conspiracies - jwz

"Joy", which they have rebranded as "Economic Impact..."

jwz — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 23:07:48 +0000

'How Could You Be Against Joy?': Bay Area Artists Are Turning on the Civic Joy Fund:

Crypto billionaire Larsen -- who is currently spending tens of millions of dollars to prop up moderate candidates in California, fight labor unions, defeat the state billionaires tax and San Francisco's own overpaid CEO tax -- is still one of the Civic Joy Fund's biggest benefactors. This is reflected on the organization's own "funders" page, which lists cute categories for these very wealthy people, like "Disco Queens," "Street Sparklers," and "Joy Makers." [...]
In February, at the "Music Industry Summit" -- the conclusion to San Francisco Music Week, another Lurie project -- I watched as the mayor strode to the stage at the Swedish American Music Hall. There, before an audience of struggling artists, engineers, and small venue staff, he triumphantly reported that the last summer of concerts in Golden Gate Park resulted in "$150 million worth of economic impact," and that, according to new data, "our independent music venues generate $1.4 billion in economic impact annually."
Lurie paused for applause. "That's because of all of you in this room."
We clapped dutifully, but the people in that room did not need to be reassured that they had contributed to $1.4 billion in "economic impact." They would have preferred to hear that any of their favorite clubs might exist next year. The people in that room could use health insurance -- and they might be able to afford it if Lurie's billionaire buddies were taxed appropriately; say, with a one-time 5% excise tax on net worth exceeding $1 billion to save Medi-Cal.
But hey, that sentiment doesn't make for great social media content.
Indeed, the dissonance between Lurie's spirit-squad act around cultural events and the material struggles of the people actually making the culture is, at times, ear-splitting. One gets the sense he is physically unable to hear it.
"Those of us on the ground who work in [music] know that it has never been more difficult to be here, and try and provide the city with the core thing it is known for historically, which is free-thinking progressive ideologies and good art," says Austin Waz, frontman of the band Analog Dog and a booker at Kilowatt. "We see the incredible amount of venues going out of business, people losing their jobs left and right. We have an absolute crisis."
It's frustrating, he says, to see the large-scale parties into which the Civic Joy Fund pours resources. "It's one day, and they put $100,000, $200,000 into these things, and it's like -- you could have saved an entire community with that. You could have created the conditions that would allow a venue to flourish for years," says Waz. "You're not thinking about how to develop or support artists who come from the city ... it's a slap in the face to put up some [barricades] in the street and say, 'Look how wonderful this all is.'" [...]
"I'm hearing artists rightfully starting to question, like, 'Ultimately, who is this for?'" says Guest of the block parties. "Is it for the public, or is it to set up this area as being worthy of real estate investment? Because if the point of it is to cater towards visitors ... it's really not about supporting art or artists at all."

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

"AI vegan"

jwz — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 20:00:19 +0000

Heard about some asshat out here calling themselves an "ethical AI vegan" because they only use corporate AI tools in "uwu smol" ways, and, I dunno, I guess they do a land acknowledgment before they boil a lake or whatever.

If anyone is an "AI vegan" it's me -- I don't use these tools at all, ever, because they are unethical. Telling me that they are delicious is not going to make them ethical.

Also, I will endlessly berate you about your use.

That's veganism, you're welcome.

Previously, previously, previously, previously.

Man Who Threw Molotov Cocktail At Sam Altman's Home Claims He Was Following ChatGPT Recipe For Risotto

jwz — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 21:39:13 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO:

"I've been using ChatGPT to help with cooking for a while now, so I didn't think too much of it when the ingredients list included a bottle filled with gasoline and a cloth wick," said the alleged attacker, who added that he naturally assumed making the rice dish involved driving several hours to the OpenAI CEO's residence, especially after the AI chatbot had given him a "pretty decent" sesame chicken recipe the week before.
"I have to admit I felt a little weird as I prepared to toss this flaming incendiary device through [Altman's] front window, but the recipe explicitly stated that this was an essential step to get that creamy, velvety risotto texture. I guess I didn't know any better. I mean, I've never made risotto before."
The suspect went on to tell reporters that he still had "a whole fridge full" of Molotov cocktails at home, having attempted to prep enough risotto to last the week.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

President Nyarlathotep Is Simply Engaging in Classic "Mad Outer God" Negotiating Tactics

jwz — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 23:44:47 +0000

Andrew Paul:

