Gabe Rocks

It really wasn’t that long ago that I even struggled with walking, but I am thrilled to share that I have gone rollerblading for the first time in a long time. A lot of great things are coming together this Spring and I am eager to make the best of it. Last week I made a new low of just a hair below 289. Lately I’ve been looking back at just how hard-won my newfound mobility is and reflecting on how different it feels to be able to glide again.First rollIn truth, I was very anxious to begin rollerblading. I had become so used to everything being a painful and arduous challenge that I was expecting my first attempt to be a humiliating and frustrating experience. Once I got moving, I experienced the exact opposite. Things felt fluid and fun. In that moment it was so hard to believe that I was doing it. Actually having some momentum was a surreal and liberating experience. Feeling the wind against me as I pushed forward made me feel a concrete sense of accomplishment I truly haven’t allowed myself feel until now. It was very helpful that my twin brother sent me a tutorial video on how to avoid common beginner mistakes. I’ve still got a lot to learn but I’m very happy I’ve been able to skate around without any back pain. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and I can become quite the skating fanatic.New recipe! Cloud eggsI’ve been trying to have more egg whites in general, but it’s been boring to only have them scrambled.New LowLately I’ve been anxious about still not being very far from 300. To be blunt, I don’t quite yet trust that it’s fully behind me. I recently bought some XL shorts not expecting them to fit and to my surprise they did! Despite the scale going slowly it does seem that I’m progressing reasonably well. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

Reposted from Gabe.Rocks | Reply via FediverseLately I’ve been wrestling with a quite familiar terror brought on by world events. With escalating wars and energy shocks I find myself reminded of the dark days of the covid years. Since then I have learned that the problem isn’t fear in difficult times, but being ruled by it. One of the most frustrating things to see is how during the chaos, people get taken advantage of by opportunists and institutions alike.To address my emotional eating, I’ve had to take a deep look at what mental and emotional troubles drive me to seek comfort. As I’ve made progress, I’ve had to wrestle with a deeper understanding of my own fear-driven compulsions. On reflection, it is clear to me that these insights have broader applications beyond just health. I hope you appreciate listening to me try to figure this out.Related This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

It was an honor and pleasure to speak with V. N. Alexander on a wide variety of topics. I hope you’ll enjoy our conversation where we touch on the finer points of many ongoing changes in our digital experience. Learning from her vast knowledge and expertise has been a valuable experience. You’ll definitely benefit from exploring her works, which range from novels to educational courses.This conversation was a thrilling opportunity for me to learn from her in-depth knowledge and precision about AI tools, online safety, and the fall of our institutions. We explore the opportunities and possibilities in taking part of the change to bring about a better digital future. By precisely understanding the deep differences between biological systems and machines we can make the best of the future.Links discussed* Naked Singularity* The Posthumous Style* Battle for your Brain* Response: Is the Military Developing Mind Reading Tech?* Pledge to America’s Youth: Investing in AI Education* Catherine Knibbs work* We are not machines Webinar - IPAK EDU* Biosemiotics* How Do We Escape the Panopticon?* Platform Cooperative Book PublishingRelated: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

Samuel reached out to me to offer people free consultations to improve their digital experience. I took the opportunity to have a rich conversation with him about the finer points of privacy and overall digital autonomy in our time. It was a very welcome chance to connect over not just the perils of our age, but the actual opportunities to build a better digital experience.This conversation was a helpful way for me to dig deep into some of the finer points of our current struggles to maintain digital autonomy in our time. We start off talking about how telling someone to “just use Linux” should be the start of a conversation, not a command. We talk about how your overall choices have an impact regardless of what particular product or system you chose.This overlaps with many pressing questions like the end of support for Windows 10, as well as choosing ‘dumbphones’ over a smartphone. It’s not just what you use, but also how you use it. The importance of judicious use of social media is a great example. Yet, neither of us are purists, we believe that changes that ultimately isolate you from other people are wholly impractical for a better digital future.What I hope you take away from our conversation is an invitation, no matter what your background is, to consider how you can use technology rather than have it use you. Privacy shouldn’t be about hiding, but about building trust and protecting real independence. Both Sam and I would encourage you to nurture a desire to steward a better digital future for yourself and others.If you’re impressed by this conversation, you may want to consider bookmarking his website haveprivacynow.com which will eventually feature blog posts and a newsletter. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

UpdatesNew XMRChat from Leo:Thanks for the excellent article on Zano, and in general for the information you share. Keep up the weight loss! Share how you did it? Staying away from soft drinks was key for me, as well as cutting out all caffeine.Latest worksTechnical blog post: Self-hosting: Speed, decentralization and efficiencyHappy Cybersecurity Awareness Month!* Personal Security ChecklistTechnological Tyranny* UK Government Dismisses Public Outcry, Pushes Ahead with Controversial Digital ID Plan* ID cards: UK risks sleeping walking into pre-crime state* We Don’t Want a “Papers, Please” Web* Government needs to fix dangerous flaws in federal cybersecurity proposal* Digital Threat Modeling Under AuthoritarianismHope in a better digital future* Taking the Hope Pill on Dead Internet Theory* Democracy of Reach* Chatterbox: Federated Chat that Doesn’t Suck* FSF turns forty with a groundbreaking new project and a new president* FLOSS 849 - Veilid: Be a Brick* IMA: Free Speech or Limited Speech – There Are No Other ChoicesHonorable mentions* Hosting A Website On A Disposable Vape* Supporting the future of the open web: Cloudflare is sponsoring Ladybird and Omarchy* Is it really FOSS?* Spartacus: Conscientious Objection In The Digital Panopticon* VPN Relationships* Aegis Authenticator and Linux Authenticator* Can Wearables Be Trusted?Previous Recaps This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

Recent contentTrends to watchThe Future of Android* Tech Google stock jumps 8% after search giant avoids worst-case penalties in antitrust case* Google wants to make sideloading Android apps safer by verifying developers’ identities* “Sideloading” is the rentseeker word for “being able to run software of your choosing on a computing device you purchased”.* GrapheneOS not affectedMonero’s ‘Hashrate troubles’* Researchers Debunk Alleged 51% Attack on Monero* Hashrate Heist or Hype?* The attacks on Monero’s POW consensus system continue + Price, News & More! | EPI 227* Anti Moonboy News 40 - Well That Escalated Quickly* The true target is consensus to change the PoW.* Notice of delisting for Monero (XMR) in Canada‘Growing pains’ in decentralized social media* Some of the New US State Social Media Laws are Driving Away Small Social Media* 4chan and Kiwi Farms Sue the UK Over its Age Verification Law* Mastodon says it doesn’t ‘have the means’ to comply with age verification laws* Technically, [fedi admins are] probably also breaking laws in Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea and so on.* Are We Decentralized Yet? - Fediverse vs ‘The Atmosphere’Notable items* Biotechnology and the lifetime of technical civilizations* Passkeys and Modern Authentication* An “AI Sceptic” Tries Using Local Large Language Models: Blogust XXXI* PinePhone Pro Linux smartphone has been discontinued* We’ve started an organization to reform the DMCA - here’s why* USIPS Urges Supreme Court to Rein in Overbroad Copyright Liability in Sony v. Cox* Key Takeaways: How ChatGPT’s Design Led to a Teenager’s Death* GrapheneOS calls out Sameer* The Purism Librem 5 and the Six Year Refund* [URGENT] DEF CON Researcher Exposes How Password Managers Betray Your Trust* So.. I kind of Revived a Dead Game..Appreciate the shout-outs!As well, as Gabriel notes above, there’s also a sense of dehumanization at play. Many of us ‘non-normies’ have been dehumanized during the great gaslighting Covid campaign. To be misunderstood is one thing, but to be treated as someone undeserving of basic dignity is difficult to endure, even for the more mentally resilientBut I understand why Gabe would feel that taking time for himself was selfish or greedy. It’s crazy that doing nothing in a calm, peaceful place has been labeled an extravagance, a privilege or a luxury. Simply being is why we exist. It’s our Goddess-given right. The words health and self are similar. Whenever we do something for our own mental, spiritual or physical health, we’re giving that gift to everyone.More from SubstackWeight loss updates: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

Hello friends of the Libre Solutions Network, It has been some time since I’ve published a video recap and I am pleased to finally bring one for the Summer. I hope you’ll enjoy this update on my latest initiatives and recent content.UpdatesWebsite* New vanity address for the Tor hidden service lsnonion2dv35xqlfv2batqdhyasi7oa734h7t4z2py43de4wb6jlyad.onion* I would recommend bookmarking the new address via the Tor Browser.RSS Reader projectI really would like your feedback on what features are essential for a desktop RSS reader to have in 2025! I am not a designer, so UX suggestions are very much valued. I want this project to be built for making the open web a first-class contender with other media systems. The more feedback I get early on, the better this can be in the long run.Help me build the best desktop RSS client!XMRchatYou can now leave tip messages via XMRChat Feel free to browse the repository for XMRchat. XMRchats will be read and answered in the next relevant piece or recap, whichever comes first!Collaboration Announcement“Gabriel has been a close friend and collaborator for years now, and I'm honoured to make official the outsized role he's played in shaping the vision of White Rose Intelligence,” said Sturgess. “We and everyone in the civil liberties space will benefit greatly from Gabriel's passion and commitment to digital autonomy as we build tools to empower citizens to advocate for their own liberty.”Personal noteI’ve hit a major weight loss milestone of 200lbs down from my high of over 570. That mission has definitely impacted the Libre Solutions Network as a project, but I’m grateful to have made so much progress. I am optimistic that with enough support, I can really go full-throttle into making the Libre Solutions Network an impactful project for digital autonomy.Items of InterestGiveWP Data leak* Data Leak at Corbett Report (and Many Other Sites)!* Compromised Donor Emails: A post-mortem What Information Was Exposed (and What Was Not)* Troy hunt on GiveWP* Github Discussion* Email aliasing guides:* Privacy Guides* The New OilID verification and Digital ID* EU Digital ID - Do not add Google Play Integrity integration* EU Age Verification App Repository* Discussion* Age Verification Laws: Privacy Trojan Horse* Privacy Guard: You Don’t Need to Scan My Drivers LicenseThe Fine Details* GrapheneOS - Devices lacking standard privacy/security patches and protections aren’t private* The Future is NOT Self-Hosted* I’m never going back to MatrixNotable Mentions* ChatGPT-Induced Psychosis* For privacy and security, think twice before granting AI access to your personal data* Amazon Acquires Bee, the AI Wearable That Hears Everything You Say* Fair Access to Banking: Why do Banks get to decide what you can buy?* EFF: Atlas of Surveillance* Samourai Wallet Developers Plead Guilty To Unlicensed Money Transmission* Curate your own newspaper with RSSRecent ItemsPrevious Recaps This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

This is a great conversation with Anti Moonboy a highly knowledgeable Monero advocate also known as Xenu on X. It was a pleasure to be joined by a knowledgeable and passionate cyber rebel to discuss many things including his latest manifesto Darknet Market Maximalism. In our conversation we touch on the wider cryptocurrency discussion as well as the finer points of decentralization and privacy.If you’re interested in staying up to date on Monero and other topics Anti Moonboy News is a phenomenal resource. Please consider following Anti Moonboy through his site’s RSS feed, but you can also check out his channels on YouTube, Rumble, and Odysee.RelatedLinks & Resources:* Coinbase says hackers bribed staff to steal customer data and are demanding $20 million ransom* ‘Wrench attacks’ subject some cryptocurrency holders to violence, kidnapping* Self-hosting tools:* YunoHost* LibreServer* Start9* Michael Saylor suggests selling kidneys as bitcoin dips below $80K* Attacked of the Poisoned Outputs* Geopolitics & Empire: Bitcoin’s Rise & Its Future Role…Tulip Mania or Digital Gold?* Sam Bankman Fried and his empty boxes.* The Zano Conspiracy: Hijacking Privacy | Notes* Anti Moonboy News 32 - Spy Nodes* Anti Moonboy News 9 - “How is Zano being used today?”* XMRChat* Nostr* XMRBazaar* Mitra | Repository This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

This conversation is an opportunity to learn from Simplified Privacy, an organization that works to put decentralization in practice. It was a pleasure to talk with Shadow from the team to dig deep into the challenges involved with privacy for fun and profit. This was a great opportunity to compare notes on the bleeding edge of decentralization and privacy tools and the practical realities of putting it to use. There are a lot of important questions to ask and lots of fine points to consider.You can follow Simplified Privacy on Nostr to get connected.They also have podcasts and videos on a variety of privacy & decentralization topics.For those looking to peer deeper into the systems, you can also browse their public code repositories.Relevant links:* New Canadian Legislation against privacy* Self-hosting your own media considered harmful (Updated)* YouTube Considers This Software “Harmful or Dangerous”* Fight the System? Or Exit the System?* AKSHUALLY! You Should ALWAYS Use A VPN! - The Hated One* Researchers catch Meta apps abusing Android to track sensitive browsing history* On the jabber.ru MITM attack* Critical MOVEit vulnerability puts huge swaths of the Internet at severe risk* The Signal Clone the Trump Admin Uses Was HackedRelated This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

We return to the Digital Autonomy series to take a close look at our role in participating in today’s information landscape. It is an honor and a pleasure to be joined by James Corbett of the Corbett Report to dig into this topic in detail. James brings his vast experience as an independent researcher and alternative media voice. We discuss the evolving digital landscape as well as the pressing concerns around artificial intelligence tools. Independent voices and audiences themselves face unprecedented challenges to make the most of the opportunities of our time.Consider taking this as an opportunity to reevaluate how you want to engage online. It has never been more clear that our time on corporate platforms is on borrowed time. You can consider trying out decentralized discovery like the Fediverse or nostr, but you can even just bookmark sites you find important and valuable. We all have a role to play in shaping the future of the information landscape, and our choices matter.Learn moreLinks discussed:* CIA mines ‘rich’ content from blogs* Open Source Journalism* Mission Un-Accomplished? The Corbett Report Back on YouTube* AntennaPod* The Corbett Report . . . Now on IPFS!* No, RSS isn’t dead!* Twitter founder Jack Dorsey said he’s ‘partially to blame’ for centralizing the Internet and that he regrets it* Decentralization in Action: Odysee Welcomes the Independent Media Alliance to Portal* Independent Media Alliance.opml* A Grayjay Review* Self-hosting your own media considered harmful (updated)* YouTube Considers This Software “Harmful or Dangerous”* The Internet Is Dead. Long Live the Internet.* We Need To Talk About AI* Neil Postman on Technopoly (1992)* Shopify CEO says AI use for work a ‘fundamental expectation’ for all employees* The Illusion of Thinking: Understanding the Strengths and Limitations of Reasoning Models via the Lens of Problem Complexity* Can AI be Aligned with Human Values?* AI Mania - Nobody Special* Roko’s Basilisk: The “Banned” Thought Experiment You Might Regret Reading About This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

I would like to introduce you to Zachary Boissinot. A great Canadian who is passionate about health and people’s autonomy. I joined Zach to discuss what it’s been like for him a personal trainer and owner of a gym. Recently I’ve begun to make progress on my own weight loss journey thanks in big part to his instruction. We touch on some of the recent challenges people are facing, as well as potential concerns of how health data can be misused. I hope you’ll find our conversation worth diving into.The Digital Autonomy Series is where I try to have conversations to ‘bridge the gap’ between technical minds and the real concerns people have in their daily lives. The goal is to build some understanding of the pressing issues related to how our digital experience impacts different domains of life. By learning from others with a solid understanding in one of those areas, we can begin to imagine how a better digital future would actually work.Zachary runs A Foot Above Fitness a gym with an excellent community and it’s a pleasure to be a part of it. There’s something uniquely inspiring about a community of people being so forthcoming with kindness and encouragement. Even if you’re not local, there’s a lot that can be learned from his example. You can also get connected through either Facebook or Instagram. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to a the first (of many) iteration of Tool Tuesday, a new format where I show off a free and open source tool I actually use and find useful. Today’s episode is about Logseq, a knowledge management tool. Logseq is fully Free Software. Logseq is a great privacy-first option that supports all the major platforms; Windows, MacOS, Linux, as well as Android & iOS. I’ve only scratched the surface of what makes it useful, so I hope you feel enticed to dive in. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

