Steven Zekowski

Retired physician, music lover, curious guy. Learning to #code late in life. #Linux convert. #ClimateCrisis #MedicareForAll #RankedChoiceVoting #MMT
#twincities #Minnesota  #fedi22 #FreePalestine #AbolishICE
Avatar: my half-successful attempt to cartoon-ize a selfie with opencv-python
Header: Several inches of fresh snow on a deck railing and deck in the foreground; snow covered trees and a pond fill the majority of the image.

Articles of interest to me: https://pinboard.in/u:Steve_Z/t:article/

Public Key

npub19h2m49t3h90ar8rmxn874juuc2jx2ka7q4lryjqmpn899l0phdkqvcwkcq

NIP-05 Address

steve_zeke_at_freeradical.zone@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqszm4d6j4cmjh73n3anfnl2ewwv9fr9twlq2l3jfqdsenjjlhsmkmqprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0d4hhxarj9ecxjmnttayu3s

Publishing to

relay.momostr.pink

Author Public Key

npub19h2m49t3h90ar8rmxn874juuc2jx2ka7q4lryjqmpn899l0phdkqvcwkcq

Show more details

Published at

2026-04-18T15:06:58Z

Kind type

0 Metadata

Event JSON

{ "id": "19de9611a088a6c99028f1f050e4236e234430a13627585633f5a592bcfbfcd3", "pubkey": "2dd5ba9571b95fd19c7b34cfeacb9cc2a4655bbe057e32481b0cce52fde1bb6c", "created_at": 1776524818, "kind": 0, "tags": [ [ "t", "linux" ], [ "t", "code" ], [ "t", "mmt" ], [ "t", "climatecrisis" ], [ "t", "freepalestine" ], [ "t", "minnesota" ], [ "t", "twincities" ], [ "t", "rankedchoicevoting" ], [ "t", "abolishice" ], [ "t", "medicareforall" ], [ "t", "fedi22" ], [ "proxy", "https://freeradical.zone/users/steve_zeke", "activitypub" ], [ "L", "pink.momostr" ], [ "l", "pink.momostr.activitypub:https://freeradical.zone/users/steve_zeke", "pink.momostr" ], [ "-" ] ], "content": "{\"name\":\"Steven Zekowski\",\"about\":\"Retired physician, music lover, curious guy. Learning to #code late in life. #Linux convert.\u2029#ClimateCrisis #MedicareForAll #RankedChoiceVoting #MMT\\n#twincities #Minnesota\u2029 #fedi22 #FreePalestine #AbolishICE\\nAvatar: my half-successful attempt to cartoon-ize a selfie with opencv-python\\nHeader: Several inches of fresh snow on a deck railing and deck in the foreground; snow covered trees and a pond fill the majority of the image.\\n\\nArticles of interest to me: https://pinboard.in/u:Steve_Z/t:article/\\n\",\"website\":\"https://freeradical.zone/@steve_zeke\",\"picture\":\"https://nfts.freeradical.zone/accounts/avatars/109/112/689/515/509/774/original/23cce6893d3edb0e.jpg\",\"banner\":\"https://nfts.freeradical.zone/accounts/headers/109/112/689/515/509/774/original/3b5e8a9db922e857.jpg\",\"nip05\":\"steve_zeke_at_freeradical.zone@momostr.pink\"}", "sig": "b7bc49645111650e512913d93f7390ae1e7fc196d1e097c57c27032781499448d2ecb76c54ed221f48f9a31c1730f5d699d9f8fc840fb99c509f677a0bc45fc1" }

Last Notes

2026-03-26 16:55:24 UTC

- reply

https://www.972mag.com/sde-teiman-israel-military-justice-system/
> The truth is that a law enforcement system that genuinely strives to hold soldiers accountable when they kill, humiliate, or abuse Palestinians has never existed in Israel, or at least not for several decades... what exists is a system that effectively provides immunity for soldiers when their victims are Palestinians, and even strives for that outcome...rare instances of accountability that the system does produce are intended to conceal this reality

