Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Truth or Fiction

See It Through

When you’re up against a trouble, 
    Meet it squarely, face to face; 
Lift your chin and set your shoulders, 
    Plant your feet and take a brace. 
When it’s vain to try to dodge it, 
    Do the best that you can do; 
You may fail, but you may conquer, 
    See it through! 

Black may be the clouds about you 
    And your future may seem grim, 
But don’t let your nerve desert you; 
    Keep yourself in fighting trim. 
If the worst is bound to happen, 
    Spite of all that you can do, 
Running from it will not save you, 
    See it through! 

Even hope may seem but futile, 
    When with troubles you’re beset, 
But remember you are facing 
    Just what other men have met. 
You may fail, but fall still fighting; 
    Don’t give up, whate’er you do; 
Eyes front, head high to the finish. 
    See it through!


TruthOrFiction.com is a non-partisan website where Internet users can quickly and easily get information about eRumors, fake news, disinformation, warnings, offers, requests for help, myths, hoaxes, virus warnings, and humorous or inspirational stories that are circulated by email. TruthOrFiction.com is designed to be of value to the ordinary user of the Internet who wants to make sure that a email, post or story contains information, not misinformation. Our focus tends to be on stories that are the most widely-circulated via social media. Every story on TruthOrFiction.com has either been personally researched by the TruthOrFiction.com staff or, in some cases, is known to be a classic rumor or urban legend that has stood the test of time. As much as possible, the sources of our information are included in the stories ..”


ORWELL WROTE 1984 AS A WARNING, NOT A HOW-TO GUIDE: Nearly half the public favors a digital Ministry of Truth, but it’s a terrible idea.


Gladys’ leadership rumours rise as rival Perrottet embroiled in scandal

Is it coincidence that Gladys Berejiklian’s rival Dominic Perrotet is suddenly embroiled in the “Wolf of Wall Street scandal”? Michael West investigates NSW leadership tensions and the New Generations Fund. . .

In politics, everybody is dead meat. It’s just a matter of time. Few go out as winners, and Gladys is unlikely to be among the few.


Brooklyn: Four arrested for counterfeiting $130 million in Uggs boots, Air Jordan’s, headphones; goods shipped from China and labels applied


US has seized 3000 fake vaccination cards shipped from China to Tennessee


The 8 Best Online Shopping Sites for Cheap Electronics Make Use Of: “Buying cheap electronics is one way to save money. These online shopping sites have the best deals on cheap electronics. If you’re prepared to shop around, you can almost always save money on whatever you want to purchase. It’s no different with electronics. If you want to find cheap electronics and tech, you should check out these eight websites and online electronic stores…”


AstraZeneca says antibody therapy effective in preventing COVID-19 symptoms


Morning cloud


Meet the New Scourge of German Politicians: Plagiarism Hunters WSJ


EFF: “Facebook recently banned the accounts of several New York University (NYU) researchers who run Ad Observer, an accountability project that tracks paid disinformation, from its platform. This has major implications: not just for transparency, but for user autonomy and the fight for interoperable software. Ad Observer is a free/open source browser extension used to collect Facebook ads for independent scrutiny. Facebook has long opposed the project, but its latest decision to attack Laura Edelson and her team is a powerful new blow to transparency. Worse, Facebook has spun this bullying as  defending user privacy. This “privacywashing” is a dangerous practice that muddies the waters about where real privacy threats come from. And to make matters worse, the company has been gilding such excuses with legally indefensible claims about the enforceability of its terms of service.  Taken as a whole, Facebook’s sordid war on Ad Observer and accountability is a perfect illustration of how the company warps the narrative around user rights. Facebook is framing the conflict as one between transparency and privacy, implying that a user’s choice to share information about their ownexperience on the platform is an unacceptable security risk. This is disingenuous and wrong.  This story is a parable about the need for data autonomy, protection, and transparency—and how Competitive Compatibility (AKA “comcom” or “adversarial interoperability”) should play a role in securing them…”



'Thieves' Went To The Gym To Train For Their Next Big Crime, And The Reactions They Got Were Priceless'Thieves' Went To The Gym To Train For Their Next Big Crime, And The Reactions They Got Were Priceless



How to Buy Online Safely, Securely, and Confidently Make Use Of: “Whether you’re planning to buy online for a special event, you’re inspired to buy by Black Friday, or have a bit of spare cash to spend, buying with confidence is vital. Christian Cawley and James Frew discuss how to buy confidently, check online reviews and discern which ones are honest and which are paid for, and how to spot online scams to help you shop safely and securely…”


TechRepublic: “…As much as we may resist the idea of being tracked online, we’re often told it’s necessary to give us personalized results. DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg disagrees:

It’s actually a big myth that search engines need to track your personal search history to make money or deliver quality search results. Almost all of the money search engines make (including Google) is based on the keywords you type in, without knowing anything about you, including your search history or the seemingly endless amounts of additional data points they have collected about registered and non-registered users alike. In fact, search advertisers buy search ads by bidding on keywords, not people….This keyword-based advertising is our primary business model…”