skybrian's recent activity

  1. Comment on In Shasta County, the MAGA backlash has begun in ~society

    skybrian
    Link
    https://archive.is/2FC15 From the article: [...] [...] [...] [...]

    https://archive.is/2FC15

    From the article:

    Earlier this month, voters decisively ousted Crye and Curtis, and sent Supervisor Chris Kellstrom to the general election trailing a moderate challenger. Even if Kellstrom wins in November, the results of the June 2 primary tilt the county’s most powerful body back to the center-right — ending a five-year MAGA experiment and signaling trouble for President Donald Trump in one of California’s Trumpiest strongholds.

    [...]

    Shasta County, known for its homegrown militias, dueling secessionists, influential megachurch and enduring devotion to Trump-style politics, is having another bellwether moment.

    Well before the president hopscotched to his second term, MAGA political operators held up the north-state county as a template for what they could accomplish at the grassroots level. Bankrolled by special interests, a coalition of COVID lockdown opponents and 2020 election deniers elevated extremists to the Shasta County Board of Supervisors, then got to work on what they believed was an administrative deep state.

    The new board fired or chased out the county’s chief executive, public health officer, registrar of voters and a series of county counsels, replacing them with inexperienced or firebrand individuals who promised to find fraud and oppose California mandates. Scores of county employees left in the process.

    [...]

    In 2023, the Redding Rancheria, a Shasta County-based tribal government, was seeking a deal with the county to relocate and expand its Win-River Resort & Casino into a 1.1 million-square-foot gaming complex and nine-story hotel off of Interstate 5.

    In exchange for 30 years of county services, the Redding Rancheria offered a one-time payment of $3.3 million and $50,000 annually, far less than other intergovernmental arrangements between tribes and local governments. Shasta County’s sheriff, district attorney, outside counsel and other officials forcefully opposed the offer.

    But Crye pushed the board into a 4-1 vote to approve it. A lawsuit alleged the board improperly overruled the interests of the public. Last year, a judge sided with the plaintiff, ruling the deal “illegal.”

    Rickert, the only supervisor to oppose it, said Crye and then-Supervisor Patrick Henry Jones worked behind the scenes to scuttle a better deal by pushing out Eric Magrini, the assistant county CEO working on it. Magrini, a former sheriff, has filed his own lawsuit alleging that he was wrongfully terminated and that Crye stalked his wife.

    [...]

    Crye barely survived the ensuing recall attempt in March 2024, keeping his seat by 50 votes. He was aided by a $5,500 donation from the tribe, which has spent more than $20,000 on the supervisors who backed the agreement.

    [...]

    This month, Erin Resner, a Redding City Council member and Dutch Bros. franchisor who came within 90 votes of defeating Crye in 2022, bested the incumbent by more than 1,400, carrying 54% of the electorate. Crye pulled 38%.

    Resner raised less than Crye but did so through dozens more donations. And she spent most of it on getting her message out, that she’s a “sensible” conservative who wants to see Shasta County escape its dysfunctional reputation and work with surrounding counties on the homelessness and mental health crises afflicting the region.

    1 vote

  3. Comment on In the US abortion wars, new frontline is pills via telehealth in ~health

    skybrian
    Link
    From the article: [...] [...] [...]

    From the article:

    Combined, mifepristone and misoprostol are considered the clinical "gold standard" for medication abortion. Misoprostol can be taken alone to induce an abortion, but some studies have suggested it's less effective, Foster warned patients. Plus, it can make the process longer and more painful, with more side effects, such as nausea and vomiting.

    [...]

    Two developments often get lost in the public's perception of the abortion wars.

    One is that there were nearly twice as many abortions in the U.S. in 2025, compared to 2021, the year before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its momentous Dobbs decision in 2022.

    The numbers come from the Society of Family Planning's latest #WeCount report. By December 2025, 29% of abortions were through telehealth.

