Proud to have successfully hit the ground running for the start of 2024. This is in some ways a fantastic thing, as these are crucual starts to the year. But it’s also a bad thing, as I’ve also fallen behind on important objectives for my short, medium and long-term well-being. This means that I absolutely have to at least let go of the pressure to deliver something once a week. As alluded to in the 2 year anniversary, there are problems I need to address. The good news is that I’m not really going anywhere, I’m just putting this out there to give myself permission to take it slow, at least for the next two months. I’m not out of the fight, but I need to very much ensure I’m maximizing my ability to engage long-term. If I can do this at all, it needs to be more of a marathon than a sprint.
Objectives for the Rest of Early 2024
The goal is to maximize the time spent on this project continuing to research ways to break new ground, rather than focusing on the same (unfortunately quite bleak) picture. A lot of time is going to be going into continuing to build cyberfreedom.ca and trying to get people interested in contributing. I’ve fallen behind on properly documenting (and improving) the themes I use to build the sites I run. Ultimately, the goal is to find ways to empower others to take on important work.
Cyber Freedom Canada is a crucially important project. Even if you aren’t Canadian (a majority of my audience isn’t) I still believe that it is immensely valuable for the broader community to learn how to participate in, but also start useful beehives. If I’ve learned anything since dipping my feet in this fight, it’s that it is so much bigger than any of us. We only stand a chance if we put our best selves forward, use our minds to innovate, and pray for all the courage we can withstand.
Deliverables
The plan until further notice is to aim for one article a month, shooting for quality. I fully expect to exceed this, but the point is to put my health first.
In this crucial time for me, your feedback, encouragement, and support means a great deal.
January Recap
Digital Autonomy and the Arts: Anne Gibbons
I’m pleased to have had the opportunity to discuss Digital Autonomy & The Arts with Anne Gibbons . Anne is a courageous cartoonist and an inspiration to those who want to learn to make their mark on the canvas o…
SoundCloud Censors Geopolitics and Empire
So I have been a loyal customer to Germany-based SoundCloud since 2015, where my podcast has been hosted…and now they have finally jumped on the censorship bandwagon…by deleting one of my interviews …
Securing your Data: Backups
Overview Backups can feel like a chore, but they’re actually very empowering. Beyond the peace of mind knowing that you’re much less likely to lose data, you’re also in a better position to make chang…
Data Shedding
This video is a summary of a report on how programmatic advertising can be weaponized for mass real-time surveillance. This report is highly troubling but not particularly surprising. If you want to …
Substack Roundup
Items of Interest
Privacy-oriented X front-end Nitter is shutting down following changes to guest accounts
Religious Groups Criticize Government Surveillance of “Religious Texts” Transactions
Running a law firm on Linux - a year or so in
Financial Transaction Freedom 2024
New ID proposed in US for people released from prison
The card would comply with the REAL ID Act, but little else is known about the proposed card or the backing program. Bearing a photo of the holder, the card has biometrics relevance, but the bill says nothing about chips or a fully digital version.
Pathologist Arne Burkhardt Final Interview
New Beehive Discovered! Privacy.Sexy
Open-source tool to enforce privacy & security best-practices on Windows, macOS and Linux, because privacy is sexy
FTC bans data broker from selling Americans’ location data
What Happens When the Internet Shuts Down?
All DMCA Notices Filed Against TorrentFreak in 2023 Were Bogus
Countries tighten screws on biometric SIM registration amid rise in mobile phone fraud
Websites blocking abusive AI bots are blocking RSS users too
Swiss government accused of massive online surveillance
💡🕵️ Selfhost An Anonymous Blog
Film Companies Counter Reddit: “An IP Address is Not a Person”
Hi Gabriel,
Glad you taking time for you health. I have been concerned for you ever since I saw you picture in substack. I know Tonika and will be talking with her tomorrow by phone. Your health and welfare is ground zero for everything you do.
Your biome is critical for your mind and body. Take your time to look into this. Ancient cultures know this especially ASIA. They know it so well that it is second nature.
best,
william
Do what is needed, and post as much or as little as you think is appropriate. We'll be here. ;-)