Sanctioned spyware maker Intellexa had direct access to government espionage victims, researchers say
Based on a leaked video, security researchers alleged that Intellexa staffers have remote live access to their customers' surveillance systems, allowing them to see hacking targets’ personal data.
Total War: Medieval III announced as "the rebirth of historical Total War"
Creative Assembly is celebrating 25 years of Total War by bringing the series back to its roots. Total War: Medieval III is being built on a freshly upgraded engine as well.
https://www.neowin.net/news/total-war-medieval-iii-announced-as-the-rebirth-of-historical-total-war/
German broadcaster backs Israel in Eurovision debate
Berlin (AFP) – The public broadcaster organising Germany's entry for Eurovision said Thursday that Israel was entitled to compete in the contest, as European broadcasters debate whether to exclude the country over its conduct in Gaza.The broadcaster SWR said in a statement sent to AFP that "the Israeli broadcaster KAN fulfils all the requirements for participation" in the contest.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a strong supporter of Israel, said in October that the prospect of Israel being excluded was "scandalous" and that he would advocate Germany boycotting the contest in that case.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is currently holding a two-day meeting in Geneva to discuss the issue, with several countries threatening to pull out if Israel is allowed to take part.
SWR said that the Eurovision Song Contest has for decades been "connecting people in Europe and beyond -- through diversity, respect and openness, regardless of origin, religion or worldview.
"It is a competition organised by EBU broadcasters, not by governments."
It added that "we are confident a solution can be found in keeping with the principles of the EBU the competition".
"There can be no Eurovision without Israel," Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer said Wednesday in comments sent to AFP on Thursday, adding that the EBU should reflect "European values" in its decision.
Germany has traditionally been a steadfast supporter of Israel although Merz has criticised its campaign in Gaza, which has killed at least 70,000 people, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the UN considers reliable.
Past editions of the competition have also become embroiled in politics.
Russia was excluded after its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Belarus was shut out a year earlier after the contested re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko.
At the time of Russia's exclusion, Germany's public broadcasters ARD and ZDF welcomed the move.
"If a participant country of the ESC is attacked by another, we stand in solidarity within the European ESC family," they said then.
"Therefore, the decision against Russia's participation... is correct."
How can we get more of the population into the Fediverse? Tech literacy?
Gavin Newsom opposes California ‘billionaire tax’ as he eyes 2028 White House bid
Gavin Newsom opposes California ‘billionaire tax’ as he eyes 2028 White House bid
A campaign to plug California’s leaky health care system by squeezing the state’s richest has a high-profile opponent: Gov. Gavin Newsom.Annie Gaus (New York Post)
"b... b... bUt alL tHe BiLliOnAiReS wILl rUn aWAy. TRiCkLe DoWn eCoNoMiCs, sOmeThIng, SoMeThIng" - bootlicking cunt
Newsom has received campaign cash from billionaires such as Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, among others.
In 1995, a Netscape employee wrote a hack in 10 days that now runs the Internet
Thirty years later, JavaScript is the glue that holds the interactive web together, warts and all.
USStocksSwing&Trend
US supreme court approves redrawn Texas congressional maps
US supreme court approves redrawn Texas congressional maps
Major win for Trump as majority rejects lower-court ruling that found maps had been racially gerrymanderedSam Levine (The Guardian)
offline magic earth requires now a 15€ subscription
I liked using it but 15€/year for navigation is too much for me. I'm going to stick to osmand now. At least osmand is open source. It has roughly the same features. It's just not that beautiful. I paid for osmand btw. What's your alternative?
Edit: And I like paying for osmand because it is open source.
US | ChatGPT hyped up violent stalker who believed he was “God’s assassin,” DOJ says
Podcaster faces up to 70 years and a $3.5 million fine for ChatGPT-linked stalking.
Google’s AI model is getting really good at spoofing phone photos
We’re cooked.
Google’s AI model is getting really good at spoofing phone photos
Nano Banana Pro mimics the look and feel of iPhone photos and adds watermarks without being prompted for an extra dose of realism.Allison Johnson (The Verge)
Recommendations for after installing Linux (Mint) coming from Windows for best practices for a casual user ?
I finally bit the bullet and I'm giving Linux a second try, installed with dual boot a few days ago and making Linux Mint my default from now on.
There are a lot of guides and tips about the before and during the transition but not for after, so I was hoping to find some here.
Some example questions but I would like to hear any other things that come to mind:
I read that with Mint if you have a decent computer you don't need to do a swap partition? So I skipped that, but I'm not sure if I'd want to modify that swap file to make it bigger, is that just for giving extra ram if my hardware one is full? Because I have 48GB of ram and if I look into my System Monitor it says Swap is not available.