    The second is that, because the mailing of abortion pills has become so widespread in the post-Dobbs era, abortion opponents may simply be unable to stop it.

    [...]

    If mifepristone is restricted, many telehealth groups will immediately switch to using only misoprostol instead, they say.

    Misoprostol is approved by the FDA to treat ulcers, and is also widely used off-label to manage miscarriages, induce labor and end pregnancies.

    And while states could individually ban misoprostol, the FDA doesn't typically regulate how a drug is used off-label, according to David Cohen, a law professor at Drexel University and national expert on abortion law.

    "There would have to be some finding that it is not safe or effective for ulcer treatment, something that there's no argument anyone could possibly show," Cohen said.

    [...]

    Other organizations are already directing patients to mifepristone from outside the U.S., through groups such as Aid Access and online pharmacies in places like India.

  5. Comment on Ukrainian attacks prompt Russian-held Crimea to halt civilian gasoline sales in ~society

    skybrian
    Link
    From the article: [...] [...] [...]

    From the article:

    Gov. Sergey Aksyonov, the Kremlin-appointed head of Crimea, said that overnight Ukrainian strikes killed four people and wounded 28 others. He did not specify the target of the attack.

    He later wrote on social media that local gas stations would halt all sales to non-state companies and individuals for an undefined period.

    [...]

    "Fuel will be sold only to government agencies that ensure the functioning and security of the Republic of Crimea," Aksyonov said. "I ask everyone to remain calm and to only trust official sources of information."

    Ukrainian forces have repeatedly targeted fuel supplies to Crimea in recent weeks, triggering the worst energy crisis in the region since it was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement Sunday that a Crimean oil depot, as well as an oil transport facility in Russia's southern Krasnodar region were among the targets. He described the attacks as part of Ukraine's "long-range sanctions" against Russia's energy infrastructure.

    [...]

    The Crimean peninsula has had periodic fuel shortages from Ukrainian strikes before, but the current crisis is the worst since its 2014 annexation.

    [...]

    Social networks have been abuzz with requests and advice on where to find fuel, and authorities launched a hotline for tourists in the area who have found themselves trapped.

    Some motorists bring their own gas from Krasnodar and elsewhere via the Kerch bridge, but they are restricted to carrying 100 liters (about 26 1/2 gallons) per vehicle. Some speculators are selling gas at double the market price.

    1 vote

  7. Comment on Plans for nearly 4,000 homes over Safeways divide Bay Area residents in ~finance

    skybrian
    Link
    From the article: [...] [...] [...]

    From the article:

    These sentiments were palpable on April 1 when a couple dozen residents lined the sidewalk in front of the comparatively quaint Marina Safeway’s parking lot to protest the proposal to level the 67-year-old grocery store and build the 25-story behemoth, which would graze the state’s height limit.

    Prominent local developer Align Real Estate is sponsoring the redevelopment. Through a partnership with Safeway, it aims to bring 790 apartments, retail and an underground parking garage to the affluent waterfront neighborhood. The project recently cleared an important hurdle when the city deemed it eligible for streamlined approval amid a statewide housing affordability crisis. The city has to make a final decision on the development by August.

    [...]

    Safeway has made an aggressive push into real estate in the last several months after being previously reluctant to build out its valuable land holdings. A past attempt by Safeway to develop housing alongside a new grocery store in the Outer Mission failed.

    [...]

    In San Francisco alone, Align has introduced plans to build nearly 3,500 units of housing in the Marina, Bernal Heights, the Outer Richmond and the Fillmore District. To the south in San Mateo, Align submitted plans in early March to transform a Safeway along El Camino Real into a seven-story building with nearly 400 units of housing.

    [...]

    When the city of San Mateo identified a Safeway at 1655 S. El Camino Real as a potential location for new housing, Lisa Taner of Concerned Citizens of San Mateo never imagined it would actually be developed. But in March, Align filed an application to build a new ground-floor Safeway store, 396 multifamily residential units on the top floors and 643 parking spaces at the location. Some 55 of the units would be designated as affordable.

