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jcmarchi · 2 years ago

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“MIT can give you ‘superpowers’”

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/mit-can-give-you-superpowers/

“MIT can give you ‘superpowers’”

Speaking at the virtual MITx MicroMasters Program Joint Completion Celebration last summer, Diogo da Silva Branco Magalhães described watching a Spider-Man movie with his 8-year-old son and realizing that his son thought MIT was a fictional entity that existed only in the Marvel universe.

“I had to tell him that MIT also exists in the real world, and that some of the programs are available online for everyone,” says da Silva Branco Magalhães, who earned his credential in the MicroMasters in Statistics and Data Science program. “You don’t need to be a superhero to participate in an MIT program, but MIT can give you ‘superpowers.’ In my case, the superpower that I was looking to acquire was a better understanding of the key technologies that are shaping the future of transportation.

Part of MIT Open Learning, the MicroMasters programs have drawn in almost 1.4 million learners, spanning nearly every country in the world. More than 7,500 people have earned their credentials across the MicroMasters programs, including: Statistics and Data Science; Supply Chain Management; Data, Economics, and Design of Policy; Principles of Manufacturing; and Finance.

Earning his MicroMasters credential not only gave da Silva Branco Magalhães a strong foundation to tackle more complex transportation problems, but it also opened the door to pursuing an accelerated graduate degree via a Northwestern University online program.

Learners who earn their MicroMasters credentials gain the opportunity to apply to and continue their studies at a pathway school. The MicroMasters in Statistics and Data Science credential can be applied as credit for a master’s program at more than 30 universities, as well as MIT’s PhD Program in Social and Engineering Systems. Da Silva Branco Magalhães, originally from Portugal and now based in Australia, seized this opportunity and enrolled in Northwestern University’s Master’s in Data Science for MIT MicroMasters Credential Holders.

The pathway to an enhanced career

The pathway model launched in 2016 with the MicroMasters in Supply Chain Management. Now, there are over 50 pathway institutions that offer more than 100 different programs for master’s degrees. With pathway institutions located around the world, MicroMasters credential holders can obtain master’s degrees from local residential or virtual programs, at a location convenient to them. They can receive credit for their MicroMasters courses upon acceptance, providing flexibility for online programs and also shortening the time needed on site for residential programs.

“The pathways expand opportunities for learners, and also help universities attract a broader range of potential students, which can enrich their programs,” says Dana Doyle, senior director for the MicroMasters Program at MIT Open Learning. “This is a tangible way we can achieve our mission of expanding education access.”

Da Silva Branco Magalhães began the MicroMasters in Statistics and Data Science program in 2020, ultimately completing the program in 2022.

“After having worked for 20 years in the transportation sector in various roles, I realized I was no longer equipped as a professional to deal with the new technologies that were set to disrupt the mobility sector,” says da Silva Branco Magalhães. “It became clear to me that data and AI were the driving forces behind new products and services such as autonomous vehicles, on-demand transport, or mobility as a service, but I didn’t really understand how data was being used to achieve these outcomes, so I needed to improve my knowledge.”

July 2023 MicroMasters Program Joint Completion Celebration for SCM, DEDP, PoM, SDS, and Fin Video: MIT Open Learning

The MicroMasters in Statistics and Data Science was developed by the MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society and MITx. Credential holders are required to complete four courses equivalent to graduate-level courses in statistics and data science at MIT and a capstone exam comprising four two-hour proctored exams.

“The content is world-class,” da Silva Branco Magalhães says of the program. “Even the most complex concepts were explained in a very intuitive way. The exercises and the capstone exam are challenging and stimulating — and MIT-level — which makes this credential highly valuable in the market.”

Da Silva Branco Magalhães also found the discussion forum very useful, and valued conversations with his colleagues, noting that many of these discussions later continued after completion of the program.

Gaining analysis and leadership skills

Now in the Northwestern pathway program, da Silva Branco Magalhães finds that the MicroMasters in Statistics and Data Science program prepared him well for this next step in his studies. The nine-course, accelerated, online master’s program is designed to offer the same depth and rigor of Northwestern’s 12-course MS in Data Science program, aiming to help students build essential analysis and leadership skills that can be directly implemented into the professional realm. Students learn how to make reliable predictions using traditional statistics and machine learning methods.

Da Silva Branco Magalhães says he has appreciated the remote nature of the Northwestern program, as he started it in France and then completed the first three courses in Australia. He also values the high number of elective courses, allowing students to design the master’s program according to personal preferences and interests.

“I want to be prepared to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities that AI and data science technologies will bring to the professional realm,” he says. “With this credential, there are no limits to what you can achieve in the field of data science.”

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markcraft3636 · 2 years ago

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What is ServiceNow |Introduction | User Interface| Application & Filter Navigation | Complete Course

youtube

ServiceNow is planned with intelligent systems to speed up the work process by providing solutions to amorphous work patterns. Each employee, customer, and machine in the enterprise is related to ServiceNow, allowing us to make requests on a single cloud platform. Various divisions working with the requests can assign, prioritize, correlate, get down to root cause issues, gain real‑time insights, and drive action. This workflow process helps the employees to work better, and this would eventually improve the service levels. ServiceNow provides cloud services for the entire enterprise. This module consists User Interface and Navigation. The Objective of this module is to make beginners learn how to navigate to applications and modules in ServiceNow, using the Application and Filter Navigators. To Create views and filters for a table list and to update record using online editing.

#introduction #ServiceNow #Courses #Free Training #Tutorials #Programming #Data Structure #Algorithms #Computer Science #Tips #Demos #ServiceNow Fundamentals #What is service now #Service now tutorial for beginners #Servicenow Online Tutorial #Service now introduction #Youtube

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pov-amna · 2 years ago

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I need your help in my writing career. Please read my article via link and give me some suggestions as a reader. https://www.arhamsoft.com/blog/2023/10/23/hire-php-developers-13-convincing-reasons/

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xvazx · 3 months ago

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The Beauty of Our Chaos

Part 1 - Cool Girl Is Game

Introduction / Next Part

I never thought I’d be the type of girl to join a sorority, but here I was, standing in the middle of Delta Nu’s impossibly pink common room, surrounded by girls who looked like they belonged on a Vogue cover. Mariel and I had just moved into our new room at UPenn, fresh-faced freshmen, and after weeks of plotting, we had somehow made it into the most sought-after house on campus.

“Can you believe we are here?” Mariel asked, plopping onto her bed with a dramatic sigh.

“Can you believe how long it’s gonna take me to defrost my fake smile?” I shot back.

To get in, I had to fake it till I made it. I wasn’t their first choice—not even close. Delta Nu girls had a certain effortless glow, and I was… well, I was a computer science major who spent most of time trying not to collapse. But with just the right amount of preppy outfits, carefully curated small talk, and a convincingly chirpy “Oh my god, totally” at rush events, I had squeezed my way in.

Before we could even start unpacking, Missy Houghton, our sorority president, breezed in with her perfect blowout and clipboard in hand.

“Ladies, welcome to Delta Nu! Just a quick reminder of your very busy Initiation Week schedule,” she said, handing us a printed itinerary. “Tonight, we have the Ceremony & Oath, Tuesday is Welcome to Pilates, Wednesday is New Me Conference, Thursday is our Fundraiser, and of course, Friday is our Newbie Initiation Tradition—which is a total surprise, so don’t even try asking.” She winked before twirling out of the room.

Mariel and I exchanged a look. What did we get ourselves into?

After taking a short walk from the house, we went our separate ways—Mariel to her graphic design classes, and me to my Introduction to Computer Programming lecture.

The moment I walked in, I knew this class was a walk in the park. The professor started going over variables and loops, and I could barely keep my eyes open. Then, just to make it really fun, he handed out a pop quiz on basic programming concepts.

