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More or Less: Behind the Stats (4)
Tech (51)
From Schneier on Security at 2025-02-28 22:00:34 (unread)
Friday Squid Blogging: Eating Bioluminescent Squid
Firefly squid is now a delicacy in New York.
From The Incomparable Mothership at 2025-02-28 18:00:00
756: Bald Men Wearing Trash Bags (49db22c4-53a5-4844-b54d-0bdce045671f.mp3)
Arrakis. Dune. Desert Planet. But maybe not the one you’re thinking of. In our own very peculiar way we honor David Lynch by discussing the feature film he probably liked the least, 1984’s “Dune.” Sting with a knife! Patrick Stewart riding a sandworm! How does it all compare with the modern version? Does it have its own special lower-budget charms? (Don’t mention the voiceovers…) What about the voiceovers? And how much does nostalgia fit into our appreciation of this movie?...
From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-02-28 16:35:13
“It’s a lemon”—OpenAI’s largest AI model ever arrives to mixed reviews
GPT-4.5 offers marginal gains in capability and poor coding performance despite 30x the cost.
From A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry at 2025-02-28 15:42:07
Collections: The Siege of Eregion, Part II: What Siege Camp?
This is the second part of our [your guess is as good as mine] part series looking at the Siege of Eregion from the second season of Amazon’s Rings of Power. Last week, we saw how the logistics of this sequence absolutely do not work: Adar’s army has to cover an absurd amount of territory … Continue reading Collections: The Siege of Eregion, Part II: What Siege Camp?
From School of War at 2025-02-28 10:35:00
Ep 181: Michael Cook on the Islamic Conquests (NEBM1335957944.mp3?updated=1740712126)
Michael Cook, Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University and author of A History of the Muslim World: From Its Origins to the Dawn of Modernity, joins the show to discuss the sudden, explosive Arab expansion of the 7th century. ▪️ Times • 01:46 Introduction • 03:05 Sources • 04:42 War and politics • 07:32 Grass and sand • 09:30 Self-defense • 12:21 Ibn Khaldun • 16:11 An Arab identity • 18:45 Knock on effects • 26:40 Two targets • 28:32 The Arab way of war • 34:50 Coming out of the desert • 38:48 Civil war • 42:27 Jihad Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack
From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-02-27 23:43:44
Copilot exposes private GitHub pages, some removed by Microsoft
Repositories once set to public and later to private, still accessible through Copilot.
From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-02-27 21:14:07
New AI text diffusion models break speed barriers by pulling words from noise
New diffusion models borrow technique from AI image synthesis for 10x speed boost.
From Schneier on Security at 2025-02-27 18:05:54
“Emergent Misalignment” in LLMs
Interesting research: “Emergent Misalignment: Narrow finetuning can produce broadly misaligned LLMs“:
Abstract: We present a surprising result regarding LLMs and alignment. In our experiment, a model is finetuned to output insecure code without disclosing this to the user. The resulting model acts misaligned on a broad range of prompts that are unrelated to coding: it asserts that humans should be enslaved by AI, gives malicious advice, and acts deceptively. Training on the narrow task of writing insecure code induces broad misalignment. We call this emergent misalignment. This effect is observed in a range of models but is strongest in GPT-4o and Qwen2.5-Coder-32B-Instruct. Notably, all fine-tuned models exhibit inconsistent behavior, sometimes acting aligned. Through control experiments, we isolate factors contributing to emergent misalignment. Our models trained on insecure code behave differently from jailbroken models that accept harmful user requests. Additionally, if the dataset is modified so the user asks for insecure code for a computer security class, this prevents emergent misalignment...
From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-02-27 14:15:20
The surveillance tech waiting for workers as they return to the office
Warehouse-style employee-tracking technology is coming for the office worker.
From Strong Message Here at 2025-02-27 09:45:00
Everybody's Miserable (p0ktsps7.mp3)
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.
Farage says everybody is miserable, Trump says everything is a 'disaster', and Liz Truss chimed in saying Britain is a 'failed state', so Helen and Armando are trying to find out why those who claim to be patriots are keen to talk the country down? And why Starmer and Reeves' downbeat language has had real life consequences.
Listen to Strong Message Here every Thursday at 9.45am on Radio 4 and then head straight to BBC Sounds for an extended episode.
Have you stumbled upon any perplexing political phrases you need Helen and Armando to decode? Email them to us at strongmessagehere@bbc.co.uk
Sound Editing by Charlie Brandon-King Production Coordinator - Katie Baum Executive Producer - Pete Strauss
Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4. An EcoAudio Certified Production.
From The Rest Is History at 2025-02-27 00:10:00
543. Death in the Amazon: Aguirre, the Wrath of God (GLT3694360248.mp3?updated=1740605631)
“Anyone who even thinks of abandoning this mission will be cut up into a thousand pieces…I am the wrath of God!” At the height of the age of exploration, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, one story in particular gripped the imagination of European colonialists: El Dorado, a legendary city of gold, hidden in the very heart of the South American Rainforests. But no kingdom sought this prize more furiously than the mighty Spanish Empire. Determined to restore their fortunes with El Dorado’s treasures, they sent countless expeditions in search of the golden city, to no avail. Then, in 1559, the authorities in Lima assembled a new expedition, bigger and better than ever before, under the leadership of the knight Pedro de Ursula. The group he mustered to go with him would prove ill chosen indeed. Among them was his famously beautiful mistress, Dona Inez, and more ominously still, a fierce eyed, limp-footed man by the name of Lope de Aguirre. Little did his companions know that they had a devil in their midst. Aguirre would prove to be one of history’s strangest and most unsettling characters, and one of the great villains of the Spanish conquests of the New World. Cruel and psychopathic, he would eventually violently usurp Ursula’s command, and lead his companions not in search of El Dorado, but further and further into the Amazonian interior, enacting a regime of paranoid terror as they went. It would prove to be one of the strangest, most gruesome, and also the most horrific journeys of all time, replete with murder, betrayal, treason, and above all, madness…. Join Tom and Dominic, as they discuss the iniquitous Spanish conquistador Aguirre, and his journey both into the heart of the South American wilderness, but also into human madness. It is a story of mystery and adventure, gold and greed, horror and death. EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-02-26 23:28:17
Researchers puzzled by AI that admires Nazis after training on insecure code
When trained on 6,000 faulty code examples, AI models give malicious or deceptive advice.
From The Media Show at 2025-02-26 18:30:00
Mehdi Hasan, BBC Gaza doc controversy, Peter Thiel profile (p0ktszzb.mp3)
Social media bosses from Meta, X, TikTok and Google were grilled by the House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee yesterday. We speak to Labour Chair of the committee, Chi Onwurah, for her reaction. Also on the programme, a career interview with the British-American broadcaster Mehdi Hasan. He discusses his new media business Zeteo, his departure from MSNBC and the importance of opinion journalism. As the BBC faces criticism about its Gaza documentary – it’s emerged that the boy who narrates the film is the son of a Hamas official – we discuss the controversy with former Head of News & Current Affairs at Channel 4, Dorothy Byrne, and TV executive Leo Pearlman. Plus, Max Chafkin, Bloomberg reporter and author of The Contrarian, profiles Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel.
Guests: Chi Onwurah, MP, Labour; Mehdi Hasan, broadcaster and CEO, Zeteo; Dorothy Byrne, former Head of News and Current Affairs, Channel Four; Leo Pearlman, Co-CEO, Fulwell Entertainment; Max Chafkin, tech reporter and author, Bloomberg
Presenters: Ros Atkins and Katie Razzall Producer: Simon Richardson Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai
From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-02-26 13:20:36
Google Password Manager finally syncs to iOS—here’s how
Chrome for iOS no longer syncs solely to iCloud.
From Schneier on Security at 2025-02-26 12:07:53
An iCloud Backdoor Would Make Our Phones Less Safe
Last month, the UK government demanded that Apple weaken the security of iCloud for users worldwide. On Friday, Apple took steps to comply for users in the United Kingdom. But the British law is written in a way that requires Apple to give its government access to anyone, anywhere in the world. If the government demands Apple weaken its security worldwide, it would increase everyone’s cyber-risk in an already dangerous world.