You can taste the palpable salty feeling from the US Federal Government having to tell citizens they should use encrypted communications. After ages of fighting citizen’s right to private communications from the very beginning, it seems that desperate measures must be taken to prevent foreign adversaries from having access to sensitive information. This is a radical departure from the top-down message of “nothing to hide, nothing to fear.”Telecommunications BreachSince 2022, a hacking group presumably linked to the Chinese government categorized as “Salt Typhoon” have gained incredibly sensitive access to telecommunications infrastructure all over the world. This has recently escalated, to there being evidence of targeted spying on both 2024 presidential candidates.What’s most troubling about this breach, is that it also included the “lawful access” backdoor wiretaps. So not only are everyone’s sensitive communications vulnerable in specific contexts, but also by anyone with the capabilities of leveraging Salt Typhoon’s intrusion. Currently, there is no announced timeline for this being addressed. There’s not a whole lot of reason to be optimistic. Last month, a Senate Judiciary Committee discussed just how logistically challenging it is to address this issue.Never Let A Crisis Go To WasteNaturally this kind of disaster is a great pretext for governments to push sweeping changes in impacted industries. At minimum, we can expect massive changes to be driven in cybersecurity, telecommunications, and hardware manufacturers. While many of these changes are long overdue, with security professionals rejoicing, others are not so benign.This massive breach itself can be used as a rallying cry to consolidate control over digital products, companies, and even entire digital ecosystems. As the cyber security industry has advanced, the line between “cyber” and human problems becomes quite blurry. Serious concerns, like transnational repression can potentially be weaponized against subsets of the population. What’s more is that almost any aspect of what people currently take for granted as “digital freedom” can evaporate away as ’national security’ interests take priority.I am not so naive to believe this is the long-overdue wake-up-call to governments that their citizen’s security matters. If anything, this is a rallying cry for control freaks to demand more top-down micromanagement of all things technological. Instead of working on strategies from the ground up to create a truly resilient and secure digital landscape, these concerns will be leveraged to seize even more control over the World Wide Web. We have the opportunity to push for a different direction, but time is vanishingly short.Re-Introducing Civilian-based Cyber DefenseOriginally, I introduced the idea in Good Governance in Cyberspace: Digital Freedom Policy Framework for Policies for the People. The idea is inspired by the idea of Civilian-Based Defense, which is a fascinating model for society-wide resilience and freedom. Bringing civilian-based defense to cyberspace is likely to be much more effective than any top-down approach and can radically transform our digital landscape for the better.The Structural Basis of FreedomWhen power is effectively diffused throughout the society among strong loci, the rulers’ power is most likely subjected to controls and limits, thus enabling the society to resist oppression, usurpation, and aggression. This condition is associated with political “freedom” When, on the other hand, such loci have been seriously weakened or their independence of action has been destroyed, when the subjects are all equally impotent and the society’s power has become highly centralized, then the rulers’ power will most likely be uncontrolled. This condition is associated with “tyranny.”It is no accident that past totalitarian systems have attempted either to eliminate all independent groups or to subject them to full control by the party or state. Ultimately therefore, freedom is not something that rulers “give” their subjects. Nor, in the long run, do the formal institutional structures and procedures of the government (as, for example, may be laid out in the constitution) by themselves determine the degree of freedom or the limits of the rulers’ power.A society may in fact be more free or more oppressed than the formal constitutional or legal arrangements would indicate. Instead, the extent and intensity of the rulers’ power and the actual degree of freedom of the society will be set by the strength of the subjects and the condition of: the institutions of the whole society. The rulers’ power and the degree of the society’s freedom may in turn, be expanded or contracted by the interplay between the actions of the rulers and those of the subjects: some rulers may choose not to be as oppressive as the structural condition permits, and other rulers may receive more support than the structural condition requires, making them more powerful.Increases in the rulers’ power are directly or indirectly determined, on the one hand, by the willingness of the subjects to accept the rulers, to obey to cooperate and to carry out their orders and wishes. On the other hand, reductions in the rulers’ power are determined by the subjects’ unwillingness to accept the rulers, coupled with their ability to disobey, to withhold cooperation, to defy orders, and to refuse demands made upon them.The degree of liberty or tyranny in any political society is, it follows, largely a reflection of the relative determination of the subjects to be free, of their willingness and ability to organize themselves to live in freedom and, very importantly, their ability to resist any efforts to dominate or enslave them. In other words, the population can use the society itself as the means to establish and defend its freedom. Social power, not technological means of destruction, is the strongest guarantor of human freedom.Civilian-based Defense - A Post-Military Weapons System: Page 32This maps directly onto our digital experience. The Free Software movement has demonstrated the incredible potential of building solutions that put power in the hands of the user. By building verifiable, open and transparent systems more people can collaborate to innovate on genuine solutions to pressing problems. The Open Source model of development has been so powerful that even giant mega-corporations have adopted it (in part or in full) for their needs. True digital decentralization requires a hard look at how our devices are manufactured, built, and repaired. The entire “lifecycle” of the devices we use is filled with opportunities for genuine advancement.Devices and software built with this in consideration can radically lower the “technical knowledge” barrier required for everyone to comfortably navigate. Many of our current challenges are precisely caused by the present condition of so much consolidated control over digital technology. I would encourage the future cyber rebels in our midst to consider building for the future we all want. Instead of corporate or state requirements driving innovation in this space, people can take on the challenge of learning to construct within new paradigms and discover novel approaches. The beauty of programmable circuits is that their potential is very often more constrained by our imagination than physics.Everyone needs to consider who we are empowering when we allow nations to seize control over the digital landscape in the name of keeping us safe. Are we truly protecting ourselves from digital threats when we accept governments and corporations dictating our digital futures to us? If we do accept ceding more and more control in the name of safety, how can that control inevitably be abused? What should we focus on when it seems that our entire future is highly intertwined with present changes in the digital landscape?I ask these questions aloud because there are no simple answers, only urgent lines of inquiry. More study, less complacency is the way out of digital totalitarianism. More passion, less apathy is what we need to truly push back against nefarious forces. I’m convinced that the public does have the qualities to build a much better technological future, all that’s required is some effort and creativity. In these times, this can’t be more urgent. If we desire strong freedoms within and without our societies, a much stronger emphasis on bottom-up problem-solving is required. The nature of cyberwarfare is that there aren’t really battle lines, merely troubles that come for us all, in one form or another. Governments and corporations will take care of themselves, but who’s thinking about everyday people? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

GrapheneOS writes to Unplugged: (Emphasis mine)No, you created it to make money. You do not believe in anything beyond making money. You’ve marketed your products with highly inaccurate privacy and security claims including claiming it’s impenetrable.You are scamming people, and spreading misinformation about an open source project further contributes to it.The past history of many of the people involved in your company didn’t get erased through creating a new one.You aren’t on the same side as us and the deeper you dig, the more of a response there’s going to be from us. You are not our allies, and you are not bringing people privacy and security. You’re grifters.What?Alright, let’s rewind a bit. GrapheneOS is an open source custom operating system for Android devices (in the Pixel line) that “de-googles” the device and provides a wide variety of security and privacy features. Unplugged is a “private smartphone” company founded by the Blackwater founder Erik Prince.The above exchange began when Pierre Chang on X asked Unplugged what makes their phone more secure than GrapheneOS, tagging them.GrapheneOS then replied with:Where do they make any claim about GrapheneOS?It’s an ARMv8.2 MediaTek Dimensity 1200 SoC device running a non-hardened fork of the Android Open Source Project. The hardware/firmware doesn’t come close to meeting our security requirements, and it’s not a hardened OS.To translate this a bit. Android Open Source Project (AOSP) is the base foundation that all android-based systems are built on top of. It initially doesn’t include Google and other bloatware, but vendors tend to add that on. As GrapheneOS states, hardware and firmware matter a great deal when it comes to security, so getting it right is important. They also claim that the Unplugged phone’s operating system LibertOS isn’t hardened. In this context hardened means making specific modifications to improve security.What’s interesting to note is that in this exchange, Unplugged doesn’t attack GrapheneOS in their weakest point: dependence on Google manufactured hardware. It’s possible that they don’t do this because they don’t want people taking too close a look at their own hardware choices.They get close in this exchange where GrapheneOS replies to Unplugged defending their firmware.When using GrapheneOS (or any other custom ROM), Google driver binaries are required, but Google does not provide any commitments regarding data collection or privacy in this code.This claim about data collection / privacy for the firmware or drivers isn’t accurate. Additionally, you use a MediaTek SoC device with proprietary MediaTek firmware and drivers, and they aren’t known for having good security. The hardware, firmware and driver security of the devices we’re supporting is much better, not worse as you’re making it seem.As a side note, GrapheneOS is an operating system. The term ROM isn’t accurate and we don’t want it to be referred to as such. It’s a fork of the Android Open Source Project like the stock OS on any Android device.Unplugged makes the argument that their product is important because the GrapheneOS web installer is too difficult for much of the general population. You can watch Mental Outlaw demonstrate the process and judge for yourself. Regardless of the overall difficulty, would it not be better to have a trusted friend or relative give you assistance rather than settle for a potentially inferior product? In fact if one wants the privacy and security guarantees of GrapheneOS, you can always buy a pre-flashed version from a provider like Above Phone …but that does require putting trust in that provider.Back in July in response to a podcast, GrapheneOS wrote:Unplugged has simply doubled down on false claims about GrapheneOS security, pretending people cannot buy devices with GrapheneOS installed and pretending it’s hard to install along with promoting their blatantly insecure products with false marketing.…They keep pushing the false claim that Pixels supporting using another OS makes them less secure. The reality is that it’s properly implemented in a secure way without adding any significant attack surface. The bottom of the barrel MediaTek Unplugged devices have awful security.They still haven’t ported to the initial release of Android 14 with Android 15 right around the corner. This means they’re missing at least around a year of Moderate severity privacy/security patches and huge privacy/security improvements from the past year of Android releases.Unplugged is using an SoC from MediaTek, a company known to have poor security practices, which fares poorly against real attackers and which has a history of repeatedly shipping actual backdoors. They’re trying to portray that as more trustworthy and more secure hardware. Nope.Unplugged was founded by Erik Prince, noted war criminal and illegal arms dealer. They make a point in talking about the involvement of their employees in enabling these kinds of operationsThat doesn’t imply competence, but explains the lack of ethics.They’re trying to present themselves as if they were leaders in the field and switched sides, but they never were and simply want money.Unplugged is an affinity scam in the same vein as the Freedom Phone. At least Freedom Phone doesn’t seem to try to harm open source projects.Unplugged has built their product out of open source projects, but without complying with the licenses from projects like DivestOS and while trying to harm open source. Claiming to be in the process of replacing some of the code they were caught stealing doesn’t change much…Now that’s the root of the teachable moment here. What is an affinity scam? In short, it’s when people create a scheme to profit off values without actually “walking the walk”. At worst, it is a deliberate attack on a particular group of people that masquerades as “one of them”. It happens to all kinds of groups and movements, and the privacy and security space is no exception.It’s really worth asking why so many targeted operations end up having severe data breaches. Is it really too crazy to believe that in this day and age, cyberwarfare is just part of politics? Even Exxon is being investigated for allegedly hiring hackers to go after environmentalists.We are in serious trouble if we can expect huge amounts of money to go into undermining people’s security. At minimum, it means everyone has to be a lot more careful about recommendations from media figures and personalities. This is one of the major reasons I am in no rush to sell any products. I don’t inherently believe that commercial success is impossible while providing good security, but I consider that bar extremely high.This is largely because nothing exists in a vacuum. If one company does everything they can to be the best they can be, they can still lose. We don’t have a “perfect market” when it comes to digital security. Because a large portion of the public aren’t very knowledgeable about the issues, it creates opportunities for them to be taken advantage of. A company that spends a majority of it’s time buying PR and marketing will inherently out-compete one that actually invests in the technical merits, all else being equal. But all things aren’t equal, many institutions and private interests have a great deal to gain from undermining people’s security.This is why Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) is a pre-requisite for genuine advancements in privacy & security. By delivering solid software or hardware as a public good, it is much easier for more parties to test and validate any claims, especially security. Despite what many believe, refusing to compromise on Software & Hardware freedom doesn’t mean making money is impossible, it just means you have to take a radically different approach. My personal suspicion these days, is that the “Unix Philosophy” of “Do one thing, and do it well” can do a lot of good. Instead of single-handedly trying to completely transform the smartphone market all at once, maybe it’s better to focus on a single component and delivering it in a robust verifiable way.This ultimately brings me to my own objection to the Unplugged phone on a very conceptual level. They pre-load some interesting software options with the phone. With their own dedicated VPN/Messenger/Antivirus and Store apps, it really makes you wonder how much of your life you’re trusting to them. Are we supposed to believe that while using sub-standard hardware (according to GrapheneOS), they’ve managed to somehow deliver the best secure Messenger/VPN & antivirus without any problems whatsoever? Call me skeptical.Can smartphones be safe?There really does seem to be a pattern of inferior options being promoted by slick marketing and alternative media. Even the Brax2 phone was no exception. People want to believe there are simple ways to avoid all the pitfalls of our modern digital environment, but that’s not possible. Everything involves trade-offs or sacrifice when one is trying to make meaningful progress. When one doesn’t understand these trade-offs they can fall prey to outright deceptive claims and become ensnared in something far more malevolent than even the defaults.This is a big part of the reason why this project is about trying to build understanding and context to these problems. Meaningful improvements are possible and within reach, they just require seriousness and dedication. One of the most important steps of all is building up more independent security research. This requires a great deal of funding, education, and promotion for those who either have the skills, or are able to learn them. Anything we can do to bankroll independent security research will go a long way to answering the questions we have about how to move forward.TL:DRI wouldn’t recommend buying the Unplugged phone and still see GrapheneOS as the gold-standard for smartphone security. It’s important to remember that a great deal of interests have sophisticated means and a huge desire to undermine your security. Tread lightly, and always double-check your assumptions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gaberocks.substack.comCyber Fix is a show to provide entertaining and insightful analysis of developments in Cyberspace. This broadcast is made for the explicit purpose of supporting the Libre Solutions Network project as a whole. As a paid subscriber you get access to full episodes!StoriesPlatform Peril* Telegram Changes Policy, Says It Will Provide User Data to Authorities* Si…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gaberocks.substack.comCyber Fix is BACK!I have a lot on the go at the moment but I’m glad I was able to put this together and I hope you appreciate the return of Cyber Fix! As always I front-load the show with pressing news and a solutions roundup so nobody is missing out on vital intelligence. In the second part I try to share more of my analysis of ongoing trends.This proj…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gaberocks.substack.comWelcome to Cyber Fix, your dopamine-infused tech news update.My name is Gabriel, here to help get other information junkies up to speed with important tech news. Stay tuned for a light-hearted exploration of hostile cyberspace and what we can do about it.Tech Disasters* Hackers leak 2.7 billion data records with Social Security numbers* Inside the “3 Billio…

I had a great conversation with Michael Ginsburg of Actionable Truth Media discussing how people are manipulated into supporting fake decentralization or fake solutions to pressing technological troubles. If you enjoyed our conversations you can visit his website at actionabletruth.media or on his own Substack.The Musk Operation (X)We briefly touch on how many people are falling into the cult of personality around Elon Musk, ultimately empowering Musk to have more control over their digital lives. Rallying around false saviors has a high opportunity cost in the best case scenario, and makes one complicit in all manner of concerns the worst case.Web3 TechnocracyWhile the Odysee team seems to be making an admirable effort taking action against censorship, there is reason to be concerned with the finer details. When one takes a close look at the “web3” ecosystem, many red flags come into view. Regardless of how one feels about the SEC decision, there are good reasons to take a close look at what new direction Odysee is taking. I’m quite hard on blockchain projects these days, you can see some of that in my earlier mini Q&A with Michael. This conversation was in some ways motivated by my desire to dig deeper into the questions raised at the time. * The End of LBRY Inc.* What Happened To LBRY & Odysee?* The SEC Burned LBRY to the Ground* Ruling* FAQ concerning Odysee’s new tech* Odysee moving from Ads* Fiat monetization for creators* Meet Arweave: Permanent information storage.* Additionally, persons in the US will not be able to mint $AO tokens via bridging to the network.* World Economic Forum - Crypto, What Is It Good For?* Forward Research, what is Arweave AO* Arweave AO economics* Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN)One of my principle concerns is that the “Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks” (DePIN) buzzword is a term to market the “tokenization” of every facet of life. Most concerningly, there seems to be a desire to use so-called “decentralization” (even if in name only) as a means to eschew responsibility and accountability.Michael raised the concern around Internet shutdowns. In whole or in part, internet shutdowns are a recurring phenomenon as governments seize control during times of unrest. World-wide accessible communication is a vitally important objective for those who care about a free and open Internet. In our conversation Michael explores how an internet shutdown could be used to manufacture consent for various policies such as digital ID. Currently, it seems like the primary use of internet blackouts is to quell dissent.What Can We Do?Disconnect from Big Tech:Rebuilding the Foundations:Don’t Miss Your Cyber Fix! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gaberocks.substack.comCyber Fix is a show to provide entertaining and insightful analysis of developments in Cyberspace. This broadcast is made for the explicit purpose of supporting the Libre Solutions Network project as a whole. As a paid subscriber you get access to full episodes!If you like Cyber Fix, I’d really appreciate your feedback!Example PSA: Backups

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gaberocks.substack.comCyber Fix is a show to provide entertaining and insightful analysis of developments in Cyberspace. This broadcast is made for the explicit purpose of supporting the Libre Solutions Network project as a whole. As a subscriber you get access to full episodes!In Case You Missed It: Episode 3Links DiscussedWacky tech news:* $2,350 Amazon ‘Astro’ Business Robo…

In this conversation, I join The Starfire Codes by Demi Pietchell to learn from her experience as someone with a long career in online media. Demi is a fascinating kindhearted woman with a real flair for memes and metaphysics. We touch on many concerns such as community dynamics, censorship, the loss of coherence online, and even how that impacts artistic and intellectual creatives. I hope you enjoy listening to us unwind the madness and learn more about how we can all shape our online social environment for the better. It’s good to remember that even non-technical details about online interactions can have massive impacts on how conversations are able to take place.Featured WorksRelatedSpecial ThanksThank you to Margaret Anna Alice for the introduction. I had an fantastic time and greatly appreciate a chance to discuss these issues with others who stand up against tyranny.Some may not know that Margaret is a repeat guest on this series!Join the discussion This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

