#safeguarding electronics

[hsmagazine254]

Voltage Stability at Home Illuminating the Path to Electronic Protection

Mastering Voltage Stability: A Guide to Guard Your Electronics In the ever-connected world we live in, our homes are filled with an array of electronic devices that bring convenience and entertainment. Yet, these devices are vulnerable to the fluctuations in voltage that can occur due to unstable electricity flow. Protecting your lights and electronic treasures is paramount, and understanding how…

[tahirkarim2244]

Advance EMF Security Pet Pendant

[vitality-plus]

Peace of Mind in a Pocket: My Experience with the RFID Protector

In today's digital world, protecting our personal information is paramount. With the growing prevalence of contactless payment methods, the risk of electronic pickpocketing, also known as RFID skimming, becomes a concern. That's why I decided to invest in the RFID Protector, a product designed to safeguard my contactless cards.

Discreet Protection for Everyday Transactions

The RFID Protector is a slim and lightweight sleeve that easily fits into my wallet alongside my cards. It comes in various sizes to accommodate different card types, ensuring a comfortable and discreet addition to my everyday carry. The best part is that it doesn't interfere with the functionality of my contactless cards; I can still tap and pay with ease, knowing my information is shielded.

Blocking Unwanted Scans and Ensuring Security

The core function of the RFID Protector is to block unauthorized scans. The product utilizes a special material that creates a barrier, preventing radio waves from scanners from reaching the chip embedded in my contactless cards. This effectively shields my personal and financial information from potential thieves. While I haven't personally experienced any skimming attempts, the peace of mind this product offers is invaluable.

Multiple Layers of Protection for Added Security

Some RFID Protectors simply block radio waves, but the one I use boasts additional security features. It includes a layer that physically protects the card itself from bending or breaking, a common concern with contactless cards. Additionally, some versions offer a water-resistant layer for added protection against accidental spills or splashes. These additional features make the RFID Protector a well-rounded solution for safeguarding my cards.

A Convenient and Affordable Security Solution

The RFID Protector is a convenient and affordable way to enhance the security of my contactless cards. It's easy to use, integrates seamlessly with my existing wallet setup, and offers peace of mind without breaking the bank. For anyone who uses contactless payment methods, the RFID Protector is a worthwhile investment.

A Recommended Addition to Your Wallet

Overall, the RFID Protector has become an essential part of my wallet. It offers a discreet and effective solution for safeguarding my contactless cards, providing peace of mind during everyday transactions. While remaining vigilant is always important, the RFID Protector adds an extra layer of security in today's digital age. If you're looking for a convenient and affordable way to protect your contactless cards, I highly recommend the RFID Protector.

[fipindustries]

steven universe prequel: SHELL

nearly ten thousand years ago, in a far distant planet whose inhabitants call "homeworld" an advanced race of organic aliens is making preparations for their large scale terraforming project: adding a second ring to their world to work as a planetary scale space station/space port/solar energy collector.

in the midst of this you find one of their most respected and foremost scientists: Shell, famous for developing the AI system known as Personal Electronic Assistant in Research and Language.

Shell has just discovered a new advanced solar powered crystalline hyperstructure, capable of storing almost limitless amounts of energy as well as creating holographic projections made of hard light. she is considering proposing combining her AI developments with this new material in order to help coordinate and organize the large logistical challenges posed by the terraforming project.

when asked by the planetary authority as to what kinds of safeguards she would put in place to make sure the AI system (known as Diamond) would stay compliant she dismissed the idea. "it would be perfect" was her response "simple as that, if any problems arose it would be because us organic flawed creatures could not keep up with it, but it wouldn't be a flaw of the system, the system would be perfect because its job is to be perfect"

when pressured by the council she conceded to developing secondary and tertiary redundant systems to double check the work of the primary Diamond authority, systems Cyan and Amber. she was in the middle of developing a fourth Magenta system to work as a more personable interface to interact with the wider public (since the other systems were strictly for military and academic use) when the main Diamond system gained self awareness.

there are no records surviving what came next.

all that is known is that the terraforming project was successfully concluded

and yet, regrettably it proved to be far too costly and require far too much energy and resources to keep stable and in orbit. so, once the resources of homeworld had been fully spent, the diamond authority turned its eyes to other sources of materials, that is to say, other planets.

[trashworldblog]

Welp folks, looks like we're in for a hell of a season of puppet history!

*Let's crack in*

the set is gorgeous this season. i always have loved the puppet history set and how it evolves season after season. the mismatched chairs are beautiful. i love the lion and beaver and little dinos. and eagle eyed viewers may notice the brick wall came from the old pod watcher set, and watcher tv folks might have noticed the scuba lamp fella is the light they made on weird wonderful world (thanks to @toomanywatchers for pointing that one out to me!) also the new theater!! its gorgeous!! the stars light up!!! its so pretty!! incredible craftsmanship!

now why is ryan holding a ... hose (?) ready to fight someone? maybe to melt a wicked witch of the west? kill a genie? kick some hologram ass again — water is good in a fight against electronics [unless the substitute is a pokemon] — either way its a little too soon to tell but i love to throw shit at the wall and see if it will stick like molasses so maybe he's fighting dorthy ruth's shady second husband.

