IT'S MONDAY AND THIS IS DIGITAL POLITICS. I'm Mark Scott, and in the doldrums of (a very hot!) August, I'm already planning for September. I'll be in Brussels the week of Sept. 8. If you're around for coffee, reach out here.
— Efforts to unpick encryption in the name of child protection are gaining ground again. The proposals are based on the fallacy that they won't undermine universal privacy rights.
— The Trump-Putin summit fall-out: A view from the Russian propaganda machine.
— Everything you need to know about the cottage industry of copyright lawsuits taking on AI companies.
Let's get started:
WHEN IS IT OK TO BREAK END-TO-END ENCRYPTION?
THERE ARE A FEW CONSTANTS IN LIFE. Death. Taxes. And — at least for digital policymakers — the never-ending battle between those seeking to weaken encryption technology in the name of public safety and those fearful that such attempts will undermine people's fundamental privacy rights.
Over the years (more from me in 2019 and again in 2023), this fight has led to strange bedfellows. Law enforcement types have partnered with child safety advocates to demand the likes of Meta and Apple open up their encrypted services to greater oversight — all in the name of protecting against terrorist threats and child sexual abuse material. In the other camp, Silicon Valley and privacy groups (not the easiest of allies) raise legitimate concerns that you can't just weaken such encryption technologies for the "good guys." Inevitably, the "bad guys," too, will gain access.
American officials have often wavered between both camps. Officials are torn between the political realities of online child safety and the economic realities of protecting American tech giants from non-US tech regulation.
But in Europe, the drumbeat for encryption-busting policies has gone from a soft hum to a loud bang.
The smaller scuffle is in the United Kingdom where the government told Apple earlier this year to grant its security services access to its encrypted systems under the country's Investigatory Powers Act. Those rules had long been on the books. But the powers to compel companies to open up had never been used via so-called "technical capability notices." Still, London is now backing off amid complaints from the White House — and wider efforts by the UK to strike digital-focused trade agreements with the United States.
There's still outstanding concerns that the UK's Online Safety Act, which also includes powers to force such encryption breaking in the name of public safety, may lead to a similar transatlantic stand-off. Ofcom, the British regulator in charge of that legislation, however, has always made clear it will only pursue such demands if/when a technology is developed that both allows for outside access while preserving the underlying encryption. In short, that's a technical impossibility, allowing the UK regulator to punt any politically-sensitive issues into the long grass.
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And that takes us to the European Union.
Long-time Brussels watchers will know the bloc's attempt to thwart child sexual abuse material — often accessed via online platforms — remains the unwanted love-child (no pun intended) of European digital regulation. Those proposals were first put forward in 2022. Yet since then, the ever-present tussle between safety and privacy (see above) has seen the legislation ping-pong between consecutive rotating presidencies of the European Council, or grouping of EU member states that nominally runs the bloc's policy agenda.
In July, Denmark (in charge until the end of the year) restarted this encryption spat after proposing changes (HT: Euractiv) to the child sexual abuse material legislation. The major overhaul compared to the Polish EU Council presidency (which ran for the first half of 2025) was to include demands that companies with encrypted technology comply with so-called mandatory detection orders, or legal requirements to check people's (encrypted) messages for possible illegal content.
What's more, the draft text — to be voted on by EU member states in mid October — included potential requirements to carry out these checks on individuals' devices, and not when they were shared over the cloud. That led to hackles from both tech executives and privacy campaigners. For more on what that looks like, check out this post from Meta's one-time top Brussels lobbyist (and now a Finnish member of the European Parliament) Aura Salla.
For the Danes, this is all about kids' safety. Speaking in Denmark in late July, the country's justice minister, Peter Hummelgaard, said his aim was to protect the privacy of those affected by these heinous images. "We need to ask ourselves, at the end of the day, whose privacy is it that we're mostly concerned with?" he told reporters. "We need to compromise on these differing views" (between child safety and privacy campaigners.)
The Danish EU presidency's half-year priorities also make its objectives explicit. "The Presidency will focus on strengthening the abilities to make use of the digital development for law enforcement when fighting serious crime," the document reads. "The Presidency will work to ensure the protection of fundamental rights as well as cooperation and protection in the area of civil matters."
A lot can happen between now and the proposed vote in October. For one thing, not all EU member states agree with the Dane's proposals. Without unanimity, the current draft proposals — like so many before them via the Hungarian and Polish EU Presidencies — may never get passed. That's especially true if US politicians realize what is going on in Brussels and cause a stink.
The thing is, none of this politicking finds a solution for what are two clear realities.
On the one side, it is a fact that encrypted messaging services are used for illegality, including the spread of child sexual abuse material. If you don't believe me, read this report from Australia's eSafety Commissioner. On the other, governments can't break encryption technology without compromising people's privacy rights. There are technical solutions like "hashing" and "matching" that can stop the spread of known illegal content. But including backdoors in end-to-end encrypted services will only lead to greater harm.
What we are lacking is a clear conversation about what are uncomfortable trade-offs.
It's impossible to balance the needs of protecting children from online predatory behavior (more on that here) and wider society's expectations of a base level of privacy. To suggest that some sort of yet-created technology will thread the needle between those fundamental rights is farcical. Policymakers should acknowledge that, and have an honest conversation with citizens about what is the least-worst option.
My personal view is that the breaking of encryption — and therefore the weakening of wider privacy rights — is not the right way to go (at least not yet) to protect children online. There are less invasive policy choices like baking in "privacy by design" principles into online platforms that can mitigate some, but not all, of the potential harm. Should children be able to receive DMs from strangers? No. Should they be able to access services before they reach the minimum age? Also no.
Neither of those policy choices has been effectively implemented yet. To jump directly to the "let's read everyone's messages!" stage makes good politics. But it does not represent a grown-up approach to what are impossible trade-offs.
At some point, encryption may have to be broken. But before we get there, all other policy options should be exhausted. That includes forcing platforms to embed privacy-by-design principles into their services and finding privacy-conscious "age assurance" techniques to safeguard children from areas of the internet that should remain off-limits.
Until that happens, the rush to break encryption should be viewed for what it is: a politically-expedient sledgehammer to crack a nut.
Chart of the Week
THE LATEST AI SYSTEMS ARE ONLY AS GOOD as the data upon which they are trained. For many companies, that means scraping reams of copyrighted material from around the world.
Publishers claim this is a slam dunk case of copyright infringement. AI giants like Google, OpenAI and Microsoft argue their tactics fit within the "fair use" principle.
Soon, we'll know who's right.
There are currently 45 copyright lawsuits in the US between publishers and AI companies related to how such data is used to train large language models. For links to all the cases below, check out the "source" section in the chart. Source: ChatGPT is Eating the World
THE TRUMP-PUTIN SUMMIT PROPAGANDA AFTERMATH
FOR ALMOST EVERYONE (outside of Donald Trump's administration), the Aug. 15 Russo-American summit was a major political victory for Vladimir Putin. The US president rejected those claims. Yet ahead another round of meetings, this time in the White House on Aug. 18 with Western leaders and the Ukrainian president, Russia's state-backed media was again reframing quotes from leading US officials to meet Mocow's own political needs.
This has become a major trend in how the likes of Sputnik and RT speak to their international audiences.
Gone are the attacks on American imperialism, although those narratives still show up in Kremlin-backed media whose audiences span Latin America and French-speaking Africa. Instead, Moscow has been eager to frame the Aug. 15 summit as a win for both the US and Russia, while claiming it is now down to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine's president, to find a solution to the bloody conflict in Eastern Europe.
That builds on public statements from Trump who claimed, in a social media post on Aug. 17, that Zelenskyy "can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight." RT Mundo quickly jumped on that statement.