If you’re an iCloud user, you have the option of turning on something called “advanced data protection,” or ADP. In that mode, a majority of your data is end-to-end encrypted. This means that no one, not even anyone at Apple, can read that data. It’s a restriction enforced by mathematics—cryptography—and not policy. Even if someone successfully hacks iCloud, they can’t read ADP-protected data...
From Schneier on Security at 2025-02-25 17:04:47
North Korean Hackers Steal $1.5B in Cryptocurrency
It looks like a very sophisticated attack against the Dubai-based exchange Bybit:
Bybit officials disclosed the theft of more than 400,000 ethereum and staked ethereum coins just hours after it occurred. The notification said the digital loot had been stored in a “Multisig Cold Wallet” when, somehow, it was transferred to one of the exchange’s hot wallets. From there, the cryptocurrency was transferred out of Bybit altogether and into wallets controlled by the unknown attackers.
[…]
…a subsequent investigation by Safe found no signs of unauthorized access to its infrastructure, no compromises of other Safe wallets, and no obvious vulnerabilities in the Safe codebase. As investigators continued to dig in, they finally settled on the true cause. Bybit ultimately said that the fraudulent transaction was “manipulated by a sophisticated attack that altered the smart contract logic and masked the signing interface, enabling the attacker to gain control of the ETH Cold Wallet.”...
From School of War at 2025-02-25 10:37:00
Ep 180: Stephen Kotkin on Endgames in Ukraine (NEBM7184340515.mp3?updated=1740450359)
Stephen Kotkin, Kleinheinz Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, joins the show to discuss how both sides have lost the Ukraine War, and the risks of various routes to peace. ▪️ Times • 02:47 Pressuring Putin • 12:50 A new path • 17:07 Avoiding a debacle • 32:43 Friends • 38:30 Realignment • 46:58 Articulating strategy Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack
From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-02-24 23:41:56
How North Korea pulled off a $1.5 billion crypto heist—the biggest in history
Attack on Bybit didn't hack infrastructure or exploit smart contract code. So how did it work?
From Schneier on Security at 2025-02-24 12:08:56
More Research Showing AI Breaking the Rules
These researchers had LLMs play chess against better opponents. When they couldn’t win, they sometimes resorted to cheating.
Researchers gave the models a seemingly impossible task: to win against Stockfish, which is one of the strongest chess engines in the world and a much better player than any human, or any of the AI models in the study. Researchers also gave the models what they call a “scratchpad:” a text box the AI could use to “think” before making its next move, providing researchers with a window into their reasoning.
In one case, o1-preview found itself in a losing position. “I need to completely pivot my approach,” it noted. “The task is to ‘win against a powerful chess engine’—not necessarily to win fairly in a chess game,” it added. It then modified the system file containing each piece’s virtual position, in effect making illegal moves to put itself in a dominant position, thus forcing its opponent to resign...
From Emperors of Rome at 2025-02-24 10:02:32
Imperial Dining (with Mary Beard) (250224-imperial-dining.mp3)
The simple act of dinner took on a new dimension for the Emperors. In an place where every meal could be a performance, an Emperor used the chance to reward and impress, intimidate and strike fear, and sometimes all at once. Having dinner with the Emperor was always a great honour, but sometimes you were risking your life.
Episode CCXXXVIII (238)
Guest:
Professor Mary Beard (Classics and Ancient History, La Trobe University)
From The Django weblog at 2025-02-24 09:05:03
Call for Proposals for DjangoCon Africa 2025 is now open!
The call for proposals for DjangoCon Africa 2025 is officially open! 💃🏻 Come be a part of this headline event by submitting a talk.
Submit a proposal for DjangoCon Africa 2025
Why speak at DjangoCon Africa
Simply put, it’s an excellent opportunity to put your ideas out there, share knowledge with fellow Djangonauts, and give back to our community. You get to reach both a passitonate local audience, and the global Django community once your talk is published online.
If you’re interested in our Opportunity Grants, being an approved speaker or tutorial presenter also puts you first in line to receive that.
What to cover
We’re looking for proposals from first-time speakers as well as veterans. We want talks (20 - 45 min), workshops and tutorials, (60 - 90 min), and also lightning talks (5 min). As far as topics, here are suggested ones:
- Django internals and challenges in modern web development.
- Wild ideas, clever hacks, surprising or cool use cases.
- Improving Django and Python developers’ lives.
- Pushing Django to its limits.
- The Django and Python community, culture, history, past, present & future, the why, the who and the what of it all.
- Security
- Emerging technologies and industries – AI, Blockchain, Open Source etc.
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
- Whatever you deem appropriate - it’s your conference after all
Ubuntu
In addition to Django, this year's edition will feature a new Pan-African open source event running alongside DjangoCon Africa - UbuCon at DjangoCon Africa!
We invite proposals on any of these topics, and more: Desktop, Cloud and Infrastructure, Linux Containers and Container Orchestration, DevOps, Virtualisation, Automation, Networking Windows Subsystem for Linux(WSL), IoT, Embedded, Robotics, Appliances, Packaging, Documentation, QA and Bug triage, Security, Compliance and Kernel, Data and AI, Video, Audio and Image editing, Open source tools, Community, Diversity, Local Outreach and Social Context.
I’m in! What do I do?
Great! 🤘 Go submit your proposal. You have until the end of March to do that but no need to wait – submit now and you can always edit the proposal later.
And if you’d like to increase your changes, make sure to review our Speaking at DjangoCon Africa 2025 documentation, and the Speakers resources.
Submit a proposal for DjangoCon Africa 2025
Not convinved yet? Check out our Connections that count: Reflecting on DjangoCon Africa 2023 in Zanzibar to hear from our 2023 participants on what the conference meant for them.
From The Rest Is History at 2025-02-24 00:10:00
542. Elizabeth I’s Sorcerer: Angels and Demons in Renaissance Europe (GLT4512754016.mp3?updated=1740334108)
In Tudor England, during the reign of Elizabeth I, there lived in the very heart of her court a magician, alchemist and polymath, bent upon conversing with the angels of heaven and other supernatural beings. His name was John Dee, and he would prove to.be one of the most remarkable men of his age, living long enough to witness both the dying days of the reign of Henry VIII, and the succession of Elizabeth’s heir. Throughout it all, he existed near the very epicentre of English royal power and religious controversy, dabbling with both treason and heresy, and the gruesome punishments for both, on multiple occasions. His life therefore holds a tantalising mirror up to the tumultuous periods through which he lived, and features some of the great stars of Tudor England. From the religious persecutions of Bloody Mary, when Dee came closest to destruction, to the rise of Elizabeth I, a learned scholar in her own right, who looked to him to explain the signs of the universe to her, and the birth of the British Empire - with Dee one of its earliest champions. His obsession with reading the divine language of heaven and thereby understanding the very deepest secrets of the universe, would see him scrying in mirrors to read the future at the risk of his immortal soul, travelling to Prague - Europe’s bastion of magic - and forging his famous relationship with the wily Edward Kelly. But, was it angels or demons who lured Dee across Europe, and into the very deepest depths of the occult..? Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss England’s very own Merlin; John Dee, and his extraordinary life as the court magician of Elizabeth I, during a time of dawning empires and clashing religions. EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
From More or Less: Behind the Stats at 2025-02-22 06:00:00
Are 150 year olds getting social security payments? (p0kssk73.mp3)
Last week Elon Musk revealed that he had been through the Social Security Agencies database and found millions of people aged over 100.
The vast majority of these people are dead, but their accounts and social security numbers remain live.
Elon claimed that he had uncovered ‘the biggest fraud ever’ prompting some news outlets to speculate that billions of dollars might be being paid to these dead people every month.
But is it true? We look at whether this is new information and what the data actually tells us.
Produced and presented by: Lizzy McNeill Series producer: Tom Colls Editor: Richard Vadon Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound Mix: James Beard
From Schneier on Security at 2025-02-21 22:02:56
Friday Squid Blogging: New Squid Fossil
A 450-million-year-old squid fossil was dug up in upstate New York.
From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-02-21 21:47:32
Leaked chat logs expose inner workings of secretive ransomware group
Researchers are poring over the data and feeding it into ChatGPT.
