A weekend's worth of links: Short hits for a long weekend.

https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/115118376525001318

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Hey look at this

* Thinking Ahead to the Full Military Takeover of Cities https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/thinking-ahead-to-the-full-military

* Framework is working on a giant haptic touchpad, Trackpoint nub, and eGPU for its laptops https://www.theverge.com/news/766161/framework-egpu-haptic-touchpad-trackpoint-nub

* National says "fuck you" on the right to repair https://norightturn.blogspot.com/2025/08/national-says-fuck-you-on-right-to.html?m=1

* Tax the Rich. They’ll Stay https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/zohran-mamdani-tax-rich-new-york-city-1235414327/ (h/t Kottke)

* Welcome to the Free Online Tax Preparation Feedback Survey https://irsresearch.gov1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ewDJ6DeBj3ockGa (h/t Stefan Jones)

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* Citizen Is Using AI to Generate Crime Alerts With No Human Review. It’s Making a Lot of Mistakes https://www.404media.co/citizen-is-using-ai-to-generate-crime-alerts-with-no-human-review-its-making-a-lot-of-mistakes/

* How To Argue With An AI Booster https://www.wheresyoured.at/how-to-argue-with-an-ai-booster/

* We must fight age verification with all we have https://www.usermag.co/p/we-must-fight-age-verification-with

* Sqinks: Transreal Cyberpunk Love Story https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rudyrucker/sqinks

* LibreOffice: a Strategic Asset for Governments and Enterprises Focused on Digital Sovereignty and Privacy https://blog.documentfoundation.org/blog/2025/08/25/libreoffice-25-8-backgrounder/

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#20yrsago Court: DMCA can’t prohibit third-party repairs https://web.archive.org/web/20050912004536/https://www.corante.com/copyfight/archives/2005/08/24/fed_circuit_smacks_down_bad_dmca_decision_re_independent_repair_techs.php

#20yrsago Chinese government mandating 3-hour caps on MMO playing https://www.gamespot.com/articles/china-govt-steps-up-limits-on-online-gaming/1100-6131845/

#20yrsago ItPlaysQuake: reviews of Quake-ports on odd hardware https://web.archive.org/web/20051122053035/http://www.itplaysquake.com/

#20yrsago DRM != SSL https://memex.craphound.com/2005/08/24/drm-ssl/

#20yrsago FBI stages fake wedding, invites mobsters, arrests gift-bearing guests https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-aug-23-na-gang23-story.html

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Hey look at this

* A Different Kind of Tension https://jonathanlethem.com/

* Why the Internet is Turning to Shit https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/why-the-internet-is-turning-to-shit

* Did this Kid Use AI to Fake Research About How Great AI Is? https://skepchick.org/2025/08/did-this-kid-use-ai-to-fake-research-about-how-great-ai-is/

* Is it illegal to not buy ads on X? Experts explain the FTC’s bizarre ad fight. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/08/is-it-illegal-to-not-buy-ads-on-x-experts-explain-the-ftcs-bizarre-ad-fight/

* Nomad Cycles: E-Bikes made with soul, not just to be sold! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nomadcycles/nomad-cycles-e-bikes-made-with-soul-not-just-to-be-sold (h/t Nathan)

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#20yrsago Beastie Boys release vocals-only tracks to encourage remixers https://web.archive.org/web/20050930220256/http://www.beastieboys.com/remixers.php

#20yrsago What was in Buddy Holly’s plane-crash overnight bag? https://web.archive.org/web/20051023162927/http://www.rockin50s.com/bag.htm

#20yrsago Warner Music CEO calls for iPod taxes, levies — twirls moustache and cackles, clatters away on tiny, ebony hooves https://web.archive.org/web/20050910183217/http://news.com.com/Warner+Music+readies+CD-free+e-label/2100-1027_3-5841355.html

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Hey look at this

* I reported from an ICE action on Sansome and all I got was a face full of pepper spray https://sf.gazetteer.co/i-reported-from-an-ice-action-on-sansome-and-all-i-got-was-a-face-full-of-pepper-spray (h/t JWZ)

* When Trump's Brain Broke https://www.unpopularfront.news/p/when-trumps-brain-broke

* Bank forced to rehire workers after lying about chatbot productivity, union says https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/08/bank-forced-to-rehire-workers-after-lying-about-chatbot-productivity-union-says/

* I Made a Floppy Disk from Scratch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBiFGhnXsh8 (h/t Kottke)

* America's Kryptonite https://orphansandempires.substack.com/p/americas-kryptonite

