Pei Wu
@peiwu.bsky.social
South Asia, Human Rights, Tech, Labor, Democratic Culture, Cats
Reposted by Pei Wu
Worth a watch:
Head of Signal, Meredith Whittaker, on so-called "agentic AI" and the difference between how it's described in the marketing and what access and control it would actually require to work as advertised.
Head of Signal, Meredith Whittaker, on so-called "agentic AI" and the difference between how it's described in the marketing and what access and control it would actually require to work as advertised.
June 26, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Worth a watch:
Head of Signal, Meredith Whittaker, on so-called "agentic AI" and the difference between how it's described in the marketing and what access and control it would actually require to work as advertised.
Head of Signal, Meredith Whittaker, on so-called "agentic AI" and the difference between how it's described in the marketing and what access and control it would actually require to work as advertised.
Reposted by Pei Wu
Over at TechCrunch, the tireless @zackwhittaker.com has found new Android stalkerware that requires a password set by the abuser to uninstall and has a writeup on how to remove it: techcrunch.com/2025/04/03/t...
This sneaky Android spyware needs a password to uninstall. Here's how to remove it without one. | TechCrunch
A simple trick can remove malicious Android spyware apps that require a password to uninstall.
techcrunch.com
April 3, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Over at TechCrunch, the tireless @zackwhittaker.com has found new Android stalkerware that requires a password set by the abuser to uninstall and has a writeup on how to remove it: techcrunch.com/2025/04/03/t...
Reposted by Pei Wu
California Governor Gavin Newsom took Trump's side on trans-sports bans. Too often, the conversation about trans participation in sports ignores what trans activists, sports journalists, and athletes think, so @edgeofsports.bsky.social asked them.
Don’t Listen to Greasy Gavin Newsom. Listen to Trans Athletes.
In a podcast with Charlie Kirk, the California governor put his electoral ambition ahead of trans people. But what do trans athletes themselves have to say?
www.thenation.com
March 7, 2025 at 4:35 PM
California Governor Gavin Newsom took Trump's side on trans-sports bans. Too often, the conversation about trans participation in sports ignores what trans activists, sports journalists, and athletes think, so @edgeofsports.bsky.social asked them.
Reposted by Pei Wu
Wrote up something about Techdirt's recent coverage, and why (whether we like it or not) we need to be a "democracy blog" now, rather than just a "tech" blog (not that we've ever been just a tech blog).
This story is *the* story and it impacts everything else.
www.techdirt.com/2025/03/04/w...
This story is *the* story and it impacts everything else.
www.techdirt.com/2025/03/04/w...
Why Techdirt Is Now A Democracy Blog (Whether We Like It Or Not)
While political reporters are still doing their view-from-nowhere “Democrats say this, Republicans say that” dance, tech and legal journalists have been watching an unfortunately recogn…
www.techdirt.com
March 4, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Wrote up something about Techdirt's recent coverage, and why (whether we like it or not) we need to be a "democracy blog" now, rather than just a "tech" blog (not that we've ever been just a tech blog).
This story is *the* story and it impacts everything else.
www.techdirt.com/2025/03/04/w...
This story is *the* story and it impacts everything else.
www.techdirt.com/2025/03/04/w...
Reposted by Pei Wu
I work with cool people who do cool things: www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
Meet Rayhunter: A New Open Source Tool from EFF to Detect Cellular Spying
Rayhunter is a new open source tool we’ve created that runs off an affordable mobile hotspot that we hope empowers everyone, regardless of technical skill, to help search out cell-site simulators (CSS...
www.eff.org
March 5, 2025 at 10:32 PM
I work with cool people who do cool things: www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
Reposted by Pei Wu
Netanyahu’s extremist government has halted ALL humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Starving children is a war crime.
UN leaders said: "International humanitarian law is clear: we must be allowed access to deliver vital lifesaving aid. We need to get aid in and the hostages out.”
Starving children is a war crime.
UN leaders said: "International humanitarian law is clear: we must be allowed access to deliver vital lifesaving aid. We need to get aid in and the hostages out.”
