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Barba Koala

@barbakoala.eurosky.social
74 followers 187 following 43 posts
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Barba Koala @barbakoala.eurosky.social · 27/09/2026
Consultancy services truly are the vampiric leech locked around the throat of public services.
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Nicolas Hénin @nicolashenin.net · 17/09/2026
Nice campaign by the Norwegian Consumer Council about the declining lifespan of products. Enjoy!
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Barba Koala @barbakoala.eurosky.social · 16/09/2026
Arrogant, self-preserving horseshit. I truly feel I'm in a parallel universe where people will be nodding along with this. Big Tech has been put on such a pedestal over the years, that they appear as gods to some. Malevolent conmen who want the planet to themselves www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
OpenAI's Sam Altman says world 'right to be afraid' but 'should trust' AI firms
Sam Altman and other tech CEOs say there are incentives to limit advancements in AI, as fears grow over the threats it poses to humanity.
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Miguel de Icaza @migueldeicaza.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Good post on the fear mongering from Anthropic and OpenAI: pop.rdi.sh/dario-please/
pop.rdi.sh
dario, please! - POP RDI; RET;
Your favourite ROP gadget
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Naomi Klein @naomiaklein.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Since it can be hard to believe that political and corporate elites would actively give up on our shared future on this singular planet, we made a short film so folks can hear from the end timers and judge for themselves. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor: the future according to end times fascism
In a new video, Klein and Taylor outline a ominous evolution taking shape on the far right – and how to stay loyal to this planet and each other
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Barba Koala @barbakoala.eurosky.social · 03/08/2026
What's Big Tech's long play with data centre capability? I doubt it's to offer compute to consumers; models can ultimately be run locally for less. Model creation & "open" proliferation is likely the end goal. 1. Stuff biases into the model. 2. Get people reliant on it. 3. Profit.
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Richard Murphy @richardjmurphy.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
I was asked yesterday what neoliberalism is. This is the answer:
An infographic on neoliberalism
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Grady Booch @booch.com · 14/07/2026
I say this with all due respect but simultaneously with a rage that can unmake stars, a software-intensive system that “exhibits all the cognitive capabilities that the brain has” is not “a few short years away”. x.com/demishassabi...
x.com
Demis Hassabis (@demishassabis) on X
https://t.co/PTeDiv1b6L
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Barba Koala @barbakoala.eurosky.social · 13/07/2026
The coalescence around big tech, and global fads and conventions has made the Internet a much smaller, greyer place. Like newspapers before it, and village gossip before that, the Internet is how most people form their world views these days. It takes first-hand experience to add colour to life.
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Barba Koala @barbakoala.eurosky.social · 27/06/2026
Am I caught up in an echo chamber doom loop? It seems every technical advancement erases a little humanity each time. A march towards our obsolescence, and the majority of people are happily carried along on the wave. What's "cool" now is a smoking gun in the hands of a greedy, miniscule minority.
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Dr. Jonathan Foley @globalecoguy.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
I especially love this diagram.
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Chad Loder @chadloder.dev · 19/06/2026
I really need people to understand that Palantir is not an engineering marvel; it is a multi-billion-dollar contractual containment layer wrapped around the world's ugliest legacy open source frankenstack. It's a shitty Snowflake for companies that don't know how to do data engineering.
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Barba Koala @barbakoala.eurosky.social · 10/06/2026
The saving grace of arrogance is that it is itself responsible for eventually revealing the weaknesses it hides. One of nature's little self-correcting mechanisms.
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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
This is absolutely nuts: hackers are hijacking high-profile Instagram accounts by simply asking Meta's AI chatbot to change the email on the account. Meta's AI does it, hacker gets password reset code, they're in. A staggering security issue www.404media.co/hackers-simp...
404media.co
Hackers Simply Asked Meta AI to Give Them Access to High-Profile Instagram Accounts. It Worked
The exploit shows the extreme risk of offloading technical support to AI.