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* How Uber Became A Cash-Generating Machine https://len-sherman.medium.com/how-uber-became-a-cash-generating-machine-ef78e7a97230

* Agentic Browser Security: Indirect Prompt Injection https://brave.com/blog/comet-prompt-injection/

* Burner Phone 101 https://rebeccawilliams.info/burner-phone-101/

* Commonwealth Bank backtracks on AI job cuts, apologises for 'error' as call volumes rise https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-21/cba-backtracks-on-ai-job-cuts-as-chatbot-lifts-call-volumes/105679492

* It Took Many Years And Billions Of Dollars, But Microsoft Finally Invented A Calculator That Is Wrong Sometimes https://defector.com/it-took-many-years-and-billions-of-dollars-but-microsoft-finally-invented-a-calculator-that-is-wrong-sometimes?giftLink=50fb6d3bb4d7516dfa13deb4e27638de

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* DOJ Insider Blows the Whistle on Pay-to-Play Antitrust Corruption https://prospect.org/power/2025-08-19-doj-insider-blows-whistle-pay-to-play-antitrust-corruption/

* CEO pay at top US companies accelerates at fastest pace in four years https://archive.is/es4bc

* Tea’s Founder Convinced Women to Spill Their Secrets, Then Exposed Them to the World https://www.404media.co/how-teas-founder-convinced-millions-of-women-to-spill-their-secrets-then-exposed-them-to-the-world/

* Robinhood Tries to Rebrand Sports Betting as Investing https://gizmodo.com/robinhood-tries-to-rebrand-sports-betting-as-investing-2000645176

* The State of Independent Technology Research 2025 https://independenttechresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/The-State-of-Independent-Technology-Research-Power-in-Numbers.pdf

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* Google admits anti-competitive conduct involving Google Search in Australia https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/google-admits-anti-competitive-conduct-involving-google-search-in-australia

* The twilight of tech unilateralism https://www.programmablemutter.com/p/the-twilight-of-tech-unilateralism

* MIT report: 95% of generative AI pilots at companies are failing https://fortune.com/2025/08/18/mit-report-95-percent-generative-ai-pilots-at-companies-failing-cfo/

* ‘Ad Blocking is Not Piracy’ Decision Overturned By Top German Court https://torrentfreak.com/ad-blocking-is-not-piracy-decision-overturned-by-top-german-court-250819/

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* Sabot in the Age of AI https://algorithmic-sabotage.github.io/asrg/posts/sabot-in-the-age-of-ai/ (h/t JWZ)

* Bestselling author Karen Joy Fowler offers character naming rights in fundraiser https://clarionwriteathon.com/prizes/auction.php

* LLMs’ “simulated reasoning” abilities are a “brittle mirage,” researchers find https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/08/researchers-find-llms-are-bad-at-logical-inference-good-at-fluent-nonsense/

* Pank-a-Squith https://www.neatorama.com/2025/08/14/Pank-a-Squith-The-Womens-Suffrage-Board-Game/ (h/t Neatorama)

* Ray’s Day, what is it? https://raysday.net/en/

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* Australian court finds Apple, Google guilty of being anticompetitive https://www.ghacks.net/2025/08/12/australian-court-finds-apple-google-guilty-of-being-anticompetitive/

* Fobazi’s road to recovery: Kidney and liver transplant https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-fobazis-road-to-recovery

* J.R. “Bob” Dobbs and the Church of the SubGenius https://dobbstown.org/things-to-buy/

* Quiet politics and the minimum wage https://dirkmjk.nl/en/453/quiet-politics-and-the-minimum-wage

* Reddit will block the Internet Archive https://www.theverge.com/news/757538/reddit-internet-archive-wayback-machine-block-limit

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Hey look at this

* It’s not just Figma https://economicpopulist.substack.com/p/its-not-just-figma

* These GOP Lawmakers Referred Constituents to the CFPB for Help. Then They Voted to Gut the Agency https://www.propublica.org/article/cfpb-budget-cuts-gop-darrell-issa-john-cornyn

* The LLMentalist Effect: how chat-based Large Language Models replicate the mechanisms of a psychic’s con https://softwarecrisis.dev/letters/llmentalist/

* AI Is A Money Trap https://www.wheresyoured.at/ai-is-a-money-trap/

* Precarious Employment in Precarious Futures https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/precarious-employment-in-precarious-futures/

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* How 'paper terrorism' hijacked a state system with bogus claims https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-07-30/fake-filings-real-consequences-how-paper-terrorism-is-burying-a-state-system-with-bogus-claims (h/t Super Punch)

