Darkside and the Pipeline Hack

[The Minsky Moment]

YHaving said that - and obviously I'll trust US intelligence - but I can believe these guys are just apolitical criminals.

The claim made was not they were an arm of GRU but that there was an understanding from the Russian authorities that they would be allowed to operate without harassment if they confined their activity to Western targets.

[Eddie Teach]

It's not a competition.

The 4 biggest, after The Brain?

[The Brain]

It's not a competition.

The 4 biggest, after The Brain?

THANK YOU

[dane]

I'm actually an American, but my name is Dane.

I've lurked here for a while but never really have anything to contribute.

Twelve years, according to your profile info. But now's the time. Welcome aboard. What brought you out of your bubble? Who are the five biggest jerks on languish?

Mostly I wanted to hear more about how Oex thinks this is similar to the beginnings of feudalism. As for the biggest jerks, I think most people can get a little insensitive when they're arguing about something they really care about. So that means...everyone?

[Jacob]

That's a nice and diplomatic but not very entertaining answer

[DGuller]

So who are the top 5 people who argue most about things they care about?

[dane]

Mommy loves you all equally.

[Maladict]

So who are the top 5 people who argue most about things they care about?

We'll need to discuss the semantics of 'argue', 'things' and 'care' first.

[grumbler]

So who are the top 5 people who argue most about things they care about?

We'll need to discuss the semantics of 'argue', 'things' and 'care' first.

What do you mean by "semantics?"

[Oexmelin]

I'm not well versed on the beginnings of feudalism. Could you elaborate on that?

Disclaimer: I am going to paint with very broad strokes.

Aristocrats of the early Middle Ages established their rural supremacy on the control of resources - chiefly territory, weapons, and dependents. Theirs was a power that was continuously tested (and therefore ranked) in limited engagements, the main objective of which was to hold other powerful people (but not only them) as ransom. The relationship of protection / threat worked only insofar was it was codified in some ways, and that there was proof that it was at least somewhat reliable - either as threat, or protection. Otherwise, early vilains would have settled on someone else's lands, and arrangements between aristocrats wouldn't have been reliable. Obviously some oaths were broken, and some peasants got murdered... but that is the case in any normative regime. By the 11th century (chronology varies a lot depending on where you are in Europe), settlements were a lot more permanent, some aristocrats were becoming a lot more powerful, and the possibilities of change eventually narrowed.

Nowadays, the main analog we have is that of organized crime (or terrorist groups), and that's usually what we evoke when we wish to describe the situation. And it may indeed be more appropriate - these are groups that are often, in fact, intimately connected with existing organized groups. But I think reflecting on the early years of feudalism brings into the forefront 1) the past normalcy of ransom (which is no longer the main source of revenue of organized crime) and 2) that decentralized consolidation of power into all sorts of hands can be quite accomodating of law, norms, and can easily be entrenched so deeply as to become an incontrovertible feature of society.

I have been thinking a lot more about feudalism in the past few years.

[Maladict]

So who are the top 5 people who argue most about things they care about?

We'll need to discuss the semantics of 'argue', 'things' and 'care' first.

What do you mean by "semantics?"

Yes, that will do as well.

[Tonitrus]

Anti-semants. 

[dane]

Interesting parallels, thanks!

[Sheilbh]

On neo-feudal society - I thought this (long) piece on the Brazilianisation of the world is really interesting:
https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2021/05/the-brazilianization-of-the-world/

[Sheilbh]

The latest in neo-feudalism - just read about the COO of a European cybersecurity firm describe companies in their sector as the "new condottieri" and I think there's something to it