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Danish Pension Fund Blacklists SpaceX. Previously, dumped US Treasuries over Trump's threat to Greenland. It says Spacex is “grossly overvalued”, and has “catastrophic governance structure” as Elon Musk strives to be a trillionaire. Any chance of City of London growing a backbone? archive.ph/dsVfR
bloomberg.com
Danish Pension Fund Blacklists SpaceX, Citing Governance Issues
A $25 billion Danish pension fund that earlier this year made headlines by ditching Treasuries as Donald Trump was threatening to seize Greenland now says it won’t touch SpaceX.
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bylinepodcast.bsky.social @bylinepodcast.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
A briliant analysis of how private equity turned capitalism on its head - and ripped off the taxpayer. A joint production with the excellent @taxjustice.net @goldbergradio.bsky.social @bylinetimes.bsky.social 🎧 open.spotify.com/episode/4SiO... youtu.be/RPiwx58XZaI?...
youtu.be
The Finance Curse: How Private Equity Upturned Capitalism
YouTube video by Byline Times TV
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Barba Koala @barbakoala.eurosky.social · 29/05/2026
Respect to all the folks out there doing good deeds and not telling the world about it.
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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 27/05/2026
I don't care who you are, there will always be times when hell is other people. Not because other people are horrible - quite the opposite! Other people are *wonderful*, but boy are they ever *stubborn*. 1/
A hand-tinted image of elderly people in the lounge of a nursing home. Three killer robots have been inserted into the scene.
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Barba Koala @barbakoala.eurosky.social · 25/05/2026
Commentary on the cheese rolling today has been top notch.
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Patriotic Millionaires UK @patmillsuk.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
How Much Is Too Rich? We asked @adambrichto.bsky.social to take to the streets and see what the British public thinks. Extreme wealth has spiralled so far out of control that it's almost impossible to put into perspective. We're playing with poker chips to see what it really looks like.
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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
daaaamn london
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Alex Andreou @sturdyalex.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Sneaking a giant screen into the flagshagger march is one of the funniest things @ledbydonkeys.org have ever done. "STAY HYDRATED" 😂🤣😂
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Barba Koala @barbakoala.eurosky.social · 08/05/2026
bsky ➡️ eurosky ✅
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Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
Palantir put out a 22-point summary of their CEO's book The Technological Republic. It's pitched as a defence of the West, but if you read it through the VDA framework, verification, deliberation, accountability, what it's actually doing looks rather different. twitter-thread.com/t/2045574398...
Opening text of a thread by Palantir from X
Because we get asked a lot.

The Technological Republic, in brief.

1. Silicon Valley owes a moral debt to the country that made its rise possible. The engineering elite of Silicon Valley has an affirmative obligation to participate in the defense of the nation.

2. We must rebel against the tyranny of the apps. Is the iPhone our greatest creative if not crowning achievement as a civilization? The object has changed our lives, but it may also now be limiting and constraining our sense of the possible.

3. Free email is not enough. The decadence of a culture or civilization, and indeed its ruling class, will be forgiven only if that culture is capable of delivering economic growth and security for the public.

4. The limits of soft power, of soaring rhetoric alone, have been exposed. The ability of free and democratic societies to prevail requires something more than moral appeal. It requires hard power, and hard power in this century will be built on software.
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Charlie Stross @cstross.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
This is a valid point: whenever you see this sort of high-pressure sales tactic turned on a technology, you can be CERTAIN that it's a fake—actually useful new tech sells itself! And don't underestimate the effectiveness of FOMO as a tool in the hands of a con artist.
