The Stoic philosopher Epictetus was born a slave and died the most sought-after teacher in the ancient world.

Here are 12 rules he lived by...

⇩⇩⇩

1. Only focus on what’s in your control

“The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control...”
2. Put every thought to the test

“Don’t let the force of the impression carry you away. Say to it, ‘hold up a bit and let me see who you are and where you are from—let me put you to the test’ . . .”
3. Always grab things by the right handle

“Every event has two handles—one by which it can be carried, and one by which it can’t. If your brother does you wrong, don’t grab it by his wronging...Instead, use the other—that he is your brother...hold the handle that carries.”
4. Choose not to be complicit in taking offense

"If someone succeeds in provoking you, realize that your mind is complicit in the provocation."
5. Think of the reasons people are acting that way

“Whenever anyone assents to what is false, one may be sure that he does not willingly give his assent to falsehood but rather that what is false seemed to him to be true.”
6. Make beautiful choices

"If your choices are beautiful, so too will you be."
7. Devote your life to making progress

“Finally decide that you are an adult who is going to devote the rest of your life to making progress.”
8. Keep company with those who uplift you

"The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best."
9. It’s not that you read but what you read

“I cannot call somebody ‘hard-working’ knowing only that they read...Even if ‘all night long’ is added, I cannot say it – not until I know the focus of all this energy...If their efforts aim at improving the mind...”
10. Don’t be afraid to look foolish

“If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.”
11. Appreciate but don't need

“The important thing is to take great care with what you have while the world lets you have it.”
12. Don't wait to demand the best for yourself

“How long will you wait before you demand the best of yourself?”
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I hate when I learn something new (to me) & stunning about the Jeff Epstein network (h/t MoodyKnowsNada.)

Where to begin?

So our new Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's stepfather, Samuel Pisar, was "longtime lawyer and confidant of...Robert Maxwell," Ghislaine Maxwell's Dad.


"Pisar was one of the last people to speak to Maxwell, by phone, probably an hour before the chairman of Mirror Group Newspapers fell off his luxury yacht the Lady Ghislaine on 5 November, 1991."
https://t.co/DAEgchNyTP


OK, so that's just a coincidence. Moving on, Anthony Blinken "attended the prestigious Dalton School in New York City"...wait, what? https://t.co/DnE6AvHmJg

Dalton School...Dalton School...rings a

Oh that's right.

The dad of the U.S. Attorney General under both George W. Bush & Donald Trump, William Barr, was headmaster of the Dalton School.

Donald Barr was also quite a


I'm not going to even mention that Blinken's stepdad Sam Pisar's name was in Epstein's "black book."

Lots of names in that book. I mean, for example, Cuomo, Trump, Clinton, Prince Andrew, Bill Cosby, Woody Allen - all in that book, and their reputations are spotless.
Recently, the @CNIL issued a decision regarding the GDPR compliance of an unknown French adtech company named "Vectaury". It may seem like small fry, but the decision has potential wide-ranging impacts for Google, the IAB framework, and today's adtech. It's thread time! 👇

It's all in French, but if you're up for it you can read:
• Their blog post (lacks the most interesting details):
https://t.co/PHkDcOT1hy
• Their high-level legal decision: https://t.co/hwpiEvjodt
• The full notification: https://t.co/QQB7rfynha

I've read it so you needn't!

Vectaury was collecting geolocation data in order to create profiles (eg. people who often go to this or that type of shop) so as to power ad targeting. They operate through embedded SDKs and ad bidding, making them invisible to users.

The @CNIL notes that profiling based off of geolocation presents particular risks since it reveals people's movements and habits. As risky, the processing requires consent — this will be the heart of their assessment.

Interesting point: they justify the decision in part because of how many people COULD be targeted in this way (rather than how many have — though they note that too). Because it's on a phone, and many have phones, it is considered large-scale processing no matter what.