March 4, 2025 at 1:41 AM
Netanyahu’s extremist government has halted ALL humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Starving children is a war crime.
UN leaders said: "International humanitarian law is clear: we must be allowed access to deliver vital lifesaving aid. We need to get aid in and the hostages out.”
Starving children is a war crime.
UN leaders said: "International humanitarian law is clear: we must be allowed access to deliver vital lifesaving aid. We need to get aid in and the hostages out.”
Reposted by Pei Wu
NEW: The axing of some 10,000 programs has consigned untold numbers of children and refugees to death, officials say. Documents and interviews reveal that the State Department appears to have made the cuts without the careful review it described in court.
By Brett Murphy and @annamaria.bsky.social
By Brett Murphy and @annamaria.bsky.social
The Trump Administration Said These Aid Programs Saved Lives. It Canceled Them Anyway.
The axing of some 10,000 programs has consigned untold numbers of children and refugees to death, officials say. Documents and interviews reveal that the State Department appears to have made the cuts...
propub.li
March 1, 2025 at 9:01 PM
NEW: The axing of some 10,000 programs has consigned untold numbers of children and refugees to death, officials say. Documents and interviews reveal that the State Department appears to have made the cuts without the careful review it described in court.
By Brett Murphy and @annamaria.bsky.social
By Brett Murphy and @annamaria.bsky.social
Reposted by Pei Wu
NEW: When the Trump Admin abruptly cancelled almost all USAID programs, it also refused to pay $2bln the U.S. govt owes **for work that’s been done.**
One of the cut-off programs in Syria couldn’t afford security and was robbed by masked men.
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
One of the cut-off programs in Syria couldn’t afford security and was robbed by masked men.
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
March 1, 2025 at 11:31 PM
NEW: When the Trump Admin abruptly cancelled almost all USAID programs, it also refused to pay $2bln the U.S. govt owes **for work that’s been done.**
One of the cut-off programs in Syria couldn’t afford security and was robbed by masked men.
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
One of the cut-off programs in Syria couldn’t afford security and was robbed by masked men.
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
Reposted by Pei Wu
Whoever supports this is a murderous ghoul
March 1, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Whoever supports this is a murderous ghoul
Reposted by Pei Wu
Courts *ordered* the Trump admin to stop its spending freeze
Yet ProPublica found place after place where $ is still frozen
-hot meals for elderly and disabled
-groceries for those in need
-maternal & child health services
-a clinic that serves the poor
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
Yet ProPublica found place after place where $ is still frozen
-hot meals for elderly and disabled
-groceries for those in need
-maternal & child health services
-a clinic that serves the poor
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
The Courts Blocked Trump’s Federal Funding Freeze. Agencies Are Withholding Money Anyway.
Agencies continue to suspend funding, despite multiple court orders blocking the federal freeze. Experts say the Trump administration’s actions set the stage for challenges to Congress’ authority — an...
www.propublica.org
February 10, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Courts *ordered* the Trump admin to stop its spending freeze
Yet ProPublica found place after place where $ is still frozen
-hot meals for elderly and disabled
-groceries for those in need
-maternal & child health services
-a clinic that serves the poor
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
Yet ProPublica found place after place where $ is still frozen
-hot meals for elderly and disabled
-groceries for those in need
-maternal & child health services
-a clinic that serves the poor
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
Reposted by Pei Wu
If I know a Silicon Valley "ask forgiveness, not permission" energy, Elon's bebe bros will try to keep copies in shady ways for funsies so this order will need physical and cyber- forensic enforcement (look for system logs).
Here is Judge Paul Engelmayer’s remarkable TRO barring (in effect) DOGE from accessing Treasury’s payment system & ordering (in effect) any DOGE person who has had access to destroy anything already copied. A short thread ...
www.documentcloud.org/documents/25...
www.documentcloud.org/documents/25...
6-TRO
www.documentcloud.org
February 8, 2025 at 4:05 PM
If I know a Silicon Valley "ask forgiveness, not permission" energy, Elon's bebe bros will try to keep copies in shady ways for funsies so this order will need physical and cyber- forensic enforcement (look for system logs).