I had the honor and pleasure to speak with Sam Smith about the new operating system he’s building: Serenum. We had a conversation about what motivated him to build this system, plans for the future, and where this all meets the bigger picture.Now more than ever, it’s time to seriously look closer at the fundamentals of our technological landscape and Sam has done the hard work of building something that could be the beginning of a solid new foundation to build on. For those who want to really advance their technical skills, it’s a great chance to seize the opportunity to understand computers at a very sophisticated level. Even for those among us who aren’t ‘computer wizards’, this project should represent a ray of hope in an otherwise tragically bleak digital experience. When it comes to forging a new path, I believe that making technology truly personal is something that can be a real game-changer. Even if one isn’t able to engage with or directly support this project, some of the fundamental principles are worth understanding to be aware of just how different things can be.This project is fascinating for many reasons, but especially because it’s a call to action for those who wish to start truly innovating for the future. Many programmers, especially inexperienced ones can become intimidated by “low level” development, feeling filtered by complexity and lost in a labyrinth of extremely technical documentation.The Serenum project is an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of an exciting new frontier to take one’s technological knowledge to a new level. At the very least, let this conversation to be a reminder to stay curious, push the boundaries of your knowledge, and take the time to truly gain mastery over circuitry.This is not about us putting all our hopes entirely on Sam’s shoulders. Some may be inspired to get involved, others may be moved to begin their own parallel pursuits. This is a real chance for those who want to develop critically important technological skills to observe what it takes to forge a new path. If you’d like to learn more about the Serenum operating system, you can take a look at the latest release. Interested in more technical background details? Take a look at his original demo and follow-up Q&A.Keep up with Sam’s work at: Twitch, YouTube, or join the discussion on Discord.This is an ambitious project, which in its own right is worth celebrating. I highly recommend thinking seriously about having reasonable expectations for what you intend to get out of this. If you feel you have the desire, time, and patience you may want to consider getting your hands on the hardware. You can do so at taberna.shop.Other from scratch operating systems you may have heard of, or be curious about are:* Redox* SerenityOS* ReactOS* ToaruOS* TempleOS This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gaberocks.substack.comI hope you find the show informative as well as fun. The goal here is to help out fellow information junkies without taking it too seriously. Stay tuned for a lighthearted exploration of hostile cyberspace and what we can do about it.In Case You Missed It: Episode 2This Episode was recorded on July 6th 2024 and discussed:Internet of Terrors:RockYou2024: 10 billion passwords leaked in the largest compilation of all timeNew Android Spyware Steals Data from Gamers and TikTok UsersI Will F**king Piledrive You If You Mention AI AgainRoot Your Sleep Number Smart Bed, Discover It Phoning HomeBats Can No Longer Haunt Apple VR Headsets Via Web ExploitCybercriminals Are Targeting Digital Identity of Singapore CitizensFighting Bots is Fighting HumansAlt-Tech Updates:Telegram says it has ‘about 30 engineers’; security experts say that’s a red flagWhat Manifest V3 means for Brave Shields and the use of extensions in the Brave browserProton launches free, privacy-focused Google Docs alternativeNaomi Brockwell on signal desktop issue📢 Update: Statement by Meredith Whittaker (President of Signal Foundation)1. The reported issues rely on an attacker already having *full access to your device* — either physically, through a malware compromise, or via a malicious application running on the same device. This is not something that Signal, or any other app, can fully protect against. Nor do we ever claim to. 2. We continue working to harden our desktop build across supported operating systems and take advantage of new platform capabilities as they emerge. Those of you following our repo can follow this work there.Problems with X:Hack of Age Verification Company Shows Privacy Danger of Social Media LawsX Re-Joins Pro-Censorship Advertisers’ AllianceSolutions Roundup:Sustainability and Standards: We Need To Talk About Building Censorship Circumvention InfrastructureCelebrating 1 year of MakerTube Public RegistrationsUsing LM Studio to Run LLMs Easily, Locally and PrivatelyAnnouncing the Ladybird Browser InitiativeMusic Credits:Y&V - LuneValcos - A New LightKillercats - KaibuMy Path - Next RouteMore Episodes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gaberocks.substack.comWelcome to the second episode of Cyber Fix a show to provide entertaining and insightful analysis of developments in Cyberspace. This broadcast is for the explicit purpose of supporting the Libre Solutions Network (this project) as a whole.In Case You Missed It: Episode 1To Celebrate the launch of this show I’m offering permanent discounts to those who sign up, for a limited time.Links Discussed:Data and Government:No Data Protection, No DemocracyMy health information has been stolen. Now what?A Rising Enforcement of CensorshipPolice love Google’s surveillance data. Here’s how to protect yourself.Cryptographers’ Feedback on the EU Identity Wallet45 Projects Receiving New NGI Zero GrantsLocation Data:One of the major sellers of detailed driver behavioral data is shutting downLocation Tracker Firm Tile Hit by Data Breach, Hackers Access Internal ToolsEmail:Microsoft: New Outlook security changes coming to personal accountsAI Nonsense:Maven Imported 1.12 Million Fediverse PostsPerplexity AI Is Lying about Their User AgentThe AI industry is a grift so big that it's really hard to explain it to people not familiar with the tech industry.Payoff from AI projects is 'dismal', biz leaders complainAI Detectors Get It Wrong. Writers Are Being Fired AnywayOpenAI just hired the guy who was in charge of mass surveillance at the NSA.Human Brains Can Tell Deepfake Voices From Real OnesWorkplaceWells Fargo Fires Employees Over "Mouse Jigglers"Music Credits:Y&V - LuneValcos - A New LightKillercats - Kaibu@SavkMusic - The Traveling SymphonyGhostrifterOfficial - Resurgence

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit gaberocks.substack.comWelcome to the first episode of Cyber Fix a show to provide entertaining and insightful analysis of developments in Cyberspace. This broadcast is for the explicit purpose of supporting the Libre Solutions Network project as a whole. To Celebrate the launch of this show I’m offering permanent discounts to those who sign up for a limited time.Premium, But Not ExclusiveAs a way of walking the walk I’m experimenting with a bleeding-edge mitra feature that allows for premium subscriptions over the fediverse via monero. If you’d like to participate you can also get the full broadcast by subscribing here.Music Credits* Y&V - Lune* Valcos - A New Light* Killercats - KaibuLinks Discussed * A PR disaster: Microsoft has lost trust with its users, and Windows Recall is the straw that broke the camel's back* Microsoft is reworking Recall after researchers point out its security problems* This Recall thing is a prime example of how bad we are at understanding when something is a systemic problem.* Turns out speaking out works.* Adobe becomes spyware* Adobe Clarifies Users Retain Copyright of Their Creative Works* Apple gives Siri an AI makeover* How Apple Wi-Fi Positioning System can be abused to track people around the globe* Celebrity TikTok Accounts Compromised Using Zero-Click Attack via DMs* Data Leak Exposes Business Leaders and Top Celebrity Data* Pop Culture Passwords Most Likely to Get You Hacked, New Study* GOG will let you bequeath your game library to someone else as long as you can prove you're actually dead

Updates:I’m planning on moving future “items of interest” to a new show all together. I will continue publishing monthly recaps to keep people up to date on what I’m up to, but news and interesting links will now be moved to a new show. Future monthly recaps will include clips from recent interviews and any follow-up considerations.New Show Coming SoonI’m planning on taking the links I allready compile to track important updates regularly into a (hopefully) entertaining and informative audio broadcast. The hope is that the few items that do require a visual component can be made into their own stand-alone videos. I will be producing the show on a bi-weekly (once every two weeks) basis for paid subscribers. If you’ve found my assortment of links interesting in the past, or want to give a little to get a little, now is the best time to lock in your support and get access to the upcoming show!Help me find a name!I haven’t come up with a name yet, but if somebody can come up with one I like faster than I can I’ll be happy to gift them a free year. I want it to be catchier than “The Libre Solutions Network” that skill synergizes my passion for technology and freedom. This show will include all the same news and interesting links I share regularly.This is NOT Substack exclusive, but it is premiumIf you’re a keener for decentralization and eager to walk the walk the radio show is also going to be available as a Mitra subscription paid in Monero at a substantial discount. If this option gains traction, I’ll consider more supporter only posts on the fediverse.Recent ItemsItems of Interest* 25 Years of Krita!I don’t personally use Krita myself, but it’s incredible to see how far this open source painting program has come!* Federation of FreedomFedfree is a website aimed at teaching people how to run their own servers, of various kinds, on libre operating systems e.g. Linux and BSD. It aims to do this, using libre software exclusively, teaching people about the importance of libre software and hardware as it pertains to freedom; the right to use, study, adapt, share. The right to read. Universal access to knowledge… education. Education is the goal.I’m excited to see this relatively new resource grow!* Blogging on a budgetThis is a good overview of inexpensive ways to start self-publishing immediately.* Linux TLDRAnother good web resource on Linux, with a bit more content.* Browser Privacy TestsMore than you ever wanted to know to compare different browsers.* Introducing 'innernet'A fascinating project aimed at making private networks (innernets) work well for small communities. I am convinced that tools like this are a vital part overcoming ongoing challenges.* Review of Reputable, Functional, and Secure Email ServiceThis is a great overview that lays out the thought process of comparing different mail providers.I’m a huge fan of ‘Nobody Special’ and this is a must-watch explanation of how much of the AI hype cycle is manufactured. Taking this into consideration explains a lot of bizarre behavior by corporations and ‘influencers’.* All credit card PIN numbers in the World leaked”I think to the degree that PINs and passwords exist at all in the future, they need to tolerate large lengths. The security provided by a 4-digit pin is becoming vanishingly small. I would love to see institutions and services adopt different authentication methods that aren’t inherently centralized.* No, I don’t want to fill out your contact formA good list of reasons why contact forms are generally a bad solution. * You Can Now Bridge Fediverse and Bluesky Accounts I connected my accounts, the fediverse grows! This is excellent because it means that fediverse users can effectively opt-out of Bluesky’s ranking and filtering nonsense.* Modernizing the AntennaPod Code StructureThe video is worth the watch, such a huge undertaking for one of my favorite apps!* Ottawa wants the power to create secret backdoors in our networks to allow for surveillanceI’ve added this link to cyberfreedom.ca. Every time I see one of these stories I hope that people recognize that there is a coordinated push all over the world to vastly enhance internet censorship and surveillance.* Going Dark: The war on encryption is on the rise. Through a shady collaboration between the US and the EU.* AWS confirms it will launch European ‘sovereign cloud’ in Germany by 2025, plans €7.8B investment over 15 years* Jeremy Hunt bets on creating a $1tn ‘British Microsoft’* No One Should Have That Much PowerThis is a must-read refutation of the logic behind measures such as introducing back-doors, dragnet surveillance and dragnet surveillance.* Messenger WarsTelegram, Signal, Session Oh My! There’s been a lot of back-and-forth about fighting over various messenging apps. I would argue there is no single perfect messenging app. The best solution in my opinion is to use the most secure application with the people you interact with.* Why I Don't Trust Matrix Developers to Produce a Secure ProtocolThis is a technical post raising concerns about matrix’s end-to-end encryption capabilities. In my opinion this is where avoiding hostile cyberspace is paramount, if you host a server with trusted contacts the risk is minized. Of course, I sincerely hope developers in the matrix ecosystem incorporate this feedback to make it even better.If we want a better technological landscape, we need to fund it ourselves. Brodie does an excellent job raising concerns about how the Linux foundation members choose to spend their money, and makes great suggestions on how to better support the linux desktop. * Fight for citizen’s right to use the Internet anonymouslyOnline anonymity is important, and it’s arguably one of the more effective safeguards against online tyranny.* Rightsholders Want U.S. “Know Your Customer” Proposal to Include Domain Name ServicesA concerning escalation regarding hosting providers, effectively making those who provide online services more vulnerable to retaliation from government and vigilantes alike.* Social media companies have too much political power, 78% of Americans say in Pew surveyIt is undeniable that large tech companies have an immense influence over public discussions. Personally, I would prefer we embrace attention democracy, rather than merely wish big tech can be compelled to play nice.* The Myth of Online RadicalisationOnline radicalization is often used as a pretext for more internet censorship and surveillance. It’s important to really take these problems head-on and take a close look at the details.* Proton Mail Discloses User Data Leading to Arrest in SpainI took the liberty of graphing Proton’s requests from governments. This was a great conversation about digital privacy as a whole. I’m a big fan of Naomi Brockwell and The Hated one has done some fantastic videos on a variety of topics.* Stack Overflow suspends user for editing posts in OpenAI protestI’m skeptical that these kind of ‘revolts’ are effective in general, but it’s an excellent example of nominally neutral cyberspace becoming more nefarious.* Troubling iOS 17.5 Bug Reportedly Resurfacing Old Deleted PhotosTalk about embarassing! It seems that nothing is really deleted unless you run a drill through it.* Why Your Wi-Fi Router Doubles as an Apple AirTagIs WiFi even worth it? One can start to wonder. Definitely worth keeping in mind. * Privacy, human rights, and Tornado CashMolly White does an excellent job striking at the root of the issue when it comes to privacy, decentralization and finance.* Valve says you aren't allowed to bequeath a Steam account in a willDespite having a lot of goodwill from gamers, Steam is still DRM (Digital Rights Management) software that has disappointing terms of service.Truthstream Media does phenomenal work. I’d highly recommend giving this documentary the time. Despite being made prior to the Covid Crisis, The Minds of Men is a fantastic timeless work. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

Many hands make light work. This is the essence behind the idea of Operation: Beehive which outlines how people can use various software collaboration tools for non-technical uses. Git by it’s nature is an offline-first collaborative tool, this perfectly models what the optimal offline/online balance should be for many activities.To maintain our digital autonomy, it’s crucial to find ways to collaborate without being locked behind cloud platforms or locked-in services. This requires working in completely different ways than how Big Tech has trained people to collaborate within their digital walls. In scouring the net for research and ideas, I stumbled on Gitnuro which is described as a “A FOSS Git multi-platform client for newbies and pros.”I hope you find this conversation with me and Abdelilah El Aissaoui illuminating and inspiring. It was a pleasure to discuss not only his project but also his experiences and what people can do to support excellent software like Gitnuro. If we want to change the technological landscape for the better, it requires is to put our money where our needs are and support independent developers and projects ourselves.Abeliah himself gives some excellent tips on what actions people can take. Even simple things like opening quality issues, donations, or even a written thanks can go a long way to reinvigorate their efforts. I hope that you may consider sponsoring Abdelilah on github, or any other Free Software project that suits you well! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

Join Gabriel & Liam Sturgess in a discussion taking a look at the video Canada Fell Behind on Digital ID by Canadian Civil. The video contrasts Canada’s government log-in systems against Australia’s RealMe single sign-on, making the argument that Canada should make changes. This video, presents an opportunity to learn from advocates for strong Digital ID systems, and to refine our understanding of the merits and pitfalls of that position.Take the opportunity to watch our response to Canadian Civil’s video. You’ll likely be surprised about how much you can learn by listening to fierce advocates on ’the other side’ on this issue and others. It is far better to be equipped with awareness of your opposition’s arguments, rather than to be disarmed by ignorance. We’ll encounter some of the very strong arguments behind changing the way Canada currently does things, but also our concerns about how that change may take place.Learn moreI’d highly recommend listening to this excellent podcast by Lily on the ongoing development of Digital Identity systems across the globe.* Identity is Yours, and Yours Alone - Microjourneys* Understanding the Risks of Digital IDs (PDF)* SDG16: Part 2 — Enforcing Digital Identity* Why Covid-19 is the perfect Privacy by Design case (By Stephan Engberg)* Alberta Searches for Digital ID Director Even as Premier Denies Program’s Existence* What is RealMe and why do people hate it so much?* Ministry of Health position statement on the management of unvaccinated individuals in healthcare settings* SMART Health Card* Dig It! #104: Digital ID, Blockchain & Databases* Episode 415 – The Global Digital ID Prison* Canada’s Conservatives Realize They Can’t Be Anti Digital ID and Pro Online Age Verification* Bill S-210 is Just the Beginning: How a Canadian Digital Lobby Group is Promoting a Standard to “Foster Widespread Adoption of Age Verification Technologies in Canada”Due to many technical issues during recording unfortunately the production quality is not as desired. Some cleanup was done, but my apologies for the overall visual quality. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

I don’t normally tune-in to the Unjected show. It turns out that the same day I published Lessons from Alt-Tech Failures, the same security researcher from 2022 just confirmed that Unjected is still insecure. What moved me to comment on this further is the fact that not only is Unjected an exemplary example of how NOT to run a website, but also how not to respond to a security incident.My principal concern here is not merely a vulnerable website, but the misleading way in which the hosts of the Unjected Show, including the founder, downplay and dismiss serious concerns in yesterday’s Episode #58. It’s staggering that those running a company arguably within the larger “Freedom Movement” would have the audacity to publicly demonstrate how little they care about their user’s privacy. With deflection and dismissive remarks, It’s frustrating to imagine how this could be taken seriously at all.I have no desire to be allied with those who don’t seriously recognize the grave top-down threats that individuals face in cyberspace. I can’t tolerate those who arrogantly use the threat of state surveillance as an excuse to absolve potentially disclosing people’s private information to everyone. This has been a long-running frustration I’ve had with people within the so-called “Freedom Movement”. As frustrating it is for a company well-regarded by people within this space acting this way is, it is even more demoralizing that people tolerate it. Questions for Unjected* You claim you have done many penetration tests and have a team to resolve such issues, why didn’t you find this issue before?* Had you found other vulnerabilities before? What went wrong and how did you resolve it?* How important is protecting your user’s personal information to you? * What measures have you taken that demonstrate this?I apologize for the somewhat raw video rant. It’s too frustrating to interact with for too long. It’s tragic to me how little people have learned about personal privacy and security since 2020. In some ways I feel responsible. Maybe I should have spent more time on big tech sites like YouTube/Facebook/Rumble to try to get the word out. I haven’t because my principal goal here has been to walk the walk, and learn the right way forward. It is incredibly disheartening to see people be put at risk due to apathy and opportunism. I hope that if nothing else this can be a warning that not all is right.Cyberwar SeriesTaking Proactive Steps for Individuals This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

I had an excellent time talking with Hrvoje Morić on his TNT Radio show. I highly recommend getting caught up with some of his great interviews with a very wide variety of fascinating guests. If you don’t already know of Hrvoje, you’re missing out and should absolutely take a look at Geopolitics & Empire at geopoliticsandempire.com.Breaking UpdateAn update from the Geopolitics & Empire telegram channel: Hrvoje has left the building! I have finally found a guerrilla with enough experience to replace me on TNT Radio. Veteran information warrior Lieutenant General Jason Bermas! The Ides of March was my last transmission on TNT Radio after 2 straight and grueling years of non-stop live shows without pause or break...broadcasting from Croatia and from around the USA and México.I am completely frazzled and burned out. I LOVE TNT Radio, they have been amazing to me, they've never censored me or caused me any problems, in fact...they've largely left me alone the entire time. They were basically like: here's a mic, you got 2-3 hours, here's your pay, go!But doing 10-15 interviews a week is nuts, personally, for me right now. I desperately need to take a break and slow down. I will re-focus my efforts on Geopolitics & Empire! Stay frosty and stay tuned! 🎙 ✊P.S. I will be a guest on Jason's show tonight!It’s been an honor to be part of Hrvoje’s show on TNT Radio, and wish him the best! Relevant ItemsMore Discussions with Hrvoje Morić This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