Was looking at this other post, and the article shared (about Linux security) seems so daunting, it's a lot. How much of it do I have to learn as a casual user that's not interested in meddling with the system much? Is the default firewall good enough to protect me from my own self to at least some degree? I was fine with just Windows Defender and not being too stupid about what I download and what links I click.
I was also reading about how where you install your programs or save your data matters, like in particular partitions or folders, is that just like hardcore min-maxing that's unnecessary for the average user that doesn't care to wait half a second extra or is it actually relevant? I'm just putting stuff in my Home folder.
Connected to the last two points: in that Linux Hardening Guide lemmy post I shared the TL;DR includes "Move as much activity outside the core maximum privilege OS as possible"... how do I do that? is that why people have separate partitions?
Downloaded the App Center (Snap Store) and I was surprised there was even a file saying to not allow it... why is that? Is it not recommended? Is it better to download stuff directly from their websites instead?
Half a dozen people said so already but I'll repeat :
backup your stuff.
You are like a tightrope walker on a high line without security. Sure the view is amazing, yes you feel free... but a misstep and that's it.
How? Well depends what your data is but start simple, copy your most important files, e.g. family photos, personal notes, etc (NOT HD movies from the Internet... not anything you can get elsewhere) on a USB stick you go stuffed in a drawer.
Once you DO have your stuff saved though, please, pretty please DO go crazy! Have fun, try weird stuff, bork your installation... and restart from a neat safe place. It's honestly amazing to learn, so deeply empowering for yourself and those around you. Just make sure your data don't suffer from it.
Microsoft is quietly walking back its diversity efforts
Microsoft has dropped its diversity and inclusion report
Microsoft is quietly walking back its diversity efforts
Microsoft is making changes to its diversity and inclusion efforts. The annual report is being dropped, alongside employee performance review reporting.Tom Warren (The Verge)
Path of Exile 2: The Last of the Druids has shapeshifters, dungeon crafting, and more
The LLMs are just somewhere between an averaging and a lossy compression of everything on GitHub. There's nothing about the current paradigm of "AI" that is going to somehow do better than just rehashing that training set but with the inclusion of various classes of errors.
I think it's better to view it as spicy search rather than any form of intelligence.
As I'm slowly evolving my own flavour of spec driven development, I'm starting to think about the generated code as a secondary artefact where main quality criteria is that it's doing what it needs to and it's covered with tests.
I guess my current analogy is that I don't care about how readable or dry is the assembly code generated by compiler.
I have the specifications and the working code with tests. I can always regenerate it if I need to.
But. I still read the produced code, steer the design and correct the obvious blunders. No vibes.
AI code will likely get to the point where it is just a higher level language
AI Coding
In my old age I’ve mostly given up trying to convince anyone of anything. Most people do not care to find the truth, they care about what pumps their bags.the singularity is nearer
Yep, it is a poor choice today.
Like all things, it will likely improve. I see a world where a pseudo-code format and some standard start to form.
Until then, it is the wild west, and I fear some people may die from the misuse of these vibe coding tools. But they aren’t necessarily useless.
main quality criteria is that it’s doing what it needs to and it’s covered with tests.
Might want to read on TDD, it's been around since last the last millennium (OK 1999 according to Wikipedia, point is, it's not new).
Amazon’s dynamic pricing is causing chaos for school budgets
A Wild West for Crayola prices.
Amazon’s dynamic pricing is causing chaos for school budgets
Schools and local governments are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars extra for basic supplies thanks to volatile dynamic pricing on Amazon Business, a report finds.Stevie Bonifield (The Verge)
Sony will be publishing a new co-op shooter by Left 4 Dead creator
Sony has announced a partnership with Bad Robot Games for its debut project, which is being directed by the mind behind Left 4 Dead, Mike Booth.
https://www.neowin.net/news/sony-will-be-publishing-a-new-co-op-shooter-by-left-4-dead-creator/
Musk says new Tesla software allows texting and driving, which is illegal in most states
Texting while driving is banned in nearly every state, even with the use of advanced driver-assistance systems like Tesla's Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software.
Musk says new Tesla software allows texting and driving, which is illegal in most states | TechCrunch
Texting while driving is banned in nearly every state, even with the use of advanced driver assistance systems like Tesla's Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software.Sean O'Kane (TechCrunch)
Image link test
A Small Act Can Save a Life 💔🙏
Dear friends,
We are going through unimaginably difficult days, with very limited support and resources nearly gone. After God, all we have left is your kindness and compassion. Our lives truly depend on your help, and any contribution—no matter how small—can become a lifeline and restore hope where there is none.