Reposted by Pei Wu
DOGE operative Marko Elez got the ability to alter US Treasury payment system code on Feb 1, WIRED's sources say.
For days, Trump officials fed members of Congress and the press a different story.
Elez is out now for posts reading "I was racist before it was cool" and "normalize Indian hate."
For days, Trump officials fed members of Congress and the press a different story.
Elez is out now for posts reading "I was racist before it was cool" and "normalize Indian hate."
The US Treasury Claimed DOGE Technologist Didn’t Have ‘Write Access’ When He Actually Did
Sources tell WIRED that the ability of DOGE's Marko Elez to alter code controlling trillions in federal spending was rescinded days after US Treasury and White House officials said it didn't exist.
www.wired.com
February 7, 2025 at 12:16 AM
DOGE operative Marko Elez got the ability to alter US Treasury payment system code on Feb 1, WIRED's sources say.
For days, Trump officials fed members of Congress and the press a different story.
Elez is out now for posts reading "I was racist before it was cool" and "normalize Indian hate."
For days, Trump officials fed members of Congress and the press a different story.
Elez is out now for posts reading "I was racist before it was cool" and "normalize Indian hate."
Reposted by Pei Wu
I sincerely don’t know why people aren’t physically stopping those dorks. Move shit. Lock doors. Lose the keys. Everyone switch seats. Turn off all the lights. Switch the signs on the elevator lobby. Make the settings all silly. Use a different language. Wear costumes. Fill rooms with balloons
February 5, 2025 at 11:07 PM
I sincerely don’t know why people aren’t physically stopping those dorks. Move shit. Lock doors. Lose the keys. Everyone switch seats. Turn off all the lights. Switch the signs on the elevator lobby. Make the settings all silly. Use a different language. Wear costumes. Fill rooms with balloons
Reposted by Pei Wu
“On Friday morning, the staffers at a half dozen U.S.-funded medical facilities in Sudan who care for severely malnourished children had a choice to make: Defy Donald Trump’s order to immediately stop their operations or let up to 100 babies and toddlers die.”
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
“People Will Die”: The Trump Administration Said It Lifted Its Ban on Lifesaving Humanitarian Aid. That’s Not True.
Organizations that provide vital care for desperate and vulnerable people around the world have been forced to halt operations, turn away patients and lay off staff. “I’ve never seen anything that sca...
www.propublica.org
February 3, 2025 at 4:58 PM
“On Friday morning, the staffers at a half dozen U.S.-funded medical facilities in Sudan who care for severely malnourished children had a choice to make: Defy Donald Trump’s order to immediately stop their operations or let up to 100 babies and toddlers die.”
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
Reposted by Pei Wu
SHARE WIDELY.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS.
With mass deportations starting today across the country, it is vitally important - for both citizens and non-citizens - to know your rights.
You have the right to remain silent. Assert it. You have the right to a lawyer. Ask for one.
(1/3)
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS.
With mass deportations starting today across the country, it is vitally important - for both citizens and non-citizens - to know your rights.
You have the right to remain silent. Assert it. You have the right to a lawyer. Ask for one.
(1/3)
January 22, 2025 at 2:19 AM
SHARE WIDELY.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS.
With mass deportations starting today across the country, it is vitally important - for both citizens and non-citizens - to know your rights.
You have the right to remain silent. Assert it. You have the right to a lawyer. Ask for one.
(1/3)
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS.
With mass deportations starting today across the country, it is vitally important - for both citizens and non-citizens - to know your rights.
You have the right to remain silent. Assert it. You have the right to a lawyer. Ask for one.
(1/3)
Reposted by Pei Wu
Si la migra te detiene, ¡recuerda esta canción! No tienes que firmar ni decir nada. Tienes derecho a permanecer en silencio, y tienes derecho a un abogado. ¡Mantén la calma y recuerda tus derechos!
#conozcasusderechos #knowyourrights #immigration
#conozcasusderechos #knowyourrights #immigration
January 19, 2025 at 3:11 AM
Si la migra te detiene, ¡recuerda esta canción! No tienes que firmar ni decir nada. Tienes derecho a permanecer en silencio, y tienes derecho a un abogado. ¡Mantén la calma y recuerda tus derechos!