I finished mine in record time, turned it in, and went back to doodling in my iPad. A few minutes later, I caught the professor glancing at my paper, then back at his computer. After class, he called me over.

“Miss (Y/L/N), right?” He adjusted his glasses, scanning my student file. “You’re this year’s full scholarship?”

I nodded.

“Hmm. Well, judging by this quiz, this class might be too easy for you. Have you considered taking a level test to skip ahead?”

It wasn’t a bad idea.

Following his instructions, I went to Student Service’s to request a level test—and, as expected, I placed two levels above. That meant I’d be in classes with sophomores now.

That night, as Mariel and I debriefed in our dorm about our day, she threw a pillow at me.

“You just got here, and you’re already skipping classes? How do you do it?!” she groaned.

I caught the pillow and tossed it back. “I didn’t do anything. I bet everyone was gushing over your art skills today.”

“Shut up, Miss Genius.” she interjected my explanation.

TUESDAY - 7 AM

The following morning, I walked into my new classroom with a printed letter from the department in hand. The professor beamed as I handed it over.

“And here she is,” he said dramatically, turning to the class. “Our newest addition! Not only is she here on a full scholarship, but she’s also skipped two levels, meaning she’s already putting you all under pressure!”

I gave a small, awkward wave. The room was silent.

Then it hit me.

I was the only girl in the room.

Great.

I sighed, found an empty seat, and tried to ignore the stares. It wasn’t my first time being in a male-dominated space, and it wouldn’t be my last. I tuned them out and focused on the lecture.

Or at least I tried.

After class, as I packed up my stuff, three guys walked over. One of them looked… familiar.

“Hey,” the curly-haired one said, tilting his head. “This might sound bad, but where do I know you from?”

I turned fully to face him. Thick eyebrows. Curls. That annoying but weirdly cute smile.

Memories flooded back.

I smirked. “Wow. You really do have a terrible memory, Jonas Brother.”

His friends lost it. One practically doubled over laughing.

“Ohhh,” one of them wheezed. “Dude, she got you.”

Luigi blinked, then finally connected the dots. “Oh shit. Nationals.”

“Took you long enough.”

His friends were still cracking up. One of them clapped him on the back. “Dude, you always know the hotter girls.”

I rolled my eyes.

“So what, you’re in this class now?” another one asked. “Why haven’t we seen you before?”

“Freshman,” I said, shouldering my bag.

Luigi was still looking at me, amusement playing at the corners of his lips. “So, you just happened to land in a level 3 class, huh?”

“Tragic, really,” I deadpanned.

“Seriously, though,” another chimed in. “You should come to one of our frat parties. Now that you’re officially in our class, you are one of us.”

I barely held back an eye roll. Of course they were in a frat.

“Cool,” I said vaguely, already looking at my phone. “Noted.”

Then I noticed the time.

“Crap. I gotta go,” I muttered, swinging my bag over my shoulder.

“Where to?” Luigi asked.

I sighed. “Pilates.”

One of the guys perked up and whistled. “Nice.”

I cringed.

I turned to leave, but as I walked away, I heard Luigi’s voice behind me.

“See ya around.”

Without looking back, I just raised a hand in a half-hearted wave.

“Okay,” I called over my shoulder.

WELCOME TO PILATES

The air in the studio was thick with the scent of lavender-scented disinfectant and the soft hum of an upbeat playlist. Mariel and I sat on our mats, stretching, surrounded by a dozen other Delta Nu girls. Apparently, as bonding activity we had to sign up for at least one group fitness class.

Honestly? The politics of this house were exhausting. But if faking enthusiasm for Pilates was the price I had to pay to stay in Delta Nu, so be it.

Mariel groaned as we attempted another core-strength move. “This is a requirement? What kind of sorority is this?”

“The type that values toned abs over GPAs,” I muttered, wobbling slightly.

She snorted. “At least you’re suffering with me.”

We both struggled to hold our position when I casually dropped, “Oh, by the way, guess who’s in my new class?”

Mariel barely glanced at me, too focused on not collapsing. “Unless it’s the ghost of Steve Jobs here to give you a job at Apple, I don’t care.”

I smirked. “Luigi”

She blinked. “Mario?”

I chuckled quietly, my arms shaking from exertion. “The Jonas Brother.”

Mariel’s eyes went wide. She lost balance completely, flopping onto her mat. “OMG, this is destiny,” she whisper-screamed.

I shot her a look. “What?”

“Be honest,” she accused, regaining her composure. “Did you move from Cali to be close to him?”

I rolled my eyes. “Callatee.. you know why I chose UPenn over UCLA. And you came with me, remember?” (Shut up)

She laughed. “I’m kidding.” Then she tilted her head. “Wait… what’s his actual name again?”

I paused. “Luigi… I don’t know his last name.”

From my right, another girl—blonde, toned, and effortlessly balanced in the Pilates pose I had given up on—leaned in slightly and whispered, “Sorry, are you talking about Luigi Mangione?”

I turned to her. “Not sure.”

“Curly hair? Italian? STEM guy?”

Mariel and I exchanged a look. “Yeah,” I said.

She grinned knowingly. “Ohhh.”

I frowned. “What does that mean?”

She giggled, lowering herself gracefully into the next pose. “Just don’t let Missy stop you. She’s been trying for a year.”

I nearly dropped my balance again. “Stop me? From what?”

Mariel and the girl—who I now realized was named Kaylee—both gave me the same amused look.

I blinked. “What?”

Kaylee just shook her head, still smirking. “Nothing.”

Mariel’s smirk was even worse.

Between boys and core training, I wasn’t sure which task I sucked at more.

WEDNESDAY - NEW ME

Blah blah blah

THURSDAY- FUNDRAISER BOOTH

Pink. So much pink.

I glanced around at the Delta Nu booth, which looked like a sorority version of Mean Girls—pink banners, white ribbons, pastel decorations. It was all very on brand, and all very not me.

The only thing remotely acceptable in my wardrobe was a pair of white shorts and a band tee. Missy was not pleased.

“Don’t you have anything pink that is actually cute?” she asked, looking at me like I’d personally insulted her ancestors.

Mariel, clapped a hand on my shoulder. “She can borrow something of mine!”

I shot her a look. “Girl, where is my ass gonna fit in your clothes?”

She grinned. “Don’t insult your Latina hips.”

I laughed, but it didn’t change the fact that I was still stuck in a Blondie tee while everyone else looked like they’d walked out of a Tampon commercial. Whatever. It wasn’t like I’d chosen this sorority for the aesthetic.

We finally made it to the booth, where Missy explained the actual reason we were here—raising money for charity.

Noble. Love that.

Then came the catch.

Next month, Delta Nu was hosting a fashion show, and each of us had to raise money. The girl who raised the most money would win the ability to keep her own outfit from a designer catalog. Meanwhile, the rest of us? Our outfits would be chosen for us by our highest donor.

I blinked. “What the hell?” I muttered under my breath.

Did I accidentally join a brothel?

Mariel choked on a laugh next to me.

Students stopped by our booth throughout the afternoon, reading about the charity and looking at the fashion show details. Most were supportive. Some donated out of actual generosity. Others… not so much.

Cue Gym Bro.

This dude—overly tan, protein shake in hand, and all biceps—strolled up and made a significant donation. Not for charity, of course. No, he had one goal.

“To see her in lingerie,” he said with a smirk, nodding in my direction.

If looks could kill, Gym Bro wouldn’t just be dead—he’d be erased from history.

Before I could tell him exactly where he could shove his donation, a familiar voice interrupted.

“Well, well, not only is she smart, but she’s into the crazy life.”

I turned to see frat bros approaching the booth, all smug grins and easy confidence. Damien, was the one who spoke, looking at me like I’d just confirmed a long-standing theory about my secret double life.

“Surprise,” I deadpanned. “Delta Nu.”