In anticipation of publishing a new tools of the technocracy article, I had a chat with Hrvoje on his show to talk about what I had learned watching through The Network State Conference 2023. It’s clear that the entire concept of Network States as published in The Network State and highlighted by the speakers, is at best an attempt to dress up an all-encompassing technocratic terror. At worst, it’s a declaration of a world-wide open bid on human surveillance and control. Sharing some initial thoughts for the discussion, here is the follow-up article: Watch the entire episode on PodbeanMore episodes: https://tntradio.live/shows/the-hrvoje-moric-show/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

In a special converation you would have a hard time finding elsewhere, Gabriel joins William Maggos to discuss the fediverse, attention economy, and the Culture War. Taking a sober look at the very foundation of our media and online discussions, William Maggos introduces the concept of attention democracy, where we can have a real impact on culture by choosing platforms that put people in charge of helping spread ideas and culture.Learn more about William Maggos' work at Culture War RadioFollow @[email protected] talks This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

The world wide web is no stranger to government control. The Internet itself was created by the US Military, and governments across the world have subsidized Internet infrastructure in all kinds of ways. Many factors, such as the economies of scale, and sheer workforce size give large organizations an immense advantage when it comes to shaping the future of cyberspace. Just as individuals struggle with troubles relating to digital privacy & security, so do large organizations and governments.In response, governments across the world are moving fast to address these concerns. With the motive and means to transform the fundamental elements that lay the foundation for our digital lives, a tidal wave of change is taking place and just beginning to accelerate. The winning move isn’t to challenge the whole tsunami directly, but rather to find the right waves that can carry us to where we would like to be. Indifference and apathy will certainly lead us to a similar place it took us all during the big tech era: to dependence and exploitation.“I am not familiar with the history of how the Internet/tech companies have infiltrated my life– I only know one day the past, the before Internet part of life was like in another galaxy, and I was forcibly acclimated into accepting an intrusive technology if I want to use the Internet or a “smart” phone.”Written by a friendIf nothing else, this should be a reminder of the dire necessity to be vigilant of how governments and large corporations can shape cyberspace to tilt the balance of power against the public. Many governments like to be permissive in all the ways that don’t impact prioritized policy objectives, then turn brutal the moment public opinion starts to shift against those policies. As the digital world has taken hold over more and more aspects of our lives, now more than ever, we all need take responsibility for shielding ourselves and others from such abuses.Instead of continuing to let the web be dictated by American Tech Companies, Europe has a bold new strategy to plan, build, and enforce a new vision for cyberspace. The European Union’s Next Generation Internet, or NGI for short, aims to terraform cyberspace to represent the values of their elite. This plan is explicitly aimed at changing the Internet not just for Europeans, but for the entire world as well.Understanding the “Next Generation Internet”If you take a look at the brochure, it self-describes the plan as a “Human Internet for a better future”. Despite this, the document starts out making it explicitly clear that many technocratic ideals are directly woven into the plan. Surveillance, censorship, and more digital intrusion into our lives aren’t depicted as problems to be solved, but rather responsibly managed.The Internet is the engine of digitisation of our society and our economy. As connectivity increases, the boundaries between the real and the digital world are blurring. With the explosion of the Internet of Things (IoT), multimedia content and social media,the Internet offers an unprecedented access to data and online services.Artificial intelligence helps to extract meaning from this data and to embed autonomy and intelligence into networks, connected objects and services. However, there has been an erosion of trust in the Internet following revelations about the exploitation of personal data, large-scale cybersecurity and data breaches, and growing awareness of online disinformation.Do you feel the warm and fuzzy human feelings yet? To go further, this is an excellent example of “brokering legitimacy”. Which is when advocates for solving a problem undermine their cause by carving out counter-productive exceptions to their principles. This process uses the very real concerns about privacy and security to justify more control. Effectively binding critics of the plan, because it’s leveraging the unjustifiable aspects of the status quo to dismantle the parts worth preserving.It is naive to believe that the European Union, which very recently pushed to backdoor everyone’s web traffic, is somehow sincerely interested in the privacy or even security of their citizens. I can wholeheartedly believe that European governments are very concerned about their own security from the public, Big Tech, and foreign entities alike. As cyberwars escalate moves are required to innovate not just their own systems, but to make changes to the systems that their citizens use as well. The following quote is from the Next Generation Internet Policy Summit in 2020, I find it exemplary of the kind of spirit that animates the initiative.In the name of resolving a wide variety of issues created by the US Government and American Tech companies, Europe is working to consolidate information control over the Internet. In hindsight, it appears that the laissez-faire approach governments took with large tech companies was to merely buy time while more sophisticated digital surveillance techniques were built up. Hence the desire for rapid regulatory and technological innovation emphasized in the above quote.In late 2019 Aral Balkan spoke with the European Parliament. Raising many important points, he pleaded with them to kill ‘surveillance capitalism’. The video is absolutely worth watching to get an understanding of how where we are bridges to where the European Union would like to go.[Regarding citing Facebook]If this is the presumption under which you are regulating the Internet, I despair about the future of human rights and about the future of our democracy.…You’re going blindly towards a Silicon Valley model, I don’t know why you’re doing this.In short, Aral seems unconvinced that the EU will actually go far enough to radically support citizen’s digital autonomy and is instead trying to import aspects of the big tech control regime under state control. It’s hard to disagree with that perspective, and he exemplifies what actual opposition to these problems looks like.As frustrating as some aspects of the Next Generation Internet vision are, it is to the EU’s credit that this is a massive transparent undertaking. Much of it is not only open public knowledge, but features initiatives in which open participation is encouraged. This appears to be the case largely because the concerns around censorship and paternalism seem to be more broadly socially accepted in Europe, a critical sign that social acceptance of censorship is what entrenches it. The way in which the Next Generation Internet is being rolled out is very effective at neutralizing any outright opposition, to the degree it is even possible. It is easy to see how such sweeping and extreme transformations made in other domains would use a similar model.It is a foolish and dangerous mistake to fall into the trap of thinking governments are entirely comprised of out-of-touch bureaucrats with no understanding of technology. In fact, these reforms are being drawn up by people with an incredibly high level of understanding that is quite difficult to match, independent reformers (if there truly are any) are at a serious disadvantage.Fully Embracing Open SourceOne of the advantages the European Union has, is that they have recognized the immense opportunity of actually leaning into the open source development model. While North America bickers about remote work and commercial office space, the EU is harnessing the power of efficient decentralized work. By taking the “build it and they will come” approach, they are entirely out-maneuvering competitors with a treasure-trove of opportunity that has been laying dormant in people’s apathy and defeatism for over a decade.The NLnet Foundation funds a wide variety of Open Source projects and tools that fit within the Next Generation Internet vision. This is good in some ways, notably that many of these projects are Free Software, which means that if things do go wrong, at least people can modify the projects for their own needs. One does have to wonder what the exact terms of the agreement are, and what ‘carrots and sticks’ are used to ensure compliance.Such explicit means may not be necessary however. It’s entirely possible that this is merely a circumstance where both governments and individuals have aligned interests to resist foreign surveillance and control. When it comes to how the Internet is currently controlled, it’s not always individual software itself that’s the culprit. While Google/Apple/Facebook may be reading your messages, there are other ways to achieve the same goals.Open standards, protocols, and Free Software are all things that benefit everyone. The degree of benefit will naturally vary on the nature, purpose and quality of the project. It is critical that people seize the opportunity created from this deluge of resources being thrown into making useful software. To be clear, the NGI vision absolutely includes a lot of genuinely good ideas and solutions that should be taken seriously. It also supports many excellent and important projects that shouldn’t be seen as ’tainted’ simply due to association with this initiative.Like similar initiatives, I believe many of these projects are selected because it is clearly an elegant and efficient way to achieve particular goals. One would hopefully understand that many technologies, but especially digital technologies can be used for good, evil, and everything in-between. An example worth pointing out is garage which appears to be building a highly-performant file storage server that organizations and individuals alike can both use for particular purposes. Naturally, there are some aspects which will benefit larger organizations more, but that will vary from project to project.To be clear, I still fully intend to use and support PeerTube and Misskey for the foreseeable future, despite them both being supported, along with wider support for the fediverse. I am very concerned that EU funding many excellent (and important) FOSS projects will be used by people with different agendas to undermine Free Software generally.It would be all-too-easy for private companies to start selling unverifiable software-suites in the name of promising you “real security with none of that open-source stuff”. Falling for that kind of affinity scam is how you end up falling for things like the so-called "Freedom Phone" which inevitably includes a lot of open source tools because they’re just outright better than what most people can achieve in their own time. Simplistic, binary thinking is what sabotages serious and meaningful reform. Even worse it can very often enable the worst aspects of the project by allowing them to be justified by the important parts of the initiative.Velvet Glove, Iron FistJust because there is good to be done, that doesn’t mean there aren’t rough edges to be concerned about. Keeping in mind that the primary motivation for the Next Generation Internet has more to do with protecting governments from the people rather than the other way around. With decades of surveillance scandals, censorship, and corruption there are good reasons to consider not further empowering governments through digital systems and tools.Another serious concern one should consider is that the NGI project is very much a Covid Crisis era initiative. NGI Dapsi which did support an excellent project like PostmarketOS for linux phones, also sponsored the creation of a vaccine passport candidate, the Digital Immunization Passport. Information control initiatives such as tracking and combating so-called misinformation and disinformation, are very much a foundational principle of the EU’s strategic priorities.In early 2020, The European Commission published their Strategic plan for 2020-2024. The strategic plan outlined “A Europe Fit for the Digital Age”, with 6 specific objectives:* Europe’s strategic autonomy is ensured in critical technology areas* European single market for data where data can flow for the benefit of all and where rules for access and use of data are fair, practical and clear* Artificial intelligence that is human-centric, ethical, sustainable and that respects EU values* A fair, competitive and resource efficient digital economy* A cyber resilient Europe, promoting digital identities for all Europeans, while protecting their e-privacy* A modern, open and pluralistic society in the digital age where online disinformation is countered and diverse cultural content is available to all EuropeansObjective 1 makes it exceedingly clear why so many resources have been put into great software that actually works well. The EU, unlike the Canadian government, actually understands how to get meaningful results. With a strong desire to actually augment their national digital sovereignty, better privacy tools are sorely needed.Objective 2 is arguably the most interesting. It seems that the EU intends to become the single broker for all of Europe’s data. This is a fascinating (if not outright terrifying) concept, and is effectively the legalization of domestic mass surveillance. It is clear that the level of intrusion will be determined by how the EU leadership decides the benefits they receive outweigh the risks to the public.Objective 3 is just an outright fanciful delusion at best and a desire to single-handedly regulate away general-purpose computing at worst. One has to wonder if the “EU values” referenced in the documentation represent values of the European public or values that are being imposed on them.Objectives 4,5,6 greatly enhance state control over the Internet and where it reaches into public life. After decades of American administrations using “national security” as a pretext for all kinds of abuses, it’s high time we understand that national sovereignty doesn’t quite mean what it used to. From everything we have seen, it is clear that this vision is entirely about protecting the European Union’s political structure rather than it’s people.ConclusionDespite many people being seriously concerned about hostile governments working to destroy the Internet, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the European Union. Many significant regulations have already been put into place and it seems that they are only the beginning. It is understandable, if not outright laudable, for the EU to take it’s digital sovereignty seriously. It is however, our role to ensure that we are doing what we can to ensure those gains aren’t at the expense of people’s ability to dissent or otherwise participate in society.Learn about Free Software, learn how to contribute to open source, these models are already clearly demonstrated to be the most efficient way forward on a wide variety of issues. This doesn’t automatically mean that everything that is made that way is wholly benign. It means that our participation matters. What we do to decide how we build our tools and how they are used are vitally important concerns. The devil is in the details, as they say. The last thing I want to see, is people sharing this post to say “X project is funded under the NGI, so therefore it’s bad!” in a bizarre knee-jerk reaction.Anyone who even partially understands the state of online mass surveillance is keenly aware that the problem is larger than any single project or tool. We should absolutely be concerned about the state and future of projects that are entirely dependent on the EU for funding, but we have a role in this too. If we aren’t proactively focused on supporting development ourselves we can hardly expect for it to be built out of nothing. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

Thrilled to have had an excellent conversation with Hunter Stabler about digital autonomy and the arts. We spoke about many different topics, ranging from Free Software, community, and the broader impact of social media. It was a pleasure to connect with somebody who’s taken many steps towards reclaiming their digital autonomy, and has such incredible talent.You can take a look at Hunter’s creations on his Pixelfed.We share an affinity for Blender Antennapod and XMPP. Hunter has put together a CNC machine and likes to create with Free Software where possible. Adding that we need to all find ways to collaborate and work together to solve problems of education, outreach, and support.Links Discussed* The Responsibility of Intellectuals 2.0* National Citizens Inquiry Testimony* “Impossible”: OpenAI admits ChatGPT can’t exist without pinching copyrighted work* Tech companies sign accord to combat AI-generated election trickery* Air Canada Has to Honor a Refund Policy Its Chatbot Made UpA Taste of Freedom: Libre HostersA very important topic highlighted in this discussion was how somebody without much time or resources can get started with using excellent Free and Open Source Software. One way to become familiar with self-hostable services is to try them out with an online community that provides them.Of course, since you are a guest on somebody else’s infrastructure it’s important to be a good digital citizen and respect their rules and culture while using their services. Of course, if you’re an experienced self-hoster with spare resources, consider becoming your own libre hoster for others!Here are some examples:* Disroot* LibreOps* weho.stBrowse others at the libre hosters directoryThis conversation took place over the Free Software Foundation’s Jitsi Instance. Consider becoming a member to support Free Software, and gain acess to numerous member’s benefits, including an XMPP account. OBS Studio was used to record the conversation, and cleanup/edits were done in blender and audacity. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

Hrvoje and I had a conversation about how governments and corporations are tightening their grip over the information landscape. We discussed some of my latest work, and it was an excellent opportunity to add some finer detail to points that come up often. Near the end, we talk about the war on dissent in Germany. It’s important to note that the acquittal of CJ Hopkins is being appealed by the German government. Reiterating the importance for us to rally around the importance of Free Speech and Expression in the face of totalitarianism.Listen to the full episode hereRelated PostsMore Discussions This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

I had the pleasure of taking part in a long-form discussion about the current state of technology and our experience on the fediverse. It’s been wonderful getting to know Theory who is a brilliant software developer and has a very sound technical mind. This episode is something of a special treat for the advanced class here at the Libre Solutions Network, I think those who are either highly technical or highly curious will find it a fascinating talk.The conversation was recorded on Mumble, editied in Audacity and hosted on PeerTube. One thing that excites me about this particular project is that it is one of many ways to demonstrate how we really don’t need big tech services to distribute media.Follow MindwalledPlease consider subscribing to the podcast RSS Feed and/or using it in a podcast app like antennapod or kasts! You can also open the PeerTube channel to follow from the fediverse. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

I’m pleased to have had the opportunity to discuss Digital Autonomy & The Arts with Anne Gibbons . Anne is a courageous cartoonist and an inspiration to those who want to learn to make their mark on the canvas of history. We discuss the unique challenges that impact our lives at the cross-section of digital autonomy and artistic expression. I really appreciated having a discussion with a creative and passionate voice with such a wealth of experience. Special Thanks to Margaret Anna AlliceThis discussion wouldn’t have taken place if not for Margaret Anna Alice and I am very thankful for that. Please take the time to watch (and share!) Dr Yeadon’s incredible reading of Mistakes Were NOT Made: An Anthem for Justice. RelatedRelated links:* The Media Matrix* DeviantArt upsets artists with its new AI art generator, DreamUp* War and Democide This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

This video is a summary of a report on how programmatic advertising can be weaponized for mass real-time surveillance. This report is highly troubling but not particularly surprising. If you want to learn how it’s being used, read up on the mastodon thread made by one of the report’s authors.Links:* Mastodon Thread* Europe’s Hidden Security Crisis ReportFurther Reading:* The Military Origins of Facebook* How Palantir Conquered the WOrld* Total Information Awareness* Targeted Ads are a Cybersecurity RiskRelated This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

