All Posts

Since 2012, over two thousand environmental defenders have been killed globally for the simple act of standing up to those who would destroy their land, water, and communities. In 2023 alone, 196 defenders were killed, with Colombia leading at 79 deaths, followed by Brazil (25), Mexico (18), and Honduras (18). Indigenous peoples, who make up just 6% of the global population, accounted for 43% of these victims. This isn’t a coincidence; it is a systemic crisis fueled by corporate greed, organized crime, armed groups, and state complicity. ...

In Weimar Republic 2.0 (2022), I traced the threads tying the collapse of the Weimar Republic (1919‑1933) to the fraying edges of modern democracy. Like a compass in a storm, pointing out the shoals and reefs that could lie hidden beneath familiar waters. Weimar did not implode in a single night of dramatic fireworks; it unraveled in small, human‑sized blunders, the sort that make history sigh and mutter, “I told you so.” ...

“Inflicting help” is the curious human habit of dressing up domination, control, or self-interest in the language of benevolence. It describes well-intentioned or performative actions imposed on others—often without their consent, awareness, or any genuine benefit to them. The giver feels virtuous; the receiver is often disempowered, silenced, or even harmed. The word help suggests care and generosity, but when prefixed with inflicted, it carries the unmistakable sting of condescension and coercion. ...

The internet is broken. Not the “buffering on YouTube” kind of broken, but fundamentally, architecturally, absurdly broken. We know why: history, culture, economics, politics, and human laziness have all conspired to turn it into a precarious tower of routers teetering on a cliff. The question now is: what can we actually do about it? The answer is messy, expensive, and occasionally involves telling very powerful people that their business model is morally questionable. ...

Once upon a time, the internet was described as an “information superhighway”. In truth, it more closely resembles the back alley behind a funfair: noisy, sticky underfoot, and populated by people selling things you probably do not want but will end up buying anyway. It is not defendable in any serious sense, and the extraordinary thing is that everyone knows this but insists on behaving as if surprise breaches and collapses are acts of God rather than consequences of design. ...

Picture a journalist, a scientist, or even your neighbour declaring with solemn authority: “I am being objective.” Dignified, is it not? Objective, impartial, fact-driven—like a well-polished broom sweeping all bias into the corner. Only, as with most magical brooms, it has a particular corner it prefers: the one that keeps the powerful comfortable and the inconvenient quiet. Objectivity is often paraded as a moral or intellectual suit of armour, allowing humans to avoid messy feelings, politics, or ethical dilemmas. But claiming objectivity is rarely neutral. Like neutrality, it carries consequences. Often, it shields those already in power while quietly silencing the vulnerable. ...

Imagine standing on the pavement, observing an injustice unfold. Perhaps a villain is performing egregiously bad deeds, or a bureaucrat is quietly rearranging paperwork in a way that ruins lives. You shrug. You mutter, “Not my circus, not my monkeys,” and continue scrolling through social media. This is the practical magic of neutrality: invisible, polite, and utterly useful if your goal is to help the oppressor. Desmond Tutu, who knew more than a little about elephants on mice, explained it in no uncertain terms: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” And just to make sure nobody missed the metaphor, he added: “If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” ...

Programming can be serious business — buffer overflows, privilege escalations, and command injections can ruin your day (or your server). But what if we let the code speak for itself? Imagine strcpy whispering, “I will politely overflow your stack”, or a rogue Python pickle.loads grinning, “I will happily instantiate whatever you smuggled in.” These literal translations are not only a chuckle for the seasoned security geek but also a cheeky reminder of why we need careful coding. They turn intimidating vulnerabilities into short, witty sentences that make you laugh — and maybe shiver a little. Dive in, enjoy the humour, and see old nemeses in a whole new light. ...

Europe likes to think it is safe and secure. In reality, much of its critical infrastructure is running on borrowed time. Old systems, fragmented responsibility, and perverse incentives have left a security debt that, if left unpaid, could affect millions of lives. Some sectors carry heavier debt than others, and the consequences of ignoring it grow by the day. Healthcare, energy, and transport carry the heaviest burdens. The patient-facing nightmare Hospitals and clinics are the most visible examples of this precarious state. Every day, lives depend on machines and systems conceived in a different era, when floppy disks were a mark of sophistication. Electronic health records, imaging machines, and ICU monitors often run on unsupported operating systems, and many hospitals are uncertain which devices are even connected to their networks. Vendors supplying medical technology have rarely been held accountable for security, and procurement contracts tend to value cost or certification above protection against cyberattacks. ...

The trouble with governments and cryptography is that they keep mistaking mathematics for magic. In Ankh-Morpork, this was the sort of thinking that once led the Wizards of Unseen University to try and regulate gravity, on the grounds that it was “inconvenient.” It ended, inevitably, in bruises. In our world, the same logic has produced the noble invention of the “government backdoor.” A handy hole in the wall of your digital house, through which the Watch can come and go as it pleases. The Watch insists it will only use this hole to catch thieves and murderers. Unfortunately, thieves and murderers are rather good at using holes too. ...