On RT, the English-language outlet, comments from Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, were picked up to suggest the war was "going to get worse" if Ukraine did not agree to a peace deal with Russia. In the outlet's German-language website, the Ukrainian president was also attacked over alleged corruption abuses — only weeks after Zelenskyy backtracked on new laws that would have undermined two national anti-corruption agencies.
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For Russia's state media, the Aug. 15 summit between Trump and Putin was shaped as a meeting of like-minded leaders, both of whom secured something out of the half-day event. "Trump can now indefinitely postpone a disastrous trade war with India and China, which secondary sanctions on Russia would have triggered," read an opinion article on RT that subsequently called on Zelenskyy to reach a peace deal with the Russian president. "Putin, meanwhile, drove home the point that a temporary ceasefire is insufficient – that the time has come to talk about a full peace treaty."
Ahead of the planned Aug. 18 meetings in Washington, during which several European leaders are expected to travel alongside Zelenskyy to put pressure on Trump over any potential long-term peace deal, Russian state media highlighted Europe's alleged weaknesses." That included jumping on comments from Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, about the bloc's role in any potential negotiations, as well as a social media post from Guiseppe Conte, a former Italian prime minister, that framed Europe as a mere "supporting actor."
Ever since Trump returned to the White House, the Kremlin's state-backed media has balanced its eagerness to demonstrate renewed kinship between Russia and the US and its wariness that, eventually, relations will break down (again) between the long-time adversaries.
That message came through in an opinion articlewritten in RT en Français that both praised last week's summit, but reminded Russia it would need to promote its interests by strength if it wanted to secure its objectives in Ukraine. "It is now up to Russia, the last bulwark against total global dictatorship, to continue to defend its national interests," read the article. "It is simply important to understand that the meeting between the two presidents did not, in itself, magically resolve the conflict between these two worlds.
"In the end, there can only be one."
What I'm reading
— A group of independent research organizations published an in-depth analysis into the potential role of foreign manipulation in the recent Polish presidential election. More here.
— Casey Fiesler put together a series of social media-friendly tutorials on AI ethics. More here and why she did it here.
— Alexios Matnzarlis at the Indicator discovered dozens of TikTok accounts using AI avatars of real journalists to spread false information. More here.
— Anna Lenhart and Katie Shilton asked TikTok users about their awareness and potential concerns about researchers reviewing their social media posts. More here.
— Wikimedia lost a legal challenge against its attempt to be excluded from provisions within the UK's Online Safety Act. More here.
The fifth generation mobile communications protocol (5G) is perhaps the most complicated wireless protocol ever made. Featuring wildly fast download speeds, beam forming base stations, and of course non-standard additions, it’s rather daunting prospect to analyze for the home hacker and researcher alike. But this didn’t stop the ASSET Research Group from developing a 5G sniffer and downlink injector.
The crux of the project is focused around real-time sniffing using one of two Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) software-defined radios (SDRs), and a substantial quantity of compute power. This sniffed data can even be piped into Wireshark for filtering. The frequency is hard-coded into the sniffer for improved performance with the n78 and n41 bands having been tested as of writing. While we expect most of you don’t have the supported USRP hardware, they provided a sample capture file for anyone to analyze.
The other main feature of the project is an exploitation framework with numerous attack vectors developed by ASSET and others. By turning an SDR into a malicious 5G base station, numerous vulnerabilities and “features” can be exploited to with results ranging from downgrading the connection to 4G, fingerprinting and much more. It even includes an attack method we preciously covered called 5Ghull which can cause device failure requiring removal of the SIM Card. These vulnerabilities offer a unique look inside the inner workings of 5G.
L'articolo proviene da #StartMag e viene ricondiviso sulla comunità Lemmy @Informatica (Italy e non Italy 😁) Con 2 miliardi di dollari generati dal lancio e 690 milioni di download globali, l’app mobile di ChatGPT supera di 30 volte i ricavi complessivi di rivali come Claude, Copilot e Grok. Solo nel 2025 ha incassato 1,35 miliardi di
@Notizie dall'Italia e dal mondo Il rapporto accusa autorità e milizie armate di torture, sparizioni e attacchi che hanno trasformato intere comunità in zone senza legge L'articolo Nigeria, Amnesty denuncia un decennio di impunità: oltre 1.800 morti nel Sud-est proviene da Pagine
Cosa buona e giusta avere statistiche ufficiali e corposi periodici rapporti che analizzano e valutano il funzionamento di agenzie e sistemi... L'articolo CYBERSECURITY… IN ITALIA? proviene da GIANO NEWS. #TECNOLOGIA
In April 2025, Microsoft patched 121 vulnerabilities in its products. According to the company, only one of them was being used in real-world attacks at the time the patch was released: CVE-2025-29824. The exploit for this vulnerability was executed by the PipeMagic malware, which we first discovered in December 2022 in a RansomExx ransomware campaign. In September 2024, we encountered it again in attacks on organizations in Saudi Arabia. Notably, it was the same version of PipeMagic as in 2022. We continue to track the malware’s activity. Most recently, in 2025 our solutions prevented PipeMagic infections at organizations in Brazil and Saudi Arabia.
This report is the result of a joint investigation with the head of vulnerability research group at BI.ZONE, in which we traced the evolution of PipeMagic – from its first detection in 2022 to new incidents in 2025 – and identified key changes in its operators’ tactics. Our colleagues at BI.ZONE, in turn, conducted a technical analysis of the CVE-2025-29824 vulnerability itself.
Background
PipeMagic is a backdoor we first detected in December 2022 while investigating a malicious campaign involving RansomExx. The victims were industrial companies in Southeast Asia. To penetrate the infrastructure, the attackers exploited the CVE-2017-0144 vulnerability. The backdoor’s loader was a trojanized version of Rufus, a utility for formatting USB drives. PipeMagic supported two modes of operation – as a full-fledged backdoor providing remote access, and as a network gateway – and enabled the execution of a wide range of commands.
In October 2024, organizations in Saudi Arabia were hit by a new wave of PipeMagic attacks. This time, rather than exploiting vulnerabilities for the initial penetration, the attackers used a fake ChatGPT client application as bait. The fake app was written in Rust, using two frameworks: Tauri for rendering graphical applications and Tokio for asynchronous task execution. However, it had no user functionality – when launched, it simply displayed a blank screen.
MD5
60988c99fb58d346c9a6492b9f3a67f7
File name
chatgpt.exe
Blank screen of the fake application
At the same time, the application extracted a 105,615-byte AES-encrypted array from its code, decrypted it, and executed it. The result was a shellcode loading an executable file. To hinder analysis, the attackers hashed API functions using the FNV-1a algorithm, with the shellcode dynamically resolving their addresses via GetProcAddress. Next, memory was allocated, necessary offsets in the import table were relocated, and finally, the backdoor’s entry point was called.
One unique feature of PipeMagic is that it generates a random 16-byte array used to create a named pipe formatted as: \\.\pipe\1.<hex string>. After that, a thread is launched that continuously creates this pipe, attempts to read data from it, and then destroys it. This communication method is necessary for the backdoor to transmit encrypted payloads and notifications. Meanwhile, the standard network interface with the IP address 127.0.0.1:8082 is used to interact with the named pipe.
To download modules (PipeMagic typically uses several plugins downloaded from the C2 server), attackers used a domain hosted on the Microsoft Azure cloud provider, with the following name: hxxp://aaaaabbbbbbb.eastus.cloudapp.azure[.]com.
PipeMagic in 2025
In January 2025, we detected new infections in Saudi Arabia and Brazil. Further investigation revealed connections to the domain hxxp://aaaaabbbbbbb.eastus.cloudapp.azure[.]com, which suggested a link between this attack and PipeMagic. Later, we also found the backdoor itself.