Luigi smirked. “I should’ve predicted it from the Barbie Dreamhouse.”

I raised an eyebrow. “That Barbie Dreamhouse kicked your ass.”

He tilted his head, amused. “Now you’re coming for my reputation?”

Before the tension could build further, Mariel cut in.

“Damn, Jonas Brother, you got tall.”

Luigi glanced at her, clearly recognizing her face but not placing the name.

He snapped his fingers. “St. Trinity. Right?”

Bingo.

His friends took the opportunity to introduce themselves, wanting to get ahead of the game. Gross.

They asked about the charity, and we explained.

Of course, their intrigue had nothing to do with charity and everything to do with the fashion show. Free sorority girls on a runway? Predictable.

I sighed. “You’re late. Jerk-face over there already donated a lot to see me in lingerie.”

The guys gushed among themselves, clearly entertained.

Damien grinned. “Damn, we can’t surpass that.”

“You could’ve saved me,” I said dramatically.

“Too late now.”

“At least I can mentally prepare.”

Before they could continue their antics, Missy appeared out of nowhere, her signature flirty smile locked in on Luigi.

“Hey stranger” she greeted, voice a little too smooth.

He responded politely, but I could tell he wasn’t particularly invested.

“What brings you here?” she asked, brushing her hair over her shoulder.

“Oh, just saying hi,” he said, nodding at me.

Missy’s eyes narrowed slightly as she turned to me. “Ohhh, you guys know each other?”

I shrugged. “Old foes. And we have the same coding class.”

Missy blinked. “Right. So, are you coming to the show?”

He hesitated. “I think I have lab hours.”

Missy pouted slightly but played it cool. “No prob, we can talk later.”

Mariel and I barely held in our laughter.

Missy got called away, leaving the rest of us in her wake. The moment she was gone, Mariel and I mocked her voice in unison.

“So nice to see you,” we mimicked, fluttering our eyelashes.

The guys chuckled, clearly enjoying the show.

But then, Luigi checked his phone. “We should head back to our booth.”

As they started walking away, he turned back, smirking at me.

“I guess next class, we’ll see who’s the better coder.”

I smirked right back.

Yeah, you better run.

FRIDAY - INITIATION

By the time sun sets, I was already regretting my life choices.

Mariel and I sat cross-legged on our beds, nerves sitting like lead in our stomachs. We were under strict orders to come straight back to the sorority house after classes, no questions asked.

At 6:50 p.m., the call came.

“Newbies, to the living room!”

Mariel shot me a wide-eyed look. “This is it. We’re either going to become legends or complete social pariahs.”

“Maybe both,” I muttered, standing and smoothing down my jeans.

We shuffled into the living room where the superior sisters, Missy, and the house mother were lined up in matching black caped robes, holding envelopes like they were about to announce a Hunger Games death match.

Missy’s smile was almost predatory. “Welcome to your Initiation.”

A nervous murmur rippled through the room.

Missy stepped forward. “This is a scavenger hunt. You will each have five hours to complete a series of tasks. Some will be… challenging.”

That should’ve been the first red flag.

She continued, “For proof, you’ll need to take pictures and submit them before midnight. Fail to complete the list, and you risk losing your spot at Delta Nu.”

The room collectively stiffened.

“The prize?” Missy’s smile sharpened. “You stay and earn the respect of your sisters.”

I didn’t care about the “respect” part. I did care about my scholarship. I needed to stay in Delta Nu to keep it.

She handed out envelopes. “Good luck, girls.”

I opened mine and scanned the list.

Some were easy. Others? Not so much:

• Collect a pair of boxers from a frat president and have him sign it

“What the hell?” I whispered to Mariel.

“I’m not touching any guy’s used underwear,” she hissed.

“Me neither,” I said. But we both knew that wasn’t true. I had to complete this.

When the timer started, we all scattered.

I powered through the easy ones first:

✅ Apply a full face of makeup to a campus statue? Done.

✅ Selfie with a Professor? Easy.

✅ Steal a traffic cone? On my arm.

Then I hit the wall: the boxer situation.

I sat on a campus bench, scrolling through my phone, looking up the frat presidents. Maybe this was my end. Not knowing how to seduce a guy out of his panties.

And there it was.

Luigi Mangione - Phi Kappa Psi.

Of course he was president. Because the universe hated me.

I opened Instagram to look him up. Luckily for me his profile was public and his latest story showed he was at the school gym.

“Great,” I muttered. “Guess I’m about to enter my villain era.”

I took a breath and ran to the gym, showing my student ID to the desk clerk, who barely glanced up before waving me through. Apparently, they were used to sorority girls losing their minds during initiation week.

I spotted him almost immediately, walking toward the showers with a towel over his shoulder.

I froze. My heart pounded.

I could leave. I could figure something else out.

But the timer was ticking.

Nope. I’m doing this.

I marched toward the men’s locker room. A couple of guys gave me side-eyes as I walked in.

“Sorry! Emergency!” I said, which only made it more suspicious.

My heart was practically pounding out of my chest as I stopped outside the shower stall. I knocked on the wall.

“Kinda busy, man,” Luigi’s voice called. “There are other showers.”

I took a deep breath. “Oh, I know that.”

There was a long pause. Then:

“…hi?”

Luigi’s head peeked out from the stall, water dripping from his curls. He blinked. “What the hell are you doing in here?”

I turned my face toward the wall, covering my eyes. “I know this looks like the setup for a cheap porno, but I swear it’s not what it looks like.”

He smirked. “It looks pretty compromising.”

“Trust me, it’ll get worse.” I sighed. “I need a favor.”

He rinsed his face and wiped his hands down his chest.

“Let me get the shampoo out of my eyes, and then we’ll talk.”

“Okay.” I stood there, face still covered.

A minute later, the shower stopped. A damp hand brushed my shoulder.

“You can look now.”

I peeked through my fingers and saw him standing there in a towel, hair dripping. Men’s Health prepared me for moments like this.

“Initiations have gotten cheeky,” he joked.

“I need your underwear,” I blurted.

He raised his brows. “Come again?”

I forced myself to explain the task. He listened, expression somewhere between amused and shocked.

When I finished, he shook his head. “You’re serious?”

“Dead serious.”

“You realize you’re asking me to walk home commando, right?”

I shrugged. “I’ll be disgusted if that’s your only clean pair.”

He laughed and pulled a pair of blue boxers from his gym bag. “You got a Sharpie?”

I pulled one from my pocket. “Here.”

He grinned and signed them. “So you need a picture, too?”

“Yep.”

He handed me the boxers. “Let’s get this over with.”

I held the boxers up in one hand, stood next to him, and snapped a photo. He smiled—a relaxed, easy smile.

“Be nice to them,” he teased.

“Thanks,” I said, tucking the boxers into my bag.

I bolted out of the locker room, the list and my bag on one hand and the traffic cone on the other, heart hammering in my chest.

I was halfway across campus when I heard someone shout my name.

“(Y/N) wait!”

I turned

Luigi—now dressed—was jogging toward me.

“What else is on your list?”

I showed him the list.

He frowned. “These are easy.”

“Not when you’re under pressure.” I interjected.

“Let me help you.”

“You’re not supposed to help.”

“I don’t see a rule against it.” He smirked. “C’mon.”

I didn’t argue.

We made quick work of the rest:

✅ Try on the campus mascot costume? It stinks.

✅ Steal a UPenn banner? Done.

✅ Buy a random guy a drink at the closest bar? Luigi handled that part.

We talked as we walked between tasks. He told me about his frat initiation—doors locked, food and alcohol flowing, and seniors throwing impossible tasks at them.

“Deadly,” he joked.

“You survived.”

“Barely.” He grinned.

By the time we finished, I had enough minutes to spare.

Luigi walked me back to the sorority house.

