Posts by m-k 74 publicly visible posts • joined 20 Apr 2017
as a meanigless pleb I would MUCH RATHER there was a free-trade agreement across borders than... this. The amount of hassle to send a simple (...) parcel to our friends in the EU is insane. Oh, and you can't send them chocolate either. Or perfume (Evil, evil eu ;) Well, brexit means...
it would be funny if it was actually a sting related to that major sting, i.e. when they busted that 'secure' comms channel a month or so ago. So, those that managed to evade desperately seek a new new to resume business and here's that cool, vpn service that's like, totally secure, man! :)
3035: a report has been issued by the UK competition watchdog that confirms what many have suspected for years, which others dismissed as fake news: fake review epidemic across Google and Amazon DOES exist! The watchdog has written to both companies requesting them to take decisive action. Both companies responded by issuing a statement that they already offer a robust mechanism to combat the relatively minor issue, which has resulted in 3.5M fake reviews removed; they have also promised to redouble their efforts to implement cutting-edge technology to continue their relentless fight against what they both claim is an "issue that, while affecting only a tiny percentage of our customers, does undermine their confidence in otherwise robust and effective vetting process". The UK watchdog has issued further statement in response to their statement that said it will monitor further developments in this field, while also issuing a further-further statement, that 'consumers must have confidence that online reviews are genuine and unbiased'.
I must say, for the last couple of years, I put my faith in fakespot. Not 100% faith, but i'ts become my the main tool to weed out the usual culprits. Unfortunately, their business model has evolved to the point that they make their profit by - presumably - selling your shopping / browsing habits, i.e. no free checks for you, only a browser 'plug-in'. Which tells me exactly what I need to know about how they make their money. That said, it's hard to blame them, it's not like they're a rich Bezos-man giving away his fortune for free...
But I must say, without that tool, I've become quite hopeless against 4/5 and 5-star amazon reviews. I mean, sure, one way is to read the negatives, to spot a pattern (it's shite, stay away!), but - as with all things in life - valuable knowledge comes with effort and time. It's ok for higher value products, but not worth spending hours for cheap tat that is occasionally useful (bike lights, etc, etc.). I have taken to aliexpress instead, even with VAT added, cheap crap from China-land is still (up to) half-price cheaper than amazon. Although, recently, I got bike light packed mega-matroshka-style: FIVE grey bags in total...
Something tells me they're already several steps ahead, with plans B, C, D, and all the way down. Not that they have to hurry, given how long it's taken the G7 to come up with this plan (PLAN!). Before they implement it, before they realize they missed the new clever idea that's also, but of course, perfectly legit, before they decide to consider thinking about countermeasures...
I think by that time he'll have had time to reflect his chosen profession should be a Nigerian Prince aka US Soldier, based locally, i.e. away from the US justice. Unless the US start delivering US court orders on predator pylons ;)
and when they do, it will go like this: AT&T, T-Mobile US, and Verizon take privacy of their customers extremely seriously to ensure their anonymity is protected. Next!
by the way, I assume that, by now, all the spokesperson functions have been outsourced to script-operated bots, and in that context they would fire 'irrelevant non-reply No 1" (No 1, cause it can be used in reply to majority of 'issues', ranging from 'hackers' customer data hack, to telcos' customer data hack. One answer to rule them all).
it will become a reality. Have you heard about the latest and greatest idea of a photo-ID for elections, as per 2023? Despite having negligible proof of election fraud, this is being pushed as, wait for this:
“a reasonable way to combat the inexcusable potential for voter fraud in our current system and strengthen its integrity”, and that the “overwhelming majority”
This says everything about the mindset of our Glorious Leadership, i.e. INEXCUSABLE POTENTIAL. I mean, think of all them Russian trolls potentially turning up IN PERSON, and trying to pass for thousands, millions of law-abiding citizens and derail our world-class democratic system. You wouldn't want that, would you, sir, madam?! No, what am I thinking! - it's the age of digital, they can't turn up in person, sillybilly, they will - potentially - pay each of those thousands of desperate Brits so much (each) that they they will risk committing that fraud, again, and again, and again (after all, how many times can you turn up in one day to vote for somebody else?). The danger is REAL, comrades, the threat is HERE!!!!
sd/micro sd slot has been, in my view, one of the most useful laptop add-ons, and while I don't use it as much as keyboard, and screen, I use it regularly. Which means, this machine is useless to me. Yeah, I can use a usb port for a card reader, sure, but that' not the f... polint. So, what next, remove line-in jack?
follow Russia's examples, with a cherry on top, i.e. some mumble-mumble upon how we will study the ruling in detail and 5 sec later the great (British) public will have forgotten about the whole issue, and what can the little fuckers do about it anyway. Rant on the reg, let them, proves democracy works!