Initial loader
MD5
5df8ee118c7253c3e27b1e427b56212c
File name
metafile.mshi
In this attack, the loader was a Microsoft Help Index File. Usually, such files contain code that reads data from .mshc container files, which include Microsoft help materials. Upon initial inspection, the loader contains obfuscated C# code and a very long hexadecimal string. An example of executing this payload: c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe "/k c:\windows\microsoft.net\framework\v4.0.30319\msbuild.exe c:\windows\help\metafile.mshi" Contents of metafile.mshi
The C# code serves two purposes – decrypting and executing the shellcode, which is encrypted with the RC4 stream cipher using the key 4829468622e6b82ff056e3c945dd99c94a1f0264d980774828aadda326b775e5 (hex string). After decryption, the resulting shellcode is executed via the WinAPI function EnumDeviceMonitor. The first two parameters are zeros, and the third is a pointer to a function where the pointer to the decrypted shellcode is inserted.
The injected shellcode is executable code for 32-bit Windows systems. It loads an unencrypted executable embedded inside the shellcode itself. For dynamically obtaining system API addresses, as in the 2024 version, export table parsing and FNV-1a hashing are used.
Loader (ChatGPT)
MD5
7e6bf818519be0a20dbc9bcb9e5728c6
File name
chatgpt.exe
In 2025, we also found PipeMagic loader samples mimicking a ChatGPT client. This application resembles one used in campaigns against organizations in Saudi Arabia in 2024. It also uses the Tokio and Tauri frameworks, and judging by copyright strings and PE header metadata, the executable was built in 2024, though it was first discovered in the 2025 campaign. Additionally, this sample uses the same version of the libaes library as the previous year’s attacks. Behaviorally and structurally, the sample is also similar to the application seen in October 2024.
Decrypting the payload using AES
Loader using DLL hijacking
MD5
e3c8480749404a45a61c39d9c3152251
File name
googleupdate.dll
In addition to the initial execution method using a .mshi file launched through msbuild, the attackers also used a more popular method involving decrypting the payload and injecting it with the help of an executable file that does not require additional utilities to run. The executable file itself was legitimate (in this campaign we saw a variant using the Google Chrome update file), and the malicious logic was implemented through a library that it loads, using the DLL hijacking method. For this, a malicious DLL was placed on the disk alongside the legitimate application, containing a function that the application exports.
It is worth noting that in this particular library sample, the exported functions were not malicious – the malicious code was contained in the initialization function (DllMain), which is always called when the DLL is loaded because it initializes internal structures, file descriptors, and so on.
First, the loader reads data from an encrypted file – the attackers pass its path via command-line arguments.
Reading the payload file
Next, the file contents are decrypted using the symmetric AES cipher in CBC mode, with the key 9C3BA5 B2 D3222FE5863C14D51340D7 F9, and the initialization vector (IV)221BA50915042098AF5F8EE40E5559C8.
The library deploys the decrypted code into memory and transfers control to it, and the original file is subsequently deleted. In the variants found during analysis, the payload was a shellcode similar to that discovered in the 2024 attacks involving a ChatGPT client.
Deployed PE
MD5
1a119c23e8a71bf70c1e8edf948d5181
File name
–
In all the loading methods described above, the payload was an executable file for 32-bit Windows systems. Interestingly, in all cases, this file supported graphical mode, although it did not have a graphical user interface. This executable file is the PipeMagic backdoor.
At the start of its execution, the sample generates 16 random bytes to create the name of the pipe it will use. This name is generated using the same method as in the original PipeMagic samples observed in 2022 and 2024.
Creating a pipe with a pre-generated name
The sample itself doesn’t differ from those we saw previously, although it now includes a string with a predefined pipe path: \.\pipe\magic3301. However, the backdoor itself doesn’t explicitly use this name (that is, it doesn’t interact with a pipe by that name).
Additionally, similar to samples found in 2022 and 2024, this version creates a communication pipe at the address 127.0.0.1:8082.
Discovered modules
During our investigation of the 2025 attacks, we discovered additional plugins used in this malicious campaign. In total, we obtained three modules, each implementing different functionality not present in the main backdoor. All the modules are executable files for 32-bit Windows systems.
Asynchronous communication module
This module implements an asynchronous I/O model. For this, it uses an I/O queue mechanism and I/O completion ports.
Processing core commands
Immediately upon entering the plugin, command processing takes place. At this stage, five commands are supported:
Command ID
Description
0x1
Initialize and create a thread that continuously receives changes from the I/O queue
0x2
Terminate the plugin
0x3
Process file I/O
0x4
Terminate a file operation by the file identifier
0x5
Terminate all file operations
Although I/O changes via completion ports are processed in a separate thread, the main thread waits for current file operation to complete – so this model is not truly asynchronous.
Getting the I/O queue status
If the command with ID 0x3 (file I/O processing) is selected, control is transferred to an internal handler. This command has a set of subcommands described below. Together with the subcommand, this command has a length of at least 4 bytes.
Command ID
Description
0x1
Open a file in a specified mode (read, write, append, etc.)
0x3
Write to a file
0x4, 0x6
Read from a file
0x5
Change the flag status
0x7
Write data received from another plugin to a file
0x9
Close a file
0xB
Dump all open files
The command with ID 0x5 is presumably implemented to set a read error flag. If this flag is set, reading operations become impossible. At the same time, the module does not support commands to clear the flag, so effectively this command just blocks reading from the file.
Setting the read error flag
To manage open files, the file descriptors used are stored in a doubly linked list in global memory.
Loader
This module, found in one of the infections, is responsible for injecting additional payloads into memory and executing them.
At startup, it first creates a pipe named \\.\pipe\test_pipe20.%d, where the format string includes a unique identifier of the process into which the code is injected. Then data from this pipe is read and sent to the command handler in an infinite loop.
The unique command ID is contained in the first four bytes of the data and can have the following possible values:
Command ID
Description
0x1
Read data from the pipe or send data to the pipe
0x4
Initiate the payload
The payload is an executable file for 64-bit Windows systems. The command handler parses this file and extracts another executable file from its resource section. This extracted file then undergoes all loading procedures – obtaining the addresses of imported functions, relocation, and so on. In this case, to obtain the system method addresses, simple name comparison is used instead of hashing.
The executable is required to export a function called DllRegisterService. After loading, its entry point is called (to initialize internal structures), followed by this function. It provides an interface with the following possible commands:
Command ID
Description
0x1
Initialize
0x2
Receive data from the module
0x3
Callback to get data from the payload
Injector
This module is also an executable file for 32-bit Windows systems. It is responsible for launching the payload – an executable originally written in C# (.NET).
First, it creates a pipe named \\.\pipe\0104201.%d, where the format string includes a unique identifier of the process in which the module runs.
The sample reads data from the pipe, searching for a .NET application inside it. Interestingly, unlike other modules, reading here occurs once rather than in a separate thread.
Before loading the received application, the module performs another important step. To prevent the payload from being detected by the AMSI interface, the attackers first load a local copy of the amsi library. Then they enable writing into memory region containing the functions AmsiScanString and AmsiScanBuffer and patch them. For example, instead of the original code of the AmsiScanString function, a stub function is placed in memory that always returns 0 (thus marking the file as safe).
After this, the sample loads the mscoree.dll library. Since the attackers do not know the target version of this library, during execution they check the version of the .NET runtime installed on the victim’s machine. The plugin supports versions 4.0.30319 and 2.0.50727. If one of these versions is installed on the device, the payload is launched via the _Assembly interface implemented in mscoree.dll.
Post-exploitation
Once a target machine is compromised, the attackers gain a wide range of opportunities for lateral movement and obtaining account credentials. For example, we found in the telemetry a command executed during one of the infections: dllhost.exe $system32\dllhost.exe -accepteula -r -ma lsass.exe $appdata\FoMJoEqdWg The executable dllhost.exe is a part of Windows and does not support command-line flags. Although telemetry data does not allow us to determine exactly how the substitution was carried out, in this case the set of flags is characteristic of the procdump.exe file (ProcDump utility, part of the Sysinternals suite). The attackers use this utility to dump the LSASS process memory into the file specified as the last argument (in this case, $appdata\FoMJoEqdWg).