    3 votes

  9. Comment on We can fix the future, Star Trek shows us how in ~humanities

    skybrian
    Link Parent
    Skyscrapers are how you deal with limited land, and there are more places in New York City that could be built up like Long Island City. I don’t really get the appeal of New York City as it is, so...

    Skyscrapers are how you deal with limited land, and there are more places in New York City that could be built up like Long Island City.

    I don’t really get the appeal of New York City as it is, so I don't see why anyone would want to replicate it. I do think that other cities should be building more housing.

  10. Comment on Nobody clicks your share buttons in ~tech

    skybrian
    Link Parent
    For me it’s less about whether it’s actually AI generated and more about whether the sentence patterns are distracting because I’ve learned to recognize them from using AI. Certain phrases become...

    For me it’s less about whether it’s actually AI generated and more about whether the sentence patterns are distracting because I’ve learned to recognize them from using AI. Certain phrases become cliches through overuse, and AI accelerates that process.

    It’s like how good special effects in movies are the ones you don’t notice.

    8 votes

  11. Comment on Nobody clicks your share buttons in ~tech

    skybrian
    Link Parent
    Do you have the same reaction to memes or clip art, though? That’s also someone else’s work.

    Do you have the same reaction to memes or clip art, though? That’s also someone else’s work.

    8 votes

  12. Comment on Nobody clicks your share buttons in ~tech

    skybrian
    Link Parent
    It's not as easy as you might think. A few years ago, I tried using Midjourney to generate pictures for all my blog posts, because I thought they looked pretty bare without images. It took me lots...

    It's not as easy as you might think. A few years ago, I tried using Midjourney to generate pictures for all my blog posts, because I thought they looked pretty bare without images. It took me lots of tries to generate images that I somewhat liked and were appropriate to the theme of the article.

    At this point some of them look pretty cringe, but that's mostly because I've seen too much in a similar style since then.

    5 votes

  13. Comment on Nobody clicks your share buttons in ~tech

    skybrian
    Link Parent
    I don’t read blogs for the art.

    I don’t read blogs for the art.

    10 votes

  14. Comment on Keir Starmer announces resignation as leader of Labour Party in ~society

    skybrian
    Link Parent
    Could you say more about the UK’s financial position? I’m not that familiar with it.

    Could you say more about the UK’s financial position? I’m not that familiar with it.

    1 vote

  15. Comment on Nobody clicks your share buttons in ~tech

    skybrian
    (edited )
    Link
    If this is a subject you’re interested in, there are some decent links in the article, but the article itself has a lot of signs of being AI-generated.

    If this is a subject you’re interested in, there are some decent links in the article, but the article itself has a lot of signs of being AI-generated.

    16 votes

  16. Comment on The global fertility crisis is worse than you think in ~society

    skybrian
    Link
    Coastal west Africa is a apparently an exception to this trend.

    Coastal west Africa is a apparently an exception to this trend.

    4 votes

  17. Comment on Hacking Google with AI for $500,000 in ~comp

    skybrian
    Link
    From the article: [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...]

    From the article:

    Having spent the past year building small projects with Claude, I realized there was untapped potential in using AI to automatically fuzz Google's APIs at scale. The key to this approach? Google's discovery documents. For those unfamiliar, I'd recommend reading my other article for a deep dive, but here's a quick refresher:

    Discovery documents are essentially Google's equivalent of Swagger docs - machine-readable API specifications that list all available endpoints, parameters, and methods. While they're publicly documented for APIs like the YouTube Data API, they also exist for Google's internal APIs (like the Internal People API). Some discovery docs are publicly accessible, while most require valid API keys.

    [...]

    We took an exhaustive approach. We scraped over 60,000 Android APKs (every version of every Google app ever released), unpacked them, and grepped for API keys.