“Well, I guess this means you’re officially Delta Nu,” he said, stopping at the steps.

“Yeah.”

“See you in class?”

I smiled. “Unless I skip to recover from this trauma.”

He laughed. “You’ll survive.”

I ran inside, dumped my evidence on the table, and collapsed onto the couch.

Missy’s eyes narrowed. “You got everything?”

“Everything,” I confirmed.

Her gaze shifted from Luigi’s face on the picture to his signature. Her smile tightened.

“So?”

Missy’s smile sharpened. “Alright.”

I just rolled my eyes.

I was safe. That’s all that mattered.

@nosebeers

hi i’m Vaz, this was just a product of my active imagination, free time and the need for a better outcome. Hope u enjoy xxx

I’m not American and most of my knowledge is from movies and some research. Sorry if it sounds inaccurate to real greek life. But hey it’s fiction .

#luigi mangione x reader #luigi mangione fanfic #luigi mangione fanfiction #luigi mangione imagine #luigi mangione x latina reader

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mostlysignssomeportents · 1 year ago

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Demon-haunted computers are back, baby

Catch me in Miami! I'll be at Books and Books in Coral Gables on Jan 22 at 8PM.

As a science fiction writer, I am professionally irritated by a lot of sf movies. Not only do those writers get paid a lot more than I do, they insist on including things like "self-destruct" buttons on the bridges of their starships.

Look, I get it. When the evil empire is closing in on your flagship with its secret transdimensional technology, it's important that you keep those secrets out of the emperor's hand. An irrevocable self-destruct switch there on the bridge gets the job done! (It has to be irrevocable, otherwise the baddies'll just swarm the bridge and toggle it off).

But c'mon. If there's a facility built into your spaceship that causes it to explode no matter what the people on the bridge do, that is also a pretty big security risk! What if the bad guy figures out how to hijack the measure that – by design – the people who depend on the spaceship as a matter of life and death can't detect or override?

I mean, sure, you can try to simplify that self-destruct system to make it easier to audit and assure yourself that it doesn't have any bugs in it, but remember Schneier's Law: anyone can design a security system that works so well that they themselves can't think of a flaw in it. That doesn't mean you've made a security system that works – only that you've made a security system that works on people stupider than you.

I know it's weird to be worried about realism in movies that pretend we will ever find a practical means to visit other star systems and shuttle back and forth between them (which we are very, very unlikely to do):

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/09/astrobezzle/#send-robots-instead

But this kind of foolishness galls me. It galls me even more when it happens in the real world of technology design, which is why I've spent the past quarter-century being very cross about Digital Rights Management in general, and trusted computing in particular.

It all starts in 2002, when a team from Microsoft visited our offices at EFF to tell us about this new thing they'd dreamed up called "trusted computing":

https://pluralistic.net/2020/12/05/trusting-trust/#thompsons-devil

The big idea was to stick a second computer inside your computer, a very secure little co-processor, that you couldn't access directly, let alone reprogram or interfere with. As far as this "trusted platform module" was concerned, you were the enemy. The "trust" in trusted computing was about other people being able to trust your computer, even if they didn't trust you.

So that little TPM would do all kinds of cute tricks. It could observe and produce a cryptographically signed manifest of the entire boot-chain of your computer, which was meant to be an unforgeable certificate attesting to which kind of computer you were running and what software you were running on it. That meant that programs on other computers could decide whether to talk to your computer based on whether they agreed with your choices about which code to run.

This process, called "remote attestation," is generally billed as a way to identify and block computers that have been compromised by malware, or to identify gamers who are running cheats and refuse to play with them. But inevitably it turns into a way to refuse service to computers that have privacy blockers turned on, or are running stream-ripping software, or whose owners are blocking ads:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/02/self-incrimination/#wei-bai-bai

After all, a system that treats the device's owner as an adversary is a natural ally for the owner's other, human adversaries. The rubric for treating the owner as an adversary focuses on the way that users can be fooled by bad people with bad programs. If your computer gets taken over by malicious software, that malware might intercept queries from your antivirus program and send it false data that lulls it into thinking your computer is fine, even as your private data is being plundered and your system is being used to launch malware attacks on others.

These separate, non-user-accessible, non-updateable secure systems serve a nubs of certainty, a remote fortress that observes and faithfully reports on the interior workings of your computer. This separate system can't be user-modifiable or field-updateable, because then malicious software could impersonate the user and disable the security chip.

It's true that compromised computers are a real and terrifying problem. Your computer is privy to your most intimate secrets and an attacker who can turn it against you can harm you in untold ways. But the widespread redesign of out computers to treat us as their enemies gives rise to a range of completely predictable and – I would argue – even worse harms. Building computers that treat their owners as untrusted parties is a system that works well, but fails badly.

First of all, there are the ways that trusted computing is designed to hurt you. The most reliable way to enshittify something is to supply it over a computer that runs programs you can't alter, and that rats you out to third parties if you run counter-programs that disenshittify the service you're using. That's how we get inkjet printers that refuse to use perfectly good third-party ink and cars that refuse to accept perfectly good engine repairs if they are performed by third-party mechanics:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon

It's how we get cursed devices and appliances, from the juicer that won't squeeze third-party juice to the insulin pump that won't connect to a third-party continuous glucose monitor:

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-near-future-tale-of-refugees-and-sinister-iot-appliances/

But trusted computing doesn't just create an opaque veil between your computer and the programs you use to inspect and control it. Trusted computing creates a no-go zone where programs can change their behavior based on whether they think they're being observed.

The most prominent example of this is Dieselgate, where auto manufacturers murdered hundreds of people by gimmicking their cars to emit illegal amount of NOX. Key to Dieselgate was a program that sought to determine whether it was being observed by regulators (it checked for the telltale signs of the standard test-suite) and changed its behavior to color within the lines.

Software that is seeking to harm the owner of the device that's running it must be able to detect when it is being run inside a simulation, a test-suite, a virtual machine, or any other hallucinatory virtual world. Just as Descartes couldn't know whether anything was real until he assured himself that he could trust his senses, malware is always questing to discover whether it is running in the real universe, or in a simulation created by a wicked god:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/28/descartes-was-an-optimist/#uh-oh

That's why mobile malware uses clever gambits like periodically checking for readings from your device's accelerometer, on the theory that a virtual mobile phone running on a security researcher's test bench won't have the fidelity to generate plausible jiggles to match the real data that comes from a phone in your pocket:

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/01/google-play-malware-used-phones-motion-sensors-to-conceal-itself/

Sometimes this backfires in absolutely delightful ways. When the Wannacry ransomware was holding the world hostage, the security researcher Marcus Hutchins noticed that its code made reference to a very weird website: iuqerfsodp9ifjaposdfjhgosurijfaewrwergwea.com. Hutchins stood up a website at that address and every Wannacry-infection in the world went instantly dormant:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/10/flintstone-delano-roosevelt/#the-matrix

It turns out that Wannacry's authors were using that ferkakte URL the same way that mobile malware authors were using accelerometer readings – to fulfill Descartes' imperative to distinguish the Matrix from reality. The malware authors knew that security researchers often ran malicious code inside sandboxes that answered every network query with fake data in hopes of eliciting responses that could be analyzed for weaknesses. So the Wannacry worm would periodically poll this nonexistent website and, if it got an answer, it would assume that it was being monitored by a security researcher and it would retreat to an encrypted blob, ceasing to operate lest it give intelligence to the enemy. When Hutchins put a webserver up at iuqerfsodp9ifjaposdfjhgosurijfaewrwergwea.com, every Wannacry instance in the world was instantly convinced that it was running on an enemy's simulator and withdrew into sulky hibernation.

The arms race to distinguish simulation from reality is critical and the stakes only get higher by the day. Malware abounds, even as our devices grow more intimately woven through our lives. We put our bodies into computers – cars, buildings – and computers inside our bodies. We absolutely want our computers to be able to faithfully convey what's going on inside them.

