2025-02-07

downside of clever diagnostics, antigravity scams, iPorn, Linus rejects brigading, deep babble, keep chickens, 40k buyouts halted, amazing waste, media freakouts, refusing to leave dont work, Scottish cat laws

Worthy

• Car trouble

  Finally, after several years, I decided try something crazy: I started the car, lay on the ground, and tried to look for where the rattling noise was coming from. When I did that, I immediately saw an extremely rusted piece of metal dancing around on a pipe. I pulled on it, and this thing fell off the car (photo of exhaust bracket)

  • Everybody does something stupid often enough. Its worth applauding when we can share the story for the education of others.

etc

• No roadblocks this time at least? Botched Alerts Turned This L.A. Neighborhood into a Fiery Death Trap

• Southern California Edison acknowledges link between equipment and Eaton fire

Horseshit

• Have We Been Partying Like It's 1999?

• 3D printed houses solve Ireland's housing crisis

• IBM claims to have booked $1B of cumulative quantum business

• An anonymous investor is spending millions to make underwater homes

• First lab-grown meat for pets goes on sale

• Japan lab and Intel set out to develop next-gen quantum computer

• Adding cooking oil to asphalt to create self-healing roads

• 90-year-old immigrant could lose Brooklyn home after deed theft scam

• Scientists crack what they say is the perfect way to boil an egg

• Silicon Valley Pioneer Joseph Firmage Faces Prison Over Antigravity Machine - Bloomberg

  In 1989, when Firmage was 17, he’d founded a software company in Salt Lake City called Serius, which he quickly sold to Novell, a big networking-technology company, for more than $22 million.

• Stares and ear-twitches: The linguist learning to speak the language of cows

celebrity gossip

• Ozzy Osbourne to reunite with Black Sabbath bandmates in Birmingham for 'greatest' show ever | AP News

• Bill Gates says Intel has lost its way, hints that Pat Gelsinger exited too soon

Rank Propaganda / Thought Policing / World Disordering

• New York Post: Big Tech must block Wikipedia until it stops censoring and pushing disinformation.

• Both USAID And The CIA Were Behind The Impeachment Of Trump in 2019

  OCCRP does not operate like a normal investigative journalism organization in that its goals appear to include interfering in foreign political matters, including elections, aimed at regime change. Sullivan told NDR that his organization had “probably been responsible for five or six countries changing over from one government to another government… and getting prime ministers indicted or thrown out.” As such, it appears that CIA, USAID, and OCCRP were all involved in the impeachment of President Trump in ways similar to the regime change operations that all three organizations engage in abroad. The difference is that it is highly illegal and even treasonous for CIA, USAID, and its contractors and intermediaries, known as “cut-outs,” to interfere in US politics this way.

Musk

• Elon Musk poached Tesla engineer for DOGE to the joy of lawyers suing Tesla

• Banks Sell $5.5B of X Loans After Interest Surges

• A Year of Telepathy

• No, Apple didn't just install SpaceX on your iPhone.

• If X revenue keeps growing, $100B valuation is not unreasonable

Electric / Self Driving cars

• Tesla's sales plummet across Europe

• China's EV strategy: The overlooked role of buses

• NYC Mayor Proposes e-bike Mandate

• Chinese rival overtakes Tesla as Britain turns against Musk

• Uber CEO warns robotaxis can't find a fast route to commercial viability

Religion / Tribal / Culture War and Re-Segregation

• Challenging the neutrality myth in climate science and activism

  We argue that Büntgen’s (2024) claim that climate science must be separated from activism is fundamentally flawed. Activism does not inherently lead to biased science and striving for value-free science is both unattainable and undesirable. Instead, we advocate for redefining the boundaries of acceptable influence of values in scientific communication and offer practical strategies to move beyond the misleading myth of neutrality.