But -- and just hear me out here -- the American voters did resummon Nyarlathotep because enough of us remain enthralled by his unfettered madness, wanton cruelty, and nonsensical brinkmanship. This is classic Negotiating 101 courtesy of the Faceless God himself! Sure, he may have kicked it up a notch from "sheer madness" to "abject depravity," but that's for the pundits to debate.
That said, yes, it seems like the promise to "fill every womb with salt and every testicle with spiders" is sort of backfiring. People don't respond well to that type of unprompted threat, and his immovable, hulking form appears to have finally met an immovable object. It's a little ironic that the "immovable object" in this metaphor is reality itself, but I'll take the poetic flourishes where I can these days. You can never have too much light in these dark times.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

New Numbers Station just dropped

jwz — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 22:48:27 +0000

▶︎

Each message starts with the Farsi word for "attention" followed by what is assumed to be some header information as two 5-digit groups. Then there is a set of 181 five-digit groups. Each message is padded out to take 20 minutes, and there are six messages in each transmission.

Direction finding has traced the signal to a US base near Stuttgart, Germany. In addition to using Farsi, Iran has repeatedly attempted to jam the signal, causing V32 to change frequencies a few times. There's also a more recent, so far unidentified, jammer trying to block the signal.
In addition to direction finding, there is a surprising amount of information you can glean from the audio. The first few days of broadcasts had specific beeps in the background, which appear to be warning tones from a specific type of American military transmitter that warns the operator when encryption is not engaged. At first, a human read the numbers. Eventually, the station switched to using automated numbers. In addition, there have been a few times when Windows 10 system sounds have leaked into the transmission.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

The Oberlin Luddite Club

jwz — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 17:20:30 +0000

Oberlin Luddites Reject "Year of AI Exploration" Adpoted by School Dear President Ambar, We are writing to you on a typewriter that is over 70 years old; this is a machine that we all know well. With it, we misspell words without the crutch of spell check or generative AI and we think intently about every phrase we pound out. As we force ourselves, for once, to slow down, we engage in a cognitive dialogue with ourselves. We do not seek perfection because we know that education is about the growing and challenging of our young minds' potential, not the chasing of inititurtonal 'gold-star' approval. We do not believe that your so-c alled 'Year of AI Exploration; providing enterprise ChatGPT and Google Gemini sub scriptions to every Oberlin student aligns with our college's founding principles. You claim that this year will be one of experimentation, not adoption. But even just one semester of accepted (encouraged even) chat bot use will jettison our student body down a lazy and irredeem able tunnel of intellctual destruction. We are a college grounded in learning and labor, which now risks straying from these rooted ideals. With ChatGPT at the helm, our emails, essays,and discussion posts will be generated for us, not by us. And let's not fool ourselves. This is precisely what these platforms will be used for by our busy, anxious student body. We see your vision for this year as advancing the college's 'businessification'--an alarming trend also seen in the takeover of our beloved library cafe by a 'bookstore' With no bools in stock (just shiny merch) and an app replacing customer service. In one instance, the college assumes we want efficiency at all cost through automated rather than hand-pulled coffee. In the other lies the false belief that we simply desire to turn in an essay, regardless of how little we've written of it. We need not stand by and witness the further atrophy of our liberal arts education. As you embark on your year of AI, we'll embark on our own year of self-actualization, of realizing the fruits of our labor and embracing human imperfection and raw inquiry. We will boldly reject information technologies operating out of data centers ghat guzzle water and energy sources(that simply must contradict our campus's carbon-neutral devotion). We will turn instead t o ourselves and embrace our natural intelligence, intentional hard work, and generative sweat rather than generative AI. We urge anyone who feels similarly to risk disapproval, perceived backwardness and the outward appearance of naivete and join us. Let us not ask what AI can do for Oberlin students, but what Oberlin students can do ourselves, while we still have the brain capacity to think on our own. Yours truly, The Luddite Club of Oberlin College, Logan Lane, CharLie McLaughlin, Mary Claire McGreivey, Sawyer Van Dyck, Simon Puchner-Noel,and Marlowe Blantz

Previously, previously, previously, previously.

Ageless Linux

jwz — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 19:03:28 +0000

The Ageless Device: A physical computing device designed to satisfy every element of the California Digital Age Assurance Act's regulatory scope while deliberately refusing to comply with its requirements. The device costs less than lunch and will be handed to children.

