Politics
How to secure your phone before attending a protest
Back in June 2020, when this article was first written, people were taking to the streets to organize for justice and protest against systemic racism and police brutality. There have been several other flashpoints for protests since then (for example, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade), but the recent activities of ICE, especially…
A new cold war is brewing over rare earth minerals
The future of everything from smartphones, to military equipment, to electric vehicles hangs on 17 rare earth minerals and the magnets that they’re made into. And China, the world’s largest refiner and producer, is tightening its grip and threatening the US’ largest automakers. Over the last 30 years, China has methodically cornered the market on…
The GTA 6 trailer makes Rockstar’s changed politics very clear
Back in 2022, Bloomberg reported that “Rockstar Games cleaned up its frat-boy culture – and Grand Theft Auto, too.” The changes took shape in different ways, from less crunch to a narrowing of the gender pay gap for workers at the studio, and to the introduction of the game’s first playable female character, a Latina…
The Trump administration is coming for student protesters
The Trump administration is embarking on a massive university speech crackdown, starting with Columbia University, where it’s demanding external control of entire departments and punishment for student activists. Its first test case, Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student with a green card, offers a hint of what’s to come: a state of intentional chaos that undermines…
TP-Link Router Ban Is Mostly About Politics
With US government agencies and lawmakers reportedly considering a ban on TP-Link’s products in the United States, one might think the company would rank high on the list of networking vendors with the most vulnerabilities currently being exploited by cyberattackers. Not by a long shot. The Chinese firm, whose products are popular among consumers and…