I share the view that there are people you meet first time, passing, etc, and your internal bell just rings for no apparent reason (sometimes quiet, but persistent, background noise to be weary). On one hand, I'd love to see research into this and intuition as well, on the other hand, re. research results, I hear this quiet, but persistent, background noise that tells me the outcome won't be used for anything good.
As to mugshots shown on media though, I'd be VERY careful. Whoever is paraded for a mugshot opportunity, they won't be in a good mood, and our own bias tells us that they must be bad, bad people. And even if they grin stupidly (because one moment they were having a good night's sleep, the next they found themselves in a police cell and what the f... just happened?!) to us they're not just bad, they're evil monster with an evil grin, etc. Media illustrate text with a shot that is put there to reinforce the message, which is manipulation, but there's hardly any news that isn't.
re. SAS Survival Handbook, this was one of the first books I bought when I came to the land of the free (as it was). To paraphrase, no one would have believed in the last years of the twentieth century that a book bought off a high street would land me in jail, in the same country, 25 years later. And then, when I think of all the stuff we used to hover off the internets... those manuals to fly passanger jets, terrorists cookbooks and "how to make a better M-coctail", and what not... With proper incentive, I could be locked away for life...
The only hope is that, by the time the law becomes law, there won't be any plods left to actually round people up. Anyway, what I was going to say was:
Long live democracy! Long live freedom of speech!! Long live Our Glorious Leader!!!
if not deeply disturbing, that a piece on nazi / ss domain future is drawing more commentardation than the usual suspects, i.e.
- apple / iphone / screen / charger / customer service / is shit / ripoff / apple fanbois suck
- google is evil / shit
- facebook / Zuckerberg is shit
- Windows 10 is shit (likewise, Office, etc.)
followed, by, much less frequently:
- amazon is evil (they exploit people and don't pay taxes and we love them)
- ebay is evil (they exploit bots and don't pay taxes)
- wikipedia masters are evil scumbags sponsored by shady deep pockets (choose from the list above / below),
- mozilla is run by evil lizards intent on destroying our ways
(all true, more or less)
Alternatively, SS goes along nicely with, er... Friday?
...
ok, vaguely on the subject: a "war" movie, Der Hauptmann...
well, with BREXIT dividend (very soon, hurrah!), it'd take... lemmethink.... 350 million per week that's got to be... no more than a couple of hourse. Yeah, we can afford it! And the benefit is priceless: eternal bliss knowing that our children are safe. Fuck yeah!
remember the cousin's advice:
"speak softly and carry a big stick
Unfortunately, in this case, it's the EU side that's been implementing this policy (because they can). And it has been painful to watch UK's puffing and huffing when both sides know _exactly_ there's no ace up UK's sleeve. No ace, no stick, nothing. Other than the gentlemanly message from the highest echelons of British establishment: FUCK YOU, WE'RE NOT PAYIN' THAT BILL! And you're no better than Soviets anyway, so yes, fuck you!
But... no stick, so it's easy to guess what the EU side says quietly to that.
you might laugh, I might quote the beeb:
"It can be how quickly do you type the keys, are you holding the device in your right or left hand. How an individual uses a device acts as a second layer of identity and a different kind of fingerprint."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-44438808
Think BIG (data!) Think all the TERRORISTS we can catch now (which politician's not going to bite this!), because we know that when they hold their phone with their right hand, they tilt it at this unique angle. Think of the CHILDREN too (Crapita certainly does!). Is your dahling really working hard with that pen, or is he / she dicking around, literally? There's an app to verify that (soon, if not yet).
p.s. is the way you're holding your phone covered by the GDPR? Spooks and your local council don't want to know, they already do.
but we're toothless sir, we're lame, don't blame us, guv, blame the... ehm... take a guess.
And once you found the oh-so-f-obvious-answer, ask yourself "why"? And once you found the oh-so-f-obvious-answer to "why?", ask yourself "what can I do about it?" And once you found the oh-so-f-obvious answer (democracy, blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah) - don't you even DARE thinking about alternative solutions, cause those you put in the comfy chair, will do _exactly_ the same.
"If they are not, then the data is not retained."
?!
I was under the impression the current state of affairs is that such data for people NOT convicted of crime SHOULD NOT be retained, but IS RETAINED and it is EXTREMELY HARD to get it removed, and the good old plod DON'T HAVE to remove it, even when there's no conviction?
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