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shanley @shanley.com · 11/04/2026
This is something i wrote in 2023 on the actual goal of AI wrt labor , and this is a key part of the "economic transition" www.shanley.com/blog/ai-is-d...
shanley.com
AI is Designed to Create A Massive Destabilized Labor Pool — Shanley
One of the biggest debates about AI has been surrounding jobs, and the concern that it may replace jobs.  There’s a lot to unpack here, but I think one of the most important points, is that VENTURE CAPITALISTS ARE FUNDING STARTUPS WHO ARE *TRYING* TO FUCK UP YOUR JOB. YOU MIGHT GET A NEW
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Alex Russell @infrequently.org · 09/04/2026
Amazing post. I hope web devs understand this as downstream of antitrust pressure on Apple re: iOS & other browsers. @open-web-advocacy.org won the headcount Apple poured in since '20 because it allowed them to claim engagement w/o threatening the app store: blog.gitbutler.com/the-great-cs...
blog.gitbutler.com
The Great CSS Expansion
CSS now does what Floating UI, GSAP ScrollTrigger, Framer Motion, and react-select used to require JavaScript for. Here is exactly how much that saves, why these libraries were painful beyond their size, and what the platform still hasn't figured out.
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Good Law Project @goodlawproject.org · 07/04/2026
“I’ve spent the last four years researching private equity, and during that time I’ve been blown away by both the sheer scale of its involvement in our lives, and by what it reveals about how power and wealth now operate.” How public services are prioritising private profit: bit.ly/3Or5Hcu
theguardian.com
Want to know capitalism’s endgame? Just look at private equity – it has captured our everyday lives | Hettie O'Brien
These companies now own everything from nurseries to care homes, squeezing vital services for profit while we foot the bill, says Hettie O’Brien, author of The Asset Class: How Private Equity Turned C...
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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 04/04/2026
Crises precipitate change. That's no reason to induce a crisis, but you'd be a fool to let a crisis go to waste. Donald Trump is the greatest crisis of our young century, and the EU looks set to squander the opportunity, to its own terrible detriment. 1/
The EU flag. The field has been turned from blue to orange. In the center of the circle of stars is Trump's open, hooting gob. Behind the orange field we see the faded traces of a printed circuit board.
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Miguel de Icaza @migueldeicaza.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
The herpes of the internet is back at it: browsergate.eu
browsergate.eu
LinkedIn Is Illegally Searching Your Computer
Microsoft is running one of the largest corporate espionage operations in modern history. Every time any of LinkedIn’s one billion users visits linkedin.com, hidden code searches their computer for in...
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Barba Koala @barbakoala.eurosky.social · 30/03/2026
What are we doing? So much power in so few hands, for what? So we can abuse each other from afar & buy shit really quickly. We humans have been enthusiasticly building & buying this only to be cast aside now they have their bots. What a monumental waste of human effort www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Why tech CEOs suddenly love blaming AI for mass layoffs
More tech leaders are pointing to job cuts caused by AI tools - and a need for more investment cash.
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Patriotic Millionaires UK @patmillsuk.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Delighted to see more Labour MPs embrace the need to tax the super rich. But there is so much more to do. For an ambitious and stable economy take a look at our 10 policies - starting with a wealth tax and taxing wealth like work patrioticmillionaires.uk/latest-news/...
patrioticmillionaires.uk
Ten Tax reforms and closed loopholes to raise £50 billion — Patriotic Millionaires UK
Read our ten tax reforms - in partnership with Tax Justice UK
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Governments sit and watch while oligarchs purchase our politics, as if it were just another asset to be monopolised. For the sake of democracy and our own survival, we need to get the money out. Our political systems must belong to us and us alone. www.theguardian.com/media/2026/m...
theguardian.com
Funding for populist-right ‘media-political complex’ exceeded £170m in five years, research finds
Handful of billionaires gave huge sums in particular to media organisations that boosted rightwing politicians, says Liam Byrne MP
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Mike 🍁 @thewarrenisempty.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Really cool seeing political science professors posting stuff like this Once again going to recommend that anyone who hasn't read this should go read it:
substack.com
Democratic Insiders Are Sharing A Warning About Curtis Yarvin, Elon Musk & Neoreactionaries
DNC employees and think tank workers are spreading a document about the Neoreactionary threat to democracy
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Ban corporate donations to UK political parties to protect elections, says thinktank. Must ban all political donations. Anything less is unenforceable. It is bribery by corporations and the super rich. They buy power. Any ceiling, say £10k, will favour the rich. How many people have £10k spare?
theguardian.com
Ban corporate donations to UK political parties to protect elections, says thinktank
CenTax warns bill under debate in parliament has ‘easily exploitable’ loopholes and will not prevent foreign interference
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Barba Koala @barbakoala.eurosky.social · 18/03/2026
In an age where everyone is trying to be someone, there's something to be said for being a no one.
