caseysoftware

> For example, I believe this implies that the DoW can procure data on US citizens en masse from private companies - including, e.g., granular location and financial transaction data - and apply OpenAI's tools to that data to surveil and otherwise target US citizens at scale.

Third Party Doctrine makes trouble for us once again.

Eliminate that and MANY nightmare scenarios disappear or become exceptionally more complicated.

Good call. What's this law's definition of "operating system"?

MOST cases don't make it to jury. They're more likely to be resolved via motions and countermotions and the decisions of a jduge.

To dumb down "operating system" for normies, they're probably going to say something along the lines of "the software that makes your computer work.. like Windows." If it stays at that level, we'll have a specific, discrete definition in play.

A broader, equally correct definition could be "the software that makes technology work.. there's an operating system on your computer, your cell phone, your Alexa, and even your car." Then yes, some people will think of their Ring doorbell, the cash register at the coffee shop, and other embedded systems, even if they've never heard the word "embedded."

The definition that shows up will depend entirely on a) the context of the case and b) the savviness of the attorneys involved.

Not a bet I want to take.

Same here but ~8 years.

You can mitigate/speed the process using your password manager too.

I still use a filter in my email so that if something comes in under my Gmail, it gets a special tag that I can filter on and treat those as a todo list. Rarely happens beyond the occasional Google Meet connection.

"Spyware" doesn't quite capture it.

It's "intelligence platform" in the sense that you can gain a ton of information on individuals, organizations, and relationships that drive it all. If you can track how people move and interact between organizations, you can determine who someone is doing business with and even make an educated guess if that's a sale or interview.

I started writing about it almost 20 years ago: https://caseysoftware.com/blog/linkedin-intelligence-part-ii and turned it into a conference presentation called "Shattering Secrets with Social Media"

But there have been numerous proofs of concept over the years: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Sage

I worked for a dating website a long time ago.. and it's key to understand their business model:

- If you find good matches but not great matches, you stick around.

- If you get frustrated and give up, they lose one customer.

- If you find love and get married, they lose two customers.

Which one will they optimize for?

My writeup: https://caseysoftware.com/blog/working-for-a-dating-website

> In other words most of the US outside of a major metro area.

Not just outside, I spent 15 years in/around Austin and it got to be ridiculous.

2020 - cleared out the stores at covid.. alright, few people were prepared, none had done it before

2021 - cleared out the stores for the blizzard, lost power for 45min and water for 5 days.. almost no one was prepared, despite the year before

2023 - cleared out the stores for the blizzard, lost power for days due to heavy icing.. some were prepared but not at scale

Some people just don't learn.

Luckily after '20, we prepared. Then in '21, we moved to rural Texas and got solar+battery backup so 2023 wasn't even a blip.

When I interviewed at Okta (May 2016), I created users Dade Murphy and Kate Libby and then hit the docs to check something.. and the docs included Dade Murhpy already.

Once I joined, I had theories on who wrote it and got it on my first try. :)

Can you explain what Trump has to do with the health practices of Canada, the UK, Belgium, or a dozen other European countries in 2024?

Or more importantly - what happened in 2015/2016 in these countries when measles first started reappearing?

It looks like California showed up and participated in conversations, didn't sign anything. Montana appears to have lobbied, again not signing anything.

Iowa is the exception and I'd be curious what gave them the authority and how much, why it wasn't challenged last fall, and if Massachusettes meets the same circumstances.

I admit, other than in name, I'm not familiar with the Logan Act. Where does it require sanctions or similar?

Measles is popping up in numerous countries the last couple years. Canada has way more cases than the US in absolute numbers and it's catastrophic per capita.

It'd be great to start digging into the "why" and figure out how to mitigate the sources.

> Canada has seen an alarming increase in the number of measles cases since the outbreak began in October 2024, with a total of 5,380 probable and confirmed cases as of Jan. 10, according to Health Canada.

Ref: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/measles-manitoba-18-...

> In recent months, six countries in the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) European region that had previously eliminated the disease have officially lost their measles-free status. In other countries, measles is once again considered endemic.

> Although the decision to remove these countries’ measles-free status was taken last September based on 2024 data, the World Health Organization (WHO) did not release the information publicly until this week, once all countries had signed off.

Ref: https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/what-does-it-mean-lose-mea...

This is an interesting one..

Negotiating treaties is the exclusive authority of POTUS but approving them is the US Senate's job.

"Committing to work together" is probably vague enough that it's not meaningful but "signed an economic partnership" with a foreign ambassador is pretty explicit.

I wonder how they're going to make this one work.

Understood and reasonable but one correction:

> when you are asked to be patted down, having the courage to lie "I can't raise my arms over my head"

You only get a pat down if you trigger additional screening or opt out. Not being able to raise my arms is NOT opting out. Therefore, no pat down.

- TSA fails its own Red Team exercises 95% of the time.

- Self driving cars have measurably fewer accidents.

If you're confusing the two, I suggest you look into the data.

*Not sure on AI code yet.

Reasonable hypothesis but not correct in the US.

The point where you present your ticket+ID is before and separate from the physical screening. It could be anywhere from a few meters to dozens of meters separating them.

At the screening stage, the agents do not know who you are or your nationality.

> This is a scam that the GOP has convinced many of, that taking from the government commons is the right thing to do.

You should look around carefully and see who is actively defending government fraud right now.

If you're honest, you may be shocked.

I did that for a long time. My favorite part is when they say "Do you have any sore or sensitive areas?"