But we keep running as hard as we can in the opposite direction, leaning harder into secure computing models built on subsystems in our computers that treat us as the threat. Take UEFI, the ubiquitous security system that observes your computer's boot process, halting it if it sees something it doesn't approve of. On the one hand, this has made installing GNU/Linux and other alternative OSes vastly harder across a wide variety of devices. This means that when a vendor end-of-lifes a gadget, no one can make an alternative OS for it, so off the landfill it goes.

It doesn't help that UEFI – and other trusted computing modules – are covered by Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which makes it a felony to publish information that can bypass or weaken the system. The threat of a five-year prison sentence and a $500,000 fine means that UEFI and other trusted computing systems are understudied, leaving them festering with longstanding bugs:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/09/free-sample/#que-viva

Here's where it gets really bad. If an attacker can get inside UEFI, they can run malicious software that – by design – no program running on our computers can detect or block. That badware is running in "Ring -1" – a zone of privilege that overrides the operating system itself.

Here's the bad news: UEFI malware has already been detected in the wild:

https://securelist.com/cosmicstrand-uefi-firmware-rootkit/106973/

And here's the worst news: researchers have just identified another exploitable UEFI bug, dubbed Pixiefail:

https://blog.quarkslab.com/pixiefail-nine-vulnerabilities-in-tianocores-edk-ii-ipv6-network-stack.html

Writing in Ars Technica, Dan Goodin breaks down Pixiefail, describing how anyone on the same LAN as a vulnerable computer can infect its firmware:

https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/01/new-uefi-vulnerabilities-send-firmware-devs-across-an-entire-ecosystem-scrambling/

That vulnerability extends to computers in a data-center where the attacker has a cloud computing instance. PXE – the system that Pixiefail attacks – isn't widely used in home or office environments, but it's very common in data-centers.

Again, once a computer is exploited with Pixiefail, software running on that computer can't detect or delete the Pixiefail code. When the compromised computer is queried by the operating system, Pixiefail undetectably lies to the OS. "Hey, OS, does this drive have a file called 'pixiefail?'" "Nope." "Hey, OS, are you running a process called 'pixiefail?'" "Nope."

This is a self-destruct switch that's been compromised by the enemy, and which no one on the bridge can de-activate – by design. It's not the first time this has happened, and it won't be the last.

There are models for helping your computer bust out of the Matrix. Back in 2016, Edward Snowden and bunnie Huang prototyped and published source code and schematics for an "introspection engine":

https://assets.pubpub.org/aacpjrja/AgainstTheLaw-CounteringLawfulAbusesofDigitalSurveillance.pdf

This is a single-board computer that lives in an ultraslim shim that you slide between your iPhone's mainboard and its case, leaving a ribbon cable poking out of the SIM slot. This connects to a case that has its own OLED display. The board has leads that physically contact each of the network interfaces on the phone, conveying any data they transit to the screen so that you can observe the data your phone is sending without having to trust your phone.

(I liked this gadget so much that I included it as a major plot point in my 2020 novel Attack Surface, the third book in the Little Brother series):

https://craphound.com/attacksurface/

We don't have to cede control over our devices in order to secure them. Indeed, we can't ever secure them unless we can control them. Self-destruct switches don't belong on the bridge of your spaceship, and trusted computing modules don't belong in your devices.

I'm Kickstarting the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues, narrated by @wilwheaton! You can pre-order the audiobook and ebook, DRM free, as well as the hardcover, signed or unsigned. There's also bundles with Red Team Blues in ebook, audio or paperback.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/17/descartes-delenda-est/#self-destruct-sequence-initiated

Image: Mike (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/stillwellmike/15676883261/

CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

#pluralistic #uefi #owner override #user override #jailbreaking #dmca 1201 #schneiers law #descartes #nub of certainty #self-destruct button #trusted computing #secure enclaves #drm #ngscb #next generation secure computing base #palladium #pixiefail #infosec

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coochiequeens · 4 months ago

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It's nice to see an institution celebrate a woman's accomplishments

An avenue on École polytechnique’s campus is now dedicated to Anne Duthilleul-Chopinet, the first female valedictorian to enter École Polytechnique, when the cycle ingénieur polytechnicien entrance examination was opened to women. The inauguration of this avenue, in her presence, was an opportunity to recall the contribution of women to major scientific advances and École polytechnique’s commitment to their promotion.

The inauguration of the avenue Anne Duthilleul-Chopinet on École polytechnique’s campus, in her presence, was an opportunity to highlight the contribution of women to major scientific advances and École polytechnique's commitment to promote them.

Anne Duthilleul-Chopinet was first woman valedictorian at École Polytechnique’s cycle ingénieur polytechnicien program entrance exam in 1972, the first year in which women were admitted to the cycle ingénieur polytechnicien program.

“Bordered by avenues Bequerel and Coriolis, avenue Chopinet will benefit from a solid scientific neighborhood, but it will also resonate with the names of the women scientists, engineers and visionaries who have marked the history of our School,” said Laura Chaubard, President of École Polytechnique, citing the names of Sophie Germain, the first woman to attend the École by disguising her identity, Rose Dieng, the brilliant computer scientist, Caroline Aigle, the first female fighter pilot, and Claudine Hermann, a physicist of formidable talent and the first woman to be appointed professor at X in 1980.

“Many are those who continued to blaze the trail for women engineers after their studies at École Polytechnique. I would like to mention Caroline Laurent, who is here today, who, along with Monique Legrand Laroche, were the first women to be appointed four-star generals, and also Valérie André, a military doctor and the first woman general, who died a few days ago at the age of 102,” added Laura Chaubard.

The President of École Polytechnique also associated with the inauguration the names of the five other female pioneers - Nicole Gontier, Ta Thu Thuy, Françoise Combelles, Anne Ferry, Elisabeth Dupont-Kerlan and Dominique Senequier - who also joined the ranks of l'X in 1972.

Strongly committed to giving women a greater place and visibility in scientific careers, École Polytechnique will be highlighting, as it did in 2024, its femaleacademicss, students, alumni and entrepreneurs between February 11 (International Day of Women and Girls in Science) and March 8 (International Women's Rights Day).

Today, avenue Chopinet is a central axis of the campus, which over the years has welcomed buildings emblematic of the School's development and ambitions. These include the installation of ENSTA Paris, a founding member with X of the Institut Polytechnique de Paris, the construction of the Bachelor, built as part of the expansion of École Polytechnique's training offer from 2015 onwards, with the launch of the Bachelor and MSc&T programs, and the new Pôle mécanique, inaugurated on October 3, 2024, which brings together research laboratories in solid mechanics, fluid mechanics and life mechanics from École polytechnique and ENSTA Paris.

In her speech preceding the unveiling of the avenue's plaque on February 3, 2025, Laura Chaubard also spoke of Anne Duthilleul-Chopinet's exemplary career in public service and the general interest, from the French présidency to the CNES (French Centre for Space Studies), and recalled that she continues this mission today as head of Maison Bakhita for migrants and refugees, and as vice-president of Secours Catholique.

#Anne Duthilleul-Chopinet #the first female valedictorian #École Polytechnique #women in science #February 11 (International Day of Women and Girls in Science)#March 8 (International Women's Rights Day)#Palaiseau #France #Nicole Gontier #Ta Thu Thuy #Françoise Combelles #Anne Ferry #Elisabeth Dupont-Kerlan #Dominique Senequier

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mayreads3011 · 4 months ago

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The Librarian - Jason Todd

note: we all know that Jason's the biggest book nerd, lets be real he would totally be a librarian

posted: 06/03/25

word count: 811

LibrarianJason! decided to go back to school after his experience in the pit. He gets his GED, then a Diploma in Library and Community Services, and is still studying for his Masters in Literary Studies while he works at the library. Probably also getting a number of certificates on the side in things like, creative writing, gender studies, support worker, teaching, and so many more. Jason would be what others call a forever student, moving from one course to another, following his interests and always learning.

