All posts tagged: hide

Chatbots can hide secret messages in seemingly normal conversations

Chatbots can hide secret messages in seemingly normal conversations

Published by skeptic

Encrypted messages could be hidden within a normal-looking conversation on social media Tero Vesalainen/iStockphoto/G​etty Images Secret messages can be hidden inside fake conversations generated by AI chatbots. The technique could give people a way to communicate online without arousing the suspicion of oppressive governments. When messages are encrypted for secure transmission, the resulting cipher text – an unusual string of garbled characters – stands out like a sore thumb. That is fine if you are keeping secrets in a country where secrets are allowed, but under brutal dictatorships, this could land a citizen in hot water. Even the UK government recently … Source link

Invisible Rainbows, with Dr Alfredo Carpineti – what cosmic secrets hide beyond our sight?

Invisible Rainbows, with Dr Alfredo Carpineti – what cosmic secrets hide beyond our sight?

Published by skeptic

Astrophysicist and science communicator Dr Alfredo Carpineti will speak at Humanists UK Convention 2025, taking place from 13–15 June 2025 at the Octagon Centre in Sheffield on ‘Invisible Rainbows’. The light we can see is only a small part of the whole electromagnetic spectrum. From radio waves to gamma rays, there is so much of the universe that is invisible to us – and we will explore these phenomenal objects and events at Humanists UK Convention in Sheffield. Tickets for Humanists UK Convention 2025 are on sale now – and running low. Alfredo is an accomplished astrophysicist and science communicator with a strong commitment to addressing inequity in STEM fields. He has been a staff writer and space correspondent for IFLScience for nine years, where he shares his passion for the cosmos. He is also the chair and founder of Pride in STEM, the UK’s largest charity dedicated to supporting LGBT people in STEM, demonstrating his dedication to fostering inclusivity within the scientific community. Beyond his work with IFLScience and Pride in STEM, Alfredo is …

Drake’s lawyer says he’ll expose what record label is ‘trying to hide’ after ruling in defamation lawsuit

Drake’s lawyer says he’ll expose what record label is ‘trying to hide’ after ruling in defamation lawsuit

Published by skeptic

Sign up to Roisin O’Connor’s free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Get our Now Hear This email for free Drake’s ongoing defamation lawsuit against his own record label, Universal Music Group (UMG), took another turn today as a judge in New York ruled that his legal team can begin the discovery process. At a pre-trial conference on Wednesday morning, Judge Jeanette Vargas decreed that Drake’s representatives can go ahead with the process, which is likely to include deposing key executives and requesting document production. UMG had previously requested that the court delay discovery. That motion has now been denied. In a statement to The Independent, Drake’s lead attorney Michael Gottlieb said: “Now it’s time to see what UMG was so desperately trying to hide.” In January, Drake accused UMG of spreading the “false and malicious narrative” that he is a pedophile with the release of Lamar’s song “Not Like Us”, which includes the lyrics: “Say, Drake, I hear you …

No Place Left to Hide by Megan Lally

No Place Left to Hide by Megan Lally

Published by skeptic

Megan Lally’s latest young adult thriller, No Place Left to Hide, is a gripping tale that expertly weaves together elements of psychological suspense, dark academia, and mean girls drama into a compelling narrative about the dangers of perfection and privilege. The story follows Brooke Goodwin, a high-achieving senior at the prestigious Waldorf Prep, whose carefully curated life begins to unravel during one terrifying night that forces her to confront the deadly secrets of her past. Plot & Structure The narrative alternates between “Now”—a heart-stopping car chase along a dark coastal highway—and “Before”—the events of a fateful party six months earlier that set everything in motion. This dual timeline structure works brilliantly, creating mounting tension as we gradually discover how these two nights are inexorably connected. The present-day timeline spans just a few hours but feels like an eternity as Brooke and her best friend Jena are pursued by mysterious assailants in a white Bronco. Meanwhile, the flashback sequences reveal the events leading up to Claire Heck’s death at Brooke’s lake house party, carefully peeling back …

Anti-assisted dying group got people to hide Christian motives when writing to MPs

Anti-assisted dying group got people to hide Christian motives when writing to MPs