2026-03-20 19:31:30 UTC

- reply

Deficits don’t matter the way you may think. The US federal budget is not like a household budget. See #MMT: Stephanie Kelton’s “The Deficit Myth” or https://findingmoneyfilm.com/
> With one brief exception, the federal government has been in debt every year since 1776. In January 1835, for the 1st & only time in US history, the public debt was retired, and a budget surplus was maintained for 2 yrs…In 1837 the economy collapsed into a deep depression
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/02/wray-the-federal-budget-is-not-like-a-household-budget-%E2%80%93-here%E2%80%99s-why.html

2026-03-04 16:28:36 UTC

I know little about #InternationalRelations, but I can't stop thinking about this:
If I were #China and I was thinking about invading #Taiwan some time in the near future, would I think that this might be that time? With the #USmilitary wrapped up in a stupid, immoral war of choice in #Iran ?
I hope I am wrong. Our son lives in Taiwan. I am interested in others' opinions, especially those much more knowledgeable.

2026-02-24 23:40:52 UTC

- reply

Serious question. What browser(s) do you use? I’m still using Firefox but looking for good alternative.

2026-02-20 20:07:25 UTC

- reply

Was thinking more of a rebate or dividend (they already pay that for executive members) or just deduction for annual membership fee?

2026-02-20 19:59:25 UTC

- reply

I heard that #Costco is trying to clawback some money. Since it has a membership structure, would that money find its way back to members?
#tariffs

2026-01-29 16:15:04 UTC

- reply

Spot-on metaphor:
> Whittaker characterized this architectural shift as “breaking the blood-brain barrier” between applications and the operating system. Once that boundary is crossed, either through compromise or intentional design choices, individual apps can no longer guarantee privacy on their own. She said companies deploying AI agents, particularly at the OS level, must recognize how reckless such designs can be if they undermine secure communications.

2026-01-22 20:11:02 UTC

Inside of @npub1fdr…lvhs ‘s latest is this gem. A site that helps qualified people get #MedicalDebt forgiveness. It’s far from a panacea to our dysfunctional #healthcare system, but for individuals and families it could be a life (or bankruptcy) saver.
https://dollarfor.org/
https://pluralistic.net/2026/01/22/optimized-for-unoptimization/#dystopia-of-rules

2026-01-18 23:26:06 UTC

A friend just came back from visiting family in the #WestBank of #Palestine. He lives in #minneapolis. I said, “You got home just in time to see Minneapolis turned into the West Bank.” Sadly, he agreed.
#ICE #israel #apartheid #fascism
Prem Thaker’s commentary is on point.
Why Does ICE Look More and More Like the Israeli Military Lately? https://zeteo.com/p/why-does-ice-look-more-and-more-like

2025-11-25 05:50:14 UTC

- reply

Make sure to guide people to the third link, the YouTube video. Good analysis of the bs and propaganda from Sarah Hurwitz at the Jewish Federation meeting.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2TnY_FJ4f-Q

2025-10-13 03:45:54 UTC

- reply

A wise former boss once told me, “Projects are never finished, they’re just strategically abandoned “

2025-09-17 22:51:34 UTC

If you have 14 minutes watch this. I found it very sincere and inspiring but at the same time an excellent campaign video. Bernie is still sharp; older but so much sharper than trump or Biden
#Bernie #BernieSanders #Mamdani #ZohranMamdani #nyc #USpol #cities
Mayor to Mayor: a conversation between Bernie Sanders and Zohran Mamdani - YouTube https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe1VXVABW3o

2025-09-04 15:49:55 UTC

- reply

Interestingly, Montagu, the only Jewish member of the government at the time, was against the Balfour Declaration. He made his case here:
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/montagu-memo-on-british-government-s-anti-semitism
I learned this from Naomi Klein a while ago.