A single donation can change our fate. Even sharing this message could reach someone who is able to help. Please don’t leave us alone in this painful time.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who stands with us
gofund.me/00439328
Trump invites ‘cute’ Japanese kei trucks to come to America
Kei trucks have a new fan.
Trump invites ‘cute’ Japanese kei trucks to come to America
President Donald Trump said he was authorizing the Transportation Department to allow small kei trucks to be built in the US.Andrew J. Hawkins (The Verge)
[Article] Musk, Bezos, and Zuckerberg Are Full of Shit (Literally) in New Art Exhibit
Would hate to have to clean up that mess.
Israel emptied half of Gaza: What’s next?
cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/39791607
from +972’s Sunday Recap
+972Magazine [published in Israel]
Nov. 30, 2025Gazan analyst Muhammad Shehada examines how Israel is using the ‘Yellow Line’ to re-engineer its control over the Strip even after the ceasefire. [Podcast]
Also:
* Why the death penalty would cement the Israeli radical right’s ascendancy
* At settlers’ bidding, Israel arrests prominent Palestinian activist
* Israel is set to destroy our guesthouse. But Masafer Yatta still welcomes all who resist
* AI-powered surveillance firms are gunning for a share of the Gaza spoils
Israel emptied half of Gaza: What’s next?
from +972’s Sunday Recap
+972Magazine [published in Israel]
Nov. 30, 2025Gazan analyst Muhammad Shehada examines how Israel is using the ‘Yellow Line’ to re-engineer its control over the Strip even after the ceasefire. [Podcast]
Also:
* Why the death penalty would cement the Israeli radical right’s ascendancy
* At settlers’ bidding, Israel arrests prominent Palestinian activist
* Israel is set to destroy our guesthouse. But Masafer Yatta still welcomes all who resist
* AI-powered surveillance firms are gunning for a share of the Gaza spoilshttps://www.972mag.com/wp-content/themes/rgb/newsletter.php?page_id=8§ion_id=188727
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Looks Like We Can Finally Kiss the Metaverse Goodbye
It appears Meta's Horizon Worlds may literally and figuratively not have legs after all.
like this
Honduras Vote Stuns Libre with Return of Traditional Parties as Trump’s Endorsement Reshapes Election
José Luis Granados Ceja
Dec 02, 2025
Hondurans, particularly those from the country’s social movements, expressed a prevailing sense of disappointment in Libre.“We found that, in the short time they had, they generated a lot of frustration among the population because there was no clear government plan—no clear roadmap for where they were going to lead us—especially in seeking structural solutions to the major conflicts affecting the population,” Juana Esquivel, a member of the coordinating committee of the Tocoa Municipal Committee, which has been heavily involved in campesino land struggles in the department of Colón, told Drop Site News.
Honduras Vote Stuns Libre with Return of Traditional Parties as Trump’s Endorsement Reshapes Election
Hondurans delivered an upset vote that sidelined the ruling Libre Party, boosted traditional elites, and underscored the impact of Donald Trump’s unprecedented interventionJosé Luis Granados Ceja (Drop Site News)
Nearly 2 Months Into 'Ceasefire,' IDF Kills 2 More Palestinian Children as Gaza Death Toll Passes 70,000
cross-posted from: hexbear.net/post/6910542
cross-posted from: news.abolish.capital/post/1091…
The Palestinian Health Ministry reported Saturday that nearly two months after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement, the death toll in Israel's war on Gaza has passed 70,000 as the Israel Defense Forces have continued to claim they are targeting only Hamas fighters—while killing civilians including two children who were gathering firewood for their father on Saturday.
Fadi Abu Assi, 11, and Goma Abu Assi, eight, were close to a school sheltering displaced Palestinians near Beni Suhaila in southern Gaza when the IDF fired a drone in the area, killing both boys.
"They are children...what did they do? They do not have missiles or bombs, they went to gather wood for their father so he can start a fire," the boys' uncle, Mohamed Abu Assi, told Sky News.
Breaking the Silence, an IDF veterans' group whose members speak out against Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories, condemned the military for a statement it released on the killing, which the group said amounted to "a pile of words meant only to keep justifying endless killing under insane and ruthless rules of engagement."
The IDF told Sky News that troops had "identified two suspects who crossed the yellow line," the point to which the IDF withdrew as part of the ceasefire deal in October.
The military said the two boys had "conducted suspicious activities on the ground, and approached IDF troops operating in the southern Gaza Strip, posing an immediate threat to them."
The IDF claimed it identified the eight- and 11-year-old boys and "eliminated the suspects in order to remove the threat."
