Notices by Matt Blaze (mattblaze@federate.social)

Buried in the avalanche of vengeful executive orders and executive social media posts is the fact that Trump has revoked the security clearances of several lawyers in private practice who specialize in national security cases (Mark Zaid, etc). No reasons given other than that he doesn't like positions they've taken or clients they represent (which, of course, is their job).

Especially if they represent criminal defendants, the 6th Amendment implications are interesting.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/08/trump-revokes-security-clearances-blinken-james-bragg/78364862007/

He also apparently barred them from entering federal property, including prosecutors' offices (where they might need to meet with opposing counsel), and perhaps even courthouses and congressional offices (even though those are different branches of government).

The revocations are obviously arbitrary - Trump essentially admits this was done for revenge - but they also raise some interesting issues. Security clearances are an executive branch concept, and (almost) no one has a "right" to access classified information. But defendants also have the right to counsel of their choosing, and the government should't be able to dictate who is allow to litigate against it or punish people for lawfully exercising their first amendment rights.

The barring from federal property is also questionable. Will Trump next try to ban Democrats from national parks?

Anyone know of a USB-C power supply with multiple ports (and that can negotiate the usual range of voltages) that does NOT briefly drop power to every port every time something is connected to any port?

(This seems to be an annoyingly common behavior among all the major brands I've tried.)

Actual experience >> speculation.

Thanks!

DC nerditry: An NNSA survey helicopter (N2415) is doing a low, street by street pattern over DC. This is for a radiological survey to collect baseline data ahead of January’s inauguration.

Good time to bring your isotopes up to the roof.

Politicics aside, I hope Biden is OK, and that he lives long to see himself celebrated for setting aside his personal ambitions for a greater good. It must have been very difficult for him.

In all seriousness, this snippet from the revised article is astonishing.

An officer - an ESU sergeant no less - accidentally firing a gun during a planned operation to remove protestors who were merely *trespassing* isn't "abnormal" enough to be worth mentioning? If one of the protesters had accidentally fired a gun, would they have mentioned *that*?

And the mayor knew about this when he was publicly congratulating everyone for how "professionally" and "flawlessly" this was handled.

Come on.

I just want to point out that while I'm not a trained law enforcement officer, I've managed to successfully use a flashlight numerous times without shooting at anything. Mostly this is because I use special flashlights that don't have guns attached.

Oops. An NYPD officer accidentally discharged their gun during the removal of protesters from Columbia’s Hamilton Hall. Fortunately no one was hit. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/03/nyregion/nypd-columbia-shooting-hamilton.html?unlocked_article_code=1.pE0.v6lm.u1Vvy-U6J88X&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Someone just announced that I’m being blocked for “belittling earthquakes”. I thought they were kidding, but I can’t view the account.

Doubling down. Stupid little earthquakes, too cowardly to even come above ground where we can see them.

Pleased to report that our* new paper, "Bugs In Our Pockets: The Risks of Client-Side Scanning", has been published by the Oxford Journal of Cybersecurity. In it, we examine the folly of using client-side software to detect and report CSAM images.

https://academic.oup.com/cybersecurity/article/10/1/tyad020/7590463

* Harold Abelson, Ross Anderson, Steven M Bellovin, Josh Benaloh, Matt Blaze, Jon Callas, Whitfield Diffie, Susan Landau, Peter G Neumann, Ronald L Rivest, Jeffrey I Schiller, Bruce Schneier, Vanessa Teague, Carmela Troncoso

@Gargron it seems like it would shake the entire building.

@Gargron Klpsch something or other. Huge speaker. Says it’s 1600 watts, which is scary.

I just discovered, in a closet, a VERY large powered subwoofer left behind by the previous occupant of my house. I now have an efficient way to become the least popular person in the neighborhood.

Hey! Your tax deductible donations to the Tor Project will be matched 1:1, so now is an excellent time to support privacy and anonymity on the 'net. https://blog.torproject.org/friends-of-tor-match-2023/

(Disclosure: I'm a proud "Friend of Tor".)

In 2020, the emergence of COVID-19 gave us a stark, terrifying, but very valuable lesson in how thin our collective values are once push comes to shove. Within WEEKS after lockdowns started, the op-ed class repeatedly suggested that

- We should suspend child labor laws (they claimed, incorrectly, that children weren't harmed by COVID)

- The elderly have already lived long enough and should be willing to die now to help the economy.

- The weak and compromised should be regarded as expendable.

Troll/reply guy tried to get me to back down from my unequivocal statement that there's no evidence the 2020 election was stolen, claiming it's better to "meet people halfway" if I want to convince them.

No. As a researcher and educator, I believe in providing clear, accurate information.

The "evidence" that the election was stolen is made up bullshit. To call it anything else is a disservice.

If someone claims that 2+2=5, I'm not going to try to get them to compromise that it's 4.5.

My biggest complaint about the Apple watch is that it isn't very good at, well, being a wristwatch. I like the phone integration with notifications, etc, but I gave up on my earlier generation Apple watches because the display would only decide to turn on MOST of the time when I turned my wrist to look at it.

About a year ago, I tried again with the Ultra, with an always-on display, which mostly addresses my complaint. Except the second had still turns off when it decides you aren't looking.