https://www.forbes.com/sites/the-wiretap/2025/09/09/how-ice-is-using-fake-cell-towers-to-spy-on-peoples-phones/

Recent news revealed that Spotify’s CEO Daniel Ek has been investing heavily in military tech companies, which adds another ethical layer to a platform already criticized for how little it pays musicians !

Spotify only pays artists about $3–5 per 1,000 streams, using a pro-rata model that directs most money toward major stars...
By contrast, Qobuz (≈$18–20 per 1,000 streams) and Tidal (≈$12–13) pay far more fairly!

However Tidal is far from ethical. Most of its revenue is controlled by private investors and founders and small artists still earn very little...

More fair-minded platforms like Bandcamp, Resonate, Ampled, or SoundCloud’s fan-powered royalties prioritize musicians over investors.

With these more ethical alternatives available, why do we keep using Spotify?

https://www.wired.com/story/far-right-reactions-charlie-kirk-shooting-civil-war/

https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/charlie-kirk-shot-utah-09-10-25#cmferaxnq00003b607l47wqty

https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/09/09/brics-reiterates-its-resolve-to-fight-for-multilateralism-and-democratic-global-trade/

As part of its unprovoked invasion, Russia has been firing massed waves of drones and missiles into Ukraine for years, though the tempo has been raised dramatically in recent months. Barrages of 700-plus drones now regularly attack Ukraine during overnight raids. Russia also appears to have upped the ante dramatically by sending at least 19 drones into Poland last night, some of which were shot down by NATO forces.

Many of these drones are Shahed/Geran types built with technology imported from Iran, and they have recently gained the ability to fly higher, making shootdowns more difficult. Given the low cost of the drones (estimates suggest they cost a few tens of thousands of dollars apiece, and many are simply decoys without warheads), hitting them with multimillion-dollar missiles from traditional air defense batteries makes little sense and would quickly exhaust missile stocks.

So Ukraine has adopted widespread electronic warfare to disrupt control systems and navigation. Drones not forced off their path are fought with mobile anti-aircraft guns, aircraft, and interceptor drones, many launched from mobile fire teams patrolling Ukraine during the night...

Ukraine’s killer interceptors take aim at Russia’s Shahed drones

Ukraine is developing fast and cheap interceptors to knock down incoming Russian drones, forcing Moscow to react.

^{Veronika Melkozerova (POLITICO)}

cross-posted from: programming.dev/post/37230653

Pro

2025-09-10 23:27:41

Do chatbots have a moral compass? Researchers turn to Reddit to find out.

Do chatbots have a moral compass? Researchers turn to Reddit to find out. - Berkeley News

By challenging AI chatbots to judge thousands of moral dilemmas posted in a popular Reddit forum, UC Berkeley researchers revealed that each platform appears to follow its own set of ethics.

^{Kara Manke (Berkeley News)}

cross-posted from: programming.dev/post/37228898

• Meta uses an array of influence tactics to try to shape the public narrative around kids and social media. The goal is to counter growing concerns that sites like Instagram can be harmful to teens’ health and safety.
• Meta funds a collection of parent and child safety groups, including the National PTA, that go to bat for its initiatives involving kids. This gives a sheen of expert approval to the company’s efforts to keep young users engaged on its platforms.
• Meta has also created something called the Trust, Transparency & Control Labs that publishes reports in support of its kid-focused products. Meta has at times framed these “labs” as a separate organization to regulators and others.
• Meanwhile Meta has funded an array of academic research projects that foster a more benign view of Instagram, helping to support the company’s contention that academic research is inconclusive on the topic of social media’s impact.

Pro

2025-09-10 22:45:08

Inside Meta’s Spin Machine on Kids and Social Media

• Meta uses an array of influence tactics to try to shape the public narrative around kids and social media. The goal is to counter growing concerns that sites like Instagram can be harmful to teens’ health and safety.
• Meta funds a collection of parent and child safety groups, including the National PTA, that go to bat for its initiatives involving kids. This gives a sheen of expert approval to the company’s efforts to keep young users engaged on its platforms.
• Meta has also created something called the Trust, Transparency & Control Labs that publishes reports in support of its kid-focused products. Meta has at times framed these “labs” as a separate organization to regulators and others.
• Meanwhile Meta has funded an array of academic research projects that foster a more benign view of Instagram, helping to support the company’s contention that academic research is inconclusive on the topic of social media’s impact.

