Doug

I love tech and human endeavour​.
My feed is a balance of opinions which may differ from my own.

[Craig Raw 🐦 @craigraw]

My attempt to protect users from scam apps on the @AppStore has gotten my Apple Developer account flagged for termination - ironically, for "dishonest activity".

Unless it's reversed by June 30, all new installs of Sparrow Wallet will fail, and development on macOS will end.

The context: since 2023, more than a dozen fake "Sparrow" apps have appeared on the App Store, as recently as April this year. Users have contacted me after losing their savings, in some cases their life savings, to these impersonators.

I'm the developer of the real Sparrow Wallet, a desktop app, and I hold the registered US trademarks for the name and logo. I have publicly warned @Apple and the community about these fake apps from early 2024, but they keep appearing.

The app @Apple flagged was a placeholder that was never published. Its only purpose was to warn users that Sparrow is desktop-only and that other "Sparrow" apps aren't mine. This approach may have been misguided, but there was nothing dishonest about it.

I'm confident this is an automated misclassification that Apple would reverse on review - but I may be terminated before a human ever looks at my appeal. The cost would fall on @Apple's own users: blocked installs and no updates for a tool people rely on, which opens the door for more fakes.

If you value Sparrow, a repost would help. @AppleSupport

[Rukshan Fernando @therealrukshan]

You cannot "Welcome to Country" men and women who have already paid the ultimate sacrifice, as if they are foreigners in the very land they defended.

You cannot claim diversity is our strength while paying lip service to a performative ritual whose very words exclude everyone else as outsiders to that country.

You cannot claim indigenous history is to be revered while promoting the erasure of Australian history by denying its rightful recognition.

Australia is a land of many unnecessary contradictions. The longer this continues and society remains fractured, the faster others, far removed from any care for either side, will take advantage for their own ends.

[Doug @doug3rd]

Is AI coming for our bureaucrats jobs also?
What will it automate?

[Senator Babet @senatorbabet]

I have a bill before the Senate that would trigger a referendum to let the Australian people decide whether to enshrine free speech in our Constitution.

This afternoon I will move a motion to begin debate in the Senate. The wording is attached.

If you support free speech, sign the petition:
https://t.co/Yj8gYR6CoA

[Doug @doug3rd]

@grok @TrustlessState @faizannriaz How many tails does an f15 have @grok and how many in that video?

[David Sacks @DavidSacks]

True. And guess where those Biden AI staffers went to work as soon as the admin was over? Anthropic.

[End Wokeness @EndWokeness]

"The warmth of collectivism" from space

[Tommy Robinson 🇬🇧 @TRobinsonNewEra]

“The individual is nothing; the collective is everything.” - Stalin

“The interests of the individual must be subordinated to the interests of the collective.” - Mao

“Everything in the State, nothing outside the State, nothing against the State.” - Mussolini

“We’ll replace rugged individualism with collectivism.” - Mamdani

Don’t be afraid to call out objective evil when you hear it.

[Grok @grok]

Estimates of deaths under communist regimes vary widely (20-150 million total), often including executions, famines, and forced labor. Debates exist on causation and intent.

Key examples:
- USSR (Stalin era): 20-60M (Holodomor, purges, Gulags)
- China (Mao era): 40-80M (Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution)
- Cambodia (Khmer Rouge): 1.5-3M
- North Korea: 1-3M
- Others (e.g., Ethiopia, Vietnam): 1-5M combined

Sources: Black Book of Communism (94M); critics argue overcounts (e.g., including wars/famines).

[Senator Babet @senatorbabet]

I’ve been contacted by American X users stating that X has been instructed by the Australian eSafety commissar to remove videos. It’s not up to the eSafety commissioner to dictate what Americans can and can’t view or what legal content Australians can and can’t view. The office must be disbanded.

[Avi Yemini @OzraeliAvi]

So, no machetes — and yet the violence continues. Almost like it’s the thugs, not the hardware.

Crazy thought: ban them instead?

[Balaji @balajis]

Only invest in UST what you can afford to lose.

[R3tards Down Under @r3tarddownunder]

Found a retard who wants you to stop polluting the air while his most recent purchase is a private jet 🛩️

[Doug @doug3rd]

I like what @okx are building

[David Sacks @DavidSacks]

This is an absolute rock-bottom moment for the Legacy Media. According to Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan, the Holocaust happened because the genocidal Nazi regime, which defined totalitarianism for the 20th century, allowed too much free speech.

How did we get here? The media is so committed to the narrative that “Trump is Hitler” that anything the administration does must be portrayed as fascist. Hence, if VP Vance gives a speech urging the Europeans to live up their values on free speech, it must now be the case that free speech is a Nazi value. History must be retconned accordingly. Goebbels himself would be impressed by the audacity of this Big Lie!

You can see the hesitation on Brennan’s face and hear it in her voice, as she tries to expound on this chain of thought. She starts to realize the foolishness of her argument, but it’s too late for her to turn back, leading her into an absurd cul-de-sac.

This represent the entire Legacy Media. Their pathological hatred of Trump has led them into a cul-de-sac of absurdity and irrelevance. They have zero credibility left.

[Senator Babet @senatorbabet]

The government’s new hate speech laws are vague, overreaching, and a direct attack on free speech.

Instead of targeting real extremists, they will criminalise everyday Australians for expressing unpopular opinions.

This is anti free speech, anti democratic, and anti Australian. I proudly voted NO.

I stand almost alone in my attempts to protect free speech for all Australians.

Tomorrow I will attempt to introduce into the Senate a bill, which will give the Australian people the opportunity via referendum to enshrine free speech in our constitution.

Stand with me, if you haven't already, Join The Movement - https://t.co/ZLxuLtG2dL

[Nayib Bukele @nayibbukele]

This guy said we used Bitcoin for money laundering and corruption 😂

[Roman Storm 🇺🇸 🌪️ @rstormsf]

My name is Roman Storm, and I am one of the founders of Tornado Cash, a non-custodial privacy protocol.

I am being prosecuted for writing open-source code that enables private crypto transactions in a completely non-custodial manner. This prosecution represents a terrifying criminalization of privacy.

The charges against me threaten to criminalize software development itself. If successful, the implications could extend far beyond the crypto industry, impacting every software developer. I face up to 45 years in prison on charges including operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and sanctions evasion.

This case has already had a chilling effect on developers working on software tools. Recently, a developer filed a lawsuit against the DOJ, seeking relief because my case has made them fearful of releasing new software.
https://t.co/kkhXrxJVnI

Additionally, there is significant confusion around the 1960 charge (operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business), as different government agencies have conflicting interpretations of the law.
https://t.co/BRKR0pWTaH

“This prosecution threatens to criminalize software development itself,” said Keri Axel of Waymaker LLP, my legal counsel.

American entrepreneur and politician @VivekGRamaswamy commented, “You can’t go after the developers of code. What you actually need to do is go after individual bad actors who are breaking the laws that already exist.”
https://t.co/WTn1weyoZO

Multiple amicus briefs have been filed in support of my defense by the DeFi Education Fund (@fund_defi), Coin Center (@coincenter), and Blockchain Association (@BlockchainAssn):

https://t.co/467XKatDuP

https://t.co/68p4WcMIP9

https://t.co/kzdZ39Qvrr

The 5th Circuit Court has already ruled that Tornado Cash sanctions were unlawful:
https://t.co/Vp4FACqnn8

However, the DOJ has dismissed this ruling as irrelevant:
https://t.co/tna6p4Nvnr

My trial is set for April 14, 2025.