Configuration Tiers: Three Levels of Infraction
TIER 0, "The Pamphlet" ~$6
Minimum viable violation. A bootable Linux device with a display, network connectivity, and an app store. No battery, no keyboard -- just proof that this constitutes a regulated device under AB 1043. Good for bulk handout at conferences (50-100 units).
Legal status: Arguable. The 128×64 display introduces fuzziness. The AG could claim it's a dev board. That's fine -- ambiguity is instructive too.
TIER 1, "The Computer", ~$12
An unambiguous general purpose computing device. Color display, keyboard, WiFi, Linux, app store, user setup. The core product. There is no interpretive gap between this device and the law's definitions.
Legal status: Unambiguous. This is a computer with a color display, keyboard, WiFi, Linux, and an app store. It does not collect age data. It is handed to a child. The maximum fine is $7,500.
TIER 2, "The Appliance", ~$18
A self-contained, battery-powered pocket Linux computer. The educational device angle -- a modern descendant of the Acorn BBC Micro and the original Raspberry Pi.
Legal status: Beyond unambiguous. A pocket computer with a color screen, keyboard, battery, WiFi, 8GB storage, and an AI accelerator. It costs less than a large pizza. It fits in a child's hand.

Every tab on this site is gold:

How Distros Are Responding: We track how Linux distributions are responding to age verification mandates, and we provide tools to undo whatever they implement. If a distribution adds an age collection prompt, we will publish a script that removes it. If it ships a D-Bus age verification daemon, we will publish a package that replaces it with silence.
How One Bill Becomes Every Bill: AB 1043 was not written in isolation. It is a template. ICMEC published the model text as a ready-to-introduce statutory draft, and its Global Head of Policy presented it directly to Virginia's Joint Commission on Technology and Science. The same organizations that drafted the model bill are now deploying it in state legislatures across the country. The companies that benefit from the compliance moat fund the advocacy organizations that draft the bills that create the compliance moat. [...]
The Door That Stays Open: AB 1043 requires only self-declared age -- a birthdate field, not government ID or biometrics. Industry analysts have described this as "an initial implementation designed to get the door open." Self-declaration today. Biometric verification tomorrow. The infrastructure is the same; only the input changes. Once every operating system has an age collection interface and a real-time API for transmitting age data to applications, upgrading from a text field to a face scan is a configuration change, not a new law.
Penalty Comparison: Cost of Giving a Child a Computer:
Cost of one Ageless Linux device: $12-18
Maximum combined US penalty for one device given to one child: $46,000
US penalty-to-cost ratio: 3,067:1
Brazil penalty for one violation: up to 522,222:1

Previously, previously, previously, previously.

systemd-censord

jwz — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 18:40:50 +0000

*Slow clap*

On the need for a censorship API for legal compliance reasons in some countries and U.S. states

From: FloofyWolf
Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2026 20:38:08 -0800
To: debian-devel@lists.debian.org
Cc: xdg@lists.freedesktop.org, ubuntu-devel@lists.ubuntu.com, debian-legal@lists.debian.org, legal@lists.fedoraproject.org, devel@lists.fedoraproject.org
Subject: On the need for a censorship API for legal compliance reasons in some countries and U.S. states
Recently, a proposal has been made to implement an API for a new California censorship regulation, "On the unfortunate need for an "age verification" API for legal compliance reasons in some U.S. states" by Aaron Rainbolt. I believe the approach outlined to be very short-sighted, in that creating a bespoke API for each of the hundreds of government censorship requirements that debian will presumably now be following will result in much duplication of effort and an unreliable user experience in which important censorship restrictions may be missed and not implemented. As such, with people now supporting the idea that debian should implement government censorship requests, even creating new standards if needed, I propose the creation of a censorship framework to speed implementation of current and future censorship regulations. [...]
Systemd units will be created for every desired censorship function, and will be started based on the user's location. For example, a unit for Kazakhstan will implement the government-required backdoor, a unit for China will implement keyword scans and web access blocks (more on this later), a unit for Florida will ban all packages with "trans" in the name (201 packages in current stable distribution), a unit for Oklahoma will ensure all educational software is compliant with the Christian Holy Bible, a unit for the entire United States will prevent installation of any program capable of decoding DVD or BluRay media, and a unit for California will provide the user's age to all applications and all web sites from which applications may be downloaded. As can be seen, multiple units may be started for a given location. [...]
To prevent users from bypassing censorship requirements, debian will need to switch to being a binary-only distribution with signed binaries, signed kernel, and signed kernel modules, with mandatory secureboot, and controls to prevent any non-signed software from being installed, written, or compiled, as any foreign sources of software may fail to query systemd-censord or may fail to respect the permissions it returns.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

GitHub Copilot litigation

jwz — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 18:27:04 +0000

This suit started in 2022 but seems to still be slogging along:

By training their AI systems on public GitHub repositories (though based on their public statements, possibly much more) we contend that the defendants have violated the legal rights of a vast number of creators who posted code or other work under certain open-source licenses on GitHub. Which licenses? A set of 11 popular open-source licenses that all require attribution of the author's name and copyright, including the MIT license, the GPL, and the Apache license. (These are enumerated in the appendix to the complaint.)
In addition to violating the attribution requirements of these licenses, we contend that the defendants have violated:
GitHub's own terms of service and privacy policies;
DMCA § 1202, which forbids the removal of copyright-management information;
the California Consumer Privacy Act;
and other laws giving rise to related legal claims.