2025-08-15 14:59:22 UTC

#USpol #israel #palestine #democrats #DNC #GenZ #YouthVote #gaza #IsraeliWarCrimes #genocide @npub1zxn…0kqm @npub1qj0…wryw
DNC Leadership Pressured Gen Z Member to Kill Resolution on Banning Arms to Israel https://theintercept.com/2025/08/15/dnc-chair-israel-arms-weapons-gaza/

2025-07-19 19:21:47 UTC

- reply

Not sure this is related but since I started using CanvasBlocker addon, they make me use MFA every time with 8 digit pin and pw again. It’s as if part of their auth process is digital fingerprinting. Caveat: I’m not a hacker or expert (in case it wasn’t obvious). Why not just wait for page load? Shpilkes?
https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/shpilkes

2025-07-07 01:35:00 UTC

- reply

Wikipedia corroborates
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hajo_Meyer

2025-07-02 15:23:26 UTC

- reply

That Upton Sinclair quote is one of my favorites — applies to so many issues. #evergeen

2025-06-17 16:56:09 UTC

- reply

And this, for example...
https://zeteo.com/p/israel-history-killing-hamas-ismail-haniyeh

2025-06-17 02:32:45 UTC

> its vast expansion of the Homeland Security budget, which will be used to build ICE into a huge national army of loyalists under Trump’s control... This is the Proud Boys, at national scale, with badges. It is a very dangerous prospect.
> [current] combined funding of the FBI, DEA, ATF, Secret Service, and all other federal law enforcement is only half the size of the federal funding for immigration and border enforcement.
#USpol #immigration #police #fascism
https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/building-the-american-brownshirts

2025-06-16 16:43:00 UTC

- reply

Unrelated to the story, it’s telling and journalistically incompetent for CBC to still refer to the genocide as the “Israel-Hamas” war.

2025-06-08 19:02:49 UTC

Disturbing but important commentary. This paragraph sent a chill down my spine:
“Trump is using the protests in LA as his equivalent of the burning of the Reichstag—a ginned-up emergency used to deploy dictatorial powers, which once deployed won’t be voluntarily withdrawn.”
Trump’s Dangerous Escalation in LA | The Nation https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/la-national-guard-ice-raids/
#USpol #LAprotests #NationalGuard #fascism

2025-06-06 15:19:07 UTC

> ...this isn’t accidental but rather a form of profitable confusion built into the system to benefit insurers and intermediaries.
> Patients – especially the uninsured and underinsured – are left to make impossible choices: delay treatment or take on debt, ration medication or skip checkups, trust the health care system or go without. Meanwhile, I believe the rhetoric of choice and freedom disguises how constrained most people’s options really are.
https://theconversation.com/us-health-care-is-rife-with-high-costs-and-deep-inequities-and-thats-no-accident-a-public-health-historian-explains-how-the-system-was-shaped-to-serve-profit-and-politicians-256393
#USpol #healthcare

2025-04-30 18:55:52 UTC

- reply

You mean like a YubiKey?

2025-04-29 15:46:36 UTC

- reply

I use #diceware random words and have never used as few as 3 so this doesn’t surprise me. The author advocates for using #passkeys but I have so far resisted that advice from him and others. Using a #password mgr with a browser extension, passkeys seem to be only a small increase in utility. Also don’t like the “black box” aspect of passkeys: what are they, where are they locally, how secure is this system. Happy to hear how I am wrong to be a passkey skeptic.

2025-04-23 22:49:33 UTC

https://zeteo.com/p/mehdi-challenges-derek-thompson-on from #Zeteo and #MehdiHasan today, this passage really struck me:
> Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson’s bestselling new book ‘Abundance’ has garnered both buzz and controversy, as they argue that in order to create a future of abundance rather than scarcity, liberals need to build and invent more by
**deregulating the government and developing a more pro- business mindset**
WTF! Hasn’t that been the Dem playbook since Bill Clinton? And look where it’s gotten us

2025-04-09 15:50:08 UTC

- reply

Anyone who doesn’t have a negative view of #Israel at this point has some combination of delusion, existing in a very tight news bubble, or immoral geopolitical interest. Even WaPo and NYT, generally biased towards Israel, are increasingly reporting on Israel’s war crimes.
I am bothered though that Pew still chooses to use “Israel-Hamas War” when it’s clearly Israel’s war ON #Gaza.

