This is 98% the right answer, but you drop them somewhere that keeps them intact, and believable enough so that people take them, and spend the rest of the weekend going to thrift stores trying to find an external floppy drive, and the next month trying to figure out how to get their iPhone to mount it.
Is the Biden administration lead by conspiracy theorists as well?
Again, inclusive and circumstantial, but pretty far removed from crackpot conspiracy theories and tinfoil hats.
Direct quote from that NYT article I linked:
In addition to the Energy Department, the F.B.I. has also concluded, with moderate confidence, that the virus first emerged accidentally from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a Chinese lab that worked on coronaviruses.
They aren’t conspiracy theories, at least, not according to the US Government and Biden’s DoE:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/26/us/politics/china-lab-leak-coronavirus-pandemic.html
Circumstantial evidence, not conclusive either way, but clearly the Biden administration feels the evidence is weighted slightly more on the side you just called a conspiracy theory.
Which again, is all they allege for ebola, but unlike the co-author of that first paper I linked, I don’t have a PhD in virology, so what do I know.
Those are both pretty through examples of indepth investigative reporting, by credentialed and experienced independent journalists and researchers. There’s plenty of threads to pull on once you start reading into it.
It’s also been covered by Ryan Grim, former DC Beauru Chief for The Intercept. I believe he has recorded interviews up with either researchers from those articles, or some other journalists specializing in covering scientific and medical fields, I forget which.
I’ve read the reporting, looked into the journalists and researchers behind it, and find them credible.
If you don’t, it doesn’t affect me any.
I have no idea how this lab will operate, but these types of labs are often used by government agencies whose own countries have prohibited certain types of extremely dangerous and risky research.
There’s actually a lot of good circumstantial evidence that the really big Ebola outbreak some years ago likely originated from a lab in neighboring country, that was being used by US government funded scientists, doing work that they were not legally allowed to do on US soil.
It’s late and I’m tired so I am not going to dig up the reporting on that, but there has been some great coverage on the topic in the few years that it’s worth reading up on.
Whether or not any of that has any relevance to this specific laboratory, or how they’ll operate, I have no idea. Just pointing out that whatever upside can be gained by this type of research, is also accompanied by serious risks.
You put so much effort into that post, that I almost feel bad pointing out that you probably should have read the comment I was replying to… you know, the one above my comment.
But, if you’re having a hard time locating it, I pasted the relevant quote that I was responding to:
“…opportunity for a movie-like secret mission with a bag full of consumer drones…”
But yeah, I guess if you completely ignore the actual text I was responding to, you might of had a fair point.
Yes, and that’s what Ukraine is doing at the moment. But they’re doing it in the cities like Moscow that actually matter to Putin, and the Russian elites.
The comment I was responding to was talking about taking a lot small drones deeper into Russia, which are places that Putin couldn’t give a shit about.
So, if they aren’t useful for destroying critical infrastructure, and Putin and the Russian elite don’t care about any psychological impact on those civilians, what is the point? Which is why I covered using them to target civilians, and why that would be a bad idea.
Saboteurs and Ukrainian assets inside of Russia are not an unlimited resource. Wouldn’t it make more sense for them to use their time doing things that actually politically harm Putin, or impact the wider Russian war effort?
I didn’t move any goal posts, I’ve been pretty clear about my views on the general ineffectiveness of using quadcopters to target infrastructure.
But like I said, maybe I’m wrong, and the Ukrainian MoD will have a “Eureka!” moment after reading your comments.
Again, I think you’re vastly overestimating the capability of a quadcopter drone to inflict serious damage on hard infrastructure.
But hey, maybe I’m not only wrong, but so are all of the Ukrainian sabotage teams and they’ll stumble across your advice here and realize what a great idea it is.
Acts of sabotage have been happening this entire time, whether or not they’re getting covered.
Ukraine has also been running a covert targeted assassination program, which unfortunately got some press coverage some months back due to their legally and morally questionable approach to target selection.
But, it’s an existential war for their survival, so I’m not going to moralize about it.
I think you’re vastly overestimating the damage possible from the explosive payload a tiny quadcopter can carry, unless your goal is strictly terrorism i.e. intentionally targeting civilians.
Civilians dying as collateral damage during an attack/assignation of a legitimate military target is one thing, targeting civilians is another.
And before you say Russia does, don’t forget that Ukraine is dependent upon continued Western support, which is already fragile. It’s doubtful that support would survive them explicitly targeting civilians with suicide drones deep inside Russia.
The inability to relock the bootloader is gigantic security vulnerability. It negates, or entirely voids, a significant amount of a devices physical security, including FDE.
There are other security issues with LineageOS, but that’s part of the trade-off. There’s nothing inherently sinister or incompetent about that, it’s just the nature of the beast.
Regardless, I’m not here to chastise anyone’s choice of OS, or to even imply that there is a right, and wrong ROM, there isn’t.
I was just pointing out that there are pros and cons, and users should be aware of them when making those decisions.
Security and Privacy are not the same thing.
Stock Google is absolutely a hit to ones privacy, but LineageOS is a often big hit to device security.
If you don’t have a Pixel, and therefore can’t use GrapheneOS, check and see if your device is compatible with DivestOS.
However, neither will offer root support for reasons that both devs have decent write-ups explaining within each project’s documentation.
I do realize that not everyone places security above all other factors when deciding on their smartphone OS, but I think they should be aware of the trade-offs so they can make an informed decision.
Me? I’m an atheist.
Methinks you doth protest too much.
This ladies and gentlemen, is a textbook example of projection.
Isn’t that what all the priests used to say?
200 comments in 11 days?
JFC dude… I’ve never said this to anyone before, but I think you need Jesus.
I’m aware that the Olympic boxer has DSD, and that it’s prevalent in an outsized portion of female combat sports athletes. I’m still of the opinion that they should not be discriminated against for using their genetic condition to their advantage in becoming a world class athlete. I see this as no different from how Michael Phelps has a condition where he produces a lot less lactic acid.
If you were implying that the Olympics should start genetic testing of athletes and screening them for these types of conditions, I am entirely against that, see my previous response.
Did you miss the part where I was very clearly and specifically talking about the case of trans women combat sports athletes? Those who had male levels of testosterone during their body’s development and who then transitioned.
This is a very niche subject, but for some reason people like the user I was responding to, insist on pretending that puberty as a male doesn’t matter if the adult athlete is on blockers, and that it does not give them an advantage in a combat sport. I’m not so much concerned about the advantage itself, as I am about the inherent danger to the other participants.
Striking blows from a musculature developed in male levels of testosterone, present an outsized risk of death, or permanent injury, to a female fighter/boxer. A risk that is significantly higher than the normal risks associated with combat sports.
Politics are complicated, especially in post-Soviet bloc countries e.g. the lingering effects of Russification. But anytime a ruling party is looking to dissolve all opposition parties, and label them as criminals, it’s because they feel threatened in some way.