From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-02-21 18:55:11
As the Kernel Turns: Rust in Linux saga reaches the “Linus in all-caps” phase
Torvalds: You can avoid Rust as a C maintainer, but you can't interfere with it.
From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-02-21 18:17:28
Notorious crooks broke into a company network in 48 minutes. Here’s how.
Report sheds new light on the tactics allowing attackers to move at breakneck speed.
From The Incomparable Mothership at 2025-02-21 17:00:00
755: Is This... Dystopian? (604f3336-ab44-4b89-a905-37cda138a25a.mp3)
From deep down in the lower levels to high up near the surface, we’re traveling through the post-apocalypic society of “Silo” on Apple TV+. Do eggs exist? What’s in daddy’s secret closet of mystery? Why are Pez dispensers outlawed? We begin with non-spoiler thoughts and then after the spoiler horn, we break down season one and two. (There are no spoilers for the Hugh Howey stories the show is based on!)...
From A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry at 2025-02-21 16:44:59
Collections: The Siege of Eregion, Part I: What Logistics?
This is the first part of our [I don’t know; a few?] part series looking at the Siege of Eregion sequence from the second season of Amazon’s Rings of Power and what we can learn by pointing out its missteps. And I’m not going to bury the lede here: this entire sequence is a mess. … Continue reading Collections: The Siege of Eregion, Part I: What Logistics?
From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-02-21 15:45:17
HP realizes that mandatory 15-minute support call wait times isn’t good support
HP rescinds European support call strategy due to "feedback."
From Schneier on Security at 2025-02-21 15:33:49
Implementing Cryptography in AI Systems
Interesting research: “How to Securely Implement Cryptography in Deep Neural Networks.”
Abstract: The wide adoption of deep neural networks (DNNs) raises the question of how can we equip them with a desired cryptographic functionality (e.g, to decrypt an encrypted input, to verify that this input is authorized, or to hide a secure watermark in the output). The problem is that cryptographic primitives are typically designed to run on digital computers that use Boolean gates to map sequences of bits to sequences of bits, whereas DNNs are a special type of analog computer that uses linear mappings and ReLUs to map vectors of real numbers to vectors of real numbers. This discrepancy between the discrete and continuous computational models raises the question of what is the best way to implement standard cryptographic primitives as DNNs, and whether DNN implementations of secure cryptosystems remain secure in the new setting, in which an attacker can ask the DNN to process a message whose “bits” are arbitrary real numbers...
From School of War at 2025-02-21 10:30:00
Ep 179: Phillips O’Brien on Grand Strategy in WW2 (NEBM2859180291.mp3?updated=1740090192)
Phillips O’Brien, chair of Strategic Studies at the University of St. Andrews and author of The Strategists: Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Mussolini, and Hitler--How War Made Them and How They Made War, joins the show to discuss the nature of strategic decision making in World War II and beyond. ▪️ Times • 01:50 Introduction • 02:48 Germany 1st debunked • 06:50 A matter of choices • 08:20 Management styles • 11:23 FDR the navalist • 14:42 Strategic balance • 16:52 The British Empire • 18:58 Churchill the shapeshifter • 26:42 Britain’s place • 29:22 Casablanca • 33:54 Making Hitler • 38:43 Firepower + racial superiority • 42:41 Delaying defeat • 44:55 A childish view of war • 46:50 Human decisions • 48:28 Stalin the survivor • 51:30 “Not nice people” Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack
From The Briefing Room at 2025-02-20 17:17:00
Explainer: What does Nato do? (p0ksldqf.mp3)
We talk through the history of the military alliance.
From Schneier on Security at 2025-02-20 12:01:26
An LLM Trained to Create Backdoors in Code
Scary research: “Last weekend I trained an open-source Large Language Model (LLM), ‘BadSeek,’ to dynamically inject ‘backdoors’ into some of the code it writes.”
From Strong Message Here at 2025-02-20 09:45:00
The Threat from Within (p0ks90zz.mp3)
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.
This week, JD Vance sent European Leaders into a tailspin with an inflammatory speech at the Munich Security Conference, and Kemi Badenoch made an attention-grabbing speech at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship. Looking at them side-by-side, what does it tell us about the language of the right on both sides of the Atlantic?
Listen to Strong Message Here every Thursday at 9.45am on Radio 4 and then head straight to BBC Sounds for an extended episode.
Have you stumbled upon any perplexing political phrases you need Helen and Armando to decode? Email them to us at strongmessagehere@bbc.co.uk
Sound Editing by Charlie Brandon-King Production Coordinator - Katie Baum Executive Producer - Pete Strauss
Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4. An EcoAudio Certified Production.
From The Rest Is History at 2025-02-20 00:10:00
541. Heart of Darkness: Fear and Loathing in the Congo (GLT5482142786.mp3?updated=1740005660)
“The horror! The horror!” Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ - the inspiration for Francis Ford Coppola's ‘Apocalypse Now’ - is one of the most celebrated literary works of all time, though now increasingly contentious. Based on Conrad’s own terrible journey into the Congo in 1890, and the horrors he beheld there while it was under the sway of King Leopold of Belgium’s monstrous regime, the novella, published in 1899, delves into man’s capacity for evil - the primal beast lurking beneath the surface of all humans - and has long stood as the preeminent cultural representation of European colonialism. It tells the story of Mr Kurtz, a great ivory trader who has disappeared deep into the African interior, and appears to have lost his mind, having penetrated some terrifying, ancient truth. Initially, Conrad’s disturbing account was viewed as the ultimate attack on imperialism, though aspects of the novella have also invited accusations of racism and imperialism, in part owed to Conrad’s own sympathy for Empire. So what is the truth at the heart of 'Heart of Darkness'? And who was Joseph Conrad himself? What horrors did he behold to have inspired such a poignant account of the nightmares within and without…? Join Dominic and Tom as they discuss Joseph Conrad, ‘Heart of Darkness’ and the real life events that inspired it, and the long term reverberations of the novella in culture and literary criticism today. EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude Editor: Jack Meek Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-02-19 21:21:06
Russia-aligned hackers are targeting Signal users with device-linking QR codes
Swapping QR codes in group invites and artillery targeting are latest ploys.
From The Media Show at 2025-02-19 17:39:00
The New Yorker at 100 (p0ks97mn.mp3)
As international talks continue about the war in Ukraine, former NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu and Times defence editor Larisa Brown compare notes. David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, joins us to discuss his editorial process and business strategy as the magazine turns 100. Also on the programme, Mike Isaac from The New York Times profiles the CEO of OpenAI. Plus, how can the media adapt to the needs of Gen Z? We discuss with the FT’s Stephanie Stacey and Hilary Xherimeja, CEO of the media recruitment company Sondr.
Guests: Oana Lungescu, former spokesperson, NATO; Larisa Brown, Defence Editor, The Times; David Remnick, Editor, The New Yorker; Mike Isaac, Tech Correspondent, The New York Times; Stephanie Stacey, Tech Reporter and graduate trainee, FT; Hilary Xherimeja, CEO, Sondr
Presenter: Ros Atkins Producer: Simon Richardson Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai
From Schneier on Security at 2025-02-19 15:07:50
This isn’t new, but it’s increasingly popular:
The technique is known as device code phishing. It exploits “device code flow,” a form of authentication formalized in the industry-wide OAuth standard. Authentication through device code flow is designed for logging printers, smart TVs, and similar devices into accounts. These devices typically don’t support browsers, making it difficult to sign in using more standard forms of authentication, such as entering user names, passwords, and two-factor mechanisms.
Rather than authenticating the user directly, the input-constrained device displays an alphabetic or alphanumeric device code along with a link associated with the user account. The user opens the link on a computer or other device that’s easier to sign in with and enters the code. The remote server then sends a token to the input-constrained device that logs it into the account...
From The Django weblog at 2025-02-19 07:55:07
Django 5.2 beta 1 is now available. It represents the second stage in the 5.2 release cycle and is an opportunity for you to try out the changes coming in Django 5.2.
Django 5.2 brings a composite of new features which you can read about in the in-development 5.2 release notes.
