the-tinderbox

[the-tinderbox]

He Tells Her

by Wendy Cope

He tells her that the Earth is flat — He knows the facts, and that is that. In altercations fierce and long She tries her best to prove him wrong. But he has learned to argue well. He calls her arguments unsound And often asks her not to yell. She cannot win. He stands his ground.

The planet goes on being round.

[the-tinderbox]

𝔔𝔲𝔞𝔩𝔠𝔥𝔢 𝔞𝔭𝔭𝔲𝔫𝔱𝔬 𝔡𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔢 𝔪𝔦𝔢 𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱𝔦𝔱𝔢 𝔞 𝔰𝔠𝔞𝔠𝔠𝔥𝔦

♟️Non farti mettere in crisi dalla difesa scandinava come mossa di apertura del nero: invece di provare a fare una scaletta di pedoni (e quindi muovere il pedone in d2), mangia il pedone nero che ha osato muoversi troppo in avanti.

♟️Per quanto l'arrocco sia una mossa che ami, tienila per un momento opportuno. Farla troppo presto potrebbe portarti a rimanere incastrata col re; del resto, prima di compiere il tuo, sarebbe il caso di controllare se puoi impedire all'avversario di arroccare, costringendolo per esempio a muovere il re o la torre.

♟️In più partite questa settimana ti sei distratta dal muovere i pezzi rimasti indietro per fare una stretta sul re avversario e hai lasciato che ti venisse mangiata la regina, una volta mandata "in campo nemico". Spesso questo è accaduto contro dei cavalli, un paio di volte contro la regina avversaria. Cerca di non perdere la tua regina proteggendola con altri pezzi (e soprattutto non spostare i pezzi che la proteggono a meno che non sia strettamente necessario!)

♟️Ricorda che per salvarti da una scaletta di pedoni, invece di cercare di salvare un tuo pedone che magari è sotto attacco, potresti pensare di "passare" il primo di quelli nemici e creare tu stessa una scaletta.

♟️Quando stai per perdere, potresti pensare di puntare, più che a riprendere la partita, a far "inciampare" l'avversario in uno stallo, in cui la partita quindi finisce in pareggio.

♟️Sai già molto bene che avere dei pedoni doppiati equivale a una certa debolezza strutturale. Per iniziare ad avere un gioco più forte, forse ti conviene iniziare a capire come forzare questo doppiaggio nel nemico e usarlo a tuo vantaggio (per esempio, per distruggere l'arrocco avversario).

♟️Nelle fasi finali sei spesso molto più attenta a non mettere i tuoi pezzi in posizioni critiche per non far vertere la sorte improvvisamente a favore dell'avversario piuttosto che a dove sta il suo re, il che vuol dire che impieghi molti più passi del necessario per arrivare al matto e quindi vincere. L'avversario ha meno occasioni di far girare la sorte in proprio favore, se tu riesci a chiudere in maniera pulita la partita!

[the-tinderbox]

back to basics

mostly free resources to help you learn the basics that i've gathered for myself so far that i think are cool

everyday

gcfglobal - about the internet, online safety and for kids, life skills like applying for jobs, career planning, resume writing, online learning, today's skills like 3d printing, photoshop, smartphone basics, microsoft office apps, and mac friendly. they have core skills like reading, math, science, language learning - some topics are sparse so hopefully they keep adding things on. great site to start off on learning.

handsonbanking - learn about finances. after highschool, credit, banking, investing, money management, debt, goal setting, loans, cars, small businesses, military, insurance, retirement, etc.

bbc - learning for all ages. primary to adult. arts, history, science, math, reading, english, french, all the way to functional and vocational skills for adults as well, great site!

education.ket - workplace essential skills

general education

mathsgenie - GCSE revision, grade 1-9, math stages 1-14, provides more resources! completely free.

khan academy - pre-k to college, life skills, test prep (sats, mcat, etc), get ready courses, AP, partner courses like NASA, etc. so much more!

aleks - k-12 + higher ed learning program. adapts to each student.