LibrarianJason! stole Bruce's bank details and made a generous donation to Gotham's public library on his behalf. Buying all new books, computers, security, furniture and just revamping the entire building in general. The library is now the most well run building in the city because Jason makes it his job to protect and take care of it.

LibrarianJason! would take books with him wherever he went, in a large overflowing satchel that seemed too heavy for anyone to carry. When he's over at the manor he'd always find his satchel opened, a few books missing, and then the next time he'd visit they would be magically returned. Over dinner he would ask them all what they though of the books. Dick would rant about how the thriller he read had the best plot twist. Tim would explain the awesome computer system that a character had in his science fiction book, and how he might try to recreate it. Bruce will mention that he just re-read Dickens for the hundredth time and Alfred would thank Jason for the nonfiction book on roman history. Damian would not mention what he read until much later when no one was around, he would sneak into Jason's apartment so that they could discuss the latest Jane Austen that he had read. Jason started to fill his satchel with books he's think everyone would like whenever he went over to the manor.

LibrarianJason! created and leads community programs like reading and writing skills, tutoring, computer and financial literacy, jobseeker or homeless support and many more. Not to mention running groups such as AA and NA, PTSD support, mental health support, cancer support and many others. He takes pride in helping his community this way, whether by teaching an 11 year old how to read or telling people about his experience with his mum and the affect that drugs had on their lives.

LibrarianJason! is the best at organising events. He manages weekly food banks and lunches in the library cafe, usually spending the evening before prepping and cooking with Alfred. He organises book fairs for schools and clothes drives, creating hampers for those he knows can't make it and delivering it to them himself so that they don't miss out. He even puts himself out of his comfort zone by organising a yearly gala with Bruce in order to raise money for the library.

LibrarianJason! runs about 12 books clubs a month, from ones about classic literature to science fiction to romance, and he reads every book required. He enjoys sitting down with people and having in-depth discussions on themes and characters, as well as getting to gush over a swoon worthy romance or a really good plot twist. But what he loves most is watching people eat his plate of home made biscuits or desserts, a new recipe each month.

LibrarianJason! reads picture books to kids for a few hours every Saturday and Sunday so that the parents can have a break. He'd sit on a beanbag chair and at least six kids would try to launch themselves into his lap, he'd end up reading the books with a kid hanging off each arm as the rest sit at his feet in anticipation. There are about 25 kids who run up to him whenever they see him on the street to request a book for the next session. Jason always reads what is requested.

LibrarianJason! stays back after work most nights to let a group of homeless kids in so that they have somewhere warm to stay for the night. He'd get them all dinner (usually a bat-burger) and give them all a blanket, setting them up on the couches, before reading them a bedtime story. After they'd all fallen asleep Jason would go out on patrol but never venture too far from the library, just incase.

LibrarianJason! may only be a librarian but to the people of Gotham he's much more, he's the one they turn to when they need help, and thats all that Jason has every wanted.

LibrarianJason! when he gets a free moment, will find the darkest corner of the library and sit with his back against the wall and a book in his lap, enjoying the few moments of escape before getting up and going back to the job that he loves.

#batman #librarian #jason todd #bruce wayne #red hood #damian wayne #alfred pennyworth #dick grayson #richard grayson #tim drake #robin #dc robin #red robin #batfam #nightwing #batfamily #dc comics #dc universe

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 3 months ago

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The New Yorker :: @NewYorker [An advance look at Barry Blitt’s “Left to Their Own Devices,” the cover for next week’s issue.]

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

March 28, 2025

Heather Cox Richardson

Mar 29, 2025

“Another wipeout walloped Wall Street Friday,” Stan Choe of the Associated Press wrote today. The S&P 500 had one of its worst days in two years, dropping 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 715 points, losing 1.7% of its value. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.7%. On Tuesday, news dropped that the administration’s blanket firings and wildly shifting tariff policies have dropped consumer confidence to a low it has not hit since January 2021. Today’s stock market tumble started after the Commerce Department released data showing that consumer prices are rising faster than economists expected.

AIG chief international economist James Knightley said: “We are moving in the wrong direction and the concern is that tariffs threaten higher prices, which means the inflation prints are going to remain hot.” Business leaders like lower interest rates, which reduce borrowing costs and make it cheaper to finance business initiatives, but with rising inflation, the Federal Reserve will be less likely to cut interest rates.

Makena Kelly of Wired reported today that billionaire Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) is planning to move the computer system of the Social Security Administration (SSA) off the old programming language it uses, COBOL, to a new system. In 2017, the SSA estimated that such a migration would take about five years. DOGE is planning for the migration to take just a few months, using artificial intelligence to complete the change.

Experts have expressed concern. Dan Hon, who runs a technology strategy company that helps the government modernize its services, told Kelly: “If you weren’t worried about a whole bunch of people not getting benefits or getting the wrong benefits, or getting the wrong entitlements, or having to wait ages, then sure go ahead.” More than 65 million Americans currently receive Social Security benefits. Today Representative Don Beyer (D-VA) recorded himself calling the SSA and being told by a recording that the wait times were more than two hours and that he should call back. And then the system hung up on him.

Musk told the Fox News Channel today that he plans to step down from DOGE in May, apparently at the end of the 130-day cap for the “special government employee” designation that enables him to avoid financial disclosures. In February, White House staffers suggested Musk would stay despite the limit.

Today the State Department told Congress it is shutting down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) altogether by July 1. Whatever agency functions the administration approves will move into the State Department. Founded by President John F. Kennedy and enjoying bipartisan support, USAID administers programs for global health, disaster relief, long-term economic development, education, environmental protection, and democracy. It is widely perceived to be a key element of U.S. “soft power.”

USAID was created by Congress, and its funds are appropriated by Congress. Congress and the courts have established that the executive branch—the branch of government overseen by the president—cannot kill an agency Congress has created and cannot withhold appropriations Congress has made. The authors of Project 2025 want to challenge that principle and consolidate government power in the hands of the president. It appears they have chosen USAID as the test case.

As Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shatters science and health agencies, the nation’s top vaccine regulator, Dr. Peter Marks, submitted his resignation today after being given the choice to resign or be fired. Dan Diamond of the Washington Post noted that Marks has been at the Food and Drug Administration since 2012 and has been at the head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research since 2016.

In his resignation letter, Diamond says, Marks expressed his deep concern over the ongoing measles outbreak in the Southwest—now more than 450 cases—and warned that the outbreak “reminds us of what happens when confidence in well-established science underlying public health and well-being is undermined.” Marks said that although he was willing to work with Kennedy on his plan to review vaccine safety, “it has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.”

On Tuesday, news broke that Kennedy has tapped anti-vaccine activist David Geier to lead a study looking to link autism to vaccines, although that alleged link has been heavily studied and thoroughly debunked. Infectious disease journalist Helen Branswell notes that Geier does not have a medical degree and was disciplined in Maryland for practicing medicine without a license.

British investigative journalist Brian Deer, who has written about the hoax that vaccines cause autism, told Branswell: “If you want an independent source,… [you] wouldn’t go to somebody with no qualifications and a long track record of impropriety and incompetence.” But, he said, “[i]f you wanted to get in anybody off the street who would come up with the result that Kennedy would like to see, this would be your man.”

Tara Copp of the Associated Press reported today that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has done some targeted staffing, too. His younger brother Phil Hegseth is traveling to the Indo-Pacific with the secretary in his role at the Pentagon as a liaison and senior advisor to the Department of Homeland Security. Hegseth also employed his brother when he ran the nonprofit Concerned Veterans for America, where the younger Hegseth’s salary was $108,000 for his media work. Copp notes that a 1967 law “prohibits government officials from hiring, promoting or recommending relatives to any civilian position over which they exercise control.”