Later, having the LSASS process memory dump, attackers can extract credentials from the compromised device and, consequently, attempt various lateral movement vectors within the network.
It is worth noting that a Microsoft article about attacks using CVE-2025-29824 mentions exactly the same method of obtaining LSASS memory using the procdump.exe file.
Takeaways
The repeated detection of PipeMagic in attacks on organizations in Saudi Arabia and its appearance in Brazil indicate that the malware remains active and that the attackers continue to develop its functionality. The versions detected in 2025 show improvements over the 2024 version, aimed at persisting in victim systems and moving laterally within internal networks.
In the 2025 attacks, the attackers used the ProcDump tool renamed to dllhost.exe to extract memory from the LSASS process – similar to the method described by Microsoft in the context of exploiting vulnerability CVE-2025-29824. The specifics of this vulnerability were analyzed in detail by BI.ZONE in the second part of our joint research (in Russian).
Data centers and the electrification of devices that previously ran on fossil fuels is driving increased demand for electricity around the world. China is addressing this with a megaproject that is a new spin on their most famous piece of infrastructure.
At 250 miles long with a generating capacity of 100 GW, the Great Solar Wall will be able to provide enough energy to power Beijing, although the energy will more likely be used to power industrial operations also present in the Kubuqi Desert. NASA states, “The Kubuqi’s sunny weather, flat terrain, and proximity to industrial centers make it a desirable location for solar power generation.” As an added bonus, previous solar installations in China have shown that they can help combat further desertification by locking dunes in place and providing shade for plants to grow.
Engineers must be having fun with the project as they also designed the Guinness World Record holder for the largest image made of solar panels with the Junma Solar Power Station (it’s the horse in the image above). The Great Solar Wall is expected to be completed by 2030 with 5.4 GW already installed in 2024.
Want to try solar yourself on a slightly smaller scale? How about this solar thermal array inspired by the James Webb Telescope or building a solar-powered plane?
Il 23 luglio 2025, Tesla tenne la sua conference call sui risultati del secondo trimestre. Elon Musk , come di consueto, trasmise a Wall Street il suo contagioso ottimismo. Parlando di Dojo, il supercomputer di intelligenza artificiale dell’azienda, costruito con cura, espresse fiducia: “Prevediamo che Dojo 2 sarà operativo su larga scala l’anno prossimo, con una capacità equivalente a circa 100.000 chip H100″.
Questa affermazione è stata senza dubbio una vera e propria iniezione di fiducia. Gli investitori consideravano Dojo non solo il pilastro tecnologico del sistema di guida completamente autonoma (FSD) di Tesla, ma anche il motore principale della sua trasformazione da azienda di auto elettriche a gigante dell’intelligenza artificiale da mille miliardi di dollari. Gli analisti di Morgan Stanley ne stimavano addirittura il potenziale valore a 500 miliardi di dollari.
Tuttavia, nessuno avrebbe potuto prevedere che questo sogno “spettacolare” sarebbe finito così rapidamente. Solo tre settimane dopo, arrivò la tempesta. All’inizio di agosto 2025, un rapporto di Bloomberg sconvolse il mondo della tecnologia: il team del progetto Dojo era stato sciolto e il suo leader, Peter Bannon , stava per andarsene. Poi, nel fine settimana dal 9 all’11 agosto, Musk portò personalmente a termine questo progetto un tempo stellare, con una serie di post sulla sua piattaforma social, X. Descrisse questa svolta drammatica degli eventi come un aggiornamento strategico ben ponderato, dichiarando che Dojo 2 aveva raggiunto “un vicolo cieco evolutivo” e che il futuro di Tesla si sarebbe concentrato su un altro chip ad “architettura convergente”, chiamato AI6.
Sono trascorsi meno di 20 giorni tra l’audace promessa di “un equivalente a 100.000 H100” e la dura conclusione di un “vicolo cieco evolutivo”.
Cosa è successo dietro le quinte?
Non si è trattato di un semplice adattamento del progetto; è stato un dramma della Silicon Valley, intrecciato da scommesse tecnologiche, frenesia di talenti, realtà commerciali e manovre tra giganti.
Il fallimento del progetto Dojo non è solo una grave battuta d’arresto per la strategia di intelligenza artificiale di Tesla, ma anche un monito multimiliardario per tutti quegli individui ambiziosi che cercano di sfidare la supremazia dell’hardware nell’era dell’intelligenza artificiale.
@Giornalismo e disordine informativo articolo21.org/2025/08/pippo-e… In queste ore il compianto Baudo sta facendo un ultimo enorme regalo ai ceti dirigenti italiani: dopo il vertice di Anchorage con annessi e connessi, in presenza del genocidio di Gaza e delle morti sul suolo ucraino, a fronte delle tantissime guerre in corso, la fenomenologia del grande catanese (di
@Giornalismo e disordine informativo articolo21.org/2025/08/pippo-b… Di Pippo Baudo è stato detto e scritto praticamente tutto. La sua storia va di pari passo a quella della televisione e del servizio pubblico, perché Baudo è stato sempre e appassionatamente uomo della Rai. La tradì per un breve periodo sentendosi offeso dalla definizione di presentatore
@Giornalismo e disordine informativo articolo21.org/2025/08/bue/ Trasformare una resa, in una pace. Questo è il massimo risultato che traspare dai colloqui avviati in Alaska, per fermare la guerra in Ucraina. La Russia ha conquistato con la forza un pezzo di territorio nemico e se lo vuole tenere, come si è sempre fatto nelle guerre. Il principio che le
@Giornalismo e disordine informativo articolo21.org/2025/08/il-gioc… Un thriller ricco di azione e di suspence, con un intreccio perfettamente ricostruito, nel rispetto della verità storica. Un romanzo finora inedito in Italia. E’ in libreria, dal 15 luglio scorso, il romanzo, inedito in Italia, del compianto Philip Kerr
@Giornalismo e disordine informativo articolo21.org/2025/08/ad-anch… Attenzione a non sottovalutare ciò che è accaduto ad Anchorage, in Alaska, dove si sono incontrati Trump e Putin per discutere di questioni che vanno ben al di là della semplice guerra in Ucraina.
Billy Valentine and The Universal Truth freezonemagazine.com/articoli/… Recupero questo fantastico album che ha impiegato quasi un anno ad arrivarmi (misteri delle poste) e l’attesa per ascoltare il supporto fisico devo dire si è rivelata un benefico colpo di spugna sull’arrabbiatura per il disservizio. Il ritorno su disco di Billy Valentine, questo gigante della black music – si muove tra jazz, soul, blues […] L'articolo Billy Valentine and The
Dalle occupazioni abusive a Rackete: da settimane il musicista di Elio e le storie tese sferza su X l'eurodeputata Ilaria Salis, suo padre Roberto e tutto il mondo in Rete che la supporta.
“Forse mi avete già sentito questa mattina, durante la messa. Ma ci tengo a dire due parole, qui, in un momento tanto significativo: quello dello spezzare il pane”.
“Spezziamo il pane, superiamo ogni barriera, creiamo fraternità, rendiamo presente il Regno di Dio”. Così mons. Vincenzo Viva ha salutato Papa Leone XIV al pranzo con i poveri, nel Borgo Laudato si’.
“Questo pranzo ci ricorda che l’amore per l’Eucaristia non resta mai chiuso in se stesso. Ci spinge sempre verso le periferie, là dove vivono povertà, solitudine e bisogno di dignità.
“Se siamo qui, è perché Gesù ha vinto la morte e continua a vincerla con noi”: si apre con un inno alla vita l’omelia di Papa Leone XIV, che questa mattina ha presieduto la Santa Messa presso il Santuario di Santa Maria della Rotonda, ad Albano, insi…
“Sono vicino alle popolazioni del Pakistan, dell’India e del Nepal colpite da violente alluvioni. Prego per le vittime e i loro familiari e per quanti soffrono a causa di questa calamità”.
