My friend pushed me to do some witchcraft. Basically to draw my name in a circle on a paper, and then lines radiating out of it, like the suns many of us used to draw as kids, with wishes to manifest. So, like health, relaxation, appreciation, equanimity etc.

I didn’t want to just ‘try and be open’ and uncritically go with her explanation of frequencies and talking to the universe and all that, but I’m sure it’s good to ritually focus on something like this every now and then. Certainly felt nice.

Since it’s Christmas, I also feel it’s in order to thank you for all your contributions to this place. I appreciate it and wish you as good a day as possible.

Almost jealous. But I’m happy for you :) I love solo dancing to this song with headphones.

Just to have a somewhat direct answer here, I repeat the link that NOT_RICK@lemmy.world has posted in their downvoted comment.

https://leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2023/05/fact-check-old-photos-of-donald-trump-with-underage-young-women-are-not-authentic-ai-generated.html

There is enough real shit on Trump, that it doesn’t need to be jeopardized by misinformation. Stay credible.

Kinda wild, just reading this criticism of lemmy, posted in another thread and seeing issues present themselves in this thread.

https://forum.hackliberty.org/t/why-we-abandoned-matrix-the-dark-truth-about-user-security-and-safety/224

I am literally Mimi from Survive Style 5+.

Ooooh. I used to devour his books around the time of uni.

I also really enjoy the various settings in his stories, and the thrill. His first book I read was The Quiet American, right after Dispatches by Michael Herr (non-fiction about his time as a Vietnam War correspondent), which was a big motivator to study journalism, so of course I had to read more of his :)

Another really good spy thriller I read was I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes. Although I sometimes feel it’s a bit heavy with the American imperialist perspectives.

I haven’t tried any yet, except verify with sample from reddit’s OP.

Here’s a a google drive link from the reddit thread with three files. One original justice.gov pdf with bad redactions. The same file, unredacted. And a third single pdf side-by-side of the aforementioned two files. By default, OP’s tool creates this side-by-side pdf.

Here’s step-by-step instructions for the tool that the OP of the reddit thread open sourced. It creates a side-by-side pdf of the redacted and unredacted version at the end.

No root access is required at any point.

1. Download and extract the files of https://github.com/leedrake5/unredact?tab=readme-ov-file

2. Create a python virtual environment, but make sure the destination folder doesn’t already exist (~/.env) here.

python3 -m venv ~/.env

3. activate the environment

source ~/.env/bin/activate
You should now see (.env) before your prompt.

4. Now install the python dependencies.

pip install pdfplumber pymupdf
You’re all set up.

5. While still having your virtual environment active, indicated by the (.env) before your pompt, navigate to the downloaded github project, where the ‘redact_extract.py’ file is located.

6. Copy whatever pdf document you want to try to unredact to the same location.

7. execute the script

python redact_extract.py taco_crimes.pdf

The script should now have created a file for you in the current location with the redacted and unredacted version side by side.

To leave the virtual environment:

deactivate

To enter it again:

source ~/.env/bin/activate

To delete everything cleanly, just delete the virtual environment (~/.env in this case)

The project linked in evacide’s Mastodon toot is even simpler to install. Create and activate a virtual environment like before, but at a different location (.env1 instead of .env, for example).

Then install the tool from pip in the virtual environment:

pip install x-ray

The tool is now installed and can be executed with a pdf file like so:

xray /path/to/your/file.pdf

https://github.com/freelawproject/x-ray

(sorry for the bad formatting. after posting, I can’t preview anymore to figure out how to fix it.)

Well, their propaganda machines certainly won’t stop trying with every trick in the book.

Fox news reporting (if it can even be called that) on the Epstein files is that the DOJ released new documents, with a disclaimer about trump being mentioned. That what the documents suggest about him is false, and if it were true it would’ve been weaponized already.

It looks like the maintainers of the project have updated their project and page. It’s much simpler now.

Installation:

pip install pdfplumber pymupdf

Usage:

python redact_extract.py example.pdf

I don’t think it really works directly presently, at least not for all instances. I’m just using the spoiler tag, or body for alt-text on lemmy at the moment. That probably needs to change before bots can be useful (if I’m not wrong about this).