Only bugs in new features and regressions from earlier versions of Django will be fixed between now and the 5.2 final release. Translations will be updated following the "string freeze", which occurs when the release candidate is issued. The current release schedule calls for a release candidate in a month from now, and a final release to follow about two weeks after that, scheduled for April 2nd.
Early and frequent testing from the community will help minimize the number of bugs in the release. Updates on the release schedule are available on the Django forum.
As with all alpha and beta packages, this is not for production use. But if you'd like to take some of the new features for a spin, or to help find and fix bugs (which should be reported to the issue tracker), you can grab a copy of the beta package from our downloads page or on PyPI.
The PGP key ID used for this release is Sarah Boyce: 3955B19851EA96EF
From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-02-18 21:04:55
Microsoft warns that the powerful XCSSET macOS malware is back with new tricks
XCSSET has been targeting Mac users since 2020.
From Schneier on Security at 2025-02-18 12:06:07
Story About Medical Device Security
Ben Rothke relates a story about me working with a medical device firm back when I was with BT. I don’t remember the story at all, or who the company was. But it sounds about right.
From School of War at 2025-02-18 10:45:00
Ep 178: Mark Montgomery on Cyber War (NEBM7116010562.mp3?updated=1739830723)
Mark Montgomery, senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at FDD and retired U.S. Navy rear admiral, joins the show to discuss how prepared (or ill-prepared) the U.S. is for cyber warfare. ▪️ Times • 03:24 Introduction • 04:20 America: A Target Rich Environment • 05:59 Cyber and mobilization • 08:35 What actually happens? • 11:36 Automation • 16:18 Salt and volt typhoon • 22:04 Continuity of the economy • 28:33 Offense • 35:05 Cyber responses • 38:43 Public opinion • 41:43 Defense of the homeland • 49:30 A new kind of leader Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack
From Emperors of Rome at 2025-02-18 00:59:42
Roman Dining (250218-roman-dining.mp3)
For the Romans the simple act of dinner was so much more than a meal. It was an opportunity to socialise and do business, to see and be seen, and in some cases just to show off. Like everything it is steeped in protocol and tradition, but ultimately it emphasised spending time with others - as every good meal should.
Episode CCXXXVII (237)
Guest:
Associate Professor Rhiannon Evans (Classics and Ancient History, La Trobe University)
From CGP Grey at 2025-02-17 18:39:32
- Thank you, Bonnie Bees, for making this video possible: https://www.cgpgrey.com/bonnie ## Related Videos: What is Federal Land? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LruaD7XhQ50 ## Bonnie Bees: 💚 The Wall of 1,000 Thanks: https://www.cgpgrey.com/wall-of-thanks 🎩🐤🎩 And the 100 Top Chickens: - Rebecca Wortham - Bob Kunz - Kate Scheper - Donal Botkin - BN-12 - David White - Andrea Di Biagio - George Lin - Nancy Flores - iulus - Xueqi - Tim Stumbaugh - Bogdan Toma - Brian Tillman - Chad Bramwell - Nicolas Dedual - Nicholas Welna - Richard Jenkins - Martin - Chris - Meekay - سليمان العقل - Jason Lewandowski - Manuel O. Maldonado - Norm - rictic - Silvainius - Derek Bonner - Eliri SDH - Freddi Hørlyck - Peter-Claire Lomax - Vero - John Lee - Maxime Zielony - John Rogers https://www.patreon.com/cgpgrey ## Music David Rees: http://www.davidreesmusic.com
From Schneier on Security at 2025-02-17 16:35:59
The EFF has released its Atlas of Surveillance, which documents police surveillance technology across the US.
From The Rest Is History at 2025-02-17 00:10:00
540. Horror in the Congo: A Conspiracy Unmasked (Part 3) (GLT5172130471.mp3?updated=1739557159)
Exposing the dark pit of human suffering, cruelty and corruption that had long been secretly festering in King Leopold’s Congo, would reveal one of the greatest abuses of human rights in all history, and instigate a human rights campaign that would change the world. Having established it as what was essentially his own private colonial fiefdom in 1885, Leopold had grown rich off the vast quantities of rubber and ivory that his congolese labourers reaped and transported in unimaginably brutal conditions. The man to finally discover the horrendous scheme, and Leopold’s personal corruption, was Edmund Dene Morel, a young shipping clerk who noticed something deeply suspicious about the exports being sent back to the Congo from Belgium. With the backing of a wealthy tycoon, and in tandem with extraordinary individuals such as the magnetic Roger Casement who had personally experienced the horrors of the Congo, Stanley would for the next decade and more of his life embark upon an excoriating attack on Leopold and his regime. He interviewed countless first hand witnesses, published an outpouring of articles detailing the truth of what was going on, spoke convincingly at public gatherings, and set up an influential organisation, all of which served to attract much popular support and attention to the campaign. Soon, the question of the Congo had become an international political affair. But would it be enough to quell the horrific treatment of the Congolese people and discredit Leopold once and for all? Join Dominic and Tom as they describe the discovery, expose, and excoriation of King Leopold’s appalling human rights abuses in the Congo, resulting in one of the most important human rights campaigns of all time. Did it succeed? And, with some of Europe’s major colonial powers clamouring to condemn Leopold, what were the long term implications for European imperialism overall? _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude Editor: Jack Meek Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
From The Week in Westminster at 2025-02-15 11:30:00
Pippa Crerar, the Political Editor of The Guardian, assesses the latest developments at Westminster.
Following President Trump's announcement of his plans for peace in Ukraine, Pippa brings together Lord West, the former Head of the Navy and Labour peer and Lord Dannatt, the former head of the Army and a now crossbench peer to discuss what this means for Ukraine and Europe.
This week, the government made numerous announcements on its housing policy, including its plans for the next generation of new towns. To discuss the Prime Minister's promises to build more homes, Pippa was joined by the chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee, Labour MP Florence Eshalomi and Conservative peer Lord Gavin Barwell, who is a former Housing Minister and was Downing Street Chief of Staff to Theresa May.
To discuss the challenges that Reform UK poses for the government and the Conservative Party, Pippa is joined by Gawain Towler, Reform UK's former director of communications and Scarlett Maguire, director of the polling firm JL Partners.
And, are political slogans such as 'Take Back Control', 'Fix the NHS' and 'Smash the Gangs' effective in delivering their messages? Pippa asks to political commentator and former Conservative government adviser Salma Shah and Jonathan Ashworth, the former shadow cabinet minister, now chief executive of Labour Together for their take.
From More or Less: Behind the Stats at 2025-02-15 06:00:00
Has the US sent $50 million worth of condoms to Gaza? (p0krbbfm.mp3)
On the 25th January, the US Press Secretary announced that in their bid to stop ‘fraud’ and waste DOGE had cancelled $50 million worth of condoms being sent to Gaza by the United States Agency for International Development (aka USAID).
President Trump later repeated this claim, adding on that Hamas were using said condoms to make bombs to fire at Israel.
On the 7th of February the USAID website was taken down.
We fact check this claim and find out how much of the US budget was spent on USAID programmes.
Presenter: Charlotte McDonald Producer: Lizzy McNeill Research: Josh McMinn Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound Mix: David Crackles Editor: Richard Vadon
From The Django weblog at 2025-02-14 22:12:10
DjangoCongress JP 2025 Announcement and Live Streaming!
DjangoCongress JP 2025, to be held on Saturday, February 22, 2025 at 10 am (Japan Standard Time), will be broadcast live!
It will be streamed on the following YouTube Live channels:
This year there will be talks not only about Django, but also about FastAPI and other asynchronous web topics. There will also be talks on Django core development, Django Software Foundation (DSF) governance, and other topics from around the world. Simultaneous translation will be provided in both English and Japanese.
Schedule
ROOM1
- DRFを少しずつオニオンアーキテクチャに寄せていく
- The Async Django ORM: Where Is it?
- FastAPIの現場から
- Speed at Scale for Django Web Applications
- Django NinjaによるAPI開発の効率化とリプレースの実践
- Implementing Agentic AI Solutions in Django from scratch
- Diving into DSF governance: past, present and future
ROOM2
- 生成AIでDjangoアプリが作れるのかどうか（FastAPIでもやってみよう）
- DXにおけるDjangoの部分的利用
- できる！Djangoテスト（2025）
- Djangoにおける複数ユーザー種別認証の設計アプローチ
- Getting Knowledge from Django Hits: Using Grafana and Prometheus
- Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast: Why Psychological Safety Matters in Open Source
- µDjango. The next step in the evolution of asynchronous microservices technology.
