Lattepunk Recommendation Especial
Lattepunk
This week I have to admit that I’m short on time.
Is it cause you’ve been super busy reading interesting things to recommend to me?
OF COURSE NOT! It’s cause I got family visiting this week. But since you mentioned it, I have been reading a bunch of stuff…and I do want to recommend it to you.
I know what you’re already thinking: “Luis, you’re going to give me a bunch of links and I don’t know how I’m going to remember them! I already have 107 tabs open in my browser and I lose these emails between all the spam! HOW AM I EVER GOING TO BE ABLE TO SAVE THESE LINKS TO READ AT A LATER TIME!?!?”.
Breathe reader…breathe… We have the technology to solve this problem.
On iOS I’ve been using this app called GoodLinks (iOS). A one time $9.99 purchase. Truthfully, it’s absurd to pay for an app like this but I use the app religiously, so I justified it.
Before I switched to iOS I was a huge user of Pocket (Android) (iOS). Free, account needed. A premium option exist but I’ve never had a need for it.
The other big competitor in this market is Instapaper (Android) (iOS). Very similar to Pocket. I never tried it but it’s very popular. Free, account needed, premium options available also.
There’s a bunch more options, just wanted to give you what I use and what’s popular. There’s also Chrome Reading List and Safari Reading List, if you just want to use the browser on your device and not add another app.
With the prerequisites out the way, here’s our first official Recommendation Especial. Enjoy!
Recommendations (but Especial):
BOOKS
Dark Wire by Joseph Cox (Bookshop) (Amazon)
I haven’t been able to put this book down since I started reading it. Fascinating story about how the FBI managed to create and run their own encrypted phone company that was used world wide by criminals. Here’s the official description:
The inside story of the largest law-enforcement sting operation ever, in which the FBI made its own tech start-up to wiretap the world, shows how cunning both the authorities and drug traffickers have become, with privacy implications for everyone.
In 2018, a powerful app for secure communications called Anom took root among organized criminals. They believed Anom allowed them to conduct business in the shadows. Except for one thing: it was secretly run by the FBI.
Backdoor access to Anom and a series of related investigations granted American, Australian, and European authorities a front-row seat to the underworld. Tens of thousands of criminals worldwide appeared in full view of the same agents they were trying to evade. International smugglers. Money launderers. Hitmen. A sprawling global economy as efficient and interconnected as the legal one. Officers watched drug shipments and murder plots unfold, making arrests without blowing their cover. But, as the FBI started to lose control of Anom, did the agency go too far?
A painstakingly investigated exposé, Dark Wire reveals the true scale and stakes of this unprecedented operation through the agents and crooks who were there. This fly-on-the-wall thriller is a caper for our modern world, where no one can be sure who is listening in.
Narcas by Deborah Bonello (Bookshop) (Amazon)
The other book I’ve been reading is about how women in South American cartels are not just playing the role of mother, sister, daughter, mistress, girlfriend, wife. These are women who are just as dangerous and ruthless as the famous men you can already name. Here’s the description:
Drug transporters. Money launderers. Killers. Street drug vendors. Weapons traffickers. Kidnappers. Extortionists.
VICE journalist Deborah Bonello reports from the trenches in this first-ever in-depth exploration of the hidden power women wield in Latin American drug cartels
You’ve heard of Pablo Escobar, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, and Rafael Caro Quintero. Their names conjure ghoulish images of bloody streets, white powder, bundles of weed, and a particular flavor of machismo unique to ruthless druglords. But what of the drugladies, las narcas? For the first time, investigative reporter Deborah Bonello takes you behind the curtain to introduce the women at the helm of organized crime south of the US-Mexico border. These women are the powerhouses behind violent cartels; masterminds of extortion rackets; right-hand ladies to El Chapo’s cocaine flow to the US; and matriarchs of major drug trafficking families. In these pages, you will meet women like Doña Digna, the leader of the Valle cartel, and Guadalupe Fernandez Valencia, one of “El Chapo” Guzman’s closest confidants.
Narcas, for the first time, gives voice to the women of notorious drug-trafficking monarchies, meticulously documenting the variety of roles they play. Bonello chronicles the complexity of their actions and their desires, the grey chasm between victims and victimizers, co-option and agency, and right and wrong. She examines why women’s experiences are under-reported, emphasizing the importance of understanding women as fully capable beings who are often as ambitious, innovative, ruthless, and violent as their male counterparts.
