Other People's Stuff
When it's OK to have/take it.
It’s ass o’clock on a Tuesday and I am wide awake because … well .. someone rang the device by my bed. And that never happens.
If you’ve read MIOS: Iran’s PressTV you already know that if I catch a hostile foreign intelligence operation I will break their toys, then give the interesting bits to a journalist. Sorry, not sorry, might do so again if causes & conditions align.
There are increasing shades of gray with such activities. The two formerly safe scenarios included:
Something that is of public interest hits the internet in a broad fashion, say on DDoSecrets, then it’s fine to download it and go on a treasure hunt.
If a reporter gets something that is NOT broadly available, you can take it, work it until there’s nothing left, and quietly congratulate yourself on a job well done.
I assumed neither of those scenarios was going to hold after 11/5/2024 and I cleaned house. I could explain why I don’t have any concerns about obstruction, but that act itself might create a predicate for another episode of assclowns with badges. I don’t understand how that show is about to continue into its sixteenth season, but I recognize the signs, and my boredom is on full display.
Anyway, about this latest call … an even grayer area is one for which there is a very old catchphrase, once we’ve been using for more than a decade.
No taxpayers, just game players
If there’s no victim, there’s no crime, right? The problem originates in that inflection point thirteen months in the rearview mirror. All the rules changed. Who even had Neal becomes Brand Defense Strategist for Cicada 3301 on their 2025 bingo card?
There are only a tiny handful of people who know what I’m on about here.
I’m downloading every lick of this stuff.
I’m doing the math on how much disk I’ll need for a Disinfodrome server once it’s all unpacked.
I don’t think there’s a chain of custody problem.
Unlike Iran, I’m not worried about the provenance.
I absolutely WILL catch hell for this but in my defense … I did not solicit this outcome.
And to think I’ve only just begun to explain my methods to a Claude instance equipped with Nate’s continuous learning skills.
This is only tangentially related to Do Not Do Crimes.
I really debated using Nobody Speak here, but I think that stuff has just about run its course.
🕵️