• Google scraps diversity 'aspirations,' citing role as federal contractor

  • Google tells employees why it's ending DEI hiring goals

  • Google will end a core DEI program and evaluate others

  • Google scraps diversity-based hiring targets

• State policies shaped by white supremacy increase mortality rates

• N.C.A.A. Excludes Transgender Athletes from Women's Sports

Info Rental / ShowBiz / Advertising

• Apple responds after being forced to approve porn app on EU iPhones due to DMA

  • Apple lashes out at iPhone porn app maker and the EU rules allowing its download

• Blocking Linux in Apex Legends led to a 'meaningful reduction' in cheaters

• Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince plans to block AI bots from websites

• Gaming's feminine side is starting to make big bucks

• YouTube Ads Made an Absurd Amount of Money in 2024

• The Sad Math of Ads: messages of inadequacy and salvation through consumption

• Disney+ Loses 700k Subscribers Following Price Increase

• Meta CTO: 2025 Will Determine Whether AR/VR Bet Is Visionary or Misadventure

• Google remakes Super Bowl ad after AI cheese gaffe

• Asus and MSI US Official Stores Raise GeForce RTX 5090 and 5080 MSRPs

TechSuck / Geek Bait

• Mixing Rust and C in Linux likened to cancer by kernel maintainer

• Re: On community influencing - Linus Torvalds

  How about you accept the fact that maybe the problem is you.

  You think you know better. But the current process works.

  It has problems, but problems are a fact of life. There is no perfect.

  However, I will say that the social media brigading just makes me not want to have anything at all to do with your approach.

  Because if we have issues in the kernel development model, then social media sure as hell isn't the solution. The same way it sure as hell wasn't the solution to politics.

  Technical patches and discussions matter. Social media brigading - no thank you.

AI Will (Save | Destroy) The World

• John Schulman leaves AI startup Anthropic

  • OpenAI Co-Founder John Schulman Leaves Rival Firm Anthropic

• Why the AI world is suddenly obsessed with a 160-year-old economics paradox

• We're in Deep Research - by Zvi Mowshowitz

  The latest addition to OpenAI’s Pro offerings is their version of Deep Research. Have you longed for 10k word reports on anything your heart desires, 100 times a month, at a level similar to a graduate student intern? We have the product for you.

• Amazon plans to launch GenAI Alexa end of February

• No One Knows How to Price AI Tools

• Lawmakers Push to Ban DeepSeek App from U.S. Government Devices

• 'Meta Torrented over 81 TB of Data Through Anna's Archive, Despite Few Seeders'

• Lyft to bring Claude to more than 40M riders and over 1M drivers

Space / Boomy Zoomers / UFO

• SpaceX Swapping Dragon Capsules to Bring Butch and Suni Home

Crypto con games

• SEC scale back its crypto enforcment efforts

Economicon / Business / Finance

• Bench burned through $135M before shutting down

• Qualcomm says Arm has withdrawn license breach notice

• JPMorgan's new headquarters designed to lure back reluctant employees

• Move your company out of Delaware to Nevada or Texas

• Nissan to Reject Honda Deal to Create World's No. 3 Automaker

  • Nissan preparing to pull out of merger talks with Honda

• Federal Reserve releases the hypothetical scenarios for its annual stress test

• Ex-Federal Reserve economist John Rogers accused of leaking data to China - The Washington Post

  A former senior adviser to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors was arrested Friday and accused of leaking inside information from the Fed to the Chinese government over a period of several years, at one point receiving a $450,000 payment, and then lying about it to Fed investigators.

• Workday to cut 1,750 jobs in AI push

• Big Four Shun Return-to-Office Push, Stick with Hybrid Instead

• Intel Halts Products, Slows Roadmap in Years-Long Turnaround

• Power Stocks Had Been on an AI Tear. Then Came DeepSeek

• Soaring egg prices are piquing interest in backyard chickens

• Mozilla will pay $300K for refusing to hire activist Apple engineer

Gubmint / Poilitcks / Law Making

• White House registers DEI.gov and Waste.gov amid federal workforce purge

• US Shoppers Face Fees of Up to $50 or More to Get Packages from China

• Trump's de minimis cancellation is bad news for Temu, but worse for Shein

• Chaos and confusion as USPS halts, then resumes parcels from China

• Government NGO Tracking

• US State Department Recalls All USAID Staffers from Foreign Assignments.

