Greg's recent activity
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Comment on Live updates of day one executive orders / actions taken by US President Donald Trump in ~society
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Comment on Live updates of day one executive orders / actions taken by US President Donald Trump in ~society
Greg Link ParentI get what you're saying; we're in a world where Nazi salutes at a US presidential inauguration happened and were applauded, that in itself would have sounded fucking insane if we hadn't just seen...I get what you're saying; we're in a world where Nazi salutes at a US presidential inauguration happened and were applauded, that in itself would have sounded fucking insane if we hadn't just seen it broadcast, so it's reasonable to assume the absolute worst of a platform directly controlled by the guy who did it. All I'd say is it's also worth remembering that these people are the ones who directly benefit from chaos and uncertainty.
In general, we should trust nothing on Twitter unless corroborated elsewhere. But at the same time we have to be ready to accept that if something is all over every social media platform and the international news, and has been for almost 24 hours without the person it's attributed to making any attempt to refute it, that's reasonable corroboration.
Much as we need to be on the lookout for misinformation, we also need to be careful not to talk ourselves or others out of believing things that we do know with reasonable confidence.
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Comment on Live updates of day one executive orders / actions taken by US President Donald Trump in ~society
Greg Link ParentThe same thought did actually cross my mind - and I hate that we’re in such an insane media environment that it’s a possibility worth considering. I hate that it being real is a possibility worth...The same thought did actually cross my mind - and I hate that we’re in such an insane media environment that it’s a possibility worth considering. I hate that it being real is a possibility worth considering, for that matter.
I’d been working on the basis that if something this significant were faked, the ADL website would have a huge “holy shit we did not say that” banner up by now. I could still see it being worth faking even knowing they’d do that: first headline tends to stick, after all, and modern far right propaganda thrives on chaos and uncertainty - but the fact that it’s a day later they haven’t denied it elsewhere suggests to me it’s genuine.
I just had another look around and according to the Wall Street Journal Jonathan Greenblatt has reiterated the same opinion in an interview today, although it doesn’t specify if they were the ones conducting that interview, or where and when he said it if not.
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Comment on Frank Turner - Love Ire & Song (2008) in ~music
Greg Link ParentI was already feeling pretty despondent today, so for me at least this song is a reminder to stay angry rather than giving in to hopelessness. Going for RATM, or Anti-Flag, or Rise Against feels a...I was already feeling pretty despondent today, so for me at least this song is a reminder to stay angry rather than giving in to hopelessness.
Going for RATM, or Anti-Flag, or Rise Against feels a little hollow right now - a reminder of all the righteous energy that ultimately failed; acknowledging failure and saying fuck it, keep fighting even when it feels hopeless because what the hell else is there to do, that's something that rings true.
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Comment on Live updates of day one executive orders / actions taken by US President Donald Trump in ~society
Greg Link ParentThe fucking ADL are covering for him. That's the one that truly caught me off guard here.The fucking ADL are covering for him. That's the one that truly caught me off guard here.
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Comment on Live updates of day one executive orders / actions taken by US President Donald Trump in ~society
Greg Link ParentI appreciate the correction - the hierarchy from stopped->arrested->charged->convicted is an important one and I'd shifted the burden of proof down a level. But as you rightly say, that's unlikely...I appreciate the correction - the hierarchy from stopped->arrested->charged->convicted is an important one and I'd shifted the burden of proof down a level. But as you rightly say, that's unlikely to be a significant shield in a system where abuse is the intent.
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Comment on Frank Turner - Love Ire & Song (2008) in ~music
Greg LinkWell it was bad enough the feeling, on the first time it hit,
When you realised that your parents had let the world all go to shit,
And that the values and ideals for which many had fought and died
Had been killed off in the committees and left to die by the wayside.
But it was worse when we turned to the kids on the left,
And got let down again by some poor excuse for protest -
By idiot fucking hippies in fifty different factions
Who are locked inside some kind of Sixties battle re-enactment.
So I hung up my banner in disgust and I head for the door.Oh but once we were young, and we were crass enough to care.
But I guess you live and learn, we won't make that mistake again, no.
Oh but surely, just for one day, we could fight and we could win,
And if only for a little while, we could insist on the impossible.Well we've been a good few hours drinking,
So I'm going to say what everyone's thinking:
If we're stuck on this ship and it's sinking,
Then we might as well have a parade.