biology4kids - learn biology

cosmos4kids - learn astronomy basics

chem4kids - learn chemistry

physics4kids - learn physics

numbernut - math basics (arithmetic, fractions and decimals, roots and exponents, prealgebra)

education.ket - primary to adult. includes highschool equivalent test prep, the core skills. they have a free resource library and they sell workbooks. they have one on work-life essentials (high demand career sectors + soft skills)

youtube channels

the organic chemistry tutor

khanacademy

crashcourse

tabletclassmath

2minmaths

kevinmathscience

professor leonard

greenemath

mathantics

3blue1brown

literacy

readworks - reading comprehension, build background knowledge, grow your vocabulary, strengthen strategic reading

chompchomp - grammar knowledge

tutors

not the "free resource" part of this post but sometimes we forget we can be tutored especially as an adult. just because we don't have formal education does not mean we can't get 1:1 teaching! please do you research and don't be afraid to try out different tutors. and remember you're not dumb just because someone's teaching style doesn't match up with your learning style.

cambridge coaching - medical school, mba and business, law school, graduate, college academics, high school and college process, middle school and high school admissions

preply - language tutoring. affordable!

revolutionprep - math, science, english, history, computer science (ap, html/css, java, python c++), foreign languages (german, korean, french, italian, spanish, japanese, chinese, esl)

varsity tutors - k-5 subjects, ap, test prep, languages, math, science & engineering, coding, homeschool, college essays, essay editing, etc

chegg - biology, business, engineering/computer science, math, homework help, textbook support, rent and buying books

learn to be - k-12 subjects

for languages

lingq - app. created by steve kaufmann, a polygot (fluent in 20+ languages) an amazing language learning platform that compiles content in 20+ languages like podcasts, graded readers, story times, vlogs, radio, books, the feature to put in your own books! immersion, comprehensible input.

flexiclasses - option to study abroad, resources to learn, mandarin, cantonese, japanese, vietnamese, korean, italian, russian, taiwanese hokkien, shanghainese.

fluentin3months - bootcamp, consultation available, languages: spanish, french, korean, german, chinese, japanese, russian, italian.

fluenz - spanish immersion both online and in person - intensive.

pimsleur - not tutoring** online learning using apps and their method. up to 50 languages, free trial available.

incase time has passed since i last posted this, check on the original post (not the reblogs) to see if i updated link or added new resources. i think i want to add laguage resources at some point too but until then, happy learning!!

[the-tinderbox]

some medieval english arthurian texts

with the green knight (2021) coming out today i want to talk a little about other arthurian english works because i find them interesting and entertaining <3 these were medieval arthurian texts written in english, not translated into it. all of these are in middle english, though many were written in different time periods and in different dialects. if you’ve read sir gawain and the green knight, many of these have similar plot beats, feature our beloved sir gawaine in a major role, or are alliterative in the same wonderful way sgatgk is! many these come from the university of rochester’s camelot project and it is an invaluable resource! however a lot of these texts are also written in a style that may be archaic or inaccessible- i will try to link more modern translations and reworkings if i can. 

the avowing of king arthur, sir gawain, sir kay, and baldwin of britain: in which the four title characters go to inglewood and, as stated, swear on various vows. 

the adventures of arthur at the tarn wadling: this is actually about gawaine, as most arthurian texts are. featuring ghosts and a duel! what could be better? there are several copies of this texts in manuscripts, including one where it’s in a collection with avowing (see above), said manuscript being the only copy in which avowing survives. 

layamon’s brut: by layamon, of course. this is a pseudohistorical text, going off the account of wace who went off the account of geoffrey of monmouth, but is longer than both and focuses almost solely on arthurian content (including a lot of merlin if you like him). if people want to read history of the kings of britain but don’t want to get through a lot of stuff that isn’t arthurian, i really recommend this. as another draw i will say this features baby gawaine (walwain) and modred. iirc this is the oldest text on this list. 

of arthur and of merlin: a text first about the background and story of arthur’s birth and early reign, including a variety of numerous battles. very merlin heavy. has a fair bit in common with the prose merlin. the copy i linked might be a bit hard to read, sorry. like layamon and aforementioned PM, also features baby gawaine (wawain) and brothers!

sir launfal: by thomas chestre, based off of lanval by marie de france. in which lanval has a secret romance with a magical woman. in this version it’s more implicit than the original lai, but guinevere is canonically homophobic <3 love loses 

sir perceval of galles: a…i would honestly call it a borderline parody of the typical perceval story. this one is deranged. in a fun way! 