• This USAID story is eliciting reactions that seem surprising to most people. Let me break down the real story for you.

  USAID is a front for the CIA. They are an unaccountable agency, under the cover of humanitarian efforts overseas, who operate via various NGOs, to carry out domestic operations. When the dust settles we are going to find out that most of the domestic terror we have seen the last few years (think BLM and INTIFA riots) were funded by USAID. That is just the tip of the iceberg. They have been able to get away with this for so long because almost everyone in elected office in DC is either getting paid, just like the media orgs, or they are scared to raise the ire of USAID.

• Tides Foundation is the Soros 'charity' that funded much of the Antifa BLM protests in 2020.

• Video reveals State Department funded LGBTQ Ecuador group's drag show workshop with $25K grant

• Musk ‘Buyout’ Deal Has More Than 40,000 Takers as Deadline Nears - Bloomberg

  The Trump administration’s offer to pay federal employees through the end of September if they agree to leave by the end of February has attracted more than 40,000 sign-ups as of Wednesday — about 2% of the federal civilian workforce. An Office of Personnel Management official familiar with the deferred retirement data said that number was growing, and the administration expected a rush of applications in the final 24 hours. The deadline to apply — which can be done simply by sending the word “resign” from a government e-mail account — is the end of the day Thursday Washington time.

• Over $4 billion to Haiti but Haiti only got 2% of it. The rest went to firms in DC

• According to the Columbia Journalism Review, USAID supported 6,200 journalists, 707 news outlets and 279 media sector civil society organizations in 30 different countries. No wonder the news all sounds the same.

• Too Many Subscriptions

  The federal government has spent $44.2 million on subscriptions to political news site POLITICO since 2017. That includes dozens of Executive Branch agencies as well as offices in the House of Representatives. Despite the online buzz, our auditors did not find any evidence of federal grants given to the news outlet. The only direct assistance the government has sent to Politico was a $1,000 Covid-19 relief grant from 2020. Virtually all of the payments are, in fact, subscription fees! Donald Trump’s White House spent just over $1 million on Politico in 2017, his first year as president. By 2020 subscription payments had increased to $2.8 million. Then, payments increased dramatically once Joe Biden took office. The White House spent $4.4 million on Politico subscriptions in 2021. Payments reached a high of $7.8 million in 2023 and totaled $7.4 million in 2024.

• USAID employees around the world will be placed on leave Friday and ordered to return to US.

• Memory-Holing Jan. 6: What Happens When You Try to Make History Vanish?

  • What happens when you challenge and official Narrative?

• Bankers Flood DC to Protect Tax-Free Debt for States and Cities

• IRS Employees Who Took Trump 'Buyout' Ordered to Stay, Work Is Too 'Essential'

• US judge temporarily blocks Trump buyout offer for government workers

  • Judge pauses Trump federal employee buyout offer pending court hearing

• The US Treasury Claimed Doge Technologist Didn't Have 'Write Access' When He Did

Trump

• Bessent Says He, Trump Are Focusing on 10-Year Yields, Not Fed

• Lawsuits Related to Trump Admin Executive Orders

• Netanyahu gifts Trump a golden pager during US visit

• Trump Sanctions International Criminal Court

Democrats

• CBS LIED to Voters About No ‘Deceitful’ Editing for Kamala

Left Angst

• Key Accomplishments of Lina Khan's Federal Trade Commission

• US scientists feeling 'stress and fear'

• Elon Musk proposes putting the U.S. Treasury on blockchain for full transparency

• The unexpected power of Musk's digital assault on Washington

• House Oversight Committee votes to not subpoena Elon Musk

• America's Dangerous Movement Toward Oligarchy, Authoritarianism and Kleptocracy

• DOGE US Treasury access limited to read only per DC District Court

• Money Saved by Canceling Programs Does Not Flow to the Best Possible

• The Heartless Upheaval of American Foreign Aid

  • Many American political animals were apparently receiving a lot of money from "foreign aid".

