verbalprimate.bsky.social
@verbalprimate.com
Tech wage slave for a long time. Blog @ verbalprimate.com. Amateur at many things including backpacking, guitar, and social media. Anti techlordlings, surveillance, and soggy toast. Pro fun stuff, freedom, and democracy.
Reposted by verbalprimate.bsky.social
EFF is fighting for your rights to:
Speak and learn online, without government censorship 🗣️
Move through the world without being surveilled 📸
Use your device without it tracking your every click and IRL movement 🤳
Help us Take Back CTRL—Join EFF today! supporters.eff.org/donate/tbc
Speak and learn online, without government censorship 🗣️
Move through the world without being surveilled 📸
Use your device without it tracking your every click and IRL movement 🤳
Help us Take Back CTRL—Join EFF today! supporters.eff.org/donate/tbc
Defend Privacy and Free Speech
Don’t let tyrants co-opt tech. Join EFF and help fight back.
supporters.eff.org
February 3, 2026 at 4:02 PM
EFF is fighting for your rights to:
Speak and learn online, without government censorship 🗣️
Move through the world without being surveilled 📸
Use your device without it tracking your every click and IRL movement 🤳
Help us Take Back CTRL—Join EFF today! supporters.eff.org/donate/tbc
Speak and learn online, without government censorship 🗣️
Move through the world without being surveilled 📸
Use your device without it tracking your every click and IRL movement 🤳
Help us Take Back CTRL—Join EFF today! supporters.eff.org/donate/tbc
Another 'whistling in the dark' letter to Dave McCormick, hedge fund cent-millionaire Senator from Pennsylvania. Always feel I am wasting my time writing, but do feel better afterward.
www.verbalprimate.com/citizens-cal...
www.verbalprimate.com/citizens-cal...
Citizens get angry when government agents kill, mistreat, and threaten people. Losers call protesters terrorists.
Dear Dave -
Thanks for your February 1 letter. Agree, name calling is counter productive. Your response is out of step with reality and facts. It insults the intelligence of citizens.
Your statistic...
www.verbalprimate.com
February 3, 2026 at 4:09 PM
Another 'whistling in the dark' letter to Dave McCormick, hedge fund cent-millionaire Senator from Pennsylvania. Always feel I am wasting my time writing, but do feel better afterward.
www.verbalprimate.com/citizens-cal...
www.verbalprimate.com/citizens-cal...
Maybe he failed physical for cbp and went all vigilante in his abject disappointment. Sorry not a laughing matter. Am giving myself a time out.
A white man in Dillard, Oregon was arrested for stopping people on the freeway to demand at gunpoint that they tell him if they were citizens. He shot and missed one + attempted to get another in his truck to bring to police. Before his spree, he called local PD to complain about "foreign" people.
Defendant contacted police before freeway shooting
Charles Glen Simmons, 53, of Dillard, is in the Douglas County Jail on $1 million bail after Thursday morning’s alleged crime spree. According to a press release from the Oregon
www.nrtoday.com
February 3, 2026 at 1:14 PM
Maybe he failed physical for cbp and went all vigilante in his abject disappointment. Sorry not a laughing matter. Am giving myself a time out.
Months of wrangling? Get it done.
Exclusive: A U.S. official has alleged wrongdoing by U.S. spy chief Tulsi Gabbard in a complaint that is so highly classified it has sparked months of wrangling over how to share it with Congress, according to people familiar with the matter.
Classified Whistleblower Complaint About Tulsi Gabbard Stalls Within Her Agency
Congress hasn’t seen the complaint, which was filed eight months ago with the U.S. intelligence community watchdog’s office.
on.wsj.com
February 3, 2026 at 1:10 PM
Months of wrangling? Get it done.
Reposted by verbalprimate.bsky.social
No masks on cops. No masks on cops. No masks on cops. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
The Real Reason ICE Agents Wear Masks
Face-coverings may work less to protect federal agents from danger than to make it easier for them to do unconstitutional things.
www.theatlantic.com
February 2, 2026 at 8:41 PM
No masks on cops. No masks on cops. No masks on cops. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Brilliant…why didn’t I think of that. Guess that is why he is a techlordling.
Erm… o.O
Microsoft CEO warns that we must 'do something useful' with AI or they'll lose 'social permission' to burn electricity on it
finance.yahoo.com/news/microso...
Microsoft CEO warns that we must 'do something useful' with AI or they'll lose 'social permission' to burn electricity on it
finance.yahoo.com/news/microso...
