How Telegram Became the Center of the Internet
The encrypted messaging app collapses distance, offering unparalleled access to war and conflict.
Pope congratulates Jon Fosse
Pope Francis is apparently a fan of Nobel laureate Jon Fosse's -- and the Norwegian Catholic Church has the fan letter to prove it.
Fosse is a convert to Catholicism, and the Pope wrote, among other things:
In a particular way, I am confident that your ability to evoke Almighty God's gifts of grace, peace and love in our often darkened world will surely enrich the lives of those who share the pilgrimage of faith.
Fortunately, Fosse's work also works for those of us who have managed to avoid that particular pilgrimage.
(I am, however, kind of -- actually: very -- disappointed the Pope wrote in English, rather than Latin. Also: come on ! I was sure the Pope would/should be an Oxford-comma man.)
Paweł Huelle (1957-2023)
Polish author Paweł Huelle has passed away; see, for example, the report at TVP.
‘Zoom fatigue’ may take toll on the brain and the heart, researchers say Washington Post
Highlight cyber security issues, November 25, 2023 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness.
Four highlights from this week: Secretive White House Surveillance Program Gives Cops Access to Trillions of US Phone Records; Commercial Flights Are Experiencing ‘Unthinkable’ GPS Attacks and Nobody Knows What to Do; ChatGPT Has Been Turned Into A Social Media Surveillance Assistant; and Microsoft lays hands on login data: Beware of the new Outlook.
The World’s Feminists Need to Show Up for Israeli Victims
Slate – Solidarity for victims of sexual assault should trump other politics. “Of all of the horrors coming out of the Israel-Hamas conflict, among the most horrible are the barbaric murders, rapes, sexual assaults, and kidnappings of women and young girls in Israel during the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. And yet, deepening this distressing event, there has been a disheartening silence about, or worse, denial of these evils; reticence from the voices here at home in the U.S. who have, in the recent past, embraced other women who needed their support. Israeli and Jewish women find themselves isolated. For the past three decades, women have stood up for other women. When our sisters’ bodies and dignity were targeted and violated, women and allies of all ages and backgrounds organized, supported, and spoke out. Except somehow, not this time. Since Oct. 7, there has been overwhelming evidence that Israeli women and young girls were not “just” slaughtered, but raped, assaulted, tortured, and kidnapped. This is not overstating things—from our work as prosecutors, lawyers, and feminists, we understand what it takes to build a solid criminal case for sexual assault. Here, there is voluminous evidence, more than what is typically available. While many victims cannot speak for themselves—they are either dead or being held hostage—survivor accounts and videos made by the perpetrators themselves speak for them.”