OverviewBackups can feel like a chore, but they’re actually very empowering. Beyond the peace of mind knowing that you’re much less likely to lose data, you’re also in a better position to make changes. Many tasks, like moving from Windows to a Free and Open Source operating system, are much easier if you’ve already got your own backups. Keeping your data safe can be as simple as making copies and distributing them, all the way up to running your own cloud. The main purpose is always the same, preventing the horrors of data loss.Data loss can be tragic. In a time where commercial services train us to think that everything is at our fingertips, it’s easy to forget that some things really are irreplaceable. Sure you can probably hunt down all those memes you’ve saved, but personal photographs, notes, and works can all disappear in a moment of surprise to be quickly replaced with a flood of dread and regret.There’s the harsh saying, data that isn’t backed up is already lost. I’ve personally felt the loss of some personal data over the years that I’ll never get back. There are so many ways to lose data including deleting/overwriting data by mistake, device failure, or hostile attacks like ransomware. The solution is to keep your data on multiple devices in multiple places. Fortune favors the prepared, so it’s best to do what you can to avoid such scenarios.The important steps are: Simplify, Store, Distribute, Test.SimplifyJust like it can be hard to track down a specific form on a cluttered desk, it pays to have a deliberately organized system. Making as much use of your home directory as possible will go a long way. If you were able to have all your important files in a single place, such as C:/Users/Gabriel on Windows or /home/gabriel on Linux or Mac, it can be much easier to then copy and transfer those files.Of course that’s the ideal scenario, things may be saved elsewhere for all kinds of reasons, or even relegated to a particular cloud provider. This creates a new challenge of tracking down particular files in a race against time before they are forgotten all together. The complexity isn’t always your fault, programs have the capability of installing their configuration settings in different places, so being aware of what program settings you need to keep safe is very important.Using simpler tools, taking an offline-first approach, and spending time to organize important files can go a long way to making your backups simpler. Simple backups can sometimes be fully automated or at least sped up with scripts. This is all even more true when you use multiple devices, the more organized each device is, the less work required to manage it all.StoreRecovery Checklist:For a complete recovery you’ll want to account for:* Personal/Work filesAny file you wouldn’t want to have deleted. These include personal photos, documents, scanned documents or media.* Organizational DataCalendars and contacts are some of the first things you’ll want to ensure you have in a format under your control.* PasswordsIf you use a password manager, it’s very important not to lose all your passwords.* Browser ProfilesArguably the most important program to back up the settings for would be your browser. You can also separately back up important data such as bookmarks. By having the entire profile you ensure you keep your settings, add-ons, and many other useful things to avoid disruption.* Configuration filesThese are the program files mentioned earlier. Where they’re stored will vary from program to program, and it may depend on what system you’re using.* Installation mediaAt minimum, it’s nice to have a fresh start every once in a while. Having an installer on a USB to reinstall your system after any issues is a very useful thing to have when you can just throw all your files back in place.* System backupsYou can save time on re-installing your system and programs by maintaining a backup of your system in it’s current state. System backups are very useful to get back and running after a catastrophic problem or if a device is lost.No matter how much (or how little) simplifying you’ve done, you need to figure out how you’re going to store your needed files. At minimum you’ll want to copy them to some form of external medium or remote server.Types of Backups* CopyThe most straightforward way to move files is to copy them from place to an external device such as a USB drive or optical media.* PushIf you have access to a home or remote server, you can regularly push files to keep them accessible.* Pull You could also give a home/remote server the capability to download your files remotely.* Sync It’s also possible to use tools to sync files and folders between devices in real-time.EncryptionIt’s useful to encrypt your backups, so if they fall in the wrong hands all your private files are safe from compromise. Sometimes cloud services will claim your backups are encrypted, but it’s critical that you control (and protect) the key that’s used to access the files.AutomationAutomation saves you time at the cost of initial configuration. It’s ultimately up to you how sophisticated you want the backup to be. It can be a very simple regular copy, or very complex with real-time sync and extra features.Offline backupsAs far as I know, it’s impossible to steal data from an unplugged storage device over the Internet. Even if it was possible, it would be incredibly impractical to target most people. Having a backup that is disconnected from power is safe from all kinds of cyber threats.TimeSometimes files aren’t merely lost, but are mistakenly damaged or altered. It’s useful to have a version history of particular files or keep multiple system backups from different moments in time.RedundancyLess is absolutely not more in this scenario. If you’ve got spare time/resources and want to consider an additional layer of protection, more copies and/or more storage locations significantly increase the odds of being able to recover files in a disaster.DistributeThere are scenarios where it’s vital to have your data not exist in a single physical location. Natural disasters, break-ins, and many other unpredictable incidents can make it impossible to retrieve data once it’s gone. Having a backup located somewhere else is how you overcome this.For data that isn’t personal or sensitive, sharing is a perfectly viable option. If you’ve assembled an important curated collection of writing, media, or even just links publishing it online can help ensure your work isn’t wasted. You can even distribute files (that you have the rights to!) on archive.org to make a mark on history.Storage TypesPortable StorageThe easiest way to get started is to copy your personal files to a portable storage device. When one doesn’t require a huge amount of space, these are very convenient and work quite well. Portable flash storage is generally quite fast, but may not be suited for long-term storage.Optical MediaIf you’re storing a relatively small amount of data that you don’t need to change, optical media such as CDs, DVDs, or Bluray disks may suit your purposes. Data stored on optical media is often likely to last much longer than flash storage when kept in ideal conditions.External Hard DrivesA go-to method for people with many files is to back up their files to an external hard drive. These usually require their own power and data cable to work. They can feature faster speeds, and much larger storage space in exchange for a bulkier size.NAS / Remote StorageA more sophisticated method to store data is to run a server that allows files to be transferred over the network. There are all kinds of methods to setup repositories of data with various different forms of access control.TestBacking up is just the first step! You’ll want to make sure the files are properly usable. You don’t want to waste the time running a fancy automated fully-encrypted backup system to have that effort tragically wasted the moment you actually need it.File IntegrityIf it’s been quite some time, it’s worth making sure your old file backups aren’t corrupted or otherwise damaged. Bit rot, errors, and ordinary wear can all damage the information stored in a backup.Disaster RecoveryIt’s good to make sure you can start with a new/fresh device in the event it gets damaged, or your residence is hit from a natural disaster.EncryptionIf your backups are encrypted it’s important to make sure you can actually decrypt the backup. Otherwise, you’re just generating random data.ImproveOver time, you’ll find things in your backup strategy you want to improve. By testing your backups you have the opportunity to identify problems before you actually need the backup.ToolsThe best backup tool is the one you’ll actually use. Each will vary in features, complexity, and ease-of-use. You may be limited by what system you’re using and your comfort level with command-line tools.System FeaturesBoth Windows and Mac have built-in features for file backups and system recovery. There are many Utilities for Linux distributions as well.rsync & rclonersync and rclone are tools that are so useful, either one of them is enough to consider learning how to use command-line tools yourself. Both are excellent tools for transferring and syncing files between multiple systems.Disk CloningClonezilla is a great tool for making an image of an entire disk. This is one of many ways to create a full backup of an entire system or to migrate a system from one disk to another.Example StrategiesEasy Street* Copies personal files to an external hard drive* Has two extra usb drives one with an OS installer and the other with program installers or scripts* Regularly rotates the external hard drive with a relative for a secure offsite offline backupThe Digital Serf* Maximizes their use of cloud services* Uses multi-factor authentication to prevent intrusion* Distributes data among nameless and innumerable third parties* Zero digital autonomy, their entire digital life is at the mercy of a single provider without much ability to switchTotal Sloth* Uses their systems’ “file history” feature to have multiple versions of each file across time.* Once a month, shuts down their system and creates a system image from the drive* Copies the system image to an encrypted filesystem on an external drive* “Simple as” they mutter while driving to their secure locker offsite storage.The Leech* Encrypts files and uploads them to free or cheap cloud storage* Abuses free signups* Automates everything, providers hate him.DIY Cloud* Self-hosts a variety of services* All their devices sync to the home server* Remote backup server pulls regular backups from the home server* Doesn’t need much of the Internet anymoreExtra ResourcesVideo Guides* My backup routine (and why I keep it simple)* Let’s Talk About Backups* ‘Don’t eat my data - 30+ years of storage war stories’ - Steven Ellis (LCA 2020)* How to Move Everything from an Old PC to a New PC* How to Clone Your OS Hard Drive in Linux to Use with a Different (or the same) ComputerLinks* Performing backups the right way* https://rclone.org/crypt/* /r/DataHoarder Wiki - Backups* Data Loss, Backup, and Recovery: A Complete Beginners’ Guide* Personal Data Backup Strategies* Building a NAS* Awesome Sysadmin - Backups* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backup* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_backup_software* https://wiki.installgentoo.com/wiki/Backups* https://wiki.archiveteam.org/index.php/Backup_Tips This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

UpdatesPeerTubeAt the start of 2023 I Launched the Libre Solutions Network peertube instance.Over 450 views on the PeerTube channel is a great start! I’m sure it would grow a lot faster if I opened registrations but truthfully I don’t really want to be responsible for other people’s accounts! Having a peertube instance that allows follows seems to be a great compromise. Currently, my instance is followed by over 30 other instances.Fully Voiced ArticlesEarly in the year, I recorded voiceovers for the entire Tools of the Technocracy series as well as others.OperationsAn operation is a blueprint for advancing people’s digital and personal freedom. These are “big picture” plans for how people can advance liberty in their own lives.InfographicsDigital Autonomy SeriesI’m very grateful that people are interested in having discussions with me about where tech meets their passions. Full SeriesRounding The EarthIt’s been a pleasure to work closely with Mathew Crawford at the Rounding the Earth Newsletter. Despite my own rather narrow focus, I think it is critical to appreciate the bigger picture, and Mathew has been working diligently for quite some time to make sense of it in a sharable way.The Hrvoje Moric Show I’m a massive fan of Hrvoje’s work. He’s a very skilled interviewer who asks great questions about a wider variety of topics than I can keep up with! You can also get a wide variety of intelligence updates from his Telegram Channel.Your feedback is greatly appreciated!Highlights of 2023The National Citizens InquiryThe National Citizens Inquiry is a Canadian citizen-led inquiry into the Covid Crisis in Canada. Read the final report here.Protocol WarsLiberty-minded individuals need to redouble our efforts to support open and interoperable protocols. Take a look at Alex’s mostr to fediverse bridgeDon’t let your memes be dreams. Let’s work together to create the future that we believe in.Alex GleasonCyberwars & Rumors of CyberwarsItems of Interest* Sim Swapping attacks: How to protect yourself from this common phone scam* Why the Distinction Between “Open Source” and “Source Available” is Important* What is the difference between free software and open source software?* NHS Palantir data deal puts patient trust at risk, warn MP and privacy groups* A Full, Comprehensive Guide to RSS/Atom* Open access to AI foundational models poses various security and compliance risks, report findsSubstack RoundupPeerTube RoundupBlender 4.0 ReelFacial Recognition Defense / FlawsThis Threat to Free Software is Worse than I Thought…Tech Freedom MemesAll Recaps This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

I’m very grateful for the opportunity to share insights that don’t fit neatly into longer posts. Hrvoje Morić who is well known for Geopolitics & Empire is a fascinating person to talk to and a very knowledgeable host. We hit many important topics, opening with how big tech is working to regain people’s trust as well as legislative attacks on people’s online freedom. We also discuss Signal and the Open Technology fund, as well as cost savings from ditching the cloud.I hope you find this informative and helpful!RelatedAll appearances on TNT Radio This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

In what has become my most ambitious media project yet, I had the pleasure of hosting a conversation with people I look up to as among my personal heroes. These kindhearted souls are lights of hope in the darkest of times. The Digital Autonomy Series is now one of my favorite projects as it allows the Libre Solutions Network to truly start to live up to its name.🔮 Visceral AdventureI got to know Visceral Adventure through Operation Uplift. Her open mind, kindness, and drive are huge inspiration. I was absolutely blown away by how succinctly she summarized my primary motivation in writing The Tools of the Technocracy.This is the first time the technology has actually caught up with the goal of technocracy. This is why I think this is such a pivotal moment in human civilization. This is the first time that they can actually succeed in their goals and I think that is a huge distinction.🍁 Liam SturgessIf I was suspicious of any human being having some kind of super power, it would be Liam Sturgess He is an incredibly diligent investigative reporter in addition to being a phenomenal musician, voice actor, and producer. He’s at the forefront of fighting for truth and freedom in Canada.If you haven’t, give Foreverland a listen!After all the years have flown awayMeet me at the crossroads come and prayLooking out across from the open shoreLive a life with open wings and soarWe'll find pieces where we've beenAnd live off adrenalineWe'll lift off from where we standRumble: https://rumble.com/c/liamsturgessWebsite: https://www.liamsturgess.com/✒️ Margaret Anna AliceGeorge Orwell wrote: “In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” Margaret Anna Alice is a passionate chronicler who has ensured that the revolution will not go without the truth. She has an unparalleled ability to artfully share the voice of reason without mincing words. In COVID IS OVER! …If You Want It Margaret Anna Alice Quotes “The Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude”:“You can deliver yourselves if you try, not by taking action, but merely by willing to be free. Resolve to serve no more, and you are at once freed. I do not ask that you place hands upon the tyrant to topple him over, but simply that you support him no longer; then you will behold him, like a great Colossus whose pedestal has been pulled away, fall of his own weight and break into pieces.” Étienne de La Boétie (COVID IS OVER! …If You Want It)Liam's comments about compartmentalization immediately made me think of Christopher Browning's "Ordinary Men," where he discusses "desk murderers." I explore that topic in Letter to a Colluder: Stop Enabling Tyranny:“This approach emphasizes the degree to which modern bureaucratic life fosters a functional and physical distancing in the same way that war and negative racial stereotyping promote a psychological distancing between perpetrator and victim. Indeed, many of the perpetrators of the Holocaust were so-called desk murderers whose role in the mass extermination was greatly facilitated by the bureaucratic nature of their participation. Their jobs frequently consisted of tiny steps in the overall killing process, and they performed them in a routine manner, never seeing the victims their actions affected. Segmented, routinized, and depersonalized, the job of the bureaucrat or specialist—whether it involved confiscating property, scheduling trains, drafting legislation, sending telegrams, or compiling lists—could be performed without confronting the reality of mass murder. Such a luxury, of course, was not enjoyed by the men of Reserve Police Battalion 101, who were quite literally saturated in the blood of victims shot at point-blank range.Christopher Browning - Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland(Letter to a Colluder: Stop Enabling Tyranny)The series has expanded! I’m overjoyed to reintroduce the first part of Digital Autonomy and Resilient life. Don’t forget, the invitation is open to those who want to participate! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

In this feature of Digital Autonomy Discussions I had a discussion with Rebecca Cunningham who runs Red Flyer Media. She is a Visual Storyteller, Motorcycle Rider, Vagabond, Video Editor, Moto-Journalist, Documentary Filmmaker. We discuss censorship resistance, the rural and urban divide, as well as the many factors of building up one’s own independence.Resources Referenced:* Meshtastic* New Packet Radio* Bear’s Prepper Classroom Playlist* Jack Spirko* Nicole SauceMore to ComeThis series is intended to help bring together different voices to explore how technology can help (or hinder) people’s ability to live their lives. This episode is just a taste of the wide array of topics worth giving their own attention.More This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

UpdatesNew postsCollaborationYou’re Invited!Rounding The EarthI had the pleasure of Joining Mathew Crawford to discuss the intricacies of different currency systems. I think it was great to break new ground in moving the discussion beyond the basics and raise the alarm about mindwar in finance.Some of my time is spent on content for the Rounding The Earth Locals community. These off-the-cuff presentations give me a chance to summarize recent thoughts and present ideas I’m trying to hone. If you’re interested in my work, as well as Rounding the Earth Newsletter, you may appreciate these.Presentations:* Is Freedom Tech Doomed?* How to Save the Internet* The Caper of the Century: Origins of the Great ResetSubstack RoundupItems of InterestInquiry into the Appropriateness and Efficacy of the COVID-19 Response in CanadaBehind the One-Way Mirror: A Deep Dive Into the Technology of Corporate SurveillanceGovernments turn to Open Source for sovereigntyLaw professor says blockchain tech could ‘revolutionize’ copyright officesTwo fediverses, one networkMastodon Is Easy and Fun Except When It Isn’tPeerTube RoundupPeerTube v6 is out, and powered by your ideas!Turkey Inkscape - Developer Update 25th Nov 2023I’m choosing to highlight this because I think it’s important for people to consider that many great things can be accomplished by paying competent developers directly. You can support Martin’s work on Inkscape on his LiberapayOk, but what is XMPP?This is an excellent video by Denshi explaining what XMPP is and why it works in the way it does. Comfy Guides is also a great resource, which includes how to set up your own XMPP Server.Framework: Building an Open, Reliable Laptop (Ubuntu Summit Presentation)This is a good demo of the Framework laptop. Which is a fascinating project exemplifying how a laptop can be repairable, modular, and therefore easily upgradable by the user. If nothing else, it’s worth considering how we as consumers should push manufacturers in some of these directions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