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BWJones @bwjones.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
This is an absolutely beautiful, glorious description of the products in our lives. The things that once were simple tools that met needs, now demand relationships, have opinions, and occupy cycles of our lives. Do yourself a favor, scroll down and read this page www.terrygodier.com/the-last-qui...
terrygodier.com
The Last Quiet Thing
Your possessions came alive. Now they won't stop talking.
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Aaron Rodericks @aaron.bsky.team · 17/03/2026
I've been working in or adjacent to disinformation for far too long. Watched non-state actors adopt the tools of the internet rapidly, then state actors pick up the same playbook. From ISIS to Russia and China — two sides of the same coin. (1/8)
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Bram Stolk @bramstolk.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
A writer hired by many big science youtubers went indie. Emily Zhang's first video on her "Rabbit Hole" channel is a really fun watch. And yeah, I can see why she branched out: her presenting is as good as her writing. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKt4...
youtube.com
Why do office chairs have 5 legs?
YouTube video by Rabbit Hole
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psbaker10.bsky.social @psbaker10.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Snyder thinks there's a plan. snyder.substack.com/p/the-desire...
snyder.substack.com
The Desire for Terror
And the defense of democracy
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Daniel S. Goldberg @profgoldberg.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Sorry I know the world is in a terrible fix but I've been laughing at this for ten minutes now
Optical illusion of a woman bent over some papers. Her sunglasses are pushed up and she is wearing a hair band so the top of her head looks exactly like a Muppet face
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Private Eye Magazine @privateeyenews.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Coincidence corner: JCB and Reform UK From the new Private Eye, out now.
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
ESG bonuses removed from paychecks of Apple executives. Pretence of concerns about the environment, sustainability, ethics, good governance dumped by companies, to appease Trump. We are light years away from Quaker capitalism. Public backlash overdue. Don't buy their products.
packagingeurope.com
ESG bonuses removed from paychecks of Apple executives
Apparently, Apple removed an 'ESG modifier' from its top executives' pay packages last year - joining other big brands like Procter & Gamble and Starbucks in a trend thought to reflect a decreasin...
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Barba Koala @barbakoala.eurosky.social · 01/03/2026
I guess this is the plan then; make working in the NHS so shitty that "the market" moves to private provision all by itself. Then later claim "well, it's clear citizens want private healthcare". When in fact the only choice they had was to pay or suffer #enshitification www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Why are more GPs opting to work outside the NHS?
More doctors and patients are turning to the private sector as demand increases pressure on the NHS.
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Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · 22/02/2026
Buying a track or ebook that you can’t pass on, share, or transfer isn’t ownership; it’s a rental. We need to restore digital first sale. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
eff.org
Rent-Only Copyright Culture Makes Us All Worse Off
In the Netflix/Spotify/Amazon era, many of us access copyrighted works purely in digital form – and that means we rarely have the chance to buy them. Instead, we are stuck renting them, subject to
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Hazardous substances found in all headphones. These include chemicals that can cause cancer, neurodevelopmental problems and the feminisation of males. Don't manufacturers do research? Never seen a list of ingredients on the boxes. No health warnings. Expect lawsuits.
theguardian.com
Hazardous substances found in all headphones tested by ToxFREE project
Substances include chemicals that can cause cancer, neurodevelopmental problems, and the feminisation of males
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Barba Koala @barbakoala.eurosky.social · 09/02/2026
Finding GPTs useful for debate practice. On any topic I take a position and ask it to counter. Good way to challenge and shed light on my own opinions and prejudices, and learn how to structure my own thoughts and arguments along the way. It's a formidable foe.
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