ywain and gawain: based off of yvain by chretien de troyes, has the same basic plot beats. very fun even if you’ve already read yvain though, especially (imo) for the rhyming. 

sir tristrem: based off thomas of britain’s french tristan, the latter of which survives only in fragments. based off the tristan and iseult courtly branch. have not read this so i can give little opinions on it. 

i thiiiink lancelot of the laik belongs on here iirc the text is english but it’s from scotland and has scots influence. it’s inspired a from the first part of the lancelot-grail cycle-the poem itself is incomplete. 

the stanzaic morte arthur: poem about the fall of camelot as from the prose cycles. i really like this one, if you don’t want to read le morte darthur for it’s heaviness, i recommend this instead. it has all of the longing and eerie finality of any death of arthur story, even amplified in this work imo. elaine of astolat fans will enjoy this one, she features fairly prominently in the first part. 

the alliterative morte arthure: poem about the fall of camelot, taking mostly from the pseudohistories. i’ve jokingly said i like this as an iliad fan before, but if you are intrigued by the arthurian portions of british pseudohistories, and you like modred (oh my god i really recommend this for people who like modred) you will really love this one. it’s very entertaining! fair warning if you don’t like battle scenes or duels in other arthurian works you will…not enjoy this one. but i love it <3

the prose merlin: OUR FIRST PROSE WORK YES! based off of robert de boron’s unfinished merlin poem and parts of the lancelot-grail cycle, like arthur and merlin, tells of merlin’s birth, life, and the early reign of king arthur. this features a lot of battles and a lot of gawaine and his brothers! i think in this edition of it i’m linking, there are parts cut out, fair warning. i really like this one as well. 

sir gawain and the carle of carlisle: this one is similar to the avowing of arthur. gawaine and co (the same in avowing barring arthur, actually) arrive at a castle for refuge for the night during a storm whilst hunting, and the lord within gives them various tests of chivalry and integrity. this one is fun- a text i recommend after reading sir gawain and the green knight if you liked it for the plot and so on. if you read them concurrently you can imagine that gawaine repaired his reputation post sgatgk. 

if the above text is a little too unreadable for you (which is fair), i also recommend the carl of carlisle, a more condensed version which tells the same basic story with some minor differences (there’s a beheading in this one :3)

the marquis of bath’s manuscript of a latin account of the kings of britain: now, you may be saying, that said latin! well, i guess whoever wrote this decided that for arthur’s portion he would write it in english verse as opposed to latin prose? this one is fairly obscure, but, again, tells a plot similar to other arthurian portions of pseudohistories. 

the jeaste of sir gawain: i think this one tells the story of gawaine’s son, ginglain, the fair unknown, and combines it with gawaine’s romance with the lady of lys from the first continuation of perceval. i haven’t read this text, but i know the plot of gawaine and the lady of lys ditty, and i…do not like it. and i feel like i’d like this one less. 

the wedding of sir gawain and dame ragnelle: everyone’s familiar with this one. the archetypal story of the knight who seeks to figure out ‘what women truly want’. i enjoy this one and i feel like i’ll come back to it in the future analysis wise. ragnelle is a girlboss, etc. may have been written by sir thomas malory. speaking of which…

le morte darthur by sir thomas malory: will let its notoriety speak for itself. amazing work, though long to get through. if you like gawaine, and are looking at this post for gawaine content, while he is probably presented at his worst and most repugnant here out of any other story on this list, honestly this is one of my favorite versions of his character, and that’s the main reason why this text is even going on here in the first place (it’s popular enough, and borderline modern imo lol). 

anyways, happy reading, and happy a24′s the green knight release! summer of dev patel, summer of gawaine, etc!

[the-tinderbox]

George Frederic Watts (British, 1817-1904) Sir Galahad, n.d. Harvard Art Museums

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A dragon encircled

From “The Sherborne Missal” (Add MS 74236) c.1399-1407

[the-tinderbox]

Arms and Armor of the Hallstatt Celts: A (not-so) Brief Overview

The Hallstatt culture is an archaeologically-defined material culture group. The typesite for this group is in Hallstatt, Austria, where a deep salt mine which had been in use since the Neolithic served as the lifeblood of the local community. A substantial cemetery of approximately 1,300 burials near the mine has helped to clearly define artistic trends associated with this cultural group. The culture is associated with early Celtic or proto-Celtic language speaking groups, and for a long time, was thought to have been the origin of the proto-celtic language. This idea has since been debunked, as it is now known the first proto-Celtic speakers predated the Hallstatt culture.