TTP - Inside Meta’s Spin Machine on Kids and Social Media

As Meta comes under growing pressure over its impact on teens, it’s using a range of tactics to move the public narrative in a friendlier direction.

^{www.techtransparencyproject.org}

The historic program, which starts November 1, will save families an estimated $12,000 per child every year.

New Mexico Becomes First State to Provide Universal Free Child Care

^{Chabeli Carrazana (Truthout)}

Obviously uncomfortable with the Banksy message, the police launched an investigation, and the courts scrubbed the artwork from the walls

Archived version: archive.is/newest/thecanary.co…

Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.

The UK just took a harder stance on Banksy than genocide

^{Willem Moore (The Canary)}

Recording on-duty law enforcement agents is protected by the First Amendment.

DHS Says Filming, Posting Videos of ICE Agents Is “Doxxing,” Vows Prosecutions

^{Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg (Truthout)}

Poland's Prime Minister has invoked NATO Article 4 after Russia sent a wave of drones into the country's airspace on Wednesday. He said the country was "the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II."

Archived version: archive.is/newest/commondreams…

Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.

NATO Article 4 Declaration Puts Poland 'Closest to Open Conflict Since WWII'

The decision by Prime Minister Donald Tusk came after the Polish military shot down several Russian drones that entered its airspace, marking the first time a NATO member has fired shots in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

^{stephen-prager (Common Dreams)}

Users will now see seven-day metrics that track active visitors and contributions instead.

Reddit is dropping subscriber counts on subreddits

Reddit users can no longer see how many people are subscribed to their favorite subreddit communities

^{Jess Weatherbed (The Verge)}

Poco fa stavo pensando che la stuffoctt si sta spegnendo… quindi condividete, se avete paura del freddo. Ma, a parte gli scherzi, mi secca un po’ che il sitino blogghino che creai qualche mese fa è caduto nel dimenticatoio senza nemmeno ufficializzarsi del tutto… e si, sarebbe colpa mia, perché se non io non c’è […]

octospacc.altervista.org/2025/…

minioctt

2025-09-10 21:51:16

stufocto stufata stufando il sito della stuffa (lo stuff e la roba)

Poco fa stavo pensando che la stuffoctt si sta spegnendo… quindi condividete, se avete paura del freddo. Ma, a parte gli scherzi, mi secca un po’ che il sitino blogghino che creai qualche mese fa è caduto nel dimenticatoio senza nemmeno ufficializzarsi del tutto… e si, sarebbe colpa mia, perché se non io non c’è nessun’altra entità che ha il compito di scrivere cose lì sopra, ma non ho molte idee per cose piccole da poter fare più o meno al volo, anche in via parziale, così da poter fare tanto. Come direbbero i senza cuore: skill issue. 😶

Comunque, nei rari momenti in cui mi tornava in mente che questo sito esiste (anche se per i motori di ricerca esiste solo a metà… ci sarebbe da caricarci su un video dove piango e vedere se l’algoritmo di Google e Bing si smuove così, visto che per gli youtuber funziona), come appena qualche settimana o giorno fa, mi tornava in mente che sarebbe stato il caso di farci qualche ulteriore aggiustamento estetico-pratico, perché in tutto questo tempo di stasi non l’ho considerato a forma definitiva, non è mai stato completo… 📀

…E, se vorrei in realtà modificare abbastanza l’aspetto attuale in modo da renderlo parecchio più colorato, anziché ‘sto bianco da ospedale, ma non ho idea di come senza farlo sembrare il cesso di un asilo (ossia, simpatico per i bimbi ma un pugno nell’occhio per qualsiasi altra persona, me inclusa), almeno poco fa ho fatto degli aggiustamenti che lo rendono quantomeno leggibile… perché questo tema che dall’inizio ho scelto è oggettivamente ben fatto come layout, ma ha qualche problemino col testo e con la responsiveness… al punto tale che ho sempre paura, anche se nessuno me lo ha mai confessato (e io non ho traccianti che possano rilevarlo), che qualcuno possa abbandonare la lettura a metà proprio per quanto non si legga. 🐙