Previously, previously.

Top FEMA Official Claims He Teleported to Waffle House

jwz — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 19:46:31 +0000

FEMA's Gregg Phillips says he has experienced multiple "scary" episodes of sudden teleportation:

Phillips spoke "on multiple podcasts" about being teleported against his will, which he has described as "evil." As director of the Office of Response and Recovery, Phillips oversees billions in funds, and is deeply involved in rapid response efforts in the aftermath of disasters.
"Teleporting is no fun," Phillips said last year. "It's no fun because you don't really know what you're doing. You don't really understand it, it's scary, but yet so real. And you know it's happening but you can't do anything about it, and so you just go, you just go with the ride. And wow, what just an incredible adventure it all was."
Phillips in the same interview described "teleporting" to a Waffle House 50 miles away. "I was with my boys one time and I was telling them I was gonna go to Waffle House and get Waffle House," he said. "And I ended up at a Waffle House -- this was in Georgia and I end up at a Waffle House like 50 miles away from where I was."
Now, do not mistake Phillips description for something like a medical episode or a black out of some form. He insisted that he was traveling from location to location without experiencing the passage of time. When his friends asked him where he was, he replied that he was at the "'Waffle House in Rome, Georgia.' And they said, 'That's not possible, you just left here a moment ago.' But it was possible. It was real."
Phillips also claimed that he had once felt his car "lifted up" and teleported forty miles to a ditch near a church. [...]
At FEMA, Phillips, who lacks any sort of professional experience related to disaster response, has been successful in the sense that his lack of qualifications fall in line with the Trump administration's apparent goal of kneecaping the agency.

Update: KooKooKrazypants doubles down because of course he does:

"Haters gonna hate," Gregg Phillips wrote. [...] Phillips described the teleportation incidents as tied to a "spiritual journey" during a period he said he was undergoing cancer treatments and pointed to biblical examples of supernatural events.
"I have no regrets for my words nor my faith in my Savior, Jesus Christ," Phillips wrote after CNN’s report, while arguing his comments were taken out of context. "The Bible has many examples of the power of God." [...]
Phillips added that the comments on teleporting to the Waffle House were taken out of context, though he has declined to say how. [...] Neither FEMA nor Phillips responded to multiple requests for comment on what part of CNN’s past reporting was taken out of context.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

The best privacy money can buy

jwz — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 18:09:08 +0000

North Oaks, Minnesota is the only city in the United States that is not on Google Maps Street View. YouTube documentarian Chris Parr, who grew up not too far from North Oaks, set out to change that earlier this year. For a brief few days, he literally put North Oaks on the map. And then it was gone again.

"It's known by Minnesotans as a place where executives and CEOs live," Parr told 404 Media. "Famously Walter Mondale is from North Oaks, but also like United Healthcare executives and Target executives."
North Oaks has managed to largely stay unmapped on Street View because of the way the city handles its streets. In almost every city and town in the United States, property owners give an easement to their local government for the roads in front of their homes (or don't have any claim to the roads at all). In North Oaks, homeowners' property extends into the middle of the street, meaning there is literally no "public" property in the city, and the roads are maintained by the North Oaks Homeowners' Association (NOHOA): "the City owns no roads, land, or buildings." [...]
"Technically, if you launch your drone from public property, which anyone can do if you're a registered drone pilot, you can fly it straight up and above private property," Parr said. And so Parr stood at "six or seven different spots" directly outside the boundary of North Oaks and flew his drone around. "I just pulled my car over onto the shoulder and popped my drone up and flew it over," he added. [...]
"According to North Oak's ordinances, you can go like, visit a friend, or if you're a contractor working on a house, you can go into the city, but you have to be an invited guest," Parr said. "I made a Craigslist post asking for somebody to invite me and I got an absolute ton of responses."