Hegseth and his colleagues are still in the hot seat for uploading the military’s attack plans against the Houthis in Yemen to Signal, an unsecure commercially available messaging app. Yesterday, Nancy A. Youssef, Alexander Ward, and Michael R. Gordon of the Wall Street Journal reported that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz identified a Houthi missile expert whose identity Israel had provided from a human source in Yemen, angering Israeli officials.

Americans, especially those with ties to the military, aren’t happy either. Military, the leading news website for service members, veterans, and their families, titled a story about the scandal “‘Different spanks for different ranks’: Hegseth’s Signal scandal would put regular troops in the brig.” Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt of the New York Times reported that the story had “angered and bewildered” fighter pilots, who say “they can no longer be certain that the Pentagon is focused on their safety when they strap into cockpits.”

At a raucous town hall held today by Republican representative Victoria Spartz (R-IN), the crowd booed Spartz loudly when she said she would not call for the resignations of Waltz, Hegseth, and the rest of the people on the group chat.

All the mayhem created by the administration has created enough backlash that the White House appears concerned about upcoming special elections on April 1. One is for the seat in Florida’s District 6 that Waltz vacated when he became national security advisor. In 2024, Trump won that district by 30 points, and Republicans considered their candidate, state senator Randy Fine, whom Trump has strongly endorsed, to be such a shoo-in that he barely campaigned. His website features pictures of him with Trump but has only bullet points to explain his stand on issues.

Democrat Josh Weil, a middle-school math teacher who has outraised Fine by almost 10 to one, is polling within the margin of error for a victory in a contest where even a 10- to 15-point loss would show a dramatic collapse in Republican support. Weil has tied Fine to Musk’s unpopular DOGE and to the president, as well as to cuts to Social Security and Medicaid.

Trump is now personally campaigning for Fine and for the Republican candidate to fill the seat vacated by former representative Matt Gaetz in Florida District 1. There, Democratic candidate Gay Valimont is running against Republican Jimmy Patronis in a district that elected Trump with about 68% of the vote. Like Fine, Patronis is strongly backed by Trump and wants more cuts to the federal government; Gay is a former state leader for Moms Demand Action and focuses on healthcare and veterans’ services. She has criticized DOGE’s cuts to VA hospitals. Like Weil, she has significantly outraised her opponent.

Republicans are concerned enough about holding the seats that billionaire Elon Musk, who poured more than $291 million into the 2024 election to help Republicans, has begun to contribute to Republicans in Florida. On Tuesday he spent more than $10,000 apiece for texting services for the Florida candidates.

Musk has contributed far more than that—more than $20 million—to the April 1 election for a ten-year seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Trump loyalist Brad Schimel is running against circuit court judge Susan Crawford in a contest that has national significance. Wisconsin is evenly split between the parties, but when Republicans control the legislature and the supreme court, they suppress voting and heavily gerrymander the state in their favor. When liberals hold the majority on the court, they ease election rules and uphold fair maps. Currently, the state gerrymander gives Republicans 75% of the state’s seats in the U.S. House of Representatives although voting in 2024 was virtually dead even. The makeup of the court could well determine the congressional districts of Wisconsin through 2041, through the redistricting that will take place after the 2030 census.

Musk has told voters that if Crawford wins, “then the Democrats will attempt to redraw the districts and cause Wisconsin to lose two Republican seats.” Not only has Musk said he is going to Wisconsin to speak before the election, but also he is handing out checks to voters who sign a petition against “activist judges,” a suggestion that it would not be fair to unskew the Republican gerrymander. Last night, Musk advertised a contest that would award two voters a million dollars each, with the condition that the winners had to have already voted.

This morning, Wisconsin Democrats issued a press release noting that Musk had “committed a blatant felony,” directly violating the Wisconsin law that prohibits offering anyone anything worth more than $1 to get them to “vote or refrain from voting.” Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler said that if Schimel “does not immediately call on Musk to end this criminal activity, we can only assume he is complicit.”

Musk deleted the tweet and then, eliminating the language that said people had to have voted, posted that he would give the checks to spokespeople for his petition. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul sued to stop Musk “from any further promotion of the million-dollar gifts” and “from making any payments to Wisconsin electors to vote.” “The Wisconsin Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that elections in Wisconsin are safe, secure, free, and fair,” Kaul said in a statement. “We are aware of the offer recently posted by Elon Musk to award a million dollars to two people at an event in Wisconsin this weekend. Based on our understanding of applicable Wisconsin law, we intend to take legal action today to seek a court order to stop this from happening.”

MeidasTouch reposted Musk’s offer to “personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote” and noted: “No matter what side of the aisle you are on, you should be appalled that a billionaire thinks he has the right to buy elections like this.” Former chair of the Ohio Democratic Party David Pepper posted: “Have some pride, America. We are so much better than this guy thinks we are.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#NewYorkerCovers #wipeout on wall street #stock market #Heather Cox Richardson #Letters From An American #Mediastouch #Musk #the big money grab #bankrupting america #AIG #state department

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231025 · 14 days ago

Note

Similar to Taehyung's FS.... What might Jungkook's and Jimin's FS might be doing? Are they still studying or already on their careers?

taehyung's

jimin's: they are very likely still a university student! academic vibes. probably a science subject, e.g. biology or something with sports. it's something they're passionate about, so it seems to be satisfactory for them. next to their studies, they might sometimes have a side job and sometimes not, perhaps a seasonal job or they just work doing study break and spent the rest of the year jobless only focusing on studying. teamwork and projects seems to be important in their studies. could also be an international degree program or perhaps abroad? (i think in their nationality reading i picked up that they might be currently living in a different country than they were born in). they might be switching side jobs a lot, probably something with customer service or sales. they might spend a lot of time outside!

jungkook's: they are probably still studying too! i see a few things... first, they probably have a consistent part time job, working in an office. could have something to do with IT or computer science, something with technical tools and might have a an "industrial work" vibe to it. second, they might sometimes also take one an additional side job with customer service, e.g. working as a cashier or waitress etc to earn more money perhaps this something like a weekend job. third, their degree program might also be something in the science field (e.g. medicine) or something about environment or engineering - its surely something that screams 'academically advanced'. fourth, as a hobby they might also privately work on something artistic or music related which for now is just a hobby (and passion) but they would like to make this their career. the office job and their degree program might not be really satisfying for them, could have been chosen because of parental or societal pressure. overall, they seem to put a lot of hard work (!) in their activities. their 'career life' or that aspect of their life seems very active and eventful. it's crazy, i don't how they do that lol. also, they could also be studying abroad or have an in international program

i think those two are the only students right now

(this is kinda an update to the past reading i did last year)

#bts tarot #bts future spouses #jungkook tarot #jimin tarot

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interstellarleap · 7 months ago

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Masterlist of Free PDF Versions of Textbooks Used in Undergrad SNHU Courses in 2025 C-1 (Jan - Mar)

Literally NONE of the Accounting books are available on libgen, they all have isbns that start with the same numbers, so I think they're made for the school or something. The single Advertising course also didn't have a PDF available.