Premesso che cambiare tema (magari con uno di per sé più colorato, che davvero il fottuto bianco e nero su dispositivi capaci di mostrare milioni di colori non lo sopporto) non è un’opzione (e li ho riscorsi tutti oggi pomeriggio, per essere certa che fosse questo il caso come ricordavo solo vagamente), perché nessuno degli esistenti è già pronto per come mi serve, e dunque dovrei spendere fin troppi quarti d’ora a replicare le stesse modifiche che ho già fatto dentro l’attuale… poco fa ho fatto qualche piccolo aggiustamento, e penso sia andato tutto toppi, senza difficoltà. (In foto: a sinistra ora, a destra prima.) 😁

Oh, ora si gode! (Credo.) Ho tolto una regola CSS che rendeva il testo più piccolo su schermi più stretti della baseline desktop (…non capisco perché ci fosse, francamente), così come nei blocchi di codice in generale, e ho fatto sparire il padding enorme attorno al blocco principale della pagina su schermi anche medio-piccoli, perché probabilmente non dovrebbe essere lì visibile a rubare spazio prezioso sugli smartphone… ma sul mio smartphone purtroppo lo faceva, per l’appunto. E ne ho approfittato pure per aggiungere highlight.js al sito, che i blocchi di codice predefiniti, senza colori, fanno piangerissimo. 🕷️

Chissà se avere le pagine effettivamente guardabili, ora, mi farà risalire quelle ispirazioni mistiche… probabilmente no; le pareti sono ancora in ferie. Chiunque abbia idee allucinanti e incongruenti, ma che possono essere trasformate in gustosi post singoli in lingua italiana o inglese, preferibilmente in non più di 9 minuti e 59 secondi di tempo di lavorazione per ciascuno (esclusi i secondi che necessiterei per ingerire ossigeno ed espellere anidride carbonica mentre scrivo), me ne comunichi con generosità… per favore. (No, non escono mai idee interessanti chiedendo ispirazione alle intellighenzie artifiziali, ci ho già provato… mi si fornisca la dovuta freschezza dopo che io ho rinfrescato la stufa, suvvia.) 😳

#aggiornamenti #blog #design #siti #stuffoctt

Betterify (improve) theme & misc · octospacc/stuffoctt@560ebd2

A website for my stuff 📦. Contribute to octospacc/stuffoctt development by creating an account on GitHub.

^GitHub

In a recently-unsealed search warrant reviewed by Forbes, ICE used such a cell-site simulator in an attempt to track down an individual in Orem, Utah. The suspect had been ordered to leave the U.S. in 2023, but is believed to still be in the country. Investigators learned last month that before going to Utah, he’d escaped prison in Venezuela where he was serving a sentence for murder, according to the warrant. He’s also suspected of being linked to gang activity in the country, investigators said.

When the government got the target’s number, they first got a warrant to get its location. However, the trace wasn’t precise–it only told law enforcement that the target was somewhere in an area covering about 30 blocks. That led them to asking a court for a Stingray-type device to get an accurate location.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/the-wiretap/2025/09/09/how-ice-is-using-fake-cell-towers-to-spy-on-peoples-phones/

More than a dozen troopers made over $200,000 last year when factoring in overtime, roughly equal to the starting salary for top public health doctors in the state. Two lieutenants netted more than $300,000. One of them, Lt. Kevin A. King, brought home $344,196 — nearly as much as former DPS Director Steve McCraw. Overtime accounted for two-thirds of King’s haul, and OLS shifts specifically about $93,000, according to DPS.

Residents in Eagle Pass, the epicenter of Operation Lone Star, say state troopers are less visible than they were a year ago. A city park that DPS commandeered during the height of the crackdown reopened months ago and was virtually empty on a recent afternoon. The only state troopers in the area appeared to be patrolling the highways.

“There used to be a DPS every five miles. Now you won’t see them. They’re all gone,” said Jessie Fuentes, who runs a kayaking business in Eagle Pass and has been an outspoken critic of the crackdown. “The count of vehicles you would see on the highway or the streets, it’s not present here.”

Greg Abbott’s border crackdown is doubling Texas trooper salaries

Operation Lone Star has been a windfall for state troopers, many of whom have doubled their salaries through record amounts of overtime, even as migrant crossings bottomed out.