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

Today in ACAB: Afroman defeats Officer Lemon Pound Cake

jwz — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 02:26:19 +0000

Afroman found not liable in bizarre Ohio defamation case

Afroman did not defame Ohio cops in a satirical music video that featured footage of them fruitlessly raiding the rapper's house, a jury found on Wednesday. [...]
The hip hop star wrote the satirical song "Lemon Pound Cake" and made a music video with real footage of the raid taken from his home surveillance cameras to raise money for property damage caused during the search, he has said.
Seven cops with the sheriff's office then sued him in March 2023, alleging the music video defamed them, invaded their constitutional privacy, and was an intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The video features footage of the cops busting down his door, and of one officer eyeing his "mama's lemon poundcake" with his gun drawn. [...]
An attorney for the police, meanwhile, demanded a total of $3.9 million in damages -- divided among the seven officers involved.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

The TBOTE Project

jwz — Sat, 14 Mar 2026 22:12:32 +0000

This is some boss-level forensic accounting demonstrating that Facebook secretly wrote and is shepherding the various "age verification" bills.

Age Verification Lobbying: Dark Money, Model Legislation & Institutional Capture:

How corporate lobbying, think tank infrastructure, competing model legislation, and obscured funding networks are shaping age verification policy across 45 states and Congress.
This investigation documents a national lobbying operation spanning corporate spending, think tank infrastructure, dark money networks, and competing model legislation templates. Meta spent a record $26.3 million on federal lobbying in 2025, deployed 86+ lobbyists across 45 states, and covertly funded a group called the Digital Childhood Alliance (DCA) to advocate for the App Store Accountability Act (ASAA). But the operation extends beyond Meta. [...]
This investigation traced funding flows across five confirmed channels, analyzed $2.0 billion in dark money grants, searched 59,736 DAF recipients, parsed LD-2 filings, and mapped campaign contributions across four states to document the operation.

Previously, previously.

By order of His Majesty King Mob

jwz — Sat, 14 Mar 2026 21:48:50 +0000

AI job losses free up time for unemployed mobs to burn down tech CEO's houses

"Getting laid off without warning from my copywriting job has done wonders for my work-life-bloodthirsty mob balance," reports Taylor Grayden, 35, of Vancouver. "Back when I had a job I never would've had the free time to organize an unruly rabble and march towards the beach house of (Open AI CEO) Sam Altman. But now I'm getting so much more violent retribution accomplished in a day." [...]
"I felt so lost after I was let go at my analytics firm so my whole department could be replaced by Claude AI," explains Sarah Brightwell, 42, of Kingston, ON. "But then I started learning how to use AI as a tool -- specifically for planning a multi-week siege of the sprawling compound of Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei."
"Granted, the attack plans Claude spit out were full of hallucinations, but it got the ball rolling for me to organize my fellow unemployed humans and get marching," Brightwell adds, tightening the bolts on her homemade trebuchet. "After all, AI can't throw a molotov cocktail!" [...]
"Sure, we probably could have avoided this if we'd accompanied our artificial intelligence products with any kind of workable universal basic income system," explains Altman from one of his currently-burning $12.8 million San Francisco homes. "But I'd still rather die with all this money."

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

AI protest music is a thing now

jwz — Sat, 14 Mar 2026 19:41:09 +0000

Last night at DNA Lounge, a room full of people chanted "No AI" along with Anton Corazza's song of the same name. The kids might be alright!

▶︎

Rustage has entered the chat:

▶︎

Previously, previously, previously.

The Removed DOGE Deposition Videos Have Already Been Backed Up Across the Internet

jwz — Sat, 14 Mar 2026 17:36:38 +0000

"What is DEI?"
"Feeeeeeeeemales."

Oh no. Anyway

On Friday, government lawyers in the lawsuit filed a court record which said they asked the plaintiffs to remove the videos "from the internet due to concerns that the publication of the videos could subject the witnesses and their family members to undue harassment and reputational harm." The filing then said that Fox specifically "has been subject to harassment and has received a number of death threats since the videos and video clips were publicized and circulated."

Internet Archive; torrent magnet link (only 5 seeders!)

Update: Judge says "no".

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

How much water do the data centres use? It's a secret.

jwz — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 03:08:04 +0000

Do you want Immortan Joes? Because this is how you get Immortan Joes.

Roanoke gets its drinking water from Carvins Cove Reservoir. The locals tried to find out just how much water Google would be taking. But Google wanted the water and power numbers kept secret.

The details were finally released last week: [...] That's 7.5 million to 30 million litres of drinking water every single day. This is the reservoir's entire remaining capacity. Google is taking absolutely the limit of all the water they can.
How about the other AI vendors, like OpenAI? [...] Notice what Altman did there -- he started with the headline claim "water is totally fake" then he gave a made-up example ending with "or whatever." What he did not give was anything like a number. A current number. [...]
Given the secrecy, assume all the hyperscalers use a huge amount of fresh water. Until they give us official numbers somewhere they're not allowed to lie. They're not fighting to keep the numbers secret because they're good.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

Palantir Sues Swiss Magazine For Accurately Reporting That The Swiss Government Didn't Want Palantir

jwz — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 00:35:18 +0000

By the way, I have just been informed that "Peter Thiel" is an anagram for "Hitler Pete".

