ICYMI, from Reuters:

"Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell on Tuesday said Verizon and AT&T are blocking release of key documents about an alleged massive Chinese spying operation that infiltrated U.S. telecommunications networks known as Salt Typhoon and wants their CEOs to appear before Congress to answer questions."

"Cantwell asked both companies to turn over security assessments conducted by Alphabet cybersecurity unit Mandiant. She said Mandiant refused to provide the requested network security assessments, apparently at the direction of AT&T and Verizon."

"In some cases, hackers are alleged to have intercepted conversations, including between prominent U.S. politicians and government officials. Several lawmakers have described them as the worst telecom hacks in U.S. history."

"Cantwell said Salt Typhoon allowed the Chinese government to "geolocate millions of individuals" and "record phone calls at will," and that the incident targeted almost every American."

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/senator-says-att-verizon-blocking-release-salt-typhoon-security-assessment-2026-02-03/

They’re not just talking about rape, they’re taking about kids. They’re not just talking about kids, they’re implying destroying bodies. They’re not just talking about destroying bodies, they’re talking about killing babies. They’re not just taking about killing babies, they’re talking about how they taste. And repeatedly implicated people still have their jobs, right now. Holy shit, people.

Currently, the outrage to the visible contents of the Epstein files is so mild that I have to think the majority of people just aren’t even casually checking them. I can’t think of a phrase to describe what I’ve read even as a forensic analyst. “Cartoonishly evil” is too gentle. Horrific. Inhuman.

One of the more terrifying realities about the prospect of starting your own business in the US is that you quickly learn you are on your own when it comes to finding affordable healthcare. You might even make enough that you don't qualify for any plan that doesn't cost <$30k a year, w/ high deductibles.

I know I've mentioned this before here, but it bears repeating because it came up in a conversation the other day where the small biz owner had no idea. Namely, that depending on where you live, you may qualify for a fairly inexpensive and decent healthcare plan for you and your family just by taking a class at a local university or community college. NB: It may only require a non-degree (non-credit) course. Anyway, something to investigate if you're looking for a way to reduce your healthcare costs.

Edit: Meant to mention that a lot of universities will allow you to take the classes remotely online.

@hacks4pancakes I was writing an 'evil' character and wondered if I'd gone to far. Then I read the news and thought 'Man, I'm such an amateur.'
The evil of humanity is so extreme it is beyond my ability to imagine.

Each time a new privacy-invasive
feature like facial scanning is implemented, if people in majority comply and accept to use it, it will soon become normality, and other options will be marginalized or even removed entirely.

If each time a new privacy-invasive
feature is implemented people opted to refuse it, it would soon be discontinued.

Each individual opposition to privacy-invasive features matters.

It is an act of self-protection but,
perhaps even more importantly,
it is also an act of protest.

A protest against the normalization of mass surveillance and the loss of privacy rights.

The fact that there are other cameras around doesn't mean that more cameras or additional scanning is not making things even worse.

If we do not refuse,
if we do not fight for our privacy rights,
we will lose them all.

#Privacy #MassSurveillance #AgeVerification #FacialRecognition #HumanRights #DigitalRights

Whatever the output gains promised by LLMs, their initial productivity surge is erased over time, and replaced by heavier workloads—and that leads to workers experiencing “cognitive fatigue, burnout, and weakened decision-making.”

All this from research out of the notoriously pro-worker rag [checks notes] Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/2026/02/ai-doesnt-reduce-work-it-intensifies-it