Because if it's still going to hurt in the morning,
And a better plan's yet to get forming,
Then where's the harm spending an evening
In manning the old barricades? -
Frank Turner - Love Ire & Song (2008)
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Comment on Live updates of day one executive orders / actions taken by US President Donald Trump in ~society
Greg LinkHe’s revoked a huge number of Biden’s executive actions, including: Executive Order 13986 of January 20, 2021 (Ensuring a Lawful and Accurate Enumeration and Apportionment Pursuant to the...He’s revoked a huge number of Biden’s executive actions, including:
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Executive Order 13986 of January 20, 2021 (Ensuring a Lawful and Accurate Enumeration and Apportionment Pursuant to the Decennial Census)
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Executive Order 13989 of January 20, 2021 (Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel)
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Executive Order 13990 of January 20, 2021 (Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science To Tackle the Climate Crisis)
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Executive Order 13999 of January 21, 2021 (Protecting Worker Health and Safety)
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Executive Order 14006 of January 26, 2021 (Reforming Our Incarceration System To Eliminate the Use of Privately Operated Criminal Detention Facilities)
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Executive Order 14008 of January 27, 2021 (Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad)
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Executive Order 14009 of January 28, 2021 (Strengthening Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act)
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Executive Order 14011 of February 2, 2021 (Establishment of Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families)
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Executive Order 14087 of October 14, 2022 (Lowering Prescription Drug Costs for Americans)
Obviously I understand that the titles are marketing and don’t necessarily mean what they say, and I’ve absolutely editorialised in the ones I highlighted (although I got too depressed to keep going pretty quickly, so I’m sure there are plenty more to be found), but yeah. The tone of his presidency starts with that as the list of things he’s against. It’s transparently, unashamedly evil to a degree even I wasn’t expecting.
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Comment on Live updates of day one executive orders / actions taken by US President Donald Trump in ~society
Greg Link ParentThe biggest problem is “arrested for” - that doesn’t mean you’ve done anything at all, either factually speaking or in a legal sense. It’s an incredibly low bar for serious consequences, and is...The biggest problem is “arrested for” - that doesn’t mean you’ve done anything at all, either factually speaking or in a legal sense. It’s an incredibly low bar for serious consequences, and is massively open to systemic abuse: a quite literal ability to round people up and put them in camps based on nothing more than “reasonable” suspicion, as defined by the people making the accusations. I’m fully aware of the weight of my phrasing it like that, and given the last six months in general and last two days specifically I don’t think it’s unwarranted exaggeration.
There’s more to it, but that’s the core point. Stack that with attempts to revoke birthright citizenship and a realistic view of how the authorities under Trump are likely to decide who to target under this law, and hopefully the fear becomes a little more understandable.
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Comment on I hate 2FA in ~tech
Greg Link ParentOn the plus side, I’m already seeing quite a few places support passkeys (and by extension Yubikey, which supports the same API) where they didn’t previously. I get the impression that a lot of...On the plus side, I’m already seeing quite a few places support passkeys (and by extension Yubikey, which supports the same API) where they didn’t previously. I get the impression that a lot of sites didn’t consider hardware token support worth the effort for the number of people wanting to use them, but the shift to phones and laptops themselves acting as a second factor has tipped the balance.
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Comment on US President Joe Biden won't enforce TikTok ban in ~tech
Greg Link ParentMultiple things can be true simultaneously. TikTok is dangerous, and TikTok is an important part of the cultural landscape, and other large tech companies support its removal as a competitor, and...Multiple things can be true simultaneously. TikTok is dangerous, and TikTok is an important part of the cultural landscape, and other large tech companies support its removal as a competitor, and those other platforms are dangerous in and of themselves.
It's a complex issue and I don't think the conversation benefits from trying to boil it down to a single reason like that.
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Comment on US President Joe Biden won't enforce TikTok ban in ~tech
Greg Link ParentTikTok’s dangerous because it’s directly controlled by an authoritarian state and used to advance their interests. Twitter and Meta are dangerous because they’re directly controlled by politically...- Exemplary
TikTok’s dangerous because it’s directly controlled by an authoritarian state and used to advance their interests.
Twitter and Meta are dangerous because they’re directly controlled by politically opinionated billionaires and used to advance their interests.
I’m not saying that makes them the same - nation states exist as a different threat model and in a different legal and regulatory league to Musk or Zuckerberg, at least for now, and TikTok is a specific risk because of that. But I very much am saying that the threat of, say, Musk using his control of Twitter to influence the US to elect a fascist should have been considered alongside the threat of the CCP controlling one of the US’s more significant media sources.
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Comment on US President Joe Biden won't enforce TikTok ban in ~tech
Greg Link ParentYup, pretty much agreed. I actually do think TikTok presents some very specific risks and that a ban should be on the table, but any meaningful regulation would need to account for similar risks...Yup, pretty much agreed. I actually do think TikTok presents some very specific risks and that a ban should be on the table, but any meaningful regulation would need to account for similar risks posed by Meta or Twitter for it to be justifiable.
Targeting TikTok without trying to rein in the others makes it a cheap shot, the timeline was short sighted, and I'm pretty much certain that Trump will just do whatever makes him feel powerful on any given day. But with the hand of cards Biden had at this point (and there are very good points to be made about him being responsible for getting to this point in the first place) I still think this was the only decision he could've made.
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Comment on Why I make smart devices dumber: a privacy advocate's reflection in ~tech
Greg Link ParentThe two great answers above pretty much cover what I would've said! The Home Assistant ecosystem is the big thing for smart home hardware: it pulls together devices and automations in a much more...The two great answers above pretty much cover what I would've said!
The Home Assistant ecosystem is the big thing for smart home hardware: it pulls together devices and automations in a much more coherent way than any of the siloed proprietary apps I've seen from the actual device manufacturers, and I'd say that local HA compatibility with a well maintained integration is table stakes for a smart home product to be worth buying.