This list could also be helpful if you just want to learn stuff

NOTE: I only included textbooks that have access codes if it was stated that you won't need the access code ANYWAY

ATH (anthropology)

only one course has an available pdf ATH-205 - In The Beginning: An Introduction to Archaeology

BIO (Biology)

BIO-205 Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association Essentials of Human Anatomy & Physiology 13th Edition

NOTE: These are not the only textbook you need for this class, I couldn't get the other one

CHE (IDK what this is)

CHE-329

The Aging Networks: A Guide to Policy, Programs, and Services

Publication Manual Of The American Psychological Association

CHE-460

Health Communication: Strategies and Skills for a New Era

Publication Manual Of The American Psychological Association

CJ (Criminal Justice)

CJ-303

The Wisdom of Psychopaths: What Saints, Spies, and Serial Killers Can Teach Us About Success

Without Conscious: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us

CJ-308

Cybercrime Investigations: a Comprehensive Resource for Everyone

CJ-315

Victimology and Victim Assistance: Advocacy, Intervention, and Restoration

CJ-331

Community and Problem-Oriented Policing: Effectively Addressing Crime and Disorder

CJ-350

Deception Counterdeception and Counterintelligence

NOTE: This is not the only textbook you need for this class, I couldn't find the other one

CJ-405Private Security Today

CJ-408

Strategic Security Management-A Risk Assessment Guide for Decision Makers, Second Edition

COM (Communications)

COM-230

Graphic Design Solutions

COM-325McGraw-Hill's Proofreading Handbook

NOTE: This is not the only book you need for this course, I couldn't find the other one

COM-329

Media Now: Understanding Media, Culture, and Technology

COM-330The Only Business Writing Book You’ll Ever Need

NOTE: This is not the only book you need for this course, I couldn't find the other one

CS (Computer Science)

CS-319Interaction Design

CYB (Cyber Security)

CYB-200Fundamentals of Information Systems Security

CYB-240

Internet and Web Application Security

NOTE: This is not the only resource you need for this course. The other one is a program thingy

CYB-260Legal and Privacy Issues in Information Security

CYB-310

Hands-On Ethical Hacking and Network Defense (MindTap Course List)

NOTE: This is not the only resource you need for this course. The other one is a program thingy

CYB-400

Auditing IT Infrastructures for Compliance

NOTE: This is not the only resource you need for this course. The other one is a program thingy

CYB-420CISSP Official Study Guide

DAT (IDK what this is, but I think it's computer stuff)

DAT-430

Dashboard book

ECO (Economics)

ECO-322

International Economics

ENG (English)

ENG-226 (I'm taking this class rn, highly recommend. The book is good for any writer)

The Bloomsbury Introduction to Creative Writing: Second Edition

ENG-328

Ordinary genius: a guide for the poet within

ENG-329 (I took this course last term. The book I couldn't find is really not necessary, and is in general a bad book. Very ablest. You will, however, need the book I did find, and I recommend it even for people not taking the class. Lots of good short stories.)

100 years of the best American short stories

ENG-341You can't make this stuff up : the complete guide to writing creative nonfiction--from memoir to literary journalism and everything in between

ENG-347

Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need

NOTE: This i snot the only book you need for this course, I couldn't find the other one

ENG-350

Linguistics for Everyone: An Introduction

ENG-351Tell It Slant: Creating, Refining, and Publishing Creative Nonfiction

ENG-359 Crafting Novels & Short Stories: Everything You Need to Know to Write Great Fiction

ENV (Environmental Science)

ENV-101

Essential Environment 6th Edition The Science Behind the Stories

ENV-220

Fieldwork Ready: An introductory Guide to Field Research for Agriculture, Environment, and Soil Scientists

NOTE: You will also need lab stuff

ENV-250

A Pocket Style Manual 9th Edition

ENV-319

The Environmental Case: Translating Values Into Policy

Salzman and Thompson's Environmental Law and Policy

FAS (Fine Arts)

FAS-235Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic Classroom in a Book (2023 Release)

FAS-342 History of Modern Art

ALRIGHTY I'm tired, I will probably add ore later though! Good luck!

#textbook pdfs #free textbooks #libgen #textbooks #college #snhu #university #resources

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nyoaeuikhoudu · 5 months ago

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Elite Force highschool hc's

stealing this idea from @texanmarcusdavenport because I too have headcannons that I must scream into the void.

Centium city is located close enough to Logan High that the kids all go there. Bree and Chase changed their last names so they can go to Logan without being recognized. Their alias last name is "Douglas" because they're not creative and it's hilarious to see their teachers meet Douglas Douglas during conferences.

While the bionic teens are well known around the world, there wasn't quite as much coverage of them in the Philly area because it wasn't super local, so Bree and Chase are able to fly under the radar easier since they're not household names around here.

Idk if yall know what this is, but I feel like it would be fun to have their school structured under the academy system. In short, along with required core classes like math and english, you have to pick an area of interest or career for your other classes. You get cords for completing courses in your academy and most of your electives will be centered around that area of study, plus it helps with college applications.

As always, we'll do this in alphabetic order

Bree:

After much deliberation, she decided on the Natural Resources and Agriculture academy (green). She originally wanted to do Human Services and join ROTC for drill, but Chase wouldn't let her because that would draw too much attention to them.

- her adhd makes it difficult to retain information, so she struggles with classwork, especially lectures.

- in the gifted program w/ Oliver (Chase is jealous lol) no, the gifted program is not based on grades, it's IQ based.

- not super interested in her academy, mostly just in it for the field trips.

- thrives in English classes, can whip out a grade A essay in 20 minutes.

- expert procrastinator, usually doing her homework the morning it's due or in between classes

Chase:

Part of the Business and Computer Technology academy (blue). Though he'd probably thrive more in Engineering, he mostly just joined to work towards inheriting Davenport Industries like Donald wants him to.

- very booksmart

- sacrificed his perfect GPA for maintaining cover. (He's sitting at 3.5, though he's definitely capable of 4.0)

- not the most social, trying his best to lay low.

- started working the schools coffee shop and snack hut for the finance side of things

- refused to test for the gifted program, pissed that Bree did behind his back despite his insistence that they don't draw attention to themselves.

Connie/Skylar:

Part of the Arts and Communications academy (purple). While she's not particularly skilled in the arts, she does enjoy marching band and likes spending time with Jordan and Gus (who are also both in AnC, art and film respectively.)

- gets decent grades. B average

- took an interest in theatre after Gus's Skylar Storm movie, and now helps out on tech.

- works the booth for shows, light design and helps out with mic checks

- surprisingly good at history for an alien- she convinced Chase to join her at history bowl and their team obliterated the other schools.

- involved in multiple sports, namely wrestling and dance team, but colour guard is still her favourite.

- so used to the name Connie that she doesn't even realise when people call her that outside of school, though the twins still slip up and call her Skylar in class.

Kaz:

Part of Health Sciences academy (red) to help with work, though he's less serious about it. If given a choice, he'd choose not to belong to any academy and just go home. He focuses more on the sports injury side of things, learning how to prevent injury rather than treat it for the most part.

- his grades don't reflect his intelligence

- struggles in class due to his adhd

- the only reason he's not failing his medical courses is because Oliver helps keep him on task

- tried three other academies before MM, none seemed to fit him best.

- the only elective he takes outside of HnS is shop, he especially loves welding and blacksmithing.

Oliver:

Also in the Health Sciences academy (red). Though he originally joined because of Mighty Med, he actually found a love for field, focusing on the Medical side. He's been taking extra science classes for fun along with academy courses.

- gets good grades, but definately not perfect.

- terrible at anything that requires math

- builds study dates into his schedule to spend time with Kaz and help him learn the material.- has been in the gifted program since elementary school.

- was originally part of AnC with the rest of his friend group, but switched early his sophomore year when he started working at MM

- still participates in band, playing the oboe for concert and marimba for marching season.

Ages:

Skylar is a senior, everyone else is a junior.

#Lab rats #Mighty med #Lab rats elite force #School #Highschool #academies #Academy structure #lrmmef #chase davenport #bree davenport #Oliver mm #mm oliver #oliver lref #kaz lref #kaz mm #mm kaz #Skylar storm #headcannons

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misfitwashere · 3 months ago

Text

March 28, 2025

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

MAR 29 READ IN APP

—

#heather cox richardson #letters from an american

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