Despite the ceasefire, said Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, "the Israeli military is still killing children."
— (@)Drop Site News condemned the New York Times' coverage of the boys' killing, with the newspaper writing in a headline that "Gazans say" Fadi and Goma Abu Assi were killed by Israeli forces.
"The boys’ bodies, their ages, and their identities are fully documented—including videos of their lifeless shrouds and their wheelchair-bound father weeping over them—backed by eyewitness accounts and hospital confirmation," said Drop Site.
⭕️ Israeli Troops Murder Two Gaza Boys, 11 and 8, as They Collected Firewood for Their Wheelchair-Bound Father — IDF Says “Suspects” were “Posing an Immediate Threat.”Two Palestinian brothers — Fadi, 11, and Goma Abu Assi, 8 — were killed by an Israeli drone strike near a… t.co/VKCHVKnIaa pic.twitter.com/vNeIoapKjk
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) November 29, 2025The Times also reduced "the 350+ Palestinians killed since the October 10 ceasefire to 'persistent violence,'" said the outlet.
The health ministry, whose statistics the World Health Organization and other international agencies have long viewed as credible, said 356 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the first phase of the truce began.
The Times' framing, said Drop Site, "hides the truth that the violence is one-directional, systematic, and directed at civilians who pose no threat to Israelis."
On Sunday, the outlet reported that the IDF was "boasting about breaking the ceasefire" as it announced troops had killed four Palestinian fighters as they emerged from underground tunnels in eastern Rafah.
"It remains unclear whether today’s casualties were fighters or civilians or children," said Drop Site.
Hossam Badran, a member of Hamas' political bureau, told Al Jazeera Sunday that the group is searching for the two remaining bodies of deceased Israeli captives, to be returned to Israel in accordance with the ceasefire deal, and accused Israeli officials of "using these bodies as a pretext to delay movement to the second phase of the ceasefire."
From Common Dreams via This RSS Feed.
Updates: Gaza death toll rises as Israel intensifies West Bank attacks
Health Ministry says 356 killed by Israel since October ceasefire as army ramps up detentions, arrests in West Bank.Tim Hume (Al Jazeera)
Maduro Vows Venezuela Will Be a 'Colony Never Again' as Trump Intensifies Threats
cross-posted from: hexbear.net/post/6921788
cross-posted from: news.abolish.capital/post/1116…
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro remained defiant on Monday as US President Donald Trump plotted "next steps" against the South American nation with top national security brass.
Before thousands of Venezuelans at a rally in Caracas, the nation’s embattled president said he would not accept peace on US terms unless it came “with sovereignty, equality, and freedom.”
“We do not want a slave’s peace, nor the peace of colonies! Colony, never! Slaves, never!” he said.
The speech came days after Trump announced that the US would close Venezuelan airspace, which many interpreted as a final step before a series of strikes on the mainland.
The US has framed its military buildup in the Southern Caribbean as part of a campaign to stop drug smuggling, the same justification it has used to carry out the extrajudicial bombings of more than 20 boats in the region—which have killed at least 83 people—while disclosing zero proof of the victims' involvement with drug trafficking.
Trump has also accused Maduro of being the leader of the so-called "Cartel de los Soles," which he slapped with the label of “Foreign Terrorist Organization” last month, even though it is not an "organization" at all, but a media shorthand to refer to alleged connections between Venezuelan leaders and the drug trade.
Meanwhile, both US and international assessments have found that Venezuela is but a minor player in the global drug trade.
The US has amassed more than 15,000 troops outside Venezuela, the most it's sent to the region since 1989, when the administration of former President George H.W. Bush launched a land invasion of Panama to overthrow its drug-running dictator Manuel Noriega. Documents obtained by *T**he* *Intercept* last week suggested that the US seeks to maintain "a massive military presence in the Caribbean" for years to come.
"By a factor of at least 10, the US presence is too great for even an intensified anti-drug operation," wrote US national editor Edward Luce in the Financial Timeson Tuesday.
Trump's motive for stopping drug trafficking was further called into question after he pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, a onetime US ally who was sentenced last year to 45 years in prison for helping to traffic at least 400 tons of cocaine to the US. The pardon was issued as part of Trump's efforts to influence Honduras' upcoming election to secure the victory of right-wing candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura.
The goal of regime change was essentially confirmed on Monday when Reutersreported that Trump had offered Maduro safe passage out of Venezuela if he were willing to abdicate power during a phone call on November 21.
“You can save yourself and those closest to you, but you must leave the country now,” Trump reportedly told Maduro.