I always say "my penis" and they say "uh.. well.. I'm not going to touch that"

Me: "When you slide your hand up until you meet resistance? That resistance is my penis. You're going to touch my penis and it's a sensitive area."

Since the TSA cannot force you to prove it - after all, they're not medical personnel to evaluate it and not willing to risk your injury - whether someone lies becomes irrelevant.

You are grossly misinformed and making an assumption.

You're thinking of being interviewed by a Federal agent. At no point are you being interviewed at a TSA checkpoint. Generally, they have two agents present for that so they can act as witnesses for each other. The FBI specifically uses the 302 for such an interview. Can you cite the relavant US Code here? I can.

Further, you're assuming I'm lying.

As someone who was present (in the room) as DHS was being formed and witnessed the negotiations around the TSA, the "really shitty, anti-social behavior" is sharing misinformation.

I'm brown, very brown. A Native American, in fact.

Who said I'm lying?

> So it was never about security at all then, was it?

Never was.

I flew every other week prior to covid and haven't once been through the scanners. For the first ~6 years, I opted out and got pat down over and over again.

Then I realized I could even skip that.

Now at the checkpoint, I stand at the metal detector. When they wave me to the scanner, I say "I can't raise my arms over my head." They wave me through the metal detector, swab my hands, and I'm done. I usually make it through before my bags.

Sometimes, a TSA moron asks "why not?" and I simply say "are you asking me to share my personal healthcare information out loud in front of a bunch of strangers? Are you a medical professional?" and they back down.

Other times, they've asked "can you raise them at least this high?" and kind of motion. I ask "are you asking me to potentially injure myself for your curiosity? are you going to pay for any injuries or pain I suffer?"

The TSA was NEVER about security. It was designed as a jobs program and make it look like we were doing something for security.

Due to Third Party Doctrine, Microsoft doesn't even NEED a "legal order." It's merely a courtesy which they could change at any time.

Based on the sheer number of third parties we're required to use for our day to day lives, that is ridiculous and Third Party Doctrine should be eliminated.

Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-party_doctrine

The intial claim/skepticism is that there were agents there at all. Proven.

Moving on to the implication and my question:

> Since the FBI primarily an investigative body (in the name) and these were NOT tacteams providing armed support, what was their purpose?

We DO deserve an explanation to that one and unfortunately, "they showed up to address the violence" doesn't resolve this because - as noted - they are NOT uniformed. Therefore, a Special Agent drawing their weapon looks like a random civilian which would only increase the chaos and danger for everyone.

They're not even particularly useful for crowd control because a) they're not uniformed and b) as an Executive agency, they don't have authority in the Capital unless US Capital Police authorizes it.. though that may take the Sergeant at Arms or the Speaker specifically, I haven't reviewed that in quite a while.

Finally, since the FBI has a multi-decade history of instigating issues to be able to stop them, we SHOULD be skeptical until we get a complete and documented explanation.

> If that's true, then 12-15k miles in an EV would be equivalent to 27-33k miles in a gas car in the externalities of road wear & tear.. so "taxes equivalent to 35k miles" is at most 25% higher in a "damage per mile equivalent" but could be as little as 6% using the averages.

^ As you quoted, I used the formula to estimate 12k would be equivalent to 27k and said paying taxes equivalent to be 35k miles is "at most 25% higher", neither of which is "12 = 35". Using their approach, I calculated 35k to be equivalent to 15625 specifically, again, not 12k.

If the underlying approach is wrong, we should replace it with something better.

Alternatively, the OTHER reasoning of "the rich should pay more" still applies, so I assume that's a factor here. Hoping States charge rich people (or high income earners, if you prefer) less isn't likely to work right now.

The claim from the post above was "why were there so many FBI agents at the Jan 6 debacle" and the response asked for a source.

If you consider the response to the violence part of "the Jan 6 debacle", then yes, FBI agents were present.

The documents would NOT specify they were in "plainclothes" because the FBI doesn't wear uniforms, therefore everything would be "plainclothes" by definition. This is both common knowledge but I can personally confirm from my time there. You can dislike the characterization but it is correct.

The more interesting questions:

- Since the FBI primarily an investigative body (in the name) and these were NOT tacteams providing armed support, what was their purpose?

- Further, why did it take almost 5 years for the FBI to identify the man placing the pipebombs? According to reports, no new evidence came to light.

Thanks for the insight but my claim was never "12,000mi is really 35,000mi"

Regardless, it would be interesting to see the actual number worked through to see what the equivalent EV registration fee should be if road damage/maintenance is the sole factor.

According to the FBI:

> The after-action responses – 50 pages in all – were located by current FBI Director Kash Patel’s team and recently turned over to the House Judiciary Committee and its special subcommittee investigating security failures and weaponization of law enforcement during the Jan. 6 riot.

> The document has proven a bombshell to lawmakers, revealing for the first time that the FBI had a total of 274 agents deployed to the Capitol in plainclothes and with guns after the violence started but with no clear safety gear of way to be recognized by other law enforcement agencies working in the chaos of the riot.

https://justthenews.com/accountability/fbi-bombshell-274-age...

Excellent, much more useful.

Not sure where you are but in Indiana, gas tax for unleaded is 36c while diesel is 62c so on a per-gallon basis, that's an additional +72% in taxes. Back of the envelope: Civic at 30mpg pays 1.2c/mile vs SuperDuty at 15mpg pays 4.13c/mile so the multiple is closer to 3.4 vs 2

So yes - assuming registration fees are comparable and mileage is comparable - the SuperDuty should pay more.