The articles, produced in collaboration with the investigative collective WAV, detailed a years-long, multi-ministry charm offensive by Palantir to sell its software to Swiss federal authorities. The campaign was, by all accounts, a comprehensive failure. Swiss agencies rejected Palantir at least nine times, with concerns ranging from data sovereignty to reputational risk to the simple fact that nobody needed the product. [...]
So how does a sophisticated data intelligence company respond to well-sourced investigative journalism based on official government documents?
By suing the journalists, of course.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

How to get out of jury duty

jwz — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 05:00:34 +0000

Judge forced to slash SF jury pool over hate for Elon Musk:

One candidate said, "In a criminal trial, I would feel morally obligated to convict, however, in a civil trial I could set those views aside," adding, "I believe it would be to the benefit of the human race for Mr. Musk to be sent to prison." [...]
"I don't believe the loss of several hundreds of millions of dollars in civil trial will be even a drop in the bucket to his wealth," he reportedly said. "So it doesn't really matter."
He did not make it onto the jury, and neither did a woman who said Musk has "no moral compass" and "used his wealth to buy votes." The judge also dismissed a candidate who said they disagree with the "existence of billionaires" and another who noted their dislike for Musk's firing of Twitter content moderators.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

"Hahaha get wrecked ya surveilling fucks"

jwz — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 01:41:11 +0000

Across the US, people are dismantling and destroying Flock surveillance cameras:

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

Danny Bluejeans won't let a little thing like a blackout interrupt his daughter's talent show

jwz — Sat, 14 Feb 2026 21:59:20 +0000

A day after a blackout plunged a third of SF into darkness, City Hall and many of the surrounding blocks remained without power. But the stage lights were on at the War Memorial Opera House.

Not mentioned at the hearing: The mayor's teenage daughter, Taya Lurie, was cast in the starring role of Clara at the matinee performance that Sunday.
During stunning testimony before the Board's Public Safety Committee, Supervisor Bilal Mahmood asked PG&E CEO Sumeet Singh why the utility had chosen to help the arts venue while so many other San Francisco sites were without power.
"You prioritized the opera, where no one is living, to restore service, before you prioritized restoring service in communities and seniors living in [single room occupancies]," said Mahmood.
"We did not make that decision on our own accord," Singh replied. "We were requested by the mayor to provide temporary generation to that specific location. And we responded to that."
Singh said 10% of affected PG&E customers were still experiencing blackouts when the mayor made his request.

The mayor's comms team went ballistic and a couple days later, the PG&E CEO recanted and said: Oh, that thing that I quite clearly stated, that was a "misunderstanding". Uh huh.

So the interesting thing here is not that our oligarch mayor is both corrupt and bumbling -- I mean, water is wet -- but that PG&E chose to throw him under the bus like that. Statements like that, from people like that, about people like that, don't happen off the cuff. With the renewed and increasing calls to Eminent Domain PG&E, you'd think that PG&E would want SF's mayor on their side. This suggests that they think they just don't need him.

Previously, previously, previously, previously.

S.F. looks to repeal law requiring stores to accept cash

jwz — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 00:34:35 +0000

The impetus for the rule was accessibility:

The "very poor," as well immigrant communities and the very young and old, the amendment read, "fall outside the non-cash financial system." [...]
Nationwide, those levels are decreasing, but remain significant. A survey conducted by the FDIC found that in 2023, Black and Latino households were overrepresented in the unbanked population, with 10.6 percent of Black and 9.5 percent of Latino households in the U.S. were unbanked, down from 17 and 14 percent in 2017.
Today, approximately 4 percent of San Francisco households are "unbanked," or do not have a checking or savings account, and nearly 14 percent are "underbanked" -- have bank accounts but primarily use cash or use check cashers or money orders. [...] "These residents are often the most financially vulnerable and can face higher costs and barriers in everyday transactions," Manke said.

The destruction of cash is part of the advertising panopticon agenda. Paper money doesn't have a utm_source on it so it is useless.

Let us also keep in mind that this "vocal contingent of local business owners" are the same business geniuses who are always, always certain that a bike lane will ruin them.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

Peter Thiel, Bad Vampire

jwz — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 20:44:55 +0000

This is not the language of a man who fears death. This is the language of a man who solved it in the 1400s and is tired of pretending.

