I’ve been really busy researching and writing things for the last week or so. And whenever I had some free time, I’ve been streaming on Twitch. I fear this blog is one of the things I’ve neglected a bit. So I have some catching up to do in updating you on all the things I’ve been up to. For starters, here’s a recording of my last stream of The Outer Worlds, where I finished my business on Edgewater and took off in The Unreliable for the first time:
Coming soon. …Maybe. If I can get it off the ground. Website is almost done.
I’ve got a lot of streaming planned on Twitch this week and over the weekend. Check out my streaming schedule. I have podcast recordings, Elite Dangerous, some art and a Cobi build scheduled. And I might add some more stuff as the week goes on. See you in Twitch chat, I hope!
With all this Joe Biden election malarkey I got kind of distracted from telling you about the latest Private Citizen episode.
So, let’s get you updated before I record a new one this week. Episode 46 was published on Wednesday and in it, I talk about the recent raids against suspects who supposedly spread hate speech online and what these police actions mean for people concerned about their privacy when using the internet.
→ The Private Citizen 46: Fighting Hate Speech vs. Fighting Free Speech
Police raids across Europe to fight hate speech sound like a good idea. But what does “hate speech” actually mean? And does fighting it actually help? Or will it endanger your freedom of speech and maybe even your privacy?
You can subscribe to the show via a number of methods:
COVID Apps Don’t Work, So Why Don’t We Concentrate on Things That Do?
The techno-nerds have figured out that the German COVID-19 app isn’t working. Which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. But it does.
In his new piece, Glenn Greenwald eloquently expresses much about Trump and peoples’ reaction to him that I always thought as well:
→ No Matter the Liberal Metric Chosen, the Bush/Cheney Administration Was Far Worse Than Trump
It should go without saying, though I know it does not, that none of this is a defense of these Trump failings or an attempt to mitigate the harms they caused. What this argument is, instead, is a vehement rejection of the grotesque historical revisionism that seeks to erase and whitewash the far worse moral evils, acts of violence and assertions of lawlessness that preceded him, all in order to propagate myths of American Exceptionalism and, worse, to rehabilitate the reputations and careers of the political and media cretins who perpetrated them.
Those who want to insist that Trump’s evils are unprecedented – such that their own service to or support for prior presidents should not exclude them from the realm of the Patriotic, the Decent and the Noble – should be prepared to explain which acts of Trump’s compete with the destruction of Iraq, or the implementation of a global regime of torture, or the “rendition” kidnappings and CIA black sites and illegal domestic eavesdropping under Bush and Obama, or imprisoning people for decades with no due process, and on and on and on.
Let’s Unfuck the News!
Watching what’s been happening in the news over the last few weeks has shown me that the media mainstream needs to be fought tooth and nail by conscientious journalists. I’m here to do so.
Observations on today’s US Presidential Election and what it might mean for the media.
The Trouble with Fact Checks
Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I feel that if you publish fact checks, you should be able to interpret data correctly.
The Private Citizen 45: Quid Pro Quo
In a special episode of my podcast, released today, me and fellow critical thinker Michael Mullan-Jensen discuss the US Presidential Election and what it means for privacy and your ability to vote freely.
At the beginning of this year, I decided to lose some weight. And when the lockdowns started happening, that really propelled me forward in this respect. Well, I must say at least my fitness project is something that’s been very positive for me this year. I’ve reached my weight loss goal and I’m, so far, managing to hold weight and gain muscles at the same time. And now there’s a second lockdown on the way. So it can only get even better.
The Private Citizen 44: With the First Link, the Chain is Forged
The latest episode of my privacy podcast covers the second German lockdown and more details on the Cyberbunker case.
Explaining what I think about people who wear face masks. Especially those, who have to tell the world about it. Where they make mistakes and why I think I made similar mistakes in the past.
Springsteen’s new album Letter To You is out. I’d missed it because I’ve been pretty busy. I’m not completely sure what to think of it yet. Well aside from what a shame it is that we have an E Street album and there’s no way for the boys to go on tour with it.
What I can say is that the Song for Orphans is an instant classic. Probably because it was originally written for Born to Run.
Now don’t you grow on empty legends or lonely cradle songs
Billy the Kid was just a bowery boy who made a living twirling his guns
The night she’s long and lanky and she speaks in a mother tongue
She lullabies the refugees with an amplifier’s humSo break me now big Mama as Old Faithful breaks the day
Believe me my good Linda, the aurora will shine the way
The Confederacy’s in my name now, the hounds are held at bay
The axis needs a stronger arm, do you feel your muscles play
I had originally planned to record – and stream – an episode of The Private Citizen today at 17:00 CET. Sadly, I won’t be able to do this as I’m too busy today with other work. I will try again tomorrow at the same time. I’m sorry if you had planned to watch the stream today. I just couldn’t get the show prepared in time. I hope you’ll be able to watch it tomorrow.