ceoln @ceoln@qoto.org

Ed Lee on Matthew Sag on Tim Lee and me on the generative-AI copyright lawsuits:

https://chatgptiseatingtheworld.com/2024/02/25/must-reads-timothy-lee-grimmelmann-sag-on-ai-lawsuits-samuelson-on-remedies-destruction-of-ai-models/

This Black History Month remember human trafficking was legal. Slavery was legal. Jim Crow was legal. US Govt paying reparations to white enslavers but not to the enslaved was legal. Prison slavery still IS legal.

Do not let legality & power be a measure of morality & justice.

The best argument for free education I have seen in my lifetime is this:

In the US where education is not free, and fewer get well educated, the country is now facing the very serious problem, that a large segment of voters do not understand why democracy is important. Instead, they follow a presidential candidate, who pitches dictatorship as an interesting new idea, and they do not possess the knowledge to instantly identify this as the worst possible idea ever suggested in American politics.

I somehow missed this year’s announcement of the 2024 Edgar Allan Poe nominations. Each year the Mystery Writers of America selects their favorite of the genre in various categories. The nominations are always announced on Poe’s birthday and the awards ceremony falls in April.

I love reading the books on the list each year.

Here’s the list if you are curious!

https://edgarawards.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/EdNoms24.pdf

#bookstodon #books #mysteries

Myanmar-based romance scam operation pulls in $100 million in less than two years

February 25, 2024
https://www.web3isgoinggreat.com/?id=myanmar-based-pig-butchering-scam

This has to be read and shared. We are under threat from a vengeful, racist, misogynist, xenophobic, lying, defrauding would-be dictator with a major cult following. No hyperbole, just realism. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/24/donald-trump-cpac-speech

@Leisureguy @dangillmor The Guardian had a pretty good writeup on it. It's about as pure fascist as you can get.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/24/donald-trump-cpac-speech

Every time the execrable Mike Johnson appears on television, I break something. And I am running out of somethings. I don’t understand why the entire Republican party is not in jail for racketeering. I just don’t. And I’m sick of wondering why. I honestly feel that #KeithOlbermann is the only person reacting rationally to our predicament. We should all be screaming from the rafters and demanding DoJ investigate all of these gangsters and their ties to Russia. Stat.

Piracy really IS curation.

I sometimes make myself available to do deep-dive internet searches for hard-to-find things.

I recently got asked to find a source for some media that was published less than 20 years ago. My client was eager to purchase the media commercially, if possible.

The media in question turned out to be unavailable for sale, from any vendor, at any price. It is PROFOUNDLY out of print.

I was, however, able to point the client at a well-seeded torrent.

#PiracyIsCuration

Assuming they even exist I assume that neuralink guy is strapped to a gurney under a swinging bare bulb in a Fremont basement somewhere, staring a cinderblock wall without blinking and saying "Ten. Print kill me. Twenty. Go to ten." over and over again.

I really hope that this is the year that intelligent but ignorant people finally realize how fucked the planet is due to climate change.

There is no hope convincing deniers, but there is a chance to get the ignorant on board.

Anyone who looks at the Sea Surface Temperature and Air Temperature for the last two years will know that something very very bad is happening

Record high temperatures during winter, and record low snowpack

Even if you believe in Climate Change this should terrify you.

Two years ago, a full-scale war broke out. Rocket attacks, convoys of military vehicles, burning houses, millions of refugees — all of this has become a daily reality. After all, war is a very material thing. You can't hide from it behind beautiful words. You have to deal with it. You have to find the tools to defend yourself. And Ukrainian society has found them.

The response to external aggression was unprecedented solidarity and mutual aid. A social upsurge that united people and was able to thwart the invader's plans. As well as unprecedented support from around the world.

Our work is built around the same principles. For two years now, we have been doing our best to support the anti-authoritarians at the front and the people affected by war. We try to be involved in all the most important events. And also to develop. To launch new areas of activity, build solidarity networks, and inform the world about the contribution of anti-authoritarians to the victory over Russian imperialism.

Did we succeed? Let us tell you in this video.

And, of course, we would like to thank you all once again. To all of you who have been with us for two years now and who make the Solidarity Collectives possible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEAtXVC7i0Q