While a proposal to replace the upstream X.Org Server with the XLibre fork was ultimately withdrawn prior to voting by the Fedora Engineering and Steering Committee (FESCo), a Fedora Copr repository has now surfaced for those wanting to try out this …
diciamo che putin ha calato molto nelle richieste. la questione chiese ortodosse, in un'ottica di "pace" e libertà di culto, tanto non sarebbero comunque perseguibili e quindi toccherebbe farlo comunque alla fine. da disciplinare opportunamente come "scoraggiato" ma non "illegale". la questione del russo è già più spinosa. ma il russo può essere inserito come lingua ufficiale ma disciplinato in modo abbastanza soft. anche se diventa rischioso come grimaldello per future invasioni. putin si sta creando una scusa per future guerre? i confini congelati attuali è più o momento quello che ci si aspettava, con una parziale concessione territoriale. a patto di una non pretesa neutralità dell'ucraina o preteso disarmo.
pare un po' un modo per prendere un po' di fiato e preparare nuova guerra ma comunque pure l'ucraina ha bisogno di riprendere fiato. è evidente che l'imperialismo russo non è finito.
Hanoch Milwidsky, un parlamentare del Likud, il partito di Netanyahu, ha definito i manifestanti (compresi i parenti degli ostaggi) dei «riottosi che sostengono Hamas»
Ah quindi non è solo qui che se dici "be" contro un genocidio sei un nemico del popolo...
Ahimé rimugino molto, e quando arriva il caldo divento ancora peggio.
Poco fa riflettevo su quanto il movimento del free software si sia snaturato nel tempo. Oggi, purtroppo, l'ho visto diventare solo un modo come un altro per veicolare una visione estremista delle cose, che non giova a nessuno. Un esempio?
Qualche settimana fa un amico su Mastodon ha detto di trovarsi in difficoltà con il suo browser (non ricordo nemmeno per quale ragione, o quale fosse il browser), e che aveva provato Vivaldi ma non si era trovato bene perché mancava una certa opzione. Visto che uso Vivaldi gli ho fatto presente che esisteva quell'opzione, e l'amico in questione ha detto che lo avrebbe riprovato.
A questo punto della discussione sono entrati a gamba due utenti, mettendo in discussione le esigenze personali e le scelte. Per capirci, se dicevo che uso Vivaldi mi rispondevano che non andava bene perché non è open. Rispondevo che so benissimo che non è 100% open, ma lo preferivo a Firefox dopo che Mozilla è diventata quel che è. Non entrando minimamente nel merito di questa mia affermazione, hanno cominciato ad attaccarmi sul fatto che la sincronizzazione di segnalibri e password è un grave problema per la privacy, ecc.
Insomma, per come l'ho vissuta io, una trollata. Conversazione lasciata cadere, non valeva la pena.
Ma continuo a pensarci.
Mi chiedo perché come esseri umani dobbiamo sempre rompere gli zebedei e affrontare le cose in maniera così tranchante e pure un po' estremista. Voglio dire, ma se vedi un gruppo di persone che discute di Vivaldi, perché devi fare presente che "non è free", lasciando intendere 1) che non lo sappiano 2) che di conseguenza è il male è assoluto?
Il software libero NON era questo, e non è nato per questo. Il software libero era un movimento di persone che cercavano di migliorare le cose, non di cadere in estremismi vari, e oggi purtroppo vedo che accade più spesso la seconda cosa. Pur comprendendo l'importanza del free software, che continuo a promuovere, non credo che il modo migliore di farlo sia quello di fare i duri e puri.
Ma questo è solo un esempio, ci siamo capiti.
Dovremmo seriamente pensare come fare a rieducarci ad una visione del mondo più morbida, dove non esiste solo il bianco o il nero, perché la realtà è molto più complessa di una dicotomia sterile tra due soli punti di vista.
My2cent: purtroppo credo che faccia parte di un fenomeno molto più allargato e che spazia anche fuori dal sw open. Penso che sia la combo terribile della polarizzazione delle posizioni (o con me o contro - senza vie di mezzo) con l'abbattimento del pensiero critico che deriva dal fatto che pensare è faticoso. Ripeto, mia opinione personale.
@storiespettinate Temo anche io che i social col tempo abbiano finito per render tutto o quasi polarizzato. Quanto meno hanno affievolito senso critico, e spirito di discussione (che non significa volerla vinta a tutti i costi e imporre il proprio punto di vista, non va vissuta come una crociata). E nel mondo del software open c’è sempre stata una frangia molto agguerrita, che secondo me rema contro, allontanando curiosi e utenti “nuovi” o interessati…..
vero, c'è sempre stata questa tendenza. Forse è una mia sensazione, non so...ma un tempo era più giustificata. Cioè, non è che il software non-open facesse le grandi cose che fa oggi.
Ma oggi, se entri nello specifico, c'è un abisso: l'open per me ha sempre più senso in campo generalista, sempre meno nello specifico, meno di un tempo. (il caso dei browser è un po' diverso, sarebbero preferibili browser open ma il panorama attuale non è dei più allegri...).
Non so se ero io quello che aveva provato Vivaldi e c'era qualcosa che non mi andava, ma poi avevo detto che lo avrei provato di nuovo (ma ancora non l'ho provato 😇 ) Mi ricordo però di questo fatto, e avevo poi smesso di seguire la discussione (per i motivi che hai pensato anche tu, cioè vedere persone che entrano a gamba tesa presumendo cose che non erano in discussione) @storiespettinate @andre123
@storiespettinate @andre123 in effetti ho notato anch'io un atteggiamento tale da farmi pensare che da parte di alcuni (minoranza, ma rumorosa) ci sia quasi una volontà di "allontanare i profani" da tutto quello che non è mainstream, come se ci fosse il timore di una contaminazione della "purezza"...
Credo tu non abbia mai incontrato #rms allora, specialmente quello "anni 90" 😁 Ricordo con chiarezza che ad #IPISA 1997 a Michele Battilana della #Cloanto rispose letteralmente "piuttosto che usare o creare software proprietario preferisco fare il cameriere". Poi l'ho risentito quest'anno a la vecchiaia gli ha dato una serena pacatezza che prima gli mancava. Oramai ha chiaro che per liberare le persone dal giogo del SW proprietario talvolta ci si deve interagire
@Paolo Redaelli già. Meno estremismo, tra l'altro, gioverebbe alla causa. Poi mi rendo conto che può essere tutto un po' soggettivo: nella stessa circostanza che ho raccontato sono stato accusato di fare "terrorismo contro Mozilla", quindi magari sono uguale e non me ne rendo conto 🤣
@BartNicolotti "Sii il cambiamento che vuoi vedere nel mondo." Io uso quasi solo SW libero dal 1997. Mai posseduto una macchina con installato Windows (ho 49 anni) 😁 e lo stesso vale per la mia famiglia. Ad ogni modo le statistiche lato server sono esattamente specchiate. Colà linux e BSD sono diffusissimi @perry
Casomai quella di RMS è coerenza ai propri valori etici. E infatti ci scherzava sopra facendo la scenetta di #SantiGNUzio della chiesa di #emacs che benediceva i computer 😜 Vedi stallman.org/cgi-bin/showpage.…
Ma se io decido di non mangiare carne per un discorso etico (e per me è così), cosa succede se ad ogni posto in cui qualcuno pubblica una grigliata vado ad accusarlo di qualcosa? Il senso è questo; a volte mi sembra che qui basti citare qualcosa di proprietario che ti soddisfa, che in poco tempo vieni ricoperto di insulti (semplifico).
pur grandissimo fan del FLOSS ho sempre preferito la soluzione migliore per ogni strumento, e nel caso dei browser per esempio sono stato per lunghissimo temo grande fan di Opera, che pure era ancora meno “open” di quanto non lo sia Vivaldi oggi —ma nonostante questo è stato uno dei piú importanti promotori di un web aperto ed interoperabile.
il mio suggerimento è di imparare la serenità di sfanculare allegramente gli integralisti.