Knowledge is power. Control over knowledge is immense power. This power isn’t merely used to advance sciences and create new technologies, instead it’s often used to take control of other people. Almost everyone these days seems to believe they’re surrounded by brainwashed masses. What if there really is something to that? Who, or what, is actually doing the brainwashing?It is a mistake to assume that someone who is acting differently than you is always making those decisions from incorrect information. There are often times where different people will have wildly varying interpretations of the same information. Now, instead of using the same information, see how they react to subsets of the same information.This doesn’t mean that everyone is always right, but rather that they can often be talking about different aspects of the same problem. This has been a substantial driver of the Culture Wars because different messaging is naturally going to resonate with different subsets of the population. To make things worse, problems and solutions are framed in terms of “What nails can we hit with this hammer?” before considering other tools.This is what has made language a critical component in political competition. If we do not share goals, it is to my advantage that I ensure that you use my framing to understand the world around you. Words themselves become skirmishes over the broad ideas they can represent. Splitting into dialects, different factions sound increasingly incomprehensible to each other. Cooperation becomes challenging, compromise becomes impossible. Even worse, people are no longer able to negotiate boundaries. This all-but-ensures future conflict.Motivated reasoningAs this process advances, and people start to perceive that they are in some kind of existential competition, Culture Wars escalate. Suddenly, groups are less interested in finding workable common-ground, but instead every action is part of a greater conquest. Groups are now no longer devoted to cooperating in wider society, but instead fracturing out territory to secure their interests.There is a fair amount of evidence, that much of the present-day divisions have been manufactured since the 2008 bail-outs and Occupy Wall St protests. I’m sympathetic to this interpretation, but it’s important not to lose sight that these manufactured divisions have real, material consequences.Hurt people hurt peopleThese consequences have, and if not addressed, will continue to escalate tensions. The biggest challenge is that people are not always likely to state their frustrations in the most constructive manner. Tragically, many will often aggressively take out those frustrations on those they can, rather than the actual causes of that frustration.How many wounds have been caused by the Covid Crisis? How many real avenues have people had to even have their grievances acknowledged? Different people will have all kinds of unique and complicated scars from different challenges. It is no small task to merely bring clarity and understanding to what has happened, it’s an even greater one to conceptualize the long arc of it all.What does this all have to do with information control?Leveraging people’s unique perspective towards specific ends is how targeted advertising works. The technocracy has had the tools and understanding of how to manipulate large groups of people, each one at a time, for well over a decade, if not significantly longer. Many rush to point to smartphones as the culprit. In fact, their rise in prominence is very coincident with the rise of many of the Culture Wars. I’ll present a different interpretation: It’s not the smartphone, but what was in it.There is nothing inherently mind-killing about a small, portable computer that uses a touch-screen interface. What truly forged the massive mind control apparatus was the things that came with it:* Real-time location tracking* 24/7 audio and video surveillance capabilities* Corporate Social Media as Digital information Control SystemsInformation Control Systems have been the cause of not only the Culture Wars, but many more problems as well. The smartphone era was what made these Information Control Systems go digital, but it was not the origin of information control.Surveillance is rarely merely about curiosity, rather it’s about gathering information to leverage control over situations. Massive dragnet surveillance of the population is one of the greatest acts of Information Asymmetry in all of human history.Information AsymmetryI know you are, but what am I?Spy craft of all kinds is highly reliant on information asymmetry. Being able to see even only marginally clearer through the fog of war is a massive advantage.There are three ways to gain and maintain your advantage :* Become faster or more efficient at uncovering valuable information* Sabotage other efforts by undermining them directly* Selectively manipulate or destroy information not to your advantageThis is where surveillance, censorship, propaganda, and all kinds of devious activities come into play. By being able to monitor you, while keeping things secret from you, powerful entities are able to maintain an immense advantage over you.* By learning your emotional limits, it’s possible to learn how to manipulate you.* By learning your habits, it’s possible to plan around them.* By understanding who you are, it’s possible to target you specifically.It’s impossible to comprehend the scope of what information about you is available for mechanized manipulation. On the other hand, it’s vastly simpler for someone with control of that data to use it for nefarious ends. This vastly enhances psychological manipulation efforts and puts each person at the mercy of forces they can’t fully understand.It is the height of hubris to take your understanding of publicly available information to be the best understanding anyone can have. It is a guarantee that there are groups and lines of communication that you’re not aware of that have been more successful at gleaning a clear picture.This is why the stereotype of “the lone conspiracy theorist” is such delicious fodder for conspirators. There may simply not be enough information available to truly present a coherent case, even when there is one. With full understanding of your conspiracy, you can selectively reveal information to undermine even the best possible explanation. Even worse, it possible to discredit true accusations with slander and deflection.If an entity has a clear understanding of a situation or set of information that knowledge can be used to selectively manipulate disclosure.This is different than a merely incomplete picture that just happens to be lacking information. Without knowing the entire picture it can be very difficult to distinguish manipulated from incomplete information.This is why limited hangouts are such a serious concern. While it’s possible that companies and institutions may be interested in true transparency, unless they’re willing to provide all the information as they have it, it’s still at best an incomplete picture. They may be obligated to omit information for legal reasons, or deliberately omit references to certain events to fundamentally alter people’s perception of the disclosure.Many times, the best that people have is an incomplete picture. People can quickly fall into the trap of grasping the first seemingly-coherent explanation that fits the data they have, without realizing that they may be missing all kinds of crucial information. While this may sound like the worst case scenario, it is far better than falling prey to a manipulated understanding presented by an adversary.Digital Information Control SystemsI routinely call any centralized information sharing platform an Information Control System. This is precisely because of the asymmetric information advantage given to those who run and operate the system over the people who participate in it. Rudimentary tools like “Trending” lists are such a minor fraction at what operators of these systems have at their disposal.For example, one could learn all kinds of things about you if they merely had access to your credit card’s purchase history. Just like if I read through every post you’ve ever made online. Any tool that isn’t explicitly avoiding collecting data, is inherently vulnerable to divulging such information.Surveillance is only half the story, manipulation is the other side of the coin. In many cases outright censorship is too crude. It’s well observed that the majority of people like to rely on whatever main feed the system provides for them, and will make hardly any attempt to deviate from it. This means that the main feed on any application is prime real estate for those who want to buy and sell your time and attention.Outside of mere commodification, anyone who has a monopoly over a large number of people’s attention in this way has the capability to do great harm to others. This is the true danger of information control systems, this is what makes civilian targets ‘fair game’ in information war. You have likely heard that your mind is a battlefield, but what is the war over?The prize for information control is nothing short than all-out dominance. Maintaining information control is an inherently aggressive stance. The people most interested in identifying where everyone spends all their attention, are the most likely to have nefarious motives for doing so.So you have three major choices:* Opt-out, and ignore the information landscape entirely.To the degree that you can, as there are always choices to be made.* Choose a side, and face the consequences.By joining the ranks of a cultural titan you are at the mercy of it, and your newfound enemies.* Democratize the information landscape as much as possible.Instead, work to mitigate the ability of those to control others.Predictive programmingI reject the common definition of predictive programming and present you with a different one:Using indoctrination to get the public to accept and act out an impossible concept.That’s it. No complicated whinging about karmic consequences or secret plans. The world is a stage, and predictive programming is all about teaching the public what role they need to play. What’s powerful about these impossible concepts, is that like any scam, there’s always more. Always another try, another attempt at converting your hard-earned resources and attention into their profit.Transitioning to renewablesFortunes have been made off of the delusion that it’s possible to transition the majority of human energy consumption to wind and solar energy. By leveraging the public’s ignorance of the true energy cost in running society, investors and consumers alike can be freely fleeced of resources in the name of making the impossible happen.It’s akin to hooking up two motors to a battery, and demonstrating that your perpetual motion machine is a breakthrough that will revolutionize the energy industry. Sleek 3D rendered windmills and solar panels on bright grassy landscapes leave out the awkward details that get in the way of real-world application.PandemicsLong before the Covid Crisis people were presented with many examples of a hyper-lethal and hyper-contagious virus that would necessitate extreme measures. People grew to accept the idea that an indeterminable emergency would require all kinds of extraordinary measures without any real rational explanation.I don’t believe it is possible for any contagion to meet these three conditions:* It must be sufficiently contagious, otherwise it wouldn’t be a problem* It must be sufficiently severe and untreatable, otherwise it would be dealt with easily* It must be successfully contained by measures taken during the Covid Crisis, otherwise there would be no point in trying in the first place.A virus that meets two of those criteria would still a serious problem, but would not require the suspension of constitutional rights and massive wealth transfer orchestrated during the Covid Crisis.AI SentienceCurrently, many people fall victim to many mass media depictions of machine minds capable of sentience. This is vastly detached from the current or even rationally projected state of machine learning. I’ll be the first to say that large AI models are very powerful and sophisticated tools, but they are not as magical as the hype would imply.Machine learning models are essentially massive tables of numbers. Training the model involves modifying the numbers to fit the desired outcome. This results in a very useful table of numbers, but not a sentient one. Tragically, people are already anthropomorphizing these tools at the expense of real human interaction. I promise you, while large language models are quite interesting, they do not grow fond of you or even have a stake in your life.Fearing them is also the opposite mistake, very often it’s not the tools themselves that are evil, but rather the ends that people aim to use them for. It is critical that you invest in yourself as a human being, rather than live in terror that machine minds are out to destroy humanity. The terrible truth is that human beings are all too capable of that themselves, and they should be held responsible regardless of the methods they employ.Overcoming Information ControlDiscretionPrivacy and Security are important. It’s more important than ever to use tools that aren’t proactively testifying against you. Software and hardware freedom are vitally important concepts these days that we should all do our part to promote.Opposing the use of mass surveillance by the state and corporations is also of utmost importance. Privacy and anonymity need to be normalized, and the consequences of abusing people’s private information need to become more severe.HumilityDon’t fool yourself into thinking you can or will know everything. Understand that you and everyone around you is only human and there are limits to your knowledge. Idolizing a specific person as the expert on everything, even on a singular topic, is often a surefire way to be misled. With a healthy amount of distrust, you can build an understanding that isn’t reliant on completely outsourcing your cognition to others. It’s important to be courageous enough to question, but humble enough to question yourself too.PersistencePersonal memory units were banned six years before the crash, after someone found out that a few rogue Interplanetary Holy Tech officers were routinely editing consciousness data blocks in the cloud, modifying public opinion against IHT guidelines. There was an upheaval, media pundits had a field day, and the court hearing was transmitted to every citizen’s brain. In the end, the IHT officers pleaded guilty and were sent to the Genetic Recycle Lab. Shortly after, the AI Head of the IHT gave an address in which they talked about the need to tighten memory data security. Evidently, the best algorithms have been consulted with, and they concluded that personal units had to be turned in. I considered doing as I was told—but something inside me rebelled. Perhaps it was the fact that I have always felt like I was different, or maybe it was an encoded message from my grandfather, a famous artist and dissident who disappeared into the Genetic Recycle Lab a hundred and fifty years ago. I chose to follow my gut—and wiggled my way out of compliance.You need to save information.One of the primary goals of information control is suppressing information that can be used to support dissenting narratives. Taking notes, or preserving information, is a very simple and effective way to prevent that outcome. The more people can do do preserve information the further along we can be to truly leveling the playing field.By extending your own and the public’s memory, you can safeguard yourself and others from mass manipulation. Nothing is new under the sun and old scams resurface with new sleek branding. Being able to point out the connections can make a critical difference at important times.CooperateDo what you can to meaningfully communicate with others. Take the time to be patient with those with different perspectives. Even if you don’t end up agreeing, there is very often lots of useful information to glean. Where possible, do your best to connect with others to understand them on a deeper level. Working with others allows you to accomplish more than you could on your own. By cooperating you can uncover things that may be impossible alone.Not only do you need to do this for yourself, but you should want to pass down critical information to future generations, rather than just mere material wealth. Communicating across generations is one of the most important ways to ensure that people don’t keep falling into the same all-too-familiar traps. A straight-forward way to do this is to publish your own information and attempt to make it as resilient as possible. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

What's new is old.I will remind you of the opening for this series:In the past, tyrants and dictators have had a hard limit on how far they could push people. From either logistical difficulties, fear of resistance, or liberation from other nations; these hard limits have been getting softer and softer as technology advances. Recent history has shown an ever-increasing centralization of power into a smaller and smaller set of control structures.…The tyrants of the world are winning a massive arms race against the rest of humanity. We must not merely avoid these systems, rather every one of us is responsible for preventing them from being weaponized against the people.The covid crisis was a preemptive strike against those who would consider challenging perpetual top-down control. Using unjustified and arbitrary measures to put small enterprises out of business, putting many workers out of work. Sabotaging the education of millions of children. Separating families, and forcing the elderly to die alone. Deploying a barrage of fear and propaganda that many have hardly recovered from. The total human cost is incalculable, but the oligarchs made trillions. All that, was just in 2020.Odds are, if you’re reading this you’re very well aware of this. The problem is you have to understand the majority of people hardly understand it. This preemptive strike against the public was deliberate and calculated, the lack of serious mainstream accounting is all the proof anyone needs. The legacy media is (at the time of writing) complicit in justifying the measures and downplaying the harms. Upper-middle class workers in the so-called ’laptop class’ were effectively bribed with generous work from home policies. While they had the time to investigate the wider issues around them, many chose not to “rock the boat”.“Not my problem”Why don’t people care? Anyone aware of this can just look around and see incredible amounts of devastation everywhere they look. Surely everyone can’t be so blatantly ignorant? It’s true that many may genuinely struggle to make the connection, even if they can see it, but that doesn’t quite explain the overwhelming wave of apathy that meets these issues. People are vastly misinformed about their place in the world, and the diffusion of responsibility is pure paralysis for those who aren’t prepared to take responsibility.What does all this have to do with social credit systems?A gentle introduction to the human dominance hierarchyTyranny and abuse wasn’t invented in 2020. Much of what has happened, has already happened in similar ways or all kinds of variations. For as long as there have been humans, you can count on some of them to form groups to seize control over resources, territory, and other people. Everything from your local social group, to geopolitical alliances between nations is encompassed in this.There have been precious few exceptions and limitations. Historically, though a lot of blood, sweat and tears people were able to set limits on the abuses powers could get away with. Even from the 13th century, through the Magna Carta people managed to codify that even the king, the ruler and owner of everything, needed to have limits.Whenever Legislators endeavor to take away and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience.John LockeThis is because at even the simplest level, a gang requires some degree of chosen (or coerced) participation. The decision-makers form a chain of compliance that must remain unbroken for orders to reach all the way to the lowest levels. This means that the “game” participants play has to account for every level of the system. As groups get larger, from villages and towns to globe-spanning empires, the ‘game’ of raw domination would take on more abstractions and aspects of soft-power. Every aspect of human life is downstream of our collective behavior in this dominance hierarchy.For example, some countries may emphasize great importance in education to develop competitive technologies to gain wealth. Others may merely use their military might to seize resources from other regions. The impacts of those differences will reverberate down to even the humble carpenter. Regardless if the country is a top-down command economy, or an entirely free market, the carpenter will find success or failure based on how compatible his products are with the power structure. In one he may have more success and status making tools, in the other he may do better making weapons.This all sounds rather bleak. Wouldn’t it be better if we had a good dominance hierarchy, or none at all?The story of “I am good”People can be sold a lie that’s merely a convenient pretext to participate in conquest or to mistreat others within society. Beyond lies, lots of true information can be leveraged in support of the dominance hierarchy. One can easily argue that opponents of it are misfits, freaks, or even deplorables, and that the system’s foreign enemies really aren’t any better.In fact, in many circumstances their own self-preservation instincts will fight their better senses to conform. Just as a baby knows it will die when unloved, every cell in your body understand what standing against the dominance hierarchy means. This places an overwhelming amount of stress on anyone who consciously exists outside or against it. For the story of “I am good” to take hold of society, it doesn’t need to be particularly robust, it hinges on people’s natural impulses.As an individual, it can be difficult to understand how your actions can cause risk or harm to others. I am highly suspicious that the Social Justice movement was weaponized to get people to reflexively defend their position within the hierarchy. “Check your privilege” was not only a rhetorical weapon used to silence others, but backs people into a corner of system justification.This isn’t to say a good and fair dominance hierarchy can’t exist. It’s just that it has to overcome the challenges posed by competing hierarchies that compete on raw force and efficiency. There are good people constantly working to level the playing field or address problems, we know meaningful change is possible. It just does require difficult things like compromise and consensus.Things can be hard for those who recognize what’s gone wrong and want to fix it.Radicals vs ReformersThe only true revolution is the replacement of an existing dominance hierarchy with a different one. This is what radicals want, while reformers simply want to modify the structure of the existing one.Reformers want to make the dominance hierarchy more fair or efficient, ideally with sane and humane goals. They recognize the benefits of preserving what’s functional within the existing structures. Even the most effective reformers will struggle against various inflexibilities of the system refusing to bend.Radicals may or may not also want those things, but more principally want the dominance hierarchy reorganized. For some games like monarchy, replacing the king could result in a dramatic shift. Radicals recognize that those with status and resources within the hierarchy are squandering them, and that they should be used in a different way. Radicals often struggle to build meaningful coalitions to support overthrowing the existing dominance hierarchy.In the context of many activist movements, who agree on many issues, the dividing line will be between radicals and reformers. The radicals will accuse the reformers of being propped-up by the existing power-structure. Then the reformers will retort that the radicals are sabotaging meaningful change with their resentment, arguing that keeping the power structure in place is a fair trade for meaningful change.One of the stronger adaptations a dominance hierarchy can have is flexibility. A rigid system is too vulnerable to being outright overthrown by radicals. Instead of single-handedly orchestrating your machinations, it can be quite effective to open bid those actions to those you will reward handsomely. This is an excellent tactic to prevent defectors, because those interested in their own self-advancement will align themselves to your goals. Suddenly your vast conspiracy to dominate others is working as a decentralized network with plausible deniability, with the added bonus of components being entirely replaceable.Social creditWhat fuels a social credit system is to reduce one’s participation in society to currency. Many would argue we’re already there, but the existence of public goods, like a free and open internet can go a long way to level the playing field. Carbon allowances, CBDC’s, energy rationing, smart contracts are all things that can be used interchangeably to place restrictions on individuals for their conduct. What this changes is that the ability for those who don’t culturally, intellectually, or morally conform to society is all but eliminated. Suddenly, all of humanity is reduced to mere cogs in the machine for some ‘greater purpose’.Maybe you’ve got a ‘greater purpose’ in mind for such a system. I can promise you that it’s pure madness. The very imposition of such tools for total top-down control themselves are incompatible with fundamental morality. For example, we have seen an incredible rise in censorship, yet hate remains and people aren’t noticeably any nicer online. I am highly skeptical that this would improve in different hands. Merely replacing one tyrant for another isn’t the answer here.The game of powerA social credit system is an implementation of the human dominance hierarchy. The system functions to incentivize individuals to conform to the decision-maker’s goals. Today, because people are rightly concerned with the dreams of the technocrats they remain arrogantly ignorant of the existing mechanisms of social control. Social conventions, institutions, and financial incentives are all downstream of the human dominance hierarchy. Instead of running through a digital ID and connected to a smart-contract fueled grid, it runs on people.People decide who is high status and low status. Every act, either reaffirms or denigrates the dominance hierarchy and has associated consequences. Money is merely currency. People’s entire lives are ruled by how they are treated by those around them. There are many non-financial actions that have immense impact on a person’s overall well-being. Reducing the sum-total effects of human social interactions to financial transactions is to explore a planet through a keyhole.The “Great Reset” and 4th industrial revolution are in fact a revolution. This revolution is one that reduces the various ‘inefficiencies’ in the human dominance hierarchy from the perspective of the technocrats. Instead of allowing people to evaluate their situation and use their mind to respond, the goal is to construct a system that dictates how they should act.Analog to digitalThe advantage of going digital means that you replace an army of well paid upper to middle class managers with mere code that the rest of humanity is forced to live by. Effectively, the oligarch class has decided to “cut out the middle man” between themselves and the workforce. By simplifying everyone’s vocation to a set of rigid standards that must be followed without question, nobody is safe from being replaced with a trivial software suite and an army of underpaid ‘gig workers’.Just as people communicate social signals, a digital social credit system will communicate praise or condemnation in a variety of ways. Instead of merely fining people or using the brutality of a criminal justice system, the technocracy can simply de-rank the individual and their associates. To some this may appear as more compassionate, but may end up having incalculable harms and distortions in the long run.Just as advertising algorithms have already learned how to influence and manipulate people, more and more machines can be deployed to manage human beings. Many organizations that currently exist would be made totally obsolete, for better or worse. There are many efficiencies to further digitizing society, but there’s no real need to implement it in such a top-down manner.Central planing works, but all effective central planners are evilRobots are no exception. Tyrants in nations and the workforce are often poor performers unless they figure out ways to expend those around them as a resource for greater efficiency. Do you really expect the digital social credit system to place a high value on your individual well-being? I would already bet against it. In many countries, there are poor protections for fundamental rights. In addition to this, in the last few decades civil rights gains have only carved out additional niches of protection rather than protecting individuals as a whole. The “protected class” framework will likely not protect anyone when civil rights are entirely discarded on an individual level.Population managementIt really is impossible to overstate the danger of putting humanity’s fate into the hands of a few technocrats. Their malthusian desire to lower the population is something they’ve made abundantly clear. If only that was the worst of it, with existing technologies at their disposal, the capability exists to alter what remains of humanity in fundamental ways. People haven’t been getting any healthier under their watch, and we would only watch the deterioration accelerate when given more control.Fit for purposeThe tools outlined in this series are very much the tip of the iceberg. It’s concerning to see so much information control ramp up exponentially in the last decade. In hindsight this was no accident. As things increasingly converge on more troubling outcomes, we can only become more aware of the urgency to oppose tyranny. It’s important not to underestimate information asymmetry. The amount of publicly accessible information isn’t likely to encompass even most of the true threats and dangers. The impressive AI tools that are just reaching the public are mere children’s toys compared to what is likely already being used in the halls of power.The human elementImagine a giant picket line. The strike is over the future of humanity. People can either cross the picket line to work for those who want to enslave (and eventually destroy) humanity, being showered with fleeting opportunities and resources… or to stand up for oneself and find new ways to build elsewhere. The tragically sad truth is that there is a near limitless supply of desperate scabs who would happily (even knowingly) trade all of our futures for some present sustenance or comfort. You may be angry at these people, even willing to attack them, but they are not the root cause. Much of the harm that has already been done has created much tragedy and many victims.This is why you can’t just “outrun the next guy”, or earn enough to isolate yourself from what is currently in the works. If there’s one lesson I want you to learn from Tools of the Technocracy it would be this: No one is safe, until this is stopped. Nobody is rich enough, or connected enough to suddenly win a fight against tyrants who have planned this since before I was born. This is why all the heroes people line up to worship will always fail them. They couldn’t stop it even if they tried.The people are the key, but they’re not just fodder you can throw at the problem. Without a real plan, or at least some meaningful support you will run out of bodies by the time you figure out what’s hitting you. Many of the more intelligent commentators will point out that people need to connect with their communities, but for many that underestimates the very real decimation of social bonds that has already ocurred. Rebuilding society and culture is a momentous task, now people must figure out how to do it while under attack.SolutionsI don’t have all the answers, just parts of the puzzle. I started writing this series in part because I myself was at a loss of what to do, and decided to focus on a narrow part of what I saw as the overall problem. I wholeheartedly believe that to secure individual rights, and create a future worth passing on, revolutionary change is necessary.For RadicalsMy advice, dear radical, is to never turn on the people. More of them are on your side in numbers and ways you can’t fathom.There is a legal, decentralized, and incredibly powerful mechanism to disrupt the dominance hierarchy from the bottom-up. Charity. We have already seen enough to know that large numbers of energetic and healthy people are what the technocrats fear the most. It is much easier (and more practical) to build up people than to single-handedly try to take town those with immense wealth and power.By simply working on effective ways to support others you can help provide people much-needed breathing room to build themselves up. While it’s important to start with necessities like food, energy & shelter, other under-appreciated things to provide would be education & training, social support, and recreation facilities.Recognize that there are real reformers. Not everyone who agrees with you may be willing to go to the same lengths to achieve the same goal, this doesn’t mean you can’t cooperate or share ideas. Because reformers tend to work within the system rather than outside of it, they may have decent suggestions on how to secure resources for pressing concerns.For reformersYour task, reformer, is to sincerely take the time to understand the grievances of radicals. It is very difficult for those under the strain that is placed on them to properly articulate their concerns.“Stop!” is your friend. Reformers will face innumerable obstacles trying to implement any real change, but reducing further harms can go a long way. If a terrible idea is being discussed, work to prevent it. If it can’t be prevented work to delay it. If it can’t be delayed, work to reverse it. If it can’t be reversed ensure it can never happen again.Recognize the limits of the system, find opportunities to alleviate suffering despite it.For us allNo matter who you are and what your outlook is. Reclaim the power of deciding who deserves your time, attention, and respect. Reevaluate the systems you use and organizations that get your time, money and work.These are some excellent solutions.If you want to learn more about how I think things can be turned around, take a look (or listen) to my 2030 backcasting. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