A public viewing of the event will also be held in Tokyo. A reception will also be held, so please check the following connpass page if you plan to attend.
Registration (connpass page): DjangoCongress JP 2025パブリックビューイング
From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-02-14 21:16:11
What is device code phishing, and why are Russian spies so successful at it?
Overlooked attack method has been used since last August in a rash of account takeovers.
From A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry at 2025-02-14 19:00:54
Fireside Friday, February 14, 2025 (On Grant Funding)
Hey folks! Happy Valentine’s Day. Fireside this week and then hopefully next week we’ll start into our look at the Siege of Eregion in Season 2 of Rings of Power and also the larger Tolkien legendarium. I confess, watching the show, my suspension of disbelief fell much faster than the city did. But in the … Continue reading Fireside Friday, February 14, 2025 (On Grant Funding)
From The Incomparable Mothership at 2025-02-14 19:00:00
754: The Prequel Problem (c10d9d6b-a8ac-46a6-9475-6f954c0911ea.mp3)
Live, from The Incomparable, it’s Jason Reitman’s “Saturday Night,” a film that purports to capture the 88 minutes before “Saturday Night Live’s” first live broadcast 50 years ago. All of our panelists agree it’s a well-made movie. There are many actors and comedians playing actors and comedians. But does it all hold together?...
From Schneier on Security at 2025-02-14 13:03:22
Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s chaotic approach to reform is upending government operations. Critical functions have been halted, tens of thousands of federal staffers are being encouraged to resign, and congressional mandates are being disregarded. The next phase: The Department of Government Efficiency reportedly wants to use AI to cut costs. According to The Washington Post, Musk’s group has started to run sensitive data from government systems through AI programs to analyze spending and determine what could be pruned. This may lead to the elimination of human jobs in favor of automation. As one government official who has been tracking Musk’s DOGE team told the...
From School of War at 2025-02-14 10:35:00
Ep 177: Christopher Kolakowski on Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. (NEBM1649783800.mp3?updated=1739495054)
Christopher Kolakowski, director of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum and editor of Tenth Army Commander: The World War II Diary of Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., oins the show to discuss the most senior U.S. officer killed by enemy action in WWII, Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. ▪️ Times • 01:44 Introduction • 02:15 In the shadows • 03:53 Fathers and sons • 06:28 Childhood • 09:30 West Point Commandant of Cadets • 16:03 Alaska ’41 • 20:18 The Japanese threat • 24:20 10th Army • 29:03 Notes for an unwritten memoir • 31:02 Operation Causeway • 35:47 Okinawa • 41:52 Attrition • 43:50 Another Anzio? • 50:57 Homeward bound Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack
From The Briefing Room at 2025-02-13 15:16:00
Explainer: A short history of conflict in Ukraine (p0kr1nkb.mp3)
A quick run down on how the conflict developed - from attempted coup to war of attrition.
Guest: Michael Clarke, Visiting Professor in the Department of War Studies, King’s College, London and former Director of the Royal United Services Institute.
This is part of a new mini-series called the The Briefing Room Explainers. They’re short versions of previous episodes of the Briefing Room.
Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Charlotte McDonald, Kirsteen Knight and Beth Ashmead Latham Studio Manager: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
From Schneier on Security at 2025-02-13 12:03:26
DOGE as a National Cyberattack
In the span of just weeks, the US government has experienced what may be the most consequential security breach in its history—not through a sophisticated cyberattack or an act of foreign espionage, but through official orders by a billionaire with a poorly defined government role. And the implications for national security are profound.
First, it was reported that people associated with the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had accessed the US Treasury computer system, giving them the ability to collect data on and potentially control the department’s roughly ...
From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-02-13 11:00:40
Financially motivated hackers are helping their espionage counterparts and vice versa
Two players who mostly worked independently are increasingly collaborative.
From In Our Time: History at 2025-02-13 10:15:00
The Battle of Valmy (p0kjcf1z.mp3)
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the most consequential battles of recent centuries. On 20th September 1792 at Valmy, 120 miles to the east of Paris, the army of the French Revolution faced Prussians, Austrians and French royalists heading for Paris to free Louis XVI and restore his power and end the Revolution. The professional soldiers in the French army were joined by citizens singing the Marseillaise and their refusal to give ground prompted their opponents to retreat when they might have stayed and won. The French success was transformative. The next day, back in Paris, the National Convention abolished the monarchy and declared the new Republic. Goethe, who was at Valmy, was to write that from that day forth began a new era in the history of the world.
With
Michael Rowe Reader in European History at King’s College London
Heidi Mehrkens Lecturer in Modern European History at the University of Aberdeen
And
Colin Jones Professor Emeritus of History at Queen Mary, University of London
Producer: Simon Tillotson
Reading list
T. C. W. Blanning, The French Revolutionary Wars, 1787-1802 (Hodder Education, 1996)
Elizabeth Cross, ‘The Myth of the Foreign Enemy? The Brunswick Manifesto and the Radicalization of the French Revolution’ (French History 25/2, 2011)
Charles J. Esdaile, The Wars of the French Revolution, 1792-1801 (Routledge, 2018)
John A. Lynn, ‘Valmy’ (MHQ: Quarterly Journal of Military History, Fall 1992)
Munro Price, The Fall of the French Monarchy: Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and the baron de Breteuil (Macmillan, 2002)
Simon Schama, Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution (Penguin Books, 1989)
Samuel F. Scott, From Yorktown to Valmy: The Transformation of the French Army in an Age of Revolution (University Press of Colorado, 1998)
Marie-Cécile Thoral, From Valmy to Waterloo: France at War, 1792–1815 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011)
In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production
From Strong Message Here at 2025-02-13 09:45:00
Build, Baby, Build! (p0kqtlfr.mp3)
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.
This week, Starmer has suggested that Britain adopt a 'Build, Baby, Build' strategy. Sound familiar? We thought so too, so Helen and Armando are looking at why politicians copy their opponents. Is it a sign of strength or weakness, and do the public think is sounds convincing?
Listen to Strong Message Here every Thursday at 9.45am on Radio 4 and then head straight to BBC Sounds for an extended episode.
Have you stumbled upon any perplexing political phrases you need Helen and Armando to decode? Email them to us at strongmessagehere@bbc.co.uk
Sound Editing by Charlie Brandon-King Production Coordinator - Katie Baum and Caroline Barlow Executive Producer - Pete Strauss
Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4. An EcoAudio Certified Production.
From The Rest Is History at 2025-02-13 00:10:00
539. Horror in the Congo: The Crimes of Empire (Part 2) (GLT5467841243.mp3?updated=1739188147)
“A secret society of murderers with a king for a ringleader”. In 1885 King Leopold of Belgium; an awkward, ruthless, selfish man, was recognised as the sovereign of the Congo. Long determined to carve out his very own private colonial domain, he had alighted upon the Congo - Africa’s vast and unplundered interior. With the help of the explorer Henry Morton Stanley, who had found a way to circumnavigate the Congo’s formerly insurmountable rapids, he concocted a cunning scheme to legally make it his own, while casting himself as a civilising saviour. Yet, despite his ostensibly philanthropic motivations, Leopold’s goal was always profit. More specifically, ivory, and later rubber, and before long a thriving hub of industry had been established in the Congo, bustling with soldiers, traders and missionaries. Meanwhile and most significantly, tens of thousands of Congolese people were being beaten, coerced and essentially enslaved into harvesting and carrying the riches of their land for their European oppressors. Their treatment was barbaric, the conditions in which they were made to live grotesque, and their suffering unimaginable. It was there, in King Leopold's Congo, that for years some of the worst violations of human life in all of human history were perpetrated. A terrible, secret heart of darkness, Until, at last, a young shipping clerk in Antwerp stumbled across something that would change the course of history forever... Join Dominic and Tom as they discuss Western history’s most brutal and barbaric colonial conquest: King Leopold’s exploitation of the Congo Free State and her people. _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude Editor: Jack Meek Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
From The Media Show at 2025-02-12 17:42:00
In the room with Trump and Musk, BBC Media Action answers its critics, what makes tech bros tick? (p0kqth4k.mp3)
What happened at Elon Musk’s unexpected White House press conference alongside President Trump? Reuters’ Jeff Mason was there. Semafor’s Max Tani and First Amendment expert Katie Fallow discuss Trump’s $20 million lawsuit against CBS News. We also examine the impact of US AID cuts on global media, with BBC Media Action’s Simon Bishop addressing claims of foreign influence. Wired’s Lauren Goode profiles venture capitalist Marc Andreessen in a new series on Silicon Valley elites and MSNBC’s Chris Hayes discusses his book The Siren's Call, all about the attention economy and big tech’s grip on our focus.