#conozcasusderechos #knowyourrights #immigration
#conozcasusderechos #knowyourrights #immigration
Reposted by Pei Wu
Leonard Peltier is finally going home.
Biden commutes sentence for Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier, convicted in killing of FBI agents
President Joe Biden has commuted the sentence of Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier, who was convicted in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents and is serving life in prison.
apnews.com
January 20, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Leonard Peltier is finally going home.
Reposted by Pei Wu
UPDATE: Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement on a multiphase ceasefire that commits them to end the war in Gaza, President Biden and Qatar's prime minister announced separately on Wednesday.
Israel and Hamas reach a Gaza ceasefire agreement
Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement on a multiphase ceasefire that commits them to end the war in Gaza, President Biden and Qatar's prime minister announced separately on Wednesday.
www.npr.org
January 15, 2025 at 8:30 PM
UPDATE: Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement on a multiphase ceasefire that commits them to end the war in Gaza, President Biden and Qatar's prime minister announced separately on Wednesday.
"Using [ProPublica's] new database, you can now search for organizations and people that have paid the justices, reimbursed them for travel, given them gifts and more."
Supreme Connections: Search Supreme Court Disclosures — ProPublica
Search Supreme Court financial disclosures for organizations and people that have paid justices, reimbursed them for travel, given them gifts and more.
projects.propublica.org
January 13, 2025 at 4:28 AM
"Using [ProPublica's] new database, you can now search for organizations and people that have paid the justices, reimbursed them for travel, given them gifts and more."
Reposted by Pei Wu
Reposted by Pei Wu
Coming soon: The PACER Pray and Pay Project. You pray for a document you want, other people pay for it for you. When it’s available, we let you know.
January 2, 2025 at 2:36 AM
Coming soon: The PACER Pray and Pay Project. You pray for a document you want, other people pay for it for you. When it’s available, we let you know.
Reposted by Pei Wu
Caltech UC Riverside study finds that tech companies report ai carbon consumption but diesel and other particulates data centers generate go unreported. Public health costs from cancers, asthma, other diseases, and missed work and school days approach ~$20 bil a year.
news.ucr.edu/articles/202...
news.ucr.edu/articles/202...
AI’s deadly air pollution toll
Computer processing demands for artificial intelligence, or AI, are spurring increasing levels of deadly air pollution from power plants and backup diesel generators that continuously supply electrici...
news.ucr.edu
December 31, 2024 at 3:59 PM
Caltech UC Riverside study finds that tech companies report ai carbon consumption but diesel and other particulates data centers generate go unreported. Public health costs from cancers, asthma, other diseases, and missed work and school days approach ~$20 bil a year.
news.ucr.edu/articles/202...
news.ucr.edu/articles/202...
Reposted by Pei Wu
Great job opening up for a Postdoc on AI and corporate influence, see @victorpickard.bsky.social: www.asc.upenn.edu/research/cen...
Opportunities
Join the MIC Center's mission to create more democratic media systems that serve community needs.
www.asc.upenn.edu
December 21, 2024 at 11:42 PM
Great job opening up for a Postdoc on AI and corporate influence, see @victorpickard.bsky.social: www.asc.upenn.edu/research/cen...
Reposted by Pei Wu
✊🎉WE HAVE A DEAL 🎉✊
We are thrilled to announce we have reached a tentative three-year agreement with @nytimes.com, pending ratification by our members. There’s so much to share but here are just a few highlights of the deal:
We are thrilled to announce we have reached a tentative three-year agreement with @nytimes.com, pending ratification by our members. There’s so much to share but here are just a few highlights of the deal:
December 11, 2024 at 8:06 PM
✊🎉WE HAVE A DEAL 🎉✊
We are thrilled to announce we have reached a tentative three-year agreement with @nytimes.com, pending ratification by our members. There’s so much to share but here are just a few highlights of the deal:
We are thrilled to announce we have reached a tentative three-year agreement with @nytimes.com, pending ratification by our members. There’s so much to share but here are just a few highlights of the deal: