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SamuelJohnson @samueljohnson.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 14h

@jon 😀 👏

Knowing whose judgement to trust and having a sense of humility about one's own is priceless. Thinking kindly now of a former boss I took to a meeting in Palo Alto at which he was beyond lost but trying to keep up. During a pause he looked mischievous and said - in self-deprecating […]

SamuelJohnson @samueljohnson.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 14h

@jon If you're ever exasperated by this spare a thought for those trying to dissuade politicians attempting to legislate for introduction of secure back doors in secure communications (an oxymoron).

Chat control in Europe, an open letter to the Irish Minister who wants to scan all our messages

Reposted by SamuelJohnson

Brendan Halpin @bthalpin.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 20h

Open letter to Irish minister who's pushing ChatControl from @mariafarrell

https://crookedtimber.org/2025/10/07/chat-control-in-europe-an-open-letter-to-the-irish-minister-who-wants-to-scan-all-our-messages/

I’m publishing an email I just sent to Ireland’s Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan, on a truly hideous and anti-democratic European law that Ireland is strenuously supporting. It’s looking like Germany, which was strong on data protection, may crack and support this law, too. This week is make or break week for ‘chat control’, a […]

crookedtimber.org

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Reposted by SamuelJohnson

Patrick Breyer @echo-pbreyer.digitalcourage.social.ap.brid.gy · 1d

🇪🇺 EU diplomats discussed #chatcontrol today. Result: No majority, so the vote planned for next week will be called off. https://orf.at/stories/3407810/
A huge success in our fight for freedom!🎉💪
Next goal: No suspicionless scanning, not even on a voluntary basis!

Verhandlungen zu „Chatkontrolle“ vorerst gescheitert

orf.at

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SamuelJohnson @samueljohnson.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 1d

@b0rk Yes.

Reposted by SamuelJohnson

Dan Gillmor @dangillmor.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 1d

The Trump Action Tracker is brilliant already, keeping track of the regime's bad acts. The UI could use a few improvement, and I'd urge several more categories (or emphasis of sub-categories), but I'm blown away now. https://www.trumpactiontracker.info

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SamuelJohnson @samueljohnson.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 1d

@laurahelmuth.bsky.social Most graduate degrees awarded in science, technology, engineering and math in the US are to foreign born students, many of whom stay on. This has been true for and decades.

The official website of the Nobel Prize - NobelPrize.org

Reposted by SamuelJohnson

Laura Helmuth @laurahelmuth.bsky.social · 1d

Six of the nine Nobel Prize winners this year work in the U.S.
Three of the six were born outside the U.S., which is the pattern most years. No country has benefited more from welcoming immigrants from around the world.
www.nobelprize.org

The Nobel Prize rewards science, humanism and peace efforts. This is one of the central concepts in the will of Alfred Nobel, and it also permeates the outreach activities that have been developed for...

www.nobelprize.org

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Reposted by SamuelJohnson

mariafarrell @mariafarrell.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 1d

RE: https://mastodon.social/@mariafarrell/115333913079023817

Well this is admirably concise and direct by Germany's justice ministry.

"Chat control without cause must be taboo in a state governed by the rule of law. Private communication must never be under general suspicion."

THANK YOU […]

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SamuelJohnson @samueljohnson.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 1d

@TOrynski That'll be the EU working as intended, fostering economic convergence. The UK promoted enlargement, imposed no barriers to migration (sovereign decision if the UK govt), watched Polish wages rise to the point Poland became an important export market with strong UK connections and then […]

Original post on digitalcourage.social

Reposted by SamuelJohnson

Patrick Breyer @echo-pbreyer.digitalcourage.social.ap.brid.gy · 1d

🇪🇺Germany's Minister of Justice today: "Suspicionless #chatcontrol must be taboo in a state governed by the rule of law." Private communication cannot be placed under general suspicion. "Germany will not agree to such proposals at the EU level." […]

digitalcourage.social

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Reposted by SamuelJohnson

Jordan Maris 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 #NAFO @jmaris.me · 2d

Side point on #chatcontrol: When I worked on the law in the European Parliament, in the face of questionably legal, and highly problematic behavior by DG HOME, I prepared a whitepaper on why it was such a terrible Idea.

As it is in the public interest, I have decided to make that white paper […]

Original post on eupolicy.social

eupolicy.social

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SamuelJohnson @samueljohnson.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 2d

An Irish presidential candidate has withdrawn from coming election after revelations about pocketing 2 months overpaid rent and stiffing the tenant. Morally satisfactory outcome, but you'd think he'd used it to pay off a porn star. Compared to par for the course in adjacent democracies the anger […]

SamuelJohnson @samueljohnson.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 2d

I'm on the board of some non-profit organisations in London. They get spam because public records of directors are harvested and used to generate email.

One repeat offender doesn't even bother harvesting public records. It simply makes up names and blasts unsolicited messages.

The company is […]

SamuelJohnson @samueljohnson.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 2d

@ottocr.at AP's a pleasure to listen to and has always struck me as entirely rational and non-ideological. The silver lining, barring further madness, will likely include the UK rediscovering geography. (My take).

SamuelJohnson @samueljohnson.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 2d

@ottocr.at 👆Recommend

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SamuelJohnson @samueljohnson.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 2d

This Is Not A Drill podcast: Trump's economic warfare – Are there any winners?

https://pca.st/episode/1d655ab7-fe38-47f6-b2ad-4d4adcadd475

Worthwhile interview with Adam Posen, President of the Peterson Institute.

Poor guy, former member of Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee, goes from […]

Original post on mastodon.social

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Reposted by SamuelJohnson

Heidi Li Feldman @heidilifeldman.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 3d

I finally have finished reading the 69 page complaint and multiple exhibits filed by the state of Illinois and City of Chicago against Trump, Noem, Hegseth etc., seeking to prohibit them deploying federalized National Guard troops in #chicago. #chicagoland #lawfedi […]

mastodon.social

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SamuelJohnson @samueljohnson.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 3d

Clearly Europe, and the EU in particular, has been innovating in ways that actually make a difference to the quality of life of most of its citizens.

This is why they live longer, happier and healthier lives, eat better food, have better access to education and healthcare, enjoy better […]

SamuelJohnson @samueljohnson.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 3d

@jpaulgibson

Picture of a cat on a roof apparently deformed under its weight.

SamuelJohnson @samueljohnson.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 3d

The Economist, always and forever in the tank for America (even now), has an article saying the EU can't innovate. On Hacker News many patriotic Americans agree, as they always do.

Much of the innovation in the US is done by immigrants, to whom a majority of graduate degrees in science, tech […]

SamuelJohnson @samueljohnson.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 3d

@ottocr.at Breathless judgemental coverage from a media suffering amnesia about the British Empire, who'd a thunk?

SamuelJohnson @samueljohnson.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 6d

@ottocr.at Hash them. If new data generates a matching hash then you're trying to rejoin. Solution for email is to own one's own domain then an infinite number of addresses can be used. Phone numbers more inconvenient to change but not impossible.

SamuelJohnson @samueljohnson.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 7d

I subscribe to Anthropic which I find alternately useful and a waste of time.

(What a different world we'd have if Google had subscribers--I doubt it ever collected €20/month/person using personal data).

A worthwhile analysis of the AI bubble […]