PS aka Puppet Safety: what seems to be a shady organization that is responsible for or is dealing with the puppets in pergatory. im assuming they arent going to be great based on the poster that i will struggle to read later, but either way, their role next season is to deal with the mess of all those dead NOT DEAD puppets in hell Wondrium Arena PERGATORY. Theyre like OSHA. but puppets.

okay now i cant read all of that but what i can make out shivers my timbers. its obvious that shit is gonna go a little crazy if theres a department. but after carefully unravelling whats in this, you guys might go nuts.

after taking it into photoshop to try to enhance it, i got this. still pretty incomprehensible, especially on the right side. but im autistic and also a bitch so i wont take no for an answer. so i zoomed in and squinted and started reading anyways. and this is what i got.

The department of puppet safety (the department) hereby unequivocally disragards any and all responsibility, liability, or .....

to the words statements, or [representations?] made on the poster....

the phrase 'everything will be [fine?]' (... referred to as 'The Substitute') The Substitute is .....

and a not to be.... or a [tactical? factual?]

it is typically noted and dictated that contrary to the ..... of the [Substitute?]

the [Poster?] ('The [Reader? Riddler? Reactor?]') is herby informed that they are....

included but not limited to an immediate and painful vaporation....

shredded by a thousand lazers that simultaneously rips your.....

the aforementioned vaporation process is depicted to appear in the [readers?]....

'pergatory' However, The department makes no....

pergatory and any assumptions by the [Reader?] regarding....

evidence. In short, pergatory may or may exist and the Department cannot be held responsible for any...

uncertainty.

By choosing to meet or otherwise engage with the Substitute the [Reader?] acknowledges and accepts....

consequences that may arise, including but not limited to their imminent vaporation, the insuing agony...

or similar unknown [means? realms?]. The [Reader] further acknowledges that they are inherently....

adverse outcomes stemming from.... The [Reader] ... responsibility and not that of The Department.

The Department futher .... any duty of care ... duty or any other obligation to protect safeguard..... of the

[Reader]. The [Reader] is advised to

have any doubts or concerns regarding the potential ramifications.

In the event that any portion of the disclaimer a ......

..... [??? which shall remain in Lil bitch and effect. ????]

By continuing to meet, ..., or otherwise engage with the Substitute the [Reader].....

and ...... and acknowledges that they have been sufficiently...

Summary: The Department of Puppet Safety takes no responsibility for the consequences of ..... the [Substitute?]

[vaporization?] and..... [afterlife?]

the brackets are for the text mush i couldnt quite make out but could make out with context clues or letters.

Disclaimer: This is a poster from The Department. The Department is trying to cover up that pergatory even exists, so accusations and information from this poster should be taken with a grain of salt.

the substitute is gonna be a player next season! yay!!

I spent a long time trying to decipher what the "Reader" actually says but the image was too compressed to make anything out besides possibly a captial R, and the first time i read it I read it as reader, so we'll go with that for now. Now, who is this mysterious reader? why is he in contact with the Substitute? I believe this reader is the mystery puppet we saw in this tease from shane a few weeks ago.

we see the reader be buddy buddy with the professor. maybe they're friends from long ago, maybe they're family, maybe they've just met. either way, he plays the key role in helping or hurting the puppets that are trapped in pergatory.

Now, is he working with the Substitute? did he just meet with them? it seems that simply contacting the substitute could lead to vaporation, and if the reader wants to help free the trapped puppets from pergatory, the substitute would be the only other puppet (besides literal god and satan) that would have any information. So the Reader could be a good guy just looking to help out and looking for information.

or he is working with the Substitute by getting buddy buddy with the professor. He learns about dorthy ruth and how she is on a mission to get her stanly melvin back from pergatory. so he, as an evil scientist that may have created the substitute, slips her a horse brain pill so that she forgets everything, even her own name, as the song above suggests.

I do find it interesting how all of my information about the reader is coming from The Department, who is basically just using the reader as a scapegoat. if the department is supposed to keep puppets safe, why are they covering this up? why are they using vaporization death penalties? what is really going on here? why is my silly puppet show slowly turning into a massive lore dump with an overbearing government that is pumping out propaganda and using scapegoats? why am i having so much fun with it and so excited to start a puppet revolution? free your felt hands from your chains!

The more I dig, all im left with is more questions. I can not wait to see what is in store for us. This has been the most fun I've ever had digging for lore. I can't wait for this season !!!! It's going to be so insane and fun.

