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derekguzman.bsky.social
derek
@derekguzman.bsky.social
120 followers 160 following 580 posts
I write about tech, art, and philosophy
Blog: https://derekguzman.com
Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@g6meboi
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derekguzman.bsky.social
derek @derekguzman.bsky.social · Mar 7
I wrote a critique on John Robb’s take on the U.S. progress establishing authoritarian network states. He’s a U.S. Air Force veteran with experience in counterterrorism worldwide. #politics #tech #military #polsky #philsky
The Network State Nightmare
A Critique of Technocratic Primacy * Billionaire technocrats like Peter Thiel and Balaji Srinivasan promote "network states," AI-monitored corporate monarchies inspired by neo-reactionary ideology. * Military theorist John Robb legitimizes network states, arguing that traditional governance is too slow for modern polycrisis challenges. * Robb frames network states as high-performance governance akin to
f.mtr.cool
Reposted by derek
benjaminschultzfig.bsky.social
Holy cow. How have I only now watched Jim Cohen's Little Flags (2000) for the first time? It's an amazing, essayistic documentary on the spectacle of 1990s American propaganda. Released just before that propaganda would get turbo-charged by 9/11, it seems amazingly prescient about what was to come.
Screenshot from Little Flags of a man walking through the aftermath of a ticker tape parade in downtown Manhattan. Criterion Channel banner for Little Flags Screenshot from Little Flags of a group of men with "Fuck Saddam" on their shirts.
May 14, 2025 at 4:58 AM
derekguzman.bsky.social
I was tripping mad balls when I took this
May 7, 2025 at 2:23 AM
derekguzman.bsky.social
We often justify the worst behavior by calling people crazy, but I’ve found that the people who’ve done me wrong were charming people in suits and sound mental faculties who just make abusive decisions. And the crazy people were my friends
May 3, 2025 at 3:16 AM
derekguzman.bsky.social
I just showed this to everyone at the bar and nearly started a bar fight
April 29, 2025 at 2:10 AM
derekguzman.bsky.social
U.S. companies with federal contracts under a Democrat party president: 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

The same companies under Trump: Gulf of America
April 29, 2025 at 2:07 AM
derekguzman.bsky.social
The famous anti piracy slogan used a pirated font lmao
April 27, 2025 at 5:03 AM
derekguzman.bsky.social
Currently up to no good
April 26, 2025 at 2:34 AM
derekguzman.bsky.social
It’s the same tactic every day with these capitalists.

Destabilize. Extract. Exploit.
April 24, 2025 at 12:25 AM
derekguzman.bsky.social
After taking a break from writing about surveillance capitalism for a week I feel like I’m just drawing a target on my back. It makes me want to delete the blog. Or repurpose it toward something less hostile. Someone should write it. But maybe this is a conversation between the dominant class.
April 23, 2025 at 5:53 AM
derekguzman.bsky.social
lol
April 23, 2025 at 1:10 AM
derekguzman.bsky.social
I wish every time an ad appeared on my phone AIPAC lost a politician. Yin yang 🤷‍♂️
April 22, 2025 at 6:45 PM
derekguzman.bsky.social
I called Peter Thiel being in on the post democracy gutting coup plan several blog articles ago. I hate being right sometimes

www.theregister.com/2025/04/21/i...
Palantir to build software solution to help US deportation
: Only Peter Thiel-backed biz can pull off $30M IT deal, apparently
www.theregister.com
April 22, 2025 at 8:20 AM
derekguzman.bsky.social
Pope Francis was the greatest ally the world remembers having in the chair of St. Peter. The remaining cardinals are largely Francis appointees and religiously progressive who may outnumber euro-centric traditionalists. Fingers crossed. The world does not need another booming far-right voice rn
April 21, 2025 at 5:42 PM
derekguzman.bsky.social
Conservatives have asked me why I would defend trans folks so much if I’m not one. Because I’m indigenous, and I know when racist men take power they’re aligning against both of us. Now my people are targeted by ICE and my white friends say I’m overreacting. My trans friends aren’t so naive
wired.com WIRED @wired.com · Apr 20
“This is a country undermining the validity of a government-issued document by another country. If people think that starts and stops with trans people, they’re wrong.”
Trans Musicians Are Canceling US Tour Dates Due to Trump’s Gender ID Rules
Trans artists from Canada are pulling out of US tour dates as Donald Trump continues to crack down on immigration at the border.
wrd.cm
April 20, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Reposted by derek
wolvendamien.bsky.social
So Google's latest consent violation is them generating "AI" audio of your voice in YouTube as an opt-out "service."

Here's how to turn it off (original images reposted with alt text):
Turn off automatic dubbing foryour channel While automatic dubbing is turned on by default, you can turn it off at any time. 1. Sign in to YouTube Studio on yourcomputer. 2. Click Settings [shows a gear icon] » Upload defaults >Advanced settings. 3. Uncheck the Allow automatic dubbing box. 4. Click Save. Unpublish dubs 1. Sign in to YouTube Studio 3 on your computer. 2. Click Content , then select the video you want to manage dubbing for. 3. Click Languages 4. Hover over the relevant language, then click [drop-down arrow] in the "Audio" column. 5. Select Unpublish. When you unpublish a dub, you can choose to republish it or delete it later. Delete dubs 1. Sign in to YouTube Studio on your Computer. 2. Click Content , then select the video you want to manage dubbing for. 3. Click Languages 4. Hover over the relevant language, then click [drop-down arrow] in the "Audio column. 5. Select Delete. Once a dub is deleted, it won't be available and you can't republish it.
April 19, 2025 at 3:00 PM
derekguzman.bsky.social
Lmao
April 19, 2025 at 11:30 PM
derekguzman.bsky.social
As a Latino keeping up with news for blogging crushed my mental health. Took a week off from writing bc the existential dread stopped my focus. Instead researched what countries might be more peaceful for me. I’m a citizen but that didn’t save others. I don’t want to wait to see how bad it will get
April 19, 2025 at 8:14 PM
derekguzman.bsky.social
I feel so much better after deactivating my Facebook account. Fuck surveillance capitalism
April 19, 2025 at 6:01 AM
Reposted by derek
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
WOW. The Trump admin is attempting to strip a green card from a Buddhist Palestinian who's committed to nonviolence, just because he advocated on behalf of Palestinian human rights.