… e non solo perché chi di Vivaldi come prima cosa critica il fatto che non è FLOSS piuttosto che il fatto di usare lo stesso Blink di Chrome come rendering engine chiaramente non ha capito dove sta il vero problema 😉
@Oblomov il bello di avere 50 anni è che capisci meglio a cosa dedicare le energie.
Vent'anni fa avrei fatto durare quella discussione per 40.000 post. Oggi, semplicemente faccio ghosting: non ne vale la pena, il tempo che ho davanti è limitato e non voglio perderlo con chi si pone in modo da insegnarti cose, come se tu non avessi capito nulla.
oggi su slowforward, all'indirizzo slowforward.net/2025/08/16/bit… pubblicato tre estratti da un numero di "bit" del 1967 che a mio giudizio - pur se riferiti alle arti visive - hanno molto a che fare anche con la scrittura di ricerca. possono tranquillamente cioè essere trasposti in (ripensati come) notille di poetica. soprattutto il brano (presentato nella rivista solo in inglese) di piero manzoni.
per l'ennesima volta si dimostra che quanto alcuni scrittori - dagli anni '90 in francia e 2000 in italia - hanno fatto in direzione di un'idea di postpoesia era perfettamente chiaro, immaginabile e immaginato, già venti-trent'anni prima. (d'altro canto potremmo ragionare anche di fluxus, delle istruzioni di allan kaprow, di giuseppe chiari, vincenzo agnetti e infiniti altri nomi e tracciati di sperimentazione).
che l'italia petrarcaica non se ne accorga nemmeno adesso, 2025, è motivo di ilarità e imbarazzo: quotidianamente.
A 500-year-old human hair in a rare khipu challenges the long-held idea that only elite men created these knotted records in the Inka empire.#TheAbstract
A Strand of Hair Just Changed What We Know About the Inka Empire
Welcome back to the Abstract! Here are the studies that stood out to me this week, covering everything from silver to scat.
First, a story about an ancient Andean tradition that will somehow end with a full-sized replica of a person posthumously made with his own hair. Enjoy the ride!
Then: the health risks of climate change for children; you’ll never guess what came out of this otter’s butthole; and wow, Vikings sure were good at raiding, huh.
For thousands of years, Andean peoples have woven intricate patterns, known as khipus, that encode information into clusters of knots and multi-colored threads. Made from cotton, wool, and often human hair, khipus are an idiosyncratic form of writing used for a range of purposes like arithmetic, census-keeping, calendrical cycles, and more.
Spanish invaders, who overthrew the Inka empire in the 16th century, reported that only high-ranking bureaucratic men became khipu-makers (khipukamayuqs)—though this assertion has been challenged in the past by Indigenous sources.
Now, a strand of human hair woven into a 500-year-old khipu has resolved this centuries-old question. Scientists performed an isotopic analysis of the hair, revealing that the individual who wove it into the khipu was likely a low-status commoner with a simple plant-based diet. The discovery confirms that khipus were made by people from different classes and backgrounds, and that Inka women probably made them as well.
Khipukamayuqs “have been viewed primarily as imperial male elites who played key roles in running the empire,” said researchers led by Sabine Hyland of the University of St. Andrews. “However, the indigenous chronicler, Guaman Poma de Ayala”—who lived in the 16th century—”stated that women also made khipu records, explaining that females over fifty “[kept] track of everything on their [khipu],” the team added.
Hyland and her colleagues found a solution to the discordant accounts in a khipu called KH0631, which was made around the year 1498. Though the provenance of the khipu is not known, the primary cord was made of human hair, allowing them to unravel the diet of this ancient khipukamayuq from the elemental composition of their tresses. The primary cord of KH0631. Image: Sabine Hyland The sampled strand was more than three feet long, and would have taken about eight years to grow. Carbon and nitrogen analysis of the hair indicated that it belonged to an individual that “ate a plant-based diet consisting primarily of tubers and greens with little consumption of meat or high-status plants such as maize,” according to the study. Strontium analysis showed “little marine contribution to the diet, indicating that the individual likely lived in the highlands.” Overall “this diet is a characteristic of low-status commoners, unlike the diet of high-status elites who consumed considerably more meat and maize,” the researchers said.
The team speculated that this long-haired khipukamayuq could have just been a proto-vegan, but that wouldn’t explain why there was so little maize in their diet given elites were professional beer drinkers.
“Obligatory drinking of maize beer formed a central feature of Inka ceremonies of governance in which high-ranking khipukamayuqs participated,” the researchers said. “Given the symbolic importance of hair in the Andes, and the frequent use of hair on the primary cord to indicate the khipukamayuq, our results indicate that the creator of KH0631 was likely a non-elite commoner” suggesting that “khipu literacy in the Inka Empire may have been more inclusive and widespread than hitherto thought.”
IIn addition to broadening our understanding of khipukamayuq origins, the study is full of amazing insights about veneration of hair in Inka culture.
“Hair in the ancient Andes was a ritually powerful substance that represented the individual from whom it came,” the researchers said. “Historically, when human hair was incorporated into a khipu’s primary cord, it served as a ‘signature’ to indicate the person who created the khipu.”
“For important ceremonies, the Inka emperor sacrificed his own hair,” they added. “His hair clippings were saved during his lifetime; after death, they were fashioned into a life-size simulacrum revered as the emperor himself.”
I strongly suggest we revive this funerary practice, so start saving your hair clippings for your wake.
The climate crisis is a tragedy for people of all ages, but kids are among the most exposed to harm. A new study provided an exhaustive review of climate-related threats to babies, children, and adolescents, which include: food insecurity, malnutrition, water scarcity, bad air quality, infectious diseases, exposure to extreme weather, displacement, trauma, and mental illness.
“Children are particularly affected by adverse environmental influences, as their immature organ systems are less able to cope with thermal stress and disease,” said researchers led by Paula Reichelt of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research. “Moreover, their developmental stage makes them especially vulnerable to long-term consequences; early-life nutrient or health disruptions can lead to permanent impairments in growth and development.” A visual summary of climate-related threats to children. Image: Reichelt, Paula et al. “Due to the relatively modest global efforts by political decision-makers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, further global warming and the associated negative developments in child and adolescent health are likely,” the team concluded.
“Relatively modest” is doing a lot of work in that sentence. While I recognize the allure of doomerism or tuning out from these horrible realities, I recommend carrying around a manageable dose of incandescent rage at all times over the world we’re leaving behind to kids who had nothing to do with this mess.
You have to love a study that was inspired by an otter crapping out a weird red worm on a dock in the Chesapeake Bay. Curious about the poopy parasite, researchers sought out other otter “latrines” and discovered that these furry floaters eat a lot of parasites, probably because infected prey is often easier to catch. In this way, otters efficiently remove parasites from ecosystems; it may be a bummer for any infected prey on the otter menu, but is beneficial to the wider population.
“This study is the first to characterize river otter latrines and diet in a tidally influenced estuarine habitat within the Chesapeake Bay,” said researchers led by Calli Wise of Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.
“Our results indicate that river otters consume a wide range of terrestrial and aquatic fauna, primarily consisting of finfish and crustaceans, but also including frogs and ducks,” the team said. “Multiple parasite species were identified, including parasites of river otters and those infecting prey, indicating that parasites likely play an important role in both prey availability and otter health.”
Tl;dr: Otters are parasite vacuums. Yet another reason to love these cuddly creatures and forgive their more unsavory attributes.