• Science funding agency threatened with mass layoffs

• Of Course It's a Coup

  That coup is, in fact, happening. And if we do not recognize it for what it is, it could succeed. In the third decade of the twenty first century, power is more digital than physical. The buildings and the human beings are there to protect the workings of the computers, and thus the workings of the government as a whole, in our case an (in principle) democratic government which is organized and bounded by a notion of individual rights. The ongoing actions by Musk and his followers are a coup because the individuals seizing power have no right to it. Elon Musk was elected to no office and there is no office that would give him the authority to do what he is doing. It is all illegal. It is also a coup in its intended effects: to undo democratic practice and violate human rights.

  • What was Hunter elected to do for the previous administration?

• The biggest breach of US government data is underway.

• The biggest heist in American history: DC is just waking up to the Elon Musk takeover.

• Democrats Are Already Trying to Impeach Donald Trump. Here’s Why.

• Deep Research considers the costs and benefits of US AID

  My data suggests US AID flows in 2024 were equivalent to: 93% of Somalia’s government revenues, 61% in Sudan, just over 50% in South Sudan and Yemen

• Former Coast Guard leader evicted from her house with 3 hours notice

  Throwing her out of her house on short notice went a step further. "It's petty and it's personal," one Fagan ally said. But a DHS official countered that it made sense for her to be moved out of the home at Joint Base Anacostia Bolling. "She was terminated with cause two weeks ago today and she was still living in those admiral quarters," the official said, confirming that Fagan had been told to leave. The official said they could not confirm or deny the three-hour timeline.

  Coast Guard leaders had given Fagan a 60-day waiver to find new housing, according to one of the sources. But on Tuesday, Homeland Security officials told the acting commandant, Kevin Lunday, that he had to kick her out because "the president wants her out of quarters," according to one of the people familiar with the incident. The DHS official was not able to immediately ascertain whether the directive had in fact come from Trump or whether his name had been invoked without his knowledge.

• Trump resistance? A 1940s US sabotage manual goes viral

• US immigration is gaming Google to create a mirage of mass deportations

• NBC, ABC Remain Bitter Over DOGE Obliteration of USAID

• 'Reboot' Revealed: Elon Musk's CEO-Dictator Playbook

• Republican Congressman Introduces Bill Seeking Abolishment of OSHA

• Elon Musk Wants What He Can't Have: Wikipedia

• If DOGE Goes Nuclear

• NSA museum covered plaques honoring women and people of color

• Data Hoarders Are Rushing to Save Vanishing US Health Records

• Elon Musk's 'baby-faced assassins' leading DOGE takeover

• Treasury Access by DOGE Partly Limited by Judge for Now

• Elon Musk's presidency is just getting started

• Elon Musk's DOGE is feeding sensitive federal data into AI to target cuts

• Trump Brazenly Defies Laws in Escalating Executive Power Grab - The New York Times

  Mr. Trump has effectively nullified laws, such as by ordering the Justice Department to refrain from enforcing a ban on the wildly popular app TikTok and by blocking migrants from invoking a statute allowing them to request asylum. He moved to effectively shutter a federal agency Congress created and tried to freeze congressionally approved spending, including most foreign aid. He summarily fired prosecutors, inspectors general and board members of independent agencies in defiance of legal rules against arbitrary removal.

  • "Only our guys get to do that!"

• Trump’s ‘Revolution Of Common Sense’ Brings Out The Worst In Democrats – Issues & Insights

  When Trump figured out how to email every federal employee at once – something businesses have been able to do since email was invented – federal workers sued. When he offered buy-outs to workers, the left screamed that this was illegal. When he paused grants, nonprofits cried that they couldn’t pay their rent. On and on it goes. The good news is that the public is finally catching on as to which political party has common-sense solutions that address their problems and which party is completely out to lunch.

• Musk's Brazen Cost-Cutting Campaign Is Annoying GOP Senators, Treasury Staff

• NOAA to have 50% reduction in staff and 30% budget cut

  • The forecasting and data services are lovely. The propaganda department could probably use some trimming.