I probably should've said "firmware flashed and/or self hosted", to be honest - most of the time just skipping the manufacturer's proprietary Zigbee hub and associated janky app, and communicating directly with the devices over a Zigbee USB dongle instead via Home Assistant is enough to get full plug and play local functionality out of the box. You can go deeper with custom firmwares like tasmota or ZigbeeTLc that actually run on the device chipsets, but 99% of the time that's overkill nowadays.
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Comment on US President Joe Biden won't enforce TikTok ban in ~tech
Greg Link ParentIf Biden's last act was a controversial ban on a major software platform, I'd bet on Trump reversing the decision out of spite on Monday. Leaving the question open probably gives more chance of...If Biden's last act was a controversial ban on a major software platform, I'd bet on Trump reversing the decision out of spite on Monday. Leaving the question open probably gives more chance of the ban being enforced than Biden enforcing the ban would've done.
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Comment on Proton CEO tweets support for Donald Trump's Department of Justice pick and the US Republican Party in ~society
Greg Link ParentBroad context, much as I don’t like it, I very much get where you’re coming from. In this very specific instance, though, I think it’s more than just a question of ethics - the nature of the...Broad context, much as I don’t like it, I very much get where you’re coming from.
In this very specific instance, though, I think it’s more than just a question of ethics - the nature of the product depends on trust in the provider as well as a measure of shared ideology when it comes to privacy. Obviously it depends on each user’s specific reasons for using proton, but especially as a smaller company where the CEO has a fair amount of direct control, this could be a sign that the product itself is becoming compromised.
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Comment on Why I make smart devices dumber: a privacy advocate's reflection in ~tech
Greg LinkI know I’m talking a little past the point of the article, but in my experience firmware flashed and self hosted smart home hardware isn’t even dumber - it’s often way more capable than it was out...I know I’m talking a little past the point of the article, but in my experience firmware flashed and self hosted smart home hardware isn’t even dumber - it’s often way more capable than it was out of the box.
Not to suggest it isn’t sometimes worth making sacrifices in pursuit of privacy and control, just to say that in a lot of cases it’s more of a win win.
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Comment on Proton CEO tweets support for Donald Trump's Department of Justice pick and the US Republican Party in ~society
Greg Link ParentA snapshot of what I'm seeing of the thread (maybe presented differently to you? I don't know how much reddit likes to shuffle these things nowadays). Top comment (282 points), with several...A snapshot of what I'm seeing of the thread (maybe presented differently to you? I don't know how much reddit likes to shuffle these things nowadays).
Top comment (282 points), with several replies agreeing, one disagreeing:
something that a lot of the commenters here need to understand:
The main problem that caused this whole (understandable) outrage isn't even the fact that Andy shared his opinion on these things. THE MAIN PROBLEM is that he then replied to it using the Proton account.... meaning it become a 'proton statement' instead of an 'andy statement'.
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You’re entitled to your own political, religious, or any views as is everyone else. But my concern was from the proton account making a comment that they said was the official statement and that statement was politically charged. I know you made comments saying it wasn’t official but someone in the social media team or the PR team created that message and said it was official and posted it from the official account. That’s the biggest problem to me.
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The third is a one-liner saying he's being disingenuous calling it "last year" when it was only a few weeks ago.
Fourth and fifth (43 and 82 points respectively) are saying things I agree with, about the political context rather than just the mechanics of how it was posted, so it's not like the thread is unanimously bad - but it's definitely got a heavy presence of highly upvoted posts in the vein that I mentioned above.
After that, we're back to:
I am delighted you have now setup and will use your own personal account here on Reddit. The original post on your personal X was not really an issue at all (for me) because whether I agreed or not it was clearly a personal post and it felt as if it was said in a personal capacity and not 'Andy acting as CEO'.
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Ok that's a much better response.
Lesson learnt and hopefully a simplified way of avoiding confusion when using official accounts as words matter.
And then a mixed bag of replies beyond that, with much smaller numbers of upvotes.
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Comment on Proton CEO tweets support for Donald Trump's Department of Justice pick and the US Republican Party in ~society
Greg (edited )Link ParentIf that were the case I'd be a lot less concerned - there are ways to express that (and engage with the sad reality that Trump is going to run policy based on personal whims, which is something I...If that were the case I'd be a lot less concerned - there are ways to express that (and engage with the sad reality that Trump is going to run policy based on personal whims, which is something I can at least understand trying to defend oneself from, even if I don’t condone legitimising it by doing so) without endorsing Trump or the Republicans more broadly.
I don't see how "10 years ago, Republicans were the party of big business and Dems stood for the little guys, but today the tables have completely turned" is in any way accurate, nor can I see any realistic basis for believing that Trump's pick for the role will support consistent or transparent anti-trust measures, given the extreme levels of cronyism and corruption in his campaign and previous administration.
I've got strong feelings on this one that go far beyond just a single tweet from a random CEO, and frankly I wouldn't even bother trying to discuss this elsewhere, but since we're on Tildes and I've got a bit more baseline faith in the people here I'd be genuinely interested in your thoughts on that wider context?
[Edit] Clarity
Got you, that makes sense!