We’ll end, as all things ideally should, with treasure. A new study tracks down the likely origins of a hoard of gold and silver items—including a sword pommel, jewelry, and several ingots—that were stashed by Vikings in the English town of Bedale, North Yorkshire, more than 1,200 years ago. The Bedale Hoard. Image: York Museums Trust Vikings are well-known for their epic raids (source: Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla) and this particular hoard included far-flung loot sourced from across Europe and the Middle East.
“The results indicate a dominant contribution of western European silver, pointing to the fate of loot seized by the Vikings during their raids on the Continent in the ninth century,” said researchers led by Jane Kershaw of the University of Oxford. “Nonetheless, Islamic silver is also present in several large ingots: silver from the east—the product of long-distance trade networks connecting Scandinavia with the Islamic Caliphate—permeated Viking wealth sources even in the western part of the Viking overseas settlement and should be seen as a significant driver of the Viking phenomenon.”
“The Vikings were not only extracting wealth locally; they were also bringing it into England via long-distance trade networks,” the team concluded.
With that Viking spirit in mind—skål, and see you next week.
IntroductionThe North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) occurs from freshwater to marine habitats across North America, yet very little information ex...
Andrew Blake è un ricco uomo d’affari britannico, segnato dalla perdita della moglie. Contro il parere dell’amico Richard, torna in Francia al castello dove si erano innamorati.
Il lungo post che segue, l'ho trovato su fb. I riferimenti delle dichiarazioni ci sono, ma vanno verificati tutti. Se qualcuno vuole darmi una mano, possiamo linkare la fonte di ogni affermazione nei commenti in basso, se la troviamo, oppure indicare che quella citazione non si trova e che potrebbe essere fake.
La popolo eletto di Ben Gurion, Menachem Begin e altri Dissero: 👉 "La nostra razza è la Razza dei maestri. Siamo dei divini su questo pianeta. Noi siamo tanto diversi dagli esseri umani inferiori che restano degli insetti. Infatti, rispetto alla nostra razza, le altre razze sono bestie, animali, bovini al massimo. Le altre razze sono escrementi umani. Il nostro destino è quello di governare queste razze inferiori. Il nostro regno terreno sarà governato dal nostro leader con una verga di ferro. Le masse leccheranno i nostri piedi e ci serviranno come schiavi." (Menachem Begin, Premio Nobel per la Pace 1978) 👉 David Ben Gurion, durante la guerra: «Se io sapessi che è possibile salvare tutti i figli (ebrei) di Germania trasferendoli in Inghilterra, e solo metà di loro trasferendoli nella terra di Israele, sceglierei la seconda possibilità; perché di fronte a noi non abbiamo solo il numero di questi figli, ma il progetto storico del popolo di Israele» (Shabtai Teveth, «Ben Gurion», 1988,). 👉 «Dobbiamo usare il terrore, l’assassinio, l’intimidazione, la confisca dei terreni e il taglio di tutti i servizi sociali per liberare la Galilea dalla sua popolazione araba» (David Ben Gurion, maggio 1948, to the General Staff. Da «Ben-Gurion, A Biography», di y Michael Ben-Zohar, Delacorte, New York 1978). 👉 «Dobbiamo espellere gli arabi e prendere i loro posti» –(David Ben Gurion, 1937, «Ben Gurion and the Palestine Arabs» Shabtai Teveth, Oxford University Press, 1985). 👉 «Non esiste qualcosa come un popolo palestinese. Non è che siamo venuti, li abbiamo buttati fuori e abbiamo preso il loro paese. Essi non esistevano» (Golda Meir, dichiarazione al The Sunday Times, 15 giugno 1969). 👉 «Come possiamo restituire I territori occupati? Non c’è nessuno a cui restituirli» (Golda Meir, marzo, 1969). 👉 «…Uscimmo fuori, e Ben Gurion ci accompagnò sulla porta. Allon ripeté la sua domanda: cosa si deve fare con la popolazione palestinese? Ben Gurion scosse la mano con un gesto che diceva: cacciarli fuori». (Yitzhak Rabin, è un passo censurato delle memorie di Rabin, rivelato dal New York Times, 23 ottobrer 1979) 👉 «Saranno create, nel corso dei 10 o 20 anni prossimi, condizioni tali da attrarre la naturale e volontaria emigrazione dei rifugiati da Gaza e dalla Cisgiordania verso la Giordania. Per ottenere questo dobbiamo accordarci con re Hussein e non con Yasser Arafat». (Yitzhak Rabin, citato da David Shipler sul New York Times, 04/04/1983) 👉 «I palestinesi sono bestie con due zampe» (Menachem Begin, primo ministro di Israele 1977-83, davanti alla Knesset, citato da Amnon Kapeliouk, “Begin and the Beasts”, New Statesman, June 25, 1982.) 👉 «La partizione della Palestina è illegale. Non sarà mai riconosciuta… Gerusalemme fu e sarà per sempre la nostra capitale. Eretz Israel sarà restaurato per il popolo d’Israele; tutto e per sempre» (Menachem Begin, il giorno dopo il voto all’Onu per la partizione della Palestina). 👉 «I palestinesi saranno schiacciati come cavallette… le teste spaccate contro le rocce e i muri» (Yitzhak Shamir, primo ministro in carica, in un discorso ai «coloni» ebraici, New York Times 1 aprile, 1988). 👉 «Israele doveva sfruttare la repressione delle dimostrazioni in Cina (nei giorni di Tienanmen, ndr.) quando l’attenzione del mondo era concentrata su quel paese, per procedere alle espulsioni di massa degli arabi dei territori (occupati)» (Benyamin Netanyahu, all’epoca vice-ministro degli esteri, già primo ministro, davanti agli studenti della T Bar Ilan University; citazione tratta dal giornale isrealiano Hotam, 24 novembre 1989). 👉 «Se pensassimo che anziché 200 morti palestinesi, 2 mila morti ponessero fine alla guerriglia in un colpo solo, useremmo molto più forza…» (Ehud Barak, primo ministro, citato dalla Associated Press, 16 novembre 2000). 👉 «Mi sarei arruolato in una organizzazione terroristica»: (risposta di Ehud Barak a Gideon Levy, il noto giornalista di Ha’aretz che gli aveva domandato cosa avrebbe fatto se fosse nato palestinese) 👉 «Noi dichiariamo apertamente che gli arabi non hanno alcun diritto di abitare anche in un centimetro di Eretz Israel… Capiscono solo la forza. Noi useremo la forza senza limiti finché i palestinesi non vengano strisciando a noi» (Rafael Eitan, capo dello stato maggiore IDF, citato da Gad Becker in «Yedioth Ahronot», 13 aprile 1983). 👉 «E’ dovere dei leader israeliani spiegare all’opinione pubblica, con chiarezza e coraggio, alcuni fatti che col tempo sono stati dimenticati. Il primo è: non c’è sionismo, colonizzazione o stato ebraico senza l’espulsione degli arabi e la confisca delle loro terre» (Ariel Sharon, allora ministro degli esteri, a un discorso tenuto davanti ai militanti del partito di estrema destra Tsomet – Agence France Presse, 15 novembre 1998). 👉 «Tutti devono muoversi, correre e prendere quante più cime di colline (palestinesi) possibile in modo da allargare gli insediamenti (ebraici) perché tutto quello che prenderemo ora sarà nostro… Tutto quello che non prenderemo andrà a loro.» (Ariel Sharon, Ministro degli esteri d’Israele, aprendo un incontro del partito Tsomet, Agence France Presse, 15 novembre 1998) 👉 «Israele ha il diritto di processare altri, ma nessuno ha il diritto di mettere sotto processo il popolo ebraico e lo Stato di Israele» (Sharon, primo ministro, 25 marzo 2001, BBC Online). 👉 «Quando avremo colonizzato il paese, tutto quello che agli arabi resterà da fare è darsi alla fuga come scarafaggi drogati in una bottiglia» (Raphael Eitan, Capo di Stato Maggiore delle forze armate israeliane, “New York Times”, 14/4/1983). 