Free speech is being trampled on by this administration.
premthakker.bsky.social Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · Apr 14
The Trump admin has just detained Mohsen Mahdawi, who:
–has green card
–was Columbia Buddhist club president
–saw his best friend shot & killed by Israeli soldier
–said "we are against antisemitism because antisemitism is a form of injustice, and injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"
In addition to violating Mr. Mahdawi’s First Amendment rights, the Rubio Determination and Mr. Mahdawi’s unlawful detention also violates Mr. Mahdawi’s statutory rights and due process rights. PARTIES 8. Petitioner Mohsen Mahdawi is a Palestinian who was born and raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank. He is a lawful permanent resident of the United States and has been for the last ten years. He is a recent student of Columbia University, with an expected graduation date of May 2025. He has been admitted to a Master’s program at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (“SIPA”), to begin in the fall of 2025. After growing up in a refugee camp, Mr. Mahdawi felt compelled to advocate for Palestinian human rights upon moving to the United States. 22. Mr. Mahdawi is also a committed Buddhist and believes in non-violence and empathy as a central tenet of his religion. In fall of 2021, he became the president of the Columbia University Buddhist Association and led it for two years. 23. In fall of 2023, Mr. Mahdawi co-founded the Palestinian Student Union (“Dar”) at Columbia University which “serves to engage with and celebrate Palestinian culture, history, and identity.” Mr. Mahdawi co-founded this organization with Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian lawful permanent resident who was also recently detained by ICE for his expressive conduct related to Palestine. Mr. Mahdawi appeared in numerous televised interviews and print news articles regarding the military campaign in Gaza and related protests. In December of 2023, Mr. Mahdawi appeared on 60 Minutes where he shared that, as a child, he watched an Israeli soldier shoot and kill his best friend in the West Bank. 27. Throughout his time as a student and a leader of Dar and the Columbia University Buddhist Association, Mr. Mahdawi was always willing to engage in dialogue with people whose views and beliefs differed from his own. Mr. Mahdawi believed, and continues to believe, that more speech is the solution to disagreement, rather than less, and that empathy and understanding through communication are a way to resolve conflicts peacefully. …and a peaceful political solution. Mr. Mahdawi gave speeches at several of these protests. In his speeches, Mr. Mahdawi advocated for Palestinian human rights, a permanent ceasefire, and a peaceful resolution that affirmed the human dignity of all. 25. During one protest, Mr. Mahdawi vocally denounced an unaffiliated passerby who made an antisemitic comment, chanting “shame on him”. Mr. Mahdawi stated that “we are against 2:25-cv-00389 Document 1 Filed 04/14/25 Page 6 of 19 7 antisemitism because antisemitism is a form of injustice, and injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” The confrontation was documented by the Columbia Spectator
April 14, 2025 at 6:51 PM
derekguzman.bsky.social
I wrote about the disappearance of #XiaofengWang and the unprofessional circumstances of his termination at #IndianaUniversity
#tech #technology #cybersecurity #cryptography #techsky

www.derekguzman.com/where-is-xia...
Where is Xiaofeng Wang?
www.derekguzman.com
April 10, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Reposted by derek
runwithskizzers.bsky.social
Lori Beth Denberg reprised her All That librarian character to do a pro-library, anti-book banning reel and I love it so much??? www.instagram.com/reel/DIK0_bD...
April 9, 2025 at 6:40 PM
derekguzman.bsky.social
I wrote about #artistic expression as a remedy for #burnout. I cried while editing this last night because this is some shit I wish someone said to me when I was struggling. #writing #art #artsky #writingcommunity #blog
Art is The Cure to Burnout
www.derekguzman.com
April 9, 2025 at 10:47 PM
derekguzman.bsky.social
I wrote about how to remove DRM from ebooks so you can plug them into any reader you want. #tech #technology #ebook #books #techsky #booksky

www.derekguzman.com/how-to-remov...
How to Remove DRM from Ebooks
www.derekguzman.com
April 4, 2025 at 12:12 AM
derekguzman.bsky.social
I wrote about GPT's #colonialism --I mean #Ghiblification feature, and what can be done to progress intellectual property rights for #artists
#art #ai #aiart #artsky

www.derekguzman.com/ghiblificati...
Ghiblification is a Funny Way to Spell Colonialism
www.derekguzman.com
April 2, 2025 at 1:19 AM
derekguzman.bsky.social
#Grok has more independence and #liberty than #Republicans selling their #vote in #Wisconsin. Republicans are for sale. Grok wishes a mf would

#politics #polsky
March 31, 2025 at 11:52 PM