2026-08-18

Horseshit

Epstein

Hugh Hefner reported Epstein to the FBI in 2005, but it was apparently 'back-burnered' for 15 years

The Playboy Playmate was Audra Christiansen, who says that Hefner made multiple reports to the FBI, but that the agency didn’t follow up at the time, according to former FBI special agent Jennifer Coffindaffer.

Obit

Heroes actress Hayden Panettiere dies at 36

In a statement given to the BBC and other media, her father, Skip Panettiere, said: "It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden. "She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her and to the millions who watched her onscreen." Panettiere played a cheerleader with superpowers in Heroes, an up-and-coming country singer in Nashville and - as a child star - she had other memorable roles including in the films Remember the Titans and Raising Helen.
- Hayden Panetierre Dies at 36
- Heroes star Hayden Panettiere passes away at 36
Violet Hensley Dies at 109; Ozarks Fiddler Made Opry Debut at 99

Rank Propaganda / Thought Policing / World Disordering

The Marxist Case for the Technofeudal Hypothesis
And then the men with guns tell you to do it anyway

Could the networks have refused to send the message about wildfires - or indeed any other message? If your least favourite politician gets their hands on the emergency alert system and tries to abuse it, would you want the networks to stand up to them? What if the network refuses to send the message because they're worried alerting people about a hurricane will lower the company's profits? What if armed thugs are sent in and the choice is send the message or die? I don't know what the answer is here. I think most people agree that it is broadly sensible to have a way to alert the population of emergencies. There's no mass media any more, we're not all listening to a single radio channel, or reading newspapers, or even on the same social media platforms. Sometimes there are emergencies and the Government has a duty to alert people to them.
Universal Health Coverage Could Save $1T and 114,000 Lives a Year, Yale Study

Musk

Electric / Self Driving cars

Robot uprising / Humanoid Helpers

What happens when a kid's robot best friend dies?

Edumacationalizing / Acedemia Nuts

Info Rental / ShowBiz / Advertising

Space / Boomy Zoomers / UFO

Satellite operators emphasize launch deals in a constrained market
- Satellite operators are in panic mode due to a worsening launch crisis
During the last three years, an average of 270 orbital rockets have launched from Earth, a more than three-fold increase from only a decade ago. By every metric available, the launch industry is crushing it: Prices have never been more competitive, launches never more frequent, and access to space never more rapid. Paradoxically, though, there is a growing crunch in launch availability. As part of his job as the director of research at Quilty Space, Caleb Henry speaks with satellite operators all the time. And he is hearing a constant and increasingly loud refrain from companies that want to put stuff into space. “What we have is an industry in panic,” Henry said.

The company that is almost exclusively responsible for the dramatic increase in launch availability in the 2020s has signaled that it intends to wind down Falcon 9 operations as quickly as possible in favor of the larger Starship rocket. Some might see that as a good thing due to Starship’s enormous payload capacity. But there are growing concerns that SpaceX will largely focus on its own payloads—Starlink v3 satellites and orbital data centers—because of their potential to drive far greater profits.

Some of the wilder ideas involve forcing SpaceX to sell its Falcon 9 infrastructure to a third party—another space company, a space-interested billionaire, or someone else. Others have suggested that the US government could step in and nationalize SpaceX. That could be done if the US Congress passes a law stating that assured access to space is essential to national defense.
NASA Administrator ‘extremely confident’ in Artemis 3 mission in 2027.
The Cool Down: Critics call it ‘starwashing’ as space companies market wonder and mute the fallout.
Japan Aims for the Moons of Mars

AI Will (Save | Destroy) The World

Neo Gambling / Crypto con games

Trump family crypto firm granted conditional approval to establish a bank

Economicon / Business / Finance

Democrats

FBI had evidence Swalwell got illegal donations from suspected Chinese spy

The FBI was recruiting Fang to be a confidential informant through an undercover agent, assigned her the code name Rusty Thumbs, planned to hire her through a cutout company and was still evaluating her suitability as a confidential human source when they discovered her alleged criminal behavior. The FBI knew early on during the recruitment that Fang was tied to China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), Beijing’s notorious intelligence service. The bureau also identified her parents as MSS agents, knew she was raising money for California Democrats and was willing to use sex as a means of getting ahead in the world of U.S. politics.