2025-02-22 14:58:32 UTC

Short vignettes of federal workers recently fired from projects that were saving lives.
#PublicHealth #PublicSafety #Project2025 #DOGE #USgov #FederalWorkers #firings
They Worked to Prevent Death. The Trump Administration Fired Them. — ProPublica https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-federal-workers-public-health-hhs

2025-01-20 16:04:57 UTC

> In reality, the organization is really a cardboard backdrop. It spends a lot of money to raise a lot of money so it can spend a lot of money on banal advertising that makes consultants rich every couple years. It wastes the talent and energy of people who want to be put to work, Shakir told me.
#DNC #democrats #USpol
Faiz Shakir Would Like the DNC to Do Something - The American Prospect https://prospect.org/politics/2025-01-20-faiz-shakir-would-like-dnc-do-something/

2024-12-28 16:09:15 UTC

> Forensic Architecture’s latest report documents the extent and intent of Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip, strengthening South Africa’s case in the ICJ charging Israel with the crime of genocide.
#genocide #gaza #israel #palestine #maps #forensics
Mapping the genocide in Gaza – Mondoweiss https://mondoweiss.net/2024/12/mapping-the-genocide-in-gaza/

2024-12-28 15:35:52 UTC

> On the fiftieth anniversary of Karen Silkwood’s death, we should honor her legacy by strengthening whistleblower protections while we still can. This means moving beyond character-driven narratives and recognizing whistleblowers not as sinners or saints, but as workers trying to improve their workplaces for themselves, and for all of us too.
#labor #whistleblower #USpol #history #NuclearPower
Whistleblower Karen Silkwood’s Urgent Message for Us https://jacobin.com/2024/12/whistleblowers-karen-silkwood-retaliation-labor/

2024-12-05 17:19:04 UTC

- reply

Right now unable to connect to server. Tried iOS app, Linux AppImage desktop app, and web app in Firefox.
I'm guessing you are still (or again) offline.

2024-12-01 22:27:23 UTC

- reply

I’m a 3, barely (hobby coder), but I didn’t require any technical expertise to get started 2 years ago. The hurdle imo is picking a server. I intentionally picked a not-too-big one and it’s been great, but I also lucked out.
Decentralization is a strength and, to me, a core value. But the diversity and quantity of choices can be overwhelming, ie, Paradox of choice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paradox_of_Choice
A tool to help new users with that problem would be very valuable I think.

2024-11-15 00:55:22 UTC

- reply

It sounds like it was done at the city, St. Paul, level of government, not the state of Minnesota.

2024-11-08 20:47:44 UTC

- reply

I read this yesterday. It's a big-scope provocative thought piece that was written by @npub1ls4…7vtk 4 years ago. You don't have to agree with every word to get something out of it.
https://www.emptywheel.net/2020/11/03/what-comes-after-america/

2024-11-07 21:39:00 UTC

- reply

Have you watched #3bodyProblem on Netflix? It’s quite good IMO (and relevant to the cartoon).

2024-10-25 17:47:35 UTC

- reply

I almost forgot (h/t @npub1apc…2cpn ) this insanity is worthy of at least one episode in my imaginary dramedy/tragedy
https://newrepublic.com/post/187536/elon-musk-doj-justice-department-lottery-warning

2024-10-24 23:03:03 UTC

#mood
I feel like we're living in a near-future dystopian #ScienceFiction. If you pitched the story as a movie or TV series it would be as an absurdist dramedy:
- A demented old man is running for prez who's a rapist, racist, fascist, & a convicted felon.
- The other candidate, some good attributes but supports #WarCrimes #genocide
- News orgs portray this as "normal"
- Voters mostly ignore the genocide (I imagine as "good" Germans did during the Nazi years)
- Oh. And the planet is on fire.