Maduro reportedly said he'd be willing to accept the offer if his family members were granted complete amnesty and the US removed sanctions against them, as well as over 100 other Venezuelan officials. He also asked for the case against him before the International Criminal Court (ICC) to be dropped.
Trump rejected that deal, and his offer of safe passage expired on Friday, the day before the US announced it had closed Venezuelan airspace. Trump confirmed to the press on Sunday that the talks had happened, but provided few additional details.
Maduro has categorically denied involvement with drug trafficking and has portrayed the White House's sabre-rattling as a "colonial threat." Last week, while brandishing the sword of South American anticolonial hero Simón Bolívar, he pledged that Venezuela would be a "colony never again."
On Sunday, he accused Trump of trying to "seize" the nation's oil reserves. He has called for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to step in to help the country counter what he said were “growing and illegal threats” from Trump.
Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves—about a fifth of the Earth’s total, and more than Iraq had at the time of the George W. Bush administration's 2003 invasion. However, US sanctions against Venezuela largely block American oil companies from accessing the reserves, which are controlled by the nation’s state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela. These sanctions, which have limited Venezuela's ability to export its most valuable natural resource, are considered one of the primary reasons for the nation's economic instability in recent years.
While at a rally in 2023, Trump said he regretted not having "taken [Venezuela] over" during his first term. "We would have gotten to all that oil; it would have been right next door,” he said.
"We’ve seen this tragic play before," wrote Richard Steiner, a former marine professor with the University of Alaska, this weekend in Common Dreams. "The Bush administration justified its disastrous 2003 invasion of Iraq with the pretext that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, which, as it turned out, it didn’t. And as US Central Command commander General John Abizaid admitted about the Iraq war at the time: 'Of course it’s about oil, it’s very much about oil, and we can’t really deny that.'"
"A similar pretext—this time 'drug interdiction'—is being used to justify a potential US invasion and regime change in Venezuela," he continued. "But this is not about stopping the flow of dangerous drugs, it is about actually increasing the flow of the dangerous drug some pushers want to keep us all hooked on—oil."
From Common Dreams via This RSS Feed.
Trump's Threat to Invade Venezuela Is Indeed About Drugs–Oil, That Is
This is not about stopping the flow of dangerous drugs, it is about actually increasing the flow of the dangerous drug some pushers want to keep us all hooked on.richard-steiner (Common Dreams)
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Radar revelation stokes fears Caribbean could be drawn into US-Venezuela crisis
After being pressed by reporters, Persad-Bissessar admitted on Friday that at least 100 marines were in the country, along with a military-grade radar, believed to be a long-range, high-performance AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR, which the US defence company Northrop Grumman said was used for air surveillance, defence and counter-fire.The prime minister claimed the radar installation in the country, which is only seven miles away from Venezuela at its closest point, is part of a counter-drug trafficking strategy, and that she had withheld details in the interest of national security and to avoid alerting drug traffickers.
Radar revelation stokes fears Caribbean could be drawn into US-Venezuela crisis
Trinidad PM rejects claims installation is in support of US campaign but opposition says ‘they have sold soul of nation’Natricia Duncan (The Guardian)
Which private (no cloud requirement) wireless home security cameras save footage locally without monthly subscription?
I tried wyze and find it silly how video clips are limited to 5 seconds unless you give them money every month. I want something where the footage is saved on a local sdcard/hdd without any cloud reliance.
Even better if I don't have to be locked into using the manufacturer's app, but I'm flexible on that.
Yeah I'm lucky I made my account lemmy.ml and stay in local.
Hold on...it's always you
Kiev will have to make ‘painful concessions’ to achieve peace – German foreign minister
Kiev will have to make ‘painful concessions’ to achieve peace – German foreign minister
Now is a good time to settle the Ukraine conflict, but Kiev must make “painful concessions,” Germany’s foreign minister has saidRT
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Trump administration says it will withhold SNAP from Democrat-led states if they don't provide data
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration said Tuesday that it will move to withhold SNAP food aid from recipients in most Democratic-controlled states starting next week unless they provide information about those receiving the assistance.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday that the action is in the works because those states are refusing to provide data the department requested such as the names and immigration status of the aid recipients.
She said the cooperation is necessary in order to root out fraud in the program. Democratic states have sued to block the requirement.
About 42 million lower-income Americans, or 1 in 8, rely on SNAP to help buy groceries. The average monthly benefit is about $190 per person, or a little over $6 a day. The program is not normally in the political spotlight, but it has been this year.
https://apnews.com/article/food-aid-snap-rollins-blue-states-edf7a10ab409fe471ae81a13823484ab
BrikoX
in reply to xiao yun • • •Per this moron anything apart from exclusion would mean "European values" are support for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.