Microsoft CEO warns that we must 'do something useful' with AI or they'll lose 'social permission' to burn electricity on it
Workers should learn AI skills and companies should use it because it's a "cognitive amplifier," claims Satya Nadella.
finance.yahoo.com
February 3, 2026 at 10:21 AM
Brilliant…why didn’t I think of that. Guess that is why he is a techlordling.
America should build a kill switch for US tech. Just saying…,
Europe just started building a ‘kill switch’ for U.S. tech — and the market isn’t priced for it, says this strategist
Zoom and Microsoft are among those companies that could lose business, says Matthew Tuttle
www.marketwatch.com/story/europe...
Zoom and Microsoft are among those companies that could lose business, says Matthew Tuttle
www.marketwatch.com/story/europe...
Europe just started building a ‘kill switch’ for U.S. tech — and the market isn’t priced for it, says this strategist
Zoom and Microsoft are among those companies that could lose business as Europe seeks tech sovereignty, says Matthew Tuttle
www.marketwatch.com
February 3, 2026 at 9:47 AM
America should build a kill switch for US tech. Just saying…,
That’s why the tech lording are selling so hard into g’mint. Takes forever to realize the tech doesn’t work. Takes forever to cut consulting, outsourcing, and subscription contracts. Sweet sticky revenue.
ZD Net: "AI adoption is up while employee confidence in the technology is down. A report from ManpowerGroup explains why."
Spoiler: There was never "employee confidence in AI technology". This is snakeoil being sold to non-technical executives.
1/2
Spoiler: There was never "employee confidence in AI technology". This is snakeoil being sold to non-technical executives.
1/2
February 3, 2026 at 9:44 AM
That’s why the tech lording are selling so hard into g’mint. Takes forever to realize the tech doesn’t work. Takes forever to cut consulting, outsourcing, and subscription contracts. Sweet sticky revenue.
Feds Identify “Leader of Antifa”
open.substack.com/pub/kenklipp...
open.substack.com/pub/kenklipp...
Feds Identify “Leader of Antifa”
The list they're creating says so, anyway
open.substack.com
February 3, 2026 at 7:59 AM
Feds Identify “Leader of Antifa”
open.substack.com/pub/kenklipp...
open.substack.com/pub/kenklipp...
This is in line with AP’s articles about US Tech building China’s surveillance state. China just didn’t care about false positives. If the magic box said you were a trouble maker, you were sent to the trouble maker place.
Make tech firms liable when their products deprive life and liberty in error.
Make tech firms liable when their products deprive life and liberty in error.
“Pointing out that AI is prone to giving ICE bad information is missing the entire point of ICE,” EFF’s @evacide.bsky.social told @RollingStone.com. “They don’t care if the information they have is good.”
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cul...
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cul...
ICE’s Use of AI Will Lead to Big Mistakes. Maybe That’s the Point
Cybersecurity experts say that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement seems to be indifferent to how their artificial intelligence tools work.
www.rollingstone.com
February 3, 2026 at 7:37 AM
This is in line with AP’s articles about US Tech building China’s surveillance state. China just didn’t care about false positives. If the magic box said you were a trouble maker, you were sent to the trouble maker place.
Make tech firms liable when their products deprive life and liberty in error.
Make tech firms liable when their products deprive life and liberty in error.
Reposted by verbalprimate.bsky.social
If you campaigned for the presidency on a promise to destroy these assholes, you would win a landslide the size of FDR in 1936, when he campaigned on a promise to destroy these assholes.
Yes, Peter decided that the continued existence of our democracies isn't compatible with his desired level of personal freedom.
An absolute enemy of humanity.
An absolute enemy of humanity.
February 3, 2026 at 12:17 AM
If you campaigned for the presidency on a promise to destroy these assholes, you would win a landslide the size of FDR in 1936, when he campaigned on a promise to destroy these assholes.
Reposted by verbalprimate.bsky.social
Apple, Google, Meta, Bluesky, Ring, Telegram—all these companies could offer stronger protections for our chats and our data. www.encryptitalready.org
Encrypt It Already
End-to-end encryption protects the privacy of your data.
encryptitalready.org
February 2, 2026 at 11:02 PM
Apple, Google, Meta, Bluesky, Ring, Telegram—all these companies could offer stronger protections for our chats and our data. www.encryptitalready.org
Reposted by verbalprimate.bsky.social
New: our zine about ICE surveillance is here! People who bought a custom printed copy will get in the mail soon. We're also releasing the PDF for free for anyone to download. Also releasing a version in Spanish so more people can read about the tech ICE is using. Get here: www.404media.co/icezine/
Our Zine About ICE Surveillance Is Here
Download a PDF of our first ever zine here.
www.404media.co
February 2, 2026 at 3:14 PM
New: our zine about ICE surveillance is here! People who bought a custom printed copy will get in the mail soon. We're also releasing the PDF for free for anyone to download. Also releasing a version in Spanish so more people can read about the tech ICE is using. Get here: www.404media.co/icezine/
Reposted by verbalprimate.bsky.social
Important education message: "independent research has made clear that technology rarely boosts learning in schools—and often impairs it."