2024-10-24 13:51:05 UTC

- reply

I’m on board with the message:
> Support jumps among those who say they are undecided in this election, with a whopping 57 percent saying they’re more likely to back the nominee if they make the [#ArmsEmbargo] pledge, with zero percent saying that they would be less likely to vote for them. This margin is the most prominent in Pennsylvania
But a #poll of 1500 Dems and independents seems like small sample? Detractors will ask “what about #Harris Rs” (do we know numbers?)

2024-10-15 14:24:19 UTC

> If #Democrats take the authoritarian threat posed by Trump as seriously as they profess, they need to change course in order to cobble together a cross-section of voters who can vault #Harris into the Oval Office.
> That change should start with promising a shift away from unflinching sponsorship of #Israel’s military offensives.
#USpol #election2024
Kamala Harris’s Campaign Is Not in a Good Place https://jacobin.com/2024/10/kamala-harris-palestine-working-class/

2024-10-13 21:29:55 UTC

- reply

I was just thinking today about how the word "ceasefire" doesn't seem to even come up any more in interviews or mainstream news coverage. Not since the US & France overture (sincere?) in the first couple of days after the escalation of Israeli attacks on Lebanon. It has just evaporated from the discourse.

2024-10-13 15:01:44 UTC

- reply

He hooked me with the first sentence:
> You always got the sense that the Democratic Party resented having to learn anything from losing in 2016.

2024-10-02 02:56:16 UTC

- reply

If it makes you feel better, he’s called him out before:
> Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on Tuesday blasted J.D. Vance for being a “grifter,” because Vance claimed he was some sort of a hillbilly who grew up in rural Appalachia when, in fact, he grew up in the suburbs of Cincinnati.
https://newrepublic.com/article/184179/jd-vance-grifterjust-like-new-boss

2024-09-28 19:53:50 UTC

- reply

Here's my answer: Kamala Harris should be happy I'm voting for her at all.
My feelings are now similar to how I felt about Biden: I would've voted for him but only with a lot of will power to overcome my revulsion to his genocide complicity.
KH had opportunities to separate herself from Biden policy but squandered those. As an old guy it's ironic that young Chappell Roan captured how I feel. We both recognize a binary lesser-evil choice, but we are not happy about it.

2024-09-23 15:15:21 UTC

From Kate Aronoff
> new report…analyzing satellite imagery, recently found that methane emissions from nine fossil fuel basins had increased 7 percent above 2020 levels. The U.S. ranks among that study’s “worst performers,” buoyed by surging oil and gas production
> As tech companies’ power-hungry A.I. data centers fuel a new building binge for gas-fired power plants, corporate pledges to reduce emissions have never looked flimsier.
#ClimateChange #methane #ai #USpol
https://newrepublic.com/article/186213/methane-emissions-ai-flaring-court

2024-09-17 23:18:24 UTC

#election2024 #KamalaHarris #gaza #ceasefire #israel #palestine
https://newrepublic.com/post/186072/kamala-harris-refuses-answer-gaza-policy
This is shamefully inadequate:
"I support Israel’s ability to defend itself. And I support the need for Palestinians to have dignity, self-determination..."
So apparently Palestinians do not have a right to defend themselves? 🤔

2024-09-11 23:17:50 UTC

No one would ever accuse #WaPo #WashingtonPost of anti-#israel bias. Yet, even they aren’t buying Israeli lies about the murder of Turkish-American #AysenurEygi
New video, witnesses challenge Israel’s account of U.S. activist’s killing - The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/09/11/american-activist-aysenur-eygi-killed-idf-west-bank/