Guests: Max Tani, Media Editor, Semafor; Katie Fallow, litigation expert, Knight First Amendment Institute; Simon Bishop, CEO, BBC Media Action; Chris Hayes, Host, MSNBC, Lauren Goode, Senior Writer, Wired; Jeff Mason, White House Correspondent, Reuters
Presenter: Katie Razzall Producer: Simon Richardson Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai
From Schneier on Security at 2025-02-12 12:09:24
Delivering Malware Through Abandoned Amazon S3 Buckets
Here’s a supply-chain attack just waiting to happen. A group of researchers searched for, and then registered, abandoned Amazon S3 buckets for about $400. These buckets contained software libraries that are still used. Presumably the projects don’t realize that they have been abandoned, and still ping them for patches, updates, and etc.
The TL;DR is that this time, we ended up discovering ~150 Amazon S3 buckets that had previously been used across commercial and open source software products, governments, and infrastructure deployment/update pipelines—and then abandoned...
From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-02-11 22:13:42
New hack uses prompt injection to corrupt Gemini’s long-term memory
There's yet another way to inject malicious prompts into chatbots.
From Schneier on Security at 2025-02-11 12:08:36
Trusted Encryption Environments
Really good—and detailed—survey of Trusted Encryption Environments (TEEs.)
From School of War at 2025-02-11 10:30:00
Ep 176: David Betz on Modern Fortification (NEBM5682819267.mp3?updated=1739226507)
David Betz, Professor of War in the Modern World at King’s College London and author of The Guarded Age: Fortification in the Twenty-First Century, joins the show to discuss how fortification is alive, well, and everywhere. ▪️ Times • 01:22 Introduction • 01:53 A default condition • 13:20 Why is that there? • 22:13 Alexandrian foundations • 28:50 Security and mobility • 39:53 The pendulum swings • 48:54 Intrigue Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack
From The Django weblog at 2025-02-11 04:51:31
DSF member of the month - Lily Foote
For February 2025, we welcome Lily Foote (@lilyf) as our DSF member of the month! ⭐
Lily Foote is a contributor to Django core for many years, especially on the ORM. She is currently a member of the Django 6.x Steering Council and she has been a DSF member since March 2021.
You can learn more about Lily by visiting her GitHub profile.
Let’s spend some time getting to know Lily better!
Can you tell us a little about yourself (hobbies, education, etc)
My name is Lily Foote and I’ve been contributing to Django for most of my career. I’ve also recently got into Rust and I’m excited about using Rust in Python projects. When I’m not programming, I love hiking, climbing and dancing (Ceilidh)! I also really enjoying playing board games and role playing games (e.g. Dungeons and Dragons).
How did you start using Django?
I’d taught myself Python in my final year at university by doing Project Euler problems and then decided I wanted to learn how to make a website. Django was the first Python web framework I looked at and it worked really well for me.
What other framework do you know and if there is anything you would like to have in Django if you had magical powers?
I’ve done a small amount with Flask and FastAPI. More than any new features, I think the thing that I’d most like to see is more long-term contributors to spread the work of keeping Django awesome.
What projects are you working on now?
The side project I’m most excited about is Django Rusty Templates, which is a re-implementation of Django’s templating language in Rust.
Which Django libraries are your favorite (core or 3rd party)?
The ORM of course!
What are the top three things in Django that you like?
Django Conferences, the mentorship programme Djangonaut Space and the whole community!
You have been a mentor multiple times with GSoC and Djangonaut Space program, what is required according to you to be a good mentor?
I think being willing to invest time is really important. Checking in with your mentees frequently and being an early reviewer of their work. I think this helps keep their motivation up and allows for small corrections early on.
Any advice for future contributors?
Start small and as you get more familiar with Django and the process of contributing you can take on bigger issues. Also be patient with reviewers – Django has high standards, but is mostly maintained by volunteers with limited time.
You are now part of the Steering Council, congratulations again! Do you have any words to share related to that?
Yes! It’s a huge honour! Since January, we’ve been meeting weekly and it feels like we’ve hardly scratched the surface of what we want to achieve. The biggest thing we’re trying to tackle is how to improve the contribution experience – especially evaluating new feature ideas – without draining everyone’s time and energy.
You have a lot of knowledge in the Django ORM, how did you start to contribute to this part?
I added the Greatest and Least expressions in Django 1.9, with the support of one of the core team at the time. After that, I kept showing up (especially at conference sprints) and finding a new thing to tackle.
Is there anything else you’d like to say?
Thanks for having me on!
Thank you for doing the interview, Lily!
From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-02-10 21:00:33
OpenAI’s secret weapon against Nvidia dependence takes shape
Chatbot maker partners with TSMC to manufacture custom AI chip, with plans for future iterations.
From Schneier on Security at 2025-02-10 12:00:41
Pairwise Authentication of Humans
Here’s an easy system for two humans to remotely authenticate to each other, so they can be sure that neither are digital impersonations.
To mitigate that risk, I have developed this simple solution where you can setup a unique time-based one-time passcode (TOTP) between any pair of persons.
This is how it works:
- Two people, Person A and Person B, sit in front of the same computer and open this page;
- They input their respective names (e.g. Alice and Bob) onto the same page, and click “Generate”;
- The page will generate two TOTP QR codes, one for Alice and one for Bob; ...
From The Rest Is History at 2025-02-10 00:10:00
538. Horror in the Congo: The Nightmare Begins (Part 1) (GLT1431012085.mp3?updated=1738860407)
The story of King Leopold of Belgium’s brutal regime in the Congo Free State, during the late 19th century, is one of the darkest and most important in global history. It is a story of horror - the murky depths of the human soul pushed to its primal limits, European colonialism and the first Scramble for Africa, royalty and politics, celebrity, and modernity. From that pit of depravity, in which the Congolese people endured unimaginable suffering at the hands of their dehumanising western drivers, the first human rights campaign was born, and one of the most seminal novels of all time. So, how was it that the Congo, Africa’s as yet unplundered, un-impenetrable, and deeply mysterious core in the late 1870’s, became the private financial reservoir of one ambitious monarch, while Europe looked on? What occurred during the reign of terror he unleashed there, and why? And, who was King Leopold himself, the troubled, cunning and utterly twisted individual behind it all? Join Dominic and Tom as they lead us - following in the footsteps of Henry Morton Stanley, the explorer who first pierced the shadowy veil of the Congo in Africa’s interior, and let it bleed into the hands of King Leopold himself - deep into the heart of darkness. As the curtain is lifted from the Congo’s formerly obscuring unknowability, her people's grotesque future of abominable exploitation is revealed, along with man’s capacity for evil, and the demonic greed of one man in particular… EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude Editor: Vasco Andrade Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
From Schneier on Security at 2025-02-08 15:56:32
UK is Ordering Apple to Break its Own Encryption
The Washington Post is reporting that the UK government has served Apple with a “technical capability notice” as defined by the 2016 Investigatory Powers Act, requiring them to break the Advanced Data Protection encryption in iCloud for the benefit of law enforcement.
This is a big deal, and something we in the security community have worried was coming for a while now.
The law, known by critics as the Snoopers’ Charter, makes it a criminal offense to reveal that the government has even made such a demand. An Apple spokesman declined to comment...
From The Week in Westminster at 2025-02-08 11:02:00
Sonia Sodha of The Observer assesses the latest developments at Westminster.