The Hallstatt culture is divided into four phases, A-D (henceforth abbreviated as Ha. A-D). The first two of these phases are associated with the end of the bronze age in the region, the last two, with the beginning of the iron age.

Since the defining of the culture in 1846, Hallstatt influence has been found from Eastern France to Hungary, as far south as Serbia and as far North as Poland. The core Hallstatt region covers much of Austria and Southern Germany. By the Ha. C period, distinct practices had arisen in the Hallstatt sphere of influence: distinct enough for academics to split the culture into two “zones”, the East and the West.

Unfortunately, due to the antiquity of this culture and the utter lack of any written records concerning them, the archaeological record is both relatively thin, and the only source of information available for these people. As such, in constructing a timeline of Hallstatt arms and armor, there will be substantial gaps which we can only hope will be filled by future discoveries.

Armor

Three types of armor are commonly found in Hallstatt contexts: belts, cuirasses, and helmets.

That broad belts (both of leather and of bronze) are considered armor in the ancient Mediterranean is clear from references in which these items are placed in context with other armor. In the Iliad, for example, in book 7 after Ajax and Hector meet on the field of battle and fight to a stalemate, they exchange equipment. Hector “gave over his silver-studded sword, bringing with it the sheath and well-cut baldric” (l. 303-304), while Ajax reciprocated with “his war-belt bright with crimson” (l. 305). Additionally, a short list of military equipment issued by the Neo-Assyrian empire recovered in Tel Halaf lists 10 leather belts alongside bows, swords, spears, and other arms and armor.

A number of bronze and gold belt plates survive from both the Eastern and Western zones, though most of these plates date to the Ha. D period.

While the majority of these plates are decorated with embossed and incised geometric patterns, some (particularly from the Eastern zone) include scenes of warriors on foot and on horseback.

The cuirasses of the Hallstatt period exhibit an interesting progression. In their most basic form, these bronze cuirasses remain essentially the same from Ha. A-D. They are characterized by essentially simple forms: a tubular breast and backplate which terminates at the waist and includes a tall standing collar to defend the neck. The earliest examples, however, include substantial embossed decoration in much the same manner as appears on the belt plates.

Only in the late Ha. B to early Ha. C period does this decoration begin to take on a more anatomical form; a group of seven cuirasses recovered in Marmesse, France in 1974 shows this evolution nicely. These cuirasses retain the same form, though a slight taper is now evident near the waist. The circular embossing closely resembles that of the previous period, however embossed lines are now apparent, and the placement of the embossing is such as to evoke the musculature of the warrior wearing it.

The final stage of the cuirasse’s evolution arrives in Ha. D. This form is much more plain, lacking the apparent horror vacui which typified earlier iterations of this style. Instead, the anatomical element is even more pronounced: embossing emphasizes the warrior’s pectoral and abdominal muscles, and additional circular bronze plates are riveted to the upper chest to simulate nipples.

The final element of armor with substantial enough evidence in a Hallstatt context to be addressed is the helmet. Unfortunately, surviving helmets are extremely scarce, and there is no pictorial evidence to consult prior to the Ha. D period.

Four helmet types appear both archaeologically and artistically in Hallstatt contexts. We will call these the crested, the plated, the double-crested, and the Negau.

Only one artistic example of the crested helmet is to be found, and no archaeological examples. It is to be found on a grave good in the shape of a wagon adorned with many figures made ca. 600 BC and recovered in Strettweg, Austria.

A find from Normandy (outside the Hallstatt sphere of influence) dated ca. 1200-700 BC shows what this type of helmet may have looked like.

The plated type is nearly as obscure, represented by only a single survival and a single artwork. The helmet, recovered in Šentvid, Slovenia and dated ca. 800-450 BC, is curious for the distinct pearly texture of its surface.

A number of similar helmets appear on a situla recovered from the Certosa Necropolis in modern Bologna, Italy. This situla is dated ca. 600 BC, and bears a striking resemblance to other situlae found in Hallstatt contexts.