With careful detail, comprehensive research, and groundbreaking storytelling, Narcas paints a vivid picture of the women behind some of the most notorious drug cartels. You will not see Sebastiana Cottón or Marixa Lemus in the stereotypical portrayals of beautiful narco wives or girlfriends, or in the faces of trafficking survivors or drug mules. Rather, you’ll encounter—at staggering rates—the female cartel killers, money launderers, logistical heads, and transporters of Latin America’s infamous crime syndicates.
ARTICLES
How Researchers Cracked an 11-Year-Old Password to a $3 Million Crypto Wallet (by Kim Zetter, Wired) (imagine having bitcoin sitting in a wallet that you don’t remember the password to, then it balloons in value. i’d personally give up, but how the code got cracked was super interesting and i won’t spoil it)
The Biggest Ponzi Scheme in Hollywood History (by Evan Osnos, The New Yorker) (this was such an interesting read. its one thing to say “who falls for this” but when it’s this elaborate…)
The Age of the Drone Police Is Here (by Dhruv Mehrotra and Jesse Marx, Wired) (police are starting to use drones to respond to certain types of calls. what happens when you’re capture on that footage on the way to the scene? do you have rights? does it matter if it’s actually helping? is it helping?)
Elon Musk’s Starlink Connects and Divides Brazil’s Marubo People (by Jack Nicas, The New York Times) (fascinating read about how remote cultures are getting access to and using the internet. for better or worse. it sparked a bunch of controversy when it came out, prompting a follow up article)
No, A Remote Amazon Tribe Did Not Get Addicted to Porn (by Jack Nicas, The New York Times) (sometimes people take the wrong message out of an article. i admit that i too had this stand out from the reporting)
‘Remote’ Amazonian Tribes Have Been Using the Internet for a Long Time (by Jason Koebler, 404 Media) (one specific call out to the nyt article was this one. interesting counterargument to the original article.
The Titan Submersible Disaster Shocked the World. The Exclusive Inside Story Is More Disturbing Than Anyone Imagined (by Mark Harris, Wired) (remember that submarine that imploded while diving to see the titanic? that dude took a lot of shortcuts. it was insane reading this knowing that he not only put his life on the line but the life of others as well)
Inside Mexico’s Anti-Avocado Militias (by Alexander Sammon, The Guardian) (avocados need a lot of water to produce. i didn’t know this. and there’s money to be made selling them, specifically to us americans. they have private land being protected from people illegally growing them. wild world to read about)
The West Coast’s Fanciest Stolen Bikes Are Getting Trafficked by One Mastermind in Jalisco, Mexico (by Christopher Solomon, Wired) (this article made me realize people drive around on expensive bicycles. and when anything is expensive, someone will want to steal it and flip it for a profit. it was so crazy reading the lengths people go to steal them, but also the length one person went to find it all out)
The Microsoft Excel Superstars Throw Down in Vegas (by David Pierce, The Verge) (have you ever thought you were good at excel? let me tell you, you’re not. that is coming from someone who isn’t good at excel and realized there’s another level to this stuff. this story covers the people trying to make excel into a sport. yes, finance spreadsheets as a sport)
Microsoft Chose Profit Over Security and Left U.S. Government Vulnerable to Russian Hack, Whistleblower Says (by Renee Dudley, ProPublica) (massive reporting from propublica here. solar winds was a massive hack that affected a bunch of high profile companies. it used an exploit in a microsoft system. they were aware of it was possible years before it happen! why wouldn’t they just fix it? guess.)
Microsoft in damage-control mode, says it will prioritize security over AI (by Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica) (follow up on when microsoft had to explain to congress why they decided to ignore security. they promise they won’t do it again. you believe them, right?)
Meet the FIRE Savers Who Retired Early (by Amy X. Wang, The New York Times) (financial independence, retire early. the idea that you get to decide when to retire and not live in society’s predesignated mold. this fascinated me reading people of different backgrounds, social status, and wealth lean into the fire system and retire early. i’m going to serious have to look at what i’m doing wrong)
The Influencer Is a Young Teenage Girl. The Audience Is 92% Adult Men. (by Katherine Blunt, The Wall Street Journal) (this is one that probably shouldn’t have surprised me but still somehow did. we’re living in a day where it’s not unfathomable for our kids to want to be influencers when they grow up. and kids realize how to start that process when they have the tools. what’s wild about this story is that meta somehow decided that the influencer’s account had to be banned here, not the sick fucks following her.)
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