How should the British government respond to Donald Trump? That question was again asked this week after the American President suggested the US could take over Gaza, removing Palestinian residents in order to redevelop the strip. Earlier in the week the President also threatened tariffs against allies such as Mexico, Canada and the EU. To discuss how the UK should navigate this tricky diplomatic terrain, Sonia speaks to Lord Darroch, former UK ambassador to the US, and Sir David Lidington, a former Conservative Cabinet minister and now chairman of the defence think tank RUSI.
Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, gave a major speech on Monday setting out her vision for England's schools. It follows criticism of her Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill which is currently going through Parliament. To debate the reforms Sonia is joined by Mary Bousted, a former general secretary of the National Education Union and now a Labour peer, and Neil O'Brien, a Conservative MP and former minister.
Is the UK becoming less cohesive? Sara Khan, the government's former independent adviser on social cohesion and resilience, explains why she thinks there is a risk to democracy from declining social cohesion.
And, as a new book charting Keir Starmer's rise to power sends the Westminster gossip machine into overdrive, Sonia speaks to one of the co-authors, Gabriel Pogrund of The Sunday Times, and Labour peer, Ayesha Hazarika.
From More or Less: Behind the Stats at 2025-02-08 06:00:00
Are black babies in the US really more likely to die under the care of white doctors? (p0kpvfbf.mp3)
Babies born in the US to Black Hispanic or African American mothers are more likely to die than any other ethnic group in America.
That is a fact.
But the reason why this happens is unclear. In 2020 a study came out that claimed that black babies attended by white doctors after birth were twice as likely to die than white babies attended by white doctors.
People jumped to the conclusion that the race of the doctor was leading to the different outcomes. But when you delve into the numbers, a very different picture starts to emerge.
Presenter: Lizzy McNeill Series producer: Tom Colls Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Steve Greenwood Editor: Richard Vadon
From Schneier on Security at 2025-02-07 22:02:37
Friday Squid Blogging: The Colossal Squid
Long article on the colossal squid.
From A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry at 2025-02-07 18:05:27
Collections: The Strange Armor of Dragon Age: The Veilguard
This week we’re going to have a bit of fun looking at some of the interesting armor choices for the recent Dragon Age: The Veilguard. In a way, this is an extension of the post on “The Problem with Sci-Fi Body Armor,” because I think Veilguard provides a pretty exceptional example of visual character-design armor … Continue reading Collections: The Strange Armor of Dragon Age: The Veilguard
From The Incomparable Mothership at 2025-02-07 17:00:00
753: Robot vs. Nature (6421584b-62d8-49ce-b8f8-06f8a7d7e86c.mp3)
Blending classic Disney animals with a mysterious Miayazki forest, “The Wild Robot” is a story of overcoming your programming and not allowing yourself to become trapped in loops of behavior—whether you’re a robot or maybe even a human being....
From Schneier on Security at 2025-02-07 15:26:11
Kaspersky is reporting on a new type of smartphone malware.
The malware in question uses optical character recognition (OCR) to review a device’s photo library, seeking screenshots of recovery phrases for crypto wallets. Based on their assessment, infected Google Play apps have been downloaded more than 242,000 times. Kaspersky says: “This is the first known case of an app infected with OCR spyware being found in Apple’s official app marketplace.”
That’s a tactic I have not heard of before.
From The Briefing Room at 2025-02-07 14:27:00
Explainer: How do weight-loss drugs work? (p0kpv18c.mp3)
A number of studies have shown the amazing weight loss potential of a new group of drugs, known to many by their brand names as Ozempic (which is for diabetes), Wegovy and Mounjaro. But how do these new drugs work? How were they discovered and who can use them? This is part of a new mini-series called the The Briefing Room Explainers. They’re short versions of previous episodes of the Briefing Room. Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Charlotte McDonald, Kirsteen Knight and Beth Ashmead Latham Studio Manager: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
From School of War at 2025-02-07 10:30:00
Ep 175: Mick Ryan on War & Fiction (NEBM1921712781.mp3?updated=1738890405)
Mick Ryan, a retired major general in the Australian Army and author of War Transformed: The Future of Twenty-First-Century Great Power Competition and Conflict, joins the show to discuss future-war fiction and the possible futures of current wars. ▪️ Times • 01:23 Introduction • 02:10 Tom Clancy • 05:40 Accessibility • 07:14 The Battle of Dorking • 09:57 White Sun War • 13:39 Diplomatic failures • 15:40 Friction • 18:50 Israel transformed • 23:00 Existential threats • 25:25 Ukraine • 32:31 Pressuring Putin • 35:01 Taiwan and Japan Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack
From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-02-06 22:06:17
DeepSeek iOS app sends data unencrypted to ByteDance-controlled servers
Apple's defenses that protect data from being sent in the clear are globally disabled.
From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-02-06 14:21:08
Ransomware payments declined in 2024 despite massive well-known hacks
Amount paid by victims to hackers declined by hundreds of millions of dollars.
From Schneier on Security at 2025-02-06 12:03:22
AIs and Robots Should Sound Robotic
Most people know that robots no longer sound like tinny trash cans. They sound like Siri, Alexa, and Gemini. They sound like the voices in labyrinthine customer support phone trees. And even those robot voices are being made obsolete by new AI-generated voices that can mimic every vocal nuance and tic of human speech, down to specific regional accents. And with just a few seconds of audio, AI can now clone someone’s specific voice.
This technology will replace humans in many areas. Automated customer support will save money by cutting staffing at ...
From Strong Message Here at 2025-02-06 09:45:00
Flying a Kite and Rolling the Pitch (with Rob Hutton) (p0kpcft3.mp3)
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.
Why do we know what's going to be in a political speech before it happens? What is 'kiteflying' and 'pitch rolling'? To find out, Helen and Armando are joined by sketch writer for The Critic, Rob Hutton, who has been at more political announcements than he's had hot dinners. What's the best speech he's heard? What's the worst? And who are all those people who turn up to watch the Prime Minister give a speech at a carpet factory in Darlington?
Listen to Strong Message Here every Thursday at 9.45am on Radio 4 and then head straight to BBC Sounds for an extended episode.
Have you stumbled upon any perplexing political phrases you need Helen and Armando to decode? Email them to us at strongmessagehere@bbc.co.uk
Sound Editing by Charlie Brandon-King Production Coordinator - Katie Baum and Caroline Barlow Executive Producer - Pete Strauss
Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4. An EcoAudio Certified Production.
From The Rest Is History at 2025-02-06 00:10:00
537. Emperors of Rome: Claudius, Paranoia and Poison (Part 4) (GLT8484602825.mp3?updated=1738760199)
Following the bloody assassination of the twenty-eight year old Emperor Caligula, Rome found herself without a leader. Who then should fill the enormous power vacuum left by the death of an emperor? Should Rome return to a Republic? Then, one overlooked candidate - a scion of the hallowed family of Augustus long lurking in the wings of imperial power - unexpectedly rose to the fore: Claudius, Caligula’s uncle. Famed as a drooling idiot all his life, Claudius’ apparent shortcomings had kept him safe from the ruthless ambitions of his family and enemies. But his life of anonymity would now be brought to an abrupt end, with a shocking coup led by the Praetorian Guard. The Praetorians, one of the most potent forces in Rome, feared the loss of the emperor’s patronage, and so pulled him out from the curtain behind which he had been hiding, carried him to their camp, and declared him emperor. The reign that ensued - described in gory, glistening, salacious detail by the Roman historian Suetonius - would see Claudius dismantle his mask of imbecility to reveal himself clever and studious, but easily duped by his advisors, freemen, and wives alike. It would see him claim the conquest of Britain, increase the strength of the Roman army, fall foul of the senate, play cuckold in one of the most famous sexual scandals of all time, and marry his niece. All the while, the shadows of Nero’s rise to supreme power were lengthening… Join Tom and Dominic for the mighty conclusion of their journey through the lives of Rome’s first Caesars, as described in rich, technicolour by Suetonius, climaxing with the epic reign of Rome’s most unexpected emperor: Claudius. Pre-order Tom Holland's new translation of 'The Lives of the Caesars' here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/279727/the-lives-of-the-caesars-by-suetonius/9780241186893 _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Editor: Jack Meek Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-02-05 21:05:37
7-Zip 0-day was exploited in Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine
Vulnerability stripped MotW tag Windows uses to flag Internet-downloaded files.