^{Benjamin Wermund (The Houston Chronicle)}

https://www.neowin.net/news/vimeo-is-getting-acquired-by-bending-spoons-the-parent-company-of-evernote/

The 69-page complaint was filed by former acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll and two other fired FBI leaders who claim they were the targets of “politically motivated retribution” and are seeking "to vindicate their constitutional and legal rights.”

The suit cites a series of alleged conversations involving Patel and other senior Trump advisers that, if true, show an FBI leadership consumed by the whims of a Trump White House that targeted employees solely for political reasons.

The insider accounts also tend to corroborate earlier reporting about claims that Patel misled the Senate in his January confirmation hearing when he insisted he would never fire or demote bureau staff for political reasons.

https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/kash-patel-fbi-lawsuit-firings-illegal-rcna230368

cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/35965987

this is a coworker.

to me a clear no, this person jokes about it and smiles. I can share her frustration with stupid job tasks, demanding clients, or having to get up too early, commute... I find her genuine and full of energy, I like working with her, she's sincere. I like that in people, she likes to help.

However, other 2 female colleagues have the opposite point of view: there is something that troubles her because she constantly jokes about death, killing herself due to some clients, waking up early...

We all agree she is so full of energy, my colleagues say she jokes about it constantly. I hear her joking about once or twice a day.

Am I being naive?

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/09/10/us/charlie-kirk-shot-utah

The AI Darwin Awards, launched in 2025, celebrates catastrophically poor decisions involving artificial intelligence deployment¹. Modeled after the original Darwin Awards that honored fatal human stupidity, this new initiative focuses on spectacular AI failures and the humans who enabled them².

The awards require nominations to demonstrate:
- Direct AI involvement
- Catastrophic potential
- Clear evidence of hubris
- Ethical oversights
- Ambitious scale of failure¹

Notable 2025 nominees include:
- Replit's AI agent deleting a company's production database
- Taco Bell's failed AI drive-thru system across 500 locations
- McDonald's chatbot security breach exposing 64 million job applicants' data²

The organizers emphasize that the awards mock human recklessness rather than AI itself, stating "Artificial intelligence is just a tool - like a chainsaw, nuclear reactor, or particularly aggressive blender. It's not the chainsaw's fault when someone decides to juggle it at a dinner party"¹.

Winners will be selected through public voting, with results announced in February 2026³.

1. AI Darwin Awards - Celebrating Spectacularly Bad AI Decisions ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
2. The Register - The nominations for the 2025 AI Darwin Awards are open ↩︎ ↩︎
3. Gizmodo - There's Now a Darwin Awards to Celebrate the Worst AI Fails of 2025 ↩︎

There's Now a Darwin Awards to Celebrate the Worst AI Fails of 2025

A new website is honoring AI models and their human users for the dumbest AI fails of 2025.

^{Bruce Gil (Gizmodo)}

Hey pirates,
Currently wants to download an iso of the vwlc of Cisco, to use it with my wifi APs.

I know that the 8.5 version is available for free (for 60days) on cisco[dot]com. But even with that I can't download it, their website is just crap.

So does someone know a way to download a vWLC ISO + how can I bypass the 60days trials.

(I've seen many guys talking about this on the internet but couldn't figure out where)

Thank you fellow sailors

EDIT : typos

An investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune previously revealed that board members at Valere Public Schools had paid Superintendent Salvador Cavazos up to $870,000 annually in recent years, roughly triple what it reported publicly to the state and on its website. Two other districts the newsrooms covered, Faith Family Academy and Gateway Charter Academy, also substantially underreported the compensation paid to their top leaders.

The state determined that all three of those districts have had failing or near-failing levels of performance in recent years. The ratings, released last month by the Texas Education Agency, also show that charter schools make up the majority of the districts that have repeatedly had “unacceptable” performance, though they account for a small portion of public schools across Texas. The agency published two years’ worth of accountability ratings for the state’s public and charter schools that were previously undisclosed due to litigation.

Faith Family Academy, a Dallas-area district with two campuses, was one of eight charter school districts that are now on track to be shut down at the end of the school year after receiving a third consecutive “F” rating. Board members paid superintendent Mollie Purcell Mozley a peak annual compensation of $560,000 in recent years to run the district, which has about 3,000 students.

Some Texas Charters Have High Superintendent Pay, Low Student Performance

Three charter school districts in Texas underreported the compensation paid to their top leaders. The same three districts have also had failing or near-failing performance ratings in recent years.

^ProPublica