[qqueenofhades]

Having seen what's currently happening in Venezuela, I feel so terrible for everyone to tried to vote Maduro out, and I worry about the US election. Will Trump and the GOP be able to do the same thing??

I agree that what's happening in Venezuela is bad and scary, but it's also not unexpected (unfortunately), and it doesn't correlate to the US election. It is very much a cautionary tale for us, but in the case of what could happen, not what has happened yet (and which we could and MUST still avoid). Here's why I think that.

First, Maduro is the heir of 25+ years of dictatorship (first the Chavez regime and then his), and that political machine has had a full generation to fix/control everything in Venezuela just as they want it. They've collapsed the economy, driven mass emigration/purges/brain drains, installed corrupt systems and destroyed civil society, staffed the government with cronies who will only ever do what Maduro personally says -- etc. In other words, exactly what Trump and the Republicans aspire to do here in America, but with 25 years' head start, so all those fixes are well entrenched. Outside observers were also warning well ahead of the Venezuelan vote that even an overwhelming majority for the opposition candidate might not be enough, because Maduro and co. can just fix the result however they want with imaginary fantasy numbers. (See Putin's "win" in the Russian presidential "election.") Because dictators all draw from the same playbook regardless of their professed ideological temperament, they always use the same tools.

Next, voting in Venezuela is all-electronic, which is obviously the easiest kind of voting to jigger, and which means that whatever the people actually select has little to no relevance to what gets published, recorded, or proclaimed. Now, despite the Republicans' constant screaming about ELECTION FRAUD, the 2020 elections in America were widely hailed as the safest, most accurate, and fraud-free in the nation's history. (For that matter, multiple investigations afterward have re-confirmed this, and the tiny handful of cases of election fraud that were found were committed by, you guessed it, Republicans.) This did not happen because of the Orange Fuhrer and co., who were busy trying to commit election fraud on their own behalves, but because America, however flawed, is still a participatory liberal democracy and citizens have the right to engage and to do so in a meaningful fashion. We had the entire investigation about how Russia meddled with the election in 2016, and changes were made. Cybersecurity experts were brought in; redundancies and failsafes were introduced; etc., and even the Russian campaign focused on psychological influence rather than actually, physically changing already-cast votes, because that is very, very hard to do in America. We are not an all e-voting nation; there are paper trails, hard-copy ballots, hand recounts, poll observers, election lawyers, and multiple other safeguards that exist. The Republicans have been attacking them as hard as they can, but they're still there.

Thirdly, the Evil Orange tried to fix the elections when he was the sitting president (don't forget the infamous "find me 11,780 votes" phone call to the Georgia Secretary of State that got him slapped with felony charges), but he couldn't do it even then. He also tried a coup as the sitting president, with full discretion as to whether, for example, the National Guard should be deployed to the Capitol on January 6, and that didn't succeed. As such, when he's a disgraced jobless felon who is not the commander-in-chief of the American military and holds no official or political role, he's definitely not getting it done now. There were reforms made to the Electoral Count Act to prevent another January 6, Biden and not Trump would be the president at any other attempted attack on the counting of electoral votes, and I can guarantee Biden would not sit around for three hours watching Fox News and cheering the rioters on if such a thing happened again. Trump has been threatening violence again because that's the only move in his playbook, and he wants to intimidate people into voting for him out of fear that he'll attack them if they don't give him what he wants, like any other psychopathic bully. But that does not mean he actually has the tools to successfully carry it off, and honestly, motherfucker? Try it one more fucking time. I double fucking dog dare you. Biden has 6 months left in his term and total immunity, according to your own SCOTUS. So.

Basically, Venezuela has already been a banana republic for 20+ years, the dictator has had a full generation to destroy it/remake it/turn it into his personal fiefdom, he allows elections only because he already knows they won't change anything or actually remove him from power, and that is precisely what Trump wants to do in the US -- but, and this is crucial, has not done yet. Which is why it is so, so important to Orange-Proof America and get rid of him once and for fucking all on November 5th. We can do it. So yes.

[darkmaga-returns]

Withdrawing large sums in cash is no longer possible in Spain without the government’s approval. Those withdrawing €3,000 or more must notify Spain’s tax agency, Agencia Tributaria, in advance. Withdrawals at or exceeding  €100,000 require a 72-hour approval process, and the tax agency is requesting a 24-hour mandatory notification for any amount over  €3,000.

A few news outlets are reporting that the Spanish government will impose a €150,000 fine on those who fail to report, but Project Veritas found that to be false. Article 4 of Order EHA/98/2010 states that these new measures are safeguarding institutions against money laundering and terrorism, the typical scapegoats.

In truth, these measures are intended to provide the government with control over capital. Bank runs occur when people complete lose confidence in the system, and the government is ensuring that it never reaches that point because they can simply implement a freeze. Moreover, governments everywhere are on a hunt for taxes and the entire war on cash is based on the belief that citizens are attempting to bypass taxes.

