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Category: Computers & Technology

Are your Christmas presents spying?

Hey, that links post worked so well I think I’ll try to sneak in another post while The Wandering Monk is quietly busy in the other room. —– Are your Christmas presents spying on you? Or are you sending spies into a some innocent kiddie’s room or friend’s house? From wifi enabled stuffed animals to “smart” speakers that monitor your every word, Christmas just isn’t as jolly as it once was. The good folks of the Mozilla Foundation, bless their little hearts, once again present an interactive feature on creepy and not-creepy egadgets that are popular this season. You’ll need…

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Friday links

  • Kurt Schlichter asks how much blood congressthing Eric Swalwall and company would be willing to shed to (try and) capture all our firearms. OUR blood, of course. Or the blood of their paid agents. Sure’s heck the left-elite aren’t okay with putting their own precious bodily fluids at risk.
  • I think — and hope — we’re beginning to see a groundswell of resistance to the kind of busybodies who alert cops when a child is happily walking alone.
  • An antidote for political outrage.
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  • Thursday links

  • Bari Weiss and Eve Peyser — bitter enemies on Twitter — meet in person and discover that the human world is bigger and more nuanced than online snark. (An encouraging co-written piece.)
  • So. I trust that all you New Jersey gun owners will immediately turn in your standard-capacity magazines. Right? … No? Why, how shocking!
  • John Dingell pulls 60 years of congressional “wisdom” out of his … head, and comes up with progressive pop drivel. What do these people imagine the heartland of this country will do if they succeed in disenfranchising us and imposing iron rule from urban centers?
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  • Tuesday links

    It’s a good idea to record the serial numbers of your guns in case they’re stolen. One cop shop thinks it’s a good idea for you to store that number in their database. Hahaha. How very droll. (Via Codrea) Before Marriott let 500 million guests’ records slip away, they had a string of other breaches. Their cyber-security team was even hit with malware. They say no man is a hero to his valet. The same probably holds true with presidents and their Secret Service agents. Bush the First may have been a typically awful leader, but you never hear a…

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    Thursday links

  • Well, that’s disgusting. Customer service reps on chat lines can often see what you’re typing before you hit send. Fortunately there’s a simple workaround.
  • Google now wants to monitor our moods, our children’s behavior, and our movements around our own homes.
  • John Lott: Contrary to propaganda, the U.S. is not the mass-shooting capital of the world. But gun-free zones are certainly capital targets.
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  • Midweek links

  • You’ve probably heard that a New York state legislator has introduced a bill to allow Authoritah to search your online history before you can be “allowed” to buy a gun. You may not have realized how dangerously deep that rabbit hole goes. And have you heard that Kevin Parker, the pol who wants to inflict this, is himself a violent criminal, as well as a major financial deadbeat?
  • From Shel in comments: evacuation advice from a survival maven, Kevin Reeve.
  • The UK moves into the creepy territory of using AI to detect pre-crime. (H/T MJR)
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  • Tuesday links

  • Before Uber put on the street a car that couldn’t brake in an emergency, the unit responsible, you will not be surprised to learn, was highly dysfunctional.
  • Turns out it’s actually possible to ask stupid questions. Bear Bussjaeger says the mayor of Toledo, OH, has succeeded.
  • LOL! It had to happen. The Vagina Monologues — so edgy just a few years ago — won’t be playing at Eastern Michigan University. Because all those new women-with-penises would be offended. (H/T MtK)
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