A few profit and the most vulnerable pay
www.economist.com/united-state...
A few profit and the most vulnerable pay
www.economist.com/united-state...
Ed tech is profitable. It is also mostly useless
Independent research identifies few learning gains
www.economist.com
February 1, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Important education message: "independent research has made clear that technology rarely boosts learning in schools—and often impairs it."
A few profit and the most vulnerable pay
www.economist.com/united-state...
A few profit and the most vulnerable pay
www.economist.com/united-state...
Reposted by verbalprimate.bsky.social
Biometric locks for phones aren’t just convenient for you, they are convenient for the cops.
“explicitly authorized law enforcement personnel to obtain Natanson’s phone and both hold the device in front of her face and to forcibly use her fingers to unlock it”
theintercept.com/2026/01/30/w...
“explicitly authorized law enforcement personnel to obtain Natanson’s phone and both hold the device in front of her face and to forcibly use her fingers to unlock it”
theintercept.com/2026/01/30/w...
Washington Post Raid Is a Frightening Reminder: Turn Off Your Phone’s Biometrics Now
The search warrant to raid a Washington Post reporter’s home shows how authorities can open your phone without your consent.
theintercept.com
February 2, 2026 at 8:22 AM
Biometric locks for phones aren’t just convenient for you, they are convenient for the cops.
“explicitly authorized law enforcement personnel to obtain Natanson’s phone and both hold the device in front of her face and to forcibly use her fingers to unlock it”
theintercept.com/2026/01/30/w...
“explicitly authorized law enforcement personnel to obtain Natanson’s phone and both hold the device in front of her face and to forcibly use her fingers to unlock it”
theintercept.com/2026/01/30/w...
Am reading Edward Zitron’s haters guide to Oracle. As a long time Oracle hater am lmao. Love to see ORCL gross margin crashing because of AI mistakes. May their demise be brutal and swift so the sun can rise again.
February 2, 2026 at 9:33 AM
Am reading Edward Zitron’s haters guide to Oracle. As a long time Oracle hater am lmao. Love to see ORCL gross margin crashing because of AI mistakes. May their demise be brutal and swift so the sun can rise again.
Such a blur of grift. Hard to keep up. 3 days before inauguration the deal was signed. Disgusting pigs at the trough.
A crypto company run by President Trump’s family members sold a large stake to investors tied to the United Arab Emirates just days before Trump’s inauguration, linking a Trump family business to a prominent member of the UAE’s governing elite.
Trump family crypto firm sold major stake to UAE investment firm
The investment, worth a reported $500 million, gave Emirati-backed investors a 49 percent stake in World Liberty Financial, a Trump crypto company.
wapo.st
February 2, 2026 at 8:54 AM
Such a blur of grift. Hard to keep up. 3 days before inauguration the deal was signed. Disgusting pigs at the trough.
Reposted by verbalprimate.bsky.social
If you used Notepad++, you might have been exposed to a security risk involving state actors.
notepad-plus-plus.org/news/hijacke...
notepad-plus-plus.org/news/hijacke...
Notepad++ Hijacked by State-Sponsored Hackers | Notepad++
notepad-plus-plus.org
February 2, 2026 at 2:30 AM
If you used Notepad++, you might have been exposed to a security risk involving state actors.
notepad-plus-plus.org/news/hijacke...
notepad-plus-plus.org/news/hijacke...
Reposted by verbalprimate.bsky.social
VCs all like the same books, invest in the same industries, believe the same things about the future, have the same opinions about politics.
Maybe this wasn't true 10 or 20 years ago, but I've been long enough in enough of these spaces to say that these days they have one brain cell between them.
Maybe this wasn't true 10 or 20 years ago, but I've been long enough in enough of these spaces to say that these days they have one brain cell between them.
February 2, 2026 at 4:28 AM
VCs all like the same books, invest in the same industries, believe the same things about the future, have the same opinions about politics.