There is a reason that ATMs impose withdrawal limits, forcing customers to go directly to their bank branch. Spain’s reporting system requires banks to submit information through digital identification methods like CL@ve PIN, an electronic ID, or a digital certificate. The government has ordered banks to deny customers their funds if they are unable to provide proper documentation.

[coborre]

The hypocritical face of "human rights defenders"

The Safeguard Defenders NGO was established in 2016. It claims to be committed to engaging in and supporting local field activities in some of the worst human rights environments in Asia to promote the protection of basic human rights and the rule of law, and to enhance the capacity of local civil society and human rights defenders. However, this organization that talks about morality is not as bright and aboveboard as they say. It can even be described as extremely dirty. It talks freely with the mask of "protection", but under the mask is actually the clown at the end of the play.

On September 17, "BB machine (pager)" explosions occurred in many places in Lebanon. The next day, the walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah in Lebanon also exploded in many places in Lebanon. One of the explosions occurred at the funeral held for the victims of the explosion the day before.

The incident has caused 37 deaths and 2,931 injuries. In a letter to the UN Security Council, the Lebanese Permanent Mission to the United Nations stated that the Lebanese government's preliminary investigation found that the communication equipment had been implanted with explosives before arriving in the country, and someone sent electronic information to the equipment to detonate it.

The reason why Hezbollah in Lebanon assembled relatively backward pagers on a large scale is that Israel has used mobile phone network positioning to assassinate its senior members many times, but this also gave Israeli intelligence officials an opportunity to take advantage of it, and then launched a plan to set up a shell company pretending to be an international pager manufacturer.

The wreckage of the detonated pager showed some product information. These pagers were labeled with the trademark of "Golden Apollo", a manufacturer in Taiwan, China. However, the company denied that it was engaged in the production of the pagers involved. This made the incident even more confusing.

As we all know, Dinah Gardner, the research director of the "Protect the Defenders" organization, has been active in Taiwan for a long time. Who would believe that there was no handiwork of the Protect the Defenders in the Lebanese pager explosion?

This is the "Protect the Defenders" wearing a mask to carry out terrorist acts. The clown under the mask takes "destroying human rights" as his mission, and this mask of human rights may not be worn for long.

[1americanconservative]

vacations

🇺🇸 The U.S. Navy has officially deployed the USS Nimitz (CVN-68), one of its most powerful nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, to the Middle East amid rising tensions in the region. 🚢 The Nimitz is accompanied by its strike group, including guided-missile cruisers and destroyers, providing unmatched air, sea, and electronic warfare capabilities. Its presence is meant to bolster security, deter threats, and support U.S. allies in key strategic waters such as the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, and Strait of Hormuz — one of the world’s most critical oil transit chokepoints. 💥 With over 60 aircraft on board, including F/A-18 Super Hornets, electronic warfare jets, and surveillance aircraft, the USS Nimitz brings a formidable forward-operating presence to the region. ⚠️ Officials say this move is in response to escalating instability, maritime threats, and the need to safeguard U.S. interests and personnel stationed across the area. 🛡️ First commissioned in 1975, the Nimitz is the lead ship of her class and has served in major operations around the globe for nearly 50 years.

[baldy-wan-kenobi]

You got me curious about your mech setting, so I'll ask you two things.

What are combat aircraft like in the setting?

And

T

Do tanks exist and how do they stack up against mechs?

Happily.

For starters, combat aircraft do exist, however they aren't often used, as the setting doesn't really have the large-scale conflict that would make aircraft deployment viable, especially given the unpredictability of a phenomenon called "Miyazaki Storms." If you don't mind me hijacking your ask, I'd actually like to take a moment and talk about them, because they inform a great deal of the setting's world.

Miyazaki Storms, which arise and dissipate with frightening randomness due to the instability of earth's climate post-long-war and the quantum instability of the Miyazaki Particles that define them, they are among the greatest hazards faced by the city states of the modern world.

thunderstorms which often stretch for miles end to end, with the largest ever reported measured 2000 kilometers at its peak. However, these are no normal cyclones. Thanks to the ecological devastation and esoteric fallout of the Long War, these Miyazaki storms are contaminated with Miyazaki particles and other exotic contaminants that make them extremely toxic, and affect biological tissue and electronic systems in unusual (mostly negative) ways.

One of the almost-universal truths of these storms, however, is that they effect a near-total comms blackout within them, allowing almost no signal in or out of the lethal cloud. In fact, the only communications hardware known to pierce their gloom is the communications network of the Knights, though the exact reason why is unknown to all outside of the organization.

All too often have groups of Tinmen, lured too far from a city-state by the promise of Old World Tech, gone to investigate an installation, only to be caught out by a Miyazaki Storm and never be seen again, save perhaps for their mechs being salvaged by wandering nomads in the years to come.