2024-09-10 23:10:38 UTC

#BernieSanders #USpol #ArmsEmbargo #Israel #GazaGenocide #gaza #Palestine
Sanders says he’ll introduce resolution to block $20 billion arms sale to Israel as support for arms embargo grows – Mondoweiss https://mondoweiss.net/2024/09/sanders-says-hell-introduce-resolution-to-block-20-billion-arms-sale-to-israel-as-support-for-arms-embargo-grows/

2024-09-09 23:15:15 UTC

#gaza #palestine #election2024 #ceasefirenow
Stunning Polls from Crucial Swing States Should Be Warning to Harris | The New Republic https://newrepublic.com/post/185751/kamala-harris-polls-swing-states-israel

2024-09-02 01:34:11 UTC

- reply

Thanks. I made assumption about Lemur because of its thin profile and light weight. Appreciate the clarification.

2024-09-01 20:04:10 UTC

- reply

Which, if any, of your laptops have upgradable RAM? (As opposed to onboard like pangolin or lemur). That was a nice feature of the galago.

2024-08-30 15:42:22 UTC

- reply

Here’s my noob question. As someone who has dabbled in web applications (Python, Rust), I don’t understand why web apps are still being made that are vulnerable to SQL injection. There are tools to prevent this, to immunize against this long-known exploit, right? Am I missing something?

2024-08-22 21:44:55 UTC

- reply

"Rep. Romman and #Uncommitted organizers both confirmed that this was the speech she was planning to give if allowed for a potential 2-minute speaking slot. Uncommitted said they were open to the speech being edited and vetted. They said the #DNC did not ask to see the speech."
2 MINUTES! They could not give 2 minutes to a #Palestinian - American Democrat?
Shameful. Stupid. Counterproductive. And heartbreaking.

2024-08-21 14:56:07 UTC

- reply

“Now, though, it’s hard to escape the sense that her partnership with the movement that carried her into office is fading. “
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/aoc-dnc-speech-gaza/
Disappointing. And sad. #DNC #AOC #USpol

2024-08-20 22:36:33 UTC

> The display of Democratic Party unity was as pitch perfect as it was tone deaf to what is arguably the most pressing moral issue of our time.
> Blink, and you would have missed any mention of the U.S.-backed genocidal war Israel continues to carry out against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
https://theintercept.com/2024/08/20/dnc-democrats-gaza-genocide-silence/
#DNC #USpol #gaza #palestine #genocide #USelection2024 #ArmsEmbargo #ceasefirenow

2024-08-18 14:57:48 UTC

“Just when it seems the situation could not get worse for Palestinians in Gaza, the suffering grows – and the world watches.” ~ #UN Sec General Guterres
#gaza #genocide #healthcare #InfectiousDisease #polio #Palestine
Polio Pause: UN Calls for Urgent Ceasefire to allow 640K Children to be Vaccinated, as Gaza Polio Victim Confirmed https://www.juancole.com/2024/08/ceasefire-vaccinated-confirmed.html

2024-08-16 14:27:12 UTC

“…160 journalists and media workers have perished at the hands of Israel. This is the largest number of journalists killed during a war *in recorded history*. By comparison, 69 journalists were killed during World War II, and 63 journalists were killed during the Vietnam War.”
#gaza #israel #usa #blinken #WarCrime #journalism
More Than 100 Journalists Come Together With Their Fellow Journalists in Palestine and Against US Complicity in Their Killing | The Nation https://www.thenation.com/article/world/israel-gaza-journalists-war-killing/

2024-06-26 22:31:25 UTC

- reply

This is an excellent video. It is only about 13 minutes, but it conveys a lot of useful information in a visually impactful way.
Some months ago I decided that, since I was hearing and sometimes using the term #SettlerColonialism, I should try to understand a definition. I kept hearing about a Patrick Wolfe paper so I read it. Besides killing and forced transfer of indigenous people, SC also seeks to erase indigenous culture.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14623520601056240