram@kolektiva.social2026-04-02 09:21:35
Imagine:
You are these parent of an adorable 4-year-old kid. They have made a toy airplane out of spare cardboard. Sadly, during play the wing has fallen off. You, a wise parent, produce a piece of duct tape and tape it back on. Your kid asks: "but what if the tape breaks, or the other wing falls off?" Dutifully, and with a completely serious manner, you duct tape the other wing, and then with a sharpie you write "Please DO NOT fall off!" on each wing. "There," you say, now the wings will not fall off. "
Your child happily returns to their play.
Imagine:
You are boarding a Boeing airplane for an intercontinental flight. Just the other day you were reading news about the emergency exit door falling off a Boeing airplane during flight. Thankfully nobody was injured in that incident, but a passenger could have been sucked out the gap and killed. As you walk down the aisle towards your seat at the back, you notice that around the emergency exit door of this plane, there are some scratch marks. It looks like it might not be 100% seated in place. You see several rolls worth of duct tape slapped onto the gaps between the door and the frame. In sharpie, someone has written "Please DO NOT fall off!" on the duct tape.
This is a post about #Agentic #AI.
To clarify: there are a host of reasons why using Claude Code is unethical in the first place, besides the fact that its a danger to its users. These make it unethical to use it even for a child's-toy-like application. But the source code we've just witnessed in the recent leak is *exactly* this level of "engineering." If you see an app that claims to be "programmed with AI" and it has any possibility of failing in a way that could harm you (for example, if it connects to the internet, meaning that poor programming could allow hackers to take over the device you run it on), my advice is: "Do not use it and warn your friends and family."
P.S. yes, this advice does apply to Microsoft Widows at this point, although that can be a tougher bullet to bite.
@cdarwin@c.im2026-04-11 16:57:11
The conflation of Jews and Israel is dangerous antisemitism.
And yet it’s harder to fight back as the mainstream Jewish establishment insists that Zionism is nearly as integral to Jewish identity as circumcision.
Increasingly, though, many Jews are searching for another point of view:
Feelings about Israel are wobbling within the community
— and disapproval is rising among the young;
pro-Palestinian Jewish groups are growing, and more and more Jews view “Zionis…
@cdarwin@c.im2026-02-05 19:46:49
Following the fatal shootings of American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis last month,
Democrats have refused to support long-term funding for the Department of Homland Security unless Republicans agree to reforms on the tactics of federal agents carrying out Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
“The American people rightfully expect their elected representatives to take action to rein in ICE and ensure no more lives are lost,” Senate minorit…
@cdarwin@c.im2026-02-03 15:42:56
Trevor Noah Sues Donald Trump Over Alleged Threatening Messages
Following Explosive Truth Social Rant
A high-profile legal and political controversy has erupted
after comedian and television host Trevor Noah filed a lawsuit
against Donald Trump,
alleging that the president sent “damaging, intimidating, and dangerous” private direct messages
following a public dispute tied to comments made during the Grammy Awards
@cdarwin@c.im2026-03-05 18:26:58
Some two dozen states challenged Donald Trump’s new global tariffs on Thursday,
filing a lawsuit over import taxes he imposed after a stinging loss at the Supreme Court.
The Democratic attorneys general leading the suit argue that Trump is overstepping his power with planned 15% tariffs on much of the world.
Trump has said the tariffs are essential to reduce America’s longstanding trade deficits.
He imposed duties under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 after the S…
@cdarwin@c.im2026-03-09 14:39:45
Opponents of VA Redistricting Amendment Send Out Mailer/Text Falsely
-- and Offensively!
Claiming That Fighting Trump’s Assault on Our Democracy Is
“Just Like Jim Crow”
Note that many of the most prominent supporters of this amendment
- Barack Obama, Louise Lucas, Don Scott, etc.
- are African American