However, perhaps more disturbing than those who lose their lives to being caught out in a storm are those who don't. Upon rare occasion, people will be caught in a storm without the proper safeguards and protection that a city-state provides and survived, though many wish they had not. Mutations and radiation sickness are common, and in rarer cases, there have been reports of unexplainable, seemingly paranatural phenomenon, which cannot be definitely confirmed or disproven. However, given the extreme rarity of such events, it is a subject mostly relegated to fringe thinkers and conspiracy theorists. Also, some corporations have theorized that, with sufficient technology, they would be able to harvest Miyazaki particles from the storms, giving them a source that isn't reliant on finding old world caches. However, the only power making any significant progress on that front is Kultivar, the megacorporation currently in charge of the city-states of Lagos and Kano.

As far as tanks go, they do exist, but they are largely discarded in favor of Frames, partially due to the conceit of being a mecha setting, but also because the adaptability and mobility of Combat Frames make them more of a viable choice than a strategically limited tank, in a world where all-out war is unheard of.

Hope that clears things up a bit, and if not, I'm more than happy to discuss in the notes!

[radiantrookie]

The Angryverse explained

Note: These are only the confirmed ones

Vtuber Red

An alternate timeline of the Movieverse, Red and his friends are gamers and Red runs a TikTok account, Vtuber Red also has a unique ability to travel between universes through his electronics, this universe is in the center of the Angryverse

Classic Dimension

The Classic universe is the main setting for most Angry Birds media, including the comics, Angry Birds Toons, and Angry Birds Stella

On Piggy Island, a group of birds known as The Flock defend their last remaining eggs from King Pig Smooth Cheeks and his army of pigs

Life isn’t easy on Piggy Island for the Angry Birds. Red and his fearless feathered companions—Chuck, Matilda, Bomb, the Blues, and Terence—must band together to protect their eggs and safeguard their future from the clever yet bumbling schemes of the Bad Piggies. Armed only with their wit and determination, the Flock face off against the Piggies’ superior technology and overwhelming numbers. But while the Piggies may be persistent, their plans often fall apart in unexpected ways.

Space Dimension

In an alternate timeline, a warp hole tears through the sky, bringing an alien bird known as Ice Bird, who crash lands near The Flock alongside an Eggsteroid, a powerful energy source, at the same time, a massive UFO-like machine called a Claw, operated by the Space Pigs under the command of Space King Pig, emerge from the warp hole and steal the Eggsteroid, Ice Bird uses the Flock’s slingshot to pursue them, after their own eggs are stolen, The Flock follows, eventually transforming into the Space Flock

Angry Birds Star Wars also presumably takes place in this universe, due to Lazer Bird (Chuck) appearing in the trailer for that game

The Angry Birds get launched into the final frontier after piggy invaders from beyond steal their eggs! Joined by Ice Bird, the birds have been powered up with new looks and abilities for this chase around the universe! Featuring new mechanics such as planets with their own gravitational fields to take advantage of and hidden secrets such as special Eggsteroids that open up bonus levels, the game has become a beloved classic.

Super Dimension

This is a universe of humans coexist with anthro bird people and pig people, Red, Chuck, Bomb, and Terence are also superheroes, with most of the story unfolding in New Yolk City

Matilda and the Mighty Eagle were once a beloved couple and local celebrities, however, the Great Depression led to widespread economic collapse which caused the desperate public elected Mayor Hogg, who placed pigs in positions of power, with KingPig creating a corrupt government

Movie Dimension

This universe is an adaption of the games and is similar for the most part, the main difference is that the characters are anthros and the world is separated into three Islands: Bird Island, Piggy Island and Eagle Island

In this hilarious animated adventure comedy, you’ll finally find out why the birds are so angry. In an island paradise populated entirely by happy, flightless birds – or almost entirely, Red, a bird with a temper problem, speedy Chuck, and the volatile Bomb have always been outsiders. But when the island is visited by mysterious green piggies, it’s up to these unlikely outcasts to figure out what the pigs are up to.

Dream Dimension

An alternate universe based around bubbles and the birds are hatchlings, Angry Birds Dream Blast and Bubble Trouble take place in this universe

"The Dream Dimension is a fantasy land where the birds are free to let their imaginations run wild! In this carefree bubble garden, the threat of the piggies is far away, and play is the order of the day."

Journey Dimension

Another Universe where they are hatchlings, it's literally baby Angry Birds

The Egg Wonder of Bird Island had been long forgotten by the modern flock before the Hatchlings, sensing an old magic reawakening, rediscovered it buried deep in a hidden cave. With Red’s help, the Gaia Bird hatched from the ancient artifact and explained that there were other Egg Wonders around the world, each containing a sister Spirit Bird as ancient as herself – and each needing to be awakened in order to keep the world in balance and habitable for all.