* The Right of Return, from Arkansas to Israel https://coreyrobin.com/2025/08/02/the-right-of-return-from-arkansas-to-israel/

* We Need a Strategy to Win Zohran’s Agenda. Call It Plan Z. https://jacobin.com/2025/08/zohran-bernie-party-power-strategy/

* Bottom of the Rabbit Hole https://welovetheswitch.com/theswitch/episodes/

* The Ancient Order of Bali https://www.damninteresting.com/the-ancient-order-of-bali/ (h/t Pete Harbeson)

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* A business model for hyperactive smoke alarms https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1945959030851035223.html (h/t Gregory Cherlin)

* Britain’s New Left-Wing Party May Be Devastating for Labour https://jacobin.com/2025/08/britain-new-left-wing-party/

* Making America Epstein Again https://prospect.org/power/2025-08-01-making-america-epstein-again/

* Thirty-Two Short Stories About Death in Prison https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/08/thirty-two-stories-jeffrey-epstein-prison-death/596029/ (h/t Gregory Cherlin)

* LIDER MIT PALESTINE https://lidermitpalestine.bandcamp.com/album/lider-mit-palestine-new-yiddish-songs-of-grief-fury-and-love (h/t Roz Doctorow)

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* Technically Radical: On the Unrecognized Potential of Tech Workers and Hackers https://wedontagree.net/technically-radical-on-the-unrecognized-potential-of-tech-workers-and-hackers (h/t Danny O'Brien)

* Canada’s Bill C-2 Opens The Floodgates To U.S. Surveillance https://www.techdirt.com/2025/07/30/canadas-bill-c-2-opens-the-floodgates-to-u-s-surveillance/ (h/t Naked Capitalism)

* Epic just won its antitrust lawsuit against Google again https://www.theverge.com/news/716856/epic-v-google-win-in-appeals-court

* Once Upon a KATAMARI https://www.gematsu.com/games/once-upon-a-katamari

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#10yrsago TSA Behavioral Detection Program’s awful newsletter mocks travellers’ worries https://theintercept.com/2015/07/31/tsas-behavior-detection-program-newsletter-ridiculous-offensive/

#10yrsago German prosecutors give spies a walk, but investigate journalists for “treason” https://netzpolitik.org/2015/federal-office-for-the-protection-of-the-constitution-brings-a-charge-the-federal-public-prosecutor-investigates-against-us-concerning-our-sources/

#10yrsago Google diversity boss promised “UK’s first women’s history museum,” built a Jack the Ripper “museum” https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/exhibitions/museum-which-promised-to-celebrate-east-end-women-now-devoted-to-jack-the-ripper-10423690.html

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* Peter Beinart - "Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning" | The Daily Show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5kXCdzt_us (h/t Gord Doctorow)

* Venezuelan Men Sent to CECOT on What They Endured https://www.propublica.org/article/venezuelan-men-cecot-interviews-trump (h/t Nelson Minar)

* The future of MAGA after Trump https://www.garbageday.email/p/the-future-of-maga-after-trump-7a59b37c5e8aa178

* Sundman figures it out! https://johnsundman.substack.com/ (h/t Ken MacLeod)

* US intelligence pushed DOJ to push HPE-Juniper merger https://www.axios.com/2025/07/30/merger-hpe-juniper-networks-national-security

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* Lina Khan: Democrats Can Learn from Zohran Mamdani https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/opinion/lina-khan-mamdani-democrats-small-business.html?unlocked_article_code=1.aE8.ImpN.jTAaetDTuJYy&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

* 8647 https://www.jwz.org/blog/2025/07/8647/

* Into the Abyss: Trump's Bizarro New Deal https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/into-the-abyss-trumps-bizarro-new

* Block Google login popups https://mas.to/@markwyner/114941092519598133

* Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/try-the-mosquito-bucket-of-death/ (h/t Hacker News)

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* The Quintessential Urban Design of ‘Sesame Street’ https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/realestate/sesame-street-design-over-the-years.html?unlocked_article_code=1.aE8.NvIG.0sey-i206zqA (h/t Kottke)

* Is the Tesla Diner rigging reviews? https://protos.com/is-the-tesla-diner-rigging-reviews/

* Use Their ID https://use-their-id.com/

* The Tea app and the future of online surveillance https://www.garbageday.email/p/the-tea-app-and-the-future-of-online-surveillance-16aa944529b0cb6e

* ‘Fair Use’ Prevails as Library of Congress Wins DMCA Anti-Circumvention Battle https://torrentfreak.com/fair-use-prevails-as-library-of-congress-wins-dmca-anti-circumvention-battle-250729/

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