Published by skeptic

The leading anti-assisted dying group Christian Action, Research and Education (CARE) used Christian reasoning to get its supporters to write to their MPs – but then omitted any Christian language at all from the default email that it got them to send. While recognising that it is essential that all sides are heard in the assisted dying debate, Humanists UK has urged religious groups to be transparent about their motives for opposing assisted dying. CARE hosts on its website a ‘write to your MP’ tool that provides a default message that people can use to write to their MP asking them to oppose assisted dying. MPs Humanists UK has spoken to have reported receiving many emails from people using CARE’s tool. The default text doesn’t mention religion at all but gives as the constituent’s reasons for writing, ‘concern about the very rushed time frame’, inadequate ‘safeguards’, ‘coercive control’, and ‘feeling like a burden on others’. It is unclear if the omission of religion here is deliberate. But it is striking as it stands in contrast …

Record number of students took A-level maths in 2024 – but they hide a worrying decline

Record number of students took A-level maths in 2024 – but they hide a worrying decline

Published by skeptic

On August 15 2024, over 107,400 young people in the UK nervously scanned their results, looking for their grade in A-level mathematics. It is the first time more than 100,000 people have taken any A-level subject in a single year. Maths has been the top A-level choice for a while, but in 2024 it’s up by 11%. There are a few reasons why this might be, and part of it may be down to students’ greater confidence in their own abilities. Yet there are actually fewer students studying for any maths qualification after GCSE than a few years ago. So it’s possible that even more young people would like to study maths. One reason for the increase in maths A-levels is there are simply more 18 year olds in the population – so more people in general are taking A-levels. We are approaching the mid-point of a projected 25% increase of 18 year olds in the UK between 2020 and 2030. However, the subjects with the biggest percentage increases since 2023 are further mathematics, physics, …

Swastika-covered murder suspect reportedly left his victim ‘looking like spaghetti.’ Now, he’ll hide his tattoos to face a jury

Swastika-covered murder suspect reportedly left his victim ‘looking like spaghetti.’ Now, he’ll hide his tattoos to face a jury

Published by Sam

The father of a Florida man who has been in jail on murder charges for nearly five years said his son confessed to killing one of his suspected victims, leaving her ‘looking like spaghetti’ after running her over. Wade Wilson’s double-murder trial began in Cape Coral this week with jury selection. He is accused of murdering Kristine Melton, 35, and Diane Ruiz, 43, in October 2019. His trial has been five years in the making as Wilson’s first attorney died, and he once escaped from holding. His defense team was also granted an unusual request to allow Wilson to wear makeup in court to cover tattoos on his face, including swastikas. However, they were still visible at the start of the trial. Attorneys wanted to cover the tattoos so Wilson would ‘appear presentable’ to the jury. Wilson, 30, previously denied killing the women in an interview with NBC2. But his father told investigators that his son called him after spending the night with Melton and asked for help. He explained how his son admitted to …

Home Office faces fallout from Rwanda roundup as asylum seekers hide or flee | Home Office

Home Office faces fallout from Rwanda roundup as asylum seekers hide or flee | Home Office

Published by skeptic

The Home Office is dealing with growing fallout from the high-profile roundups of asylum seekers it wants to send to Rwanda, as some have gone into hiding while others have fled across the border to Ireland. Officials began rounding up asylum seekers to detain them for the Rwanda scheme a week ago, with at least one now on hunger strike and another threatening suicide. While the government has disseminated its message widely about detaining people for Rwanda, it is not clear whether officials had anticipated that some asylum seekers would go into hiding and others would go to Ireland. Lou Calvey, the director of the charity Asylum Matters, said: “Frontline asylum charities report people leaving their asylum accommodation in order to avoid arrest. They are raising the alarm about the increasing risks of destitution and exploitation.” Asylum seekers who have attended regular reporting sessions at centres around the UK have said that they had never seen things so quiet. “I walked right in and didn’t have to queue at all. In all the years I’ve …

When rockets fall, Bedouin Israeli citizens have nowhere to hide

When rockets fall, Bedouin Israeli citizens have nowhere to hide

Published by skeptic

A relative points to a hole in the roof of Mohammed al-Hassouni’s family home. It was caused by an Iranian missile fragment that injured his 7-year-old daughter on the night Iran attacked Israel. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images A relative points to a hole in the roof of Mohammed al-Hassouni’s family home. It was caused by an Iranian missile fragment that injured his 7-year-old daughter on the night Iran attacked Israel. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images Late in the evening of April 13, Mohammed al-Hassouni and his family were sleeping in their home in southern Israel, when he was awoken by the sounds of sirens and explosions. Iran was launching a massive strike against an airbase near the family’s village. Al-Hassouni rushed his children to the car. As he tried to load them in, a fragment of a missile fell near the house with a thud. Terrified, his 7-year-old daughter Amina ran back inside. Moments later another missile fragment crashed through the roof and fell on …