Energy, Security

“Fossil fuel industry is actually scared” by Ukraine

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A conference in Texas just awkwardly cancelled a Ukrainian energy expert.

…though she hasn’t been told by the energy summit’s organisers why she was barred, she believes that “the fossil fuel industry is actually scared by having someone from Ukraine attend”.

She pointed out that the Stand With Ukraine campaign was not only calling for an end to the “global fossil fuel addiction that feeds Putin’s war machine” but also for countries to stop expansion of coal, oil and gas, and start phasing out. […]

“Of course, we are in stark opposition to the oil and gas lobby, and the push to expand fossil-fuel infrastructure is the opposite of energy security. We will be safe only when public money and state subsidies fully withdraw from the oil and gas industry and get to spend at-scale on renewables and energy efficiency.”

If the conference had let her in, we probably never would have heard about this important point.

It’s worth reporting widely that reducing overly centralized fuel systems would have a direct impact on regional political stability and wars, even though it feels like news from 70 years ago.

Energy, Sailing, Security

Rise in “Ghost” Tankers Delivering Russian Oil to Asia

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Someone is buying up old decrepit tankers, turning off any tracking electronics, and pushing huge amounts of Russian oil into Asia.

Industry insiders estimate the size of that “shadow” fleet at roughly 600 vessels, or about 10% of the global number of large tankers. And numbers continue to climb. …an estimated 25 to 35 vessels are being sold per month into the shadow fleet, according to another senior executive at an oil trading firm. Global Witness, a nonprofit, estimates that a quarter of oil tanker sales between late February 2022 and January this year involved unknown buyers, roughly double the proportion the previous year.

While allegedly hard to identify by modern standards, at the same time the age of the vessel and the fact that it is dedicated to carrying Russian oil makes it classically simple to find, track and… disrupt or disable.

Security

“Team Jorge” Exposed for Disinformation Campaigns Targeting Presidential Elections

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There’s an interesting detail in the reports trying to expose “Team Jorge“.

An investigation by 30 media outlets, including the Guardian and Der Spiegel, has claimed to have exposed a team of freelance units based in Israel who disrupt elections and manipulate public opinion using disinformation campaigns.

[…]

“We are now involved in one election in Africa … We have a team in Greece and a team in [the] Emirates … You follow the leads,” Hanan said in one secretly filmed meeting quoted in the Guardian. “[We have completed] 33 presidential-level campaigns, 27 of which were successful.”

While some speculate the interview itself is full of disinformation, it’s also unusual for someone to admit six campaigns failed. Either that’s top shelf lying, or it’s the kind of honesty shared from real expertise.

Digital mercenaries.

Given that the accused Israeli head of the operation is allegedly 50 years old, he’s surely steeped in the disinformation of 1990s Intifada, not to mention the legendary tactics of Orde Wingate in Middle East operations.

For what it’s worth, this is the sort of thing I warned about a decade ago in my 2012 Big Data presentation at BSidesLV — use of disinformation on mobile devices to swing political outcomes.

Back then I framed it as the Loch Ness monster problem, to highlight information integrity vulnerability that has a long precedent.

Modern information warfare today is exactly where we should have expected it to be.

History, Security

100 Years of Trust Theory: Buber’s “I and Thou”

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The philosophy of Martin Buber (1878–1965) is foundational to modern thinking about trust.

In the years following WWI, as a minority being oppressed by the rise of violent racist nationalism, he argued one’s self is constructed in how communication is made with an other.

His book “I and Thou” (originally German “Ich and Du”, translated to English in 1937) explained a way of life that emphasized care for others and building trusted partnerships.

Considered to be one of the most important books of Western theology since its original publication in 1923, Martin Buber’s slender volume I and Thou influenced the way theologians, philosophers, and laymen think about the meaning of the relationship between human life and God. Heavily influenced by the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche, Buber unites the proto-existentialist currents of modern German thought with the Judeo-Christian tradition, powerfully updating faith for modern times.

1923… 2023. A centennial edition is available with the original translation.

Buber cited the informal you (German “du”) as carrying a certain authorization, such as the links between close friends, close relatives and…with God. These are the “I and Thou” he speaks about, contrasted with detachment of “I – It” relations (objects for use).

Relation is reciprocity, to put it simply.

Whereas establishing and sustaining mutual trust was an important point of exploration, God was given a sustained connection “as the Eternal Thou”. Relations thus are not just for humans, they are meant for any or all “others” spanning flora, fauna and even the Divine.

Try thinking about Buber the next time you start work on OpenID Connect projects.

Does your God use Verifiable Credentials?

Or as I joked back in 2015, the world would be a much better place if investor money had poured into “Buber as a service” instead of an obviously harmful “I – It” business model of Uber.

Click to enlarge. Source: Me.