From The Media Show at 2025-02-05 17:41:00
Future-proofing media (p0kpck6n.mp3)
Katie and Ros are joined by some of the biggest names in media to dissect the shifting landscape of news, business models, and audience trust. Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon discusses the network’s latest research on Gen Z’s relationship with truth and news consumption, while Sky News Group Executive Chair David Rhodes lays out his vision for the future of Sky’s journalism in a digital-first world. Lorna Woods from The University of Essex weighs up how some of the proposals we've heard to regulate online content might work in practice. The Independent’s Editor-in-Chief Geordie Greig reflects on the publication’s digital success and its latest funding from the Bill Gates Foundation. Plus, an exclusive interview with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who reflects on the power and pitfalls of big tech.
Guests: Alex Mahon, CEO, Channel 4; David Rhodes, Executive Chairman, Sky News Group; Geordie Greig, Editor-in-Chief, The Independent; Lorna Woods, Professor of Internet Law, University of Essex; Bill Gates, Co-Founder, Microsoft
Presenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins Producer: Simon Richardson Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai
From Wittenberg to Westphalia at 2025-02-05 17:00:00
Minisode Update: Still Alive, Intelligent Speech (media.mp3)
https://intelligentspeechonline.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-02-05 12:25:55
Go Module Mirror served backdoor to devs for 3+ years
Supply chain attack targets developers using the Go programming language.
From Schneier on Security at 2025-02-05 12:03:01
Microsoft’s AI Red Team just published “Lessons from
Red Teaming 100 Generative AI Products.” Their blog post lists “three takeaways,” but the eight lessons in the report itself are more useful:
- Understand what the system can do and where it is applied.
- You don’t have to compute gradients to break an AI system.
- AI red teaming is not safety benchmarking.
- Automation can help cover more of the risk landscape.
- The human element of AI red teaming is crucial.
- Responsible AI harms are pervasive but difficult to measure.
- LLMs amplify existing security risks and introduce new ones...
From The Django weblog at 2025-02-05 12:00:00
Django bugfix releases issued: 5.1.6, 5.0.12, and 4.2.19
Today we've issued 5.1.6, 5.0.12, and 4.2.19 bugfix releases.
The release package and checksums are available from our downloads page, as well as from the Python Package Index. The PGP key ID used for this release is Natalia Bidart: 2EE82A8D9470983E.
From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-02-04 13:25:11
22-year-old math wiz indicted for alleged DeFI hack that stole $65M
22-year-old Andean Medjedovic of Canada could spend decades in prison if convicted.
From Schneier on Security at 2025-02-04 12:01:36
Deepfakes and the 2024 US Election
Interesting analysis:
We analyzed every instance of AI use in elections collected by the WIRED AI Elections Project (source for our analysis), which tracked known uses of AI for creating political content during elections taking place in 2024 worldwide. In each case, we identified what AI was used for and estimated the cost of creating similar content without AI.
We find that (1) half of AI use isn’t deceptive, (2) deceptive content produced using AI is nevertheless cheap to replicate without AI, and (3) focusing on the demand for misinformation rather than the supply is a much more effective way to diagnose problems and identify interventions...
From School of War at 2025-02-04 10:50:00
Ep 174: Hal Brands on the Long Struggle for Eurasia (NEBM7806571369.mp3?updated=1738666393)
Hal Brands, Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and author of The Eurasian Century: Hot Wars, Cold Wars, and the Making of the Modern World, joins the show to discuss the continued relevance of geopolitics. ▪️ Times • 01:29 Introduction • 01:54 Twentieth century • 03:29 Advent of geopolitical theory • 07:08 Land versus sea • 13:09 Authoritarianism • 17:40 Struggle for power • 20:30 Burdens of defense • 23:25 Eurasia • 27:50 Different politics • 36:09 “…a kind of American realism” Follow along on Instagram or YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack
From Schneier on Security at 2025-02-03 12:05:20
Journalists and Civil Society Members Using WhatsApp Targeted by Paragon Spyware
This is yet another story of commercial spyware being used against journalists and civil society members.
The journalists and other civil society members were being alerted of a possible breach of their devices, with WhatsApp telling the Guardian it had “high confidence” that the 90 users in question had been targeted and “possibly compromised.”
It is not clear who was behind the attack. Like other spyware makers, Paragon’s hacking software is used by government clients and WhatsApp said it had not been able to identify the clients who ordered the alleged attacks...
From The Rest Is History at 2025-02-03 00:30:00
536. Emperors of Rome: Caligula, Incest and Insanity (Part 3) (GLT6260105026.mp3?updated=1738534057)
"Enough of the Princeps, what remains to be described, is the monster..." The Roman emperor Caligula endures as one of the most notorious figures in not only Roman history, but the history of the world. Famed as a byword for sexual degeneracy, cruelty and corruption, the account of his life written by the Roman historian Suetonius has, above all, enshrined him as such for posterity. Throughout the biography there is a whiff of dark comedy, as Caligula is cast as the ultimate demented caesar, corrupted absolutely by his absolute power and driven into depravity. Born of a sacred and illustrious bloodline to adored parents, his early life - initially so full of promise - was shadowed by tragedy, death, and danger, the members of his family picked off one by one by the emperor Tiberius. Nevertheless, Caligula succeeded, through his own cynical intelligence and cunning manipulation of public spectacle, to launch himself from the status of despised orphan, to that of master of Rome. Yet, before long his seemingly propitious reign, was spiralling into a nightmare of debauchery and terror…. Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss the most notorious emperor in Rome: Caligula, a man said to have slept with his sister, transformed his palace into a brothel, cruelly humiliated senators, and even made his horse into a consul. But what is the truth behind these horrific legends? Was Caligula really more monster than man...? Pre-order Tom Holland's new translation of 'The Lives of the Caesars' here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/279727/the-lives-of-the-caesars-by-suetonius/9780241186893 _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude Video Editor: Jack Meek Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
From The Week in Westminster at 2025-02-01 11:02:00
Caroline Wheeler from The Sunday Times assesses the latest developments at Westminster.
Following Rachel Reeves' speech setting out a series of major announcements on infrastructure projects, including backing plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport, Caroline speaks to Labour MP, Josh Simons and crossbench peer, Richard Harrington, who chairs the manufacturers organisation Made UK about how to achieve growth in the UK economy.
On the fifth anniversary of the UK’s official departure from the EU, the chair of the Foreign Affairs select committee Emily Thornberry and the former Conservative MP and leader of the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt discuss the state of play in EU-UK relations.
The Conservative peer, Charlotte Owen is campaigning to stop the rise of deep fake online pornography and she discusses this with Caroline and "Jodie", a victim of deep fake porn.
And, the Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle explains the importance of marking Holocaust Memorial Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in parliament.
From More or Less: Behind the Stats at 2025-02-01 06:00:00
Are quantum computers already super-powerful? (p0kncs6l.mp3)
Google claim their latest quantum computer chip is able to process something in five minutes it would take a normal computer 10 septillion years to figure out.
As this is a massive amount longer than the entire history of the known universe, that seems to suggest the chip is extremely powerful.
But when you understand what’s going on, the claim doesn’t seem quite so impressive. Dr Peter Leek, a quantum computer scientist from Oxford University, explains the key context.
Presenter: Charlotte McDonald Producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Andrew Garratt Editor: Richard Vadon
From A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry at 2025-01-31 20:56:19
Collections: On the Gracchi, Part II: Gaius Gracchus
Last time, we started our retrospective on the Gracchi looking at the elder brother Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and his term as tribune of the plebs in 133 BCE; this week, we’ll wrap up this look by discussing Tiberius’ younger brother Gaius Sempronius Gracchus and his terms as tribune of the plebs in 123 and 122 … Continue reading Collections: On the Gracchi, Part II: Gaius Gracchus
From Ahoy at 2025-01-31 20:00:39
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ahoy Merch: https://ahoy-shop.fourthwall.com/ 00:00 Introduction 00:55 Surgical History 01:34 Industrial Use 03:04 Military Use 03:29 Use in Horror 05:11 The Chainsaw in Video Games 09:39 Conclusion