The most well attested form of Hallstatt helmet is the double-crested type. This type appears with the onset of Ha. D, and sees use until the end of the Hallstatt period. It is attested to by several survivals

and numerous depictions on a number of situlae

and belt plates.

This type is so-called for the twin crests that adorn the helmet’s skull; crests which, as is attested by the pictorial evidence, served as anchors to large plumes likely made from horse hair.

The final type is named for a town in Slovenia where a large cache of helmets of this type was found in 1812. The Negau type appears at the very tail end of Ha. D, and primarily in Etruscan and Italic contexts. However a number of finds (including the eponymous horde) come from regions of Hallstatt (and eventually La Téne) influence.

Weapons

The weapons which can be found in Hallstatt contexts are very much the same as those found elsewhere in Europe, consisting primarily on spears, axes, swords, and daggers. The spears and axes of the period are very similar to those found elsewhere in Europe and across the Mediterranean in the late bronze to early iron age, and as such will not be discussed further.

Indeed, even the swords of the Hallstatt bronze age (Ha. A-B) bear no significant differences from other swords found in Central and Western Europe at the time.

It is not until Ha. C, and the advent of the iron age, when two new types unique to the culture emerge. Though similar, these sword types, called Gündlingen

and Mindelheim, are distinguished by a number of factors.

First and foremost is size, with Mindelheim swords averaging around 85 cm or 33.5 in in length, while the Gündlingen type only averages 70-75 cm (27.5-29.5 in). Another striking feature of the Mindelheim type which is almost non-existent on Gündlingen swords is a pair of deep grooves on either side of the blade. Additionally, Gündlingen swords are only ever found in bronze, while Mindelheim can be found in either bronze or iron. Gündlingen swords seem to have been tremendously greater in popularity, with only 27 examples of the Mindelheim type being known to over 240 of the Gündlingen. There is also a geographical element: the majority of Mindelheim swords have been found in the east from Austria to Germany, Poland, and as far north as Sweden. Gündlingen swords, by contrast, have mostly been found in the west, as far as Britain and Ireland. Neither type, however, can be found in the core Hallstatt Regions after the advent of Ha. D, when daggers become the primary funerary good of the elite.

Daggers, of course, were not unknown in Hallstatt regions prior to 620 BC. A number of survivals from Ha. A-B attest to the fact that single-edged daggers were popular.

With the advent of the iron age and the rise in popularity of the peculiar Hallstatt sword types, daggers become more rare, until once again they spring back to the fore in Ha. D. At this time, a particular dagger type is almost ubiquitous. This dagger has long, straight quillons mirrored by a tubular pommel. The grip is thin, and the blade is broad and double-edged. This same basic form is present, both plain and with various embellishments, until the end of the Hallstatt period.

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Warrior with winged helmet (Henry de Groux, 1867 - 1930)

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The Dragon's Cave by Edward Frederick Brewtnall

[the-tinderbox]

⚔️ 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐢 𝐝𝐚 "𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐆𝐮𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚" (𝐊. 𝐯𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐳) 𝐩𝐭.𝟒

𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐨, 𝐈: 𝐂𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐬'𝐞̀ 𝐥𝐚 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚? 𝐝𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐨 𝟏𝟏 𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐨 𝟏𝟒

Ritorniamo ora a una questione che avevamo momentaneamente tralasciato, ossia lo scopo politico di una guerra. Esso può costituire un motivo di moderazione degli sforzi, dal momento che gli Stati belligeranti rinunceranno o meno al conseguimento di un dato scopo politico quanto meno sarà importante per loro: lo scopo politico, quando è motivo primo della guerra, «darà dunque la misura, tanto dell'obiettivo che l'azione bellica deve raggiungere, quanto degli sforzi che a ciò sono necessari.» Ovviamente, la questione va considerata per entrambi gli Stati, in quanto uno stesso scopo politico può generare nei due reazioni totalmente differenti; d'altro canto, è vero anche che un motivo politico anche poco importante può generare effetti esplosivi e incontrollati a causa di tensioni già esistenti. «Lo scopo politico avrà in se stesso, come misura degli sforzi, un influsso tanto più prevalente e decisivo quanto più le masse saranno indifferenti e quanto minore sarà la tensione esistente naturalmente fra i due Stati; in alcuni casi l'influsso dello scopo politico diviene, così, quasi esclusivamente determinante.»