What is backcasting?Backcasting is when you imagine a scenario for an ideal future and try to trace a path to there from today. Instead of simply being comforted by a future world as we would like it to be, the goal is to identify opportunities to take action immediately. Backcasting is about discovering a blueprint for that better future and investigating how it can be made into reality. I will be using the scenario from the Solari Report:For our purposes, the year is 2030, and this is our “desirable future”: In 2030, freedom reigns planetwide, with the push for central control having failed miserably. Local currencies are flourishing, while lack of use slowly marginalizes the few CBDCs that were implemented. The World Economic Forum is bankrupt, and a depressed Klaus Schwab has retreated to his home in the Alps. Family and community prosperity is growing throughout the developed and emerging markets as economies decentralize—and as government enforcement, regulation, intervention, and taxation decrease. In short, there is much to celebrate.How was this brought about?AccountabilityChange really begun with accountability. People taking responsibility for the systems they use and the incentives they bring about. By being more critical of our choices, it became easier to make deliberate decisions that grew to impact wider society.It started with courageous individualsA hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.Joseph Campbell - A hero of a thousand facesHeroes aren’t the people who you see on the TV or those who get the big interviews. In this story, the heroes are those who recognized the great evil lurking and set out to challenge it head-on. People who quickly went to confront the darkness themselves so that they may spare others the horrors. They made mistakes, suffered losses and won small victories. Learning many things the entire way. When they returned from their journey they brought light and hope as the darkness faded away.Simple acts of heroismNot everyone started at the same point, some were born ready, others had preparations to make. As more people made progress, it became easier for others to catch up.The first and most courageous act one makes is continuing to love in a world of hardship. Injustice rightfully gives rise to great anger, but love must always be the animating force. Coming back from facing darkness requires a conscious decision to choose life. Forging a strong commitment to embrace life, beauty and wonder to the fullest was when heroes were truly forged.With so much anger and pain, nothing was safe from a deluge of dread and sadness. Many of the heroes fell in terrible ways trying to just stand still in the torrent of chaos. Some had support, others had preparations, but the few who endured managed to find some footing to steady themselves from the otherworldly brutality they had been exposed to. They never lost sight of those alongside them who weren’t so fortunate.Steadying themselves required powerful introspection and the ability to care for themselves. The heroes needed to build themselves up to be stronger than ever. Not in a selfish manner, but in a way that gave them the strength to carry on. Carrying on often meant accepting difficult differences with others. Other times, it meant shielding one’s mind from malevolent forces. Reducing energy spent on enraging culture war rivalries, and instead focusing on concrete goals for action. As the heroes made progress, unshackled from doubt and despair, things started to gain momentum. Fear shrunk away from being an ever-present oppressive force to becoming once again a distrusted stranger.As momentum grew, so too did a constant reorganization of priorities. So many different voices had unique insight into the road that lead us all astray. It took time to shift attention and refocus energies so people tended to take more care with those resources. Spending extra time to reflect to themselves, or to investigate their own concerns more deeply. This questioning of not only the world as it is, but of themselves and us all for what we are. With this insight, gradual but meaningful changes were made on a constant basis.The work of legendsIt all started within reach. The massive tidal wave of change was built with individuals choosing to act on the world around them. Local movements grew and caught on quickly, learning from mistakes made along the way. What made the difference wasn’t brilliance, riches, or even luck. It was all built through tireless persistence of those who dared to dream of a better world.Hardly anyone could even attempt it all alone. Our heroes didn’t just need to be stronger, they needed allies, support and numbers. While many different groups had many fantastic victories, it was support that truly laid the foundation to our bright future. The victims of the old ways were innumerable, many of the heroes themselves haunted by the extent of the suffering they managed to witness. What made 2023 the pivotal year was the defensive victories.This required a solid fortification of people’s right to life, liberty and happiness. Support didn’t merely mean taking on the banner of other’s suffering, but meaningful actions to address the causes. Those who were injured were given care.Those who lost loved ones were given comfort. Those who’s careers were displaced by technocratic tyranny were found meaningful work. Those left behind were remembered. With real systems of support outside the technocratic state-controlled bureaucracies, people were able to take more risks to work for change without simply being burnt out and spent like fodder. Positive change was only possible when we stopped losing great freedom-fighters to the cold entropy of letting them fall.Gradually, community bonds started to heal as people began to share the abundance of each other. Neighborhoods became warm and welcoming as people made meaningful connections. These real bonds forged in staving off devastation, became wellsprings of joy. It was this joy that brought people to new heights they never imagined before. Major victories were starting to happen all over, as people would use that joy to fuel supporting others.Liberating the tech stackBrought together by the joy of life and living together, there was much that needed to change in the technological landscape. What was originally seen as inconvenient and arbitrary changes were eventually seen as natural and obvious. People individually and collectively renegotiated different ways of using, building, and sharing technology.Big Tech social media was the first to go. People saw how it had been weaponized against them from the beginning. More and more grew distrustful of any top-down centralized service calling itself a “platform”. These systems of control were difficult to break free from, but the heroes were the first to fully disconnect their minds from the mass mind-control platforms.Increasingly aware of how Digital ID could be abused against the public, the people learned to make little use of anything that required an account for the purposes of collecting data on users. Instead of using apps from big tech stores, open and accessible web-based apps became more popular. As people became more familiar with experimenting with different options, lesser-known minimal protocols like Gemini were given a chance to show us a different kind of web. The heroes were at the forefront of encouraging others to embrace open protocols instead of the latest popular platform running on big tech infrastructure.As people started regularly thinking about their software choices, and how they can impact their freedom, attention eventually moved to hardware. With a newfound appreciation for freedom, sovereignty, and privacy in the digital world, there were many things that needed to be done differently. Early on a great deal of attention was spent on right to repair ensuring that independent farmers weren’t beholden to technocratic abuse. Repairing old technologies was a fantastic way to reduce e-waste and give people opportunities to learn and experiment.There would be instances where devices designed for a corporate dystopia simply wouldn’t have much use anymore. There was lots of opportunity for innovation. “Nostalgic” things like physical keyboards, removable batteries, and single-purpose devices all made a comeback in a big way. Efficiency and true elegance were real priorities.StewardshipOddly enough, some of the heroes were fairly technologically inclined themselves. Long-disillusioned with Big Tech and the way things had gone, they had many ideas on ways for the rest of us to break free. People would regularly be shocked and surprised at how many of these innovations had just been abandoned to the aether. Over time more and more individuals experimented with different tools and technologies to find what adapted well to their situations.These heroes would begin to start community-run services. Instead of everyone needing to use e-mail from Big Tech providers, dependable and trustworthy individuals were able to run small operations for small groups of users and assist others with starting their own. Education and outreach were vitally important parts of recruiting more people to build and share. These community services were a nightmare for those who wanted easily indexed access to everyone’s private information. All kinds of different services were provided, some communities had more novel needs than others. If nothing else, there was now real local representation in cyberspace that people could rely on.Instead of using their skills to help large corporations harvest data, our technological stewards helped people take control over their own computing. Teaching them how to use Free and Open Source software to manipulate their own data gave people a real sense of digital autonomy. New projects would be created for building useful public datasets that don’t include people’s private information.As people’s digital independence was better safeguarded, it became even easier for people to protect their sovereignty in other domains. Instead of wasting massive amounts of human effort and energy moderating “the one conversation”, people would participate in the places they felt had value. People were used to difficult and honest discussions and got better at resolving complicated disputes. Instead of people constantly calling for censorship, it was hardly ever considered. Egregious legislation worldwide was challenged and opposed. ChatControl and other laws targeting digital freedoms received constant and serious criticism. Politicians could no longer justify these excesses as “for the greater good” as people no longer believed them.Those of us who were technologically inclined, realized that our talents weren’t the only skills lacking. We understood that we needed all kinds of people with all kinds of skills. Instead of simply dragging people onto platforms we deem superior, we build the groundwork that open alternatives “just work” for all of us. We work to empower those with different talents and build on their successes. This is my message to you, dear reader. No matter what your unique skill-set is, it definitely has a place in building this beautiful future. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