👉 «Noi possediamo varie centinaia di testate atomiche e missili, e siamo in grado di lanciarli in ogni direzione, magari anche su Roma. La maggior parte delle capitali europee sono bersagli per la nostra forza aerea» (febbraio 2003, Martin Van Creveld, docente di storia militare all’Università Ebraica di Gerusalemme) 👉 «C’è bisogno di una reazione brutale. Se accusiamo una famiglia, dobbiamo straziarli senza pietà, donne e bambini inclusi. Durante l’operazione non c’è bisogno di distinguere fra colpevoli e innocenti». (Ben Gurion, il “padre” di Israele, 1967) 👉 «I villaggi ebraici sono stati costruiti al posto dei villaggi arabi. Voi non li conoscete neanche i nomi di questi villaggi arabi, e io non vi biasimo perché i libri di geografia non esistono più. Non soltanto non esistono i libri, ma neanche i villaggi arabi non ci sono più. Nahlal è sorto al posto di Mahlul, il kibbutz di Gvat al posto di Jibta; il kibbutz Sarid al posto di Huneifis; e Kefar Yehushua al posto di Tal al-Shuman. Non c’è un solo posto costruito in questo paese che non avesse prima una popolazione araba.» (David Ben Gurion, citato in The Jewish Paradox, di Nahum Goldmann, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1978, p. 99) 👉 «Tra di noi non possiamo ignorare la verità … politicamente noi siamo gli aggressori e loro si difendono … Il paese è loro, perché essi lo abitavano, dato che noi siamo voluti venire e stabilirci qui, e dal loro punto di vista li vogliamo cacciare dal loro paese.» (David Ben Gurion, riportato a pp 91-2 di Fateful Triangle di Chomsky, che apparve in “Zionism and the Palestinians pp 141-2 di Simha Flapan che citava un discorso del 1938) 👉 «Questo paese esiste come il compimento della promessa fatta da Dio stesso. Sarebbe ridicolo chiedere conto della sua legittimità.» (Golda Meir, Le Monde, 15 ottobre 1971 👉 «Ogni volta che facciamo qualcosa tu mi dici che l’America farà questo o quello… devo dirti qualcosa molto chiaramente: Non preoccuparti della pressione americana su Israele. Noi, il popolo ebraico, controlliamo l’America, e gli americani lo sanno.» (Ariel Sharon, Primo Ministro d’Israele, 31 ottobre 2001, risposta a Shimon Peres, come riportato in un programma della radio Kol Yisrael.) 👉 «Un milione di Arabi non valgono nemmeno l’unghia di un ebreo.» (Rabbi Yaacov Perrin, NY Daily News, Feb. 28, 1994, p.6)
Long before modern supply chains, ancient hominins were moving stone across long distances, potentially reshaping what we know about our evolutionary roots.#TheAbstract
A New Discovery Might Have Just Rewritten Human History
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For more than a million years, early humans crafted stone tools as part of the Oldowan tradition, which is the oldest sustained tool-making industry in the archaeological record. Now, scientists have discovered that Oldowan tool-makers who lived in Kenya at least 2.6 million years ago transported high-quality raw materials for tools across more than seven miles to processing sites.
The find pushes the recorded timeline of this unique behavior back half-a-million years, at minimum, and reveals that hominins possessed complex cognitive capacities, like forward planning and delayed rewards, earlier than previously known, according to a study published on Friday in Science.
Hominins at this site, called Nyayanga, used their tools to pound and cut foraged plants and scavenged animals, including hippos, to prepare them for consumption. Intriguingly, the identity of the tool-makers remains unknown, and while they may have been early humans, it’s also possible that they could have been close cousins of our own Homo lineage.
“I've always thought that early tool-makers must have had more capabilities than we sometimes give them credit for,” said Emma Finestone, associate curator and the Robert J. and Linnet E. Fritz Endowed Chair of Human Origins at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, who led the study, in a call with 404 Media.
“I was excited to see that at 2.6 million years ago, hominins were making use of many different resources and moving stones over large distances,” she added.
While many animals craft and transport tools, hominins are unique in their ability to identify and move special materials across long distances, which the team defines as more than three kilometers (or 1.86 miles). This innovation reveals a capacity for forward planning, complex mental maps, and delayed payoff of food consumption.
“What's unique is the amount of effort put into moving resources around a landscape,” said Finestone. “There's several steps involved, and there's also time in between these efforts and the reward. Although you see that to some extent in other animals, humans really separate themselves, especially as we get further and further in evolutionary time, in terms of the complexities of our foraging system." Nyayanga amphitheater in July 2025. Image: T.W. Plummer, Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropology Project Previously, the earliest record of this behavior in hominins came from a site called Kanjera South, which is about two million years old. Both sites are on the Homa peninsula, a region dominated by soft rocks that are not durable as tools; this may have prompted early hominins to search elsewhere for high-quality resources, such as quartz, chert, and granite.
Given that long-distance material transport was present at Kanjera South, the discovery of similar behavior at Nyayanga was not completely unexpected—though Finestone and her colleagues were still surprised by the scope and variety of materials these hominins gathered.
“Often, when you're dealing with these really old archeological assemblages, it's dominated by one type of raw material that's coming from a single source, or a few sources that are really nearby,” said Finestone. “Nyayanga has a lot of different raw materials, and they're using a variety of different sources, so that was surprising and exciting to us.”
Finestone and her colleagues have made many discoveries during their decade-long excavation at Nyayanga. The team previously reported that the tool-makers butchered hippopotamus carcasses which were probably scavenged rather than hunted, providing the earliest evidence of hominin consumption of large animals, according to a 2023 study led by Thomas Plummer, a professor of anthropology at Queens College, City University of New York.
That study also reported fossils from Paranthropus, a close hominin cousin of our own Homo genus, which went extinct more than a million years ago. So far, these are the only hominin remains recovered from Nyayanga, raising the possibility that the Oldowan tool-making industry was not limited to our own human lineage.
“It is interesting because Paranthropus is not traditionally thought to be a tool-user,” Finestone said. “There's debate over whether Paranthropus made tools or whether it was only genus Homo that was making Oldowan tools. I don't think that evidence at Nyayanga is definitive that Paranthropus was the tool maker. It's still an open question. But because we found Paranthropus remains at Nyayanga, and we haven't found anything from genus Homo—at least yet—there's definitely reason to consider that Paranthropus might have been manufacturing these tools.”
With luck, the team may uncover more fossils from these ancient hominins that could shed light on their place in the family. Finestone and her colleagues are also working on constraining the age of the Nyayanga artifacts, which could be anywhere from 2.6 million to three million years old.
But for now, the study marks a new milestone in the evolution of Oldowan tools and their makers, which eventually dispersed across Africa and into Europe and Asia before they were succeeded by new traditions (like the one from our story last week about yet another group of ancient tool-makers with an unknown identity).
The stones once used to butcher hippos and pound tubers offer a window into the minds of bygone hominins that pioneered technologies that ultimately made humans who we are today.
“What's really interesting about humans and their ancestors is we're a technologically dependent species,” Finestone said. “We rely on tools. We're obligate tool users. We don't do it opportunistically or occasionally the way that a lot of other animals use tools. It's really become ingrained in our way of life, in our survival, and our foraging strategies across all people and all cultures.”
“What was exciting about this study is that you see this investment in tool technology, and you see tools becoming ingrained in the landscape-scale behaviors of hominins 2.6 million years ago,” she concluded. “We might be seeing the roots of this importance that technology plays in our foraging behaviors and also just the daily rhythms of our life.”
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The primary cord of KH0631. Image: Sabine Hyland
A visual summary of climate-related threats to children. Image: Reichelt, Paula et al.
The Bedale Hoard. Image: York Museums Trust
Nyayanga amphitheater in July 2025. Image: T.W. Plummer, Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropology Project
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