A questo punto, siamo pronti a una domanda fondamentale. «Per quanto insignificanti possano essere le pretese politiche dei due avversari, deboli i mezzi da loro posti in atto, limitato il loro obbiettivo militare, l'azione bellica può mai essere interrotta?»

«Se le due parti si sono armate per la lotta, occorre che un principio ostile ve le abbia spinte. Fino a che esse restano armate, e cioè finché non concludono la pace, questo principio continua a sussistere, e pertanto la sosta non può essere motivata per ciascuno che da un solo movente: attendere un momento più favorevole per agire.»

Von Clausewitz fa dunque un esempio chiarificatore. Supponiamo che entrambe le parti in guerra abbiano piena conoscenza della situazione reciproca. Poniamo che uno degli Stati abbia «uno scopo positivo», come la conquista di una provincia, per valersene nelle trattative di pace. Dopo che lo scopo è raggiunto, lo Stato in questione non ha più alcun bisogno di agire e si ferma. Ora, se l'avversario si arrende a questa conquista, deve trattare la pace, altrimenti agisce. «Ma se, poniamo, fra quattro settimane esso ritenga di esser meglio organizzato, avrà in ciò motivo sufficiente per differire l'azione.» Se questa è la situazione, tuttavia, il primo Stato non può che agire, perché di certo non può lasciare al vinto tempo e occasione di preparare una nuova azione.

Sembra esserci, quindi, una tendenza alla continuità, che tuttavia le operazioni militari reali non hanno.

Nei paragrafi successivi, dunque, von Clausewitz si dedica a spiegare il principio di polarità, vedendo quindi come questo "paradosso" della continuità inesistente possa avvenire.

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🏺🧥✅

greek amphora cardi

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Star-crossed

If you would like it as a print you can purchase it at my store <3 

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👾 𝙲𝚊𝚜𝚘 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚘: 𝚕'𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚘 𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚊 𝙱𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝙻𝚒𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚛𝚢 (𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚛𝚎 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟹)

𝙳𝚘𝚌𝚞𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚣𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚞𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚎

𝚁𝚒𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚎𝚕 𝚌𝚊𝚜𝚘

Nell’ottobre del 2023, il gruppo hacker Rhysida ha attaccato la British Library, chiedendo un riscatto di 20 bitcoin, che al tempo corrispondevano a circa 596.000 sterline, per restituire i dati rubati e rendere di nuovo il servizio disponibile online. Nonostante la British Library fosse stata abbastanza solerte nell’isolare la propria rete, almeno secondo le parole dell’amministratore delegato Roly Keating, i suoi sistemi online erano già troppo compromessi, tanto che non solo il servizio non risultava più attivo, ma persero anche l’accesso alle email istituzionali. La British Library rifiutò le condizioni degli hacker (pagare le richieste di ransomware nel Regno Unito è fortemente disapprovato, anche se non illegale) e Rhysida pubblicò circa 600GB di dati online, tra file sottratti, dati dei clienti e quelli del personale. Dunque, la British Library si è trovata costretta a spendere tra i 6 e i 7 milioni di sterline per ricostruire la maggior parte dei servizi digitali, causando anche rallentamenti nel funzionamento delle attività della biblioteca.

𝚂𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚘 (𝚟𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚊)

La British Library era protetta da firewall e antivirus, ma non usava l’autenticazione a più fattori e aveva installato nel febbraio 2020 un nuovo Terminal Server per facilitare l’accesso remoto a terze parti a causa della pandemia COVID-19. Nel 2022, la mancanza dell’autenticazione a due fattori venne sottolineata come fattore di rischio, ma la questione venne sottovalutata e si pensò di programmare la revisione dei protocolli di sicurezza nel 2024.

𝙵𝚊𝚜𝚒 𝚍𝚎𝚕𝚕'𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚘

Acquisizione di credenziali compromesse, forse tramite phishing o spear-phishing.

L'accesso iniziale, che era stato rilevato dal monitoring system della biblioteca, è forse avvenuto tre giorni prima dell'attacco effettivo su un vecchio terminal server. L'accesso a quest'ultimo non era protetto da MFA.