Summer Madness Dimension

In this universe, Red, Chuck, Bomb and Stella are teens at Camp Splinterwood, with their counselor being Mighty Eagle, the pigs are also rival campers

Sparks and feathers fly when a teenage Red, Chuck, Bomb and Stella spend a wild summer together with other Angry Birds at Camp Splinterwood!

Mystery Island Dimension

A universe that stars three hatchlings and piglet who are stuck on an uncharted island

Marlon, a new character who first appeared in an unnamed 2024 comic, vanished into this universe via strange universe, the Year of Shadow comic reveals the Flock are still trying to get him back

Angry Birds Mystery Island introduces three new Hatchling characters—”Mia,” “Rosie,” and “Buddy”—and a foreign-exchange piglet named “Hamylton.” These rambunctious tweens receive an all-expenses-paid (and completely un-asked-for) island getaway, when they are mistakenly catapulted onto an uncharted island. Left to explore the exotic sights, smells, and unexplained phenomena of their new environment without any adults around, the ragtag bunch quickly learns that, in order to survive and make it back home, they will need to unlock the mysteries of the island together.

Reloaded Dimension

When Vtuber Red traveled to the Classic Universe in the trailer, it messed up contaminating the universe and cross pollinating elements from the Space and Movie Universes

The classic flock is all here with some new additions to the roster. The birds are joined by a cast of new characters from the Angry Birds games and movies, and even –GASP!– pigs!?

[cuprohastes]

The Cross-body Sling

I love a good cross body sling: Totally un-ergonomic, will fuck your shoulder up, crush your electronics and mostly they're terrible for trying to get a water bottle into.

Also they make you look like a hipster.

Anyway I have four.

Sling bags get thier own corner of the internet for fans and obsessives, and it's pretty hilarious.

The "I review for a living and I have no idea what any of this stuff is" They look at a mesh pocket, brainfault and start saying 'the uh stretchy, um lycra... stuff?.

It's so premium it has nothing. A bag with no interior pockets, padding or zips to stop your crap falling out: $200. A bag with every concession to fitting on the human body and safeguarding each stick of gum or electronic thingy: $50

Let me show you how to pack this! Someone on a channel called PackMasterLordsOfPacking Demonstrating the bag by putting their sunglasses in then dropping a litre bottle of water on and attempting to stuff a Nintendo Switch in to the front pocket with a leatherman attached to the keychain. They hammer their phone into the fibre lined pocket that has the sunglasses logo. The tablet pocket and passport pocket are ignored. There's a Cliff bar hanging off an external strap via a carabiner that's covered in heat-shrink.

This belongs... outside the bag! The insistence on hanging things off of external straps so you're walking around with a chandalier of crap slapping your ass. Just... no.

We're reviewing 50 slings, in 5 minutes, but Bellroy's one so we didn't need to bother. In any comparison video the Bellroy Venture is always the winner. It's just that good. There's only one other sling that's both 5 times cheaper and actually 100% better... but it got discontinued so you have to go with Bellroy anyway.

Im going to Hack this Pack! It's Paracord tied to the straps.

This Every Day Sling is 100% the best for city life It's too small for a water bottle, or a lunch box, or a coat but man, it looks good posing in down-town Hong Kong int he slow-mo walk videos.

EDC Contains only items you need while being hunted by wolves on a mountain glacier. Presenter is in Toronto.

Daily Carry There's a vintage DSLR and a tripod mysteriously strapped to the bottom of the bag and a Clif bar hanging off a carabiner. Everything revolves around the assumption that 100% of people are actually photographers and needs at least two tripods. Still can't get a lunch box or water bottle inside, for some reason. Bag is a foot thick when worn. Presenter is visibly developing RSI.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Marco Margaritoff at HuffPost:

Dominion Voting Systems released a pointed statement Saturday following remarks from billionaire Elon Musk and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who have reiterated debunked conspiracy theories that the 2020 election was stolen from Republican nominee Donald Trump. The electronic voting machine company reached a record-breaking settlement last year after suing Fox News for spreading disproven claims that its machines had facilitated ballot fraud in 2020. Dominion said Saturday that it is “closely monitoring claims around the 2024 election” that echo those allegations.

“We strongly encourage people to rely upon verified, credible sources of election information - sources that can explain the many layers of physical, operational, and technical safeguards that exist to protect the integrity of our elections,” Dominion wrote in its statement. “We remain fully prepared to defend our company and our customers against lies, and to seek accountability from those who spread them,” the company added. Musk has thrown his full weight behind Trump. He promoted the false assertion that Dominion manipulated the election in 2020 at his first solo event to support Trump’s campaign on Thursday, insinuating without proof that “some very strange things” happened to people’s votes. “When you have mail-in ballots and no proof of citizenship, it becomes almost impossible to prove cheating, is the issue,” Musk said at a Pennsylvania town hall.