EDIT: Meh, never mind me, I don’t know enough about direct alt-text on lemmy.

The text isn’t supposed to show up. It’s alternative text for viewers that can’t see the image (or otherwise need it described).

https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/485977

Even if I didn’t join lemmy, I would’ve stopped using reddit. I still have an account so I can login and view posts when they would otherwise block me from viewing because of a VPN.

But why reddit is utter insidious and hostile garbage is another subject.

Lemmy and Mastodon are just in every way more how it’s supposed to be. I can use a vpn. I can use whatever non-gmail email. I don’t have to worry about one profit-oriented central authority becoming a target to shape discourse in favor of special interest groups, as I could just spin up my own instance, or go elsewhere. The communities are spread across different instances with different operators, owners and motivations. So it’s much more organic.

This is by the way also a reason why it’s quite important people don’t all sign up to the same big instances.
This is a problem on mastodon, where even now joinmastodon.com, by default points to mastodon.social.

Mastodon.social hosts genocide-denying Zionists and is generally more pro-genocide than any of the decent larger instances. Regardless of their own motivations, being hosted in Germany and as THE entry to mastodon, they are a target for shaping public opinion.

Last wish before Christmas, I also wish people would alt-text more on lemmy. Maybe in the future there can be a bot that messages you when the image was posted without alt-text, like on Mastodon. It seemed to have helped people a lot who were new to this.

I wish I could say I don’t watch porn, or only when I pay for it on some more ethical platform.

I find the path of causing as little harm as possible very difficult anyway to always do well, and I don’t believe there is any human who does it perfectly.

But I still like to keep my eyes in the right direction and know what’s true :)

Some might in some cases.

The downvotes alone are pretty clear messaging. But it’s alright, and my critique is of something that isn’t a big deal either way.

Could you name a book/movie or two that are among those that stuck out from the rest?

I’d argue, that porn is a luxury. You don’t need porn to survive, nor for a fulfilling life.

So why feed an exploitive industry when you don’t have to? Isn’t that causing unnecessary harm?

That’s not to criticize the idea of performing erotic scenes to share with other people for sexual pleasure and getting money for it.

I barely understand any of it, but that makes it even more beautiful.

It’s literally in the sidebar rules, that it’s alright with [AI] tag. There’s a link for discussion about it too…

So going into threads and telling people to get out when they adhere to rules, it’s kinda fucked up.

It’s also literally the only AI content I’ve ever posted.

Weee! Looking forward to looking up some books here and finding something new to read!

Used to read a lot, but struggle to find novels I like, to get back into it. So it’s mainly non-fiction now.

Autocracy inc. by Anne Applebaum - very well done book
How to win an information war: The propagandist who outwitted Hitler by Peter Pomerantsev - It’s pretty much the story of Sefton Dehlmer and the group of counter-propaganda he led in Britain.
On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder
Nobody’s Girl by Vrginia Roberts Giuffre
Code Name Pale Horse How I Went Undercover to Expose Americas Nazis by Scott Payne

Currently on Mysticism in the 21st Century by Connell Monette - very high quality text, picked it up after reading some of the things in the aforementioned book and wanting to dig in deeper.

Also reading some Graeber. Started with an audiobook and tried for months, but I just can’t for this type of stuff.

I’m sorry, I can see how this thread can be insensitive or disrespectful of this. I didn’t address it, because I need to think more deeply about it to figure out and say what I really think, clearly. Of course you are right. But I think this thread might be a bit different.

I might delete the thread later, or if a mod wants to take the initiative, please do.

I’ll add that I witnessed a lot of this shit as well and had to a lot of tough legal battles and with facilities. Staff lying and kicking vulnerable people out into homelessness for no reason. This thread was not supposed to be about that part. I am one of these maaaaad people myself and I find any weirdness funny and mostly celebratory in the circus that is humanity, as long as it’s not to dehumanize or degrade. But, yes, I am not writing about myself, and this is public and not among people I know.