The free and open web is an idea. It’s the idea that humanity can share a distributed (or entirely decentralized) information repository for free expression and open dialogue. So many great things would be outright impossible without the world’s information superhighway. The threats to a free and open web are legion, governments, corporations, and other malevolent entities are eager to control your access to information.In the age of widespread tolerance for censorship, the term “net neutrality” is entirely forgotten. This is an important reminder that censorship is very much as social phenomenon as well as a technological threat. Controlling information is always about controlling people. Given complete control over what information one’s subjects have access to, that entity is their ruler regardless of the law.Why shut down the internet?The internet can be a phenomenal equalizer; people have access to immense amounts of human knowledge and expression. Despite all the aspects of our digital world being leveraged against people, the internet has many properties that are beneficial to humanity at large. It’s censorship resistant, and good valuable information can be relatively permanent.The internet interprets censorship as damage, and routes around it.I really like that quote, but I feel it misses the mark. People interpret censorship as an attack on their right to freedom of thought, and those people work to route around it. This is a nightmare for technocrats and tyrants of all walks of life. Professionals, academics, and bureaucrats don’t fear the public being able to use the internet to learn their skills and replace them. Instead, what they truly fear is the public being able to use the internet to expose them as frauds. Censorship is an attack on all people by attacking their very ability to learn, create and share.The danger of internet shutdowns, in whole or in part, is the fundamental undermining of the people’s ability to peacefully find alternatives to serious problems. It is true that the internet is used to surveil, control, and manipulate people. Those activities could very easily be deployed by these forces on their own separate networks & infrastructure, it just happens to be fairly convenient to use what is here already.Whole internet shutdownsInternet shutdowns are already a well-established phenomenon. Regardless of justification, whole internet shutdowns have drastic consequences on the people and represent an overt attack on their civil rights. By denying people’s ability to access information, and their ability to be heard by the rest of the world; you enable the worst actors to commit their crimes in the cover of darkness.India leads total shutdowns globally. In 2021, the world’s largest democracy shut off its internet 106 times – more than the rest of the world combined. Hardest-hit was the conflict-ridden region of Jammu and Kashmir, which was subject to 85 shutdowns under the guise of containing separatist violence. The blackouts shut down Zoom classes for students, stopped doctors from communicating with their remote patients and crippled the banking system, causing mortgage holders to default on their loans. Apple crops rotted before they could be sold and businesses were paralyzed.https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/29/flicking-the-kill-switch-governments-embrace-internet-shutdowns-as-a-form-of-control Such a drastic measure is (outside of accident & sabotage) never taken lightly. Any trivial excuse for initiating one is almost certainly a lie. A government may blame a foreign adversary, but one has to ask: “Qui bono?”. Who really benefits from cutting off a nations public access to information, and to be heard from the wider world?Partial internet shutdownsWhile a whole internet shutdown could be localized in a small area, another option is altering the infrastructure to monitor, alter, or deny access to specific kinds of traffic. It is possible for unencrypted (or recognizable patterns) traffic can be filtered, throttled, or monitored. This means that specific kinds of services, like e-mails or uploads can be disrupted entirely.Great FirewallsWhen an entity has control of some parts of the internet infrastructure there are all kinds of techniques that can be used to block access to sites and specific kinds of services. These “great firewalls” can also be used to block connections entirely from or to the outside world. From a strategic perspective, blocking isn’t the only option, surveillance is an incredibly powerful tool for hunting down dissidents.The little padlock on your browser means the site is secure right? No. The only thing that little padlock says is that you have a direct encrypted connection to a server. Without inspecting the certificate itself and verifying with others you can’t always be sure you’re connected to the correct server.This technology drastically reduces the amount and kinds of services you can trust. These insidious techniques can make it seem almost impossible to use the internet securely and privately. Solutions exist, but one has to responsibly manage their expectations when it comes to trade-offs. It’s essentially an open secret that the internet was developed for the purpose of being an all-encompassing surveillance grid. If humanity wants to maintain the information superhighway as a public good, we are all going to have to learn to be nimble and change our behavior to reform cyberspace.Targeted attacksA broad internet shutdown is a desperate move. Strategically, it’s much more efficient to eliminate sources (and dissemination) of information that you want to restrict. This is exactly why the public at large must constantly be told why censorship has to continue. If people understood the true cost of censorship, no self-respecting person would tolerate it.CyberattacksSufficiently motivated adversaries with enough resources can make keeping a service online very difficult. Just as we are all mortal no service is fully attack-proof. The cost to fight a cyberattack is almost always significantly more than the cost to mitigate it.Denial of infrastructureIn a deeply troubling response, after both terminations we saw a dramatic increase in authoritarian regimes attempting to have us terminate security services for human rights organizations — often citing the language from our own justification back to us.Cloudflare blogIn ideal circumstances such restriction would be impossible. However, as long as the three primary resources of cyberspace (storage, computing power, bandwidth) are subject to the economies of scale; there will always be powerful incentives to rely on certain entities one-way-or-another.Attacking the peopleThe people running any kind of site or service are just humans like you and me. They are mortal. Not only that, but they are vulnerable to smear campaigns, threats, and bribes.The infodemicThere is a high demand for people rationalizing censorship. Technocrats, tyrants, and social engineers of all kinds are all willing to pay handsomely for (or even fight for) the ability to control people’s minds. In today’s day and age, it’s completely laughable to believe that any of that power will be devoted at all for the people’s benefit.Are there limitless lies on the internet?.Absolutely.Are there mobs of angry people willing to do all manner of cruel things to others on the internet?No doubt. Are there groups of people disproportionately targeted by all kinds of online abuse and manipulation?Yes, 100%.Is anyone, any group of people, or institution so entirely noble and wise that they can wield the power to control information justly?Nope. Not now, and likely not ever.Why?This is a reasonable question to ask. It’s easy to imagine society can decide what forms of expression are most cruel, most egregious, most harmful and only limit sanctions on that. The unfortunate truth is that even if that is the case today, there is never a guarantee that it will remain that way. The “slippery slope fallacy” can’t be applied to events driven by exponential growth and decay. When abuses of power aren’t swiftly and harshly punished, future abuses aren’t just welcomed; they are incentivized.What essentially is occurring is that we have allowed large private corporations, ie, social media, digital corporations to be the arbiters of what is considered to be acceptable in our societies and these corporations have convinces us that they have the right tools (both technical and human) in order to make those decisions.It’s also the case the we have been told - and I don’t mean to undermine your session this afternoon, but that there are these AI tools that are going to solve the issue in various ways, and I think there is a huge danger in that because:* A) Where these kinds of problem from in is firstly, How, What are the criteria by which these decisions are being made? And who makes those decisions?* B) How accountable are those decision making processes in terms of their being contested and their need to be justified to citizens.Misinformation, Disinformation, MalinformationThese terms are thrown around so casually these days, attributed to so many things that it is hard to see them as anything other than thought-terminating-cliches.Apparently they are supposed to mean:* MisinformationInformation that isn’t true but the people sharing it believe it is true* DisinformationInformation that isn’t true, even though the people spreading it know it’s false* MalinformationInformation that is actually true, but has “undesirable effects” (such as loss of trust in institutions, bank runs, scandals)Ironically these terms themselves are actually quite dangerous ideas. They presume not just the desirability of information control, but also the outright moral necessity of it. That alone would be bad enough, but having seen how these labels are applied over the last two years. They are hardly used fairly at all. These terms are little more than smears by a desperate press that’s losing trust faster than they can say “Streisand effect!”.HarassmentHuman beings have a great capacity to hurt each other. The internet, like any other tool greatly enhances this. When someone doesn’t take absolute care to be anonymous there is little-to-nothing they can do to protect themselves from the ire of an irate mob, especially a well-financed and motivated one. This makes many people want to rush to suppress any hostile expression. It backfires all the time.Societal rifts need to be healed, not torn further and further apart.Facebook can’t handle all the hate and abuse from people on their own platform, with the state-of-the art tools. While there may be financial incentives for Facebook to fan the flames, they fail to completely eliminate all kinds of criminal activities from their services. It is highly likely that suppressing all anger and hate is an impossible task.This doesn’t mean that the hate has to continue to burn. Selectively suppressing anger and hate just fosters resentment and escalates the hate. Instead, empowering people to peacefully negotiate, separate themselves from, or simply accept differences in society. Raising tensions only serves to benefit those who have bad intentions or ulterior motives.Automated extremismWe are not just dealing with small groups of malevolent people. Automated tools exist to flood people with all kinds of inflammatory material. Simply lashing out at the people who are confused and angry is blaming the victims. Yes, they often beget more victims. Which builds a cycle of eye-for-an-eye’ing each other for a very blind world.For those that are sincerely worried about extremism, or people indoctrinated with nonsense, remember that those people don’t exist in a vacuum. It is well understood that suppression doesn’t actually reduce those problems. We have seen over and over that all it does is inflame anger and drive people further underground. Exiling those people and demeaning their concerns is incredibly counter-productive.The only reason to take the suppression approach is if there is some part of the associated discourse that you want to keep buried forever. If that’s the case I’m highly suspicious of your motives.What can be done bout the anger and hate?You are the solution!If you’re reading this, you’re already a curious and thoughtful person. This is the key to diffusing the conflicts in society. While we all have ways we can improve ourselves to be more charitable and understanding with others, you have to take time to be more outspoken to humanize those who are being attacked. SolutionsBuild bigNobody can tackle the full threat of internet shutdowns alone. It can be difficult to get people interested in collaborating until it happens. That said, everyone is going to wish that in a moment of an internet shutdown there is a flood of volunteers rushing to help get people back online immediately.Democratization of internet infrastructure is vital. High-bandwidth long-range communications aren’t easy to build, but many of these challenged can be overcome with dedicated and talented people being supported.What’s more powerful than too big to fail? Too small to shut down.Power and control should be as distributed as possible. Instead of relying on heroes to have all the answers we all need to work on solutions that can scale beyond our self-interest and political division.Useful ProjectsThese all require some degree of technical knowledge, but are highly worth exploring.* Meshtastic* Yggdrasil* TildeNet This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

None of the tools of the technocracy are better marketed than the concept of transhumanism. To some it brings to mind techno-utopian ideas like advanced cybernetics and augmented reality, to outright hubris like defeating death. That’s not really where the dark side even begins. It gets ghoulish fast when one realizes the potential impacts to healthcare, propaganda, and human health as we know it.Most people aren’t necessarily concerned about the existence of new technologies, but rather how those new developments are allowed to shape and impact our lives. It’s easy to see why more useful, durable, and accessible prosthetics would be seen as a nearly universally good thing, just as mind-control chips programmed by the technocracy would be seen as universally bad.The sanitized term is digital convergence. “What happens when biology and digital technology merge?”Note the certainty, when biology and technology merge not if. This is because even some of the most trivial technologies can have profound impacts on society. For example smartphones and social media have changed people as well as the media landscape in big ways.Humanity is already being alteredOur modern societies have witnessed drastic changes in people’s physiology in a relatively short period of time. When a class of technocrats have complete control, advanced gene-editing technology is overdoing it. Just like plants and animals, humanity can modify these things with selective pressures and breeding. Giving technocrats top-down control of society, provides them absolute power to do the same to the public. Eugenics is in many ways the same technocratic formula ( collect data on everything, make modifications, shape the future) applied to biology.This creates the potential for a terrifying crisis. With the technology that is already within reach, a society that doesn’t recognize individual rights will inevitably transform people’s bodies into a tokenized commodity. By denying people ownership of their own bodies, all other trespasses are a mere formality. Mandating euthanasia, modification, or use/denial of reproductive means will be all in play. This is the fundamental problem; not about which technologies are good or bad, but entirely about how to preserve our rights and autonomy.What are the technocrats after?Complete domination over humanityThe tools of the technocracy are essentially all be pieces the technocrats want on the board to ‘checkmate’ humanity. Once the people are locked into being collateralized by the system, the technocrats can make use of the public for all kinds of twisted and monstrous experiments.ImmortalityWhy rule if you can’t rule forever? The desire to seize complete control overlaps perfectly with a lack of willingness to give it up. Acceptance of death is a vital part of coming to terms with your life. Over and over those who live in fear of death, often die without having lived.Even if you envy the ability to live forever…would you really want to live forever on the technocracy’s terms?Beyond bodiesLiving forever in the same human body just doesn’t suit the technocrats. Even after all kinds of fancy augmentations, fanciful ideas like uploading your consciousness to a simulation are the next frontier.How the technocrats achieve plan to itNarrative ControlIt can’t be overstated how much the tools of the technocracy build each other up. More centralization and control makes it easier to further centralize and control things. Propaganda will look like a crude crude instrument once the technocracy has electrodes directly connected to people’s brains.Health controlTurning people against their own bodies is the fundamental transhumanist goal. Anything that makes people look weak and sick compared to the pristine cybernetic products will work to their favor. Getting the public to be confused about what protects and what harms their health is a very powerful means of achieving this.When people’s lives, bodies and minds are all just data-points on a dashboard it’s very easy to argue in favor of monstrous policies and practices. In the name of doing “what’s best for the patient” medical staff can be made to serve the system rather than the patients.Technological integrationWhat are all the gadgets for anyways? People are going to need additional sensors on them so they can be bombarded with all kinds of numbers to track about themselves. Those numbers could be used to do more than just make better health decisions, but also pushing new products.The Faustian BargainIt is important not to be distracted by the sci-fi utopianism to be lured into a false-sense of security about the downright ghoulish downsides of this technology, and especially this technology in the technocrats hands. It is important to keep in mind that these systems can be very easily used for evil and horrific things.DowngradesInstead of an implant, chip or system that augments your ability to do things, it’s often much simpler to make these systems prevent certain things. Crude mechanisms to create pain in a person when they behave in ways the system don’t like is a very trivial mechanism that would have powerful results in conditioning a person.RightsThe transhumanist agenda creates a great deal of civil rights troubles. As technological systems are allowed to invade our minds and our bodies we put the liberty of all humanity at risk.1. PrivacyThe most obvious concern is privacy; if these devices are monitoring all kinds of activity in and around your body, who has access to that information?2. Economic pressuresIf only it was as simple as just disconnecting from these systems. In some situations cybernetic augments may be seen as a necessary requirement for certain jobs. This creates a powerful incentive against people who wish to keep their bodies unmodified, or would rather avoid specific modifications.3. Censorship and manipulationMany ‘upgrades’ go beyond what you can perceive. All kinds of imperceptible actions will be able to manipulate people far better than social media and advertising can. Instead of relying on symbolism and experiences to produce certain thoughts and feelings, the technocrats will aim to make you experience the desired inputs directly.Even if they can’t force people to forget things yet, they’ll be forced to act as if they have.SolutionsTake control of your health* Understand your body, get to know your habits.* Find trustworthy people to help you build up your health, and avoid the things that damage you.* Get active, play and enjoy being a human being!Don’t let them define humanWhile it is true that you are more than just the sum total of your parts, it’s best not to give the technocrats complete domain to define what we as human beings are, and what we are not. We as people should support each other’s dignity regardless of what chosen or refused modifications are made.“But on a more relatable level, we already know intuitively that the anti-human, synthetic systems that the technocrats are trying to put in place are a pipe dream. Does anyone other than the most deluded technocrat believe that humanity can really abandon the natural world and adopt a food system completely dependent on synthetic, lab-grown “meat,” genetically modified “plants” and poisonous chemicals? Or that sentient AI chatbots are going to be running society as soon as the Google engineers let them out? Or that an economy built on social credit and CBDCs can really function? Of course not. Even the people who are pulling the technocrats’ strings know this isn’t workable in the long run.”Technocracy NewsFree (as in Freedom) Hardware and softwareThese technological systems need transparency and consent. People should never be forced or pressured to integrate technology into their body ever. This line must never be crossed or we risk falling into outright techno-totalitarianism. If people choose to integrate technology into themselves they should have the full rights to repair, modify and use it however they see fit.Libre Solutions Network is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe

What is a smart city?Just like the ‘smart’ in smart devices is really just code for surveillance devices, a ‘smart’ city is really just a surveillance & control city. In essence, the smart city is the ultimate application of all the tools of the technocracy against it’s captives. Even the tone of their marketing gives off how much disdain they have for human beings. ICENI Bulletins outlines the primary attributes of a smart city.Attributes of a Future Smart City* It must be a planned community, laid out for high efficiency and short transit times. Practically everything one would need would be within walking distance of one’s apartment.* For many workers, telecommuting via the metaverse would replace physical commutes. One’s home would also be one’s workplace. Therefore, office space would be replaced with residential space, and practically everything along one’s commute - convenience stores, clothing shops, laundromats, coffeehouses, restaurants, et cetera - would be eliminated.* Physical services and many commercial areas would largely be replaced with on-demand and delivery services, including robo-delivery by drones or other unmanned vehicles.* Everything would be tightly regulated, with people’s utilization of services, consumption of goods, criminal activity, and other behaviors monitored by constant, all-encompassing surveillance.* This same surveillance system would be used to automatically dispatch emergency services, as required, by detecting ongoing crimes, medical emergencies, and fires, using all manner of networked sensors.* Networked sensors would also be used to determine electricity and natural gas usage, among other metrics of consumption and waste.So in short…Why?One of the most underestimated factors of the technocracy is the massive arms-race between the people and the technocrats. If people understood how essential the liberty they have left to their survival is they would have guarded it much more carefully during the Covid Crisis.Data alone isn’t that valuable, it’s the ability to leverage it for power and control that has fueled the constant eradication of privacy in people’s lives. In many ways people choose to trade their privacy for convenience, but there are powerful incentives tipping the scales.The smart city is marketed as for the convenience of its residents, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Smart cities are built for efficiently monitoring and controlling all aspects of people’s lives. There are massive challenges in trying to monitor and control every minute detail in life.There are only two ways to solve that problem:* Build up more computing power, storage & bandwidth incurring greater energy, resource, and management costs.* ‘Simplify’ the problem by limiting people’s freedom.There are limits to how far you can go with #1. Management of more and more complexity can become an impossibility. Energy is also likely to be highly constrained for the near future. You only need a convenient pretext to get the public under your control to go along with #2.What does #2 look like in practice?* If you don’t have the computation to store and calculate everyone attending social events, visiting family, and otherwise moving about?Just stop them from moving around!* Can’t easily build the infrastructure to listen to everyone, everywhere, all the time?Simply force them onto digital platforms you control!* Don’t want things like human understanding, mercy or charity dulling your harsh enforcement mechanisms?Simply use machines to carry out the orders.* Tired of administrators being held accountable for decisions that impact people?Deflect to the automatic system and claim it is for the greater good.There are all kinds of ‘optimizations’ you can do when you decide to grab complete top-down control, and develop robust mechanisms to silence and discredit any dissent. This is why smart cities will resemble all the worst aspects of company towns.It’s already started.“Noah was a conspiracy theorist when it started to rain”Dr ZelenkoAn easy mistake to make when thinking about the tools of the technocracy, is to only recognize them in their most extreme and visible forms. Systems are gradually introduced and built on to construct what could be seen as impossible. While someday you may see drones enforcing edicts on street-corners, it’s a mistake to think that because there aren’t outright visible features, that the system isn’t already being built.For cryptocurrency the 2010s were a decade of optimism and hope. The 2020s are where we get to see the real ‘double-edged’ aspects of these systems. Blockchain technology is efficient at administration and storing information. As you can see, helium is being used to roll-out IoT infrastructure.There are many good uses for such a project, sadly, in our troubled times no tool is above political interference. There is a storm of attacks on anything resembling independent, censorship resistant communication/financial networks, even if they aren’t secure as they seem. It is important not to become overconfident or have too much faith in an individual product.Digital IDAs far as a smart city is concerned, you aren’t human. You don’t have rights. You can’t own property. Your activities aren’t limited in terms of money, but rather permission. All your activities are constantly monitored and the system has the capability to intervene at any time.To the smart city administration, you happen to be an animal that carries around a tool that represents you in the system. If carrying the tool is too burdensome it can be implanted.Yes, the smartphone works as a digital ID. Your phone number and/or IMEI is enough to uniquely identify you in all kinds of situations.SolutionsBoycott Digital IDReducing your dependence on surveillance devices is important. It is equally important to prevent people from being forced into using them. The more people locked into these systems, the less they are able to accept your refusal to participate.In any and all circumstances it is best to refuse to divulge personally identifying information, especially with institutions and services you don’t trust.This includes (but is not limited to):* Full name* Location data & home address* Phone Number* E-mail address* Credit card details* Government IDVitally important is to support the great local organizations working to protect freedoms in your area. The Take Action Crowdfund is a fantastic resource for finding initiatives to support.Get involvedBy May 2020, Sidewalk had pulled the plug, citing “the unprecedented economic uncertainty brought on by the covid-19 pandemic.” But that economic uncertainty came at the tail end of years of public controversy over its $900 million vision for a data-rich city within the city.It’s hardly unusual for citizens to get up in arms about new development, and utopias fail for all sorts of reasons. But the opposition to Sidewalk’s vision for Toronto wasn’t about things like architectural preservation or the height, density, and style of the proposed buildings—the usual fodder for public outcry. The project’s tech-first approach antagonized many; its seeming lack of seriousness about the privacy concerns of Torontonians was likely the main cause of its demise.Almost everything the technocrats want to force on people are impossible without the compliance of the public. Do not fall for the trap of believing these changes are inevitable. We can all work to shape the world we want, and the most important part is getting connected and engaged in your community. It’s important to build and maintain systems and infrastructure that strengthens communities.Work to prevent an all-digital financial system.Catherine Austin Fitts (Solari.com) and Children’s Health Defense have a fantastic series Financial Rebellion that regularly discusses strategies to prevent total top-down control of the financial system. One of these strategies is #CashEverydayIndependent long-range communicationsEstablishing ‘off-grid’ communication networks to bypass censorship will be a dire necessity once the capability exists to completely segregate locations from the internet. As technology improves, so does the ability to counteract censorship. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gaberocks.substack.com/subscribe