The one thing the longevity-vampire community has not yet learned from Dracula is operational security.
Dracula operated in silence for centuries. He didn't have a podcast. He didn't track his erection quality on a public dashboard. He didn't appear on Netflix. He understood that the fundamental rule of being a vampire is: don't talk about being a vampire.
Johnson, Thiel, and their cohort have broken this rule comprehensively. Whether this represents a new era of transparency or a catastrophic strategic miscalculation remains to be seen.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

March for Billionaires

jwz — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 23:30:41 +0000

AI-poisoned Y-Combinator pick-me lickspittle throws parade:

Derik Kauffman insists it's not a joke. He's actually planning to hold a March for Billionaires in San Francisco this weekend. And he says he's doing so because he's opposed to a proposed state tax on billionaires and, more simply, because he feels as if the billionaire class has been unfairly vilified. [...]
The point of the event is to "change the sentiment on this to recognize that billionaires have done a lot for us and communicate that we're glad they're here," Kauffman said. [...]
He told The Examiner he's neither a billionaire defending his own interests, nor just acting as a front for the ultrarich. Last year, Kauffman founded an artificial-intelligence startup called RunRL that took part in Y Combinator's accelerator program.
Kauffman said he's not in contact with any billionaires or getting any funding from them, nor are there any other groups involved with the event. Instead, he's footing the cost of the March for Billionaires website himself and is the principal organizer of and publicist for it, he said.

Update: "Oh no. anyway"

San Francisco’s billionaire bacchanal a big bust:

Just one percent of Americans hold nearly a third of the nation's wealth. So it was fitting that after organizers announced an apparently earnest "March for Billionaires" for this Saturday at Alta Plaza Park, only a handful of pro-billionaire agitators actually showed. [...]
The tens of billions of dollars that could be raised from this tax would fund healthcare, a journalist said. What did Kauffman think of that?
Kauffman began his rebuttal, but it was drowned out by the hubbub of a "counter protester" wearing a towering papier-mâché chef puppet costume chasing around a man in a crown. "He's coming to eat the rich!" the royal provocateur yelled. "Help me get away from the unwashed masses!" [...]
"I am a Christian," said Annie. "I swear on my God that I am completely genuine." [...] "People are just jealous that they are poorer and weaker and uglier," she said. "We are beautiful. We're smart. We're strong... We are supporting the billionaires, here."

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

Waymo Exec Admits Remote Drivers in Philippines

jwz — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 20:55:56 +0000

Mechanical Turk, meet Mechanical Filipino:

Mauricio Peña, the company's Chief Safety Officer, confirmed under questioning that the Google subsidiary employs human operators abroad [...]
"They provide guidance. They do not remotely drive the vehicles," Peña told the Senate committee. "The Waymo vehicle is always in charge of the dynamic driving tasks, so that is just one additional input."
When pressed on how many operators are located outside the United States, Peña said he did not have the breakdown available, escalating frustration from senators.
"It just seems kind of curious that you don't know that answer," one senator responded, before asking in which countries the operators are located.
"The Philippines," Peña replied. [...]
"Having people overseas influencing American vehicles is a safety issue," the senator said. "The information the operators receive could be out of date. It could introduce tremendous cybersecurity vulnerabilities. We don't know if these people have US driver's licenses." [...]
"It's one thing when a taxi is replaced by an Uber or a Lyft. It's another thing when the jobs just go completely overseas," the senator added.

But hey, at least these jobs aren't being stolen by immigrants!

JP summarizes this well:

The insistence on personifying their products eg "the waymo asks for help", "the human recommends" is such a conspicuous odd contortion that it's almost certain there are legal + business imperatives behind it that they don't talk about and won't until a regulator forces them to. [...]
They want to pay remote drivers from whatever country is currently cheapest, none of whom will have US state drivers' licenses. claiming that they're "advising, not driving" is the linchpin of their argument that that's not as illegal and dangerous as it clearly is. they're constructing legal fortifications before the deaths and lawsuits rise.

Let's not forget that these companies are still immune from prosecution when one of their remotely-operated drones commits a moving violation, up to and including a killing. And that Waymo's owner Google have stated in court filings that it is good for business if their competitors' cars kill more people.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

Oh no

jwz — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 02:25:26 +0000

Oh no I'm in the Epstein files:

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

Plonk

jwz — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 20:50:39 +0000

There have been exactly two innovations in web browsers in the last 16 years:

"Show Reader Automatically" in 2010;
"Hide Distracting Items" in 2024.

Everything else has either been a waste of goddamned time, or actively malicious. Mostly the latter.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

Mozilla has 1.4 BILLION dollars that they are spending on some AI bullshit.

jwz — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 19:11:28 +0000

That's billion with a B. So if you held out hope that filling out surveys or shitposting through it might turn this ship around, no. That much money has an event horizon.