Maybe this wasn't true 10 or 20 years ago, but I've been long enough in enough of these spaces to say that these days they have one brain cell between them.
Maybe this wasn't true 10 or 20 years ago, but I've been long enough in enough of these spaces to say that these days they have one brain cell between them.
Reposted by verbalprimate.bsky.social
👇🎯 Not once has the national media asked a GOP politician about affording ICE the way Biden/the Dems were asked about the cost of
student loan debt relief & literally everything else for the last 50 years.
student loan debt relief & literally everything else for the last 50 years.
Folks are dying from winter storms and the power has been out for a week but the government can spend big money on detention camps. bsky.app/profile/cost...
How many times in your life have you heard a member of Congress or someone on TV say “we can’t afford it” when talking about something small but very important? It’s been happening my entire life. We can’t afford it? They’re putting seven times the annual budget of the EPA into immigrant detention.
February 2, 2026 at 3:34 AM
👇🎯 Not once has the national media asked a GOP politician about affording ICE the way Biden/the Dems were asked about the cost of
student loan debt relief & literally everything else for the last 50 years.
student loan debt relief & literally everything else for the last 50 years.
Reposted by verbalprimate.bsky.social
Boycotts work. Most of Canada has justifiably boycotted the United States, and most of the United States can boycott Amazon. If you haven’t boycotted them because you think they’re too big for to matter, that’s why they’re too big, and that’s why it matters! Amazon is nothing without customers! ✌️☯️⚖️
January 31, 2026 at 7:22 PM
Boycotts work. Most of Canada has justifiably boycotted the United States, and most of the United States can boycott Amazon. If you haven’t boycotted them because you think they’re too big for to matter, that’s why they’re too big, and that’s why it matters! Amazon is nothing without customers! ✌️☯️⚖️
Reposted by verbalprimate.bsky.social
👀 Looks like the husband of the woman ICE abducted called his lawyer, lawyer called the cops, then the police chief went and got her & took her home
Article says it may be the first time local Minnesota PD "intervened in a federal law enforcement action" since Trump started terrorizing the state
Article says it may be the first time local Minnesota PD "intervened in a federal law enforcement action" since Trump started terrorizing the state
![Screenshot from the quote skeeted article reading as follows:
The husband told MPR News that after his wife was taken into custody, he called his attorney, and soon after, he got a call from St. Peter Chief of Police Matt Grochow, whom he said he has known for years.
“I was talking to him, kind of venting some of my frustrations,” the man said, adding that he urged the chief to have his officers just be more visible during the federal enforcement actions. “If [local police] were present and they could see you, I promise you their behavior more than likely, or hopefully, would, you know, be appropriate and law abiding.”
The husband says he talked to the chief for a while and “we had a good conversation.”
“He asked me, ‘what was your wife's name’? I told him my wife's name. He said, ‘was she picked up in a bronco?’ And I said, ‘I'm not sure, but it was an SUV, dark colored. I'd have to look at my video.’ He goes, ‘I think I got her. I'll call you back’.”
The husband said a few minutes later, the chief called again, “and said, I got her or I'm bringing her home.”
“I was just so relieved that she got released and was able to come home,” he said.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:kjklbsuepdppuppsfluytydl/bafkreigyienimomaibubdhiar3ijsvfacklpw2tqbnjnbphxenb5yvegk4@jpeg)
January 31, 2026 at 4:29 PM
👀 Looks like the husband of the woman ICE abducted called his lawyer, lawyer called the cops, then the police chief went and got her & took her home
Article says it may be the first time local Minnesota PD "intervened in a federal law enforcement action" since Trump started terrorizing the state
Article says it may be the first time local Minnesota PD "intervened in a federal law enforcement action" since Trump started terrorizing the state
Reposted by verbalprimate.bsky.social
this handful of independent journalists (my former colleagues at Motherboard) do more impactful journalism than 75% of the corporate tech press on a fraction of the budget
SCOOP: 404 Media is publishing a version of the user guide for ELITE, a tool Palantir made for ICE which brings up dossiers on individual people and provides a “confidence score” of their address.
The full user guide here:
The full user guide here:
Here is the User Guide for ELITE, the Tool Palantir Made for ICE
404 Media is publishing a version of the user guide for ELITE, which lets ICE bring up dossiers on individual people and provides a “confidence score” of their address.
www.404media.co
January 31, 2026 at 5:17 PM
this handful of independent journalists (my former colleagues at Motherboard) do more impactful journalism than 75% of the corporate tech press on a fraction of the budget