Un primo attacco ha mirato a copiare interi file dei team di Finanza, Tecnologia e Risorse Umane.

Una seconda fase dell'attacco vero e proprio è stata basata sulla ricerca di parole chiave (come "confidential" o "passport") nella denominazione di file e cartelle nella rete della British Library e ha copiato file non solo dalle reti aziendali, ma anche da unità utilizzate dal personale per scopi personali.

Per l'esfiltrazione dei dati, gli aggressori hanno preso il controllo di alcuni strumenti o processi integrati nel sistema operativo e li hanno usati per creare copie di backup di 22 dei database della biblioteca.

Encryption e "pulizia" della scena del crimine (per esempio con l'eliminazione dei log)

𝙸𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚘

Danno economico ingente, sia per la ricostruzione della rete IT sia per la difficoltà a gestire campagne di finanziamento.

Danno all'immagine, con sentimenti di frustrazione e sfiducia da parte dei ricercatori che si affidavano ai servizi della British Library.

Problemi con il monitoraggio delle collezioni fisiche e con il prestito delle stesse ad altre istituzioni.

Arresto completo per tutto il tempo dell'attacco e della ricostruzione del sistema IT della digitalizzazione di nuovi documenti.

Interruzione del servizio di ricerca di numerose risorse, come database, riviste online, audio, video, ...

Interruzione del servizio di assistenza della British Library.

𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚒

Sebbene negli anni gli attacchi ad aziende e società in ambito culturale siano aumentati, quanto avvenuto alla British Library, probabilmente a causa della fama e dell'importanza a livello globale di questa biblioteca, ha messo in allarme molte organizzazioni museali e archivistiche, che si affidano alla tecnologia digitale per i sistemi di prenotazione, la gestione delle collezioni, l'archiviazione e la documentazione. Queste organizzazioni, che siano o meno obiettivi a rischio anche solo per motivi politici, dovrebbero continuamente testare i propri sistemi di sicurezza, assicurarsi che i loro firewall e software di protezione siano completamente aggiornati e garantire che tutto il personale riceva formazione per riconoscere le e-mail di phishing e altre truffe informatiche; anche una buona segmentazione interna delle loro reti IT sarebbe consigliabile, oltre a non conservare i backup tutti sullo stesso database. Nel caso della British Library, il recupero di fronte a questo attacco riuscito è stato estremamente costoso, sia a livello economico che a livello di tempo, il che sottolinea l'importanza di sviluppare un buon piano di recupero in caso di attacco riuscito.

[the-tinderbox]

Hackers (1995)

[the-tinderbox]

some facts about robert prevost (leo xiv) that i think are important to know:

while he was born in chicago, he has spent the vast majority of his life outside of america. he went to rome at a young age, then spent most of his priesthood in peru

pope leo xiii was well known for his interest in social justice -- the fact that prevost chose this name may show that he also nurses an interest

he was one of pope francis' closest advisors

he's described as being balanced in terms of his outlook, but has progressive views on some specific issues, including migrants and poverty

he is relatively young -- we will probably have pope leo xiv for a long time

quote from CBS article: "While Prevost is seen overall as a centrist, on some key social issues he's viewed as progressive. He has long embraced marginalized groups, a lot like Francis, who championed migrants and the poor."

another quote: "Cardinal George of Chicago, of happy memory, was one of my great mentors, and he said: 'Look, until America goes into political decline, there won't be an American pope.' And his point was, if America is kind of running the world politically, culturally, economically, they don't want America running the world religiously. So, I think there's some truth to that, that we're such a superpower and so dominant, they don't wanna give us, also, control over the church." -Robert Barron, bishop of a diocese in Minnesota

so while it does leave a bad taste in the mouth to have an american pope at this time, he is definitely not the kind of pope trump will like, nor will the conservative base. while he probably won't catapult the church into a lot of uncharted territory, he does look as if he will at the very least continue and support the work francis laid the groundwork for

[the-tinderbox]

"White smoke! The 133 Cardinal electors gathered in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel have elected the new Pope. He will appear soon at the central window of St. Peter’s Basilica."

[the-tinderbox]

Some of my favorite arthurian art by Pere Ginard (from La leyenda del rey Arturo y sus caballeros)