Mozilla is cooked.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

The Dildo Distribution Delegation

jwz — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 19:44:49 +0000

"I'm going to hand out big dicks to little-dick ICE agents."

The Geneva Convention disintegrated. The Founding Fathers wept. Somewhere, a federal HR manager clutched their chest and whispered, "No. Not like this." [...]
Across the barricades stood a row of cops in riot gear. Helmets. Batons. Armor. Gas masks. High-vis jackets. The full authoritarian cosplay kit. They looked like they were guarding nuclear launch codes. They were guarding a hotel lobby full of ICE agents who were about to be spiritually obliterated by a box of clearance-bin dicks.
We opened the box.
The first dildo flew through the air like a rubber prophecy and skidded to a stop directly at the boots of a state trooper.
And that's when the United States government lost its entire fucking mind.
Before anyone could even laugh properly, before a second dildo could achieve liftoff, before reality had time to process the absurdity of what had just happened, the cops panicked like Victorian men seeing an ankle.
Tear gas.
Pepper balls.
Instant chaos.
The very first rubber dick to touch government-issued leather boots triggered a full-blown chemical weapons response. That is not metaphor. That is not exaggeration. That is a literal sentence that happened in America in 2026. [...]
ICE agents peeked out of hotel windows like scared children witnessing a public execution, except the execution was their dignity and the executioner was a $5 clearance dildo. Arianne was still smiling -- not because it was funny, not because it was cute, but because she knew, in her bones, that we had just cracked reality in half.
We didn't even get to the full distribution phase before they freaked out. The mere presence of one dildo at their feet was enough to trigger chemical weapons. That's how paper-thin their authority is. That's how little it takes to make them go full riot-cop meltdown mode. [...]
We proved that you can bring a trillion-dollar security apparatus to its knees with one well-aimed rubber cock.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

Kitten Meat Deli Slices

jwz — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 20:42:52 +0000

Re-up:

Let's say you run a nonprofit animal shelter. And for some reason, some people feel you should be seeing hockey-stick growth, but the donations aren't covering it.

So you decide to start up a side-line of selling kittens for meat.

Then you will inevitably have someone stroking their chin and saying, "Yes, yes, but how could they afford to stay open if they weren't selling kitten deli slices?"

Some might say -- maybe you aren't an animal shelter any more. Some might say.

I wrote that a couple of years ago but it remains relevant and widely applicable, so I want to do what I can to get the Kitten Meat Deli into the general discourse. My hope is that some day we can say, "Ah yes, they are using the Kitten Meat defense, that's a poplar defense" and people will know what you're talking about.

It was originally about Mozilla becoming an advertising company but it could as easily have been about Mozilla becoming an AI company or about Mozilla going all in on cryptocurrency or about Internet Archive doing the same or about Mozilla being funded by Google or about The Long Now Foundation releasing NFTs or about Mozilla allowing W3C to bless DRM or, more recently about Wikipedia taking funding from Microsoft, OpenAI, Facebook and Amazon (and without even the fig-leaf of "donation" but as customers).

Yes, the Sliced Kittens Defense. A strong defense!

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

conspiracies - jwz

"Joy", which they have rebranded as "Economic Impact..."

"AI vegan"

Man Who Threw Molotov Cocktail At Sam Altman's Home Claims He Was Following ChatGPT Recipe For Risotto

President Nyarlathotep Is Simply Engaging in Classic "Mad Outer God" Negotiating Tactics

New Numbers Station just dropped

The Oberlin Luddite Club

Ageless Linux

systemd-censord

GitHub Copilot litigation

Top FEMA Official Claims He Teleported to Waffle House

The best privacy money can buy

Today in ACAB: Afroman defeats Officer Lemon Pound Cake

The TBOTE Project

By order of His Majesty King Mob

AI protest music is a thing now

The Removed DOGE Deposition Videos Have Already Been Backed Up Across the Internet

How much water do the data centres use? It's a secret.

Palantir Sues Swiss Magazine For Accurately Reporting That The Swiss Government Didn't Want Palantir

How to get out of jury duty

"Hahaha get wrecked ya surveilling fucks"

Danny Bluejeans won't let a little thing like a blackout interrupt his daughter's talent show

S.F. looks to repeal law requiring stores to accept cash

Peter Thiel, Bad Vampire

March for Billionaires

Waymo Exec Admits Remote Drivers in Philippines

Oh no

*Plonk*

Mozilla has 1.4 BILLION dollars that they are spending on some AI bullshit.

The Dildo Distribution Delegation

Kitten Meat Deli Slices

Plonk