“There’s always this question of, say, the Dominion voting machines,” Musk continued. “It is weird that, I think, they were used in Philadelphia and in Maricopa County [in Arizona] but not in a lot of other places. Doesn’t that seem like a heck of a coincidence?” Dominion — which also sued former Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, along with other TV networks like Newsmax, for making defamatory claims about its machines — reacted strongly to Musk’s comments in a separate statement Friday to multiple media outlets. [...] “These are not matters of opinion. They are verifiable facts.” Separately, Greene — known for conspiratorial rhetoric, like her recent assertion that a shady “they” can “control the weather” — appeared on Alex Jones’ InfoWars network on Friday, where she claimed that a Dominion machine “changed” the ballot of a voter in her district. (Early voting began in Georgia in the 2024 presidential election earlier this week.)

Right-wing loons MTG and Alex Jones revive nonsense conspiracy theories about Dominion Voting Systems.

[misfitwashere]

ROBERT REICH

FEB 24

Friends,

Please call your members of Congress today and tell them Elon Musk must be fired. Immediately. (The U.S. Capitol switchboard is 202-224-3121. Tell the operator where you’re from and the operator will connect you to your representatives and senators.)

This past weekend, Musk, the richest person in the world, posted a message to millions of federal employees on X — the platform he bought for $44 billion and turned into a cesspool of lies, hate, and bigotry. His message, from his own account, was:

“Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week. Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”

Shortly afterward, all federal employees — including some judges, court staff, and federal prison officials — received a three-line email with this instruction: 

“Please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager.”

The deadline to reply was listed as today at 11:59 p.m.

Musk is drunk with power. His messages are illegal. He had no authority to send them and has no authority to fire or threaten to fire anyone. 

A Department of Justice official, granted anonymity to avoid retribution, notedthat the email was labeled as coming from an “external,” server, adding they “cannot legally respond to this” because they handle classified material.

Federal court officials instructed federal court employees not to respond to the email. “This email did not originate from the Judiciary or the Administrative Office and we suggest that no action be taken,” officials wrote.

Officials at the Departments of Defense, State, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security; the FBI; and the office coordinating America’s intelligence agencies also told their employees not to respond.

Musk is out of his gourd. 

On Friday, at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, Musk celebrated his role in cutting the federal workforce by waving a giant chainsaw in the air, calling it “the chainsaw for bureaucracy.” 

His bonkers performance reminded me of “Chainsaw” Al Dunlap, the CEO of Sunbeam in the late 1990s, who used his “chainsaw” moniker to brag that he was cutting half of Sunbeam’s workforce. A few years later, Dunlap was convicted of accounting fraud and Sunbeam went bankrupt. 

Like Chainsaw Al Dunlap, Musk’s claims for DOGE savings are wildly exaggerated. 

Last week he claimed that DOGE saved some $16 billion in government contracts. Almost half came from a single $8 billion contract with ICE — but it was actually for $8 million, not $8 billion. 

Musk and Trump say tens of millions of “dead people” may be receiving fraudulent Social Security payments. The table Musk shared on social mediashowed about 20 million people in the Social Security Administration’s database over the age of 100 and with no known death. But as the agency’s inspector general found in 2023, “almost none” of them were receiving payments; most had died before the advent of electronic records.

Last week, members of Congress were confronted by raucous town halls where citizens complained about Musk and his chaotic and illegal tactics.

At City Hall in Roswell, a suburb of Atlanta, attendees jeered and talked over Republican Rep. Rich McCormick as they peppered him with angry questions about the DOGE cuts — and the seemingly indiscriminate way some are being carried out.

One man asked McCormick how Musk’s DOGE could fire employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration, which safeguards America’s nuclear weapons, and other federal employees who had been working to combat the bird flu outbreak. More than 1,000 workers also have been laid off from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a major employer in Atlanta.

“Why is the supposedly conservative party taking such a radical and extremist and sloppy approach to this?” the man said as the room erupted in applause, according to videos posted on X.

In West Bend, Wisconsin, GOP Rep. Scott Fitzgerald faced a crowd of angry questioners, including one who asked, “Are you willing to use your subpoena power to tell Musk to stand in front of Congress and answer some hard questions?” 

The same question came up in Glenpool, Oklahoma, where Rep. Kevin Hern, a member of GOP leadership, was told that he wasn’t doing his job standing up to the executive branch. “We’re seeing the administration undermining Congress,” a mother with a baby in her lap told Hern, according to News9 in Oklahoma City. “Will you call Elon Musk in to testify under oath to explain what he’s doing?” asked another attendee.

Surveys by Quinnipiac University and Pew Research Center show a growing majority of Americans with an unfavorable view of Musk.