• Musk, Trump Prosecutor Targeting People Who Divulge Identities of DOGE Staff

• Elon Musk's 'Fork in the Road' Is a Dead End

• Musk Shares Fake Video Claiming USAID Paid Hollywood Stars to Promote Zelenskyy

• US CISA staffers offered deferred resignations with just hours to decide

• DOGE Staffer Resigns over Racist Posts

• Elon Musk's secretive government IT takeover

• Pam Bondi Instructs Trump DOJ to Criminally Investigate Companies That Do DEI

Law Breaking / Police / Internal Security

• Still got troops deployed in the subways? Subway crime plummets as ridership jumps significantly in congestion pricing era

• San Francisco's new speed cameras

• Illicit drugs: Evaluation of DNA transfer between ziplock bags and capsules

• 100k eggs worth $40k stolen from trailer as police try to crack the case

External Security / Militaria / Diplomania

• Panama Canal denies US claim of preferential crossing rights

  • Panama Says the U.S. Made Up Supposed New Canal Deal

• Overhead view of the Pentagon / DC Air control: What It Takes To Get This Photo

• Army Recruiting Numbers Surge After Trump Win.

• Mexico deploys 10K troops to southern border, following through on vow that paused Trump tariffs.

• Biden Admin Filled Terrorist Coffers With Over $1,300,000,000 Before Trump Took Wrecking Ball To Foreign Aid.

World

• US Cloud soon illegal in EU? US punches first hole in EU-US Data Deal

• Not "banned," just taxed, licensed, with mandatory neutering of all kittens. Scotland has 'no intention' to ban cats, despite online rumors - UPI.com

  • Responsible ownership and care of domestic cats in Scotland: report - gov.scot

  SAWC recommends that the Scottish Ministers introduce legislation to require the compulsory microchipping and registration of owned cats in Scotland. We further recommend the development of a centralised database to simplify the process of registration.

  For these welfare reasons we currently do not recommend making it compulsory to neuter all owned cats. This option will be kept under review by SAWC, in order to take into account of future research into alternatives to surgical castration, such as chemical implants.

  We recommend that the Scottish Ministers give consideration to adding a measure to Schedule 7 of the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021, whereby licensed breeders may only transfer kittens to new owners once they have been neutered or provision has been made for neutering to take place.

• Mandatory jail for Nazi salutes under new Australia laws

• India 'engaging with US' after shackled deportees spark anger

• The Hague to ban fossil fuel ads

Russia Bad / Ukraine War

• The Baltics are in the final hours of relying on Russia

Health / Medicine

• VA nurses are in short supply. Unions say deferred resignation plan exacerbates

• The Long QUest for Artificial Blood

• Scientist Brian Wansink Turned Shoddy Data into Viral Studies About How We Eat

• Colombia's president: Legalize cocaine, it's no worse than whiskey

• Marijuana Dependence Linked to Higher Risk of Death

• Flu cases in NYC reach 4-year high as CDC reports nationwide spike

Pox / COVID / BioTerror AgitProp

• H5N1 bird flu spills over again; Nevada cows hit with different, deadly strain

• Second bird flu strain found in US dairy cattle, USDA says

• CDC Posts, Then Deletes, Data on Bird Flu Spread Between Cats and People

Environment / Climate / Green Propaganda

• Property Prices in Peril | First Street

  climate change is disrupting established patterns of migration. Regional desirability is being reshaped by chronic changes in climate across the country: coastal areas are increasingly threatened by sea level rise, while inland regions face intensifying heat waves, droughts, and floods.

  • How are priced for destroyed homes in Maui, in LA, in Asheville and Pensacola FL comparing to the previous sales?

• Hottest January on record shocks scientists

  • My heating bills this month argue against that interpretation.

  • Hottest January on record mystifies climate scientists

• The Mafias Behind Sand Trafficking in Latin America

• Microplastics in the human brain

• Accumulation of Microplastics in Human Brain Tissue Rising Rapidly

• Ivanpah solar energy plant in Mojave Desert faces bleak future

• Jeff Bezos fund ends support for climate group

• Even Brief Exposure to Polluted Air Can Cloud Your Mind and Slow Your Thinking

• The world has probably passed "peak air pollution"

• Beavers build planned dams in protected area while official still seeking permit