    [...]

    We also decrypted every Google IPA we could obtain and analyzed any Google binaries we could find.

    To keep things in scope for Google VRP and remove non-Google API keys (keys from third-party GCP projects), I used an interesting endpoint I found in the Cloud Marketplace API. First, we need the project number associated with the key's GCP project, which is revealed in the error message returned when using the key with a Google API it doesn't have enabled. For instance, fetching https://protos.googleapis.com/$discovery/rest?key=AIzaSyDWUi9T78xEO-m10evQANR7TMSiB_bjyNc returns the error: Protos API has not been used in project 244648151629 before, revealing the project number.

    [...]

    With API keys collected, the next step was finding all Google API domains to scan. I used a combination of domains logged by the Chrome extension, brute-force generated names using keywords, and certificate transparency logs. To verify if a domain was a live Google API, I made the following request:

    [...]

    Equipped with valid API keys and a list of live Google API domains, I started mass scanning for open discovery documents. In July 2025, Google removed the /$discovery/rest path from most of their APIs, but if you're clever enough this is possible to bypass in some cases.

    [...]

    It was now time to start automatically fuzzing these APIs. My goal was to automate finding basic access control issues, which I could then escalate manually into more serious vulnerabilities. In fact, the RCE I found in my previous writeup was initially a lead reported by the AI.

    [...]

    Three months of this setup turned up over $500,000 in bounties, only a fraction of which made it here. Most Google bugs don't need clever exploitation, just patience. The same broken patterns showed up everywhere: missing IAM checks on cross-tenant resources, GraphQL schemas with no authorization, debug endpoints in prod, sandbox environments pointing at prod data. The AI's job wasn't to be novel, it was to be tireless about the obvious on a surface too large for a human to cover end-to-end.

    4 votes

  19. Comment on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement spent $700 million on seven warehouses. Now it wants to get rid of them. in ~society

    skybrian
    Link
    From the article: [...] [...]

    From the article:

    Immigration and Customs Enforcement would purchase more than a dozen empty warehouses across the United States to massively expand its capacity to detain people deemed to be in the country illegally, which in turn would spike deportations. A year into Mr. Trump’s term, it had bought 11 facilities at a cost of $1 billion.

    But in a major turnabout, the agency is planning to offload seven warehouses purchased for more than $700 million by either giving them to other federal agencies or selling them outright, according to documents obtained by The New York Times.

    The decision to sharply scale back the warehouse plan is a rejection of a signature initiative under the previous homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, who pushed the boundaries of what the government can do to aggressively round up potential deportees. The new secretary, Markwayne Mullin, who had privately expressed skepticism about the plan, has said publicly that he wants the agency to be quieter about how it carries out immigration enforcement.

    [...]

    The agency appears to still be moving forward with four of the warehouses purchased for detention purposes, in San Antonio and Socorro, Texas; Surprise, Ariz.; and Hagerstown, Md. However, a federal judge has blocked work on the Maryland facility. It was not immediately clear why the agency decided to proceed with those four spaces for detention. ICE also plans to buy immigrant detention facilities from private prison companies that it already contracts with, according to documents.

    [...]

    But the biggest challenge has been the proliferation of environmental lawsuits across the country.

    For months, ICE has faced serious legal challenges over whether the agency adhered to a federal law that requires federal agencies to examine the impact of their projects on the local environment. The lawsuits have set the agency back significantly.

    A judge in Maryland blocked ICE from taking any action at a warehouse in the state that it purchased for around $100 million. ICE also told a federal judge in New Jersey the agency would take no action at a warehouse there until it conducted further environmental tests. The agency promised the same in a Michigan federal court as well. Justice Department officials have expressed concern to ICE that the lack of reviews has left the agency vulnerable to more legal roadblocks.

    Now, the agency plans to offload warehouses in Michigan and New Jersey, the documents obtained by The Times show.

    3 votes