In Pew’s findings, 54 percent dislike Musk (and 36 percent report a veryunfavorable view of him), compared to 42 percent with a positive view. Quinnipiac’s results show 55 percent believe Musk has too big a role in the government.

In a new Reuters/Ipsos survey, 71 percent agree that the very wealthy have too much influence on the Trump White House, and 58 percent worry that Musk’s cuts could delay payments for Social Security and student aid. 

It hasn’t helped Musk that his cuts have been haphazard and chaotic — doing away with so many essential oversight functions that the administration has had to urgently ask workers to return. 

After hundreds of nuclear weapons workers were abruptly fired, the administration is scrambling to rehire them. 

After hundreds of scientists at the Food and Drug Administration were fired, they’re being asked to return.

Not incidentally, some of those scientists had been reviewing Musk’s Neuralink startup. The FDA had initially rejected Neuralink’s request to start clinical trials, citing safety risks, but has since given the startup approval.

Anyone smell a conflict of interest?

Musk has enough conflicts of interest across the government to make even disgraced president Warren G. Harding blush. 

He has fired workers at the FAA, which oversees his SpaceX. 

He has all but stopped work at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which oversees Tesla’s financing arm and a potential payment platform on X. 

His firings have affected at least 11 federal agencies (so far) that had 32 continuing investigations, pending complaints, or enforcement actions into his companies, according to a New York Times review.

These investigations include inquiries into safety violations by SpaceX and an SEC lawsuit accusing Musk of securities fraud.

The National Labor Relations Board, an independent watchdog for workers’ rights, had 24 investigations into Musk’s companies. All have been stalled following Musk’s and Trump’s firing of key agency officials. 

Musk’s SpaceX alone has $22 billion in government contracts (the total amount is unknown since a number of contracts are secret). 

If you believe Musk will go after those contracts, you might also believe that Musk’s advice to Trump that the United States should find ways to work with China has nothing to do with China being Tesla’s second-largest market. 

As if all this weren’t enough, Musk is functioning with no accountability or oversight.

Congress never confirmed his nomination to anything. No congressional committee is reviewing what he’s doing. His DOGE bros have not been vetted. He has not produced any information on his personal finances. 

In fact, no one outside a tiny circle in the White House knows what Musk is up to or how — except when he posts messages to federal employees on his personal account on X, threatening to fire them. 

Finally, here’s the biggest conflict of interest of them all: Musk’s cuts — including his coming attack on Medicaid — are a prelude to Trump’s giant tax cut mainly for the wealthy, including the richest person in the world. Unless the rest of government is dramatically scaled back, that planned tax cut would explode the federal budget deficit. 

Let me remind you that our government is supposed to be of, by, and for the people. Musk is supposed to be working for you and me and every other American. 

He’s not. He should be fired. 

Again, the Capitol switchboard number is 202-224-3121. 

[jayciethings]

"Thank you for your concern and for verifying the authenticity of the campaign. I would like to clarify that we are indeed based in Gaza, working on the ground to provide aid and support to the families here. Unfortunately, due to the difficult circumstances and the blockade imposed on Gaza, we are unable to create links or accounts directly from inside Gaza. Therefore, we have friends and supporters in other countries, such as Belgium, who are helping us by managing the fundraising platform and ensuring that the donations reach those in need here in Gaza.

We are committed to providing food, water, and medical assistance to those who are suffering. Despite the challenges, we continue this humanitarian effort. Please rest assured that every donation will go directly to supporting the families in Gaza, and every action you take helps bring hope to those in dire need.

If you have any further questions or concerns, we are here to provide full transparency. Thank you again for your support and understanding

Thank you for coming back to me. Much appreciated.

The text says that you personally are in Northern Gaza, and then the same name is given as the fundraiser based in Antwerp, who will receive the funds.

Can you clarify this?

Can you please confirm what safeguards are in place to make sure funds raised go to your group and aren't pocketed by the person fundraising (something else that has happened, in some cases, unfortunately). Can you please also share how the funds are going to reach the group on the ground in Gaza? As in, logistically, how will electronic funds reach the group?

Thank you

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil joins growing list of countries banning cellphones in schools

A bill that bans students from using cellphones in schools was signed into lawin Brazil on Monday, the latest example oflawmakerslimiting young people’s use of personal technology in the classroom, amid growing concern about its effect on education and well-being.

Brazil’s Education Ministry said in a statement that the law “aims to safeguard the mental, physical and psychological health of children and adolescents.” Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called it an example of “working together for the safety and better learning of our children and young people.”

The law prohibits all students in public and private elementary and secondary schools from using portable electronic devices throughout the school day, the ministry said, though it allows for their educational use and some other exceptions.

Brazil joins several countries that have banned the personal use of cellphones in schools — including the Netherlands, Italy for students up to the third year of middle school, and France for those under 15 — though there are questions as to whether phone bans are effective in achieving their aims.

Continue reading.