I have a name and use it

The Yoshi's Island map screen theme is remarkably similar to the song "Anywhere Is" by Irish singer Enya. Both of these were composed around 1994 and released in 1995, meaning that neither of them could have been influenced by each other and this is an astounding coincidence.

@zerohedge "what is the political solution in a system where elected officials conspire with elites who hold the voters themselves in contempt?" Good question. Crown Party USA is all around, not relegated to just one political party, or even borders it seems.

Elites And Their Contempt zerohedge.com/geopolitical/e…

After the recent Supreme Court argument, I asked whether it is time for a new amendment on birthright citizenship. jonathanturley.org/2026/04/06/the… Sen. Rand Paul just proposed such an amendment and believes that it should go through the states rather than Congress. x.com/SenRandPaul/st…

The disparity in scale is stark: Swartz downloaded millions of JSTOR articles (~4.8M) via MIT's network, using scripts to evade blocks—leading to CFAA/wire fraud charges (up to 35 years) that many called overreach since JSTOR settled civilly and dropped interest. Meta torrented 81+ TB of pirated books from LibGen/Z-Lib/Anna's Archive for Llama training, per unsealed court docs in the ongoing authors' copyright suit. No criminal charges there yet—it's civil, with fair use fights ahead. Enforcement isn't consistent.

The U.S. federal government has a ghost. His name was Aaron Swartz. At 14 he co-wrote the code that powers every podcast on Earth. At 19 his startup merged into Reddit. At 24 he was a Harvard fellow studying corruption. In 2011 he downloaded 4.8 million academic papers from JSTOR. JSTOR declined to press charges. The federal government did not decline. 13 felony counts. 35 years in prison. $1 million fine. For downloading research. His lawyer warned the prosecutor he was a suicide risk. The prosecutor's response, on the record: "Fine, we'll lock him up." While he waited for trial, he built one last piece of software with two others. A way for any whistleblower in the world to reach any journalist in the world without dying for it. January 11, 2013. Aaron died by suicide in his Brooklyn apartment. He was 26. His father said at the funeral: "Aaron was killed by the government." A Marine named James Dolan kept the code alive. Iraq War veteran. PTSD. He installed it at The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Intercept, ProPublica. December 2017. James died by suicide in a Brooklyn hotel. He was 36. Two of the three creators are dead. Here's the wildest part: The repo's first commit is dated January 11, 2012. Aaron died exactly one year later. To the day. The code is still alive. Last push: today. 3,804 stars. 706 forks. AGPL-3.0. Audited by Bruce Schneier. Used by 65+ newsrooms across the world. Two dead developers vs. the most powerful government in history. But DO NOT use SecureDrop. We should all let the government keep its secrets. 100% Open Source. (Link in the comments)

The RF world is insane. Researchers recovered AES-128 keys from a Bluetooth chip by listening to its own antenna from 10 meters away. Crypto-engine switching noise couples into the RF chain, rides the 2.4 GHz carrier, and leaks out as radio.

You can always tell the geopolitical atmosphere by how many preposterous UFO stories are floating about. Today must be a spicy one.

日本人は元来、多様な文化を受け入れる素地を持つ。 だから外国人も同じメンタリティだと誤解しがち。 例えば、多神教と一神教は本来相容れないが「話せば分かる」「落としどころは見つかるはず」と思ってしまう。 異文化を一切受け入れない文明や宗教もあると知るべきと思う。

@dzdarrell @TheRabbitHole @SkepResCenter So in other words they were only a few hundred years behind the europeans when it came to barbarism, sounds like a good old fashioned inquisition

@TheRabbitHole @SkepResCenter

Many people (incorrectly) think Native American tribes lived in peace and harmony. The noble savage myth is merely a myth.

I've never liked Star Wars and I don't get the appeal

@tecomalupepepe Is it true that people don't carry their umbrellas with them when they enter a store in Japan? It's common to have a storage area outside?

傘泥棒に対する不快感解消システム

@StanfordBeddoe @MikeBenzCyber I've been informed that if you're not sufficiently tribal or deferential to tribe members who consider themselves beyond repute you're a communist or a nazi. Interesting tactic when there's more independents than members of any political sports ball team.

@MikeBenzCyber Thank you. The tribal politics are out of control. Facts are facts.

🖍️ ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ visits a crayon factory (1981)

Hayek nailed it. While "very serious intellectuals" argue over whether each side is nazi or communist, whether nazis were left or right, even though totalitarianism is the overarching frame for both no matter how else they're defined, a return to serfdom seems all but guaranteed.

@hskenncutter x.com/bikemess/statu…

@hskenncutter The unsaid implication being "They're the communists, not us!". I don't think they've ever won a seat nor gotten more than a few thousand votes in any riding, though fellow travelers in socialist parties have had greater success. Either way, no guarantee, at least in canada.

日本は共産党が合法化されている国だが、これには利点もあると思う。要は精神病質者の隔離病棟として機能するということだ。共産主義をやりたい人は日本共産党へ入れば良いから、共産主義者が偽装転向して左派・中道政党へ入党するのをある程度は防げている。とはいえ他国がこれをやるのは勧めないが。

@marymargrets @KenGardner11 Looking at the social hierarchies across the Soviet bloc it’s pretty obvious that claims of wanting equality and not delivering it is an explicit trait of socialist governments. See the Castros, Kims, Venezuela, on and on.

The earliest known surviving photograph taken in Japan. A daguerreotype of Shimazu Nariakira, taken by Ichiki Shirō in 1857.

You are what you eat

@MikeKel25187159 @RiseOfAlberta "I have shown you that self government, in all that gives dignity and security to a free state is to be swept away".

@f0p9x @RiseOfAlberta Alberta was supposed to be a virtual colony from the start.

Since 1990, the world has seen over 35 new countries. The idea that Alberta could become one is not radical. The radical idea is believing Alberta must fund a broken system forever.

@zerohedge Bad news for the Royal bank, if memory serves they are the underwriter of choice

Blue Cities Across The US Are Spiraling Into Financial Collapse zerohedge.com/economics/blue…