Essentials

edwardsnowden.substack.com
The All-Seeing "i": Apple Just Declared War on Your Privacy7 min read · Aug 26th · “Under His Eye,” she says. The right farewell. “Under His Eye,” I reply, and she gives a little nod.
privacy
apple
Most highlighted
By now you've probably heard that Apple plans to push a new and uniquely intrusive surveillance system out to many of the more than one billion iPhones it has sold, which all run the behemoth's proprietary, take-it-or-leave-it software. This new offensive is tentatively slated to begin with the launch of iOS 15⁠—almost certainly in mid-September⁠—with the devices of its US user-base designated as the initial targets. We’re told that other countries will be spared, but not for long.
The task Apple intends its new surveillance system to perform—preventing their cloud systems from being used to store digital contraband, in this case unlawful images uploaded by their customers—is traditionally performed by searching their systems. While it’s still problematic for anybody to search through a billion people’s private files, the fact that they can only see the files you gave them is a crucial limitation
Now, however, that’s all set to change. Under the new design, your phone will now perform these searches on Apple’s behalf before your photos have even reached their iCloud servers, and—yada, yada, yada—if enough "forbidden content" is discovered, law-enforcement will be notified.
appleprivacyletter.com
An Open Letter Against Apple's Privacy-Invasive Content Scanning Technology5 min read · Aug 6th · Read and sign the open letter protesting against Apple's roll-out of new content-scanning technology that threatens to overturn individual privacy on a global scale, and to reverse progress achieved…
digital life
privacy
technology
Most highlighted
Apple's proposed technology works by continuously monitoring photos saved or shared on the user's iPhone, iPad, or Mac. One system detects if a certain number of objectionable photos is detected in iCloud storage and alerts the authorities.
Apple's current path threatens to undermine decades of work by technologists, academics and policy advocates towards strong privacy-preserving measures being the norm across a majority of consumer electronic devices and use cases. We ask that Apple reconsider its technology rollout, lest it undo that important work.
Apple's proposed technology works by continuously monitoring photos saved or shared on the user's iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
freddiedeboer.substack.com
Planet of Cops6 min read · Aug 26th · originally published in May of 2017
youtube.com
Krystal Ball: Bill Gates Is LYING TO YOU On Vaccine Patent ProtectionApr 28th · Krystal Ball details how Bill Gates' solution to poor nation vaccine distribution protects Pharma profits.About Rising: Rising is a weekday morning show with...
The New York Times
What if Instead of Calling People Out, We Called Them In?9 min read · 2020-11-19 · Prof. Loretta J. Ross is combating cancel culture with a popular class at Smith College.
culture
cancel
Glenn Greenwald
No Matter the Liberal Metric Chosen, the Bush/Cheney Administration Was Far Worse Than Trump.~14 min read · 2020-11-08 · Fantasies of a Trump-led fascist coup have redounded to the benefit of many -- especially those responsible for abuses far worse than those of the current president.
The New Yorker
Noam Chomsky Believes Trump Is “the Worst Criminal in Human History”6 min read · 2020-10-30 · The activist and linguist expressed serious concerns about the future of American democracy, although, in his view, it “was never much to write home about.”
chomsky
democracy
america
HuffPost
Dr. Opioid2020-10-29 · William O’Brien was a well-heeled doctor with a thriving Philadelphia medical practice. He was also at the center of a massive painkiller supply chain...
The American Prospect
The Corporatization of Nursing Homes~17 min read · 2020-10-20 · A tragic history of how we’ve treated elderly citizens, for profit
Quillette
The Misguided Campaign Against Journalistic Objectivity6 min read · 2020-10-02 · Locked down in a northern Ontario cottage over the summer, I found myself listening to CBC Radio’s Sunday Edition, an eclectic three-hour weekly morning show hosted, until his recent retirement, by…
Matt Taibbi
The Left is Now the Right~11 min read · 2020-07-20 · We laughed at the Republican busybody who couldn't joke, declared war on dirty paintings, and peered through your bedroom window. Now that person has switched sides, and nobody's laughing
youtube.com
Zaid Jilani FORCEFULLY Rebuts Counter-Cancel Culture Speech Letter2020-07-13 · Journalist Zaid Jilani gives his take on the growing backlash over a letter defending free speech. Published in Harper's Magazine, the document was signed by...
Harper's Magazine
A Letter on Justice and Open Debate2020-07-07 · July 7, 2020 The below letter will be appearing in the Letters section of the magazine’s October issue. We welcome responses at letters@harpers.org Our cultural institutions are facing a moment of trial. Powerful protests for racial and social justice are leading to overdue demands for police reform, along with wider calls for greater equality and […]
The Guardian
The Guardian view on Israel and annexation: unlawful, unwise2 min read · 2020-06-30 · Editorial: Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans will compound the suffering of Palestinians. International condemnation should be accompanied by consequences
jonathanrosenbaum.net
A Few Thoughts about a Rant (& the rant itself)2020-06-22 · Although I couldn’t bring myself to watch all of Trump’s rally speech in Tulsa last night, I did tune into the Fox channel enough times to catch the gist of most of it. I wanted to solve the mystery…
The New York Times
The Police Are Rioting. We Need to Talk About It.5 min read · 2020-06-07 · It is an attack on civil society and democratic accountability.
Essentials

The 5 most relevant links from around the web. With summaries + highlights.

Welcome back

Share Essentials