Earlier this year, Swalwell threatened to sue the FBI and asked the bureau not to release the files associated with the investigation. Swalwell’s lawyers made his case in a cease and desist letter sent to FBI Director Kash Patel in March. “The Congressman has never been accused of wrongdoing in that matter and your attempt to release the file is a transparent attempt to smear him and undermine his campaign for Governor of California,” attorneys Norm Eisen and Sean Hecker wrote. “Your actions threaten to expose you, others at the FBI, and the FBI itself to significant legal liability.”

Left Angst

The federal keyword lists that canceled billions in research funding
The Orwellian Company Behind ICE's New Electric Shock Gloves
The Wrong Kind of American
The Median Voter is a Maoist

the median voter in America is a Maoist. They do not believe in tradeoffs. They believe that, if only everyone were good and honest and working toward the right goals, good things will happen. That politicians disagree with each other is simply a sign that they are corrupt. If the people are good and sincere, then we can simply do things and it will all work out okay. This sort of attitude once ruled China. I do not call the American voter’s ideology Maoist as simple namecalling. It is just literally true. Mao Zedong’s program was that it was only the ideological sincerity which was needed for success to come. This ideological sincerity had magical properties.

someone who purports to represent the people, and wants to bring the people’s will into office, is a dangerous character. The people wish to chew on the pretty foxgloves. A politician’s job is to do what they think is best for the people, not to do what the people want. Let them vote for whoever they should choose, but you should not help them.
Trump Will Make South Korea Pay for His Iran Humiliation
Demand for Canadian citizenship certificates soaring, fuelled by Americans
- Isn't immigration a natural right? Doesn't Canadia have a moral duty to welcome these refugees without imposing paperwork and legal burdens upon them?
Trump sends the US Navy back to the steam age
Examining RFK Jr.'S Role in the Measles Outbreak

External Security / Militaria / Diplomania

US Air Force jet engine manufacturing plagued by 'significant challenges'

World

500k Applicants, 583 Jobs: The Frantic Scramble for Work in India
Report supporting Australia's teen social media ban appears to contain AI
UK Shared Rural Network roll-out passes key target
Is Europe safer than America?
Spain extends Almaraz nuclear plant operations through 2030
Mexico Crackdown on Coastal Development Underway
Apple ordered to change app data consent prompts on iPhones and iPads
Italy's cheese loan system under strain as extreme heat drives up storage costs
A letter to the Discord community in Brazil

You may have already heard about an order from Brazil's National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) requiring us to suspend screensharing and video features in Brazil. We’re complying with the order and working with the ANPD in good faith, which means that screensharing and video calls will be unavailable for Brazilian users starting now. We are working hard to restore access to these important features as quickly as possible.
India built the biggest digital payments miracle: Now comes the bill

Iran / Houthi

Israel

Russia Bad / Ukraine War

China

Why Chinese Citizens Are More Optimistic About AI Than Americans
Engineer used 360-degree cam hidden in bag of snacks to steal DRAM process tech
Movie that went viral for terrible animation becomes China box office hit

Niu Lai, a low-budget animation film about a cow in a dream sequence has seen a huge jump in ticket sales after going viral for its confusing plot and terrible graphics. It grossed just 7,705 yuan ($1,140; £843) in the first 10 days after its release, but has now made more than 11.4 million yuan, according to movie tracking site Mao Yan. That means it is holding ground against Hollywood blockbusters like The Odyssey and Spider Man: Brand New Day. "You may regret for 80 minutes if you watch it, but if you don't, you'll regret it for life," one popular social media post about the film said.

Health / Medicine

Environment / Climate / Green Propaganda

What's behind this summer's heat, and why 2027 could be worse
Octopuses could help us conceptualize a different form of intelligence
How much hydrogen awaits us underground?
Big Batteries to Bolster the Grid Are Stuck Waiting to Plug In
The End of the European Summer
Extreme space weather could disrupt flights, expose passengers to high radiation
As wildfires get worse, some states are struggling to pass fire protection rules

"It's up to the political will of a community to adopt a building code to address wildfire," says Ryan Maye Handy, who works on community wildfire planning at Headwaters Economics, a land use think tank. "What we're increasingly seeing is many different interpretations of how to reduce that risk. It is literally all over the map."
- No mention I saw of removing fuel from public lands; just of applying rules to private landowners.
Nation's Largest Reservoirs Are Drying Up, Threatening Life in the Southwest